January 27, 2021
Inspired by a conversation with my dear brother-in-law who is a practicing Buddhist.
“Buddha does not always appear as a Buddha. Sometimes He appears as an incarnation of evil, sometimes as a woman, a god, a king, or a statesman; sometimes He appears in a brothel or a gambling house…for those who are entangled in the web of worldly pleasures, He reveals the misery of the world.” (The Teachings of Buddha p. 34)
Buddha appeared in the world;
Disguised His Buddha nature
So only those who understood
His teachings–
Recognized Him as their own Self.
But those who shouted, “Not my Buddha! Not one of us!”
Failed to see the truth; revealed to the world–
Their own ignorance.
“People grasp at things for their own imagined convenience and comfort; they grasp at wealth and treasure and honors; they cling desperately to mortal life. They make arbitrary distinctions between existence and non-existence, good and bad, right and wrong…because of this, they must assume the illusions of pain and suffering.” (p. 53)
Enlightenment.
Waking up is simple.
Nothing special.
Anyone can
Accept life (and death)
As it is.
Joy and sorrow
Suffering and elation.
You and I are here now.
This is reality. Like
A passing dream.
Easy.
Waking up and looking into one’s own dark heart is the real challenge.
Maybe (if you are
Like me) you
Realize how your past
Actions and choices have
Caused more suffering for
Yourself and others. Your
Desires got the best of you and now
You wake up to the realization
Your life is filled
With shame.
Devastating.
Even more devastating perhaps,
The realization that within all the people
You don’t particularly like is this same
Buddha-nature…
Maybe
You forget compassion.
You felt anger
Jealousy or even
Hatred towards
Them and
Now
You are awake (just enough) to see that in the darkness of ignorance
God’s light shines through the cracks of your own broken-hearted
Buddha-nature. It’s enough to make you recoil in horror. It’s ok.
“Buddha-nature exists in everyone no matter how deeply it may be covered up over by greed, anger, and foolishness, or buried by his own deeds and retribution. Buddha-nature can not be lost or destroyed, and when all defilements are removed, sooner or later it will appear.” (p. 78)
See?
–NZain💓
The Teachings Buddha
Copyright © 1966 Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, Tokyo. Quoted with permission.
