We often hear the teaching that the purpose of learning Buddhism is to understand the ultimate reality of the universe, life and even everything.
I have also been attracted by this grand goal, and spent a lot of time walking through Qian Shan, experiencing many fogs, bumps and hardships, trying to find the supreme truth-through the appearance of everything, I can see the hidden essence behind it, that is, the ultimate truth of cosmic life, the so-called ultimate "reality".
However, the more contact, the more confused I am.
I know too much. Finally, the only thing I know is: I don't know anything!
Why?
The answer is simple: I am at a loss because I find too many answers!
Northern legend: "long, happy, I, scenery" is reality.
Southern legend: "impermanence without me" is a three-dharma seal and a reality.
It is said that everything is partly realistic: "the three realms are real, the legal system is eternal, and the external environment is real"-similar to materialism, it emphasizes that material is the first and knowledge must depend on the environment.
The only-knowing Sect said: "Three realms of idealism, all laws only know, and there is nothing outside" is the reality-similar to idealism, which emphasizes that spirit comes first and the environment is born from the heart.
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This contradictory reality can be found everywhere. The public says that the public is right, and the woman says that the woman is right. When you find an authority here, you can always find an opposite authority there. Right and wrong are really at a loss.
Until one day, I finally understood that all the so-called "reality" above was just a kind of "occupying the corner".
To some extent, there is no ultimate "reality" in this world for us. Many so-called "realities" are just some "angles" of understanding things and some ways of interpreting things-what they interpret is not the true face of things, but only one side of things.
Nowadays, the photography function of mobile phone is very powerful. In daily life, we often use mobile phones to shoot all kinds of people and things, especially in the face of some beautiful scenes, we will take pictures as a souvenir. However, we often find that sometimes, the same scenes, the same scenery, we take ordinary photos, but some people take amazing photos. Where is the mystery?
Generally speaking, the basic mode of most people taking pictures is as follows:
Facing the person, object and scene you want to shoot, pick up the mobile phone (vertical screen), raise it to the eye level, press the shutter and call it a day!
At this time, the photos we got were roughly like this-taking a portrait (girlfriend) of a scenic spot as an example:
In the photo taken by Zhang San, there are many colorful heads around his girlfriend. Sometimes, a telephone pole stands proudly on his forehead. The best background music of this photo is Xiaolong man: "I have a horn on my head and a tail behind me." No one knows how many secrets I have ... "
However, in the same scene, in the photos taken by Li Si, in addition to his girlfriend's dashing and heroic attitude, the sky is high and the clouds are light, the mountains are beautiful, the picture is pure and free of stains and sundries, and only the beautiful scenery is accompanied, which makes people think that it is in the no-man's land of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau-there are no colorful heads and bare gray telephone poles. ......................................................
The difference between these two photos actually stems from four words: different angles!
The main difference between the photos taken by professional photographers and those taken by ordinary people also comes from these four words: different angles!
The same scene, the same scenery, different angles, you may get completely different photos!
Sometimes when shooting, it's just a slight adjustment of the angle, and the result may be the difference between classic and mediocre.
The shooting mode used by Zhang San: For the person who wants to shoot, pick up the mobile phone (vertical screen), raise it to the eye level, press the shutter and call it a day!
Li Siyong's shooting mode may be like this:
Before taking pictures, jump up and down, look left and right, look back and forth, look up and down, find, study and compare the best shooting angle:
1: From what angle, we can avoid sundries from entering the mirror (crowds, telephone poles, etc.). )?
2. From which angle can you get the best lighting effect?
3. From which angle can you highlight the beauty of the characters best?
4. From which angle can we get the best environmental background?
5. From which angle can we get perfect angle?
6. From which angle can you get the best composition effect?
After finding the best shooting angle, gently press the shutter.
So, classic and mediocrity are divided here.
It can be said that taking the corner is the soul of photography!
Turning not only determines the form of the photo, but also determines the content of the photo.
