The Vajra Strikes: Part 3

A Collection of Q & A's with the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua

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Q: I recently read in the Buddhist Sutras that, "We must make the vow to become reborn in the West." Does this mean that we should make a vow about being reborn in the West or does it mean that we should make that vow before the Buddhas?
A: We are afraid of vows because our will is too weak. Actually, we strengthen our aspirations by making vows. If we aspire to become sages and worthies, then we will become sages and worthies. If we aspire to become great heroes, then we will become great heroes. If we aspire to become Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, then we will become Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Though we may have set some goals, our will is not strong enough to achieve them. This is why we have to make vows. By making vows, we show that we are willing to act on them without retreating or regretting. We must be unrelenting in striving to realize our vows, focusing on them in every moment. We must be unrelenting in our action, behaving according to our vows. To that end, we will obtain the one of the positions of fruition, which is a position of non-retreat, be it the position of the first stage arhat, second stage arhat, third stage arhat, or fourth stage arhat. We make vows to help us with our goals. It's okay to make the vows before the Buddhas. It's also okay to be persistent. Don't do things just for looks, but really put things to practice.

Q: You had once said that "We can't understand and become enlightened to our inherent nature because we have been tainted by the burdensome objects of the five desires in the Saha World. That is why we cannot understand our mind and know our inherent nature." Will the Master please explain this?
A: Being tainted means having impure thoughts. We're tainted if we want to get rich; we're tainted if we want to become famous; we are tainted if we want to chase after the opposite sex; we are tainted if we want to eat good food. All these are impurities. Though our inherent nature is fundamentally pure, with these things we have polluted and covered our wisdom and the brilliance of our inherent nature.

Q: Are Tibetan lamas monks?
A: The Bhikshus of Mahayana Buddhism receives 250 ordination precepts. They can only be called Bhikshus if they adhere closely to the precepts. They cannot be comparable to some of the Tibetan lamas. Those lamas eat meat, eat the five pungent plants, drink alcohol, and other things that need not be mentioned. Therefore, their application of the precepts is completely different than what the Buddha has personally established.

Q: Well, why then is the mantra of the Secret school so effective? For example, they have a mantra that can kill people?
A: That's right, the power of secret mantras is terrific, but most of its practitioners are mostly hateful and vengeful. If you defy him or refuse to listen to him, he will recite a mantra. These mantras could put someone to death in seven days. At the minimum, they could make the victim sick or experience some disaster; their family could break apart and their fortunes could be depleted. People who cultivate secret dharmas are mostly short of compassion and are very much like asuras.

Q: The Buddhist scriptures often talk about the shakings of the great earth. Why do earthquakes happen?
A: Earthquakes can also be called people-quakes because people are connected to earthquakes. When people quake, the earth also quakes. If people were not to quake, then the earth would not quake either. Why did the earth quake in six ways when the Buddha entered Nirvana? It is because people panicked and were awfully scared, so their seven emotions and six desires seep out, causing to earth to quake.

Q: Is it considered killing to take prescribed medicine which kills viruses?
A: You are not taking that medicine because you want to, but because you're sick and you're treating your sickness. That's why the doctor gave you your medication. This is not something that you had wanted. It's not that you want to kill them, but that they came to harm you. On the other hand, we attract germs because we have too many false thoughts. You must first reflect and introspect. Kill the germs in your mind first.

Q: If we cannot retaliate against someone who has humiliated us, then we should be patient according to Buddhism. But in the eyes of others, we're little wimps. What should we do, really?
A: Don't be moved by others. Who cares whether they think we're wimps or not. We're not being patient if we're affected by what other people say. We must have our own guiding principles.

Q: Is the Western civilization on its decline?
A: This depends on what people do. If everyone did good things, then the fate of these countries will turn for the better. But if everyone did bad things, then the destiny of these countries will certainly founder.

Q: I had heard that it's wrong to have abortions according to Buddhism. But I had done so without any idea of this before, what can I do to make it up now?
A: The greatest good is but to change the mistakes that one has made. Offenses large enough to fill up the universe vanish through repentance.

Disciple: It's really a hard life for monastics who only eat one meal a day and do so much work.
A: It's no longer hard once you die.

Q: Buddhist precepts are very strict, but just as you have said, "Don't commit sexual misconduct; don't have thoughts of sexual desire." However, most people are likely to disagree, saying, "This is inhuman!" Will the Venerable Master explain this?
A: If you want to learn to be like a Buddha, then you cannot be human. If you want to be like a human being, then be a good person. In general, this is the way you must be if you want to cultivate.

Q: Is there anything we can do if our son is not filial and beats and scolds his parents?
A: Just take the beating! Who told you to have given birth to this son in this lifetime? People are intimately connected. You've probably hit your parents in some of your previous lives; therefore you have to undergo this retribution in this lifetime. If you think along these lines, then you wouldn't be so sad. If you want to turn things around, then recite the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Ask Guanyin Bodhisattva to please dissolve your resentment, but you must be very sincere.

Q: What kind of expedient practices can we use to influence people who kill chickens and ducks for a living?
A: They should change any mistakes that they've committed in the past once they realize that they have been wrong. As it is said, "Changing the errors of our ways, those errors vanish."

Q: Will the Venerable Master please explain the Great Compassion Mantra. One book says, "Serious physical diseases disappear instantly." But some people say, "That's impossible! Will your sickness get better just by reciting the Great Compassion Mantra?"
A: It's effective if you're sincere. If you're insincere, then it cannot be effective. As the saying goes, "When anger turns into joy, the dead man returns to life. If you claim this is false, you should know that Buddhas don't lie." Once you have faith, there will definitely be some response. The Great Compassion Mantra can cure 84,000 kinds of illnesses in the world, but that's for people with roots of goodness. People who don't have any good roots cannot read it even if he wants to. And try as he might, his sickness cannot be cured

Q: Meditators see illusions, as most people call it. Could you please explain this phenomenon that occurs during meditation?
A: Any phenomenon is illusory and false. What you see are just the fifty kinds of transformations according to the Shurangama Sutra. It would be very sad of you to consider any of these a form of accomplishment.

