Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (183)

Past-Life Karmic Conditions for Diligent Buddhist Practice

Those who formed very deep karmic connections with the Buddha in past lives, upon hearing the Buddha's name in this life, will have their inner emotions stirred, with the hairs on their body standing on end—this indicates that they practiced Buddhism for a long time in past lives and have a very deep affinity with the Buddha. Those with profound Buddha-affinity feel a strong resonance as soon as they hear the Buddha's name, spontaneously learning Buddhism, recollecting the Buddha (buddhānusmṛti), prostrating to the Buddha, and praising the Buddha. Those who practiced Buddhism only briefly in past lives have no particular reaction; they remain indifferent. For example, this was the case with Anāthapiṇḍada, the elder of Jetavana Monastery during the Buddha's time in India: as soon as he heard the Buddha's name, goosebumps arose all over his body as he walked along the road, his hairs standing erect. He was a Buddhist disciple with extremely deep roots of goodness; having just heard the Buddha's name, he wanted to hold a banquet to make offerings to the World-Honored One, and donated his Jetavana to the Buddha as the Buddha's monastery.

For some people, as soon as they begin encountering the Buddhadharma, the seeds of their past-life Buddhist practice fully manifest, and they quickly plunge headlong into the Dharma, no longer caring about worldly affairs—this is the power of seeds. It is the Ālayavijñāna that presents the matured karmic seeds, and there are so many mysteries within this. Studying the Dharma allows one to know many truths; without studying the Buddhadharma, one is so ignorant as to only know how to create unwholesome karma, suffering the retribution without knowing what is going on, and unable to bring an end to the bitter karma of future lives. When unwholesome karma is created and ceases, the karmic seeds remain—and the most frightening thing is the karmic seeds. We may try praying to our own Ālayavijñāna not to record our unwholesome karmic actions, not to store unwholesome karmic seeds, to see whether it works? It is utterly useless, because the Ālayavijñāna does not understand the language of sentient beings, does not know the content of mental thoughts, and lacks the discerning functions of the sixth and seventh consciousnesses; therefore the Ālayavijñāna is pure and undefiled, impartial and incorruptible. So praying to Him is useless; one can only turn back and pray to one's own mind, not letting one's mind be filled with greed, anger, and delusion, and no longer creating defiled karma out of greed, anger, and delusion.