Hello, everyone. Welcome to this episode of the podcast provided by the Buddhas’ Practice Incorporated of Australia.
Today, we will delve into a topic of critical importance: the origin of Bodhicitta and the practice of Great Compassion.
The Origin of Bodhicitta and the Goal of Buddhahood
The most fundamental source of our Bodhicitta—the mind of awakening—arises from the suffering of all beings. It is precisely because we witness the suffering of others that we generate great compassion. From great compassion, Bodhicitta arises; from Bodhicitta, Buddhahood is attained. This is a complete cycle:
- The initial source is the suffering of all beings.
- The suffering of beings gives rise to great compassion.
- To truly practice this great compassion, you must possess wisdom, merit, and ability.
- When these resources are fully perfected, you can attain Buddhahood.
The purpose of achieving Buddhahood is not to reach a final state of personal liberation, but to be better and more fully equipped to practice great compassion and relieve all beings of their suffering. Therefore, our ultimate goal is to bring joy to all beings, and true joy comes when they are free from suffering.
The Suffering of Beings: Seeing “Thieves” as Friends
All too often, we see beings suffering from “enmity.” They treat their “thieves”—their own afflictions and cravings—as close and lovable friends. For example, they see attachment to food, drink, entertainment, fame, and power as “good” and are willing to sacrifice for them. But this perceived closeness leads to the loss of all joy and the creation of all suffering. This is the so-called “seeing thieves as friends.” What you think is “happiness” is, in reality, poison.
Modern Society’s “Poison” and Widespread Suffering
We live in an age of technological and social progress, yet this development has also brought about severe harm to humanity, even widespread poisons.
1. The Poison in Our Food:
- Greed is the root cause. Farmers, seeking a larger yield and a more appealing appearance, use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. This leaves the plants themselves laden with toxins.
- Herbicides like glyphosate can lead to dementia and a decline in cognitive function, making people increasingly dull and slow-witted. It dulls our six senses, leading to “difficulties in body, speech, and mind”—a form of self-harm, self-infliction, and self-destruction.
- Food processors, seeking to increase sales, refine flour and rice into “pure flour” and “pure rice,” which are merely pure carbohydrates, leading to diabetes.
- Various chemical additives, such as those in drinks, ice cream, and birthday cakes, are also a problem. While these things taste “good,” they adhere to our stomachs, intestines, blood vessels, and the entire body, are difficult to remove, and accumulate as disease.
2. The Poison in Our Environment:
- Plastic pollution is everywhere. From packaging and agricultural films to the deep sea, microplastics are a global issue.
- Plastics cause blockages in the human body, with the concentration in the brain being several times higher than in other organs.
- Even animal feed can be contaminated with plastic from packaging, which then enters the human body through the consumption of meat.
These various poisons arise from the greed of all beings. From the producers’ greed for more profit to the consumers’ greed for good taste, the single word “greed” has turned the world into a polluted, sickness-ridden place.
Practicing Great Compassion: Relieving Suffering, Not Adding to It
Faced with such immense suffering, how should we practice great compassion?
1. Guided by Wisdom, Not Blind Conformity:
- True compassion means consistently acting to relieve suffering, not to increase it.
- Bringing beings out of suffering is what truly brings them joy. To merely indulge their desires by eating and drinking with them is to harm them, to act as a “thief.” That is not great compassion; that is a demonic act.
- We must help beings understand what suffering and happiness are. We need to help them realize that what they chase as “good” is precisely the source of the eight kinds of suffering.
2. Starting with Diet, Leading by Example:
- We should use our diet as the starting point for relieving the suffering of others.
- First, relieve your own suffering by adopting a healthy diet. This will reduce your exposure to toxins, suffering, and illness.
- Second, promote and educate others, helping more people realize that our surroundings are full of toxins and teaching them how to avoid harm.
- Even if your power is small, like growing one healthy, non-toxic vegetable or cooking one healthy meal and giving it to someone, you are truly relieving the suffering of a fellow being.
3. Persistent Contemplation and Reinforcement:
- This process of cultivating compassion involves constantly contemplating and applying these principles.
- When we help and teach others, we are also repeatedly learning and reinforcing these ideas, making them an integral part of ourselves.
Friends, the entire path to Buddhahood is dedicated to this very task. Our own suffering needs to be relieved, but we can set aside our time for that to help other beings. As they are helped, our own practice becomes perfected. This is what we should be doing every step of the way on the path of Bodhi: focusing on great compassion and relieving the suffering of all beings.
Let us work together to be guided by wisdom and act with compassion to truly relieve the suffering of all beings and move toward eternal peace and happiness! Thank you all.
