Episode 906 – The World-Transcending Path
>> The Buddha is the honored sage of the world and guiding teacher of all heavenly beings and humans, who has realized the ultimate wonder of all Dharma. The true wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle is taught through skillful and provisional means.
>> “The Buddha is also like this. He appeared in the world like a great cloud, covering everything universally. Since He appeared in the world, for the sake of all sentient beings, He expounded for each individually the truth of all teachings.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “The Great Sage, the World-Honored One, in the presence of heavenly beings, humans and the entire assembly, made this proclamation ‘I am the Tathagata, the Two-footed Honored One I have appeared in the world’.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> One who attains realization through the Three Vehicles is called a small sage.
>> The Tathagata is absolutely perfect, meaning completely perfect to the absolute degree. His ocean of fruits of wondrous enlightenment is absolutely perfect, thus He is called the Great Sage.
>> In the presence of heavenly beings, humans and the entire assembly, [He] made this proclamation: Before the assembly of those who seek the Dharma, those with the resolve to seek the True Dharma, He made this proclamation.
>> I am the Tathagata: I am the Tathagata of the ultimate fruit of virtue who has long engaged in Brahma-conduct and is replete with both blessings and wisdom.
>> The Tathagata appeared in the world to expound the Great Dharma [He] transforms all sentient beings so they can escape the cycle of birth and death and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and happiness. Thus He is a teacher and role model for sentient beings.
>> Thus it says that the Tathagata appears in the world to expound the Great Dharma. [He] transforms all sentient beings so they can escape the cycle of birth and death and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and happiness. Thus He is a teacher and role model for sentient beings.
>> The Two-footed Honored One: may have precepts and Samadhi as His two feet, or the provisional and the true as His two feet, or blessings and wisdom as His two feet, or understanding and action as His two feet. These are all pairs of feet of inner virtue.
>> Physically, heavenly beings and humans have two feet; the Buddha is the honored one among two-footed heavenly beings and humans.
>> I have appeared in the world: For the sake of sentient beings, He does not abide in Nirvana. Regarding the term world, all phenomena that experience birth and death are known as the world. The phenomenon of Nirvana is known as that which transcends the world.
>> I have appeared in the world: The two truths of suffering and causation are of the world. The two truths of cessation and the Path are of that which transcends the world. The Chapter on Parables says, “I then revealed and explained the path of transcending the world”.
>> So, Transcending all names and appearances, this prajna is free from grasping and attachment. Thus it is called world-transcending prajna.
“The Buddha is the honored sage of the world
and guiding teacher of all heavenly beings and humans,
who has realized the ultimate wonder of all Dharma.
The true wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle
is taught through skillful and provisional means.”
Among all the sages coming to this world, the Buddha is the most supremely honored. We thus call Him the honored sage, because with His teachings, He explains all principles. As a practitioner and a teacher of the Path, He is the most honored and noble of people. Because of this, His principles are the ones that all heavenly beings and humans seek to follow. So, all Buddhas have an epithet, “guiding teacher.”
They guide us toward the path to Buddhahood and thoroughly teach us the path to liberation. Thus They are called guiding teachers. They can guide us. When we are lost and confused, They show us the right direction and path. When we are in a dangerous place and we do not know where to go, if we find someone who can guide us, who helps us get safely to where we are going while avoiding the dangerous paths, then that is a guiding teacher.
The Buddha’s teachings have been transmitted and those who came after have continually accepted them and continually put their hearts into following the principles and meticulously seeking understanding. After they understand, they can then analyze them and guide others to the correct path. People like this are also called guiding teachers.
Wasn’t my master (Venerable Yin Shun) also called a “guiding teacher” by everyone? He put his heart into delving into and researching the Buddha-Dharma, penetrating it extremely thoroughly. Although his physical body has, in accordance with the law of nature, already passed on, his spirit and thoughts, his words and writings on the Dharma, all remain in this world. He was a modern guiding teacher, guiding us to apply the Buddha-Dharma in the world. The world is inseparable from the Buddha-Dharma. This is the guidance he gave us. Thus, we must mindfully seek to comprehend the ultimate wonder of all Dharma.
