Assignment 2 - Valerie Tseng

Every one of you should work hard to make Buddhism flourish. In every move you make and every word you say, you should be thinking on behalf of Buddhism. Do not fight, do not be greedy, do not seek, do not be selfish, do not pursue personal advantage, and do not lie. Then you will certainly become a Buddha in the future.

An Excerpt from the Venerable Master's Final Instructions
December 4-5, 1994

I can't be together with you all your lives. Every person has a time for coming and a time for going. Don't be sad. Act the same way that you do in ordinary times. Resolve to apply effort diligently. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas has its unique features. The rule of eating one meal a day should be kept. Young people should eat one meal a day. It's alright for elderly people to eat three meals. It's better for young people to eat less. The important thing is to cultivate.

Every one of you should work hard to make Buddhism flourish. In every move you make and every word you say, you should be thinking on behalf of Buddhism. Do not fight, do not be greedy, do not seek, do not be selfish, do not pursue personal advantage, and do not lie. Then you will certainly become a Buddha in the future. Every person has to shoulder the responsibility of propagating the Buddhadharma. If you can cause Buddhism to prosper and flourish, then I'll be able to set my heart at ease no matter where I am.

Do a good job of training people and teaching the students. You should get organized and run the schools well. The elementary school should be managed well, the secondary school should be managed well, and the university be managed well even more! Educating and training people is very important. You shouldn't care exclusively about yourself.

In my life I hve never wished to content with anyone, or to be greedy, or to seek, or to be selfish, or to pursue personal advantage, or to lie. So when I walk, I always walk behind everyone else. My intent is not to contend with anyone for fame or benefit. If there is any advantage that other people want, I don't want it. What others don't want, I pick up. The Buddha treated everyone with kindness, compassion, joy, and giving. He didn't exclude or give up on anyone. Even though I'm not the Buddha, I want to learn to be like the Buddha.

Right now I'm like two people. One is still saving living beings everywhere. As for this person who is me, I don't care about him. I will not help myself.
 
Source:  http://www.cttbusa.org/founder/final_instructions.asp


I really like this excerpt. It gives clear direction to disciples on what to do, how to do it and describes how the Venerable Master himself embodied what he asked of us.


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About Tue 6/22 class:

Now that we've somewhat made our way through the technology, there is more time for stories and discussions. They are getting very interesting. At the beginning of the class, Ron spoke a bit about how Venerable Master used expedients to speak to different audience just like a doctor prescribing Chinese medicine to his patients. Thus, we should be aware of the context of his teaching just as it would be unwise to take Chinese medicine prescribed for someone else. No wonder I felt kind of confused at times about some of the things that were said and seem conflicting.

The photos of the Venerable Master's place of birth were humbling and at the same time reminded me of impermanence. Where the monastery was, now stands a school or factory, kind of forgotten. All we are left with are the stories about the monastery. It is our job to preserve the authenticity of those stories so future generations can hear them as we've heard of them.