If it were possible, then samsara would have ended a long time ago because it is always the great wish of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to lead beings to the state of supreme enlightenment. This shows that there is a need for self-development after recognising the Path that one has chosen to follow.
Among the sentient beings, only the human beings are favoured with the right conditions to practice self-purification through the guidance of the Dharma. So all beings are equal in this world whether they are male or female, born in this country or that. Each has the right to seek the Dharma, to purify themselves and to liberate themselves from the samsara. So it is up to each of them to discover, learn, and practise the necessary purification exercises that will rid their minds of attachment, greed, envy, anger, pride and all such negative passions that will root them firmly in the worldly states of existence. It is each one’s duty to purify himself or herself so that they will someday attain the Pure Mind, which is the Enlightened Mind. Then they will become Buddhas and Bodhisattvas while those who have not done so remain as sentient beings.
There is no question of fairness or unfairness with the Universal Law. All those who wish to free themselves from samsara must work hard to make it possible. All who are in Nirvana have earned their rightful places there. So what are the parts that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are playing? Although they may not be able to cause us to become enlightened beings at once, they play the most important part of imparting the Truth and the Way of attaining it to all who would believe and follow. This is the work of all the Buddhas who have ever existed - to bring back the Truth of Dharma to mankind so that they have the right directions of life. It is not just one way of attaining it, but in the great number of 84,000, meaning, numberless ways, each to suit a particular kind of being, according to their ability to adopt it or to practice it. Religion has nothing to do with it. It is just pure practice that cleanses the mind of man. So, the Three Pure Precepts just require beings to avoid any kind of evil actions, to be kindly towards others, and to practise self-examination on one’s own faults each day is that they may be corrected.
The way to Nirvana is easy to read or understand but extremely difficult to practise because of Ignorance which clouds the mind. The Ignorant Mind is filled with desires and cravings which make one so attached to the world despite all its imperfections. Without wisdom, Dharma Practice will not be possible. Without wisdom, man lives either clinging to the past, which is beyond recovery, or making wishes for the future, which they are unsure of. He does not live in the present which provides the opportunity to learn the faults of the past and to correct them; he is not aware of the fact that the future can only be shaped by the actions of pure thoughts, words and deeds. Living for the present is not possible unless one has Dharma wisdom. Even those who have Dharma Knowledge may not be able do it too if it is just an understanding of it.
Life offers all the opportunity to learn and to acquire the necessary wisdom to turn towards the Buddha’s teachings to live it fruitfully. Then life is indeed a lesson and one will proceed to live rightly - abandoning that which causes misery and practising that which are causes of happiness. In order to abandon causes of misery, one must experience pain and suffering to know and fear it. Pain and suffering are therefore necessary for all otherwise they will not develop the fear for them, particularly their causes! Unless there is a will to learn and to correct oneself, then life has lost its meaning and it is unfruitful.
Most people are not aware of the preciousness of life. They live under the sway of the environment, the people they keep for company and what others believe to be right and meaningful. When life is good, they think that the world is the most wonderful place to live in because they seem to have what they yearn for. They tell themselves, “This is life”, and they will not wish to part with it. But life is not permanent, conditions of life are also impermanent.
Someday, they will have to experience the pains of life. So, it is not uncommon to find that people who seem so happy and gay are turned into despondent and lifeless personalities all of a sudden. Fortunes can change, a happy home can turn sour, and health may be lost overnight. When one is struck with an incurable disease and has to subject himself to the pains of operations, drugs, and other miseries, what will be his thoughts in the moment of agony? It will no more be “This life, I pray that I will have countless such live on earth...” but the big question of “Is this life?” Or, maybe he will, upon deeper reflection, discover that life is not one happy event that lasts continuously but is also filled with many occasions of misery. Then he may realise and tell himself. “So, this is life!” And he is learning. The dissatisfaction of not having known what life is may then direct him to seek the Truth in the Buddha’s teachings, after which he will realise that the most important thing in life is not doing what he likes but learning to like what he has to do. Then life will take on a new meaning!
Monday, 10th November 1986 (10th Moon 9th Day)