Four graces
The four graces, variously defined in the sutras, generally include grace of the state, grace of parents, grace of all living beings, and grace of the Buddha. The world abounding with grace in all forms, how are we going to reciprocate the wonderful graces as bestowed upon us? As national citizen, be law-abiding, loyal, and dutiful to the state; as child, be filial to and connected with parents. Cherish and appreciate those directly or indirectly related to and impacting our well being, exhorting them to emulate the Buddha, to cultivate blessedness and wisdom, and to aim at exit from rebirth and re-death, but leaving them to accept or not and to accord with condition. The Buddha states: ‘May this profound mind be offered to lands as many as dust particles. Such is aptly called reciprocating the grace of the Buddha.’ The Buddha had never asked of anything from disciples. He only wants us to give body and mind to the world, to society, to all living beings; he only wants us to be close to the young, to be responsible, to cultivate blessedness and wisdom. Such is how we reciprocate the Buddha‘s grace and virtue.
