Peaceful Light

At the start, Venerable Ta Yu compassionately welcomed everyone back to participate in today's ceremony.  She told us that on top of the altar there were peace candles especially lit for President Bush and other world leaders, the servicemen and servicewomen who had sacrificed, and those innocent civilians who were caught in the crossfire during the war.  The wish is to use Medicine Buddha's preciously crystal light to expand the wisdom of our world leaders and to reduce or eradicate warfare and calamities.  In additions, Venerable Ta Yu meticulously prepared and lit one hundred delicate candles individually tagged with names for approximately twenty participants and other Dharma supporters, wishing everyone to receive a blessing of wisdom.  Today's ceremony was led off by conducting an Avalokiteshvara Purifying Service.  After the completion of the first part of the confession service and the grand Meal Offering, Venerable Ta Yu made a brief yet meaningful Dharma speech.

Magnificent Adornment Grows Reverence

Venerable Ta Yu informed us about the newly arrived Avalokiteshvara (Great Compassionate Bodhisattva) statue that was just acquired in Philadelphia last night.  She recalled her visit on that day to a Buddhist shop, "Wow, so many Buddha and Bodhisattva statues, big and small!"  Shop owner asked her which one she would prefer.  Her reply was she likes them all because she does not want to manifest a distinguishing mentality.  However at the end, she selected this plain but elegant and magnificent Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva.

Venerable Ta Yu continued on with a story about her monk brothers to remind us that before mortals have attained Buddhahood, we are all still prone to distinguishing perceptions.  Therefore, we need the dignified monastery to inspire our reverent minds.

Venerable Ta Yu recalled she has a monk brother who is extremely eloquent and articulate in giving Dharma speeches.  Although he is excellent in all aspects, however, he looks as if he has a serious case of liver illness due to his tall, slender, and dark complexion.  Yet despite the physical appearances, he is in excellent health.  One day while he and another monk brother were at a gas station refilling fuel, he was being criticized by a nearby customer with his friend, "How does this monastic person looking so pale as if he is malnutritioned, I'm telling you being a monk is no good!"  Ironically when the other monk got out of the car from the other side, he was also judged.  He is naturally well rounded, looking just like the Maitreya Bodhisattva (Lucky Buddha) with his abundant belly.  The man said, "I'm telling you, what a monastic person does is eat, no work and no productivity, that's why he's so plump..."  Then this monk calmly responded to his criticism, "Dear sir, being a monastic person is the toughest career among the three hundred sixty professions.  We are being criticized for being too fat or too thin.  Our physical appearances must be maintained in perfect shape..."

What venerable Ta Yu meant was that being a monastic person, one has to maintain magnificent poise at all times to eliminate defamatory remarks and help inspire reverence in other people.  As a Buddhist disciple, I think perhaps that's why Mahayana Buddhism strenuously emphasizes on poise and dignified gestures.

Where Should Those In Western Pure-Land Go?

Venerable Ta Yu asked us a very interesting question, "In the past, an ancient Patriarch had said everyone wants to attain the Western Pure-Land.  Then, what about those in the Western Pure-Land, where should they go?"

This is to remind us why we must confess, prostrate, recite Sutra and Mantra, and perform services and rituals.  Sutra describes that, "Without heavy Karma, we would not have been born in this Saha (muddy) World."  Who can claim to possess no iniquity or Karmic obstructions?  Therefore, we must be diligent and vigorous in prostrating and confessing to dissolve our karmic obstructions.  Through these various services and Buddhist practices, we are able to connect with Buddha in those short periods every day to purify our Karma arising from Body, Speech, and Mind.  Upon the completion of cleaning up the above Three Karma, it will be easy and straightforward to advance to the Eastern (Medicine Buddha's) Crystal Pure-Land, Maitreya's (Pure-Land) Heavenly Inner Palace, or Western (Amitabha's) Paradise Pure-Land.

