before the buddha's path is achieved, we must first make friends

there is a common saying in buddhism: "before the buddha's path is achieved, we must first make friends." that is to say, before we become a buddha, we must first make friends. why? buddhism says that if you have not made up your relationship with sentient beings before you become a buddha, and you can barely call them a buddha when you become a buddha in the future, i will give you a name, "lonely buddha". why? you are alone and no one listens to you. therefore, buddhism emphasizes that it is important to make people! only when there is someone’s fate can there be a fate.

last night, a camper said, "master, i am going to practice buddhism, but buddhism says that there must be good teachers." let me tell you that good teachers are also popular. why can't he meet a good teacher, but you can meet it? it depends on whether we have a connection or not. meeting good teachers is a fate between students and teachers. on the other hand, it depends on whether the teacher and the student are destined to be together. if the teacher has no fate with the student, no matter how good the lecture is, no one will listen.

there is a joke that a very famous monk went to shanghai to preach. because he is very famous, everyone felt that they should not miss the opportunity, so they all went to listen to his lectures and sat in a room full of space. but the next day, half of the people in the room were missing. by the third day, there were only one-third of the people in the room. at the end of the talk, there was only one old lady left.

after the master finished speaking, he said to the old lady, "you are really good, have good roots, and are worthy of cultivation. you see, they all ran away, and it's amazing that you persevere by yourself!" as a result, the old lady said, "master, because the stool you are sitting on is from my family, otherwise i would have left long ago."

this story tells everyone that our practice, including our cultivation, is only one aspect, and we must also learn to make connections with sentient beings.

whether at home, in office, or in society, we often encounter relationship problems between people. for example, when a person is walking on the road, he suddenly meets another person and thinks, "oh! that guy is here again, avoid him!" why is this happening? no happy fate. when others see you, they are like hiding from the plague god and cannot feel happy. in today's words, you have no good impression of you; in the perspective of buddhism, you have not made good connections.

as a buddhist or as a successful buddhist, popularity is very important. when someone hasn't seen you for three days, he will think of you, "why did this person go? i haven't seen him for so long, and i still miss him." whether it's learning buddhism or being a human being in the world, if your popularity is so successful, i think you are at least a good person.

therefore, i often advocate the use of buddhism to coordinate interpersonal relationships. it is best to be able to handle interpersonal relationships well and make happy relationships between people.