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Modern people have a lot of worries and pressures. Even if they are talented or wealthy, they dare not say that they don’t have any worries. What’s more, we ordinary people are even more burdened. It caused a lot of unspeakable pressure and pain. I dare not say that there is a panacea that can eliminate other people's pain. I just provide you with one or more possibilities and another way of thinking that is different from our past, so that everyone can have a little bit of happiness and a little bit of understanding. For inspiration and help, that will be my greatest comfort!
I hope my spark can light up the light in your heart! I hope that through the wisdom of ancient sages and sages, we can live more transparent, open-minded, comfortable and happy lives!
So, if you want to meditate and reduce your worries, you must first know where your worries arise. Troubles come from the heart, from our attachment and discrimination towards everything. Although there are studies on this in philosophy, medicine, and psychology, it is undeniable that Buddhism has the deepest and most thorough research on this area. Therefore, although I am afraid that some people may be repelled by the word "Buddha", when talking about this topic, we really cannot avoid this content.
Let me first ask you, when the word "Buddha" is mentioned, what is the first thought that comes to your mind? Cigarette smoke? A statue in a temple? Clear rules and regulations? Cut off desire? profound? superstitious? philosophy? wisdom?
? Some people may think that Buddhism is a kind of superstition, ignorance, a kind of religious sustenance or paralysis. Some people think that some Buddhist koans are just myths and legends. In fact, if we replace the word "Buddha" with "wisdom", "spirituality", "cosmic energy", and replace "Buddha's saying" with "expert saying", "scientist saying", etc., it seems that all of a sudden The higher you get, the more trustworthy you become. No matter what, tonight, at this moment, I hope that you will abandon all these previous understandings and thoughts - whether you are a calligrapher, a painter, a professor, or just a vagrant, no matter what we are in reality , at this moment, we are a pure "person". Please empty yourself and pour out all the knowledge, concepts, and prejudices in your mind one by one. At this moment, we are naked, no different from the moment of birth or the moment of death, the true self with all labels torn off. Imagine that you are a crystal vase that is transparent and pure inside and out, without a trace of dirt. Okay, now let us close our eyes, listen only with our ears, and use our clear and clear hearts to feel and think about the following words.
? The so-called "Buddha" is not far away and profound. He represents an awakened person. The word "Buddha" is very interesting. It is not a human being - not an ordinary person, but an enlightened person, a person who completely understands the truth of the universe. It can also be said that there is no human being - no one, no ego. People who are free from selfishness and people who are free from vulgar taste - why are these words so familiar? Learn from Mao Xuan:) Just kidding. To put it more seriously, a Buddha is a person who has eliminated the self-grasping of people and the self of law. "Immortals" are people in the mountains who cultivate themselves and practice Taoism in the mountains and finally become immortals. "Vulgar" refers to people who eat grains and fireworks, so they have the aura of secular fireworks - I explained this for fun, and everyone laughed at it. Having said that, each of us, even every ant, inherently has Buddha nature. Therefore, every living being is said to be a self-natured Buddha. So you see, is Buddha far away from us? There is no distance at all, we ourselves are Buddhas.
?But why do we need to learn Buddhism? Because for now, we are still lost lambs, beggars holding a golden rice bowl. We have not yet seen the treasure of our own being. Our Buddha nature is like a pearl, its light is only temporarily blocked by dirt, and its original Buddha nature will not increase or decrease by one point at any time.
A tolerant and wise person will not reject anything that helps him improve.
?So, we don’t all have to be Buddhists, but a lot of wisdom in Buddhism can be well applied to our lives and help us live and work better. Getting along better with the people around us allows us to live more clearly, understandably, and transparently. To use a popular saying, it helps us meet a better version of ourselves! I want to give you a calming pill like the sun, so that everyone can feel the warmth and light! Please take off your sunglasses, open the windows, and let’s take a sunbath together!
