Author: Scott Ogata

Episode 1366 – Many in the Saha World Are Corrupted by Evil

>> “The state of Buddhahood is the distant intrinsic. [The Buddhas] have benefitted all beings throughout the Three Periods. The Dharmakaya is ever-abiding, transforming countless beings without end. It is beyond past or present; it was there before the kalpa of disappearance, which is still not the beginning. Noble beings seek awakening throughout kalpa after kalpa, while deluded beings indulge in their desires.”

>> These people did not have sufficient spiritual strength, so it was hard for them to endure this evil world. They aspired to go to different lands in other places to advance and teach the Dharma. They feared that in the world of endurance, it would be hard to tame sentient beings, who are corrupted by evil. This corrupts their virtuous nature, causing them to become people who create and accumulate negative karma. They have overbearing arrogance and claim to have attained when they have not.

>> “At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One, we will also make vows to go to different lands to widely expound this sutra.'” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> “There were also 8000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions who rose from their seats, put their palms together, faced the Buddha and made this vow.” They said, “World-Honored One, we will also go to other lands to widely expound this sutra.”
[Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> Why is this so? Because in the Saha World, many people are corrupted by evil. They harbor overbearing arrogance and are shallow in merits and virtues. They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery. They are insincere at heart.
[Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> Why is this so? Because in the Saha World, many people are corrupted by evil: They have so many flaws and are so corrupted. Moreover, they are stubborn and evil. Corrupted: This means they are debased. Evil: This refers to the turbidities of greed, anger, ignorance, deviant views and so on. Corrupted by evil: This refers to people whose virtuous nature has been corrupted and who create and accumulate negative karma. Virtuous nature: Regarding the cultivation of virtue, this means that all the myriad beings, on top of our intrinsic nature, have both good and evil. This is our innate capacity for delusion or awakening.

>> Overbearing arrogance: Once they are able to advance slightly, they will be arrogant toward others. When Venerable Sakyamuni was about to expound the Lotus Sutra, there were 5000 people who harbored overbearing arrogance in their minds. They said, “We all have realized the wondrous fruits already, so why must we listen to the Lotus Sutra?” Thus, they each left their seats and departed.

>> In the Lotus Sutra’s. Chapter on Skillful Means, it says: “As He said these words,” “among the assembly were bhiksus, bhiksunis,” “upasakas and upasikas,” “5,000 in all,” “who rose from their seats,” “prostrated to the Buddha and left”.

>> These people’s roots of transgressions were deep and grave, and they had such overbearing arrogance that they claimed to have attained when they had not and to have realized what they had not. With faults such as these, they could not stay. The World-Honored One remained silent and did not stop them.
[Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> Shallow in merits and virtues: If their merits and virtues are shallow, their capacities and virtues from good causes will all be shallow as well. Even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have Leaks. This is why they will not be able to accord with their nature.

>> They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery: They are delirious with rage. They are tortuously disingenuous. Their anger harbors greed and ignorance which obfuscates their wisdom-nature. Devious flattery: This means using clever words and a contrived manner to ingratiate oneself to others.

>> They are insincere at heart: Because the people of this land are corrupted by evil and have many faults such as these, [the disciples] vowed to seek to transform beings in other places. They are insincere at heart: They do not mean what they say, so they are “insincere.”

>> They are replete with all these evils and are deceitful and untrustworthy. Thus it says they are insincere at heart. Because they are insincere, it is hard to expound the Dharma [to them]. So, [these disciples] vowed to go to other worlds and different lands to “widely expound this sutra.”

>> The 500 Arhats and 8000 other people, though they had received predictions of Buddhahood, were still attached to comfort and ease. They feared samsara, so they wished to go to the pure lands and stay far away from the land of defilement. This is because they had yet to eliminate their habitual tendency to seek Nirvana. They still had a discriminatory mindset from their attachment to the Dharma. From this, we know that in this world, the evil world of the Five Turbidities, when it comes to shouldering the burden of the Tathagata’s wisdom-life, timid and weak people of limited aspirations are definitely incapable of undertaking this task.

“The state of Buddhahood is the distant intrinsic.
[The Buddhas] have benefitted all beings throughout the Three Periods.
The Dharmakaya is ever-abiding,
transforming countless beings without end.
It is beyond past or present;
it was there before the kalpa of disappearance, which is still not the beginning.
Noble beings seek awakening throughout kalpa after kalpa,
while deluded beings indulge in their desires.”

We must mindfully seek to comprehend this! The Buddha came to this world, [following] the same path that all Buddhas share. They all spent many kalpas in the distant past and continue to spend lifetime after lifetime seeking the true principles of the wondrous Dharma. Most importantly, They go among people to transform sentient beings. They are the Awakened Ones. They have done this for a very long time, for lifetime after lifetime without rest, all with the same mindset, which is to seek the Dharma and attain awakening. Their goal is to go among people and transform sentient beings. So, whether in the past, present or future, They will never stop doing this. Throughout the “Three Periods,” the past, present and future, they will always seek to benefit and teach sentient beings in the hope that sentient beings will awaken to what the Buddha awakened to.

The Buddha comprehended and awakened to the principles and He hoped that sentient beings would likewise be able to comprehend the true principles of the universe. So, the Buddha was always very affirming of the fact that the Dharmakaya is intrinsic to us all. The Dharmakaya is the principles, the principles that everyone intrinsically posses. Since ancient times, the principles have always existed and so has everyone’s awakened nature. So, the “Dharmakaya is ever-abiding.” Externally, this is known as “the principles”; within people, this is known as “True Suchness.” When our nature of True Suchness and the principles of the external world can come together, that is the true Dharmakaya. That is the attainment of Buddhahood. Unfortunately, we humans always place the principles outside of ourselves, while our nature of True Suchness is obstructed by the ignorance that we create. So, we are unable to bring together “awakening” and “principles.”

It was precisely because of this that the Buddha spent countless kalpas seeking the Dharma and constantly going among people in hopes that we would all be able to comprehend and accept that everyone intrinsically possesses the innate enlightenment of True Suchness. He taught all the principles of the external world so that our innate enlightenment of True Suchness would be able to come together with these principles. This was His goal. Since this is the case, “The Dharmakaya is ever-abiding”; the principles are forever present and the nature of True Suchness is intrinsic to everyone. It has been like this since Beginningless Time. So, throughout lifetime after lifetime, the Buddha came ceaselessly to this world, “transforming countless beings without end.” In the Six Realms and Four Forms of Birth, [the Buddha] was everywhere. He did this for accumulated lifetimes, dedicating Himself to His one great cause.

So, “It is without past or present; it was there before the kalpa of disappearance, which is still not the beginning.” This was a very long time ago; how long a time? It is endless; thus it is “without past.” And what about the “present”? What time is considered the present anyway? “Present” during the Buddha’s time is what we call the past; it was over 2000 years ago. So, we are unable to say “past” or “present.” As for our future, we must be mindful, work hard to accept the Dharma, put it into practice and ensure that the Dharma will continue to abide in this world. People of the future will say that our present is the “past” as well. To sum it all up, in the present, we call the time of the Buddha the “past,” and our present is what people in the future will call the past.

Thus, “It is without past or present; it was there before the kalpa of disappearance, which is still not the beginning.” What does kalpa mean in “kalpa of disappearance”? Everyone knows what a small kalpa is. A human lifespan of ten years keeps increasing until it reaches 84,000 years, and then it decreases again. How long does this take? Then 20 small kalpas make a medium kalpa. Four medium kalpas make a great kalpa.

But for the world to go through [the cycle of] formation, existence, decay and disappearance takes a very long time before it gets to the kalpa of disappearance. Once it is time for the kalpa of disappearance, this world will be empty, with nothing left. Everything will be completely destroyed. Once everything is gone, the earth will begin anew.

In fact, the “kalpa of disappearance” is still not the “beginning.” Before the kalpa of disappearance, [the world] also went through the cycle of formation, existence, decay and disappearance. After the period of disappearance, [the world] slowly began to form and start the cycle of formation, existence, decay and disappearance again. Of course, this stretches across a very long time. So, it says, “It was there before the kalpa of disappearance, which is still not the beginning.” This is not called “the beginning,” either, because before then, there was another cycle of formation, existence, decay and disappearance.

But the principles still exist. It is only because the principle exists that there can be the [cycle of] formation, existence, decay and disappearance. After disappearance, all things in the universe will begin [anew]; plants and other things will slowly spring into existence. Animals and people are like this. The principles are present in all of this. The principles are unhindered by the cycle of formation, existence, decay and disappearance because they have no form, substance or appearance. Thus, “It is without past or present; it was there before the kalpa of disappearance, which is still not the beginning.” This principle is without beginning or end. It has no beginning and no cutoff.

People intrinsically possess the nature of True Suchness, But it is not just people; everything that we see possesses its own intrinsic nature. We have discussed this over and over again. Indeed! So, it is just that our nature of True Suchness cannot come together with the true principles. Sakyamuni Buddha’s innate enlightenment came together with the true principles. He attained Buddhahood because, for accumulated kalpas, He persevered in seeking the true principles.

Thus, “Noble beings seek awakening throughout kalpa after kalpa.” Noble beings are like this. He began long ago in Beginningless Time. By understanding one thing, He realized 1000. He knew that humans live life lost in confusion. So, He continued to accumulate the true principles lifetime after lifetime. He went among people to transform sentient beings, and when causes and conditions matured, He manifested the appearance of attaining Buddhahood so that we would all be able to understand the true principles of all things in the universe. This is how the Buddha came to this world, tirelessly opening and revealing teachings to sentient beings in hopes that they could awaken and enter them and that our nature of True Suchness could come together with the principles.

The method He taught us was to practice the Six Paramitas. The Six Paramitas are giving, precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These six methods respond to the needs of all sentient beings on Earth to become tens of thousands of methods. Because sentient beings propagate ignorance and create suffering without limitations, they thus face suffering and afflictions. The true principles exist amidst these afflictions. The Buddha wants everyone to go among people, amidst their afflictions, so that we will be able to comprehend the source of our afflictions and how the true principles arise. This all comes from a single thought. This helps us to comprehend how awakening also comes from a single thought.

So, “Noble beings seek awakening throughout kalpa after kalpa.” Deluded beings [are deluded] because they are always mired in desire. A thought of desire gives rise to delusion. So, we begin to have greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt and constantly reproduce ignorance. Thus, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this. However, the Buddha, in this present lifetime, that is, right now, and the Buddha’s Dharmakaya, His wisdom-life, still live on in this world, because [the Dharma] we are using right now is the Dharma that Sakyamuni Buddha taught us anew. Before Sakyamuni Buddha, sentient beings were truly unable to comprehend that their nature of True Suchness must come together with the true principles. No one was able to understand this. Sakyamuni Buddha came to this world to teach us the Dharma. So, using different teachings to suit different capabilities, He went among people to teach us, helping us to gradually understand.

With all the countless sutras and discourses, some awaken sooner, some later. But this is not complete awakening. “I know, I know. I understand the Dharma taught by the Buddha. Once I understand it, I take down notes.” We can talk about what our notes say, but we still lack a complete understanding of the true principles. Our nature of True Suchness has yet to converge and resonate with the true principles. So, our present “knowledge” is different from the Buddha’s “awakening.”

The Buddha’s spiritual strength was tempered among people lifetime after lifetime. To become such a precise tool, it had to be refined in the flames. Are we able to bear the tempering of the furnace time and again, this process of tempering and hammering, so that we can become a precise tool? The Buddha has already gone through this process, overcoming difficulties lifetime after lifetime, never wavering from His vows and aspirations. Are we able to do this as sentient beings of this world?

These people did not have sufficient spiritual strength, so it was hard for them to endure this evil world. They aspired to go to different lands in other places to advance and teach the Dharma. They feared that in the world of endurance, it would be hard to tame sentient beings, who are corrupted by evil. This corrupts their virtuous nature, causing them to become people who create and accumulate negative karma. They have overbearing arrogance and claim to have attained when they have not.

In this world, with these sentient beings, “These people did not have sufficient spiritual strength.” We are in this world, and while listening to the Dharma is good, we still have yet to establish such firm aspirations. “Forming aspirations is easy, but persevering in them is hard.” We always feel that, “It is all about me. It is all about what I love,” so we go back to putting ourselves first. With this mundane mindset of an ordinary being, we will be unable to transcend the mundane. Our spiritual strength is insufficient and we keep putting ourselves first. We are unable to let go of our “limited self” to abide within our “greater self.” [Our spiritual strength] is so limited. So, most of these people “did not have sufficient spiritual strength.”

Because this world is difficult to endure, “They aspired to go to different lands in other places.” We have read this passage before. Many people had received the Buddha’s predictions. We saw the 20,000 Bodhisattvas make vows before the Buddha. In the Buddha’s Sangha, those who received predictions were the 500 Arhats and the 8000 at or beyond the stage of learning. They willingly made vows before the Buddha. “Venerable Buddha, we are also willing to uphold this sutra. But when it comes to spreading this sutra, we do not dare remain in this world. We want to go to other worlds, different lands, and teach the sentient beings there.”

Yes, there are other worlds and different lands. Our scientists have looked at the sky and seen the planets there, orbiting around the sun. Earth is also planet in space. This planet orbits around the sun while revolving on its own [axis]. One orbit takes 365 days, which is one year. This is the Earth’s orbit. In fact, even closer to the sun than Earth is the planet Mercury. Mercury takes 88 Earth days to orbit [the sun]. It takes 365 days for us to orbit [the sun]. This means that one year for the planet Mercury is only 88 [Earth] days. On Earth, this is more than two months, but not quite three months. This is another world.

On Venus, one orbit takes 225 days. This is also not quite as long as a year on Earth. So, that is yet another world. Beyond Earth is Mars. For Mars to complete one orbit around the sun, it takes 687 Earth-days. That is over a year, almost two years. On Saturn, this takes over 29 years. That is how far away that planet is [from the sun]. There is also the planet Uranus. For it to complete one orbit, it takes 84 Earth-years. On Neptune, which is extremely far away from the sun, one orbit around the sun lasts 165 Earth-years. This is yet another world.

