Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign

---A Proposition for Living in the 21st Century Four Fields for Cultivating Peace:
Mind, Body, Family, Activity. Four Guidelines for Dealing with Desires: Need, Want,
Ability, Properity. Four Steps for Handling a Problem: Face it, Accept it, Deal
with it, Let go of it. Four Practices for Helping Oneself and Others: Feeling
grateful, Feeling thankful, Reforming yourself, Moving others through virtue. Four
Ways to Cultivating Blessings Recognizing blessings, Cherishing blessings,
Nurturing blessings, Sowing the seeds of blessings. The Meaning The Fivefold
Spiritual Renaissance Campaign transforms the abstruse and t terminology and
doctrines of Buddhism into a set of ideas and methods average person can
understand, accept and use in their daily lives. It ruit of many years of effort at
Dharma Drum. Although the terms it uses its essential spirit and substance remains
the Dharma. difficul that the is the f are new,

Dharma Drum has designated the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign as its “pro
position for living in the 21st century.” It is not a mere slogan, buzzword, or rh
etorical flourish, but a program for the development of the spirit. Actually the
methods of Fivefold Spiritual renaissance are not new. They were ar ound even in
the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. When the Buddha manifested in the wo rld to preach
the Dharma, his primary audience was human beings. His aim was to imbed the Dharma
widely in people’s lives, allowing them to awaken from ignorance and thus resolve
their predicaments and uncover the original radiance of the min d ground-the innate
wisdom or powers of the mind. By applying the ideas and meth ods of the Dharma in
their lives, people could moderate and subdue their afflict ions and habits and
ceaselessly build within their mind a clear and cool pure la
nd. “Spiritual” refers to the mind and ideas. The Buddhadharma is a teaching of the
mind as is Chan School of China. The mind itself is a kind of wisdom. In part this
w isdom is innate; in part, acquired. Put another way, the preconditions are innat
e and to them nurturing and development are added. If people have difficulty acc
epting nurturing and development, it is because they are unwilling to change.
People’s views are formed slowly beginning when they are very young. In their chil
dhood years, people gradually establish their own ways of thinking about the wor ld
but these ways of thinking are not yet mature. After reaching adulthood, they
gradually form mature views, which become individual opinions and ideas. The vi ews
that a person already has are not unchangeable. This is particularly true when a
person has encountered some suffering, dilemma, or disaster that they cannot
resolve. In such a situation, if someone tells him about a certain idea that helps
him solve his problem, he may change his previo us views and accept the new idea.
Counseling from psychologists, guidance from r eligious teachers, and spiritual
conversation with family or friends can all hav e this function of helping people
to find methods of adapting to their environme nt and interacting harmoniously with
others. Integrating the Spirit with the World The Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance
Campaign uses the Buddhadharma to adjust our views and develop our minds. Formally,
because the specialized terminology of th e sutras was difficult for people to
understand and because many people turned B uddhism into some kind of profound,
abstruse learning or mystical experience, it didn’t seem that relevant to our daily
lives. Actually, this was not the Buddha’s original intention. The Dharma taught by
the B uddha can be used by anyone regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, occupation,
or level of knowledge and education to develop the mind, transform his views, and
improve his behavior so as to adapt to the environment he is living in at the pr
esent moment. In the past, I have used the phrases “spreading widely a Dharma
relevant to people’s lives in the human world” and “establishing a clear and cool
pure land in the burni ng house.” By spreading widely a Dharma relevant to people’s
live s in the human wor ld, we can uplift people’s characters and improve the
quality of their lives. By “es tablishing a clear and cool pure land in a burning
house,” we can insure that we a re not burned by the “fire.” The house that is on
“fire” is the three realms of desire, form and formlessness, wh ich include the
