The first Buddha is a human being, not a god.

Looking at all religions in the world, except Buddhism, there is no religious leader who does not pretend to be superman. This god can call the wind and rain, turn stone into gold; He dominates the fate of mankind, and it manipulates the life and death of all things. Only when human beings worship before him, praise and praise, and attribute all achievements and glory to Almighty God can they go to heaven if they believe in him. Those who oppose him will only fall into hell, and there is no room for defense and appeal.

The first sentence of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism, when he came to the world was:' Heaven and the world are unique.' What readers should pay attention to here is that the word "I" of "I am the only one" refers not only to Sakyamuni himself, but to everyone in all mankind.

The correct interpretation of this sentence should be: man is indomitable in the universe, and everyone is his own master and decides his own destiny without obeying anyone or any god beyond him.

Sakyamuni attributed his consciousness, achievements and accomplishments to people's own efforts and talents.

Sakyamuni believes that a person's good fortune, bad fortune, success or failure, honor or disgrace depends on his own behavior, good or evil and hard work. No one can push me to heaven and no one can push me to hell. Praise and eulogy cannot be happy without suffering. Only down-to-earth practice can purify and sublimate personality and enjoy peace of mind.

It is impossible for Sakyamuni to turn stone into gold like the political reform. He advocated that "people should plant what they want to harvest first." He can't let a lotus tree grow apples. If you want to harvest apples, you must sow the seeds of apples first. Sakyamuni just tells you how to practice, so that you can have a rich harvest in the future, but you still have to do it yourself.

Didn't Mr. Liang Qichao make such a metaphor in the article "Interest in Learning"? He said it's comfortable to bask in the sun in winter, but' although the sun is good, you should always bask in it yourself, and others can't bask in it for you.'

Sakyamuni said that over the past 49 years, he has spoken more than 300 times, which is nothing more than pointing out a "way to become a Buddha"-creating the most complete wisdom and personality by himself. But this road depends on perseverance, wisdom and perseverance. So the Buddha said,' You must do this work by yourself, because I only teach you the way to go.'

There is no shortcut to becoming a Buddha, and practice is a little effort. Plum blossoms don't disperse cold bones?'

The second Buddha is true equality.

When I say that the Buddha is a true equal, I am not talking nonsense. Let's first observe the social background of India at that time:

As we all know, in the era of Sakyamuni, Indian society was divided into four classes: Brahmins, nobles, civilians and slaves. Seeing the irrationality of social class, Sakyamuni, as a prince, resolutely set up the banner of equality, advocating the abolition of class opposition and the equality of all beings.

Please think it over. All revolutions in history require the "improvement" of the lower class and the class equality of the upper class. Absolutely no one, like Sakyamuni, is willing to' lower' his status as a prince, on an equal footing with civilians and slaves. Because of his selfless and inaction style, I say he is a real egalitarian.

At the same time, Buddhism advocates "no mercy" and "great compassion with the same body", which pushes the meaning of equality further.

I think some students don't know the meaning of "no pity" and "great compassion". Here I should briefly describe:

(1) No mercy: Buddhism advocates not only being kind to people who have relations with themselves, such as parents, relatives and friends; At the same time, I also want to be kind to people who have no relatives or friends with me, such as people who have no contact with me or have never met, and I also want to care about them.

In the words of Confucianism,' no mercy' means:' the old man; Young people and young people. "That is to say,' not only relatives, but also sons and sons', as Liu Yun's great book said. The meaning of.

(2) empathy: empathy is a kind of spirit that people are hungry for themselves, people are drowning for themselves, and all beings in the universe are regarded as one person and me, and the same flesh and blood are in trouble.

Confucianism said: "However, China keeps our friendship, and heaven is still our neighbor." He also said, "All men are brothers." You can show the mind of' compassion with the same body'. There is also the' I don't go to hell, who will go to hell? The deep desire for sadness is the ultimate of great sadness in the same body.

Finally, I want to make it clear that the person who can best show the "true equality" spirit of Buddhism is the one who does not limit the concept of equality to the spirit of all things. Buddhism opposes the idea that all animals except human beings were created to feed people. The wailing and wailing of all animals when they are dying are really terrible and unbearable. Even Mencius will say,' I can't bear to eat its meat as soon as I hear its voice.'

