The Violence of Our Era

The whole world is watching the Hamas and Israel conflicts that has recently escalated to casualty not only of thousands of civilians, but also booming the hospital, schools, mosque, killing hundreds, killing hundreds of, if not thousands of little children and homeless refugees. When we see the blood, and the atrocities is obvious. But there are many things in our era that are just as violent, but is much obscure, not as noticeable.

The unfortunate situation in Gaza is very complex because of globalization, industrialization, historical hangover, religion, and politics tanglings. It is horrendous to learn about the huge suffering of the Middle East, but we do not know enough about the history, religious and culture of that area to make objective comments. The article The Global Consequences of the Israel-Hamas War by Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, pointed out that the expectation that Israel could normalize ties with the Arab world without addressing the Palestinian question, was an illusion. Israel may need to possibly rethinking its strategy toward the moribund Middle East peace process entirely. There is urgent need for Muslim speaking nations and Christian nations increase communication and mutual accommodation of each other, through systematical bridging of religion, culture and governmental agency.

Another recent article from Project Syndicate War and Dollars by Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University, sketches a more clear picture of the underneath struggles. Professor James wrote: ” Today, however, the dollar is increasingly vulnerable to financial turbulence, readily apparent in bond markets that scrutinize long-term US public debt. These problems are partly technical, of course; but they are also political. Without uncertainties about America’s long-term fiscal position, markets would remain calm. But President Joe Biden’s administration has deployed large public investments at a time when the US Congress has become completely dysfunctional, casting doubt on its ability even to keep the government running and the debts paid ……. The dollar is also vulnerable because the rest of the world is connecting the dots behind the US strategy to defend Ukraine against Russian aggression; Middle East diplomacy, which Hamas has now derailed; and efforts to preserve the peace in the Taiwan Strait. The dots, of course, are dollars. As Juan Zarate, a former US deputy national security adviser, noted a decade ago, sanctions work extremely well against small and relatively isolated states; but the bigger the target, the more sanctions will hurt those imposing them.”

I want to add that the problem is not just because of Biden, it is the accumulation result of four decades of capitalism running into dead end since Reagan Administration. U.S. Debt By President had specific data.

Industrialization and urbanization post great challenges when the fiat money is used. As the central banks all over the world and the Fed can just print money out of thin air, the create huge wealth gap because of tax reduction as well as the compound effects. For example, during the pandemic covid-19 in 2020, Fed pump trillions of money into the system to help government handle crisis. While the household get some relief check of couple of thousand dollars, The total wealth of the U.S. 1% reached a record $45.9 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021. Their fortunes increased by more than $12 trillion, or more than a third, during the course of the pandemic.

I also want to point out that violence is not just what we observed in human casualty. The nature, the environment, the water, air, earth are all in shabby shape, desperately need for maintenance and protection. Take the example of the space: Space junk is out of control – the directly affect the global air quality and radiation I would assume.  About 25,000 are pieces of obsolete satellites, rocket parts and debris — space junk orbiting out of control and posing a threat to the satellites people need.

Not to mention, the violence of American medical/insurance system, the consequence of weaknesses in fractional reserve lending (The monetary system , Macroeconomics ) of central banks, the dominance in finance as parasite of national economy, the frauds in money creation like scam of crypto currency, and numerous frauds like recent cases in FTX/Bankman Fried, and many other financial fake guru who exploit the loop holes of tax law, bankruptcy laws (such as: How do Rich People File Bankruptcy and Not Lose Anything ), and the lack of accountability in public accounting. There is no blood (except medical system) involved, but the violence is no less pungent.

Our era is marked by chasing after capital/wealth that without pay its due for either social costs or environmental damages. How will the Middle East refugees be settled eventually ?

