Interfaith Forum
Intercultural and Interfaith Peace Dialogue:
Overcoming Crises through Education
Dharma Lecture: Education as the First Priority
Venerable Master Chin Kung
President, Pure Land Learning College Association Inc.
“The Fu Xi class” given by Teacher Wu
4 Nov 2012 Manelwatta Temple, Sri Lanka
Master Chin Kung：
Distinguished Dharma masters, ambassadors, guests, and fellow practitioners, Ven. Chandima Thero asked me to confer the Three Refuges before my talk. The oath is not long. Please repeat after me:
I take refuge in the Buddha, the most honored one, Perfect and complete in wisdom and good fortune; I take refuge in the Dharma, the best way to eliminate craving; I take refuge in the Sangha, the most deserving of respect of all communities.
We need to say this three times.
The highest guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Three Refuges. When the ancients taught, they would first point out the objective of their teaching so that the students would have a goal and direction. When we learn Buddhism, what exactly do we learn? What kind of achievement do we wish to seek so that we will be contented? The Three Refuges tell us the answer “Taking refuge” means returning to and relying on. Taking refuge in Buddha is returning to and relying on the Buddha in the true nature. The Triple Jewels has many definitions, and the most ultimate one is the Buddha of the true nature. “Buddha” means enlightenment. That is, a Buddhist practitioner must be awakened and not be deluded. First, we must turn away from delusion and rely on enlightenment in the true nature. This is truly taking refuge in the Buddha. Second, “Taking refuge in the Dharma.” Dharma means the proper understanding of the true nature. Have proper views, not deviated ones. We turn away from deviated thoughts and views and rely on proper thoughts and views. Proper thoughts and views are wisdom innate in the true nature. The meaning is very profound. We should rely on innate wisdom in the true nature. Wisdom is not gained from without. That which is learned from without is knowledge, not wisdom. Wisdom requires awakening, which is called great enlightenment, or enlightening the mind and seeing the true nature. This is wisdom. Wisdom can understand and know the truth of everything in this world and beyond. Only attaining enlightenment is real. Therefore, the Buddha taught us to be enlightened and to attain the truth of life and the universe. There is not the slightest delusion in Buddhism. Third, when we learn and practice, we need to rely on the Sangha. In a Sangha, purity is foremost. Taking refuge in the Sangha means turning away from all pollutions and relying on a pure mind and pure behavior. This is truly taking the Three Refuges. The Buddha taught us in daily life, our thoughts, words, and behaviors should not deviate from this standard. Deviating from this standard is deviating from the Buddha’s teaching, and then we are not students of the Buddha. A student of a Buddha must constantly remember these three highest guiding principles for learning and practice. This is the Triple Jewels of the True Nature. This is truly taking refuge. We do not take refuge in a Buddha image. We have a Buddha image here. A Buddha image is the Buddha Jewel; the sutras are the Dharma Jewel; monastics are the Sangha Jewel. These three are the Three Jewels for dwelling in and upholding. The Buddha has left us and is no longer in this world. In commemoration of him, we make images of him. Seeing a Buddha image is liking seeing the Buddha himself. This gives rise to admiration and respect for the Buddha and inspires us to learn from the Buddha. This is what it means. We need to know this. The Dharma refers to the sutras, which are the Buddha’s teachings. When the Buddha was in this world, he taught by giving lectures. After his parinirvana, his teachings were written down. Seeing the teachings in words is like seeing Sakyamuni Buddha in front of us. Reading the sutras is listening to the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha. That is what it means. We must truly understand the Buddha’s teachings. What exactly did he teach? Understanding is not an easy thing. In Chinese Buddhism, at the beginning of the sutras is the Opening Verse, which was written by Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty. It was very well written. She wrote, “The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma is extremely difficult to encounter in countless kalpas. Today I get to see, hear, receive, and uphold it; I wish to understand the true meaning of Tathagata’s words.” The last sentence is very important. How do we understand the the true meaning of Tathagata’s words? If we misunderstand or misinterpret Tathagata’s true meaning, the offense is very grave. The most important thing in understanding Tathagata’s true meaning is to be close to a wise teacher. In other words, we need to learn from a good teacher. What is the criteria for a good teacher? This teacher has truly obtained awakening from the sutras. This is a truly good, wise teacher. Not only are there not many, there are probably none these days. Why is this so? The reason lies entirely in sincerity and respect. Do we have a sincere and respectful mind for the Buddha? Without the slightest doubt, and with a pure, sincere, and respectful mind, we listen to lectures on the sutras or recite the sutras. This way, we will be able to understand Tathagata’s true meaning. But this sincerity has to be of the utmost. As it is said, “The utmost sincerely can bring forth a response.” We use this method. It worked for the ancients and it will also work for people today. But people today are influenced by science, which advocates questioning. If we question the Buddhist sutras or doubt Sakyamuni Buddha, we will not be able to learn Buddhism. What has become of our learning and listening to the sutras? What we learn will be knowledge, not wisdom. Wisdom is Tathagata’s true meaning; knowledge is not. What is knowledge? It is our own interpretation. We are ordinary beings, so our views are still those of an ordinary being, not that of the Buddha. We must know this. I accepted the invitation of the President to come to Sri Lanka, where I never expected to come. I was very surprised to find that the people here to be very down-to earth and honest. I have never seen such esteem for Buddhism in other places. Is this esteem the same as the having no doubt, sincerity, and respect as taught in the sutras? We can say that it is replete with these three requirements. Does it meet the Buddha’s standard? As the ancients said: “I wish to understand Tathagata’s true meaning.” The standards, I cannot say. But compare with other places, Sri Lanka very much deserves our respect. It is a small country and not very well known. Yesterday, I had a long talk with the Minister of Education. We had already met at the president’s office. I learned that there are over 10,000 schools in Sri Lanka. Students do not pay tuition to go to primary school, secondary school, or university. In other words, the government takes care of educational expenses. I was very moved.
I was reminded that in my youth, because my family was poor and could not afford the tuition, I had to miss school. Therefore, after age 14 I did not go to school. At that time, I thought about this everyday, “I loved studying. Why can’t I go to school?” Because my family was poor. I tried to come up with a solution that would allow children throughout the world not to miss school due to poor family circumstances and allow them to complete the education in primary school, secondary school, and university. Where does the money come from? The government. How does the government get the money? By levying a tax for education. Regardless how much money one makes. The government collects a tax of 10% from what one earns. If one makes ten dollars, one pays one dollar for the educational tax. The fund should be designated for this purpose only, nothing else. Maybe this solution would work. Unexpectedly, seventy years later, I found it here. You do not know how happy I am. It is such a rare situation! I realize that this government places great importance on education. Education, not armaments, is placed first in government expenditures. Generally a country wants to develop the military and armaments. But not this country. Instead it promotes education. I hope that every country in the world learns from Sri Lanka. We do not want to spend money on the military, which is not worth it. Money should be spent on education. Protecting a country does not require a military, especially in modern times. Many people know that military forces cannot solve problems. The U.S. started a war in Iraq. Three months before the war broke out, I wrote a letter to President George W. Bush. I urged him to use a peaceful method, not military forces, to solve problems. Unfortunately, the war still broke out. President Bush also realized that the war was a mistake. Why? Because it was easy to start a war but hard to end it. The problem was not resolved even after he left office. During the fall, there were little or no American fatalities. But during the occupation, local riots led to the death of several thousand Americans. It was not worth it. Therefore, it is a very good lesson, telling people that war will only make a disaster worse and will not resolve a problem. 9/11 led to a war against terrorists. This is extremely terrible. Society changed. Things became different. Before the attacks, I lived in the U.S. for more than a decade. The U.S. is indeed democratic and free. When I travelled, there were hardly any security checks at the airports. My friends in the U.S. could meet me at the arrival gate. As soon as I got off the plane, I saw them. When they saw me to the airport, they would see me to the boarding gate and make sure my carry-on was arranged before they left. But it is now different in the U.S. The security check is extremely strict. They even ask you to remove jackets and coats for the security check. So I do not want to go there anymore. I met President Bush once at a huge event. The security check there was more than ten times stricter than that at the airport. I saw about sixty or seventy security guards protecting the event venue. They were all armed with submachine guns as if they were facing formidable enemies. This did not look like they had won the war. So I felt very deeply about this. I hope there will be no more wars in the world. Wars bring endless disastrous consequences. Reprisals breed reprisals. Buddhists and some religious people know about samsara. Transmigration within the Six Paths was first taught by Brahmanism and was proven later. Anyone who cultivates the four kinds of meditation and the eight degrees of concentration can see this clearly. Reprisal breeds reprisal. It is cyclical and never ending. Why incur this enmity? It is not worth it. The root cause of chaos in today’s society lies in education. Education today is well implemented. There are many schools. Although schools are many, the direction in education has deviated. Schools focus mainly on teaching science and technology. There is hardly any humanities. In other words, a person knows how to produce machines and operate them, but he does not