Author: Rosalyn Leung

Episode 1125 – Infinite Merit and Virtue Dignifies and Perfects

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>> “He had such merits and virtues, thus he was able to attain such a vast land. Within this state, there is such purity, thus the humans and heavenly beings are so elegant. Such outstanding qualities of the noble beings are like a grand ritual of the Three Flawless Studies.”

>> “There will be countless asankyas, billions and trillions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas in that assembly. They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, so they can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.”

>> “The number of Hearers cannot be known by calculating or comparing. All of them are replete with the Six Spiritual Powers, the Three Insights and the Eight Liberations. That Buddha’s land will have such infinite merits and virtues dignifying it and bringing it to fruition.”

>> The number of Hearers cannot be known by calculating or comparing: This expresses that those who use their ears to hear the Dharma are many in number. Those who teach and transform the different kinds of sentient beings do so according to their individual kind.

>> All of them are replete with the Six Spiritual Powers, the Three Insights and the Eight Liberations: The Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers: These are the virtues that Arhats possess. The Eight Liberations: These are eight kinds of meditation to abandon the entanglements of the defiled phenomena in the Three Realms.

>> The Three Insights: Insight into previous lives. Insight of the heavenly eye. Insight into ending all Leaks. For Arhats they are called the Three Insights, for Buddhas, the Three Understandings.

>> Insight into previous lives: This is the insight to know one’s own or others’ causes and conditions in all previous lifetimes. Insight of the heavenly eye: This is the insight of knowing what will happen to oneself or others in all future lifetimes. Insight into ending all Leaks: The insight of using the wisdom of noble beings to completely eliminate all afflictions.

>> The Six Spiritual Powers: The spiritual powers attained by the noble beings of the Three Vehicles. The power of the heavenly eye, the power of the heavenly ear, the power of knowing others’ minds, the power of knowing previous lives, the power of transporting oneself, the power of ending all Leaks.

>> The Eight Liberations: Also called the Eight Abandonments. These are the eight kinds of meditation to abandon the entanglement of the afflictions of the Three Realms.

>> The Eight Liberations: 1. Liberation through contemplating external appearances when material desires arise 2. Liberation through contemplating external appearances when no material desires arise 3. Liberation of purity fully confirmed by the body 4. Liberation through the state of concentration of boundless space 5. Liberation through the state of concentration of boundless consciousness 6. Liberation through the state of concentration of nothingness 7. Liberation through the state of concentration of neither thought nor non-thought 8. Liberation through. Samadhi of complete cessation.

>> That Buddha’s land will have such: The land Dharma Clarity Buddha gains in response will have the previously stated circumstantial and direct retributions.

>> Infinite merits and virtues dignifying it and bringing it to fruition: With all His merits and virtues, it is dignified. Thus, the land will be so vast. Within this state, there is such purity, and humans and heavenly beings have such elegance. The noble beings have such purity because they are without defilement or attachment. Outside of their minds, there is no phenomena covering them.

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“He had such merits and virtues,
thus he was able to attain such a vast land.
Within this state, there is such purity,
thus the humans and heavenly beings are so elegant.
Such outstanding qualities of the noble beings
are like a grand ritual of the Three Flawless Studies.”

The Buddha, before bestowing a a prediction of Buddhahood upon Purna, first praised the land he would have when he attains Buddhahood in the future as Dharma Clarity Tathagata. There will be so much accumulated in this great and vast land. Furthermore, the scenery in this land will be beautiful. Not only will the scenery be beautiful and magnificent, people there will also be pure in body and mind. This will be a very wonderful world. Isn’t this the state we all pray we can head toward? If we really wish to take “this land,” this place where the Five Destinies coexist, this world that must be endured, and turn it into an ideal world in the future, that is not an impossible task. It can happen as long as we all form the aspirations Purna Maitrayaniputra did, make the vows he did and then put them into practice. When we understand the Buddha’s intent, we transform those the Buddha wished to transform, His mission for the sake of sentient beings.

If we were all able to do this, then sentient beings will become purified; everyone’s minds will be clean. Isn’t this what that future land will be like? What everyone accumulates will be so many merits and virtues, and the places they live in will all be magnificent towers, a world of the Seven Treasures. Starting from the previous sutra passages, [the Buddha] continued to praise that land. As we interact with each other, through spiritual practice we can eliminate afflictions and purify our minds. If we can all purify our minds, then the land will also be clean.

So, “He had such merits and virtues, thus he was able to attain such a vast land.” Not only will it be magnificent and clean, the land will also be very vast. Within that state, there will be such purity. If we compare it to the Saha World we are in now, in our Saha World at the present, every place is having a big problem with garbage. This is not only Taiwan’s problem, but the entire planet’s. The garbage problem is very vexing. This has to do with environmental consciousness. If everyone is clear on how to protect the environment, then naturally we can reduce the garbage we produce in our daily living. To protect the environment, purity begins at the source. The things we have used can be recycled and reused. If we recycled and reused everything, what garbage would there be polluting the earth?

The problem is that everyone just wants to keep consuming and wasting things. We easily throw things away. Right now technology is very advanced. We continually extract oil and manufacture things that will not rot or decay. If we continue to burden the land with these things that do not rot or decay, then in the future where will we find land on which to grow crops? People wish to live upon this land, but if everything underfoot is garbage, how can we continue to live in the future? Moreover, we are continually manufacturing more, continually polluting the air. The climate is changing, and the air has become polluted; Our bodies are already raising red flags.

Many people say that air pollution [affects] people’s health, their trachea, lungs etc.; these problems keep appearing. Once the air becomes polluted, many people also catch colds. [The cold virus] in the air is a contamination created by sentient beings. This kind of contamination exists nowadays in this Saha World that we live in. This evil world of the Five Turbidities is also where the Five Destinies coexist. All these terms describe our world today. In other words, because for people like us today, the ground of our minds is not clean, we cause many natural disasters. First we pollute the air, then the climate changes, leading to natural disasters.

Besides natural disasters, there are manmade calamities. And how are manmade calamities created? By people’s minds! So, we always say [we must] purify the mind. When we clearly understand the principles, naturally the mind will be purified. We keep saying, “Sincere friendship heralds goodness in the world.” We keep hoping that everyone will understand this principle. We must all treat each other with hearts of genuine sincerity. Then this would then be just like. Dharma Clarity Tathagata’s world. Within that state, there is such purity; there is no pollution. Everyone’s mind will be very pure, The human and the heavenly intersect; humans’ minds and heavenly beings’ minds are mutually in accord with each other.

To be reborn in heaven, we must practice the Ten Good Deeds. Thus we can be born in the heavens in the future, Having perfected the Ten Good Deeds, heavenly beings enjoy blessings in the heavens. Humans in the human realm can likewise begin practicing the Ten Good Deeds, With the Ten Good Deeds practiced to the fullest, the minds of humans and of heavenly beings naturally intersect and connect with each other. The hope is that everyone’s minds will be sincere. “Sincere friendship heralds goodness in the world.” To do this, people must teach others. “Thoughtful teaching brings blessings and enrichment.” In the world, we mutually influence each other, mutually trust one another and treat each other sincerely and thoughtfully. If we are able to do this, if everyone benefits the world with sincerity, if everyone gives unconditionally, if everyone continues teaching each other with thoughtfulness, we can truly benefit humankind.

To give an example, yesterday afternoon. I had a video conference with [our volunteers in] Serbia. I saw a group of adorable Bodhisattvas. They were there in Serbia. They were all sitting on the ground. They found a space in the hotel, and they all sat on the ground. They all looked so relaxed and at ease. Tzu Chi volunteers from 12 countries had gathered together there. Everyone looked so joyful surrounding the screen. I thought there were 11 countries but they told me, “There are 12 countries.” I exclaimed, “You’ve added another!” They told me, “Slovakia.” This country borders Hungary, it is north of it. There is a man named Peter from there who is a friend of Mr. Zhong.

When Peter heard his friend was in Serbia, he was just about to take a vacation. He felt, “Instead of having fun on my vacation, I would rather join in to help others. I think I will be very happy doing this.” This is what he was thinking, so he made the decision to begin the 14-plus hours journey. The train ride alone took 12 hours. Then, to get to [the camp at] Sid, where our Tzu Chi volunteers were, he had to take a bus for another two-plus hours before arriving there. It took him 14 hours in all to meet up with the Tzu Chi volunteers. So, now we have volunteers from 12 countries.

The images of Tzu Chi volunteers there [show] how their small [contributions] given over time flowed like a long thin stream into the people’s hearts there to nourish them. So every day, in that place, volunteers came and went in the refugee waystation. This was the first stop along the refugees’ route. Others were stationed in the places where refugees were temporarily staying. In these two places, Tzu Chi volunteers, from March 1 to March 6 (2016), distributed relief goods daily, whether there were many people or few. Over those six days, they have already distributed aid to more than 1500 people. They gave little by little in these distributions. They said there were actually many difficulties, but everyone was very happy. Everyone there learned to use “the power of gentleness.” In that place, they had soft and gentle hearts and learned how to face [the refugees].

Having set foot upon that land, they had to find ways to help this group of people who had come from afar, people who had suffered so much. This is like the kind of heart parents have, the way they treat their own children. They treat the refugees as their beloved children. They held the clothes up against the refugees. “Will this fit you right?” After the refugees put on the clothes, they ask, “Does it look good?” They were just like parents with their children. Whether the refugees were elderly, young, or children, they treated them the same. They helped them find clothing, put on hats and scarves, shoes and socks. They helped them assemble an outfit so they could try it on. They made sure everything fit them properly.

After they are outfitted, they were given a charm that was a wood cutout of the word “peace.” We have been using this “peace” charm in Taiwan. These volunteers had great wisdom; they brought so many of these charms with them. Thus they could give each refugee a charm. This made them very happy.

At the Sid train station, at the refugee camp there, they interacted with the refugees in this way. With each family they met, every story they heard, they would comfort them and so on. This is keeping them company with love. Some had been turned back and sent to that place. With the power of love, from March 1 to March 6, [our volunteers] stayed there, near the train station.

Both the children and the adults there could neither go out nor go back. It was truly hard for them in that place. Still, for the children, they were more free here than if they went home. If they were to return to Syria, they would face gunfire every day. They would be very scared. In this place, they felt they were very free. Because children do not know what is going on, they do not realize that even though they were safe there, the next meal was never guaranteed. They could only rely on others’ help. Each day, a local NGO there would give them bread or some dry rations. This is how they lived.

We discussed this up to here yesterday. Yesterday [the volunteers there] also told me, “What they requested most was an additional change of underwear.” There is no place to wash up there, but [clean] underwear is still very important. Of course, the food they eat is very crude. What could we do to help them eat a little better? We must try to match their local cuisine. We want to avoid causing them stomach problems. So, we have to be very careful. They have been fleeing for a long time. Could we give them a real meal with hot soup and fresh vegetables to eat?

Yesterday, I also brought this up with the volunteers. They too hope that one day [soon], those who are stuck in that place can receive our “distribution of love,” so we can provide them with a substantial meal. Because a hotel there has already given us use of their kitchen, and Mr. Yang, one of our volunteers from Germany, is a chef, he could make his specialties for them. This is something we discussed yesterday.

To sum up, the power of love is there. In that place, each family faced their own challenges. But when we give to them with love, they can temporarily let go of their worries and temporarily connect emotionally with others. With their compassion, [the volunteers] establish very good friendships. At another waystation, one of those temporary shelters, every morning when they arrived, [the volunteers] led the local volunteers to first tidy up the environment, to clean areas like the bathrooms. This was how they guided them.

Now, when refugees see Tzu Chi volunteers there, whether adults or children see them, they always place their palms together in greeting. We see children there too. There was one family of eight; there were many children. The oldest sister cared for her younger siblings. When they saw Tzu Chi volunteers, all the children, old and young, stacked their hands up like this as they placed their palms together. The big ones, the middle ones and the younger ones all stretched out their hands, placing their hands on top of each other this way, thus putting their palms together. This was very beautiful.

All of the children broke into bright and innocent smiles. In their hearts, when they see Tzu Chi volunteers this sense of respect and joy arises. This is an example of how the Five Destinies can coexist in one place. Some local people there are fairly well off. Some live ordinary lives. There are poor people too, and refugees on top of that. For them, each day feels like a year. They wish to get to the destination they pray for, yet they are not able to overcome the obstacles. So, those people feel very sad.

Nevertheless, Tzu Chi volunteers are there, and the local people have gotten to know them. Yesterday, they were all very happy. They told me, “Master, in this country we have already obtained. NGO status for Tzu Chi! We are now officially allowed to distribute supplies and do relief work here.”

I told them, “With your sincerity, you have already broken the record. Whenever we go to a country, to register as an INGO, an international charity organization, is never easy. In the space of a few days to receive this certification from that country is quite amazing.” This comes from showing love with utmost sincerity. “Sincere friendship heralds goodness in the world.” This is love. That country is happy Tzu Chi volunteers are there. They have seen the sincerity in the volunteers, so they gave them this recognition and trust by issuing NGO status to them. This makes me very happy.

This is how people influence one another. So, “Thoughtful teaching brings blessing and enrichment to the world.” With an abundance of love, we are able to inspire others like this. This is in our world. For this world to be a pure land in the future, people’s minds need to mutually act on each other in this way. This is in Serbia.

Actually, it is the same in other places. It is the same in Jordan as well. There are many heart-warming stories there too that also have to do with refugees. They helped pull those refugees out of hell, helped relieve their suffering from illness and helped them deal with surviving while they are stuck there. For a long time, four or five years, they have been temporarily allowed to live there. They say it is temporary, but it has been 5 years. So, we must be mindful. If we can purify people’s minds, we can transform ordinary people into noble beings.

Thus, “Such outstanding qualities of the noble beings are like a grand ritual of the Three Flawless Studies.” If everyone here engaged in spiritual practice, then, as “the human and heavenly intersect,” everyone would be purifying people’s minds. By gradually learning to do this, naturally we will come to live in a land like this and cultivate the Three Flawless Studies this way. If everyone were to do this, if in our land and upon our earth, all of humankind were to do this, then wouldn’t we be living in a pure land? This is not impossible. It is possible. So, we should earnestly be mindful.

The previous sutra passage says,

“There will be countless asankyas, billions and trillions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas in that assembly. They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, so they can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.”

In Dharma Clarity Tathagata’s land, there will be many Bodhisattvas like this; they all will have attained great spiritual powers as well as the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. They can all educate one another with thoughtful teachings so in that country everyone will be able to turn from the. Small Vehicle to the direction of the Great. This describes that land; it is very precious.

The next sutra passage then says,

“The number of Hearers cannot be known by calculating or comparing. All of them are replete with the Six Spiritual Powers, the Three Insights and the Eight Liberations. That Buddha’s land will have such infinite merits and virtues dignifying it and bringing it to fruition.”

That place, in addition to Bodhisattvas, to the asankyas of Bodhisattvas, which means countless numbers of them, will also have Hearers. These are those who listen to the Dharma, They listen to the Dharma and practice it. “The number of Hearers cannot be known by calculating or comparing.” There are still more of them. All of them will have attained the Three Insights, Six Spiritual Powers and Eight Liberations. These Spiritual Powers, Insights and Liberations can all be seen in those Hearers, who have already been gradually cultivating them.

The number of Hearers cannot be known by calculating or comparing: This expresses that those who use their ears to hear the Dharma are many in number. Those who teach and transform the different kinds of sentient beings do so according to their individual kind.

Hearers, who hear the Dharma through their ears, can then pass on the teachings to others, can teach and transform sentient beings. According to their kind, they teach them in accord with their capabilities. Just by listening to the Buddha-Dharma, they can begin to form aspirations and teach and transform according to capabilities. This is the future land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata. There will be many Bodhisattvas and incalculable numbers of Hearers, who all teach each other in turn.

These people are all the same, whether Hearers or Arhats, they are replete with the Six Spiritual Powers, Three Insights and Eight Liberations.

All of them are replete with the Six Spiritual Powers, the Three Insights and the Eight Liberations: The Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers: These are the virtues that Arhats possess. The Eight Liberations: These are eight kinds of meditation to abandon the entanglements of the defiled phenomena in the Three Realms.

“The Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers” are the virtues with which Arhats are replete. Because they have engaged in spiritual practice, they already have the Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers.

The Eight Liberations “are eight kinds of meditation to abandon the entanglements of the defiled phenomena in the Three Realms.” These are the Eight Liberations. Do we still remember?

The Three Insights are “insight into previous lives insight of the heavenly eye” and “insight into ending all Leaks.” For the Hearers and Arhats, these are called the Three Insights. In Buddhas they are the Three Understandings.

Everyone should still remember this.

The Three Insights: Insight into previous lives. Insight of the heavenly eye. Insight into ending all Leaks. For Arhats they are called the Three Insights, for Buddhas, the Three Understandings.

So, “insight into previous lives” is “insight into one’s own or others’ causes and conditions in all previous lifetimes.” When I know my own past, and I know your past as well, this is “insight into previous lives.” [Knowing] the relationship between you and I in the past is called “insight into previous lives.” Next is the “insight of the heavenly eye.” This is the “insight of knowing what will happen to oneself or others in all future lifetimes. Previous lives” is knowing the past. The “heavenly eye” is being able to see into the future. This is our relationship in this life; what will we be like in the future? This is “insight of the heavenly eye.”

We often say, we do not know why we came into this world. This is because we are ignorant of our past. When we came to this life, why it is that we have [negative] affinities? Why it is that we have good affinities? What were our karmic affinities in the past like? We do not know. We have no “insight,” no “insight into previous lives.” We have this kind of relationship now. In the future, will we also be able to be born in the same era and engage in spiritual practice together? This we cannot see; we also cannot see the future. This is because we are unenlightened beings. However, Hearers and Arhats have engaged in spiritual practice and already attained the “insight of the heavenly eye.” They know the future and the things that will happen between themselves and others.

Next is “insight into ending all Leaks. Insight into ending all Leaks” is “the insight of using the wisdom of noble beings to completely eliminate all afflictions.” What we practice is to take in the Dharma we hear and not let it leak away. Whether precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, or listening, contemplation and practice, after taking these to heart, we should not let them leak away. If we listen to the Dharma and quickly forget, that means it has leaked away. After we listen, we must remember and understand. Only when we understand all of the principles will we truly be “without Leaks.”

When we are “without Leaks,” the Dharma will remain in our hearts. “Ending all Leaks” is putting an end to all afflictions and ignorance. The Dharma we hear leaks away because we still have afflictions. As we engage in spiritual practice, we must completely eliminate our afflictions. Then when we take the Dharma to heart, it will not leak away as soon as afflictions arise. So, this is “insight into ending all Leaks.” When we eradicate all afflictions, when we put an end to all afflictions, we have the wisdom of noble beings.

Insight into previous lives: This is the insight to know one’s own or others’ causes and conditions in all previous lifetimes. Insight of the heavenly eye: This is the insight of knowing what will happen to oneself or others in all future lifetimes. Insight into ending all Leaks: The insight of using the wisdom of noble beings to completely eliminate all afflictions.

These three are in Arhats called the Three Insights and in Buddhas called the Three Understandings.

Next are the Six Spiritual Powers. The Six Spiritual Powers are “the spiritual powers attained by the noble beings of the Three Vehicles.” The Three Vehicle [practitioners], the Hearers, the Solitary Realizers and the Bodhisattvas, all have them. So, these [powers] are “the power of the heavenly eye, the power of the heavenly ear, the power of knowing others’ minds, the power of knowing previous lives, the power of transporting oneself” and “the power of ending all Leaks.”

The Six Spiritual Powers: The spiritual powers attained by the noble beings of the Three Vehicles. The power of the heavenly eye, the power of the heavenly ear, the power of knowing others’ minds, the power of knowing previous lives, the power of transporting oneself, the power of ending all Leaks.

If Hearers, Solitary Realizers and. Bodhisattvas all have these powers, then what about Buddhas? Buddhas have the Three Understandings. They have perfected the. Six Spiritual Powers and the Three Understandings.

The Eight Liberations are meditative states. Another name for them is the Eight Abandonments. “Abandonment” and “liberation” mean the same thing. “These are the eight kinds of meditation to abandon the entanglement of the afflictions of the Three Realms.”

The Eight Liberations: Also called the Eight Abandonments. These are the eight kinds of meditation to abandon the entanglement of the afflictions of the Three Realms.

This means the mind is without hindrances. In the Three Realms, there are all kinds of ignorance and afflictions. When we have completely abandoned them, when we have cast them all behind us, this is “abandonment.” If we have already completely liberated ourselves from all the afflictions that entangled us, that is called the Eight Liberations. Of course, this requires spiritual practice. We must practice until our minds are settled and we manifest wisdom. We must always remain in a state of Samadhi.
There are several varieties of this Samadhi.

The Eight Liberations: 1. Liberation through contemplating external appearances when material desires arise 2. Liberation through contemplating external appearances when no material desires arise 3. Liberation of purity fully confirmed by the body 4. Liberation through the state of concentration of boundless space 5. Liberation through the state of concentration of boundless consciousness 6. Liberation through the state of concentration of nothingness 7. Liberation through the state of concentration of neither thought nor non-thought 8. Liberation through. Samadhi of complete cessation. The Eight Liberations:

First is “liberation through contemplating external appearances when material desires arise.” Although our Six Sense Organs connect with the Six Sense Objects, when we see these things, we thoroughly understand them. Our minds connect with them, yet these external states never hinder our minds. We remain unhindered by external conditions. This is called “liberation.” From this example, everyone should understand what comes after.

Next is “liberation through contemplating external appearances when no material desires arise.” When we mentally prepare and want to go see something, this is “material desires arising.” Upon seeing it, we do not keep it in our minds to hinder us. Or, if we do not prepare yet suddenly see something, it still does not affect us. Something may suddenly happen to us; it may follow our wishes or go against them, but our mind remains unhindered by it. Without any preparation, something good may suddenly happen, or something unpleasant may suddenly happen, perhaps troubles may come our way, yet our mind can still be without hindrances. We just do what needs to be done, take care of what needs to be taken care of, and once done, that is enough. If we can thoroughly understand, our minds will truly remain unhindered.

Third is the “liberation of purity fully confirmed by the body.” We should “contemplate the body as impure, contemplate all feelings as suffering, contemplate the mind as impermanent and contemplate all things as being without self.” Our bodies indeed are unclean, but if we thoroughly understand that the body is a vessel for spiritual cultivation, then we will use this body to seize the present moment and earnestly take the Dharma to heart. In this way, we can use this body to engage in spiritual practice and attain realizations about all things in the world. Then all the pain and suffering in the world will not [negatively] influence our mind. This is a mind without hindrances.

Fourth is “liberation through the state of concentration of boundless space.” We understand the principle of emptiness, understand that everything is empty. We may have material [desires] in our minds, but we remain unaffected by them. Even without [desires] we may suddenly encounter external states, yet will still not be influenced by them either. Regarding our body, we understand that life is impermanent. We understand this. We experience how precious hearing the Dharma is. So, we need to seize the time to practice, listen to and do the things we should. Then we will never be hindered by a particular time or space. We are “liberated through the state of concentration of boundless space.” Wherever we are, “We have this aspiration as we walk this path.” This is because we “listen to this Dharma.”

Isn’t that group of Tzu Chi volunteers in Serbia in fact listening to this Dharma? Unhindered by space, they can go to many different places. Wherever they go, after they arrive they give in the same way. This is not being hindered by the conditions, the environment.

Fifth is “liberation through the state of concentration of boundless consciousness.” As for consciousness, everything we have ever done is stored in this consciousness of ignorance. Seeing external conditions, we connect with them, then our sixth and seventh consciousnesses lead us to take action, which all comes back to the eighth consciousness of ignorance. Ignorance is stored in the eighth consciousness. So, we are subject to many entanglements. Now we are “liberated through the state of concentration of boundless consciousness.” When our minds are empty, when our minds are very open and spacious, they can encompass the universe and the boundless worlds within it. Our consciousness is boundless. Our consciousness is liberated; it can travel leisurely and freely.

Sixth is the “liberation through the state of concentration of nothingness.” There is no place that is not a place of practice, no place we cannot attain liberation.

Seventh is “liberation through the state of concentration of no thought nor non-thought.” There is no thought; what is the use of thinking so much? But there is also thought; when it is something we should do, through tranquil contemplation, we must very clearly and deeply consider how we should go about it. “No thought” means we do not think the way ordinary people do; that is “desire.” For the sake of the Dharma, we must earnestly, mindfully seek to understand. “Nor non-thought” means we are not totally without thought. We must still think, still try to comprehend through calm contemplation.

Calm contemplation refers to how, with worldly matters, we must find a way to transcend worldly afflictions, to use a world-transcending spirit to carry out our missions in this world while remaining undefiled by other people. This is “liberation through the state of concentration of no thought nor non-thought.” We remain undefiled by the world, but our thinking is calm contemplation. It is meditation, a pure way of considering things, a pure way of thinking. All this helps us take the Dharma to heart and apply the Dharma among sentient beings. This is “wondrous existence in emptiness,” true emptiness and wondrous existence. We must exercise our pure nature of True Suchness without becoming defiled.

Eighth is “liberation through Samadhi of complete cessation.” Afte all afflictions are completely eliminated, we are completely liberated. These are the Three Insights, Six Spiritual Powers and Eight Liberations. We should try to thoroughly understand them.

So, “That Buddha’s land will [be] such.” The land Dharma Clarity Buddha gains in response will be like this. The people there will all be like this. Dharma Clarity Tathagata gains this Buddha-land in response to His virtues. His land will be like this, will have the previously stated circumstantial and direct retributions.

That Buddha’s land will have such: The land Dharma Clarity Buddha gains in response will have the previously stated circumstantial and direct retributions.

We often speak of these. In the past we have continually discussed circumstantial and direct retributions, when sentient beings are reborn in this place at the same time as Dharma Clarity Buddha, the land will be like this.

There are “infinite merits and virtues dignifying it and bringing it to fruition.”

Infinite merits and virtues dignifying it and bringing it to fruition: With all His merits and virtues, it is dignified. Thus, the land will be so vast. Within this state, there is such purity, and humans and heavenly beings have such elegance. The noble beings have such purity because they are without defilement or attachment. Outside of their minds, there is no phenomena covering them.

This is due to their many accumulated merits and virtues. Earlier we also said that much merit and virtues have to be accumulated to dignify and bring this kind of land to fruition. This was what Dharma Clarity Buddha accomplished. The sentient beings He created affinities with through His spiritual practice will all gather together in that place. That state will be one of such purity. So, “Humans and heavenly beings have such elegance.” There, the human and the heavenly intersect; it is truly a beautiful state. “The noble beings have such purity.” Those noble beings there will be so pure. “They are without defilement or attachment.” Everyone’s minds are free of these. “Outside of their minds, there is no phenomena covering them.” There are no defilements, none of the kinds of things people are attached to, not at all.

They will be “tranquil and clear, with vows as vast as the universe.” In the future this is the land Dharma Clarity Tathagata brings to fruition. If we are earnestly mindful, we will be in this land in the future as well. So, let us always be mindful!

Episode 1124 – A Straightforward Mind and Deep Faith

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>> “A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place. The depths of our heart is the pure land. By making vows to transform all living beings, when Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood, they are replete with merits and virtues. Sentient beings journey on their blessings to be born in that land.”

>> “The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food. First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy.”

>> “There will be countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of. Bodhisattvas in that assembly. They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, so they can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.”

>> There are countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of. Bodhisattvas in that assembly: This explains the virtues of the followers of the Three Vehicles. The number of Bodhisattvas of the Great Vehicle will be extremely large.

>> They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms: With the power of Samadhi, they are able to attain spiritual powers. They understand thoroughly all kinds of Dharma-nature and realize the four kinds of unobstructed wisdom.

>> The Four Unobstructed Wisdoms: They are also called the Four Unobstructed Understandings or the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence. The wisdom of unobstructed Dharma, the wisdom of unobstructed meaning, the wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric and the wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence.

>> The wisdom of unobstructed Dharma: It is to thoroughly understand the terms of all Dharma and differentiate them without hindrance.

>> The wisdom of unobstructed meaning: It is to comprehend the principles of all Dharma thoroughly without obstruction.

>> The wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric: It is to understand all kinds of languages and freely expound [the Dharma] at will.

>> The wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence: It is to eloquently speak the Dharma’s meaning, perfectly and harmoniously without hindrance, and teach sentient beings joyfully and freely.

>> They can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings. They have unobstructed spiritual powers; therefore they can skillfully transform and teach all kinds of sentient beings. They teach and transform them according to their kind.

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“A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place.
The depths of our heart is the pure land.
By making vows to transform all living beings,
when Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood,
they are replete with merits and virtues.
Sentient beings journey on their blessings to be born in that land.”

“A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place.” We must always pay close attention to and take good care of our minds. Our mind is our place of spiritual practice; if we do not take good care of our minds, how can we engage in spiritual practice? “[To know] all Buddhas of the Three Periods, [know] all things are created by the mind.” Thus, our minds are our place of practice. How should we engage in spiritual practice? We need to have deep understanding, deep faith and deep, strong vows. Regarding the Buddha-Dharma, we must have right understanding and right views. We must delve deeply into the Buddha’s teachings. However the Buddha taught us, we must have the greatest sincerity as we listen to and delve deeply into the Dharma. After we listen to it, we must mindfully seek to experience it so the Dharma can be taken straight into our heart.

If we can take the Dharma straight into our heart, then our whole mind will be a pure land. This is because we have faith in the Dharma from the depths of our hearts. The Dharma is the principles; it is a path for us to walk, a very grounded path, a Bodhisattva-path that goes straight to the state of Buddhahood. This state of mind is a pure land. Our mind is not troubled by anything else, not disrupted by any interpersonal conflicts. Afflictions and ignorance will not cover our minds. Our minds will always be a completely pure place of spiritual practice. This is our pure land.

