Episode 479 – A Clear Mind Is Free of Doubts and Regrets
>> “Upon first hearing the Buddha teach the Great Vehicle Dharma, I was suspicious and thought. Mara was disrupting my spiritual aspirations. Now I know that the Buddha gave provisional teachings in the past and that He was now opening up the provisional to reveal True Dharma, So, my mind is peaceful and clear, and my doubts and regrets have been eliminated.”
>> “Then I told myself that. I had reached the state of Nirvana, but now I realize that it was not true Nirvana,”
>> “For when I become a Buddha, replete with the 32 Marks, I will be revered by heavenly beings, yaksas, dragon-gods and others. When that time comes, then I can say, ‘I have fully attained Nirvana without residue.'”
>> “The Buddha, in the assembly, has declared that I shall become a Buddha. Hearing the teaching of this Dharma, all my doubts and regrets were dispelled.”
>> “When I first heard what the Buddha said, my heart was filled with great shock and doubt. Is this Mara disguised as the Buddha, coming to disturb and confuse my mind?”
>> When I first heard what the Buddha said, my heart was filled with great shock and doubt: Originally I dared not hope that I could attain Buddhahood. Thus now, upon first hearing what the Buddha said, I truly feel shock and doubt in my heart.
>> Is this Mara disguised as the Buddha, coming to disturb and confuse my mind: I did not dare believe this, so I suspected this was something Mara said to disturb and confuse my mind.
>> “Changing rapidly without pause. There is nothing we can rely on. All phenomena are disintegrating; we must quickly leave them behind and head toward the path of liberation.”
>> King Mara acted on his idea and took the form of a manavaka to cause chaos. The Buddha knew that. Mara was causing disruptions, so He said, “Life shortens as each day and night passes, and the long-lived suffer much hardship.” He berated King Mara and told him not to cause disturbances.
“Upon first hearing the Buddha teach the Great Vehicle Dharma,
I was suspicious and thought. Mara was disrupting my spiritual aspirations.
Now I know that the Buddha gave provisional teachings in the past
and that He was now opening up the provisional to reveal True Dharma,
So, my mind is peaceful and clear, and my doubts and regrets have been eliminated.”
I want to share with you that when Sariputra first heard the Great Vehicle Dharma, he was very anxious. He had thought Mara was disturbing his mind. At that time, he did not believe that he could attain Buddhahood. So, when he heard the Buddha say that everyone can attain Buddhahood and everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, he still doubted whether this applied to him. Where there is doubt, there will be fear. So, he feared that. Mara was disrupting his spiritual aspirations.
The Buddha had patiently guided everyone; this was His compassion for sentient beings. Sariputra thoroughly and faithfully accepted [the Dharma]. He brushed aside his doubts because he understood now that the Buddha described what He had taught in the past as provisional teachings which were to guide everyone through the Buddha’s door. From the first stage, to the second, to the third, one stage at a time, He slowly guided them. So, the Buddha said that in the past. He had been guiding them along, but only now was He revealing the path to Buddhahood. So, “He was now opening up the provisional to reveal the True Dharma.”
Sariputra’s mind was now free of doubts. “My mind is peaceful and clear, and my doubts and regrets have been eliminated.” Now his mind was completely pure; all his doubts were eliminated. He had no doubts and no regrets. Now he also heard the Buddha personally say, “Everyone can attain Buddhahood,” so he knew he would become a Buddha one day. Because of the Buddha’s compassion, Sariputra happily and faithfully accepted [the Dharma] and let go of his doubts and questions.
We have talked about the previous passage of this sutra, but we left out another passage. There was the passage we discussed,
“Then I told myself that. I had reached the state of Nirvana, but now I realize that it was not true Nirvana,”
but then there should be the following text,
“For when I become a Buddha, replete with the 32 Marks, I will be revered by heavenly beings, yaksas, dragon-gods and others. When that time comes, then I can say, ‘I have fully attained Nirvana without residue.'”
We have discussed the long-form version of this passage, but now it appears again in verse-form, so we must explain it again.
By now we already understand that self-awakening is not true Nirvana. This was what Sariputra now clearly understood. Thus he now began to believe that he could attain Buddhahood. The verse began as follows, “For when I become a Buddha.” If I can become a Buddha, then I should be “replete with the 32 Marks. I will be revered by heavenly beings, yaksas, dragon-gods and others.” At that moment, “when that time comes, then I can say,” only then would he be able to say, “‘I have fully attained Nirvana without residue.'”
In the long-form section, we discussed the 32 Marks and 80 excellent characteristics. Do you remember them? One hundred good deeds create one blessing. One hundred blessings create one Mark. So, the Buddha wanted us to go among people to walk the Bodhisattva-path in order to eventually achieve these 32 Marks in the future. Only by being replete with the 32 Marks can we transform all beings.
