Date: 02/17/2024 02/18/2024
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Lucy Zhou
Dharma talk
Are you worried about the afterlife?
On one occasion, the Buddha returned to Kapilavastu, his hometown, for travelling and preaching. He stayed in the Nyagrodha Park in the south of the city.
On that day, the Buddha’s cousin, Mahānāma, came to greet the Buddha and said to him：
“The Blessed One! Now, Kapilavastu is rich in products, populous and prosperous. I get in and out of here every day, and I am often surrounded by horses and elephants running wildly, by people and vehicles rushing past me. I often think that maybe one day I will be killed by one of these. Before I die, I may forget to recite the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha in a hurry. I fear dying like this, and I don t know where I will end up or where I will be born.”
“Do not fear, Mahānāma! You will be born to a good place after death, and you will not fall into the three evil paths nor have bad retribution. It is like a tree that grows towards the east over time. It tends to grow in the east when it is a seedling, and when it continues to grow, it still grows at an angle towards the east. In the future, if someone cuts down this tree, then which direction will it fall toward.”
“The Blessed One! Then, of course, it will fall toward the east.”
“Mahānāma! So do you. Just like when someone throws a bottle containing ghee into a deep pool of water, the bottle will, of course, sink to the bottom, but the ghee in the bottle will eventually rise to the surface. Mahānāma! For a long time, you have been reciting the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Therefore, even after your death, your body is cremated or abandoned in a cemetery, eaten by crows, eaten by eagles, eaten by dogs, eaten by wolves, blown by the wind, burned by the sun, washed by rain, and reduced to dust and dust over time. However, the strong faith, precepts, hearing and contemplation, giving, and wisdom built up by the long-term mind edification will lead your mind and consciousness to sublimate and to a peaceful and beautiful place.”
