Hong Kong University Question and Answer
Afternoon of November 27, 2011
(1) Question: I am a medical student here. I heard that when we begin to practise, the most important thing is to accumulate merit and wisdom. Could you please share some secrets that would allow us to quickly accumulate merit and wisdom
People today are so busy that they like for everything to be “quicker”. Some have said that this is the “fast food age”, which has some degree of truth. If there is a “fast food monastery”, teaching “fast food Buddhadharma”, I am sure many will take part.
Now, it is not that there isn”t a more rapid path of practice. From my long years of experience of studying and practising the Buddhadharma, regardless of the tradition, in terms of accumulating merit and wisdom, it is still the preliminary practices that can be called the secret know-how.
Like “Rarity of human body”, “Impermanence of life”, “Suffering of cyclic existence”, and “The workings of Karma”, after you have cultivated these foundational Dharmas, profound changes will occur in your mind. It is only then that you can truly be called a Buddhist. Otherwise, someone who does not even acknowledge past and future lives cannot talk of Chan meditation or Tantric practices. Then it is the inner preliminary practices – taking refuge, cultivating Bodhicitta, repentance, Mandala offering, and guru yoga practice. Which of these practices is not the secret know-how to accumulating merit and wisdom
It is a secret know-how, and merits and wisdom will accumulate rapidly. Now it is just up to you to practise it. If you are not willing to expend even this much effort, I am afraid it will be difficult to accumulate vast merits. In Chinese Buddhism, why is it that ancient masters required their disciples to endure long periods of harsh practices
It was to allow them to cultivate merits for the practice.
So, regardless of whether you practise Tantric methods or Sutrayana methods, to enter advanced practices requires one to have solid foundations. Otherwise, it is like buildings on ice that appear grand but are unstable, and would eventually entirely collapse.
Question: How does one realize emptiness
As this is the only way to liberation, where all words are without meaning.
Answer: Since all words are without meaning, then if you ask me to answer it, my words are also meaningless. (Audience laughs)
The nature of the mind does indeed transcend words. It is truly as Buddhist classics have said: “Unspoken wisdom reaches the other shore, it is by nature empty and is not born nor dies, each realizes his own states of wisdom, homage to the mother of all Buddhas of the past, present, and future.” Wisdom that cannot be described in words is of a nature that is not born and not die. It is the inpidually realized wisdom of holy beings, and the mother of all Buddhas of the past, present, and future. But for you to realize this, you cannot help but rely on words. The pre-requisite to enlightenment is studying, contemplating, and practising the Dharma, and these three must rely on words.
Of course, to be enlightened one must also pray to the teacher and be full of reverence. Master Yin Guang said: “Ten percent of reverence will eliminate ten percent of sins and bring about ten percent of merits and wisdom.” This teaching of “as the proportion of reverence increases, the benefits one gains also increases” is exactly the same as the practices and teachings of the Tantrayana tradition. In our tradition, a person who wishes to awaken must have especially strong faith and reverence in his teacher and in the particular teaching. He must also always pray.
When you pray like this, although what you wish for transcends words, but in fact you are able to obtain it.
(2) Question: I am an Econo…
《Hong Kong University Question and Answer》全文未完，请进入下页继续阅读…