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The Aura of Wisdom
- Book 154: The Aura of Wisdom
- Chapter 74: Arousing the Greatest Bodhicitta
- Written by Sheng-yen Lu
- Translated and edited by True Buddha Foundation
- Translation Team (Cheng Yew Chung, Victor Hazen, Dance Smith)
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When I first attained Enlightenment, I made the following vow: `Never shall I abandon a single soul`. And with this vow came the wish `May I deliver all sentient beings even if I have to shatter into a thousand pieces`. When this bodhicitta was first aroused, heaven and earth trembled and shook violently.
I am aware that when the Buddha first started to deliver sentient beings, he avoided ordaining women as nuns and forbade his disciples from bringing their wives and children along to hear his discourses. The Buddha set down various precepts like refraining from killing, committing lascivious acts, and consuming alcohol. The Buddha warned his disciples, `If one indulges in sexual lust, one shall never attain Buddhahood, for there is no necessity to have a wife. If one indulges in killing, one shall never attain Buddhahood, for there is no necessity to consume the flesh of sentient beings. If one loses one? mind, one shall never attain Buddhahood, for there is no necessity to consume fine alcoholic drinks.`
From this, we know that the Buddhist precepts and codes are extremely strict. Because of this, when faced with the massive numbers of sentient beings, you can only deliver those who are willing and able. Those who are not willing and able you would have to leave alone.
None-the-less, I made the vow: `Never shall I abandon a single soul`. According to this vow, there is no discrimination between the defiled and the pure, and no questioning of whether one is a lay Buddhist or an ordained monk, married or single, male or female, involved with killing or not, vegetarian or non-vegetarian, and so forth. This is because it is all too common to find mundane men of this age attached to their wives and children, indulging in wining and dining. Such habits are difficult to correct. If someone does not reach out to deliver them, when would they ever find the opportunity to cultivate the Buddhadharma? When would they ever find liberation from samsara? In fact such people are abound.
Therefore, I say to you:
You are permitted to have a wife, but you must refrain from debauchery.
You are permitted to consume meat, but you must recite the deliverance mantra, and cultivate the deliverance practice.
You are permitted to consume wine, but must drink in moderation, without getting drunk and losing your mind.
Therefore, I say that I can allow my disciples to pursue political positions and social status, to seek wealth and honour, to fulfill the wish of having a family, to seek riches of gold and jewels, cars and houses, to seek good health and longevity, and seek all that constitutes the happiness of life.
This is done in the name of `Never shall I abandon a single soul `. I made these allowances to fulfill the wishes of sentient beings, as I want to make things as easy as possible for the deliverance of sentient beings, never wanting to turn any away.
I wish that you can understand this and make spiritual progress in your cultivation and mantra recitation, and attain Buddhahood as soon as possible!
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