Author: Rosalyn Leung

Episode 1213 – Paying Respect to Those Who Uphold the Sutras

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>> “Sentient beings are always carried on the. Tathagata’s back and shoulders yet are unaware. The direction of people who uphold the sutras completely resonates with the One True Dharma. Sentient beings should follow this direction, pay respect and aspire to make offerings. With wholehearted sincerity, we must reverently collect our minds to pay respect and praise Him.”

>> “Medicine King, if there are those who read and recite the Lotus Sutra, you should know these people dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity. They are carried and shouldered by the Tathagata.”      [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 10 – On Dharma Teachers]

>> “Whatever places they go, people should pay respects toward them and wholeheartedly, with palms joined together, reverently make offerings to them and respect and praise them.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 10 – On Dharma Teachers]

>> This explains that they are worthy of offerings that encourage those who read and recite the sutras to joyfully expound the Dharma. Thus, these people will attain Bodhi in a flash. They will be praised universally and will definitely receive offerings from humans and heavenly beings.

>> Whatever direction they go: This refers to wherever these people who uphold the sutras go. These peoples’ direction completely resonates with the ultimate truth. So it says, “whatever direction they go….”

>> “People should pay their respects and wholeheartedly, with palms joined together….” It is hard for the right Dharma to abide in the world; accepting, upholding, and hearing the Dharma is even rarer and more precious. Sentient beings must pay respect in this direction wholeheartedly, joining their ten fingers and palms together to express their respect.

>> They reverently make offerings of respect and praise: To be reverent, humble, respectful and careful is to make offerings sincerely. To respect, hear, uphold, chant and practice the Dharma accordingly is precious. This should be greatly praised and admired.

>> “With flowers, fragrance, strings of jewels, scented powders, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes, food and all kinds of music….”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 10 – On Dharma Teachers]

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 1. Flowers and fragrance. These are the fragrance of various plants. They are flowers and fragrance 2. Strings of jewels: These are precious jewels strung together as magnificent adornments.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 3. Scented powders: Agarwood or sandalwood is ground into fine powders 4. Fragrant oils: This means pure, fragrant perfumes 5. Incense: Incense is shaped into sticks for burning.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 6. Silken canopies: Fine silken cloths are made into canopies to shield from dust and dirt 7. Hanging banners: These wave back and forth to drive off birds and rats.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 8. Clothes: From front to back, inside and out, the sutra is bound in fine brocade 9. Food: There are all kinds of pure, delicious foods 10. Music: They dance and play music.

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“Sentient beings are always carried
on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders, yet are unaware.
The direction of people who uphold the sutras
completely resonates with the One True Dharma.
Sentient beings should follow this direction,
pay respect and aspire to make offerings.
With wholehearted sincerity,
we must reverently collect our minds to pay respect and praise Him.”

We must mindfully comprehend this! The Buddha loves and protects sentient beings as if all sentient beings were His only child. He cherishes and loves all His children equally. He is just like a father to all beings, who carries His children on His shoulders. This is the kind of love He has for all beings. The Buddha cannot bear to give up on any one of us. He loves and protects sentient beings as if we are His own children. He [carries us along]! “Sentient beings are always carried on the. Tathagata’s back and shoulders, yet are unaware.” Like a compassionate father, the Buddha carries us, bears us on His back. He hopes that we can grow up to be replete with both compassion and wisdom, that our wisdom-life can mature. This is the Buddha’s intention for all beings. Do we sentient beings understand this? No, we do not.

However, the Buddha came to the world for one great cause, to open and reveal to all sentient beings that we all intrinsically have Buddha nature. He hopes that sentient beings will be able to practice according to His teachings. So, the Buddha hopes that all beings can accept His teachings and be transformed and thus go among people to experience and learn from the afflictions of sentient beings, turning afflictions into Bodhi. We must find ways to understand why sentient beings suffer and why sentient beings’ ignorance causes the accumulation of so many afflictions so that they are born in the Six Realms. We create the karma of the Six Realms so we suffer retributions of the Three Evil Destinies. How is this caused? If we do not go among people, how will we know? So, to turn afflictions into wisdom, we definitely must go among people.

The Buddha taught the Dharma in hopes that we can all uphold the sutras, earnestly recite and read them and also practice according to the Dharma. Then we are called people who uphold the sutras. We must not only read and recite [the sutras], but also practice according to the teachings. This is what the Buddha sincerely hopes we will do. We must know that, “The direction of people who uphold the sutras completely resonates with the One True Dharma.” Those who truly seek to uphold the sutras and are able to expound the Dharma have already resonated with and responded to the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. So, sentient beings should “follow this direction, pay respect and aspire to make offerings.”

When sentient beings see those who uphold the sutras, who practice according to the Buddha’s teachings and uphold and recite the Lotus Sutra, those who follow the path to Buddhahood, the great Bodhi-path, their direction is certainly in the direction of the Buddha’s teachings. When we see people who pursue this direction, we should give rise to respectful reverence and be inspired to make offerings. When we respect those upholding the sutras, the Dharma will flourish and become widespread. If people have respect and are willing to join in, everyone will come to hear the Dharma to experience and understand it. We will naturally learn from those who uphold the sutras. Everyone will share this mindset of upholding and reciting the Lotus Sutra, and following the path to Buddhahood. The end of the Bodhisattva-path is the state of Buddhahood. Once we all know this, we will follow this direction and pay respect. We will follow those walking in this direction, and put the Dharma into practice with single-minded resolve. This is what we call making offerings. We must have a reverent mindset.

So, “with whole-hearted sincerity,” we uphold our mindset of sincerity, With this sincere reverence, we make offerings. This is our mindset. When we take care of our minds, and our root of faith is deep, towards those who teach the sutras we will have faith without any doubt. [When our] root of faith is deep, we will naturally learn from them. We collect the mind to wholeheartedly respect and praise [them]; we will praise and pay respect to those who uphold the sutras.

Previously, we mentioned those who give rise to evil thoughts and slander those who uphold the sutras. Now, I want to tell everyone that we must give rise to a reverent mindset to help those who uphold the sutras. Not only should we help them succeed, we should also safeguard [the Dharma]. Not only should we safeguard [the Dharma], we must also put it into practice. This way, the Buddha-Dharma can be everlasting in this world and can bring purity to people’s minds. Only then will society and the world be safe and harmonious. The Buddha [taught] in this world with the hope that sentient beings can awaken. So, He opened and revealed the Dharma so that sentient beings can awaken and enter the Buddha-Dharma to practice accordingly. This was the Buddha’s goal in coming to this world.

It is not easy to attain Buddhahood! To study the Buddha’s teachings and practice them is even more difficult. Can we learn the Buddha’s teachings? Yes, absolutely. This is an education, the Buddha’s teachings, which He uses to help us to put them into action. The path [He enables us] to walk is the path of spiritual practice. Since we can walk the Path, will we be able to reach its end? This depends on whether we are focused and whether we are patiently advancing forward. If we have vows and aspirations, then we will advance forward. If there is a path, then there is a destination. Our goal is the attainment of Buddhahood; to become equal to the Buddha by reaching the enlightened state of Buddhahood.

This is what the Buddha constantly taught us. In the Jataka Sutra, the Buddha also frequently discussed the process by which. He attained Buddhahood. Learning the Buddha’s teachings is a long road; it is a path that stretches across many lifetimes. Thus, distant kalpas ago, a very long time ago, there was a Buddha called Pusya Buddha. Another sutra names Him as Amoghasiddhi Buddha. Either way, it was many long kalpas ago that this Buddha was born. When a Buddha is born into the world, naturally Bodhisattvas and practitioners, Hearers and Arhats will follow and practice the Buddha’s teachings. At that time, this Buddha, Pusya Buddha, looked around for [one to whom] He could spread the Dharma and bestow predictions of future Buddhahood. Which Bodhisattva, which practitioner would be the ones to attain Buddhahood next in sequence? After observing them, He chose two Bodhisattvas. Of these two Bodhisattvas, one would [attain Buddhahood] first; the other would follow. Who would be first and who would follow? Once again, He carefully observed them.

One was Sakyamuni Bodhisattva, and the other was Maitreya Bodhisattva. Sakyamuni Bodhisattva was replete with compassion. He constantly worked hard, but his mind was always on the suffering of sentient beings. He had experienced and understood the suffering of this world; sentient beings’ suffering is unbearable. So, although he engaged in spiritual practice, his mind was always on sentient beings’ suffering. When it came to “contemplation,” which is having a tranquil mind and entering meditation, or “wisdom,” his contemplation of wisdom was relatively weaker, but he was replete in compassionate practice.

Pusya Buddha considered how so many sentient beings had been touched and transformed by Sakyamuni Bodhisattva. For so many sentient beings, the Dharma had already penetrated their minds. Having transformed so many sentient beings, [Sakyamuni] was replete with affinities. Even though his contemplation of wisdom was a little weak, to complete one’s individual spiritual cultivation is relatively easy. To complete the [requisite] affinities with all beings for them to take the Dharma to heart is not an easy thing.

So, Pusya Buddha made a decision; Sakyamuni could attain Buddhahood first, but he had to be trained further. Pusya Buddha made this decision, so He went to where Sakyamuni Bodhisattva harvested medicinal herbs in the snowy mountains. Because sentient beings suffer many illnesses, Sakyamuni Bodhisattva thoroughly understood the principles of medicine for curing sentient beings’ illnesses. He often went looking for medicine in the snowy mountains and picked medicinal herbs so he could be prepared to save sentient beings suffering from illnesses. Pusya Buddha came to this place. He searched out a mountain cave and sat down inside in meditation. His whole body radiated a bright light. Sakyamuni Bodhisattva, picking medicinal herbs, suddenly saw light shining forth in all directions and came searching for [its source].

Seeing the light from Pusya Buddha’s body, there and then his heart gave rise to great joy, and he began to pay respect and prostrate to the Buddha from outside the cave. Reverence arose inside his mind, and he felt great joy, a joy such that he had never felt before. After prostrating [before the Buddha], he single-mindedly stood on one foot, lifted the other foot up high and put his palms together. Thus, he paid his respects wholeheartedly. With this sincere and respectful mindset, he [stood] unwaveringly for seven days and nights, with only reverence in his mind.

He [expressed] his reverence by reciting, “In the heavens above and all that is below, the Buddha is without comparison. Throughout the worlds of the ten directions, He is matchless. Of all I have seen in the world, there is nothing at all that is like the Buddha.” This “Verse in Praise of the Buddha,” was first [chanted then]; we often chant today the “Verse in Praise of the Buddha.” Actually, the story of the origin of the “Verse in Praise of the Buddha” was from this occasion. It was Sakyamuni Bodhisattva and his joy and aspirations upon seeing Pusya Buddha. With sincere, single-minded focus, he wholeheartedly paid homage to the Buddha. “In the heavens above and all that is below, the Buddha is without comparison. Throughout the worlds of the ten directions, He is matchless. Of all I have seen in the world, there is nothing at all that is like the Buddha.”

The only thought in his mind was these verses. Reverently, he spent seven days and seven nights standing on one foot with his palms together. [He stood] for seven days and seven nights; are we able to do this? Sakyamuni Bodhisattva did this. With this power of Samadhi, He had only a single thought in his mind; He had no other thoughts for seven nights and seven days. Thus His contemplations of Samadhi and wisdom were complete. On top of this, he had his compassionate practice, so compassion and wisdom had already converged, perfecting Sakyamuni Bodhisattva’s [spiritual cultivation] at that time. He skipped over Maitreya by nine kalpas and attained Buddhahood earlier.

Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be firm in our faith. We must regularly nurture our universal compassion for sentient beings; we cannot bear to see them suffer. [Relieving] sentient beings’ suffering is what the Buddha is still attached to. What he is still tied to is sentient beings; what he cannot abandon is sentient beings. Unfortunately, we sentient beings do not know that the Buddha carries us on His back. Although at all times, we are kept safe on the Buddha’s back, we are totally unaware of this. Our minds are still full of afflictions. Sentient beings’ ignorance is such that a single ignorant thought arising can sway the mind of a spiritual practitioner. Then there is no way to pass down the Dharma, because of this. Most beings cannot achieve [their spiritual goals]. Their minds remain full of afflictions; they are constantly afflicted. There are many ignorant, afflicted sentient beings while spiritual practitioners with firm faith and spiritual cultivation are few in number. There are very few because engaging in spiritual practice is difficult and requires a very long time.

You see, in Pusya Buddha’s era, there were many Bodhisattvas and quite a few people who formed aspirations. Yet of all those who formed aspirations, there were only two He could choose. These two still required further practice. Maitreya Bodhisattva’s contemplation of wisdom and Samadhi were sufficient, but he lacked affinities with sentient beings. Sakyamuni Bodhisattva was replete with affinities yet he was weaker in Samadhi and contemplation of wisdom. So, by focusing his mind like this, he transformed himself. Think about it; it is difficult for practitioners to transform themselves. Besides Bodhisattvas, there were also. Hearers and Solitary Realizers, and he had to choose one of them.

We can see He chose Sakyamuni Buddha. In Pusya Buddha’s era, he attained Buddhahood and skipped over [Maitreya] by nine kalpas. How long was this period of nine kalpas? As we all know, it starts with a human lifespan of ten years, increasing by one year every 100 years until the human lifespan reaches 84,000 years. Then, from 84,000 years, it decreases by one year for every 100 years again, until the human lifespan reaches ten years. The time it takes for this decrease and increase is called one small kalpa. There are 20 small kalpas in a medium kalpa, and there are four medium kalpas in a great kalpa.

This is how long that time is. It took nine kalpas of time, whether it was nine small kalpas, nine medium kalpas or nine great kalpas. Although the sutra does not clearly specify, even if it was nine small kalpas, this is still a very long time. For all this time, [He] did not pause. Lifetime after lifetime, He came to this world to transform sentient beings. Furthermore, we still remember that the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City [mentions] Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior, who lived dust-inked kalpas ago. In the era of the 16 princes, they taught the Lotus Sutra and formed affinities with all who gathered there. How long was this?

So, transforming a spiritual practitioner to enable them to take the Dharma to heart and transmitting the Dharma in this world is truly not easy. Thus, we must be very mindful when transmitting the Dharma in this world. We must encourage and respect each other; We must support those upholding the sutra and hold great respect for them as well. Not only should we respect them, at the same time, we should also recite and uphold the sutras with them. This way, we gradually engage in practice, yet do not take things slowly; we must actively engage in spiritual practice. Then, we will also attain Buddhahood in the future.

So, the previous sutra passage says,

“Medicine King, if there are those who read and recite the Lotus Sutra, you should know these people dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity. They are carried and shouldered by the Tathagata.”

We should know that there are those who recite and upheld the Lotus Sutra like this, those who practice accordingly. They engage in spiritual practice. The Buddha became dignified by engaging in such spiritual practice. So, they “dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity.” We should realize that we can do this too; we too can “dignify ourselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity.” In this way, the Buddha empowers and protects us, safeguarding our wisdom-life so that it can continually grow. He is like a compassionate father protecting His child by carrying the child on His back through treacherous places. This is like the parable of the Conjured City, when the guiding teacher led those people along the dangerous road. It is the same idea, so we must put our heart into being grateful.

Learning to attain Buddhahood requires forming aspirations to walk the Bodhisattva-path. If we can have this firm determination, then we are “dignifying ourselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity.” It is on the Buddha’s shoulders we are carried. It is the guiding teacher who leads us through places like this dangerous, difficult and evil path. So, we must have reverence and respect.

The following sutra passage says,

“Whatever places they go, people should pay respects toward them and wholeheartedly, with palms joined together, reverently make offerings to them and respect and praise them.” 

This explains that they are worthy of offerings to encourage those who read and recite the sutras and joyfully expound the Dharma. These people will attain Bodhi in an instant. They will be praised universally and will definitely receive offerings from humans and heavenly beings.

We just discussed how. Pusya Buddha wanted to help Sakyamuni Bodhisattva succeed. He radiated light, guiding him toward [its source]. When he found the Buddha and saw Him, he gave rise to great reverence. This is the same. Because the sutras are the Tathagata’s body, this is why “Whatever places they go, people should pay their respects toward them.” Wherever there are sutras, we should pay our respects in that direction. This is encouraging us that, when we read and uphold the sutras, we must be joyful.

After reading the sutras, we must contemplate our insights. We must give rise to joy and begin to speak about the Dharma. The way we read and understand the sutras is something we should quickly tell everyone to enable them all to understand. This kind of person “will attain Bodhi in an instant.” Someone like this who is willing to listen, learn and put [the teachings] into practice, will both naturally and quickly be able to attain Bodhi for the teachings have entered their minds.

I often say that after listening to the sutras, we should discuss them further. After hearing them, we read them again. So now, many people attend sutra study groups. After listening, they read them again, and everyone comes to share their insights. These insights they have gained means these things have become their own. [In terms of] virtue and attainment, “Those who have attained have virtue.” We must begin to make efforts and then share [our insights] with others. The more we share with people, the more deeply this teaching will enter our minds. So, it says, “These people will attain Bodhi in an instant.” Because they are continually repeating, reading and reciting [the sutras], [in doing so], they gain insights, which become deeply engraved in their minds.

So, we must praise them. “They will be praised universally,” praised and respected. They “will definitely receive offerings from humans and heavenly beings.” This person is definitely one to whom both humans and heavenly beings make offerings. Their hearts are already near [the hearts of] heavenly beings’ and humans. So, we often speak of conscience. “You are very conscientious by nature.” We are born with this conscience. What is this conscience? It is our awakened nature of True Suchness. So, as we continually read, recite and expound, naturally, we will draw near the Bodhi-path. Thus, we gradually become one with the universe. In the Buddha’s awakening, He became one with the universe. This is the state we are gradually nearing. Our body and mind are in a vast state that embraces all things in the world,\. We draw closer and closer [to the Bodhi-path].

“Whatever places they go” refers to the places that people who uphold the sutras go. In whatever direction this person heads, whichever way their minds go, they are completely in accord with ultimate truth. Everything they do and say is all in accord with the principles; they use the principles as their guide.

Whatever direction they go: This refers to wherever these people who uphold the sutras go. These peoples’ direction completely resonates with the ultimate truth. So it says, “whatever direction they go….”

I often say that as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn them in our daily living among people, matters and things. We must learn them in everyday life. Therefore, the direction of our lives must always be in accord with the Dharma. Thus, no matter what we do, it will always accord with the Dharma; it will be reasonable, fair and sensible. This is “resonating with the ultimate truth. Thus it says whatever places they go.” Their direction, the direction of their mind, will always be in accord with the sutras.

So, “People should pay their respects wholeheartedly, with palms joined together.” We give praises for their mind and behavior. This is absolutely the right thing to do.

“People should pay their respects and wholeheartedly, with palms joined together….” It is hard for the right Dharma to abide in the world; accepting, upholding, and hearing the Dharma is even rarer and more precious. Sentient beings must pay respect in this direction wholeheartedly, joining their ten fingers and palms together to express their respect.

“Wholeheartedly, with palms joined together” demonstrates our respect using our body. “People should pay their respects” means that when our mind follows the principles, our direction in dealing with people, matters and things is correct and is fair and sensible. We pay respect to the Buddha’s entire body like this; we must have a mind of sincere respect. Thus, the Right Dharma can abide in the world. If we are unwilling [to be reverent], then as we said previously about slander it will be hard for the Right Dharma to abide in the world. We know ordinary people have many obstructions. Very few practitioners form aspirations. Even when someone forms an aspiration, there are so many ignorant sentient beings who give rise to discursive thoughts, making it truly hard to practice according to the teachings.

So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must “pay [our] respects, wholeheartedly, with palms joined together,” so that the Right Dharma can transform difficulties into simple matters. While accepting, upholding and listening to the teachings is difficult, amidst this difficulty, we are willing to accept and uphold the sutras, listen to the sutras, retell them and put them into practice. This is so precious! Currently, “It is hard for the Right Dharma to abide in the world.” To find someone willing to uphold the sutras and listen to the Dharma, to retell and put [the Dharma] into practice is truly both difficult and precious.

So, “Sentient beings must follow [the Dharma] and pay respect.” Truly, we must give rise to respect so that this Dharma can exist in the world. As we follow the direction of the Dharma, we should seek to protect the Dharma and follow its path, the Bodhi-path. This is how we put it into practice.

We must also [do so] “wholeheartedly,” by putting our palms together. “Joining their ten fingers and palms together” means folding our fingers together like this. This represents our distracted mind returning to a mind of reverence. It shows an attitude of respect. Our mind is not distracted; it has returned to thoughts of sincerity. This is respect.

So, to “reverently make offerings to them and respect and praise them” means to “make offerings with reverence, humbleness, respect, vigilance and sincerity.” We must also “respect people who hear, uphold, read, recite and practice according to the teachings.” This is very honorable. We must have respect for people like this.

They reverently make offerings of respect and praise: To be reverent, humble, respectful and careful is to make offerings sincerely. To respect, hear, uphold, chant and practice the Dharma accordingly is precious. This should be greatly praised and admired.

We must be very humble and not arrogant. We must be very respectful towards people. In particular, we must be very vigilant. For the Right Dharma to remain in this world, we must be very vigilant. We must avoid listening to rumors and gossip and giving rise to discursive thoughts. We absolutely cannot do this! We must be very vigilant.

We also need to be determined and make offerings with great sincerity. We must be very respectful of those who listen to the sutra, those who uphold, read, recite, expound the sutras and practice according to the teachings; we must treat this kind of people with great respect and praise. Only then can their faith grow even stronger to be able to continuously spread the Buddha-Dharma.

So, we must respect those who spread the Dharma. Everyone can become a spreader of the Dharma, and every one of us can attain that respect. So, it is like following the Bodhi-path, diligently advancing down this road. We must pay respect to those ahead of us, just as those behind us will respect us also. In this unbroken stream, [we all] advance. On this path, we pave the road with love and pass down compassion through awareness. By spreading great love and extending compassion, the Buddha-Dharma can spread throughout the world. Only then can we bring blessings to the world and benefit people.

The following sutra passage says,

“With flowers, fragrance, strings of jewels, scented powders, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes, food and all kinds of music….”

All kinds of methods are used to make offerings. [Regarding] “flowers” and “fragrance,” I often say that flowers and fragrance mean the “fragrance of various plants.” If they have a fragrant smell, they are referred to as flowers and fragrance. This includes the scent of agarwood or sandalwood, which both come from wood, or of flowers and grasses. The fragrances that comes from grasses can also be referred to as “flowers and fragrance.” So, whether it is from woody or herbaceous plants, all of the fragrances are known as “flowers and fragrance.”

They make all kinds of offerings: 1. Flowers and fragrance. These are the fragrance of various plants. They are flowers and fragrance 2. Strings of jewels: These are precious jewels strung together as magnificent adornments.

There are also “strings of jewels.” They are precious items at the bottom of the ocean or on the land. This represents many various precious objects, These are jewels and other [valuable] things strung together as adornments. Whether it is for curtains or other decorations, they are all made with precious items. When they are strung together like this, they adorn the spiritual training ground.

The third [type of offering] is “scented powders,” which are agarwood or sandalwood ground into powder. They are used daily in the temples. The fourth [type] is “fragrant oils.” They are scented liquids or scented grasses that are applied. They can be applied on the ground, on magnificent instruments of practice and so on. All of these are “fragrant oils.” It can be a liquid or something else that is fragrant.

They make all kinds of offerings: 3. Scented powders: Agarwood or sandalwood is ground into fine powders 4. Fragrant oils: This means pure, fragrant perfumes 5. Incense: Incense is shaped into sticks for burning.

Fifth is “incense.” In the past, incense was always used. Now, we make an effort not to use much incense because it creates air pollution. We can “light the incense of our hearts.” With this incense as an expression of our wholehearted respect, it is enough. It does not even need to be tangible; even [offering] the incense in our minds is enough. The population was much smaller before, so it said [to burn incense as offering]. Now, the population has grown, and our material consumption is too excessive, so we can just use sincere minds [as offerings]. We do not need to [offer] many material things; we now offer the sincerity of our minds.

The sixth [type of offering] is “silken canopies.” Silken canopies refer to anything made of cloth, which can be used to block the sun, or as coverings [to keep out] dust and so on. This is what silken canopies are. The seventh is “hanging banners.” Hanging banners can wave in the air. When they wave in the air, sometimes, when teaching the sutras or doing something, [they keep away] many things such as birds, mosquitoes, flies, rats and so on. With the hanging banner waving and flapping in the wind, these will naturally stay away. This is why hanging banners are used.

They make all kinds of offerings: 6. Silken canopies: Fine silken cloths are made into canopies to shield from dust and dirt 7. Hanging banners: These wave back and forth to drive off birds and rats.

The eighth [type of offering] is “clothing,” and the ninth is “food.” These are various kinds of pure, delicious foods. Pure, delicious foods are things like fresh vegetables, fruit and grains. These are pure, delicious foods.

The tenth is “music.” Music and dance are used as offerings. This is like what we often see with the musical adaptation of sutras. There are both melodies and sutra passages. Melodies are composed for [the sutra text], while body language is used for expression. Body language is used to express the meaning of the sutras. Thus, we can make all kinds of sincere offerings.

They make all kinds of offerings: 8. Clothes: From front to back, inside and out, the sutra is bound in fine brocade 9. Food: There are all kinds of pure, delicious foods 10. Music: They dance and play music.

As Buddhist practitioners, this should be our mindset. We should use our very best offerings to dignify our spiritual training ground. We must listen to the sutras and read them mindfully, taking the Dharma of the sutras to heart. We must also transmit the Dharma to other people. Others can also transmit and explain it to others. We must also be reverent and respectful. Wherever the Lotus Sutra is, the Buddha is present there also. So, we must always be reverent. When our minds abide in the Dharma, the Dharma will be in our lives. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1212 – We are Borne Upon the Shoulders of the Tathagata

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>> “To carry on the back is to bear. To carry on the shoulders is to shoulder. This sutra’s Dharma-treasure is the Tathagata’s entire body. Those who read and recite this sutra are borne and shouldered on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders. Journeying on the Dharma of Suchness, He came to the world to open and reveal, helping sentient beings to realize and enter the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.”

>> “If a man utters one vile word to slander lay or monastic practitioners who read or recite the Lotus Sutra, this man’s transgression is extremely severe.”

>> “Medicine King, if there are those who read and recite the Lotus Sutra, you should know these people dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity. They are borne and shouldered by the Tathagata.”

>> This sutra passage explains: For those who read, recite, hear and uphold this sutra, by practicing accordingly they have dignity like the Buddha’s. Being borne and shouldered by the Tathagata means they are blessed and protected by the Buddha.

>> So, “You should know these people dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity.” Those who uphold and recite the sutras “expound the Buddha’s wisdom and wondrous acts, praising the Buddha’s name and magnificence. This is how these people dignify themselves.”

>> The Buddha, with Samadhi, wisdom and dignity, expounds the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. The people who read and recite this sutra can cultivate the Buddha’s Samadhi and wisdom. Thus they dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s magnificence.

>> They are borne and shouldered by the Tathagata: They are the Tathagata’s emissaries, borne on the Tathagata’s shoulders, who uphold the Buddha’s Right Dharma, transform sentient beings and help sentient beings attain right views. Thus, they bear the great burden of all Buddhas and Tathagatas.

>> To carry on the back is to bear. To bear on the shoulders is to shoulder. This sutra is the Tathagata’s entire body. Those who read and recite this sutra are borne and shouldered on the Tathagata’s shoulders and back. Alas, sentient beings are always borne on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders, yet they are unaware of it.

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“To carry on the back is to bear. To carry on the shoulders is to shoulder. This sutra’s Dharma-treasure is the Tathagata’s entire body. Those who read and recite this sutra are borne and shouldered on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders. Journeying on the Dharma of Suchness, He came to the world to open and reveal, helping sentient beings to realize and enter the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.”

Let us mindfully listen and read. “To carry on the back is to bear. To carry on the shoulders is to shoulder.” This means that to “bear” is to carry on one’s back and to “shoulder” is to carry on one’s shoulders. When we move things, we either carry them upon our backs or shoulder them upon our shoulders. When it comes to heavy things, we must use one of these positions. We either carry or shoulder them. When we ordinary people have a heavy burden, this is the position we use to transport it. This is an analogy for taking up the responsibility for the transmission of this sutra. “This sutra’s Dharma-treasure is the Tathagata’s entire body.” The Lotus Sutra must be passed down; it is like the entire body of the Buddha, a treasury of infinite Dharma!

You see, to truly understand a sutra, we cannot just look at that one sutra. Before the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, He spent 42 years giving many teachings. He taught the Agama, the Vaipulya, then the Prajna and [finally] the Lotus Sutra. Then at the end of His life, He wanted to make sure they were passed on, so that everyone could make use of the Dharma. To make use of it, we need to take it up and apply it among the people. We must do this for a long time, life after life. These are the teachings the Buddha gave throughout His life. After His enlightenment, during that initial period. He was in the Avatamsaka state. For 21 days He discussed the Avatamsaka state. At that time, He was in that state, that tranquil and clear state of mind, that Avatamsaka state. This is the state of Buddhahood.

When He emerged from Samadhi, He wondered, “How can I help sentient beings to experience this kind of state?” This state is inherently in everyone. So, when the Buddha became enlightened, His very first thought was, “How amazing! How amazing! All sentient beings possess the Tathagata’s nature of wisdom!” This was the Buddha’s realization. He realized that all sentient beings, all people, are replete with the Tathagata’s nature of wisdom. The Tathagata’s nature of wisdom [come from] returning to the true state of the Tathagata, which is the Avatamsaka state, a tranquil and clear state. He hoped everyone could experience this, could return to the nature of True Suchness that they intrinsically have.

This is easier said than done! So, the Buddha had to go back and think about how he could go among the people and help everyone to accept this. He contemplated this! So, He slowly approached Deer Park. The people He wanted to transform, His targets, were Kaundinya and the others. They had followed, pursued the Buddha, to persuade Him to return to the palace. When they failed to persuade Him to return, they could only follow the Buddha to engage in spiritual practice. But there came a moment when they could not understand the Buddha’s mindset, so for a time they remained at Deer Park.

Then, the Buddha attained enlightenment, so He returned to Deer Park to transform these five people. What method did He use to transform them? He began with the Four Noble Truths. This was the start of the Buddha teaching the Dharma to people. This was the first time He expounded the Dharma, and when the Sangha came into being. The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, the Three Treasures, were now complete. The Buddha had already become enlightened and had returned to Deer Park to teach the Dharma. So, the Dharma was present. He expounded the Dharma to those five with the three turnings of the Dharma-wheel. Three times He turned the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths. Finally, the five bhiksus achieved this; they understood this Path, the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths. This was the initial completion of the Three Treasures, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

The Buddha thus began spreading the Dharma to benefit sentient beings. As causes and conditions ripened, group after group of people with [good] affinities with the Buddha, starting from Sariputra and the three Kasyapas, group after group of people with an affinity for Him, came to join. Very quickly, within several years, there was already a total of 1250 people. Although they were always with the Buddha, listening to the Buddha teach the Dharma, they lingered on the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. They understood that the world is full of suffering, that the Three Evil Destinies are fearsome and that the suffering of cyclic existence in the Six Realms is difficult to end. So, they were focused on finding ways to put an end to cyclic existence and be liberated from the suffering of the Three Evil Destinies.