Maitrayaniputra was about to receive a prediction of Buddhahood. The Buddha often praised Maitrayaniputra for the fact that his straightforward mind and the depths of his heart were places of spiritual practice and were both completely pure. He was able to comprehend the Buddha’s intent and walk the path the Buddha wanted to walk. This was Purna Maitrayaniputra’s straightforward mind and the depths of his heart; the spiritual training ground of his mind. He relied on the great vows he had made in the depths of his heart, the vows of his straightforward mind and the depths of his heart. Once he understood the Buddha-Dharma, he began to make the great vows. He vowed to deliver all sentient beings.

The Four Great Vows start with. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” Sentient beings are everywhere. On Earth alone there are so many countries. There are over 190 countries in this world. Every country is [different]; some of them are large and others are small. Some are rich and others are poor. The people of some countries are kindhearted while people of other countries have [calculating] minds. There is good and evil in every country’s people. Countries have their own numerous problems. This is all because people’s minds are confused. Everyone’s mind is covered by afflictions and ignorance. So, the Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, came to the world. He did not come for the sake of one country or for the sentient beings from one place. He wanted to cover all of the ten directions, which is all sentient beings.

Because of this, He said, “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” So, “vows to transform all living beings” were the vows of Purna Maitrayaniputra. The Four Great Vows are the vows of all Buddhas. They are the universal vows of all Buddhas. These are the Four Great Vows. Every Buddha, in order to attain Buddhahood, needs to have the Four Great Vows and the Four Infinite Minds. These are universal vows. So, “making vows to transform all living beings”.

Before Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood, when they are in the period of vowing to transform all living beings, they will spend lifetime after lifetime forming connections with sentient beings. Once these causes and conditions are sufficient, they will have perfected their merits and virtues. The sentient beings a Buddha transforms will be able to be like Him. Because they were transformed by Him, they will be born during the Buddha’s lifetime. “They will be born in the that land.” They will be with this Buddha because in past lives they continually created affinities with Him. In previous lifetimes, before he attained Buddhahood, when he was walking the Bodhisattva-path, he planted seeds and created blessed affinities over many lifetimes. As they were now replete with good affinities and had achieved perfection in merits and virtues, in future lifetimes, these people would be born in the same era as the Buddha. This is something we must believe.

Bodhisattvas have to go to all places; when they hear [the cries of] sentient beings, they will find and help those who are suffering. Indeed, this is how they are. For the past few days, we have been talking about a group of Bodhisattvas who are still in Serbia. They came from 11 different countries and all went to Serbia for the same purpose. They went for the sake of the refugees fleeing from another country. They suffer, and every step of the way is hard. They have experienced all kinds of suffering from the imbalance of the four elements and have taken many risks along the way, all to keep themselves and their families alive. They wanted to survive, so they fled their countries. This suffering is truly unbearable.

They have no clothes to wear, no food to eat and no shelter to live in. With people suffering like this, we had the opportunity [to help]. Our volunteers quickly seized this opportunity to go to that country. It has already been many days. From the day they left until now, they have worked morning to night. In that place, they hope the roads ahead can be opened so that more refugees can get through and the clothes we have prepared for them can be handed out. However, at this time, not many people are able to get through. They allow only 200 to 300 people to get through at a time, so the volunteers have to wait there patiently.

We see how, in that place, when they go out every morning, they split up into two routes. One goes to Adasevci, which is a waystation for the refugees. When the buses arrive, they allow the refugees to stop there for a while, so our volunteers will quickly seize that time to interact with them and dress them in the supplies we prepared. We can see how they put clothes, hats, socks, scarves, shoes and everything on them. After seeing their smiles, our volunteers feel so at ease.

As for those who stayed near the train station, which is also a waystation for the refugees, they [worked with] those who were stuck there or those who were waiting for their train to come. This other group of Tzu Chi volunteers stayed there to help these refugees. They have seen many refugees at the Sid train station refugee camp. Some of them are able to get on the train as soon as the door opens, but some are kicked off after getting on the train. Why did this happen? Because they did not have the appropriate ID. Some of them lost their identification cards, so they quickly got off the train to look for their IDs. They kept digging through the pile of trash. Tzu Chi volunteers and other people went to help them look for their identification, but they still could not find them. They cried as they searched for their IDs. Just as the train was about to leave, they were still looking for their IDs.

Some were being brought back by the train because they had been injured. They were fine when they left but injured when they returned. There was a man named Hasan who was sent back because when he got off the train to go in, that country actually prevented his entry. Why did they refuse to let him in? There was some problem with his ID again, so he was not allowed to enter [the country]. He was so anxious to cross the border that he was struck and injured by the police. His arm was injured and he was sent back. He was so angry.

Our Tzu Chi volunteers quickly got close to him and cheered him up. They asked him to be patient and wait for a bit. The road to Croatia was tightly guarded. Though he was able to board the train in Serbia and had already reached Croatia, after he got off the train, there was this kind of clash there, and he was sent back. Moreover, his hand was injured, so he was truly very upset.

We could see Shu-Wei gently comforting him there. We also saw the refugee commissioner, the head of the refugee committee, who originally was not very kind to the refugees. The process the refugees had to go through was truly like going through the gates of hell. They faced some very shameful attitudes there. However, over those few days in that place, Tzu Chi volunteers showed their sincere love [to the refugees], which deeply touched this refugee commissioner, the head of the waystation. He became more soft and gentle. He became friends with the Tzu Chi volunteers and began to treat others like the volunteers did. He also became a Bodhisattva.

This is what it means to transform sentient beings. We vow to transform all sentient beings. For people who suffer, we provide comfort. We see their suffering, so we put clothes on them to make them warm. Our attitude makes them feel that a dear friend has come to look after their hearts. This becomes, in their lives, a share of “Dharma-food.” Dharma-joy comes from a Bodhisattva’s loving attitude while helping others. From the spiritual training ground of their straightforward mind and the depths of the heart, they give selflessly. For those people, fleeing their country was like a nightmare, a nightmare they could not wake up from. It was all beyond their control, and they did not know what lay ahead. But they could spend some heart-warming time with this group of Bodhisattvas. This group of kind friends were there to guide them and provide them with the material goods they needed. This was like passing through a pure land. This was because Bodhisattvas were there spreading seeds of love that would grow into a forest of merits and virtues. Those who were there to serve were also very deeply moved.

Some of the Tzu Chi volunteers stayed at a hotel. I saw a picture of all the Tzu Chi volunteers gathered around a table with a computer in the middle. Everyone focused on listening to something. What were they listening to? It was “Life Wisdom.” Now, the Dharma can be sent to the clouds then be brought down anywhere in the world. These Living Bodhisattvas gathered at the table and very mindfully listened to me talk about the process of their relief work in Serbia. They were all so mindful. This is also the Dharma.

Even though they are very far from us, they were also listening to the teachings. They were listening to how they, as modern Bodhisattvas, were helping suffering beings in other places. At the hotel where they stayed, they already created affinities of friendship and joy with the owner. The owner offered his kitchen so the Tzu Chi volunteers could cook the vegetarian foods they wanted to eat. Everyone was very happy because they could make home-cooked meals there. They could make home-cooked vegetarian dishes. The owner also took the volunteers to buy groceries to bring back. Using the kitchen, they were able to have meals with the flavor of their hometown. Everyone was very happy. This is how Bodhisattvas are.

They vow to go there, and though they face many difficulties, they use their love, they truly use the power of gentleness, a very soft and gentle demeanor, to overcome these obstacles one after another. This is truly very touching to see. So, we should all be mindful. We must be mindful in our daily living. This is how to be a Buddhist practitioner. As practitioners, we have the food of Dharma-joy and meditative joy. This is our process of spiritual practice, the things we experience as we practice.

Tzu Chi volunteers create affinities wherever they go. They truly created such joyful affinities in that restaurant. They also listened to the Dharma there, so they have the food of. Dharma-joy and meditative joy. They could listen to the Dharma and also eat what they wanted by cooking for themselves. These causes and conditions were sufficient.

Previously we talked about how.

“The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food. First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy.”

This is just like the Tzu Chi volunteers in Serbia. They have both kinds of “food.” This is how they feel as they served. We talked about this yesterday.

The next sutra passage states,

“There will be countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of. Bodhisattvas in that assembly. They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, so they can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.”

In that place, the sentient beings in that land will constantly experience these two [feelings] of. Dharma-joy and meditative-joy. This is what sentient beings in that land experience in their lives. “There are countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of. Bodhisattvas in that assembly.” There are not only sentient beings but also many Bodhisattvas.

There are countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of. Bodhisattvas in that assembly: This explains the virtues of the followers of the Three Vehicles. The number of Bodhisattvas of the Great Vehicle will be extremely large.

“This explains the virtues of the followers of the Three Vehicles.” In that place, there are practitioners of the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles engaging in spiritual practice in the land of. Dharma Clarity Tathagata. There are many Bodhisattvas there; the majority have formed Great Vehicle aspirations. This is because now Purna Maitrayaniputra uses the Great Vehicle Dharma to create affinities with people. Thus, in his future land, the majority will be Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas.

So, these people, these Bodhisattvas, will all attain great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, especially the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms.

They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms: With the power of Samadhi, they are able to attain spiritual powers. They understand thoroughly all kinds of Dharma-nature and realize the four kinds of unobstructed wisdom.

“With the power of Samadhi” means that to attain spiritual powers, we must start with the power of Samadhi. With precepts we give rise to Samadhi, and with Samadhi we give rise to wisdom. This principle is certain. In regards to spiritual practice, I am always teaching everyone about the Three Flawless Studies. Our precepts, Samadhi and wisdom must be flawless. Our Samadhi comes from upholding the precepts. There are things we should and should not do; if we can follow this well, then our minds will not be troubled by interpersonal conflicts. This way, our minds will not be scattered. So, with a mind that is not scattered, we can focus our spirit. This is attaining spiritual powers. We are focued and not scattered, concentrating our spirit. Then there is nothing we do not know. This is the Bodhisattvas’ power of Samadhi.

“They understand thoroughly all kinds of Dharma-nature.” They ultimately understand /all of the Dharma-nature. Dharma-nature is something we all inherently have. As for the principles of all things in this world, there are none that they do not comprehend. They “realize the four kinds of unobstructed wisdom.”

With the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, we must be mindful in order to understand. They are also the Four Unobstructed Understandings or the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence.

The Four Unobstructed Wisdoms: They are also called the Four Unobstructed Understandings or the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence. The wisdom of unobstructed Dharma, the wisdom of unobstructed meaning, the wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric and the wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence.

As long as we fully comprehend the principles, as long as we understand all of them, then with these principles we understand, if other people cannot comprehend them and misinterpret or misunderstand us, we can explain things to them. This is unobstructed eloquence.

These four, the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence, are the wisdoms of unobstructed Dharma, meaning, rhetoric and joyful eloquence. Among these four, ․what exactly is wisdom of unobstructed Dharma? “It is to thoroughly understand the terms of all Dharma and differentiate them without hindrance.”

The wisdom of unobstructed Dharma: It is to thoroughly understand the terms of all Dharma and differentiate them without hindrance.

For all the terms in the Dharma, we are able to have thorough understanding. When we hear a term, we will be able to know what it means. When we say “suffering,” with this one word, we all fully comprehend the suffering of the world. All kinds of appearances of suffering and principles appear in our minds. These teachings come from just one word. From the word “causation,” we are able to experience how countless amounts of ignorance accumulates and gives rise to so many afflictions. This is called the wisdom of unobstructed Dharma. As for the Dharma’s terms, whether they are one word or multiple words, we can understand them as soon as we hear them. We are able to understand everything. This is the kind of wisdom we have.

The second is called “wisdom of unobstructed meaning. It is to comprehend the principles of all Dharma thoroughly without obstruction.”

The wisdom of unobstructed meaning: It is to comprehend the principles of all Dharma thoroughly without obstruction.

We just spoke of how we understand all terms. Whatever terms we encounter now, we will be able to fully know what they are. We understand the principles, and we know what kind of Dharma they belong to. We categorize them by type and teaching, thoroughly and without obstruction.

The third is the wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric.

The wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric: It is to understand all kinds of languages and freely expound [the Dharma] at will.

We will understand the teachings and fully comprehend the principles contained within. What terms should we use when teaching people so that everyone understands? What kind of language should we use? Since there are so many countries and even some countries with multiple languages, if we want to spread the Dharma, how many languages do we need to know? In Taiwan alone, there is Hakka, Taiwanese, as well as many different indigenous languages. Speaking of only indigenous tribes, there are already dozens of different languages. In short, we must use all kinds of terms and languages to teach so that sentient beings will understand. We interact with them through methods that enable them to understand.

In the past, there was a period when. I continually told people, “You all have to learn international sign language.” I hoped that, whatever their country of origin, though we do not speak their language, we could use sign language [to communicate]. However, they would need to understand it too. In short, there may be many methods and languages that we do not understand. Not everyone knows sign language, either. So, to be able to listen to the Dharma is not so simple. Teaching the Dharma also is very difficult. To transform sentient beings is not easy. Thus, if we are not familiar with the terms and do not know all kinds of languages, then we cannot teach the Dharma. If you want me to talk to Americans, there is no way I could do that. If you want me to talk to Japanese people, I cannot do that either. This is because I do not know the words.

Thus, the wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence “is to eloquently speak the Dharma’s meaning, perfectly and harmoniously without hindrance and teach sentient beings joyfully and freely.”

The wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence: It is to eloquently speak the Dharma’s meaning, perfectly and harmoniously without hindrance, and teach sentient beings joyfully and freely.

If we cannot communicate, we must rely on others to translate for us. We need to find people who know how to speak and know how to translate to come translate. This is joyful eloquence. “I cannot speak this [language]. Please come here and help me translate. All I want to do is wholeheartedly let them know about the Dharma.” We must think of all possible methods. If we cannot use sign language or spoken words to communicate, we have to ask people to translate and think of some kind of method. There is truly nothing we can do about this; sentient beings speak different languages. To transform sentient beings is by no means easy. However, when we can speak and understand [the same language as others], we should use unobstructed joyful eloquence. We learn things thoroughly over and over, and after we learn, we explain them to others. We hope those who have affinities can accept them.

These affinities must be constantly accumulated, so we should “skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.”

They can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings: They have unobstructed spiritual powers; therefore, they can skillfully transform and teach all kinds of sentient beings. They teach and transform them according to their kind.

Those Bodhisattvas in the land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata already have the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. They have attained great spiritual powers and also the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. So, “They can skillfully teach and transform sentient beings.” They are able to teach sentient beings. They have thoroughly understood all these things; they comprehend the Dharma, the meaning and the rhetoric, so they have joyful eloquence. They have the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence. They will be replete with all of this. They willingly get involved and go among people to transform sentient beings because they have the vow of a Bodhisattva.

Because they want to attain Buddhahood, they must walk this Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path is not an easy one; we must be mindful in walking it. So in that place, sentient beings and spiritual practitioners of the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles are able to receive teachings from Dharma Clarity Tathagata. Thus they can all move into the stage of forming Great Vehicle aspirations.

Great Vehicle aspirations are to “skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.” They can all teach and transform sentient beings. They will have “unobstructed spiritual powers, therefore they can skillfully transform [people].” Because they will be replete in spiritual powers, their powers are without obstruction. When we want to accomplish something in this world, there are many obstacles. Even with the same good deed, different people have different methods of accomplishing it. Some people take their straightforward mind as their place of spiritual practice. When they want to do some task, everyone does it together. Some people think that in order to do these things together, they must work with someone they have affinities with or someone they have already worked with in the past.

“This person is not easy to get along with. That person has bad habitual tendencies.” Thus they refuse to interact with this person, even if they may have already changed, even if they fully eliminated all their bad habits. Then coming back, [they say,] “I want to do good deeds together with you! I want to walk the Bodhisattva-path together!” However, some people feel that since that person was this way in the past, they do not want to let them on [the team] or do not want to partner with them.

In this way, though they have good intentions, they are lacking that straightforward mind. If we want to do something good, we need to do it with many people. But if we only choose the people we like and the people who listen to us in order to avoid past frustrations, we are not giving others a chance. This is a Bodhisattva lacking a straightforward mind, lacking [vows] in the depths of the heart.

With Bodhisattva-aspirations deep in our hearts, our spiritual aspirations will be very firm. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the world to transform sentient beings. They do not let even one sentient being slip by. This is what all Bodhisattvas and. Buddhist practitioners have deep in their hearts. No matter how far away people are, as long as there are causes and conditions, we will do everything in our power to help and transform them. This is what is in the depths of our hearts. This is our straightforward mind.

Look at how these [volunteers] are now far away from their homes. They come not only from the ten directions, but from 11 different directions. People from 11 different countries all went there to work with the locals, who also formed aspirations and dedicated themselves as volunteers. As they came together, there were originally people from 11 counties, but now, including the locals, there are 12. Previously we talked about reporters. There were also journalists from Hungary who went in there with us, as well as the local ones. If we count these, that would make 13 countries. Now, there are people of 11 countries transforming people in another 2 countries. In those 2 countries seeds of kindness are planted and they have already joined Tzu Chi. These is how Bodhisattvas transform sentient beings. These are unobstructed spiritual powers. In these faraway places, they are able to bring everyone together to spread the seeds of kindness across a field of merits and virtues. When they arrive, they “skillfully transform.”

So, they “teach all kinds of sentient beings. They teach and transform them according to their kind.” To save people there and transform them into Bodhisattvas is truly no easy task. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. We must be mindful of the process of forming aspirations and making vows. Our minds must be straightforward, and the Dharma must be taken deeply into our heart. It must truly be taken in deeply in order to “have Dharma to transform people.”

Thus, “A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place. The depths of our heart is the pure land.” We must “make vows to transform all living beings.” Dear Bodhisattvas, these are the spiritual provisions we need in order to attain Buddhahood. Yesterday, we talked about. Dharma-joy and meditative-joy. This is the spiritual food we absorb to help our wisdom-life grow. We must earnestly absorb it, so we must always be mindful.

Episode 1123 – The Two Pure Foods that Benefit Wisdom-Life

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>> “Dharma-joy: When we cultivate contemplation, our hearts become joyful and at peace. Dharma-food: When we hear the Dharma and practice it, our hearts become happy and at ease. It is like being in the land of peace and joy, born in a lotus. We constantly hear the Buddha’s deep and wondrous voice teaching the Dharma.”

>> ” He will attain great spiritual powers, and his body will radiate light. He will be able to fly about freely. His resolve and thoughts will be firm, and he will advance diligently with wisdom. The bodies of all will be golden in color. He will dignify himself with the 32 Marks. He will dignify himself with the 32 Marks.

>> “The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food. First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy.”

>> The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food: This explains that the sentient beings receive the spiritual provisions of the Dharma to nourish their wisdom-life. They often take two kinds of teachings as their pure food.

>> First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy. When they hear the Dharma and are happy, their minds full and contented, this is called the food of Dharma-joy. When they practice the Buddha’s Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and stability, this is called the food of meditative joy.

 First, the food of Dharma-joy. They hear the Dharma and are happy; as a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life. Second, the food of meditative joy. They enter meditation and Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and calm. As a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life. This means world-transcending practitioners, due to attaining the power of Samadhi, nourish themselves to nurture wisdom-life. Their practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant. Their minds are constantly filled with joy. This is the food of meditative joy.

>> Sentient beings in the Three Realms all depend on food and dwelling. There are the Four Foods, food for the body, food for the senses, food for the mind and food for consciousnesses.

>> Food for the body: This refers to the kind of food and drink taken by sentient beings in this land. Food for the senses: This is the feelings of joy and so on received by the Five Roots from external states. Food for the mind: This refers to our thinking, hopes and so on. Food for consciousnesses: This refers to all kinds of karma permeating the alaya consciousness and giving rise to continuous retributions. It enables the deluded mind to abide.

>> The Four Foods are also called physical food, emotional food, Dharma food and mental food. They can develop strength, joy and hope . They can capture all roots and cause our form, lifespan and warmth to continue to exist without decay. They are all called flawed foods of the world.

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“Dharma-joy:
When we cultivate contemplation, our hearts become joyful and at peace.
Dharma-food:
When we hear the Dharma and practice it, our hearts become happy and at ease.
It is like being in the land of peace and joy,
born in a lotus.
We constantly hear the Buddha’s
deep and wondrous voice teaching the Dharma.”

In the process of learning the Buddha-Dharma, Dharma-joy is the orientation of everyone’s minds. I hope we all can always experience joy from taking the Dharma to heart. How do we go about taking the Dharma to heart? We do this through cultivating contemplation. Our minds and thoughts must not be scattered. As unenlightened beings, our minds are always distracted. Our thinking is always wild and unruly, like a wild horse or a stubborn monkey. We are unable to settle our thinking. Now that we are listening to the Dharma and take joy in it, we form aspirations to engage in spiritual practice. As we begin this process of spiritual practice, we must be patient with this, must endure that, must face this and must put that into practice. It seems that enduring so much in our spiritual practice is so taxing, so our spiritual resolve gradually begins to fade. This is the flow of thinking that leads to us losing our will to practice. Our thoughts are just like the tide of the ocean that comes in, wave after wave. One after another, these afflictions continue to invade our thinking.

We cannot see through interpersonal problems and cannot thoroughly realize the principles. Thus, the direction of our thinking goes far off course from a slight deviation. We become continually immersed in afflictions and are unable to cultivate our contemplation. We cannot settle our minds and cannot concentrate as we reflect on the Dharma. Thus, how can we ever attain Dharma-joy? To experience Dharma-joy, our mind must be still and tranquil. Our path must be correct. We cannot stray from the great, direct Bodhi-path. When we are able to truly still our minds and walk according to the great, direct Bodhi-path, our hearts will always be “joyful and at peace”; our hearts will naturally feel joy. “The mind is without hindrances; there are no hindrances.” Thus we are free from discursive thinking, and there are no other things to frighten us remaining in our hearts. So, we must, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, let go of all interpersonal conflicts. What we must practice is forming great aspirations and walking the great Bodhi-path. Only this is our true direction. We go among people and give unconditionally. As we go among them, we encounter many afflictions. We must know how to overcome them, one by one, for only in overcoming these afflictions will we learn to be free and at ease.

In the past few days, Tzu Chi volunteers from Europe are still in Serbia. Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries are there and have begun to work and carry out distributions. In the report that they sent back yesterday, there was a video of their fourth day of work, as well as photos. They gave a short written report of the difficulties they encountered there, but by the looks of their bright, smiling faces, everyone was full of joy. Why were they joyful? Because they have given to others. The distribution the day before was too late for the refugees [who left that morning]. So, the amount distributed was very little. According to the report they sent back yesterday, they split themselves into two groups. One remained at the train station, while the other left, heading toward Adasevci, a way station for refugees. They left for that place early in the morning, at five or six o’clock.

They were very glad that four buses loaded with refugees had just arrived. They were in a hurry because the refugees were on their way to catch a train. So, they hurried after those four tour buses that were filled with refugees. As the refugees got off the buses, they quickly took their measurements one by one to measure them for their clothing size. Each person was then given an overcoat that bore the Tzu Chi logo. The refugees were so happy, as were those who did the giving. Those who gave were joyful and light-hearted. Those who received were also joyful to be able to receive these things. Both groups were able to share this joy together.

Those who received the gifts were truly joyful, as shown by the smiles upon their faces. Yesterday the temperatures had dropped to just three or four degrees Celsius there; it was quite cold. So, we were just in time to give them warm clothes that they could wear. When they put these on, grateful and joyous feelings poured out of them. Some pointed to the logo and gave a joyful thumbs-up. Wearing these clothes, they felt very warm. Furthermore, we gave to them without expectation, yet we felt filled with Dharma-joy. Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries had quickly assembled to fulfill this wish together. On those four buses, how many adults and how many children were there? There were at least 200 people in all. One by one, they were able to receive this clothing that would keep them warm.

Another group [of volunteers] went to the refugee camp near the Sid train station, where they again saw some people getting ready to board a train. However, there were also some who were unable to board the train. They were not permitted to board. Why was this? It was because they were from Afghanistan, not from Syria. They were from Afghanistan, yet they too were refugees. However, the only people allowed to pass and board the train were the Syrian refugees. In the refugee camp, there were many Afghanis who were stuck there. Their faces were filled with worry, and they endured such suffering! When would they ever be able to leave that place and go where they wished to go, where they chose to go? They suffered such hardship. There were elderly and middle-aged people as well as children there. In particular, there were many children.

The Tzu Chi volunteers then got the idea to make use of Jing Si aphorisms. Besides distributing clothing and material aid to them, they were also able to interact with them by letting them pick out Jing Si aphorisms [to read]. Each of the Jing Si aphorisms that they chose were very useful to them. They also took the opportunity to start teaching them sign language. We had [volunteers] who spoke many languages. Whatever Jing Si aphorism they picked, those who understood from each country would translate it. No matter the language, volunteers were able to give the translation for the Jing Si aphorisms that they chose. After picking the aphorisms they were happy and communicated and shared amongst each other.

Throughout this, they shared about Tzu Chi and taught them the song, “We Are All One Family.” They began teaching them the song, “We Are All One Family,” in Chinese. Everyone there began singing. “We Are All One Family.” The children and young people learned quickly, and we could hear them singing the words in Chinese, “Because we are all one family….” In this way, they all came together, and for a short while they forgot their suffering. We could see them there embracing one another, sharing their joy and reading Jing Si aphorisms. They sang, “We Are All One Family”; what a great method [to bring people together]! This is what we call Dharma-joy.

Tzu Chi volunteers walk the Bodhisattva-path by putting the teachings into practice. After engaging in their thought process, they were willing to gather together from faraway places. These Bodhisattvas gathered like clouds, coming together in Serbia. They were willing to help those fleeing refugees who have fallen on hard times. This is a matter of their perspective and thinking. They are willing and able to help others. They are joyful and at ease. Today, they were able to help those people on those four tour buses, both adults and children. They gave them warm clothes and alleviated their hunger with material supplies. This is what makes them most joyful. This is the Dharma of unconditional giving. They are joyful, and their minds are at ease. This is our path as Living Bodhisattvas.

So, there is Dharma-joy, and there is Dharma-food. Dharma-food means, “When we hear the Dharma and practice it, our hearts become happy and at ease.” When we listen to the Dharma, our hearts naturally become joyful and at ease. We can see those refugees stuck there, unable to advance or retreat. They want to go forward, but are unable to do so; their path is blocked. Their path is restricted so they are unable to advance. If they wanted to go back the way they came, that way is also blocked. So, they are stuck there, their faces full of worry, in great suffering! The Tzu Chi volunteers there comforted them, giving them short aphorisms to read. The aphorisms they drew helped ease their minds. “Life is suffering, so we must have courage, be free from resentment” and so on.

These few short phrases brought them comfort. These words that they received, which they chose themselves, allowed them to, for a short while, find joy in that place. Having warm clothes to wear, food to alleviate their hunger and these aphorisms [to comfort them] can all be called Dharma-food. “[If] we hear the Dharma and practice it,” we have no need for resentment; we open the door to our heart so that. “When our luck turns, blessings will come.” This is the kind of patience they had. Since they could neither advance nor retreat, all they could do was wait there patiently. There is nothing they could do. The Dharma was able to [benefit them]; was it a short- or a long-term benefit? Over the short term they found peace. Even if it was a short time, the good affinities they formed from interacting were a kind of joy for them.

“It is like being in the land of peace and joy, born in a lotus.” Although they were in the midst of suffering, they were able to temporarily forget it. In that place, everyone felt joy and happiness. Although they could neither advance nor retreat, as if stuck in a swamp, their bodies and minds were temporarily liberated. Even if it was temporary, they had made good friends from afar. These good friends came to visit them and support them, bringing them happiness and peace of mind. Though it was only a stop on their path of escape, they considered it to be a land of peace and joy. Although they were still stuck in the swamp, for a short time it was as if lotus flowers were growing out of this mud, making the swamp beautiful. Lotus flowers of the heart also blossomed there. Even though it was temporary, it could still be described in this way.

“We constantly hear the Buddha’s deep and wondrous voice teaching the Dharma.” Of course, the Dharma that we wish to speak of is the process of spiritual practice. We can constantly maintain that spirit of benefiting others, focusing our minds with a single resolve. Our minds must not follow external conditions so that we become shaken and disturbed. We have chosen a path toward awakening. Thus our hearts, no matter where we are, will always be at peace and at ease. Most important for us is to always listen to the Buddha-Dharma. We look forward to the future when we will be born in the same era as the Buddha and can often hear His voice in person, when we can draw close to the Buddha and hear His deep, wondrous voice teaching the Dharma.

If we can earnestly engage in spiritual practice, lifetime after lifetime, we can follow the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha paved a path for us to walk on, so that we can reach our destination more quickly. We will reach the place the Buddha has gone, the ultimate destination, which is the state of attaining Buddhahood. This all requires us to be mindful.

The previous sutra passage states,

“They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will radiate light. They will be able to fly about freely. Their resolve and thoughts will be firm, and they advance diligently with wisdom. The bodies of all will be golden in color, and they will be dignified with the 32 Marks.” 

We spoke of this yesterday. This is the place where Purna would attain Buddhahood, the world of Dharma Clarity [Tathagata]. In that realm, not only will. Dharma Clarity Tathagata be like this, all the sentient beings in His land will also be this way as well, having attained such freedom of mind. “They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will radiate light. They will be able to fly about freely.” This requires earnest spiritual practice. If our minds can always be unobstructed, our bodies will naturally be unhindered as well. Our body and mind will be free of any hindrances. This must begin with “firm resolve and thoughts” and “advancing diligently with wisdom.” If we can do this, naturally our physical appearance will have the 32 Marks. Both our bodies and minds will radiate light, as if they were made of gold.

