It is a great honor to communicate with my classmates here today. Sun Yat-sen University was founded by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who also wrote the school motto: "erudition, interrogation, deliberation, discernment and perseverance". The idea comes from the doctrine of the mean. These five steps of learning can completely correspond to the listening, thinking and acting of Tibetan Buddhism.
I remember when I was talking about Disciples' Rules, I also mentioned that "erudition" means that no matter what knowledge you learn, you must learn extensively and memorize it, otherwise you can't fully grasp its essence. This is equivalent to the "smell" in Tibetan Buddhism, that is, you must first rely on virtue and good knowledge, and then listen to Buddhism widely in front of him, so as not to blindly practice.
"Asking the law" refers to asking in detail what you don't understand after hearing the law, so as to eliminate doubts. Like Tibetan Buddhism, we have always attached great importance to debate, and through strict logical reasoning, we can put doubts and puzzles behind us. Then it is necessary to "think carefully" and weigh this truth repeatedly; Then there is "discrimination", which clearly distinguishes between what is true and what is false, what is taken and what is discarded. These three points are equivalent to "thinking" in Wen Hughes.
Finally, it is not enough to understand the truth, but also to put it into practice, not empty talk. This is called "perseverance", which is equivalent to "repair".
Therefore, the smell, thinking and practice of Tibetan Buddhism are completely consistent with the school motto of CUHK, but they are different in the world. Everyone should understand any truth first, then think about it and finally implement it.
The "Buddhist theory and method of removing troubles" I am talking about today actually includes these aspects. The "theory" of eliminating troubles belongs to listening and thinking, while the "method" belongs to the category of practice. Through today's communication, I hope that I can combine listening, thinking and practicing in the future to truly apply what I have learned.
At present, many college students have been attending primary school since they were six or seven years old, and they have been studying for more than 20 years. As a result, a lot of knowledge is not used in their lives, which is a pity. In my opinion, knowledge must be used after learning. It is not enough to just stay in books, verbally, or change a diploma, but to experience and test it in real life in combination with its significance. This is very important!
Second, the origin of Christianity and Buddhism
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who admired Buddhism all his life, has always been associated with many eminent monks and great virtues-I don't know if the intellectuals here can understand it, but as a Buddhist, I care about not only the society, but also the views of historical figures on Buddhism. For example, in 19 12, when Dr. Sun Yat-sen became the temporary president, Master Tai Xu organized the "Buddhist Society" in Nanjing. Later, when they met, Dr. Sun Yat-sen marveled at Master Taixu's Buddhist reform movement.
Also, Dr. Sun Yat-sen had a conversation with the old monk Xu Yun. I have read "Empty Cloud" written by Feng Feng before, which is a book about Xu Yun's deeds. It is mentioned in the book that Dr. Sun Yat-sen feels that Christianity and Buddhism are very close in spirit. The old monk Xu Yun told him that Buddhism and Christianity are of the same origin. After 18 years, Jesus went to India to study Buddhism and studied Buddhism with the disciples of A?vagho?a Bodhisattva. After more than ten years in India, I returned to Israel to help the world by preaching in Persia and Turkey. This experience is recorded in the biography of disciples on the water written by Peter, the first disciple of Jesus. Unfortunately, this book was banned by the Holy See more than 1000 years ago, so that it was not publicly circulated.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen was very interested and asked him where he could find this book. Xu Yun, an old monk, replied, "According to foreigners, there are still a few books left in the Vatican Library and the British Library." Dr. Sun Yat-sen said, "If I go to London next time, I must find out and read it. If this book is reborn, I believe it will make great contributions to the unity and cooperation between the two religions and even to world peace! "
In addition, the old monk Xu Yun said in his dialogue with Chiang Kai-shek that the paradise of Christianity is actually the paradise of Buddhism.
Some Christians may not admit this statement, but historically, it is really worth discussing. A great virtue like the old monk Xu Yun cannot be said casually without a solid language.
