Buddha crossing a predestined person: Dharma and wisdom in life

Chapter 39 Cultivate the mind of cause and effect with the Buddha's mind - the karma of the past life, the retribution of the present life (5)
If you want to be free, you must abide by the precepts and practice morality.Therefore, precepts are definitely not an external constraint imposed on people, but a voluntary demand and a positive response of each individual to society.Because the society requires each of us to be moral. If morality becomes the consciousness of each of us, it is the most positive return we can give to the society as a whole.

From the perspective of cause and effect and the pursuit of human nature, everyone longs for freedom.Those who pursue a fulfilling life must unconditionally insist on living a perfect moral life. Otherwise, it is impossible to overcome our weaknesses and truly achieve happiness from suffering.

Therefore, from a negative point of view, we must at least observe the five precepts, and from a positive point of view, we must also do ten good deeds, through which we can gradually dilute and eradicate our killing, greed, hatred and The mind of ignorance can correspondingly increase our compassion, equality, wisdom and tolerance.

Our merit and wisdom, our freedom and happiness are slowly achieved in this process of ebb and flow.At the same time, our families, groups, society and even the country will become cleaner and more peaceful.Because each family, society, or country is organized by each individual life, and each of our individual lives is purified, which will bring peace and purity to the group.

A complete life is inseparable from the cultivation of morality.To cultivate morality is to cultivate kindness.Buddhism talks about compassion, wisdom, and enlightenment.

From a Buddhist point of view, kindness refers to the ability to benefit oneself and others, consciously perceive others, and save others with good intentions and awareness, that is, great compassion and bodhicitta.Kindness is not only a kind of benevolence, but also a kind of altruistic compassion; at the same time, it is a kind of awareness, which is always alert to one's three karma, so that it can be good and upward.Great compassion is reflected in the kindness of the heart, and bodhicitta is reflected in the upward nature of the kindness; the great compassion is to transform all living beings, and the bodhicitta is to seek the Buddha way.

We are now living in an era of loss of kindness, and this is something that is obvious to all.There are of course many reasons for the loss of conscience, among which the thought of annihilationism is probably the main reason.Because the theory of annihilation preaches that all human beings die once, and deny the cause and effect of the three lifetimes.

This kind of concept of denying the cause and effect of the three generations, and the concept that one person dies a hundred times, actually ruins the wisdom of all living beings and kills people's kindness.This kind of concept thinks, what is the use of kindness?When a person dies, it is over, and there is no responsibility for doing bad things.As long as you can escape the eyes of the laws of the world, there is no responsibility for doing bad things.The actual situation now is that the eyes of the law are useless, and the eyes of the masses are even more useless.

Money comes first, relationships come first, even if you do a great evil, there may not be any retribution in this world.This is an anomaly, a complete loss of conscience.This problem is very significant and is a very abnormal phenomenon of human misery.It fundamentally destroys the basis of moral values.

Some people can be said to be lawless. They believe in hedonism and self-interest, squandering and enjoying themselves in time, and they don't care about the future or future generations.This phenomenon is scary and sad, and it is definitely not alarmist talk. It is something we all feel in real life all the time.

Buddhism believes that everything a person does is responsible.This responsibility is not just an immediate responsibility, but an eternal responsibility.This responsibility is both present and future, and it passes through the three generations.Only under such a premise of thinking can people achieve self-consciousness and self-discipline.

Remember: Three generations of karma are absolutely correct!The karma of the third life simply means that your present is caused by your past.Who is not like this?Who can give evidence to the contrary?
So I think that with the concept of cause and effect in the three generations and the concept of eternal life, people can have the idea of ​​being eternally responsible for their own words and deeds. In this way, human moral conscience is guaranteed.When the conscience is guaranteed, everything is guaranteed.Whether in terms of the integration of education or the skillfulness of enlightenment, it should be said that Buddhism has made a difference in modern society. It can not only provide human beings with a set of value systems of ultimate concern, but also To provide human beings with systematic and effective practice methods of precepts, samadhi, and wisdom.

Another interesting story is that Bai Juyi, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, once asked the Zen Master Bird's Nest about the way of life, and the Zen master replied: "Don't do any evil, but do all good things."Bai Juyi said: Even a three-year-old child can understand these two sentences.So deeply disappointed by this answer.At this time, the Zen master warned him again: Although a three-year-old child knows it, an eighty-year-old man can't do it!
Bai Juyi was deeply moved after hearing this, and never dared to underestimate the Zen master's words.Because no matter how good the knowledge is, no matter how precious the principles are, if you just sit and talk about it, you will never be able to play its role; on the contrary, if you can act and put it into practice, you will accumulate it over a long period of time and there will be considerable gains in the future.Finally, the author would like to quote a few famous quotes to encourage readers.