Dukkha of Our Time and Our Ultimate Salvation

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淨空老法師:Who is Jesus? Jesus is the Menifestation of Amitufo Buddha. If you slander Jesus, you are slander Amituofo Buddha. 耶穌是誰?你要批評他 毀謗他 那是毀謗了阿彌陀佛。耶穌就是阿彌陀佛的化身。

「你可敢信」: 一口氣讀懂「耶穌」還有「以色列千年詛咒」的真相| 劉曉亭牧師 主題:基督徒該挺以色列嗎?從以巴之戰談起 ︱以色列是神的選民,但巴勒斯坦人也是神祝福的民族。舊約時代神雖将迦南地賜給以色列民,但是也得自己打入去趕走迦南人。以色列人勃逆才因此流浪曠野到40年才進入。可惜以色列人不遵守神的導離棄神以至外敵入侵而亡國,不能只怪敵人。今天的以色列是屬神的嗎?有幾多真正愛神的猶太人或跟隨耶稣的基督徒?他們拜偶像的多,有如現今美欧西方基督教國家一樣.。有沒有想過,神沒有阻止巴勒斯坦今次的突襲是神懲罰以、巴人的叛逆?舊約這種例子多的是啊,以外族入侵來教訓以色列民直到他們回轉為止。以色列復國後對代巴勒斯坦人的行為一定不會是神喜悦,硬說是神的應許地就可殘害虐待同胞嗎?巴勒斯坦是遠親,並非亞瑪力人。不摘手段的進入應許地不會得到神的祝福,也不會是公義的神的旨意。

The butterfly effect of globalization has become a daily reality put right on your face – no longer is something just playing on the background. Someone in the far away country do something unknowingly to the public, the impact and be felt right away with the aids of high tech connectivities, camera and media control, making it extremely easy to sway the sentiments of the public. But how much is the truth of those message is a total different matter. The public mostly does not have the resources, nor capacities to distinguish what is real and what is rumor or purposely manipulation for the public attention/opinion.

According to How Elites Will Create a New Class of Slaves | Whitney Webb | The Glenn Beck Podcast, Journalist Whitney Webb has worked to uncover some of the most dangerous stories of our lifetime, and she joins Glenn to reveal just how eye-opening it’s been. Her new two-volume book, “One Nation Under Blackmail: The Sordid Union Between Intelligence and Crime that Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein,” examines Epstein’s elaborate network of corruption and power, from Bill Clinton to Ghislaine Maxwell and many more. Her research into transhumanism has given her a terrifying perspective on the World Economic Forum and tech elites, including Elon Musk. And she tells Glenn the dark truth about Biden’s push for electric vehicles that she noticed while living in Chile.

In his new book, ‘Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism’, Former Greece Prime Minister Yanis Varoufakis explores how giant tech firms, both in the US and China are expanding their control over the planet. His analysis is that, whilst material resources certainly matter, the real battle ground is over digital real estate. Big tech has replaced capitalism’s twin pillars—markets and profit—with its platforms and rents. With every click and scroll, we labor like serfs to increase its power.

Smart Cities Exposed: The Convenience Trap That Could Enslave Us!” The technology can easily monitor your activities. Many children missing under day care. The prison is no longer needed, you can be easily lock up in your own home the magnetic field of satellites and network monitors.

We live in a world of great uncertainty. Life is fragile. The first of Four Noble Truth Buddha taught us is Dukkha. 佛陀教导我们,「缘起」是宇宙人生一切万法生灭变异的定律,佛陀因证悟「缘起」而成佛,但因缘起深奥难解,为使尚未起信的众生免于畏怯,所以佛陀在初转法轮时,特以「四圣谛」来说明众生生死流转以及解脱之道的缘起道理,进而激发众生厌苦修道的决心。因此,「缘起」是佛陀自证成佛的「自受用」,「四圣谛」则是「他受用」之始。《地藏经》则是在佛陀80 岁时才讲的法门,佛陀讲完《地藏经》后三个月就涅磐了。

四谛:梵文Catursatya的音译。佛教基本教义之一。指苦、集、灭、道四谛。“谛”为佛经中所指的“真理”。 佛教认为,人世间一切皆苦,叫“ 苦谛 ” (Dukkha);欲望是造成人生多苦的原因,叫“ 集谛 ”(samudaya);断灭一切世俗痛苦的原因后进入理想的境界,即“涅槃”,叫“灭谛”(nirodha);而要达到最高理想“涅槃”境界,必须长期修“道”,叫“道谛” (marga)。

苦谛是小乘佛教的基本教义“四谛”说中之一,根据对现实的深刻观察,佛总结出人生的八大痛苦:生、老、病、死、爱别离、怨憎会、求不得、五蕴炽盛。最后概括的说“五取蕴即苦”。世间有情悉皆是苦,有漏皆苦,即所谓“苦谛”。

