Author: Scott Ogata

Become a person more actively involved in aiding their community.

Ch02-ep0367

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 367 – The Endless Cycle of Existence in the Six Realms

>> As long as heaven and earth exist, karmic forces will be present. The Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms are an endless cycle of existence. With a pure mind, we must earnestly practice the Six Perfections. By listening to and practicing Right Dharma, we will benefit all sentient beings.

>> They take a tiny form in the womb: From just one thought deviating, karma leads us to take a tiny form in the womb. Like a person who takes drugs we become physically addicted, and cannot mentally free ourselves from it. Thus we take on a tiny form in one of the Four Forms of Birth.

>> Life after life, [their karma] continues to grow: the causes and conditions of rebirth grow and extend continuously. “Growing” is horizontal expansion. “Extending” is vertical extension. This leads to retributions of cyclic existence and being born as one of the Four Kinds of Beings.

>> “Little virtue and few blessings and are pressured by all kinds of suffering.”

>> People with little virtue and few blessings are those who do not often benefit others.

>> For beings in the [hungry] ghost realm, their bodies are like burning mountains while their minds are like boiling woks. For beings in the human realm, their actions do not benefit others, and their minds are often troubled. In the heaven realm, they indulge in pleasure and idleness and cannot encounter Right Dharma. Their lives are long.

>> The sentient beings in the Five Realms are lost and have not awakened. They are pressured by all kinds of suffering. They cannot control their lives and face unbearable suffering.

As long as heaven and earth exist,
karmic forces will be present.
The Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms
are an endless cycle of existence.
With a pure mind,
we must earnestly practice the Six Perfections.
By listening to and practicing Right Dharma,
we will benefit all sentient beings.

To learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must be focused and sincere. As long as heaven and earth exist, karmic forces will be present. The Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms are an endless cycle of existence. We must wholeheartedly and with a pure mind, earnestly practice the Six Perfections. By listening to and practicing Right Dharma, we will benefit all sentient beings.

In addition to that, we often discuss countless kalpas to remind ourselves that time is endless. Exactly how long ago did time begin? We do not know. When exactly did we start to create karma? We started before Beginningless Time, countless kalpas ago, which is an incalculable amount of time. I believe that our minds gave rise to that first thought quite some time ago. All in all, as long as the earth and heaven exist, karmic forces will also be present. The question is simply whether we are creating bad karma or blessed karma.

With the influence of this karma, where will we be heading? [Among] the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms. We have no control over where we go. Because we are still ordinary people, we continue to cycle endlessly through the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms. When can we stop this endless cycle so that we can make the choice to come and go freely? This is like all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, [who come] because sentient beings have delusions and ignorance. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to this world or choose to go through the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms solely because they want to help sentient beings. This is how they come and go freely.

So now, we must seize this present thought in each moment and every second. When a good thought arises, we must immediately hold on to it. This is how we seize the present moment. If we can keep holding on to this good thought, we can forever sustain the aspirations and vows we formed. If, when we suddenly give rise to this thought, we hold on to it and persevere; then our minds will be pure. Once we form this aspiration and hold on to it, cravings, desires and affections and so on, will not confuse our minds. Then we can earnestly practice the Six Perfections.

Doing so is the way of Bodhisattvas. We must really seize the opportunity to listen to and learn Right Dharma. After we listen to it, we must work hard to uphold it. We must seize every good thought that arises in every second.

At Tzu Chi, we are recruiting Living Bodhisattvas. Every [Tzu Chi] location in every country is currently a Bodhisattva training ground. With certification at the end of the year, many different countries will send the newly-inspired Bodhisattva[-volunteers] to Taiwan to be certified [as Commissioners]. We can see that in every country, the pre-certification trainings are very intense.

Right now (in 2012), South Africa is doing this. In Lesotho, their training is just as strict as Taiwan’s. Even though they are far away from us, in order to keep Right Dharma in this world and to spread Tzu Chi’s ideals, they must [learn] the Bodhisattva-path properly. So, the stages of their training match the ones in Taiwan. Every step leaves a clear impression.

When I see them, I feel very moved. They do not have the kind of buildings we have. Though they were using canvas tents, their place of practice looked very dignified. They also began by singing the Tzu Chi Foundation Anthem. When [they] sang the anthem [in Chinese], we could hear from the video that they were very much in unison. When we saw them on video, they looked orderly. They even read Tzu Chi’s Ten Precepts, reading them in English.

The certified African Commissioners looked very refined in their cheongsam. They also gave a demonstration of wearing the uniform, how to walk and where to put one’s hands. They showed this very clearly. They also showed how to sit in a chair with both of their feet flat on the ground, not leaning sideways or rocking back. This training was very strict. We can imagine what it will look like for people of a different skin color and body shape to wear a cheongsam and properly follow all of Tzu Chi’s etiquette. We can already picture how wonderful this large group of Bodhisattvas will look.

There are not only rules for sitting or for lying down and resting; they meticulously taught the Four Demeanors, how to walk, stand, sit and sleep. They used both live demonstrations and videos. This was really eye-opening, very touching and incredible.

There was an elderly woman shown whose family has received help from Tzu Chi. In 2007, her family suffered hardship and Tzu Chi helped them. She experienced the sincerity and thoughtfulness of the Tzu Chi volunteers. Their love really touched her heart. She began to work hard and vowed to be someone who could help others. So, she became an apprentice and started training to be a Commissioner.

She brought her two grandchildren with her. To help her focus on the trainings, Tzu Chi volunteers babysat for her. The volunteers from Taiwan held these young children. [This image of] Taiwanese grandmothers holding them [like their own] grandchildren showed that everyone in the world is one family. They did this to fulfill this Bodhisattva’s wish. This was the act of awakened sentient beings. They helped others to succeed in their practice and walk the Bodhisattva-path.

Although this woman was poor and received assistance from us, she aspired to help others as well. She used her body, her physical strength, to help many AIDS patients by cleaning their homes and keeping them company. She even raised ten or fifty cents at a time from her friends and family. Every little bit really adds up to something big. As long as people have the will, there is nothing they cannot achieve. This was in Lesotho.

Today is the last day of this training in South Africa. Volunteers from eight locations gathered there. This year (2012), 74 people completed the training.

When we see the diligence of these Bodhisattvas, we should remind ourselves that there is nothing in the world we cannot do. Even people living in poverty and hardship can find a way. “With a pure mind, earnestly practice the Six Perfections. By listening to and practicing Right Dharma, benefit all sentient beings.” The Tzu Chi volunteers in South Africa are doing exactly this. This place is so poor, has so many hardships and is so far away from us, but people there believe in the Buddha-Dharma and firmly practice. Tzu Chi’s Bodhisattva-path in the world. Their willingness to accept and practice the Buddha-Dharma is very [precious].

We must know, as long as heaven and earth exist, karmic forces will also be present. Cyclic existence in the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms is endless. The most important thing is our minds. We must persevere and take good care of them. We must also practice the Six Paramitas and benefit all sentient beings. This is very important.

Previously we mentioned how sentient beings create various causes and conditions so they fall into the Three Evil Realms and cycle through the Six Destinies, suffering greatly. What kind of suffering is that? Aside from their experiences in this world, they “take a tiny form in the womb; life after life, [their karma] continues to grow.”

“They take a tiny form in the womb.” The Four Forms of Birth are womb-, egg-, moisture- and transformation-born. Why did we take form in the womb? Because we all have desires. Once we have desires, we endlessly experience cyclic existence.

They take a tiny form in the womb: From just one thought deviating, karma leads us to take a tiny form in the womb. Like a person who takes drugs we become physically addicted, and cannot mentally free ourselves from it. Thus we take on a tiny form in one of the Four Forms of Birth.

In the Six Destinies, heavenly beings are very tall and big. To describe the size of heavenly beings, we must measure them in yojanas. So, we can imagine how big they are. Compared to them, we are like ants. When we compare ants to humans, aren’t they very tiny? Compared to heavenly beings, we are like ants. We are really very insignificant; we start as a tiny form in the womb.

Besides humans, other living beings [also begin like this]. When dogs look at people, they lift their heads. When people look at dogs, they lower their heads. There are many creatures even smaller than dogs that have also taken form in the womb. Why do [womb-born] sentient beings end up with such different appearances? “From just one thought deviating, karma leads us to take a tiny form in the womb.” When a thought goes astray,

if we have upheld the Five Precepts, we may still be reborn in human form. If we did not uphold the Five Precepts, combined with the other karma we have created, we may be reborn in the form of an ox, horse, dog, pig, goat, chicken or duck. These are just animals we can name; there are many more that we cannot. Indeed, depending on the karma we create, it “leads us to take a tiny form in the womb.”

“Like a person who takes drugs, we become physically addicted.” This is how we humans are. Once a thought goes astray, we cannot save ourselves. We are like drug addicts who have no control. They know they are addicted and should quit, but they cannot because quitting is so painful. Even if they work hard and finally succeed in quitting, their will may still be weak. If someone beckons them with the crook of a finger, they cannot help but go over and start using again. This is truly “becoming physically addicted;” we cannot help but face unbearable suffering. We cannot free our minds. Though we clearly know doing this is wrong, though it is painful, we cannot free ourselves.

Our minds are just like this. This is not just talking about the mind of a drug addict, no. This describes all of our minds. Besides tangible [physical] suffering, there is the intangible suffering of our minds. We cannot escape the desires in our minds, so we continue to be reborn in the Four Forms of Birth. Thus we face unbearable suffering and in “life after life, [our karma] continues to grow.” Over each lifetime, [our karma] continues to accumulate.

This is why we often talk about ignorance. It is the reason that, lifetime after lifetime, we continue to multiply our karma. So, with lifetimes of causes and conditions, it “continues,” [meaning that] it continuously grows.

Life after life, [their karma] continues to grow: the causes and conditions of rebirth grow and extend continuously. “Growing” is horizontal expansion. “Extending” is vertical extension. This leads to retributions of cyclic existence and being born as one of the Four Kinds of Beings.

Of the two words, “grow and extend,” growing means “horizontal expansion.” Increasing land area is an example of horizontal expansion. Extending means “a vertical extension.” When we construct buildings, we add one floor after another. This is “extending.” An increase in height makes a thing taller; this is “extending.” When something “grows,” it is widening. Becoming taller is extending. Growing taller is to “extend.” Whether we are growing or extending, in life after life, through this constant process of expansion and growth, we continue to create karma. So, life after life, causes and conditions continue to grow and extend continuously and our karma increases.

If our blessed karma grows, that is wonderful. Life after life, increasing our blessed karma will help us develop our wisdom-life. If our bad karma grows in each lifetime, our suffering will be unbearable. Unfortunately, we sentient beings have.

“Little virtue and few blessings and are pressured by all kinds of suffering.”

People have little virtue and few blessings. Most people rarely benefit others and mostly commit bad deeds and create negative karma. Who has little virtue and few blessings?

People with little virtue and few blessings are those who do not often benefit others.

These people are stingy and greedy and are reluctant to give. Clearly they have the ability to help others, but they are not willing to do so and do not do any good deeds. These are people with little virtue and few blessings.

We are pressured by all kinds of suffering. Having all kinds of suffering is very painful. In hell, there is the suffering of hell. In the animal realm, there is animal suffering. Hungry ghosts suffer in the hungry ghost realm. Humans suffer in the human realm. There is even suffering in the heaven realm.

Everyone, what kind of suffering is in hell? Being pressured by all kinds of suffering. Suffering in hell is indescribable; their body endures endless suffering. Because there was boundless evil in their minds, they face suffering in hell.

In the animal realm, they physically consume other beings. We see big fish eat small fish. Beings of the same species and appearance will also consume one another.

In the hungry ghost realm, their bodies ache. For the hungry ghost realm, we know the story about Maudgalyayana trying to give his mother a bowl of rice. Flame erupted from her mouth and burned the bowl of rice to ashes. It was as if her whole body was engulfed in fire and a fire was raging in her mind. This is what it is like in the ghost realm.

In the human realm, our actions may not benefit others. If our body commits actions that do not benefit sentient beings and our minds are often tempted by cravings and desires, we will always be troubled.

For beings in the [hungry] ghost realm, their bodies are like burning mountains while their minds are like boiling woks. For beings in the human realm, their actions do not benefit others, and their minds are often troubled. In the heaven realm, they indulge in pleasure and idleness and cannot encounter Right Dharma. Their lives are long.

And in the heaven realm, “they indulge in pleasure and idleness and they cannot encounter Right Dharma.” Heavenly beings cannot hear the Buddha-Dharma; they must come to the human realm to hear it. So, they have not heard Dharma for a long time. Since their heavenly lifespan is very long and they have not heard the Dharma for a long time,

they indulge in pleasure and idleness and live a mixed-up life. All they want is to enjoy pleasures, and once they deplete [their blessings] they will still fall into the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms.

They have no control over this. In the Five Realms, the Five Destinies, or the Six Destinies if we add the asura destiny, they will take form in the womb. This is truly unbearable suffering.

The sentient beings in the Five Realms are lost and have not awakened. They are pressured by all kinds of suffering. They cannot control their lives and face unbearable suffering.

So everyone, human beings learn the Buddha’s teachings best because we can listen to the Dharma. If we do not listen to Right Dharma, we humans have many chances to create bad karma. Therefore, we must be vigilant and always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0366

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 366 – The Cause will Lead Us to the Effect

>> Lifetimes of accumulated greed and desire turns into turbidity. Attachment to physical pleasures [gives rise to] afflictions, anger and ignorance. Thus the collective karma in this world becomes the turbidity of sentient beings.

>> “I know that these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness. They are firmly attached to the five desires, and out of delusion and cravings, give rise to afflictions.”

>> “Desires are the causes and conditions for falling into the Three Evil Destinies, for cycling in the Six Destinies and facing poisonous suffering.”

>> Desires are the causes and conditions: Form, sound, smell and the rest of the five desires give rise to delusion and karma. Just one thought that takes us toward the deviant path creates the negative cause that leads to temptations that are hard to escape from.

>> Falling into the Three Evil Destinies: [The three are] hell, hungry ghost and animal. The hell destiny is the most evil. The hungry ghost destiny is in the middle. The animal destiny is the least evil.

>> Cycling through the Six Destinies: These are the hell destiny, hungry ghost destiny, animal destiny, asura destiny, human destiny and heaven destiny. A destiny is the direction we are headed towards. Sentient beings face retributions based on where their causes lead them. Thus, these are called the Six Destinies.

Lifetimes of accumulated
greed and desire turns into turbidity.
Attachment to physical pleasures [gives rise to]
afflictions, anger and ignorance.
Thus the collective karma in this world
becomes the turbidity of sentient beings.

Human nature is inherently good, However, the greed and desires we accumulated life after life have “become turbid.” This is because we are very attached to physical comfort. Thus we create and accumulate many afflictions as a result of greed, anger and ignorance. This is the collective karma we create that leads to this evil world of Five Turbidities.

Therefore, every day we hear about people who do immoral things or commit inhumane acts. They bring trouble to their family so their family cannot be at peace. Beyond their family, they also disturb society. Because people do immoral and unethical things, society becomes chaotic. This happens all over the world, not only in a single country. Right now, we can see that around the world there are many chaotic situations that arise from troubled minds.

Every one of us is intrinsically good. “Human nature is inherently good.” Our intrinsic nature is good, but we developed habitual tendencies, which we accumulate lifetime after lifetime. What is being accumulated? Greed. Once we open our mind to greed and desires, it becomes turbid. Then our minds cannot be purified. If our minds become turbid, that turbidity will manifest in our behavior. When people cannot stand the speech and actions of people with a turbid mindset, they may become tainted by that turbidity and engage in a tooth-for-a-tooth cycle of vengeance. This is how [turbidity] continues to spread and leads to impurities in humankind.

So, these impurities are present in environments of all sizes. A small-sized environment is a family, a middle-sized environment is a society and a large-sized environment is a nation. This all begins with habitual greed. Greed leads to afflictions of endless anger and ignorance. In summary, people’s collective karma leads to a life of turbidity. However, as long as we have the aspiration, the Buddha will appear in the world and teach Bodhisattvas to transform the world. We have seen examples of this.