The next sutra passage then states,

“The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food. First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy.”

“The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food.” These two foods are Dharma-joy and meditative joy. This means that sentient beings receive the spiritual provisions of the Dharma to nourish their wisdom-life.

The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food: This explains that the sentient beings receive the spiritual provisions of the Dharma to nourish their wisdom-life. They often take two kinds of teachings as their pure food.

For our wisdom-life to grow, we need both the Dharma and meditation. We must constantly listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. Meditation means always cultivating contemplation. It means earnestly ridding our minds of discursive thoughts and focusing our minds with a single resolve. This is right thinking. “The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food.” These two kinds of Dharma are pure provisions that nourish our wisdom-life.

Of these two kinds, one is the food of Dharma-joy. The other is the food of meditative joy.

First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy. When they hear the Dharma and are happy, their minds full and contented, this is called the food of Dharma-joy. When they practice the Buddha’s Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and stability, this is called the food of meditative joy.

The food of Dharma-joy means that when we hear the Dharma and are joyful, our minds are full and contented; we call this the food of Dharma-joy. I often say that worldly wealth can never satisfy us. Regardless of what we have, we always want more. It only serves to increase sentient beings’ greed. If we are greedy, we are poor, because we will never be satisfied. This is the meaning of poverty; it is a state of lacking. No matter how much material goods we may have, we will still remain in a state of poverty, dissatisfied with our lives.

So, we should listen to the Dharma; listening to the Dharma makes us happy, so naturally our minds are full and contented. Then, even if poor, it is as if we are rich! We will have no greedy thoughts, be at peace with poverty and practice joyfully. We will be at peace in our poverty and take joy in our journey on the Path. I often talk about Africa, about the many “Black Pearls” there. Though materially they are very poor, they are extremely spiritually rich in the Dharma. Their hearts are filled with spiritual wealth; this is within their hearts. When they have wealth in their hearts, their lives are joyful and carefree.

Don’t we often see this in South Africa, Mozambique or Lesotho? In these seven or eight countries, after receiving the Buddha-Dharma, the volunteers there are so joyful. Every day they are joyful as they think about how to give of themselves and use their strength to help others. Whether the impoverished, sick or handicapped, there is no one that they do not help. From the wealth in their hearts, they derive endless and continual strength while constantly giving to help. This is true abundance in the ground of the mind. They got this from listening to the Dharma. So, they are very joyful. This is called the food of Dharma-joy.

Thus, “By practicing the Buddha’s Samadhi, they attain the joy of peace and stability.” Practicing and learning the Buddha-Dharma enables their minds to be in calm contemplation. Their minds abide peacefully in the Dharma, so they remain calm and grounded. This is what is known as meditative joy. We are like this as well. If our minds are always stably resting in the Dharma, if all our thoughts are on the Dharma and our thinking is always in right mindfulness, if we can reach this state, this is meditative joy.

Dharma-joy, the food of Dharma-joy, means, “They hear the Dharma and are happy; as a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life.”

First, the food of Dharma-joy. They hear the Dharma and are happy; as a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life. Second, the food of meditative joy. They enter meditation and Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and calm. As a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life. Their practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant. Their minds are constantly filled with joy. This is the food of meditative joy.

After listening to the Dharma, their roots of goodness will continue to grow. We only want to benefit others; we do not want to take issue with people. When we broaden our hearts, even if the state of sentient beings’ minds is turbid and evil, we nevertheless can embrace them. We still interact with them just the same and always think of how we can inspire them. These are our roots of goodness. We never leave sentient beings and will strive to form good affinities with them. This nourishes and benefits our wisdom-life. Nourishment refers to a resource; it is something that helps us, that benefits our wisdom-life and helps it grow. This is why we must earnestly listen to the Dharma.

The second is [the food of] meditative joy. Meditative joy means to “enter meditation and Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and calm.” When our minds are always in a state of peace, this is the power of Samadhi. From precepts, Samadhi and wisdom we put in great effort to discipline ourselves and eliminate our minds’ afflictions and ignorance. We eliminate these; we must not create resentment, enmity or hatred with others. If there is resentment, enmity or hatred, in this present lifetime, we must get rid of all of it. We must transform evil into goodness, turn past evil affinities into good thoughts. Then our minds naturally become peaceful. Without any interpersonal conflicts, our minds are naturally at peace, and we have tranquility and clarity. This is true joy. When we are joyful, we are always happy. Then we will not get unhappy due to seeing someone nor give rise to discursive thoughts when we encounter challenges. We will not be like this. Our minds will be pure and simple, and we remain in a state of Samadhi. We will “enter meditation and Samadhi” and “attain the joy of peace and calm. As a result, [our] roots of goodness will grow. This nourishes and benefits our wisdom-life.” By doing this, we also develop our roots of goodness and are able to benefit our wisdom-life.

Next it says, “world-transcending practitioners.” We look forward to the day when we are no longer within this evil world of Five Turbidities, when we can become liberated from the world, from the web of ignorance of this turbid world. This is also our goal in spiritual practice, to transcend this evil world of Five Turbidities, this web full of ignorance that entangles us. We engage in spiritual practice in order to attain liberation. This is what it means to be a world-transcending practitioner.

“Due to attaining the power of Samadhi” means that because we have decided to not remain entangled in this web of ignorance, we must work hard and have firm concentration. Since we wish to engage in spiritual practice, we should be determined in our practice and not allow external phenomena to tempt us astray, causing us to give rise to discursive thoughts and lose our will to practice. If our power of Samadhi is insufficient, then naturally the provisions that nourish our wisdom-life will become lost. So, because we have the power of Samadhi and determination, we “nourish ourselves to nurture wisdom-life.” Our own inner strength is like nourishment to grow our wisdom-life.

So, “Their practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant.” These are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. I often talk to all of you about the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. We should try to remember them and often take time to read over them. In our actions, in our daily living, do we ever stray from these practices? The three Fours, the two Fives, the Seven and the Eight, have we truly taken these numbered teachings to heart? We must thoroughly assess ourselves. If we can do this, naturally “our practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant.” If we always take these to heart, our hearts will always be joyful and happy. This is the food of meditative joy. Because we are always like this, with our mind free of hindrances every day, all roads will be open to us. However, the road we have chosen is the great, direct Bodhi-path of opening our minds and understanding.

So, sentient beings in the Three Realms are those in the desire, form and formless realms. “Sentient beings in the Three Realms, all depend on food and dwelling.”

Sentient beings in the Three Realms all depend on food and dwelling. There are the Four Foods, food for the body, food for the senses, food for the mind and food for consciousnesses.

Everyone, especially those in the desire realm, is in need of clothing, food and lodging. Food is especially important among these; we have at least three meals per day. If not, we only eat two, and at minimum we need at least one meal a day in order to sustain our lives. We depend upon this “food.”

There is food for the body, food for the senses, food for the mind and food for consciousness. There are four kinds of food. ․Food for the body: This refers to the kind of food and drink taken by sentient beings in this land. Food for the senses: This is the feelings of joy and so on received by the Five Roots from external states. Food for the mind: This refers to our thinking, hopes and so on. Food for consciousnesses: This refers to all kinds of karma permeating the alaya consciousness and giving rise to continuous retributions. It enables the deluded mind to abide.

When it comes to “food for the body,” how many meals do we eat over the course of a day? Each day we eat at least three meals. This is a very ordinary life. Some make do with two meals a day to sustain themselves.

Then there is the “food for the senses.” Food for the senses is everything we come into contact with in our daily lives. The clothing we need to wear, the roads we walk upon and the provisions we need for daily living are all things we come into contact with. All these things that we need are called food. Dharma-food refers to the Dharma, which is something that we need. The joy of meditation is also Dharma, because when our mind is firm, that is also the Dharma. It is something that ordinary people also need. As spiritual practitioners, we also need several meals per day. As spiritual practitioners, we also require material things, things that we come into contact with. This is called food for the senses.  

Food for the mind refers to our thinking. In our thinking, purity comes from cultivating contemplation, while afflictions come from what we encounter, which is ignorance. What exactly is it that we want to encounter? We choose this through our thinking.

Regarding “food for consciousness,” we have the Six Consciousnesses as well as the seventh and the eighth consciousnesses. The most important one, which we hope to return to through our spiritual practice, is the ninth. However, as we are all still unenlightened beings, it is still too early for us to speak of the ninth. We speak of karmic consciousness, where we store all of the karma we create. The sixth, seventh and eighth consciousnesses are all inseparable from our daily living. Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are what we call the Six Consciousnesses. Who does not experience these things as they go about their daily living? In our thinking, do we choose the good or choose the bad? All of this occurs in our thinking. Everything we do, everything we think, all we do, all our karma of action, speech and thought all returns daily to this storehouse, to this storehouse in the eighth consciousness.

These are things that all of us sentient beings in the Three Realms experience. These tangible and intangible things are all called food. We absorb all these things; food refers to something that we take in. How do we go about choosing the things we will take in? So, food for the body “refers to the kind of food and drink taken by sentient beings in this land.” Food for the senses is “the feelings of joy and so on received by the Five Roots from external states.” This depends on what feelings we have. We follow whatever feelings we might experience when we encounter external states. Of course, we really hope what we encounter, what our Five Roots encounter, the Five Sense Objects, are pure, that they bring us happiness and unburdened joy. Of course, this depends on what we encounter.

“Food for the mind” is the thoughts and hopes of spiritual practitioners as well as the thoughts of laypeople; it is the food of their mind and their hopes. As spiritual practitioners, the food of the mind is also our hopes. We hope that we can draw closer to the Dharma of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. This is our hope. The hopes of ordinary laypeople are to attain money, fame and fortune, status and so on. For them, these are their hopes. These are different for everyone.

“Food for consciousnesses refers to all the kinds of karma that permeate the alaya consciousness.” This is the eighth consciousness. The karma that we as individuals create, our karma, our actions and so on, the cognition of the seventh consciousness, the thinking of the sixth consciousness and the workings of the previous five consciousnesses all return to the eighth consciousness. In this way, karma permeates the alaya consciousness. Because it permeates us, we often say that in spiritual practice there is nothing to practice except working on our habitual tendencies. How true this is! These things are already stored in our karmic consciousness. We are already heavily permeated with habitual tendencies. Thus, what we must practice now is to work with this consciousness.

So, it is “giving rise to continuous retributions.” The eighth consciousness is beyond our control. When we depart this life for the next, where will we go? We do not know. It all depends on the eighth consciousness, which is called the karmic consciousness. All the karma we have ever created returns there. “It enables the deluded mind to abide.” Through spiritual practice, we hope to get rid of this deluded mind and naturally bring everything back so that the alaya consciousness can be pure. We must not let it be defiled. If it is defiled, that is defiled consciousness. When we eliminate these delusions, we become pure, and this purity gradually brings us to the ninth consciousness. This requires our earnest effort.

So, “The Four Foods are also called physical food, emotional food, Dharma food and mental food.”

The Four Foods are also called physical food, emotional food, Dharma food and mental food. They can develop strength, joy and hope. They can capture all Roots and cause our form, lifespan and warmth to continue to exist without decay. They are all called flawed foods of the world.

Our body encounters things while our mind experiences sensations. “Today is so cold!” This is coming into contact with an external state, the cold. “The weather today is great!” This is also a kind of contact. For those refugees, the temperature dropped to three or four degrees. Their clothing was insufficient, so when they came into contact with such warm clothing, of course they were joyful! This is how they were kept warm. These are physical feelings, emotional experiences as well as the Dharma; when we hear the Dharma, the emotional experiences it creates within us are all emotional food. Emotional food is what we feel.

“These can develop strength.” As for the foods of Dharma-joy and meditative joy, if we put effort into spiritual practice, then these things that we encounter can transform delusion into truth and turn afflictions into good thoughts. By doing these things, we can develop strength. In the things that we come into contact with in our daily living, we should always try to take the right path and do the right things so we will be without afflictions. The things we eat and the things we use should all be healthy. This can help us maintain our strength and increase our joy. Being healthy in body and mind is something that we take joy in.

It can increase our hope. As we take in the Dharma, the more we hear, the more joyful we become. With this interest, we take it in and must also know to put it into practice. “[The foods] can capture all Roots.” They can increase our hopes and captivate all of our Roots, so that for all the things our Roots encounter, we will follow the rules and not go off track. This is called “capturing all Roots.”

“They can cause our form, lifespan and warmth to continue to exist without decay.” This warmth comes from putting in great effort, like in “contemplating all feelings as suffering, contemplating the mind as impermanent, contemplating things as without self” and so on. All these are the Dharma. Putting effort into the 37 Practices to Enlightenment is just like rubbing pieces of wood together. After a while, they begin to get warm and may even catch fire. This is the meaning of “warmth.”

Rubbing wood together to start a fire was also a method ancient people used. So, it takes effort. “[They] continue to exist without decay.” This enables us, lifetime after lifetime, to put our lives to use among the people without ever leaving the Dharma. In this way, “Our form, lifespan and warmth continue to exist without decay.” This requires incessant effort. This warmth is actually our constant hard work. It does not mean being eager in one moment, then quickly losing our enthusiasm. When we stop, we will lose this warmth. Then there will only be “flaws” (Leaks). As we engage in spiritual practice, we must not allow flawed phenomena of the world to destroy us. We must always courageously move forward, always “continuing to exist without decay.” If we are in the midst of “decay,” it means that our spiritual practice has Leaks.

We often speak of being without flaws. As we take the Dharma to heart, we must not let it get cut off; it must continue. We must not let it decay halfway. This all goes back to spiritual practice and these two kinds of foods. We have already spoken of so many principles. Dear Bodhisattvas, the power of love must also extend continuously. Bodhi lies in the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path continues endlessly. This is the path we practice as Bodhisattvas, so we must always be mindful!

Episode 1122 – Diligent Practice of the Three Flawless Studies

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>> “Purna’s resolve was great and far-reaching. He strove to have courageous wisdom and compassionate thoughts. He was also diligent like a dedicated warrior. He came and went peacefully and freely. He could always reach throughout the universe. His ring of light and manifested appearance were dignified.”

>> “All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space. The human and heavenly intersect, and they are able to meet each other. There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women. All sentient beings are transformation-born without lustful desires.”

>> “They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will emit radiance. They will be able to fly about freely. Their resolve and thoughts are firm, and they advance diligently with wisdom. The bodies of all will be golden in color. They will be dignified with the 32 Marks.

>> The text says, “They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will emit radiance. They will be able to fly about freely.” This is the power of Samadhi. >> “Their bodies emitting radiance arises from the. Three Studies of Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom.” Naturally “They will be able to fly about freely,” as they have attained spiritual powers.

>> Spiritual powers: It means the mind and spirit are focused and unhindered. A tranquil mind is said to reflect all things so one can remember everything from previous lives clearly and distinctly. Everything follows from the power of Samadhi and thus is without obstruction. This is called spiritual powers.

>> The Three Studies: All Buddhist practitioners have three things that can be universally studied: 1. The study of precepts 2. The study of Samadhi 3. The study of wisdom. The Three Studies: First, the study of precepts. These are prohibitions. They can guard against evil karma created by our body, speech and mind.

>> The Three Studies: Second, the study of Samadhi. Samadhi is cultivating contemplation. It is what enables us to calmly concentrate and purify our minds.

>> The Three Studies: Third, the study of wisdom. This refers to our wisdom, which is what contemplates and penetrates the truth and what eliminates delusion and confusion.

>> With precepts, we can nourish Samadhi. With Samadhi, we can arouse our wisdom. With wisdom, we can realize truth and end evils. By cultivating the Studies, we can advance in stages. After going through the Three Studies, the fruition is to advance to the stage beyond learning.

>> “The bodies of all will be golden in color.” That is, “The bodies of people in that land are all golden in color. The color of gold is yellowish, which is the color of the middle direction.” This color is “because they have cultivated the superior purifying practices of the Middle Way. In response their reward-bodies are therefore truly golden in color.”

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“Purna’s resolve was great and far-reaching.
He strove to have courageous wisdom and compassionate thoughts.
He was also diligent like a dedicated warrior.
He came and went peacefully and freely.
He could always reach throughout the universe.
His ring of light and manifested appearance were dignified.”

This is about Purna Maitrayaniputra. For this long period of time, [the Buddha] has continued to admire Purna. Look, his “resolve was great and far-reaching,” especially the way he always strove diligently. His “courageous wisdom and compassionate thoughts” were second to none. Of the Buddha’s disciples, he was the one who was closest to the Buddha’s mind. He did the things the Buddha wanted to do and taught the Dharma the Buddha wanted to teach. In particular, for many decades he maintained the same spirit he initially had, striving to have courageous wisdom and compassionate thoughts for sentient beings; he has never stopped doing this. No wonder the Buddha praised Purna Maitrayaniputra the way He did.

“He was also diligent like a dedicated warrior. He came and went peacefully and freely.” No matter where he went, even to the most difficult and savage of places, he always went out of his own resolve and volition. Once there, regardless of the adversity he faced or the savage way he was treated, he was able to remain soft and gentle. With very firm, substantial strength and reverent great love, even those in the most savage of places were moved and transformed by him. Everyone there faithfully practiced the Dharma. Moreover, many became monastics. These were Purna Maitrayaniputra’s virtues. He could come and go peacefully and freely. In those savage places, he overcame many difficulties. He was able to overcome them one by one, just like a dedicated warrior. He himself volunteered to go there. He was a courageous and powerful person. This kind of diligence was indeed praiseworthy.

“He could always reach throughout the universe.” Exercising both compassion and wisdom, he came and went peacefully and freely. In this way, over this long time he continually accumulated [virtue]. This is reaching throughout the universe. His virtue had already extended very far and wide. His virtue was as expansive as the entire world. His virtue was expressed as a radiance. That ring of light was how he manifested this dignified appearance. This was the virtue he had cultivated. The Buddha’s analogy for his concentration of virtue was that of light concentrated on his person. This light radiates in all directions so that every place is illumined. We often praise others by saying, “You did a very good job.” [They respond,]. “I am just basking in someone’s reflected glory.” This shows their virtue. Not only did they do the work, they also widely extend this virtue to others and mutually praise each other.

Thus, in our relationships, we must know that Living Bodhisattvas need to have this kind of spirit. In the world right now, of the people whom we recognize, whom we know, whom we understand, there are so many Bodhisattvas who formed aspirations and made vows to practice the Bodhisattva-path, to care for those without any connection to them. They give to help them. They do not know them at all, yet they are willing to give to them. Guanyin Bodhisattva hears people’s cries and reaches out to save them. “When I hear the news from afar that there are suffering people in a distant place, I’m willing to go.” This is how Bodhisattvas are. No matter how far it is, they go there willingly. They do not just go by themselves, but in a big group of people. They do not come just from one place, but from all directions. They gather from all directions to go to help one place.

For example, right now there are refugees in Serbia. They came from Syria, a country south of Serbia. Wave after wave of refugees are fleeing from Syria. The direction they are fleeing is north. Where do they want to go? Europe. Which countries in Europe? The destination they hope for most is Germany, but they must cross through Serbia along the way. This is the route they must take. So, over the last few years, the number of refugees taking this route and passing through Serbia has been very great. There have been so many.

The Serbians, in the spirit of humanitarianism, allow them to pass through. But there are so many of them, and they are all refuges. That has been a great burden on this country for many years now. Last year (2015) in November, they sent a letter requesting Taiwan’s help. As causes and conditions would have it, it was just at this time that. Europe’s Tzu Chi volunteers had returned for training and the Year-End Blessing Ceremony. A very important special guest among them was the speaker of a municipal assembly from Bosnia. He had come to Taiwan with Tzu Chi volunteers to express his gratitude at Tzu Chi’s headquarters.

This was because when they suffered a disaster, when there was a flood, Tzu Chi volunteers from eight countries had devoted themselves to help. They went there three times to help. He was touched by this. They had not only provided material things, but had given their hearts as well. The material goods, their sincerity and their vast, boundless love gave [the survivors] the feeling that, “You didn’t come as our savior. You came as a friend who is caring for and supporting us.” This attitude moved people in the government, including the president and this municipal speaker. They were all moved.

So, two years ago (2014), when the president had a layover in Taiwan, he spent two hours of his time to come here and express his gratitude to Tzu Chi. Now, in November [2015], this municipal speaker came with Tzu Chi volunteers to thank us one more time. Most importantly, he wanted to understand how. Tzu Chi volunteers from those eight countries had that spirit, how they had worked together so well with unity, harmony, love and concerted effort. How could so many people, all living in different countries, have the same spirit and ideals. This had come from Taiwan. Moreover, this spirit from Taiwan led them to help others, to support [the speaker’s] countrymen as if they were good friends. This deeply moved them. So, during the five days they were here, the letter [from Serbia] happened to arrive.

When I saw this letter, [I wondered,] “Where is Serbia anyway?” Fortunately, this group of people, including the municipal speaker, was just telling me that morning that he hoped people in his country would in the future be able to wear the blue and white Tzu Chi uniforms. I had just received the letter at noon and brought it up to them in the afternoon. “It just happens that I have received this letter. Serbia is also in Europe. Which country closer to it?” The municipal speaker said, “Serbia is our neighboring country.” I asked, “If this is the case, can you help? When you go back, can you help us to assess the situation in that country?”

The Tzu Chi volunteers from Europe said, “No problem, Master. When we go back, we will immediately assess the situation there.” The municipal speaker also told us, “No problem. If they wish to go, then I will go with them.” It was that simple. We talked about it here, and they went into action quickly upon their return. They took action by going to Serbia to first understand what the conditions in that country were like. Tzu Chi volunteers from Germany, from France, from England and many other countries began coming together to assess this country for us, to go and understand.

There were truly many difficulties! The language, the people and the place were all unfamiliar. Fortunately, this municipal speaker from Bosnia was with them. Geographically, these countries are close, and he also had status in his own country, so in all of our interactions with people there, he made everything a lot easier. Of course, the efforts of our Tzu Chi volunteers must not go unnoticed. They had a spirit of determined perseverance, especially those from Germany. Traveling from Germany to Serbia is quite a distance. Some Tzu Chi volunteers always traveled by car. It takes more than ten hours by car [each way], and they would go back and forth.

After they went back [home] in November, they continued to work on the Serbia [situation], to help these Syrian refugees. These people are not connected to them in any way, and they were suffering so much. Just from hearing about how there were suffering people there, [they wished to help]. For four or five years they had been fleeing. They had to walk through cold winds and snow; the elderly and frail, women and children, had to travel such a long road. This was truly unbearable suffering! The volunteers were willing [to help]. Because they were willing, they dedicated themselves to this effort.

With the spirit of dedicated warriors, they came and went with ease. Although there were many obstacles, like not speaking the language, being unfamiliar with the people and place, having to clear many bureaucratic hurdles etc., they kept on going nevertheless, They used their “courageous wisdom and compassionate thoughts.” Inwardly, they had “courageous wisdom and compassionate thoughts.” Outwardly, they diligently “came and went peacefully and freely,” with the more setbacks, the more courage; the more setbacks they suffered, the more courage they mustered up as they kept moving forward. But at the same time their compassion continued to grow. Once they began the distributions, the third day of relief distributions happened to be the day that many countries in the United Nations felt they could not take in any more refugees. They felt if they continued to allow them in, it would create problems with the way of life in their own countries. So, within the United Nations, many countries began closing their borders. Each country began closing up.

So, by the time we arrived, many refugees were already locked outside of Serbia’s borders. They were mostly stuck in Macedonia. As they went from Greece to Macedonia, the border [to Serbia] was closed. The refugees had no way to pass through, for barbed wire had been strung across the border. Many refugees stood outside the barbed wire. “Right in front of me is the place I need to pass through. Unfortunately I have no way to do so.”

However, there was an enthusiastic group with courageous wisdom, compassionate thoughts and an expansive heart that had already prepared 10,000 sets of clothing and awaited them in that country, in Serbia. If those refugees could enter, they would be able to receive what we prepared, 10,000 sets of clothing, and food as well. But, we had to wait for them. These couple of days, very few people were able to accept these goods. This was because people were unable to enter. There were only those few refugees who were unable to move forward and thus lingered in Serbia.

However, we were also willing to go to the waystation or areas around the train stations, to those who were sheltered there. If they could enter Serbia, they could then board a train to get to their destination. Yet, the trains carrying refugees these few days, which originally ran five or six times a day now only ran one or two times a day. The numbers of refugees had already decreased because they were blocked at the borders. So, right now all we could do is hover around the train station, and wait for refugees who were moving ahead.

By the third day there were 500 or 600 people who received the things we were distributing. We saw how there were two groups there. One group remained at the train station. The other went into the waystation. Upon entering the waystation, they had a place where they could rest and wait. At the train station they were preparing to board a train to leave. So, at the Serbian border, one group was at the end; they were waiting to leave on a train. The other group had just entered the country. So, [the volunteers] split into two groups.

One went to the waystation. At the Adasevci Waystation, we saw that when children and adults received these material things from Tzu Chi, they were so happy. The other group was led by the municipal speaker. They encountered no refugees. Nevertheless, while they were in that environment, they began tidying up. They found brooms and began sweeping. There were portable restrooms there, so they began cleaning those toilets as well as their surroundings.

When I saw the information they went back, I was truly very moved. If they are not Bodhisattvas, what are they? They have such impartial minds! This municipal speaker from a neighboring country, along with Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries, the Tzu Chi volunteers from Europe, formed this disaster relief team. They brought 16 people from Bosnia as well, who had once been helped by Tzu Chi. They brought them to Serbia. As they were waiting there, they actually swept the floor, cleaned the bathrooms and so on. It was truly very moving.

Tzu Chi volunteers also led another group to a place where they could have contact with the refugees. When the refugees received things, there was such joy. The children were so pure and innocent. They were very adorable. But this was where life had led them. Which place was their home? Fortunately, a group that did not know them at all had “great and far-reaching [resolve].” They came from far away; some had to travel there on airplanes. Those from England and France had to travel by plane. From Germany, they had to drive for more than ten hours. They came from such faraway places. Doesn’t this group have. “Purna’s resolve, great and far-reaching”? Their hearts are filled with compassion.

Everyone there was striving [to help]. They have great courageous wisdom; they have both wisdom and courage. With thoughts of compassion, they went to that place to dedicate themselves. It has been so many days already, yet they are still so diligent. They have no thoughts of retreat. With “courageous wisdom, compassionate thoughts” they are diligent, never retreating. They “come and go peacefully and freely,” and they never complain. They waited there but no one showed up for them to help 10,000 sets of clothing were sitting there, yet not once did they complain. They remained peaceful and free there. Think about it, aren’t they Bodhisattvas? They have the virtue of Bodhisattvas, like that ring of light. Just thinking about this, I feel that they are truly bright and nimble Bodhisattvas of great compassion. Their actions in that place are truly very moving. This group of people were very orderly, very dignified. All wore the blue and white uniforms. Even those from Bosnia wore the same clothes as our Tzu Chi volunteers. They formed a very dignified procession. I am very grateful to them, and there are so many moving stories.

Come, let us look at the previous passage, which says,

“All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space. The human and heavenly intersect, and they are able to meet each other. There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women. All sentient beings are transformation-born without lustful desires.”

If we think of that group of people in that place, isn’t it like the human and heavenly intersecting? Their minds were like those of heavenly beings, rich in love; they had come down from the heavens, from faraway places. That place is like an evil realm. They knew it would be like this. Which place was their home? As they were fleeing, they felt as if they were in hell. Who could save them? It was Bodhisattvas who came to save them, giving without expectations. [The refugees] had to keep waiting painfully. This was the kind of misery they experienced. It was very painful, being trapped there in that place. Whether outside or inside the border, they were in the process of fleeing. This is just like an evil path, very bumpy and difficult to walk. But there was a group of people waiting to save them from that bumpy and difficult path, who were going to pave a path for them. Of course, this group also had to wait mindfully.

The next sutra passage says,

“They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will emit radiance. They will be able to fly about freely. Their resolve and thoughts are firm, and they advance diligently with wisdom. The bodies of all will be golden in color. They will be dignified with the 32 Marks.”

Purna was already engaged in spiritual practice in that place 2000-plus years ago. The Buddha said that in the very distant future, Purna will attain Buddhahood and be called Dharma Clarity Tathagata. His future land will have very many people like this. Everyone there will be equally virtuous. This will be the place where. Dharma Clarity Tathagata will teach and transform. Where is that place? That land, that place, is where, in the future, after people are taught and transformed by him, humans and heavenly beings can meet. Humans and heavenly beings will be so close. Thus “They will attain great spiritual powers.” Attaining great spiritual powers means their minds are pure and undefiled. So, “They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will emit radiance. They will be able to fly about freely.” They will come and go freely.

This is like that group of Tzu Chi volunteers. By driving 10-plus hours they were able to reach their destination. They passed through five countries to reach Serbia. Those flying had to fly through the skies of many different countries to land in Serbia. This is just like “flying about freely. Their resolve and thoughts are firm.” Everyone was the same; they had the same resolve and thoughts. Their resolve and thoughts are very firm. “They advance diligently with wisdom. The bodies of all will be golden in color.” This kind of wisdom is very precious. So, they are dignified with the 32 Marks; everyone in that place will be very dignified. When I read this sutra passage, I think of that group in Serbia. Isn’t this group of Bodhisattvas just like this? It is as if they have great spiritual powers. Everyone is so orderly and so dignified. They are so bright and beautiful there in that place.

The text says, 

“They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will emit radiance. They will be able to fly about freely.” This is the power of Samadhi. “Due to their power of Samadhi, they will attain great spiritual powers.”. “Their bodies emitting radiance arises from the. Three Studies of Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom.” Naturally “They will be able to fly about freely,” as they have attained spiritual powers.