Science has proven that there are other worlds. Everyone made vows to go to these places, but is there actually life in these places? Are they in the kalpa of disappearance now? Or are they going through formation and existence? Right now, we are still not sure. Science is very advanced. We can go to Mars. We can go to Venus. We can go to the moon. But it seems that those places are like vast deserts. There seem to be mountains with the traces of rivers and valleys, but they have yet to find life there. Could the places they have landed actually be places with people?

The surface of our Earth also has many vast deserts. The places they have landed in are endless deserts. Perhaps they did not land at places with [living beings], with animals and plants; we are not sure. We do not know any of this. Only the Buddha knows. The Buddha said to everyone, “Besides this world, there are still other worlds.” These disciples knew that there were other worlds.

However, they had all lived in this world. They knew that this world is full of suffering, and that sentient beings here are stubborn. All they knew was that this world was like this. Though the Buddha spoke of other worlds, they did not know if the sentient beings of these other worlds were also just as stubborn. On Mercury, which has 88 days per year, if there were sentient beings there, would they be even more stubborn than we are? We do not know this either! But these people had only seen that the sentient beings of this world were stubborn and hard to tame, so they were frightened and afraid. Thus, they made a vow. They were willing to make vows, but they were not willing to remain in this place. They wanted to go to other worlds.

They did not realize that it is not so bad here. Instead they thought, “I want to switch to another place. It must be much better than here.” Not necessarily. We still have the Buddha to teach the Dharma to us in this world. Since the Buddha is in this world, we must be content with what we have. For the sake of the stubborn, lost and confused sentient beings of this world, we must earnestly make vows. For the sake of our surrounding environment, we must earnestly work to eliminate [suffering] for people who are suffering in this world. We should make vows to serve them. So, for these people, their spiritual strength was insufficient. This is an evil world that is difficult to endure, so while they willingly made vows, they still wanted to go to other worlds. So, they wanted to go to other places to spread and teach the Dharma.

Many people have this kind of thinking. I work here, but I want to go to a different place. I want to try a new place; maybe I will do even better there. Not necessarily! The principle is the same. So, everyone feared that. “In the world of endurance, it would be hard to tame sentient beings, who are corrupted by evil.” So, for the sentient beings in this world, what does it mean to be “corrupted by evil”? It “corrupts their virtuous nature.” Their virtues, morals, ethics and so on have been completely corrupted. This is our world today. So many people have lost their ethical principles. Their moral view has been completely corrupted. So, these people were very afraid and did not dare remain in this land to spread the Buddha’s teachings. This is because the people of this land “create and accumulate negative karma.” So, they are very hard to teach and transform.

These people have overbearing arrogance. “They have overbearing arrogance and claim to have attained when they have not.” They are very stubborn. Teaching them the principles is not easy at all. So, these people “claim to have attained when they have not.” This previous [sutra] passage helped everyone understand even more clearly. We need to understand why they wanted to go to other worlds. Yes, there are other lands and other worlds. But we do not know how many.

The previous sutra passage says,

“At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One, we will also make vows to go to different lands to widely expound this sutra.'”

They made vows to go to other lands. It was not just these 500 [Arhats]. “There were also 8000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions.” There were 8000 people at or beyond the stage of learning. “Beyond the stage of learning” means that everything they were supposed to learn, they had heard and had learned. This is being “beyond the stage of learning.” As for “those at the stage of learning,” they had just begun to enter the Buddha’s door. They had just begun their quest. They had formed great aspirations, but had yet to attain true mastery. This is known as being “at the stage of learning.”

“There were also 8000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions who rose from their seats, put their palms together, faced the Buddha and made this vow.” They said, “World-Honored One, we will also go to other lands to widely expound this sutra.”

They followed those in front of them in saying that they did not dare to remain in the Saha World. They were also willing to go to other worlds to spread the Buddha’s Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.

The following [sutra] passage says, “Why is this so? Because in the Saha World, many people are corrupted by evil.” This Saha World truly is hard to endure. These people are very evil. So, “They harbor overbearing arrogance and are shallow in merits and virtues. They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery. They are insincere at heart.”

Why is this so? Because in the Saha World, many people are corrupted by evil. They harbor overbearing arrogance and are shallow in merits and virtues. They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery. They are insincere at heart.

This world is full of so many problems. “[People are] corrupted by evil, so why would I dare to remain here?” Among the people of this Saha World there is so much evil, so much corruption, so many flaws, so many negative habitual tendencies and such awful mindsets. [People] are very stubborn and evil. So, they did not dare to remain here.

Why is this so? Because in the Saha World, many people are corrupted by evil: They have so many flaws and are so corrupted. Moreover, they are stubborn and evil. Corrupted: This means they are debased. Evil: This refers to the turbidities of greed, anger, ignorance, deviant views and so on. Corrupted by evil: This refers to people whose virtuous nature has been corrupted and who create and accumulate negative karma. Virtuous nature: Regarding the cultivation of virtue, this means that all the myriad beings, on top of our intrinsic nature, have both good and evil. This is our innate capacity for delusion or awakening.

So, “corrupt” here means “debased.” This is corruption. “Evil” refers to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, as well as deviant views and so on. These turbidities are very heavy, so they are “corrupted by evil.” Their virtuous nature has been corrupted. Spiritual practitioners cultivate virtues. But those who are corrupted by evil are not only unwilling to cultivate virtue, but even commit wrongdoings and slander and so on. This kind of person is “corrupted by evil.” Those who “create and accumulate negative karma” are also many. They destroy good things. Evil things destroy the good things. Evil people eliminate good people. This is what they were afraid of.

As for “virtuous nature, Regarding the cultivation of virtue, this means that all the myriad beings, on top of our intrinsic nature, have both good and evil.” In fact, it is the same with plants. [Some plants] can be used as medicines to treat people’s illnesses, and there are other plants that will hurt you if touch them. There are plants like stinging nettles. If you touch them, your body will have an allergic reaction and swell. If you eat them, they will poison you and kill you very quickly; there are many like this. So, poison is also extracted from plants. Thus, people are likewise both good and evil. In fact, everything on Earth has both good parts and bad parts. So, “This is our innate capacity for delusion or awakening.” We all have this.

“They harbor overbearing arrogance.” They know only a little, but think that they know so much, so “They will be arrogant toward others.” They show off to others, thinking they are so great themselves. They look down on others; there are people like this.

Overbearing arrogance: Once they are able to advance slightly, they will be arrogant toward others. When Venerable Sakyamuni was about to expound the Lotus Sutra, there were 5000 people who harbored overbearing arrogance in their minds. They said, “We all have realized the wondrous fruits already, so why must we listen to the Lotus Sutra?” Thus, they each left their seats and departed.

So, “They harbor overbearing arrogance.” When Sakyamuni Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, there were also people like this who harbored this mindset of overbearing arrogance. Even when the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, there were 5000 people who paid their respects and left [the assembly]. Why did those 5000 pay their respects and leave? They felt the Buddha was teaching something that they already understood. They continued to praise this Dharma for being wondrously profound, praising the Buddha’s thoroughly enlightened nature, [but said], “I already know all these things.” These 5000 people had this kind of “overbearing arrogance.” They also felt that they were just about equal to the Buddha in wisdom. “What the Buddha knows, I pretty much know too.” So, “They said, ‘We all have realized the wondrous fruits already.'” They felt they had already attained realization and awakening, “So why must we listen to the Lotus Sutra? I know most of this already. Why should I stay and listen?” So, “They left their seats and departed one by one.” They each left their seats and departed one by one.

So, the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Skillful Means talks about this. In the Chapter on Skillful Means [it says], “As He said these words, among the assembly were bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, 5000 in all, who rose from their seats, prostrated to the Buddha and left.” Those 5000 people were like this. This is how it is described in the sutra.

In the Lotus Sutra’s. Chapter on Skillful Means, it says: “As He said these words,” “among the assembly were bhiksus, bhiksunis,” “upasakas and upasikas,” “5,000 in all,” “who rose from their seats,” “prostrated to the Buddha and left”.

These people’s roots of transgressions were deep and grave, and they had such overbearing arrogance that they claimed to have attained when they had not and to have realized what they had not. With faults such as these, they could not stay. The World-Honored One remained silent and did not stop them.

“These people’s roots of transgressions were deep and grave.” Because of this, they had obstructions. So, when the Buddha began to teach the wondrous Dharma, due to these obstructions, they left. It is because they had obstructions. What were their obstructions? Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, these things came to obstruct them. The sutra says it like this. “They claimed to have attained when they had not and to have realized what they had not. With faults such as these, they could not stay.” Because of these obstructions, they all missed out on a great deal. This was due to their own individual shortcomings. It had nothing at all to do with the Buddha. Those who listened awakened, while those who did not became lost. It had nothing to do with the Buddha. However, the Buddha was still at ease. “It is better that they left.” The Venerable One did not stop them. “If they want to leave, let them leave.” He quietly allowed them to leave. “It is better that they left.” It was good for them to leave like this. This way, they would, after listening, go take action out of deviant knowledge and views or say some things that were not true. A slight deviation takes one far off course. [The Buddha] felt, “Alright, if they do not want to listen, it is better if they leave.” So, He said, “It is better that they left.” This is from the Chapter on Skillful Means.

So, people [of the Saha World] “are shallow in merits and virtues.” Being “shallow in merits and virtues means their capacity for good causes and virtuous deeds” and so on will all be very shallow. “Even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have Leaks. This is why they will not be able to accord with their nature.”

Shallow in merits and virtues: If their merits and virtues are shallow, their capacities and virtues from good causes will all be shallow as well. Even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have Leaks. This is why they will not be able to accord with their nature.

Engaging in spiritual practice requires hard work. If someone has no desire to work hard and is also unwilling to benefit others, such a person will be very shallow in merits and virtues. Thus, their good causes and virtuous deeds will be insufficient.

Good causes direct us toward the Bodhisattva-path of benefiting others while going among people. When it came to these causes, these seeds, they were completely lacking, having very few. So, this is why they got up and left. This was because they were shallow in merits and virtues. They did not create any merits or virtues, so these were very shallow. Thus, “Even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have Leaks.” They do a few good deeds and engage in a little bit of practice and feel that they have already done so much. Serving others with expectations like this, expecting rewards for serving, is what it means to “have Leaks. This is why they will not be able to accord with their nature.” These are not the deeds we would do with a thorough understanding of the principles and our nature of True Suchness. No.

So, “They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery.”

They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery: They are delirious with rage. They are tortuously disingenuous. Their anger harbors greed and ignorance which obfuscates their wisdom-nature. Devious flattery: This means using clever words and a contrived manner to ingratiate oneself to others.

These people are contaminated with anger, so they have afflictions and ignorance. Anger is ignorance. Ignorance is turbidity. This kind of turbidity begins from anger. They engage in devious flattery. “They are delirious with rage. They are tortuously disingenuous.” This means they do not treat others with honesty. We often say that a genuine mind is where spiritual training takes place; having an open heart with pure thoughts is our nature of True Suchness. But these people are not like this. They are covered by ignorance. They treat people in a disingenuous way, with a mindset full of expectations. So, “anger” contains “greed and ignorance.” Because of greed and ignorance, they become angry. Because of this, their “wisdom-nature” becomes “obfuscated.” Our nature of True Suchness has impartial wisdom. We must uphold wisdom and transmit loving-kindness. With wisdom, we will understand how to bring forth our loving-kindness. So, anger, greed and ignorance obfuscate our wisdom-nature, enshrouding it. Our ignorance covers our nature of True Suchness. This makes people disingenuous.

This disingenuousness involves using clever words and a contrived manner. Someone may be really good with words, and may also be very good at teaching the Dharma. But does their virtuous nature come through in their actions? Or does it not? Do they simply use their clever words and contrived manner to please people? This is something we must mindfully comprehend.

So, “They are insincere at heart.” A mind like this has no sincerity.

They are insincere at heart: Because the people of this land are corrupted by evil and have many faults such as these, [the disciples] vowed to seek to transform beings in other places. They are insincere at heart: They do not mean what they say, so they are “insincere.”

So, “Because the people of this land are corrupted by evil and have many faults such as these….” Because they have so many faults, so many, the [disciples] did not dare to remain here; they wanted to make vows to go to other lands. This is because we who are living in this Saha World are very weak-willed. Even spiritual practitioners are very weak-willed. [They] “have many faults such as these.” So, they vowed to go to other places. They were afraid, fearing they did not have enough courage and diligence. In His courage and diligence, the Buddha constantly served others in this world. To be able to attain Buddhahood, spiritual practice must begin from sincerity, sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. If we are insincere, all we will have is words and no heart. This is what it means to be insincere. We must mindfully seek to understand this.

They are replete with all these evils and are deceitful and untrustworthy. Thus it says they are insincere at heart. Because they are insincere, it is hard to expound the Dharma [to them]. So, [these disciples] vowed to go to other worlds and different lands to “widely expound this sutra.”

So, “They are replete with all these evils.” They are so evil, so we must have sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness and “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” We must be courageous and diligent. But if we are lacking in sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness, we will have all kinds of evils and become “deceitful and untrustworthy.” This is insincerity. They have no faith. So, “They are insincere at heart” because their aspirations are not firm. They do not dare to face this world. This world is turbid, and sentient beings are severely defiled. Even spiritual practitioners fail to be courageous and diligent. How can we in this world have Dharma to transmit?

So, “Because they are insincere, it is hard to expound the Dharma [to them].” It is because our own hearts are very insincere. So, we must speak words that are true. In fact, it is very difficult to teach the Dharma. So, “[These disciples] vowed to go to other worlds and different lands to widely expound this sutra.” We must teach the True Dharma, but other people might not accept it. We must have this sincere mind to accept the Buddha’s teachings and put them into practice even with great difficulty. This is also very difficult. So, because of this, the Buddha wanted to recruit people for the sake of the Dharma.

