未来佛先给予吾人之十大教训
[28] Top Ten First Lessons From The Buddha-To-Be
[1] Dignity: When just born, the Buddha-to-be uttered, ‘In the heavens above and in the heavens below, only I alone am honoured’ (天上天下，唯我独尊), reminding us that we also have the most honourable Buddha-nature (佛性), which we should awaken to, so as to not let ourselves and all other beings down.
[2] Mastery: When schooling, the Buddha-to-be excelled in all he learnt and practised. Be it worldly or spiritual knowledge and practices, including martial arts, music and other skills, he mastered everything, reminding us that what worth doing is worth doing best we can.
[3] Compassion: When touring, the Buddha-to-be only had to see one old person, one sick person and one deceased person to awaken to the truth that we are all living in the shadow of suffering constantly, thus giving rise to great compassion for all beings, reminding us to do so too.
[4] Contemplation: When returning, the Buddha-to-be deeply contemplated about what he should do to seek the solution to the problem of suffering for the sake of all beings, reminding us to also contemplate on what we should do to benefit all.
[5] Resolution: When the Buddha-to-be completed his contemplation, he formulated his spiritual resolution or vow clearly, reminding us to also be as clear as we can on what we aspire to achieve, so as to advance towards our goals definitely.
[6] Determination: When resolved to realise the truth, the Buddha-to-be became fully determined to seek the path to Buddhahood, even if there were family and demonic obstacles, reminding us to also be wholehearted in doing what we should.
[7] Rebelliousness: When the Buddha-to-be left the palace, he was rebelling against great societal norms expected to be followed, yet for the greatest good of all beings, reminding us that if we are certain of the worthiness of what we aspire to attain, we should also go against lesser expectations too.
[8] Renunciation: When the Buddha-to-be exited the kingdom, renouncing princehood and potential kingship, he was also letting go of all the familiar and comfortable for the unknown and challenging, reminding us that if we wish to attain the noble and lofty, we should be ready to relinquish old ways of life too.
[9] Urgency: When the Buddha-to-be was not even in his prime years yet, he renounced the palace, as he knew it was urgent to attain Buddhahood, a race against time with the unpredictability of life and impending death, reminding us that we are living in the midst of impermanence now too.
[10] Resilience: When the Buddha-to-be faced various disheartening and life-threatening obstacles in his quest for supreme enlightenment, he remained focused and resilient, never forgetting his initial pure motivation, reminding us to also overcome obstacles courageously, by seeing them as being part of the path.
[11] Bonus Lesson: May you re/study the ever-inspiring life story of the Buddha-to-be, relate it to your life more deeply, and add your personal lesson learnt in the comments’ section below.
Related Articles:
净土教理’十大’系列
Pure Land Teachings’ ‘Top Ten’ Series
https://purelanders.com/shida
吾人佛性最为尊
Our Buddha-Nature Is Most Honourable
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