Episode 114 – Endowed with the Ten Epithets
>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha: Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans and. Buddha, the World-Honored One.
>> The Buddha proclaimed the right Dharma for sentient beings to enable them to attain the state of wisdom. One perfect in Buddha-virtues is worthy to be called Unsurpassed Guide.
>> This refers to “one who accomplishes great work.” This refers to “one who accomplishes great work with various methods and can tame all sentient beings in the Dharma-realm.”
>> Next is “Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans.” This refers to being “a guide for heavenly beings and humans so that all sentient beings who want to know the Buddha-Dharma can easily practice and uphold it.”
>> Human and heavenly birth are the two karmic retributions which are most conducive to attainment. Therefore, the Buddha was called the Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans.
>> Those who have not planted roots of goodness can plant them, those roots which have not matured can mature and those with mature roots can attain Bodhi.
>> Buddha, the World-Honored One is a teacher of humans and heavenly beings. A teacher can guide [sentient beings] to follow the right path and rules and be a model of Right Dharma.
As Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. The Buddha taught us to keep our thoughts on what we are doing while focusing on the Dharma․ If we can be single-mindedly diligent and not become lax, we will naturally attain virtue. We must believe that by attaining the Dharma we will manifest virtue.
We have been talking about how one must be endowed with the ten epithets and replete with the ten virtues before one can be called a Buddha. A “Buddha” is a Great Awakened One. To “awaken” is to realize everything in the world, not just in this world, but in the great trichiliocosm. Thus, [He knows] the truths of the universe. To understand all matters and principles in the past, present and future, takes a long period of wholeheartedly experiencing and understanding all things.
Previously, we mentioned that one of the Buddha’s ten virtues was being an Unsurpassed Guide.
The Ten Epithets of the Buddha: Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans and. Buddha, the World-Honored One.
“Unsurpassed Guide” means He came to this world to teach all sentient beings in the hope that they will spread the seeds of goodness, to help everyone plant the roots of goodness. Once these roots matured, they could be liberated. Then they [could work to reach] the Buddha’s state of being endowed with the ten epithets, which are the perfections of His virtues. Therefore, He is called the Unsurpassed Guide
because He leads everyone to reach His level. What makes Him the Unsurpassed Guide? Heavenly beings, humans, Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas have not yet perfected [their practice]. So, the Buddha is one stage beyond. Buddhas have the most perfect enlightenment. All Buddhas share the same path. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to this world to transform sentient beings by example. They teach everyone to have ethics and morality. So, the Buddha is called the Unsurpassed Guide, a position of utmost and perfect awakening. No one can surpass the Buddha’s most perfect and complete enlightenment. Thus, He is the Unsurpassed Guide.
The Buddha proclaimed the right Dharma for sentient beings to enable them to attain the state of wisdom. One perfect in Buddha-virtues is worthy to be called Unsurpassed Guide.
Next is. “Tamer.”
This refers to “one who accomplishes great work.” This refers to “one who accomplishes great work with various methods and can tame all sentient beings in the Dharma-realm.”
So, Tamer refers to one who will use supreme and unsurpassed Dharma to help all sentient beings in this world succeed. He will help every single sentient being attain this kind of enlightenment. The Tamer is someone who can train all kinds of sentient beings. All sentient beings have different habits. Even if we just talk about humans, each one has different habitual tendencies. Therefore, training the minds of humans is not easy, let alone those of all sentient beings. There are all kinds of living beings, each with their own forms and habitual tendencies.
When the Buddha appeared in this world, He vowed to use all kinds of methods to achieve His great mission, which was to awaken everyone’s intrinsic Buddha-nature and help us return our different habitual tendencies to that one nature, to our intrinsic self-nature which is pure and radiant. So, as we mention often, in spiritual cultivation, there is nothing to cultivate except our habitual tendencies.
However, taming our own habitual tendencies is not easy. So, how can we tame other people’s habits? It will be challenging, but we still have to encourage ourselves and do our best to be a role model for others. This is how we lead people; this is what we ordinary people must work on. So, for Buddhist practitioners to attain Buddhahood is not impossible. We need to return [to our true nature] and self-reflect. Are we taming our habitual tendencies?
The Buddha’s great mission is to tame all sentient beings in the Dharma-realm. It is also to teach us that Sakyamuni Buddha is not the only one [with Buddha-nature]. We also have the Three Treasures in our self-nature. We have our own Buddha-nature. We can teach ourselves and develop our own wisdom with the Dharma [within]. We can overcome our own habitual tendencies through our actions with the Sangha [within]. These are the Three Treasures of our self-nature. We all have to awaken our self-nature and manifest the Tamer within us. We need to practice to become an Unsurpassed Guide and a Tamer.
We are ordinary people, but we should not see ourselves as ordinary. We are now learning from the Buddha, and the only way to do so is to tame our self-nature and develop our perseverance and patience. We must do this ourselves. We do not need to seek the Dharma elsewhere; the Vulture Peak stupa is within our minds. The Vulture Peak assembly is also in our hearts. So, we can all be the host of that. Dharma-assembly on Vulture Peak by having more confidence.
Next is “Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans.” This refers to being “a guide for heavenly beings and humans so that all sentient beings who want to know the Buddha-Dharma can easily practice and uphold it.”
