Author: Rosalyn Leung

Episode 1155 – The Six Paramitas Are the Vehicle of Bodhisattvas

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>> “The Buddha teaches the six ways of Bodhisattvas. Enlightened sentient beings go among people and uphold the pure Dharma without being defiled. They widely transform sentient beings and liberate them from suffering. Bodhisattvas practice the Six Paramitas. The Six Paramitas are the vehicle they use.”

>> “Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need. Then you will always have what you wish and be short of nothing.”

>> “The Buddha is also like this.” The Buddha is also this way. “When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us, enabling us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma. But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware.”

>> “Having attained Arhatship, we thought we had reached Nirvana. We had difficulty making a living, and we felt content attaining even a little. But the vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma was still there and had not been lost.”

>> Having attained Arhatship, we thought we had reached Nirvana: Once they realized the Four Fruits, they thought they had already attained the ultimate Nirvana.

>> We have difficulty making a living, and we feel content when we have little: Eliminating evil and cultivating good requires extremely hard work. To make a living was extremely difficult for them. They already attained a stage beyond learning, so they felt content.We had difficulty making a living, and we felt content attaining even a little: Eliminating evil and cultivating good requires extremely hard work. To make a living was extremely difficult for them. They had attained the stage beyond learning, so they felt content.

>> The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma was still there and had not been lost: In the past they formed great aspirations to seek the wisdom of all Dharma. This great aspiration still exists; even now, it is not lost until now.

>> The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma: This is the original vow of the Great Vehicle. Was still there and had not been lost: This unsurpassed heart of awakening had long permeated them. This is in their clothes of new consciousness. Therefore it is still now not forgotten or lost until now.

>> “Now the World-Honored One awakens us all. He spoke these words, ‘All bhiksus what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana For a long time, I have helped all of you to plant the Buddha’s good rootsBuddha’s roots of goodness.'”

>> Now the World-Honored One awakens us all: Now the Enlightened World-Honored One at the Vulture Peak awakens and enlightens us all.

>> He spoke these words, “All bhiksus, what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana”: He announced these words, “The stage beyond learning that you realized is still of the Small Vehicle. It is not the true Nirvana.”

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“The Buddha teaches the six ways of Bodhisattvas.
Enlightened sentient beings go among people
and uphold the pure Dharma without being defiled.
They widely transform sentient beings and liberate them from suffering.
Bodhisattvas practice the Six Paramitas.
The Six Paramitas are the vehicle they use.”

We need to mindfully understand this. We should be able to gradually understand this. When the Buddha teaches sentient beings, He in fact gives us teachings in the hope that we can all become Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas must be replete in these six methods. This is how we become Bodhisattvas. We should be clear on the six ways of Bodhisattvas. “Giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom.” These are the Six Perfections of Bodhisattvas.

Is giving difficult? Actually, it is not difficult at all. Giving is expressing the love in our hearts. When we see seniors who have trouble walking, we extend our hand to support them and help them walk easily up the stairs, feeling free and at ease. This is giving.

In interacting with other people, when we are walking, we yield to others so they can walk past us. We move just slightly to the side. This action is also a kind of giving. Giving is when, in our daily living, we step aside for a moment to give others a broad path [to walk]. We can use love to mutually guide each other and create harmony in our interpersonal relationships. With each phrase of kind words, we forge a path toward opening up people’s hearts. So, in terms of tangible [giving], as we just mentioned, we can yield to open up the road for others to walk. That is tangible [giving]. In terms of intangible [giving], by saying a kind word and being understanding, we can help people open up their hearts by interacting with others. However, we need to have wisdom. We must be clear on what is right, what is wrong.

To clearly distinguish between right and wrong, we need to learn the Dharma. We must go among people and say kind words. When it comes to right and wrong, we must be very clear. Then, we can open up people’s hearts and help people understand not to commit wrongdoings in order to help them avoid making mistakes. We must abstain from wrongdoing. When something is right, we must all come together to go out and help people [in need]. We have this aspiration, but this is not something we can do by ourselves. We need the strength of many people to accomplish this together. Our minds need to be open and spacious. Everyone’s mind needs to be open and spacious. With open and spacious minds, we can mutually accommodate one another. When we unite our strength, that [power] is truly great. This requires being very clear on right and wrong. We come together to do the right thing, to give to people [in need]. As for wrongdoings, of course we cannot become involved in them. When we become involved in wrongdoings, that will disrupt people’s minds. If a group deviates even slightly, it will easily stray far off course. So, we need to apply wisdom.

When we are among people, of course, we hope that everyone can develop the resolve to go out and help people. This is going among people. We need to be clear on right and wrong. If it is the right thing to do, we must quickly encourage everyone to join in giving. If something is wrong, we must quickly urge people not to make mistakes. In fact, this is also a kind of giving. Giving is not necessarily donating money; that is not the only kind of giving. Giving is not just about giving away many things. No. That is [just] tangible giving. Most important is intangible giving; that is what we must do. For example, when the Buddha came to the world, He told many stories from the process of His spiritual cultivation. Of course, the process of. His spiritual practice was very long, and over all those lifetimes He touched many lives. So, He had many stories [to tell].

In the Jataka Sutra, He told this story about one of His past lifetimes. In that lifetime, his life was very difficult. He was an impoverished man who always did manual labor. He always worked to serve others. As he worked with others, he was often together with the poor and people in difficulty. Some of these poor and suffering people were physically weak. Their lives were hard, and they lacked food. So, they were physically weak. However, the work they had to do was very heavy manual labor. He said that, in doing this kind of manual labor, he would often help others. When it came to his own assigned work, he used his time and energy to quickly finish it. Then he helped those who were weak and needed to earn money to support their families. He would always help these manual laborers. He did this over an extended period, without any [free] time remaining. He exerted all his strength for their sake. Helping in this way was his spiritual practice.

One time, his boss wanted to [transport] some goods to engage in trade. To engage in trade, these goods had to be shipped across the sea. The boss came to choose workers. He wanted laborers who were strong and had good character to go out to sea with him on the ship. This impoverished man was one of the laborers the owner chose. All the crops that were harvested were all piled onto this large ship. On this ship, in addition to the boss’s goods, there were also the goods of many other people. All these were to be used in trade across the sea. After boarding this ship, every day his lifestyle was no different. Normally, when he worked on land, he diligently practiced the Buddha-Dharma. He was a very reverent person. Every day, he took refuge in the Three Treasures. Early in the morning, he purified his body and mind. While everyone was still asleep, he would be the very first to get up. Then, he would look out onto the expansive land and take refuge in the Three Treasures.

First, he took refuge in the Buddha, praying to comprehend the great path. He made vows; he was always willing to form the supreme aspiration. Next, he took refuge in the Dharma. He hoped to comprehend the principles and delve deeply into the sutra treasury, to understand infinite principles and develop wisdom like the ocean. Finally, he took refuge in the Sangha. His deepest wish was to become a monastic, take refuge with the Buddha and draw closer to the Dharma. He hoped to be able to join the Sangha. But that was not possible. His life did not allow him to join the Sangha. However, in his mind he was constantly taking refuge with the Sangha and upholding precepts. His conduct was like that of a monastic. He upheld the precepts and hoped he could influence his fellow laborers, the people who did manual labor with him. He hoped that he could help people. He hoped he could uphold the precepts and influence everyone to listen to his words and understand the Buddha-Dharma. This was his wish.

Every day he worked on shore, he did these things, taking refuge with the Three Treasures. He had deep faith. [Facing] the vast open sea, he had deep faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha within himself. He never strayed from the practice of the Three Refuges. Having boarded the ship, he did the same. Every day he faced the vast open sea and the expansive starry sky. Before daybreak, facing the wide, vast sky with the moon and countless stars, on that vast open sea, he likewise took refuge in the Three Treasures.

This was his daily practice.

The ship was very steady as it travelled across the great sea. Then, one time, the ship ran aground; it could not move. The ship could not move, however, everyone was safe. The owner of the ship, the boss of this manual laborer, had a dream. He dreamed of an old man. His hair and beard were white, and he was dressed in white. This man came to him and said, “This ship has already been here for six days and is still unable to leave. It is stranded and unable to leave. This is because of a certain person on your ship. This is a person you brought with you. He is a manual laborer; he is a spiritual practitioner. So, on your ship, he often practices precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. It is because his power of Samadhi is so strong that this ship is firmly stuck in this place. It is unable to move forward. If this person leaves, then naturally the ship will move.”

When the boss had this dream, it seemed very odd to him. “Indeed, I hired this worker. He certainly has a strong will to practice. Every day he engages in morning recitation and takes refuge with [the Three Treasures] within. His mind is very steady and firm. But what does this have to do with my ship being unable to move?” He could not understand, so he brought it up. He described the events of his dream to everyone, to the others who also had goods on the ship. These businessmen said to him, “Do not overanalyze this. Since you had a dream in which this old man directly told you that it is because of this person on our ship that the ship is unable to move, why don’t you have this person leave the ship? He is such a good person. How would you have him leave the ship?”

“All around, there is nothing but the sea. As we are in the middle of the ocean, how could we have him to leave the ship?” As they were discussing it, this manual laborer heard what they said. He said, “Everyone here is a big boss. I do not want my presence on the ship to cause you to rack your brains like this. If everyone wants me to leave this ship, I can leave. Just give me some bamboo or wooden planks. If you give me some bamboo or wood, then I can leave this ship.” Everyone thought, “If he can leave, then our ship will move again. If we take some planks of wood or some bamboo and tie them together, then he will be able to leave. That is very good!” So, in this way, they tied wood and bamboo into [a raft], allowing him to float on the ocean, drifting with the wind. So, this person left the ship and floated far away.

However, a day later, suddenly, in the middle of the night, the weather abruptly changed. The wind and waves became stronger. Because of the large waves, the ship was lifted by the water and was set free from the reef. However, once in the open sea, there were huge, roaring waves. The winds and waves were so strong that the ship began to shake. Soon, the entire ship capsized. Not a single person survived. Everyone drowned in the sea.

As for the [laborer] with his [raft] made by a few pieces of wood and bamboo, he was blown by the wind and, amazingly, safely reached a big island. As he got close to the island, a wave pushed his raft onto the beach. In this way this man reached the shore. From shore, he saw an endless open space. Where should he go? He slowly walked forward and kept going. After [walking] for several days, he was both thirsty and hungry. Then in the distance, he finally saw a boatman. He asked him, “What is this place?” The boatman said, “I too do not know what this place is called. However, all of us living in this place rely on the ocean for our livelihood. In our village, things are happy and harmonious. We live peacefully and free.”

After talking with him, he followed this boatman into the village. The people in the village were all very friendly, and it was a very beautiful place. This impoverished man then began to share [teachings] with everyone. Everyone saw that this person from the outside was very kind and very knowledgeable. They had never heard such well-informed principles. Everyone wanted him to stay there, in that place, and share the principles with them every day. He took this opportunity to share the principles of the Five Precepts and Three Refuges for everyone to hear. This inspired everyone to give up fishing and take up farming instead. They took up agriculture and lived as farmers. Everyone upheld the precepts and took refuge in the Three Treasures. The Buddha-Dharma started to flourish there.

After the Buddha shared this story, He said to His disciples, “Of my innumerable lifetimes since dust-inked kalpas ago, this is just one of the countless lives I lived. In every one of my lifetimes, though my body had to endure much torment, I never forgot the Dharma. My one wish was that wherever I went, I could share [the Dharma] with everyone and transform sentient beings so they would develop affinities with the Buddha, uphold precepts and take refuge in the Buddha-Dharma.” This was how the Buddha taught and transformed. So, “The Buddha teaches the six ways of Bodhisattvas.” This is how He teaches and guides sentient beings. He starts out with the Five Precepts. We must first closely uphold our rules, the Five Precepts. Then, we can cherish living things, abstain from killing and promote love.

In this way, the Buddha began with very detailed rules relating to our daily living. “The Buddha teaches the six ways of Bodhisattvas.” These are six methods to use in daily living. If we can uphold these rules, we can transform misfortune into fortune. I believe that the god of the sea saved [that man]. At sea, if he had shared collective karma with the people on the ship, then he would have lost his life. But he did not share collective karma with them, so the sea god appeared and allowed him to leave the ship. His causes and conditions brought him to that small village, where he transformed sentient beings. This was a matter of causes and conditions.

So, it is possible everywhere for “enlightened sentient beings to go among people.” They go among people, showing by their example how to “uphold the pure Dharma without being defiled.” Though he was in a fishing village, he did not engage in any killing. Instead, he transformed people to stop killing. So, He “widely transforms sentient beings and liberates them from suffering.”

“Bodhisattvas practice the Six Paramitas.” This means, “The Six Paramitas are the vehicle they use.” To us spiritual practitioners, the Buddha gave these methods to practice. Even though they are such simple teachings, once causes and conditions in place, as long as we have good intentions and do good deeds, we can likewise practice and uphold our precepts. When we do the things we should do and do not share collective negative karma with others, we can likewise save ourselves.

This is just like the poor young man. Because he did not ordinarily uphold the rules, he succumbed to the poison of alcohol. Unawares, he ended up in a drunken stupor. In previous sutra passages, we have already discussed this. The previous sutra passage [says],

“Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need. Then you will always have what you wish and be short of nothing.”

This was what he was like in the past, haggard and homeless, wandering about. He was intoxicated by the wine of ignorance. He was in a drunken stupor. Yet, he had this kind of close friend who, seeing him passed out drunk in his house, quickly gave him a precious jewel. After the close friend left, the drunk man woke up and then went somewhere else. Eventually they encountered each other again. This close friend said to him, “I have already given you this priceless jewel, yet you are still wandering about homeless, in this haggard state. You have this priceless jewel on your person. You can make use of it!”

This is what we discussed yesterday. To trade refers to going among people to give; it is not cultivating the Dharma just for our own use. We should go out and give to others. This is what the Buddha taught us. If we are willing to share the Buddha-Dharma with everyone, it is inexhaustible. We must listen mindfully, seek the Buddha-Dharma and transform beings, thus unceasingly advancing in seeking the Dharma. Clearly, as we earnestly transform sentient beings, the Dharma we have is inexhaustible. So, this is what it means to trade.

Next, it says,

“The Buddha is also like this.” The Buddha is also this way. “When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us, enabling us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma. But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware.”

This refers to the 500 disciples who, after the Buddha bestowed predictions upon them, were very joyful. They compared themselves to a drunken man. They then compared the Buddha to that close friend. “The Buddha is also like this.” He is just like that close friend. This is the way He was in the past when He was a Bodhisattva. Lifetime after lifetime, He served as a Bodhisattva for all sentient beings. So, “When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us.” This was how He taught us in the past. He taught us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma; He wanted to awaken our wisdom and our heart of loving-kindness.

But then we left. In each lifetime, according to the laws of nature, [in the end] we leave and go our separate ways. Then we forget. This was how “We soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware.” Once again, we forget it. A veil of darkness separates us from what. Bodhisattvas taught us in the past. Because our practice is not advanced enough, this is beyond our control. We follow the karma we create to our circumstantial and direct retributions; in this way, we follow our karmic forces. So, once again, we forget what. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have taught us in our past lifetimes. However, the causes and conditions still remain.

So, the next sutra passage continues with,

“Having attained Arhatship, we thought we had reached Nirvana. We had difficulty making a living, and we felt content attaining even a little. But the vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma was still there and had not been lost.”

This passage continues to explain that, in this lifetime, causes and conditions have come together for us to follow the Buddha in spiritual practice. We have accepted the Buddha’s teachings. According to our capabilities, the Buddha gave us the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links. We mindfully engage in spiritual practice, but we just focus on entering Nirvana ourselves, seeking only our own benefit. We know that cyclic existence in the Six Realms causes deep suffering and that birth and death are beyond our control in the Four Forms of Birth and Six Realms. Now that we have attained the Buddha’s teachings, we hope that this life will be the end. We do not want to return to cyclic existence in the human realm. So, we want to continue to stay at this place, in the [state] of Arhatship, where we only practice for our own benefit.

Having attained Arhatship, we thought we had reached Nirvana: Once they realized the Four Fruits, they thought they had already attained the ultimate Nirvana.

“Once they realized the Four Fruits,” they merely remained at the state of Nirvana. Reaching Nirvana requires spiritual practice. Through practice, they realized the Four Fruits and “thought they had already attained the ultimate.” They worked hard and had deep understanding; they had already attained [the fruits of] Sakrdagamin, Anagamin and so on. They had already attained Arhatship and the Four Fruits. However, they were still only seeking to benefit themselves. They thought, “We have already attained the ultimate Nirvana.” They thought that this was the ultimate Nirvana. “I completely [understand] the Dharma, and as long as I uphold this Dharma and do not form affinities with people, I will not get lost again and follow my karma back to the human realm.” They thought this was the case.

So, “We had difficulty making a living, and we felt content attaining even a little.”

We had difficulty making a living, and we felt content attaining even a little: Eliminating evil and cultivating good requires extremely hard work. To make a living was extremely difficult for them. They had attained the stage beyond learning, so they felt content.

So, once in the state of Arhatship, they thought their level of spiritual practice was enough. Actually, they had attained very little Dharma. They still had ignorance, still had not put an end to dust-like delusions. They still had many delusions. So, “We had difficulty making a living, and we felt content attaining even a little.” It turns out that they had only attained a little bit of Dharma. They only knew the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. The Buddha had attained so many teachings, the true principles of all things in the universe, but they were still unable to deeply understand it. So, they only thought about “eliminating evil and cultivating good.” This “requires extremely hard work.”

They had always known that all these things were [filled with] suffering, that they had accumulated so much ignorance, the causes and conditions for coming to this world. They only knew about these things. So, knowing about these things alone, they already knew things were very difficult. This “was extremely difficult for them.” So, “They had attained the stage beyond learning.” They thought that since they already knew all these complicated matters, they did not need to pursue anything more. They thought what they knew was [enough]. They knew that when ignorance and afflictions accumulate, the result is suffering. “I already know all this. I do not need to further advance in my practice. I have already attained the stage beyond learning. I am already satisfied with this.” This is what they thought.

So, “The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma was still there and had not been lost.”

The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma was still there and had not been lost: In the past they formed great aspirations to seek the wisdom of all Dharma. This great aspiration still exists; even now, it is not lost until now.

The Buddha had already begun to expound the Lotus Sutra. In the beginning, Sariputra was the initiator, asking the Buddha to teach the. Great Vehicle Dharma in depth. Sariputra then received a prediction of Buddhahood. The four great disciples also awakened and also received predictions. Then came the [parable] of the conjured city, through which they clearly understood that [spiritual practice] takes a very long time. They also heard about how Purna Maitrayaniputra was so close to the Buddha’s heart and how the Buddha praised him. They [had seen] this entire process. “As for the vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma, it turns out we too already have this kind of comprehension. Sariputra comprehended this, and the four great disciples also comprehended this. So we, the 500 Arhats, should be able to reach the same comprehension. They had already received predictions, and we are not that different from them.”

So, “The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma was still there and had not been lost.” These were the great aspirations we formed in the past. The Buddha taught us and Bodhisattvas guided us, so we began to form great aspirations and seek the wisdom of all Dharma. This vow is still within us. Now, we finally know that it has not been lost. Since we made this vow in our hearts, this vow is already there. Although we have not gone out to help others, the vow we made is still there. With these good aspirations, we return to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness.

“The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma is the original vow of the Great Vehicle.” Everyone intrinsically has this. The principles of the Great Vehicle is what we all have, what we are all able to follow.

The vow to seek the wisdom of all Dharma: This is the original vow of the Great Vehicle. Was still there and had not been lost: This unsurpassed heart of awakening had long permeated them. This is in their clothes of new consciousness. Therefore it is still now not forgotten or lost until now.

So, “was still there and had not been lost” means. “This unsurpassed heart of awakening had long permeated them.” A very long time ago, countless, dust-inked kalpas ago, we had already heard these teachings and had taken in the fragrance of the Dharma. We were already permeated by this Dharma. This is “in our clothes of new consciousness.” Now, at this time, we are again absorbing the Buddha’s teachings. We already accumulated the old teachings and were permeated by them; we still remember them. Now, we need to put effort into awakening our Great Vehicle heart of awakening. It is now gradually being opened up; we are gradually attaining understanding. We are able to completely comprehend all the true principles of the world.

In this lifetime, [this is] “in [our] clothes of new consciousness.” Now we know we have this jewel. “I now already understand that it is in my clothing. This is because my close friend told me that, in my clothing I have this precious jewel. I now know this. Thus, even now it is still not forgotten or lost. It turns out that this jewel is still here. Though I have wandered for a long time and lived such a haggard life, this jewel has been in my clothing all along.” Are we not the same? Although we ordinary beings are ignorant, actually, our nature of True Suchness is still there. What the Buddha could accomplish, we should all be able to accomplish too.

“Now the World-Honored One awakens us all. He spoke these words, ‘All bhiksus what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana For a long time, I have helped all of you to plant the Buddha’s good roots.Now the World-Honored One awakens us all. He spoke these words, ‘All bhiksus what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana For a long time, I have helped all of you to plant the Buddha’s roots of goodness.'”

This passage states, “Now the World-Honored One….” Now the Buddha was expounding the Lotus Sutra. Now the Buddha was already enlightened and was awakening us to help us all understand. Everyone spoke of how deluded they had been, how they had been lost in their intoxication. So, the Buddha has told us, “All bhiksus, what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana.” The Buddha has already said this to us. But, “For a long time, I have helped you all plant the Buddha’s roots of goodness. From a very long time ago, I have already planted roots of goodness for you. In your spiritual practice, there is still room for you to improve even more. In the past, I constantly told you to earnestly form great aspirations and make great vows. Now the World-Honored One awakens us all.”

Now the World-Honored One awakens us all: Now the Enlightened World-Honored One at the Vulture Peak awakens and enlightens us all.

Now at the Vulture Peak Dharma-assembly, the Great Enlightened World-Honored One opened up [our wisdom]. He helped us realize our nature of True Suchness. This is what the Buddha began to do now.

“He spoke these words, ‘All bhiksus, what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana.'”

He spoke these words, “All bhiksus, what you attained is not the ultimate Nirvana”: He announced these words, “The stage beyond learning that you realized is still of the Small Vehicle. It is not the true Nirvana.”

Now the Buddha tells us that the stage beyond learning that we have realized is a Small Vehicle fruit. Everyone thought that this was enough. Actually, what we understood was the Small Vehicle Dharma, which is about benefiting ourselves. “It is not the true Nirvana.” This was not the true, ultimate Nirvana. We were just benefiting ourselves, just focusing on ourselves. This is very dangerous; when outside challenges arise, we will still become defiled.

So, “For a long time, I have helped you all plant the Buddha’s roots of goodness.” For a long time, I have helped you all plant the Buddha’s roots of goodness: For long kalpas I have helped you all plant the Buddha’s roots of goodness.

The Buddha had already told everyone this. For a long time, He had taught them to plant great roots of goodness and form great aspirations to go among people. For a long time, this is what He told us. It was many kalpas ago that He began to tell us to “all plant the Buddha’s roots of goodness.” These roots of goodness already exist within us. We should all earnestly look inside to find our nature of True Suchness. Our nature of True Suchness is everlasting; it is forever in our hearts. We just have to be mindful of the nature of True Suchness in our hearts. We must not disrupt this awakened nature. We must practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. After listening to and taking in the Dharma, we must put effort into contemplating it. After contemplating it, we must earnestly practice. By putting the principles into practice, there is nothing we cannot understand and nothing we cannot accomplish. So, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1154 – Making Use of the Precious Jewel

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>> “Their minds of faith and joy had developed. Their roots of goodness were due to constantly hearing the Dharma. With wisdom and vows as the seeds, they formed affinities and attained perfect understanding. Since Beginningless time, they heard the Dharma that they possessed this jewel, the intrinsic nature of True Suchness within.”

>> “On a certain day, month and year, I fastened a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now. Yet, you are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive. You are extremely deluded.”

>> “Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need. Then you will always have what you wish and be short of nothing.”

>> The parable of urging him to trade refers to the prediction of Buddhahood being bestowed. This means that this great Bodhicitta will bring infinite merits and virtues without any shortage.

>> Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need: “This jewel” refers to the Buddha-nature. “Trade” refers to transforming and transmitting. “What you need” refers to the robe of patience and the food of meditative joy.

>> Though the value of the jewel is immeasurable, it must be traded so as to be useful. They had thoroughly understood the causes in their minds. Even though they had ultimate understanding, their actions had to be in accordance with this understanding.

>> Then you will always have what you wish and be short of nothing: This means you can constantly be wealthy and have whatever you wish, lacking nothing at any time.

>> The essence of the jewel is inexhaustible. It can be traded endlessly. Only in this way can the use of the precious jewel be manifested. In cultivating oneself and transforming others, all kinds of immeasurable treasures will be reached without effort. They will be inexhaustible for us and others. Thus it says, “whatever you wish, lacking nothing.”

>> “The Buddha is also like this. When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us, enabling us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma. But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware of it.”

>> The Buddha is also like this. When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us, enabling us to form aspirations of all-encompassing wisdom: The Buddha is also like a friend. When He was a Bodhisattva in the causal ground, He taught and transformed all of us, enabling us to form aspirations of all-encompassing wisdom.

>> But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware: Later they soon neglected and forgot this. They were unable to understand it and were unaware of it.

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“Their minds of faith and joy had developed.
Their roots of goodness were due to constantly hearing the Dharma.
With wisdom and vows as the seeds,
they formed affinities and attained perfect understanding.
Since Beginningless time, they heard the Dharma that they possessed this jewel,
the intrinsic nature of True Suchness within.”

Recently, haven’t we constantly been talking about a drunk man who went to his close friend’s house? Intoxicated, he fell asleep there. His friend saw the sad state he was in, but he was still sleeping, so this friend put a precious jewel in his clothes. Then he left to take care of official business. When this drunken man woke up, he also left that place. After a long time, they saw each other again. The friend saw this man still looking so destitute. Why was he still like that? Clearly, this precious jewel was priceless. There was no way he could have spent it all. So why was it that, when they now met again, he was still in such a sad state?

When it comes to this story, we must be very mindful. This is the Buddha teaching the Dharma with an analogy, with a very interesting [story]. This sutra passage comes after the 500 disciples received predictions. They were very joyful, but also very remorseful. They came to express to the Buddha that they were like that drunken man, intoxicated by the wine of ignorance. They had always lived in confusion like this. Although they had encountered the Buddha and, over many lifetimes, formed affinities with Him and received His teachings, still in this lifetime, although they had met the Buddha, they remained stuck in their own limited capabilities and wisdom. The teachings given by the Buddha are meant to guide everyone to form great aspirations and make great vows, [yet] they were still stuck to just wishing to end cyclic existence for themselves. They truly felt very remorseful.

“Their minds of faith and joy had developed.” Lifetime after lifetime, they had accepted the Buddha-Dharma and their root of faith had remained unsevered. This mind of faith and joy, faith and joy in the Buddha-Dharma, had continued to develop lifetime after lifetime. “Their minds of faith and joy had developed.” They were still advancing. Their roots of goodness came from life after life of “constantly hearing the Dharma.” They had always been listening to the Dharma.

“With wisdom and vows as the seeds….” That wisdom, that cause, is the seed. That seed is the intrinsic nature of True Suchness, the inherent wisdom found in everyone. So, they had been listening to the Dharma. Over a long time, over countless lifetimes, they had constantly listened to the Dharma. Their minds of faith and joy had been developing. With this wisdom, this seed, they continued making vows lifetime after lifetime. They were constantly making vows.

Aren’t we too making vows every day? After finishing our recitations, don’t we make these vows? “I vow to eliminate the Three Obstructions and all afflictions. I vow to obtain wisdom and true clarity. I vow to eliminate all karmic obstacles and, life after life, follow the Bodhisattva-path.” These are the vows we make every day. Thus, “Wisdom and vows [are] the seeds.” But every day, after we make these vows, how much of an effect do they have on us? In fact, we are not being mindful. All we do is care for this seed. We engage in morning and evening recitations, we chant the sutra passages and we make these vows according to the script, but that is all we do. We are not truly very mindful.

[This mindfulness] is about forming affinities. The Buddha, since the past eras of the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas as well as. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, for such a long time, life after life, had been teaching the Dharma and seeking the Dharma. He sought the Buddha-Dharma and transformed sentient beings. Lifetime after lifetime, in the Six Realms and Four Forms of Birth, He always went among people, going among sentient beings to plant the seeds for paving the road to Buddhahood. He wanted to widely form good karmic connections and enter all the realms of sentient beings to experience and understand all that suffering, how the causes of suffering are accumulated. He spent a very long period of time forming affinities with all sentient beings, teaching the Dharma and delivering sentient beings. This is “perfect understanding.” His causes and conditions had already matured, so He came to this world and attained Buddhahood. In the process of spiritual practice, the final result is manifesting the attainment of Buddhahood.

The Buddha then continued to resolve the karmic affinities of the past. Aside from engaging in practice, He continued to transform sentient beings. His difficulty was that while sentient beings formed affinities with Him life after life, they still had not formed great aspirations. So, although these karmic affinities had matured, our listening to the Dharma since. Beginningless [Time] has been like. Him continuously giving us that precious jewel. He is always telling us, “You have a precious jewel on you.” At any time, He is telling us that. “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings, are no different [in nature].” Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. He wants to let us know this, but we are still drunk with the wine of ignorance. We still have not understood; we have not understood that we intrinsically have this nature of True Suchness. We clearly know this; the Buddha has told us this. We believe it and we understand it; it is just that we are unable to exercise it.

Why is that? It is because we have not eliminated our ignorance and afflictions. We have not worked hard enough. Although we listen to [the Dharma] every day, after listening to it, we leave it in the deepest part [of our minds]. We do not take it out and apply it. This is a great pity. Sentient beings live in the world. The world’s sentient beings experience much suffering. We should put our hearts into understanding this. Since ancient times, good people safeguard their thoughts of goodness, while ignorant people for no reason will [negatively] affect the world at large. This is like the ancients’ notion of ethics, “There are spiritual beings three inches above us.” This describes the perspective of the law of karma.

Take for example orangutans, or a gorilla like Koko. These are other types of living beings. They are not humans; they are animals. Yet they also know [to cherish] nature. As for humans and the earth, we are harming the earth, which has resulted in our current abnormal weather.

A very long time ago, during the Han Dynasty, in Donghai County there was a very filial daughter-in-law. Not long after this filial daughter-in-law married into a family, just a few years later, her husband passed away. This daughter-in-law was very filial; she was very filial toward her mother-in-law. Thus, she made a vow to never marry again in order to be by her mother-in-law’s side and serve her until her death. This mother-in-law cherished her daughter-in-law like her own daughter. She knew her daughter-in-law was still young. “My son let you down. You should find another good man and marry again.” But this widow remained determined to preserve her purity and fulfill her filial duties.

This made the mother-in-law very troubled. She thought, “Am I, this old person, burdening my daughter-in-law? If I were to die then she would have no worries and would go find a good man to remarry.” So, once this mother-in-law had thought this, she committed suicide by hanging herself. This was what happened. When the mother-in-law’s daughter came back for the funeral, she kept insisting, “This happened because my sister-in-law is still young and wanted to remarry. You only pretended to be filial. You said you would take good care of my mother, but you probably could not remain pure. You manipulated or abused her, [driving] my mother to die like this. This happened because my sister-in-law was unfilial and abusive toward my mother. Even if it was suicide, it was caused by my sister-in-law. She cannot avoid the charge of being unfilial.”

