(Chapter 13 ) 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 13: Ask about the Dao and destiny
A Sramana asked the Buddha: ”By what cause and condition could we
know our destiny and understand it to reach the Dao?” The Buddha replied,”
Purifying our own heart and obeying our own aspiration could understand and
reach the Dao, such as grinding the mirror, the dirt is removed and the shine
is kept; cutting off the desire and no demanding, we would surely gain the
destiny.
Sramana (श्रमण śramaṇa) is in Sanskrit. In Buddhism, Sramana means the
Buddhist monk. The Sramana who asks the question has not yet reach the Dao and
has not yet attained the Buddhahood. He is like the general people and eager to
know his destiny.
Since ancient times,
fortune telling has been around the world. Moreover, the method of
fortune-telling is also diverse, and the question what has been cared is also
very different. If we are not Sramana, how could it be possible for us to care
about his question? But, I hope you know that his question and the reply of
Buddha are really concerned about our destiny.
Everyone’s
destiny is different with each other. Don't worry others destiny is not
corresponding to our expectation. That is because everyone has its own life which
must be experienced, no matter it is good or bad.
I have followed my
interesting and have research the relatives' destiny for a while. I have found
that everyone’s destiny is different. What is your destiny may be not what you
have thought. What you expect someone’s destiny may be not what you expect.
Finally, I have an
experience. Do not impose your dream, need and expectation on those who have
their own dream and have their destiny, because your dream is not someone
else’s dream. Your destiny is not the fate of others. As long as someone else
does not do any harmful things to itself and others, just do not care or worry
about someone else's destiny.
For example, someone’s mind
just hopes its spouse to be a medical doctor so that they could have a steady
and wealthy life. But, how do you know that your spouse would create a company
and become a boss who owns the company valued more than 150 billion US dollars
in the future.
On the contrary, someone’s
mind has a big dream and hopes its spouse to run a company so that they could
earn a lot of money to raise their family. But, how could they know that there
is no wealth in their destiny. And finally, they live a poverty life.
Please
hold on our own dream if we think it is right to do, because our ideal destiny
is waiting for us.
Similarly, what we want to
do just follow our intuition and reasonable thinking, because we should be
responsible for ourselves, and our dream and destiny is not someone else's
dream and fate. So, please respect someone else’s dream, choice and its
destiny. And please hold on our own dream if we think it is right to do,
because our ideal destiny is waiting for us.
So, there is a Chinese
saying, “It is hard to buy the earlier-knowing by thousand gold.” No matter
what happened, we will go into our destiny.
No
matter we are in the good or bad destiny, it is possible to change the destiny,
from good to be bad, or from bad to be good.
If we are in the bad fate, we might have one question: can
we change our destiny? The answer is yes. No matter we are in the good or bad
destiny, it is possible to change the destiny, from good to be bad, or from bad
to be good. Why? And How?
If the fortune-telling tells that we have a good destiny, we
do not need to be happy too earlier. Because if we do not have an effort and do
the good things in our life, how could it be possible for us to have a good
destiny?
On the contrary, if the fortune-telling tells that our
destiny may not be as good as we wish, we do not need to be upset every day. As
long as we do the good things, especially the virtue things, such as to learn
Buddha, the bad destiny absolutely would be changed by our effort in doing good
things.
In Buddhism,
the destiny is similar to consequences of some kind of retribution that someone
would have to bear or enjoy.
In Buddhism, the destiny is
similar to consequences of some kind of retribution that someone would have to
bear or enjoy. That is because what have been done in its past life and which
is as the reason. We call it karma, the strength of conduct and action. In the
past life, if we had ever done the good karma, the strength of good conduct and
action, we would have the good consequences of retribution to enjoy in the
present life or in the future.
On the contrary, in the
past life, if we had ever done the evil karma, the strength of evil conduct and
action, we would have to bear the evil consequences of retribution in the
present life and in the future life. We call it the fixed karma. So, in
Buddha’s teaching, there are a lot of convenient methods to eliminate our fixed
karma. Only completely eliminating our evil karma, it is possible for us to
have the bliss in our future life.
