Episode 861 – Upholding the Teachings and Respecting the Dharma
>> Externally we make offerings with material wealth and medicine. Physically we make offerings of reverence and service. Internally we make offerings of upholding teachings and respecting the Dharma. In this way we seek the Right Dharma and transform sentient beings.
>> “[If we were to] offer wonderful meals, countless articles of precious clothing and all sorts of bedding, various kinds of medicine, or use ox-head sandalwood and all kinds of precious treasures to build stupas and temples, or cover the ground with precious cloth….” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “[If we were to] make offerings with all of these things and more over kalpas numerous as the Ganges’ sands, we still could not repay this grace.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> [If we were to] make offerings with all of these things and more: The highest quality things were used to make offerings.
>> Over kalpas numerous as the Ganges’ sands, we still could not repay this grace: Though many kalpas will have passed, it will not be enough to fully repay this grace.
>> The Buddha’s ten kinds of grace toward all beings:
1. His initial resolve to universally save all
2. His engaging in difficult and ascetic practices
3. His consistent dedication to working for others
4. His descending into all Six Realms
5. His following sentient beings wherever they go
6. His profound and powerful great compassion
7. His hiding a superior state to manifest a humble one
8. His hiding the true to teach the provisional
9. His manifesting Parinirvana to inspire respect
10. His boundless compassion.
>> “All Buddhas are extraordinary, with infinite, boundless and inconceivable great spiritual powers.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> What all Buddhas have realized is the extraordinary Dharma. Making tangible offerings to them is always an ordinary matter.
>> The Dharma of all Buddhas is infinite and boundless. All tangible offerings are finite and bounded. Making tangible offerings to repay this grace shows limited knowledge and understanding and a contrived and limited intent.
>> All Buddhas are extraordinary: Buddhas appear in the world as rarely as the udumbara flower, whose appearance is very fleeting. Thus it is called extraordinary.
>> [They are] infinite, boundless and inconceivable: This is praising the virtues Buddhas possess as extraordinary, infinite and inconceivable.
>> Great spiritual powers: This refers to the Buddha hiding the true virtue of His reward-body to manifest the provisional appearance of His transformation-body. He did not reside in pure lands but lived in these defiled places, following ordinary beings to give true teachings according to their capabilities. He hid the true to give the provisional and from the One revealed the Three.
>> The Buddha’s spiritual power knows no limits nor has any bounds. Our minds cannot conceive it nor can it be reached with verbal explanations. Thus it is called “great”.
“Externally we make offerings with material wealth and medicine. Physically we make offerings of reverence and service.
Internally we make offerings of upholding teachings and respecting the Dharma.
In this way we seek the Right Dharma and transform sentient beings.”
We constantly say that the Buddha’s grace is immense and profound; how can we repay it? Do we use physical labor to repay His grace? Or do we use material wealth, the most precious objects, to make offerings? Can we repay the Buddha’s grace in this way? “[Offerings of] material wealth” consist of the Four Offerings. The Four Offerings are the clothing, food, shelter and medicine that maintain the body’s health. We use these to make offerings. These are the Four Offerings. We can also make physical offerings of reverence. Physical offerings of reverence include prostrating with utmost respect. We must not only offer our reverence, but also “make offerings…of service.” In addition to offering material things, we must express great reverence and offer up our physical labor as well. This is how we respectfully make offerings. This is how we make offerings,
but how do we actually repay the Buddha’s grace? Are these enough to repay His grace? Probably not. So what can we do? Of course, spiritual practice is an important part. “Internally we make offerings of upholding teachings and respecting the Dharma.” These are the greatest offerings. These are offerings of conduct.
The Buddha needs us sentient beings to “internally uphold the teachings.” We must listen to the Dharma with genuine sincerity and respect. Only when we mindfully listen to the Dharma and accept what it teaches can we take these teachings and actualize them in our lives. Then we have truly accepted the Dharma from the Buddha and made it a large part of our lives. We call this developing our wisdom-life. This is what the Buddha hopes for most.
Moreover, we “make offerings [by] respecting the Dharma.” Having accepted the Buddha’s teachings, we should express them outwardly. We take the Dharma to heart and then manifest it in our actions. In doing so, we are truly making offerings.
