A Field of Good Fortune

In the Amitabha Sutra we read that the Buddha “was accompanied by twelve hundred and fifty great bhikshus, all of them great Arhats, well known to everyone.”

One of the meanings of the word arhat is “one who is worthy of offerings.” An arhat is perfect in merit and wisdom. This perfection in merit and wisdom in the Theravada tradition is not yet great perfection; this perfection in the Mahayana tradition is great perfection. Therefore, he is entitled to receiving offerings from all beings. Why? Because he is truly a field of good fortune for all beings. Those who make offerings to him will have good fortune. This is called “planting a field of good fortune.” How will we receive good fortune? We do not have wisdom or good fortune. When we respectfully make offerings to someone who has wisdom, virtues, and abilities, and who is compassionately teaching all beings to accumulate good fortune and cultivate wisdom, we will receive his teaching and thus be able to cultivate good fortune.

It does not matter how great or how small an offering is. As long as we make an offering sincerely and wholeheartedly, the wisdom and good fortune we get will be perfect and true. If we often think of this arhat or observe him, we will naturally have wisdom and good fortune.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

To Deal With It

The first of the four noble truths speaks of suffering. Basically, living entails suffering. At no point in our lives can we say that everything is perfect. If indeed that thought arises, the subsequent thought is of how long our happiness will last. Thus, suffering has again arisen and our moment of complete happiness is shattered.

Undaunted, hope springs eternal and it is our human nature to want suffering to end. In one sense, I guess we could say that history is the recounting of how humans have largely tried to end their own suffering and, occasionally, the suffering of others.    

So as humans, we want the suffering to stop.

But instead of trying to root it out, the vast majority of people focus on covering it up. As soon as someone is uncomfortable, they take medication to cover the discomfort or pain. People try to numb themselves to suffering as they sit mesmerized by television programs and movies crafted to pull in the viewer so they become ensnared by the images before them. People turn on their computers to aimlessly surf the Internet or forget themselves in computer games. They do not play with someone in the same room who they can talk with, but with a passive computer monitor. They wander through malls, buying on impulse things that stand a fifty-fifty chance of being tossed in the trash within six months. People fill their lives with activities so they will not have to sit quietly and acknowledge that things are not right. That they are suffering: mentally, physically, and spiritually.

The only way to end the suffering is stop running away from it or hiding it or burying it. The way to end it is to acknowledge it, analyse it, find the underlying cause and deal with it. Wisely.

Licenses Expiring and Conditions Maturing

 

The following is from a thoughtful reader who took the time to respond to my question of how he came across our websites: 

I am a beginner in the practise of Pure Land Buddhism. Since young, I visit temples from time to time with my family. Although I consider myself a Buddhist, the right conditions never arise for me to learn more about Buddhism. 

In October of 2006, I decided to visit Nan Tien Temple in Wollongong which is around an hour south of Sydney. On the way to the temple, I was happily speeding along the highway till I was stopped by the traffic police for speeding. Other than a speeding ticket with a huge fine, it also came to my attention that my driver licence was about to expire. As such, I decided to renew my licence at the RTA (Road Traffic Authority) in Sydney the following week.

So one weekday morning the following week, I was walking to the RTA when I come across a sign advertising free distribution of Buddhism books. The shop that the sign was referring to was closed and I made a mental note to visit that shop one day. 

A few days later, I finished work early and decided to visit the shop. This was the first time I visited Maha Bodhi Buddhist Centre which is run by Mr Michael Chen and his wife Mrs Jennifer Chen. They are kind enough to introduce some books on Buddhism to me and since then I had been visiting them every few weeks.

After being formally introduced to Buddhism by Michael, my interest in Buddhism grew...I never looked back since.

When the seeds we have planted mature, conditions will be such that "coincidences" will occur. As we see in the above account, they can do so in most unusual ways. So we don't need to try to force things to happen. By according with proper conditions, as the reader did by renewing his license, the conditions will unfold naturally.  A shop will be noticed, a mental note to visit on another day will be made, and the visit will be paid. All through according with proper conditions.

Ninety-nine Faults

The Buddha taught us to have “a mind that embraces the expanse of space and encompasses the vastness of the universe.” He taught “Compassion is the essence, and expediency is the means.” He taught us to have loving-kindness and compassion, to end delusion and attain enlightenment, and to end suffering and attain happiness. If what we think, say, and do is the very opposite of his teachings, is this learning from the Buddha? No, this is going against the teachings of the Buddha. Such a person believes in his afflictions and residual habits. He believes in fame and wealth. He does not believe in the Buddha’s teachings.

What should we do if we wish to help propagate the teachings? We should start with ourselves. This is an era of democracy, freedom, and openness. For many, individual rights are considered to be of the utmost importance. Therefore, we must not interfere with others or criticize them. We can only examine ourselves to see if we have these faults. It is very important to start with examining ourselves. We should be modest and praise others, even when they praise themselves and disparage everyone else. If a person has ninety-nine faults and only one merit, we praise the merit and do not mention the ninety-nine faults or keep them in mind. We focus on cultivating our purity and goodness. If we do this, the Buddha’s teachings will have bright future to be passed on to many generations to come.

Buddhist practitioners should try to keep in contact and encourage one another often. If other Buddhists accept us, we can work together to propagate Buddhism and benefit others. If they do not accept us, we should not pressure them but respect their wishes.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

What is "Renunciation"?

We often hear about renunciation in Buddhism. For the vast majority of Buddhists, renunciation does not mean giving up a worldly life and becoming a monastic. It means letting go of one’s attachments. The Buddha showed us how for he had no attachments to this world. Unfortunately, as ordinary beings we are still very much attached to the world in our every thought. Although the Mahayana teachings emphasize substance rather than form, if there is substance, it will certainly be reflected in form. Therefore, if our thoughts transcend this world, our behavior will reflect this.

How will our behavior reflect our thoughts of transcending the world? We will not be attached to anything in this world, be it a good reputation, money, or our five desires of wealth, lust, fame, food, and sleep. Our every thought will be like those of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. For ourselves, we come to this world to cultivate, which is to train and discipline our minds when we encounter various situations. We are here to test ourselves to see if we still have wandering thoughts and attachments to this world. For all other beings, we are here to teach and help them on behalf of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. We should have the Buddhas’ great compassion and skillful means to help all beings, who are suffering in this world.

We help different people achieve different goals. We help people with a superior capacity to end the cycle of birth and death, to transcend the Three Realms, and to be reborn in the Western Pure Land to attain Buddhahood in this lifetime. We help people with a medium capacity to end delusion and attain awakening and to advance to a higher stage in their cultivation. We help people with a dull capacity to plant the good roots of enlightenment.

In other words, regardless of a person’s capacity, we should benefit him or her impartially, like Buddhas and bodhisattvas do. On our part, we are impartial at the level of inner truth and the level of phenomena when it comes to helping beings. On the part of the beings, they are equal at the level of inner truth but are not equal at the level of phenomena. For example, when we teach Buddhism, we teach everyone to the best of our ability. But people will understand the teachings differently so some people will grasp more, others less. This is because every being’s good roots, good fortune, and conditions are different.

To renounce the world is to see through the truth of impermanence, to let go of all wandering thoughts and attachments, to attain freedom of mind and spirit, to accord with proper conditions, to be mindful of Amitabha Buddha, and to aspire to attain rebirth in the Western Pure Land.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra