Venerable Yongning, a monastic residing at the Hsiang Kuang Buddhist Centre in Australia, shares profound insights into the necessity of delivering sentient beings. This interview was recorded by the chief writer, Shi Fajing, on August 16, 2023.
Venerable Yongning speaks:
". Why must we deliver sentient beings? For those who have only recently encountered the Buddha’s teachings, or for those who have yet to understand them, this is a question that naturally resides in their hearts. From my perspective, I see that a large portion of Buddhist practitioners do not prioritise the work of . They focus their attention solely on their own personal practice, inadvertently ignoring the sentient beings in the spiritual realms who are still suffering, as well as their own , parents, and teachers from accumulated lifetimes.
The Eternal Nature of the Spirit
Human life has a beginning and an end, but the spirit is neither born nor destroyed. It merely follows its own and Causal Conditions, cycling through the cycle of rebirth in various places. Yet, these spirits are always there; they have never truly vanished. Even after a thousand or ten thousand years have passed, they still exist. A single spirit carries within it countless pasts. Throughout the cycle of rebirth, it has travelled to all manner of places. Some spirits, upon entering the space of all things, spend hundreds or even thousands of years before they find the Causal Conditions to emerge. Many others wander aimlessly, with no place to call home. There are countless others who are currently suffering in the very places where they must endure their , and their pain is truly unimaginable.
The Power of
With so many spirits existing in this state, if there is no power from the human world to assist them through Chao Du, it is impossible for them to attain liberation on their own. When the Buddha looks upon sentient beings, He sees their extreme suffering. He teaches us to awaken our hearts to great compassion, to exert even a small amount of effort, for every bit of help can save sentient beings and allow them to leave suffering behind.
The Wisdom of Practitioner Su
Today, Practitioner Su has realised the and has opened up space to reveal its mysteries. He understands the vastness of the universe and the depth of the suffering of sentient beings. It is only through this that we have come to understand that we all carry within us sentient beings from our accumulated lifetimes. Every one of these beings is still suffering in the spaces of the past. We cannot know exactly how long these beings have been with us, but for as long as our spirits have been cycling through rebirth, there have been sentient beings connected by karmic affinity to us. If in every lifetime they lack the Causal Conditions to be saved, they must follow us from one life to the next, and the suffering is truly unbearable.
The Echoes of the
In the past, we were ignorant, committing acts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, and lying. In this lifetime, one might be a good person, but in the past, one might have been a person who committed every evil imaginable. If one does not open up the space of the past, how could one ever know that such a history exists? Although the past is already in the past, the personality remains. That same personality passes through the cycle of rebirth; as long as it has not been thoroughly eradicated, it persists. It exists within the soul of every person, recorded in the Alaya . No matter how long the cycle of rebirth continues, one can still faintly see the appearance of the past.
The Responsibility of the Practitioner
Why must we perform Chao Du? This is the responsibility of every Buddhist practitioner, and it is the heart of compassion that every practitioner should possess. Only by delivering these sentient beings can we help them attain liberation and leave suffering behind. Only by delivering our own karmic creditors, parents, and teachers from accumulated lifetimes can we help them emerge from their spaces, so they no longer suffer and no longer follow us through our many lives.
The Transformation of Resentment
During the , Practitioner Su delivers immeasurable and boundless sentient beings in every session, including those attached to the participants and the sponsors. Every spirit attached to a person is capable of sensing the presence of the Buddha-light and the Buddha or . Many of them are deeply moved, yet they are often hindered by that one breath of resentment they cannot swallow. They are unwilling to let go of their desire to seek revenge and continue to hold on tightly. However, through repeated Chao Du, they are transformed time and time again. Once their hatred diminishes, they eventually find the Causal Conditions to depart.
A Call to Action
Every person and every spirit is suffering. Now that we have the Causal Conditions to deliver sentient beings, everyone should seize this opportunity. This is a virtuous act that benefits both others and oneself; it is a responsibility that everyone should fulfil to help more sentient beings attain liberation and leave suffering behind.
