How to get rid of your own difficulties and troubles in life

  

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

People may face serious life difficulties and troubles at a certain stage in their life, and the life difficulties and troubles faced by everyone are not necessarily the same, because everyone’s fate, the people and things they face, the environment, and their circumstances are different. Secondly, everyone's personality, thoughts, attitudes and endurance of facing people and things are different. This will affect the degree to which we perceive the difficulties and troubles we face in life.

And some unsatisfactory general environment is difficult to change by our current personal ability, but this does not affect us to use our own strength to change ourselves and free ourselves from the quagmire of difficulties.

When we are faced with difficulties and troubles in life, we should analyze carefully, which has other and self-caused parts. "Other cause" means that the factors that cause our difficulties and troubles in life come from other people or external factors, and "self-cause" means that this factor comes from ourselves or internal factors. When most people face difficulties and troubles in life, their first reaction is to blame others. They only think of "other causes," but they can't review themselves. They just can't think of self-causes.

Buddhism is the education of cause and effect. When we are faced with difficulties and troubles in life, this is our own retribution. How to change or eliminate this retribution, we must go back to the part of the cause, carefully examine the cause, and list it one by one. Review, and then completely reverse this cause. As long as this bad cause is changed or eliminated, our bad result can be changed and eliminated. Only in this way can we completely solve the difficulties and troubles we face in life.

Give a simple example to illustrate that most people have had this kind of self-seeking trouble experience. A sentence from others that is aimed at others rather than us, you can see or hear it and you can put it on yourself, restrain yourself, torture yourself and cause your own troubles, and therefore make yourself unhappy. At this time, the cause of this trouble lies in oneself rather than others. Therefore, it is yourself that should change. This kind of self-change requires some methods, but also some time and life experience. Many of the basic practices of Buddhism are taught in this area, allowing us to practice the power of meditation and the power of wisdom to avoid being trapped in this self-seeking trouble.

When we change or eliminate the part of the self-cause, we can face, change and eliminate the part of the other cause more rationally when we face the difficulties and troubles in our life caused by the part of the other cause. For example, we may face difficulties and troubles brought to us by relatives and friends every day. For example, if parents quarrel or divorce due to financial problems, if we are innocent children, we will be forced to face the dilemma and troubles caused by them. For an underage child, he may not have the ability to face and deal with such dilemmas and troubles, and adults must guide him and protect him. However, for an adult child, he may be more able to understand the plight and troubles of his parents, and he may also be able to assist his parents in solving their plight and troubles, and then help himself to solve such plights and troubles. The application of the method is flexible. As long as you understand and understand the part of the cause, you can help them solve the part of the result. This is the basic principle. The reason for each parent's quarrel is different, and there is no absolute method that applies uniformly. If you don't know and understand the part of this cause, anyone who helps solve the problem of parents' quarrels will only scratch their feet through their boots, and will not solve the fundamental problem anyway.

Therefore, to resolve other causes, we must still make good use of our own social experience, observation, analysis, understanding, and empathy, in order to truly solve the dilemmas and troubles brought to us by other factors. Without sensibly blaming others, it will not help us to solve any difficulties and troubles. We must understand this.

In short, how to get rid of one’s own life’s predicaments and worries is to understand the law of cause and effect, understand the operating principle of the law of cause and effect, and completely change the part of the effect from the cause. Difficulties and troubles in life are the manifestation of a kind of effect. When the cause is changed or eliminated, the effect will naturally be changed and eliminated. The principle is simple, but the method can be used flexibly.

Mr. Dharma, the founder of and the first generation-master of Chinese Zen.

Writer: Tao Qing Hsu

A legend person who lived 150 years

The name of Mr. Dharma in Sanskrit is बोधिधर्म and is named as Bodhidharma, who is born in south India about the year A.D. 382 and is dead in China about the year A.D. 535. According to the records, documents and the legend, he is a Buddhist monk and has the life for 150 years. When he is young, he is a prince and educated well by his family of Royal. When he arrives in China and begins to transmit the Zen-Law, it is the 67 years after the death of his teacher of Zen in India.

