I watched the movie "Edge of Tomorrow"
Lu Zhenguan
Movie Synopsis
Edge of Tomorrow is a 2014 American film based on the light novel Killing Samsara by Hiro Sakurasaka. This is a movie with a limited-time repeating plot theme, similar movies include "A Day of the Groundhog", "Terrorist Cruise" and so on.
In my opinion, these kinds of films are all about reincarnation. If a person has nothing after death, our life planning should be based on realistic enjoyment, enjoying every moment, even a little fanaticism and passion, until the last day of life. If there is reincarnation and reincarnation after death, what should we do? That's what this film is about.
The general plot is as follows: The earth is invaded by alien "mimics". Mimics are "perfectly evolved overlord creatures" commanded by a centralized Mimic Omega. As long as a rare mimetic α is killed, Ω will rewind the time to 24 hours ago, remember all the details of what will happen, and prepare for the human counterattack. Cage is accidentally spattered with alpha blood from death, which grants him the same ability as Omega - every time he dies, he reverts to a certain point in time. He used the opportunity of constant regeneration to increase his ability, and finally killed Omega.
reincarnation
The protagonist Cage, in English Cage means "cage". Cage was originally a major military reporter. Because he offended the general, he was demoted to a second-class soldier and forcibly sent to the front line. He died within a few minutes of the battle. However, he came back to life, back twenty-four hours ago, remembering all the details, but no one believed him, so he had to die and suffer constantly. This symbolizes the pain of samsara.
endless suffering
The world we live in is a big cage. Most people are not aware of it. From birth to death, they do not know that they are trapped in the cage. Some people vaguely feel that they are not happy, that they are full of restrictions, and that in the end they must die. Death is an unpleasant thing for most people, and Buddhism calls it a death demon.
In the movie, Cage is reincarnated for twenty-four hours, the time is very short, and most people certainly do not want to suffer repeatedly for this day. If you have 80 years of life, everyone will feel fine. But is the difference that big? As long as it's a period of time, it's impermanence, not eternity, right? Now you can think back on your journey from birth to the present. (Someone said: It feels like a moment.) Yes, it seems like a moment. When you are 80 years old, when you look back on your life, you should feel the same way.
There is a lot of pain in reincarnation that repeats over and over again, graduating from junior high school to take the high school entrance examination, graduating from high school to go to university, graduating from university to find a job, then finding a partner, buying a house, raising children, and taking care of elderly and sick parents. After doing these things, I also get old, and I have to endure all kinds of ailments before I die.
Now is the era of peace and prosperity, and we suffer less. In 2009, when I graduated with a Ph.D., my classmates were all looking for jobs. There is a Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology. A university in Chengdu told him to go, but he was very unwilling. He felt that if he went to Chengdu, although it would be very easy, he would not develop much. If he stayed in Beijing, although it was hard work, he could make a difference. . In the end, he finally found a job in Beijing. He told me that he had only been looking for a job for two or three months, but he felt very tired, as if five years had passed. He is still someone who has found a job, and those who have not found a job are only more troubled.
If you are unlucky, it will be more painful when you encounter war. It is said that the Song Dynasty had a population of 100 million, and 70 million died when it was destroyed by Mongolia. The pain of being killed all at once is relatively short-lived. The living people have no food to eat, drink a bowl of porridge with almost no rice every day, and starve to death after half a year, and the pain will drag on for a long time. In the reincarnation of life after life, there will always be such suffering, so do you want it?
way out of suffering
When Cage found himself caught in reincarnation, his first thought was to heal it.
Most people have never thought about how to face death. Only when they are about to die do they find that they have no way to face death calmly. Death is just that, there are many pains attached to life, often more than death.
Now people don't know that they will have to suffer so much in the future, so they think: "My life is not bad, I can pursue fame, fortune, spouse, social status, these things I want." But so what? At that time, you still have to get old, get sick, and die, and you have to repeat this cycle every life. Those who don't know will enjoy it in time, until death, those who know will go to the path of liberation and achieve the fruit of Arahantship, and don't come back after death. Then you can see why some people make a vow: "Don't be born again after death, and cut off samsara forever."
Forever cut off life and death
Cage chooses not to reincarnate, is this possible? Theravada Buddhism cultivates and becomes an arahant, and after death there is Nirvana with no remainder, which is "existed after perpetual cessation". I used to tell others, "The goal of Theravada Buddhist practice is nirvana, and nirvana is never to be born again." Most people didn't like it: "If I don't have anything, then why am I still cultivating this?" Nirvana has the advantage of being forever. Don't suffer these sins anymore. Look at those who commit suicide. They feel that death is a relief because of the pain, but they don’t know that they are not an arahant, and they will definitely reincarnate after death, and there is no way to get rid of the suffering of life and death.
away from the battlefield
Most people do not want to end life and death forever, so it is also necessary to build a happy place for everyone to live temporarily and avoid troubles, such as the world of bliss.