Buddhism further affirms that these animals, which are arbitrarily killed by human beings who claim to be the spirit of all things, all have Buddha nature-a potential to become a Buddha in the future. Even though people are different from other animals in form and wisdom, they are equal in the right to exist. Just like a vicious or ignorant person, he also has "humanity". We should treat him with "humanity" and educate and influence him with "humanity". )

The ancients said,' Heaven has the virtue of good life.' He said, "Everything is innate." It is an equal idea to regard everything as one. It's just not as thorough as Buddhism says.

The third Buddha was not born to know.

Sakyamuni is an ordinary person. His surname is Gautama and his name is Siddhartha. He was born in northern India in the 6th century BC, near the southern border of Nepal today, about 200 kilometers from Cadman.

At the age of 29, he gave up the throne he was about to inherit and became a monk, seeking ways to get rid of his troubles in life. Six years later, 35-year-old Sakyamuni gained enlightenment under the bodhi tree by the Nyirenchan River, and correctly and thoroughly realized the fundamental truth of life in the universe.

Since then, people have called Sakyamuni the Buddha, or simply the Buddha. Meaning: the awakening of truth; Or simply do it: the awakened one.

The main purpose of my brief introduction to Buddha's practice is to tell you that Sakyamuni, like us, is an ordinary person. He can realize Tao through practice, and all millions of human beings in Qian Qian can follow suit and practice according to the teaching methods he showed.

Sakyamuni-he is just one of countless human predictions, and we are the ones who know later and feel later. The difference between Buddha and us is not in personality and status, but in the word' feeling'. That is, what Han Yu said:' Words have precedence.'

Fourth, Buddhism does not recognize stubborn and uneducated people.

According to other religions, if their leader or Almighty Lord, after all kinds of threats and inducements, or all kinds of earnest persuasion, still fails to realize his awakening, take refuge under the banner of God, repent and admit that he is a lost sinner and a poor lamb, then once the final judgment comes, he will all enter eighteen levels of hell and will never be reborn.

The ancients said,' The prodigal son will never change his gold.' Parents in the world always open their doors and hope that the prodigal son will come back, even if his children are criminals. No parents ever want or have the heart to let their children suffer in a dark and hot hell forever.

Buddhism recognizes that human nature is good, and as long as you put down the butcher knife, you can become a Buddha. The Buddha even thinks that the real' prisoner' is not evil, but ignorance, and all evil is caused by ignorance (Buddhism calls it ignorance). Therefore, it has become the responsibility of the Buddha to seriously enlighten and inspire all beings day and night. Buddha cares for all beings,' like a mother misses her son', not only can't bear the suffering of all beings in hell, but also spreads' Hell is not empty, I swear I won't become a Buddha; Bodhi can only be proved when all beings are exhausted. "Oath. (Bodhi means' enlightenment' or' the right path', and proving Bodhi means enlightenment or becoming a Buddha. )

How kind! What a sad wish! This is true fraternity! This is really a pity!

The fifth Buddha is not the only one. Everyone can become a Buddha.

In the third point above, I have mentioned Buddha and sentient beings, only in the order of awakening time. Han Yu said:' There is a sequence of stories.' Can be used as an auxiliary explanation.

Buddha is just a general term for enlightened people. Just as we call people who can "preach, teach and dispel doubts" teachers, there is more than one teacher. Everyone can be a teacher, and there can be teachers everywhere. Similarly, Buddha is not just Sakyamuni. Everyone can become a Buddha, and there can be Buddhas everywhere, not only in this world, but also on countless planets in the universe. (Of course there are sentient beings. )

This is also the fundamental difference between Buddhism and other religions. Other religions can only admit their own "unique" gods, and strongly criticize and deny that the gods they teach are "false gods".

At the same time, under their guidance, no matter how hard human beings struggle, they will never be able to keep pace with God and be in an equal position (always the relationship between master and servant). Because God is the creator, and man is just one of the' things' created by God.

Sixth, Buddhism does not recognize that there is a god who created everything.

According to some religions, everything in the universe was created by Almighty God, and their evidence is Genesis in the Old Testament.

In fact, people who know a little bit about ideas can immediately understand that' God' is also the product of human thoughts, and human beings make God by their own thoughts and images. One of the purposes of artificial gods is to explain the origin of life in the universe, which Buddhists call the first cause. But where does "God" itself come from? The heretics not only refused to pursue it, but also said with great certainty:' God is omnipotent and he exists naturally.'

