Grade of Special Faith -Rev. Zinsan
Attention
When I was in my first year in the army one of the senior officers told us an army myth, that when one is at attention, it is difficult for the enemy to shoot oneself. If the enemy were to try and shoot me while I was at attention, then the bullet would not hit me. I see this myth as being a good example of Special Faith. People who advance to the grade of Special Faith receive and keep the ten precepts of this grade and his or her works, thoughts, faith and dedication never sway to any other world. If we don’t sway into any other world, we gain salvation. At this point we no longer identify ourselves as sentient beings in the mundane world, but as bodhisattvas in Buddha’s world.
Other-power
When I was a professor at Won Kwang University I posed a question to those students being recruited to enter the army. “How do we not die?” One student replied, “Through Special faith.” But I said, “You’re on the right track but that’s still not one hundred percent correct. There should be a link between you and truth; you and your teacher.” This is what I meant by connecting oneself with other-power.
To explain our connection with other-power I will tell you a short story. In Korea, there are so many mountains. During the summer there are times when sudden rain and storms occur in these mountains. In one incident, a man was mountain climbing when all of a sudden it began to rain heavily. The rain would not stop pouring. The streams in the mountains began to rise higher and higher making it difficult for him to cross over from one side to the other. He tried to cross over a stream, but the water was too high. Fortunately, he spotted a man on the other side of the stream who had started to attach a rope to a tree. The other man saw that the mountain climber was in trouble and threw the rope to the other side. The mountain climber gratefully took the rope and guided himself safely to the other side. No matter how dangerous it was, the mountain climber was determined to go to his goal- the other side of the stream. This is like the grade of Special Faith. A devotee who is determined to enter Buddhahood will make a connection with the Way and follow this path with utmost sincerity. When we discover the great way of Buddhahood we are devoted and sincere to this path, thus we do not look to the side or to the back but keep on moving forward to the goal. This line connecting us to our goal is to connect ourselves to other-power.
Self-power
I have two questions for you. First, if a small boat is sailing in a vast ocean and a big storm takes place, how can this boat avoid from flipping over and reach safely to its destination? Secondly, if our mind is disturbed by sense-objects, how can we overcome these sense-objects and go to the path of Buddhahood?
The small boat has to build its self-power. Whether this is by making a stronger base or making a bigger boat, it has to somehow be built to resist unexpected harsh weather. Only then will the boat be able to go abroad. Similarly, our minds need self-power. We need to cultivate ourselves so that we can overcome sense-objects that disturb our minds. We can cultivate ourselves through meditation, by obeying the precepts, and most importantly by surrounding ourselves with good dharma teachers and friends. Only then will we never be contaminated by sense objects and will discover our self-nature.
The reason why we need Special Faith is because we naturally have weak self-power and other-power. That is why we need to nurture our self-power and make a stronger connection with other-power. We should dedicate ourselves to cultivating both powers.
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