Emptiness in nature in terms of karmic retribution

I highly recommend that you watch this dharma talk by Master Sheng Yen. I find that it's  really helpful in understanding emptiness and karma. 

To create more good karma and cultivate more merit in our daily life, then we won't find retribution so painful. 

Sin is produced by the mind and is empty in nature. If the mind ceases, so will sin, whether pure or impure.

Everything is produced by the mind. Our concepts and mental actions decide our verbal and bodily actions. Our verbal action and bodily action plus our mention actions as a driving force constitute the driving force behind our karma. Then we create karma. Having created karma, you will receive karmic results. 

Causality 因果(cause and effect) definitely exist, so does conditional arising （ 缘起).

Causality 因果(cause and effect) induced by conditional arising （ 缘起）is called results of causes and conditions. As a combination, they do exist. However, causes and conditions themselves converse and disperse and are impermanent and changing.

Causes and conditions as a fact are empty in nature. Things formed by causes and conditions exist, but they are empty in nature. As a result, after it is received, it is also empty. 

Watch the video to find out more.

Buddha on Rituals and Psychic Power

I enjoy watching this drama, Buddha as it is full of wisdom and you can learn about Buddha's teaching. Buddha taught through questioning, which is like Socratic questioning, prompting the person to think instead of blindly accepting his teaching. In episode 36, 21:30, it shows the discussion between the fire worshipper and Buddha.

The fire worshipper asked the Buddha. He asked if rituals, prayers and psychic powers are useful?

Buddha asked him if someone were to cross to the other side of the river, what should he do?

The fire worshipper said that if the water is shallow, he could walk across. If the river is deep, he could cross the river using a raft else he could swim across. 

The Buddha asked him, “What if he don’t want to walk across the river when it is shallow and not use a boat to cross the river but to pray for the other side of the river to appear in front of him?”

The fireworshipper exclaimed, “ then he is foolish.”

Similarly if a person uses his wisdom to reduce greed and ignorance, he will find the path out of suffering, said the Buddha. 

Image from India drama, Buddha

Guanyin Bodhisattva's Renunciation Day

Today is Guanyin Bodhisattva's Renunciation Day. As a Buddhist, I will spend the day meditating and reading the Heart Sutra. Most will just eat vegetarian food. Whenever I feel sad or needs clarity, I will go to Singapore popular Kuan Imm Temple at Waterloo Street to pray and I feel better. Sadly due to Covid19, the temple is now closed to the public. I haven't visit the temple for quite some time now. So now I spend more time reading Buddhist books and Buddha's teaching.  

Do I understand all of Heart Sutra? Not really but it is helpful to me. Just understanding one of the verses like 照见五蕴皆空，渡一切苦厄 - (Clearly perceived the empty nature of the five skandhas ( form, feeling, conception, volition and consciousness) and transcended all suffering.) helps me not to cling to sadness for too long.  

Most of the time, I just see things from another perspective, upset for a while, reflect and then let go of unhappiness. Since all give aggregates are empty in nature and dependent on causes and conditions, why cling to unhappiness for long. Just let go. If it's meant to be, it will happen.  By accepting that all the five aggregates are empty, we are able to embrace difficulties bravely and therefore will reduce our suffering.

Three Important Days Related to Guanyin Bodhisattva

From Dharma Drum here 

In Buddhist classics, Avalokiteśvara, or Guanyin Bodhisattva, is described as a great Bodhisattva with compassion and wisdom, because she vowed to alleviate suffering, respond to any prayers, and deliver sentient beings anywhere in the Saha World. Through The Stories of Guanyin's Efficacious Responses and her biography published centuries ago, Guanyin has been integrated into Chinese folk beliefs and has become a well-known Bodhisattva.

In the lunar calendar, there are three important dates celebrating Guanyin's Birthday, Enlightenment Day, and Renunciation Day, which take place on February 19th, June 19th, and September 19th respectively. Guanyin is widely accepted and worshipped. Therefore, not only would Buddhist temples hold assemblies for dharma services, but also Daoist temples make offerings with vegetarian meals or provide a vegetarian feast inviting devotees to celebrate these special dates, also known as the "vegetarian days" in Chinese folk religion.

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How Not To Be Angry- Buddha and the Angry Man

I like this story about how Buddha interacted with an angry man and was not affected by his insulting words. From my workplace, I see a lot of angry outburst because people are easily affected by what others say and thus they kept thinking about the unhappy thoughts. I be affected for a while but will just let go since I don't accept what they said after learning from this story. 

In this story, as Buddha was walking in a village, a very angry man insulted the Buddha and said that he had no right to teach others. Buddha was calm and serene as usual and he asked the man,  “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?”

The young man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, “It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.”

The Buddha smiled and said, “That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”

Detaching from both emptiness and existence

I enjoy listening Dharma talk by Venerable Master Sheng Yen whenever I have doubts or feel sad. After listening, I feel much better. By understandings that all the five aggregates are empty, dependent on causes and conditions, one will not cling to feelings and irrational thoughts. All good and bad things will pass.

照见五蕴皆空，渡一切苦厄

Clearly perceived the empty nature of the five skandhas ( form, feeling, conception, volition and consciousness) and transcended all suffering. 

 By accepting that all the five aggregates are empty, we are able to embrace difficulties bravely and therefore will reduce our suffering.

Quotes by Master Sheng Yen

Do not ask for less responsibility to be free and relaxed-ask for more strength!

I follow four dictates: face it, accept it, deal with it, then let it go.

If moment by moment you can keep your mind clear then nothing will confuse you. 

Ajahn Keng- Transfer Merits Live Dhamma Talk

Today is the last day of Hungry Ghost Festival. In this video, Ajahn Keng shared true cases of transfer of merits to help his father. 

Ajahn Keng's father was a pig butcher. At his father later stage of life, he screamed and crawled like a pig at the ICU. Ajahn Keng made a vow in front of the Buddha statue that with his merit as a monk to help pay back his father's karma debts of slaughtering pigs. Ajahn Keng also transferred merit through meditation by walking and sitting. 

During meditation, Ajahn Keng saw a human body with a pig head holding a gigantic sword behind him. The pig was furious with tears flowing from his red eyes. Ajahn Keng reminded the pig that he is a monk. In the end, the pig threw away his sword. During meditation, Ajahn Keng saw angry pigs in his mind eye rushing towards him but when he transferred merit to them, they disappeared.

Ajahn Keng also saw a woman with two young children hanging on both her legs. He knew that the woman who experienced pain on both her legs went for two abortions previously instead of one abortion as claimed by her. He taught her to transfer merit to her aborted children. 

His stories remind us of Right Livelihood and Right Action. You reap what you sow. Thank you for the Dharma talk Ajahn Keng.