know how to be a good person. People care only about themselves, not others. The East has discarded the traditional heritages. China threw away her tradition 200 years ago. The West threw away their religious education. Social chaos and abnormal disasters today are thus the result. We must know this. When I lived in Australia, the Chancellor of the University of Queensland invited me to dine with him. We were accompanied by the Dean of Social Science and several professors. The dean told me that before WWII, some European experts and scholars had earnestly researched why three of the world’s four earliest civilizations disappeared, but Chinese civilization still exists? They spent a long time researching this topic and got an answer. He said, “It could be because the Chinese paid much importance to family education.” When I heard this, I told him that this conclusion was completely correct. Indeed, Chinese ancients understood education. They were wise in education. They had educational concepts, methods, and experiences, and good results from education. The _Book of Rites_ says: “Education is essential in building a country and in guiding its people.” It has been about 4500 years since the creation of Chinese written characters. We cannot say that there was no civilization before the creation of written characters. Civilization existed even earlier than that. A Hindu elder told me that his religion has existed for at least 13,000 years. I believe him. I also have reason to believe that Chinese traditional culture has also existed for at least 13,000 years. The dean truly grasped the core value of education, so he understood. Question: How did education come about? That is, what is the root of education? Why is education necessary? Before Buddhism was introduced to China, the Chinese ancients knew that human nature is originally good. In ancient China, when young children aged 4 or 5 started school, they were taught the _Three Character Classic_. The very first sentence in this text is “All people are innately good.” This is the same as the Three Refuges in Buddhist teaching. The same idea is expressed in different ways. Human nature is originally good. What does “originally good” mean? “Good” is Buddha. The first thing the Buddha taught in the Mahayana sutras is “All beings are Buddhas in nature.” See, the Buddha told us the goal: we are Buddhas in nature. What is the goal of our learning? It is to attain Buddhahood. Once we become a Buddha, we are no different from Sakyamuni Buddha or Amitabha Buddha. What does attaining Buddhahood mean? It means attaining ultimate, perfect wisdom, perfect virtues and abilities, and perfect auspicious marks. Do you want these? Do you want wisdom? Only when you have wisdom will you be able to completely understand the truth of all the phenomena in the universe. You will be all knowing and be capable of everything. Do you want this? Do you want to have moral integrity, like the virtues, capabilities, and auspicious marks of a sage? How about good health and longevity, never growing weak or old? Everybody wants these. You should know what I just said is the content of Buddhism. These are what Buddhism teaches us. If we do not learn these, it will be such a pity! Look at the Buddhist teachings. Life span is infinite in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Life never ends and people never become old. Can we achieve this? Scientists today tell us that we can. Quantum physicists have discovered that human thoughts can control physical phenomena. What have they discovered? Human thoughts can control material phenomena. The body is a physical phenomenon. If you have good thoughts, you will be healthy physically and mentally. You will never get sick. This is the first benefit of learning Buddhism. Our mental health has not reached the level of that of a Buddha. If it does, we will stay 18 years old every year, never getting old or getting sick. Look at a bodhisattva. How perfect his appearance is! Can we create such an appearance? We cannot. His appearance is so auspicious that we make cannot even match 1% of that appearance. This is a benefit of learning Buddhism. Once we truly understand this is what we want, we will be able to let go of all worldly things. The Buddha taught us to attain Buddhahood, like him. Buddhahood, bodhisattvahood and arhatship are titles of degrees of achievement in learning Buddhism. When we learn Buddhism, the first goal is attaining arhatship. Arhatship is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. When we get this degree, we move to a higher level. The second degree is bodhisattvahood, and the highest degree is Buddhahood. These are achievement degrees. We cannot treat Buddhas and bodhisattvas as deities. If we do, then we are wrong. Deities include heavenly gods, ghosts and spirits. The Buddha is not a heavenly god, a ghost or a spirit. Only a Buddha can truly understand the truth of life and the universe. The Buddha said that all beings are Buddhas in nature. Celestial beings are also beings and are also Buddhas in nature. But they are now celestial beings. Ghosts and spirits are also Buddhas. They are also Buddhas in nature, but they are now ghosts and spirits. We are all Buddhas in nature, but we are now humans. We saw an elephant today. The elephant is an animal. It is a Buddha in nature but it is now an elephant. The Buddha wanted us to restore our original image. Our original image is Buddha. This is such a great and sacred goal. We must be clear why we learn Buddhism I mentioned earlier that the Three Refuges are wonderful. The Buddha urged us to abide by them throughout our lives. We take refuge in the Buddha. The Buddha is perfect in wisdom and good fortune- the honored one complete and perfect in two. “Two” refers to wisdom and good fortune. He was perfectly replete with both. When complete and perfect, this person attains Buddhahood. Not wanting Buddha [enlightenment] is not wanting wisdom. Not wanting wisdom is ignorance; having no good fortune is poverty and lowliness. Do you like to be poor and lowly? Do you like to be ignorant? Nobody does. If so, then we must want Buddha. We cannot abandon Buddha. If we have Buddha [enlightenment], we have wisdom. If we have Buddha [enlightenment], we have good fortune. This is for sure. When we truly understand this, our belief will not be blind belief. There are many Buddhist practitioners today, but few are truly clear about Buddhism. When I was young, I was antagonistic towards Buddhism. I did not believe it. I thought it taught delusion. I had some very close friends and classmates. Some of them were Christians and others were Muslims. I went to their mosques and churches. I really liked them. Why? Because they taught and lectured on their religious texts. I never heard that there were lectures on Buddhist sutras. Even when I attended a lecture, I could not understand it. And thus did not benefit from it. So I lost interest. I started to learn Buddhism at 26 when I was in Taiwan. I learned philosophy from Mr. Fang Dongmei, a famous philosopher. He taught me not at school but in the small living room at his home. I was the only student. He taught me _Introduction to Philosophy_. The last unit was “Buddhist Philosophy.” I was very surprised. I had said that Buddhism was a religion and taught delusion. How could it have philosophy? My teacher told me that I was young and did not understand. He said, “Sakyamuni Buddha was the greatest philosopher in the whole world. Buddhism is the pinnacle of all philosophies in the world. Learning Buddhism is the ultimate enjoyment of life.” I learned this last unit. And then I truly realized that such a good thing did exist in this world. I have learned Buddhism for 61 years, and I am very grateful to Mr. Fang. You can see his picture hanging behind me. Mr. Fang is constantly on my mind. He gave me wisdom and brought me happiness. This is true. I got to know what Buddhism really is. This is how I entered into the door of Buddhism. My second teacher was Zhangjia Living Buddha, who was a true Buddhist practitioner. My first teacher was a professor and a philosopher. Zhangjia Living Buddha encouraged me to become a monk. He urged me to learn from Sakyamuni Buddha and told me to read _Geneology of Sakyamuni_ and _Reports on the Spread of Buddhism in the Regions_ to get to know Sakyamuni Buddha first. When you learn Buddhism, if you do not know anything about the Buddha, you may take a detour or a side road. That will be a pity. I learned from Mr. Fang for three years before he entered parinirvana. It was Zhangjia Living Buddha who helped me lay the foundation for learning Buddhism. Without any of my three teachers, I cannot attain achievement. My last teacher was Mr. Li Bingnan, a lay practitioner. He was a master of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It is very rare. I followed him for 10 years. He taught me how to lecture on the sutras. I learned about Sakyamuni Buddha’s life. He left home at 19, leaving affliction behind to engage in cultivation and learning. After 12 years of learning, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. After 12 years, he completed his learning and let go of hindrances from the attachment to knowledge. He was showing us with his conduct. After attaining enlightenment, he started teaching. He taught the five bhiksus at Deer Park. His teaching started here. He entered parinirvana at 79. He taught for 49 years without taking one day off. He slept under a tree and took one meal a day before noon. How good his constitution was. If we slept under a tree for one night, we would probably be in the intensive care unit the next day! We cannot compare with him. His body was indestructible like a diamond. The Buddha could do this because he had a healthy body. We cannot. But now we understand, we can do it too. Why could the Buddha do it? He was pure physically and mentally. He had no afflictions or desire, so he had no obstacles. Our bodies are ruined by ourselves. By what exactly? By our minds. What mind? A mind of selfishness, The mind of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Such a mind is not good. It ruins the body. Master Zhiyi of the Sui dynasty, a patriarch of the Tiantai school, told us in _Mahayana Method of Cessation and Contemplation_ that there are six causes for ordinary people to get ill. The first cause is disharmony of the four elements. One does not look after one’s body properly, so one gets sick. The second cause is one’s diet. The food nowadays has many problems. Our planet is badly polluted, especially by pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Food for our vegetarian diet is also polluted. If we vegetarians want to eat clean and unpolluted food, we have to grow our own vegetables. Therefore, I bought a large tract of farmland in Australia. We plant grains, vegetables, and fruits to provide food for ourselves. We are forced into doing this. The size of the land is more than one thousand acres. We feel much safer when eating what we grow. We actively advocate and promote no pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our produce is much better than those grown with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our quality is much better. We do not know how to farm, so we hire