' Buddha' is a personality whose reason, emotion and ability all reach the most satisfactory state at the same time. Let me repeat:' Buddha' is a personality whose reason, emotion and ability have reached the most satisfactory state at the same time. In other words, Buddha is a person with great wisdom, great compassion (or all wisdom and all compassion) and great power. Please pay attention to the difference between Buddhism and other religions: Buddha is not omnipotent, and he can't give us liberation. He can only teach us, and we still have to rely on our own efforts to get liberation. Buddha can't make us go to heaven or condemn us to hell. It is really not an easy task to define' Buddha'.
To put it simply, the Buddha is an awakened person, an awakened person.
Perhaps more clearly, it should be said that Buddha is a person who has a thorough understanding of the fundamental principles of life in the universe.
There is also a concise definition, which is generally accepted by ordinary people. That is to say, Buddha is a person who consciously realizes others and realizes perfection. In other words, the Buddha is a person who has realized himself and can realize it by further helping others, and this kind of self-awareness and awareness of his work have reached the most satisfactory state at the same time. I don't mean to talk nonsense when I say that the Buddha is a true equal. Let's first observe the social background of India at that time: everyone knows that India in Sakyamuni's era was divided into four classes: Brahman, noble, civilian and slave, and Sakyamuni, who is a prince, saw the irrationality of the social class and resolutely set up the banner of equality, advocating the abolition of class opposition and advocating the equality of all beings.
Please think about it carefully. All revolutions in history require the humble and lowly classes to' improve' and the high-ranking classes to be equal. There is absolutely no one like Sakyamuni who is willing to' lower' his status as a prince and be equal to civilians and slaves. Because of his selfless and inaction style, I say he is a true egalitarian.
At the same time, Buddhism advocates "no mercy" and "great compassion with the same body", and pushes the meaning of equality to a further level.
I think there must be some students who don't know the meaning of "without mercy" and "with great compassion". I should briefly describe it here:
(1) without mercy: Buddhism advocates not only being kind to people who are related to you, such as your parents, relatives and friends; At the same time, I should be kind to people who have no relatives or friends with me, such as people who have never been in contact with me or have never met each other, and care for them as well. In the words of Confucianism,' no mercy' means:' old people and old people; Young people and young people. " That is to say,' not only the relatives, but also the sons and sons,' as mentioned in "The Great Harmony of Rites and Lucks." Meaning of.
(2) empathy: empathy is a kind of spirit in which people are hungry for themselves and people are drowning for themselves, and all beings in the universe are regarded as one person and I, sharing weal and woe with * * * and the same flesh and blood.
Confucianism says:' and yet, while China holds our friendship, and heaven remains our neighbourhood.' He also said,' All men are brothers within the four seas.' It can show the mind of' same body and great sorrow'. And the earth treasure king bodhisattva' I don't go to hell, who goes to hell?' A deep desire for sorrow is the ultimate in the same body's great sorrow.
Finally, I want to explain that the Buddhist concept of equality, which can best show the true equality of Buddhism, is not limited to the human beings. Buddhism opposes the argument that "all animals except human beings are created to feed people". The wailing and wailing of all animals when they die is really terrible, so unbearable to hear, even Mencius will say,' I can't bear to eat its meat when I hear its voice.'
Buddhism further affirms that all these animals that are indiscriminately hunted and killed by human beings who claim to be the spirit of all things have Buddhist nature-a potential to become Buddhas in the future. Even though people are different from other animals in form and wisdom, they are equal in the right to survive. Just like a vicious or ignorant person, he also has "humanity". We should treat him with "humanity" and educate and influence him with "humanity". The ancients said:' Heaven has the virtue of good life.' And he said,' Everything is born with me.' It is an equal thought that regards everything as one. It's just not as thorough as Buddhism. According to other religions, if their leader or Almighty Lord, after all kinds of threats and inducements, or after all kinds of earnestly exhortations, still fails to realize his awakening, takes refuge under the banner of God, repents and admits that he is a lost sinner and a poor lamb, then once the final judgment comes, he will all go to eighteen levels of hell and never be reborn.
The ancients said,' The prodigal son never changes his gold.' Parents in the world always keep their doors open, hoping that the prodigal son can turn back, even though their children are criminals. There has never been a pair of parents who want or have the heart to have their children suffer in a dark and hot hell forever.