human world we live in. Fire is a metaphor for such afflictions as sorrow, anxiety,
anger, fear, suspicion, jealousy, obsession, and clinging. S hakyamuni hoped that,
after the Dharma had been spread throughout the three real ms, people would be able
to avoid worry, fear, arrogance, dejection, disappointm ent, and depression and
manifest a clear and cool pure land within their mind, i n all circumstances,
whether favorable or unfavorable. This is precisely Dharma Drum’s vision. Living
Buddhadharma “Living Buddha dharma,” “humanized Buddhist studies,” and “humanistic
Buddhism” are the fund amental spirit of the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance
Campaign. Because it applie s the Buddhadharma broadly to everyday life, it is
living Buddhadharma. Because Buddhist studies are pursued to uplift human
character, it is humanized Buddhist studies. Because Buddhism belongs to the human
realm, it is humanistic Buddhism . The meanings of “living,” “humanized,” and
“humanistic” are different and there are also d
ifferences between Buddhadharma, Buddhist studies, and Buddhism. Living
Buddhadharma means to use the ideas of the Buddhadharma to live. This is the
“Living Buddhadharma” campaign that we at Dharma Drum are actively promoting. Th e
Dharma can be applied in our ordinary daily life. It doesn’t necessarily require
going off deep in the mountains. Buddhism stresses the middle way. It advocates
neither indulgence in sensual pleasures and creature comforts nor meaningless a
sceticism. Throughout the day, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, whethe r
one is a monastic or lay believer, one should apply the Dharma to one’s life in
accordance with the definite standards of Buddhism. This is living Buddhadharma.
Coming to “humanized,” one might ask, “Why does Buddhist studies need to be
humanized?” It is because many people treat Buddhist studies as mere information,
as metaphy sics, or as a profound form of learning. As a result, it gets sealed up
in the i vory tower and becomes frosty and academic, losing its intimate
relationship wit h the world people live in. Many people do research for its own
sake and treat B uddhist studies solely as a field of study, without applying it in
their lives. Thus, it becomes academic and not humanized Buddhist studies.
“Humanized” means that, if Buddhist studies is researched from a human perspective,
the fruits of that research will be appropriate for people to use and able to up
lift the character of humanity and purify the human realm. Take Dharma Drum Moun
tain’s Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies as an example. Its “Declaration of
Pr inciples” contains the phrases “emphasize benefiting others” and “make
practicality the priority.” A Buddhist studies that promotes benefiting others and
practicality is a humanized Buddhist studies. Humanistic Buddhism is a part of the
fundamental spirit of the Fivefold Spiritua l Renaissance. Let us first ask,
however, “What is religion?” A long-established ort hodox religious tradition must
have three traits: a founder, doctrines, and a re ligious community. That is, there
must be a historical figure who founded the re ligion, a foundation of religious
doctrine, and a community which cultivates or practices that doctrine. Buddhism has
these three traits. “Humanistic” means that these three traits are all centered on
humanity. They are es tablished with a view to serving humanity, rather than for
the sake of metaphysi cs or worshiping ghosts and spirits. Thus it is called
humanistic Buddhism. Toda y there are some who constantly emphasize enlightenment,
the wondrous responses and spiritual powers that come from mystical experience, and
the ability to cont act and command the non-human beings of the spirit realm. This
does not take the human being as its focal point and is not humanistic Buddhism. In
sum, if, in speaking of the Buddha dharma, doing research in Buddhist studies , or
believing in Buddhism, one does not take the human being as one’s focal point ,
then it is not living Buddhadharma, humanized Buddhist studies, or humanistic
Buddhism. The Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign must be humanized, humanis
tic, are relevant to people’s life. Practicing Four Kinds of Environmentalism The
Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign is a proposition for living in the 2 1st
century and also a way to implement the four kinds of environmentalism. Some might
ask, “Why do the four kinds of environmentalism have to do with Buddhis m?”
