PureInsight | June 10, 2008
[PureInsight.org] There is a
hidden cause behind love and hate and it cannot be easily explained. If
cultivators cannot let go of this kind of sentimentality, they can
easily ruin their cultivation!
The deepest love can turn into unforgettable hate when it is
unrequited. Who can really see through our mundane world? Let us
consider a tragic story about a wounded heart.
When the young Sakyamuni left his wife and fortune, he went into the
mountains to search for the Tao. Consequently, his beautiful young wife
wasted her youth, beauty and love. When the crown prince was starved to
skin and bones in the wilderness, the lonely princess also could not
eat or drink in the palace. When Sakyamuni was starved until he passed
out, a shepherd girl gave him some goat's milk, and the lonely princess
reluctantly swallowed some porridge. When Sakyamuni obtained
enlightenment under the bodi tree and helped countless people obtain
salvation, the princess was getting lonelier and older. When Sakyamuni
returned to offer salvation to the people in the palace, the king led
his other sons and courtiers to greet Sakyamuni, but the princess
stayed in her room. The disciples told Sakyamuni, "She does not want to
see you."
Sakyamuni said, "Ok, I will go and find her." He went upstairs and
closed the door. They sat face to face. She did not say a word. Her
lost youth had turned into tears of hate, soaked through her mind and
body. The Buddha said gently, "I know you hate me. Come over and take a
look."
From his palm, the memory of her previous life and their predestined
relationship was displayed. In it, he was a young boy in the previous
life and devoted his heart to present a lotus flower to the Rangdeng
Buddha. Rangdeng Buddha smiled and nodded his head, "You will obtain
the Tao in your next lifetime." Meanwhile a little girl came and knelt
in front of the Buddha saying, "Buddha, I would like to offer my Buddha
nature from many lifetimes. Please let me obtain salvation together
with him in my next life."
The Buddha said, "He is predestined to spread the Fa all over the place
and you have to be lonely for your entire life. Do you mind?"
She answered, "I don't mind!"
The Buddha said, "You will waste your youth."
She said, "I don't mind!"
The Buddha replied, "You will carry a wounded heart for the majority of
your life until he comes to offer you salvation. Do you mind?"
She said, "I don't mind! I don't mind! I don't mind!"
Thus it was that she had to endure suffering in this lifetime.
Since I became a cultivator, sentimentality has been my biggest test.
Whenever I am calm and clear, I wonder why I cannot pass this test.
When I fail to get what I want, I suffer. Sometimes I know clearly that
it is impossible to have, but I just cannot give it up. What would it
be like even when I get what I want? Happiness is so short and
temporary and we have to part eventually. Everyone has an attachment to
an illusion. This kind of emotion is asking for something from the
other party. Following emotion, when someone leaves you a good
impression, it only means that someone meets your requirement or you
envy that person for his good qualities. When you cannot have the other
person, you suffer and even harbor hatred in your heart. What you
really love is yourself. We are slaves of our own incorrect thoughts
and preconceptions. Those are all quite selfish elements and not our
true selves.
I hope that practitioners who are troubled by love can let it go and not lose this precious opportunity to cultivate.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2008/5/20/52940.html
