All teachings of the Buddha have one key point, which is to save all sentient beings and help them become Buddhas.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

 

There is a very important principle that we should know. That is, to cope with the all changing under the unchanging, the Buddha-nature. When we practice the four assimilating-methods, we have to clearly aware our Buddha-nature, and not to be tied and turned by the outer situations or conditions. In other word, we are the master to hold the whole situation.

 

Some people think that the Buddhist are looked foolish and are easy to bully, or they mistakenly think that the Buddhist might be joyfully to help them. And they then ask the Buddhist to do a lot of things for them, including the things that they do not want to do, or the things that they even don’t use their mind to think how to do, because they think that the Buddhist might not reject their asking. Once facing such situation, we should use our wisdom and aware our Buddha-nature to think how to properly reject their unreasonable asking and how to help them actually.

 

All of the Buddha’s teaching has one key point that is to enlighten all sentient beings and help them achieve the Buddhahood. In other word, the Buddha’s teaching gives a direction for the sentient beings to learn wisdom so to resolve their own problem. Under the principle, the human beings should be independent to deal with their own problem with their own wisdom, not to dependent others people to resolve their own problem. This is what we should know when we practice the four assimilating-methods to reform and save people.

 

Let us introduce the four assimilating-methods shortly. That is as follows:

 

The first assimilating-methods -- Give

 

There are three kinds of giving. The first is to give the material things for human beings, such as foods, medical, clothes, shoes, houses, cars, money and so on. Such material things could maintain the basic livelihoods of human beings. Of course, it can be extend to give the technical of agriculture or medical, or to give our own time and strength to help people, such as to build a house or a bridge unconditionally. Only basic livelihoods are content, it is possible for them further to learn wisdom and to learn Buddha. Secondly, if people are fond of fortune, we could give them the material things so as to lead them into the wisdom of Buddhism. 

 

The second is to give human beings the Buddha-law (dharma), such as Buddha’s teaching. If people are fond of listening to the reasons and of thinking, we could give them the Buddha-law so as to lead them achieve the wisdom of Buddha. Furthermore, if we are capable to teach human beings the Buddhism and to teach Buddhism correctly, such merit-virtue is incredible and immeasurable, and is commend and appreciated by the beings of heaven and earth. Why? Because by Buddha’s teaching, it could enlighten the human beings, lead them in the path of light of wisdom, liberate human beings from the suffering in life and death, and finally help them achieve the Buddhahood.   

 

The third is to give human beings the fearlessness. That is, to help human beings avoid or get rid of any fear, such as in the classic drama, the hero saves the beauty when she is in danger. That is, the hero gives the beauty the fearlessness, and helps the beauty get rid of the frightened. If people are in danger or fear a lot in heart, or are timid, we could give them the fearlessness through the express by kindness so as to help them get rid of the fear.   

 

In Buddhism, the representative of the fearlessness-giver is Pusa world-sounds-perceiving, Avalokiteśvara. If you have not yet read the previous articles about Pusa world-sounds-perceiving and are interested in Avalokiteśvara, I recommend you to read the following articles: Pusa World-Sounds-Perceiving in Universally Door Chapter or The god of wisdom and benevolence to liberate human beings from suffering. It is one of the translated Buddhist-scripture and its explanation, which is done by me. 

 

The Second assimilating-methods -- Express by love

 

If we want to lead the people into the wisdom of Buddhism, we better to express by love, not by rough words. Express by love means to show a feeling, opinion or fact by compassion and kindness. Such express shows our care, is more acceptable by the people and would promote the harmony in the relationship in a group or of each other. When we express by love, don’t ignore the body language. Some body language would warm our heart, such as smile, embrace each other, gently pat the shoulder or gently wave your hand and say hello.

 

When people feel frustrated in career or feel sad when facing the death of a loved one, we properly express by love which would encourage them and let them feel comfort.

 

The third assimilating-methods -- Benefiting action

 

“Benefiting action” is meant to offer help or advantage for the acting of others or benefit the action of others, when we try to help people and lead them into the wisdom of the Buddha. For example, when a young man is goodness and is interested in learning Buddha but he doesn’t have a good career to earn money for maintaining his life, we could support him or offer him a good job so as to let him have a stable life and the capital to learn Buddha. Such act by benefiting is not only to support and benefit him to achieve the Buddhahood but also to support and benefit the all sentient beings to be good, including ourselves, because it is a good cycling of kindness. One day, when this young man has completely been enlightened and the wisdom of his Buddha-nature is also inspired, he would be capable to enlighten and support others and would also benefit the acting of others.

 

Secondly, giving the sentient beings the convenience or help is also the benefiting action, to benefit the acting of others.   

 

The fourth assimilating-methods -- Work by together

 

Work by together means that we go on the path as partner and by accompanying with each other so as toward the same goal and we do something together so as to attain the same purpose. What is the goal or the purpose? It is to reform and save ourselves so as to influence others through wisdom and mercy. By cooperating in the action or work, it is easy for us to know and communicate with each other. 