Actually the “spirit” spoken of in the protection of the spiritual environment ref
ers to the mind, which is the essence of the Buddhadharma. As for the protection of
the social environment, Buddhism places great emphasis on etiquette, includi ng
following the vinaya, maintaining deportment, and keeping precepts. It can ev en be
said that observing rules and etiquette is the basic foundation of Buddhis
m. Protecting the living environment is part of making Buddhism relevant to dail y
life. Turning to protection of the natural environment, we find that, accordin g to
Buddhism, a person’s body and mind are direct karmic retribution and the envi
ronment she lives in is circumstantial retribution. Direct and circumstantial re
tribution form one’s place of practice. Every person uses her direct retribution t
o practice within her circumstantial retribution. Thus one must care for the env
ironment just as one would for her own body. Thus the fundamental essence of eac h
of the four kinds of environmentalism is Buddhism. A Movement of Spiritual
Enlightenment and Education in Living As a movement of spiritual enlightenment, the
goal of the Fivefold Spiritual Ren aissance is make Buddhism relevant to people’s
lives. This is a kind of education in living. Through the education in living found
in our movement for spiritual enlightenmen t, we can practice the three types of
education-education through academics, pub lic outreach, and caring service and
thereby promote our vision of “uplifting the character of humanity and building a
pure land on earth.” Perhaps some may ask, “Does education through academics make
Buddhism relevant to people’s lives?” The answer is affirmative. Our curriculum and
the educational envir onment of the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies campus
all work towards th is goal. Currently, the institute is advancing education that
makes Buddhism rel evant to people’s lives because it “makes practicality the
priority.” This maxim is pa rt of humanistic, humanized, and living Buddhism. In
promoting the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance Campaign, there are two aspects to
consider. The first is playing down religious overtones in order to be engage d in
the secular world and thus influence it. The second is strengthening oursel ves in
the Dharma in order to avoid compromising with the secular world and thus becoming
mired in it. In playing down religious overtones, the primary thing is not to use
paranormal phenomena or mystical experiences such as spiritual powers to seek
followers, no t to stress idol worship, and not make idols of any spiritual objects
or force o r any living person. The highest principles of the Buddhadharma are
expressed in “give rise to the mind while not abiding anywhere,” “phenomena are not
existent,” and “all phenomena are Buddh adharma; all phenomena are not Buddhadharma
.” The Buddha preached the Dharma for forty-nine years but he still said over and
over that the things he had taught w ere not ultimate teaching, but all expedient
teaching or skillful means. The majority of religions believe in a creator god and
the worship of supernatur al phenomena. Buddhism, however, doe not talk about a
creator god, and although the sutras do touch on spiritual powers and the
supernatural they are definitely not central to the Dharma. The Chan School in
particular does not advocate usin g spiritual powers or the supernatural to attract
followers. Thus, Chan is the m ost humanistic, humanized and living form of
Buddhism. Some worry that by playing down religious overtones we will lose our
original di rection. On this question, everyone should have confidence. We will
still contin uously seek to strengthen ourselves in the Buddhadharma, and influence
and trans form the secular world from within. We will not be thrown off course by
the wind s and waves of the world. On the contrary, we will stand firm like a rock
in mid -stream and use our engagement to influence it. In order to avoid fanciful
daydreaming in promoting the Fivefold Spiritual Renai ssance the focus of our
efforts will be making concrete, feasible plans and choo
sing locations at which to establish exemplars. We will begin with Dharma Drum
Mountain’s community of monastics and of Dharma Uph olders and gradually spread the
fruits of these efforts to families, communities , campuses, and eventually the
whole world. At the same time we can use the Internet and various languages
including Chinese and English to make the Fivefold Spiritual Renaissance an
international languag es and an ideal the whole world can identify with. The Four
Fields for Cultivating Peace ---A Proposition for Uplifting the Character of
Humanity We must implement the Dharma in human society. Bring the Dharma into every
famil y allows them to come into contact with the Dharma’s radiant compassion and
wisdom . The warmth it brings can allow everyone to cultivate a peaceful mind, a
peacef ul body, a peaceful family, and peaceful activity. This alone is truly
reliable and thoroughgoing peace. Cultivating a peaceful mind lies in having few
desires Having few desires and knowing contentment means to have no intense desire
or in satiable greed and thus be able to cultivate a peaceful mind. Bring peace to
the minds of others is the activity and compassionate vow of a bo dhisattva. One
should make a compassionate vow to benefit others and work for th eir welfare, and
not just stop at having few desires and feeling contentment. Ot herwise, it is not
only insufficiently active and positive, it may even be negat ive and passive.
