A fish, if it is in a large fish tank, may not feel that it is confined. Because the space is large enough, it is unlikely to hit the edge of the fish tank. Because the time is short enough, it is busy looking for food and sleeping throughout its short life and has no time to think differently. It is not just fish. This metaphor is used to describe the world. The definition of the world is: time defines migration-"Shi 世", and space defines direction-"Jie 界". If all feelings are within a specific time and space, then this state of existence itself defines the world it is in. When there is food, beautiful water plants, and other fish friends in the fish tank, the fish will not feel that it is imprisoned. When the world has items that meet our various needs, and all the things that make us desire, love, reject, and refuse, we will not feel that the world has anything to do with prison. The Buddhist scriptures say that the three realms are a house of fire. The beings in the Desire Realm (the world where humans live), the Form Realm (the world beyond the human world), and the Formless Realm (the world at a higher level) have one thing in common: they are all like a house on fire, because everything in these worlds is impermanent, fragile, and in a cycle of birth, existence, change, and extinction, but the residents are completely unaware and have never thought of leaving. Just like fish.
Don't be attached to your relatives, your pets, or even the food in your bowl. There are Chinese stories and Indian stories. The basic idea is the same. Let's look at the stories as follows:
Let's look at the Chinese story first:
During the Tang Dynasty. One day, Hanshan Dashi came to a village. He saw that there were people in the village who were looking for a wife. There were hundreds of tables of banquets, gongs and drums were played, and everyone was very happy. Hanshan Dashi saw it and burst into tears. The people around him said, you crazy, today is a big day, why are you crying here? Relatives and friends said they wanted to drive him away. Hanshan Dashi said, I am not crazy, you are crazy, you are crazy. Why? It's like a grandson marrying a grandmother, pigs and sheep are the upper seats, and the six relatives are cooked in the pot. The people present said, we are normal, you are crazy, how can you say we are crazy? Hanshan Dashi immediately recited a poem, "The six realms of reincarnation are painful, the grandson marries the grandmother", "sits on the table with pigs and sheep", "the six relatives are cooked in the pot". This bride and groom is actually the grandson marrying the grandmother. Why? It is the reincarnation of his grandmother. When the grandmother was about to die, the grandson was still young, but the grandmother was reluctant to let this grandson go. She was very attached to this grandson. When she was dying, she was still thinking about her grandson. She was afraid that no one would take care of her grandson. This is attachment. After death, the karma pulled her. She had no choice but to reincarnate into the world of the living and became a girl from the next village. It was just a few years difference. When she died, the grandson was only a few years old. So the difference was not a few years. After growing up, she became her granddaughter-in-law. She changed her appearance. What did she become? A bride. This is called "grandson marrying grandmother", which is the six realms of reincarnation. "Sitting on the table are pigs and sheep", now relatives and friends are happy, and the room is full of guests. The cattle and sheep that were killed in the past have been reincarnated into the world in this life and become human beings. This has become the seat of honor, and everyone comes to congratulate. This is "sitting on the table are pigs and sheep", which means that these pigs and sheep were killed in the previous life. "Cooking in the pot with relatives" refers to the meat to be eaten now. The meat cooked in the pot now was originally the animals of the reincarnation of the six relatives after death. All the people on the table were pigs, cows and sheep that were eaten in the past, and they have become people in this life and are relatives.
Let's look at the Indian story:
Reversing the relationship between enemies and relatives (according to the "Dhammapada Sutra": There was a Brahmin in the country of Savatthi in the past. Although his family was rich, he was very greedy. Whenever he ate, he would close the door. One day, his family cooked chicken for food, and the couple ate together. The youngest son sat in the middle, and they took turns to put meat into the mouth of the youngest son. The Buddha knew that the blessings of this person in the past life had matured and it was time to be saved, so he turned into a monk and appeared in front of the Brahmin. The Brahmin was furious when he saw him and said, "This Taoist is really shameless. Why did he break into my house?" The monk said, "It is your own stupidity that killed your father. Marrying your mother and supporting your enemy, how can you call a Taoist shameless? "
The Brahmin asked what this meant, and the Samana said: "The chicken on the table was your father in your previous life. Because of greed, he was often reborn as a chicken. This child was a Rakshasa in his previous life. You have been harmed by him for several lifetimes. Because your previous karma has not yet been exhausted, he wants to harm you again in this life. Your wife is your mother in your previous life. Because of the deep love, she came to be your wife. How can an ignorant person know about this kind of reincarnation? Only a Taoist can see it clearly. "The Buddha then showed his divine power and let the Brahmin see The Brahmin confessed to the Buddha and asked to receive the precepts. The Buddha preached to him and he attained the fruit of Sotapanna.