We were basking in the sun and drinking moonlight. Then, before we start, please allow me to do a little Buddha Puja. The specific method used by Buddhism to save people is the six-paradigm-four-photography method. The six perfections are generosity, precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. The four photos are charity, loving words, colleagues, and beneficial actions. Among them, giving is divided into financial giving, Dharma giving, and fearless giving. Patience is divided into tolerance for pain (for example, tolerance for hardships such as cold and heat), tolerance for harm caused by enemies (for example, others insulting, slandering and attacking you), tolerance for deep dharma that one cannot understand (for example, having People who don’t understand the Dharma of Emptiness can temporarily refuse to accept it, but at least they can’t slander it).
? In fact, we can completely apply the Six Degrees method to our lives. For example, speaking to our family, friends, colleagues, and clients with loving and gentle language and helping them is generosity. Even giving strangers a heartfelt smile is also generosity. In particular, we are busy working and partying all day long, and often neglect our parents. We set aside some time to talk or take a walk with our parents. Isn’t this giving? When you're with them, put down your phone, don't be distracted, pay full attention, and listen to their chatter. What is this if not focused meditation?
Let’s talk about observing the precepts. Everyone has a moral code in their heart, and it stops where it should. We know that we must not break national laws and regulations, we must not violate company rules, we must not run through red lights, and we must not take other people's things. If you are more compassionate, you will think that other animals' lives are also life and cannot be harmed. What is this if not observing the precepts? Why do people suffer? It is caused by the disunity of body and mind. Desire tells the body to do this, and some inner code tells us we should do that. If we have a firm criterion, then generally speaking we will be less likely to suffer from entanglement. If we can be loyal to our hearts, then generally speaking our happiness will be higher.
? Let’s talk about patience, also called tolerance. This is very important. In fact, in layman’s terms, it is emotion management. Nowadays, there are many courses on emotional management, spiritual practice, etc. In fact, to put it bluntly, those methods are included in Buddhism. Buddhism is like the ocean. This person takes a spoonful and mixes it with some chicken essence. That person takes a spoonful and mixes it with something. Everyone drinks it and it tastes delicious. Everyone clapped and applauded, then turned around and said, the sea is too deep, stay away, otherwise you will drown. Oh, woe, woe, woe, woe! Just kidding, in fact, no matter how many spoonfuls you take, no matter how much chicken essence is mixed with it, as long as you drink it, it is good for everyone. I'll take a few spoonfuls of it today and try it with everyone.
1. What should you do if you encounter something unpleasant?
1. Learn to change your mind and stop focusing on one point!
"Nine times out of ten things go wrong in life." Fang Yue's poem from the Song Dynasty also said: "Nine times out of ten things go wrong as you want, but you can tell people the same thing." What should we do at this time? Blaming others will not help. Wise men tell us, "Always think about one or two things"! ——Learn to change your mind and stop focusing on one point! Our own attitude towards the world determines the world's attitude towards us!
2. Positive change OR? See clearly and let go!
Rabindranath Tagore said: "If you cry because you missed the sun, you will miss the stars again." There is a saying in "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty" that "What you lose is in the east, you gain in mulberry trees." Treat the things you don't like. The more we have a wise attitude towards things, the less harm they will cause us.
There are also the following sentences that have the same purpose but the same purpose:
? "If things can still be changed, why not be happy? If it can't help, what's the use of being worried?"
——This is a hymn in "Entering the Bodhisattva's Conduct". It means that if something happens that you are unwilling to accept, if it can turn around and can be changed, then it should be worth rejoicing and working hard to remedy it and let it go. It is changing in a good direction; if there is no improvement in this matter, then it is useless for you to be worried and troubled, so why should you be immersed in troubled emotions and be unable to extricate yourself? It's like if you spilled a bowl of beans, then don't worry, just bend down and pick up the beans as soon as possible; if you broke a bowl, you would be upset and cry, but the bowl would not be reconciled, then, Sweep those pieces out and throw them away, if you still hold on to that piece and cry, you will only get cut again.