At that time, the county magistrate, based on the case the daughter brought to him, sentenced the widow to death by beheading. Starting from that time, the entire Donghai county did not have any rain for three years’ time; there was a drought. The people in the county felt that this region had always had favorable weather; there had never been a time when it did not rain for three years, so how did this problem come about? A new prefect came to the county and saw how this drought caused the farmers unbearable suffering. Nothing was growing at all. Across the whole county, due to this devastating drought, the people were suffering. What could have happened in this county? Everyone discussed this. There had to be something that had happened.

This new prefect came to this place to assume responsibility. He wanted to understand; had anything odd happened in this county? So, he brought out and reviewed all court cases. After reviewing them, he discovered this case. He quickly brought it up for a retrial. This was because He had heard the local people speak about how filial this daughter-in-law was. There was no way she had abused her mother-in-law. Everyone thought it was impossible. Unfortunately, the previous county magistrate sentenced her to death.

So, this prefect, having heard this news, brought the case up for renewed investigation. It turned out everyone in the county said the same thing. This should not have been a matter of the daughter-in-law abusing the mother-in-law. Most likely, the mother-in-law loved the daughter-in-law so much that she ended her own life. The daughter-in-law had been unjustly beheaded. This was a great injustice. Therefore, the prefect quickly gathered people and personally arranged a memorial ceremony for her. They held a memorial ceremony for this widow and erected a monument to her purity.

On this day, the people of the county all came together to pay respect to this widow. Seeing a monument erected to her purity made everyone very happy. Incredibly, just like that, dark clouds began to appear. Then it began to rain. This classic story is called “Three Years without Rain.” This happened because an injustice was done. Until this injustice was resolved, heaven and earth remained unforgiving. So, it did not rain for three years. This is a classical story from the past.

Indeed! Why is the weather so abnormal right now? Right now, people’s minds are full of ignorance. The web of ignorance keeps [growing]; people do not know what is real or illusory. Many things happen because people are unable to establish faith in what is true and unable to clearly discern right from wrong. They cannot see this clearly, so they mix up what is pure and what is turbid. So, many people have minds shrouded by ignorance and afflictions. They are enveloped in this [ignorance]. Thus, man-made calamities are now frequent, as are natural disasters.

Therefore, we should quickly bring purity to people’s minds and bolster people’s faith. The True Dharma and human morals must quickly be bolstered. Right now, [the lines] are very blurry. This is because people are drunk on ignorance. We must all be mindful in awakening our nature of True Suchness. We must earnestly nourish our minds of faith and joy. We must establish our pure intrinsic nature, earnestly listen to the Dharma and clearly distinguish right from wrong.

For a long time already, the seed from listening to the Dharma has been buried deep in our minds. Every one of us has this precious jewel on our person. We must earnestly use this precious jewel to develop our inexhaustible wisdom; the true principles can then manifest in our daily living. This is our goal in seeking the Dharma. As it is, the macrocosm of the world is becoming imbalanced. This is due to ignorance covering the microcosm [of our minds]. So, we must be very mindful.

The Buddha mindfully teaches the Dharma and guides sentient beings. He has accompanied us for a long time. When will we finally recognize that the Dharma is in our nature and in our minds? How long will it be before we are able to find it? This is such a pity.

So, it has been a very long time. Isn’t this what the previous sutra passage said?

“On a certain day, month and year, I fastened a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now. Yet, you are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive. You are extremely deluded.”

For a very long time, since the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas’ and. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s eras, for dust-inked kalpas, He has repeatedly given this priceless jewel to us. We have it within us, but even now, we still do not know it. It is still like this. “[We] work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive.” We are still working only to benefit ourselves. What we seek is the Small Dharma; [we seek] only to satisfy ourselves. Thus, “We are extremely deluded.” We should all form great aspirations, make great vows and go among people so everyone can understand, so it is not only we who understand. 

If we are the only ones who understand, we are just benefiting ourselves. People in this world have not yet been transformed. Sentient beings of the world are covered by ignorance, so naturally the world is out of balance. The macrocosm is out of balance and the microcosm as well. So, everyone must quickly form great aspirations and make great vows to go among the people to teach the Dharma, to spread the Dharma. We need to give to help others and comprehend people’s suffering. From amidst ignorance, we seek awakening. This is what the Buddha taught us.

The next sutra passage continues,

“Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need. Then you will always have what you wish and be short of nothing.”

[The friend said,] “Now that I see you again, I am telling you that you have on you a precious jewel. You should know now that with this precious jewel, you can make the most of your abilities. You can be free and at ease. You will not be lacking in anything. You will not lack in clothing or food. You will live your whole life in abundance.” What is meant by not lacking clothing and food is [not lacking] the Dharma. We will be able to freely exercise the Dharma. This passage advises us, “You need to trade with it. Do not keep this thing inside [your clothes]. Take it out and share it with others. It is such a good thing. Go out! By trading, you are giving. After giving, you will obtain great Dharma-joy in return. You need to go out and trade.”

This symbolizes being bestowed with a prediction of Buddhahood.

The parable of urging him to trade refers to the prediction of Buddhahood being bestowed. This means that this great Bodhicitta will bring infinite merits and virtues without any shortage.

We need to work hard and truly go among people to transform sentient beings. When we form great aspirations, we will naturally receive a prediction of Buddhahood. This is an analogy for great Bodhicitta. We must give rise to great Bodhicitta. This is “to trade.” When we give rise to Bodhicitta, we must give of the Dharma in order to attain Dharma-joy in return. So, “[It] will bring infinite merits and virtues.” After we give of ourselves, what we get in return are merits and virtues. Regularly engaging in internal cultivation brings merit. Going out and giving to people brings virtue. Thus we will have infinite merits and virtues. When we trade [like this], what we get in return are infinite merits and virtues. This is “without any shortage”; we will definitely have an abundance.

So, “Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need.”

Now you can use this jewel to trade in exchange for what you need: “This jewel” refers to the Buddha-nature. “Trade” refers to transforming and transmitting. “What you need” refers to the robe of patience and the food of meditative joy.

Right now we should [know that] this jewel is our Buddha-nature. We must know that to trade means transforming and transmitting. The Dharma we hear must be meticulously understood and taken to heart and then passed on to everyone. According to sentient beings’ capabilities, according to the needs of the times, we can transform and transmit [the teachings].

“What you need” refers to “the robe of patience and the food of meditative joy.” Even though society now is very complicated, we must go among people. Thus, we truly must have patience. We must be gentle, kindhearted, respectful, modest and humble. We must be very gentle and adapt to sentient beings. We must exercise our kindness. No matter what, we must calmly accept adversities and be respectful toward others; we must be humble. Being gentle, kindhearted, respectful, modest and humble, being able to yield to others and not taking issue with others, these are the skills we need to master. This takes patience. 
In this era, in this society, we must cultivate patience. We must wear the robe of patience. This pearl has been put in our clothes. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. We must all have the appearance of a spiritual practitioner. To look like a spiritual practitioner, we need to wear this garment. This helps people know that we are spiritual practitioners. This helps people recognize that this is the kind of organization we are. Spiritual practice is internal, but it must also be expressed outwardly. So, we must always [take in] “the food of meditative joy.” This is engaging in calm contemplation. We must earnestly purify our minds and earnestly engage in contemplation to cultivate our minds.

Listening, contemplating and practicing, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are our clothing of gentleness and patience. If we constantly wear this clothing, we will constantly attain many teachings. Only by going among people will we know that, indeed, this is the case, that the joy we feel after taking action is what nourishes our wisdom-life. This is “the food of meditative joy”; it helps our wisdom-life develop even further.

“Though the value of the jewel is immeasurable, it must be traded so as to be useful.”

Though the value of the jewel is immeasurable, it must be traded so as to be useful. They had thoroughly understood the causes in their minds. Even though they had ultimate understanding, their actions had to be in accordance with this understanding.

Though this jewel is very valuable, we must trade it [to bring out its value]; we must give of ourselves. Only by doing this can we benefit sentient beings. It is not enough for us to have a jewel; we must share it with everyone. Just by having the Buddha-Dharma, we cannot mitigate the world’s disasters. We must change everyone’s minds, help all people purify their minds and awaken their love and sincere reverence. Only then will the world be peaceful. The reverence of one person alone is not enough to touch heaven and earth. It will require everyone’s collective reverence to reach the eight classes of Dharma-protectors. Then all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas understand that everyone’s reverence has come together, and we are giving out of the power of love.

So, although the jewel’s value is immeasurable, it must be traded “so as to be useful.” This is the only way it can be useful to us. If we are not among people, we will not know that helping people is such a joyous thing. If the Dharma can pervade the world, it can bring peace and harmony to the world. Having a peaceful and harmonious world is beneficial to humankind. Thus, the Dharma must be applied in this world.

So, “They had thoroughly understood the causes in their minds.” We need to be very clear that these are our causes and conditions. We must thoroughly understand these ourselves. Since dust-inked kalpas ago, we have had the nature of True Suchness. We have had this Dharma. Although we already understand everything, “even though they had ultimate understanding, their actions had to be in accordance with this understanding.” Even though we clearly understand the Dharma, though we have a deep understanding, we must put it into practice. Our inner cultivation and external practice must be in accord with each other. Only then will the Dharma be useful in this world.

So, “Then you will always have what you wish.”

Then you will always have what you wish and be short of nothing: This means you can constantly be wealthy and have whatever you wish, lacking nothing at any time.

When the Dharma is applied in the world, we can achieve a world free of disasters. When society is peaceful and harmonious, that is a blessing for all humankind. So, we must be very mindful in taking the Dharma to heart and putting it into practice. The internal and external must be in accord as we [work] in the world. So, “This means that you can constantly be wealthy and have whatever you wish.” If we wish for everyone to be safe, then we must give of ourselves. So, we “lack nothing at any time.” This Dharma is in all places at all times; it [provides us] with great abundance.

So, “The essence of the jewel is inexhaustible. It can be traded endlessly.”

The essence of the jewel is inexhaustible. It can be traded endlessly. Only in this way can the use of the precious jewel be manifested. In cultivating oneself and transforming others, all kinds of immeasurable treasures will be reached without effort. They will be inexhaustible for us and others. Thus it says, “whatever you wish, lacking nothing.”

This jewel is actually the Dharma. When the essence of the Dharma is in our minds, it is truly inexhaustible. We do not need to worry, thinking, “If I share it and others make use of this Dharma, will I have less of it?” This is like when a disciple asked the Buddha, “If I were to pass this Dharma on to others and they make use of it, will my merits and virtues decrease? When others obtain merits and virtues, will I have less?” The Buddha used a candle as an analogy. “Once your candle has been lit, if another comes to be lit [by its flame], if ten candles are lit or even millions or billions of candles are lit, will this affect your candle’s flame? No. Have your surroundings become brighter? Yes.”

That is right! The principle is the same. If we understand the Dharma and give it to others so that they understand it, will we have any less of it? No. We can unceasingly, by giving to others, attain more realizations and then share them with everyone. So, “The essence of the jewel is inexhaustible. It can be traded endlessly.” We can endlessly continue to share with others. “Only in this way can the use of the precious jewel be manifested.” Only in this way can we manifest the function and use of that precious jewel.

“In cultivating oneself and transforming others, all kinds of immeasurable treasures will be reached without contriving.” This is all mutual. It cannot be just for me to enjoy for myself. If I am the only one who enjoys it, then it will not be of any use. It must be [shared] with everyone; we must “cultivate ourselves and transform others. All kinds of immeasurable treasures” do not belong to us alone. If it just belonged to me, it would be of no use. It belongs to everyone. The Dharma is something everyone inherently has. We need to awaken the love in everybody. “For oneself and others without end” [means that] your spiritual wealth, my spiritual wealth, everyone’s spiritual wealth is endless. This is truly “whatever you wish, lacking nothing.” This is the power of love.

The next sutra passage says,

“The Buddha is also like this. When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us, enabling us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma. But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware.”

It is like this. This is the meaning. The Buddha taught us in this way. When He was a Bodhisattva, He likewise “was like a close friend.” He was like that friend. This was “in the casual ground.” In the distant past, when He was a Bodhisattva in the casual ground, during the eras of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas, during those eras in the causal ground, He began to “teach and transform us, enabling us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma.”

The Buddha is also like this. When He was a Bodhisattva, He taught and transformed us, enabling us to form aspirations of all-encompassing wisdom: The Buddha is also like a friend. When He was a Bodhisattva in the causal ground, He taught and transformed all of us, enabling us to form aspirations of all-encompassing wisdom.

From that time on, He always continued to teach us in this way. He taught us so that we would be able to transform sentient beings. He taught us to form aspirations of the wisdom of all Dharma. This is what all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas did in the past. They used the heart of a Bodhisattva to teach.

“But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware .”

But we soon neglected and forgot this, so we were unaware: Later they soon neglected and forgot this. They were unable to understand it and were unaware of it.

Presently, we are still often [like this]. Lifetime after lifetime, although we listen to the Dharma, we forget about it again. The Dharma was originally firmly in our minds but it has been neglected. We have not put in the work, so it has been neglected. We forgot about it and became unaware of it. “Later they soon neglected and forgot this. They were unable to understand it.” We are unable to self-reflect. It is as if we are constantly intoxicated. With this wine of ignorance, we spend every day in a state of ignorance. Every day, we seek the Dharma, but every day we do this only for ourselves. We try to understand the Buddha-Dharma because we want to break free of cyclic existence. We want to have the Buddha-Dharma for ourselves and do not want to share it with others.

Actually, whether Great or Small Vehicle Dharma, as long as we listen and [realize] principles, once we open our hearts and understand, we must quickly share this with others. We do not say, “Hold on. Wait until I completely understand the Great Vehicle Dharma. Then I will tell you.” This is like the Buddha’s disciples who had listened for 40 years. They were all getting on in years. How long were they going to wait before going among people? Once we hear the Dharma and [understand] it, we must immediately share it with everyone. We should not wait too long.

So, faith and joy must forever be nourished in our minds. Our roots of goodness must be endlessly extended. Since we know we have these causes and conditions, we must earnestly apply the Dharma in our daily living. The internal and external must be in accord, then we can spread the Dharma. Only when all sentient beings obtain the Dharma and understand the principles can the four elements be in balance, society be harmonious and everyone live in peace. This depends on whether we can always be mindful.

Episode 1153 – Being Unaware of the Priceless Jewel within

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>> ” The five worldly desires provide for and benefit the physical body. People’s craving leads to cyclic existence. The five world-transcending desires can provide for the Dharma-body. These things that the Buddhas take delight in bring the Bodhi into fruition.”

>> Later his friend encountered him and said these words, “Alas! Great man, how did you come to be like this for the sake of clothing and food? In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the Five Desires.”

>> “On a certain day, month and year, I attached a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now. Yet, you are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive. You are extremely deluded.”

>> On a certain day, month and year: This refers to the time of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, which exceeded 80,000 kalpas. This long period of time can be compared to the period of the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas.

>> I fastened a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now: A priceless jewel refers to the Buddha-nature. The princes expounded the teachings in order to plant great seeds. It is like fastening a jewel inside the clothes.

>> The jewel is still inside your clothes: This refers to the Buddha directly pointing out the place where inherent Bodhicitta is found and ensuring that these sentient beings will never be ignorant of past causes or [remain] in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, worrying about not having enough to provide for themselves.

>> It is still there now: This means even though they were unaware of them, their seeds of goodness have always been there. Is still there: In the past they heard the One Vehicle Dharma, and their conditioned seeds have not perished.

>> You are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive: You are not aware that you have the Great Vehicle seeds with you. Instead, you learn the Small Vehicle, suffering in vain from hardship and pain just in order to survive.

>> They are unaware that they possess it and seek the Dharma outside of their minds. Thus, it is said that they work so hard and suffer such afflictions just for their own benefit. Thus, it says “in order to survive.”

>> You are extremely deluded: It is such a pity; they were truly ignorant and deluded. Deluded as to the Great they turned to the Small, limiting themselves to the conjured city. Thus, it says “extremely deluded.”

>> This means they could not distinguish the Dharma of all matters and principles. They had inverted views and deluded attachments, giving rise to all kinds of deviant views. They were confused, deluded and unenlightened. This is called “deluded.”

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>> ” The five worldly desires provide for and benefit the physical body. People’s craving leads to cyclic existence. The five world-transcending desires can provide for the Dharma-body. These things that the Buddhas take delight in bring the Bodhi into fruition.”

We discussed this the day before yesterday. The worldly Five Desires are only about giving our bodies certain feelings. We want to eat good food, wear nice clothes, have nice things and live in nice places. [We want] clothing, food, shelter, transportation as well as recognition, wealth and status. The Five Desires are things that we who live in the world, because we have these bodies, desire and wish to attain. We “provide for and benefit the physical body.” It is because we have this body that we strive [to satisfy] the Five Desires. As humans, no matter the quality of the food we eat, we still have to eat several meals a day. After we eat our fill, several hours later, the food is digested; several hours later, we become hungry again. Throughout our life, this opening beneath our nose, this mouth, can never be filled, no matter how much we put in. But what we stuff into this mouth includes great numbers of living beings. This is to satisfy our craving for taste. So many people, because of the craving for taste, consume the lives of so many living beings. This is the ignorance and delusion of sentient beings. We are unable to comprehend the value of life.

We [focus] on our own life; we want to satisfy all our desires. For example, “What I choose to eat must satisfy my craving for taste. I only eat what I love.” We do not think about anything else, about what we have eaten or the feelings of the beings we ate. We only care about our own sensation. We do not know how it feels to be eaten, to be bitten and chewed; we do not know what this feels like. Living this kind of life, the Five Desires confuse our minds, our mind-consciousness. Our minds are deluded, and our thoughts are distorted. Our Five Roots [connect with] the Five Dusts [and give rise to] the Five Consciousnesses. With our mind-consciousness we contrive affinities. When we see something with our eyes and want it, our mind-consciousness gives rise to greed, resulting in our bodies taking action. When our Five Roots come into contact with the Five Dusts in our surroundings, we take action to fulfill the desires of our mind. The seeds of all karma we create enter into our karmic consciousness.

However, we are not aware of this; We are like a drunk person, drunk on the wine of ignorance. [Intoxicated by] the wine of ignorance, we are filled with craving. What we drink is poison; it is contaminated water. Everything we give and everything we create, including our aspirations, thoughts and the atmosphere [around us], is all created under the influence of the poisonous alcohol of ignorance. We are just like a drunk person. This is how ignorant we sentient beings are. This ignorance truly is deep suffering. A single thought can lead us to mutually create karma out of ignorance.

Take this story from China for example. The story is about a laborer in his 30s who traveled from the countryside to the city. He did manual labor there as a construction worker building houses. He did this manual labor in the hope that he could make some money to support his family. But after coming to the city and having worked for more than eight months, in all that time he still had not received any pay. This laborer in his 30s went to his boss and begged him, “I have already been here for eight months, and I have not been able to send any money home. Boss, can you pay me some part of my wages first so I can send it back for my family’s security?”

The boss said, “Since you are not going home yet, why are you in such a hurry?” He said, “I am unable to go home, but I can send them money. In my family, my mother has heart disease and hypertension. She cannot be without medicine even for one day. I have already been away for a long time without sending any money home. I also have a child who is eight. To go to school, he has to pay a registration fee. I also have a younger sister. She had a romantic relationship that ended, which traumatized her. Now, she behaves in a crazy manner. She runs around outside all day, completely disheveled. My mother, for the sake of my younger sister, spends all day outside looking after her because she worries she might get into an accident. My mother is also sick herself. Whenever I think about this, I cannot bear it. My entire family needs money. Boss, please pay me part of my wages first.”

Even after the boss heard this, he still ignored his request. But the laborer kept begging him. The boss became impatient and asked the guard to escort this laborer out. After repeatedly asking his boss, not only did the laborer not receive any money, his boss had an unpleasant expression on his face. He asked the guard to escort him out. [The worker] was not resentful, just very anxious. “My family is waiting for me to send money!” In a moment of foolishness, he thought, “What can I do so that. I can scare my boss into paying me my wages?” He knew the boss had a son, a six-year-old boy. This laborer felt that this son was the treasure of his boss’ family. “If I take this child away, my boss will have to give me money.” This is committing kidnapping. He grabbed the child and left.

The boss and his entire family were very anxious, in particular the grandmother. When after one day they still had not found her grandson, she fell ill. They kept searching, but after more than one day there was still no news. The police also searched every street and alley. However, this laborer, after taking the child, felt very remorseful. He could imagine how they felt.

He wanted to send his own child to school, but did not have money. This already caused him anxiety. “This is someone else’s child, someone’s only grandchild. By taking him away, won’t his entire family be very anxious?” The child was so young, so he bought things for him [to eat]. He took very good care of the child.

Actually, ordinarily, once he regretted his actions, he could have just left the child and run away. However, he did not do that. He felt, “If something happened to this child, how would I feel?” So, he continued to take care of the child. The police kept looking for the child. When he saw the police, he approached them on his own accord. The police saw that this child in his arms was sleeping very soundly. The police took the child from him. He was a very adorable child. Then, the laborer was arrested and taken into custody by police. However, the worker’s family were very miserable. This laborer was their sole source of support. How would the case be judged?

On the day the sentence was to be given, many people gathered at the court, waiting for the judge to hand down the sentence. After the judge banged his gavel, he handed down a sentence of five years in prison. Though kidnapping is a serious crime, he did not physically hurt the child. The child was not injured in the slightest. In addition, the judge took into consideration that at home he had a wife, a son, a mother and a younger sister. So, he gave a light sentence. Still, this was a kidnapping, so he handed down a sentence of five years. After the five-year sentence was announced, the defendant, crying, called out to his mother, “Mother, how will you survive these five years?” Then, in the courtroom, among the plaintiffs, suddenly an elderly voice rang out, and a person raised her hand to indicate that she had something to say.

Everybody looked back. It turned out to be the mother of the boss. The mother walked toward the place where the defendant was standing. Then she made three deep bows to the laborer. She said, “My first bow was on behalf of my son. My son did something very wrong. Actually, my son is the true initiator of this crime. This all began with his mistake. It was I who failed in educating my son. My son should not have done what he did. You did eight months of work, and yet he did not pay you anything. This is my son’s fault. The person who should stand there and be sentenced today is my son. He is the source of all these wrongs, but the person being punished is you. So, I bow to you on his behalf.”

“My second bow was to your mother. I am apologizing to your mother. Your family needs you to take care of them, and we have caused you to lose five years. Your mother must be suffering terribly. Because I am a mother myself, I understand the grief of your mother. I am also aware of your mother’s health problems and your family’s hardship, so put your heart at ease. My third bow was to thank you. I thank you for, after taking my grandson, caring for him so well. You did not hurt him even in the slightest. The child neither suffered emotional harm nor physical injury. This adorable child was returned to me safely. I must thank you for this.”

The people present all applauded. This elderly woman had a very clear understanding of the correct principles; she was a very wise and compassionate elderly lady. Indeed! Once the sentence was handed down, there was nothing that could be done. However, after the case concluded, the elderly lady told her son that this laborer’s entire family would be under their care. They would take the mother to get treatment and send the younger sister to a mental health institution. The young child needed education, so they brought him to get education in the city. They also gave the laborer’s wife a job so she could support her family.

Think about it; this is about the mind. These people were deluded. Take the boss for example; he was deluded. He hired someone to work, and he had the money. He should have paid them wages evey month. Letting eight months pass without paying anything is both greed and delusion. This greed stems from delusion. Another person who was confused was the laborer. He should not have done this. Regardless of the circumstances, things can be worked out through conversation. In addition to begging earnestly, there should be other means for him to get paid. However, he acted impulsively. By taking the child away from his family, he caused anxiety in the family and in their entire community. This also is not the right thing to do. This too is ignorance and delusion. These are ignorant and deluded lives.

However, we also saw wisdom. That elderly lady truly had wisdom. Not only could she discern good from evil and correctly understand the principles, she also had a very broad and compassionate heart. This brought this story to a very good conclusion. That truly was not an easy feat. Therefore, if we crave the worldly Five Desires, “People’s cravings lead to cyclic existence.” We transmigrate through the Four Forms of Birth and the Five Realms. We transmigrate in this way because of the worldly Five Desires. In a moment of carelessness, we make mistakes.

Among these three people, two of them were careless. Two of them had ignorance and delusion; only one of them had clarity and could discern good from evil, the wise grandmother who was clear on the correct principles. She was a person who had faith in the Buddha and understood the principles. This elderly woman often recited the Buddha’s name. Therefore, the Dharma was in her mind. This means, “The world-transcending Five Desires can provide for the Dharma-body. These things that Buddhas take delight in bring Bodhi to fruition.” Once the Buddha-Dharma is in our mind, a single action can lead people to praise us. They will greatly admire and compliment us. At the end of this court case, the perpetrator was punished according to the law.

The elderly lady did not say, “I will bail him out.” Legally, he should receive a prison sentence. But regarding his family situation, she exercised her compassion to help resolve their difficulties. She brought them [to the city]. The one who needed medical treatment received it, the one who needed work was given a job and the one who needed education was sent to school. Think about this; isn’t this the Buddha-Dharma? This is the world-transcending Five Desires, being able to do things that educate others. This is not an easy feat.

She knew how to utilize [her time]. With the few short decades she has in this world, she knew how to make the most of them. She knew to have faith in the Buddha and was able to understand the principles. Therefore, she utilized her wisdom. She knew how to benefit those suffering people. She knew how to use a loving and gentle heart to work in harmony with the laws of human society. She knew to use loving-kindness and how to care for and cherish people’s lives. This is all world-transcending Dharma. Although it was such a simple mindset, it came from having great clarity regarding the Great [Vehicle] Dharma. This is what happened in this world. This is an elderly Bodhisattva. This is truly what “Buddhas take delight in.” The Buddha wants to teach us to do this, to “bring Bodhi to fruition.” This is a person who has achieved realizations; she is an awakened being. Bodhi means awakening. In the world, this is how things [should] be done. This is how we [should] understand the matters of this world. This is what we need to learn.

The previous sutra passage states, “Later his friend encountered him.”

Later his friend encountered him and said these words, “Alas! Great man, how did you come to be like this for the sake of clothing and food? In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the Five Desires.”

There was a man who was drunk whose friend had fastened a jewel on his body. His friend then left because he had to take care of some official business. When the drunk man woke up, he left for other places. In this way, he drifted about; it was a life full of difficulties. This was how he lived. Later, the two of them met again. So, “Later his friend encountered him.” Previously, his friend had fastened a jewel on him. This good friend saw this man who was drifting about aimlessly, so he “said these words.” He called to him, saying, “Alas! Great man.” The friend was using a very forceful tone in calling to him.

“How did you come to be like this for the sake of clothing and food? In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the Five Desires. I had already given you what you need to live a decent life, hoping you could freely enjoy the Five Desires.” With the [world-transcending] Five Desires, he hoped he would be able to live a mindful life in this world. He hoped he would seize his time to earnestly apply the Buddha-Dharma in the world and know to feel remorse and to diligently advance. “I have already given you the Dharma in the past, so why are you still like this now?”

The next sutra passage continues with,

“On a certain day, month and year, I attached a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now. Yet, you are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive. You are extremely deluded.”

[He said,] “Why are you still like this? In the past I already gave you this jewel. It is a priceless jewel. But you still look so haggard now. You are still unaware. You are still so lacking in material things and still suffer such afflictions. Your afflictions, ignorance and delusions are still unresolved. You are still seeking just for your own survival and have not yet established great vows. You are truly ignorant.” His friend scolded him in this way.

On a certain day, month and year: This refers to the time of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, which exceeded 80,000 kalpas. This long period of time can be compared to the period of the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas.

“On a certain day, month and year….” This is an analogy for the time of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, that era dust-inked kalpas [in the past]. A very long time ago, Great Unhindered Buddha expounded the Dharma for more than 80,000 kalpas. This was a very long time during which Great Unhindered Wisdom Buddha attained Buddhahood and expounded the Dharma. Moreover, the 16 princes likewise expounded the Great Vehicle sutra. This period of time was also very long.

Let us make a comparison. In the Introductory Chapter, the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas, the 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas one by one continuously came to this world. The sun and the moon in the sky, as well as the light in the lamps on the earth, are all there to kindle the light in our minds, to kindle the light in sentient beings’ minds. Why are sentient beings still so deluded and ignorant, lost in the dark? This is the underlying meaning. After reading that part of the sutra, we should have a clear understanding.

I fastened a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now: A priceless jewel refers to the Buddha-nature. The princes expounded the teachings in order to plant great seeds. It is like fastening a jewel inside the clothes.

“I fastened a priceless jewel inside your clothes, and it is still there now. On a certain day, month and year, I already gave you such a valuable thing.” This happened such a long time ago. This refers to what the Buddha did dust-inked kalpas ago. Since Beginningless Time, whether Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha or the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas, throughout those eras, They continuously taught and transformed with the Great Vehicle, all the way until now. They all gave us the treasure of the Dharma, the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle. This is a priceless jewel.

They wanted to tell us about our pure nature of True Suchness. “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in nature].” So, why haven’t we awakened? The “priceless jewel” represents the Buddha-nature we all intrinsically have. “The princes expounded the teachings.” Whether the 16 princes or the 8 princes, they likewise continuously [did this] “in order to plant great seeds.” This was continuous; whether the 8 princes or the 16 princes, whether it was Buddhas or Bodhisattvas transmitting the Buddha-Dharma, they were all spreading seeds of goodness for the sake of the world. Moreover, these are seeds of great kindness. This is like “fastening a jewel inside your clothes.” This is the analogy. This jewel [symbolizes] how we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature; all these princes symbolize the princes of the Great Dharma, those who extend the wisdom-life of the Buddha. They constantly pass on the Dharma.

But some people can understand the Buddha’s intent, such as those who already received predictions. They concealed the Great and manifested the Small, appearing among the Hearers. In particular Purna was like this. Sariputra was also like this. They had all already accepted the Buddha-Dharma. It was just that they manifested as. Small Vehicle practitioners among the bhiksus. They followed the Buddha and became monastics to influence the practitioners in the Sangha and educate people [in the world]. This is how all Buddhas share the same path.

The jewel is still there inside our clothes. “Inside our clothes” refers to the intrinsic nature buried within everyone.

The jewel is still inside your clothes: This refers to the Buddha directly pointing out the place where inherent Bodhicitta is found and ensuring that these sentient beings will never be ignorant of past causes or [remain] in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, worrying about not having enough to provide for themselves.

This refers to “the Buddha directly pointing out the place where inherent Bodhicitta is found.” Everyone has Bodhicitta. Bodhicitta is our enlightened nature. “[He ensured] that these sentient beings will never be ignorant of past causes.” Everybody should know about our causes from past lives. In the past, the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas and Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha [all provided] past causes, long-lasting causes and conditions from past lives, which will always be there. Having formed Bodhicitta, “sentient beings will never be ignorant.” We must never forget this. We must never be covered by afflictions and ignorance “or [remain] in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, worrying about not having enough to provide for ourselves.” In fact, we only worry about whether we ourselves have enough Dharma. Everybody thought the Small Dharma was sufficient. Now that they heard the Great Dharma, they felt like they were lacking. So, they gave rise to remorse. In the past, they did not accept the Great Dharma the Buddha taught. They only sought to benefit themselves and were satisfied with the Small Vehicle. Now, they did not need to worry about not having enough. In fact, everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature.

