A Fifteen-Year-Old Asks: Where Should I Begin in Learning the Dharma? | Master Jingben
【Q&A Series】
A Fifteen-Year-Old Asks: Where Should I Begin in Learning the Dharma?
Master Jingben Answers: Namo Amitabha. I am very glad that you want to learn the Dharma! That you are so young, and yet hold to this on your own in a place where no one else keeps you company — this heart of yours is truly rare. Let us take it slowly, and I will teach you step by step.
1. First, Learn What Is Most Fundamental: Reciting the Buddha's Name
Let me first teach you the most important and most fundamental method — reciting the Buddha's name: Namo Amitabha.
Amitabha Buddha is a Buddha of great compassion. Before he became a Buddha, he made a great vow: so long as sentient beings recite his name and aspire to be born in his Pure Land, he will surely come to deliver them — not a single one will be left out. So this Name is not an ordinary prayer; it is the deliverance that Amitabha Buddha himself has prepared for us.
2. How Do You Recite?
Simply recite like this each day: recite when you wake in the morning, recite before you sleep at night; while walking, while doing things, at school, when you feel good and when you feel bad — you can recite at any time. Reciting aloud is fine; reciting silently in your heart is fine too. There is no need to count, no need to pick a special time or place — whenever you think of it, just recite.
3. Do Not Worry That You Are "Not Good Enough"
You may think: I am still young, I understand nothing, and there is little I can do — is it all right for me to recite like this? — It is entirely all right. Reciting the Buddha's name does not require you to understand many teachings first, nor to become a very good person first. Amitabha Buddha delivers us not because we are good enough, but because he is compassionate. Just go on reciting like this, and that is exactly right.
4. What Should I Do, and What Should I Not Do?
You ask: what things should I not do? What is bad? In fact the Buddha-Dharma is very simple, just one principle: do no evil whatsoever, practise all that is good.
Whatever would harm sentient beings, we should avoid; whatever would benefit sentient beings, we should do our best to bring about. For example: at home, treat your parents well; when you are out, treat your friends well; at school, respect your teachers; and when one day you work, treat your colleagues kindly. At the same time, be kind to all sentient beings too, including animals and every small living creature.
Whatever comes your way: when it is good, rejoice in it; when it is bad, recite the Buddha's name and dedicate the merit — this is the life of one who recites the Name.
As for what you eat: if you are able to be vegetarian and not eat the flesh of creatures that were killed, that is best. If for now you cannot manage it, you may first eat what is called "the three kinds of pure meat" — meat you did not kill yourself, that was not killed for you, and whose killing you neither saw nor heard. So long as your heart holds compassion, and you do not take life with your own hands merely because you want to eat, that is enough.
And if even this is not convenient for you, then first make reciting the Buddha's name your habit. If your family cannot accept it for the time being, do not quarrel with them over food. You are still young; when you grow older, you will be able to choose and adjust for yourself.
Most important of all is still to recite "Namo Amitabha" every day. Reciting the Name is our most fundamental practice; as for everything else, take it slowly.
5. Take It Slowly
First, form the habit of reciting the Name. For one who recites, Amitabha Buddha's light watches over and protects him at every moment; the heart grows more and more settled, and more and more strong.
At the same time, you can listen to and read more teachings about Amitabha Buddha, and come to understand his compassion little by little. There are English materials on the Dharma center's website; you can read a little each day — there is no hurry, just bit by bit. As for the teachings in Chinese, you can also read and study them using translation.
And remember this too: learning the Buddha's teaching does not ask you to leave the life you already have; rather, it gives you, within that very life, something more to rely on.
If you have any questions, you are always welcome to ask us again. For now, begin reciting this one phrase, "Namo Amitabha" — that is the very best beginning. Namo Amitabha
微信分享
扫描二维码，或复制链接分享
