..續本文上一頁ook at the book. Then it will not be that the Sutra is the Sutra and I am me. Rather, the thing to do is to take me and the Sutra, the Buddhadharma, and make them one and the same. Then what we cultivate everyday, and what we pay attention to, is just the Buddhadharma. People who are educated should investigate the Flower Adornment Sutra, the Dharma Flower Sutra, and the Shurangama Sutra. That”s why when I came to America, I made it my first Job to lecture on the Shurangama Sutra. When that was finished, I continued to explain the Sixth Patriarch”s Sutra, the Vajra Sutra, the Amitabha Sutra, and so forth, and then the Dharma Flower Sutra, and finally the Flower Adornment Sutra. Studying the Shurangama Sutra is for opening our wisdom, and the studying the Dharma Flower Sutra is for realizing Buddhahood. It is said, "Wisdom is the Shurangama, and Buddhahood is the Dharma Flower." As for the Flower Adornment Sutra, it”s said, "There is no one who does not flow forth from the Dharma Realm, and no one who does not return to the Dharma Realm." By choosing the Sutra which we take delight in, we are matching our potentials. When our potentials are met, we should continue studying. Don”t just be concerned about making money all day long, and forget all about the Dharma. In studying the Dharma, we have to know how to use it. We have to put it into practice ourselves. This is the way we begin to study the Buddhadharma.
In cultivating, we must be kind and humble
Often it”s the case that we study Buddhism more and more, and then we get arrogant. We feel that "Only I alone am honored. I”m much better than other people. Nobody measures up to me." From morning to night, we are attached to the self, and time passes day by day. It doesn”t occur to us that cultivation requires that we be compassionate and humble. We should be respectful, kind and compassionate to everyone. Humble means we cannot be proud. We cannot have attachments to self, attachments to others, attachments to thoughts of living beings, and attachments to thoughts of beings that have lifespans. Only when all such attachments are broken through can we truly cultivate the Bodhisattva Path. In the Dharma Flower Sutra, we hear about Never-Slighting Bodhisattva. He is our best model for cultivation. What is he like
When he sees any living being, he bows to him right away, and in his mind he thinks, "I don”t dare slight you because you will become a Buddha in the future." He says, "I don”t dare to have a thought of slighting you, because all of you will become Buddhas in the future. Furthermore, he has this thought: "This man has been my father, and this woman has been my mother." Now the bowing that he does is just fine. It can subdue our arrogance and all our attachments, so that we no longer attached to the thought that we are better than others and others are not as good as we are. He sees all living beings as future Buddhas. That”s the measure of the mind that he uses to cultivate the Path. But after he cultivated for awhile, he found himself in adversity, and confronted a demon. What was it
He met a member of a non-ultimate religion who said, "What are you giving me this phony prediction for
That”s wrong." And so he scolded him, but Never-Slighting Bodhisattva was not afraid and continued to bow to him. Seeing that he could abuse Never-Slighting Bodhisattva, the cultivator from the other religion started to hit him and kick him. After being hurt like that, Never-Slighting Bodhisattva never bowed right in front of people again. He would bow a hundred steps away. While bowing to someone from afar, he would say, "I don”t dare to slight you, because you”re going to be a Buddha someday in the future." But as soon as he bowed and made his contemplation, he would stand up and r…
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