We need to know that a Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans is a role model. The Buddha was not a teacher only in this world. Sakro-DevanamIndra and other heavenly beings also took refuge with the Buddha. So, He was also a teacher for heavenly beings. Therefore, the Buddha is the teacher of heavenly beings and humans, guiding them to enter supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment.
As I have said before, practicing the Ten Good Deeds can enable us to be born in heaven. Upholding the Five Precepts can allow us to retain human form. Both heavenly beings and humans are still transmigrating in the Six Destinies. In our spiritual practice, we want to be liberated from the Six Destinies and even transcend the Three Realms. This is our goal as Buddhist practitioners. Whether it is the Form Realm, Formless Realm or human and heavenly existence in the Desire Realm, we want to transcend them all, including heaven. So, the Buddha came to this world to be a guide for heavenly beings and humans because they can most easily approach the Buddha’s teachings to get close to what He taught.
So, “Human and heavenly birth are the two karmic retributions most conducive to attainment.” The Buddha came to this world because these two groups are most similar to Him. In the other destinies, such as the animal, hungry ghost or hell destinies, beings suffer greatly. Their karmic retributions have pulled them away, so it is very difficult for them to approach the Buddha-Dharma. Thus, the Buddha approaches heavenly beings and humans, who can most easily [attain enlightenment].
Human and heavenly birth are the two karmic retributions which are most conducive to attainment. Therefore, the Buddha was called the Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans.
Even in this world, there are places that are like heaven on earth. People say, “It is difficult for the wealthy to learn the Way.” This is true! But we can use the right Dharma to bring these wealthy, educated people closer to the Buddha-Dharma. Not only can they draw near to it, they can faithfully accept and practice it. Not only that, they can also protect and uphold the right Dharma. These people are heavenly beings of this world.
So as Buddhist practitioners, we need to guide heavenly beings and humans toward the right Dharma. Only by taking the most correct path in the world can we benefit people and also help them correct their mindset. We give unconditionally and with love. Through the act of giving, a sense of mutual love and transcendence arises from our interactions. This state of love is unconditional. More than that, we are grateful [for the opportunity to give].
I often tell Tzu Chi volunteers to give unconditionally and always be grateful, because sentient beings are here to help us. People who are suffering inspire our wisdom. Their suffering in their cyclic existence spurs us to seek liberation from birth and death. We learn that birth and death are laws of nature; so naturally, in the midst of these conflicts from desire and ignorance, our bodies and minds will find a way to liberation.
Those who have not planted roots of goodness can plant them, those roots which have not matured can mature and those with mature roots can attain Bodhi.
Indeed, [the Buddha] wanted to tell us this so that our minds can be on the right course. Then we can eliminate or subdue our habitual tendencies, tame our minds, and learn the right Dharma without deviation. This is “the path.” Heavenly beings and humans are the two groups that the Buddha can most easily approach; He uses methods to help them accept [the Dharma]. He is the Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans. He guides them in the correct direction so they will not deviate. This is the Buddha’s goal in coming to the world.
“A teacher of heavenly beings and humans” can “guide people to follow the right rules and discipline.” To be a teacher, one must lead people, teach them how to walk in the right direction. So with this virtue, the Buddha is called. Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans, guiding teacher of the Three Realms and kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. Don’t we chant this every morning? Not only Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans but also “guiding teacher of the Three Realms.” At that time, He was closest to humans and heavenly beings and could talk to humans at any time.
Among humans, there are wealthy families and those who live impoverished lives. The beings of the Five Destinies co-exist here. I have explained this in the past. This is where the Five Destinies are intermixed. These destinies include the heaven, human hell, hungry ghost and animal destinies. The place where the Buddha must teach is one of great complexity. So, He must be endowed with the ten epithets and replete with the ten virtues. In this place where all Five Destinies co-exist, He teaches everyone. He is a teacher of humans and heavenly beings and the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. He wants to guide everyone to follow the right rules and discipline.
Buddha, the World-Honored One is a teacher of humans and heavenly beings. A teacher can guide [sentient beings] to follow the right path and rules and be a model of Right Dharma.
To be a decent human being, we must abide by basic disciplines and rules. Spiritual practice has its own rules. To be a model of Right Dharma, we must thoroughly manifest the True Dharma of the Buddha’s teachings. When the Buddha was still alive, Devadatta used the Buddha’s teachings to delude people. Those teachings were not truthful; they had already deviated. So, we must always be vigilant in being models of Right Dharma as we teach people. Then everyone can walk the right path and follow the right rules. This is our responsibility.
“All Buddhas share the same path, are replete with the ten virtues, are perfect and flawless.” They [have reached] this state of being endowed with the ten epithets and ten virtues. All Buddhas of the past, present and future have the same perfect virtues. Earlier we discussed the shared and distinctive epithets. Sakyamuni and Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant are distinctive epithets. There are many other Buddhas with different names, but They must all have perfected the ten virtues and worked to transform sentient beings. All Buddhas share the same path.
Some sentient beings have very dull capabilities, so skillful means were used to lead them. Some have very sharp capabilities, so supreme states are used to enable them to attain immediate enlightenment. This is how the Buddha taught sentient beings. Training sentient beings is very taxing.
If we ask ourselves whether we can even tame our own habitual natures, we will know the greatness of His teachings. The great cause [for which He comes to the world] is this and this alone, to help all sentient beings become His equals, to awaken everyone’s intrinsic nature. It is such great and taxing work! So, we must all train ourselves and start exercising the Three Treasures of our self-nature. So please, always be mindful.