Remember: He who does good for the sake of doing good does not seek praise nor reward, but both will come.

There is no way for misfortune and good fortune, only man invites himself

Fate is made by oneself, and life is born by heart.

It is a kind of good deed if a person can refrain from doing wrong and evil, and can actively do things that benefit the community.As a result of doing good deeds, not only the general public will benefit from it, but individuals will also benefit from it, and if there is any evil reward, it will also be mitigated.

Many people often become healthier after doing good deeds, donating good books, and serving the crowd, and everything becomes smoother and more satisfying, which is the result of good rewards.The personal experience of Yuan Liaofan in the Ming Dynasty is an excellent lesson.

In fact, many people who study physiognomy also believe that if a person can have more kind thoughts and deeds, there will often be dark lines in the tears of this person's eyes, which can save people from danger and avoid disaster.In addition, the lifeline on the palm will also change. For example, if the lifeline is broken, a thin line will be born to connect it, or a thin line will appear next to it for protection, or a square pattern will appear, which symbolizes that it is only in danger. The result of doing good (see the book "Challenging to Destiny" written by Feiyunshanren).

Therefore, if you want to change or reverse your own destiny, refraining from doing evil and diligently planting good causes may be the most effective way.

In the same way, we can also correctly infer a person's future, and even whether his offspring are good or bad or whether they succeed or fail based on whether a person's daily actions are good or bad, good or evil.Therefore, the Buddhists once said: If you want to know the cause of the past, you must be the recipient of life; if you want to know the future fruit, you must be the author of this life.

This sentence is actually quite reasonable.For this reason, it is very wrong to believe in fatalism and let fate be at the mercy of fate. It is even more foolish to blindly follow the words of charlatans or spend money to change luck.Therefore, Shao Kangjie once said: When someone comes to ask for divination, what is a blessing or misfortune;What kind of fate is counted, what kind of divination is asked, deceiving others is a disaster, forgiving others is a blessing, the sky net is restored, and retribution is swift.

In the same way, if a person does not actively do good deeds and make beneficial contributions to all living beings in society, he just wants to use other means (such as killing creatures, using big fish and meat for worship, or setting off a lot of firecrackers, or burning a lot of It is an unbelievable delusion to pray for blessings, etc., how can we get all kinds of good rewards in the future if we don’t plant good causes (but only want to please the impartial and selfless God or gods)?
In fact, such activities not only waste property, but may also invisibly create the crime of killing and other karma.

In addition, some people believe that devout prayers or mantras for a long time can sometimes produce some kind of miracle or realize a certain wish.In fact, if these prayers are not matched with actual good deeds or meritorious deeds, or if they make a wish in advance to benefit the social group or sentient beings, and promise to correct their mistakes and do good deeds, most of the results will not receive significant results. If the wish is fulfilled, if you do not keep your promise afterwards, you will often suffer various evil retributions in the future.

It can be seen from this that, in the final analysis, doing good deeds and accumulating good causes is the fundamental and effective way to obtain good rewards.Therefore, the author believes that believing in reasonable causal phenomena and cultivating the concept that people can conquer the sky, that doing good deeds can change fate, and that the more good deeds, the more blessings will be rewarded, will not only establish a correct outlook on life, but also improve many traditional customs , And it is enough to inspire people to have endless hope, and it is also enough to arouse the courage and confidence to work hard to open up the future. This is not superstition, let alone the negative self-comfort of the weak.

The famous American psychologist William James once said: If there is a God, but we don't know or admit it, we will suffer a lot after death.

Similarly, the author believes that if someone insists on denying the experience, rationality, morality and necessity of causal phenomena, not only will he suffer losses in the future, but also his family, career and future generations will suffer losses, and our society and order will also suffer losses. I don't know how much I will continue to suffer.

The author is worried that after reading this book, some readers may make generalizations and mistakenly believe that as long as donating money to help others is the best way to do good deeds, in order to avoid such deviations, the author hopes that readers can further understand the principle of cause and effect:

Doing good deeds does not have to use money. If a person can persuade others to change their mistakes, inspire others' wisdom or conscience, serve as a volunteer, take care of the sick and the elderly, encourage and comfort others, build bridges and roads, protect the environment, and even always be compassionate and face-to-face. Smiling, being filial to parents, and being kind to all sentient beings (including humans and animals), these are more meritorious than simply donating money.