farmers. They work eight hours a day, and we pay them. When we harvest, after we keep what we need, there is still plenty left that can be sold in the market. We provide our own food. After selling the harvest, we pay the farmers but still have a lot of money left. It is the main financial source for our centre. Therefore, our centre does not depend on the donations from our followers. We were self-sufficient. This is a good method. This way, our minds are at peace. When our minds are at peace, we will realize the truth. This is the healthiest food. The third cause is sitting in meditation. There are principles for sitting in meditation to regulate the mind and the body. When one does not know the principles, It will result in illness. This is also one cause. The fourth cause is ghosts and spirits. Indeed, one may be possessed by a ghost or a spirit and become sick. It is very troublesome. They are karmic creditors. Many people nowadays have this kind of illness. Both men and women have all kinds of strange illnesses. The cause is mostly abortion. Abortion is homicide. One kills one’s child. Once you kill the baby, its spirit will possess you. The purpose is to take your life or torture you. It is really troublesome. I have seen many such cases. Reconcile with them using Buddhist methods. If they accept, they will leave and the illness will be cured. If they refuse to leave, it will be very troublesome. But most of them were willing to leave. The fifth cause is Mara. This has nothing to do with that person. It is Mara. But there is a link between that person and Mara. Because one practices diligently, Mara comes to torture one. This is also one cause. The last cause is evil karmas. One has done too many bad deeds. Let me give a few examples of bad deeds. Buddhism teaches the Five Precepts, which are the fundamental precepts. The first is killing. If one likes killing animals and enjoys eating meat, one is susceptible to liver illnesses or eye diseases. One’s eyes are bad. These are the two kinds of illnesses one may have. The second is stealing. One craves others’ money, status, and beautiful women, and obtains them using illegal means, harming others to benefit oneself. This is stealing. Stealing can easily illnesses related to lungs. The illnesses of the lungs, which is one of the five viscera. Externally, nose problems, such as sinusitis, are also caused by stealing. The third is sexual desires. Excessive sexual desires leads to kidney or ear problems. One will be hard of hearing. One cannot hear. Lying causes spleen or tongue illnesses. If one drinks excessively, one will have heart or oral illnesses. This is killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol. If you do not control yourself and go all out to indulge in enjoyments, you will have physical and mental problems afterwards. Therefore, the Buddha said that breaking the Five Precepts will result in the illnesses of the five viscera and the five sense organs. You will be unhealthy both physically and mentally. There is another cause. Even if one keeps the precepts, one can also get sick. This illness is caused by grave offenses that one had committed before one learnt Buddhism. It might have been committed in a previous life, not the present. One committed very grave offenses in past lifetimes and should have fallen into the hells. Getting sick is a minor retribution for the grave offenses. The bad karma is thus eliminated. Therefore, it is a good thing, not a bad one. Once the bad karma is eliminated, one will recover. In sum, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt are the causes of all illnesses. Holding grudges, hatred, annoyance, fury, and impatience are the conditions of all illnesses. With the presence of a cause and a condition, one will be ill. Illnesses of the five viscera and the six hollow organs mean that our bodies are sick. Externally, our living environment will have a lot of disasters. These disasters are effected by us; they are not natural disasters. Nature is of the utmost beauty and health. How can nature harm people? It is our evil thoughts and deeds that bring about these disasters. Illnesses, a short life span, and natural disasters are retributions. They are our retributions. Evil thoughts bring about bad responses externally- our living environment. The Buddha told us that if people in an area are very greedy, there will be disasters such as floods, tsunamis, rising sea levels, and flooding rivers. Anger and hatred will bring about fire. They will cause the eruption of volcanoes. Do not think that losing one’s temper is no big deal. It will cause the eruption of volcanoes and an increase in global temperature. It is the fire of anger and hatred. Ignorance causes wind disasters. Arrogance causes earthquakes. As to doubt, we now see landslides and sudden cave-ins. They are brought about by doubt. When we know this, we will understand why the Buddha taught us to practice the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Karmas. This is for our physical and mental well-being. We should truly fulfill the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Karmas, The basic virtues that the ancient Chinese taught are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. We should fulfill these five benevolence is no killing; righteousness is no stealing; propriety is no sexual misconduct; wisdom is no ignorance; trustworthiness is keeping one’s words-no lying. They carry the same meaning as the Five Precepts. Therefore, we should fulfill these five, If we cultivate the Five Precepts, the Ten Virtuous Karmas, and the Six Harmonies, and chant the Buddha name, we will never be sick physically or mentally. There will be no need to buy medical or life insurance. No need at all. We can use that money on good causes. This way, our minds will be at ease. This is the Buddha’s teaching on how to look after our health. We will enjoy physical and mental well-being, never getting old. Chinese traditional culture consists of four subjects. One of them is the Five Cardinal Relationships. The Five Cardinal Relationships refer to human relationships. The teaching of relationships in Mahayana Buddhism has reached the utmost level. Mahayana Buddhism affirms that all the beings in the whole universe and oneself are one entity. This definition of relationships is so well explained. Why did the Buddha love and care about us so much? Because we and the Buddha are one entity and are even closer than father and son. Father and son are two entities, not one. We and the Buddha are one entity. We and all beings are one entity. This kind of love is the core of the universe. It is the core of the true nature. The foremost virtue in the true nature is love. After we see the true nature, this virtue will naturally come forth. Thus, Buddhas and bodhisattvas all love people. It is impossible that they have the thought of harming people. Absolutely impossible! You know in traditional Chinese culture, that there are three schools of thought: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Chinese emperors used all of them. Therefore, these emperors were very wise and not confused. They used Confucianism to govern the country. They used Buddhism to educate people. People received Buddhist teachings, and everyone was a good person. As everyone was a good person, all deeds were good deeds. At that time, of all occupations, which occupation did everyone want to engage in? Government officials. Everybody envied government officials. They studied hard so as to get a governmental post. Why did they choose this occupation? Because with this occupation, they would have social status. They would be respected by the populace wherever they went. They were also paid well. They had little to do. Why? Because everyone was a good person, and all deeds were good deeds. There were no criminal cases to handle. But if there were three or five cases required to be handled in a month, people would ask how come there were so many cases in this place. Therefore, everybody wanted to be a governmental official. Yesterday, I presented to the President a set of _Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature_ as well as a set of _Selections from the Four Branches of Literature._ These two sets contain the wisdom of the ancient Chinese sages of thousands of years ago. Their wisdom, concepts, experiences, and methods of cultivating oneself, putting one’s family in order and properly governing the country are all contained in these books. Dr. Toynbee once said that the world was in chaos, and in order to resolve the social problems of the twenty-first century, we must rely on the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and on Mahayana Buddhism. He was right. He knew China had this valuable treasure, which is the ultimate wisdom of Chinese ancestors. So far there is nothing that can compare with the creation of the classical Chinese language. Why is this method good? Though time changes, these books will never change. In other words, it transcends space and time. No matter where one is in time, as long as one has learnt the written characters, one will have this treasure. This creation [of classical Chinese language] is ten times, even a hundred times, more brilliant than any scientific invention today. It allows you to preserve things. Hundreds of thousands of years later, you can still use it anywhere. It will not change. These concepts, methods, and wisdom transcend time and space. It is not difficult to learn the characters. I purposely asked an American college student who studied Chinese, “How long did it take for you to learn classical Chinese?” “Three years.” In 2006, I attended a big event initiated by UNESCO in Paris. They also invited me to co-host the event. On the way there, I stopped by the UK to visit schools. I went there once before. This second time, I purposely visited the sinology departments at Oxford, Cambridge, and London University. I had exchanges with the students as well as a symposium with the professors. I asked the students the same question. Their answer was also three years. It is not difficult! In three years, you’ll get the key [to the treasure]. The _Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature_ becomes your own wisdom and property. The ancestors gave it to you. For culture, there are no boundaries of country, of ethnic group, or of religion. Whoever has the key, the treasure becomes his. It really can bring ever-lasting peace and stability to the world. It can also bring us a lifetime of happiness. If we are willing to practice according to the teachings, every one of us can become a Buddha. Every one of us can become a sage. Chinese education is the teachings of the sages, not a teaching that helps you get promotions or obtain wealth. The idea of getting promotions or obtaining wealth is wrong. You may get them now, but you cannot enjoy them for long. Your illnesses will come forth. The illnesses of the five viscera and the six hollow organs that I mentioned earlier will all come forth. At that time, you will suffer and be pitiable. So it is better to emulate sages. It is even better to emulate Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Regarding the education problems today, in Malaysia, I gave a talk to the headmasters