All of us should have these extensive spiritual powers, but because our afflictions are coarse and heavy, because we have so many afflictions that are so coarse and so heavy, we have severe karmic obstructions. With these karmic forces and many afflictions, our karmic obstructions will be severe. So, we are unable to attain the power of Samadhi, unable to attain spiritual powers. We are still unenlightened beings. So, we should make put in great efforts.

If we can attain spiritual powers, our “bodies will emit radiance.” This comes from virtue, from “accumulating surplus karma.” Then our bodies and minds will be bright and agile.

“This arises from the. Three Studies of Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom.” For our “bodies to emit radiance,” we start with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, by putting effort into the Three Flawless Studies. This is how we attain the power of Samadhi, how we attain spiritual powers. We begin by learning the Three Flawless Studies, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. So, if we can do this, naturally we will be able to fly freely and attain spiritual powers. Thus, spiritual powers comes from “the mind and spirit being focused and unhindered.”

Spiritual powers: It means the mind and spirit are focused and unhindered. A tranquil mind is said to reflect all things so one can remember everything from previous lives clearly and distinctly. Everything follows from the power of Samadhi and thus is without obstruction. This is called spiritual powers.

Spiritual powers are not about flying through the sky or tunneling underground. I will tell everyone that according to the true teachings, spiritual powers are intrinsically in all of us. Where are they? In our mind. “The mind and spirit are focused and unhindered.” When our mind is focused, when our spirit is not scattered, we can completely understand matters and principles, To do so, our minds must be tranquil and reflect objects. If our minds could quiet down, what matter would remain unclear to us? Our mind is like a great perfect mirror. All of us have a great perfect mirror. When there is no filth on the mirror, naturally it can reflect things and naturally external conditions appear clearly.

So, “He remembers everything from previous lives.” What were we in our past lives? A veil of darkness separates our lives. So, in the past, were we humans, or animals, or did we exhaust our heavenly blessings and descend to the human realm? We have no idea. If we had the power of Samadhi, our minds would be very pure. [Our past lives] would be clear as yesterday. After a night of sleep, if you asked me what I did yesterday, I would be able to tell you, “I remember. I had a meeting on this, a meeting on that.” I would remember what the meeting was about and what I said. This is because my mind is not scattered but still. Even after a night of sleep, I still remember. Though our past lives [are separated] from our present life, as long as our minds are tranquil, [we remember]. If “mind and spirit are focused and unhindered,” we will remember what we were in our past life. As unenlightened beings, we forget; this proves that we have many afflictions and much ignorance. We have forgotten. If we wish to remember our past lives, then we must put great effort into taking good care of our minds.

This can happen to some people even in this life. Suddenly, something happens to them. Perhaps they get into a car accident or they suddenly pass out. When they come to, they ask, “Who are you? Why don’t I recognize you? Where am I? Where is my home? I’ve forgotten everything.” This happens too. The principle is the same. So, if our “mind and spirit are focused and unhindered, a tranquil mind will reflect all things.” Then naturally, we “remember everything from previous lives clearly and distinctly.” Every matter will be clear and distinct. So, “Everything follows from the power of Samadhi and thus is without obstruction.” These are spiritual powers. People want to know about “spiritual powers.”

Where do spiritual powers come from? From [cultivating] the Three Studies. The Three Studies, as I have mentioned before, are the Three Flawless Studies. The Three Flawless Studies are precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. We need to flawlessly uphold the precepts. We must learn to have flawless precepts, flawless Samadhi and flawless wisdom. When we learn in this way, after we hear the Dharma and take it to heart, we do not let it leak away. This is called the Three Flawless Studies, or the Three Studies.

The Three Studies: All Buddhist practitioners have three things that can be universally studied: 1. The study of precepts 2. The study of Samadhi 3. The study of wisdom. The Three Studies: First, the study of precepts. These are prohibitions. They can guard against evil karma created by our body, speech and mind.

So, “All Buddhist practitioners have three things that can be universally studied.” The first is “the study of precepts.” These are prohibitions. “You can do this. You cannot do that. You can eat this. You cannot eat that.” We must do our best to control our craving for taste. We must not continue to kill living beings. The world’s climate and the four elements are already out of balance. People’s minds are already in chaos. Can we stop creating more karma? Please do not create karma! The worst karma is that every second of every day, 1776 lives are devoured by people through their mouths. This is in one second! How many would that be in a day? There are 86,400 seconds in a day, so how many are being devoured? Before they are devoured, they must first be killed. Innocent lives are taken to satisfy our craving for taste. We should not be doing this! As Buddhist practitioners, we must begin by upholding precepts. The first one to uphold has to do with our craving for taste. If everyone could control this, we could save many lives and furthermore nurture our compassion. So, we must control our craving for taste.

Of course, then we must control our bodies. Our bodies should not kill, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie, drink alcohol and so on. These all have to do with the body. Regarding the mouth, besides craving for taste, there is the karma of speech. If we gossip or say bad things about others, if we keep something on our mind and never let it go so that we badmouth that person to everyone we meet, then we are creating karma. Where does all this come from? From the mind. So, we often say, our body must do good deeds, our mouth must speak good words, our mind must think good thoughts. This is the Threefold Kindness. In the past, I have been constantly advocating for everyone to stop creating all kinds of evil karma. This is the “study of precepts.” We must stop creating all kinds of evil karma. This is what we must learn; we study “precepts.”

The Three Studies: Second, the study of Samadhi. Samadhi is cultivating contemplation. It is what enables us to calmly concentrate and purify our minds.

The second is “the study of Samadhi. Samadhi is cultivating contemplation.” We should constantly contemplate what is right and what is wrong. If it is wrong, we absolutely must not do it. If is right, we should do it. All of our actions should stem from our contemplation. In all things, we must understand the principles. Since everything is empty, why take issue with each other? There is wondrous existence in emptiness; how do we experience it? Through the study of Samadhi; our minds must be in Samadhi.

The Three Studies: Third, the study of wisdom. This refers to our wisdom, which is what contemplates and penetrates the truth and what eliminates delusion and confusion.

The third is “the study of wisdom.” How do we cultivate wisdom? “[By] contemplating and penetrating the truth and [by] eliminating delusion and confusion.” With the true principles, we must be mindful in order to comprehend them. The idea is the same. In our daily living, every object in the world contains principles; every matter contains principles. They can all be found in our daily living. This is the study of wisdom. We should be mindful and attentively observe all things in the world. Then naturally we will come to thoroughly understand the true principles and eliminate delusion and confusion. These are precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.

The study of precepts belongs to the vinaya treasury. The study of Samadhi comes from the sutra treasury. The study of wisdom comes from the abhidharma treasury. These are called the “Tripitaka,” (three baskets) which has 12 divisions of teachings.

Next it says, “With precepts, we can nourish Samadhi. With Samadhi, we can arouse our wisdom. With wisdom, we can realize truth and end evils.”

With precepts, we can nourish Samadhi. With Samadhi, we can arouse our wisdom. With wisdom, we can realize truth and end evils. By cultivating the Studies, we can advance in stages. After going through the Three Studies, the fruition is to advance to the stage beyond learning.

Because we keep the precepts, our minds are able to be in Samadhi; this helps our minds concentrate. With the precepts, “we can nourish Samadhi.” They help our minds be in Samadhi. Nourishment for the power of Samadhi comes from upholding precepts. “With Samadhi, we can arouse our wisdom.” If our mind is in Samadhi, naturally our wisdom will be awakened. When our wisdom is awakened, we can thoroughly understand the principles. Then naturally, we can end evils, all evil thoughts and evil conduct.

So, “By cultivating the Studies, we can advance in stages.” By cultivating the Studies we can continually advance. After passing through the Three Studies, the fruition is “the stage beyond learning.” The stage of learning means we must keep studying, learning all we can, until we have studied all that we should. So, among the Buddha’s disciples were those at and those beyond the stage of learning. The sutras often mention those at and beyond the stage of learning. “Beyond the stage of learning” means they have progressed to a higher level.

So, “Their resolve and thoughts are firm.” If we are like this, we have the power of Samadhi. With precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, naturally our “resolve and thoughts are firm.” If we “advance diligently with wisdom,” [it helps] our “established resolve, actions and thoughts.” We have established our resolve, so in all of our actions and in all of our thoughts we can remain firm. We must always be determined to do the right thing. “Thus, they constantly advance diligently and possess great wisdom.”

This is precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. If we can cultivate them, naturally we will be determined like this.

“The bodies of all will be golden in color.” This is describing the people there. When Dharma Clarity Tathagata attains Buddhahood in the future, not just Dharma Clarity Tathagata, but everyone else will be like this.

“The bodies of all will be golden in color.” That is, “The bodies of people in that land are all golden in color. The color of gold is yellowish, which is the color of the middle direction.” This color is “because they have cultivated the superior purifying practices of the Middle Way. In response their reward-bodies are therefore truly golden in color.”

[Their bodies] are the yellowish color of gold.

“[They have] the 32 Marks.” These 32 Marks are the 32 Marks of a great person; they comprise the dignified appearance of a Buddha. When one has attained the 32 Marks, one has become a Buddha. This appearance, no matter how it is viewed, will seem perfect and complete to everyone. It is a wonderful appearance.

So, as Buddhist practitioners, for our spiritual practice, the Three Flawless Studies are so important. Dear Bodhisattvas, the Buddha’s teachings are inseparable from the Three Studies. So, let us always be mindful!

Episode 1121 – Where There Are No Evil Realms

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>> “The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other. All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind nor sexual attraction between men and women that leads them to delude and seduce each other. They guard their minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form”.

>> “That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land. The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm, Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere”.

>> “All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space. The human and heavenly intersect, and they are able to meet each other. There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women. All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires”.

>> All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space is saying that, “Those who best uphold good precepts are born in the heavens of the desire realm. Those with the Four Infinite Minds are born in the heavens of the form realm. Those with the Four Meditations of Emptiness are born in the heavens of the formless realm”.

>> The Four Meditations of Emptiness: They are the meditative state of infinite space, the meditative state of infinite consciousness, the meditative state of absolute nothingness and the meditative state of neither thought nor non-thought. This indicates supreme merits and virtues. These are the heavenly palaces of treasures that they live in. They enter the Path through emptiness, thus it says they “are close by”.

>> “The human and heavenly intersect. For those in the human and heaven realms, no humans have not been heavenly beings, and no heavenly beings have not been humans. Both realms respond to each other, thus humans and heavenly beings are close”.

>> [They] are able to meet each other: In terms of matters and appearances, this is like how Sakyamuni descended from. Trayastrimsa Heaven to Jambudvipa. Humans and heavenly beings can meet each other. In terms of the principles, humans who practice supreme goodness will be born in the heavens. All heavenly beings fall to the human world when their virtues decrease. It is obvious from matters and appearances that they are able to meet each other.

>> There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women: For those who abide together in a defiled land, there are four evil realms and women. Now for those who live in Dharma Clarity Buddha’s pure land, there are no evil realms nor any women. Without committing any evils, there are no Three Evil Destinies. Purna Maitrayaniputra taught the Dharma, and those who listened practiced accordingly. They did not create karma of the evil realms. Therefore, when he attains Buddhahood, he has this pure land.

>> All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires: They are transformation-born from the Dharma, thus they are without lustful desires. They practice and attain the Dharma-body, thus it is not a realm of suffering.

>> Transformation-born: In the Land of Ultimate Bliss, there are no women. Since all are transformation-born, they are free from desires and defilements. Therefore, they have radiant bodies and golden forms. Such wondrous bodies are intrinsic to everyone, but they are defiled and covered by turbid desires.

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>> “The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other. All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind nor sexual attraction between men and women that leads them to delude and seduce each other. They guard their minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form”.

Let us put effort into understanding this. “The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms” are all connected with each other”. The human and the heaven realms, these two realms, are connected with each other. This world is the place where the Five Destinies coexist. The Five Destinies, as we all know, are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Destinies; they are five directions we can go in. In this world, aside from the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms, human nature [itself] is extremely complicated, with all these existing in this place. This is the Saha World. In the Saha World, there are so many good people, bad people and very ordinary people, as well as Bodhisattvas who interact with everyone. They are all here; we also see many different kinds of life, many kinds of sentient beings, of all shapes and colors. Isn’t this a complicated mix?

According to the Buddha-Dharma, we follow our karma to face circumstantial and direct retributions. We follow the karma we created in past lives to come to this world. If we are born human, though we created all kinds of karma in our past lives, we did not lose the circumstantial retribution of being born in the human realm. So, we are born as a member of humankind. If we had created evil karma, we would not even have the chance to be born human. We would likewise have been born into this world, but not as a human, as an animal. Animals are divided into many different species, so many it is impossible to calculate. This is their direct retribution. Although they are in the circumstance of being with us on this same land, they are a different species.

They have a different kind of life. There are many different species. Some are birds that fly in the sky. Some are fish that swim in the water. There are also animals that run upon the land. There are so many different kinds. Just among birds that fly in the sky alone, there are many different kinds. Experts are able to distinguish between the different birds that soar through the sky. As for those that run upon the land or crawl upon the land, there are many kinds. So, this is where the Five Destinies coexist. They are in the air, on land and even in the water. They all live together on this planet. So, this is where the Five Destinies coexist.

With the Five Destinies, there are some people who live in heaven on earth.  There are many who live lives of enjoyment, just like heavenly beings. They can have whatever they want, and they live in grand, opulent spaces, in large houses. Others live in shabby and filthy places.  It may be so filthy that it seems like they are living in a garbage heap.  This is like hell. Not only do they live in places that cannot protect them from wind and rain, at the same time they are poor, or sick, or old, or crippled, or have no one to care for them; many are like this. This is hell on earth.

Among humankind, there is this huge gap between rich and poor. The distance is very great. In the human world there is heaven and hell; there is this difference. There are more [varieties too]. Among humans, there are all kinds of lives. There is good and there is evil; good and evil are different. Among all this evil, there is no way to discern what degrees of evil there are. This evil can create great or small disturbances for people. In interpersonal relationships, it can lead to mutual estrangement so that people are unable to get along peacefully. It can also lead to mutual conflict, so people injure and kill one another. This kind of world is filled with battlegrounds big and small. This is terrifying; these are asuras in the world. This can be found in the human world as well.

In summary, in this place where the Five Destinies coexist, the Buddha-land and the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other. These are the good realms. People can peacefully get along with one another. Why do they need to oppose each other? In our relationships, we can be each other’s virtuous friends, spiritual friends. Why stir up conflicts and spread ignorance throughout the world? So, we need to have a great awakening; we need to transcend this very complicated place where the Five Destinies coexist, this very chaotic, very complicated place. Once we have transcended it, we will awaken and understand. We will understand why, on this same land, there are such discrepancies between the different varieties [of beings]. Why is there so much suffering? Why do some enjoy the blessings of wealth but do not know they should do good deeds? This is how those who have awakened see the world.

They are already enlightened, so They are called “Buddhas”. A Buddha is an Enlightened One. One who has awakened is a Buddha. A great enlightened being has great realizations. A great enlightened sentient being is called a Buddha. The ground of the Buddha’s mind, the place where He dwells, is a pure land. It is very pristine. To be a Buddha, to be able to awaken, of course takes a very long period of time. It is very long, so long! As we often said, it takes dust-inked kalpas, an incalculable amount of time. For many lifetimes They observe the world. For many lifetimes They go among the people and among the people reach awakening. In this way, one lifetime after another, the ground of Their minds grows increasingly pure. Among people, They awaken to principles, get rid of Their ignorance and become thoroughly enlightened. They completely understand the karmic forces that result in different appearances. So, They are Buddhas . The ground of a Buddha’s mind is a Buddha-land. His spiritual state and the heaven, human realms are all connected with each other. This is a Buddha; there is no place He is not aware of and no realm unknown to Him, especially the heaven realm. Throughout the Dharma-realms of the universe, is there any place with principles the Buddha does not understand?

So, “The Buddha-land, the heaven and human realms are all connected with each other”. This is the Buddha’s state of mind, His great enlightenment. Because in the Buddha’s mind, the ground of His mind is pure, all sentient beings are pure [to Him]. When the Buddha looks at sentient beings, He sees that everyone has Buddha-nature. So, “All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind”. Actually, everyone is equal to the Buddha. The ground of everyone’s mind is pure. It is just that we sentient beings linger in ignorance; thus we allow our external environment to penetrate our minds, and interpersonal conflicts and all kinds of confusing information are allowed to cover our hearts. The Buddha can in fact see clearly into everyone’s minds. We are fundamentally kind and fundamentally pure. So, “All beings are pure and transformation-born; there are no evil realms of any kind”. If we can purify our minds, if all this external ignorance can be completely cleared out of our minds, then there are no evil realms of any kind. The landscape of everyone’s mind is fundamentally very beautiful. Everyone’s pure intrinsic nature is the same as the Buddha’s. So, there are no evil realms. Evil realms come from the outside environment, from taking in all of these things that then completely cover our minds. These things were not originally there.

Neither was there “sexual attraction between men and women that leads them to delude and seduce each other”. If our minds are pure, how would there be any sexual attraction that deludes us, that leads us to seduce each other? Things get messy in the world because of sexual attraction; this happens often. Since ancient times, [desire for] women has caused the downfall of cities and kingdoms. Entire kingdoms have been toppled. Entire cities have been destroyed; they were actually toppled. Were they destroyed by natural disasters? No, by manmade calamities. What was the origin of these manmade calamities? When sexual attraction, craving, desire and so on delude people’s minds, this is the source of many calamities. These are many stories about this from long ago, many historical events; too many to be told.

What about now? It is still the same! Nowadays, there are many television dramas. Taiwan alone has more than 100 TV stations, and each station produces its own dramas. Is there any drama that does not deal with issues between men and women? If not for these issues, there would be no novels. If there were no issues between men and women, the world would not have so many afflictions. In this world, every day we hear from Living Bodhisattvas who care for suffering people. Those care recipients either have family problems, parent-child problems or so on; there are many kinds! These are the types of suffering from afflictions that we are unable to put an end to in the world. This begins with the delusion of sexual attraction and continues until they grow old and die. This is an endless cycle.

Some people are troubled. “Why are you troubled? You have such a good life!”. “Though I lack nothing, my son still hasn’t found a wife”. “You are troubled by this?”. “He is married now; are you satisfied?”. “Not yet, Master. I’m troubled that after two years, they are still childless”. “You are also troubled by this?”. “Now that they have a child, are you happy?”. “Though I have a grandchild, though this makes me feel better, I am still troubled because the child is so difficult”. “When will you stop being troubled?”. When will he sever the root of afflictions? He is entangled by this sexual attraction between men and women [that] leads them to delude and seduce each other. This is why humans seduce one another.

So, they must “guard their minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form”. It is best to engage in spiritual practice and cultivate “the mind to be tranquil and clear”. We guard our minds by eradicating desire and craving. Then this sexual desire and craving will not remain in our minds causing trouble so we can focus single-mindedly on the path [to remain in] the human and heaven realms. This is our intrinsic nature. We “illuminate luminous virtue”. The path of great learning lies in illuminating luminous virtue. We understand our intrinsic nature very well and are clear on the principles. We act according to these principles and put them into practice in the world. We give without expectations, but we still attain something. “Those who attain are virtuous”. We give without expectations, but we attain something in our hearts. What do we attain? Being filled with Dharma-joy. We attain the happiness that comes after helping others. This is what we call virtue. What we attain is the joy that comes from giving to help others. Actually, this helps us accumulate virtue. So, we have previously talked about accumulating merits and virtues. By going among people and serving them, we accumulate merits and virtues. This helps us develop our wisdom-life. So, we must earnestly be mindful.

“The heaven and human realms are all connected with each other”. In fact, here where the Five Destinies coexist, all the realms are interconnected with each other. The human realm is connected with the heaven realm. The human realm is connected with the hell realm. The human realm is connected with the animal realm. Animals and humans are so near, so close to each other. We can see how close animals are to humans. Medical research uses animals as test subjects. In particular, among animals, gorillas are the most similar to humans. We have seen Koko. We all already know about her. She is very famous. Koko loves the earth, loves humans and loves nature. She called on everyone to “hurry up and save the earth, love the earth”. ” You must hurry!”. “Humans must not be stupid!”. “The foolishness of humans makes Koko very sad”. She cried as she used sign language to interact with people and express her feelings. Nature is watching us, to see what we humans will do.

Do we humans really want to create a heaven [on earth], where we can live together in peace and the four elements are in balance? Nature is watching us to see what we will do. We humans can give rise to afflictions over everything and create negative karma over everything. This is how humans are. So, Koko is heartbroken by humans and the negative karma we create. We must reflect on ourselves. It would be best if we could “guard our minds to be tranquil and clear, without cravings for the female form”. If we no longer give rise to sexual attraction, then would there be any kind of desire we would be unable to eliminate? If we can cut off sexual desire, it will be simple to deal with all other desires. So, let us be mindful.

The previous sutra passage states,

>> “That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land. The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm, Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere”.

“That Buddha” refers to Dharma Clarity Tathagata, this future Tathagata, Dharma Clarity. Who is this Dharma Clarity Tathagata? Purna. Purna, in the future, after a long time passes, will also be able to attain Buddhahood. That Buddha will “take the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, one Buddha-land”. This is accumulated over a very long time of helping Buddhas promote the Dharma everywhere. The merits and virtues he accumulated were vast, so the land of that Buddha will be very big. He “takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land”. This is the spiritual state of the Buddha. This does not just apply to His spiritual state, even our own spiritual state can be just as open and spacious. As I speak to you here, my mind keeps thinking of Serbia. I wonder how the distributions there went today. In this state of mind, I am here, but my mind has traveled there to that place.

I think of the Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries gathered together there. My thoughts then extend over those 11 countries. In that place, volunteers from 11 countries are all gathered together in Serbia. They are there right now. I cannot see their minds, but according to the principles, the Dharma-nature of their minds [is the same]. The Buddha-mind is the ultimately pure Dharma-nature. This is the Buddha-mind. Our Dharma-nature ultimately returns to awakening, so it is the Buddha-mind. Of course, we are not there yet. Right now my mind is one of discursive thoughts, one of worries and hindrances. I do not know whether things over there today went smoothly or not. All I can do is guess. Compared to the Buddha’s mind, His ultimate Dharma-nature, this is very different. I have this Dharma-nature as well, but I have not reached the ultimate. I can only guess what actually happened there. I am using this as an analogy.

“That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land”. This is the Buddha’s state of mind. It can open up and be so spacious that it pervades the universe and all Dharma-realms. There is nothing He does not know, no realm He does not connect with. This is the Buddha-land, the spiritual state of the Buddha. In the Buddha-land, His spiritual state, “The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures”. In His mind, all sentient beings are equal. [He knows] the Buddha’s mind and sentient beings’ minds are completely equal. His mind does not discriminate, splitting things into high and low. This is because in the mind of a Buddha, “Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere”. This is the spiritual state of the Buddha. We need to learn to emulate it. We hope that our minds will always have terraces and temples of Seven Treasures, like the meeting of the human and heaven realms. This is such an expansive state of mind!

I often say that we should broaden our minds. Broadening our minds means making them more open and spacious. How open and spacious should they be? As we just said, as spacious as a great trichiliocosm, or as lands as numerous as the Ganges’ sands . We must encompass them all, must be that expansive. This is what we must learn from the Buddha.

The next sutra passage then says,

>> “All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space. The human and heavenly intersect, and they are able to meet each other. There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women. All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires”.

Indeed! As we were just saying, sexual desire creates many problems.

“All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space”. In the Chapter on the Conjured City, weren’t the Brahma king’s palaces all in space? Yes, they were. All the palaces are out in the universe. Our planet is likewise in this universe. This all depends on the kind of mindset everyone has toward this place we live, our dwelling and our spiritual abode.

>> All heavenly palaces are close by, floating in space is saying that, “Those who best uphold good precepts are born in the heavens of the desire realm. Those with the Four Infinite Minds are born in the heavens of the form realm. Those with the Four Meditations of Emptiness are born in the heavens of the formless realm”.

If we have a mind of goodness and practice the Ten Good Precepts, even in the desire realm we can still live like heavenly beings. There will be peace in the world, the four elements will be balanced, the weather will be favorable, there will be wealth and abundance etc. In the heavens of the desire realm, we can enjoy heavenly blessings like a heavenly being.

If we can go a step further, open up our minds even more, [we practice] the Four Infinite Minds and form great aspirations. The Four Infinite Minds are loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. If we willingly let go of things with equanimity, we can be born in the heavens of the form realm. Things are so abundant there that we have no greed or attachments. This is [practicing] the Four Infinite Minds, being willing to let go with equanimity. Having more than enough, we can give to others. Material things are just forms and appearances. We do not seize things out of greed. If sentient beings have need, we willingly give to them with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. If we can do this, we can be born in the heavens of the form realm.

We can see many very beautiful things yet keep our minds free of hindrances and afflictions. This is the heavens of the form realm. We are surrounded by an abundance of things, but these things of all shapes and colors do not disturb our minds. There is form, but we are undisturbed by it.

If we go a step further, “Those with the Four Meditations of Emptiness are born in the heavens of the formless realm”. This requires us to earnestly engage in spiritual practice. The mind is not even attached to form; it is without hindrances. Not only is it free of desires, there is nothing with form to defile it. This requires the power of Samadhi. We must engage in spiritual practice; our mind must be in a meditative state. This requires the Four Meditations of Emptiness. Only with these four kinds of meditation can we be born in the heavens of the formless realm. The heavens of the formless realm are just a spiritual state. There is nothing with shape and form there. This is a meditative state. The Four Meditations of Emptiness are “the meditative state of infinite space”, ” the meditative state of infinite consciousness”, ” the meditative state of absolute nothingness”, and “the meditative state of neither thought nor non-thought”. These are terms for our spiritual states.

>> The Four Meditations of Emptiness: They are the meditative state of infinite space, the meditative state of infinite consciousness, the meditative state of absolute nothingness and the meditative state of neither thought nor non-thought. This indicates supreme merits and virtues. These are the heavenly palaces of treasures that they live in. They enter the Path through emptiness, thus it says they “are close by”.

When our state of mind is on that level, we will not be defiled by the afflictions and ignorance of the world. This allows our minds to be completely tranquil and clear, undefiled by things with form. Then we will not give rise to discursive thoughts. Our mind will be completely empty [of thoughts]. This depends on our thinking.

Having supreme merits and virtue depending on how much effort we put into our spiritual practice and how long we spend accumulating virtues. So, “These are the heavenly palaces of treasures that they live in”. Living in heavenly palaces of treasures depends on our spiritual state. “They enter the Path through emptiness, thus it says they ‘are close by'”. When we no longer allow any external sexual desires or [desire] for material goods and so on to defile our minds, and things with form have nothing to do with us, then with this state of mind, we are already abiding in the heavenly palaces of treasures. We “enter the Path through emptiness”. Can we do this? We are “close by”. We are already close by. We are so close we are inside the palace of treasures. We will soon enter the Buddha’s meditation room. This requires us to put in a lot of work. It will take Purna that much time, so what about us?

>> “The human and heavenly intersect. For those in the human and heaven realms, no humans have not been heavenly beings, and no heavenly beings have not been humans. Both realms respond to each other, thus humans and heavenly beings are close”.

So, the heaven and human realms have always been connected with each other. If humans do a lot of good deeds, their karmic retribution will lead them to heaven. Becoming a heavenly being starts in the human realm, with accumulating good karma there. To be born into a wealthy household, we must have created much good karma in past lives. So, all the realms, in the past, the present and future, the human and heaven realms, the hell realm, the hungry ghost and animal realms, are all linked together . When we do good deeds, of course we intersect with the heaven realm. “Both realms respond to each other, thus humans and heavenly beings are close”. So, “[They] are able to meet each other”. Heavenly beings and humans meet very often.

>> [They] are able to meet each other: In terms of matters and appearances, this is like how Sakyamuni descended from. Trayastrimsa Heaven to Jambudvipa. Humans and heavenly beings can meet each other. In terms of the principles, humans who practice supreme goodness will be born in the heavens. All heavenly beings fall to the human world when their virtues decrease. It is obvious from matters and appearances that they are able to meet each other.

“[They] are able to meet each other”. In terms of matters, this is like how Sakyamuni descended from the Tusita heaven into the palace, that is, to Jambudvipa. Jambudvipa is the Saha World. Where did He come from? From Tusita Heaven. This is because the spiritual training ground of every Bodhisattva is in Tusita Heaven. Only after training in Tusita Heaven can one be born in the human realm and attain Buddhahood. Every Buddha passes through Tusita Heaven, the spiritual training ground for Bodhisattvas. So, descending from Tusita Heaven is speaking in terms of matters and appearances. This is why it says, “Humans and heavenly beings can meet each other”.

In terms of principles, “Humans who practice supreme goodness will be born in the heavens”. “All heavenly beings [decrease in virtue],” and when their virtues decrease, “they fall to the human world”. “It is obvious from matters and appearances that they are able to meet each other”. This is what we should ordinarily be doing, must be earnestly and mindfully experiencing and understanding.

So, “There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women”.

>> There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women: For those who abide together in a defiled land, there are four evil realms and women. Now for those who live in Dharma Clarity Buddha’s pure land, there are no evil realms nor any women. Without committing any evils, there are no Three Evil Destinies. Purna Maitrayaniputra taught the Dharma, and those who listened practiced accordingly. They did not create karma of the evil realms. Therefore, when he attains Buddhahood, he has this pure land.

Most importantly, there will be no sexual desire. Without sexual desire, naturally this place goes from defiled to pure. Where there is sexual desire, there will be evil realms. People say, “Women are the source of calamity”.  Actually, men are the source of calamity. Isn’t it the same either way? It is because the two come together that there is this result. So, “There are no evil realms of any kind nor any women”.