Most people have the good
karma and evil karma at the same time. Only few people have the merely good
karma or the exclusively bad karma. In Buddhism, whatever what we have done is
good or evil would be recorded by our own Spirit-conscious. After we died and
are in the different world, we would be judged by the king of hell who is some
kind of god and actually it is Bodhisattva.
How
could we be sure to know about our destiny? The reply of Buddha could give us a
good suggestion and offer us a good reference.
We also have one question.
Does what the fortune-telling tells is true? Not necessarily to be true.
Mostly, we may be in the half belief and in the half doubt. So, how could we be
sure to know about our destiny? The reply of Buddha could give us a good
suggestion and offer us a good reference.
The Sramana wanted to learn
Buddha. He wanted to do the virtue things. But, he had the question about his
destiny and how to understand the Dao and how to reach it. Do you know? It is
not everyone to have the chance and destiny to be a Sramana. If we have never
done any good things in our past life, it is impossible for us to be Sramana.
Furthermore, if we had ever
been a Sramana in our past life and we didn’t have vowed to be Sramana in our
next life, it is impossible for us to be Sramana in this life.
Whether
the chance and destiny is good or not, would be up to our one thought, what we
have decided and what we have done. Good chance and good destiny would not be
fall from the sky with no reason and with no condition.
Some of the Buddhist monks
who practice the Buddhism well and have good karma would reincarnate to be king
or to be son of rich man in their next life. That is called bliss of
retribution or bliss-repaying, the result of good karma. Because they have good
reason and good karma in their past life, so in the present life, they still
have more chance and destiny to learn Buddha.
However, if they don’t
seize the opportunity and destiny to keep learning Buddha, but indulge in the
worldly enjoyment, it is possible for them to fall into and go into the three
evil paths after their death. Actually, many of their current retribution are
on the evil paths in the present life.
So, whether the chance and
destiny is good or not, would be up to our one thought, what we have decided
and what we have done. Good chance and good destiny would not be fall from the
sky with no reason and with no condition.
If we do not rely on the
fortune-telling, how could we know our destiny? This question is quite similar
to the question what the Sramana ask to the Buddha. What the difference is that
the Sramana’s goal is to understand and reach the Dao, however, the goal of the
general people is to understand and reach the worldly bliss.
The Dao has the great
meaning for the Sramana. That is why one person wants to be Sramana, because he
wants to reach the Dao through the practice in the Sramana's conduct, action,
or thought. We might have one question. What is the Dao? In the Chapter 2, the
Buddha had mentioned what is the Dao. It is as follows:
Chapter 2: Cutting off the desire and no
demanding
The Buddha said, “Those who go out of the
family, become the Sramana, cut off the desire, remove the love, recognize the
source of their own heart, reach the profound principle of the Buddha, realize
the law of no-doing, have nothing being gained inside, have nothing being
demanded outside, not to fasten the Dao in heart, nor to collect the karma,
have no thoughts, have the no-doing, are non-practicing, are non-proving, not
to experience the successive levels, but reach the own loftiest state of all,
are called the Dao.”
The further explanation you
can refer to and link to the following: Chapter
2: Cutting off the desire and no demanding, if you have not yet read this
article.
The above-mentioned realm
of Dao is similar to the realm of Buddha. It is one part of the Dao of Buddha.
But, it is not completely the same. The supreme Dao is the Dao of Buddha, the
path of Buddha. Such supreme Dao is really the goal which we want to reach if
we sincerely learn Buddha.
What is the difference
between the Dao mentioned in Chapter 2 and the supreme Dao of Buddha? In a
word, the Dao mentioned in Chapter 2 is only for self-saving and
self-liberation. Such energy is just used for self-help. However, the
supreme-Buddha Dao is on the basis of completely self-saving and
self-liberation, and of the compassion and joy, so as to have the capability to
save and liberate the sentient beings from the suffering. So, such energy is not
just for self-help, but also could help others.