“The true wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle is taught through skillful and provisional means.” This comes to us from Buddhas and. Bodhisattvas who appear in this world. What the Buddha awakened to, the principles He discovered, He then taught to the world. Whether through the Five or the Three Vehicles, as long as our capabilities can accept it, we can take in the Great Vehicle Bodhisattva Way. Then we start to go among the people and expound the Dharma, explaining all the teachings, the principles and the natural state of the true and wondrous Dharma and so on. From what we hear, we can experience and understand “the true, wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle.” This is how Bodhisattvas carry on the Buddha’s teachings. When they go among the people, they likewise “teach through skillful and provisional means.”
So the Buddha, in His reward-body in this world, spread the Dharma among the people. People have all kinds of different capabilities for accepting the Buddha-Dharma and passing it down to future [generations]. This is like the rain that falls from the clouds, universally covering all living things. It can cover all capacities.
The previous sutra passage says, “The Buddha is also like this. He appeared in the world like a great cloud, covering everything universally. Since He appeared in the world, for the sake of all sentient beings, He expounded for each individually the truth of all teachings.”
With sentient beings’ capabilities like this, the Buddha taught the Dharma by turning it into the Five or Three Vehicles. In fact, what the Buddha had always wanted to teach was the True Dharma, but sentient beings did not have the capabilities to truly comprehend it.
The Buddha taught sentient beings that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. As long as our Buddha-nature is awakened, when going among people, giving of ourselves will not take anything from us. In fact, while helping others, our wisdom will increase; we will understand the principles of human life. Those who understand this clearly know they must deliver and transform infinite sentient beings. Since sentient beings are infinite, our wisdom will grow infinitely.
Some people think, “The teachings I practice are for myself. I do not wish to share them with others.” The Buddha gave us an example. As long as you light up your own lamp, then many other people, millions of people, because your lamp is lit, can take the flame from yours. Their lamps will then be lit up. Rather than having a single lamp in our room, why not share the light with millions of lamps? In our place of spiritual practice, if only one person understood the principles, it would be of no use. There would just be one person constantly talking. We want many to listen, but even more than that, we hope that everyone can take the principles to heart. In this way, all around us infinite lamps will be lit in succession.
You see, when one lamp after another is lit in the midst of the darkness, won’t we see a very beautiful state? In our Saha World now, the air is extremely polluted. If, in the midst of the pollution, in this time of darkness, everyone could understand the principles, if the light in everyone’s hearts was lit, if everyone’s lamp was lit up, this turbid air would naturally be cut through and there would be brightness. This is why we must learn the Dharma. This is why the Buddha, why all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas [teach]. The Buddha taught Bodhisattvas the principles of the world so they could be guiding teachers for each other, helping each other to lead people.
The next sutra passage continues, “The Great Sage, the World-Honored One, in the presence of heavenly beings, humans and the entire assembly, made this proclamation ‘I am the Tathagata,'” “‘the Two-footed Honored One I have appeared in the world’.”
As for “the Great Sage, the World-Honored One,” even the Great Sage had to engage in spiritual practice in the past. He had likewise spent countless kalpas seeking the Dharma and transforming others, walking the path from the Small to the Great. Having eliminated even the tiniest of afflictions and completely cleared all dust-like delusions, He is called “the Great Sage, the World-Honored One.”
Since there is a Great Sage, there are of course smaller sages, those who have attained realization through the Three Vehicles.
One who attains realization through the Three Vehicles is called a small sage.
Relying on the Buddha’s voice, they sought to comprehend and penetrate His principles. They understood the path of the Great Sage; they had an understanding, but had not yet thoroughly penetrated it. These are called small sages.
The Tathagata is absolutely perfect, meaning completely perfect to the absolute degree. His ocean of fruits of wondrous enlightenment is absolutely perfect, thus He is called the Great Sage.
The Tathagata has achieved absolute perfection because the practices He cultivated were already complete and perfect, meaning “completely perfect to the absolute degree.” He is already enlightened. “His ocean of fruits of wondrous enlightenment is absolutely perfect.” He has a clear understanding of true principles. Thus He is called “the Great Sage.”
The principles of all things in the universe are contained in the Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment. This is entirely the result of spiritual practice, having spent lifetime after lifetime continually going among people, transforming sentient beings and seeking the Dharma in the time of every Buddha. Through this He attained an “ocean of fruits of wondrous enlightenment, absolutely perfect.” Thus, He is called “the Great Sage, the World-Honored One.” Therefore the Buddha, after attaining Buddhahood, is called “the Great Sage, the World-Honored One.”