But although they intrinsically had it, they had not discovered it for themselves. “It is still there now.” Up until now, they just worried that they did not have sufficient Dharma. Even now they still felt the same.

It is still there now: This means even though they were unaware of them, their seeds of goodness have always been there. Is still there: In the past they heard the One Vehicle Dharma, and their conditioned seeds have not perished.

“It is still there now. Even though they were unaware of them, their seeds of goodness have always been there.” Even if they did not know this, everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. Our Buddha-nature and the Buddha’s Buddha-nature are completely identical. The Buddha knows the true principles of all things in the universe. Actually, if we are mindful enough, we can know them to. It is just that we are not mindful enough; our minds are scattered. Because we are still drunk on ignorance, we still cannot clearly understand this. In fact, our “seeds of goodness have always been there.”

“It is still there now” are words reproaching the way he was now. “In the past they heard the One Vehicle Dharma, and their conditioned seeds have not perished.” In the distant past, in the eras of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas, they had already listened to the Dharma. They had heard it already and had actually not completely forgotten it. Because they still had these conditions, these conditions from past lives, when Sakyamuni Buddha was born in this world they were able accept the Buddha’s teachings and join the Buddha’s Sangha. So, they should not have completely forgotten what they absorbed in the past.

“Yet, you are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions.”

You are not aware of it. You work so hard and suffer such afflictions just in order to survive: You are not aware that you have the Great Vehicle seeds with you. Instead, you learn the Small Vehicle, suffering in vain from hardship and pain just in order to survive.

“I placed the jewel on your body, yet you were not aware of it. Now, you are working so hard to make a living and are constantly worried that you don’t know where your next meal will come from.” This is truly foolish and deluded. We were only seeking to sustain our own lives. “You are not aware that you have the Great Vehicle seeds with you.” We did not know that we have these Great Vehicle seeds. The seeds of the Great Vehicle are in the fields of our minds. As long as we work diligently, won’t we have a bountiful harvest in the fields of our minds? One gives rise to infinity. The Great Dharma is inside our minds, yet we want to learn the Small Vehicle. So, “We are suffering in vain from hardship and pain just in order to survive.” This is how we all are.

So, “They are unaware that they possess it and seek the Dharma outside of their minds.” They do not know that they already have this. So, they seek the Dharma outside their minds.

They are unaware that they possess it and seek the Dharma outside of their minds. Thus, it is said that they work so hard and suffer such afflictions just for their own benefit. Thus, it says “in order to survive.”

This is something we all intrinsically have, but we still seek it outside of ourselves. We each have a stupa on the Vulture Peak within, but we still seek [the Dharma] outside ourselves. So, they “work so hard and suffer such afflictions just for their own benefit. Thus it says ‘in order to survive.'” They only sought to benefit themselves. So, they were Small Vehicle practitioners who only sought to benefit themselves by seeking the Small Dharma.

Therefore he said, “You are extremely deluded.” This man was truly very foolish.

You are extremely deluded: It is such a pity; they were truly ignorant and deluded. Deluded as to the Great they turned to the Small, limiting themselves to the conjured city. Thus, it says “extremely deluded.”

“You have always been wealthy. You mind is rich; you have a priceless jewel.” Everybody intrinsically has Buddha-nature; it is equal to the Buddha’s. The Tathagata-garbha, the great ocean of wisdom, is intrinsically in everyone. With this ocean of enlightened wisdom, in this world, is there anything that we won’t know? We should know all things. It is just that we are not mindful, so we become deluded. This is like the story I just told; two out of the three people were deluded. Thus, they made mistakes one after the other. See, this is being deluded.

“It is such a pity that you truly have ignorance and delusion.” We ordinary people are constantly drowning in ignorance and delusion. “Deluded as to the Great they turned to the Small.” They lost sight of the Great Vehicle Dharma and turned only to the Small Vehicle. They only sought to benefit themselves. They “limited themselves to the conjured city.” This was a mirage, not an actual city. This is living an illusory life. We are attached to this lifetime. In this life, external states bring us many afflictions. We refuse to let go of all the afflictions we have brought upon ourselves. This is “limiting ourselves to the conjured city.” Throughout our entire life, we have been attached to doing this. So, this is being “extremely deluded.” We do not know about the life before this one or about our future after this life. We do not know the past or the future. We are lost in the present; this is truly being deluded.

So, “This means they could not distinguish the Dharma of all matters and principles.” This is being deluded. “They had inverted views and deluded attachments.” This too is being deluded. “They gave rise to all kinds of deviant views, confused and unawakened.” Is this being deluded? Yes, it is.

This means they could not distinguish the Dharma of all matters and principles. They had inverted views and deluded attachments, giving rise to all kinds of deviant views. They were confused, deluded and unenlightened. This is called “deluded.”

This is what we are all like. We are so strongly focused on the present, attached to our own ways. So, we do not listen to what other people say. There are things to give, things we should do, but we take no action. We are just as foolish and ignorant as the son of that wise mother. When people do work for us, we need to give them something. Why wouldn’t we give them anything? This is ignorance. With this kind of ignorance and delusion, we remain in that state; we are attached to our own ways. We do not do what we should do and refuse to give what we should give. All this comes from ignorance and delusion.

The Buddha taught us so that we would know the principles. We must form aspirations and make vows, [make] the Four Great Vows and [practice] the Four Infinite Minds. The Four Great Vows are vows for our inner cultivation. The Four Infinite Minds enable us to go among people and help others in the world. This is a great path; this is [cultivating] blessings and wisdom. The Buddha taught us this method for moving forward, but we are still stuck in this human society filled with ignorance. We are still lost in this conjured city, immersed in the worldly Five Desires. This is truly very sad. I hope everybody can be very mindful. We need to seize the moment and use time wisely. We need to earnestly awaken ourselves. For the sake of all sentient beings, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1152 – Meeting Again When Conditions Mature

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>> In response to conditions, Bodhisattvas come and go at the right time to promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities, using the one true wisdom of True Suchness. People do not know that this precious jewel is fastened to their clothes. A sense of humility and patience can cover disgraceful enmity and guard against wrongdoings.”In response to conditions, [Bodhisattvas] come and go at the right time to promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities using wisdom of the one reality of True Suchness. People do not know that this precious jewel is fastened to their clothes. A sense of remorse and patience can cover shameful resentment and guard against external evils.”

>> “That man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this. After he got up, he travelled to other lands. For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content.”

>> “Later his friend encountered him and said these words, ‘Alas! Great man, how did you come to be like this for the sake of food and clothing? In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the five desires.'”

>> Those disciples used a parable: They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities. Only now did they become aware of this. They comprehended that when those bhiksus of great virtues such as Sariputra and the others received predictions one after another, that revealed the meaning of the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle.

>> Later his friend encountered him: This is an analogy for how. Sakyamuni manifested in the Saha World and again encountered those sentient beings from previous dust-inked kalpas whom He had the conditions to teach and transform.

>> The encounter: This means that the condition had matured so they could meet each other. For 40 years they came to the door and received the teachings, but they did not accept the Buddha’s heart-seal. Even if they had already met Him, it was as if they had never met. They were still unable to see the truth. Now they realized this truth and they spoke in the same voice and spirit. Only when their minds encountered these timely teachings could it be said that they had seen the truth.Encountered him: This means that the condition had matured so they could meet each other. For 40 years they came to the door and received the teachings, but they did not accept the Buddha’s heart-seal. Even if they had already met Him, it was as if they had never met. They were still unable to see the truth. Now they realized this truth and they spoke in the same voice and spirit. Only when their minds encountered these timely teachings could it be said that they had encountered [Him].

>> He said these words, “Alas! Great man”: He very sincerely urged him on and inspired him. It means one who holds his head high in the sky and stands firmly on the ground is a true man.

>> How did you come to be like this for the sake of clothing and food?: This means, why did they limit themselves to the Small Vehicle Nirvana? The Two Vehicle practitioners had bountiful capacities, so why were they content with limiting themselves to the Small [Vehicle] path?

>> In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the five desires: The analogy of revealing the jewel again describes their causes and conditions. This refers to attaining unsurpassed peace and joy, enjoying themselves in the desires of the Fivefold Purifying Dharma.

>> Peace and joy: This means there are no oppressing afflictions. In this pure and clear Dharma-realm, everything is calm and tranquil. Hence, it says “peace and joy.” They can also bring peace and joy to all sentient beings. So, it says “peace and joy.”

>> These five desires are world-transcending, supreme and wondrous. They are not like the coarse and harmful worldly desires. The five worldly desires provide for and benefit the physical body, the cravings that lead people to cyclic existence. The five world-transcending desires can provide for the Dharma-body. These things that Buddhas take delight in bring Bodhi to fruition.

>> The five world-transcending desires: 1. Having infinite Dharma-treasure: This is the treasure of wish-fulfilling jewels 2. Having infinite good appearances: This is a complexion of radiant purple gold 3. Being replete with the Ten Epithets: This is a name known in the ten directions 4. Having Dharma-joy and meditation-joy: This is the food of liberation and ease 5. Having great Samadhi of tranquility: This is true and eternal Samadhi.

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In response to conditions, Bodhisattvas come and go at the right time
to promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities,
using the one true wisdom of True Suchness.
People do not know that this precious jewel is fastened to their clothes.
A sense of humility and patience can cover disgraceful enmity
and guard against wrongdoings.․”In response to conditions, [Bodhisattvas] come and go at the right time to promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities using wisdom of the one reality of True Suchness. People do not know that this precious jewel is fastened to their clothes. A sense of remorse and patience can cover shameful resentment and guard against external evils.”

Over the past few days, we have discussed how the 500 disciples received predictions. They all rejoiced. This is because, in the past, they had remained in the Small Vehicle and sought only to benefit themselves. In this way, they had wasted a lot of time, which made them feel remorseful and repentant. Therefore, now that they had received the Buddha’s predictions, they were very happy. They came before Him to repent and gave this analogy. They [felt they] were just like a drunken man who goes to a dear friend’s home. When he gets there, in a drunken stupor he falls asleep. This was the kind of confused, drunken life he lived. He came to his dear friend’s house and fell fast asleep. As his close friend was leaving, he put a jewel inside his clothing. He hoped that when [his friend] woke up, he would have an abundance of material wealth to draw on.

How was he to know that this drunken man would not be aware that he had this precious jewel on him? [The disciples] gave this analogy for themselves. The 500 bhiksus, with one voice, expressed their remorse and repentance to the Buddha. This is an analogy for how. “In response to conditions, [Bodhisattvas] come and go at the right time to promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities.” As Bodhisattvas respond to the needs of the world, they come and go freely. They come for one reason only; they come to this world for one great cause, and for that one great cause they go among people. When there is suffering in the human realm, Bodhisattvas go among people to give. They give material things and give Dharma, benefiting everyone. When sentient beings have a difficult life and need material goods, they help them using worldly wealth and goods. In this world what people need are clothing to stay warm, food to eat their fill and shelter to live in safety. Clothing, food and shelter are essential in sentient beings’ lives.

When sentient beings are impoverished, suffering, there needs to be people with love in the world. The Buddha teaches and transforms to inspire love in everyone’s heart. All Bodhisattvas go into the world to inspire [people to] bring their love together to help the impoverished and suffering. “Having relieved them from suffering, [Bodhisattvas] then expound the Dharma for them.” Doesn’t it say this in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings? This is how all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, “in response to conditions come and go at the right time.” They respond to what sentient beings need. So, Bodhisattvas go and come over and over, constantly returning to go among people, “promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities.” This is teaching according to capacities. When capacities and conditions are mature, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas manifest in the world. Once these capacities and conditions are complete, there are other places [where they are needed], so they have to start all over again.

In the end, everything in the world is subject to the laws of nature. How much time do we have? How much time do we have to interact with each other? So, they seize the causes, conditions and time to promote the Dharma according to capacities. They adapt to the capacities, the conditions and the length of time. With conditions, they meet people. With conditions, they teach according to capacities. They need to bring sentient beings relief and create good affinities, so they repeatedly return in this way to “promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities.” They are in one place for a certain length of time. Following the laws of nature, once their causes and conditions are complete, they must leave and then come back again. This is “transforming others.” They come and go; they come to this place, then go to that place. They repeatedly go back and forth. 

In our world now, it is the same. Our Bodhisattva[-volunteers] in [South] Africa travel abroad to transform people in other parts of Africa. From South Africa, they have gone to Swaziland, to Mozambique, to Zimbabwe, to Lesotho, to Botswana and so on. How long did it take them to come back? How long did it take them to get there? Every trip they take is due to causes and conditions that have matured. Every time they go there, new affinities are formed as some old affinities weaken and fade away. [Affinities] increase and decrease, but there are more that increase than decrease. As the number of Bodhisattva-seeds increases, suffering people have more chances to be saved.

By the same principle, they go and return in this way. They “come and go at the right time.” When it is time, everyone gathers together and travels there again. As they go, after a few days have passed, once they have completed [their work], they come home again. We see them forming more good affinities. We see suffering people receive timely aid. In this way, they come and go. This is what happens in this world. Bodhisattvas “promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities.” In a longer time frame, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas repeatedly return in the same way, life after life. In the same way, “In response to conditions, Bodhisattvas come and go at the right time.” In the same way, they “promote the Dharma and transform others according to capacities.” Lifetime after lifetime, over countless kalpas they return in this way.

No matter how they come and go, they use “wisdom of the one reality of True Suchness.” They apply this [wisdom of the] one reality which is the One Vehicle Dharma; this means that they teach the Bodhisattva Way. The human realm is inseparable from suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. It is inseparable from the causes and conditions that bring about the accumulation of suffering. Since so many karmic conditions work to cause suffering, they must teach them methods to awaken the love and joy in their hearts, to help others with an expansive heart of love; that is spiritual wealth, the “wisdom of the one reality of True Suchness.” Awakening the love in everyone’s intrinsic nature of True Suchness is the wisdom of True Suchness.

So, “People do not know that this precious jewel is fastened to their clothes.” Unfortunately, we sentient beings [do not know] that we each have a jewel. Deep inside our clothes each of us have this jewel; it is just that we are unaware of this. Everyone intrinsically has this nature of True Suchness. Although we hear this and know it, we do not know how to make use of it. This is the case for Buddhist practitioners, let alone for those who are not practitioners. How would they know what the intrinsic nature of True Suchness is? They have even less of an idea. Those who know it cannot use it. As for those who do not know it, there is nothing to be done.

So, “A sense of remorse and patience can cover shameful resentment.” We are spiritual practitioners, so we know this. We know that we have this jewel of True Suchness. We want to engage in spiritual practice and manifest the appearance of a practitioner, so we became monastics. As spiritual practitioners, we have all donned the “clothing of gentleness and patience.” We must be patient with worldly matters, patiently endure greed, anger, ignorance, doubt and arrogance. We have five kinds of poisonous thoughts, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Just these five alone can spread to cover heaven and earth, creating much ignorance, dust-like delusions and afflictions. So, we must engage in spiritual practice. This is like donning “clothing of gentleness and patience” to cover [our ignorance and afflictions].

This is like how Tzu Chi volunteers are always very uniform, whether they are wearing a suit, a mandarin gown, the “Eightfold Noble Path” dress, or the blue and white volunteer uniform. Everyone chooses what to wear according to the occasion. The blue and white uniform means they are getting to work. They want to get moving and do work. They wish to dedicate themselves to help people; there are so many things that need to be done. When people see the blue and white of the [volunteer] uniforms, they give rise to a sense of reverence. When they see the suits and mandarin gowns, they know there is a big, formal event. When the commissioners wear the “Eightfold Noble Path” dress the event is more casual, such as when we gather together to listen to the Dharma, to hold meetings and so on.

By looking at our appearance, everyone can tell what kind of work this organization is doing. When something bad happens to someone and they see this group coming, they say, “The Tzu Chi volunteers have come! I feel safe now; Tzu Chi volunteers are here.” Clearly, this external appearance must be consistent with our inner state. Our inner cultivation is expressed through external action. So, we have “internal merits and external virtues.” Inner cultivation is cultivating one’s own mind. External practice is being humble and accommodating in our appearance, in the way we treat people etc. So, we need to have patience. Being humble and accommodating like this and giving unconditionally to others can tame our thoughts of greed, anger and ignorance. This happens internally. When inside our minds we have already tamed our greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, this is expressed outwardly. This is the kind of organization we are.

We are an organization of monastic practitioners and Dharma-protectors. In our organization, we listen to the Dharma, teach the Dharma and practice the true Dharma. This requires all of us to earnestly put our hearts into it. If we have “a sense of remorse and patience,” we can constantly train our minds. We need to have this kind of mindset. It is like wearing “the clothing of gentleness and patience” to protect our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. It must remain untainted; we must not allow afflictions and all kinds of evil thoughts from the outside to enter and disturb our minds. Then, in our actions, we will not do the wrong things. This is to “cover shameful resentment and guard against external evils. This is why an organization needs to be uniform and why a Sangha needs rules. This is the way it is. So, we need to be very mindful. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn to give according to the needs of the world. This is the Great Vehicle Dharma.

An example of giving according to the world’s needs is our response to the imbalance in the climate. For instance, last year (2015), in July and August, there was again heavy flooding in Myanmar; there were heavy rains. That flooding caused great losses to the farmers. The rice they were about to harvest was all damaged by the water. These farmers were already poor to begin with. They already had to borrow rice seeds for planting every year, and the interest on the borrowed seeds was high. After the harvest, once they had paid their creditors, what remained was only enough for them to fill their own bellies. There was no extra money. So, when you look at those villages, everyone’s homes are made of straw; from the outside you can see through to the back of the house. There are many impoverished farmers.

When Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia heard the news, they quickly went to Myanmar to meet them and assess the damage; it was very severe! They started to make plans, and the information was sent back to Taiwan. They reported that their plan to assist them was to distribute rice seeds to them. They then started to distribute them to the villages. Many people received the seeds and were very grateful and joyful. At that time, everyone was very earnest and quickly went to again plow and plant the fields. They were joyful and grateful.

One of them was U San Thein. This farmer was very grateful. So, he called a group of people together [and told them] what happened a few years ago, when Tzu Chi volunteers came. As the farmers went to receive the rice seeds, our volunteers told them about how several years ago, when Cyclone Nargis struck, Tzu Chi volunteers had also assisted farmers by giving them rice seeds. They shared with them how at that time U Thein Tun cultivated his fields and accepted Tzu Chi. U Thein Tun also came to tell his story in person.

The person [we speak of now] is U San Thein; their names are very similar. When he heard the story, he was very moved. So, he called together these farmers, more than 50 households. His village had more than 100 households. There were 50 households that had land to farm. Others were so poor they did not have any land, so they worked as laborers, helping to harvest rice etc. Planting seedlings and harvesting rice cannot be done by a single person; there has to be other people to help. So, some of them worked for wages; they did not own land. U San Thein urged everyone, “We must do as U Thein Tun did and sign up for volunteer training.” As a result, a good number of people in this village joined volunteer training.

Then they heard Tzu Chi volunteers talking about the spirit of the bamboo banks. It has been 50 years. Starting 50 years ago, [this organization] started from nothing, and now extends from Taiwan all around the world. Tzu Chi has helped more than 90 countries. In Taiwan, we have also built hospitals. In other countries, we have also built schools. We practice charity, medicine, education and humanistic culture. Hearing all this, U San Thein was very moved. As he was going through volunteer training, he started calling on everyone to made deposits in “rice bamboo banks. We don’t have money, but as we eat our three meals a day, we can put aside a handful of rice. We can learn from U Thein Tun’s spirit. We should also be able to do it! If U Thein Tun can do it, we can too!”

Thus, he started to promote this campaign. He spent his own money to buy plastic containers and gave them to everyone. There was a total of more than 100 households, and more than 50 received rice seeds from us. People without land did not receive [seeds]. But these people without land told U San Thein, “Although I did not receive rice seeds, because people need to plant the seedlings, I have employment, so I have also benefited. So, I am also willing to set aside a handful of rice daily.”

Therefore, a total of more than 90 people took rice banks home. After saving up for one or two months, they brought all the rice banks back. When they were poured together, there were 96 kilograms of rice. With these 96 kilograms of rice, they made careful calculations. They said, “In terms of a family of five people, this can sustain them for 36 days. This can feed an entire family. In terms of one day of food, this can give more than 200 people enough to eat for a day.” These 96 kilograms of rice had been accumulated by everyone, one handful at a time.

When Tzu Chi volunteers heard the news, they traveled from Yangon to this village. They began telling them more about Tzu Chi. Everyone was very happy and motivated. We saw them gathered together, sitting under a tree listening to the Dharma. Our Tzu Chi volunteers [showed] them my morning Dharma-talks that are broadcast on Da Ai TV, watching them over the Internet. They emulated our African Bodhisattvas. Like them, they brought computers to the villages and clicked on the program for everyone to see. Likewise, a large number of people gathered there to listen to the Dharma and to hear stories from our Tzu Chi commissioners.

We saw certified volunteers and gray-shirt volunteers who were not yet certified going to the villages to spread seeds of goodness. After helping people overcome their difficulties, they then taught them the Dharma. Think about it; isn’t this awakening love? Although they are poor, their hearts are rich with love. So, we say, “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings.” The Buddha teaches sentient beings to go among people. There is a pure nature of True Suchness deep inside everyone’s minds. If we are mindful, we can constantly exercise this pure nature of True Suchness in our lives and not be tainted by the turbidities outside. Seeing suffering, we recognize our blessings; by then giving of ourselves, we become filled with Dharma-joy. This is our spiritual training ground.

Let us look at the previous sutra passage.

“That man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this. After he got up, he travelled to other lands. For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content.”

This is what the previous passage states. This drunk man was intoxicated by the wine of the Three Poisons. He had lived his life in a drunken stupor. “That man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this.” He had been intoxicated like this his whole life. Though he had already received this jewel when he came to his friend’s home, he was unaware. Yet, after this, “after he got up, he travelled to other lands.” They likewise started to understand. In this life, they heard the Dharma and started to journey within the Dharma. “For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort.” This refers to seeking the Small Vehicle Dharma, the Four Noble Truths. They were really putting their hearts into training their own minds, into finding ways to settle their minds and attain spiritual powers to follow their minds’ desire. “Following the mind’s desire” is understanding the Small Vehicle Dharma, how to enter Samadhi, how to enter a meditative state so that we can eliminate the ignorance and afflictions of cyclic existence.

Actually, regarding the ignorance and afflictions of cyclic existence, the Buddha wanted us to first train our minds to let us settle down and focus our attention so that it is not scattered within greed, anger and ignorance, connecting to external states and creating karma. So, He taught many methods, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, listening, contemplating, practicing and so on, and everyone put in a lot of effort. Among those spiritual practitioners, some engaged in ascetic practice etc. “It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content.” In the process of spiritual practice, we must abide by the rules, rules regarding enduring suffering, hard work etc. So, [these people would think], “I know this method, so I won’t be reborn in the human realm; I will no longer transmigrate in the Six Realms.” Because of this, they thought they had already attained thorough understanding of the Dharma. So, they felt very satisfied. They thought this was all there was to it. The Buddha always taught that we need benefit themselves and also need to benefit others, that the true spiritual training ground is among people. They still had not yet penetrated this principle, so they remained in their current state.

The next sutra passage says,

“Later his friend encountered him and said these words, ‘Alas! Great man, how did you come to be like this for the sake of food and clothing? In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the five desires.'”

“Those disciples” represent these over 500 people. They reproached themselves; they had already come before the Buddha to reproach themselves. They felt that they had very dull capabilities. Only now had they attained understanding, because they had learned from how Sariputra, Venerable Kasyapa, Purna Maitrayaniputra and so on, these bhiksus with great virtues, had all received predictions of Buddhahood, one after another. From these people’s example, they had now seen the. True Dharma of the One Vehicle of True Suchness, They had now understood the meaning of the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle. Only now had they started to understand this.

Those disciples used a parable: They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities. Only now did they become aware of this. They comprehended that when those bhiksus of great virtues such as Sariputra and the others received predictions one after another, that revealed the meaning of the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle.

So it says, “Later his friend encountered him.” This is an analogy for Sakyamuni Buddha manifesting in the Saha World, in the human realm. Of course, those disciples were in the human realm too. So, He “again encountered [them]” refers to previous lives. This did not just happen in this lifetime, but also in countless past lifetimes. Thus it says “encountered.”

Later his friend encountered him: This is an analogy for how. Sakyamuni manifested in the Saha World and again encountered those sentient beings from previous dust-inked kalpas whom He had the conditions to teach and transform.

In this present life, He encountered them again. He had taught them in the past. After, according to the laws of nature, that life ended, they were reborn. Their circumstantial and direct retributions brought them to this place at the same time. In the Saha World, in this place, they met again.

This is “again encountering those sentient beings from previous dust-inked kalpas.” Previous dust-inked kalpas means that these karmic conditions were already there in the past. The people who were taught and transformed by the 16th prince had these karmic conditions that lasted through dust-inked kalpas until the present, when they encountered each other again. This refers to those who accepted the 16th prince’s teachings when they expounded the Lotus Sutra, the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now they had encountered Him again.

“Encountered him” is an analogy for how causes and conditions had matured for them to follow the Buddha to become monastics.

The encounter: This means that the condition had matured so they could meet each other. For 40 years they came to the door and received the teachings, but they did not accept the Buddha’s heart-seal. Even if they had already met Him, it was as if they had never met. They were still unable to see the truth. Now they realized this truth and they spoke in the same voice and spirit. Only when their minds encountered these timely teachings could it be said that they had seen the truth. Encountered him: This means that the condition had matured so they could meet each other. For 40 years they came to the door and received the teachings, but they did not accept the Buddha’s heart-seal. Even if they had already met Him, it was as if they had never met. They were still unable to see the truth. Now they realized this truth and they spoke in the same voice and spirit. Only when their minds encountered these timely teachings could it be said that they had encountered [Him].

Over 40 years had already passed, and the Dharma-door they had practiced was to follow whatever the Buddha taught. However, they stopped there, at [the level of] their own capabilities. The Buddha [presented]. His heart-seal, His intent, but their capabilities were not mature yet, so they could not accept the Buddha’s heart-seal. Purna Maitrayaniputra, for example, could already understand the Buddha’s original intent. This [intent] was His heart-seal. But they did not understand it yet.

“Even if they had already met Him, it was as if they had never met. They were still unable to see the truth.” Even in the span of 40 years, they still could not comprehend the Buddha’s mindset or the true principles. So, meeting Him was the same as not meeting him. Living in the Buddha’s era was the same as living a different era. Because they did not understand Buddha’s intent, they had not yet comprehended the Dharma. So, they could not see the true principles taught by the Buddha. This is like how we ourselves cannot see our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. It is the same for our nature of True Suchness we have yet to resonate with our Buddha-nature. So, [Purna] had already realized his Buddha-nature. Our nature of True Suchness is still covered, so we have yet to encounter it.

So, “Now they realized this truth and they spoke in the same voice and spirit. Only when their minds encountered these timely teachings….” Now, at this time, the Buddha had finished bestowing predictions on [these disciples]. At this time, everyone had already realized this principle. With one voice, they spoke together. To understand is to encounter. Everyone’s minds and the Buddha’s mind had already come together; this is “encountering.” The Buddha gives us teachings, and we must practice these lessons. We receive teachings according to capabilities. This [too is “encountering”]; it is truly seeing the Dharma and truly comprehending the Buddha’s mindset.

“He said these words, ‘Alas! Great man.'”

He said these words, “Alas! Great man”: He very sincerely urged him on and inspired him. It means one who holds his head high in the sky and stands firmly on the ground is a true man.

Only now has the encounter taken place; they have truly encountered and comprehended the Buddha’s [teachings]. So, the Buddha understood their capabilities and was now about to bestow predictions of the Great Vehicle Dharma upon them. Thus, He used more forceful language. “Alas! Great man.” This was to stir them up; With an urgency in His voice, He reproached them, spoke very sincerely. This means, “All of you, a great man stands between heaven and earth.” He “holds his head high in the sky and stands firmly on the ground.” This is standing between heaven and earth, with head touching the sky and feet planted on the ground. This is what a great man does.

He was a great man, So, “How did you come to be like this for the sake of clothing and food? How did you end up in such dire straits now? You are still without clothing and food. You look so haggard, why?”

How did you come to be like this for the sake of clothing and food?: This means, why did they limit themselves to the Small Vehicle Nirvana? The Two Vehicle practitioners had bountiful capacities, so why were they content with limiting themselves to the Small [Vehicle] path?

This is an analogy. “Why did they limit themselves to the Small Vehicle Nirvana? Why do you only keep to the state of the Small Vehicle? Why don’t you walk toward the Great Vehicle? By practicing in solitude, you limit yourselves to the Small Vehicle Nirvana. Why do you [remain] like this? The Two Vehicle practitioners had bountiful capacities, so why were they content to limit themselves?” Actually, the Hearers and Solitary Realizers were all very capable; they were all vessels of the Dharma. “Why are you not willing to open your hearts and walk the great path? Why do you only benefit yourselves?”

“In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the five desires.”

In the past, I wanted to help you attain peace and joy, freely enjoying the five desires: The analogy of revealing the jewel again describes their causes and conditions. This refers to attaining unsurpassed peace and joy, enjoying themselves in the desires of the Fivefold Purifying Dharma.

“In the past, I already provided you with very ample [wealth] through that priceless jewel.” He again told them, “I have already given it to you. These are the causes and conditions; in the past, during the era of the 16 princes, I already gave you the Great Vehicle Dharma. Life after life I have taught and transformed you in this way.”

“But with these causes and conditions, why is it that by this time you have not yet attained peace and joy? You should be able to take this Dharma and apply it with ease in your minds and thus attain unsurpassed peace and joy. You can enjoy yourselves in ‘the desires of the Fivefold Purifying Dharma.’ With the Fivefold Purifying Dharma, you can follow your mind’s desire. Why are you still so haggard at this time? You seem like a poor person. Why do you want to remain in the Small Vehicle? Why is the Dharma so lacking in your mind? I originally gave all of you Great Dharma. You still remain in the Small Dharma, only benefiting yourselves. From the beginning. I wanted you to be very peaceful and happy, to have peace and joy in the five desires. Why are you doing this?”

So, “peace and joy” means there are no oppressing afflictions. This helps our minds be at ease. This is the “pure and clear Dharma-realm.” This is peace and joy.

Peace and joy: This means there are no oppressing afflictions. In this pure and clear Dharma-realm, everything is calm and tranquil. Hence, it says “peace and joy.” They can also bring peace and joy to all sentient beings. So, it says “peace and joy.”

“Everything is calm and tranquil.” As everyone interacts with each other, in this world, everyone remains pure. Ajnata Kaundinya received a prediction of Buddhahood. Purna Maitrayaniputra also received a prediction. Everyone’s pure lands will be very wonderful; everyone [there] teaches each other the Dharma. In this way, “Everything is calm and tranquil. Hence, it says ‘peace and joy.'” This is a pure world, a spiritual state. “They also bring peace and joy to all sentient beings.” It is not just about their own peace and joy; they also need to bring peace and joy to all sentient beings. So, “It says ‘peace and joy.'” They themselves have peace and joy, and other people can also have peace and joy.

