The fact of life

The fact of life

Our physical body will became old; eventually will ‘spoil’ follow by decaying, and we have to change a new body.

Now, our body has become old and spoils!

We have to accept the fact.

Birth, old age, sick and death is a normal life cycle.

We should be thankful to this physical body because it has served us well for all these years.

May be 40 years, 50years, 60 years , 70, 80, 90 or 100 years.

Now Sakyamuni Buddha has shown us a way that really can help us to ‘migrate’ to a better place without having to face death.

Wang Sheng ( being reborn to Xi Fang Ji Le Shi Jie/ Amitabha Blissful Pure Land) is not dying.

For a person who practices Amituofo recital will see Amituofo and the Great Bodhisattvas coming with his lotus to ‘fetch’ him to Xi Fang Ji Le Shi Jie during near death moment.

In this case, a Nian Fo (Amituofo recital)person has no fear of leaving his body during his last breath.

He knows that he is not dying but just migrating to a better place and transform to an ‘unspoiled' long lasting physical body.

Once we have born to Xi Fang Ji Le Shi Jie, we will enjoy boundless life span.( wu liang shou 无量寿).

We will enjoy immeasurable happiness too.

Amitabha Blissful Pure Land is a kingdom that has no suffering at all.

Amituofo is also means Boundless Life Span.

Every time we recite Amituofo we recite Longevity.

This is a very good vibration(mental wave).

Reciting Amituofo is better than saying/thinking of these negative phases to ourselves or to others:

"I am getting old!

I am so fat!

I am so angry!

I am unlucky etc."

Or

"You are getting fat!

You look so thin!......"

Try to practice not to differentiate anybody for their appearances ( so thin/so fat/so bad/so poor/so rich)

Every time we see a person (whether knowing or not knowing), recite Amituofo and share the merit with him/her.

This is also a kind of donation to create good cause.

Don't comment or gossip about others.

These negative act will cause ourselves bad luck/!

(bad cause).

Recite Amituofo will be the best.

Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil,

See No Evil but Nian Fo will do.

Happiness comes from our thought, It is not from outside.

It is our mentality that decides our happiness.

Message (SMS) of impermanence

An old man died suddenly, when he was in the hell, he complained that the Yama King (king of the hell) brought him to hell without having informed him.

The Yama King told the old man that he had been informing him long time ago. But the old man protested against this as he never received any of the written notice. He was not satisfied with that.

The Yama King told him, the first letters was sent to him when he was 40 years old to notified him that time will wait for no man, his eyes sight has became poorer, could not see clearly already. (presbyopia/lao hua yan 老花眼)

The second letter was sent to him when he was 50 years old to notified him about his hearing has becoming poor. The following notice was sent to him yearly including dropping of his teeth, degeneration of his joints and bones etc. How come he didn’t aware about the notices? The old man left speechless.

In the same time, a young man was also brought to the hell. He protested against this because he too has never received any pre-notice before he was brought to hell.

The Yama King told him, the notice had sent to him but he was not aware about it.

The young man said he didn’t receive any letter. The Yama King asked the young man whether he remembered not long ago, his neighbor’s new born baby died soon after birth.

The young man thought for a while and remembered that was true. He too became speechless.

The Chinese saying, on the path to the nether world (lower world), old or young will be no different. Coffin is for the dead person, not the old person.

Live each day a thankful day.Live each day a beneficial day for ourselves and others. Upgrade ourselves each day.

Amituofo recitation (Cheng Nian Amituofo 称念阿弥陀佛)

Speak less but recite Amituofo.

There are boundless benefits of Nian Fo.

There was a poor couple living in China, Huang Da Tie was the husband, he made knives to earn a living. Every day he works in front of the burning hot furnace to

make knives for customers.

Life was hard for him. He worked very hard but earned very little money, sometimes the money was not even enough to support their living

One day, a monk stopped by his tiny steel store, Huang offered the monk to have a cup of tea in his store.

He told the monk about his difficult life, he asked the monk if there was any way to change his destiny(ming yun 命运)。

The monk taught him to recite Amituofo each time he hit the steel.

