Author: Scott Ogata

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Ch02-ep0271

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 271 – Explaining the Teachings According to Conditions

>>”The compassionate Buddha observed that the conditions were not yet ripe. After being earnestly asked three times, how could He not expound it? He exercised compassion and wisdom and taught and reminded people to develop wisdom. He opened Three [Vehicles] to reveal the One, so we must eliminate doubts and give rise to faith.”

>> The countless beings assembled here will respect and believe this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.

>>”There are 1200 of us, and more, seeking the Buddha’s teachings. For those assembled here, I pray You will bestow teachings in detail. Having heard this Dharma, we will give rise to great joy.”

>> I pray You will bestow teachings in detail: For those with dull capabilities, He reduced One Vehicle teachings and separated it into Three Vehicles. According to people’s different capabilities and conditions, He gave different teachings.

“The compassionate Buddha observed that the conditions were not yet ripe.
After being earnestly asked three times, how could He not expound it?
He exercised compassion and wisdom and taught and reminded people to develop wisdom.
He opened Three [Vehicles] to reveal the One, so we must eliminate doubts and give rise to faith.”

This is telling everyone that the Buddha was compassionate, so He contemplated whether the audience could accept the Dharma. Were their capabilities mature enough to accept the true, subtle and wondrous teachings? If their capabilities were still immature, they would hear but not understand, or they might give rise to overbearing arrogance. With overbearing arrogance, they might easily commit slander and create karma. This was the Buddha’s concern.

Yet Sariputra was so reverent and earnest; he had already asked three times, so the Buddha thought it was about the right time. Now He observed the proportion of those who sincerely wanted to listen to teachings and the few who were not yet ready. After such a long waiting period, did those few people develop faith? Did they wish to seek the Dharma now? This [waiting] period was how the Buddha tested those who wanted teachings.

But, Sariputra understood the Buddha’s intention, so he earnestly asked three times. Over the course of this test, people’s capabilities had approached maturity. Those whose capabilities had not been ready had already been tested to the utmost. So, “how could He not expound it?” Thus, the Buddha began preparations to expound the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma. This was due to Sariputra, who “earnestly asked three times.” So, “how could [the Buddha] not expound it?” It was time.

The Buddha had always wanted to teach this. But, He was concerned that people were not ready. With their capabilities almost mature now, the Buddha still exercised both compassion and wisdom. Compassion formed the Buddha’s original intent. Because of His compassion, He came to the world for one great cause, to teach sentient beings that they originally had wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. However, they stubbornly remained deluded, so the Buddha had to utilize His wisdom. So, He “exercised both compassion and wisdom,”

“taught and reminded people to develop wisdom.” He had to patiently teach and carefully guide them to the Three Vehicle Dharma that suited their capabilities. He was worried for the proud and arrogant, those with overbearing ignorance. The Buddha constantly taught and reminded everyone to respect the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.

Merits from respecting the Buddha allow us to comprehend the great path. Merits from respecting the Dharma allow us to have wisdom as vast as the ocean. Merits from respecting the Sangha allows us to lead the assembly harmoniously. This was how the Buddha used various methods to help people develop respect. When they listened to the Dharma with respect and faith, naturally they would grow in wisdom.

So, the Buddha previously used the Three Vehicles to give suitable teachings to sentient beings. Now, He wanted to “open Three to reveal One.” He began to tell everyone that the Three Vehicles He taught were provisional teachings, and now. He wanted to take the Three Vehicles and combine them into the wondrous. One Vehicle Dharma. In this way, He “opened Three to reveal One.” At the same time, He wanted [people] to eliminate doubts and give rise to faith. Most people probably still had doubts, and this was the time to eliminate them. Listening with respect and faith requires a firm and steady mind. We must be firm in our respect for and faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Our respect and faith must be strong, so we must “eliminate doubts and give rise to faith.” We are now slowly entering the part of the sutra where the Buddha “opened Three to reveal One” and taught the subtle and wondrous Dharma.

In the previous sutra passage, Sariputra said that, “The countless beings assembled here can respect and have faith in the Dharma. The Dharma” was the Great Vehicle Dharma safeguarded in the Buddha’s mind. Sariputra spoke to the Buddha, as if guaranteeing that, there were infinite people who, just like him, had suitable capabilities and wisdom. Thus, they could all respect and believe in the subtle and wondrous One Vehicle Dharma that the Buddha was about to teach. This is “the Dharma.” Everyone could have respect and have faith in this Dharma, so he asked the Buddha to teach without worries. These people had, life after life, since Beginningless Time, followed the Buddha and listened to His teachings. So, they had developed enough wisdom and common sense [to accept it]. They were very respectful and felt, “With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.”

The countless beings assembled here will respect and believe this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.

Next [Sariputra] said,

“There are 1200 of us, and more, seeking the Buddha’s teachings. For those assembled here, I pray You will bestow teachings in detail. Having heard this Dharma, we will give rise to great joy.”

In this sutra passage, Sariputra continued to explain how happy everyone was. See, they all sat there respectfully with their palms together, waiting for the Buddha to give teachings. Of the people here now, “there are 1200 of us.” This was the Buddha’s retinue, who were always by His side. Wherever the Buddha went to give teachings, they were right next to Him.

There were also “more seeking the Buddha’s teachings. For those assembled here” means not just for the 1200 people. At the Lotus Dharma-assembly on Vulture Peak, there were many people who respectfully sought the Buddha’s teachings and had faith in what He was about to say. They very attentively and respectfully waited for Him [to speak]. So, he hoped the Buddha would give teachings for all those who were at the Dharma-assembly.

Thus Sariputra, with utmost reverence, used the two words “pray” and “bestow.” We must understand that “pray” meant “may You” and was an expression of utmost reverence. With wholehearted respect, he asked the Buddha to expound the Dharma. “Bestow” gives the sense the Buddha sat high up while everyone sat in the seats below. So, He “bestowed” teachings from above as they reverently listened below. [Sariputra] even asked Him to give them a detailed explanation, implying that the Buddha should not worry that they might not have enough patience to listen or that they might not faithfully accept it. He asked the Buddha to meticulously explain the True Dharma that He had guarded in His mind. This was Sariputra’s heartfelt wish, so he used very respectful language to reverently ask Him for detailed teachings.

Thus, Sariputra said again, “Having heard this Dharma, we will give rise to great joy.” He said that if they, the 1200 people and all those at the assembly, heard the Buddha explain the Dharma in detail, they would definitely be very happy. So, he asked the Buddha not to worry, and to clearly explain the Dharma in detail.

Let us start from. “I pray You will bestow teachings in detail” and meticulously explain it.

I pray You will bestow teachings in detail: For those with dull capabilities, He reduced One Vehicle teachings and separated it into Three Vehicles. According to people’s different capabilities and conditions, He gave different teachings.

With His compassion, the Buddha expounded the Dharma for over 40 years. He originally wanted to teach the One Vehicle Dharma, to point directly at our minds, so we could realize our true nature. This simple teaching tells all of us that we have the same wisdom as Him, so we can also attain Buddhahood, as long as we eliminate our afflictions and ignorance. When we have a clear state of mind, we will have perfect awakened conduct. But we sentient beings have dull capabilities and cannot understand [the Dharma]. So, the Buddha had no choice but to “reduce One Vehicle teachings for those with dull capabilities.”

The Buddha had always praised the ultimate reality of the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma for being supreme and unsurpassed. But this supreme One Vehicle Dharma could not normally be understood by sentient beings due to their dull capabilities. For sentient beings with dull capabilities, the supreme One Vehicle teachings had to be lowered and reduced [in difficulty]. So, He “separated it into Three Vehicles.” The One Vehicle Dharma was separated into the Three Vehicle Dharma.

He started with the Small Vehicle and explained the Four Noble Truths to. ․help everyone learn the workings of the world. This is because after He became enlightened, He wanted to clearly explain the workings of the world to everyone.

The Buddha lived in a palace when He was young, before He left to engage in spiritual practice. He could not bear the inequality and suffering of the world. He could not bear to let these suffering people work so hard and then be treated with such discrimination and disrespect. The Buddha felt all sentient beings were equal; why should there be differences in class? The Buddha saw the way people lived, how they separated into castes. In addition, people go through birth, aging, illness and death, being subject to the impermanence of life, and many other things, [He saw] endless suffering in the world. So, after He attained enlightenment, the Buddha began teaching by talking about the way people lived in the world. The way people live causes so much suffering.

So, the Buddha reduced One Vehicle teachings for people with dull capabilities. Some of them just could not understand, and some were listening to teachings for the first time. Thus, He “separated it into Three Vehicles.” For different capabilities and conditions, He gave the Three Vehicle teachings. So, He taught “according to their capabilities.” Everyone at the assembly had different capabilities. For people of various capabilities to accept the Dharma, they each had to interpret the teachings in a way that suited their capabilities. So, the teachings had to suit their capabilities. Sentient beings accept the Dharma according to their capabilities.

Actually, there is no great or small teaching; people just have greater or smaller capacities to accept teachings. He gave teachings “according to their capabilities.” The Buddha taught according to capabilities, so people accepted teachings suitable to them.

Thus, “[according to people’s conditions,]. [He] gave different teachings.” The Buddha gave explanations according to capabilities and conditions. Depending on their capabilities, they had different experiences upon accepting the Dharma. Those with higher capabilities, upon hearing just the truth of suffering, realized its causation, its cessation and the Path. Those with limited capabilities, after the Buddha taught the truth of suffering, only understood suffering. They only realized one thing from one teaching. Those with higher capabilities can listen to one teaching and realize two, three or four things. They instantly understand the Four Noble Truths. To summarize, “According to people’s different capabilities and conditions, He gave different teachings.” This was how the Buddha exercised both compassion and wisdom.

Everyone, please be mindful, the Buddha-Dharma is really subtle and wondrous, so we should have utmost respect and faith as we listen to the Buddha’s Dharma. So, everyone must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0270

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 270 – Vow to Transform Sentient Beings

>> The Buddha “attained Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings and manifested the attainment of perfect enlightenment. He vowed to transform sentient beings, so they could attain the joy of peace and safety.”

>>”Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”

>>”The countless beings assembled here will respect and have faith in this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.”

>> [He] taught ones such as these: After the Buddha attained perfect enlightenment, He only hoped to transform sentient beings, so they could reach a refuge of safety and happiness. With great compassion, He observed all suffering and afflicted beings. With the power of His original vow, He completed His spiritual practice in order to teach sentient beings.

>> So we have to, with one mind, put our palms together. “One mind” is a mind that is focused in one place, and putting palms together shows respect. This means that they dared not have discursive thoughts. This shows faith and respect.

The Buddha “attained Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings
and manifested the attainment of perfect enlightenment.
He vowed to transform sentient beings,
so they could attain the joy of peace and safety.”

This is telling everyone that the Buddha had already attained enlightenment. Countless kalpas ago, He had already reached Buddhahood, but for the sake of sentient beings in the Saha World, He came to manifest His spiritual practice and the attainment of enlightenment. He did this for sentient beings, to teach sentient beings and help them find their way.

Thus, He appeared [to be born as the prince] of the Kingdom of Kapilavastu in India, which is in present-day Nepal. At the palace, he witnessed various aspects of life, so in his heart, he had already charted the course for his life. This was always his direction. When he was growing up in the palace, his wisdom differed from that of other children.

In his youth, he felt that all humans are equal and wondered why they were divided into four castes. This kind of system seemed to cause the poor and the suffering to stay that way, lifetime after lifetime. This seemed wrong. So, he wanted to proclaim the inherent equality of people’s nature and from this profound principle manifest a simple and obvious change in the world. Then he became a monastic,

which was a manifestation [to teach us] that when a person has a family and a career, he has many burdens. He wanted to help us understand how [these things limit us]. Even though he was a crown prince who could rule an entire country, he did not long for the power, benefits, fame and wealth that came with that life. So, He manifested this appearance of leaving his family, then the appearance of engaging in spiritual practice.

These manifestations show us that spiritual practice is not that easy. We must first know others to know ourselves. So, he took five years to meet all the spiritual practitioners in India, who taught the 96 kinds of [religious practices]. He did this to show us all the incorrect ways of engaging in spiritual practice. This was also a manifestation [to teach us]. “Know others” means that he first had to know how other people engaged in spiritual practice. Then the six years of [ascetic] practice was for him to “know himself.” We must rediscover our intrinsic nature.

We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, which is one with heaven and earth. So, after six years, karmic conditions finally matured, and upon seeing the morning star, he was enlightened and became one with the universe. After He announced He was the Great Enlightened One, He started working toward His goal, which was to transform sentient beings. This is detailed in the Buddhist sutras.

