On Becoming a Wise Person
I, Buddha, have been known by names such as Sakyamuni Buddha, Shaka Nyorai,
Shakuson, and simply Nyorai since ancient times. I state the following
especially for the sake of mothers and fathers with little children.
? I was born about 2,560 years ago as the son of King Suddhodana of
the Sakya tribe in Kapilavatthu, the town in a subject nation to Kosala
in the ancient Indian Kingdom. (The nation was in the northern reaches
of the Ganges River which is now part of Nepal.) I lived a life of ease
within a castle until the age of 29 with the name of Gautama Siddhartha,
but suddenly one day I was struck by the hollowness of life and the pointlessness
of living. Therefore, I left behind my life and the pointlessness of living.
Therefore, I left behind my wife and children, my parents and the luxurious
life in the castle to become a monik. After going through a number of spiritual
disciplines I came to the realization that these were not what brought
peace of mind or enlightened a person to the meaning of life, so I gave
them up.
? The things I gained after entering the state of samadhi were immeasurably
greater and more wonderful than the levels of enlightenment reached by
monks undergoing various austerities. I gained a universal awareness of
all things which exist in this cosmic order including living things and
non-living things which exist across the boundaries between life and death,
or that between material things and non-physical things. I learned the
universal truth that nothing ever ceases to exist, that everything is alternately
created and then destroyed just to be recreated again, that things are
perpetually born and then die to recreated again, that things are perpetually
born once more according to the laws of the universe, and that the cycle
of birth, old age, disease and death for man was just part of this same
process. I gained this insight at the age of 35, one day in May.
? That it to say, I attained enlightenment concerning exactly what
the life of man should be transcending birth, old age, disease and death.
Furthermore, I came to the realization that man had an obligation to live
in harmony with the natural order as part of nature and the greater cosmos,
and that the duty of man for purpose of harmony was to stand in the vastness
of this universe and have a mind just as wide open to seek his course in
the flow of nature or the laws of nature which are just like the flowing
of water(Water shall become rain; and from rain, there shall flow streams.
Streams shall merge into the great river, and flow to the seas. The oceans
shall give forth their vapors, and there shall again be rain. Thus, the
true nature of water shall endure throughout the eons of time). One should
walk the middle path and allow things to flow toward and away from one
without becoming disturbed by the currents of strong emotions, or allowing
human relationships to be destroyed in the whirlpools of violent emotions.
? Normal people, and religious devotees most of all, must relate to
people in a peaceful manner and possess the virtue of tolerance. This is
the most important thing, along with keeping the spirit of the "golden
mean." One must see others in the right light and understand and accept
what others desire so as to temper the words coming from one's mouth with
a spirit of love and compasion. One must regulate one's interactions with
people in this way and in effect correct one's way of life in order to
become a virtuous person and allow this virtue to flow out to all those
persons one comes into contact with so as to live a life that has a beneficial
influence on all those around one. Further, one must deal with all things
on this basis. Even in one's profession, for the sake of a livelyhood,
one must not lose this spirit, but keep in mind that one's life and work
exist for the sake of others, or forb saving others. Also, one must take
time to reflect on one's own actions at the end of the day, or immediately
after each mistake to determine whether somehow, somewhere an error was
committed ihn dealing with someone or the wrong attitude was taken regarding
someone. One has to be very careful not to make the same way again. This
approach to leading a virtuous life has been named the Eight-fold Noble
Paths, and this is what I taught the Indians in my time.
??? Here are brief explanations for each one of the Eight-fold
Noble Paths.
1, Right View( Just Discernment!sinobu): This is
to view(recognize!sinobu) things in the right way. It is important to see
things objectively from the standpoint of a third person to see not just
the surface of things but to discern the true meaning hidden behind things.
2. Right Thinking(Just Thinking!sinobu): This is
to think in the right way. How a person thinks determines whether he is
cheerful or gloomy. When people think in the right way based on a spirit
of caring, their personal relationships are improved and they themselves
become bright and cheerful.
3. Right Speaking(Just Speaking): This is to speak
in the right way.Speaking in the right way means to speak using words and
a manner which convey love and compassion. Harmony is created when a person
speaks in the right way().
4. Right Action(Just Action): This is to work in
the right way. Modern society is made possible by the division of labor.