Thus, those who followed the Buddha in spiritual practice had stopped at that stage. The Buddha made a heartfelt effort to help strengthen everyone’s faith so they would believe that their intrinsic nature is a nature of True Suchness equal to the Buddha’s. But when it came to the Buddha-nature they felt, “I understand, but I dare not go among people. To return to my Buddha-nature, I have to go among people, and I do not dare. That is because. I am too easily influenced by them.” Though they had faith in Him and understanding, when they heard a slanderous comment, or when someone said something that went against the Buddha’s teachings, they were unable to respond. They were very easily influenced in this way.

When it comes to the behavior of Tzu Chi volunteers, people have very high standards. Once they are wearing the Tzu Chi uniform, everyone measures them against very high standards.

This demonstrates that shouldering the mission of the Tathagata is a very heavy responsibility. Regarding our appearance and demeanor, if we are not very careful, people will actually disparage us behind our backs. Or, they may slander us. Some people, upon seeing Tzu Chi volunteers, will be full of praises. “Anyone who wears that uniform is a good person. Whenever anything happens in Taiwan, these people immediately appear to help.”

When people see us, there are many who praise us. However, there are also those who slander us. The kinds of things they say are heard by others and then passed on. Indeed, Tzu Chi volunteers are noticed by everyone. We cannot afford to go astray even a little. This is how the world works.

So, earlier we were talking about slander. When some people lack understanding, they engage in slander in this way. “I am not very clear on this. I heard other people say this, so I will go along with them and pass this on.” This is called “slander.” Some engage in slander intentionally. Others pass things on because they do not understand the principles. This too is incorrect.

So, I say that, when we wear the uniform, the responsibility we bear on our shoulders is for everyone to see that we act harmoniously. Only then will Tzu Chi volunteers truly be praised by everyone and not be criticized by others. It is the same for monastics. When monastic practitioners go outside, they must be careful about what they do and say. It is the same principle.

So, it is as if we are bearing something heavy on our back, or carrying something very heavy on our shoulders. This is because we want to spread this sutra. So, “This sutra’s Dharma-treasure is the Tathagata’s entire body.” The Buddha has already helped us become replete with the Three Treasures. Proclaiming the Dharma in the world and transforming and delivering sentient beings are [done with] the Tathagata’s entire body. However, we still have some slight flaws. So, we must make a greater effort to be mindful and to be vigilant of ourselves. When we go out, we should always be helping others. Only then are we truly Tzu Chi volunteers. Only then can we successfully walk the Bodhisattva-path.

By the same principle, walking this Bodhisattva-path is promoting the Buddha’s teachings. It is the same principle. So, “Those who read and recite this sutra are borne and shouldered on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders.” As spiritual practitioners, or as Buddhist practitioners, when it comes to our behavior, if we are reading or reciting sutras, we must understand their principles. If we read and recite sutras but do not understand the principles, in this case, the Buddha is actually bearing and shouldering all of our behaviors.

As long as we are reading, reciting sutras, we are on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders; we are the responsibly He bears. So, for the sake of sentient beings He has to take on so much responsibility.

What about right now? Right now we are forming aspirations. We form aspirations of listening to the Dharma and joyfully taking every phrase and verse to heart. We need to let people know about these principles. We need to purify people’s hearts. Right now we are being slandered by others; how should we deal with it? When people slander us, some of the people who hear may think, “They are right! [Tzu Chi] shouldn’t do that!” What do we do when this happens? All we can do is look at ourselves, take a good look at ourselves. We must be very careful in all our actions and get along well with other people. We know this is what things are like among people. So, we must be even more careful and earnestly engage in spiritual practice. In our demeanor, in our actions and so on, we should always be expressing gratitude.

So, “Journeying on the Dharma of Suchness, He came to the world to open and reveal, helping sentient beings to realize and enter the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.” The Buddha comes to the world with only this goal. He hopes every one of us will fully awaken and understand the world’s truths and principles, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This was His objective in coming to the world. The principles of the True Dharma of the One Vehicle are contained in the Lotus Sutra. In the Lotus Sutra, when the Buddha was about to open the provisional and reveal the true, He continuously praised the wisdom of the Buddha. However, people were unable to understand. What they did understand was that the Buddha’s wisdom was very great. Everyone really wanted to understand how to enter this state of wisdom.

So, the Buddha taught the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. What is the True Dharma of the One Vehicle like? Sariputra came to ask the Buddha to explain how to enter the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. The Buddha actually said no three times, that it could not be taught. That is because if He taught this Dharma, those who did not have very deep capacities and who did not have very firm faith would very easily be influenced by others.

The Buddha said that if people’s [understanding] deviated even in the slightest, they would be unable to apply the principles to analyze things correctly. People like this would not be clear on the Dharma, so they would deviate from the Dharma.

In summary, the Buddha comes to the world by journeying upon the Dharma of Suchness, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. He comes to the world to open and reveal to sentient beings to enable them to realize and enter the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This is walking the Bodhisattva-path. We take the great, direct Bodhi-path to go among people to understand the principles of the ways of people, the workings of their mind. The workings of people’s mind, the principles etc., are what we can understand.

In any case, as Buddhist practitioners, our minds must be very clear and meticulous, very thorough and discerning. If we have no wisdom, if our faith is not firm, at the slightest gust of the wind of ignorance, we will suffer loss. Is it the wind of ignorance that causes loss? Or is it the one who gives rise to that ignorance? Or is it the one who accepts that ignorance? There can be injury in all directions. In the end, the Dharma will be extinguished. This is the transgression of destroying the Buddha-Dharma.

So, the previous sutra passage states,

“If a man utters one vile word to slander lay or monastic practitioners who read or recite the Lotus Sutra, this man’s transgression is extremely severe.”

If anyone were to do this, to utter one vile word, that casual remark may have an effect on spiritual practitioners. Whether a lay or monastic practitioner or one who wanted to hear the Great Vehicle Dharma, this casual remark could destroy their will to engage in spiritual practice. With this slander, lay or monastic practitioners or anyone wishing to engage in spiritual practice can be affected by this kind of slander. As for disparaging comments, everyone must know that people commit slander because of lack of clarity. They are unclear about what is true, what is false. They just heard others say it and then went along with it and passed on the remark. This is most frightening. In this way, as some people read sutras, other people [criticize them] and so on. Whether toward lay and monastic practitioners, they give rise to this slanderous attitude. When they say these things, it easily causes this sutra to lose [status] in people’s minds. Getting them to put it into practice would be even more difficult.

This is why the Buddha admonished us to never engage in harsh speech. Harsh speech can just be a single vile word, not necessarily an entire diatribe. Those who uphold the Lotus Sutra, whether lay or monastic practitioners, may be [the target of] this remark. These people are not clear on the principles, so they engage in this kind of slander. A single remark, even a single vile word, directed at those upholding the sutra to slander them will cause them to give rise to afflictions. “I am reading the sutra; what’s wrong with that? I am taking the Dharma the Buddha taught and passing it on to others; what’s wrong with that? Why would they want to slander me?” If we have not yet put an end to our afflictions, when people slander us, we will also become afflicted.

The people who slander others and cause those who uphold sutras to become afflicted are said to be engaging in harsh speech. If they cause spiritual practitioners to give rise to afflictions, they have engaged in harsh speech. A simple remark that disrupts the mind of a spiritual practitioner is considered harsh speech.

This applies to lay Buddhist practitioners, those good men and women, as well as female monastics, as well as newly-inspired practitioners, like novices who have not yet taken the precepts. Even a simple remark can cause these Buddhist practitioners, whether they are laypeople or monastics or newly-inspired, to [waver] in their aspirations. This is what harsh speech can do. These people have the will to read and recite the Lotus Sutra. As we mentioned previously, whether they are lay or monastic practitioners who have aspired to read and recite the Lotus Sutra, if people slander them with harsh speech, that would be a very severe transgression.

So, when the fourfold assembly is reading the Lotus Sutra, slander may damage their spiritual aspirations, causing them to retreat. Those who want to practice the Bodhisattva-path may also retreat from their aspirations. This hinders their cultivation of the Buddha-Dharma and their putting it into practice.

If this happens, think about it; how would we spread the Buddha-Dharma? We should be prepared to face obstacles when spreading the Dharma. When people’s spiritual aspirations are hindered, when they have been influenced, their spiritual aspirations are damaged, and they will retreat from them. When practitioners’ will to practice is obstructed, think about it; wouldn’t it be difficult to practice the Right Dharma in the world? We use love to pave this road. With awakened love, we can bring forth long-lasting compassion. This is the Bodhisattva-path. I hope everyone can do this. Everyone can be an awakened being. Everyone can exercise their love. This road is already facing this kind of slander. Think about it; isn’t this road through the world treacherous? Earlier, the Chapter on the Conjured City already told us that the path through the world is hazardous. So, promoting the Dharma is truly difficult and engaging in this kind of harsh speech is truly a severe transgression.

The next passage states,

“Medicine King, if there are those who read and recite the Lotus Sutra, you should know these people dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity. They are borne and shouldered by the Tathagata.”

This passage tells us clearly that anyone who reads, recites or listens to the sutra, anyone who accepts and upholds it, or who upon listening puts it into practice, dignifies their place of spiritual practice.

This sutra passage explains: For those who read, recite, hear and uphold this sutra, by practicing accordingly they have dignity like the Buddha’s. Being borne and shouldered by the Tathagata means they are blessed and protected by the Buddha.

We ourselves are engaging in spiritual practice. After listening to and understanding the sutra, we transform our lives. In the past we spoke to others with vile words, harsh speech. Now we use gentle and kind words with them. In the past we treated people harshly. Now we are gentle and yielding when we help them. We have already changed in these ways. This is having dignity.

“By practicing [the sutra] accordingly,” we “have dignity like the Buddha’s.” So, we often say that by chanting the Buddha’s name, the Buddha-mind will enter our minds. By being mindful of the Buddha so He enters our hearts and practicing what the Tathagata practices, we are being dignified like the Buddha, so our “dignity is like the Buddha’s.” We will be just like the Buddha. By doing the Tathagata’s work with the mind of a Buddha, we bring dignity to the Buddha’s work. So, those who read and recite, accept and uphold and practice this sutra accordingly, truly bring dignity to the Buddha’s work. We take the principles the Buddha taught and translate them into our work in the world. In this world, through our body, through our speech and actions, we become dignified. This is what people who recite the sutra, listen to the sutra and uphold the sutra should be like. We need to demonstrate our dignified demeanor. Then we will be just like the Buddha; our behavior will be just like the Buddha’s.

“Being borne and shouldered by the Tathagata” means our dignity is the same as the Buddha’s. Because the Buddha entered Parinirvana, spiritual practitioners must be like the Buddha in the world. Whether people praise us or disparage us, the Buddha likewise shoulders that for us. He takes responsibility for us. We are all borne upon the Buddha’s shoulders.

Thus, “They are protected by the Buddha.” We journey on the Buddha’s teachings of wisdom. The Dharma has been passed on, and we also now have sutras that we can read and put into practice accordingly. Indeed, it is just as if we are standing upon the Buddha’s shoulders. The Buddha takes responsibility for us. The Buddha bears us upon His Dharmakaya. So, we must be very mindful, very dignified, and be like Bodhisattvas in our spiritual practice. Bodhisattvas can attain Buddhahood; this is what we should demonstrate.

So it says, “Medicine King, if there are those who have read and recited the Lotus Sutra,” if people do this with this sutra, “we should know that such people, those who are upholding the sutra,” all of those who uphold this sutra, must demonstrate this kind of appearance, must be just like the Buddha’s teachings. This depends on us.

So, “You should know these people dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s dignity.” Those who uphold and recite the sutras “expound the Buddha’s wisdom and wondrous acts, praising the Buddha’s name and magnificence. This is how these people dignify themselves.”

Do you understand? To uphold the sutra and teach what the Buddha taught, we must first put it into practice ourselves. If we can teach, but cannot do, if we cannot put it into practice, it is as if the Buddha-Dharma is not in the world. For the Buddha-Dharma to truly be in the world, we must successfully walk the road of the Dharma. We have to walk upon it. So, to do this we must “read and uphold this sutra, expound the Buddha’s wisdom and wondrous acts. Praising” means everyone will admire us and praise both the Buddha-Dharma and the Bodhisattva-path for their magnificence. By helping others, respecting others, we bring love into the world. This is dignifying ourselves. This is what we do, so people will likewise praise us.

“The Buddha, with Samadhi, wisdom and dignity, expounds the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.”

The Buddha, with Samadhi, wisdom and dignity, expounds the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. The people who read and recite this sutra can cultivate the Buddha’s Samadhi and wisdom. Thus they dignify themselves by emulating the Buddha’s magnificence.

The Buddha expounded the sutra with Samadhi and wisdom. With the Buddha’s discipline, His power of Samadhi and His wisdom, He is magnificent. So, when He teaches the Dharma, He always does so with the magnificent appearance of having precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, much less when He taught the Lotus Sutra. Before He began teaching the Lotus Sutra, He emitted light and manifested signs; this was different from how He ordinarily taught. So, with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, ordinarily, when He taught the sutras, He was like this. However, when He taught the Lotus Sutra, it was different. He emitted light and manifested an appearance. He was so magnificent! So, Maitreya and Manjusri [Bodhisattvas] engaged in a dialogue. They told the story of the 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas. That was such a magnificent Dharma-assembly! So, we must truly take great care.

“The people who read and recite this sutra can cultivate the Buddha’s Samadhi and wisdom.” People who are willing to teach this sutra must have lots of self-confidence and must put it into practice themselves. To practice as one preaches is truly not very easy! Among the myriad sentient beings, attaining the same Samadhi, wisdom and dignity as the Buddha is really not easy. Yet, we have to teach the Dharma, or the Dharma cannot be passed down. So, we must work even harder. To transmit the Buddha’s. True Dharma of the One Vehicle, we must “cultivate the Buddha’s Samadhi and wisdom.” So, we must work even harder and heighten our vigilance, thus we can dignify ourselves by emulating the Buddha’s magnificence. Everyone is the same. If we are determined to spread these methods, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, then we must resolve to truly work hard to attain the dignity of the Buddha’s Samadhi and wisdom. Only then can we teach this sutra in a way that everyone can accept it.

“They are borne and shouldered by the Tathagata.”

They are borne and shouldered by the Tathagata: They are the Tathagata’s emissaries, borne on the Tathagata’s shoulders, who uphold the Buddha’s Right Dharma, transform sentient beings and help sentient beings attain right views. Thus, they bear the great burden of all Buddhas and Tathagatas.

How do we teach so that sentient beings can accept and practice according to the Dharma? This is a heavy responsibility. Just as the Buddha bears responsibility for us on His shoulders, we too must take responsibility. It is like we are bearing the Buddha’s entire body, the sutra-treasury the Buddha’s Dharmakaya, upon our shoulders. “They are the Tathagata’s emissaries, borne on the Tathagata’s shoulders.” This is what the Tathagata’s emissaries do. We must spread the Buddha-Dharma, which is the Buddha’s responsibility, which He sent us to this world [to take on].

So, we “uphold the Buddha’s Right Dharma, transform sentient beings.” We must uphold the Buddha’s Right Dharma so we can transform sentient beings. Just because many people said that we should do something, it does not mean we should just do as they say. The Buddha-Dharma is the Buddha-Dharma. The Right Dharma is the Right Dharma. We cannot blindly follow the crowd. We must be resolute in firmly upholding what we know we should uphold. Just because things are a certain way in society, that does not mean we have to go along with it. This would be very dangerous.

So, we “uphold the Buddha’s Right Dharma, transform sentient beings.” We cannot be transformed by sentient beings. Sometimes when I think of the modern world, I think of how very hard it is to uphold the Right Dharma. It is not easy. There are truly many things to worry about. So, I hope everyone will have right views. As for the skillful means we use in the world, we should also remain firm. With the skillful means we choose, we should truly be very firm. “Thus they are bearing the great burden of all Buddhas and Tathagatas.” We carry a heavy burden upon us. It is very taxing!

So, to carry something heavy on our back is to “bear.” To carry it upon our shoulders is to “shoulder.” To shoulder the responsibility for the world is not that easy; it is exhausting. So, “This sutra is the Tathagata’s entire body. Those who read and recite this sutra are borne and shouldered on the Tathagata’s shoulders and back.” Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners we must truly be mindful in learning the Buddha’s Way. We must have the Tathagata’s Samadhi and wisdom. In the world now, people are saying all kinds of things. Which path should we take? The Lotus Sutra teaches many skillful means. With so many skillful means, firmly upholding and using the correct skillful means is truly not easy at all. We are “shouldered on the Tathagata’s shoulders. Alas, sentient beings are always borne on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders, yet they are unaware of it.”

To carry on the back is to bear. To bear on the shoulders is to shoulder. This sutra is the Tathagata’s entire body. Those who read and recite this sutra are borne and shouldered on the Tathagata’s shoulders and back. Alas, sentient beings are always borne on the Tathagata’s back and shoulders, yet they are unaware of it.

We sentient beings are all upon the Tathagata’s shoulders, His back. He carries us on His back. This is such hard work, yet we have never understood this and are unaware of it.

So, I hope that everyone is very careful with their actions in the world. We cannot deviate even a little in the way we sound and look, in our appearance. If others are not understanding of us, the fault lies within our organization. So, I hope everyone will be mindful among people. When among people, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1211 – Do Not Slander Those Learning the Dharma

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>> Newly inspired practitioners read, recite, practice and uphold this sutra. Since they still have afflictions, if they are hindered by slander, they may abandon what they have learned and sever their Buddha-seeds. This transgression is very serious, as it causes people to lose their aspirations to uphold the Dharma-treasury.

>> Medicine King, if an evil person whose mind is unwholesome remains in the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa and constantly slanders Him, his transgression is still considered slight.

>> “If a man utters one vile word to slander lay or monastic practitioners who read or recite the Lotus Sutra, this man’s transgression is extremely severe.”

>> If a man utters one vile word to slander lay or monastic practitioners: He admonished all not to use harsh speech. Even one harsh sentence uttered against those upholding this sutra which causes them to suffer from afflictions is called “vile words,” whether against a lay practitioner, a good man or woman, or against a monks or a nun or against a novice or so on.

>> [If a man] slanders those who read and recite the Lotus Sutra, this man’s transgression is extremely severe: The fourfold assembly reads and recites the Lotus Sutra, but because of this slanderer, these practitioners’ spiritual aspirations are damaged and they retreat from the path. With these obstructions, the promotion of the Dharma and the path to practicing the. Right Dharma in this world are difficult. Therefore, this transgression is severe.

>> The newly inspired practitioners read and recite this sutra. Since they still have afflictions, if they are hindered by slander, they may abandon what they have learned and sever their Buddha-seeds. Thus, this transgression is very serious.

>> A person with an unwholesome mind can denounce the Buddha to His face for as long as one kalpa. This shows how serious his transgression is. Yet, it is still not as serious as the transgression of slandering, with a single word, the fourfold assembly which reads and recites this sutra.

>> The Buddha will not waver in the face of slander or abuse; neither slander nor abuse can do harm to the Buddha. But if one slanders or abuses those who read this sutra, one will do harm to both oneself and others. Just one word can hinder countless practitioners from attaining the merits of benefiting themselves and others.

>> Furthermore, this sutra is the Dharmakaya of all Buddhas of the Three Periods, the seed for the merits of attaining Buddhahood. Anyone who slanders this sutra or those who read this sutra in this way damages the seeds of all Buddhas’ merits and virtues. Thus he commits a more serious transgression than abusing the Buddha.

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“Newly inspired practitioners read, recite, practice and uphold this sutra.
Since they still have afflictions, if they are hindered by slander, they may abandon what they have learned and sever their Buddha-seeds.
This transgression is very serious, as it causes people to lose their aspirations to uphold the Dharma-treasury.”

We should know that the merits from upholding the sutras are great! Even with just a single verse or phrase, if you rejoice in it, deepen your understanding of the Dharma and share it with others, the merits coming from this are great. This is because spreading the Buddha-Dharma helps people get a clearer and better understanding of the principles, so they can understand the karmic law of cause and effect. This helps everyone retain the purity of their mind. Newly inspired practitioners take joy in listening to the Dharma. They read and recite [the sutras] and form aspirations to uphold the principles in the sutras. But there are also those who intentionally slander the Dharma. Those who have recently formed aspirations have still not eliminated all their afflictions.

In our spiritual practice, to completely eliminate all afflictions is already very difficult. Look at those who lived during the Buddha’s time and practiced alongside Him in His Sangha. Even they could not completely eliminate all their afflictions, let alone newly inspired practitioners who were accepting, reading and reciting the sutras. This is not to mention how, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, those who wish to accept and recite this sutra are faced with difficulty upon difficulty. This even more true for those who wish to listen to the Dharma but whose minds remain filled with afflictions.

If they hear someone slander the sutras, they have no way to explain [their meaning] to him. Although they know the principles, they are still not very well-versed in them. Thus, when they hear others say [these things], they begin to doubt the sutras. This puts up obstacles for them. It hinders them from forming aspirations to accept and uphold this sutra. They wish to listen and understand, but doubts arise in their minds. This hinders them. People’s slander cause them to have doubts and obstructions. When this happens, “they may abandon what they learn.” Those who wish to learn and listen to the Dharma may originally have been very diligent, but then they hear the Buddha-Dharma being slandered like this. It causes these spiritual practitioners, those who wished to diligently advance, to abandon the practice that they wanted to diligently learn.

Their diligence turns into indolence, and they lose all interest in the Dharma. Not only do they no longer care about it, they may follow others in having doubts. This severs their Buddha-seeds, [their seeds of future Buddha-hood]. So, we know that slandering the Buddha-Dharma truly is a serious transgression. We must mindfully seek to realize this. If we engage in slander, we influence the minds of spiritual practitioners, causing them to become lax and to lose their spiritual ambitions. We cause afflictions that hinder the minds of those wishing to engage in purifying practices. This is all because they are slandered for upholding the sutras. Originally, they wanted to form aspirations and make vows to promote the Buddha-Dharma and put the Dharma into practice, but upon hearing gossip and slander, the seeds of goodness they awakened, the Buddha-seeds within them, may become completely severed. Clearly, for us ordinary beings, spiritual practice is not easy!

[People set on] destroying the Buddha-Dharma, slandering Buddhist practitioners and bringing harm to the Dharma, people slandering the Buddha and [obstructing] the Buddha-Dharma, existed already in the era of the Buddha.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, He spent a period of time at the Jetavana Abode. At that time, He had 1250 disciples with Him. He accepted the invitation of King Prasenajit, who wanted to invite them to the palace to receive offerings. He also asked that after receiving offerings, the Buddha could teach the Dharma, so that more people could come to understand the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha accepted the invitation. Leading these 1250 people, He set out from the Jetavana Abode. Along the way, many citizens lined up outside their front doors. They very respectfully watched the Buddha enter the city. Everyone was very joyful. The sutra even describes how the eight classes of Dharma-protectors rejoiced in the king’s aspirations and the people’s reverence. The 1250 bhiksus formed a very grand and dignified procession. Everyone truly praised.

They were already close to the palace, and the king had led his ministers to line up outside. At that moment, someone suddenly scurried out from the crowd. It was a bhiksuni, or someone who looked like a bhiksuni. Her name was Bao Zhi. This bhiksuni Bao Zhi seemed to be pregnant. Her belly was very big. She came before the Buddha and, tugging on His robes, said to Him, “Buddha, You have made me pregnant! Yet, You care nothing about how I live! I will tell everyone of this, so that everyone will know.”

When everyone there, the king, the monastics and those who had gathered to watch the Buddha as He entered the palace as well as the eight classes of Dharma-protectors, saw what had happened all of a sudden, everyone started to talk amongst themselves. “How is this possible? It is impossible! The Buddha is honored by all in the Three Realms. The Buddha’s heart is purer than a crystal or a mani pearl. He is very pure, like a mani pearl, as pure as crystal without even the slightest blemish. So why is this? How could this happen? The wisdom of the Buddha surpasses even the light from the sun and moon. How could this happen?” Everyone animatedly discussed this there.

“The Buddha’s inner afflictions, the maras of afflictions, should all have been completely subdued. So how could His mind have given rise to such errant [behavior] so as to make a bhiksuni pregnant? This is so inconceivable that no one would dare believe it. Yet, the matter is right before us! How can this be explained?” During this time, the Buddha just smiled and remained silent. He merely raised His head and looked upward. Then suddenly, a mouse that had gotten in beneath the bhiksuni’s clothing chewed through the rope tied there, and something dropped out. It was a large wooden ladle.

In the past, to scoop up water, people would take wood and hollow it out to make a ladle. So, she had used this rounded wooden ladle and tied it against her stomach with a rope. When the mouse chewed through the rope, the wooden ladle fell out. Everyone clearly saw this.

The king became very angry. Everyone’s doubts were resolved but the king became angry and said, “As a bhiksuni, you have formed aspirations and removed yourself from the love of your family. Your mind should be pure. Monastics who follow the Buddha should praise the Buddha and protect the Dharma. Not only did you not praise the Buddha nor protect the Dharma, you even had the intent to slander the Buddha and obstruct the Buddha-Dharma. This is a transgression beyond pardon.” He then gave order to dig a hole and bury this bhiksuni upside down in the hole, with her head downward and her feet up. He wanted a deep hole dug in which to bury her alive upside down.

At that moment, the Buddha spoke, “King, rescind the sentence. You must not issue this order. Everything is due to causes and conditions. This is the right time to give a teaching to the assembly.” He then began to teach in front of everyone. He told of how, in a time countless kalpas before, a person had gathered treasures from the sea. He had obtained many pearls. After gathering these pearls, at the market, he was about to auction off these pearls, There was a woman who was carrying a washbasin. She wanted to buy them all.

As they were discussing the price, suddenly another man also came with a basin and said, “However many pearls you have and whatever your price, I will buy them all.” The merchant had just been bargaining a price with the other woman and had almost struck a deal when this other man suddenly came running in, saying, “I will pay any price you ask.” Thus he proceeded to buy all the pearls.

The woman was very angry. She was resentful and very jealous that someone had bought all the pearls like that and would be able to make a lot of money off them. Just due to a small difference in price, she had lost all those pearls and the chance to resell them for a profit. So, she was very jealous of the one who had bought all the pearls. She was both jealous and hateful. With hatred and jealousy in her heart, she said, “You snatched away my profit like this. No matter how many lifetimes into the future, I will never forget what you have done to me. I will never allow you to succeed in anything. Life after life, whenever you wish to accomplish anything, I will bring you afflictions.” This was her vow.

When the Buddha had told the story to this point, He turned to everyone and said, “King, everyone, the man who carried a basin, who bought all the pearls and then left arrogantly, was I in a past life. The woman with the other basin who was haggling over the price, who lost her chance and harbored jealousy and hatred, is now this bhiksuni here before you. This happened according to the law of karma. Over the course of many lifetimes. I have willingly accepted it. This is a matter of karmic cause and effect!” Everyone’s heart opened up in understanding. Since the Buddha Himself was willing to forgive, the king of course followed His instructions and refrained from carrying out the sentence.

Without further incidents, the Buddha entered the palace and accepted the offerings. After receiving offerings, He went on to teach the Dharma before everyone. He spoke of what we just talked about, how protecting the Dharma brings great merit and virtue, while slandering the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha brings severe karma. Take for example that bhiksuni. She created her own karma. “Although I have forgiven her, that karma she created herself is still [very serious]. Her future retributions and hindrances will still be severe.” The Buddha lamented sentient beings’ heavy karma. In [the bhiksuni’s] mind, since she had not resolved her thoughts of hatred and was unwilling to repent, that karma would always follow her. Even though the Buddha had forgiven her, she never repented. Although the Buddha told then and there of the causes and conditions of that past lifetime, He did not see that bhiksuni repent before the assembly. So, the Buddha followed the king into the palace. Thus, since she did not repent, her karma would continue to follow her.

As far as the Buddha was concerned, this did not influence Him in the least. Didn’t we just talk about this yesterday? If you slander the Buddha-Dharma, or even slander the Buddha Himself, it makes no difference to the Buddha. That is how pure and undefiled the Buddha is in His virtue. However, for ordinary people, like it says here, when someone slanders the Buddha-Dharma, newly inspired practitioners are influenced greatly. In the story I just told, if it had not been for the mouse who happened to be there…. This was a Dharma-protector. When [the Buddha] looked toward the sky, the eight classes of Dharma-protectors naturally came to help, manifesting as a mouse who bit through the rope. If the Buddha had not had Dharma-protectors, wouldn’t everyone have doubted Him?

As soon as doubts arise like this in people, they will lose their will to practice. Even monastics following the Buddha had doubts, so how much more so [those living] after He had entered Parinirvana? If someone with an unwholesome mind were to slander the Buddha-Dharma, how would those who wish to engage in spiritual practice not give rise to doubts? How would it not affect their will to practice? Only if our root of faith is deep and firm will we not lose our will to practice. At the start of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha kept telling us that our root of faith must be deep and firm. We also spoke in the past of how the Lotus Sutra must not be casually taught to any person. If we teach it to the wrong people, they will start to slander it. The sutra can only be taught according to the person, the time and the place. In a previous sutra passage, it continually spoke of how one must not teach casually. If one teaches casually, people will easily give rise to deviant understandings and deviant views causing them to slander [the Dharma].

We talked about this in the past. Now the sutra is speaking of those who are willing to accept the Dharma, form aspirations and accept, uphold and teach the Dharma. Even though they are willing to do this, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, if they hear slander from people in the world, these people who have recently formed aspirations will “abandon what they have learned.” While someone is learning, if they hear slander like this, their will to practice will be weakened or even lost. They become indolent and abandon [their practice]. This will sever their Buddha-seeds. Severing someone’s Buddha-seeds creates very severe karma.

“This transgression is very serious, as it causes people to lose their aspirations to uphold the Dharma-treasury.” This is because it completely severs [people’s will] to uphold the Dharma. For those who wish to listen to, teach and spread the Dharma, when they hear other people’s slander, if their will own to practice is not yet very deep and firm, their [aspirations] will naturally be cut off. Because they are severing the Dharma, those who slander create very severe karma. One who is newly inspired will in this way [easily] abandon the Dharma. Therefore, as we engage in spiritual practice, we need to strengthen our aspirations.

The previous sutra passage says,

Medicine King, if an evil person whose mind is unwholesome remains in the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa and constantly slanders Him, his transgression is still considered slight.

This is like in the story I just told. The Buddha had already transcended the Three Realms and was pure in mind and body, so His Buddha-virtue was not affected. However, for a newly inspired practitioner, the effect will be very significant.

The next [sutra] passage says,

“If a man utters one vile word to slander lay or monastic practitioners who read or recite the Lotus Sutra, this man’s transgression is extremely severe.”

