..續本文上一頁the right time" refers to this "uncertainty". One doesn”t know when it will come. It is in this very point that Buddhism surpasses fatalism. Hinduism is a kind of fatalism, for they think that once a person is born, his future destiny is fixed. However, Buddhism speaks of the uncertainty, which gives people tremendous motivation to do good deeds, accumulate hidden virtue, and thus invisibly eradicate evil karma.
In the small universe of the atoms, the case of uranium atoms with 235 electrons and 238 electrons can illustrate the forces of interaction between the electrons and the nucleus. On one hand, the electrons are attracted to the nucleus. On the other hand, they resist being confined to the small space around the nucleus; and fly out in all directions, and then return to the nucleus. Those more than 200 electrons, under the interacting forces, each make different curves, and together they form the shape of a lotus flower. That is why the Buddha spoke of the Lotus Treasury World, which represents the idea that even the smallest atom (mote of dust) contains the secret of the formation, existence, destruction and emptiness of the universe. Moreover, it enables us to understand that the Buddha-nature represented by the lotus fills every corner in any universe, and even minutest the universe on the tip of a hair contains limitless, unspeakably many Thus Come Ones. So it is said that in a lotus is hidden the secret law of the universe. Einstein”s Theory of Relativity says if you travel at the speed of light, you will have 70% longer life than your twin brother on earth. It is said, "One day in heaven is a thousand years on earth." From a broader point of view, this is the liberation from the standard of time and space, and this is described in the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra as, "One listens to the Dharma Flower Sutra for one day, and in the meantime several hundred billion years have passed by outside."
Living on Earth, our relationship with the entire universe is like that which the bubbles have to the great sea. We are a great net. Bubbles cannot be separated from the great sea. We all have affinities.
"There must be causes from previous lives to bring people together on the same ship." And I have added, "Brushing shoulders as we pass by someone is also a kind of affinity." Among the trillions of planets in the universe, we are fortunate to gather together on this Earth, in the world. All people are my brothers, and all of creation is a part of me.
Some basic concepts of Christianity are similar to the simple Dharma-door of the Pure Land School in Buddhism. For instance, Buddhism talks about "chanting Amitabha Buddha single-mindedly, one is able to be reborn in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. "In Christianity it says, "With faith in God, one obtains eternal life." Buddhism says, "Enemies and relatives are level and equal." Christianity also says, " Love your neighbors and love your foes." "Heaven is in your mind." While Buddhism says, "The Buddha is at Magic Mountain. You need not seek far away. Everybody has a Magic Mountain pagoda. Just cultivate your wisdom at the Magic Mountain pagoda."
However, we are aware that all the parts of the entire universe rely on one another and cannot be independent. The Mahayana sect does not think that whole-heartedly chanting the Buddha”s name and becoming a Buddha is the end of it; rather, we have to become of the same substance as all living beings. It is like the many tiny bubbles which are part of the sea and cannot be separated from it. All living beings are my parents. We regard each of the living beings as our only son. Therefore, the Mahayana sect believes that since all things are of the same substance, a cultivator alone cannot achieve Nirvana or become a Buddha by himself.
Thus, the Mahayana sect emphasizes the Six Paramitas: giving, upholding precepts, patience, vigor, Samadhi (concentration), and Prajna (wisdom) - six methods to get from this shore of the sea of suffering to the other shore of bliss. All living beings on whole Earth are one great substance of unity. Everyone will be crossed over to the other shore together. Mahayana is like a big ship. Venerable Abbot Hua is also like a big ship, carrying all of you to the Pure Land.
The whole universe is filled with Buddha Lands. Gwan Shr Yin Bodhisattva can manifest ten thousand transformation bodies to liberate trillions of people. It is just like listening to the radio, when the right channel is found, many people can receive the radio wave signal. The wave already exists, and we don”t need go out to get it. Matter is energy capacity and electrons are energy waves. This is just "form is emptiness and emptiness is form." And that”s why a Bodhisattva can come and go freely. This energy capacity is even faster than the speed of light and it can go everywhere. And it neither comes nor goes, and is thus, thus, unmoving. Our reincarnation as living beings is nothing but an echo of ourselves.
《佛法 世間法 Buddha Dharma Worldly Dharma》全文閱讀結束。