  • 生,是指六道中的各种生命的诞生、出生、入胎、再生,还有五蕴中的显现,还有等所感受、获得的内容等,都为“生”。生是许多苦的基础。
  • 老,是指六道中的各种生命的年老、衰老、牙齿损坏、头发变白、皮肤变质、六根的成熟等各种现象。由於有情的衰老,死亡已進一步的迫近,由衰老所帶來的種種苦痛也將生起。
  • 死,是指六道中的各种生命的死亡、灭亡、五蕴的分离等。
  • 愁,是指由于任何不幸和苦法而引起的忧愁、哀愁、悲伤等。因为其身心苦受由自行而生,又被称为苦苦
  • 悲,是指因为任何不幸和苦法而引起的哭泣、悲欢、悲哀、悲痛等。
  • 苦,是指身体的疼痛和疾病不适等。
  • 憂,是指心身的不愉快。
  • 惱,是指不幸或苦法所引起的生气、憔悴、绝望等。
  • 怨憎會,是指对不喜欢的、不可爱的色、聲、香、味、觸、法,或者与那些意图不好、无意、不安分的人异同交往聚会而产生的怨憎。
  • 愛別離,是指对喜欢的、可爱的色、聲、香、味、觸、法,或者对希望有利、有益的、快乐的、安分的人,家人、朋友或亲戚,却不能和他们在一起、交往、聚会而产生的痛苦,總說為生離死別之苦。
  • 求不得,是指六道中的众生,对于以上的各种苦而生的诉求,希望它们不要来到、却无法实现,从此而生的痛苦。

There are three main categories of dukkha. These are:

  • Suffering or Pain (Dukkha-dukkha). Ordinary suffering, as defined by the English word, is one form of dukkha. This includes physical, emotional and mental pain.
  • Impermanence or Change (Viparinama-dukkha). Anything that is not permanent, that is subject to change, is dukkha. Thus, happiness is dukkha, because it is not permanent. Great success, which fades with the passing of time, is dukkha. Even the purest state of bliss experienced in spiritual practice is dukkha. This doesn’t mean that happiness, success, and bliss are bad, or that it’s wrong to enjoy them. If you feel happy, then enjoy feeling happy. Just don’t cling to it.
  • Conditioned States (Samkhara-dukkha). To be conditioned is to be dependent on or affected by something else. According to the teaching of dependent origination, all phenomena are conditioned. Everything affects everything else. This is the most difficult part of the teachings on dukkha to understand, but it is critical to understanding Buddhism.

Buddha taught us that Hardship and Good Luck both can be opportunity to foster our spiritual growth and awaken to the truth of reality. If you stuck in the mindset of Dukka, according to the 12-links of dependent arising, this emotion and perception will become our next life’s retribution because that is what we keep on programming our mind. We should make us of the high tech to learn things of worthy as much as possible and discard the garbages.

The book Without Buddha I Could Not be a Christian Paperback – February 1, 2013, narrates how esteemed theologian, Paul F. Knitter overcame a crisis of faith by looking to Buddhism for inspiration. From prayer to how Christianity views life after death, Knitter argues that a Buddhist standpoint can encourage a more person-centred conception of Christianity, where individual religious experience comes first, and liturgy and tradition second. Moving and revolutionary, this book will inspire Christians everywhere.

I want to introduce you Standardized Version of Śūraṅgama Dhāraṇī – 2小時首楞嚴咒(統一梵文版)2-hour Sanskrit Shurangama Mantra (Original Chanter) for Meditation  대불정능엄신주 산스크리트 화. It is the mantra from the Shurangama Sutra. (you can turn on transcript from the bottom of the program) 世界最強,最有效,最有力量的咒經,楞嚴咒,吾等弟子持誦奉行,終生不悔,感恩各位師父!隨喜功德,普皆迴向,祈願人心安住,身體健康,社會安定,阿彌陀佛!中文早課版【大佛頂首楞嚴咒】[注音]易背诵 | 共七遍 1h | Shurangama Mantra | (台灣靈巖山寺唱頌)-不思議BSYi

