Text/Master Chonghua
Many people have some misunderstandings about opening the light, thinking that the light is spiritual, isn't it? The answer is not necessarily. So why open the light?
Master Chonghua specifically answered questions about enlightenment in "Master is Coming". The editor selects a few of these questions and answers to take you to understand what Kaiguang is all about.
01
Is there a saying of enlightenment in primitive Buddhism?
Yes, enlightenment in Buddhism is about giving sacred meaning to the icons we worship, so in the "Buddhist Sutras", when Shakyamuni Buddha was alive, because he went to lecture the Jizo Sutra for his mother, he left the kingdom of Mi for three months, and King Youchao missed the Buddha very much, so he built a Buddha statue for him, and Shakyamuni Buddha personally opened the light for this Buddha.
Opening the light is to give the sacred connotation of the icon blessing, the Buddha statue is the god statue we worship after the light, we must respect, worship, worship it, the icon that has not been opened is only placed in the study or on the table as a handicraft, not necessarily worship, worship, only the opened Buddha statue has divine meaning to worship it, this is the content of the light.
02
Only enlightened Buddha images and magic tools can be realized?
In terms of faith, the enlightened Buddha statue is the image of the saint we worship, and we should respect, worship, worship it, serve it like a parent, respect it, this is to express a kind of devotion, to express one's own faith, not to embody spirit and spirituality.
In fact, in the Buddhist faith, the true practice of Buddhism is to improve one's self-cultivation and literacy, not to seek spiritual experience and induction. So as I said earlier, the light has given it a sacred meaning, [it has become] a demonstration of the image that we should worship respectfully. Buddha statues that have not been opened are handicrafts, and the connotation of enlightenment cannot be defined by "spiritual experience" and "non-spiritual examination".
03
Buddhism says that everything is empty, and Buddha images are also emptiness
So why bother to light the Buddha statue?
Buddhism says that everything is empty, it is about our worldly things have success, dwelling, bad emptiness, people have birth, old age, illness and death, the truth of the world is impermanence, and impermanence is change. That is to say, nothing in the world is eternal.
When we open our eyes to see something, and when we close our eyes and open them again, it is not the image we see at first sight. In the blink of an eye, what we see has undergone subtle changes, but we mortals do not find these subtle changes, and the Buddha recognizes that all things are completion, dwelling, evil, emptiness, and also recognizes that all sentient beings have birth, old age, sickness, and death, so the Buddha tells us that everything is impermanence and illusion, because impermanence is illusion, so we talk about emptiness. Everything is changing, and none of them can last forever.
In the belief in Buddhism, reality, no image, and empty image are the highest beliefs, and truly experiencing the connotation of Buddhism, it is not necessary to offer Buddha images, so "all the void is everywhere" there are Buddha dharma bodies, and there are Buddha incarnations everywhere.
But as ordinary people, there must always be an image to make themselves have an object of reverence, what is the Buddha like, what the bodhisattva looks like, what the arhat looks like, because of the needs of all sentient beings, so there are statues of Buddhas, there are statues of bodhisattvas, there are statues of arhats, these statues are just a teaching means of art, not that these statues are absolutely true Buddhas, so we call Buddha images as image expressions, that is, to make Buddha statues to make bodhisattva statues, and use this image like teaching as a teaching medium.
True faith can put aside the image of a Buddha and Bodhisattva, if the heart is quiet, the heart is a Buddha, and what to worship the Buddha statue for. Therefore, all the empty images we talk about are talking about the world as illusions, and the worship of Buddha statues is a method of teaching by means of art. We should respect the Buddha statue because the Buddha statue symbolizes the saint we revere and symbolizes our spiritual teacher, so we revere the enlightened Buddha statue not by clinging to this Buddha image, but by expressing the belief in Buddhism with the help of the Buddha image.
04
How can I tell if an item is lit?
It's hard to discern. In fact, in a strict sense, only the Buddha image can be called enlightenment, which is equivalent to saying that for the Buddha image, we give it chanting to give it a sacred connotation, and it can also be said that after the enlightenment of the light, we chant, this Buddha image already has spirituality, so to speak, this is relative.
The items used for us are just a blessing, the so-called blessing is the jewelry you wear on your hands, the ornaments on your body, that is to give it an auspicious blessing, always thinking that this is the master blessing me, need me to be good, need me not to forget my original intention, need me not to do all evil, this is called blessing. It cannot be called enlightenment, it is called blessing, it means to give auspicious blessings.
05
Are only mages qualified to enlighten the light?
Can we also light up objects ourselves?
There is no light, it is a blessing. Why should the Master ask the Master to bless the believers, because the monks give up their families, give up their relatives, and dedicate themselves to the cause of Buddhism, and he lives in the monastery and usually has to study, learn the teachings of Buddhism, learn the ideas of Buddhism, and then improve himself, that is, practice. To sublimate one's inner world, through chanting, through zazen, through worship, to sublimate oneself, chanting is to improve one's knowledge, worship is to let one's body go and learn humility, and learning teachings is to allow oneself to have more wisdom to guide the believers.
Therefore, the Master is a practitioner who learns, practices and purifies himself. Ask such people to bless us and remind us, we must also encourage ourselves all the time, improve all the time, learn to be humble all the time, only learn to humble your blessings will grow, so the blessing of the mage to the items on your body is actually a kind reminder to you, so asking the mage to bless the items is a cleansing of your soul and a reminder of the sublimation of your soul.
Image source | Ten wishes