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The Pious Cat in South Korea
Yesterday there was a story in the papers about a special temple cat in South Korea, which spend hours everyday gazing and praying to the Buddha. This cat was found as a kitten 4 yrs ago by the abbot with burn injuries. The abbot saved it and gave it the Dharma name of "Liberation". She also gave the kitten 3 precepts for staying in the monastery, which was to 1) refrain from making noise in the Vihara, 2) refrain from eating meat and 3) refrain from killing. Amazingly the kitten could understand her instructions and have never broken them for the past 4 years.
In addition to that, the cat spends hours everyday in the Vihara "venerating" the Buddha images, reluctantly leaving only for its meals. This display of devotion by the little animal puts even the humans to shame. Clearly, this cat was a Dharma practitioner in its past life, but due to thoughts of delusion in its final moments, its consciousness descended into an animal womb during the process of rebirth. It has a good store of worldly merit, but has not developed any insight leading to the end of suffering. This is how the cat managed to find its way back to a sanctuary of Buddhism and gets well taken care of by the nuns in the monastery. I believe it prays everyday in repentance for its past delusion, hoping to leave this animal form soon and achieve a higher realm of existence. This is a warning for us all, not to care only about making merit and neglect cultivating the mind to develop insight. Without true wisdom penetrating into the nature of sankharas (mental formations), all the merit in the universe cannot save us from suffering in the endless rounds of rebirth. May this cat live up to the name given to it and may its wish be fulfilled, sadhu.__________________
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Want to comment on part about accumulating merits.
Accumulating merits per se does not lead to insight of emptiness. But accumulating merits and dedication for Buddhahood for all beings creates the conditions for such realisation to arise in a perfect manner. Because the dedication directs the effect of the merit towards realisation and liberation, so it leads to liberation. Tsoknyi Rinpoche said once that if you have sufficient merit, even if you don't want realisation, realisation will arise on its own.
On the Bodhisattva path, accumulation of both merit and wisdom is needed. Buddhahood can only be attained with the completion of both accumulations of merit and wisdom. And the merit and aspirations one makes on the path determines the benefit one will have for others upon reaching realisation or Buddhahood.
For the case of the cat, it is not a clear case that it was a practitioner in the past. That is just conjecture. And also, if it had truly accumulated great merit, not likely to become a cat (this also my conjecture). I think in the accumulation of merit, one should also have a pure motivation, not linked to worldly or spiritual greed. An altruistic motivation, though conditioned, coupled with merit and aspiration prayers, can lead to the culmination of the path.
This has been the experience of countless practitioners.
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Originally posted by wisdomeye:
Want to comment on part about accumulating merits.
Accumulating merits per se does not lead to insight of emptiness. But accumulating merits and dedication for Buddhahood for all beings creates the conditions for such realisation to arise in a perfect manner. Because the dedication directs the effect of the merit towards realisation and liberation, so it leads to liberation. Tsoknyi Rinpoche said once that if you have sufficient merit, even if you don't want realisation, realisation will arise on its own.
On the Bodhisattva path, accumulation of both merit and wisdom is needed. Buddhahood can only be attained with the completion of both accumulations of merit and wisdom. And the merit and aspirations one makes on the path determines the benefit one will have for others upon reaching realisation or Buddhahood.
For the case of the cat, it is not a clear case that it was a practitioner in the past. That is just conjecture. And also, if it had truly accumulated great merit, not likely to become a cat (this also my conjecture). I think in the accumulation of merit, one should also have a pure motivation, not linked to worldly or spiritual greed. An altruistic motivation, though conditioned, coupled with merit and aspiration prayers, can lead to the culmination of the path.
This has been the experience of countless practitioners.
I believe what you said. In the past, I used to dedicate merits only to my family members and I only think of myself going to Pureland. It was after a master told me it would be better that I dedicate the merits for Buddhahood for all beings that I start to dedicate to all sentiment beings. After doing so, I begin to realise and understand a lot of things which I don't understand in the past. What your master said was correct.
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