The world of Tzu Chi May-June 2022 (Vol.141)

TZU CHI 141 49 * Extracted from the book “ ASteady Heart and Steady Practice—Stories for Living a Good Life ”. too much! Every time he cured this man, his patient forgot the care that had gone into curing him, and he was unwilling to pay for the service. So, the doctor secretly resolved not to give him the right medicine and prescribed a useless one instead. Without treating the illness, the elder’s son grew ever sicker, and as he let out his last breath, the doctor watched him die. The Buddha said, “Bhiksus, can you see now? That elder’s son is now Devadatta, and the doctor is I. At that time, with one deviant thought, I did not save him and simply watched him die. Because of the karma I formed, I fell into the Three Evil Realms, experiencing all forms of torture, and even entered the animal and hungry ghost realms. Still, I never lost my spiritual aspirations, and now I am replete with blessings and wisdom, and I have become a teacher of the three realms. Due to a single thought of harm, to this very day, no matter where I have been born, I always have an enemy, Devadatta. Aside from having Devadatta as an obstacle, I also have my own retributions, such as suffering from back pain.” Muscle pain caused the Buddha great difficulties. He had to travel to many places to expound the Dharma and transform sentient beings, and he walked to these faraway places. Throughout his life, he suffered from muscle pain, which resulted from slightly lacking in good thoughts in a previous life. This in turn planted the seeds of incalculable hardship for him. With our every thought and action, we are constantly forming karmic causes and conditions. As we engage in spiritual practice, if our misconduct influences others, then we are planting the seeds of conflict in future lifetimes. Each day, we must be prudent in our encounters with others; we must always consider others’ wellbeing from their own perspective.