The limitless virtues of the
Lord Buddha
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The Triple Gem is the foundation
of Buddhism and the world. Wise ones should
follow the footsteps of the Lord Buddha because if one does and attains Dhamma,
one will safe from the dangers of the unfortunate realms, the dangers in this
world, and the dangers in the cycle of existence. Moreover, one will be happy, successful, and prosperous
because one’s strength of mind in the Triple Gem is the path to great unlimited
merit. So one who has strength of mind
in the Triple Gem, thinks of the Triple Gem at all times, and frequently chants
to glorify the virtues of the Triple Gem, will gain the great fruits of good
deeds until one can quickly attain the path and fruits of Nibbana (Nirvana).
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The Buddha taught in the Pathomdusilaya Sutta:
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“One who firmly believes in the Lord Buddha,
always observes the precepts purely that the noble monks praise, has faith in monastics,
and has the Right View, is called “a person who has a valuable lifestyle” by wise
ones.”
Having faith in the Triple Gem is the path to
great merit, which the Lord Buddha confirmed that, it will not lead us to the
unfortunate realms. The unfortunate
realms, which are the lower realms, include the Hells, realms of hungry ghosts,
monsters, or animals. To have faith in the Triple Gem can close the door to the
unfortunate realms and keep us only in the fortunate realms because the Triple
Gem is the highest refuge in this world.
One who has the Triple Gem as their refuge, believes firmly in the Lord Buddha,
the Dhamma, and the Sangha, will have a life of purpose. A life has purpose only if one lives in the
right way, leading one to purity and freedome from defilements.
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More importantly, one who meditates well
enough to stop one’s mind and attain the Dhammakaya, has a life of value. One’s life has purpose and one will receive
two benefits. The first one is the
benefit in this world that is one can live in the right and safe way. The second one is the benefit in the
afterlife of going to heaven after one dies.
Thus, the Triple Gem’s virtues are limitless for us and other beings. We should think of the Triple Gem as our refuge
frequently. The more we think of them,
the more our mind is pure.
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An example can be found in the time of the
Padumuttara Buddha. There was a man who was rich in merit, handsome, wealthy,
and talented. Since he was wise and
intelligent, he did not enjoy his wealth at all because he knew that wealth
could not give him freedom from suffering.
He decided to be an ascetic in the Himavanta
Forest and practiced well enough to fly.
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One day, he flew to the city and his merit
led him to meet the Padumuttara Buddha. Upon
seeing the Lord Buddha, he had faith in him and knew at once that this was the
Lord Buddha. He landed, took off his
bark cloth and laid it on the ground for the Lord Buddha to stand on. After that, he brought a fragrant oil to
anoint the Lord Buddha’s feet, massaged them, and then glorified the Lord Buddha
by saying:
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“Lord Buddha, you crossed the cycle of
existence (attained Nibbana) and brought other beings across as well. You are so bright because of your great
insight. You announced the wheel of Dhamma. You won over many denomination
founders with Dhamma. You won the war
which you can never lose again. Like the
waves of oceans that end upon the shores, the wrong view of people end because
of your knowledge. All beings are within
the scope of your insight and only you are the true refuge of the people who
lack knowledge and are in the cycle of ignorance.
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Your compassion is greater than all of the sky
and land. You are perfect because of
your great wisdom. You are the great teacher
of this era who teaches all beings insight.
You are the great doctor who specializes in the operation of removing defilements
from one’s mind. You help those who
suffer find true happiness. You are like
a big ship that helps beings drowning in the ocean reach the shore of Nibbana. I wish to pay respect to you, the Lord Buddha.”
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After the ascetic finished glorifying the Lord
Buddha, the Padumuttara Buddha flew in the air and announced among the four
Buddhist communities that, “This great ascetic glorified me. He will have rebirth in heaven for 60,000
aeons. He will be the great angel who governs
the heavens. In the future, he will
ordain in era of the Samana Gotama Buddha
and will attain Dhamma as an Arahant in that lifetime.”
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When ascetic heard that, he had a great
happiness as though the prophecy would be fulfilled tomorrow. When the ascetic passed away, he was reborn
in heaven and never went to hell. He was
reborn in only two realms, either as a human being in the human realm or an
angel in heaven. In his last lifetime,
he was born as a billionaire who was handsome, wealthy, and talented. Everywhere
he went, people praised him because of he had glorified the Triple Gem in the
past. So he was named “Subbakitti” which
means a well–known person who is praised and admired in every way.
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When the merit sent its fruits, the merit led
him to meet the Lord Buddha in this era, Samana Gotama Buddha. When he saw the Lord Buddha, he had faith in
him and wanted to seek the Dhamma within without concern for his material wealth. He decided to ordain at once. With the power of his faith, he could stop
his mind, became pure and attained the Dhammakaya easily. In the end, he was rid
of his defilements and became an Arahant.
He had thorough knowledge of Vijja 3 (the Threefold Knowledge), Vijja 8
(the 8 Supernormal Knowledge), and Patisambhida 4 (the 4
Analytical Knowledge).
He had no further duties to perform.
He had achieved the goal in life, Nibbana.
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Thus, the virtues of the Triple Gem are so
great, limitless, and beyond thought. It
is uncommon and exceeds our thoughts or expectations. Only having faith in the Triple Gem will bring
us the fruits of good deeds limitlessly until we reach the ultimate Dhamma.
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The ocean is so wide and deep, its water flowing
into it from many places. If the water
flows though the eye of a needle only very little can flow through. This is similar to the limitless virtues of
the Triple Gem. Our chanting to glorify the virtues of the Triple Gem is like
the water flowing through the eye of a needle.
However, so many virtues of the Triple Gem remain that are not chanted
like the water that flows outside the eye of a needle. Even if the Lord Buddha were to describe the
virtues of the Triple Gem by himself and does it continuously for 1 aeon, he
would not be able to complete it.
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Even though we can not describe all the
virtues of the Triple Gem, but if we have good intentions to glorify by chanting
the morning and evening chanting frequently with a truly faithful mind, we will
always accrue limitless merit. So the Lord
Buddha said, “When a person has faith in the Triple Gem (that is, faith in the
Lord Buddha, the supreme human being; faith in the Dhamma, which brings an end
to all defilements; and faith in the Sangha, who are the field of merit) and
makes a donation to that great Triple Gem, one will receive great merit, such
as longevity, beautiful skin, honor, prestige, happiness, and health. If that person is born a human being or an
angel, that person will be an important person in that place.”
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Therefore, we invite you and your friends to
chant and meditate. May your chanting
voice be like a sound from heaven that will bring warmth and happiness to your
family. Stop listening to the radio and stop
watching the TV temporarily, and turn to see inside yourself about how pure and
still your mind is. This will bring
purpose to your life. So let’s go to
make merit by meditating at the temple on Sunday to add value to your life.
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