Statue of Prince Siddhartha
3rd century Pakistani Gandhara art sculpture
Dimensions: 58.4 x 43.2 x 12.7 cm
Norton Simon Museum Collection
When Gautama Siddhartha was young, he had a habit of contemplation. After he saw many phenomena in the world, he easily aroused his feelings and thoughts. During the traditional "King of Farming Festival", the king would personally cultivate the land on this day. King Jingfan led Gautama Siddhartha into the fields and saw the farmers in the fields working hard with their backs and naked bodies under the scorching sun. The cow was whipped by a rope, and the skin was bloodied. The small worms and earthworms that were turned over by the ploughshare were pecked by birds, and the birds were swallowed by snakes and eagles. These scenes of struggle for survival and the strong eating of the weak made Prince Siddhartha very painful. He had no intention of playing, so he went to sit and meditate under a Yan Fu tree. When the prince entered Zen, the shadow of the tree always protected the prince, and did not move due to the passage of time. The people around were shocked to see this, even the father could not help kneeling down to worship.
This image depicts the scene of Prince Siddhartha meditating under the Yan Fu tree. The Prince Siddhartha's eyes are slightly open, his chest is broad and his abdomen is recessed to emphasize the breath holding while practicing breathing, his hands are placed in front of his abdomen, and his fingers are facing each other. Buckle, knot and sway, sit and make a thoughtful look. The waist is tied with a skirt, the coat is put on the left shoulder and then wraps around the leg from behind to the right, and then hangs down around the left elbow. The fluent and orderly pattern presents a beautiful rhythm. The whole body is decorated with gorgeous and noble decorations, wearing a dressing crown, a pair of Capricorn beads in the center of the chest, and lion heads on the earrings with fine carvings. The Yan Fu tree on the crown of the prince was arched with flowers blooming on it. Behind the prince's body is the light from the body and the light from the hair, and the outer edge of the statue is decorated with a triangular zigzag pattern to indicate the flame.
There is a poor family in the State of Shevga, who donated a bunch of grapes to support the monk. The monk said, "You have been donating for a month." The poor man asked puzzledly, "I just donated a bunch of grapes. How do you say that I have already donated one? What about the month?" Bhikkhu said: "This bunch of grapes, you have had the idea of giving a month ago, and you have not forgotten it. Isn't it a month?" , But it cannot be interrupted for a moment. The mind must be continued before the seeds of Bodhi can be grown. Offering food to the monastery is of the greatest benefit to people，because in this way we provide daily offerings to the Buddha, Dharma and monks.
Excerpt from "An Shi Book" "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue" Generalized Excerpts: Donated for a month
In the past, there was a king in the Kingdom of Juliusha that was called Ersheng king. He saw a golden cat rushing from the northeast of the yard into the southwest corner of the underground. The king ordered the excavation according to this place, and found there were triple copper basins filled with money, which is the same for the underground within five miles. The king was very surprised, so he asked the Venerable Kayanyan for advice. The Venerable replied: "Ninety-one kalpas ago, there was a Buddha who was named Vipassa (that is, the nine hundred and ninety eight Buddha among the thousands of Buddhas in vyūhakalpa ("glorious eon")). After this Buddha Nirvana, when a monk begged for food, he put the bowl on the road and told passers-by: "If you put your money in this solid insurance, no matter it is the law, thieves, floods, or fires, they can't take the money away." "There was a poor man at this time. He was very happy to hear this, and just had three cents of the money he got from selling firewood, so he gave it to the monk. On the five-mile journey home, he felt joyful every step of the way, and when he reached the door of his house, he turned around and bowed to the monk. The poor at that time, you are now the king!
[Press] When Shakyamuni Buddha was in Sāvatthī, there was a woman who sincerely gave a bowl of rice to the Buddha. The Buddha said that she would be blessed a lot. Her husband was suspicious, thinking that she was just giving a bowl of rice, how could she get a lot of blessings? The Buddha greeted him and asked him, "How high do you think the Nikuta tree is?" He replied, "About four or five miles, and it bears tens of thousands of dendrobium every year." The Buddha asked him how big is the fruit of this tree. He replied: "It's as small as a mustard seed (this kind of tree is found in India)." The Buddha enlightened him: "The land has no heart, but if you plant a seed as small as a mustard seed, you can still harvest tens of thousands of dendrobium fruits every year. People have a heart, so if people sincerely offer a bowl of rice to support the Tathagata, do they get more blessings?" The husband and wife listened, and they were immediately relieved. At the end of the Dharma era, people’s rewards are meager and short-sighted, so they may wonder how much blessjing a bowl of rice is, when they hear about the story of five-miles bronze basin.
Excerpt from "An Shi Book" "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue" "Five Miles Bronze Basins"
Thinking the impure of the human body, can eliminate greed for desire. Compassion can destroy hatred. Wisdom can eliminate obsession. After eliminating greed, hatred, and obsession, clearly understanding the Four Noble Truths, understanding righteous wisdom, and exhausting all the karma that leads to the next life, there will be no more next life.
Differences: love and hatred, worry, resentment...
Equality: no attachment, no lakṣana, no wish...
Buddhism is equal, no difference. Give up differences and achieve equality.
For small mistakes, we must also see the great harm it may cause. For example, if you kill an insect casually, even though it is a small life, you still have sin because you have killed a life. You kill it in this life, and it kills you in the next life. There is no end to cause and effect. Therefore, a seemingly small sin has planted multiple causes of mutual harm. It is the great harm caused by small sins. All kinds of correct insights that need to be learned should be accepted, persisted, and used in practice. For example, generosity can eliminate greed and stinginess. When there is opportunity in life, you must give more. Charity is not limited to money. It can be a correct concept, even if it is a little time to listen to others. For another example, compassion can extinguish anger. Whenever anger rises, remind yourself to grow compassion and subdue anger. Over time, you will no longer be angry. So learning Buddhism needs practice.
There are four kinds of people in the world. Which four are there? There is a kind of person that goes from darkness to darkness; there is a kind of person that goes from darkness to light; there is a kind of person that goes from light to darkness; and there is a kind of person that goes from light to light.
"What is the a person going from darkness to darkness? Some people were born into low-ranking families, such as those born in the Chandala family, those who fished and hunted, those who made bamboo utensils, those who made cars, and others who planted low-level craftsmanship, and lived in poverty. , The body is haggard, and the practice of humble work, to be a man of inferiority, this is called being born in the darkness. This person is born in the darkness, but he still does evil deeds in the body, words, and intentions. For this reason, When the person is died, he should be reborn with evil interests, and fall into the darkness again. Just like someone who goes from darkness to darkness, enters the toilet again from the toilet, washes the blood with blood, leaves sin and accepts it; people who go from darkness to darkness are also like this . So it is called someone goes from darkness to darkness.
"What is a person going from darkness to light? Someone who lives in a humble home, or even does all kinds of lowly jobs for others, is called being born in darkness. However, even though this person is in this darkness, he does good deeds, speak good words and has good intentions. Because of this, when this person is died, he will reborn to good world, and transformed by nature. It's like a person stepping on a bed and straddling a horse, rising from a horse to an elephant; the same is true for a person who goes from darkness to light. This is called someone goes from darkness to light.
"What is someone going from the light to the darkness? Some people are born in the wealthy family, such as the Shari family, the Brahman family, the elderly noble family, and other kinds of wealthy families, a lot of money, slaves, servants, and a wide range of knowledge It is called being born in the light. A person who lives in this light does evil deeds in the body, words and intention. For this reason, when this person is died, he will fall into the evil world and darkness. It is like someone who rides an elephant from a high building, rides an elephant then changed to a horse, dismounts a horse and sits on a bed, gets out of bed and falls to the ground and to a pit; the same is true for a person who goes from light to darkness. This is called someone goes from light to darkness.
"What is someone who goes from the light to the light? Someone who lives in a Flourish family and even has a beautiful appearance is called being born in the light. A person is born in the light, doing good deeds, speaking good words and having good intentions, because For this reason, when the person is died, he will reborn to a good world by nature. It is like someone who views from the building to the building, and even from the bed to the bed; the same is true for the person who enters the light from the light. This is called someone goes from light to the light. ."
-The dialogue between the Buddha Shakyamuni and King Bosni in the 1146th Sutra of the Saṃyukta Āgama