Life - Collection of Rain Blossoms 生命

The essence of life lies in our buddha nature. Image: Shutterstock.

What is life? Most people think the body is all that matters, not realizing how precious life really is. The body, after all, is only a temporary shell that will one day decay.

Real life is something deeper. It is wisdom joined with awareness—what we call wise awareness, the Buddha nature within. Without this wise awareness, a person is like a walking corpse. If we truly want to live, we must grow this wise awareness.

The Example of the Undecaying Body

Those who understand the Buddha nature have a life that endures. Among them were great monks of the past who practiced with deep sincerity and lived with great virtue. Even after they passed away, something remarkable happened—their bodies did not decay. They remained whole, as if still resting in peace.

This was not by chance. In cultivating the Buddha nature, nourishing life energy is a basic practice. When a person keeps their wise awareness and does not give in to anger, that energy stays whole. Whole energy connects with the source of life in Heaven and Earth, drawing an endless flow of nourishment.

As the Book of Changes says: “Heaven gives birth to One, and One gives birth to Water.” In simple words, when life energy is unharmed, it can link with the source of all life, and that power keeps flowing. Even after the body’s death, it can still work, keeping the body from decay.

This is a rare and wonderful sign, but it is still only about the body.

Beyond the Body: The Spirit’s Awareness

More important than the body is the spirit. When wisdom and awareness are strong and the Buddha nature flows freely, the heart becomes clear like a mirror. Even after death, the spirit stays aware—it can still recognize voices and know tastes—because wise awareness does not depend on the body’s five senses.

Here’s how the Buddha explained it: “The mind becomes calm through our true nature, and that nature is nourished by wise awareness.” When awareness is clear and steady, the nature becomes calm. And when the nature is calm, the mind becomes bright.

There is something even more amazing. A person like this does not need eyes or ears to know things, because the heart—the inner mind—can see what is true. So when someone says, “A sudden thought came to me,” it is often the light of a calm and quiet heart shining on its own. This is the meaning of the saying: when the nature is calm, the mind becomes bright.

In the end, the meaning of life is found not in the body, but in the quiet awakening of wise awareness within.

生命

雨花集

濟公活佛

何謂生命？普通人多以臭皮囊為重，全不知真正生命之珍貴。須知生命就是智識，就是佛性，亦即所謂「智慧」。一個人如無智識，等於行屍走肉，因此我們要生命，就必須培育智識。

懂得佛性之人，便是生命長存。有些大德和尚，死後體不腐。因佛性在乎養氣，能夠不嗔，其氣不損。元氣不損，天一生水，自然源源而來，故死後肉體亦能不腐。

除了身體之外，說到精神。如果知識豐富，佛性貫通，則心明如鏡，雖死亦能知人聲，辨味道。何以故？佛說﹕心為性定，性為識養；有識者其性自定，性定則心自明，不靠五官而能知一切。所謂心血來潮者，實乃性定自明之理也。

This translated text is a chapter from Collection of Rain Blossoms, a scripture written by JiGong Living Buddha in the 1900s through spirit writing. Here the link to the original Chinese source.

If you are interested in other chapters of this book, here is the link to the table of contents.