Chapter 11 Basic Beliefs of a Buddhist Practitioner-11

Dedicated to good roots, this is the praise and praise of all the Buddhas of the three generations. Everything you think and do is for the benefit of sentient beings. This is the "greatest wish" taught by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Practitioners, devote their lives to the cause of life, so they say, "All the Buddhas of the three generations have praised it, so it is the most superior vow. I am now returning to the roots of goodness in order to obtain the extraordinary deeds of Samantabhadra." So, where will this good root cause and condition that benefits all sentient beings in the Dharma Realm end up? --Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss.In a broad sense, what Samantabhadra’s vows ultimately achieve is a pure land of Buddhism that is perfect and harmonious with the ten dharma realms, the most true, the best, and the most beautiful, represented by the kingdom of Amitabha in the West; Yes, you can make a vow until the end, without any obstacles, die happily, and die peacefully, like some arhats, "My life is over, the holy life has been established, what I have done has been done, and there will be no future." With no regrets, no worries and no fears, in a moment of thought, I will be reborn in the Pure Land, and I will not come to this world for a while.

For example, monk Jigong is going to leave this year. He has an apprentice who has supported him for decades. He didn’t know that he asked him to write a painting the year before, but Jigong refused. Later, when he was about to break up, he wrote a poem for him. He said: "In May, the West Lake is as cool as autumn, and the new lotus has a dark fragrance. Next year, where will the flowers fall? Ask Huahua to nod the wine."Although the West Lake in May is summer, it is as cool as autumn. The lotus flowers in the lake are blooming everywhere, and the fragrance is overflowing. But when the flowers fade next autumn, where will the poets go? "Ask Huahua for wine to nod her head", this sentence expresses everything without saying anything, and there is no smell of sadness or disappointment.After Jigong finished writing, he lost his pen and passed away in the second year.How many patriarchs in ancient times were born and died, leaving as soon as they said, throwing away this bone is like throwing away a handful of sand, without any hindrances or obstacles, they come and go as they please, how free and easy!This is "I hope that when I am about to die, I will remove all obstacles and meet the Buddha Amitabha, and then I will be reborn in Anlesha." Then continue to sing:

(Students chant in the same way) I once said that there is more than one Amitabha Buddha. In Amitabha, it is translated as infinite light, which means an infinite and pure luminous realm. To be reborn in the land of Amitabha Buddha is to be born. That is, this one mind, infinite light, immeasurable lifespan, pure, perfect and clear, is Amitabha Buddha's Paradise of Ultimate Bliss. Besides, is it all over after arriving in the Western Paradise? --no.The purpose of going there is to study abroad, study Buddhism, complete Samantabhadra vows, and save all sentient beings.The vow of Samantabhadra is clearly written here: I have already been born in that country, and now I am fulfilling this great vow. "

Before becoming a Buddha, one must save sentient beings. After becoming a Buddha, one still has to save sentient beings. There is no second thought from the beginning to the end. He just wants to attribute all benefits and happiness to others. Therefore, the Buddha can be said to be the real great welfare expert in society.The most difficult time, the most difficult place, is the best place for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and all Buddhist practitioners to donate their body, mind, eyes, eyes, and bone marrow. If you want to practice Samantabhadra, you have to jump into this pit of fire.What is the realm of Buddha? ——When all living beings get joy, it is the realm of Buddha.Everyone needs to hold on to one principle, use great wisdom to eliminate selfishness, and use great wisdom to look at causes and conditions and do our best to benefit others in the same way.Sing the following verses along the way:

(Students chant in the same way) In the Buddhist realm of the Western Ultimate Bliss, "the Buddhas will be pure and pure, and I will be born in the Shenglian Huahua", so if you want to be reborn in the Western Ultimate Bliss, you must have pure thoughts.I ask you where does your purity come from?Come from the impure, because there is an impure, so come to seek a clean.If everything is pure, is it still required to be pure? Therefore, Buddhism uses lotus as a symbol.The lotus flower comes from the mud, and there is no lotus flower in a clean place. The dirtier the mud, the more stinky it is, the more lush the lotus flower blooms, and the more fragrant it is.

Lotus flower has five virtues, such as flowers and fruits at the same time. We know that some plants in the world bloom first and then bear fruit, and some plants bear fruit first and then bloom. Only the lotus flower and fruit are simultaneous.As soon as the flower blooms, there are lotus seeds inside, and the lotus seeds are the fruit. This is the first question—why do the flowers and fruits of the lotus flower at the same time?The second question: It is said that people who are reborn in the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss are all incarnations of lotus flowers without passing through the mother's womb.Do you think it's amazing?