The perfection of the Marks signifies being in perfect harmony with the principles. Perfecting the Marks and the principles is the state of perfect enlightenment. Of course, this requires both blessings and wisdom. Cultivating infinite, countless blessings leads to the perfection of the Marks. [Understanding] infinite, countless Dharma is the perfection of wisdom. So, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom to be in perfect harmony with the principles. Then we can transform sentient beings.
At this point, heavenly beings, humans, yaksas, dragon-gods and others will naturally revere us. Only then can one be said to have attained Buddhahood. Only then has one “fully attained Nirvana without residue.” When all afflictions are eliminated, the mind will be very clear and the true principles of all things in the universe will be captured in the ocean of Dharma in our minds.
This passage should have come before the sutra passage we discussed yesterday. Yesterday we discussed,
“The Buddha, in the assembly, has declared that I shall become a Buddha. Hearing the teaching of this Dharma, all my doubts and regrets were dispelled.”
The text following this is,
“When I first heard what the Buddha said, my heart was filled with great shock and doubt. Is this Mara disguised as the Buddha, coming to disturb and confuse my mind?”
This passage brings us back. Clearly, Sariputra’s state of mind at that time was considered by the editor of this sutra, Dharma Master Kumarajiva, to be very important. So, he went back to it again.
Sariputra’s initial thought was, “The Buddha said we could all attain Buddhahood. When I first heard what the Buddha said,” the moment he heard those words, “my heart was filled with great shock and doubt.” He was both fearful and in awe. On top of his doubts, he was happily surprised. “Is this Mara disguised as the Buddha?” Not likely! This probably was not Mara coming to disturb his mind. It was a very complicated state of mind. “It is not likely that this is Mara coming to disturb me. I should have faith in what the Buddha said, that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, that everyone can attain Buddhahood.”
Now that Sariputra understood this, he said, “When I first heard what the Buddha said, my heart was filled with great shock and doubt.”
When I first heard what the Buddha said, my heart was filled with great shock and doubt: Originally I dared not hope that I could attain Buddhahood. Thus now, upon first hearing what the Buddha said, I truly feel shock and doubt in my heart.
Sariputra originally did not dare to hope that he could attain Buddhahood. Thus he remained within the Small Vehicle, which is biased toward emptiness. When he first heard what the Buddha said, he actually still had doubts in his mind. “Is this Mara disguised as the Buddha?” It was unlikely that Mara took the Buddha’s form to come and disturb his mind. This was not likely. It was his heart not daring to believe, and because he still did not completely believe, this was his mentality at the time.
We may also have many conflicting thoughts in our minds. When we listen to the sutras, [we wonder,]. “Is this true? Did this really happen? Did things really happen as the Buddha described? Is there really a heaven? Is there actually a hell?” Many people still have these doubts. But if we can take the Buddha’s wisdom and apply it to the world around us, then we can see how we are enjoying heaven on earth.
In the past we talked about how heavenly beings fly freely through the skies. But don’t people in this era also fly freely through the skies? To travel around the [seven] continents, all we need is a plane ticket. Isn’t this something only wealthy people can do, spending money to go wherever they want?
With the advancements in science, they can even go on space shuttles. They may even one day be able to go beyond Earth, to the moon or even to other planets. Scientists and business people work together. By signing multimillion dollar contracts, a person can travel in space. So, more than 2000 years ago, the Buddha had already talked about wealthy and noble people like this in the world.
The wealthy are not necessarily noble. Nobility comes from having a good heart, from being a benefactor to others. Who are the benefactors in this world? Bodhisattvas.
We have seen many Taiwanese volunteers devote themselves to international disaster relief work. They work hard and give unconditionally. After they help others, they are still full of Dharma-joy and gratitude.
Aside from cultivating goodness and blessings, we diligently listen to the Dharma to accumulate wisdom and safeguard our minds. By knowing to give without expectation, we very willingly give to others. However, when we are among people, we must not allow interpersonal conflicts to influence our minds. We must wholeheartedly remain diligent and not allow our resolve to be disturbed. Thus we have tranquil and still minds; we have “peaceful and clear minds.” This is the only way to dispel our doubts and eliminate our afflictions.
So, Sariputra now understood this. Being replete with blessings and wisdom is something we can achieve as long as we take action. Then we can become Buddhas and be endowed with the 32 Marks.
We know that, before the Buddha attained enlightenment, He had to first defeat Mara. Where is Mara? When we try to quiet our minds, we often feel our minds fluctuating. This is Mara coming to disturb us. Sariputra had yet not stabilized the fluctuations of his mind, so of course he still had many doubts. Sariputra also knew that before the Buddha attained Buddhahood, Mara had come to disturb Him, so he feared and suspected that this was happening to him.
