a buddhist perspective

Vakula means “kind countenance.” Vakula had a kind appearance and people felt joy when looking at him. He was “foremost in longevity.”

The Buddha taught that all worldly pursuits can be categorized into three groups: wealth, wisdom, and health and longevity. Think about this. Is there anyone who does not want these? These are karmic results. We must plant the causes before we can have the karmic results. It is said: “In Buddhism, every sincere request will receive a response.” Why? Because the Buddha knew the law of cause and effect and thus knew which cause would bring about which effect.

The underlying cause of having wealth, wisdom, and health and longevity is giving. The Buddha taught us to cultivate both good fortune and wisdom. In this phrase, good fortune goes before wisdom. There is a Buddhist saying: “Cultivating wisdom without cultivating good fortune will result in an arhat not receiving any offering; cultivating good fortune without cultivating wisdom will result in a royal elephant wearing precious jewelry.”

The first statement is about a person who cultivated wisdom and attained arhatship. But as he did not cultivate good fortune, no one made offerings to him when he went out on alms rounds. The second statement is about a person who cultivated great good fortune but not wisdom. He fell into the path of animals and was reborn as an elephant. As the elephant had good fortune, it was kept by a king. Whenever the king went out, he rode on this elephant, and so this elephant got to wear precious jewelry.

Therefore, the Buddha taught us to cultivate both good fortune and wisdom. If one does not cultivate either one, one will be poor for all future lifetimes. It is most important that we believe the Buddha’s teaching.

Many universities and graduate schools today teach various methods to attain wealth. When we look at the courses they offer, we see that they teach students how to make use of catalytic conditions, not how to plant causes. Take business administration, for example. They do case studies. How did rich people get started? How did they run their businesses? How did they make so much money?

The experts and professors explain clearly and logically, but they themselves do not make much money. They spend their lives teaching in the universities, and if they are good at teaching, they may acquire a good reputation. When they retire, companies may hire them as consultants. They still do not attain great wealth. Since they know so many ways to make money, why can’t they attain great wealth for themselves? It is because what they learn and teach concerns “conditions,” not “causes.”

This is like planting a crop. These experts have the technical knowledge and can analyze the soil, water, climate, air, and fertilizer. The problem is that they do not have seeds. Not even an expert can harvest a crop without planting seeds. If one does not have wealth in one’s destiny, one cannot attain wealth regardless of what good methods or ideas of money making one has. If one has wealth in one’s destiny, one does not need to know any of these methods, for whatever one does, one will attain wealth.

Only the Buddha could explain this fact clearly. Where does wealth come from? From one’s practice of giving of wealth in previous lifetimes. The more one gave in past lifetimes, the more money one will have in this lifetime. If one was unwilling to practice the giving of wealth in past lifetimes, one will not attain great wealth now, no matter what skills one learns. After completing some courses, one will, at most, make money for a company. One will be an employee of that company and will not become its owner.

The giving of teachings will bring the karmic result of wisdom, and the giving of fearlessness will bring the karmic result of health and longevity. When we see that Vakula was foremost in longevity, we know that he had practiced the giving of fearlessness over many lifetimes. This was a good person, greatly compassionate and willing to help all those who encountered difficulties. His karmic result was longevity.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

Gavampati was “foremost in receiving the offerings of the gods.” A religious scholar, he belongs to the group that manifests the law of cause and effect.

The Sanskrit word Gavampati means “ruminating ox,” a reflection of the way his mouth would move, like that of an ox eating. The Buddha explained that in a past lifetime when Gavampati was a novice monk, he saw an old monk chanting a sutra. Due to his old age and having lost many teeth, he chanted very unclearly.

Gavampati laughed at the old monk, “When you chant a sutra, you look like an ox eating.” The old monk immediately told him to repent, “I have attained arhatship. You will fall into the hells because of these words.” The novice monk was terrified and immediately repented, but he still fell into the path of animals and was reborn as an ox for five hundred lifetimes. Therefore, he still had the habit of an ox in this lifetime.

We may think nothing of making fun of others. But we do not realize how serious the retribution for poking fun will be. Through this account, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas show us the retribution of hurtful remarks. All harsh remarks bring this kind of retribution. The novice monk was just mocking the older monk, which is not as harmful as lying, divisive speech, or enticing speech would be. But he still had the retribution of being reborn as an ox for five hundred lifetimes. Lying and divisive speech will bring even more serious retributions.

