Shakyamuni Buddha and Buddhism

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hands of a fond mother when he has scarcely seen a few summers, and another should perish in the flower of manhood, or at the ripe age of eighty or hundred? Why should one be sick and infirm, and another strong and healthy? Why should one be handsome, and another ugly and hideous, repulsive to all? Why should one be brought up in the lap of luxury, and another in absolute poverty, steeped in misery? Why should one be born a millionaire and another a pauper? Why should one be born with saintly characteristics, and another with criminal tendencies? Why should some be linguists, artists, mathematicians or musicians from the very cradle? Why should some be congenitally blind, deaf and deformed? Why should some be blessed and others cursed from their birth? These are some problems that perplex the minds of all thinking men. How are we to account for all this unevenness of the world, this inequality of mankind? Is it due to the work of blind chance or accident? There is nothing in this world that happens by blind chance or accident. To say that anything happens by chance, is no more true than that this article has come here of itself. Strictly speaking, nothing happens to man that he does not deserve for some reason or another. Could this be the fiat of an irresponsible Creator? Huxley writes: "If we are to assume that anybody has designedly set this wonderful universe going, it is perfectly clear to me that he is no more entirely benevolent and just in any intelligible sense of the words, than that he is malevolent and unjust." According to Einstein: "If this being (God) is omnipotent, then every occurrence, including every human action, every human thought, and every human feeling and aspiration is also his work; how is it possible to think of holding men responsible for their deeds and thoughts before such an Almighty Being. In giving out punishments and rewards, he would to a certain extent be passing judgement on himself. How can this be combined with the goodness and righteousness ascribed to him." And Spencer Lewis writes: "According to the theological principles, man is created arbitrarily and without his desire and at the moment of his creation is either blessed or damned eternally. Hence man is either good or evil, fortunate or unfortunate, noble or depraved, from the first step in the process of his physical creation to the moment of his last breath, regardless of his individual desires, hopes, ambitions, struggles or devoted prayers. Such is theological fatalism." As Charles Bradlaugh says: "The existence of evil is a terrible stumbling block to the theist. Pain, misery, crime, poverty confront the advocate of eternal goodness and challenge with unanswerable potency his declaration of Deity as all-good, all-wise, and all-powerful." In the words of Schopenhauer: "Whoever regards himself as having become out of nothing must also think that he will again become nothing; for an eternity has passed before he was, and then a second eternity had begun, through which he will never cease to be, is a monstrous thought. If birth is the absolute beginning, then death must be his absolute end; and the assumption that man is made out of nothing leads necessarily to the assumption that death is his absolute end." Commenting on human sufferings and God, Prof. J.B.S. Haldane writes: "Either suffering is needed to perfect human character, or God is not Almighty. The former theory is disproved by the fact that some people who have suffered very little but have been fortunate in their ancestry and education have very fine characters. The objection to the second is that it is only in connection with the universe as a whole that there is any intellectual gap to be filled by the postulation of a deity. And a creator could presumably create whatever he or it wanted." Lord Russell states: "The world, we are told, was created by a God who is both good and omnipotent. Before he created the world he foresaw all the pain and misery that it would contain. He is therefore responsible for all of it. it is useless to argue that the pain in the world is due to sin. If God knew in advance the sins of which man would be guilty, he was clearly responsible for all the consequences of those sins when he decided to create man." In "Despair," a poem of his old age, Lord Tennyson thus boldly attacks God, who, as recorded in Isaiah, says, "I make peace and create evil." (Isaiah, xiv. 7.) "What! I should call on that infinite love that has served us so well?