For humanistic Buddhist view, we focus on this time, this world and this form as a human being. It is a superior form of practice.

(This dharma talk is also available online)

What does Humanistic Buddhism means? What is called Chinese Buddhism? Of course, this is a new movement in Taiwan and there is a historical background, because after the Ming Qing, at around 17th and 18th Century, Buddhism somehow declined, if you compare with the Tang Dynasty, during the 7th or 8th century, the Golden Age era. Buddhism somehow decline in China and now come to the modern times, which we call the 20th century, or even the fifties, and there was a new movement in Taiwan, because people look at Buddhism as it decline in China or in Taiwan, especially in China, after the cultural revolution. So, this new movement is to bring Buddhism into the society. I remember when, about 25 years ago, before I was a nun, I thought that Buddhism did not belong to the youth, the young people, it always belong to my grandpa and my grandma. It is only a religion for old age, and you never think of Buddhism as engaged with the society, you always think of monks and nuns, always hiding in the forest. But this humanistic Buddhism is to bring the Buddhism into the society, to engage with the society. Of course, humanistic, whether it is a right translation from the Chinese or not is still an issue, but however there is a common translation called Humanistic Buddhism and in Chinese it is called ‘Ren Jian’. ‘Ren Jian’ is more focused on the world; Humanistic is more focused on human.

However, if you asked me what is humanistic Buddhism, it is talking about this world, this time and this person. We know in traditional Buddhism, the way of thinking, most of the Buddhist think that they want to be reborn in the Pure Land. So, when you come to the temple, you practice Pure Land, your goal is what? ‘I’m not coming back!’ or ‘I need to be reborn in the Pure Land’, especially the Amitabha’s Pure Land. But for the humanistic Buddhism is, you do not have to worry about the future, focus on this world! You can even build, establish, the Pure Land in this world. We can do it! We do not have to wait until we die, and go to the other world, which we think is the Pure Land. We can use our mind, our effort to build the Pure Land, on this world. It is not after death. It is this life. If everyone tried to discover his or her Buddha nature, then we can cultivate, why do we have to waste time? Let us say, long after death? In this time, at the present time, in our daily life, we can practice Buddhism and we can discover our Buddha nature as well. So, that explains ‘this time’.But why is it ‘this person’?

Remember, the Buddha is not God, he is not the creator. The Buddha is the enlightened one. You can also tell that the Buddha was a human being. This is very important; I would like to share with you, for the Buddha was born in this world. And he attained enlightenment, in this world, and he educated the people in this world. He preached in this world, so he has so much accomplishment in this world. And he uses a human figure, so he is a historical figure. So, ‘this person’ is very important. It is not to worship God, or deity but as a human being we have this Buddha’s nature, we can attain enlightenment. So, it is very important, and at the same time, it emphasized the responsibility of a human being. So, what does humanistic Buddhism means? It means, we can establish the Pure Land on this world; we can even cultivate it at the present moment. We do not have to go to the Amitabha’s Pure Land to cultivate there, we can cultivate it at this life, we do not have to wait until we die. And being a human being is considered a superior form to cultivate. So, it is not to worship God.

When we are talking about being a Buddhist or to practice Buddhism, you do not just go to the temple to worship and just say ‘Hey, Buddha! Please give me this, please bless me with this.’ But rather, it is how we treat the Buddha as a good example, and we follow this example and we practice it. And we also have to remember, the Buddha said, ‘You are the future Buddhas’. So, you can also attain enlightenment. So, Humanistic Buddhism is to focus on this life, this moment and this person. We should cherish that we are born as a human being. And what does it mean about Humanistic Buddhist view on Living and Dying? It is not that different from tradition. Also, I would like to share with you; I know that in Malaysia, Theravada Buddhism is also very popular here. From the early Theravada Buddhist view, what is the goal of our life? The goal of our life or the goal to practice Buddhism? To attain enlightenment, but also what? To cut off Samsara!

