The
teaching of Buddha tells us that there is this world and the world
beyond
this. Many people think that this world refers to the world that
we are living
in and the world beyond this is some place outside this
world. This is wrong.
We are living in this world and we remain here
even if we become monks or
nuns. The Arahats, Bodhisattva and Buddha
are saints who have realisations
beyond this world but they are still
living in this world and giving assistance
to us. Thus, "out-worldly"
does not mean that one has to go away
from this world and go to another
place.
What
does "worldly" and "out-worldly" mean in Buddhism? According
to
the Chinese understanding "worldly" has the implication of time.
For
example, the Chinese regard thirty years as an "age" and in
the West, a
hundred years make up a century. Anything that exists within the
time
frame, from the past to the present and from the present to the future,
is the "world".
The
teaching of the Buddha is also as such. That which is changeable is
called
"worldly". Within this time frame, from the past to the present,
from the present to the future, from existence to non-existence, from
good
to bad, everything is changing continuously. Anything that is
changing is
called "worldly". Besides, the word "worldly" also has the
meaning of concealment. Normal people do not understand the cause and
effect
of the past, present and future. They do not know where they
come from, how
to behave as a human being, where to go after death, the
meaning of life and
the nature of the universe. They live ignorantly
under the influence of the
karma of the three births. This is called
"worldly".
What
does "out-worldly" (supra mundane) mean? "Out" has the meaning
of
beyond or superior. One who practices the teaching of the Buddha, has
wisdom and is able to understand the truth of the life and universe;
has no
defilements and is pure in one's mind; and experiences the
permanent Truth
is called the "out-worldly" one. All the Buddhas and
Bodhisattvas
are living in this world. They have great wisdom in seeing
the Truth and their
minds are pure. They are not like the normal
"worldly" people.
Thus,
the term "out-worldly" encourages all of us who are practising
the
Buddha's teaching to progress further and become the man above the
men, to
improve ourselves from a worldly person to an out-worldly
saint. It is not
asking us to go to another world. Misunderstanding
"out-worldly",
some think that the principle of Buddhism is to run away
from reality.
c. Emptiness
The
Buddha says that everything is "empty". Some think that this is
empty, that is empty, or everything is empty. Since everything is
empty, and
meaningless, one does not need to do either evil or good.
These people understand
the concept vaguely, and lead an aimless life.
In fact, "emptiness"
in Buddhism is the most profound philosophy. The
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
are the people who have realised the truth of
emptiness. "Emptiness"
does not mean nothing at all, in contrast, it
includes everything. The world
is world, life is life, suffering is
suffering, happiness is happiness, everything
does exist.
In
Buddhism, there is clear teaching as to what is right or wrong, good
or evil,
or cause and effect. One should turn away from the wrong one
and redirect
to the right one, refrain from evil and do more good.
Those who do good will
gain good effect, and if one practices one may
attain Buddhahood. This is
the cause and effect. If we say that
everything is empty, then why are we
practising the teaching of the
Buddha? If there exist the karma, good and
evil, worldly people and
saint, then, why does the Buddha say that everything
is empty? What is
the meaning of emptiness?
Things
exist due to causes and conditions and do not have a real and
unchangeable
identity of itself. Thus, they are "empty". The right and
wrong,
good and evil, and the life are not permanent and unchangeable.
They exist
due to causes and conditions. Since their existence is
dependent on causes
and conditions, they continue to change with the
changes of the causes and
conditions. They do not have a permanent
form, and therefore they are "empty".
For
example, when one is facing a mirror, there will be an image in the
mirror.
The image is produced by various conditions. It is not a real
thing. Although
it is not real, it is very clear when we see it. We
cannot say that it does
not exist. The concept of "emptiness" relies on
this truth that
things arise due to causes and conditions. Thus, when
the Buddha says that
everything is empty, he is implying that
everything arises due to causes and
conditions. A practising Buddhist
must realise and experience emptiness and
understand the existence of
the Law of cause and effect, good and evil. The
perfect realisation of
the two truths is that emptiness and existence are
equivalent.
