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Do Not Look For Me
- From TBN, issue 439
- By Living Buddha Lian Sheng, Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated and edited by True Buddha Foundation Translation
Team
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Since I entered the solitude
of my retreat, some disciples have attempted to look for me, hoping
to catch a glimpse of Grand Master, to have a conversation with
him, or to ask him to bless them by touching their heads.
I want to say this to all of you, "Please do not look for me."
Generally, when there is gathering, for sure there will also be
parting. In life, there is no party that does not come to an end.
When we are together, we cherish the moment and are reluctant to
think that eventually we will have to say goodbye; when we separate,
we also cherish the moment and are reluctant to say goodbye. [The
suffering arising from] love, farewell, and separation is considered
one of the eight sufferings!
When we are together, we weep with overwhelming joy.
When we part, we weep with bitter pain.
Really, why do we subject ourselves to such suffering!
I truly miss everyone very deeply, but I cannot allow these thoughts
and feelings to sway me from my cultivation. A life of seclusion
has its good side. What is goodness? What is maliciousness? What
is right? What is wrong? These are realizations that I have come
to during my ponderings in my retreat.
The Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng's advice, "Think not of goodness, think
not of maliciousness" was truly right!
When I am hungry, I simply go looking for food. When I am tired,
I go to sleep. I regard the torment of illness as my own karma and
view it as a natural part of life. When illness comes along, I just
accept it.
When I am suffering, I contemplate:
What joy is there in life?
What sadness is there in death?
So, whether the body and inner heart become one, or whether they
are separate, I simply pay no attention.
I discovered that [during my meditation] my body disintegrates,
breaks apart. Just as the body and inner heart can be fused together,
so can they be separated. So the body and heart are subjected to
coming together and separating, too. When I was travelling spiritually,
drifting aimlessly in the Dharma Realms of the Ten Directions, I
was fortunate that my meditative stability was firm so that I was
not pulled down to the three evil paths.
Let me say this [again], "Please do not look for me."
When you practice diligently, you are searching for your original
nature (your self nature). Once you find it, it will be your rich
harvest. When you are dedicated and diligent in your practice of
the True Buddha Tantric Dharma, moving towards a single goal, you
shall realize that in your heart lives the Guru, that your heart
is the True Buddha.
The seeking of the self nature within is the "right dharma."
As to the day when my body shall disappear from the earth, lost
forever in the Samsara world and never to be found again, people
may ask, "What happened?"
My reply shall be, "Nothing happened! It's just natural!"
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