In “freely enjoying the five desires,” the five desires are “world-transcending, supreme and wondrous. They are not like the coarse and harmful worldly desires.” These are not the coarse five worldly desires. They are not about benefiting the body, simply eating until we are full, dressing prettily and having much fame, wealth and status. These are not the desires [the Buddha speaks of], the five desires that people have in this lifetime of samsara. Not at all.

These five desires are world-transcending, supreme and wondrous. They are not like the coarse and harmful worldly desires. The five worldly desires provide for and benefit the physical body, the cravings that lead people to cyclic existence. The five world-transcending desires can provide for the Dharma-body. These things that Buddhas take delight in bring Bodhi to fruition.

The five desires spoken of here are the five world-transcending desires. The five world-transcending desires can provide for our Dharma-body; they are Dharma. “These things that Buddhas take delight in….” A Buddha is an awakened person. [These things] “bring Bodhi into fruition.” These are the five desires.

The five world-transcending desires: 1. Having infinite Dharma-treasure: This is the treasure of wish-fulfilling jewels 2. Having infinite good appearances: This is a complexion of radiant purple gold 3. Being replete with the Ten Epithets: This is a name known in the ten directions 4. Having Dharma-joy and meditation-joy: This is the food of liberation and ease 5. Having great Samadhi of tranquility: This is true and eternal Samadhi.

There are five [world-transcending desires]. First, “having infinite Dharma-treasure.” This is “the treasure of wish-fulfilling jewels.” It is a wish-fulfilling jewel. If we earnestly engage in spiritual practice, what we seek is not worldly wealth but for our wishes to be fulfilled and to be peaceful and at ease. This is “the treasure of wish-fulfilling jewels.” Second is “having infinite good appearances.” We must earnestly practice and form good affinities with people, then naturally when people see us, they rejoice. This is like “a complexion of radiant purple gold.” Third is “being replete with the Ten Epithets,” having “a name known in the ten directions.” For a Buddha to attain enlightenment, He must be replete with the Ten Epithets. We all know this. Four is “having Dharma-joy and meditation-joy.” Fifth is “having great Samadhi of tranquility.” These are the five kinds of desires.

So, in learning the Buddha’s teachings we need to be very mindful. Each of us has a jewel on our bodies, but we do not know how to bring it out and use it. As spiritual practitioners we all know that the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]. We have wisdom equal to the Buddha’s and a nature of True Suchness equal to the Buddha’s. But we cover it with afflictions and ignorance. We must be very mindful.

This passage describes how the 500 disciples repented for their own [past mindset]. All of us need to earnestly repent. This “clothing of gentleness and patience,” are we really wearing it? In our daily living, have we been indulging ourselves? We must be very mindful and self-aware. Have we properly applied what we know? Have we truly put wisdom into action? Are we benefiting sentient beings, accumulating merits and virtues? Are we in accord with sentient beings’ wishes? Do we have loving-kindness in our minds to care for living beings? We should always freely enjoy and be replete with these five virtues. In our spiritual practice, we must all always be mindful!

Episode 1151 – Drunk on Ignorance, Sleeping through Life

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>> “Alcohol is a toxic drug. Alcohol is toxic water. Alcohol is toxic gas. It is the source of all transgressions and the root of all evil. We must uphold the rules, abide by the precepts, maintain diligence and calm our mind; then, our wisdom-life will be pure and radiant.”

>> “World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house, got drunk on wine and laid down. At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go. He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes, giving it to him and leaving.”

>> “The man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this. After he got up, he went traveling and arrived in other lands. For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content.”

>> This parable refers to being deluded by the alcohol of afflictions. Unable to peacefully abide in the Buddha’s teachings, one retreats and falls into the “other lands” of transmigrating in cyclic existence.

>> The man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this: Because their roots and abilities were shallow, they had no power of knowing past lives. They forgot about matters of past lives, just like people who are drunk and completely unaware.

>> Being drunk, asleep and unaware refers to how, due to their thick and heavy ignorance, though they seek, they cannot remember. What is called being drunk on the wine of ignorance is being asleep at the juncture of life and death.

>> After he got up, he went traveling and arrived in other lands: This means they left this life and transmigrated to other places.

>> After he got up, he went traveling: This refers to how their roots of goodness are about to sprout. They renounced suffering and sought joy. Whether in the heaven or the human realm, they cultivated blessings and engaged in spiritual practice.

>> And arrived in other lands: With ignorance covering their understanding, they did not know to head toward the source and seek the clothing and food of the Great Vehicle. Hence it says they arrived in other lands to seek the clothing and food of the Small Vehicle.

>> For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort: This is an analogy for how they were afraid of cyclic existence, so they again formed aspirations to practice and diligently sought liberation.

>> Seeking clothing and food: These are the provisions of limited teachings. Great efforts: They did not recognize Right Dharma and [did] not seek right practices.

>> It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content: This refers to how they were afraid of the length of the path to Buddhahood. Once they attained Small Vehicle Nirvana, they gave rise to an abiding attachment to it and would advance no more.

>> Difficult: The ascetic practices of non-Buddhist teachings, like worshiping fire, water and so on. They were happily attached to the small fruits, thinking they had done all that was needed.

>> For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult: Their bodies did not possess the strength of patience, and they lacked the garment of shame and remorse. Their minds lacked the nourishment of Dharma and were without the flavor of ambrosial dew.

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“Alcohol is a toxic drug.
Alcohol is toxic water.
Alcohol is toxic gas.
It is the source of all transgressions
and the root of all evil.
We must uphold the rules,
abide by the precepts,
maintain diligence and calm our mind;
then, our wisdom-life will be pure and radiant.”

When it comes to alcohol, everyone should know that if we drink it, when consumed in excess, we become drunk. What are the characteristics of being drunk? After alcohol is consumed, in that excitement, whatever it is that we do, we ourselves will not be very clear about it; we become reckless and agitated. In so many matters, it is because of being drunk that someone made mistakes. Not only does [alcohol] result in mistakes, it is also very harmful to our body and mind.

Every morning during the. Morning Assembly, we hear from every hospital. Volunteers and doctors share about cases. Some suffer from alcohol addiction. For some, the alcohol’s effect on the body’s liver, kidneys, heart, stomach and so on causes extensive damage. This is what happens to our body. If the alcohol poisoning is more severe, they always seem like someone who is drunk; that kind of mental impairment is very scary. How many people in the world have ruined their lives because of alcohol, have harmed their bodies because of alcohol, have broken up their family because of alcohol, have done so many things that cause so much unrest in society, all because of alcohol?

Alcohol, for people in ancient times, or in the teachings of the Buddhist sutras, was described using this analogy. “Alcohol is a toxic drug, alcohol is toxic water”; it is like impure water. Alcohol is a kind of toxic gas. Using alcohol will cause our lives and mental abilities to [be misused]. And what about our health? Alcohol does great harm to both body and mind, to say nothing of the harm to our character and to our family. This is especially [true] when it comes to society. So, if we are able to abstain from alcohol, we will benefit our mind, body, family and society. But, to abstain is very difficult.

When the Buddha was living in this world, He was teaching in the city of Rajagrha. The king, ministers and the entire community all had great respect and love for the Buddha. The king often led his ministers to get close to the Buddha and listen to the sutras. After listening, they gradually took the Dharma to heart and comprehended it, understanding how the Dharma analyzed the five desires of the world very clearly. With the Dharma in one’s heart, the five desires would gradually be eliminated.

Among these people was the prime minister, the advisor to the king, who assisted the king in government matters. After hearing the Dharma, he truly took it to heart and [began] upholding the Five Precepts. He returned home, and his desires had been completely eliminated; he had no desires for wealth or sensual pleasure. This minister’s vices of alcohol, sex and wealth had already been completely eliminated. But, his wife was very displeased that her husband had become like this. Gradually, they distanced themselves from marital pleasures. The wife knew that this was because her husband drew near the Buddha-Dharma. Hearing the Buddha expound the Dharma had changed his perspective on life. So, she transferred her anger onto the Buddha. She could not forgive what the Buddha had done. The couple’s marital pleasure and affection weakened and dissipated like this.

One day, knowing this minister, this advisor, had invited the Buddha to receive offerings, the wife thought this was a good opportunity and poisoned the food. When the minister discovered this, he said to his wife, “[You] absolutely cannot do this! The food that you want to offer to the Buddha, give it to me. I am willing to eat this poisoned food for the Buddha.” Of course, the wife would not let him do it. The Buddha arrived and saw the couple arguing, yet He still calmly took His seat.

Food had begun to be placed at the Buddha’s seat. In His heart, the Buddha understood, but nonetheless, the Buddha still picked up the food in His hand to eat it. The minister was standing beside Him and said to the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha! You absolutely cannot eat it! Do not eat it.” But the Buddha simply asked, “Why can’t I eat it?” This minister said to the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha! It is because this food has poison in it.” The Buddha still maintained a smile and said to the minister as well as the assembly, “The world has poisons. The three poisons of the world are more toxic than those in this food. Of the world’s three poisons, I am able to eliminate all of them completely, so what of this trifling poison in the food? It is nothing.” Like that, He took the food to eat it.

This wife personally saw how the Buddha was so filled with loving-kindness; He was so serene and dignified. From the time He came in, He was so at ease, sitting in the place of honor to receive offerings. Her husband had also already told the Buddha that this food was poisoned. She mindfully observed the Buddha’s attitude. The Buddha still held a smile on His face. His expression did not change in the least; there was no fear and no angry glares of blame. There were none of these at all. The Buddha still gazed with eyes of compassion at the wife and the minister. He told them of the world’s three poisons. No matter how strong the poison, none are as toxic as the world’s three poisons.

What are the world’s three poisons? They are greed, anger and ignorance. He was already implying that the behavior of acting on sexual desires [causes] problems. This type of desire, which is hard to eliminate, leads to this type of poison in the mind. Her greed caused resentment toward the Buddha, so she felt anger. This came from a single thought of ignorance. This lack of clarity is called ignorance. These are the world’s three poisons. This wife understood the Buddha’s teachings of the three poisons. When the Buddha looked at her with eyes of compassion, suddenly, she felt ashamed. So, she had seen that the Buddha clearly knew the food was poisoned, yet He had said, “I can fully eliminate the world’s three poisons, to say nothing of these trifling poisons. How could they harm me?” He then picked up the food to eat it.

The wife quickly came before the Buddha, pressed her head to the ground in prostration and begged the Buddha, “You absolutely cannot eat it! Do not eat it! I had a moment of confusion. In my mind I have the three poisons that the Buddha just mentioned. My mind was already poisoned, which is why I poisoned the food and why I wanted to harm the Buddha. I know and I understand. Venerable Buddha, please accept my repentance.” The minister was so happy to see this. Everyone praised this; so, he went to the wife’s side and they both came before the Buddha to take refuge in the Buddha. With this beginning, this couple became Dharma-protectors, protecting the Buddha-Dharma and working hard to be diligent.

This story shows us “the source of all transgressions and the foundation of all evil.” That is alcohol. Besides alcohol being like a toxic drug, like toxic water and toxic gas, it is in fact the foundation of all evil. When we humans make mistakes and a thought goes astray, at the source, we are like someone who is drunk. [This is] “the root of all evil.” There are many evils that come from this ignorance; this is like a drunken or crazy person. They create many kinds of evil thoughts. So, this ignorance is like someone who is drunk. Once drunk, they become addicted. This is like how we, as sentient beings, continuously reproduce ignorance. This “alcohol addiction” is already so severe that we are unable to be clear-minded. But, if we are determined and make up our minds, then even one who is addicted to alcohol, one who gets the shakes when he does not drink it, one who has such a very strong addiction, as long as we are determined to quit and are able to endure, we will be able to regain a clear-minded consciousness and a healthy body.

In our organization was a volunteer who, before joining Tzu Chi, had also once lived this kind of life. Because he woke up and awakened, he was willing to quit; those around him kept him company and helped him successfully quit drinking. Now he goes among people, forming good affinities and protecting Right Dharma. This is “upholding the rules and abiding by the precepts.” He will not transgress again, especially as he “maintains diligence and calms his mind.” It is not only about abiding by the precepts and rules; we must also be very diligent and focus with singled-minded resolve. We must settle our mind and be single-minded in our resolve. This kind of Living Bodhisattva has the Buddha’s heart and their teacher’s mission. It is with this sense of mission that they put the teachings into action. Then at all times “our wisdom-life will be pure and radiant.” Every day we will be clear. Every day, we will listen to the Dharma. Every day, we will put it into practice. There are many Living Bodhisattvas like this.

Once we turn our minds around, we [turn] from alcohol to the pure precepts. That life of drunkenness becomes one of pure precepts. The Dharma is like ambrosial dew entering our minds every day, nourishing our wisdom-life. This Dharma is like the ambrosial dew that enters our minds and nourishes our wisdom-life. This is how ordinary people are. Before we are awakened, we are like this; we spend every day with toxic drugs, toxic water and toxic gas. This source, the root of all evil, leads us to continuously reproduce afflictions and ignorance. We should be very clear on this. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must truly be mindful at all times.

Let us look at the previous sutra passage,

“World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house, got drunk on wine and laid down. At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go. He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes, giving it to him and leaving.”

We talked about this section yesterday. These 500 bhiksus had already awakened and had come before the Buddha, all with the same heart. They made the analogy of being like someone who was drunk on wine. This man had gone to a dear friend’s house. Becoming drunk, he fell asleep. The friend had official business and left. Seeing how he had fallen on hard times, [the friend] quickly took a jewel of priceless value and put it on the man’s body. The friend was unable to wake the man and, having urgent official business, left.

We talked about this yesterday. He “had official business and had to go.” This means it was not a private matter. As all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas transform sentient beings, when causes and conditions are exhausted and other affinities have matured, they have to leave. This is like entering Parinirvana. Or, for some reason, they must first leave this place and go to another place. This is a type of analogy. With causes and conditions, affinities come together and are then exhausted. When causes and conditions converge, [Buddhas and Bodhisattvas] will teach people. When conditions are exhausted, it is time to leave. This is why I constantly ask everyone to seize the causes and conditions and not let one second go to waste. Sometimes the Dharma is right before us, yet we do not know how to earnestly seize it. Once time slips away it is gone. Time goes by so fast. Since we have let the conditions slip away, we truly must wait a long time for the next conditions. So, we must earnestly seize the moment. We must seize the time and the conditions.

The next sutra passage says,

“The man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this. After he got up, he went traveling and arrived in other lands. For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content.”

This man was still asleep, so [his friend] took that jewel and placed it there for him. He was still unaware, still sleeping. But his friend had already left. By the time this drunken man awoke and was sober, his friend was no longer there. He had likewise left this place and gone to another place. This drunken man also did the same thing.

This parable refers to “being deluded by the alcohol of afflictions.”

This parable refers to being deluded by the alcohol of afflictions. Unable to peacefully abide in the Buddha’s teachings, one retreats and falls into the “other lands” of transmigrating in cyclic existence.

Alcohol is likened to afflictions. Having afflictions is like continuing to drink alcohol. A drunken person always says, “I am not drunk; I can still drink.” This is the same principle. So, we are “unable to peacefully abide in the Buddha’s teachings,” It is the same when drunk; after awakening from drunkenness, people will then head to the next place. They cannot peacefully abide [in one place]. They will likewise continue to wander and go elsewhere. They will leave again. So, “Unable to peacefully abide in the Buddha’s teachings, one retreats and falls into the ‘other lands’ of cyclic existence.”

A virtuous friend gave him precious Dharma, but he was still like one who was drunk; he did not know. He likewise woke up and traveled on to another place. This analogy talks of being drunk all one’s life and then, after sobering up, still not knowing. “After he got up, he went traveling.” This means he went on to another place, where he continually remained drunk. He was so drunk that by the time he awoke, he was already in another place. Isn’t our life like this? We do not know our future or where we will go. Our life is spent in a drunken state like this, continually intoxicated, continually poisoned by alcohol. By the time we wake up again, we are already in a different realm.

Will we really return again to the human realm? Or will it be the animal realm? Or perhaps the hell or hungry ghost realm? We do not know. We have already “retreated and fallen into the ‘other lands’ of cyclic existence.” We have already gone to another place where our entire life is spent in drunken confusion. As ignorant sentient beings, aren’t we like this? Toxic alcohol, toxic water and toxic gas have deluded us such that we continue to let our minds lose our intrinsic nature. We continue to create evil karma. The root of this evil karma continues to remain uneliminated.

However, everyone has this precious jewel on them, which is our nature of True Suchness. It is just that we are unaware. We carry this precious jewel yet do not know, so we travel to other places. Thus, “The man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this.” Although he had this precious jewel, he was not aware of it.

The man, drunk and asleep, was unaware of this: Because their roots and abilities were shallow, they had no power of knowing past lives. They forgot about matters of past lives, just like people who are drunk and completely unaware.

“Because their roots and abilities were shallow” means that sentient beings’ roots and abilities were shallow. So, “They had no power of knowing past lives.” They also forgot about matters of the past, so they were like someone who was drunk. We humans are like this. Perhaps in a past life, we also heard the Dharma. Now in this life we are also amidst the Dharma, but we simply have not awakened. So, we do not have the power of knowing past lives and forget the matters of the past. This is “just like people who are drunk.” It is because our capabilities are too shallow. Everyone possesses the intrinsic nature of True Suchness. We all have this precious jewel, but we are unaware of it.

“Being drunk, asleep and unaware” is an analogy for “thick and heavy ignorance.”

Being drunk, asleep and unaware refers to how, due to their thick and heavy ignorance, though they seek, they cannot remember. What is called being drunk on the wine of ignorance is being asleep at the juncture of life and death.

Ignorance is very thick. For someone who has heavy ignorance, no matter what we say to him, although he may say, “I know, I know. I am so smart; how can I not know?” this ignorance is still very thick. His bias is still very heavy. This is ignorance. It is like one being drunk and not yet awake. So, “Though they seek, they cannot remember.” The Dharma had entered their minds, but they were unable to put it to use. They had already forgotten it. It is like amnesia, like losing their memory. Their memories have all been forgotten.

So, this is “what is called being drunk on the wine of ignorance.” We are drunk on this wine of ignorance. Our lives are hazy and unclear as if we were drunk on wine, like a drunk person who has already been poisoned by alcohol. We are drunk on the wine of ignorance, so we are “asleep at the juncture of life and death.” We drunkenly lie down, unaware. This is being drunk on the wine of ignorance. Lying down is like sleeping at the juncture of life and death. I often say, “Will impermanence strike before tomorrow comes?” Every morning we wake up, we should be grateful. We must quickly seize the moment. We must earnestly seize the time we have today. If we do not earnestly make use of this time, we will be like one who is drunk on the wine of ignorance and cannot get up. Lying down is lying at juncture of life and death. Life is so short; how much longer will we sleep? This is true indolence; it is so pitiful. So, we should increase our diligence and make the best use of this life. We must earnestly accept the Dharma, drink the ambrosial dew of the Dharma to nourish our wisdom-life. We must not become drunk and poisoned by alcohol, thus wasting our time. We must put our hearts into this.

So, “After he got up, he went traveling and arrived in other lands.”

After he got up, he went traveling and arrived in other lands: This means they left this life and transmigrated to other places.

Because at the time, he was drunk, and he fell asleep. He was still drunk on the wine of ignorance. Even though all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and virtuous friends have already told us that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature and that everyone’s wisdom is the same as the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, although we have heard this, we ourselves have not felt it yet. “I am still me. Where is this wisdom-nature of mine?” Being unable to feel this ourselves demonstrates a very shallow root of wisdom. Because people do not believe it, how could they feel it? They are still drunk on the wine of ignorance. So, this continued until, “After he got up, he went traveling and arrived in other lands.” This means “He left this life and transmigrated to other places.” By the time he wanted to know, it was too late. He was already in the next life. He left this life and transmigrated to be born in another place. Truly, it was already too late.

“After he got up, he went traveling” is an analogy for how “their roots of goodness are about to sprout.”

After he got up, he went traveling: This refers to how their roots of goodness are about to sprout. They renounced suffering and sought joy. Whether in the heaven or the human realm, they cultivated blessings and engaged in spiritual practice.

He had already woken up. When he woke up, this root of goodness began to sprout, giving rise to aspirations. We cannot get drunk and wait until we are “asleep at the juncture of life and death.” Although we are drunk, we must reach that moment of sobriety. Waking up gives us a chance for our roots of goodness to come forth in this life.

When roots of goodness begin to sprout, we begin to “renounce suffering and seek joy.” This is like our spiritual practice. In the past, we were also confused. Before we drew near the Buddha-Dharma, we were still dwelling in drunkenness. Later we had the causes and conditions to receive the Buddha-Dharma. Our roots of goodness began to sprout. We also understand the Four Noble Truths; cyclic existence is so frightening, so we renounce it. [We] “renounce suffering and sought joy.” We know that in life we are continually transmigrating in the Six Realms, in the Four Forms of Birth and Six Realms. Now we must act quickly; we must quickly awaken from the confusion we have been in for infinite kalpas. We must quickly renounce that past kind of life. We must quickly start over, seeking joy and the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma can free us from the afflictions in our spirit. The Buddha-Dharma teaches us to lay down the heavy burden of ignorance. By being able to let go of this burden, we can understand how to shoulder the Tathagata’s mission and go among the people.

It is the same carrying pole, but are we carrying the burden of ignorance, of cyclic existence, or are we carrying the mission of the Tathagata? Living Bodhisattvas go among the people to serve. In this kind of life, we still have a carrying pole, but we are carrying blessings and wisdom. One side carries blessings, the other, wisdom. This is how the Tathagata shoulders the Tathagata’s mission. For ordinary people, there is only ignorance on one side and afflictions on the other. This kind of ignorance and delusion creates so much karma of afflictions. Sentient beings’ burdens get heavier and heavier. This ignorance is continuously reproduced, so the burden becomes heavier and heavier, and the karma created multiplies and grows heavier. It continues to pile up. What about for the Tathagata’s mission? When we understand, we can put everything down. We give without expectations; we completely let go. When sentient beings are saved, we rejoice. This is the Tathagata’s mission. We will be peaceful and at ease; this is joy.

“Whether in the heaven or the human realm, they cultivated blessings and engaged in spiritual practice.” Whether it is in the heaven or human realm, there are those who are blessed, those who have an average life or those who are poor. It is still the same. If we have the Buddha-Dharma, we will be filled with spiritual wealth, just like heavenly beings in the human world; we create blessings and engage in practice.

“[He] arrived in other lands” is saying that. “Ignorance is covering their understanding.” In the past, our ignorance covered us. Now we have begun to understand the Dharma. How should we peel back the ignorance that has been covering us? In the past, we did not know. Now, we still do not fully understand, but we already know that our clothing contains a precious jewel. However, for ordinary people, “Ignorance is covering their understanding.” We are able to understand, but ignorance is still covering us.

And arrived in other lands: With ignorance covering their understanding, they did not know to head toward the source and seek the clothing and food of the Great Vehicle. Hence it says they arrived in other lands to seek the clothing and food of the Small Vehicle.

When covered in ignorance, [we think,]. “I know, I know. The Buddha says that sentient beings all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.” We know, but we are still covered by our ignorance. How do we remove it? We still “do not know to head toward the source and seek the clothing and food of the Great Vehicle.” Everyone is still stuck in the Small Vehicle. We understand suffering and want to eliminate it. We “renounce suffering and seek joy.” But we have not completely eliminated ignorance. We cannot, do not know to, go toward our original nature of True Suchness to seek the clothing and food of the Great Vehicle.

We have not yet sought these. So, we must still diligently advance. We must diligently pursue the Great Vehicle and seek the Great Vehicle’s clothing of gentleness and patience. We must seek “the seat of the emptiness of all phenomena.” We must continuously nourish our wisdom-life, so we must have the “Great Vehicle’s clothing and food.” So, “Hence it says they arrived in other lands to seek the clothing and food of the Small Vehicle.” These Small Vehicle practitioners did not yet know to go in the direction of the Great Vehicle to seek clothing and food. The 500 bhiksus expressed themselves with the analogy of a man who was drunk. “Although a dear friend gave us a precious jewel, we were still drunk. When we finally awoke, we went to other lands.” Although they had begun to seek clothing and food, they still did not understand to seek the clothing and food of the Great Vehicle. They still sought clothing and food in the Small Vehicle. This was the analogy they gave for themselves; the 500 bhiksus made this analogy for how they simply stuck to the Small Vehicle. “For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort.” For the sake of clothing and food, they still had to put great effort into seeking.

For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort: This is an analogy for how they were afraid of cyclic existence, so they again formed aspirations to practice and diligently sought liberation.

This is like the [parable of the] poor son. Its meaning is like the parable of the poor son. It means the same thing. So, it is an analogy for how “they were afraid of cyclic existence, so they again formed aspirations to practice and diligently sought liberation.” They only knew to be afraid of cyclic existence. Although the Buddha taught them the Four Noble Truths, they simply felt, “I know; I do not want to return to cyclic existence. I do not want to be in samsara.”

So, they formed aspirations to engage in practice, but they only sought liberation, only sought to liberate themselves. Therefore, this was how in the past, they remained stuck in this state, “seeking clothing and food. These are the provisions of limited teachings.” They merely lingered in the Small Vehicle. What they obtained was the provisions of limited teachings that nourish [only the self]. With this food, they only nourished themselves. “Great efforts” mean “they did not recognize Right Dharma and [did] not seek right practices.”

Seeking clothing and food: These are the provisions of limited teachings. Great efforts: They did not recognize Right Dharma and [did] not seek right practices.

They did not seek to understand what the Buddha was teaching them. The Buddha did everything for one great cause, hoping that everyone will return to their intrinsic nature of True Suchness. The path we must take to reach our nature of True Suchness is the Bodhisattva-path, is going among the people. However, they still did not know this and just continuously remained in the Small Vehicle Dharma. They still did not understand this practice of the Great Vehicle.

So, “It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content.”

It was extremely difficult. If he attained even a little, he would be content: This refers to how they were afraid of the length of the path to Buddhahood. Once they attained Small Vehicle Nirvana, they gave rise to an abiding attachment to it and would advance no more.

They felt that it was already very difficult just training themselves. If they had to go among people and they gave rise to a discursive thought, to come back to spiritual practice would be very difficult. It would take kalpas to come back; this is scary. So, “It was extremely difficult.” They lingered in a state where, “If he attained even a little, he would be content.” They already felt very satisfied. “This refers to how they were afraid of the length of the path to Buddhahood.” If they took the true path to Buddhahood, the Bodhisattva-path, it felt too long; it was very scary. In the parable of the conjured city, the guiding teacher wants to lead us on our path; we were also afraid. “It is so far; we are fine stopping here” or “Going back is closer and safer.” This was their state of mind. So, “Once they attained the Small Vehicle Nirvana they gave rise to an abiding attachment to it” and could not advance. This is how we sentient beings are. No matter how we engage in practice, we still only do so for ourselves. This is very difficult.

So, [there were] “the ascetic practices of non-Buddhist teachings, like worshiping fire, water and so on.”

Difficult: The ascetic practices of non-Buddhist teachings, like worshiping fire, water and so on. They were happily attached to the small fruits, thinking they had done all that was needed.

Some want to take shortcuts, so they go in the direction of deviant teachings, such as practicing with fire or practicing with water, thinking they could finish in this life, that using this kind of ascetic practice, they could attain liberation. “Being content with only a little, they were happily attached to the small fruits, thinking they had done all that was needed.” Or they followed the Buddha’s teachings and had few desires, remained content. If they did not go astray, they practiced only to benefit themselves, thinking that everything they needed to practice had already been practiced.

So, “For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult.”

For the sake of clothing and food, he had to seek with great effort. It was extremely difficult: Their bodies did not possess the strength of patience, and they lacked the garment of shame and remorse. Their minds lacked the nourishment of Dharma and were without the flavor of ambrosial dew.

They knew to seek spiritual nourishment but it was hard to get enough for just themselves, to say nothing of seeking enough to benefit sentient beings. That would be even more difficult. They had this kind of fear in their minds. This was why “Their bodies did not possess the strength of patience, and they lacked the garment of shame and remorse. Their minds lacked the nourishment of Dharma and were without the flavor of ambrosial dew.” They were lacking these teachings. Even if the Great Vehicle Dharma enters our heart, without Dharma-joy, listening to the Dharma will seem to be a very difficult thing. They had not yet found joy in listening. If we find joy in listening, naturally, we will put it into practice. By putting [the Dharma] into practice, others’ suffering can be resolved. That joyful state of mind is truly a deeply felt kind of of joy.

[When] we serve others, the thought of joy that is within our minds is Dharma-joy. Naturally we will feel, “What is so difficult about the Great Vehicle Dharma?” They were just not willing to do it. This is why, “Their bodies did not possess the strength of patience,” and they lacked the garment of shame and remorse. They felt, “I am satisfied like this. I am very satisfied.” We humans obtain just a little bit of something and feel we are very satisfied. It should not be like this. We still have so much ahead of us that we must continue to seek out. Gentleness and patience are the clothing, yet we have not put them on. We have not yet attained the true flavor of the Dharma. If we obtain the true flavor of the Dharma, we can taste the flavor of ambrosial dew. So, we must earnestly be mindful.

In life, aging, illness and death are like a prison. It is truly very taxing; it really takes lot of hard work to “seek the Small Vehicle.” We are only seeking basic shelter; but if we can block the cold, relieve our hunger, we feel this is good enough. But we will still always feel cold. After we wear our clothing, it is still not enough. After we eat and are full, we will be hungry again. This is the Small Vehicle; this Dharma is not sufficient. If we can have sufficient Dharma, with gentleness and patience as our clothing, Dharma-joy and meditative-joy as our food, then we can always survive. Then what difficulties would we have in seeking the Great Vehicle Dharma? So, in practicing the Dharma, we must not fear; by benefiting others we in fact benefit ourselves. We must not be poisoned by intoxication. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1150 – We Are Unaware of the Jewel Hidden on Our Body

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>> “We live our life as if drunk or ignorant. We take the false for the true, as if deluded, lost in our direction. We lack understanding as if drunk and thus multiply our ignorance. We do not know that hidden on our body is a priceless jewel.”

>> “At that time those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions before the Buddha, were happy and jumped with joy. They immediately rose from their seats, came before the Buddha, prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves.”

>> “World-Honored One, we have often had this thought, thinking we had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction. Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom. Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom, yet we felt content with limited wisdom.”

>> “World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house, got drunk on wine and lay down. At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go. He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes, giving it to him and leaving.”

>> From, “This is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house” up to the sentence “He would be content” is explaining their awakening to the provisional teachings of the past. From the phrase “later, his dear friend” all the way to “not be lacking anything” is explaining comprehension of the true teachings of the present.

>> World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house. A parable: The parable of fastening a jewel. A man: This refers to those sentient beings who were being transformed. A dear friend’s house: This refers to the transformation-lands of the previously mentioned Bodhisattva-novices.