So, the previous sutra passage says that those “500 Arhats and 8000 other people, though they had received predictions of Buddhahood, were still attached to comfort and ease.” They were very attached. They remained the same, “still attached to comfort and ease.”

The 500 Arhats and 8000 other people, though they had received predictions of Buddhahood, were still attached to comfort and ease. They feared samsara, so they wished to go to the pure lands and stay far away from the land of defilement. This is because they had yet to eliminate their habitual tendency to seek Nirvana. They still had a discriminatory mindset from their attachment to the Dharma. From this, we know that in this world, the evil world of the Five Turbidities, when it comes to shouldering the burden of the Tathagata’s wisdom-life, timid and weak people of limited aspirations are definitely incapable of undertaking this task.

So, “They feared samsara” and wished to go to the pure lands. They still hoped to go to another, easier place. “I would be too busy here. I want to go to a more relaxed place where I can still engage in spiritual practice.” They were all like this!

So, “This is because they had yet to eliminate their habitual tendency to seek Nirvana.” They still sought comfort and ease. So, “They still had a discriminatory mindset from their attachment to the Dharma.” They were still attached to the Dharma. They had not practiced enough. So, “From this, we know that in this world, the evil world of the Five Turbidities, when it comes to shouldering the burden of the Tathagata’s wisdom-life, timid and weak people of limited aspirations are definitely incapable of undertaking this task.” People with limited aspirations are incapable of undertaking this task. It definitely requires great aspirations and vows. Do not be afraid. With courage and diligence, we will be able to undertake this task. Otherwise, it truly cannot be done.

Everyone, life is painfully short. But after all, we have accepted the Buddha-Dharma in this world. The Buddha gave His heartfelt effort for the sake of sentient beings. He also understood that in this world, so many sentient beings are “corrupted by evil.” In this world, there are even spiritual practitioners who lack great determination and great courage. So, starting from the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha continually recruited people, seeking people to accept the Dharma, while knowing full well that accepting the Dharma is no easy task. Although sentient beings are stubborn, spiritual practitioners must train them until they genuinely eliminate their attachments to the Dharma, to the self and to others, until they eliminate them completely; this truly is not an easy task. So, since we are Buddhist practitioners, we must wholeheartedly form great aspirations. However, forming great aspirations requires great understanding. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch13-ep1365

Posted on June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1365 – Vows to Go to Different Lands

>> “For those with insufficient spiritual strength, it was hard to endure this evil world. So they made vows to go to different lands in other places to advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings. They all feared that the sentient beings in the world of endurance would be difficult to train, for they harbor such overbearing arrogance and claim to have attained when they have not.”

>> People’s tendency toward evil corrupts their virtuous nature, leading people to create and accumulate negative karma. Their anger harbors the turbidities of greed and ignorance. They engage in devious flattery, using clever words and an ingratiating manner. As for those shallow in merits and virtue, even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have Leaks. If we lose the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, this will cause us to deviate from our nature.

>> Although it is difficult to teach and transform them, we will all summon up the great power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> “At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One, we will also make vows to go to different lands to widely expound this sutra.'” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> These people did not have sufficient spiritual strength, so it was hard for them to endure this evil world. Thus, they aspired to go to different lands in other places to advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings. They feared the sentient beings of the world of endurance would be hard to train.

>> At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions…: These 500 people had all received predictions of Buddhahood. This is the name of the eighth chapter in the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra. This chapter states that the disciples of limited capabilities received predictions of Buddhahood. The disciples who received predictions, 1200 in total, were divided into two sections. First, [the Buddha] bestowed predictions only on Purna Maitrayaniputra. Then He bestowed predictions on all the rest.

>> Go to different lands to widely expound this sutra: They feared that people in this turbid and evil world would be hard to teach and transform, so they vowed to go to other lands to widely expound this sutra. Different lands: other lands. This refers to any world in the great chiliocosm other than the Saha World.

>> “There were also 8000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions who rose from their seats, put their palms together, faced the Buddha and made this vow ‘World-Honored One, we will also go to other lands to widely expound this sutra.'”
[Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> There were also 8,000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions: This refers to those who received predictions in the ninth chapter.
>> [They] arose from their seats, put their palms together, faced the Buddha and made this vow: They got up from their seats and joined their palms together to express their reverence. Then they made this vow.

>> World-Honored One, we will also go to other lands to widely expound this sutra: Their spiritual power was weak, so they feared that this world would be difficult to transform.

“For those with insufficient spiritual strength,
it was hard to endure this evil world.
So they made vows to go to different lands in other places
to advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings.
They all feared that the sentient beings in the world of endurance
would be difficult to train,
for they harbor such overbearing arrogance
and claim to have attained when they have not.”

We must be mindful and make the most of our time. In life, impermanence can strike at any moment, so while we are still breathing, we must work hard to seize every moment and every second. When the Buddha came to this world, for a long time, He always seized the moment to seek the path diligently; this was how He was able to develop sufficient spiritual strength. If we pass our lives in confusion and idle away our time, our lives will quickly pass us by like this. So, we must earnestly seize the time. Our spiritual strength may be insufficient, and this Saha World is the world that must be endured. The Saha World is very harsh. Whether within the natural world, within human society, or within our own lives, the world is impermanent. All of these times, places and relationships are very difficult to endure.

Recently, I have often told everyone that we must carefully think about this. Even if, throughout our entire lives, we have no worries or hindrances, we still do not know how long our lives will actually be. We go through birth, aging, illness and death. We often say that we might not necessarily reach old age. So, we must seize the present to understand this evil world that must be endured. How much is there in this world that is difficult to endure? Interpersonal interactions and relationships are the same way. With good relationships, we are happy. We see each other every day, but suddenly, we will suffer from parting with those we love. Is this suffering? It truly is!

Or, we will meet those we hate. If there are those we do not love and do not like, we are always surrounded by them. Is this suffering? It is! Often, there are interpersonal disputes. This suffering is also hard to endure, and this is just in our everyday lives. In interpersonal relationships, the feelings involved are very mysterious. There is joy and the reluctance to part. There are feelings of great enmity and hatred. Just seeing someone can make us unhappy; these are the feelings from meeting those we hate. These are such simple interactions, simple [events] in time and space. In this world, such simple occurrences cause great suffering, not to mention natural and manmade disasters, impermanence and so on. This is suffering.

So, we must put effort into being mindful. How can we overcome this world of endurance? How can we transcend it? How? We must be very mindful of this. During the Buddha’s lifetime, He taught the Lotus Sutra in the hope that all His disciples would transcend [this world of endurance] and that everyone would open their hearts and go among people. [He hoped that] everyone would push aside their own afflictions and ignorance, become pure and undefiled and eliminate love and hate. Whether love or hate, all must be totally eliminated. We must transcend these and liberate ourselves. This is by no means easy.

Since this world is so full of suffering, they did not want to return to this world again. Life in this world may be short, but it is very difficult to tame the various habitual tendencies of sentient beings. Sentient beings are hard to tame and all have their own discriminating mindsets. It is impossible to tame and subdue sentient beings’ layers of afflictions. In particular, it is difficult for sentient beings to accept [the teachings]. These hard-to-tame sentient beings are very stubborn. Since beings in this land are hard to train, [so those with insufficient spiritual strength] would rather “make vows to go to different lands in other places to advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings.” [They felt,] “This land is so hard to transform. These people are so difficult to teach. Perhaps if we make vows to be born in other worlds, we will be able to find people we have affinities with and in those lands transform beings, advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings. Perhaps we should switch to another place so that it would not be so difficult.”

Why did they want to do this? They were afraid. What did they fear? They feared this world of endurance. “The [world of] endurance” is the Saha World. Sentient beings in this Saha World really are difficult to tame and train. They are very stubborn and difficult to train. We could be right beside them, teaching them to be diligent and engage in spiritual practice, and they might [say], “I will just handle these tasks. I don’t need to understand so much.” It might be hard to [tame] this kind of mind, a mind of discursive thoughts or one with an aversion for the world; it is very hard to tame [someone like this] to get them to turn around and earnestly accept [the teachings] on the great path. It might be very hard to train them. So, these spiritual practitioners did not dare stay behind in the Saha World. They feared that sentient beings in the Saha World would be difficult to tame.

“They harbor such overbearing arrogance and claim to have attained when they have not.” Sentient beings in the Saha World are hard to tame because people in this world have greed, anger, ignorance and especially arrogance and doubt. For people to eliminate greed, change their habitual tendency toward anger, or earnestly accept the Buddha-Dharma to gradually eliminate ignorance is not difficult. But for them to eliminate an arrogant mind and thoughts of doubt is very difficult.

People are very arrogant and “claim to have attained when they have not. I know, I know; I hear this all the time. You are always saying this. How different is this kind of life from [a life of] spiritual practice? It is the same. So, I know all about the Dharma.” Or perhaps they have attained a bit of Dharma, but do not actually put [the Dharma] into practice in their lives. They do not take [the Dharma] to heart in their everyday lives. They simply think, “I know it all.” They know enough to criticize others. They [say] to others, “How could you be like this?” But they do not reflect upon themselves [and think,] “What about us? We have received the Dharma. Are we putting it into practice in our lives?” They only know to “be content with little knowledge”; they only know to criticize others. They do not know that they themselves

are conceited and arrogant and have an extremely poor disposition. They look down on any other person and think that they are above others. This is all pride and arrogance. Or when it comes to the Dharma, [they ask], “Is this really the case?” They are unwilling to accept it and believe it; this is doubt. As human beings, we often do not know to take hold of and believe in the true principles. All we do is hesitate and doubt. All of this is obstructing our path. Those who do not know to diligently advance on the path are people with overbearing arrogance.

Time quickly passes them by in vain like this. They “claim to have attained what they have not.” This is wasting their lives away. Being very weak, [the disciples] did not dare to face these stubborn, hard-to-tame sentient beings. So, they did not dare remain here. Although the Buddha wanted them to form great aspirations and make great vows, [they said,] “I will make great aspirations, I will make great vows, but the people in this place are hard to tame. I will switch to another place.” Stubborn sentient beings are hard to tame. [The disciples] were unable to form great vows in this world that must be endured, so they avoided and tried to escape these stubborn, hard-to-tame sentient beings.

This was what the Buddha’s disciples from over 2000 years ago [were like]. The disciples when the Buddha was alive were like this. They were very afraid of these stubborn, hard-to-tame sentient beings, these people with “overbearing arrogance.” The [Hearer] disciples from the Buddha’s time were all afraid of them. They all engaged in practice in hopes of escaping the Saha World. “I can form great aspirations, so long as I do not remain in the Saha World. I will go to a different land instead.” This was what the disciples in the Buddha’s era were like. They had faith in the Buddha’s teachings and were willing to accept them. They were willing to put them into practice. But when it came to this Saha World, even the spiritual practitioners were afraid.

People’s tendency toward evil corrupts their virtuous nature, leading people to create and accumulate negative karma. Their anger harbors the turbidities of greed and ignorance. They engage in devious flattery, using clever words and an ingratiating manner. As for those shallow in merits and virtue, even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have Leaks. If we lose the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, this will cause us to deviate from our nature.

So, for those in this Saha World, our “tendency toward evil corrupts our virtuous nature.” In this Saha World, this “nature” that everyone has is for the most part very easily contaminated. We easily become affected by bad influences. So, the virtues of our intrinsic nature of True Suchness are always being corrupted by our external environment. This leads us to give rise to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Then, this kind of unenlightened mindset will begin to arise again. Because of this, we become people who create and accumulate evil karma.

So, when one thought goes astray, we will easily create and accumulate evil karma. People like this become more and more prevalent in the Saha World. [A person with] “anger” easily loses their temper. In fact, why do people easily lose their temper? It is because they harbor “greed” and “ignorance.” This makes [their minds] turbid. Why do they suddenly lose their temper? Because they cannot get [what they want]. They cannot get the relationship [they want], they cannot attain wealth, they cannot attain status. Things do not go as they wish. They cannot get things to go their way. This is all part of “anger.” So, anger arises when things do not go our way and we do not get what we want. Then, we will be angry.

So, “anger” also includes “greed” and “ignorance.” Not understanding the principles is “ignorance.” When the Six Roots connect with the external states of the Six Dusts, this leads to “greed.” This is craving for external things. Things might not go our way and we might not get what we want. Then there is also “ignorance,” which means we do not understand the principles. When we cannot get something, we give rise to thoughts of anger. So, the source of this “anger” is “greed” and “ignorance. Greed” and “ignorance” are harbored within “anger.” So, when this “anger” arises, it creates manmade calamities. When our direction in life goes astray and we give rise to a single thought of ignorance, we can harm ourselves and others. This is “anger.”

Look at the news in society. Which of these events did not arise from an impulse of “anger”? This impulse of “anger” is caused by “greed” and “ignorance. Ignorance” is not understanding the principles, not accepting the Dharma on a regular basis. People do not accept this Dharma or accept the true principles, so they continue to create [evil karma] and replicate delusions. So, delusion is “ignorance.” When thoughts of ignorance arise, we connect with external states and give rise to greed. When we do not get what we crave, we become angry. So, there is greed, anger and ignorance. “Anger” comes from “greed” and “ignorance.” We must also be very mindful of this.

Amidst this “turbidity,” we become confused. Our minds intrinsically have the nature of True Suchness. We clearly have this nature of True Suchness. We clearly understand the principles. Everyone intrinsically possesses the innate ocean of enlightenment. It is because of ignorance that our nature of True Suchness is turbid. Because of this, it manifests externally. In our everyday living, there are [people engaging in] “devious flattery, using clever words and an ingratiating manner.” People may seem to always be smiling, but they may not necessarily be sincere; not necessarily! Confucius said, “Clever words and an ingratiating manner are rarely benevolent.” [People like this] often flatter others.

