(7) The New Idea We Ought To Have
Today, I would like to introduce a "new" Buddhist idea to you all. What I would like to talk about is actually an old faith that has been a vital tradition amongst Buddhist circles for thousands of years. Yet it is always new and fresh whenever it is mentioned, especially in a desolate and miserable period such as this. Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta used to say, "I would never slight you, you shall all be Buddhas." His saying indicates the ingrained truth of life. It denotes the attitude we ought to have towards all human beings.
We know that everyone in this world is different. There are the wise, the ignorant, the weak, the strong, the progressive, the stagnant, and the down-trodden. Thought distinguishes the faulty and the correct. Behaviour distinguishes the kind and the cruel. But the differences are never permanent. The differences between us should not be interpreted as good or bad racial qualities, or as fundamental differences in the natures of inpiduals. According to Buddhism the present differences between wise and ignorant, strong and weak, rich and poor, kind and cruel, are intermediate steps in the process of life. They are not final. As long as we have not achieved the perfected state of enlightenment we are all trapped in the ongoing process of cause and effect, reaping the results of past deeds whilst continually sowing the seeds of future crops.
Those who are unable to strive upwards towards the light will eventually degenerate. Those who are able to exert themselves striving for goodness will find improvement. We humans have the capacity and latent virtues necessary to progress upward, to develop our goodness and to search for the supreme accomplishment. Assuredly then, we will finally attain the state of perfect enlightenment after many rebirths. Just as Bodhisattva Sadaparibhuta said, "Everybody will become a Buddha." In Buddhism there is no permanent sin, no permanent affliction and no permanent degeneration. On the contrary, we are all able to recover from delusion and ignorance to become awakened and enlightened. We can turn our defilements into cleanliness and purity. The future always holds goodness and joy. We should apply this idea to ourselves and to our perception of others. This life-view is positive and optimistic and allows us have the confidence and motivation to overcome any difficulties without becoming disheartened.
"Human beings are equal, and all of us are able to achieve Buddhahood." Possessing this faith enables us to avoid slighting others. What is meant by "slight"
Slighting others may involve demeaning them with our disdain, offending them with our pride, or abusing them with our insulting words and behavior. Whilst the tenacious attachment to the competitive self endures and the Buddha-potential remains unclear to us, we may be drawn into this ignorant and unskilful mode of being, alienating ourselves from others. Very often we are self-cantered and are inclined to bully others. This self-intoxicated pride is a distortion caused by an erroneous view of the ego-concept. Unfortunately, this overwhelming complex of egotistical ideas has been deeply ingrained in our hearts all along the chain of rebirths. Our egos have ensnared us in the endlessly repetitive round of transmigrations. Ego delusion involves us in successive births and deaths, making the wide world evolve with afflictions.
Implicit disdain for others may not be very serious, but sometimes it develops into proud conceit and self-aggrandisement. It makes our self into the seeming master, the supposedly superior person; one who has either the intention to make others obey, or one willing to sacrifice the welfare of others in the pursuit of self-satisfying pleasure. Sometimes our self-estee…
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