>> [He] got drunk on wine and lay down: “Drunk” refers to being confused and deluded. “Wine” is an analogy for the five desires. This shows they had not yet eliminated their afflictions and were entangled by ignorance. Though they encountered the Buddha-Dharma, it was as if they were still confused or drunk.

>> Got drunk on alcohol and lay down: At that time, people in the assembly temporarily formed aspirations; their ignorance was temporarily subdued. Since they were able to hear the sutras, they had a slight understanding in their hearts. They were like this man going to a dear friend’s house. Because of the severity of his ignorance, he again lost his way. This is like getting drunk and lying down.

>> Those who are drunk are unaware of being drunk. This has two meanings: 1. Being severely drunk and completely unaware 2. Being mildly drunk with slight awareness but soon forgetting. This is also called being unaware. Although there are two meanings, eventually they both reveal the meaning of fastening the jewel.

>> At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go: This indicates that these Bodhisattvas’ conditions for transformation had ended, so they had to display their departing and manifest transforming in other lands.

>> [He] had official business and had to go: This explains that the princes, because of opportunities arising in other places, followed the conditions and went in response. Thus, it says “had to go.” Promoting the Dharma and transforming others is known not to be a private matter, so it says “official business.”

>> He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes: This refers to teaching the Great Vehicle, leading great Bodhicitta to permeate the field of their consciousness.

>> Priceless jewel: This refers to the treasure of wisdom of the True Suchness of the One Vehicle. The seed of Buddha-nature is called a priceless jewel. Now it has entered their bodies, as if fastened inside the man’s clothes.

>> “[He] fastened it inside the man’s clothes.” We should use “remorse and patience to cover ugly rage. We must quickly defend against outer evil. This is our outerwear. A mind of faith and joy is our inner roots of goodness. This is our innerwear.”

>> At the time they listened to the Dharma, they had slight faith, joy and desire. This is understanding the cause of the seeds of wisdom and vows. In terms of forming affinities, perfect understanding is the jewel and teaching them is fastening it. They were afflicted, confused and drunk, with only a slight understanding. Thus, it speaks of “fastening the jewel.” In terms of intrinsic nature, it was fastened to them in the past, so it is not something new or that they lacked. They did not know and were now led to know; thus, it speaks of “fastening.”

>> Giving it to him and leaving: This means having taught the Dharma, they continued to transform in other places.

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“We live our life as if drunk or ignorant.
We take the false for the true, as if deluded, lost in our direction.
We lack understanding as if drunk and thus multiply our ignorance.
We do not know that hidden on our body is a priceless jewel.”

Isn’t this the way life is? It seems as if it is only a dream. [Our time in] this world is truly short. But in this short life, we do not know what place we came from, nor do we know what place we are going to; we do not know. What direction are we going in? We do not know that either. But in this short life, we are like a person who is drunk or ignorant. When you look at people who are drunk, how do they appear? When a sober person observes a drunk, everything the drunk says is drunken ramblings. There is a saying, “Drinking calms your mind.” No matter how calm your mind is, the things you do [when drunk], in the eyes of a sober person, cannot be taken as truth. This is a way of living; this is what we see from drunk people. 

Aside from those who live as if drunk, there are also those who live as if ignorant. What is ignorance? It is the inability to understand human affairs. However, there is another kind. We may clearly understand the principles, but be unable to control our minds. We may know all the principles, but in our minds we cannot control our greed, anger and ignorance. We clearly know that this action goes against the teachings and we must not do it, but we are unable to control ourselves. Having given rise to a thought of greed, we behave in ways that are improper. So, alcohol, lust, riches, fame, profit and status can all delude our minds so we cannot control ourselves. This is living life “as if drunk or ignorant.” We clearly know we must not transgress like this, yet our ignorance leads us to, in our state of confusion, create this karma. In this way, the world is beyond our control.

So, “We take the false for the true, as if deluded, lost in our direction.” If we regard what is false as true, won’t that be what our lives are like? Whenever we see something, we want to have it. “This is the thing that I want.” What is “this thing” anyway? Since ancient times many people have have treated “things” as treasures. Then what is a treasure? In fact, for those who see clearly, for those who are awakened, what are these things we call treasures? These treasures originate in the destruction of [nature] and are then finished in the hands of man. People consider them treasures. See, they are priceless. Gems, diamonds, jade and so on are all things that people in this world consider treasures. What use are these treasures? They merely serve for the wealthy to show off; they satisify that desire. We call them treasures because they are very expensive. Their costliness shows [their owner’s] status. “This is how rich I am. I can afford things like these. I have a lot of money, and I am powerful.”

But where did these things originally come from? They came from mines in the mountains. How many people are needed to extract them? In the struggle to get [what is in] these mines, to obtain these things, how many lives have been lost since ancient times as people greedily extract these objects? So, we say that they are precious; people feel these things are what they love, what they want to obtain. They do not know these are all illusory names and appearances, false names and appearances. If [the price] contains many digits, does that make it precious and valuable? The banknotes of many countries are printed in denominations of trillions and hundred millions. Yet tens of trillions still cannot buy a loaf of bread.

These are just labels. A number may sound astronomical, but with a shortage of material goods, the rate of exchange soars, and prices soar along with it. So, the numbers will be very high. In a stable economy, with a few dollars and cents, we can buy things from each other, do business with each other. How can this number be stabilized? All things are illusory names and appearances, yet we take the false for the true. In the past, in Zimbabwe, buying a loaf of bread required a bag of money; a sack of money was exchanged for a loaf of bread. Sometimes even that was not enough. These are illusory appearances! We treat these false appearance as if true. This is how our life is. So, [we seem] “deluded, lost in our direction.”

For example, there was a king in the past. He spoiled his little princess by building a very beautiful garden for her. In the garden there were pavilions and streams. By the stream, one could see the water flowing continuously. The flow of the water produced beautiful bubbles like pearls. When the sun shone upon them a certain way, those water bubbles had the colors of the rainbow on their surface. When the princess saw this, she was very happy. She said to her father, “I want those bubbles! Father, I hope you will give me these bubbles.” Her father said, “These are water bubbles. Alll you can do is admire them; you cannot hold them.”

The little princess said, “I don’t care. I want them! Who can pick up these water bubbles for me so I can hold them in my hand, so I can touch them, so I can possess them?” The king was helpless. Whenever the princess asked for something, there was never anything he would not give her, except these water bubbles before them. How could he possibly get them for her? He quickly had bulletins posted around the city. Someone had to be found within a few days who could pick up these water bubbles and give them to the princess. Otherwise, after seven days, the overseer who was put in charge of this would lose his life, have his head chopped off.

During this time, while everyone was very worried, from outside of the kingdom came a traveling sage. He saw this bulletin and saw all these people engaged in discussion. He saw some of these people holding each other and crying together. The overseer’s family kept begging; the wife begged for someone to help her husband, “Can anyone do this?” His heart went out to them when he saw this, so he reached out and tore down the bulletin. “Come, take me to see the king. I have a way to pick up the water bubbles for the princess.” With that, he went to the palace. The king was very happy.

But this sage, this spiritual practitioner, then said, “I would like the princess to come with me to choose a bubble.” When the princess heard there was someone willing to help her pick up a water bubble, she was also very happy, so she came. They looked down from beside the stream. “Come, Princess, which one do you want?”

“I will give you this tool. Then you can personally fish one out. If you can fish one out, then you can get many more. Look, so many are coming down from the source. Once they reach here they become bubbles. Whichever ones you want, you can string them together as you like.” She happily took the thing he gave her. “Can I fish out the water bubbles with this? Yes! Come and scoop them out.” Using the net he gave her, she began trying to fish one out. Once she touched the water, the bubble burst. “Come, there is another one.” She tried again, but it burst as soon as she tried to fish it out.

With each droplet she tried to fish out, each one burst. The princess became very angry. “Why can’t I get any of them? I don’t want them anymore! These things were never real anyway. How is there any way for any person or thing to fish these bubbles out of the water?” The sage replied, “That’s right! Princess, if it is something you cannot fish out, then who can possibly do it? The water bubbles are but illusory appearances. They are called water bubbles, but they are merely illusory things that are formed when water falls from a higher place. When water moves, it creates bubbles. A bubble is just a label; is ‘bubble’ a label for the water, or is water a label for the bubble? Is this a bubble of water? “Or is this the water of a bubble? Come, Princess, if you can make a clear distinction between these terms, then I will find a way to obtain a bubble.”

The princess kept thinking about this. “Is it water? Is it foam? Is it a bubble? In the end, it is all the same. It is just water. That’s right! It is water! Water fundamentally flows without stopping. How is there any thing called a bubble? It is simply a name. So, this is illusory and impermanent. Life is illusory and impermanent in the same way.”

“Illusory and impermanent” sounded like very profound principles. So starting then, the princess wanted to seek the principles. She told the king, “I don’t want bubbles any more. What I want are principles. Illusions and impermanence are indeed very profound and mysterious principles; it is likely they are the truest things in life. I want them. Your majesty, keep this sage here to be my teacher.”

In this way, the king asked the sage to become the princess’s teacher. As the princess gradually listened to the Dharma, she gradually learned the truth. She learned how to walk this path through life. She clearly recognized this path and could put it into practice and benefit others. This was how the king’s spoiled princess became a wise princess who was best at helping the king govern.

So, in summary, life is determined by a single thought. With a deluded thought, we treat all the illusory things in life as real. With a thought that has awakened, naturally we will clearly recognize all material things; they are as fleeting as clouds and smoke. We can use them but never truly own them. So, with all things, we can only use them for a time; we have no permanent ownership over them! This is something we must be clear on. This is the principle.

So, in life we must not “take the false for the true.” Everything is illusory; it is because we have lost sight of our pure nature of True Suchness that we are deluded when it comes to worldly names and appearances and material things. This results in many manmade calamities. This is how it is; disasters and blessings are determined by a single thought.

For instance, right now (2016), in the refugee camps in Serbia, volunteers are slowly beginning to wrap things up. The more their relationships developed, the harder it became to leave. We see they have begun inventorying the warehouse, organizing the warehouse, and figuring out how the leftover things can be given to the refugee committee so they can help manage them for us or so we can authorize them to make distributions.

Moreover, for their last dinner together, the Tzu Chi volunteers made dinner for everyone with Jing Si instant rice. Recently, for the last several days, there has been no kitchen waste or garbage. Everyone eats their fill and cherishes every grain of rice and every piece of food. They eat until their bowls are squeaky clean. There is no garbage at all in the garbage cans. In the past, after a meal, the ground would be covered in garbage. Now, their perspectives have changed; the ground is clean. They are clear, they understand, that every grain of rice is hard to come by, that every drop of oil, every bit of food is precious. So, they know to cherish these things now.

We see them making the most of their time, working together with each other in every moment. By spreading love like this, many people come together; with this compassion they can be connected by this relationship, linked by their love. Love has linked all of their hearts together. Compassion has helped them to connect with one another. We saw children of different countries, who spoke different languages, teaching one another how to write each other’s language.

A 15-year-old Afghan youth named Ali and a 13-year-old youth who had come from England with his mother, named Sean, became good friends. One of them understood Persian, the other Chinese and English. In that place, they exchanged their knowledge of language; they taught each other. In that place, people have formed tight interpersonal bonds.

One of the employees in the refugee camp was a man named Alexander. He had been hired by a charity organization and had worked in the camp for over a year. He said, “So many charities have already come and gone over this last year. But from what I’ve seen, only this one organization, Tzu Chi, brought in this atmosphere of peace and harmony and helped others with this genuine love.” He was with Tzu Chi volunteers every day. He kept hoping that Tzu Chi’s spirit of love could be continued by every charity organization.

One volunteer, who was also a refugee, also said that from the time Tzu Chi volunteers arrived, they led them in the song “One Family.” That song “One Family” became the song that brought them the most joy every day. They hoped this song could be translated so that everyone could understand. The refugees felt that when they heard this song, it opened their hearts and they became happy. They want to translate this song into Persian, so that one more language could be used to help this power of love be shared with even more people. Truly, to have this power of love, we just need to be mindful and have a sincere heart. Though everyone has their own karmic forces, they share collective karma. From different countries, these refugees ended up in the same circumstances. Having come to this place, they could temporarily let go of all their afflictions and ignorance. The power of everyone’s love was pooled together. Truly, this was not an easy thing to do.

We saw people of different ethnicities embracing each other. The Tzu Chi volunteers were soon leaving, and everyone was reluctant to part. Everyone’s sign language for “One Family” was in unison. When some of them got in their cars to leave, the refugees were reluctant to part, so they stood in front of the car and sang and signed the song “One Family.” They stood in front of the car and would not leave for the longest time. This compassion, this kind of awakened love, had already reached that place.

When we gave out material things, we did so with this genuine sincerity. It was like someone giving to their best friend; this was how they provided for their living. This made a lasting impression on their hearts. The harmony and peace on their smiling faces, the gentleness of their voices will always remain with the refugees. So, all of the volunteers, from different teams and organizations, as well as the people from the refugee committee, all came together to share their impressions of Tzu Chi volunteers, an impression that would remain in their hearts.

Look at them; in total there were Tzu Chi volunteers from 15 different countries. There were 88 volunteers, including the volunteers from Bosnia. The work of these 88 volunteers has now come to an end. As they were getting ready to leave, they were reluctant to part with each other. This was truly very moving to see.

Every day they listened to the Dharma. Every day I saw the pictures they sent back. When it is evening for them, it is morning for us. They even watched the Morning Assembly’s program, “Life Wisdom.” They never let the Dharma leak away. Every day they remained diligent. Every day they helped the suffering people there. Just think, this is the truest way to live. In life, on this road they have walked, every step, every day of their lives, is what is true. They have awakened sentient beings who were submerged in suffering to help them understand the principles of life, eliminate their afflictive emotions and establish genuine and sincere love. These are Living Bodhisattvas.

So, we must put our effort into being mindful, otherwise, the world’s illusions will cause us to lose our direction. Lacking understanding is like being drunk. Then we multiply our ignorance and our afflictive emotions. In Serbia, the Bodhisattva-volunteers have already helped them sweep these away one by one. Of course, at this time, their future is uncertain

and they “do not know that hidden on [their] body is a priceless jewel.” All of us have a priceless jewel on our bodies; we just do not know it. Everyone has these principles, and having these principles, all of us can live peacefully and freely. It is just that we do not know that we have this priceless jewel on our bodies. Thus we are as if drunk or ignorant and take the false as the true; this is why so many refugees are suffering. This is the same principle; this is how it is. With a thought of goodness in our minds, we benefit the world. With a thought that goes astray, it is as if we are drunk or ignorant, and we take the false for the true. Either way, it is the same life, yet there is such a big difference. So, we must truly be mindful. In this world there is the false and the true. We must earnestly seek out the true principles and see through illusory names and appearances.

Come, let us look at the previous sutra passage,

“At that time those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions before the Buddha, were happy and jumped with joy. They immediately rose from their seats, came before the Buddha, prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves.”

At that time, those 500 Arhats had already come before the Buddha and been given predictions. They all were happy and began to come before the Buddha. With utmost reverence, they paid respect to Sakyamuni Buddha and expressed what was on their minds.

“World-Honored One, we have often had this thought, thinking we had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction. Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom. Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom, yet we felt content with limited wisdom.”

The 500 bhiksus now all felt this way. They knew that in the past they had often thought, “I am clear on everything the Buddha has taught. I understand it all. This is good enough for me.” This is what they believed. So, all of us can actually still continue advancing forward toward a wisdom equal to the Buddha’s, yet we do not know this. We simply “felt content with limited wisdom.”

So, “World-Honored One,” the next sutra passage states,

“World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house, got drunk on wine and lay down. At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go. He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes, giving it to him and leaving.”

This is a parable they shared, the parable the 500 bhiksus came up with. “This is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house, got drunk on wine and lay down.” This section, up until it says, “He would be content,” is explaining their awakening to the provisional teachings of the past.

From, “This is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house” up to the sentence “He would be content” is explaining their awakening to the provisional teachings of the past. From the phrase “later, his dear friend” all the way to “not be lacking anything” is explaining comprehension of the true teachings of the present.

At that time, in the midst of his poverty, he arrived at the home of a friend. This friend gave him food to eat and wine to drink, so he felt, “I am so satisfied, so satisfied!” It was only now that they were starting to, beginning to, understand, “It turns out that being able to eat my fill was only the provisional teachings.”

From the line “later, his dear friend” all the way to “not be lacking anything,” and from that passage on was when they actually began to “comprehend that the present teaching” was “true.” The Lotus Sutra that the Buddha was teaching now is the path to Buddhahood. Everyone can attain Buddhahood. Everyone can walk this path. Only now did everyone begin to understand this.

“World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house. A parable” refers to the analogy of the fastening of the jewel. “A man” is an analogy for sentient beings who are being transformed. “A man” in this passage refers to the sentient beings being transformed. “A dear friend’s house” refers to those “Bodhisattva-novices” and the places they transform.

World-Honored One, this is a parable of a man who went to a dear friend’s house. A parable: The parable of fastening a jewel. A man: This refers to those sentient beings who were being transformed. A dear friend’s house: This refers to the transformation-lands of the previously mentioned Bodhisattva-novices.

Among all the people here, some can be transformed by a Buddha, while some remain outside in a drunken state. This is an analogy for those who accept the teachings and transformation of the Dharma. “A dear friend’s house” is an analogy for “the transformation-lands of the previously mentioned Bodhisattva-novices.” Being in the dear friend’s house is like following the Buddha in spiritual practice. These people are in this state.

Next, “[He] got drunk on wine and lay down.” Some people, though they have been able to eat their fill, have not yet fully awakened, because they were drinking alcohol. So, they had not yet completely awakened. Alcohol is like the five desires. They were drunk, drunk on the five desires. This is an analogy for afflictions that have not been eliminated. We are still immersed in the five desires. Though we are engaging in spiritual practice, though we have heard and taken in the principles, we have not eliminated desirous thoughts nor have we eliminated afflictions. We are still entangled by ignorance. Though we say we have accepted the Dharma, we have not yet entirely eliminated afflictions. It is as if we are drunk; though we have encountered the Buddha-Dharma, we still remain in a drunken state. We are still hungover.

[He] got drunk on wine and lay down: “Drunk” refers to being confused and deluded. “Wine” is an analogy for the five desires. This shows they had not yet eliminated their afflictions and were entangled by ignorance. Though they encountered the Buddha-Dharma, it was as if they were still confused or drunk.

“[He] got drunk on wine and lay down” is like when the assembly began to “temporarily form aspirations,” when they were gradually forming aspirations, and “Their ignorance was temporarily subdued.” When they temporarily formed aspirations, their ignorance began to be gradually subdued. So, “Since they were able to hear the sutras, they had a slight understanding in their hearts.”

Got drunk on alcohol and lay down: At that time, people in the assembly temporarily formed aspirations; their ignorance was temporarily subdued. Since they were able to hear the sutras, they had a slight understanding in their hearts. They were like this man going to a dear friend’s house. Because of the severity of his ignorance, he again lost his way. This is like getting drunk and lying down.

Because we listen to the sutras, we have gradually been able to subdue our minds, gradually come to an understanding. This is the way the Buddha-Dharma works. So, it is like “a man who went to a dear friend’s house.” This is a parable of a poor man who has arrived at a dear friend’s house. It means their ignorance is severe. Amidst the myriads of sentient beings, they have arrived at this place. “Because of the severity of his ignorance” is expressing how severe our ignorance is. Then, “He again lost his way.”

He had arrived at his dear friend’s house, but his ignorance was still very severe. Although we listen to the Dharma, our ignorance is still very severe. Even as we listen to the Dharma, we continue to replicate our ignorance. We listen to the Dharma, but we still lose our way. This is “like getting drunk and lying down.” We repeat this over and over. Having listened to the Dharma, [we think,] “I know, I know,” But we forget very quickly. The Dharma has no effect on our bodies and actions. Even though we listen to the Dharma, we are not utilizing it in our conduct. Though we know it, we continue to violate it. With the severity of our ignorance, we are still deluded, so we remain unaware.

So, there are two types of drunkenness. One, “being severely drunk and completely unaware” and two, “being mildly drunk.”

Those who are drunk are unaware of being drunk. This has two meanings: 1. Being severely drunk and completely unaware 2. Being mildly drunk with slight awareness but soon forgetting. This is also called being unaware. Although there are two meanings, eventually they both reveal the meaning of fastening the jewel.

The first is, “being severely drunk and completely unaware.” This is severe drunkenness. The second is being mildly drunk. When mildly drunk, one is slightly aware. Though one has slight understanding, one forgets very quickly again. I see that most people are like this. When “mildly drunk,” they hear the Dharma and seem to know it, yet also seem to not know it. “This is also called being unaware.” So, “Although there are two meanings, eventually they both reveal the meaning of fastening the jewel.” Though they may be either unaware or only slightly aware, no matter what, they still have a jewel on their bodies.

So, “At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go. This indicates that these Bodhisattvas’ conditions for transformation had ended.”

At that time, his dear friend had official business and had to go: This indicates that these Bodhisattvas’ conditions for transformation had ended, so they had to display their departing and manifest transforming in other lands.

This is like how when any Buddhas or Bodhisattvas come to the world, although they teach the principles to everyone, their time in this world is short. People may gather together, but those conditions will end. It is like this in Serbia. This group of Bodhisattvas there eventually has to leave. When the Buddha manifested in the world, in the end He still had to enter Parinirvana. “Their conditions for transformation had ended, so they had to display their departing.” This means they had to leave. So, “[They] manifest transforming in other lands.” They then go to other lands.

“[He] had official business and had to go.” This means that “the princes, because of opportunities arising in other places, followed the conditions and went in response. Thus, it says ‘had to go.'”

[He] had official business and had to go: This explains that the princes, because of opportunities arising in other places, followed the conditions and went in response. Thus, it says “had to go.” Promoting the Dharma and transforming others is known not to be a private matter, so it says “official business.”

The 16 princes, with affinities formed back then, went to different places to transform according to capabilities. Therefore, after being in this place, they must then go to other places. So, “Promoting the Dharma and transforming others is known not to be a private matter.” These Bodhisattvas came to the world not for their own sake, but for the sake of sentient beings. They came for one great cause, so this is a “public matter.” It is also called “official business.”

“He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes.” He put a very precious thing on his friend’s body. He himself had official business, so he left. This is an analogy for “teaching the Great Vehicle to enable great Bodhicitta to permeate the field of their consciousness.”

He took a priceless jewel and fastened it inside the man’s clothes: This refers to teaching the Great Vehicle, leading great Bodhicitta to permeate the field of their consciousness.

He first planted a. Great Vehicle seed of Bodhi within them, so that everyone could be deeply permeated by it. Though they were unable to be completely transformed in this life, there would still be the next life!

We sometimes see small children who, when they hear the sounds of the [Da Ai TV program] “Life Wisdom,” put their palms together before the TV and pay their respects. We often hear their grandmothers or mothers say so. Think about it; isn’t this something that has permeated them? These children already have this seed in the fields of their eighth consciousness. In the past they often watched Da Ai TV programs, often listened to “Wisdom at Dawn, Life Wisdom” and so on. I believe this permeated their mind-consciousness, the consciousness of the field of their mind.

So, the “priceless jewel refers to the treasure of wisdom of the True Suchness of the One Vehicle.” This priceless jewel has already been given to everyone. Everyone should know they have it. The “seed of Buddha-nature” is the “priceless jewel.” In particular, “Now it has entered our bodies.” This priceless jewel is something that we already know we have. It is “fastened inside the man’s clothes.”

Priceless jewel: This refers to the treasure of wisdom of the True Suchness of the One Vehicle. The seed of Buddha-nature is called a priceless jewel. Now it has entered their bodies, as if fastened inside the man’s clothes.

Like something placed inside our clothes, it is inside our minds.

“[He] fastened it inside the man’s clothes.” We should use “remorse and patience to cover ugly rage. We must quickly defend against outer evil. This is our outerwear. A mind of faith and joy is our inner roots of goodness. This is our innerwear.”

What we wear is the “clothing of gentleness and patience.” We should constantly and thoroughly be aware that beneath our clothing there is a jewel. But we are always covering it up. “We must quickly defend against outer evil.” Since we know we have this jewel, we must practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, wear “the clothing of gentleness and patience.” We must put effort into patiently enduring greed, anger and ignorance; this takes patience! So, we must be gentle and forbearing in the face of all kinds of outer evil. This indicates that inside our clothing, there is this precious jewel.

So, “A mind of faith and joy is our inner roots of goodness. This is our innerwear.” The roots of goodness within us are what we all intrinsically have. We must put effort into protecting them.

“At the time they listened to the Dharma” means every time we listen to the Dharma, we must have faith in it, not merely a slight faith, a little bit of faith, but deep faith.

At the time they listened to the Dharma, they had slight faith, joy and desire. This is understanding the cause of the seeds of wisdom and vows. In terms of forming affinities, perfect understanding is the jewel and teaching them is fastening it. They were afflicted, confused and drunk, with only a slight understanding. Thus, it speaks of “fastening the jewel.”

They had faith, but still needed joy and desire. Even if we only hear a little bit, joy must still arise in us. “This is understanding the cause of the seeds of wisdom and vows.” These are the seeds of wisdom and vows. By understanding the past cause of our ignorance, true seeds of goodness can exist in our minds.

“In terms of forming affinities” is talking about karmic affinities. When Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the world, they are always forming good affinities and transforming sentient beings. “Perfect understanding is the jewel.” When the good affinities are perfect and complete, they are like a perfect jewel. “Teaching them is fastening it.” He taught them, explained to them that within them is this pure nature of True Suchness. By meticulously teaching them, it was like He was fastening the jewel, firmly affixing it in their minds. He affixed it securely so it would remain firmly in their minds. When we take the Dharma into our hearts, we must earnestly protect it.

“They were afflicted, confused and drunk, with only a slight understanding.” This is like how when we humans have afflictions and ignorance. Now that we have heard the Dharma, we understand. Though we may understand a little bit, we have not made use of this jewel. Someone has fastened a jewel on our bodies, yet we still do not clearly understand.

So, “in terms of intrinsic nature,” this jewel had been placed on us in the past; “it is not something new or that they lacked.” It is not new. It was not that it was not there originally; it has always been there. We have always had this jewel; we have had it since Beginningless Time. It is part of our intrinsic nature, not something given to us by others; they just remind us about it. “They did not know and were now led to know.” They were led to know what they did not before. This is called “fastening,” securing it in place.

“Giving it to him and leaving” means after fastening it like this, he left.

Giving it to him and leaving: This means having taught the Dharma, they continued to transform in other places.

He was teaching them the Dharma, telling them that they too could attain Buddhahood in the future, but that it would take many lifetimes, countless lifetimes, such a period of time. This is why we must put effort into being mindful. There is this jewel in our hearts. If we do not put effort into protecting it, this jewel will never be able to manifest. It will be like those water bubbles. We will always be fishing for water bubbles, never imagining that there is this very solid, brilliant jewel within us. So, let us always be mindful!

Episode 1149 – Transforming the Deluded to the Enlightened

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>> “For those practitioners who followed the Buddha and cultivated and learned the pure Dharma, He gave predictions of Buddhahood. All Buddhas share the same Dharma and path; They give predictions so that these can be transmitted forever. All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause, to transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment.”

>> “The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers, the assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance and the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier”

>> “Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free. The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this. For those not at this assembly you must announce this.”

>> “At that time, those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions in front of the Buddha, were happy and jumped with joy. They immediately rose from their seats, came before the Buddha, prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves.”

>> They immediately rose from their seats [and] came before the Buddha: They celebrated that now they had attained realizations and were given predictions by the Buddha. They were going to express their mind’s understanding. Therefore, they left their seats and went forward to where the Buddha was.

>> They prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves: By prostrating with their head at the Buddha’s feet, they expressed their utmost respect. They repented for the past and reproached themselves for previous wrongdoing. They blamed their own foolishness. Repenting for the past: They were ashamed that in the past they did not understand the vastness of the Dharma-analogies.

>> “World-Honored One, we have often had this thought, thinking we had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction. Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom. Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom, yet we felt content with limited wisdom.”

>> World-Honored One, we have often had this thought: Those bhiksus spoke of their own views. They repented and reproached themselves for being confused in the past, being content with attaining the Small and not knowing to seek the Great.

>> Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom: Though the Arhats had awakened, after awakening, they again became deluded and were unable to thoroughly comprehend the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now they listened to the Buddha’s words, began to realize and were alerted to their loss. They were like people with no wisdom. They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities and only beginning to awaken. Now they knew the Small was not the ultimate and the Great was the true. They looked back on their past when they were like foolish people with no wisdom.

>> Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom: Why did they say they had no wisdom? They engaged in spiritual practice and should have attained all the Tathagata’s merits, virtues and wisdom.

>> This means they regretted that in the past they had abided in the Small and were confused about the Great. They further understood how today [the Buddha] opened up the provisional to reveal the true. Before, they thought they had already crossed into extinction, but in truth they did not know they had the Tathagata-wisdom.

>> They had not known that the Tathagata-wisdom was originally what they should have attained. How did they not know this and feel content with limited wisdom? For this, they therefore repented for the past and reproached themselves.

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“For those practitioners who followed the Buddha
and cultivated and learned the pure Dharma, He gave predictions of Buddhahood.
All Buddhas share the same Dharma and path;
They give predictions so that these can be transmitted forever.
All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause,
to transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment. “

The Buddha was already at an old age when. He began bestowing predictions on His disciples, giving them confidence in their spiritual practice and giving everyone further confirmation that they all can attain Buddhahood in the future. With this kind of confidence, they practiced according to teachings. All Buddhas do the same. They want to help us understand that among all the Dharma-realms of the universe, there are so many principles. When gathered together, they all form this mind of enlightenment. For us to become enlightened, we must earnestly be mindful and follow the teachings of those who are enlightened. We must have deep faith, must have this deep respect in accepting the Dharma. To take the Dharma to heart, we neeed deep faith. We must take the Dharma to heart often and be unwilling to let any leak out. This is flawless precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.

So, the Buddha taught us in this way; this life of suffering is caused by accumulating many causes and conditions. These causes and conditions arise when, in a moment of carelessness, we give rise to a certain thought or action which brings into being karmic forces of afflictions and ignorance. So, the Buddha taught us to [uphold] precepts. Precepts guard against wrongs and stop evil. First, He explained the [truths] of suffering, then He told us of the actions that are the “causation” and how we need to guard against them. We must be careful of these actions and not transgress in these ways. The origin of these actions is just one single thought. So, we need to take good care of our thoughts. These are the precepts.

So, sometimes we will feel, “I have not violated any precepts.” But have we truly not violated them? We have given rise to these thoughts! Have we really done nothing wrong? We have taken these actions! Thus we very easily accumulate this ignorant feeling in our relationships. If this ignorance is planted in people’s minds, then we will form bad affinities with them. Truly, in speaking of this, it is very subtle. Yet all of these things are [karmic] seeds. Do we plant good seeds or spread negative seeds? This depends on whether we are always mindful and cautious. We must not create karma, must not create negative causes nor give rise to unwholesome thoughts. So much suffering is accumulated in that way. Thus, we need to engage in spiritual practice. In our spiritual practice, we need precepts.