They see others and try to please them. Because others can give them some benefit, they will continually try to please them. This is “devious flattery.” They are not straightforward but crooked. They hope that when with others, they [themselves] will be able gain happiness. They hope to win the love of others, to have people like them, so they are willing to use devious flattery. They are not sincere. All of a sudden, if the people they flatter lose power, they will quickly betray those people. People like this may appear to be all smiles, but their minds might not be sincere. People used to call these people “smiling tigers.” On the outside, they appear to be very sincere. On the inside, they harbor ill intentions. These people speak nice words in front of others, but spread gossip behind their backs. There are many people like this. So, this is the stubbornness of sentient beings. This is why [practitioners] do not dare to teach and expound the Dharma to them. They do not dare. Spiritual practitioners do not dare to draw near this kind of person.

So, “As for those shallow in merits and virtue, even if they do a few good deeds, they will all have flaws.” If someone is willing to do a bit of good, after doing just a little, they may feel that it was a lot. Even though it may be just a small good deed, they may be seeking something in return. They seek something in return, so they will have flaws. This is giving to others with conditions. “I flattered you and said good things about you, giving you some benefit. The trust you have in me gives me great benefit.” There are many people like this.

So, this kind of flawed goodness happens when people give conditionally and want to get something. “I have given, so I at least want to be recognized. I at least want to earn people’s respect. I should at least get….” There are so many like this. The love that they give is mixed with their desire for recognition and for others to help them and so on. This is “having flaws.” True giving is giving without expectations. This is true sincerity. But if we harbor the [mindset] of. “I give because I want recognition, because I want to gain benefit” and so on, this is “having flaws.”

So, “If we lose precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, this will cause us to deviate from our nature.” Thus, we must seek to eliminate [greed, anger and ignorance] in our practice. We do not want greed, anger or ignorance in our minds. We must clearly understand all principles. Naturally, when we eliminate our thoughts of ignorance and greed, there will be no more appearances of anger. They will be totally eliminated, and there will be no turbidities. [Our hearts] will become very pure. After eliminating [these thoughts], our minds will become open and spacious. We will have open hearts and pure thoughts. We will not engage in devious flattery or use clever words and an ingratiating manner. All will be eliminated. We will treat others with sincerity, with sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. There will be no devious flattery, using clever words and an ingratiating manner. There will be none of this.

So, in everything we do, we will give without expectations. We will not think of doing something small just to get something in return. There will be none of this. So, we must work hard to practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. If we depart from precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, then, as we discussed earlier, in our lives, to a certain extent, we all have greed, anger and ignorance. Furthermore, we may speak good words in front of others but slander them behind their backs. Have we ever done this in the past? We have! If we have, we must quickly work hard to be upright people, treating others the same in front of them and behind their backs. We must treat people with great sincerity. Our thoughts must be open, spacious and pure. Serving others is our duty. This is upholding precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.

We already understand the principles. We uphold the rules. Our minds are resolute. Our wisdom is transcendent. No matter the situation, we will give to others without expectations. This way, we will be without Leaks. The principles will be in our minds, so there will be no Leaks. This is engaging in practice with true mindfulness. Otherwise, [our practice of] precepts, Samadhi and wisdom will also leak away. This “will cause us to deviate from our nature.” We must return to our intrinsic nature, our nature of True Suchness. [If we give with expectations,] we cannot be considered to be truly carrying out the causal practice of the Bodhisattva-path; we will be unable to truly practice the causes of the Bodhisattva-path. If we [give] with [the intention of] benefitting ourselves, we are not walking the Bodhisattva-path.

So, this is why walking the Bodhisattva-path in this world is not easy. Most people in this world have a “tendency toward evil” that “corrupts their virtuous nature.” Most people who create and accumulate evil karma are in this place. In this Saha World, greed, anger and ignorance cause turbidity. When people interact, they engage in devious flattery, using clever words and an ingratiating manner etc. This is what the world is like. This is how sentient beings in this world are. So, in the Buddha’s era, spiritual practitioners dared not stay in this world but hoped to go to a different land to truly take up the responsibility of spiritual practice, “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions.” They hoped to plant Bodhisattvas’ pure causes.

But do other worlds have these severe turbidities? They do not. However, the Buddha wants us to be in this world. It is because there are severe turbidities and sentient beings have bad habitual tendencies that we are needed to go among people to transform them. So, Bodhisattvas must be very courageous in order to have the aspiration to abide in this place. This place, this Saha World, must be endured; we must be able to endure it.

Although it is difficult to teach and transform them, we will all summon up the great power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives.

So, the previous sutra passage says, “Although it will be difficult to teach and transform them,” meaning the sentient beings in this Saha World are stubborn and hard to train, very hard to teach and transform. “We all” refers to Medicine King Bodhisattva, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva and so on. The 20,000 Bodhisattvas came before the Buddha to make vows. “We will all summon up the great power of patience. We are willing. We are willing to transform sentient beings in this Saha World. We will absolutely summon up the great power of patience. We are awakened. We are willing to engage in practice and be tempered, to train our great power to patiently endure. Great compassion is the room. Gentleness and patience are the clothing. The emptiness of all phenomena is the seat. We must cultivate these [qualities].” This is what [the sutra] said previously.

At this time, they made vows, meaning that they had great power of patience. They must patiently endure. Why must they endure? “In our great compassion, we cannot bear to let these stubborn sentient beings create more karmic forces in this Saha World. We cannot bear it; we are willing to be compassionate and earnestly cultivate our hearts of compassion. We are willing to wear the clothing of patience. We are willing to train ourselves in this way because all worldly phenomena are empty; they are temporary and impermanent. So, we must [remain] in this place to earnestly make use of this Dharma and attain ‘wondrous existence’ through ‘true emptiness.’ This is carrying out the causes of the Bodhisattva-path. We are willing [to do this].”

“So, in this place, we will earnestly safeguard this sutra. These principles are very complete. So, we will [abide] in this place to read and recite this sutra, to uphold it,” which means to put it into practice, “to go among people to teach the Dharma and to transcribe the sutra.” They hoped to widely spread this sutra. They would make offerings with their actions. They would make offerings and give of themselves in order to spread this sutra. This is what it means to make offerings. They had to earnestly safeguard and protect this sutra and, with this abundance of principles, go among people. They did not hesitate to give their lives. This is the meaning of the previous passage.

Next, the [sutra] passage says,

“At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions said to the Buddha, ‘World-Honored One, we will also make vows to go to different lands to widely expound this sutra.'”

This is [about] the 500 or 1200 people whom the Buddha had bestowed predictions upon earlier. These Arhats also came to make vows before the Buddha. They saw Medicine King, Great Joyful Eloquence and 20,000 Bodhisattvas all come to make vows. Since [the Arhats] had received predictions of Buddhahood from the Buddha, they were also willing to make vows to the Buddha. In their vows, they said they did not dare stay; they wanted to go to other lands. This was because their spiritual strength was still insufficient. Several days ago, we said that although the Buddha had bestowed predictions upon them, they had not put the teachings into practice. They had not yet tempered their spiritual strength. So, their spiritual strength was still insufficient, and it is hard to endure this evil world.

These people did not have sufficient spiritual strength, so it was hard for them to endure this evil world. Thus, they aspired to go to different lands in other places to advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings. They feared the sentient beings of the world of endurance would be hard to train.

Their spiritual strength was insufficient, and they were still unable to thoroughly understand the principles. Because of this, they also made vows, but the place they vowed [to go to] was not this place. They wanted to see if they could go to other places, places that were purer. This place is an evil world that is hard to endure. “It was hard for them to endure this evil world. So, they aspired to go to different lands in other places.” This land really is an evil world that is difficult to endure. But they hoped to go to other lands to advance the Dharma and benefit sentient beings. They were simply afraid of these sentient beings who were difficult to endure and hard to train. These Arhats were very afraid, afraid of us evil sentient beings. So, they still hoped to go to other places.

Thus, this [sutra] passage says, “At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions….” These were those whom the Buddha had bestowed predictions upon. So, in the fourth volume, in the eighth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, it was these people, these people with limited capabilities, upon whom the Buddha bestowed predictions. We discussed previously that there were 1200 disciples who received predictions. [The Buddha] bestowed predictions upon them in two sections.

At that time, the 500 Arhats among the assembly who had received predictions…: These 500 people had all received predictions of Buddhahood. This is the name of the eighth chapter in the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra. This chapter states that the disciples of limited capabilities received predictions of Buddhahood. The disciples who received predictions, 1200 in total, were divided into two sections. First, [the Buddha] bestowed predictions only on Purna Maitrayaniputra. Then He bestowed predictions on all the rest.

The first to receive predictions was Purna Maitrayaniputra. Purna Maitrayaniputra received predictions, and following him there were 1200 people who also received predictions. There were two sections.

Among these 1200, among the 500 [with limited capabilities], was Ajnata Kaundinya, Revata and others who received the Buddha’s predictions. They all had the same epithet and were called Universal Radiance Tathagata. Then, for these 500 people, He also described the special aspects of their awakening. These were among the 500 disciples.

To sum it up, of these two sections of those who received predictions, there were 500 people who had formed aspirations and now expressed to the Buddha, “We are willing. We are willing to form great aspirations. But we do not dare to remain in this Saha World. We hope to go to other lands to form our aspirations and make vows there, to go to different lands to widely expound this sutra. We want to expound this sutra in other lands. We do not dare remain in this Saha World. We are willing to go to other lands to teach the Dharma.”

Go to different lands to widely expound this sutra: They feared that people in this turbid and evil world would be hard to teach and transform, so they vowed to go to other lands to widely expound this sutra. Different lands: other lands. This refers to any world in the great chiliocosm other than the Saha World.

This was what these 500 people had in their hearts. They were willing to go and serve, but not in the world that is the most difficult to endure. No. They wanted to go to other lands, to “different lands.” They were afraid; they were afraid of the present world. It was better to go to another world, because they were afraid. They feared these evil turbidities and that it would be hard to teach and transform, that it would be very hard to teach here. We know that this world really is very difficult to endure. In this world that is difficult to endure, even spiritual practitioners, even those in the Buddha’s era, the Hearer disciples whom He trained, were very afraid. The humans in this Saha world that must be endured have such evil turbidities, so they had always hoped to escape this world that is hard to endure. They were still attached to freeing themselves.

In the past, they did not dare to form Bodhisattva-aspirations. They did not dare to make great vows, because they only sought to benefit themselves. Now, even though they had made vows, they did not dare face the reality of this hard-to-endure world of evil turbidities that is difficult to tame; they dared not do it. Clearly, the environment and people of this world, the human realm, are truly very hard to tame. “So, they vowed to go to other lands to widely expound this sutra.” They were willing to teach the sutra in other lands. They were not willing to do it here.

So, “different lands” refers to other lands. This refer to the great chiliocosm beyond the Saha World. These Hearers and Arhats had not truly broadened their capabilities yet. When it came to the Dharma taught by the Buddha, they were willing to receive it and willing to form aspirations, but if they were told to put it into practice, they were still very afraid.

The following sutra passage says,

“There were also 8000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions who rose from their seats, put their palms together, faced the Buddha and made this vow ‘World-Honored One, we will also go to other lands to widely expound this sutra.'”

These 500 people had formed aspirations, but they did not dare [stay] in this Saha World. They aspired to go to other lands. Following them were 8000 people who were at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions. In the ninth chapter, they also continued to receive predictions. These people also followed suit.

There were also 8,000 people at or beyond the stage of learning who had received predictions: This refers to those who received predictions in the ninth chapter.

“That is right. This world is so hard to endure. In this world that is difficult to endure, forming aspirations [is difficult]. The Buddha said that we can attain Buddhahood, and we must come to spread this sutra. We must advance and spread this sutra. We must accept and uphold it, but not here in this place. We also want to be like them and go to a different land.”

These were the people with limited capabilities in the ninth chapter. They were willing to form aspirations, but they did not dare face the sentient beings in this Saha World. These were the people who came to make vows.

[They] arose from their seats, put their palms together, faced the Buddha and made this vow: They got up from their seats and joined their palms together to express their reverence. Then they made this vow.

So, “They got up from their seats and joined their palms together to express their reverence.” This showed their reverence to the Buddha. Since the Buddha wanted them to form great aspirations, they were also willing to form great aspirations. These were casual associators; they were happy to just form affinities. Did the Dharma truly enter their minds? In fact, the Buddha did not dare to expect this from them. He only understood that they would definitely attain Buddhahood in the future. That would be a very long time away. Because they all intrinsically had Buddha-nature, they would all attain Buddhahood and would all have the same epithet. They did not have special karmic conditions, So, they were named “associators.” The Buddha was providing these associators with karmic conditions, to help them give rise to this aspiration.

So, they “arose from their seats, put their palms together and faced the Buddha.” This shows their respect. “World-Honored One, we are all willing to go to other lands to widely expound this sutra.” They did not have the causes and conditions. It was just that “Their spiritual power was weak, so they feared that this world would be difficult to transform.”

World-Honored One, we will also go to other lands to widely expound this sutra: Their spiritual power was weak, so they feared that this world would be difficult to transform.

They continually thought, “I have very little strength. I do not dare form great vows or use great strength. I probably do not have the strength.” This is what we just mentioned. For the sake of the Dharma, the Buddha sought people; He had to seek out those willing to shoulder this responsibility. Otherwise, when people spread the Dharma to future generations, even if they had the sutra to read, their power would be weak; their words and power would be weak. Because they did not have the power of vows, their words would be very weak, and their strength would be very small. This is how those people were.

As Buddhist practitioners, we must make great vows and form great aspirations. We must put them into practice. Forming aspirations and vows is not simply saying, “I know, I know.” It is not this. We must be willing. We must be willing [to take] “great compassion as the room, gentleness and patience as the clothing and the emptiness of all phenomena as the seat.” We do not need to overthink things. People in this world are stubborn, but we can simply [take] “the emptiness of all phenomena as the seat.” It is enough to give without expectations. We do not expect to receive anything from them. We just save up our strength to serve others. This is “wondrous existence.” All habitual tendencies of sentient beings are “true emptiness.” If we are not attached to them, then there is nothing to them.

