Author: Scott Ogata

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Ch02-ep0332

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 332 – Believe in Virtuous Dharma and Spiritual Friends

>> Good and evil depend on conditions. When we draw near spiritual and virtuous friends, we must remember their words and sincerely adhere to Bodhicitta.

>> With all conditions, analogies, expressions and skillful means, I enable all to rejoice. Perhaps I may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, or things that have never been.

>> I enable all to rejoice: This means that Bodhisattvas can use the Six Perfections to benefit sentient beings. Because Bodhisattvas take these actions, sentient beings give rise to happiness.

>> Sutras: Sutras are corresponding texts. They correspond with the wondrous truths of all Buddhas and the capabilities of sentient beings. They can also be compared to a thread that ties together the meaning of the Dharma so that it does not become scattered or lost.

>> Gathas: Gatha is a Sanskrit word for hymn. It can also mean direct verses. So, teachings may be directly taught in verses instead of the longer prose form.

As we deal with our surroundings every day, are we happy? Or are we depressed? Over the course of a day, as we deal with people and matters, we must first adjust our mindset. The first adjustment we must make is to feel happy whenever we see other people and develop great aspirations whenever we learn of matters. We must not give rise to afflictions or vexations.

As we deal with things every day, if we can view others with a happy mind, everyone is a good person. If we can deal with matters with a peaceful mind, every matter is a good thing. Everything depends on our minds. A mind inclined toward goodness sees everything as good. If we are not happy, then nothing we do today will go smoothly. So, “good and evil depend on conditions.”

Actually, all the unpleasant things we are dealing with today are not a result of what we are doing now but of what we have done in the past. Positive and negative causes and conditions have led us to the people and matters that we encounter in this lifetime. So, if we can always [remember] this principle, we will always remain even-tempered, no matter what happens to us.

We must realize that “good and evil depend on conditions.” No matter what challenges we encounter, it is best to cultivate a mindset of always being happy and grateful. Then we will be peaceful and at ease.

How can we be happy and at peace in this life? We must learn that everyone we see is our spiritual and virtuous friend. No matter how they treat us, no matter how they feel about us, we must feel gratitude toward them. Thus, in Buddhism, we constantly say that even adversities help us to succeed in taming our hearts and training ourselves to subdue our anger. Therefore, they are also our spiritual friends.

Do not think, “Oh no! When I see him, I get very angry. Nothing he says makes any sense at all. I feel an aversion toward this person.” Do not have this kind of [mindset]. Otherwise, we will form negative affinities. Even if that person is foolish and what he says is not aligned with principles, we must still be grateful to him. He is our spiritual friend. If what he says makes no sense, we will know that we should not do what he says, and we will heighten our vigilance.

Even if such a person is right in front of us, we also want to treat him as a spiritual friend, not to mention those who are sincerely teaching and guiding us. They are truly our spiritual and virtuous friends.

If we have this mindset, then in our daily living, there will be nothing that we cannot handle. No matter what we are doing, especially when we learn the Buddha-Dharma, “We must remember their words well and sincerely adhere to Bodhicitta.” When our spiritual and virtuous friends are teaching us, whether they are discussing the Buddha-Dharma or talking about everyday things, we must remember [the teachings] that are helpful to us. “We must remember their words well.” We must treat their words as teachings and constantly remember and sincerely adhere to them.

There is an old saying, “Once we learn a good thing, we must sincerely adhere to it.” I have often repeated this saying as well. We must safeguard everything good within our minds. Only when we are in this state of mind can we choose [wisely] between good and bad things.

Good and evil depend on conditions. When we draw near spiritual and virtuous friends, we must remember their words and sincerely adhere to Bodhicitta.

In the Buddhist sutras, there is a story that illustrates this. There was a man who grew flowers for a living. One day, he picked some flowers and took them to sell at the market. At that time, a non-Buddhist practitioner came over and asked him, “How much does this pot of flowers cost?” Then he named a price. Just then an elder, Venerable Sudatta, came up next to the man. He said, “I will buy it at this price.” The non-Buddhist practitioner said, “I am willing to pay more, let me buy it.” Venerable Sudatta said, “No, let me buy it. I am willing to double the price.” In this way, they argued over the price of this pot of flowers.

The flower seller said, “Why do you need this pot of flowers so much?” The non-Buddhist practitioner said, “Today, I am holding a ritual, so I need this pot of flowers as an offering to the gods, thus I can be blessed.” He then asked Venerable Sudatta, “Elder, what will you use these flowers for?” He said, “I’m going to see the World-Honored One. I want to buy this pot of flowers to show my respect to the Buddha.” The flower seller said, “What kind of person is the Buddha? He is not a heavenly being, nor is He a god. He is just a person, why do you need to show Him so much respect?”

Venerable Sudatta said, “Although He is a person of this world, He is an enlightened person. He thoroughly understands the true principles of all things. He can guide everyone onto the right course, so lost sentient beings can be awakened.” The flower seller recognized Venerable Sudatta and knew that he was person of good character, someone who was usually very self-composed. He would not arbitrarily haggle over a pot of flowers with a non-Buddhist practitioner. He must really want to buy it because this Buddha that Sudatta spoke of must really be the Great Enlightened One.

“I’m just a person who grows and sells flowers. Do I have the opportunity to see the Buddha, the Great Enlightened One?” Venerable Sudatta said, “Yes, I can lead you to see the Buddha.” The flower seller quickly picked up the pot of flowers and said, “I will not sell these flowers to either of you. I’m going to visit the Buddha myself, this Great Enlightened One. I will reverently offer the flowers I grew to Him.” Thus, he followed Sudatta to the Buddha’s abode.

The flower seller saw the Buddha from afar and felt great joy and eagerness. With a pure, eager and joyful mind, he slowly approached the Buddha. When Sudatta knelt to pay his respects, he also knelt and paid his respects to the Buddha. At that moment, he thought, “The Buddha is so dignified.” Then he closed his eyes and felt like he had been transported to another place. In this place, the flowers suddenly flew up and surrounded the Buddha. The flower petals fell all around Him and seemed to form a canopy on top of His head. His mind was truly in a joyful spiritual state.

All this happened in an instant. Upon closing his eyes, this state appeared, a state full of joy, purity and radiance. Then he [opened his eyes], looked up and saw the Buddha smiling. The flower seller presented the pot of flowers to the Buddha. The Buddha accepted it joyfully and then asked him, “Flower seller, in making this offering, is there something you hope for?”

A thought came to him, and he told the Buddha, “If there is anything I sincerely wish for, it is that, in the future, I can be like You and engage in spiritual practice. After that, I hope that when I meet the multitudes of sentient beings who have not taken refuge, I can give them the chance to take refuge in the Right Dharma. If someone is suffering and no one is helping, if someone is ill and has no medication, I want to be able to help them. If someone is filled with afflictions and cannot escape them, I want them to be able to rely on me and allow me to guide them to liberation. If I have the chance to do this in the future, I will be very content.” The Buddha was joyful, as this man was a true spiritual practitioner.

This became a very joyful Dharma-assembly. The arrival of a single flower seller inspired joy in the entire assembly of people listening to teachings. And this person was grateful for. Venerable Sudatta, who led him here, so he could see the Buddha and make this offering with a pure heart.

So, to attain causes and conditions and virtuous friends are not very difficult. He was selling flowers on the street and was offered various amounts of money [by two people]. But he knew the [right] choice to make. “I should choose the virtuous friend who will give me a [good] opportunity.” Thus he was not greedy for money, but he cherished the guidance of virtuous friends. So, he was able to offer the flowers to the Buddha. By drawing near spiritual and virtuous friends, he was able to quickly seize the opportunity to fulfill his potential.

In summary, as Buddhist practitioners in this world, we must constantly seize every opportunity, no matter who or what we encounter. I always say, “Seize this moment and sustain it forever.” Whether we can constantly live up to our vows depends on our thought in each moment.

The Lotus Sutra also mentions, “With all conditions [and] analogies….” Many causes and conditions can be used as analogies, just like the previous story from the Buddha’s era. From it we can also understand that we must promptly do good deeds and see everyone as spiritual friend who can guide us. So, this can also be considered an analogy for promptly taking advantage of our karmic conditions.

So, with expressions and skillful means and the convergence of various causes and conditions, the teachings of the Buddha have the strength to help sentient beings complete their spiritual practice.

With all conditions, analogies, expressions and skillful means, I enable all to rejoice. Perhaps I may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, or things that have never been.

Whether [He taught] the. Small or Middle Vehicle Dharma, He did so solely to guide us to reach the state of the Great Vehicle. Thus, with expressions and skillful means, “[He] enabled all to rejoice.” People of all capabilities became happy; they happily and faithfully accepted and practiced [the teachings]. This is how the Buddha taught the Dharma, which allowed any sentient being who received it to feel joyful.

For sentient beings to be happy, the Buddha gave teachings with various methods. Now we have to understand, “Perhaps I may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, or things that have never been.” From understanding the Dharma comes happiness.

Why are we happy? Because the Buddha was not born a Buddha. He continuously and diligently engaged in spiritual practice, lifetime after lifetime. [His] sole aspiration was developing Bodhicitta and walking the Bodhisattva-path. So, life after life, He spent time everywhere in the Six Realms, saving and transforming suffering sentient beings, thus He was considered a Bodhisattva.

A Bodhisattva practices the Six Perfections, which are giving, upholding precepts, patience and so on. These are methods of benefiting sentient beings. Because of this, everything Bodhisattvas do helps them form good connections with many sentient beings.

To transform sentient beings, we must first inspire happiness in them. Then hearing us speak makes them happy, seeing us makes them happy, and hearing our names makes them happy, and so on. So, either seeing or hearing us will benefit them.

If when people hear us or see us or hear of us from others they become happy, that is what it means to “enable all to rejoice.”

I enable all to rejoice: This means that Bodhisattvas can use the Six Perfections to benefit sentient beings. Because Bodhisattvas take these actions, sentient beings give rise to happiness.

Next, it states, “Perhaps I may speak of sutras.” With various skillful means and expressions, He enabled everyone to be happy. The words He said, the Dharma He expounded, all became “sutras.” What is a “sutra”? It is not to be confused with “asura”; [it is entirely unrelated]. “Sutra” is the Sanskrit word for Buddhist texts.

Sutras: Sutras are corresponding texts. They correspond with the wondrous truths of all Buddhas and the capabilities of sentient beings. They can also be compared to a thread that ties together the meaning of the Dharma so that it does not become scattered or lost.

If this word “sutra” is directly translated, it would be “corresponding texts. Corresponding” means to be in agreement. [Sutras] “correspond with the wondrous truths of all Buddhas. All Buddhas” means not only Sakyamuni Buddha. A sutra agrees with the principles of all Buddhas from the past, present and future. It “corresponds” closely with all Their principles.

Actually, being “corresponding” is itself a principle. It is inseparable from the truth. Being “corresponding” means it “corresponds with wondrous truths.” The original intent of all Buddhas, the wisdom of all Buddhas, and the intrinsic Tathagata-nature of all Buddhas are all considered subtle and wondrous principles. So, they correspond well with sutras.

[Sutras also] “correspond with the capabilities of sentient beings.” This is the smooth road that connects noble beings to ordinary people and the Buddha’s mind to sentient beings’ minds. That which connects the state of ordinary people to the state of Buddhahood is called a “sutra,” which is also a path, a road. So, it “corresponds with the wondrous truths of all Buddhas.” [It also] “corresponds with the capabilities of sentient beings.”

Moreover, a sutra is like a thread. Consider a set of pearls. To string them together, we must use thread. Every word is like a pearl, and each passage of the Dharma must be joined together. It is like a thread that strings them together, so the Dharma runs all the way through it. This is an analogy for a “sutra.”

“Gatha” is also a Sanskrit word that means “hymn.” When we recite sutras, we can chant them [lyrically] in verse, or [read them out] continuously and directly. Teachings may be given in verses instead of long-form prose.

Gathas: Gatha is a Sanskrit word for hymn. It can also mean direct verses. So, teachings may be directly taught in verses instead of the longer prose form.

In summary, [whether] the sutras are written in prose or in verse, they help us further our understanding and help us learn through repetition. So, we must remember [the words] well, engrave them in our minds and sincerely adhere to them. We must cherish the spiritual friends we encounter every day. Karmic conditions and virtuous friends help us take the Dharma to heart. We must not lose them right away, so we must string them together like a thread. Every day, we must connect the Dharma we have learned. Thus, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0331

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 331 – All Conditions Protect the Mind and Consciousness

>> Good and bad karma determine positive and negative retributions. We follow our karmic conditions, with no control over the retributions we face. With ignorance and a desirous nature, we are immersed in suffering. The Buddha kindly gives wondrous, provisional teachings according to capabilities.

>> “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings, the various pathways they have walked, the nature of their various desires, their karma, good and bad, from former lives, are fully known to the Buddha.”

>> “With all conditions, analogies, expressions and skillful means, I enable all to rejoice. Perhaps I may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, or things that have never been.”

>> With all conditions, analogies: The Buddha, with His wisdom, knows everything about the countless variations of all kinds of worldly phenomena. Basically, these are the conditions that the mind and consciousness cling to. Per the true teachings of the Great Vehicle, all conditions arise when the mind and consciousness converge. These are called “all conditions.”

>> This is because. “People of average capabilities could not attain full realization, thus, the Buddha talked about the three carts and the one cart.”

>> In the beginning, He offered three carts, which were provisional teachings. Later, He granted the great cart, which revealed the true teachings. This is what the Chapter on Parables discusses.

>> Verbal expressions and skillful means: Born in this current world, by drawing near wholesome and virtuous friends, upon hearing their suitable, skillful teachings, we will develop Bodhicitta. This is the power of skillful means.

The changing of seasons allows us to adjust the way we live. In making adjustments to the way we deal with matters and objects, we must be in accord with conditions and timing and always be mindful in our daily living. So, if we can adjust ourselves well, everything will go smoothly. What is it that we must adjust? The mind.

It determines the karma we create, good and bad. If we know how to earnestly adjust ourselves, then [in response to] everything from the weather to people, matters and things, we will always begin with the mind. If we adjust our minds well, everything we do will tend toward goodness; everything will be headed in the right direction. If this is the kind of karma we create, if we do this now, our future will be good.

Though we keep talking about our previous lives, we must pay even more attention to the present. The present [affects] our future. The karma we create now determines our future, just as the [retributions] we face now are results of the karma we created in the past. As we face retributions, we can learn to really understand the law of karma and thus accept [everything] with joy. As we deal with people, matters and objects, we must willingly benefit others. This will determine our karmic retributions.

Good and bad karma determine positive and negative retributions. We follow our karmic conditions, with no control over the retributions we face. With ignorance and a desirous nature, we are immersed in suffering. The Buddha kindly gives wondrous, provisional teachings according to capabilities.

In our past lives, if we did good deeds, we created good karma. If we committed evils in our past lives, of course we will face negative retributions. These are laws of nature. Since these are the workings of nature, naturally we must accept them. At the same time we must diligently [work to] accept all that happened in the past, willingly and happily, and diligently [work] toward the future. How do we change our lives for the future? Our future is determined by what we do now, whether we do good or evil. It all depends on what we do right now, so we must be careful in the present about what we are creating for our future.

In this lifetime, though we may encounter adverse conditions, we can shift our mindset to see adverse [conditions] as favorable ones. “Grievances must be resolved, never created,” so if we created bad karma in the past, we must willingly accept [the retributions]. Because things are beyond our control, we end up with these parents, these siblings, these friends, this spouse, these children and so on. Whether the relationship is good or bad depends on our past karmic affinities. Just like this, we follow our karmic conditions with no control over the retributions we face. So, we must be [diligent]; now that we clearly understand how future karmic retributions come about, we must start [changing] now. This is the right way [to act].