As we have mentioned in
Chapter 12 (20)《 (Chapter
12 ﹝20﹞ ) : Good at understanding
the convenience is difficult.》, each Buddha has its own convenient methods to
save and liberate the sentient beings from the suffering. Such methods are
quite diverse and some of them are beyond our mind. It is very flexible and
creative, even to be incredible. If you have ever met them, you might want to
burst out, ”What a crazy man. ”
Everything
what we have met has the good meaning for us, if we know how to learn something
from it.
You might have one
question. If we are not Sramana and we are not interesting in learning Buddha,
what is the meaning of Dao for us? Actually, everything what we have met has
the good meaning for us, if we know how to learn something from it.
The Buddha replied,” Purifying our own heart and obeying our own
aspiration could understand and reach the Dao, such as grinding the mirror, the
dirt is removed and the shine is kept; cutting off the desire and no demanding,
we would surely gain the destiny.
In a word, what the Buddha
said is to calm our mind and to let our heart be in the stillness and
clearness. Don’t fall into the abyss of desire, because once we fall into the
abyss of desire and are in the black hole, how could we climb up to the wide
land, see the bright sun and keep going to our goal, so as to obey and complete
our own aspiration?
The Sramana’s aspiration is
self-saving and then to have the ability to save others. That is to attain the
Buddhahood. And what is your aspiration?
Our heart is like the magic crystal ball or the magic mirror which could appear anything and prophet our future.
If we have more desire, we would have more demands. Such greedy heart would let us make crime unconsciously. It would be like the dirt which would pollute our heart and cover the light of the heart.
Our heart is like a mirror.
We call it heart-mirror. Such heart-mirror would shine by itself. It is like
the magic crystal ball or the magic mirror which could appear anything and
prophet our future. It is not fairy tale, but is true.
“Magic mirror! Magic
mirror! Tell me who is the most beautiful woman in the world?”
“Magic crystal ball! Magic
crystal ball! Show me where is the gold-treasure to be hidden? ”
Ha! Ha! It is ok to ask our
own heart-mirror.
Some people call it the
third-eye which can see what cannot be seen by our naked eyes. That is also the
self-nature in every one. The self-nature is also like the treasure-pearl which
could obedient to our own wish. Such treasure-pearl could light our life and
our future. It is so precious.
Our un-meaningful and
endless desires and demands would not only disturb and poison our
stillness-clearness heart, but also cover the light shined by the heart. Once
the heart is like a mirror to be contaminated by thick dust, that is the
endless desires and unnecessarily demanding, the shine of heart is disappeared.
In the dark, how could we see anything from our own heart-mirror?
Stop
greedy and have no unnecessarily demanding in inter and outer physical and
mental body, our heart would be shine again and we could see anything
concerning about us from our own heart-mirror. Then, we surely know our destiny
by ourselves.
So what should be cut off are the un-meaningful and endless
desires which could birth our greedy, let us do harmful things to others, and
make us to be a sin person. To harm others is really to harm self. So to stop
greedy and have no unnecessarily demanding in inter and outer physical and
mental body, our heart would be shine again and we could see anything
concerning about us from our own heart-mirror. Then, we surely know our destiny
by ourselves.
For the Sramana, to cut off desires and no demands are very
important practice in learning Buddha. It can't go into the sky by only one
step. Our heart is so easy to be affected by any outer or inter reasons and
conditions. So the heart is very easy to be moved (or shaken) and thus in the
chaos. Once our heart is moved(or shaken), we cannot see and judge anything
clearly. That is why to cut off desires and no demands is like to grind mirror
which should be done in step by step.
p.s. Dao is Tao, which is
transliterated from Chinese. The original meaning of Dao is the way and it is
extended to be the truth of life that we can learn and practice in our lives.
Supplementary note: Dao is
transliterated from Chinese, meaning way and method, deeper meaning as a system
of learning or religion.
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