Chapter I Religious Attitude of Buddhism Among all religious founders, Buddha (if we can also call him the so-called religious founder in the secular world) is the only mentor who does not pretend to be inhuman. He is only a simple human being, not the leader of other religions, or pretending to be a god, or pretending to be various incarnations of God, or pretending to be moved by the Holy Spirit. Buddha is not only a member of human beings, but also never claims to have been induced by any gods or external forces. He attributed his consciousness, achievements and accomplishments to people's efforts and talents. People, and only people can become buddhas. As long as he is willing to make a vow and work hard, everyone has the potential to become a Buddha. We can call Buddha an outstanding person. Because his "human nature" is so perfect, he is almost regarded as a superman in the eyes of popular religion in later generations. According to Buddhism, the status of human beings is supreme. Man is his own master, and there is no higher creature or power above him to decide his fate. "People should convert themselves. Who else can convert them?" (Note 1) The Buddha once said this. He admonished his disciples to convert themselves and never ask anyone for conversion or help. (Note 2) He taught, encouraged and urged everyone to develop themselves and strive for self-liberation; Because people's efforts and talents are enough to untie themselves. Buddha said, "You have to do the work, because the Tathagata (Note 3) can only teach you the way to go." (Note 4) We call Buddha the "Savior", which means that he is only the one who found and pointed out the way of liberation-Nirvana. This road still needs to be practiced by ourselves. Under this principle of self-responsibility, the disciples of Buddha are free. In the Great Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha said that he never wanted to restrain the Sangha (harmony monk group) (note 5), nor did he want the Sangha to rely on him. He said that in his teachings, there is no secret method. There is nothing hidden in his clenched fist. In other words, he has never had any "secrets in his sleeve". The Buddha allowed his disciples to think freely, which is unheard of in the history of religion. This freedom is necessary, because, according to the Buddha, the liberation of human beings depends entirely on the individual's consciousness of truth, not because he obeys God's will and behaves correctly, so he is rewarded by the grace of God or other external forces. Buddha once visited a small town called Jishezi in the country of Kasaro. The ethnic surname of the residents in that town is Gamorro. When they heard that the Buddha was coming, they went to visit him and said to him, "Dear Lord, some brahmins and monks came to the monastery. They only explained and promoted their own teachings, but despised, criticized and rejected other teachings. Then came other Brahma monks, who also explained and promoted their own teachings, but despised, criticized and rejected other teachings. But for us, we have always been suspicious and confused. We don't know who is telling the truth and who is lying among these respectable outsiders. " Therefore, the Buddha gave them such a teaching precept, which is unique in the history of religion: "Yes, Gamorros! Your doubts and your confusion are justified; Because for a suspicious thing, you should be suspicious. Gamorros! You should be careful not to be influenced by rumors, legends, and hearsay, nor to rely on religious classics, nor to rely solely on reasoning or speculation, nor to look at the appearance of things, nor to indulge in speculation, nor to believe something because it seems possible, nor to think,' He is our mentor.' Gamorros! Only when you know for sure that something is bad, wrong and evil can you get rid of them ..... and when you know for sure that something is good and beautiful, then you can believe and be followed. "(Note 7) Buddha taught more than that. He told his monks that disciples should even examine the Tathagata (Buddha) itself. In this way, he can fully believe in the true value of the master he follows. (Note 8) According to the teachings of the Buddha, doubt is one of the five covers (Note 9), which can cover people's hearts, prevent them from seeing the truth truthfully, and hinder all progress. Doubt is not a sin, because there is no such thing as blind faith in Buddhism. In fact, there is no concept of sin in Buddhism at all in other religions. The root of all evil laws is ignorance and Jaken. It is undeniable that as long as there is doubt, confusion and weak will, there can be no progress. But it is also undeniable that doubt must exist before it is clearly understood. But if you want to make progress, you must definitely get rid of doubts; And to dispel doubts, it must be clear. It is unreasonable to make people not doubt and have to believe. Just saying "I believe" doesn't mean that you have knowledge and insight. When a student does a math problem, at a certain stage, he doesn't know how to calculate it. At this time, he has doubts and fears. As long as this doubt is not removed, he will not be able to make progress. If he wants to calculate further, he must dispel his doubts. There are many ways to dispel doubts, and just saying "I believe" or "I don't doubt" can't solve the problem. Forcing yourself to believe and accept something you don't understand is politics, not religion, nor wisdom. In