Episode 889 – Joyfully Transforming Sentient Beings
>> The Buddha gives teachings according to what their capacities can accept, such as teaching the good deeds and precepts to humans and heavenly beings. For practitioners of the Three Vehicles, He teaches the Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links and the upholding of the Six Perfections for them to practice joyfully and attain benefit.
>> “As they have heard the Dharma, they are freed from all obstructions, and with the Dharma they can gradually enter the path through their own capabilities.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “This is like that great cloud that rains on all the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants. According to their seed-nature, each receives sufficient nourishment so that each can grow and mature.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor. The appearances of liberation, of distancing and of extinction all ultimately reach the state of all-encompassing wisdom.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor: One appearance: This is the true appearance of ultimate reality. In the analogy it is like the one earth. One flavor: The principles and direction of the Tathagata’s teachings are singular and non-dual.
>> The earth is that which allows all things to be born and grow. Rain is that which can nourish all things. This is an analogy for the Dharma that Tathagata realized and all the teachings that He gave. Thus, it says of one appearance and one flavor.
>> He always teaches with impartial compassion to transform and deliver sentient beings. Thus it says “of one appearance”. He universally gives Dharma-benefit and nourishes all things. Thus it says “of one flavor”.
>> The appearances of liberation, of distancing and of extinction: By releasing the bonds of the Three Realms, being freed from cyclic existence and distancing oneself from the dusts of afflictions, one can reach the principles of true emptiness and realize the joy of tranquil extinction.
>> By distancing oneself from the hindrance of knowledge, we can manifest the appearance of True Suchness. Distancing oneself from delusions is Bodhi. Distancing oneself from the two delusions of principle and matters and the two attachments of self and phenomena is the appearance of distancing.
>> By distancing oneself from the hindrance of knowledge, one can manifest the appearance of True Suchness. Distancing oneself from delusions is Bodhi. Distancing oneself from the two delusions of principle and matters, and the two attachments of self and phenomena is distancing oneself from appearances
>>Extinguishing the two kinds of cyclic existence, fragmentary samsara and transformational samsara, one can manifest the appearance of True Suchness. The tranquil extinction of afflictions is the appearance of extinction.
>> All ultimately reach the state of all-encompassing wisdom: This is the one appearance and one flavor. At first the Buddha used skillful means to temporarily connect with immature capabilities. In the end, everything comes back to all-encompassing wisdom. All the Dharma that the Tathagata teaches ultimately is inseparable from the wisdom-nature of Nirvana. This is the virtuous nature that is equal in all. In the end, this is inseparable from the wisdom of our pure intrinsic nature.
“The Buddha gives teachings according to what their capacities can accept,
such as teaching the good deeds and precepts to humans and heavenly beings.
For practitioners of the Three Vehicles, He teaches the Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links
and the upholding of the Six Perfections for them to practice joyfully and attain benefit.”
We often refer to the Buddha as the Great Medicine-king in the way He cherishes sentient beings and cannot bear to let them suffer from physical or mental ailments. Thus, He unceasingly gives them teachings. So, we say, “The Buddha gives teachings according to what their capacities can accept.” Depending on the kind of teachings these sentient beings could accept, He accommodated their needs and capacities by giving them certain kinds of teachings. For example, He gave the teaching of the Ten Good Deeds for heavenly beings. The Ten Good Deeds are inseparable from our body, speech and mind. We create three kinds of karma with our bodies. These three [good deeds] are not killing, not stealing and not engaging in sexual misconduct. These are fundamental rules for humans; these are precepts. The Buddha taught sentient beings to practice the three good deeds of the body and refrain from the four negative kinds of speech,
which are lies, flattery, gossip and harsh speech. These are the four evils of speech. The mouth alone can damage interpersonal relationships and destroy the harmony of a society. In order to turn this around, not only must we stop using harsh speech, we should also speak soft and loving words. Not only should we not lie, but what we say must be genuine and true and pass on virtuous teachings. Not only must we not gossip, we should also bring harmony when people have differences of opinions. How do we create harmony between people? We must not instigate conflict. What we say must be sincere; we must not say things we do not mean. If we can do this, we can use our voice to teach many people to turn from evil to good. This is virtuous karma of speech.
When the Buddha taught sentient beings, most importantly He gave the teaching about the karma of the mind [created through] greed, anger and ignorance, and arrogance and doubt as well. These are the ailments of sentient beings. The Buddha earnestly taught us to turn greed into virtuous thoughts. We must not only avoid greed but also give of ourselves, give without expecting anything in return. Not only must we not get angry or lose our temper over trivial matters, but also maintain open and spacious minds and hearts that embrace the universe and are able to accommodate all. If we turn ignorance into wisdom, we can thoroughly comprehend the principles and understand worldly matters, the law of karmic retribution and so on. Those who do good deeds attain blessings.
