I had been able to persist this far because many others end me the energy invisibly. And I want to dedicate the merits back to them by apply my energy to do goods for the society. Confucius says, the world belong to the public (天下为公）。 The western way of individualistic thinking is very limiting and narrow minded to such tunnel vision that can often blind people to egocentric fallacy and bad thinking.
From my limited study of Buddhism, I learned from Lotus Sutra that even the most evil people has chances to get back to the path for enlightenment through the story of Devadatta. Devadatta, had for several times plotted against Buddha and even made several attempts to kill Buddha. However, the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, particularly the chapter dedicated to Devadatta, chapter 12, found in the Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition, the Buddha teaches that in a past life, Devadatta was his holy teacher who set him on the path, and makes a noteworthy statement about how even Devadatta will in time become a Buddha:
The Buddha said to his monks: “The king at that time was I myself, and this seer was the man who is now Devadatta. All because Devadatta was a good friend to me, I was able to become fully endowed with this six paramitas, pity, compassion, joy, and indifference, with the thirty-two features, the eighty characteristics, the purple-tinged golden color, the ten powers, the four kinds of fearlessness, the four methods of winning people, the eighteen unshared properties, and the transcendental powers and the power of the way. The fact that I have attained impartial and correct enlightenment and can save living beings on a broad scale is all due to Devadatta who was a good friend.” Buddha may be relaying the idea that Devadatta is not saved by the Buddha himself, but by his own merit, leading to his awakening.
Lotus Sutra, a Mahayana Buddhist classical texts illustrates that even the most depraved person has the potential to become a Buddha. This is supported by the story of the eight-year-old daughter of a dragon king who attained Buddhahood through the Lotus Sutra. Devadatta’s own future enlightenment is predicted, indicating that all beings, regardless of their past actions, have the Buddha-nature within them to achieve Supreme Perfect Enlightenment. This message emphasizes the importance of having good friends who share the gift of Buddha-Dharma for the benefit of others.
But this idea illuminated in the chapter 12 in Lotus Sutra was very revolutionary, which upset a lot of Theravada practitioners and had caused a great deal of arguments among the disciples. Buddha had prescribe 84000 path of healing for different students based on their backgrounds capacities and receptivity. And he could gave instructions to different disciples which can sound contradictory at the surface. And that is why there are so many sutras and different traditions. But ultimately he is teaching on Middle Way. The fundamental teachings of Theravada Buddhism places a strong emphasis on personal effort, meditation, and wisdom as the means to achieve enlightenment. The core beliefs and principles of Theravada Buddhism includes the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the concepts of karma and rebvirth, and the role of meditation in spiritual practice. The three marks of existence: Anicca (Impermanence), Dukkha (suffering), and anatta (No-self) are the three marks of true teaching from Buddha for the Theravada school. And you can study more about fundamental teachings and beliefs of Theravada Buddhism here.
The Mahayana Buddhism, which was popular in China, however tend to use Lotus Sutra as fundamental text, which take the route of Six Paramitas (Six Perfections). Just like all the small steams will converge into river, and river into ocean, Buddha told his student through Lotus Sutra thatt he Three Dharma Seals of Theravada Buddhism (impermanence, non-self, and nirvana) eventually evolved into the One Dharma Seal of Mahayana Buddhism (reality). This shift reflects the evolution of Buddhist doctrine and a deeper understanding of truth. Mahayana Buddhism considers reality to be a higher state beyond birth, death, and nirvana, while Theravada Buddhism emphasizes attaining nirvana through the practice of the Three Dharma Seals. This shift reflects the richness of Buddhist doctrine and the deepening of the exploration of truth.
From these conceptual understanding, plus Confucius teaching of the golden rule, I tend to treat all people with good intention. The Chinese traditional medicine also has a method of fighting poison with other poisons to counter for equilibrium and arriving to neutrality. But because of my limited wisdom, this outlook often put myself into jeopardy under complicate situations, just like we are experience the globalization and ideological confrontations. The CIA and intelligence community in the west had trapped me into their conflicts, and when I speak out my convictions, they then want to prosecute me. I do not understand what kind of law they are abiding, and I would say United States does not have laws that is fair and justice, at least for now. when confronting USSR, Reagan is no saint, nor does Donald Trump in fighting the far left !
The Chinese famous Confucius scholar Want Yangming, teaches me about unity of knowledge and action (知行合一), which emphasizes the importance of inner knowledge and external actions being interconnected. This teaching is rooted in the idea that true knowledge is not just a theoretical understanding but is also reflected in one’s actions. Wang Yangming believed that the knowledge must manifest in action, and that the unity of knowledge and action is essential for achieving personal morality and social well-being. Wang Yangming’s philosophy of mind has three main propositions, namely “mind is reason”, “unity of knowledge and action” and “cultivation of conscience”. I came really appreciate the four dimensions of “cultivation of conscience” and his four sentences teaching of the philosophy of mind. I am just a starter. But when I observe those hypocritical behaviors of high officials of governments, there are times I can not help want to prick their balloons of unreasonable inflation of ego.
And that brings me to the discussion of the 1990s’ breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Dr. Szamueli is a Senior Fellow at the Global Policy Institute, the co-host with Peter Lavel of the podcast “The Gaggle,” and the author of the wonderful book “Bombs for Peace: NATO’s Humanitarian War on Yugoslavia.” In this youtube episode –Yugoslavia: The West’s Playbook for Global Domination , Dr. George Szamuely reveals how the West’s destruction of Yugoslavia in the 1990s became the blueprint for modern interventionism. From the illegal Badinter Commission to NATO’s “humanitarian” bombing, Western powers violated international law to break up a sovereign state. This wasn’t about human rights—it was about eliminating Russian influence in Europe and establishing total Western dominance. The precedents set in Yugoslavia directly enabled today’s conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and beyond. Szamuely exposes the hypocrisy of the “rules-based order” and shows how arbitrary legal interpretations serve geopolitical interests, not justice.
His discussion demonstrates human can be so blind to their bias, including myself. But the Buddha thought that the basis of human morality lies in five precepts: not to kill; not to steal; not to engage in sexual misconduct; not to lie; not to consume alcohol, because they are like the spiritual protection rail that eradicate sin and bring order to the life of individual as well as society. They are the basic rules that can prevent people from falling into karma abyss. This story is number 459 about five precepts in a large collection of past-life stories of the Buddha (the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā) found in Pali and preserved by the Theravada school of Buddhism, can speak of the importance of these five precepts.
Buddha does not force us to strictly follow them nor does he threaten punishment if we fail to adhere. The choice to observe the precepts is entire up to us. Buddha only provides compassionate and wise guide for us to avoid perilous trap and dangerous astray on our way to spiritual liberation and enlightenment. In fact, they are ways that lead to our well-being and freedom from suffering. A Dialogue on Ethics, Karma, and the Fearsome Consequences of Immorality gave me in depth explanation through a verse in the Dhammapada.