When one's own work is regarded as being a service to others and society
at large, both pollution and the gap between the rich and the poor will
disappear, and this will lead to harmony in society as a whole(The society
of today stands on a division of labor. Provided one thinks of his labor
as a contribution to offer people, or society, extremes of poverty and
wealth and destruction of the common environment will cease, leading to
the harmoney of society as a whole).
5. Right Life(Just Life): this is to live in the
right way. It means to strengthen one's good points and to correct one's
shortcomings. Depending on how this is done, shortcomings can be quickly
turned into strong points.
6. Right Endeavor(Just Efforts): This is personal
growth inn the right way, or otherwise harmony in social relationships.
It means that one should view and think about oneself in human relationships
to live according to the correct path.(To make the right efforts. To achieve
harmony within society. To see oneself in relation to others, to consider,
and to live accordingly in harmony.)
7. Right Aspiration(Just Aspiration): People's aspirations
create reverberations on all levels to bring various things to each person
accordingly. Like attracts like, so one must keep right aspirations without
an impure mind, or else one will attract bad friends and evil spirits(One
projection of a man's will will be immediately transmitted to one of three
thousand human emotional spheres throughout the world; by this he may draw
in all things. Likes attract likes. So, unless one makes projections of
one's aspirations correctly with an unclouded heart, what comes in return
will be evil friends and demons.
8. Right Meditation(Just Reflection!sinobu): One
must reflect on one's own behavior objectively to see if the above seven
right paths have been abhered to. Any mistakes must be found and one must
resolve to never make the same mistake again.
?The period and country I was teaching these truths was slightly more
than 2,500 tears ago in Ancient India, where mostly ignorant people lived.
Nevertheless, the heart of man is one and the same, and enlightenment is
no different today than it was in those days. So people with pure hearts
were able to understand very well the things I was teaching. In those days,
the structure of society was not nearly as complex as today and the wide
variety of lifestyles, the knowledge explosion, the high degree of specialization,
and the disintegration and degeneration of religion was not as advanced
as it is today. Furthermore, some places today in which every one becomes
buddha after death whether personal enlightenment can be attained or not.
Therefore, people in those days were able to lead lives with a strong faith
and apply these teachings in their daily life to create a peaceful social
environment.
? The spirit of Eight-fold Noble Paths was not forgotten despite famine
and natural disasters, and they remained firmly impressed in the minds
of people. Thus, people in that day were able to acquire a true sense of
humility and respect for one another, and firmly consolidate the spirit
of mutual harmony as their own. If only the attitudes of people in that
day could be revived in society today, the salvation of this decadent world
could be speeded up tremendously. Everyone in the Celestial Realm as well
as myself cannot think about this without an aching heart.
? To change the subject to parent-child relationships, in the present
age, it is common for people to act as if they had no parents, or otherwise,
as if they had no children. The young generation mistakenly believe that
adopting a "modern" attitude is what it means to grow up. In addition,
middle aged persons who are parents of these children, as well as the elderly,
assume a cold and aloof attitude, and turn this attitude back on children
and their parents in their forties and fifties. Otherwise, family members
deal with each other very coldly harboring feelings of distrust, and they
falsely believe that co-existence means for each person to lead selfish
lives out in the world. This kind of thing would simply never take place
in India today, not to mention Medieval and Ancient India.
?One reason for this may be that India still has a caste system where
sociaty is divided into four classes and there is no interchange of feelings
or information between people except between those in the same caste. This
bad custom where people are not even allowed free determination still remains
in India, but on the other hand, this works to preserve the good aspects
in the system of extended families.
? As said earlier, the world we refer to as the world of decadence
in the present age is where a generation of unconcerned and alienated people
appear all over the world. For this reason the Last Judgement is being
undertaken by hands of Heaven, so that now each and every one of us has
to await judgement. Each perason will receive a judgement according to
his sins, and wrath of God has finally come down upon us. Now my benediction
as well as the love of Christ can only be received after one has unndergone
the Last Judgement.
? My teachings about compassion in ancient times were directed primarily
toward kings, priests, and the wealthy. Compassion was the spirit of caring
to be extended to the common people to save and comfort those who were
sick, or otherwise suffering mentally or physically. I taught especially
that kings had to administetheir nation based on the True Law and compassion.