2. Misunderstanding that arises from the system
Buddhism
originated from India. Its custom were different from the
traditional customs
of China. For example, the understanding of the
aspects of renunciation and
vegetarianism were different.
a) To renounce (To take the vows of a monk or nun)
To
renounce is a custom in Indian Buddhism. In Chinese society,
especially for
the Confucianists, there are a lot of misunderstandings
about this.
In
China, we always hear that, if everyone practised the teaching of
the Buddha,
then this world would become extinct. Why is it so? Because
everyone would
become monks or nuns (celibate). There would be no
husband and wife, nor son
and daughter. How then could society survive?
This
is a very serious misunderstanding. There is an example: The
teachers teach
the students. Will they encourage everyone to be a
teacher, and therefore
develop a world of teachers? In the Philippines,
there is not much misunderstanding
about this because there are Fathers
and Sisters everywhere. They have also
taken vows, but they are only
the minority among the Catholics. Not all Catholics
must be a Father or
Sister.
For
the Buddhists, there are the renounced ones and the lay people. One
can practise
Buddhism by renouncing, or as a lay person. One can
practise in order to end
the cycle of life and death by renouncing, and
can also achieve the same aim
by practising at home. It is not
necessary for Buddhists renounce themselves.
It is also not true that
if everyone became a Buddhist, the world of the humans
would become
extinct. The question now will be, if one can attain the aim
of ending
the cycle of life and death by either practising as a lay person
or as
renounced follower, then why must one to renounce? This is because,
in
order to promote and encourage the spread of Buddhism, someone has to
take the responsibility. The best person to take charge of this
responsibility
will be the renounced monks or nuns, as they do not have
family responsibilities
and are not involved in other work duties.
Hence, they can concentrate more
on their practice and the spreading of
Buddhism. In order to prolong the existence
of Buddhism in this world,
we need these type of people to take responsibility.
This is also the
reason for the formation of the Sangha, the community of
renounced
ones.
How
great is the merit of renouncing? The merit of renunciation is very
great.
However, those who cannot renounce should not force themselves
to do so. If
one cannot practise in line with the teaching of the
Buddha after renouncing,
it is worse then a lay follower. The higher
one climbs, the worse will one
fall. The merit of renouncing oneself is
great, but if one is careless, one
will deteriorate even more. One
should develop one's mind sincerely, practise
diligently and sacrifice
oneself for Buddhism. Then renunciation will be worthwhile.
The Sangha
(the renounced monks or nuns) are the centre members of Buddhism,
they
are the main force in the motivation of Buddhism.
The
practice of not getting married can also be found in the Western
religions.
A lot of scientists and philosophers also remain single so
that they will
not be disturbed by the matters in the family, and hence
they can concentrate
more on their studies and contribute more to the
development of science and
philosophy.
The
practice of renunciation in Buddhism is to get rid of one's worldly
attachment,
and hence concentrate more on Buddhism. To renounce is an
act of a great person,
thus, one must put in extra effort. If one
renounces without proper understanding,
or without pure aims, one will
not gain any benefit but will obstruct the
development of Buddhism.
Some
people want to renounce just after they begin to practice. They
think that
in order to practice the teaching of the Buddha, one must
renounce. This is
not correct and may frighten away the others from
stepping into the practice
of Buddhism. This kind of thought - that one
must renounce in order to practice
the Buddha's teaching, is the
thought that all of us should avoid. One should
recognise that it is
not easy to renounce. One should first practise to be
a good lay
follower, practise for the sake of the Dharma, benefitting oneself
and
others. If one can develop one's mind greatly and sincerely, practise
the renounced way, contribute to Buddhism first before one decides to
renounce,
it will be better for oneself and at the same time will not
create any unpleasant
influence to the society.
With regards to renunciation, there are two points to mention here:
a)
Some people observe the spaciousness, majestic appearance, quietness
and beauty
of the temples and monasteries, and this arouses their
admiration to be renounced.