The above eulogy also tells us a very important truth: "Work hard for the cause, and follow the fate for the result." There is a saying that "Bodhisattvas fear causes, ordinary people fear results!" The law of cause and effect is a very objective No one can violate the laws of nature, including Buddha, God, Allah, Marx, Lenin, etc. Therefore, work actively on the cause, just work hard, go all out, and have no regrets. As for the result, since there are many determining factors for the success of anything, you can only let it happen and don't be overly obsessed. With such a positive and optimistic attitude and behavior, why worry about things not getting done and people not being happy? Therefore, those who say that Buddhism has a negative fate are indeed having a huge misunderstanding.
3. Always observe impermanence and be at ease with the situation.
There is a very famous story that I believe many people have heard: The clever little monk Ikkyu accidentally broke the master’s cherished teapot one day. He asked the master: “Is there anything in this world? Something that is permanent and unchangeable?" Master replied, all dharmas are impermanent, how can there be a dharma that is permanent and indestructible? So Xiao Yixiu took out the broken teapot hidden behind his back and said, "Master, your teapot is impermanent!" Thus he escaped the master's blame. Let's not investigate the authenticity of this story. I believe everyone knows the truth. Everything is impermanent - whether it is wealth, fame, our obsession with beautiful and handsome men, relatives and friends, or our own bodies. Can you escape an unpredictable fate? Therefore, cherish it when you have it, and accept it calmly when you lose it. This is the real freedom of letting things happen.
For singles without a girlfriend, don’t worry, just be yourself. If you bloom, butterflies will come. If you have a girlfriend, please cherish the person in front of you, understand her with love and tolerate her, and treat her the way she likes. Everyone you meet is not without reason. If your girlfriend breaks up with you, if it is irreversible, just let her go. Everything is the best arrangement! If you can do this, be happy with your gains and calm with your losses, you will be a wise and happy person!
4. Know the emptiness and don’t hold on!
"Therefore, all dharmas are dependent on others and are not independent. Knowing that you should not be angry is like an illusion."
- This eulogy contains 3 key words: karma Power, dependent origination, and emptiness of nature.
Therefore, it is said that all dharmas arise and die depending on causes and conditions. They have no autonomy and their nature is like illusion. Just like what the Diamond Sutra says: "All conditioned dharmas are like dreams and bubbles, like dew." Like electricity, you should observe it like this. "And those enemies who harm you are actually caused by karma, and they can't help it when troubles arise. After knowing this truth, we should understand that enemies are also very pitiful, and everything is like A dream is like a play. In the play, there is fighting, killing, crying, and fussing. After the play is over, the protagonists hold hands and say, "Let's go have supper!" Don't take it seriously.
Life is like a dream. This is not only a Buddhist saying. Many ancient Greek philosophers, Taoists, Confucians, etc. use dreams to describe life, such as Zhuang Zhou’s Dream of Butterflies, Nan Ke’s Dream, Huang Liang’s Dream, and Su Dongpo’s Eternal Sigh. : "Life is like a dream, a bottle can bring back the moon on the river", as well as modern interpretations of dreams such as "Inception" - however, they, including us, think that this is just a metaphor, and the Buddha Experts, through their actual practice, have proven that this is not a metaphor, but a fact - this is a ground-breaking discovery! It's just that most people can't understand it, so they label it "negative". Therefore, the real truth is only in the hands of a few people. Just like what is said in the "Tao Te Ching": "When a superior man hears the Tao, he practices it diligently; when a middle man hears the Tao, he lives or perishes; when a junior man hears the Tao, he laughs. Not laughing is not enough to practice the Tao."
For those who are afraid of work, going to work every day feels like visiting a grave. So, you can think of it this way: I went to work today just to act in a play with my boss, colleagues, and clients. A competent actor will play the role very seriously, but he will never take it seriously and act in the world with a worldly mind. thing. This will help you balance your mood better.