There is also such a plot in the movie, the general used his power to transfer the only son of his cronies to Australia. But this is only a temporary relief from the threat of death. If humanity is defeated, death will spread to Australia sooner or later. In Buddhism, you can ask the "powerful" Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, etc. to take you to the Land of Ultimate Bliss, without having to face death or all kinds of suffering in life for the time being. However, the reincarnation of the lotus in the Land of Ultimate Bliss is still "birth", and there must be "old age and death" when there is life, and there is no way to ultimately avoid the suffering of birth and death.
Buddha and Bodhi
The Way of Buddha and Bodhi, also known as the Way of Bodhisattva, is to stay in the cycle of birth and death, bravely fight against the four demons, completely eliminate the four demons, and turn the suffering of life and death into the great Nirvana of constant, joy, self, and purity. Nirvana can also benefit sentient beings forever. A person who cultivates the Bodhisattva way must go through three asamkhya kalpas before he can become a Buddha.
There is a game called "Onmyoji". A friend gave up after upgrading the shikigami to five stars, because he knew that it would be very difficult to go up to one star. The game stipulates that the star upgrade is exponential growth. To upgrade a shikigami, you need to consume some materials. These materials are called "dog food", and dog food is also divided into stars. For example, if I want to raise a 2-star shikigami to 3-star, I need two 2-star dog food, to raise a 3-star shikigami to 4-star, I need three 3-star dog food, and to raise a 4-star shikigami to 5-star You need four four-star dog food, and so on. Therefore, before giving a star to a shikigami, you must first upgrade a lot of dog food, and each star upgrade is a level above the square. Therefore, players spend a lot of time and energy in order to play the game well, upgrading day and night. This is called "liver", and it is a verb that means to persist in doing one thing even if the liver is damaged. Later, the friend felt so desperate that he simply stopped playing.
The level of difficulty in the way of Buddha and Bodhi far exceeds that of "Onmyoji". How difficult is it? From the moment you begin to attain Buddhahood, you have to go through three asamkhya kalpas. The cycle of the world becoming, living, deteriorating, and empty is called a catastrophe. For example, it is said that the earth has been five or six billion years since it was created. Several billion years. A catastrophe is already terrible, right?
What the heck is an Asamji? It is a large number used by Indians. The first large number is called "hundred thousand". One hundred times one thousand is one hundred thousand, or 10 to the fifth power. The second large number is called "kuli", which is the square of "hundred thousand", that is, 10 to the 10th power. The third large number is "unchanged" and is the square of the second large number, which is 10 to the 20th power. The fourth large number "Nayuta", which is the square of the third large number, has now become 10 to the 40th power. "Asamkhiya" is the 104th large number, which is beyond imagination.
Think of this as a promotion game, and accumulate merit as dog food. Doing 100,000 good deeds is the first level, as long as you do a few good deeds every day, you can definitely accomplish it in this life. Next, you have to advance to the second level, do a billion good deeds, then the third level, the fourth level... to the one hundred and fourth level, you have to go back and forth three times. When ordinary people hear this concept, they will think: "Hey... I don't want to play this "Onmyoji" until the fifth level, now it's level 104, and each level is squared! For such a long time, you let me I keep going to the world to suffer these sins, even if it’s a game, I can’t stand it.”
A person who knows that he has to endure the sufferings of life and death for three asamkhya kalpas and is willing to arouse bodhicitta is a bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas are heroes in the crowd. They have courageous wisdom and perseverance, and can benefit all living beings without end.
The positive effect of reincarnation
The squad leader said: "War is a great savior, a melting pot that can temper true heroes. There is no distinction between high and low on the battlefield, no matter what kind of waste you are when you come." Change "war" to "reincarnation" ", "Battlefield" is changed to "Dojo", and this sentence becomes: "Reincarnation is a great savior, a melting pot that can temper true heroes. There is no distinction between high and low on the dojo, no matter when you come. What kind of waste."
