Thousand Buddhas

This week has been a very very hectic and bustling week for me. And I am so glad that it's the weekend now! It feels so weird because I've been feeling pretty pre-occupied from Monday till like Friday. To have nothing to do on Friday night, I was haunted with the feeling that I have forgotten to do something, or that I have something to do the next day and so on. It's... Quite bad.

Anyway I wanna talk about something interesting today! 

So on Friday I attended a prayer session at the temple, for people whose Chinese zodiac "clash" on this year. I'm a monkey, and monkeys clash in monkey year. Together with tigers and and pigs. At the temple we chanted a Sutra that reads about the different names of many Buddhas. I know there's a Sutra about the 88 names of different Buddhas. But I am sure that we chanted more than 88!

And also some of the Buddhas have interesting names. For example, Buddha of the wisdom sea, courageous power Buddha, moonlight Buddha and even "leaving mountain" Buddha (direct translation from Chinese 离山佛). I wasn't quite sure of the names, or the meaning of these names. But I'm pretty sure that there is a deeper meaning to the names, and also the Sutra itself.

But after the prayer session I remember an article I read a few years back about how in life, we will actually meet a lot of different Buddhas. Or well we meet people who are "Buddhas" to us. And I also remember the saying of "Be a Boddhisatva to yourself and others". Basically be awesome people that alleviate the suffering of others. Be a mindful person that help others. Be enlightening to others.

For example I believe that when I meet random strangers (or people whom I know) that help me in times of need, I have this belief that they were someone I helped in my past life, and now they are repaying their karma by helping me. At the same time when I help someone, I'm just paying my karma to the particular person for something that they've done to me in our past lives haha.

And of course we do good deeds so that we'll receive good karma in the future/next life.

So perhaps the Sutra above is chanted in the hope that we'll meet these different Buddhas in our lives, that will help and guide us. Maybe, just maybe, the "leaving mountain" Buddha is a Buddha who disguised himself as a traveler we'll meet when we're trekking in a mountain, that will guide us when we get lost. Get it? Well I'm just hoping that we'll meet these different Buddhas throughout this year, throughout our lives to ensure a good passage till we all die.

And please remember that we should also be a Buddha to others in times of need! :D

The Buddha, A Buddha, is not a God or someone with superpower. A Buddha is basically an enlightened person. Someone who is not deluded by ego, free from the grasping of suffering, and always mindful. I think we can use our mindfulness to help others. And hopefully clear their delusions.

Anyho, be it a good, bad, so-so year ahead, always remember that we are the ones that make this year an amazing or bad ones. Just take these "precautions" as sort of a reminder to be extra careful? Do great things, be compassionate, help others, and great things will come to you. 

Have a great week people :) And remember to be a Buddha to yourself and others.