From these precepts, we can understand many things and learn to have self-discipline, learn to be vigilant and learn to guard against [evil]. So, we must engage in spiritual practice in order to be able to eliminate suffering. These are the teachings of precepts and Samadhi that allow our minds to listen to the Dharma for a long time. As we listen to the Dharma, we must take it deeply into our minds. Our faith must not be broken off. We say, “In the past, I had such faith. Now I feel like it has been a long time, I….” Gradually, our faith and actions weaken. If our faith weakens, we will become lax in our spiritual practice.

Because of Tzu Chi’s 50th anniversary, volunteers wished to express their respect by commemorating our beginnings 50 years ago and the road we have mindfully walked since then. With their diligent resolve, at this time everyone has gathered together to reverently walk in a bowing pilgrimage. I saw this large and dignified group reverently prostrating from the entrance. The group, entering in such an orderly manner, was expressing their earnest diligence.

Can we apply this earnest diligence in our daily lives? We go to morning and evening recitation when the time comes. In our regular work, everyone is very busy and is seizing the time. In the morning recitation, we must be diligent. When we hear the bell and drum, in an orderly manner, we enter the Buddha Hall. This is diligence. Everyone shares a common intent. These are the rules of our daily living. This was the first thought we had when we decided to become spiritual practitioners. Life in a monastery is like this. Starting from this thought, we need to follow a set of rules to live by, to engage in spiritual practice. So, morning and evening recitations represent the diligence of monastic discipline. This is more important than coming once a year for a one- or two-hour pilgrimage.

However, this annual [pilgrimage] brought Tzu Chi volunteers from across Taiwan. They were all expressing their resolve, that they had not forgotten their initial aspirations. They experienced again that feeling of reverence from when they formed initial aspirations. These thoughts of reverence are not just about tangible actions once a year; they should always be [expressed], just like Never-Slighting Bodhisattva. Though in teaching this sutra, we have yet to reach Never-Slighting Bodhisattva, since the beginning we constantly talked about. Never-Slighting Bodhisattva’s attitude in spiritual practice.

He believed what the Buddha taught, that all people intrinsically have Buddha-nature. He respected all people and did not look down on any person, because everyone can attain Buddhahood. This was what. Never-Slighting Bodhisattva practiced. However, the Buddha taught us that though all beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature, in the end we become deluded with one thought. With one thought, we give rise to evil thoughts or to [the thought to] practice virtuous Dharma. This is all determined by a single thought.

This is also something we must always nurture. Everyone has this intrinsic Buddha-nature, but from beginningless kalpas ago, we allowed this one thought to run away, enticed by the external environment. When a seed is planted in the ground, this seed grows into a great tree and is heavily-laden with fruits. The seeds of evil, afflictions and ignorance, these karmic forces, are constantly reproduced in the same way. So, our nature of True Suchness, our originally pure intrinsic nature, is affected by this reproduction of ignorance and afflictions. In this way, these habitual tendencies prevent our nature of True Suchness from being able to express its ability. We have fewer good thoughts, as our habitual tendencies have been permeated by evil thoughts. So as our good thoughts are about to be expressed, evil thoughts immediately take over.

Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, prejudice toward others and so on, are all continuously reproduced. With these doubts, [we think,]. “Can that person really attain Buddhahood?” It even becomes rare for us to think about how everyone has this intrinsic Buddha-nature. Yet the Buddha-nature that is in everyone and our memory of the Buddha’s teaching is covered by the discursive thoughts that we have during our daily living. So, we need to express that, “I still respect you, because in the future, you will become a Buddha.” Never-Slighting Bodhisattva’s spirit is very rarely manifested.

In summary, as practitioners of the Buddha-Dharma, we must always follow the Buddha. However the Buddha teaches us is the way we need to accept the teachings. Though the Buddha lived more than 2000 years ago, when our minds are reverent, the Buddha is before us. If we can always be reverent, the way things were 2000 years ago and our spiritual practice now will be the same. “We pass through long kalpas in a single moment.” If we are not reverent, one moment can drag on for a long time. What I am saying now, perhaps what I said a few minutes ago, may have already been forgotten. With time, we quickly forget. This means that time drags on. If we hear this Dharma now, though we are separated by more than 2000 years, what does 2000 years matter? It is only 20 days in Trayastrimsa Heaven. How can this be considered long? So, to sum things up, we need to seize and make good use of our time. The Buddha is not far from us.

The Buddha’s teachings have been passed down to the present, so we need to follow the Buddha. In whatever way the Buddha teaches us, not only must we sincerely remember, we must also put the teachings into practice. So, “For those practitioners who followed the Buddha and cultivated and learned the pure Dharma, He gave predictions of Buddhahood.” The Buddha, at the Vulture Peak Assembly, bestowed predictions on His disciples. Where are these disciples today? Perhaps they are with us now. For those who lived in the Buddha’s era, we may perhaps remain, lifetime after lifetime, living in the same time as a Buddha. Having accepted the Buddha’s teachings, life after life, we continue in the same way. Perhaps we may even have received the Buddha’s predictions.

So, for the Buddha, for all Buddhas, “All Buddhas share the same Dharma and path; They give predictions so that these can be transmitted forever.” I often say that all Buddhas share the same path. When any Buddha comes to the human world, His teaching methods are the same. At the end, He will do this to pass the Dharma on; that is how the Buddha-Dharma can forever remain and continue on in the human realm. So, He needs to give predictions to His disciples. He bestows predictions that in the future, we can all attain Buddhahood in the future. However, every one of us must continue listening to the Buddha-Dharma lifetime after lifetime. We listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma.

Then when we live at the same time as the Buddha, we should receive a prediction of Buddhahood. In accord with the changes of our modern era, we are also manifesting a form here, with circumstantial and direct retributions in response to this time. With circumstantial and direct retributions, we come to the human realm. During this time, we need to use our physical form to transform sentient beings. This requires us to adapt to sentient beings. When the Buddha came to our world, He also had to adapt to sentient beings. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, regardless of whether or not we are living at the same time as the Buddha, isn’t it possible that we had also received predictions when He was in the world? We have come to the human realm many times since, yet we must still have the same sense of duty, because all of us are still the Buddha’s disciples.

The Buddha is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. We chant in the “Verse in Praise of the Buddha, Guiding teacher of the Three Realms, kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings.” Since we are the Buddha’s disciples, we must all have a sense of mission. This sense of mission is that, in our regular spiritual practice, we need faith, understanding, practice and realization. We must uphold precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, the Three Flawless Studies, so that we can improve. Then, we can truly call ourselves the Buddha’s disciples. So, in order to ensure that that Dharma is transmitted unendingly, the Buddha gave predictions to His disciples.

“All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause,” in order to “transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment.” They transform deluded sentient beings and lead them to the path of enlightenment. Because sentient beings have lost their intrinsic nature of True Suchness, they reproduce ignorance and constantly create [negative] karma. This karma becomes our collective karma. Due to collective karma, the turbidities in this era are quite severe. Thus, we face karmic retributions. These collective retributions are the causes of disasters in our world.

Bodhisattvas manifest in the human realm “because of suffering beings,” to help them. In Serbia, there are over a dozen Tzu Chi volunteers. They have gotten closer to the refugees and the local people, as well as newly-inspired volunteers who have joined in to volunteer with Tzu Chi and already united all as one. They have guided and led them so that they now have the spirit of a volunteer. They are helping the refugees open their hearts, even if it is just for a moment of happiness. There was a youth in his early teens. In his mind, he had some resentment. He had not cracked a smile during the three years as a refugee. He was now stuck in Serbia, and there was this resentment in his mind.

This was how he looked at the world and life. He saw that everyone came to help now and he had encountered this group of such good people, who tried everything to make them smile. When we saw them smile, we assumed that they had a bed to sleep on and food to eat, that they were already settled. He said, “Right now we have no home. I don’t have a home, I don’t have a school where I can learn. I don’t have many things.”

Then he said, “In the past, in my own country, I had a house. I had a school to learn at. I had everything.” He fled [Syria] at age 10. This year, he is 13. In that place, he has met so many good people, doing everything they can to love the refugees. His mother said, “I see how you treat my son and my daughter. They are actually happy in their hearts. Though my child still has some resentment in his mind, he is still very happy for everything you have given him.”

His mother quickly explained what her son had said. Though he still had a little resentment, his mother was quick to explain, “My son is extremely happy. I am grateful that you are here to bring him joy and help my son and my daughter have smiles on their faces.” This was the mother’s gratitude toward our group.

Actually, we can understand this young man. He is 13 now; what age must he reach before being able to have a stable place to live? When can he have an education? When can he have a home that he can call his own? Right now, what he needs is a home, a safe and stable home and a school where he can learn and have the opportunity to be educated. Right now, he can only [wait] like this; but how long will he have to wait? We do not know.

This is the collective karma there. How many more people are like him? It is not just in one country, but in many countries, not just in Serbia, but in Italy as well. There are not many Tzu Chi volunteers there, just two here and two there, and between them a very long distance 400 to 500 kilometers apart, in the same country, there are a total of four Tzu Chi volunteers. Two of them are already certified; the other two have not yet been certified. One was from Taiwan and married someone there, and the other is just now undergoing training.

But for these four people to gather together at one place in order to help African refugees was not an easy matter. They were separated by 400 to 500 kilometers. Some had to ride a train to gather there. Also, some flew from Germany. There was a total of six volunteers who could reach Italy. They took such a long journey to gather together in order to help the refugees and buy clothes for them.

When it was cold, the local people said the refugees were pitiable and had no covers or blankets suitable for winter. They asked for donations. The Tzu Chi volunteers in Italy sought donations of covers or blankets. They gathered this [support] from local schools and local people. They first explained about Tzu Chi’s love, how they had come from a great distance and gone through great difficulty to get there in order to serve others. Everyone heard this and was moved. So, the local people also got involved to help and comfort them, to help them settle in this refugee camp in central Italy while in the process of their journey.

The volunteers did not just give them things, they also led “Daddy Walks the Water Buffalo.” These people who were helping others had to learn the rhythm to “Daddy Walks the Water Buffalo” and would lead them in singing it. Even the refugees from Africa were led to sing along. These six volunteers came from. Italy and also from Germany. Tzu Chi volunteers from many different places gathered in central Italy to mobilize local people with love in their hearts. Once they understood, they got involved and held relief distributions for the refugees. Before the relief distributions started, everyone was very happy, because their hearts had opened.

However, these refugees could only stay for three months at this stop in their journey. Then, [the government] matches them with different places in Italy. After three months, there will be a new group. They already had these standard protocols. These refugees, in different places in Italy, may perhaps be able to find a safe place to stay. This is another place.

There are not many Tzu Chi volunteers in Europe. In Italy, they are exercising their love to mobilize people, calm the refugees’ minds and inspire happiness in them. These is truly the result of causes and conditions. These are the causes and conditions of the one great cause in our modern times. Bodhisattvas must go to different places, to give of themselves for the sake of those sentient beings’ facing collective karma. So, “All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause, to transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment.” In this vast sea of people, where can these refugees go? First, their minds must be calmed. They need to first have a direction in their heart. This is the love we all have in life. Only in this way will they not be lost in hatred. We must first give them a direction of love.

We hope that these future seeds of love are now planted one by one in the hearts of these sentient beings who are now experiencing suffering. This is what we need to work toward. This is our sense of mission. The Buddha’s teachings must not be allowed to leak out of our minds. The Dharma has continued for over 2000 years. In our present times, with our society and way of living, etc., we need to be able to adapt. So, we adapt to people’s way of life now in order to give to help others.

Now, let us read the previous sutra passage.

“The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers, the assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance and the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier”

500 people had received predictions. In the future, when they become Buddhas, their land will be magnificent and pure; it will be very magnificent and pure. It will be the same for all 500 people.

The next sutra passage states,

“Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free. The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this. For those not at this assembly you must announce this.”

These 500 people had already accepted the Buddha’s teachings. They were already very firm [in their aspirations]. The rest of the Hearers were the same; the people who were not present would also become Buddhas in the future. “For those not at this assembly,” similarly, “you must announce this. Kasyapa, in the future you can follow what I have said and tell them in this way. They have also always been able to attain Buddhahood in the future. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. They will likewise continue on with the same name. Their lands when they attain Buddhahood will be like these 500 bhiksus who have received predictions for the future. This is what you should tell them.”

“At that time” is how the next passage of the sutra continues.

“At that time, those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions in front of the Buddha, were happy and jumped with joy. They immediately rose from their seats, came before the Buddha, prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves.”

“At that time, those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions in front of the Buddha….” These were the people who were present and received predictions from the Buddha in person. These Arhats were happy, very happy. They were so happy that they jumped for joy. These 500 bhiksus received predictions in front of the Buddha, so they truly jumped for joy. “They celebrated that now they had attained realizations.” Everyone was very happy, so happy that they immediately stood up. Everyone gathered together and moved even closer to come in front of the Buddha. They wanted to express their great happiness to Him. This kind of expression of happiness was due to the Buddha giving them deep confidence, because in the future, they could receive predictions, and in the future, they could become Buddhas. The Buddha had bestowed these predictions that in the future, they could attain Buddhahood, so they expressed their thoughts, their mind’s understanding. Thus, they began to leave their seats to explain their happiness. What were they happy about? So, everyone immediately gathered in the front.

They immediately rose from their seats [and] came before the Buddha: They celebrated that now they had attained realizations and were given predictions by the Buddha. They were going to express their mind’s understanding. Therefore, they left their seats and went forward to where the Buddha was.

Do you still remember? Kasyapa and the others, the four great disciples, also did this in the Chapter on Faith and Understanding. After hearing the Dharma, they were very happy, so they came before the Buddha. Now there were 500 disciples. So, in everyone’s happiness, they drew even closer to the Buddha. “They prostrated with their heads at His feet.” One by one, they came in front of the Buddha, and one by one, they prostrated. They prostrated with their heads at His feet, as they also wanted to express their minds. Prostrations express the utmost respect. As they touched their foreheads on the ground toward the Buddha’s two feet, they expressed their utmost respect.

Then, they “repented for the past and reproached themselves” and expressed their own minds.

They prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves: By prostrating with their head at the Buddha’s feet, they expressed their utmost respect. They repented for the past and reproached themselves for previous wrongdoing. They blamed their own foolishness. Repenting for the past: They were ashamed that in the past they did not understand the vastness of the Dharma-analogies.

This is just like Kasyapa and the others, those four disciples. They also expressed what was in their hearts; they had been very confused in the past. “All of us were afraid of the True Dharma that the Buddha expounded and did not dare accept it. Now we understand that in the past, we were like the poor son.” You probably still remember this; this is what the four great disciples expressed when they went in front of the Buddha. Now, it was the 500 disciples who all had the same understanding in their mind. They repented and reproached themselves. In the past, they were wrong. Before, they would try to avoid it; they were unwilling to accept that they must go among people to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma. They reproached themselves for their own capabilities being dull.

So, they repented for the past in this way. Their capabilities were dull, so they did not understand the Buddha’s intent. Because of this, they were only practicing for themselves. They were unable to be like Purna Maitrayaniputra, who understood the Buddha’s intent and extensively transformed sentient beings. These 500 people were all only practicing to benefit themselves. Because of this, they repented for the past and felt remorse. They felt remorse that in the past they did not understand the principles contained within the Buddha’s teachings. They did not understand “the vastness of the Dharma-analogies.” The Buddha used many Dharma-analogies, but they were still not clear about them. So, they repented for the past and reproached themselves. How did they reproach themselves?

The next sutra passage states,

“World-Honored One, we have often had this thought, thinking we had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction. Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom. Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom, yet we felt content with limited wisdom.”

They began by speaking to the Buddha very sincerely, saying, “World-Honored One, we have often had this thought.” They often had this kind of thought, thinking of what they had seen. Whether with the teachings the Buddha expounded or with everything they would see, they were always confused. Even with all the Dharma the Buddha expounded, in their minds, they were still very lost. So, everything they saw was still not yet very clear.

World-Honored One, we have often had this thought: Those bhiksus spoke of their own views. They repented and reproached themselves for being confused in the past, being content with attaining the Small and not knowing to seek the Great.

This was speaking of their perspectives. Regarding the Dharma that the Buddha taught, in their minds, they were unable to open up their perspective. So, they were unable to understand the True Dharma that the Buddha taught.

They assumed, “I already know the Four Noble Truths. I understand suffering, that transmigration of the Six Realms is suffering. I am afraid to continue transmigrating, so I want to engage in spiritual practice to not transmigrate in the Six Realms anymore. Thus, I will eliminate afflictions and ignorance and no longer contrive connections with people. I only practice to benefit myself. This is what I have continually been thinking, so I have been lost, lost in myself and lost in wanting to attain liberation. I repent! I reproach myself for my delusions in the past.”

[They were] “content with attaining the Small.” In fact, this was all they were able to attain. In accepting the Four Noble Truths, they earnestly engaged in practice, but with the other teachings that the Buddha gave, they did not earnestly listen. So, they only attained the Small. “I feel that this is enough.” They were “content with attaining the Small and did not know to seek the Great.” They did not know to seek the Great, so, [they thought,] “We had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction.” They themselves assumed, “This is enough.” With the Dharma they heard from the Buddha, they were already clear. They had “attained the fourth fruit.” They thought that this kind of path was already the ultimate.

“Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom.” Only now did they know they were people with no wisdom.

Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom: Though the Arhats had awakened, after awakening, they again became deluded and were unable to thoroughly comprehend the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now they listened to the Buddha’s words, began to realize and were alerted to their loss. They were like people with no wisdom. They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities and only beginning to awaken. Now they knew the Small was not the ultimate and the Great was the true. They looked back on their past when they were like foolish people with no wisdom.

With these Arhats, we need to know that “though the Arhats had awakened,” they were still in delusion. They had only eliminated their coarse afflictions, but their dust-like afflictions and ignorance had not yet been eliminated. So, these were the Arhats.

“They were unable to thoroughly comprehend the Great Vehicle Dharma.” With the Great Vehicle teachings, they were unable to have thorough comprehension. So, “Now they listened to the Buddha’s words, began to realize and were alerted to their loss.” Now they realized that in the past, they had lost a lot, at least for themselves. The Buddha was already in His old age, and now He was expounding the Great Dharma, the One Vehicle Dharma. So at that time, they were alerted and reproached themselves for having no wisdom before.

Thus, “They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities and only beginning to awaken.” They reproached themselves for their dull capabilities. Only now were they beginning to awaken. “Now they knew the Small was not the ultimate.” Now, they knew practicing the Small Vehicle Dharma was not the ultimate. The Great Vehicle Dharma was actually the true. So, they looked back on their past when “they were like foolish people with no wisdom.”

“Why is this so?” Why was this the case? “We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom.”

Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom: Why did they say they had no wisdom? They engaged in spiritual practice and should have attained all the Tathagata’s merits, virtues and wisdom.

Actually, all of us are like those 500 people. All of us can have wisdom equal to that of the Buddha. We should be able to attain wisdom equal to that of the Buddha. So why do we have so little wisdom? “They engaged in spiritual practice and should have attained all the Tathagata’s merits, virtues and wisdom.” In engaging in spiritual practice in this way, we ought to have wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. However, we need to cultivate these merits and virtues. We are lacking the cultivation of these merits.

“Yet we felt content with limited wisdom.” They lacked cultivation of these merits, and thought what they had was enough. They did not know that this was limited wisdom and did not seek to practice the Great Dharma. So, “They were satisfied with the limited wisdom of Hearers and did not seek great benefits.”

This was how they repented for the past. They repented and reproached themselves, because “in the past, they had abided in the Small and were confused about the Great.” They continued to abide in the Small and had lost the Great Vehicle Dharma, not wanting to go among people to cultivate merits and virtues. So, they understood this and could experience the truth of what they now heard. These teachings turned out to be skillful means. Now, the Buddha revealed the True Dharma. Now, they could understand; He had opened up the provisional to reveal the true.

This means they regretted that in the past they had abided in the Small and were confused about the Great. They further understood how today [the Buddha] opened up the provisional to reveal the true. Before, they thought they had already crossed into extinction, but in truth they did not know they had the Tathagata-wisdom.

In the past, “They had thought they had already crossed into extinction.” They had thought they had crossed into extinction, “but in truth they did not know they had the Tathagata-wisdom.” They did not know that they could be equal to the Buddha and likewise attain Buddhahood. So, in the past they did not know this. Originally, they all believed that they had attained what they should; they felt that they had already attained this. But they actually did not know what they should attain; how could they not know this? This was quite unfortunate. “The Buddha taught the same teachings; why were we unable to perceive them?” This was very unfortunate.

So, they “felt content with limited wisdom. For this, they therefore repented the past and reproached themselves.”

They had not known that the Tathagata-wisdom was originally what they should have attained. How did they not know this and feel content with limited wisdom? For this, they therefore repented for the past and reproached themselves.

Indeed, shouldn’t they repent for the past? The time they had spent was wasted. Now, the Buddha was in old age, and they had begun to realize that they should go among people to transform them and cultivate many merits and virtues and come together with the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now, they knew. Since they now knew, the Buddha also bestowed predictions upon them. They need to practice for a very long time, and in the future they can attain Buddhahood. This is something we all must have great confidence in. In the past, we did not cultivate the Great Dharma. But, at least the Buddha still gave us an opportunity to start anew and continue cultivating for the future. Thus, we can attain Buddhahood in the future. All of us must have this confidence. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 1148 – Listen and Pass on the Teachings

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>> “[The Buddha] transmits the truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature, that True Suchness exists in all things. The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, called the Three Treasures, are the fruit of teachings, principles, practice and realization. The Buddha teaches the Dharma; the Sangha listens to it and continues to pass on the path to enlightenment. When the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha all abide in the world, the principles and essence of Right Dharma are all present.”

>> That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas. “Right Dharma will abide twice that long, and Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. These 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood. They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] ‘After my Parinirvana, so and so will attain Buddhahood The world that he transforms will be like mine today.'”

>> “The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers, the assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance and the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier.”

>> The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers: Their lands: the lands called Pure Kindness. Their lands will be pure and magnificent. In their lands of purity, people all practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, with all kinds of spiritual powers to freely transform.

>> The assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance: The 500 bhiksus have firm spiritual aspirations, so they attain Buddhahood one after another in sequence. The name of their kalpa and land, their epithet, the people they will transform and the eras of. Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance [are the same].

>> And the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier: The length of their lifespan in the world will all be no different from that of the very first Universal Radiance Buddha. Therefore their lifespan, world, eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance will all be like that described earlier.

>> “Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free. The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this. For those not at the assembly, you must announce this for them.”

>> This is saying it was not only these 500 Arhats, whose minds were free. All 1200 who had already been transformed by the Buddha would receive such predictions as well. He specifically instructed Mahakasyapa to pass on this announcement because among the disciples he was the eldest.

>> Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free: The Buddha was telling Kasyapa, “I bestowed prediction on these 500 who had already attained freedom. You already know this.”

>> The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this: Of the 1200, He first bestowed predictions on the 500. The remaining Hearers would also be like this. The remaining Hearers would also be like this.

>> For those not at this assembly, you must announce this for them: For those not attending this assembly today, you, Kasyapa, must announce this for them.

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“[The Buddha] transmits the truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature,
that True Suchness exists in all things.
The Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, called the Three Treasures,
are the fruit of teachings, principles, practice and realization.
The Buddha teaches the Dharma; the Sangha listens to it
and continues to pass on the path to enlightenment.
When the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha all abide in the world,
the principles and essence of Right Dharma are all present.”

Do you understand? These are the principles of truth. Since over 2000 years ago, the Buddha has continually hoped that [we can understand], “the truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature that. True Suchness exists in all things,” that everyone can mindfully experience and comprehend this principle. After comprehending it, we must then form the supreme aspiration. If we cannot comprehend the principle that. “True Suchness exists in all things,” if we ourselves are still confused, then we continue to replicate our conflicts. This is endless; there is no telling how long this will continue.

The Buddha came for one great cause, to help us truly comprehend this “truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature” that everyone intrinsically has. Not only is it intrinsically in everyone, all things have this nature of True Suchness. This is a very important principle. Only if we can willingly accept and comprehend this will we form aspirations, know the importance of understanding the Dharma and learn to cherish the Dharma. We need to seek the Dharma in order to enter the sutra treasury. When we truly delve deeply into the Dharma, we can “delve deeply into the sutra treasury” and “attain wisdom as vast as the ocean.”

We must comprehend the great path and delve deeply into the sutra treasury. Most importantly, We must widely transform sentient beings without obstacles. Isn’t this what we pray for as we chant the Three Refuges every day? We “take refuge in the Buddha” in hopes that all sentient beings can “comprehend the great path and form the supreme aspiration.” We “take refuge in the Dharma” in hopes that sentient beings can “delve deeply into the sutra treasury and attain wisdom as vast as the ocean.” We “take refuge in the Sangha” in hopes that sentient beings “[lead people harmoniously] without obstacles.” This great path of the truth is so all-encompassing. The teachings, principles, practice and realization of the Three Treasures are all expressed in these few simple phrases. These are the true principles; it just depends on how we accept them.

More than 2000 years ago, the Buddha expounded the teachings. He expounded the teachings to teach the Sangha to be able to transmit the Buddha-Dharma. Thus, when the Buddha gave the teachings, the Sangha had to mindfully learn the Dharma and take the Dharma they heard to heart so that the Dharma could continue unceasingly, could be inherited and transmitted unceasingly. “[They] continue to pass on the path to enlightenment.” Generation after generation, they transmit this great Bodhi-path to awakening. This is the goal of learning the Buddha’s Way.

“When the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha all abide in the world,” then “the principles and essence of Right Dharma are all present.” The principles of Right Dharma, its forms, its essence and its principles, are all fully present. More than 2000 years ago, during Sakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, the Three Treasures, were all fully present in the world. At that time, the Buddha expounded the Dharma, and the Sangha diligently listened to it. The one expounding the Dharma was alive, and those who listened to the Dharma diligently practiced the teachings. All these principles abided in the world together; how the Buddha-Dharma flourished! The Buddha-Dharma of the world was established, and the principles had been clearly revealed. After listening to it, people were joyous and formed aspirations to engage in spiritual practice. Thus the Sangha was formed. With the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha all in the world, the Right Dharma was truly complete.

It has been more than 2000 years. In the human world, this is a long time. However, 2000 years in the universe or in our solar system is actually just a short period of time. It passes just like that. But, over the course of 2000-plus years here, there have been so many changes. One of these changes was that the Buddha had entered Parinirvana while the Right Dharma abided in this world. Although the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the Dharma was still very much alive in the world. This was because the Sangha still existed. The Sangha compiled the Buddha-Dharma and became even more diligent after the Buddha entered Parinirvana. In the past, the Buddha was there to lead, so everyone had someone to lean on, someone to rely on. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the Sangha had to quickly put in effort to organize themselves.

Venerable Kasyapa became aware of this need. The Dharma had to be compiled promptly. So, he struck the mallet to gather everyone. “Come! While everyone is still alive, how can we establish the rules of the Sangha and how can we help the Buddha’s teachings to continue on unceasingly?” They began compiling them. The compilation process was quite laborious. Who was the most important person for compilation? Ananda. Although Venerable Kasyapa was the convener, the compilation would be impossible without Ananda. Ananda was unique in that his nature was one of great intelligence, and he had a very good memory.

He had followed the Buddha for 20-plus years. Before he became the Buddha’s attendant, he made a particular request of the Buddha. He requested that the Buddha repeat once again the teachings He gave for the 20 years prior. With Ananda by His side, the Buddha agreed. Ananda then [memorized] all the teachings from the past 20 years that the Buddha then repeated. As the disciples continued to increase in number, the Buddha probably had to teach the Dharma for those disciples who just formed their initial aspirations. This was the case, so 20 years previously, the Buddha began with the Four Noble Truths and other Small Vehicle Dharma to teach according to capabilities. More than 20 years later, He did the same. The number of disciples continued to increase, so for those [newly]-inspired practitioners, He gave these teachings again. Thus, people’s capacities were never all the same, yet the Buddha still wanted everyone to be able to listen to the Dharma. When the Buddha lived in the world, everyone could directly receive the teachings.

For some people, though 20-plus years had passed, they still could not experience the “truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature, that True Suchness exist in all things.” They were still unable to comprehend it. So, the Buddha had to likewise patiently guide them. Thanks to Ananda, the Buddha repeated these teachings again. For this reason, the [record of] the Buddha’s teachings is very complete. From the Buddha’s first teaching at Deer Park, Ananda repeated all with, “Thus have I heard.” He began with the Buddha’s first turning of the Dharma-wheel, the Three Turnings of the Four Noble Truths, and the sequence of those who awakened. One after another, Ananda recounted them in the order they were given. This was how the Dharma was transmitted and how the Dharma was compiled into sutras etc.

So, His time in this world, His lifespan, was in fact very short. The Buddha was also subject to the laws of nature when He came to the human realm. So, His lifespan was 80 years. A lifespan of 80 years was quite long for that era.

“[The Buddha] transmits the truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature, that True Suchness exists in all things.” We can continue to contemplate this now. Indeed, sentient beings all intrinsically have the nature of True Suchness, the Tathagata-nature. We frequently mention that there is a gorilla who is able to understand worldly matters well. She has more wisdom than humans. She has more compassion than humans. She cares more about what happens in this world than humankind. She expressed her thoughts in sign language. Her hope is that humans will put in the effort to save this planet, to love and protect Earth. A gorilla is telling us this. The media reported on her story. This is truly how this animal lives.

Is she an animal or a human after all? The Buddha frequently talked about His past. In His past lives, He went into the worlds of animals. Animals can comprehend human nature. Animals can save people. Animals can also engage in spiritual practice. This is constantly mentioned in the Jataka sutras. When we listen to the sutras, we think, “How can those animals be like that?” Now we have already witnessed it. Many animals have a nature similar to a human’s, or even surpassing a human’s. They have this kind of compassionate love.

We saw a news report about this. In Australia, there was this family of a single mother raising three children. She has two dogs and has recently adopted four kittens. She brought back those four kittens to raise them. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, a fire broke out. The mother grabbed her children and rushed out.

One of the two dogs also followed her, and they came out together. But then she noticed that the other dog and the four kittens [were not there]. Why hadn’t they come out? She quickly sought help. The firefighters rushed inside to look for them. When they discovered them, the fire had been put out. In one of the rooms, they found this dog named Leo. This dog was actually shielding the four kittens. The four kittens were safe and sound, but the dog suffered smoke inhalation. So, he had lost consciousness. The firefighters quickly brought him out and gave him oxygen; they promptly covered his snout with an oxygen mask. They continued to massage him until his heart started beating again, until he started breathing again. Gradually he regained consciousness.

It seemed as if he was looking for something, as if he was trying to express his concern about something. The firefighters and the three children realized this, so they quickly brought the four kittens in front of this dog. The dog, struggling mightily, quickly laid on top of the kittens and, one by one, used his tongue to lick each of them. He was like a mother cat caring for her kittens, like a mother dog caring for her puppies.

Although he is a different species of animals, he has the same love as that found in human nature and was willing to give his life. The firefighters figured out that the dog had the chance to escape by himself but that he chose not to. Instead, he stayed in that place to shield and protect the four kittens. The reporters were very interested in this story. On the internet, in newspapers and in the media, they kept reporting on the love of this animal.

