Tthe Antidotes Against Hatred

Dharma Talk on 12/10/93
(Page 77 - 78 Achievement of Rainbow Light Body Volume seven)


Yesterday I talked about the antidotes against greed, today I am going to talk about the antidotes against hatred. In fact, the five poisons of greed, hatred, ignorance, doubt and pride are traits of all human beings. If we are able to purify our bodies , speeches and minds, and transform them into the five wisdoms of Buddha , our Buddha-natures will emerge.

We have to rely on the transformation process to change our ordinary human nature to Buddha nature. By cultivating the four immeasurables, and really putting them into practice, we will be able to reach a stage of "no ego" , "no self", and eradicating any hatred. Once we have mastered the four immeasurables , we will not harbor any hatred , as we know we must discard all the worldly issues.

The Hinayana school of Buddhism advocates the cultivation of "selflessness", so as to get rid of our anxiety. Hatred does not arise if there are no human beings around in the first instance. And we will not demand others to apologize to us . The concepts of "no human race" and "no self" can be used to transcend our hatreds .

Many dharma protectors from the Tantrayana School of Buddhism look fierce with their eyes-- full of hatred. Before assuming their roles, such dharma protectors as Yamantaka, Acala and Hui Ji (filthy looking ) Vajrasattva contemplated on "hatred". Why ? By so doing, they can use their ferocious look to protect the dharma; by embodying hatred and emptiness, they are known as the wrathful Vajra. Their rages and indignation stem from their benevolence to salvage all sentient beings. They are dharma protectors with the embodiment of hatred, benevolence and emptiness.

The anger of common people is degrading because he has something that is at stake. Such anger can only at best be called common anger. On the other hand, the anger of dharma protectors is altruistic, showing mercy to liberate all other sentient beings. The anger is a manifestation of the embodiment of hatred, benevolence and emptiness. The wrathful look is different from that of the ordinary people. In short, people get angry because they lost something, while dharma protectors do so because they want to liberate others and to protect the dharma.

The wrathful varja gods enshrined by Tantric cultivators are really frightening. Their anger is above that of us, human beings .

Om Mani Padme Hum