..续本文上一页istence of AIDS enables this pneumonia to occur. Although we call it a disease of the lungs, actually this sickness is terminal. When you contract this pneumonia, it is incurable. Doctors can”t deal with it. Their hands are tied. It”s even reached the point that if the doctor sees the patient and so much as shakes hands with him, the pneumonia is transmitted to him. Or the patient might speak to the doctor and pass the disease to the doctor through the breath. And the doctors also die. Doctors and nurses have no way to protect themselves from this illness. They wear masks but the breath can still pass through the mask. It can still be transmitted just the same. Masks are no insurance against this disease. This is a case of living beings” karmic obstacles arising. When this kind of illness occurs, it is destined to wipe out the entire human race.
How can we cultivate the Way
Which people won”t die
Those who truly cultivate and truly believe in the Buddha will receive the Buddha”s aid and protection, escape the disaster, and then what
They will be prepared to sustain the seeds of the human race. But Buddhists who do not respect themselves can also catch this disease. They will also die of the fatal illness. They will have no way to remain in this world. Only those who live in the mountains and don”t meet up with people, those who live far from the human population so that within a year they might not even meet another person, might still have a chance to remain in the world, because they do not draw near to others. So we of the human race should not seek. What is seeking
Seeking refers to seeking men and seeking women. It refers to the craving men feel and the love women feel. That”s what is meant by seeking – seeking outside, always seeking happiness from outside. Finding this kind of happiness, you have found death. You become friends with death.
(Editor”s remark: When Ven. Master Hua went to Gold Wheel Monastery, he talked about this issue again and instructed disciples to vigorously recite the Great Compassion Mantra in order to be protected from epidemics.)
Not benefitting oneself. Why do people lie and make false claims
It”s because they are selfish and seek self-benefit. If you weren”t selfish and seeking self-benefit, then you wouldn”t lie and cheat people. You wouldn”t use clever words and an ingratiating appearance to move people. Confucius said: "Clever words and an ingratiating appearance are seldom associated with humaneness." Using clever words means saying things that people like to hear. Crafty words and flattering expressions are seldom humane.
As cultivators, we certainly cannot be arrogant and boast about ourselves. What is meant by arrogance
Why shouldn”t we be arrogant
It”s said, "If you are arrogant, you will harm yourself. If you are humble, you will attain benefit." If you are arrogant and think that you are fantastic, then you will harm yourself. Being humble, you will receive benefit. If you are humble towards other people, then you will be compassionate, agreeable and respectful towards all. If you are not humble towards other people, then you will be arrogant and haughty. But you must truly be humble. You can”t go overboard. If you go overboard, then you end up flattering others and putting them up on a pedestal. If you are like that, then you are being deceptive instead of modest. So no matter what it is, you have to do it just right -- don”t go too far and don”t stop short. If you can refrain from being selfish, then you won”t lie or boast. You won”t be phony and untrue. No matter who we are, when we experience a special state in our cultivation, we shouldn”t look upon it as a special state.
Some thirty years ago, I said that in the future people will not be people. Now, people can have skin-grafts; a person might have some of his own skin replaced with skin from a dog. After a long time, that person will become a dog because he has already become partners with the dog. The same holds true for the skin from pigs, horses, cows, sheep, and frogs. The human body is like an automobile with parts that can be replaced. In the future, the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys will all be replaceable. So many parts get transplanted. For instance, after a person”s heart has been replaced with a dog”s heart, his thoughts and behavior will become dog-like. This is a very dangerous practice. You shouldn”t think that this world is a good one. Hidden inside what seems good, there are all kinds of crises.
《爱死病、新肺炎与欲、爱、情 AIDS, New Pneumonia, Desire and Emotional Love》全文阅读结束。