Pleading to Buddhas for Their Staying in This World

Yutang Lin


Buddha's Dharmakaya transcends time and space, and yet is omnipresent at any-time and-space juncture; Buddha's Sambhogakaya abides in boundless and everlasting enjoyment at will; and Buddha's Nirmanakaya fulfills the Six Realms of suffering and serves as guide to and protector of each and every sentient being. Thus, why do we still need to plead to them for staying in this world?

It is only because sentient beings are so ignorant that they could not recognize Buddhas, could not know how precious Dharma is, and thus even more difficult for them to aspire toward enlightenment and then move onto the enlightenment path; therefore, Buddhists who are aware of the situations, in order to benefit all sentient beings so that it will become possible for them to escape transmigration and even eventually and ultimately attain right and full enlightenment, should constantly supplicate to all Buddhas for the followings: in front of those who are blind in mind, appear to guide them; behind those who are astray, appear to pull them around; above those who are trapped in hindrances, appear to emancipate them; below those who are sinking into sins, appear to uplift them; and thus even up to, within virtuous Dharma teachers, appear to fulfill them with debate skills and supernatural abilities so that they become capable of converting the multitude to Dharma. Thus, it would amount to "pleading to Buddhas for their staying in this world."

Buddhists, who had firmly resolved to aspire toward Bodhi, diligently engage in Dharma practices and extensively carry out all sorts of Dharma services so as to attain full enlightenment sooner and thus adding one more instance of Buddhas appearing in this world; this approach would also amount to "pleading to Buddhas for their staying in this world."

Tantra teaches disciples to regard Guru as Buddha. Therefore, pleading to Guru for staying in this world is pleading to Buddha for staying in this world.

Buddha's staying in this world is not the same as a worldling's physical subsistence. Truths as conveyed through Dharma abide everlastingly in complete irrelevance to whether sentient beings recognize them or not. As to whether a certain worldly sphere has the meritorious conditions to discern right teachings from devious sayings, to propagate Dharma and to nurture and sustain Dharma practices, that would be the key juncture to whether such a worldly sphere could plead to Buddhas for their staying in it and be successful or not. If we could sustain Dharma in this worldly sphere continuously without intermittence, that would also amount to a genuine "pleading to Buddhas for their staying in this world."

 

Written in Chinese and translated on April 12, 2009
El Cerrito, California


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