Oct 31, 2019
Master Huijing’s Short Dharma Teachings about Attributes of the Pure Land School:
Worldly Truths
淨土宗宗風俗諦
All phenomena in the universe are one entity. One entity means no relativity between the surrounding environment and the self. The spiritual nature of all beings is the same, no different from us, as their self-nature and our Buddha-nature are the same. It is only because of karmic retribution that they become beasts. When our retribution as human beings comes to end, we may reincarnate and become beasts as well.
This is because our karmic retribution in this life is the effect of the accumulated karma carried from past lives. We may instead fall into the Three Wretched Realms (hell, hungry ghosts, or animals) once we lose our physical body.
Thus, Master Shandao says in his discourse, “We are iniquitous, ordinary beings, subject to endless rebirth. Since time immemorial, we have died and been reincarnated, without the causal conditions necessary to leave the cycle of rebirth.”
All of us have this kind of karma, so we should be considerate, caring, accommodating, and forgiving of each other. We do this in order to clear this karma, i.e. “to clear past karma according to conditions, and to cease making new karma.”
宇宙萬物其實是一體的,所謂一體,就是沒有物我的相對;萬物的靈性跟我們沒有差別,其本性也是佛性,跟我們佛性的本性一體,沒有兩樣,只因為業報使牠必須投胎為野獸,我們人類的福報用盡時,也會再去投胎做野獸。
論我們今生的業,是生生世世所帶來的,一旦失去人身,就會墮入三惡道,不是地獄,就是餓鬼或畜生。所以善導大師開示說:「自身現是罪惡生死凡夫,曠劫以來,常沒常流轉,無有出離之緣。」
我們都有這個業在,所以要互相體貼、照顧,彼此包容,就是藉緣來消除這個業,所謂「隨緣消舊業,更莫造新殃」。
Namo Amituofo!
