One day King Asoka ordered 80,000 portrait of Buddha to be made. Although he had not yet attained enlightenment, he was very interested in Buddhism. He invited bhikkhus to come to the palace to worship Buddha portrait every day and left bhikkhus to teach the Dharma in the palace. One day, a handsome young bhikkhu came to the palace to teach the Dharma, and sat beside King Asoka. There was a wonderful fragrance in the mouth of this bhikkhu. King Asoka was very puzzled, suspecting that the bhikkhu was trying to confuse the people in the palace with the fragrance. So King Asoka asked, "What's in your mouth? Open your mouth and let me see!" The young bhikkhu opened his mouth, but the king found nothing. The king also ordered the bhikkhu to rinse his mouth with water, but after rinsing his mouth, the fragrance remained the same. The king was astonished and asked, "A virtuous person, did you have your fragrance just now or have it long ago?" The young bhikkhu replied that he had it long ago, not just now. The king asked, "How long has it been?" The bhikkhu said, "When Buddha Kassapa was alive, I gathered the causes and conditions of the fragrance. It has been a long time, and the fragrance is often the same as just produced." The king was even more puzzled. The bhikkhu said: "I used to be a bhikkhu when Buddha Kassapa was in the world. I happily lectured on Buddha Kassapa's boundless merits, truths of all dharmas, and boundless dharmas. I often praised and taught sentient beings. Since then, I have often had wonderful fragrances coming out of my mouth, and the fragrance has never been cut off." When King Asoka heard this, he felt very ashamed of his resentment just now, and exclaimed: "The merit of preaching can actually have such a great result!" The young bhikkhu said, "This is only a flower, not a fruit." The king asked:"why?" The bhikkhu said: "There are ten items of reward: 1. Praise the merits of Buddha, let all sentient beings hear it, and the reward is a great reputation. 2. Praise the merits of Buddha, make all sentient beings happy, and the reward is to have a correct appearance in every life. 3. Speaking to people How to eliminate sins and obtain blessings, so that all living beings can be peaceful and happy, and the result is that you are always happy. 4. Praise the merits of the Buddha, make all sentient beings peaceful, and the result is you are often respected. 5. Speaking the Dharma is like lighting a lamp in the dark, and the result is you are glorious as the sun. 6. Praise the merits of Buddha, can please everything, and the result is you are loved by people. 7. The merits and virtues of the Buddha are boundless and infinite, and the result is you have the inexhaustible ability to debate. 8. Praise the wonderful Dharma of the Buddha, nothing surpasses the Dharma, and the result is you will have great wisdom and purity. 9. Praise the Buddha's merits and deeds, and the vexation will be eliminated, and the result will be that you will no longer be bound and the dust in your heart will be eliminated. 10. When you are free from bondage, you can enter Nirvana without remainder, which is the tenth result. "King Asoka was delighted and convinced." - "Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom"
Not to annoy sentient beings, be kind and compassionate, this is the cause of Buddhism. To be able to observe the actual emptiness of all dharmas is the cause and condition of the path to Nirvana.
- "Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom"
On the eighth day of the second lunar month, Buddha Shakyamuni became a monk. Buddha Shakyamuni became a monk at the age of 29, practiced asceticism for 6 years, and attained enlightenment at the age of 35. He lived and preached the Dharma for 45 years, during which he turned the wheel of Dharma three times. He spoke about the Four Noble Truths, about no form and no abiding, and about what is inherently pure. He entered Nirvana without remainder at the age of 80. Buddhas are not gods, because all Buddhas are mortals who were born in the human world. According to the Ekottarika Āgama: "All Buddhas are born out of the human world, and they are not obtained from heaven." There is also: "If the time of birth is in the Buddha's world, if being able to hear the Dharma, it is called enlightenment by karma; if there is no Buddha in the world when you are born, if you get enlightenment naturally, it is called enlightenment alone.” We live in the age of 2,505 years after the Buddha was alive. Buddha Shakyamuni was born in 563 BC, and he passed away in 483 BC. After 500 years, that is, around 17 AD, the world entered the era of mirroring Buddhism, and 1000 years later, that is, around 1018, the world entered the end of the Dharma period. We are now in the end of the Dharma period. The end of the Dharma period is 5,000 years in total, that is, after about another 3,996 years, the Buddhadharma will disappear. Therefore, you should cherish every day you can learn the Dharma and keep practicing.