So, “we follow our karmic conditions with no control over the retributions we face.” This is an important lesson for us to learn. No one born into the world can escape good and bad karma or positive and negative retributions. Since we are already here, let us be at peace, because these things are beyond our control. Now that we are learning from the Buddha, we know we need to take control of our lives. We call this engaging in spiritual practice. Those who do not practice have no control over themselves. They repay resentment with resentment, enmity with enmity. This tooth-for-a-tooth cycle of vengeance just keeps going. This is how ordinary people [behave].

Since we know that we cannot change what happened in the past, we realize we must quickly make amends, feel remorse and repent, so [the cycle of] of resentment, hatred and enmity will end here, in this lifetime. Then in future lives, we will have good karmic conditions. This is something we can learn and immediately accept and practice. In dealing with people and handling matters, if we understand these principles, we will be happy in all our interactions and can willingly accept the way things turn out. Then naturally, we will not create negative conditions.

These negative conditions originate from our ignorance and desires. Once ignorance arises, people are mutually pulled toward each other in by their positive and negative karmic conditions, and naturally this traps them in the sea of suffering. The Buddha is compassionate. For the multitude of sentient beings, “the Buddha kindly gives wondrous, provisional teachings according to capabilities.” This is the Buddha’s goal in coming to this world. But we humans only focus on how we can satisfy our desires right this moment, on what can make us happiest now. We do not see how [fulfilling] this desire will affect our future and our relationships. We have no idea. In learning from the Buddha, we must use our pure and simple hearts to follow the course of nature and accept the law of karma. By understanding [these concepts], we can protect ourselves.

We said before,

“The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings, the various pathways they have walked, the nature of their various desires, their karma, good and bad, from former lives, are fully known to the Buddha.”

The Buddha knows all.

Because of sentient beings’ ignorant behavior, the karma they create and their various desires, the Buddha, according to these conditions, utilizes various analogies and expressions to give teachings.

Now this passage states,

“With all conditions, analogies, expressions and skillful means, I enable all to rejoice. Perhaps I may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, or things that have never been.”

These are all names of teachings and methods from the sutras. “With all conditions, analogies,” What does “all conditions” mean? We must understand this better. With His wisdom, the Buddha can understand “conditions,” the karmic connections between sentient beings. That is the Buddha’s wisdom.

With all conditions, analogies: The Buddha, with His wisdom, knows everything about the countless variations of all kinds of worldly phenomena. Basically, these are the conditions that the mind and consciousness cling to. Per the true teachings of the Great Vehicle, all conditions arise when the mind and consciousness converge. These are called “all conditions.”

“Know everything” means understand everything, all the variations and so on. These “variations” are countless. The desirous nature of sentient beings is very strong. Aside from giving rise to one ignorant thought, [the mind] creates the three subtle afflictions and opens 80,000 doors to afflictions. This is truly very many. So, “countless variations” refers to all kinds of worldly phenomena. Worldly phenomena arise because of sentient beings’ afflictions. This is how the world became filled with very complicated worldly phenomena.

Their conscience and sense of remorse became weaker over time as their will to satisfy their desires strengthened. Thus they created more and more karma. So, at the present time, in this space that is our vast planet, there are so many kinds of worldly phenomena. They arise because the mind and consciousness cling to conditions.

For each of us, the consciousness of our minds connects with external conditions, to forms, sounds, smells, tastes and touches, to these worldly things. This is how our Six Consciousnesses connect to objects of desire. Then we cling to karmic conditions and attract many defiled causes and conditions. These are “all conditions.” So, we must be vigilant. Exactly when will we encounter these conditions? At what times do we cling to these conditions despite ourselves? We do not know.

So, we must engage in spiritual practice by upholding vows and following the path to “purify our own minds.” If we can safeguard our minds and our mind-consciousness, we will not cling to those kind of conditions. Only in this way can we sustain the health of our bodies and minds. Else we will be entangled by karmic conditions and our bodies and minds will not be healthy or pure.

Therefore, we must really understand the law of karma. Everything happens because of our minds, because consciousness clings to conditions. Yesterday we talked about “the workings of the mind. The mind-king” clings to conditions. This has to do with the mind and consciousness, so we must take good care of our minds.

We must [be mindful of] the true meaning of the Great Vehicle. We must not cling to conditions. Since we already engage in spiritual practice, we must follow the true meaning of the Buddha’s. Great Vehicle teachings. With these methods, all conditions that arise when the mind and consciousness converge will be “purifying conditions.”

Due to His affinities with sentient beings, along with their various desires, the Buddha comes to this world to teach them according to their capabilities. Although He began with the provisional teachings of the Three Vehicles, by utilizing skillful means, He gradually guided everyone to return to the true meaning of the Great Vehicle, which is that “all conditions arise when the mind and consciousness converge.” Thus, “all conditions” have to do with the mind and consciousness. Our mind and mind-consciousness have the conditions, these affinities, to converge with the Dharma. So, we must take advantage of our karmic conditions and be grateful for our affinity with the Buddha.

As I said yesterday, we must be grateful for the Four Graces. [We are grateful to] our parents for giving us this body, grateful to the Three Treasures for teaching us, and grateful to sentient beings for the clothing, food, shelter and transportation that makes us feel safe and content. We also must be grateful for this peaceful environment, the balance of the four elements and so on. We must be very grateful for all this. When various causes and conditions converge, we must really seize these opportunities.

The Buddha used various analogies.

This is because. “People of average capabilities could not attain full realization, thus, the Buddha talked about the three carts and the one cart.”

This is an analogy.

The Buddha utilized analogies in His teaching solely to help everyone understand the truth of suffering, its causation, its cessation and the Path, as well as the impermanence of life and the law of karma. After we understand these principles, we must take the next step of practicing the Six Paramitas, so we can cross to the opposite shore.

Even if we understand everything from the principles of the Four Noble Truths to the law of karma, we must still promptly cross from this shore to the opposite shore. We must cross to the other shore, otherwise we will forever remain in the state of unenlightened beings. After the Buddha has helped us understand, we must immediately take the next step to cross from this shore to the opposite shore. To do so, we must practice the Six Paramitas,

which is the Bodhisattva-path. But those with average or limited capabilities do not understand this. Solitary Realizers, Pratyekabuddhas and Arhats still cannot understand this. They think, “I fully understand the Dharma. I know to not cling to conditions because it brings suffering. I will not cling to conditions again.” But they did not learn to have “unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion,” so they do not fully understand.

The Buddha hoped to guide everyone to return to the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, so He utilized various methods. For example, in the Lotus Sutra, He used the analogy of a burning house. He offered three carts to appeal to people.

In the beginning, He offered three carts, which were provisional teachings. Later, He granted the great cart, which revealed the true teachings. This is what the Chapter on Parables discusses.

He loves everyone in the Three Realms as. His own children and looks after them. This big house of the Three Realms was already in shambles, [yet] the children were in this garbage pile, a place not worth lingering in. They were totally absorbed in playing there. As they played, a fire started. They were told to hurry and get out, but they were completely mesmerized. They thought the fire was very beautiful, so they played among the fire. The elder had to find a way to draw them out. “This place is a lot of fun, but not as fun as the many carts outside. There are all kinds of carts, big and small. Inside these carts are all kinds of treasures. Take your pick, choose wherever you want to go. You can go anywhere in the four directions.” This shows the elder’s wisdom.

The elder is an analogy for the Buddha. Like that elder, the Buddha cannot abandon His children to suffer in the burning house. So, He uses [His] wisdom, methods and wealth to create many carts of treasures. All these carts were used to draw people to leave the Three Realms. The Buddha came up with many analogies, and this is one example.

In the Lotus Sutra, He used many analogies and methods. In the beginning, there were small carts. “In the beginning, He offered three carts.” These were provisional teachings. Later, He gave them the great cart. “You want this small cart, but what about taking this big cart? Small carts transport fewer things, so you should use the big cart.” This is an analogy.

If we use a small [vehicle] to cross from this shore to the opposite shore, we can transport only a few people. To reach the other shore, we use a boat. A small boat can only carry one, two or three. A bamboo raft transports very few people. Since we are crossing anyway, why don’t we use a bigger boat that can take thousands of people across at the same time? This is the analogy for transforming people.

So, analogies were used as teachings. The Buddha exercised His wondrous wisdom to use different analogies to teach the Dharma. So, “with expressions and skillful means” refers to the way the Buddha used various expressions and skillful means. “Born in this current world” means we happen to be born in this era. By “drawing near good and virtuous friends,” if we can really be mindful, naturally “upon hearing their suitable, skillful teachings, we will develop Bodhicitta.” These are “skillful means.”

Verbal expressions and skillful means: Born in this current world, by drawing near wholesome and virtuous friends, upon hearing their suitable, skillful teachings, we will develop Bodhicitta. This is the power of skillful means.

We must pay attention to what others say. We can learn from every single person [we meet]. Everyone is our spiritual friend. Then in examining ourselves, we can also put what we learn into practice. Then people can accept the things we say, and we will all be each other’s spiritual friends. We will guide each other and help each other develop Bodhicitta. This is “the power of skillful means.”

It is not enough to be skillful; we must have the power to transform each other so that our negative habitual tendencies can be corrected. If the other person has not yet eliminated all afflictions, desires and habitual tendencies, how can we patiently guide them and transform them? If we have not changed our habitual tendencies, when others guide us, we must accept their guidance with gratitude. This is the power of mutual influence.

So, we must always be mindful when dealing with things in the world, whether the laws of nature, worldly matters, or objects and so on. How can we go along with conditions, how can we deal with change, how we can exercise the power of skillful means and stay on the right course without deviating? These are all things we must learn. Since the mind and consciousness cling to various conditions, we must safeguard our minds and consciousness. We cannot let negative external conditions invade our minds. Changing negative karmic conditions into positive karmic conditions depends on us taking good care of our minds in our daily living. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0330

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 330 – Teaching According to Sentient Beings’ Desires

>> The mind is like an artist; it creates everything. Do not believe you are far from the Buddha’s state. With skillful and wondrous provisional teachings, He explained the One Vehicle. He taught according to the desires of sentient beings to help them awaken.

>> “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings, the various pathways they have walked, the nature of their various desires, their karma, good and bad, from former lives, are fully known to the Buddha.”

>> “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings,” which all come from “the workings of the mind.” All kinds of appearances arise as a function of “the workings of the mind.”

>> So, “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings” fall into two categories, the true mind and the false mind.

>> The various paths they have walked: People must wholeheartedly walk the path and vow to repay the Four Graces. People who do that are truly walking the Path and growing in virtue. They uphold and practice the Path they know.

>> So, “the nature of various desires” refers to “how various desires and hopes have become ingrained in us.”

>> So, “the teachings given by the Buddha must be suitable for sentient beings’ capabilities and desires.”

>> Their karma, good and bad, from former lives: Refrain from all evils, do all good deeds, and purify the mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas. Arising thoughts that align with principles are considered good. Arising thoughts that go against principles are considered evil.

>> [All is] fully known to the Buddha: The Tathagata, in His wisdom, expounded the Dharma that is suitable for sentient beings’ capabilities, whether great or limited, so they could all understand. He gave suitable teachings that were adapted to various capabilities.

The mind is like an artist; it creates everything.
Do not believe you are far from the Buddha’s state.
With skillful and wondrous provisional teachings, He explained the One Vehicle.
He taught according to the desires of sentient beings to help them awaken.

We must take good care of our minds. Our minds may give rise to a thought that creates beautiful conditions, [or] to a thought that destroys many beautiful conditions. Everything depends on the mind. It can be positive or negative. With a positive mind, the world is beautiful to us. With a negative mind, the world feels like hell. All this is created by our minds. So, learning the Buddha’s teachings is about cultivating our minds. If our minds are always positive, we see everyone as a Bodhisattva and wherever we are, we are with Buddhas. This is our goal in learning from the Buddha.

There is a Buddha in each of our hearts. Our minds, the Buddha’s mind and the minds of all beings are no different [in their nature]. We must not always think that we are very far from the Buddha. We must always think about how the Buddha is forever in our minds. We all intrinsically have a radiant and clear Buddha-nature. If we realize this, our minds will be Buddha-minds and our wisdom will be close to the Buddha’s.

Previously we discussed that the Buddha comes to the world for one great cause, to transform sentient beings. All Buddhas share the same path; with “skillful and wondrous provisional teachings, They explain the One Vehicle” in this world. Because sentient beings have varying capabilities, Buddhas must exercise Their wisdom to give suitable teachings. This requires wondrous provisional teachings, also known as skillful means. Skillful means are based on true principles, on the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma.

We often say that a skyscraper is also built from the ground up. We cannot say, “I will just build the 101st floor by itself. Why would I work so hard to start building from the ground up?” Based on the same principle, for us to go up level by level until we can see into the distance, we must also start at the state of ordinary people and move up steadily, step by step.

Regardless of the building’s appearance or height, we must build it sequentially. This is a skillful and wondrous provisional means. Our goal is to reach that height, but we have to start with the basement, the foundation and other sub-levels. From below the ground, we build upwards one floor at a time. Each level has a different name. Once the entire building is complete, dozens of floors, or even a hundred floors, are now [part of] one building with one name.

By the same principle, wondrous skillful means are various methods that are all part of the One Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha, like all Buddhas, established wondrous and skillful provisional means. However many afflictions we have, we need that number of methods to treat them. We must eliminate our afflictions one by one to gradually reveal our Buddha-nature bit by bit. So “[He] taught according to the desires of sentient beings to help them awaken.” The Buddha taught sentient beings to awaken so they could be “enlightened sentient beings.” He taught them to awaken themselves and others and have perfect awakened conduct. This was how the Buddha mindfully and lovingly taught us.

Previously, we mentioned how.

“The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings, the various pathways they have walked, the nature of their various desires, their karma, good and bad, from former lives, are fully known to the Buddha.”

Everyone has their own way of doing things. In this world, even if we all aspire to engage in spiritual practice, we all have different capabilities and different methods of spiritual practice. These are the “various pathways [we will] walk the nature of [our] various desires.” We are all the same; though we say we engage in spiritual practice, we have not yet fully eliminated our afflictions.

Just what kind of karma did we create in our past lives? “To know what we did in our past lives, we look at what we face now.” To know what kind of karma we created in the past does not require much effort. All we have to do is consider our experiences in this life. If we have met many kind people, we must have created good conditions in the past. If we want to know how our next lives will be, we can just look at what we are doing in this life. If all the seeds we plant in this life are good, we will certainly reap good fruits in the next. The law of karma links everything in the Three Periods of past, present and future. We can be sure of that.

So, based on this life, we know what we accumulated in the past. “The past” does not refer to what we accumulate in just one lifetime, but lifetime after lifetime, all the way up to the present. “The karma, good and bad, from former lives”

“are fully known to the Buddha.” The Buddha knows about all the [karma] sentient beings have created and all the habitual tendencies they have developed, so He could [teach] according to their desires. What are “their minds’ desires?” The minds’ desires come from “the workings of the mind.” We must understand thoroughly.

“The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings,” which all come from “the workings of the mind.” All kinds of appearances arise as a function of “the workings of the mind.”

Everyone’s mind has a “mind-king.” This “mind-king” is everywhere; it pervades every single place. Thus it is said, “the mind is like an artist”; our minds are clearly skillful artists, but our thoughts wander through many states. Many states exist in our minds and continuously manifest. This is all part of the workings of the mind. Our “mind-king” widely connects with conditions and creates “thoughts in our minds.” By changing our mindset, we are in a new state.

