..續本文上一頁h or fame from teaching, and try our best to transmit the profound Dharma to the next generation. In my opinion, only by doing this, can it be meaningful. Why
Because the development of humanity should not be merely reflected in, for example, the economy or military. What is more important is the improvement of the mentality of human beings.
The Sangha education inside the monastery is exactly for the purpose of developing kindness and an altruistic and selfless mind. This kind of education is very different from an ordinary education in an ordinary school. I have seen the materials used in elementary, middle, high schools, and college. I found that materials related to morals and ethics are extremely limited; this is quite a shame. Therefore, higher education should include the ancient Standards for Being a Good Student and Child (Di Zi Gui), Trimetric Classics (San Zi Jing), and Thousand Character Classics (Qian Zi Wen), all focusing on ethics.
At the same time, our Sangha and Buddhist institutes also need to learn science and technology from higher learning institutions. Although it is not necessary for us to study them as main subjects, some basic understanding is needed. Imagine if many monastics and even eminent masters only recited the name of Amitabha Buddha wholeheartedly every day but were utterly ignorant of present critical issues, for example, how present high tech discoveries can prove Buddhist logic to be true, and issues about environmental friendliness and charity. How could they promote the Dharma in this multicultural, highly cooperative, and highly competitive society
This can be quite difficult.
Some time ago, we gathered some intellectuals and eminent monastics for a seminar. Through this seminar, many gained enormous benefits: Some monastics were lacking an understanding of modern knowledge. By listening to some important news and events from home and abroad, this widened their horizon. Although some intellectuals in institutions of higher learning understand part of secular knowledge, they have never been involved in morals or Buddhist education. They have not even studied the Standards for Being a Good Student and Child (Di Zi Gui). This time, they were able to learn about them. Eventually, they learned from each other. Each of them gained varying degrees of benefit.
Therefore, it is vital for people in the schools to study and research religion. I heard that, due to faith or interest, the lecturers and students in your school of religious studies, while studying technology, also devote themselves to a long-term study in Buddhism. This is particularly valuable in our lives. For me, during my lifetime, as long as there are causes and conditions to promote the Dharma, even if there is only one person, I will still want to expound the Dharma a little bit each day to that one person. Why
Because promoting philosophy and exchanging experiences are indeed the most meaningful thing to do.
(4) Question: I am a PhD student in the Department of Philosophy, Peking University. Just now you mentioned that benefiting others is considered a very important aspect of Buddhism. However, Buddhism also talks about both the benefit for yourself and benefit for others. Can you please explain the relationship between benefits for yourself and benefits for others
Answer: Generally speaking, there are two types of “benefits for yourself”: one is temporary and the other is ultimate. The temporary benefit for yourself is just like what it says in the Medicine Buddha Sutra and other sutras of the same type. By relying on the Buddhadharma, whatever you long for, such as wealth or fame, will be fulfilled. On the other hand, for the ultimate benefit for yourself, it is just like what the Hinayana practitioners do. On the basi…
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