Mahākausthila was first taught by his father, and his father was also a knowledgeable person of Brahmin, so he was knowledgeable and good at discussing in his early years. He once debated with his sister, winning more and losing less.
But when his sister became pregnant with Sariputra (who later became a disciple of the Buddha and was known for his wisdom), the situation was reversed. Mahākausthila knows that the child of her sister's pregnancy is a person of great wisdom and can debate through her mother's mouth. This wise man is so wise in his mother's womb, let alone after birth! In the future, the wisdom of the uncle is definitely not as good as the nephew.
Driven by a competitive mentality, Mahākausthila wanted to work hard, so he ran to Dakṣiṇāpatha to learn the eighteen classics. At that time, it was not easy for a mortal to read even one classic in his life. But Mahākausthila vowed that he must learn all the classics, and before that, he would never cut his nails. So everyone called him a "long nail cultivator. After sixteen years, he really learned all the classics, and everyone was unable to argue with him.
After Mahākausthila studied the eighteen classics, he wanted to return to his hometown and discussed with his nephew Sariputta, only to learn that his nephew had become a monk under the seat of Buddha Shakyamuni. At this time, Mahākausthila was arrogant and thought that Buddha Shakyamuni was incapable of being the teacher of the Sariputra, so he went to argue with Sakyamuni Buddha and agreed that if he wins, the Buddha should return Sariputra to him.
Mahākausthila’s proposition is "Accept nothing." The Buddha asked: "Then you accept the view of 'Accept nothing’?" Jura said: "Even this view I don’t accept. "Buddha said: "You don't accept all viewpoints, and even this 'not accept any viewpoints' viewpoint is not accepted, then you have no viewpoints, just like ordinary people, then why are you so arrogant?" Mahākausthila was speechless. He therefore surrendered, and worshipped the wisdom of the Buddha, and followed the Buddha Shakyamuni to become a monk. Later, the Buddha told him about the Dharma, which made him cut off incorrect opinions and became an Arahant.
The real kindness is when you are ready to give up something that you really need yourself.
When Shakyamuni Buddha was alive, there was a city where people did not believe in the Dharma. They were extremely stubborn and difficult to teach. The Buddha said that the people in this city are predestined with Maudgalyayana, so he sent Maudgalyayana to save them.
The people in this city were really saved by Maudgalyayana and all of them converted to Buddhism. Everyone asked the Buddha about karma. The Buddha said that a long time ago, Maudgalyayana used to be a woodcutter. Once when he went up the mountain to collect firewood, he alarmed countless bees. These bees flew together to sting Maudgalyayana . Maudgalyayana said to them: "You all have Buddha nature, don't sting people. In the future, after I practice the Dharma I will definitely come to save you." So the bee colony dispersed. The people in this city today are the bees at that time. Because Maudgalyayana once sincerely made this great vow, and forged a dharma bond with them, so they can be saved in this life as soon as Maudgalyayana went to see them.
It can be seen that we are not just trying to persuade human beings to recite the Buddha, and show compassion and salvation so that they can be saved, even if you see all other living beings, you should take them to recite the Buddha and show compassion and salvation. -"It is easy to be rescued if you have a wish"
"Because of acceptance, there are all kinds of discussions. If there is no acceptance, where is there any discussion? There should be no more opinions such as "accepted or not accepted"." If practitioners can truly understand this meaning, do not stop by any conditional activtiy or any untrue statements, do not cling to them, and do not argue with them, that is, to truly understand the meaning of Buddhadharma like nectar. -“Commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom. vol 1. Reasons for writing”
Buddha means enlightenment. After one is enlightened, enlightenment makes others enlighten, until the enlightenment is fully completed, at which time it is called a Buddha. Everyone has consciousness in their hearts, so everyone has a Buddha in their hearts. If it is believed that the Buddha statues made of clay sculptures and wood carvings can be called Buddhas, they are the Buddhas in the hearts of people who do not understand the truth. If you think that the ability to reduce disasters and bring blessings is called Buddha, it is the Buddha in the hearts of Confucians in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Some people talk about the Buddha all day long, but they have never been respectful to the Buddha. Confucianists in the Tang and Song dynasties slandered the Buddha all day long, but the Buddha was actually not harmed. Because they don't know the true meaning of Buddha.
