Dialogue No.32 | Master Yaozhi: Why can Buddhism give us the courage to face death?

Since 2003, Guangzhou Dafo Temple has been focusing on life education, and since 2016, it has held a rehabilitation camp for cancer patients, which has made great achievements in life and death education for the public. After the first Lingnan Buddhist Culture Festival, Master Yaozhi, the abbot of the Great Buddhist Temple For the concept of life and death, life and death education, and rehabilitation camp for cancer patients I received an exclusive interview with the Dabu Culture reporter. In his opinion, the key to understanding life and death is to change your mind. "If you can change your mind, you will see the Tathagata."

-01 - The origin of the rehabilitation camp: no matter what, do not visit the Three Treasures Hall

In modern psychology, the mental state of people on the verge of death is divided into five states: denial, anger, struggle, depression and acceptance. From complaining about the unfair fate to over treatment to praying for God and Buddha, many people are trapped in the "trap" of death and do not really understand the essence of life.

Q: Hello, Master Yaozhi, what is the reason why you decided to do a rehabilitation camp for cancer patients?

A: Many people don't know much about Buddhism, so when he encounters disease, death or other problems that are difficult to solve, he still wants to find a temple to help him avoid disasters. This is what we call "no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what, no matter what.".

Among these people, we found many people who blindly worship Buddha because of disease and cancer. This was before we held the cancer rehabilitation camp. Then, we also communicated with them face to face, and told him that we hoped he could Active treatment At the same time, we should realize that the essence of life is impermanent, changeable and decrepit. There were many such cases before we started the cancer rehabilitation camp, so I have been thinking about this problem.

In 2015, there was a special reason. In Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School, we became friends with a Chinese professor specializing in nutrition. At that time, we also talked about the high incidence of various chronic diseases. We all thought we could cooperate Do something meaningful for chronic diseases, especially cancer patients 。

Q: What preparations have been made before the establishment of the rehabilitation camp for cancer patients?

A: At that time, there were three aspects planned, including rehabilitation.

The first is psychotherapy Psychotherapy, it must have religious participation to be convincing and complete, so he (Chinese professor) chose to cooperate with us;

The second is exercise therapy There are many sports methods in our traditional Chinese culture, such as Taijiquan, Baduanjin, and Shaolin Temple's Xingyi Zen and Zen martial arts medicine, which are conducive to the recovery of diseases. In addition, exercise therapy has become a specialty in the western medical field. In the East, the culture is more abundant;

Third, nutrition intervention As for nutrition intervention, experts in the medical field should be responsible for the preparation of such a nutritious diet. The Chinese professor at Harvard University is engaged in this field.

So we determined these three core concepts from the perspective of human recovery, but it is a normal process for people to get old, get sick and die, and even if people die, it is not the end of life, so we still follow the Buddhist concept. I add an ultimate concern, that is Four core concepts 。

Q: How to understand ultimate concern?

A: So in our cancer rehabilitation camp, death is also part of our training. At first, we didn't dare to say this to cancer patients for fear of scaring them. Later, through practice, we found that they were actually willing to discuss life education.

Then we can do it easily, and we can put this Good and thorough theory of life and death Let him really understand where the truth of life is, so we base the cancer rehabilitation camp on these four aspects.

Q: Why did the Grand Buddhist Temple choose to cooperate with Harvard?

A: First of all, it is really because of the high prevalence of various diseases in this society that we do such things with such compassion; Another is to work together in such circumstances.

Because it is only about religion, it can only be about the mind. Of course, the mind is very important, but for the public, it is not convincing, so we have determined Three principles ：

Scientific guidance is the linkage between science and Buddhism. We do not want to build a religious activity. Every temple can do religious activities.

Comprehensive intervention, comprehensive intervention is the four core concepts I just mentioned. In addition to these four core concepts, we also need to refine various kinds of life, such as music therapy, compassion therapy, tea ceremony therapy, etc., which are conducive to the rehabilitation of cancer patients.

