How Does Talent Arise?

In all walks of life and various fields in the world, innate talent is emphasized. What is innate talent? In plain terms, innate talent seems to be bestowed by heaven, but it is actually brought from past lives upon birth. It is the mark of a seasoned practitioner—being inherently familiar from the start, and with the maturation of conditions, one becomes increasingly proficient. This arises from the karmic seeds planted in previous lives. If no karmic seeds were left in past lives, no matter how hard one strives upon encountering something in this life, they remain a novice. Therefore, those with innate talent have also spent relatively longer time in the human realm through countless kalpas of birth and death, undergoing more habituation to human affairs, making them more familiar with matters of the human world. By habituating more in certain areas and planting seeds, future lives will manifest talent in those specific aspects. Thus, by accumulating virtue and performing good deeds in the human realm, sentient beings are more likely to be reborn as humans again, accumulating more karmic seeds related to human activities, thereby gaining the opportunity to become talented individuals.

The field of learning Buddhism also speaks of innate talent. In a single lifetime, spanning only a few short kalpas, one cannot achieve much in their studies; no matter how hard they try, they remain like a child in kindergarten, unable to grasp the path of practice. But as long as one does not lose heart, there will inevitably come a lifetime when they become a seasoned practitioner, an old hand at cultivation, born with innate talent, transforming into an expert, becoming a long-cultivated bodhisattva. Nearly everyone follows this pattern. Due to different opportunities encountered within the six realms of rebirth and the varying seeds planted, the timing of encountering faith in Buddhism and learning the Dharma differs for each—the distinction lies merely in a time lag. Therefore, to help other sentient beings encounter the conditions for the Dharma sooner, those of us who have already taken faith in Buddhism and begun learning must dedicate more merit to all unawakened beings, planting wholesome causes for them. In the future, they will have the opportunity to encounter the Dharma, begin to believe in Buddhism, and after believing for a long time, they will start to learn and practice it. Those with such breadth of heart also mature swiftly themselves. By caring for others more, they understand more matters and can ripen quickly, unknowingly transforming into great bodhisattvas.