Moreover, Professor Ji Xianlin of Peking University also said in an article that the future Buddhist Maitreya is the same as the Christian Messiah. In his view, both Maitreya and Messiah are called the saviors of the future, and their names are very similar in pronunciation, and Messiah is regarded as a symbol of compassion. Maitreya is also called cishi, which means compassion ... and he quoted many other evidences. Since the future savior of the two religions is one, there should be no big contradiction between Buddhism and Christianity.
In addition, holger kersten, a German scholar, published Jesus in India in 1983 after studying in India, Turkish, Iranian and other countries for more than ten years, and was later made into a movie. It is also said that Jesus went to India to study Buddhism at the age of 12, and returned to his hometown of Israel after 10.
As early as 1894, Russian historian Notovich also said in his research works that he had personally read two volumes of Tibetan scriptures in a temple at the foot of the Himalayas, which recorded that when 14 years old, Jesus fled his marriage and went to India with businessmen to study here for six years. Later, for various reasons, he moved to Nepal and continued to study Buddhism for six years.
Some history also says that Jesus thought the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha were so profound that it would be difficult for them to accept them at once if they were passed on directly to the world. So he took this particularly simple spirit of fraternity that did not violate the teachings of the Buddha as a foothold for spreading Buddhism and let the world generally pursue it.
Coincidentally, in the four gospels written by four Christian saints and regarded as orthodox by the Holy See, the story of Jesus from 12 to 30 is completely blank. The reason why this experience was completely deleted is that some people speculate that the Holy See is unwilling to admit that Jesus has something to do with Buddhism, otherwise it will damage the authority of Christianity.
In fact, the Christian Bible was not created by Jesus himself, but based on the four gospels. After more than 1600 years, it was edited by more than 40 authors of different times. Therefore, in some aspects, everyone is still worth thinking about.
Of course, I don't want to prove anything by saying this today. I just mentioned Sun Yat-sen and the old monk Xu Yun, which reminds me of their conversation. In fact, in the final analysis, a good religion is for the benefit of mankind and all sentient beings. Apart from doing good and being altruistic, it will never bring anxiety to the whole society. Now Christianity is very prosperous in western countries. From the president of the country to the ordinary people, more than 90% people believe in Christ, which has played an incredible role in restraining their own behavior. Imagine, if there is no Christian guidance to do good, and most people are mercenary and only pay attention to immediate interests, then human morality will definitely decline and the whole world will be in turmoil. So human beings should develop in the direction of truth, goodness and beauty. If we abandon the moral constraints of religion and the fine traditions of ancient times, what will the world become in the end? You can imagine.
The material development is too fast now. People who had cars more than ten years ago now have two. Many people used to live in bungalows, but now they have moved into high-rise buildings. However, people's hearts do not feel real peace and happiness because of the rapid development of material. Why is this? It is because the moral concept has not been improved accordingly.
You know, development means not only material development. When the material reaches a certain level, for some people, money becomes a pile of numbers instead of a source of happiness. Even with more and more wealth, their happiness is getting less and less. Therefore, external material wealth can't make up for the spiritual emptiness. If a person has a problem with his values, he will be busy all his life and will not be happy as a result.
Then, with money, how can we get real happiness? It should be used to help others and do good deeds. Nowadays, many people have financial resources, power and ability, but they never do good deeds and don't care about people around them. In this case, money is the same as nothing, and its true value cannot be reflected.
Of course, for some people, there may not be that much money, but even so, you should at least have a kind heart. Bill yesterday? When Gates gave a speech at Peking University, a classmate asked: "College students have enthusiasm, but their ability is limited. What can they do for charity? " At that time, he replied: "Not everyone should use money for charity, but they must have the idea of doing good." As long as you have this heart, you will have this ability more or less. "
We need to think about these issues. In fact, I can't say much in a class, just give you a hint.