The third principle is charity. Because we do this thing, we also consider a lot. Don't let others misunderstand us, "Eh? Are you doing this for any commercial purpose?" That's very wrong.

-02 - The original purpose of the rehabilitation camp is not to be self serving

Do not seek happiness for yourself, and hope that all living beings will be free from suffering. The road for the Giant Buddhist Temple to hold the cancer patients' rehabilitation camp is not smooth, but Master Yaozhi, with the compassion of "not for himself, but for all beings", has made great hopes to build a rehabilitation platform for cancer patients and patients with various chronic diseases.

Q: When was our first rehabilitation camp held?

A: We are 2016, after the completion of our Hongfa Building. Because the Grand Buddha Temple has a large history, a large Buddha Temple and a large scale, it was sold off during the Northern Expedition War, leaving an isolated grand hall. So we are determined to be a center of Dharma promotion in the Great Buddha Temple. The center should not be misunderstood. Don't think that the Great Buddha Temple is the center and others are not the center.

So we need to do one thing. What can Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do? Rely on your will. If we want to learn from Buddha and Bodhisattva, we must make a vow“ Not for yourself, but for the public ”For all beings, then promoting law and benefiting life is for all beings.

Therefore, we vowed to restore the Great Buddhist Temple, and promote law and benefit life according to the needs of the current society. Do cancer patients need our help? In addition to cancer patients, there are other diseases. We will do what we can. So in 2016, our Hongfa Building, which we call Pujue Building, was the first thing we did when it was completed.

Q: How many rehabilitation camps have we held so far?

A: A total of 12 issues have been held so far. We originally planned to do it four times a year, once a quarter, but it really took a lot of manpower to do it each time, so people should work hard, so I think it should not be too frequent. If you don't have such a free heart, you will be upset. How can you benefit all living beings when you are upset? It is meaningful to have everyone happy. Later, we only have three times a year.

It could have been done three times this year, but there was force majeure, and cancer patients were also susceptible, so we suspended, including the life education forum.

This time, there is a special reason. Lingnan Buddhist Cultural Festival was planned last year and will be held on a small scale this year. So we can take advantage of this cultural festival to hold a full day“ Disease and medical treatment ”This dialogue is also a continuation of what we have done in the past.

Q: Is our cancer rehabilitation camp effective?

A: We summarize our achievements in three aspects. The first achievement is the questionnaire return visit. For example, what was your mentality before you joined the rehabilitation camp? Is there any fear? Did your fear decrease after participating? Then have you used it every day according to the content and concept of the two-week training, and have you done it according to the scientific diet? Through the questionnaire, we can get a result.

The second is to let them talk (feel) through interviews; The third is the scientific method. We cooperated with the Chinese professors in Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard Medical School. First, we took blood, tested the stool and urine, and looked at his indicators. Then we finished the camp again, comparing before and after. Then the test was done by a third party. The Jinyu Test Center gave us a free test. This is a scientific and experimental condition. Through the comparison before and after this test, we found that it is effective to lower the patient's indicators.

Q: Is this effect significant?

A: Of course, this effect can change in the past half month, but it is possible to take a long-term view and continue to do this every day There will be a miracle 。

-03 - Courage to face death: if you can change your mind, you will see the Tathagata

"People always die", but everyone's attitude towards death is very different. Some people are generous to die, some are smiling, and some are afraid of death. Blindly burning incense and worshiping Buddha cannot make death late, but settling down and meditating on the moment can make life easier and death more leisurely.

Q: In the two thousand years of development, does the Buddhist view of life and death correspond to Chinese traditional culture?

A: Our tradition includes the tradition of Confucian culture, the tradition of Taoist culture, and the tradition of Buddhist culture. The tradition of Buddhist culture is not only corresponding to our Confucian tradition, but also very different.

Our Chinese tradition says that we should have five blessings, The five blessings are wealth, longevity, well-being, good morality and a good ending 。

Everyone wants to be rich, but not rich. Many people are not very rich. Now the targeted poverty alleviation of the country has lifted all people out of poverty; If you are rich, you should also have a long life. You should have this blessing to enjoy. If you live a long life, you should have peace of mind. Don't have trouble. If you don't have trouble, you should build on altruism. As for good morality, you should consider everything for the society and all living beings. If you have this attitude, then you should have peace of mind. Finally, you can die well. In this respect, it is corresponding to Buddhism.

