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 Three Treasures in Buddhism

Author: Tao Qing Hsu

The Three Treasures

The Three Treasures in Buddhism mean the Buddha, the Buddha-law, and the persons who profoundly put the Buddhism into practice, learn Buddha well, and also have completely understood the Buddha-law. Such persons usually refers to the Buddhist monk or nun, however, do not disregard those persons who are not Buddhist monk or nun, because appearances could not represent the Buddhism. Meanwhile, to learn Buddha, we must know that we should not be fooled by any appearance. 

Buddha means that it has completely destroyed or eliminated any causes of nuisances or troubles, and has attained the liberation from the suffering in life and death with its supreme wisdom. Meanwhile, by its practical experience in Buddhism, it can talk to all sentient beings about such things. That is, it has no longer any fear or nuisances in heart. In the ancient time, due to paying attention to men and despising women, most people think that Buddha is male. It totally mistakenly understands the Buddha. In fact, Buddha includes male and female. Such things are mentioned in the Buddhist Scripture.

Buddha-law means to destroy or eliminate any causes of nuisances or troubles, and which can truly make all sentient beings liberate from the suffering in life and death. The supreme Buddha-law as said can eliminate the suffering in life and death. What is the Buddha-law? It includes the all. Buddha-law has no fixed law. So, do not use our stubborn mind to think what does Buddha-law should be, because the Buddha-law includes what is beyond our thought and cognition, even to beyond our experience.

The learning-Buddha persons, which are the Buddhist monk and non-monk, Buddhist nun and non-nun as mentioned above, means those persons who can endure or bear the causes of destroying or eliminating the nuisances or troubles, and who are in the silence, have the more compassion for all sentient beings, and who are content to little desire, dwell on the Buddha-law, and practice the Buddha-law in a positive way, so as to attain the truly liberation from the suffering in life and death. Those persons can also talk about that for others after attaining the truly liberation from the suffering in life and death, and can use their practical experience, knowledge and wisdom to help sentient beings liberate from the suffering in life and death.

The meaning to seek a refuge in the three treasures

In our life, we can choose whether we want to seek a refuge in the mentioned three treasures or not. If we do not have such choice, it doesn’t mean that we cannot accept the Buddha’s teaching or that we cannot learn Buddha. In other word, whether to accept the three treasures as a refuge in our life and death, or whether to accept the Buddha’s teaching, is depending on our own free mind, no one could enforce us to seek a refuge in the three treasures or to accept the Buddha’s teaching.

If there are groups, communities, or persons to enforce us to change our belief and to believe what they believe, we must have a strong doubt and question about that, even though they say that they are groups or communities in Buddhism.

Secondly, there are groups, communities, or persons say that, if we do not believe in Buddhism, or we betray the Buddhism, we have to die and we would go to hell. If we unfortunately encounter such things, it is better to us to early leave such groups, communities, or persons. On the basis of compassion, the method of threaten can be used in some situation for helping people liberate from the suffering, but, not be used like this.

In the true Buddhism, the three treasures are very generous, benevolent, compassionate, and open mind. The very important meaning of the three treasures that I tell you in a brief, if we really know the true meaning of the three treasures, we would know that we and the three treasures are one. The three treasures are us. We are the three treasures. How could it be possible? How could we know it?  

Of course, for those persons who have not yet understand the meaning of the three treasures, the three treasures are someone else, even to have no related to their life. Evil people might mistakenly use them to threaten or deceive people who are in deep troubles in life. So, we must really know what the meaning of the three treasures so as to avoid be a threatened or cheated person.  

The three treasures are like as the sun, the air and the water. If we are shortage any one of them, we absolutely could not live well, regardless we are rich or poor. The three treasures could give us the wisdom and bliss, which could help us liberate from the suffering in life and death. Do you know? No matter those persons who are rich or poor, they are suffering the affliction in life and death.

What are the rich persons worry about? They are worry about being kidnapped, so there are the bodyguards beside them to protect them for the safe in life. Do you think this is a freedom life? What are the poor persons worry about? They are worry about no money to have a meal or to have treatment in medical, or worry about losing the job. Do you think such life of mind could be free in heart?

To seek a refuge in the three treasures means to return to or depend on the three treasures. When we return to or depend on the three treasures, as if we have the sun, air and water, which could let us live well. If the three treasures could not bring us the wisdom and good life, on the contrary, to bring us more fear, worry and affliction, how could they be called as the three treasures?

To seek a refuge in the three treasures could grow our wisdom, help us resolve the worry or trouble in our life, and thus settle our affliction of physical and mental body, so as to increase the bliss in our life and our future lives. That is why they are called as the three treasures.

To profoundly understand the meaning of the three treasures takes time. It has to combine our practical experience so that we could really understand the meaning of the three treasures. The three treasures are also to exist in our own heart. However, we have not yet been enlightened and have not yet found them. If we are lucky to encounter such three treasures, never miss it.