Some Reflections on Buddhism and Charity

One

In recent years I have been using my whole life to realize the truths of Buddhism. The deaths of close relatives and of patients I have treated have all struck my heart deeply. Death has given me profound insight into Buddhist ideas such as "birth and death are the great matter, impermanence moves swiftly," "human life lies only between one breath and the next," and "the suffering of separation from those one loves." It has also shown me that all glory and wealth are but a heap of dung, and that the attachment, vanity, discrimination, and life-and-death struggles human beings build upon them are utterly laughable and pitiable.

That the Buddha renounced his princely status to become a monk was less because he wearied of wealth than because he was shaken by the terrible suffering human beings inflict in fighting over it. In the Buddha's time, the kingdoms of ancient India waged war on cities and slaughtered whole peoples; the Shakya clan was exterminated even during the Buddha's lifetime. When Shakyamuni Buddha saw his kinsmen piled in mountains of corpses and heard five hundred Shakya women crying out his name in anguish, begging for help, how could his heart not have been torn with pain? Had he not left the throne to become a monk, might he himself have lain among those slaughtered bodies?

Such profound and subtle Dharma can be truly grasped only after great sorrow and great joy. Moved by the sight of people slaughtering their own kind in pursuit of gain, and by the manifold sufferings of life, the Buddha taught the ideals of "great compassion, joyful giving and cheerful relinquishment" and "diligent cultivation of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, extinguishing greed, anger, and delusion"—seeking outwardly the peace between people, and inwardly the peace of one's own mind. The Buddha had no power to bless anyone with wealth, fortune, healing, or the averting of disaster; he could only inspire believers to live wisely, untormented by ignorant pursuits and desires. Only thus can one build a pure land and a realm of bliss within one's own heart, so that the endless ups and downs of the outside world do not disturb our inner peace and well-being.

Two

Buddhism absorbed the wisdom of its opponents through debate. In the Buddha's lifetime the Indian intellectual world was extraordinarily lively; among the shramana movements there were said to be ninety-six outside paths. The Buddha defeated them one by one in debate and established primitive Buddhism. Bodhisattva Nagarjuna was another master of eloquence; after vanquishing countless opponents he established the Madhyamaka, from which arose the Empty School of Mahayana. Master Xuanzang's brilliance dazzled both China and India; while seeking the Dharma in India he defeated various challengers and at the same time absorbed a great deal of thought from them, perfecting the theory of the Mahayana School of Essence.

Buddhism prized logic (hetuvidya), and from the outset its theory was imbued with dialectic. The most astonishing thing about such a religious system of thought is that it seems perpetually capable of self-renewal and upgrading, which is generation after generation of Buddhist patriarchs could appear. The Dharma rests on prajna, that is, human wisdom. Human wisdom is boundless, and so the Dharma will be boundless too: whatever method leads to liberation is the Dharma.

Buddhism has a simile: practicing the Dharma to reach liberation is like a person seeing the moon by following the direction a finger points—what we must see is the moon, not the finger. There is another simile: the Dharma is like a raft; our purpose is to cross to the farther shore, and once we have crossed, the raft no longer matters. Our goal is liberation; the Dharma is merely the instrument. Once liberated, the means by which one practiced is of no importance.

Three

The Buddha never promoted idol worship in his lifetime. He founded the Buddhist tradition of relying on principle and on the precepts rather than on teachers, holding that anyone can attain the state of Buddhahood. In the Diamond Sutra the Buddha denied all the Dharma he had taught, stressing that as long as delusion and afflictions are finally extinguished, all dharmas are both correct and ultimately meaningless.

This opened up infinite space for the later expansion of Buddhism, producing an overwhelming mass of Buddhist literature and countless sects, to the point that "Buddhist studies are notoriously difficult." The Lotus Sutra once tried to harmonize the various schools and unify them in the "One Buddha Vehicle," but real-world disagreements are far harder to eliminate.