and teachers of Malaysian Chinese schools. There are more than 1,000 Chinese primary schools and 61 Chinese secondary schools in Malaysia. There is a union for the headmasters and teachers. I talked to them, hoping that they would aspire to pass down traditional Chinese teachings. We should learn from the sages, not from the rich or those of high social status. We should emulate sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas. This is good. We can save ourselves, our country, our people, the whole world, and all beings. At that time, I proposed ten “Educational is essential” statements. We should know this. Filial piety is the root of Chinese culture. Respect is the foundation of Chinese culture. These two are the root and foundation. To fulfill filial piety and respect, one must be filial to one’s parents and respect one’s teachers. The sutras also place them first. We read the Three Conditions taught in the _Visualization Sutra._ The first is being filial to and providing for parents. The second is being respectful to and serving teachers. These two are exactly the same as Chinese traditional teaching. We should know that culture is the soul of a nation, and education is the lifeline of culture. So, “In settling down and establishing oneself, ” if we wish to lead a peaceful life, “education is essential.” We must receive education. In the past, Chinese education was not meant for getting promotions or obtaining wealth. “In pursuing a career and putting one’s family in order ” – this family concept in China no longer exists. Talking about this always brings tears to my eyes. The “family concept” still existed during the Sino-Japanese War. After the war, there was no more “family concept.” Today, when we talk about putting one’s family in order, there is a need for a new definition. What is family? It is an organization. An enterprise is an organization. Thus, an entrepreneur in Chinese is called “enterprise family.” A family in ancient China was a large household, not a small one. A normal family had over three hundred members, with five generations living under the same roof. Brothers did not split up family property or move out. Therefore, a large household was like a community. When one was born, one had the thought that one came to serve the family, not to live for oneself. Everything that one did was to bring honor to one’s ancestors and to bring glory to one’s family. One’s efforts throughout one’s life was to make the family prosper, to make one’s ancestors be known to future generations, and to win people’s respect. This was one’s goal. Living for oneself was not. Education is also essential in pursuing a career and putting one’s family in order. “Education is essential in building a country and in guiding its people.” In any dynasty in China, once an emperor gained political power, a system of proprieties and music would be set up within five years. Society would settle down and become stable. This is because he knew education was essential. He placed great emphasis on education. Chinese people placed great importance in education. This is true, not false. How much importance did they place on education? A mother started nurturing the fetus from pregnancy. She started teaching the child before it was born. Why? She knew that her every thought would influence the baby while it was still in the womb. Her speech and actions would also affect it. Thus, during the ten months of pregnancy, a mother had to observe the rules of pregnancy. She must have pure and correct thoughts; she must not have evil thoughts. The baby was enveloped in this proper energy, without the slightest bad energy. The mother paid attention to this. Thus, the mother does not watch anything that she should not or that is not beneficial, She would not listen to anything that was not proper to hear, she would not say anything that was not proper. She spoke little and let her mind be calm. This way, after the baby was born, teaching it would be easy and it would listen to its mother’s words. So Chinese education started with prenatal education. After a child was born, the whole family had to observe proprieties and behave properly, not allowing the baby to see anything discourteous. If it did, it would learn by imitating. Children learn fast. After they are born, as soon as they open their eyes, they can see and hear. It is hard to teach children today. Why? Because parents do not know this. Before a child turns 3, he has already learned bad behaviors. It becomes difficult to teach the child. If a child is hard to discipline, it is because the mother has not done her duty. If the mother knows to implement prenatal education, the mother is a sage. The child will become a sage, a Buddha, or a bodhisattva in the future. Buddhas and bodhisattvas were taught to become so. Who taught them? Their mothers. How great mothers are! Now fewer and fewer people know this. There are truly problems in schools today. Let me finish the rest of the statements before I continue.
Education is essential in having a country of propriety and righteousness.
Education is essential in achieving stability and harmony.
Education is essential in having an affluent country and peaceful people.
Education is essential in achieving times of peace and prosperity.
Education is essential in achieving everlasting stability and peace.
Education is essential in all the Buddha’s lands of rewards.
Education is essential in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
I have great respect for the President of Sri Lanka. Why? Because he understands education. He puts education first in his administration of the country. What he does is exactly the same as what ancient Chinese emperors had done. Chinese emperors of every dynasty put education first. Of the ministries under the prime minister, the Ministry of Education was the foremost. When the prime minister could not fulfill his duties, the Minister of Education would do so for him. The Ministry of Education was the most important ministry of all. In other words, all the facilities of the country were responsible for and supported education. Only when people are taught to become good people, will society be stable and the world be peaceful. How to teach people is an immense subject. What teaching materials should we use? What methods should we adopt? We have considered these for many years and done a lot of presentations. But what I said were empty words. Why? Because there was no implementation. I once did an experiment in Tangchi. I implemented Chinese traditional culture in a small town and used it as an example. I was motivated into doing it by my friends in UNESCO. I gave a presentation at UNESCO. Everybody liked it and applauded. But afterwards, they said, “Venerable Master, your lecture was great, but it is just an ideal. It cannot be achieved.” These words were a blow to me. Then I realized what the real problem was. It was the lack of confidence. We have no confidence in what our ancient sages passed down, in ancient teaching materials, or in ancient methods. Actually, the ancient teaching materials and methods passed down by the sages are forever unchanging. We must not look down on them. Today I brought a few photos which I picked myself. These are African children. I have never been to Africa but when I saw these photos, I wanted to visit it. These African children are all orphans. A Taiwanese monk has adopted three thousand orphans. He teaches them traditional Chinese culture and has them memorize Chinese classics. These children can recite fluently from memory and they did so in front of me. They recited from the _Four Books_ and the _Five Classics._ _Guidelines for Being a Good Person_, and _Accounts of Request and Response._ I said, “This is great! It is precious!” There are inheritors of Chinese traditional culture. These African children are the inheritors. These African children will become sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas in the future. They can save the world. I was very delighted. Thus I sing their praises wherever I go. W should give them support. Their living conditions are very tough. Therefore, I will try to find time and go to visit them. As I mentioned earlier, we should use the ancient curricula and teaching methods. We cannot use the contemporary ones. The new teaching method is teaching subjects concurrently. Many subjects are taught at schools. The first hour is language class; the second hour is math class. Before the students remember anything about language, they switch to a new subject. The third hour is history class. The subject is changed again. The subjects keep changing, and their minds are totally messed up and confused. How can they learn well? Ancient Chinese teaching method was never like this. “In teaching, focused learning is of utmost importance.” “Delve deeply into one method and immerse in it for a long time.” What is the purpose? The purpose is to help them attain awakening. Chinese teaching did not place emphasis on studying or memorizing. The emphasis is on attaining awakening. If one attains meditative concentration, one will attain awakening. When one delves deeply into on method, one’s mind is focused. Look at today’s students! Even university students and graduate students are restless and impatient. I feel sad when I see them thus. They have no concentration. In ancient China, teenagers already had concentration. They looked very sedate and poised. They were different. Teenagers today cannot compare with them. Therefore, the ancient teaching methods are better. Years ago when I studied under Mr. Fang Dongmei, he once asked me, “Do you trust Western medicine or Chinese medicine?” he said, “Western medicine has 300 years of history, and Chinese medicine has 5,000 years of history.” I said, “Of course I trust the one with 5,000 years of history! It has stood the test of 5,000 years. The one with 300 years of history is still not reliable.” Old things are better. The older the better. New things may have a lot of interesting features but they also have many problems. We have to be cautious. Now I would like to invite a teacher onstage. He uses these teaching methods and content. He teaches from the first grade to the sixth grade in primary school. He has a special class called “Fu Xi class.” He teaches these students from the first grade all the way to the sixth grade. He has succeeded in his teaching. The result is very marvelous. But he cannot teach them after that. Therefore, I think about establishing a school providing the classes of all levels of school. When the students are ready to enter secondary school, I will start classes for them. When they are ready to enter university, I will start a university. When they are ready to enter graduate school, I will provide graduate courses. I let the students move upward from primary school. This is the teaching of the sages. What about academic degrees? I will discuss with the Ministry of Education of the country, I will discuss with the Ministry of Education of the country, asking the government to give a test to these students and confer a sage’s degree, not a doctoral degree. A doctoral degree is not enough, as these students are higher than PhDs. So I pay special attention to this. Now please allow me to present Teacher Wu.
