Since I first heard of Venerable Master Hua’s death, I keep waiting for what I expect will be an inevitable emotional sadness to descend on me--the kind of sadness that usually happens when an important person in one’s life dies. But aside from a few tearful moments now and then when thinking about him, no heart-wrenching sadness, no sense of irreplaceable loss occurs. And slowly I realize that although his physical presence is gone, I don’t really experience him as dead. The most important aspects of him are alive and will continue. Because of him, thousands of us in the U. S. and overseas have been introduced to Buddhism. Because of him, many temples exist. His teachings will continue through his monks, nuns, and lay disciples. The translated and published sutras will reach many others. His physical self is gone and will be missed, but all of us, his disciples and students, are evidence that he was here and significantly changed our lives with his teachings.
He knows living beings are like an illusory dream;
Because of the force of karma they always flow and turn.
With great compassion and pity he rescues and pulls them out.
For their sakes he explains the unconditioned pure Dharma nature.
The Bodhisattva abides in rare Dharmas;
They are solely the states of the Buddha,
Not those of the two vehicles.
His body, mouth, and mind have been completely renounced.
According to various kinds of opportunities,
He is able to manifest.
Chapter on The Merit and Virtue from First Bringing Forth the Mind, the
Flower Adornment Sutra
|
