From Asanga to Maitreya, Shantideva to Nagarjuna

Talking about compassion, how can we not mention how Acharya Asanga had carefully licked the maggots out of a dog’s wound with his tongue and moved them safely to his freshly sliced thigh flesh? For many of us, we would have chosen to kill the maggots in order to save the dog’s life. Compared to the maggots, a dog’s life seems more precious, but to the maggots, their lives are equally precious, as they, like the dog, like you and me, are afraid to die. And they are only doing what they need to survive.

Occasionally we feel compassionately-challenged when we are in situations where there seem to be only one lousy solution – to kill. It is really the survival of the fittest? We want to exercise our compassion but being half-past-six practitioners, we find it hard to actualise it fully. We often ‘see’ things in one dimension, lacking the mindfulness and wisdom to know that there are many sides to what’s happening and the alternatives we have. We tend to choose to sacrifice what we assume is less worthy to save – forgetting to look for skilful means to create win-win situations. And the chilling part is that some of us choose to kill out of convenience, greed, selfishness and/or even laziness.

I remember reading a guy’s comment on Acharya Asanga’s story. He felt that Acharya Asanga was crazy and needed a full psychiatric examination. This guy missed the gist of what compassion is about. If he has perfect compassion, would he think it’s a crazy thing to do? I doubt so. Of course, having such a high level of compassion and commitment to practise it does not happen overnight. Many of us would probably take eons of practice to do what Acharya Asanga did. But having said that, we have to start somewhere – to stretch our compassion. Why not now? A quote from Shantideva Bodhhisattva to share:

If you do not switch your concern
From your own happiness to relieving other’s pain,
Not only will you not achieve Buddhahood,
There will be no pleasures while in cyclic existence.

You might ask what can a mere human being do? Well, you can simply…
1) Eat less meat, and if possible go vegetarian
2) Avoid food that come from animals’ great suffering – like eggs, dairy products like milk and cheese, honey. There are kinder alternatives available.
3) Avoid use of any animal-related products like leather, fur and wool.
4) Be more mindful with little insects like ants, flies and mosquitoes. What they want from us is really very little.
5) Use loving speech to communicate with one another
6) Be more patient and thoughtful with one another
7) Show your kindness by helping those in need
8 ) Do charity generously
9) Liberate animals and insects from harm
10) Share rejoice in deeds of kindness with others

Eating a sumptuous cake (with milk, eggs and/or cheese…), buying a beautiful leather handbag or even a warm woolen sweater might seem harmless, but the process of you being able to enjoy these does come from tears for fears of suffering animals. Here, I would like to conclude with another Shantideva quote:

What need is there to say more?
Look at the difference between these two;
Ordinary persons act for their own welfare,
Whereas the Buddha acts for others’ welfare.

Let’s be more Buddha-like… It’s the only way to become Buddhas. Choose compassion.

The following excerpt is the story of how Acharya Asanga realised perfect loving-kindness and compassion (from ‘Introduction to Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya’s Madhyantavibhanga’):

Twelve long years of austere practice in solitary retreat had brought the noble Asanga to an extraordinary level of spiritual maturity. In turning to Maitreya, Regent of the Buddha Shakyamuni and embodiment of perfect love, his heart and mind had become profoundly receptive, moistened and nourished by the waters of love. Yet while his spiritual awakening was soon to set in motion a liberating wave of events that would teach millions, Asanga was not aware of the deep changes that had been taking place within himself. In fact, he saw himself as a failure. His heart was as cold as ever, he thought, and the vision of the profound reality that the Buddha had discovered remained a distant and elusive dream. During his many years in retreat he had been at the verge of complete despair before, but each time some incident had occurred that would remind him both of the futility of mundane pursuits and the power of perseverance. This time, however, all hope for accomplishment had left him. Distressed by what he felt was a complete lack of progress, Asanga sadly decided to leave his hermitage for good.

As the dejected yogi walked the painful path back to the world of men—a world he had thought only to return to once he would be able to share with it the liberating elixir of the divine Dharma—he came across a sick and howling dog, lying by the wayside. Asanga stopped, and as he looked closer he saw that the dog suffered from a large open wound, infested with maggots. This pitiful sight moved Asanga deeply. Forgetting his depression, he knelt down by the dog and tried to think of a way that he could save it from the invading parasites without hurting the maggots or depriving them of their necessary sustenance. A solution came to his mind. Having obtained a sharp knife from a nearby village, Asanga resolutely cut a piece of flesh from his own thigh and placed it on the ground next to the howling and snapping dog. Intending to carefully lick off the maggots with his tongue, and then transport them safely to this fresh lump of food, he now drew his face close to the dog’s oozing wound. Revolted by the sight of the maggots feasting on the rotting flesh, Asanga closed his eyes. But his tongue never reached the wound. Puzzled, Asanga opened his eyes, and at that very moment, suddenly and miraculously, he experienced the overwhelming presence of the master of infinite love. Finally, he had come face to face with radiant beauty and profound brilliance; Maitreya stood before him. “Why,” Asanga found himself exclaiming, “have you waited so long? How could you not respond to my calls?” “I was always with you,” answered the great Bodhisattva, “but it is only now that your compassion has become strong enough to sweep away the veils in your mind, which have kept my presence unknown to you.”

To prove his point to a still rather doubtful Asanga, Maitreya asked to be brought to the nearby village. Asanga, carrying Maitreya on his shoulders, went through the entire settlement, yet it became clear that none of the villagers could see the great Bodhisattva. Deeply moved, Asanga now once more repeated the supplication that had been on his lips throughout his years in retreat: “Reveal to me the definitive meaning, the profound intent of the sutras of transcendent knowledge!”

In an instant, Asanga was transported to the heavenly realm of Tushita, and here Maitreya revealed to him the full beauty of the Supreme Vehicle, showing him the inconceivably profound and vast meanings that liberate the hearts of the Bodhisattvas and enable them to lead all beings into consummate enlightenment. When Asanga returned to this world he was transformed, a living treasure of the Dharma. Imbued with Maitreya’s powerful teachings, he entered history as the master who established the Approach of Vast Activity, and so, comparable only to Nagarjuna, he continues to render unimaginable service to the teachings of the Buddha and to sentient beings.