The aim of coming into human existence is to accept retribution, fulfill wishes and make vows. We must accept retribution for what we did in the past, regardless of whether it was from this life, our previous life or the innumerable lives before. We must accept karmic effects when causes and conditions ripen in this life. Wholesome actions bring positive results. Unwholesome actions bring negative results. We must continue to accept karmic results until Buddhahood is attained, whereby aeons of sentient relationships entangled in attachment are transcended.
However, when people experience positive karmic effects they take them for granted. And when they experience negative karmic effects they feel upset. Thinking that they have done nothing wrong in this life, they should not deserve bad karmic effects.
During one of the completion assemblies at the end of the “Chan Meditation Retreat for Management Personnel of Tertiary Institutions”, current parliamentarian, Mr. Ding Shou Zhong, who initiated the retreats, shared one of his experiences:
“On one occasion my son was playing at a swimming pool. While water was being drained out of the pool, he saw one of his school mates being sucked into one of the pipes and experiencing excruciating pain. He jumped into the water trying to save his friend but ended up with one of his legs being sucked in and sustained a serious injury almost requiring amputation.
“When I heard about the incident, my first thought was, ‘How strange! My entire life has been devoted to social work. I am a kind hearted person. So why has this happened to my son?’ At the time I found this very unfair. But after a while, the feeling of injustice died down and I started thinking, ‘Perhaps this is the law of cause and effect! Maybe I have committed some unwholesome deeds in my previous life and caused my son misfortune.’ And then I immediately thought, ‘Maybe this child was predestined to meet with this accident and to survive this misfortune will mean that good fortune will follow.’ Thinking in this way I no longer feel upset.
” In this frame of mind, Mr. Ding Shou Zhong’s emotions were calmed. The concept of “accepting retribution” gave him the strength to face calamity peacefully.
Another purpose of coming into human existence is to fulfill wishes. It is impossible to know how many wishes we have made in the past. You all would have made many wishes when you were young. When I grow up I will do this. When I graduate I will do that. When I become a mother I must… when I become a teacher I will… We all wish to achieve many things in a lifetime.
When I was young I enjoyed reading, but at the time it was hard to find any books. During that time a fellow army officer said to me, “Mate! Since you like reading books so much, in the future, I will open a bookshop and let you read as much as you want.”
“You can’t put that many books in a bookshop. There isn’t enough space. How about opening a library?” I replied. “Opening a bookshop can make money so that I can make a living. A library would be a liability and of no benefit to me,” he said. I had never thought about making money and so I said, “In the future I will open a library.”
“Then you go and do that,” he said.
After saying so, I really did not know whether there were the causes and conditions to realize it. Thirty or forty years had passed and the opportunity finally arrived. I founded the Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Studies with a library that holds tens of thousands of books. It is anticipated that one day Dharma Drum Mountain’s Buddhist Library will have a collection of two hundred thousand books in addition to the Dharma Drum Humanities and Social Science University Library. My wish has gradually come true. Making a wish is a form of motivation. Once you make a wish you need to fulfill it. Fulfilling wishes is one of the aims in life.
When people participate in our Chan meditation retreats I also encourage them to make vows. For example, when they are experiencing excruciating pain in their legs as they meditate, they need to vow, “No matter how painful my legs are, I will not change posture until I hear the sound of the bell”. Admittedly, although such vows are often made, most people do eventually change posture for the pain in the legs is just unbearable.
Some people stop wanting to make vows after doing it a few times. They wonder what’s the point of making vows if something is not achievable? Nevertheless, I still encourage everyone to keep on repeating vows. As you slowly become more persistent, your vows will gradually be fulfilled. A vow is of little strength if it was made once and not repeated.
When Buddhists perform their daily services in the morning and evening, included is the recitation of “The Four Great Vows”:
I vow to deliver innumerable sentient beings. I vow to cut off endless vexations. I vow to master limitless approaches to Dharma. I vow to attain Supreme Buddhahood.
Many people even just after making such vows will often sulk as before or quarrel with family and friends, only to feel upset and remorseful afterwards. Recalling that a moment ago they just made vows to save innumerable sentient beings and cut off endless vexations, they have instead broken the vows. So I tell them that as long as they continually make vows, the situation will gradually change and the strength of their vows will grow with the passing of each day.
Thank you😊👍
informationsiteblog 