Dear friends! If God can "exist by himself", in other words, he can exist by himself without being created by others, then what is the point of the view that "God created the universe and life"? For the same reason, life in the universe can also exist naturally. )

Here we cite a mathematical formula to illustrate this problem. Although it is not very appropriate, it can help students to understand:

Suppose that the origin of life in the universe is X.

Looking for x =?

The pagan's answer is this. They don't have to refer to theorems or known assumptions, just write the answer:

X = god

But where did God come from? Please look at the following formula:

X = god = y

Anyone with a little mathematical concept knows that y is also an unknown number. In other words, this question has never been answered.

Buddhism fundamentally negates the assumption that God created everything, and does not admit that the universe had the first "beginning". The so-called' beginning' of one thing is only the' end' of the previous thing. In a series of causality, the disappearance of one thing constitutes the condition for the birth of another.

Dr. zhang in "What is Buddhism? "wrote in the book, made the following explanation to this problem:

The concept of "beginning" is due to the "limited" psychology of human beings, and it cannot cover thousands of causal relationships. "

For example, let's go to see the third movie Gone with the Wind, which starts at 7 o'clock and ends at 10/0. But when you think about it, the beginning of the third movie is actually the end of the second movie, and the end of the third movie is not the beginning of the fourth movie.

Therefore, the concept of' beginning' is only meaningful for a specific thing; It is meaningless to the whole complex causal universe. Time is always flowing. Who can find the so-called' now' from it? And say this is the beginning?

In fact, Buddhism is not interested in discussing this problem that is not beneficial to life, because the universe has no beginning and no end, and it is futile for people to pursue the' first cause of the universe' no matter how hard they try. When you are struggling to find the' first cause', you will inevitably find another' cause' before it. In this cycle, you will never find a fixed' first cause'.

Meanwhile, life is short and impermanent. If you still want to get to the bottom of it, you may have died before you get the answer of' the first cause of the universe'.

In Buddhist scriptures, there is a wonderful metaphor:

A man was injured by a poisonous arrow, and his relatives and friends took him to see a surgeon. If a man says, "I don't want to pull this arrow out, I want to know who shot me." Is he from Hetiri? " Brahmin species? Vedas? Or sudra? What is his name and family? Is he tall, short or of medium height? Is his skin black, brown or golden? Which city and town does he come from? I don't want to take out this arrow unless I know what bow I was shot with. What is the bowstring like? What kind of arrow? What wool is the flute feather made of, and what material is the flute string made of? ...... "So; This person must die and does not know these answers. "

Therefore, Buddhism does not waste space and time, and struggles to pursue the problem of' the first cause of the universe'. Because the pursuit is also useless, and it is also useless to life. It has nothing to do with getting rid of the pain of birth, illness and death, nor can it make people get peace and liberation.

The topic is a bit far-fetched Now let's talk about Buddhism's opposition that everything in the universe was created by God and everything was caused by karma.

For example, a mountain in front of us is the product of mud and stone; The lake is made of concave water; Look at the desks and chairs in the classroom. They are made of wood by carpenters.

When the earth and stone are scattered, it will no longer become a' mountain'; If the water in the lake is drained, it will become a hollow. What is the shadow of the' lake'? Remove the boards piece by piece. Where are the desks and chairs?

We can call these visible things "color" for short, because they are only "temporary aggregation of karma" and are not real and unchanging, so we say they are "empty"-there is no eternal entity.

This is the simple truth of "color is empty" in Buddhist scriptures.

But Buddhism says that "color is emptiness", and the word "emptiness" is not emptiness, nor is it empty, but a strange vacuum.

How do you say this sentence? Let me give you an example to illustrate:

There is a glass of water in front of me. When water is heated, it turns into steam, and the shadow of water can no longer be seen. But this doesn't mean that water really disappears into' empty', and when water vapor cools, it will be reduced to' water'.

And everyone who knows chemistry knows that water is an oxyhydrogen compound. In other words, water is only a temporary combination of hydrogen and oxygen. After electrolysis, water will turn into hydrogen and oxygen. By analogy, everything in the universe is not produced by temporary aggregation of karma, and nothing is eternal. Karma is born when it is combined, and it is destroyed when it is scattered. Where is the' God' who created everything? Is there a' everything' created?

Seventh Buddhism teaches students in accordance with their aptitude and adapts to local conditions.

The Buddha's view of all beings is to establish different doctrines of time and space according to different root mechanisms.

Because of the different objects of enlightenment, Buddhism has different interpretations: for example, for a person with high wisdom, the Buddha told him that he could point directly at people's hearts, see nature clearly and realize the present; For people with low wisdom, the Buddha told him to practice step by step.

