(Chapter 12 ﹝4﹞ ) A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha
Co-translators in the time of Eastern Han Dynasty, China(A.D. 25 - 200) : Kasyapa Matanga and Zhu Falan (Who translated the said Scripture from Sanskrit into Chinese. )
Translator in modern time (A.D.2018: Tao Qing Hsu (Who translated the said Scripture from Chinese into English.)
Teacher and writer for explaining the said Scripture: Tao Qing Hsu
Chapter 12: List the difficulties and exhort to practice
The Buddha said,” There are twenty difficulties for people. Giving something to others is difficult when people are in poor. Learning the Dao is difficult when people are in the huge wealth and are the nobility. It is hard to the people when they must die because their lives have to be abandoned. Being able to see the scripture of Buddha is difficult. Being born in the time of Buddha is difficult. Enduring the erotic and desire is difficult. Seeing the self-interest and not to pursue it is difficult. No resentment when being humiliated is difficult. When having the authority and not to draw near to ordinary people is difficult. When contact with things and no heart is difficult. Learning widely and researching extensively are difficult. Removing the ego-arrogance is difficult. Not to despise the un-learner is difficult. Practicing the equality in heart is difficult. Not saying its right or wrong is difficult. Meeting the good-knowledge person is difficult. Seeing the Nature and learning the Dao are difficult. According to conditions to reform people so as to save them is difficult. Seeing the circumstance and unmoved in heart are difficult. Good at understanding the convenience is difficult.
Chapter 12 ﹝4﹞: Being able to see the scripture of Buddha is difficult.
Being able to see the Buddhist Scripture is
difficult. This is the fourth difficulty said by Buddha in this chapter. We
might be curious why the Buddha Sakyamuni said that?
Why it is difficult for the public to see the Buddhist Scripture?
In ancient time, most people are illiteracy, and
are pressured or oppressed by living, family, society or the government.
Secondly, they might be living in the time of war, and of famine. In a word, they
are suffering the life and death. For them, it has been already difficult for
them to survive. How could they have the mood and time to seek the Buddhist Scripture
and read it, let alone to seek the wisdom? In other word, it is the groups that
are lack of bliss and blessing.
Furthermore, due to the isolation and the
difference of the language and of the word, the Scripture of Buddha is hardly
to be translated from the Sanskrit into the other language completely, let
alone to circulate in the different society or country freely. In the ancient,
being able to translate the different language is not easy.
In addition, the most important is that the
translators must understand the Buddhism and have put it into the practice so
that they could translate the Buddhist Scripture perfectly and surely to
transmit the meaning of Buddhism.
If we want to translate the scripture of Buddha
from the Sanskrit into our language, it has to take a lot of time, and need a
lot of people and funding. As we know, in that time, there is no translating
software.
In China of the ancient time, the translation
for the Scripture of Buddha is sponsored and supported by the state,
especially, in the time of Tang Dynasty. In that time, the houses and places
for used in translation are set up by the government, and which could contain
more than 100 persons who are responsible for the translation professionally.
Those are not included the people who are responsible for the cooking, cleaning
and so on.
So, we can see that the government of Tang
Dynasty is very concerned about the promotion and spread of the Buddhism. In
the development of Chinese history, the Buddhism has developed the Chinese
characteristics and become one part of Chinese culture. Even today, such
Chinese characteristics are still developed well in China and Taiwan.
Moreover, the Buddhism has transmitted into
Korean and Japan since the Tang Dynasty. The Korean and Japanese Buddhist
Scripture are preserved well in their country. And it also develops the Korean
and Japanese characteristics of the Buddhism. In China, Korea and Japan, the
development of this system is called Mahayana Buddhism. In Thailand, Myanmar,
Nepal, Buddhism has also developed very well.
The version of hand copy might be eaten by worm,
or might be destroyed by fire or by war. In the history of China, Buddhism had been destroyed twice by the different emperors. What have been destroyed
includes the Scripture of Buddha. For protecting the Buddhist Scripture, some
Buddhist monk began to do something, and the action was sponsored and supported
by the nobility. In that time, the nobility was educated well and they have the
chance and time to read the Buddhist Scripture and to understand it. Buddhist
monk thus engraved the Buddhist Scriptures on the slate of stone and hidden
them in the caves in deep mountain so as to avoid any destruction from the war.
As we know, when the public are ignorant and
most of them are illiteracy, they are easy to humiliate Buddha or to destroy
the Buddhist Scripture, In fact, to humiliate Buddha is equal to humiliate
oneself. Buddha is not else. It refers to our heart. All sentient beings have
the Buddha-nature. We are the future Buddha.
