What is Hideo? How can we cultivate our own happiness?

Before, I made a speech on the topic of "Wish", quoting Yuan Lefan's wish of "doing three thousand good deeds and seeking the good of others" in the Four Commandments. I received a letter from my friend recently. He said, "Yuan Lefan's wish is only for himself. Why can the blessing newspaper be so big? " He thinks that my example is not appropriate, far less than the second example, that is, I recite the Diamond Sutra for my dead wife every morning, which is a sincere wish and should be greatly rewarded.

This friend has his own opinions, and I admire him very much, which makes me want to do some research on several terms in Buddhism: blessing, seeking blessing, repairing blessing, blessing and merit, hoping to have a more correct understanding of the so-called "repairing blessing" to help us practice. Anyone who studies Buddhism wants to repair blessings, so what exactly is repairing blessings should be a topic that we all want to know. Today, I don't want to pursue profound theories, but I want to find a way to cultivate blessings that ordinary people can do in daily life, so that we can unconsciously conform to the Buddha's right view of doing good and accumulating virtue.

Seeking, practicing, doing and doing good are all advocated in Buddhism, but the "fruit" that these "causes" can produce is different in degree and depth, which is the difference between right and wrong. Therefore, seeking happiness is not cultivating happiness, and getting happiness is not doing merit.

Today I want to learn with you in three paragraphs:

1. What's the difference between seeking happiness and cultivating happiness?

Second, the difference between Ford and merit?

Third, how should we cultivate happiness?

1. What's the difference between seeking happiness and cultivating happiness?

Before explaining what is to seek happiness and what is to cultivate happiness, let me give a few examples to evaluate it. The first example: In the center of Kannonji in Zhuang Yan Temple, there is a colorful statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva, next to a smiling boy. One day, I happened to be in the temple and saw a man and a woman kneeling in front of Guanyin Bodhisattva to pray. Seeing me around, the young lady naturally asked me, "Do you know where the sign box is here?" I replied, "There is no signing equipment here. She asked, "Then how do we know whether Guanyin agrees or not? I said, "You might as well flip a coin. If you see a pattern on it, can't it mean that Guanyin Bodhisattva has promised you? They immediately took out a coin, prayed for it again, threw it up, and it landed in the sky with a pattern. They are very happy. I bowed to the Bodhisattva again and went home happily.

Do you think this young man and woman are seeking happiness? Or hideo?

(All the answers are almost for happiness. )

The second example: During the Tang Dynasty in China, there was a monk, Master Xuanzang. He crossed the desert and risked his life to go to India, where he was invited to return many Buddhist scriptures. Then he devoted his life to translating many classics into Chinese. He translated the Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra, which you often read. Ladies and gentlemen, is Master Xuanzang seeking happiness in learning and translating scriptures? Or hideo?

(The almost unanimous answer is Xiufu. )

The third example: About two years ago, I received a short message written by a lady. She said that she watched the study of the Diamond Sutra that I told her, and saw that my wife had been reading the Diamond Sutra every morning for 18 years, and then she died safely. She thought it was good to read the Diamond Sutra. She not only had a good husband before her death, but also built a library to commemorate her after her death. She was very moved. Now she also begins to read the Diamond Sutra once every morning. Ladies and gentlemen, is she seeking happiness? Or are you cultivating happiness?

(The answers are quite inconsistent. )

The fourth example: Take Yuan Lefan's third wish ── to do 3,000 good deeds and find a scholar in China as an example. After winning the Jinshi, Yuan Lefan was sent to Sichuan as a county magistrate. The county magistrate in the Ming Dynasty had great power, and he could decide to change the grain tax that ordinary people should pay without asking his superiors. When Yuan Lefan became a county magistrate, he sympathized with the peasants' sufferings and ordered tax reduction, which made everyone happy. He was moved by the earth, saying that his good deed of reducing taxes fulfilled his oath of doing 10 thousand good things. Ladies and gentlemen, is Yuan Lefan's decision to cut taxes for happiness? Or are you cultivating happiness?

(Some answers: Yuan Lefan is returning his wish to be the top scholar, and it should be seeking happiness. Someone replied: Yuan Lefan's tax cuts are for everyone, and he doesn't even want to pay. Therefore, his actions should be a blessing. )

Ladies and gentlemen, you all answered very well.

Seeking happiness seems simple and clear. Let's study the cultivation of happiness first. Because my study in recent years has been centered on the Diamond Sutra, I want to study the concept of "cultivating happiness" in the Diamond Sutra with you.