From that day onwards, Huang recite Amituofo as he worked. Surprisingly, he was not feeling tired and hard anymore. The more he recited the lighter he felt.

He didn’t feel the heat from the furnace bothering him so much now.

He carried on in Amituofo recitation for about three years.

One fine morning, upon waking up, he told his wife that he wanted to go home already. The wife asked him which home he wanted to go as they were so poor and that was the only little hut they had.

Huang said he wanted to go back to

Xi Fang Ji Le Shi Jie.

His wife thought he must be too

tired of his work and just wanted to

make a joke with her.

After his breakfast, he started to work as usual. He recited Amituofo as well.

As he knocked on the steel bar, he recited Amituofo.

He was an illiterate person ( can’t read and write), he called his neighbor to wrote down his saying:

“Ding Ding Dong Dong,

Knock the iron become steel,

All are in peace,

I am going west(Xi Fang )”

(ding ding dang dang,叮叮当当

da tie cheng gang, 打铁成钢

tai ping jiang jin, 太平将近

wo wang xi fang 我往西方）

As soon as he finished his words,

He stood there and stopped breathing already. (wang Sheng already).

.

Gratitude

A small temple was built under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya.

Sakyamuni Buddha gained enlightenment under the bodhi tree.

After He gained enlightenment, He sat under the bodhi tree for another 7 days to show His gratitude to the tree.

Four Great Bodhisattvas

The four great Bodhisattvas who

manifested in China were:

(i) Earth Store Bodhisattva ( Di Zang Wang Pusa 地藏王菩萨)

His bodhimanda is Jiu Hua Shan.

(Jiu Hua mountain九华山)

Di Zang Wang Pusa is the bodhisattva of Great Vows and Compassion （ da yuan大愿）.

(ii) Guan Yin Pusa, the bodhisattava of compassion kindness. Guan Yin Pusa’s Bodhimanda is Pu Tuo Shan (Pu Tuo Mountain普陀山)

iii) Wen Shu Shi Li Pusa

(Manjushri Bodhisattva

文殊师利菩萨)

His Bodhimanda is Wu Tai Shan.( Wu Tai Moutain五台山 )

Wen Shu Pusa is the

bodhisattva of Wisdom.

iv) Pu Xian Pusa (Samanthabadra Bodhisattva

普贤菩萨）He is the bodhisattava of Great practice.

His sacred site is Er Mei Shan

(Er Mei Moutain 峨嵋山)

As mentioned before, Sakyamuni Buddha was a great teacher. He used various kinds of teaching aids to help us to understand His Dhamma.

Sakyamuni Buddha had asked

Di Zang Wang Pusa to take care of all us after he has left this world.

( he has gone to another world to

continue His Dahmma Teaching.)

He had left us for 2,554 years

already. He is in the world of ten

directions. (Refer to book ‘Sharing and Caring’ page 23)

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas blessed us with their Dhamma Teaching. If we follow and live a Buddhist way of life then we will be well and happy. Dhamma’s aim is to help us to end our suffering and to gain happiness.

Di Zang Wang Pusa represent Xiao Jing (孝敬)means treat our parents with filial piety.

The Sutra of Di Zang Wang Pusa

was the sutra that Sakyamuni Buddha went to Dao Li Heaven to expound（explain） the Dhamma to his mother.

(Di Zang Wang Pusa Ben Yuan Jing

地藏王菩萨本愿经）

Sakyamuni Buddha’s mother passed away after His birth.

She was in Dao Li Heaven. Sakyamuni Buddha performed filial piety by expound Dhamma to His mother.

Di Zang Wang Pusa teaches us to become filial piety. Never abandon our old parents. How long has it been since you called or visited your parents.

Guan Yin Pusa represented compassion kindness.

Talk about compassion kindness,

We should be compassionate firstly to both of our parents.

If we don’t start the compassion kindness from our home, what type of kindness we have?

Our parents are the living bodhisattvas in front of us.

We can be nice to others only if we are nice to our parents.

Filial piety

In Buddha’s days, once there was drought (a long dry season) in India. People were suffering from famine, (no food to eat).

One day, Buddha Himself came home without food. One of His disciples sold his kasaya (outer vestment/robe worn by a Buddhist monk) and bought a bowl of rice for Buddha.

