36 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
36 lines
7.0 KiB
Plaintext
## VIII. Right View of Life
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### What Is True Success
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Q: Since I was young I have cherished great aspirations—to become a scientist who benefits humanity, a doctor who heals the sick and saves the wounded, a teacher who cultivates talent; in short, to become someone who contributes to the world. But after encountering the Dharma, I realize that awakening is the only true success. I wonder: does this mean that even someone who changes the world is not considered successful?
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A: That depends on what standard you use to measure success. Modern standards tend to be materialistic: the size of one's career, the amount of wealth, the height of fame, the number of followers, and so on. In ancient China the standard was to establish virtue, merit, and worthy discourse, placing more importance on character and contribution to society. The Dharma's standard of success is benefiting self and others, awakening self and others. On the one hand, you perfect a noble personality, eliminate afflictions, and fulfill compassion and wisdom within yourself; on the other hand, you can guide living beings to improve their lives. I believe this is a more ultimate success, and its significance is more enduring.
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As for being a scientist, doctor, or teacher, these are certainly meaningful, and they do not conflict with awakening to life's truth. If you pursue these professions on the basis of perfecting your character, you will make an even greater contribution to the world. Otherwise, although the profession itself is noble and able to benefit the masses, without a sound mind it can still bring harm to yourself and others. A profession is merely a tool; what matters is the person who uses it.
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### How to Find Life's Mission
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Q: After nearly ten years of wholehearted dedication to my work and achieving some results, I now feel that I have lost my goal; both work and life have lost the passion they once had. I have also asked myself what I truly want, but my heart feels empty. How can I find my life's mission?
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A: Learning Buddhism helps us see the value of human life and make good use of this rare and easily lost form. Because human beings possess reason, they can, through practice, awaken themselves and awaken others. Apart from this ultimate goal, any worldly achievement is temporary and cannot withstand scrutiny. Before reaching a goal you may feel it is worth striving for; once you arrive, you find it is merely so-so, and what you gained is not what you truly wanted. Some philosophers and artists even took the road to ruin after achieving fame and success. Why? Because after reaching a certain goal they suddenly lost direction, looked around in bewilderment, and no longer had any interest in merely surviving in this world. Therefore we should accept the culture of wisdom with an open mind and re-examine life. If we cannot see the height of life and have no ultimate goal, there will be no way forward.
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### What Does "When a Human Is Perfected, Buddhahood Is Perfected" Mean?
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Q: How should we understand "when a human is perfected, Buddhahood is perfected"? Doesn't this make becoming a Buddha too simple?
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A: What Master Taixu meant by "when a human is perfected, Buddhahood is perfected" has a specific meaning: it refers to a person who has perfected boundless compassion and wisdom, not merely a good person in the ordinary, worldly sense. For example, the Confucian idea of human perfection means becoming a sage or worthy in the Confucian ideal, but this is not Buddhahood. Moreover, this saying was put forward in a particular historical context to counter the prevailing misconceptions in Buddhist circles at the time—ritualization, spiritism, and otherworldliness—and to propose that cultivation should begin with being a genuine human being. In fact, the Buddha practiced and ultimately attained awakening in human form. From this perspective, the Buddha too is human: a person who has perfected the qualities of eradication, wisdom, and compassion, but one must follow the bodhi path to perfect these virtues.
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### It's All Fine; No Need for Afflictions
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Q: Venerable, you are so compassionate and wise—do afflictions still arise in you?
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A: Everyone's living environment is different, and so are the ways they look at things; naturally, their states of mind differ as well. The monastic environment is relatively simple, free from the constraints of various relationships and from the complexity of society; there are few conditions that provoke afflictions. Moreover, the work we do is vast. I once wrote on Weibo about the five advantages of doing great things: first, it is hard to fail, because it is hard to succeed; second, it is hard to become unemployed, because it cannot be finished in the short term; third, it is hard to become attached, because there is no point of attachment; fourth, there is an excuse for not doing it well, because it is not easy to do well in the first place; fifth, there is no need to hurry, because if the conditions are not ripe, anxiousness alone is useless. So I have always felt that monastics have neither elation nor dejection. When conditions allow, do more to propagate the Dharma and benefit sentient beings; when conditions do not allow, it is also good—and very important—to practice quietly by oneself. In short, whatever happens is fine; there is no need for afflictions.
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### Our Outlook Determines Our Life
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Q: As a parent, how can I guide my child to develop the right outlook on life? At what stage is it appropriate to begin?
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A: In recent years people have begun to emphasize the "three outlooks": view of life, view of the world, and values. In fact, learning Buddhism also helps us establish these three outlooks. Every day many things happen in life. What effect they have on us depends not on the events themselves but on how we regard them. In addition, we constantly face choices: from how to treat people and handle affairs to finding the meaning of living, everything involves choice. To choose means to give up. Why take this and not that? Why is this important and that unimportant? What ultimately determines these choices is the three outlooks. Some parents like to make decisions for their children, but in doing so they are imposing their own outlooks on them. If these outlooks are wrong, they will have a negative impact on the child, even causing lifelong pain. Such examples are everywhere.
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Only with the right outlook can we live each day well. Therefore this kind of education is extremely important, indeed the most important education in the process of growing up. But under the present educational system this aspect is somewhat weak. As parents, if we can share the culture of wisdom with our children and help them establish life goals and moral standards, it will benefit them throughout their lives. Establishing the three outlooks is not the same as learning knowledge; it can begin at any stage. Through our own words and example, we can let children know imperceptibly what kind of person they should become and what they should and should not do. This should be more effective than merely lecturing.
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