Episode 793 – Advancing Diligently, Let Nothing Be Lost
>> In spiritual practice, we advance diligently to achieve realization of the true principles of the One Reality. By following righteousness, truth and our intent, we adapt to the capabilities and conditions of sentient beings. Thus we benefit ourselves while benefiting others. This must not be abandoned or forgotten.
>> “This is what is in my heart, and you must understand my intent. Why is this so? Now you and I are no different, so be even more mindful to let nothing be lost.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “At that time, having been given this instruction, the poor son received and understood all those things, the gold, silver and treasures and everything in the storehouses. Still, he had no wish to take even a meal for himself. Thus he remained living where he had before and was unable to relinquish his feelings of inferiority.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> At that time, having been given this instruction, the poor son: This helps us understand that the Mahaprajna taught by the Buddha was to lead those great Arhats to turn to the Bodhisattva teachings. However, they never yearned to form the same aspiration. Thus this analogy was made.
>> Prior to the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Subhuti and the others had grasped the teachings of emptiness and were safeguarding the Great Vehicle. They knew the principles of the Great Vehicle Dharma and could proclaim it in the Buddha’s place to teach and transform Bodhisattvas, yet they had no wish to form Great Vehicle aspirations.
>> Although they had already secretly gained the benefits of the different teachings, since they had no wish to make use of this Dharma-wealth of merits and virtues, it was as if they had been stored away inside a storehouse, where they could not use them. Thus it speaks of everything in the storehouses.
>> Still, he had no wish to take even a meal for himself: Those practitioners had no wish to take even one meal of the nourishing Dharma of the Great Vehicle.
>> “As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers, purifying Buddha-lands and bringing sentient beings to fruition, we took no joy in these.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> Thus when it came to the supreme Bodhi that the Buddha taught to Bodhisattvas, no joy arose in them. Though Subhuti could skillfully expound the Prajna teachings, he thought of this as the Bodhisattva Way and considered himself to have no part in it, thinking it a matter for others.
>> Question: In the Prajna period, Two Vehicle practitioners had secretly gained the benefits of different teachings. So why does it say they”had no wish to take [them]”? Answer: They received and understood the infinite different Dharma-doors, thus it says “benefits of different teachings”. However, they had no wish to take them thus it says “secretly gained”. If they were willing to take them, it would have been “openly gained”; then why would it say “secretly gained”?
>> Though the Small had repeatedly been shamed, their minds had not yet turned toward the Great. This was like the poor son. Though he was recognized by the elder as the son, he was still satisfied with being inferior. Thus he quietly remained in his original role as a hired worker.
“In spiritual practice, we advance diligently
to achieve realization of the true principles of the One Reality.
By following righteousness, truth and our intent,
we adapt to the capabilities and conditions of sentient beings.
Thus we benefit ourselves while benefiting others.
This must not be abandoned or forgotten.”
As spiritual practitioners we must be diligent. We must be earnest and advance diligently. We must know that life is painfully short; just how much time is there for us to continue being indolent? Think about it; in life, understanding principles and unlocking our wisdom is incredibly difficult. On top of that, we are indolent and indulgent, which adds even more difficulty. Finding a way to comprehend and realize principles is truly not an easy feat. We may say we are practicing but are indolent and undisciplined in our living. If we do not cherish our time, we will waste our lives. That would truly be a pity. So it is said, “In spiritual practice, we advance diligently.”
I often say, “Human form is rarely attained, but we have attained it; the Buddha-Dharma is rarely encountered, but we have encountered it.” It turns out that we are living amidst the truth; it is so close to us, yet we do not earnestly make use of it. We do not cherish it or draw near these principles. This is what it seems like. We willingly live like unenlightened beings, neglecting our spiritual cultivation, becoming indolent and regressing. It is a pity to live this kind of life. So, we must find a way to realize the Dharma, uniting the principles with the Path and uniting matters with [ultimate] truth. Only by bringing them together can we truly achieve realization of “the true principles of the One Reality.” If we are not mindful ourselves, no matter how someone explains them, we will still be unable to comprehend.