People in this world are born of human life, and they are born of women. They are born by going down and upside down. The gods and humans from the world of desire to the world of sex are born by men. They are born by splitting their shoulders and heads when they go up. , so the relationship between the sexes is inseparable in the Three Realms, only the Paradise of Ultimate Bliss is the transformation of lotus flowers.The leader of Esoteric Buddhism, Guru Lianhuasheng, is also born in the form of a lotus flower. Because of this way of birth, it is said that he will always have the appearance of an eighteen-year-old boy, and will always have the appearance of an eighteen-year-old boy.Why do lotus blossoms transform into beings when reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss?In the cultivation method I taught you, I have already taught you how to become a lotus flower incarnation in the future, do you understand? (Students answer: visualize)

Yes, visualize.If you contemplate the moon wheel in the center of your heart well, and visualize the clear point well, all delusions and distractions will disappear. After you are single-minded, at the end of your life, just this one thought will be enough. Therefore, the achievement of cultivating the mind and body is the cultivation of this thought, so there is no need for it. Don't be born through your parents, nor through your mother's womb.I often say: If I come back in the next life, I am afraid of being reincarnated, which is really troublesome; the most expensive one-day hotel fee at the Yuanshan Hotel is less than 10,000 yuan, and we stayed at the Maternal Birth Hotel for ten months. Not yet.

An American student called and said: My mother is about to turn 100 years old. She was seriously ill a few months ago and missed me very much. Now she is cured. When they received the news, they called me immediately. It is to let me know the situation.You see, this is the ten-month hotel bill, how painful and troublesome, and the journey is so far away, the national conditions of the two worlds are different, so there is nothing you can do, but if you cultivate yourself into a body of mind and life, no one owes you anything, How wonderful that would be! Therefore, with one single thought, you can be transformed into a lotus flower, and this thought in the heart-moon wheel should be pure and well-contemplated, and then you will be born from this lotus flower in the next life.One of the five virtues of the lotus is that the root and the lotus are connected. Other plants have roots, but they are all scattered. The root of the lotus is the lotus root, which is also the fruit. Therefore, at the same time as the flowers and fruits, the root and the fruit are also connected. We must learn from the lotus Hua, the first cause is good, the first thought is good, and the last is good; that is to say, if the motive is right, the good fruit will be right, so the root of the lotus flower is the fruit, the fruit is the root, the cause is the fruit, and the fruit comes. Because of this, Buddhism is like the truth of lotus flowers.Practicing the law now, I teach you to observe the lotus, with bright eyes and clear thoughts, so when you are dying, practice Zhunti method to be reborn in the Western Paradise, don’t even think about it, and you will be reborn, and you will be reborn if you don’t go.If you don’t give birth, you want to come back to the human world, come back again, you can enter the womb without being confused, stay in the womb without being confused, and even be born without being confused, it depends on your concentration, not being confused is the concentration.It’s not sitting up in meditation, thinking about nothing, being pure and clear, that’s fine drowsiness, besides, you can’t maintain that little bit of spirituality, but as long as you understand the reason and understand this, you want to have a drowsy meditation, or a deep sleep, That's okay too!

"The Buddhas will be salty and pure, and I will be born in Shenglianhua", which is originally pure. Purification itself is the lotus flower. There is no other lotus flower. The lotus flower represents purity. It comes out of the mud and is not stained. clean. "When I was born in Shenglianhua", Shenglianhua is not an ordinary lotus flower, but a pure state. As long as you have a pure thought, the lotus flower in your heart will open, and your heart will open.There are several lotuses on our body, the thirty-two petals of the crown chakra are the lotus flowers lying on the stomach, the sixteen petals of the throat chakra are the lotus flowers raised up, the eight petals of the heart chakra are the lotus flowers lying down, and the navel chakra has sixty-four petals. The petals, even the female uterus, and the male dantian are all upturned lotus flowers, and they are all flowers and fruits at the same time. The roots, leaves, flowers and branches are all the same, so you are the lotus flower yourself.