Do you know what does Samsara means? Humanistic Buddhism talk about this life, and to establish the Pure Land on this earth; this is the topic I want to share with you, and maybe challenge you! Or a challenge to me as well! So, today’s talk is going to be different from last night. When we finish, we will have more off a Q&A session. Before I go to that, I want to mention that Humanistic Buddhism was also influenced by Chinese Buddhism. According to the Chinese Buddhism, we are always thinking about Samsara, the cycle of birth and death. This world is very dirty, full of suffering; we need to, you know, get rid of it. Jump out from this world, okay? Or cut off this cycle of birth and death. However, from Chinese Buddhist view, the world, the Samsara, is also the Nirvana. Nirvana is the Samsara; Samsara is the Nirvana. The reality is in this world. You will not find another world, besides this one. And I am going to share with you, later, what it means by humanistic Buddhism view. So, today, I will share with you from the Traditional and also from the Chinese Buddhist View. Also, let us see how we can consolidate from these two views.

Traditional view on living and dying; the first question I would like to ask you: Who lives in this world? Who? Is it me and you as well, right? You see, human beings live in this world. Animals? Yes. Something else? Human beings, animals and who? Ghost? Spirits? Do you believe in ghosts and spirits? If you don’t believe in ghost and spirits, raise your hand. ( A single person raises his hand ) YOU! ( Ven. points to him ) What about the Buddha’s teaching on the six realms?(Laughter) You don’t believe it? You don’t believe that there are ghost and spirits? No? How about the six realms? In Theravada, you don’t talk about six realms? No? Okay, so, because we are majority, and you are the only one, so, we follow the majority. (Laughter) We believe that there are ghost and spirits. Okay? Then, what else? We are talking about the six realms, which consist of the universe. So, we have human beings, animals, and ghost or spirits…what about others? Heaven? Also, heaven deities. And also Hell. Sometimes, you can talk about five realms or, if you add one more, it is the demi-gods, who looks like heavenly beings but is called Asuras. What is Asura? Asuras live like heavenly beings, in a very luxurious environment, but with all the anger and hatred, they like to fight; they are like militants. So, now I would like to ask you, where is Heaven, where is Hell? Who does not believe there are Heaven and Hell? Raise your hand. You don’t! (Laughter) Where is Heaven? Where is Hell? Some people points to here (touches the heart). Is Heaven and Hell so small, just in one heart? In where? In your mind? Everywhere? Brain and Heart? Where is the location for Hell and Heaven? Alright, someone says it is in your heart.

According to Yogacara, yes, Heaven and Hell could be your manifestation of your consciousness. Before yesterday, some people have already asked me a question; this person who lived in Kuantan asked me; ‘Ven. Yifa, why does Yogacara says the whole world, the universe are the manifestation of consciousness. That means, do you deny the existence of objects? The whole world is the manifestation of the mind? So, do you deny this object, do you deny the existence outside the reality?’ The reason Yogacara talks about the whole world, the things you see, this table, this microphone, you see this cup, are the manifestation of the consciousness. Remember the consciousness, not just your mind. Buddhism talk about the form and matter, and mind over spirit. Material and spirit. And when we talk about the spirit or the mind, this is very important, especially right now, this is going to challenge the western values, not just the material only.

Materialism. It challenged the materialistic view. So, the mind is, what is the mind? Mind is our eye consciousness, our ear consciousness, our nose consciousness, our tongue consciousness, and our body consciousness. Plus, 6th consciousness, vicinnaya, and then the 7th consciousness called citta and the 8th consciousness called alaya. These eight kinds of consciousness consist or constitute the mind. So, when we talk about mind, or the manifestation of mind, is it through our eyes, through our ears, through our nose, through our tongue, even through our body to recognize these objects. (Picks up a microphone) The reason why I see it is red, it is through my eyes. I can tell that it is hard, and it is through my touch. Maybe there is some smell, it is through my nose. Is that clear? Because the reason you know that it is here, is through your eyes. Though, if I am colour blind, I won’t be able to see the red colour. I will probably see it as grey colour.

So, it is through our sensory organs that we recognize the objects. Of course, you ask me, if there were no objects, how can you and me see the same thing? According to Buddhism, it is because of your karma and my karma, because as a human being, we have the same karma. So we perceive the things as similar. In the sutra, there is mentioned; when human beings see a river, it is a river, but the heavenly beings see the river as crystal water. For the ghost, they see it as a bloody river. Blood. So, because these sentient beings have different karmas, they see things differently. So, we as human beings, see the same things. So, you and I see this as a microphone. However, if someone, because of his karma, is colour blind, he would not be able to see it. Or if someone has lost the feeling of touch, become numb, would not be able to touch it. So, what does it mean? Yogacara will say, the whole world consciousness is because of your karma, your manifestation, your presentation, your manifestation of the karma, your fruition, the function of your karma. So, that is why it is called consciousness.