In a Pingtung prison, something very novel and touching occurred, [centered around] 30 inmates from the prison. These inmates had learned sign language and repented the karmic obstructions [they created]. On this day, they put on a musical Dharma performance.

There were over 400 people in the audience and every single person was touched. These inmates “entered the sutra treasury” which was a very moving and novel event to them. This was not simply a theatrical performance. The inmates first joined Jing Si study groups, then ate one vegetarian meal each day. On the day of the study group, they ate vegetarian meals all day. On the day of the musical performance, all the prisoners ate vegetarian meals. This is incredible to see in a prison.

Using sign language to “enter the sutra treasury” was really magnificent. Everyone was synchronized and there was strength behind their signing. They repented and made vows with utmost sincerity, so their singing was loud and powerful. Their formation changes were also very well-done. This truly made a huge impact on people.

After their performance, some people went on stage to share that, since they had begun to practice sign language, their lives had changed. The change in their hearts led them to make vows. Truly, with utmost sincerity they vowed to turn over a new leaf and to help others after they were released from prison. Listening to their sharing on stage was indeed very touching.

One of the performers said that, since 2010, the year Tzu Chi volunteers entered the prison and began to share with them, to visit and counsel them, he began to eat one vegetarian meal a day. After eating one vegetarian meal a day, he quit smoking. He completely quit smoking and drinking.

He said this began in November 2011. As two of the Pingtung Commissioners, Luu Jing and Tzu Mu, interacted with these inmates, they realized their inherent goodness. So, they wanted to help them to cleanse their minds with Dharma-water. They asked the inmates, “Can we come here once a week to lead a study group for you?” Upon hearing this, they said, “Yes.” And so, inmates voluntarily signed up for the Jing Si study group.

Then in July 2012, I suggested to [the Commissioners], “Don’t we use the [Water Repentance] to cleanse defilements from our minds? You can share with them this way of ‘entering the sutra treasury.'”

When they began teaching sign language, at first they felt, “This is impossible. They cannot even stand and sit properly. How can we teach people with such poor posture?” They were very worried. However, they put their hearts into [teaching] and interacted with them frequently through the Jing Si study group. Slowly, they “molded” them with patience, love and confidence. The result was evident. The performance given by the 30 people on stage was very powerful and also had an air of spiritual refinement. The more than 400 people in the audience, without consciously realizing it, sat up straight and showed great respect. The prisoners ate vegetarian meals all day that day and expressed their deep repentance and made vows with utmost sincerity. Everyone in the audience was deeply touched.

So, we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, but due to a momentary lapse in judgment, our minds can go astray. We may fall into a trap we cannot escape from. This is the way our minds work. This comes from “lifetimes of accumulated [greed and desires].” These lifetimes of accumulation began with one single thought of greed.

Look at [these inmates], some of them have already been in prison for a very long time. Having lost their freedom, they place the blame on people in society and feel resentment toward their families for not providing them with a good path in life. There is much resentment in their minds. Their bodies are in a physical prison that restricts their freedom. Their minds are in a mental prison they constructed for themselves. They are serving a sentence there. They may be thinking, “Once I get out of prison, I am going to do such and such.” They may cause more harm to others.

But if we give them a chance, by sharing the [Water Repentance] teachings, they can adjust their attitudes and change for the better. Once this happens and they are separated from the influence of unwholesome friends, after they leave prison, they have a great opportunity to lead new lives.

Look at these inmates in the Pingtung prison. Tzu Chi volunteers went in to counsel them with these teachings. These people are Bodhisattvas. You see, the Buddha comes to the world to train these kinds of Bodhisattvas so they can tame stubborn sentient beings. This is the Buddha’s one great cause; He comes to this world to give these teachings. If we can all accept the teachings, we can then teach them to others.

So, as the Buddha said in the previous passage of the sutra,

“I know that these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness. They are firmly attached to the five desires, and out of delusion and cravings, give rise to afflictions.”

These people have never cultivated the foundation for goodness, so we need to give them this opportunity. If no one cultivates the field of their minds, if there is no farmer to cultivate it, then the seeds cannot be sown. So, we need Bodhisattvas to be farmers for the fields of people’s minds. This is why the Buddha teaches all of us to be Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are the farmers for the fields of people’s minds.

Next, we will discuss,

“Desires are the causes and conditions for falling into the Three Evil Destinies, for cycling in the Six Destinies and facing poisonous suffering.”

Isn’t this what happened to the inmates in prison? They all have these various causes and conditions. “Firmly attached to the five desires, [their] delusion and cravings [give] rise to afflictions.” These are their causes and conditions. In this world, there are prisons. But when people leave this world, they may end up “falling into the Three Evil Destinies.” All this results from karmic conditions.

If our minds are trapped by causes and conditions created by our desires, naturally our minds will remain closed and the evil inside will continue to multiply. That would be like living in a filthy place without cleaning it. If we do not clean it out and keep adding more filth to it, naturally these destructive things will accumulate.

We must understand that we must not have even the slightest evil thought. When our minds give rise to thoughts, they cannot be even the least bit evil. If our minds give rise to an evil thought, we must immediately repent and make vows with utmost sincerity. We must do this right away. Otherwise, we will easily fall “into the Three Evil Destinies,” the hell, hungry ghost and animal destinies. That would be suffering added to suffering.

Let us examine how “desires are the causes and conditions.” What causes and conditions converge? Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are the five desires we connect to. By connecting to these five desires, we may fall into the many traps around us. When our eyes connect with external phenomena, we take them into our minds. Then our mind-root gives rise to thoughts like, “I want what I saw,” or. “I want to experience that state.” This is how we continuously give rise to [karma]. Our eye-roots do this, and so do our ear-roots.

If many people compliment our bravery and loyalty, we begin to change for the worse. We become people who are strong and powerful but are harmful to others. We become the black sheep in the flock, the ruffians and hoodlums of society, and do all sorts of things in order to hear praise from other people. This is from [attachment to] sounds and forms. Once we experience sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, they are hard to let go of.

Desires are the causes and conditions: Form, sound, smell and the rest of the five desires give rise to delusion and karma. Just one thought that takes us toward the deviant path creates the negative cause that leads to temptations that are hard to escape from.

Even if people want to change their causes and conditions, when their “brothers” call, they will go off with them. So, [change] is very difficult. Even if people know that they have made mistakes and want to change, they may not have a chance, because there are too many external influences. This is “just one thought that takes us toward the deviant path.” Improper, incorrect thoughts are called “deviant.” Once an improper thought enters our minds, it “creates a negative cause.” If we plant a negative cause, “that leads to temptations.” Then finding a way to escape will be hard. If we are being led by our temptations, we are “falling into the Three Evil Destinies.”

Falling into the Three Evil Destinies: [The three are] hell, hungry ghost and animal. The hell destiny is the most evil. The hungry ghost destiny is in the middle. The animal destiny is the least evil.

The Three Evil Destinies are the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. As we all know, “hell is the most evil.” Those who commit all kinds of evils will definitely fall into hell. This is the place of greatest suffering. This is hell. What about the those in the middle? They are not as evil. They just tend to be greedy, stingy and jealous. These people are considered moderately evil and will fall into the hungry ghost destiny.

They refuse to give to others, or they take away people’s food or water. When the harvest is poor, they raise the price for food. “I have the goods, but I refuse to give them to you. I have water, but I will not let you drink it.” They fall into the hungry ghost destiny. The animal destiny is the least evil. This is for people who have no morals. People who lack manners and ethics will easily do immoral things. Because of this, they will fall into the animal destiny. This is why we see so many animals in the world.

There are many hungry ghosts in this world; in Africa, in many impoverished countries there are many who [starve like this]. We can see all these [destinies]. Does hell exist? Yes it does. We see hell in this world. After disasters, there is so much devastation. People suffer from physical injuries, from being parted from their loved ones and many other difficulties. In the hospital, many people undergo surgery, or have a broken leg, a broken foot and so on. So, [hell] exists. We can see [suffering] in this world,

let alone [the suffering of] hell. Besides the pain of a physical hell, a mental hell causes unbearable suffering. Take the Pingtung prison for example. Loss of freedom also leads to suffering. This is like cycling in the Six Destinies.

Cycling through the Six Destinies: These are the hell destiny, hungry ghost destiny, animal destiny, asura destiny, human destiny and heaven destiny. A destiny is the direction we are headed towards. Sentient beings face retributions based on where their causes lead them. Thus, these are called the Six Destinies.

The Six Realms are the Six Destinies, the hell destiny, hungry ghost destiny, animal destiny, asura destiny, human destiny and heaven destiny. “Destiny” is the direction we are headed toward. Where we will go depends on [the karma] we have created. Based on what we have done, we are led naturally in “the direction we are headed.” That is “the direction we are headed towards.”

The retributions that sentient beings face are “based on where their causes lead them.” Because we created these causes and conditions, in the future, we will head toward that retribution. These are the Six Destinies.

“[We] face poisonous suffering.” Why? Because sentient beings are ignorant, “they do all kinds of unwholesome deeds.” Thus, they follow “the karmic fruit of this cause.” Because they follow this cause and create karma, they suffer from karmic retribution. Then naturally, they “face poisonous suffering.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must truly form Bodhisattva-aspirations. This is not impossible. The state of Bodhisattvas is not far away from us. As the Buddha gave us teachings, if we accept them, we can achieve this state right now. Look at the Pingtung prison as an example. A few Bodhisattvas were very brave and entered the prison. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva vowed to go to hell, our Living Bodhisattvas aspired to go into the prison. See, they transformed over 400 inmates at once.

In particular, more than 30 inmates began to eat vegetarian meals and uphold precepts. They wholeheartedly “entered the sutra treasury.” I believe these 30-plus people will also transform their fellow inmates. Therefore, we who live so freely in this world should all form aspirations and take good care of our minds. We must be earnest and diligent, not indolent. This is all about our minds. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0365

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 3 – Accept Teachings to Eliminate Delusions

>> The Buddha teaches Right Dharma for sentient beings to diligently learn and practice. Cultivating blessings and wisdom together, we can purify and protect our minds.

>> If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood, those lacking wisdom would be confused. “Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.”

>> “I know these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness. They are firmly attached to the five desires, and, out of their delusions and cravings, give rise to afflictions.”

>> I know that these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness: The Buddha had compassion for how sentient beings were attached to their delusions and thus, they are not receptive to teachings, did not give up bad habits, often walked deviant paths, did not cultivate virtuous Dharma and did not have faith in Right Dharma.

>> [They] had never planted good causes nor cultivated the foundation for goodness. The foundation is the cause. Goodness is the foundation of Bodhi. Cultivating goodness is the root of Bodhi; therefore, it is the foundation.

>> They are firmly attached to the five desires: The Buddha understands very well that all sentient beings are attached to negative habitual tendencies. The reason they are not receptive to teachings is because, out of ignorance, greed and delusion, they are firmly attached to the five desires.

>> Out of delusions and cravings, [they] give rise to afflictions: A mind filled with confusion is deluded. When it comes to the workings of all things and the principles behind them, people cannot clearly understand them. In their delusion, they give rise to improper thoughts and deluded cravings, their attachments give rise to afflictions.

>> Born into the stresses of much suffering in the turbidity of kalpa, we are inclined toward deviant views of heretics. Like being trapped in a dense forest, we cannot easily find our way out.

The Buddha teaches Right Dharma
for sentient beings to diligently learn and practice.
Cultivating blessings and wisdom together,
we can purify and protect our minds.

The Buddha’s teachings that we learn are based on the Right Dharma, which help us sentient beings develop proper views and understanding. We must know people, matters and objects well to distinguish right from wrong. Right Knowledge, Right Views and Right Thinking are what the Buddha taught us. [Since] “the Buddha teaches Right Dharma,” what must we sentient beings do? We must “diligently learn and practice.” Since the Buddha gave us these teachings, we need to diligently practice them. We must very earnestly and diligently advance and accept and uphold [the teachings]. The Buddha-Dharma is infinite; we vow to learn it this is our duty as Buddhist practitioners.

So, we all long for blessings and wisdom. Who doesn’t want to attain blessings? To attain blessings, we must cultivate wisdom.

By only cultivating blessings, we may be born into a wealthy family in our next life. But wealthy people in this world still experience suffering in their hearts and in their families, a lot suffering that they do not want others to know about. This is because in past lives, they cultivated blessings, but lacked wisdom and thus created bad karmic conditions. So on the surface, they may seem wealthy, but inside, their hearts are empty; they did not cultivate wisdom in past lives.

So, we must be careful in our spiritual practice. As we cultivate blessings, we must cultivate wisdom at the same time. [We need to know] right from wrong. We must do what we should do, what benefits others. This is how we [use] our wisdom to discern right from wrong. If we should do something, we must just do it. If we do what we should not do, we are foolish.

The Buddha is also the Two-Footed Honored One. At all times, He cultivated blessings and wisdom together. Feet are made for walking, and they must walk on the great, direct Bodhi-path. This is the path of blessings and wisdom. We must constantly “purify and protect our minds.” We must constantly safeguard our minds and keep them very clean. From our consciousness to our thoughts, [our minds] must always be well-guarded. Then, when the eye-consciousness sees beautiful things, it will not give rise to greed. Beauty is something external; it has nothing to do with us.

As I recall, one day we talked about a bhiksu, [Vangisa,] who was walking with Ananda. When he saw a girl pass by, he found her beautiful and felt a craving for her. Fortunately, he was a spiritual practitioner, so as soon as his mind gave rise to desire, he immediately reflected on himself and repented. This is a way to “purify and protect our minds.” During the Buddha’s lifetime, even His disciples gave rise to desires, not to mention [our own desires]. So, we must carefully “protect our minds.” Our minds must always be kept very pure.

Then with purity in our minds, our external conditions can also be pure. Over these past few years, the global greenhouse effect has brought great abnormalities in the weather. So, we have begun teaching environmental awareness to inspire everyone to take action. Tzu Chi’s environmental protection program, over these past few decades, has not only been carried out in Taiwan, but also around the world. Wherever Tzu Chi volunteers are, they mindfully [promote it].

In Manila, the Philippines, there is an annual holiday called Day of the Dead. It is similar to Taiwan’s Qingming Festival, when we visit our ancestors’ graves to pay respect. Their name for this is Day of the Dead. On this day, they sweep their ancestors’ graves. This creates a lot of trash, so for three consecutive years, Tzu Chi volunteers set up recycling stations at cemeteries during this period of time.

This year (2012) was the same. From set-up to clean-up, it took four days. Starting from October 31st, many volunteers began going into cemeteries to set up the recycling stations. They lined up and clearly labeled the waste bins. They set up stations to guide everyone on how and where to dispose of the trash so they could sort it by type right away. Before people entered the cemetery, a volunteer would explain this to them. At every station, there were volunteers who taught people how to sort recyclables. There were seven stations at seven cemeteries. One station alone would collect over four tons of garbage in one day.

One of them was the north station, at a cemetery in northern [Manila]. The mayor [of Manila] went there to sweep a grave. From afar, he saw Tzu Chi volunteers. As he drew closer, he put his palms together [out of respect] when he saw how earnestly they worked and promoted recycling. Actually, the city was very dirty in the past. But then Tzu Chi volunteers appeared. Over these past few years, they have done a good job with recycling.

The media also saw the Tzu Chi volunteers. ․In the first and second days, reporters came to interview and report on them. Among them was. Channel 7, a TV station in the Philippines. They began to appeal to everyone, hoping they would bring in their bottles and jars in exchange for gifts. The TV station then collected them and donated them to Tzu Chi. So one bag after another, they also collected a lot of recyclables, almost a whole truck-load, and delivered them to Tzu Chi.

Seeing the Filipino people earnestly promoting recycling, their local government cherishing this work and showing their gratitude, and TV stations correctly reporting their efforts, I can say there is hope for the Philippines. I saw their [hard work], in particular, how as they were doing recycling, they were also expanding [the facilities] of the Great Love Eye Center, So, they were also appealing to everyone, bit by bit, through their donations, to help with its reconstruction.

One very small young child was selling sodas. When he saw the news, he immediately donated the money he earned. He said he wanted to help with the eye center’s reconstruction. There was also someone who regained his eyesight with an operation by our ophthalmologists. This gave him the freedom to earn money and make a living. When he saw Tzu Chi there, he also donated. So, as we cultivated blessings, we also promoted our medical mission.