Cage was originally a coward. He was greedy for life, selfish, and incompetent, but later he became a fighting hero. What made him? Because he can reincarnate again and again, although each time is only 24 hours, but each time can make him grow in wisdom, including skills and knowledge. Also, he can use the opportunity to increase his fortune. Why is growing merit so important? Everyone, pay attention, after Cage is caught, he will be sent to Class J. The squad leader said he was a deserter, so everyone looked down on him, but at the last moment, he persuaded the people of Class J to follow him and work hard to eliminate him. Ω. Why is he able to do this? Because he has helped the people in class J many times. For example, Cage knew that the Master Chief was about to find out that the people in Class J were gambling, so he ran over quickly, covered the cards, and the squad leader didn't see it. He winked at them to let them know that he was good with them. partner.
Although reincarnation is the cause of our suffering, reincarnation is also a place to grow wisdom and merit—an astonishing discovery. We were originally ordinary people, but as long as we start to practice, we will grow a little bit in each life. After continuous reincarnation, we will have the supernatural powers and wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Every life you help others, you die and regenerate, and your memories are replaced, as if you have reshuffled the cards, but every time you help others, it is useful. These good deeds will be recorded in the eighth sense and become your blessings. Ordinary people do not know this principle, so they will harm others and benefit themselves. A Bodhisattva will take every opportunity to help others, because he knows that he must accumulate boundless merit and wisdom before he can become a Buddha.
Q: His growth in each life is because he has memories, but we don't.
Answer: We have it too, because we have the eighth sense.
If we will be reincarnated in every life, and there will be karma, in fact, this tells us one thing: there must be something in reincarnation that will never change and can remember everything about you. This memory device will collect the good and bad things you do, and even your skills, so there are geniuses in the world. Su Dongpo said, "It is too late to read a book in this life", which means that genius is the result of learning in past lives. On the surface, it looks like we all start from scratch, but in fact, everyone's talents are different. The attitude of others towards you is also related to the emotions of the past life. You have been kind to him, and he will treat you differently in this life. This memory device is indestructible, it can store everything you have done, and even make you become a Buddha. Without this memory device, it is impossible for a person to become a Buddha.
Who is the real hero? Of course it is Buddha. He subdued four kinds of demons: the demons, the demons of the five aggregates, the demons of affliction, and the demons of death. In Buddhism, the Buddha is called "Daxiong", and the "Daxiong Hall" in the temple is dedicated to the Buddha.
"Dojo" is the place of practice, "there is no distinction between high and low on the dojo." When you first started practicing, you knew nothing but an ordinary person—so what? As long as you dare to make a vow to follow the path of the Bodhisattva, in the cycle of life after life, you will grow in each life, and eventually you will become a true hero. What if you dare not make a wish? You still have to suffer in the cycle of life after life.
four kinds of demons
Demon
In a narrow sense, celestial demons refer to the sentient beings who transform themselves into the heavens at the top of the Desire Realm, including demon kings, demon people and witches. In a broad sense, celestial demons also include ghosts, gods, asuras, and other transformed sentient beings that can obstruct practitioners.
A single mimic symbolizes the demon, the Bodhisattva takes refuge in the Three Treasures, and relies on the protection of the heavenly dragons and eight parts, and no longer fears the demon, just like in the movie, Cage can easily deal with a single mimic when he puts on a mecha.
undead
Alpha symbolizes the undead, which guards the entrance to the future.
Most people are afraid of death. Even a hero, when faced with death, has all kinds of helplessness: "Death before leaving the apprenticeship often makes the hero burst into tears." Prestige, power, all vanished.
As long as a bodhisattva develops the bodhicitta and is willing to keep coming back to the world to practice the bodhisattva way, he will no longer be afraid of the devil of death. Like every time Cage is injured, he must commit suicide to make himself reincarnated quickly, because he knows that only death can be reborn. In this case, there is no need to fear death.
Five Aggregates Demon
The five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness, that is, the sum total of body and mind. Ordinary people regard the sum of body and mind as the true law. He thinks that the five aggregates can exist forever, but in reality it is impossible. People will surely die, and then the five aggregates will be completely replaced. The real thing is the memory that doesn't change in that cycle. The Bodhisattva sees this very clearly, so he doesn't care about the benefits of the five aggregates at all. It doesn't matter if he dies, and twenty years later he will be a hero again. In order to save sentient beings, Bodhisattvas constantly sacrifice their own lives, and even lose their heads, eyes, hands, feet, etc. That's how Cage is, often dying in battles, even with no bones left, but he doesn't care at all.
General Brigham and Master Chief Farrell symbolize the five aggregates, because they hold the five aggregates as reality and stubbornly reject evidence to the contrary. The Bodhisattva has already subdued the demons of the five aggregates after he saw the Dao, but the sentient beings he wants to save are all attached to the demons of the five aggregates. Therefore, he must have expedients and skills, and more importantly, he must have incomparable patience and constant To educate all beings until they accept the truth that the five aggregates are empty.
trouble demon
Ω symbolizes "taking", that is, taking and distinguishing, it is the root of all troubles. The army of mimics under the command of Ω symbolizes "being", that is, all the troubles of the three realms. The Bodhisattva sees the Tao and attains Nirvana, which comes from the purity of nature. This is when the Bodhisattva subdues the "acquisition" on the ground of vision, and all other afflictions can be easily resolved.