Amitabha Buddha is infinite light. If Samantabhadra fulfills his vows, he can be reborn in the Western Paradise of Ultimate Bliss. Why bother? "Do not move one step to the west, and sit in the west in front of you", so at this time, you can "see the Tathagata's immeasurable light, and show me the Bodhisattva". I also know that this is the realm of Buddha. (Students chant in the same way) After the prophecy and confirmation of Amitabha Buddha, the Samantabhadra vows we have cultivated and accomplished can be transformed into hundreds of thousands of trillions.Can a human become an incarnation?Of course it is possible; for example, after a man and a woman get married, they will have children, which are their own incarnations, but this is tangible. If we complete the Samantabhadra practice and vows, we don’t need to go through the sexes, and the idea itself will be dissolved. If you want to give birth to ten thousand mes, you can incarnate into hundreds of thousands of billions of mes, which are accomplished by concentration, intelligence, and willpower. "Intelligence is vast and permeates the ten directions, benefiting all living beings." After becoming a Buddha, you don't want to turn around and benefit all living beings at the end. Do you think that after becoming a Buddha, you will not come, go to Nirvana, and escape from reality? Is that still called a Buddha? ? "Langa Sutra" It says: "There is no Nirvana Buddha, and there is no Nirvana Buddha." Therefore, it is said that those who study Buddhism should make great vows. "Even when the empty world is exhausted, all living beings and karmic afflictions are exhausted, so that everything is endless, I wish that the ultimate will be endless."I have achieved hundreds of thousands of billions of incarnations, covering the ten directions, benefiting all living beings, and even the empty world is endless, and all living beings, karma and troubles are endless. My vows are also full. Conversely, the empty world and even When the afflictions are endless, the power of our vows to learn Buddhism is greater than it-"I wish the end will be endless." Therefore, it is said that the Buddha will come again forever, and will always fill the boundless lands of the ten directions.This is the true spirit of studying Buddhism.Whether you are at home or become a monk, what is the purpose of studying Buddhism?It's not about escaping reality! Therefore, Zen Master Dongshan, the patriarch of the Caodong School, wrote a verse: (Students chant in the same way) Now you have shaved your hair, become monks, don't wear lipstick, don't put on makeup, "cleansing heavy makeup for that", why? "Advising people to return in the voice of the rules" is the behavior of a monk Bodhisattva, so the state of a Bodhisattva is "a hundred flowers are falling and weeping endlessly, and weeping into the depths of the chaotic peak".Therefore, the Bodhisattva way is "to stand on the top of a high mountain and walk deep in the bottom of the sea". It is advertised that although Chen Yi is very tall, his behavior is from the lowest level, and I will come to the most painful place. That is the Bodhisattva way.So you have to figure it out, you have to have a correct view, the first step in learning Buddhism - Puxian's vows, you haven't even initiated the vows, so what is the practice?Now you chant these eight lines of verses with the merits of admiration. When you sing, you should observe the image of the mother of Zhunti Buddha and the heart moon wheel in your heart. If you chant naturally, you will be practicing the Dharma door. (Students chant in the same way) Have you used your brains to find out why in this Zhunti practice conference, I want to talk about Samantabhadra's actions and vows. Every verse has its meaning. Don't just listen to it, but use your heart and right thinking.Starting from the vows of paying homage to all Buddhas, until the last time, all the merits of Samantabhadra’s vows will finally return to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. The intention and the principles of practice have been told to us.Here is the beginning of another paragraph. (Students chant in the same way) Some people's vows and wisdom do not follow the line of Samantabhadra's vows. Although the practice is different, it is the same as Samantabhadra's vows. First, make offerings.The bottom is support to the top, but the top is giving to the bottom. "All the boundless temples in the ten directions, adorned with treasures, are offered to the Tathagata." First, we need to make offerings to the Buddha. For example, there are two mandala on the Buddha's table. This is the transliteration of mandala in Sanskrit. The four circles represent the mother-in-law world. The four major continents in China are Nanzhanbuzhou, Dongshengshenzhou, Xiniuhezhou, and Beiquluzhou. The point on the top represents Mount Sumeru.Take rice and put it in the four circles, or other things are also acceptable. Since the main food for sustaining life in this world is rice and flour, it is represented by rice, and there are as many as four continents. It is the meaning of mandala to make offerings to the Buddha and all living beings, so it is served with such a mood, not just for show.The lamps offered in front of the Buddha represent the endless light of the ten directions. The lamps of the world, the lamps of the world, and the lamps of the heart are all here.The heart lamp represents wisdom, so that the wisdom of the Dharma is bright and never extinguished.In particular, the responsibility of you to become a monk must be provoked, and the Dafa of the Tathagata Buddha will make this heart lamp never go out, and at the same time, our own heart lamp cannot be extinguished.Other offerings, such as incense, flowers, lamps, water, fruit, tea, food, treasures, beads, clothes, etc., all have their meanings. After understanding these meanings, offering them is extremely solemn. "All the boundless temples in the ten directions, adorn all the treasures and