  • Translated under the imperial decree by His Holiness Amogha Vajra, Royal-titled Daiguangzhi, Tripitaka Master of the Royal Religious Bureau of Daxingshansi, T’ang Dynasty
  • Extracted from Jun-zi-zhi, Stone Scriptures of Fangshan, inscribed during Liao Dynasty Da-an 10th year. 
  • Compiled by His Holiness Xinglin, Royal-titled Purple-robed, Surpass Enlightenment Tripitaka Master in Propagating Esoteric Buddhism of the Royal Religious Bureau of the Great An-guo-si, Capital City of the Great T’ang, T’ang Dynasty
  • Reconstructed to ancient Sanskrit pronunciation with romanised Sanskrit – a joint project by Venerable Ᾱcārya Hong Bok, Venerable Shi Yan Du and Bodhisattva-preceptee Upāsaka Guo Bin, in early 2016.
  • In ancient China, dhāraṇī-s were transliterated from Sanskrit based on the Chinese spoken at the time, i.e. during the Tang and Song periods. When these dhāraṇī-s are read using modern-day spoken Mandarin (Putong hua), the sound produced is different from the original intended sound due to the fact that modern-day spoken Mandarin is derived from the Northern Chinese dialect spoken in the imperial courts of the Qing Dynasty and not from ancient Chinese of the Tang and Song periods. The outcome would have been inconsistent with the objective of transliteration and is not in accord with Great Master Xuan Zhuang’s guidelines on translation。

Surrender to Higher Consciousness

The Hamas and Israel crashes brought our attention to a part of the world many of us may only hear the name but knows very little about. I have to admit that I was too arrogant as an intellectual to express opinion when I did not even notice the name of Pakistan and Palestine are two different countries in that part of the world just a week ago. But my heart is with the refugees and people who died and suffered because of religious and political conflicts.

In my quiet reflection, the teachings from Sutra of the Past Vows of Earth Store Bodhisattva (with Commentary from Master Xuan Hua) come to my mind. I would like to read together with you Chapter Two: The Division Bodies Gather. I hope we all can gain more insight from the teaching, for the liberation of ourselves as well as the rest of the world.



At that time, the division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva began gathering in the palace of the Trayastrimsha Heaven from billions of inexpressible, inconceivable, immeasurable, ineffable, limitless asamkhyeyas of worlds. [……] the World Honored One stretched forth his golden-colored arm and rubbed the crowns of all the division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva Mahasattva gathered from billions of inexpressible, inconceivable, immeasurable, ineffable, limitless asamkhyeyas of worlds, and said, “I teach and transform obstinate beings such as these within the evil worlds of the Five Turbidities, causing their minds to be regulated and subdued so that they renounce the deviant and return to the proper. But one or two out of ten still cling to their bad habits. For them I again divide into thousands of billions of bodies and use numerous additional expedient means. Those with keen roots will listen and immediately believe. Those with good rewards will respond to exhortation and strive to succeed. Those who are dim and dull will only return after being taught for a long time. Those whose karma is heavy will fail to show any respect.

“My division bodies take across and liberate all those different kinds of beings. I may appear in a male body. I may appear in a female body. I may appear in the body of a god or dragon. I may appear in the body of a spirit or ghost. I may appear as a mountain, a forest, a stream, a spring, a river, a lake, a fountain, or a well in order to benefit people. I use all these ways to save beings. I may appear in the body of God Shakra. I may appear in the body of Lord Brahma. I may appear in the body of a Wheel-Turning King. I may appear in the body of a lay person. I may appear in the body of a national leader. I may appear in the body of a prime minister. I may appear in the body of an official. I may appear in the body of a Bhikshu, a Bhikshuni, an Upasaka, an Upasika, and so forth up to the body of a Hearer, an Arhat, a Pratyekabuddha, or a Bodhisattva in order to teach and rescue beings. It is not that I appear to them only in the body of a Buddha.

“Reflect on how I have toiled for repeated eons and endured acute suffering to take across and free stubborn beings who resist being taught and continue to suffer for their offenses. Those not yet subdued undergo retributions according to their karma. If they fall into the evil destinies and are enduring tremendous suffering, then you should remember the gravity of this entrustment I am now making to you here in the palace of the Trayastrimsha Heaven. Find ways to liberate all beings in the Saha world from now until the time when Maitreya comes into the world. Help them escape suffering forever, encounter Buddhas, and receive predictions.”

