Episode 818 – Realizing Our Enlightened Nature
>> Familial relationships in this world are painfully short and beyond our control. When we have world-transcending love, Bodhi nurtures our wisdom-life. With compassion, the Buddha transmits the One True Dharma of the Great Vehicle. With such Dharma-treasures, we are rich with infinite Dharma-wealth.
>> “He always had the love of the kings, and the many officials and powerful clans all joined together in honoring him. For these and other reasons, those who came before him were many. With such wealth and grandeur, he had great power and influence.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “However, as he approached old age, he increasingly worried about his son. From morning until evening he thought, ‘My time of death is drawing near My foolish child left me more than 50 years ago I have all these objects in my storehouses; what can be done about them?’.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> However, as he approached old age, he increasingly worried about his son: He lamented the pain of losing his son, for he had no one to entrust his wealth to. This is why he worried. The elder approaching old age is an analogy for the Buddha, whose conditions for transformation were nearing an end. His time to enter Parinirvana was arriving, hence, He increasingly worried about his son. This is like the parable in the text of the doctor leaving medicine behind. This was such good medicine but they were unwilling to take it, so he felt pity for the children and was deeply saddened.
>> From morning until evening he only thought, “My time of death is drawing near”: This means that from early in the morning until late in the evening he never stopped thinking of his son. Thus it says, “From morning until evening he only thought”.
>> All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have compassion for sentient beings. They neither abandon them nor forget about them, but always have them in Their thoughts, whether they are close by or far away, whether seen or unseen.
>> From morning until evening he thought refers to the Buddha’s long-held vow to always focus His thoughts on sentient beings. Moreover, the time of His death was imminent; His time to enter Parinirvana was drawing near.
>> My foolish child left me more than 50 years ago: These words express the pain the father felt for his son. Previously he was called a child because the son was ignorant. Now he is called a foolish child, because he would rather wander as a vagrant. The poor son faced difficulties in his search for clothing and food.
>> In the past they had formed aspirations but then retreated midway. This is being like a foolish child who turns away from enlightenment to connect with objects of desire and wanders through the Five Destinies. They turned away from the teachings of the path to perfect enlightenment and lost their way for more than 50 years.
>> I have all these objects in my storehouses; what can be done about them?: The Buddha thinks of sentient beings, but sentient beings do not think of the Buddha. This is like how parents think of their children, but children do not think about their parents. Though the Buddha is focused in His thoughts, what is He able to do? Hence, What can be done about them? A father’s thoughts for his son run deep, so they continuously turn into thoughts of unease.
“Familial relationships in this world are painfully short and beyond our control.
When we have world-transcending love, Bodhi nurtures our wisdom-life.
With compassion, the Buddha transmits the One True Dharma of the Great Vehicle.
With such Dharma-treasures, we are rich with infinite Dharma-wealth.”
Worldly relationships, familial relationships and other interpersonal relationships are all painfully short. For all of us, having come to this life, everything is beyond our control. Even your children, who you raised, will not necessarily follow your wishes for how they should live their lives. Relationships become more distant; familial relationships grow weaker over time.
“When we have world-transcending love, Bodhi nurtures our wisdom-life. World-transcending” refers to enlightened love. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we understand the principles of life as well as ethics and morals, and we expand our love.
It is parents’ nature to love their children. Children must return this kindness and be filial to their parents. This is a principle we should follow. This is very natural; it is a principle. So, can we follow this principle? This world is full of ignorance! Relationships formed in ignorance are short-lived. Relationships formed through ignorance and afflictions are chaotic. But world-transcending, enlightened love is different. To transcend the world, we must now allow this world of Five Turbidities to contaminate us. If we can transcend ordinary, worldly love, with the awakened love we have, “Our hearts encompass the universe and the boundless worlds within it.” We take the universe as our home and all human beings as our family.
Take Zimbabwe for example. The poor people there live truly hard lives. Impressively, Mr. Chu from Zimbabwe began forming aspirations. I remember that year, Mr. Chu brought back a group of teachers. Those teachers were very grateful to Tzu Chi because we had built prefabricated classrooms for them. Mr. Chu regarded these teachers as the seeds for spreading the Dharma, so he brought them back to Taiwan.