All afflictions come from the distinction of the eighth sense. The eighth sense can store these seeds of memory. Every time we make a deed, we will change the seeds contained in the eighth sense, and it will show the results in the future. From the computer's point of view, the accumulation of seeds in the eighth consciousness is the input; the arising of the present is the output. Your five aggregates are the output of the eighth consciousness, and even the mountains, rivers, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
There are two so-called outputs. The pretense of your past actions, speech, mind, and deeds becomes your present Five Aggregates, which is completely determined by your corresponding eighth consciousness. But the mountains, rivers, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars are different. They are jointly induced by the seeds of the eighth sense of common karma and sentient beings. The universe sensed by so many people is equivalent to the world in a computer game, and we play this game here. Sentient beings do not know the truth, so they are deeply immersed in suffering. It is unreasonable for them to suffer these sufferings. We must find a way to save them.
Compassion and Wisdom Growth
know the truth
The Diamond Sutra says that the dharma is "like a dream bubble." Now think about it, if this is a dream, and you have a lot of troubles in the dream, what is the most important thing? is to wake up! You must know that this is a dream before you can leave the troubles of a dream. If you don't know it's a dream, it doesn't matter what you do or don't do. The so-called "acquisition" is to mistake the dream for the reality.
Every time Cage was reborn, a "little devil" scolded him rudely: "Stand up, trash! Line up in front of my heels, trash!" But then Cage didn't mind at all, because "Little Demon" will definitely say this. In fact, people do not have absolute free will. Most of the time, when a certain condition occurs, he will do a certain thing, just like a computer program. You know that people can't help themselves, so you won't take it seriously.
Free will is an illusion. On the surface, it is you who decides, but it is actually determined by karma, including the worldview formed by education, and the character and habits that have been cultivated for a long time. There are very few karmas that we can transform in each life, and because of this, it takes three asamkhya kalpas to become a Buddha. But the Bodhisattva will not be afraid of this, because he already knows that these things are like dreams, no different from computer games. If you verify this truth in the present view, you will be able to distinguish the evidence and leaks. This is the most important supernatural power. It is wisdom rather than a special ability. Pursuing the Bodhisattva Way with all the leakage is the supernatural power of the game. For example, Cage knew how to make a move for Skinner, and he could defeat him with his eyes closed. This implies that the troubles faced by the Bodhisattva to save the masses are constantly repeated. As long as he has enough patience, he can easily overcome the troubles.
Sacrifice, Patience and Enduring Patience
At first, Kai Qi, who was greedy for life and feared death, was an ordinary person, and he did not know when to start practicing. He belonged to the extraordinary Nirvana species. After experiencing the suffering of samsara, he attempts to escape from samsara, which is considered to be the shravaka nature. Under Rita's persuasion, his thinking changed, trying to overcome mimics in reincarnation, which is equivalent to initiating bodhicitta and practicing Bodhisattva Dharma. At this time, he was a newly learned Bodhisattva, and he had to follow the Bodhisattva of long learning before he could fight against the Four Demons. Until he understands that only by fighting the four demons in person can he be victorious, and he finally transformed into a Bodhisattva who has learned for a long time, possessing the nature of a bodhisattva.
At first, Cage had a mentality of dependence, because Rita was a fighting hero, he told Rita where there would be any danger, so that Rita could go to the mountain, and then he could drive the car. But even though he told Rita where there was danger, she still couldn't cope with the ever-changing battlefield. The only way to the end is to train yourself to become proficient in combat skills, and finally you can complete this task.
In the same way, the Buddhist scriptures tell you that "the five aggregates are impermanent, suffering, empty, and not-self." You seem to understand them, but the question is, in reality, a trouble comes, do you know that it is one of the five aggregates kind? For example, when someone suddenly scolds you, you get angry and think, "I was scolded by him." At that moment, you lose your right view. In fact, that person is one of the five aggregates, and you yourself are also one of the five aggregates. This kind of thing must be realized in the practice of meditation to know. You listen to the truths that others tell you at the level of language and words. You have to observe the practice by yourself. You cannot rely on others to observe the practice or practice meditation. You need to complete the task yourself. So in the movie, initially Cage couldn't succeed if he wanted to rely on others.