Superior people cultivate a peaceful mind through the Path. They give rise to bo
dhimind and cultivate the bodhisattva path. Middle people cultivate a peaceful m
ind through activity. If given an appropriate amount of work to keep them busy,
they won’t go looking for trouble or make trouble for others. Inferior people seek
peace of mind through the pursuit of fame, fortune, and material desires. I hop e
that everyone can at least cultivate peace of mind through activity, and not b e
the inferior type who seeks it in fame and fortune. Cultivating a peaceful body
lies in hard work and thrift People should work, but work is not all there is to
life. Life is not just for w orking for material wealth, still less for laboring
for the satisfaction of mate rial desires. One should work for the sake of one’s
mental and physical health and the opportunity to render services gratefully to
others. Besides a healthy body and a peaceful mind, diligence and hard work usually
also bring material remuneration. After receiving remuneration, however, one should
use it in moderation, lest in seeking to satisfy material desires one should eng
age in mentally and physically unhealthy actions. Put another way, after hard wo rk
ought to come thrift. The principles of hard work and thrift are the key to p
hysical health. Thrift will also result in many benefits that you can pass on to
others. If you do so, you will be someone that everyone likes and admires.
Cultivating a peaceful family lies in love and respect The family’s warmth lies in
loving and respecting one another. Its preciousness li es in helping one another.
Helping one another means making sure those who need help receive it. When helping
someone, you shouldn’t become swollen with pride and think that you are some great
benefactor that the person you’ve helped should tha nk.
Instead, you should feel grateful and thanks the person you’ve helped for the oppo
rtunity to contribute and to grow through serving others. The essence of a peace
ful home is respecting one another, learning from one another, and being underst
anding of one another. It is caring for each other, being grateful to each other ,
and giving to each other. Simply making arrangements for your family on the ma
terial level does not count as cultivating a peaceful family. To truly cultivati ng
a peaceful family is to enable each member of the family to reach his or her
potential and play his or her part. Cultivating peaceful activity lie in being
honest and upright When most people think of “cultivating peaceful activity,” they
probably think of th eir professional activity, their job, and its stability and
security. However, i f we take the purity and diligence of all three types of
activity-mental, verbal , and physical-as the scope of “activity,” then both
personal and professional activ ity are included. We should pay attention to our
behavior and be moderate in our deeds, words and thoughts. We should not act rashly
or blindly, be without standards, talk foolis hly, or say whatever comes to mind.
We also should not be indecisive or change o ur mind constantly. This is a kind of
cultivation we have to maintain in our dai ly lives. It is a platitude that one
should work diligently and harmoniously, yet it is no t so easily done. Even if
normally you do everything successfully and just as yo u would wish, one day when
you encounter some setback, dilemma, or difficult pro blem you may have doubts
regarding your work-who is it you are working so hard f or anyway? If these sorts
of thoughts arise, you are no longer working diligentl y and harmoniously. Working
diligently means taking one’s work responsibilities seriously. Diligence i s
working hard without cease and throwing oneself wholeheartedly into one’s work. If
you have an attitude of holding back on your abilities or your mental and phy sical
energy, then you are not working diligently. In taking any action one should
consider the action based on the principle of “ben efiting others benefits
oneself.” Don’t pursue your own benefit but rather work dili gently for the benefit
of others, giving thought and consideration to both their long-term and immediate
benefit. Whether at home, at work, or in any other cont ext, if you can look at
things with this attitude, I believe that you’ll have good relations with others
and enjoy their support. The Four Guidelines for Dealing with Desires ---A
Proposition for Calming the Mind In modern society, the flourishing of material
civilization and the excessive sp eed of structural change has led to a confusion
of values. As a result, some peo ple are not sure what they truly need, what they
simply want out of greed, what they are legitimately able to acquire, and what is
proper for one with their res ponsibilities to acquire. Because they are unable to
make clear distinctions reg arding need, want, ability, and propriety, the majority
of people simply follows the trends of society and goes with the crowd -“if other
people have it, I want i t too.” Furthermore, typically modern people’s needs are
few, but their wants are too many . On top of that, they pursue what they shouldn’t
and cannot acquire. Generally, h owever, they cannot acquire what they want, As a
result, people feel restless an d uneasy and social problems crop up endlessly.
