The realm of Practitioner

Nowadays, the world in general and Taiwan in particular, the number of people following Buddhism has been increasing. Therefore, we often hear about words or sentences related to Buddhism like this person in good manner of practitioner, or that person in excellent practice.

As a result, the main issue of Buddhists is to practice the\r\nDhamma which means bringing the teachings to apply to our lives and to benefit\r\nourselves and the society whereby we understand the value of the Buddha’s\r\nteaching. In my my opinion, “The realm of practice” has four points as follow:

\r\n\r\n

First: Reciting the Buddha’s name should peacefully be\r\ndwelled with the Buddha

\r\n\r\n

Buddha is not only the Amitabha Buddha in the West or not\r\njust the Sakyamuni Buddha, who more than 2550 years ago, had attained\r\nenlightenment under bodhi tree, but each person also has Buddha-nature. It does\r\nmatter which of the Buddhas we recite. We should practice to attain the purpose\r\nthat Buddha is ours and we are Buddha, reciting until we and Buddha cannot be\r\ndifferentiated. Immediately, all the defilements can be eliminated. Most\r\nVenerable Hanshan taught: “It is easy to recite the Buddha’s name, but is\r\ndifficult to cultivate faith; it would be useless if mind and sound do not come\r\ntogether. Distracted mind reciting the Buddha’s name would be no use.”\r\nTherefore, reciting the Buddha’s name should cultivate belief, reciting until\r\nmind and matter are one so that we can touch the Buddha-mind.

\r\n\r\n

Second: Realizing that we and the Buddha co-exist while\r\nbowing down to the Buddha. 

\r\n\r\n

Which Buddha should we bow down to? It is the Buddha in our\r\nmind. Our spirituality can be flourished if we know how to bow down and bloom\r\nour own Buddha within us. To bow down the original Buddha outside and then\r\nBuddha within us so that we can touch the real Buddha. Principle of bow down is\r\ndone on the ground but our respect and solemnity also manifest here.

\r\n\r\n

If our mind has Buddha, eyes can see and ears can hear the\r\nreal Dhamma. Furthermore, walking, standing, lying down, and sitting correspond\r\nto the Buddha’s majesty and solemnity. Therefore, we should use our pure,\r\nhappy, compassionate mind to bow down the Buddha so that we can co-exist with\r\nthe Buddha.

\r\n\r\n

 Third: Giving alms with no discrimination of oneself\r\nand others.

\r\n\r\n

Human should understand the importance of generosity and\r\nmake good relationship with others, which does not mean keeping our own\r\nhappiness but sharing it with people around us.  We not only have our\r\nown capacity to be successful but also help others get success in life. When we\r\ngive alms, our mind does not think that “I am the person who offers and you are\r\nthe one who receives”. If we have such an idea which means there is\r\ndiscrimination of superior and inferior, good and bad. Hence, we should think\r\nthat there is equality between the giver and receiver, do not generate\r\ndiscriminated mind. It is real generosity without self and others.

\r\n\r\n

Fourth: Meditation should be attained with ultimate reality\r\nnature.

\r\n\r\n

Meditation is one of the most important methods of Buddhist\r\npractitioner. Through meditation and insight, we can realize that all beings\r\nhave Buddha-nature. Meditation can practice in any situation in our life such\r\nas gathering wood, taking water, eating, and dressing. If one can attain\r\nenlightenment through meditation, one can find one’s own real nature –\r\npotential of becoming a Buddha. For that reason, a meditation practitioner\r\nshould have wisdom, skillfully practice; mind always opens to tolerate the\r\ncosmos. So the outcome of meditation can be achieved.

\r\n\r\n

A practitioner does not just talk about the matter; instead,\r\nputting it into reality, creating good cause associated with the Buddha. It is\r\nthe true realm or field of genuine practitioner.

\r\n\r\n

Translated into English by Thich Tam Tien