Intercultural and Interfaith Peace Dialogue:
Overcoming Crises through Education
Dharma Lecture: Education as the First Priority
Venerable Master Chin Kung
President, Pure Land Learning College Association Inc.
“The Fu Xi class” given by Teacher Wu
4 Nov 2012 Manelwatta Temple, Sri Lanka
Master Chin Kung：
Distinguished Dharma masters, ambassadors, guests, and fellow practitioners, Ven. Chandima Thero asked me to confer the Three Refuges before my talk. The oath is not long. Please repeat after me:
I take refuge in the Buddha, the most honored one, Perfect and complete in wisdom and good fortune; I take refuge in the Dharma, the best way to eliminate craving; I take refuge in the Sangha, the most deserving of respect of all communities.
We need to say this three times.
The highest guiding principle of Buddhist practice is the Three Refuges. When the ancients taught, they would first point out the objective of their teaching so that the students would have a goal and direction. When we learn Buddhism, what exactly do we learn? What kind of achievement do we wish to seek so that we will be contented? The Three Refuges tell us the answer “Taking refuge” means returning to and relying on. Taking refuge in Buddha is returning to and relying on the Buddha in the true nature. The Triple Jewels has many definitions, and the most ultimate one is the Buddha of the true nature. “Buddha” means enlightenment. That is, a Buddhist practitioner must be awakened and not be deluded. First, we must turn away from delusion and rely on enlightenment in the true nature. This is truly taking refuge in the Buddha. Second, “Taking refuge in the Dharma.” Dharma means the proper understanding of the true nature. Have proper views, not deviated ones. We turn away from deviated thoughts and views and rely on proper thoughts and views. Proper thoughts and views are wisdom innate in the true nature. The meaning is very profound. We should rely on innate wisdom in the true nature. Wisdom is not gained from without. That which is learned from without is knowledge, not wisdom. Wisdom requires awakening, which is called great enlightenment, or enlightening the mind and seeing the true nature. This is wisdom. Wisdom can understand and know the truth of everything in this world and beyond. Only attaining enlightenment is real. Therefore, the Buddha taught us to be enlightened and to attain the truth of life and the universe. There is not the slightest delusion in Buddhism. Third, when we learn and practice, we need to rely on the Sangha. In a Sangha, purity is foremost. Taking refuge in the Sangha means turning away from all pollutions and relying on a pure mind and pure behavior. This is truly taking the Three Refuges. The Buddha taught us in daily life, our thoughts, words, and behaviors should not deviate from this standard. Deviating from this standard is deviating from the Buddha’s teaching, and then we are not students of the Buddha. A student of a Buddha must constantly remember these three highest guiding principles for learning and practice. This is the Triple Jewels of the True Nature. This is truly taking refuge. We do not take refuge in a Buddha image. We have a Buddha image here. A Buddha image is the Buddha Jewel; the sutras are the Dharma Jewel; monastics are the Sangha Jewel. These three are the Three Jewels for dwelling in and upholding. The Buddha has left us and is no longer in this world. In commemoration of him, we make images of him. Seeing a Buddha image is liking seeing the Buddha himself. This gives rise to admiration and respect for the Buddha and inspires us to learn from the Buddha. This is what it means. We need to know this. The Dharma refers to the sutras, which are the Buddha’s teachings. When the Buddha was in this world, he taught by giving lectures. After his parinirvana, his teachings were written down. Seeing the teachings in words is like seeing Sakyamuni Buddha in front of us. Reading the sutras is listening to the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha. That is what it means. We must truly understand the Buddha’s teachings. What exactly did he teach? Understanding is not an easy thing. In Chinese Buddhism, at the beginning of the sutras is the Opening Verse, which was written by Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty. It was very well written. She wrote, “The unsurpassed, profound, and wonderful Dharma is extremely difficult to encounter in countless kalpas. Today I get to see, hear, receive, and uphold it; I wish to understand the true meaning of Tathagata’s words.” The last sentence is very important. How do we understand the the true meaning of Tathagata’s words? If we misunderstand or misinterpret Tathagata’s true meaning, the offense is very grave. The most important thing in understanding Tathagata’s true meaning is to be close to a wise teacher. In other words, we need to learn from a good teacher. What is the criteria for a good teacher? This teacher has truly obtained awakening from the sutras. This is a truly good, wise teacher. Not only are there not many, there are probably none these days. Why is this so? The reason lies entirely in sincerity and respect. Do we have a sincere and respectful mind for the Buddha? Without the slightest doubt, and with a pure, sincere, and respectful mind, we listen to lectures on the sutras or recite the sutras. This way, we will be able to understand Tathagata’s true meaning. But this sincerity has to be of the utmost. As it is said, “The utmost sincerely can bring forth a response.” We use this method. It worked for the ancients and it will also work for people today. But people today are influenced by science, which advocates questioning. If we question the Buddhist sutras or doubt Sakyamuni Buddha, we will not be able to learn Buddhism. What has become of our learning and listening to the sutras? What we learn will be knowledge, not wisdom. Wisdom is Tathagata’s true meaning; knowledge is not. What is knowledge? It is our own interpretation. We are ordinary beings, so our views are still those of an ordinary being, not that of the Buddha. We must know this. I accepted the invitation of the President to come to Sri Lanka, where I never expected to come. I was very surprised to find that the people here to be very down-to earth and honest. I have never seen such esteem for Buddhism in other places. Is this esteem the same as the having no doubt, sincerity, and respect as taught in the sutras? We can say that it is replete with these three requirements. Does it meet the Buddha’s standard? As the ancients said: “I wish to understand Tathagata’s true meaning.” The standards, I cannot say. But compare with other places, Sri Lanka very much deserves our respect. It is a small country and not very well known. Yesterday, I had a long talk with the Minister of Education. We had already met at the president’s office. I learned that there are over 10,000 schools in Sri Lanka. Students do not pay tuition to go to primary school, secondary school, or university. In other words, the government takes care of educational expenses. I was very moved.
I was reminded that in my youth, because my family was poor and could not afford the tuition, I had to miss school. Therefore, after age 14 I did not go to school. At that time, I thought about this everyday, “I loved studying. Why can’t I go to school?” Because my family was poor. I tried to come up with a solution that would allow children throughout the world not to miss school due to poor family circumstances and allow them to complete the education in primary school, secondary school, and university. Where does the money come from? The government. How does the government get the money? By levying a tax for education. Regardless how much money one makes. The government collects a tax of 10% from what one earns. If one makes ten dollars, one pays one dollar for the educational tax. The fund should be designated for this purpose only, nothing else. Maybe this solution would work. Unexpectedly, seventy years later, I found it here. You do not know how happy I am. It is such a rare situation! I realize that this government places great importance on education. Education, not armaments, is placed first in government expenditures. Generally a country wants to develop the military and armaments. But not this country. Instead it promotes education. I hope that every country in the world learns from Sri Lanka. We do not want to spend money on the military, which is not worth it. Money should be spent on education. Protecting a country does not require a military, especially in modern times. Many people know that military forces cannot solve problems. The U.S. started a war in Iraq. Three months before the war broke out, I wrote a letter to President George W. Bush. I urged him to use a peaceful method, not military forces, to solve problems. Unfortunately, the war still broke out. President Bush also realized that the war was a mistake. Why? Because it was easy to start a war but hard to end it. The problem was not resolved even after he left office. During the fall, there were little or no American fatalities. But during the occupation, local riots led to the death of several thousand Americans. It was not worth it. Therefore, it is a very good lesson, telling people that war will only make a disaster worse and will not resolve a problem. 9/11 led to a war against terrorists. This is extremely terrible. Society changed. Things became different. Before the attacks, I lived in the U.S. for more than a decade. The U.S. is indeed democratic and free. When I travelled, there were hardly any security checks at the airports. My friends in the U.S. could meet me at the arrival gate. As soon as I got off the plane, I saw them. When they saw me to the airport, they would see me to the boarding gate and make sure my carry-on was arranged before they left. But it is now different in the U.S. The security check is extremely strict. They even ask you to remove jackets and coats for the security check. So I do not want to go there anymore. I met President Bush once at a huge event. The security check there was more than ten times stricter than that at the airport. I saw about sixty or seventy security guards protecting the event venue. They were all armed with submachine guns as if they were facing formidable enemies. This did not look like they had won the war. So I felt very deeply about this. I hope there will be no more wars in the world. Wars bring endless disastrous consequences. Reprisals breed reprisals. Buddhists and some religious people know about samsara. Transmigration within the Six Paths was first taught by Brahmanism and was proven later. Anyone who cultivates the four kinds of meditation and the eight degrees of concentration can see this clearly. Reprisal breeds reprisal. It is cyclical and never ending. Why incur this enmity? It is not worth it. The root cause of chaos in today’s society lies in education. Education today is well implemented. There are many schools. Although schools are many, the direction in education has deviated. Schools focus mainly on teaching science and technology. There is hardly any humanities. In other words, a person knows how to produce machines and operate them, but he does not know how to be a good