64 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
64 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
## XIV. Propagating the Dharma and Benefiting Sentient Beings
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### Reflecting on Tradition
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Q: You once wrote "Reflections on Chinese Buddhism." What led you to reflect on tradition?
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A: Tradition carries immense power, and religious tradition is especially potent. But in today's information-rich age, besides the traditions of Chinese Buddhism, we can also see the traditions of early, middle, and late Indian Buddhism, as well as Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism. Once our vision broadens, we realize that tradition is not singular, and what has been handed down is not all excellent; it also contains outdated conventions and bad habits.
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A: Spreading the Dharma must always be *accordant with principle and adapted to the times*. To accord with principle means to stand upon the fundamental spirit of the Dharma; otherwise, as Master Yinshun observed, it is like selling milk diluted with water: the buyer adds more water before selling it on, and the next person does the same, until the milk has gradually become nothing but water. As the Dharma spreads outward, it continually absorbs local culture, customs, and social factors, gradually becoming unrecognizable. Therefore we must return to the source and clarify what is truly central to the Dharma. At the same time, we must adapt to the times; in modern terms, this means modernization and keeping pace with the times. In fact, the spread of the Dharma in every age has undergone the modernization of that age; the Northern and Southern Dynasties had their modernization, and the Tang had its own. Without this transformative work, people will feel alienated when they encounter the Dharma. Today we must inherit the Dharma from its source and also build a Dharma study system suited to the contemporary age, according to the characteristics of our times. This is my original intention in reflecting on tradition; such reflection is not for the sake of criticism, but for better preservation and propagation.
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### Making the World Better with Wisdom
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Q: I major in television production and am very interested in cultural communication. I feel that many people hold prejudices against Buddhism. When did these prejudices begin? What are the current obstacles to propagating the Dharma? And if the Dharma were widely spread, would the world become a better place?
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A: Since the Dharma came to China more than two thousand years ago, it has long been an important part of traditional culture, yet it has always been accompanied by various prejudices. Some of these arise from cultural differences, and some from problems within Buddhism itself. For example, the view that Buddhism is pessimistic, negative, and world-renouncing exists because Chinese Buddhism has failed to actively manifest the Mahayana spirit and put the teachings on bodhicitta into practice. The view that Buddhism promotes superstition arises from insufficient Dharma propagation within the Buddhist community and from misleading portrayals in literature and art. Beyond these existing problems, contemporary Buddhism was devastated by the decade-long catastrophe and then developed rapidly within a commercial tide, so it is inevitable that the genuine and the false are mixed and disorder abounds. All of these hinder the effective spread of the Dharma.
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A: Although there are many problems, the platforms available for dissemination today are also unprecedented. From this perspective, the present is the best of times. As for social need, although technology grows more advanced by the day, people increasingly lose themselves. When the user has problems, the more advanced the tool, the greater the potential danger. In fact, humanity is facing just such a crisis. If technology is the tool for transforming the world, then the role of the Dharma is precisely to improve the user of the tool. Only by elevating the moral sense and sense of responsibility of all humankind can world peace be safeguarded.
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A: The Dharma guides us to know ourselves and to develop a healthy mind and character. When such wisdom is spread, the world will certainly become better. We must recognize the universal value of the Dharma, make good use of the internet and other platforms, and benefit society while we grow ourselves. Only when more people light the lamp within will the world have light and hope.
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### Helping the Dharma Take Root
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Q: There are many Buddhists in our area, but their practice is mostly superstitious and has not formed a climate of study and cultivation. How can we do our part to guide them onto the path of study and practice?
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A: There is indeed a great deal of superstition among Buddhists, especially in rural and relatively remote areas, where the situation is even more common. Since the Dharma was transmitted to China, it reached its height during the Sui and Tang dynasties and then gradually declined, giving rise to such bad habits as ghost-and-spirit worship, fixation on the afterlife, and mystification. The Dharma is a broad and profound wisdom-culture, yet judging from the level of many believers, it seems they have little culture or even need none. This contrast is saddening and also shows the importance of Dharma propagation and education.
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A: In the course of propagation, two strata have emerged. One is the elite stratum, such as eminent masters and scholar-officials; the other is the folk stratum, such as the broad mass of believers who merely pray and bow, taking faith in Buddhism only as a means to seek safety and blessings. If we take the elite route, the Dharma becomes too lofty and esoteric to reach ordinary people; if we take the folk route, we stray from the root of cultivation and cannot let this wisdom truly function.
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A: In propagating Humanistic Buddhism, we seek to break down the boundary between these two, allowing the profound Dharma to return to daily life and serve real human existence. Although the Dharma is vast, the focus of practice is our own mind. From this standpoint, we see that the Dharma is closely bound up with life; it is not some abstract metaphysical theory separate from reality. Through the talks of these past few days at the Bodhi Retreat, you have more or less felt the value of the Dharma for life and its significance for society. But for it to have greater effect still requires our joint effort. Today's society may need the Dharma more than any previous age, because modern people have more afflictions and stress and live more wearily. I hope everyone will arouse bodhicitta, benefit from study and practice, and then spread this wisdom-culture; this is of great significance both for the individual and for the world.
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### Passing On the Dharma Light with an Altruistic Heart, Not a Calculating Mind
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Q: Since I began studying Buddhism, I have felt that the Dharma has helped me a great deal and I am filled with Dharma joy. I very much want to share it with friends around me and help them in this way. But because of my work, it is not convenient to express this directly. In such a situation, how can I do a good job of passing on the lamp?