I asked them, “Why did you all shave your heads?” Mr. Chu told me, “They had made up their minds to take this trip to Taiwan as their rebirth. So, before coming here, they shaved their heads. They’ll regrow their hair after they go back, [to symbolize that] they have been reborn.” So, after going back they were very diligent.
From October 17 to 22, 2014, Mr. Chu organized a Spiritual Training Camp. Volunteers came from ten communities; the farthest was over 300 kilometers away. All of them gathered to [learn about Tzu Chi]. I asked Mr. Chu, “They all came such a long way, where did they stay?” He told me, “At my place. Is it spacious enough to host over 200 people?”
Mr. Chu told his wife, “If we want to carry out charitable work in Zimbabwe, we need to have Master’s teachings for guidance.” So, they decided to use some empty land on their property. They pitched a simple roof and used plastic [sheets] to set up walls on all four sides. This became their spiritual practice center.
After the structure was erected, they put up a whiteboard on the wall to use as a projection screen. On the board, they would draw; they drew our Abode to [explain] this place. They drew the Tzu Chi logo on the whiteboard and introduced Tzu Chi to everyone. And those seeds of transmitting the Dharma, those teachers, even acted as instructors.
They woke up at 4 am and started to prepare for morning recitation, paying respect to the Lotus Sutra like we do. And you know, they also chant very well! Their morning recitation was very simple; they did not have padded cushions, so they laid thick cardboard on the ground. They collected cardboard boxes, flattened them and laid them on the ground. This was the way they paid respect to the sutra. When they practiced walking meditation, they were trained to make 90-degree turns. It was truly very touching.
After paying respect to the sutra, they sat down to listen to the teachings and began watching my teachings. What they watched was Life Wisdom, because Life Wisdom has English subtitles. They could read and understand the English [Mr. Chu] gave each of them a notebook. While they took down notes, [some] were crying. They had always known that life was full of suffering. But now they understood that their suffering was a result of the law of karma; they now understood this. They also had study groups; many materials have already been translated, and. Mr. Chu provided them with further explanations. They read Tzu Chi’s Ten Precepts in English. He told them to abide by Tzu Chi’s Ten Precepts. Using English materials, he taught them our daily etiquette and so on.
This is like how, “When we have world-transcending love, Bodhi nurtures our wisdom-life.” They live in the same era [as us], but in a different country with a different way of life. Although the people there are very poor, they are so diligent. Even in that simple and crude environment, the Buddha-Dharma is still in their hearts. In that kind of space and time, their wisdom-life continuously grows.
So, with compassion, the Buddha came to this world in order to transmit the Great Vehicle Dharma. He taught us how, while facing difficulties, we can still help others. This is the One True Dharma. This was the Buddha’s vow in coming to this world. Thus, “With such Dharma-treasures, we are rich with infinite Dharma-wealth.” So, although people are very poor there, having the Dharma they [feel] very rich. After feeling moved and filled with Dharma-joy, everyone was reluctant to part ways. This is how the Dharma allows them, despite their difficult lives in this world, to be open-hearted and understanding and rich with Dharma-wealth. So, the previous sutra passage also states that the Buddha is the Dharma-king. He gives the Dharma universally to sentient beings. As Buddhist practitioners, after we experience the Dharma, after we accept it, we will be joyful.
So, in the previous sutra passage it states, “He always had the love of the kings, and the many officials and powerful clans all joined together in honoring him. For these and other reasons, those who came before him were many. With such wealth and grandeur, he had great power and influence.”
This is the previous sutra passage. The Buddha is like the Dharma-king; His Dharma is spread across the whole world. All kings and officials respect and love Him. Everyone in the whole world respects Him. The Dharma-king is the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The sutra continues, “However, as he approached old age, he increasingly worried about his son. From morning until evening he thought, ‘My time of death is drawing near My foolish child left me more than 50 years ago I have all these objects in my storehouses; what can be done about them?’.”
The elder was very worried. Year after year he was growing older, but his son was still wandering about. “I have so much wealth. In the future, when I die, whom shall I entrust the wealth to? What should I do?” This is what fathers of the world worry about.
