Monk Qing Gong taught: "The pattern and style that lay people should have」

Today I was asked to talk about the pattern and style that lay people should have. I will explain it in three points:

First, promote and uphold the righteous Dharma. Both monks, masters, and lay bodhisattvas must promote and protect the Buddha's righteous teachings. Monk masters belong to the inner protection, and all lay bodhisattvas belong to the outer protection. The master who is a monk prefers to cultivate wisdom, and the bodhisattva who is a lay disciple prefers to cultivate blessings. As for why Dharma is promoted and protected?

Because the Buddha's Dharma is the eyes of all sentient beings in humans and heavens, only with the Buddha's Dharma in the world can all sentient beings truly escape from suffering and achieve happiness, escape from life and death, and even achieve the supreme Buddhahood in the future. When heretics and wrong views come to destroy us, we must stand up and promote and protect the Buddha's dharma. We all have this responsibility.

We must respect the Three Treasures. In fact, both monks and lay bodhisattvas must respect the Three Jewels well, because the Three Jewels are the objects we take refuge in and respect. If we do not know how to respect the Three Jewels, we will have no foundation and qualifications for learning Buddhism. It is like a building without a foundation and cannot withstand the destruction of typhoons and earthquakes. Therefore, we must respect the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) precious)All should be respectful. Ran rightforwardtwo(Buddha)precious,Lawprecious)Respectfully yeswithouthaveQuestion, yesmonkpreciousoneSampleBe respectful, becauseforBuddha revealedappear and disappeardegree so fartwoIt has been one thousand five hundred and fifty-five years, nearly three thousand years, and the Buddha saidappear and disappearSpendback,AgainwithoutThere is a BuddhaCome forIthey sayDharma, only Tripitaka remainedholyteach (method)precious),But the lawpreciousNeither myselfCan talk,Rely on the abbot's monkBoraHongYangBuddhism, so IthemwantrightAll monksdivisionFather respects him equally, if he criticizescriticfatherthemofPassLost, createdIndustry. Respectfully offer grow beardNo distinction, there is practice,withoutPractitioners, all monks and other monks should make offerings equallykeep,Regardless of each other.

Second, have a role model in mind. Taking the great lay masters of the past as examples, let me give three examples to illustrate:

（1) To the lonely elder. "The Buddha Speaks of the Amitabha Sutra" is written in the Jishuji Lonely Garden. As mentioned, how did the tree come to be in the Garden of Loneliness? It was for the elder Lonely who heard that a Buddha appeared in the world. He was very eager to admire him and wanted to see him. He went to see him before dawn. The good god used his supernatural power to make the sky dawn soon. He looked for the light and went to see the Buddha. , being very happy and moved, he invited the Buddha to come to his hometown to preach the sermon. However, the Buddha had a congregation of 1,250 followers. In addition to inviting the Buddha to go, there were also so many masters who wanted to settle down. It was necessary to find a place to build a monastery as a residence for the Buddha and his followers. The elder was very happy. After he came back, he searched everywhere but found no suitable place. Finally, he found the manor of Prince Jeta and found that the location was the most suitable. When he wanted to buy the manor, Prince Jeta refused to sell it and jokingly said, If you can sell this manor, The ground is covered with gold, I will give it to you. When the lonely elder returned, he took out all the gold and silver treasures from his warehouse to spread the ground. The ground was almost covered. Prince Jeta was very moved, but there was no way to cover the trees in the garden. The prince said: Let's make merit together.

So Prince Jeta offered the tree to Elder Lonely and used the gold to buy the manor, which was called the Garden of Gone Tree to Loneliness. He sold all his family property to the lonely elder, built a very large and solemn monastery, and often performed Dharma practices to protect him. In the end, there were only three bowls of rice left in the house, so the Buddha sent Venerable Ananda to beg for alms. When the elder was about to eat the first bowl of rice, Venerable Ananda came and he happily made offerings. When the second bowl of rice was about to be eaten, Venerable Maud Lian came and gave alms again. Finally, there was only one bowl of rice left. The Buddha came in person. How could he not make an offering when the Buddha came? So he made offerings with joy, and when he made offerings with joy, the seven treasures emerged.

（2) Lay Buddhist Xu Zhijing. He was an Hanlin scholar in the Qing Dynasty and had a very good foundation in Chinese studies. Once when he went to see Duke Yin, the Patriarch asked him: Have you ever been vegetarian? He replied no, and was scolded by Yinzu: He is a Datong family who refuses to set an example and refuses to eat long fasts. How can he educate and spread Buddhism? Being scolded by Yinzu, he went back to eat the long fast and immediately wrote a letter to express his gratitude to Yinzu. Lay Buddhist Xu Zhijing, whenever he meets the Master, no matter whether he is a new monk or a monk for a long time, he will bow respectfully. When he meets the Buddha, he will bow respectfully, without distinguishing between each other, and he should be humble. The old man was entrusted by Yin Zu to praise Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and praise the merits of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva in the Chronicles of Mount Putuo in the "Four Famous Mountains Chronicles". According to Yin Zu's instructions, he did a very good job.

(three )Master Xue Gong. Whether he was in Jinan, Qufu, Chongqing, Nanjing, or finally in Taiwan, he was active in giving lectures and preaching. It can be said that he was always warm at the table, never tired when he got old, and never retreated when faced with difficulties. He usually treated others with courtesy, thanks, and respect. Treat children, the elderly, and even the rich and the poor with humility and prudence as equals, respect the Three Jewels, and pay homage to monks with piety. In normal times, be cautious and sincere, that is, be careful about the behavior of your body, speech, and mind when you are alone. Be sincere, respectful, and do not bully the dark room. When you sleep, you should be facing the quilt and your own figure. If you walk crookedly, your shadow will also be crooked. In short, be careful when you are alone, be vigilant about yourself, temper yourself, be honest and reserved in everything you do, put books and clothes in the room in an orderly manner, you can find them easily without lighting a lamp, put things in a certain place and make it a habit, the elderly usually It can be said that I am so busy that I have no time to get sick. I read the books of saints and saints whenever I have free time, because reading is rest, enjoying the glory and blessings of saints and saints, and never getting tired. Although I am busy with work, I will definitely have no shortage of classes in the morning and evening. I pay great attention to practice. The above is the pattern and style that a layperson should have. 。