In the presence of heavenly beings, humans and the entire assembly, [He] made this proclamation: Before the assembly of those who seek the Dharma, those with the resolve to seek the True Dharma, He made this proclamation.
So, “In the presence of heavenly beings, humans, and the entire assembly, [He] made this proclamation.” In other words, He was “before the assembly of those who seek the Dharma” ․In the presence of heavenly beings, humans and the entire assembly, [He] made this proclamation: Before the assembly of those who seek the Dharma, those with the resolve to seek the True Dharma, He made this proclamation.
In the Buddha’s time, there were more than 90 different religions. Some people heard the Buddha teach and were willing to practice diligently, following the Buddha as monastics and practicing according to His teachings. Then, among this assembly, there were others who hoped to advance a level. So, hearing the teachings of the Three Vehicles, they could understand right away and resolved to seek Right Dharma. This meant that they hoped Right Dharma would be passed down to future generations. Those like this walking the great Bodhi-path were plentiful among the Sangha. The Buddha taught according to the Dharma that each person needed to seek. These many people made up the “assembly.” He taught to those with the intent and the willingness to seek the Right Dharma.
I am the Tathagata: I am the Tathagata of the ultimate fruit of virtue who has long engaged in Brahma-conduct and is replete with both blessings and wisdom.
Next it says, “I am the Tathagata.” This is the Buddha once again guaranteeing that indeed, “I am the Tathagata. I am the Tathagata of the ultimate fruit of virtue, who has long upheld Brahma-conduct and is replete with both blessings and wisdom.” This was to establish faith in them. From Beginningless Time, for countless kalpas, “[He] has long engaged in purifying practices.” This began long ago and lasted for countless kalpas. So, the Buddha always wanted to tell everyone that spiritual practice requires long-lasting resolve, that it was not accomplished in a single lifetime, but was a result of practice over countless lifetimes in the past. In lifetime after lifetime, He eliminated ignorance and strengthened purifying practices. He had been upholding Brahma-conduct, so it says He had “long upheld Brahma-conduct.”
With the purity of His Brahma-conduct, He was replete with blessings and wisdom. “Brahma-conduct” refers to going among people without becoming defiled by them. One must also be able to maintain that purity for lifetime after lifetime, while going among people and benefiting them. So, He is said to be replete with blessings and wisdom.
To sum it up, we must “long uphold Brahma-conduct” and be replete in blessings and wisdom. One who does this is called a Tathagata, who journeys on the Dharma of True Suchness to come to the world. His objective in coming to the world is His one great cause, to open and reveal [the Dharma] to sentient beings in the hope that sentient beings can realize and enter the Great Dharma
The Tathagata appeared in the world “to expound the Great Dharma [He] transforms all sentient beings so they can escape the cycle of birth and death and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and happiness. Thus He is a teacher and role model for sentient beings.”
He helps us to attain the benefits of infinite meanings, to attain peace and joy. This is the goal of the Buddha, the Tathagata, in journeying on the Dharma of True Suchness to come to the world. “Thus He is a teacher and role model for sentient beings.” He is an example for sentient beings to follow.
So, “I am the Tathagata, the Two-footed Honored One. I am the Tathagata who comes journeying on the Dharma of True Suchness. I am the Two-footed Honored One.” The Buddha said this before the assembly to establish faith in everyone’s mind. He is called the Two-footed Honored One
The Two-footed Honored One: may have precepts and Samadhi as His two feet, or the provisional and the true as His two feet, or blessings and wisdom as His two feet, or understanding and action as His two feet. These are all pairs of feet of inner virtue.
“The Two-footed Honored One” means He “may have precepts and Samadhi as His two feet.” We must practice the precepts. We must cultivate Samadhi. With precepts in our mind, we avoid doing wrong. When we avoid doing wrong, our minds will always be free and at ease. Only when our minds are free and at ease will we have the power of Samadhi.
Or, He has “the provisional and the true as His two feet.” After understanding the Dharma, we go among people to transform sentient beings. Sentient beings’ capabilities are not uniform, so the Buddha had to establish provisional teachings and use skillful means. But the Buddha never deviated from the True Dharma as He taught sentient beings. The True Dharma leads us as we go from the state of unenlightened beings to that of practicing the Bodhisattva-path, The final destination is attaining Buddhahood. These are the true teachings. So, being replete in both the provisional and the true teachings can also be the two feet. These are both means for teaching sentient beings. These can also be His two feet.