We must “seek the Right Dharma and transform sentient beings.” Seeing this is what makes the Buddha most happy. “Seeking” is earnestly and diligently advancing. Time passes so quickly. How long does a single lifetime last? Today we have this body, and today we are listening to the Dharma. If we do not immediately accept it and take it to heart today, we will continue to remain deluded in this unenlightened state, muddled, indolent and very lax. Living this kind of life, passing our days like this, is living an empty life. This would be such a shame.
So, the Buddha loved and cared for sentient beings in hopes they would love themselves and respect their own intrinsic Buddha-nature. When He sees that everyone cherishes themselves and understands that they must use this body to transform themselves in this lifetime, when He sees this diligence, that will put His mind at ease.
The Buddha is the kind father of sentient beings. Why is the Buddha’s grace to sentient beings so tremendous? The relationship between parents and children lasts only for a single lifetime, but the one between the Buddha and sentient beings has lasted countless kalpas. For a long time, He has returned repeatedly solely to help sentient beings awaken and be able to make use of their lives to quickly seek the Buddha-Dharma. Only when they have taken the Dharma to heart can they understand the principles. So, everyone must seek the Right Dharma. We must respect the teacher and the Path and continually seek the Dharma. To seize the moment to “transform sentient beings” we go among people to create good affinities. This [act of] “seeking the Right Dharma and transforming sentient beings” is the greatest offering we can make. So, this is what we must mindfully do.
The previous sutra passage says, “[If we were to] offer wonderful meals, countless articles of precious clothing and all sorts of bedding, various kinds of medicine, or use ox-head sandalwood and all kinds of precious treasures to build stupas and temples, or cover the ground with precious cloth….”
These offerings are made with precious things. Among these, “ox-head” does not refer to real ox heads. It refers to incense, Chinese Agarwood and sandalwood and other high-quality woods. These are very fragrant and very precious. They originate from a certain mountain. Looking at that mountain from a distance, it looks just like an ox’s head.
So, the wood from that mountain is very precious. Sandalwood, Chinese Agarwood and such all came from that place. The stupas for the Buddha’s sariras were built and decorated using these kinds of precious wood. People even “covered the ground with precious cloth.” They likely used very expensive cloth to cover the ground; they showed their respect by using the most precious materials.
The next sutra passage says, “[If we were to] make offerings with all of these things and more over kalpas numerous as the Ganges’ sands, we still could not repay this grace.”
They used things of such high quality to make their offerings. During the Buddha’s lifetime they made offerings. After His Parinirvana, they still made offerings. With all of these things and more, with such great amounts, making offerings of such precious things and doing so for a very long time, they were still unable to repay Him. This is because the Buddha has truly spent a very long time for sentient beings’ sake. Despite sentient beings’ stubbornness, with the Buddha’s compassion. He taught them in this way. His grace toward them was tremendous indeed
[If we were to] make offerings with all of these things and more: The highest quality things were used to make offerings.
So, even if we made offerings with the highest quality things, over a long period of time. His grace would still be impossible to repay
Over kalpas numerous as the Ganges’ sands, we still could not repay this grace: Though many kalpas will have passed, it will not be enough to fully repay this grace.
Though many kalpas may pass, it will still be impossible to completely repay the Buddha’s grace. It is still not enough to repay His immense grace
The Buddha’s ten kinds of grace toward all beings: 1. His initial resolve to universally save all 2. His engaging in difficult and ascetic practices 3. His consistent dedication to working for others 4. His descending into all Six Realms 5. His following sentient beings wherever they go 6. His profound and powerful great compassion 7. His hiding a superior state to manifest a humble one 8. His hiding the true to teach the provisional 9. His manifesting Parinirvana to inspire respect 10. His boundless compassion.
These ten kinds of grace toward sentient beings are just a few simple examples. How could there only be ten kinds! What are these ten kinds?
