Preface
Venerable
Dr. Yin Shun is one of the greatest contemporary Buddhist
masters. He has
spent more than sixty years in the Buddhist Order.
Although he has throughout
his life suffered almost constantly illness,
his strong determination and
perseverance has allowed him to complete a
huge collection of works on Buddhism.
Unfortunately, most of his works
remain in Chinese. Only a very small proportion
of them have been
translated into English and Japanese. There are experts
in Theravada;
in the Mahayana; in Vajrayana; in Buddhist history; on Zen and
on
various other schools in Buddhism. But these scholars and masters each
worked, for the most part, in a limited sphere, and very few of them
can give
us an integrated understanding of Buddhism as a whole. The
Venerable's collected
works serve this purpose very well. They help
clarify confusion regarding
Buddhist practices and show us the right
path in order to follow the teaching
of Buddha.
Buddhism
has a history of more than two thousand five hundred years.
After the Buddha's
Parinirvana, His Dharma continued to develop and
grow in India. Later, it
spread throughout the countries of Asia,
adapting its forms and rituals to
individual cultures. During its
development and propagation, the teachings
of Buddhism were enriched
and necessarily employed skilful means (s. upaya)
in order to assist
the transmission of the Buddha Dharma to different individuals.
However, when these skilful means and the absolute truth lying behind
Buddhism
cannot be distinguished or understood clearly, confusion may
arise and may
even prevent us from pursuing true spiritual development.
As Venerable Yin Shun says in his preface to "Buddhism in India",
"I
deeply believe that during the long period of the development of
Buddhism,
some teachings have been changed and even deformed.
Therefore, the core teachings
of Buddhism have to be revealed and the
cause of the change in the teachings
has to be understood. Only with
this will we be able to distinguish, clarify
and distill the
teachings."
With
these purposes in mind, as stated in "The Method and Attitude in
Learning
Buddhism", Venerable Yin Shun has put most of his efforts into
"searching
what are the ultimate and core teachings in Buddhism? How
does Buddhism develop
over time? How has the teaching changed in
India?" Furthermore, he uncovers
the links between various teachings
and presents the vast system of Buddhist
thought as an integrated
whole. Although not all the teachings we find in
Buddhism today equally
parallel the core teachings, Venerable Yin Shun is
impartial with
respect to the development and mutation of Buddhism through
various
schools and traditions. Instead of ridiculing the variety of practices
and beliefs, he expounded the truth. When Venerable Yin Shun comments
on a
particular practice in Buddhism he does not draw us into hasty
value judgements.
He is always very patient. Customarily his
commentaries start with an explanation
of the origin of a certain
practice, and then explicate how that given practice
changes in order
to create the forms we see today. In "The Method and
Attitude in
Learning Buddhism" Venerable writes: "It is not just
a simple question
of right or wrong. We have to perceive these changes as
skilful means
and as developmental adaptations."
Venerable
Yin Shun does not bind himself to any particular school or
tradition. The
way he approaches and learns Buddhism, as explained in
"Learning Buddha
Dharma Through Buddha Dharma", is based on the Three
Universal Characteristic
of Buddha Dharma i.e.
'All
existence and phenomena are subject to change (s. anitya),
All existence and
phenomena do not have any substantial reality (s.
anatman),
The eternally
serene state of Nirvana"
The
state of Nirvana is the ultimate aim of all Buddhist practices.
Therefore
the teaching is to be studied, more to be practiced, and
above all to be realized
by oneself. Mere learning is of no avail
without actual practice. Only by
living in Buddha Dharma can its very
essence be known.
The
approach by which we understand Buddha Dharma should be grounded in
an awareness
of constant flux as the underlying nature of phenomenal
existence (viz. anitya).
Discourse on the Dharma also changes and grows
as Buddhism historically develops.
Therefore, we should "understand the
changes in Buddhism in order to
reveal what is the absolute teaching of
the Buddha Dharma, and what are the
relative truths which have been
adapted from time to time."
In
practising Buddhism, we should have the attitude of egolessness.
There are
two aspects to egolessness (s. anatman), i.e. the
non-existence of the individual
soul (s. pudgala-nairatmya) and the
non-self nature of Dharma (s. dharma-nairatmya).
Because of the
egolessness of the individual, "we should learn and practise
Buddhism
without becoming attached to our own view and should eschew all
prejudice against others." Because of the egolessness of Dharma
"everything
in this phenomenal world exists in the form of
interdependence and interrelationship,
conditioned by every other
thing." Therefore, when we study Buddhism
we must also understand the
interrelationship between the teachings and the
Law of Dependent
Origination. By following the Three Universal Characteristics
of Buddha
Dharma, Venerable Yin Shun illuminates for us the right way to learn
Buddhism.