At that time, all the division bodies of Earth Store Bodhisattva that came from all those worlds merged into a single form. Then he wept and said to the Buddha, “Throughout long eons I have been receiving the Buddha’s guidance and from that have developed inconceivable spiritual power and great wisdom. My division bodies fill worlds as many as grains of sand in millions of billions of Ganges Rivers. In each of those worlds, I transform myself into millions of billions of bodies. Each body rescues millions of billions of people, helping them to return respectfully to the Triple Jewel, escape birth and death forever, and reach the bliss of Nirvana. Even if their good deeds within the Buddhadharma amount to as little as a strand of hair, a drop of water, a grain of sand, a mote of dust, or the tip of a hair, I will gradually take them across, liberate them, and help them gain great benefit. I only hope that the World Honored One will not be worried about beings of the future who have bad karma.”

In that way he addressed the Buddha three times: “I only hope that the World Honored One will not be worried about beings of the future who have bad karma.”

At that time, the Buddha praised Earth Store Bodhisattva and said, “Excellent! Excellent! I will help you in this work you so willingly undertake. When the vast vows that you keep making throughout so many eons are fulfilled and all those beings have been saved, then you will be certified as having attained Bodhi.” (End of Chapter Two)

Please take note that we can pray to Earth Store Bodhisattva to guide us to the Amituofo Buddha’s Pure Land in our afterlife. And for those whose lives have ended, we can also work on blessings powerful enough to rescue them, especially throughout the 49 days after their death. Earth Store Sutra will teach you how-to. And do remember to transfer the merits of your work to them.

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Namo Avalokiteshvara !

Namo Avalokiteshvaraya! The Bodhisattva of great compassion, is the most well-known of all the Bodhisattvas in the Buddhist tradition. In Plum Village, her name is invoked as a prayer, continuously repeated for twenty minutes, in order to awaken the energy of compassion in us all and transmit it to all living beings. When the monastics chant the name Avalokiteshvaraya, for the first time, they go back to themselves to touch the suffering inside of them. And when they chant the name for the second time they become aware of the suffering of the people around them. And when they chant it for the third time, they get in touch with the suffering of the whole world, embracing it tenderly with the energy of compassion.

The recent “conflict” between Palestine and Israel explained in under ten minutes by Double Down News. The audience commented: “I don’t condone the violence against the Israeli people by Hamas. Equally, I don’t condone the violence against the Palestinians by the Israeli govt. Yet the violence perpetrated by Hamas was condemned the world over by political leaders, whilst the violence perpetrated against the Palestinians day in day out year in year out is largely ignored: where’s the justice in that?” It seemed to be an continuation of an on-going struggles that lasted for decades, if not millenus. This year, Israel celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding in 1948. This program explain how Israel was created. We have an very complex issue hangover from World War II and the era of British Empire, further deteriorated by American Empire.

While we condemned the violence to the innocent civilian, according to Journalist Ben Norton who had been looking over the issue in the last ten years, international law clearly showed that Palestinians have a legal right to armed resistance against Israeli colonialism. Just as South Africans did against apartheid. Gaza suffers under an illegal Israeli blockade that even a former British prime minister recognized to be a “prison camp”.

President CLINTON CALLS FOR PEACE BETWEEN PALESTINIANS AND ISRAELIS. November 4 1995 marked a very tragic turning point in the The Oslo Accord, a framework that would lead to the resolution of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was the culmination of an anti-violence rally in support of the Oslo peace process.  Rabin was disparaged personally by right-wing conservatives and Likud leaders who perceived the peace process as an attempt to forfeit the occupied territories and a capitulation to Israel’s enemies.

