One of the Ten Titles about Buddha -- Should-Make-Offerings

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

  

The Meaning of Should-Make-Offerings

The word Should-Make-Offerings means that the completely practicing and enlightened Tathagata is full of complete virtue and merit, and thus is full of the ability to teach, save and reform the all beings which are included the beings in heaven, so as to liberate all beings from sufferings of life and death. That is, Tathagata is qualified and adequate to hold the Buddha-vocation and that is why the Tathagata is worth to be made offerings by all beings. Therefore, it means that all beings should make offerings to the Tathagata. This all beings include the heavenly beings and the worldly humans.

Why it was called Should-Make-Offerings

Why it was called Should-Make-Offerings. The Buddha said. In the past, when I was in the cause rank, the good laws, solemn and majestic appearance, and the classified of precepts were practiced. The strength of the ten good roots was cultivated so as to make it increased. Thus consummately practicing and learning to attain the ultimate rank. When achieve the Nirvana, cut off and end all worries. To make the body, mouth and mind clean and untainted. Forever destroy worries. Such as to break the head-root of Tala tree, make it never sprout buds. Furthermore, due to ending the worries of greed, anger, and obsession, all the toward-going would never produce the fruition and generate. It was beyond the law of bitter fruitions of the four difficulties of birth (living), aging, illness and dying. The two seeds of confusion and suffering would never be produced. It was established the name of Should-Make-Offerings. Furthermore, make all the clothes, bedding, food and drink, soups and medicines, banners, flags, precious canopies, fragrant flowers, lamps and fruits in the world, and the highest thing in heaven and earth be offered to the Buddha. Obtain the blessing of supreme wealth and auspiciousness. It was the name of Should-Make-Offerings.

 

Make offerings with the heart of respect and sincerity to the Buddha.   

When all beings make offerings to the Tathagata, they should have a heart of respect and sincerity to the Buddha and should have the voluntary will to do that, and there should not be such things of manipulation, coercion and intimidation or the any similar bad things. If there are some religious communities which makes you feel uncomfortable to make offerings to anyone or to be generous to the group, you should alert that there has been existed some problems and it must be something wrong in their inner group. In Buddha’s teaching, there are rightful and good notions of giving and being generous to all beings and to the Buddha. You will understand it by reading more the translated Buddhist scripture or following this blog. In a word, that we respect the Buddha is to respect yourself. 

To make offerings to the Tathagata is to make offerings to the all beings and to the self.

Eventually, in the deep teaching and meaning, to make offerings to the Tathagata is to make offerings to the all beings. At the same time, it is to make offerings to the self. That is any good repay will finally return to the self, including the invisible good things, such as healthy in mind and body, and keep harmony relationship with the family members, etc. Why? In the chapter 11 of Buddhist scripture” The Scripture of Forty-Two Chapters Said by Buddha”, I had ever explained the similar notion. The link is as followed if you are interested in understanding it: Chapter 11: Giving meals turns to victory

There is no Binary Opposition in mind for a person who has completely achieved the Buddhahood. 

 

In the profound teaching of Buddha, when a person has completely achieved the Buddhahood, there is no Binary Opposition in its mind. It is because that it has been enlightened and realized that its heart, all Buddhas’ heart and all beings’ heart are the one. That is, their nature is the same and is the one. What is the nature? It is the emptiness and silence. What the different is the appearance, the languages and form of their outside. Meanwhile, what the different is the time and process of the reincarnations, and the experience of life and death.

The Starting Point is to help all Beings to become Buddhas and the final purpose is to help us to achieve the Buddhahood.

 

When we practice the giving and being generous to others with the great compassionate and wisdom, we also practice to be no Binary Opposition with others. That is, we practice to realize what the nature of the self and the others is. At the same time, we practice to be the one with all Buddhas and all beings. That is, the starting point is to help all beings to become Buddhas and the final purpose is to help us to achieve the Buddhahood. This is to cultivate our great and generous mind. 

When we are learning Buddha, if we don’t understand this meaning, it would make us feel weird and feel that we are enforced to practice the giving. In a word, this is the more profoundly teaching of Buddha. Generally, for the beginner, the senior Master won’t tell you this point. Furthermore, many of junior Masters and the Master of little-boarding (Hinayana) even don’t understand this point.

In Buddhism, there is the personal cause and condition and outcome, which is rely on your own choice of a thought and your action, not rely on the manipulation from others and any ignorant people.