After doing good deeds, you should pay more attention to practice. Don’t do good deeds while creating evil deeds (such as violating the five precepts, ten evils, or engaging in bad things such as harming others, benefiting yourself, and harming the nature and law), otherwise all good deeds will be canceled out, and even meritorious deeds. If you lose, you will be rewarded.

If doing good deeds comes from the pure motive of saving people, then the merit of this kind of non-relationship charity can be said to be the greatest.Conversely, if you only give for fame or for selfish reasons, the rewards will be very limited (though it is much better than not giving at all).This is why when doing the same donation, some people's blessings are obvious, while others are not.

If someone does good deeds for a long time but is very surprised and unresponsive, the main reason is that besides the above points, the Buddhist scriptures say: doing good will prosper, why not prosper?There must be disasters, and disasters will be prosperous; if you do evil, you will suffer disasters, why not?There must be more prosperity, and the end of prosperity will be disaster.This is probably the best explanation.Therefore, you must not blame others, but you should be more patient, and firmly believe that as long as you continue to do good deeds, practice diligently, and sincerely repent, once the karma is eliminated in the future, you will be liberated and enjoy wonderful blessings.

More importantly, in addition to doing good deeds, one must also cultivate wisdom, because only by understanding the Dharma and cultivating wisdom can one be able to purify one's mind, avoid afflictions, and even escape life and death.

Simply put in Buddhism, karma means that good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil; the law of karma is a set of rules and laws of karma.

In detail, the evil behaviors mainly include the ten evils and the five evils.Every kind of evil deed has its own evil retribution, and there are differences according to the severity of the evil deeds: if you do the heaviest of the ten evil deeds, you will go to hell to suffer after death; To a certain extent, after death, he will suffer as a hungry ghost.When reborn as a human being after suffering the karma above, he will receive the following karma respectively:

(1) Killing: the retribution of sickness, disability, short life, many misfortunes, separation of flesh and blood, etc. (The direct or indirect killing of people or animals is an evil act of killing; if they are tortured, abused, or injured, it is an evil act similar to killing, and similar results will be obtained.)
(2) Stealing: Poverty; or the property is shared with others and cannot be freely controlled. (Any thing or property that is not one's own, taking or embezzling without consent is theft.)
(3) Fornication: the spouse is not kind, unfaithful, or the wife is abducted and raped, and cannot get a satisfactory relative. (Message between men and women and engaging in pornography-related industries are vile acts.)
(4) Lying: get the retribution of being slandered and deceived. (Lying, giving perjury, and breaking promises are all guilty of lying.)
(5) Eloquent language: Others don't trust or accept what they say, and they can't speak clearly. (Speaking pornographic and lewd words makes people think about it, which is called frivolous words.)
(6) Two-tongued: family members deviate from each other, and relatives are evil. (To sow discord and sow discord is double tongue.)
(7) Harsh words: often receive bad voices from others, and there are many lawsuits and disputes. (Swearing at someone with violent or vicious words is swearing.)
(8) Greed: Unsatisfied and insatiable desires. (Greedy for wealth, sex, fame and fortune, and all kinds of enjoyment, and being obsessed with it is called greed.)
(9) Anger: Often people gossip, often disturbed and troubled, or framed. (Being angry and resentful when things go wrong is anger.)
(10) Delusion: Born in a family full of wrong views, in a remote place that lacks Dharma and civilization, flattering, flattering, and deceitful. (Delusion refers to wrong views, disbelief in cause and effect)
In addition to the ten evils, the five evils are more serious evils, one of which is disobedience to parents or even killing.Various other evil deeds have their own evil rewards, too numerous to list here.

Among the good actions are mainly the ten virtues:

（1）不杀生；（2）不偷盗；（3）不邪淫；（4）不妄语；（5）不绮语；（6）不两舌；（7）不恶口；（8）不贪欲；（9）不嗔恚；（10）不痴。

Those who can practice the ten good deeds will get the exact opposite of those who do the ten evil deeds.The severe ones are born in heaven after death to enjoy the blessings of heaven; the mild ones are reborn as human beings after death.Those who were able to refrain from killing in the past will be reborn as human beings, and they will receive the good rewards of health, less disease, and longevity; those who practice other good deeds will each enjoy the good rewards they deserve.