According to the Vinaya Sutra, there was a man who loved his son very much and created many karmas for his son. When he was dying, he could not let go of his son and was reincarnated as a cow. His son killed it and ate its meat. After he died, he was reincarnated as a cow, but his son killed it again. He was reincarnated as a cow for the third time. When his son was about to kill it, Shariputra appeared at the door of his house and observed through his supernatural powers that the cow had been talking to itself: "I have been killed. I came twice, but you killed me both times. My beloved son, now you want to kill me again. I feel very uncomfortable and can't bear it, but I can't resist. "The Venerable told his son this, and then he released the cow.
The Middle Agama Sutra records that Duti's father was reincarnated as a dog in his son's home and stole food from the plate.
The Sutra and Vinaya Differences records that Chandan's father was reincarnated as a beggar and came to his son's door to beg for food, and one of his arms was broken by the gatekeeper.
The relatives around you and the animals around you may all be an unfinished fate. Don't be attached.
Taking the nature of non-arising and non-extinction is the true mind in the cause of the cause-effect relationship.
Giving alms to fourteen kinds of individual beings brings great merit and great blessings. These fourteen kinds are: Tathagata, Pratyekabuddha, Arahat, one in the path to Arahat, Anagami, one in the path to Anagami, Sakadagami, one in the path to Sakadagami, Sotapanna, one in the path to Sotapanna, Sentimental non-Buddhists, diligent practitioners, ordinary people, and animals. If giving alms to animals brings a blessing of one hundred, then giving alms to ordinary people brings a blessing of one thousand, giving alms to diligent practitioners brings a blessing of one hundred thousand, giving alms to Sentimental non-Buddhists brings a blessing of one hundred million, giving alms to saints from Sotapanna to Arhat brings a blessing of inestimable, giving alms to Pratyekabuddha is also inestimable, not to mention giving alms to Tathagata. Giving alms to seven kinds of monks brings great merit and great blessings. Even if there may be bad monks who are not diligent and have no substance among the monks, they still bring great merit and great blessings. These seven kinds are: 1. Giving alms to the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis when Tathagata was alive. 2. Give alms to the group of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis when Tathagata nirvana not long ago. 3. Give alms only to the group of bhikkhus. 4. Give alms only to the group of bhikkhunis. 5. Name a specific group of bhikkhunis and bhikkhunis. 6. Name a specific group of bhikkhunis. 7. Name a specific group of bhikkhunis. The merit and reward of giving alms to any specific individual will never be greater than giving alms to the Sangha. (Why is the merit of giving alms to the Sangha greater than giving alms to the Tathagata? Perhaps it is because the Sangha has the mission of "the long-term existence of the Dharma", and the continuation of the Dharma in the world depends on the actual undertaking of the Sangha. It may also be because every bhikkhu or bhikkhuni who has left home is a future Buddha.)
There are four types of alms: 1. Alms from a pure donor who practices good Dharma to an evil receiver who practices evil Dharma. This type of alms is pure because of the donor. 2. Alms from an evil donor who practices evil Dharma to a pure receiver who practices good Dharma. This type of alms is pure because of the receiver. 3. When an evil donor who practices evil dharma gives alms to an evil receiver who practices evil dharma, both the donor and the receiver are not pure. 4. When a pure donor who practices good dharma gives alms to a pure receiver who also practices good dharma, both the donor and the receiver are pure.
In the Vinaya, there is a very meaningful sentence in the Buddha's answer to Mahapajapati Gautama, that is, the Buddha said "I am among the Sangha" (such as "Five Divisions of Vinaya", page 185 of the 23rd volume of the Taisho Tripitaka). "I am among the Sangha" indicates that the Buddha is also a member of the Sangha, which corresponds to "The Tathagata does not say: I hold the crowd, I gather the crowd." (The Tathagata does not say: I lead the crowd, "The Second Procession of the Long Agama Sutra").
If the discriminating mind of the three continuous energy conditions can be cut off, bodhicitta will naturally arise. When bodhicitta arises, the delusional thoughts that arise and disappear will be eliminated. But the true mind of Bodhi does not arise or disappear. If it does, it is also the attachment of ordinary people. Because if something arises and something disappears, it becomes the way to deal with it. The mind that arises and disappears must be completely purified, and only then can we feel the Dharma without any function. The Dharma without any function, that is, Shurangama Dharma.