So, He physically manifested for the sake of the sentient beings who lived at that time, and [then the stories] were recorded in the sutras for the sake of future sentient beings like ourselves. All this was recorded for us to learn from, Actually, His only wish was to teach and transform sentient beings guide them to eliminate their afflictions and return to their intrinsic nature. Then all could “attain the joy of peace and safety.” They could reach a place of safety and happiness.

Ordinary people inevitably have afflictions, which lead them to create karma and cause them to become more confused. The more confused they are, the more karma they create and the more suffering they accumulate. So, the Buddha wishes to transform sentient beings and help them return to their intrinsic Buddha-nature. Thus, they “reach a place of safety and happiness.” To reach this place of great safety and happiness, they must eliminate all their afflictions to discover their own intrinsic Buddha-nature. This is His wish.

The sutra text we discussed earlier mentioned that the Buddha had always wished to proclaim the most important teaching, but the timing was not right, and people’s capabilities still varied greatly. At the Dharma-assembly, there were still people who did not have faith and respect for the Dharma. Because the Buddha felt sympathy for those who could not accept [this teaching], He kept it guarded in His heart. In this way, He also protected those who had not given rise to faith from creating karma. So, Sariputra was very anxious and sincerely made his request again and again.

“Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”

At that time, Sariputra announced his position [to explain] why He continued to ask for teachings. It was because he was representing the wish of all these spiritual practitioners. Because he was their representative, he felt a sense of responsibility to keep asking the Buddha to verbally teach the Dharma that was in His heart.

The next verse states,

“The countless beings assembled here will respect and have faith in this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.”

This was what Sariputra expressed on behalf of everyone at the assembly. There were many people at the assembly, and they had, lifetime after lifetime, faithfully accepted and practiced the Buddha’s teachings. Their connection [to Him] was not solely formed in this lifetime, but in many past lifetimes. They were part of His retinue and had stayed by His side to receive teachings. So, the Buddha had already been teaching them, lifetime after lifetime. Now these people [waited] single-mindedly, with palms together. They were very reverent and respectful as they waited for Him to give teachings. This was Sariputra’s description of that moment,

Actually, Sovereign Sakra also waited respectfully to listen to teachings. He told his retinue in Trayastrimsa Heaven, “Hurry up and make preparations for me to go to the human realm to listen to the Buddha teach.” They quickly decorated his horse and carriage to make them more magnificent. Among his retinue, there was one called Matali. After he heard the command and quickly made the preparations, he informed. Sovereign Sakra that the carriage was ready. He watched as Sovereign Sakra walked out and saw him put his palms together very respectfully, staying like that as he climbed into the carriage.

So, Matali witnessed how, to listen to Sakyamuni give teachings, Sovereign Sakra began showing his respect as soon as he walked out of the palace and climbed into the carriage. He was very amazed. Originally, he was going to whip the horse to command it gallop, but now he could not even hold on to the whip,

Sovereign Sakra asked, “Matali, why are you acting this way?” After Matali picked up the whip, he respectfully said, “Sovereign Sakra, seeing you show such respect as you are heading to the human realm to listen to teachings really amazed me. You are the lord of Trayastrimsa Heaven. Even the kings of the four heavens of heavenly kings and of. Trayastrimsa Heaven must respect you. You are respected by all heavenly beings. So, why do you need to be so respectful as you go to Vulture Peak to listen to teachings?”

Sovereign Sakra explained, “I am respected by those in Trayastrimsa Heaven, the four heavens of heavenly kings and all heavenly beings because. I respect the Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma can teach everyone to be reverent, eliminate afflictions and ignorance, and cleanse and purify their minds. Those are all results of the Buddha’s teachings, so I must respect the Dharma. I respect the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.” Thus, Sovereign Sakra also wanted to listen to teachings, and he did so with such great reverence, not to mention those at the Dharma-assembly. Sariputra described how those at the assembly, with one mind, placed their palms together.

So, thinking of how Sovereign Sakra came to listen to the teachings with great respect, heavenly beings also came with palms together and great reverence to listen to the teachings. So, since they “wanted to receive His words,” they [waited] respectfully.

Next, we must understand how the Buddha taught. After the Buddha attained perfect enlightenment, His only wish was to teach sentient beings and help them reach a place of safety and happiness. This was because of His great compassion. He observed all suffering sentient beings, so He knew that the Saha World was a world of endurance. As the name suggests, suffering must be endured in this world. But sentient beings are lost and afflicted; they do not realize they are suffering, because they are the source of their own suffering. That is where their afflictions come from. Since sentient beings do not feel like they are suffering, they do not seek to be liberated from suffering. So, they continue to multiply the causes of suffering. This is how sentient beings’ afflictions continuously multiply.

The Buddha sees wealth as passing clouds. He treats fame, fortune and status as entanglements, [sources of] suffering. But sentient beings see those things as [sources of] great happiness. They do not understand how short life is, so they fight for and grasp at fame, wealth and status and continuously create karma and multiply their afflictions. This is what the Buddha sees in sentient beings. They are unaware of their suffering and afflictions, so they continuously create karma. So, with the power of His original vow, He completed His spiritual practice in order to transform sentient beings.

[He] taught ones such as these: After the Buddha attained perfect enlightenment, He only hoped to transform sentient beings, so they could reach a refuge of safety and happiness. With great compassion, He observed all suffering and afflicted beings. With the power of His original vow, He completed His spiritual practice in order to teach sentient beings.

We just discussed how the Buddha saw the great disparity between the four castes and how those who suffered were in great pain. So, he wanted to help the suffering use worldly Dharma to attain liberation. He did this out of compassion. Also, people could not eliminate their afflictions, so the Buddha put His heart into purifying their minds. So, we must have great respect for the Dharma. Even Sovereign Sakra was so respesctful; how much more so should we be?

So we have to, with one mind, put our palms together. “One mind” is a mind that is focused in one place, and putting palms together shows respect. This means that they dared not have discursive thoughts. This shows faith and respect.

We listen to the teachings as we sit here, but if our minds are not focused and keep thinking about other things, how can we take the Dharma into our hearts? This means that we are undisciplined. So, the Buddha was about to give teachings. Everyone had to give rise to faith, so they could take the Dharma into their hearts.

Fellow Bodhisattvas, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must think about how difficult it is to encounter it. To listen to the Dharma is not easy, especially if it is what is in the Buddha’s heart. For Him to teach this True Dharma is even harder. We must be grateful that Sariputra was so persistent and diligently asked the Buddha to give this teaching. Thanks to Sariputra’s selfless great love and his sincere requests, we can learn this teaching today. So, we must always be grateful and have respect. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0269

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
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Chapter 2

Episode 2 – Mindfully Seek the Dharma

>>”For the Buddha to elucidate teachings, there must be causes and conditions. Those without the wisdom of hearers will not believe or accept it. Without considering their own virtues, they claim to have attained what they have not. When one speaks a lie, thousands propagate it as the truth.”

>>”Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”

>> Merits from precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom are like the Buddha’s two honored feet, which allow Him to freely travel through Dharma-realms.

>> The supreme Dharma: The state of mind that encompasses all the myriad forms, shapes and sizes of the world. Everything is captured within the One Dharma.

>> Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.

>> Sariputra requested teachings on behalf of his fellow spiritual practitioners. So, he said that those who had been taught by the Buddha would certainly respect and believe Him. Those who accepted His teachings would benefit tremendously and attain the great joy of peace and safety.

>>”The countless beings assembled here will respect and believe this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.”

“For the Buddha to elucidate teachings, there must be causes and conditions.
Those without the wisdom of hearers will not believe or accept it.
Without considering their own virtues, they claim to have attained what they have not.
When one speaks a lie, thousands propagate it as the truth.”

This is telling everyone, for the Buddha to share the Dharma in His mind, the causes and conditions must be complete. Regardless of the people, place or time, whenever He expounds the Dharma, the causes and conditions must all be present. Moreover, if the listeners are not replete with the wisdom of hearers, they will not faithfully accept great teachings.

Some with the right causes and conditions have encountered the Buddha’s teachings and believe they really understand it. They overestimate their own level of understanding, so they believe that they have understood everything. So, they naturally develop overbearing arrogance.

“Arrogance” alone can be split into seven categories. This shows how complex our minds are; These people act “without considering their own virtues. Considering” here means thoroughly evaluating. We evaluate ourselves to appraise our own wisdom and understand the actual extent of our knowledge. But, they do not [correctly] evaluate themselves. So, “without considering their own virtues, they claim to have attained what they had not.”

“What they had not” means they had not really attained or understood the Buddha’s teachings. Before really understanding it, ․they said, “We understand completely.” In truth, they did not understand the Dharma. But despite not understanding it, they still went out and taught; they shared their own understanding and misinterpretations of the principles with others. Then, others might believe this as truth. So, “when one speaks a lie, thousands propagate it as the truth.”

As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must constantly “consider” and ask ourselves, “How much do I really know?” If we truly understand something and can clearly discern right from wrong, then sharing our realizations with others will truly bring us infinite merits. But if our understanding is not quite right, we will lead people far off course. So, listening to the Dharma requires mindfulness and speaking requires great care. If we listeners are mindful, and the speaker is careful, then we will not go wrong.

The Buddha was very concerned about people who did not mindfully listen to the Dharma yet still shared their interpretation with others. The Buddha was very cautious around these kinds of people. He would not casually teach them the principles because He treasured everyone’s wisdom-life. For those with insufficient capabilities and wisdom, the Buddha held back [the teachings].

So, Sariputra kept sincerely asking for the Buddha to expound the Dharma. But the Buddha saw that the timing and the causes and conditions were not yet mature, so He kept holding back the True Dharma. But, Sariputra felt that it was simply not the right time yet, that the Buddha would teach that Dharma, just not now. So, Sariputra understood the Buddha’s intent. So in verse, he said,

“Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”

As previously discussed, the Buddha is the. Supreme Two-Footed Honored One. He is unsurpassed. Among those in the heaven and human realms, there is none with greater wisdom than He. Hence, He is “supreme.”

Merits from precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom are like the Buddha’s two honored feet, which allow Him to freely travel through Dharma-realms.

Why is He described as “Supreme Two-Footed”? As we have discussed, since Beginningless Time when the Buddha began to engage in spiritual practice, He cultivated precepts and Samadhi. He upheld precepts and made vows replete with Samadhi and wisdom. He strictly abided by precepts.

We ordinary people are easily affected by our surroundings. Right now, we may want to change. But as we try to change and challenges arise, we may be tempted to violate [our resolve]. Thus, we cannot change. Some people reflect on and repent their mistakes. They feel they were very ignorant in the past, but now that they have gone through that, they say, “I must change.” Drinking, smoking, gambling and other habits are all unwholesome behaviors that they want to change. However, they say they need time. How much time? An endless amount. When their friends invite them, they join just like before. “Just once more. I will just go to one more gathering.” Then next time, their friends say, “One more time won’t hurt.” [They think,] “Yes, one more time won’t hurt. I’ll just go drinking one more time.” But this happens time after time. Time passes with every second, and those who do not change think there is always another chance; this goes on endlessly.

People with bad tempers may think, “I want to change; I know this is not right. I will change.” But when circumstance arises, they yell again. They may regret it and feel upset about how they were wrong to yell at others. Feeling upset is very painful. We may say to ourselves, “This is the last time I will yell. I will speak more cautiously in the future.” But when circumstances arise again, the words just burst out. These are our habitual tendencies. We always want to correct them. We keep aspiring to change and to uphold precepts. We keep forming aspirations and often say we want to change, but then we keep [doing things] we regret. Think about this, isn’t this very hard on us?

The Buddha, countless kalpas ago, formed His aspirations. Then He “maintained His original aspiration.” After this initial aspiration, countless kalpas passed. Lifetime after lifetime, He vigilantly upheld precepts. He strictly abided by them regardless of circumstances. He followed precepts in His thinking and actions. The way He interacted with His surroundings was guided by the principles of these precepts. So, regardless of the time or place, or of people’s capabilities, His actions were guided by His precepts, so He acted properly. Because He closely adhered to precepts, naturally His mind was in Samadhi.

This is where precepts come in. If we are replete with both precepts and Samadhi, naturally when we are among others, we will [do things to] benefit others and create blessings. [Cultivating] blessings and wisdom will always be a part of our interactions with others.

If we only cultivate precepts and Samadhi, that would be like having both arms but no legs. We need legs to move forward and to walk far. We also need strong arms, so we can do more things. So, blessings and wisdom are inseparable from precepts and Samadhi. Cultivating all four is like having four healthy limbs, like the Two-Footed Honored One. Theses are what the Buddha has practiced since Beginningless Time, the merits He has created internally and the virtues He has practiced externally. His inner and outer practices are unified.