order to dispel doubts and doubts, the Buddha is extremely eager. Just a few minutes before his death, he asked his disciples several times to ask him questions if they still had doubts about his teachings, and not to regret not clarifying these questions later. But none of his disciples made any noise. What he said at that time was extremely touching. He said, "If you refuse to ask questions because you respect your teachers, even one person will tell his friends." This means that he can tell his friends what he suspects, and the latter will ask the Buddha questions instead of him. ) (Note 1) Buddha not only allowed his disciples to think freely, but also was generous, which especially surprised those who studied the history of Buddhism. Once, in Nalanduo City, the Buddha met a famous and rich layman named Youpoli. He is a disciple at home of Niganruotizi (Maha Piro), the leader of Jainism. Mahapilo personally sent him to meet the Buddha, arguing with the Buddha about some issues related to the theory of karma, hoping to defeat the Buddha, because the Buddha's views on these issues are different from those of Niganruotizi. However, unexpectedly, as a result of the discussion, Youpo Li believed that the Buddha's point of view was right, but his teacher's point of view was wrong. Therefore, he asked the Buddha to accept him as a disciple of the Buddha at home (Youposai). But the Buddha told him not to make a hasty decision, but to think it over carefully. Because "it is important for a prestigious person like you to think carefully." When Youpoli expressed his wish again, the Buddha asked him to continue to respectfully support his former religious teachers, as before. (Note 12) In the third century BC, Ashoka, the great Buddhist emperor of India, followed the Buddha's model of tolerance and understanding and respectfully provided for all religions in his vast territory. One of the many letters written by him on rocks still exists today, in which the Emperor declared, "You should not only respect your own religion, but belittle the religion of others. We should respect other religions as we should. By doing so, we can not only help the growth of our own religion, but also fulfill our obligations to other religions. Do it the other way around; Not only did he dig a grave for his own religion, but he also hurt other religions. Anyone who respects self-teaching rather than criticizes others, of course, is loyal to self-teaching and thinks that' I will be self-respecting', but on the contrary, he has hurt his own religion more seriously. Therefore, harmony is good. Everyone should listen and listen to the teachings of other religions willingly. " (Note 13) Here, we want to add a sentence, that is, this spirit of sympathy and understanding should be applied not only to religion, but also to other aspects today. This spirit of tolerance and understanding has been one of the most cherished ideals of Buddhist culture and civilization from the beginning. Therefore, in the long history of Buddhism of more than 2,5 years, there is not an example of Buddhism persecuting other religions. Buddhism has never shed a drop of blood because of preaching Buddhism or persuading people to believe in Buddhism. It spread peacefully all over the Asian continent, and today it has more than 5 million followers. Any form of violence, no matter what the excuse, is absolutely contrary to the teachings of the Buddha. There is a question that is often mentioned: Is Buddhism a religion after all? Or philosophy? Whatever you call it, it doesn't matter. Buddhism is still Buddhism, no matter what label you put on it. Labels are irrelevant. We call the teachings of the Buddha "Buddhism", and there is no special importance. The name people give it doesn't matter. What does the name matter? We are called roses,

and by any other name, they are still fragrant. Similarly, truth needs no label. It is neither Buddhist nor Christian, Hindu or Muslim. It's nobody's patent. The label of religion is only an obstacle to understanding the truth independently. They can create harmful prejudice in people's minds. This is not only true for things related to reason and mind. Even in the relationship between people, it is the same. For example, when we meet a person, we don't regard him as a human being, but first put a label on him, such as English, French, German or Jewish, and then put all our prejudices related to these names on him. In fact, this person may not contain any attributes that we have added to him. Human beings like to have distinctive labels, and even label all kinds of characters and emotions that human beings share. Therefore, we often talk about various "trademark" charities: for example, Buddhist charities or Christian charities, while ignoring other "trademark" charities. But philanthropy can't be divided into sects; It is neither Christian, Buddhist, Hindu nor Muslim. A mother's love for her children is neither Buddhist nor Christian; It's just maternal love. Human qualities and emotions, such as love, kindness, sadness, forgiveness, forbearance, righteousness, lust, hatred, evil, stupidity and slowness, do not need religious labels; They are not exclusive to any religion. For those who seek truth, the source of an idea is insignificant. It is an academic matter to study the origin and evolution of an idea. In fact, if you just want to understand the truth, you don't even need to know whether this doctrine is said by the Buddha or by