The Buddha is the teacher of the Three Realms. Even the heavenly man, the immortal, the Brahma King, and the heavenly king all respectfully worship the Buddha. What about ordinary people and common people?
When you worship a Buddha, you should visualize that you are worshiping countless Buddhas. When worshiping the present Buddha, you should visualize that you are worshiping the past and future Buddhas. To respect and learn from the countless Buddhas in all directions, is the true worship of Buddha.
The Buddhist scriptures are different from the good books of the world. One is only knowing for the sake of oneself and family, and the other is directly trying to save sentient beings and their lives. One is that we can only talk about the present world, and the other is that we directly want to benefit sentient beings in multiple reincarnations. If there were no Buddhist scriptures in the world, the heaven and earth would be like a long night. Therefore, the "Pravara-deva-ra^ja-paripr!ccha" said: "Good men, good women, even if you pierce your fingers and spill blood on the ground to prevent the dust from flying, it is not excessive to make offerings and respect the Buddha like this."
It is best if you can understand the meaning of chanting scriptures and do what the scriptures say. If you can't understand its meaning, but you have a heart of respect and admiration when reciting the scriptures, you will get immeasurable blessings. For example, if a child takes medicine, even though he doesn't know the prescription, he can cure the disease.
Excerpted from "An Shi Book" "Wenchang Emperor Silently Doing Good Virtue": Worshiping Buddha and chanting
"The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom" is a massive Mahāyāna Buddhist treatise and commentary on The Sūtra of Transcendental Wisdom in Twenty-five Thousand Lines, also known as "Maha Prajna Interpretation". It is an important work of Mahayana Buddhist Madhyamaka, and it is a work for the interpretation of "Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā". It was written by Nagarjuna in ancient India (about the 3rd century), translated into Chinese by Kumarajiva (344-413) of the Northern and Southern dynasties of China, a total of 100 volumes. "The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom" mainly tells the truth of the middle way, explains the truth of reality with Two truths doctrine, gives play to the thought of Prajna, and provides a systematic explanation and demonstration of the "Maha Prajna Paramita Sutra". There are many citations in the theory, and a large number of folk tales and legends circulating in North India at that time are preserved, which are important materials for the study of Mahayana Buddhism and ancient Indian culture.
When King Pasenadi led his troops to pass by Jetavanavihāra, there was a monk in the abode, chanting the sound of Buddhist scriptures. His beautiful voice stopped the army, and all the sergeants and elephants listened to this holy and elegant sound with bated breath. King Pasenadi asked why the troops stopped advancing, and the guards reported: "The wonderful chanting made horses and elephants stop and listen carefully." King Pasenadi said: "Even animals like to listen, not to mention we humans."
So King Pasenadi led the people to the abode, saluted Buddha Shakyamuni, and asked the Buddha for instructions: "The sound of Buddhist scriptures I just heard is clear and smooth. Can I see this Bhikkhu who chants the wonderful sound? I hope to support him with one hundred thousand dollars."
The Buddha said: "I hope that the king will make offerings first, otherwise, after seeing this bhikkhu, I am afraid that the king will not spend a penny." So King Pasenadi gave money first. After King Pasenadi saw the bhikkhu, he found that the bhikkhu was very ugly and short in stature. The king's feelings were as expected by Buddha Shakyamuni.
So King Pasenadi further asked the Buddha for the cause and effect of this monk in the past, and what kind of karma he had done in the past, so that his appearance was so ugly but his voice was so beautiful.
