Lecturer: Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Respect the Buddha as if He Were Present (敬佛如佛在)
These past few days, we talked about respecting Sutras, valuing Dharma. We have to know that the Buddha-Dharma comes from the Buddha’s wisdom. Though it has been a long time, the Sutras have continuously been passed down because everyone respects them. We must have respect for Sutras and images of the Buddha. This is like abiding in Right Dharma. The Buddha is present in our minds; the Dharma is present in our actions.
Right Dharma can be spread only if we respect Sutras and images of the Buddha.
Earlier I said that destroying pagodas and temples or burning Sutras and images is like causing the Buddha to bleed. Right now it is the juncture of the Eras of Dharma Semblance and Dharma Decay. If we do not know to cherish or respect Sutras or images, Dharma will completely disappear. We must sincerely believe in the Buddha and respect the Dharma, as if we are always in their presence. So if we are disrespectful, that is like causing the Buddha to bleed. The karma of doing so is tremendous and is equivalent to patricide and matricide. So, we must respect Sutras and images of the Buddha.
Let us be respectful wherever we see Sutras. Wherever we see images of the Buddha, we should show the same respect we would if He were alive in front of us. So, when we enter templates, we pay our respects.
To do this, we must be reverent. Do not bow down perfunctorily, kowtow, and get up. Instead, your actions must come from deep heartfelt respect. If we put our palms together and bow with deep respect in front of the Buddha, that reverence comes from deep within our hearts. These are not just physical actions. If we think about random things as we bow, that is disrespectful. So, we have to be respectful and reverent toward the Buddha, Sutras and images of the Buddha. We have to be as respectful as we would if He were alive and were speaking Dharma to us. When we read Sutras, we have to be very proper, sit up straight, and focus on reading, as if we were listening to Buddha expound Dharma. If we can do this, it is like we are abiding in Right Dharma, not just Dharma Semblance. We want to be in the Era before Dharma Semblance, the Era of Right Dharma, when the Buddha was alive. We can only do so with the Buddha in our hearts. Every second, every moment for eternity we must keep the Buddha in our hearts. Then, when we deal with people and matters in our daily living, we will always express the correct words and truths, and Right Dharma will be in our actions. Whatever we do, we will do it appropriately and wisely.
Now, let us look at the repentance text. “We many expose [His image] to smoke and blazing sun, wind and rain, dust, dirt or damage by birds and mice. We live in the same room but treat it without respect.”
Although some people have dignifies images of the Buddha and very good Sutras that they keep in the place they live, they do not know to respect them. So they toss Buddha’s images or Sutras into a place exposed to smoke. That is disrespectful; they will turn black.
Some do not even put images of the Buddha inside. They are battered by wind, sun or rain. About 50 years ago, before I came to Hualien, the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva behind the Abode was in the open air. During the Japanese occupation, they tried to pacify the Aborigines by telling by telling them, “This is Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. You have to respect him.” They wanted people to respect him, but they put him outside.
There was a story from the time of Japanese rule. One day, all the villagers on the mountain seemed to suddenly contract something like cholera. They had constant diarrhea. The disease spread. At that time, the Japanese police already had difficulty controlling the people. As the illness continued to spread, everyone lost their strength. So the Japanese government erected a statue of the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. The police came on the mountain and told them, “Come and pray to him; he will protect you.” At that time, most of the Aborigines had faith in the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. Because the Japanese really believed in him, they would erect statues of Earth Treasury Bodhisattva, especially at remote intersections. One purpose was to indicate directions, east, west, south and north. Based on the direction he faced, people knew which way was east or west. But the deeper meaning within was that the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva guides people to the correct path. When people saw him, they became respectful because they knew his great vow was to sacrifice himself for people who committed transgressions. He went to Hell to save sentient beings there. This reminds people not to commit transgressions or evil. So most intersections in remote places had a statue of Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. When people in Hualien suddenly got sick, the entire village was affected. So, they took this opportunity to create images to guide people to this belief and tame their stubborn mindsets. I heard this story when I first arrived here.
There were some businesspeople here, including Mr, Xu Cong-min.
They discovered that this statue of Earth Treasury Bodhisattva was out in the open, exposed to sun, wind and rain. They could not bear it, so they pooled their resources. Instead of moving the statue, they built a house over it. This house is called Pu-Ming Temple; it protects the statue from the elements. It is very small, but it demonstrates respect. They could not bear exposing the statue to wind and sun so this is why Pu-ming Temple exists. They were opening the temple the year I arrived. So, I was very fortunate to be here. Mr. Xu brought us here because Master Xiu Dao was going to perform the opening ceremony. Since they restored the statue, they wanted to have a re-opening ceremony.
