At some stages of our life, we may have big questions come up our mind such as: Where was I before birth? Where am I going to after death? What I am here for?
I remember it was in my pre-school age when I asked my mother, for the first time, where I was from. I remember the answer given was that I was popping out from a big stone. Though I believed what I was told then, the same question had been asked by me at various stages of my life again and again, and the answers were different one another.
The answer of this question is not just something as that is explained in the biology textbook. I think all of us are born to be with some degree of a philosopher’s mind. That’s why, in my personal example, I kept on asking and considering over the same question. All sort of answers and theories were never satisfactory to me, and I think this applies to everyone else, because the real truth is not yet found.
Over 2500 years ago, Buddha had gone through the same process trying to sort out his big questions about why is life impermanent and suffering, and how to attain permanent bliss. After all, he was an extraordinary human being, after 12 years of searching for the answer and the way to solve the problems, he got it. He tried to explain and teach his experiences and methods in the following 49 years to people who were also in quest of the answers. But only a very few could understood his teaching and achieved enlightenment. Most of his teachings seem understandable to us, but yet, the answer to the big questions are still beyond our reach. Why?Because it is such a big question that the answer is beyond the capability of any language to describe to make it understandable to us. That’s why Buddha taught us eighty four thousand methods in his 49 years of lecturing. He assured that by practicing the most suitable method he had taught, we will finally get enlightenment and fully understand the truth of life and the whole universe. The truth can only be experienced, and can not be really understood by means of words.
What is the most suitable method that will enable us to achieve the objective? The one that most patriarchs and senior practitioners advocate is Pure Land chanting Buddha’s name. One of the most popular websites promoting this method can be accessed by the following link: http://www.chinkung.org/ . Another method being popular among western Buddhists is meditation. Rev. Kusala Bhiksu is one of the American monks teaching this method. His very popular podcast lectures can be downloaded at: http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma9/dharmatalks.html .Well, my fellow answer seekers, let’s set off for the journey of seeking the answer. May whoever reaches the goal remember to come back to help the others.
