Compilation of Daily Discourses
Chapter 12: Miscellaneous Discussions on Cause and Effect (2)
11. Should One Apologize Face-to-Face or Is Mental Repentance Sufficient?
When one realizes they have done wrong and harmed someone, they should repent and apologize. Apologizing means sincerely expressing regret and remorse to the other person to make amends for their psychological distress, alleviate their unhappiness, resolve grudges, eliminate resentment, and foster a harmonious relationship. Repentance and apology should have a specific target, a specific person. Since one has wronged this person, they should confess their fault face-to-face, repent, and apologize to demonstrate sincerity. This shows genuine recognition of having wronged the other person, a desire to reform, and an intention to make amends to them.
If one does not apologize and repent face-to-face to this person but only repents mentally, avoiding confronting them, such repentance lacks sincerity. It cannot eliminate the other person's resentment, make up for their psychological distress, or change the relationship between the two parties. Since the other person has suffered harm and unfair treatment, and one has recognized it, they must offer some compensation, at the very least psychological and emotional compensation. Explaining the matter face-to-face to allow the other person to feel relieved is the most basic form of respect and repentance. If you harbor various emotions and thoughts that the other party is completely unaware of, the minds of the two do not connect, the knot in the heart will not be fully untied, and the barrier cannot be completely removed. Such repentance is neither thorough nor ultimate; it indicates a psychological tendency to evade the problem and avoid facing the mistake.
12. How Should Evil People Be Appropriately Dealt With?
In the secular world, people often debate whether human nature is inherently good or evil, with endless arguments. From a Buddhist perspective, this is not an issue. Clearly, if human nature were inherently good, there would be no beings in the three evil destinies (hell, hungry ghosts, animals). If human nature were inherently good, sentient beings would not have the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion; society would not have so many serious crimes; prisons would not be so full; and many people would not repeatedly end up in prison without repentance. Even heavenly beings (devas) are not all virtuous; they also have afflictions, especially delusion, which is a major affliction. Beings without afflictions would not undergo rebirth. As long as there is rebirth, there are afflictions. Human nature is predominantly evil with little good; some people have no goodness at all.
Why is human nature inherently evil? Because of ignorance (avidyā). This ignorance is inherent from the moment sentient beings exist; it is not acquired later. Due to ignorance, sentient beings create evil karma, leading to countless kalpas (aeons) of birth, death, and rebirth. Each sentient being spends the vast majority of their time in the three evil destinies. The time spent as a human in the human realm is but a fraction—one percent, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth—of their long river of life. Some beings in the animal realm have never even obtained a human body; they have never left the animal realm. These are extremely deluded beings, and delusion is evil.
Those who have just been reborn as humans from the three evil destinies in the immeasurable past are extremely deluded and wicked, utterly incompatible with human nature, their minds very similar to those of animals. Some are merely deluded, while others are both deluded and cruel, addicted to killing. As long as they live among humans, they will harm others; harming others is their nature; their killing and injuring tendencies are their animal nature. For such people to develop human nature and goodness, they must, over many lives and kalpas in the human realm, continuously immerse themselves in wholesome dharmas. Only then can they gradually eliminate their animalistic evil nature and acquire human habits. Although human habits are not particularly virtuous, they are still better than animalistic nature. Through this process of cultivation over countless lifetimes, they eventually develop a complete personality and perfect human nature.
However, during this process, many people will be brutally harmed or killed by these individuals. When good people coexist with evil people, it is always the good who suffer and lose out. This is an eternal rule in the Dharma realm: when good and evil live together, the evil always commit evil, and the good must endure the evil of the wicked. Those who constantly cause trouble and incidents are mostly evil people, people at the bottom, the problematic ones are always those without cultivation. Because good people do not create evil karma, or at least not major evil karma, and do not intentionally harm others, they can only be harmed. Evil people inevitably create evil karma and harm others; their original nature cannot be changed initially. So, if these evil people commit extremely heinous acts, should their lives be taken to prevent them from continuing to harm others, or should their lives be spared so they can continue to immerse themselves in wholesome dharmas among humans?