Cage and Rita find a helicopter, but can't get past it because Cage has cravings. Cage had been there so many times, he even knew where the coffee was, where the keys were, and that Rita liked three sugar cubes. But as long as the plane is launched, Rita will die, so Cage has been dragging time. Rita found out and asked, "Have we been here many times? We have to get on a helicopter." Cage said, "As soon as you launch the mimic, it will attack you." Rita said, "I'm a soldier. , I am willing, I just won't leave anyway." Cage said, "Then you will die here, I can't save you." In fact, death is nothing to her. Bodhisattvas have long known that if they do not die now, they will still have to die in the future. They have long been accustomed to the suffering of life and death.
This is the difference between Duanta and Cage, she has already let go of craving, at least she will not let craving get in the way of the task. In the end, Cage also found that he had to let go of his craving and find Ω on his own. This symbolizes that Cage has transformed into a long-learned Bodhisattva.
Long Xue Bodhisattvas are different from ordinary people in that they have earth-shattering virtues. Rita symbolizes a long-learned Bodhisattva. She doesn't care about other people's insults. At least she won't give up her salvation because someone has insulted her. The object she wants to save is all human beings, including those who have insulted and misunderstood her. It's not just vague slogans, but concrete actions.
General Brigham was very stubborn. Rita kept telling him how to get rid of the troublesome demon, but the general didn't listen every time, and sent Rita to a mental hospital, and even sent him to an autopsy. But Rita doesn't care about this, she still persuades every time, even if she keeps failing, she keeps coming back again and again and keeps trying. The last time the general said, "Okay, then I'll bring this to you." Cage was also taken aback. Why did he fail before, but suddenly succeeded this time, what does this mean? Failed persuasion is not entirely useless.
ease of beings
Buddhism believes that the aggregate of actions is born of the eighth consciousness, so people's behavior has been determined by the seed of the eighth consciousness. However, if all the formations have been determined, all living beings cannot be transformed, and they will always be ordinary people. From the point of view that sentient beings can still be saved, it is obvious that the khandhas have the possibility of changing from the outside, but this possibility is very small. Because the behavior orientation of sentient beings is a habit that has been cultivated over many kalpas, it is deeply rooted, and it is extremely difficult to change the outer conditions of this world. It's as if the Earth orbits the ecliptic, often colliding with cometary remnants to form meteor showers, each time the impact is small enough to be ignored, but long enough to be observed. The same is true of human behavior. In the past, under the influence of wrong views, evil deeds were created. Evil deeds instilled the eighth sense of consciousness and became the seeds of evil, forming a vicious circle. It is difficult to obey the teachings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. For this reason, many scriptures say that sentient beings are "strong and difficult to transform."
However, the Lotus Sutra says, "All sentient beings, etc., can be easily transformed." The World-Honored One pointed out the key point: "What is the reason? All sentient beings, all sentient beings will surely be saved. In fact, there is no standard between hard and easy. If we look at the time of year, month, world, and kalpa, the transformation of sentient beings is very limited, and it can be said that it is hard to become strong. All sentient beings have become very easy. The difficulty of saving sentient beings is also a kind of affliction. As long as you continue to learn the skillful and convenient ways to save sentient beings, and you are extremely proficient, it is just a routine.
game magic
Shravaka thinks that it is not worth it to endure the pain of reincarnation for such a long time, but the Bodhisattva has a completely different view on reincarnation, and he treats it as a game. The Lotus Sutra says that Bodhisattvas do three things: play with supernatural powers, purify the Buddha's land, and achieve sentient beings. Achieving sentient beings and purifying the land of Buddhas is actually one thing, because he constantly achieves sentient beings, and at the same time, he also honors his future land of Buddhas.
The Bodhisattva has wisdom and can understand that everything is like a dream, so he can use the mood of the game to complete the Buddha's Bodhi path, and finally become a Buddha. Even after attaining Buddhahood, he will not obtain evidence of Nirvana without remainder, and he will continue to save sentient beings until all sentient beings become Buddhas. This is something that I don’t know how long it will take to achieve it, but for a Bodhisattva it makes no difference, because since the Mahayana view, he has already attained the pure Nirvana of his own nature. To save him on the Bodhisattva path is nothing but a fantasy Buddha thing.
Q&A after class
Q: Teacher, Cage doesn't care about dying because he knows he'll come back every time he dies, they know that death is an illusory thing, so he doesn't care at all, he looks like he lost his head or cut his own flesh, but The cut is not the real thing. Cutting meat is illusory, so he does these things fearlessly, is that understandable?
A: Yes, after so many reincarnations, no matter how real something is, it will become very fake.
