The Teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha: Although in this world (on Earth), at that time, Shakyamuni was the only Buddha, during his lifetime, Buddhas had been born in this world before, and in the future, there will be Buddhas born. Currently, there are many Buddhas in other realms. Therefore, Buddhism does not consider the Buddha to be unique and singular. Buddhism acknowledges that in the past, present, and future, there are countless Buddhas, and it believes that all beings, regardless of whether they believe in the Buddha now, have the potential to attain enlightenment and become Buddhas in the future. Buddhism believes that a Buddha is an enlightened being, while sentient beings are unenlightened Buddhas. In terms of their spiritual nature, although ordinary people and saints differ, they are equal in their Buddha nature. Buddhism does not worship the Buddha as the only god; some even say that the Buddha and Buddhists are atheists. However, Buddhism acknowledges the existence of various deities (such as celestial gods, etc.).
The teachings and doctrines of Buddhism are profound, broad, and vast, and words can only provide metaphors and are difficult to fully explain. Those who experience them will understand their truth deeply. The simplest summary of Buddhist doctrine is that the starting point of the Buddha’s teachings is solely the cessation of suffering, with the goal of reaching the tranquility of Nirvana.
The Koan of “Nowhere to Abide”
A man once asked Chan Master Weikuan:
“Where is the Way?”
The Master replied, “It is right before your eyes.”
The man asked again, “Why do I not see it?”
The Master said, “Because you have a self, therefore you do not see.”
The man said, “Since I have a self, I cannot see. But does the Master see it?”
The Master replied, “With a self and with you, turning back and forth, it is even more unseen.”
The man then asked, “If there is no self and no you, can it then be seen?”
The Master said, “With no self and no you, who is there to seek and to see?”
“A Bodhisattva, in relation to all dharmas, should practice giving without attachment.”
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A Bowl of Rice Soup
Long ago, a practitioner would go down the mountain every morning to beg for alms.
One day, as he reached the village entrance, he saw a woman busy feeding her child. Her family was very poor, and she had only a single bowl of thin rice soup left at home.
The practitioner held out his alms bowl. The woman hesitated, but in the end, she poured the soup into it. Her child began to cry, and her heart ached — she instantly regretted it.
The practitioner looked at her and smiled:
“This bowl of rice soup you gave me was not given to me — it was a seed of virtue you planted for yourself. Do not grieve, and do not cling.”
With that, he turned and walked away.
The next day, the woman met the practitioner again. She was about to apologize, saying that yesterday’s offering was too little. The practitioner shook his head:
“I have already forgotten what happened yesterday. If you still hold on to it, it becomes a burden. The way of giving should be free from attachment.”
The woman was taken aback. In that moment, she understood: true giving is not measured by how much is given, but by letting go of clinging in the heart.
Giving Without Attachment
To practice giving without attachment means not holding on to the thought “I am the giver,” “you are the receiver,” or “something is being given.” It is not bound by the notions of self, others, beings, or lifespan. One does not cling to merit, nor expect repayment.
Such giving generates immeasurable virtue. It transcends the mere act itself, embodying the wisdom of selflessness and the compassion of the Bodhisattva path.
Two patients, complete strangers, comfort each other.
A hospital is perhaps the place where impermanence is felt most deeply.
Taking suffering as teacher — illness makes it easier for compassion to arise. In comforting one another, one’s own pain resonates with the pain of others.
The shared karma of all beings — meeting in illness is the crossing of common karmic threads.
To meet all whom one is meant to meet.
To do all that one is meant to do.
Remove the defilements of the mind; in practice there is purity.
Calculating fate by the Eight Characters is sometimes accurate, sometimes not, and sometimes only partly so.
For example, two women with identical birth charts married officials of equal rank. One enjoyed late happiness after early widowhood; the other grew old with her husband but lost her sight and wealth. Their fortunes balanced out.
Another case: my nephew and a servant’s son were born at exactly the same moment in adjoining rooms. Yet my nephew died at sixteen, while the servant’s son still lives. It seems my nephew, raised in luxury, consumed his allotment of blessings too quickly, while the servant’s son, living frugally, has not exhausted his share.
Such patterns of gain and loss may follow some principle, though their true meaning is for those skilled in fate to explain.
—-Ji Yun (Ji Xiaolan), Notes from the Cottage of Close Scrutiny (Yuewei Caotang Biji), Volume 24: “Continued Records from Luanyang, Part Five.” Qing Dynasty.
Mr. He Lian said: In the Ming dynasty, a scholar once walked in the wilderness and heard the sound of reading. Following it, he found an old man sitting among graves, surrounded by foxes holding books. When they saw him, they stood up like humans.
