Episode 1203 – Taking the Vow of Promoting the Sutras
>> Awakened sentient beings practice earnestly, uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma and advance diligently. The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in the Tathagata, making offerings to, revering and regarding the sutras as the Buddha. This indicates that when Bodhisattvas aspire to fully attain Bodhi, they must take the vow of promoting the sutras.
>> The sevenfold assembly: This refers to the five monastic groups of bhiksus, bhiksunis, male novices, female novices, siksamanas as well as the two lay groups of upasakas and upasikas.
>> Medicine King, you should know that these people have made offerings to 10 trillion Buddhas and in the presence of those Buddhas fulfilled great vows. They had compassion for sentient beings, so they were born into the world.
>> Medicine King, if there are people asking what kinds of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood, you should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood.
>> With great compassionate vows, their thoughts were on people in suffering. With hearts of joy and equanimity, they had compassion for sentient beings. They originally lived in the Pure Land, but vowed to be born in this life in this evil world of Five Turbidities to expound this sutra.
>> These following passages again explain that those who accept, uphold and make offerings to this sutra, even one phrase, will attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.
>> Medicine King, if there are people asking what kinds of sentient beings in their future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood: The Buddha told the Medicine King that if there were also people asking this.
>> You should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood: You should indicate to them that such people who revere, believe, uphold, chant, transcribe and make offerings [to the sutra] will certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.
“Awakened sentient beings practice earnestly,
uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma and advance diligently.
The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in the Tathagata,
making offerings to, revering and regarding the sutras as the Buddha.
This indicates that when Bodhisattvas aspire to fully attain Bodhi,
they must take the vow of promoting the sutras.”
[To become] awakened sentient beings, we must be earnest and diligent! Upholding the Great Vehicle Dharma takes diligence. Actually, enlightened beings are Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas must form aspirations. Having formed aspirations, they must practice earnestly. They must continually seize the moment. They must practice earnestly every day and every moment. This earnest practice must be upheld lifetime after lifetime. Neither self-indulgence nor indolence will do! There is a verse we often [chant], especially during the evening recitation. “With each passing day we draw closer to death. Like fish in a dwindling pond, what joy have we?” We must have a sense of urgency, as if “seeking rescue when our head is on fire.” It is as if there were a fire burning in our hair or eyebrows, as if a fire were closing in on us. We need to act quickly! The fire has reached right before our eyes. If we do not hasten to extinguish it, we will truly be in danger of being burned. Truly, we need to act as if we were “seeking rescue when our head is on fire.” We must be earnest and diligent.
Our wisdom-life has, for a very long time, remained in the stage of unenlightened beings. This is due to a lack of diligent practice! If a thought goes astray, if we momentarily become lax, then we may waste precious time that we could have used for saving our wisdom-lives. So, having understood the Dharma, [we know that] the true principles, the Dharma, are found all around us as well as within us. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. When we expand [our view] of this Buddha-nature, it is one with the universe; bringing it back, it is the nature of True Suchness intrinsic to us all. When we have thoroughly come to understand these principles, then in every moment, we must never let the Dharma leave our actions, much less our thoughts.
In this way, we will be awakened sentient beings. We are presently living in the world, and we are learning the Bodhisattva-path. We have already listened to sutras for such a long time. The Buddha wanted us to break free from our previous concept of practicing just for our own benefit and encouraged everyone to form great aspirations to practice by eliminating our own afflictions while going among people to help and transform sentient beings. This is what the Buddha taught us, so now should be the time for us to be earnest and diligent.
Practitioners who form Bodhisattva-aspirations are awakened sentient beings; we must be earnest and put diligent effort into our spiritual practice. We must “uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma and advance diligently.” We need to be focused and not distracted, advance and not retreat. Since we have formed aspirations, we must not allow our minds to again become distracted. We need to focus wholeheartedly on our practice and keep moving forward. We must never become stuck, but always keep moving forward. Time does not wait for us; the minutes and seconds are constantly passing. In this world, there are so many instances of impermanence. Yesterday around noon, did you all feel it? There was a very strong earthquake. It had a magnitude of 7.2, equal in magnitude to the 921 earthquake.