Indeed, animals have this love. Shouldn’t we humans also have this love? The love of animals and humans are the same. “True Suchness exists in all things.” This is “the fundamental reality of the one nature.” Every person has the same nature; the Buddha and sentient beings have the same mind. So, “the fundamental reality of the one nature” is a true principle. This true principle tells us that. “True Suchness exists in all things.” The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings all have Buddha-nature. This is the True Suchness existing in all things!

When the Buddha is in this world, the Dharma will be in this world as well. This is because the Dharma comes from the Buddha’s mouth. The Buddha speaks the Dharma to give the Dharma a concrete expression. Otherwise, the principles are without form or substance. The Dharma needs to be transmitted by people. Therefore, we need the Sangha; we need monastics to renounce the lay life and manifest the appearance of a monastic, just like the Buddha. They take the Buddha’s teachings to heart and have the same aspirations as the Buddha, to deliver sentient beings. Thus the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha are called the Three Treasures. “Teachings, principles, practice and realization” are the fruits that we seek. The teachings exist in the world. These teachings are in fact principles. We need to put the principles into practice, only then can we comprehend the meanings of the principles. The truth and our minds will be able to come together for us to experience it. Only then can we attain realization, truly experience and verify this Dharma.

So, in the Buddha’s lifetime, “The Buddha taught the Dharma, and the Sangha listened to it.” This was during the Buddha’s time. We are grateful that Venerable Kasyapa convened everyone. We are grateful that Venerable Ananda repeated [all the teachings]. This way, the Dharma was able to be passed down, generation after generation; the path to awakening was passed on like this. Thus, “When the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha all abide in the world, the principles and essence of Right Dharma are all present.” Everything is created by the mind. If our minds are reverent, the Buddha and Dharma will still be in our world. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. When our Buddha-nature manifests this essence of the Dharma, just like in a bowing pilgrimage, we move forward with every step and remain pure and undefiled with every thought. This is walking forward on the path to awakening. Thus, “The principles and essence of Right Dharma are all present.” The Right Dharma is just like this. It is in our minds, in our behavior, so we can constantly keep the Dharma in our minds. In our practice, on the great, direct Bodhi-path, no matter the twists and turns, we will still reach our destination. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. The principles are all the same.

“True Suchness exists in all things” and “the fundamental reality of the one nature.” This is the principle of the truth. If this continues to exist [in our minds], then the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha will forever abide in the world. Then, “The principles and essence of Right Dharma” will always exist. It all depends on how we engage in practice, how we put in the effort.

Let us take a look at the previous passage. “That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas.” After Kaundinya and the others engage in spiritual practice and attain Buddhahood, in that world,

That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas. “Right Dharma will abide twice that long, and Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. These 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood. They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] ‘After my Parinirvana, so and so will attain Buddhahood The world that he transforms will be like mine today.'”

When that Buddha enters Parinirvana, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. Then those 500 people will, one after another, continue on their path to attaining Buddhahood and continue to pass on the Buddha-Dharma.

This is the same for every one of these Buddhas. When they are in the world, before they enter Parinirvana, they will always bestow predictions on those who will attain Buddhahood next. This is how it is passed down. “This is just like what I, Sakyamuni Buddha, am doing today” 2000-plus years ago, Sakyamuni Buddha said this when He bestowed predictions of Buddhahood. His disciples will in turn bestow predictions on others, just as the Buddha did when He was in this world.

The next sutra passage says,

“The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers, the assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance and the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier.”

The magnificence and purity of their lands were already described in the previous passage. Also, the spiritual practitioners in that era will all be practicing the Great Vehicle Dharma. They will all cultivate Brahma-conduct, so they will be replete with spiritual powers. We discussed this previously.

“The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers….” Their lands are all called “Pure Kindness. Their lands will be pure and magnificent. In their lands of purity, people all practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, with all kinds of spiritual powers to freely transform.”

The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers: Their lands: the lands called Pure Kindness. Their lands will be pure and magnificent. In their lands of purity, people all practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, with all kinds of spiritual powers to freely transform.

This future land will be called “Pure Kindness.” Everyone should still remember that. This land will be very pure, very magnificent. Because everyone there practices Brahma-conduct, the land will be pure and magnificent.

“In their lands of purity, people all practice the Great Vehicle Dharma.” The lands are very pure, completely free of defilements. Now, we always say that this is the era of the evil world of the Five Turbidities. Actually, that land of Pure Kindness is completely pure. There is not the slightest defilement. Since everyone engages in spiritual practice and everyone is a Great Vehicle practitioner, that land will be pure.

The Great Vehicle practice of course requires one to eliminate all afflictions and ignorance, so naturally, they will attain “all kinds of spiritual powers to freely transform.” They can achieve their mind’s intent. With a pure mind, everything they can think of is so magnificent, so pure. Transforming sentient beings is very simple; they mutually share the Dharma with one another. This is using great spiritual powers to widely transform sentient beings.

“The assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance….”

The assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance: The 500 bhiksus have firm spiritual aspirations, so they attain Buddhahood one after another in sequence. The name of their kalpa and land, their epithet, the people they will transform and the eras of. Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance [are the same].

In this era, in the same way, the 500 bhiksus have firm spiritual aspirations. In the future their lands will be like this. Because their spiritual aspirations are firm, they will all attain Buddhahood in sequence. Why can these 500 people receive the Buddha’s prediction of Buddhahood? The Buddha wanted to say, “These 500 people have firm spiritual aspirations.” Their firm spiritual aspirations extend from the past to the present and the future. For a very long period of time, these 500 people will pass it on sequentially in this way, so we know it will take a long time. They will attain Buddhahood one after another.

Their “kalpa” is a reference to time. The names of their lands, the sentient beings they will transform and the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance will all be the same. The number of kalpas in their lifespans, this length of time, will be the same as described earlier.

And the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier: The length of their lifespan in the world will all be no different from that of the very first Universal Radiance Buddha. Therefore their lifespan, world, eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance will all be like that described earlier.

The length of their lifespan in the world will all be “no different from that of the very first Universal Radiance Buddha.” Universal Radiance Buddha is Kaundinya. These 500 people are like Kaundinya, the first among them to receive a prediction of Buddhahood. Their lifespan, world and eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance will all be the same as what was described earlier. This was the Buddha bestowing predictions of Buddhahood on the 500 disciples.

In this sutra passage, the Buddha was impartial in His compassion, and all the disciples present were satisfied. This is because they received predictions of. Buddhahood from one after another. Then, the Buddha said to Kasyapa,

“Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free. The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this. For those not at the assembly, you must announce this for them.”

When we look at this sutra passage, we can feel the Buddha’s compassion. These sounded a bit like last words. “For those who are in front of me now, I will personally bestow predictions of Buddhahood. In the future, there are still other Hearers. You, Kasyapa, are the head of the Sangha. You must do a good job of educating [them]; earnestly work to give them the opportunity to receive predictions of Buddhahood. You must help them understand that everyone can attain Buddhahood. Give them an opportunity so they can receive predictions of Buddhahood as soon as possible.”

This is saying it was not only these 500 Arhats, whose minds were free. All 1200 who had already been transformed by the Buddha would receive such predictions as well. He specifically instructed Mahakasyapa to pass on this announcement because among the disciples he was the eldest.

It was not only these 500 bhiksus, whose minds were at ease. They already had firm spiritual aspirations. The 500 bhiksus had firm spiritual aspirations, but these 500 were those present at the assembly whom the Buddha directly bestowed predictions upon. There were also Arhats who had also received teachings from the Buddha, similarly became monastics and likewise engaged in spiritual practice, but who were not there at this place now. They had been taught, transformed by the Buddha and likewise engaged in spiritual practice. They likewise had firm spiritual aspirations. So, they could also receive predictions of Buddhahood.

“All 1200 people” had the opportunity to receive these predictions. “They would receive such predictions as well.” They would be able to receive them too. So, the Buddha specifically entrusted. Venerable Kasyapa. “Kasyapa, you are to pass on to everyone that those 500 people are not the only ones to receive predictions. There are some who will not have the chance to see me again. There are some who will not have the chance to listen to Dharma here again. Kasyapa! In the future, you must pass on the announcement and tell them that they can also attain Buddhahood in the future,” because “among the disciples he was the eldest.” This was because Venerable Kasyapa was the eldest among the disciples, yet he also had strong leadership qualities and everyone admired him. So, the Buddha thought very highly of Kasyapa. We also know that Kasyapa would transmit the Buddha’s mind-seal. The Buddha also knew that, after He entered Parinirvana in the future, Kasyapa would have to take responsibility for gathering the Sangha to compile the sutras. So, to Kasyapa, He gave these special instructions. Kasyapa was the one who could lead the Sangha.

So, “Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free.”

Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free: The Buddha was telling Kasyapa, “I bestowed prediction on these 500 who had already attained freedom. You already know this.”

“Kasyapa, you should understand my intent. These 500 had already received predictions here at the assembly, right now. So, you know about these 500 already. You were also here. You also saw them.” Kasyapa had also received a prediction as one of the four disciples who had received them. Then he saw these 500 people also receiving predictions. “The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this.” This is referring to the other Hearers. “Of the 1200 people,” these 500 had received predictions. After them, there were still 700-plus people. So, these Hearers could also receive predictions of Buddhahood.

The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this: Of the 1200, He first bestowed predictions on the 500. The remaining Hearers would also be like this. The remaining Hearers would also be like this.

“For those not at this assembly,” the 700-plus people who were not at the assembly, “you must announce this for them,” Kasyapa should pass this on “for those today” who were not present at the assembly. “So you, Kasyapa, should earnestly take on this responsibility to thoroughly pass this down.”

For those not at this assembly, you must announce this for them: For those not attending this assembly today, you, Kasyapa, must announce this for them.

Indeed, we must pass on the Buddha-Dharma. Time passes by quickly. A lot of people still have not heard the Dharma. The Dharma we have heard must be quickly and mindfully taken to heart. After taking it to heart, we must go among the people and bear witness to the world.

The Buddha’s teachings are the true principles that encompass all things in the universe. We must be mindful of what the Buddha taught. “The truth of the fundamental reality of the one nature” is that “True Suchness exists in all things.” If we mindfully contemplate this Dharma, as we interact with people and matters, we can calm our minds. When we see people, we should think of the Dharma. When we do things, we cannot stray from principles. If we can do this, won’t the Dharma abide in the world forever?

A Bodhisattva from the humanistic culture mission came back [to the Abode] and shared how, for the program “Looking Back on Tzu Chi’s Path,” she had to quickly go and conduct interviews on the origins of Tzu Chi. She sought out the people involved from the very beginning. She found them and gathered everyone together so they could meet up with each other. She also came to Hualien, as she started from eastern Taiwan. To find the earliest stories, she had to start from the east. She found a group of elderly Bodhisattvas in eastern Taiwan and gathered them together.

Then she went to northern Taiwan. In the early days, what were the causes and conditions that led us to go from the east to the north? She invited those from northern Taiwan back here. Then for central Taiwan, what were the causes and conditions? Central Taiwan’s origins also came early on. So, volunteers from central Taiwan were also invited back. Her search continued. This search led her to southern Taiwan. In this way, one stop after another, she gathered those Bodhisattvas who with their early aspirations helped form the Four Missions. [She] went and listened to their sharing. One stop after another, with the spirit of a hen hatching her egg, she found ways to continue to recount the story.

There was a young woman who said, “Master, I am very touched! Every day I listen to the Dharma. Didn’t Purna Maitrayaniputra go to foreign lands to transform sentient beings and bring back the entire group?” Take Lin Yongxiang for example. She brought up the time she went to interview him. A large group of people sat in the lecture hall, and the experienced volunteers came to share. Then, Mr. Lin stood up and said, “If I brought you into Tzu Chi, please stand up.” Wow! There was a loud sound [of chairs moving]. There was no telling how many dozens of experienced Tzu Chi commissioners stood up. He brought all of these people into Tzu Chi.

These commissioners then brought in more. They said there has been eight “generations.” One “generation” gives rise to the next; each person brings in dozens more people. The Dharma should be passed on in this way. So, we must continue to listen to the Dharma. We listen to the Dharma, teach it and transmit it, and we even put it into practice. By doing this, by leading people and transforming them this way, today we have fully established the Four Missions and Eight Footprints. The Buddha-Dharma must be transmitted. We are in the evil world of the Five Turbidities, but the Dharma is like water; it can bring purity to people’s hearts. When minds are pure, naturally the world will be pure. To do this, we must always be mindful!

Episode 1147 – The 500 Bhiksus Become Buddhas in Sequence

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>> “In the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him. Those 500 bhiksus were firm in their resolve. As the previous Buddha’s teachings disappear, humans and heavenly beings will grieve. Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions in turn to bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.”

>> “They will all ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions. With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas. Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy and in an instant return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers.”

>> That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas, Right Dharma will abide twice that long, and Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. These 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood.

>> That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas; Right Dharma will abide twice that long: This is the lifespan of the Buddha’s manifestation. During his lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire him. The era of Right Dharma will last 120,000 kalpas.

>> “Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve.” Dharma-semblance will last 240,000 kalpas, which is a very long time. “When the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as the eyes for people. When this Dharma disappears, humans and heavenly beings all grieve.”

>> Those 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood: On those 500 bhiksus who were at the assembly listening to the Dharma, He bestowed predictions in turn. “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood.” This is the meaning of “in turn.”

>> This explains that the 500 bhiksus were all transformed the same way. As the Dharma of a previous Buddha disappears, heavenly beings and humans lose hope, thus they will grieve. Future Buddhas continue to bestow predictions in turn, bringing heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.

>> “They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] ‘After my Parinirvana, so and so will attain Buddhahood The world that he transforms will be like mine today.'”

>> They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,]. “After my Parinirvana, so and so will become a Buddha”: These are words of bestowing predictions in turn. Their meaning is the same as before.

>> The world that he transforms will be like mine today: The matters and principles of his attaining Buddhahood in the future will be the same as the teaching and transforming of all past Buddhas. Thus, it says “will be like mine today.”

>> Mine: The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, Volume One, says, “Though the Buddha’s disciples and others” “know there is no self,” “they say ‘I’ and ‘mine'” “following worldly customs. This is no real self.”

>> The 500 disciples practiced the Path together and now also sowed seeds of goodness together, planting Dharma-affinities. These were the causes and conditions for having the same predictions of Buddhahood in the future.

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“In the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding,
humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him.
Those 500 bhiksus
were firm in their resolve.
As the previous Buddha’s teachings disappear,
humans and heavenly beings will grieve.
Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions
in turn to bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.”

“In the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him.” Every time a Buddha appears in the world, a very long time must have passed before that Buddha was able to appear. When Buddhas appears in the world, the length of Their lifespans are always different. For instance, Sakyamuni Buddha lived in the Saha World. Lifespans in the Saha World are all very short. This is how lifespans in the Saha World are. The Buddha only lived for 80 years. This is just talking about the time in which He appeared and lived in the world. In accordance with the world, this was the length of His lifespan. The Buddha’s teachings however, the lifespan of His Dharmakaya, in fact last a very long time.

When it comes to the Buddha-Dharma, all Buddhas share the same path. For instance, Sakyamuni Buddha, from the time He was one of the 16 princes, had already discovered His nature of True Suchness. Furthermore, as He learned the Buddha’s teachings, listened to the Dharma, experienced its truth and formed aspirations to deliver sentient beings, the lifespan of His Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) was very long, having been continually extended onward since Beginningless Time. However, He still needed to reach universal, perfect enlightenment, To attain universal, perfect enlightenment, He had to constantly engage in spiritual practice until the causes and conditions matured enough that He could manifest in the world as a Buddha.

He went among people and announced, “I have awakened! I am in perfect harmony with the true principles of all things in the universe.” There is nothing He did not know, nothing He was not aware of, no principle He did not understand. In all things throughout the universe, in all principles, even the most subtle, there was nothing He did not know. This is awakening. This enlightenment only comes with the perfection of [awakened] action. Then His enlightenment is naturally perfected, this extremely subtle awakening that could encompass things as vast as the universe or reach things as subtle as particles of dust. He could understand things even smaller than dust.

We speak now of how in physics or pathology, many things are done by using microscopes to help us to see things that we cannot see with our naked eyes. By using microscopes that magnify tens or hundreds of times, the tiniest, subtlest of worlds, these profound and subtle worlds of physical objects, all appear before us. The Buddha used His Buddha-eye to observe these most minute of particles. He was able to thoroughly understand them, because even the tiniest of microorganisms all have their principles. Although the principles are invisible to the naked eye, these things that we cannot see have incredibly powerful effects.

In our bodies, there are germs and so on. These pathogens, these cells, are so tiny. When they act up it can lead to serious illness and great imbalance in the body. In all things found in the macrocosm of the world, there are very subtle principles at work. The microcosm, our body, is like this, and the macrocosm is like this as well. So, the Buddha often spoke to us of emptiness and how there is wondrous existence in emptiness, the true principles of wondrous existence. This was to help us thoroughly understand and bring our minds together with these principles. Where is True Suchness? True Suchness is the principles. These principles are inherent in everyone’s mind.

So, when the Buddha manifested the appearance of attaining Buddhahood in the world, it was by thoroughly penetrating all principles. He manifested the appearance of Buddhahood in response to worldly conditions. So, the Buddha had to adapt to the conditions of the world. When it comes to the Buddha’s lifespan, the Buddha could live for a very long time. Sometimes kalpas are even used to calculate a Buddha’s lifespan. But, in order to deliver people in the world, He had to have the same lifespan as other humans. In the Buddha’s era, 80 years was considered a long lifespan. So, this was “the Buddha’s lifespan in the world.”

Of course, there are other worlds, where the Buddha’s lifespan is the same as that of the people in those worlds. If the lifespan of people in that world is long, the Buddha’s lifespan is long. This is like how in our solar system, the planets orbit the sun, making one revolution around the sun. When our planet revolves once around the sun, it takes 365 days. We call this one year. For the planets that are farther from the sun, for [Neptune] to revolve once around the sun, it takes 160 years of our time.

So, we could say that the lifespan there is much longer [than compared to Earth]. For us here, it is like this. One year on Mercury is equivalent to only a few months on Earth. So, lifespans on different worlds are all different lengths. It was the same for a Buddha’s life in the world. How long does He live in the world? No matter how long, there will inevitably come the day when that Buddha crosses into extinction, when He enters Parinirvana. This is a law of nature. Even someone who has become a Buddha must similarly follow the laws of nature.

When a Buddha appears in the world, there will be Buddha-Dharma. With His enlightenment, He awakened to the principles that pervade the entire universe. He knew them all like He knew His own hand; that is how clear they were to Him. Then He taught the Dharma. For a long time, the Dharma would be taught for as long as the Buddha’s lifespan in the world; that is how much could be taught. When a Buddha enters Parinirvana the Dharma will still abide in the world. The length of time it abides in the world will of course be longer than the Buddha’s lifetime. Thus, the Dharma must be continually passed down.

So, the Buddha-Dharma is continually passed down like this. As sentient beings’ karmic forces, afflictions and ignorance grow greater, though the Buddha-Dharma may still abide in the world, in people’s daily living, the Dharma becomes a kind of mere semblance of itself. It is merely an appearance. People may know the text of the teachings, may be able to teach it and listen to it, but very gradually the Dharma turns into merely a semblance. This is called “Dharma-semblance.”

Very gradually, the era of Dharma-semblance also passes. Though the Buddha-Dharma still exists, people gradually stop paying attention to it. During the era of Dharma-semblance, people still create images and respect the text of the teachings, but very gradually we reach the era of Dharma-degeneration, when people’s minds are seriously afflicted and they disrespect both the Buddha and the Dharma. As this attitude slowly progresses, people gradually stop placing importance on the Dharma and the principles, so these gradually continue to disappear. They may even say, “I understand the Buddha-Dharma and. I can teach the Buddha-Dharma, but I may not necessarily be able to practice according to the teachings.” This is in the era of Dharma-degeneration.

These periods of time, for every Buddha, will be different. In different worlds, the time will be different. The time They live in the world will differ, and the lengths of the eras of Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration differ. However, “in the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding,” during the time when the Buddha lived in the world, the Dharma too was in the world. The Buddha and the Dharma would be in the world. Everyone will listen to the Dharma and practice according to the teachings. This is a world in which everyone is joyful. “Humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him.” Humans revered and admired the Buddha, while heavenly beings protected the Dharma. This was in the Buddha’s time. During the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and during the time the Dharma abides, the world is one in which everything is elegant. We have already spoken of several Buddhas. Their worlds are all beautiful and elegant; the people there are all kind-hearted and so on. They are worlds where humans and heavenly beings live together. Thus, when a Buddha abides in the world, the Dharma prospers.

Our present Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, more than 2500 years ago had His Sangha. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, as we have often said, each time He taught, the number of people present differed. As the Buddha was teaching the Lotus Sutra, when He reached this point, there were “500 bhiksus” present at that place; Kaundinya and the rest of the 500 were by His side. At that time, the Buddha began calling out names, began bestowing predictions of Buddhahood. These 500 people had the causes and conditions to be gathered there at that time. There just happened to be 500 of them there at that time.

This is like what is happening now (2016). Yesterday we saw the pictures and articles that came back from Serbia. The first picture was of them listening to the Dharma. When it is morning time here, it is 10 o’clock in the evening in Serbia. They have not gone to sleep yet, but like all of you here, they are all listening to the Dharma. The people we saw yesterday and the people we saw several days before were all different, because gradually in that place more than a month of time has already passed. They had to begin wrapping up their trip.

Some left yesterday, while a few stayed behind. Today, two more will arrive. The people we will see there tomorrow and today will be different again. They will likewise listen to the Dharma there. Their mission there has its set time; though they are helping those suffering there and though they are reluctant to part, starting now, the local volunteers, some of the refugees and. [Tzu Chi volunteers] from different countries, are already at the end of the first phase. Some are starting to return to England, some to France. They are reluctant to leave, so they took a picture together. In the picture are refugees and volunteers. There are also volunteers from Bosnia and from Serbia. They knew two volunteers were leaving today, so they said, “Come! Let’s quickly take pictures.” They were already getting ready to leave, but they felt so reluctant to go.

Compare this to a month before when they first arrived to help and work with them; everyone was a stranger to each other; they did not know each other. Inside they were thinking, “What can I do today to make you happy? What can I do to help things go smoothly?” Their feelings, due to this lack of understanding, would fluctuate; they would rise and fall. Now everyone understands, thus they are reluctant to leave. So, every day people are leaving, while others are coming to take their place. Thus, there are different people there every day.

It was probably the same during the Buddha’s time. At the start of the Dharma-assembly, in the Introductory Chapter, when He was about to teach the Dharma, many people were there! There were several thousand, tens of thousands, humans and heavenly beings, kings, ministers, bhiksus from afar, thousands of people. The Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra and the Mahaparinirvana Sutra over a period of eight years in total. For seven of these He taught the Lotus Sutra. Of course, at the same assembly, as He would teach every day, there would be people coming and going, thus the number of people would differ. So, at that time, “Those 500 bhiksus were firm in their resolve.” These 500 bhiksus were there, and the. Buddha felt causes and conditions [were right], that they were firm in their resolve to listen, so He began bestowing predictions upon them.

“As the previous Buddha’s teachings disappear, humans and heavenly beings will grieve.” Whenever a Buddha manifests in the world, when the time for that Buddha to leave draws near and it is about time for Him to enter Parinirvana, humans and heavenly beings begin to grieve. Dharma-semblance will abide, but as it gradually begins to disappear, humans and heavenly beings are even more uneasy! This is the case for every Buddha; no matter how long a Buddha’s lifespan may be, there will be Buddhas before and after. When the previous Buddha appeared in the world, everyone joyfully revered and admired Him. When that Buddha entered Parinirvana, everyone grieved. “Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions.” Future Buddhas will continue this process. So, it will be a very long time before the next Buddha gradually becomes ready and is born in the world. When He does appear, while He lives in the world, “Humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him.” It will be a similar situation. He will likewise practice with His Sangha, and people’s capabilities will likewise differ. Some have firm spiritual aspirations, while others easily get lost. All of these kinds will likewise be present. Over long periods of time, people will come and go from the Sangha. So, when the time arrives and that Buddha enters Parinirvana, another Buddha will later manifest in the future, who will likewise continue this same cycle.

So, “Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions in turn to bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.” After the prior Buddha crosses into extinction, the Dharma will still remain in the world. When it reaches the era of Dharma-degeneration, the world will not be at peace and there will be many disasters. After some time, the Dharma is needed to bring peace to the world, so another Buddha will then appear and the Dharma will again be taught anew. Then gradually, that Buddha will enter Parinirvana, and the Dharma will abide through Dharma-semblance, Dharma-degeneration. Again, the era of Dharma-degeneration will arrive. While the Buddha-Dharma is still in the world, He will begin to make predictions in turn.

Every Buddha is like this, in life after life; before They enter Parinirvana, They are certain to bestow predictions on future Buddhas in order to comfort heavenly beings and humans, because after a Buddha has entered Parinirvana, the time that Dharma-semblance will abide and the time of Dharma-degeneration will be very long. So, while the Buddha is still in the world, He must hasten to bestow predictions on successive Buddhas who will come to the world to bring peace and stability to the minds of heavenly beings and humans, so that everyone’s minds can be peaceful and calm.

For us in the human realm, we speak of dozens of years, or of thousands of years. Actually in heaven, these are very short periods of time. What seems like a long time to us, from the point of view of heavenly beings, is a very short time. Just in Trayastrimsa Heaven, a single day there equals 100 years for us 10,000 years passing for us is only 100 days in their time. In any case, regardless of the length of the Buddha’s lifespan, He will always attain Buddhahood in places where He is needed. In any place where He attains Buddhahood, there will be formation, existence, decay and disappearance, there will be birth, aging, illness and death, arising, abiding, changing and ceasing. This is a law of nature. We should better understand these. This is how it will be.

Come, the previous sutra passage states,

“They will all ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions. With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas. Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy and in an instant return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers.”

As described earlier, this is Kaundinya’s land after he attains Buddhahood, his land when he attains Buddhahood in the future. His lifespan and his land are like this.

That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas, Right Dharma will abide twice that long, and Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. These 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood.

That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas! Our Buddha’s lifespan, Sakyamuni Buddha’s lifespan, was only 80 years. See, in the future Kaundinya and those 500 bhiksus will have lifespans as long as 60,000 kalpas! “Right Dharma will abide twice as long.” Twice as long means double 60,000 kalpas, which makes it 120,000 kalpas. “Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again.” If you double those 120,000 kalpas, that makes 240,000 kalpas. This is how it will be. When the Dharma abides in the world, there are the eras of Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration. This will continue on for a long time. So, “When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve.” When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will both be saddened. However, “These 500 bhiksus, one after another, will attain Buddhahood.” This is how it will be passed on. Their spiritual aspirations are firm, so they pass it on through spiritual practice and likewise attain Buddhahood one after the other. This way, amongst themselves they mutually pass on teachings and bestow predictions.

“This is the lifespan of Buddha’s manifestation. During his lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire him.”

That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas; Right Dharma will abide twice that long: This is the lifespan of the Buddha’s manifestation. During his lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire him. The era of Right Dharma will last 120,000 kalpas.

We just talked about this. That Buddha’s manifestation is the form he will take in response to the world, his way of life and his lifespan in the world. So, “the lifespan of the Buddha’s manifestation” means “during the Buddha’s lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding.” He will have his lifespan in the world, then after that, the Dharma abides in the world through the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance. When these are in the world, humans and heavenly beings still show respect. They have respect with Right Dharma in the world and practice according to the teachings. They have respect with Dharma-semblance; they respect it by creating statues, and the texts will also flourish. This is the era of Dharma-semblance. This is when humans and heavenly beings still have respect [for the Dharma]. So, Right Dharma will abide for 120,000 kalpas. This is when the Right Dharma abides in the world.

“Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve.” Dharma-semblance will last 240,000 kalpas, which is a very long time. “When the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as the eyes for people. When this Dharma disappears, humans and heavenly beings all grieve.”

That Buddha, by observing the world with his eyes, can see even the subtlest things. He can take all of these invisible principles and can, one by one, explain them to us clearly and expound upon them so that everyone is able to experience these principles. So, “When the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as the eyes for people.” Sentient beings do not understand the principles, as if they were blind. They do not know anything; they are confused in their perspectives. With these perspectives, even in what they see, they cannot understand the principles contained within. Everything they hear confuses them, so it is impossible for them to be clear. So, when a Buddha is in the world and we do not understand, He will teach us until we do. He will explain the things we cannot understand so we can see the principles within things. Thus, when the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as eyes for people. It is just like eyes for the people. The principle is the same; this is how it is.

When the Buddha-Dharma is in the world, it is like what we were just saying about Serbia. There is a person there named Peter who said he has known about Tzu Chi for four years now. After he got to know Mr. Zhong, Mr. Zhong would often tell him of things I say, and Peter would listen to him. He said for the past four years he has been applying the Dharma in his living and it has helped him resolve many complications. This is a foreigner who is listening to me teach the Dharma as well. My words were, with Mr. Zhong’s help, passed on and repeated for Peter. He is now in Serbia, getting involved as a volunteer there for a time. He is there now, working with other Tzu Chi volunteers, giving love to the refugees there.

When he went to see the refugees, he met many more Tzu Chi volunteers. He is not just friends with Mr. Zhong now, but has already become friends with a large group of Tzu Chi volunteers. He listens to the Dharma every day with them, and when he does not understand, others explain the Dharma further to him. When they explain it to him, it makes him even more joyful. The more he watches and the more he listens, the broader his view becomes. So, “It serves as the eyes for the people.”

However, everyone worried, for “When this Dharma disappears, humans and heavenly beings all grieve.” What happens when the Dharma disappears? When the Buddha crosses into extinction, there is still Right Dharma and. Dharma-semblance, but when Dharma-semblance is also gone, during the era of Dharma-degeneration, the Dharma will disappear. This is what heavenly beings and humans are saddened by. So, this is what we should be [very mindful of]. Though we now say that we are living in the era of Dharma-degeneration, actually Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration are all created by the mind. When it comes to our minds, if we can listen to and take the Dharma to heart, then put it into practice, then this is no different from when the Buddha was in the world. The Buddha taught the Dharma for us to hear, and after hearing it we must put it into practice. We are listening to the Dharma now as well, taking it to heart, but are we really putting it into practice? If we are putting it into practice, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya abides forever in the world. This is no different from. Right Dharma abiding in the world, no different from Dharma-semblance. So, we should be mindful.

Thus, “Those 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood.”

Those 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood: On those 500 bhiksus who were at the assembly listening to the Dharma, He bestowed predictions in turn. “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood.” This is the meaning of “in turn.”

Those 500 bhiksus, when the Buddha was alive, had already been to meet the Buddha in that life. The Buddha bestowed predictions on all of them. Because their spiritual aspirations were firm, the Buddha understood and thus bestowed predictions upon them. He predicted that they would later attain Buddhahood one by one. They all had their causes and conditions for being there. If they lacked the causes and conditions, they would have missed this assembly. Replete with causes and conditions, they received predictions of Buddhahood.

