..续本文上一页 of life and death. Therefore, many Buddhist Doctrines, altruism in particular, need to be practiced in reality. We must constantly think of others” benefits in what we do all the time.
Many people nowadays only have eyes for money regardless of whatever job they do. They are only concerned about themselves 90% of the time in a day. They never deliberate on what they can do to improve the society, or do something meaningful to help people in the world. This is a very bad phenomena. Of course it is probably not realistic for ordinary person not to care about his own basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and means of transportation. However, the more you think of yourself, the less benefit you will end up with. Similarly, the more you have other people in your mind, the more likely you will be benefited unexpectedly.
2. Patrul Rinpoche and the Widow
Recently, there have been frequent media reporting on moral decline. It makes you feel people”s ethics has become much worse than the past. In our Tibetan region, if someone is hit by a car, I dare say that 99% of the Tibetans will stop their vehicles and go all the way out to rescue this person. People would try everything to help, or chant sutra for a life – even if it is just a yak, let alone human beings. It is impossible to turn a blind eye to the sufferings of other sentient beings.
In the 19th century, there was a widely known great siddha named Patrul Rinpoche. He once met a widow with her three children while he was on his way to Sershul on foot to hold a Dharma Festival. They too were also going to the Dharma festival. Rinpoche felt sorry for the orphans and their widowed mother, thus he carried the second child on his back and traveled with them. Sometimes Rinpoche would piggyback the child to beg for meals and shared with them all. Sometimes the woman held the little one and begged food for everyone. There were times the older child went to beg the meals for all. People thought they were a family of beggars. The woman did not know he was Patrul Rinpoche until after they arrived at the destination.
This was just a minor incident, but we could use it to introspect if we would lend a helping hand when we run into people in distress. Most people would definitely feel compelled to help their own relatives and good friends when they are in trouble. They would not, however, spare a glance for complete strangers who are encountering mishaps and suffering, or some animals being slaughtered. This is the manifestation of lacking altruistic mind.
A while ago, I was discussing issues related to the value of life with some intellectuals. At the beginning due to the impact of their education, they felt only the lives of human beings were meaningful; other beings not worthy of our love and care. But after a series of exchanges, discussion and debate, gradually they realized every life had similar feelings toward suffering and happiness. All beings wish to be happy, and do not want to suffer. This is not limited to human beings. It is the same for all other animals. Therefore, this topic deserves deep deliberation.
IV. An Altruistic Mind is very Beneficial for Us
In fact, the essence of Buddhism is to wish for all beings to be free from suffering and to be happy . This is not found in any other religions or doctrines. Some people might think: “ Since it is basically impossible, this mentality is not necessarily all that noble”. But in reality, regardless whether or not it is doable, the merit of arousing such Bodhichitta is enormous. As it is stipulated in the “Jewel Heap Sutra (Ratnakūṭa Sutra)”, if Bodhichitta has color and form, it cannot even be contained by the entire realm of space. Furthermore, “Vīradatta(gṛhapati)paripṛcchā (sūtra)” als…
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