For instance, in Malaysia, there is an old woman; she had given birth to ten children, yet her husband sold off three sons and two daughters, leaving them with five. However, life is impermanent. One after another, her children unfortunately left before her, that is, they passed away. In the end, her only remaining son would not take care of her. Her only remaining daughter was more filial and did care about her, but her family was not well-off. Out of maternal instinct, this old woman did not want to burden her daughter, so she lived in hardship.
When Tzu Chi volunteers received this case, the house had been severely damaged by a fire. This old woman had been living in those circumstances for a long time. They felt that this was inconceivable; it was so pitiable! Sharing this sense of pity and compassion, everyone pooled their strength and rebuilt her house in just two months.
Then, the Tzu Chi volunteers felt relieved. All the volunteers said, “We have chosen the right path to walk. It allows us to see so much impermanence in life.” Just by looking at this old woman’s life, they could see the sufferings of the world. After hearing the Dharma and understanding it, it turns out that principles are very close to our bodies and minds. After we take action, we can attain realizations. This is “achieving realization of the true principles of the One Reality.”
The principle is really just this simple. Now that you know about that cause, that seed, are you willing to plant it? Are you willing to cultivate it? If we just know about it but refuse to plant it, that is like clearing the weeds from the land but not sowing new seeds. We say we are spiritual practitioners. We say we are eliminating afflictions and engaging in spiritual practice, but if we are unwilling to also benefit others and truly put [the Dharma] into practice, if our spiritual cultivation is just superficial, we have not truly overcome the difficulties in our minds and in our bodies. This means we did not truly put in the work and are not willing to give; this means we have not planted the seeds.
We just continue to let the time pass. How can we waste our lives in this way? So, we must put our efforts into being mindful.
We must go among people “by following righteousness, truth and our intent.” We have to aspire to interact with people while taking abundant true principles to heart. This is how we “follow righteousness and truth. Righteousness and truth” come after we have taken all the principles to heart. Only then will we be able to [meet] the needs of sentient beings and, according to their capabilities, give to help as conditions allow.
By taking principles to heart every day, with an abundance of Dharma-wealth in our hearts, we can adapt to the capabilities of sentient beings. In this way, we benefit ourselves as well as others. This is an opportunity we must seize. It is precious to be born human and to hear the Buddha-Dharma; we should earnestly seize this opportunity. “This must not be abandoned or forgotten.”
Haven’t we been talking about this recently? The poor son was approached by the elder and brought into the household. Gradually, the elder told him that there were many things in the storehouse and and that he could take whatever he wanted, that he could come and go without obstacles. This is an analogy for how, by taking the Dharma to heart, we are filled with a Dharma-wealth of wisdom that we can make use of at any time. Thus we can come and go without obstacles. Furthermore, we are reminded it cannot be lost
“This is what is in my heart, and you must understand my intent. Why is this so? Now you and I are no different, so be even more mindful to let nothing be lost.”
Yesterday we discussed [how the elder said], “This is what is in my heart” [The elder] has so much. “And you must understand my intent. I am like your father, and you are like my child.” This is what [he told the son] “‘Now you and I are no different’. This is because you and I are no different.” This explains that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. “I have it and so do you. I am just giving you a method [to return to it].” All this goes back to how. “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” We just need to “be even more mindful and let nothing be lost.” We cannot let anything be lost.
In the next passage, Subhuti continued with the parable ․”At that time, having been given this instruction, the poor son received and understood all those things, the gold, silver and treasures and everything in the storehouses. Still, he had no wish to take even a meal for himself. Thus he remained living where he had before and was unable to relinquish his feelings of inferiority.”
By this time, the poor son had already received much instruction. He received all this gold, silver and treasure, but he did not take them; he did not want them. He only went in to look. He still did not feel, “These belong to me.” This means he still had inferior resolve.
At that time, having been given this instruction, the poor son: This helps us understand that the Mahaprajna taught by the Buddha was to lead those great Arhats to turn to the Bodhisattva teachings. However, they never yearned to form the same aspiration. Thus this analogy was made.
“At that time, having been given this instruction, the poor son received and understood all those things, the gold, silver and treasures and everything in the storehouses. Still, he had no wish to take even a meal for himself. Thus he remained living where he had before and was unable to relinquish his feelings of inferiority.”
