Today I want to talk to you about "advantages". We talk about merit every day, so what is merit? Why are good deeds and merits two concepts? Why can merit eliminate your karma, but the good you do can't? Why do you do the same thing, some merits and some good deeds?
Witnessing Buddha's nature is merit. In the vernacular, it means that you do a good deed from the heart and do it with the Buddha's nature, which is merit. You can feel the Buddha nature of doing this thing, that is to say, when you are doing a good thing, you think I am doing this good thing, I can feel it, I can feel that it is done by a bodhisattva, and that is Buddha nature. You witnessed the Buddha nature, and you did it in return. Have you witnessed the Buddha's nature? If you are a Buddha on earth for an hour, what you do is merit. If you spend half an hour on earth as a Buddha and Bodhisattva, all you do is merit. For example, when you explain it to everyone today, it feels like a bodhisattva is saving people. You sympathize with him from the bottom of your heart I really want to save him. Everything you say and do to him is valuable. However, if it is because he is your relative or friend, or you have selfishness and interests, even though you work hard, it is all good and there is no merit.
In essence, I have witnessed your Buddha nature and your application, that is to say, whatever you do on earth and what you do as a Buddha and Bodhisattva is merit. Remember: a person is reincarnated. If this person has the Buddha's nature, realizes the Buddha's nature, and then practices the Buddha's nature, it is merit.
What is virtue? Virtue is equality, and only when a person has an equal heart can he radiate the light of compassion. If there is no equal heart, how can you radiate the light of compassion? If avalokitesvara doesn't have an equal heart, how can she come down to save all sentient beings in the world? It is because of this virtue of compassion, virtue and equality that Guanyin Bodhisattva came down to save all beings. Therefore, the word "virtue" of merit is very important. On what basis did master tell you this equality before? Equality is based on your reincarnation, and it doesn't mean how much merit you did in your last life.
This equality means that everyone enjoys equal opportunities to learn Buddhism, and everyone enjoys certain conditions with Buddhist nature. From this condition, we will begin to practice equally, and you will have equal opportunities to practice in this world. After reincarnation, everything is equal, that is, all beings have Buddha nature. The equality mentioned by Bodhisattva is based on the equality that everyone has Buddha nature. It's not how many good and bad things this Buddha has done in his last life, but how he was reborn in this life. This is a completely different concept. Don't think that all people born in this life are equal. How much you practice in your last life will be rewarded in this life. From this perspective, just because they are all the same, they must all be equal.
Seeing sex is merit, and equality is virtue. When you see that nature is called work, you are equal, and your virtues will come out equally. Inner humility is merit, that is, a person's heart should be humble, that is to say, what you have from the heart must be modest, and modesty is merit. Appearance is politeness, that is, pay attention to manners and etiquette, and show others that you are polite and polite. That is your virtue. In fact, this is the truth that Bodhisattva is teaching us to be human. Humble inside, polite outside. You practitioners must pay attention to your words and deeds and don't look down upon them.
Understanding equality depends on understanding, and you can understand what is the basis of equality. In fact, you realize the Buddha nature, that is, you have proved it, realized this truth, and realized this Buddha nature in a way that you think is practice. In fact, seeking happiness is not merit, which must be clearly distinguished. People who seek happiness will be rewarded by others. Many people will only seek happiness instead of seeking work. For example, in Kannonji, I asked the Bodhisattva to bless my children, my health, my fortune and so on. , are seeking happiness, but this is not merit.
People are blessed, and karma and spirituality advance at the same time. For example, you have a karma and do a lot of good deeds. You pray for blessings and hope to have a baby. When you have children, it is your blessing. However, your karma has not decreased at all. You can't say that I have done a lot of good things to eliminate my karma, which is impossible.
The real merit is to do everything with Buddha's nature after awakening. It must be realized, that is, after it is realized. If you are not enlightened, you say that everything I do is Buddhist, which is empty. For example, today, Master helped an old man ask the Bodhisattva to extend her life. If I am not enlightened, when I ask the old man for a bodhisattva, she often helps me because she is very kind to me, and so on. At this time, I didn't ask for merit, because I didn't use the compassion and spirit of Guanyin Bodhisattva in my heart to save her, but I felt that she was poor and so old, so I asked her. This can only be called charity, not charity.
This is what I call using Buddha's nature to help the old people ask the bodhisattva to prolong their life, but my true nature is not using the true compassion of a Guanyin bodhisattva. Do you know how Master begged you? When Master asked the Bodhisattva to help the old man prolong his life, because the old man was practicing now and she was old and just started practicing. Please be merciful, give the old man more time to live, let her know more about Taoism and Buddhism, and let more people believe in Guanyin Bodhisattva. If you ask for this, the true Buddha nature in your nature will come out.
Throw away all other thoughts, don't be a little selfish, enlighten your Buddha nature from the bottom of your heart, and then do everything. This is called merit. To realize, you must have the virtue like Buddha, and the merit like Buddha adds up to the merit of Bodhisattva.
There is no delay in thinking, that is, your thoughts, and nothing in your mind is hindered at all. In other words, your brain can control itself completely, and there is no obstacle in your mind. When you have no obstacles, you will be familiar with nature. When your mind is not disturbed by other thoughts, you can often see your own nature. It is useless to see only one's own nature and the application of Buddhism. For example, a person knows that he is now a Bodhisattva, but it is not enough to protect my own image, my language and my own thoughts. Because you have not applied it, you have not taught everyone such good scriptures, such good thoughts and such good behaviors of the Bodhisattva, and you have not applied the things of the Bodhisattva to your life, so you are not a Buddha and Bodhisattva, and what you do has no merit.