 

In Buddhism, the different master will take use of the different explanation to guide and teach you how to practice the giving. No matter what it is, you think it is reasonable, you can accept it and you do it, which is your choice. If you don’t accept it, it is also your choice. No one has the right to punish you if you choose to reject to give. If a good or upright Master teaches you to give alms, but you refuse it, it is only your personal choice of cause and effect, and it means that if you hope to become a Buddha, it is far away. That is, it needs to take you long time and your many worlds of lives to finally become a Buddha. 

If someone says that if you refuse to give, you will receive the retribution of bad karma and go to hell, which you have to be alert because there is an element of manipulation involved. In Buddhism, there is the personal cause and condition and outcome, which is rely on your own choice of a thought and your action, not rely on the manipulation from others and any ignorant people. When we learn the Buddha’s teaching, that is what we have to know. 

In Conclusion

Practicing the giving is the first and basic learning in Buddhism. Without this basic practicing, it is hardly for us to achieve the Buddhahood. Therefore, it is very important to understand the multiple meaning of giving in Buddhism and then to practice it actually.        

The profound Buddha's teaching is beyond our general thinking.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

 

There are the Bodhisattvas who show the wide eyes, appear the anger, hold the magical tool in hand, and ride on the strange animal,  so as to deal with, punish or discipline those people who are full of hatred and rage. Such picture of or image of Bodhisattvas and the magical tool in hand is some kind of the meaning of symbol. With the evolution of the times, the picture of or the image of Bodhisattvas and the magical tool are following the modern image and the modern technology and change. In our times, The appearance of  Bodhisattvas in reality and the illusion of image of Bodhisattvas in our dream may be the similar. Therefore, we should have such knowledge and flexibility in learning Buddha. 

 

There are also the Bodhisattvas who show the greedy smile, appear the greedy heart, and take the treasures or gold or money through wisdom from the true greedy people, so as to deal with those people who are in the mind of greed, meanwhile, to save them and let them leave the suffering. That is to help them avoid the harm brought by the greed of themselves and others. 

 

There are also Bodhisattvas who show the foolish smile, appear the obsession minded, fall in love with infatuated people, so as to save those people who are in the state of obsession, and to liberate them from suffering. That is to help them avoid the harm brought by the infatuated minded of themselves and others. 

 

There are also Bodhisattvas who show the attitude of arrogant and appear the indifferent expression, so as to deal with those people who own the arrogant minded. The purpose is to save them to leave the restrain and difficulty brought by their own arrogant minded.

 

Eventually, there are no such negative minded as said for all of  Bodhisattvas, because they have always dwelled on the self-nature and the Emptiness-nature. They are like the angel to protect and teach the persons who are willing to believe Buddha's teaching, or they have the good cause and condition with the Buddha's teaching in the present life or in their past life. All Bodhisattvas would not appear without cause and condition. If you don't have any cause and condition as said, they don't appear in your life. We respect these Bodhisattvas as Protector-in-Buddhism. 

 

To sum up, if we are the stupid, stubborn or arrogant person who cannot accept the persuade or the advice from the other person's normal and reasonable thinking, however, we still have a little good cause and condition in learning Buddha, the Bodhisattvas would appear any kind of attitude, thought and state to help us to deal with what negative heart and state we own.  That is why if we show the evil thought and behavior, the said Bodhisattvas would appear the equivalent thought and behavior. That is like a mirror to reflect our thought and behavior and let us see it. 

 

How Bodhisattvas appear in our life?

 

They would appear in our environment what we are living, studying or working. Those what we may meet might be our family members, classmates, teachers, friends, colleagues, directors, strangers, or any persons who are in various industries. They might make us feel uncomfortable, anxious, angry or sad. In a word, these appeared images and the ensuing phenomenon could help us to correct or adjust our thought, behavior, and attitude which are not proper and not corresponding to the universal value. In general and in Buddhism, the universal value is corresponding to the good and free will of humans, to the mercy, empathy, content, honesty and open-minded of humans, and to the mutual aid with the equality of humans. The more profound meaning is to correspond to the no-self, no-selfishness, no-desire and no-demanding of  humans.  

 

Except for this, all various images of Bodhisattvas would appear with drama in our dreams, which are ever-changing and not what we can imagine. However, we still can feel and reason it in our dream or after our wakening. All various images of Bodhisattvas are not like what we have seen in the drawing or in the statue. However, they are like our family members and so on as mentioned above.  

