..续本文上一页ve barriers between self and other is to become Enlightened."
When you "get-it", you become "one with all of it". Suffering, Enlightenment, defilements, purity. No inside. No outside. No dualism whatsoever. This is what our Zen training can accomplish for you.
Thusly we come to understand that defiling thoughts and our personal sufferings DO NOT exist in their own right, but arise only from the non-enlightened mind induced by these three kinds of conceptions.
All Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Zen Masters from their very beginning have developed their HIGHER MANAS in order to rise above such defilements and personal sufferings. They have developed their hearts of Compassion and Wisdom- upholding the Six Perfections and the Bodhisattva Vow, not to gain for themselves this special Enlightenment, until all sentient beings have been emancipated from the bondage of the outer activity of mind.
By our practicing advanced true Samadhi- Zazen- we acquire in this present lifetime the TEN GREAT ADVANTAGES, which are:
1) First, you will at all times be under the protection and support of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who constitute the Eternal Sangha.
2) Second, you will never fear evil.
3) Third, you will attain clear insight and intuitive understanding, and will cease to be confused or disturbed by false teaching and false teachers.
4) Fourth, you will no longer doubt the profound Dharma teaching, their predispositions and karma hindrances will gradually disappear.
5) Fifth, the rising of instinctive desires, suspicious and malicious feelings will cease.
6) Sixth, your faith in the purposive good-will of the Tathagatas and of the wisdom and compassion of Buddhahood will increase naturally.
7) Seventh, you will become courageous and serene in the face of issues of life and death, escaping grief, and all feelings of contrition and despondency.
8) Eighth, you will unfold a great heart of compassion, your spirit will become gentle and mild, discarding all pride of egoism and untroubled by others acts.
9) Ninth, you will cease to find pleasure in worldly things, and though you may not have attained Enlightenment, you will remain tranquil under ordinary conditions.
10) Tenth, after having attained Enlightenment, you will never again be in bondage to sense-originating of the lower manas.
Finally, I”d like to say something about the power of the Bodhisattva Kuan Yin. Many of you have seen statues of Kuan Yin, or may have one yourself. Another name for Kuan Yin is Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva. She is the hearer of the Cries of the World. And one of the characteristics is that she manifests herself in accord with each circumstance. So, she is always presents herself in a form that is appropriate to what is happening.
Every time there is a stranded vehicle on the side of the road and a motorist stops to help- Kuan Yin Bodhisattva has manifested herself. With selfless Compassion and Wisdom for all sentient beings. Each of us has the potential of being Kuan Yin within our very being. It” s simply a matter of awakening to it. You awaken to it by realizing that there is no separation between self and others- as Dogen Zenji puts it.
The next time you rush to the aid of someone needing help- Kuan Yin is working through your very being. In THAT moment- for a split instant- there is no separation between you, the person needing help and the phenomenal world in which the giving of your help is given.
It is my great desire that each of you will come away from our Zen retreat with the selfless compassion and wisdom of that of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva.
And finally, in conclusion, let us recite the BODHISATTVA VOWS together.
Sentient beings are numberless; I vow to save them all. Desires are inexhaustible; I vow to put an end to them. The Dhamma is boundless; I vow to master them all. The Buddha Way is unattainable; I vow to attain it.
To me, the impossibility of these Bodhisattva Vows is the very essence of our Zen practice. We are not to be concerned with the goal- it”s the process which is most important for us. Practice and enlightenment are not two separate things. It”s not the goal of saving all sentient beings. It”s the practice of saving all sentient beings. Of putting an end to our desires, defilements, delusions, of mastering Dhamma itself, and attaining Enlightenment. With the final attainment of such Wisdom, we are reminded of the very first of the Great Six Perfections: DANA:- giving, the first of the Six Great Perfections.
The Dhamma Master gives to the disciple. The disciple gives back to the Dhamma Master. It works both ways. Giving ourselves to the Dhamma (teaching); and to whom ever needs our help.
NA MO A DI DA PHAT.
[Venerable Dhamma Master Thompson bows.]
Venerable Zen Master Daito Zenei Thompson LIFE ABUNDANCE ZEN BUDDHIST SANCTUARY Lynwood Seattle Redmond Gig Harbor
For Monthly Retreat Schedule and Free Brochure: c/o 1124 Market Street #2 Kirkland, WA 98033 USA tel/fax (206) 827-9544.
《A DAY OF MINDFULNESS at Dharma Well》全文阅读结束。