People think that becoming a Buddha is difficult, but in fact it is not
2024-03-15
Lecture by Master Tanxu
Ordinary people think that becoming a Buddha is difficult, but in fact it is not. Buddha and all sentient beings are all created by a kind of conceptual work. One thought of the Buddha contains enough of the Ten Dharma Realms; one thought of all sentient beings also contains ten Dharma Realms. If a thought of greed arises, it is a hungry ghost; if a thought of hatred arises, it is hell; if a thought of ignorance arises, it is an animal; if a thought of doubt and arrogance arises, it is an Asura. Once the thought is fixed on the Five Constant Virtues and the five precepts, you will be born in the human realm; Once the thought is fixed on the top ten good deeds, you will be born in heaven; If you take the Four Noble Truths as your concept, you are Śrāvaka; If you take Pratītyasamutpāda as your concept, you are Pratyekabuddhayāna; Those who take the six Pāramitā as their concept are Bodhisattvas; Taking self-interest and benefiting others as well as the equality of all actions as the concept is the Buddha.
Another example is that people in the world also have their own concepts. For example: scholars, farmers, industry, commerce, military, government, police, and academia were all originally formed by concepts. What are you thinking about? What you are. The same goes for those who recite the Buddha's name: Look at the Buddha with eyes every day, recite the Buddha's name with mouth, worship the Buddha with body, think about the Buddha in heart, listen to the Buddha with ears, and keep the concept of reborn to the Sukhāvatī at all times. In the end, you will definitely be born in the Sukhāvatī, and you will definitely become a Buddha.
I just said that Chinese Buddhism, as a natural trend, has been divided into several sects by later generations. These are all established by later generations for the purpose of inheriting and learning expertise. Among these sects, other sects are sheer, but the Pure Land sect and Risshū sect have their practices and teachings infiltrated by other sects, which are common to other sects and learned by the seven disciples of the Buddha.
Generally speaking, they can all find it most convenient to cultivate the Pure Land, and they can all chant Buddha's name and become a Buddha. Even if you are a Zen sect, you still have to practice Zen and ask, "Who is reciting the Buddha's name?" No matter whether he is a monk or a layman, no matter what his motivation for learning Buddhism is? But his only goal in learning Buddhism is to recite Buddha's name and become a Buddha.
At the same time, in the process of learning Buddhism and becoming a Buddha, we must also abide by the pure precepts set by the Buddha. For example: in major temples in the north and south of China, regardless of whether they belong to a certain sect or denomination, when he goes to the temple twice to circumambulate the Buddha, he always chants "Namo Amitabha", and when he speaks responds, he also chants "Namo Amitabha". Of course, in the end the purpose is nothing more than to be born in the Sukhāvatī, see the Buddha, and become a Buddha. From this we can see how convenient and universal the method of chanting Buddha's name is. And the Buddha's precepts are also the most important thing. Whether Buddhism flourishes or not depends on whether future generations observe the precepts or not. If everyone abides by the Buddha's precepts, the Buddha's teachings can last forever. Otherwise, the Buddha's teachings will become extinct with the times.