Thinking about the 921 earthquake, how many years have now passed? What year was it? It was 1999, on September 21. It was before daybreak, very early in the morning when the earth started to shake. In central Taiwan, in the devastation caused in an instant, how many people were made to suffer? Homes were destroyed and people died; this all happened in an instant. The memory is still very vivid for me, but for many people, it has already faded. The earthquake yesterday at noon, (May 31, 2016,) took place to the northeast of Hualien. We were very lucky with this earthquake! I feel so grateful! It was at a depth of 200 kilometers. If it had occurred closer to the surface, [its consequences] would have been unimaginable.
So, we should always maintain a sense of gratitude and always be vigilant. We never know when impermanence will strike, so we should make use of these times of peace that give us the chance to engage in practice. At every moment, at every second, the principles of the Buddha-Dharma can help us to develop our wisdom-lives. How much longer will we have in life? Can we afford to keep hesitating and waiting? We need to [act] quickly. We have been born in the world and are able to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. At this time, we need to earnestly practice the principles of the Buddha-Dharma.
We also saw how in Canada, on May 1 (2016), a forest fire suddenly started. Ignited by a single spark, it kept burning and could not be contained. We are now already in the month of June, so it has been burning for more than an entire month. From the start, every day, forest fires broke out at least 15 times a day. They broke out one after the other and could not be extinguished. Every day, there were 15 or 20 fires. When they began to extinguish a fire in one place, another fire would break out in another place, so they would have to go to extinguish it there. They have been constantly busy! Like this, these fires have burned in succession for more than a month now, and they are still yet to be extinguished.
This [instant of] impermanence began with a single spark, but how much woodland has already burned down? There is not only woodland, but also people’s homes, their houses. Already, two to three thousand buildings have burned down; it was impossible to keep the flames from them. Now there are more than 2000 firefighters that are fighting these blazes every day. Also the US and South Africa have sent firefighters to help fight the fires. Every day, there are more than 2000 [firefighters]. Already, 50 to 60 thousand hectares of land have been destroyed by the fires. It is truly a great calamity which has been going on for a very long time. It is such a great disaster. It began with a single spark, but it became impossible to contain!
Life is impermanent! Although Canada is such a large country, they still suffer this kind of disaster. A few days ago, it rained, but though the rain was fairly heavy and moistened the land somewhat, the fire keeps on burning. Once these fires started, they truly got out of control. The only thing that brings some comfort is that the fires have been moving toward the northeast, so they fortunately did not head in the direction of the oil production areas. If the fires had moved into the oil production areas, the consequences would have been unimaginable. We can never really know when or where the impermanence of life will strike. When we live in peace, we must always be grateful!
Take for example yesterday’s earthquake. If it had been closer to the surface, how would we have been able to sit here peacefully talking about and listening to the Dharma right now? We need to always be grateful, always be vigilant and be earnest in our spiritual practice. Over 2000 years ago, the Buddha spoke of how the world in the future would become an evil world of Five Turbidities. Once this happened, danger to human life would lurk on every side. That evil world of Five Turbidities, that future world the Buddha told of, isn’t that our present world now?
The four elements are out of balance and disasters happen that we cannot control. There are both natural and manmade disasters. Can we really remain indolent and continue to bring this karma into our next life? Can we still continue to pass our days in confusion without being earnest and diligent, carrying these karmic forces of ignorance into our next lifetime without any awareness? We cannot! So, we should hasten to form great aspirations, Great Vehicle aspirations, and practice the Bodhisattva-path. To become awakened sentient beings, we must practice earnestly. We must “uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma and advance diligently.”
Speaking of the Great Vehicle Dharma, in this, the Chapter on Dharma Masters, the Buddha has already put great effort into encouraging us to uphold the sutras and accept the Dharma. We must earnestly and mindfully listen to the sutras, even if it is just one phrase or one verse of it. If it makes us feel joyful, we must not stop with just a phrase or a verse. We must not think, “The Buddha said that if, when we hear a phrase or verse, we give rise to joy, that results in merit and virtue. I have already listened for a while now, so shouldn’t I have accumulated many virtues?” We have indeed accumulated merit and virtue, but we have not yet rid ourselves of afflictions and ignorance. We have not eliminated afflictions and ignorance, have not formed good affinities with others and are unwilling to practice the Bodhisattva-path. When we have not opened our hearts wide enough to accommodate all the world’s sentient beings and we still have many habitual tendencies, then we really haven’t changed!