The Diamond Sutra, which you often read, was translated by Kumarajiva. In his translation of the Diamond Sutra, there is such a passage: the Buddha said that there will be "people who practice precepts and blessings" in the future, and the Buddha's teaching said that "confidence can be born, which is true." Here, Kumarajiva used the words "observe precepts and cultivate blessings". In another translation of the Diamond Sutra, namely the 577th volume of the Great Prajna Paramita Sutra by Master Xuanzang, Master Xuanzang translated these four words into "full of corpses, full of virtue and full of wisdom". The corpse is a Sanskrit transliteration of the word "Jie", so "there are enough corpses" means "keeping the precepts"; And "being wise" means "cultivating happiness". In other words, cultivating happiness requires two conditions: morality and wisdom.

What is "virtue"? There is a passage in the Buddhist book called "goodness means virtue". Generally speaking, it means that you have done something good, which is called virtue. Virtue is also different from "good fortune" and "merit", which are far from each other. The "virtue" used by Master Xuanzang here should be said to have both good fortune and merit. In other words: people who write good news should not only do good news, but also do merit.

What is "wisdom"? Wisdom is wisdom. Great wisdom is called Prajna in Buddhist scriptures, which is a transliteration of Sanskrit and pronounced as "weakness in a bowl".

Therefore, it's not just Xiu De who cultivates blessings-cultivating blessings and merits; You should cultivate wisdom, including meditation and prajna in the six paramita.

Because of the cultivation of virtue and wisdom, people who cultivate happiness must be broad-minded, while I am light-hearted, aiming at all beings and making universal efforts, which is very different from those who pursue happiness only for personal happiness, wealth, fame and power.

But then again, "cultivating blessings" is certainly a method that we should concentrate on learning Buddhism, but "seeking blessings" is still worth advocating. Being able to seek happiness is far better than knowing nothing about it. Moreover, in this era, when we talk about cultivating happiness, we are afraid of the disadvantages of rejecting others thousands of miles away. Therefore, all good deeds, whether for themselves or others, big or small, should be praised and praised. People who are proficient in the ten virtues will gradually understand the desire of "not giving to others" and doing outstanding merits, which is a clever convenience that bodhisattva practitioners should pay special attention to.

Second, the difference between Ford and merit?

There is a well-known story of Zen Buddhism, which is an irrelevant conversation when the founder of Dharma first arrived in China and Liang Wudi.

Liang Wudi heard that Dade had come to the Western Heaven and received him with great interest. He asked the founder of Buddhism, "I have been a Buddhist monk all my life, and I have lent money countless times. Is my merit great? " Father Dharma replied, "There is no merit." Gal words say not bottom go to, probably Liang Wudi left the temple, went back to the harem, never see dharma master.

In "Six Ancestors Tanjing", Wei Cishi used this anecdote to consult the six ancestors Huineng. The sixth ancestor's answer was: "Emperor Wu did not know Buddhism. Building temples, giving alms and fasting for monks in the name of happiness is not merit. Merit lies in dharma body, not in cultivating happiness. The Sixth Ancestor spoke a lot of truth, and his conclusion was: "Merit should be viewed from the heart, not from giving and supporting, but from receiving blessings and merits. Emperor Wu doesn't know the truth. It's not my father's fault. I'm afraid we can't fully understand what the Sixth Ancestor said. If you are interested in studying it, please have a look at the problems in the Six Ancestors Tanjing. I only choose one or two of them now. I believe we can do it step by step. I hope I can help you do real merit.

The Sixth Ancestor said, "Humility in the heart is a virtue, and being a layman is a virtue." "The heart is often light, I am constantly, that is, I am reactive; I am arrogant and always despise everything, but I have no virtue. He also said: "Practice merits, have no distractions, and always have a respectful heart. "Not caring" means not belittling others, and "always respecting others" means generally respecting others.

Therefore, the merits and demerits are easier said than done. Like Liang Wudi, he built so many temples and made countless offerings, but the founder of Buddhism said that he had no merit. It's hard to do, but it seems that everyone can do it, because as long as you are humble inside, you can always respect others (pay attention to their opinions and be polite to others). If you don't think you are great, it is merit. what do you think?

Now that we have a general concept of "merit", I want to study with you how to distinguish between "blessing" and "merit" in the Diamond Sutra. Only in this way can we have a clearer understanding.

When I was studying the Diamond Sutra, I had an interesting question: Master Kumarajiva sometimes used "blessings" and sometimes "merits". Did he use these two words casually? Today, I won't have such naive questions, because in recent years, I feel that Master Kumarajiva is very serious and strict in using words.