others. What matters is knowing and seeing the truth clearly. There is a very important record in the 14 th Classics of the Middle Classics of Balizhang, which can be used as evidence. Once, Buddha spent the night in a potter's hut. In this hut, first came a young monk. He and the Buddha don't know each other. The Buddha looked at the family carefully and thought: This young man's manners and manners are very gratifying. I might as well ask him a question. So the Buddha asked him, "Bhikkhu! (Note 15) Under whose name did you become a monk? Who is your mentor? Whose teachings do you obey? " "Fellow practitioners!" The young man replied, "There is a descendant of the Sakyamuni named Gautama who left the Sakyamuni and became a monk. His reputation is far-reaching, and it is said that he has won Arhat Grosvenor, and he is an honorable person who feels perfect. I became a monk under the name of that Buddha. He is my master, and I obey his teachings. " "Where does the Buddha, the Arhat, and the venerable one who feels perfect, live now?" "In the northern territory. Fellow practitioners! There is a city called Shewei. The venerable Buddha, Arhat, and the venerable man who feels perfect in walking live there now. " "Have you seen him? The Buddha, if you see him, will you know him? " "I have never seen the venerable sir. If I saw him, I wouldn't know him. " Buddha realized that this unknown young man became a monk in his name. Without revealing his identity, he said, "Bhikkhu! Let me teach you the dharma. Listen carefully! I want to talk! " "Ok, fellow initiates!" The young man promised. Therefore, the Buddha told the young man an excellent sutra to explain the truth. (The essentials of this lesson will be explained later. ) (Note 16) It wasn't until after the story was finished that the young monk named Gaza suddenly realized that it was the Buddha who spoke. So he stood up, went to the Buddha, prostrated himself at the feet of the Buddha, and apologized to him. Because of his ignorance, he called the Buddha a fellow practitioner. (Note 17) Then he asked the Buddha to ordain him and allow him to join the Sangha. Buddha asked him if he had prepared clothes and bowls. A monk should have three clothes and a bowl, which is used for begging. ), Gaza saidno.. The Buddha said that the Tathagata cannot give precepts to people who have no clothes. When Gaza heard this, he went out, but unfortunately he was killed by a cow horn. (Note 18) Later, the bad news reached the Buddha. Buddha declared that Gaza was a saint, who had seen the truth clearly and could not get the fruit. In the place where he was born again, he could get Arhat Grosvenor (Note 19) and never come back to this world after his death. (Note 2) This story clearly shows that when Gaza listened to the Buddha's statement, he knew what the Buddha said. He didn't know who the statement was, but he saw the truth. As long as the medicine is good, it can cure the disease. There is no need to know who made the prescription and where the medicine came from. Almost all religions are based on "faith"-rather, blind faith. But in Buddhism, the emphasis is on "seeing", knowledge and understanding, not on faith. There is a word saddha (sraddha in Sanskrit) in the Pali Buddhist scriptures, which is generally translated as "faith" or "belief". But saddha is not a simple "faith", but a firm heart born of certainty. Only in terms of popular Buddhism and general usage in classics, saddha does contain some elements of "faith". That is only for the piety of Buddhism, Dharma and monks. According to Wuzuo, a great Buddhist philosopher in the 4th century BC, there are three forms of faith: (1) complete and firm belief in the existence of something, (2) quiet joy from virtue, and (3) deep desire to achieve a certain goal. (Note 21) No matter how to explain it, what most religions know (believe) has little to do with Buddhism. (Note 22) The general "belief" comes from the absence of "seeing"; This includes all the meanings of seeing. Once we meet, the question of belief disappears. If I tell you that there is a jewel in my clenched palm, this will cause the question of whether to believe it or not, because you can't see it. But if I open my palm to show you this gem, after you see it with your own eyes, there will be no problem of believing. Therefore, there is a saying in the ancient Buddhist scriptures: "When you are enlightened, you will see the treasure in your palm." The Buddha had a disciple named Mo Shiluo. He told another monk, "Shaweituo fellow initiates! I don't rely on worship, faith (belief) (note 23), greed, preference, ear food and legends, superficial reasons, and speculation. I know and see that' the cessation of life' is nirvana. " (Note 24) The Buddha said, "Monks! When I said, I was talking to people with insight, not to people who didn't know anything! " (Note 25) Buddhist faith is always a matter of knowing, not believing. The teachings of the Buddha have been described as ehipasika, that is, please "see" yourself, not believe. In the Buddhist scriptures, the word "gain a clear eye" is used everywhere when it comes to people who testify to the truth. Another example is "He has seen the Tao, got the Tao, knew it, went deep into the reality, dispelled doubts, and was determined and never wavered." "Know the truth with positive wisdom." (Note 26) When talking about his own enlightenment, the Buddha said: "Eyes are born, knowledge is born, wisdom is born, and ingenuity is born."