Seeing them cultivate both blessings and wisdom, and teach people how to recycle, is truly very moving. We can all do this. Protecting our minds helps our wisdom-life grow. Protecting our environment helps us stay physically healthy. When the land that we all share can manifest beauty, filthy conditions will vanish. All of this is cultivating blessings and wisdom and also “purifying and protecting our minds.” These are things we can do in our daily living.

The Buddha applies Right Dharma in the world, to sentient beings He encounters. Yesterday, we discussed [the passage], “If, when I met with sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood.” He applied various methods to teach sentient beings to walk the path of enlightenment. But those lacking wisdom would be confused and would not do good deeds.

If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood, those lacking wisdom would be confused. “Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.”

Yesterday we discussed that those who are deluded “would not accept the teaching.” When the Buddha encounters these people, even He cannot do anything about them. But depending on their karmic conditions, if they are willing and their capabilities mature, they will accept the Buddha’s teachings. If their capabilities are not yet mature, they will be transformed later.

The paragraph below states, “I know that these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness.” Who are these sentient beings? As mentioned previously, “Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.” This [describes] sentient beings. So He said,

“I know these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness. They are firmly attached to the five desires, and, out of their delusions and cravings, give rise to afflictions.”

This is because “deluded, they would not accept the teaching.” Therefore, they were all “firmly attached to the five desires,” which causes their perspective and thinking to become deluded as if intoxicated; at no time do they have clarity. Like people who are drunk, they are behaving improperly, but they do not realize it at all. This is being deluded.

Let [it says], “I know that these sentient beings never cultivated the foundation for goodness.”

I know that these sentient beings have never cultivated the foundation for goodness: The Buddha had compassion for how sentient beings were attached to their delusions and thus, they are not receptive to teachings, did not give up bad habits, often walked deviant paths, did not cultivate virtuous Dharma and did not have faith in Right Dharma.

The Buddha is compassionate, so He has sympathy for deluded sentient beings and cannot bear to let sentient beings remain deluded as if intoxicated. From their past lives, they bring these habitual tendencies. Then, in this life, they become even more deeply immersed in the five desires. They are so deluded they cannot awaken. They cannot accept and uphold Right Dharma.

Thus, “they are not receptive to teachings” and “do not give up bad habits.” When it comes to bad habits, they just refuse to correct them; they say they cannot be changed. This is because they do not want to change, not because they cannot change. They do not want to change because they are clinging to their delusions. “So what, I like it, why can’t I do this?” They do not try to control their behavior and “do not give up bad habits.” They clearly know these habits were bad; they just refuse to change.

They “often walked deviant paths.” The roads they take all lead them astray. The things they do are all evil deeds that harm others and do not benefit themselves. Those who “do not cultivate the virtuous Dharma” and “do not have faith in the Right Dharma” are the ones who concern the Buddha the most. These people have never planted good causes nor cultivated the foundation for goodness. They cannot be helped. “No Dharma can transform them” because they lack the [right] karmic conditions. Those who lack [suitable] karmic conditions cannot be transformed because they did not cultivate the foundation for goodness and refuse to cultivate blessings.

[They] had never planted good causes nor cultivated the foundation for goodness. The foundation is the cause. Goodness is the foundation of Bodhi. Cultivating goodness is the root of Bodhi; therefore, it is the foundation.

We often say, “Help the poor and teach the rich.” Then everyone has a chance to plant good seeds. When drops of water flow into a big urn, they will accumulate and fill it. Or, these inexhaustible drops of water [gather] and flow into the ocean. We do not worry about how small the deeds are, just whether people will aspire to do them. When drops of water accumulate, they can meet the needs of many people. This is how we form good karmic affinities with many people.

So, the Buddha constantly encouraged everyone to plant good causes and cultivate good conditions. If we never cultivate causes and conditions, we will not have the karmic conditions to be transformed. So, “the foundation is the cause.” The “foundation” is a cause. So, in “the foundation for goodness” the word “foundation” means cause. Because they never planted the seeds, none of the seeds in this garden are theirs.

So, the “foundation” is also called the cause. Goodness is the foundation of Bodhi. We must do things to benefit people. The Bodhisattva-path is the road to Bodhi. “Bodhi” is awakening; it is the cause of awakening, the seed for awakening. Thus, it is “the foundation for goodness.” To do good, we must have the root of Bodhi. To achieve this, we must always be mindful, exercise our wisdom and give unconditionally. All of these little things are part of our fundamental responsibility. Thus, this is “the foundation for goodness” which is the Bodhi-path, also called the Bodhi-root. We must be diligent and give to others.

So, “they are firmly attached to the five desires.” The Buddha knows that all sentient beings have strong attachments. Stinginess, greed and attachment are the afflictions of sentient beings. These are also their shortcomings.

They are firmly attached to the five desires: The Buddha understands very well that all sentient beings are attached to negative habitual tendencies. The reason they are not receptive to teachings is because, out of ignorance, greed and delusion, they are firmly attached to the five desires.

What are sentient beings attached to? To bad habitual tendencies. We refuse to change any of them. Because we refuse to give up habitual tendencies we are attached to, we are not receptive to teachings. The causes for not being receptive to teachings are ignorance, greed, anger and delusion. They are the foundation for our firm attachment to the five desires.

We are firmly attached to the five desires because we are not receptive to teachings. So, “out of delusions and cravings,” we “give rise to afflictions.” We trouble ourselves, as well as other people. We are creating karma for ourselves, and also causing others to create karma. These mutual interactions and influences give rise to man-made calamities. All this is caused by delusion.

Out of delusions and cravings, [they] give rise to afflictions: A mind filled with confusion is deluded. When it comes to the workings of all things and the principles behind them, people cannot clearly understand them. In their delusion, they give rise to improper thoughts and deluded cravings, their attachments give rise to afflictions.

Delusion is confusion. “When it comes to the workings of all things and the principles behind them, people cannot clearly understand them.” When it comes to things and their principles, people cannot clearly understand them. These people are also in a state of delusion.

Aside from them, we also see people with low IQs, or those with mental disabilities. Clearly, this is due to the karma they brought with them. Actually, right now there are many smart people who are lacking in wisdom. They cannot clearly discern principles and matters so they are confused about right and wrong. Smart people are often like this; because they are confused about matters and principles, they are also confused about the Dharma and cannot understand it. Therefore, they are confused and cannot distinguish right from wrong,

“[thus giving] rise to improper thoughts and deluded cravings, their attachments give rise to afflictions.” Thus when we “give rise to afflictions,” we will constantly trouble ourselves as well as others. So, we cannot even clearly know our own minds and our perspective will not be accurate. These are the habitual tendencies we are born with.

“Born into the stresses of much suffering in the turbidity of kalpa….” Aren’t we all like this? If people’s minds are not clear and they confuse right and wrong, living among them will be unbearably painful. This comes from deviating to heretical paths. Some people recognize suffering but seek improper knowledge, improper teachings and improper practices. This is like being in a dense forest with lush grasses and trees. If we get stuck inside, we cannot get out. So if we are stuck in delusions and cravings, we cannot find a way out. Although the Dharma is right in front of us, our habitual tendencies keep us from accepting it. When we are heading toward or on a deviant path, we cannot escape it. This is all caused by delusion.

Born into the stresses of much suffering in the turbidity of kalpa, we are inclined toward deviant views of heretics. Like being trapped in a dense forest, we cannot easily find our way out.

Everyone, spiritual practice helps us develop clear wisdom. When we have clear wisdom, the matters and principles that we see are very clear and understandable. How can we achieve this state? We must be receptive to and accept the Buddha’s Right Dharma. We must diligently cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. We must cultivate blessings and wisdom at the same time and always safeguard our mind so we remain unwavering. If our mind-consciousness connects with external conditions and give rise to [discursive] thoughts, that will be very dangerous.

Dear Bodhisattvas, indeed, a tiny action can be greatly beneficial to people. A small recycling effort can protect the planet and bring purity to people’s minds. Therefore, do not neglect to do small good deeds. We must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0364

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 364 – Seize the Rarely Encountered Dharma

>> In this lifetime, when we encounter the Dharma, we must cherish it. We should know, “Like finding a hole in a plank floating on the sea, it is not easy to find. We must seize present causes and conditions and not miss this chance.”

>> “One must often reflect on oneself. When one eats and drinks the proper amount, the body has a lighter burden and suffers less. Digesting the proper amount leads to a long life.”

>> “If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood, those lacking wisdom would be confused. Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.”

>> “A path is what leads somewhere.”

>> “Buddha-wisdom is perfect and unobstructed.”

>> There are three kinds of paths: 1. Those attained by Hearers 2. Those attained by Solitary Realizers 3. Those attained by Buddhas. Now we speak of the unsurpassed Bodhi-path attained by Buddhas; it is the path to Buddhahood.

>> Those lacking wisdom would be confused: Because sentient beings, lifetime after lifetime, gave rise to ignorance that obscures their ability to think wisely, they develop unwholesome habits, cannot discern the improper from the proper, and are stubbornly attached to biases.

>> Deluded, they would not accept the teaching: Being mistaken about matters and principles leads to confusion. This also causes them to sink into the vast sea of cravings and desires and the mountains of fame and wealth.

In this lifetime, when we encounter the Dharma,
we must cherish it.
We should know,
“Like finding a hole in a plank floating on the sea, it is not easy to find.
We must seize present causes and conditions and not miss this chance.”

We must all be mindful and think about how attaining the Dharma in this world is indeed extremely difficult.

If we take a look around the world, how big is this planet? How big is the population already? On top of this land and beneath the skies, the places where Buddha-Dharma can be heard, where the Buddha’s teachings are widespread, are unfortunately very few. People who do not understand the Dharma or have not heard it are still the majority. Even in places where the Dharma is present, is everyone there fortunate enough to encounter it? Or to hear and uphold the teachings in time? How many of those people are there? We say [finding the Dharma] is “like finding a hole in a plank floating on the sea; it is not easy to find.”

It is as if, in a boundless ocean, there was a wooden plank with a hole in the middle. And as this piece of wood floated on the sea, a turtle also [happened to be] swimming [nearby] in that vast ocean. Then, while swimming in the ocean, [the turtle] suddenly raised his head and put it right through the hole in this plank. This is how rare such an occurrence is.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha also made this analogy. Encountering the Buddha-Dharma is as likely as the turtle’s head encountering the hole in that plank. Yet somehow, [the turtle] managed to stick his head through that hole. For this to happen is truly not easy. So, the odds of us really listening to and encountering the Dharma are the same. It is really not easy. Since it is so hard to attain, once we have attained it, how can we not cherish it?

People living in this world spend their lives cherishing wealth. They greatly cherish money and wealth and consider gems precious items. They call them precious stones. Clearly, these things are just rocks, but they treat them as very valuable things. What is their function? They serve no function at all. This is just how people’s minds work. They think these are worth a lot of money, so they are very valuable.

A simple piece of paper can be a bill of such high denomination. But how much is it actually worth? In our daily living, we treat [money] as something very valuable. People work themselves to death to expand their careers and businesses in order to accumulate more wealth. This causes them to be very exhausted. In the Buddha’s lifetime, similar things also happened.

When the Buddha was staying at Jetavana, one day, King Prasenajit came to visit. For him to kneel down to prostrate was very hard. To get back up, he also needed assistance. Why is this? The Buddha said, “I saw you wheezing and breathing very rapidly, and you are having trouble moving around. Yes, what has happened to me? Why am I continuously gaining weight?”

The Buddha gave King Prasenajit the following verses,

“One must often reflect on oneself. When one eats and drinks the proper amount, the body has a lighter burden and suffers less. Digesting the proper amount leads to a long life.”

After King Prasenajit heard this, he turned his head and saw a guard named Mana standing nearby. “You must memorize it for me. Before I eat every meal, you must recite this verse to me and. I will reward you 100 gold coins every day.”

Then, the Buddha also taught him some ways to live a healthy life, such as methods for controlling his appetite, and having the proper perspective on all material objects in this world.

Once they returned, the young man, Mana, stayed by the king’s side every day. Before the king ate each meal, Mana would always recite these verses. The king would say, “I know, I know.” In this way, the king controlled his diet.

After a period of time, the king’s body returned [to good shape]. After he lost some weight, he was very happy. He came before the Buddha again, bowed and prostrated. He could move freely. The king came to thank the Buddha, “I am grateful to You for giving me a healthy body.” The Buddha then said to him, “From now on you must take good care of yourself. If you can control your desires, you are cherishing and safeguarding yourself. From now on, besides controlling your diet, you must also benefit sentient beings and faithfully accept and practice the Dharma.” King Prasenajit was grateful for His teachings.

In the Buddha’s lifetime, the Buddha and the king were like friends, and were also like master and disciple. The Buddha cared about the king and the king faithfully accepted and practiced His teachings. We must promptly seize this kind of karmic conditions. This shows how the Buddha always used various analogies and expressions as teachings, or taught according to capabilities. So, regardless of whether we are giving or receiving teachings, we must all take advantage of and not miss out on good karmic causes and conditions.

If we are all mindful, when we hear the Dharma we quickly share it with everybody. This is how we seize the opportunity to teach. People who hear us must also seize this chance to accept teachings. If we continue to teach the Dharma to others, then the Buddha-Dharma will pervade the world and everyone can make use of it. Therefore, for people’s minds to be in harmony, we must use Right Dharma.

So, the Buddha said,

“If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood, those lacking wisdom would be confused. Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.”

This is the Buddha’s vow. When He meets sentient beings, He wants to teach the path of enlightenment to all of them. Whether we sentient beings can accept it or not depends on our capabilities and habits. If our habitual tendencies are very strong and our capabilities are very dull, even if the Buddha appeared to teach the Dharma, we still could not awaken our wisdom. “Lacking wisdom, [we] would be confused.”

Is the timing not yet right? Are the karmic conditions not mature enough? Even if the Buddha appears before us, we still cannot awaken our wisdom. Therefore, we are still deluded and confused. So, “deluded, [we] would not accept the teachings.” We are very stubborn. There were many sentient beings like this in the Buddha’s lifetime let alone more than 2000 years later.

The Buddha is no longer physically in the world, but the Buddha-Dharma is still here. Can we accept it in time? The Buddha is not in this world, but as long as Right Dharma remains, we can all follow this path. The Buddha has already paved this road for us. As long as we follow this road, from beginning to end, we will not go astray. If we are not willing to walk this road, not willing to follow rules to move forward, we will stand at the crossroads and never reach [our destination], because we are deluded by the forks in the road.

So, we must turn our minds around. In the Buddha-Dharma, this is “turning the Dharma-wheel.” In order to “turn the Dharma-wheel,” people’s minds must turn as well. So, we must really value Right Dharma. Not only must we value it, we must also take it into our minds. Not only must we let it enter our minds, we must put it into practice.

“I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood,” The Buddha freely expressed His original intent, teaching the true One Vehicle Dharma safeguarded in His mind. This helped everyone realize this is the path to enlightenment, to ultimate reality. This helped everyone understand. So, the Buddha teaches the path to Buddhahood. [As He taught the path,]. He did not conceal anything and made everything known to all of them so they could know how to be diligent, and attain Buddhahood. This comes from the Buddha’s expansive mind, His great compassion and selfless great love. Therefore, we must accept [the teachings] with great reverence. This is because the Buddha “ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood.” These few simple words touch me very deeply.

What is the path to Buddhahood? It is the path to enlightenment.

“A path is what leads somewhere.”

We also have similar saying,

“Buddha-wisdom is perfect and unobstructed.”

Unobstructed means it is very open.

As long as we start from here and confidently move forward, this road will absolutely reach its destination, leading us from the state of unenlightened beings to the state of noble beings. One kind of path is the way to Buddhahood. There are three kinds of paths. ․The first is one attained by Hearers, the second is [attained] by Solitary Realizers and the third is attained by Buddhas.

There are three kinds of paths: 1. Those attained by Hearers 2. Those attained by Solitary Realizers 3. Those attained by Buddhas. Now we speak of the unsurpassed Bodhi-path attained by Buddhas; it is the path to Buddhahood.