Therefore, we can speculate that he is already over 80 years old when he arrives in China. At that time, the average life expectancy of humans is less than 50 years. Mr. Dharma is indeed a longevity person. But, do you know why he lives so long? There are some stories about him and the documents recorded by his oral teachings, which can make us know why he lives so long.

It is not easy to understand Mr. Dharma's oral teachings.

His oral teachings are very valuable and important for us and could help us solve our puzzle in learning Buddha. To understand his oral teachings, we must have the basic concept and experience in practicing the Buddha’s teaching. However, if we want to realize his oral teachings, we even have to own the profound concept of Buddhism and deeply experience in learning Buddha.

Even though those who have the basic concept and experience in practicing the Buddha’s teaching, they may be unable to understand what Mr. Dharma has talked about and what he has taught. That is also why his oral teachings are unable to be spread widely in the environment of Buddhism in the history.

The wise is always alone.

Do you know? It is not easy to be a founder and transmitter of Zen in the oversea. Meanwhile, it is very lonely to experience the process of Zen-transmitting, because no one could understand what Mr. Dharma is doing and what is the purpose. Secondly, it is also not easy to find the like-minded people who are willing to follow him. But, why he wants to do that? It is because that he is authorized by his teacher to come with a mission.

The Chinese Emperor Liang Wu who devotes himself in Buddhism

When Mr. Dharma takes a boat and comes in China, he meets the Emperor Liang Wu, who believes in Buddhism and supports the Buddha’s teaching a lot. But, it ’s a pity that the Emperor Liang Wu doesn't know what Zen is. The Emperor Liang Wu is good at the poems and martial arts. He has ever been the Buddhist monk and is a vegan.

When he becomes the Emperor, he devotes himself in Buddhism, spends a lot of money to support the collation of literature, history and Buddhism. Meanwhile, he supports to build temples and statues of Buddhism, to copy scriptures and to offer things to numberless Buddhist monks (or nuns).

The wonderful conversation about merit in Buddhism

When he knows that Mr. Dharma learns Buddhism well, he asks him, "How much merit did I do for these things?" Mr. Dharma says, "No merit." The Emperor Liang Wu asks, "Why is there no merit?" Mr. Dharma says, "These things are the doing things, which are belonged to the blessing effect and repaying of human and heaven. It ’s not a real merit. ” The Emperor Liang Wu asks,“ How is the true merit? ” Mr. Dharma replies,“ The pure wisdom is the wonderful perfect. The body itself is empty and silent. Such merit could not be asked by us by means of the world. ”   

After hearing that, the Emperor Liang Wu is very unhappy. The host and guest are thus broken up. The unsuccessful meeting between Mr. Dharma and the Emperor Liang Wu does not make Mr. Dharma lose faith. Mr. Dharma decides to cross the river and goes toward the north to transmit the Zen-Law.

The legend by a reed to cross the river

It is getting late, and there are no boats on the vast river. Mr. Dharma faced the West with his palms closed, He murmurs: I come here from the west with deeply secret connotation. If the Zen-Law could not be born, I would sink into the river; if the Zen-Law could be prosperous, the god of heaven will help me too.

Then, Mr. Dharma picks a reed and throws it into the river, and immediately picks up the monk's robe, stands on the reed, and drives straight towards the heart of the river, floating across the river. Mr. Dharma crosses the river to Luoyang, enters the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, and seats quietly for nine years.

The founder of the Shaolin Kung Fu

According to the legend, Mr. Dharma is the founder of the Shaolin Kung Fu (the Chinese Kung Fu). The related documents and tips are preserved and transmitted for the following generations. These parts would help those (who learn Buddhism) strong their physical body to be healthy.

Motion and stillness are as one.

From the above mentioned, we may have the concept why Mr. Dharma has the longevity life. We could find that he focuses on the practice in mental and physical body. That is, the mental body is in the stillness. However, the physical body is in the motion. When the physical body moves to do anything, the mental body keeps peaceful.

The verse is left by Mr. Dharma.

Finally, Mr. Dharma transmits the Zen-Law to his disciple, the Zen-master Huike. The following verse is left by Mr. Dharma:

I originally come to this land,

For spreading the Zen-Law

To save those beings who lose the self-nature,

One flower blooms five leaves,

The result will be completed naturally.

This verse tells the purpose and also predicts the future of Chinese Zen, which is the prosperous of the Zen-Law.

