“Buddhahood in Three Dimensions” by Thich Nhat Hahn

(continued – 7)

last paragraph of part 6 – Having realized the truth of the ultimate, Bodhisattva Never Despise continued to live for many millions of years, delivering his message of hope and confidence to countless beings. So we can see that the Lotus Sutra is a kind of medicine for long life. When we take this medicine, we are able to live a very long time in order to be able to preserve and transmit the teachings in the Lotus Sutra to many others. We know that our true nature is unborn and undying, so we no longer fear death. Just like Never Despise, we always dare to share the wonderful dharma with all living beings. And all those who thought the bodhisattva was only making fun of them finally began to understand. Looking at Never Despise they were able to see the result of his practice, and so they began to have faith in it and to get in touch with their own ultimate nature. This is the practice of this great bodhisattva—to regard others with a compassionate and wise gaze and hold up to them the insight of their ultimate nature, so that they can see themselves reflected there.

  Many people have the idea that they are not good at anything and that they are not able to be as successful as other people. They cannot be happy; they envy the accomplishments and social standing of others while regarding themselves as failures if they do not have the same level of worldly success. We have to try to help those who feel this way. Following the practice of Never Despise we must come to them and say, “You should not have an inferiority complex. I see in you some very good seeds that can be developed and make you into a great being. If you look more deeply within and get in touch with those wholesome seeds in you, you will be able to overcome your feelings of unworthiness and manifest your true nature.”

The Chinese teacher Master Guishan writes,

We should not look down
on ourselves.
We should not see ourselves as
worthless and always withdraw
into the background.

  These words are designed to wake us up. In modern society, psychotherapists report that many people suffer from low self-esteem. They feel that they are worthless and have nothing to offer, and many of them sink into depression and can no longer function well and take care of themselves or their families. Therapists, healers, caregivers, teachers, religious leaders and those who are close to someone who suffers in this way all have the duty to help them see their true nature more clearly so that they can free themselves from the delusion that they are worthless. If we know friends or family members who see themselves as worthless, powerless and incapable of doing anything good or meaningful, and this negative self-image has taken away all their happiness, we have to try to help our friend, our sister or brother, our parent, spouse or partner remove this complex. This is the action of Never Despise Bodhisattva.

We have to practice just like Never Despise Bodhisattva,

 who did not give up on people or lose patience with them,

 but always continued to hold up to others

 a mirror of their true Buddha nature.

  We also have to practice so as not to add to others’ feelings of worthlessness. In our daily life, when we become impatient or irritated, we might say things that are harsh, judgmental and critical, especially in regard to our children. When they are under a great deal of pressure, working very hard to support and care for their family, parents frequently make the mistake of uttering unkind, punitive or blaming words in moments of stress or irritation. The ground of a child’s consciousness is still very young, still very fresh, so when we sow such negative seeds in our children we are destroying their capacity to be happy. So parents and teachers, siblings and friends all have to be very careful and practice mindfulness in order to avoid sowing negative seeds in the minds of our children, family members, friends and students.

  When our students or loved ones have feelings of low self-esteem, we have to find a way to help them transform those feelings so that they can live with greater freedom, peace and joy. We have to practice just like Never Despise Bodhisattva, who did not give up on people or lose patience with them, but always continued to hold up to others a mirror of their true Buddha nature.

Next – Story of two brothers.