Question: Our five aggregates, including the mountains, rivers and the earth, are all illusory, so our suffering is illusory. Since everyone's suffering is illusory, why should we save it?
A: Although it is illusory, the pain is still unbearable. Like we see a man having a nightmare, his eyes are closed and he is struggling in pain. You know that dream is fake, but he doesn't know, will you wake him up?
Q: I won't wake him up because he looks miserable, but he wakes up with nothing, so I don't have to wake him.
A: In the big dream of life, if you don't tell him all this is illusory, it will be difficult for him to wake up.
Question: All beings are equal, but in terms of the enjoyment of life, for example, tigers eat sheep and rabbits, they are very happy, and being eaten or bitten to death is definitely painful. Another example is that a chicken may be eaten by a tiger, but it also eats a caterpillar, so that their pain experience is different. Second, I think that life seems to have different forms of problems. For example, when we see a caterpillar, we may think it is ugly and a pest, but the caterpillar turns into a butterfly in one cycle of its life. Poetry praises butterflies, but does not praise caterpillars. But the butterfly is just a caterpillar with a new shell, so the caterpillar is also another kind of nirvana, right? Sometimes I think about the form of life, like the Mongolians 2,000 years ago. After they died, they threw their corpses into the wild and let the wolves eat. Make life peaceful. After the Tibetans die, they throw people on the celestial burial platform to feed the eagle, thinking that the eagle will take him to the sky, and my body looks eaten, but it is actually a transformation. Sometimes I feel like are we just vague about the state of life?
A: I will answer the first question first. All beings are equal, but look unequal. Buddhism has the so-called "dharma of doing" and "dharma of inaction". The conditioned law is something that arises, dwells, and perishes, and the unconditioned dharma is something that does not arise, dwell, and perish. Therefore, the various life forms you just mentioned, such as tigers, caterpillars, chickens, and so on, belong to the conditioned dharma. Constantly changing. The form temporarily manifested in this process of change seems to you to be unequal, but where is the equality? The inaction part is equal. As I said just now, we all have a memory device, and this device will store some data. Some of these data are equal, and some are unequal. For example, if a sentient being is reincarnated as an adult, he can see, hear, smell, and taste. After death, he is reincarnated into a fish that cannot see things in the deep sea. Even so, there will still be in his memory device that he will be reincarnated in the future. Seeds you need when you need them, and leave them there to come in handy later. That's the seed equality part. The unequal part is shown in that because its fabrications are different, the seeds will become different things after fabrication, some become human, and some become animals. More importantly, the container in which everyone can store seeds is inaction, and it will not be changed. All the seeds it collects are all in one true dharma realm, and this real dharma realm has never arisen or died. You now think that various phenomena arise. For example, a person is born, but this birth is an illusion, and this person has never been born. It's like a person appears on the computer screen, but it's not a real person, the screen never changes. The Bodhisattva can understand the truth in this respect, which is called the One True Dharma Realm. The mind that can be stored is the law of inaction, and the real Dharma world is also the law of inaction. All sentient beings have an equal mind body that can be stored, and they have always lived in the real Dharma realm. I don't know. The Buddhist scriptures say that "mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are three indistinguishables." This is true indistinguishability.
Question: Just now, the teacher said that it is through the eighth consciousness. In fact, we all have memories of past lives, but ordinary people do not realize it. Whether or not to make a wish has been set for you in your memory, so I don’t make a wish now because my virtue is not enough, and I don’t have the ability to make a wish?
A: You can put it this way, another way of saying it is that the conditions for you to make the Bodhi Vow are not yet mature.
Question: So I don't make a wish now, and I don't have to regret it, is that so?
A: There is no way to force a bodhicitta, but if you don’t want to suffer unjustly, you’d better get bodhicitta earlier. why? Unless you attain Arahantship, you can break out of samsara, and everyone else will continue to be reborn in the samsara of birth and death. If you follow the path of the Bodhisattva, you will continue to grow in the cycle of birth and death, otherwise you will just suffer this kind of sin in vain, and it will be of no use to you. If a person falls into the three evil paths and leaves the world for too long, there will be basically nothing left of what he has learned before. Since a long time ago, there have been Bodhisattvas who have been persuading you to learn Buddhism. I am here to persuade you now. If you don't listen, I don't mind, and I will find another suitable opportunity to persuade you.
Question: You said that we are constantly practicing in every life, but you also said that if we fall into the three evil realms, our practice will be interrupted, and our memory will be lost. How can we lose this?