If we transform the karma of the Ten Evils into the karma of the Ten Good Deeds, we practice according to the teachings and accumulate many blessings, so we will be reborn in heaven to attain blessed retributions. Or we might be born as the rich among the rich in the human realm. This is [the teaching of] the Ten Good Deeds. This is what the Buddha taught. He taught the good deeds and precepts for humans and heavenly beings.
For practitioners of the Three Vehicles He taught the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. These were for the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. For those who formed Bodhisattva-aspirations, the Buddha taught them to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions, to form great aspirations, make great vows and put the Dharma into practice. They do good deeds joyfully, thus they “practice joyfully and attain benefit.” This is how the Buddha taught us, patiently guiding, teaching and transforming us according to our capabilities.
The previous sutra passage states, ․“As they have heard the Dharma, they are freed from all obstructions, and with the Dharma they can gradually enter the path through their own capabilities.”
Having heard the Dharma, they [practiced] with many different methods. Sentient beings’ capabilities differ, so the Buddha taught using different methods, adapting to our capabilities to give us the teachings we could accept, put into practice and, through doing, experience deep within our hearts so we “gradually enter the path”
Next, “This is like that great cloud that rains on all the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants. According to their seed-nature, each receives sufficient nourishment so that each can grow and mature.”
The Buddha’s Dharma is like a great cloud from which rain falls universally over everything on the earth. Whether vegetation, trees, forests, medicinal plants, etc., each takes in water according to its capacity so that its seed can grow.
In the next sutra passage, the text continues to state, ․“The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor. The appearances of liberation, of distancing and of extinction all ultimately reach the state of all-encompassing wisdom.”
The “one appearance” is the true appearance of ultimate reality. Ultimate reality means the true principles to which all things in the universe return. This is like a vast expanse of land. The land bears all things. The Buddha taught the Dharma according to sentient beings’ capacities. It is like how, on the earth, although there are thousands of seeds, the rain nourishes them all universally.
The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor: One appearance: This is the true appearance of ultimate reality. In the analogy it is like the one earth. One flavor: The principles and direction of the Tathagata’s teachings are singular and non-dual.
The “one flavor” is “the principles and direction of the Tathagata’s teachings.” The direction of the Buddha’s teachings is “singular and non-dual.” The direction is always the same; He hoped we would practice all teachings according to our capacities, so that we can return to our Tathagata-nature of True Suchness. This [direction] is “singular and non-dual.” The Buddha’s objective was for everybody to realize the true principles of this one appearance. This was the Buddha’s objective. Thus it was of “one flavor”
The Buddha’s goal was that everyone would accept the Dharma, and that by practicing the Dharma, we would nourish the ground of our minds to allow seeds to grow there.
The earth is that which allows all things to be born and grow. Rain is that which can nourish all things. This is an analogy for the Dharma that Tathagata realized and all the teachings that He gave. Thus, it says of one appearance and one flavor.
“The earth is that which allows all things to be born and grow. Rain is that which can nourish all things.” The land allows everything to be born and grow, but if water is lacking, then nothing can live. So, it is necessary to have the Dharma. Although we all inherently have Buddha-nature, if we do not take the Dharma to heart, our Buddha-nature will remain covered by our afflictions and ignorance. So, we must take the Dharma to heart. This is an analogy for the Dharma that the Tathagata realized and the teachings that He gave
This true appearance of ultimate reality is what the Buddha awakened to through. His process of spiritual practice, His awakened nature that is one with the universe. Having achieved realization, He taught sentient beings what He had awakened to. This is what the Buddha attained and hoped all sentient beings could attain as well. Thus, it mentions “one appearance and one flavor.”
He always teaches with impartial compassion to transform and deliver sentient beings. Thus it says “of one appearance”. He universally gives Dharma-benefit and nourishes all things. Thus it says “of one flavor”.
“He always teaches with impartial compassion to transform and deliver sentient beings.” The Buddha had unceasingly, over countless previous kalpas, sought the Dharma and transformed others. He sought the teachings of all Buddhas and returned to the world, lifetime after lifetime, among the four kinds of beings in the Five Realms. He taught and transformed sentient beings and treated all impartially and equally. He treated every sentient being as His only son. So, “He always teaches with impartial compassion to transform and deliver sentient beings.” He shows compassion equally to all by coming to deliver and transform sentient beings. This is also a meaning of “one appearance. He universally gives Dharma-benefit and nourishes all sentient beings.” So, this is called “one flavor.” We should all seek to comprehend this.