Precepts and Samadhi are cultivated internally. Blessings and wisdom come from helping others. Together, they give rise to merits and virtues. The Buddha is the Two-Footed Honored One, so He can “travel through Dharma-realms.” He goes in and out of them without obstacle. No matter what kind of phenomena, what kind of environments or circumstances, what kind of challenges He encounters, everything is the Dharma appearing before Him. We ordinary people only see our surroundings but not the Dharma. When interpersonal conflicts arise, unpleasantness fills our minds, causing us to forget the Dharma. But for the Buddha, regardless of circumstances, the Dharma is always in His mind, so He will not commit transgressions.

He can “travel through Dharma-realms.” No matter where He is, He is filled with Dharma under all conditions. This is because He cultivated precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom. So, as we engage in spiritual practice, we must be mindful. Learning the Dharma is easy. But when challenges arise, it disappears from our minds, so we continuously commit transgressions and feel regret. This is what we ordinary people are like. We may know the teachings, but afflictions still cover our [minds], ․so we often behave incorrectly so we often behave incorrectly. The Buddha makes no mistakes and just “travels through Dharma-realms.”

Next, “I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma.” The “supreme Dharma” is a state of mind where we have absorbed all teachings into our minds. The Buddha had taught for over 40 years. No matter what kind of capabilities people had, He gave teachings that suited them, so they could open their minds and understand. Sentient beings have 84,000 afflictions, so the Buddha opened 84,000 Dharma-doors. So, His [teachings] for different capabilities all came from a single state of mind.

Thus, “the supreme Dharma” consists of all the teachings that the Buddha had assimilated in His mind. This is “the supreme Dharma;” it is very subtle and wondrous.

How do we truly apply the Dharma that we hear? If we are mindful in listening to the Dharma, then we can really understand many things. Take impermanence for example. [Upon learning that] human life is impermanent, naturally those who are mindful, those who are closer to the Buddha’s heart, will also realize the impermanence of the world and the impermanence of all things. As they mindfully drew near the Buddha-mind, they could gradually realize this principle.

The supreme Dharma: The state of mind that encompasses all the myriad forms, shapes and sizes of the world. Everything is captured within the One Dharma.

The state of mind that encompasses all Dharma does not only exist in the Buddha. Every one of us can attain it, too. This just depends on how sincere we are in thoroughly grasping the importance of the mind. [This state] “encompasses all the myriad forms, shapes and sizes of the world.” With this state of mind, “everything is captured within the One Dharma.” This is the Buddha’s “supreme Dharma.”

Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.

So, Sariputra asked the Buddha to expound the Dharma in His mind for them to thoroughly understand. Sariputra believed, “I am a senior disciple of the Buddha.” Because he was “foremost in wisdom,” the one who was closest to the Buddha-mind, he felt that he had the responsibility to lead all these people. So, Sariputra requested teachings on behalf of his fellow spiritual practitioners. “Those who had been taught by the Buddha” refers to how these disciples had been taught by the Buddha for a very long time, so they would faithfully accept [the Dharma].

Sariputra requested teachings on behalf of his fellow spiritual practitioners. So, he said that those who had been taught by the Buddha would certainly respect and believe Him. Those who accepted His teachings would benefit tremendously and attain the great joy of peace and safety.

Sariputra even said,

“The countless beings assembled here will respect and believe this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.”

Sariputra said that there were so many people who had, in the past, been taught by the Buddha. So, they could accept the Dharma. The number of people was countless; aside from those at the assembly, this included people in the future as well. “[They will] respect and believe this Dharma.” They would absolutely have faith and respect in the teacher and the Dharma. They would definitely accept the teachings.

“Venerable Buddha, You have done so much to diligently teach them. Now, these people are surely wholeheartedly expressing their utmost sincerity by putting their palms together. In this way, they are focused and single-minded and waiting for teachings with great reverence. Please give them the teachings right now.” This shows they “all wanted to receive His words.” Sariputra really wanted to hear the Buddha begin speaking to everyone, and he made this request with reverence.

But did the Buddha believe that all these people could accept the Dharma? This was something He still had to consider, so He was still deciding. As we wait, we should still be mindful.

Ch02-ep0268

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 268 – The Supreme Two-Footed Honored One

>>”Two Vehicle practitioners have limited capacities, strong attachments and tremendous obstacles. The True Dharma of the One Vehicle is hard for them to believe in and understand. Because of His wisdom, the Buddha kept in mind that their arrogance and doubt could give rise to slander.”

>>”At that time, Sariputra further addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.'”

>> “Presently, within this assembly are those equal to me, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them. Life after life, they have been taught by the Buddha. People such as these would certainly respect and believe You. Then they could safely pass the long night and enjoy many benefits.”

>> Sariputra, with the wisdom of knowing past lives, said that many of those at the assembly had long been taught by Buddhas. So, they would certainly have faith and respect. Thus, the Buddha should not stop expounding the Dharma just because of a few people.

>> Then they could safely pass the long night: The long night refers to how the afflictions from cyclic existence are dark and endless. So, [Sariputra] prayed that the Buddha would use the light of wondrous Dharma and wisdom to abundantly benefit all sentient beings.

>>”Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”

>>”Supreme Two-Footed Honored One” is an honorable epithet of the Buddha, because among two-footed sentient beings, the Buddha is the most honored and esteemed. It is also said, the merits from precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom, are like the Buddha’s two honored feet, which allow Him to freely travel through Dharma-realms.

“Two Vehicle practitioners have limited capacities,
strong attachments and tremendous obstacles.
The True Dharma of the One Vehicle
is hard for them to believe in and understand.
Because of His wisdom, the Buddha kept in mind
that their arrogance and doubt could give rise to slander.”

This is telling everyone that the Buddha observed the capabilities of the Dharma-assembly. Had all of their capabilities matured? A few people had the limited capabilities of. Two Vehicle practitioners. So, they still had strong attachments and tremendous obstacles. The Buddha was concerned about those with strong attachments, tremendous obstacles and limited capabilities. If they could not understand, that was fine, but they might give rise to self-arrogance and overbearing arrogance and then commit slander. If this happened, they would create karma. The Buddha was compassionate and could not bear to let these few people do that, so He remained silent.

Yet, Sariputra still persisted and sincerely requested the Dharma. So, the previous passage stated,

․”At that time, Sariputra further addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.'”

“Only” signified his utmost reverence; he was wholeheartedly reverent and respectful as he requested that the Buddha freely teach the true and wondrous Dharma that. He had [been guarding] in His mind. Sariputra’s sincerity was an expression of his thinking.

He said, “Presently, within this assembly are those equal to me, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them. Life after life, they have been taught by the Buddha. People such as these would certainly respect and believe You. Then they could safely pass the long night and enjoy many benefits.”

“Presently, within this assembly” refers to those who were present. “Those equal to me” suggest that many bhiksus like Sariputra were likely present at the assembly in great numbers. There were many who respected and had great faith in the Buddha-Dharma. These people had very deep karmic connections. “Life after life, they have been taught by Buddhas. People such as these would certainly respect and believe You. Life after life” means in the past and the present these people have continuously had a deep connection with and been taught by the Buddha. They would certainly believe and respect the Buddha-Dharma. Then certainly, “they could safely pass through the long night and enjoy many benefits.”

This shows that Sariputra had the wisdom of knowing past lives. His wisdom of knowing past lives came from cultivating and accumulating wisdom over many lifetimes. So presently, Sariputra, among all the disciples of the Buddha, was still foremost in wisdom. He spoke on behalf of many at the assembly. For a long time, these people had been receiving the Buddha’s instruction, so they would certainly respect and believe Him. Thus, Sariputra said this again to express, “Venerable Buddha, You must not stop expounding the Dharma just because of a few people.”

Sariputra, with the wisdom of knowing past lives, said that many of those at the assembly had long been taught by Buddhas. So, they would certainly have faith and respect. Thus, the Buddha should not stop expounding the Dharma just because of a few people.

There were many disciples who respected and believed in the Buddha. Hundreds, thousands, millions and billions of them. Not only did the disciples who were there need His teachings, His future disciples would as well. Sariputra hoped He would not stop speaking just because of the few people with overbearing arrogance, who lacked faith and respect. So, Sariputra sincerely made his request again.

Earlier we mentioned, “through the long night.” These people’s minds were already at peace. So, no matter what the Buddha said, they would be able to accept it. For a long time, over many lifetimes, they had been following the Buddha. So, “long night” actually refers to our cyclic existence. We ordinary people are still transmigrating in the Six Realms. As we go through cyclic existence, we still continuously have afflictions, which give rise to doubts and lead us to create karma. This signifies that, for a long time, we have lived in ignorance, [lacking illumination]. So, the long night is an analogy for the long time we spend in cyclic existence.

Then they could safely pass the long night: The long night refers to how the afflictions from cyclic existence are dark and endless. So, [Sariputra] prayed that the Buddha would use the light of wondrous Dharma and wisdom to abundantly benefit all sentient beings.

These ordinary people had spent a very long time following the Buddha. Life after life they were taught by Him and had lived through this long, endless dark night. “Night” implies ignorance and lack of clarity, this dark and endless path. They have passed through cyclic existence, so their minds have become peaceful and calm. [So, Sariputra] said that the Buddha could confidently proclaim and teach the Dharma. People’s minds, at that moment, were in a calm and peaceful state of deep faith; they had absolutely no doubts.

So, he then asked the Buddha again to use the light of wondrous Dharma and wisdom to illuminate and benefit these people, not only those who were there at the time, but also those in the future. They all waited very reverently, praying that the Buddha would quickly open and reveal His wondrous teachings, so they could develop greater peace and better understanding. This is known as “abundant benefits.” This was not only for those who lived in the Buddha’s lifetime, but for those in the future, our present. So, as Sariputra made his requests to the Buddha, he reassured Him that everyone would develop faith and understanding and really benefit from the light of His wisdom. So, this was what Sariputra said earlier.

Now let us continue to read, “At that time, Sariputra,” wished to restate his meaning. So, after the passage in prose, he repeated his request in verse.

“Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”

In “Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, supreme” refers to the ultimate, highest level, and “Two-Footed Honored One” is a way to address the Buddha. Every Buddha has ten epithets, and one of the ten is the “Two-Footed Honored One,” The Buddha is [the most honored] among two-footed beings. “Sentient beings” include all living beings, but here, special mention is made of the “two-footed” ones. Humans are the most intelligent of all beings and the most receptive to the Buddha-Dharma. Among these sentient beings, the Buddha is the most honored one. Among both heavenly beings and humans, He is supreme and unsurpassed, so He is known as the Two-Footed Honored One.

“Supreme Two-Footed Honored One” is an honorable epithet of the Buddha, because among two-footed sentient beings, the Buddha is the most honored and esteemed. It is also said, the merits from precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom, are like the Buddha’s two honored feet, which allow Him to freely travel through Dharma-realms.

The Buddha is already replete with these two feet, “precepts and Samadhi” and “blessings and wisdom.” This is because, since ancient kalpas, He has cultivated “precepts and Samadhi” and “blessings and wisdom.” During the process of our spiritual practice, we must follow precepts.

Precepts are rules for us spiritual practitioners. So, spiritual practitioners must follow precepts and “treat precepts as their teacher.” The precepts are the most important rules for spiritual practitioners to follow; if we deviate from our rules, from the precepts, we will easily transgress repeatedly and be covered by ignorance. Then, we will fall into the dark and endless night again. So, as we engage in spiritual practice, we must get through the long endless night, this condition of darkness. Then we will quickly see the light of wisdom, So, we must uphold the precepts.

To strictly adhere to the precepts, our minds must be in Samadhi. If we engage in spiritual practice without Samadhi, we will constantly move forward, then backward, forward, then backward. If so, how can we successfully walk this dark and bumpy path? So, we cannot go backward anymore; we must keep going in a straight line.

We can accomplish this with our minds in Samadhi. At the same time, on this endless road, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom. From the start of the Lotus teachings, the Buddha placed great importance on the mission of going into the world to save and transform sentient beings. He greatly valued this. For the past 40 years or so, He used skillful teachings to help everyone understand that this world was filled with suffering, impermanence and subject to the law of karma, etc. He spent a very long time helping people transcend that ignorant and dark state. This was what the Buddha taught in the past.

Previously, we also talked about the Two Vehicles, which are actually the foundation for the One Vehicle. Without the Two Vehicle teachings from the past, how could there be the One Great Vehicle now? In the past, if people had not accepted the Buddha-Dharma and used the Dharma as water to cleanse the darkness from their minds, how could they have kept walking this long path? So, they have been on this path of cyclic existence for a very long time. They listened to the Buddha teach the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and so on, and now place great importance on the Six Paramitas, the Six Perfections.