So, “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings” fall into two categories, the true mind and the false mind.

Our true mind intrinsically has Buddha-Dharma and a kind nature. However, external conditions continuously influence us. As our external conditions continue to influence and permeate our minds every day, thoughts begin to stir in our minds. Our minds connect to different conditions and internalize different [tendencies]; this gives rise to the true mind and the false mind.

The false mind is the one that wanders all over the place as we sit here. We do not know where it goes. The false mind easily gives rise to delusions.

The true mind is the one that is always there, wherever we are. This is our intrinsic Buddha-nature, our nature of True Suchness. However, our minds, which drive our thoughts, have internalized certain tendencies, which naturally leads to “the various paths we have walked.”

The various paths they have walked: People must wholeheartedly walk the path and vow to repay the Four Graces. People who do that are truly walking the Path and growing in virtue. They uphold and practice the Path they know.

When we begin our spiritual cultivation, we must use our true mind to engage in practice. We already know that life is impermanent, that life is suffering, and that suffering accumulates from our actions. After we understand this, genuine sincerity will arise in us, so we aspire to engage in spiritual cultivation. We want to “wholeheartedly walk the path,”

and “vow to repay the Four Graces.” We must face the world with a positive mindset. With a positive mindset, we treat others sincerely. With sincerity comes gratitude, which we want to express.

“Filial piety is the foremost of all good deeds.” It is because we were born into this body that we have the conditions to come to the world and are able to hear the Buddha-Dharma and engage in spiritual practice. Regardless of our relationship with our parents, we must be grateful to them. If not for these karmic conditions, we would not have this body, so we must be grateful for “the grace of our parents” for

giving us the opportunity to listen to the Dharma. Then we must be grateful for “the grace of the Three Treasures.” For over 2000 years, we have had the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. After the Buddha came to the world and attained enlightenment, He expounded the Dharma for a long time. To pass on the Dharma, there must be Sangha to continuously pass it on so it will remain in the world. Thus, we must be grateful to the Three Treasures.

With the body given to us by our parents, we can engage in spiritual practice, and the methods we use come from the Three Treasures. However, since we live in this world, we need clothing, food, shelter and transportation. These things must be provided by sentient beings. Because of the myriad sentient beings with various skills and professions, we are able to live such secure lives. So, we must be grateful for “the grace of all sentient beings.”

For there to be favorable weather in the world, we rely on “the grace of heaven and earth.” If the elements of earth, water, fire and air can be in harmony, sentient beings are blessed.

So, these are the Four Graces. Every day we must nurture this mindset. This is why spiritual practitioners often talk about cherishing blessings and being grateful as part of spiritual cultivation. To engage in spiritual practice, the first thought we must have is that in our daily living and throughout our lives, regardless of “which pathway we are walking,” we must vow to repay the Four Graces.

So, in our spiritual practice, we must have resolve and remember to safeguard our minds. Repaying the Four Graces is the mindset of true spiritual practitioners. “People who do that are truly walking the path and growing in virtue.” If we can do so, we are really engaging in spiritual practice and really walking the path and growing in virtues. Only when we truly walk the Bodhi-path can we grow in virtue. Our virtues come from the thoughts and actions that we continue to accumulate. Thus, we are people who grow in virtue.

So, “we uphold and practice the path we know.” We must keep going down this road. We must clearly know and understand this road. Don’t we know how to go down this road? Since we chose a path of spiritual cultivation, we cannot forget we are spiritual practitioners. Whether we are monastics or lay practitioners, [as Buddhist disciples] we must follow precepts. We uphold the precepts and follow the path. We cannot forget about this path that we walk.

“The nature of their various desires.” Sentient beings have all kinds of desires. How many is “various”? Sentient beings have various desires by nature. As for these “desires,” the Buddha also had desires, which we call “hope.” The hope in the Buddha’s true mind is to transform sentient beings so they can attain Buddhahood. The Buddha’s intrinsic nature is also found in all of us. But if we deviate from it even slightly, we give rise to delusions.

Earlier, we said that the mind falls into two categories, the true mind and the false mind. Both kinds arise from “the workings of the mind.”

So, “the nature of various desires” refers to “how various desires and hopes have become ingrained in us.”

These desires have already become deluded.

So, “the teachings given by the Buddha must be suitable for sentient beings’ capabilities and desires.”

This is what sentient beings are like now. We intrinsically have the true mind, but our ignorance gives rise to delusions, so our minds are false and desirous. Thus, we must exercise our true mind. Our true minds can lead us [onto the right] path, but we are inclined to deviate from it. To enable sentient beings to return to their intrinsic nature, the Buddha taught according to their capabilities and desires, using wondrous provisional teachings and His wisdom to save and transform them.

So, sentient beings have “karma, good and bad, from former lives,” because in our countless past lifetimes, our false minds gave rise to delusions and [trapped us] in cyclic existence in the Six Realms. The Buddha knew that this was the way sentient beings had lived, so He knew which methods to use to teach them.

Their karma, good and bad, from former lives: Refrain from all evils, do all good deeds, and purify the mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas. Arising thoughts that align with principles are considered good. Arising thoughts that go against principles are considered evil.

The Buddha taught sentient beings to “refrain from all evils and to do all good deeds.” Then He taught us the methods. “Purify the mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas.” To eliminate our delusions, first we must refrain from committing evils. We must always have the Buddha in our hearts and the Dharma in our actions. We must practice according to the teachings and take good care of our minds. Once it is clean, we must not let it be defiled again. So, we must “purify the mind.” We all must “purify the mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas.” So, to teach sentient beings, the Buddha made use of provisional teachings to teach the One Vehicle Dharma. Though they are provisional, these skillful means encompass the foundation of the One Vehicle Dharma. So, this is the way the Buddha taught.

“Arising thoughts that align with principles are considered good.” So, when we give rise to thoughts that are aligned with principles, we call that goodness. “Arising thoughts that go against principles are considered evil.” We call that evil. The Buddha intended to teach His wisdom, but sentient beings had very dull capabilities. So, though the Buddha Himself knew, He had to spend over 40 years giving teachings. So, in His wisdom, the teachings of the Buddha “were suitable for varying capabilities”

from the great to the limited. So, the Buddha had to utilize skillful means. Only when He fully understood people could He give suitable teachings. This is how the Buddha’s skillful means were adapted to various capabilities.

[All is] fully known to the Buddha: The Tathagata, in His wisdom, expounded the Dharma that is suitable for sentient beings’ capabilities, whether great or limited, so they could all understand. He gave suitable teachings that were adapted to various capabilities.

Dear Bodhisattvas, there is much potential in our minds, which are like an artist. But delusions keep arising, so our minds becomes confused. We must return to the state of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If we can do so, we will always feel a sense of gratitude, and act according to the natural principles and the Buddha’s teachings. Only in this way can we gradually approach the state of the Buddha. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0328

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 3 – The Power of Skillful Means

>> The thoughts the mind gives rise to and the way it connects to conditions determine if we see things as good or bad. When we uphold and practice all goodness, these thoughts are kept in our minds and manifest externally as our mission.

>> “Sariputra, listen well.”

>> “For the Dharma obtained by all Buddhas, through the power of infinite skillful means, is taught for sentient beings.”

>> The power of infinite skillful means: When we interact with people, we must draw near virtuous and spiritual friends and listen to skillful and suitable teachings that lead us to develop Bodhi-mind. That is the power of skillful means, which is taught for sentient beings.

The moon in the sky is always full. It never changes, but for us here on Earth, depending on location and atmospheric conditions, the moon we see is sometimes full, sometimes crescent-shaped, sometimes obscured by clouds and sometimes bright in the clear sky. When the sky is clear, naturally we can see the moon.

The same principle applies to our minds. The Dharma has always abided in our minds, but some of our minds have more afflictions or thicker layers of ignorance, Then, naturally the Dharma will be covered up. We will covered by ignorance and afflictions. So, we do not understand the Dharma. Whether it is the Great Vehicle or Small Vehicle we do not understand it at all, thus we become deluded.

The thoughts the mind gives rise to and the way it connects to conditions determine if we see things as good or bad. When we uphold and practice all goodness, these thoughts are kept in our minds and manifest externally as our mission.

The Buddha comes to tell us that many things in the world are everlasting and unchanging. Many things, once understood, are everlasting, and are True Dharma that do not arise or cease. But we ordinary beings are very stubborn. So, this is “the thoughts the mind gives rise to and the way it connects to conditions.” Our minds determine whether something is good or bad, whether we want it or not. If we want it, we value and seek it. If we do not want it, we disparage and renounce it. This is how our minds work. A thought arises, abides, changes and ceases. These are the four states of the mind. Bodies undergo birth, aging, illness and death. The mind arises, abides, changes and ceases. All things arise from the mind,

and our thoughts are influenced by the way the mind connects with conditions. These [arising] things are conditioned phenomena. “Conditioned” refers to something that is created. Take the Mid-Autumn Festival for example. Around the beginning of August, news media outlets start publishing articles about barbecuing while admiring the full moon, as if the sole purpose of the Mid-Autumn Festival was barbecuing while admiring the full moon, and nothing more.

When the moon is full, isn’t there anything else we can do? Can’t we plan to do something that benefits humankind and society? Is the festival just about eating and having fun? Isn’t there more to it than that? We tend to go along with what is customary. We are influenced by external conditions to do things. This is the way the mind connects to conditions.

Mid-Autumn Festival does not have to be this way. At Mid-Autumn, our minds become especially drawn to the moon, so it looks a little brighter [than usual]. In fact, a normal full moon is also very bright. But people’s attachment to their ideas [about the Mid-autumn moon] creates many ripple effects. They may end up doing proper or improper things. Take a look at our recycling centers. There is more trash at this time of year because of all the moon-cake packaging.

So, at the recycling centers, we can see how we humans live. In this world, our lives are influenced by the conditions we connect with. This is natural for unenlightened beings. So, we should understand that [our mindset] determines if we see things as good or bad. Deciding to do good deeds also depends on our minds.

At the Jing Si Hall, we also have a direct view of the pure and perfectly round moon. Inside the hall there is a very bright moon. There are people who uphold and practice all goodness, [who are members of]. Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) (In 2012), around the world, a total of 19 countries participate. Doctors and other medical professionals gather at the Jing Si Hall.

Two people who had always been there before had already passed away this year, Asst. Superintendent Lu from the Philippines and. Dr. Cai of Taiwan. The two of them could have enjoyed life as wealthy doctors. But they were willing to give up those comforts to go among the impoverished and the ill. Many people were sad to lose them.

But this was also a precious [opportunity] for us all to gather for Mid-Autumn. This annual get-together for doctors is like a gathering of Bodhisattvas. They wished each other well, celebrated, and were happy to see and interact with one other. They were [materially and spiritually wealthy] so they shared ways with each other for inspiring the spiritually poor among the wealthy. They all had these kinds of experiences and realizations, so the Dharma had deeply penetrated their minds.

Thus, “these thoughts kept in our minds manifest externally as our mission.” These virtuous thoughts can remain in our hearts forever unchanging, so we can continuously encourage, love and cherish each other. When people who share these thoughts converge, their mission is clearly apparent. Everyone can see it and learn from it. Similarly, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must manifest them in our daily living.

Although these people come from many countries and hold various religious beliefs, they share a common [mission], which is to help all of those who are suffering. This is the direction provided by their faith [and the reason they have joined] Tzu Chi. So, we can hear them share the joy [that comes from doing this work].

Thus, we Buddhist practitioners must always be reverent and mindful. There are many everlasting things in the world like the moon in the sky. The moon always remains unchanging in the sky. Similarly, the Dharma has always been in everyone’s mind. We should guard our minds and not allow thoughts to arise, abide, change and cease, or to deviate and err when the mind connects to conditions. We must trace worldly things back to True Dharma. So, when we listen to teachings, we must continuously remind ourselves that the Buddha comes to the world all for the purpose of one great cause.

So, the Buddha is always teaching everyone the One Vehicle Dharma. This part of the sutra also states, “Sariputra, listen well.” Again and again, the Buddha called on Sariputra. Calling Sariputra was like calling everyone, because he was their representative. Continuing on, the Buddha said,

“Sariputra, listen well.”

He told him to listen earnestly,

“For the Dharma obtained by all Buddhas, through the power of infinite skillful means, is taught for sentient beings.”

We must know the Buddha appeared in the world with only one goal, to share the True Dharma with everyone and to awaken everyone’s inherent nature of True Suchness. Everyone had different capabilities, so. He had to create opportunities [for them to learn]. So, the Buddha told Sariputra that all Buddhas, not just [Himself,] all Buddhas of the past, the present Sakyamuni and countless Buddhas of the future, all Buddhas of the past, present and future who appear in this world, utilize the same methods and must manifest the process of spiritual practice.

The process of a Buddha’s spiritual practice was manifested by Sakyamuni Buddha, as well as by all Buddhas of the past. In the sutras, the Buddha introduced the process of Amitabha Buddha’s spiritual practice, the vows He made in the world and so on. The Buddha also gave teachings on His own life and how He accumulated merits and virtues, how He studied earnestly and diligently and how He encountered ancient Buddhas and diligently practiced Their Dharma. He did this lifetime after lifetime. So, every Buddha went through the process of [learning] other Buddhas’ teachings and also diligently [practicing] and taking the Dharma of all Buddhas to heart.

Likewise, all Buddhas taught skillful means. All Buddhas took the same path in obtaining the Dharma in the world “for the Dharma obtained by all Buddhas,” They were able to obtain it because They sought it out in the past. Through this process, with a spirit of seeking the Dharma, They were able to seek and obtain it. So in the past, They engaged in spiritual practice and diligently sought the Buddha-Dharma. The Dharma They obtained was the same, so we speak of “the Dharma obtained by all Buddhas.” What else was the same? They had the same intent of going among sentient beings to teach them. To teach sentient beings, they likewise used countless skillful means. Thus, all Buddhas share the same path.

All Buddhas, in Their past lives, diligently engaged in spiritual practice and sought teachings. After attaining Buddhahood, They all went among people and all utilized skillful means. Skillful means are the methods they used. Skillful means wondrous. Provisional skillful means are powerful. When sentient beings are told, “You are a Buddha,” though they are fundamentally Buddhas, when they think, “I am also Buddha,” [causing them] to become haughty and proud. Though they think, “I am also a Buddha,” they may not understand the Dharma at all. So, their unenlightened minds act out of greed and they commit transgressions, thus creating much negative karma.

So, if the Buddha simply said that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, and that everyone is a Buddha, then who would want to learn the Buddha’s teachings? Who would reflect on and repent their faults? Nobody would reflect and repent or be able to understand their intrinsic Buddha-nature. If they lack compassion and goodness, how could we say, “Everyone is a Buddha?”

To help all of us realize that we intrinsically have Buddha-nature, the Buddha had to develop many, countless skillful means. These methods can guide people into deeper and more detailed understandings so they can accept and take the Dharma to heart to wash away their defilements and ignorance.

The power of infinite skillful means: When we interact with people, we must draw near virtuous and spiritual friends and listen to skillful and suitable teachings that lead us to develop Bodhi-mind. That is the power of skillful means, which is taught for sentient beings.

It enables sentient beings to attain [the Dharma], so it is called a power. He could not teach just anything, nor teach things that are insignificant. Every word the Buddha speaks is powerful and can be accepted and applied. This is the power of skillful means, which is truly for teaching sentient beings. So, the power of skillful means is that it can reach all sentient beings. The power of skillful means is that it can [enable us] to understand everything in the world. Everyone in the world is our spiritual friend.

