Humility is a great gift of so many Chinese Buddhist teachers. So, I would need to observe and observe closely. I intuitively knew that opportunities would arise.
The Venerable Zheng Rong is abbot of the Guang Jue Monastery of the Pure Land school in China. He is a man of great faith and simplicity.
I remember once reading about the life of butterflies in a book I had borrowed from the library. It was not until I sat still in the garden and observed the butterflies and their life that I really began to understand them. In a similar way I needed to be in the garden of the dharma to really understand. It was not until I lived and worked side by side with Master Zheng Rong that I began to understand his teachings.
I do not know a lot about his formative years as a monk. He does not think this important. It is the “now” moment that really counts. He has a dream for the future but again that is very grounded in reality of the present.
The Venerable Zheng Rong is immersed in daily life. He is not a monastic figure removed from public life behind the walls of a monastery. It is common to see him riding back from the small town of Zaoxi on the back of someone’s motorbike robes flapping in the wind with a cheeky grin on his face. He loves life. Other times you may see him ambling along the rural road chatting to farmers or townsfolk as he passes by. On another occasion I was walking with him to Zaoxi town to catch a bus to Lin’An when we came across a farmer’s truck broken down in the middle of the road. It seemed this poor fellow needed a push-start. Master Zheng Rong motioned to me to help him push the truck. Passing motorists seemed aghast at the sight of the Venerable pushing a truck and eventually one stopped to help. Dharma in action!
This is Pure Land Buddhism. These and many more were the valuable lessons I was to learn from my Master. Pure Land is about full engagement into life. After all, the Amitabha Buddha is the Buddha of infinite life and light. It is not just about some heavenly realm we may happen to enter into at the end of our days. Pure Land is something that can be very present and very real right now.
Unfortunately our world has become very polluted and overcome with many natural disasters and tragedies. Unfortunately most of us dismiss them as “natural” disasters without seriously contemplating the real meaning of the word. Master Zheng Rong speaks of the as disasters which are ordered by a natural law of cause and effect. It is because humankind has become polluted in mind that the seeds of the causes and conditions are planted that give rise to such human calamities.
On occasions Master Zheng Rong will speak with great animation about the Buddha’s teaching about everything arising from the mind and the necessity to plant seeds of purity and goodness.
One morning I met Master Zheng Rong dusting around the Maitreya Bodhisattva at the first temple hall. Master was smiling at the “Happy Buddha” as he is often referred to in the West. It is no mistake that this Bodhisattva is the first one we meet when entering the temple. He sits there with a broad and welcoming grin. His big belly is symbolic of the big heart and happiness that comes from following the dharma. In his right hand he holds Mala beads symbolic of the need to follow the dharma if we are to follow the Buddha Way and the ensuing happiness of life. My Master finishes dusting around the statue and smiles gently at me. He gestures to the Maitreya Boddhisattva and says in Chinese: “Hen Hao” . . .”very good.” Dusting done, the day begins. Another deep lesson in Pure Land.
Malcolm Hunt is an international Mindfulness Trainer and Retreat Facilitator at Guang Jue Monastery, Zaoxi, Zhejiang Province, China and Sydney Australia
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