You use a 35mm frame to intercept a limited part of this infinite world from your perspective.
You intercept infinity from infinity, and then deduce infinity from infinity.
It is your casting that determines all this.
Essentially, we have the same world.
however
You will see different worlds from different angles.
Your angle determines your world!
What is the connection between the world of photography and the world of Buddhism?
The answer is these two words: go to the corner.
When facing the world,
Photographers use cameras as a carrier to interpret the material world in their eyes through photography.
Meditators, on the other hand, take the heart as the carrier and reshape their inner spiritual world from the perspective of Buddhism.
And many so-called "realities" in Buddhism are actually not the realities of things.
Its essence is nothing more than a specific "angle" for Buddhism to face universal laws and physical and mental phenomena.
Its purpose is only to cure our greed and delusion, not to interpret the ultimate reality of the universe, life and everything in the world.
Here are some examples:
Impermanence to:
A, ordinary people always steal their hearts and hope that some things will remain the same, such as: mountains and rivers will last forever, my emperor will last forever, our friendship will last forever, we love you for 10 thousand years, this love will remain unchanged, my heart will last forever, and so on.
B, Buddhism's view of everything in the world is:
Everything gathered will be destroyed;
Everything is like a dream, such as dew, such as electricity;
Everything is made for the law, and things happen suddenly, and they are similar, and they can't be kept, can't be obtained, and there is nothing.
Think hard:
A, ordinary people think that although there is pain in this world, there is also happiness. Wealth is joy, wealth, fame and fortune, food, clothing, housing and transportation are joy, being the number one scholar is joy, bridal chamber is joy, promotion and wealth are joy, stock price is joy, and family happiness is joy.
B, the Buddhist view of suffering is:
Everything that is impermanent will suffer;
Whatever is artificial is bound to be bitter;
People who long for love must be bitter;
What remains to be done must be painful.
Because:
Whatever is impermanent will surely dissipate;
Anyone who is artificial will be tired;
Anyone who longs for love will be empty;
The rest will definitely collapse.
No, I want to:
First, ordinary people think that:
1: This is me, this is mine and that is mine.
This is beautiful, this is what I want, and this is what I can always have.
3. My life is up to me, man can conquer nature, and everything is under control.
B, Buddhism believes that:
1: This is not me, this is not mine, and that is not mine.
This is impermanence, this is bitterness, so this is not what I want.
There are many people and things in this world that I can't control.
Read after death:
A, the most "great" thing about ordinary people is that although each of us clearly knows that we will die, we can pretend to forget this and live fearlessly and unnecessarily until we die.
B, the greatest place of Buddhism, is to face life and death, and beyond life and death:
Everyone will face the threat of old age, illness and death, and no one can escape, and there is nowhere to escape;
Death may come at any time;
Death is not the end, but just the beginning of a new round of endless cycle journey-and death is endless!
Without starting to rob, each of us shed more tears because of the pain in reincarnation than the seawater in the sea.
Unclean view:
A, the perspective of ordinary people looking at beautiful women is: Wow, so beautiful! Face is so beautiful, skin is so white and tender, and body is so sexy. ......
B, Buddhism to see beauty perspective is:
1: If the whole skin of this beautiful woman is torn off, what will happen under the skin?
2. If you put the undigested accumulated food and digested feces in this beautiful woman's heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, large intestine, small intestine and stomach-what would it look like if you put these things out on the table?
3. If this beautiful woman's nose, eyelids, dander, stool, purulent blood, fat, etc., what would be the scene? Put it on a plate and put it on the dining table.
If you can't imagine the above scenes, you might as well watch all kinds of R-rated horror movies, and you can get a general impression-it is recommended to watch them on an empty stomach to avoid wasting food.
When we face a pretty beauty and have various ideas about her, don't forget: in fact, we are separated from the above parts of her body by a thin layer of skin.
Excuse me: If you look at beautiful women from this angle, will you still have "sexual interest"? !
Often think:
First, the world's desire for joy is not constant.