I will not go to too much detail on that. Right now, where is Hell and Heaven? Right now, we know that the way we perceive the world is because of our sensory organs. But let me ask you, can our sensory organs perceive everything? Let’s take the example of the cellphone. When it rings, but before it rings, did you know that there is a ‘wave’ coming in? You have to wait until it rings, than you know that there was a ‘wave’ coming in. But the wave is there. If everyone right now, turn on their cellphones, this space will be filled of frequency. But you and me, our sensory organs cannot pick it up. So, what does it mean? There are many things that exist, but because of the limitations of our sensory organs, we do not perceive them. But something which we do not perceive does not mean that it does not exist.

For example, the long ‘wave’, and short ‘wave’ (frequency), our eyes cannot see it. High frequency and low frequency sound, our ears cannot hear it. But it exists. That is why all the electronic appliances, like microwave, are working is because of these frequencies. We are caught in this question; whether there is a boundary, the universe, whether it has a boundary or not. The Buddha, in his time, did not want to answer this question. If there is a boundary, what lies beyond this boundary? There must be something, just like something beyond a cliff. Even beyond the cliff, there is a space. Okay, but you say that there is no boundary, you can expand and expand, it is infinite, you can sit here, mulling, and think about the age of the world. What’s wrong? Something wrong? It is not with reality, it is our mind. We have our own limitations, our conceptualization. Our mind only provides two choices; with edge or without edge.

Just like a computer, if you don’t have the program, you cannot run the file. If you need to use Powerpoint, but your computer does not have powerpoint in the program, you put the file in, but you can’t run it. So, I think it is very important, after we study Buddhism, it is very important to recognize the limitations of our sensory organs, including our mind. So, what does this mean?

We need to be young, the comprehension of a human being, if you want to know about the reality of this world. And to know things in the world that exist beyond our comprehension, so maybe this world, it is not just 3-dimension, maybe even 4-dimension. Have you heard about the experiment on ants? You know, every time when I look at ants, they say ants, only recognizes 2-dimensions. So, every time when I look down at these ants, I always wonder, can these ants see me? Do you think they can see us? Yes? They can see us? We must be giants to them, so many giants! I doubt it! At the same time, I was wondering, maybe, if there is a 4-dimension, and some kind of sentient beings looking at us, but we are unable to see them. So, now, of course I cannot tell you where Heaven is and where is Hell. Even if I can tell you where the location of Hell and Heaven are, we won’t be able to see it. However, that is one answer.

The second answer is that Hell and Heaven are here (points to the heart). So, maybe you had a nice sleep last night, and you wake up, and feel like you are in Heaven. A lot of people, when they live a luxurious life, a wonderful life, they say that they’re in Heaven. But when you start to drive your car, and you get caught in a traffic jam, and then probably, at this moment, you are living as an Asura, you get so angry. Even if you are driving a Mercedes-Benz, a very luxurious car, but you are still full of anger, and I would describe it as living in an Asura. Just like the demi-gods. Then maybe, because so unfortunate, the economy is so bad, and then you got fired by the boss, suddenly your mind becomes like in hell. And when the boss scolds at you, you feel like a dog. And at that time, your mind is just like in the animal realm. So, within one day, our mind can sometimes be in Heaven, sometimes we are in animal realm, sometimes in Asura, and sometimes in Hell. When things fall apart, then you feel like you’re in Hell. That is why some people say that is in your heart, in your mind. But Hell can also exist in this world, when people murder people, and life is full of cruelty. I think that is also like in Hell. So, Hell also happens in our society.

So, who lives in this world which consist of six realms? Heaven, Hell, Human Beings, animals, ghost, spirits, demi-gods? This we call the six realms. Now, I would like to ask, where are we going after death? The third question I will ask you is; How do we die? I like to ask you where are we going, after that, okay? Of course, I mentioned about the six realms. In fact, frankly, these six realms are not necessary, like a ladder, it is all inter-mix, like human beings, we also live with the animals as well. So, you don’t have to look at these six realms as if one is on the top and one is on the bottom. But after we die, where are we going? We are caught in a circle, kind of jumping around in these six realms, and in different order. In random order. When I mean random order, I mean according to your karma. You don’t have to be from an animal to become a human being, than from a human being become a Heavenly being. You can even possibly from Heaven, just drop to Hell. So, in the Sutra, it describes, after we die, or even animal dies, or spirits dies, the heavenly being can just drop into Heaven. So, this is just a random order, not necessary in order.

