Episode 224 – Take the Dharma as Our Teacher
>>”With faith, vows, practice and
realizations, we connect with and penetrate the principles. The suchnesses of
form, nature, embodiment, power, function, cause, condition, effect,
retribution and ultimate [wholeness] are replete with the Ten Dharma-realms.”
>> Six Unenlightened Realms: Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hell, Hungry
Ghost. Four Noble Realms: Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas.
>> Sariputra, you should know that the words of all Buddhas do not
differ. In response to the Dharma taught by Buddhas, one must give rise to
great power of faith. After the World-Honored One’s Dharma has been around for
a long time, the true and real must be spoken.
>> In the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, faith, diligence, thought,
Samadhi and wisdom are the Five Spiritual Roots that develop [to create] the
power of faith that obstructs all afflictions.
>> So, when it comes to “faith, if the root of faith grows, it can
obstruct all afflictions so we will not be moved by biased teachings or
doubts.”
“With faith, vows, practice and realizations,
we connect with and penetrate the principles.
The suchnesses of form, nature, embodiment,
power, function, cause, condition, effect, retribution
and ultimate [wholeness]
are replete with the Ten Dharma-realms.”
Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits. If we do not have faith when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, how will we learn it? Therefore, when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must have faith in the Dharma He expounded. But faith is not enough. We must also make vows. We must form great aspirations and vows. But that is not enough, either. We must also practice [the teachings], both inwardly and outwardly. Inwardly, we must cultivate sincerity, uprightness, faith and steadfastness. We must also make the Four Great Vows. “There are countless sentient beings, and I vow to deliver them all. There are inexhaustible amounts of afflictions and I vow to eliminate them all. There are infinite Dharma-doors, and I vow to learn them all. The path to Buddhahood is supreme, and I vow to attain it.”
So, we must have faith and vow to engage in internal cultivation and external practice, so we can attain realizations and comprehend [the teachings]. To “realize” is to comprehend. Our minds and the Buddha-mind can converge. But without faith, vows and actions, that is not possible. If our minds can converge with the Buddha-mind, there is a connection. Then we can “connect with and penetrate the principles.” When the Buddha’s teachings resonate with our capabilities, we can accept the Dharma, and then we can understand the principles it contains.
These principles are extremely profound, infinitely profound. We cannot simply wait for the Buddha to create opportunities [for us to learn]. Our minds must penetrate His principles. So, it is very important to “connect with and penetrate the principles.”
Earlier I spoke of the Ten Suchnesses. These are ways in which, in our daily living, we can constantly connect with our surroundings. All external phenomena teach us the Dharma. So, the Ten Suchnesses are the suchness of form, suchness of nature, suchness of embodiment, suchness of power, suchness of function, suchness of cause, suchness of condition, suchness of effect, suchness of retribution and suchness of ultimate [wholeness] from beginning to end.
Previously, I kept telling you that everything in the world [contains] Dharma. When the Dharma is our teacher, everything in our external conditions, whether something in nature or in the matters we deal with every day, is related to the Ten Suchnesses. In particular, the Six Unenlightened Realms and. Four Noble Realms are also related to the Ten Suchnesses.
Six Unenlightened Realms: Heaven, Human, Asura, Animal, Hell, Hungry Ghost. Four Noble Realms: Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas, Buddhas.
Ordinary people are attached to form and nature. Those who have attachments are in the Six Unenlightened Realms. The Four Noble Realms begin with Hearers, who listen to the Dharma and then understand and practice it. Then come Pratyekabuddhas (Solitary Realizers). Their wisdom is one level above Hearers, so when they look at the natural world, they see impermanence in how day and night alternate and the seasons change, in how all things go through formation, existence, decay and disappearance. This leads to gradual realizations. Then those who form aspirations are Bodhisattvas, who constantly move forward toward Buddhahood. These are the Four Noble Realms.
Beginning with Hearers, followed by Pratyekabuddhas, Bodhisattvas and ending with the state of the Buddhas, [these realms] all exist in the Ten Suchnesses. If we mindfully engage in spiritual practice, we eliminate various appearances and natures. The law of karma is something we must be mindful of. The law of karma is what leads to our cyclic existence in the Six Realms. If we want to transcend the suffering of cyclic existence, we must practice cessation. Because [we know the Four Noble Truths,] we know we collected many causes and conditions, which cause our suffering.
Because of the law of karma, in our daily living, these natures and appearances cause our thoughts to stir. Therefore, we must be very mindful. This Dharma is something we come in contact with in our daily living. Will we remain in the Six Unenlightened Realms or advance to the Four Noble Realms? This depends on whether or not we are mindful. All things in the world [teach] the Dharma to spiritual practitioners. The meaning behind seeing the Dharma as a teacher is something we will gradually comprehend. Therefore, we must be mindful.
Previously, the verses stated, “Sariputra, you should know [this].” [We should also know that] the Dharma is in everything we encounter our daily living. Despite this, when we encounter these things, they cause us to give rise to ignorant thoughts. However, when noble beings come in contact with things, those things become their Dharma. They understand the Dharma the Buddha taught, so they can apply it. No matter what issues come up, they can be understanding. Because they are understanding and wise, they clearly know the ins and outs of everything. These are the Ten Suchnesses He taught.
So, regarding the Ten Suchnesses, as I have said earlier, to actually enter the stage of the Buddha is not that easy. It is not that easy because, when it comes to these ten things, we have not realized their True Suchness, which is a completely pure intrinsic nature. Because we gave rise to one ignorant thought, our minds became unenlightened. “Everything is created by the mind.” Now we must turn our minds toward our natures. There is a [thin] boundary between our minds and this nature. If we can cross this boundary, we turn our minds into our nature, turn delusion into awakening.