B, Buddhism, to seek the happiness of the long night.
Happy to think:
First, the world wants pleasure, but it has suffering.
B, Buddhism, either bitter or unhappy.
I want to:
First, the heart of the world is fickle, involuntary and uncontrollable.
B, Buddhism, to surrender its heart, change its habits, seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, abandon evil for good, not only to make decisions from the heart, but also to make the heart change things.
Net thought:
A, five turbid evil world, materialistic cross-flow, people's hearts are not ancient, more unclean, no pure land.
B, Buddhism, if you want to enter the fire, you will get a cool door, a pure land in the turbid world, and a clean heart in the world of mortals.
Empty view:
A, ordinary people think that everything in the world is real, own and inherent.
B Buddhists believe that all laws in the world are born without self-nature, and self-nature seems to be empty, unreal, non-existent and non-inherent.
The above methods are nothing more than a specific perspective on the universal laws of the world and physical and mental phenomena. Every angle is chosen to achieve a specific physical and mental effect, and it is used as a different tool to achieve a specific purpose in different stages of practice, such as:
Impermanence is to achieve persistent therapeutic effect,
Thinking hard is to achieve the effect of loving mistakes and thirst.
I don't want to, in order to achieve the effect of giving up and leaving desire,
Impurities are to achieve the effect of treating lust.
The purpose of thinking after death is to achieve the effect of treatment and relief.
Diligent thinking, happy thinking, is to achieve the effect of aversion to centrifugation and good law desire.
I thought about it again and again, in order to achieve the effect of adjusting my heart and clearing my mind.
Empty view is to achieve the effect of breaking grip.
All of the above are just the specific angles used in Buddhist practice. In order to break away from the ordinary perspective under the original ignorance habit, we should establish a practice perspective of integrating knowledge and practice, and change the old, harmful and clumsy cognitive model into a new, beneficial and skillful cognitive model, so as to realize the change of behavior mode and finally realize the change of life mode.
All this is just a corner, just to achieve a certain physical and mental effect, to eradicate a certain troublesome habit, to achieve a certain healthy and beneficial physical and mental state, and finally to achieve the purpose of long night happiness.
And all this has nothing to do with the so-called ultimate "truth" of cosmic life and everything in the world.
Ordinary people shoot a scene from their own unprofessional angle, and photographers shoot the same scene from their own professional angle. The photo effects of the two may be very different, but it cannot be said that the photos taken by photographers show the truth of the scene, while the photos taken by ordinary people do not show the truth of the scene.
No matter the good photos taken by photographers or the poor photos taken by ordinary people, they are all showing the "truth" of the scene-every photo, every corner, just shows a part, a side and a perspective of the scene. Although beauty and ugliness have different effects and techniques, they all come from the same body and are their own true colors.
Among them, there is no absolute and unique ultimate "reality".
There are only "images" with different shapes and characteristics from different angles.
Whether it is "impermanent, bitter, egoless, unclean and empty",
Or "long, happy, me, quiet, you",
Are not the ultimate "reality" of the universe, life and everything in the world.
It is a local "phenomenon" of cosmic life and everything in the world.
Life is eternal and impermanent;
There are joys and sorrows;
There are clean ones and dyed ones;
There is sexual emptiness and phase;
There are things I want and things I don't want;
There are people who do their best, and there is also helplessness in resignation.
As the saying goes, one yin and one yang is the Tao.
The multifaceted nature of everything in the universe makes it difficult for us to define the whole picture of things with a single angle and absolute standards.
So, when I find an authority here, you can also find another opposite authority on the opposite side.
Different angles, different positions, different motives, different experiences and different cultures lead people to have many different or even diametrically opposite understandings and interpretations of the same thing.
Moreover, limited by the current human cognitive limitations, we are actually still in the exploration stage, far from reaching the final "closing statement" stage.
Therefore, for this world, Buddhism does not discuss or care:
Is everything in the universe constant or impermanent?
