Page 37 - 加拿大佛教会湛山精舍杂志季刊第76期

or harsh ascetic discipline instead. They overlook have attained supreme, perfect enlightenment. This
the right path then and they overlook it now. Those being so sentient beings are indispensable to Bodhi.
who have reached the heavenly realm of neither Without them no bodhisattva would ever attain the
thinking nor non-thinking, mistake it for nirvana incomparable enlightenment.
and do not realize that when their wholesome retri-
bution runs out, they must return to the three ways. Men and women from good families, please consid-
er this parable carefully. Look upon sentient beings
In all four articles above, compassion for all sen- with an impartial mind and cultivate all-embracing
tient beings hols a place of special importance. In the compassion. To bestow this compassion on all sen-
words of Vashubandhu Bodhisattva, “When observ- tient beings without exception is comparable to being
ing sentient beings endlessly perpetuating evil karma successful when making an oblation to all Tathagatas.
that results in suffering due to ignorance, bodhisat- A bodhisattva’s effort to compassionately yield to all
tvas give rise to great compassion and seek to attain sentient beings will never cease, not even when sun-
Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi as if their heads were on ya-dhatu, spheres, karma and defilements of sentient
fire. They think that all sentient beings are defiled beings come to an end. My effort of concord will nev-
and resolve to save them all.” The sentient beings are er cease, but will be pursued with incessant and un-
greatly deluded and boundless compassion is nec- remitting concentration, culminating in indefatigable
essary in order to help them. Compassion can bring actions of my body, my discourse and my volition.”
them happiness and let them depart from suffering.
All bodhisattvas practice the six paramitas and ten For the practice of bodhisttva action it is required that
thousand pure actions to assist and save all sentient one aspires upwards, seeking buddhahood, and pro-
beings. Compassion is the foundation that supports ceeds downward converting sentient beings. Faith is
all existence and sentient beings are expediently con- the dynamic of the upward move, compassion that of
verted by countless dharmas. downward.

In the discourse on Samantabhadra Bodhisattva’s For saving sentient beings Bodhi is the key expedient.
practices and vows, the Avatamsaka sutra says” But what kind of karmic action is needed to produce
“When a bodhisattva accords with sentient beings, expedient Dharma? Discipline, concentration and
then he accords with and makes offerings to all bud- wisdom are , no doubt, the universal foundation. In
dhas. To honor and serve all sentient beings is equal addition to these, three more virtues are recommend-
to paying homage to all Tathagatas. Why? Because ed for well rounded practice. Charity, patience and
an all-embracing, compassionate heart that welcomes zeal, in addition to discipline, meditation and wisdom
all sentient beings is the essence and the origin of the complete the set of the six paramitas or virtues. Zeal
Tathagata.” It is the means of generating Bodhi-citta, assures progress, charity or giving fosters openness
whereby incomparable enlightenment is attained. toward all sentient beings, and patience supports dil-
igence in study and practice. The six paramitas can
When a tree grows in the poor soil of the wilderness ferry oneself and others across the sea of birth and
and its roots receives water, it develops plentiful fo- death to the shore of nirvana.
liage; it blooms and bears fruit. The Bodhi tree, king
among trees, growing in the wilderness of life and The first perfected virtue is giving or dana-paramita
death, has all sentient beings for its roots and all in Sanskrit; it includes three kinds of giving. A pure
bohisattvas and all buddhas for blossoms and fruit. being endowed with morality can give property or
When sentient beings encounter all-embracing com- wealth to the point of giving up all he/she has. Or a
passion, the Bodhi tree will bloom and bear the fruit bodhisattva who has understood poverty makes the
of bodhisattvas and buddhas. How? The bodhisattvas gift of his/her body, speech and thought by means

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