Hearing one phrase or one verse, as we have been saying the past few days, is merely planting a seed. If we do not cultivate the field of our mind, this seed will inevitably be choked out by weeds. The mind will be all rocks, rubble and weeds. There may be a seed, but if we are unwilling to cultivate ourselves, then what use is listening to a phrase or a verse? We may have buried a seed, but our minds are still full of ignorance. Time is continuously passing, so we should put our heart into being mindful. “Awakened sentient beings practice earnestly, uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma and advance diligently.” This way we will not let the Buddha down as he keeps coming to the world over and over to teach the Dharma according to our capabilities.
So, “The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in the Tathagata, making offerings to, revering and regarding the sutras as the Buddha.”
The sevenfold assembly: This refers to the five monastic groups of bhiksus, bhiksunis, male novices, female novices, siksamanas as well as the two lay groups of upasakas and upasikas.
The Buddha has seven groups of disciples. Of these seven groups, five are monastics and two are lay practitioners. The five monastic groups include the bhiksus and bhiksunis. They keep the full sets of Buddhist precepts. Then there are the male and female novices. They observe a limited set of precepts. There are also the siksamanas (female neophytes). These are the five [monastic] groups. There are also two groups of lay practitioners. These are the upasakas and upasikas. These are the Buddha’s seven groups of disciples.
So, the sevenfold assembly of disciples should make offerings to the Great Vehicle Dharma. Haven’t we spoken for the past few days of making offerings to the Dharma? We should uphold the Dharma and respect it. Wherever the Dharma is, it is as if the Buddha Himself was there. So, “The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in the Tathagata.” Beings disciples of the Buddha, we should respect the Dharma as if it were the Buddha Himself. Having gained a good teaching, we should sincerely accept it and take every phrase and verse to heart. We should quickly give rise to Dharma-joy, take joy in it. We should hasten to take the Dharma to heart, put it into practice, form great aspirations and make great vows. We need to earnestly practice and diligently advance like this, viewing the Dharma no differently from the Buddha. We must never become indolent. This tells us that as Bodhisattvas, if we wish to perfect and complete the Bodhi-path, we must “take the vow of promoting the sutras.”
When it comes to making vows, the aspirations we have formed and the vows we have made are the Four Great Vows and [the practices of] the Four Infinite Minds. The Four Great Vows are vowing to “deliver countless sentient beings” and so on. We must therefore eliminate our afflictions, practice the Buddha-Dharma and actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions by walking the Bodhi-path. We should moreover form great aspirations to practice the Four Infinite Minds, loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, as we go among people. This is being a true Buddhist practitioner. As Buddhist practitioners, we need to realize the Buddha-mind. The Buddha-mind is the true principles. The true principles pervade the universe and are absorbed into our nature of True Suchness. This means taking the Buddha’s heart as our own. So, we need to be earnest and diligent and never be wasteful with our time; that would truly be a pity. So, we must be mindful!
Let us now look at the previous sutra passage.
“Medicine King, you should know that these people have made offerings to 10 trillion Buddhas and in the presence of those Buddhas fulfilled great vows. They had compassion for sentient beings, so they were born into the world.”
Sakyamuni Buddha said to Medicine King, “You should know that of these 80,000 great beings, in this world, some may have heard just one phrase or verse [of the Dharma], yet they gave rise to joy. Those who have taken joy in the Dharma will also attain Buddhahood in the future.” Why can they attain Buddhahood? Because they have “made offerings to 10 trillion Buddhas and in the presence of those Buddhas fulfilled great vows. They had compassion for sentient beings, so they were born into the world.” Regarding the 2000 who received predictions, one must not think, “Why have these people received the Buddha’s predictions?” This was the case for [those 2000], and it is now the same for these 80,000. They had [practiced] for a very long time. In the era of Great Unhindered Buddha, at His place of practice, the 16 princes taught the Dharma for a very long time. By listening to the Lotus Sutra, these people had seeds planted in their minds. Great numbers of people did this. For such a long time, those people have practiced under [countless] Buddhas, formed aspirations and made offerings.
