How Can One Achieve Buddhahood with a Human Heart?

(Clearwisdom.net) Du Jingxing from Fujian Province lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912). He was a Buddhist devotee and appeared to be quite pious. He ate a simple vegetarian meal every day and did not drink alcohol. He often bragged about attaining the Dao and ascending to heaven very soon. He urged his family to purify their minds and bodies and to await the moment of departure. His family members did not laugh in front of him and agreed.

One day when Du Jingxing took a nap he had a dream he remembered clearly after he woke up. In the dream, he came to a place where deities appeared to live. There were several people, and upon seeing Du, they got up and welcomed him. They invited him to sit down and asked him to read a book.

When Du Jingxing realized that the book criticized Buddhism, he became upset and wanted to leave. The people who welcomed him said, "The person who is very familiar with the book should be here soon to explain it to you, so please stay." Suddenly, a beautiful woman arrived and said with a smile, "I came here to explain the book to you. Why don't you stay a little longer?"

She then sat down next to Du Jingxing, leaned her body against his, held his wrist and read the book with him. At this point Du Jingxing was completely smitten by the woman and could only think of her. He did not want to offend her. Therefore, no matter what she said, even if it was negative criticism of Buddhism, Du Jingxing remained quiet. He heard people laughing. They said, "How can you achieve Buddhahood with those human desires?" Du Jinxing woke up suddenly and realized that it was a dream.

From that time forward he understood that he was far from attaining Fruit Status and felt very ashamed. He stopped boasting about attaining the Dao.

(Source: Ying Chuang Yi Cao)

June 23, 2009
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2009/6/24/203308.html

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