What is Most Valuable for a Buddhist Practitioner?

  

What is Most Valuable for a Buddhist Practitioner?

Time flies like a flash. When we were young, we didn’t know what time meant but heard it often enough to know how to use it in our daily conversation, to make us sound more like a grown-up or get a better grade in essay writing.

As we aged, we came to know what it means. We usually do not perceive our aging, but visible phenomena such as signs of gradual memory degeneration or increased number of doctor visits remind us that our clock is ticking. However, in Buddhism, time and aging belong to the impermanent phenomena; only their original cause is permanent and deeply related to us. The cause of these inevitable phenomena is taught throughout Buddhist sutras as early as in the Agamas by the Buddha. It denotes the true Self. Knowing the denotation of the true Self is touching the subject of eternity in Buddhism.

There are many different terms for the true Self, as stated in the Agama sutra. "The Buddha asked Bhikkhu, 'How do you uphold the Four Noble Truths taught by me?'" Bhikkhu replied to the Buddha, ‘The Noble Truth of Suffering, as said by the World-Honored One, I fully accept and uphold it. It is as reality suchness (bhūtatathatā), neither separate nor different from it, and is real, true, and verifiable truth, without turning it upside down. This is proclaimed by the sacred Buddha as truth and is thus called the Noble Truth of Suffering. The World-Honored One also expounds on the Noble Truth for the Origination of Suffering, the Noble Truth for the Cessation of Suffering, and the Noble Truth for the Path to the Cessation of Suffering. They are as reality suchness (bhūtatathatā), neither separate nor different from it, and are real, true, and verifiable truth, without turning it upside down. They have been proclaimed by the sacred Buddha as truth. I fully accept and uphold them as they have been proclaimed by the World-Honored One." The Buddha said to Bhikkhu, "Very good indeed, very good! You really uphold the Four Noble Truths taught by me. They are as reality suchness (bhūtatathatā), neither separate nor different from it, and are real, true, and verifiable truth, without turning it upside down. Hence, Bhikkhu really upholds the Four Noble Truths taught by me.'" Samyuktagama Sutra, Vol. 16

The Buddha has implicitly taught a true principle based on which the Four Noble Truths were elucidated. The myriad characteristics of the true Self were mentioned in the Agamas during the first turning of the Dharma wheel. Thus, what is most valuable for us as Buddhist practitioners is to recognize the various characteristics of the cause. When we do, the wrinkles on our faces when we smile will no longer point to merely the phenomenon of aging but will also be traces of happiness and of the timeless wisdom of the true Self, which is the most valuable treasure in the practice of Buddhism. Only then, we will be touched on the key subject of eternity.  

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