Both choices have pros and cons. If their lives are spared, more people will be harmed and killed successively, and other lives will be threatened. If the lives of evil people are taken to prevent them from harming others, these evil people will lose the opportunity to immerse themselves in wholesome dharmas, their evil nature will have no chance to be corrected, and their mental evolution will be hindered—this is also a significant loss. Regarding this matter, what is the best approach? Is there a better way for good and evil people to each find their place and coexist peacefully? In the Land of Ultimate Bliss (Sukhāvatī), how does Amitābha Buddha manage good and evil people?
The solution is that like attracts like; people form groups. Good people and evil people must be separated; sentient beings of different levels and attributes must be separated and cannot live together mixed. This is the rule in the Dharma realm. Just as the Land of Ultimate Bliss and other Buddha-lands are separated from Buddha-lands like the Sahā world (our world), the mentalities of beings in these two worlds are different; they cannot interact or live together mixed, to avoid trouble. Sentient beings have many levels; their thoughts and views at each level are vastly different and cannot be unified or coordinated. Mixed living leads to constant disputes; isolation prevents problems.
Buddhist precepts also require this principle: those who uphold the same precepts practice together; those with different precepts cannot live together. Monastics and laypeople cannot live together mixed. Similarly, monastics with different precepts and practices cannot live together; laypeople with different precepts and practices should also try not to live together, otherwise there will be trouble, violating the Buddha's precepts. In the secular world, groups are generally formed this way automatically. Those with different merits, virtues, wisdom, social status, cultivation, and quality usually live separately, not together. Criminals and evil people are imprisoned, isolated from those who have not committed crimes. Sentient beings, based on their karma and mental nature, are broadly categorized into the six destinies (realms of rebirth); good and evil beings do not live together.
13. Mysterious Experiences Near Death
1. When I fainted, I felt extremely comfortable, very light, with no thoughts in my mind. Very quickly, the experiences of my whole life were recalled.
2. When I was hit by a car and thrown into the air, I recalled my entire life in one second.
3. When I was drowning, I didn't feel the pain of suffocation; instead, I felt very calm and recalled my life in dozens of seconds.
4. During a car accident, it only took a few seconds, but I recalled everything from childhood to adulthood, even forgotten things came back, like a god's perspective or a slideshow.
5. Before death, it feels like deleting memory data in the brain, traversing and deleting. Reasoning step by step, it’s nothing but a nightmare.
6. Those who have practiced judo know this best. When choked unconscious for a second, they recall everything in their life with extraordinary clarity. After waking up, it feels like a long time has passed, but actually, it was only a few seconds.
7. When I had a fever as a child, reaching 42 degrees, the doctor pricked my finger with a needle. But I remember clearly, in those few minutes, I recalled everything I could remember.
8. When unable to sleep at night, I also recall my life, feeling like an observer, not like it was my own experience.
9. As a child, I accidentally fell into a river. In the few seconds before being rescued, I thought about so many things, even how my grandmother, who raised me, would react after my death. I was only three or four years old then.
10. A previous viewpoint suggested that when near death, the reason memories replay is that at this critical moment, your brain is desperately replaying memories, trying to find a way to save you within your lifetime memories.
11. Once while soaking in a hot spring, I stood up and fainted, falling down. In my mind, things from childhood to adulthood started playing like a slideshow. It felt like a long time, but I woke up right after falling into the water. Friends said they only saw me suddenly fall; it should have been only 2-3 seconds.
12. I have been drowned twice, once briefly, once longer. At first, choking hurt, then suddenly the pain stopped, my mind went blank, and my life started replaying like a revolving lantern. Then I was very lucky to be saved by someone who happened to go out; truly blessed with great fortune and a strong life.