Life is painfully short. Interpersonal relationships are like this. When we are together, we encourage each other to walk the Bodhisattva-path. We all work together to diligently advance in our spiritual cultivation. People’s lives are long and short; some go ahead and some stay behind. Those behind wish those ahead of them well. In the end, all people have their karmic conditions. For some, these causes and conditions are very liberating. For some, their causes and conditions are very toilsome. In any case, we always use a reverent heart to give our blessings; this is the world [we live in].

Together, we help each other succeed in achieving our spiritual cultivation. We must all seize our causes and conditions. We must form good affinities and help each other succeed. We must not form negative affinities; we must form good affinities. With this Dharma, in this world, we must “transmit the Dharma continuously and pass the flame from lamp to lamp.” It is the same principle. So, we must [do this]. The Buddha is seeking people to spread the Dharma. We must exercise this power. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch13-ep1364

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1364 – Summoning Up Great Patience to Transform Beings

>> “Medicine King and the 20,000 Bodhisattvas diligently sought the Dharma. They were the cause for and the target of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers. Moreover, Great Joyful Eloquence was the recipient of the teachings in the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures. They heard the Tathagata proclaim that. He was about to enter Parinirvana and that, for the sake of the Dharma, He sought people who would make vows to advance the sutra. Thus these great beings made vows.”

>> A previous passage said, “We only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry.” This means that though the noble path is recorded in writing, the power to spread and advance it lies with people of wisdom. If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing. If none of them could understand this sutra, then it would not be practiced in the world. All living beings would drown in the Eight Sufferings. This is what the Buddha was worried about.

>> “In the future evil age, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will become few. Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth. Their roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and they will stray far from liberation.”
[Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> “Although it is difficult to teach and transform them, we will all summon up the great power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives.”
[Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> Although they will be difficult to teach and transform: This shows that they did not fear evil people. It would be difficult to expound the Dharma to these people, and they would be hard to train and teach because they feed the Ten Evils in themselves.

>> We will all summon up the great power of patience: Sentient beings in this world are stubborn and difficult to transform. All of us must summon up the great power of diligence and patience. Summon up the great power of patience: Only deeply experienced Bodhisattvas who have attained the power of patience can read and recite [this sutra].

>> We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound and transcribe it: 1. Teachers who read 2. Teachers who recite 3. Teachers who uphold 4. Teachers who expound 5. Teachers who transcribe. These are the five kinds of Dharma teachers.

>> [We will] make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives: Those who advance and uphold [the sutra] must cultivate all kinds of reverent offerings, patiently endure all kinds of evils and horrific appearances as they undergo hardships to walk upon this path. So it says even at the cost of their lives. For the sake of the Dharma, they would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives or wealth.

>> Though people of the Six Evils are difficult to train and transform, we all must rely upon patience and perseverance to further summon up the strength to uphold the sutra. That which must be accepted and taken in, we must accept and take in; that which must be tamed and trained, we must tame and train. We must not hesitate to sacrifice our lives to uphold the Dharma.

>> The Six Evils: These are the Six Thieves. When we encounter the Six Dusts of form, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought, the Six Roots of our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind become the means by which we rob ourselves of our own treasure. Thus they are compared to thieves. For a person of the principles, their eyes do not see form, their ears do not hear sound, their nose does not smell fragrance, their tongue does not taste flavor, their bodies keep away from comfort and their minds are free of deluded thoughts. This is how they escape the Six Thieves.

>> The Six Evils also refer to these six things: the evil age, the evil world, evil sentient beings, evil views, evil afflictions and the evil times when deviance and faithlessness prosper.

>> The first of the Six Evils: The evil age. This refers to the kalpa of turbidity, which is part of the Five Turbidities. It is the time when the other four turbidities arise, such as evil sentient beings and evil views.

>> The second of the Six Evils: The evil world. This refers to the Saha world. The third of the Six Evils: Evil sentient beings. This refers to the turbidity of sentient beings. Due to their turbidity of views and afflictions, they give rise to evil views and evil afflictions.

>> The fourth of the Six Evils: Evil views. This refers to the turbidity of views. These are the view of self, extreme views, deviant views, stubborn views, views of deviant precepts and so on. The Five Acute Agents serve as the essence, these five afflictions that strike quickly.

>> The fifth of the Six Evils: Evil afflictions. This refers to the turbidity of afflictions. It means connecting to the external conditions of the Five Desires and giving rise to greed, anger and other afflictions. The sixth of the Six Evils: The evil times when deviance and faithlessness prosper. This is the general term for times when the Five Turbidities increase.

“Medicine King and the 20,000 Bodhisattvas
diligently sought the Dharma.
They were the cause for and the target
of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers. Moreover,
Great Joyful Eloquence was
the recipient of the teachings in the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures.
They heard the Tathagata proclaim that. He was about to enter Parinirvana and that,
for the sake of the Dharma, He sought people
who would make vows to advance the sutra.
Thus these great beings made vows.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, please be mindful! Medicine King and Great Joyful Eloquence, these two great Bodhisattvas, led “the 20,000 Bodhisattvas [to] diligently seek the Dharma.” We have discussed this previously.

In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, Sakyamuni Buddha treated. Medicine King Bodhisattva as the recipient of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers. This was someone whose capabilities were [great] enough to teach the Dharma to. He used this Bodhisattva with great capabilities to narrate the Chapter on Dharma Teachers about the merits of upholding, transcribing, reading and teaching the sutras.

“They were the cause for and the target of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers.” The Buddha had Medicine King as His target when. He began teaching the Chapter on Dharma Teachers.

So, “Moreover, Great Joyful Eloquence was the recipient of the teachings in the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures.” In the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, the stupa of treasures appeared and a loud voice came from within the stupa. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva really looked forward to seeing Many Treasures Buddha, who spoke from within the stupa of treasures. This was the request of. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva. The Buddha made use of Great Joyful Eloquence; to be able to promptly raise [the request], he had to be the “recipient of the teachings.” He possessed these capabilities. He asked the Buddha to open the door of the stupa of treasures. Then the Buddha said, “Before I open the door of the stupa of treasures. I must first gather all of my multiple manifestations.” This part was very exciting; He was gathering the Dharma, the Dharma-body.

Everyone calmed their minds and contemplated, recalling the Dharma that [the Buddha] taught in the past. This represented the gathering of the multiple manifestations from the ten directions. The Buddha’s Dharma-body and many manifestations are the Dharma that the Buddha taught. When we listen to [the Dharma], take it to heart and are able to make use of it, [we are] the Buddha’s many manifestations; the Buddha’s Dharma and His Dharma-body have turned the Dharma-wheel into our hearts. He hoped for all people to gather their thoughts and return them to their place. This is why Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva promptly asked the Buddha to open the stupa door. So, the Buddha gathered. His multiple manifestations. These [events] are all closely interconnected. So, this is why this sutra can be so comprehensive.

“They heard the Tathagata proclaim that. He was about to enter Parinirvana and that for the sake of the Dharma, He sought people.” Whether in the Chapter on Dharma Teachers or the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, the Buddha indicated He would enter Parinirvana, and that the Dharma must be transmitted. The Buddha-Dharma must be transmitted, and those who will shoulder the task of accepting the Dharma must also quickly come forward. They must have heartfelt sincerity and accept it willingly. Thus, this was what the Buddha had been hinting, that there was not much time left before He would enter Parinirvana. The Buddha-Dharma, especially the Lotus Sutra, is the Buddha’s original intent. For the Buddha’s original intent, there must be people who can resonate with the principles and the Dharma, who can accept it and then transmit it. This is why the Buddha earnestly recruited people for the sake of the Dharma.

For this reason, Medicine King Bodhisattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva led these 20,000 people who shared the same mission and formed great aspirations. They were willing to sincerely make vows, to “make vows to advance the sutra. Thus, these great beings” truly and diligently “made vows.” They were willing to accept this sutra and transmit the Dharma to future generations. This is why we must mindfully review [the teachings]; this is also how to gather the Buddha’s multiple manifestations. We must quickly gather all of the Dharma.

In the Lotus Sutra, from the Introductory Chapter to the Chapter on Skillful Means, all the chapters are closely interconnected. We must constantly review them to comprehend their spirit and principles so that we can accept and transmit the Dharma. This requires us to be mindful, to be sincere and to make vows. Now we see how Medicine King, Great Joyful Eloquence and the Bodhisattvas who shared the same mission came before the Buddha to make vows.

A previous passage said, “We only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry.” This means that though the noble path is recorded in writing, the power to spread and advance it lies with people of wisdom. If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing. If none of them could understand this sutra, then it would not be practiced in the world. All living beings would drown in the Eight Sufferings. This is what the Buddha was worried about.

Thus, a previous passage said. “We only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry. Venerable Buddha, please do not worry. All of us are willing to make vows before the Buddha. We are willing to accept Your teachings and forever pass them down to future generations. Venerable Buddha, You do not need to worry! In the future, this Dharma, the noble path, will be recorded in writing. In the future, the noble path, the Buddha’s teachings, will be gathered and compiled together. It will be recorded in the sutras and will be continually passed down for a long time.”

In the midst of all of this, naturally, “The power to spread and advance it lies with people of wisdom.” People who form great aspirations have this power. They hope that this Dharma will be constantly passed down through this sutra to inspire people to form broad perspectives and make great aspirations and vows. These people with the power of great wisdom will be able to continue to transmit this sutra generation after generation. Time and time again, such people with the power of great wisdom will be able to discover [the teachings] and will be willing to make great vows. So, the Buddha did not have to worry.

“If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing.” [He worried] about being unable to find people to “spread and advance it,” This requires an open mind and great wisdom. If He could not find such people, people would be unable to pass on the Dharma. Therefore, He had to seek people with broad perspectives and the power of great vows. So, the noble path must always be recorded in the sutras. It cannot only be transmitted verbally. In the future, the noble path must be recorded in the sutras for it to be continually passed down. Otherwise, if it is only transmitted verbally but there is no one who attains the power of great wisdom, the teachings will gradually weaken and fade away. In this way, the words will fade away to nothing.

So, “If none of them could understand this sutra, then it would not be practiced in the world.” If this sutra is recorded in the world but no one attains such great wisdom and no one’s capabilities resonate with it, then it will be impossible for it “to be practiced in the world.” Although people may be studying the sutra, or, as the Chapter on Dharma Teachers states, transcribing, reading or teaching the sutra, if their capabilities do not resonate with it, they will not put the Dharma into practice. They may be able to teach or transcribe the sutra, but they will not put the Dharma into practice. While the sutra is in this world, if it just stays written down [on paper], it will be useless.

Indeed, when I see this passage, I think about how people print many copies of the sutras and store them in cabinets. Nobody takes them out to read, or they read them but do not take joy in them and are unable to put them into practice. Then, no matter how many copies of the sutras are printed, they will still be useless. This is because “The sutras are a path,” and “this path is a road to walk on.” We must put the sutras into practice. So, the sutras are recorded, but they must resonate with people’s capabilities so people can put the Dharma into practice. Only then can they effectively manifest their function in the world.

“All living beings would drown in the Eight Sufferings. This is what the Buddha was worried about.”

Sentient beings drown in the Eight Sufferings of birth, aging, illness, death, parting from loved ones, meeting those they hate, the raging Five Aggregates and other sufferings. All these are sufferings in the human realm; this is what noble beings worry about, so we must work hard to be mindful. Though we are 2000 years removed from the Buddha, the sutras are still recorded in black and white. We must mindfully accept and apply His teachings. Every word is a treasure, and every phrase is wondrous Dharma that nourishes our wisdom-life.

Therefore, we can treat this sutra as the wondrous medicine for treating the world. If we do not know how to apply it, then it will be useless. So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend it. Why was the Buddha so worried? Since He was getting old, the Dharma had to be transmitted and preserved. To transmit and accept the Dharma, “these people had to be found.” They had to be willing to comprehend, understand and put the teachings into practice. They had to have virtue and the Dharma to be able to transform sentient beings. Otherwise, sentient beings would always be lost in confusion, drowning within the Eight Sufferings.

Next, let us look at the previous passage. “The future evil age” refers to the future, the future after Sakyamuni Buddha.

“In the future evil age, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will become few. Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth. Their roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and they will stray far from liberation.”

Medicine King Bodhisattva knew about this and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva also knew about this. Although they asked the Buddha to not worry, they also said that the future world will be an evil world. Sentient beings’ roots of goodness will constantly become fewer. If their roots of goodness become few, they will gradually develop unwholesome tendencies.

They have the Five Great Hindrances, Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt are the great hindrances [that people face] in accepting the Dharma in the world. They are greedy, so they crave offerings of wealth. They have an angry and ignorant temperament, and indulge in offerings of wealth. When they attain a tiny amount of Dharma, they become overbearingly arrogant, with the eight kinds of pride and seven types of arrogance; many forms of pride and arrogance will appear. These are the great hindrances that [people face in] accepting the Dharma. So, when they renounce the lay life to engage in spiritual practice, they will still “crave offerings of wealth.” This sutra passage [is something] we spiritual practitioners must mindfully seek to comprehend. We must absolutely be mindful and vigilant. Otherwise, “Roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and [we] will stray far from liberation.” We must be very mindful.

The next sutra passage goes on to say,

“Although it is difficult to teach and transform them, we will all summon up the great power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives.”

Everyone heard the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, and knew that this sutra must be passed down continuously. In the human realm, sentient beings in the future will have poor capabilities and they will be stubborn and difficult to transform. So, those who have begun to make vows to advance the sutras and the teachings will also have to awaken first. Therefore, they said, “We will all summon up the great power of patience.” These 20,000 Bodhisattvas began to say, “We are all mentally prepared. Sentient beings in the future will be stubborn and hard to train. We are prepared for this. We must be prepared with the power of patience. We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound, transcribe it and make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives. We will treat it as something more important than our lives.”