Look around us now. Everyone is our spiritual friend. Haven’t I told you all before that everything is a manifestation of Dharma? Even the buzzing of insects and chirping of birds can also be clearly understood by us; they are also speaking. But we humans only understand human speech. Furthermore, in the world, although we are all human, when people speak different languages, we cannot understand them.

Volunteers from the 19 countries that were here spoke many different languages. When the volunteers shared, they used different languages. Someone fluent in that language had to provide live interpretation. With all these different languages, people who could speak these languages had to listen to the volunteers [and interpret for them] with the help of modern technology. “I hear and understand French. So, when I hear someone speak French. I immediately translate those words into Chinese.” Everyone who speaks Chinese could then understand him.

Some people spoke English. “I hear English and understand it, so I immediately translate it into Portuguese.” Many languages flowed back and forth. At this one event, people spoke many different languages, so interpreters had to mindfully read and study material in many languages [in order] to interpret.

While they were all there, they mingled so they could learn from each other. They are also a kind of Bodhisattva, because they mutually inspired each other and shared ways of benefiting people. This is all Dharma. They were all virtuous and spiritual friends for each other. So, among these people, we “draw near virtuous and spiritual friends to listen to skillful and suitable teachings.” A language that we cannot understand will be interpreted by someone for us. This is how we all listen and learn. “What methods do you use in your country? These are the methods I use in my country.” Through this mutual exchange, their goodness grows and they learn more provisional, skillful means. “Gradually developing Bodhi-mind” means this helps them develop an awakened mind.

Every year at this time (Mid-Autumn), they leave with good methods they learned from many other countries to take home and practice in their own countries, so they can do even more. In this way, they develop Bodhi-mind. This is also the power of skillful means, a powerful force. Everything they hear and see here can be applied. “I can make use of this. Your methods can be applied in my country.” This is the power of skillful means.

So, the Buddha told Sariputra that everyone must listen mindfully. All Buddhas in the past diligently sought and practiced the Dharma until. They attained Buddhahood. Similarly, They went among people to teach them, using various different angles and different methods to guide them. To guide sentient beings, They utilized the power of skillful means. They used many methods to teach the Dharma. So lifetime after lifetime, the Buddha remained in this world. He lived in different countries, with different lifestyles, to be a virtuous friend to sentient beings.

So, when we go among people we need to treat everyone as a Buddha because the virtuous friends around us are all teaching by example. If we all have this mindset, we can pass on the Dharma we learn to others and we can also teach them and guide them to also penetrate this Dharma. So, the Dharma that we obtain is what we seek over the course of our spiritual practice. This is what enables us to exert so much power, which is helpful to many people. This all comes from expounding the Dharma. So everyone, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0327

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 327 – Remove Impurities to Retain the Steadfast and True

>> We must resolve to safeguard our minds and perfect purifying precepts to be as impeccably flawless and pure as jade. When we are radiantly clear and flawless, inside and out, our external practice and internal cultivation will be consistent.

>> The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.

>> “The chaff within the assembly was gone, due to the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue. Those people, lacking blessings and virtue, were incapable of receiving this Dharma. The assembly was free of branches and leaves; only the steadfast and true remained.”

>> The chaff within the assembly: The empty husk of grain is used as an analogy for bhiksus who were proud and arrogant and for those who were coarse and evil. They knew nothing, but were very arrogant. It is also an analogy for those of limited wisdom who think they have exceptional wisdom; when in reality, they were the chaff among the spiritual practitioners at the assembly.

>> Awe-inspiring virtue: Awe-inspiring means having a magnificent and influential demeanor that can subdue the evil and unwholesome. Generally speaking, the virtuous are those who are wholesome, just and honorable. This is the meaning of virtue.

>> Those people, lacking blessings and virtue: Those who did not have blessings were incapable of receiving the great Dharma, so in the end, the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue intimidated them. The wind blew away the empty husks, leaving the steadfast and true. Those were the 5000 people who left the assembly.

>> Only the steadfast and true remain: The Dharma is free of delusional affections and eliminates unreal and false thinking; therefore, it is true. The sutra states, “All that [He] expounded was true and real.”

>> “Sariputra, listen well, for the Dharma obtained by all Buddhas, through the power of infinite skillful means, is taught for sentient beings.”

We must resolve to safeguard our minds and perfect purifying precepts
to be as impeccably flawless and pure as jade.
When we are radiantly clear and flawless, inside and out,
our external practice and internal cultivation will be consistent.

I always think about how the Buddha’s teachings are focused on the mind. Each of us only has to take care of one mind, so why is it so hard to do? I always say, “We must uphold our vows and follow the Way, then our path will be great.” Since we aspire to engage in spiritual practice, we need to make vows. Once we make vows, we must uphold them. If we are able to uphold and protect them, our bodies and minds will be pure. So, we “resolve to safeguard the mind and perfect purifying precepts.”

If we can we establish a [firm] resolve and safeguard our minds, safeguard this aspiration, then naturally we will uphold precepts, which guard against wrongdoings and stop evil. We must try to uphold precepts and do so perfectly, thus remaining pure. By “perfecting purifying precepts” we [protect] our wisdom-life. The essence of wisdom-life is very important, so we must carefully safeguard our minds.

Not only must we “perfect purifying precepts,” we must be “as impeccably flawless and pure as jade.” We must be a like a piece of jade. When is a piece of jade valuable? When it is perfect and flawless, inside and out. Similarly, our spiritual aspiration must be safeguarded, so it can be perfect, pure and clear as jade. If our minds are pure, then our lives in this world will be of value. If our minds are very pure, we will naturally treat people and matters with sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. We will have no hidden impurities. So, the value of life is not just in

external appearances, but also in being “radiantly clear and flawless, inside and out.” Indeed, we must safeguard our minds so that they remain pure and perfect. Our external practice must also be consistent with our internal cultivation. This can be compared to a piece of jade, valued for its purity and absolute flawlessness. As spiritual practitioners, our value lies in our firm spiritual aspirations, which remain undefiled.

As was mentioned in a previous section of the sutra, some Buddhist practitioners were self-arrogant, without faith, or overbearingly arrogant. These disciples of the fourfold assembly could not listen to or clearly understand the Dharma. They felt that since they had listened to the Buddha’s teachings for more than 40 years, these new teachings were likely to be very similar. Thus, there were those with overbearing arrogance, self-arrogance or lack of faith within the disciples of the fourfold assembly. As the Buddha was about to teach the great Dharma, 5000 people left the assembly. These people were arrogant and conceited; they were also unwilling to follow rules.

Their “upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their own imperfections.” They still concealed impurities in their minds and did not want to be rid of their mistaken ways. They refused to eliminate them, preferring to keep them hidden within. Thus, they “defended their own imperfections.” These people were unwilling to correct their mistakes because they had limited wisdom. As the Lotus teachings were about to be given, 5000 people got up and left. “Those with limited wisdom left.” This was mentioned in the previous section. “Those with limited wisdom left.” Unable to accept the great Dharma, 5000 people left.

The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.

Then the following section of the sutra states,

“The chaff within the assembly was gone, due to the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue. Those people, lacking blessings and virtue, were incapable of receiving this Dharma. The assembly was free of branches and leaves; only the steadfast and true remained.”

“Those with limited wisdom [who] left” were “the chaff within the assembly.” Have you ever seen people harvesting rice? After the rice stalks are cut off and left out to dry, they are put into the winnower. The blades of the winnower mill the grains by separating the rice from the husk. Thus, the chaff does not remain; it is naturally eliminated in the process. These 5000 people were the same. They had overbearing arrogance, or self-arrogance, lacked faith or had limited wisdom. These people were the chaff within the assembly. They were like empty husks, which, when the wind rises, naturally fly away.

So, we must be sincere and steadfast, not like empty husks. We must take the Dharma to heart. Once we do, each of us will be a true seed. If we do not take the Dharma to heart, we will be like empty husks of grain, lacking any Dharma inside.

The chaff within the assembly: The empty husk of grain is used as an analogy for bhiksus who were proud and arrogant and for those who were coarse and evil. They knew nothing, but were very arrogant. It is also an analogy for those of limited wisdom who think they have exceptional wisdom; when in reality, they were the chaff among the spiritual practitioners at the assembly.

See, “the chaff within the assembly” is using the analogy of an “empty husk of grain.” The inside of the husk is empty, there is no grain of rice within. It is an empty husk of grain. This is an analogy for arrogant people. Arrogant bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas were like the chaff. “Those who were coarse and evil” refer to people who were careless and could not meticulously take in the Dharma. They listened without retaining anything. People who were careless did not truly want to learn the Buddha’s teachings.

“They knew nothing, but were very arrogant.” There was nothing to them, but they were still very arrogant and conceited. These people had very limited wisdom, or none at all. Their knowledge was very superficial, so they did not know deep and profound principles. They only looked at the surface of things, so they were said to have worldly cleverness. Their wisdom was shallow and basic,

but [they] “thought they had exceptional wisdom.” They believed, “I know and understand everything! The Buddha gave one teaching, but I already know the next two, and the next ten teachings. Hearing Him once, I already know everything. I have understood all of the Buddha’s teachings over the past 40 years.” With this kind of mindset, they would not mindfully listen to the Buddha’s perfect and wondrous principles of the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. These people of limited wisdom believed that they already knew everything, but in reality they were the chaff of spiritual practitioners.

If we cultivate our minds, everyone will look like a Buddha to us. When we are respectful and grateful to everyone, we are like full grains of rice. Those whose hearts are truly full will naturally respect the Buddha, the Dharma and other people. They are true spiritual practitioners. So, when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must truly practice to take them in. If we only look like a monastic and merely claim to engage in spiritual practice, the Buddha would not approve of that.

So, “due to the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue,” those 5000 people left the assembly. He can be compared to a winnower. The Buddha wanted to weed these people out of the assembly, so that when He taught the True Dharma they would not deviate further. Otherwise, they might disrupt the teaching. So, the Buddha waited to see whether there were those who were capable of accepting the Dharma. Those who were incapable would naturally eliminate themselves. Thus, 5000 people left. This was “the Buddha’s awe-aspiring virtue.” These people left “due to the Buddha’s awe-aspiring virtue.”

Awe-inspiring virtue: Awe-inspiring means having a magnificent and influential demeanor that can subdue the evil and unwholesome. Generally speaking, the virtuous are those who are wholesome, just and honorable. This is the meaning of virtue.

What is “awe-inspiring virtue”? It is “having a magnificent and influential demeanor.” The sight of the Buddha truly commands people’s respect, so they will be well-behaved in front of Him. Regardless of the kinds of bad habits they have, they will behave before the Buddha. This is called being “influential” and being capable of “subduing.” This is what it means to be “awe-inspiring.” The mere sight of the Buddha commanded respect. This is His awe-inspiring virtue. When people see the Buddha, their minds naturally become subdued, and they can regulate their bad habitual tendencies. This is the meaning of “awe-inspiring.”

What about His “virtue”? Virtue is goodness. His virtue is true, perfect kindness, just like the virtues of Confucius, “gentleness, kindheartedness, respectfulness, frugality and humility.” Confucius was warm and kind toward people. He was “majestic but not aggressive.” Confucius may have appeared majestic, but he never appeared aggressive. His dignified demeanor was “gentle but strict, majestic but not aggressive.” These were his virtues.

Confucius was a worldly sage who was “gentle but strict, majestic but not aggressive,” and had virtues of gentleness, kindheartedness, respectfulness, frugality and humility. These are the virtues of saints. Saints and sages in this world, such as Confucius, all have these virtues, to say nothing of the Buddha, who was a world-transcending saint and the Great Enlightened One of the Universe. He had awe-inspiring virtue; He was wholesome, just and honorable. So, the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue can subdue sentient beings’ bad habitual tendencies.

Though He could subdue them, spiritual practice still depends on each individual. Those who truly wanted to accept the Buddha-Dharma naturally stayed. Those who were not sincere naturally left. This was “due to the. Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue.”

“Those people, lacking blessings and virtues….” They were lacking, which means having very little of something. The 5000 people who left were “those who did not see their own faults,” or those whose “upholding of precepts was flawed,” or those who concealed their own imperfections. These people with limited wisdom believed themselves to be clever. They were referred to as “those people.” They were “lacking blessings and virtues.” This is describing those who “had no blessings and were incapable of receiving the great Dharma.” Because they did not have blessings and wisdom, they were incapable of receiving the great Dharma.

Those people, lacking blessings and virtue: Those who did not have blessings were incapable of receiving the great Dharma, so in the end, the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue intimidated them. The wind blew away the empty husks, leaving the steadfast and true. Those were the 5000 people who left the assembly.

These people were like empty husks. When the wind blew, they flew away because they were empty inside. “In the end, the Buddha’s awe-inspiring virtue intimidated them,” so those who refused to listen decided to leave. “The wind blew away the empty husks, leaving the steadfast and true.” Empty husks are blown away, leaving only the true and solid grains. Thus, 5000 people left. The Buddha said, “It is better that they left.” Otherwise, they might have misconstrued the Buddha’s intent and slandered the Dharma. One slightly erroneous thought about the Dharma could have led them far astray. So, “only the steadfast and true remained.” The ones that remained were all steadfast and true.

․Only the steadfast and true remain: The Dharma is free of delusional affections and eliminates unreal and false thinking; therefore, it is true. The sutra states, “All that [He] expounded was true and real.”

“The Dharma is free of delusional affections and eliminates unreal and false thinking.” There is no delusional affection in this Dharma; it is very real. The Buddha taught sentient beings that they could be enlightened beings who are free of delusions. We must have enlightened love and not be deluded by affection. So, if we understand that. “The Dharma is free of delusional affections and eliminates false thinking,” our minds will be free of anything unreal and [our minds and actions] will be consistent. Therefore, our minds will be free of false thinking and discursive thoughts. This is what it means to be “true.”

A passage in the Lotus Sutra states, “All that [He] expounded was true and real.” The Buddha’s teachings were all true and real. Those who listened to His teachings were also truly sincere, so they learned the True Dharma.

Everyone, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must mindfully listen. The Buddha always told everyone to listen attentively, or to “listen well.” To “listen well” means to listen attentively. The Buddha again called on Sariputra. Since these people were sincere, they would stay to listen to the Dharma. So, “Sariputra, listen well.” Since everyone was willing to stay and listen, they must listen carefully. Telling Sariputra was like telling everyone, because he was their representative.

So, the Buddha said,

“Sariputra, listen well, for the Dharma obtained by all Buddhas, through the power of infinite skillful means, is taught for sentient beings.”

All Buddhas, not just Sakyamuni Buddha, share the same path. Their journey of spiritual practice and the Dharma they attained are true and real. They all teach the True Dharma for sentient beings. Because sentient beings have varying capabilities, all Buddhas who come to this world first teach sentient beings with infinite skillful means. All Buddhas have this power and ability. So, when we communicate with each other, we must also apply skillful means, while at the same time using the power of truth. We cannot indulge too much in skillful means and let ourselves go, otherwise, we cannot bring our minds back, which would be problematic.

So, the power of the Buddha’s wisdom is also the power of skillful means. Previously, we mentioned “wondrous skillful means.” Truly subtle and wondrous provisional teachings have “the power of skillful means. [The Dharma] is taught for sentient beings.”

So, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must believe in what the Buddha says. His only [goal] in teaching the Dharma is for us all to return to our true intrinsic nature. Therefore, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have the resolve to safeguard our minds and perfectly cultivate purifying precepts. [Our minds] must be as impeccably flawless as jade in order to be of value. Dear Bodhisattvas, spiritual practice means to “uphold vows and follow the Way, then our path will be great.” So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0326

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 326 – Uphold Precepts without Flaws and Leaks

>> Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right understanding and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.