The Six Perfections are how we cross the river of samsara and the sea of desires. Not only must we cross them ourselves, we must also help other people cross. We already have the tools to cross this vast sea of desires, a ship of compassion. We are on this ship, using it to weather the wind and waves. As we cross this vast sea, we still see multitudes of sentient beings immersed in the water. So, we have to pull them out, one by one. We save them from suffering by bringing them onto this ship of compassion; this is how we create blessings.

If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not be afraid of going among people. Among those living confused lives, we will not be influenced by the confusions of life, and instead, in this confused and ignorant world, we can give teachings [to help people]. We can give everything from material goods, the Dharma, to fearlessness and so on. Whatever sentient beings are in need of, we will continuously give it to them. This is what we do in the world.

This is why, besides “precepts and Samadhi,” the Buddha is also replete with “blessings and wisdom. Blessings and wisdom” are cultivated by going among people. “Precepts and Samadhi” are used to guard ourselves as we go among people to practice “blessings and wisdom.” So, “precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom” are the merits and virtues that the Buddha cultivated since Beginningless Time. These are the two feet of “precepts and Samadhi” and “blessings and wisdom.” With these two feet, He freely travels throughout Dharma-realms. Not only does He travel through this world, He also travels through Dharma-realms.

So, at this point, Sariputra’s only wish was, “I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma.” He hoped the Buddha would expound the supreme Dharma, which is the most profound and wondrous Dharma that He had been safeguarding in His heart. This was a state of mind. “The supreme Dharma” was His state of mind, which encompassed all things in all worlds. This is the state of mind the Buddha, the Two-Footed Honored One, uses to freely travel throughout all Dharma-realms.

It was guarded in His mind and. He was about to explain it, but had not for the sake of a few people. Yet, Sariputra continued to sincerely ask for it. So, we must also patiently wait for someone like Sariputra to, for all our sakes, sincerely ask the Buddha, the Two-Footed Honored One, [to share] the supreme Dharma He has used to freely travel through Dharma-realms. We must learn to discover this supreme Dharma in ourselves. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0267

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 267 – For Deep Understanding, Eliminate Doubts

>>”The Tathagata, compassionate and wise, exercises loving-kindness to awaken wisdom. This enables sentient beings to see the truth. Pure faith and understanding are like a mirror that reflects external conditions. Distance yourself from doubts and regret to achieve faithful and joyful acceptance.”

>> The Buddha again stopped Sariputra, “If this matter was spoken of, heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt, and bhiksus with overbearing arrogance would fall into the big pit.”

>> Among “those with overbearing arrogance,” bhiksus are specifically mentioned. Since they were leaders of the fourfold assembly, we use “bhiksus” to refer to all four groups.

>> The Buddha kept in mind that if bhiksus with overbearing arrogance listened to Him expound the wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle now, they would certainly wonder if it conflicted with the Two Vehicle teachings He previously gave.

>> When they become doubtful, they will give rise to overbearing arrogance, commit the wrongdoing of speaking lies and fall into hell. Therefore, the sutra states, “They would fall into the big pit.” Because the Buddha had great compassion, before this group of people left the assembly, He patiently withheld His teachings.

>>”At that time, Sariputra again addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.'”

>> That which is called wondrous Dharma cannot be understood by those without profound wisdom. The Buddha used provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles as skillful means to teach the One Vehicle. Before He proclaimed these teachings, people could not know or understand. Therefore, it is called wondrous. So, these skillful teachings could not be easily respected and believed by those with overbearing arrogance.

“The Tathagata, compassionate and wise, exercises loving-kindness to awaken wisdom.
This enables sentient beings to see the truth.
Pure faith and understanding are like a mirror that reflects external conditions.
Distance yourself from doubts and regret to achieve faithful and joyful acceptance.”

This is telling everyone that the Tathagata, Sakyamuni Buddha, always exercises His compassion and wisdom. For the sake of sentient beings, He adapts various methods to suit their capabilities. He hopes that everyone can be happy and filled with Dharma-joy.

“This enables sentient beings to see the truth.” The Buddha had only one wish, that sentient beings could realize His intent that sentient beings could realize His intent and take His teachings to heart. He hopes that all sentient beings can realize what He has realized and can also see what He sees, so they can attain the state of Buddhahood. This is what it means to “see the truth. Truth” here means the absolute truth of the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle.

This is the Buddha’s wish for sentient beings, so He wants to guide all of us to have “pure faith and understanding.” With pure minds, we can then believe in and comprehend the Buddha’s intent. If we have impure minds, we cannot thoroughly understand His mind. So, in order to thoroughly understand the Buddha’s mind, we must have pure faith and understanding.

The mind is like a mirror that reflects external conditions, If the mirror in our minds can reflect the Buddha’s state of mind, doesn’t that mean we have reached a state equal to His? The Buddha’s understanding and views will then be our understanding and views. For our understanding and views to be like His is not impossible. However, our “pure faith and understanding” is not yet thorough enough. Because it is not yet thorough enough, our faith and understanding is not yet pure, so we must put in great effort to “distance ourselves from doubts and regret.”

If we have faith, we do not have doubts. If we have doubts, we cannot grow roots of faith. So, if we have doubts, we cannot realize the pure wondrous Dharma. If we do not seize these karmic conditions, the Dharma will leave our hearts and end up very far from our state of mind. So, we must always have deep faith in the Buddha’s teachings; we must not have any more doubts. If we have doubts, they will obstruct our spiritual cultivation.

If we can distance ourselves [from doubts], we can give rise to faith and utmost sincerity to accept the Buddha’s teachings. With such “faithful and joyful acceptance,” we will work very hard. Faith leads to understanding and hard work. The Buddha’s mind, understanding and views will all be very clear to us. The Dharma-joy that arises at that moment comes from faithful acceptance.

So, everyone, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn the Buddha’s wisdom. In learning the Buddha’s wisdom, if we do not have faith, we will remain very far from the Buddha. We must believe that the Buddha is always, for the sake of sentient beings, exercising compassion and wisdom. His one great cause is always to enable sentient beings to clearly see true principles. This is the Buddha’s wish.

We sentient beings must develop pure faith and understanding, so we can purify the mirror of our minds. We must distance ourselves from doubts, so we can immediately give rise to faith in and accept the Dharma. The resulting sense of Dharma-joy is what we are really seeking; our goal in life is to reach the state of Buddhahood. So, we must always be mindful.

Earlier we [mentioned] that, several times, the Buddha said, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” This was repeated three times. But Sariputra still persisted in asking Him [to teach the Dharma]. The Buddha gave the same answer, because those in the assembly such as “heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt.” He considered their capabilities and was worried that they would have fears and doubts.

The Buddha again stopped Sariputra, “If this matter was spoken of, heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt, and bhiksus with overbearing arrogance would fall into the big pit.”

More importantly, there were “those with overbearing arrogance,” which referred to the fourfold assembly. That included bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas. They were the Buddha’s human disciples.

Among “those with overbearing arrogance,” bhiksus are specifically mentioned. Since they were leaders of the fourfold assembly, we use “bhiksus” to refer to all four groups.

Bhiksus were the leaders of the fourfold assembly. Now the Buddha was about to teach the One Vehicle Dharma, but these disciples’ faith was not deep enough. These bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas would, as they listened to this teaching, doubt the Two Vehicle principles He taught before.

The Two Vehicles are the Small and Middle Vehicles. In the past He spoke about the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. They teach us that coming to this world, we face unbearable suffering in the cyclic existence of the Six Destinies. So, we must practice diligently to eliminate “fragmentary samsara.” We must return to our pure intrinsic nature to transcend the Three Realms and the Six Destinies. These were the Two Vehicle principles that the Buddha previously taught.

But now suddenly, He set aside those skillful means to teach the true, subtle and wondrous Dharma. So, people were frightened and had doubts. “Were the teachings that I practiced not the true teachings? I had finally developed a sense of renunciation toward this world and had finally eliminated my past afflictions. Now, the Buddha is teaching about walking the Bodhisattva-path.” Practicing the Bodhisattva-path requires returning to the Saha World. So, this may stir up fear in some people as it conflicted with and contradicted the teachings they had learned in the past.

The Buddha kept in mind that if bhiksus with overbearing arrogance listened to Him expound the wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle now, they would certainly wonder if it conflicted with the Two Vehicle teachings He previously gave.

If they had doubts in their minds, they would give rise to overbearing arrogance. They felt, “I have already eliminated all afflictions, so I will no longer transmigrate in the Six Destinies; I have already transcended the Three Realms. So, I am already at a higher level than other people.” This was how their minds would give rise to arrogance.

Indeed, if spiritual practitioners have not eliminated their afflictions, they can easily give rise to overbearing arrogance. Overbearingly arrogant people “claim to have attained what they have not.” They have not attained [true understanding] but feel that they understood everything and know all they need to know. So, they speak falsely and “claim to have attained what they have not.” They clearly have not attained [full understanding], but claim that they have. They say they fully understood the teachings. With the wrongdoing of telling this great lie, they could easily fall into hell. Thus, the sutra mentions how they would “fall into the big pit.”

When they become doubtful, they will give rise to overbearing arrogance, commit the wrongdoing of speaking lies and fall into hell. Therefore, the sutra states, “They would fall into the big pit.” Because the Buddha had great compassion, before this group of people left the assembly, He patiently withheld His teachings.

The “big pit” is hell. The Buddha was compassionate, so He did not want to cause these people to create more karma. Therefore, “the Buddha had great compassion. Before this group of people left,” before they had left the assembly, “He patiently withheld His teachings.” As there were still such people at the assembly, the Buddha still said, “Stop, there is no need to speak further.” He stopped Sariputra again, “Enough. Say no more,” because there were still such people at the assembly.

But, Sariputra began to earnestly request teachings again. The sutra also states,

“At that time, Sariputra again addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.'”

We really have to be grateful to Sariputra. If not for his persistence in sincerely requesting the teachings, this Dharma, the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle, would not be appearing before us now.

The Buddha stopped three times, and Sariputra asked three times. This shows how wondrous the Dharma is. Because the Dharma is wondrous, there is no way it can just be simply spoken. Only people with profound wisdom, mature capabilities and a deep root of faith can begin to accept such teachings.

That which is called wondrous Dharma cannot be understood by those without profound wisdom. The Buddha used provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles as skillful means to teach the One Vehicle. Before He proclaimed these teachings, people could not know or understand. Therefore, it is called wondrous. So, these skillful teachings could not be easily respected and believed by those with overbearing arrogance.

So, this “cannot be understood by those without profound wisdom.” The Buddha’s understanding and views, this extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma requires profound wisdom, a deep root of faith and expansive wisdom in order to be understood.

Therefore, “the Buddha used the provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles as skillful means to teach the One Vehicle.” In fact, the skillful means that were taught by the Buddha for over 40 years can now also inspire [understanding] of the One Vehicle. If that first flight of stairs was not built, how could people reach the higher floors? We cannot just directly go to the seventh floor to see the beautiful view from there. If we start by building the seventh floor, is that even possible? We must first build the foundation. A seven-story building is built from the ground up, so for people to understand this extremely profound, subtle and wondrous. One Vehicle Dharma, [the Buddha] had to begin by slowly guiding those who could not understand the Dharma.

Since Beginningless Time, sentient beings have been blinded by ignorance. So, the Buddha had to guide and instruct us, one step at a time. Without the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, how could He teach the Six Paramitas? So, there is a sequence to the Buddha’s teachings. Today, wondrous Dharma can be taught because past skillful means slowly guided sentient beings until their capabilities matured.

The great Dharma of the One Vehicle is the teaching of the Bodhisattva-path. So, those who practice the Two Vehicle teachings were frightened of it. “Before the Buddha proclaimed these teachings,” people did not understand it. Before listening to these teachings, no one understood it. Therefore, these teachings are wondrous. So, they wondered why this teaching told them to return to the Saha World after they were finally able to leave it. They did not understand the wondrously profound [principle behind] maintaining a world-transcending spirit while returning to this world on a mission. This all depends on our minds. If we maintain an unwavering mindset as we return to the Saha World, we will not be defiled by the karmic forces here we will not be defiled by the karmic force here. So, this is what we aim to do with our spiritual practice.

Therefore, the past provisional teachings are the foundation of the present wondrous Dharma. “So, these skillful teachings are not easily respected and believed by those with overbearing arrogance.” Because of those without faith and understanding, the Buddha withheld the teachings. This is what we must understand.

So, this section of the sutra describes how, for a long period of time, Sariputra kept sincerely making requests. But, the Buddha stopped three times and still hesitated in giving the teachings. Indeed, He was considering whether it was appropriate to give teachings to this group. He wanted to teach “according to the people, time and place.” The place was right, and the timing was also right, but among the people, there were some whose karmic conditions were not yet mature.