Hearers, as we all know, attained realization by listening to the Four Noble Truths. Second, Solitary Realizers attained realizations by connecting to the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence or [by observing] the changing seasons. In the vast universe, they comprehend the principle of impermanence. In their interactions with others, through causes and conditions, they realized the principle of how people come to and leave this world.

Why were they born in this world? Why do they have to age, grow ill and die? The Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence is a process that begins with the mind-consciousness. This “consciousness” connects to “name and form” and each connects to the next. So, they put in a lot of effort to attain the state of non-arising and non-ceasing. Only by attaining this state, can they transcend the cycle of birth and death. This is the path that. Solitary Realizers seek and attain.

However, the Buddha believes this is only part of the process. So, the Buddha opened up a third path, which is what Buddhas attain, Their great realizations. Not only do we know [the Four Noble Truths], the various causes and conditions that lead us to and from this world, but we must fully realize the principles of all things in the universe. Therefore, this is the realization and path attained by the Buddha. To attain Buddhahood through this path, Hearers and Solitary Realizers must change themselves and enter the Bodhi-path. What kinds of people walk the Bodhi-path? Bodhisattvas.

This Bodhi-path is paved by the Buddha, the Great Enlightened One. He has already paved this path with great realizations, great love, great compassion and great wisdom. By exercising compassion and wisdom, He paved this Great Path. He hopes all of us can shift from Small Vehicle teachings to the Great Vehicle teachings. So, “the unsurpassed Bodhi-path attained by all Buddhas” is the path we are going to discuss. It is the unsurpassed Bodhi the Buddha attained and the path to perfect enlightenment. So, it is the path to Buddhahood.

“Those lacking wisdom would be confused.” Those who lack wisdom are confused because sentient beings, lifetime after lifetime, create ignorance that obscures their ability to think wisely.

Those lacking wisdom would be confused: Because sentient beings, lifetime after lifetime, gave rise to ignorance that obscures their ability to think wisely, they develop unwholesome habits, cannot discern the improper from the proper, and are stubbornly attached to biases.

We ordinary people can only see what is before us. The words people in front of us are saying, their facial expressions and the actions they take cause our minds to give rise to thoughts. Everything we can see and hear will confuse our thinking. This is because we are “obscured by ignorance.” Our wisdom has been obscured, Therefore, our thinking is confused. So, we “develop unwholesome habits, cannot discern the improper from the proper.”

We are all permeated by unwholesome habits; these confuse our views and thinking. Everything we see inspires our thinking, so we “cannot discern the improper from the proper.” This is why we always say that we must clearly understand right and wrong. The great conflicts and troubles of this time are created by humans. In summary, when it comes to our interactions with others, the mistakes we make will result in effects that cause us tremendous worry in this world. The evil world of the Five Turbidities will become more and more chaotic. People’s minds are stubborn. We are “stubbornly attached to biases.” Since we have already gone astray, we must heighten our vigilance.

“Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.” Because our minds have already gone astray, we become more entrenched in delusion and confusion, so deeply that we cannot pull ourselves out. Thus, we cannot accept teachings, the Buddha’s teaching of. Right Knowledge and Right Views. We cannot accept them because of our delusion.

Deluded, they would not accept the teaching: Being mistaken about matters and principles leads to confusion. This also causes them to sink into the vast sea of cravings and desires and the mountains of fame and wealth.

“Mistaken about matters and principles,” means we are mistaken about the way things work. We are mistaken because of lack of knowledge. Some people know they are mistaken, but since they are already mistaken, they simply continue on the wrong path. We persist in being mistaken because we are attached and stubborn. Thus, we sink further into delusion and confusion. What are we sinking into?

The sea of cravings and desires is really big and vast. In the sea of desires, there is a wooden plank with a hole. In this sea, for a turtle to stick his head through this hole is very unlikely. Surrounded by the sea of desires, only this plank can save him. This turtle is very lucky to not only encounter this plank, but to also stick his head through its hole. This is so very unlikely.

If people are sinking in a sea of desires or stranded on a mountain of recognition and wealth, is it easy to be saved from this sea or this mountain? Will pulling ourselves out of this vast sea be easy at all? If we walk into the mountains, and get lost, will it be easy to find our way out? These are very difficult things to do. So, we must take good care of our minds. Encountering the Buddha-Dharma is such a difficult thing to do. When we listen to the Buddha-Dharma, we must be mindful and really hold on to it. We must not lose our aspirations at all. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0363

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 363 – Sow Seeds of Goodness for Spiritual Nourishment

>> Bodhisattvas are like farmers. They diligently cultivate the Six Perfections. In the minds of sentient beings, they sow seeds of goodness to yield a harvest of great spiritual nourishment and attain complete wisdom.

>> “That vow, made long ago, has now been perfectly fulfilled. For I have transformed all beings, leading them onto the path to Buddhahood.”

>> “If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood, those lacking wisdom would be puzzled. Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.”

>> “If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood” refers to how the Buddha spent lifetimes paving the path to transformation for sentient beings.

Bodhisattvas are like farmers.
They diligently cultivate the Six Perfections.
In the minds of sentient beings,
they sow seeds of goodness
to yield a harvest of great spiritual nourishment
and attain complete wisdom.

“Bodhisattvas are like farmers. They diligently cultivate the Six Perfections.” The fields that Bodhisattva-farmers cultivate are the fields of the mind. They hope that everyone’s minds can be cultivated and can be free of weeds. They hope all seeds in the land are Bodhi-seeds, filled with [the potential for] awakening and love. This is what Bodhisattva-farmers are cultivating in the minds of sentient beings. As Bodhisattvas, what methods do we use to cultivate these fields? We need “to diligently cultivate the Six Perfections,” which are giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These are the Six Perfections. [We] apply the Six Perfections to enter the fields of sentient beings’ minds.

We must proactively be un-summoned teachers who cultivate the fields of sentient beings’ minds and then sow seeds of goodness into their minds. Then, we wait until the causes and conditions are mature and their minds “yield a harvest of great spiritual nourishment and attain complete wisdom.”

Analogies and causes and conditions are [teachings that can be applied] in daily living. Everyone has a field in their minds. In every one of these fields, seeds of blessings and wisdom can be sown. Then when causes and conditions mature, the seeds will produce an abundant harvest that can be spread to everyone in the world.

As we discussed yesterday, the Buddha’s vow is to transform all sentient beings in the world so everyone can be equal to the Buddha. However, some people may say, “The Buddha made a great vow, but there are so many sentient beings. How could He ever transform all of them? How could everyone receive the Buddha-Dharma?” The Buddha answered, “I wait for those whose capabilities are mature. Once they are mature, I promptly guide them. All this depends on causes and conditions.” The Buddha did all that He could. In fact, the Buddha helped us understand the concept that we can all attain Buddhahood and prior to attaining Buddhahood, we must form great aspirations. So, we make the Four Great Vows to transform all sentient beings, eliminate all afflictions, seek infinite Dharma and attain the realization of the unsurpassed enlightened state of the Buddha. This is what all spiritual practitioners must do.

This world is a good place for spiritual practice. The Buddha’s teachings are all about the worldly truth of suffering and its causation. Suffering results from the accumulation of various karmic conditions. How can we transcend this suffering? We must often observe suffering, and realize its cause and the principles behind it. We must heighten the vigilance of our minds so we know how to walk the Path.

As we walk on the Path, we can gradually understand the principle of suffering so we can prevent it. Then naturally, we will not create more suffering. As suffering gradually diminishes, the Path will become wider and smoother, so we can slowly walk forward. Over time, we can also attain Buddhahood. Thus, we must understand the principles of the Four Noble Truths.

There are so many manifestations [of suffering] in this world for us to see. Today’s technology allows us to see the entire world. Recently, (November, 2012), we have had video conferences with Tzu Chi USA to learn about their situation. Those Bodhisattva[-volunteers] were in the disaster area. You see, the disaster area spanned New York and New Jersey. These were the most hard-hit areas. Of course, Long Island was also affected. Power outages were widespread and streets were cluttered and hard to travel, so transportation was disrupted.

But Tzu Chi volunteers are Living Bodhisattvas who cannot bear to see people suffer, so they tried their best to overcome difficulties and still gathered together. It was cold, there was no electricity, no water. To satisfy people’s hunger, Tzu Chi volunteers figured out a way to collect ingredients for food. There was no electricity, so they found their way in the dark by lighting candles. They cooked many meals to distribute to victims. With Bodhisattva-minds, they proactively entered people’s hearts. They overcame all kinds of difficulties; under these difficult circumstances, they delivered hot meals to disaster victims.

This is what Bodhisattvas do. Witnessing this suffering in the world, we realize the impermanence of life and, furthermore, how insignificant humans are in the face of the might of nature. If even one of the four elements is not in harmony, there is nothing we can do about it. We are helpless. So when disasters occur, millions of households suffer. Initially, more than eight million households experienced a power outage. Some survivors’ homes were completely destroyed. Not only that, but they could not communicate with others. In a power outage, they could not communicate with their families and friends, to tell their families and friends

if they were safe or in danger. I saw a very touching news report from New Jersey. One neighborhood was very lucky to still have power. In one of the houses with electricity, there was a young girl of only 11, who was already wise and loving. She was suddenly inspired to ask her father to help those who had no electricity. She knew that a lot of people’s cell phones had stopped working since they could not be charged. So, she asked her father, “Can we set up a charging station in front of our house?” Next to that, she even set up a booth providing hot coffee to people. See? Even though she is young, she has great love. Because they were able to charge their phones, they could get in touch with their families to tell them they were safe, or that they needed help, or other similar information. When people had a way to charge their phones, this soothed many people’s uneasiness. Once those who lived in other areas knew that their families and friends in disaster areas were safe, they could find ways to help them. This was very effective.

Who knows how many this young girl helped? For someone as young as her to accomplish such a work of great love is very impressive. She even provided hot coffee in front of her house. The temperature was so low that it reached the freezing point. Some people were displaced because their homes were destroyed; they could only wander around outside. For them to receive this cup of hot coffee was very heartwarming. Therefore, as we can see, this child had love and wisdom, and her father was willing to provide his support. Their actions benefited many people who were very grateful to them.

So, “Bodhisattvas are like farmers. They diligently cultivate the Six Perfections.” We must engage in giving right away; this is one of the methods. We must proactively [sow seeds] “in the minds of sentient beings.” Life is filled with suffering. Many people are needed to eliminate layer after layer of suffering. Whenever there are [sudden] natural disasters, no matter where, there will be people who are willing to promptly alleviate the suffering of others. As “un-summoned teachers,” they promptly give with wisdom and love. Their heart-warming actions sow the seeds of goodness in people’s minds. The people who benefit now may be the ones who benefit others in the future. This depends on all of us to form this aspiration.

In this way, we can “attain complete wisdom.” The Buddha comes to this world to teach us how to create blessings when we witness suffering. When sentient beings are suffering, if we seize the opportunity to give, we are sowing the seeds of the “[spiritual] path” in everyone’s minds. So, if causes and conditions mature, if the seeds have ripened, [people] can attain the “path.” So, we need not worry that, The Buddha wants to transform all beings, but there are so many sentient beings; how could He transform them all?

Everyone has a field in their minds. Everyone intrinsically has this strength, these seeds. As long as we teach and inspire them, their potential can be awakened. Then, people can teach and transform each other. This is the power of love. I hope all interpersonal relationships are like the one between that father and daughter.

Merely delivering material goods by leaving them outside does not show love. That is not enough; we must deliver them in a neat and organized way. This is what Tzu Chi volunteers did. The government asked Tzu Chi to help. The overwhelming love from around the world caused a secondary disaster [of surplus donations]. If we could organize them and put them in order, they could be useful in times of need. So, [the government] suggested we mobilize volunteers to work with the communities and other organizations. So, we talked about recruiting volunteers in hopes of consolidating manpower.

This field of blessings is in everyone. We must seize karmic conditions to [sow seeds]. Then we are Bodhisattva-farmers. Otherwise, normally it is not easy to find a field to cultivate. Moreover, at that moment, when the area most needed the help, by taking immediate action, we cultivated the fields of their minds. So the Buddha,

from what we read yesterday, said,

“That vow, made long ago, has now been perfectly fulfilled. For I have transformed all beings, leading them onto the path to Buddhahood.”

We must seize the opportunity to teach sentient beings. When causes and conditions are mature, we must exercise our strength to quickly transform people so they can comprehend the principles. For countless kalpas, for a very long time, the Buddha has constantly engaged in spiritual practice, continuously formed aspirations and continuously transformed sentient beings.

In each of His limited human lifespans, He used the Small Vehicle to gradually guide people to the Great Vehicle Dharma. At that moment, He wanted to help people further understand the principles of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. In this evil world of Five Turbidities, with so many disasters happening, I hope everyone can recognize our blessings through the suffering we witness. In seeing suffering, we must understand the Path. We must understand the principles, that this suffering comes about because of the accumulation [of causes], so now we must hurry and deal with those accumulated sufferings.

Similarly, in this evil world of Five Turbidities, we must seize every opportunity. Only when we suffer in the evil world of Five Turbidities are we able to engage in spiritual practice. “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering beings.” To walk the Bodhisattva-path, we must give when there is suffering. If people are able to awaken and understand, the Buddha will be at peace when. He sees their actions. Seeing everyone willing to accept [teachings] and engage in spiritual practice, He is at peace. “For I have transformed all beings leading them onto the path to Buddhahood.” In this kind of environment, when people awaken, they will walk the Bodhisattva-path.

The next passage of sutra texts state,

“If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood, those lacking wisdom would be puzzled. Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.”

The Buddha [said that] only sentient beings who have karmic affinities with the Buddha can encounter Him. As I have told everyone, in a small city, two-thirds did not have this karmic connection, so they never saw the Buddha. Sentient beings without karmic connections cannot encounter Him or be transformed by Him. Without karmic connections, we cannot encounter the Buddha. Even after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, those without karmic connections still cannot hear the Buddha-Dharma. So, the number of sentient beings He can meet is very limited.

But most importantly, He “ultimately taught the path to Buddhahood.” He wanted everyone to receive the teachings He had attained, and to awaken proper faith, right understanding. But sadly, “those lacking wisdom would be puzzled. Deluded, they would not accept the teaching.” Doesn’t this describe the vast majority of people? If they have never listened to the Buddha-Dharma they cannot share it. After listening to it, they cannot follow it accordingly. There are many people like this. They are unable to accept the Right Dharma, to comply with the proper teaching. A slight deviation can lead them far astray, so they will be confused.

This confusion will lead to more confusion as it is spread. So, if the confused try to help others, those people will be more confused. This is what the Buddha worries about most. So, how can we sentient beings be blessed to encounter the Right Dharma? If we are blessed to encounter the Right Dharma, we must develop wisdom. With wisdom, we can faithfully accept [it] with a penetrating mind. Right Dharma must be deeply rooted in the field of our minds. We must plant it carefully. If we spread the seeds on the surface of the land and they are exposed to the sun without absorbing any water, when the wind blows, the seeds will dry out and die.

“If, whenever I met sentient beings, I ultimately taught them the path to Buddhahood” refers to how the Buddha spent lifetimes paving the path to transformation for sentient beings.

He comes to this world, life after life. For the sake of transforming sentient beings, He continuously paved the path with love. This is the Buddha’s compassion.

The Buddha has paved this path and has taught people how to cultivate these fields. So, after sowing the seeds, life after life, the abundant [harvest] they reap [will bear even more] seeds. The Sutra of Infinite Meanings states, “One gives rise to infinity and infinity arises from one.” One seed can continue to create more seeds. Each of you can aspire to recruit Living Bodhisattvas and pass Right Knowledge and Right Views on to another person. When another person is able to absorb it, that person can pass it on to another person. So, one becomes ten, then a hundred, a thousand and then tens of thousands; this is what seeds do. See how a seed can simply continue to multiply in this way.

For a farmer, spreading seeds to plant is very important. We must now aspire to be a farmer of the mind. To be a farmer, we must first engage in spiritual practice and cultivate our own minds. Only then can the seeds we harvest each time continue to be planted correctly. This is how. “One gives rise to infinity and infinity arises from one.” Each of us must be an “un-summoned teacher” who sows seeds of goodness in people’s minds.