All people who suffer unjustly because of the inequities of society should
be able to receive the blessings and the light of my salvation eventually.
It was my mission during my existence on earth to preach this truth, but
2,500 years after my death, despite the atonement of mankind's sins by
Jesus Christ, people forgot all about the spirit of compassion. Thus this
terrifying Last Judgement came to pass while people continued to live without
regarding this world of decadence as being decadent, and discrimination
by race and social position, gaps between the rich and the poor, misuse
of sovereign power and the high and mighty attitudes among priests and
monks become widespread. The Last Judgement is where one's sins and virtuous
acts are all weighed out on a balance scale; it is just that Heaven was
given to other choice because people's hearts become so blind as not to
realize their fault uhntil they are punished.
? There is nothing I am allowed to do concerning the Last Judgement.
All I can dp is to wait. I hope that all people will purify their hearts
and mend their ways as much as time allows. People who are still living
on this earth must right their wrongs and seek out and eliminate unsound
reasoning in their life and attitudes to make their life as full of virtue
as possible. One must discard audacious ideas that a person can attain
Buddhahood if his actions are good. Instead, a person must serve God with
a sense of humility. As a parent, one must assume the duty of teaching
and guiding
one's children from their early days concerning what to believe and follow,
and what consitutes virtue and what kind of people are truely worthy of
admiration. This is in no way a fruitless task. One has to first begin
by making very sure that he does not fall into the deep trap called false
religious and faiths.
? The reason false religious are wrong is because people worship things
which are not supposed to be objects of devotion. Some people with single-hearted
devotion pray to God to fulfill their wishes and desires, and their preoccupation
with this prayer becomes almost obsessive. Thus, when prayers are answered
at times but not at other times at those places of worship, people begin
to use their material assets for things to please God and Buddha more,
whatever their religious leader may demand. In other words, they expend
a great deal of time and money on their obssesion to try and please their
God any way they can.
?? Furthermore, the spirits which take possession of such religious
groups are capricious evil spirits from hell which do not care about the
happiness, success or health of its believers so they do not take into
account the sacrifices people make. When believers are unhappy with their
situation, these spirits make the priests or monks criticize these people
and blame their lack of faith or religious devotion.
? These false religious demand sacrifices from their believers far
exceeding the bounds of reason, and the believers while becoming more and
more desperate and unhappy all the time trying to please their deities,
do not in their deepest hearts have any hope that the day will come when
this religion will bring them happiness. Yet on the surface, they continue
to keep their faith and be obsessed and unable to give it up.
? Such religious groups often have images of Buddha, icons or sacred
trees. In such cases, not the spirits of the dead or otherwise evil spirits
from hell take advantage of people's native desires and obsession for success
and happiness. These evil spirits ridicule these human beings living on
the Third Dimension and extend the realm of the impure spirits, instead
of that of the divine.
? Those entities who should be exalted as God and divinities reside
in Heaven and each person's heart is connected to them, and they only desire
that we communicate with them through our soul connection.Nevertheless,
the hearts of people, instead of being turned heavenward, are forever distracted
by the things of the world, and they end their lives in delusion. Thus,
many religiones abound in the world today which are of no significance
and absolutely useless in the purification of one's soul.
? Every time such religious confusion becomes rampant in the world,
we the great guiding spirits of light, arcangels of light and angels of
light must come down to the earth and go around rectifying these errors.
Yet, no matter how many times we correct the situation, people quickly
become confused again by false religions. Even in the religions and spiritual
groups which teach the correct path, after a generation passes the leadership
also turns over, the rule of conduct where priests and monks must place
their spiritual practice and development as the first priority is forgotten.
Often the minds of spiritual leaders become all occupied with mundane affairs
such as keeping up with the customs and lifestyles in this world, and they
begin tob conduct their affairs by giving priority to income for their
temples and shrines, and pay more attention to profit and the acquisition
of property.
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? The realm of the impure spirits, as mentioned before, is often found
among the newer religions which are primarily motivated by the desire for
personal profit or gain. Since these relgions do not have a tradition of
spiritual work passed down through the generations, those who set themselves
up as the founder or leader of such institutions assume little if any responsibility
for their congregation so they create all manner of rules and rituals and
force these upon their followers. Even among the well established religions,
however, such as the Buddhist and Shinto() sects in Japan, there are irresponsible
ones which show no concern for the welfare of their congregation and they
create the realm of the impure spirits.