Another example: for those who are keen on fame and fortune, the Buddha told him a truth that fame and fortune are empty; For those who are negative and pessimistic and think that life is meaningless and full of nothingness, the Buddha told him that' life is rare, life is precious, and people can get happiness and happiness through hard work.' To inspire his courage and confidence.

Similarly, due to the difference in time and space, the Buddha also has different metaphors and explanations:

For example, Taipei people asked the Buddha,' How can I get to Dharma in Taichung?' The Buddha's answer is: "South." As for those who answered Kaohsiung, they said,' North.' By analogy, as long as all beings are in different places, the Buddha's answer is different.

Twelve schools of Sanzang Buddhism, 84,000 Dharmas (Dharma is a method of practice). These methods of practice are created to meet the needs of all beings and to cure their troubles.

If there were no sentient beings, there would be no Buddhism. Buddhism is like medicine. If all beings have no "disease" of worry, they don't need medicine.

Buddhism has been circulating for more than 2500 years, and it can adapt to different times and different beings. This is because it can teach students in accordance with their aptitude and suit local conditions. This kind of education is one of the characteristics of Buddhism.

Eighth Buddhism is a member of WTO.

Although the ultimate goal of Buddhism is to be born, it does not conflict with the spirit of joining the WTO. (the so-called "birth" is not to escape from the world, but to transform and rebuild the world. )

The Buddhist scriptures say:' Buddhism is in the world and inseparable from the world. Leaving Kuboth is like finding the horn of a rabbit. In other words, practice should be in the world, and consciousness should also be in the world. It is impossible for anyone who has a heart for the Tao to reject the world and escape from the human beings in this world, and get positive results by "being immune to it." Because if a person wants to become a Buddha, he must not only have wisdom and wisdom, but also have broad vows and compassion to help all beings. It is necessary to use these two kinds of' sadness' and' wisdom' interactively, complement each other, and achieve a complete and complete situation before becoming a Buddha. Therefore, Buddhism is doing the cause of joining the WTO in the spirit of being born. From practicing to becoming a Buddha, there is neither "joining the WTO" nor "being born", because it has always been carried out in this world!

Although there are so-called "Western Paradise" and "Oriental Glazed World" in Buddhist scriptures to persuade people to study Buddhism and live in other countries, anyone who knows the true meaning of Buddhism knows that this is an expedient measure and a convenient way for Buddhists and Bodhisattvas to transform all beings, and the ultimate goal of Buddhism is to "turn the world into a solemn pure land and turn hell into a paradise". This is the real purpose of Buddhism, not to ask everyone to escape from this world and hide in the pure land of the west to enjoy happiness.

Ninth Buddhism is not exclusive.

Most religions in the world only admit that the religious teachings they believe are the only' truth', while excluding other religions is' heresy'.

Buddhism believes that all religions differ only in the depth of their teachings, and there are few differences between good and evil, good and evil, right and wrong. Any religion that can exist in the world for more than a thousand years must be more or less beneficial to the people of the world. Otherwise, this religion has long been spurned by human "wisdom" and washed away by the tide of time.

The only problem is that some religions can only give people short-lived and little pleasure; And some religions can give people eternal and greatest happiness. Buddhism belongs to one of the few latter.

In the nearly 2,500 years that Buddhism has been handed down from generation to generation, Buddhism has always lived in peace with other religions, and there has never been a bloody conflict with other religions for missionary purposes in history.

Here, I'd like to invite my friends to visit Asoka (3rd century BC) in India. Following Sakyamuni's generous, compassionate and tolerant legacy, there is an inscription engraved on a stone that still exists today:' Don't just respect your own religion and belittle others' religions. We should respect other religions. Doing so can not only help the growth of one's own religion, but also fulfill one's obligations to other religions. On the other hand, it will not only dig graves for its own religion, but also hurt other religions. "

So, harmony is good. Everyone should listen carefully and be willing to listen to the teachings of other religions. "(Listening attentively means listening attentively. )

Judging from this passage, this tolerance and sincerity is one of the most precious heritages in Buddhist culture.

In Buddhism's view,' truth' has no national boundaries, and it does not need any religious' trademark'. It does not belong to any religion, nor does it belong to anyone in any era. Therefore, the truth said by the Buddha is not unique to him, because the Buddha is only a' discoverer of truth', just like Newton's' gravity', which is not unique to Newton.