Buddha Shakyamuni told King Pasenadi about the cause of this bhikkhu's past life. A long time ago, there was a king named Gilipi in the time of Kassapa Buddha. When Kassapa Buddha had just entered Nirvana, the king collected Buddha's relics and prepared to build a Pagoda for worship. At that time, the Dragon King turned into a human form to join in the grand event. The dragon king told the king: all the treasures needed to build the Pagoda can be found in the four large spring wells on the four sides of the city gate, and they could take the spring water and the mud in each of the wells, and after processing, they can make bricks of these four materials: blue glaze, gold, silver, and white jade.
The King Gilipi was very happy when he heard that, and ordered four supervisors to be responsible for the construction work in one place. Later, the work of the three supervisors was nearly completed, and only one of the supervisors neglected the work. The King Gilipi condemned the supervisor when he saw it, and warned to punish the supervisor if he didn't cooperate. The supervisor complained in his heart: "This Pagoda is too big, when will it be completed!" But then, under the pressure of the king, the supervisor completed the construction of the pagoda after rushing to work day and night.
When the pagoda was completed, the supervisor saw the pagoda shining and towering magnificent, and his heart was filled with indescribable joy. For this reason, he deeply regretted the disrespectful mentality he had developed in his heart when he was building the Pagoda. So he contributed a gold bell and hung it on the pagoda to support the pagoda, and made a vow: "May my voice in the next life be great, so that I could make all sentient beings listeners happy, and wish I could see the Buddha in the future, and get free from life and death rotation."
Because the supervisor was disrespectful at the beginning and thought the pagoda was too big, so he was sore and ugly in the next five hundred lives. But also because of his sincere confession, sincere support and vows, his voice was pure and moving in the next five hundred lives, and in this life he was able to meet Buddha Shakyamuni, and he became a monk under the seat of Buddha Shakyamuni.
The causes created by human beings are intertwined with good and evil, so the rewards obtained are mixed with bitters and sweetness. -"Short Stature but Beautiful Sound" from "The Karma Sutra of Wisdom and Stupidity"
There are two kinds of cognition in the world, one is existence and the other is nothing. Both of these cognition are caused by the mind being touched by acquisition. Because the mind is touched by acquired cognition, there is cognition of existence or nothing in the mind. If there is no such acquisition, the mind does not acquire, does not stay, does not have the idea of suffering because of self-feeling suffering, nor does it have the idea of not suffering because of the absence of self-feeling suffering, and there is no doubt about this state, and your cognition is not swayed by other things, and you can clearly observe your own mind. This is the correct view, that is, the correct view advocated by the Tathagata. why? The world gathers true and correct views. If you think that what is not in the world does not exist, then the true and correct view will disappear. If you can understand that what exists in the world does not exist at all, it means that you are away from the two extremes of existence and nonexistence and you are in the middle where the correct view stands. This is the so-called: having this so having that, here arises so there arises, and because of ignorance, there are all kinds of conditioned behaviors, and eventually pain arises. If the ignorance is gone, all kinds of conditioned behaviors will be gone, and eventually no pain will arise.-A superficial translation of "Saṃyukta Āgama 12-301"
When people encounter good times, they should think like this: "Now that my family is rich, it must be the result of generosity in the previous life, so in this life, I should save others and benefit others more. Now that I am healthy, it must be the result of compassion in my previous life, so I should quit killing and letting go.” This is like an oil lamp, when the light is bright, you should add oil to it. If you encounter adversity, you should think like this: "My current hardship is caused by my sins and karma in my previous life. If I accept it, I will just repay my old debt. Not only that, if I am poor, I always wish everyone in the world to be prosperous; if I am not healthy I always wish that everyone in the world is healthy; if I encounter a struggle, I always wish that everyone in the world is in harmony; if I am stupid, I always wish that everyone in the world is wise; If my body is defective, I always hope that everyone in the world will get a perfect body. "Whenever there is a kind of adversity, I make a wish in the future life to save people in this kind of adversity. This is to turn troubles into bodhi and poison into nectar. Buddhism often uses peacocks as an analogy for similar things. Because peacocks eat poisonous things like centipedes and scorpions, their feathers are more beautiful.-"An Shi Quan Shu"