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Traveling
Together in Pair
•Guru's
Talk•
(By
Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu)
(Translated by Cheng Yew Chung.
Edited by TBN)
I remember in my
book, Life as an Ocean of Emptiness: Pilgrimage to Kobo
Daishi's Eighty-Eight Temples of Shikoku, I once wrote these
words:
When we first encountered the
Japanese pilgrims of the esoteric sect, we noted these four
words, "travelling together in pair" written on
their straw hats and shoulder bags. When we first saw this
phrase, we were puzzled. Why "traveling together in
pair"?
Later, our tour guide, Mr. Zeng
Tai Yen, explained, "All pilgrims have the firm belief
that Kobo Daishi, despite his physical passing, still
illuminates every Dharma realm in his Dharma body. While the
pilgrim appears to be making his clockwise pilgrimage around
the circuit of the eighty-eight temples individually, he is
always in the company of Kobo Daishi, Kukai-hence, the phrase,
"traveling together in pair".
The explanation makes perfect
sense to me, and I believe the words.
Subsequently, while living in
solitude during my retreat at Leaf Lake, I gained a completely
new understanding of the phrase, "traveling together in
pair".
I believe the Buddha is always
with me. And I do have a deep understanding of his teachings.
In my journey through the ocean of life, I find no other
companion except the Buddha himself. The Buddha and I are thus
"traveling together".
The words, travelling together,
carry multiple meanings.
It means having a companion as my
teacher, as my friend. It also means the relationship between
my self and the True Self.
Why do I include "my
self" and the "True Self"? "My self"
refers to Living Buddha Lian-Sheng, Sheng-Yen Lu. The
"True Self" refers to the Buddha Nature, the True
Reality. Isn't this "travelling together in pair"?
Another way of saying this is that the True Self is like the
shadow that trails behind us, always accompanying us. One is
the visible physical body, the other is the enlightened mind
of the Tathagata.
In the Surangama Sutra,
Shakyamuni Buddha spoke to Ananda clearly on the reality of
the True Tathagata Mind:
Bodhi is inherently pure; just
use this mind, and you will directly realize Buddhahood.
To me, "travelling together
in pair" means the Buddha and I are inseparable. Together
we are one, and as one reality, you shall find the two of us.
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