Let me teach you a little trick: walk out of the house every day, look up at the sky, imagine yourself swallowing the sun into your belly, your whole body is warm and bright, and then you can pass this warmth and brightness to the people around you, think like this , ensuring you are full of positive energy throughout the day. You might as well give it a try.
2. My enemy hurts me, what should I do?
First of all, we should always think about our own mistakes and see what we have done wrong and bad. Be strict with yourself and be lenient with others. Put aside your own problems, if the other party is indeed wrong, then put yourself in their shoes and understand the other party, "The Great Wall is thousands of miles long, so why not let him be three feet tall!" This is not cowardice, but the Confucian "loyalty and forgiveness", Buddha It’s just the “compassion” of the family.
Buddhist compassion is based on these foundations: 1. All living beings are equal; 2. All living beings reincarnate endlessly, and they have all been my mother. Because they are blocked by ignorance and driven by karma, they create karma and harm us. 3. When we get rid of ignorance, we will find that nothing is real and everything we think is real is just created by our false consciousness. Just like time and space are just illusions of ours, modern physics, including Einstein, has recognized this. After understanding the above points, we can move to the next step.
1. Think of your enemy as a patient.
"Maybe he stabbed himself with a thorn due to carelessness, or he went on a hunger strike to win his wife's heart, or he went on a hunger strike because of grief, or he jumped off a cliff or hanged himself, swallowed poisonous food, and acted recklessly, causing harm to himself. "Those who cherish their own lives will end up killing themselves because of confusion, but they will not cause any harm to others. Therefore, we should have compassion for those who harm us. It is not appropriate to be compassionate and angry."
——Some people, when troubles arise, are unable to control themselves at all, and do all kinds of harm to their bodies, such as cigarette butt burns, knife cuts, hunger strikes, even taking poison, jumping off cliffs, etc., and they do not hesitate to give up the life that is the most cherished thing in the world. . It is understandable that he would do some harm to those of us who have nothing to do with him. They can't help it either. "Like all loving mothers, they especially love their sick children, and like all Bodhisattvas, they especially show mercy to the despicable ones." If a mental patient scolds me, I won't be angry because I know he is sick. Well, in fact, all living beings in reincarnation, covered by ignorance and ignorance, are terminally ill. They are my loving old mother, but now she suffers from amnesia and mental illness. She scolds me and hits me. How can I bear to fight back? What about fighting back against her? "Because we understand, we are compassionate."
2. Think about the harm caused by language.
"The mind has no body, and no one can destroy it. If the mind clings to this body, it will surely suffer all kinds of harm. ? Using contemptuous words, vulgar words, and uttering evil words are not harmful to the body, so why are you angry in the mind?" ”
——This is the application of the principle of emptiness to get rid of the displeasure, anger, hatred, etc. caused by slander, ridicule, insults, etc. towards others.
First of all, language itself is actually empty, just like an echo in a hollow valley, it has no lethality. For example, if someone scolds you affectionately and with a smile in a dialect or foreign language that you don't understand, you may think that he is praising you and feel happy. It can be seen that what hurts us is not the language itself, but our thoughts, the consciousness that can distinguish. And many times, we are deceived by this consciousness.
Secondly, this so-called "heart" is also formless, colorless, and empty. Therefore, just like hitting the void with a stone, will the void be damaged? Similarly, the body is not as real as we think. Buddhism uses many methods to specifically analyze this truth. I won’t go into details here due to the time relationship.
3. See the essence through the phenomenon, why bother to have the same knowledge as him.
"If you harm others, it is because of your own stupidity, and it is irrational to be angry with them, just like anger burning the fire of nature. ? If it is accidental, and there is a kind and virtuous person, then anger is also irrational, just like the smoke of anger covering the sky. "
——When the enemy harms us, if his nature is bad, there is no need to hate him, just like fire has the nature to burn. If we are burned by the fire, should we blame the fire? No, what we have to do is to be careful and stay away from the harm of fire. We modern people have a saying: "Stay away from garbage people." In ancient times, there was a saying: "Fighting with villains is like fighting tigers with bare arms." Since their nature is like this, what's the use of getting angry? So, don't be like them.
