An Overview of the Buddhadharma By Living Buddha
Sheng-yen Lu PRACTICE Today I will discuss Practice and Realization, which are the two steps which follow the generation of Faith and the attaining of Comprehension. A Right Faith and Right Comprehension, together with a penetration into the treasury of sutras, concern the theoretical aspects of the Buddhadharma. A meal is served and it looks absolutely delicious but, if you don’t eat it, you won’t be fed. Although you know where to buy the ingredients, how to prepare the dishes, and how much salt, sugar, soy sauce, or flavor enhancers to use, not doing the practice is tantamount to not eating the delicious foods prepared. Therefore, today I will discuss the very important issue of Practice. The Practice of the Buddhadharma can be divided into two major aspects. The study of the Buddhadharma is also known as the Inner Study. The Inner Study is simply the study of one’s mind and consciousness. In the past, when the Buddhadharma was introduced into China, the Chinese referred to it as the Inner Study. We know that the famous Ouyang Chingju Licheng was the abbot of the Chinese Institute of Inner Study. Well, the so-called Inner Study refers to that portion of the study of the Buddhadharma which is a study of the consciousness. Actually, the Buddhadharma also contains an Outer Study. What is the Outer Study? The Outer Study pertains to “precepts and disciplines.” In the practice of Buddhism, besides observing the precepts and disciplines (the outer aspect of Practice), one also has to be mindful of one’s consciousness (the inner aspect of Practice). Although mastering one’s inner world is generally more difficult than observing the precepts, the latter is also not easy to carry out. |
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