But very interesting, I want to point to you, why do we have to face death? Why are we dying? When we become old, we aged. Why do we become old? We were young, how about before you are young? You were born. So, very interesting here is the reason we have to die is because we have to be reborn. Because birth brings into death. Without rebirth, we probably don’t have to die. But after you die, according to Buddhism, death is not the end.

Indeed, it is the beginning of the birth. So, death and birth, come to be, you know, stay, decline and then disappear, and then come to be. You are reborn, and then aging, and die, and then born, aging and die. It is a circle. This is what we call the reincarnation. And in traditional view, talking about reincarnation is that we need to cut off this circle of birth and death, jump out from the samsara. We do not return to the circle. How about people who commit suicide, do they end the cycle of birth and death? Yes or no? Of course not! When people commit suicide, they just end the life, this life, but because of their karma, they still will be reborn. Either reborn as a human being, animal, or a spirit, because of your karma still attract you to be reborn. And I find it very difficult to explain reincarnation especially in the west.

Let me ask another survey here. How many people do not believe in reincarnation? (No one raises his hand) Amazing! We are all Buddhist! But every time, when I give a lecture in USA, most people do not believe in reincarnation. I mean, western people, they are always questioning about reincarnation. But I think that it is very important, that is why I always tell them, do not worry about next life, I will explain why. Don’t worry about next life! Worry about this life! Worry about this present time first. Well, when we talk about reincarnation, we talk about three ages; past, present and future. Forget about the previous life or next life. I think in our daily life, we experience the three ages; past, present and future. Yesterday is the past, today is the present, and tomorrow is the future. This is already reincarnation. Even, maybe, the past hour, say at 8 o’clock, or 7 o’clock, it is the past. Right now, almost 9 o’clock, is the present and then, 10 o’clock, would be the future. Even the moment, the last moment, is past. This moment, your thoughts, this moment, is the present, and the next thought is the future.

So, this is so easy. In our daily life, we already experienced reincarnation, so why do you have to look for the next life? Or previous life? And who are we, at this moment? The reason that you come here, not because you suddenly appear, but you must have heard some advertisement, so that is the ‘cause’ that brought you here. This is the effect. So, everything is connected together. So, who you are right now, is because of the past; accumulated from the karma. Reincarnation, as I mentioned, is so easy to understand. But I would like to tell you, at this moment, I would like to point it out, when we talk about cutting off the cycle of birth and death, it doesn’t mean this physical body have to leave this world.

Remember the Buddha, he attained enlightenment, attained Nirvana, in this world, still with a physical body. This is very important. For traditional view, we are always confused, thinking that when we cut of the cycle of birth and death is when you die. That is why, when we attend a funeral, you will see a big cloth, like banner, and people will say that you have entered Nirvana. That is not true. So, attaining Nirvana, cuts of the cycle of birth and death, is not necessary, not equal to death. This I have to make it clear. And remember, the Buddha attained enlightenment in this world. And he also cut of the cycle of birth and death. I think that this is very challenging. How do we die? What is the situation when we are dying? I believe that there is a book, very famous, and I think that most of you have read it; otherwise I will encourage you to read it. It gives a very detailed explanation on how do we die.

What I want to point out, very important is, that this book ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’, covers not only Tibetan Buddhism, but can also be shared by other Buddhist. It explains the process, when we die, which you can divide it into two kinds; one is called gross dissolution, which means physical dissolution, our four great elements. The second is called subtle dissolution, which has to do with our consciousness, where it goes through the process, where it dissolute. And what I want to point out, this is very important, when I give a lecture, especially to the Christian, Catholic Priests, or when I give a talk in a medical school; according to the secular medical analysis, you know, brain death, is the definition of death. And during this process, according to Buddhism, it is only the procedure of the people going through the gross dissolution, which means the physical dissolution only. But after the physical dissolution, according to Buddhism, we still go through the subtle dissolution. It is the consciousness dissolution.