offer them to the Tathagata", a true Buddhist practitioner should expand his mind and mind, not only for this world, but also for the four continents and Mount Sumeru, and for the world in the ten directions and even the world. All the boundless lands, with all the most solemn treasures, are all used to make offerings to the Buddha.Make offerings to all the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times with this kind of mind at any time. For example, I have a good candy now. Before I eat it, I have to make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times. There is this delicious candy all over the boundless lands of the ten directions, and it is used to make offerings to all the Buddhas and all sentient beings in the boundless lands of the ten directions. Only when you can practice with this mind, is it really called practice. "The most supreme peace and happiness bestowed on heaven and man, after all the kalpas of dust in the world", I often tell you that while practicing the Dharma, you must also study the "essence of the secret, perfect and perfect, and the heart of becoming a Buddha". Have you read it?This book contains food and how to make offerings to gods and immortals. In the morning, it is to make offerings to heaven and humans, and at night it is to give food to ghosts and sentient beings.If you have a good diet, you can make offerings and give alms before eating. You know this truth, and you will know how to do it when you worship ancestors and gods.Therefore, we should not only make offerings to Buddhas, but also gods and humans, all virtuous teachers, and even the Lord of Earth. Why?Because he is better than you, even if you become a monk and die in the future, it is not bad to be a land prince without going to hell. The class is much higher.As for wanting to be reborn in the heavens of the Form Realm, then don’t talk about it. Not only must your merits and virtues be sufficient, but you must also cultivate them in conjunction with the four meditations. Use this as a basis.Therefore, in addition to making offerings to the Buddha, we should also bestow peace and happiness on heaven and man, but what is peace and happiness?For example, if someone is sick, give him medicine, and when he recovers, it will make him feel at ease. Or if you have something delicious and nutritious, if you eat it to make him feel comfortable, it will also make him feel at ease. Or listen to a good piece of music. In order to make people feel peaceful, it is also an offering, and it is also a gift. Even if someone is in a bad mood, you sing a good song, which makes him listen to it, and his mood is cheerful, which is also an offering!Therefore, everything is offering, and nothing is giving. To practice offering and dharma in this way is also the first step to learn Buddhism. "After all the kalpas of dust particles", no matter if you give food in Taiwan or anywhere, you can't say that you only give it to the ghosts in that place, so there are ghosts and sentient beings in every place in the world.Don't think that the world looks so rich, but in fact, there are still many people who starve to death and poor people!Even those who have money and status, when they are sick or dying, they can’t feed them anything. This is already in the realm of hungry ghosts. Can you give them happiness like this?Therefore, when you give food, you must have the great mind to give food all over the world, to support and give all the time and everywhere, expanding from one place to all places, and extending from this moment to the infinite future. Only in this way can we cultivate The possibility of consummation, the following four lines will continue to be sung: (Students chant in the same way) Offerings and almsgiving, Samantabhadra's actions and vows have been talked about a lot along the way. How many such generous and thorough Bodhisattva actions are there in the world? !It may not be easy to find one out of a million or even a hundred million Buddhist practitioners!Some people say that I study Buddhism, but I say no, I am not qualified.The value of learning Buddhism lies in initiating Samantabhadra vows. It is really initiated, and suddenly surpasses the merits of good deeds that you and I practice daily, and even the merits of offering to Buddhas of the ten directions and giving to heaven and man, so it is revered as the "king of victorious wishes" in Buddhism.Other Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, such as Amitabha Buddha has forty-eight vows, Medicine Buddha has twelve great vows, and Manjusri Bodhisattva has ten great vows. Why is Samantabhadra Bodhisattva called the "king of victorious vows"?Everyone should take part in this! "One sutra can generate faith in the ear", and it is great to be able to hear the merits and virtues of Samantabhadra's actions and vows. If one can faithfully generate faith, and then "seek victory and desire for Bodhi", then it is in line with the duty of a Buddhist student.For example, in the desert, if your mouth is dry and you want to ask for a glass of water to drink, if you encounter a famine and you are hungry, you want to ask for a bite of food. This is the urgent feeling of "thirst and admiration". do you need? Now everyone is practicing Zhunti method, do you have an eager heart to practice it?Do you sit for a long time, read too much, and instead feel annoyed and irritable, hoping to end it soon?If the motivation for learning Buddhism is not sincere, and the initiation of vows is not true, then the so-called learning Buddhism and cultivating the Tao are nothing but absurd words and inexplicable jokes. A true heart of longing and admiration will surely be able to make a truly long-term, courageous and diligent aspiration.Therefore, to achieve Bodhi in practice is to make a great vow, and the heart of this vow is the heart of longing and admiration. "The merit of victory is greater than that", as mentioned above, if someone has figured out the principle of the practice of