..續本文上一頁 the doctrine preached by the Buddha simply out of respect or devotion, then this is mere faith only, not wisdom. In fact, Buddhism can withstand any inquiries and scrutiny, whether of conventional concepts like causes and effects, the existence of samsara, past and future lives, or of something beyond the conventional level, such as Madhyamaka views or Buddha nature. They are all true and without faults, unshakable, and can withstand any refutation from others.

　　Many prominent literary figures have emerged in the past two thousand five hundred years, and many have praised Buddhism. For example, the 1950 Nobel Prize winner, British philosopher Bertrand Russell, in his essay “Why I Am Not a Christian,” rejected Christianity, causing great concern in the West. He said: “I cannot myself feel that either in the matter of wisdom or in the matter of virtue Christ stands quite as high as some other people known to history. I think I should put Buddha and Socrates above Him in those respects.”

　　Of course, I am not saying that Christianity is not good, but from a fair and objective position, wisdom and compassion in Buddhism are superior to in any other religion. Regarding compassion, although Christianity promotes loving kindness and Islam promotes equanimity, their scope is limited to human beings and not other sentient beings. Some religions believe that animals can be slaughtered, and some even eliminate non-believers by force. However, in accordance with the teachings of Buddhism, these sentient beings should be treated equally with love and care, without exception. Even enemies whom you hate and who want to cut your head off should still be treated with endless great compassion. Therefore, we should think and reflect about this: “For a religion that, throughout human history, encourages its followers to fully abandon the self, wholeheartedly, and unconditionally benefit all sentient beings—are there any reasons why we should not encourage and promote this religion

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　　Moreover, speaking from the point of view of wisdom, after I read books from other religions, I found that, in contrast, Buddha”s wisdom is unexcelled and matchless. In Tibet, the Kangyur (Tripitaka), attributed to the Buddha, has 108 volumes, and there are more than 200 volumes of the Tengyur, the collection of authoritative commentaries written by Indian great masters, such as Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti. All of these scriptures and commentaries describe the truth of reality. You will be amazed and impressed if you read them. Therefore, the reason we pay homage to Shakyamuni Buddha is not because of mere faith. Faith can be pided into two types: superficial faith and reasoned faith. Simply having faith is not always correct. However, if you use wisdom in your observations, you will find that the Buddha revealed the truth very clearly and perfectly. After realizing that, there is no reason why you would not respect the Buddha.

　　Of course, the most profound philosophy from the Buddha”s teaching is ascertaining all things and events as emptiness. If emptiness is not realized, then we will be constantly busy seeking fame and fortune. As Master Chi said in “Texts Urging People to Recite Buddha”s Name”: “Possessing or failing to possess worldly things are both tiresome. When can we gain freedom from this busy life full of sweat and toil

　　 Life is full of hardship and is never straightforward, just like the zigzag course of a river. Worldly matters are never ending, like the mountains, one after another.” As such, many are not aware of emptiness at all. This makes those of us who are aware feel compassionate toward them. In fact, life is so short, decades pass in just a flash. If we are blindly attached to our so-called career, what are the results of this in the end

　　 The only …

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