interesting about the plant and slit 84,000
mosquitoes body. it also prove the concept of
non-self.
i think different era or society have different karmic effect.
how a person/mind being affected by the divorce,
the society, the previous partner 's attitude etc, all
are involve in the result. and also, the heaviness depend on the
mind set. karma is very complex.
just like the poor lady who donated one cent is more virtue than
a rich lady donating more money. same story below:-
During the Buddha's time, in the city of Sravasti there lived a
poor woman named Nantuo. The only possessions she had were the
clothes on her back, and in order to survive she relied on begging
for food or spare change. One day, in the midst of a fiercely cold
wind, using her weak, trembling hands, she begged for an entire
day, finally receiving one small coin. With this coin she could
afford to buy a small morsel of food to support her life.
At this moment, she heard news about people going to make a light
offering to the Buddha. She observed all of the city's residents
devoutly purchasing numerous kinds of exquisite perfumed oils and
candles to give as offerings to the Buddha. Seeing this, she
couldn’t help but joyously praised all the devotees as the wish to
make an offering to the Buddha arose in her mind. She thought, “The
manifestation of the Buddha in this world is so rare and precious,
I should really take hold of this opportunity to make an offering
to the Buddha. But because in my past I did not cultivate any
merit, so in this life I am poor and miserable. Even if I would
really like to make an offering, I don't have anything special to
offer, which is so shameful!” As she looked at the lone coin
sitting in her hand, she knew that if she didn't spend it on food
for herself she would have to pass another long, endless night in
hunger and cold. And yet, her vow to make a light offering to the
Buddha remained strong and resolute.
Using that one small coin, she could only afford to buy the
smallest amount of the crudest oil, but her sincerity was much
brighter than the light emitted from any lamps. When the shopkeeper
who was selling the oil saw how Nantou was willing to suffer
through another long, cold night in order to make an offering to
the Buddha, he became so moved that he couldn't resist giving her
several times more oil than what she had paid for, to help her
achieve her dream. As dark descended upon the city, all the
townsfolk, from the lords up in the imperial palace down to the
commoners on the streets, with their hearts full of sincerity,
illuminated their lamps for the Buddha. The lamps dazzled like a
sparkling river, and lit up the entire city of Sravasti. The
penniless Nantuo was in the midst of that crowd, respectfully
lighting her oil lamp.
When this very ordinary oil lamp of hers became lit up in the
middle of the night, it was as if her own low and insignificant
life was also being lit up. At this moment Nantuo experienced an
extraordinary feeling of richness and happiness. As she knelt down
to give her offering to the Buddha, Nantuo reflected back not only
on her life, full of destitution and suffering, but also thought
about all the sentient beings wandering about in the endless
darkness of the birth and death cycle. Because of this, she made a
great wish: “I wish that this light may pervade through the ten
directions, guiding every sentient creature out of the miserable
sea of birth and death, to the path of supreme peace and
happiness.
With the arrival of dawn, an unimaginable thing happened! All the
oil lamps, no matter how precious, were extinguished from burning
through the night, or were blown out by Maudgalyayana, who was in
charge of keeping watch on the lamps. But the lamp of the poor
Nantuo was still shining brightly. Even after exhausting every type
of method for extinguishing the light, Maudgalyayana, who had the
greatest supernatural powers out of all Buddha's disciples, still
could not put it out. He was astonished: “Whose lamp is this that
is still burning? Even with my supernatural powers, I cannot put it
out!”
The Buddha, who was present at the time, pointed to the lamp of the
poor girl, and with a smile relieved Maudgalyayana's uncertainty.
“Maudgalyayana, the person who offered this lamp made a great vow
to save all sentient beings. Even if you used all the water in the
four great oceans, you would still not be able to extinguish this
lamp. This candle was lit using a great, compassionate vow, and
because she was full of sincerity, the light radiating from this
lamp is inexhaustible.”
At this moment, Nantuo once again came to the temple, and devoutly
paid her respects by prostrating to the Buddha. The Buddha received
her and spoke the Dharma to her: “Twenty kalpas from now, you will
become a Buddha who would guide an immeasurable number of sentient
beings. Your name would be Lamplight Buddha.” With tears of
gratitude falling down from the corners of her eyes, thinking about
how rare it is to be able to encounter a Buddha in this world, the
poor girl knelt down and brought her palms together, requesting
permission to leave home and enter the monastic life. After
becoming a nun, she thoroughly dedicated herself to progressing on
the path, and was deeply respected for her diligence and high moral
conduct.
The meaning of alms-giving cannot be found within the amount of
money donated, but only within the genuine and sincere heart in
which it is given with. When our lives are happy and free from
worry, it can be difficult for us to bring rise to this fearless
mind of giving as well as making firm vows. We should learn from
this poor girl Nantuo, that in life we need to diligently cultivate
the ways of virtue, and even in our greatest periods of hardship or
stress, we still should try to give to the best of our abilities,
and to make offerings and show our respect towards all sentient
beings. With a heart of charity, we can light the bright lanterns
not only for ourselves, but for all sentient beings.
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