When we hear of the “countless Buddhas” that they have made offerings to, we should be thinking of the people around us, those whom we help. We must maintain a mindset of reverence. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature; everyone is a future Buddha. People of the past, present and future are all people we should make offerings to. When we form great aspirations, make great vows and form more affinities with sentient they too will go on to form aspirations. They too will become Bodhisattvas, will practice the Bodhisattva-path and will be able to attain Buddhahood in the future. We help one another succeed and encourage one another. Sentient beings need Bodhisattvas, but Bodhisattvas need sentient beings even more. In this way, each helps to accomplish the other.
Next, let us continue. The next sutra passage says,
“Medicine King, if there are people asking what kinds of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood, you should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood.”
Medicine King, if anyone asks, What kinds of sentient beings will attain Buddhahood in the future, you can answer by telling them that people like these will become Buddhas in future lifetimes. Didn’t we just talk about this? Whoever forms the aspiration to help others and practices on the Bodhisattva-path, will also attain Buddhahood in the future. As long as we have the thought of continual willingness to keep giving while going among people, we pass on the Dharma to each other. Applying the Buddha-Dharma in the world, we can inspire love in everyone’s heart. Anyone who gives of himself among people should be able to attain Buddhahood.
This is how the Buddha encouraged us to make vows of great compassion and to inspire others to have great compassion and make great vows. So, we often say, “Witnessing suffering, we recognize our blessings.” If we do not go among people, then how can we understand the situations of people in suffering? There is great suffering! The Buddha told us of life’s impermanence. Those who are suffering may not necessarily always be other people. Something could happen at any moment so that we ourselves become the ones who suffer. We can never be sure.
Yesterday, there was a strong earthquake. We should be grateful; we were very lucky! The earthquake took place at sea, at a depth of 200 kilometers. Still, we could feel it here as quite strong shaking. It was very big! If it had been closer to the surface, the consequences would have been unimaginable. In an instant, it could have created a great disaster. Look at Ecuador. Right now, Tzu Chi volunteers are still in Ecuador. They have not yet left; they have not finished. Since the earthquake happened, it has already been more than a month. Tzu Chi volunteers are still there and are now engaged in mid-term planning as well as planning for the even longer term.
Our emergency disaster relief phase is about to come to an end. In the mid-term relief phase, we want to help them settle temporarily. For those suffering disaster survivors, we next need to find ways to give them a permanent place to settle down. This is what we are planning right now. We also need to quickly provide the children with a place to study. You see, that too was a very strong earthquake; it too had a magnitude of 7.2. This is truly frightening. So, as humans, we should always give rise to vows of great compassion. Our thoughts should always be on those who suffer. We must not think that they have nothing to do with us. They do! We all live under the same sky and on the same earth. How could we not be connected? We are closely connected to the Bodhisattvas and Buddhas.
The Buddha is guiding teacher of the Three Realms and kind father of the four kinds of beings. We are the Buddha’s disciples; we must take the Buddha’s heart as our own! The world is like a big house, and we are all one family. How could we say we are unrelated? So, we should look upon all sentient beings as part of a single family. Wherever there are disasters or people in suffering, we should go to help them. We also need to fulfill our own aspirations to practice on the great Bodhi-path. So, to realize our aspirations for Bodhi, we must walk this path. Thus, with great vows of compassion, our thoughts should be on those who suffer, and with joy and equanimity, we should have compassion for sentient beings. By doing this, we are practicing on the Bodhisattva-path.
With great compassionate vows, their thoughts were on people in suffering. With hearts of joy and equanimity, they had compassion for sentient beings. They originally lived in the Pure Land, but vowed to be born in this life in this evil world of Five Turbidities to expound this sutra.