This happened on my first visit to this temple. This demonstrated reverence and respect. Besides being exposed to sun, wind and rain, some images are covered by “dust and dirt.” After the rain falls, the wind blows and dirt sticks to it, so it gets dirty. Before [Taiwan] gained independence, people of other religions had come here. Besides distributing flour and clothes, they also built a lot of churches. There were Presbyterian churches, Protestant churches, Catholic Churches, and other Christian churches Everyone on the mountain believed in other religions.
So, the statue of the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva behind the Abode was left exposed to the sun and wind, and it collected a lot of sand and dirt. We can see similar things everywhere. I especially remember my trip to Tianxiang. After I passed a bridge, I saw a Bodhisattva statue pushed to the ground. I could not bear it. So I said that since I came here, and there is a cave over there, I will ask someone to take the knocked-over statue to that cave. That is why there is such a statue on the road to Tianxiang. Later I asked Mr. Xu to hire workers to move it into the cave. Then, as I kept going to Tianxiang, I saw the same thing. There was another statue that was knocked over. As the Japanese built the Cross-island highway, they erected statues of the Earth Treasury Bodhisattva on Aborigine land. But when the highway opened, they were gradually destroyed. We saw this along the way. So, as this Era of Dharma Decay arrives, Buddhist images will be destroyed. At the juncture of the Eras of Dharma Semblance and Dharma Decay, we see people disrespect and destroy statues everywhere.
Now, as I think about it, I feel saddened I should carefully look back at these stories and the things I have seen and experienced, like when the statues were moved. Besides being disrespected, they were “damaged by birds and mice.” Some birds perch above these statues and defecate on them. Over the years, they are damaged by bird feces and human behavior. So if we see this and do not clean it up, we have no respect for our surroundings. This is wrong. We always have to be respectful toward images of the Buddha and the Sutras, no matter where they are. This applies to all Buddhist scriptures. We should not live very luxuriously but casually throw statues or Sutras around. This is not acceptable.
Do you remember the story about my copy of the Lotus Sutra? Someone kept it under a bed for decades, for almost 100 years before. I received this Sutra, which I have now had for over 50 years. When I left home, I was able to leave everything behind, even an extra change of clothing, but I had to bring this Sutra. So, at the Temple of the Queen Mother, I copied the Sutra by lamplight.
In the wooden hut in Hualien I continued to copy this Sutra. This Sutra was likely respected by its owner’s ancestors. But after who knows how many generations, they actually stored it underneath the bed. People in olden days slept in a wide bed. Someone actually pushed it under the bed. When they renovated the house and were redoing the bedrooms, they cleaned out these books, including this copy of the Lotus Sutra.
When disciples told this to the Master at the Tzu Yun Temple, Master Xiu-Dao and I were there and heard. I said, “Let’s go buy it. We should not leave it to end up in an antique store.”
So, we spent NT$800 to purchase it. That was quite a sum of money back then. We reverently brought the Sutra back. When we opened it, parts had been eaten by bugs. Others parts were damp, some were yellowed, some were ripped. We carefully mended them. Now I have preserved it well, but I have not touched it in a long time.
Thinking about it now, I also need to repent. We should cherish these Sutras and images which have lasted so many years. Treat Sutras like the Buddha. They are His Dharma –body. To understand the Buddha- Dharma we have to read the Sutras. When we see Sutras or images of the Buddha, we must be respectful. Do not look sloppy in front of them.
So the repentance text says, “We may be nude or undignified in front of the image. We may cover the candlelight or close the temple doors, obstructing Buddha’s luminance. For these and other transgressions, today we openly repent with utmost sincerity.”
This is referring to having a disorderly appearance in front of the Buddha. Not only are some people disorderly, in the summer they expose their bodies in front of the Buddha. This is a form of disrespect.
Besides being disrespectful, some people are undignified. They are messy. Look ,in front of the Buddha we have respectfully placed flowers and fruits. But some people do this carelessly. They are not respectful with their own appearance.
They even “cover the candlelight” so there is no light in front of the Buddha. They even “close the temple doors.” They close them so no light can enter. They “obstruct the Buddha’s luminance.” These actions are disrespectful to the Buddha and the Dharma. This is lax behavior. So, keep your heart with the Buddha and the Dharma. If our conduct lacks respect, we have no practice.
Everyone, we have to be respectful in body and mind. If we have a disrespectful appearance, we cannot pass down this spiritual practice. Then our minds cannot unite with the Dharma. So, I hope everyone will always be respectful. Respect the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Please, always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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