So, “although it will be difficult to teach and transform them” means that. “No matter how stubborn or evil sentient beings of the future may be, we are not afraid.” Thus, “For people like these, although they are difficult to expound the Dharma to and are hard to train and teach, even if they feed the Ten Evils in themselves,”

Although they will be difficult to teach and transform: This shows that they did not fear evil people. It would be difficult to expound the Dharma to these people, and they would be hard to train and teach because they feed the Ten Evils in themselves.

“no matter how much evil they develop or how difficult it is to train and teach them, we are not afraid.”

So, “We will all summon up the great power of patience.” In other words, “All of us must summon up the great power of diligence and patience. We must all be more diligent. These sentient beings are so stubborn. They crave fame and offerings of wealth, have boundless greed and are unwilling to accept the Dharma’s teachings. With sentient beings such as these, we are all the more willing to summon up the great power of diligence and patience.”

We will all summon up the great power of patience: Sentient beings in this world are stubborn and difficult to transform. All of us must summon up the great power of diligence and patience. Summon up the great power of patience: Only deeply experienced Bodhisattvas who have attained the power of patience can read and recite [this sutra].

“Summoning up the great power of patience” cannot be achieved by the average person. Only “deeply experienced Bodhisattvas” [can do it]. This means that they must have been trained throughout many lifetimes. Only Bodhisattvas who form these aspirations, very experienced Bodhisattvas, will be able to do this. If they had not “attained the power of patience,” they would be unable to “read and recite this sutra.” There would be no way for them to have the patience to study and read this sutra. They cannot just read and forget about it; they must also deeply understand its meaning. So, they have had to mindfully comprehend and understand it.

Thus, “We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound and transcribe it.”

We will read and recite this sutra, uphold, expound and transcribe it: 1. Teachers who read 2. Teachers who recite 3. Teachers who uphold 4. Teachers who expound 5. Teachers who transcribe. These are the five kinds of Dharma teachers.

This sutra must continue to be passed down, but in the Buddha’s time, there was no printing. So, it depended on people memorizing the sutra line by line, word by word, with constant mindfulness. The Buddha’s teachings had to be recorded. Therefore, first is teachers who read, and second is teachers who recite. Whatever the Buddha taught, we must keep it in our memory. Third is teachers who uphold. Not only must we memorize it, we must also put it into practice. We must take good care of the sutra. To take good care of the sutra, in addition to transcribing the Buddha’s teachings line by line, word by word, we must also carefully recite each line as well.

Reciting is not enough; we must also put it into practice and constantly share the Dharma with everyone, “expound” it. The more we expound, the more familiar we are. We can help others apply the Dharma and also gain a deeper understanding of it. We can put it into practice. We must expound the Dharma in this way, and we must also transcribe it. These are the “five kinds of Dharma teachers.” Teachers who read, teachers who recite, teachers who uphold, teachers who expound and teachers who transcribe the sutra are the “five kinds of Dharma teachers.”

Thus, we “make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives.” This means we must have reverent sincerity as we expound, read, recite and transcribe the sutra. This represents our offerings. “Offerings” here refers to our sincerity in how we sincerely read, recite, expound, transcribe and so on. No matter how hard it is, we will not be afraid.

[We will] make all kinds of offerings to it, even at the cost of our lives: Those who advance and uphold [the sutra] must cultivate all kinds of reverent offerings, patiently endure all kinds of evils and horrific appearances as they undergo hardships to walk upon this path. So it says even at the cost of their lives. For the sake of the Dharma, they would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives or wealth.

There are “those who advance and uphold the sutra.” We need the sutras to have the Dharma to expound. Only when we have Dharma to expound can we teach and transform sentient beings. So, it is essential that the sutras remain in the world. For the sutras to remain in the world, we need people to willingly form aspirations to uphold the Dharma over many generations. Thus, “one must practice all kinds of reverent offerings.” This is essential. If we do not make all kinds of reverent offerings and have no sincerity, then we will be unable to put the Dharma into practice.

Thus, we “must patiently endure various evils and horrific appearances.” Do we all still remember? Purna Maitrayaniputra made a vow to the Buddha. He vowed to expound the Buddha’s Dharma and transform sentient beings of the world. Without any fear of mortal danger, he went among those people. Those people had horrific appearances. Their appearances were very evil. Thus, though he underwent suffering and hardship, he was still not afraid. That is how he expounded and spread the Dharma.

Thus, we must form great aspirations and “patiently endure various evils and horrific appearances.” No matter what they looked like and no matter how much hardship he experienced, he was willing to put the Dharma into practice upon this path. He advanced without ever retreating on this path, constantly progressing forward, “even at the cost of his life.” This was all “for the sake of the Dharma,” For the sake of the Dharma, “[he] did not hesitate to sacrifice [his life] or wealth.” For the Dharma to continue to be passed down, he was willing to sacrifice everything to protect the Dharma so it could be passed on in the world. He did not even hesitate to give his own life. Since he did not hesitate even with his own life, why would he care about material wealth? He spared nothing.

The “Six Evils” appear often as well. For the Dharma to be implemented in the world, we must be able to endure. What must we endure? When it comes to obvious appearances, there are the Six Evils.

Though people of the Six Evils are difficult to train and transform, we all must rely upon patience and perseverance to further summon up the strength to uphold the sutra. That which must be accepted and taken in, we must accept and take in; that which must be tamed and trained, we must tame and train. We must not hesitate to sacrifice our lives to uphold the Dharma.

“Though people of the Six Evils” are difficult to train and transform, “we all…. We all” refers to Medicine King Bodhisattva, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva and the 20,000 Bodhisattvas. They said, “We are all forming great aspirations. We are making great vows that we shall persevere and endure through these Six Evils”

“and further summon up the strength to uphold the sutra. The more evils there are, the more strength we will have to patiently endure.” This is spiritual practice. When the Buddha encountered Devadatta, the Buddha still felt grateful because Devadatta’s evilness helped Him attain Buddhahood earlier. By the same token, the more evils there are in the human realm, the more we need the dedication of Bodhisattvas. To dedicate ourselves to this evil world, we need strength, which we gain from [experiencing hardship].

The Six Evils are not just outside of us; we must pay attention to ourselves as well. The Six Evils are hidden within us; these are called the “Six Thieves.” We have the Six Thieves by our side. These Six Thieves, the “Six Evils,”

what are they?

The Six Evils: These are the Six Thieves. When we encounter the Six Dusts of form, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought, the Six Roots of our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind become the means by which we rob ourselves of our own treasure. Thus they are compared to thieves. For a person of the principles, their eyes do not see form, their ears do not hear sound, their nose does not smell fragrance, their tongue does not taste flavor, their bodies keep away from comfort and their minds are free of deluded thoughts. This is how they escape the Six Thieves.

In this world, “form, sound, smell, taste, touch and thought” are called the “Six Dusts.” All of us have “eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind.” If these connect to external states, then the “Six Roots become the means.” The Six Roots and the external Six Dusts come together. With these external states of forms and sounds, it is very difficult to control our minds. That is why we give rise to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. It is all because our Six Roots connect to the external Six Dusts, giving rise to our greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. These are just like six thieves who constantly “rob us of our own treasure.”

We all have an ocean of enlightenment hidden within us. When it comes to the hidden treasure within us, our innate enlightenment hidden in our hearts, our nature of True Suchness, our wisdom, we are innately replete. However, we let ignorance and afflictions [cover it]. Ignorance and afflictions arise when our Six Roots connect with the external Six Dusts. In this way, they disturb our minds and cause our minds to continually give rise to the states of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. Thus, they are compared to six thieves. These six thieves are the evilest, and that is why they are called the “Six Evils.”

There was once a spiritual practitioner engaging in spiritual practice beneath a tree alongside a river. He had already been practicing for 20 years. During these 20 years [of practice] in that place, he had a hard time controlling his chaotic mind. This caused him many afflictions. He wanted to engage in spiritual practice, but he could not control his mind. He could not put a stop to his worldly desires, and he had many afflictions.

The Buddha knew about this. This person clearly could be transformed. He aspired to seek the Dharma, but he had discursive thoughts and could not eliminate worldly desires. The Buddha knew about this, so he walked toward this man and sat down next to him beneath the tree. They saw a turtle crawling around on the sands by the river bank. They also saw a jackal, which is similar to a dog. The jackal came closer, saw the turtle and immediately tried to bite the turtle. But the turtle was even faster, as it withdrew its head and feet into its shell.

The jackal tried to bite the turtle, but its shell was just too hard. So, they [stood off] there for a long time. The turtle hid its head and feet within its [hard shell], safely protecting them. That jackal remained there for a long time, unable to [break through the shell]. The turtle did not extend its head or feet, so the jackal decided to leave. After it left, the turtle was safe, so it extended its head and feet again, hurriedly turned around toward the river and entered into the river.

At this time, this sramana, who was the Buddha, opened his mouth to say, “Although the turtle was a mere animal, it knew to protect itself. What about humans? They know to engage in spiritual practice but do not know how to protect their own minds.” When this spiritual practitioner heard this voice, he turned around to look. He saw a magnificent and dignified sramana who spoke in such a voice beside him. This called to his heart, so he promptly came before him. He saw that [the sramana] was a very cultivated person, so he asked, “The words which you just spoke seemed to have helped my mind focus. My mind is often chaotic. I want to seek the Dharma, but my mind cannot do it.”

Thus the Buddha, the sramana, began to say to him, “Close your ear-root. Do not listen to the sounds coming from outside. Close your eye-root. Do not look at the sights outside. In summary, close the doors to all of your Six Senses. Then, you will not attract the Six Dusts into your mind. Naturally, your mind will be able to remain pure.”

“Then, your tongue will not crave tastes and your body will not crave comforts, saying, ‘I want to wear pretty and soft clothes.’ You will not need them. If you can do this, your mind will be free of deluded thoughts. You will naturally avoid the Six Thieves. When the Six Roots connect to external states, the Six Thieves will continually steal away your merits and virtues. No matter how you engage in spiritual practice, it will be of no use to you. As you practice, [what you cultivate] will leak away. So, you must carefully close the door to the Six Senses.” These are the Six Evils. The Six Evils are the Six Thieves.

Therefore, we must know that. “That which must be accepted and taken in, we must accept and take in.” We must accept the Dharma. Once we are able to take in the Dharma, then when external challenges arise, “that which must be tamed and trained, [we can] tame and train.” [In response to] external challenges, we must know how to tame our own minds. It does not matter how evil the world is or how evil humans in this world are. Their roots of goodness have all decreased, and [roots of] evil have grown. In this evil world of turbidities, we spiritual practitioners must accept [the Dharma] when we can. We must constantly seek the Dharma. If we encounter challenges, we must promptly tame and train [our minds]. We must close the door to our Six Senses. We must not listen to the evil voices outside, and as for evil forms and evil appearances, we must see them without seeing them. We do not need to look at them or be tainted by them. This is where we must be very mindful.

Thus, we must maintain our spiritual aspirations. Then, naturally, “We will not hesitate to sacrifice our lives to uphold the Dharma.” Our minds will be free of desires. “The mind is without hindrances; there are no hindrances,” so what is there to be afraid of? We will be very courageous and forget about ourselves as we give for the sake of the Dharma. This is why we must always be mindful.

So, when it comes to the “Six Evils,” in this world, in addition to raising our vigilance of those things which are related to us, among our external states there is also the “evil age, evil world, evil sentient beings, evil views,” evil afflictions and evil views. We are in an era of “faithlessness,” one completely lacking right faith.

The Six Evils also refer to these six things: the evil age, the evil world, evil sentient beings, evil views, evil afflictions and the evil times when deviance and faithlessness prosper.

Especially in this era, when the world is so full of turbidities, people’s understanding and views are all incorrect. They are all like this; they do not accept the Dharma, the Right Dharma of the world, and they all follow unwholesome teachings. These “evil views” give rise to many evil afflictions. Is this not the case in our present world?

This “evil age,” which we just discussed, “refers to the kalpa of turbidity, which is part of the Five Turbidities.”

The first of the Six Evils: The evil age. This refers to the kalpa of turbidity, which is part of the Five Turbidities. It is the time when the other four turbidities arise, such as evil sentient beings and evil views.

Among the Five Turbidities, we often say that the kalpa of turbidity, this period of time, is “the era of chaos and the kalpa of turbidity, when sentient beings are heavily defiled.” This refers to our current time. So, “evil views” arise from the “Four Turbidities.” During this era, people have evil views and understanding and everything is very complicated.

The second [of the Six Evils] is the “evil world.” This evil world is referring to the Saha World. The third is “evil sentient beings,” which is the “turbidity of sentient beings.” The “turbidity of sentient beings” we usually speak of begins from the “turbidity of views,” which gives rise to the “turbidity of afflictions.” So, it gives rise to many evil views and “evil afflictions.”

The second of the Six Evils: The evil world. This refers to the Saha world. The third of the Six Evils: Evil sentient beings. This refers to the turbidity of sentient beings. Due to their turbidity of views and afflictions, they give rise to evil views and evil afflictions.

The fourth [of the Six Evils] is “evil views,” which refers to the “turbidity of views.” Our “views” suffer from heavy turbidities; they are not pure. Our eyes are not accurate in judgement, and our mindset is incorrect. So, our views and understanding are very turbid. We have the “view of self, extreme views, deviant views, stubborn views” and “views of deviant precepts.” We have explained these before. The “Five Acute Afflictions” and the “Five Chronic Afflictions” are known as the “Ten Afflictions.” These are all afflictions around us. These “Five Acute Afflictions” serve as the “essence.” This is how it is. People all have the “view of self, extreme views, deviant views, stubborn views,” and “views of deviant precepts.” These five views quickly provoke reactions within our minds. People nowadays are becoming more and more like this. Thus, “these five acute afflictions” manifest very quickly.

The fourth of the Six Evils: Evil views. This refers to the turbidity of views. These are the view of self, extreme views, deviant views, stubborn views, views of deviant precepts and so on. The Five Acute Agents serve as the essence, these five afflictions that strike quickly.

