I had been in the United States for over a month, spending most of my time at the meditation center. One day, noticing that I seemed a bit down, the Venerable suggested taking me out for a drive. We drove for about an hour to the Santa Cruz seaside to watch people surf. To my surprise, I learned that before becoming a monk, the Venerable had also been a young man who loved surfing.
As we were watching a group of surfers riding the waves, a Western man came over to strike up a conversation. Noticing that we appeared to be Chinese and were dressed in robes, he found us intriguing and decided to approach. After chatting for a bit, we learned that he was a Christian and he shared with us his story with God. Then, he began asking about the teachings of Buddhism.
At that moment, I recalled what Shifu once said, “to find common ground amid differences.” So I began with what we shared in common. I told him that I, too, believe in Jesus and believe that Jesus loves all beings. Then I connected this with the Buddhist concept of tathāgatagarbha (the Buddha-nature), explaining that Buddhism teaches that everyone has the potential to attain Buddhahood, for each person inherently possesses the same compassion and wisdom as the Buddha, just as Jesus loves all people equally.
He then asked how Buddhism teaches people to forgive others. I replied that Chan meditation is about first learning to understand oneself, especially to confront and accept one’s own flaws. When we can accept that we, too, make mistakes, it becomes easier to understand that others make mistakes as well.
In essence, all people are equal. It’s just that due to different circumstances and conditions, some end up doing things that harm others and are labeled “bad,” while others do things that benefit people and are called “good.” But in reality, no one is inherently more noble than another. It all comes down to differing causes and conditions.
If one doesn’t understand karma, one often becomes self-righteous and simply coasts through life on past blessings. The first and foremost lesson in spiritual practice is to turn inward and truly know oneself.
As we talked, he suddenly began making some distinctive sounds. Curiously, I asked what he was doing, and he said he was praying in the language of God. I then shared that I had gone to church with my family every Sunday since childhood, attended a Christian school for six years, and later spent eight years doing research at a church-affiliated medical school during my graduate and postdoctoral studies.Hearing that, he was delighted and invited me to pray together, saying he would pray in God’s language, and I could pray in Chinese. My mind went completely blank for a moment, unsure what to do. Gazing out at the vast ocean, the verses of The Four Great Vows naturally arose in my mind, so I began to chant along. As I chanted, I felt deeply moved. He was overjoyed, and immediately ran to fetch his friend, a woman playing guitar and singing in the seaside park. He excitedly told her that I sang beautifully.
After hearing this, the woman immediately came over to share her life story. She told me that she first encountered Buddhism through learning Vipassanā meditation, and later came to know Jesus. Her sharing made me realize, for the first time, how naturally and openly they spoke from their hearts, sharing their life experiences with such sincerity and warmth, hoping to pass on the goodness they had discovered.
It also made me reflect: why do Buddhists seem to express this kind of enthusiasm far less often?
Later, she in turn asked about our life stories. We simply stated that we were monastics in the Chinese Buddhist tradition. In that moment, a subtle sense of awkwardness suddenly welled up in me. It wasn’t caused by her, but by the realization that compared to their natural openness and wholehearted sharing, I had instead responded with my habitual reserve, offering only the safest and most minimal version of my own life. That feeling of “wanting to say more, yet not quite knowing how to begin” made me suddenly aware that I wasn’t able to open my heart as freely as they did. That subtle inner tension was the very source of my awkwardness.
Then I asked if she would sing “Amazing Grace.” The surprising thing was that, as she sang, quite a few people started donating money to her. I also took out the small amount of change I had with me to make a donation and form a karmic connection with her.
Subsequently, the man came over again and said he hoped that I could receive the Holy Spirit. I responded, “Hallelujah.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and began praying in the language of God, then gently rested his hand on my head in blessing.
At first, I felt a bit uneasy, but soon shifted my perspective. It was just like the waves in the ocean, constantly arising and fading, appearing and disappearing. So I let myself go with the flow and accepted it calmly. After interacting with them for a while longer, we finally stood up and continued on our way.
Soon after, we met two elderly Western ladies sitting by the roadside chatting. I took the initiative to greet them, and they warmly responded. One of them introduced herself as a “Buddhist-Christian.”
During our conversation, she asked why I chose Buddhism and why I decided to become a monastic. I answered, “Because of bodhicitta.” She then asked what bodhicitta meant. The Venerable explained, “Because of compassion.” I added, “It means to love all people equally.” Hearing that, she lit up with joy and said, “Yes! That’s exactly why I became a Buddhist.”