Adhere to the righteous path of cause and effect, cultivate the righteous fruit of life

Modify your heart, modify your thinking, modify your language, and modify your behavior.If you don’t cultivate your Dao, you won’t be truly happy!It is the only law of the universe.The so-called "evil does not suppress the righteous", the so-called "walking the right way", the so-called "fighting for justice", the so-called "pursuit of light", the so-called pursuit of "happiness, happiness, freedom", the so-called pursuit of "equality and fairness", the so-called "removal of chaos". Anyway", the so-called "mainstream society, mainstream culture", so-called "morality, ethics", etc., all explain a problem from different angles. "Right" is the general law of the universe.

To figure out what is "positive". "Civilization is healthy, and honesty should be upright" is to link uprightness with upright behavior.The hexagrams of the other two hexagrams in the Book of Changes can mutually confirm this point.The 10th hexagram Lu hexagram: "Just being upright, taking the throne without guilt, and being bright."Masculinity is upright, even if the king is in the world, he will not violate the principles of heaven and conscience, and have a clear conscience. This is called being upright. The 32 hexagram Heng hexagram: "It is not easy for a gentleman to establish a prescription."Once a gentleman has made up his mind, he will persevere, respect the way and go straight, and never change his direction.

"Sima's Art of War" has a clearer explanation of "positive": "The ancients were based on benevolence, and they were governed by righteousness."So what about "Zhongzheng"?Zhongnei also refers to the inner dimension of the spiritual world. "Zhongzheng" means adhering to the foundation of benevolence and righteousness in the heart, worthy of heaven at the top, and not ashamed of the ground at the bottom, open and open, and aboveboard.

If we want to develop, succeed and excel, do our job well, and have more wealth, reputation, status, and friends, we must learn to follow the right path, we must understand "right", and we must understand "right" thoroughly. With a positive vision of discovery, you have to live a dignified life, you have to be a human being, and you have to do the right thing.Only in this way can we achieve true results.

How can it be "positive"?After reading tens of thousands of volumes, I think that only the "eightfold path" of Buddhism in the world can explain the word "right" most thoroughly and in place.We might as well refer to these right ways again: the right way of Confucius is "benevolence" and "enterprising"; the right way of Laozi is "love" and "inaction"; the right way of Mozi is "non-aggression"; ", is "Xiaoyao"; the right way of Christianity is "fraternity"; the right way of Islam is "universal love"; the right way of Hinduism is "Vatican"; "Positive attitude"; Robin's right way is "positive connection" and "neuro-linguistic programming"; the right way of psychology is self-guidance and self-turning "positive"; "Correction" in demonstration; the right way of thinking science is "controlling the arrow of thinking"; the right way of dialectics is "you choose one positive and one negative".

Wanliu returns to the clan, all useful theories in the world are nothing more than two points: that is, what is positive is positive, and what is negative is also positive.Just look at it positively, and look at it after turning the negative into positive.

Many people say that it is not difficult to regard oneself as "positive" as positive; the difficulty is that it appears to be negative in appearance, and it is difficult to insist on seeing it as positive.So, how to solve this problem?
There is only "interrupt first, then change thoughts", that is, "interrupt and change thoughts".Whenever you hear, see, or think of any unfavorable factors, you must be alerted immediately, interrupted immediately, and terminated on the spot, and never let the "negative thoughts, negative thoughts, negative words, and negative actions" go any further. deterioration.Of course, the "interruption method" only terminates the "negative", which is only half completed. We should also turn the negative into a positive, so as to truly develop in a favorable direction.

Here, I might as well give an example to further illustrate this problem, such as: The leader criticized you at the meeting.At this time, according to the past habits, I must be very annoyed, holding my breath, the boss is unfair, I have lost face, and I will look for opportunities to interfere with the company in the future, and so on.But today, I will give you a "color lantern", and if you have fully understood the "principle of color lantern", then you should have a completely different understanding of this criticism.How to do it?

Step [-]: Interrupt.I can't think any more bad things in my head.The second step: change your mind.He criticized me because I did have problems and did bring losses to the company.He didn't criticize me alone, but wanted to remind other employees of the unit.He wanted to remind me privately that he was going on a business trip in the afternoon and he had no time, and the question had to be raised, so he had to raise it at the meeting.Maybe it's because I've made many similar mistakes. He wanted to fire me, but he didn't do that. He thought it was not easy for me to find a job. He wanted to give me another chance...

In short, as long as you learn the "interruption method", you will take a big step on the road of life, and you will be on the road of life.

(End of this chapter)