Chapter Six : Doubts Clarified 24 A disciple asked,
“In The Principal Book of Won-Buddhism, the section ‘The Principle of Gratitude to Heaven and Earth’ says, ‘If people wish to show gratitude to heaven and earth, they first must practice by modeling themselves wholeheartedly on that Way.’ Heaven and earth have endowed such great grace upon us, but how can we say that we show our gratitude to heaven and earth just by modeling ourselves on them?”
The Founding Master said,
“Let me give you an example on this topic. Suppose in the past that disciples in the congregations of buddhas and bodhisattvas or in the lineages of sages, saints, and superior persons were to receive the grace of being taught by their teachers; afterwards, even though they could not repay them with material rewards, by knowing everything their teachers knew and practicing everything their teachers practiced, they were able to continue their teachers’ work. Should we then say that those disciples were grateful or ungrateful to their teachers? When you reflect on this example, you will be able to understand that to practice by modeling oneself on heaven and earth is to show gratitude to heaven and earth.” http://www.wonbuddhism.org/
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