When the merits are complete, you will naturally ascend to the level
2025-03-19
Lecture by Master Mèng-cen
Let's not talk about ordinary people, let's just talk about the Bodhisattva's vows. Let me tell you a story.
The Indian "Asanga Bodhisattva" invented the " Yogācāra Sect". Whenever he had any problems that he could not solve on earth, he would ascend to the Tushita Heaven to ask the Maitreya Bodhisattva to answer him, and then return to the earth to tell the public.
How did he acquire such magical powers? Even can ascend to Tushita Heaven to meet Maitreya Bodhisattva? In the past, he also went to uninhabited places in the mountains to practice the "Maitreya Bodhisattva's Samadhi of Compassion". "Samadhi of Kindness" is to cultivate kindness, which is the great compassion. Among the four immeasurable minds of "compassion, love, joy, and giving", he only cultivated compassion. He lived in the mountains for ten years and really didn't have any other thoughts.
It has been ten years, and there is no trace of Maitreya Bodhisattva at all, no miracle sensation at all, and it is still the same as usual. He said, "My practice is not correct. I should go down the mountain to visit some good teachers." So, he went down the mountain.
When he walked down the mountain to the bottom, he saw an old lady holding a large iron bar and grinding it. Seeing the old lady grinding it, he wondered if she had nothing to do after eating?
"Old granny, what are you doing?" "I'm grinding needles." He said, " You want to grind such a big iron rod into a needle?" "Oh, never mind it, I'm waiting to use it anyway." "What do you use it for?" Old granny said, "My daughter is getting married, and I need to give her a dowry." Asanga Bodhisattva laughed, "By the time you finish grinding, your daughter will have died, how can you sharpen the needle in time for her wedding!" She said, "Forget it, success will come naturally when the work is done!"
With the phrase "success will come naturally when the work is done", Asanga Bodhisattva was enlightened by these words.
However, the merits were not complete yet! At that time, he returned to the mountains and practiced for another ten years. It was still the same. There was no news. The Bodhisattva did not send him any dreams and there was no miracle sensory response. There was no news at all. This time he said, "I have wasted these twenty years." This time he went down the mountain.
Before he became a monk, he was a doctor specializing in treating swelling and sores. This time he went down the mountain. There were ditches on the mountain. When he walked to the ditch and listened, he heard the barking of dogs, and the barking was very sad. When he took a look, he saw a sore on the dog's belly, which was the sore he knew how to cure. He took one look and said, "It's a pity that you are a dog. If you were a human, I would treat you." Then he left. He had only taken a few steps, no, I was practicing Samadhi of Compassion in the mountains, when I saw living beings suffering, why didn't I save them? I should go back to treat it. He was back again. He wanted to treat it, but it smelled terrible. He hesitated and turned around several times, but thought it was just a dog, not a person, so he left. He hesitated several times.
Finally, he made up his mind: "What have I learned from my twenty years of practice? I still have to help heal it!" His method of treatment was to suck out the pus from the sore with his mouth. When he hugged the dog and sucked its belly, strange, why did it smell so good? It wasn't smelly. When he looked up, he found that he was holding the belly of Maitreya Buddha and sucking it! Maitreya Bodhisattva appeared to him! This is how Asanga Bodhisattva attained enlightenment. As soon as the Bodhisattva appeared, he complained, "Bodhisattva, I have been practicing for twenty years, not counting the time I spent studying Buddhism before. For the past twenty years, I have been practicing your kindness samadhi, but you didn't even send me a message." Maitreya Bodhisattva said: "I am by your side every day, but I can do nothing. This is the only power I have." All living beings must save themselves; no one else can save you.