The scholar asked, “What use is reading?”
The old man replied: “Foxes seek immortality in two ways. One is to draw on the essence of Heaven and Earth, worship the stars, and gain powers of transformation—fast but dangerous. The other is to first take human form, then study inner alchemy through breath and discipline—slow but safe. Since the body follows the mind, we first read the sages’ books to change the heart, and then the form.”
The scholar looked at their books—The Five Classics, Analects, Mencius—but without commentary. He asked how they understood them. The old man said, “The sages’ words are simple. With oral teaching we grasp the meaning; why depend on endless notes?” He added that he began learning before woodblock printing existed, and that aside from the rise of schools after the Song dynasty, the world had changed little.
Later, the scholar saw him again, but the old man turned away.
Mr. He remarked: “Seeking fame through dissecting the classics only makes them chaotic. Every clever shortcut hides danger; steady steps, though slow, are safe.” This echoed the old man’s two paths of cultivation.
“All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, or a shadow; like dew or a flash of lightning, they should be thus contemplated.”
Explanation:
• Dhamma (法, ‘phenomena’): Refers broadly to all mental and material phenomena in the world.
• Conditioned phenomena (有为法, sankhāra / conditioned dharmas): All things that arise due to causes and conditions, as opposed to unconditioned phenomena (unborn, unchanging, and abiding dharmas).
• Everything in the world arises from a combination of causes and conditions. When the conditions come together, the phenomenon arises; when the conditions disperse, it ceases.
• Because phenomena are dependent on conditions, once those conditions vanish, the phenomena vanish as well.
• The things of this world are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, or lightning—temporary, changeable, impermanent, and ultimately insubstantial.
• We should regard the world in this way, understanding its transient and conditional nature.
“All minds are not the true mind; thus it is called the Mind.”
Explanation:
1. All minds: This refers to everything we ordinarily call “mind,” such as discriminating thought, attachment, delusion, and the continuous stream of consciousness.
2. Are not the true mind: These apparent “minds” are not the real Mind. They are illusory phenomena, arising and ceasing through conditions, not the constant, unchanging Mind.
3. Thus it is called the Mind: When one realizes that all these “minds” are illusory and unsubstantial, and fully lets go of attachment, one can then enter the unborn, undying, genuine Mind that is free from delusion.
Overall meaning:
What we ordinarily take to be “mind” is not the true Mind; they are only transient illusions born of conditions. The real Mind transcends false thoughts and discriminations, and cannot be grasped by attachment.
The forms of things have no inherent reality; they acquire names and meanings only through conditions. When there is no craving and no attachment, this is called the method of extinguishing afflictions. Such extinction is the true extinction.
What does it mean to say that self-cultivation lies in rectifying one’s thoughts? It means that when we are angry, our thoughts cannot be upright; when we are fearful, our thoughts cannot be upright; when we are given to preferences and pleasures, our thoughts cannot be upright; when we are burdened with worries, our thoughts cannot be upright. If a person’s mind is not focused, then even when seeing things it is as if not seen, when hearing sounds it is as if not heard, and when tasting food it is as if without flavor. This is what is meant by saying that self-cultivation lies in rectifying one’s thoughts.
If the body harbors anger, it cannot be upright. If it harbors fear, it cannot be upright. If it harbors delight, it cannot be upright. If it harbors anxiety and distress, it cannot be upright.
No-Self (Anātman) refers to the denial of a permanent “self” and is one of the fundamental doctrines of Buddhism. The term has two aspects of meaning: on the one hand, it can be understood as “there is no self, I do not exist,” which in Mahāyāna Buddhism is also called “emptiness of self.” On the other hand, it can be explained as “this is not me,” meaning “non-self.”
The negation of a substantial, independent essence (so-called “self”) in the world is expressed in two ways:
1. No-self of the person (pudgala-nairātmya): A human being is nothing other than the five aggregates—form (matter), feeling (sensation), perception (ideas), volition (mental formations), and consciousness. A person is simply the combination of these aggregates, without any permanent, autonomous entity.
2. No-self of phenomena (dharma-nairātmya): Mahāyāna Buddhism further teaches that even the five aggregates themselves—form, feeling, and so on—arise only through various causes and conditions, constantly changing, lacking any eternal or substantial essence. All dharmas are without self; they have no sovereign nature and cannot arise independently. Realizing the nature of one dharma is to understand all dharmas: no single dharma can exist by itself alone. Thus, all phenomena lack a controlling self and cannot arise independently.