"Buddhadharma is:
All encompassing compassion
Benefit all sentient beings
Liberate from suffering and attain bliss. "
- Master Jin Bodhi
" 佛法是：
大慈大悲
利益众生
离苦得乐"
- 金菩提禅师
Commentary by Jerome:
In the Buddhist texts, there are 84,000 dharma (methods) to
treat 84,000 afflictions. But do we know all the 84,000 dharma (methods)? No!
Dharmas are methods used to help people relieve their suffering.
These methods differ for different people from different times. For
example, people from 2500 years ago have different problems from modern people.
People of the past worry about physical and living conditions but modern people
suffer from emotional stress.
There is an old saying, “ There is no fixed dharma. 法无定法. “ This implies that there are methods to help different
group of people with different afflictions. One method may not apply to all.
Are sutras Buddhadharma? Yes but only a part of Buddhadharma.
Will our modern methods used to relieve modern afflictions be written in sutra
written 2500 years ago? Impossible! Hence, sutras may not fully represent
Buddhadharma but the underlying meaning should be learnt and applied in our
daily lives.
Similarly, in Bodhi Meditation, the Meditation of Greater
Illumination (MGI) is not written in sutra. But MGI is Buddha Dharma because it
relieves people of suffering. It cannot be considered unorthodox just because
it is not written in sutra. This applies for all other methods used to help
sentient beings.
In the sutras, it is stated not to attach to Dharma (法执). What does it mean? It means the Dharma (method/wisdom) in
Buddhism is not found in literature/sutras on the surface. One must understand
deeply the underlying meaning in the sutras, apply them in meditative state,
practice them fervently, realise for oneself and liberate oneself from their
afflictions. Most modern scholars used Western “evidence based approach” to
find wisdom in text! They find some sentences in sutra and compare it to
another source to prove if that is correct or wrong. This defeats the purpose
of learning BuddhaDharma. BuddhaDharma is meant to help people and not for
studying in this way. This is what is meant by attachment to Dharma. An old
saying in Taoist text say, “ Tao that can be described is not universal and
eternal Tao, Name that can be named is not universal and eternal name. 道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名.” The state of Zen (Tao) cannot be described in the text but
the text still tried its best to explain this state. One cannot use the sutras
or texts to define BuddhaDharma and what is not in the sutra is not
BuddhaDharma!
There was a man who asked, “Where is the moon?” The other man
pointed to the moon. One cannot grab the man’s hand and say that’s the moon.
Similarly, sutra merely points to the goal of enlightenment. It cannot be used
to define enlightenment.
Hence, I can fully appreciate how best to define Buddhadharma.
Buddhadharma is:
- All encompassing compassion
- Benefit all sentient beings
- Liberate from suffering and attain bliss.
More information available at:
1) Master Jin Bodhi Facebook
2) Official Bodhi Meditation Website
Author:
Jerome is a Buddhist practitioner that has learnt from Theravada, Mahayana and Tibetan traditions and is still learning! He first learnt meditation and Dharma from Theravadan monks and practitioners in the lineage of the Arahant Venerable Amatha Gavesi Maha Thero from Sri Lankaramaya Buddhist temple in Singapore. Then, he completed a Diploma in Buddhism from the Buddhist and Pali College in 2016. He also learnt from Zen Master Wu Jue Miao Tian (85th Zen Patriach) from the LingJi lineage in Taiwan in 2014 - 2015. Subsequently, he learnt from Garchen Rinpoche from the Drigar Thubten Dargye Ling tradition (Tibetan) and attended annual Om Mani Padme Hum and Om Ami Dewa Hrih retreats from 2015 till date. Currently, he is a disciple of Master Jin Bodhi (Mahayana) from Bodhi Meditation in Singapore and is an active volunteer there. Master Jin Bodhi is his main Dharma teacher. Jerome feels that Buddhism is not a religion but is a practical way to reduce our life's problems. The essence of Buddhism is not in the books or sutras but in the way we apply it into our lives. Having understood some aspects of Buddha's teaching, he wants to give back to the society and hopes to share his insights with everyone who has the affinity with him.
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