The appearances of liberation, of distancing and of extinction: By releasing the bonds of the Three Realms, being freed from cyclic existence and distancing oneself from the dusts of afflictions, one can reach the principles of true emptiness and realize the joy of tranquil extinction.
So, “the appearances of liberation, of distancing and of extinction” mean “releasing the bonds of the Three Realms [and] being freed from cyclic existence.” In the past, when we did not know the Dharma, we were stuck in our karmic retributions of ignorance and afflictions, endlessly transmigrating through cyclic existence. After we accept the Dharma, we can transcend afflictions of the Three Realms and transcend cyclic existence. So, we “distance ourselves from dusts of afflictions to reach the principles of true emptiness and realize the joy of tranquil extinction.” We can reach this kind of state
Because we are unenlightened beings, The Three Realms entangle us. Therefore, we cannot release ourselves. Now we understand the “truth of suffering” and deeply realize the law of karma, so we know we need to change our lives, change our attitudes and change everything else by turning evil into good. This naturally distances us from all [afflictions]. We will no longer create afflictions for ourselves. Naturally, we will arrive at the wondrous principles of true emptiness taught to us by the Buddha. When we take this wondrous Dharma to heart, we can realize the happiness of tranquility and stillness.
The appearances of liberation, of distancing and of extinction: By releasing the bonds of the Three Realms, being freed from cyclic existence and distancing oneself from the dusts of afflictions, one can reach the principles of true emptiness and realize the joy of tranquil extinction.
Because we are “liberated from the obstruction of afflictions,” we will be able to manifest True Suchness. By eliminating our afflictions, we reveal the wisdom of True Suchness. This is what we call “the appearance of liberation.” When we are liberated from afflictions, we will manifest the appearance of our wisdom of True Suchness.
Even after we are liberated from the obstruction of afflictions, there is still the obstruction of karma. The obstruction of karma exists because we do not understand. As long as we have our ignorance and afflictions, we still commit the Ten Evils and the Five Offenses in this world. This is the obstruction of karma. After we accept the Dharma, we know to practice all that is good. In this way, we will naturally be able to transcend the obstruction of karma and be liberated from our negative karma. We will naturally be freed from the karmic fetters of the two extremes. Without afflictions and without creating karma, we will not be bound by either of the two. This is what we call “the appearance of liberation.”
By distancing oneself from the hindrance of knowledge, we can manifest the appearance of True Suchness. Distancing oneself from delusions is Bodhi. Distancing oneself from the two delusions of principle and matters and the two attachments of self and phenomena is the appearance of distancing.
“By distancing oneself from the hindrance of knowledge, one can manifest the appearance of True Suchness.” Some people are hindered by knowledge. They take their understanding and knowledge of the Dharma and use it with a deviated perspective. They turn it into a slanderous teaching. When someone tells them, “What you are professing is a bit deviant, You are somewhat mistaken in your understanding,” they think, “I understand more than you.” This is the “hindrance of knowledge.” People can be very attached to this hindrance of knowledge. They think they have a very high level of wisdom. In fact, this is arrogance and pride. This is how we hinder ourselves.
However, if we can awaken and realize that what we know is limited, we will quickly distance ourselves from the hindrance of knowledge. We can eliminate our hindrance of knowledge and accept the true principles with an open mind. If we can do this, we will naturally manifest the appearance of True Suchness. Our minds will give rise to true wisdom. When we accept the teachings with humble minds, our minds will be like the vast universe, able to accept many teachings. In this way, “Distancing oneself from delusions is Bodhi.”
Then, there are dust-like delusions. Along with our afflictions and ignorance, we still have dust-like delusions. So, we leave behind these delusions, our ignorance and the hindrance of knowledge. If we can distance ourselves from these, that is true Bodhi. We should not just say, “I know, I know.” We must truly understand the Dharma and comprehend the great path. When the Dharma is integrated into our lives, we can say we comprehend the great path. Only then can we form the supreme aspiration. So, “Distancing oneself from delusions is Bodhi”
“Distancing oneself from the two delusions of principles and matters” means that when Bodhisattvas go among people, they should thoroughly understand the principles. They should understand people, matters and things. We cannot lack an understanding of the principles. If we do not thoroughly understand them, then how are we supposed to go among people? If we do not understand worldly matters and appearances, then how can we form good affinities? How can we develop wisdom?
