Page 38 - 加拿大佛教会湛山精舍杂志季刊第73期

法脈摭實
D HARMA COLLECTION

sentient beings, we will be more inclined thereafter view and deal with the non-void while dwelling in the
to generate continually a mind of equanimity. At the Void, they all would be bodhisattvas.
same time we should be able to discern clearly the
essence of Mahayana Dharma. Buddhists who have the capacity to perceive both the
Void and the non-void have found therein a firm foot-
Mahayana Dharma can be described as simultaneous- ing for the cultivation of both. Through cultivation
ly empty and not empty. It is empty in the sense of of the Void they eradicate the three poisons, being
being empty of ego, yet it cannot be considered empty thereby released from the four forms and empowered
because there is compassion. The practice of compas- to progress upwards to higher levels of insight while
sion is void when there is compassion. The practice not abandoning the sentient beings to be saved.
of compassion is void when there is no ego-grasp-
ing, but it is not void because it can be perceived as The following is a dialogue between the Buddha and
existing. Compassion that is ego-motivated cannot one of his disciples as retold in a Mahayana sutra.
be called compassion. True compassion is saturated To the disciple’s question regarding who ought to go
with substance, grounded as it is on the understanding to hell the World Honored One answered “I ought to
that sentient beings are not different from self, and go there; not only go there but stay there; not only
there is no room left for ego-oriented concerns. Only stay there but be happy while there; not only be hap-
when the substance is recognized as the common py while there but become the adornment of hell.”
ground of all sentient beings, can true compassion be The one who has learned the Tao and generated the
generated. Bodhi-mind to the degree of being an adornment in
hell has acquired an immeasurable strength of vow
In the context of Buddhist thought, true compassion and his/her natural power is inconceivable. The fol-
has three distinctive characteristics, i.e., it is void of lowing eight excerpts are from the Avatamsaka Sutra.
self, void of form and void of intent. The compas- They provide supreme guidance for all those who se-
sion arising from the condition of sentient beings, riously study and practice Buddhadharma:
felt in every instance as inseparable from people, is
of greatest benefit to the world. It is known as great 1) a bodhisattva enters the teaching of equanimity
compassion. Whoever has attained the great Void by considering all sentient beings as own relatives
as understood in the context of teachings has aban- and friends. When sentient being expresses un-
doned ego-views and ego-clinging. Only in that wholesome views in the presence of a bodhisattva,
state of mind can genuine acts of compassion be ac- the bodhisattva remains untainted by anger and his/
complished. At such time the actions offered for the her attitude of equanimity remains unaffected; he/
benefit of sentient beings and for the salvation of the she maintains friendship towards all sentient beings,
world truly are what they purport to be. Whoever thereby improving their practice. A bodhisattva is
attains that stage is free from attachment to his or her like the great ocean that will not decay no matter how
own body and mind, and therefore not capable nor much pollutant is thrown in. The fools, the ignorant,
tempted to neglect his/her duties, deceive others or those devoid of wisdom and kindness the selfish and
misuse situation. Such a person abides in the great arrogant whose minds are impervious to Buddhadhar-
Void, his/her mind firmly established in the great vow ma cannot upset him/her.
to save the world and thereby benefit both self and
others. The mind thus established provides the ideal 2) A bodhisattva does not abandon the foolish and
frame for peaceful negotiations of any kind, and if the unwholesome even if they are difficult to be with,
statesmen and influential politicians would adopt this difficult to guide and have never helped another be-

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