So, dear Bodhisattvas, we must form aspirations. A Bodhisattva is not just a name. We must be one in truth and form Bodhisattva-aspirations to be Living Bodhisattvas. I hope everyone will always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0362

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 362 – The Buddha’s Vow

>> Thus, “by forming aspirations, we vow to transform sentient beings. By developing understanding, we enter the Buddha’s wisdom. By always being content, our minds are at ease. By taking the Dharma to heart, we feel infinite joy.”

>> “That vow, made long ago, has now been perfectly fulfilled. For I have transformed all beings, leading them onto the path to Buddhahood.”

>> That vow, made long ago: The Buddha’s initial vow was to transform all beings. Now, there are so many sentient beings, how can He fulfill that vow? When people’s capabilities have matured and they can be transformed, He transforms them. This is how His vow is fulfilled.

>> [His vow] has now been perfectly fulfilled: He fulfilled His desire to seek the Dharma. When His original vow is perfectly fulfilled, He can completely eliminate the ignorance of sentient beings and can fulfill all the aspirations of sentient beings.

>> For I have transformed all beings: The Buddha transformed sentient beings according to capabilities and timing. Their capacities and the teachings must resonate, and then they must diligently practice in order to enter the path to Buddhahood. “For I have transformed all beings” means, “the Buddha transformed sentient beings according to capabilities and timing.”

>> Leading them all onto the path to Buddhahood: The path to Buddhahood is the enlightened Bodhi-path. A path is what leads somewhere. The Buddha’s wisdom connects perfectly and is unobstructed, so it is called a path.

We often say that spiritual practice is not about mastering skills, but about eliminating our bad habitual tendencies. This is very important.

The Buddha comes to this world because of the vows He made. When He engaged in spiritual practice in the past, He spent many lifetimes eliminating His habitual tendencies. “Refrain from all evil, do all good deeds.” He eliminated all evil habitual tendencies and nurtured kind-hearted habits. This is spiritual practice.

Making vows is very important.

Thus, “by forming aspirations, we vow to transform sentient beings. By developing understanding, we enter the Buddha’s wisdom. By always being content, our minds are at ease. By taking the Dharma to heart, we feel infinite joy.”

Aspiring and vowing to transform sentient beings is our fundamental duty as spiritual practitioners. Sentient beings experience much suffering. When we encounter the Buddha-Dharma, and become liberated from our afflictions, we must also teach others to become liberated by eliminating their afflictions as we have. This is something we can all accomplish. When people suffer, we can provide guidance. When they are in need, we can provide assistance. These are ways to transform sentient beings.

If we constantly nurture these wholesome habits, naturally, “by developing understanding, we enter the Buddha’s wisdom. Wisdom is the freedom we gain by being understanding.” We all know this Jing Si aphorism by heart. Also, when we are always content, our minds will be at ease. If we are at ease, naturally, we will feel a sense of freedom. In this state of mind, we can take the Dharma to heart. Once the Dharma enters our hearts there is no affliction that can defile them. Our minds will be replete with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, which will safeguard them. In the face of various interpersonal conflicts, our hearts will already be protected by precepts. If our minds are unmoved by conflict with others, how can we be tempted? Our minds will remain unmoving.

This is important for our spiritual practice. We must form aspirations, develop understanding, always be content and take the Dharma to heart. Then we can vow to transform sentient beings, enter the Buddha’s wisdom, be at ease and feel infinite joy.

No matter how we engage in spiritual practice, so long as we develop this mindset, this intention, we can change our habitual tendencies. We just need to form aspirations and make vows.

I once saw a very adorable child making vows; I could feel her strong conviction. This young Bodhisattva lives in Penang. In Penang, there is a Tzu Chi Great Love Kindergarten that is thriving. In Penang, aside from doing charity work, [Tzu Chi] also offers medical services. We operate a dialysis center that offers the service for free. To fund this, Tzu Chi relies on local community resources. At the same time, we offer a quality kindergarten education. Many parents want to send their children to our kindergarten [because] our teachers teach them with wisdom. The kindergarten is becoming overcrowded, so it needs to be expanded. The dialysis center needs financial resources, and expanding the kindergarten also requires funds.

How can we teach children about charity? One of our colleagues, a teacher, had a moment of inspiration. She saw that some students were very pampered. They were five or six years old and still drinking from feeding bottles. So, the teacher actively thought about this. She told them, “Don’t you want to do good deeds? There are many poor people. You have seen them. You have seen how hard dialysis is on them. Even young children can do good deeds. Are you willing? We are. So when you go home, ask your mom to donate a handful of rice every day.. OK. But you must put it in your feeding bottle, then donate that amount of rice every day. Ask your mom to put the rice in your bottle, then bring that bottle of rice to school the next day so you can pour it into this bucket. Can you do that? We can.”

One of them was a young girl around five years old. After one week of doing this, she felt that she still preferred drinking from a feeding bottle. So after a week, she told her dad, “Dad, I still want to drink from a bottle. When drinking from a cup, the water goes down too quickly, so I still want to use a bottle.”

Her dad told her, “You have done this for a week. People worldwide have seen you in the news. Master has also seen you.” She told her dad, “Master can’t see me from that far away.” Her dad said, “OK.” So, he washed her feeding bottle, poured in some soy milk, and placed it on the table in front of her. The child looked at that bottle of soy milk for a long time and kept thinking about it without touching it. Then she said, “Master, I thought you couldn’t see me, but it turns out you can. I’m sorry.” So, she did not drink the soy milk from the bottle.

Then she turned toward her younger sister and said, “If you don’t stop drinking from the bottle, you cannot come to my kindergarten.” Her younger sister was confused. She looked at her again and said, “Do you want to donate a bottle [of rice]?” Her younger sister said, “I do. Then you can’t drink milk from it again. OK.” In this very simple way, a five-year-old taught a three-year-old to quit. So, her three-year-old sister also quit this habit.

Of the four kindergarten classes, there were 30 children who could not part with their feeding bottles. They just could not quit. But by using this method, one after another, they quit the habit. Then very quickly, within a week, they collected 74 jars of rice, large jars. These 74 jars of rice were collected from the handfuls of rice that each child [donated] each day. This rice was then sold at a charity auction for money to help people. Think about this; isn’t this how, “by making aspirations, we vow to transform sentient beings?

Adults can form aspirations and vow to do good deeds. Children can do this too. Besides helping them do good deeds, we teach them that helping people is a good thing. They can also eliminate bad habitual tendencies in this way. If three- and five-year-olds can do it, then why can’t we? When we listen to the Buddha’s teachings, as long as we mindfully listen and can take the Dharma to heart, putting it into practice is not hard.

So, the Buddha meticulously gave teachings. We ordinary people have habitual tendencies that make it easy for us to become indolent. When the Buddha was teaching, He would sometimes have to wake everyone up. The sutra text we discussed yesterday states, “Sariputra, you should know.” [When He said] “Sariputra,” everyone woke up. He wanted them to know that, in the past, [He] made a vow. He had formed aspirations and made vows, so they must also begin to diligently practice and make vows. He wished to enable all sentient beings “to be no different from us.”

“Us” refers to Him and to all Buddhas. All Buddhas share the same path. They hope all sentient beings will return to their intrinsic nature of True Suchness and be no different from all Buddhas. This was the sutra text we discussed yesterday.

Today, we will talk about how.

“That vow, made long ago, has now been perfectly fulfilled. For I have transformed all beings, leading them onto the path to Buddhahood.”

The Buddha hopes that we can all be like Him, in particular, having “that vow, made long ago.” In the presence of countless past Buddhas, He continuously formed vows and aspirations. Throughout His spiritual practice, He has been earnest and diligent. In this way, life after life, His resolve has remained strong. This was what He was like in the past, and He wanted everyone to know this.

That vow, made long ago: The Buddha’s initial vow was to transform all beings. Now, there are so many sentient beings, how can He fulfill that vow? When people’s capabilities have matured and they can be transformed, He transforms them. This is how His vow is fulfilled.

“That vow, made long ago.” The vow made by the Buddha in the past up to today has never changed. So, “the Buddha’s initial vow was to transform all sentient beings.” Initially, when the Buddha first aspired to engage in spiritual practice, His first thought was to make a vow. This vow was to “transform all beings. All beings,” aside from those in the human realm, include those in the heaven, hell, hungry ghost, animal and even asura realms. The sentient beings of the Six Realms are part of “all sentient beings.”

“Now there are so many sentient beings.” Some people said, “Venerable Buddha, You have vowed to transform all sentient beings, but now there are so many of them. How many can actually listen to the Dharma from You?” Compared to all sentient beings in the world, they are a small percentage. The Buddha’s vow is to transform all sentient beings. But to reach “all sentient beings” is easier said than done. How many people can actually hear the Buddha-Dharma?

I once told everyone that in a small city of 90,000 people, one third heard the Dharma and saw the Buddha. Another third never saw the Buddha, and only heard others talking about how the Buddha was teaching near the city. The last 30,000 people not only never saw Him, they never even heard of His name.

You see, that was just in one small city. The Buddha-Dharma we are discussing now is what the Buddha hoped would reach all sentient beings on in this world. To reach all sentient beings is not easy at all. There are so many sentient beings, how can His vow be fulfilled? The Buddha said, “My vow has now been perfectly fulfilled.” How is that possible? So many have not yet been transformed; how could He say His vow has been fulfilled? How could that be possible? “When people’s capabilities have matured and they can be transformed, He transforms them.” This is all the Buddha can do. Those whose capabilities have matured now and are able to be transformed are the ones He transforms. Thus, He does all He can.

Sometimes we see that people’s habitual tendencies are so hard to change. Again and again, we try to counsel and teach them, but their habitual tendencies continuously manifest. So we can comfort ourselves by recalling that in the Buddha’s lifetime, there were people like this in the Sangha. So, how could people like this not exist in our modern society? We do all we can, then let them be. Sometimes I also think this way.

So, in this part of the [sutra] text, we know that the Buddha said, “My vow has now been perfectly fulfilled.” How can this be? He made such a great vow and out of these numerous sentient beings, those who truly accept and practice the Dharma are so few in number. The Buddha could only, in the present moment, do all that He could to transform those whose capabilities had already matured. That is how His “vow is perfectly fulfilled.” Many things were beyond His control, so He did all He could.

Thus, “my vow has been perfectly fulfilled.” Can it really be fulfilled? After all, time is limited, and the world is so vast. He did His best to walk, do and say everything that He could. So, “He fulfilled His desire to seek the Dharma.” All He could do was give the teachings; there also had to be people with karmic affinities. When they pursued and attained the Dharma, the Buddha felt satisfied.

[His vow] has now been perfectly fulfilled: He fulfilled His desire to seek the Dharma. When His original vow is perfectly fulfilled, He can completely eliminate the ignorance of sentient beings and can fulfill all the aspirations of sentient beings.

So, “He fulfilled His desire to seek the Dharma.” Sakyamuni Buddha Himself had fulfilled [His vow] to seek the Dharma. Now He wanted to transform sentient beings, based on their karmic connections. When these people mindfully seek the Dharma, they are willing to accept teachings from Him. This is how He fulfils His vow.

Thus, He continuously sought the Buddha-Dharma and also, life after life, “transformed sentient beings.” In each lifetime, the Buddha continuously sought to do this. In each lifetime, He gave everything He had. All this happened because He formed aspirations, made vows and did His best to carry them out. That was it.

Thus He “eliminates ignorance of sentient beings” to “fulfill all aspirations of sentient beings.” This is the Buddha’s vow. He wants to help them eliminate their ignorance and find a way for them to form aspirations. Not only must they form aspirations, they must also carry them out and fulfill them.

So, aspirations require resolve. Have we made a vow? When we have the resolve and the vow, are we carrying them out? In Tzu Chi, we carry out the Four Missions. They allow people to fulfill vows of charity. “Are you willing? I am. We need to help people, [we need] a hospital. Are you willing to support it? I am.” Then, they all dedicate themselves to charity work or become hospital volunteers to show their support. “Education is the hope of the world. Are you willing to be a part of it? I am.”

These are all “vows.” Sentient beings experience many types of suffering. If we can form aspirations we can vow to transform sentient beings to help them eliminate their ignorance and manifest wisdom in their lives. We can help their wisdom-life grow so they can eliminate afflictions.

For I have transformed all beings: The Buddha transformed sentient beings according to capabilities and timing. Their capacities and the teachings must resonate, and then they must diligently practice in order to enter the path to Buddhahood. “For I have transformed all beings” means, “the Buddha transformed sentient beings according to capabilities and timing.”

He must determine if [their] capabilities are sharp or dull; if they were sharp, He used a more direct mindset and teaching to get to the point. For sentient beings with dull capacities, He taught with analogies, expressions and causes and conditions. This is “according to capabilities and timing,” which means according to people, time and place.

“Their capacities and teachings must resonate.” That is, their capabilities and the teachings must resonate for people to accept the Dharma. Then it must “be diligently practiced.” After hearing the Dharma, we must earnestly listen, contemplate and practice to diligently advance. When the Dharma is in our lives we [are led onto the path to Buddhahood]. The Buddha transforms all beings to lead them all onto the path to Buddhahood.

Leading them all onto the path to Buddhahood: The path to Buddhahood is the enlightened Bodhi-path. A path is what leads somewhere. The Buddha’s wisdom connects perfectly and is unobstructed, so it is called a path. [He] “leads them all”

onto the enlightened Bodhi-path. A “path” is something that leads somewhere. If it did not lead there, it would not be a road. Only when it is connects can it be a road. Without a road, we have to make a long detour. So, to go from here to there, we need to have a “path,” a path to reach the state of noble beings from an unenlightened state. So, “a path is what leads somewhere.”

“The Buddha’s wisdom connects perfectly and is unobstructed.” It is not blocked, so the road is completely unobstructed and open. If we are not obstructed, this is a path.

As we go from the state of ordinary beings to the state of the Buddha, to that state of mind, we must go from the road we walk to the path, and then from the path into the sutras. So, we must [connect everything] back to our daily living. Through our daily living, we can prove that this road is unobstructed, that the principles are unobstructed, that the Buddha-Dharma is also unobstructed. The Buddha-mind is connected to ordinary minds, ordinary minds to the Buddha-mind. The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are connected and are no different [in nature]. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0361

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 361 – Vowing to Transform Sentient Beings

>> Sentient beings are foolish, with much turbidity. Without wisdom, we learn the wrong thing and become deluded. The Buddha made the Four Great Vows and taught clear precepts to eliminate evils.

>> The Buddha, for the sake of His one great cause, opened and revealed the Buddha Vehicle. Yet ordinary people are foolish, ignorant and without wisdom. They learn the wrong things and go astray. When they are confused and deluded, they cannot accept instructions and find it hard to eliminate their delusions.

>> “Sariputra, you should know that in the past I took a vow, wishing to enable all sentient beings to be no different from me.”

>> Sariputra, you should know that: At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Sariputra requested Dharma three times. He was one of the initiators. Because of him, the Buddha gave teachings for the assembly to listen to and contemplate.

Sentient beings are foolish, with much turbidity.
Without wisdom, we learn the wrong thing and become deluded.
The Buddha made the Four Great Vows and taught clear precepts to eliminate evils.

The Buddha taught us that we are living in the era of the evil world of Five Turbidities. The time of the Five Turbidities has been coming on for a very long time. The turbidities have been accumulating and are now at their most obvious. This is why the Buddha keeps telling us, “Sentient beings are foolish, with much turbidity.”

Sentient beings are truly foolish. We do not know how long, how many countless kalpas, we have been transmigrating in the Six Realms. We keep carrying this ignorance with us as we constantly cycle in the Six Realms. We are fortunate to have this human form now, but we happened to be born into this turbid world. We cannot control our unenlightened minds, so we are carried along by the swirling currents of turbidity. This is what the Buddha worries about most. Currently, we sentient beings are still [living] in a time of foolishness and severe turbidity.