>> The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning,” spoke in verse, saying. Bhiksus and bhiksunis’ may harbor overbearing arrogance.’ Upasakas may have self-arrogance and’ upasikas may lack faith.’

>> The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.

>> Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.

>> Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.

When we walk outside and feel a breeze, we feel peaceful and refreshed. So, we must be grateful. Though things are currently safe and peaceful, we do not know what the future holds. Regardless, we must always remain grateful and reverent. We must constantly nurture our reverence for people, matters and things. We must always foster a sense of gratitude.

We ordinary people have the habitual tendency to be attached to our own thoughts and feelings, without consideration for other sentient beings. This present era really is the turbid era of Dharma-degeneration. Therefore, all of us are needed; since we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Dharma and have understood it, after we understand the Buddha-Dharma, each of us must really listen to, accept and uphold it.

The Buddha-Dharma is all around us. If we do not reach out, take it in and mindfully persevere [in our practice], if we do not do this, “once our human form is lost it takes kalpas to regain.” Therefore, we must accept and uphold the Dharma. Not only must we accept and uphold it, but we must also practice it flawlessly. “The [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” are what we collectively cultivate.

Since we have found the Dharma, we must practice the Flawless Studies [so that] we do not allow it to leak away. Every day, we must take the Dharma to heart. The teachings that enters our hearts are the indispensable practices of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.

Practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Vow to cultivate blessings and wisdom through listening, contemplating and practicing. Deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues. With right understanding and views come pure thinking and True Suchness.

As we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not uphold the precepts and use them to discipline our minds, then we will quickly go astray. When we abandon precepts, we easily make mistakes.

The precepts guard against wrongs and stop evils. We must always guard against ignorant thoughts arising in our minds. Without precepts, ignorance will constantly arise. With greed, we crave pleasures for ourselves. With anger, we always feel that we have been wronged by those around us. Thus, the more we think, the angrier and more resentful we become. This results from not following precepts.

So, precepts can guard against wrongs. Thoughts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct are not the only things to guard against. No, we need to [watch] our every thought. Precepts are like a rope that marks a boundary. When we reach it, we know not to cross it. They are also like walls that separate the inside from the outside, the right things that we need to do from the wrong things we must not do. So, those who follow the rules will just see the rope without daring to step over.

I often give the following example. In the past, I often visited our building sites. If people were working, they would use a rope to section off that area. When our staff saw me walking by, they would quickly take the rope down and say, “Master, please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” I still need to go around this area. He said “what for? Please walk this way.” I said, “No, I cannot.” [They asked], “Why? We took it down already.” Although the rope was gone, the boundary was still there, so I could not cross it. Spiritual practitioners must have this sense. Furthermore, we need to treat the precepts as a wall that we erect.

Because we are ordinary sentient beings, if a rope is [our only boundary], those who are not willing to uphold precepts can lower the rope and step over it. Since the majority of people will do this, we probably need to build a wall. A low one is still not sufficient; we must build a tall one. Look at how tall a prison’s walls are. The walls around an ordinary house are relatively low, but prison fences are much taller. The precepts are a boundary that prevents us from making mistakes or transgressing. So, we need precepts.

How can spiritual practitioners do without them? We often say, “organized with the precepts.” When we are in a group, we can be harmonious and orderly [when we all follow] the precepts. Precepts are for organizing ourselves, not for disciplining other people. When everyone in a group upholds the precepts, the group is disciplined and can [work] in harmony. This is what the precepts [are for].

Only with precepts can our minds be in Samadhi. Precepts create a broad and direct Bodhi-path, a very open and expansive road. This is the Bodhi-path. The Bodhi-path is very straight. If we walk on this very direct and broad path, we will not cross the boundaries. This is true mastery in our spiritual practice. Because of this, our minds can be in Samadhi. If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not deviate even slightly. This state is called Samadhi.

We must not succumb to the various phenomena around us that influence our minds. We must continue to firmly uphold the precepts. Those who can do this have the most wisdom. But if we are without wisdom or if we lose it, that means our minds are not in Samadhi. Moreover, [such] instability shows that our minds lack precepts. So, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are most important to spiritual practitioners. Therefore we must “practice the [Three] Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.”

To emulate the Buddha, we must make vows. The Four Great Vows are what everyone in the Jing Si Dharma-lineage must make. “I vow to enlighten countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-paths. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” These are vows that we must put into practice.

We must transform sentient beings. Even if they [committed] the. Ten Evils and Five Offenses, we still must do all we can to transform them. We must foster everyone’s spiritual aspirations. When Bodhi-sprouts begin to grow, we must be gardeners. Nurturing a seedling is a gardener’s duty. Whether grasses, trees or flowers, all are part of the gardener’s responsibility. [The plants] we wish to preserve must be earnestly protected. What kind of grass should we plant? What kind of design should we create? We must be very mindful to create a beautiful landscape. So, to engage in spiritual practice,

we must make vows. If we do not have vows, we will have no plan. When we build a house, we need blueprints. To create a landscape, we need to have a site plan. People often talk about blueprints for their lives. To live our lives, we must have a plan. When we learn from the Buddha, we must have goals. So, all of these are “vows.” So, these vows, aside from being blueprints in our minds, must also be put into practice. Once we draw the blueprints, we must use them to begin construction. This is practice.

Our ideals and actions cannot be separated from two things, which are blessings and wisdom. To attain “blessings,” we cultivate practices of loving-kindness. We must have a spacious heart. We must protect sentient beings like Mother Earth, who nurtures all things. We must embrace Mother Earth, just as she embraces all things. This is loving-kindness. [We must] have hearts like those of kind mothers and fathers. The Buddha is the Three Realms’ Guiding Teacher, the Kind Father of the Four Kinds of Beings. Since we want to learn from the Buddha, we must learn “loving-kindness.” So, cultivating loving-kindness [brings] blessings. We must give to sentient beings and benefit humankind.

We must also have “wisdom.” Only with wisdom will we not bring disorder to our lives and the roles we play in society. Since the blueprint for our lives is to engage in spiritual practice, we must have wisdom.

So in learning the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we must listen, contemplate and practice. As for actualizing our vows, since we have made these vows we must cultivate blessings and wisdom. We also must continuously practice while listening and contemplating. We must listen, then consider, Were my behaviors, thoughts and interactions with people and matters in accordance with what I heard today? Have I broadened my heart and embraced everything? So, we must earnestly contemplate whether we made mistakes over the course of the day. If mistakes were made, we must quickly repent. “Repentance brings purity.” To form good karmic connections, we must listen, contemplate and practice. When we promptly take action, we are practicing. This is how we actualize our vows.

Since we have made these vows we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice in accordance with our ideals. Only then can we “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create the power of merits and virtues.” As our roots of goodness grow deeper and extend further, this tree will become stronger and sturdier. Thus, the roots of goodness must be deeply rooted to create “the power of merits and virtues.” If the roots spread deep and wide, this tree will be strong. So if we work hard on this, the practices we cultivate will be very firm. So, we must “deeply plant roots of wisdom to create power of merits and virtues.” This means we must truly and earnestly take care of our minds. Do we have precepts, Samadhi and wisdom? Are we listening, contemplating and practicing? When we engage in [all these practices], we will attain the power of merits and virtues.

Such merits and virtues also require right understanding and right views. We must comprehend the Buddha’s understanding. Moreover, we must penetrate His views. Thus, we must earnestly contemplate all-encompassing wisdom and return to the pure land of our minds, which is the state of the Tathagatas, our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. If we can cultivate and attain these states, then won’t we understand the entire Lotus Sutra? The Buddha-Dharma is that simple. But the Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, patiently guided us over and over again.

Therefore, as we discussed previously, The Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning,” spoke in verse, saying. Bhiksus and bhiksunis’ may harbor overbearing arrogance.’ Upasakas may have self-arrogance and’ upasikas may lack faith.’

When the Buddha began to speak, He precisely said what was in that earlier section of prose. When I think of this statement, I really feel a sense of sorrow, a bit of sadness. It is truly hard [to read about]. During the Buddha’s time, He personally gave teachings, but His disciples, the bhiksus and bhiksunis, still “harbor overbearing arrogance.” The Buddha must have felt a sense of sadness, which caused Him to say these words.

The Buddha felt this way, and. I have felt this way too. “[They] may harbor overbearing arrogance.'” How can we subdue our overbearing arrogance? Others cannot help us; only we ourselves can fully understand the Dharma. Among people, [there are] infinite Dharma-doors. Only when we strive to fully understand all Dharma will we be able to develop our wisdom and eliminate “overbearing arrogance.” So, this section of the sutra really breaks my heart and causes me to feel sad. How much longer could He be with His disciples? This made Him very worried,

because other than those bhiksus and bhiksunis who harbored overbearing arrogance even upasakas and upasikas, who were the lay disciples, had self-arrogance and lacked faith. So, even during the Buddha’s lifetime, the [lack] of people who truly had faith in the Buddha was already a problem, not to mention our present era. So, we must constantly be vigilant of ourselves.

When the Buddha began to speak, those who bowed to the Buddha and left “were 5000 in number.” These 5000 people “did not see their own faults.” These overbearingly arrogant people did not know that they had faults. This is what the most pitiful people were like. They did not know that “their upholding of the precepts was flawed.” They did not uphold the precepts, so they had imperfections. The Dharma leaked out as soon as they heard it. Thus, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed.”

The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.

Let us discuss these precepts again. Precepts “guard against wrongs and stop evils.” As we already discussed, not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts.

Following the precepts can make us pure, so, they “are pure and refreshing.” Precepts are called “pure and refreshing.” When we uphold the precepts, we are streams of purity. An Indonesian Muslim leader explained to me that in their language, [the words “Tzu Chi”] mean clean and pure. Indeed, we must uphold precepts. The words “Tzu Chi,” aside from signifying giving with love, having great universal compassion and being unable to bear sentient beings’ suffering, also means we ourselves must uphold the precepts well. This is how we will be purified. If we adhere to precepts, our minds will be pure and refreshed.

Sometimes when I see people, I say, “You seem so cool and calm.” They say, “By not taking issue, we can remain cool and calm.” So, [the precepts] are pure and refreshing. We must not take issue with others or make mistakes. Then our minds will naturally be pure and undefiled, free of vexation and anger.

Anger is like a burning fire. When we lose our tempers, we feel like we are engulfed in flames. The fire of ignorance can destroy the forest of merits and virtues. So if we uphold precepts, not only will we not create evil, we will not give rise to evil thoughts, then our minds will naturally be pure and refreshed. If we can stop evil and do good deeds, we will be at peace, with a clear conscience. If we can stop all evil and not commit any bad deeds, everything we do will be good. Then our minds will be at peace, since we have abided by the principles. This brings peace and a clear conscience. This is a benefit of our spiritual practice, part of which is upholding precepts. So, “when the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.” This comes from upholding precepts.

Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Not only must we avoid doing unwholesome things, we cannot even have unwholesome thoughts. [Precepts] are pure and refreshing because when people stop doing evil and do good deeds, they will feel at peace, with a clear conscience. When the heart is free of burning distress, it becomes pure and refreshed.

If we do not value precepts, our “upholding of the precepts is flawed.” Precepts are the precious raft used to cross the sea of samsara. In order to cross the sea of samsara, we need to uphold precepts. If we do not, we will surely sink. So, if we want to safely cross from the shore of afflictions, of suffering and hardship, to reach the state of Buddhahood, we must cross the river of afflictions. That requires a boat. Precepts are like a boat; they allow us to remain safe as we cross from this shore to the other shore. If this boat is damaged, it will capsize and we will sink into the sea of samsara.

So, our boat cannot have leaks or holes. If the boat leaks, it will sink; that is certain. If we do not uphold precepts in our practice, we will also degenerate. Therefore, precepts must be upheld without flaws or Leaks; only then are we upholding precepts.

Precepts are the precious raft that carries us out of the sea of samsara. If there is a leak in the raft, we will sink and drown in the sea of samsara. There are different kinds of precepts, such as precepts without faults and flawless precepts.

Everyone, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must follow a sequence. First, we cannot lack precepts. [By upholding] precepts, we allow our minds to receive the Dharma without letting it leak away. This helps us to safely and truly penetrate all principles, and make these principles more universal so that everyone can understand them. We must safely cross the river of afflictions ourselves, and also use a spacious heart to teach everyone to cross this river together. This is our aspiration, is it not? So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0325

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 325 – Diligently Uphold the Dharma

>> Earnestly listen to teachings and diligently uphold and practice them. Single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice. Do not doubt the teachings and obstruct yourself. Do not be like the 5000 people who left.

>> “Bhiksus and bhiksunis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith.”

>> The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.

>> 1. Initiators. At the Vulture Peak assembly, Sariputra requested teachings three times, which led the Buddha to freely teach what He originally intended to. This mobilization and response brought the Vulture Peak assembly to fruition. Thus, he was part of the initiators.

>> 2. Adopters. The adopters were people who sat there, such as Hearers, who properly listened to these teachings. They are those who benefited by awakening and attaining realizations.

>> 3. Influencers. Bodhisattvas such as Manjusri and Guanyin came from other places to help the Buddha teach sentient beings in the Saha World. Those who dignify Sakyamuni Buddha’s. Dharma-seat are considered influencers.

>> 4. Associators. Sentient beings lacking in blessings do not currently have the benefit of attaining realizations but they create the causes and conditions for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma. They create the causes and conditions for attaining the Path in the future.

Earnestly listen to teachings and diligently uphold and practice them.
Single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.
Do not doubt the teachings and obstruct yourself.
Do not be like the 5000 people who left.

This world needs religious teachings. Each religion has its own direction and doctrine, and its own teachings and methods. [To learn] the Buddha’s teachings, we must mindfully listen to the Dharma and diligently uphold and practice it. We cannot just listen briefly [and say,]. “Yes, I have listened.” We listen, but has it penetrated our minds? Did we listen earnestly and mindfully? Or did we listen casually? Human form is hard to attain, and. Right Dharma is difficult to encounter, so when we listen to the Dharma we must be earnest. Afterward, we must diligently make progress and accept and uphold the teachings. Only by doing so can the Dharma we hear be internalized. So, we must be mindful and earnestly accept and uphold it.

We “single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.” Since we chose to follow these particular religious teachings, after we listen to the Dharma, we must work to uphold and practice it. We must wholeheartedly “uphold the vows and follow the Way; then the Way is truly great.” This means that if we can be single-minded, if we can focus our minds and thoughts and uphold our vows, then we are really learning from the Buddha and can draw near to His true teachings. So, we must “single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.” After listening to the teachings, we must carefully contemplate them. Is this teaching useful to us? If it is useful, we will apply this Dharma in our daily living as we deal with people and matters. This is truly listening to and applying the Dharma. Of course, we have to contemplate it first. If it is Right Dharma, we must apply it to diligently advance [in our practice].

“Do not doubt the teachings and obstruct yourself.” We cannot have doubts. We should not doubt the Dharma as we listen to it because then we will not take it to heart. This would be like splashing water on rocks. When the sun shines, that water dries right away. It will not be absorbed by the rock. So, we must have faith. Every day, I talk about “faith.” We must faithfully accept and practice the Dharma. If we do not have faith in the Dharma, then we will have doubts. This is how we “obstruct ourselves.”

“Do not be like the 5000 people who left.” We should not be like the 5000 people who left the assembly. That would really be a pity, and we would have wasted this lifetime. When we listen to the Dharma, we must listen mindfully and earnestly. Life is impermanent; we do not know how long we will live. Thus, we must seize every moment.