Question for thought: Why, when near death, does one recall their life in a flash? Why does an accident lasting only seconds feel so long?
14. Can a Non-Vessel Become a Vessel?
The so-called "vessel" (器, qi) refers to a container that holds things. This "thing" can be material or wisdom, thought, and concepts. In Buddhism, "vessel" refers to the latter, meaning a "vessel for the Way" (道器, dao qi), the capacity to accommodate the Buddhist Dharma. Many people, due to insufficient merit (福德, fú dé) accumulated over immeasurable kalpas, lack sufficient experience and cannot accept dharmas beyond their own understanding. Thus, it is said these people have poor "root capacity" (根器, gēn qì) and are unsuited to study deeper dharmas.
So, is a "non-vessel" (非器, fēi qì) truly and permanently a non-vessel, incapable of being transformed into a vessel? The Dharma is not fixed; there is no dharma that is eternally unchanging. When the causes and conditions (因缘, yīnyuán) mature, any dharma can change. Some non-vessels conceal great vessels within. By skillfully removing obscurations and gathering the necessary conditions, a non-vessel can become a great vessel. Even stone can turn into gold, so how can the capacity and nature of a non-vessel person be fixed and unchanging?
To be honest, sentient beings are originally all non-vessels. For immeasurable kalpas, they willingly sink into the sea of suffering of birth and death, with no desire for enlightenment, unable to accept any dharma. It is the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas who secretly plant the seeds of Dharma within sentient beings and cause the conditions to ripen early, gradually making sentient beings become vessels capable of accommodating the Buddha Dharma. Initially, all sentient beings cling to the five aggregates (五蕴, wǔ yùn) as self, a clinging that is solid and unyielding. From the perspective of the Hinayana (小乘, xiǎo chéng) teaching of non-self (非我, fēi wǒ), all sentient beings are non-vessels. But should one therefore not teach the Hinayana principle of severing the view of self? Of course not. The Buddha spent twelve years transforming sentient beings into vessels, enabling countless beings to attain the fourth fruition of Arhatship (阿罗汉, ā luó hàn), including non-vessel outsiders (外道众, wài dào zhòng). Therefore, whether one is a vessel or not also depends on the wisdom and skill of the polisher. Those who do not understand the method of polishing often turn vessels into non-vessels, destroying the vessel.
In Buddhism, there is a saying that teaching profound dharma to non-vessels will cause them to be unable to accept it and thus slander it through speech and action. This saying was originally taught by the Buddha, who worried that sentient beings, by slandering the Dharma and creating evil karma, would suffer long kalpas of retribution in hell. The Buddha is compassionate towards sentient beings, but the Buddha also has great wisdom. Therefore, this teaching is not a rigid dogma; it is applied flexibly depending on the person and the time.
The greatly wise Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva (文殊菩萨, Wénshū Púsà) was very skilled in flexible application. He once taught the profound Mahāyāna (大乘, dà chéng) Prajñāpāramitā (般若, bōrě) Dharma to five hundred Bhikṣus (比丘, bǐqiū) of Hinayana capacity. These five hundred Bhikṣus, disbelieving this great Dharma, fell into hell upon death. Someone asked Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva, "Since you clearly knew this would be the result, why did you still teach the Prajñāpāramitā Dharma to these five hundred Bhikṣus?" Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva replied, "Because I knew that after they entered hell, they would reflect on the reason for their fall: their disbelief in the Prajñāpāramitā Dharma. Thus, they would realize how powerful this Dharma truly is, feel profound reverence, sincerely repent, and then be liberated from hell. After emerging from hell, they would first ascend to heaven, then return to the human realm, encounter the Prajñāpāramitā Dharma again, gain the opportunity to study it, rapidly increase their wisdom, and soon attain Mahāyāna Bodhi (菩提, pútí), shortening their kalpas of practice and achieving Buddhahood earlier."
