Buddhist point of view

 　     The Buddha once predicted: In the end of the Buddhist Dharma, the people’s mind will become more and more depraved, and the earth will be in the process of "the calamity of decreasing lifespan", society will become more chaotic; natural and man-made disasters will continuously occur, and appalling social events will emerge one after another. People’s morality will get weaker and weaker; in order to snatch their own interests, conflicts will continuously arise. 　     If we want to slow down social chaos, we must research the root cause of the problem and solve it. Otherwise, it will still be ineffective after a lot of manpower, money, and material resources are spent. From the Buddhist Point of view, the root of all problems comes from "the attachment of self" —— clinging to the existence of ”I”; because of "the attachment of self", people greedily want to get more benefits and wealth for themselves; so when their own interests are taken over or thre...

 　     Buddhists must abide by the "precepts", and Buddhists of different identities have different precepts. What exactly is "precept"? Let's discuss it now. 　     More than 2,000 years ago, after the Buddha became enlightened, he began to preach the scriptures and establish a sangha. At first, he did not formulate the precepts; but as the sangha became larger and larger, there were more and more Buddhist disciples; for regulating the disciples’ behavior to make the Dharma can continue stably, so the Buddha began to formulate the precepts. The "precepts" used in modern Buddhism were not formulated at one time. Some of them were formulated after the Buddha's disciples committed inappropriate behavior; the Buddha announces that such behaviors should not be done in the future. These are the origins of "precepts" in Buddhism. From this, it can be seen that the function of "precepts" is to prevent the occurrence of "inappropria...

　     We often hear people mentioning "greed, anger, and ignorance". In Buddhism, it is also said that "greed, anger, and ignorance" will poison people's body and mind and hinder people's practice, so they are called "Three Poisons". But what does "greed, anger, and ignorance" really mean? Let's discuss it now: 　     The so-called "greed" means "wanting more and not being contented." For example, at meal time, we have been full, but we crave the deliciousness of the food and continue to eat. This is a kind of "greed". Some people have already been very rich, but they still want to make more money than they need in their life. It is also a kind of "greed". From this point of view, "greed" seems to happen all the time in daily life. Some people may think: human nature is like this, it's no big deal; but if a person is too greedy and avaricious, then his life must be full of annoyance...

　     What are the texts of Buddhism? Where did the teachings and theories of Buddhism come from? The most familiar should be the Buddhist "sutras". For example, the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra are Buddhist texts that everyone is familiar with. The so-called "Three Treasures" in Buddhism refers to these books. "Three Treasures" is further divided into "sutras", "disciplines" and "treatises", so they are collectively called "Three Treasures". As for why it is called "Three Treasures"? I think it may have the meaning of "treasure" and "collection"! 　     The first and most primitive Buddhist teachings came from the teachings that Buddha Shakyamuni said and spread out in India more than 2,000 years ago. These teachings later became the theories and methods of practice for later generations of Buddhists. Because of the collection, recording, and translation of these teachings by later ...

 　     The word "Buddha (佛陀)" is transliterated from Sanskrit, and its original meaning is "enlightened one". Its pronunciation is closer to Sanskrit in Taiwanese or English. In Chinese, if the original pronunciation of "佛陀 (fó tuó)" is read "Buddha (bù dá)", it will be relatively close to Sanskrit, but now everyone is used to using "佛陀 (fó tuó)". In fact, knowing the meaning of "Buddha" is more important than correct pronunciation; what is the meaning of "enlightened one"? We often say that the state of the Buddha is "the Highest Perfect Enlightenment". In the spoken words, it means "the one who reaches the highest, really everything-equal, and correct enlightenment in the universe." This state is the most complete and perfect state in the universe. There is no other state that can transcend this state. Such an enlightened person is called a "Buddha". 　     Buddha has three kinds of ...

　     Although the Heart Sutra is just over 200 words long (in Chinese), if we carefully study the Buddhist concepts contained in it, they are quite rich. Since the Heart Sutra is very short, yet it also needs to explain the difficult and profound Buddhist teachings which are difficult to express, therefore its terms are determined after repeated deliberation. This reason makes us, who study Heart Sutra in the later time, should repeatedly research and deliberate the words in it; hoping that, from the concise word selection, we can get some clues to prove the point of view that the Buddhist Dharma in the Heart Sutra and other sutras are consistent with each other. 　     The Heart Sutra says from the very beginning: If you can see the "five aggregates are empty", then you can eliminate all suffering; what are the "five aggregates"? In Buddhist terminology, they are the five products of the mind: "matter, feeling, thinking, action, and consciousness"; in spo...

 　     In Taiwanese modern Buddhist groups, people are often referred to as "Bodhisattva" because they do difficult work in Buddhism, or older believers are often referred to as "Old Bodhisattva". What is the original meaning of "Bodhisattva"? We're going to discuss it today. 　     The word "菩薩 (pú sà  Bodhisattva)" is the abbreviation of the Sanskrit "Bodhisattva", which in Chinese should be translated as "to enlighten sentient beings", which means "to make all sentient beings enlightened". Why say so? Because the "Bodhisattva" has vowed not only to be enlightened and become a Buddha himself, but also to make all sentient beings enlightened and become a Buddha. Therefore, in the perception of all living beings, "Bodhisattvas" are all compassionate. 　     The bodhisattva in Buddhist scriptures usually refers to the "entered-stages-bodhisattva", that is, the bodhisattva who has entere...