The world-transcending kind father also had worries. As He got older and older, He worried that. His disciples were still unable to comprehend His intent. They still focused only on awakening themselves, so who would transform the multitudes of sentient beings in the future? Would the Buddha-Dharma come to an end here? There was no one willing to transmit the Dharma. These were the Buddha’s concerns. So, He was “increasingly worried about his son. From morning until evening he thought….” He was constantly worried.
All day, from “morning until evening,” he worried about his son. This indicates that this passage is from the repeated verse. Venerable Kasyapa restated the long-form prose. He continued after Subhuti’s long-form prose at the beginning of the chapter. Venerable Kasyapa continued by repeating the descriptions of how the child left his father and how the father was looking for his son.
However, as he approached old age, he increasingly worried about his son: He lamented the pain of losing his son, for he had no one to entrust his wealth to. This is why he worried. The elder approaching old age is an analogy for the Buddha, whose conditions for transformation were nearing an end. His time to enter Parinirvana was arriving, hence, He increasingly worried about his son. This is like the parable in the text of the doctor leaving medicine behind. This was such good medicine but they were unwilling to take it, so he felt pity for the children and was deeply saddened.
His child was missing and nowhere to be found, so the father felt “the pain of losing his son, for he had no one to entrust his wealth to.” He could not pass on his wealth, so he was very worried. “This is why he worried.” He was worried about his son. Where was his son? His every thought was about his son.
“However, as he approached old age….” He was already old is an analogy for “the Buddha, whose conditions for transformation were nearing an end. His time to enter Parinirvana was arriving.” He was about to enter Parinirvana, so the older He was, the more anxious He became. His disciples had not yet opened their minds; they still delighted in the Small and feared the Great. They still feared the Great Vehicle [Dharma] and were attached to the Small Vehicle. This was what the Buddha was worried about
However, as he approached old age, he increasingly worried about his son: He lamented the pain of losing his son, for he had no one to entrust his wealth to. This is why he worried. The elder approaching old age is an analogy for the Buddha, whose conditions for transformation were nearing an end. His time to enter Parinirvana was arriving, hence, “He increasingly worried about his son.” This is like the parable in the text of the doctor leaving medicine behind. This was such good medicine but they were unwilling to take it, so he felt pity for the children and was deeply saddened. In the sutra, there is one section with the parable of a good doctor who leaves medicine for his children. He keeps trying to let his children know that they need to pass on these medicines. They all needed to know how to diagnose illness. They must know the principles of the medicine and know how to diagnose patients’ symptoms. The doctor wanted to transmit this, but the children were still lost and confused. If the children’s minds were ill, how could he persuade them to take medicine? They did not even know that they needed it. So, the father intentionally left instructions on which medicine cures which illness and which medicine eases what kind of pain. After giving all these instructions, the good doctor said that he was going out. He went to a far-off land and then sent a messenger to return and say, “Your father is dead.” When the children heard the news, they started to panic. “What will we do?” This is from another passage in the Lotus Sutra; it is another parable which is also about a father and his children. The Buddha wanted to pass down the Dharma, but nobody would accept it. This is what that parable describes.
From morning until evening he only thought, “My time of death is drawing near”: This means that from early in the morning until late in the evening he never stopped thinking of his son. Thus it says, “From morning until evening he only thought”.
Now, “From morning until evening he thought, ‘My time of death is drawing near’.” Morning refers to dawn. From early in the morning before daybreak until dusk when night fell, he worried about his child, never forgetting about him for a moment.
We can see how the Buddha has been ceaselessly accommodating us sentient beings for countless kalpas. Lifetime after lifetime, He sought the Dharma and transformed others. His compassion is very deep and profound. He never stops thinking about sentient beings.
So, “All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have compassion for sentient beings. They neither abandon them nor forget about them, but always have them in Their thoughts, whether they are close by or far away, whether seen or unseen.”
