The Buddha, even though He was a prince and having so much comfort and luxury, after enlightenment, He led a life of a begging monk without feeling the slightest discomfort and without feeling regret. It wasn’t monkhood that made Him happy, because there were so many monks at that time who had not attained enlightenment, and therefore had been living a life of bickering, battling and ignorance, struggling between fame and wealth, and not even sparing the Buddha. Sometimes they wanted to also harm the Buddha. It was because His inner bliss, His inner Nirvana manifested throughout His daily life – that sustained Him during every trial that humans cannot endure. That even sometimes, due to the competitive atmosphere of other religious monks, the Buddha had not been able to have offerings for many months, and He had to live on horse feed – even then, He would never feel despair; He would never run back to the palace to ask for some gold from His king father in order to satisfy His hunger or to make Him more comfortable.
Every practitioner knows this detachment once they have reached a high level of wisdom. Even though they might choose to stay in the world and become a king, or officer, or any businessman, in order to just carry on the ordinary life. But in their heart, there’s no more desire for fame, name, or profit. Just like during the Buddha’s time, many people slandered Him and made a lot of obstacles for His preaching, but He never wavered, He never suffered from these unvirtuous deeds of other people. It is because in His heart, it was all empty – empty of all desires, empty of all anger and attachments. Even though He acted outwardly just like other human beings, He was no longer the ordinary human being in the ordinary sense.
And the Buddha had also many lay disciples who had chosen to stay in the world as they did before, but within themselves they had high levels of attainment spiritually. Like Vimalakīrti or like Quan Shi Yin Bodhisattva – Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. Even though She appeared as an ordinary layperson and beautiful woman with beautiful clothing and ornaments, She is a Buddha.
So we know that there are two ways of practicing. One is that we may renounce the world and go to an isolated place to practice. The second is we can stay in the world and become an enlightened saint and carry on our duty. Because jungles and mountains cannot offer us enlightenment and a change of heart. Without a spiritual method of practice, it doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, we still remain in ignorance. The tiger-, the lion-, the jaguar-people, they live in the jungle. No one bothers them. There are no obstructions for their life, no mundane pressure to make them aggressive. Nevertheless, they’re born aggressive, stay aggressive, and die aggressive. And some of the Buddha’s disciples or some of other Saints’ disciples, They stayed in the world, but They were enlightened, They were compassionate, and They were saintly beings.
And there are many “holy” wars in this world between different religions, as well as within the same religion. It is because of ignorance. So, place, environment, or religion cannot help us if we don’t know the key of enlightenment. Even if we change our clothes and forsake everything in this world in pursuing enlightenment, if we don’t know the way [or] we don’t know how, it is still useless.
There are Laws in the Universe, and we must follow absolutely. Whatever we want to do, we must follow the Law, the Regulation, if we want to succeed. In our body, there are different organs for different functions. If we know which one is for spiritual enlightenment, then we can make use of it and become enlightened. Otherwise, if we make use of the wrong place, practice the wrong method, it doesn’t matter for how long, it brings us nothing.
The Buddha also had made mistakes before enlightenment. That means He had practiced so many different methods, including austerity – stayed in hunger for months on end, which damaged His body and ability to think, and even His spiritual strength. [It was] only after six years of mistakes that He finally realized that He must practice the Middle Way, the ordinary way, and then perhaps He had met the right Teacher and practiced the right method. Therefore, after only 49 days under the Bodhi tree, He attained enlightenment.
But maybe He had to do it because He was the Buddha; He had to do it in order to show us the mistakes, so that we don’t do the same. Or maybe He had to undergo the law of karma like everyone else when being born in this world, before enlightenment. Because He had enjoyed a luxurious life during His youth without contributing anything to society and His nation. That’s why, perhaps, He had to undergo this kind of hunger-suffering – in order to make up for the past, even though He did not do it on purpose.
I just say “maybe,” so please forgive me if I have made a mistaken statement. Anyhow, we can find out when we see the Buddha in Nirvana. What I know, I cannot prove to you. So, I invite you to come and prove it to yourselves – whether the Buddha had undergone karma, or whether He had to do it for the sake of our knowledge.
I want to tell you many things, but our time is limited. And also, many things I know, I cannot speak in our worldly language. I can only offer you the way, so that you can know it yourselves by opening your wisdom, opening your Buddha’s eye. And then you will know everything without having any Master or Teacher to tell you. And the knowledge that you gain is permanent – it’s yours, it’s first-hand knowledge.
That’s why… Thank you. It’s good; it’s good that you clap. At least somebody will be awakened and not fall asleep. But maybe somebody’s in Samadhi and you have woken him up. But anyhow, it’s time. So, everyone should wake up.
Photo Caption: WITH TRUE FAITH, WE GROW WELL ANY WHERE!