person. People care only about themselves, not others. The East has discarded the traditional heritages. China threw away her tradition 200 years ago. The West threw away their religious education. Social chaos and abnormal disasters today are thus the result. We must know this. When I lived in Australia, the Chancellor of the University of Queensland invited me to dine with him. We were accompanied by the Dean of Social Science and several professors. The dean told me that before WWII, some European experts and scholars had earnestly researched why three of the world’s four earliest civilizations disappeared, but Chinese civilization still exists? They spent a long time researching this topic and got an answer. He said, “It could be because the Chinese paid much importance to family education.” When I heard this, I told him that this conclusion was completely correct. Indeed, Chinese ancients understood education. They were wise in education. They had educational concepts, methods, and experiences, and good results from education. The _Book of Rites_ says: “Education is essential in building a country and in guiding its people.” It has been about 4500 years since the creation of Chinese written characters. We cannot say that there was no civilization before the creation of written characters. Civilization existed even earlier than that. A Hindu elder told me that his religion has existed for at least 13,000 years. I believe him. I also have reason to believe that Chinese traditional culture has also existed for at least 13,000 years. The dean truly grasped the core value of education, so he understood. Question: How did education come about? That is, what is the root of education? Why is education necessary? Before Buddhism was introduced to China, the Chinese ancients knew that human nature is originally good. In ancient China, when young children aged 4 or 5 started school, they were taught the _Three Character Classic_. The very first sentence in this text is “All people are innately good.” This is the same as the Three Refuges in Buddhist teaching. The same idea is expressed in different ways. Human nature is originally good. What does “originally good” mean? “Good” is Buddha. The first thing the Buddha taught in the Mahayana sutras is “All beings are Buddhas in nature.” See, the Buddha told us the goal: we are Buddhas in nature. What is the goal of our learning? It is to attain Buddhahood. Once we become a Buddha, we are no different from Sakyamuni Buddha or Amitabha Buddha. What does attaining Buddhahood mean? It means attaining ultimate, perfect wisdom, perfect virtues and abilities, and perfect auspicious marks. Do you want these? Do you want wisdom? Only when you have wisdom will you be able to completely understand the truth of all the phenomena in the universe. You will be all knowing and be capable of everything. Do you want this? Do you want to have moral integrity, like the virtues, capabilities, and auspicious marks of a sage? How about good health and longevity, never growing weak or old? Everybody wants these. You should know what I just said is the content of Buddhism. These are what Buddhism teaches us. If we do not learn these, it will be such a pity! Look at the Buddhist teachings. Life span is infinite in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Life never ends and people never become old. Can we achieve this? Scientists today tell us that we can. Quantum physicists have discovered that human thoughts can control physical phenomena. What have they discovered? Human thoughts can control material phenomena. The body is a physical phenomenon. If you have good thoughts, you will be healthy physically and mentally. You will never get sick. This is the first benefit of learning Buddhism. Our mental health has not reached the level of that of a Buddha. If it does, we will stay 18 years old every year, never getting old or getting sick. Look at a bodhisattva. How perfect his appearance is! Can we create such an appearance? We cannot. His appearance is so auspicious that we make cannot even match 1% of that appearance. This is a benefit of learning Buddhism. Once we truly understand this is what we want, we will be able to let go of all worldly things. The Buddha taught us to attain Buddhahood, like him. Buddhahood, bodhisattvahood and arhatship are titles of degrees of achievement in learning Buddhism. When we learn Buddhism, the first goal is attaining arhatship. Arhatship is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree. When we get this degree, we move to a higher level. The second degree is bodhisattvahood, and the highest degree is Buddhahood. These are achievement degrees. We cannot treat Buddhas and bodhisattvas as deities. If we do, then we are wrong. Deities include heavenly gods, ghosts and spirits. The Buddha is not a heavenly god, a ghost or a spirit. Only a Buddha can truly understand the truth of life and the universe. The Buddha said that all beings are Buddhas in nature. Celestial beings are also beings and are also Buddhas in nature. But they are now celestial beings. Ghosts and spirits are also Buddhas. They are also Buddhas in nature, but they are now ghosts and spirits. We are all Buddhas in nature, but we are now humans. We saw an elephant today. The elephant is an animal. It is a Buddha in nature but it is now an elephant. The Buddha wanted us to restore our original image. Our original image is Buddha. This is such a great and sacred goal. We must be clear why we learn Buddhism I mentioned earlier that the Three Refuges are wonderful. The Buddha urged us to abide by them throughout our lives. We take refuge in the Buddha. The Buddha is perfect in wisdom and good fortune- the honored one complete and perfect in two. “Two” refers to wisdom and good fortune. He was perfectly replete with both. When complete and perfect, this person attains Buddhahood. Not wanting Buddha [enlightenment] is not wanting wisdom. Not wanting wisdom is ignorance; having no good fortune is poverty and lowliness. Do you like to be poor and lowly? Do you like to be ignorant? Nobody does. If so, then we must want Buddha. We cannot abandon Buddha. If we have Buddha [enlightenment], we have wisdom. If we have Buddha [enlightenment], we have good fortune. This is for sure. When we truly understand this, our belief will not be blind belief. There are many Buddhist practitioners today, but few are truly clear about Buddhism. When I was young, I was antagonistic towards Buddhism. I did not believe it. I thought it taught delusion. I had some very close friends and classmates. Some of them were Christians and others were Muslims. I went to their mosques and churches. I really liked them. Why? Because they taught and lectured on their religious texts. I never heard that there were lectures on Buddhist sutras. Even when I attended a lecture, I could not understand it. And thus did not benefit from it. So I lost interest. I started to learn Buddhism at 26 when I was in Taiwan. I learned philosophy from Mr. Fang Dongmei, a famous philosopher. He taught me not at school but in the small living room at his home. I was the only student. He taught me _Introduction to Philosophy_. The last unit was “Buddhist Philosophy.” I was very surprised. I had said that Buddhism was a religion and taught delusion. How could it have philosophy? My teacher told me that I was young and did not understand. He said, “Sakyamuni Buddha was the greatest philosopher in the whole world. Buddhism is the pinnacle of all philosophies in the world. Learning Buddhism is the ultimate enjoyment of life.” I learned this last unit. And then I truly realized that such a good thing did exist in this world. I have learned Buddhism for 61 years, and I am very grateful to Mr. Fang. You can see his picture hanging behind me. Mr. Fang is constantly on my mind. He gave me wisdom and brought me happiness. This is true. I got to know what Buddhism really is. This is how I entered into the door of Buddhism. My second teacher was Zhangjia Living Buddha, who was a true Buddhist practitioner. My first teacher was a professor and a philosopher. Zhangjia Living Buddha encouraged me to become a monk. He urged me to learn from Sakyamuni Buddha and told me to read _Geneology of Sakyamuni_ and _Reports on the Spread of Buddhism in the Regions_ to get to know Sakyamuni Buddha first. When you learn Buddhism, if you do not know anything about the Buddha, you may take a detour or a side road. That will be a pity. I learned from Mr. Fang for three years before he entered parinirvana. It was Zhangjia Living Buddha who helped me lay the foundation for learning Buddhism. Without any of my three teachers, I cannot attain achievement. My last teacher was Mr. Li Bingnan, a lay practitioner. He was a master of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. It is very rare. I followed him for 10 years. He taught me how to lecture on the sutras. I learned about Sakyamuni Buddha’s life. He left home at 19, leaving affliction behind to engage in cultivation and learning. After 12 years of learning, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. After 12 years, he completed his learning and let go of hindrances from the attachment to knowledge. He was showing us with his conduct. After attaining enlightenment, he started teaching. He taught the five bhiksus at Deer Park. His teaching started here. He entered parinirvana at 79. He taught for 49 years without taking one day off. He slept under a tree and took one meal a day before noon. How good his constitution was. If we slept under a tree for one night, we would probably be in the intensive care unit the next day! We cannot compare with him. His body was indestructible like a diamond. The Buddha could do this because he had a healthy body. We cannot. But now we understand, we can do it too. Why could the Buddha do it? He was pure physically and mentally. He had no afflictions or desire, so he had no obstacles. Our bodies are ruined by ourselves. By what exactly? By our minds. What mind? A mind of selfishness, The mind of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Such a mind is not good. It ruins the body. Master Zhiyi of the Sui dynasty, a patriarch of the Tiantai school, told us in _Mahayana Method of Cessation and Contemplation_ that there are six causes for ordinary people to get ill. The first cause is disharmony of the four elements. One does not look after one’s body properly, so one gets sick. The second cause is one’s diet. The food nowadays has many problems. Our planet is badly polluted, especially by pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Food for our vegetarian diet is also polluted. If we vegetarians want to eat clean and unpolluted food, we have to grow our own vegetables. Therefore, I bought a large tract of farmland in Australia. We plant grains, vegetables, and fruits to provide food for ourselves. We are forced into doing this. The size of the land is more than one thousand acres. We feel much safer when eating what we grow. We actively advocate and promote no pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our produce is much better than those grown with pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Our quality is much better. We do not know how to farm, so we hire farmers. They