For those of the highest faculties and wisdom, Buddhist studies are an endlessly enjoyable game of the mind. For the majority of believers, Buddhism's greatest feature is its inclusiveness: the gateway of Buddhism, said to contain eighty-four thousand methods, is truly vast enough to shelter all kinds of dissenters.

Even those who know nothing of the Dharma are respected by the Buddha. The Sutra of Forty-two Sections says, "It is difficult not to slight those who have not yet studied." This is the Buddha requiring his disciples not to look down on those unlearned in the Dharma—what breadth of mind that shows.

Four

What is admirable about Buddhism is that it criticizes itself rather than demanding perfection from others. It is tolerant: when others insult us, the Buddha asks his disciples to endure abuse while still returning good for evil and giving of themselves for others. In theory such a spirit will ultimately help us resolve grievances and earn the respect of others.

This is a spirit of sacrifice, but from ancient times to the present, no one—including the Buddha—has achieved it one hundred percent; the Buddha himself was not sufficiently tolerant toward his cousin Devadatta. We need only strive to achieve it; when we occasionally fall short, we should know afterward to repent, just as the Buddha ultimately forgave Devadatta. A sage is not without faults, but when he has a fault he is sure to correct it at once.

Five

What is admirable about religious people is their spiritual power. In an age when science and technology were undeveloped, it was Buddhists who truly led China out into the world. Buddhists such as Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, and Zhimeng braved every danger—crossing snow mountains and deserts, risking death nine times over—to journey west in search of the Dharma, opening the Silk Road and enabling the exchange of Chinese and Indian civilizations.

These wandering monks were outstanding in both intellect and perseverance; their faith in Buddhism and their compassion for the world guided them onward. From this angle they are great, admirable, and worthy of our study. Perhaps only in religious people can we see such a moving side of human nature.

Six

True compassion is built on a sense of shame: constant self-examination, constantly discovering one's own problems so as to reduce the harm one does to others, to society, and to the public, while doing everything possible to sympathize with and help others. If one cannot do the latter, one should at least do the former. If one is proud of oneself or of one's faith yet has harmed others, whether intentionally or not, that is not compassion.

Seven

Is Buddhism all benefit and no harm? Absolutely not! Consider only the doctrine of transmigration and retribution inherited from the ancient Indian shramana currents—it has produced untold discrimination in the world.

When someone unfortunately falls seriously ill, bystanders often gloat that it is karmic retribution, while the patient may in fact be an exceptionally kind and upright person. Modern medicine tells us that the true cause of disease is not retribution; find the cause and the disease can be cured.

Such foolish views within Buddhism have caused many vulnerable people who ought to be pitied to instead be discriminated against; this is one of Buddhism's lingering poisons. We Buddhist believers should face up to the problems in the religion we follow, correct our faults when we know them, and not engage in blind personality cult while refusing to reform.

Justice arises first from conscience, and the bottom line of conscience is not harming others. We should feel ashamed not only of ourselves but of our faith; otherwise we depart utterly from the spirit of self-reflection the Buddha advocated. Sometimes we think our conduct is magnificent when in fact we are making bad karma.

Sometimes when I hear Buddhists dedicate merit after chanting on behalf of some patient, praying to extinguish the "karma" of his vengeful creditors, I wonder: if these fellow practitioners thought one step further, would they not realize that their conduct is indistinguishable from rebuking the patient for having sinned so much as to deserve retribution? What standing do we have to do this? What right to question another's character? Will it not make the other person deeply uncomfortable?

Eight

Revisiting Ji Xianlin's Six Lectures on Buddhism, Ren Jiyu's History of Buddhism, and Tang Yongtong's History of Buddhism in the Han, Wei, Two Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, I was moved by the scholarly spirit of these three masters and convinced by their detailed textual research and rigorous logic.

Buddhism has infinite charm because of its openness and its speculative nature, and for this reason each era brings innovation. True history shows us that even sage-level figures like the Buddha and Xuanzang had sides where enlightenment and conduct were not yet one; they too broke the precept against anger, excluded dissenters, and were not as tolerant, compassionate, and omniscient as legend makes them out to be.

