Why Did the Buddha "Die"? The Secret of the Present Moment and Immortality

When the Buddha seemed to leave this world, it was a skillful means to make sentient beings cherish the Dharma. The chapter "Discerning the Merit" reveals the secret of the present moment and the immortal Dharma body. This blog invites us to return to each breath, dwelling peacefully in the present moment to find happiness and peace within ourselves.

"All our lives we long to search for happiness, but only when we arrive do we realize happiness was behind us all along."

We often regret the past and dream of the future, forgetting the present moment that exists right beneath our feet. The Buddha understood this tendency of the mind, and so he used skillful means to awaken sentient beings. Today, through the chapter "Discerning the Merit" in the Lotus Sutra, let us explore these secrets together.

One. The Human Mind: Not Knowing How to Cherish the Present

Thay Thich Chan Quang opens with this observation: "People usually do not know how to cherish the present, and instead keep regretting the past. That is the ordinary psychology of human beings." For this reason, if the Buddha were to remain in the world forever, sentient beings would regard the Dharma as something easily obtained and would not strive to practice. He tells the story of a poor painter whose paintings no one would buy, until he faked his own death. Only then did people feel sorrow and regret, buying his paintings at very high prices. The Buddha did the same. He appeared to enter nirvana so that sentient beings would be startled awake, cherish the teachings, and practice diligently.

"People do not know how to cherish the present, and instead keep regretting the past. That is the ordinary psychology of human beings. For this reason, if the Buddha were to remain in the world for a long time among sentient beings, they would not cherish the Buddha's teachings (Dharma)."

Two. What Is the Present? A Challenging Exercise

During the talk, Thay posed the question: "What is the present?" Someone answered, "each breath." Someone said, "sitting here listening to the talk." Someone said, "looking at Thay right now." Each answer reflects a different depth of abiding in the moment. Through this, Thay showed that the present can be as wide as several decades or a few months, or narrowed down to just a few seconds. Then he asked: "What is the final boundary of this present moment while we are sitting here?" That is the homework Thay has given to all of us. To understand it, we need to practice abiding in each instant, in each in-breath and out-breath.

"Right now I am speaking of the present. What am I saying? What am I about to say? What is the present? Death is a matter of the future. I am asking about the present, right here. Whoever can find it, whoever can grasp this present moment, what is this instant of the present?"

Three. The Buddha Never Died: The Immortality of the Dharma Body

The Buddha taught that he always abides here, but sentient beings, because of their delusion, cannot see him. The body of four elements is subject to decay, but the Buddha nature, the Dharma body within every sentient being, is always immortal. We wander through samsara (cycle of rebirth) because we live only on the surface of the waves, and so we are tossed about. If we abide in the pure mind, we will see that all phenomena are merely illusions.

"I always abide here, appearing to enter nirvana as a skillful means, yet in truth never perishing, forever dwelling here and speaking the Dharma. I always remain here with various powers of spiritual transformation, yet sentient beings, deluded, though near, cannot see me."

Seng Zhao once said: "The river's water rushes onward yet nothing is carried away; dust swirls in the air yet nothing moves; clouds pass across the sky yet nothing shifts." This is his pure land. All turbulence is only outward appearance; the true nature is originally still and serene.

Four. Seeing All Things as the Buddha's Teachings (Dharma)

Thay told the story of the Buddha and Ananda seeing a jar of gold on the road, and the Buddha calling it a nest of suffering. A farmer dug it up, carried the gold home, and it brought him disaster: neighbors cast covetous glances, thieves lurked nearby, the state confiscated it, and he was imprisoned. The same jar of gold: the wise see it as the root of suffering, while ordinary people see it as happiness. When we have the eye of wisdom, we will see that every circumstance in this world is the Buddha's teachings (Dharma). Nothing is not a teaching.

"All dharmas are the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), from a grain of dust, from a passing cloud, from a crawling ant, from a falling leaf. There is nothing that is not the Buddha's teachings (Dharma). But you do not understand this, and so you follow ignorance and wander through samsara (cycle of rebirth), birth after birth."

Five. The Wondrous Merit of Faith and Understanding

In this chapter, the Buddha speaks of the merit of those who hear the chapter "The Lifespan of the Tathagata." Countless sentient beings gave rise to the aspiration for supreme enlightenment, and celestial flowers scattered throughout space as making offerings to the great assembly. The wondrous merit of practice can bring forth response from nothing into something. Master Hsu Yun is a shining example: while he conducted a precept ceremony, the entire mountain glowed golden, and the trees blossomed with lotus flowers. This is the power of the pure mind of compassion, not a myth.

Thay reminded us: "His merit was tremendous, creating something from nothing. Do not think that empty space is nothing, that there is nothing there. Empty space will hold everything when our mind has sufficient merit."

That is why we must practice, accumulating merit through the cultivation of compassion and wisdom.

"Master Hsu Yun practiced with utmost sincerity, and his devotion to the Way was profound. He dared to walk a thousand miles, taking three steps and one full bow at a time, bowing all the way to Bodhisattva Manjushri up Mount Wutai."

Conclusion: Begin with the Breath

The greatest lesson the Buddha teaches through this chapter is this: do not look down on the present moment, do not waste the moments you have. The Buddha is never far from us; it is only because our mind is still turbulent that we cannot see him. Return to your breath, abide in the here and now, and see that every moment is priceless, every moment an opportunity to cultivate the qualities of peace and liberation.

Let us begin the practice: sit quietly, and pay attention to the coming and going of the breath. Do not think of the past, do not worry about the future. Only the present remains, and there the Buddha abides.