Therefore, if we can find out under what circumstances he used "Fu" and "Merit", then our understanding of these two terms will be more clear.

So I did some statistics and found that he enjoyed eighteen "blessings" and used eight "merits" in the full text. To sum up, when it comes to giving to sentient beings, the word "blessing" is used (there are fifteen places), and when it comes to pure mind, the word "merit" is used (there are six places).

You may ask, what are the three "blessings" and two "merits"?

One of these two "merits" is that the Buddha said that he has provided for 840 billion yuan, while other buddhas have provided for other buddhas. First, the Bodhisattva gave alms to seven treasures on earth, such as Ganges sand. The Buddha also said that he had merits, but he was not as good as another bodhisattva who knew all the laws without me, and achieved great merits through forbearance. Please note here that the Buddha is talking about the compassion of the Bodhisattva, not the compassion of ordinary people. At the beginning of the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha said, "If a bodhisattva has a self-image, a human image, a multi-life image and a longevity image, he is not a bodhisattva." He also said, "If a bodhisattva understands those who have no self and Buddhism, then the name of the Buddha is the real bodhisattva." Therefore, the good men and women who are not divided into four sides, such as those given by Liang Wudi, are mostly the fruits of God's blessing, and the seven treasures given by the Bodhisattva in Hengshajie are more meritorious than those given by the infinite blessings. Why? The Buddha said, "Therefore, the Bodhisattvas are not blessed." I am not greedy, so I said I am not subject to it. I am generous, as if nothing had happened, so my merits are boundless. I hope you appreciate it carefully.

What about the three Fords? That's what I meant when I heard the Diamond Sutra, so I gave birth to a clean letter. I was read aloud and recited four sentences, all of which were blessings. In other words, there is happiness only when giving, and there is happiness only when chanting Buddha.

According to the above analysis, we can draw a simple conclusion: the Buddha told us in the Diamond Sutra:

1. Wealth is the result of hard work (including discipline, humiliation and diligence).

Second, merit is the result of pure confidence in the Prajna Sutra and being read. It can also be said that merit is the crystallization of wisdom (including meditation), and merit also includes fortune.

Third, how should we cultivate happiness?

I hope you are not confused by a lot of blessings, merits, seeking and cultivating blessings I have told you. Let me tell you an anecdote, so that you may relax.

According to legend, there is a road leading from the countryside to the city in Suzhou, China, and many country people come in and out every day. This street is only six feet wide and is called Liuchi Lane. This alley is between two big gardens. As for the origin of this alley, it is a very interesting legend.

I don't know that at that time, the owner of one of the houses was a prime minister in Beijing. One day, he received an urgent report from the housekeeper of his hometown, saying that the neighbor next door was unreasonable and insisted that the boundary between the two gardens was unclear. According to our neighbors, we had to retreat three feet and lost a lot of land. What should the owner do? After reading the housekeeper's report, the Prime Minister wrote a poem at the back of the report: "It doesn't matter if you let him make a book three feet long as a Taoist temple wall. The Great Wall of Wan Li is still there today, and Qin Shihuang is not seen. " So his family automatically retired three feet, and the neighbors were ashamed to say it later, and they also retired three feet. Such a * * * is six feet, forming a passage, which is convenient for many villagers and does not have to detour into the city. This passage is called Liuchi Lane.

Now get down to business, how should we cultivate happiness? You have done a lot of exercises with your familiar relatives and friends, and I have taught you some tricks, but I will try my best to provide you with three and a half methods for your reference. Everyone is welcome to write criticism and discussion.

(1) Don't criticize people. This is easier said than done. A lesson worth introducing is to explore each other's strengths, appreciate his strengths, learn from his strengths and praise his strengths. When we notice each other's advantages, we will naturally reduce our criticism. Never criticize a person or gossip in front of many people. This is to repair blessings and repay merits.

(2) Practice the Ten Wishes of Samantabhadra. Each of the ten wishes of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva is to cultivate blessings. For ordinary Buddhists, repenting karma and persevering with all beings is the easiest way to guide you to practice merit.

(3) Read the Diamond Sutra. I suggest you read it at least once a day. This is based on my personal experience, and I realize that the Diamond Sutra has incredible merits. It is also the easiest blessing to do, and the merits are boundless.

As for what is semi-law?

If you get angry when arguing with others, or if you are bullied, if you can have the heart of "let him score three points", you can often block the road to career and open the door to happiness. This is half the way to cultivate happiness and make everyone laugh at it. Good luck and thank you.