How the Altrusim of the Bodhi Vow Counters Our Samsaric Psychology
In the “Taste of Two Worlds”, Elder Upasaka Li Bing Nan finishes by explaining the importance of the Bodhi Vow, and by defining it as the resolute determination to be ceaseless in selflessness. Even if it starts as just a trickle of small acts of kindness.
The reason we must make the Bodhi Vow in order to achieve Pure Land rebirth is because we must disassociate ourselves from the Samsara in order to truly embrace Amitabha’s Pure Land.
And what is the Samsara? Master Chin Kung defines it very well:
“The cycle of rebirth is just the repayment of karmic debts. Those who owe life pay with their life, those who owe wealth pay with money.”
Thus Samsara is based on self interest, on taking back what is owed, be it wealth or dignity, from past lives — to glorify and gratify our self interest, often at others expense. Such thinking is directly opposite to the heart of Bodhisattvas, who have no interests except the best interests of all others.
Therefore, this is why our Pure Land practice must be carried by our Bodhi Vows— selflessness overcoming self interest, thereby dissolving our affinities with Samsaric existence. For instance, why do Buddhists practice filial piety? It is not because of social pressure or tradition, but because many family (parent child) relationships are a vehicle of karmic debt collection. According to Qing Upasaka Zhou An Shi:
The Karmic Cause Behind Family Relationships
According to Buddhist teachings, people are born together as family due to past karma. Such karma often falls into four categories:
To repay kindness — In this case, the offspring, sibling, parent or relative will be very agreeable in order to repay past kindness.
To repay debts — In this case, the offspring, sibling, parent or relative will provide the equivalent — in money, goods, labor, benefits — of the sum they owed (from past life) as repayment before either parting ways or dying.
To seek revenge — In this case, the offspring, sibling, parent or relative will be very disagreeable and do highly damaging things in order to exact revenge for past life wrongs.
To collect debts — In this case, the offspring, sibling, parent or relative will waste or use the equivalent — in money, goods, benefits etc. — of the sum they are owed as collection of past debts before either parting ways or dying.
According to The Yin Chih Wen Commentary of the An Shi Quan Shu (famous karmic text compiled by Qing dynasty Upasaka Zhou An Shi), there is a recorded karmic account that illustrates this principle clearly. Below is my paraphrase:
Liang Shih Zhu was a prosperous gentleman in Weilin. He particularly adored his son. During the ending years of the Shunzhi Emperor (d. 1661), his son, then 19, fell terminally ill. Liang was grief stricken but his son suddenly called his name, and said that he was originally a native of Xuzhou in the previous life, and was his business partner then. He furthermore stated that Liang had murdered him in order to embezzle his share of the business, worth 300 taels of silver [a considerable sum back then], and then purposely injured himself to back his false story of how they were both attacked by robbers in order to cover up his crime. Liang’s son goes on to say that he had been reborn as his son in order to get back his 300 taels of silver, and that the 19 years of expenses (the money spent on tuition, marriage, upbringing, care…) now added up to 300 taels. Thus, as he was now content, he did not intend to seek revenge over the murder, but warned Liang that karma will still take its course. After this revelation, Liang’s son immediately died. A little while later, Liang impaled himself on his own spear after becoming mentally unstable.
Thus, if we wish to have a happy family, we must often sow kindness and do acts of generosity. We must not have designs on the wealth of others, nor betray our conscience over shortsighted gain and profit.
By cultivating filial piety, the creditor forgoes collection and embraces love and forgiveness, thereby nurturing their Bodhi Vow.
All the Buddhist virtues: forgiveness, filial piety, charity, kindness, tolerance, holding the precepts etc. are based on countering the ways and nature of the Samsara. And by being altruistic, by putting others before self, we nurture our Bodhi Vow, align with Amitabha’s infinite grace, embrace his Pure Land, and starve Samsaric existence of fuel.
Hence the creed: Making the Bodhi Vow and reciting with one heart the name of Amitabha [for Pure Land rebirth].
