When I started volunteering for IBS, I thought, as a volunteer, I would be helping IBS with the inmates’ Dharma education program. My first project was to type letters from Marco into Word documents. I was very touched by Marco’s letters as he was describing his learning progress in Dharma which was actually very similar to my own journey in learning Dharma. He said it took him about 20 years to finally really understand the Dharma teaching. I thought about it and I realized that it also took me about 20 years to finally have some understanding of Dharma as well. His body has been locked up in a prison for more than 20 years and my mind has been locked up by myself for many years. It really proves true that all sentient beings possess the same Buddha nature. Although the Buddha nature is in everyone, it is not obvious nor does it manifest because it is covered up by various thoughts and defilements which are blocking our Buddha nature. I realized at that time that no matter who we are and where we are, we are all equal in terms of traveling down the journey of our lives. There may be twists and turns in our journey and it is really up to us what kind of attitude we want to take and which route we want to take in our journey.
Later on, Venerable Xian Zhong gave me a project to type up the “Liturgy for Refuge and Five Precepts”. While I was working on the project, I felt like I was taking a refresher of the Three Refuge and the Five Precepts. I took my Three Refuge and Five Precepts almost 20 years ago and I knew very little about Buddhism at that time. Therefore, when I took my three refuge and five precepts, I was simply repeating after my Dharma Master so it didn’t really register in my mind. After practicing Dharma teaching for many years, I had very different feeling about the three refuge and the five precepts when I was typing them recently. I feel that I understand them so much better now and I have learned how to become a good disciple of the Buddha.
Venerable Xiang Zhong had mentioned to the inmates that the life in the prison is very similar to the life in a monastery. You live with a group of people in the same place and the daily life follows certain routines, etc. The inmates live a life very similar to the Buddhist monks in a sense. It can also be viewed as the inmates are practicing Buddhism in the “iron temple” supported by the tax payers. Their bodies may not be free to go to places they want to go, but their minds are as free as anyone else’s. They can attend the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss just like anyone else. If I lock up my mind and my heart, I would have no more freedom than the inmates.
The projects have taught me way more than I expected. I thought I would be contributing to IBS as a volunteer but I actually learned much more than I contributed. When we help others, we actually benefit ourselves from helping others. It’s not just one way, but both sides benefit from it.
Amituofo!
Jing Chao _()_
