- No Blame No Regret - by Living Buddha Sheng-yen
Lu
- Translated by Mimosa
- Edited by Brenda Poulin
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In this small house, (my retreat place), I, the
secluded old man, talk to myself about my own inner feelings: Do
I have any hatred toward people? I answered no.
Do I regret being in Samsara to salvage all
sentient beings?
I answered no.
There are many incidents and people trying to hurt me.
Do I care?
I answered no.
How can I achieve such a mind state?
I answered, Because my vow is unsurpassable. My heart is unsurpassable,
encompassing all beings in the entire universe. Everybody is Buddha.
There is no restriction.
The means:
Moving the Earth and shaking the Heavens for life and death,
Knocking the door and pounding on the house for persuasion of cultivation.
Ask me why I don't have any regret.
I am worried about sentient beings, those trapped in the fire pit.
In recognizing, I am an unselfish man of a generous heart, I
should always consider others' well-being first.
Practitioners should cultivate selflessness, in
order to salvage sentient beings, by sacrifice in there own life
and sacrifice in their time, for the benefit of others.
Remember! Sentient beings are inconceivable.
There is a story about Maudgalyayana, a disciple
of Lord Buddha. Once, Maudgalyayana used his power, to travel to
a very remote Buddha Pureland. There was a Big Buddha giving a Dharma
talk. The Big Buddha measured 30 Chinese feet, same as all the sacred
Sangha audience. As comparison, Maudgalyayana seemed like a tiny
ant. All sacred Sangha's were quite curious about Maudgalyayana's
showing up. The Big Buddha told the sacred Sangha's; "This
little person is from samsara and is a great disciple of Buddha
Shakyamuni. He comes to our 'country' by his transcendental power."
When I read to that part of the sutra, I wondered
from the Big Buddha's point of view, Maudgalyayana looked like an
ant. Then is not samsara like an ant's nest? What is there to fight
in the ant world? What is there to argue in the ant world?
From this short story, I realize that the greatness
of the Bodhisattva, whose vow is boundless and measureless. Maudgalyayana
is not a tiny ant, the Big Buddha is not a big Buddha, and the real
Greatness is compliance with the Path.
Any hatred, any regret. Of course, not.
Simply because samsara is like in the ant nest.
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