Everyone, whether we are mature enough to accept great teachings really depends on us. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0266

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 266 – Arrogance Obstructs the Noble Path

>>”The Buddha safeguarded the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. He remained quiet for a long time instead of rushing to teach it. He worried those with overbearing arrogance would slander it because of their doubts. Not only would it not be of benefit, it would be of more harm.”

>>”Then the World-Honored One restated His meaning in verse, ‘Stop, stop, there is no need to speak it ‘My Dharma is wondrous and difficult to comprehend, and when those with overbearing arrogance listen to it, surely they will neither respect nor believe it.'”

>> This was the third time the Buddha said to stop. The Dharma expounded in this chapter is what the Buddha fundamentally wanted to teach. When those who cannot happily hear it with firm and deep faith are given these teachings, they will certainly be shocked and begin to doubt. This will cause bhiksus with overbearing arrogance to not only not benefit from it, but also commit wrongdoings by slandering it out of doubt.

>> The first kind is “typical arrogance,” which is ordinary arrogance. What is ordinary arrogance? “If we claim to have greater wisdom and virtues than others, this is arrogance.”

>> Fourth of the seven kinds of arrogance, self-arrogance: This is the foremost of all self-attachments; it is seeing ourselves as higher than others. With such attachment to self, we see our views as superior to others’ and try to prove that others are not as good as we are. This is self-arrogance, the foundation of all kinds of arrogance.

>> Fifth of the seven kinds of arrogance, overbearing arrogance: Some who have realized the fruit of Arhatship still have not eliminated all afflictions. They claim to have attained what they have not. Claiming to have realized what they have not is overbearing arrogance. This is a common problem for practitioners.

>> Seventh of the seven kinds of arrogance, deviant arrogance: This is not carefully observing and examining whether things are right or wrong and remaining attached to our initial deviant views. We then become disdainful of everything and do not believe in karmic retributions; this is deviant arrogance.

“The Buddha safeguarded
the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.
He remained quiet for a long time
instead of rushing to teach it.
He worried those with overbearing arrogance
would slander it because of their doubts.
Not only would it not be of benefit,
it would be of more harm.”

This is telling everyone that the Buddha had safeguarded the True Dharma of the One Vehicle from the start. However, He remained quiet for a long time about the teaching He always wanted to give because. He recognized that sentient beings’ capabilities were not yet mature. Therefore, He remained silent for a long time.

During these 40-plus years, why wasn’t He able to quickly and freely express what He originally wanted to teach? Because He had to consider those with overbearing arrogance, who might slander it because of their doubts. The Buddha thought the timing was not right, so He did not teach it yet. Moreover, if He did teach it, not only would those with overbearing arrogance reap no benefits from it and be unable to accept it, they might actually be harmed by it.

So, what is the reasoning behind this? Of course, the Buddha’s compassion led Him to safeguard the teachings about the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. But, if sentient beings were not ready for it, not only would it not be useful to them, they might end up slandering it. So, He continued to “remain quiet for a long time” and did not freely express Himself. So, “not rushing to teach it” did not mean. He was withholding it. He simply feared that after He taught it, not only would it not be beneficial, it would be harmful to those with overbearing arrogance.

This is like prescribing tonics to those who are not in good health. However, some people cannot bear to take tonics. Although tonics are beneficial to physical health, if they are not prescribed for the right illness, taking a tonic could lead to [negative] side effects. The Buddha’s [thinking] showed His compassion.

So, let us look at the next sutra verses. Now this section of verse again states,

“Then the World-Honored One restated His meaning in verse, ‘Stop, stop, there is no need to speak it ‘My Dharma is wondrous and difficult to comprehend, and when those with overbearing arrogance listen to it, surely they will neither respect nor believe it.'”

So, the Buddha said, “Stop, stop.” Because Sariputra kept sincerely asking, the Buddha kept saying, “Stop, do not keep talking. There is no need to say anything else ‘My Dharma is wondrous and’ difficult to comprehend.” Once again, the Buddha mentioned this to help them understand that the teaching He had realized, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, is very subtle and wondrous and cannot be understood by just anyone.

“When those with overbearing arrogance listen, surely they will neither respect nor believe it.” If the Buddha explained it in detail, some overbearingly arrogant people might become impatient and not listen to it. Their minds would be become irritated, and they would not respect it. Therefore, this was not the time to teach the subtle and wondrous Dharma.

This was the third time the Buddha said to stop. The Dharma expounded in this chapter is what the Buddha fundamentally wanted to teach. When those who cannot happily hear it with firm and deep faith are given these teachings, they will certainly be shocked and begin to doubt. This will cause bhiksus with overbearing arrogance to not only not benefit from it, but also commit wrongdoings by slandering it out of doubt.

This is telling everyone that the Buddha had consecutively said. “Stop, stop” three times in the sutra. There was no need to say more; He was still not going to teach it. Sariputra repeatedly asked, three or four times, for the Buddha to give teachings.

But the Buddha said “Stop” three times. Now, this is telling us that, the Buddha had originally intended to teach it. Right after the Buddha attained enlightenment, His one great cause was to expound this Dharma. Originally, the Buddha was going to teach it, but if He taught it to “those who cannot happily hear it with firm and deep faith,” ․”they will certainly be shocked and begin to doubt.” If people with overbearing arrogance heard it, because they could not realize it, they would become frightened and suspicious. Then inevitably, they would slander it. For people at the assembly whose faith was not firm, the Buddha worried that they would be shocked, feel doubts and commit slander.

So, not only do heavenly beings, humans and asuras have overbearing arrogance, in fact, among the bhiksus, bhiksunis and the fourfold assembly, there were also those with overbearing arrogance. So, not only would they not benefit from it, they would give rise to doubts and commit slander. The Buddha was very worried that people would commit this kind of wrongdoing.

Overbearing arrogance is part of “the seven kinds of arrogance and the eight kinds of pride.” As humans, we have seven kinds of arrogance and eight kinds of pride. These are all afflictions in our minds. This is why, in this world, we cannot be in perfect harmony with others and constantly create afflictions in our interactions. This is because we have [all kinds of] arrogance and pride.

What are the seven kinds of arrogance? Let us review them and reflect on ourselves to see if we have these traits.

The first kind is “typical arrogance,” which is ordinary arrogance. What is ordinary arrogance? “If we claim to have greater wisdom and virtues than others, this is arrogance.”

This is the first kind of arrogance. It gives us the feeling that our wisdom and the virtues from our spiritual practice are always greater than and superior to others. This is what ordinary people are like.

The second is “excessive arrogance,” which is regarding oneself as superior to equals. Our wisdom and virtues are the same as others, but we feel, “No, I think am superior to that person.” It is always like this at the beginning. When we are around people who are equally talented, we think we are superior to them. This is “excessive arrogance.”

Another kind is “severely excessive arrogance.” Having “severely excessive arrogance” is when our wisdom and virtues are not equal to others, or are just barely even with them, but we still consider ourselves better. In this case, our wisdom is definitely inferior, and other people are wiser than us, but we are still arrogant. We cannot even compare to them, but we still have this sense of arrogance.

The fourth is “self-arrogance.” When we think highly of ourselves, we have “self-arrogance;” this is very common. The pronoun related to “self-arrogance” is “I.” This comes from our sense of self, our egotism, which reflects a very strong attachment to self. If we are attached to “self,” we see ourselves as better than others.

In this way, we end up focused on ourselves, thinking we are revered and respected by the entire world. We think we are the most important person and nothing can happen without us. If we are conceited in this way, we will feel that no one is as good as us. If we have such conceit, we have “self-arrogance” and think others are just not as good. This feeling is “self-arrogance,” which is the foundation of all kinds of arrogance, because we think everything revolves around us.

Fourth of the seven kinds of arrogance, self-arrogance: This is the foremost of all self-attachments; it is seeing ourselves as higher than others. With such attachment to self, we see our views as superior to others’ and try to prove that others are not as good as we are. This is self-arrogance, the foundation of all kinds of arrogance.

The fifth is “overbearing arrogance.” Some [who call themselves] Arhats have not yet completely eliminated afflictions. They claim to have attained what they have not. They have not eliminated the subtlest of afflictions, but they think they have. Claiming to have realized what they have not is overbearing arrogance. The Buddha worried about the people who claimed to have attained what they had not. This is the most serious affliction in Buddhism, this overbearing arrogance, so it is an obstacle to spiritual practice.

Fifth of the seven kinds of arrogance, overbearing arrogance: Some who have realized the fruit of Arhatship still have not eliminated all afflictions. They claim to have attained what they have not. Claiming to have realized what they have not is overbearing arrogance. This is a common problem for practitioners.

The sixth is called “inferior arrogance,” which is feeling that we are not as good as others. We may always think that we are not as good as others. But if they are talented, that has nothing to do with us. We do not need anything from them. This is called “inferior arrogance.” People with this kind of self-indulgence do not respect others. They know they are not as good as other people, but they feel that they do not need anyone’s assistance, that they will just stay the way they are. This is how we cause our own degeneration. So, this is called “inferior arrogance.” A person who does not seek to grow will have an inferiority complex, which will produce a type of arrogance, a form of self-arrogance. So, “inferior arrogance” will also sever our roots of spiritual practice.

The seventh is “deviant arrogance,” which is to not carefully observe and examine whether things are right or wrong. This kind of “deviant arrogance” is why we must seek the Buddha-Dharma and exercise our wisdom. Spiritual practice has a right and wrong [path]. The right path is right understanding, right view, right mindfulness, right thinking, etc. This is what we spiritual practitioners must recognize very clearly.

However, some people’s spiritual practice may have deviated slightly, so their every step is on the wrong path, and they cannot strengthen their faith in Right Dharma. These slight deviations from lack of careful observation and examination in our spiritual practice are also very dangerous. Not only do we not carefully contemplate, we do not consider whether teachings are deviant or proper. Instead, we remain attached to our initial deviant thoughts.

Some say they are engaging in spiritual practice, but they have gone astray right from the start. If they have deviated at the very beginning, even if they encounter Right Dharma, True Dharma, and someone tries to correct them, they will still continue to do as they please. They will not be willing to change their deviated beliefs from the past. “They remain attached to their initial deviant views.” In the past, we already strayed from the path, and now we are not changing our ways. Or, we may be learning Right Dharma now, but karmic conditions or evil phenomena tempt us, and we deviate toward evil. If so, we will become disdainful of everything and act to humiliate ourselves. We will also be disdainful of the True Dharma and may even turn around and slander it. This all comes from “deviant arrogance.”

With this kind of “deviant arrogance,” we do not believe in karmic retributions. In the past, haven’t we discussed that we must have right faith? There is wondrous existence in true emptiness and true emptiness in wondrous existence. We must believe that within wondrous existence, there is true emptiness and subtle and wondrous principles. Where can these principles be found? As the Buddha said, in the law of karma. In His teachings, the law of karma is found in the wondrous principles of true emptiness. If we deny the law of karma and do not believe in karmic retributions, then we have fallen into deviant views.

Seventh of the seven kinds of arrogance, deviant arrogance: This is not carefully observing and examining whether things are right or wrong and remaining attached to our initial deviant views. We then become disdainful of everything and do not believe in karmic retributions; this is deviant arrogance.

If we practice, we attain; the virtuous attain. The work of spiritual practice begins with earnestly purifying ourselves. We must not develop arrogance, neither self-arrogance nor overbearing arrogance. Overbearing arrogance will sever the roots of our spiritual practice. “Self-arrogance” is something all ordinary people have. Because of their attachment to the self, people will discriminate against and judge others. Within the “seven kinds of arrogance,” these two are the most common and will sever the roots of our spiritual practice.

So, any of the “seven kinds of arrogance,” whether “excessive arrogance, typical arrogance” or “severely excessive arrogance” and so on, they are all sources of pride and arrogance. But “self-arrogance” and “overbearing arrogance” are the most fundamental [problems we have]. So, we must be very mindful. When the slightest trace of arrogance arises, it is difficult for us to free ourselves from it. Even the Buddha cannot help us.

Because sentient beings have these kinds of arrogance, especially overbearing arrogance, they hinder the Buddha from freely carrying out His original intent. This is a tremendous obstruction. Therefore, we must be self-vigilant. Only when we all have respect and faith will the Buddha teach the True Dharma. Therefore, everyone must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0265

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 265 – Cultivate Virtue to Eliminate Arrogance and Pride

>> We spiritual practitioners must not be arrogant and proud. To cultivate virtue, we must form great aspirations and “establish right mindfulness among myriad worldly phenomena, and establish faith and vows on the great Bodhi-path.”

>> Because “if this matter were spoken of, heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt.”

>> Asura means “not heavenly being.” They have heavenly blessings but not heavenly virtues. So, they are like heavenly beings, and yet not. Asura is also translated as “improper” because their appearance is very unpleasant and their nature is belligerent, they often fight with heavenly lords. The males are ugly and the females are beautiful.