Buddhism recognizes that human nature is kind. As long as you put down the butcher's knife, you can become a Buddha. Buddha even thinks that the real' prisoner' is not evil, but ignorance, and all evil is caused by ignorance (Buddhism calls it ignorance). Therefore, it becomes the responsibility of the Buddha to earnestly enlighten and inspire all beings day and night. Buddha cares for all beings,' like a mother remembering a child', not only can't bear the suffering of all beings in hell, but also spreads that' hell is not empty, and I swear not to become a Buddha; Bodhi can only be proved when all beings are exhausted. " Vows. (Bodhi means' enlightenment' or' right path', and proving Bodhi means enlightenment or becoming a Buddha. ) What a kindness this is! What a sad wish! This is true fraternity! This is really pity! In the third point above, I have already mentioned Buddha and sentient beings, only in the order of awakening time. Han Yu said,' There is a sequence of stories.' It can be used as an auxiliary explanation.
' Buddha' is just a general term for an enlightened person. Just as we call people who can "preach, teach and dispel doubts" teachers, there is more than one teacher. Everyone can be a teacher and there can be teachers everywhere. By the same token, Buddha is not just Sakyamuni. Everyone can become a Buddha, and there can be Buddhas everywhere, not only in this world, but also on countless planets in the universe. (Of course, there are sentient beings. )
This is also the fundamental difference between Buddhism and other religions. Other religions can only recognize their' unique' gods, but try their best to criticize and deny the gods they teach, calling them' false gods'.
At the same time, under their teachings, no matter how hard human beings struggle, they can never keep pace with God and be in an equal position (always master-servant relationship). Because god is the creator, and man is just one of the' things' created by god.
According to some religions, everything in the universe was created by the Almighty, and their evidence is the Genesis in the Old Testament.
In fact, people with a little thought can immediately understand that' God' is also the product of human thought, and human beings make God by their own ideas and images. One of the purposes of man's creation of God is to explain the origin of life in the universe, which Buddhists call the first cause. But where does' God' itself come from? The pagans not only refused to pursue it, but also said with great certainty:' God is omnipotent, and he exists naturally.'
dear friends! If God can "exist by himself", in other words, he can exist by himself without being created by others, then what's the point of the idea that "God created the universe and life"? (Because by the same token, life in the universe can also exist naturally. )
here we list a mathematical formula to illustrate this problem. Although it is not very appropriate, it can help students understand:
Suppose the origin of life in the universe is X. Find x =?
The answer of the pagans is this. They write the answer directly without citing theorems or known assumptions: X = God
But where did God come from? Please look at the following formula: X = God = Y < P > Anyone with a little mathematical concept knows that Y is also an unknown number, in other words, this question has not been answered.
Buddhism totally denies the assumption that' God created everything' and doesn't recognize the first' beginning' of the universe. The so-called' beginning' of one thing is only the' end' of the previous thing. In a series of causal relationships, the disappearance of one thing constitutes the condition for the birth of another.
In his book What is Buddhism? In the book, I once explained this problem as follows:' The concept of "beginning" is due to the "limited" psychology of human beings, and it cannot cover thousands of causal relationships.'
For example, we go to see the third movie "Gone with the Wind", which starts at 7 o'clock and ends at 1 o'clock. But when we think about it carefully, the "start" of the third movie is actually the "end" of the second movie, and the "end" of the third movie is not the "start" of the fourth movie.
So the concept of' beginning' is meaningful only for a specific thing; For the whole complicated and causal universe, it is meaningless. Time is always flowing. Who can find the so-called' now' from it? And say that this is the' beginning'?
In fact, Buddhism is not interested in discussing such problems that are not beneficial to life, because the universe has no beginning and no end, and it will be futile for people to try their best to pursue the' first cause of the universe'. When you struggle to find the' first cause', you are bound to find that there is another' cause' before it. In this cycle, you will never find a fixed' first cause'.
At the same time, life is short and impermanent. If you still want to get to the bottom of it, you may be dead before you get the answer of "the first cause of the universe".
In Buddhist scriptures, there is a wonderful metaphor:
' A man was injured by a poisonous arrow, and his relatives and friends took him to see a surgeon. If the man said, "I don't want to pull this arrow out, I want to know who shot me. Is he a Khetili?" Brahmin species? Vedas? Or sudra? What is his name and clan? Is he tall, short or of medium build? Is his skin black, brown or blond? Which city and town does he come from? I don't want to take out this arrow unless I know what bow I was hit by. What is the bowstring like? What kind of arrow? What kind of hair is the arrow feather made of and what material is the arrow cluster made of? ...... "If this is pursued, this person will be dead before these answers are obtained." In fact, the problem in reality is to pull out the arrow to treat the wound first, so as not to die waiting for the answer. Therefore, Buddhism does not waste space and time, and struggles to pursue the issue of' the first cause of the universe'. Because the pursuit is also useless, but also useless to life, which has nothing to do with people getting rid of the pain of birth, old age, illness and death, and can not make people get quiet and liberated happiness.
