Homage to the Buddhas: The Key That Unlocks All Merit

Have you ever wondered: why do I bow before the Buddha while my heart remains unmoved? Why do some people shed tears just hearing the Buddha's name, while I do not? Perhaps everything lies in a single word: reverence. Today, let us explore the first practice among the ten practices of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva: paying homage to all the Buddhas, and see how it is truly the key that unlocks all merit on the path of practice.

Homage to the Buddhas: The Foundation of All Practice

In the Avatamsaka Sutra, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva taught ten great practices, and the first is paying homage to all the Buddhas. Thay Thich Chan Quang emphasized that this is the most fundamental thing, the key to accomplishing the bodhisattva practice. Without this practice, all other merit is like building a castle on sand.

If we practice without the practice of paying homage to the Buddha, we have no foundation, and our practice will collapse. Remember, it will collapse just like building a castle on sand. It may look beautiful, but you never know when it will fall.

Paying homage to the Buddha is not merely a formality; it is cause and effect (karmic law). Revere a teacher and you will become a teacher; revere the Buddha and you will become a Buddha. Put more simply, paying homage to the Buddha allows the qualities of the noble ones to gradually manifest in our mind/heart. It is a transformation from within, not merely an outward gesture.

Inner Strength and the Spirit of Reverence

Why do so many people practice for years yet never develop deep reverence? Thay explains that reverence requires inner strength. Look at a child: with friends, there is ease and comfort, but with parents, the child must strain to show respect. A person with weak inner strength lacks the capacity to truly revere anyone, and so they easily become superficial and disrespectful.

Only those with strength within can give rise to a heart of reverence. Those without inner strength simply cannot summon it.

A vivid example: when hearing the story of Nguyen Bieu bravely swallowing a man's eye while on a diplomatic mission, some people are moved to tears, while others remain indifferent. That sense of admiration reflects each person's inner strength. Therefore, to revere the Buddha absolutely, we must cultivate inner power, nurturing wisdom and virtue.

One Speck of Dust, One Buddha Land: The Boundlessness of the Dharma Realm

Samantabhadra Bodhisattva taught that for every speck of dust in this world, there is a Buddha land in the universe. In each land, a Buddha preaches the Dharma, and the Bodhisattva travels to every land to pay homage. At first hearing, this seems impossible. But Mahayana offers an expansive view: when we bow to one Buddha, we bow to all.

When bowing to one Buddha means bowing to countless Buddhas, our merit naturally becomes boundless. In truth, bowing to even a single Buddha is already boundless. But in the Mahayana bodhisattva practice, we are required to understand that bowing to one Buddha is bowing to countless Buddhas.

This is an expansion of the mind/heart, no longer limited by the concept of numbers. When we bow to Shakyamuni Buddha, we are not bowing only to one historical Buddha, but to the entire dharma realm of countless Buddhas. It is precisely through this contemplation that merit becomes infinite.

Between Theravada and Mahayana: Do Not Confuse the Difference

Thay also warns of two extremes. Theravada accepts only one Buddha, which can lead us to shrink ourselves. Mahayana accepts many Buddhas but risks imagining them as separate, like different religions. The correct understanding is this: in history there was only one Buddha, Shakyamuni, yet he taught of countless Buddhas throughout the dharma realm. We should not be trapped by outward forms, but should see their essential oneness.

Once we realize this, each time we bow we no longer distinguish between Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, or Medicine Buddha. All are one dharma realm, all manifestations of absolute truth.

Practicing in Daily Life

So how do we practice? Each time we bow to the Buddha, train the mind to think that we are bowing to countless Buddhas. Do not merely go through the motions; arouse absolute reverence. Thay teaches that in this age, so far removed from the Buddha, if we can keep this reverence alive, we are rare and precious gems. Live and die for reverence of the Buddha, for beyond that, nothing else has meaning.

Whoever has made the vow of reverence for the Buddha should strive, through life and death, to keep it in their mind/heart. Live for reverence of the Buddha, and die for reverence of the Buddha. Beyond this, everything in the world is meaningless; nothing else matters.

Today, begin with a single, truly sincere bow. As you bow down, imagine yourself bowing before all the Buddhas of the ten directions. The practice of paying homage to all the Buddhas will gradually open within you humility, wisdom, and boundless compassion. That is the first step to becoming a bodhisattva within this very lifetime.