..续本文上一页 and Peking University were not able to grasp his ideas, and some even left the lecture early. In his discoveries, the universe is not merely three-dimensional space, there exist many more multidimensional spaces, and it can even expand to eleven dimensions. This shows that there exist many hidden phenomena or mysterious that are beyond the reach of our naked eye.

　　Thomas Edison, Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton, and other prominent scientists also recognize the existence of heaven and hell. We can see this from their biographies.

　　Therefore, like it says in the Buddhist Pramana treatise, the Pramānavārttikakārika, what our naked eye fails to perceive does not necessarily lack existence. This is particularly true in the case of some subtle and profound areas where even though our naked eye cannot perceive them, we can still establish their existence through inferential conclusions.

　　(2) Question: I am a first year student in the Department of Finance. Buddhism emphasizes “renunciation,” but when Shakyamuni Buddha became a monk, he was already over thirty years old. By that time, he had already gone through many things in life, and was therefore able to gain renunciation. As for you, you became a monk when you were still very young. May I ask what was the basis for your decision to follow a monastic life

　　Answer: Shakyamuni Buddha, on the surface, did initially enjoy life in the palace. Then, when he encountered the old, sick, and dead while traveling outside the palace, he eventually generated the mind of renunciation, became a monk, and ultimately gained enlightenment – becoming a Buddha.

　　This is the explanation based on the common Sutrayana view. As for the uncommon Mahayana and Vajrayana explanation, it is said that while Shakyamuni Buddha was on the bodhisattva path, he had been a monastic and had practiced Dharma for countless times and billions of eons. His last reincarnation was just his manifestation to show sentient beings how to become a Buddha.

　　Regarding the biography of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools in the Hinayana, and the Yogacara, Madhyamaka, and Vajrayana schools in the Mahayana all have their distinct views. Regarding this particular area, I have recently been translating a text on the history of Tibetan Buddhism and, at the beginning of this text, the whole process and experiences of Buddha”s enlightenment, from the time of his becoming a monk to his enlightenment, are described there. When this translation is complete, if you are interested, you can read about it.

　　As for my personal reason for becoming a monk, at that time it was because I was very interested in dialectical thinking and psychology, and I also yearned to understand the truth of reality. I felt that if I had to follow a life such as going to work in the morning and coming home in the evening, getting married and having children, then when I was over fifty years old, whatever I had done would have become the past, and would be gone, just like that. In contrast, in choosing to become a monk, although my life would not be exciting, there would be plenty of opportunities to study, and there would not be much stress.

　　My initial state of mind when I first became a monk was just that simple. After I had some understanding about Buddhism, I began to realize that being a monastic shouldn”t only be for the sake of our own joy and happiness, it should be about benefiting sentient beings and taking the responsibility to promote the Buddhadharma.

　　(3) Question: I am a visiting scholar at RenMin University. I am quite interested in religious study and have read some books about religions. I would like to ask: Do you treat Buddhism as intellectual enquiry and philosophical research only, or do you treat it the traditional …

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