But if there is a natural mind arising, then of course there is a mind that arises and disappears will be annihilated. Then, one is arise and the other is disappear, and it is treated, and it also belongs to the interaction of arises and disappears. What is without arises and disappears is called nature. For example, things in the world are mixed and combined with various factors to form a whole, which is called harmonious nature. What does not belong to the nature of harmony is called original nature. The original nature here refers to nature, and harmony refers to causes and conditions. The original nature is not natural, and the harmony is not the harmony of causes and conditions. To separate from causes and conditions and nature, both "can be separated" and "cannot be separated" must be eliminated. If Buddhism is explained in this way, it is the real Dharma.
Before his Nirvana, the Buddha said that after his Nirvana, the teacher of those who study Buddhism is the precepts. The precepts can help people develop correct concepts and generate all good dharmas. In general, these precepts require us to detach from all things other than the necessities of survival, and we should not plan or pursue the materials necessary for survival, but follow the circumstances and be content. This requirement seems simple, but the deep meaning is that it allows people to weaken their attachment to the five desires through these behaviors, and gradually realize that the reflection of the mind is the root of the cycle of life and death in the process of gradually observing the unreality of "I" and the impermanence of "the world". Only by stopping the reflection of the mind can we truly realize the higher level of life meaning.
In many stories describing the bodhisattva's rescue of sentient beings from suffering, from the initial response to every request, let the readers feel the comfort of "getting" help, and then discover the indifferent altruism of Bodhi, which reflects the unreality of "I" and the impermanence of "the world". And no longer clinging to impermanence is the original intention of Bodhi to benefit oneself and others.
The following is an excerpt from the general outline of the precepts described in the "Legacy Sutra":
Those who keep the pure precepts. They shall not engage in trade, build land and houses, raise people, slaves and animals, and stay away from all planting and wealth, just like avoiding a fire pit. They shall not cut down grass and trees, dig the ground. They shall not mix medicine, predict good and bad luck, look up at the stars, calculate the waxing and waning of the moon, calculate the calendar, and all these are not allowed. They shall be frugal and eat only at the right time, live a clean life, and shall not participate in worldly affairs, send envoys, use spells and magic medicines, make friends with nobles, be close to and be rude to others, and all these are not allowed. They should be upright and seek salvation with right thoughts, and shall not hide their flaws, show off their strangeness and confuse the public, and know how to be content with the four offerings. If they are given offerings, they should not be accumulated.
All the ‘false dust’ is not caused by causes and conditions (in fact, it is all the bodhi nature that is misunderstood), and the ‘false appearance’ has never arisen, so how can it be eliminated? ”]
[Note: This passage of the Buddha is extremely important. The false appearance has never arisen, so why do you want to eliminate it? Therefore, the Sixth Patriarch said: "Originally there is nothing, where can dust be attached?" This is the true elimination of dust.
When the crazy and confused mind stops, it is the Bodhi nature.
The Bodhi nature is originally wonderful, perfect and bright, pervading the Dharma Realm, and is not obtained from others.
According to the fourth volume of the Great Buddha's Head and Lengyan Sutra, Ravana in Sravasti, one morning, looked at his face in a mirror and saw his own eyebrows and eyes in the mirror. He was delighted. When he wanted to look back at his own head, he could not see any eyebrows and eyes. He became extremely angry and thought that it was the work of evil spirits, so he ran away without any reason. This is to use one's own head as a metaphor for the true nature, and the head in the mirror as a metaphor for the false appearance. The joy of seeing the eyebrows and eyes on the head in the mirror is a metaphor for taking the illusion as the true nature and clinging to it; the anger of blaming the head for not seeing eyebrows and eyes is a metaphor for losing sight of the true nature. Shurangama Sutra, Volume 4 (卍续20.285下): "You should know that ordinary people love false existence and do not see true emptiness, the two vehicles love partial emptiness and do not see wonderful existence, bodhisattvas love all practices and do not see the middle way. So you know that delusion has no cause."
When you seek help from the Bodhisattva because of your troubles, you are asking to be saved. To save yourself, you read the sutras. The sutras clearly discuss the universal salvation of sentient beings by Bodhi. After reading the sutras for a long time, you will change from focusing on the benefits of reading the sutras to being amazed at the greatness of the Bodhisattva appearing in countless places of suffering to help. Suddenly, you will realize that the root of Bodhi mind is to save sentient beings, that is, to save others. From being saved, saving yourself to saving others, from getting to giving, is the original intention of Bodhi. Furthermore, the desire to save yourself is bound to the self-image, while the intention of universal salvation no longer has the distinction between self and others, and all images are eliminated. This is the righteousness of Bodhi. It can be seen that the demands caused by suffering can eventually lead to the Bodhi without image. If there were no suffering, there would probably be few causes and conditions for reading the sutras. It can be seen that suffering is a good teacher for enlightenment.