Q: What is the biggest difference between the two?

A: The biggest difference is that from the perspective of Confucianism, it is easy to misunderstand the saying of Confucius, the supreme sage, that "how can you know death without knowing life?". Therefore, life and death must be understood. The so-called understanding is to go to the state of meditation, "the mind is as still as water, and still and motionless". In this way, you can surrender all troubles, and cut off all troubles, and then you can change your mind. When you change your mind, you can see the Tathagata“ If you can change your mind, you will see the Tathagata ”。

The Tathagata is the perfection of itself, and the Tathagata is the Buddha's eyes. The Buddha's eyes see the rotation of our lives differently from the rotation of our lives. So when the Buddha first became a Taoist, the first thing was "why did the audience live and die of old age". The Buddha also saw old age, death, and disease in the east, west, north, and south gates respectively before he went to practice Taoism.

After practicing Taoism, we can really understand life and death. "Oh, life and death are samsara!" "Past life, present life, future life", so in terms of Buddhist life and death, it is still in ten directions and three lifetimes.

Q: How do you understand it?

A: The ten sides are ten law circles. We are human law circles. There are some law circles that we can't see. If we can't see them, it doesn't mean they don't exist. So how to see them is to understand them!

For example, what is the constitution of material phenomena and universe? In other religions, if he thinks that there is a supernatural god to create it, then scientists will deny it. If it is unscientific, there should be a statement, right?

Scientists say that material phenomenon is a field, which cannot be seen. When the field is gathered together, it will constitute a material phenomenon.

What do Buddhists say? Buddhists say that material phenomena are Dharma. The appearance of law is visible, the appearance of law is constituted by the nature of law, and the nature of law is invisible. Of course, not seeing the nature of law does not mean that he does not exist. How can he see it?

In the Vipassana sect, it is said that "self identification, mutual identification and identification" is necessary. The dharma nature cannot be seen, but we can self identification and self correction. That is to say, as the Sixth Patriarch Master said: "When was the self nature, it was pure; when was the self nature, it was not born or perished; when was the self nature, it was self sufficiency; when was the self nature, it was not shaken; when was the self nature, it could produce all dharma?"

However, our self nature is lost, and there are still limitations when we have troubles. But if we change from dharma to dharma, we can choose, but we choose different causes.

This self certification point, we can practice it, we can turn our phase into a pure world of Buddhism, then how can we change it? It depends on the field of vision and spirit, that is mindfulness 。 Only mindfulness can be changed, but not worrying thoughts.

So why does Confucius have no way to know and understand life and death when discussing life and death. Why can Sakyamuni Buddha access to life and death? He practices meditation from the perspective, and breaks away from the worry of seeing and thinking, and the worry of ignorance, so as to gain insight into material phenomena.

So the biggest difference between Buddhism and other religions is here.

Q: Do you have any plans for the future of cancer rehabilitation camp?

A: Although we are doing the cancer rehabilitation camp, it does not mean that this condition is fully met. After all, the surrounding environment is still in the city. In fact, we are relying on the Great Buddha Temple, and we are undertaking the construction of Hundred Flowers Ancient Temple in a better ecological environment in Guangzhou. In the future, we can make it bigger. We can hold this activity in an ecological park, which will benefit patients more.

Of course, I hope that other Taoist temples can discuss with us, and that more temples can carry out this kind of public charity, which is not only a kind of cultural construction, but also the construction of social undertakings.

Because in the training content, we have the knowledge of life and death, Zen, healthy diet, sports, and what can be used in daily life. In fact, it is very good.

Master Yaozhi

Master Yaozhi: He is now the Executive Vice President and Secretary General of Guangdong Buddhist Association, the President of Guangzhou Buddhist Association, and the Abbot of Guangzhou Grand Buddhist Temple.