..续本文上一页hem. Because God loves us, we must in turn love others. Everything was created by God. These teachings are of course very different to the teachings of Buddhism. However, in general, we may consider faith and hope to be equivalent to faith and determination in Buddhism, and love equivalent to loving kindness and compassion in Buddhism.

　　Although Christians claim that they have a rational belief in righteousness, it does not emphasise the virtue of wisdom in nature. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, their eyes brightened. This is the beginning of self-awareness and development of human knowledge. However, for the theist, this is a sin, and is the source of death. Teaching as such is shaken by the development and achievement of modern scientific cultures nowadays.

　　The Sravakas (the people who lived in the Buddha”s time and listened to his teachings personally) placed less emphasis on the cultivation of loving kindness and compassion. There were Sravakas who stressed faith and wisdom but there were none who stressed compassion. This is just the opposite to Christian practice. Christians emphasise faith and love but lack wisdom. The Sravakas stressed faith and wisdom, but undervalued loving kindness and compassion. Both modes of practice are narrow and incomplete. The practice of the Mahayana Bodhisattva, which puts great emphasis on the equal practice of all the three themes, is undoubtedly more complete. Although the teachings of Confucianism are not complete, Their three virtues are closest to the practice of the Bodhisattva.

　　The Pure Land sect in Chinese Mahayana Buddhism (originated in India and completed in China) also has three main themes. They are: faith, determination (dedication) and practice. The order of faith, determination and practice delineates the process. From faith determination arises, and with determination, effort to practice arises.

　　When we say the words "to practice" most people interpret it as "practicing diligently" without the concepts of loving kindness and compassion or wisdom. Some Pure Land practitioners practice by chanting the name of the Amitabha Buddha but do not cultivate wisdom or compassion and loving kindness. This type of person will have to wait for a long while before they can fulfil their wish to become enlightened and return to this world in order to relieve the suffering of the worldly beings. This is the result of the imbalance development and negligence of Mahayana philosophy in practice.

　　When the Pure Land sect spread to Japan, it immersed into its theistic tradition and changed itself into the "Truth" sect, promoting the ideology of rebirth with faith and determination. Even the chanting of the name was not important anymore. This is similar to the Christian doctrine, where those who have faith will be saved.

　　In short, other religions or ideologies do emphasise the Three Essentials in one way or another but not all. It is important for us to remember that, the main themes of the practice of the Bodhisattva are the completion and perfection in the cultivation of faith determination, wisdom, loving kindness and compassion.

　　3. Finding, entering and advancing in the Buddhist practice of the Three Essentials

　　a) Different ways of entering the practice

　　In the practice of the Bodhisattva, we should not emphasise one practice and neglect the others. However, as a beginner, one may find entrance through one (or two) of the gates. Those who are interested in philosophy psychology or theoretical subjects may investigate the righteousness and profundity of the teaching and hence arouse an interest in learning the teachings of the Buddha. These are people who enter through the gate of wisdom.

　　On the other hand, those who are engaged in social welfare work and who are fond of render…

《The Three Essentials In Practising the Teaching of the Buddha》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…