This explains how Buddhas and Bodhisattvas never abandon sentient beings. This is all because of Their compassion. They bear sentient beings’ suffering in mind, so They neither forget nor abandon them. This is the kind of compassion They have “[They] always have them in Their thoughts.” Everything that They do is done out of concern for sentient beings. They hold sentient beings in Their minds this way. So, “Whether they are close by or far away, whether seen or unseen” means they may be close by or far away. Those who are close by are those we can see; those who are far away are those from kalpas ago. As for “seen or unseen,” what happened in the past, we did not see, and what the future holds, we do not know
“From morning until evening he thought” refers to the Buddha’s long-held vow to “always focus His thoughts on sentient beings. Moreover, the time of His death was imminent; His time to enter Parinirvana was drawing near.”
A long, long time ago, countless kalpas ago, He made a vow that He always keeps with such determination and focus; His thoughts are thus always on sentient beings. “Moreover, the time of His death was imminent.”
“From morning until evening [the elder] thought, ‘The time of my death is imminent.” His time to enter Parinirvana was coming, the causes and conditions for the Buddha to stay in this world were coming to an end. If He did not quickly inspire everyone to form great aspirations and make vows to benefit all sentient beings, when would He be able to do so? So, He was anxious.
Thus it says, “My foolish child left me more than 50 years ago.” This foolish child had left him so long ago. This shows that this father’s love for his son was very deep.
My foolish child left me more than 50 years ago: These words express the pain the father felt for his son. Previously he was called a “child” because the son was ignorant. Now he is called a “foolish child,” because he would rather wander as a vagrant. The poor son faced difficulties in his search for clothing and food.
Isn’t this the way the Buddha cared for His disciples? He also cared for sentient beings this way. Sentient beings are ignorant, so they are referred to as “a foolish child.” Those who are wandering about out there and do not come back become poor sons who face difficulties in finding clothing and food
In the past they had formed aspirations but then retreated midway. This is being like a foolish child who turns away from enlightenment to connect with objects of desire and wanders through the Five Destinies. They turned away from the teachings of the path to perfect enlightenment and lost their way for more than 50 years.
So, “In the past they had formed aspirations but then retreated midway.” This also shows that many people had already formed aspirations, but they were foolish, deluded and ignorant, so they retreated from their aspirations midway. Whenever afflictions arose, they fell into the trap again. That is why they were “foolish children.”
This “foolish child turns from enlightenment to connect with desires and wanders through the Five Destinies.” He wandered through the Five Realms. So, this is “turning from enlightenment.” On the path to enlightenment, [the Buddha] gave his disciples teachings, hoping that they would walk the right path, but they turned away from it. They turned away from the right path and lost their way for more than 50 years
I have all these objects in my storehouses; what can be done about them?: The Buddha thinks of sentient beings, but sentient beings do not think of the Buddha. This is like how parents think of their children, but children do not think about their parents. Though the Buddha is focused in His thoughts, what is He able to do? Hence, What can be done about them? A father’s thoughts for his son run deep, so they continuously turn into thoughts of unease.
The elder actually had countless storehouses, just as the Buddha has infinite Dharma. “I have all these objects in my storehouses; what can be done about them?” This means that the Buddha holds sentient beings in His mind, but sentient beings do not hold Him in their minds. So, we often say we must be mindful of the Buddha. By being mindful of the Buddha, hopefully we “turn away from objects of desire to connect with enlightenment.” But now, we have “turned away from enlightenment to connect with objects of desire.” If sentient beings are not mindful of the Buddha, they cannot return to their innate enlightenment. “This is like how parents think of their children but children do not think about their parents.” Parents love their children very much, but children do not realize this. Parents love and cherish them, just as “the Buddha is focused in His thoughts”; all His thoughts are focused on sentient beings. But what can be done? There is nothing to be done. “A father’s thoughts for his son run deep, so they continuously turn into thoughts of unease.” This is what we sentient beings are like.
In the Buddha’s thoughts, He hopes that sentient beings can break away from objects of desires and delusions and return to their innate enlightenment. This is how all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas give for sentient beings’ sake. “With compassion, the Buddha transmits the One True Dharma of the Great Vehicle.” This illustrates how He wants to pass on the infinite wealth of His Dharma-treasury to us, so we need to earnestly accept it. We must always be mindful.