This speaks of people who utter vile words, even a casual remark, and in this way influence spiritual practitioners. Whether lay practitioners or monastics, some wish to listen to the Great Vehicle Dharma, but this person’s casual remark destroys their aspiration for spiritual practice. Slander like this affects lay practitioners and monastics alike. Anyone wishing to engage in spiritual practice will be the target of this kind of slander. People slander [the Dharma] because they do not understand its principles and cannot differentiate true from false. Whatever they hear people say, they pass it on, causing both monastics and lay practitioners to be influenced by their slander.

This is why the Buddha admonishes us, [saying,] “You must not use harsh speech.”

If a man utters one vile word to slander lay or monastic practitioners: He admonished all not to use harsh speech. Even one harsh sentence uttered against those upholding this sutra which causes them to suffer from afflictions is called “vile words,” whether against a lay practitioner, a good man or woman, or against a monks or a nun or against a novice or so on.

A vile word can be even just one harsh phrase. You do not need to say much, as long as it is someone who accepts and upholds the Lotus Sutra, whether a lay or monastic practitioner. Even a casual remark, if one is not clear on the principles, can be slander in this way. It may be a single sentence “against those upholding this sutra.” With a single harsh remark, they slander a person upholding this sutra, “causing them to suffer from afflictions. Is there something wrong with reading this sutra? I teach the Dharma the Buddha taught, and pass it on for others. Is there something wrong with this? Why am I being slandered?” If we have not yet totally eliminated our afflictions and suffer other people’s slander, it brings us more afflictions.

So, “[This] is called ‘vile words.'” When those who slander cause afflictions for those who uphold the sutras, this is called ‘uttering vile words.’ As long as they cause afflictions for spiritual practitioners, then they are called harsh speech.

Even a casual remark, if it affects a spiritual practitioner’s mindset, is considered “vile words.” This is the same whether for lay practitioners, good men and women, Buddhist monks and nuns or people with only newly-formed aspirations, novices who have not yet received the precepts. Even a casual remark, if it causes the minds of those Buddhist practitioners, be they lay practitioners or monastics or those newly inspired, to become influenced, is called “vile words.” These people are intent on reading and reciting the Lotus Sutra. As was said previously, whether they are lay or monastic practitioners who have formed aspirations to read and recite the Lotus Sutra, if one were to slander them with vile words, then one’s transgression would be truly severe.

[If a man] slanders those who read and recite the Lotus Sutra, this man’s transgression is extremely severe: The fourfold assembly reads and recites the Lotus Sutra, but because of this slanderer, these practitioners’ spiritual aspirations are damaged and they retreat from the path. With these obstructions, the promotion of the Dharma and the path to practicing the. Right Dharma in this world are difficult. Therefore, this transgression is severe.

In this way, the fourfold assembly that reads the Lotus Sutra may, because of slander, have their spiritual aspirations damaged and lose their will to practice. Those wishing to put the Dharma into practice and walk the Bodhisattva-path may also retreat in their aspirations. Obstructions like these hinder their cultivation of the Buddha-Dharma as well as their putting it into practice. For example, while I was recently traveling around Taiwan, I heard more than a few people saying, “People are saying that. Tzu Chi has a lot of money.” Some commissioners told me, “Is this true? When we go to our donating members’ homes, our members keep saying this. Do we still need to keep visiting our members to collect donations? Can’t we stop now?” Quite a few people were saying this! On this trip, I also heard the commissioners traveling with me say these kinds of things as they were chatting. I heard them with my own ears.

Even commissioners who have followed me for decades, due to just a slight gust of ignorance, have been influenced [like this]. Think about it, even those walking the Bodhisattva-path have been affected in this way. Actually, when we go to visit donating members, it is not merely to collect money. It is to guide them in their spiritual aspirations. We need to show them that, as commissioners, we are Tzu Chi volunteers who understand Tzu Chi’s work. When we arrive at their homes, we must be able to chat with them, telling them about what Tzu Chi is doing in the community now, of the activities we are holding in society and, internationally, tell of natural disasters and man-made calamities where Tzu Chi is engaged in relief efforts. Tzu Chi volunteers take all this news and pass it on to members in their homes, to help them take this Dharma and these good deeds to heart. This way their spiritual aspirations, their love and their desire to benefit others can remain uninterrupted. This is the real reason.

However, if our will to practice is affected, in our Bodhisattva practice, we will be hindered in our actions. If we bring about obstacles for ourselves, think about it, how are we to then spread the Buddha-Dharma? We have been obstructed in spreading the teachings because our spiritual aspirations have been affected. Our aspirations are already damaged; we have already lost our spiritual aspirations. When practitioners’ will to practice is hindered, “The promotion of the Dharma and the path to practicing the Right Dharma in this world are difficult.”

In this world, practicing the Right Dharma is very difficult. With the Buddha-Dharma, we pave the path with love. We keep paving it like this, but the slightest gust of ignorance, a wind of ignorance coming out of nowhere, can affect it. Think about it, living in the world, is it difficult to practice the Right Dharma? We pave the path with love, extending our compassion with awakened love paving the Bodhisattva-path. We hope that in this way everyone will develop awakened love, that they will exercise the love in their hearts. Walking on this path, we have already been confronted with such slander, so if you think about it, isn’t our path through this world full of dangers? Previously in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, we were already told that the path through this world is treacherous. Thus, transmitting the Buddha-Dharma can be very difficult indeed!

So, The newly inspired practitioners read and recite this sutra. Since they still have afflictions, if they are hindered by slander, they may abandon what they have learned and sever their Buddha-seeds. Thus, this transgression is very serious.

Even those who had been following the Buddha for 40 or 50 years still retained a slight measure of afflictions, let alone those who, now that the Buddha has entered Parinirvana, have just begun to form aspirations. Listening to the Buddha-Dharma, they give rise to a wish to read and recite, to listen and understand. People like these clearly have yet to eliminate their afflictions, so upon hearing these gusts of ignorance they give rise to obstructions in their minds. This is because they have so many afflictions.

So, “if they are hindered by slander….” People like this already have afflictions, then on top of that they hear this kind of slander. When something unfounded, not based in fact, is passed on like this, that is slander. When these groundless statements are passed on, they obstruct people and make them give rise to discursive thoughts. These are all hindrances. So, “They may abandon what they have learned.” They abandon everything they have learned “and sever their Buddha-seeds. Thus, this transgression is very serious.”

For a long time, if [a person] keeps spreading it “for as long as one kalpa,” for such a long time, “this shows how serious his transgression is.”

A person with an unwholesome mind can denounce the Buddha to His face for as long as one kalpa. This shows how serious his transgression is. Yet, it is still not as serious as the transgression of slandering, with a single word, the fourfold assembly which reads and recites this sutra.

“Yet it is still not as serious as the transgression of slandering, with a single word, the fourfold assembly which reads and recites this sutra.” Causing these people, these fourfold disciples, the two groups of lay practitioners and the two groups of monastics, to be affected in this way in the slightest is a very serious transgression. When people talk, pass on what they hear and affect the spiritual aspirations of others, then this is a serious transgression. This may go on for a long time. When something is in the past, one should hasten to repent. But some not only do not repent, they go on to think up all methods they can in order to destroy the Path, to destroy the Bodhisattva teachings. Such transgressions are truly very severe. When this kind of slander starts spreading, it truly causes people many afflictions.

“The Buddha will not waver in the face of slander or abuse.” When it comes to the Buddha-Dharma itself, it is actually not affected in the least. The true principles are eternally the true principles. [Slander] does not effect them in the least.

The Buddha will not waver in the face of slander or abuse; neither slander nor abuse can do harm to the Buddha. But if one slanders or abuses those who read this sutra, one will do harm to both oneself and others. Just one word can hinder countless practitioners from attaining the merits of benefiting themselves and others.

So, “Neither slander nor abuse can do harm to the Buddha.” Slander and abuse can harm neither the Buddha nor the Buddha-Dharma. “If one slanders and abuses those who read this sutra,” one does harm to both oneself and others. When we do not know whether something is true and merely repeat what we have heard from others, it can harm those who read and recite this sutra. Those who read and recite the sutras have not eliminated their afflictions. When they are harmed, naturally those who harm others also harm themselves first. When they harm others and make them lose their spiritual aspirations, it also serves to agitate their minds, causing many afflictions to arise in them.

“Just one word can hinder countless practitioners from attaining the merits of benefitting themselves and others.” Slander like this, even one phrase, can obstruct others. It can hinder many people who wish to learn the Dharma and to walk the Bodhisattva-path by going among people and benefitting themselves and others. If people who wish to advance become affected by these rumors, it can hinder them so that they no longer progress in developing merits and virtues. The development of their internal cultivation and external practice will simply stop. This “hinders countless practitioners,” hinders many who wish to form aspirations so that they no longer advance in the merits of benefiting themselves and others.

“Furthermore, this sutra is the. Dharmakaya of all Buddhas of the Three Periods, the seed for the merits of attaining Buddhahood.” Anyone who slanders this sutra or those who read this sutra in this way damages the seeds of all Buddhas’ merits and virtues. Thus he commits a more serious transgression than abusing the Buddha.

Furthermore, this sutra is the. Dharmakaya of all Buddhas of the Three Periods, the seed for the merits of attaining Buddhahood. Transmitting this sutra to later generations will purify people’s minds and allow the Buddha-Dharma to remain forever in the world. It is a sutra for the past, the present and the future.

We also spoke yesterday of how those who come to the world journeying on the Dharma of True Suchness to safeguard the Buddha-Dharma are emissaries of the Tathagata, people who have been dispatched by the Tathagata. These people should be firm in their faith, yet they become obstructed. Even emissaries of the Tathagata, those dispatched by the Tathagata to promote the Buddha-Dharma in the world, can be greatly influenced. Think about it; those who slander this sutra truly commit severe transgressions.

[Slandering] “those who read this sutra, in this way damages the seeds of all the Buddha’s merits and virtues.” Slandering this sutra and those who read this sutra both severs people’s seeds of Buddhahood and harms the transmission of the Buddha-Dharma in the world. When the spiritual aspirations of spiritual practitioners are damaged, they will not pass on the Dharma. “Thus he commits a more serious transgression than abusing the Buddha.” This transgression is truly severe, even more severe than that of reviling the Buddha. When people reviled the Buddha to His face, He took it in stride and explained the past karmic causes and conditions [leading to] this retribution. Nevertheless, those who might have been forming aspirations toward spiritual practice, who were already thinking of leaving their families to become monastics and practice within the Sangha, may have been made to reconsider. What if, in the Buddha’s era, the Buddha had not had the virtue which allowed Him to have such Dharma-protectors who manifested as a mouse that bit through the rope? Think about it; would it still have been possible for the Dharma to be passed down?

We often say, “The lion’s parasites eat the lion’s flesh.” Those who slander and harm the Buddha-Dharma, those who want to destroy the practice of the Bodhisattva-path, may not necessarily be outsiders. People within the religion can also damage the Dharma. The methods each person practices are different. Even a causal remark can influence those upon the Bodhisattva-path.

I remember a period of time back when people would keep saying, “Oh! You only cultivate blessings but not wisdom!” Many commissioners also started to think, “We are only cultivating blessings in Tzu Chi, not wisdom. We should hurry and seek wisdom so we can put an end to samsara!” This went on for a long time!

In summary, for the Buddha-Dharma, for the Great Vehicle Dharma, to remain in the world is by no means easy. It can only happen if those who form aspirations and make vows can hold on to their aspirations. Their will to practice and their faith must be firm as they practice along the Bodhisattva-path. Otherwise, it will be like what we talked about not long ago in the Chapter on the Conjured City; the world will be a treacherous place. For the Right Dharma to abide in the world is not easy. It requires those who form aspirations and make vows to be mindful. Thus, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1210 – What Comes of Praise For or Slander of the Buddha

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>> Those who harbor unwholesome and evil thoughts in their minds are committing slander against the Buddha. Since the Buddha had eliminated all delusions of ignorance until there were none remaining, by slandering or praising Him, they therefore receive either great positive or negative retributions. The offense of slandering those who uphold this sutra is even greater.

>> If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….

>> Then you should know that these people are emissaries of the Tathagata, who are dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out His work. This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people.

>> Medicine King, if an evil person, whose mind is unwholesome, remains in the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa and constantly slanders Him, his offense is still considered to be slight.

>> Those who slander or praise the Buddha obtain gains or losses for themselves. Since the Buddha has eliminated all delusions and is unwavering before slander or praise, this causes no harm to the Buddha. The offenses or blessings of praising or slandering the Buddha are truly considerable, yet the harm or benefit falls to the one who acted. Therefore, it says “slight.” Praising those who uphold this sutra also benefits oneself, it does not benefit the Buddha. Slandering those who uphold this sutra also damages oneself. By slandering or praising those who uphold this sutra, one’s offenses or blessings are even more significant.

>> Medicine King: The Buddha, in order to carefully explain how the offense of slandering sages is greater than that of slandering a Buddha, first explained that the merits and virtues of upholding the sutra are many. Then, He revealed that the offenses of slandering the sutra are very severe.

>> Should an evil person, whose mind is unwholesome: Though one may be evil, one’s mind may not always be unwholesome. Suppose now there is an evil person with an unwholesome mind who slanders the Buddha to His face.

>> So, “Those with an unwholesome mind are driven by deviant views. In pursuit of recognition and advantage, they despise noble beings and sages, and constantly slander the Buddha. Among unwholesome offenses, there are none greater than these.”

>> In the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa: This person had gone through long kalpas for many lifetimes until presently encountering the Buddha in this world and appearing before Him.

>> If he constantly slanders the Buddha, his offense is still considered to be slight: If one constantly harbors evil thoughts and slanders the Buddha to His face, his offense is indeed not slight. Saying that it is still considered slight is to show that the retribution for slandering those who uphold the sutra is extremely severe.

>> His offense is still considered to be slight: The Buddha had eliminated all delusion, treating friends and foes equally. Evil cannot intimidate Him, so how could this hinder Him? This neither harms nor benefits the Buddha, so it says “considered to be slight.”

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“Those who harbor unwholesome and evil thoughts in their minds are committing slander against the Buddha.
Since the Buddha had eliminated all delusions of ignorance
until there were none remaining,
by slandering or praising Him,
they therefore receive either great positive or negative retributions. The offense of slandering those who uphold this sutra
is even greater.”

Be mindful in listening, mindful in trying to understand. Ordinary people did not believe in the Buddha. In addition, their minds were unwholesome. Harboring thoughts of evil, they thought of every way possible to slander the Buddha. Slandering someone means to disparage them. Not knowing the truth of matters, they merely disparage for the sake of disparaging. This is called slander. Some listen to what others say, then begin spreading it themselves. Not knowing its truth or falsity, they merely repeat what others say. By passing it on like this, they disparage the Buddha-Dharma.

They did not believe. Without even hearing His message, they simply followed others in the way they slandered the Buddha. But, when it came to the Buddha, He had already long since “eliminated all delusions of ignorance.” The Buddha had cultivated Himself to a point where all human dust-like delusions of ignorance, had been long since swept away. His mind was already pure and undefiled. So, since He was totally without thoughts of delusion or ignorance, what was there in the world that could possibly harm the Buddha? It was of no concern to the Buddha.

But, “by slandering or praising Him, they therefore receive either great positive or negative retributions.” For the Buddha, your praise of Him did not add anything for Him. If you disparaged Him, He was not diminished in any way, for His virtue was already one with the universe. For Him, it was neither a gain nor a loss. This was how it was for the Buddha. However, an unenlightened mind may harbor unwholesome thoughts. It may harbor evil intent. To intentionally slander the Buddha like this is a great transgression. There are also those who believed in the Buddha, who greatly respected the Buddha, who praised the Buddha, who practiced according to its teachings. Their merit and virtue was very great.

So, it says, “The offense of slandering those who uphold this sutra is even greater [than slandering the Buddha Himself].” If you slander the Buddha, it does not really affect Him, but from the viewpoint of someone who is trying to uphold this sutra, if the one who upholds the sutra is slandered, and he only has just formed aspirations to listen to the Dharma, if you disparage someone like this, you will make it hard for him. Even if he is determined in spiritual ambition, if he hears someone disparaging him, his mind may retreat. He may be determined at the outset, but if he is disparaged by people like this, his determined spiritual ambition may fade. Furthermore, if those who have formed aspirations, who listen to the Dharma, who teach and spread the Dharma are disparaged like this, then others who originally may have been ready to accept it, upon hearing disparagement like this, may naturally come to feel, “Though the Buddha-Dharma you teach is great, others have different opinions regarding it.” In this way their confidence will retreat.

When an ordinary person’s confidence is destroyed like this, it affects his spiritual ambitions, making it impossible for the Buddha-Dharma to circulate in the world. So it says that disparaging the Buddha-Dharma, slandering the Buddha-Dharma, is severe negative karma indeed! In fact, it does not affect the Buddha, but it does harm those who are trying to spread the Dharma and uphold the sutra. Then, for the Dharma to circulate in the world, there will be severe and difficult obstacles. It causes the Buddha-Dharma to gradually disappear from the world.

We should know that as Buddhist practitioners, we must be determined. No matter what we hear, or how we may be slandered, we should have determined confidence to continue to persevere. Although an ordinary person may be influenced, those upholding the sutra and spreading the Dharma should be confident in themselves. We should be like the Buddha and rid ourselves of ignorance, not be concerned with right or wrong or with gain or loss. Then we naturally will not be influenced by slander like this. For those whose spiritual aspirations are not yet firmly set, even those who uphold the sutra and spread the Dharma may be influenced. Those who listen to the Dharma, who have only just formed aspirations may be especially influenced. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be determined.

This is like the many who listen to the sutra now. On my last trip around Taiwan, there were many who told me, “Thank you Master! After hearing your lectures on the sutra, our minds have become very determined. We can get rid of many of our mind’s afflictions. We can understand so many things. Thank you Master! Our state of mind after listening to the Buddha-Dharma is different.” I joyfully asked them, “Do you really listen every day? Yes we do!” All answered in unison by saying, “Yes, we always listen every day.”

As I went south to Pingtung and Kaohsiung, everywhere I went, I saw people taking notes every day so that the Dharma would not leak away. I felt their spiritual determination. Sometimes they are slandered or disparaged by those who do not understand the principles, by those who do not know the true from the false. They merely spread what others say. They do not understand the Buddha-Dharma, so they slander it. Whether they do this intentionally or because they do not understand, it may not affect those already determined in their spiritual ambitions. But for those not yet determined, or who have only just formed aspirations, it will inevitably affect them. If it continues like this, then the Buddha-Dharma will truly be harmed. If you are determined in your will to practice, then it will not affect you. Being determined in our practice is our way of spreading the Buddha-Dharma. This depends on our minds on our firm spiritual aspirations.

See how those who are determined in practice, who are determined to benefit others, will go near or far to help them. Many days ago, it should have been back in June (2016), Tzu Chi volunteers in the Philippines went to the island of Bohol to hold a free clinic. In Bohol, (back in 2013,) one week before the arrival of Typhoon Haiyen, there was an earthquake. It was a large and destructive earthquake that leveled most of the island of Bohol. Even the churches there were all leveled. Tzu Chi volunteers in the Philippines, after waiting until the roads were passable and for planes to be able to arrive, arrived there almost nearly 10 days later. They arrived 10 days after the disaster happened.

Upon seeing that land and seeing those people, so pitiable and in so much pain, the hearts of those volunteers went out to them and they began distributing aid relief. However, as soon as they had begun, the city of Tacloban was nearly wiped out by Typhoon Haiyan. Originally, they had planned to focus all of their efforts upon Bohol; people had first been sent there and when they returned they reported what they saw. But then Typhoon Haiyan occurred, so the efforts of many were needed. Thus they quickly gathered together in Tacloban to open up the rescue efforts.

Similarly, the strength of Tzu Chi volunteers from all over the world was also focused in that place, in Leyte Province, in the city of Tacloban. So, much of our strength was sent there. Those who cared for the people of Bohol continued caring for them. They left a small contingent there to lead those who remained on Bohol.

Similarly, we sent a small portion of our prefab houses and classrooms there, but our strength there was weaker. Most of our strength was focused in Leyte Province, in Tacloban and in the city of Ormoc. This is because those cities were larger. They were larger cities with bigger populations, and the destruction there was the same. It was mostly in Tacloban and Ormoc that the typhoon had wreaked the most destruction, so we were urgently needed there.

Bohol Island is smaller, with a smaller population. During the earthquake, there were houses that collapsed there, so it was a great disaster there too, but because the population is smaller, we distributed less of our strength there. Nevertheless, we have been there for a long time, working closely with the people. To get from Manila to Bohol, after the flight there, there is still a long journey by car, so it is not easy getting there, but until now we have not stopped.

Knowing there have been many disasters and that the transportation there is inconvenient, they began holding free clinics. This year they held another large-scale clinic. Some people there lived in very rural areas. When our free clinic team arrived with lots of medical equipment, they borrowed the local cultural center that was located inside the city to hold their clinic there. However, as they were setting up, they suddenly discovered that behind the center, there was a group of people already there were making their beds on the ground and sleeping there.

They made some inquiries, and it turned out that this group had come from a village in a mountain region almost several hundred kilometers away. To carry their belongings, they had rented a truck together and walked down behind it from the mountain until they had come to that village. Arriving with the truck they had rented together had been difficult, and had taken many hours, and they had to walk, and pass the night there. Some among them could not see and there were others who were sick, sick with many different illnesses. So, they had arrived there and were waiting there like that.

When the doctors arrived, and the Tzu Chi volunteers arrived, their hearts went out to them! How could there be so many who could not see among them? Upon examination, it turned out they had cataracts. This is a simple [operation]! This is a common [ailment] that in Taiwan can be fixed with a simple operation. Since they did not have any doctors or money there, they delayed until they had become totally blind. This time, the free clinic team from Manila helped so many of those among that large group. There were several hundred who were saved.

That large group of people was determined to uphold the Bodhisattva-path. They are Bodhisattvas of the Tzu Chi organization. For many years, they remain steady and unaffected. Even when they are praised, their minds always remain steady. Or, if they are ever disparaged, still their minds never waver. The only thing they know is that there are suffering people who need their strength and their help. Every time they go to help others, there are so many who are helped. It is with this in mind that they never allow their minds to become influenced by either praise or slander. Neither do they allow any other power to influence their minds. For a long time now, they have been going to such faraway places, whether by airplane, by boat or by car, and it is never easy. This is their great, direct Bodhi-path and as far as they are concerned, they will never let anything influence it. This is the Bodhisattva-path!

Others intentionally slander it with ill intent, but for those who are upon the Path, it will not affect them. They just practice the Bodhisattva-path as usual. With this kind of Buddha-Dharma, they can be very stable as they benefit the world. Many suffering people can be saved. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be determined in our spiritual ambitions so that we can benefit other people. We should never be concerned with gain or loss, but be just like the Buddha who totally eliminated all of His dust-like delusions and ignorance. No matter how He was disparaged, He never let it affect Him. As Buddhist practitioners, this is what we should learn from the Buddha, so that likewise, no matter how we are disparaged, we will not be affected by it. We can uphold our steady and determined love as we help other people, while never worrying about gain or loss. This is what it means to take the Dharma to heart, to practice the Bodhi-path. Then naturally, we will not deviate. So, we should be very mindful.

The previous sutra states that,

If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….

After the Buddha had entered Parinirvana, there would be people like this who, for even just a few people, or for even just a single person, could teach them privately, one on one. They would not do it in a public space, but just a few individuals or even to a single individual. These people found joy upon hearing the Lotus Sutra and thus they teach the Lotus Sutra to a few people. After the Buddha had entered Parinirvana, if there were any good men or women like this, who could earnestly uphold the sutra, even if just a single verse or phrase of it, who could faithfully accept it and put it into practice, and who were willing, for even just a few people, or for even just a single individual, to teach the Lotus Sutra in this way, then their merits and virtues will be great.

The text again says,

Then you should know that these people are emissaries of the Tathagata, who are dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out His work. This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people.

These were good men and women who, whether they were monastics or lay people, after hearing the Lotus Sutra, would joyfully accept and uphold it. Not only would they accept and uphold it, they similarly would teach it to others, in order to pass on the Dharma. Even if [they were to teach] just a few people, or if they were to teach many people, people like these would be emissaries of the Tathagata, those who were dispatched by the Tathagata. For instance, when the Buddha was alive. He would call upon Sariputra, Subhuti or Purna Maitrayani-putra, telling them, “You are needed in such and such place. Go and transform the people there.” The Buddha even told Ananda, “Go Ananda! That poor woman has affinities with you. It is you who should go to transform her.” He was the emissary of the Tathagata, dispatched by the Tathagata. This was when the Buddha was in the world.

If, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, people continued to spread the Buddha’s teachings throughout the world, then they would be doing the Tathagata’s work. They would be emissaries of the Tathagata, as if dispatched by the Tathagata. We are those who carry out the Tathagata’s work, who’ve shouldered the Tathagata’s family business, who are doing the work of the Tathagata. Anyone who comes to the world while journeying upon True Suchness is called a Tathagata.

So, “This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people.” If teaching a single person or a few people is considered carrying out the Tathagata’s work, then how much more so for those who teach and spread the Dharma before larger assemblies; they are even greater emissaries of the Tathagata who have been dispatched by the Tathagata. They come to the world to practice the Dharma of True Suchness, so they too are emissaries of the Tathagata.

The following section again says,

Medicine King, if an evil person, whose mind is unwholesome, remains in the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa and constantly slanders Him, his offense is still considered to be slight.

When the Buddha was in the world, there were also people who would disparage Him. They would not only slander Him behind His back, but they would even come right in front of Him to revile and curse Him. There were those like this too! In the Buddha’s time, there were those in society too who tried to obstruct the Buddha, who came to revile and curse Him, who even tried to kill the Buddha. This is like the Buddha’s disciple Devadatta. He was like this. Furthermore, there were many non-Buddhist sects that also flourished during the Buddha’s time. They were quite powerful and tried to destroy the Buddha-Dharma as the Buddha-Dharma began to take root there.

The Buddha was originally a prince. As a prince who had engaged in spiritual practice, who had become enlightened and who used His wisdom to influence others, there were naturally many who believed in and respected the Buddha. This greatly threatened those other religions, so He was slandered, was hurt and was pressured through a variety of methods. Even while in the world, the Buddha encountered many unfavorable circumstances like this.

So, in this sutra, the Buddha says, “Medicine King, if an evil person, whose mind is unwholesome, remains for one kalpa….” One kalpa is a very long time. Over a very long time, while a Buddha is in the world or even after that Buddha has entered Parinirvana, if anyone “constantly slandered Him, his offense would still be considered slight.”

We just said that the Buddha Himself was never harmed. It didn’t affect Him either way. This is because the Buddha Himself understood the principles very well. Even if people slandered Him, it never influenced the Buddha at all. So, this did not matter to the Buddha, for there was no one the Buddha could not forgive. The Buddha always forgave sentient beings. Lifetime after lifetime, He came to the world to deliver and transform them whether they were good or evil. For good sentient beings, He helped them understand the principles. For evil sentient beings, He helped them abandon creating evil karma so they would not suffer in the Three Evil Destinies. This was the Buddha’s goal in coming to the world.

So, when an evil person would revile the Buddha, it was as if he were throwing dust into the wind; it would never reach the Buddha. It was as if they were throwing sand at the Buddha but they were throwing it against the wind. How could that sand ever reach the Buddha’s body? It could not. Because the Buddha never accepted the various influences of those other people, He was always able to forgive them. This is why it says, “His offense would still be considered slight.” The Buddha could never hate anyone, never become angry or retaliate. He was ever-forgiving, was able to step back to see the bigger picture. This is what we should be learning.

So, “those who slander or praise the Buddha” only “obtain gains or losses for themselves.” The only ones who suffered losses were those doing the slandering, the ones slandering the Buddha-Dharma, inciting quarrels and spreading rumors. The losses were theirs, not the Buddha’s. It never ever influenced the Buddha. This is because. “The Buddha had eliminated all delusions.” He had no real afflictions over loss or gain, so He remained unmoved in the face of slander. No matter what happens, it “causes no harm to the Buddha.” It never harmed the Buddha.

Those who slander or praise the Buddha obtain gains or losses for themselves. Since the Buddha has eliminated all delusions and is unwavering before slander or praise, this causes no harm to the Buddha. The offenses or blessings of praising or slandering the Buddha are truly considerable, yet the harm or benefit falls to the one who acted. Therefore, it says “slight.” Praising those who uphold this sutra also benefits oneself, it does not benefit the Buddha. Slandering those who uphold this sutra also damages oneself. By slandering or praising those who uphold this sutra, one’s offenses or blessings are even more significant.

So, “The offenses or blessings of praising or slandering the Buddha are truly considerable.” Only the person who slanders or praises the Buddha is affected by the resulting offenses or blessings. If you slander the Buddha, then this is an offense. It means that your mind harbors unwholesomeness, that you are harboring evil thoughts, and evil thoughts are what destroy the principles. If we destroy the principles, then the world will be without principles. The world will be in chaos. So, this is a very severe offense. Of course, if we praise the Buddha, help everyone hear the Buddha-Dharma and know the Buddha is the Great Enlightened One, the Great Compassionate One, they begin to understand that having faith in the Buddha can increase blessings and wisdom. If everyone willingly listens to the Buddha-Dharma and comes to understand the principles, the world will naturally be harmonious. It will be extremely harmonious. This is what will happen in the world; the world will then become harmonious.

The consequences of harming or praising the Buddha fall upon the person harming or praising. Their transgressions or blessings will be severe. Are we ourselves praising, or are we harming? Whether we benefit or suffer harm [depends upon] whether we praise or harm the Buddha with a wholesome or an evil mind. A wholesome mind brings blessings, while an evil mind brings transgression. So, for the Buddha Himself it is slight but for sentient beings it is severe. The transgressions and blessings can be significant.

“Praising those who uphold this sutra.” Praising those who uphold this sutra “only benefits oneself.” It is not as if by your praising the Buddha you increase the Buddha’s blessings in any way. You do not. The Buddha attained His own blessings, through His own spiritual practice. It is not like He only gains blessings by your praising Him. No, He cultivates His own blessings. When you praise the Buddha, you naturally influence a lot of people so that they come to believe in the Buddha, so that they come to learn from the Buddha. The merit and virtue from this is your own; it has nothing to do with the Buddha.

It may help the Buddha-Dharma to flourish, but it does not affect the Buddha Himself. It makes no difference to the Buddha. So, “Slandering those who uphold this sutra only damages oneself.” By destroying the Buddha-Dharma, by destroying it with evil intent, others who do not understand follow suit in condemning it. If this happens, it will cause damage. “By slandering or praising those who uphold this sutra, one’s offenses or blessings are even more severe.” If you disparage or praise those who are upholding this sutra, your transgressions or blessings will be great. If we praise those who uphold the sutra, it will make them joyful. Then, in their faith in the Buddha, in their learning from the Buddha, in their spreading and teaching of the Dharma, they will gain confidence. They will be even more mindful while they are out in the world spreading the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma will then flourish in the world. By praising them like this, we too are gaining blessings.