If it is not their nature, but only happens occasionally, just like smoke and clouds occasionally covering the clear sky, then there is no reason to hate this person with a virtuous nature. He is only occasionally blinded by troubles, forgive him. What's wrong with him this time? In short, we should not make things difficult for ourselves. If you can do this, who can really harm you? Confucius said: "A gentleman has three virtues: a benevolent man has no worries, a wise man has no confusion, and a brave man has no fear!" It is true. Personally, I think that this "benevolence, wisdom, and courage" actually echoes each other on some levels with the "wisdom, compassion, and strength" that Buddhism talks about.
4. Keep practicing meditation and massage your soul!
Lao Tzu said, "To reach the extreme of emptiness, keep stillness and sincerity." The Confucian classic "The Great Learning" says: "Knowing and stopping can then lead to concentration, concentration can then lead to tranquility, tranquility can then lead to tranquility, tranquility can then lead to thinking, and worrying can then lead to tranquility. You can get it." Buddhists say that "precepts produce concentration, and concentration produces wisdom." Everyone attaches great importance to this "concentration", and there must be a reason for it. Nowadays, there are more and more yoga classes and meditation classes at home and abroad. In fact, this has nothing to do with faith. Meditation can treat insomnia and depression, help us control bad emotions, and make us healthier and clearer both physically and mentally. This I suggest you give it a try, even for 5 minutes a day.
Having said all this, I know that many people find it difficult to accept some of the truths in it at once, and there must be a lot of confusion or doubts. In fact, these are all profound truths and wisdom. , but we have become accustomed to our inherent thinking mode, so when we encounter something that conflicts with it, we will definitely send out strong resistance to resist. There are also some people who will say: "I know all the principles you are talking about, and there is nothing new, but it is difficult to do it." Just like Zen Master Niaoyi said to Bai Juyi: "Although a three-year-old child knows it, an eighty-year-old man can do it." No! "Why do you know you can't do it? That is, we do not integrate knowledge and practice, and do not conduct continuous practical training and practice. Therefore, Buddhism emphasizes equal emphasis on listening, thinking, and practice, which means integrating theory with practice and integrating knowledge and action. If you don’t practice cultivation, just talking about it won’t do. The subtlety and greatness of Buddhism lies not only in the fact that it has a systematic theory, but also in that it also has a complete, rigorous, systematic and step-by-step practical system of practice. Enlightenment alone is not enough. Enlightenment, teaching and demonstration are required. Both are indispensable, and this is the true Dharma. Therefore, Buddhism is not just a philosophy or a religion, it is also an empirical science.
Due to time constraints, no further narration will be given here. There are many topics that I will discuss later when I have the opportunity. I just picked out a few hymns at random today. There are many similar things in the sutras and treatises. It is difficult to grasp the subtlety, depth and breadth of Buddhism with just a drop in the ocean and with my humble wisdom.
I just want everyone to know that just pulling out a little bit from the ocean of Buddhism can solve many of our life's big problems. It depends on whether you want to use it and whether you can use it. So, having said so much tonight, how far is the Buddha from us? It's not a thousand miles away, it's just a layer of window paper. If you are willing, you can break it with just one poke. Buddhism is inseparable from worldly awareness. Buddhism is neither lofty nor illusory; it is around us and in our hearts. Buddhism is all dharmas, and all dharmas are one with me. As the saying goes, "The green bamboos are all Dharmakaya. The gloomy yellow flowers are nothing but Prajna." When one thought is lost, Buddha is a living being, and when one thought is enlightened, all living beings are Buddha. May each of us be able to open up our own wisdom, turn away from confusion and become enlightened, find our true self, light up our inner lamp, get rid of our worries, cherish the present moment, and feel at ease physically and mentally!
2019-5-5 Yu Ruoshuixuan