Our needs are few, our desires are too many What is “need”? It is the things that
you can’t live without, such as sunlight, air, m oisture, a minimum of food,
clothes to fend off the cold, a house to shelter you from the wind and the rain. In
our time basic transportation, computers, and te lephones have become needs too.
Having these necessities is not indulgence. What is indulgence? It is those
luxuries and adornment beyond what is necessary. It is things that only serve to
satisfy your vanity or to keep up appearances. Nevertheless, in certain situations
and in accordance one’s position, one must hav e a certainlevel of elegance in
order to suit the occasion. That can be counted as a need, but one must have a
sense of propriety. The things we truly need in life are really quite few. From a
subjective perspec tive, however, one might really feel that without a certain
thing, his life will be empty, forlorn, and meaningless. This is a personal value
judgment. So looking solely at “need,” we find that the definition is very hazy.
When consider ing the difference between need and want, we should do so from a
subjective stan dpoint as wee as from an overall, objective standpoint. Is it
within my ability? Is it proper? “Ability” means that, within the scope of your
ability, you may work hard to obtain the things you need, but if your ability is
not sufficient, you should yield to those whose ability is and not insist. There
are many things in life that lead p eople to feel strong envy and craving,
including fame, fortune, power, status, a nd love. When you wish to obtain them,
however, you must think carefully. “Are my abilities and contributions sufficient
to make me deserving of them?” Are th e conditions such that it can be obtained
readily or is it forced?” If your contri butions and abilities are insufficient and
conditions not ripe, yet you still ho pe to gain it, this is craving things you
don’t deserve. This will only increase y our pain and the harm done to you. Turning
to “propriety,” if we look at it based on the phrase popular with young peop le
today, “if it feels good, do it,” then we will not be able to distinguish between
what is and is not proper to desire. Most people’s desires are endless. They like
and want so many things. They should ask themselves: should I like these things?
Should I try to obtain them? For ins tance, everyone likes fame, status, wealth,
and power, but undeserved fame is on ly a facade, undeserved wealth is simply ill-
got-ten gains, undeserved status is just an act. It is improper to pursue such
things. Of course if one is deservin g, then obtaining it is not only blameworthy,
it encourages one to make oneself still more deserving. Actually, in our daily
lives the things we need are not many, yet the things we want are many indeed. The
things we need are proper to desire. The things we mer ely want are unimportant.
Our starting point should be protecting the spiritual environment. On the one si
de, we should protect our mind from being polluted by the environment and increa se
our immunity to such pollution. On the other, we should not give rise to nega tive
states of mind such as jealousy, anger, suspicion, and selfishness, which m ake the
environment even worse. By becoming aware of each subtle movement of our own mind,
we become clearly aware of our needs and can resolve our wants. If you clearly
understand these four criteria of for dealing with desire in the
course of your life, then you will have a clear sense of direction and be able t o
live peacefully. The Four Steps for Handling A Problem ---A Proposition for
Resolving the Difficulties of Life It is difficult to avoid adversity in life. When
people are handling a thorny pr oblem, I often encourage them to calmly face it,
accept it, deal with it, and le t go of it. When we encounter difficulty, hardship,
or an unfair situation, we s hould not be escapist because escapism cannot solve
the problem. Only by wisely responsibility can we truly obtain liberation from
confounding problems. Methods for facing affliction How can we face our problems?