>> Bhiksus with overbearing arrogance claim that they have attained superior Dharma, so they slight other people. Those who claim to have attained what they have not and to have realized what they have not have overbearing arrogance.

We spiritual practitioners
must not be arrogant and proud.
To cultivate virtue, we must form great aspirations
and “establish right mindfulness among myriad worldly phenomena,
and establish faith and vows on the great Bodhi-path.”

This is telling everyone that we cannot be arrogant and proud. If we engage in spiritual practice with conceit, arrogance and pride, we will never advance in our spiritual practice. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must humble ourselves. When we humble ourselves, others will find us agreeable. When we enter their sight, joy will arise in their hearts. This is a skill we must practice.

In our practice, “inwardly, being humble is a merit; outwardly, being courteous is a virtue.” We must constantly work to train our minds, so we can really live among others with unity, harmony, mutual love and concerted effort. Not only must we develop those skills, we must also put the teachings into practice. True unity arises when we work with others and do not give them the feeling that we are something special, just that they need our help to get something done. We can be acknowledged by others without needing them to feel that we are special. If we can work together this way, this is unity.

This is working together with unity and harmony. This comes from our hearts and manifests through our actions. This is how we cultivate virtue. Both the skills we develop internally and the appearance we manifest externally are part of cultivating virtue.

We must always be vigilant and make that great aspiration. “To cultivate virtue, we must form great aspirations.” In forming aspirations, we must hold on to and forever preserve our initial inspiration. If we can hold on to that aspiration and sustain that moment forever, our mindset will be lasting and unchanging.

Being born human in this world is rare, and being able to listen to the Buddha-Dharma is rare. Since [we] have this connection with the Buddha-Dharma, we must establish right mindfulness for the world. When our thoughts never deviate [from the path], we have right mindfulness. Not only must we establish right mindfulness for all things in the world, more importantly, we must “establish faith and vows on the great Bodhi-path.” Without faith and vows, we will easily deviate from right mindfulness.

As we [deal with] all things in the world and walk this great Bodhi-path, hopefully we can stay on this path to remain on course. We had the karmic conditions to come to this world and are able to help others. As we work with people, our hearts need to be united as one. To do this, we must start with ourselves and tame our arrogance and pride. We must also form great aspirations, establish right mindfulness and sustain our faith and vows; this is very important. So, in our daily living, we must not lack spiritual aspirations.

We had previously been discussing how. Sariputra asked the Buddha to teach the Dharma and reveal the One Vehicle, the extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma. The Buddha repeatedly said, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” Sariputra was persistent and again asked the Buddha to give teachings.

Why did the Buddha stop?

Because “if this matter were spoken of, heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt.”

What are “asuras”? “Asura” is a Sanskrit word and means “not heavenly being.” The place where they live is a realm of heavenly blessings; however, though they have heavenly blessings, they lack heavenly virtues.

This means, sometimes when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we only want to cultivate blessings without understanding the principles within. So, while we willingly make offerings, our hearts are still filled with greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. These afflictions still fill our minds. Though some people do not eliminate afflictions, they are willing to practice giving and constantly do good deeds. This is called cultivating heavenly blessings but not heavenly virtues.

These people do not look dignified at all. So, we say they look “improper.” Also, “their appearance is unpleasant.” If we think about it, there are many such people in this world. They are asuras in the human realm. Not only do they exist in the human realm, they exist in the animal realm as well. When they take the form of other living beings, they maintain their very belligerent nature.

So, asuras [exist] throughout the Six Realms. [Asuras] in heaven have heavenly blessings, but not heavenly virtues. In the human realm, they have human blessings, but lack human virtues. This is the characteristic of asuras.

Asura means “not heavenly being.” They have heavenly blessings but not heavenly virtues. So, they are like heavenly beings, and yet not. Asura is also translated as “improper” because their appearance is very unpleasant and their nature is belligerent, they often fight with heavenly lords. The males are ugly and the females are beautiful.

Of course, heavenly beings must have cultivated the Ten Virtues to be born in the heaven realm. Asuras did not cultivate all ten, just one, because they enjoyed the practice of giving. Giving is a way to seek blessings. So, I often say when we give, we must not seek blessings. Instead, we must seek wisdom, so we may have both blessings and wisdom. Of course, when we give, we must give joyfully and unconditionally. Then it is a virtue. On top of blessings, we add virtue, which is wisdom. Thus we cultivate both blessings and wisdom.

There were “bhiksus with overbearing arrogance.” In addition to heavenly beings, humans and asuras who were afraid to accept this Dharma, the “bhiksus with overbearing arrogance would fall into the big pit.” Not only would heavenly beings, humans and asuras be shocked and begin to doubt,

so would bhiksus with overbearing arrogance. If the Buddha gave this teaching, bhiksus and bhiksunis with overbearing arrogance would not have the mindset to accept it. Their refusal to accept it naturally would give rise to afflictions and the desire to slander the Dharma. So, these afflictions arise from overbearing arrogance.

Those with overbearing arrogance “claim to attain what they had not.” These bhiksus assumed, “I have engaged in spiritual practice for so long and followed the Buddha, so I understand all His teachings. Not only do I understand, upon hearing one [principle], I understand all. After the Buddha spoke of impermanence, I then understood the true principles of all things in the universe. With one teaching from the Buddha, I have already realized ten things.” This [mentality] is called overbearing arrogance.

In reality, if the Buddha gave one teaching, how could they understand ten things? Each principle is so deeply profound. Indeed, they only [knew] a little bit, only superficial things. They only knew the terms but did not understand the principles behind them. So, these people “claimed to have realized what they had not claimed to have attained what they had not.” So, they are overbearingly arrogant people; they [consider] themselves one step above others. They think they know more, are better, are superior to others. This [mentality] is called overbearing arrogance. Most ordinary people are like this.

Bhiksus with overbearing arrogance claim that they have attained superior Dharma, so they slight other people. Those who claim to have attained what they have not and to have realized what they have not have overbearing arrogance.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, he spent a period of time at the Kalandaka Abode. During that period of time, there was a married couple in the city who made a living through entertaining others with music, dancing and acting. This couple had a daughter they had trained since she was young. As the girl grew older and more beautiful, everyone who saw her liked her, especially because her talents were outstanding.

One time, someone was holding a party in the city, so they hired this family to perform. Everyone cheered loudly and really enjoyed the show. They cheered and praised [the performance]. As for this girl, she became more and more arrogant. She flaunted her seductive figure and told the audience, “All of you really enjoyed the way I dance. Have you ever seen [anyone] with this kind of figure and movements? Is anyone more beautiful than I am, more talented than I am or more knowledgeable than I am? Can anyone compete with me?”

Among the crowd, someone said, “Yes, right now, outside of our city, in the Kalandaka forest, Sakyamuni Buddha is giving teachings. His appearance is magnificent, and everyone who sees Him likes and respects Him. Even the king and ministers look up to Him with respect and reverence.”

The woman refused to accept this. She wondered, “Can there really be someone in the world who makes people happier than me?” So, she said to her parents, “Let’s go see this Sakyamuni Buddha, who everyone says is magnificent.” The parents went to see Him with their daughter, followed by a large group of people.

From outside the abode, she saw the Buddha inside, explaining the Dharma to the monastics. She sashayed into the room with song and dance. Upon seeing the Buddha, she disregarded [His presence] and flaunted her seductive dance. When the Buddha saw this, He felt sympathy and remained unmoving. He manifested a truly dignified appearance.

This flirtatious and beautiful dancer was named Blue Lotus. Seeing the magnificence of the Buddha, she stopped. Then the Buddha spoke, “Look, Blue Lotus. Around us are many men of different ages. There are young and strong men. In my monastic community, there are also elderly people who aspired to become monastics. Turn around and see how many are around us? Consider the appearance of these old women and men.”

Blue Lotus turned and looked around. Indeed, the elderly looked old and weak, their bodies were hunched, their hair white and unkempt, their faces wrinkled. They were hunched over and had such an aged, ugly appearance. After she turned a full circle, the Buddha said, “Blue Lotus, in the future, your appearance will be the same as these elderly people.”

Blue Lotus heard the Buddha speak with such a soft voice and saw that He was very magnificent. His words were so profound that she was moved by them. She felt as if she was waking up from a dream. “Indeed, because of my youth, my dancing is bewitching and seductive. In a few years, my appearance will the same as these others. What can I flaunt then? My talent? Beauty?” In that moment, she suddenly formed an aspiration. She repented and knelt before the Buddha to beg Him to take her as a monastic disciple. This [happened] during the Buddha’s lifetime. This young woman had a [mindset] of overbearing arrogance. Indeed, this mentality also exists in monastics. Some feel, “I understand Dharma better than you. I understand [the teachings] more thoroughly than you.” Those who have listened to the Buddha for a long time may think, “I have understood all of the Buddha’s teachings.” Many people had this overbearing arrogance. Therefore, the Buddha still did not freely give these teachings.

Everyone, to be able to listen to the Dharma is not very easy. We must have a sense of right mindfulness and have faith and vows. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0264

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 264 – Nurture Wisdom and Sharp Capabilities

>>“Respect the Buddha and the Dharma and take them to heart. Nurture wisdom and sharp capabilities so that, upon hearing the Dharma, one can faithfully accept it. When the wondrous Dharma enters the mind, one’s nature can be seen.”

>>”Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.”

>> I pray You speak without worries: Sariputra said that the assembly had sharp capabilities and wisdom, which meant that after listening to the Dharma, they could faithfully accept it. Those who had attained the fruits of the Small Vehicle regretted not faithfully accepting the Great Vehicle Dharma. So today, they turn from the Small toward the Great. Therefore, Sariputra sincerely asked the Buddha for teachings.

>>”The Buddha again stopped Sariputra, ‘If this matter were spoken of, heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt, and bhiksus with overbearing arrogance would fall into the big pit.'”

>> All worlds: The world is defined by space and time. This is what we think of as the universe.

>> There are two main parts [to the world]. One is the sentient world, which is comprised of all living beings. The other is the material world, the land that all things rely on.

>> It is also said that in the world, countless infinitesimal changes accumulate in time and space. This is what we call “the world.”

“Respect the Buddha and the Dharma and take them to heart.
Nurture wisdom and sharp capabilities so that,
upon hearing the Dharma, one can faithfully accept it.
When the wondrous Dharma enters the mind, one’s nature can be seen.”

Everyone, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must have great respect for the Buddha. If we respect the Buddha and the Dharma, we will naturally take the Dharma to heart. In this way, we can constantly nurture and sharpen our wisdom, so our roots can be deeper and more extensive.

Our capabilities must be sharp, which means our minds must be keen, and we must really understand principles. This is the meaning of sharp capabilities. Wisdom and sharp capabilities are very important for us spiritual practitioners. Take a seed for example. If it is not planted in soil, or if, after it is planted, it is not nurtured by water and sunlight, how can it grow roots and sprout seedlings? [The seed] must have the continuous support of external conditions.

So, the nurturing of wisdom and sharp capabilities depends on us. [When we] engage in spiritual practice, if we respect the Buddha’s teachings and take the Dharma into our minds, those are karmic conditions that will nurture our seeds and help us develop sharp capabilities and wisdom so we can hear and faithfully accept teachings.

Consider the time of the Buddha. He personally taught the Dharma in this world and many people followed Him in spiritual practice as part of the monastic community. But at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, some people still could not accept the Dharma. They were not always respectful of the Buddha or the Dharma, so they did not really take the Dharma into their hearts.

So, when we hear the Dharma, we must take it into our hearts and apply it. We must be able to listen to it and then faithfully accept it. This ability comes from the power of our keen wisdom. Only with these [abilities] can we faithfully accept [the Dharma] and take the wondrous Dharma into our hearts if we can faithfully accept it, we can understand and realize our true nature.

Indeed, teaching sentient beings was a very laborious process for the Buddha. The problem was that their minds could not realize their [nature]. As we discussed previously, to request teachings on everyone’s behalf, Sariputra again and again persisted in sincerely urging the Buddha to give the teachings He had been guarding in His mind, the true principles of the One Great Vehicle.

So, the previous sutra passage states, “At that time, Sariputra [wished] to reemphasize his statement.” His continuous requests were stated in prose. Because this passage is very important, it is repeated to remind all of us that. Sariputra sincerely asked the Buddha to expound the Dharma. With this mindset, he said,

“Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.”

Next, let us look at. “I pray You speak without worries.”

I pray You speak without worries: Sariputra said that the assembly had sharp capabilities and wisdom, which meant that after listening to the Dharma, they could faithfully accept it. Those who had attained the fruits of the Small Vehicle regretted not faithfully accepting the Great Vehicle Dharma. So today, they turn from the Small toward the Great. Therefore, Sariputra sincerely asked the Buddha for teachings.