The fifth is “evil afflictions,” which refers to the turbidity of afflictions. This is “connecting to the external conditions of the Five Desires.” We just discussed the Six Roots and Six Dusts. In fact, in addition to [mental] phenomena, that is, “the mind-root and the dust of phenomena,” there are the Five Desires in the outside world. The five roots of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body connect to external forms, sounds, smells tastes and touch. Just like this, the Five Roots connect to the external conditions of the Five Dusts and thus give rise to greed, anger, ignorance and other afflictions. That is how they arise.

The fifth of the Six Evils: Evil afflictions. This refers to the turbidity of afflictions. It means connecting to the external conditions of the Five Desires and giving rise to greed, anger and other afflictions. The sixth of the Six Evils: The evil times when deviance and faithlessness prosper. This is the general term for times when the Five Turbidities increase.

The sixth of the Six Evils is “the evil times of deviance and faithlessness.” During these times, there is much evil and much wrong. Good things are not transmitted, and instead, false and evil things arise from nothing. “One man’s lie becomes truth for thousands.” The “evil times of deviance and faithlessness” have already appeared in our present time. This is the time when the Five Turbidities increase. So, this is called “the evil world of the Five Turbidities.” It all arises from our minds. These are evil times. In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, [our minds] give rise to the “turbidity of views, turbidity of sentient beings, turbidity of afflictions, turbidity of life” and so on, one after another, on and on.

So, we must be mindful in learning the Buddha-Dharma. We must first begin by eliminating the evils that are closest to us. We must close the door to the Six Senses. We all have the Six Thieves, six kinds of thieves in our minds. We are constantly tempted by external states, which render us unable to focus. Thus, when faced with “the evil world of the Five Turbidities,” to advance this sutra is not easy. To earnestly advance the sutras in the world and make use of them, we must close the door to the Six Senses and establish the resolve to earnestly collect and focus our minds. When we establish the resolve to promote and spread the wondrous medicine for saving this world among people, we must abandon all desires. We must always be mindful.

Ch13-ep1363

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1363 – The Buddha’s Recent Manifestation as Our Teacher

>> “In the Saha World that must be endured, there is so much suffering. For one great cause, Sakyamuni constantly came and went throughout dust-inked kalpas. He vowed to be a teacher and father to protect and teach [sentient beings] in the Three Realms and Four Forms of Birth. We must pass on the teachings and advance the path, passing the light from lamp to lamp without end. We must carry on our teacher’s mission and uphold our father’s vow.”

>> The Buddha’s recent manifestation as our teacher reveals the distant intrinsic Buddha-land. Those listening to the Dharma at Vulture Peak realized the ocean of their intrinsic enlightened nature. The Dharma-body abides permanently, without end, transforming the world and benefiting all beings inexhaustibly. From distant kalpas and ancient times to now, from source to utmost extent, it is limitless.

>> Going from the infinite past to the present, we must seize the present moment. In the present, we must correct past mistakes and practice for the future. We must make the great vows and uphold the teachings of the sutra. Countless Bodhisattvas advance the sutra and transform this turbid world into a pure land.

>> “We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry. After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> “In the future evil age, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will become few. Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth. Their roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and they will stray far from liberation.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> In the future age of evil, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will become few: This explains that in the era of Dharma-degeneration, the turbid world will be full of many evil people. It is far from the time of the Noble Path, and people with roots of goodness will become rare. [Their] roots of goodness will become few: This means their roots of goodness are weak. Because of this, they lack great resolve. They attain a little and become complacent. Thus they give rise to all kinds of arrogance.

>> Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth: During this time, there will be more people who engage in spiritual practice but claim to have attained when they have not. They are often conceited and arrogant and crave things, such as wealth and offerings. In addition, they often become attached to offerings of wealth made in connection with the Dharma. So not only will their roots of goodness grow fewer and fewer, but they will grow more roots of unwholesomeness. They will stray farther and farther away from the great path of liberation.

>> They will grow more unwholesome roots and stray far away from liberation: Because, in their course of spiritual practice, they have created negative karma, they plant the seeds of samsara instead and do not grow roots of goodness. They stray far away from the Dharma of purity and liberation.
>> Their roots of goodness will become few: The turbidity of sentient beings. Overbearing arrogance: The turbidity of views. Craving offerings: The turbidity of afflictions. Unwholesomeness increasing: The turbidity of life. Straying far from liberation: The kalpa of turbidity.

>> The world will continue to degenerate and deviant practices will proliferate. In the world of the Five Turbidities, those with right faith will be few, while those with deviant views will be many. They only seek wealth to indulge their bodies, so how could they aspire to eliminate the Five Desires?

“In the Saha World that must be endured, there is so much suffering.
For one great cause, Sakyamuni
constantly came and went throughout dust-inked kalpas.
He vowed to be a teacher and father to protect and teach [sentient beings]
in the Three Realms and Four Forms of Birth.
We must pass on the teachings and advance the path,
passing the light from lamp to lamp without end.
We must carry on our teacher’s mission and uphold our father’s vow.”

We should be mindful to experience and truly understand that in the Saha world there is “so much suffering that must be endured”! It seems like we are constantly saying this. When it comes to this expression, I am always reminding everyone of it. We should all heighten our vigilance. We must not remain lost in the Saha World. We should not remain attached to this place where we live, because it is a world where there is much suffering to be endured. Isn’t it a world of suffering? By the time we feel it and cry out in suffering, it is already too late.

Do we understand clearly what kind of environment we live in? What kind of essence does it have? What kind of karmic conditions have brought us to live in this kind of environment? How long will we continue to live? When we look back on our lives in the past, have our lives remained the same as they were in the past? Does the past still exist? Are things the same as they were in the past? The world is always changing. The environment of the past is gone. As for our bodies in the past, when we were small, or when we were young, or when we were middle-aged, what are they like now? If we think of the past now, nothing remains. In a few short decades, the environment and our lives have changed greatly. Nothing is permanent; nothing remains permanently. This is the Saha World.

Time is fleeting; we do not have much of it. Are we making use of every moment of the life that remains to us? Our lives last only a few short decades. What will we ultimately leave behind? Will it be joy, happiness and satisfaction, or will it be regret? Will it be resentment and hatred? Will these be the things that we leave behind in this life? When we think back on our past, have the things we have done truly remained in others’ lives or in our own as things worthy of remembering? Were the things we did with our lives beneficial to others? This depends on us. If we seized our time and were earnestly mindful of the present moment, then naturally we will always remember.

“Sakyamuni came for one great cause.” We always think about how the Buddha came to the world for one great cause. This one great cause was to open, to unlock for us a door, a path. This is the path we should walk. When it comes to this path, the one the Buddha opened for us, are we walking upon it? Have we taken hold of this one great cause? This was “Sakyamuni’s one great cause.” His one great cause was due to the great suffering in the Saha World. This was why the Buddha came to the world. Sentient beings are sunk in delusion. The Buddha awakened and wanted us to understand that we should follow this path, follow the path He opened up for us.

The Buddha “constantly came and went throughout dust-inked kalpas.” We have come lifetime after lifetime without any control of our own. Where were we in our previous lifetimes? What did we do in them? We have forgotten everything. Why do the people, matters and objects that we deal with in this lifetime cause us to have afflictions? Or what were the karmic conditions that allowed us to head in the correct direction? What had we done in the past, where did these karmic conditions for us to encounter the Buddha-Dharma come from? With all the people in the world, how many actually encounter the Buddha-Dharma?

So, if we calmly contemplate this, even though we do not know our past lifetimes and understand even less about future lifetimes, we have the karmic conditions in this lifetime, in this present moment, to come in contact with the Buddha-Dharma. We should know that Sakyamuni Buddha went through dust-inked kalpas, constantly returning like this; “He constantly came and went.”

Is Sakyamuni Buddha present in the world now? He most certainly is, because His Dharmakaya is alive and all around us every day, in each and every place, opening up the path for us so we can walk it, guiding us in the right direction. As we go among people, Sakyamuni Buddha may be there as one of them. It is not only Sakyamuni Buddha; Guanyin Bodhisattva, Manjusri Bodhisattva, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva and. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva, all those Bodhisattvas we talked about, can still be found coming and going in the Saha World. So, this is still the era when. Sakyamuni Buddha teaches and transforms. Thus, He comes and goes in the world. Following the ways of life in the world, He will leave and return.

Our lives are merely a fragment a few decades long. This is fragmentary samsara. As for Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, when it comes to “fragmentary samsara,” it is not that they come without any control; they come sailing the ship of compassion. So, we should deeply believe that. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas sail the ship of compassion back to the world, that they constantly come and go freely, all for the sake of one thing, “to make vows in the Three Realms and Four Forms of Birth.” In the desire, form and formless realms, these Three Realms, they come and go freely,

especially throughout the Four Forms of Birth. We have recently kept talking about the Four Forms of Birth, the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Destinies. The Six Destinies are in the Three Realms. It is because of desirous thoughts that we have no way to leave the Three Realms. Through spiritual practice we get rid of desire, and when desire weakens, we enter the form realm. There is no desire, but there are still forms. Consciousness and afflictions still exist there. Through spiritual practice we can transcend desire and eliminate discursive consciousness as well. In the formless realm, the mind’s ignorance and afflictions have been eliminated. Since we are beyond desire and forms, the mind’s afflictions [are gone]. However, there are still subtle dusts; there is still a small measure of dust-like ignorance and delusion.

This is like King Brahma. Although he had cultivated supreme precepts and supreme virtues, he still came to seek the Dharma at. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s. Dharma-assembly. He still came to seek the Dharma and to listen to the true principles, because he still had a small measure of dust-like ignorance. So, he had to come again to seek the True Dharma.

The principle is the same. The Three Realms exist in this sequence. There is the desire realm of unenlightened beings, and there is the state of spiritual practice. In the unenlightened desire realm are all of the Six Realms, the heaven, human, asura, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. So, whatever form of life they may be, everything they are doing creates karma within the Saha world, within the Three Realms.

Sakyamuni and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas constantly come and go like this in the Three Realms, including the Six Destinies and the Four Forms of Birth. So, in the Six Destinies and Four Forms of Birth, in the Three Realms, the Buddha is the “guiding teacher of the Three Realms” and “kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings.” So, He is both a “teacher and father.” He is both our teacher and our father. This is how He protects our wisdom-life, how He earnestly teaches us.

So, we should “pass on the teachings and advance the path.” We should pass them on! The Buddha recruited people for the Dharma. In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, He kept on praising the Lotus Sutra. He kept encouraging everyone to accept and uphold, transcribe, teach, read, recite it and so on. In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, He already explained this very clearly. So, we should pass on the teachings, for the Buddha-Dharma is the wondrous medicine that can save the world, a radiant lamp in the darkness. For more than 2000 years, Sakyamuni Buddha’s radiant lamp has passed its light from lamp to lamp to illuminate the darkened world. The ground of sentient beings’ minds is dark with ignorance. We should pass on our lamp to illuminate them, to illuminate the ignorance and darkness of the ground of sentient beings’ minds. For this we need to pass on our lamplight from “lamp to lamp without end.”

We have the responsibility to “carry on our teacher’s mission and uphold our father’s vow.” Since our karmic conditions are like this, this should be our mission. We benefit ourselves, but we also benefit others. In fact, benefiting others is the true way to benefit ourselves. When we go among people we see people of all different kinds, with their different temperaments, with their different afflictions, with their different sufferings, so many things. [We see] that their ignorance arises from the darkness of the ground of their minds. So, we should be very mindful to pass on the Buddha’s radiant wisdom. We should resonate with the Buddha-mind, understand the Buddha’s intent. We should be mindful to pass down the Buddha’s teachings. This is like an endless lighting of lamps. This Dharma is radiant, a radiant lamp that illuminates the ground of everyone’s minds so ignorance does not again arise in darkness. So, “We must carry on our teacher’s mission and uphold our father’s vow.” We should be mindful to try and understand this.

The Buddha’s recent manifestation as our teacher reveals the distant intrinsic Buddha-land. Those listening to the Dharma at Vulture Peak realized the ocean of their intrinsic enlightened nature. The Dharma-body abides permanently, without end, transforming the world and benefiting all beings inexhaustibly. From distant kalpas and ancient times to now, from source to utmost extent, it is limitless.

The Buddha opened up His “recent manifestation as our teacher.” Sakyamuni Buddha is separated from us by only 2000 years. We are still able to research Him. In Nepal, the Buddha’s birthplace can still be found. The place where He attained Buddhahood, where He first turned the Dharma-wheel, where He began teaching the Dharma, these historical sites are all still clearly left behind. So, we should still be able to research them; they are not considered distant. The Buddhist sutras are always talking about dust-inked kalpas ago; this is what would be considered a distant time period.

The present sites we are still able to research are still considered recent. This is “the Buddha’s recent manifestation as our teacher.” The footprints left by the Buddha are called “the manifest.” The places where the manifest Buddha went can still be found. They “reveal the distant intrinsic Buddha-land.” The traces of the Buddha’s life still remain. These are footprints, the manifestations we still can find, but the Buddha’s spiritual ideals are very distant.

I talk about this every day, how the Buddha has been [coming] lifetime after lifetime for countless kalpas. This is very distant. When we talk about how. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha existed dust-inked kalpas ago, this was a clearly a distant time, very far off. This is the “distant intrinsic.”

At that time, the 16 princes began teaching the Lotus Sutra. Even if we only look at that time, it was already a long time ago, very distant. Now at the Vulture Peak Assembly, the Buddha was awakened in this lifetime; He had taught the Dharma for more than 40 years, and now at the Vulture Peak Assembly, He taught the Lotus Sutra. This should have been the last period of the Buddha’s teaching of the Dharma. So, by listening to the Dharma we should “realize the ocean of our intrinsic enlightened nature.” At the Vulture Peak Assembly, we must experience and awaken to this. The Buddha, in the Lotus Sutra, used all kinds of causes and conditions, all kinds of analogies, all kinds of verbal expressions, all to help our sincere hearts truly resonate with this.