Which is why, in Buddhism, people always ask, please do not move the body after 8 hours. So, what does it mean by gross dissolution and subtle dissolution? According to this book, the first stage, the physical dissolution, it is because our body consists of the four great elements. What are the four great elements? Earth. Water. Fire. And wind, or air. Not the wine, or sex or fortune and anger. (laughter). But the four great elements; earth, water, fire and wind. Don’t take it too literally. What does it mean? It does not mean that our body has the soil, or have water, or have fire, or the wind. It means the nature of the elements. So, the elements, with the nature, just like the earth, solidity. For example; our bone, our muscle, our skin, our nail, our hair, those are so-called earth elements. Then, the water elements, you know, our urine, our tears, our blood, those are considered as water elements. And then fire, is because of our temperature and also wind, is our breathing. And, it says that when we die, the physical body will start to dismantle and dissolute.

The first element that dissolute, is our earth element. What does that mean? It means that maybe our cheeks sink in, maybe some stain on our teeth, and our bones, become, you know, loose the strength? This is the symptom, the dissolution of the earth. Then, after that, the dissolution of water; where the patient, you know, the dying people, the tears will flow, loose control of urine? So, those are the symptoms, and also, during the dissolution of earth, the dying people will feel like being suppressed by a mountain; a heavy feeling. On the second level, the dissolution of water, the patient will feel like being flooded, you know, drowned by the flood. And then the third one is where the body will loose the temperature. This is also through the procedure, where the water dissolute. And then finally, the fourth one, the patient only has one or two breath, and dies. So the dying people will feel like being suppressed by the mountain, or drowned by the water, or burn by the fire, or blown away by the wind. So, this is the moment, where the dying people will experience these elements. There are also further detailed explanations, but I won’t go through that.

I would, however, like to encourage you to read the book. However, at the moment of death, according to western medicine, they will announce that the person is dead. But according to Buddhism, not yet, for now, the dying people have just gone to the second stage; the dissolution of consciousness. So, the dying people will see some vicious image, or some compassionate image. Maybe see the Buddha, or Bodhisattva, or some maybe see angels, or Jesus. How is this possible? With different religions, you will see different things. From Buddhist view, it is because of your ‘seed’, S-E-E-D, your consciousness, your experiences, your ‘seed’ of experiences, where at that moment, like a movie, will show out. So, in our daily life, in our previous life, in our past experience, we experience joy, hatred, and pleasant and unpleasant experience. Because of these pleasant and unpleasant experiences, at that moment, just like the ‘seed’ become fluid, where it manifest, then you see the image, visions, very scary images, demons, or maybe you will see the Bodhisattva, or for Christians they will see Jesus, or angels. But at this moment, it is still in the process of dissolution.

So, it is very interesting, when I ask the Christians or the medical school students, please be patient with a Buddhist, because according to this teaching, even though they pronounce it as death, but indeed, according to Buddhism, the dissolution of consciousness is still working on. So, I tell them, please do not touch the body and allow the Buddhist to have eight hours to do chanting, assisted chanting. Then, I remember, a Christian Priest, says ‘ But we need the space. The hospital needs the bed.’ Then I say, ‘ Could you just assume that the patient died eight hours later? You don’t have to record down that he died at say, 1 o’clock, just say, assume he died eight hours later, you know, 9 o’clock.’ And then, they all began to laugh. I also added, ‘Raise more money, you know, to add more space, and more bed.’ So, this is the reason why in Buddhism we have the eight hours chanting.

What about after the dissolution of consciousness? Before the rebirth? So, between this life and the next, what is it? I hesitate to call it a ‘soul’, but let us use consciousness; in Buddhism we call it consciousness, but in Tibetan we call it ‘bardo’. It is the ‘intermediate existence’. This ‘soul’ is between this life and the next life, looking for a place to be reborn. Because each religion talks about different process of dying, it is very beautiful, to bring it together, to look at how we die.

According to Yogacara’s explanation, this ‘bardo’, this ‘intermediate existence’, is looking for a place to be reborn. The ‘bardo’ is the consciousness you accumulate up till the moment you die. And this consciousness, this ‘seed’, S-E-E-D, of your experience, will be attracted to wherever you will be reborn. However, according to Yogacara’s explanation, this ‘bardo’ is still looking for a place to be reborn. It will be alive, exist, for 7 days. If within these 7 days, this ‘bardo’ or this ‘existence’ did not find a place to reborn, even this ‘bardo’ will die. A new ‘bardo’ will come out. So, in this pattern, 7 days plus 7 days. 7 days…. 7 x 7 days, 49 days, for ordinary people, looking for place to reborn. And that is why, in the temple, after someone dies, you would have to go to the temple to do the service, dharma service for the deceased people for 49 days. It is because of this reason.

