覚りたいという気持ち
Desire to attain enlightenment
2024-03-31 18:00:00
A practitioner of Buddhism diligently engages in their practice with the desire to attain enlightenment.
However, it is natural that they do not know what enlightenment (= liberation) truly is.
Therefore, even devout practitioners of Buddhism are progressing in their practice towards a state that they do not fully understand.
As a result, there are people who question or interrupt their Buddhist practice.
In fact, this is not unreasonable, as there are moments when doubts arise, and the pursuit of Buddhist practice for liberation from worldly suffering can be perceived as painful.
In reality, there are also those who, desiring worldly pleasures, return to the realm of suffering.
Knowing that such unfortunate occurrences are inevitable, all Buddhas understand that sentient beings are inherently prone to succumbing to temptation. Therefore, they commend the arising of the aspiration in beings to diligently pursue the path to enlightenment.
This is because they recognize that even if beings engage in Buddhist practice for only a short period, it is an incredibly remarkable feat in this world.
Moreover, this is especially true for those who earnestly pursue the path of Buddhist practice.
In this regard, one could cite, for example, the second verse of the Expedient Means chapter of the Lotus Sutra.
"~ The appearance of all Buddhas in the world is exceedingly rare and difficult to encounter. Even if they appear in the world, it is equally challenging for them to expound this teaching. After countless kalpas, it remains difficult to hear this teaching. Those who listen to this teaching are also exceedingly rare. It is like the Udumbara flower, which blooms only once in a long time and is cherished by celestial beings and humans alike. To hear this teaching and rejoice in it, or to speak even a single word of it, is equivalent to making offerings to all Buddhas of the past, present, and future. Such individuals are extremely rare, surpassing even the rarity of the Udumbara flower. ~"
In reality, since the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, there have been perhaps only a few dozen individuals who have attained enlightenment (= become Buddhas).
However, the scarcity of enlightened individuals is not due to it being a matter of chance, like winning a lottery, but rather it is undoubtedly dependent on the presence or absence of the individual's earnest aspiration for spiritual attainment.
In essence, it means that there are very few individuals who genuinely seek Nirvana.
However, it is certain that those who have attained enlightenment at some point in their lives harbored the desire to attain it.
It isno doubt that this desire led them to earnestly seek Nirvana, gradually accumulating merits until they finally attained Buddhahood.
In this sense, it can be said that the existence of those who are interested in Buddhism or who genuinely aspire to attain enlightenment is remarkable and truly wonderful.
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