They think that the monks and nuns who live
inside there are just waiting
for the offerings of the devotees and
enjoying themselves. They do not need
to do any work. The idioms such
as "do not wake up even when the sun
has risen up to three metre high",
or "cannot compare with even
half-a-day's freedom of the monk or nun"
show the misunderstandings among
the general people.
They
do not know that the monks and nuns have their own
responsibilities, they
need to strive hard. When they are practising
themselves, they have to "practice
diligently before and after
midnight"; and in terms of their duty to
the devotees, they should go
around to preach the teaching of the Buddha.
They lead a simple and
hard life, striving for the benefit of Buddhism and
all beings,
benefitting one and another. This is something very great. Thus,
they
are called the Gem of Sangha. They are not just sitting there waiting
for the devotees offerings, waiting for things which are ready and
never do
anything. May be it is because of too many monks or nuns who
are not fulfilling
their responsibilities that leads to this
misunderstanding.
Some
people who are against Buddhism say that the monks and nuns do
nothing, they
are parasites of society and are useless. These people do
not know that it
is not necessary for one to be engaged in the work
force of agriculture or
business in order to be considered productive.
If it is so, then are people
who choose to be teacher, reporter or
other occupations also considered as
the consumers of society's output
too?
It
is not right to say that the monks or nuns have nothing to do. They
lead a
simple and hard life and striving diligently everyday. The
things that they
do, besides benefitting themselves, is to teach others
to do good, to emphasise
moral values and practices, so that the
personality of the devotees can be
improved, leading them to the end of
the cycle of life and death. They bring
great benefit to the people in
the world. Thus, how can we say that they are
the parasites that are
doing nothing?
The
monks and nuns are religious teachers. They are profound and
respectful educators.
Thus, the saying of those who have no
understanding on Buddhism, that the
monks and nuns are doing nothing
and are the parasites wasting society's money
are in fact wrong. A
person who really leads a renounced life is in fact not
free, they are
not mere consumers but are busily repaying their gratitude
to all
living beings whenever they can.
b)
Chinese Buddhism emphasises a vegetarian diet. Thus, some people
thought that
one who practises Buddhism must be a vegetarian. People
who cannot stop eating
meat misunderstood that they are not ready to
start to learn about Buddhism.
If we look around at the Buddhists in
Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand or Tibet
and Mongolia, not to mention the
lay followers, we find even the monks and
nuns have meat in their diet.
Can you say that they are not practicing the
Buddha's teaching? They
are not Buddhists?
Do
not think that one must be a vegetarian in order to learn about the
teaching
of the Buddha and that one cannot practise Buddhism if one
cannot be a vegetarian.
To practice Buddhism and be a vegetarian are
not the same thing. Some people
who become a Buddhist, do not learn
much about the teachings but only know
how to be a vegetarian. This
causes unhappiness among the members of the family.
They feel that it
is too troublesome to be a vegetarian.
In
fact one who is practising the teaching of the Buddha should: -
after becoming
a Buddhist - first understand the teaching of the Buddha
and behave according
to the teaching in both the family and the
society. Purifying one's conduct
and mind, so that the members of the
family feel that one has changed for
the better should be the goal. If
before becoming a Buddhist, one was greedy,
has strong hatred and
lacked of a sense of responsibility and loving kindness;
and after
practising the Buddha's teaching, one becomes less greedy, less
paranoid and shows more care to the others with a stronger sense of
responsibility,
then the members of the family would see the benefit of
practising the Buddha's
teaching. At that time, if one wants to be a
vegetarian, the family members
would not object to it. In fact, they
may also be encouraged to have sympathy
towards other living beings and
follow one to be a vegetarian. If one only
knows to be a vegetarian
after becoming a Buddhist and does not learn about
others, one will
surely encounter obstacles and cause misunderstanding.
