Chapter 35 Chapter 3 Everything Is Empty-9

Some people think that strict norms and good deeds are the essence of Buddhism, but this is only a small part of the many skillful methods of the Buddha.He knows that not everyone can understand the ultimate reality at the beginning.It is very difficult for many of us to grasp the notion that hell is just the experience of your own hatred, let alone the concept of emptiness.Buddha didn't want Jack to be trapped in a personal "hell", but because Jack was an idiot, he couldn't tell him to deal with his feelings and anger.So for his own good, the Buddha taught that there is an external hell, and to avoid being thrown there and being boiled in molten lava, Jack had to stop indulging his own unwholesome negative behaviors and emotions.This type of teaching method is very common in the Buddhist cultural environment; we often see murals of hell image on the walls of temples, among which there are burning bodies and horrible and freezing abysses.These images, depending on the level of the disciple, can be understood directly or in a symbolic way.Those with superior faculties understand that the source of our daily hells, that is, our suffering, comes from our own experience.They know there is no such thing as a Judgment Day or a Judge.When Milarepa appeared in the yak horn, Ruichungpa was on the way to become a great master.He had great realization to understand emptiness intellectually, and he had enough realization to see Milarepa in the horn of the yak, but not enough realization for him to be in the horn with his guru , Buddha's ultimate goal was to make Jack understand that, like these superior disciples, there is no hell except for his own hatred and ignorance.By temporarily reducing the negative behavior, Jack was able to turn away from dwelling on more feelings, fears, and delusions.

* * * * The word Karma has become almost synonymous with Buddhism.Usually it is understood as a moral system of retribution - bad and good karma.However, karma is just a law of cause and effect and should not be confused with morality or ethics.No one, including the Buddha, has set a basic benchmark for what is negative and what is positive.Any motive or action that moves us away from the truth that all things are impermanent can lead to negative consequences, or bad karma.Any action that leads us closer to the truth that all emotions are suffering can have positive results, or good karma.In the end, it is not for the Buddha to judge, only for you to understand the motives behind your actions.

* ** * When discussing with his disciple Subhuti, Siddhartha said, if you see me with color and ask me with sound, you are walking in the wrong way.Four hundred years later, the great Hindu scholar Nagarjuna echoed these words.In his famous Treatise on Buddhist Philosophy, he devotes an entire chapter to "Analyzing the Buddha," concluding that, ultimately, there is no externally existing Buddha.Even today, we often hear Buddhists say: If you see Buddha on the road, kill him (see Buddha kills Buddha).This is of course a metaphor, and of course they will not kill the Buddha.It means that the real Buddha is not an external savior limited by time and space.But on the other hand, there was a man named Siddhartha who appeared in this world and was called Gautama Buddha.He once walked barefoot on the streets of Magadha.The Buddha taught the teachings, cared for the sick, and even visited family members in Kapilavatthu. Buddhists have no urgency to believe that this incarnate Buddha existed in India in the 5th century BC, not in present-day Croatia. Because for centuries, he has been our source of inspiration.He was a great teacher, the initiator of a series of subsequent lineages of qualified masters and disciples.That's all.However, to a spiritual seeker of knowing, inspiration is everything.

Siddhartha used many skillful methods to inspire everyone.One day, a monk saw a hole in Gautama Buddha's robe and wanted to mend it for him, but the Buddha refused and walked begging for food in this torn robe.The bhikkhus were perplexed when he approached the hut of a destitute woman who had absolutely no food to feed her.When the woman saw the broken robe of the Buddha, she used the remaining thread to help the Buddha mend it.Siddhartha agreed and said that her merits would lead her to be reborn as Queen of the Heavens in her next life.After hearing this story, many people were inspired to give alms.

In another story, Siddhartha reminds a butcher that killing leads to bad karma.But the butcher replied, I only know this job, this is my livelihood.Siddhartha told the butcher to at least make a vow not to kill after sunset and before sunrise every day.He does not give the butcher a license to kill in the daytime, but leads him to gradually reduce his vices.These are some examples of Buddha teaching Dharma skillfully.He wasn't saying that because the poor old woman mended his robe, she could go to heaven, as if he were a god.Rather, it is due to the good results of her own generosity. You might as well think this is a contradiction.Buddha contradicts himself, says he doesn't exist, everything is emptiness, and then he teaches morality and salvation.These methods are necessary, however, so as not to scare away those who are not yet ready to be introduced to emptiness.They used these methods and thus became peaceful and receptive to the real teaching, which is like saying there is a snake there.Then throw the tie out the window.These infinite methods are the ways.However, the road itself needs to be abandoned after all, just like when you reach the other shore, you have to abandon the boat.You must disembark when you arrive.At the moment of full enlightenment, you have to abandon Buddhism.The spiritual path is a temporary solution, a placebo until emptiness is realized.