On May 15, 1992, a bus full of students, parents, and teachers from Jiankang Kindergarten in Taipei was going on a fieldtrip when the bus suffered an equipment failure and caught fire near the town of Taoyuan. Lin Jingjuan, one of the teachers at the kindergarten, could have escaped from the bus, but instead she rushed into the part of the bus that was engulfed in flames. Risking her life, she went to save the children from the raging fire and delivered them one by one to those helping by the side of the road, saving as many as she could. In the end, the body of Lin Jingjuan, blackened by the fire, was found in the wreckage of the bus, still holding tightly to the charred remains of a few children she was trying to protect.

Lin Jingjuan willingly suffered the pain of the flames and her scorched skin to save others. Amid the greatest suffering can be found humanity’s greatest compassion. Lin Jingjuan was a tremendously brave individual who gave her life to others without the slightest trace of fear, a true bodhisattva. She calls to mind Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, “the giver of fearlessness,” who grants to all living beings that same sense of courageousness and fearlessness.

The merit to be gained from “filling the three thousand-fold world system with the seven treasures” as mentioned in the Diamond Sutra would surely be worthwhile, but giving material wealth is still limited and imperfect. Giving fearlessness provides the merit of great compassion, which is vastly superior to hundreds of years of good deeds expecting merit in return. Giving fearlessness is the application of true compassion. As mentioned earlier, the giving of fearlessness does not distinguish between beloved friends and hated foes, but seeks to free all living beings from fear and trepidation and allow them to establish faith in the Dharma. When people have a pure and persistent faith, they become able to apply wondrous prajna wisdom.

During the time of the Buddha, there lived a woman named Queen Mallika, who was the wife of King Prasenajit of Kausala and a very devout Buddhist. She followed and upheld the precepts and was well loved and respected by the common people. One day King Prasenajit wanted to have the royal cook killed over some trivial matter. When Queen Mallika heard the news, she was in the middle of an eight precept retreat,¹ but even so she dressed in fine clothing and invited her husband to enjoy an evening of food and wine with her, stipulating that the cooking was to be done by the very same cook.

King Prasenajit was quite perplexed, so he asked Qyeen Mallika, “You usually don’t drink a drop of wine, and today you are observing the eight precepts. Why have you put on your jeweled necklaces and broken your fast to enjoy food and wine with me?” 

~Listen to the full story at Bodhi Light Tales #61 “Choices for Life”: https://bit.ly/3xxSrEq

Lady Mallika answered calmly, “I have heard that this royal cook has incurred your wrath, great king, and will soon be beheaded. If I do not ask him to prepare a delicious meal today, I am afraid I will never have another chance to do so.”

The king then pardoned the royal cook.

Out of compassion, Lady Mallika acted in spite of the damage to her own reputation that the breaking of her vows would bring. Not only did she save the royal cook’s life, but she also spared King Prasenajit from his momentary ignorance.

Source: Hsing Yun, Four Insights for Finding Fulfillment: A Practical Guide to the Buddha’s Diamond Sutra, Los Angeles: Buddha’s Light Publishing, 2012.

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Footnote:

1. The eight precepts are an extension of the five precepts, and are often observed by lay practitioners on one-day short-term monastic retreats. In addition to the five precepts, they include not eating after noon, not wearing jewelry or sleeping in a high, luxurious bed, and an intensifying of the third precept to refrain completely from any sexual conduct. Ed.