“Or blessings and wisdom [can be] His two feet.” This may be referring to blessings and wisdom. These two must be cultivated in parallel. When we benefit the world, it is called cultivating blessings. Wisdom is recognizing that everyone is equal. If we can open up our minds and hearts to embrace all of the world’s people, matters and objects, this is wisdom. These are also a pair of two feet.
“Or understanding and action as His two feet.” Perhaps we are already completely clear on the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. Mere understanding will not do; we still need to put them into practice.
Physically, heavenly beings and humans have two feet; the Buddha is the honored one among two-footed heavenly beings and humans.
Even heavenly beings always regard the Buddha as their teacher, to say nothing of us humans. So, the Buddha came to the world to teach and transform us, hoping for all humans to accept the Dharma and be able to practice and spread this Dharma. All of us can become people who accept, transmit and practice the Dharma. This is what the Buddha hoped for the most. So, there are the internal and external two feet.
Among all heavenly beings and humans, the Buddha was everyone’s role model. This is being a guiding teacher. This is being a Two-footed Honored One, a Two-footed Honored One who comes journeying on the Dharma of True Suchness, thus appearing in the world
I have appeared in the world: For the sake of sentient beings, He does not abide in Nirvana. Regarding the term world, all phenomena that experience birth and death are known as the world. The phenomenon of Nirvana is known as that which transcends the world.
Responding to the mature conditions in the world, the Buddha was born. At the age of 80, He entered Parinirvana. Did the Buddha remain in that state? No. “He does not abide in Nirvana.” He will return to this world, again and again without ceasing.
So, “Regarding the term ‘world,’ all phenomena that experience birth and death are known as the world.” The world consists of time and space. An incalculably long period of time and space as vast as the endless void is the world where the Buddha transforms others. “The phenomenon of Nirvana is known as that which transcends the world.” He comes here to guide us in how to no longer transmigrate in the Six Realms,
how to transcend suffering and causation, to help everyone reach cessation of suffering. We must eliminate suffering and causation, so we must practice according to the Path. This is why the Buddha “appeared in the world.”
I have appeared in the world: The two truths of suffering and causation are of the world. The two truths of cessation and the Path are of that which transcends the world. The Chapter on Parables says, “I then revealed and explained the path of transcending the world”.
This evil world of Five Turbidities is inseparable from “suffering” and “causation.” If we want to transcend the world, we need “cessation” and “the Path”; we must practice according to the Path. Only then can we transcend the world. So, in the Chapter on Parables it says, “I then revealed and explained the path of transcending the world.” This is why the Buddha came to the world.
When Bodhisattvas diligently cultivate and practice the Bodhi-path, they listen according to their ability. Then they expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles for others. However, within them, their minds remain empty like the void, impartial and tranquil. Transcending all names and appearances, this prajna is free from grasping and attachment. Thus it is called world-transcending prajna.
We also say, “When Bodhisattvas diligently cultivate and practice the Bodhi-path, they listen according to their ability.” Bodhisattvas are the same; they listen to the Dharma the best they can. After listening, “They expound the teaching of the Three Vehicles for others.” They go among others to teach the Dharma. “However, among them, their minds remain empty like the void.” Bodhisattvas remain undefiled by sentient beings’ afflictions. Their hearts embrace the universe impartially. This is called [impartiality and] tranquility So, “Transcending all names and appearances, this prajna is free from grasping and attachment. Thus it is called world-transcending prajna.”
“Transcending all names and appearances, this prajna is free from grasping and attachment.” We give without expectations. We are not looking to possess anything; we have no expectations of return. “Thus it is called world-transcending prajna.” That is the world-transcending wisdom, This is what we must learn.
We start from the Three Vehicles, and having formed aspirations for spiritual practice, our objective as Hearers and Solitary Realizers should be the practice of the Bodhisattva-path.
So, the Buddha is the honored sage of the world. The Buddha manifested in the world to open this path for us. We follow Him along this path, moving from being sages of the Small Vehicle to becoming great enlightened sages of the Great Vehicle. Do not think we cannot achieve this. We can do this as long as we are always mindful.