The related articles:

The Origin of Zen

Why Zen can be developed and flourished well in the history of China, but not in India?

The Origin of Zen

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

Pinch a flower and smile. Outside of teaching, other imparting, one heart to confirm the other heart.

When Buddha Shakyamuni is on the spirit-vulture mountain, he pinches a flower and shows to his disciples and the masses. All of them are silent and do not understand what the meaning is. Only a Buddhist monk Mahakassapa smiles with comprehend about this.

Then, Buddha Shakyamuni says, ” I have the correct-law-eye-treasure, Nirvana wondrous heart. The true phenomenon is without phenomenon. The wondrous law-gate, no text is established. There is the other imparting outside of teaching. These imparting are delivered to Mahakassapa.”

This is the origin of Zen. “The correct-law-eye-treasure” is translated from Chinese into English. “law” here means “Buddha-law”. “correct law” means the whole Buddha law. “eye” here means “to see and reflect the all things clearly”. “treasure” here means “to include the all things”.

The true phenomenon is without phenomenon.

So, what Zen is imparted is the whole Buddha law which is reflected the all things and it could be seen by us. It is the treasure which could lead us into the Nirvana with our wondrous heart. What is the wondrous heart? It is to realize that the true phenomenon is without phenomenon. How can we go into the gate of such wondrous Buddha law? Its password and secret is the wondrous heart and no text. Such special and wondrous Buddha law is outside of the normal Buddha’s teaching and these imparting are delivered to Mahakassapa.

Mahakassapa is the first generation of India Zen. The word "Zen" is transliterated from Chinese. The system of Zen imparts from the first generation which is the only one, to the next generation which is also the only one. The method is one heart to confirm the other heart. In other word, at the same generation, the second person has no chance to gain the confirming from the Zen master. This rule continues until the sixth generation of Chinese Zen. After him, Zen is broadly imparted and delivered in China.

The essence of Zen is speechless and no text.

The Indian Zen is from Mahakassapa to Dharma, which is totally imparted 28 generations. Dharma can speak and read in Chinese and he imparts Zen in China. He is respected as the first generation of Chinese Zen. From the first generation to the sixth generation in Chinese Zen, there is only one person who can be confirmed as the next enlightened Zen master in each generation. In Zen, each Zen master will leave his verses as confirmation of enlightenment.  

There is no text. Why? That is because it is from one mind to communicate to the other mind in the emptiness. Where you can find the text? It is unless someone records it on the paper.

If someone could not perceive the self spiritual awakening, it is hardly for him to experience and prove the emptiness-nature, and to experience the communication from one mind to the other mind in the emptiness. It is hardly for us to be imparted and confirmed from Zen master in the emptiness, unless we are the top supreme wise person, and have the merit and virtue in learning Buddha.

One flower with five leaves. The result is completed naturally.

In the worldly, there are golden-thread dresses and bowl to be used as Zen heritage tokens which stops to deliver by Zen master Huineng who is the sixth generation of Chinese Zen.

Zen is not easy to be understood by the masses. That is why it is single imparting, and why the Zen is the mystery and puzzle for the masses, and why it is not publicly known in India.

Zen is publicly known by the masses since the Master Huineng, the sixth generation of Chinese Zen. His time is in A.D.638-713. The master Huineng imparts Zen for five disciples who are confirmed to be enlightened in Zen. Then, these five disciples develop Zen everywhere in China. And at the same time, Zen is also imparting to Japan and Korea.

Our natural wisdom is speechless.

The Zen master Huineng is illiteracy. As we know above, no text is established in Zen. That is what the interesting. The illiteracy doesn’t be the obstacle to be enlightened in wisdom. That is a special record in the Buddhist history. This record also lets us know that, whatever the language is spoken, it is not the obstacle for enlightening our natural wisdom. Why?

Any language is developed in a social group. As we have mentioned before, the grandest Dao is speechless. That is, our natural wisdom is speechless. Once we realize our natural wisdom, whether we are illiteracy or what language we speak is not so important. Any text or language is just to help us more easily understand what our natural wisdom is. In other word, any text and language itself is not the natural wisdom. When we want to enlighten our natural wisdom, we even have to abandon any text and language in the temporarily.