“For those who abide together in a defiled land, there are four evil realms and women”. “Now, for those who live in Dharma Clarity Buddha’s pure land…”. When it comes to Dharma Clarity Tathagata, His land will be a pure land with no evil realms nor any women. This will be Dharma Clarity’s land in the future.

“Without any evils committed, then there are no Three Evil Destinies”. There are no hell, hungry ghost or animal realms. None at all. Beings are born in the hungry ghost and animal realms because of the evil they committed. So, “Purna taught the Dharma”. Purna is Maitrayaniputra. Purna taught the Dharma, and “Those who listened practiced accordingly”. Because Purna had taught the Dharma continually over many [accumulated] lifetimes, those he had affinities with had all listened to the Dharma. They listened to the Dharma, accepted the teachings and practiced them, so naturally, “They did not create karma of the evil realms”. They did not create causes for the evil realms. So, “When he attains Buddhahood, he has this pure land”. Though he will also come to this world to attain Buddhahood everyone in that land will be there because they engaged in spiritual practice in the past. So, people in this place will have pure minds. Because people’s minds are pure, the land also will be pure. So, the land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata in the future will be pure.

“All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires”.

>> All sentient beings are transformation-born, without lustful desires: They are transformation-born from the Dharma, thus they are without lustful desires. They practice and attain the Dharma-body, thus it is not a realm of suffering.

The Saha World in Dharma Clarity Tathagata’s time will be completely different. It will be one of the heaven realms with heavenly beings. Because we are on this planet in the universe, in the future we will be part of the heaven realm. This place will no longer be an impure land. “They are transformation-born from the Dharma, thus they are without lustful desires”. They will be transformation-born from the Dharma, and all they do will be wholesome. Being transformation-born is like being a lotus; the lotus emerges from the mud in this way. Lotus seeds are transformation-born in the lotus pond and thus pure. The seeds of goodness in all of us are transformation-born through the virtuous Dharma. Those in the heaven realm are transformation-born. So, they are “without lustful desires”. “They practice and attain the Dharma-body, thus it is not a realm of suffering”. It will not be a realm of suffering. The future world will be completely a pure land.

“Transformation-born: In the Land of Ultimate Bliss, there are no women”. “Since all are transformation-born, they are free from desires and defilements and thus have golden forms”. Their bodies will all be golden. So, “Such wondrous bodies are intrinsic to everyone, but they are defiled and covered by turbid desires”.

>> Transformation-born: In the Land of Ultimate Bliss, there are no women. Since all are transformation-born, they are free from desires and defilements. Therefore, they have radiant bodies and golden forms. Such wondrous bodies are intrinsic to everyone, but they are defiled and covered by turbid desires.

We are defiled by the impurities of evil, otherwise our body and the Buddha’s body would likewise be pure and wondrous bodies.

We ordinarily say, in life, “[We] contemplate the body as impure contemplate all feelings as suffering, contemplate the mind as impermanent”. This is in the Saha World. Right now, our bodies are not clean. Why aren’t they clean? Because our minds are defiled, extremely filthy. So, they are not clean. The body is filthy and unclean because the mind is filthy and unclean. Filthy and unclean minds create filthy and unclean lands. It is the same principle. I hope in the future, in Purna’s land in that future lifetime, we will have the affinities with him to be reborn there in that pure transformation-land. This is not impossible, as long as we are always mindful.

Episode 1120 – Fully Attaining the Boundless Fruits

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>> “With limitless, deep and distant causes and conditions, he has fully attained boundless fruits. The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions. He expounds the Dharma to break through the web of foolishness in the world and guides people to enter the great path of noble beings. The good paths respond to each other, and humans and heavenly beings mutually interact to enter Bodhi.”

>> The principles of the Dharma-realm exist here; all things are in the Dharma-realm. The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions. If people want to understand all Buddhas of the Three Periods, they must contemplate the nature of the Dharma-realm, that all things are created by the mind.

>> “After countless asankya kalpas pass, he will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. His epithet will be Dharma Clarity.”

>> The Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well—gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans and. Buddha, the World-Honored One.

>> “That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land. The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm, without mountains, valley streams, ditches or ravines. Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere.”.

>> That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land: This explains that His Buddha-land and the states in which He will transform are so vast.

>> The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm: Because the Buddha’s mind is even, the ground is also level. This palm is like that of the Buddha’s hand, not like the palm of people in the world.

>> Without mountains, valley streams, ditches or ravines: People’s minds which are fierce and arrogant are like high mountains with layers of ridges and high cliffs. The raging of greed and desires is like the streams that swallow all the different flows of [water]. Treachery is like ditches. Deception is like ravines. The Buddha-land is level. It does not have any such treacherous places. This is all in response to His impartial mind.

>> Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere: The terraces and temples for people to wander in are the fruition of his merits and virtues. Thus they are called treasures. They are found in all places, thus it says “everywhere.” The Seven Treasures and so on are in response to all kinds of Dharma-treasures that dignify sentient beings’ minds.

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“With limitless, deep and distant causes and conditions,
he has fully attained boundless fruits.
The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete,
pervading all in the ten directions.
He expounds the Dharma to break through the web of foolishness in the world
and guides people to enter the great path of noble beings.
The good paths respond to each other,
and humans and heavenly beings mutually interact to enter Bodhi.”

“With limitless, deep and distant causes and conditions” means that since Beginningless Time, he continually accumulated deep causes and positive conditions. He continually accumulated these, so he “fully attained boundless fruits.” In order to engage in spiritual practice, we must believe, must have deep faith that all of us intrinsically have Buddha-nature, that all have the nature of the Tathagata-garbha. This is something that we must affirm for ourselves. We must have deep faith.

With this pure intrinsic nature which we have had since Beginningless Time, if we can always, starting from our aspirations, which are pure and undefiled, awaken our compassion, then we can coexist as one with all of the earth’s sentient beings. All things on earth are equal. In their mind, their Buddha-nature, all are equal. The intrinsic nature of True Suchness of sentient beings is equal in all. This impartiality is love; love is without discrimination. This is the mind of a Buddha. This is intrinsic in everyone! It is just that, as sentient beings, our minds give rise to discrimination. “I love this, I hate that. I want to possess this, I want to seize that. I reject those other people” and so on. The principles of the mind are wondrously profound. It is in the workings of the mind that we give rise to so much discrimination. So, we create so many things in the outside world, create such a great variety of things, which stir up so much suffering in the world.

We must truly believe that our minds are equal to the Buddha-nature. The precious qualities of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are what we should be learning. We should be learning from the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas. The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One. How did He awaken to the true principles of all things in the universe? To learn from the Buddha, we also need to awaken. Indeed, we should learn from the Buddha how to [create] the causes and conditions for our awakening and attaining Buddhahood, how to awaken our aspirations, how to activate our nature of True Suchness, how to preserve the love that comes from a heart which treats all sentient beings equally.

So, [these are] “limitless, deep and distant causes and conditions.” These are from dust-inked kalpas ago, when we first began forming aspirations. We have kept talking about dust-inked kalpas. Do not forget about the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. This was an analogy that Sakyamuni Buddha used to help us to understand that everyone’s intrinsic nature is pure. This enlightened nature has existed since long ago. It was in that era that we began. When was that era exactly? The Buddha would not tell us, as He said it was an infinite amount of time ago. What did He use as a comparison for the infinite? He used dust-inked kalpas. This is like if all the matter of the world were ground into a fine dust, and every bit and every particle were then turned into ink. This is an analogy for a very long time. Isn’t this something like that simple phrase, beginningless?

Yes, to put it simply, our awakened nature is fundamentally unhindered. “Great Unhindered Superior Wisdom” means everyone originally had unhindered understanding. Thus, He was named “Great Unhindered.” The intrinsic nature of wisdom replete in everyone has always been there. If we can understand this, then we know that since Beginningless Time, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior has always been with us. During Great Unhindered Buddha’s era, we were also all there together. We listened to the Dharma at. Great Unhindered Buddha’s place of enlightenment, and at Great Unhindered’s place of enlightenment experienced the truth of the principles. If this aspiration still exists inside of us then it is “limitless”; it has been an incalculable length of time. The principles that opened to our understanding are limitless and inexhaustible. They have been preserved in us continually from that time until now. These are deep and distant causes and conditions. For many lifetimes, we seized the present time and preserved the moment forever. We forever maintained those aspirations that we formed, never letting them leak away. So, in this way, “He has fully attained boundless fruits.”

This describes when Purna Maitrayaniputra and the Buddha formed affinities. It was during the era of Great Unhindered Buddha. This was on the level of events. He had listened to the 16 princes and had continually [practiced] until now, so these matters and principles were limitless. Whether we speak of time or space, for so long, he had never let the Dharma leak away. These principles truly are limitless, and the time is incalculable. His attitude in spiritual practice allowed him to, lifetime after lifetime, form aspirations to go among others. With these events, he had the causes and conditions so that over time, he “fully attained boundless fruits.”

“The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions.” The Dharma he attained was all matters and principles of the Dharma-realm. Every matter is actually the Dharma; the principles permeate everything. This is the Dharma-realm. The Dharma-realm contains matters and principles; these are all interconnected. This is called Dharma-nature. “Dharma-nature is ultimately perfect and complete.” In fact, for matters and principles to be in perfect harmony, as we often say, “When our character and conduct are harmonious, we are in harmony with the principles.” When the things we do are perfect and complete, when we are friendly with everyone, when we always create good affinities with others, then this makes others feel like we are good in every way. When we follow the principles in our conduct, everyone who sees it will be joyful. This is how we perfect our character. When we perfect our character, our actions and speech become perfect and we get along perfectly with others and so on. When we are good people, people who help others, people who are role models for others, that is how we perfect our character. When we perfect our character, then naturally the things we do become perfect and complete. When our character is perfect, and our conduct is perfect, aren’t the principles perfect and complete?

So, “The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete.” When the people, matters, objects and principles in the Dharma-realm are all perfect, this nature reaches everywhere. So, it is ultimately perfect and complete and pervades the ten directions. If all [in the universe] is in perfect harmony, then where is east, west, north or south? Even in the east, there is still a north, south, east, west. Even in the north, there is still a north, south, east, west. In any place, there is always a “north, south, east, west.” Actually, Earth is perfectly round; it is a round planet. All of the planets in the universe are round. Therefore, “The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions.” When it comes to direction, space does not move. What is moving is a planet in its orbit; it is not the entire universe that moves. In fact, the universe is peaceful and free. Our day and night are actually the motions of stars and planets. So, we can say that these are all connected, that they orbit smoothly in perfect harmony. Thus, “The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions.” Everything is taken care of, perfect and complete.

This is how spiritual practitioners comprehend the principles. The principles have always been like this, and if we can thoroughly comprehend all of them, how they are “ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions,” what is there we will not understand? Thus, He “expounds the Dharma to break through the web of foolishness in the world and guides people to enter the great path of noble beings.” He taught the Dharma specifically to relieve us of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt.

As humans, we have five great illnesses; greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. These five great illnesses are five kinds of delusions. If we are able to get rid of greed, give up greed and desire, then naturally we will no longer have anything to give rise to discursive thoughts over or get angry over. Since we have no expectations nor grasping, what could be worth getting angry or losing our temper over? There is nothing. When we pridefully compare ourselves with others and feel a little smarter, that is our arrogance arising. When arrogance arises, whatever anyone else does in the world, we are sure to have doubts. This stems from our ignorance, and ignorance is lack of clarity. So, we talk about greed, anger and ignorance, which produce arrogance and doubt. This is like being entangled by a web.

The internet is everywhere now. Who has not used the internet and become caught up in it? Often, with our cell phone in hand, our minds are caught up in the phone, caught up in the web. The web has everything; all kinds of attractive things are found there which bring turmoil to people’s minds, disturb our spiritual aspirations and cause deviations from the right path in the world. This is the internet. However, people now cannot tear themselves from the web, so they have become foolish. Of course, technological development is very good. We utilize this technology to understand the workings of the world, expand our knowledge and increase our wisdom. It is also a tool that can help us expand our understanding of things.

But for us ordinary people, we can become lost as soon as we step inside. We do not know how to choose. So, all these attractive things on the web, all these various attractions, drag us along and cause us to waste untold hours, entangled in this web. So, it disturbs people’s minds, disrupts our will to engage in spiritual practice. Thus, we should understand very clearly that in our world today that which we need most is to return to our pure intrinsic nature. We must seek the Dharma, the true principles. The Dharma, the path of the true principles, must be walked by putting teachings into action. Only then can we enter the noble and great path. Otherwise, we just remain in this web, the web of foolishness, from which we cannot wriggle free. We should break through this web. We listen to the Dharma to break out of this web. We must quickly enter the noble and great path.

So, “The good paths respond to each other; humans and heavenly beings mutually interact to enter Bodhi.” This is something we must quickly be clear about. We should not let this web of foolishness cover us or ensnare us. By listening to and teaching the Dharma, we break through the world’s web of foolishness. If you wish to look at your phone, look at our e-reader instead! There is all sorts of Dharma available on it. We do not need to seek out those attractions. We want to understand the principles, not indulge ourselves with such diversions. We should not waste time in these places. Our e-readers are very simple to use. They are in black and white. When we understand [how to use them], all sorts of teachings are available to us within. We know to choose these simple tools to understand the ultimate reality of the Dharma. If we can do this, our every step naturally takes us onto good paths. As good paths respond to each other, humans and heavenly beings mutually interact and enter Bodhi. This is how we draw closer to the principles of the human and heaven realms. The heaven realm is [the practice of] goodness, where good deeds are done.

Remember at the beginning of the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, the Brahma kings from the ten directions kept coming and coming and coming. How did they become Brahma kings? They practiced the Ten Good Deeds to the fullest, upheld the pure precepts to the fullest. They practiced the good deeds and precepts fully. Because of this, they were able to be born in the Brahma heavens. It was just that there were still some principles which they did not thoroughly understand. Nevertheless, they all cultivated pure practices. These were the Brahma kings. So the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City helps us to understand very clearly that, in regard to the Dharma, we must keep advancing with every step. “The principles of the Dharma-realm” are that “All things are in the Dharma-realm.”

The principles of the Dharma-realm exist here; all things are in the Dharma-realm. The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions. If people want to understand all Buddhas of the Three Periods, they must contemplate the nature of the Dharma-realm, that all things are created by the mind.

When it comes to the Dharma-realm, in our daily living, what is there that does not contain the principles? For us to sit here unmoving for so long is also not without its principles. We must train ourselves. After we sit for a long time, we become used to it. When we get up a little later and begin walking, our every step must be stable and steady. If we are physically healthy, then our every step will be stable and steady. [We will walk] erect and straight; each step will be stable and steady. If we are physically unhealthy, or decline due to old age, our gait will no longer be stable and steady. This can be seen in people’s appearances. People’s appearances are like this; this too is the Dharma-realm.

When we eat every day, what part of it is not Dharma? If we do not have the things to put together, like raw vegetables and raw rice, then we will have no way to eat. In order to cook our rice, we need a stove, we need fire; we need a stove or a rice cooker, and we need water. There is so much that we need. We need these objects. Of all these objects, there is not one that does not contain principles. When planting rice, we need methods to grow rice. After growing the rice, we need to harvest it. Once harvested, it must be hulled to become rice. This is always the cycle. The principle is the same; the cycle keeps on going continuously. Where in our daily living is there anything that is not part of the Dharma-realm? What is there that is not a principle?

So, in listening to the Dharma, we should not think that we need to listen to profound and elegant language, that only words like that are the principles. In fact, the principles are in our daily living. So, “The nature of the Dharma-realm is ultimately perfect and complete, pervading all in the ten directions.” In fact, when we talk about this Dharma, every single matter and thing is different. Each has its own state and principles. These “pervade all in the ten directions.” Ultimately, throughout the ten directions, everything is part of the Dharma-realm. All things contain the principles. This is the Dharma. So, in the Avatamsaka Sutra, it says, “If people want to understand all Buddhas of the Three Periods, they must contemplate the nature of the Dharma-realm, that all things are created by the mind.” We should seek to comprehend the Dharma-realm.

Previously we kept talking about how “the nature of the Dharma-realm is harmonious.” In fact, the nature of the Dharma-realm is harmonious and also limitless. There is no way to calculate when exactly the universe began to have so many matters, objects and principles manifesting. When did human physiology and human psychology first begin to come into existence? Truly, all things are created by the mind. There is no need to think back to so long ago. There are so many things right in front of us that are waiting to be done. Thinking of and pursuing the past is not as good as returning to our present, to start understanding, taking action and putting the teachings into practice. So now, we need to understand these things.

The previous passage says,

“After countless asankya kalpas pass, he will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. His epithet will be Dharma Clarity.”

Sakyamuni Buddha praised. Purna Maitrayaniputra for understanding the Buddha’s intent, for teaching the Dharma the Buddha wanted to teach and for transforming and delivering sentient beings on the Buddha’s behalf. The Buddha had been praising Purna for decades. At His Dharma-assembly, Sakyamuni Buddha’s place of practice, he had helped the Buddha to teach. He also told of [Purna’s] past, how he did not just do this now, but had done it in the past as well. Now, Sakyamuni Buddha again said, “After countless asankya kalpas pass….” This is again in the future. After a very long time has passed in the future, “He will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.” Purna Maitrayaniputra will come again to the human realm but it will not be for a very long time. When he attains Buddhahood in the future, of course, it will not happen until after Maitreya Buddha comes. How long will it be until. Maitreya Buddha comes to the world? It will not happen for billions of years.

Of course, Purna’s attainment of Buddhahood would not happen until long after that. So, it says asankyas of kalpas. It would be countless asankyas of kalpas before Dharma Clarity Tathagata would appear in the world. So, Dharma Clarity Tathagata will be replete with the Ten Epithets. He will be a Great Enlightened One who will attain Buddhahood in the Saha World. His heartfelt vow is to be born in this land.

The Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well—gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans and. Buddha, the World-Honored One.

In this evil world of Five Turbidities, this place where the Five Destinies coexist, sentient beings are stubborn and hard to train. Purna Maitrayaniputra nevertheless was willing and made a vow to deliver sentient beings in this world that must be endured.

The next passage says,

“That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land. The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm, without mountains, valley streams, ditches or ravines. Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere.”

This is the state of his attainment of Buddhahood. In his realm at that time, “That Buddha will take the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land.” His realm in the future will be vast. The realm being talking about here is the spiritual realm of the Buddha. One great trichiliocosm is one Buddha-land. We will explain after this what a great trichiliocosm is. This is talking about that Buddha’s land. “And the states in which He will transform are so vast.” His heart is broad and open so the realms in which He delivers and transforms, the sentient beings He has affinities with, are vast. They are as open and vast as a great trichiliocosm.

That Buddha takes the worlds of a great trichiliocosm, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River, as one Buddha-land: This explains that His Buddha-land and the states in which He will transform are so vast.

In the world at that time, in the Buddha-land of Dharma Clarity, “The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm.” The world of His Buddha-land is full of treasures. In the world of His Buddha-land, everyone’s spiritual state is very even. So, [the land] is like an outstretched palm, as flat as one’s palm. This is “because the Buddha’s mind is even.” Since the Buddha’s mind is so even, “The ground is also level.” This is the ground of the Buddha’s mind. The landscape of the Buddha’s mind is this even. Moreover, “[The ground] is as level as one’s palm.” It is like the Buddha’s palm, as if He extended His palm. His hand is so flat. It is not the same as ordinary people’s hands. When we extend our palm, there are many creases in it. We have many high and low points. But when the Buddha extends His palm it is so even. Thus, “[The ground is] as level as one’s palm.” This is used as an analogy.

The ground will be made of the Seven Treasures and be as level as one’s palm: Because the Buddha’s mind is even, the ground is also level. This palm is like that of the Buddha’s hand, not like the palm of people in the world.

“Without mountains, valley streams, ditches or ravines” is an analogy for how flat the land there will be. It is not like our world that curves up and down, with high and low places. Truly, the ground is sometimes hard to walk upon. Yet, our land is still like this; there are mountains, rivers, oceans and ditches. The mountains refer to both tall and short ones. Valley streams can be very deep. The places between the mountains are deep; they are places you can fall into. These are ditches and ravines. There are many mountains, creeks and gullies. It is so uneven with protrusions and depressions. So, this is an analogy for the human mind.

Without mountains, valley streams, ditches or ravines: People’s minds which are fierce and arrogant are like high mountains with layers of ridges and high cliffs. The raging of greed and desires is like the streams that swallow all the different flows of [water]. Treachery is like ditches. Deception is like ravines. The Buddha-land is level. It does not have any such treacherous places. This is all in response to His impartial mind.

“People’s minds that are fierce and arrogant are like high mountains.”

The ancients had a saying, “Mountains are not as high as the greed in our minds.” As high as mountains may be, people’s greed is even higher than mountains. Aren’t people’s greed as vast as the sky? People’s greed also encompass the mountains, the oceans and the earth. The ancients said this too. Of course, the Buddha also told us, “The mind encompasses the universe and embraces the boundless worlds within it.” It is true; it encompasses the mountains and land. How does it encompass them? The Buddha taught us that our minds should be open and spacious to accommodate all. We must be understanding and accommodating. However, we people, we unenlightened beings have such ferocity and rage in our hearts. This is because our greed is too great. How much wealth is enough? Is this industry satisfactory? People today want more and bigger things. The big devour the smaller, and the small struggle with the greater. People’s minds are like this! They can never be level and even. They are forever so arrogant!

“I will not lose out to you. I don’t want to be smaller than you, so I will grow ever larger.” Thus, someone can become vicious and merciless; this is violence of the mind. It comes from arrogance, the arising of arrogance. This is a sense of “self. I will be even bigger than you, have more than you, be higher than you etc.” It never ends! So, it is like a tall mountain. Mountains are not as high as our list of wishes.

The Himalayas, at more than 8000 meters tall, are said to be the world’s tallest mountains. People now go and conquer the world’s highest peaks. They go up Mount Everest; they have ways to conquer it. They do it through physical strength. They say, “It’s not that tall. I can climb it!” That is right! There are now many who spend a lot of time and effort in climbing them. But that is a physical endeavor. It is a physical achievement. We may have the endurance, the strength to climb to the top of a mountain, but we may not be able to overcome our own mind. You may be able to overcome physical limitations, but you cannot overcome mental ones. The [wishes] in our minds will always be higher than the mountains, even bigger, even taller. People always want more. They not only wish to climb [this one], they want ones even higher than it, even bigger ones. “I want them all. I want to carry this back. This is mine.” This is how ordinary people’s minds are. To always want to go higher is exhausting!

“With layers of ridges and high cliffs” means these mountain ridges rise layer after layer. Then it is “the raging of greed and desires.” Our greed and desires are like this, layer after layer. Our greed is forever inexhaustible. We continually swallow, want to swallow more and more. The analogy used is a mountain gorge that swallows all the different flows. Mountains are very high, and when it rains the water runs from the mountaintops through the mountain gorges. The mountain gorges swallow up everything. The mountain gorges swallow up [the runoff]. No matter how high the mountain, the water that runs down is swallowed up in these.

The principle is the same. We people are the same. If we are headed in the right direction in our spiritual practice, we swallow and endure. No matter what kind of violent opposition, we swallow and endure it all. This is spiritual practice. The world is so greedy that it is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. This snake also thinks that it can swallow anything, that it can even swallow an elephant. This is like us people; we truly overestimate our capabilities and do not recognize life’s impermanence. Life is short, but we are unaware of this. So, we continue to strive and destroy etc. These are all the dangers of the human mind. “Treachery is like ditches. Deception is like ravines.”

So, “The Buddha-land is level.” The Buddha-land is very level. “It does not have any such treacherous places.” It is so level. It is not taller than a mountain, nor does it swallow more than ditches and ravines. It is not like this. So, everything is level there, and “It does not have any such treacherous places.” Because it is even, everything can be seen at a glance. You can see that it is a very level place. When walking in level places, it feels very safe. So, “It does not have any such treacherous places. This is all in response to His impartial mind.” So, there is no danger there.

In the state of the Buddha, in His land, “Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere.” Those “terraces and temples for people to wander in” are the fruition of His merits and virtues.

Terraces and temples of Seven Treasures are everywhere: The terraces and temples for people to wander in are the fruition of his merits and virtues. Thus they are called treasures. They are found in all places, thus it says “everywhere.” The Seven Treasures and so on are in response to all kinds of Dharma-treasures that dignify sentient beings’ minds.

This is the joy that comes from serving others, being filled with Dharma-joy. This is all the Dharma, and the Dharma is found in our hearts, not to mention in the Buddha’s. The Great Enlightened One’s mind is like this; throughout the landscape of His mind there are these kinds of pavilions everywhere for playing. Everywhere is very beautiful. The landscape of His mind is very beautiful. This is all a result of His merits and virtues, His accumulation of merits and virtues. “They are called treasures.” These are the treasures.

“They are found in all places, thus it says ‘everywhere.'” It is like this everywhere there. So, “The Seven Treasures and so on are in response to all kinds of Dharma-treasures that dignify sentient beings’ minds.” Because of these virtues that He had accumulated through His actions, in the eyes of sentient beings, the Buddha was always the most dignified. So, “All kinds of Dharma-treasures dignify sentient beings’ minds.” He taught and transformed sentient beings, enabled sentient beings to accept this Dharma and shared the Dharma-joy of His teachings. If we wish to attain Dharma-joy, in our minds we must accept the Dharma and put it into practice in order to experience it. This is actually simple; it is not difficult. The Dharma-realm is always found in daily living. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1119 – Benefiting Others to Purify Our Own Buddha-Land

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>> “With the vow and practice of benefiting others, we dignify and purify our own Buddha-Land. Without creating affinities with people, Bodhisattvas will have no opportunity to transform them. The path to Buddhahood is far; transforming sentient beings is our provisions for attaining Buddhahood.”

>> “He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma. In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas, teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings. He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify the Buddha-lands, he always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.”

>> “After countless asankya kalpas pass, he will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. His epithet will be Dharma Clarity.”

>> After countless asankya kalpas pass: A seed contains an ocean of fruits. Penetrating the fruits, one sees the source seed. He must still pass through countless numbers, beyond any possible calculation, of immeasurable asankya kalpas.

>> He will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: “This land” means the Saha World. He will attain supreme, complete awakening.

>> “This land” refers to all within the Dharma-realms. In this impure Saha World that must be endured, he will attain the fruits and manifest the path of noble beings. All of this assists him in the original great vows that he made and in returning to that ultimate sincerity.

>> His epithet will be Dharma Clarity: The Venerable One, in the causal ground, comprehended with clarity the Dharma of all Buddhas. Thus when he reaches attainment of the fruit, his epithet will be Dharma Clarity. With his causes, he comprehends with clarity the Dharma’s meaning and expounds the Dharma to break through the confusion and foolishness in the world. Thus he will be called Dharma Clarity. This is that Buddha’s distinctive epithet; all others are shared epithets.

>> “The Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World. Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans and Buddha, the World-Honored One.”

>> He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify the Buddha-lands, He always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 1. Tathagata: He journeys on the path of True Suchness and comes to achieve perfect enlightenment.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 2. One Worthy of Offerings: He is worthy of receiving offerings from humans and heavenly beings 3. Completely Awakened One: He is completely awakened to all Dharma.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 4. One Perfect in Wisdom and Action: He is perfectly replete with the practice of the Three Insights 5. Well-gone One: With the wisdom of all Dharma as His great cart, He travels the Eightfold Path to enter Nirvana.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 7. Unsurpassed Guide: Just as Nirvana is supreme among all Dharma, the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 7. Unsurpassed Guide: Just as Nirvana is supreme among all Dharma, the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 9. The Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans: The Buddha is the guiding teacher of humans and heavenly beings. He can teach and demonstrate what they should and should not do.

>> The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 10. Buddha, the World-Honored One: The Buddha means Wise One or Enlightened One. He is also called the World-Honored One, meaning He is honored by all the world.

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“With the vow and practice of benefiting others,
we dignify and purify our own Buddha-Land.
Without creating affinities with people,
Bodhisattvas will have no opportunity to transform them.
The path to Buddhahood is far;
transforming sentient beings is our provisions for attaining Buddhahood.”

Engaging in practice and attaining Buddhahood require us to make use of our opportunities. What kinds of opportunities must we use? Only by relying on our vow to benefit others and putting the Dharma into practice will we have the opportunity to attain Buddhahood. For us to walk such a long path, we need spiritual provisions; we need provisions to help us walk across such a long road. The Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City taught us this, didn’t it? The road was difficult to walk, very long and very far. Everyone was exhausted and wanted to stop midway. They even thought it would be better to go back. So, the guiding teacher told everyone, “We have already walked such a long way. Look, the city of treasures is near. It is not too far of a walk from here. Let’s raise our spirits and keep advancing forward.” This was in the. Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City.

The Buddha’s wisdom is like that of the guiding teacher showing us the way. On the one hand, he needs to lead us very precisely; he also needs to make sure we arrive safely. So, he patiently guided us, repeatedly giving reminders and instructions. “This path is very critical. There are many things to pay attention to. So everyone, be cautious. Mind your direction and do not go astray. Do not make the slightest mistakes in the steps you take; everyone needs to be very mindful and earnestly keep walking forward.”

When the guiding teacher leads, he leads them very mindfully like this. If we walk this path with the guiding teacher, we can travel safely and steadily. This means we must follow what he says. Not only must we follow, we cannot stray from the path even slightly. We need to follow him closely until the end in order to arrive. Similarly, there is a saying, “The spiritual training ground of Bodhisattvas is found amidst suffering sentient beings.” So, it is said, “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings.” Suffering sentient beings are. Bodhisattvas’ spiritual training ground. If we can clearly understand this saying, then attaining Buddhahood is not difficult.