Q: How come Buddhism doesn't encourage people to enjoy themselves?
A: "To suffer is to end suffering; to enjoy blessings is to end blessings." The money in the bank is always yours if you don't spend it. If you eat, drink, and be merry, then you will use up your saving very quickly.

Q: Confucianism talks about humaneness while Buddhism talks about compassion. There are numerous similarities between the two, please explain their differences and similarities to us.
A: To be extremely humane is to be compassionate. Compassion embodies humaneness. Humaneness is the seed to a good person; it is the seed of goodness for practicing Buddhist precepts.

Q: Why should I adhere to the Five Precepts if I haven't received them?
A: The Five Precepts are the precepts of our inherent nature. You should keep them whether you have received them or otherwise. Receiving the precepts is a phenomenon while keeping the precepts is a noumenon. You must keep the precepts purely so that the noumenon becomes perfected.

Q: The Heart Sutra has this passage, "Form is emptiness and emptiness is form." Is this talking about women or men? It's not necessarily an explanation of male and female forms only, right? Will the Venerable Master please explain?
A: All female and male forms are included here. True emptiness contains wonderful existence while wonderfulness contains true emptiness. True emptiness is not empty, therefore, it is wonderful existence. Wonderful existence is not existent, therefore, it is true emptiness. "Form is emptiness," is simply about not looking outside for happiness because it is actually inherent to our nature. We don't need to dwell on form. There's true happiness in emptiness. Therefore, "Form is emptiness and emptiness is form."

Q: Is meditation and the "investigation of Dhyana" the same thing, or are they two different things?
A: Although the terms are different, they mean the same. If we really understand the investigation of Dhyana, then we wouldn't be confused any longer.

Q: Are charms and the spells of the eight diagrams effective?
A: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism in China started out the same. So why do we still believe in Buddhism now? It is because the teachings of Taoism, Confucianism, and other religions are not ultimate; while that of Buddhism is ultimate. I told you earlier about the great functions of the entire substance (that which is ultimate is complete), so Confucianism is very similar Buddhism. In fact, Lao Tzu of Taoism is an incarnation of Venerable Mahakasyapa of Buddhism and Confucius is a transformed incarnation of the Youth of Water and Moon according to Buddhism.

Q: How can we eliminate our karmic obstacles?
A: Any karmic obstacle can be annulled if people could just not get angry. Just be patient for an extra second before we get angry.

Q: The Sutras say "To the Buddha I return and rely, vowing that all living beings understand the great Way profoundly, and bring forth the Bodhi mind. To the Dharma I return and rely, vowing that all livng beings deeply enter the Sutra Treasury, and have wisdom like the sea. To the Sangha I return and rely, vowing that all living beings form together a great assembly, one and all in harmony." Since monks or nuns have to manage the great assembly, everything that they do must accord with the Buddha's way. But people are not perfect. People are still people, if they can't even upheld the rules themselves, aren't they misleading living beings by managing the great assembly.
A: There's good and bad in the world; there are those who cultivate and there are those who don't. There are those who truly support Buddhism and there are those who only use Buddhism to supply themselves with clothing and food. To the latter, Buddhism is a business. They try to fool people into believing that fish eyes are pearls. Whether people are fooled depend on whether they have the ability to select the right Dharma, the understanding of what is right and what is wrong. Without such an ability, people mistake the thief for their son, misery for joy, and black for white.

Q: Why can't Buddhism be simpler so that lots of people can understand it all at once?
A: Why don't we think of ways for kids to work as soon as they're born?

Q: What happens if we are illiterate and understand the words to the text?
A: This is easy, just learn! You can ask others if you don't understand! To draw near good teachers is to find good friends!

Q: How can we tell who is truly a teacher who understands?
A: To tell, just check and see if he contends and if he is greedy? Check and see if he is selfish or self-benefiting? See if he always lies but claims that he is being expedient. If you still consider people like that to be good advisors, then you can't tell right from wrong.

Q: Some people think that Buddhism is a religion that is very passive, could you please explain their point of view.
A: It would be wrong to think that Buddhism is passive. Buddhism is most proactive. It's just that most of us don't understand this kind this proactivity. In today's world that is fragile, chaotic, and wartorn, people are in a daze all day, oblivious to the fact that their lives could end the next day. Buddhists, however, remain completely calm in this state of affairs, still cultivating and doing the work that they should be doing. Take the Sangha at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, for instance, which grounds itself on Buddhist traditions, getting up at 3:30 a.m. to participate in the 4 a.m. service. There may be universal bowing, meditation, Sutra recitation, repentance ceremony or individual work after the morning service. Think about it, is it passive to get up so early and work hard on cultivation all day long?

Q: Some people say that they're sick because they have inherited their ancestors' karma. How do they eliminate that kind of karmic obstacle?
A: "We get full only when you eat; we end our own karma." We don't need to shoulder the offensive karma of those generations before us. It would be enough if we just stop creating more karma.

Q: Are there really hells?
A: I'll tell you, we're in the hells when we're alive: most people are troubled, fighting and arguing with each other without a break. Isn't that like being in the hells? How is a life like that meaningful? There are also floods, typhoons, wars, and other manmade disasters that make life here like living in the hells! Furthermore, disasters plague us so that we're miserable beyond words. We would rather die when we our cancer acts up. Isn't that like being in the hells?

 


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