May 6, 2006

It is very rare that we have two old Bodhisattvas joining us the Bathing Buddha Ceremony.  Today we have Professor Chen’s mother who is ninety-three years old.  Another is Grandma Liao.  Their age adding together is several times of mine but their bodies and minds are very healthy.  They are our young people’s models.  Just think about it, my age hasn’t reached half of theirs but my eyes hurt and waist aches.  Therefore, I am so embarrass.  I hope that these two old Bodhisattvas can come to the temple more often if they have time.  We, young people, will feel a little healthier after seeing them.

Today is the Bathing Buddha Day and it is Buddha’s birthday.  The Bathing Buddha Day is April 8th of the Chinese Lunar calendar.  It is Vesak Day in Theravada tradition.  Buddha was born in Lumbini Garden of Nepal.  After the Buddha was born, he walked seven steps right away and a lotus emerged from each step.  He used his index finger with one hand pointed up to the sky and the other index finger with another hand pointed down to the ground.  Then, he said: “From the heaven above and beneath, I am the sole honored one in the universe.”  What Buddha spoke caused a lot of arguments when people annotate these words later on.  Buddhism encourages people to practice and it asserts “selflessness”.  How come Buddha’s first sentence was to speak: “From the heaven above and beneath, I am the sole honored one in the universe.”  Actually, the “I” that Buddha was talking about isn’t the “I” that ordinary living beings speak of because Buddha is already “selfless”.  If Buddha had “ego” then he would be here like us worshiping the Buddha.  There are many explanations for “From the heaven above and beneath, I am the sole honored one in the universe.”  But, the simplest reason of Buddha dwelling in this Saha World is for the sake of living beings.  Therefore, Buddha said these words to encourage us to practice.

The principle of our practice is “selflessness”.  But, if we don’t have self, then we cannot practice because this self is “the nature of the self”.  And, this self also represents living beings’ “I” in the Saha World.  We assert “The Six Ways of Cyclic Existence”.  “From the heaven above” means “Heaven”.  “Hell” represents “beneath”, which means “The three lower realms”.  The meaning of “From the heaven above and beneath, I am the sole honored one in the universe.” is no matter you are in the heaven due to your great merit or you are falling into the three lower realms because lacking of merit, from the heaven above and beneath only human realm is in the middle and human beings have the best opportunity to practice.  Therefore, the “I” spoken by the Buddha means from the heaven above and beneath, living beings are the most honorable ones and have the best opportunity to practice.  Either we having vexation or having merit, we all have the best opportunity to practice.

Buddha’s teaching has been transmitted for over two thousand five hundred years to now.  Buddhism has propagated to many countries. But it is not easy for Buddhism to develop in the western world.  For example, when you search information over the Internet, you will read carefully word-by-word at the beginning.  Later on, if your English is excellent, then you will fast browse it through without seeing the details.  This scenario will be a huge drawback in our practice.  Because the fast pace in the western world cannot wait for a moment, people in the western world ask for a fast method to practice and want to see the result instantaneously without effort.  This is the biggest obstacle when we practice.  It is like when we use the computer and the information doesn’t come up after we push a button, then we are very angry.  We complaint the computer being down because of virus, but we don’t even think whether it’s been properly used.  We don’t have good practice but we say that the temple is too far away and it is too close to the local highway, it is too cold or too hot in the temple, and the master doesn’t have time to talk to me etc.  We don’t even think of the key point - the “I” in the “From the heaven above and beneath, I am the sole honored one in the universe.”  “I” is essential to practice.  How should we practice?  And, how should we apply it to our daily life?

If someone asked me that: “Shi Fu, how long will it take me to get enlightened?”  I will take Dalai Lama as an example because the ancient patriarchs and great masters had passed away and you don’t know them.  Dalai Lama has reincarnated for the fourteenth times.  He has practiced for fourteen lifetimes.  Where were you in your previous life?  Therefore, we cannot achieve enlightenment just in one lifetime.

There is a great sentence that I would like to give to everybody: “Practice will never be a waste.  It definitely will benefit you and be with you life after life.  When you need it, the energy of your practice will come out naturally.”