“With the vow and practice of benefiting others, we dignify and purify our own Buddha-land.” To attain Buddhahood, we must first make use of the suffering of sentient beings. Sentient beings’ suffering comes from replicating ignorance and afflictions; as a result, things are beyond their control. Thus, they accumulate so much karma. What is more terrifying is their collective karma. When the causes and conditions of collective karma ripen, a tragic state of suffering and hardship manifests. This requires Bodhisattvas dedicating themselves and all extending a helping hand to give. In the world, don’t we often see these kinds of natural disasters and manmade calamities? When disasters strike, so many are affected by the suffering at once. In an instant, they lose their loved ones forever.

Looking at our international disaster relief work, in the past few years there have been so many natural disasters and manmade calamities. The four elements are not in balance. In a typhoon that struck Myanmar in 2008, between 100,000 and 200,000 people died. Similarly, in Haiti (2010), there was an earthquake in which 200,000 to 300,000 people died. From the high number of deaths, we can imagine how many were injured. With the number of dead and injured so great, we can further imagine what happened to all the structures and what the conditions would be. We can imagine this. We can think about how that earthquake had almost completely destroyed Port-Au-Prince. This tremendous disaster that affected everyone comes from the collective karma of sentient beings.

In the places where relief work was carried out, there was [support from] the United Nations and from many humanitarian groups. There were many different countries; when one country experiences a disaster, nations from around the world come to help them. How many countries went there, and how much did they do? In the end, who truly helped them? In the end, everyone could see that this organization was still there, that these Bodhisattvas are still giving for the sake of that country.

Though there is poverty and suffering there, though there are still frequent natural disasters and the four elements are still not balanced, those people likewise see. Bodhisattvas from other countries coming [to help]. They always wear the blue and white uniforms as they come and go in that country. Everyone is so grateful. These people had already been there for many years. For this country’s sake, they provide immediate relief whenever disasters hit. For people who suffer from illness, they have provided free medical services for a long time. When people are hungry, they will also distribute provisions for an extended period of time. Year after year, they repeatedly provided people with healthy provisions.

The children who are studying are already in the technical colleges, and the middle school, elementary school and kindergarten have all rebuilt one after another. Although this country was completely devastated, there are now already several large buildings which can facilitate the young people’s quest for an education. As they are educated, every year we see that their graduation ceremonies. They are also very grand. This is despite the fact that recently, year after year, they have had either hurricanes or severe rain and major flooding.

We see they still are unable to stabilize their country. In their government, who exactly will be their leader? That is still undecided. They still rely on many countries and the peacekeeping troops of the United Nations to maintain peace there. This country is suffering. Although there is much suffering there, it is because of these severe disasters that we had the causes and conditions for. Tzu Chi USA volunteers to establish a presence. These volunteers repeatedly went there. Over the past four, five, six years, they have taken more than 50, 60 trips there. For example, James Chen went back and forth to Haiti 50, 60 times. Let’s see, why did he do this?

This volunteer, for the sake of Haiti, took responsibility for the construction projects. So, he went back and forth. Normally, when he was there, he also managed the material goods for relief, going back and forth with Tzu Chi USA volunteers. Most of the people in that place know him. Clearly, through the “vow and practice of benefiting others,” through these trips back and forth, this group of lay Buddhist practitioners were able to show such determination. Reverently, for the sake of suffering beings, they willingly gave of themselves. Furthermore, they also considered how to improve the quality of the soil so that it would become suitable for people to plant crops so that people could recover their vitality, stand on their own two feet and have a way of producing their own food.

Now there is still a group of people considering how to use this land.

Why is it that, in this place, people were not encouraged to plant crops? Everyone does want to plant crops, but the land and climate [are not suitable]. What is wrong with the land? Whenever it rains, flooding occurs, and when the water recedes there is a drought. The country is poor, so the water management system is not set up well. They have no way to manage the water. So, for this country, there is so much that needs to be done to start the rebuilding.

Life is filled with suffering. What do we need to do to truly be able to give to and help others and understand the true principles of the world? We must simultaneously walk the path, take action and seek to experience the truth. This is the suffering of the world. Some of it is due to collective karma and some of it is due to circumstantial retribution. Scattered here and there, there are suffering people who need help and. As Living Bodhisattvas with the vow and practice of benefiting others, we must make use of sentient beings’ suffering. We witness suffering and recognize our blessings and create blessings for others. With the strength of these vows, naturally we can bring purity to our own lands. This helps us to pave a path, the great Bodhi-path. For us to pave this path, we need to put these principles into practice.

When we witness sentient beings’ suffering, we must awaken our heart of compassion. With universal compassion, we willingly give, give of our time and open up our wallets. We do this over and over. It has been several years. Over all this time, we have persevered and never given up on helping this country rebuild, on finding ways to help this land over the long term, to improve the land and people’s lives. This will take a very long time. This kind of “dignifying and purifying” is our spiritual practice. This is our spiritual training ground. This is how we move [forward] in our practice. We need a group of people, not just an individual. Although there is always one person in charge, we still need a group of people to dedicate themselves in order to do this together.

“Without creating affinities with people, Bodhisattvas will have no opportunity to transform them.” How do we become Bodhisattvas? What is Bodhisattva-practice? Bodhisattva-practice must take place among people. Without creating affinities with people, Bodhisattvas will have no opportunity to transform sentient beings. So, we certainly must seize [the opportunities]. Suffering sentient beings are the spiritual training ground for Bodhisattvas. We must quickly go among them, then we can dignify our Buddha-land in the future. We want to attain Buddhahood, so we need to have assisting conditions. The best causes and conditions come from going among people. When we go among the people, live amidst them, while remaining peaceful and at ease, then we are able to go into the states of greatest suffering to help. It is because they are suffering that they are willing to accept our help. This creates affinities. If they do not have suffering or difficulties, even if we wanted to give something to them, they would not need it.

So, if we do not create affinities with people, we Bodhisattvas will have no opportunity to transform them. Thus, we always say we must give without expectations and also be grateful for them giving us this opportunity to practice the Bodhisattva-path. So, Bodhisattvas find their opportunities among suffering sentient beings. We go to help others and make use of this spiritual training ground to engage in spiritual practice.

So, “The path to Buddhahood is far; transforming sentient beings is our provisions for attaining Buddhahood.” Transforming sentient beings is our provisions for attaining Buddhahood. How can we attain Buddhahood? We need to develop our wisdom-life. The development of our wisdom-life is the growth of this great, direct Bodhi-path. To pave this great Bodhi-path, we need sentient beings like this to give us the opportunity. This is the only way to develop our wisdom-life and pave our Bodhi-path to extend farther. So, these are the provisions for our wisdom-life. For our wisdom-life to grow stronger, the only way is to earnestly walk the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path is Bodhi, is our wisdom-life.

Come, let us look at the previous sutra passage, which states,

“He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma. In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas, teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings. He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify the Buddha-lands, he always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.”

This is what needs to be done. Among many sentient beings, we get involved to enable everyone to encounter the Buddha-Dharma and enable them all to get involved too, to likewise extend their hands and likewise go among people to diligently advance and teach and transform sentient beings. Purna Maitrayaniputra was like this. He taught sentient beings, and they followed him to likewise comprehend the Dharma. He did not just give teachings, but taught them until they [too] would “always advance diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings.” [He did this for] very many sentient beings and over “countless asankya kalpas.” Not only will he teach many people, but he will do so for a very long span of time.

The next sutra passage then states,

“After countless asankya kalpas pass, he will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. His epithet will be Dharma Clarity.”

Purna Maitrayaniputra was praised so much by the Buddha. Having now come to this point, He wanted to say that Purna Maitrayaniputra, in addition to transforming many people and spending a very long time, still had to go through countless asankya kalpas. It was the same; he had a long time still to come. It had been a long time in the past, having done this for dust-inked kalpas. In the future, [he would continue doing this] for countless asankya kalpas. It would still be a very long time. So, he still needed to accumulate [these seeds].

After countless asankya kalpas pass: A seed contains an ocean of fruits. Penetrating the fruits, one sees the source seed. He must still pass through countless numbers, beyond any possible calculation, of immeasurable asankya kalpas.

“A seed contains an ocean of fruits. Penetrating the fruits, one sees the source seed.” He still needed to accumulate [these seeds]. These seeds are formed within the heart, and he continually cultivated them. “Such is the cause”; it never changes. This seed will forever be this pure. The seed of the Tathagata is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness; it has never been defiled. He always maintained this pure aspiration, life after life. Life after life, he constantly helped others, thus yielding an abundance of fruits as deep and as vast as the ocean. This is how it is; such causes will constantly accumulate. The fruits that are formed all came from that one seed over time.

“Penetrating the fruits, one sees the source seed.” No matter how many fruits have resulted, we can likewise trace them back to that very first aspiration. That aspiration is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. “Penetrating the fruits, one sees the source seed.” This is that aspiration. Lifetime after lifetime, this aspiration never changes.

So, “He must still pass through countless numbers beyond any possible calculation.” It is impossible to calculate or measure exactly how long he had been doing this or exactly how many sentient beings he had saved and transformed. This amount of time and the number of people he saved and transformed are truly beyond calculation. It will be “immeasurable asankya kalpas;” thus, such a long time had already passed, and.

“He will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”

He will in this land attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: “This land” means the Saha World. He will attain supreme, complete awakening.

He was this way in the past and will continue in the future for such a long time. In the future, he will be able to attain. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Although the road is far, if we walk far enough we will arrive. So, we must constantly accumulate [seeds]. What about “this land”? Purna Maitrayaniputra formed the aspiration to abide in the Saha World just like Sakyamuni Buddha. He made a vow to remain in the Saha World, where sentient beings have the greatest need. In “this land,” which is the Saha World, “He will attain supreme, complete awakening,” which is Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. His vow was not about going somewhere that was more dignified and more pure. He was willing to remain in this evil world of Five Turbidities to continually purify it. This is like Earth Treasury Bodhisattva, who willingly abides in hell, the place of the worst suffering. Purna’s vow is the same as the Buddha’s, to remain among the suffering, in this complicated world. He vowed to repeatedly return to attain Buddhahood and transform sentient beings. This was his vow.

So, “This land” is “refers to all within the Dharma-realms.”

“This land” refers to all within the Dharma-realms. In this impure Saha World that must be endured, he will attain the fruits and manifest the path of noble beings. All of this assists him in the original great vows that he made and in returning to that ultimate sincerity.

As for the Dharma-realms, there are ten Dharma-realms, including the. Six Unenlightened and Four Noble Realms. We have discussed this in the past. The Six Unenlightened Realms are the heaven, asura, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Six Unenlightened Realms. The Four Noble Realms are those of Hearers, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. These are the Four Noble Realms. They are all here in this place, so this is where the Five Destinies co-exist. This is a very complicated place. However, this place is filled with Dharma; so many principles can be awakened to in this place. “In this impure Saha World that must be endured, he will attain the fruits and manifest the path of noble beings.”

In such a complicated world that must be endured, by engaging in spiritual practice and giving, he manifests the path of noble beings. The power of these vows is truly incredible.

So, “All of this assists him in the original great vows that he made.” Only this kind of world can truly enable us to [fulfill our] initial aspiration. Sakyamuni Buddha, in the most extreme suffering, formed an aspiration, that great vow. The principle is the same. So, “returning to that ultimate sincerity” demonstrates his initial aspiration for practice, that very first aspiration. I often say, “Never forget your initial resolve.” We must not forget the resolve we had when we first made that vow; With utmost sincerity, that of “sincere friendship,” he forever remained in this Saha World to willingly give to suffering sentient beings. This is “returning to that ultimate sincerity.” Likewise, he will attain Buddhahood in this place.

“His epithet will be Dharma Clarity.”

His epithet will be Dharma Clarity: The Venerable One, in the causal ground, comprehended with clarity the Dharma of all Buddhas. Thus when he reaches attainment of the fruit, his epithet will be Dharma Clarity. With his causes, he comprehends with clarity the Dharma’s meaning and expounds the Dharma to break through the confusion and foolishness in the world. Thus he will be called Dharma Clarity. This is that Buddha’s distinctive epithet; all others are shared epithets.

In the future, Purna will attain Buddhahood here. His epithet will be “Dharma Clarity.” This is like how Maitreya will also, in the future, attain Buddhahood in this world. His epithet will be “Maitreya.” After Maitreya, it will take a very long period of time before another Buddha will appear in the world. Every Buddha on this land, each one who attains Buddhahood in this world, has a different epithet.

So, “the Venerable One, in the causal ground” means he began to practice in this causal ground. “He comprehends with all clarity the Dharma of all Buddhas.” In this place, he discovered the Buddha-Dharma and formed the aspiration and made the vow to learn the Buddha’s teachings here. “He comprehends with all clarity the Dharma of all Buddhas.” So, he will attain the fruits; in this place, having attained the fruits, his epithet will be Dharma Clarity. Through these causes, he will attain the fruits.

“He comprehends with clarity the Dharma’s meaning.” He really understands the principles contained in Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. So, he “expounds the Dharma to break through the confusion and foolishness in the world. Thus he will be called Dharma Clarity.” He comprehends the principles of the world; he completely understands them and can teach the Dharma to break through the ignorance of all beings. This world is very evil and turbid, very dark. It is not only that the world is turbid and dark. As we often say these days, “Now, why is the whole sky gray and cloudy? Even though we see the sun, the sky is still gray and hazy.” Now the whole earth is gray and hazy, not to mention people’s minds! Of course, our minds are also foggy and foolish. Ignorance continues to cover our minds, and we continue to generate impure emissions that pollute the sky. This is the same principle.

So, everyone must clearly understand the truth. Only then can our ignorance begin to fade. Naturally the macrocosm of the world will slowly clear up. So, we need principles to purify people’s minds. Only then we can purify the macrocosm. This is called “breaking through the confusion and foolishness in the world.” Confusion is like a haze. It arises from ignorance and delusion. “Thus he will be called Dharma Clarity.” So for this, his name will be Dharma Clarity. He will continually transform sentient beings. There are still many sentient beings [to deliver], so it will require a very long time.

“This is that Buddha’s distinctive epithet.” This is a distinctive epithet. There are also the shared epithets. All Buddhas share the same path; They do not only have distinctive epithets. “Sakyamuni Buddha” is a distinctive epithet. “Maitreya Buddha” is also a distinctive epithet. “Dharma Clarity” is also a distinctive epithet. But all Buddhas have shared epithets, which are the Ten Epithets. The Ten Epithets express the Ten Virtues. Only when one is replete with the Ten Virtues can one attain Buddhahood and have a distinctive epithet. We all read the Ten Epithets when we chant sutras. As part of every sutra we chant.

“The Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World. Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans and Buddha, the World-Honored One.”

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 1. Tathagata: He journeys on the path of True Suchness and comes to achieve perfect enlightenment.

He has to have all these principles, whether the Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence or Six Paramitas. He understands all of these many paths. He not only understand them, He also puts them into practice. He has followed these principles to give and to complete [His practice], thus He attained perfect enlightenment. This is the meaning of Tathagata.

Second is the “One Worthy of Offerings. He is worthy of receiving offerings from humans and heavenly beings.” Because He helped others in this way, with the virtues He thus cultivated. He is worthy of receiving offerings in the world.

The third is the “Completely Awakened One. He is completely awakened to all Dharma.”

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 2. One Worthy of Offerings: He is worthy of receiving offerings from humans and heavenly beings 3. Completely Awakened One: He is completely awakened to all Dharma.

Among all principles in the universe, there is none He does not comprehend. So, He is the “Completely Awakened One.”

The fourth is “One Perfect in Wisdom and Action,” meaning He is replete with the Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers. He is replete with both blessings and wisdom, so He is the “One Perfect in Wisdom and Action.”

The fifth is the “Well-gone One. Well-gone One” means that “with the wisdom of all Dharma as His great cart, He travels the Eightfold Path to enter Nirvana.”

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 4. One Perfect in Wisdom and Action: He is perfectly replete with the practice of the Three Insights 5. Well-gone One: With the wisdom of all Dharma as His great cart, He travels the Eightfold Path to enter Nirvana.

With wisdom, He chose the Great Vehicle Dharma, but the Great Vehicle Dharma is still inseparable from the Eightfold Noble Path. With a clear and tranquil mind, He entered Nirvana.

The sixth is the “Knower of the World. He can comprehend the matters of all sentient beings and non-sentient things.”

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 6. Knower of the World: He can comprehend the matters of all sentient beings and non-sentient things.

He can understand people and sentient beings. In addition to humans, there are other living beings too. So, we often try to help animals that cannot fend for themselves. These animals all have Buddha-nature, so we must not kill them; we cannot kill them! Especially because killing animals creates the karma of the transgression of killing, thus creating the dangers of collective karma,

which is continually produced in this world. This is the “Knower of the World.” It is the sixth epithet. He comprehends all living beings’ feelings. Humans have feelings; animals have feelings too. People have life; animals have life as well. Humans were born in the world beyond their control. Animals have also, beyond their control, been born in the body of an animal. They are living beings just the same.

The seventh is the “Unsurpassed Guide. Just as Nirvana is supreme among all Dharma, the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings.” This is why He is the “Unsurpassed Guide.”

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 7. Unsurpassed Guide: Just as Nirvana is supreme among all Dharma, the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings the Buddha is supreme among all sentient beings.

Among all Dharma, Nirvana is supreme. This is something we must seek. We also hope that our minds will forever be silent and still, in a state of tranquility and clarity. This state is supreme and unsurpassed. Among all sentient beings, the Buddha is also supreme. The Dharma can help our minds be tranquil and clear. This is the supreme Dharma. One who attains Buddhahood is unsurpassed and supreme. So, He is called the Unsurpassed Guide.

The eighth is the Tamer.

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 8. The Tamer: The Buddha sometimes uses soft and gentle words and sometimes uses harsh and urgent words so He can tame all people and guide them onto a good path.

The Buddha, no matter the time, returns to the world to open and reveal teachings in the hope that all beings will realize and enter. So, He needed to use soft and gentle words. However, in some places, He has to use harsh and urgent words to warn us. He applied both soft and hard tactics. Thus, this is called the “Tamer.” Sentient beings are like fierce creatures, stubborn and difficult to tame. The Buddha needs to be like a tamer, using various means to tame us.

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha 9. The Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans: The Buddha is the guiding teacher of humans and heavenly beings. He can teach and demonstrate what they should and should not do.

Ninth is “Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans. The Buddha is the guiding teacher of humans and heavenly beings.” The Buddha is father of the four kinds of beings and guiding teacher of the Three Realms. In His compassion, He cherished sentient beings and taught by revealing to all of us what we should and should not do. He helped us understand what we should not do, that doing this will only add to our afflictions. But in this matter, we must be diligent so that we can eradicate karmic obstruction, afflictions and ignorance. This is how the Buddha taught us.

The tenth is the “Buddha, the World-Honored One,” which is translated as “the wise and awakened one.” He can also be called the “World-Honored One,” which means He is honored by the whole world.

The Ten Epithets of the Buddha. Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans: The Buddha is the guiding teacher of humans and heavenly beings. He can teach and demonstrate what they should and should not do.

Dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners, we take suffering sentient beings as our spiritual training ground. We must always be mindful and spend a very long time to patiently give to others. In this world, what helps us be most joyous and most at peace? When we can give to others, when people’s suffering is relieved, this is what makes us feel at peace and joyful. This kind of joy is called Dharma-joy. There is nothing more joyful than doing good deeds and giving to help people. With the vow and practice of benefiting others, we are actually dignifying our own Buddha-Land. If we do not earnestly form affinities with people, even if we want to be Bodhisattvas, we will have no opportunity to transform people. So, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1118 – Diligently Transforming and Benefiting All Beings

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>> “All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with great compassion, protect, uphold and help to promote the Tathagata’s Dharma so that no maras or heretics will be able to disturb sentient beings. Sentient beings will take joy in hearing Right Dharma and making the great vows and over dust-inked kalpas will practice the Four Infinite Minds.”

>> “Bhiksus, Purna also, in the times of the Seven Buddhas, was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Today among those who teach the Dharma with me, he is also foremost. During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost.”

>> “He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma. In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas, teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings.”

>> He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma: In the presence of all Buddhas of the past, present and future, he is always like this, helping to promote the teachings of the Buddha.

>> In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas: Not only during the Bhadrakalpa, but also in future lifetimes in the presence of infinite Buddhas, he will also always protect, uphold and help to promote the Right Dharma.

>> The Bhadrakalpa and Suddhavasadeva: In our present era, the present time is the Bhadrakalpa. When the great trichiliocosm of this kalpa first began to come into being, a great flood covered all. Then 1000 lotus flowers appeared and their golden radiance illuminated universally. Suddhavasadeva saw this and said, “This auspicious sign is extremely rare” “1000 Buddhas will arise in the world.” Because of these causes and conditions, this kalpa was called. Bhadrakalpa (kalpa of sages). Sakyamuni Buddha is the fourth Buddha of the Bhadrakalpa.

>> Teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings: He patiently and skillfully guided, taught, delivered, transformed and benefited all living beings.

>> He taught and transformed sentient beings, benefiting countless people. Being able to benefit others is a benefit to himself through merits and virtues.

>> He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify the Buddha-lands, He always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.

>> He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: He enabled sentient beings to comprehend, form aspirations and make the great vows to seek supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.

>> He always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings: He is always rigorously cultivating diligent practice to transform all living beings.

>> They gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path: Accumulating in the world of dust, the seeds contain oceans of fruit. This way, over accumulated kalpas, they gradually practice until they perfect their practice on the path that Bodhisattvas walk.

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“All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with great compassion,
protect, uphold and help to promote the Tathagata’s Dharma
so that no maras or heretics will be able to disturb sentient beings.
Sentient beings will take joy in hearing Right Dharma and making the great vows
and over dust-inked kalpas will practice the Four Infinite Minds.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, we are Buddhist practitioners and form aspirations. Since we are Buddhist practitioners, we must maintain firm spiritual aspirations until we attain Buddhahood. “Until all have been transformed, I will forego enlightenment.” Which Bodhisattva made this vow? It is the great vow of Earth Treasury Bodhisattva. Among Buddhist practitioners, how could it only be Earth Treasury Bodhisattva who has made this kind of vow? Since we call ourselves Buddhist practitioners, the purpose of learning the Buddha’s teachings is to attain Buddhahood. Otherwise, why go to the trouble of learning the Buddha’s teachings? In learning the teachings, we must endure hardship in our place of practice and in our lives. We do this in order to attain Buddhahood, in order to experience the truth of Right Dharma. In this world, we live in a state of confusion. People do not understand one another. In our relationships with each other, we create entanglements of ignorance. In this way, we form one entanglement after another, creating a great web of ignorance. If we live our entire lives in confusion, when will we ever be able to truly see through conflicts and people problems? How can we completely break apart all these entanglements to be without hindrances and afflictions? Then, the world opens up and with wisdom we can penetrate [all things]. This is our goal as Buddhist practitioners. How do we attain this penetrating wisdom?

We must learn the Buddha’s teachings. Learning the teachings is learning to have our nature of True Suchness and the principles of all things in the universe come together as one. This is enlightenment. One who is enlightened is a Buddha. This is what we seek as Buddhist practitioners. As it is, life is filled with suffering! Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, so why must Earth Treasury Bodhisattva go to such trouble to remain in hell to deliver sentient beings? There will never be a time when hell is empty. This is because sentient beings have such deep afflictions, ignorance and entanglements, and they continually reproduce them. How can hell ever be empty of suffering beings? So, the vow that Earth Treasury Bodhisattva made truly has no end. That is why we must [start with] this world, must change this world. Once people’s minds, perspectives and direction have changed, naturally their minds open and they understand. Everyone will be enlightened right where they are. So, why would they need to go to hell to experience all that suffering?

Thus, we often say that helping the Buddha promote the Right Dharma is, in fact, also helping Earth Treasury Bodhisattva to quickly empty out hell so that he can attain Buddhahood. Are we doing this just to help the Buddha and. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva? To bring everything back, we are helping ourselves so that we can open our minds and understand, so that we can truly avoid living in this world without any control. So, we must truly bring ourselves, in this time of great change and great matters of right and wrong, to fully attain great awakening. This is for our own sakes. Therefore, we must learn the Buddha’s teachings.

So, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with hearts of great compassion, “help promote the Tathagata’s Dharma.” It says “help promote the Tathagata’s Dharma,” but in fact there is a Tathagata in each one of us. The Right Dharma within us is something we should strive to experience and awaken to more. We make use of this place of practice to train our nature so that with our enlightened Tathagata-nature, we can quickly attain realizations and awaken. Thus, we use the term “help the Buddha,” but in fact this is our own place of practice. If we think of it as our own place of practice, we will feel more intimately connected to it.

Of course, the process of forming aspirations and engaging in spiritual practice, as we discussed yesterday, is our spiritual training ground. We must give rise to great compassion. We must help the Buddha. If we say we are helping the Buddha, that is to motivate us to deeply immerse ourselves amidst the people, forming more good affinities with them and benefiting them. This world is truly filled with unbearable suffering. This world is beyond our control. How did we come here? Which place did we choose to be in? What kind of circumstantial and direct retributions do we have? This is truly unbearable suffering beyond our control.

This is all because we deviated from the path. We have deviated from the path because of our own ignorance. External conditions have enticed us and led us off the right path. Thus, we follow maras and heretics and deviate from the path, veering off our great, direct Bodhi-path. We derailed ourselves from this path. When we strayed from the rules, we deviated. Did powers outside ourselves entice us to go astray? Or was it our own ignorance that led us astray? In any case, this happens when our spiritual aspirations are not firm. So, we enable all maras and heretics to have the causes and conditions for enticing us away.

Thus, I hope we can strengthen our spiritual aspirations and even more mindfully actualize the Tathagata’s teachings. Only when we have the conditions to learn them can we avoid being disturbed by maras and heretics. They disrupt the minds of practitioners. They disrupt the minds of us ordinary people. Ordinary beings’ minds are naturally filled with ignorance and lack direction. If, on top of this, maras and heretics stir things up even slightly, then ignorance will flare up again, disrupting sentient beings’ minds. So, we must earnestly safeguard this world.

Since we are Buddhist practitioners, we must seek to attain Buddhahood. The Right Dharma of the Bodhisattva-path on the way there is what we must persist in to establish aspirations. We must firmly form our aspirations. When we listen to the Dharma, we must take it in; we must not allow it to leak away. We must earnestly “take joy in hearing the Right Dharma and making great vows.” We make the Four Great Vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” We must be very mindful. “Take joy in hearing” means we must joyfully listen to Right Dharma and take good care of our hearts. By safeguarding our thoughts and unlocking our wisdom, we can discern what is mistaken and what is true. We must be able to discern between right and wrong. Even after passing through “dust-inked kalpas,” because we have made the Four Great Vows, we must practice the. Four Infinite Minds of “loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity” among the people this is something we should all do.

There is much suffering in this world. A few days ago, Bodhisattvas from the US returned. Among them was a man named Stephen. Stephen [Fomba] is an African, with very dark, luminous skin. He is very kind-hearted. His skin color may [differ from ours], but the love in his heart [is the same]. As a child, he left Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is in West Africa. West Africa is made up of 16 countries. Sierra Leone is, among the 16 countries in West Africa, a relatively small and very impoverished country. After leaving this country, Stephen was able to pursue studies in the US and graduate from college. Now he is studying for his PhD. He has established a family in the US; he has a wife and children.

Yet with his loving heart, he came to know Tzu Chi. We understood that in his country, in 2014, there was an Ebola outbreak. This disease continuously spread; it had already spread to several countries, The loss of life was severe. Medical resources were lacking in that country. During that time, we often saw images like that; people were dying every single day, and hospitalized people were not treated with dignity. They lay on the ground and…. In short, it looked like a scene from hell. There was such suffering and tragedy there. These tragic images were displayed before us; we felt so helpless.

After this, we felt we must do something to help. But how could we help? We searched; what kind of causes and conditions would enable us to go and help them? Where there is a will, [there is a way]. In America, there was an entrepreneur who was building a factory in Sierra Leone that produced intravenous (IV) drips, because his organization saw that this country was so impoverished that when the sick needed medication, it was too late to ask for help from abroad. There were so many illnesses, and their bodies lacked sufficient hydration to maintain their health. So, this organization was. Healey [Foundation], is that right? This organization wanted to build a factory there. This factory was built to produce IV fluids so if someone became ill, they could provide the IV drip to rehydrate them to help maintain the body’s health. This was a charity group. Because we had the causes and conditions to get to know them, there was this thread connecting us and enabling us to go into Sierra Leone.

In the beginning of the following year (2015), we quickly provided disaster relief supplies. We saw that the patients were lying on the ground; they were in great need of foldable beds. We quickly prepared to send Jing Si foldable beds, blankets, instant Jing Si rice and all kinds of daily necessities. We provided nutrition, patient beds and blankets. All this filled up four 40-foot containers. We used large containers, four 40-foot containers and one 20-foot container. We shipped these relief goods by sea, then they distributed them there. This man, Stephen, formed aspirations and vows to return to his homeland and shoulder responsibility for this project. Of course, before going back, he had to undergo training. He learned how to interact with patients, how to distribute the supplies and, once arriving there, how to prevent against [becoming infected] himself. After he received this training in the US, he shouldered this mission.

We saw how, when he did relief distribution there, the way he interacted with people and the way that he gave things to people in need was filled with such reverence and respect. Everyone in that place was ill, and when he interacted with them, his own people, he expressed this love. From that moment on, he vowed to remain part of Tzu Chi Foundation and willingly serve others. So, he had already made that decision. On this trip to Taiwan, he volunteered at the hospital in Hualien and also followed our Bodhisattva-volunteers to visit the poor and do home visits and such. He learned so much, how to draw near to the poor, how to draw near those who are suffering. He mindfully learned; he absorbed so much. He decided to bring his wife and children back to Sierra Leone from America.