Samantabhadra's vows, and can believe it, and then practice it, follow the teachings, then the merit of this one is better than that. The merits and virtues of the Buddhas of the ten directions and the supreme peace and blessings of heaven and man who have been practiced in all kalpas are even greater.Well, if you are obsessed with this sentence "the merits of victory are greater than that", and then you just want to sit at home every day and recite the vows of Samantabhadra, hoping for merits, but you can't actually do it, then this is a kind of greed Psychology, it's not necessary.This is one of the ancestors of Zen who cursed people as "stealing their hearts and not dying". In the above scriptures, those who teach Buddhism must first practice offerings and giving. This is to emphasize the power of the merits and virtues of practicing Samantabhadra and making vows. Therefore, everyone should reflect on it. It is such a blessing to have such a peaceful environment for further study. what!It means being supported by humans and heavens every day. You should think carefully about how many things you have done to benefit the world and benefit people until now.For example, if I give you 10,000 yuan today and ask you to do a good deed at night, you may not necessarily complete it.Of course, you can find someone to donate to, but you may not be able to make good use of this sum of money and have positive merits, and even if it is serious, it may backfire.When someone hears that they want to do good deeds, they really don't know where to start.When people live in this world, they can encounter opportunities to do good deeds, and do them well and well. What a blessing and wisdom this is!So you must pay attention to your practice!Here are eight more lines to praise: (Students chant in the same way) The vows of Samantabhadra have been mentioned here, and they have turned to another level. The main connotation has been clearly outlined in the scriptures, and everyone should be able to get an unforgettable image from this, the basic belief in Buddhism If you have a thorough understanding and grasp it, then in the process of practice, you will "always stay away from evil teachers, and forever stay away from all evil ways", and you will learn Buddhism from generation to generation and leave evil teachers forever. This also shows that good teachers are rare, so it is said: "The human body It’s rare, it’s hard to live in the Middle Earth, it’s hard to meet an enlightened teacher, and the Dharma is unheard of.” But how do you identify evil teachers?If he doesn't kill or steal, and doesn't teach you to do so, and encourages you to practice Buddhism, and what he says is even more quoting from the scriptures, and everything is in line with the principles of the righteous law, but in the end it leads you to ruin without you knowing it, and wants to How to do it?It is not easy to stay away from bad knowledge, you have to practice Samantabhadra, even if you meet him, it is you who turn to him, not him to turn you.Similarly, if you want to live in this life and the next life, you must also practice Universal Worthy Vows and Deeds if you meet good friends forever.Therefore, if you practice and uphold the Samantabhadra, you will also "leave forever from all evil ways".After completing the meritorious deeds, he will return to the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. "To see the immeasurable light of the Tathagata quickly, I have the most supreme wish of Samantabhadra." If the practice of Samantabhadra is not fulfilled in this life, and he has not been reborn in the Western Ultimate Bliss, then this person will have good conditions in the next life, such as special health or great virtuous roots.Because of the nature of cultivating Samantabhadra, once reincarnated and practiced in the human world, it will be accomplished quickly. This is the principle of "this person is good at winning life, this person is good at rebirth among others, and this person will achieve it soon" mean. "Like the actions of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva", what if we fully practice the great vows and actions of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva?The following scriptures have the same meaning, explaining that the practice of Samantabhadra is a path of righteous practice towards Mahayana. Everyone continues to chant, every word and every sentence when singing, you must truly understand it in your heart. Only when you can chant like this It has merit, otherwise it would be useless, it would just be a kind of music. (Students chant in the same way) "In the past, there was no wisdom to create the extremely evil and five inexhaustible sins." You can see the power of practicing Samantabhadra to fulfill the vows. If in the past life, because of lack of wisdom, you created the extremely evil five inexhaustible hell sins that will never be reborn, " If you recite this Samantabhadra Great Vow King", you can often think about it and act on it. Then, "one thought will quickly eliminate all diseases", and your past serious sins can be washed and transformed in your one thought of Samantabhadra's pure sea. Therefore, he was born in the afterlife and then turned around among humans. "The kind of family name and appearance, good looks, wisdom and perfection, can not be destroyed by demons and heretics, and is worthy of offerings in the three realms." He can often obtain the ultimate wisdom of understanding the universe and get rid of all sinful obstacles. Therefore, all external demons, external demons, and all demons have been destroyed by him. "The king of the Bodhi tree quickly sat down and subdued all demons, and turned the wheel of Dharma when he became enlightened, and benefited all kinds of consciousness." Subdue the demon way, prove the way and become a Buddha, and then return to benefit all sentient beings, so it is said that "passion is the Buddha's heart".Please recite the following verses in full with reverence: