At that time, the elder Vimalakirti himself was thinking: I am sick and lying in bed, how could the merciful Buddha not miss his mercy!
Knowing what Vimalakirti’s mind was, the Buddha said to Sariputra: "Go visit Vimalakirti's illness and greet him for me."
Sariputta replied to the Buddha: "Respected Buddha, I am not qualified to greet Vimalakirti.
Why do I say that? Recalling that I used to meditate cross-legged peacefully under the trees in the forest. At this time, Jing Ming (the alias of Vimalakirti) came to me and said: ‘Sariputra, it is not necessary to do this to be considered as meditating.
What is meditation?
There is no conscious body in the Three Realms, it’s meditation.
You don't have to be mindful of going out and going into samādhi, and you are always in samādhi to show your majesty, it’s meditation.
To show what ordinary people do without departing from Buddhism, it’s meditation.
If the heart does not stay inside or outside, and is not led by the inner yin and outer dust, it’s meditation.
Facing all kinds of forms, keeping the heart unshakable and insisting on practicing thirty-seven Bodhipakkhiyādhammā , it’s meditation.
If you don't deliberately escape from the troubles of the world, and enter Nirvana within the troubles, it’s meditation.
If you can meditate like this, the Buddha will recognize your merits. ‘
At that time, Buddha, after hearing these words, I had nothing to say, so I stopped the meditation.
Therefore, I am not qualified to ask him questions.” -《Vimalakirti Sutra》
Very very long time ago, before Shakyamuni Buddha became a Buddha, he heard that the ancient Sakyamuni Buddha was speaking on the 《Nirvana Sutra》, he sold himself, and used the money he earned to buy incense and flowers for the Buddha, so he got hear the last verse of 《Nirvana Sutra》. Then he made a vow and said: "May I become a Buddha in the future life, and I will also have the same name as this Buddha." Therefore, the Tathagata today is also called Sakyamuni Buddha.---《The name is the same as the ancient Buddha》 (from the 《Nirvana Sutra》）
Although he is not a monk, he can practice the pure precepts of Buddhism. Although living in a secular home, he can stay away from the vain minds of the desire, material, and colorless realms. Although he has a wife in his family, he has a pure heart and few desires, and he practices quiet Brahmacaryā.
Prevent wrong behaviors by observing pure precepts. Prevent anger and resentment by cultivating patience. Prevent laxity and slack through continuous learning. Prevent mental upset by maintaining a meditation mind. Rely on Prajna wisdom to change ignorance.
The three levels of studying Buddhism: first, you must correct your heart, make a real wish, and diligently; the second level, on the basis of perfecting yourself, you would help all sentient beings, thereby eliminating self-image, human-image, all sentient beings-image, and longevity-image; the third level, the final realization of the pure heart, that is, the supreme enlightenment.
Neither slander nor praise can shake the heart, and be compassionate to both kind and unkind people, and always maintain equal awareness in the heart, just like nothingness.
『The phenomena of this world are all impermanent; this life is birth, old age, sickness and death. No matter it is the king, the poor like a beggar, the phenomenon of impermanence, the suffering of birth, old age, sickness and death, no one can avoid it. When a person's life ends, the body is separated from the spiritual sense, and no matter how good it is, like a loving couple or a friend in adversity, they cannot be company in the world after death. Only the karma of good and evil, like a shadow, will follow us in the future.
『All people in the world only plan for the happiness in front of them, and pursue the satisfaction of their desires for wealth and sex, and never think carefully about his destination after death. As a human being, when the weather is fine, you should buy an umbrella to guard against rain; when you are full, you should know how to store grain to prevent the coming of hunger. But when a person is alive, if you don't think about where you will end up after death, you really don't have a big vision! If a person is imprisoned by the desire of wealth and sex, and wealth is the source of pain, all wisdom will be obscured.
『Being a man must deeply understand the shortness of life, the impermanence of life, and the changing of mind and body. Therefore, we must hurry up to grasp life, do not let the body and mind fall into the abyss of wealth, do not have a arrogant heart, do not live a relaxed life, the heart should be inhabited in the realm of high victory, and the mind and body should stay in a cool world. We need to be kind to others, so that in the next life can others increase their joy for us, and our good name can be passed on to future generations.
『If a person has no good deeds, then he will never be happy in the later life. The current fortunes and misfortunes are all inspired by the karma of the past. For future happiness, one should not forget to work hard in this life. The cause of a person's own good and evil karma is only oneself and no one else is rewarded by the good and evil results.
『Let me tell you again, don't think that you have to become a monk if you practice good practice and learn Buddhism. There is no difference between being a monk and being at family to learn the true Dharma. Some are deep in the mountains to learn Buddhism and fall, and some are blessed by practicing Buddhism in their families. There is no distinction between people in the practice and study of Buddhism. Those who are kings can practice in the same way. 』
-Buddha Shakyamuni’s teaching to King Pasenadi
In the past, before countless kalpas, there was a Buddha who was born, which is known as the Tathagata. At that time, the three boys of a wealthy family offered a bead to the Buddha. A boy said: "May I be like the monk on the right side of the Buddha in the future." A boy said: "May I be like the monk on the left side of the Buddha in the future." A boy said: "May I be like the Buddha in the center in the future." The Buddha said, "Vow as The Buddha’s is my current self. The one who makes a vow like the monk on the left is Sariputra. The one who makes a vow like the monk on the right is Maudgalyayana." ---Excerpt from "An Shi Book" "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue" Generalized Excerpts: Three Children Vow
A person who affirms everything is a person who denies everything; a person who affirms a certain thing is a person who negates a certain thing. Affirming everything is easy to be imprisoned by greed; denying everything, although you can stay away from greed, but being too stubborn in this negation is also a kind of attachment. Abandon all affirmations and all negatives, that is the knowledge of the truth. ---Buddha Shakyamuni’s teaching to Mahākausthila
There is a very interesting story about a fat ghost and a skinny ghost. The two ghosts compete with supernatural powers to see who first arrives at the ancient temple in front. The two ghosts launched magical powers and ran into the ancient temple at about the same time, and they quarreled, and neither of them conceded.
It happened that there was a poor scholar in the ancient temple who was going to the capital to take the exam and witnessed everything. The two ghosts asked him to be a witness. The scholar felt as if the skinny ghost arrived first and said something fair. The fat ghost felt annoyed and twisted one of scholar's arms to eat. The skinny ghost couldn't bear it. He felt that the scholar had lost an arm for him, so he was disappointed. There happened to be a corpse, so he twisted off the arm of the dead man and installed it on the scholar. The fat ghost said that the skinny ghost has something to do with the scholar otherwise why is it so good to the scholar, so he twisted the other arm of the scholar again. The skinny ghost couldn't bear it, and he twisted an arm back from the dead body to the scholar. In this way, the scholar's entire body was changed all over.
The next day, the two ghosts left, and the poor scholar just got up and knocked his head and shook his arm, asking if his head and hands belonged to him? Look at it and it's not like it, but it's on myself. Am I me?
This story shows a truth. We think that we are real, but in fact, "I" is all fake, composed of eyes, hair, hands, feet, etc. By the same token, from the ruthless world to the sentient world; from plants to animals; from families to countries, they are all assembled from different "parts."
Everything arises or appears depending on the condition of cause.
Ma Sheng Bhikkhu uses a verse to summarise the essence of the Buddha's life teaching: "All things arise by cause, and all things disappear by cause. My Master often say that."