/ Infinite cruelty, rather, that made everlasting hell./ Made us, foreknew us, foredoomed us, and does what he will with his own./ Better our dead brute mother who never has heard us groan." Surely "the doctrine that all men are sinners and have the essential sin of Adam is a challenge to justice, mercy, love and omnipotent fairness." Some writers of old authoritatively declared that God created man in his own image. Some modern thinkers state, on the contrary, that man created God in his own image. With the growth of civilization man's concept of God also became more and more refined. It is, however, impossible to conceive of such a being either in or outside the universe. Could this variation in human beings then be due to heredity and environment? One must admit that all such chemico-physical phenomena revealed by scientists, are partly instrumental, but they cannot be solely responsible for the subtle distinctions and vast differences that exist amongst individuals. Yet why should identical twins who are physically alike, inheriting like genes, enjoying the same privilege of upbringing, be very often temperamentally, morally and intellectually totally different? Heredity alone cannot account for these vast differences. Strictly speaking, it accounts more plausibly for their similarities than for most of the differences. The infinitesimally minute chemico-physical germ, which is about 30 millionth part of an inch across, inherited from parents, explains only a portion of man, his physical foundation. With regard to the more complex and subtle mental, intellectual and moral differences we need more enlightenment. The theory of heredity cannot give a satisfactory explanation for the birth of a criminal in a long line of honourable ancestors, the birth of a saint or a noble man in a family of evil repute, for the arising of infant prodigies, men of genius and great religious teachers. According to Buddhism, this variation is due not only to heredity, environment, "nature and nurture," but also to our own karma, or in other words, to the result of our own inherited past actions and our present deeds. We ourselves are responsible for our own deeds, happiness and misery. We build our own hells. We create our own heavens. We are the architects of our own fate. In short, we ourselves are our own karma. On one occasion a certain young man named Subha approached the Buddha, and questioned why and wherefore it was that among human beings there are the low and high states. "For," said he, "we find amongst mankind those of brief life and those of long life, the hale and the ailing, the good looking and the ill-looking, the powerful and the powerless, the poor and the rich, the low-born and the high-born, the ignorant and the intelligent." The Buddha briefly replied: "Every living being has karma as its own, its inheritance, its cause, its kinsman, its refuge. Karma is that which differentiates all living beings into low and high states." He then explained the cause of such differences in accordance with the law of moral causation. Thus from a Buddhist standpoint, our present mental, intellectual, moral and temperamental differences are mainly due to our own actions and tendencies, both past the present. Karma, literally, means action; but, in its ultimate sense, it means the meritorious and demeritorious volition. Karma constitutes both good and evil. Good gets good. Evil gets evil. Like attracts like. This is the Law of Karma. As some Westerners prefer to say Karma is "action-influence." We reap what we have sown. What we sow we reap some-where or some-when. In one sense we are the result of what we were; we will be the result of what we are. In another sense, we are not totally the result of what we were and we will not absolutely be the result of what we are. For instance, a criminal today may be a saint tomorrow. Buddhism attributes this variation to karma, but it does not assert that everything is due to karma. If everything were due to karma, a man must ever be bad, for it is his karma to be bad. One need not consult a physician to be cured of a disease, for if one's karma is such, one will be cured. According to Buddhism, there are five orders or processes which operate in the physical and mental realms: i. Karma niyama, order of act and result, e.g., desirable and undesirable acts produce corresponding good and bad results. ii. Utu niyama, physical (inorganic) order, e.g., seasonal phenomena of winds and rains. iii. Bija niyama, order of germs or seeds (physical organic order); e.g., rice produced from rice-seed, sugary taste from sugar cane or honey, etc. The scientific theory of cells and genes and the physical similarity of twins may be ascribed to this order. iv. Citta niyama, order of mind or psychic law, e.g., processes of consciousness (citta vithi), power of mind, etc. v. Dharma niyama, order