This is “the Mahaprajna taught by the Buddha.” The Buddha had started to expound the Mahaprajna Sutra so that these. Arhats who had attained the fruit of realization could turn to the Bodhisattva teachings. During the Prajna period, He helped everyone understand that principles are in fact without substance, appearance or form. It is because sentient beings give rise to discursive thoughts that many afflictions converge and form. Teachings from the Mahaprajna Sutra are used to instruct and guide us to understanding. Even when we analyze our thoughts, we find that they are ultimately empty. We have a thought of happiness, then perhaps in the space of a thought, we feel, “I am very annoyed, I am very angry” and so on. With a detailed analysis of our consciousnesses, the sixth, seventh, eighth and so on, in the end, this analysis will conclude that everything is empty. There is only the karmic law of cause and effect. Still, if we can eliminate all our afflictions, we can attain liberation.
Let us ask ourselves, “Have we eliminated all of our afflictions? Have we eliminated our dust-like delusions?” We have not. So, the Buddha continues [to teach us], “To eliminate your afflictions, you must go among people to give to them. By forging yourself in the fires of this furnace. You can truly become a refined instrument.” If we want to truly attain this great wisdom, we must go through this process.
Once we understand that. “All phenomena are illusory,” and. “The Five Aggregates are empty,” once we understand all this, we must quickly go among the people to teach the Bodhisattva Way. “However, they never wished to form the same aspiration.” The great Arhats, when asked to go among people to transform them, had no desire to do that.
Prior to the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Subhuti and the others had grasped the teachings of emptiness and were safeguarding the Great Vehicle. They knew the principles of the Great Vehicle Dharma and could proclaim it in the Buddha’s place to teach and transform Bodhisattvas, yet they had no wish to form Great Vehicle aspirations.
This is like how Subhuti and the others said that prior to the Lotus Dharma-assembly, they “had grasped the teachings of emptiness” and could “safeguard the Great Vehicle.” They thought the Prajna teachings were part of the Great Vehicle. They thought all they had to do was guard it. “They knew the principles of the Great Vehicle Dharma” and could proclaim it “in the Buddha’s place to teach and transform Bodhisattvas.” They knew the teachings the Buddha gave; they knew all these principles and were safeguarding them. This is like the elder’s storehouse. The poor son was just safeguarding it; he did not feel these things belonged to him. The disciples were like him. For the Buddha, “They taught and transformed Bodhisattvas, yet they had no wish to form. Great Vehicle aspirations.” They clearly knew that the Buddha was teaching the Bodhisattva Way, but they continued to be stuck at the stage of guarding the principles, unwilling to go beyond that to work in the world.
Although they had already secretly gained the benefits of the different teachings, since they had no wish to make use of this Dharma-wealth of merits and virtues, it was as if they had been stored away inside a storehouse, where they could not use them. Thus it speaks of everything in the storehouses.
That was not what they sought to do [This applies to] “everything in the storehouses,” the Dharma-wealth of merits and virtues. If we have these things, we can make use of them to help people and also achieve merits and virtues. Yet, we continue to just guard them, to hide those things away. They are still in the storehouse, unused. Therefore these things are still locked securely inside the storehouses. This is truly a pity
Still, he had no wish to take even a meal for himself: Those practitioners had no wish to take even one meal of the nourishing Dharma of the Great Vehicle.
We see that there are these things; so many of them have been pointed out to us. But we do not make use of them. Thus it says, “He had no wish to take even a meal for himself.” Still, he had no wish to take even a meal for himself: Those practitioners had no wish to take even one meal of the nourishing Dharma of the Great Vehicle. Our storehouses are filled abundantly. After we listen to the teachings, we should quickly open up the storehouse in our minds and check the inventory. “We have this, and we have that.” If anyone needs it, we can quickly give to them.
Why don’t we use these things? Because we have no wish to. We do not wish to take and make use of them. This is like this passage in the sutra “As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers, purifying Buddha-lands and bringing sentient beings to fruition, we took no joy in these.”
With the Buddha-Dharma, [we act] “for Buddha’s teachings and for all sentient beings.” The Buddha-Dharma is so wonderful! We can make use of it and share it with everyone. Some people who receive these seeds will be willing to make use of them and cultivate them in the fields of their minds. Then they too can reap an abundant harvest. This is playing freely within spiritual powers and purifying Buddha-lands.