I was so touched when I heard this. Many in that country want to leave but are unable. Who is willing to live in that impoverished place with such bad sanitation and such difficulties in life? No one wants to live in a place like that. However, Stephen had been able to leave at young age. Now he was studying for his PhD. He had begun his graduate studies, but he was willing to put all this aside and move his entire family to Sierra Leone. He wanted to help everyone have faith and also bring his wife and children to their homeland to serve the people. This was truly remarkable.

It was not only he who formed this aspiration; even his wife was willing to support and accompany him. The whole family was willing to go back. This is truly amazing. We continually collected donations for them. In addition to shipping material goods to them, they also needed medical consumables, such as protective gloves and so on. Beyond this, they also needed shoes and clothing. Everyone walks barefoot there, which increases the risk of infection. So, they needed shoes to wear; they needed clothing. The weather was cold; their clothes were worn out. Thus, they needed second-hand clothing; they were very happy to receive this.

We began to spread the word that everyone who has old clothing should sort through it. Once word of this spread, we heard from factories and agents of major clothing labels. They were all willing to donate. They donated a huge amount of clothing. They sent entire shipping containers, a whole procession of them. When US Tzu Chi volunteers came to Hualien, I said, “You have shipped too much over there. Sierra Leone does not have a huge population. You have shipped so many shoes over there.” Shoe factories in the Philippines and shoe factories in Malaysia devoted their entire assembly line to this. Some cleared their warehouses, shipping everything over there. I said, “It is too much. Can the volunteers there go to neighboring countries, impoverished places, to support them with some of these goods?”

Volunteers from Tzu Chi USA quickly studied the situation. There are small countries nearby that are also very impoverished. In all, they made distributions in three countries. Of the things we shipped over there, there was second-hand clothing and completely new brand name clothing as well as shoes. This was a great amount all together. They divided them up among Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

They allocated the materials among these three countries. It required a lot of labor to distribute to those places. So, Stephen planned to stay there to oversee the long-term distribution of these goods to those with the greatest need. That is why his entire family moved back there. They needed to take care of all these impoverished families living in difficulty. Many suffered from illness, without a doctor or medicine. They also needed someone there who could distribute these goods as they arrived and carry out life-saving work.

In summary, when loving people are willing to give material goods, locally there needs to be this kind of seed there, someone who could understand local needs, receive and distribute material goods and mobilize others in that place. I feel that Stephen is a true manifestation of a Living Bodhisattva and a role model for this world. This is truly very touching.

The Bodhisattvas we mention are all from infinite kalpas ago. In fact, now there are many Bodhisattvas right before our eyes. They work together with us, helping us to go even further, to even more remote places, to help all suffering beings. This is truly remarkable. After great difficulty, he had been able to leave that impoverished place. It had already been many decades, and now he was willing to return. Truly, I feel that this person is so exceptional. So, I really admire this person before me. He has a different skin color from me and speaks a different language than I do, yet his heart is so close to our hearts. He helps us to make such a big difference, to be able to help three countries. Now that he has returned [to his homeland], these three countries are sure to receive so many useful supplies to alleviate their suffering.

So, “All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, with great compassion, protect, uphold and help to promote the Tathagata’s Dharma.” What we have received are the Buddha’s teachings of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. We must have a heart of loving-kindness, and with compassion for sentient beings, we are willing to help others. This is what the Buddha had taught. Even if we are willing to give material things, we must strengthen [our aspirations] and make the Four Great Vows. “I vow to transform countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” We must learn to do all these things. “I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I also vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” We must always strengthen our faith. Whether making great vows or practicing the Four Infinite Minds, we must always put the teachings into action.

The previous sutra passage states,

“Bhiksus, Purna also, in the times of the Seven Buddhas, was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Today among those who teach the Dharma with me, he is also foremost. During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost.”

We spoke about this yesterday. Purna, as the Buddha mentioned previously, helped to promote the Buddha-Dharma in the assemblies of 9 billion Buddhas, and was also foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Now, it speaks of more recent times, the [preceding] Seven Buddhas or even more recently in the Bhadrakalpa. Under the 1000 Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa, he was still foremost among those who taught the Dharma. In the past, he was like this, and he is still this way now. In the future, he will also be like this. So, this is Purna Maitrayaniputra. He was one of the disciples the Buddha praised. He was the closest to the Buddha’s mind. He taught the Dharma the Buddha wanted to teach and did the things the Buddha wanted to do. He was very close to His heart. Thus, he was praised by the Buddha.

The next sutra passage says,

“He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma. In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas, teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings.”

In the past, he did this, helping to promote the Dharma in the presence of all Buddhas. Now, in Sakyamuni Buddha’s place of practice, he did the same. In the future, he will also continue doing this, continuing to protect, uphold and promote the Dharma of many future Buddhas. This is how Purna Maitrayaniputra is. In the [eras] of past, present and future Buddhas, he always does the same. So much time has already passed, yet his aspirations have never changed; he has never wavered from the great vows. He puts the [Four] Infinite Minds into practice. Though such a very long time has passed, he remains like this now and will not change in the future. He will remain the same. So, “He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma. In the presence of all Buddhas of the past, present and future….” In the past, present and future, in the places of all Buddhas, he is the same. “He is always like this, helping to promote the teachings of the Buddha.”

He always protects, upholds and helps to promote the Buddha-Dharma: In the presence of all Buddhas of the past, present and future, he is always like this, helping to promote the teachings of the Buddha.

“In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas.” He did this not just for countless Buddhas in the past and not just during the Bhadrakalpa or the times of the Seven Buddhas of the past. We have said, “In future lifetimes in the presence of infinite Buddhas, he will also always protect, uphold and help to promote the Right Dharma.”

In the future he will also protect, uphold and help to promote the teachings of countless and infinite Buddhas: Not only during the Bhadrakalpa, but also in future lifetimes in the presence of infinite Buddhas, he will also always protect, uphold and help to promote the Right Dharma.

Just the time of the Seven Buddhas is incalculable. For one Buddha to attain Buddhahood already takes countless kalpas. Countless kalpas is an incalculable time, to say nothing of the fact that there are 1000 Buddhas in the Bhadrakalpa.

The Bhadrakalpa and Suddhavasadeva: In our present era, the present time is the Bhadrakalpa. When the great trichiliocosm of this kalpa first began to come into being, a great flood covered all. Then 1000 lotus flowers appeared and their golden radiance illuminated universally. Suddhavasadeva saw this and said, “This auspicious sign is extremely rare” “1000 Buddhas will arise in the world.” Because of these causes and conditions, this kalpa was called. Bhadrakalpa (kalpa of sages). Sakyamuni Buddha is the fourth Buddha of the Bhadrakalpa. 

So, why did Suddhavasadeva call this kalpa the kalpa of the sages? This is “in our present era.” Our present time, this period of time, is called the Bhadrakalpa. It is the era of Sakyamuni Buddha. This period of time is called the Bhadrakalpa. In other words, this kalpa is a period of time, the present period of time.

“When the great trichiliocosm of this kalpa first began to come into being” is what happened a very, very long time ago, at the very beginning of the Bhadrakalpa. The Buddha was the fourth Buddha; Sakyamuni was the fourth. So, at the beginning of the Bhadrakalpa, as the great chiliocosm was coming into being, there was a great flood. All worlds experienced arising, ceasing and then began again. After ceasing, everything begins again. All that could be seen at that time was a vast body of water. We often speak of the imbalance of the four elements. The four elements undergo a continuous cycle; in the end, fire destroys everything, the wind blows everything away and all things become empty. At the beginning of this kalpa, there was a great flood. The great chiliocosm was a vast ocean.

In the midst of this, “1000 lotus flowers appeared, and their golden radiance illuminated universally.” This is what Suddhavasadeva saw. He saw that the great chiliocosm was completely covered in water. In this vast ocean, there suddenly appeared nearly 1000 lotus flowers. One by one, they emerged from the water. At this time, Suddhavasadeva saw them and offered this praise, “This auspicious sign is extremely rare.” This world, this great chiliocosm, is truly special. Why were there these 1000 lotus flowers that suddenly appeared out of the water? This meant that, in the future, 1000 Buddhas would appear in this world. This kalpa, the Bhadrakalpa, will last for a very long period of time. Throughout this long period of time, 1000 Buddhas will appear. This is what Suddhavasadeva saw. So, “Because of these causes and conditions, this kalpa was called. Bhadrakalpa (kalpa of sages).” So, for this reason, this long period of time is called the Bhadrakalpa.

Of these 1000 Buddhas, Sakyamuni was the fourth in the Bhadrakalpa. So, when the Buddha came to the world, Purna Maitrayaniputra had also gone through infinite kalpas of transforming sentient beings. Sakyamuni Buddha also attained Buddhahood during the Bhadrakalpa. During this period, Purna also lived at the same time as the Buddha. This is all causes and conditions. For a very long time, over many lifetimes, he engaged in practice in this way. He had been doing this. Now, in Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly, he was likewise “teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings.” In His interaction with sentient beings, “He patiently and skillfully guided, taught, delivered, transformed and benefited all living beings.”

Teaching, transforming and benefiting countless sentient beings: He patiently and skillfully guided, taught, delivered, transformed and benefited all living beings.

There are so many sentient beings, and he had to accommodate their capabilities. Sentient beings are always very stubborn. So, the Buddha and all Bodhisattvas had to patiently guide them like this, transforming them according to their capabilities. They taught them as well as disciplined them. They transformed them in this way, benefiting sentient beings, teaching and transforming them.

“His being able to benefit others is merits and virtues to benefit him.”

He taught and transformed sentient beings, benefiting countless people. Being able to benefit others is a benefit to himself through merits and virtues.

In this way, though we say we are teaching and transforming sentient beings, in fact, for teachers to be qualified, to teach sentient beings, they must first understand some principles. We are able to understand so many principles because we want to go transform sentient beings. So, our benefiting others is actually merits and virtues that benefit us. We give to others, but actually, in the process of giving to others, we are accumulating merit and virtues ourselves. When we are teaching others, we are developing our own wisdom-life. So, I often call this a spiritual training ground.

He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify the Buddha-lands, He always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.

Next, “He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify the Buddha-lands, he always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings so that they gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.”

He will enable them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: He enabled sentient beings to comprehend, form aspirations and make the great vows to seek supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.

This is how Purna taught sentient beings. He also hoped that sentient beings would all not only have an understanding but also establish their resolve. This resolve is to make the great vows so everyone truly can together reach the level of universal, perfect enlightenment.

This was “in order to purify the Buddha-lands.” It was to purify and benefit all sentient beings. We must always be diligent if we want to be able to teach and transform sentient beings. In order to purify Buddha-lands, his spiritual practice and demeanor had to always be upheld well. He had to always teach and transform sentient beings earnestly and diligently. “He is always rigorously cultivating diligent practice to transform all living beings.” This was how Purna Maitrayaniputra persevered.

He always advances diligently and rigorously, teaching and transforming sentient beings: He is always rigorously cultivating diligent practice to transform all living beings.

“They gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path.” He unceasingly accumulated this over lifetimes numerous as dust. “A seed contains an ocean of fruit. This way, over accumulated kalpas they gradually practice until they perfect their practice on the path that Bodhisattvas walk.” 

They gradually perfect their practice of the Bodhisattva-path: Accumulating in the world of dust, the seeds contain oceans of fruit. This way, over accumulated kalpas, they gradually practice until they perfect their practice on the path that Bodhisattvas walk.

This means accumulating many seeds. Through continuous accumulation, they have merits and virtues like the ocean, wisdom as vast as the ocean. This has been accumulated over time. “This way, over accumulated kalpas,” dust-inked kalpas, they constantly accumulated these things. Through this very long time, they continue to “gradually practice.” Thus “A seed contains an ocean of fruit.” From all the good seeds they created, so many fruits have come to fruition. This came from [Purna’s] wisdom and his courage and diligence in helping to promote the Buddha-Dharma. Thus, he gradually accumulated [these seeds] over a long time. So, “They perfect their practice on the path that Bodhisattvas walk.” This is Purna Maitrayaniputra’s way. He helped others in this way for such a long time.

Dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be consistent from start to finish. We learn from the Buddha to attain Buddhahood. Otherwise, why go through the trouble of learning the Buddha’s teachings? We learn the Buddha’s teachings to put an end to our delusion in the world. In this world many things are beyond our control, and life is full of suffering. Suffering sentient beings are the spiritual training ground for Bodhisattvas. If Bodhisattvas do not go among the suffering, how can they truly become Bodhisattvas? Without becoming a Bodhisattva, how can they awaken to the true principles of all things in the universe? So, when we benefit sentient beings, we are actually benefiting ourselves. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1117 – Helping the Buddha to Promote the Teachings

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>> Purna’s past merit and virtue: In the past, in the place of all Buddhas, he was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. In the depths of his heart, he perfectly realized wondrous existence and true emptiness. With unobstructed eloquence, he taught the Dharma purely. He was replete with the power of vows and constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct.

>> He also transformed infinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.

>> Bhiksus, Purna also, in the times of the Seven Buddhas, was foremost among those who taught the Dharma was foremost among those who taught the Dharma.

>> The Seven Buddhas refers to the three Buddhas of the previous kalpa: Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha and. Visvabhu Buddha. And the four Buddhas of this Bhadrakalpa: Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kasyapa Buddha and. Sakyamuni Buddha. Together, these are the past seven Buddhas.

>> Today with me, among those who teach the Dharma, he is also foremost. During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost.

>> Sakyamuni Buddha was the fourth Buddha in the Bhadrakalpa. In the times of future Buddhas, Purna, among those who teach the Dharma, will also be foremost. According to the text: In the times of the Seven Buddhas, [Purna] was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Today with me, among those who teach the Dharma, he is also foremost. From this, we know the Seven Buddhas refers to the past, Sakyamuni to the present and Maitreya and the others to the future.

>> The five blessings and virtues of teaching the Dharma: One, longevity. Two, wealth. Three, incomparable dignity. Four, far-reaching renown. Five, brilliance and great wisdom.

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Purna’s past merit and virtue:
In the past, in the place of all Buddhas,
he was foremost among those who taught the Dharma.
In the depths of his heart, he perfectly realized wondrous existence and true emptiness.
With unobstructed eloquence,
he taught the Dharma purely.
He was replete with the power of vows and constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct.

Every day we talk about Purna Maitrayaniputra, yet we still cannot say everything we need to! The Buddha praised Purna Maitrayaniputra, praised him for currently, in the Buddha’s place of practice, helping the Buddha to promote the Buddha-Dharma. Actually, since long ago in the distant past, for such a long time, for dust-inked kalpas, he had constantly engaged in spiritual practice over the course of many lifetimes, and lifetime after lifetime, whenever he met a Buddha appearing in the world, he would engage in practice as a monastic. In the Dharma-assemblies of those Buddhas, he always manifested as a Hearer, as a bhiksu. In the Sangha, he benefited others in this way. Outside, he would help the Buddha teach the Dharma. He could go to the places of greatest stubbornness to transform and deliver the stubborn and hard to train sentient beings there. He did this in his present lifetime, as well as in countless lifetimes past. So, “In the past, in the place of all Buddhas,” “he was foremost among” “those who taught the Dharma”. Of those who would listen to the Dharma and who would teach on behalf of the Buddha, among this large group, he was always foremost. He was like this now, and he had been like this in the past. He was foremost among those teaching the Dharma.

Sakyamuni Buddha praised Purna Maitrayaniputra with the highest regard. He praised him not only for his ability to teach the Dharma, but also praised him because, “in the depths of his heart, he perfectly” “realized wondrous existence and true emptiness” “[and have] unobstructed eloquence”. This was his true mastery. He had absorbed the Buddha-Dharma into his heart and moreover did so very deeply, into the depths of his heart. This was perfect and complete. He had already realized it for himself, had truly experienced this truth, had really understood the principles of “true emptiness and wondrous existence”. In particular, he had unobstructed eloquence and the wisdom of unobstructed meaning, of Dharma and of joyful eloquence. This was Purna Maitrayaniputra; his mind was pure and undefiled, and he was single-minded in his resolve to seek the Buddha-Dharma, to assist in promoting the Buddha-Dharma and delivering sentient beings.

He was single-minded in his resolve, so of course the Buddha praised him. This was only natural. The Buddha would never exaggerate. He was expressing true joy from deep in His heart. Regarding this disciple, He was filled with such satisfaction and praise; He truly admired this disciple, how from Beginningless Time, he had been firm in his aspirations and had listened to the Dharma without letting it leak out. His practice of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom and listening, contemplation and practice were all without Leaks. In this way he could, “in the depths of his heart perfectly” “realize wondrous existence and true emptiness” “[and have] unobstructed eloquence”. This means the Dharma does not leak out. Over the course of his spiritual practice, he was so earnest in listening to the Dharma. In his practice, he upheld his responsibilities. When facing everyone in the fourfold assembly, whether heavenly beings or humans, among the assembly, he was an exemplary spiritual practitioner. So, he taught the Dharma without obstruction, and everyone admired him. This was because of the way “he taught the Dharma purely”

and was replete with the power of vows. He had always practiced Brahma-conduct, thus he was “replete with the power of vows” “and constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct”. This is truly not a simple matter! Not only was his aspiration firm, in his practice, his spiritual cultivation, he continued without interruption. It is very rare to find someone like this. Besides the Buddha, who could keep up with him? The Buddha treasured such a talented person. So, in this chapter, before bestowing predictions on all the disciples, He praised Purna Maitrayaniputra for a long time. This is also very rare. So, we must be mindful in our spiritual practice, be mindful in learning the Buddha’s teachings.

Since we have resolved to learn from the Buddha, we must be determined to attain Buddhahood. From being determined to learn from the Buddha to being resolved to attain Buddhahood, in between we need to persevere in our spiritual practice, which must take place among the people. Sentient beings are stubborn. The nature of their minds is complicated. When dealing with such defiled, complicated and stubborn sentient beings, our own minds must remain undefiled. No matter the complications or difficulties regarding people, matters and objects, no matter the twists and turns and troubles, we must maintain our spiritual aspirations; the great Bodhi-path is direct. With our spiritual aspirations, we must always continue to move ahead on this path and not turn this way and that. We certainly need to have this kind of aspiration; only then will we be able to learn the Buddha’s teachings and attain Buddhahood.

Most importantly, this period in between is very long. We must be able to endure it patiently; we need endurance and patience. We must patiently endure a world like this, endure suffering like this. To do so we must take good care of our minds. If one thought goes astray, our whole mind can be thrown into chaos. After we become confused, to try again to pull our mind back together is not such an easy thing. So, there is nothing special to learning the Buddha’s teaching; we just need to take good care of our minds.

The Bodhisattvas from Tainan, over 60 of them, reverently came back here, back to our Jing Si Abode. They described scene by scene this disastrous earthquake in Tainan, what they had seen and heard, the impermanence of life they experienced there. In that brief moment, the earth shook, while everyone was still sleeping in their beds. On such a cold day, while warmly under their covers, they were perhaps still dreaming, dreaming beautiful dreams. Some may not have slept yet, still busy planning their work for the next day. Some were perhaps planning for the New Year’s celebrations starting the next day. For New Year’s, people usually want to have a family gathering for a happy new year. Perhaps some planned to leave on vacation, to go somewhere [special] on vacation. Everyone had different intentions, different lifestyles, different aspirations. Every person was different.

Some were sleeping soundly, some were in the middle of good dreams, some were in the middle of planning the direction their lives would take the next day. Who could have known that in an instant the earth would quake the way it did?  So many people all cried out at once, pleading for help. They were lost in a panic, crying out for help. Listen; how could so many people be crying out? A moment later, those cries had already stopped, and the next sound was that of ambulance sirens, rising and falling through the night. The ambulances came one after another, along with rescue workers. The sky was still dark, and the weather was very cold, but there were also Tzu Chi volunteers living in those communities severely affected by the disaster. For instance, in the Yongkang district, one of our Faith Corps volunteers lived near that building, the Weiguan building, about 200 meters away 200 meters is actually not far. It is a distance of only a few steps. On a sports field, one lap is 200 meters, or perhaps 400 meters.

Think about it, on a small sports field, how far is a distance of 200 meters? Though his own house similarly had some cracks in it, when he hurried outside and looked up, he saw that an entire building had toppled. He quickly put on his blue and white uniform and hurried out the door. Water pipes were broken and there was flooding. He quickly ran forward through the water to the [toppled] building. One firetruck had already arrived. Ambulances had arrived. Rescue personnel and workers had all arrived. Starting then [he reported] all the different things that he saw at the site.

As our Faith Corp volunteers were doing this, there were Tzu Chi commissioners nearby, living within that larger neighborhood. They similarly rushed outside and saw the [toppled] building. They could see the building not far away, and the ambulances and rescue personnel there. They quickly rushed over there. The first to be saved was an infant and her mother. We saw the firefighters and rescue personnel, how they had such love and thoughtfulness, such meticulousness. They had such loving, caring hearts as they held this child in their arms while rescuing her [from the rubble]. They pulled this woman out from the toppled building’s pile of rubble, telling her how to step down. She was so scared that she kept trembling. How was she to step down?  The rescue worker tugged her by the leg saying, “Step down!”  “Step down, don’t worry!” She hopped down like this and was saved .

Tzu Chi volunteers took her in their arms. This was right at the start, when the sky was still dark, the air still chilly. They quickly grabbed blankets, grabbed clothing and hurried to wrap them around her. This was only the start. We could see the tenderness of these tough men. Both firefighters and rescue workers saved people like this. One day passed, then two days passed, all the while they continually rescued people. During this time, some who were recued had severe injuries. Some who were rescued had limbs missing. Some when pulled out were already dead.

There was a volunteer firefighter. We kept urging him, saying, “Rest for a moment!”  “Come have some hot soup!”  We had to forcefully bring him over.  As he started to drink the soup, he was crying loudly. He was very agitated and kept saying, “I really wanted to save her!”. “I could still hear her voice and”. “I went to save her,” “but I was unable to”. “I couldn’t get to her, I couldn’t pull her out”. “I really wanted to save her”. “It breaks my heart!” “Who is this person?” “It was an elderly woman”. “We rescued the others, but we couldn’t rescue the elderly woman”.

You see, he was sobbing loudly. This was one of the rescue workers who, with no concern for his own life, went into those dangerous areas, over and over. If he could save someone, he saved them. If he could not save them, he could not. He could hear her crying, could see her trapped there, but had no way to pull her out. This pained him so!  This is our impermanent world, this world where everything is ultimately empty.

Just a moment before, they had been in their beds, those more than 200 people who lived inside. Think, more than 100 lost their lives, and there were many who were injured!  In this way, isn’t life just like a dream? This is the workings of the world. The Buddha came to the world to let us know how impermanent life is, how there is so much human suffering. Sentient beings are still sunk in confusion, as if lost in a dream. This is a dream from which they cannot awaken, a dream within a dream. It may be a bad dream, a nightmare!  Have we awakened from it?  When that one dream fades away, then another dream comes. That is another lifetime. Whichever family we have affinities with, we just go there.

This is how life is beyond our control. After this lifetime, we still have the next. When this life is over, in what manner will we see out this lifetime?  Where will we go for our next lifetime? Will we be Taiwanese again?  Or will we end up far away?  All of a sudden, our skin color will be different, our language system will be different, our way of life will be different. We are already separated by another layer, gone to our next life. We are a different ethnicity, following karma and circumstantial retributions. This is life!

No matter what we ordinary people hear, we always think,  “I know; you have said this many times”. “I understand”. What kind of understanding do we really have?  Is it an understanding gained through language? When we listen to it, we think, “It’s Taiwanese, I can understand it”. Is it this kind of understanding or is it a realization deep in our hearts? The principles are without form. The sound we hear with our ears is also without form. There is sound, but there is no form. The principles themselves are silent, without sound, and they are also without form or substance. However, through our human understanding, we can express them through sound. This sound enters our ears; our ears are one of our sense organs, which receive sound. When I understand this system of language,  I know what it is you are saying; I understand. Is this the kind of understanding we have? Or have we taken it into our minds? Where are our minds? How big is the space in our minds? How much can we put in them? I do not know if you have ever considered this.

So we say that as humans, our physiology, the principles of our bodies, is also profound. Life and death depend upon our organs. If our organs are healthy, our bodies will be healthy. If something goes wrong with our organs, our physical activities, way of life and so on will suffer problems. We are very fragile like this. Is this view of the body as impermanent something that everyone has experienced?  If we only store up afflictions in our minds, then the Dharma will just pass us by. I truly feel that sentient beings are so pitiable!  If we do not take the Dharma into our minds, how can we call ourselves Buddhist practitioners? As Buddhist practitioners, our goal is to attain Buddhahood. During the process of attaining Buddhahood, life can be very complicated. Our life and the land and so on are so impermanent and fragile. What is there that is permanent? There is nothing that is permanent!

So, can we experience this true emptiness? Have we experienced this true emptiness which is in our mind? What about what is intrinsic to us, the wondrous existence of our awakened nature, have we experienced that? We are still not really very clear. Before we are able to become clear, we again become filled with afflictions. I often feel, “During this process,” “as we learn the Buddha’s teachings,” “in the process of attaining Buddhahood,” “how do we actually apply [the teachings]?”  “In our complicated and ever-winding lives,” “have we paved this great, straight Bodhi-path?”  A straightforward mind is our training ground! Everyone, we all truly need to be mindful. Every morning, before discussing the sutra, there is this section of my personal insights; I wish to share these insights with everyone.

That Purna was able to receive the Buddha’s praise was truly wondrous. Purna Maitrayaniputra was able to form aspirations like this. For dust-inked kalpas, since Beginningless Time, the aspirations he formed throughout many lives led everyone to admire him. Can we sense this as well? If we feel it, are we willing to form aspirations to learn from him? Never mind learning from the Buddha, can we even learn from Purna Maitrayaniputra? This is truly something we must mindfully seek to experience.

He had already “perfectly realized” “wondrous existence and true emptiness”.  So, he had attained “unobstructed eloquence”. Furthermore, he “taught the Dharma purely” and “was replete with the power of vows”. Every time he taught the Dharma, every time he made a vow, he “constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct” so there was never any interruption. His aspirations were so pure!  Is learning from Purna Maitrayaniputra something we are able to do? This depends upon each of us.

The previous text stated that,

He also transformed infinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.

Because for such a long time he had engaged in spiritual practice over many lifetimes, he was able to encounter so many Buddhas. How much time must go by before another Buddha will appear in the world? Sakyamuni Buddha is separated from us now by more than 2000 years. In terms of our human time, no other Buddha has yet appeared in the world. We must wait until Maitreya Buddha, still hundreds of billions of years away.

Everyone, Purna Maitrayaniputra, over the course of his many lifetimes, encountered nine billion Buddhas and learned the Dharma in those Buddhas’ presences. In those Dharma-assemblies, he helped those Buddhas teach, helped them transform and deliver sentient beings. The sentient beings he transformed numbered in the countless asankyas. They were so many it was beyond calculation. He helped them all to experience, awaken to and understand the principles of supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.

“In order to purify Buddha-lands,” “he constantly did the work of the Buddhas” “by teaching and transforming sentient beings”. “He constantly did the work of the Buddhas” refers to having a dignified demeanor. When among the Sangha, he had to take good care with his demeanor. He made sure he was a role model, a role model for the people. This was how he did the work of the Buddhas.

The next sutra passage says,

Bhiksus, Purna also, in the times of the Seven Buddhas, was foremost among those who taught the Dharma was foremost among those who taught the Dharma.

Once again, the Buddha called the bhiksus together and said, “All of you should know that”. “Purna, among those who taught the Dharma” “in the times of the Seven Buddhas,” “was also foremost”. The Seven Buddhas [remind us that] the nine billion Buddhas are not just from long ago in the past. These were more recent Buddhas. Among those who taught the Dharma [during the times] of those Seven Buddhas, “in the presence of those past seven Buddhas,” “he taught in the most wondrous way”. This is all promoting Purna as foremost.

The Seven Buddhas refers to the three Buddhas of the previous kalpa: Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha and. Visvabhu Buddha. And the four Buddhas of this Bhadrakalpa: Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kasyapa Buddha and. Sakyamuni Buddha. Together, these are the past seven Buddhas.

Each one of the Seven Buddhas was separated by a very long period of time. The three Buddhas of the previous kalpa were, Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha and Visvabhu Buddha. You see, of the past seven Buddhas, these were the earliest three. Then in the Bhadrakalpa, there were four more Buddhas. The four Buddhas that came later were. Krakucchanda Buddha, then there was Kanakamuni Buddha, as well was Kasyapa Buddha and then Sakyamuni Buddha. These together are the past seven Buddhas.

The following passage then says,

Today with me, among those who teach the Dharma, he is also foremost. During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost.

This is all in the future, now and in the future. Now it is Sakyamuni Buddha’s time. In Sakyamuni’s Dharma-assembly now, Purna is also foremost among those teaching. We have already talked about this for a long time. The Buddha, for 40-plus years, constantly praised Purna as being foremost in teaching the Dharma. He is foremost among those teaching the Dharma, among those learning Sakyamuni’s teachings. “During the Bhadrakalpa,” “among those who teach the Dharma in” “the times of all future Buddhas,” “he will also be foremost”. This was Purna now and in the future. Purna was like this at that time. Among the disciples, he was foremost in teaching the Dharma.