 

The character "Bodhisattvas" is the appearance of name, which is the phenomenon of arising and eliminating with causes and conditions. For example, as I have told in the blog, we call "Bodhisattvas" as "Pusa" or "Busa" in the Chinese transliteration. The various images of Bodhisattvas are also the phenomenon of arising and eliminating with causes and conditions. There are not the fixed and rigid images which are regarded as Bodhisattvas. All pictures or statue or images made by humans are some kind of representative or symbol to show the exist, virtue and function of Bodhisattvas. In fact, the essence of Bodhisattvas is the Emptiness-nature, and is no form and no image. On this basis, it is able to appear various forms and images of Bodhisattvas, including the animals, such as the legendary dragons, or elephant, or big worms, even that we can reason there would be the images of alien as Bodhisattvas. 

The Buddha and Bodhisattvas don't care whether you believe the Buddha's teaching or not, because the law of cause and effect (or result, consequence, outcome) is the universal value.

Some people don't understand why the Buddhist worship the image  of Buddha or Bodhisattva in the drawing or the statue. They deny, reject and sneer such behavior. According to our normal intelligence,  of course, we are not to stupidly obsess with the image in the drawing or with the statue. The image of the drawing or statue is some kind of representative or symbol. In fact, the Buddha or Bodhissattva exist in everywhere of the Emptiness.       

 

The Buddha said that he cannot save those people who don't have the cause and condition with Buddha and those people who don't have good causes and conditions in their present or past life. The Buddha and Bodhisattvas don't care whether you believe the Buddha's teaching or not, because the law of cause and effect (or result, consequence, outcome) is the universal value. What we have done absolutely repay in our present or future life. Good deeds are rewarded with good deeds, and evil deeds are rewarded with evil deeds. All evil is self-inflicted. All goodness creates auspiciousness by itself. It is doesn't matter what kind of religions or ideologies we believe. When we deeply realize the Buddhism, we can understand this truth. 

It is better for us to listen more from various kind of the teachings of  Buddha, and should be careful and alert any fraud from the fake teachers in Buddhism.

 

Furthermore, I cannot deny there are existed a lot of fraud by the mean of religions. The profound Buddha's teaching is some kind of danger for the beginner who learn Buddhism. That is why I have to remind you that if we are the beginner in learning Buddhism, it is better for us to listen more from various kind of the teachings of  Buddha, and should be careful and alert any fraud from the fake teachers in Buddhism. When we learn Buddhism, it is better for us to use our common sense and normal logical thinking to judge whether the teachers are honest and  moral persons or not.  

The secondly, we have to think and judge whether what they have taught is corresponding to the true meaning of Buddha, to the social order and good customs or  is their own subjective consciousness and ideology. It is to avoid us to be washed brain by the mean persons. When we have the correct thinking and judgement, we can choose who can be our teachers and we are willing to follow them to learn Buddha.     

A Brief Talk About Cause And Result

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

As we know, the essence of Buddhism is the Emptiness. In China, when someone wants to learn Buddha and become a Buddhist monk or nun, we said that they go into the door of Emptiness.

Some ordinary people think that, there are no causes and results in the emptiness, so they can do any evil things, such as, to damage others, and they would not go to hell, because there would not be such results of hell. In fact, those people totally misunderstand the meaning of emptiness and the state of Buddha.

In Buddhism, it often refers to the relationship between causes and results, especially in teaching the ordinary people. Why? Causes and results exactly exist, when people do something, even though they just have a slight-evil thought that would affect others. There is the doing, there is thus the result which is arisen accordingly. There is no doing, there is thus no such result. Any doing is arisen from any thin thought. No matter any thought or any doing, it could be as a cause, or a condition, and would result in any consequence.

A Buddha is in the stable state of no thought, no desire and no doing. Once any thought, any desire or any doing is arisen, it just wants to help live beings to liberate from the suffering. It is always in such stable state.

However, people always have the desires and thus want to do something so as to benefit themselves or their family, and thus not to concern about the well-beings of others. The Buddha said that the desire is the root of suffering. That is why such people might do the evil thing, be in the suffering and in the result of hell finally.

The basic quality of those people is good, because they also have the Buddha’s nature. In the body of Emptiness, there is no difference between us. That is, we are one. So, the Buddha said that:

To have the great kindness for all sentient beings without conditions, and to have the great compassion for all sentient beings due to we are in the same body of Emptiness.

Therefore, the Buddha never abandons those people who do evil things, and it always does its best to help them go into the path of Buddha. To have a good cause, and to have a good condition, that would result in a good consequence or a good effect. Such as, to learn Buddha is to have a good cause and would result in a pure land to benefit ourselves and all sentient beings.

On the contrary, to have a bad cause, and to have a bad condition, that would result in a bad consequence or a bad effect. Such as, to cheat others by the greedy heart is a bad cause, and would harm others and result in the jail or hell finally.

In a word, it is not totally empty in the state of Emptiness. In fact, the Emptiness contains all existence, including the causes and results.