The Buddhist Perspective on Life
แขแแแธแแแแแ โแขแแกแทแ แแแแผแแทแแแแ
ใใFrom the Buddhist perspective, the root cause of suffering is ignorance. We suffer because we do not understand the impermanent nature of all existence. This is why the Eightfold Path that Buddhists strive to follow includes "Right Views." That is, we all have to try and dispel our ignorance, or "Wrong Views."ย
ใใIn his life, work, and lectures, Venerable Master Miao Lien worked tirelessly to expound the Right Views, and to guide sentient beings to change their mistaken perspectives. The Buddhist Perspective on Life is a collection of the Venerable Master's teachings given for the benefit of all beings. May it help all to awaken their minds.แแถแแแถแแแแแแถแ แแทแแแแทแแถแแแแแแ
แขแแแธโแขแแแแแทแแแแ
ใใAs our Venerable Master strove to realize Buddhahood and guide countless sentient beings to transcendence, his compassion and vows were one with those of the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. With Amitabha Buddhaโs forty-eight vows as his foundation, the Venerable Master made a forty-ninth vow:ย
ใใI will help all sentient beings that have seen me or heard my sermons, or even just my name, to transcend to the Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; for those who do not transcend in this life, I will continue my mission in future lives until all transcend.ย
ใใVenerable Master Miao Lienโs life exemplifies this Buddha Path. From leaving home aged nine to become a monk to twenty years of concentrated practice in seclusion to building the international network of Lingyen Mountain Temple monasteries, the Venerable Master emulated the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas by embracing every being as himself and caring for us all, like a father cares for his children.
ใใOn June 25, 2008, at the age of eighty-eight, Venerable Master Miao Lien entered Nirvana in a state of tranquility at the Lingyen Mountain Temple in Nantou, Taiwan. He had been a fully ordained monk for sixty-eight years. Physical existence is transient, but the legacy of compassion and virtue the Venerable Master painted during his lifetime will continue to extend beyond the limits of time and space to find manifestation in every Bodhi mind.