Of course, you asked me, does everyone have to be this way? Of course, it is not necessary, for people who do good things, may immediately go up, and really, really bad, serious killers, may suddenly go down. But we are ordinary people, not too bad, not too good. Of course, after 49 days, does everyone have a final destination? Maybe not. Those people are still hanging there. That is why there are haunted houses. Does that make sense? Of course, it is because of their attachments to certain places. So, even on ‘Discovery Channel’, there was also a report, this is very scientific as well, about haunted houses. According to Buddhism, it is because of this attachment.

What will be the moment of rebirth? When does life starts? Of course, we talk about how life started from the beginningless time. But, when we talk about this life, what is the moment of birth? According to Buddhist, for human being, the life begins at the moment of conception. So, those ‘bardo’ are looking for such a place. Do you know what are the characters of a human being in a desire realm? It is because of two characters; one is food, you need to eat. The other is the sexual desire. Lust. In Buddhism, if you do not come out with a very heavy, with a great lust, you will not be reborn in samsara. And this lust attracts; so when this ‘bardo’ is looking for a rebirth, according to the sutra, it explains how life came to be. In the desire realm, all of us are so engaged with the relationship between man and woman, because we already have this sexual desire. So, when the parents are in union, the soul enters into the womb. So, this is the moment, the moment of conception, is also the beginning of life. This is described in the sutra. This is the rebirth.

Of course, this is only for the human beings, or the animals, but there is also one, which does not need a male and a female. What is that? Like in heaven, you do not need male and female. There are four kinds of birth; one is come out from womb, the second from egg, the other one is moisture and the fourth kind is transformation, it means to be reborn as a heavenly being. It is through a transformation. Or, to be reborn in a Pure Land, Amitabha’s Pure Land, is also through the transformation. But as human being, it is because we are attracted by lust. In Buddhism, we talk about the moment of birth, what decides the rebirth? Sometimes the children will blame the parents, ‘ It was you who wanted to give birth to me!’.’ Why did you want to give birth to me?’ They blame the parents! No, you will have to blame yourself.

Where you go to it is because of your karma. We call the karma, it is like a karmic energy, a magnet, and you will be attracted to the place where you will go. Sometimes, when I am joking with my students, when I was teaching in the university, I will tell my students, I know where you are going to be reborn. They say, ‘Oh, you have physic powers!’ But I say, ‘Look, during the weekend, you cannot wait to see your girlfriend. Your desire is there, so you will be attracted to that place.’ Also, when some people have free time, people like to go to, you know, casino, gambling! Certain people also like to go to dark places, or crowded places, and some people like to be with nature. This is because you are attracted to it.

So, rebirth is because you are attracted to certain places. Your karma is attracted to it. In the sutra, this is shared by all in Buddhism, there are 3 factors, which decides where you will reborn. One is called primary karma, that means you have been doing all the good karma or bad karma. This is the primary karma. The second one is your habitual karma, you like to go to some places. And the third one is your last thought, the dying moment, that is why assisted chanting is very important. When someone is dying, you would like him or her to pass away very peacefully, by doing assisted chanting. So, there is primary karma, and habitual karma and last thought. When we talk about cause and effect, sometimes, people will tell you, if you kill a lot of cockroaches, what do they tell you? You are going to be reborn as a cockroach! Or if you kill a cow, next life, you are going to be reborn as a cow. I do not think that it is that simple. How about if you kill human being? Will you be reborn as a human being? (laughter)

No, so we cannot use such a simplified version of cause and effect. It does make sense if someone kills a cow, or cockroach, or living in that environment, this for Buddhist, we talk about habitual karma. It is because of that image. Of course, you say it is the same for human being, because of the hatred, when you are doing the killing, you have that hatred, you are not peaceful at all. So, this we call the negative karma. So, why people who kill a lot of cockroaches, maybe it is in their image….not necessary you kill a lot of cockroaches, you become cockroach. I think there are all kinds of condition that will decide who you will be. But, at least, if you expose yourself, in certain environment, and you plant a lot of ‘seed’ as that image, then in your next life, because of your ‘seed’, your experience can be leading you to certain places. So, this is habitual karma. Primary karma, habitual karma and last thought are very important.