The topic is a little off-topic. Now let's talk about Buddhism's view that everything in the universe is created by God, and that everything is' caused by karma'. For example, a mountain in front of us is a product of earth and stone; The lake is made of concave water; Look at the desks and chairs in the classroom, which are made of wood by carpenters. If the earth and stone are scattered, it will no longer become a' mountain'; If the water in the lake is drained, it will become a concave land. Where is the shadow of the' lake'? Dismantle the boards piece by piece. Where are the desks and chairs?
We can call these visible things' color' for short, because they are only' temporary aggregation of karma' and are not real and unchangeable, so we say they are' empty'-there is no eternal entity. This is the simple truth of "color is empty" in Buddhist scriptures.
However, Buddhism says that "color is emptiness", and this word "emptiness" is not emptiness, nor emptiness with nothing, but a kind of vacuum with wonder. How to say this sentence? Let me give you an example to illustrate:
There is a glass of water in front of me. After heating it continuously, it will become steam, and the shadow of water will never be seen again. But this does not mean that water really disappears into' empty', and when water vapor is cold, it will revert to' water'.
Furthermore, people who know chemistry know that water is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen. In other words,' water' is just a temporary combination of hydrogen and oxygen. After electrolysis, water will become hydrogen and oxygen again. By analogy, everything in the universe is not produced by temporary aggregation of karma, and nothing is eternal. If karma is combined, it will be born, and if karma is scattered, it will be destroyed. Where is the' God' who created everything? How can there be an eternal' everything' created?
Seventh, Buddhism teaches students according to their aptitude and adapts to local conditions.
What the Buddha says to all beings is aimed at different root mechanisms, and teaching varies with time and space. Because of the different objects of enlightenment, Buddhism has different interpretations: for example, for a person with high wisdom, Buddha tells him that he can point directly at people's hearts, see nature clearly, and realize now; For people with lower wisdom, the Buddha told him to practice step by step.
Another example: For those who are keen on fame and fortune, the Buddha told him that fame and fortune are empty. For those who are negative and pessimistic and think that life is meaningless and full of nothingness, the Buddha told him that' life is rare, life is precious, and people can achieve happiness and happiness through hard work.' To inspire his courage and confidence.
In the same way, Buddha has different metaphors and explanations due to different time and space. For example, people in Taipei asked Buddha,' How can I get to Dharma in Taichung?' The Buddha's answer is:' south,' and those who answered Kaohsiung said:' north.' By analogy, because all beings live in different places, the Buddha's answer is different.
There are 12 Buddhist sects in Sanzang and 84, Dharmas (Dharmas are methods of practice). These methods of practice are created to adapt to the roots of all beings and to cure their troubles. If there were no sentient beings, there would be no need for Buddhism. Buddhism is like "medicine". If all beings have no "disease" of worry, medicine is not needed.
Buddhism has been handed down from generation to generation for more than 2,5 years, and it can adapt to different times and different sentient beings. This is because he can teach students in accordance with their aptitude and adapt to local conditions. This educational method is one of the characteristics of Buddhism.
Eighth, Buddhism has entered the WTO.
Although the ultimate goal of Buddhism is to be born, it does not contradict the spirit of joining the WTO. (The so-called "birth" is not to escape from the world, but to transform and rebuild the world. )
Buddhist scriptures say:' Buddhism is in the world, and it is inseparable from the world. To die in Kubote is like finding a rabbit's horn.' That is to say, practice should be in the world, and consciousness should also be in the world. It is impossible for anyone who has a heart for the Tao to reject this world and escape from the human beings in this world, but to achieve positive results by "being alone." Because if a person wants to become a Buddha, he should not only have wisdom and wisdom, but also have broad vows and compassion to help all beings. It is necessary to use these two kinds of' sadness' and' wisdom' interactively, complement each other, and achieve a thorough and complete situation in order to become a Buddha. Therefore, Buddhism is doing the cause of joining the WTO in the spirit of being born. From practice to becoming a Buddha, there is neither "joining the WTO" nor "being born".