Master Jiqun: The misunderstandings among Buddhists

Ordinary people have achieved the ordinary mind because they start from the ordinary mind.So is the aspiration of Buddhists correct? In fact, it is not the case.The intentions of many Buddhists have not gotten rid of their original mental habits, nor are they the correct intentions.

1、Being determined based on some kind of greed

There are often two misunderstandings about the aspirations of Buddhists.First, it is wrong to have a mind from the beginning, and it is to start learning Buddhism with some kind of greed.If you look deeper, maybe 90% of people use this as a starting point.

Some people are infected by the solemn environment of the temple. When they walk into the temple, they feel very peaceful, so they have the intention to come to study Buddhism. They feel that living in the temple and enjoying happiness is the highest state of life. In fact, they are just greedy for the atmosphere outside the place.Some people are moved by the pure Buddhist chants and the chanting of monks. After learning Buddhism, they sing and chant them every day, thinking that this is the best practice, but in fact they are just greedy for Buddhist chants.Some people are also greedy for the profound philosophy of Buddhism and think that studying Buddhism is very profound; some people are also greedy for the brilliant art of Buddhism and think that there are rich treasures in the art hall of Buddhism... and so on.If you develop the desire to study Buddhism due to your greed for a certain state, then in the process of studying Buddhism, greed will often increase accordingly.

If Buddhism is studied as academic research, writing articles and achieving results will become the purpose of studying Buddhism.Once you have achieved results, published a monograph, and evaluated your professional title, you will feel that the task of learning Buddhism has been completely completed and the problems in life have been completely solved.There are also many people who consider Buddhism as pure philosophy, and their interest in Buddhist philosophy is far higher than their emphasis on solving life problems. There are also many people in this category.During the Republic of China, the research at the China Academy of Sciences basically fell into philosophical research, rather than based on care for life.Some people even come for the benefit of Buddhism and regard temples as places to make a living, which is even more wrong.

After careful analysis, most people enter Buddhism through similar causes and conditions.There are very few who truly realize that life is impermanent, to find a way out for life, to escape from death, to become a Buddha, and to benefit all sentient beings.If you continue to be greedy for some external phenomena after making a wish and fail to improve your goals, you may achieve the ultimate goal of greed and self-defense.This is the first misunderstanding phenomenon in the mind.

Of course, it is not absolutely necessary to start with greed.The Vimalakirti Sutra says: "First use desire to hook and then let it enter the Buddha's wisdom.”In other words, first use some convenience to make people interested in Buddhism, and then gradually guide it.For example, some Australian temples provide vegetarian food for everyone for free.Many people come to temples not because they are interested in Buddhism, but because they are looking for free vegetarian dishes.But as they visited the temple more often, they gradually developed feelings for Buddhism. Then they listened to lectures and read Buddhist books, their understanding would also improve, and eventually they turned to the correct intention.Therefore, if you do not stay on the basis of greed, but can establish correct views through listening and thinking of the scriptures and teachings, and use correct views as a guide, "diligently practice precepts, concentration, wisdom, and extinguish greed, anger, and ignorance."Then, even if you start with greed, you can give up greed in the end and you can also achieve liberation.