PureInsight | January 7, 2002
Last Sunday we had group Fa study. A practitioner who rarely talks shared one of his recent experiences.
He said, he has cultivated for several years and has been actively taking part in Fa-rectification activities, but recently, because of being busy, he has not been able to gain a new understanding of anything from the book until the night before the group study when he assumed a peaceful state and held Zhuan Falun in his hands. He suddenly found an answer to a question that had come up every now and then after he read a lecture.
This critical question was, 'How solidly do the concepts of 'god' and 'Buddha' exist in one’s heart?' After all, he had not seen a god or Buddha with divine powers appear in front of him.
This time, he read in Lecture 1 of Zhuan Falun, “Let me tell everyone that ‘Buddha’ is not a superstition. It is a word from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language. When it was introduced to China, it was called ‘Fo Tuo.’ There were also people who translated it as ‘Fu Tu.’ As the word was passed around, our Chinese people left out one character and called it ‘Fo.’ What does it mean in Chinese? It means ‘an enlightened person,’ one who has become enlightened through cultivation practice. What’s superstitious in this?”
He had read the paragraph countless times before, yet it seemed as if he had only just read it for the first time to have understood that little bit. Indeed, if one cultivates one’s heart and practices a set of gong movements, he will start to live with a clearer and clearer mind and awaken from the illusion. Others will say this person now lives with clear understandings, or enlightenment. To use an ancient Indian term, this person is “an enlightened being” or “Buddha.” What is mysterious about this? As long as they have the will, everyone can do it. The more they cultivate, the more enlightenment they have, and the more clearly they live understanding. There is no mystery in this.
However, when we approach others and abruptly say that the goal of cultivation is to become a Buddha or a Dao, many can’t understand it and may even classify these as superstition. These are simple realities and have similar cultivation processes. Why are people’s attitudes so different just because they are introduced to them from different angles?
There is one point to note. Certain notions have been subconsciously fed to and reinforced in people bit by bit. This has occurred through the education that has been passed down from generation to generation over several thousand years, particularly in modern times. As soon as a god or Buddha is mentioned, it is automatically categorized as a superstition. Even the word “god” has been used to describe things that are incredible, incomprehensible or unacceptable.
“Buddha” or “Fo” in Chinese is only a translation by sound; the actual interpretation of the meaning of the word in Chinese should be “enlightened being.” The meaning, as plain as it is, is not known to many, causing them not to understand those who cultivate Buddhahood or the Dao. Once the meaning of “Buddha” in its original meaning as “a person enlightened through cultivation” is understood, people know that such a person becomes more and more sagacious and more and more conscious. How can he ever have “blind faith” in anything? (In Chinese this phrase has a similar sound to mi xin or superstition.)
This practitioner’s experience benefited us all very much. The more we read the book on cultivation, the more understandings we gain from it. Moreover, when we are talking with others about something and we are incapable of explaining it, it suggests that we do not understand the matter in our heart. The answer is in the book, and the answer appears obvious, but its real meaning becomes clear only after several years of cultivation.
Once we really understand it, we can use language that others understand when we discuss god and Buddha. Then we don’t have to beat around the bush, but can clearly tell others what the meaning of the word “Buddha” is.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2001/12/21/12982.html