So, in the Buddhist, Chinese culture, when we talk about dying peacefully, we consider the merit, one of the five fortunes is dying peacefully. It is very important for someone to be reborn for the next life. So, the karma, brings you to the next life. So far, up to right now, what I am going to tell you is, at the moment of rebirth, you don’t have to worry, because, at that time, you cannot make a decision, ‘I want to go this place’, ‘I want to go that place’. It will be in a kind of blur, you know, unconsciousness. But at that time, it is the nature of this karmic energy; function, just like the magnet, which draws you to where you have to reborn. So, what is very important? Always accumulate good karma. If you accumulate good karma right now, you do not have to worry about your future. But if you do not accumulate good karma, right now, even though you try very hard, even if you hire 100 monks to do chanting for you, it will still be difficult (laughter).

Because, in the sutra, it says, even if you have monks and nuns chanting for you, maybe you only get one of the seven, very few. So, it is your karma which decides where you will go. Of course, then why do we have to invite monks and nuns to do chanting? Usually, the dying people, their ‘bardo’, will be ‘hanging’ with the people they love. For example, when you are sick, or when you are dying, where do you want to go? Everyone wants to go home. Be with someone you love. So, it is very important for the family, not to scold, not to blame, not to criticize the deceased. It is always good, to say the good words, to remind the people about the deceased, the good things that he has done. And also at this time, at this moment, the family, plus the monks and nuns, can do the chanting, for in the sutra, when they are doing the chanting, they are leading the deceased, the ‘soul’, the ‘bardo’, to do repentance, and then to make vows. So, that is why, we have to invite the monks and nuns to do the chanting. It is not just a ceremony, it is not just a ritual; it has a function, to lead the soul, to generate good thoughts. Just like when someone is so angry, or in depression, so confused; so with chanting, we are leading the soul to comfort.

As long as we take care of this moment; for we have many types of karma, positive karma and negative karma, and another is neutral karma. What does it mean by neutral? See, if I touch my nose, it is neither good nor bad, or if I blink my eyes, it is an action, but it is neither good nor bad. Karma means action, but actions always have a trace, an effect, a result, which will never disappear, but accumulate in our ‘alaya’, the 8th consciousness. In our daily life, we also accumulate a lot of good karma and bad karma; karma from your thoughts, your words, your actions, so it physical karma, oral karma and mental karma. And also, we have a collective karma and individual karma. Like here, in Penang, in Malaysia. In this environment, whoever lives here, we call it the collective karma. Whether it is the air pollution, sanitary problems, we share it together.

Sometimes, when we live in a collective karma, we also experience individual karma. For example; the September 11 incident, where the people experienced the tragedy in the twin towers, in New York. But some people survived, because of their individual karma, even though they have experienced it. So this is collective karma and also individual karma. Sometimes, most of the time, we cannot control what happens after we die, but of course, for people, like monks and nuns, we cultivate, where the dying moment is also the time we liberate. So death is not that terrible. For ordinary people, you just think about this physical body, when we get old, just like an old house, it is good to change into a new house. Or if you have an old car, you change to a new car. So, frankly, I myself am not afraid of dying, because life is continuous.

Thus, for a Buddhist, life is continuity. So, we are not afraid of death. The reason we are afraid of death is because we do not know what will happen. If you know where you are going to, you won’t be afraid. Sometimes, I feel that there is gap between the young generation, and me because they all talk about e-language. So, sometimes I think, it is good to be dead, so I can be reborn, and be younger than them.(laughter) So, it is an upgrade. According to Chinese Buddhism, the Avamtasaka Sutra, we always think that this world is full of samsara, but in the sutra, Ananda asked the Buddha, ‘Why the other Buddha’s world is so magnificent?’, ‘Why is this world full of suffering?’ Do you know what was the reaction of the Buddha? He used his finger, and touched the ground, and showed Ananda another world, and said, ‘This is my world’.

Why does the Buddha perceive so differently from us about this world? In this Avamtasaka Sutra, it states that the reality, the Nirvana is also in this world. How can that be? This is samsara, I want to get out from this world! No, in Avamtasaka Sutra, the reality, is like the view from the highest mountain, like Penang Hill; and when you see the view below, you will see a very beautiful and peaceful view of Penang. But, when you come down the hill, you will see traffic, pollution, people fighting, air pollution…. Why is that? It is the same world. The thing is, you will have to transcend it, to look at this world in a different perspective. So, the reality, and the samsara and Nirvana are all in this world. You will have to transcend it.