The Buddha’s teachings are so wonderful; why do so few people in the world know them? Think about the ratio. There are billions of people in the world. The number of people who know about Buddhism is still a very tiny percentage of that. Why are Buddhist disciples so quiet? Because everyone is simply holding it in and guarding the Buddha’s teachings. They are unwilling to promptly make use of this store of treasures. Only by applying them in the world can the Buddha-Dharma be circulated for everyone to understand and apply.
Look at the planet today. The four elements are imbalanced, and natural and manmade disasters constantly press us. If we can all take the Buddha-Dharma to heart, if we can all be disciplined in our living, then the world can be very peaceful and safe. This is “purifying Buddha-lands”
[The chaos we see today] is because we Buddhist practitioners have not carried out our responsibility
Thus when it came to the supreme Bodhi that the Buddha taught to Bodhisattvas, no joy arose in them. Though Subhuti could skillfully expound the Prajna teachings, he thought of this as the Bodhisattva Way and considered himself to have no part in it, thinking it a matter for others.
“Thus when it came to the supreme Bodhi that the Buddha taught to Bodhisattvas,” when we sentient beings [heard it], “no joy arose in [us].” The Buddha clearly taught us to practice the Bodhisattva Way, yet we did not give rise to a sense of joy nor were we willing to give. So, we were only cultivating the Small Vehicle Dharma. Subhuti was skilled in sharing truths of the Prajna teachings and was “foremost in understanding emptiness.” However, he always thought, “The Bodhisattva Way has nothing to do with me.” He felt he did not have the strength to do this. In fact, the Bodhisattva Way is very simple. Once we open the door to our minds, we have an abundance of treasures, and our minds can encompass the universe. There is no difficulty at all. We will go among people to create blessings and to experience the truth. Blessings and wisdom are attained among people.
Question: In the Prajna period, Two Vehicle practitioners had secretly gained the benefits of different teachings. So why does it say they”had no wish to take [them]”? Answer: They received and understood the infinite different Dharma-doors, thus it says “benefits of different teachings”. However, they had no wish to take them thus it says “secretly gained”. If they were willing to take them, it would have been “openly gained”; then why would it say “secretly gained”?
Some people might ask, “If during the Prajna period, the Two Vehicle practitioners had secretly gained these benefits, why did they not want to take them and put them into practice?” The answer was, “Because they received and understood the infinite different Dharma-doors,” they had the “benefits of different teachings.” They knew and understood them, but “They had no wish to take them”; thus it says “secretly gained. Secretly gained” means they had understood, but were unwilling to give them to others. This is benefiting only oneself. However, “If they had been willing to take them,” it would have said “openly gained.” Then it would not bee “secretly gained.” It would have been very open; after taking it in, they would go and spread it. When it comes in and goes out without difficulty, we have truly [learned] the Dharma.
“Thus he remained living where he had before.” This is when we conceal what we have heard and are unwilling to give. “This is like guarding the fruits and attainments of the Small Vehicle.” If we are still safeguarding the Small Vehicle, then we have stopped where we started, unwilling to take a step forward. In this way, we are “unwilling to relinquish the feeling of inferiority.” If we cultivate Small Vehicle practices, we have not let go of our feelings of inferiority.
Though the Small had repeatedly been shamed, their minds had not yet turned toward the Great. This was like the poor son. Though he was recognized by the elder as the son, he was still satisfied with being inferior. Thus he quietly remained in his original role as a hired worker.
“The Small had been shamed [but had] not yet turned toward the Great.” They had not truly turned from the Small toward the Great. They are just like that poor son, that impoverished child. Although the elder had already recognized him and taken him as his godson, he would rather remain in an inferior state. “Thus he quietly remained” in his original role as a hired worker.
So in life, we have to be mindful. We have this precious human form and this precious Buddha-Dharma. We must quickly share what we know with everyone and not remain guarding an unenlightened state. We clearly know that to learn the Buddha’s Way, we must diligently advance, but unfortunately we remain indolent and cannot raise our spirits. This is a pity. So everyone, we must always be mindful.