of the norm, e.g., the natural phenomena occurring at the advent of a Bodhisatta in his last birth, gravitation, etc. Every mental or physical phenomenon could be explained by these all-embracing five orders or processes which are laws in themselves. Karma is, therefore, only one of the five orders that prevail in the universe. It is a law in itself, but it does not thereby follow that there should be a law-giver. Ordinary laws of nature, like gravitation, need no law-giver. It operates in its own field without the intervention of an external independent ruling agency. Nobody, for instance, has decreed that fire should burn. Nobody has commanded that water should seek its own level. No scientist has ordered that water should consist of H2O, and that coldness should be one of its properties. These are their intrinsic characteristics. Karma is neither fate nor predestination imposed upon us by some mysterious unknown power to which we must helplessly submit ourselves. It is one's own doing reacting on oneself, and so one has the possibility to divert the course of karma to some extent. How far one diverts it depends on oneself. It must also be said that such phraseology as rewards and punishments should not be allowed to enter into discussions concerning the problem of karma. For Buddhism does not recognize an Almighty Being who rules his subjects and rewards and punishes them accordingly. Buddhists, on the contrary, believe that sorrow and happiness one experiences are the natural outcome of one's own good and bad actions. It should be stated that karma has both the continuative and the retributive principle. Inherent in karma is the potentiality of producing its due effect. The cause produces the effect; the effect explains the cause. Seed produces the fruit; the fruit explains the seed as both are inter-related. Even so, karma and its effect are inter-related; "the effect already blooms in the cause." A Buddhist who is fully convinced of the doctrine of karma does not pray to another to be saved but confidently relies on himself for his purification because it teaches individual responsibility. It is this doctrine of karma that gives him consolation, hope, self reliance and moral courage. It is this belief in karma "that validates his effort, kindles his enthusiasm," makes him ever-kind, tolerant and considerate. It is also this firm belief in karma that prompts him to refrain from evil, do good and be good without being frightened of any punishment or tempted by any reward. It is this doctrine of karma that can explain the problem of suffering, the mystery of so-called fate or predestination of other religions, and above all the inequality of mankind. Karma and rebirth are accepted as axiomatic.

Karma or the Law of Moral Causation... We are faced with a totally ill-balanced world. We perceive the inequalities and manifold destinies of men and the numerous grades of beings that exist in the universe. We see one born into a condition of affluence, endowed with fine mental, moral and physical qualities and another into a condition of abject poverty and wretchedness. Here is a man virtuous and holy, but, contrary to his expectation, ill-luck is ever ready to greet him. The wicked world runs counter to his ambitions and desires. He is poor and miserable in spite of his honest dealings and piety. There is another vicious and foolish, but accounted to be fortune's darling. He is rewarded with all forms of favors, despite his shortcomings and evil modes of life. Why, it may be questioned, should one be an inferior and another a superior? Why should one be wrested from the

here, passing through hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhalands to the West there is a world called Utmost Happiness. In this land a Buddha called Amitabha right now teaches the Dharma. Shariputra, why is this land called Utmost Happiness? All living beings of this country never suffer, but enjoy every bliss. Therefore it is called Utmost Happiness. Moreover, Shariputra, this land of Utmost Happiness is completely surrounded by seven tiers of railings, seven layers of netting, and seven rows of trees, all formed from the four treasures, and for this reason called Utmost Happiness. Moreover, Shariputra, in the land of Utmost Happiness are pools of the seven jewels, filled with the waters of eight meritorious qualities; the bottom of each pool is pure, covered with golden sands. On the four sides climb stairs of gold, silver, lapus lazuli, crystal, mother-of pearl, rubies, and carnelian. In the pools bloom lotuses as large as carriage wheels with colors of green light, red light, yellow light, and white light, subtle, rare, fragrant, and pure. Shariputra, the Land of