? To those of us in the Celestrial Realm, religious leaders are like
truely troublesome parasitic worms, and unless they are destroyed quickly
they spread rapidly like a thick blacket of dark fog separating God and
the Bodhisattvas from mankind on the Third Dimension.
? The reason the newer religions are extending the realm of the impure
spirits is due not only to the lack of conscientiousness on the part of
the founders and leaders, but also quite apart from their preaching of
the need for spiritual development, people are drawn in and their religious
aspirations are parasitized. These unenlightened spiritual leaders make
apparently convincing pronouncements by preaching their own interpretation
of the scriptures or sutras, and they make it appear as if these ideas
were divine revelations. In any case, the more impressive are, the more
people gather around, and the content of the teaching becomes a secondary
issue.
?When the teacher tells his followers that a certain things will bring
them material gain, unfortunately evil spirits aid these leaders and founders
to actually make this possible. There are three things such false teachers
use as advertising without exception-worldly riches, success and cure of
diseases. It does not matter even if these promises are not fulfilled in
every single case. All it takes is for there to be a 50 to 80 percent success
rate. Even standing takes place just in a few percent of the cases, gullible
followers gather around to form a religious group and exalt the leader
as an embodiment of God.
? The more suspicious the religious group is, the greater the chances
are of it being backed by a demonic spirit. These groups increase the amount
of donations, tithes, and members become miserable by pouring out their
hard earned money for reasons they do not understand. The founder and leader
often say nothing even when enormous sums are donated. The sense of proportion
is lost and people lose their common sense. This eventually causes splinter
groups to break away from such organizations. In fact, many such groups
have been spawned by the Nichiren Seishu Buddhist sect.
? The reason for the existence of religion as well as its true form
and purpose cannot be explained in a few short sentenses. Religion is a
personal feeling which should be kept intact deep in each persons's heart,
and these sentiments must be kept sacred in silence and solitude. The deep
truth within each person should not be forgotten even in the busiest moments
when one is hand at work( As mostof you aren probably aware, the undertaking
of the Last Judgement has been predicted and prophesied in many ways since
ancient times. But its execution became subject for going ahead with the
Last Judgement was that human beings on earth did not consider "judgement
by God" to be anything more than some obscure reference in the scriptures
which somehow concerned a different world and did not apply to them. Most
people apparently live with the attitude which seems to search for solutions
to problems only after they are hit with the full conseqences of the catastrophe.
This can be considered to be an overly optimistic attitude or plain laziness.
This results from an easy going attitude which believes that man's original
sin was forgiven and pardoned with the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the
cross, so that God will no longer punish man even though he may lead a
life full of small sins. This could be evidence that people are simply
not concerned.[Japan specially wrong in the world. But Other countries
worship Satan David. God is living in Japan] ! by Raguel). And the wisdom
which wells up from deep introspection(considering and judging everything,
even oneself, in an objective manner) will give a person the ability to
get though the most difficult moments in life, and will provide a person
with peace of mind and asture powers of judgement.
? True faith which connects an person with Heaven cannot exist side
by side with anger, spite, envy, jealousy, competitiveness, vanity, conceit,
cruelty, inhumanity, ingratitude, blindness to what is right and wrong,
and involvement with superficial ideologies and violence. You must guide
your children to become noble in character by setting an example in your
own life and making efforts towards personal growth because children grow
up by patterning themselves after adults even when no special guidance
is provided. It is a great responsibility to have children, and it entails
the greatest obligation of all. One must watch to see that children, and
it entails the greatest obligation of all. One must watch to see that children
grow up healthy and strong, and that they gain knowledge about various
things in life and acqure wisdom. Parents must take joy in the development
of their child as if it were their own personal gain. Unless a person is
such a parent, he or she cannot be considered as leading a life following
the laws of Heaven, or being worthy of Heaven's blessings.
? I, Buddha, dearly hope that you impress these things I have stated
deep into your heart and resolutely maintain the standards of righteousness
in your daily life as you train and raise the blessings and protection
of Heaven. Remember that once the Last Judgement is over, the utopia where
the chosen ones will live under the shower of light and blessings from
Heaven is immediately ahead.
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