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A: Having benefited from the Dharma and wishing to help more people benefit is a fine aspiration. But how to share it with others really requires finding an appropriate way. When first guiding people, we can set aside the religious form and start from the perspective of life wisdom. Nowadays many people forward the Zen phrases we publish on Weibo and WeChat; this is the simplest method. If the other person is interested, you can offer them booklets on Humanistic Buddhism and guide them gradually. In addition, when relatives, friends, or colleagues are troubled, you can start directly from the practical level, using the wisdom of the Dharma to help them shift their perspective and resolve their difficulties, which often produces good results. It is like when a person is ill: they urgently desire treatment and are willing to take the medicine seriously. But when they do not feel that they have a problem, even if what they hear makes sense, they may simply listen and let it pass.
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A: What we should keep in mind is that in doing this we should have a pure altruistic heart, not a calculating mind. Do not think of immediately getting the other person to accept the Dharma and join in study and practice, and certainly do not approach it with the attitude of winning them over. When we light a lamp and pass on the light, the purpose is to help others, but the precondition is that they have this need. Whether they can accept it and then benefit from the Dharma depends crucially on their own disposition and inclination. We are merely a supportive condition, playing a guiding role. So just do what you can do.
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### Touching Hearts Through Caring
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Q: I have been studying Buddhism for four or five years and hope my friends can benefit, but they do not believe in cause and effect or in rebirth, and feel that where one goes after death does not matter anyway, since no one knows. In such a case, how should I guide them?
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A: First, I rejoice that you have an altruistic heart. However, each person's capacity and educational background differ; what we consider good may not be what the other person is willing to accept. Therefore do not speak with the aim of getting them to accept; rather, proceed from understanding and caring, and offer the Dharma's solutions to the problems they actually have. Although many people do not believe in karma and rebirth, they still have afflictions in life and still wish to live more happily. Starting from this premise, you can share how you yourself resolve afflictions and adjust your state of mind. Through your own conduct and way of dealing with the world, let them see that a Buddhist practitioner is wise, compassionate, and trustworthy. Such genuine transformation is the most touching and often has a more direct transformative effect than anything you might say. When the other person becomes interested, then give them some books on Humanistic Buddhism.
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A: When your standpoint is different, the other person can sense it. Many adults have fixed patterns of thought and find it hard to accept ideas different from what they already believe, but they are willing to accept others' care, so the angle of approach is very important. Of course, we do not care about others merely in order to share the Dharma; that would put the cart before the horse. Rather, we share the Dharma with them in order to better benefit them. The key lies in "authenticity": first, you yourself have undergone genuine transformation; second, you truly care for others.
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### Can the Dharma Solve Social Problems?
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Q: Buddhism emphasizes awakening through transforming one's own mind, which is a profound and lofty topic. Yet people at the bottom of society still suffer from lack of basic material goods and respect. How does the Dharma view problems such as racial discrimination and the gap between rich and poor? Is there a solution?
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A: Eliminating discrimination is something Buddhism has always advocated. The traditional religion of India was Brahmanism, which divided people into four castes: first, the Brahmins, who performed sacrifices; second, the Kshatriyas, who administered government; third, the Vaishyas, who engaged in commerce; and fourth, the Shudras, who were treated as untouchables. This distinction persists to this day. Buddhism at that time appeared as an ascetic group opposed to Brahmanism, advocating equality among the four castes and even among all living beings, precisely in order to eliminate such inequality. Brahmanism was theocentric, holding that the Vedas were divinely revealed, sacrifice was all-powerful, and everything centered on the gods. But Buddhism put forward the idea of karma, holding that a person's nobility or baseness does not come from birth, race, bloodline, occupation, or status, but from one's own actions. If your conduct is noble, you are noble; if your conduct is base, you are base.
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A: The teaching of karma runs through the three periods of time: our present existence is formed by the words, deeds, and thoughts of the past, and our future is determined by what we do now. Therefore Buddhism holds that destiny is created by oneself. If we want a beautiful life, we must plant more wholesome causes and form more wholesome connections. This is the root solution to racial discrimination and the gap between rich and poor. Without such a foundation of understanding, social problems cannot be fundamentally cured; when one kind of discrimination is solved, a new one will appear. Just think of the current prevalence of "contempt chains" extending into every corner of life.
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A: As for concrete problems, Buddhism advocates the qualities of unconditional great compassion and the great sympathy of seeing others as oneself. As disciples of the Mahayana, we should take the relief of sentient beings' suffering as our responsibility and put this into practice through altruistic effort, including material charity and spiritual charity. The former is the same as that offered by other religions and worldly philanthropy; the latter is what is unique to the Dharma.
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### Just Keep Doing Your Best
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Q: You have said that because you always hold the aspiration to propagate the Dharma, you continually attract wholesome conditions. Have there been moments when things were very difficult and you felt unable to keep going?
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A: Perhaps because I am not too attached to results, in the course of my work I have never felt that there were especially great obstacles or that things were especially difficult. From the Dharma perspective, the success or failure of anything follows causes and conditions. Whether in personal cultivation or in propagating the Dharma and benefiting sentient beings, all we can do is establish the right conditions while also accepting every result. Cultivation is not easy to begin with, and helping the masses move from delusion to awakening involves many conditions, so it is even harder; it is normal even when things do not go well.
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A: With this understanding, just keep doing your best. All along, what we have done is continually improve the conditions, including our overall orientation and the deepening and refinement of each task. In this process, seeing our own bit-by-bit progress and seeing the growth of many people in the Three-Stage Practice brings great joy, so one never feels unable to continue.
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