If we disparage them, it will diminish their confidence. They may encounter all kinds of obstacles and they may stop spreading the Dharma to the benefit of sentient beings. Then the Buddha-Dharma may gradually disappear in the world. If this happens, those who disparage will also have [bad] karma. Their negative karma will be severe, even more severe than from slandering the Buddha Himself. Because when you slander the Buddha, He will always forgive you but when you slander someone who upholds the sutra, then naturally it will influence them. The Buddha-Dharma will be greatly influenced. So, we must be very careful not to harm those who spread the Dharma.

So, the Buddha said, “Medicine King.” Again He called to Medicine King. He did this to carefully call everyone to attention. This is why He again called out to Medicine King.

Medicine King: The Buddha, in order to carefully explain how the offense of slandering sages is greater than that of slandering a Buddha, first explained that the merits and virtues of upholding the sutra are many. Then, He revealed that the offenses of slandering the sutra are very severe.

The Buddha’s compassion was such that. He carefully explained how those who slander anyone upholding the sutras create negative karma. The Buddha then went on to explain “the offense of slandering sages.” Sages uphold the sutras, they spread the Buddha-Dharma. Slandering them is an even greater transgression than reviling the Buddha. Because above, we had already explained before how, “the merits and virtues of upholding the sutra are many.” Now below it will tell of the extreme negative retribution that comes from slandering the sutras. This is what it will speak of in the following passage(s).

So, “Should an evil person, whose mind is unwholesome.”

Should an evil person, whose mind is unwholesome: Though one may be evil, one’s mind may not always be unwholesome. Suppose now there is an evil person with an unwholesome mind who slanders the Buddha to His face.

“Though one may be evil.” A person may [sometimes] be evil, but his “mind may not always be unwholesome.” When this evil person hears [the Buddha-Dharma], they may say they take no joy in listening to it, and then they begin to slander it. This is saying that people like this are not originally evil. They may ordinarily do good deeds and may normally be good people, but not all good people have necessarily become willing to have faith in the Buddha. They may not want to believe, but they are still good people. They are just not ready to believe. They may even hinder those in their families, or hinder their friends from believing in the Buddha-Dharma.

There are those like this in the world, more than few. Can you call them evil people? No, they are just ordinary. They are also good people, but when it comes to the Buddha-Dharma, they do not want to believe in it. They are somehow always ill-disposed towards the Buddha-Dharma. With people like these, their “minds may not always be unwholesome.” Their minds are not always unwholesome, but this is the way they are when it comes to the Buddha-Dharma.

But now it says, “Suppose there is now an evil person with an unwholesome mind who slanders the Buddha to His face.” When someone like this sees the Buddha, it brings him no joy. This is just like that poor old woman. She knew the suffering of her own poverty, yet she took no joy upon seeing the Buddha. However, seeing Ananda filled her with respect. This was her karma. Without the right affinities, people will want to disparage others. They give rise to evil thoughts, not good ones. They have no good intentions and sometimes even revile the Buddha to His face.

So, “Those with an unwholesome mind are driven by deviant views. In pursuit of recognition and advantage, they despise noble beings and sages, and constantly slander the Buddha. Among unwholesome offenses, there are none greater than these.”

So, “Those with an unwholesome mind are driven by deviant views. In pursuit of recognition and advantage, they despise noble beings and sages, and constantly slander the Buddha. Among unwholesome offenses, there are none greater than these.”

People like these, the ill-intentioned, give rise to deviant perspectives when it comes to the Buddha-Dharma. Then their minds become driven by them, become obsessed with them. It is not that they are bad people, they are just prejudiced toward the Buddha-Dharma, perhaps driven and biased toward recognition and advantage. Because the convictions they hold are different from our own, they continually wish to elevate what they believe above all others, so they wish to suppress the Buddha-Dharma and this is why they slander it. So, “in pursuit of recognition and advantage” and wishing to elevate themselves for their own sake, this of course is what they do. Others will say, “I know all about the Dharma. What I have to say about it is correct. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” There are people like this as well! If people on the same path engage in mutual criticism amongst themselves like this, then what of criticism from non-Buddhist sects? It is always about recognition and advantage. “Pursue” means to move in the direction of. Their direction is of recognition and advantage.

So, they “despise noble beings and sages.” They look down upon noble beings and sages, and “constantly slander the Buddha.” They criticize the Buddha-Dharma and constantly slander the Buddha. “Among unwholesome offenses, there are none greater than these.” They are ill-intentioned toward the Buddha-Dharma, only thinking to themselves, “Your teachings are wrong; only mine are right.” This is also how slander arises. Some are of different religions, while others have no faith at all. Others, like us, are upon the same path, yet, biased toward their [own views], they of course disparage others. There are all kinds of attitudes. Thus, we must be very mindful so that our minds not become biased.

“In the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa.”

In the presence of the Buddha for one kalpa: This person had gone through long kalpas for many lifetimes until presently encountering the Buddha in this world and appearing before Him.

A kalpa represents a long measure of time, a long time spent in the presence of a Buddha. A kalpa is so long it means that they will pass through many lifetimes like this; continually damaging the Buddha-Dharma, continually slandering the Buddha-Dharma. If they will disparage a Buddha to His face even while He is in the world, they do the same after a Buddha enters Parinirvana. They will disparage Him as well. Similarly, even after He has passed after the Buddha is gone, they will slander Him. If they will disparage a Buddha while the Buddha is in the world, then how much more so after He enters Parinirvana. They will slander Him then as well.

So, “If he constantly slanders the Buddha, his offense is still considered to be slight.”

If he constantly slanders the Buddha, his offense is still considered to be slight: If one constantly harbors evil thoughts and slanders the Buddha to His face, his offense is indeed not slight. Saying that it is still considered slight is to show that the retribution for slandering those who uphold the sutra is extremely severe.

The Buddha was always very forgiving. In the Lotus Sutra, He even bestowed predictions upon Devadatta. Evidently, no matter how he harmed Him, or how he reviled Him, as far as the Buddha was concerned, it had no influence on Him. So, it says, “his offense is still considered to be slight.”

“If one constantly harbors evil thoughts and slanders the Buddha to His face, his offense is indeed not slight.” The offense in fact is not slight, but as far as the Buddha is concerned it does not really matter to Him; it does not affect Him. Hence, “His offense is still considered to be slight.” However, in all honesty, it is not slight. Slandering the Buddha and the Dharma is the same as destroying the Buddha-Dharma in the world. This creates chaos in this world. This is not slight, but an extremely serious transgression.

“Saying that it is still considered slight is comparing it to the retribution for slandering those who uphold the sutra, [which] is extremely severe.” To the Buddha it is slight. To those who spread the Dharma and uphold the sutra, it is severe. This harms ordinary people. It injures them severely, so it is not a slight transgression. It is only slight to the Buddha, for the Buddha always forgives people. But if done to those who uphold the sutra, it can make them lose their spiritual aspirations.

“His offense is still considered to be slight.”

His offense is still considered to be slight: The Buddha had eliminated all delusion, treating friends and foes equally. Evil cannot intimidate Him, so how could this hinder Him? This neither harms nor benefits the Buddha, so it says “considered to be slight.”

“The Buddha had eliminated all delusion, treating friends and foes equally.” To Him there were no foes or friends. Everyone on earth was just like one family, so the Buddha never quarreled with anyone. “Evil cannot intimidate Him.” Evil can never oppress the Buddha, “So, how could this hinder Him?” It cannot hinder the Buddha. It does not harm the Buddha, just as if you praise the Buddha, it does not really benefit Him. However, disparaging others is truly a severe transgression, just as praising upholders of the Buddha-Dharma truly brings infinite merit and virtue. This is in regard to ordinary people.

In summary, the Dharma is in the world. We hope the world will always have the Buddha-Dharma. The principles are in the world and the world is eternally bound by them. When people’s minds are purified, then society will become harmonious and the world will be without disasters. As Buddhist practitioners, we should always be mindful not to harbor unwholesome thoughts or ill-will, or to ever malign the Buddha-Dharma. Disparaging the Buddha-Dharma influences those who are learning the Buddha’s Way and are forming aspirations, making it impossible for the Buddha-Dharma to remain in the world forever. This creates very severe negative karma. So, everyone let us always be mindful!

Episode 1209 – Spreading the Sutras as the Buddha’s Emissaries

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>> The Tathagata uses ultimate wisdom to completely see the truth of things. Those who uphold this sutra practice according to its teachings and understand, practice and uphold the principles. They carry out the Tathagata’s work. They are the emissaries of the Tathagata. The Buddha dispatched His emissaries to do His work on His behalf and spread and promote.

>> If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….

>> “Then you should know these people are emissaries of the Tathagata. They have been dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out His work. This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people.”

>> Then you should know that they are emissaries of the Tathagata: You should know that these people who teach the sutra are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata, emissaries who pass on the Lotus Sutra in the world.

>> Sutra: It is taught according to ultimate wisdom. It contains actual matters which accord with the truth of all things. So, this is called “ultimate wisdom.” The practitioners who now carry on such teachings and promote such principles are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata.

>> Dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out the Tathagata’s work: They are dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out the Tathagata’s work of transforming the world and teaching the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.

>> The Tathagata uses the wisdom of truth to thoroughly illuminate the principles of matters. Today’s practitioners follow such teachings to practice such principles. This is carrying out the Tathagata’s work. They are also emissaries of the Tathagata and on were entrusted Vulture Peak to do His work. They spread teachings on the Buddha’s behalf.

>> This is to say nothing of: Even more so. This means those who privately teach one person the meaning and principle of one line are considered emissaries of the Tathagata, dispatched to carry out His work. This is to say nothing of those who, before a multitude of humans and heavenly beings, expound the entire sutra to them.

>> This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people. When teaching privately to one person, the merits and virtues are extremely great. When widely teaching before multitudes of beings” the merits and virtues are even greater.

>> This Wondrous Lotus Sutra is the secret skillful means of great compassion of all Buddhas and Tathagatas. They use this to accommodate sentient beings, leading them to attain Buddhahood. Only Tathagatas can accomplish this. Only Tathagatas can teach this. So, we know that those who can teach one verse or one line of this sutra are all protected by the Tathagata’s power of universal, compassionate vows.

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“The Tathagata uses ultimate wisdom to
completely see the truth of things.
Those who uphold this sutra practice according to its teachings and understand, practice and uphold the principles.
They carry out the Tathagata’s work.
They are the emissaries of the Tathagata.
The Buddha dispatched His emissaries to do His work
on His behalf and spread and promote.”

We have understood that the Tathagata is the Great Enlightened One. The Buddha came to this world with “ultimate wisdom.” Using the ultimate wisdom of true principles, He completely saw the truth of things. The human world is full of ignorance. It is like being in a dark place or in a long night; even if we have eyes, we cannot see our surroundings. This is the state of unenlightened beings. With the darkness in our mind, we cannot see the true principles of things. But the Tathagata, the Great Enlightened One, used ultimate wisdom so the true principles of things were seen completely by the Great Enlightened One. All things in the world, including people, matters, objects, principles and so on, were thoroughly and clearly understood by Him.

The Buddha mindfully taught us. He repeatedly returns to the human world, hoping that He can teach sentient beings to break through the darkness in our minds so we can comprehend the principles of all things. This is the Buddha’s goal in coming to the world. But in terms of His life, it was the same as other people’s lives in the human world. All are subject to the laws of nature; His lifespan was limited. The Buddha already discovered the true principles and expounded them in the human world. Sadly, human minds are stubborn and ignorant, and are difficult to open. It is difficult for them to open their minds and understand His teachings. That was why the Buddha spent such a long time, more than 40 years, guiding and teaching according to their capabilities.

Though sentient beings understood the principles, life was still full of suffering! Suffering comes from contriving affinities. Suffering comes from us being careless and forming negative affinities with others, entangling us lifetime after lifetime. “I know all these principles, so I am afraid. I dare not come back to the human world. I hope to transcend the human realm and never return to the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms.” So, they were terrified of the human world. They sought only to benefit themselves and kept to the Small Vehicle Dharma.

The Buddha was already old, so He had to make a shift before it was too late. All they had heard and practiced before was eliminating ignorance. It was for their own sake. [Yet,] the most important way to thoroughly and truly eliminate ignorance is to train by going among people. We must withstand people, matters and objects. We must comprehend right and wrong amidst people, matters and objects. After we understand, we must find a way to remain firm. We should persist in doing the right thing until the end. We should immediately correct wrongdoings. This is what we can train ourselves to do by going among people.

Most importantly of all, everyone learns the Buddha’s Way in order to attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must form affinities with sentient beings and practice giving. This is the path that the Buddha paved for us when He came to this world. With wisdom and love, He paved this Bodhi-path to great enlightenment, the Bodhisattva-path for us to follow. Thus, He “opened and revealed [the Dharma]” hoping that we could “realize and enter it” and walk together on this path of great awakened love. This is why we must transmit the Dharma. The Chapter on Dharma Masters teaches that we must both uphold the sutras and transmit the Dharma. Upholding the sutras and spreading the Dharma was the Buddha’s original intent. [He hoped] that His Dharma-lineage would continue with His disciples. So, we must uphold the sutras.

We must “uphold this sutra and practice according to its teachings.” We should practice according to the teachings [to transmit] the Buddha’s original intent, the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra of the Great Vehicle, which He safeguarded. Dust-inked kalpas ago, in the time of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, at His place of practice, the 16 princes accepted the Dharma-lineage of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra of the Great Vehicle. Now, as the Buddha was in the world, the last thing He did to freely carry out. His original intent was to expound the Lotus Sutra. His hope was that everyone would pass down the Lotus Sutra. This is why I have been saying recently that even if we hear just one line or one verse of four lines, as long as we can take it in and give rise to joy from our hearts, the Buddha said this also brings merits and virtues. If people joyfully take in the Dharma and are able to share it with others, even if only a few people, the Buddha also praised them. These people took in the Dharma and spoke of it with joy.

Yet, the Buddha’s even greater hope was that we would read, recite, transcribe and expound it. We should read and recite long passages. We must earnestly transmit the Buddha’s teachings. This depends on our reading and reciting it; we must read and recite it. I notice that when we read and recite the sutras, many elderly Bodhisattvas [come to me and] say, “Master, I cannot read. I never went to school.” [I reply,] “Even though you cannot read and never went to school, how are you so amazing and are able to read the Earth Treasury Sutra? How are you able to read the Lotus Sutra? Master, this is why I am grateful. I just followed along with others; that’s all. While others were chanting the sutras, I learned to read the characters. Why do you want to learn and read the sutras? To have faith in the Buddha. To have faith in the Buddha, we must understand the Dharma; to understand the Dharma, I must read and recite. This is to truly have faith in the Buddha.”

Indeed, these elderly Bodhisattvas did not go to school, yet they could read the sutras; this is because of their faith. The sutras are so profound, and they could read and recite them. They did not understand the principles, which are quite deep, but they simply knew that reading the sutras brings merits and virtues and that reciting sutras brings them joy; that is all. Yet, they were so joyful. The Dharma is very difficult to understand, and they were able to read and recite it; this is because of their faith. Are there merits and virtues in doing this? For Bodhisattvas [like them] who read the sutras, while they may not understand the principles, they know to have faith in the Buddha and chant the sutras. “I must become vegetarian; I must be reverent. I must say good words; I must do good deeds.” These are the merits and virtues that come from reading and reciting sutras. This is to say nothing of those who can read and recite the Lotus Sutra and, by listening to its principles, can thoroughly understand it and are also willing to pass it on. Of course, these bring merits and virtues. The sutra is all about teaching us how to walk the Bodhisattva-path and enter the path of great awakened love. When sentient beings are suffering, Bodhisattvas cannot bear it, so they come to save and transform them. This is how the Lotus Sutra, the Dharma-lineage, is transmitted in the world.

So, “Those who uphold this sutra and practice according to its teachings” follow the teachings by “understanding, practicing and upholding the principles.” Those who uphold the sutra practice according to its teachings, according to the methods it contains. Having thus understood them, they put them into practice and act according to the principles. “[They] uphold this sutra and practice according to its teachings and understand, practice and uphold the principles.” This is so important! It is for this reason that they “carry out the Tathagata’s work. They are the emissaries of the Tathagata.” When we uphold any sutra, we practice according to the teachings, and we exercise both knowledge and understanding. This makes us emissaries of the Tathagata.

This is what the Buddha taught us [to do], so by following [His teachings], we understand the principles, put them into practice to become role models for the world. Those who speak and practice like this are, in the world, the models of the Dharma. Thus, they are the emissaries of the Tathagata and have taken on the Tathagata’s family business. This is what an emissary of the Tathagata does. “The Buddha dispatched His emissaries to do His work.” This was the Buddha’s charge; He told us, “Wherever you go, whatever you do from now on, these are the things you should say, and these are the meanings to pass down.” Those [who do this] are all called emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata. According to the Buddha’s teachings, this is the way we must practice.

So, they “do His work and spread and promote on His behalf.” On behalf of the Buddha, they continuously transmitted His Dharma-lineage. Therefore, we are truly grateful [to them]. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, many eminent monastics and sages worked to pass the teachings down to us. Of course, we must be even more grateful that, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, [Mahakasyapa] gathered an assembly to compile the sutras. With everything Ananda heard, the sutras were compiled, making it possible for future generations to follow the teachings and practice accordingly.

During the era of Right Dharma, the Buddha’s lifetime and almost 500 years after He entered Parinirvana, the Buddha-Dharma continued to flourish. There are people who engaged in spiritual practice and attained realizations; it was still the era of Right Dharma. However, gradually, after 500 years, the Buddha-Dharma began to change. It was not the Dharma that changed; the Dharma is forever unchanging. It is human minds which slowly became defiled by ignorance and desire, leaving only a semblance. The Buddha-Dharma was still in good shape, and the sutras still flourished. These all still remained. People also carved images of the Buddha, saying that this would bring merits and virtues. Everyone sought merits and virtues. They transcribed sutras to seek merits and virtues. They printed sutras to seek merits and virtues. Gradually, they did it with a goal in mind. They passed down this form and appearance. Although there were still spiritual practitioners, fewer and fewer of them attained realizations. While this form and semblance remained, those who truly realized and practiced the Dharma gradually became practitioners [in name only]. This is called “Dharma-semblance.”

After Dharma-semblance comes Dharma-degeneration. In the era of Dharma-degeneration, everything changes. Is the Buddha-Dharma fortunate now or not? In this modern era, it is very easy to access the sutras. Nowadays, many people are highly educated. Modern technology is very advanced in terms of electronic devices. Some have vowed to translate [the sutras] and publish them online. It is very easy to read sutras on the Internet. So, it is not hard. Before, if one sought even a single principle, one had to travel thousands of miles to seek a teacher, to seek the Dharma. People no longer have to do this. They can do so immediately with just one finger. So, because of this, people do not cherish the Dharma. They do not take the Dharma to heart. Even if they take it to heart, they only debate the meaning with clever words. All they do is say, “I understand a lot, I know a lot.” However, putting the teachings into action and having firm spiritual aspirations and faith is actually difficult for them. This is because they are unwilling to be trained. They are like water pipes. Water does not stay in a pipe; it is dry soon after the water has flowed through. This is a leak; it has leaked away.

This is like the era of Dharma-degeneration now. So, I truly hope people today can sustain their original aspiration. With it, no matter what kinds of difficulties we face, we will find a way to overcome them. Those who hold on to their aspirations are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata. They carry out His work, and they have firm spiritual aspirations. Both the form and substance are present; they live up to their name [as practitioners]. In this way, they spread and promote [teachings] on the Buddha’s behalf. So, they become monastic practitioners in order to understand the principles. Someone people say, “If you want to learn the principles, it is very easy to read the sutras nowadays. Why is it necessary to engage in practice [as monastics]? I can understand the principles just by reading.” Indeed, just by reading the principles, we understand the path of awakened love, but we have not stepped onto it!

Only with a monastic community can the Buddha-Dharma be perpetuated. There must be this kind of form, this kind of group, the Sangha. Otherwise, it would have been enough for the Buddha Himself to attain enlightenment. After that, He could have returned to His kingdom and taught His realizations as a king to his subjects. Wouldn’t this be very easy? However, after Siddhartha attained enlightenment, as the Great Enlightened One, the Buddha, He decided to establish the Sangha. The Sangha went door to door to ask for alms and help others understand what they are. The Sangha transmits the Dharma. The Dharma is taught according to the Buddha’s great enlightenment. So, it is only with a community like the Sangha that the Buddha-Dharma can be transmitted.

This is the same principle. “Those who uphold this sutra practice according to its teachings and understand, practice and uphold the principles.” The principles, which are like rules, must be applied to us ourselves and manifested in our organization. Only then are we truly able to transmit and uphold the Buddha-Dharma. This is “carrying out the Tathagata’s work.” So, becoming monastics and engaging in pure practices is what the Tathagata’s emissaries do. To easily carry out work in the world, some are Pure Practitioners. Similarly, when others see them, they know that these people are clearly free of familial ties and dedicated wholeheartedly to serving sentient beings and transmitting the Dharma. These are Pure Practitioners.

“The Buddha dispatched His emissaries to do His work and spread, promote and transform on His behalf.” This is a complete Buddhist organization. There are lay practitioners, Pure Practitioners and great beings who become monastics. Great beings are [Living] Bodhisattvas who have renounced the lay life. So, we need to pass on this Dharma-lineage. We must be mindful!

Just yesterday, in the Jing Si Hall, we held a graduation ceremony for the kindergarten, elementary, middle and high schools. It was a very dignified ceremony. The students from kindergarten were so polite and courteous; they lined up in such an orderly way. Their teachers mindfully trained and taught them. The kindergarteners had on their uniforms, and they brought their graduation caps before the teachers. They showed such respect and courtesy. When it was time for the kindergarteners to speak, a child said gratefully, “We knew nothing at all; now we are like little experts. Now we know all kinds of things.”

They are only in kindergarten! She said, “Now I know how to fold clothes. I can also help with the housework. Now I can be a good helper to my parents.” She said, “I am grateful for the teachers’ guidance. I am grateful for the Tzu Chi parents who look after me. I am also grateful for you, Grandmaster.” They were grateful for so many things. For such young children to say all these things was truly very touching.

Likewise, for the elementary and middle schoolers, everyone [wore uniforms]. Once we saw them, we could tell, “These are the elementary students; they are wearing the elementary-school uniform.” A boy in the fifth grade stood tall on a stack of [boxes] behind the podium. He stood at the same height as an 11th grade girl as they served as the emcees. He spoke with adult’s presence and clearly articulated every sentence. He was very clear and responded quickly.

The emcee from elementary school was very steady. The one from the 11th grade sent her heartfelt wishes to the graduates that day. The emcees really demonstrated the demeanor they were educated to have. This is what education can do. Can this school culture be maintained? This is the Dharma-lineage of education. We must continue this. So, we must be very mindful. I hope everyone can transmit this Dharma-lineage.

The previous sutra passage says,

If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….

The Buddha spoke of, “These good men and good women.” The Buddha had seven groups of disciples. There are five groups of monastics, who are completely pure in bodies and minds as they live in the Sangha. There are two groups of lay practitioners, male and female lay practitioners. When it came to accepting and upholding sutras, it goes without saying that the monastics were expected to do so, but the same applies to lay disciples as well. There were seven groups of disciples in total, who all shared the same responsibilities.

So, the Buddha said, “After I enter into Parinirvana, [if they] are able to privately explain to one person even just one line of the Lotus Sutra.” The Buddha said, “After I enter Parinirvana, everyone should uphold the Lotus Sutra. It is best for everyone to accept and uphold it, and spread and teach it widely.” We must transmit the Dharma-lineage, even if we teach just one line to others. In the Lotus Sutra, four lines form one verse. If they could transmit just a single line of very important Dharma, if they could do so, the Buddha would praise them. “Even just one line of the Lotus Sutra….” It is best to teach the whole thing. If they are willing to teach even a single line, the Buddha will give them a blessing.

So, the next sutra passage continues with,

“Then you should know these people are emissaries of the Tathagata. They have been dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out His work. This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people.”

By reading just one line or [teaching it] “privately” to one or two people, we already bring the Buddha great joy. He told us, “You should know that these people are emissaries of the Tathagata.” People like this have already accepted the Buddha-Dharma. After accepting the Buddha’s teachings, they go to share with others. Thus, they are the Tathagata’s emissaries. They “have been dispatched by the Tathagata.” They are the ones the Tathagata has sent. They “are carrying out the Tathagata’s work,” doing what the Tathagata wants to do. This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people.

Even if they teach just one person, the Buddha will be very happy and give them many praises. As long as they take the Dharma to heart and are willing to share it with others, even with one person, the Buddha will be very happy. So, it says, “Then you should know these people are emissaries of the Tathagata.” Those who are willing to share this sutra, the Lotus Sutra, are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata to spread and uphold the Lotus Sutra in the world. This is what makes the Buddha very happy.

Then you should know that they are emissaries of the Tathagata: You should know that these people who teach the sutra are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata, emissaries who pass on the Lotus Sutra in the world.

The sutra is “taught according to the ultimate wisdom.” To teach the sutra, we must experience the true principles. We must make this sutra ours, take it to heart and [connect it with] our nature of True Suchness.

Sutra: It is taught according to ultimate wisdom. It contains actual matters which accord with the truth of all things. So, this is called “ultimate wisdom.” The practitioners who now carry on such teachings and promote such principles are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata.

Didn’t the Buddha teach us that everyone intrinsically has the Buddha-nature and that everyone intrinsically has the Tathagata-nature? Everyone has wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. When listening to the Dharma, we must take it to heart and return to the Tathagata’s nature of wisdom, activate the Tathagata’s nature of wisdom in us. When we are able to return to this wisdom, we mindfully take the sutras to heart, activate our ultimate wisdom and share what we have understood. Once we have activated [our ultimate wisdom], we truly experience and understand it; our nature of True Suchness resonates with the Dharma. Then, when we teach this sutra, we teach it through what we have understood.

So, this is called “ultimate wisdom.” The practitioners who now carry on such teachings and promote such principles are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata. “It contains actual matters which accord with the truth of all things.” The Dharma they teach is already in accord with the true principles of all things. This sutra, taught over 2000 years ago, is what we must apply in this modern era to bring purity to people’s hearts. To do this, we must teach according to the times. So, we need “actual matters which accord with the truth of all things.” We must engage in Bodhisattva-practice on the path of awakened sentient beings. We cannot bear for sentient beings to suffer, so we get involved among people to help them. These are all actual matters. This is the Bodhisattva-path, actual matters. Because of this, we talk about “ultimate wisdom.” The sutra is expressed out of ultimate wisdom.

These are “the practitioners [now].” Now, as spiritual practitioners who walk the great awakened Bodhi-path, [we must] “carry on such teachings and promote such principles.” We need to carry on the teachings. This is our course [of action] to promote and spread the principles. They “are emissaries dispatched by the Tathagata,” the Tathagata’s emissaries.

They are “dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out the Tathagata’s work.” This means the Tathagata sent them. We follow the Buddha’s teachings. He told us to teach these teachings, so we follow what He said “to carry out the Tathagata’s work of transforming the world and teaching the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.”

Dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out the Tathagata’s work: They are dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out the Tathagata’s work of transforming the world and teaching the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.

We must go among people to transform sentient beings. Sentient beings are full of suffering and [covered by] thick layers of ignorance. We must work to use the Dharma, like water, to wash this away, layer by layer, so they can resonate with the Dharma and connect with True Suchness. This is our goal.

“The Tathagata uses the wisdom of truth to thoroughly illuminate the principles of matters.”

The Tathagata uses the wisdom of truth to thoroughly illuminate the principles of matters. Today’s practitioners follow such teachings to practice such principles, This is carrying out the Tathagata’s work. They are also emissaries of the Tathagata and on were entrusted Vulture Peak to do His work. They spread teachings on the Buddha’s behalf.

The Tathagata came to the world and applied His wisdom of truth. After He attained enlightenment, His wisdom of truth, the light of His wisdom, thoroughly illuminated the principles of all matters. He did this to help us understand that the principles are intangible and without substance but that tangible, conditioned things are formed according to these principles. Humans and animals have this kind of karma, so they take on their respective forms. Their good and bad [karma] leads them into the Six Realms, the Four Forms of Birth and so on. The Buddha analyzed the principles for us to help us understand. He used His wisdom of truth to thoroughly illuminate the principles of all things. These principles underlie all things, and [all] things are in line with the principles.

So, “Today’s practitioners follow such things to practice such principles.” Now we must carry on the Buddha’s teachings from over 2000 years ago. In this modern era, we spiritual practitioners must quickly enter onto the Bodhi-path of great awakening. We must walk this path by earnestly following these teachings and practicing such principles. Having been taught these things, we must put these teachings into practice and return to the principles. In our daily living, we must truly return to the principles. So, we are “carrying out the Tathagata’s work.” This is carrying out the Tathagata’s work. In our spiritual training ground, in our behavior, conduct and so on in our daily living, [as we deal with] people, matters and objects, if we always act according to the principles, then we are “carrying out the Tathagata’s work.”

In particular, it said, “They were also emissaries of the Tathagata who on Vulture Peak were entrusted to do His work. Vulture Peak” refers to where Sakyamuni Buddha [taught]. It can also refer to the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and the 16 princes. At that time, [the Buddha-Dharma] was also passed on in this way. Therefore, we are transmitting the Dharma-lineage entrusted [to us] by Sakyamuni Buddha more than 2000 years ago. We must earnestly put it into practice in this modern era. We must promote it on behalf of the Buddha. This was the Buddha’s original intent. We promote the Buddha’s original intent for Him. Actually, when we talk about the Buddha’s intent, we are talking about our intrinsic [nature]. Everyone innately possess the intrinsic nature of True Suchness, and to express it freely, we must take the principles we have experienced and spread them to help others understand.

This is to say nothing of those who enact [the principles].

This is to say nothing of: Even more so. This means those who privately teach one person the meaning and principle of one line are considered emissaries of the Tathagata, dispatched to carry out His work. This is to say nothing of those who, before a multitude of humans and heavenly beings, expound the entire sutra to them.

Fundamentally, the principles cannot be seen nor touched. Now, when we demonstrate them very clearly, we help others understand them also, not to mention if we can privately teach them. Even if we explain just one line to one person, the Buddha would praise us as being “emissaries of the Tathagata, dispatched to carry out His work.” This makes the Buddha very happy. He did not ask much of sentient beings, and he also knows that for us to comprehend the sutra entirely is not easy. As long as we, from a single line, truly and deeply experience the True Dharma and share it with others, the Buddha will be very happy. He called them “the Tathagata’s emissary,” those who are dispatched by the Tathagata to carry out His work. “This is to say nothing of those who, before a multitude of humans and heavenly beings,” are willing to expound the whole sutra; they have even greater merits and virtues!

At the beginning of the Chapter on Dharma Masters, the Buddha said, “Medicine King, have you seen the 80,000 great beings?” The 80,000 great beings were the eight classes of Dharma-protectors along with those from the human realm. They could do this, teach the entire sutra in this magnificent place. Teaching just a single line of it makes one an emissary of the Tathagata, to say nothing of expounding the teachings for all eight classes of Dharma-protectors to hear.

I am grateful that with modern technology, we can upload to the “cloud,” The Dharma I am teaching now can be spread to every country. Whether it is night time, noon or midnight, [people] are listening. [The teachings] are truly widespread. Hopefully, those who hear them can guide, transform and deliver people by sharing [even] one line of the True Dharma. The merits and virtues of doing so are also great.

This is to say nothing of those who teach widely among people. When teaching privately to one person, the merits and virtues are extremely great. When widely teaching before multitudes of beings” the merits and virtues are even greater.

So, the Wondrous Lotus Sutra is “the secret skillful means of great compassion of all Buddhas and Tathagatas.” The secret was the Buddha’s original intent, which he completely hid in His mind. This was the Wondrous Lotus Sutra. The Wondrous Lotus Sutra is hidden deep in the minds of all Buddhas. In other words, we could say that the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is everyone’s intrinsic nature of True Suchness. The nature of True Suchness is the principles. The principles are hidden in original intent of all Buddhas.’ Isn’t this the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra? So, it is “the secret skillful means of great compassion of all Buddhas and Tathagatas.”

This Wondrous Lotus Sutra is the secret skillful means of great compassion of all Buddhas and Tathagatas. They use this to accommodate sentient beings, leading them to attain Buddhahood. Only Tathagatas can accomplish this. Only Tathagatas can teach this. So, we know that those who can teach one verse or one line of this sutra are all protected by the Tathagata’s power of universal, compassionate vows.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Chapter on Skillful Means explains how the Buddha transformed sentient beings and taught according to their capacities. The Buddha [did all of this using] ultimate wisdom. So “They use this to accommodate sentient beings, leading them to attain Buddhahood. Accommodate” means it was not direct, but very tactful. In order to transform sentient beings, the skillful means of the sutra teach sentient beings indirectly. So, sentient beings are slowly guided into the Great Vehicle Dharma. This “leads them to attain Buddhahood. Only Tathagatas can accomplish this.” Only Tathagatas, the Buddhas, with such great compassion, can use these means to teach. “Only the Tathagata can teach this.” Only the Buddha can express His ultimate wisdom and the True Dharma like this.

So, “We know that those who can teach one verse or one line of this sutra are all protected by the Tathagata’s power of universal, compassionate vows.” This is why we should really make an effort to take the meaning of the sutra to heart. Sharing even one line with others reflects the same power of the vows of universal compassion that the Tathagata has. So, this is being protected by the Tathagata. What the Tathagata’s wisdom gives us is kept in our minds. Thus, our body, mind and actions are all within the Dharma.

I hope that everyone will be mindful, and that their minds will be inseparable from the Dharma. We must surround our minds with the Dharma like wearing clothes; we will be inseparable from it. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1208 – Spreading the Sutras as the Buddha’s Emissaries

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>> People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder. People with wisdom but limited learning do not know the ultimate reality. It is as if they are in a great darkness. Though they have eyes, they see nothing. People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate reality.

>> They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings [to this sutra]. Medicine King! You should know that these people willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions. After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, they are reborn in this evil world to widely expound this sutra.

>> If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….

>> The Buddha called both monastics and lay people “good men and good women.” He praised them for having faith in the Buddha and listening to the Dharma.

>> If these good men and women: Those who form aspirations to teach this Dharma are like emissaries of the Buddha. These good men and women who accept and uphold this sutra will teach, practice and uphold accordingly.

>> After I enter Parinirvana, those who are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra: After the Buddha passes into Parinirvana, if there are those who can privately explain to one person the meaning of just one sentence….

>> Privately explain this sutra: They are carrying out the Tathagata’s work and are emissaries of the Buddha. This is to say nothing of those who teach to multitudes of people. They have particularly large amounts of merits.

>> Privately: This means though they understand one phrase, they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of different teachings. They must not explain it to many people, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer, thus hindering the promotion of the teachings.

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“People with limited wisdom and not much learning
are like a light rain with no thunder.
People with wisdom but limited learning
do not know the ultimate reality.
It is as if they are in a great darkness.
Though they have eyes, they see nothing.
People with much learning but no wisdom
also do not know the ultimate reality.”

As Buddhist practitioners, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom! This is something we always talk about. We must have great blessings and great wisdom. If we only have limited wisdom, and think that we have a little understanding and a little intelligence, our wisdom is still insufficient. What do we do about insufficient wisdom? We must listen more [to the teachings]. While listening, if we only listen and are not willing to form aspirations, if we are not willing to use [what we learn], it is as if there is “light rain and no thunder.”

With some wisdom, we are able to listen to the sutras. We listen to them, but do not act on them. We apply them to ourselves but not out among people. Thus, even if we have much learning, we still cannot develop our great wisdom. So, we still remain [in a state of] “limited wisdom and not much learning. People with limited wisdom and not much learning” are “like a light rain and no thunder.” There is rain, but it is a drizzle. There is no sound of thunder. This rain is almost like there is no rain at all. Because the sun is scorching hot, what the earth needs is water. Rain water is truly necessary to moisten the earth. There is only a drizzle; the hot sun is blazing hot, and the earth is in great need of water, but the rain that falls is too little. It is [like] a small rain with no thunder; no thunder means there is not a large rainfall. So, “People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain and no thunder.” They only listen, silently taking in [the teachings] for themselves. They are not willing to share this Dharma with everyone. This is having light rain and no thunder.

If “people [have] wisdom but limited learning,” they “do not know the ultimate reality.” We believe that our wisdom is sufficient, and thus we become unwilling to listen to the Dharma. If we have wisdom but are unwilling to listen to the Dharma, we will not know the ultimate reality. Despite us saying, “I understand all of the Dharma. I do not need to listen to much more. I can understand it myself. Why should I listen to someone talk about it? I can read and understand it myself. I do not need to listen to someone talk on it.” For those like this, when it comes to the sutras of the Great Dharma, the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle Dharma, they are unwilling to contemplate or to listen to what others have to say. Those like this do not know the ultimate reality. When it comes to the true Great Dharma, they are unwilling to go out and seek it for they believe they can understand it themselves. They are unwilling to seek [the teachings]. So, in this world, amidst the vastness of the universe and the greatness of the Buddha-Dharma, it is as if they dwell in the bottom of a well; they are not aware of this Great Dharma.

The Lotus Sutra is the Great Dharma; it is the true principles that encompass the entire world and all things. But if we do not listen to it or seek to understand it, if we simply believe we have wisdom and do not need to hear any more, then we will be unable to understand the principles of ultimate reality. So, “It is as if they are in great darkness. Though they have eyes, they see nothing.” In the night, it is pitch black everywhere. Even though we have eyes, we cannot see the world around us. It is like when we go into a room without turning on the light; even if we have very good eyesight, we cannot see what is in the room. By the same principle, we possess wisdom, but it is not yet revealed, so we are unable to put it to use. So, it is like we are in the dark. We cannot see the things that are truly there.

“People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate reality.” Those with limited wisdom and much learning are unable to understand ultimate reality. Those with wisdom who are unwilling to learn more will not be able to understand it either. Ultimate reality is [found in] the true principles. How can we thoroughly understand them? These principles pervade the universe. [When] the principles enter into our minds and become part of our daily living, when we are faced with people, matters and things, we will not become deluded by external conditions. Only then have we truly taken the Dharma to heart. In dealing with people, matters and things, we will not act wrongly or allow bad situations and impressions to delude us. Of course, this requires a most sincere mindset.

It is like what we talked about yesterday morning with the group of Bodhisattva-volunteers in Africa. Although they are so far away from Taiwan, and it is not easy for them to listen to the Dharma, they are very earnest. They hear only a small amount of the Dharma, for they are unable to listen to much of it. Yet they are very mindful. The true principles have entered their minds, enabling them to open their minds to the principles of the universe. With sincerity, they are open to the principles. Take their Buddha-bathing [ceremony] for example, [which they held] in such a rough, unadorned place. “The sky was their roof, the ground their floor.” [they held it] under the open sky and hot sun. The ground there is sandy and there is dust everywhere. This is where they held their rehearsal.

From Durban, they prepared to go out into the countryside. They not only gathered together a large group for the Buddha-bathing, but they also hoped that everywhere they went, everyone would learn the principles of the Dharma. So, they used the Buddha-bathing as an opportunity to venture out into the countryside. Adding up the total distance, [they traveled] over 930 kilometers. Consider the sincerity of their mindset; they already knew that Sakyamuni Buddha is the Great Enlightened One of the universe and that He was born at this time of year. They used the Buddha’s birthday to tell others about the Great Enlightened One who appeared in this world, about His great love. For the sake of equality among people of different levels of wealth and status in the world, He engaged in spiritual practice.

They told them all the story of. His true worldly birth in Nepal. [They knew] the place, location and time; they were able to [tell them about] that time, that place and what the world was like then. Although this was over 2000 years ago, we still talk about Him today. For the sake of those suffering in poverty, and to bring equality among people of different wealth and status, [Sakyamuni Buddha] left the palace to engage in spiritual practice. After experiencing many hardships, He attained perfect enlightenment. This is the story [volunteers] wanted to share with those in the countryside to understand.

When they went to spread the Dharma in Swaziland, they needed this sincere mindset and solemn manner. They were very respectful. They felt they needed to rehearse [the ceremony] again and again, which shows their respect. Although they had brought back a small statue of the Buddha [from Taiwan], they worried, “What if we lose it?” Because they treasured it so much, they stored it at Tex-Ray Industrial Co. They stored [the statue] there and mobilized everyone for the dress rehearsal.

Under the open sky, they borrowed a chair and placed it there, and they placed a plastic bottle on the chair, and this is what they used to practice. They used this plastic bottle as the Buddha. Using it in place of the Buddha, [they demonstrated] how to express reverence with their actions. One person at a time, they continued to practice until their demeanor was dignified and solemn. As they walked around, was everyone standing up straight? Were their palms together correctly? [Did they] bend at the waist to bow?

The Master of Ceremonies (MC) used Chinese to guide them through each motion one by one. The commands needed to be called out, so he had to practice hard to pronounce accurately. Those who were practicing the motions also had to practice very accurately to give a very reverent appearance. Likewise, the MC [practiced] calling out commands again and again [until] he was able to call them out very accurately. [They spent] all day there, unbothered by the sun’s heat. Very reverently, they sat around in circle to learn and observe. The ground was scorching hot and the sun was blazing, but they still sat there for such a long time, with both palms placed together. They watched how others prostrated to the bottle with deep respect, as if the Buddha was present. The Dharma was there as well. [They also began the practice by singing]. “The Dharma is infinitely profound and subtle.” They circumambulated [the chair and bottle].

Think about their reverent hearts. They are unable to listen much to the Dharma, but they are able to absorb and take it to heart. Their minds are as broad as heaven and earth; their reverence for the Dharma is as abundant as the world. Are we able to achieve this kind of mindset? They have done so in South Africa! The reverence with which they learn [the Dharma] is truly very touching. Everyone is full of Dharma-joy. Even though the sun is so hot and the ground is scorching, they have reverent minds and are filled with Dharma-joy.

It is the same in Lesotho; one [volunteer] there, Chen Meijuan, has now undertaken the operations in Africa. She is very responsible; she trained five local Lesotho volunteers and also went from Lesotho to Botswana. They had Buddha-bathing ceremonies in both countries. This is not easy at all. To hold the Buddha-bathing ceremony, traveling from Lesotho to Botswana required going in a big circle. The journey by car takes over ten hours. On this ten-plus hour journey, as they were traveling to Lesotho, they did not waste any time in the car. The person who would be the MC continuously practiced her Chinese in the car. The MC had to use Chinese to lead everyone in reverently chanting the Buddha’s name and reciting the Verse for Opening a Sutra. They continuously practiced like this.

They already had this experience in Lesotho, but now they were going to Botswana, so they needed to [practice] again. They did not say, “This journey is so long. Let’s take a break and rest for a bit.” The driver focused on driving while the people rehearsing remained very focused. The one reciting the Dharma, practiced over and over [the story of] how Sakyamuni Buddha came to this world and taught the Buddha-Dharma equally to the world. They even [spoke of how] Buddha taught everyone that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, and taught intangible principles with tangible matters. They spoke very clearly about all these things. As for Tzu Chi’s spirit and principles, they also talked about them from the beginning. This is the power of love. By uniting worldly matters with the Buddha-Dharma, they could practice over and over like this. This is [what they did in] Africa.

In the district of Hlotse, there was no electricity for the. Buddha-bathing ceremony. What did they do? They simply relied on their natural abilities. As before, Adelinah Seitlhko (Tzu Li) served as MC, speaking Chinese the whole time. There was no way to amplify the sound of her instructions for the ceremony. So, she had to project her voice to give instructions for the ceremony, guiding everyone in each session. This really was touching [to see]. With no electricity, they still carried on. In this wilderness, they were able to lead so many people in an orderly fashion and successfully hold a dignified ceremony. With no electricity, they shouted the commands. Her voice carried across the vast space, and thus, everyone could still be synchronized. This is truly not a simple matter.

There is another place called Old Naledi. In that village, there is truly nowhere [to meet], not even a table. They have next to nothing. They used the truck bed as the platform for the Buddha-bathing. It was a very simple setup, yet so many people attended with great reverence. Everyone was very joyful. There was no roof over their heads. The land was quite untouched, as [their village] did not consist of much. Wild grass and flowers were used to dignify this spiritual training ground. They are indeed sincere in their hearts as they brought the Dharma to a place such as this. They explained [to the villagers] how the Buddha was born over 2000 years ago and how His Dharma has been passed down to us now. [They spoke of how] Taiwan’s Tzu Chi [volunteers] spread the great love of the Buddha-Dharma throughout the world. They recounted all of this to the villagers to foster a sense of respect and grateful sincerity in their minds.

As for spreading and upholding the Dharma there, they cannot recite the [sutras]; they are unable to do so. The Buddha-Dharma, the sutras [we know so well], is not something they are able to recite, read copy or transcribe as we do here. They have no way to do any of these things, but they can take the Dharma to heart. Compared to copying, reciting or teaching the sutras, this is much more useful. When they take the Dharma to heart, it enters directly into their minds. They are neither, “people with limited wisdom and not much learning” nor “people with wisdom but not much learning.” They are not like this. They use people, matters and things so that in this way, the principles, the Dharma they hear in the morning relying on the sound of my voice and the subtitles translated into English, can be mindfully absorbed and comprehended. This way they are able [to bring the Dharma] with them across a vast area, from South Africa into Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana.

All the regions they visit are quite rural. Whether for a big assembly or a household Buddha-bathing ceremony, they make the journey regardless. This is truly very moving. I mentioned this yesterday, and I elaborated more on it today. You can see how much respect I have for this group and the true sincerity in their minds with which they uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma. They did not absorb everything in the sutra, but they took whatever they heard to heart, allowing none of it to leak away so that they can put it all to use.

There is actually not much Dharma, but we ignorant sentient beings [allow it] to leak away. If we are able to absorb the Dharma, and by hearing one thing, we realize 1000, if we can take the Dharma to heart like this, then it will always be in our hearts, benefiting the world. Absorbing the Dharma in this world is something we can all do without difficulty. So, we must make an effort to be mindful. Tzu Chi volunteers in Africa can do it. Taiwan is the birthplace of Tzu Chi volunteers, so, of course, we can do it too! We must have faith in ourselves.

Now let us look at the previous sutra passage,

They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings [to this sutra]. Medicine King! You should know that these people willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions. After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, they are reborn in this evil world to widely expound this sutra.

You see, really, by earnestly upholding just one line or verse, the seed is planted in their minds. This already leads to infinite merits and virtues, to say nothing of those who uphold all teachings and constantly make offerings. Constantly making offerings shows their respect and their willingness to serve. Think about it, does this group in Africa have reverent respect? They were even able to treat a plastic bottle as the Buddha. They were there all day with palms together, practicing reverently [for the ceremony]. See, isn’t this reverently making offerings?

They are willing to serve like this, not just on a small scale, for a single Buddha-bathing ceremony; it is not just that. They wanted to spread the Buddha-bathing ceremony to every corner. Yesterday, we also heard that they even brought the ceremony into a church. This is what it means to go out and serve. On this trip to the countryside alone, they journeyed over 900 kilometers.

Think about it; their mindset must be one of reverent offering and willingness to serve. This creates countless merits and virtues. It is in this way that we commit completely to making all kinds of offerings and using all kinds of methods, in hopes of widely spreading the Dharma. So, [the Buddha said], “Medicine King! You should know that these people have let go of their pure karmic retributions.” If all of us are willing to form aspirations, that means that perhaps in a past life we had this affinity with the sutra teachings. By speaking of sutra teachings, it is saying that since Beginningless Time, we have already heard this Dharma. For many lifetimes, we have received the teachings. With this education of the Dharma, we form great aspirations to come to the world. We could be at ease in life, living in our own house; we need not endure any hardships.

But you see, Tzu Chi volunteers cannot bear to see sentient beings suffer. Wherever disasters occur, they are willing to use their own money to travel by air or over great distances on the road by car [to go to these disaster sites]. Take the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador for instance. Four teams of Tzu Chi volunteers went there over a period of 30-plus days. Serving in that place was very difficult. Under the hot sun, after the earthquake, rubble was everywhere. Volunteers were willing to do everything possible to mobilize people. Why did they work so hard? They were under the hot sun, and even faced great danger. The mountain roads are extremely treacherous. This is a treacherous journey.

That path was so steep that their vehicle almost began to slide back down. As this was happening, people got out of the vehicle behind them. When they saw the vehicle start sliding backwards and giving out smoke, they quickly came down to put out the smoke. They told them, “The car is already smoking.” There were cars coming towards them. They were worried as this was a hill, so the bus parked perpendicularly on the road to protect the smaller vehicle. They were afraid of oncoming vehicles. This is truly very dangerous. Nevertheless, they still entered the disaster area. It was a very difficult road to take, and the area was very dangerous. They were willing to go there to help because they could not bear for people to suffer. So, they were willing to go help them.

They “let go of their pure karmic retributions.” They could have been very free and at ease; they did not need to concern themselves with this trouble far away. They were in different countries, and the people there were of no relation. So, why would they endure all this? It is because they formed great aspirations that they were willing to go again and again, even after the period of emergency relief, which lasted for more than 30 days. Things had already been stabilized, and then we began to aid in the recovery process. In a month, [volunteers] will go back again because the materials from Taiwan take 40 to 50 days to arrive. When these materials arrive, Tzu Chi volunteers from the US will join with Tzu Chi volunteers in South America to hold mass distributions the following month.

They will not only hold mass distributions, but will also continue with mid-term [recovery plans] to settle the locals, helping the children return to school, helping people resume their lives and solve other longer-term problems in their lives. Tzu Chi volunteers, in this one month period of time have to connect with the new local [volunteers] continuously with technology. They have to continue to experience, understand and collect information [on the issues]. Including Taiwan, [volunteers from] three nations will continually seek to grasp [the situation] in preparation for returning in one month to help [the people of] Ecuador.

From fortunate places, they were willing to enter that impoverished, severely disaster-struck area to help [the survivors]. Aren’t they Living Bodhisattvas? They “let go of their pure karmic retributions. After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, they are reborn in this evil world.” They have this kind of vow. Everyone, we now understand that walking the Bodhisattva-path is something we must do lifetime after lifetime; In fact, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, He still returns to the Saha world. Until the birth of Maitreya, in this period, it is [Sakyamuni] Buddha who serves as our guiding teacher and our compassionate father. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas continually return to this evil world of Five Turbidities to guide sentient beings and preserve the Dharma in this world.

So, we must likewise vow that in our future lifetimes, we will also preserve the Dharma in this world. We must form aspirations and make vows to return to this evil world of Five Turbidities. In the future, this world will be increasingly turbid, so the Dharma will be especially necessary to bring purity to [this world]. Only by continually bringing purity to the world until all are able to accept the Dharma can we clear the world of turbidity.

So, we must “widely expound this sutra.” After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, isn’t this what they did? Aren’t the Bodhisattvas in Africa, the United States and South America mobilizing right now? Aren’t they serving these suffering people? This is what the Bodhisattvas worldwide are doing now. Now is the period after the Buddha entered Parinirvana; they are promoting the Dharma and putting it into practice with their actions.

Next it says, ․”If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….”

If these good men and good women, after I enter Parinirvana, are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….

Here, the Buddha is saying that men and women, whether lay people or monastics, are called “good men and good women.” They have drawn near to this Dharma and received virtuous Dharma, so they have changed their past unwholesome behaviors into wholesome ones now. They are people who have understood and accepted the Buddha-Dharma and have changed to wholesome lives.

So, “By calling them ‘good,’ He praised them for having faith in the Buddha and listening to the Dharma.” Because of the Buddha-Dharma, these teachings of goodness purified their lives. Because their minds give rise to faith and understanding, they understand the Buddha-Dharma and have corrected their past evil words and deeds. Before hearing the Dharma, they said evil things and engaged in evil behaviors; after hearing the Dharma, their speech has become very pleasing.

The Buddha called both monastics and lay people “good men and good women.” He praised them for having faith in the Buddha and listening to the Dharma.

When expounding the Dharma, we are using good words. So, after purifying our minds, we use gentle words and speak with soft and gentle speech. Doesn’t this sort of soft, gentle speech sound beautiful when we hear it? Our behavior will likewise change for the better. When we met people in the past, we would go against them. Now when we meet people, we are more yielding. This is how our behavior improves. Why does it improve? Because we have faith in the Buddha-Dharma. With faith in the Buddha, after we hear the teachings, we are able to make our lives more beautiful. Thus, by listening to the Buddha-Dharma and changing our lives, we become good men and good women.

If these good men and women: Those who form aspirations to teach this Dharma are like emissaries of the Buddha. These good men and women who accept and uphold this sutra will teach, practice and uphold accordingly.

“Those who form aspirations to teach this Dharma,” once they have faith in the Dharma, will begin to form to aspirations. With their faith, they form aspirations to teach this Dharma. They apply the Buddha’s teachings and then pass them on to others. So, by forming aspirations to teach this Dharma, “they are like emissaries of the Buddha.” We become like those whom the Buddha dispatched to speak. It is the same idea. When I speak on behalf of the Buddha, it is like serving as the Buddha’s emissary. “These good men and women who accept and uphold this sutra will teach, practice and uphold accordingly.” There are lay disciples who are also well-versed in the Buddha-Dharma. They can also teach the Dharma to others; this is how they are good men and good women, for they are able to expound this Dharma.

So, it says, “After I enter Parinirvana, those who are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….”

After I enter Parinirvana, those who are able to privately explain to one person even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra: After the Buddha passes into Parinirvana, if there are those who can privately explain to one person the meaning of just one sentence….

This means that after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, anyone who had already taken the sutras to heart could “privately explain them to one person. Privately” means in intimately. “It is something I say to only one person or to a small number of people. Even if I do not understand a lot, I can still tell them what I understand. [Even if it is] one line or verse, I can tell somebody about it, just one person.”

“Even just one sentence of the Lotus Sutra….” Even if it is just the meaning of a single line, when we understand its meaning, when we truly understand it, we feel joyful and tell others about it. So, this is what it means by, “privately explain this sutra.” It is taking a short line or verse and explaining it to one or a small number of people.

Privately explain this sutra: They are carrying out the Tathagata’s work and are emissaries of the Buddha. This is to say nothing of those who teach to multitudes of people. They have particularly large amounts of merits.

“They are carrying out the Tathagata’s work.” This is what makes us praiseworthy to the Buddha. However, we must not speak wrongly. They are true principles. If we know them like so, then we must speak about the Dharma like so. When we explain this Dharma to others, even if we only tell one person, we are carrying out the Tathagata’s work.

We are not limited to sharing with only one person. We can share it with just one person, or of course, with two people, or three or five people. As long as it is the True Dharma, even if only it is one line that we share with a small number of people, it is still the same; we are still engaging in the Tathagata’s work. The Lotus Sutra was the Buddha’s original intent, so when we describe the Buddha’s original intent so others can know about it, we are engaging in the Tathagata’s work. This is being an “emissary of the Buddha,” as if the Buddha sent us to speak for Him. It is like we are His representative, [sent] to speak in His place.

Purna Maitrayaniputra spoke on behalf of the Buddha, and Ananda also spoke on His behalf. All of the disciples could have represented Him. This is being the Buddha’s emissary. By telling one or two people about one or two lines [of Dharma] and being able to share the principles, this is called “doing the Tathagata’s work.” This is serving as the Tathagata’s emissary; to say nothing of “those who teach to multitudes of people.” We will gain many merits and virtues if we do so. We must be very mindful of this.

So, when it says, “privately” it means intimately. I will tell them in an intimate environment, not in public. It is only one line or one verse; four lines make up one verse. We can tell everyone, “This is all I know. I gave rise to joy. Let me tell you [about it].” By not doing this in public, it is called “privately.” This means speaking to a small number of people.

Privately: This means though they understand one phrase, they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of different teachings. They must not explain it to many people, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer, thus hindering the promotion of the teachings.

So, here it says, “This means though they understand one phrase, they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of different teachings.” They do not have wide learning of other principles either. “They must not teach it to people.” If we only understand a little bit, telling them this small amount is enough, but we must tell it accurately. We have not heard the entire sutra, so we must not speak much about something we have not heard. If, perhaps, in a past life we were Small Vehicle practitioners or someone with biased views, we may not understand it very well, so we should not say anything extra to the public. Any extra [explanations] may be inaccurate, so if we do not understand it very well, we should not say something that may be misleading.

So, “They do not have wide learning and broad understanding of different teachings.” Here, “different” means other. They are teachings not in the Lotus Sutra, heretical or biased teachings. We must not [teach it]. “They must not teach it to many people.” If we do not thoroughly understand a teaching, we should not attempt to explain it. If we speak about what we understand very well truthfully and accurately, even if it is just a short line, we will attain merits from [teaching it]. But if we speak falsely, that is not right. A slight deviation will take us far off course. So, “they must not teach it to many people.”

“As they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer.” If someone asks us a “difficult question” and we cannot explain it, this presents a problem. So, the best is to just listen more so that our Bodhi-path will be further-reaching. The more we listen, the further-reaching our Bodhi-path will be. If we only listen to a little bit, we can only walk a short distance. So, we should put effort into being mindful.

“Hindering the promotion of the teachings” means if we only listen to a little bit [of teachings], we will be unable to broadly spread [the Dharma]. If we give rise to joy upon hearing just one line, why not continue to listen a little longer? By listening to more and forming aspirations to teach others, we will then be able to broadly promote the Dharma in this world. This is [our duty] as Buddhist practitioners.

In the Lotus Sutra, although the all-encompassing principles converge in the Lotus Sutra’s. Great Vehicle teachings, we cannot deviate from this in the slightest. With a slight deviation, some people will slander [us] and slander the Great Vehicle sutra. The Chapter on Skillful Means continually tells us this. So, the Buddha did not speak carelessly. If He spoke carelessly, those who do not understand would deviate [from this path] as they explain. This would result in all of the Buddha-Dharma being misunderstood. This kind of karma not only brings no merit, it instead creates [negative] karmic forces. Everyone should remember this.

So, we must be mindful and sincere when we put the [Dharma] into practice to benefit others. This will create great merits and virtues. So, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1207 – Reborn in the World to Expound the Lotus Sutra

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>> With great compassionate vows, joy and equanimity, they quietly abide in a land of peace and joy but are reborn into the evil world of turbidity in order to teach this sutra. Being reborn in this evil world to accept, uphold and make offerings to the entire sutra demonstrates even further these people’s great vows of compassion to transform sentient beings.

>> You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas who have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world to widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

>> They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings to this sutra. Medicine King, you should know these people willingly, let go of their pure karmic retributions. After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, they are reborn in this evil world of turbidity to widely expound this sutra.

>> This sutra passage moreover explains that being born in this evil world to accept, uphold, make offerings to, read, recite and transcribe the entire sutra demonstrates even further the compassionate vows of these people.

>> They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings [to this sutra]: Even those who accept and uphold according to their conditions will gain boundless merits and virtues. This is to say nothing of those who completely accept and uphold it as well as make offerings with all kinds of supreme, wondrous fragrances and flowers, silken canopies and hanging banners.

>> Medicine King, you should know that these people willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions: You should know that these people who uphold and make offerings could be reborn into a pure Buddha-land, yet they relinquish their superior retribution to be reborn into Jambudvipa.

>> After I pass into Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings: After Sakyamuni Buddha entered Parinirvana, this was done out of compassion for all sentient beings…

>> They are reborn in this evil world to widely expound this sutra: In this Saha World many unwholesome things come together. Therefore, it is called an “evil world.” They widely expound this sutra for sentient beings.

>> Out of their concern for sentient beings, they make vows of great compassion to relinquish their own pure land and are born into this evil world of turbidity in order to expound this sutra.

>> Teaching all over the lands of ten directions cannot be said to be much. Teaching only one verse or one sentence cannot be said to be little. This demonstrates in particular that the merits of those who put the teachings into practice are many. The above makes a comparison among those who uphold and make offerings to the sutra. Some uphold the whole sutra while others uphold one verse or phrase. By just comparing the amount of text it is truly impossible to tell which contains more meaning.

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“With great compassionate vows, joy and equanimity,
they quietly abide in a land of peace and joy
but are reborn into the evil world of turbidity
in order to teach this sutra.
Being reborn in this evil world to
accept, uphold and make offerings to the entire sutra
demonstrates even further these people’s
great vows of compassion to transform sentient beings.”

The Buddha’s original intent was [for us] to accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha transmitted the Dharma to future generations in the hope that everyone would mindfully accept and uphold it. So, He encouraged everyone to form aspirations to accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra. The principles contained in this sutra are truths that completely encompass heaven and earth. They are something we should all accept, realize and comprehend in our lives among people. Only when we understand and live according to the principles can we [experience] blessings in this world. This is the Dharma that the Buddha held in His mind.

In May, we saw how Tzu Chi volunteers around the world promoted the celebration of Buddha’s birthday. They used the Buddha-bathing ceremony to promote our three celebrations in one event, which acknowledges the grace of parents, the grace of sentient beings and the grace of the Buddha. Everyone took this opportunity to widely proclaim the principles. In Africa, we saw a special example of this. In South Africa in May, the whole month was devoted to Buddha-bathing and our three-in-one celebration. From the beginning of May, the Bodhisattvas there kept [spreading the word] among the local people. They hoped to encourage everyone to take part in the Buddha-bathing ceremony to experience how the Buddha’s principles are not limited to one religion; they are about respect for life. They are the principles of all things in the world. [The volunteers] used simple ways to represent profound truths, bringing a feeling of great joy to everyone.

The local volunteers began to gather before the beginning of May to learn about the Buddha-bathing ceremony. I am very grateful for our Tzu Chi Bodhisattvas, our ethnic Chinese volunteers, who repeatedly explained the Buddha-bathing ceremony to them. The most experienced local volunteers also shared their own personal stories of accepting the Buddha-Dharma and how it had cleansed their minds. Since they accepted the Buddha-Dharma, the Dharma-water has nourished their hearts, enabling them to live each day joyfully. Since the principles became clear to them, there is no day they cannot get through, and no people or matters that bother them. Their minds have been opened, and the joy they feel is due to the Buddha-Dharma having nourished their minds. So, they are always hoping to more deeply understand [the Buddha-Dharma] and spread it in their community. Thus, they decided that in May of this year (2016), these local volunteers, these African volunteers, would travel to all the surrounding communities to promote and hold Buddha-bathing events.

They went to these communities one by one to explain the significance of bathing the Buddha. First, they went there to share their own stories, making people [feel comfortable with coming]. After hearing their stories, everyone was willing to [come]. So in May, they began [the celebrations]. They brought a statue of the Great Enlightened One of the Universe, a small crystal Buddha statue, the smallest version of our Buddha statue. They brought this statue of the Buddha to many communities for the Buddha-bathing ceremony. How many communities did they go to in total? They said that [they visited] 11 communities and 12 meal stations, communities where they regularly serve meals. So, carrying the Great Enlightened One of the Universe with them, they visited these communities one by one. How long was this journey in total? They traveled 930 km.

They did this with just one thought in mind, to help [others understand] this faith. There, most people are Protestants or Catholics, so they hoped to help everyone understand the meaning behind the Buddha-bathing ceremony. So, they went to share it with them.

They talked about [my three wishes] [to explain] the Buddha-Dharma. The first is [the wish to] purify our own minds. They used their own experiences as examples, how in the past afflictions and ignorance made life very hard, how they would take issue with people and so on. After accepting the Buddha-Dharma, the Dharma brought purity to their minds so that in dealing with people, matters and things they were able to open their hearts. Not only did they not have any conflicts, but they were able to bring others joy and help others open their hearts as well. In the same way, they were able to resolve many interpersonal conflicts and trivial disputes and come together to freely give of their love. Not only were they able to purify their own minds, they brought purity to others’ minds too. Having purified each other’s minds, they brought together the love in the their hearts in order to help people in suffering.

[They told them about] the different people they had helped. Thus, they gave them many real-life examples of how they had eliminated suffering and likewise transformed painful lives into lives of happiness. [After hearing these stories], everyone understood that this great love does not distinguish between religions. Thus, they shared [these stories] with everyone, starting from bringing purity to one’s mind. By transforming themselves, they also transformed others. Coming together in unity, they went to help those suffering the most. This love does not distinguish between religions. In this way, they used many methods to explain, making their listeners feel very joyful, open-hearted and understanding. They were able to accept everything they said. Once they had accepted it, [the volunteers began the ceremony]. As I mentioned, how far did they go to do this? They traveled 930 km. Carrying the Buddha-statue, they traveled over 900 km, almost 1000 km! Giving of themselves in this way, isn’t this the power of great compassionate vows?

Through the Buddha-bathing ceremony in May, the volunteers held study groups together, allowing them to even more deeply understand that “the appearance of all things is illusory.” Thus, they taught everyone how starting from the illusory, we can reach the truth. This truth is what the Buddha originally gleaned from [observing nature] and other people, even a blade of grass, a flower or a tree. In this way, they mindfully [explained] that the principles reveal [the cause of] suffering in life, including birth, aging, illness and death.

I think of these Bodhisattvas in Africa. As they listen to the Dharma, they can actually understand it so clearly; their understanding is so thorough. They are able to take the Dharma that I teach and explain it so well. They taught everyone about “using the illusory to practice the true.” They thoroughly understand that the Buddha originally manifested His appearance among things and people to explain to everyone the true principles of all things in the universe. In even a single flower, blade of grass or tree, their flourishing and withering become analogies for the birth, aging, illness and death of human life. When I see these volunteers, these “black pearls,” they are truly shining with brilliant light!

As they began mobilizing the locals before the formal Buddha-bathing ceremonies, when they began to mobilize the villages, they also demonstrated [the process] for them. “If you wish to bathe the Buddha, “then [during the ceremony] you must follow this kind of etiquette.” They then demonstrated it for them. They wanted to demonstrate it for them, but what could they use [as props]? They used a plastic bottle for the crystal Buddha, to represent the Great Enlightened One. They arranged everything, using a plastic bottle in place of the Buddha. They said, “All appearances are the Buddha. As long as you have a sincere heart, anything can represent the Buddha. We should respect the Buddha as if He were here.” They trained them with a plastic bottle as the object. “This is where the Buddha will be.” They set out plates, flowers and so on.

They taught them, “You must be very reverent. This is how you should bow, and this should be your mindset when bowing. There is a Buddha before you, and you are paying respect at His feet.” They taught them with such reverence! “After bowing, stand up straight and place your palms together. Both your hands should touch the Buddha’s feet before reverently placing your palms together. At ‘Receive the flower,’ pick up one flower and then pay respect once again.” First they taught them the principles, and then they taught them the etiquettes. In teaching the rituals, the place was very simple and crude, but they were as reverent as if the Buddha was there.

One time, they said that they needed to go house to house to bathe the Buddha. They carried flowers and the Buddha’s statue and walked like that from village to village. One of the homes they planned to visit belonged to a sick person. They wanted to bring the Buddha-statue there and give this patient the opportunity to also bathe the Buddha. That day, when they arrived, the patient had already gone to church. They thought, “Since we are here, we should make the best of it.” Since they had not yet seen the patient that they came to care for, they continued on to the church. They were over 20 people walking together! They were carrying the flowers and the Buddha statue, singing songs of prayer as they walked. As they walked, they sang. When they arrived at the church, the pastor was giving a sermon. Arriving outside, they said to each other, “We must be quiet, we must first listen to his teachings with a reverent heart.”

So, very harmoniously, they all went inside the church with respect; they sat down and listened to the pastor preach. They waited until the pastor was finished, and then one of them went up to the pastor. She explained to him their reason for coming, that they had come to look after this person. “This person is ill, and we came to care for her. We hope that she might be able to bathe the Buddha together with us.” As she mentioned “bathe the Buddha,” she began to explain, “We are Tzu Chi volunteers. Tzu Chi is from Taiwan.” The volunteers introduced my work in Taiwan and how this love came to be spread around the world, how we came to arrive in Africa to help people live in peace, body and mind. The principles of the Buddha’s teachings pervade the universe; this expansive great love does not discriminate between faiths. The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One of the Universe; He does not distinguish between ethnicities or religions.

[The volunteer] also explained that [these volunteers] were still Protestants and Catholics; they did not change their religion. But by opening their hearts, their love could reach many more people. This is putting the teachings into action, using tangible love and an intangible spirit to purify [people’s] minds. Upon hearing this, the pastor said, “I want to see how you bathe the Buddha.” They were very joyful and presented [the image of] the Great Enlightened One. They brought it over to this patient, and the patient was very happy. The Tzu Chi volunteers often came to care for her, and they had come to the church especially for her. Therefore, she was very happy.

They began by bringing her this statue of the Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, placing it in front of her. They also placed the flowers and water in front of her. They knelt down in front of her and, very reverently, held them for her to bathe the Buddha. As usual, they chanted the instructions, “Pay respect at the Buddha’s feet” and “Receive the flower.” The patient did as they said. Without prompting, the pastor led the people praying there in songs of blessing and prayer, and our Tzu Chi volunteers also sang together. There, at this Buddhist Buddha-bathing ceremony, Christian prayer songs [filled the room]. This was truly very special.

“With great compassionate vows, joy and equanimity, they quietly abide in a land of peace and joy but are reborn into the evil world of turbidity in order to teach this sutra.” It was [to teach] this sutra that the Buddha came to this world. [He came] to the Saha world, this world that must be endured, all for the sake of suffering sentient beings. The Buddha’s intention in bringing the Dharma to this world was so people in this world could encounter it. Regardless of our religion, [the Dharma] can purify our minds and resolve the barriers between people in this world, the obstructions standing between us. He breaks down the walls separating religions with mutual reverence and respect. He gives with great love so people can accept [the Dharma]. This is truly not easy.

So, in this Christian church, they bathed the Buddha and received Christian songs of prayer and blessing. This was truly breaking new ground. This is not easily accomplished! “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” The volunteers explained to the pastor and others that this Great Enlightened One taught all beings that although He was enlightened and had attained Buddhahood, all sentient beings have a Buddha in their heart. All are equal to the Buddha and can likewise attain Buddhahood. All are equal without distinction. This applies to religions as well.

With this humble sharing in the church, the Buddhist teachings connected these Christians to the Buddha-Dharma, creating a chain of love that resonated among them. This is truly not easy. The Great Enlightened One of the Universe, was there in this Christian church, to care for the patient and her family. Furthermore, all the Christians present gave their blessing to the Buddha-bathing. This is not an easy thing; it is truly touching.

As [our volunteers] went on their way, they came upon a very impoverished area. They likewise went to one household after another and gave them [the same opportunity]. For those in suffering, their applied their love to help them. This shows how in Durban, South Africa, the local Tzu Chi volunteers care for others with limitless love. They did not just do this in the church, but in every home they visited. Think about it; in total, they traveled over 930 km.

Dear Bodhisattvas, when we hear about this spirit of theirs, don’t we feel admiration for them? Seeing this, I felt great admiration. In this evil world of turbidities, impoverished communities often suffer illnesses and their homes are dirty. Yet, when [our volunteers] went there, they took the opportunity to help them clean up and wash themselves before they brought them outside. Thus, they were clean when bathing the Buddha. This is not an easy feat. Our Buddha-bathing ceremony in Taiwan is very magnificently decorated, while theirs is plain and simple.

There was even a place they planned to borrow, but someone suddenly needed to use it. There was still a large group of people who wanted to bathe the Buddha, so what could they do without a venue? Suddenly, they had an idea. They drove a cargo truck over.

They opened the loading bed and decorated it just like a table. The Buddha statue was placed on top, along with the flowers and water. At that place, they began to “pay respect at the Buddha’s feet” and “receive the flower.” It was the same process; they circumambulated the Buddha and bathed Him. The ceremony was no different from ours in Taiwan! It is truly [incredible] to see this. In this suffering country in Africa, the Buddha-Dharma can deeply enter people’s minds and bring purity to them. It has pulled them out of their suffering and opened the doors to their hearts. Everyone’s mind has been purified, and in turn they are bringing purity to others. They have come together with love and have helped so many suffering people.

Since they first encountered the Buddha-Dharma, seed after seed has been planted in the minds of so many people. Think about it, these people were “reborn in this evil world to accept, uphold and make offerings to the entire sutra.” Although they are not here with us and lack [the circumstances] to uphold the Lotus Sutra each day as we do, they take the true principles of the universe, the Buddha’s teachings, to heart. This is what the Buddha wanted to teach us, how to take the Dharma He taught to heart and apply it among people. They have already done this! They were born in this same evil world, but in that place, “they accept, uphold and make offerings to the entire sutra.”

They truly accept, uphold and make offerings to the entire sutra by putting it into action. They are in such an unfavorable place; [they have to do] everything outdoors, with the bright sun shining down on them; it is very hot. It is a very simple, plain environment, but they are willing to carry on like this. This is truly not easy. This is “being reborn in this evil world to accept, uphold and make offerings to the entire sutra.”

In Africa, it is even more evident that these people have “great vows of compassion to transform sentient beings.” If they were not great Bodhisattvas, how would this be possible? They were born into this evil world of turbidities where it is so difficult to hear the Dharma, and yet, despite these difficulties, they have taken it to heart. In such a simple, crude and poor place, they are willing to spread the Buddha’s teachings. Think about it, this is very difficult. In my mind, these people are truly great Bodhisattvas, and moreover, they have demonstrated their vows of compassion. For this, we should respect them even more. This is not easy at all.

So, we should know that this is what it takes to spread the Buddha-Dharma. Even if we have nothing, once the principles enter our minds, we feel abundantly wealthy. Then, we can go anywhere to spread the Path and advance the Dharma. This is truly not easy. These great Bodhisattvas, these seeds, brought the Buddha-Dharma to that place. [They brought] the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, our Dharma-lineage and the Buddha’s teachings to that place with great efficacy. Speaking of this, I feel truly joyful.

Take a look at the previous sutra passage. “You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas.”

You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas who have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world to widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

We should know that these people are truly Bodhisattvas. Lifetime after lifetime, during the Buddha’s era and in the time before the Buddha, these were the aspirations they formed. Now, in the future as seen from the Buddha’s era, they exercise this spirit of transforming others. People like this are great Bodhisattvas. In the future, “they will attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world.” They have compassion for sentient beings and cannot bear [for them to suffer]. They take pity on sentient beings. With universal compassion, they [take] sentient beings’ suffering as their own.

“Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings.” They were born amidst suffering, but they had the karmic conditions to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. Thus, they have taken the Buddha-Dharma and spread it in this world of suffering. They are great Bodhisattvas who return on the power of their vows, replete with causes and conditions. At that place, “they widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.” Right now, they are listening to the Lotus Sutra along with us. What they hear, they apply in their lives. So, seeing suffering, we recognize our blessings. It is in the midst of suffering that the great principles of the Buddha-Dharma must be exercised.

The following sutra passage says, “They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings [to this sutra].” In addition, they can accept and uphold and make all kinds of offerings [to this sutra]. “Medicine King! You should know that these people willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions. After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, they are reborn in this evil world to widely expound this sutra.”

They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings to this sutra. Medicine King, you should know these people willingly, let go of their pure karmic retributions. After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, they are reborn in this evil world of turbidity to widely expound this sutra.

Medicine King, you must know that “these people,” these kinds of people, willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions. They did not have to be born in such an evil world, but they had made this vow. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings, these people were willing to be born in this evil world of turbidities “to widely expound the Lotus Sutra.” With this principle, they go among people to expound and transmit the Lotus Sutra.

This sutra passage explains what it means “to be reborn in this evil world.” It explains that these Bodhisattvas had already engaged in spiritual practice; they did not need to come to this world. They did not need to live among suffering beings, but with the power of their vows, they were reborn into this evil world. Their goal is to accept, uphold, make offerings, read, recite and transcribe the entire sutra, in this way demonstrating their compassionate vows.

This sutra passage moreover explains that being born in this evil world to accept, uphold, make offerings to, read, recite and transcribe the entire sutra demonstrates even further the compassionate vows of these people.

In this evil world of turbidities, they use themselves as examples, saying. “Since I have this sutra, I am happy. I am willing to read and transcribe this sutra, so that everyone may have the chance to hear, read and understand this sutra.” It is with this wish to spread the Dharma that they willingly come to this world.

So it says, “Even those who accept and uphold according to their conditions….” Having come here, they moreover accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings. They have come to teach and guide us all to accept and uphold according to our conditions.

They are even able to completely accept, uphold and make all kinds of offerings [to this sutra]: Even those who accept and uphold according to their conditions will gain boundless merits and virtues. This is to say nothing of those who completely accept and uphold it as well as make offerings with all kinds of supreme, wondrous fragrances and flowers, silken canopies and hanging banners.

[Do we make the excuse] that we are busy? It does not matter. If you can just listen to one line, or to a verse of four lines, this is still good. As we listen, we should find ways to help others encounter the Buddha-Dharma and the Lotus Sutra. This is using methods. “Even those who accept and uphold according to their conditions….” Even if it is only a little, from whatever [Dharma] we encounter, “[we] will gain boundless merits and virtues.” When we accept and uphold it, a seed is [planted] in our mind which can result in boundless merits. When this seed matures, from one it will naturally give rise to infinity. “This is to say nothing of those who completely accept and uphold it.”

This is encouraging us [by saying] that the length of time does not matter. We just need to [make an effort] to understand and listen. As long as we listen and take it to heart, we will gain merits and virtues. Moreover, if we feel joy as we listen and are willing to listen to the entire sutra and spread the principles contained in it, these merits will be truly great.

So, “This is to say nothing of those who completely accept and uphold it as well as make offerings with all kinds of supreme, wondrous fragrances and flowers, silken canopies and hanging banners.” If we even use magnificent decorations to dignify our place of practice and bring in more people whose faith is inspired so they can help others, this is called “transforming people according to affinities.” There are some wealthy people who prefer a very dignified space. They feel that only then is the atmosphere of the space fitting to their status. So, they want things to be dignified.

But it can also be as in South Africa. When they wanted to teach and train people, they had to use a plastic bottle to represent the Buddha and asked everyone to be reverent. Although they were just rehearsing and practicing, they were already filled with reverence. At that moment, that was a place of practice. Although they did not formally have the Great Enlightened One in front of them, as they [practiced] again and again, they were gaining merits and virtues.

We saw in a previous sutra passage that if one uses grass, a tree branch, reeds or even one’s fingernail “to draw an image of the Buddha,” it all brings merits and virtues. That is not to mention using a very clean plastic bottle [as the Buddha] or, with deep reverence, arranging decorations in that place. This is what makes it a spiritual training ground. Even the loading bed of a truck could be used as a Buddhist shrine in that place. This shows that if our hearts are reverent and we respect the Buddha as if He were present, then any place is a spiritual training ground.

So it says, “You should know that these people uphold and make offerings.” [We should be] like these people who uphold and make offerings.

Medicine King, you should know that these people willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions: You should know that these people who uphold and make offerings could be reborn into a pure Buddha-land, yet they relinquish their superior retribution to be reborn into Jambudvipa.

“Medicine King! You should know that people like these willingly let go of their pure karmic retributions.” These people had engaged in spiritual practice in the past, but they let go of their pure karmic retributions. Furthermore, we should know that in the midst of suffering, these people transform sentient beings. This is being “willingly reborn.” They were willing to let go of the clean and pure Buddha-land and enter into the evil world of turbidities, into Jambudvipa.

Originally, with their blessed retributions, they could have been reborn in a blessed place. With no need to come to this world, they could enjoy their blessed retributions. But for the sake of sentient beings, they are willing to go among people and be reborn in such impoverished, unfavorable places. It is this willingness that makes them Bodhisattvas.

So, “After I enter Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings….” After [the Buddha] entered Parinirvana, these people would have compassion for sentient beings.

After I pass into Parinirvana, out of compassion for sentient beings: After Sakyamuni Buddha entered Parinirvana, this was done out of compassion for all sentient beings…

This was Sakyamuni Buddha’s [words]. He already began saying this in the Lotus Sutra. He was preparing to enter Parinirvana and was constantly concerned about how the Dharma would be passed on in the future. So, he kept hoping everyone would understand this. He saw Medicine King Bodhisattva as the most suitable recipient of the teachings, so He continually called out to Medicine King to accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra and its merits and virtues. Even a single line or verse brings such great merits and virtues, not to mention the entire sutra. Being able to transform sentient beings where there is so much suffering means they are great Bodhisattvas. This was what He told Medicine King Bodhisattva.

So, this was Sakyamuni Buddha transforming sentient beings. When He was about to enter Parinirvana, He again reminded them that they needed “compassion for sentient beings.” This is why this sutra had to be passed down. If all are willing to pass down this sutra, there is truly great merits in this. This is because it is this sutra that contains the Buddha’s true spirit and concept; this is a non-discriminating, great love that covers the entire world. All Dharma is encompassed within it.

Thus, “They are reborn in this evil world to widely expound this sutra.”

They are reborn in this evil world to widely expound this sutra: In this Saha World many unwholesome things come together. Therefore, it is called an “evil world.” They widely expound this sutra for sentient beings.

These people are willing to live in this evil world, in this Saha World, which is known as the world of endurance. This world of endurance has “many unwholesome things.” Here, evil is plentiful while good is scarce. To gather the good together is not easy. Because there is more evil than good, gathering the good together is not easy. For this reason, it is called an evil world. We often say, “take goodness and love as treasures.” Truly, those with goodness and love are the wealthiest of people. It is not about how much property they have or how wealthy they are, no. It is those with goodness and love who are richest. Their wealth is inexhaustible, for the love with which they give is limitless. They are the wealthiest. But for this goodness to come together is truly not easy.

So, I am grateful that our school of Buddhism, the Tzu Chi School, has so many loving people who have gathered together and moreover have done so all around the world. When I look at Africa, it is the same. Bodhisattvas there are full of spiritual wealth. Born in that [impoverished] place, as soon as they encounter the Dharma, they attain such an abundance. With it, they are willing to practice patience, endurance and stoicism. We saw them travel over 930 km.

Holding the Buddha, they knelt on the ground for an ill woman to be able to reach it, pay respect at the Buddha’s feet and receive the flowers. Seeing them, we know this is true selfless great love. It is impartial love. They carried [the statue] to sick people’s homes. They even went inside, cleaned the patients’ homes and washed their whole bodies as if they bathed the Buddha. Isn’t this to really bathe the Buddha? Washing a sick person’s body clean, is actually bathing the Buddha, because everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. By inviting patients to bathe the Buddha, they enabled them to purify their minds. Wasn’t this [bathing the Buddha]? Gathering this goodness in this kind of environment, think about it, doesn’t this bring great merits?

So, “They widely expound this sutra for sentient beings.” Moreover, they are in that [unfavorable] place, putting [the teachings] into action and widely expounding them for people. They do this in their actions as well as their words. This is “saying what we do and doing what we say.” They really do put the Lotus Sutra into action.

“Out of concern for sentient beings, they make great compassionate vows to relinquish their pure lands and are reborn into this evil world of turbidity in order to expound this sutra.”

Out of their concern for sentient beings, they make vows of great compassion to relinquish their own pure land and are born into this evil world of turbidity in order to expound this sutra.

Actually, they did not need to do this, but for the sake of the Dharma, they were willing to walk all that way. They even passed on the Dharma inside a church; this was truly not easy.

“Teaching all over the lands of ten directions cannot be said to be much.” Even if one teaches [all over], it is still not enough. “Teaching only one verse or one sentence cannot be said to be little.” Although people may not hear much, if they just hear one line or verse, if they take it to heart, they can then manifest many ways of putting it into practice. Can we then say they just listened to a small amount of Dharma? People who listen a lot say, “I have listened and heard all kinds of teachings.” But if they cannot put them into action, then it does not count for much. However, if one listens to a portion and is able to put it into action, this cannot be called a small feat. They have listened, taken it in and put it into action; this is considered a lot. “This demonstrates in particular that the merits and virtues of those who put the teachings into practice are many.” It is difficult to listen to the Dharma, but to listen, take it in and put it into practice creates great merits.

Teaching all over the lands of ten directions cannot be said to be much. Teaching only one verse or one sentence cannot be said to be little. This demonstrates in particular that the merits of those who put the teachings into practice are many. The above makes a comparison among those who uphold and make offerings to the sutra. Some uphold the whole sutra while others uphold one verse or phrase. By just comparing the amount of text it is truly impossible to tell which contains more meaning.

The above [commentary] says, “Among those who uphold and make offerings to the sutra, some uphold the whole sutra while others uphold one verse or phrase.” If we were to make a comparison, we might ask, “Have you done more, or have I?” Actually, as long as we put it into practice, it is all equal. You do not need to boast to me that you listened to many [teachings] if you did not put them into practice. Perhaps I have listened to a smaller amount, but I have done a great deal. Perhaps I followed this Dharma and was able to “learn a good thing and sincerely adhere to it.” I was able to do something. There is no difference, no need to compare. Truly implementing [the teachings] is always right.

So, “It is impossible to tell which contains more meaning.” There is no need to compare how much we listened. However, we must listen when we can. As we are listening, while we may not have had any insights before, as we continue to understand and our causes and conditions mature, a single phrase can trigger our faith. This is the most important thing.

Dear Bodhisattvas, to truly listen, accept and uphold the sutras, we need to apply the true principles in our daily living and activities. We must purify ourselves and others and come together to spread great love. These are the most important things. So, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1206 – Widely Expounding the Wondrous Dharma

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>> With great loving-kindness and the factor of joy, they have pure affinities. With long-lasting affection, they give rise to joy and equanimity. With great compassion, they are concerned for people in hardship and cannot bear for them to suffer. The Tathagata has compassion for, safeguards and helps them all to attain liberation. These people give rise to great Bodhicitta and make vows to safeguard others.

>> The factor of joy: With a genuine heart, one resonates with and awakens to the True Dharma. When one attains joy, one can skillfully attain awakening and abide in true Dharma-joy. Therefore, it is called “the factor of joy.” With hearts of joy and equanimity, they have compassion for sentient beings. Therefore, they vow to use this lifetime within this evil world of turbidities to safeguard and promote this sutra.

>> They make all kinds of offerings to the sutra with fragrant flowers, strings of jewels, scented powder, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes and music. They put their palms together in reverence. These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. Others should make offerings to these people as if making offerings to the Tathagata.

>> You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas who have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world to widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

>> This explains that Bodhisattvas, in order to have perfect Bodhi, make vows to promote this sutra. Bodhisattvas can be described as sentient beings who aspire to the Great Path. They can also be called “great awakened sentient beings,” which refers to people with great aspirations who seek the Path.

>> You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas: Upon hearing the. Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, they gave rise to great faith and understanding. So, we know these people must be great Bodhisattvas.

>> [They] have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world: They have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and due to their compassion for sentient beings, they are born into this human realm.

>> To widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra: They widely expound and explain in detail to universally spread the true teachings of the One Vehicle, which is the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

>> These people have served Buddhas for many kalpas. Now they make compassionate vows to be reborn into this world and uphold the six kinds of right practice. This enables others to hear their words and understand and to watch their actions and become inspired. This is how they widely expound this sutra. This enables others, due to their six kinds of right practice, to know this sutra is superior to other sutras. This is what it means to analyze this sutra.

>> The right practice of the Six Paramitas: They will unify matters and principles. When handling matters, they do not hinder the principles. With principles, they never depart from matters. In cultivating themselves or transforming others, they perfectly integrate matters and principles. As they engage in self-reflection, they overcome obstacles to improve themselves. This is called the “right practice of the Six Paramitas.”

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“With great loving-kindness and the factor of joy, they have pure affinities.
With long-lasting affection, they give rise to joy and equanimity. With great compassion,
they are concerned for people in hardship and cannot bear for them to suffer.
The Tathagata has compassion for, safeguards and helps them all to attain liberation.
These people give rise to great Bodhicitta
and make vows to safeguard others.”

We must put effort into understanding this. Great loving-kindness, great compassion, great joy and great equanimity are what the Buddha taught us. The Four Infinite Minds, as we are Buddhist practitioners, walking the. Bodhisattva-path, are things that all of us need to mindfully experience. The goal in learning the Buddha’s Way is in fact to be on a broad and great path, which is the great, direct Bodhi-path. Loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity makes a very wide path. It helps us to very safely go directly from the state of ordinary people to the state of great awakened Bodhisattvas and then to the state of Buddhahood. This is a safe path for us. So, we must have “great loving-kindness [and] the factor of joy.” When it comes to great loving-kindness and joy, in the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, there are the Seven Factors of Bodhi. Do you remember? One of them is “the factor of joy.” There are the factors of discernment, diligence, joy and so on, a total of seven. This is part of the 37 Practices of Enlightenment. This is one of the Seven Factors of Bodhi, the factor of joy.

Where does this joy come from? From “a genuine heart resonating with and awakening to the True Dharma.”

The factor of joy: With a genuine heart, one resonates with and awakens to the True Dharma. When one attains joy, one can skillfully attain awakening and abide in true Dharma-joy. Therefore, it is called “the factor of joy.” With hearts of joy and equanimity, they have compassion for sentient beings. Therefore, they vow to use this lifetime within this evil world of turbidities to safeguard and promote this sutra.

Since we are Buddhist practitioners, our hearts must be genuine. To practice according to teachings, we need deep faith. We must deeply believe in the Buddha-Dharma; our faith must be genuine. A genuine heart is where spiritual practice takes place. Since we have faith, we must directly accept the Buddha’s teachings to understand them. If that is the case, “the factor of joy” means we can resonate with and awaken to the True Dharma with a genuine heart. This enables us to attain happiness. When we take this kind of True Dharma to heart, that kind of happiness is called “Dharma-joy.” After we take the Dharma to heart, we truly comprehend and awaken to it. Truly, that happiness [is different from] what ordinary people feel when we say, “I did it! I’ve gotten my desire, what I wanted.” That kind of happiness is completely different. The pure and undefiled Dharma helps us to achieve thorough understanding. That happiness, the factor of joy, is great happiness.

So, this is a kind of skill. With this skillfulness, the undefiled great Dharma is what we have awakened to. So, we can “abide in true Dharma-joy.” When we take the Dharma to heart, we will never forget it. We will always be happy when we think of it. This is absolutely a different kind of happiness than the kind of happiness ordinary people obtain. This is because we ordinary people want and pursue so many things. After we obtain one thing, very quickly we think about obtaining something else. The happiness that we obtain is very short-lived and passes very quickly. Furthermore, obtaining this thing perhaps resulted in us creating [negative] karma and replicating our afflictions. Also, the thing we obtained only brings temporary joy. When we fight over things, this is the kind of happiness we attain.

What if it is Dharma-joy? It comes from faithfully acceptance and practice. If we believe in the Buddha’s teachings, accept it with a genuine heart, put it into practice and thus comprehend it, that kind of joy, once we obtain it, will never disappear. This is because principles can remain in our minds forever. This kind of joy is the joy of abiding in the True Dharma. So, it is called “the factor of joy.” It comes from joyfully giving. With joy and equanimity, our minds will be free of expectations as we give to sentient beings out of compassion. If we are able to attain the Dharma, we will do this work with great willingness and serve with great joy. It is out of compassion for sentient beings that we are willing to give.

So, Bodhisattvas willingly return on the ship of compassion, repeatedly returning to this world, as does the Buddha. They journey on the Dharma of Suchness to this world. The human realm is a turbid and evil world; it is a world that must be endured. But all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are willing to repeatedly return to this world. Besides saving and transforming sentient beings, another mission of theirs is “to safeguard and promote this sutra.” What sutra is this? The Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. The Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is the path to Buddhahood. So, everyone must be very mindful of it. When it comes to this sutra, with every phrase and verse, we must give rise to a sense of joy as we accept and uphold it in our minds. Naturally we can very gradually [cultivate] this seed in our minds so it takes root and flourishes. That is “one giving rise to infinity, and infinity arising from one.”

The Buddha always hoped that we would earnestly safeguard this sutra and widely promote this sutra. This takes great joy. For example, yesterday, a group of Bodhisattvas from Kaohsiung returned [to the Abode] in a grand procession. They are from the Wujia Recycling Station. This recycling station is in Wujia. Wujia sounds like a place in the countryside, but it is not. It is in a very busy area of the city. One time I went there, as it was on my way. They said, “Master, this recycling station in Wujia is very well-run. Mr. Chang is very dedicated. His whole family has formed great aspirations. They provided this land to Tzu Chi.” He said, “Master, would you like to go take a look?” I asked, “How far is it? It’s just around the corner.” The car turned the corner and there it was.

As expected, it was a very busy part of the city. This was a retail space, and this property was very big. If it were to be used for stores, they could charge people a lot, and they could build many storefronts. But, Mr. Chang’s family was very supportive of this effort. They said, “The money we make lasts only as long as this short life. No matter how many generations it lasts, it is still temporary. The results of environmental protection are everlasting. To inspire everyone to care for Earth and cherish the life of objects and help even more people to understand, we have to be in a city, in a bustling place. This will help people understand recycling. This will be better at attracting people.” So, he took this retail space and provided it for recycling work.

I went to look and it was indeed on a street in a very central location. It was very big, and there were many people. Though it only extends inwards a few meters, there were very many people. The space was very wide. So, when I went in I saw them. “There are so many people!” Everyone saw that I had come, and another layer of people surfaced and stood up. It turns out there were so many people! They started to ask me to say a few words. I stood there getting ready to speak, and more people started coming in. It was as if people surrounded us on the street too. There were many people inside, and many outside. Speaking to everyone in that place was something I had never experienced. It was as if I was hawking my wares on the street. It truly had an unusual feel.

I said, “This place is prime real estate. You really don’t regret using it for recycling?” This is what I said. He said, “Master, our planet is a priceless treasure. We are grateful to Master for establishing this spiritual practice of doing recycling work. This practice is very easy to enter. Look, everyone is working so happily. They are all so grateful. They are joyful.” I asked everyone, “Are you working very happily? We are very happy! Thank you, Master.” Everyone was smiling. They were very happy, very much at ease.

A group of them came back yesterday. Among them were many elderly Bodhisattvas who happily serve as examples to others. Sitting there, I [heard] their stories one by one.

Among them was a woman named Mrs. Li Baihe. She is nearly 80, a grandmother. She will turn 80 soon. She told me, “Master, I’m embarrassed. I’m illiterate. My writing when copying the sutra was not pretty.” In fact, Mr. Chang already took this sutra and put it in front of me. As I was flipping through it, [I wondered,]. “Who wrote these characters? They look so pretty.” Then, this elderly Bodhisattva shared her thoughts with me, her experience from doing recycling work. After she finished sharing, she came down [from the stage] and walked to the back to right in front of me. She said to me, “Master, I’m embarrassed. I’m illiterate. I never went to school. So, my writing is not beautiful. But, you asked us to copy the sutra, so I copied the sutra.” She copied the entire Lotus Sutra, every character, every stroke, every vertical and horizontal line. Every character was written neatly, and not a single character was wrong. All seven volumes of the Lotus Sutra were copied here! . She copied the sutra! She was nearly 80 years old.

She also said to me, “In the past, I also copied the Earth Treasury Sutra. Oh, so you have copied the Earth Treasury Sutra? You have practiced copying sutras. That is why your writing is so beautiful!” I was very joyful! This is what elderly Bodhisattvas are like. Look at how old she is. She is illiterate but had to learn to write. She copied the sutra and has used her hands for doing recycling work for over 20 years. Now she is responsible for the recycling station; she is in charge during the day shift.

She is also an elderly Bodhisattva. She is very frugal. Her family is doing very well financially. Her child is well-behaved and very talented. This is what Mr. Chang told me. Her husband is very supportive. She has been doing recycling work for over 20 years. The rattan chair she sits in is decades old. Ever since she began doing recycling work, she has always sat in this chair.

Rattan chairs are woven and will break. This rattan chair of hers has been very carefully mended by her; she mended it with cloth. Where there is a hole, she covers it with a piece of cloth. This patched rattan chair was captured in a photo. Mr. Chang showed it to me. “This rattan chair belongs to this elderly Bodhisattva. Ever since she began doing recycling work, she has had one wish. In the future, if our recycling station is to be remodeled and rebuilt, she wants to contribute.” Thus, she saved over one million [NTD]. For over 20 years, she has been saving up. She did not ask her child for this large amount; this came from her spare change and her allowance. She had accumulated it this way.

So, this is not unachievable. She did not say, “I’m illiterate; I cannot copy, cannot write.” In fact, it just takes willpower. Now, you do not have to copy [the sutra]. You can listen and take it to heart and keep it in your minds to understand the principles. With a genuine mind, we can believe. With a genuine mind, we can understand. With this kind of mindset, naturally we will be able to take the principles to heart and share them with everyone. This is also a merit.

So, “With great loving-kindness and the factor of joy, they have pure affinities.” With pure affinities, they give without expectations. Their love and care for Earth is unconditional. They just give; they have no expectations. They want to achieve lasting protection for Earth and make this spiritual practice center a reality in transforming people and bringing them in. Having started from recycling work, people have already completed introductory and advanced volunteer training. It turns out this big group of people all came in through the Dharma-door of recycling work. Among them are honorary board members, Tzu Chi commissioners and Faith Corp members. It is such a big group!

Thus, “With great loving-kindness and the factor of joy, they have pure affinities. With long-lasting affection, they give rise to joy and equanimity.” If we just talk about money earned, after one, two, three generations, who knows what will happen to it. But if it is donated to Tzu Chi for a spiritual practice center, for recycling work, it can be used to construct a place that can be used for community education, for recycling work and for Bodhisattvas to gather together. See, this is long-lasting compassion. This is a mind of joy and equanimity. What about a mind of “great compassion”? It is the concern for suffering people which comes from our heart going out to them.

Life is filled with suffering. So, “The Tathagata has compassion for, safeguards and helps them all to attain liberation.” The Buddha came to this world for one great cause. He came to transform sentient beings and help everyone understand the true principles. After understanding this path, understanding the true principles, we can then walk on this path to benefit ourselves and others, transform ourselves and others. This is the Buddha’s goal in coming to this world. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas repeatedly return on the ship of compassion [to achieve this].

So, “These people give rise to great Bodhicitta.” People like these gave rise to great Bodhicitta, a mind of great awakening. Thus, they “make vows to safeguard others.” We must make vows; with vows come strength. With vows come the strength to safeguard, uphold and protect the minds of sentient beings. They are also willing to joyfully give to sentient beings. So, this is a kind of giving, a way of making all kinds of offerings. Making offerings is giving.

Of course, to have a magnificent practice center, there must be people who listen to teachings, people who request the Dharma, people to…and so on. This place of practice needs to be magnificent. So, there needs to be many decorations. That is the case with the recycling station. We must find ways to renovate it so that it can be put to more uses. It can be used for Dharma-talks, for study groups, for community classes and for doing recycling work. It is a multifunctional, magnificent spiritual practice center. We must be just like that piece of land, able to make all kinds of offerings and serve multiple functions.

Of course, in the sutra, the Buddha was speaking to people of that era. “They make all kinds of offerings to the sutra.” To make offerings to this sutra and its principles, they must use “flowers, fragrance, strings of jewels, scented powders, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes, music and putting their palms together in reverence.” These are all called offerings. They are given with a reverent heart.

“These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.”

They make all kinds of offerings to the sutra with fragrant flowers, strings of jewels, scented powder, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes and music. They put their palms together in reverence. These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. Others should make offerings to these people as if making offerings to the Tathagata.

People like this are worthy of respect. They are willing to give. They have no expectations and are willing to give. This kind of person thoroughly understands the principles, is able to share with everyone and can be a role model and set an example; they lead people to walk this path. This kind of person truly should be esteemed and revered by everyone and receive offerings from people. “Others should make offerings to these people as if making offerings to the Tathagata.” Seeing someone like this is the same as seeing the Buddha. With a Buddha-mind, they give to sentient beings; they are worthy of our respect.

The next sutra passage says,

“You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas who have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world to widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.”You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas who have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world to widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

This sutra passage explains that . Bodhisattvas, in order to have perfect Bodhi, must fulfill the vows they made in the past. How long ago in the past? Very long! Dust-inked kalpas ago, they had already made this kind of vow. In order to have perfect Bodhi, they made vows to promote the sutra.

This explains that Bodhisattvas, in order to have perfect Bodhi, make vows to promote this sutra. Bodhisattvas can be described as sentient beings who aspire to the Great Path. They can also be called “great awakened sentient beings,” which refers to people with great aspirations who seek the Path.

Bodhi is the path to enlightenment; in order to complete this path to enlightenment, we must come to promote this sutra with the power of vows of the past.

As for “Bodhisattvas,” what is a Bodhisattva? They are “described as sentient beings who aspire to the great path.” What is a Bodhisattva? People who form great aspirations and walk the Bodhisattva-path can all be called Bodhisattvas. They can also be called “sentient beings who aspire to the great path” or “great awakened sentient beings,” sentient beings of great awakening. So, we often refer to them as “awakened beings.” These are Bodhisattvas. This is because they seek the Path. Those who seek the Path and form great aspirations are all called “Bodhisattvas.”

So, “You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas.”

You should know that these people are great Bodhisattvas: Upon hearing the. Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, they gave rise to great faith and understanding. So, we know these people must be great Bodhisattvas.

We should know this. People like this willingly uphold the sutra and are also able to read and recite it. They uphold, read, recite and copy it. This is promoting the Dharma of the sutra. People who do this are called “Bodhisattvas. Upon hearing the. Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, they gave rise to great faith and understanding.” They believed it and also wanted to understand it. Indeed, thoroughly understanding the Lotus Sutra is not easy. The Bodhisattva[-volunteers] who came back to do sutra compilations are now starting with the Introductory Chapter. When I see them, I ask, “Is it difficult?” because I know it is very difficult.

The Introductory Chapter is very difficult. It describes many intangible things in heaven and earth. Those intangible things are the true principles. To explain them in a tangible way, [the explanation] has to be wide-ranging. Then, the tangible has to be transformed into the intangible. The principles are inherently without substance and appearance; they are very broad. “The Dharma is without boundaries.” Truly, how do we begin to pull these strands [of Dharma] into a framework? That is very difficult. So, the Introductory Chapter takes everything and gathers it all together to create a framework. Then, it begins to explain things in detail. So, the Introductory Chapter is a very difficult [text]. When we speak of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, which is very difficult [to understand], we must have faith from the very beginning. Not only do we need to have faith, we must also mindfully understand it. Only if we “comprehend the Great Path” can we “form the supreme aspiration.” This is how we begin to enter the sutra; we must put effort into comprehending it.

So, we know these people “must be great Bodhisattvas.” They have patience and are willing to understand. They can comprehend, so they are truly great Bodhisattvas. With patience they organize things; with patience, they try to understand this themselves so that others may then be able to understand. If they cannot organize things so that they can understand, others will be unable to understand, and there will be no way to pass on the Dharma. So, compiling the sutras takes a lot of skill. We must have great admiration and respect for this. The people who compile sutras are incredible.

“[They] have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”

[They] have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world: They have attained Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, and due to their compassion for sentient beings, they are born into this human realm.

If we can “comprehend the great path and form the supreme aspiration,” naturally we will “delve deeply into the sutra-treasury” and have “wisdom as vast as the ocean.” If we can thoroughly comprehend the principles, we can “lead the people harmoniously.” This comes from having already developed great awakening and becoming one with all things in the universe to achieve universal and perfect enlightenment. That is “Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi,” which is supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. For the sake of the sutras, these people very mindfully accepted and upheld them, copied them and explained them. They spent a very long time on compiling them to make them very simple so that upon seeing, hearing them, people would understand. This was not easy to do. So, they needed to be very mindful.

Why [did they do this]? Because “Out of compassion for sentient beings, they vow to be reborn into this world.” It is because sentient beings suffer when they do not understand the principles and thus replicate afflictions and ignorance, creating increasingly more severe karmic forces. With severe karma comes numerous obstructions and much suffering. So, Buddhas and all Bodhisattvas come to the world to teach sentient beings. This is compassion. [They have] “compassion for sentient beings,” so “they vow to be reborn into this world.” They willingly come, willingly give of themselves. This makes them Bodhisattvas who already achieved Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.

All Buddhas and Dharmakaya Bodhisattvas have already achieved perfect enlightenment. But, they willingly return to the Saha World solely to use all kinds of Dharma to help sentient beings comprehend the principles. In this way, “Due to their compassion for sentient beings, they are born into this [human] realm.” They were born into this world for this reason.

So, they “widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.”

To widely expound and analyze the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra: They widely expound and explain in detail to universally spread the true teachings of the One Vehicle, which is the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

It is for this reason that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to this world. They come to “widely expound and explain in detail.” So, they came to widely tell everyone, paving the way to help everyone understand that there is nothing unknown, no place that is not understood; the principles of the sutra are everywhere.

Not only could these people explain this, they could also accomplish this state. This is because the sutra teaches us to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. There are many actions. Although we speak of the Six Paramitas, they can be spread out into all kinds of actions which we can put into practice. In any space, in any time, in any part of the world, this Dharma can universally benefit all beings. So, because of this, “They broadly expound and explain in detail.” Different sentient beings have different capabilities; they patiently explain, analyze for each of them. They explain it “to universally spread the true teachings of the One Vehicle.” The True Dharma of the One Vehicle “is the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.” These are the true teachings. This refers to the Lotus Sutra, the sutra we are discussing now.

“These people have served Buddhas for many kalpas.”

These people have served Buddhas for many kalpas. Now they make compassionate vows to be reborn into this world and uphold the six kinds of right practice. This enables others to hear their words and understand and to watch their actions and become inspired. This is how they widely expound this sutra. This enables others, due to their six kinds of right practice, to know this sutra is superior to other sutras. This is what it means to analyze this sutra.

With this sutra, in fact these people have already, since long ago, since many kalpas, dust-inked kalpas ago, made offerings to Buddhas. They practiced at the Buddhas’ Dharma-assemblies and listened to the Buddhas’ teachings. They have already come through this [process]. So, “Now they make compassionate vows to be reborn into this world.” They cannot bear to see sentient beings suffer. So, it is their compassionate vow to be born into this world. These Bodhisattvas are willing to give. These people truly cultivate the “six kinds of right practice.” The six kinds of right practice are the right practices of the Six Paramitas. Right practice is [actualized in] all actions. There are many of them. Going among people to give is right practice. Leading sentient beings to enter the Buddha’s door and practice the Right Dharma is also called “right practice.” The six kinds are the Six Paramitas, giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These six kinds of methods extend into all actions.

So, “This enables others to hear their words and understand.” There are so many actions that we can put into practice. It is not just about letting other people hear but also giving them an example they can see and helping their bodies experience the feeling of receiving compassion and feeling gratitude. All these examples are things that we can accomplish in this world. So, “This enables others to hear their words and understand.” We do this so that others can see. It is through these actions that we can help people.

“[People] watch their actions and become inspired. This is how they widely expound this sutra.” Because they act in these ways, this allows other people to see them, allows other people to feel this. Because of that, this is a way of expounding the Dharma. [Teaching] is not necessarily saying, “Come here, I will share the sutra with you.” We do not need to do that. “The sutras are a path; this path is a road to walk on.” The path is this road. By earnestly walking it for other people to see, we are truly opening up this path.

So, it says, “This enables others, due to their six kinds of right practice….” Compared to other sutras, this sutra is far superior. Other sutras talk about only one or two things to teach according to people’s capabilities. This sutra encompasses heaven and earth; its [teachings] are truly very vast. This is the Lotus Sutra. No wonder when they began to compile the sutras and put them together, this seemed very scattered, very vast. Because it is vast, it encompasses heaven and earth. This is how vast it is. So, compared to other sutras, this sutra is superior. The Lotus Sutra, because it can guide people to attain Buddhahood, is “the Lotus Sutra of Attaining Buddhahood. That is what it means to analyze this sutra.” This sutra is different from other sutras.

So, when we speak of “the right practice of the Six Paramitas,” we must be even more clear. This is unifying matters and principles. This is “the right practice of the Six Paramitas.” In every matter, we can take all kinds of actions to adapt to people’s needs. There are six ways to do all things, with giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These are the principles. With regards to people and matters, the world is full of suffering. There is suffering of the mind, suffering of the environment, suffering due to material things, suffering from natural disasters and suffering from manmade calamities. There is so much suffering. We must adapt to the suffering that occurs with people and matters. So, matters and principles need to be in harmony. This is “the right practice of the Six Paramitas.”

The right practice of the Six Paramitas: They will unify matters and principles. When handling matters, they do not hinder the principles. With principles, they never depart from matters. In cultivating themselves or transforming others, they perfectly integrate matters and principles. As they engage in self-reflection, they overcome obstacles to improve themselves. This is called the “right practice of the Six Paramitas.”

So, “When handling matters, they do not hinder the principles.” In everything we do, we must not go against the principles or hinder the principles. “They apply the principles in all matters.” As we speak of the principles, they are absolutely inseparable from matters. This is the wondrousness of the Lotus Sutra. It is wondrous in that matters and principles are always in harmony.

“In cultivating themselves or transforming others they perfectly integrate matters and principles.” We can put the teachings into practice and also help others at the same time. This is integrating matters and principles. So, we “engage in self-reflection without obstacles.” We reflect on ourselves. Why are we doing this? Truly, in our minds, we give rise to this thought and thus take action. There are no obstacles; this is how it goes. When it is the right thing, we should just do it. “Engaging in self-reflection without obstacles, [we] overcome obstacles to improve ourselves.” In the past there were many, many difficulties. Though there were many obstacles, we persevered in our aspiration and continued to overcome layer upon layer of obstructions. In this way, we “overcome obstacles to improve ourselves.” Our accomplishments are right in front of us. Isn’t this how things work? Just do it. If it is right, just do it. Right before us is proof of that. “This is called the right practice of the Six Paramitas.” This is the right practice of the Six Paramitas.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must be mindful! Hearing the sutra, we must experience it like this. Matters and principles must be in harmony. The wondrousness of the Lotus Sutra is found in this section. It encompasses heaven and earth. In time, space and interpersonal relationships, all matters contain these principles. These principles encompass everything in all of time and space and this world. So, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1205 -Illuminating with the Torch of Wisdom

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>> The torch of wisdom illuminates and expels the darkness of all delusions. All sentient beings create the Threefold Karma and wander in the darkness of ignorance. Bodhisattvas of great compassion practice diligently and uphold wisdom. The World-Honored One lights the lamp of wisdom, so He is called. Radiant Lamp of Wisdom.

>> Why is this? If these good men and good women can take even one sentence of the Lotus Sutra, accepting and upholding, reading and reciting, expounding and transcribing it…

>> They make all kinds of offerings to the sutra, including flowers, fragrance, strings of jewels, scented powders, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes, music, and putting their palms together in reverence.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 1. Flowers and fragrance. These come from various plants. They are called “flowers filled with fragrance” 2. Strings of jewels: These are precious jewels strung together as magnificent adornments.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 3. Scented powders: Sandalwood is ground into fine powders 4. Fragrant oils: This means pure, fragrant perfumes.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 5. Incense: Incense is shaped into sticks for burning 6. Silken canopies: Fine silken cloths are made into canopies to shield from dust and dirt.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 7. Hanging banners: These wave back and forth to drive off birds and rats 8. Clothes: From front to back, inside and out, the sutra is bound in fine brocade.

>> They make all kinds of offerings: 9. Music: They dance and play music 10. Putting their palms together in reverence: They devote their lives and prostrate, expressing utmost sincerity and reverence.

>> These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.

>> These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata: These people will certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes. So, now people should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.

>> These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world: People like this should be esteemed and revered by all sentient beings in the world. Esteemed and revered by the world: The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in them.

>> People should make offerings to these people as if making offerings to the Tathagata: During eras with no Buddhas in the world, these people will promote the teachings on behalf of the Buddhas. So, people should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Buddhas. Offerings to the Tathagata: They respectfully regard them as Buddhas.

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“The torch of wisdom
illuminates and expels the darkness of all delusions.
All sentient beings create the Threefold Karma
and wander in the darkness of ignorance.
Bodhisattvas of great compassion
practice diligently and uphold wisdom.
The World-Honored One lights the lamp of wisdom,
so He is called. Radiant Lamp of Wisdom.”

“The torch of wisdom illuminates and expels the darkness of all delusions.” Every sentient being, every one of us, intrinsically has a clear and bright wisdom-life; it is bright and as clear as crystal. But where is our lamp of wisdom now? Has our wisdom-life grown [in radiance]? Within the house of our mind, is it still dark indoors? Or have we kindled some light? Even if it is a small candle, or a small lamp, have we actually lit it? Only we ourselves know.

The Buddha constantly shows us that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. We must also have self-respect; we must respect ourselves as the Buddha’s equal. We must have confidence in ourselves. We also have the bright torch of wisdom. Not only can we illuminate ourselves with it, we can also shine it upon all sentient beings. In this way, with just one lamp, everyone can kindle countless lights.

As the Buddha told us, “As long as you light a single candle, you help others light a candle one after another from your candle.” Then He asked everyone, “Does that diminish the light of your candle?” The disciples’ answer was, “No! This is the normal brightness of this candle.” Ten candles were lit from the first candle. One hundred, then tens of millions of candles, were lit from this one and then dispersed. The Buddha then asked, “Are the surroundings brighter? Yes! Much brighter.”

The light from one candle can brighten up a dark room; is this enough? It is not; we need many people’s candles. They have not lit their candles yet. Using the light of this candle, we can pass the light to theirs. Millions of candles can be lit up at the same time. In that way, this dark room will become so bright! This is what the Buddha did. Although the torch of wisdom in His mind is brightly lit up, He hopes that His torch of wisdom can bring out [the light of] even more people. So, we must be very mindful!

We saw, in the US [in 2016], there was a six-year-old child who was very worried about [people damaging] Earth. In the state of Washington, there was this child who was six years old. One day when he went to school, the teacher played a video for the children. This video was about the destruction of Earth’s environment. This child saw that many animals in the water, fish and so on were ingesting trash. The bodies of many fish were tangled with trash; [the fish] were also ingesting trash.

The teacher said to these children, “Look, Earth is being destroyed. There is trash everywhere. The beaches are covered with trash. After the waves come in, they bring the trash into the ocean. The ocean is filled with trash. So, the animals in the ocean take the trash as food. Some animals ingest it, and some swim into it and become entangled.” The teacher also played a video that showed that Earth is being destroyed and that trees of the forest are being cut down. Trees are cut down to build houses and to build roads through the mountains.

These many videos on the destruction of the environment were shown in their entirety to the children. This six-year-old child was named Henry. He started to cry and cry. Then his mother came to take him home. She saw him crying miserably. His mother held his hand and asked, “Why are you crying like this? What happened to you?” He was crying so much that he was unable to speak. His mother held his hand, and he was still crying when he got into the car. After getting home, he said to his mother, “I hope that I can grow up quickly. Because this planet is being destroyed, I really hope that I can grow up quickly so that I can protect Earth.” He said this as he cried, and he continued to cry after he got home. He was very emotional. He cried loudly and miserably. He kept saying, “I want to grow up quickly. I want to protect Earth. This planet is being destroyed by bad people.”

As this child continued to cry, his mother tried to console him, but it was of no use. Seeing that the child continued to cry miserably, she recorded him with her phone and uploaded the video to the internet. This child, as he cried, continued to say that, “People on Earth are bad people. They cut down trees to build roads. The trash they throw away [hurts the] animals in the water.” He continued to cry and repeat these words. How many people saw this video clip? 17 million people. Over the internet, they could instantly see the video of this child. This generated a huge response. Everyone praised this child for being very wise. This young child already knew to protect Earth; adults should truly feel ashamed of themselves.

The mother said to her child, “Since you love Earth so much, why don’t you draw a picture. Then you can send out this picture to let everyone know to not cut down trees and not [carelessly] throw away the trash?” The child replied to his mother, “Drawing pictures is useless!” He invited his mother, “Let’s go out on the streets!” In this way, he called on everyone. He called to everyone loudly; “Everyone, don’t cut down trees. Don’t destroy Earth. Don’t [carelessly] throw away trash.”

He said, “I am very angry at these people. These people are foolish.” The orangutan [we talked about] said the same. [In sign language,] she said “stupid” and “exceedingly foolish.” It was for the same reason. [The child] continued to yell, scolding people for being so cruel as to destroy the entire planet in this way. He could not wait to grow up right away so he could protect Earth.

He said, “Humankind is truly very terrible! I can only say that they are foolish.” Adults were being scolded like this by a child. See, children are so adorable! Their minds have not been tainted; they are very pure. This is the intrinsic nature of the Tathagata. Everyone has a pure intrinsic nature. Our nature of True Suchness has been [covered] by defilements and desires from our environment. Take this child for example. He has such a pure mind. What the teacher said and the images he saw deeply influenced him. Moreover, he immediately formed aspirations. He was inspired. He wanted to save the planet. He hoped to be able to grow up quickly.

The things he yelled were about how terrible humankind was, how they are all terrible people, very foolish. However, the adults were impressed by his scolding. Later, he put up posters everywhere, promoting recycling. After these posters about environmental protection were distributed, he said, “Simply putting up posters is useless.” This was what the child said. He still wanted his mother to go out on the streets with him to urge everyone to not [carelessly] throw away trash. Although he put up posters, he still said that they needed to take action. He could not just draw and put up posters; he had to go out among people. He hoped his mother would go with him to call on people [to act].

Seeing this, I thought, “Are we all willing to do this? Do we have this courage?” We now know that this planet is not in good shape. There are many crises. Humans live amidst these changes in the climate. This is not just a crisis for humans and animals; even plants, trees, flowers, grass and so on have also changed. I have heard people say that it is not until the beginning of autumn every year that the maple leaves turn red. Now, [in June 2016], they are already starting to turn red. This is because of climate change. The land and the entire climate, including trees, grass, flowers and so on, have become abnormal. They are not normal.

I also heard Mudan telling me, “I am not sure what is going on, but in some of the fields outside the abode, all the corn husks are empty; nothing is inside. What is happening to the climate? The entire field is like this.” Think about it; in Hualien, our experience is that the rain falls when it is supposed to, and the sun comes out when it is supposed to. Over this recent period of time it seems there is suddenly heavy rain, and then suddenly a blazing sun. This is all that we experience. But the grains and plants on the land are also changing. Think about it; this is a crisis for the planet! Not only are humans and animals, but plants, trees and so on and grains are likewise affected. The climate is already imbalanced.

There is a saying, “If people do not follow the laws of nature, nature will not follow the rules of seasons.” This is what the people from long ago said. Now we can experience it; we can see it. Adults see this and know it is happening. We ask them to change their living habits, but can they do it? It is difficult! Children this young are very sensitive. They immediately accept that this is happening. After that, not only do they express their strong emotions, they also want to protect [the planet]. Look, Henry is six years old. At such a young age, this little child is so eager to protect the animals!

We often see this with children in Malaysia. After they learn about this, they are determined to eat a vegetarian diet. Look at them! For several years, they have been determined to be vegetarian. They learned this principle in kindergarten, and now they are in elementary school. Their resolve is firm. What about us adults? Are we foolish? Henry was very angry and scolded us severely. He said many unpleasant things in this context. This child was angry about this. Therefore, we adults should earnestly reflect upon ourselves.

“The torch of wisdom illuminates.” As Buddhist practitioners, have we ourselves lit up our darkened rooms? In our daily living, are we still filled with ignorance and delusions of darkness? I have continued to tell everyone that we have these principles in our lives. So, we can bring our way of life in line with them. In our daily living, when the Dharma comes together with our life, in the future, our minds will be able to become one with the universe. That is becoming “the Great Enlightened One,” which is attaining Buddhahood.

Presently, in our lives, we must be mindful of the principles that we heard. Have today’s principles been applied to our daily living? Children are worried about issues of trash, but have we taken any action? Do we comprehend and actualize [the principles]?

In Taiwan alone, [there are] 6 million hot water dispensers. Simply by keeping them plugged in, we use up so much electricity. Researchers have calculated this, and we have seen the numbers. We often say, “Turn off the lights as you leave.” This is so important! This is [applying] principles. We can do it with our actions. We can do it in our lives. When it comes to our lives, our principles and our actions our principles and our actions, are our lives, actions and the principles aligned with each other?

If so, then the torch of wisdom in our minds has been lit. Our ignorance and darkness of delusions will naturally open up, and [our minds] will naturally be illuminated. With darkness in our minds, we do not know what we are doing. We are truly foolish; we do not know at all what we are doing. Whether we are right or wrong, we do not know. So, we must put effort into being mindful. The Buddha-Dharma is inseparable from the workings of the world; it is inseparable from the actions in our lives. We must truly be mindful. “Illuminating and expelling the darkness of all delusion” is not difficult. This is all we need to do in our lives.

So, “All sentient beings create the Threefold Karma and wander in the darkness of ignorance.” Everything happens because of us sentient beings. Why is it that Earth’s climate and our environment are being destroyed? It is because sentient beings have created so much Threefold Karma. Does everyone know what the Threefold Karma are? Body, speech and mind are the Threefold Karma. The actions of our body, our craving for taste which we cannot control, all arise from our minds. So, the Threefold Karma causes changes in the environment. When the planet is damaged, living things, including humans, will all face disasters. Yet we still do not awaken. No wonder a six-year-old child would scold us, “Humans are foolish.” This shows how we humans are truly ignorant.

When we learn the Dharma, listen to teachings, we should form Bodhisattva-aspirations. So, “Bodhisattvas [have] great compassion.” We must form Great Vehicle aspirations and walk the Bodhisattva-path. We must arouse our compassion for all sentient beings in the world. Earth has already suffered such great damage, yet human beings are still so foolish. If we do not hurry and bring purity to people’s hearts, if we do not hurry and go among people to give of ourselves, think about it, what will the world be like in the future? Now, the land is already in serious trouble, and the climate is already abnormal. “Bodhisattvas of great compassion” must “practice diligently and uphold wisdom.” We must go among people; we must practice diligently and uphold wisdom.

So, “The Buddha lights the lamp of wisdom.” We must light the lamp of wisdom. This lamp of ours must be lit. Because of this lamp, more people will be able to be inspired to quickly light their unlit lamps. It is already dark in the Three Realms. As more people light the lamps in their minds, naturally the Three Realms will be illuminated. The fires in the burning house of the Three Realms will be extinguished. This is [why] we must earnestly walk the Bodhisattva-path and light the lamp of wisdom. Because of this, we must be very grateful. The Buddha came to the world to save sentient beings, save our minds. He came to the world for one great cause. Because the World-Honored One had this wisdom to open up sentient beings’ foolishness, the World-Honored One is called. Radiant Lamp of Wisdom. We must have faith in the Buddha’s wisdom. We must have faith that. With the Buddha’s wisdom, we must kindle one light after another, using this lamp to light up other lamps. Even if the candles are not big, as long as there are many people who light them, naturally [all things] will be illuminated.

The previous sutra passage states,

“Why is this? If these good men and good women can take even one sentence of the Lotus Sutra, accepting and upholding, reading and reciting, expounding and transcribing it….”

The Buddha constantly encourages us [to do this] in the previous sutra passage. He hopes that everyone accepts and upholds [the sutra] so that people everywhere, even if they only hear one sentence or one verse, can give rise to a joyful mind. Then, they will be willing to read and recite it, be willing to transcribe it, be willing to expound it and so on. These are all people who will attain Buddhahood in the future. This explains that earlier, they were able to receive the sutra. With every line and verse of the Lotus Sutra, they gave rise to joy in their minds. They began to be willing to accept, uphold, transcribe it and so on to widely spread the principles of this sutra. They are willing to inspire everyone to give of themselves and make offerings. This was the previous sutra passage.

I hope that every one of us, when we take the Dharma to heart, will naturally open up our minds. We must take the Dharma to heart. This way, the principles will be in our lives, and our lives will be aligned with the principles. Then naturally, we will change. We will change our erroneous behavior; this is very important.

The next sutra passage continues with,

“They make all kinds of offerings to the sutra, including flowers, fragrance, strings of jewels, scented powders, fragrant oils, incense, silken canopies, hanging banners, clothes, music, and putting their palms together in reverence.”

We must make offerings. We make offerings to the Buddha and to the Dharma. In any place where the Lotus Sutra is, we must [do this] with great reverence. Making these offerings demonstrate reverence. At the time when the Buddha was in the world, or even after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, wherever the sutras are, it is as if a Buddha is there. Therefore, we must express our reverence. So, we make all kinds of offerings. There are many types of flowers. “Flowers [and] fragrance” refers to the fragrance of flowers. It is very hot in India, and the sanitation there might not have been not very good. With the hot weather and all the people, there would have been an unpleasant odor. So, they made sure to find a way for there to be a fragrant scent in the place people gathered to learn the Buddha-Dharma. They used flowers and fragrance. This is the fragrance of flowers and plants. They used the fragrance of grass, fragrance of flowers and the fragrance of plants to thoroughly decorate the environment. This eliminated the bad odor.

They make all kinds of offerings: 1. Flowers and fragrance. These come from various plants. They are called “flowers filled with fragrance” 2. Strings of jewels: These are precious jewels strung together as magnificent adornments.

The second type is “strings of jewels.” Strings of jewels are valuable things in this world. Jewels are strung together into strands to adorn this spiritual training ground. When each string is hung up, the decorations are magnificent. They used flowers, plants and valuable things to decorate this place to express their [sincerity].

The third kind is “scented powders. Sandalwood is ground into fine powders.” Scented powders are made from fragrant woods. They are ground into fine powders and can be applied to the body. In India, people wore many layers of clothing. This was how things were. So, the Buddha said, “Contemplate the body as impure.” When human bodies sweat, every person will give off body odor. If everyone does not earnestly clean their body, everyone will have body odor. It was necessary to apply scented things so that when people approached the Buddha, they would not give off a bad odor.

They make all kinds of offerings: 3. Scented powders: Sandalwood is ground into fine powders 4. Fragrant oils: This means pure, fragrant perfumes.

It is the same with “fragrant oils. Scented powders” are ground into dust, ground into fine powders. “Fragrant oils” are like pastes and are fragrant. They can be rubbed. They can also be diluted with water to make perfume. They can be applied to the body or sprayed in the surroundings. This shows respect and is an offering to the Buddha.

The fifth kind is “incense.” Fragrant powders are formed into sticks and lit up. When incense is burnt, there is a fragrance. This also happens when “fragrant wood” is burnt.

The sixth kind is “silken canopies,” which are decorations. These designs of cloth are silken canopies or other kinds of coverings.

They make all kinds of offerings: 5. Incense: Incense is shaped into sticks for burning 6. Silken canopies: Fine silken cloths are made into canopies to shield from dust and dirt.

The seventh is “hanging banners.” We can see hanging banners when we visit temples. Sometimes, at those places, there will be flies and mosquitoes, or various little animals. Sometimes they will approach us. If there are silken canopies and hanging banners, when the wind blows they will swing, as if they were chasing away these insects. Then, whether people are listening or speaking they can be very focused.

They make all kinds of offerings: 7. Hanging banners: These wave back and forth to drive off birds and rats 8. Clothes: From front to back, inside and out, the sutra is bound in fine brocade.

The eighth kind is “clothes.” Because we all [want to] express gratitude, with cloth, in addition to silken canopies and hanging banners, we can also make clothes as an offering.

The ninth kind is “music,” with singing and dancing. The custom back then was to have singing and dancing. This is “music.” With sound and movement, they made offerings with music, singing and dancing.

Or, they put their palms together in reverence. Even simply putting palms together shows the respect in our minds. This kind of reverent prostration and devotion are all expressions of utmost sincerity and respect.

They make all kinds of offerings: 9. Music: They dance and play music 10. Putting their palms together in reverence: They devote their lives and prostrate, expressing utmost sincerity and reverence.

So, there are many types of offerings. There are material offerings, which adorn the environment to make it magnificent or help the atmosphere smell fragrant. We give these to the Buddha and the Dharma to show our reverence and respect. So, this is also considered making offerings. When people put their palms together or make prostrations, this is also making offerings. This is how a heart of respect is expressed in our appearance. This shows respect to the Buddha and the Dharma.

Next, let us look at this.

“These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.”

These people know to accept, uphold, transcribe, expound the sutras and so on. When these people accept and uphold sutras, it is as if the Buddha is transmitting the Dharma in the world. These kinds of people “should be esteemed and revered by all in the world.” Previously, we discussed Dharma masters. People who uphold these teachings can be called “Dharma masters.” The Buddha has already entered Parinirvana, and the Dharma needs to be passed on by these kind of people. So, these people should be “esteemed and revered by all in the world.” Therefore, they are worthy of offerings.

“People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.” They should pay respect to them as if they were paying respect to the Buddha. Wherever the Dharma is, the Buddha is there in that place. Moreover, the Dharma needs people [because] people can spread the Dharma. “People spread the Way; the Way cannot spread itself.” When we encounter people who can spread the Dharma, we must respect them the way students respect their teacher. This is truly respecting the Path. It is the same when listening to the Dharma. Those who can uphold the Dharma, not only uphold it, they can also expound and transmit it. People like this are worthy of respect.

These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world. People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata: These people will certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes. So, now people should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.

“These people will certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.” We must have faith that these kinds of people will certainly attain Buddhahood in the future. Recently, we have been saying that if you have this kind of mindset, you have the seed of spiritual practice. In the future, if you continue to practice and uphold the sutras for a long time, you can also attain Buddhahood. This is not to mention people who are currently upholding the sutras, currently transcribing, reading, reciting, expounding them and so on as well as putting them into practice. So, the people who are doing this “will certainly attain Buddhahood in future lifetimes.” The future lifetimes referred to here will come after many, many lifetimes; it will still be a very long time. “So, now people should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.”

“These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world.” People like these should be esteemed and revered by all sentient beings in the world. So, they “should be esteemed and revered by the world. Esteemed and revered by the world” means. “The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in them.

“These people should be esteemed and revered by all in the world: People like this should be esteemed and revered by all sentient beings in the world. Esteemed and revered by the world: The sevenfold assembly takes refuge in them.“

The sevenfold assembly can take refuge in people like this. “People should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Tathagata.” The “sevenfold assembly” are the Buddha’s five kinds of monastic disciples and the two kinds of lay disciples. All of us already know that we should all diligently make offerings to the Dharma. We should respect those who can accept the Dharma.

So, “People should make offerings to these people as if making offerings to the Tathagata.”

People should make offerings to these people as if making offerings to the Tathagata: During eras with no Buddhas in the world, these people will promote the teachings on behalf of the Buddhas. So, people should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Buddhas. Offerings to the Tathagata: They respectfully regard them as Buddhas.

In an era with no Buddhas, after a Buddha entered Parinirvana, someone needs to fill in and find a way to promote the Great Vehicle sutras. So, they need to be able to uphold, transcribe, recite and expound the sutras, transmit the Dharma and so on. This is “promoting the teachings on behalf of the Buddhas.” These people expound the teachings on behalf of the Buddha. “So, people should make offerings to them as if making offerings to the Buddhas,” It is as if the Buddha is present. They respect the Buddha as if the Buddha is present, and they respect the Dharma as if the Buddha is present. This shows respect to the Dharma and people who can put it into practice, by making offerings to them. So, “making offerings to the Tathagata” means “respectfully [regarding] them as Buddhas.”

Everyone, learning the Buddha’s Way is all about the mind. Learning the Buddha’s Way is learning the Buddha’s wisdom. What is the Buddha’s wisdom? Everyone intrinsically has the nature of True Suchness. The nature of True Suchness is as pure as crystal. We should all have a lamp of wisdom equal to the Buddha’s that can illuminate and expel ignorance and darkness of all delusions. So, we should be very mindful. With each bit of the Dharma we comprehend, we expel one bit of the darkness of delusion.

We often see that children are adorable. They are innocent and have pure minds. Seeing that the earth is being destroyed, they cannot bear it. They cry so miserably. They cry out of compassion and continuously admonish humans for being terrible people, admonish them for being foolish. Look, even an orangutan scolded us in the same way. We humans were basically the most intelligent of all beings. How could we not live up to other animals? An orangutan is an animal. Previously, we discussed the story about a goat and a horse. The horse was already blind, so the goat took care of him and guided him for 16 years. He continued to care for the horse in this way until this old horse passed away. Then, this goat returned to his herd and [enjoyed the freedom] of the world. Look, animals will do something like this. What about us humans? So, I hope that every one of us listens to the Dharma and takes it to heart. Humans are the most intelligent of all beings. We should not underestimate ourselves. At the same time, we must have an impartial mind and respect and cherish all beings, all things. This is up to each of us. Let us always be mindful.

Episode 1204 – Spreading the Dharma with Impartial Compassion

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>> If sentient beings can peacefully abide in compassion and impartiality, they will vow to sincerely safeguard, listen to, read and recite [this sutra], giving rise to joy. This is to say nothing of those who accept and uphold the entire sutra, make all kinds of offerings and, in accord with the teachings, have faith in, uphold and promote the Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.

>> Medicine King, if there are people asking what kind of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood, you should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood.

>> Why is this? If these good men and good women can take even one phrase of the Lotus Sutra and accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe it….

>> This means that though they understand one phrase, since they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of the teachings, they must not teach it to an assembly, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer, thus hindering the promotion of the teachings. If they want to teach this one phrase, they should speak to one person privately.

>> The sutra commentary states: People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder.

>> The sutra commentary also states: People with wisdom but a lack of learning also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great darkness; though they have eyes, they see nothing. People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great brightness; though they have lamps, they illuminate nothing. People who have not learned and have no wisdom are like cattle in human form. People who have learned and have wisdom take all the teachings they hear to heart. Thus, those who expound the Dharma broadly are certainly people of much learning and wisdom.

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“If sentient beings can peacefully abide in
compassion and impartiality,
they will vow to sincerely safeguard,
listen to, read and recite [this sutra], giving rise to joy.
This is to say nothing of those who accept and uphold the entire sutra,
make all kinds of offerings and, in accord with the teachings,
have faith in, uphold and promote
the Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.” 

As sentient beings, if we understand how precious it is to be born human, we should be grateful and peacefully abide among people. Since we are listening to and learning the Dharma, we must treat the world’s sentient beings with impartiality and compassion. [To understand] this principle, we must understand the sutras, the Dharma taught by the Buddha. Everything the Buddha taught was to inspire in people’s hearts an appreciation for their human form, to inspire everyone to cherish the human body they were born with. We have human form and are counted among humans. Humans are often said to be the most intelligent of all beings. This is so precious! In this world, there are so many sentient beings. How many different kinds are there? An incalculable number of life forms. There are so many!

We are fortunate to be born human. There are so many kinds of animals; we need cherish the fact that we were born human. As humans are the most intelligent of all beings, we must exercise love and care for all beings. This is what the Buddha taught us. We must cherish all beings. This is because sentient beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature; they all have Buddha-nature. So, we should seek to comprehend what the Buddha taught.

The Buddha did this because He saw how in the kingdom of Kapilavastu, a country in ancient India, people were not treated equally. This was one of the reasons He left the lay life. He experienced life’s impermanence and understood life’s cycle of birth, aging, illness and death. Everything is temporary. Moreover, people are treated unequally. This caused Him to wonder how He could thoroughly understand the value of life and how He could help everyone understand that when we interact with each other, we need to exercise impartial love.

Yet, this is easier said than done! Passing laws alone cannot lead people to treat each other impartially. This can only be done through principles. The principles must come from people’s minds. Only by comprehending the principles and exercising genuine compassion and love can we talk about people cherishing one another and having impartial love toward all. The Buddha resolved to seek the true principles. Once He realized the true principles, the principles of the universe were completely clear to Him and He became one with heaven and earth. The Buddha hoped that everyone would be clear on these principles of impartiality. So, He returned to this world in the hope that everyone would listen to the Dharma and awaken.

Thus, he spent a great amount of effort, teaching for several decades. [He hoped] that people would be able to truly experience the teachings, listen to, rejoice in and accept the teachings and put them into practice, becoming one with the principles of the universe. Were people able to have this kind of realization? This was very difficult! This is because it is hard to encounter a Buddha in the world. “It is hard to be born in the time of a Buddha.” Encountering a Buddha in the human world is very difficult. Still, do we have the chance? We do! Once we become one with the principles, the Buddha can enter our mind, and the Buddha-mind and our unenlightened mind can become one. By following the Buddha’s teachings and putting them into practice, never deviating from the principles life after life, by being able to do this, eventually there will come a lifetime when we can engage in spiritual practice like the Buddha’s.

Then suddenly, we can become one with the universe. When our minds, our awakened nature, come together with the universe and become one, there is nothing we will not know and no principle we will not understand. The principles He taught helped reestablish for humankind the principles in this world. This is because we are now again in an era of Dharma-degeneration. The Dharma goes through the eras of Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration. The era of Right Dharma is when a Buddha abides in the world and reestablishes the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. When a Buddha is in the world, He clearly expounds the Buddha-Dharma for everyone to understand. When a Buddha abides in the world, everyone can directly receive the teachings from Him. If we do not understand, while the Buddha is still in the world, seeing that we lack understanding, He will then use other methods, all kinds of analogies and expressions, to directly lead us from partial understanding toward complete understanding.

The Buddha began to bestow predictions on those people with complete understanding, one after another, until the 2000 received predictions. These people had already begun listening to the Buddha’s teachings. They just had to take the Dharma to heart and begin to form aspirations. Once a Buddha has entered Parinirvana, His disciples will still be in the world. Those who have already formed aspirations, those who are being transformed, will continue [to practice] the Right Dharma in the world. After a Buddha enters Parinirvana, the Buddha’s disciples are still there, those who comprehensively understand the Buddha’s principles, who can still practice according to the teachings. They continue to abide in the world and teach. So, the Right Dharma still remains. They have the Dharma, they listen, they practice and they achieve realization. Teachings, principles, practice and realization [are the elements present] while the Right Dharma abides in the world. These principles are the teachings, meaning that the principles taught by the Buddha are still in the world.

Those engaging in spiritual practice still live as when the Buddha was in the world. They live in this [same] way and practice in this [same] way. They comprehend the principles and continue their spiritual practice. This kind of people will still be in the world, teaching the Dharma. So, the Buddha bestowed predictions upon the 2000 disciples so that in the future they would be able to continue listening to the Dharma and verify the teachings, principles, practice and realization. In this way, the Right Dharma still remains in the world.

Then, gradually, it turns into Dharma-semblance. During the era of Dharma-semblance, as time gradually passes by, people’s minds become more unyielding. With each passing generation, as new people listen to the Dharma, they hear only what has been passed down. As each generation passes down what they heard, naturally the Dharma becomes more superficial. So, only a semblance of [the Dharma] remains. The teachings still exist, but the practice and realization are lacking. There are teachings and principles, but a lack of practice and realization. So, only a semblance can be seen. There are no true spiritual practitioners.

This happens already during the era of Dharma-semblance, not to mention the era of Dharma-degeneration. In the era of Dharma-degeneration, the Dharma exists in name only. This is very worrying. We are now in the era of Dharma-degeneration. With the form [of the Dharma], shouldn’t we form aspirations and make vows? We also need the substance; we must put [the Dharma] into action. Sentient beings can then peacefully abide in the world. The Buddha taught us hoping we would take the Dharma to heart and treat all living beings with impartial compassion. So, He started breaking through the Small Vehicle Dharma and establishing the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This happened at the very end of His life, when He taught the Lotus Sutra. So now, in the Chapter on Dharma Masters, He hoped that we would mindfully comprehend every sentence and phrase.

Thus, the Buddha turned to Medicine King Bodhisattva and started out by saying, “Medicine King Bodhisattva, do you see this? There are 80,000 great beings, visible and invisible beings of the world, the eight classes of Dharma-protectors.” If these sentient beings are able to hear the Dharma, the True Dharma of the Lotus Sutra, even just one phrase or one verse, and take joy in it and form aspirations, this shows that their hearts have already received the seed. The seed of the True Dharma is so precious! This is the future, for the sake of the future. So, in case anyone was to ask, “Can these people attain Buddhahood in the future?” the Buddha said, “You should tell them that they too will attain Buddhahood in the future. As long as they take joy in listening to, accepting, upholding, reading, reciting, copying and explaining the sutra, they too will attain Buddhahood in the future.”

Why would these people be able to attain Buddhahood? Because they took these teachings, the Great Vehicle Dharma, and listened to, read and copied them. Whether many or few, these principles gradually purified their minds. Thus, they took joy in the sutra. With joy in their hearts, they would never forget it. This is accepting and upholding it. They believed in this sutra, took joy in this sutra and did not forget it. In this way, the Dharma had already entered their eighth consciousness. So, vowing to have a mindset of compassion comes from taking the sutra to heart.

We have been born human and are fortunate enough to hear the Dharma. We begin to understand the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. Once we understand, we must then make vows to support and reverently safeguard it, safeguard this Great Vehicle sutra whether just one line or one verse. Perhaps we readily copy the sutra and its verses for people to read out and recite line by line and verse by verse. This also brings merit and virtue! So, they “vow to sincerely safeguard [this sutra].” This is not about writing for fun. It is about feeling joy from deep within. When I take joy in this line of verse.

So I enjoy copying it and I find it very applicable. When I write it out and people see it, they feel very happy too. In this way, “[they] listen to, read and recite [this sutra], giving rise to joy.” Because of our reverence, when we read, recite, copy, accept and uphold it and so on, when people see this, they also feel joy. This brings merits and virtues. This too creates merits and virtues. So, these people, in future lifetimes, will not just read and copy the sutra, they will be able to put it into practice. Because the sutra is already in their hearts, in their eighth consciousness, when they see it in future lifetimes they will be happy, and when they hear these teachings they will accept them and put them into practice. In this way they widely form good affinities and create good karma lifetime after lifetime. Of course they will attain Buddhahood.

Thus, it is said that even just listening, reading and reciting and giving rise to joy creates merits and virtues that enter our eighth consciousness. “This is to say nothing of those who accept and uphold the entire sutra [and] make all kinds of offerings.” We do not just listen, read and recite, give rise to joy or copy. This is not all we do. We accept and uphold the entire sutra. At the same time, we give rise to thoughts of making all kinds of offerings. We must all remember that these offerings we speak of are the practice of giving. We willingly and joyfully give to others, whether giving to humankind or to all sentient beings. Having understood the principles, we are willing and happy to give to sentient beings. Seeing that everyone is a future Buddha, we make offerings by helping them.

This is what I have emphasized these few days, so everyone, please be mindful. Moreover, “In accord with the teachings, [they] have faith in, uphold and promote the Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.” We should always keep this sutra engraved in our minds. We should carefully store this Dharma in our minds. In this era of Dharma-degeneration, we must adjust to the present time in our work to re-establish the Buddha-Dharma. This is something everyone can do. Listening to or copying the sutra is not the only way to create merits and virtues. Not at all. Listening to and copying the sutra helps us memorize the words of the sutra. We must then bring the Dharma together with in our daily actions and living. Our living and the Dharma must become one.

This means that we become one with the universe. As we go about our daily living, we must bring it together [with the Dharma]. That is the only way for us, in the future, to help the true principles pervade the universe. We must be able to thoroughly understand them all. Right now we need to first learn to make the Dharma one with our daily living. Then, in the future, naturally our consciousness will be filled with nothing but Buddha-Dharma and we will become one with the universe. This is what we need to mindfully experience, being one with all things in the world.

I saw some international news. In the US, there was a horse whose owner had kept him for 40 years. His owner also had a goat. The horse was slowly going blind in one eye. He had only one good eye left. Then gradually, he began going blind in that eye too. As this was happening, the owner thought, “When this animal is blind, how will he be able to get around?” As he was thinking, a thought occurred to him, “Should I put him down?”

His goat seemed to understand his intention. He began approaching the horse. The horse could not see at all with one eye, and the other had blurry vision. Every day the goat drew near the horse, until the horse came to recognize him. This is what the goat was doing. Any time the horse started walking, the goat would always walk beside him on the side where he was blind.

After some time passed, the horse began to trust and rely on the goat. Gradually, his other eye also went blind. Once both his eyes were blind, the goat would walk in front of him, and the horse would use his sensitive hearing to listen to the movements of the goat. Wherever the goat went, the horse would follow in his footsteps. Every day the goat led the horse out to graze. This was how things were. One day, there was a sudden, violent storm. The goat ran very quickly to the owner’s home. He kept calling for the owner, making bleating sounds. The owner had heard that the storm had just ended, so why did the goat come running so quickly? He quickly followed the goat as he ran back. The goat ran back, and the owner followed him.

Then he saw a thicket where some trees had fallen. The horse was in the thicket, buried under those trees. He could not get out, and he could not see. The owner immediately cleared the trees a way with his own hands, saving the horse’s life. After this experience, the owner understood even better that even different species of animals can have this kind of love for each other. The owner felt reassured. He continued to care for the horse. This went on for 16 years. For 16 years, the goat guided the horse in his daily living. After 16 years, the horse finally passed away.

The goat knew that the horse had died. After the owner buried the horse’s remains, the goat went to the horse’s final resting place. There, he lowered his head, as if bowing in respect. He remained there for a long time, as if he was speaking to him and expressing his grief. He seemed to be reminiscing on their life together. For some time, he stood there with his head lowered. Then he turned around and left serenely. The owner watched the goat as he walked away with very steady steps.

For 16 years, the goat had always led the horse along a particular narrow path. Now, after 16 years, he had completed his mission, so he returned to his herd to live together with them.

Think about it; this is the world of animals. Animals, even animals of different species, are able to be this compassionate and loving. So what about us humans? Are we humans also capable of the same? This is what we need to learn; we need to learn to love, to have impartial love. Sentient beings are all equal; everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. This is what we all need to believe. So, we must mindfully seek to experience this. These are the principles. The principles are found in this world, in the world of sentient beings. So, we must mindfully seek to experience them.

Let us look at the previous sutra passage,

“Medicine King, if there are people asking what kind of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood, you should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood.”

If anyone asks this question, you should tell them that you are confident that these people will all attain Buddhahood in the future. It goes beyond just these people. Take this horse and goat. I believe they will return to the world. I believe they will bring with them this gratitude, respect and impartial love as they return to the world. Presently, I see many innocent children. This is their original nature of True Suchness, they have this innate goodness. People have been covered by ignorance. Now, by returning to the principles, we are returning to our nature of True Suchness. So, everyone should be able to attain Buddhahood.

The next sutra passage states,

“Why is this? If these good men and good women can take even one phrase of the Lotus Sutra and accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe it….”

Why is this? These good men and good women who have already formed aspirations are clearly kind-hearted. They understand the principles and are definitely very kind. So, they are called good men and good women. Those who listen to the Buddha’s teachings and faithfully accept and practice them are all called good men and good women. So, they “can take even one line of the Lotus Sutra and accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe it.” As we said before, these people pass on the sutra. When they teach, they are passing on the principles of the sutra, even if only one phrase. They may be applying a single verse or phrase, or they may be reading and reciting the entire sutra. Or perhaps after reading and reciting it, they understand and explain the sutra text to help everyone gain a better understanding. This is called transmitting the teachings. They pass on the sutra’s teachings in this way.

As the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, what He worried about most was the. Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma. Lotus Flower Sutra. This is what the Buddha worried about the most. So, the Buddha hoped that everyone would comprehend His original intent and take this Dharma to heart.

This means that though they understand one phrase, since they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of the teachings, they must not teach it to an assembly, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer, thus hindering the promotion of the teachings. If they want to teach this one phrase, they should speak to one person privately.

This is to say, even if we have heard the explanation for just a single phrase, having understood it, we can then explain this phrase to others to help them understand it. Though we may not “have wide learning and broad understanding of the teachings,” though we do not know more, we can just concentrate on fully understanding this one phrase. There is no need to seek more. So, “They must not teach it to an assembly, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer.” This is because we have not concentrated on attaining full understanding of this teaching. If we just have wide learning and broad understanding, if we have not focused on these principles and do not understand them, then if others ask us questions, we will not be able to take this sutra’s essence, its spirit and ideals, and clearly explain them. This shows lack of understanding. Understanding sutras takes concentration. Doesn’t it say in the sutras, “With only broad learning and love for the Path the Path is hard to attain”? We need single-minded focus; only then “will our path be great.” So, we must be mindful.

“[That] hinders the promotion of the teachings.” If we take sutra passages out of context, that will not work. If we [understand] just one phrase or one verse, that will be the extent of our joy. We should have a complete understanding, concentrate on understanding the entire sutra. Otherwise, if others ask us deeper questions, we will not be able to explain clearly. As a result, we will be unable to promote the great teachings, unable to keep passing them on. So, when it comes to this sutra, we must mindfully seek to understand it.

“If they want to teach this one phrase, they should speak to one person privately.” We must not say this before a crowd; we should only tell a single individual, “When I hear this phrase, I am filled with joy.” That is all we can do. “Privately” means behind closed doors. “Hearing this fills me with great joy.” We cannot say before a great assembly, “This is what I have heard. Let me tell you.” If we teach in this way, if a single thought of ours goes astray, that slight deviation will take people far off course.

“People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder.” If we only know one phrase, we can only teach it to a single individual. 

The sutra commentary states: People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder.

We will be unable to teach to an assembly with great confidence on the Lotus Sutra. We are unable to completely explain it so that others can understand. This is like a very light rain which brings just a little bit of moisture. There is no thunder, no loud sound. This is an analogy. If the aspiration we form is just, “This is all I need to hear; the merits and virtues from taking joy in one line are good enough for me,” that would be a pity indeed. Since we take joy in a single line, we should also take joy in an entire verse, and not only in one verse. A verse means four lines. If we are happy with a single verse of four lines, then wouldn’t it be even better to happily accept and uphold the entire text, reading, reciting and copying it, in this way going even further?

So, “People with wisdom but a lack of learning also do not know the ultimate truth.”

The sutra commentary also states: People with wisdom but a lack of learning also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great darkness; though they have eyes, they see nothing. People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great brightness; though they have lamps, they illuminate nothing. People who have not learned and have no wisdom are like cattle in human form. People who have learned and have wisdom take all the teachings they hear to heart. Thus, those who expound the Dharma broadly are certainly people of much learning and wisdom.

We may think that we have wisdom, that after hearing a single phrase, we understand. Is this how it works? No, it is not. When hearing it brings us joy, we should then listen to another phrase. We must continue investigating even further and continue to listen. We cannot just listen to a single phrase or a single passage and then say, “I am happy; I have merits and virtues.” No, we must continue listening. We “do not know the ultimate truth.” We cannot simply think that we completely understand from one phrase. If we have not learned much, if we do not continue listening, we “also do not know the ultimate truth.” We will be unable to understand the ultimate truth of the entire sutra, the principles of the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. So, “It is as if they were in great darkness.” It would be very dark, as if at night. “Though they have eyes, they see nothing.” It would be as if it were the middle of the night; although we have eyes, since it is dark, we cannot see anything around us. “Though they have eyes, they see nothing.” We have eyes but we cannot clearly see what is right in front of us.

So, “People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate truth.” If we continue listening but do not take the [teachings] to heart, they simply go in one ear and out the other. We have often talked about listening, how we listen on one side but let what we hear leak away on the other. We should practice the Flawless [Studies] and truly take in what we hear without letting it leak out. How do we prevent it from leaking away? We must put it into practice. Only with the experience that comes from doing will the Dharma truly become our own. So, we must mindfully experience it.

“It is as if they were in great brightness, but though they have lamps, they illuminate nothing.” This is like when we are in a very bright place; the lamp we have illuminates nothing. This is like how in the daytime, we do not need to turn on the light. We do not need to light a lamp. So, if we have a lamp but illuminate nothing, this lamp is useless. Thus, the principles are right in front of us; it is as if it were daytime. The principles are clearly right in front of us, but the lamp of our heart, the lamp of wisdom, is not put to use. We have a lamp but it illuminates nothing. This means we have the principles, yet have not awakened the wisdom in our minds.

There are also “people who have not learned and have no wisdom.” If we do not listen, then naturally we will not have any wisdom. We should be “people who have learned and have wisdom, [who] take all the teachings they hear to heart.” If we have listened and also have wisdom, if we truly keep the Dharma from leaking away and absorb it into our minds, we are “people who have learned and have wisdom.” Thus, we develop our wisdom-life. “They take all the teachings they hear to heart.” So, after listening carefully, we should make a great effort to absorb the teachings into our hearts.

“Thus, those who expound the Dharma broadly are certainly people of much learning and wisdom.” This is what we must mindfully seek to experience. We need both much learning and much wisdom. We must not just listen without taking the Dharma to heart. If we do not take the Dharma to heart, then we will not grow in wisdom. In the daytime, the principles are clear, yet if we still do not absorb them into our hearts, if we do not light the lamp of our hearts, then our wisdom-life has still not grown.

Or we might be as if in a deep darkness. Even though we have eyes, we will still be unable to see the clear and bright world outside. It is the same with the principles. If we have wisdom, we must hasten to listen to the sutras. We cannot think that we are so wise that we do not need to listen. We cannot just take things out of context, passages here and there, and think that is good enough. We must not do that. If this is the case, that would be as if we are in darkness. We may have eyes and we may have wisdom, but we would still be unable to fully understand.

It is best to listen to the sutra and, with each phrase and each verse, give rise to joy and begin to awaken. Having already taken these seeds into our minds, we must mindfully cultivate the ground of our minds. In the ground of our minds, we must pull the weeds and completely eliminate our afflictions and ignorance. We must earnestly [cultivate] these seeds. We spiritual practitioners must be the farmers of the ground of our minds and earnestly cultivate it. This is spiritual practice.

The Buddha-Dharma is very open and spacious; in particular, the Lotus Sutra encompasses all the Dharma. It retains all the Dharma and teaches everyone to practice all that is good. This is the door of retaining and upholding. Entering the principles of the Lotus Sutra, we enter the door of retaining and upholding. The teachings of the past were for those with limited capabilities. The Buddha taught the Dharma according to capabilities. After more than 40 years, He was advanced in years. At the end, He wanted to express His [true] intent. So, He was very mindful in hopes that every one of us would place great value on the Lotus Sutra.

The Buddha taught us to start with one phrase or one verse. He said there were merits and virtues in this. “But after we attain the merits and virtues of taking joy in this, I hope you will continue to give rise to joy, accept, uphold, read, recite and copy the sutra. After understanding the principles thoroughly, you can make offerings to countless Buddhas. You will understand that sentient beings are all replete with Buddha-nature. Sentient beings are all future Buddhas. Thus, sentient beings are all equal.” In this way, we can peacefully abide in the world. All of us live together in this world. We are all people, so we must exercise impartial compassion.

We should all encourage one another to make vows to safeguard [the sutra] and very reverently listen to, read, recite and take joy in it. We must unceasingly nurture all this. Furthermore, most important to the Buddha was that we accept and uphold the entire sutra. He hoped we would make all kinds of offerings. Making offerings means practicing giving. Seeking nothing in return, we give unceasingly. We treat all the world’s sentient beings equally and give to others with impartial love. He hoped everyone would comprehend this wondrously profound principle. So everyone, please always be mindful!