Originally, we were no different from the Buddha. Dust-inked kalpas ago, at Great Unhindered Buddha’s Dharma-assembly, we already heard the Great Dharma. The minds of Bodhisattvas always abide in a pure land. Spiritual practice, forming Bodhisattva-aspirations and cultivating Bodhisattva-practices are all in a pure land. Small Vehicle practitioners think, “I practice only for my own self-awakening, so I am free of afflictions, free from worries about sentient beings. I just practice for my own benefit.” Is this right? No, it is not! We should make vows to be born in this world of turbidities. We are willing to be born in an evil world of turbidities. During the Buddha’s era, the Buddha encouraged us to form great aspirations and make great vows. This future world of Five Turbidities has an even greater need of people who form great aspirations and make great vows.
So, we must form aspirations. [We live] in this world in this present, evil world of turbidities so we should make vows to quickly pass this sutra on to everyone. We should all put our heart into taking the Great Vehicle Dharma into our hearts and putting the Great Vehicle Dharma into action to pave the road ahead. With compassion, joy and equanimity, we extend this love, spreading it little by little. Only when we extend this awakened, great love and continually pass down the Dharma will future generations have access to the Dharma. Only then can people’s mindsets be adjusted and the Dharma can flourish in the world. In this way, there will be hope.
With this last passage, [the Buddha] kept encouraging everyone to put their heart into forming great aspirations and making great vows. When we receive a teaching, we must have utmost sincerity. Hearing a phrase or a verse, we must be mindful and give rise to Dharma-joy, to a feeling of great joy. “How can I feel joy? I don’t understand it, so how can I rejoice?” Why is it that we do not understand? Its because we are not being mindful! We are not being earnest and diligent! If we can earnestly practice together with awakened sentient beings, naturally, when this Dharma enters our hearts, we will rejoice! We learn so much from going among people, and we mutually encourage one another. This Dharma is not just for us to apply ourselves. Others can come apply it together with us. This is why we need to accept and uphold [the teachings].
It explains that, “Those who accept, uphold and make offerings to this sutra, even to a single phrase, will attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.” This is something certain; the Dharma, when truly taken to heart, really acts as a seed.
These following passages again explain that those who accept, uphold and make offerings to this sutra, even one phrase, will attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.
If this seed enters our mind but the field of our mind is strewn with rock and rubble, then we must quickly cultivate this field. We must not let it become overgrown by weeds. If there are rocks and rubble, we must quickly clear them away. In the past, when we worked in the fields, and it is probably the same now, if there were rocks, we would pick them up and put them in a pile to clear the soil before we planted the vegetable seeds in the beds. Then, the vegetables could grow.
It is the same principle. It is the same with the ground of the mind. For the Dharma to enter, we need to clear the field of our mind. There cannot be weeds or rocks strewn about. If we clear it so that it is very clean, then naturally all the seeds we sow will sprout. They will all grow roots and become great trees bearing fruit. So, by listening to the Dharma, in the future we too can attain Buddhahood.
Thus, the Buddha said, “Medicine King, if anyone asks you if sentient beings in the future can attain Buddhahood, tell them that they can!” These sentient beings here are sure to become Buddhas in the future. If just a single phrase or verse causes joy to arise in their minds and they take this Dharma and listen to it, teach it, practice and transmit it, then in the future they will certainly attain Buddhahood. So, as we listen to the Dharma, we truly must be mindful. We should apply it in our daily living.
Thus, [the Buddha] said, “Medicine King, if there are people asking what kinds of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood….” He addressed him like this, for the Buddha wanted Medicine King Bodhisattva to place great importance on this sutra. [In particular], the Chapter on Dharma Masters is something He wanted him to value highly. This was the Buddha’s mindfulness when addressing Medicine King Bodhisattva. He didn’t just say, “Medicine King! You must diligently advance!” No, [He said,]. “Medicine King Bodhisattva, do you see all these people? Medicine King Bodhisattva, if these people can take even a single phrase or verse [to heart] and accept and uphold that teaching, the merit and virtue will be great.”
Medicine King, if there are people asking what kinds of sentient beings in their future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood: The Buddha told the Medicine King that if there were also people asking this….
When He called Medicine King Bodhisattva’s name and spoke about these others, the Buddha was actually encouraging. Medicine King Bodhisattva himself. This was the Buddha’s mindfulness. He additionally told Medicine King Bodhisattva, “If anyone should ask you this, you should answer by telling them that those people will definitely attain Buddhahood in the future.” He was telling Medicine King Bodhisattva, “You should have faith that, when it comes to this sutra, if anyone hears this sutra, accepts and upholds this sutra, you must answer them with great confidence, ‘Yes, they will definitely attain Buddhahood in the future.’ This is because they have listened to and taken this sutra to heart, and not only taken it to heart, but have taken joy in it. This is the merits and virtues from joy; they will all have these merits and virtues. If they rejoice in it, they will continually share it with others.”
This was like how 50 years ago, when we first established Tzu Chi, everyone rejoiced and spread the news. Because everyone was joyful and spread the news, everybody heard about it and took joy in it. After taking joy in it, they accepted and upheld it, and donating members became commissioners. This has continued until now, until Tzu Chi is found all over the world. It is the same principle. We need to feel joy. After listening, we joyfully take it to heart, then we pass it on to others. So, He called upon Medicine King Bodhisattva. “Indicate to them” means he should very confidently tell everyone that. “Such people who revere, believe, uphold, chant, transcribe and make offerings [to the sutra]….” He should tell them very confidently that as long as they were reverent, as long as they had faith, if they could accept and uphold this sutra, read and recite it, write and copy it, and make offerings to it, then these people would “certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.”
You should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood: “You should indicate to them that such people who revere, believe, uphold, chant, transcribe and make offerings [to the sutra] will certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.”
So, when I read this section, I too rejoice and feel very confident. When I was living in the small wooden cabin, wasn’t it just like this? Laying eyes upon the Lotus Sutra, the joy I experienced was indescribable! I spent every day while I was there prostrating to this sutra. But how could I make offerings to it? Back then I was so poor, so what offerings could I make? I used my body as offering. I burned my arms with incense. At that time, on the 24th day of each lunar month, I used incense to burn my arms as an offering to the Buddha. I did this very reverently, filled with Dharma-joy; I felt very joyful. Like this, I burned my arm with incense as an offering to the Buddha.
Later, when the causes and conditions had ripened, when we had just started Tzu Chi, the first construction we did on Jing Si Abode was the small Great Hall that is outside. In that place, we held seven-day retreats and. I also gave Dharma talks there. We had no money to buy sutras, so using a metal pen on wax paper, I etched word by word on a metal plate. I finished the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. Then I taught and recited it.
I not only copied the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, but I then took the Lotus Sutra and copied its seven volumes in their entirety. Although I injured my hand doing this and it still hurts to this day, I was still very joyful. When I think back, I was filled with Dharma-joy! Even today I am filled with Dharma-joy. I am so fortunate that at that time. I formed such aspirations and did what I did, that I had the patience and used my time and effort to complete all eight volumes of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings and the Lotus Sutra. Whenever I think about this, it brings me great joy. Although it happened nearly 50 years ago, it still brings me joy.
While in the wooden cabin, I copied the sutras. Prostrating to and copying the sutras was the process I went through. So, when it speaks of “such people who revere, uphold, chant, transcribe and make offerings [to the sutra],” it brings me great joy. Although I did this at that time, after I started Tzu Chi, I had less and less time. I was constantly busy. Yet I am fortunate that I had that period of time. I am truly grateful for that!
Dear Bodhisattvas, with the passage of time it is worth looking back on the things we have done in the past. No matter how difficult it was, it has value. This is part of what gives life value. Because of that time, that sutra [that I copied], the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, is now being recreated using modern technology. After almost 50 years, the pages have yellowed, some are falling apart and the text has turned blurry. With today’s technology, the words are being made clear. It has been completely recreated. I hope this becomes a memento for my disciples, that when they see the text that I carved, they remember how, when I was most poor, in the early days of Tzu Chi, at that time I copied this sutra.
Even at my present age, the finger I used copying the sutra still hurts. Looking at this sutra, all those memories return. So, everyone, I feel joy in the midst of this pain. I am very happy and full of joy. Thus, we should truly be mindful. We need to remember to uphold and make offerings to this sutra, form vows of great compassion and keep those who are suffering in our thoughts. We must remember this. With hearts of joy and equanimity, we should feel for sentient beings. We must not practice merely for our own benefit but should make vows to enter the evil world of turbidities to keep transmitting this sutra. If we do this our merits and virtues will be boundless. We must always be mindful.