Although Gavampati had become a monk and attained arhatship, he still had the habit of an ox. The Buddha told him not to go out on alms rounds, so as not to give anyone a chance to laugh at him and thereby plant the same cause for themselves. He was told to go to the heavens to receive offerings from the devas. Having extraordinary abilities and knowing that he was a great arhat, the devas would respect him, not mock him. Therefore, he received offerings in the heavens, not in this world.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

Suddhipanthaka was in the group of people that represents foolishness and dull capacity. His foolishness and dull capacity were the workings of the law of cause and effect. He was also in the group that was diligent in eliminating karmic obstacles.

He was the slowest of the Buddha’s students and had the poorest memory. When he was taught a four-line verse, he could not memorize the lines even after several days of trying to learn them. When he chanted the first line, he forgot the next lines. When he was taught the second line, he forgot the first line.

His elder brother, also a monastic, told him that he was too slow to learn from the Buddha and that he should go home. Suddhipanthaka burst into tears. The Buddha saw this and asked Suddhipanthaka why he was crying. He told the Buddha that his brother wanted him to go home.

The Buddha told him to stay and gave him a broom. He then taught Suddhipanthaka to concentrate on the broom and sweep the floor every day. As he swept, Suddhipanthaka was to repeat just two words, “sweep” and “clean.”

Before long, Suddhipanthaka attained enlightenment and arhatship. The other monastics wondered how he had accomplished this. The Buddha said that Suddhipanthaka had been a highly accomplished Dharma master in the previous lifetime. But he always held back when he gave lectures because he was afraid that others would surpass him in their achievement if he taught everything he knew. His slowness in this lifetime was a karmic result of teaching grudgingly.

The Buddha often taught in the sutras that being stingy with money will bring the karmic result of poverty and teaching grudgingly will bring the karmic result of being dull. Everything is governed by the law of cause and effect. Because he had perfect wisdom and extraordinary abilities, he knew the root cause of Suddhipanthaka’s slowness and was able to help Suddhipanthaka succeed in his practice. Ordinary people do not have these abilities and would have given up on him.

Some people may feel that because they have a poor capacity and memory they cannot learn Buddhism. Suddhipanthaka set an example for these people. How do our capacity and memory compare with those of Suddhipanthaka? Nobody’s capacity and memory are as poor as those of Suddhipanthaka. If he succeeded, why can’t we? Suddhipanthaka’s achievement is a great encouragement to people with a poor capacity.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

Many practitioners have voiced the concern over what they should do because it was hard to maintain their aspiration for enlightenment and they often retrogressed. These practitioners stated the truth. It is indeed very easy to retrogress. It is up to oneself to think of a way to prevent oneself from retrogressing. Because people have different capacities and karmas, there is no one fixed method. If there were a specific method suitable for everyone despite their different capacities, then Sakyamuni Buddha would not have needed to teach eighty-four Dharma doors, or countless Dharma doors. He would only have needed to teach one Dharma door!

We each have to use different methods in different situations. For example, when we encounter a roadblock, we go around it. We should adapt ourselves to the circumstances. We will encounter many obstacles. When we do, we should use wisdom and expediency to overcome the obstacles in order to succeed in our practice. An expediency is the most suitable method. Master Chin Kung says that the method he uses to prevent himself from retrogressing is to give lectures. This is the method he has been using in this lifetime.

Some people say that Master Chin Kung likes giving lectures. He explains that giving lectures can help him from retrogressing. When he first started learning to give lectures, he spent forty hours preparing for one hour of lecture. He devoted all his energy and efforts to the preparation. Therefore, he had no time or energy for wandering thoughts. It is a very good method for him. One has to use a method that is effective in driving oneself if one wants to succeed in one’s practice. One should not relax one’s efforts.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra

In the Amitabha Sutra we read that the Buddha “was accompanied by twelve hundred and fifty great bhikshus, all of them great Arhats, well known to everyone.”

One of the meanings of the word arhat is “one who is worthy of offerings.” An arhat is perfect in merit and wisdom. This perfection in merit and wisdom in the Theravada tradition is not yet great perfection; this perfection in the Mahayana tradition is great perfection. Therefore, he is entitled to receiving offerings from all beings. Why? Because he is truly a field of good fortune for all beings. Those who make offerings to him will have good fortune. This is called “planting a field of good fortune.” How will we receive good fortune? We do not have wisdom or good fortune. When we respectfully make offerings to someone who has wisdom, virtues, and abilities, and who is compassionately teaching all beings to accumulate good fortune and cultivate wisdom, we will receive his teaching and thus be able to cultivate good fortune.

It does not matter how great or how small an offering is. As long as we make an offering sincerely and wholeheartedly, the wisdom and good fortune we get will be perfect and true. If we often think of this arhat or observe him, we will naturally have wisdom and good fortune.

~ Based on Ven. Master Chin Kung's 2003 lecture series on the Amitabha Sutra