“Without wisdom, we learn the wrong thing and become deluded.” We know this world is impermanent and filled with suffering, so we act quickly to seek liberation. Some people deviate slightly and end up thousands of miles off course. They sincerely intended to learn, but sadly they went astray. Some people just focus on this one lifetime, on their career, their family, spouse, children and so on. Encountering the slightest difficulty at home, they try to find a shortcut, go astray and end up following improper views and practices.

Nowadays, we constantly hear about different shrines where people seek answers, seek to eliminate misfortunes and seek to relieve distress. Does this work? Some shrines are just run by ordinary people who “act as spirit mediums” and “lead tours to the underworld.” Can these places really offer helpful answers? Can they really lead us toward the light? This is distorted thinking! They are deluded by improper thinking and practices. When we think improperly and follow improper, deviant paths, we are “without wisdom; we learn the wrong things.” This will further delude our minds.

The Buddha could not bear for sentient beings to remain foolish, with so much turbidity, to lose sight of their wisdom and deviate in their thinking. Because the Buddha could not bear this, since Beginningless Time, He has formed aspirations and made vows. He made the Four Great Vows and [aspired to cultivate] the Four Infinite Minds. He taught clear precepts to eliminate evils. He came to teach us and help us understand what rules we must follow in life to walk on the correct path. If we can walk on the correct path, then we will be safe. Thus, “the Buddha made the Four Great Vows.”

We are all familiar with the Four Great Vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” Making vows is simple, right? Very simple. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” I ask everyone, “Are you willing?” [and you reply], “I am.” Yet when I ask, “Will you go to places of suffering? I will. It is very dangerous; are you willing? I have to think about it. It will take a long time. I have to see if I have the time.” Do we come up with so many excuses because we put ourselves first?

Take what is happening in New York for example. For example, in New York (in 2012), after this big disaster (Hurricane Sandy), many people had no electricity, water or fuel. Many of us have seen what life was like after this great disaster. After the disaster was over, people’s lives were filled with so much suffering. People, matters and objects have all changed. Even if they want to return to a normal life, that will be very difficult. If they want to eat bread or drink coffee, those may be difficult to obtain.

[We see] so much impermanence at this time. Many other people are safe, but have those people given rise to the thought, “If you have needs, I will meet them”? Are they willing to do this? Many are still “foolish, with much turbidity.” [They think], “These people have nothing to do with me.” They believe they are safe, so they go to the disaster area as tourists, to see the disaster others have suffered. This is all they do. Their compassion has not been awakened.

Yet, there is also a group of people who are not afraid of toiling in the wind and rain. They go to the disaster area and think of all the ways they can help the people. Take Long Island, for example. Long Island was also hit by the hurricane. Most Tzu Chi volunteers were safe, but they were worried about the disaster victims. They gathered together to figure out how to be of assistance. They reached out to the city government and worked with them to distribute leaflets on their behalf to let the victims know if they needed something, necessities were available to be picked up.

Though we were distributing leaflets, we were actually visiting every family to see and assess the situation. This was how we learned what was most needed. Because the weather was cold, and the temperature had already dropped very low, what people needed most was a bowl of hot soup. So, the director of our Long Island chapter quickly called everyone together. Principal Lin of the Tzu Chi Academy even announced to the parents that he hoped everyone could volunteer to come together to make and provide hot corn soup. When the [Academy] parents heard this, they were very moved. After receiving this message, they gathered together one morning before dawn.

Our director and Principal Lin told the parents, “Even if we cannot do much, we can unite our hearts and together, each give the little bit we can.” Everyone agreed, so from then on, they combined their efforts. They began to make hot soup and hot meals, and delivered them house by house.

Holding a bowl of hot soup in the cold weather, some people said it was the most delicious soup they had ever tasted in their entire lives. These wealthy people had enjoyed such luxuries that many delicacies no longer impressed them but when disaster struck, this was better than seafood or delicacies.

The Four Great Vows the Buddha made express that when sentient beings are suffering, we must help them. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” This is the first of the Four Great Vows. Among the multitudes of sentient beings, many people have economic difficulties, and cannot afford three meals a day. Some people are ill, some are disabled, and some are poor and sick. For these sentient beings, life is indeed really difficult. Other people may have a lot of money, but their minds are filled with afflictions. Those [mental] troubles are worse than financial worries. To deal with this kind of mindset, we need wisdom.

We may exercise compassion and respond to their immediate needs with material goods. Or we may exercise wisdom to find ways to teach according to their capabilities. In the face of this major disaster, we must tell people about impermanence, about suffering and emptiness, This is the perfect time to quickly recruit Living Bodhisattvas. This is the perfect time to awaken people’s love. Thus compassion and wisdom must be cultivated simultaneously.

From the Buddha’s time over 2000 years ago, up to today, sentient beings [have been] [suffering due to their] collective karma. So, the Buddha loudly called upon people to truly exercise both compassion and wisdom and make the Four Great Vows to transform all sentient beings.

All sentient beings have countless afflictions. How can we eliminate our own afflictions and teach others to eliminate their afflictions? Those who are transformed help those in the process of transforming, Those who have succeeded transform those who are succeeding; those who are succeeding transform those who have yet to succeed. Afflictions are boundless, so we must find a way to eliminate them.

We must understand the need to follow rules and precepts. How do we eliminate afflictions, learn the Path, or attain Buddhahood? We must understand the precepts. We must know to “refrain from all evils and do all good deeds.” We have to guard against wrongs and stop evils. If something is wrong, we must not do it; we must “refrain from all evils.” To prevent [wrongs], we must follow precepts. So, we must also proactively “do all good deeds” and eliminate all evils completely. This is the only way to save the world; there is no other way. So, we must save our minds.

The Buddha, for the sake of His one great cause, opened and revealed the Buddha Vehicle. Yet ordinary people are foolish, ignorant and without wisdom. They learn the wrong things and go astray. When they are confused and deluded, they cannot accept instructions and find it hard to eliminate their delusions.

The Buddha comes to this world for one great cause. He comes to open and reveal the One Buddha Vehicle to sentient beings. He opens and reveals in the hope that we sentient beings can realize and enter the One Buddha Vehicle. Yet, we ordinary people are foolish, ignorant and lack wisdom. We are truly foolish and ignorant. Sometimes, we will listen with wisdom [and say]. “I understand, I understand.” Then our wisdom surfaces. After time passes, our wisdom becomes submerged again. So, we have knowledge in the short term but remain deluded in long term. This is how ordinary people are “foolish and without wisdom.”

So, when sentient beings’ wisdom is submerged, they learn the wrong things and go astray. As I just said, when they have problems at home, they will not deal with them wisely. Instead, they consult spirits and ghosts. This is because they are confused. This is because their wisdom remains submerged. Living like this is really a pity.

Others are “are confused and deluded.” Not only are they confused, they are also deluded. Not only do they not understand things, they also tend to make things up. They may not understand something, but they use what they have learned to confuse and delude others. This is known as delusion.

How many people are like that in this world? I remember that there was a person in our hospital like this. As the family’s eldest son, he operated a shrine. His younger sister was mentally impaired; not only did she have a low IQ, she also behaved erratically. The effort of taking care of his sister, led to their mother falling ill. This man operated a shrine [and claimed] to help people mitigate their disasters and resolve their misfortunes. Yet, within his own family, his sister’s mind was unstable. His mother became ill from taking care of her and eventually had to go to a hospital.

For this kind of person, we can tell him, “Do not do this kind of thing. Those superstitions are deluded beliefs. Focus on learning and understanding the Buddha-Dharma.” But he would only say, “I can speak to the gods, Why should I learn the Buddha’s teachings?” People like this cannot accept the teachings. Not only are they unable to accept teachings, upholding precepts is hard for them, too. For this kind of person, they continue to drink and gamble. They are unwilling to control their actions. If they do not uphold precepts, getting them to learn the Buddha’s teachings and let go of their delusions is very difficult. Thus they remain deluded, “finding it hard to eliminate their delusions.” These deluded beliefs must be eliminated. For them to give up that improper way of living and make a living legitimately is indeed very difficult.

As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn the Right Path and not be deluded by difficulties. We have been trapped by confusion and delusion, so the Buddha continuously reminds us that we must form aspirations and vows. To put them into practice, we must have the Right Dharma in our minds.

So, for the Lotus Sutra, Sariputra was the initiator who asked the Buddha on behalf of everyone to teach the most profound, subtle and wondrous One Vehicle principles. The Buddha used various methods to strengthen each person’s spiritual aspirations. He started by saying many things to help people understand that in the past He taught skillful means, and now He was setting these aside to enter the subtle, wondrous and true One Vehicle Dharma. So, the Buddha called upon Sariputra again. Sariputra was the representative of the assembly, so he was known as the initiator.

The Buddha called to Sariputra,

“Sariputra, you should know that in the past I took a vow, wishing to enable all sentient beings to be no different from me.”

He told Sariputra that he must try to thoroughly comprehend the Buddha’s intent, that He only had one vow, to enable all sentient beings to be like Him. However great His own understanding, He hoped all could have the same understanding and also have thorough knowledge of the truths of all things in the universe and the three principles and four states of phenomena. If they can push aside their delusions, “Infinite Dharma-doors will readily appear before them” [and they will] “attain great wisdom.” Then they can penetrate the great path. This was the Buddha’s intent. So, by learning the Buddha’s teachings, we hope to reach this level.

Sariputra, you should know that: At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Sariputra requested Dharma three times. He was one of the initiators. Because of him, the Buddha gave teachings for the assembly to listen to and contemplate.

At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Sariputra “requested Dharma three times.” He was one of the initiators. When the Buddha wanted to say something important, He made sure to get everyone’s attention. To get everyone’s attention, He treated Sariputra as their representative and called his name. This was a way to remind everyone to contemplate the teachings they heard. “Everyone, pay attention. Sariputra, as I’m saying these words, everyone must pay attention to them.” After listening for a while, some get tired and may fall asleep. The Buddha may have seen that some people were falling asleep. Thus He said, “Sariputra, pay attention. Listen to the vows I made. Pay close attention.”

Indeed! We must listen mindfully. Though we are listening every day, Buddhist sutras were written over 2000 years ago and their meanings are very deep and profound. When we learn them, do we find them useful or not? I tell you, they are useful. We must use them every day, not just in Taiwan or the places where we are. We want everyone in this world to receive and use this Dharma.

The Buddha made the Four Great Vows. It is not only Sakyamuni Buddha who can do this; we can all make the Four Great Vows. The Four Great Vows can be implemented at any time. Earlier, I mentioned the volunteers in New York. This is the time for every one of them to make use of the Four Great Vows they made.

In summary, learning the Buddha’s teachings helps us to thoroughly understand the impermanence of life. We do not know what will happen at any time. If we are living a good life, we cannot disregard everything else and just indulge ourselves. Then we are confused. Then we lack wisdom; then we are foolish. Thus, we must constantly heighten our vigilance and always be mindful.

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Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 360 – The Light of the Heart Illuminates the World

>> When our great perfect mirror wisdom is clear and bright, our hearts confirm and are imprinted with True Dharma. Similarly, true Buddha-children are taught and their minds are imprinted with Buddha’s teachings. They reflect the ultimate reality of all things.

>> So, “My body is adorned with marks.  I brilliantly illuminate the world. Honored by the boundless assembly, I speak of the seal of ultimate reality”

>> He brilliantly illuminated the world: The luminous light from within us can penetrate all things. It has two uses. First, to break through the darkness. Second, to reveal the Dharma. The light of the Buddha is the appearance of His wisdom.

>> Honored by the boundless assembly: Because of His virtue and great realizations, the Buddha’s body is pure and bright and. His light is auspicious and magnificent. Sentient beings respect Him with body and mind.

>> I speak of the seal of ultimate reality: The seal of ultimate reality is imprinted as the Buddha’s original vow and taught to enable all sentient beings to become like Him in all respects and to realize what they did not know before, which is the perfect Great Vehicle wisdom.

When our great perfect mirror wisdom is clear and bright,
our hearts confirm and are imprinted with True Dharma.
Similarly, true Buddha-children are taught and their minds are imprinted with Buddha’s teachings.
They reflect the ultimate reality of all things.

We humans live on this planet in the universe. This world is so vast! Human beings are so tiny! In our tiny little lives, simply because of greedy, angry and ignorant thoughts, we disrupt the harmony of the world and the balanced workings of our natural climate. Thus, the four elements are out of balance and manmade calamities constantly arise.

The Buddha taught us simply because He wants us to rein in our afflictions, to minimize them. If we can continuously minimize them, eventually we can completely eliminate them. Then we will have “great perfect mirror wisdom.”

Our mind is like a big round mirror. If we can clean it thoroughly, then the conditions before us will be reflected in our hearts and we will clearly discern “right” from “wrong.” If there is dust or dirt on the big round mirror, then the reflected image in that mirror will appear blurry and out of focus. It looks similar to the object, but also not, like being unable to discern right from wrong. Under these ambiguous circumstances, how can we move ahead steadily?

Sometimes at traffic intersections, we see a [convex] mirror. If that mirror is clear, we can see cars coming from all directions and will know to stop and allow other cars to pass. Then naturally we can proceed safely. But if the mirror is blurry, we cannot really see anything at all. Are there cars coming from other directions? We do not know. If we keep driving and miss seeing a car coming, within a split second there may be a crash that can lead to a big disaster.

I recall an elementary school student whose parents worked far away so she was cared for by her grandmother. Her grandmother was a recycling Bodhisattva. Every day, she took her granddaughter to school. One day, they passed by an intersection where the mirror was blurry and they saw a car almost hit someone. This young girl was only in elementary school, but she told her grandmother, “Grandma, that mirror is very blurry!” Grandmother said, “You’re right, it is blurry. Tomorrow we will bring some cloths to wipe it clean.”

Beginning the very next day, the grandmother, aside from transporting the girl on her moped, also transported a bucket of water and a cloth. Every day, they stopped at this part in the road and quickly wiped the mirror clean. This happened because one person simply saw what needed to be done and did it. The grandmother was loving and the child wise. Since they were willing to do this work, the people who traveled on this stretch of road could be safe.

To keep the great perfect mirror wisdom clean, we must be willing to cleanse our minds every day. When we can clearly discern right from wrong, then, naturally, we will be willing to give. So, “Our great perfect mirror wisdom is clear and bright.” If we wipe clean the mirror in our minds daily, then “our hearts confirm and are imprinted with True Dharma.” Our hearts will always be imprinted with true teachings. When the Dharma is carved into our hearts, the Dharma will manifest in our actions. With the Dharma imprinted in our hearts, we understand that the greatest happiness comes from giving.

So, those whose minds are imprinted with the Buddha’s teachings are Buddha-children. Since the Buddha gave us these teachings and wants us to imprint them on our minds, we must accept them. When He teaches, we must accept and practice His teachings. If we can accept and practice them, then we are true Buddha-children.

So, [our minds] “reflect the ultimate reality of all things.” To see the ultimate reality of all things, we must be like that mirror in our daily living and clearly reflect all conditions. Then we will not lose our way and can safely travel in all directions without obstructions. This comes from mindfully accepting

the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha tells us that in our lives of impermanence and hardship, [there are Four Noble Truths]. We have been discussing Small Vehicle Dharma because it is a fundamental teaching. The Buddha makes a point to tell everyone that life is impermanent, so we will realize that in our impermanent lives, we must seize the time that we have. The Buddha makes a point to tell us that life is full of suffering, so as to help us attain realizations. He tells us that the place where the Five Realms coexist is here. All realms, whether heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost or animal, coexist here, in the Saha World.

For example, at this time (November, 2012), on the east coast of the United States, New York, New Jersey, Long Island, Washington DC, and so on, places that I have been mentioning, there is great devastation. The sight is truly unbearable.

[Disaster struck] four, five days ago in the greater New York area, the financial center of the world. Traveling up the coast, Hurricane Sandy approached, then landed. Within moments, everything was destroyed. This place was heaven on earth. It was the center of finance and trade. People there lived a comfortable and affluent life with very few hardships and obstacles. They did not realize that a hurricane which was not strong but spanned a wide area, with [its effect on] the sea and with rain could cause a disaster of such magnitude.

