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Bridging the Gulf between Monastics and Laypeople
Epstein, Ron
Epstein, Ron
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vbs411p032.pdf
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The monastic and the layperson are both individuals whose individuality is empty of essential, permanent reality. To the extent that they hold to individual identity, they are deluded. To the extent that they grasp dharmas, such as, ‘I am a nun or laywoman on the Path,’ they are also deluded, but that is an attachment that can lead to non-attachment, and ultimately to enlightenment. The Buddha said, You should neither cling to Dharma nor cling to what is not Dharma. In light of this principle, the Thus Come One often says, ‘Bhikshus, you should know that the Dharma I speak is like a raft. Even the Dharma must be relinquished, how much the more should that which is not Dharma be relinquished!’[1] It is holding on to the raft of dharma that keeps us from drowning in the sea of the afflictions of our own minds. Until we finally let go of all of our attachments, we have to deal with the present topic from our unenlightened perspective, within which self and other are still important to us. That is why the Buddha established guidelines for relationships among the four assemblies. What is the gulf to be bridged? The Long Discourses of the Buddha states: The household life is close and dusty, the homeless life is free as air. It is not easy, living the household life, to live the fully-perfected holy life, purified and polished like a conch shell.[2
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2004
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With permission of the license/copyright holder