The first is. “His initial resolve to universally save all.” The Buddha’s grace toward sentient beings extends throughout the Five Realms and the four forms of birth. He treats all sentient beings as His only child. So, He is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings. He even treats the four kinds of beings as. His only child, completely embracing all sentient beings in His heart of loving-kindness. From the moment He formed His initial aspiration, He has continually practiced the flawless Dharma without ceasing. He continually did this for the sake of all sentient beings universally; He returned to save and transform them. This grace is. “His initial resolve to universally save all.”
The second grace is. “His engaging in difficult and ascetic practices.” This really was very difficult. In order to draw near sentient beings and create affinities with them, the Buddha manifested in the Five Realms and four forms of birth. He suffered all kinds of torment, which strengthened His will to practice. This is how He teaches sentient beings. So this is “engaging in difficult and ascetic practices.” Transforming sentient beings is painstaking work, and spiritual practice is even more of a trial.
The third grace is. “His consistent dedication to working for others.” The Buddha only thinks of others, never of Himself. From the very beginning, from engaging in spiritual practice to attaining Buddhahood, His sole purpose was to help sentient beings to transcend their suffering, not to attain peace and joy for Himself. This is. “His consistent dedication to working for others.” He works only for others, not Himself.
The fourth is “His descent into all Six Realms.” The Buddha, through His spiritual practice, could have already put an end to cyclic existence and not returned to the Six Realms. Yet, because of the suffering faced by sentient beings in the Six Realms along with their ignorance, the Buddha entered the Six Realms and experienced the same kind of life as them to teach them.
The fifth grace is. “His following sentient beings wherever they go.” He follows them wherever the affinities are. This is like when a young child is confused and has truly lost his way, so he does not know his way home; [his father] chases after him, seeking him out, to try to bring him home. This is like the Buddha “following sentient beings wherever they go.”
The sixth grace is. “His profound and powerful great compassion.” In the Buddha’s great compassion, He feels no resentment, no discontentment and no regret toward sentient beings. This is absolutely how He gives; for their sake He gives everything He has. Sentient beings are still suffering, so His compassion for them is never exhausted. This is the grace of the Buddha.
The seventh grace is “His hiding a superior state to manifest a humble one.” The Buddha has already attained the perfect fruit, universal and perfect enlightenment. However, in order to transfom sentient beings. He has to hide it. Instead He manifested [an ordinary] form. After over a decade of spiritual practice, five years of seeking answers and six years of ascetic practice, He finally attained Buddhahood. This was “His hiding a superior state to manifest a humble one.” This is also how the Buddha manifested.
The eighth grace is. “His hiding the true to teach the provisional.” After His awakening, only after the Agama, the Vaipulya and the. Prajna teachings did He give the Lotus teachings. He patiently guided everyone in this way, “hiding the true to teach the provisional.” In the end, He wanted to tell people that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature and is equal to the Buddha. But in the past we could not understand this, so He had to “hide the true to teach the provisional.”
The ninth grace is. “His manifesting Parinirvana to inspire respect.” The Buddha could have lived a very long time. But since He was born human, though He was a Buddha, was enlightened, He still had to manifest aging, illness and death so that [after His Parinirvana] people would express their respect for Him, so that everyone would know the way He had, more than 2000 years ago, engaged in spiritual practice and transformed sentient beings in this world.
The tenth grace is “His boundless compassion.” Though the Buddha entered Parinirvana, He still hoped that sentient beings would be able to uphold the teachings and practice accordingly; this is the Buddha’s love being spread throughout the world.
So, to put it simply, the Buddha has shown infinite grace toward us, so we should repay the Buddha with a heart of gratitude.
Next, it says, “All Buddhas are extraordinary, with infinite, boundless and inconceivable great spiritual powers.”
All Buddhas, not just Sakyamuni Buddha, but also the many Buddhas in the distant past, have infinite, boundless and inconceivable great spiritual powers.
What all Buddhas have realized is the extraordinary Dharma. Making tangible offerings to them is always an ordinary matter.
All Buddhas have realized extraordinary Dharma. The Great Enlightened One of great awakening and great realizations bestowed these kinds of grace on us, but if we only repay Him with tangible offerings, which are quite ordinary, how could this possibly repay the Buddha’s grace?