So, the “two delusions” are those of matters and those of principles. If we can distance ourselves from these, if we can brush them aside, we will think, “Oh, this is how it is! Now it is clear! I see and understand now!” We have attachments to self and phenomena; if we can distance ourselves and avoid saying, “This is the way things must be” or. “This is the way it has to be,” if we can avoid being too stubborn and instead be gentle and accommodating, then we can act according to the principles. This is known as the “power of gentleness.” Using this method of the power of gentleness, we can eliminate the two attachments, to self and to phenomena, which delude us when it comes to principles and matters. Instead of thinking that others or the principles should be a certain way, we must eliminate attachment to these appearances. This is “distancing oneself from appearances.”
Extinguishing the two kinds of cyclic existence, fragmentary samsara and transformational samsara, one can manifest the appearance of True Suchness. The tranquil extinction of afflictions is the appearance of extinction.
“Extinguishing the two kinds of cyclic existence” means having freed ourselves from afflictions, we still need to pay attention to the two kinds of cyclic existence; this is because life is full of suffering. The two kinds of cyclic existence are fragmentary samsara and transformational samsara.
We ordinary people experience fragmentary samsara. Life lasts only a few decades. We bring our karma with us and take it when we go, experiencing one existence after another. Sometimes we may be in the human realm, or perhaps in the Three Evil Destinies. There is no way to know. It depends on what kind of karma have we created. This is fragmentary samsara. As for transformational samsara, although we engage in spiritual practice, our aspirations rise and fall. To be firm in our spiritual aspirations can be a little difficult sometimes. To sum up, the law of arising and ceasing applies to both our minds and to our lives; these are the two types of samsara. So, if we can thoroughly understand samsara and eliminate our afflictions one by one, naturally we will be able to distance ourselves from these two kinds of samsara.
Then, “We can manifest the appearance of True Suchness.” So, we must seize the moment and make the best use of our cyclic existence. Changing from the past, practicing for the future, our afflictions can be eliminated, and our nature of True Suchness and wisdom-life will be able to grow. Then, we will arrive at “the tranquil extinction of afflictions.” This is known as the “appearance of extinction”
All ultimately reach the state of all-encompassing wisdom: This is the one appearance and one flavor. At first the Buddha used skillful means to temporarily connect with immature capabilities. In the end, everything comes back to all-encompassing wisdom. All the Dharma that the Tathagata teaches ultimately is inseparable from the wisdom-nature of Nirvana. This is the virtuous nature that is equal in all. In the end, this is inseparable from the wisdom of our pure intrinsic nature.
“All ultimately reach the state of of all-encompassing wisdom.” This is “the one appearance and one flavor.” In the same way, the Buddha-Dharma we accept is of one appearance and one flavor. Regardless of Great or Small Vehicle Dharma, in the end, all return to ultimate reality. It is just that our capacities and circumstances determine how we accept it. Initially, the Buddha used skillful means to gradually draw us in, but in the end, “All ultimately reach the state of all-encompassing wisdom”
․All ultimately reach the state of all-encompassing wisdom: This is the one appearance and one flavor. At first the Buddha used skillful means to temporarily connect with immature capabilities. In the end, everything comes back to all-encompassing wisdom. All the Dharma that the Tathagata teaches ultimately is inseparable from the wisdom-nature of Nirvana. This is the virtuous nature that is equal in all. In the end, this is inseparable from the wisdom of our pure intrinsic nature.
“All the Dharma that the Tathagata teaches ultimately is inseparable from the wisdom-nature of Nirvana.” Everything the Buddha taught was meant to enable us sentient beings to attain the ultimate state and return us to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. That is what Nirvana refers to. Nirvana is the state of great extinction, the elimination of all afflictions and our return to our wisdom-nature of True Suchness. This virtuous nature is inherent to all of us. Everyone has it. “The virtuous nature is equal in all.” Whoever we are, when we return to our nature of True Suchness, we will have that purity. There is no difference. This is not only true for human beings; all sentient beings in the Six Realms are the same. “The virtuous nature is equal in all.” There is no difference in their nature of True Suchness. So, “In the end, this is inseparable from the wisdom of our pure intrinsic nature.” This is our intrinsic wisdom. Indeed, this is the mindset we must have as we learn the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha teaches according to our capabilities. He sees what we can accept and gives us the [appropriate] teachings. So, we must do our best to accept them. Whether we practice the teachings for humans or heavenly beings, the teachings of the Two Vehicles or the Bodhisattva-path of actualizing the Six Paramitas in all of our actions, ultimately we “practice joyfully and attain benefit.” Our willingness to give makes us happy every day. Only when we are without afflictions can we truly develop our wisdom-life. Let us always be mindful.