We study Buddhism in order to learn the spirit of benefiting oneself and others demonstrated by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Not only should we be able to cut through our afflictions and end birth and death, but we should also be able to teach others so they can likewise attain liberation from birth and death and find happiness. Then, how can we learn from the Bodhisattvas?
First, we must learn the wisdom of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Why is wisdom necessary to practice the Bodhisattva Path? That’s because without wisdom, one is ignorant, and sentient beings suffer birth and death due to ignorance, endlessly revolving through the six realms. Ignorance that is unaware of its own ignorance, the root of delusion, is the primary defilement and the source of bad karma. Deluded ignorance creates karma as the cause and the experience of suffering as the fruit. Thus, it is the revolving round of the six realms in samsara—death and rebirth, birth and death, living and dying, dying and living, birth, death, and all their continuities—an interval-less cycle of eons with no prescribed end.
If we divide wisdom into three types:
· The first is hearing wisdom, a wisdom cultivated from hearing and studying many scriptures.
· The second is contemplation wisdom; after hearing wisdom, one must think in accordance with the truth to generate correct understanding and wisdom.
· The third is cultivational wisdom; after contemplation, one further needs to practice according to various methods—whether meditation or purification—to truly generate wisdom.
With these three kinds of wisdom, one naturally attains unobstructed eloquence and can teach according to the capacities of beings and convert all beings. It is important to note that the wisdom and eloquence here are attained through hearing, reflection, and practice, not something that common worldly cleverness can compare with.
Learning the spirit of the Bodhisattvas should not be for one’s own comfort alone. One should impart the wisdom learned, educate all beings, transform evil into good, lead confusion to realization, and transform the ordinary into the sacred.
To learn from the Bodhisattvas, we must first enrich ourselves, i.e., seek enlightenment (discrimination and realization), and then develop eloquence to teach the Dharma and guide others. With wisdom, it becomes like a sharp sword: all ignorance and delusion can be cut through.