Truly worthy of an Equal Enlightenment Bodhisattva (等觉菩萨, děng jué púsà)! With great wisdom, he forcefully transformed non-vessels into great vessels. Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva is a master craftsman who polishes non-vessels, possessing extraordinary wisdom. His Dharma eye (法眼, fǎ yǎn) penetrates the causes and conditions of immeasurable kalpas. He first destroys the non-vessel, smelts it, and directly forges it into a great vessel—equivalent to dismantling the unusable non-vessel material and reassembling it into a usable vessel. How fortunate were these five hundred Bhikṣus to encounter Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva! Such a great karmic connection—who but those with great merit could encounter it? Had they met an unwise teacher who remained silent about the Mahāyāna Prajñāpāramitā, the fate of the five hundred Bhikṣus would not have undergone such a great transformation. In conclusion: vessel or non-vessel, the Dharma is not fixed. If one encounters wholesome conditions (善缘, shàn yuán), a non-vessel becomes a vessel.
15. My Vow (咒愿, zhòu yuàn)
I have already built for everyone a celestial ladder to ascend the peak of the Buddha Dharma. This ladder is the most direct and secret path to attain all great wisdom, coming closest to the sun and moon, almost within reach. When your physical and mental strength allow, climb up yourselves. Looking down from above, observe the operation of the Buddha Dharma, and you will attain great wisdom. In the secular realm, I have provided this secret passage. How much patent fee and usage fee should I fairly and reasonably charge? In truth, no matter how much I charge, it would be too little. Even if all the jewels in the world were given to me, it wouldn't cover the cost. Since charging any amount now is inappropriate, and besides, I am not very good at spending money nor do I need so much, I will adopt a long-term strategy to reap the greatest possible benefit.
I now make this vow (咒愿, zhòu yuàn): Anyone who receives even a drop of my Dharma grace (法恩, fǎ ēn), for three great immeasurable kalpas (三大无量劫, sān dà wú liàng jié) in the future, shall follow in my footsteps, emulate my path, practice my practices, disregarding any personal gain, perform the ten thousand practices of a Bodhisattva (菩萨万行, púsà wàn xíng), and liberate all liberatable beings. After three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas (三大阿僧祇劫, sān dà ā sēng qí jié), they must still labor tirelessly, regardless of cost, to liberate all liberatable beings, without the slightest unwillingness or opposition.
The vow has been made; no one can escape. It is too late to run away now. Even those who ran away before cannot escape the power of this vow. All people, regardless of willingness, are under the power of my vow, consciously or unconsciously fulfilling it. No matter how many kalpas pass, none can escape. You may be lazy for a day, a year, a lifetime, but you cannot remain lazy forever under the power of my vow. The vow's power does not permit it—until you attain Buddhahood, until you liberate all suffering beings.
Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva does not become a Buddha. In his Bodhisattva form, he has taught seven Buddha World-Honored Ones (佛世尊, fó shì zūn) and will even teach countless more Buddha World-Honored Ones in his Bodhisattva form. However, once Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva does attain Buddhahood, his Buddha-land will encompass all Buddha-lands; all Buddha-lands will be within Mañjuśrī's Buddha-land. For now, I do not wish to harvest; I do not seek the slightest immediate return. I want the greatest possible return in the future. Those who receive my grace must, for immeasurable kalpas upon immeasurable kalpas, emulate my practices and repay my grace, just as I unconditionally emulate the Buddha's practices and repay the Buddha's grace, without complaint. Even if there are complaints, after complaining, they must still labor regardless of cost, forever, whether before Buddhahood or after.
The power of my vow is a hundred, thousand, ten thousand times greater than the power of a demon's (魔, mó) curse. Those bound by my vow are freed from demonic curses, forever undisturbed by demons. The power of my vow subdues the curses of demons; demonic power transforms into Buddha-power, together aiding practitioners on the path, enabling them to be brave, diligent, and never regress!