Secondly, the printing and typography has not
yet been invented and is also not developed well in that time. Third, some of
the Buddhist Scripture is not allowed by Buddha to pass to those people who are
lack of wisdom and virtue, because they might misused the Buddhist Scripture
for seeking the personal profit. Such Buddhist Scripture is only allowed in
secret to pass to those disciples who have understood the Buddha-nature. That
is why Buddhist Scriptures cannot do a good circulation in the public. So, that
is also why to see the Buddhist Scripture is difficult.
The translated Buddhist Scripture is protected
well in China and Taiwan. Some is protected well in Korea and Japan. However,
out of such districts, most of the Buddhist Scripture are destroyed by the
hatred people in the war, which include the original Buddhist scripture in
Sanskrit.
People must have the following reasons and conditions so that they
have the opportunity to see or read the Buddhist scripture, to hear the
teaching of Buddha, and to learn the Buddha.
In the scripture of Buddha, the Buddha Sakyamuni
had mentioned that people must have the following reasons and conditions so
that they have the opportunities to see or read the Buddhist scripture, to hear
the teaching of Buddha, and to learn the Buddha.
First, we must have the deep cultivation for the
roots of virtue in our present life and in our past life. That is, we have done
and accumulated a lot of good karma.
Second, we have already supported countless
Buddha in our past numberless life.
Third, we must have virtuous reasons and good
conditions. That is, we have a root of virtue in ourselves, and itself is the virtuous
reason and good condition.
Fourth, we must have the basic bliss, such as we
have basic financial resources to support our life and to support the
Buddha-learner; we are literacy; we could understand text, and have the basic
intelligence and IQ.
Fifth, even we are illiteracy, but, we have
above said reasons and conditions, we still have the opportunity to see the
Buddhist scripture, to hear the teaching of Buddha, and to learn the Buddha.
Sixth, according to my observation, if people do
not have the open and curious mind, it is hard for them to see the Buddhist
Scripture. In other word, if we do not have above reasons and conditions, it is
difficult for us to see the Buddhist Scripture, let alone to read it and learn
it.
It is few that the Buddhist Scripture is translated from Chinese
into English.
In the current time, the printing, typography,
and internet are developed well. If we are willing to see the Buddhist
Scripture with Chinese, and to read it, we are easy to find it. But, if we want
to find and see the Buddhist Scripture which is translated into English, it is
still some kind of difficulty for us, because the amount is few, let alone to
be translated into the other language.
Due to a lot people do not have opportunity to
see and read the Buddhist Scripture, they do not understand the true meaning
said by Buddha, and just have heard a little from the Buddhist monk or nun.
Since the Buddha’s teaching might be misinterpreted by them, the public might
thus misunderstand the teaching of Buddha.
What is the Buddha’s teaching?
In fact, all
the teaching of Buddha just has one key point that is to know and understand
our true heart. That is to know and understand our own Buddha-nature. The rest
of the points is just methods to be used how to know and understand our true
heart. Then, we might have a question. What is our true heart? Which we can
have a reference from the chapter 2. (Chapter
2)A Brief Talk about The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha or Let
heart in peace, no fear and affliction any more (Updated on 2019/07/11)
The methods contain eighty thousand and four
thousand Law-doors. The number doesn’t mean that there are really such amount
methods, but means that it contains various positive methods, and it also means
that the methods could be very flexible and creative.
That is why the methods being used by the
Zen-master might not be understood and accepted by the public. In the ancient,
sometimes, they use their shoes to hit his disciple’s head in some situation;
at this moment, if their disciple arise the heart of hatred, or arise a thought
of question about that, it means that they still could not find their true
heart. Such method could not be used for the modern people, because the modern
people are easy to have the hatred mind and sue to the court for such behavior.
Some of the methods are always mistakenly
understood by the public to be the whole of Buddhism. For example, the method
to chant the Amitabha. And such misunderstanding Buddhism could not be
contented to their expectation or personal desire so that they might disregard,
or criticize the Buddhism.
To support the translation of Buddhist Scripture could plant the
root of virtue to oneself.
Let’s return to the topic. Some people are
dedicated to translate the Buddhist scripture from Chinese into English by
their own force. And some of those Buddhist Scripture could be found in the
internet. Some of them could be read by free. However, some of them have to be
paid because of the copyright.
To support the freely circulation and
translation of Buddhist Scripture could plant the root of virtue to oneself.
Why? That is because when we support the virtuous action of others is to
support us to be a virtuous person. Such blessing and bliss would return and
repay to us at any time.
Of course, if you are interested in the Buddhism
and in the translation of the Buddhist Scripture, why not to join the line to
do the virtue, whatever your language is.
I am still dedicated to translate the Buddhist
Scripture from Chinese into English by my own force continually. I am not just
to translate it, but also to explain it, and post it on the blog to be read
freely. I share those articles from time to time by free.
I sincerely hope that the public could have the
opportunity to read the Buddhist Scripture with their own language by free at
any time. And you are lucky and blessed, if you have read this article.
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