 

For the different people, we would offer the different Buddha-law so as to help them into the wisdom of Buddha-nature. There is a lot of convenient Buddha-law which could be applied to help people liberating from the suffering. The four assimilating-methods are one of them, and these are the good assistance.

 

So, the four assimilating-methods not only could be applied in Buddhism, but also could be applied in different realms, such as the non-profit organization, the group of the social or the international well-beings.

 

To profoundly learning Buddha, the four assimilating-methods should be practiced well by us. Through the four reforming-methods, it is not only to reform and save ourselves, but also to reform and save others.  

"Board " means "save" in Buddhism.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

  

Let us image that there is a large river. The people live in the left shore are in the sufferings of birth, aging, disease and death. There are also a lot of people who fall into the river and struggling in the river and are also suffering the same. Meanwhile, the people live in the right shore have already liberated from the said sufferings.

 

There is a ship of wisdom on the river. The people on the ship of wisdom invite the people on the left shore to board the ship and take them into the right shore. In the river, they also put the rope and lifebuoy down to the people struggling in the river and help them board on the ship and also take them into the right shore. 

In Buddhism, such taking the ferry, such helping process, is called to reform and save others people. If we take the ferry by our own will and arrive the right shore, which is called self-reforming and self-saving. Such is the concept of imagining, describing and metaphor. It lets us easy to understand one of the meanings of Buddhism.

The best helpfulness is to give those who ask for help the true wisdom.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

 

There are many ways to help people. But, do you have found that some people are zealous to help other people, however, it makes the zealous persons being tangled in the helped peoples’ problem. And then, such problem would birth new problem to the zealous persons. In other word, it is not only the problem of being helped people. It has become the problems of both of them.

 

In my practical experience, I have found that some people who ask for the help from outside are because they are lack of wisdom to deal with their personal mental problem. In other word, when they ask for people from outside to do things and help them, that is not the master problem. What the master problem is their disorder in mental activity. They are tangling and stocking in their negative emotion and thinking. And that affect their relationship with their family and the methods to handle things. They also have felt about their mental problem and attend the mind course. What have shocked me is that such course almost is no helpful for them. Their disorder in mental activity has still been there. Why? Because such course does not touch the core of the true wisdom.

 

So, if we are zealous to help people, we should not be blind. It is better for us to use our brain and wisdom so as to avoid that we fall into the tangled problem and trouble. The best helpfulness is to give those who ask for help the true wisdom. The second helpfulness is to give them knowledge. When they have wisdom and knowledge, they would be strong in heart and independent in life, and finally could find the way, including knowledge and specialty, to improve their problem, including the poverty.    

 

If we understand such method and have such ability to help people, we would not despise the un-learner.

If we are lucky to have knowledge, specialty, and wisdom, or we own the special resources, we should not despise those persons who are suffering in life.

 

Author: Tao Qing Hsu (Hsu, Tao-qing) 

 

In our life, we have ever faced different people who own different kind of knowledge, specialty, and technology, and even they own the special resources in country or in the world. They own the superiority and thus despise the lives of the ordinary people.

 

Most people are living in the poverty, and are suffering in life. Unfortunately, they do not know why they are poor and suffering in life. They do not have enough knowledge and specialty to improve their life, let alone to own the special resources in country. They might know that they are despised. But, they cannot do any thing to change the fact by positive wisdom.

 

If we are lucky to have knowledge, specialty, and wisdom, or we own the special resources, we should not despise those persons who are suffering in life. It is better for us to do our best to help them liberate themselves from the suffering, because we are equal in the body of Emptiness and have the Buddha-nature. They would become Buddha in the future. To help them is also meant to help ourselves.

Chapter 10: Joyfully give and gain the bliss

(Chapter 10) 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 10: Joyfully give and gain the bliss 

The Buddha said,” See people giving Dao and help them joyfully; the gained bliss is very grand.” A Sramana asked “Does such bliss be ended?” The Buddha said,” Such as a torch-fire that many thousand and many hundred of people separately come to take the fire with their torch, to cook food and remove the dark, this torch-fire is still the same. The bliss is also the same like this. “

There is a saying,”Helping others is the source of happiness.” According to the research, those who like to help others in any ways are more healthful and happy, and have the longer life. Such people usually own the open mind, and do not require any feedback for what they have done in virtue.

Giving is some kind of helping. In a brief, there are three kinds of giving as mentioned in Buddhism. That is as follows:

Giving the money to others; money also could be replaced by food, clothes, medicine and so on.

Giving the Buddha-law to others;

Giving the fearlessness to others. Make others don't fear anything. 