Utmost Happiness is crowned in splendor and virtues such as these. Moreover, Shariputra, in this Buddhaland heavenly music always plays, and the ground is made of gold. In the six periods of the day and night a heavenly rain of mandarava flowers falls, and throughout the clear morning, each living being of this land offers sacks filled with myriads of wonderful flowers to the hundreds of thousands of millions of Buddhas of the other directions. At mealtime they return to their own countries and after eating they walk about. Shariputra, the Land of Utmost Happiness is crowned in splendor and virtues such as these. Moreover, Shariputra, in this country there are always rare and unusual birds of many kinds and colors: white geese, cranes, peacocks, parrots, egrets, kalavinkas and two-headed birds. In the six periods of the day and night the flocks of birds sing forth harmonious and elegant sounds. Their clear and joyful calls proclaim the Five Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Limbs of Bodhi, the Eightfold Path of Sages, and dharmas such as these. When living beings of this land hear their calls they are altogether mindful of the Buddha, mindful of the Dharma, and mindful of the Sangha. Shariputra! Do not say that these birds are born as retribution for their sins. And why not? Because in this Buddhaland the three evil paths do not exist. Shariputra, even the names of the three evil paths are unknown in this Buddha's land; how much the less could they actually exist! Wishing to proclaim the Dharma's sound far and wide, Amitabha Buddha created these multitudes of birds by transformation. Shariputra, in that Buddhaland when the gentle winds blow, the rows of jewelled trees and jewelled nets reverberate with fine and wondrous sounds, as a symphony of one hundred thousand kinds of music played in harmony. All who hear these sounds are naturally mindful of the Buddha, mindful of the Dharma, and mindful of the Sangha. Shariputra, the Land of Utmost Happiness is crowned in splendor and virtues such as these. Shariputra, what do you think? Why is this Buddha called Amitabha? Shariputra, the brilliance of that Buddha's light is measureless, illumining the lands of the ten directions everywhere without obstruction. For this reason he is called Amitabha. Moreover, Shariputra, the lifespan of that Buddha and that of his people extends for measureless, limitless asamkhyeyas of kalpas. For this reason he is called Amitayus. And, Shariputra, since Amitabha became a Buddha, ten kalpas have passed. Moreover, Shariputra, that Buddha has measureless, limitless asamkheyas of Sound-Hearer disciples, their number incalculable. So too is the assembly of Bodhisattvas. Shariputra, that Buddhaland is crowned in splendor and virtues such as these. Moreover, Shariputra, the living beings born in the Land of Utmost Happiness are all avaivartika. Among them are many who in this very life will dwell in Buddhahood. Their number is extremely many; it is incalculable. And only in measureless, limitless asamkyeyas of kalpas could they be counted. Shariputra, those living beings who hear of this should vow: I wish to be born in that country. And why? Because those who are born there assemble in one place with people whose goodness is unsurpassed. Shariputra, if one has few good roots, blessings, and virtues, one cannot be born in that land. Shariputra, if there is a good man or good woman who hears of Amitabha and holds his name whether for one day, two days, three, four, five days, six days, as long as seven days with one mind unconfused, when this person nears the end of life, before him will appear Amitabha and all the Assembly of Holy Ones. When the end comes, his mind will not be utterly confused, and in Amitabha's Land of Utmost Happiness he will quickly be reborn. Shariputra, because I see this benefit, I speak these words; and, if living beings hear this teaching they should make the vow: I wish to born in that land. Shariputra, just as I now praise the inconceivable benefits arising from the merit and virtue of Amitabha, so too in the East does Akshobya Buddha, Sumeru Likeness Buddha, Great Sumeru Buddha, Sumeru Light Buddha, Wonderful Sound Buddha; all Buddhas such as these, numberless as Ganges' sands, each in his own country gives forth a vast and far-reaching sound that pervades the threefold, great, thousand-world realm and proclaims these sincere and honest words: All you living beings should believe in this sutra which all the Buddhas praise for its inconceivable merit and virtue, a sutra they protect and bear in mind. Shariputra, in the Southern World, Sun-Moon Lamp Buddha, Sumeru Lamp Buddha, Celebrated Light Buddha, Great Radiant Shoulders Buddha, Sumeru