So, “On those 500 bhiksus who were at the assembly listening to the Dharma, He bestowed predictions in turn.” In the future, after many lifetimes of strengthening their spiritual aspirations, after many lifetimes of engaging in spiritual practice among the people, causes and conditions will come together, so “He bestowed predictions in turn.” Everyone strengthened each other’s aspirations, mutually encouraged one another and engaged in spiritual practice together, so He told them, “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood. After I cross into extinction, you will also attain Buddhahood in the future.” This was bestowing predictions in turn.

Among those 500 bhiksus, some had more profound levels of practice and more extensive affinities with sentient beings. They will attain Buddhahood faster. They have causes and conditions to be always together, so once causes and conditions mature, that particular Buddha will then bestow predictions for the future upon others. This is how it is passed down. “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood.” He said, “After I cross into extinction, in the future you will attain Buddhahood.” This is called bestowing predictions. Buddhas bestow predictions on subsequent Buddhas. They all will practice together, so they will attain Buddhahood one after another.

This explains that “The 500 bhiksus were all transformed the same way.” Those 500 disciples had all been taught and transformed by Sakyamuni Buddha in the same way and at the same time.

This explains that the 500 bhiksus were all transformed the same way. As the Dharma of a previous Buddha disappears, heavenly beings and humans lose hope, thus they will grieve. Future Buddhas continue to bestow predictions in turn, bringing heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.

“As the Dharma of a previous Buddha disappears, heavenly beings and humans lose hope.” Although everyone there had already received the Buddha’s teachings, and in particular, the 500 bhiksus had all already been transformed by the Buddha with the same Dharma, when this previous Buddha disappears, both heavenly beings and humans will likewise be very disappointed. Because they are saddened, “Future Buddhas continue [to bestow predictions].” When future Buddhas come again, they will in turn bestow predictions. This is the kind of cycle that occurs all in order to “bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.” This is something we all should understand.

The next passage of the sutra says,

“They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] ‘After my Parinirvana, so and so will attain Buddhahood The world that he transforms will be like mine today.'”

The Buddha said that these disciples, the disciples starting with Kaundinya, those 500 bhiksus, were all like this. They all practiced in this same way, all practiced the same teachings, all went among the people in the same way and transformed sentient beings in the same way. Their practices were all the same, so they will “all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance.”

They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,]. “After my Parinirvana, so and so will become a Buddha”: These are words of bestowing predictions in turn. Their meaning is the same as before.

[They] will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] “After my Parinirvana, so and so will become a Buddha.” Who will it be who receive predictions? The Buddhas had previously already called out the names of many of His disciples, Uruvilva Kasyapa and so on. He had already named them. If we called out the names of all of them now, we would never finish. So, here in this passage it is shortened. Thus, it says “So and so will become a Buddha and will bestow predictions in turn.” This is how it is; everyone will be able to receive predictions.

“The world that he transforms will be like mine today.”

The world that he transforms will be like mine today: The matters and principles of his attaining Buddhahood in the future will be the same as the teaching and transforming of all past Buddhas. Thus, it says “will be like mine today.”

“When everyone attains Buddhahood in the future, the sentient beings they will transform and the world they are in will be the same as mine. Mine” is not referring to Sakyamuni Buddha. It is talking about each of these Buddhas. Every Buddha will refer to it as “mine.” They will attain Buddhahood one after the other. All Buddhas share the same path. So, all of the Buddhas there will all be called “Universal Radiance,” and they will bestow predictions in turn.

So, when it comes to the word “mine.” So, when it comes to the word “mine” it says in the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, “Though the Buddha’s disciples and others know there is no self, they say ‘I’ and ‘mine’ following worldly customs. This is no real self.”

Mine: The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, Volume One, says, “Though the Buddha’s disciples and others” “know there is no self,” “they say ‘I’ and ‘mine'” “following worldly customs. This is no real self.”

The Buddha analyzed this principle for everyone. Where is this “I”? There is no “I.” There is no self; it is empty, like a dew drop, or a flash of lightning. Who is it we call “I”? I may say “I,” but you also say “I.” Does that “I” refer to me? If everyone only said “I,” how could we tell them apart? Naturally there is a “he,” and there is a “you.” That way we know he is not you, and I am not him. So, these are the workings of the world. When we follow the customs of the world, we use the word “I.” So, every Buddha will say, “‘I’ bestow predictions on you ‘I’ pass the Dharma on to you.” This is just following worldly customs. “There is no real self.”

“The 500 disciples practiced the path together.” These 500 disciples were all the same. During the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, they all received predictions together. They practiced together with the same teachings and same actions. So, this is the same as it is now.

The 500 disciples practiced the Path together and now also sowed seeds of goodness together, planting Dharma-affinities. These were the causes and conditions for having the same predictions of Buddhahood in the future.

Thus, one by one, each in the future would become a Buddha. So, “They sowed seeds of goodness together, planting Dharma-affinities.” They all sowed seeds together and formed these kinds of affinities together.

So, they had “the same predictions of Buddhahood in the future.” These were their causes and conditions; they all formed the same kinds of affinities. As Buddhist practitioners we must be mindful. The Buddha came to the world to teach the Buddha-Dharma, taking the most subtle and intricate principles and spreading them all as if. He were spreading seeds of goodness. It was as if He was mindfully planting seeds in the hope that this seed in everyone would become a big tree and its fruits could be planted in the earth again. So, “One gives rise to infinity; infinity arises from one.” With this same seed, this same intrinsic nature of True Suchness, if we can clearly understand it, then naturally we will be able to seize our causes and conditions.

The Buddha’s lifespan in the world is limited. This is a law of nature; whether long or short, it is always subject to the laws of nature. So, even if we hear the sutras mention the length of a certain Buddha’s lifespan, the Dharma always remains the same. No matter where in the universe, no matter how long a Buddha’s lifespan, He will never finish teaching. Even if His lifespan is short, and He can only teach a small amount of Dharma, if we can earnestly apply that Dharma, if we can earnestly practice that one teaching, “If we uphold our mission and follow the path, then our path will be great.” If we can do this, if we can take the Dharma to heart and put it into practice, then as we go among people, afflictions are Bodhi. If we can collect all those countless afflictions, we will have infinite seeds of Bodhi. This will depend on us always being mindful!

Episode 1146 – Mutual Harmony Throughout the Dharma-Realms

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>> “The wealthy enrich their house by building gardens and landscapes. The towers and pavilions are dozens of layers in height and width. The tranquil water is crystal clear, reflecting the mountains, moon and scenery. With the world-transcending Great Dharma, we return to Right Dharma of True Suchness.”

>> At that time, the World-Honored One wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse: The bhiksu Kaundinya will meet countless Buddhas and, after asankyas of kalpas pass, will attain universal and perfect enlightenment.

>> He will constantly emit a great radiance and be replete with all spiritual powers. Renowned universally in all directions, he will be respected by all and will constantly teach the supreme path, thus his epithet is Universal Radiance. His land will be pure and clear. All the Bodhisattvas there will be courageous.

>> “They will all ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions. With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas. Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy and in an instant return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers.”

>> They will all ascend the wonderful towers: All Dharma is magnificent, like all the [37] Practices to Enlightenment, and is thus called “wonderful towers.” Bodhisattvas advance in [their practice] and thus are said to “ascend.”

>> [They] travel the lands of the ten directions: The ten directions analogize the Ten Realms. They travel throughout the Dharma-realms to cultivate all merits and virtues.

>> For those who ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions, in circumstantial retribution, direct retribution will manifest while in direct retribution, circumstantial retribution will manifest. Whether with one or many there is no hindrance; great and small accommodate each other. Throughout the Dharma-realms, all are able to achieve mutual harmony.

>> With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas: Items means tools. Just as Bodhisattvas let go of their own bodies, they do not begrudge their lives but uphold the teachings according to the Dharma. Making offerings by acting in accord with Dharma is called unsurpassed offerings.

>> Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy: Through practicing the Dharma like this, they have cultivated wondrous offerings. Thus they feel joy in their hearts and give rise to great happiness.

>> In an instant they return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers: Having made offerings throughout ten directions, in an instant they return to their own land. This is so fast because wherever their minds turn, their spirits go. So, a single thought can reach everywhere, . What the mind and the Dharma reaches is inseparable from the moment. Like what is said in the repentance practice, “Following our thoughts of incense and flowers,” “we reach the realms of the ten directions.” Our bodies follow our minds to also reach all these places. In no more than an instant, we return to our intrinsic training ground. This principle is evident.

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“The wealthy enrich their house
by building gardens and landscapes.
The towers and pavilions
are dozens of layers in height and width.
The tranquil water is crystal clear,
reflecting the mountains, moon and scenery.
With the world-transcending Great Dharma,
we return to Right Dharma of True Suchness.”

The ancients said, “Wealth enriches a house, and virtue enriches the body.” With wealthy people, when we look at them, we see that they must be from wealthy families because their houses are so large and expansive, tall and beautiful, with such decorations and so on. We can tell at once that they are wealthy. It is because they are wealthy that they are able to build such houses. They not only build the house itself, but also manmade landscapes, gardens, fish ponds, fake hills and so on. Ancient people had such big plots of land to build houses on. The constructed landscapes were even bigger than the houses. They built fake hills, small bridges and streams, planted trees and more. When we see all of these, we know they are houses of the wealthy. They even have towers and stages where they sometimes invite people to their home to perform, to sing and make music. These is what people in ancient times were like. Their lifestyles showed their wealth, that they had great renown.

So, “The towers and pavilions are dozens of layers in height and width.” They are built layer upon layer. These towers are very tall. Then there is the landscape. “The tranquil water is crystal clear.” The water is very clean. There are many servants cleaning the place and trimming the trees and plants. The landscape inside is not only beautiful but also very clean. In the ponds, the water is flowing, so it is always very clear. Although the water flows, it remains clear and pure. When we look at the water at night, the hills, the moon and all the beautiful scenery is reflected in it. These people are able to enjoy such pleasures! They lead such wealthy lives!

Although this is how it is in the human world, where the wealthy enjoy such pleasures, the Buddha compared this to the spiritual state of practitioners. In our spiritual world, when the mind is beautiful, all states are too. When there is virtue in our heart, the landscapes of our minds will have everything. “With the world-transcending Great Dharma, we return to Right Dharma of True Suchness.” If we can return again to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, the purity of our nature of True Suchness is the beauty of that tranquil spiritual state. With such beauty, can we compare the scenery of the world to it?

Our world’s landscapes need to get cleaned up. However, the True Suchness of the mind, this world-transcending Great Dharma in the mind, is forever pure. It is like a great, perfect mirror in our minds; any state will be clearly reflected in the mind. It is clear, bright and untainted. With any state, such as the sky, the land, mountains and rivers, no matter what state enters the mind, a pure mind reflects that state without the state tainting the mind. “The mind is without hindrances; there are no hindrances.” The mind is forever tranquil and clear.

This requires us to regularly engage in practice. Spiritual practice is applying the Dharma to our minds. When we go among people, we do not let afflictions and defilements contaminate our minds. Then our minds can come and go freely, can expand or shrink freely. We will not be like ordinary people, who do not know where they came from. We do not know where we came from, so in this environment, there is suffering, decay, conflicts, manmade calamities, natural disasters and more, all of which are beyond our control, What we experience is unbearable suffering. With such a life, once we enter, we are not able to escape. It is all out of our control. Life is full of suffering and obstacles. I hope we can engage in spiritual practice and cultivate to attain wealth of the mind. “Wealth enriches a house; virtue enriches the body.”

The wealthy have superficial things others can see. We can see these things, but will these things last forever? The Chapter on Parables talks of the burning house. We should still remember this. The great elder was wealthy, and he had such a big house. Across the landscape, on the estate of his house, there were many towers and pavilions. However, after many years and months, the elder left the house. The children inside clung to this kind of state. They thought the inside was very beautiful, so they just clung to it.

The towers and pavilions were tall and wide, and the landscape and scenery were bright, so they were always enjoying themselves. This is like people who hire others to sing operas or to entertain. They just lost themselves in these pleasures. After a long time of playing, they lost their ambition. All they wanted to do is keep playing. They did so to the point that they lost their will and did not know what their life direction was. Once they lost their direction, they eventually exhausted all their wealth. This is often what happens; people stop repairing the house, and no one straightens up. There will just be a crowd of people enjoying themselves, people who have lost their direction. In this house was a group of ignorant children, unaware of the fire burning.

When the elder returned, he saw the danger! Were the children still inside? Why didn’t they know to come outside? He kept yelling and calling out to them. “You need to come out! You must start coming out.” But everyone thought it was more fun inside. The elder shouted and thought up different methods. He knew what the children wanted to play with, so he had to give them something new. Since they loved to play, he would give them new and more interesting things to entice them to come out. So, he used toys to entice them. There was a sheep-cart, deer-cart and a great white ox-cart. “Come, come. Come outside quickly! Look, there are so many carts outside for you to choose from. You can travel everywhere and have fun. You can wander freely; come quickly!” Only at this time did they start to see. They had grown tired of playing inside, so they looked outside. “Wow, that looks great!” So, they quickly came outside.

They chose the sheep-cart and deer-cart for fun. But since they had come outside, were now safe and knew to take these three kinds of carts, the elder started to tell them about the functions of the three carts. He guided them to take a look inside the large cart. There were such extensive decorations within it, and when they were traveling far, they could have companions going with them. Inside were also many things they could enjoy. He used many different methods to guide them to choose this large cart.

In the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Parables, this story is the Dharma. Although it uses matters and appearances to teach, in fact, for us, these matters and appearances, these stories, are originally the truest Dharma. They are to help us understand that sentient beings should not just benefit themselves and take the sheep-cart or deer-cart. There is more than just this. We already know that the burning house of the Three Realms is dangerous. The fire is already burning from all directions, already burning continuously. The suffering of these fierce flames burning us is like how within the Three Realms, everything is beyond our control; it is all unbearable suffering and very dangerous. So, we must quickly come out.

Since we have come out, just as we do in our spiritual practice, we must reflect on our nature and the landscape of our minds. In the landscape of our minds, of our nature, we must thoroughly [let go of] the ignorance and afflictions and the burning house of the Three Realms; we must completely abandon these. If we do not abandon the burning house of the Three Realms, we cannot walk on this broad path, and our minds will not be able to experience the state of Bodhi. In this vast Dharma-realm under the sky, we will not be able to experience the truths which pervade the universe. So, we must first abandon the burning house. Only then can we go outside and see the sky.

The sheep-cart and deer cart, though they are small, allow us to be in a safe state in this universe. Practicing the Small Vehicle is the same. It lets us eliminate our afflictions and ignorance. We recognize the truth of suffering and how it comes from “causation,” from the accumulation all of kinds of afflictions. We need methods with which to eliminate them. These methods are a path. We need to rely on the big cart. Only the big cart can carry us onto this great, broad path to reach the vast, open space we seek. On this great, broad path, from the sheep-cart and deer-cart, [the Buddha] continually enticed us to get to the great white ox-cart. This was all so we could eliminate afflictions.

Since we escaped, we know that the Dharma is good and that we need to eliminate afflictions. Once we eliminate afflictions, will they be gone forever? Not necessarily. Look at drug addicts. Once they take these drugs into their body, they suffer; it is no longer under their control. We try to find ways to help them quit drugs. The process of quitting drugs is a great struggle, full of so much suffering. Eventually, they are liberated from the drugs. They are already free, but after they regain their freedom, they might see their past companions who are also drug addicts. When they meet these people again, they may simply wave to them and say, “Come!”

Initially, they may think, “Ah, being addicted to drugs is so painful. This person is also a drug addict. Now that I have quit my addiction, I should be able to help this person quit too.” So, they spend time with this person. Ultimately, will their force be stronger, or will the other’s force be stronger? If we are someone who practices the Small Vehicle, our force is still too weak, and we will easily be dragged down by others. As this continues, we will suffer again, and we will not be able to pull ourselves out. Under layer upon layer, we must start over again. We will again suffer in the same way. This is like how, time and time again, people take drugs, then quit the addiction, succumb to the addiction again and then quit again. In this way, they can never truly end it.

It is the same for spiritual practice. If we practice the Small Vehicle Dharma, we will only have a shallow understanding and will only want to benefit ourselves. This kind of force is very weak. We should not simply go to try to save that person who is addicted to drugs. We need a group of people to go into the world to see and to understand. We need to gradually approach [these addicts], experience them and understand them. We take these sentient beings as the teachings that allow us to train our minds. We must experience and understand many different kinds of suffering. We cannot remain by ourselves, deluded by drugs. We truly need to have sufficient “antibodies” to have resistance; only then will we have the means to be rid of the addicts’ habitual tendencies. The principle is the same. If we lack training and experience, our minds will not have “antibodies” and immunity. Then we will still be infected by these “viruses.”

The principle is the same. So, we want to escape from the Three Realms. Since we have gotten out, we accept the Buddha-Dharma. Though we understand the Small Vehicle teachings of the Four Noble Truths, though we entered the Middle Vehicle to learn the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, how all things arise with causes and conditions, though we understand all of these things, we should go a step further to go among people and become one with them. When we go among people, even if they are like the fire in a furnace, we still have to go into it to hone ourselves. After coming out, we must be hammered into shape to be made into refined instruments. This is the practice we must cultivate.

So, with the world-transcending Great Dharma, our minds must first quiet down. Although the towers and pavilions are tall and the scenery and landscape are beautiful, we must be like the calm water. Our mind can reflect the mountains without disturbing the water’s surface. Our minds are like a mirror. This mirror can reflect all things in the universe, yet this mirror is not affected by anything in the universe. This is what we need to have in spiritual practice. From the Dharma for going into the world, we must seek to experience the world-transcending Great Dharma. Only then can we turn from darkness to light and enter the Right Dharma. When we enter the Right Dharma, we can return to our Right Dharma of True Suchness.

We must be the ones to train our own minds; we must earnestly train our minds. In the landscape of our minds, there are tall buildings, towers and pavilions. These are all found in our spiritual state. But only in the formless do we find the truth. These things with form are all our obstacles.

Come, let us take a look at the previous sutra passage. “At that time, the World-Honored One wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.”

At that time, the World-Honored One wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse: The bhiksu Kaundinya will meet countless Buddhas and, after asankyas of kalpas pass, will attain universal and perfect enlightenment.

In front of the 500 disciples, the Buddha had called out so many names. The first called was Ajnata Kaundinya. In the future, Kaundinya would be able to engage in spiritual practice. He constantly engaged in practice. He had practiced in the past, and he is still practicing now. Having received this prediction, in the future, for a long time to come, he will still encounter many Buddhas. He still needs to train in the places of practice, the places of practice of many Buddhas. He must likewise go among people to give until he attains universal and perfect enlightenment in the future. Because of the process of his spiritual practice, his wisdom will radiate light; he will apply the Dharma among people. ․”He will constantly emit a great radiance.” This Dharma is the most radiant.

“[He will] be replete with all spiritual powers. Renowned universally in all directions, he will be respected by all and will constantly teach the supreme path, thus his epithet will be Universal Radiance. His land will be pure and clear. All the Bodhisattvas there will be courageous.”

He will constantly emit a great radiance and be replete with all spiritual powers. Renowned universally in all directions, he will be respected by all and will constantly teach the supreme path, thus his epithet is Universal Radiance. His land will be pure and clear. All the Bodhisattvas there will be courageous

Because he has, in this manner, accumulated so much Dharma, he can constantly teach it to sentient beings. He manifests this radiance among sentient beings. Because of this, “his epithet will be Universal Radiance.” This Buddha’s epithet is based on his virtue. When Ajnata Kaundinya attains. Buddhahood in the future, his epithet will be Universal Radiance. “His land will be pure and clear. All the Bodhisattvas there will be courageous.” Every Bodhisattva [will be like this]. Because of the Dharma he will teach, all those he will transform will form great aspirations and make great vows. They will all become Bodhisattvas and be diligent and courageous in their practice. This is the world of Universal Radiance Buddha in the future. His disciples will all form great aspirations.

Next, the following sutra passage states,

“They will all ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions. With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas. Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy and in an instant return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers.”

In that land, what is expressed, what is described, is such a wealthy land! In that Buddha-land, all the structures are beautiful. Everyone lives in wondrous towers and travels to the lands of the ten directions. This seems so carefree and at ease! “They will all ascend the wonderful towers.” This means that “All Dharma is magnificent, like all the [37] Practices to Enlightenment.”

They will all ascend the wonderful towers: All Dharma is magnificent, like all the [37] Practices to Enlightenment, and is thus called “wonderful towers.” Bodhisattvas advance in [their practice] and thus are said to “ascend.”

We start to engage in spiritual practice by taking the Dharma to heart. We start from the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. To understand the suffering in the world, we need to make use of all kinds of teachings to eliminate all kinds of sufferings and train our minds.

“Three Fours, two Fives, Seven and Eight,” put together, these are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. From this we can practice step by step. This “is thus called ‘wonderful towers.'” We practice earnestly and diligently. With the Five Roots, Five Powers and so on, to the Seven Factors of Bodhi, Eightfold Noble Path, we practice diligently, step by step, and ascend, step by step. We gain more and more understanding of the Dharma. As we understand more Dharma, when our spiritual state and external states connect with each other, the Dharma that is born out of this “is thus called ‘wonderful towers.'” The direction of Bodhisattvas’ diligent practice is to ascend step by step in this way. to gain more and more understanding of the Dharma.

“[They] travel the lands of the ten directions,” and their minds grow more open and spacious.

[They] travel the lands of the ten directions: The ten directions analogize the Ten Realms. They travel throughout the Dharma-realms to cultivate all merits and virtues.

The ten directions represent the Ten Realms. Are we clear about all the Ten Dharma-realms? Do we all know the Ten Realms? The Six Unenlightened and Four Noble Realms are something we all must remember clearly to understand the principles of unenlightened beings. We know the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost, animal and asura realms. These are the Six Unenlightened Realms. Then there are the Four Noble Realms, the states of Hearers, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. We can start to clearly understand that in that land, the spiritual practitioners ascend from the Small Vehicle to the Great Vehicle. “They travel throughout the Dharma-realms to cultivate all merits and virtues.” They can go among people and practice the Great Vehicle path. This is “cultivating all merits and virtues.”

“They will all ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions.”

For those who ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions, in circumstantial retribution, direct retribution will manifest while in direct retribution, circumstantial retribution will manifest. Whether with one or many there is no hindrance; great and small accommodate each other. Throughout the Dharma-realms, all are able to achieve mutual harmony.

They are so carefree in this manner, traveling throughout the Dharma-realms. However they want to travel, they can go, without any obstacle. This indicates circumstantial retribution. In circumstantial retribution, direct retribution will manifest, while in direct retribution, circumstantial retribution will manifest. “Whether with one or many there is no hindrance.” This is not like us unenlightened beings. We do not know how we came, nor do we know our future. We really do not know where we will go. This is how we ordinary beings are. Where will our circumstantial retribution be?

In the future, where will our circumstantial retribution be? In this present lifetime, our circumstantial retribution is to be here in Taiwan together. We are born here, within this ethnic group, in this same place. This country, this environment, this lifestyle and so on are our circumstantial retributions. However, we also have our direct retributions. Some of us are wealthy, some of us are poor. Some of us are healthy, yet some of us have disabilities. This is our direct retribution. Some people enjoyed wealth and pleasures in the past, but with effects and retributions, with causes and conditions, for whatever reason, certain things happened that caused the wealthy to become poor and lose everything. From poverty and suffering, what were the causes and conditions that allowed this person’s life to change completely? Some people turn their lives around and become very wealthy. This is direct retribution. This is because, in their previous lives, they created blessed affinities or created these karmic forces. We share the same circumstantial retribution, but we all have different direct retributions. So, we must very mindfully seek to comprehend the karmic law of cause and effect. We need to be very mindful.

So, “In circumstantial retribution, direct retribution will manifest.” In Universal Radiance Tathagata’s land, they will know that their being born there is the result of practice in previous lives and going among people to create blessings. They themselves will know this. This is not like unenlightened beings. So, “In direct retribution, circumstantial retribution will manifest. I engaged in spiritual practice in the past, so I was born in this place. In this place, I am here because of how I was born in the past and the karma I created in the past.” Thus it says, “In circumstantial retribution, direct retribution will manifest while in direct retribution, circumstantial retribution will manifest.” Being born here is our shared affinity. We share the same mission and path and engage in the same practice and share the same circumstances of this place where we all live together. This is the result of us cherishing each other and engaging in spiritual practice with each other.

“Whether with one or many there is no hindrance.” This is how it is, whether with one or many; there is no hindrance. Universally we are all the same. We cannot say whether it is one or many. We do not feel that one is too little, and we do not feel that when there are many things that this causes obstacles. We do not feel this way. Everything is equal.

“Great and small accommodate each other.” This is how they relate to each other; they accommodate each other. By being grateful, understanding, content and accommodating, with such a mindset, our mind is open and spacious. So, the great and small come together as one. The great and small accommodate each other. “Throughout the Dharma-realms” means that between all of us, we can go anywhere freely. No matter where, it is the same. We continue to spread the Dharma. In big and small countries, big and small places, we are always using the Dharma to give. “All are able to achieve mutual harmony.”

“With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas.”

With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas: Items means tools. Just as Bodhisattvas let go of their own bodies, they do not begrudge their lives but uphold the teachings according to the Dharma. Making offerings by acting in accord with Dharma is called unsurpassed offerings.

Unsurpassed devotional items refer to tools. They use all kinds of material goods, “just as Bodhisattvas let go of their bodies.” Indeed, in Bodhisattvas’ spiritual practice, they need to make use of worldly Dharma. Only through worldly Dharma will they be able to experience the truth. So, we need to practice in the world. When the Buddha engaged in spiritual practice, He also underwent many difficulties. In one of His lifetimes, He thought to Himself, “After engaging in spiritual practice, I have already become a sage.” Back then, there was no Buddha in the world. There was this one person willing to practice, but during his spiritual practice, he felt that. “I am just engaging in spiritual practice. This is not sufficient. I should understand more Dharma. After learning the Dharma, I want to go among people and teach them the Dharma so that more people will understand this Dharma and thus give to help even more people. But I know too little about the Dharma.”

So, he started to make a vow. “If someone can teach me the Dharma, I will be willing to offer everything I have.” King Mara of Mahesvara Heaven came, since when we engage in spiritual practice, there will always be external challenges; King Mara will come to disturb us. So, King Mara appeared and said, “I have sufficient Dharma to give you. But for the Dharma that I teach, you will need to use your skin as paper, your bones as pen, and your blood as ink in order to write it sentence by sentence, word by word.”

When he heard this, this sage was not afraid; instead he rejoiced. “Since there is Dharma, I am willing, I am willing to peel off my skin.” He peeled off his skin and and broke his own bone to take it out. He saved the blood from his body, drop by drop. Then he said, “I am ready.” As this happened, King Mara saw how wholeheartedly he sought the Dharma. How could King Mara teach him the Dharma? King Mara was frightened and disappeared.

But this practitioner, covered in blood, still did not complain. He had the same thought. “Since the person who was to teach me Dharma has disappeared, I must be even more reverent in praying to all the Heavens.” He reverently prayed, “I absolutely do not care for my life. I am definitely willing to give my life in exchange for even a few sentences of the true principles and the Great Dharma.” With a reverent heart, he earnestly prayed to all in the ten directions with great loving-kindness and compassion. “Is there anyone who can teach me the Dharma?” Although his body was covered with blood, he did not abandon his resolve to seek the Dharma.

Because of this, 32 ksetras away, that is, 32 [Buddha-]lands away, in a world very far away, there was a place, a Buddha-land called Universally Pure. This Buddha was named Pure Name King Buddha. He manifested because He was so moved by such sincerity. From so far away, a land 32 ksetras away, from so far, He manifested in front of this practitioner. He said, “Practitioner, the Dharma is cultivated with your own mind! You were so reverent, using your skin as paper, your bones as the pen and your blood as ink. You have truly moved heaven and earth. Now I will teach you the Dharma. In the future, I hope you will take the Dharma to heart. Then with all this Dharma in your heart, over dust-inked kalpas, all sentient beings will be able to, from your wisdom-life, go to those worlds with the most suffering and give for the sake of suffering sentient beings.”

This practitioner heard Him and rejoiced; he took the Dharma to heart and attained unobstructed eloquence. All the skin and flesh of his body healed. This was a story in the Buddhist sutras. So, this is giving up the body to seek Dharma. The principle is the same. As long as we are able to seek the Dharma, we can make offerings of external material goods. Nowadays, there are so many beings in suffering. They need us to give of ourselves. We give tangible material aid while intangibly, our mind continues to seek Dharma. We seek the Dharma and save sentient beings. This requires tangible tools.

So, devotional “items” refer to all things, just as Bodhisattvas let go of their bodies. They [make offerings] even with their own bodies. “They do not begrudge their lives but uphold the teachings according to the Dharma.” Whatever the Buddha taught, they would put it into practice. They faithfully accepted and practiced it and made offerings to the Buddha in this way. This is called unsurpassed offerings. “With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas.” With such a mindset, they faithfully accepted and practiced the Buddha’s teachings. This is making unsurpassed offerings. To faithfully accept and practice the Buddha’s teachings we must go among people and give with tangible things.

“Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy.”

Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy: Through practicing the Dharma like this, they have cultivated wondrous offerings. Thus they feel joy in their hearts and give rise to great happiness.

“Through practicing the Dharma like this” means it is through practicing in this way, with such Dharma, that they have cultivated wondrous offerings. Practicing in this manner is making wondrous offerings. “They give rise to great happiness.” Everyone was so happy.

“In an instant they return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers.”

In an instant they return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers: Having made offerings throughout the ten directions, in an instant they return to their own land. This is so fast because wherever their minds turn, their spirits go. So, a single thought can reach everywhere, even to the smallest grain of dust. What the mind and the Dharma reaches is inseparable from the moment. Like what is said in the repentance practice, “Following our thoughts of incense and flowers, we reach the realms of the ten directions.” Our bodies follow our minds to also reach all these places. In no more than an instant, we return to our intrinsic training ground. This principle is evident.

In making offerings to the Buddha, we make offerings universally, everywhere, not just in one place. All sentient beings are Buddhas in the future. When sentient beings suffer, no matter where they are, we can go to them. We go and come back freely and unhindered. It will be so fast! “Wherever their minds turn, their spirits go.” When the mind has this thought, when we form the aspiration, our spirits will move forward with diligence. “So, a single thought can reach everywhere, even to the smallest grain of dust.” A single thought is just like this. Any grain of dust, anywhere with some land, is a place we can reach. “What the mind and the Dharma reaches is inseparable from the moment.” We can go to any country, at any moment. Whether a long time or just a short period, it is the same for our minds.

Just like we say in the repentance practice, “Following our thoughts of incense and flowers, we reach the realms of the ten directions. Our bodies follow our minds to also reach all these places.” Whatever it is our minds think, we can reach that place, no matter where. It will not take too long. It just takes one thought to arise in our minds, just a very short time. There is nothing we cannot achieve. So, “We return to our intrinsic training ground.” In the same way, we go out to serve and come back. We give unconditionally. This is how we regularly give of ourselves. We work here, then we go out there; after we help there, we return here. The principle is the same.

In learning the Buddha-Dharma, we must have such a mindset. Like the towers, pavilions and landscapes, like the reflections in water, all is clearly reflected without defilement. In order to make offerings to the Buddha, we engage in practice according to the Dharma. Only then are we truly making offerings. So, we must always be mindful.