Earlier, after the Buddha finished speaking in prose, to help everyone mindfully listen to the Dharma and to reinforce everyone’s memory of it, after He finished, He repeated the key parts to help them remember. Thus, the Buddha repeated the teachings in verse.

So, earlier it stated,

“Bhiksus and bhiksunis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith.”

Haven’t we heard about this before? The following verse talks about “the ones such as these in the fourfold assembly.”

The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.

Bhiksus and bhiksunis, and upasakas and upasikas were the Buddha’s disciples in this world. They were known as the fourfold assembly. But in addition to [that], it is then explained that “[they] were 5000 in number.” There were 5000 people who “did not see their own faults.” So, “5000” [is the number] of people who left the assembly. At the moment the Buddha was beginning His teaching, the 5000 people who left were disciples of the fourfold assembly who did “not see their own faults.” They did not know that they had these problems.

First, they did not respect the Buddha and Dharma, and they especially did not respect themselves. Although as spiritual practitioners they aspired to engage in practice, they did not respect themselves. They did not know spiritual practice requires the Dharma taught by the Buddha. When the Buddha began to give teachings, they showed disrespect. Isn’t this not respecting the Buddha, Dharma and themselves? So, “they did not see their own faults.”

The faults of these 5000 people were caused by their “overbearing arrogance.” They had all kinds of excuses like, “I know and understand everything already.” They had all kinds of excuses because they did not realize that by leaving halfway through the teaching they would lose a lot. They had no idea.

So, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed.” These people could not uphold teachings and follow the Path, so they had Leaks and flaws. The true teachings of precepts had already leaked out of their minds. So, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”

“but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.” This was saying that people who “defended their imperfections” never recognized their own faults because they covered up their minds. Although they may have felt some embarrassment, they felt justified [in leaving] and found a way to explain themselves. Thus, they covered up [their faults]. People who cover up faults and have no remorse or regrets can be said to “defend their imperfections.”

“So, those with limited wisdom left.” Those with limited wisdom are not very wise people. They are simply clever. [They said], “I know, I know, I understand, I understand,” but they did not fully understand. They said they understood, but their minds were actually still empty. Yet they assumed they had great wisdom. These were people with limited wisdom who claimed to have attained what they had not. These overbearingly arrogant people, this group of 5000, had already left. This once again described the 5000 people who left the assembly.

Now we will talk about the “fourfold assembly.” Besides the one comprised of two groups of monastics and two groups of lay practitioners, it can also refer to the people sitting before the Buddha, ready to listen to His subtle, wondrous Dharma at the Lotus Assembly. This “fourfold assembly” also has four categories. The first was known as the “initiators” 5000 people had left, but among the people who stayed were [members of] the “fourfold assembly.”

With the initiators at the Vulture Peak assembly and Sariputra “pleading three times,” the Buddha was then able to expound and freely carry out His original intent.

Indeed, the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s intent carried out. From the moment He attained Buddhahood, He constantly wanted to give this teaching to awaken the love in every person’s heart so that their loving hearts could return to their [intrinsic purity]. Then their pure hearts could unlock the intrinsic Buddha-nature within. So, in His heart, this was what the Buddha had always wanted to say.

When the karmic conditions were finally complete, at the Vulture Peak assembly, the Buddha was about to teach it. But the hearts of those who came to listen to the teachings were not all the same. There were those who would not earnestly listen, those who still had doubts and those who were arrogant and proud. People at the Vulture Peak assembly had many discursive thoughts. Thus, the Buddha hoped [to teach] only those who were more refined and focused. Only those who were wholeheartedly dedicated could accept the teachings of the true and wondrous Dharma. So, the Buddha said “stop” three times.

If after the first “stop,” Sariputra had not pleaded again, the Buddha would not have had the chance to expound the Lotus Sutra. Then the Buddha said the second “stop. Stop, stop; there is no need to speak further,” Fortunately, Sariputra asked again. But the Buddha saw everyone was still in a state of discursive thoughts. So, there was a third “stop.” If Sariputra had not asked the Buddha to give teachings again, if this had not happened, today we would not have the Lotus Sutra.

When there is a cause, there will be conditions. We must seek the Dharma with sincerity, and must be grateful for Sariputra’s wisdom for bringing together the Buddha’s causes and conditions.

The Buddha was very happy about this; otherwise He would not have had the opportunity to expound the Lotus Sutra, to freely carry out His original intent. Think about how joyful and satisfying it is to be able to say what we want to say. So, He “freely carried out His original intent.” He said everything He wanted to say,

so “this mobilization and response” finally led the Buddha to begin this teaching so everyone could hear. This was a very joyful event. It was a very harmonious, happy and joyful moment. So, it was said, “this mobilization and response brought the Vulture Peak assembly to fruition. Thus, they were called the initiators.”

Sariputra was an initiator. With so many [converging] causes and conditions, and for the sake of so many people. [Sariputra served as the initiator]. One person made this request on behalf of others because so many of them wanted to listen. If he had not asked for the many who wanted to listen, but only for himself, Sariputra would not dare to ask again and again. It was because there were so many people who wholeheartedly sought the Buddha’s teachings that Sariputra became their representative. So, he was among the “initiators.”

1. Initiators. At the Vulture Peak assembly, Sariputra requested teachings three times, which led the Buddha to freely teach what He originally intended to. This mobilization and response brought the Vulture Peak assembly to fruition. Thus, he was part of the initiators.

The second group was the “adopters.” At that time, the Buddha had already excluded those who harbored overbearing arrogance 5000 people had already left the assembly. So, those who remained at the Dharma-assembly were the people the Buddha wanted to teach. They were those who wanted to receive the Buddha’s teachings, so they were known as the “adopters.” They were there in person, including the Hearers who properly listened to the teachings, awakened and benefited. After they heard the teachings they attained realizations and understood that

[there is more to the teachings of] suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. There is more than just understanding the karmic conditions that cause suffering. Although everyone works hard to eliminate the source of suffering by engaging in spiritual practice on the Path, they do not stop there. On this Path of spiritual practice, there is a broader and more direct route. So, they must not stop. The road ahead is even broader and more direct; it is the Bodhisattva-path they must walk. Thus, after hearing [the Dharma], if they are able to “realize” and understand it, they know they have to open up and broaden their minds to understand these benefits. Then afterwards, they can walk the direct path, which is the Bodhisattva-path. So, the “adopters” are the people the Buddha wanted to teach. They were those who could accept great Dharma, and after accepting it, develop aspirations and vows. Thus, they were known as the “adopters.”

2. Adopters. The adopters were people who sat there, such as Hearers, who properly listened to these teachings. They are those who benefited by awakening and attaining realizations.

The third group was the “influencers.” In the Lotus Dharma-assembly, there were many who already thoroughly understood the Dharma, such as Manjusri Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, etc. Many Bodhisattvas had come from other places and had already become Buddhas. When they came to the Saha World at that time, they were known as Bodhisattvas because the Saha World already had a Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha. They were Buddhas from other worlds who came to help Sakyamuni Buddha transform sentient beings. They came to help Him in the role of Bodhisattvas.

So, Manjusri, Samantabhadra and other Bodhisattvas came from other places “to help the Buddha teach sentient beings in the Saha World,” and to dignify Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-seat in His spiritual training ground. If there were more leaders from other places, the Dharma-assembly at Vulture Peak would be even more magnificent. Thus, they were the “influencers.”

3. Influencers. Bodhisattvas such as Manjusri and Guanyin came from other places to help the Buddha teach sentient beings in the Saha World. Those who dignify Sakyamuni Buddha’s. Dharma-seat are considered influencers.

The fourth group was the “associators.” They were sentient beings who lacked blessings, so they did not currently have the benefit of attaining realizations or awakening. Although they listened to the teachings, they did not quite understand them. Yet, they still sat there and obediently listened. These were the “associators.” Although they could not attain realizations in this lifetime, they would benefit in the future because they had created this karmic affinity. So they “created the causes and conditions for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma” and “the causes and conditions for attaining the Path in the future.”

4. Associators. Sentient beings lacking in blessings do not currently have the benefit of attaining realizations but they create the causes and conditions for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma. They create the causes and conditions for attaining the Path in the future.

Now, it does not matter if we understand or not, we should always listen mindfully. If we cannot understand it in this lifetime, we can still create karmic conditions for our future lives. So, listening to the Dharma is always beneficial. Although we currently cannot attain realizations, we still benefit from listening to the Dharma, So, we must be mindful. These are the four types of people in the assembly.

So, dear Bodhisattvas, I hope that once we have formed aspirations, we do not just listen. After we listen, we must accept and apply it. If we do not earnestly listen to the Dharma, then we cannot diligently practice. So, we must earnestly listen to teachings and not let them pass us by in our confusion. We must earnestly and single-mindedly sustain our vows. Really, since we have learned teachings, we must single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.

Recently, I keep saying to everyone that we should “not doubt teachings and obstruct ourselves.” We must not obstruct ourselves. More importantly, I want to remind everyone to “not be like the 5000 people who left.” So, we have to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to learning and applying the Dharma. If we can do this, then we are not wasting our lives. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0324

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 324 – Eliminate Arrogance to Believe in the Buddha

>> “The Buddha created a great opportunity to reveal the great Dharma. But those of limited capabilities and wisdom retained nothing but arrogance. They were attached to listening, but not to seeking the truth. So, the Buddha gave great teachings [to lead them] back to the One Reality.”

>> Sariputra, you and the others should single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha. In the words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, there is nothing false. There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.

>> “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse.”

>> He said, “Bhiksus and bhiksunis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith.”

>> Those who “may harbor overbearing arrogance” claim to have attained what they have not. We all know about them. Furthermore, though they have not attained the teachings of the supreme vehicle, they believe that they have. They have not realized the principles of the supreme vehicle but claim that they have.

>> Upasakas may have self-arrogance: Those with self-arrogance see themselves as superior to others. They are conceited and egotistical and haughty toward others. Based on their belief in their own abilities, they bully and humiliate others.

>> Upasikas may lack faith: Those with deviant views have many doubts. Thus when they encounter the Right Dharma, they cannot give rise to faith in Right Views. So, they become distressed. This is the affliction of lacking faith.

I often think it is clear that true emptiness is unchanging and wondrous existence is ever-abiding, but for the Dharma to instill true emptiness and wondrous existence in people’s minds is not easy.

“The Buddha created a great opportunity to reveal the great Dharma. But those of limited capabilities and wisdom retained nothing but arrogance. They were attached to listening, but not to seeking the truth. So, the Buddha gave great teachings [to lead them] back to the One Reality.”

The Buddha did His best for sentient beings, hoping we can all perfect our spiritual practice. He [taught us] the principles of unchanging emptiness and everlasting existence so we could all experience and understand them. However, we are ordinary people with ordinary minds that constantly fluctuate. We quickly aspire to diligently practice, but soon after, we lose enthusiasm for moving forward and quickly regress. So, we sentient beings remain deluded. In the midst of our confusion, we remain foolish and unwise; we lack wisdom.

We clearly know that impermanence may strike at any time and that we must always feel the urgency we would if there was a fire burning on our head and we had to quickly put it out. However, we ordinary people, though aware that impermanence is all around us, that it is as if our hair were already on fire, still do not know we must do something quickly. If people do not even try to save themselves, what can be done? The Buddha really felt for us, but sadly, we sentient beings remained limited in our spiritual capabilities and wisdom. This means that we have short, temporary roots. Our roots of goodness are superficial and we have very little wisdom.

So, people with neither roots of goodness nor wisdom, “retain nothing but arrogance.” These people had retained nothing. The Buddha-Dharma they heard leaked out; none of it remained in their minds. Yet they were still very conceited. They were people with “overbearing arrogance” who claimed to have attained what they had not. These people had limited capabilities and wisdom. Even if they knew what to do, they could not move forward at all. Moreover, there are many people who do not know and cannot understand. They cannot understand the teachings they hear, but they think that they have attained much.

In the Buddha’s lifetime, one day, Kasyapa, after sitting in meditation, went to the lecture hall pay respect to the Buddha. The Buddha saw Kasyapa [enter] the lecture hall, so He said, “Kasyapa, for a very long time. I have given the Sangha many teachings. Now Kasyapa, you should teach them the Dharma in my place.” Venerable Kasyapa very reverently [faced] the Buddha with his palms together and said to Him, “Venerable Buddha, I cannot to do it.” The Buddha asked him, “Why? You already understand so much of my Dharma. You can take my place and give my teachings to everyone.” Venerable Kasyapa said, “I cannot, because these bhiksus are difficult to teach.”

When I read this story, I was shocked. During the Buddha’s lifetime, He taught the Dharma for a long time. And Kasyapa, was a senior disciple, a leader among the Sangha. But when the Buddha asked him to teach, Kasyapa already had no confidence in them.

When the Buddha asked him why, Venerable Kasyapa said, “Because these people often give rise to a mindset of indolence. When You teach, they may accept it temporarily. But soon after, they give rise to indolence, so they quickly [regress in their practice]. They quickly lose the virtuous Dharma, yet they feel no remorse. These foolish people without wisdom are hindered by sleep. Hindered by sleep” means that everyone is still asleep and cannot be awakened. “They are all asleep and cannot be awakened. Can they really not be awakened?”

When the Buddha heard what Kasyapa said, He then asked, “Why can’t these people be awakened?” Kasyapa replied, “Because they are deeply attached to their view of self.” Each of them sticks to his own understanding. Practitioners must have a common understanding, which is to be mindful of impermanence and diligently move forward. Every person must always be mindful of impermanence and diligently move forward, but these people did neither. What they had in their minds were afflictions and defilements; their minds were full of ignorance and afflictions. The defilements of afflictions covered their minds. Though they stayed asleep and could not awaken and were further covered by afflictions,

the Buddha was still compassionate. So, He asked Kasyapa again, “If this is so, what can we do?” Kasyapa then said, “These people have such unwholesome practices. They do not have any roots of goodness at all.” I feel Venerable Kasyapa was very brave to give this response to the Buddha in front of everyone, saying that since they had no roots of goodness how could they possibly be diligent?

Because they had limited capabilities and wisdom, they retained nothing, yet had a lot of pride. These indolent people had no roots of goodness or faith, so how could they become diligent? Venerable Kasyapa said, “Only after feeling a sense of remorse can they desire to become diligent.” After the Buddha heard this, He replied, “Indeed, indeed.” The Buddha admitted this fact and said, “Indeed, Kasyapa you are not wrong. These people are very indolent, with very little roots of goodness and faith. People easily form aspirations but find it hard to persevere. I agree with your view that these people are unable to nurture their roots of goodness and faith. I agree sentient beings are hard to transform. But those who attained human form are precious, so, Kasyapa, you must still persevere in teaching all sentient beings.” Thus the Buddha taught Kasyapa with compassion.

I often think about why [this is so]. How long will it take for our minds to awaken, for us to become enlightened beings and awaken ourselves and others? If we cannot awaken ourselves, how can we awaken others? The Buddha faced myriad sentient beings and from this story alone, we realize that even in His lifetime, transforming sentient beings was very difficult. Even right before He was to teach the Lotus Sutra, Kasyapa still brought up their indolence and lack of remorse.

As the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, Ananda asked, “Venerable Buddha, after You enter Parinirvana, what do we do with the [evil-natured] bhiksus who are so hard to tame?” The Buddha sadly replied, “Be compassionate and counsel them often. If they cannot be taught, give up and let them be.” For those with limited capabilities and wisdom, the Buddha said to let them go. If they cannot accept compassionate teachings, let them be. Otherwise, what can be done? This is very sad.