After the disaster, everything was in ruins. There was no electricity, water, gas or fuel. We even saw images of places covered in water, stinking and rotten. People could not live there. Their clothes were wet; their belongings were soaked in water. [Their houses were] full of mud. Isn’t this Niraya (joyless) Hell? Everything was muddy and wet. There was no electricity, no water, and no way to clean up. Most of the victims were small families or young people living on their own. Young people now are not used to physical labor. Though they are young, they could only stare at the devastation. They had no idea where to start cleaning up. How could they move the heavy objects? If even they did not have the strength, what about the elderly?

It seems that people in modern society have lost the survival skills that people of the past used to have. They are only trained to use their brains, to move their fingers on the keyboard. Many lack any other kinds of strength. Look at them. Their daily living came to a complete halt; their routine has been disrupted. Such suffering!

But even under these circumstances, some people lit candles so they could see and prepare food. Could they make some hot soup for people? Could they find ways to make hot meals to satisfy people’s hunger? This was truly difficult. Without electricity, everything was dark, so they lit candles to do this work. These people are Bodhisattva-volunteers who are devoting themselves to helping others.

Those of us who are here must always be mindful because in this world we can confirm all teachings the Buddha has given, one by one. Using the information technology we have now, we can see and understand these things. This world is where the Five Realms coexist; besides suffering, emptiness and impermanence, the Three [Evil] Realms are part of this world. So, we must constantly heighten our vigilance and form aspirations. Forming aspirations begins with the mind. We must take action to help others in addition to helping ourselves. I hope we can all wipe the mirror in our minds so it is clear and bright. We must [allow] the Dharma to imprint our minds and manifest in our actions. So, we must be mindful.

Yesterday, we discussed how the Buddha said, “My body is adorned with marks.” The marks He referred to were the way the Threefold Truth combined to form the One Great Vehicle. The Threefold Truth is the truth of emptiness, of illusiveness and of the Middle Way.

When we clearly look at the world, do we see anything that lasts forever? No, just emptiness. We all eventually return to emptiness. The only thing we take with us is our karma. Therefore, we must clearly recognize the path that leads to and from this world. Thus we need light and the Dharma in our minds to clearly understand.

So, “My body is adorned with marks, I brilliantly illuminate the world. Honored by the boundless assembly, I speak of the seal of ultimate reality.”

This is the wisdom of the Buddha. He said that. He has already comprehended these principles. [In the midst of] emptiness and illusiveness, He remains in the truth of the Middle Way and makes use of the One Vehicle Dharma. This is how He illuminates the world with light. When sentient beings in darkness and ignorance are illuminated by His light, they can then reflect that light.

The sun is up there, shining down here. If something blocks the light from above, it will be dark here. The sun is up there, and if there is a mirror here that reflects its rays, then the darkness will be illuminated. So, the Buddha’s light, the light of His wisdom illuminates all sentient beings. As sentient beings, we Buddhist practitioners must wipe this mirror clean and receive this light so we can reflect it and let it pervade the world.

When the mirrors are all reflecting each other, won’t this world become very bright? This is the Buddha’s compassion and wisdom. Thus He is “honored by the boundless assembly.” Everyone in this world should respect Him since. He comes to this world for the one great cause to “speak of the seal of ultimate reality.” This is telling us that [teaching] ultimate reality is like carving a seal. Once the Buddha has carved a seal, we just need to stain it with ink and stamp it on a white piece of paper. Then whatever is carved on the seal becomes what is stamped on the paper. This is a form of confirmation.

Each teaching given by the Buddha, every word, must be carved in our minds. We must not deviate from the Buddha’s Dharma. He “speaks of the seal of ultimate reality,” so without deviation, we must transmit each word of the Dharma to other people. One seal can be stamped many times.

What is brilliant [illumination]? Let us further understand how. “He brilliantly illuminated the world. The luminous light from within us” can radiate from our hearts. We intrinsically possess the Buddha’s wisdom.

He brilliantly illuminated the world: The luminous light from within us can penetrate all things. It has two uses. First, to break through the darkness. Second, to reveal the Dharma. The light of the Buddha is the appearance of His wisdom.

I hope the light of the Buddha can illuminate our minds, so that we can also radiate this light. From our own nature of True Suchness we can “penetrate all things.” When our minds can radiate a penetrating light, principles around us become very clear. This is what light can do. A light that can penetrate all things comes from a mind that can truly exercise wisdom.

This light has two uses. The first is to break through the darkness. For instance, if we turn off the lights, we cannot see one another. By turning on the lights, we eliminate darkness. When light manifests, the scene we see will be very clear. The second is to reveal the Dharma. If we eliminate our ignorance, then the Dharma will manifest.

This is the light of the Buddha, the mark of His wisdom. So where is wisdom? We cannot see it. When the Buddha teaches the Dharma, He uses analogies, expressions, causes and conditions to describe it for us. “Oh, it’s like this. I understand.” Once we accept [His teaching], we can also attain the Buddha’s wisdom and the same brilliant illumination.

He is “honored by the boundless assembly” because of His virtues and great realizations. I frequently tell you what it means to have virtue. Virtue can only be attained through practice; it truly requires internal cultivation. When we do not cultivate our mind, the Dharma will not remain in it. Ordinary people let it constantly leak away.

Honored by the boundless assembly: Because of His virtue and great realizations, the Buddha’s body is pure and bright and. His light is auspicious and magnificent. Sentient beings respect Him with body and mind.

Because of His virtue and great realizations, His mind has reached a state of perfection, which means it abides in the Dharma. This is the Buddha’s virtue. He has attained great realizations,

so His “body is pure and bright and. His light is auspicious and magnificent.” Light can radiate from His mind. As I previously said, light comes from His pure wisdom and illuminates Him. It can also illuminate others. This is the physical appearance of one with great virtue and great realizations. His mind is already very tranquil and clear. The light emitted from this state is auspicious and magnificent. So, sentient beings respect Him in actions and thoughts.

The Buddha comes to this world to “speak of the seal of ultimate reality.” He hopes that the Dharma He teaches will be deeply imprinted in everyone’s minds. Therefore, the seal of ultimate reality “is imprinted as the Buddha’s original vows”; it is encompassed by the Buddha’s original vows. The seal of ultimate reality is His original vow.

I speak of the seal of ultimate reality: The seal of ultimate reality is imprinted as the Buddha’s original vow and taught to enable all sentient beings to become like Him in all respects and to realize what they did not know before, which is the perfect Great Vehicle wisdom.

I often say that the Dharma that the Buddha safeguards in His mind is this, the seal of ultimate reality. The Buddha’s original vow is to imprint this seal He attained onto everyone’s mind. This is the Buddha’s vow, “to enable sentient beings to become like Him in all respects.” So, I often say, “take the Buddha’s mind as our mind.” We must imprint His mind onto ours.

“[We] realize what we did not know before, which is the perfect Great Vehicle wisdom.” We must quickly awaken. In the past we did not know better and only sought to benefit ourselves, to liberate ourselves. Now we are different. After we have cleansed ourselves, we should devote ourselves to go among people. This is practicing the Six Paramitas and walking the Bodhisattva-path.

Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have minds like a sheet of white paper. Our spiritual state must be tranquil and pure; only then can this brilliance penetrate us. Once imprinted, this blank paper will become a priceless treasure. Dear Bodhisattvas, learning from the Buddha is learning the true Bodhisattva Way, and not just to be a Bodhisattva in name. Everyone, please always be mindful.

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Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 3 – Understand His True Magnificence and Virtue

>> The radiance of our hearts has no beginning and end, forever illuminating the boundless universe. Sentient beings respect and admire the one honored by the world. His subtle and wondrous true Dharma is infinite.

>> If people faithfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata will not deceive them. He has no thoughts of envy or greed, and He has eliminated the evil in all things. Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.

>> “My body is adorned with marks; I brilliantly illuminate the world. Honored by the boundless assembly, I speak of the seal of ultimate reality.”

>> My body is adorned with marks: The Buddha’s virtuous appearance is magnificent. In His heart there is the Threefold Truth, but in the end He manifests ultimate reality. This is the magnificence and virtue of the Buddha.

The radiance of our hearts has no beginning and end,
forever illuminating the boundless universe.
Sentient beings respect and admire the one honored by the world.
His subtle and wondrous true Dharma is infinite.

Spiritual practice is about our hearts and minds. We must sustain the radiance of our hearts. “The radiance of our hearts has no beginning and end.” Our minds were originally pure. We are intrinsically [this way]. From Beginningless Time it has been thus; in the future it also will be thus. This light in our hearts will always remain, but we ordinary people have not fully exercised its potential because it has been obscured.

The light in our hearts is “forever illuminating the boundless universe.” If we manifest the light in our hearts, we too can, forever and ever, clearly illuminate the boundless universe. We will not be the way we are now, knowing only one side but not the other. Furthermore, we are completely unaware of the true principles of all things in the universe. This is why we ordinary people are helpless.

The Buddha has already attained perfect enlightenment. He knows how to return to the light in His heart, so when He teaches us the method, we must earnestly accept it. We must learn from the Buddha.

The Buddha is the one we “sentient beings respect and admire, the one honored by the world.” Thus He is called “World-Honored One.” In this world, He manifested the process of His practice and His attainment, making Him a role model for the world. Ordinary people should have faith [in Him] and give rise to respect and admiration.

“His subtle and wondrous True Dharma is infinite.” The Dharma attained by the Buddha is very subtle and wondrous, and is the True Dharma. That true, subtle and wondrous Dharma is infinite. As for the boundless universe, it is everlasting. This Dharma will exist forever.

He tells all of us, “I already know this Dharma. The Dharma is intrinsically in us all. These teachings do not all belong to me, but to everyone. All of us have always had this Dharma.” So, what we attain is very subtle and wondrous. After a person awakens, that intangible state of mind can penetrate the true principles of all things and they can collect them all in their mind. Think about it, isn’t this wondrous? This is truly subtle and wondrous True Dharma. This Dharma is infinite, and has always been intrinsic to us.

This is all about the mind. When we engage in spiritual practice, we must train our minds to be like the Buddha-mind, that pure, that bright, that clear and illuminating. He can penetrate the true principles of all things. This all depends on the mind.

When the Buddha was in this world, one day, Ananda and a bhiksu named Vavgisa went into the city at the same time. They saw many people around. Suddenly, an elegant and beautiful woman passed in front of them. Vavgisa saw her and in that moment, he began to adore her. His gaze followed her and moved with her. Then she disappeared into the crowd. Suddenly, he realized what he was doing. In that moment, he reprimanded himself. He was a spiritual practitioner; how could the sight of such an elegant girl so easily attract his mind? This should not happen to him.

“Being born human is rare. I have finally been born human, learned the Buddha-Dharma and became a monastic in the Sangha. Yet, my mind gave rise to this desire, to this sexual desire. What should I do about it? I think I must protect my wisdom-life. I’d rather extinguish my physical life than my wisdom-life.”

This mental struggle was very painful. So, he shared his thinking with Ananda, who was walking beside him. He told Ananda , “I am willing to destroy my physical life in order to protect my wisdom-life. But how can I ensure that my wisdom-life will be everlasting?”

Ananda said very sincerely, “It was fortunate you awakened in time; this means your wisdom-life is stable. You must know that when lust enters our hearts, it easily causes us to be confused. Desire is like a torch next to dry grass. If we are not careful, a wind could blow the fire toward the grass, and the entire plain will go up in flames. In spiritual practice, we must protect our minds very carefully. We must promptly cultivate our minds.”

The Buddha teaches us to engage in “contemplation of impurity.” If we are usually in an environment where things go smoothly for us, when our minds give rise to thoughts, especially sexual desire, we must immediately engage in “contemplation of impurity.” Contemplate the body as impure, contemplate all feelings as suffering, contemplate the mind as impermanent and contemplate all things as having no self. We must promptly engage in this kind of contemplation. When lust enters the mind, we feel as if our hearts are on fire. So, we must quickly engage in “contemplation of impurity.”

In the Buddha’s lifetime, as the spiritual practitioners who lived with Him went among the people, lust easily led their gaze astray and their minds gave rise to desire. This is to say nothing of us now. As we engage in spiritual practice now, there are many traps, many temptations around us. So, we must be vigilant of ourselves. We must emulate the Buddha’s virtuous conduct, the way He practiced, the virtue He manifested, that whole process. We certainly must earnestly follow the process of the Buddha’s spiritual practice. Only then can we attain a state equal to the Buddha’s. So, we must always protect the radiance of our hearts.

So, we must respect and admire the Buddha and the Dharma the World-Honored One has attained. Through His practice, He attained subtle and wondrous True Dharma. We must give rise to a deep faith and respect and admire this subtle, wondrous. True Dharma, which is infinite. Actually, He came to teach us, to help all of us recognize that this subtle, wondrous, True Dharma has always been in our hearts. As long as the light in our hearts manifest, we can illuminate the world and all things. So, He hopes we can understand our minds.

This is just like Ananda’s warning to his fellow spiritual practitioner. Should he ever be tempted by external things, he [must] quickly give rise to a mindset of wiping clean the mirror in his mind and earnestly protecting his bright and clear mind. This is the same principle. We must all be like Ananda and help our fellow practitioners. We must not be jealous of others. If we can do it, others can too. We must praise them, be happy for them, and even help them so they can surpass us. This is what it means to truly have a heart that encompasses the universe and penetrates its boundlessness.

So, we must “eliminate the evil in all things.” When things around us connect with our minds, we must not be tempted by them and must not keep such habitual tendencies in our minds. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

If people faithfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata will not deceive them. He has no thoughts of envy or greed, and He has eliminated the evil in all things. Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.

Next, we continue talking about this sutra passage. “Throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.” In the ten directions, [four cardinal], four intermediate, above and below, everything is understood by the Buddha, to the point where His mind can encompass all things in the universe.

Every one of us gives rise to thoughts of ignorance and afflictions; the Buddha understands everything very clearly. So, to teach the Dharma to sentient beings, He fully abides in principles of ultimate reality. Because of the Dharma, His mind will never be defiled by impure things. So, His mind is very much at ease. He appears in this world for one great cause, to teach selfless great love to all beings. So, “the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.” In this world, the Buddha alone can be that at ease and give to all sentient beings without any selfish thoughts. He hopes the Dharma we all attain is the same as His.

In this world, this universe, the Buddha’s mind is the most pure. Because His mind is the most pure, He “has nothing to fear.” He had no need to be afraid or worried. Because He clearly understands all things, He has nothing to fear when teaching the Dharma.

As for ordinary people, they can teach the Dharma, but they still have many worries. Why are they worried? They worry whether they can accomplish this task. They wonder whether this place will be safe. Indeed, they worry about so many things. If it were me, I would never say “I alone have nothing to fear.”

So, these few sutra passages may not seem to be anything [special], but actually, they are the most important. We must value the reason

the Buddha is so peaceful and at ease while we ordinary people, in our daily living, have so many afflictions. Why did people who practiced with the Buddha still give rise to these thoughts? When it comes to His disciples, why did the Buddha have to, over and over again, tirelessly teach according to their capabilities? Why? I always think, attaining Buddhahood is not an ordinary matter.

But what the Buddha first taught us was not ordinary Dharma. The remarkable [Dharma] He taught could stand the test of time and was attained by countless Buddhas through. Their practices over a countless number of kalpas. The Buddha told us, very calmly, that He never said that engaging in spiritual practice would immediately lead to attainment. So, we must really understand that the Buddha spoke true and genuine words to us, and we must accept them with sincerity.

So, the Buddha said of Himself,

“My body is adorned with marks; I brilliantly illuminate the world. Honored by the boundless assembly, I speak of the seal of ultimate reality.”

We must also mindfully understand this. When the Buddha says “my,” He is referring to Himself. The Buddha says, “My,” Sakyamuni’s, “body is adorned with marks.” We all know the Buddha has 32 Marks, but the marks the Buddha speaks of now are not part of His external appearance, but the ultimate truths He attained.

My body is adorned with marks: The Buddha’s virtuous appearance is magnificent. In His heart there is the Threefold Truth, but in the end He manifests ultimate reality. This is the magnificence and virtue of the Buddha.

The Buddha’s magnificence and virtuous appearance comes from His spiritual practice, from what His mind attained. Through His spiritual practice, He attained this level. What level? In His heart there is the Threefold Truth. The Threefold Truth is principles.