Is it empty or available?
Is it clean or not?
With or without me?
Real me or fake me?
No matter how you answer the above either-or question, it may be right or wrong-it depends on which angle, standard and purpose you interpret it from.
However, Buddhism does not discuss or care about these issues, and the scope of Buddhism is limited to "understanding pain and how to stop it completely"
Whether it is "impermanence, suffering, selflessness, impurity and emptiness" or "constancy, happiness, selfhood, purity and existence", it is just a certain perspective of looking at things in different stages of Buddhist practice according to different situations and needs-or, different schools and people, based on different cultural backgrounds, language forms and
It doesn't matter whether these angles are right or wrong.
What really matters is: does it work? -Is it good for you? Is it helpful to get happiness from pain? Does it help to break the rules? Any skills? Have you ever suffered like this? Are there any limitations and shortcomings? Is there room for improvement?
Is it the pursuit of reality? Or are you good at picking corners?
Is it related to philosophical speculation? Or do you care about getting rid of pain and getting happy?
Is it a retreat? Still pragmatic?
You ask for different things, you will get different things.
Tiny difference, thousands of miles away!
When you define the above Buddhism as an explanation of reality, you will fall into many contradictory and controversial dilemmas and puzzles, such as: Is there an external world? Is there me? Constant or impermanent? Is it bitter or happy? ..... From then on, a clever calendar is hard to get, and a wise man cannot argue!
And when you regard the above Buddhism as a way of looking at things, in order to achieve some beneficial and skillful physical and mental effects, all the difficulties and puzzles under philosophical speculation will disappear in an instant, because at this time, all Buddhism is just a boat for you to cross the river and a tool for you to achieve liberation.
Each tool has its specific purpose. You use different tools according to different occasions and different needs to achieve specific effects and achieve specific goals.
These tools themselves have no ups and downs, no right or wrong, no beauty and ugliness, no dignity,
Useful is the key, and easy to use is king.
When you cross the river by boat, when you finally reach the other side, you can easily abandon the boat and go ashore.
You use tools to help your work. When you finally finish the work and finish the final work, you can put those tools away, put them in the toolbox and throw them away.
A boat is a boat, not the other side,
Tools are just tools, not ends,
Learn to use them properly,
Substitute things for things, substitute usage for law,
This is the core of our practice!
For the practice of Buddhism, the respected Tanica Luo said a classic metaphor:
A good soldier is good at distinguishing, choosing and using weapons. If conditions permit, he will choose the best weapon. However, under limited conditions, he is also good at making full use of all available weapons at hand-no matter what the circumstances, he is good at making full use of everything around him as a weapon: Tu Longdao, heavenly sword, of course, is very good, but in his hands, ordinary bricks and nails can also be used as weapons to kill the enemy.
Similarly, a good meditator should learn to be good at using all available methods to achieve his spiritual goals, instead of taking methods as the theme of philosophical speculation, or haggling over the size of methods, north and south, high and low.
Black cats and white cats, good cats can catch mice.
Dafa Minor Law, Southern Law and Northern Law, Internal Law and Extrajudicial Law,
Can help break greed and ignorance,
Can help to let go of persistence,
Can help stop the pain,
Can contribute to the happiness of the long night,
This is Buddhism.
To some extent, the practice of Buddhism is about "taking the corner" rather than "reality".
Strictly speaking, there is no ultimate "reality" for us until we reach a complete and fully realized achievement.
Everything is just a detour.
All problems are just a matter of choosing the angle.
Trouble or bodhi, bitterness or pleasure are just products from different angles.
From ignorance to knowledge, from bondage to liberation, from ordinary people to saints, it is essentially just a cognitive revolution.
Because we don't have the wisdom to discover reality and the ability to distinguish reality.
All we can have is "occupying the corner".
However, after a complete and enlightened achievement, whether there is an ultimate "reality" that completely transcends ordinary people's cognition, transcends time and space, and is unique and related to the life of the universe and everything can only be verified!