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The teachings of Mahayana Buddhism places equal
emphasis on inner reasons and external conditions and emphasizes
the importance of both the worldly (mundane) and the supramundane
teachings. It aims at attaining ultimate peace, that is, to
dignify the Buddha Land and to attain the purity of the Buddha.
If we pursue only worldly peace, but are unable to
thoroughly achieve peace within our mind, then we have merely
stayed on the path of the mortals. If we are inclined towards
attaining peace within our mind but cannot contribute to the
achievement of worldly peace, then this amounts to the practice of
a self-benefiting practitioner.
We must place importance on achieving peace within
our minds and also strive for worldly peace. By defusing external
conflicts and disputes, we help promote peace within our minds.
With the achievement of peace within our minds, we can vigorously
facilitate worldly peace. This is the true path of Mahayana
Buddhism.
Most practicing Buddhists do not understand the universal nature
of the Dharma. Many even have the mistaken notion that the laws
governing this Saha world are very different from those of the
supramundane. They do not realize that worldly peace and peace
within the mind all originate from the resolution of the same
conflicts and disputes.
Disharmony and inequality originate from humankind –
that is, ourselves. On the one hand, disharmony manifests
externally throughout the complexity of society, causing confusion
in ideological thinking, the legal system and the economy. This
brings on social unrest. On the other hand, it manifests within
ourselves too. Through the interweaving of the states of our mind,
the concepts of us-and-them, objects-and-us, we develop certain
habits and characteristics. This causes our inner mind to be not
at peace.
From the viewpoint of an individual, there is no
apparent relationship between inner peace and world peace. The
peace that exists in society does not necessarily mean peace in
the individual's mind; similarly the unpeacefulness of the society
also does not imply that one's own mind cannot be peaceful.
However, if we examine it from a societal perspective, if there is
no worldly peace, the unpeaceful elements within our minds will
get stronger. On the other hand, if the world is peaceful, it will
be easy for our minds to achieve peacefulness.
Although the influence of society is not a
determining factor, it is an important factor that influences the
individual. This is because besides “those who are extremely
intelligent or extremely stupid, who may be unmoved,” the majority
of people are easily influenced by the environment of the society.
The environment has a very strong relationship with
individuals. It is therefore not surprising that Maitreya
Bodhisattva will attain Buddhahood in the Pure Land where the
environment is conducive for the practice of the Buddha path. What
is truly remarkable is the fact that Sakyamuni Buddha became
enlightened in this turbulent Saha World. This is why he received
boundless acclamation from all the Buddhas of the ten directions.
The Mahayana teachings not only purify individuals
and all sentient beings, but also the nation and the environment.
This explains the importance of the external environment to the
mental well being of individuals. For the sake of all people, it
is essential to promote and advance world peace. This will
facilitate the general harmony and happiness of all people, and
more particularly will be conducive to aid the practice of the
Dharma. In the Mahayana teachings there are the vows of the
Bodhisattvas to purify and dignify their land; this provides the
right views. These views contain a much deeper implication than
that propagated by the doctrines of the Two Vehicles, which only
concentrates on the individuals' enlightenment.
This is why Bodhisattvas work very hard at promoting
and advancing world peace and at the same time cultivate inner
peace in their mind. Bodhisattvas attain inner peace of the mind
through promoting and advancing world peace. By working to attain
benefit for all sentient beings, they effectively also benefit
themselves.
As a first step, Bodhisattvas preach the truth in order to gather
like-minded beings to work together for world peace.
Secondly, they work towards achieving harmony and
equity within the mind, which consists mainly of eradicating the
root causes of defilements in sentient beings through the use of
wisdom. The root causes are ignorance and holding the concept of
ego. Most importantly Bodhisattvas work to bring about the
realization of equanimity and “emptiness,” which in Buddhist
teaching means that ego and all objects and phenomena are temporal
and immaterial. Eradicating the root causes of sentient beings'
defilements is not something that is beyond this world. We can
purify ourselves and attain enlightenment in this world. It is not
to control or to make a defilement disappear, but to solve/defuse
or to transform it.
For example, greed can be transformed from a
negative emotion to a desire to uphold the Bodhisattva vow, that
is the Bodhi Mind (Bodhicitta). This vow encompasses Mahayana
faith and determination. This vow arises from the desire to strive
for the truth, for peace, for the freedom and liberation of
sentient beings, and for the purifying and dignifying of the land.
Thus, in the Buddhist liturgy, there is this verse:
“ I vow to liberate the limitless sentient beings
from the ocean of suffering,
I vow to end the endless defilements,
I vow to learn the immeasurable teachings of the Buddha,
I vow to realize the supreme Buddha-path.”
We should therefore make full use of our lives and
with boundless courage benefit all sentient beings, and purify and
adorn the land.
( to be continued... ) |