Therefore, Buddhism believes that all reasonable and eternal truths are' Buddhism'.

You must love your enemies. Although it comes from the Bible, Buddhism undoubtedly recognizes it as a truth with virtue. (It is the same as Buddhism's "no mercy" and "great compassion with the same body". )

Buddhism is like a vast river and sea, which can accommodate all the rivers on the earth. Therefore, the Buddhist scriptures say,' All Dharma is Dharma'!

Tenth Buddhism is democracy and freedom.

In other religions, what leaders say is an irresistible' command' and an unquestionable' truth'. Anyone who disobeys or expresses a little doubt will be punished by God.

In the classics of foreign teachers, it is clearly recorded that the ancestor of mankind was driven out of the Garden of Eden forever because he violated God's command. Their descendants, that is, thousands of Qian Qian people, including past, present and future people, have suffered inexplicably.

According to the foreign teacher's explanation, this is called the inheritance of' original sin'. However; I have only heard that some diseases can be inherited, but I have never heard that' sin' can also be inherited. Except in the tyrannical and barbaric ancient times, when a person committed a crime, the whole family would be punished, thus killing them all completely. Now, in any advanced and civilized country, it has nothing to do with his wife and children when his father commits a crime and goes to jail.

This is what Buddhism advocates: Buddhism believes that one person does something, one person bears it, the father kills, and the son cannot go to hell. A son can't replace his father. )

I have a close friend who is a devout Christian. In the past, we were often' deported' because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and we were flushed.

The following is our conversation at that time:

Adam, why were they driven out of heaven? I asked.

Because Eve didn't listen to God, she was lured by poisonous snakes and ate the forbidden fruit. She disobeyed God's command. '

Excuse me, is God omniscient and omnipotent? '

Yes, it is omniscient and omnipotent. '

Does the all-knowing and all-powerful God know in advance that Eve can't be tempted by poisonous snakes? '

I don't know, because God wants to test whether Adam and Eve listen to him. '

Since God doesn't know beforehand, can he still be called omniscient and omnipotent? '

Hey? Oh, no, of course, God knew in advance that Eve couldn't stand the temptation. Because he is the all-knowing and all-powerful Lord! Damn it, I just blasphemed that he didn't know beforehand. Friend have it both ways, I didn't expect the other side to be a dead end!

Well, since the omnipotent Lord knows clearly in advance that Eve can't stand the temptation of poisonous snakes, he still wants poisonous snakes to seduce her without stopping her, and will punish her afterwards. Isn't this the crime of deliberately accepting people with ulterior motives? "

Huh? My friend is finally speechless.

That's how Adam and Eve were driven out. We are also suffering like this.

In any case, God's word is always right, and the consequences of violating God's word are so tragic. But God himself does not reflect on himself. Is his own' words' reasonable? Is it contradictory? Is it too arbitrary? Too authoritarian?

In addition, in various religious classics, stories of God's anger at people's disobedience are often recorded, and the punishment methods include flooding human beings with terrible floods; Kill humans with plague.

There is absolutely no record of Buddha's anger in Buddhist classics, and there is no such cruel punishment. In the forty-nine years of Buddha's education, disciples have always seen their mentor. He is kind, compassionate and peaceful, and he is so kind to good people and bad people.

Buddha never forced his disciples to accept what he said to himself. He encouraged them to doubt and ask questions. Until he was eighty years old, on his deathbed, he still inculcated and repeatedly asked his disciples if they had any questions.

The Buddha said,' great doubts lead to enlightenment, and small doubts lead to small enlightenment. If you don't doubt it, you will never realize it.

The Buddha also said in his last words:' I never thought your disciples were mine, and all beings were mine ... I am just one of you, and I will always be with you. .....' I never oppress others, nor will I ask anyone to obey me.' What a kind and touching legacy this is!

I think the spirit of Buddhism, which allows and encourages believers to freely doubt and ask questions about the truth of the leader himself, and then discuss them in depth, is unparalleled in the world.

My friends, the truth is not allowed to be imposed on others. Forcing people to accept what they don't understand or like is politics, not religion. Only on the premise of democracy and freedom can truth show its spirit and value more clearly through repeated speculation.

Among the religions in the world, only the leaders and classics of Buddhism are allowed to be doubted, discussed and investigated.

Welcome students with research spirit, independent personality, wisdom and intelligence to learn Buddhism. The door of Buddhism will always be open for you.