Master Hsin Tao’s Message on Vesak Day

Greetings! Fellow Buddhist friends,

I hope that you’re all doing well and dandy. As well, may our world be at peace and the environment restore harmony.

Today is "Vesak", the Day of the Full Moon in the month of May, is the most sacred day for Buddhists to celebrate the birth, the enlightenment, and the nirvana of Buddha Shakyamuni. The sage introduced the wisdom that lights the up world like the sun. His enlightenment shows sentient beings to become awakened from the darkness of ignorance.

We are very fortunate to have come across the teachings of the Buddha. By applying his teachings, we'd gain an insight into this world that is of suffering, emptiness, and impermanence. What we are experiencing now with the pandemic, warfare, strifes, etc. is vivid evidence of the nature of samsara.

With the power of awakening, we can observe suffering and recognize that it is the result of not recognizing our primordial awareness. We fail to recognize the sense of renunciation and peace as we are too habituated to perceive this world with the mental afflictions of the five poisons (greed, aversion, ignorance, pride, doubt). That’s why we continue to wander in cyclic existence with all sorts of entanglement that can never be solved. Take the opportunity of experiencing birth, aging, illnesses, death, strifes, warfares, and more to see the truth of the world. That's how we can transform the crisis for better use.

Therefore, we must return to spirituality. The entity of interdependence is facing a major crisis. Buddhism guides us to awakening to break through from crises of dullness.

The planet is severely damaged with all sorts of environmental crises to an extreme. That's why we must return to the wisdom of spirituality. With innate compassion, we can understand that all beings are of the same source. Everything can be traced back to the same root as all elements are an entity of interdependence. Just like a metaphor of the Jewel Net of Indra in the Avatamsaka Sutra, dharmadhatu is a cosmic matrix of infinite realms overlaying and connecting with one another. Likewise, primordial awareness and the ecosystem are inseparable.

Nature is interconnectedness, yet, we've altered the system negatively with pollutions and harm. The planet was healthy and in good shape. Yet, our greediness blinds our awareness. That's why we are so oblivious and continue to deplete others to satisfy ourselves. The endless consumption has corrupted the planet. People are fighting for the limited resources. All the warfares are related and if we trace the root, we’d know that these disasters are the accumulated results of our mental afflictions. in Buddhism, this is called, “karma”.

Vesak Day is a day to commemorate the power of awakening that the Buddha had attained. That is essence of unarising and unceasing. We must express our gratitude for his teachings and guidance to lead us to brightness. We'd learn to identify types of suffering and work through them. As our minds learn to stabilize and become serene, we can transform all adversities. Now, let's take a minute to quiet down and resonate with the power of peacefulness. May all disasters and pain be pacified.

Here’s the One-minute Meditation of Ling Jiou Mountain
Breathe in, palm our hands, and relax. Quiet down, let’s quiet down. Let our minds return to their origin.

Let's dedicate the merit to the welfare of planet Earth, the environment, and all people. May sentient beings be free from suffering and causes of suffering. Lastly, may all acquire the temporary and the ultimate happiness.