We must tell ourselves that everything that happen s does so for a reason. We don’t
need to delve exhaustively into the reasons. Ther e’s no time for that. Facing and
improving the situation is most direct and most i mportant. Many people say, “I am
a good person. Why do I suffer so many hardship?” We need to be aware that with a
material body come karmic retribution and with that comes o bstacles. If there is
earth with its land, mountains and rivers, there will be sky with it s winds,
rains, clouds and fog. Even great practitioners, the Buddha’s toe was str uck and
hurt by a large rock and he encountered serious illness. However, karmic
retribution and obstacles don’t necessarily have to lead to affliction. This is w
here the difference between ordinary people and great practitioners lies. When
ordinary people suffer due to the things they encounter, they lose faith an d give
up. Great practitioners can let go of the self and remain unobstructed by
affliction. We follow the Buddha’s path in order to emulate his wisdom. In this w
ay, we can discern the causes of affliction and face them, accept them, deal wit h
them, and let them go. Karma must manifest in accordance with conditions. In any
circumstance, if you c an improve the situation, then do so. If you can’t, then
face it and accept it. Don’t avoid it but strive to improve it. A voiding
responsibility, avoiding karmic retribution, is not worth the cost. Tryi ng to
improve the situation is the smartest thing to do. The things you’ve planned are
not necessarily always reliable. Unintended things will occur. When this ha ppens,
accept it and then try to find a way to deal with it, for this just the w ay
conditions are. So if problems occur in the course of your plans, there is no need
to become sad or disappointed. Continue to work diligently to bring conditions to
fruition, f or the opportunity for success is still there. If after careful
consideration, y ou decide that the conditions cannot possibly reach fruition, then
the only thin g to do is let go of it. This is clearly different from giving up
without making an effort. Let go of yourself and let go of others Clinging to
yourself betrays a lack of wisdom; clinging to others a lack of comp assion. If one
thinks in this way one will give rise to a mind of sympathy and r espect towards
all people. One has sympathy for people in that they are yet unen lightened. One
respects them in that they are independent persons. How does Chan teach people to
cultivate peaceful minds in their ordinary lives?
The Chan attitude is to learn the facts, face them, deal with them and then let go
of them. No matter what circumstance you encounter you will not see it as a d
isaster. If you know that something frustrating might happen and can prevent it,
that is best. If it will inevitably happen, what use is worrying? Worry and anx
iety not only don’t help, they may also lead the situation to become even more ser
ious. Facing the situation is the best response. I frequently encounter people who
truly seem to be surrounded by a sea of fire a nd come to me seeking help.
Generally I listen attentively to their problems to find out what their anxieties
are, but I do not let their anxieties become my ow n nightmares. There is a
principle in the advice I give them: to deal with problems involving emotion, it is
advisable to use reason; to deal with problems regarding family, ethics. Even if
some great disaster occurs, you should still take the time you n eed to try to
resolve or mitigate it. If it is truly an unavoidable misfortune, then you can only
face it and accept it. Being able to face it and accept it is the same as dealing
with it. Since you’ve already dealt with it, there is no reaso n to worry about it,
so you should just let go of it. Don’t constantly think, “What should I do?” Just
sleep as you did before, eat as you did before and live as you ought to. The Four
Practices for Helping Oneself and Others ---A Proposition for Getting Along with
Others How can we concretely engage in the practice of helping ourselves and others
in our daily lives? We can begin with the four practices of feeling grateful, feeli
ng thankful, reforming ourselves, and moving others through virtue. Feeling
grateful – contributing and repaying kindness without seeking anything in return
You should hold gratitude in your heart at all times and contribute all that you
can of your wealth, strength, wisdom, and intelligence. When making a contribut
ion, your attitude should be respectful and you should give without thinking of it
as charity. Otherwise, you may think of yourself as a great benefactor and de velop
a puffed up attitude, thinking that you’ve done many meritorious deeds. One who,
moreover, waits intently for reward shows no sense of shame. On the other h and,
one who receives gifts or service should treat the giver as a benefactor an d feel
a debt of gratitude. Both parties should maintain a mind of contribution, offering,
gratitude and repaying kindness. One person contributes with a gratef ul heart.