It is easy to understand to give the money to others and to give the Buddha-law to others. Then, we might have a question; how could we give the fearlessness to others? Do you know who the fearlessness-giver is? Pusa World-Sounds-Perceiving, which you can read the following article: Pusa World-Sounds-Perceiving in Universally Door Chapter or A Brief Talk about Pusa World-Sounds-Perceiving in Universally Door Chapter.

Do you know why Pusa World-Sounds-Perceiving is in the state of no fear? If you are interested in that, I suggest you to read the following article: The Scripture of The Supreme-Wisdom Heart or A Brief Talk about The Scripture of The Supreme-Wisdom Heart

According to the Buddha-law, there is always existed the cause and the effect. The above three kinds of giving is also classified as the cause. Then, what is the effect? So, when we give the money to others, we would gain the wealth; when we give the Buddha-law to others, we gain the wisdom; and when we give the fearlessness to others, we gain the longevity.

In a narrow sense, “giving the Dao” in this chapter is belonging to the second as mentioned above: giving the Buddha-law to others. Broadly speaking, the meaning of Dao or Buddha-law is not limited. That is, the all; those things which are good for people are belonging to Dao. In a word, it includes the three kinds of giving; and it also includes any kind of knowledge, ideologies, drama, music, and image or video production which is good for people in the world.

In the time of Buddha Sakyamuni, the Buddhist monk or nun begged for food. They did not require the money. When they had food from people, they speak of the Buddha-law for them. In other word, the Buddhist monk or nun played in the role of teacher or tutor. The life of the Buddhist monk or nun was maintained by such food so that they could nourish their life of wisdom by their body. When the people had heard the Buddha-law from the Buddhist monk or nun, they could thus have incurred the heart of compassion and wisdom, and their life of wisdom could have thus been inspired. In other word, this is a way of helping each other, and of benefiting each other. And it is also a way to connect to each other face by face in emotion and feeling.

So, the Buddha had ever mentioned that the Buddhist monk or nun is bliss-farm. Offering food to Buddhist monk or nun is like to sow seeds of bliss on the bliss-farm; the fruits of bliss would be gained finally. Why? The cause is equal to the outcome. If the cause is not equal to the outcome, it would violate the natural law. Such as if we sow the seed of apple, we would not gain the fruit of banana, but apple. Of course, the premise is that such Buddhist monk or nun should have purified in their heart. It is very important to know this point. 

However, the process of begging the food is not always smooth. Some people are in the stingy heart and dislike to see the Buddhist monk or nun. The worse is that they might rebuke or harm the Buddhist monk or nun with hatred heart or with despised. The Buddha had mentioned the outcome for such thing of rebuke and harm in the chapter 6,7 and 8.

The law of the cause and effect is always there. So, if we are fond of giving, we gain the bliss. The Buddha said,” See people giving Dao and help them joyfully; the gained bliss is very grand.” It encourages people to do good thing. Meanwhile, when we have seen someone doing the good thing, we could joyfully help them in any ways. Such effort is never in vain. The bliss that we could gain is very grand.

With the change of time, and the development of internet, we could find that people give their knowledge and wisdom to others on the internet by using website or blog; it is non-profit, so they accept the autonomous donation coming from the freely support of person or group on the internet. Now the group of or the person of Buddhism is also using such way. And we can read the scripture said and taught by Buddha in free on the internet. We also can find any article or video which the Buddhist monk or nun, or the Buddha-learner explained the Buddhism. I think it is very convenient and helpful for our life. The question is, are we lucky to find it and willing to read it?   

A Sramana asked: “Does such bliss be ended?” The Buddha said,” Such as a torch-fire that thousand and hundred of people separately come to take the fire with their torch, to cook food and remove the dark, this torch-fire is still the same. The bliss is also the same like this.” Obviously, it means that such bliss is existed permanently. It would not be disappeared. In Buddhism, it is called as virtue karma which would be recorded by the Spirit who is always with us. Whether the bliss or not in our life would be depended on such virtue karma. According to the cause and the effect, I think it is reasonable.

About Tao Qing

Tao Qing, is the founder, teacher and leader of Buddha’s Virtue & Love Widely & Universally. She has learned Buddha since 1995, and founded Buddha’s Virtue & Love Widely & Universally in May of 2018, in honor of her parents, great Buddhist Master and all Buddha, and in order to complete her vows of previous life and present life in having sympathy for all sentient beings.

Tao Qing is not Buddhist nun. When she is leaning Buddha, she still has a job to maintain herself. In the period of teenage, she wishes to help people, if one day she has any such ability. In that time, she feels all suffering, including herself and others. That is why she goes to the path of Pusa and learns Buddha. (Pusa means Buddhisattva.)

Her great Buddhist master has ever said that:

No one would be alone, because Pusa always be there with you.  (Pusa means Bodhisattva)                                                                                                          

May all sentient beings be benefited from Buddha’s Virtue & Love Widely & Universally, be free from all suffering, and get into Buddhahood.