The
Venerable's collected works range widely and include, but are not
limited
to, Buddhist text books for primary schools; Dharma talks for
general audiences;
commentaries on sutras and sastras; a history of
Buddhism in India; guides
to Buddhist practices; and teachings from
various schools and traditions.
The selected translations which
comprise Parts I and II are in total just
a very small portion of the
works of the Venerable. A substantial proportion
of his important
writings lie beyond our abilities to translate at this stage.
We
sincerely hope that more people will become involved in their
translation
in the future. On the other hand, we sincerely hope that
even this limited
selection will enrich the understanding of Buddhism
in the West so that more
people can benefit from contact with the
Dharma.
This
volume, "Selected Translations of Miao Yun Part II", is our second
humble attempt to translate works by Venerable Yin Shun. All the
articles
in this selection were selected from the eleventh volume of
the Miao Yun Collection,
namely "Buddha Dharma is the Light of
Deliverance." The articles
we have selected can be broadly divided into
two categories. The first category
includes "Buddha Dharma is the Light
of Deliverance", "Buddha
Come to Save and Protect Us", "Two Distinctive
Characteristics of
Buddhism", "Let Go of Your Sorrow", "Form Relieving
the
Suffering of the Mind to Relieving suffering of the Body", "The
Critical Issue of Life and Death", "What is the Significance of Life"
and "Dharma About Lay People For Lay People". All these articles deal
with the fundamental understanding, perspective and practice of
Buddhism.
They try to answer questions such as: Why should we learn
Buddhism? How can
Buddhism help us? How do we face life from a Buddhist
perspective? From an
understanding of the unique characteristics of
Buddhism we will be able to
grasp the true significance of life, and
furthermore realize this significance
i.e. achieve Buddhahood in this
very life. These are all important teachings
of the Buddha that every
Buddhist should understand from the very outset of
his or her
practises. The remaining articles in this selection deal with more
advanced teachings in Buddhism such as voidness (s. sunyata) and the
Middle
Way. They assume some prior knowledge in this field and are
therefore more
suitable for those who have a deeper grounding in the
Dharma.
We
would like to take this opportunity to thank the Triple Gem for
guiding our
lives. We gratefully acknowledge and express deep
appreciation to Venerable
Tsang Hui for his guidance and encouragement.
We would also like to thank
Mr. Mick Kiddle. Mr. Gregg Heathcote and
Mr. Michael Morrison for correcting
our English and smoothing the
writing. They have made this publication possible.
These translations
involved members from the University of New South Wales
Buddhist
Society, the University of Sydney Buddhist Society, the University
of
Newcastle Buddhist Society and Hwa Tsang Monastery Inc.. Despite their
busy academic and working lives, many people have contributed their
time and
energy so that these translations could be completed.
We
are responsible for any possible mistakes and distortions in the
translations
and any remedial suggestions from you would be very
precious, and very welcome.
We hope that we have succeeded in
presenting these works of Venerable Yin
Shun to you as faithfully and
clearly as we can.
Finally, let us share a message from Venerable Yin Shun,
"Faith
in the Triple Gem should be developed from right understanding.
The faith
derived from right understanding will lead us to skilful
action and further
our progress on the path of Buddhahood. Let us bring
benefits both to ourselves
and to others. Let us contribute ourselves
to the promotion of Buddha Dharma."
Beng
Tiong Tan
Newcastle, Australia
10 July 1996
Buddha Dharma is the Light of Deliverance
Dear
Dharma Friends! In this desolate and miserable period, it is
precious to have
such a valuable opportunity here and now to share
Dharma with joyful hearts.
We should all therefore greatly honor the
benevolence of the Triple Gem and
the compassion of the Buddha.
This
is the first Dharma Talk I have given in Xin Yuan Monastery during
this Chinese
New Year. Thus I have taken "The Light" as the theme of my
talk.
I have seen so many people looking for brightness and hope in
their lives.
No doubt, living in the light is blissful and peaceful.
However, the universe
is full of gloom. Who, or what, can give us hope?
The answer is the Buddha
and the Dharma. In other words, brightness
will only eventuate if one believes
and practises the Dharma.
We
often hear others commenting that the world is gloomy. Conflicts and
violence
are everywhere, and they create agitation and anguish.
Buddhists understand
these problems and seek for brightness within the
dark.
From
the perspective of Buddha-Dharma, the cause of darkness and chaos
in this
human world is grounded in the sentient beings themselves. We
often think
that we are very intelligent and capable. But in actual
fact, we are not.
We often mistake the bad deed for the good deed, and
not many of us are interested
in doing good. The activities that bring
us suffering are often misconstrued
as sources of excitement and
happiness. Do you think then that human beings
are really so clever and
intelligent?
Let
me take an example. Human beings are getting more knowledgeable
nowadays.
