THIS MONTH’S DHARMA TALK

Since I came back to Hawaii, I have been talking about the Buddha Dharma called the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Noble Path, and other related Dharma such as the Four Sufferings of birth, aging, sickness and death, the Three Poisons of greed, hatred and ignorance, the Three Dharma Seals of impermanence, non-self and nirvana, and the Middle Way.  These Dharma are very useful for your daily life if you understand them.  And these teachings can be heard at any other types of Buddhist temples, such as Chinese Buddhist temples, Korean, Thai, Tibetan, Laotian, Cambodian, Theravada, or Mahayana temples.  It is because these Dharma are the very basics of Buddhist teachings.

From today on, I would like to share with you the next step, the idea of Mahayana Buddhism.

Do you know why Buddhism was divided into two teachings, which are Theravada and Mahayana?  Let me tell you a little about Buddhist history.  The historical Buddha Shakyamuni left us his Dharma and passed away about 2,500 years ago in India.  As you know, his Dharma is philosophically very interesting.  Therefore, many priests who were Buddha's disciples enjoyed discussing and studying them so much that they became to focus on only studying the Dharma.  Most of the priests became, what we would call, Buddhist scholars.  As a result, they forgot about the very people to be saved by the Dharma.  The people wanted to hear the Dharma from the priests.   But, the priests did not care about such people.  So, finally, some lay leaders of the people and some priests who felt it their mission to spread the Dharma for the people started a movement called Mahayana Buddhism.  And, these leaders were called bodhisattvas ! which literally means people who are pursuing the Buddha's enlightenment.  Therefore, bodhisattvas are not only pursuing their own attainment of enlightenment but also the attainment of enlightenment of other people.  The fundamental concept of bodhisattva is respect and compassion.  These are the priority for Mahayana Buddhists, namely us.

The Bodhisattva's Buddhist practice is called the Six Paramitas.   "Paramita" means to reach the other shore.  This shore is comparable to the reality of this world which is filled with defilement.  The other shore is comparable to the world of enlightenment.  Therefore, the Six Paramitas are the six ways to reach the other shore of enlightenment.

The six ways are charity, precepts, endurance, endeavor, meditation and wisdom.  Today, I would like to focus on the paramita of charity.

Generally in this present society, "give and take" is considered as common sense.  But, the bodhisattva's basic concept is not "give and take" but "give and give".  You should not expect something in return from anyone when you give something away to them.  That is the paramita of giving away, in other words, charity.  The Buddhist way of charity is giving away.

Let me tell you my experience when I was first training to be a Buddhist priest.  I was 23 years old and other young people were mostly 21 years old.   We were all priests-to-be.  During the training, we needed to do chores, such as cleaning up our rooms and restrooms.  All of us didn't like to clean up restrooms because it was smelly and dirty.  No one wanted to clean up there.  Then, the restrooms became very dirty.  I was so frustrated that finally I decided to clean up the restrooms.  Then, the restrooms became clean and I felt good.  Do you know why I decided to do that?  It was because, when I thought it over, cleaning up the restrooms was just a piece of cake.  If no one wants to do that, I will do it.   I decided so.  It felt so easy.  Actually, the clean up of the restrooms was a piece of cake.  It was just smelling bad a little.  That's all.   Then, looking at me cleaning up the restrooms by myself everyday, others felt guilty and offered to help me.  I appreciated their proposal because I did not expect anyone else's help.

Look around you.  There are many things and chores for you to do, such as preparing meals, cleaning up your house, or washing dishes.  Such things are actually easy to do.  Not a big deal compared to the inevitable suffering we are eventually going to face in our lives, such as parting from our parents and beloved ones.

"Give and give" is the basic concept of Buddhist charity.   If you practice this way, you will be able to eventually and naturally TAKE greater release from attachments and worldly desires.

Lastly, do you know our state of Hawaii celebrated Peace Day on September 21 this year?  That day is a state holy day and the State of Hawaii is the first in the United States to recognize Peace Day.  Be proud of yourself as a member of the State of Hawaii which will be the first state in the U.S. to recognize Peace Day.   To accomplish world peace, it is most important to respect others and have compassion.  This is the basic attitude of Mahayana Buddhists, namely, us.