Is this Mara disguised as the Buddha, coming to disturb and confuse my mind: I did not dare believe this, so I suspected this was something Mara said to disturb and confuse my mind.
In the sutras, we have often read about how. King Mara disturbed people’s minds, particularly the minds of spiritual practitioners. This still happens to people nowadays. People look for something to believe in and end up lost and unable to control themselves.
We often hear stories like this. It was the same during the Buddha’s lifetime. When He lived by City of the House of Kings, in a cold forest along with His disciples, He often expounded the Dharma to them. He said, “All things are impermanent,”
“Changing rapidly without pause. There is nothing we can rely on. All phenomena are disintegrating; we must quickly leave them behind and head toward the path of liberation.”
This means He wanted to tell everyone, to tell these bhiksus, that they must improve themselves and take good care of their minds. Everyone must understand impermanence. All things are impermanent, changing rapidly without pause. Impermanent things can change very rapidly. We may be safe today, but we do not know about tomorrow. We may be safe at this moment, but we do not know what will happen in the next. We really do not know.
Take the imbalance of the four elements; some countries pray for rain, but when the rain comes, there may be too much. So, this imbalance causes a flood. In the same way, some people happily leave the house, laughing and joking, but suddenly get into an accident. So, “all things are impermanent.” In particular, they “change rapidly without pause.” Things happen very quickly.
“There is nothing we can rely on.” You cannot rely on your youth. I have shared this with everyone. You cannot always remain young. You cannot rely on your youth. You cannot rely on your talents. All of these are disintegrating phenomena. You may have a lot of money, but you worry about gains and losses. You may have many descendants and loved ones, but this love, these relationships, are forms of entanglement. So, separation in life or by death, parting with those we love and emotional conflict, aren’t these all ways in which things deteriorate? So, “We must quickly leave them behind.” We must quickly leave them behind and head down the path toward liberation.
The Buddha continued to tell His disciples that nothing is permanent in this world and encouraged them to seize the moment and immediately engage in spiritual practice. However, at that time, King Mara knew that if everyone were to engage in spiritual practice, then in the Three Realms, the number mara-descendants would be reduced. So, he hoped that everyone would remain trapped in the Three Realms. Thus he often came to disrupt [their practice].
King Mara acted on his idea and transformed himself into a “manavaka.” A manavaka is a young man. King Mara took on the form of a young man and came to the Sangha to speak with the monastics. He spoke of “the eternity of night and day.” He told people that night and day are eternal and that “life always returns.” After they go through birth, aging, illness and finally, death, they will return again. When they return to this world, they would still have the chance to engage in spiritual practice. [He told them that] they should fully enjoy their wealth and that when they return in the future, they will enjoy the same level of wealth. This “clinging to permanence” was the deviant teaching that this young man spread in the Sangha.
Quickly the Buddha let everyone know that this was Mara coming to disturb them. The Buddha added that, “life shortens as each day and night passes.” Life passes by with each day and night, “and the long-lived suffer much hardship.” This is saying that living a long life means facing much hardship and suffering, so people must not linger in this world. Moreover, all things are governed by the law of karma. Doing good deeds leads to blessings doing evil deeds leads to [negative] retributions. This is the correct principle. There is no such thing as wealth that will carry over into all future lifetimes. Real wealth comes from creating blessings. However, no matter how long people live, they will suffer while they are in this world. So, the Buddha began to berate King Mara for causing disturbances in the Sangha.
This story is in the Agama Sutra.
King Mara acted on his idea and took the form of a manavaka to cause chaos. The Buddha knew that. Mara was causing disruptions, so He said, “Life shortens as each day and night passes, and the long-lived suffer much hardship.” He berated King Mara and told him not to cause disturbances.
For those in His Sangha, the Buddha painstakingly continued to help them purify their minds by encouraging everyone to be earnest and diligent. But very often this kind of mara would appear to disturb people’s minds or to slander the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha constantly reminded everyone to heighten their vigilance.
So, when Sariputra thought about how the Buddha said he could attain Buddhahood, he began to heighten his vigilance. Was this Mara? Was this Mara coming to tempt him?
This is how spiritual practitioners can safely cultivate the Right Dharma and go among people to become their benefactors. The Buddha taught us to go among people, so we can see more and understand more. Only by realizing the Buddha-Dharma can we strengthen our spiritual aspirations.
Blessings come from giving and wisdom comes from taking the Dharma to heart. Benefactors who go among people are walking the Bodhisattva-path. This is how we can maintain the purity of our minds. This is the state for attaining Buddhahood. We must develop it in order to attain Buddhahood. So, everyone must always be mindful.