In the Buddha’s time, there was a limit to how much He could do, to say nothing of what we can do now. So, “those of limited capabilities and wisdom have retained nothing but arrogance.” Everyone, think about this for a moment. “They are attached to listening but not seeking the truth.” Indeed, they listen to the teachings, but they need to listen, contemplate and practice. They have listened, but have they contemplated? Have they diligently put them into practice, or are they merely listening?

So, we must have faith in the Buddha. “The Buddha gave great teachings [to lead them] back to the One Reality.” These great teachings are the Lotus Sutra. He had given many provisional teachings over the past 40-plus years. Now, at this point, He returned to the One Vehicle. So, “The Buddha gave great teachings [to lead them] back to the One Reality.” This is the One True Vehicle.

Everyone, sometimes we may feel helpless and tired. But if we think of how hard the Buddha worked, we cannot feel tired. “For Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings” [means] we still must diligently practice and fulfill our duty to help everyone understand the Dharma.

We already spoke of the previous sutra passage. To remind everyone again, the Buddha called on Sariputra, [saying], “You and others should single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.” He still very sincerely hoped that everyone could be awakened and “single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.”

Sariputra, you and the others should single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha. In the words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, there is nothing false. There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.

The Buddha said to everyone, “The words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are without any falsehoods.” The words of all past Buddhas were True Dharma. There was nothing false in Their teachings. “There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle,” which teaches everyone the way to Buddhahood. They hoped everyone would return to their pure intrinsic nature. This teaching helped everyone understand that

the Dharma is in everything. It is intrinsic to us, but we are still covered by sleep, so we are indolent, ignorant and remorseless. If we seek understanding and awakening, we must learn to be remorseful. If everyone else is diligent, how can we be indolent? We must all have this sense of vigilance.

We must be earnest and diligent; we must not wish only to stay in bed. “Hearing the bell, afflictions are alleviated, wisdom grows and Bodhi arises.” When we hear the [morning] bell, it is time to awaken our wisdom. We must seek to develop wisdom.

So, in this section of the sutra, the Buddha earnestly hopes that everyone will have faith and understanding. We really must read and recite, accept and uphold, and have faith and understanding that every word He taught is true. Indeed, impermanence is also true. That our lives will come to an end is also true, so why haven’t we all awakened? This is why the Buddha persisted. Not only did He teach the Dharma once in prose, but He also repeated it again in verse. Thus, the sutra again states,

“At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse.”

After the Buddha spoke, He feared that people might forget it or not understand it, so He repeated the teachings in verse form.

He said, “Bhiksus and bhiksunis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith.”

These are the disciples of the fourfold assembly. These verses restated the teachings He gave earlier about sentient beings who did not know, understand, or have faith; they were overbearingly arrogant and 5000 of them even left [the assembly]. When we read this passage of the sutra, we should recall the meaning of the passage taught earlier.

First, let us read about how.

Those who “may harbor overbearing arrogance” claim to have attained what they have not. We all know about them. Furthermore, though they have not attained the teachings of the supreme vehicle, they believe that they have. They have not realized the principles of the supreme vehicle but claim that they have.

Indeed, when [listening] to the Buddha-Dharma, Hearers and Solitary Realizers stop before they even take a single step on the Bodhisattva-path. They think, “I do not need to go among people. I just want to awaken myself,” so they think they have already accomplished this. They “have not attained the teachings of the supreme vehicle,” have not gone on to the next stage, but they think they have already reached it. So, they “claim to have attained [it]. They have not realized the principles of the supreme vehicle but claim that they have.” They all thought they had realized it.

Some upasakas have self-arrogance. This kind of self-arrogance means that they “believe they have surpassed others.” This arrogance leads people to assume they know more than everyone else. Regarding worldly matters, they also think they are smarter than others. When listening to the Dharma, they think they understand more than anyone else. Believing this, they think they have surpassed others, so they are proud and arrogant. Conceited and egotistic, they are haughty toward others. These people have “self-arrogance.”

Upasakas may have self-arrogance: Those with self-arrogance see themselves as superior to others. They are conceited and egotistical and haughty toward others. Based on their belief in their own abilities, they bully and humiliate others.

These people, “based on their belief” that they can do and understand everything, bully and humiliate others. They think they understand many things, so they bully others. In their mundane lives, they think, “I have money, power and knowledge. I have so much.” People like this believe they possess everything. They think, “The Buddha-Dharma is so simple, I understand it as soon as I hear it.” So, they become more conceited and start pushing around other people.

We all must know that we study the Buddha’s teachings to broaden our minds, not to narrow them. Our minds must be broad and our thoughts must be pure. Then we can be accepting of more people. But lay practitioners are constantly competing with others, so their sense of ownership is very strong. Believing they possess everything, This is “self-arrogance.” [All kinds of] pride and arrogance are due to our ignorance.

“Upasikas may lack faith.” Among the female lay practitioners, [some had] deviant views and many doubts. Initially, during the Buddha’s lifetime, there were many heretical practices. Whatever these teachings were, they were unable to fully understand them, so they had many doubts. When they accepted the Buddha’s teachings, they could not fully forget those other practices so they could not focus on the Right Faith. “Those with deviant views have many doubts. Thus, when they encounter the Right Dharma,” they could not give rise to faith in Right Views. They could not believe in Right Views.

Upasikas may lack faith: Those with deviant views have many doubts. Thus when they encounter the Right Dharma, they cannot give rise to faith in Right Views. So, they become distressed. This is the affliction of lacking faith.

This is like how we are always promoting ways to eliminate superstitions, so people will have proper beliefs and not kill other beings as offerings to spirits or burn joss money as an offering. Some people are wise, so they hear this and think, “Indeed, we do not have to kill living beings.” Isn’t it very contradictory to kill in order to pray [for good fortune]? Is this a good thing to do? As for burning joss money, if doing so can bring blessings and peace, then the person who sells them could just stop selling them to people and burn them himself for great blessings and peace. Is this possible? Some people say, “If I do not burn joss money, I will be uneasy, but I will burn less.” [First burn] less, then later do not burn any. I do not know when people will finally believe that there is no need to burn joss money. If that happens, they have Right Faith. Because they are confused by deluded beliefs, they develop the affliction of lacking faith.

Previously, in the Water Repentance lectures, I mentioned many afflictions, including afflictions that arise from our daily living. Such afflictions are numerous.

Everyone, to truly learn from the Buddha, we must diligently make progress. We cannot be indolent or succumb to the hindrance of sleep again, nor can we lack remorse. We must always be vigilant of ourselves. In this impermanent life, the fragmentary samsara of our lifetimes, who knows how long we have to live. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0323

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 323 – Single-mindedly believe and understand

>>Safeguard the clear and pure mind and extensively accumulate blessings and wisdom as assets. When the mind is pure, it can correspond to all things. When it is focused and refined, we are single-minded. “Safeguard the clear and pure mind.”

>> “Sariputra, you and the others should single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold, the words of the Buddha.”

>> “The words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are without any falsehoods. There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.”

>> Faith and understanding: When we listen to the Buddha give teachings, first we have faith, then understanding. When it comes to faith and understanding, people who are beginners have faith and those with sharp capabilities have understanding. This is having faith and understanding.

>> Accept and uphold the word of the Buddha: People who accept it take it in. People who uphold it remember to practice it. They make an effort to focus and advance. With the Power of Faith, they accept it. With the Power of Thought, they uphold it.

>> [The Buddha’s words are not] false: The one great work of all Buddhas for sentient beings to realize and enter the ultimate One Vehicle must not contain anything false. All Buddhas are Great Enlightened Ones. They speak the truth. They do not speak falsehoods.

>> Subhuti, the Tathagata is one who speaks the truth, who speaks the actual, who speaks what is such, who does not speak what is false, who does not speak what is not so. The Diamond (Vajra) Sutra.

Safeguard the clear and pure mind
and extensively accumulate blessings and wisdom as assets.
When the mind is pure, it can correspond to all things.
When it is focused and refined, we are single-minded.
“Safeguard the clear and pure mind.”

We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature; we all have this truly pure, undefiled and tranquil mind. If we can safeguard this mind that was originally clear and pure, we can “extensively accumulate blessings and wisdom as assets.”

For this, we must go among and develop good karmic affinities with people. We must constantly accumulate blessed conditions and constantly be vigilant of our own minds to avoid the defilements caused by evil thoughts. [These] are greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt. These five things alone naturally lead us to give rise to countless ignorant thoughts. So, we must always be mindful and safeguard our pure and clear minds. We must promptly, diligently and “widely accumulate” [blessings and wisdom]. It is often said, “Everything accumulates over time.” In every second, the arising of our thoughts and everything we do continuously accumulates and we may accumulate blessed causes and conditions. If we are not diligently practicing during this time and instead, we give rise to evil thoughts and commit evil actions, those will accumulate as bad karma. So we must aspire to “extensively accumulate blessings and wisdom as assets.”

We must always safeguard our minds. “When the mind is pure, it can correspond to all things. When it is focused, it can be refined.” If the mind is pure, it is mirror-like, much like clear water. If our minds are truly pure and clear, we can clearly understand everything. Then when we deal with things, we will not make any mistakes. So, we must always maintain the clarity of our minds so it can “correspond with all things.”

“Refined” means our minds must be refined and not discursive, focused and not scattered. So our mind must be refined and focused. “When it is refined and focused, we can be single-minded.” Most importantly, we must be very mindful; we cannot let our minds become scattered at all. This is a spiritual training ground.

But we must remember, the mind we are cultivating, our mental training ground, is very important. [Our place of spiritual practice] is not only physical but spiritual too. If we safeguard our mental training ground, naturally our physical place of practice will be well-attended and well-organized. In the Buddha’s time, He also taught His disciples according to the situation.

One time, He traveled and taught with. Ananda and Kasyapa by His side. One day, when it was almost noon, They saw, not too far way, a melon farm. The Buddha said to Ananda, “Ananda, look, there is a melon farm. Please ask them for a melon to quench our thirst and hunger.” Hearing this, Ananda immediately headed for the farm.

In the melon farm was the woman in charge. As Ananda approached the farm, this woman appeared to be very unfriendly. Before Ananda even began to speak, she stared at him with a mean look. [Yet], Ananda was still very friendly to her. With his palms together, he said, “Please give me a melon. The Buddha is over there. It is noon and He is thirsty, so we hope you will give us a melon.” Before Ananda could finish, the woman started to curse at him, and drove him out. “I don’t want to see you here. You must leave now.” She was not willing to give even a single melon and instead, chased him out. Ananda had no choice but to leave immediately

the Buddha smiled and said to Kasyapa, “Kasyapa, you ask.” Kasyapa thought, “Ananda is young and dignified, liked by everyone who meets him. If he was cursed at when asking for a melon, then how can I, an older man, possibly beg for and receive a melon? But if the Buddha specifically asked me to go, there must be a reason behind that.” So, he faithfully accepted and did what the Buddha told him to do.

So, he walked to the melon farm. When this woman saw Venerable Kasyapa coming from afar, naturally, she began walking toward him and met him in front of the melon farm. With palms together, she courteously greeted him. This woman was very happy, she immediately brought out a very big melon, offering it with both hands and with gratitude. After this mutual expression of gratitude, Venerable Kasyapa left the melon farm. He found this inconceivable. “Why was this woman so happy when she saw me that she gave me such a beautiful and large melon?”

He went back to the Buddha and said, “Venerable Buddha, there must be a reason for this.” The Buddha said, “Yes, let me explain the underlying causes and conditions.”

Countless kalpas ago, there were two bhiksus who were walking along one day, one in front of the other. The young bhiksu walking in front smelled a stench, and when he looked he saw a dying cat by the side of the road. Under the blazing sun, [the body] emitted a stench and [attracted] bugs. This bhiksu covered his nose and could not help but say, “The dying cat smells horrible.” After saying this, he pinched his nose and kept walking. As the other spiritual practitioner passed by, he also smelled this stench and saw the cat. He felt great compassion and approached the cat, helping it to take refuge. At the same time, he said to the cat, “Transcend the animal realm and return as a human, in a positive realm.” [When the cat had died], he then dug a hole and buried the cat.

At this point in the story the Buddha said, “Ananda, do you know who the bhiksu was who walked by first?” Ananda understood and lowered his head, “Venerable Buddha, I know that was probably me.” Then, [the Buddha] turned to Kasyapa. “Kasyapa, the one who saw that dead cat and felt sympathy, that compassionate bhiksu was you. In your past life, you helped the cat to take refuge and be born into a virtuous realm, so she could transcend the animal realm and be born human. So upon seeing you, she was happy and wanted to repay you with an offering.”

We must remember this in our daily living. In this world, sentient beings must treat each other well and get along. If our minds are pure, everything we see develops our sense of goodness. If our minds are focused, [then we will attain] the Buddha-mind. So, we must take good care of our minds.

The sutra text states,

“Sariputra, you and the others should single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold, the words of the Buddha.”

Previously, I also explained that we must sincerely believe and understand because the Buddha [once again called on]. “Sariputra.” Calling on Sariputra is the same as calling on all of us, all of His disciples. [When He called upon] “you and the others,” [He meant that] Sariputra and the others should “single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold, the words of the Buddha.” After listening, we must practice.

“The words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are without any falsehoods. There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.”

Everyone needs to know that the Tathagata’s words “are without any falsehoods.” With this, the Buddha guaranteed, “Everything I said is true.” Sometimes when I speak I say, “You have to believe that I am telling you the truth.” Indeed, I say this too sometimes. At that time, when the Buddha was speaking, He was also worried that everyone would think the Dharma He was teaching was only skillful means. He also worried that people would think that since He taught skillful means in the past, He was still teaching skillful means now. The Buddha thought people might be thinking this, so He told everyone again that they should “single-mindedly believe and understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.”

“The words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are without any falsehoods. There are no other vehicles;” They give no other teaching; “there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.” You may think I am repeating a previous teaching. You are right; I am repeating it to help everyone believe and understand it more clearly.

“Faith” is what we begin to give rise to when we hear the Buddha’s teachings. If we listen to the Dharma without faith, after hearing it once, we will not want to listen again because we do not believe in it. So I often say, “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits.” So, faith is extremely important.

Faith and understanding: When we listen to the Buddha give teachings, first we have faith, then understanding. When it comes to faith and understanding, people who are beginners have faith and those with sharp capabilities have understanding. This is having faith and understanding.

“When we listen to the Buddha give teachings, first we have faith,” Right at the beginning we must establish faith. As for “understanding,” once we have faith, naturally we will want to understand the content of the Dharma. This part is “faith and understanding. First believe, then understand.” First we must believe, then we can understand. After we listen, we mindfully try to understand what we heard. This is “faith and understanding.”

“First” particularly refers to how “people who are beginners have faith.” Beginners are people who just formed aspirations. So, faith is necessary at the beginning. “Those with sharp capabilities have understanding” as beginners develop faith. “Sharp capabilities” are those with more wisdom. They know they must really try to understand this, not just believe in it. They try to deepen their understanding. First we develop faith; if we do not have faith, we will not want to understand. So, those with wisdom will try to understand. This is “faith and understanding.”

The Buddha-Dharma requires both. At the same time, we must go beyond that to “accept and uphold.” We must “accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.” To accept is to receive. To “receive” is to take in. When we faithfully accept what the Buddha says, we receive it and take it in. “This is what the Buddha said, what He taught, so I reverently and directly accept the Dharma He taught.” People who accept it thus receive it and take it in. When we receive the Buddha’s teachings, we must accept them wholeheartedly.