Even if many wise people gathered together and pooled their minds to try to comprehend the Buddha’s pure intrinsic nature, His wisdom, understanding and views, they would still have a ways to go. So, earlier I kept saying that. Sariputra must know that “the words of all Buddhas do not differ.”
Sariputra, you should know that the words of all Buddhas do not differ. In response to the Dharma taught by Buddhas, one must give rise to great power of faith. After the World-Honored One’s Dharma has been around for a long time, the true and real must be spoken.
“The words of all Buddhas do not differ” because all Buddhas share the same path. The Buddha-mind can only be understood by one in a state equal to the Buddhas.’ If one has not reached the stage of the Buddha, one truly cannot comprehend the Buddha-mind.
In the Lotus Sutra’s preface, the Introductory Chapter, Manjusri Bodhisattva mentioned 20,000 Buddhas, who shared the name. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha and engaged in the same process of spiritual practice. Ultimately, They all expounded the Lotus Sutra. Before They gave the Lotus teachings, They all established skillful means to transform sentient beings, enabling beings to connect with the Dharma and realize the principles the Buddhas taught. They did so gradually, and in the end, They still had to initiate this opportunity when people’s capabilities had eventually matured. This was when They transformed Their teachings and “set aside the skillful for the direct.”
The present Buddha, Sakyamuni, did this. All past Buddhas, especially the 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas also did the same. Thus, “the words of all Buddhas do not differ,”
and “in response to the Dharma expounded by Buddhas,” we “must give rise to great power of faith.” This “faith” is very important. When we encounter the Buddha’s Dharma, we must give rise to great faith, which gives rise to great powers. In the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, the Five Spiritual Roots and Five Powers place great emphasis on “faith.”
Now let us examine why we “must give rise to great power of faith” in the right path and practices to enlightenment. We must have faith in the correct principles.
In the past, I kept telling you about the Four Noble Truths. We begin by learning the truth of where suffering comes from, as well as its causation and cessation. We must know how the karmic law of cause and effect leads to the accumulation of suffering for sentient beings. Once we learn these teachings, we must quickly practice the methods to eliminate suffering. This requires practicing the path to the cessation of suffering. To walk the path, we must begin with the 37 Practices to Enlightenment.
Among these 37 Practices of Enlightenment are the three Fours, two Fives, a Seven and an Eight. The two Fives include the Five Spiritual Roots and Five Powers. So, we must believe in the teachings of the path and begin with the 37 Practices to Enlightenment.
In the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, faith, diligence, thought, Samadhi and wisdom are the Five Spiritual Roots that develop [to create] the power of faith that obstructs all afflictions.
The 37 Practices to Enlightenment include the power of faith. If we can strengthen it, we can continuously grow our roots of goodness and root of faith. When wisdom grows, naturally it will overcome many afflictions, so none of the people and matters we encounter can arouse greed, anger or ignorance. We will see through and realize the impermanence of all things. Everything we encounter in our impermanent cyclic existence is filled with suffering.
When has suffering not existed in this world? We ordinary people are confused and do not realize that all we fight and strive for does not amount to anything in the end. This is impermanence and suffering. Even if we are really close to our families, in the end, we experience “the suffering of parting from those we love.” This is the suffering of human life.
We may always live comfortably. We may be part of a harmonious family and have good relationships with our friends and relatives. However, no one can remain together forever. Inevitably, people go their own ways or are separated by death. This is all suffering.
In summary, life is filled with suffering. We must immediately engage in spiritual practice and put in great effort. After we understand, naturally we will become indifferent to objects of desire in this world. Once they lose importance, we will gradually let go of our attachments. Therefore, this can “obstruct all afflictions;” we can quarantine ourselves from afflictions. We just need to keep things simple and accept conditions that arise. Then we will no longer give rise to conflicts or create negative karmic conditions.
So, when it comes to “faith, if the root of faith grows, it can obstruct all afflictions so we will not be moved by biased teachings or doubts.”
We may have bias toward Small Vehicle teachings. Small Vehicle practitioners only practice to awaken themselves. “I must quickly engage in spiritual practice to transcend cyclic existence first. I do not dare return to the Six Realms.” This is the stage. Small Vehicle practitioners remain at. So, they are still slightly doubtful of the Great Vehicle practice of going among people. “If I go among the people again, can I still attain liberation?” This is what Small Vehicle practitioners fear and doubt. So, “biased teachings and doubts” can cause minds to waver.
Therefore, we must grow our roots of faith. If we extend these roots and believe what the Buddha taught, we will eliminate everything, so we can be free from cyclic existence in the Six Realms. Even if we bravely go among people, naturally afflictions will no longer defile our minds. This will happen as long as we can eliminate all afflictions. So, we must have sufficient power of faith. Therefore, we must believe in the Buddha’s teachings. “With faith, vows, practice and realizations,”
“we connect with and penetrate the principles.” We must review the explanation of the Ten Suchnesses. Through these Ten Suchnesses, we can understand all kinds of phenomena in this world, all things in the universe and in our bodies. Once we understand this nature, naturally we will understand its embodiment and power, then the cause, condition, effect, retribution and ultimate [wholeness] from beginning to end. Everything that happens to ordinary people comes from the creation [of karma]. Spiritual cultivation is something we must aspire to practice. This is “the suchness of function.”
“The suchness of function” is cultivating blessed causes or creating negative karma. This happens from “the suchness of function.” So, we must connect with and penetrate principles. We must clearly understand these things. Therefore, we must treat the Dharma as our teacher. Everyone, please always be mindful.