Lamp Buddha, Measureless Vigor Buddha, all Buddhas such as these, numberless as Ganges' sands, each in his own country gives forth a vast and far-reaching sound that pervades the threefold, great, thousand-world realm and proclaims these sincere and honest words: All you living beings should believe in this sutra which all Buddhas praise for its inconceivable merit and virtue, a sutra they protect and bear in mind. Shariputra, in the Western World, Measureless Life Buddha, Infinite Features Buddha, Measureless Curtain Buddha, Great Light Buddha, Great Clarity Buddha, Jewelled Likeness Buddha, Pure Light Buddha, all Buddhas such as these, numberless as Ganges' sands, each in his own country gives forth a vast and far-reaching sound that pervades the threefold, great, thousand-world realm and proclaims these sincere and honest words: All you living beings should believe in this sutra which all Buddhas praise for its inconceivable merit and virtue, protecting and bearing it in mind. Shariputra, in the Northern World, Radiant Shoulders Buddha, Most Glorious Sound Buddha, Invincible Buddha, Sun-Birth Buddha, Luminous Net Buddha, all Buddhas such as these, numberless as Ganges' sands, each in his own country gives forth a vast and far-reaching sound that pervades the threefold, great, thousand-world realm and proclaims these sincere and honest words: All you living beings should believe in this sutra which all Buddhas praise for its inconceivable merit and virtue, a sutra they protect and bear in mind. Shariputra, in the World Below, Lion Buddha, Well-Known Buddha, Celebrated Light Buddha, Dharma Buddha, Dharma-Curtain Buddha, Upholding Dharma Buddha, all Buddhas such as these, numberless as Ganges' sands, each in his own country gives forth a vast and far-reaching sound that pervades the threefold, great, thousand-world realm and proclaims these sincere and honest words: All you living beings should believe in this sutra which all Buddhas praise for its inconceivable merit and virtue, a sutra they protect and bear in mind. Shariputra, in the World Above, Pure Sound Buddha, Constellation King Buddha, Superior Fragrance Buddha, Fragrant Light Buddha, Great Radiant Shoulders Buddha, Varicolored Jewels-Adorned Body Buddha, Sala Tree King Buddha, Jewelled Flower of Virtue Buddha, Discerning All Meanings Buddha, Like Sumeru Mountain Buddha, all Buddhas such as these, numberless as Ganges' sands, each in his own country gives forth a vast and far-reaching sound that pervades the threefold, great, thousand-world realm and proclaims these sincere and honest words: All you living beings should believe in this sutra which all Buddhas praise for its inconceivable merit and virtue, a sutra they protect and bear in mind. Shariputra, what do you think? Why is it called Sutra which all Buddhas protect and bear in mind? Shariputra, if a good man or good woman hears this sutra and upholds it, and hears the names of all these Buddhas, this good man or good woman will also be one whom all Buddhas protect and bear in mind, and will attain non-retreat from anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Therefore, Shariputra, all of you should believe and accept my words and the words all Buddhas speak. Shariputra, if there are people who have already made the vow, who now make the vow, or who will make the vow, I wish to be born in Amitabha's country, these people, whether born in the past, now being born there, or to be born there in the future, will all attain non-retreat from anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Therefore, Shariputra, all good men and good women who believe should make the vow, "I wish to be born in that country." Shariputra, just as I now praise the inconceivable merit and virtue of all Buddhas, all those Buddhas also praise my inconceivable merit and virtue, saying these words: Shakyamuni Buddha can accomplish extremely difficult and rare deeds in the Saha Land during the evil time of the Five Turbidities: during the time turbidity, the views turbidity, the affliction turbidity, the living beings turbidity, and the lifespan turbidity. He can attain anuttarasamyaksambodhi and for the sake of living beings proclaim this Dharma, which the whole world finds hard to believe. Shariputra, you should know that I, in the evil time of the Five Turbidities, perform these difficult deeds, attain anuttarasamyaksambodhi, and for the entire world proclaim this Dharma which is difficult to believe, extremely difficult! After the Buddha spoke this Sutra, Shariputra, all the Bhikshus, and the entire world of gods, humans, asuras, and others, hearing what the Buddha had said, joyously delighted in it, faithfully accepted it, bowed and withdrew.