There was a poor painter named Qianna in the city of Puskaravati in the Greater Yuezhi Kingdom. He went to the eastern country of Dorittra to paint for twelve years and was paid thirty taels of gold.
Afterwards, he returned to his home country and arrived at the city of Puskaravati. He happened to hear the sound of drums playing for the Dharma assembly, and he followed the sound to watch it. When he saw the solemn appearance of the monks, he had pure confidence. He asked the monk in charge, "How much gold does it cost to cook one day's meal for these monks?"
The monk in charge replied, "Thirty taels of gold is enough for one day's meal."
After hearing this, the painter handed over his thirty taels of gold to the monk in charge, and said, "Please help me cook a day's meal to feed the monks. I'll come back tomorrow."
So he just went home empty-handed. His wife asked, "How much did you get paid for painting outside for twelve years?" He replied, "I got thirty taels of gold." The wife asked again, "Where are the thirty taels of gold?" He replied: " Thirty taels of gold have been planted in the field of blessing." The wife asked, "What kind of field is it planted in?" He replied, "I donate it to the monks." After hearing this, his wife was furious and tied her husband with a rope and sent him to the government to punish him.
When they arrived at the government, the official asked, "Why did you tie up your husband and send him here?" Qianna's wife replied, "My husband has mental problems, and he has worked for 12 years for thirty taels of gold, and he has no mercy on his wife and children. He gave all the gold to others, and according to the official law, I will bind him and send him here, and ask the adults to investigate and punish him."
The official asked the painter: "Why don't you give money to your wife and children and give it to others?" The painter Qianna replied: "I was not able to give merit in my previous life, so I am poor in this life and suffer a lot of hardships. I am very fortunate to have encountered Buddhism and monks as a field of blessing. If I don't plant blessings in time, then I will be poor in future generations, and poverty will continue, and there will never be a time to get rid of it. I hope to give up poverty now. So I donate all thirty taels of gold to the monks."
The high official was an Upasaka who believed in Buddhism. After hearing this reply, he greatly admired: "You are really commendable for doing this. You have worked so hard for so many years to get this meager reward, and you can give it all to the monks. You are a true and kind person." After saying that, the high official took off his necklace and pendant and gave it to the painter, and gave the painter the horse he rode and a manor of his own to give to the painter, saying, "You set out to give gold to the monks, although the monks have not eaten, but the gold you give is like millet that has not yet been planted but the roots and buds have grown (a metaphor for the present retribution), and the rich fruits are still to come (a metaphor for the retribution of the future)!” So, if you use hard-earned wealth to earnestly go Giving, then you will get the most blessings. -Translated from "Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom"
Giving is the first cause of Nirvana. - "Great Treatise on the Perfection of Wisdom"
Cousin Wan Zhou said: There is a farmer's wife in Jiaohe County who rides a donkey every time she goes back to her parents' home. The donkey was strong and docile, and knew its way without being driven away. If her husband couldn't take her back to her parents' house when he was busy, she rode the donkey to travel by herself, and never made a mistake.
One day, when she left her family's house a little later than usual, the sky was overcast and there was no moonlight. At this time, the donkey suddenly ran wildly, carrying her into the deep sorghum field, causing her to lose her way. In the middle of the night, she came to a ruined temple, where only two beggars lived under the hallway. The farmer's wife had no choice but to perch with them.
The next day, two beggars took her home. Her husband was ashamed and hated and wanted to sell the donkey to the slaughterhouse.
At night, the farmer dreamed that someone said to him: "This donkey stole your money in a previous life. You sent someone to hunt him down, and he managed to escape. You ordered the prisoner to tie his wife. , detained his wife for one night. He was born as a donkey in this life, which is the retribution for stealing money in his previous life. It carried your wife into the ruined temple and made you worry about it. This is the retribution for detaining his wife in your previous life. This is the end of the cause and effect, so why do you have to take revenge and forge a grievance in the next life!" The farmer was frightened and suddenly woke up. He was remorseful and determined not to retaliate. The donkey also died suddenly that night.-Ji Xiaolan's "Notes on Yuewei Thatched Cottage"
Not clinging to Dharma is to be in prajnaparamita.
Observe that all Dharma is: neither permanence nor impermanence, neither suffering nor happiness, neither emptiness nor reality, neither self nor non-self, neither cycle of birth and death nor no birth and death; in the prajna-paramitas, if you have no attachment to the form of prajna-paramita, it means you are not being attached to the Dharma. If you have a distinction between the form of prajna-paramita, you are attached to the Dharma.