There was another event of grand scheme went on that year, call me conspiracist, but the synchronicity is hard to deny. It turned out there was a conference in San Francisco of 500 elites from all over the world, held in September 1995, with participants including Margret Thatcher, Senior Bush, George Soros, Bill Gates, former Soviet Union Gorbachev and national security counsel Brzezinski. The topic is about how to handle increasingly rips on inequality and wealth distribution. The notorious Nipple Plan was officially brought to the center of the agenda in the conference. 布热津斯基的 ”奶头乐计划“ 。Today, near thirty years later, Brzezinski’s plan had already completed ahead of time. People were giving plenty of sex, drugs, computer games, rock and roll, and Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, entertainments, to keep occupied. Many states permit the usage of Marijuana. The drug abuses is records high in the percentage of the population, both medical and entertainment. Both Democratic Party and Republican Party turned a blind eyes to the abuses of the Big Pharma and American Medical Association monopolies.

Coincidentally or non-coincidentally, Master Xuan Hua, who was a prominent spiritual leader came to America from China in the 1960s, passed away on June 1995. Master Hsuan Hua founded several institutions in the US. The Dharma Realm Buddhist Association (DRBA) is a Buddhist organization with chapters in North America, Australia and Asia. The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas (CTTB) in Ukiah, California, is one of the first Chan Buddhist monasteries in America. Hsuan Hua founded Dharma Realm Buddhist University at CTTB. The Buddhist Text Translation Society works on the phonetics and translation of Buddhist scriptures since 1970, from Chinese into English, Vietnamese, Spanish, and many other languages. But the importance of Master Xuan Hua education work had not much recognized by the U.S government or the mainstream popular.

Buddha had taught “six-ways of mutual respect” as guidelines for his disciples in interacting with others. The principle actual also applicable to modern society as well.

In a world full of uncertainty brought by the globalization and inevitable conflicts of interest, in the same time with the hot wars, multilateral cold wars are also triggered, including but not limited to unrestrive warfares in technology, finance, culture, ideology and religion, education, etc, these crashes magnified the tensions of everyday life, affected millions of people, regardless if they are in the hot bullet battle fields. We observed these phenomenon in the millions of refugees from the Middle Easts of last several decades, and the recent years from Ukraine Russia War. As the nonstopped tension were provoked, the emotional ocean of the collectives fluctuated ceaselessly, sometimes like the tsunami, sometimes like Hurricane,  and other times like small storms of all sorts, under the impact of the electronic connectivity and biased media bombardment all over the world, human life to the brink of mental collapses like bipolar disorder. While we condemn inexorable act of violence, such like the assassination of Sikh religious leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the governmental persecution of journalism devoted to the justice of the society, the non stopped tragedies happening in this world, such as numerous coups or color revolution in many developing countries, such as the colonialism by the west, we also have to take into consideration of the complexity of historical problems hangover.

What are the guiding principle of our reality? What can keep us at peace with whatever life throw the curb ball at us? In the vast universe, human is smaller than an ant in the football field, tiner than a drop of sand in the ocean. Realizing the insignificance of our position, we should take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and Sangha. Avalokiteshvara had compassionately offer the Universal Gate method to all humanity against fear and violence. The Lotus Sutra’s Universal Gate Chapter on Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva introduces the compassionate visage of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Chinese: Guanyin), who has been a source of inspiration and devotion for Buddhists and non-Buddhists for centuries. This short chapter of the Lotus Sutra, chanted and memorized throughout East Asia, is believed to be a strong protection of our body and mind.

Dualism and Modern Predicament 历史进步主义, 道德相对主义;民主政治的弊端;

As we observe the huge social inequality, the disparages of social split in America and more and more so in China, it seems to me that any mentioning of sharing resources/wealth redistribution would triggers fear of authoritarian of socialism or communism, as the western mind hold the individual right/liberty to such lofty height of happiness and freedom, which was further over emphasized by Ann Ryan’s objectivism in the last half century, I suspect the idea of dualism had played a huge part in such mentality, causing a self-feeding of larger than life ego grandeur and selfishness.

The Eastern mind (or Eastern Traditional Philosophy) is centered on the Tao or Divinity. It is Dinvine that give that provision (生死有命,富贵在天),no matter how wealthy you are, it is Dinvine’s provision through you. If you share with others, as taught in the 《了凡四训〉,Divine will bestow you more as it use you more as a conduit, otherwise, your merit account (福报)is limited, and when it is used out, you will start to fall. So be very careful with your merit account for selfish usage, especially in those unwholesom deeds. 天命谓之性,率性谓之道,修道谓之教。 淨空法師:如何得到福報? 佛教你三個修大福報的方法。什么都是有因果的, 福报也不例外。福報用盡,災禍必來!出現這3個徵兆,就是佛菩薩在提醒:你的福報即將耗盡【佛心福樂】 It is all about the cause(conditions) and effects in work.