Misfortune or Good Fortune Does Not Come by Itself - One Brings It Upon Oneself

Venerable Ta Yu spent a lot of time explaining to us the Medicine Buddha Sutra, which advises that offering banner and lamp for prolonging life and cultivating innumerable merits can prevent the first of the nine types of unexpected and tragic deaths.  According to Liberate Bodhisattva, "Some living beings become only mildly ill but can find neither medication nor doctor, some are seen by a doctor but are misdiagnosed and mistreated and end up unnecessarily in tragic and unexpected death."  Recently there are numerous cases of medical negligence that resulted in the tragic and unexpected death of patients.

Continuing on, Venerable Ta Yu emphasized that we lay men/women (who practice Buddhists at home) are naturally curious and interested in psychic reading or fortune telling, anxiously wanting to learn about our future and the unknowns.  What kind of problems could this lead to and why it is not related to the Buddhism?  She used Buddha's sympathetic advice to remind us.  According to the Sutra, "The belief in evil spirit and malicious cult advocates and their false view of what's good and bad, can incite fear, impurify and disturb the mind.  The desire to seek furtune and longevity by forestalling future misfortunes and slaughtering all kinds of living beings for offering to conjure spirits would never be attained.  Ignorance, delusion, and belief in evil concept can only damn one to tragic death in Hell with no way out.  This is called the preliminary tragic."

The phrases from the Sutra clearly point out our vulnerabilities.&nsp; We have many fears; fear of losing all our presently owned wealth and other possessions, fear of the unknowns, fear of the consequences of our Karma, and fear of facing our Karmic consequences and truly eliminating them.  Immoral advocators are able to manipulate our fear and easily control our minds.  They often befuddle us with seemly charity activities just to gain our trusts and faith.  However, after we closely examine their motives, we'll discover these so-called "good people or entities" who proclaim to help us resolve our problems, only seek our money.  At the end, we'll be defrauded a significant fortune for their personal financial gains and interests.  Even worse scenario would be the loss of both money and sexuality.

Venerable Ta Yu made a very explicit example.  She noted what Buddhism teaches us is like drinking plain water.  Naturally fresh, clean water has no taste or flavor yet it's most healthy and thirst quenching for our body.  On the other hand, believing in some supernatural psychic reading to solve our problems is like drinking icy Coke.  When it's first taken, it is very delicious and cool, and we feel good instantly.  However, with all its chemicals, artificial corlors, and sugar, it's unhealthy for our body and the more we drink, the thirstier we get.

Venerable Ta Yu pointed out another case.  In a temple where she used to live, there was a psychic and fortune-telling woman that once passed by.  Her eyes were peculiarly dislocated.  One eye looked up at people whom she ran across; another looked down at ghosts and the deads.  In actuality, the more she conducted her psychic business, the more ghosts and spirits she'd be connected with.  These psychic readers do not need to practice in order to generate any supernatural power.  All they need is to create more Karma to have more ghost's power.  Theyre naturally and easilylinked to ghosts and spirits because they just got out of the Ghost Realm to be reborn as humans.  Therefore, ghost's instinct and characteristics still somewhat exist in them.

We should be truthful in our practices, taking one step at a time, and respectfully following what Buddha teaches us to truly face all phenomena ariaing from causes and conditions and we should diligently confess in order to clean up our accumulated Karma.  Oppositely, if we seek supernatural psychic power by connecting with ghosts, then as it's said, "it is easy to invite them in but tough to send them away" because of their strong attachment in the Ghost Realm.  Our one time desire to be connected with ghosts can leave us with numerous and endless troubles.  Venerable Ta Yu had sympathetically advised us not to desire any supernatural power in our practices (actually most of time it's coming from connecting with ghosts).  It is for this very reason during the time of buddha that if his disciples exhibited any supernatural power, he would ask them to suppress them completely!

Lastly, Venerable Ta Yu encourages us that as Buddhists, we should work on our patience and perseverance.  Residing in this disturbing and unsettling environment today, our bad states of mind often create boundless animosity and bad karma.  When a typical person first learns to meditate, after failing to perservere for five minutes and with his initial confidence and faith shaken, he would ask Venerable Ta Yu whether there is a quicker, more relaxed, and easier method.  Venerable Ta Yu used this instance to inspirit us all to work at our patience in order to endure in our practice.

As the completion of the ceremony, Venerable Ta Yu wishes everyone to use compassion and wisdom as Dharma remedy and cultivate diligently.  She wished all be well and propitious.