Accept and uphold the word of the Buddha: People who accept it take it in. People who uphold it remember to practice it. They make an effort to focus and advance. With the Power of Faith, they accept it. With the Power of Thought, they uphold it.

To “uphold” is to “remember to practice.” After accepting what the Buddha teaches, we must always keep it in mind and remember it. To uphold it is to always remember it, to keep the Buddha’s teachings in mind. If we can remember and take the Dharma to heart, “making an effort to focus and advance.” If we take the Dharma to heart, naturally we make an “effort to focus and advance.” When we work hard to focus and advance, this is “accepting and upholding.”

“With the Power of Faith, we accept it.” To have the power of faith, we must put the teachings into practice; only then are we keeping faith. If we do not keep faith, we will soon forget that initial [inspiration]. We cannot let this happen. “With the Power of Faith, we focus and advance.” We must persevere.

“With the Power of Thought, we uphold it.” These are among the Five Spiritual Powers. With the Power of Thought, we will persevere. So, faithfully accepting and practicing the Buddha’s teachings is what we practitioners must do.

The Buddha said, “The words of all Buddhas, the Tathagatas, are without any falsehoods.” This guarantees to everyone that what the Buddha says is correct. All Buddhas come to the world for one great cause. To “open and reveal” so sentient beings can “realize and enter” the One Vehicle Dharma. All Buddhas share this same goal. Since Their one great cause is to teach the Dharma to sentient beings, how can Their words be false? That is impossible.

[The Buddha’s words are not] false: The one great work of all Buddhas for sentient beings to realize and enter the ultimate One Vehicle must not contain anything false. All Buddhas are Great Enlightened Ones. They speak the truth. They do not speak falsehoods.

“All Buddhas are Great Enlightened Ones. They speak the truth. They do not speak falsehoods.” Wasn’t this written in the Diamond Sutra? What about us? We are just ordinary people. We have not attained realizations, so we cannot understand the Buddha’s intent. Therefore, we must work hard [to understand Him]. We must not suspect that when the Buddha comes to this world, He only teaches skillful means. We must not have such doubts.

As I have said before, skillful means are “wondrous provisional teachings.” He utilized these subtle and wondrous means to guide everyone in the same direction. We must be on the same course, which helps us step onto this great Bodhi-path.

So, we must not doubt the methods the Buddha taught us. We must have faith to receive and understand that the Buddha’s. One Buddha Vehicle is the True Dharma. We must faithfully accept and practice the Buddha’s teachings. We must uphold, which is to faithfully accept His words. We must believe that the Buddha’s words are absolutely not false. He “speaks the truth, speaks the actual,” and “does not speak what is false.” So, we must believe in the Buddha’s teachings. This is what He continuously reminds us.

Subhuti, the Tathagata is one who speaks the truth, who speaks the actual, who speaks what is such, who does not speak what is false, who does not speak what is not so. The Diamond (Vajra) Sutra.

Over 2000 years ago, when the Buddha spoke directly to His disciples, He took their minds into consideration. Everyone’s habitual tendencies and thinking were all different. So with great compassion, He continuously reminded them to believe in the wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle. The wondrous One Vehicle Dharma has always been in our hearts and. He utilized methods to guide us to it. We must believe this, safeguard our clear and pure minds and extensively accumulate blessings and wisdom. Single-mindedly believe and understand in order to realize what the Buddha is saying. The Buddha comes to the world for one great cause. What does He want to teach us? To have clear and pure minds, to extensively accumulate blessings and wisdom.

To walk this path, we must have assets. Consider the Buddha on His travels. When the time came, He also needed to quench His thirst and hunger. So when He traveled, He also needed [assets], not to mention ordinary people like us. To walk this Bodhisattva-path, we must have assets for our wisdom-life. When we earnestly practice the Bodhisattva-path, we extensively accumulate the assets of blessings and wisdom which arise when we work with sentient beings and put [teachings] into practice. Among sentient beings, we must maintain the purity of our minds so it can correspond to all things. Our minds must be refined and focused. When we single-mindedly remain pure, we realize our pure intrinsic Tathagata-nature. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0322

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 3 – A Mind Replete with All Dharma is Vigilant

>> Our minds are inherently replete with all Dharma. Adapting to different capabilities, the Buddha used infinite skillful means to help us accomplish the [good] things we do. To give us this hope, He taught us the Bodhisattva Way.

>> “Our minds are inherently replete with all Dharma. According to capacities, He used infinite skillful means to to help us accomplish the [good] things we do. To give us this hope, He taught us the Bodhisattva Way.”

>> “Sariputra, you and others should single-mindedly believe, understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.”

>> “For, in the words of all Buddhas, “the Tathagatas, there is nothing false. There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.”

>> Single-mindedly believe and understand: The principles and workings of things originate in the mind. Thus, we must believe in the truth. When we do something single-mindedly, our minds are focused. The nature of the mind is as pervasive as space. It can freely travel throughout the universe. When dispersed, it can respond to all things. When gathered, it can be focused into one thought. Thus, whether it be good or evil, noble or unenlightened, everything comes from this mind.

As long as we realize that we intrinsically have a pure, intrinsic nature, as long as we can guard our minds so our spiritual aspirations are not affected by external conditions or led astray, as long as we protect ourselves like this, then everything is virtuous Dharma to us. So, “our minds are inherently replete with all Dharma.”

Our minds are inherently replete with all Dharma. Adapting to different capabilities, the Buddha used infinite skillful means to help us accomplish the [good] things we do. To give us this hope, He taught us the Bodhisattva Way.

The Buddha wanted us to understand that our minds should return to the nature of True Suchness. So, when “adapting to different capabilities, the Buddha used infinite skillful means. Adapting to capabilities” means that whether or not this Dharma was exactly the same as His original [teaching], so long as we are developing our goodness, we are making progress. “Adapting to different capabilities, the Buddha used infinite skillful means.”

For over 40 years, He utilized skillful means to guide sentient beings to “help us accomplish the [good] things we do.” As long as we are developing our goodness and do not deviate from this direction, we will be able to accomplish various things that benefit others. We often say, “There are experts in every trade.” We each have a different ability, and our entire society, our entire world needs people with all kinds of skills to benefit it.

Considering that we all live in different circumstances, of course the realizations we attain will be different. But as long as we have a pure heart at our core, we can diligently cultivate goodness and the Dharma. This has given us a great sense of hope that sentient beings can definitely walk in the same direction toward goodness and the Right Path. [The Buddha] did this “to give us this hope.”

So, “He taught us the Bodhisattva Way.” The potential we all possess is our intrinsic Buddha-nature. No matter what methods we use, as long as we do not go astray, we will still return to our roots and attain the state of the Bodhisattvas.

If we continue to make progress and remind ourselves to be humble, we will [fulfill] our potential and successfully serve our function. We can “accomplish the [good] things we do” and help others in this world. This is our hope.

The following story is from the Buddhist sutras. Once upon a time, there were many spiritual practitioners living on a mountaintop. Not far away from this mountaintop was a place of spiritual practice. In this place, there were two bhiksus who were good friends. One said, “I heard that on the opposite mountain lives an elder named Jeyata. Venerable Jeyata is very advanced in his spiritual cultivation. He is an experienced practitioner, so we should pay him a visit and ask him to share with us his experience of engaging in spiritual practice.” So, these two bhiksus decided to head toward the nearby mountain.

On the way there, they found a tree to sit under and rest. The monastery on that mountaintop, a place with many spiritual practitioners, did not seem far away. However, they did not know exactly where Venerable Jeyata lived among this group of people. At this time, they happened to see an old and frail practitioner. As the two bhiksus saw that he was collecting and bundling firewood to carry it up the hill, they asked him, “Excuse me, sir. We would like to ask if you live on this mountain? Yes I do. Then do you know Venerable Jeyata?” He said, “I do. Where can we find him on this mountain?” He told them, “If you go up the mountain, go to the third cave in the third mountain. He lives in the third cave over there.” Thanking [him], the two bhiksus happily went in that direction.

It turned out to be somewhat far. As they reached the third cave, when they had almost arrived, they saw an old man standing there. He seemed very familiar. When they got closer, the old bhiksu turned around and smiled to greet them. The two bhiksus said, “Aren’t you the spiritual practitioner we saw at the bottom of the mountain?” At that moment, they realized that this man was very advanced in his spiritual practice. He had achieved [great] skill, and being very familiar with the mountain paths, he could swiftly move about. Isn’t that a spiritual power? He had arrived before they did; despite his old age, he was still able to move very swiftly, demonstrating this practitioner’s mastery.

So, with great sincerity and respect, these two bhiksus prostrated before him. They asked, “Sir, are you Venerable Jeyata?” He answered, “Yes, that is me. Why are you looking for me?” These two bhiksus did not ask about anything in particular, saying only, “Venerable One, you are a senior practitioner replete with so many virtues. In this community of bhiksus, why are you the one who goes down the mountain to personally gather firewood?”

He answered, “This simple task of gathering firewood is the offering I make to the Sangha and is helpful to the lives of many monastics. Even if I had to use my arms and legs as firewood for them, I am willing. But why?” these two immediately asked. He said, “Because I constantly recall the suffering of birth and death in my past.” So they asked, “Venerable One, what happened in your past?”

This elder began to explain, “In my past lives, I lived 500 lifetimes as dog. In these 500 lifetimes, I was always starving and lived in run-down places. I never had anything to eat. But in my last life, I had two full meals. One was when someone got drunk. He ate a lot and got drunk, then threw everything up so I ate it all. But as I was eating, I was also beaten and severely injured. Thus I experienced unbearable suffering.”

“Another time, [I encountered] a family where the husband was a farmer who went to work early in the morning. The wife stayed home to prepare lunch. When she finished preparing the meal, she had to run out to take care of something. So, I seized the opportunity to go in the house. When I saw the food on the table, I was happy so I stuck my head inside [the container] to eat the food inside until I was full. But when I tried to pull my head out, I was stuck. I could not pull my head out so I struggled.” The farmer came back then and saw the dog with his head stuck in the neck of the jar. In a fit of rage, he used the handle of his axe to smash the jar, along with the head of the dog. Thus ended his 500th lifetime as a dog.

At this point, he said, “This was very sad and terrifying.” So, Venerable Jeyata told these two bhiksus, “Young men, always walk on the right path. Even though you are still young, remember to ‘remain vigilant even in times of peace.’ You live your lives quite leisurely, but you should heighten your vigilance. Once you deviate and lose your footing, falling into a lower realm will bring unbearable suffering. In thinking about my past life and the lifetimes of suffering I had endured, I have decided to serve the monks. Beyond gathering firewood, I am even willing to use my arms and legs as firewood.” Having heard this, these two bhiksus came to a realization.

This [story] is about practitioners from the past. Actually, this reminds me of when we were building the hospital in Dalin, and we entrusted Dr. Lin with leading the Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital.

People came from all over Taiwan to help to set it up, inside and out, as well as to recruit employees. One day, a young man came to the hospital.

He saw an older gentleman cleaning up the bathroom, so he asked, “Uncle, where is the superintendent’s office?” The older gentleman replied, “What do you need to do [there]? I am here to apply for a job. Go straight down this hallway, then turn into that doorway and you will see the superintendent’s office. Ah, I see!” Thanking him, [the younger man] went on his way.

So, shortly after, that same older gentleman entered the office, but now he was wearing a doctor’s white coat. The doctor came to him and said, “Hello, young man, we just met earlier. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the person you are looking for. Oh! You are the superintendent! Yes, I am.” You see, the superintendent, to ensure that the hospital would be quickly cleaned and tidied up, personally set an example by cleaning it himself.

I also heard of another instance when over 1000 volunteers of the northern region helped with a major cleaning at our hospital in Xindian, Taipei. Hundreds of hospital employees also helped. This very large group of people split up the responsibility for cleaning different sections of the hospital, both inside and outside. Each was assigned a section. Hospital Superintendent Chao assigned himself to clean the restroom because he wanted to thoroughly understand how to clean the dirtiest of all places so it could smell fresh and free of odors, and be so clean there was no dust or dirt.

This is what leaders must do to, they must “accomplish [good] things” by “adapting to different capabilities” with “infinite skillful means.” These various skillful means all have to do with leading by example.

“Our minds are inherently replete with all Dharma. According to capacities, He used infinite skillful means to to help us accomplish the [good] things we do. To give us this hope, He taught us the Bodhisattva Way.”

Everything arises from a single thought. As a leader, to create the environment we hope for, we must personally bring it about. Isn’t this “teaching the Bodhisattva Way”? Putting [teachings] into practice and leading by example is a part of “humanistic culture.” Humanistic culture refers to our mindset, our morals, virtues, character and so on, and how they manifest in our daily living.

So, the Buddha said in the sutra,

“Sariputra, you and others should single-mindedly believe, understand, accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.”

We must be “single-minded”, [meaning] free of discursive thoughts, a pure mind. Not only do we use our pure minds to believe and to understand, but we must also “accept and uphold the words of the Buddha.” We should listen to everything that the Buddha teaches and put it into practice. To “accept and uphold” means to put into practice. We must accept and apply it to ourselves to earnestly engage in spiritual practice, to cultivate internally and practice externally.

“For, in the words of all Buddhas, “the Tathagatas, there is nothing false. There are no other vehicles; there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.”

This shows that “all Buddhas share the same path.” Each Buddha comes to this world and utilizes various means to teach according to capabilities, but in the end, they have no other [purpose]; They only come to teach the One Buddha Vehicle. “There are no other vehicles.” There is no second or third vehicle, only the One Vehicle. The One Vehicle Dharma is the way to Buddhahood. On the way to Buddhahood we must walk the Bodhisattva-path. Without walking the Bodhisattva-path, we have not accepted and upheld.

So, “single-mindedly believe and understand” refers to “the principles and workings of things.” In the world we are living in right now, in our lives right at this moment, all things and all principles originate in our minds.

Single-mindedly believe and understand: The principles and workings of things originate in the mind. Thus, we must believe in the truth. When we do something single-mindedly, our minds are focused. The nature of the mind is as pervasive as space. It can freely travel throughout the universe. When dispersed, it can respond to all things. When gathered, it can be focused into one thought. Thus, whether it be good or evil, noble or unenlightened, everything comes from this mind.

“Single-mindedly believe and understand” means carefully seeking to believe and understand so we may find the “truth.” The “truth” is the principle. We must single-mindedly realize the principles of Absolute Truth. Thus we “believe in the truth.” Through the true principles, we believe in the Buddha’s teachings.

“Single-mindedly” means our minds are focused and free of discursive thoughts. If we have the Buddha-mind and take refuge in the Dharma, then we see the principles underlying everything all of which originate in our minds. When our minds are in harmony with all things, we have attained “single-mindedness.”

“The nature of the mind is as pervasive as space. It can freely travel throughout the universe.” It is as spacious as the universe. There is nowhere it cannot go. Such is our intrinsic Buddha-nature. Since we possess the Buddha-nature, “when dispersed, it can respond to all things. When gathered, it can be focused into one thought.” Our nature could indeed be described as very broad. When we think about where we want to go, before we move our mind is already there. This is the working of our minds. If we listen intently and gather our thoughts, our minds come back to where we are. This is the working of our minds.

“Thus, whether it be good or evil, noble or unenlightened,” no matter whether it is good or evil, it all exists within this mind. Whether we are noble or unenlightened beings is also determined by this mind. So, “everything comes from this mind.”

Everyone, our minds allow us to become Buddhas but it may also cause torment for 500 lifetimes. If we end up trapped in the animal realm for a long time, that would also be caused by our minds. So, we must always be mindful.