Although
it is not necessary for a Buddhist to be vegetarian, it is a
good moral conduct
in the Chinese Buddhism and is something that should
be promoted. The teaching
of the Buddha says that becoming a vegetarian
will cultivate one's loving
kindness and compassion. By not harming the
life of other living beings, not
eating the meat of the other animals
one will reduce one's karma of killing
and strengthen one's sympathy
towards the sufferings of Mankind. Mahayana
Buddhism advocates the
practice of vegetarianism, and says that to be a vegetarian
has great
merits in cultivating one's mind of loving kindness and compassion.
If
one becomes a vegetarian but does not cultivate the mind of loving
kindness and compassion, it is only a practice of no killing in a
pessimistic
way. It resembles the practice of the Hinayanist.
From
the view point of the worldly Dharma, the benefit of becoming a
vegetarian
is very great. It is more economical, highly nutritious and
may reduce illness.
In the world at present, there are international
vegetarian organisations.
Everyone who likes to be a vegetarian may
join them. Thus, it can be seen
that it is good to be a vegetarian. And
as Buddhist who emphasises compassion,
we should advocate the practice
more to others. However, one thing to note
is that, do not claim that a
Buddhist must be a vegetarian. Whenever meeting
with a Buddhist, some
will ask: have you become a vegetarian? Why are you
still not a
vegetarian after practising the Buddha's teaching for so long?
This
will frighten some people away. To regard practising Buddhism and
becoming a vegetarian as the same will in fact obstruct the spreading
of Buddhism.
3. The misunderstanding that arises due to the observances
When
non-Buddhists visit the monastery and see observances such as
paying respect
to the Buddha, intoning the sutras, repenting and the
morning and evening
chanting, they cannot understand the meaning behind
them and comment that
these are superstitious acts. There are many
misunderstanding within this
category. Now, lets briefly mention some
of them:
a) To pay respects to the Buddha
To
pay respects to the Buddha when entering the monastery, to offer
incense,
flowers, candle and light to the Buddha are the observances of
the Buddhist.
The Theistic followers say that we are idol worshippers
and superstitious
In reality, the Buddha is the master of our religion,
he is the saint who
has attained the perfect and ultimate stage by
practising from the stage of
a worldly being. The great Bodhisattvas
are the Buddhas to be. They are our
guides and indicators of refuge. We
should be polite in showing respect to
the Buddha and Bodhisattva just
as when we show respect to our parents. When
the Buddha was still in
this world, there was no problem. One could show one's
respect to him
directly. However, now that the Sakyamuni Buddha has already
entered
final Nirvana; and the Buddha and Bodhisattva of the other worlds
are
not in our world, we have no way to pay respects. Thus, we have to use
paper to draw, ceramic, wood or stone to carve their images, to be the
object
of our worship. It is because of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas,
merits and images
that we are paying our respect to them, and not
because of they are the paper,
earth wood or stone.
It
is similar to the way we respect and love our country. We use
coloured cloth
and make it into a flag. When the flag is flying, we pay
respects to the flag.
Can we say that this is also a superstitious act?
The Catholics also have
images in their church. The Christians, have no
image of the God, but use
the "cross" as the image for them to pay
respect to. Some even kneel
down and say their prayer. What is the
difference between these acts and the
paying of respects to the Buddha?
To say that the paying of respects in Buddhism
is idol worshipping, is
just the intentional defamation of some people.
What
about the offerings of fragrance flowers, light and candle? During
the Buddha
time, the Indians offered these to the Buddha. Light and
candle represent
brightness, flowers represent fragrance and
cleanliness. We believe in the
Buddha and pay respect to the Buddha.
The offering of these things to the
Buddha is to show our respect and
faith. On the other hand, it means the gaining
of brightness and purity
from the Buddha. We do not offer flowers and incense
so that the Buddha
smells the fragrance; or offer light and candle so that
the Buddha can
see everything.
Some
religions, for example the Catholics, also use these things in
their offerings.
These are in fact the common observances among the
religions. When we are
paying respect to the Buddha, we should be
respectful and sincere and contemplate
on the merits of the real
Buddha. If one thinks of other things or talks while
paying respect to
the Buddha, it is not respectful and loses the meaning of
the act of
paying respect.