The first chapter of the Diamond Sutra, "The First Cause of the Festival", is a preface, describing the cause of this sutra, indicating the time, place, and cause of the Buddha's teaching. Therefore, on the surface, this part does not begin to explain and does not have profound truth, but from these brief introductions, I see the beauty of simple, rigorous and purposeful life. The original text is as follows: As I heard: At one time, the Buddha was in the garden of solitude in the garden of solitude, and the great bhikshus were all 1,250 people. At that time, the world-honored man wore clothes and held a bowl when eating, and went into the city to beg for food. and begged in his city, and returned to this place. After eating, the mantle is collected, the feet are washed, and the seat is sitting. The Garden of Solitude is the place where Shakyamuni lives. At this time, as a enlightened person (Buddha), he had already gained the recognition and worship of the people, so that 2,500 great bhikshus followed him.
If this is a group, he is the CEO of this group, the supreme leader. As a CEO, it should be a thousand calls, food, clothing, housing and transportation are accompanied by ** to serve, pampered, and pampered, isn't this the case with the one who is now an official and made a fortune? Even those so-called living Buddhas, aren't they all like this? But when it was time for the Buddha to eat, he himself wore a robe and took a rice bowl and went to the city to beg for food.
Why is this so? It is simply incomprehensible today that a "world-honored person" who is recognized by everyone should go to ask for food. But "begging" is one of the "things to do".
For Indian monks, begging for food is a kind of ritual, a pure and righteous life. "Mahayana Chapter 15": "Begging for food." There are two things: one is self-reliance, saving trouble and cultivating the Tao. The two are for him, for the benefit of the world. "Self-interest is to put an end to worldly affairs and facilitate cultivation.
Think of us, for the sake of comfort and appetite, running around and toiling, even abandoning ideals, giving up pursuits, working as slaves for houses, seats, tickets, working long hours, and killing people because of greed. Why can't we live a simpler life and devote more time and energy to spiritual pursuits? Altruism is to give sentient beings the opportunity to plant blessings, so monks begging for food is not the same as begging for beggars or even those fake beggars today, not inferior to three or four, let alone seeking wealth for food.
The Buddha still went from house to house to beg, that is, "the second begging". The explanation for this is: "That is, the Buddha has an equal mind, does not choose rich and poor, does not choose pure filth, is not invited, and begs for food in order from house to house." With the help of such actions, a practitioner can develop equanimity and eliminate defilements. ”
I think if you just want to beg for enough food, you can just pick the rich family to beg for food, because the rich family has more than enough food, and the food is more beautiful, while the poor family is not hungry, and it is not enough, how can you bear to take a share from their mouth? Moreover, the poor have even worse sanitation conditions. However, the Buddha insisted on the next level of begging, because in the Buddha's heart, the rich and the poor are equal, and they must be given the opportunity to plant blessings.
The reason why the scriptures are classics I think that the amount of food of the Buddha is limited, and he can't eat much, since he wants to beg for the first time, the food of each family cannot be more, and if he wants to give more food, I think he will not accept it, otherwise how can he beg for the first time? The Buddha did not eat the food on the spot, but went back to the Garden of Solitude to eat, and after eating, he had to pack up his robe and rice bowl (which he could have made himself), wash his feet, lay out the seat by himself, and sit on his knees. As can be seen from this short passage, the Buddha's life was simple and at the same time rigorous. He insisted on begging for food only when he was eating, and he insisted on doing his own thing, and every step was quiet and calm, which was a concrete manifestation of his strong willpower, concentration, clear life goals, and profound world view. Every time I read this paragraph, which at first glance seemed ordinary, I felt that the brilliance of wisdom and humanity radiated from it. Our life should also have a purpose, otherwise in this ever-changing world, it is easy to lose our way, lose ourselves, and no amount of material things can satisfy personal greed. Of course, more than every worldly person, after all, the color body is only once, and it is the only one in the world, which needs to be nurtured and cherished, but it is not necessary to spend too much time and energy on cultivating the color body. Here I especially respect the rigor of the Buddha's life, which is necessary for our true life. Simple examples: wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet; rinse your mouth after meals; Look before you leap; Comply with traffic regulations; respect the old and love the young; Wait a minute. In fact, it is necessary to take your life seriously from the details, and not to be casual. Therefore, rigor is not the same as rigidity, but an attitude of living seriously and treating oneself correctly. In the book "The Teachings of the Sorcerer Don Wang", a conversation between the Sorcerer Tang Wang and Kastaneda talks about the "sincere life": "You must be a strong person, your life must be sincere. "What is a sincere life? "A thoughtful life, a good, strong life. I think the "sincere life" here is very similar to the life of the Buddha. The life of the Buddha is full of Zen and beauty, which not only allows us to see that the Buddha is also an ordinary person, but also lets us know that a person with a quiet and peaceful heart should have such a life.