Opposing Ideas – February 14, 2012 Meditation
Today is Valentines Day, the day on which Saint Valentine died. The year of the death is in some dispute with some saying 269, 270, or 273 CE. On this day in the United States, at least, it is traditionally a day devoted to expressing affection to our loved ones. It is interesting that on this same dy years later over 2000 Jews were burned to death or forcibly removed from the city of Strasbourg by angry mobs in 1349. On this day we commemorate both love and hate. These two extremes are never far apart it seems.
In Buddhism we do not deny the evil or bad while we celebrate the good. We do not deny the existence of hell even while we speak of enlightenment. Hell and Buddha exist in the same place and there is always a potential for either to manifest. It all depends upon which we choose to nurture.
We can see this played out in the example of Devadatta, who was a cousin of the Buddha. Devadatta for some represents the worst of evils in Buddhism because of his attempts to kill the Buddha and his actions to destroy the harmony of the Sangha by distorting the dharma. In one person we see actions to harm all of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
Yet we learn in the Lotus Sutra that the Buddha in a previous life studied under Devadatta. In a previous life the Buddha was a king who abdicated his throne in order to seek the Lotus Sutra. One day a seer came to him to say that he would teach him the Sutra of the Lotus Flower Wonderful Dharma. Immediately the king, who was the Buddha in a previous life, agreed and served this person form many years. During that time he performed many menial tasks.
Because of the teaching of the seer who was Devadatta in a previous existence the king was able to become a Buddha.
“The seer at that time was a previous life of Devadatta. Devadatta was my teacher. He caused me to complete the six paramitas. He caused me to have loving-kindness, compassion, joy and impartiality. He caused me to have the thirty-two major marks and the eighty minor marks of the Buddha. He caused me to have my body purely gilt. He caused me to have the ten powers and the four kinds of fearlessness. He caused me to know the four ways to attract others. He caused me to have the eighteen properties and supernatural powers of the Buddha. He caused me to have the power of giving discourses. I attained perfect enlightenment and now save all living beings because Devadatta was my teacher.” (Lotus Sutra, Chapter XII)
It is common to hear bad and disparaging things being said about others, it is easy to find fault in those who are different than us, or who have different ideas. It is difficult to see the benefit they bring to us. That is our challenge because nothing is without contrasting potentials.
