The positive meaning of liberation

Some followers of Western religions have attacked the Buddhist approach as selfish, because it only seeks liberation for oneself, whereas their own religion engages actively and thoroughly in charitable work to save and help everyone.

That criticism comes from a lack of understanding of the meaning of liberation.

As said in the previous section, liberation has many levels. Sometimes a person is liberated from bad habits and vices. Sometimes a person is liberated from coarse delusive thoughts. Sometimes a person is liberated from consciousness to enter the unconscious. Or a person is liberated from the unconscious to enter the Absolute Essence.

Whether that person is liberated at a low level or a high level, they themselves benefit and everyone around them also benefits in turn. If a person only gives up some habits of bad temper and selfishness and becomes gentle and altruistic, there is no need to say much: those around them also breathe a sigh of relief. That is not to speak of the one who is fully liberated from attachment to self, who has realised the Essence and is completely without self; from then on every trace of selfishness disappears, and only a great compassion remains, covering and loving everyone. Then they throw themselves into life to benefit everyone without hindrance, no longer afraid of hardship or suffering. They constantly love both good and bad people, and are calm before glory as before adversity.

There can never be perfect charitable action if a person has not escaped attachment to self. They may be active in charity, but since they still have attachment to self, they still harbour a secret wish for themselves. It may be fame, a reward, or a favour from the deities. The ego always demands an entitlement in return for itself. Sometimes, with subtle reasoning, people also prove that their charitable action is disinterested, that it is altruism and universal love. But as long as attachment to self is not ended, that action still conceals a deception by the ego. The ego deceives us in every moment, though it is very carefully covered with many fine outward pretexts. It is like the following story. A state official approved the construction of a high-class theatre on the grounds that it would serve the cultural and recreational life of the people. In fact, when the contractor won the bid to build it, he had had to slip that official a very large sum of money under the table. The pretext put forward was serving the people's culture, but the real motive was the bribe for the official's own pocket.

Likewise, if we examine very closely the real motive of charitable work, sometimes we start in alarm because the ego is clearly still smiling arrogantly. It still gets some benefit from it.

However, we cannot demand that everyone must wipe out attachment to self entirely before doing charitable work, because, after all, charitable work and the elimination of attachment to self support each other. By learning to eliminate attachment to self, charitable work becomes more perfect, and conversely, through charitable work attachment to self is eliminated more quickly. Only those who lean to one side are to be blamed. Either they only know how to talk about eliminating attachment to self and never agree to benefit anyone, or they only know how to do charitable work and never turn back to eliminate attachment to self.

The ideal type of person is one who both knows how to practise to dissolve the ego and knows how to do charitable work. These two aspects are the pair of wings that carry us to fly to the sun of truth. With one missing, truth is only an empty dream.

Jesus told a parable.

"Like a seed that falls to the ground: if it is not broken open, the shoot will not grow. If it is broken open, the shoot will sprout."

When the ego is broken open, truth will appear. If the ego is not broken open, truth hides its face.

Many people wrongly think that one who is liberated is one who is as if absent from this dusty mortal world. They cannot sense that the Absolute Essence is absolute resonance with everyone and with all things. One who is liberated has melted in to become everyone, constantly resonating with and cherishing everyone in his boundless compassionate heart. However, it is not because he loves everyone that the liberated one becomes a deity who exists to meet everyone's selfish needs.

The law of karma remains the ultimate truth governing everything; people must truly be the god of their own lives in creating a good life for themselves by cultivating merit and virtue. No one can bring happiness to oneself except oneself. Only oneself, by creating much meritorious karma and by bringing joy to everyone, can become peaceful and happy.

The love and protection of the liberated one are only a support; the main role and responsibility still belong to everyone themselves.