Kasaya was an identity of Buddhism. Buddha told the disciple that He could not take that bowl of rice. Buddha said only the most honourable person could eat the bowl of rice. Who was the person?

Buddha told the disciple to bring the bowl of rice home and offer to his parents. They are the honourable people. In the same time the disciple shared Dhamma with his parents. They listened to him and practiced Dhamma since then.

So, you see, Buddhism teaches us to perform filial piety firstly to our parents then only to others.

Performing compassion kindness should start from our home.

Offering food to the monks in Theravada Buddhism practice.(Mahayana Buddhism practice is no longer practicing this)

That was because when Buddhism spread to China, the honourable monks were supported by the king for food and lodgings, The King made the Venerable monks his Dhamma teacher. In this way how can the king let his teacher go out to beg for food?

That was why food offering to the monks was no longer practiced in Mahayana Buddhism in China.

(Countries like Japan and Korea also practiced Mahayana Buddhism).

Manjushri Pusa represents wisdom while Pu Xian Pusa represents practice.

Filial Piety( Di Zang Wang Pusa) and compassion kindness (Kuan Yin Pusa) must be followed wisdom (Manjushri) and practice (Pu Xian Pusa).

Filial piety and compassion kindness without wisdom will cause more troubles than good.

Knowing Dhamma without practice will not bring any benefits.

So, the four Bodhisattvas represent Dhamma practice (the paths) that we should follow (Filial piety, compassion kindness, wisdom and practice).

Now you understand that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas’ images or statues in Mahayana Buddhism have certain teaching purposes (value) behind them.

Just like school teachers using teaching aids to help pupils understand better about the topics which are being taught.

Dhamma was not created by layman. It was delivered by Honourable Sakyamuni Buddha (who has already gained enlightenment). We can follow the path to gain enlightenment too.

May you be well and happy always.

Amituofo bless.

Offering

Wu Tai Shan , China
Manjushri Pusa's sacred site

I would like to share a real story which happened a few hundred years ago in Wu Tai Shan(五台山)

in China.

As tradition, the temple in Wu Tai Shan would organize an offering for all the monks from all the monasteries. The monks were invited to the temple for a vegetarian’s feast.

One fine year, while the people were in the midst of preparing for the event, a poor looking women came with a little boy carried on her hand and another following her side. At the back of them was a dog.

They looked very hungry and very tired.

The women approached the master in the temple and begged for some rice for herself and her 2 kids.

The master gave a bowl of rice to each of them.

After she finished the rice, she begged for another bowl of rice for her dog.

The master gave the dog a bowl of rice because he thought soon after they have finished eating, they will leave the temple.

A little while after that, the woman asked for another bowl of rice as she said her stomach has another baby, a bowl of rice is not enough for her, she needed another bowl.

Upon hearing that, the master became angry, he scolded the woman harshly and chased them out of the temple.

Suddenly the women transformed and raised up into the air with her followers.

Apparently the woman was the incarnation (化身 hua shen) of

Manjushri Pusa and the two boys were His followers. The dog was the lion. (Manjushri Pusa’s seat)

All the people in the temple were shocked. The master regretted for not treating them well. He wanted to dig his own eyes out.

Manjushri Pusa stopped him to do so. Everyone knelt down and bowed to Manjushri Pusa.

Pusa said to them, the suffering will only come to an end when human knows the cause of sufferings. Treat the cause of sufferings then only you can end the sufferings (bitterness).

As the people in the temple had good roots (only that they are ignorant), Manjusri Pusa dropped a few strands of His hair down.

They had collected the hair and

kept it in a Pagoda as a reminder of

Manjishri Pusa’s teaching.

People were worshiping Manjushri Pusa at the Pagoda.

Manjushri Pusa is the Bodhisattva of wisdom. He manifested (hua shen

化身/appeared) from time to time to teach living beings.

He is actually an ancient Buddha

(gu fo 古佛) who is also known as the teacher of seven Buddhas.

His bodhimanda (dao chang 道场) is Wu Tai Shan, one of the Four Sacred Mountains (si da ming shan 四大名山) in China.