But the flaws do not obscure the virtues. On the contrary, I feel that a slightly flawed but real sage is more respectable and lovable than a Buddha blown to the skies by generations of devotees, and I admire all the more the enterprise of wisdom they founded.

I love my teacher, but I love truth more. I love truth, yet I also love my teacher. I do not discard truth for my teacher, nor do I belittle my teacher for truth.

Nine

Mr. Ji Xianlin said that someone who studies religion can hardly still believe in it, because the wealth of artifacts and documents reveals how religious people fabricate facts to manufacture gods. I cannot fully agree. Religion certainly has its hypocritical side, and religious people have indeed not hesitated to forge evidence in order to create gods; the situation is very serious.

But the teachings of religion are very good, though overly idealistic. Yet as the great economist Marshall said, when it comes to shaping human character, there is no better means than religious faith. I have never sought to become a Buddha, because that is unrealistic: a person cannot become a perfectly flawless Buddha, and the historical Buddha himself never attained the state he required of a Buddha. But I will not give up striving to transform myself so as to approach a Buddha-like state.

Ten

Relying on chanting and Buddha-worship to dispel illness is a truly foolish and terrible thing. In today's enlightened and advanced scientific age, no religious group should encourage such superstitious ways; such misleading can easily make people lose the chance to be saved, and especially in patients with a normal will to live, their treatment must not be delayed. Otherwise such a religious group has lost basic conscience. Let religion belong to religion, and medicine to medicine. Any religious team preaching such superstition—whether or not for profit—should be kept at a respectful distance.

Eleven

There is an online friend called "Xintian Jinyou" who built more than a hundred Hope Primary Schools over ten-plus years. When he first started building schools he was even beaten by those he helped, yet he persevered. He said: a butterfly cannot fly across the sea. The people we help may be disappointing and their thinking not up to the mark; like a small butterfly unable to cross the ocean, they cannot transcend the limits of their understanding and cannot understand us. But charity is our own choice; we have no right to demand that others recognize us, let alone repay us. Xintian Jinyou said it is just like being willing to wash his girlfriend's underwear.

This older brother has influenced me for more than ten years; his breadth of mind and principles are admirable. He does charity not to receive a good reward, nor to satisfy his own desire for the sublime, still less to enter heaven after death—he has no religious faith at all. He does charity simply because he was shaken by the backward educational conditions in poor regions; he only wants to change the world. This is a very pure person, so much so that not only does he donate and raise funds to build Hope Schools, he often goes himself to the construction site and works as a laborer. Brother Xintian Jinyou helped me break through the limits of religion in my thinking. We believe in religion; if we can go beyond religion itself, we will be all the purer.

I have now reached the age at which he first began doing charity. When I met him more than ten years ago I secretly vowed that one day I would follow in his footsteps, yet it is humbling how far I still remain from where he was then. But I do not want to wait any longer; to wait longer is to waste a whole life.

Twelve

I believe in Buddhism, but that does not mean I must believe everything about it. The Buddhist scriptures were compiled by believers after the Buddha's death, and the sutras that appeared later emerged hundreds or even one or two thousand years afterward. Here a problem arises first: after such a long interval, who can guarantee that the sutras reflect the Buddha's original intent? Moreover, even the Buddha's original intent is not necessarily correct and infallible. For example, the Buddha on one hand preached the equality of all beings and on the other discriminated against women and slaves—even today Buddhist communities address everyone, regardless of sex, as "shixiong" (brother). On one hand he stressed transmigration and retribution, and on the other he forgave Ashoka, who contributed greatly to the spread of Buddhism yet was cruel and fond of killing. These are self-contradictory. Am I to accept everything wholesale? How could I? I can only say that I accept what is correct in Buddhism; what is wrong—especially whatever violates humanism and the spirit of compassion—I still cannot accept.