Science and technology are advancing. Harmful products are
continuously being
produced by these intelligent minds. What are the
threats that they have brought
to the mankind? Fear and worries
consequently arise. Everyone fears the explosion
of wars and nuclear
weapons. This is a cogent evidence that our intellect
is misleading us.
Therefore various discoveries and so-called material "progress"
may in
fact harm us and leave us with a nagging sense of insecurity.
I
am not condemning the advancement of science and technology, but
demonstrating
the ignorance of the human beings. We do not know how to
make proper use of
science; rather, we are being used by it. This is
comparable to a kitchen-knife
being used as a weapon to kill oneself
rather as a cutting utensil for food.
Because science is not used
wisely, we end up living and groping in the dark
in spite of our
advanced science and technology. The Buddha Dharma points
out the path
to brightness whilst we are groping in the dark.
Amidst
the darkness, feelings of fear and grief often engender
illusions. We may
either see nothing or perceive incorrectly. We may
assume a rope as a snake;
or mistake a shadow as a human body; or are
headed in a wrong direction.
Religions
in the world believe that they have shown humans the light
and brightness
of life. The worldly scholars also assume their own
knowledge as the Universal
Truth. But in fact, we can find the truth
most clearly revealed in the Buddha
Dharma, the teaching of the Buddha.
Since Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment
2000 years ago, the
bright light began to shine into our hearts and illuminate
the whole
universe. The "Amitabha Buddha", whose name everyone recites
nowadays,
means "Infinite Brightness". Buddha emits two lights to
help sentient
beings. They are the light of wisdom and the light of compassion.
The
light of wisdom shows us what has happened before this life and what
will happen after this life. It enhance our understanding of skilful
and unskilful
actions, and tells us the causes of suffering. It also
shows us the way to
end suffering so that we will be liberated and
happy. If we receive and follow
the guidance of this light of wisdom,
many mistakes can be avoided, and the
significance of life will
gradually be uncovered and understood. I have just
mentioned that human
intelligence is unreliable and man commits many mistakes.
There is a
saying of Sariputra, "If we are unable to live in the light
of wisdom,
it is just like a blind person who cannot see the light of the
external
world and who always lives in darkness."
The
Buddha radiates not only the light of wisdom, but also the light of
compassion,
for the liberation of all beings. His salvation is
proceeding everywhere,
every moment. His care for us is far greater
than the care we give to our
children. If we receive the light of
compassion radiated from the Buddha,
feelings of peace and serenity
will arise while anxiety and annoyance will
disappear. This is like a
child who walks alone on the street. His fear of
being attacked by
other naughty children will vanish as soon as his mother
appears and he
is safely in her company. This is the power of love from the
mother. If
one who purportedly practises Buddhism still immerses oneself in
deep
feelings of grief and anguish, this must reflect the fact that the
inner self still lacks true faith, and that right understanding of
Dharma
has not yet been developed. Therefore, such a one has not yet
received the
light of compassion from the Buddha.
The
light of compassion from the Buddha is illuminating everywhere.
However, there
are still some people who wonder why they are unable to
receive it. This is
just like one who closed the windows and curtains
to prevent sunlight from
shining into one's room. Those who have true
faith in Buddha Dharma are freed
from defilements and anxiety, and to
them the light is illuminating. Others
may not understand why, with
their kindness and faith in Buddha, they are
unable to receive the
light. I have seen a common phenomenon occurring in
our country,
Taiwan. People pray for wealth and good fortune in front of the
Buddha
or a Bodhisattva. If their wishes are not fulfilled they will begin
to
blame the Buddha and Bodhisattva. What a wrong attitude! One should
realize that true faith towards Buddha is not conditional upon
environment
and favors received. As long as firm and resolute faith
exists, there will
be an opportunity to receive the warmth of the light
from the Buddha.
The
Buddha appears in this world to teach us the Dharma and to radiate
the light
of wisdom and compassion, so that we may all live under this
brightness and
be benefitted in the following two regards:
1.
Accomplishment in wholesome activities: What ever activity we
perform, we
need guidance. The warm light of Buddha-Dharma guides us to
deliverance so
that everyone may become happy and peaceful. All merits,
and all large or
minor activities, will be able to proceed to
accomplishment under the illumination
of the compassionate and wise
lights of the Buddha.
2.
Fullness of hope: Under the illumination of the light of wisdom and
compassion,
we have tremendous hope. Those who practise the Dharma will
not easily give
up and fear for failure because they have received the
light of Buddha Dharma
and have firm faith in a bright future.
Therefore,
the causes of all problems in the world originate from
ourselves. If everyone
accepts the light from the Buddha, the light can
also be transmitted to the
others. When one has the right view, one can
influence the others. This is
how Buddha works for the salvation of the
world. May I take this opportunity
to wish everyone who listens to
today's talk about the "Dharma as the
Light of Deliverance", to accept
the light of wisdom and compassion of
the Buddha, and to have an
infinite bright future.