Sariputra felt utmost respect and addressed the Buddha as. “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.” This showed respect for the Buddha and Dharma.

Sariputra addressed the Buddha as. “Supremely Honored One.” By sincerely making this request of the Buddha, he showed Him that those who wanted to listen to the Dharma at the assembly were very reverent. They had also seen countless Buddhas in the past and cultivated Their teachings, so they must have a deep capability for understanding the Dharma. Thus, he asked the Buddha not to worry about the people at this assembly. They could probably faithfully and respectfully accept everything He teaches. So, Sariputra said, “the assembly had sharp capabilities and wisdom.” These people all had roots of wisdom; they were very wise.

Sariputra was also encouraging everyone to remember that they had spent a long time on their spiritual cultivation, and not just in this present lifetime. We must all remember that, in our past lives, we have likely drawn near countless Buddhas. Our goal has always been to attain Buddhahood. So, this phrase has a dual meaning.

“I pray You speak without worries” was his way of asking the Buddha to teach and to tell Him that He did not need to worry. “For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.” This also reminds people that it is rare for them to be present as the Buddha is about to speak the Dharma that. He had guarded in His heart. This was precisely the right moment, so they must seize this opportunity to [learn] with respect and faith. In his wisdom, Sariputra spoke a single phrase with a double purpose. He was even requesting the Dharma for future sentient beings.

This passage also showed that, in the assembly, there were some who attained Small Vehicle fruits. They felt some regret that, in the past, they were attached to the Small Vehicle Dharma. At this time, they heard the words of Sariputra, who was foremost in wisdom. In requesting that the Buddha explain the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma that. He had guarded in His mind, he pleaded with Him many times. So, his fellow practitioners became more vigilant and began to feel “regret for not faithfully accepting the Great Vehicle Dharma.”

For a long time, the Buddha had been teaching the Great Vehicle Dharma. For those with sharp capabilities, He gave the Great Vehicle Dharma to directly teach the Bodhisattva-path. But, those around Him listening to His teachings were still attached to Small Vehicle teachings for cultivating themselves. But then, when they saw how Sariputra sincerely and respectfully requested teachings from the Buddha, a few of them began to feel regret. In the past, they had heard the Buddha teach, but they did not mindfully accept the Dharma. They “regret not faithfully accepting the Great Vehicle Dharma.” They already felt regret. So, at this time, they began to turn from the Small to the Great, to shift from a Small Vehicle mindset to seek Great Vehicle teachings. There were quite a few such people in attendance.

Sariputra understood the mindset of his fellow spiritual practitioners, so he sincerely asked the Buddha for teachings. To show his respect for the Buddha and Dharma, he said, “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries.” This request was so sincere. But how did the Buddha respond? Let us look at the original sutra passage.

“The Buddha again stopped Sariputra, ‘If this matter were spoken of, heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt, and bhiksus with overbearing arrogance would fall into the big pit.'”

From reading this passage, we understand that the Buddha still wanted to stop. Even though. Sariputra asked for teachings so sincerely, the Buddha saw things this way; among all these people, how many would truly turn from the Small to the Great? Perhaps He should continue to nurture their diligence in understanding the Small Vehicle teachings of the past. But that is just one stage. Indeed, Small Vehicle practitioners have room for improvement, [to learn] the Great Vehicle Dharma.

The Buddha mindfully looked into each person to assess how many were really ready to reverently accept the Dharma. Ultimately, would there be many or few? How many people would aspire to nurture their wisdom and sharp capabilities?

How many of these people could really listen to and then faithfully accept the Dharma? The Buddha saw that most people’s capabilities were not mature enough, so He wanted everyone to nurture their faith before listening to the teachings. The karmic conditions had to be strengthened. So, here the Buddha said, “Stop, there is no need to speak further.”

Why? Because He felt that heavenly beings, humans and asuras in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt. Furthermore, if He began to speak now, not only would they not faithfully accept the teachings, they would also be fearful and suspicious. Why would they be shocked and doubtful? We must mindfully [understand] what

“all worlds” means.

All worlds: The world is defined by space and time. This is what we think of as the universe.

“All worlds” encompasses time, space and interpersonal relationships. This is what makes up our world. [In Chinese], the word “world” contains the meaning of “period,” or time, and also “space.” And there are also two main parts to the world.

There are two main parts [to the world]. One is the sentient world, which is comprised of all living beings. The other is the material world, the land that all things rely on.

We are all included in these two main parts. One is the sentient world, which is comprised of all living beings. All living beings are part of the world. Living beings include all sentient beings. Everything that moves is part of this world.

The other is the material world, such as the land that all things rely on. This is all included in the material world. Living things are part of the sentient world. The things we use, the things we see with our eyes, mountains, rivers, land, houses and so on and all the furnishings are part of the material world. These things also arise and cease through formation, existence, decay and disappearance. The sentient world goes through birth, aging, illness and death. So, these two parts make up what we refer to as “all worlds.”

Again, we must further understand what is in this world. The world contains the process of formation, existence, decay and disappearance, and it also [encompasses] time. With time, there are increasing and decreasing kalpas.

A kalpa is a very long period of time. In this long period of time, countless infinitesimal changes accumulate. [This happens] over one increasing and decreasing kalpa. Space is all things in the material world that form, exist, decay and disappear. This is all contained within the world. No matter how long the world exists, this will keep happening. Though all the lands of this world have been suffering the imbalance of the four elements and experiencing many disasters and so on, all these human issues and changes are part of this world.

So, the world encompasses time, space and interpersonal relationships, all things in the sentient world and material world. These are all part of the world.

It is also said that in the world, countless infinitesimal changes accumulate in time and space. This is what we call “the world.”

So, we need to mindfully explore everything encompassed by the world.

Everyone, with a single teaching from the Buddha, we can penetrate and thoroughly understand all things in the world. The Dharma is extremely profound and wondrous. So, we must put our hearts into comprehending it. Just this term, “the world,” alone, will take us a long time to explore. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0263

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 263 – Respect and Believe the Supremely Honored One

>>”The root of faith fosters the source of the path and constantly nurture all roots of goodness. When the Dharma we listen to enters our minds, we contemplate its extreme wondrousness. To practice the Dharma, we must have respect and faith.”

>>”World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it. For what reason? In this assembly are countless, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings.”

>> They had seen all Buddhas. Their capabilities are sharp, and their wisdom is clear. As they listen to what the Buddha says, they are able to respect and believe it.

>>”At that time, Sariputra, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke the following verses.”

>>”Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.”

>> Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, The Buddha is the king of all Dharma because. He thoroughly understood it without impediments. This is great freedom. He also transcended the entanglements of afflictions and thoroughly understood them without impediments. This is the freedom attained through the Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha is called Dharma-king.

>> The Nirvana Sutra states that, “One must be sincere and diligent and prostrate to the Supremely Honored One.”

“The root of faith fosters the source of the path
and constantly nurture all roots of goodness.
When the Dharma we listen to enters our minds,
we contemplate its extreme wondrousness.
To practice the Dharma,
we must have respect and faith.”

We always say, “Faith is the source of the path, the mother of merits.” All of our virtues and merits, whether created through internal spiritual cultivation or external practice, must begin with “faith.” The root of faith must be deep and extensive; it is the source of the path. Our [belief in] principles arises when we develop the root of faith. Therefore, the root of faith can nurture all roots of goodness, enabling us to walk longer on the path and learn more deeply. It also fosters our spiritual aspirations.

When we listen to the Dharma, we must take it into our minds. If we fail to do so, the Dharma simply flows through us, like water passing through a water pipe. When the water no longer flows from the source, the water pipe becomes empty. Listening to the Dharma is the same. If we do not take the Dharma to heart, we will gain nothing from listening to it. This is why we must take it to heart. When we listen to the Dharma mindfully, we can take it into our minds. After listening to it, we also must contemplate it; we must thoroughly contemplate what we have heard.

The Verse of Opening a Sutra [speaks of] “the unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma.” Such unsurpassed, profound, wondrous Dharma is something we must thoroughly contemplate. After we take the Dharma into our minds, we must thoroughly and mindfully contemplate every single sentence. Even simple objects, every flower and blade of grass we see, [can teach us] extremely profound, subtle and wondrous principles about life. Therefore, we must be mindful.

There was once when several professors and instructors from the Biology Department of Tzu Chi University came to share their botanical knowledge with me. In botany, even one tree can be of [great benefit]. All the elements required by the human body are contained in this one tree. It is called a Moringa tree. It has existed for thousands of years and originated from India. It is a miraculous tree for humans.

So, we discovered that this kind of tree is beneficial for our physical health. Haiti is very impoverished, so when Tzu Chi volunteers from the United States found out about this tree, they mindfully introduced this tree to Haiti and established Moringa tree farms. When they were harvested, they were provided to poor and suffering people who lacked food and were malnourished lacked food and were malnourished. Tzu Chi volunteers from the United States came back here and reported that actually, Hualien also has this kind of tree. But, nobody knew about its uses and value.

It is easily cultivated and fast-growing. Through cutting and grafting, they can grow very quickly. Its every part, from its leaves, branches to its roots, is replete with abundant nutrients. In terms of protein, vitamins B, C and others, it contains higher amounts of them than other food. We asked the university’s Biology Department to research and analyze this tree, and we have obtained the findings. This is truly a fantastic tree; it [has the potential] to benefit humankind, but few really knew about it.

Therefore, we must listen to the Dharma. This is an example of worldly Dharma. In the universe, all things have a principle behind their existence in this world. So, living in this world, the Dharma is in everything around us, and the principles are in all people, matters and objects. However, we do not recognize them. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn not only knowledge, but also wisdom.

Knowing and recognizing something gives us knowledge. We then need to turn our knowledge into wisdom. Therefore, we contemplate the Dharma. Aside from listening to it, we must also contemplate it in detail. We must contemplate its most wondrously profound principles. Thus, “we contemplate its extreme wondrousness.”

And once we understand these profound principles? We must then practice the Dharma and put the teachings into action. We now know that the Moringa tree is fantastic. Those who live in poverty, and lack resources and nutrition [may find this useful]. So, we quickly took action to transplant these trees to Haiti. We told them about its nutritional value and how it is very beneficial to humans. They have a lot of faith in us, so they planted these trees and took great care of them. So, from then on, everyone’s bodies could physically absorb these nutrients.

This is a form of practice. Practice means to take action. So, when we knew that this [tree] could meet people’s needs, we put our knowledge into action. As we take this action, we must feel a sense of respect and faith. We must feel great respect that there are such natural resources in the world that can nurture the human body. Then, we must take the next step of helping them grow their wisdom-life as well.

Wasn’t this section from the Lotus Sutra meant to elevate our sense of respect and faith? As we have mentioned previously, the Buddha began [the Lotus Sutra] by continuously praising the One Vehicle Dharma until everyone started to admire the Great Vehicle. But then He switched to another method and said, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” But Sariputra relentlessly persisted.

This was because Sariputra and the Buddha were very much in sync. He knew that the Buddha had to freely express His original [teachings]. But He had not yet given these teachings. Stopping before He had happily given the complete teachings was not the Buddha’s intention. So, Sariputra had the wisdom to understand the Buddha’s original intention, and that, for the sake of His one great cause, He must fully and thoroughly give these teachings.

Therefore, when the Buddha stopped, Sariputra made his request again. He said,

“World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it. For what reason? In this assembly are countless, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings.”

Therefore, Sariputra’s words clearly expressed that [the teachings] were not just for the people at that assembly, but the countless people in future generations. He also assured the Buddha that these people, in their past lives, had already formed deep karmic connections with Him.

They had seen all Buddhas. Their capabilities are sharp, and their wisdom is clear. As they listen to what the Buddha says, they are able to respect and believe it.

They had drawn near many Buddhas and followed these Buddhas in spiritual practice to nurture a very deep root of faith and develop very sharp capabilities. They had very resolute faith. These people must have had clear wisdom.

So, he told the Buddha that if He gave these teachings, people could definitely accept it. Thus, He did not need to worry about the small number of people who still could not accept it. He assured the Buddha that the majority of the people had already developed deep karmic connections, so they would respect and believe in the Dharma. Therefore, respect and faith are very important.

Sariputra then continued speaking. The following passage describes how. Sariputra repeated in verse what he had already said. So, ․”At that time, Sariputra, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke the following verses.” This shows the importance of this passage. That was why the people who compiled this sutra presented this text one more time in verse form.

“Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.”

[He said,] “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.” Dharma-King is an epithet of the Tathagata because He is the king of all Dharma. The Buddha had already thoroughly understood all Dharma without impediments. Therefore, He is called the Dharma-king, the king of all Dharma.

Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, The Buddha is the king of all Dharma because. He thoroughly understood it without impediments. This is great freedom. He also transcended the entanglements of afflictions and thoroughly understood them without impediments. This is the freedom attained through the Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha is called Dharma-king.

Regardless of the type of principle, the Buddha can penetrate it with a single glance. With one look, He sees how each thing contains endless true principles. The Buddha has this wisdom.

From the moment He attained enlightenment, there was nothing in the universe, no principle, that He could not penetrate. Therefore, He is called the Dharma-king, the king of all Dharma. Because He can thoroughly understand all phenomena without impediments, He has freedom. So, the Buddha can analyze and resolve the afflictions of any sentient being in any environment, one by one. So, when each of them listen to teachings, they can become open and understanding. Thus, He expounds the Dharma with ease.

Because He thoroughly understands all Dharma, He can give all teachings with ease. Thus, He is the Dharma-king. In particular, in His mind, the Buddha had already transcended all afflictions, all these entanglements and bonds. He was fully liberated from them. Therefore, He could thoroughly understand [everything] without impediments.

We humans “only understand one aspect of something, but no more than that.” Most of us pretty much only know one aspect of something. But, the Buddha can understand all at once. This is because the great perfect mirror in His mind is already very illuminating. As long as this mirror manifests, all things in the world will appear in this mirror. When the object is removed, this mirror will still remain pure and undefiled. This is the Buddha’s wisdom. This is how the Buddha has already transcended all afflictions. Without afflictions to entangle and bind Him, He is able to have thorough and unimpeded understanding and freedom through the Dharma.

The Buddha does not have even a trace of doubt about any Dharma. Nothing can delude or confuse Him. So, His understanding is very thorough. Therefore, He is the Dharma-king, as He attained freedom through the Dharma.

So, He is “the Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.” Supremely Honored One is a title that shows how the Buddha is the most honored and supreme among humans and heavenly beings.

The Buddha can be called Dharma-king, the World-Honored One or the. Supremely Honored One. He is the most honored and supreme among humans and heavenly beings. Thus, He is called Supremely Honored One as a sign of respect.

The Nirvana Sutra states that, “One must be sincere and diligent and prostrate to the Supremely Honored One.”

The Nirvana Sutra encourages every one of us to respect and have faith in the Buddha. The Buddha is unsurpassed among humans and heavenly beings; thus He is the Supremely Honored One. Hence, “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.”

This section demonstrates how. Sariputra really understood the Buddha’s mindset when he requested the teachings. So, “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One. I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.” Because everyone could respect and believe it, He asked the Buddha to feel at peace and freely proclaim His original intent. This showed Sariputra’s mindfulness.

When we listen to teachings, we must be mindful. The root of faith is the source of the path and mother of merits. Thus, we must listen, contemplate and practice. The Dharma we hear must enter our hearts, and we must contemplate it in great detail. Then we need to practice the teachings with respect and faith. Therefore, through listening, contemplating and practicing, we can nurture deep and extensive faith. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0262

Posted on by Scott Ogata
Wisdom at Dawn
>
Chapter 2

Episode 262 – Faith and Joy Arise from Listening to the Dharma

>> “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further. If this matter was spoken of, heavenly beings and humans in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt.” Sariputra again addressed the Buddha by saying, “World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it. For what reason? In this assembly are countless, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings who have, in the past, seen all Buddhas. Their capabilities are sharp and their wisdom is clear. As they listen to what the Buddha says, they are able to respect and believe it.”

Time passes very quickly. We must mindfully seize every moment. At all times, we must apply the Dharma to our daily living. If we are not mindful, time still passes while [our cultivation of] the Dharma stalls. So, we must always be vigilant and always be mindful.

Previously, through the sutra text, we have already realized that the Lotus Sutra contains the teachings the Buddha had guarded in His heart. The only teaching He really wanted to preach to sentient beings was the One Vehicle Dharma, not the Three Vehicle teachings. [He only taught them] because the capabilities of sentient beings varied. Most people could comprehend the principle of impermanence and recognize that cyclic existence in the Six Realms is suffering, but they were not fully confident that they could also attain Buddhahood. So, He taught the Small and Middle Vehicles when in fact, what He intended to teach and had been guarding was the great Dharma of the One Vehicle.

From beginning of the Lotus Dharma-assembly, not only were there the human disciples of the fourfold assembly, heavenly beings and. Bodhisattvas of the ten directions also gathered at Vulture Peak. The teaching the Buddha was about to give had not been taught in the past and was extremely profound, subtle and wondrous. So, they wanted to hear it. But then the Buddha said, “This Dharma is not something ordinary people can [faithfully] accept. So, this Dharma may be better left unsaid.”

However, Sariputra started to request the teaching on behalf of everyone. But the Buddha told Sariputra, “Stop, stop.” He wanted to stop there and not say anything else. Although this Dharma was truly profound, subtle and wondrous, He was afraid that these people were still not ready to accept it. So, He felt it was better to not speak.

In his wisdom, Sariputra relentlessly persisted. So, he strongly urged the Buddha to preach it. The Buddha kept saying,

“Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further. If this matter was spoken of, heavenly beings and humans in all worlds would be shocked and begin to doubt.” Sariputra again addressed the Buddha by saying, “World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it. For what reason? In this assembly are countless, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings who have, in the past, seen all Buddhas. Their capabilities are sharp and their wisdom is clear. As they listen to what the Buddha says, they are able to respect and believe it.”

Sariputra sincerely made this request on behalf of everyone, because the Buddha was worried that they would not accept it, and after hearing it, might give rise to suspicion and slander it out of shock and doubt.

But Sariputra then told the Buddha that most people there had respect and faith. Those who could not believe it were probably very few. Thus, Sariputra said, “I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.” He continued to sincerely ask the Buddha to teach because at this assembly, there were still countless, “hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings” who had faith in His teachings.

When he said there were countless people, asankya sentient beings, Sariputra was not just referring to people at the Dharma-assembly. He was requesting the Dharma on our behalf, for the sake of sentient beings in the future.

The Buddha gave teachings over 2000 years ago that would last infinite kalpas into the future. Sentient beings will need them for a long time. So, Sariputra mentioned, “Countless, asankya sentient beings who have, in the past, seen all Buddhas.” These sentient beings, in their past lives, continuously drew near all Buddhas. Sometimes, they were born in an era when. Sakyamuni Buddha engaged in spiritual practice and practiced by His side. So, “in the past, [they had] seen all Buddhas.”

These people, in the past, had heard all Buddhas give teachings, and before Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment, had formed deep karmic affinities with Him. So, they were likely to “have sharp capabilities” because they had been listening to the teachings. Although they had not attained. Buddhahood and were still unable to find their pure intrinsic nature, they had the karmic condition to continuously listen to teachings. Then, when the Buddha attained enlightenment, they all assembled at Vulture Peak. These people had “sharp capabilities” and very clear wisdom, so “their wisdom is clear.”

“As they listen to what the Buddha says,” refers to how they were now listening to the Buddha directly teach the extremely profound One Vehicle Dharma that. He had been guarding in His heart. [Sariputra] believed that when they listen to it, they will feel respect and faith. So, Sariputra made this sincere request on everyone’s behalf for the Buddha to teach. Sariputra knew the Buddha very well and

knew that when the Buddha said, “I do not need to speak further,” He did not intend to disperse the assembly. The Buddha came to this world for one great cause, to give the [Lotus] teachings, to teach the Bodhisattva-path. So, He established the provisional teachings and skillful means of the Three Vehicles. Now the karmic conditions had ripened, so the Buddha continuously praised the subtle and wondrous Dharma. After everyone said they wanted to listen, the Buddha said He wanted to stop instead. But if He stopped now, He would not have carried out His original intent.

The Buddha trusted Sariputra very much and. Sariputra understood the Buddha best. So, the Buddha said Sariputra was foremost in wisdom. This meant that Sariputra was best at comprehending the Buddha’s intent. Whether He really meant He would stop now or would continue to give the most important teaching that He had not yet freely expressed was something only Sariputra knew. Because he understood the Buddha, he then repeatedly requested teachings on people’s behalf. The Buddha also trusted that Sariputra would relentlessly persist in requesting teachings. That was why He said, “Stop, stop.” Three times Sariputra asked and three times He refused. The minds of teacher and student were in sync,

so Sariputra said, “Sunlight does not conceal itself because of those without sight. Buddha-Dharma certainly should not be silenced because of the ignorant.”

It cannot be this way. The Buddha’s one great cause was to transmit the One Vehicle Dharma to many people. The Buddha would never, because of a few people who did not believe in the One Vehicle Dharma, really stop without giving that teaching. That was not possible.

So Sariputra said, “Sunlight does not conceal itself because of those without sight.” The sun [always] comes out. It does not stop rising because of people who cannot see it, absolutely not. So, the Buddha would not, because a few people lacked understanding, faith and respect for the great Dharma, stop giving teachings. Thus, Sariputra said, “Buddha-Dharma certainly should not be silenced because of the ignorant.” The Buddha-Dharma also should not be left unsaid because a few people were foolish and could not comprehend what the Buddha intended to teach; that was not possible. So, the Buddha would continue to give teachings.

This was the dialogue between the Buddha and Sariputra. When I read this passage, I really admire that the Buddha had disciples who really understood Him, that Sariputra knew His intentions so well. Otherwise, truly speaking, in this complicated world, if He gave them whatever they asked for, wouldn’t they take things for granted? So, He wanted to help them realize that this Dharma is very valuable. If they wanted to listen to this teaching, they must be mentally prepared; they must foster faith. Having faith is very important.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, there was a woman named Pearl Garland. She was born into the family of a very rich elder. When she was born, she looked unusual because on her forehead, there appeared to be a radiant pearl. Even stranger, after this girl was born, jewels naturally appeared in her home.

Her parents loved her very much. She was intelligent, witty and well-behaved, and also very beautiful and kind-hearted. Whenever she saw poor people, she gave jewels to them.

When she was 17 or 18, [she was engaged] to the son of another elder. He was a very handsome young man. He was also very well-educated and kind-hearted. Thus, the two families became joined by marriage.

This young couple had a common wish, to follow the Buddha-Dharma, do good deeds and practice giving. They had a mutual agreement, to remain pure in body and mind and find an opportunity to become monastics.

These two families were devout Buddhists, so they joyfully gave their permission. The two of them took refuge with the Buddha and then took the vows to become monastics. When their heads were shaved, people around them were very envious. How could they be so fortunate? They were born to wealthy families, and their spiritual practice was smooth and progressed as they desired. They wondered about the karmic conditions behind this. The Buddha then explained their causes and conditions.

In the past, during the Bhadra-kalpa, there was a Buddha named Kasyapa. When Kasyapa went to the Kingdom of Varanasi, there was a young man who was not very wealthy but devoutly upheld the Buddha-Dharma. When he paid a visit to Kasyapa Buddha and saw His magnificent presence, and grasped the subtlety and wonder of His teachings. He thought that it would be a pity if only one or a few people heard such teachings. So, he aspired to hold “a Dharma-assembly that is open to all.” He wanted to do this to help more people encounter the Buddha-Dharma. So, he went to solicit donations to attract people and inspire their belief. At the same time, this gave everyone a chance to collectively fund and hold this grand “Dharma-assembly that is open to all.”

At a “Dharma-assembly that is open to all,” people would invite Buddha to receive offerings, and He would teach the Dharma to the masses. While he was asking people to help make this Dharma-assembly a reality, a woman heard about it and felt faith and joy. She really believed that Kasyapa Buddha’s teachings were subtle and wondrous and also took joy in them. Whenever she left the house, like other wealthy Indians, she would adorn her forehead with a pearl. So, she took this pearl off her forehead. This pearl was very highly valued, and she gave it to the young man, Asara. When he received the pearl, he quickly used it to fund the “Dharma-assembly that is open to all.”

When the woman returned home, her husband looked at her and asked, “Where is the pearl on your forehead?” She then told him what she saw and heard and how she joyfully donated her pearl. When her husband heard about this, he was very happy. Not only did he did not scold her, he praised her, took joy in her action and made his own vows. “If a Buddha like this has appeared in the world, I am very willing to listen to His teachings. I will even vow to listen to the Dharma lifetime after lifetime. When karmic conditions are mature, I want to follow Him and become a monastic.” Both of them already believed in the Dharma before they heard it, so they both made the same vow.

Therefore, their faith in the Dharma came from wonderful causes and conditions that extended from Kasyapa Buddha’s era to. Sakyamuni Buddha’s era, when their karmic conditions matured. This young couple now was the young couple from Kasyapa Buddha’s era.

In summary, taking joy can also create merits and virtues. Giving more people the chance to learn the Buddha-Dharma is also a rarely-attained merit for spiritual practitioners. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings and listen to the Dharma, we must always give rise to joy and faith and believe in His teachings. In all things, we must always be mindful.