Dualism is a deeply entrenched view point in the western mindset. It is closely associated with the thought of René Descartes (1641), which holds that the mind is a nonphysical—and therefore, non-spatial—substance. Descartes clearly identified the mind with consciousness and self-awareness and distinguished this from the brain as the seat of intelligence. As such Descartes is often called The Father of Dualism, due to his proposing the theory of substance dualism, or Cartesian dualism. Dualism is a theory which entails the belief that the mind and the body are two completely separate substances. René Descartes is also often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences.

Dualism can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, and also to the early Sankhya and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy. Plato first formulated his famous Theory of Forms, distinct and immaterial substances of which the objects and other phenomena that we perceive in the world are nothing more than mere shadows.

Platonic Dualism: Splitting the Body and Soul. Plato offers the first, oldest argument that one’s physical body and soul are separate entities and that one lives on after the other has died. Dualism holds that reality or existence is divided into two parts. These two parts are often identified as the body and the soul. To dualists, the soul is a real substance that exists independent from the body. Socrates, Plato, and Augustine were all dualists who believed the soul to be immortal.

Nietzsche’s statement, “Man, in his highest, finest powers, is all nature and carries nature’s uncanny dual nature in himself” attempts to deal with the duality of humankind. His viewpoint had influence the mindset of the west for the last century: Within the natural casing of humanity lies the capability for great triumph and, in turn, great degradation.

Belief in the possibility of the soul’s existence separately from the body suffices to make one a dualist, but Aristotle rejects that belief for at least most types of soul. If Aristotle is committed to dualism, he must be committed to a weaker version of it which admits that the soul cannot exist apart from the body.

The Differences Between Plato’s And Descartes’ Views On The Concept Of God is that Descartes believes that his God is omnipotent, and Plato does not give that characteristic to any of his Deities, because he believed that Gods should not have the ability to commit bad actions as nothing that is purely good can be harmful, and ‘nothing that isn’t harmful can cause harm’.

Taking Consciousness Seriously – a Defense of Decartesian Dualism by Frank B. Dilley took a serious discussion of Dualism by state following:

In a more recent paper, A Defense of Dualism, John Foster hold the view that the mind and its contents are radically nonphysical, that is, that they are neither themselves physical, nor the logical product of anything physical, nor, except causally or nomologically, dependent on anything physical.

So what does Buddha teaches us about Nondualism? Read the article Nondualism in Mahayana Buddhism would give you a much clearer sense.

NON-DUALITY AMERICA  Twenty Questions with Jeff Foster is a great read together with The Teaching of Emptiness by Greg Goode.

由于历史主义者认为历史和社会是不断进步的,文化也是不断进步的,因此现代政治伦理思想优越 于古代的政治伦理。而儒家政治伦理产生于中国古代的奴隶社会末期至封建社会初期,属于主流的封建伦理思想,是中国落后的封建道德和文化的象征,完全不适合历史发展的进程,应该予以全盘抛弃。

古典政治伦理具有一元性和绝对性的特点,倡导一种形而上学的道德观。古代的东方社会形成了一种以宇宙为中心的世界观,而西方社会则形成了以神学为中心的世界观。但是现代人的道德相对主义则解构了这两种世界观,并最终导致道德的多元主义和虚无主义①。比如存在主义者海德格尔认为存在先于本质,即此在在被抛掷到这个世界之前,并不存在任何先
验的道德,此在的生存并不受某种绝对道德的束缚,而是应该遵从此在的良心和内在自由来自我判断此在在道德上是否有罪(海德格尔,2006)。道德相对主义解构了古典政治伦理的绝对性和形而上学标准,使得古典政治伦理在现代社会日益式微。

现代民主政治的弊端正在于宗教和道德彻底地退出了政治生活领域,从而带来了现代人的双重丧失:意义丧失———人生价值的丧失和自由的丧失———道德和宗教信仰的缺乏和异化而失去了内在的精神自由(哈贝马斯,2004:311)。