Question: More than one Buddhist friend said to me that the times have changed, and the methods of practice should also change. Now that we are materially developed, there is no need to practice asceticism. One meal a day or not eating after lunch is not good for the body. Eat better and drink better. Just don’t be attached. Protect this physical body so that you can recite the Buddha’s name more often. I think this statement has its merits. What do you think?
Answer: The Buddhist Dharma is the Dharma taught by the great scholar and great wise man Sakyamuni Buddha. How can it be tampered with by ordinary people like us? People who practice at home are not qualified to say this. You can practice according to the method that suits you. No one cares about you even if you eat eight meals a day. If a monk says this, there is something wrong. Sakyamuni Buddha was originally the crown prince of a country – Prince Siddhartha. He originally had a loving wife, loving children, and endless glory and wealth, but he chose the path of becoming a monk and practicing Buddhism. Finally, he meditated under the bodhi tree and became a Buddha. “Begging for food will make them give up their greed.” Every day, they will go in different directions, not choosing whether to be rich or poor. This will enable disciples to give up greed and enable rich and poor sentient beings to cultivate fields of blessing.
If you can’t finish the food you transformed, you can “beg for the leftovers and give them to hungry sentient beings” and share them with the sentient beings who can’t fill their bellies. “Don’t save anything except the clothes you have to wear.” Neither money nor an inch of cloth is stored. The purpose is to make disciples give up the greed that everyone has (the four pure teachings). This is the way for Buddhist disciples to give up greed. The Buddha himself did the same. He did not change his practice method because he was a prince and received donations from kings and wealthy people in various countries after becoming a Buddha. Before Nirvana*1, he told his disciples to “take the precepts as their teachers” from now on.
Aren’t today’s four disciples of monks, nuns, and lay men and women still disciples of the Buddha? Why change the Buddhist system? Are we any better than Buddha? After Buddhism was introduced to China, the eminent monks and patriarchs took into account the different geographical environments and national conditions of China and India. The government allocated land to the temples so that the monks could farm and feed themselves. However, there were still monks who were begging for alms. Moreover, even today there are many monasteries that strictly abide by the precepts. Master Xuanhua’s monasteries in the United States are well-funded and have many donors, but they also strictly abide by the Buddhist rules. Most of the food they eat is collected from supermarket garbage dumps. Eaten after sorting.
“I take when others give up, and I give when others take.” This is the rule of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. No fighting, no greed, no seeking, no selfishness, no self-interest, and no lying. This is the purpose of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Standing like a pine, sitting like a bell, lying like a bow, walking like the wind, this is the family tradition of the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas.
Many temples such as the Gaoji Temple in Yangzhou, China, and the Jingju Temple in Qingyuan Mountain, Jiangxi, also practice according to the Dharma. The great monk Tiguang wears a hundred-pin robe, and the monks of Gaoji Temple wear a hundred-pin robe. This is the state of selflessness, and the food you eat is very simple, just enough to fill your belly.
Studying Buddhism and becoming a monk is for the purpose of “escaping life and death.” If you want to eat well, drink well, wear good clothes, follow the times, and be an ordinary person.
Venerable Master Xuanhua said in the “Revelation”: “The first-class practice is light and easy, the second-class practice is a bag, and the third-class practice is picky.” Disciples in the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas practice one meal a day and never eat anything at night. The Master said that the purpose of one meal a day is, firstly, to save food for hungry people, and secondly, to eat less and not be so energetic, which can help get rid of lustful thoughts.
According to people who eat one meal, they first practice not eating after lunch, and gradually change it to one meal a day after getting used to it. At first, they will feel hungry at night, and then they will eat more at noon. After a while, the habit becomes natural. , the food intake is not big, but you need to pay attention to the nutritional combination of fruits, vegetables, rice, pasta, soy products, etc. Over the years, we have not found any illness due to nutritional deficiencies. “Do not fall asleep at night” and work hard. This is a state of meditation. It does not mean that students are not allowed to rest. Entering the state of meditation is actually a better rest. Those who do not participate in Zen will not be able to understand it.
Master Xuan Gong said: The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas is a Buddha-making factory. The purpose of practicing here is to become a Buddha.
Master Miaofa, the old monk said: When the Master accepts disciples, he requires them to be able to memorize the Surangama Sutra and the Lotus Sutra. Moreover, the disciples who have become monks and converts all know that Master Xuan Gong has strict precepts and abides by the Buddhist system. He teaches Disciples “could freeze to death without seeking help, starve to death without asking for help, and die without poverty without asking for help.” “We will not change according to the circumstances, we will not change according to the circumstances, and we will hold on to our three major purposes. Sacrifice one’s life as a Buddhist service, create one’s life as one’s ability, make a right life as one’s monks, understand things clearly, understand things clearly, and carry out the heart-to-heart transmission of the ancestors.” Adhering to the Buddha As a rule, eat once a day and keep your cassock on. The Master said that if family members don’t wear clothes, they are no different from lay people. Clothing represents the Buddha and can accept the worship of disciples. The so-called “monk clothes” with curved collars are the clothes worn by ordinary people during the Ming Dynasty and have been used ever since. To this day, if you cannot represent the Buddha, you don’t have to bow to the monks who don’t wear robes, and just put your hands together and ask questions.
Therefore, if you want to become a Bodhisattva and a Buddha, you must take the precepts as your teacher and not be greedy for enjoyment. No matter how developed the society is, the Buddhist system cannot be changed.