Answer: If you haven't touched it for a long time, you will become rusty. For example, learning a musical instrument. After you have learned a certain level, you don't touch it for three or five years. The previous learning is equivalent to wasted. There was an English teacher who was mentally ill, and after a long time, he wrote the English letter C upside down. In the same way, if you have been in the world, you must be wiser. Assuming that you have been human in many lifetimes, you must be very good at reading, because many books you have read in past lifetimes, especially ancient books. If you study mathematics in this life, if you are reincarnated as a human being in the future, mathematics will definitely be better than others. But if you are not born as a human, but reincarnated as a dog, you will be a dog for hundreds of lifetimes. When you come back to be a human, you will not know how many calamities have passed, and of course everything you have learned before will be forgotten.
Q: Our understanding of the state of life is different. In the past, I was a materialist, I believed that people would not have a second life transformation, but now I find that only by believing in reincarnation can I have no fear of death, and my life can become happier, because I want to be happy, so I I am willing to believe in the reincarnation form of life, but I cannot find the chain logically, but I feel that as long as I believe in reincarnation, I can achieve happiness.
A: It is good to believe in reincarnation, but it is inevitable that you will be unsteady until you find evidence. Fortunately, many people are now working on the subject, including near-death experiences, hypnotic retrospectives, and children's past-life memories, all supporting the existence of reincarnation. Those who have confirmed reincarnation will not be afraid of death and can continue to enjoy themselves with greater peace of mind than before.
But have you ever thought about a question, won't you get tired of it? Playing the same game a million times, can you still be full of interest? If you're in a relationship, the other person tells you, "I love only one of you." But she doesn't know how many people she's said the same thing to in the past. Then you say, "We'll be together forever and ever." That's actually impossible, you can't be married to one person all the time. Once you know the truth is like this, you won't get tired of it.
Question: In the end, whether we enter Nirvana, or enter a state of annihilation, what kind of state is this?
A: This is an important question. Buddhism talks about what can be born and what is born, and what can be born is the eighth consciousness, which itself is not reincarnated and is always in Nirvana. Everything in the three realms (phenomenal realm) is born of the eighth consciousness. The phenomena of the world, including the five aggregates and the mountains, rivers and the earth, are equivalent to the images born on the movie screen. Ordinary people don't know that they are the Dharma that they have created, and they are unwilling to admit the fact that the Dharma that they have created will definitely be destroyed. This is the attachment of all beings. The practice method of Theravada is to eliminate the phenomenal world, leaving only the eighth consciousness, which is called Nirvana without remainder. The Bodhisattva discovered that since the phenomenal world is born of the eighth consciousness, from another perspective, isn’t it all the eighth consciousness? As long as those differences are ignored, the whole is one true Dharma Realm. This is the pure and natural Nirvana attained by Mahayana seers.
Just now you said that you would not wake up the person in the nightmare. This should be the current situation. Once you know the truth and see the pain of others, you will feel the same instead of doing nothing. Why? The seeds of the eighth consciousness are intertwined, and there is no boundary between them, so the lower your attachment, the stronger your feelings for others' suffering.
Question: In other words, the eighth sense between me and you, or between people, is connected.
answer.
Question: So you said that if you are not attached to the five aggregates, you will feel the pain of others.
Answer: You will still go to relieve his pain. There is no need for a reason for this matter. It is just an influx of compassion. This is still the seed of the eighth consciousness. There is nothing you can do if you don’t do it.
Question: Is it because we are one that I am suffering so much that I have to save everyone so that I will not suffer? So I am willing to stay and save the last person.
Answer: Exactly.
Question: Teacher, I have a real problem. For example, someone came to invade us and killed a lot of people. So should I recite my Buddha in the room, or should I fight?
A: As I said earlier, when you have a nightmare, know that it is a dream, not what you do or don't do in the dream. What we do or don't do is not up to us. Sometimes you think you have free will, but it's not at all. There are very few behaviors that we can reverse. It's already 99% predestined, so you don't have to worry about it then. What to do, karma will decide for you. You have to know that this is a dream bubble, if you can know, everything is liberation; if you don't know, everything is bound.
Question: So if the enemy comes, it doesn't matter if I fight the enemy or not.
A: It depends on the situation at that time. Suppose you are a young man and the state calls you to do military service, you have to go. If you were eighty years old then, and you were chanting Buddha in the house, there was nothing wrong, right? The situation at that time (predestination) and the seeds (cause) formed by the past practice will make you decide whether to go or not. This is not something you can decide.
You think you're a free man, but that's not the case. Reasonable people will know that it has been decided 99% of the time that you can sit here today or what you have to say in a moment. You are living in this cage, and the things you can change are very limited. You have to make the most of that little bit of autonomy, twisting it a little at a time until it makes an amazing difference. We have an infinite amount of time to do this without worrying about running out of time. We just change a little bit every time, don't expect too much, or you'll have a lot of frustration.
