Many people learning from Buddha, including some monks, yet do not have a correct idea of the issue of learning from Buddha. What is called learning from Buddha? The so-called learning from Buddha is to learn Buddha’s thoughts, behaviors and knowledge about universe and life, as well as to study in Buddha’s teachings, dharmas and instructions on methods of practicing, also to use them to exploit our wisdom, awaken our life, lead a life of following truth, knowing own heart, apprehend self nature, and achieve the world of utmost consciousness and perfection. That is learning from Buddha. The aim of learning from Buddha is to exploit wisdom, enable us to understand what is the truth of universe and life, and after understanding of these truth, better grasp own fate, purify own mind and acquire the great joy and freedom.

Relating to the issue of learning from Buddha, many people do not have a right thinking or concept of understanding, start, and stand. Strictly speaking, many people learning from Buddha have not yet corrected his motivation. In the issue of learning from Buddha, we shall according to Buddha’s dharmas, that are proved and comprehended by Buddha, also apply them into the life of our own, break off our vexations, free from our pains, as well as exploit our wisdom.

People learning from Buddha shall firstly know that, Buddha tells us the truth that all phenomena in the temporal world, including the happening and developing course of them, are conditioned co-arising and empty of self-nature; Buddha also tells us that being tied to things or passions is suffering, to attain the real great joy and freedom must get rid of the mind that clings to things as real and wrong desires. So people learning from Buddha must firstly generate the will of renunciation. Renunciation of what? That is the renunciation of vexation, free and away from annoyances, pains and confusions.

Two thousand years ago, Buddhism brought forward that exploding blind worship and seeing the Buddha-nature within our self instead of being blinded by feint. Because we are blinded by and tied to exteriors and feints, thus bring greed and angry, which tire our outside shape and hurt our inside heart, we are struggling in pains all the time. To get rid of those vexations and pains, we need to exploit our inward wisdom using the truth and wisdom proven by the Buddha. In fact, the course of learning from Buddha is a course of exploiting wisdom, a course of seeing the Buddha-nature within oneself, a course of getting rid of vexations and pains, and a course of grasp one’s own fate. Not being affected by environment, let’s hold our destiny by ourselves.

Early before two thousand years ago, the Buddha Sakyamuni said that, man’s all deeds will get retribution, and that all appear in this life, is the fruit of karma power accumulated in our previous lives, which cannot be helped by anybody else. The truth of Buddhism tells us, we can only be helped by ourselves, instead of supernatural beings or emperors. The true spirit of Buddhism put that forward over two thousand years ago. So, it was already pointed out by the Buddha two thousand years ago that, man need to see from the inner side, to insight into the Buddha-nature, to prove, to awaken, to realize the truth in the temporal world, not to be sotted in life and work, not to allow feints to lead us by the nose, to be self awakened and to walk on our own Way, that is whereabouts the true spirit of Buddhism.

People learning from Buddha, shall treat all beings as equal and no difference between high and low. If there is high and low, it is not Buddhism. All beings are equal; all beings are able to be Buddha if fully awakened to the utmost perfection. None of the other religion in the world has put forward that, people are equal, all beings are equal, and every being has the Buddha-nature. It is only be put forward by Buddhism that, all beings have the Buddha-nature. Other religion has either an Allah, an Immortal, or a God; our Buddhism do not say such catchword, but claim that all beings have the Buddha-nature, only if everybody’s consciousness and deeds attain perfection, everybody can be Buddha. In fact, the word ‘Buddha’ itself is the pronoun of wisdom and enlightenment. If there are differences between high and low, and up and down, then it is not Buddhism, but other religion. That is our view of Buddhism, also the elementary view.

We shall generate the will of renunciation, as we see that these pains and their sources, caused by the karma power of previous lives, are planted by ourselves. So people learning from Buddha shall not do evil any more. The concept of ‘renunciation’ during learning from Buddha mainly means to break away from the abyss of misery in which life and death are endlessly happening, as well as to break away from samsara; not means to be away from the abyss of misery while still carrying on illusion and greed of samsara. How can we be away from the abyss of misery with greed? The key is that we must have correct cognition on the issue. You can never be out of the abyss of misery with delusion and greed. The will of renunciation is our will of being away from vexations and pains.

We shall treat evil thought with a sort of active and correct view; treating evil thought with correct view, is a good prescription using clear insight to treat bewilderment, with which we learning from Buddha must be provided. Now, in the tide of learning from Buddha, there are some abnormal phenomena, which need to be made clear to everybody.

The first is the abnormal phenomena in the life of learning from Buddha. Now under the so-called name of broadcasting Buddhism, some people learning from Buddha, and even some monks and nuns, temporalize our Buddhism with unprincipled manner, which lose the true spirit and soul of Buddhism, while blindly using the so-called current knowledge and ideas to explain Buddhism. It can be said that, if to explain Buddhism with academic views and your own concept, well then, you can never get the true answer.

Sakyamuni left home to cultivate himself and to realize the truth because the information and knowledge known by him, which is the temporal knowledge, could not solve the problem of his rebirth, decrepitude, disease and death, not to mention many problems even didn’t have answers. Speaking of honor, he was the prince of Kapilavastu and being extremely respected; speaking of status, he was the future king, which means at then and there all under the sun belonged to him; speaking of reputation, when the Buddha was born, people all over his country supremely respect and worship him. No matter of literary talent or feat, his was the most excellent over the whole country. He had already known the temporal knowledge very clearly, known them like the palm of his hand. He digested all of them, such as philosophy, psychology, musicology and martial art, which he was very good at. To solve the problems that he could not solve, which could not be solved by the temporal knowledge, he then left home to realize the truth, and to find out the essence of things in the temporal world. Through his self-torture, penance, enlightenment and proof, he eventually understood the truth of universe and life. It is the truth that all things in the world are brought by causal conditions and are empty of self-nature. The development and occurrence of everything has the character of being two-sided. Everything comes into being for causal conditions. So, it is the truth that every dharma is produced by its conditions.