Many people pay lip service to making contributions, built in their heart they a re
investing – I contribute something today in the hope that tomorrow I will get s
omething in return. This is simply an exchange of favors. It is not repaying kin
dness and it is not contributing. A true contribution is unconditional. Feeling
thankful – good and ill fortune are both our benefactors We should accept both
favorable and adverse conditions with thankfulness. Those who lead us a hand are
our benefactors. It is right and proper to be thankful. T hose who use adversity to
encourage us to grow are also our benefactors and shou ld also be thanked. Actually
we should take everything we encounter and everyone we meet as a benefactor, as
someone who helps us as a person. If we do so, we w ill be able to maintain our
peace of mind. Reforming yourself – knowing shame, repenting often, and improving
oneself through compassion and wisdom
Many Buddhists take the scriptures and use them to teach and reform others. They
take the standards of the Buddhadharma and use them to make demands of people. The
Dharma is there to help us practice, not for us to judge others with. Unfort
unately many people not only use the Dharma to judge people, but also use secula r
moral standards to make demands of people yet are unable to serve as an exampl e
themselves. Such people are not only unable to use the Buddhadharma to help th
emselves, but are also unable to assist and benefit others. Reforming oneself means
knowing shame and repenting often. One feels shame becau se one has not done well
enough and hopes to work harder and do better. One repe nts because one is aware
that he has made mistakes and wished to remind himself not to make them again in
the future. The scriptures tell us that only after reaching the eighth stage do
bodhisattvas practicing the Mahayana achieve the state of no-more-learning and only
after at taining the fruit of arhatship do the sharvakas of the Hinayana achieve
it. “No-mo re-learning” just means that there is nothing more they need to learn.
They no lon ger need to learn shame and repentance. Perhaps some might ask, “How
can it be tha t bodhisattvas still have faults and still need to feel shame?”
Actually, bodhisat tvas need to always feel shame and repent. Only then will they
be more and more diligent, more and more pure, more and more able to move others.
Moving others through virtue – Reform yourself, then use compassion and wisdom to
move others Some people complain that the members of their family are inadequate in
one way or another and don’t meet their expectations. Or they may feel that society
is a m ess and people’s minds are uneasy and restless. They somehow always feel
that if o ther people handled things better they would be safer, if others were
more earne st and responsible, they would be enjoy more happiness. Based on this
standard, they believe that if only others were better, they would enjoy more
blessings. T hey forget, however, to make demands of themselves and to look to see
if they ar e as others would wish. This world needs the Dharma. Hopes that others
will do as one wishes are unlikel y to be fulfilled; practicing the Dharma oneself
is most reliable. If everyone c an use wisdom to handle matters and compassion to
interact with people, then the y will naturally have the power to move others. The
four practice for helping oneself and others ask us to reform ourselves, mov e
others through virtue, feel thankful, and feel gratitude. They ask us to emula te
the compassion of Guanyin Bodhisattva. In this way we can get through hardshi ps
without even regarding them as hardship. At the same time, in the midst of ha
rdship we can save others from hardship. This is the bodhisattva spirit of benef
iting and assisting oneself and others. The Four Ways to Cultivate Blessings ---A
Proposition for Increasing Blessings The doctrines and practices of Buddhism aim to
cultivate blessings and wisdom. W e must use compassion to cultivate blessings and
use wisdom to cultivate wisdom. We must also use wisdom to foster blessings, and
use blessings to support wisdo m. If one has blessings without wisdom or wisdom
without blessings, then one’s pra ctice will not be full and perfect. Likewise if
one has compassion without wisdo m or wisdom without compassion, one’s practice
will not be full and perfect. For this reason, one with perfect blessings is
necessarily one with perfect wisd
om, and one with perfect wisdom is necessarily one with perfect blessings. Such a
person is a Buddha. When we refer to the Buddha as the Honored One among Two-l
egged Beings, the “two legs” can be seen as a metaphor for blessings and wisdom.