THE BUDDHA SPEAKS OF AMITABHA SUTRA
Namo! Homage to the Lotus Pool Assembly of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas As Vast As the Sea
Thus I have heard, at one time the Buddha dwelt at Shravasti, in the Jeta Grove in the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Forlorn, together with a gathering of Great Bhikshus, twelve-hundred fifty in all, all Great Arhats well-known to the assembly: Elders Shariputra, Mahamaudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Mahakatyayana, Mahakausthila, Revata, Suddhipanthaka, Nanda, Ananda, Rahula, Gavampati, Pindola-Bharadvaja, Kalodayin, Mahakaphina, Vakkula, Aniruddha, and others such as these, all Great Disciples, together with all the Bodhisattvas, Mahasattvas: Manjushri, Prince of Dharma; Ajita Bodhisattva, Gandhastin Bodhisattva, Nityodukta Bodhisattva, and others such as these, all Great Bodhisattvas, and together with Shakra, Chief among Gods, and the numberless great multitudes from all the heavens. At that time, the Buddha told the Elder Shariputra, from

Indian ocean as drops of mud that soil one's feet. I perceive the teachings of the world to be the illusions of magicians. I look upon the judgement of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of dragons, and the rise and fall of beliefs as the traces left by the four seasons."
HATRED NEVER DISPELS HATE - "'Look how he abused me and beat me, how he threw me down and robbed me.' Live with such thoughts and you will live in hate. Abandon such thoughts, and live in love. In this world, hate never dispelled hate. Only love dispels hate. This is the law, ancient and inexhaustible. You too shall pass away. Knowing this, how can you quarrel?"
INCLINATION OF MIND - "Others will be cruel; we shall not be cruel. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will kill living beings; we shall abstain from killing living beings. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will take what is not given; we shall abstain from taking what is not given. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will engage in inappropriate sexuality; we shall abstain from inappropriate sexuality. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will speak falsehoods; we shall abstain from false speech. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will speak maliciously; we shall abstain from malicious speech. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will gossip; we shall abstain from gossip. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will be envious; we shall not be envious. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will be avaricious; we shall not beavaricious. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will be fraudulent; we shall not be fraudulent. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will be arrogant; we shall not be arrogant. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will be unmindful; we shall be established in mindfulness. Thus, one should incline the mind. Others will lack wisdom; we shall cultivate wisdom. Thus, one should incline the mind."
FINDING THE WAY - "Followers of the Way, the one right here before your eyes and listening to the Dharma is the person who 'enters fire without being burned, goes into water without being drowned, and plays about in the three deepest hells as if in a fairground; that person enters the world of hungry spirits and dumb animals without being molested by them.' "Why is this so? Because there is nothing that person dislikes. If you love the sacred and dislike the worldly, you will go on floating and sinking in the ocean of birth and death. The passions arise depending on the heart. If the heart is stilled, where then do you seize the passions? Do not tire yourselves by making up discriminations; and quite naturally, of itself, you will find the Way."
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The Buddha said, "To be attached to a certain view and to look down upon other views as inferior - this the wise call a fetter."
MASTER YOURSELF - "Love yourself and be awake - today, tomorrow, always. First establish yourself in the Way, then teach others, and so defeat sorrow. To straighten the crooked you must first do a harder thing - straighten yourself. You are your only master. Who else? Subdue yourself, and discover your master."
MASTER YOUR SENSES - "Master your senses, what you taste and smell, what you see, what you hear. In all things be a master of what you do and say and think. Be free. Are you queit? Quieten your body. Quieten your mind. By your own efforts waken yourself , watch yourself, and live joyfully. Follow the truth of the Way. Reflect upon it. Make it your own. Life it. It will always sustain you."
"I consider the positions of kings and rulers as that of dust motes in a sunbeam. I see the treasures of gold and gems as broken tiles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see the myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds and the great

September 15, 2003