When we see this, we really admire him. Why is it that Purna Maitrayaniputra could understand the Buddha’s heart like this, could understand the Buddha’s intent? He even understood everything the Buddha taught; the principles of all things in the world were all so clear to him. He heard one teaching and understood ten. When the Buddha taught a single thing, he was able to comprehend ten, or hundreds or even thousands. After giving him one corner, he knew the other three. To make a table, in shaping the corners, the craftsman teaches us how one corner should be shaped. If we know how to make one corner well, then with the other three corners, we can use the same skill and shape them well too.

With the principles, when one thing is used as an example, the entire principle should become clear. Yet, we are unenlightened beings. As unenlightened beings, even if we are shown one corner, no matter how we are taught, with that one corner, our skills have not matured enough. There is no need to even talk about the others! So, we are unenlightened beings. If we do not focus when learning, if our brains are all muddled, if our hands and feet are clumsy, then in whatever work we do we will never be very refined. If our heads are very clear, then our hands and feet will be agile. Then, very subtle and intricate things can be very skillfully completed. Some people can take one grain of rice and engrave the entire Heart Sutra on it. Such intricate engraving requires a settled and tranquil mind, and our handiwork must be very precise. Only then can we carve the entire Heart Sutra upon a single grain of rice. Is this something we can do? This requires great mindfulness.

There are some who can do this. They are also human beings, and they are able to do this. We too are human beings, but we are unable to do this. This is because their minds are very clear, and they are extremely focused, in Samadhi. Thus, they are able to do this. It is the same idea; the principles are the same. So, “During the Bhadrakalpa,” “among those who teach the Dharma in” “the times of all future Buddhas,” “he will also be foremost”. Purna Maitrayaniputra and Sakyamuni Buddha were both born in the world during this period. This period is the Bhadrakalpa. There are 1000 Buddhas in the Bhadrakalpa. Sakyamuni Buddha is the fourth.

So, “In the times of future Buddhas, Purna,” “among those who teach the Dharma,” “will also be the foremost”. In the Bhadrakalpa, Sakyamuni was the fourth Buddha and during that time Purna was foremost in teaching the Dharma. There will be many Buddhas in the Bhadrakalpa. So, Purna Maitrayaniputra, during the time of the fourth Buddha and on into the times of future Buddhas, would always be foremost among those teaching.

If we say that Sakyamuni Buddha is now the fourth Buddha of the Bhadrakalpa, who will the future Buddha be? That would be Maitreya Buddha.

Sakyamuni Buddha was the fourth Buddha in the Bhadrakalpa. In the times of future Buddhas, Purna, among those who teach the Dharma, will also be foremost. According to the text: In the times of the Seven Buddhas, [Purna] was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Today with me, among those who teach the Dharma, he is also foremost. From this, we know the Seven Buddhas refers to the past, Sakyamuni to the present and Maitreya and the others to the future.

This passage talks about the Seven Buddhas. “In the times of the Seven Buddhas, [Purna]” “was foremost among those who taught the Dharma”. “Today among those who teach the Dharma with me,” “he is also foremost”. The Seven Buddhas are the [last] three Buddhas of the previous kalpa and the [first] four Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa. Since the start of the Bhadrakalpa, Sakyamuni has been the fourth Buddha [to appear]. So, the Seven Buddhas are the past Buddhas. Sakyamuni Buddha is the present Buddha. Maitreya Buddha will be the future Buddha. These are the past, present and future Buddhas. So, again, “During the Bhadrakalpa,” “among those who teach the Dharma in” “the times of all future Buddhas,” “he will also be foremost”. This is in the sutra.

In teaching the Dharma, we truly should be mindful in teaching. There are five blessings and virtues that come from teaching the Dharma.

The five blessings and virtues of teaching the Dharma: One, longevity. Two, wealth. Three, incomparable dignity. Four, far-reaching renown. Five, brilliance and great wisdom.

The first is longevity. If we earnestly teach the Dharma, we will gain long life in the future. If we taught the Dharma in previous lifetimes, we [encouraged] everyone to be good. If there were those prone to killing, we knew to quickly teach them the Dharma and help them change their karma of killing. This way many people can be saved. For those whose livelihood entails killing, if we help them change their path, many sentient beings can be saved. So, because of this, longevity can be attained.

The second is the attainment of “wealth”. This comes from having constantly taught others in the past to give charitably. We give charitably ourselves and teach others to give charitably as well. If someone likes to steal and we teach them the Dharma, we help them change. Thieves not only can change their desire to steal, they can be taught to give charitably, to save others, to help others. If we can do this, we naturally will be wealthy in our next lifetime. By understanding that we should give charitably and turning people who used to steal into those who can give charitably to others, we not only transform ourselves, we transform others so they give as well. Because of this, in future lifetimes we will be able to attain wealth.

The third is “incomparable dignity”. This means when we taught the Dharma in the past, we had to follow the Right Dharma. We were able to follow the Right Dharma, so we also needed to put it into action. Thus, we always treat others harmoniously. We help our minds abide peacefully and help others abide peacefully as well. This way our facial countenance, our expressions will always remain harmonious, so that when we deal with others, they will rejoice whenever they see us. Then, in this lifetime, we can attain blessings and virtues of incomparable dignity. So, we must quickly begin to change our bad tempers now, or if we give others a bad attitude, we must quickly change. With a harmonious and joyful countenance, people naturally rejoice when they see us.

The fourth is “far-reaching renown”. Through our reputation, everyone will come to recognize us. In past lives, when we taught the Dharma, we were in the role of the virtuous friend. We were always good friends with all and transformed others through working together. As we listen to the Dharma, teach and take refuge in the Three Treasures, we can mutually serve as each other’s good friends and spiritual companions. Because of this we have many friends. No one has any bad impressions of us. We are praised by everyone. This the meaning of far-reaching renown. No one has a bad impression of us. We always have a good reputation, so everyone will praise us.

The fifth is “brilliance and great wisdom”. In past lifetimes we always taught the Dharma joyfully and unstintingly. This is teaching with joyful eloquence; it is teaching joyfully. We understood the principles and joyfully shared them with all. With the unobstructed wisdom of joyful eloquence, we continually shared with everyone, “enabling those hearing the Dharma” “to unlock wondrous wisdom”. We helped those listening to attain joy so that they could open their hearts and minds. Thus, in this lifetime we attain blessings and virtues of brilliance and great wisdom. These are the blessings and virtues of those who teach the Dharma.

So, if we are mindful in listening to the Dharma, then naturally we will gain so much. Thus, let us always be mindful! 

Episode 1116 – Helping the Buddha to Promote the Teachings

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>> “He manifested as a Hearer and used the skillful means of the Small Vehicle to benefit sentient beings. He transformed others and enabled them to establish supreme Bodhi and practice to benefit others. He helped the Buddha to promote the teachings and would constantly do the work of the Buddhas to benefit all living beings. This reveals that Purna, from past kalpas until today, long had the merits and virtues of a Buddha.”

>> “The people in those Buddhas’ times all said that he was in truth a Hearer, but Purna was using this skillful means to benefit countless hundreds of thousands of sentient beings.”

>> “He also transformed infinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.”

>> He also transformed infinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: He had enabled countless people to comprehend the great path and become firm in their spiritual aspiration to enter the treasury of Right Dharma and the ocean of wisdom to reach supreme, perfect enlightenment.

>> In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings: The lands that Buddhas transform are divided into pure lands, impure lands, reward-lands, Dharma-nature lands and so on. All Buddhas’ dignified demeanor and conduct, all of Their behavior, are all part of the work of the Buddhas.

>> Because we want to purify Buddha-lands, we follow the Buddhas’ practices. This is called doing the work of the Buddhas. What we ourselves attain, we teach to transform others. Through our practices to benefit others, we dignify and purify our own Buddha-lands. Without forming affinities with sentient beings, Bodhisattvas have no chance to transform them. Then how can they attain the causes and conditions to reach Buddhahood?

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“He manifested as a Hearer and used the skillful means of the Small Vehicle
to benefit sentient beings.
He transformed others and enabled them to establish supreme Bodhi
and practice to benefit others.
He helped the Buddha to promote the teachings and would constantly do the work of the Buddhas
to benefit all living beings.
This reveals that Purna, from past kalpas until today,
long had the merits and virtues of a Buddha.”

Let us try to mindfully experience and better understand why, over this period of time, we have been continually talking about Purna, Purna Maitrayaniputra. He had helped the Buddha to promote the teachings in order to deliver sentient beings. This was the Buddha’s goal in appearing in the world. People can promote the Dharma; the Dharma cannot promote itself. Most important is that people promote the Buddha-Dharma. If there is no one to promote the path to enlightenment, if no one mindfully paves this path, then people will not know they can walk it. So, someone must blaze this trail; someone must pave the path. Those who promote the Dharma are like people paving a road. They know how to get from where they are to the destination. If we know the goal but not the path to get there, then we will never arrive. So, although the Buddha told us that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, that everyone can attain Buddhahood, the method of attaining Buddhahood, the way to reach enlightenment, requires thorough spiritual practice.

How do we cultivate these methods of spiritual practice? We must get rid of afflictions and ignorance. How many kinds of ignorance and afflictions are there? How do we get rid of these afflictions, of this ignorance? We need a group of people who take the Buddha’s intent as their mission, who form aspirations and make vows just like the Buddha did, who let go of limited love to take up great love, who have gotten rid of their attached love for their small families to join the great family of the Sangha. How should we listen to the Buddha’s guidance, and how should we get rid of ignorance?

How great is the connection between ignorance and spiritual practice? They are intimately connected! So, we must earnestly listen to the Dharma, because in our spiritual practice we must eliminate our ignorance in order to be able to return to our nature of True Suchness. Our nature of True Suchness has gotten caught in our ignorance. It has been covered by our ignorance. Thus it is impossible for our nature of True Suchness to manifest.

What is ignorance? Ignorance is our habitual tendencies. Our habitual tendencies is to constantly struggle, to strive for what we crave and wish to possess. “These are my prejudices and attachments; I just want it to be like this.” We only think of ourselves; we feel that everything should be ours, that we are always right. Even with other people’s things, other people’s possessions, we fight to make them our own. Isn’t the world today just like this? The business world is like a battlefield. To satisfy their greed, people disregard everything else. We open up markets, and once markets are opened up, the factories will open up soon after. Factories must respond to what the market needs, and the market responds to what people need. Humans are always focused on desire, on enjoyment, so there are so many things that people need.

People have needs, and as long as consumers have things they need, the marketplace will try to [provide it], by any means necessary. However things are marketed, once many things have been sold, the factories begin [mass production]. Where do the raw materials for these factories come from? They come from the mountains, rivers and the earth. To get at the world’s raw materials, we continually destroy the earth. This is the cycle that has continued until our climate and the whole macrocosm has become imbalanced as a result.

This is a serious issue, because the four elements of the world are now out of balance and the mountains, rivers and land are destroyed. When will this stop? We are unable to stop it. It will only stop when people’s ideas, when those subtle ideas, can be transformed, when we have fewer desires and can be content and cherish material things to preserve the life of these material resources. If we can do this, just from these very small thoughts, from these small actions in daily living, if each person, each individual can change their attitudes toward even these smallest of things, then we will be able to form a pure and good human society. The beautiful virtues of simplicity and frugality will naturally affect commerce and industry so we can protect the earth. This is nothing but a state of mind.

All of humanity is like this, but what does this have to do with spiritual practice? Because it is already impossible for humans to bring their thoughts back [under their control], the only way is with the Dharma, the principles. The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One; He thoroughly penetrated all the principles of the universe, including how our thoughts, from the smallest of sources, spread out like this until our heart’s desires encompass the earth. Nowadays, as soon as people’s thoughts stir, their [desires] spread so quickly that to try and pull them back is very difficult. This is something we must help everyone thoroughly understand. We see how everyone, all sentient beings, already face all kinds of [suffering], not only from the imbalance of the four elements, but also from the imbalance in the four elements of the body, from birth, aging, illness and death, from the mental suffering that comes from parting with those we love, from meeting those we hate and from not getting what we want. This is the suffering of nature; disasters and impermanence are constantly created with continually increasing frequency, drawing continually closer to us. This all started with humans. Humans, in confusion and ignorance, ignorantly become ensnared in delusion, become lost in this web. Only the Buddha-Dharma can help; He had to start from the beginning to teach us about life, teach us how we should live.

If one person says this, is that enough? The Buddha was already enlightened. Even though He is the Great Enlightened One, even though His spiritual powers are great, His affinities were not enough. For the affinities of one person to encompass this great space, to reach everything universally, is difficult. To encompass this great space, we need everyone to pass on the teachings to each other and connect heart to heart. All our hearts must connect through the Dharma. The Dharma must be procaimed through our speech, but to genuinely connect to the Buddha-mind and comprehend the Buddha’s intent is truly not easy. Without great causes and conditions, it is truly difficult.

Purna Maitrayaniputra comprehended the Buddha’s intent. He understood the Buddha’s intent and likewise understood the minds of the world’s sentient beings. Sentient beings’ desires and sentient beings’ behaviors were all very clearly understood by him. This is how he was; he still manifested as a Small Vehicle Hearer, still engaged in spiritual practice together with his fellow practitioners to deliver them through “working together”; by working together, they could experience the Buddha’s teachings. In any case, among the Hearers, it was Purna Maitrayaniputra who could most thoroughly understand the principles of all things in the universe, the things the Buddha taught and the Dharma contained within them not only in regard to people, but all the world’s matters, things and principles. He wanted to help people understand.

However, for people, merely understanding others’ minds is difficult; how can we possibly comprehend the states of the matters, things and principles of the macrocosm? This is very difficult. So, he had to use all sorts of skillful means; more and more people are needed to help the Buddha promote the teachings. So, the Buddha continually praised Purna in the hope that his fellow practitioners, those monastic disciples, would shoulder the mission of passing down the Dharma, in the hope they would let go of small families to work for the great family of the whole world. The Buddha [knew] the strong points and shortcomings of each disciple in the Sangha. In the Lotus Sutra, He let them express these themselves, one by one, or else the Buddha would praise them like this.

Sariputra told of his own shortcomings as well. The four disciples including Mahakasyapa were the same. They too had confessed their own faults. Purna Maitrayaniputra was also the same; he praised the Buddha’s wisdom as something that neither these disciples nor ordinary people could possibly comprehend. This shows that from where he was, the Buddha’s views and understanding, His merits and virtue and wisdom were still quite a ways off. This was made evident in previous passages.

Spiritual practice always follows a sequence. In the Sangha, we concentrate on understanding the Buddha’s teachings, and after understanding, we need a sense of mission. Our mission is to take the Dharma and use all kinds of skillful means to benefit sentient beings. Sentient beings are suffering greatly. Sentient beings, in the midst of their suffering, are still creating karma. Even the smallest thoughts in our minds can cause the entire earth to become imbalanced. The affairs of the world are great issues; people’s discursive thoughts and ways of thinking are very insignificant. But these kinds of subtle thoughts can influence the entire world and cause the four elements to become imbalanced. This is very inconceivable! We previously spoke of the “butterfly effect.” We can simply look at the butterfly’s state and thus know that strong winds are coming. The principle is the same. Although our thoughts are insignificantly small, they can significantly influence the whole world and many great issues.

Yet, there are so many things we do not know; we are deluded. Don’t we speak now of the web? Of the internet? Now, everything is on the internet. The internet can help us understand everything, but we can also become tangled up in the internet. Our spiritual wisdom can become tangled up in the internet so that we cannot be released from it. We can become lost in this web. How do we escape, escape from the web of delusion and spread a network of Bodhisattvas? The Lotus Sutra already mentioned several times nets of pearls and coral, nets of the seven kinds of treasures. This is a network of Bodhisattvas; they connect all manner of things. Once connected, we can awaken and then continue upon this path, connecting eventually to the mind of the Buddha and to this enlightened love within us. This is the web of the Dharma, a network of Bodhisattvas. When everyone upholds the Dharma, we can connect our minds together. Then we can pave this path of awakening through everyone’s hearts. So, now in this great era, we must clearly discern right and wrong. We should all understand well that right and wrong are separated by only the space of a single thought.

So, “He manifested as a Hearer.” Although he knew so many things, Purna Maitrayaniputra remained within the Sangha and “used skillful means to benefit sentient beings.” He wanted to “transform others, enable them to establish supreme Bodhi and practice to benefit others.” It was more skillful to do it this way. The way the Buddha expanded the Sangha was by sending His monastics out to promote the Buddha’s teachings so that everyone would know them, so everyone would understand the principles of all things in the universe, of how people create karma and multiply their afflictions. These are intimately tied. They helped everyone open their minds and be clear and not again become entangled by outer things. These people could put aside their small families, sever attachments to limited love, and thus join this great family in order to experience the Buddha-Dharma. Strengthening the Buddha-Dharma in the world, they enabled others to “establish supreme Bodhi and practice to benefit others.”

We begin our spiritual practice to be able to further benefit sentient beings. If we want to benefit even more sentient beings, then we ourselves must establish supreme Bodhi, must establish our own awakened path. If we have not yet established our own awakened path, then how can we practice to benefit others? So, we use all kinds of methods to benefit sentient beings, to teach and transform them, help them open their minds and put things aside. By engaging in focused spiritual practice, we will better be able to benefit others. Bodhisattvas give rise to Bodhicitta and, from one, give rise to infinity.

So, this is why we must “help the Buddha to promote the teachings.” We must mindfully try to help, to assist the Buddha with His teachings. So, we “help the Buddha to promote the teachings and constantly do the work of the Buddhas.” We must constantly use what the Buddha taught us, the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom He taught us. The Buddha’s work is to bring scattered minds and undisciplined ways of living back to a dignified demeanor so that people would see the Sanhga in unison, replete with dignity. This is a simple life, yet dignified. Thus He first needed to help the Sangha flourish; this was called doing the Buddha’s work. For the Buddha-Dharma to be spread widely, He first had to establish the dignity of the place of practice and the spiritual practitioners. He wanted the place of practice to be pure, so He established rules to maintain dignity. Then when sentient beings approached, they would naturally feel joy, and a feeling of trust would arise toward the Buddha’s teachings and religion. This is what benefiting sentient beings by doing the Buddha’s work means. It is “helping the Buddha promote the teachings and constantly doing the work of the Buddhas.”

The monastics here in the Abode are also like this. We strive to make our resident practitioners, our monastic community and our spiritual training ground all very dignified. A dignified spiritual training ground is a living spiritual training ground. Where is this living spiritual training ground? It is among the people, among the Sangha, among the people and in our everyday living. So, we “constantly do the work of the Buddhas to benefit all sentient beings,” Then when people see us, they feel joy; they form aspirations and make vows. This is a kind of education. This is a place of practice where we are educated, a spiritual training ground for guiding and transforming sentient beings.

A place of practice for guiding sentient beings is not about erecting grand buildings in a beautiful environment where people can come to play for a while, then happily go back home, no. It is a place where they can come open their minds. This is what spiritual practice and the principles have always been about. We must help people attain the principles so that upon returning home, they can actualize the principles in their daily living, so they can actualize them in the world. Only by doing this are we “helping the Buddha to promote the teachings and constantly doing the work of the Buddhas to benefit all living beings.” Only then have we truly established our spiritual training ground. We all need to be very mindful.

So, this also reveals how, “Purna, from past kalpas until today, long had the merits and virtues of a Buddha.” Purna is Purna Maitrayaniputra. The Buddha continuously praised him. For 40 years He continuously praised Purna, the way he engaged in spiritual practice, seeking the Dharma while transforming others. He helped many others to understand better, even more thoroughly. So, this was not the work of a single lifetime. He had been accumulating this over the course of many kalpas, for a very long time, for dust-inked kalpas, since the time of Great Unhindered Buddha or the time of the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas. For many kalpas, he kept following the teachings of those Buddhas, helping those Buddhas to promote their teachings in order to deliver sentient beings. While engaged in spiritual practice in the presence of 9 billion Buddhas, he listened to what those Buddhas had taught. This is what he did for a very long time. This is what the previous passages reveal. He was not only at. Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly, but in the presence of 9 billion past Buddhas too. Whatever those Buddhas taught he practiced in those Buddhas’ presence. He practiced in those Buddhas’ Dharma-assemblies, accepted the teachings those Buddhas taught. This continually accumulated in this way. So it says, “From past kalpas until today, [he] long had the merits and virtues of a Buddha.” He continually accumulated these like this, accumulated them for a long time.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must be mindful. We must not be a Bodhisattva in name only, but in true essence as well. I address you all as Bodhisattvas, but you must live up to the name and form Bodhisattva-aspirations. Although we now manifest as ordinary people and enter the teachings as unenlightened beings, our minds must have been transformed by Buddhas over the course of many kalpas, hence we have the causes and conditions to be willing to quietly sit here and listen to the Buddha-Dharma. This is not without its causes and conditions. So, we must put effort into forming great aspirations, making great vows and discerning right and wrong in these great times. If it is incorrect, we must change right away. If it is correct, we must quickly enact it now. Otherwise, we will not make it in time. Koko [the gorilla] said this as well. We must hasten to save and protect the earth. Nature is watching to see what humankind will do. We must truly be mindful.

So, the previous passage said,

“The people in those Buddhas’ times all said that he was in truth a Hearer, but Purna was using this skillful means to benefit countless hundreds of thousands of sentient beings.”

“Those Buddhas” refers to those countless kalpas in the past. At the Dharma-assemblies of the 9 billion Buddhas, lifetime after lifetime, time after time, in those Buddha’s Dharma-assemblies, in those times, in those places, everyone always looked upon Purna as if he were a Hearer. Purna, lifetime after lifetime, was always likewise “using these skillful means.” He used the body of a Hearer; life after life he became a monastic. With the body of a Hearer, in times when there were Buddhas, he would practice at those Buddha’s training grounds. When those Buddhas taught the Dharma, he would listen reverently to it, listen earnestly and diligently, all in order “to benefit countless hundreds of thousands of sentient beings.” This is how Purna Maitrayaniputra engaged in spiritual practice over the course many lifetimes.

The next sutra passage then says,

“He also transformed infinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.”

Sakyamuni Buddha is still praising. Purna Maitrayaniputra, how he had practiced in the past as well, how he engaged in spiritual practice in each of those Buddhas’ Dharma-assemblies. Manifesting as a Hearer, engaging in spiritual practice like this, he continued to “transform infinite asankyas of people. Asankyas” means countless numbers. Their number was impossible to count. He “enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.” He did not merely go somewhere to teach and bring in 500-plus people, then go back to engage in spiritual practice with the Buddha. Since long ago in the past, he has similarly been transforming and delivering infinite asankyas of people. These are countless numbers of people, difficult to calculate. He helped them form aspirations, helped them experience the Buddha’s principles of the wondrous Dharma.

So, he had earnestly engaged in spiritual practice and earnestly awakened to. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi for himself.

He also transformed infinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: He had enabled countless people to comprehend the great path and become firm in their spiritual aspiration to enter the treasury of Right Dharma and the ocean of wisdom to reach supreme, perfect enlightenment.

Purna Maitrayaniputra delivered so many people. See, when one person becomes awakened, one will then give rise to infinity. He was able to awaken so many people, to teach and transform so many. So, this was “in order to purify Buddha-lands.” Purna Maitrayaniputra wished to help the Buddha purify the world and turn it into a Buddha-land. Thus, “He constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.” Always with a dignified demeanor, he traveled throughout the world; his mobile training ground was in the world. When people saw him, they would be happy. When they listened to him teach, they would form aspirations and make vows. This is “purifying the Buddha-lands.” In his actions and behavior, he always maintained a dignified demeanor. Whenever he opened his mouth to teach, everyone was able to accept it.

So, “He had enabled countless people,” These asankyas of people, these countless numbers, a great many people, could “comprehend the great path.” He enabled everyone to realize the principles of the great path and “become firm in their spiritual aspirations.” After everyone accepted the Dharma, their spiritual aspirations were firm. They even “entered the treasury of Right Dharma and the ocean of wisdom.” When people heard his teachings, they not only understood the Buddha-Dharma, their spiritual aspirations also became firm. Every day they “entered the treasury of Right Dharma and the ocean of wisdom.” So everyone, with regard to the Dharma, naturally “reached supreme, perfect enlightenment. They sought the principles of supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.

“In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.”

In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings: The lands that Buddhas transform are divided into pure lands, impure lands, reward-lands, Dharma-nature lands and so on. All Buddhas’ dignified demeanor and conduct, all of Their behavior, are all part of the work of the Buddhas.

The lands transformed by Buddhas are pure, but these pure Buddha-lands do not need Buddhas to enter them to teach and transform. So, a Buddha’s ideal is to enter impure lands where they can teach and transform sentient beings so that these become pure lands. Thus, it says “the lands that Buddhas transform.” These are called Buddha-lands. Actually, there are pure lands, there are impure lands, and there are reward-lands. This is about the ground of the Buddha’s mind. His mind abides in a pure land, yet He vows to enter impure lands, evil worlds of the Five Turbidities. He willingly enters places like this, like the evil world of the Five Turbidities, like the four forms of birth and the Five Realms. He likewise goes to these places in order to transform sentient beings. Wherever sentient beings’ karma leads them, wherever sentient beings’ circumstantial and direct retributions lead them, He follows them in their circumstantial and direct retributions and goes among them like this.

As for circumstantial and direct retributions, there was period of time in the past when I repeatedly kept on explaining these to everyone. Our karma determines our circumstantial retribution, so we come here under the circumstances of this land. Those with blessings are drawn by their karma to blessed lands where there is peace and favorable weather, where the people are prosperous. Even the family they are born into has kind parents who are well-off. They have a good environment and extended family. This is the circumstantial retribution of those with blessings.

Their circumstantial retribution takes them there. And their direct retribution? If they have created blessings but also [negative] karma, their blessings lead them to such an environment, and they are born in such a place. However, with their direct retribution, not long after they are born, there are changes in their country. Their country becomes unstable. There is unrest in the country that affects the family and so on. This is like the tide of refugees which we constantly talk about now. Syria in the past was also a very wealthy country. In the past, in the history of Iraq, it had also once been very wealthy. But people’s minds are not in harmony, and with this constant turmoil it changed, changed over the years to become a broken country from which the people have fled. This is direct retribution.

So, the two types of retribution, both circumstantial and direct retribution, determine one’s reward-land. The Buddha is in a pure land. He Himself is in a pure land but. He cannot bear sentient beings’ [suffering], so He goes where they are, follows sentient beings in their retributions in order to deliver them.

Sentient beings’ reward-lands are places where the Buddha wants to go. But the land of Dharma-nature is the ground of the mind of the Buddha’s own Dharma-nature. With Buddha-nature, the ground of the mind is fundamentally a pure land. The Buddha’s pure land is the ground of the mind of His Dharma-nature. Outside, people form so many discriminations, but the Buddha-nature is intrinsically like this, so pure. The Buddha-land is pure. This is the Buddha-nature.

So, “All Buddhas’ dignified demeanor and conduct, all of their behavior, are all part of the work of the Buddhas.” The pure lands of all Buddhas are like this. They are so dignified in demeanor. Their behavior and conduct, their actions, are all so dignified in demeanor. So, for each of us, our bodies are a spiritual training ground. There are so many people with dignified demeanors, with propriety and discipline, gathered together in a great place of practice, with such a spiritual atmosphere. This is a pure land. This is a great spiritual training ground where people can come to be educated. So, “In order to purify the lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.” As he went among the people, among the bhiksus, he hoped everyone would have such dignity, have demeanor and conduct like this, have such propriety in their comings and goings. We must have this kind of demeanor, a very dignified appearance. All of this is “doing the work of the Buddhas.”

Spiritual practice is done to bring out this kind of spiritual training ground. So, “Because we want to purify Buddha-lands, we follow the Buddhas’ practices.”

Because we want to purify Buddha-lands, we follow the Buddhas’ practices. This is called doing the work of the Buddhas. What we ourselves attain, we teach to transform others. Through our practices to benefit others, we dignify and purify our own Buddha-lands. Without forming affinities with sentient beings, Bodhisattvas have no chance to transform them. Then how can they attain the causes and conditions to reach Buddhahood?

In helping the Buddha purify the Buddha-lands, although we say that we are helping the Buddha, we are in fact helping ourselves; we engage in spiritual practice for the sake of purifying our own minds. The Buddha’s Dharma-nature is pure. Our Dharma-nature is likewise pure, it is just that ours has been defiled by ignorance. Fundamentally, our Dharma-nature is pure. Once we get rid of our ignorance, our Dharma-nature is fundamentally pure. So, all of us have always been replete with a pure Buddha-land. But now we must start again from the beginning. To get rid of ignorance, we must practice earnestly and diligently. “We follow the Buddhas’ practices.” We should learn to emulate the Buddha’s dignified demeanor in delivering sentient beings.

Purna Maitrayaniputra learned this. He could accomplish this. So, “This is called doing the work of the Buddhas. What we ourselves attain, we teach to transform others.” We ourselves must learn what the Buddha taught, learn the Buddha’s teachings of “precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, faith, vows and practice.” When we have all learned this we will have gained insights that in turn we teach to others. This is very important.

Dear Bodhisattvas, this is what it means to be Buddhist practitioners. We must continuously benefit sentient beings in order to truly perfect our own practice. We take this practice of benefiting others to say we are transforming sentient beings, when in fact, we are training ourselves and our own Buddha-lands.

So, without earnestly forming good affinities with sentient beings, Bodhisattvas will not be able to transform them. We must quickly form good affinities with people; Bodhisattvas want to transform sentient beings. If those who are called Bodhisattvas do not seize the opportunity to transform sentient beings, how will they have a chance to attain Buddhahood? So, when we give to help other people, we are creating affinities with sentient beings. This is purifying our own dignified Buddha-lands. Thus, we must earnestly seize the moment and mindfully connect our mind with the Buddha’s. In our conduct we should unite with Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings. If we can do this, we will draw nearer to the path to Buddhahood. So, we must always be mindful.