One who is able is practice the four ways to cultivate blessings-recognizing ble
ssings, cherishing blessings, nurturing blessings, and sowing the seeds of bless
ings – and wish others good fortune is a person of great blessings. Recognizing
Blessings – knowing contentment and being happy, and being at peace wi th want and
delighted in the Way Being aware of one’s blessings is very important. At the very
minimum, anyone livi ng in this world has their breath, and while one has breath
all hopes are possib le and life is full of possibility. For this reason our breath
is very precious. As the proverb says, “As long as the green mountains remain, I
fear no lack of fi rewood.” If one can recognize one’s blessings then one can even
say “as long as I have breath, I’m satisfied.” Many people don’t understand that
they must treasure their lives. They don’t realize that their lives are a blessing.
Especially in our modern society of affluence, many people are surrounded by
blessings but don’t recognize it. They see that som eone else has something and
want to possess it for themselves regardless of the effort that person made to
obtain it. To reach their goal, they may even use uns crupulous methods, thereby
harming themselves and others. If we can recognize ou r blessings, we will know
contentment, and if we know contentment we will always be happy. Knowing
contentment doesn’t mean that one doesn’t want anything but that “m ore is good,
less is good, so good that all are filled with great joy.” Only this is truly
knowing contentment. Cherishing Blessings – Treasuring what we have with gratitude
and a hope to repay the kindness we’ve received Besides our breath, we possess many
other things, including our lives and proper ty. We also have our relationships
with others, that is, our interpersonal relat ions and our affinity for people.
Cherishing our blessings means treasuring what we have, including the resources of
our intellect, our health, the natural environment, and society. We should ch erish
them, not waste or spoil them. In particular, we should not do anything to spoil
our health or harm our reputation, character, or ideals. This is cherishi ng
blessings. Nurturing Blessings – Living the good life is not a blessing, nurturing
blessing i s a blessing Nurturing blessings means that if you can take the
blessings received in this li fe and sow them, you can cultivate even more
blessings. If you make the whole wo rld, the whole universe, all the beings of the
ten directions your object in nur turing blessings and sow the seeds of blessing
without cease, then you will be a person of great blessings and ultimately your
blessings will be as perfect as t hose of the Buddha. Sometimes the retribution
arising from karmic obstruction may mislead people to believe that the retribution
is a blessing. For instance, from a Buddhist perspe ctive living a comfortable life
in which one can sit idly and enjoy everything w ithout doing anything is not
necessarily a blessing. From the perspective of the Buddhist idea that all
phenomena are impermanent, th at nothing is forever unchanging, living the good
life isn’t a blessing. Only trea suring and nurturing blessings is truly blessed.
The reason is that after this w
orld’s blessings are exhausted, they will be immediately followed by the arrival o
f bitter retribution. We must grasp the opportunity and pay no heed to our toil. We
shouldn’t keep track of insults and humiliations or work for our own fame and
fortune. Only then will we be able to help others to resolve their difficulties.
Only then will we be able to strive unceasingly to make progress and give all t hat
we are able to those in need of help. This itself is seeking and nurturing b
lessings. Sowing the Seeds of Blessing – Through one’s own growth, one can broadly
sow the see ds of blessings so that all may be blessed Shakyamuni Buddha tells us
that people come to this world to sow the seeds of bl essings. Each person has her
own fields in which she can sow blessings, such as her family, friends, and those
people in her society who need help because they are in bitter want and without
support. Working for the benefit of society and t he nation as well as the
happiness of all sentient beings is also sowing our fie lds of blessings. Those who
are aware of the need to be always sowing blessings are blessed. In or der to sow
the seeds of blessings, we must diligently work on our own growth. We must add to
and improve our knowledge, character, wisdom, and skills. Then we w ill have even
more resources with which to sow the seeds of blessings. Copyright 2003-2007 Dharma
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