That is the experience realized by the Buddha. In Buddhism, the lotus flower, blooms from a muddy pond or lake, but the lotus flower is so pure and beautiful, which is why Buddhism use the lotus flower as a holy flower, as the symbol; you do not have to escape from this world, the reality you are looking for is in this world. Your mind has to transcend it. Being a Buddhist, you don’t just hide from the society; this society is where you practice, where you build the Pure Land teaching in this world. As long as more people, not necessarily only Buddhist, do good to purify their mind, then the world will be a Pure Land.

So, in the humanistic Buddhist view, as a Buddhist we have to engage with the society, and not worry about what happens after death. Of course, we ask, where did the Buddha go to? Again, we used our mind to think that he has a physical body. Let us do a test right now, on the power of the mind. Think of your home, or the living room, immediately. But the reason you cannot go home right now, it is because of your physical body. You are here, but your thoughts can go anywhere, anytime in a second. Think, without this physical body, you can go anywhere, immediately! Or even to Amitabha’s Pure Land. Some people don’t believe it. They asked, what kind of space shuttle do we need? We do not need a space shuttle; that is a materialistic view. This is because it is not your physical body that goes there, but your mind that goes there. It is the power of the mind. So, if you ask, where is the Buddha right now? When you have no physical body, there is no coming and no going, which is why the Buddha is neither coming nor going. Finally, my conclusion is, don’t be afraid of dying. Death, is like changing to a new house, but of course, you have to take care of your actions right now, and accumulate good karma, or the ‘house’ will get worse and worse. So, for humanistic Buddhist view, we focus on this time, this world and this form as a human being. It is a superior form of practice. So, thank you so much, this is something for me to share with you tonight.

About Ven. Yifa,
Abbess of Fo Guang Shan, Boston, USA.
Ph.D. Yale University

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Venerable Yifa holds a PhD in religious studies from Yale University (1996) and has been an ordained Buddhist nun since 1979. She grew up in the small Taiwanese town of Beigang and attended college as a law student at National Taiwan University in Taipei. At the age of 20, she was introduced to the philosophy and religious ideals of Buddhism and found inspiration to lead a life of service to humanity. During her second year at the university, Yifa received ordination at Fo Guang Shan at Kaohsiung—a seat of Buddhist learning and service. In the monastic life, Venerable Yifa did find isolation from society but rather opportunities for education and service that far exceeded those available to most women of her generation in Taiwan. Recognizing her potential as a leader and an academic, Fo Guang Shan sponsored Yifa’s graduate studies, first at the University of Hawaii, where she received an MA in philosophy in 1990, and then at Yale.

Within Fo Guang Shan, Yifa has served as an administrator of Buddhist universities and centers for the education of monastics, most notably, as Provost of Hsi Lai University in Rosemead, California, the first university in the United States sponsored by a Chinese organization. Venerable Yifa taught Buddhism in the Institute of Philosophical Studies at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan from 1999 to 2001. Before going back to Taiwan, she was a visiting scholar at University of California at Berkeley and in the fall of 2001, she became a visiting scholar at Harvard University.

Venerable Yifa received awards as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons in Taiwan in 1997 and Outstanding Women in Buddhism Award in 2003. In recent years she has been an active participant in interfaith dialogues, some of which were supported by UNESCO. She was invited to be the contributor to “Safe Motherhood Project” by UNICEF’s South Asia Office.

Venerable Yifa is also an advocate for women’s equality within Buddhism. Her current research focuses on women’s roles in Buddhism and the biographies of Chinese Buddhist women. She is a frequent guest lecturer on diverse subjects, including Chinese Buddhist philosophy, thanatology and ethics. Presently, she serves as the abbess of Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center, Fo Guang Shan’s affiliation in Massachusetts and teaches at Boston University as an adjunct position. Venerable Yifa’s book on monastic rules and institutions, The Origin of Buddhist Monastic Codes in China, was published by University of Hawaii Press in August 2002. Being a nun, she also loves to write for the general audience and her book Safeguarding the Heart - a Buddhist Response to Suffering and September 11 was published in August 2002 by Lantern Books, and received favorable reviews from leading publications, including YBAM’s Eastern Horizon in its December 2002 issue. She is also the co-author for the Benedict’s Dharma , published by Riverhead Books, 2001.