Question: I feel that what you are talking about today is very close to life, because it seems that I don’t have to think about what my next life will be. For example, when I encounter something, I tell myself that I must not be angry this time, but I am controlled by the situation, and I am still angry, so can I change a little this time, and change a little next time, I will make this time The next thing is treated as if it were reincarnation.
Answer: Exactly. For example, when people greet my mother, I get angry and scold them back. Every time someone scolds me, I react like this. Like this, the same thing keeps repeating, and you never get out of it. From another point of view, isn't this reincarnation? So what are we going to do?
Let me tell you, afflictions and ignorance have been waiting for us there long ago. If you didn't prepare first, when the realm came, it would definitely be a sheep entering the tiger's mouth. We need to understand the physical nature of defilements in advance. I said just now that all afflictions originate from distinguishing between different things. If you think that something is the real Dharma, you will be more truthful. Sometimes when we say "So-and-so is serious," it means that he thinks I'm teasing or bullying him, so he hits me. On the other hand, as long as you are illusory, you know that he is controlled by his own troubles and ignorance, and he can't help venting on you. When you know this, everything in front of you is like a dream bubble, why should you care about it? You can even know that this five aggregates body now appears as a person in a short time and space, but in the end, it is nothing, and only the memory and the things contained in it can survive. If you can recognize this, don't you already arm yourself before you have contact with defilements? You know what "action" the other person (annoyance) will have, and you know how to deal with it. All troubles are not a problem at this time, you can easily overcome them.
Q: A mosquito flew over and I wanted to shoot it, but I don't want to kill. But if I don't shoot it to death, the mosquito will give the child malaria, and the mother will be very sad when he dies. If the mosquito survives, it is going to kill people. I shoot it to death, end its sinful life, and let it get rid of the end of hell. I think it is very pleasing to do so.
Answer: This is called "drama". You have misunderstood the precepts of Buddhism. "Don't kill" in the Five Precepts of Buddhism means not killing people, and it doesn't include killing mosquitoes. Don’t think about the Buddhist precepts so terrifyingly. If you can’t kill mosquitoes, then there will be parasites in your stomach. Wouldn’t we be breaking the precepts when we go to eat insecticides? Buddhism is not so unreasonable.
If you know it's a dream, doing it or not doing it is liberation; if you don't know it's a dream, doing it or not doing it is a bondage. Knowing this truth, you can fight if you want, you don't need to construct reasons to convince yourself, because it is superfluous. It's better if you say "greatly happy", because you just want to kill it! But have you ever thought about how you want to kill it? In fact, you can't help but feel that doing this will be cool, right? It doesn't matter if you want to fight, because this is in line with the good law in the world, and everyone thinks that killing mosquitoes is no problem. To change yourself, you can only make small changes. You must not try to make big changes. That is the attempt of people who do not understand the habits of afflictions. If you know that defilement or ignorance is powerful, you will never want to correct it all at once, it is impossible.
Ignorance and Anxiety is a big boss, and in computer games, it is definitely the kind of demon king that occupies half of the screen. What are you going to do with this demon king? Do you think you can kill it by firing a cannonball? Not so good, you have to dodge carefully when it comes over, and hit it when it's not paying attention. For example, I'm a cheapskate, and I get angry about anything, so what should I do? When you find yourself angry, carefully "dodge" it so that it doesn't cause major damage, and modify it a little while it's not that serious. It's like if you keep hitting a big boss, it doesn't seem to have any effect on it, but after you hit a lot, he will still be defeated by you.
In Buddhism, the first big boss is the self-incarnated self-seeing. After the voice-hearer sees the Tao, it may take seven lives to return to the human world to break it and become an arahant. This is the first demon king. The second demon king is dust and sand delusion. After a bodhisattva first initiates his mind, it takes three asamkhayal kalpas to break it and finally become a Buddha. This is definitely not a simple matter. Some people say that he will never make any mistakes again or that he will never get angry again, that is because he has no real insight into afflictions and ignorance, and he cannot see clearly how afflictions and ignorance control his actions, words, thoughts and actions. By "control" I mean almost total control, like a lord controlling a slave. Don't think you can get rid of this unless you are a saint.
Note: This article is from Lu Zhenguan’s speech at the Invisible Man Cafe in Wuhan on December 17, 2017
To practice Buddhism, the following articles are recommended:
1. The order, type and result of practicing Buddhism
2. How to learn positive Buddhism?
3. What is the true meaning of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha?
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