work eight hours a day, and we pay them. When we harvest, after we keep what we need, there is still plenty left that can be sold in the market. We provide our own food. After selling the harvest, we pay the farmers but still have a lot of money left. It is the main financial source for our centre. Therefore, our centre does not depend on the donations from our followers. We were self-sufficient. This is a good method. This way, our minds are at peace. When our minds are at peace, we will realize the truth. This is the healthiest food. The third cause is sitting in meditation. There are principles for sitting in meditation to regulate the mind and the body. When one does not know the principles, It will result in illness. This is also one cause. The fourth cause is ghosts and spirits. Indeed, one may be possessed by a ghost or a spirit and become sick. It is very troublesome. They are karmic creditors. Many people nowadays have this kind of illness. Both men and women have all kinds of strange illnesses. The cause is mostly abortion. Abortion is homicide. One kills one’s child. Once you kill the baby, its spirit will possess you. The purpose is to take your life or torture you. It is really troublesome. I have seen many such cases. Reconcile with them using Buddhist methods. If they accept, they will leave and the illness will be cured. If they refuse to leave, it will be very troublesome. But most of them were willing to leave. The fifth cause is Mara. This has nothing to do with that person. It is Mara. But there is a link between that person and Mara. Because one practices diligently, Mara comes to torture one. This is also one cause. The last cause is evil karmas. One has done too many bad deeds. Let me give a few examples of bad deeds. Buddhism teaches the Five Precepts, which are the fundamental precepts. The first is killing. If one likes killing animals and enjoys eating meat, one is susceptible to liver illnesses or eye diseases. One’s eyes are bad. These are the two kinds of illnesses one may have. The second is stealing. One craves others’ money, status, and beautiful women, and obtains them using illegal means, harming others to benefit oneself. This is stealing. Stealing can easily illnesses related to lungs. The illnesses of the lungs, which is one of the five viscera. Externally, nose problems, such as sinusitis, are also caused by stealing. The third is sexual desires. Excessive sexual desires leads to kidney or ear problems. One will be hard of hearing. One cannot hear. Lying causes spleen or tongue illnesses. If one drinks excessively, one will have heart or oral illnesses. This is killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol. If you do not control yourself and go all out to indulge in enjoyments, you will have physical and mental problems afterwards. Therefore, the Buddha said that breaking the Five Precepts will result in the illnesses of the five viscera and the five sense organs. You will be unhealthy both physically and mentally. There is another cause. Even if one keeps the precepts, one can also get sick. This illness is caused by grave offenses that one had committed before one learnt Buddhism. It might have been committed in a previous life, not the present. One committed very grave offenses in past lifetimes and should have fallen into the hells. Getting sick is a minor retribution for the grave offenses. The bad karma is thus eliminated. Therefore, it is a good thing, not a bad one. Once the bad karma is eliminated, one will recover. In sum, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt are the causes of all illnesses. Holding grudges, hatred, annoyance, fury, and impatience are the conditions of all illnesses. With the presence of a cause and a condition, one will be ill. Illnesses of the five viscera and the six hollow organs mean that our bodies are sick. Externally, our living environment will have a lot of disasters. These disasters are effected by us; they are not natural disasters. Nature is of the utmost beauty and health. How can nature harm people? It is our evil thoughts and deeds that bring about these disasters. Illnesses, a short life span, and natural disasters are retributions. They are our retributions. Evil thoughts bring about bad responses externally- our living environment. The Buddha told us that if people in an area are very greedy, there will be disasters such as floods, tsunamis, rising sea levels, and flooding rivers. Anger and hatred will bring about fire. They will cause the eruption of volcanoes. Do not think that losing one’s temper is no big deal. It will cause the eruption of volcanoes and an increase in global temperature. It is the fire of anger and hatred. Ignorance causes wind disasters. Arrogance causes earthquakes. As to doubt, we now see landslides and sudden cave-ins. They are brought about by doubt. When we know this, we will understand why the Buddha taught us to practice the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Karmas. This is for our physical and mental well-being. We should truly fulfill the Five Precepts and the Ten Virtuous Karmas, The basic virtues that the ancient Chinese taught are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. We should fulfill these five benevolence is no killing; righteousness is no stealing; propriety is no sexual misconduct; wisdom is no ignorance; trustworthiness is keeping one’s words-no lying. They carry the same meaning as the Five Precepts. Therefore, we should fulfill these five, If we cultivate the Five Precepts, the Ten Virtuous Karmas, and the Six Harmonies, and chant the Buddha name, we will never be sick physically or mentally. There will be no need to buy medical or life insurance. No need at all. We can use that money on good causes. This way, our minds will be at ease. This is the Buddha’s teaching on how to look after our health. We will enjoy physical and mental well-being, never getting old. Chinese traditional culture consists of four subjects. One of them is the Five Cardinal Relationships. The Five Cardinal Relationships refer to human relationships. The teaching of relationships in Mahayana Buddhism has reached the utmost level. Mahayana Buddhism affirms that all the beings in the whole universe and oneself are one entity. This definition of relationships is so well explained. Why did the Buddha love and care about us so much? Because we and the Buddha are one entity and are even closer than father and son. Father and son are two entities, not one. We and the Buddha are one entity. We and all beings are one entity. This kind of love is the core of the universe. It is the core of the true nature. The foremost virtue in the true nature is love. After we see the true nature, this virtue will naturally come forth. Thus, Buddhas and bodhisattvas all love people. It is impossible that they have the thought of harming people. Absolutely impossible! You know in traditional Chinese culture, that there are three schools of thought: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Chinese emperors used all of them. Therefore, these emperors were very wise and not confused. They used Confucianism to govern the country. They used Buddhism to educate people. People received Buddhist teachings, and everyone was a good person. As everyone was a good person, all deeds were good deeds. At that time, of all occupations, which occupation did everyone want to engage in? Government officials. Everybody envied government officials. They studied hard so as to get a governmental post. Why did they choose this occupation? Because with this occupation, they would have social status. They would be respected by the populace wherever they went. They were also paid well. They had little to do. Why? Because everyone was a good person, and all deeds were good deeds. There were no criminal cases to handle. But if there were three or five cases required to be handled in a month, people would ask how come there were so many cases in this place. Therefore, everybody wanted to be a governmental official. Yesterday, I presented to the President a set of _Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature_ as well as a set of _Selections from the Four Branches of Literature._ These two sets contain the wisdom of the ancient Chinese sages of thousands of years ago. Their wisdom, concepts, experiences, and methods of cultivating oneself, putting one’s family in order and properly governing the country are all contained in these books. Dr. Toynbee once said that the world was in chaos, and in order to resolve the social problems of the twenty-first century, we must rely on the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and on Mahayana Buddhism. He was right. He knew China had this valuable treasure, which is the ultimate wisdom of Chinese ancestors. So far there is nothing that can compare with the creation of the classical Chinese language. Why is this method good? Though time changes, these books will never change. In other words, it transcends space and time. No matter where one is in time, as long as one has learnt the written characters, one will have this treasure. This creation [of classical Chinese language] is ten times, even a hundred times, more brilliant than any scientific invention today. It allows you to preserve things. Hundreds of thousands of years later, you can still use it anywhere. It will not change. These concepts, methods, and wisdom transcend time and space. It is not difficult to learn the characters. I purposely asked an American college student who studied Chinese, “How long did it take for you to learn classical Chinese?” “Three years.” In 2006, I attended a big event initiated by UNESCO in Paris. They also invited me to co-host the event. On the way there, I stopped by the UK to visit schools. I went there once before. This second time, I purposely visited the sinology departments at Oxford, Cambridge, and London University. I had exchanges with the students as well as a symposium with the professors. I asked the students the same question. Their answer was also three years. It is not difficult! In three years, you’ll get the key [to the treasure]. The _Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature_ becomes your own wisdom and property. The ancestors gave it to you. For culture, there are no boundaries of country, of ethnic group, or of religion. Whoever has the key, the treasure becomes his. It really can bring ever-lasting peace and stability to the world. It can also bring us a lifetime of happiness. If we are willing to practice according to the teachings, every one of us can become a Buddha. Every one of us can become a sage. Chinese education is the teachings of the sages, not a teaching that helps you get promotions or obtain wealth. The idea of getting promotions or obtaining wealth is wrong. You may get them now, but you cannot enjoy them for long. Your illnesses will come forth. The illnesses of the five viscera and the six hollow organs that I mentioned earlier will all come forth. At that time, you will suffer and be pitiable. So it is better to emulate sages. It is even better to emulate Buddhas or bodhisattvas. Regarding the education problems today, in Malaysia, I gave a talk to the headmasters and teachers of Malaysian Chinese schools. There