Because we have no way to comprehend the principles of this world, the Dharma taught by the Buddha for these Small Vehicle practitioners starts with the truths of emptiness, illusiveness and the Middle Way. This is the Threefold Truth.

As for the Threefold Truth, sentient beings have very many attachments, so the Buddha must use various teachings to explain them to us. No matter how strongly we cling to something, in the end, we have nothing. Even when it comes to sages and noble beings, where are they now? For example, Confucius, Zhuangzi and Mozi are widely considered to be virtuous people. These noble beings and sages, where are they now? Sakyamuni Buddha was also a noble being over 2000 years ago. As for this extraordinary noble being, where is His tangible manifestation now?

So, even Buddhas, sages and noble beings are subject to birth, aging, illness and death. The mountains, rivers and land are also subject to impermanence and deterioration, to formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Our minds are impermanent. We cannot see it, but our minds change often.

If our minds give rise to wholesome thoughts, then everything we do will be good. If our minds are tempted by external phenomena and give rise to evil thoughts of greed and anger, delusions and ignorance will manifest. Then, everything we do will be unwholesome. All this comes about when our minds connect to all kinds of conditions. So, the Buddha warns us all about “emptiness.”

The tyrannical ruler of ancient times, Qin Shi Huang, where is he now? Though he ruled the world, where is he now? There is just emptiness. These are all illusive labels. Illusory things cause our minds to waver, cause us to think of gain and loss. So, we must know that all things are empty.

If all things are empty, does that mean we should stop working? If everything is empty, if everything is illusory, why should we ever do anything? We need not do good things and we need not fear doing bad things, because everything is empty and illusory. Don’t these [truths] contradict each other? The Buddha tells us of the Middle Way. We must know that “empty” refers to true emptiness. Within true emptiness there is “wondrous existence.” So, “wondrous existence” is explained through analogies, causes and conditions and expressions. This is the Buddha’s wisdom. So, He applied His wisdom to wholeheartedly teaching sentient beings, and the final principles [He taught] were to reveal “ultimate reality.”

So, “This is the magnificence and virtue of the Buddha.” This is the virtue the Buddha cultivated, the appearance He obtained. I always tell everyone, “The virtuous attain.” When we engage in cultivation, we will attain. We will attain the affirmation of others and their trust. In this way, people will respect us.

So, everything we create, the conduct we cultivate, must always [come from] our wisdom. As we are wise, we must also be pure. We must find a way to realize the subtle and wondrous truths of true emptiness. When we are amidst illusory appearances, how can we penetrate their true principles? We must not allow our greed, anger, delusion and so on to obstruct us on our way to penetrating true principles.

The Buddha has a “body adorned with marks” for “in His heart there is the Threefold Truth,” the truths of emptiness, illusiveness and the Middle Way. If we can penetrate these truths, ultimately we can combine them. The Buddha [comes] to teach the One Reality, the ultimate truth, which is the One Vehicle. The Buddha already has [these characteristics]. Thus, His “body is adorned with marks.”

So, everyone, when learning from the Buddha, we truly must be mindful. We must not let even a bit of affliction or ignorance obscure our minds and give rise to evil thoughts in our minds as we engage in spiritual practice. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0358

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 358 – Contemplate the Teachings of Impermanence

>> The mind is impermanent, and there is no self in phenomena. In this world, we make use of labels. But taking the illusory as real obstructs the path. With great realizations, Samadhi and wisdom, we are unhindered.

>> He treats others with sincerity and does not deceive those with limited capabilities. He does not crave the benefits of the Dharma and does not envy those who may surpass Him. The Buddha’s mind is pure. He has eliminated all evils and gives teachings with a pure heart.

>> “If people faithfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata will not deceive them.”

>> “He has no thoughts of envy or greed, and He has eliminated the evil in all things. Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.”

>> He has eliminated the evil in all things: The virtue of ending is a synonym of liberation. The Tathagata is free from all afflictions, delusions and karma, completely and with no remainder. This is the virtue of ending.

>> [Buddhas] alone have nothing to fear: The Tathagata attained supreme and perfect enlightenment and has unsurpassed and extraordinary wisdom. Among all sentient beings, He issued the lion’s roar, turned the wondrous Dharma-wheel and attained great liberation. Thus His fearlessness is inconceivable.

The mind is impermanent, and there is no self in phenomena.
In this world, we make use of labels.
But taking the illusory as real obstructs the path.
With great realizations, Samadhi and wisdom, we are unhindered.

“The mind is impermanent, and there is no self in phenomena.” The mind is impermanent, and phenomena also have no independent individuality. I constantly say that our thoughts arise, abide, change and cease. Our minds are constantly changing along with our external conditions, so we must take good care of our minds. We must “contemplate the mind as impermanent” and “contemplate all phenomena as having no self.” We must constantly understand these principles. Then we can stabilize our minds and clearly understand the temporary [nature] of labels in the world.

For some time previous to this, I talked about “conditioned phenomena.” In this world, we make use of labels. These temporary labels are not fixed or real. Moreover, there are many languages in this world, with different kinds of writing. There are thousands of languages, and a countless number of words. So, in this world, we make use of labels. Regardless of its name and how it is written, its underlying principle is the same. If we understand its principle, as long as it is a true principle, we can express it in any language. But what form do true principles take? Do true principles have tangible appearances? They are actually intangible, but they are omnipresent.

When speaking of a house that has four sides, it may be square or rectangular. Either structure could be designed by an architect who figures out how big the pillars and how thick the walls should be for it to become a very sturdy and solid house. There are principles [of design] behind this.

We can discuss principles, but they are not tangible things. We can only talk about them, not show them. To carry them out, we can decide on a specific place, a certain location where we can turn the principles into plans and create something with labor. So, “the label” can be considered real, in that it is based on underlying principles. Things that are conditioned and created based on these principles, after many years go by, will eventually decay. For anything with a worldly appearance, [decay] is only a matter of time. But principles will always remain. Because they are intangible, they do not arise or cease. Because they are non-arising and non-ceasing, everlasting, they are “real”; they are true principles.

True principles are empty, because we cannot see them. From principles of true emptiness arise illusory appearances, so there is wondrous existence in true emptiness. Something with “existence” will certainly have the “appearance of arising and ceasing.” These are the principles of conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. What are wondrous existence and true emptiness? To put it simply, they are things we cannot see, things we cannot touch. In this case, should we believe in them or not? If we do not believe in them, we will always “take the illusory as real,” and this will obstruct our spiritual aspirations. Thus, the real teachings of the path are what we must firmly adhere to. Since we believe, our faith must be strong. If we deviate even slightly and take the illusory as real, then we will obstruct our own spiritual practice with improper thinking, views and practices.

Remember how during our volunteer morning assembly, a volunteer said, “Currently in the hospital, there is an 80-year-old grandma who is very ill.” She had a severely handicapped daughter she needed to care for, and she could not bear to leave her. In addition to caring for her daughter, she herself was ill and wasting away day by day. Now she only weighed 28 kilograms. She was terminally ill, but she still could not let [her daughter] go. In the Intensive Care Unit (ICU),

her son, who was over 60 and very filial, came to care for her every day. One of our volunteers saw this and was very moved, so she chatted with him. She learned that this 60-year-old man was the old woman’s son. He told the volunteer, “Actually, decades ago, I used to drive your master around for a period of time.” He used to work in a financial institution, and his manager was one of our commissioners. Sometimes when his manager did case visits, he would drive his manager and me around as we conducted case visits together. He also had positive feelings toward Tzu Chi.

Later, he left that institution, and he established a shrine to help people eliminate their misfortunes. He did this for a long time. Though he helped others eliminate their bad luck, in his family, he had a severely handicapped younger sister. Caring for her was very taxing for his mother. If this shrine could help others use the power of gods to eliminate their misfortunes, why couldn’t he first eliminate his own family’s misfortunes? This shows the perspectives of sentient beings. If our perspective is not correct, we take the illusory as real and confuse the improper with the proper. Then the Right Dharma is influenced by our improper beliefs. Thus, we are led astray.

Not only did he have improper beliefs, [he also] misled those who asked him to eliminate their misfortune. They hoped for gods to eliminate their misfortunes. Thus, they probably lost out on many opportunities to change their family’s way of life and delayed treatment of their physical illnesses. If some families are not harmonious, if there are poor relationships between parents and children, between spouses or between mother- and daughter-in-law, they may try to eliminate misfortunes and improve their relationships by looking for charms, conducting rituals and so on. This only causes more trouble for their families. Some people try to bring peace to everyone in their families in this way. Perhaps they may even delay the treatment of their illness.

If we stray toward an improper course, there will be obstacles every inch of our way. So, taking the illusory as real obstructs the teachings of the path. This leads us toward impropriety and evil deeds. Therefore Sakyamuni Buddha leads us to “great realizations, Samadhi and wisdom,” so our minds can settle down and abide in the Right Dharma.

If our minds can be still and abide in Right Dharma, “infinite Dharma-doors will readily appear.” We can “attain great wisdom and completely understand all Dharma.” When we have Samadhi and wisdom and are on the correct course, then naturally [our path] will have no obstacles. Thus, the Buddha teaches us to “treat others with sincerity” and “not deceive those with limited capabilities.”

He treats others with sincerity and does not deceive those with limited capabilities. He does not crave the benefits of the Dharma and does not envy those who may surpass Him. The Buddha’s mind is pure. He has eliminated all evils and gives teachings with a pure heart.

The Buddha treats sentient beings with utmost sincerity. If people have limited faculties and capabilities, the Buddha still treats them with open honesty. He does not deceive or lie to them.

The Buddha “speaks the truth, what is real; He does not speak lies or falsehoods,” so He “does not deceive those with limited capabilities” and “does not crave the benefits of the Dharma.” The Buddha openly shares the Dharma with everyone. This is what we must learn to do. We must “not envy those who may surpass us” or be jealous that others may outdo us. We must hope that everyone can understand principles better than us and can do better than us. Only then are we a truly wise person.

We help others succeed, help them surpass us. Only when we take joy in others’ merits can we be constantly joyful. So, the Buddha’s mind is pure, completely free of evil. He “gives teachings with a pure heart.” When the Buddha is teaching the Dharma, His heart is always very pure. He does not seek rewards, fame or benefits, etc. All [His evils] have been eliminated. The Buddha always abides in the true path, the great principles of His wisdom. His mind always abides in that state, so He never has any impurities in His mind. He is always fully in a state of purity, so He teaches the Dharma with a pure heart.

As we have discussed,

“If people faithfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata will not deceive them.”

We must have faith in the Buddha. He has such a calm and composed mindset in teaching all sentient beings.

“He has no thoughts of envy or greed, and He has eliminated the evil in all things. Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.”

Let us examine “eliminated the evil in all things.”

He has eliminated the evil in all things: The virtue of ending is a synonym of liberation. The Tathagata is free from all afflictions, delusions and karma, completely and with no remainder. This is the virtue of ending.

“Eliminating” refers to the virtue of ending. [To cultivate] the virtue of ending is to be free from all greed, anger, delusion, ignorance and so on. All afflictions and ignorance have been eliminated from the Buddha. He is already liberated and not trapped by afflictions. He is already liberated, so He is not teaching for fame or wealth. Not at all. This is the “virtue of ending.”

So, “to eliminate” is to end afflictions. “The evil in all things” refers to many improper practices which may disrupt true [teachings]. So, the Buddha has also eliminated these kinds of improper things. The Buddha only teaches the Right Dharma. The Buddha has realized supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.

“Universal” means no one can surpass Him. No one has reached a higher level of enlightenment than Him, so we call Him “the Great Enlightened One of the Universe”. In the universe, whose teachings can surpass the Buddha’s? Who among us can surpass the Buddha’s proper and right thinking? Thus, it is “universal.” This means it is supreme; nothing is higher. So, it is called “universal”. It is absolutely certain that it is unsurpassed. “Perfect enlightenment” means it is proper, not biased toward the self or the improper. He had already completely eliminated these things. Thus “He has eliminated the evil in all things.” All biases toward the self and improper practices, all afflictions, ignorance and obstacles are gone, “completely free with no remainder.” They have been completely eliminated. He is very pure; there is not a single remnant left in His heart, so He can give teachings with a pure heart.

“Therefore, in the Buddha-lands of the ten directions….” The four directions, above and below and the four intermediate directions put together encompass the entire universe. “There is only the One Vehicle Dharma,” there is only one subtle and wondrous Great Vehicle Dharma. “There are not two or three.”

This One Vehicle Dharma is the path to Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must awaken ourselves and others. We must deliver ourselves to the other shore and also bring along many other people to walk this smooth road together until we reach our destination. This is how we truly [practice] the Great Vehicle. If we only awaken and benefit ourselves, we are practicing the Small Vehicle. So, there are not two or three [vehicles]. The Buddha does not hope to deliver one person. He wants all of us to deliver all people. Thus, we must each aspire to transform sentient beings. This is what the Buddha hopes for. This must be done with the One Vehicle Dharma; “there are not two or three.” There are no Two or Three Vehicles.

The Tathagata “alone has nothing to fear.” This is because “the Tathagata attained supreme and universal enlightenment and has unsurpassed and extraordinary wisdom.”

[Buddhas] alone have nothing to fear: The Tathagata attained supreme and perfect enlightenment and has unsurpassed and extraordinary wisdom. Among all sentient beings, He issued the lion’s roar, turned the wondrous Dharma-wheel and attained great liberation. Thus His fearlessness is inconceivable.

[He has] “unsurpassed and extraordinary wisdom.” The Buddha’s wisdom is “all-encompassing wisdom.” In the past, I told everyone that “all-encompassing wisdom” is the Tathagata’s wisdom, which is “unsurpassed and extraordinary wisdom.” No one can surpass the Buddha’s wisdom, which is “all-encompassing wisdom.” This is the wisdom of the Buddha.

So, the Buddha could, “among all sentient beings, issue the lion’s roar and turn the wondrous Dharma-wheel.” The Buddha is often compared to the king of beasts, the lion. When the lion roars, the earth will shake so animals can feel it and all animals will be afraid. The “lion’s roar” is a sound that can move the minds of all people. This describes how. He turns the Dharma-wheel in a way that moves people. “He attained great liberation.” If the Dharma-wheel turns, the wheel in the mind will turn. He “attained great liberation” so He could turn the minds of ordinary people into minds of sages. Thus, “His fearlessness is inconceivable.”

Though many with limited capabilities and wisdom still cannot understand the Buddha’s teachings, despite that, they can still faithfully accept it. The Buddha did not just want to inspire faith, He wanted them to accept [the teachings] as well. Not only must they accept them, they must also put the teachings into practice. Because He teaches sentient beings in this way, His “fearlessness is inconceivable.” He fears nothing. When the Buddha teaches the Dharma, His teachings are replete with principles. All things in the world, even the temporary labels we make use of, can also lead back to Right Dharma. The Buddha takes these principles and puts them into terms people can understand, so they can penetrate true principles.

This is what we constantly tell everyone. One Dharma can contain all truths. Thus, there is a saying, “By grasping one truth, we understand all truths.” So, we must understand that “the mind is impermanent and there is no self in phenomena.” If we can all understand that “the mind is impermanent,” since our minds are impermanent, we must seize this moment to focus our minds and not allow our wavering minds to be swayed by names and appearances.

If we thoroughly understand the Buddha’s truth, that “there is no self in things,” then what is truly the “self”? For the sake of the “self” alone, people constantly fight over things. Who should I refer to as “I”? Between her, you and me, which one of us is really “I”? None of us. It is just a label we use in response to worldly phenomena. If we thoroughly understand this, then we know “there is no self in phenomena.” The Dharma is intangible but contains the principles of wondrous existence. No matter what we want to do, if we act according to principles, then worldly appearances will seem firm. If we do not act according to principles, then those worldly appearances will quickly vanish.

So, if we understand that “the mind is impermanent and there is no self in phenomena,” then with this principle, we penetrate the illusory labels of all things and will not “take the illusory as real” and let it obstruct our path. Thus, we must rely on the Buddha’s “great realizations, Samadhi and wisdom.” We must not allow worldly phenomena or improper practices to obstruct us. So, as we learn the Dharma, we must always be mindful.