The Dharma of all Buddhas is infinite and boundless. All tangible offerings are finite and bounded. Making tangible offerings to repay this grace shows limited knowledge and understanding and a contrived and limited intent.
“The Dharma of all Buddhas” is “infinite and boundless”; so much was given to sentient beings according to their capabilities. Tangible offerings are all “finite and bounded”; they are not infinite and boundless. The Buddha-Dharma is infinite and boundless. We can only repay a finite and bounded amount of the Buddha’s grace; this is using very ordinary, surface-level appearances of “repaying this grace.” This “shows limited knowledge and understanding” and a mind with “contrived and limited intent.”
The Dharma the Buddha attained and gives to sentient beings is infinite, boundless, but sentient beings can only repay Him with limited intent. So, this helps us understand that the true wisdom the Buddha realized is profound, vast and inconceivable, so plentiful. This is the wisdom realized by the Buddha; what He universally gave to sentient beings was truly plentiful.
All Buddhas are extraordinary: Buddhas appear in the world as rarely as the udumbara flower, whose appearance is very fleeting. Thus it is called extraordinary.
“All Buddhas are extraordinary.” It is rare for a Buddha to appear in this world So, “Buddhas appear in the world” as rarely as the udumbara flower. The udumbara flower only appears once every several thousand years. So, each Buddha that appears in this world and attains Buddhahood is truly precious and extraordinary. “Its appearance is very fleeting.” This is the analogy of the udumbara flower. It does not bloom for long; it quickly disappears. The Buddha manifested in the human world, and as the human lifespan is short, He was only here for 80 years.
So, we must cherish the fact that the Buddha-Dharma can remain [in this world] for millions of years. We hope His Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) will remain here forever; this depends on all of us passing it down. If we do, the spirit of the Buddha-Dharma will always live on in this world; This is the way for it to be long-lasting; a body made of flesh could not be long-lasting.
[They are] infinite, boundless and inconceivable: This is praising the virtues Buddhas possess as extraordinary, infinite and inconceivable.
So, [Their powers] are “infinite, boundless and inconceivable”. We should give great praise to the Buddha. His enlightened wisdom is infinite, boundless and inconceivable. A Buddha is precious and extraordinary and appears so rarely. After His awakening, the Dharma He understands is infinite, boundless. Thus, the love He has for sentient beings is also inexhaustible.
Great spiritual powers: This refers to the Buddha hiding the true virtue of His reward-body to manifest the provisional appearance of His transformation-body. He did not reside in pure lands but lived in these defiled places, following ordinary beings to give true teachings according to their capabilities. He hid the true to give the provisional and from the One revealed the Three.
So, “Great spiritual powers” refers to the Buddha “hiding the true virtue of His reward-body” Though He came to the human realm, He hid His virtue, His Buddha-virtue. He lived among the people, in the Sangha. Like everyone else, every day He went out to beg for alms. He “manifested the provisional appearance of His transformation-body.” This was the “provisional”; with these skillful means. His manifested a form like everyone else’s.
“He did not reside in the pure lands” but in the defiled places of the Saha World. For the sake of transforming sentient beings, “He lived in these defiled places.” So, He “followed ordinary beings.” He followed sentient beings in this way, looking for chances to teach and transform them. This is “giving true teachings according to their capabilities.” Because of our capabilities [are limited], He taught with great sincerity, concealing the true and giving the provisional. Thus after He had already attained Buddhahood, He nonetheless worked painstakingly among people.
The Buddha’s spiritual power knows no limits nor has any bounds. Our minds cannot conceive it nor can it be reached with verbal explanations. Thus it is called “great”.
So, “The Buddha’s spiritual power knows no limits nor has any bounds. Our minds cannot conceive of it.” It is not something that we regular people have the ability to conceive of. The Buddha’s grace toward us truly cannot be fully explained in words. The only way to describe it
is to say it is truly vast and without end. If we wish to repay the Buddha’s grace, we must go beyond using physical labor or our best possessions to make offerings to Him. What is most important, what is necessary, is to have reverence within and internally uphold the teachings. We must uphold the Buddha’s teachings within and make offerings by respecting the Dharma. Only by seeking the Dharma and transforming others are we truly repaying the Buddha’s grace.