Enemies Are Benefactors: The Path of Repaying Debts

Xuefeng

The vast, distant heavens know my heart; the myriad gods in the darkness know my name; the operation of the sun and moon is aware of my deeds.

The most just entity in the universe is the Tao of the Greatest Creator. This Tao sees everything with perfect clarity, rewarding and punishing with meticulous precision. When we calm our minds and reflect, we may wonder what causes us to be born into a specific family and environment, what leads us to our current circumstances, and why we encounter certain people, whether they should be in our lives or not. We often feel powerless against our present circumstances, as if we are drifting in the wind with no control over our destiny.

All of this is due to the combination of causes and conditions, which may seem chaotic and random. Yet, in reality, everything we experience—whether in prosperity or adversity, happiness or suffering—is a result of our past words and actions, including those from previous lives. The outcomes we face today stem from the seeds we have sown in the past.

You reap what you sow. If you want a life free of worries, cultivate yourself diligently.

If we hadn't incurred karmic debts in this world, we wouldn't be here. A person's life is essentially a process of repaying debts. As long as these debts remain unpaid, we cannot leave this world. Without understanding this principle, one's life is bound to be lost in confusion, becoming just another ordinary existence among the masses.

The wisest way to live is to repay one's debts to the greatest extent possible and to avoid incurring any new debts, which means doing only good deeds and avoiding wrongdoing.

In human history, Jesus and Buddha Shakyamuni did this best. Jesus repaid his debts by sacrificing his blood and performing countless good deeds, even atoning for his disciples' sins. Buddha Shakyamuni spent decades teaching and enlightening countless sinners, filling the universe with his merits. They no longer owed any debts to the human world, which is why Jesus became a god and Shakyamuni became a Buddha.

In the mythological novel Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods), Nezha tore out his intestines and carved out his bones to repay the debts he owed to his parents, ultimately reincarnating as a lotus flower and becoming a minor god in heaven. In the novel Journey to the West, the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) underwent 81 trials and tribulations to repay his debt to the monk Tang Sanzang, who had saved his life. Even when unjustly accused by Tang Sanzang after the incident with the White Bone Demon, Sun Wukong, despite his anger, knelt to the monk, striving to repay his debt.

Jesus taught us that if someone strikes us on the left cheek, we should turn the other cheek to them. Buddha Shakyamuni earnestly advised that if we are despised by the world, our previous sins will be eradicated. Even Mao Zedong taught that the humblest are often the wisest, while the noble are the most foolish. The celestial Laozi taught that to save and help someone, the Tao must first let them endure suffering.

Now, let’s consider how to repay our debts. We are born between heaven and earth, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, the vitality of heaven and earth, and enjoying the caress of nature. Thus, we owe a debt to nature. To repay this, we need only be grateful and refrain from spoiling it. We live in society, protected by its laws and constitution, which means we owe a debt to society. To repay this, we must avoid opposing the government. Our LIFE comes from the Greatest Creator, so we owe a debt to the Greatest Creator. To repay this, we must follow the way of the Greatest Creator. Our physical bodies come from our parents, whose love and care are as high as mountains and as deep as the sea. We owe them a debt, which we repay by dutifully honoring them. If we have a master who has enlightened us, guiding us onto the path of LIFE, we owe them a debt, which we repay by expressing our gratitude. Other debts beyond these great obligations must be repaid precisely; mere gratitude or thanks is insufficient.

First, let’s address the debts between spouses. "Husband and wife are like birds in the same forest, but they fly apart when disaster strikes." When the end-of-life approaches, it’s too late to repay debts. Therefore, we should endure more of our partner’s frustrations during everyday life, giving them as much freedom as possible. Even if we end up with a "green hat" (infidelity), we shouldn’t hold grudges or seek retribution. Instead, we should feel joyful. Why? Because such debts can be canceled, freeing us to follow our own path.

Next are the debts owed to our children. Children are our creditors by nature, born into our families to collect their debts. We should repay these debts with no complaints, with wholehearted effort, and with joy. There’s no room for bargaining; just give without expecting anything in return. Whether or not they honor us is their business. The less filial they are, the more thoroughly we repay our debts. Even if we end up starving, dying of illness, or without anyone to bury us, we should accept it with no resentment. The humbler our death, the more honorable our life.

Then there are the debts owed to siblings, relatives, friends, and strangers. We must strive to repay these debts promptly, without taking even the smallest advantage. As the saying goes, “Taking advantage of others is harmful, just like radishes are just vegetables.” There’s no such thing as a free lunch in the world. It is better to give more than to receive, and it is preferable to die without debts than to live a long life with them. Live as long as you can, but if you can't continue, simply sit cross-legged and quietly await the arrival of death and the welcoming of celestial beings.

Lastly, we must repay the debts owed to poultry, livestock and animals. We benefit from the kindness of animals, whether they bring us joy, help us with work, provide us with food, or supply us with materials for clothing, shelter, and transportation. Even though this is all part of creation's arrangement, a debt is still a debt. Humanity has not yet reached the greatness of being able to take the lives of animals at will. As seekers of the Tao, we regard all LIFE equally, so we must repay our debts to them. How? By not mistreating any animal, big or small, and by not killing innocent animals unnecessarily. We should treat them with compassion and sympathy, offer them love, and when we eat their flesh, silently pray for their liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, and wish them a swift rebirth in the Western Pure Land.

If you do nothing that troubles your conscience during the day, you won’t be startled if someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night. If you live your whole life without wronging others, you are destined to ascend to paradise.

In addition to the ways mentioned above, there’s another channel for repaying debts—by treating your enemies as benefactors. If someone bullies, oppresses, abuses, or torments us, they are, in fact, helping us repay our debts through their wrongdoing. This is something to be welcomed. We should gratefully accept their actions. Benefactors are enemies, and enemies are benefactors. Benefactors keep us bound to the mortal world, while enemies help us break free from it. For those who seek the Tao, good is evil, and evil is good. Without others' evil, we cannot achieve our own goodness. The more foolish people there are, the more opportunities there are for us to become a celestial being or a Buddha.

Repay debts in all aspects of life, and you will gain the Tao in all aspects; abandon everything completely, and you will gain everything completely.

Are seekers of the Tao foolish? The clearest and most astute minds belong to those who seek the Tao.