are more than 1,000 Chinese primary schools and 61 Chinese secondary schools in Malaysia. There is a union for the headmasters and teachers. I talked to them, hoping that they would aspire to pass down traditional Chinese teachings. We should learn from the sages, not from the rich or those of high social status. We should emulate sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas. This is good. We can save ourselves, our country, our people, the whole world, and all beings. At that time, I proposed ten “Educational is essential” statements. We should know this. Filial piety is the root of Chinese culture. Respect is the foundation of Chinese culture. These two are the root and foundation. To fulfill filial piety and respect, one must be filial to one’s parents and respect one’s teachers. The sutras also place them first. We read the Three Conditions taught in the _Visualization Sutra._ The first is being filial to and providing for parents. The second is being respectful to and serving teachers. These two are exactly the same as Chinese traditional teaching. We should know that culture is the soul of a nation, and education is the lifeline of culture. So, “In settling down and establishing oneself, ” if we wish to lead a peaceful life, “education is essential.” We must receive education. In the past, Chinese education was not meant for getting promotions or obtaining wealth. “In pursuing a career and putting one’s family in order ” – this family concept in China no longer exists. Talking about this always brings tears to my eyes. The “family concept” still existed during the Sino-Japanese War. After the war, there was no more “family concept.” Today, when we talk about putting one’s family in order, there is a need for a new definition. What is family? It is an organization. An enterprise is an organization. Thus, an entrepreneur in Chinese is called “enterprise family.” A family in ancient China was a large household, not a small one. A normal family had over three hundred members, with five generations living under the same roof. Brothers did not split up family property or move out. Therefore, a large household was like a community. When one was born, one had the thought that one came to serve the family, not to live for oneself. Everything that one did was to bring honor to one’s ancestors and to bring glory to one’s family. One’s efforts throughout one’s life was to make the family prosper, to make one’s ancestors be known to future generations, and to win people’s respect. This was one’s goal. Living for oneself was not. Education is also essential in pursuing a career and putting one’s family in order. “Education is essential in building a country and in guiding its people.” In any dynasty in China, once an emperor gained political power, a system of proprieties and music would be set up within five years. Society would settle down and become stable. This is because he knew education was essential. He placed great emphasis on education. Chinese people placed great importance in education. This is true, not false. How much importance did they place on education? A mother started nurturing the fetus from pregnancy. She started teaching the child before it was born. Why? She knew that her every thought would influence the baby while it was still in the womb. Her speech and actions would also affect it. Thus, during the ten months of pregnancy, a mother had to observe the rules of pregnancy. She must have pure and correct thoughts; she must not have evil thoughts. The baby was enveloped in this proper energy, without the slightest bad energy. The mother paid attention to this. Thus, the mother does not watch anything that she should not or that is not beneficial, She would not listen to anything that was not proper to hear, she would not say anything that was not proper. She spoke little and let her mind be calm. This way, after the baby was born, teaching it would be easy and it would listen to its mother’s words. So Chinese education started with prenatal education. After a child was born, the whole family had to observe proprieties and behave properly, not allowing the baby to see anything discourteous. If it did, it would learn by imitating. Children learn fast. After they are born, as soon as they open their eyes, they can see and hear. It is hard to teach children today. Why? Because parents do not know this. Before a child turns 3, he has already learned bad behaviors. It becomes difficult to teach the child. If a child is hard to discipline, it is because the mother has not done her duty. If the mother knows to implement prenatal education, the mother is a sage. The child will become a sage, a Buddha, or a bodhisattva in the future. Buddhas and bodhisattvas were taught to become so. Who taught them? Their mothers. How great mothers are! Now fewer and fewer people know this. There are truly problems in schools today. Let me finish the rest of the statements before I continue.
Education is essential in having a country of propriety and righteousness.
Education is essential in achieving stability and harmony.
Education is essential in having an affluent country and peaceful people.
Education is essential in achieving times of peace and prosperity.
Education is essential in achieving everlasting stability and peace.
Education is essential in all the Buddha’s lands of rewards.
Education is essential in the Land of Ultimate Bliss.
I have great respect for the President of Sri Lanka. Why? Because he understands education. He puts education first in his administration of the country. What he does is exactly the same as what ancient Chinese emperors had done. Chinese emperors of every dynasty put education first. Of the ministries under the prime minister, the Ministry of Education was the foremost. When the prime minister could not fulfill his duties, the Minister of Education would do so for him. The Ministry of Education was the most important ministry of all. In other words, all the facilities of the country were responsible for and supported education. Only when people are taught to become good people, will society be stable and the world be peaceful. How to teach people is an immense subject. What teaching materials should we use? What methods should we adopt? We have considered these for many years and done a lot of presentations. But what I said were empty words. Why? Because there was no implementation. I once did an experiment in Tangchi. I implemented Chinese traditional culture in a small town and used it as an example. I was motivated into doing it by my friends in UNESCO. I gave a presentation at UNESCO. Everybody liked it and applauded. But afterwards, they said, “Venerable Master, your lecture was great, but it is just an ideal. It cannot be achieved.” These words were a blow to me. Then I realized what the real problem was. It was the lack of confidence. We have no confidence in what our ancient sages passed down, in ancient teaching materials, or in ancient methods. Actually, the ancient teaching materials and methods passed down by the sages are forever unchanging. We must not look down on them. Today I brought a few photos which I picked myself. These are African children. I have never been to Africa but when I saw these photos, I wanted to visit it. These African children are all orphans. A Taiwanese monk has adopted three thousand orphans. He teaches them traditional Chinese culture and has them memorize Chinese classics. These children can recite fluently from memory and they did so in front of me. They recited from the _Four Books_ and the _Five Classics._ _Guidelines for Being a Good Person_, and _Accounts of Request and Response._ I said, “This is great! It is precious!” There are inheritors of Chinese traditional culture. These African children are the inheritors. These African children will become sages, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas in the future. They can save the world. I was very delighted. Thus I sing their praises wherever I go. W should give them support. Their living conditions are very tough. Therefore, I will try to find time and go to visit them. As I mentioned earlier, we should use the ancient curricula and teaching methods. We cannot use the contemporary ones. The new teaching method is teaching subjects concurrently. Many subjects are taught at schools. The first hour is language class; the second hour is math class. Before the students remember anything about language, they switch to a new subject. The third hour is history class. The subject is changed again. The subjects keep changing, and their minds are totally messed up and confused. How can they learn well? Ancient Chinese teaching method was never like this. “In teaching, focused learning is of utmost importance.” “Delve deeply into one method and immerse in it for a long time.” What is the purpose? The purpose is to help them attain awakening. Chinese teaching did not place emphasis on studying or memorizing. The emphasis is on attaining awakening. If one attains meditative concentration, one will attain awakening. When one delves deeply into on method, one’s mind is focused. Look at today’s students! Even university students and graduate students are restless and impatient. I feel sad when I see them thus. They have no concentration. In ancient China, teenagers already had concentration. They looked very sedate and poised. They were different. Teenagers today cannot compare with them. Therefore, the ancient teaching methods are better. Years ago when I studied under Mr. Fang Dongmei, he once asked me, “Do you trust Western medicine or Chinese medicine?” he said, “Western medicine has 300 years of history, and Chinese medicine has 5,000 years of history.” I said, “Of course I trust the one with 5,000 years of history! It has stood the test of 5,000 years. The one with 300 years of history is still not reliable.” Old things are better. The older the better. New things may have a lot of interesting features but they also have many problems. We have to be cautious. Now I would like to invite a teacher onstage. He uses these teaching methods and content. He teaches from the first grade to the sixth grade in primary school. He has a special class called “Fu Xi class.” He teaches these students from the first grade all the way to the sixth grade. He has succeeded in his teaching. The result is very marvelous. But he cannot teach them after that. Therefore, I think about establishing a school providing the classes of all levels of school. When the students are ready to enter secondary school, I will start classes for them. When they are ready to enter university, I will start a university. When they are ready to enter graduate school, I will provide graduate courses. I let the students move upward from primary school. This is the teaching of the sages. What about academic degrees? I will discuss with the Ministry of Education of the country, I will discuss with the Ministry of Education of the country, asking the government to give a test to these students and confer a sage’s degree, not a doctoral degree. A doctoral degree is not enough, as these students are higher than PhDs. So I pay special attention to this. Now please allow me to present Teacher Wu.
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