【Description】
In Buddhist practice, we often hear about many special powers involving the eyes. Why do Buddhist texts often use eyes to describe the levels of practice? What is the difference between Buddha’s eyes and those of ordinary people? What inspirations can we obtain by viewing things through the Buddha’s eyes? In this short video, Grandmaster JinBodhi offers wonderful answers to these questions, leading us to check in with our minds, improve our mental state, and see the world from a wiser perspective.
【You will learn】
- The hallmarks of seeing the world through the Buddha’s eyes
- The story of the fortuneteller and the kid
- The incredible abilities that self-cultivation can bring to people
【Featured aphorisms】
- The eyes of Buddha are the eyes of compassion, great love and care.
- The Buddha’s eyes can see through the past, the future, and the changes in people and this world.
【Content】
The “eye” is often used to describe states of Buddhist practice. Look at terms like Divine-Eye, Physical-Eye, or Buddha-Eye. Why “Eye”? Human beings, through practicing special dharma, can affect changes in their genes. Enlightenment can be achieved by practicing the traditional methods. Some even had Buddhist relics found in them after being cremated. Human miracles in the Buddhist world include more than Buddhist relics. Some are known to have powerful psychic abilities such as Divine-Eye and the ability to eliminate afflictions. That is the “Five Eyes and Six Spiritual Powers.”
After practicing meditation, your abilities surpass human perception. For example, our worldview has changed. What we saw in life was making money, supporting family, eating, sleeping, and having children. But as we practice further, we find out that is not all there is. Say, we realize that lots of villagers are starving, so there is a need for monetary and food aid for the poor. This is a change of worldview. It is the “Eye” or the mental vision. In Buddhist traditions, especially in ancient Nepal, India and Tibet, often a pair of eyes was drawn on a stupa. They look like human eyes as well as Buddha-Eyes. Why draw eyes? It means we use Buddha-Eyes to look at the world. What are Buddha-Eyes? They are compassionate, unconditionally loving, caring, and protective eyes. The eyes will show if you love someone. Look at each other now, see whether you are loved. Some people are very intuitive, they sense signals between two people through their eyes.
If a woman likes a man, her eyes would be glued to him. It is an attraction, strong as gravity. Her gaze is fixed. Regardless of the end result, she was attracted at that moment. The All-Compassionate eyes evoke a mother’s love for her child. We are all Buddha’s children. A pair of compassionate eyes is around us all the time, watching us even when we sleep. Our physical and mental conduct is also under Buddha’s watch. Waking up in the morning, some think about who they are going to cheat. Some think about chanting to Buddha. Some think about prostrating, paying homage to Buddha. Buddha is watching our spiritual realm, our thoughts and minds. That is why Buddhist stages of practice are characterized by different types of “Eyes.”
It is how we view the world at different levels. Thus, my disciples, remember: Examine not only the world but also yourself. Some only focus outwards, not inwards. That is why some practitioners keep on finding fault with others, but not themselves. The level of our Buddhist practice is determined by our spirit and worldview. Imagine standing 5,000 meters above ground, looking at the world: Do you still have troubles? While up high looking down at all below, we would feel so free and at ease. Below there was where you fought yesterday. But atop a mountain of 1,000 meters, you will not even see the hut in which you fought. It is too small and insignificant. Those who fought in it are even more insignificant. Why fight? For what? Then you would realize you actually fought for nothing. You just made yourself more troubled with a needless fight.
Thus in our cultivation, we need to go high in order to see far. More practice means higher mental states. Then, the world can be viewed at the macroscopic level, which means viewing the world at height and in breadth. What about Buddha-Eyes? Just now, I mentioned reincarnation. After practicing Buddhadharma, your eyes can see your past and future, as well as the changes in you and the world. Isn’t that incredible? Some fortune tellers can do this, let alone Buddha.
I remember my childhood friend, who was a real troublemaker. He had a girlfriend when he was 14, maybe 15. I was very upset because I couldn’t find one. One day, we were walking through a little wood. There, a man with a goatee greeted us. “Young man, come here, you have a fortunate face.” We didn’t know who he was talking about. Hearing “fortunate face,” we both stopped. “Who are you talking to?”
My friend Zhang said, “Me, of course, I’m handsome.”
“Sir, are you talking about me?”
The elderly man said, “OK, I’ll say something to you. What do you care about most?”
“Finding a wife!” He was only a teenager.
That man examined his face and his palm, saying, “It will be very difficult.”
My friend said, “What kind of a fortune teller are you? Ask him if I have a girlfriend.”
The man asked me. I said, “Yes, he does, which upsets me.”
The old man said to me, “Young man, don’t be upset.”
“It’ll be much easier for you to find a girlfriend.” I felt comforted by that. Don’t boo me just yet.
My young friend said, “Let me tell you, sir, I have a girlfriend now.”
The man replied, “You’re still a child. You don’t understand. You only think about girls. You give her a candy, and she gives you a handkerchief. That’s it. You’re too young to know what a real girlfriend is, what husband and wife are.”
Let me tell you the result. He is my age, and up to now he still has no wife. He has had a few breakups. His dating days spanned from age 15 to 25. As he got older, finding a partner was almost impossible. Fortune tellers can see our fate. Buddha-Eyes can see all your future achievements. That includes wealth or poverty, your character, your marriage, your children’s futures, your offspring, or even how many boys or girls you will have. Also, the Buddha knows all of your afterlives. In Buddha’s vision of wisdom, he sees not just the vast natural world. It is like looking at a map. Just like us, looking down from a plane at high altitudes, we see not just the city, but its surroundings as well. Buddha sees more than just your present. He sees 100 years into the world’s future, and 50 years into your future. What he sees is beyond this space-time.