So, in the ground of our minds, the Vulture Peak Assembly should still be there, along with the stupa at Vulture Peak with Many Treasures Buddha inside. We should be able to come together with them inside of our minds. We should be able to experience this ocean of our intrinsic enlightened nature.

“The Dharma-body abides permanently, without end.” For all of us, our Dharmakaya always exists. For dust-inked kalpas, since Beginningless Time, our Dharma-body has always been there. This is our ocean of intrinsic enlightened nature. This Dharmakaya abides permanently; we bring these principles with us. What kind of causes and conditions and karmic forces have we created? This is also a principle that we carry with us when we come. So, the Dharma-body abides permanently; our nature of True Suchness is still there. Thus, it is everlasting; “The Dharma-body abides permanently, without end,” lifetime after lifetime.

So, it “transforms the world and benefits all beings infinitely.” If the ocean of our intrinsic enlightened nature can manifest, if we can understand that our Dharma-body abides permanently without end, if we can understand all of this, then all the Dharma that we hear will be in our heart so that when we speak, we always transmit the Buddha’s teachings. We can put them into practice and mobilize sentient beings to go among people. This is “transforming the world and benefitting all beings infinitely.” As long as we form an aspiration, we will be able to benefit many sentient beings.

So, from distant kalpas in ancient times to now, from long ago, a very distant time, the Buddha had understood this very clearly. He sought the Buddha-Dharma, delivered sentient beings and attained Buddhahood. This is the Buddha. But what about unenlightened beings? We too, since distant kalpas ago, from ancient times until now, have also been coming to the world like this, but what we have created lifetime after lifetime has been ignorance; we replicate it again and again. Although we have these opportunities, we still remain half-asleep. We too have been coming since distant kalpas ago, from ancient times until now, yet the Buddha became enlightened, while we have remained deluded.

So, “From source to utmost extent, it is limitless.” Our wisdom-life is also like this. It follows us lifetime after lifetime. Our wisdom-life, this wisdom, this ocean of our intrinsic enlightened nature, has been covered by ignorance and afflictions. This is because we create ignorance. By this time we should be awake and should have returned to the ocean of our intrinsic enlightened nature. So, we must mindfully seek to experience this.

Going from the infinite past to the present, we must seize the present moment. In the present, we must correct past mistakes and practice for the future. We must make the great vows and uphold the teachings of the sutra. Countless Bodhisattvas advance the sutra and transform this turbid world into a pure land.

“Going from the infinite past to the present” means we should look back on the past to see how the Buddha taught us. Since dust-inked kalpas before, over a long time, He has been connected to us. Do we believe this or not? The Buddha is “enlightened.” He continually sought the true principles, accumulating karmic conditions for awakening. From ancient times until today, we have constantly accumulated karmic forces and ignorance. If we are willing now to believe and understand, then we “must seize the present moment.” When we listen to the Dharma, we seize hold of every moment, make the best use of our time listening to the Dharma. In the time we have now, we seize the moment and sustain it forever. This is what we should always be doing.

Thus, “In the present, we must correct past mistakes and practice for the future.” When we listen to the Dharma now we must hasten to make changes. Whatever ignorance or faults we have, we must hasten to change them, correct past mistakes and practice for the future. If we made mistakes in the past, we must not make them again. Starting now, we will not make them again.

“We make the great vows and uphold the teachings of the sutra.” Since the Buddha had begun recruiting people for the Dharma, we need to accept the Buddha-Dharma and pass down the teachings. This shows the Buddha’s heartfelt efforts. So, we should “make the great vows and uphold the teachings of the sutra.

Countless Bodhisattvas will advance the sutra.” Starting from now, there will begin to be many Bodhisattvas who will make vows to advance the sutra, to advance the teachings of this sutra. “The sutras are a path and the path is a road to walk on.” Advancing the sutras is promoting the path. So, we “transform this turbid world into a pure land.” Although we are in the world of endurance where there is much suffering, after hearing the Buddha-Dharma, we should make great vows and go among people. When sentient beings are suffering, we must find a way to relieve their suffering. “Having relieved them from suffering, we then expound the Dharma for them.” We transform their suffering into happiness.

This is “transforming this turbid world into a pure land.” So, we must mindfully seek to experience this. Since distant kalpas before, the Buddha had been seeking enlightenment. He came to the world lifetime after lifetime, seeking enlightenment because He wanted to spread the Dharma to sentient beings. We too have been coming to the world lifetime after lifetime, yet always in our delusion we create afflictions, so we are always in the Saha world where there is much suffering to endure. This is what we should mindfully seek to realize.

The previous sutra passage says,

“We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry. After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra.”

This was Medicine King Bodhisattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva, along with the 20,000 Bodhisattvas they led. They had already come to understand. Beginning from the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, they had all already begun taking the Dharma to heart. They clearly knew that the Buddha wanted to recruit people for the Dharma, to earnestly advance this sutra’s teachings. So, after everyone heard the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures and the Chapter on Devadatta, they believed even more. They formed even greater aspirations. Thus, they had these made vows before the Buddha. “Please Venerable Buddha, do not worry. After you have entered Parinirvana, we will practice in accord with the teachings.”

The next passage then says,

“In the future evil age, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will become few. Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth. Their roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and they will stray far from liberation.”

In this turbid, evil world in the future, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will gradually become few. This is due to desire; these traps are everywhere. People will quickly become enticed by these pitfalls and fall into these traps, into these pits of desire. In this way the roots of goodness will slowly become few.

In the future age of evil, sentient beings’ roots of goodness will become few: This explains that in the era of Dharma-degeneration, the turbid world will be full of many evil people. It is far from the time of the Noble Path, and people with roots of goodness will become rare. [Their] roots of goodness will become few: This means their roots of goodness are weak. Because of this, they lack great resolve. They attain a little and become complacent. Thus they give rise to all kinds of arrogance.

This explains how in this turbid and evil world, in the era of Dharma-degeneration, most of mankind will have evil thoughts of greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt. [They will do] many things that do not benefit them and do not benefit others, do not benefit them and do not benefit others. These things will continually appear. They will stray further and further from the Noble Path. They will turn their backs on the path. “People with roots of goodness will become rare.” Evil will become more and more prevalent. Goodness will become more and more rare. The Buddha, in His era, was very worried about the future, which is our present, this evil world of the Five Turbidities.

“[Their] roots of goodness will become few” means these roots will have already weakened. People’s good hearts will have weakened. “Because of this” they will “lack great resolve.” If you ask them to form great aspirations or to make great vows, it will be very difficult. “If you ask me to donate, then I can do it, but if you want me to live like you for a long time, I cannot do it!” So, their roots of goodness have weakened and they have no great, far-reaching resolve. There will be many people like this, while those who truly form great aspirations and form aspirations and make vows will become fewer and fewer. In attaining the Dharma, in listening to it, “They attain a little and become complacent.” They will hear just a little and think, “I have listened! I do listen to the sutras!” Yet, when they listen, it is very superficial; just a small taste and they claim to have listened. They do not listen for a long time.

I heard from a Bodhisattva from Changchun. She said when someone heard me coughing while I was teaching the sutra, this elderly Bodhisattva just kept on crying. Her daughter told her, “It is useless for you to keep crying like this!” She said, “My master, while teaching the sutra, was coughing and this worried me so. She is so far from me, and I worry.” Her daughter then told her, “You shouldn’t worry; just do a little more. Master wants you to do more. Just earnestly do more.” She said, “Ok! You are right! I must do a little more recycling! This is what Master tells us to do. She tells us when teaching the sutra to do more.” This shows that they are listening!

In such a faraway place, she not only listens to and absorbs the Dharma, she hears everything, even the sound of my coughing. They are really very dedicated there. They are mindful in listening to the Dharma. We all know that it is very cold there. They also never stop to rest. In particular, when I was coughing, during those few days when I was sick, the temperatures were [so cold]. Even here in Taiwan it was cold; what must it have been like then in Changchun? So, we should know that when it comes to earnestly accepting the Dharma, we cannot just listen superficially, we truly must listen mindfully. So, we cannot just listen a little and then start giving rise to arrogance. We cannot be content having attained only a little.

So, “Many will become overbearingly arrogant.” People now, upon hearing just a little of the Dharma, start thinking very highly of themselves; this is how overbearing arrogance arises. Many will “crave offerings of wealth.”

Many will become overbearingly arrogant and crave offerings of wealth: During this time, there will be more people who engage in spiritual practice but claim to have attained when they have not. They are often conceited and arrogant and crave things, such as wealth and offerings. In addition, they often become attached to offerings of wealth made in connection with the Dharma. So not only will their roots of goodness grow fewer and fewer, but they will grow more roots of unwholesomeness. They will stray farther and farther away from the great path of liberation.

Thoughts of greed can arise even in monastics; they may hope people will come to pay respect and make offerings to them. This is incorrect. As monastics we are supposed to cultivate our mind. This is what it means to be a monastic! If we do not cultivate our minds well, then we are still unenlightened beings. How can we enter this pure family then? So, we should be very mindful.

During this time, “There will be more people who engage in spiritual practice but claim to have attained when they have not.” They clearly have not attained anything; their minds are clearly just as confused, yet having heard just a little of the sutras, they think, “I understand it all. Now I understand everything! They claim to have attained when they have not. They are often conceited and arrogant.” They begin thinking they are something special and look down on others. They become very conceited and arrogant. This is really terrible! So, we should constantly heighten the vigilance of our own minds.

They “crave things, such as wealth and offerings.” [Soliciting] offerings of wealth like this or having people come to make offerings to us is not acceptable. The things we are able to do, we must do ourselves. Of course we are always seeing many Bodhisattvas and lay practitioners come to help us and for this we should constantly be grateful. We are grateful for having such a beautiful environment. Besides we ourselves doing the best we can, Bodhisattvas from outside also come to help us with chores here at the Abode and help us to keep it clean.

It is because we receive these people’s help that we are able to engage in spiritual practice. So, do not be arrogant in thinking that people should give us offerings of wealth or that they should make other offerings to us. If we have not engaged in spiritual practice, then how can we have others make offerings of wealth to us? So, we must earnestly wake ourselves up.

In addition, “They often become attached to offerings of wealth made in connection with the Dharma.” Having taught just a little of the Dharma, they become attached to their connection with it. These are called “contrived affinities.” They contrive affinities with others to have them come make offerings. This should not be done either. So, not only will their roots of goodness grow fewer and fewer, “They will grow more roots of unwholesomeness.” If all we do is crave these things, our roots of unwholesomeness will again increase. Our lives are very simple here. We live a collective life here with many people all living under the same roof. Everyone has a bed and

beside the bed is a small bookshelf. Our desires are few, so we should be satisfied. When we look at where we get to live and compare it with refugees who have nothing, who have to brave the elements, we are already very satisfied. We always say that we should be very satisfied, not “crave offerings of wealth.” That is not acceptable! So, when it comes to us spiritual practitioners, there are things that we must do. We should truly cherish this environment we live in, this monastery that we practice in. This is what we must do. We should not crave anything more. As long as we have enough, that is fine. We must not let our roots of goodness decrease. We need to increase our roots of goodness. In the Amitabha Sutra it tells us to recite the Buddha’s name and also tells us, “We cannot [be born in the pure land] if we lack roots of goodness, blessings and virtues.” We want to increase our roots of goodness, not let them decrease.

If we just remain in this state of greed, our unwholesome roots will increase again. “They will grow more roots of unwholesomeness.” This comes from evil and greedy thoughts. If this happens, then “from the great path of liberation” we will stray further and further. If we turn our back on the path, then we will stray further and further.

Originally, countless kalpas ago, since Beginningless Time, we have always had the ocean of our intrinsic enlightened nature. It is just that lifetime after lifetime we have increased our afflictions and ignorance. Now, after great difficulty, we finally have the causes and conditions to enter the Buddha’s door so we should quickly take advantage of them and not allow our roots of unwholesomeness to increase. If we do, we will stray even further; we will stray even further from the Buddha-Dharma.

So, “Their roots of unwholesomeness will increase, and they will stray far from liberation,” This is because, “In their spiritual practice, they have created negative karma.” Over their course of spiritual practice, they have lost their spiritual aspirations and thus again give rise to discursive thoughts; by creating negative karma, “They plant the seeds of samsara instead and do not increase their roots of goodness. They stray far from the Dharma of purity and liberation.”

They will grow more unwholesome roots and stray far away from liberation: Because, in their course of spiritual practice, they have created negative karma, they plant the seeds of samsara instead and do not grow roots of goodness. They stray far away from the Dharma of purity and liberation.

We are already doing the opposite, again planting the seeds that drag us through samsara, so we are constantly ensnared by affinities. The affinities that bind us proliferate and bind us ever more. Thus, “They stray far from the Dharma of purity and liberation.” We continue to remain in the Six Realms and Four Forms of Birth, unable to be liberated from samsara. More and more are like this. So, we must be very cautious not to increase our roots of unwholesomeness more, or stray far from the Dharma of purity and liberation. We must avoid this at all costs. So, we need to put effort into being mindful.

“Their roots of goodness will become few” because of “the turbidity of sentient beings.”

Their roots of goodness will become few: The turbidity of sentient beings. Overbearing arrogance: The turbidity of views. Craving offerings: The turbidity of afflictions. Unwholesomeness increasing: The turbidity of life. Straying far from liberation: The kalpa of turbidity.

We face the Five Turbidities. Sentient beings now have few roots of goodness. Lacking roots of goodness, they act upon the Five Desires and so forth. They fall into the traps of the Five Desires. So, these are “the turbidities of sentient beings.” So, with “overbearing arrogance,” among the Five Turbidities, “overbearing arrogance” is “the turbidity of views.” Having turbidity of views means that our perspectives are not pure. Very severe turbidities will naturally increase our overbearing arrogance. We have pride, we have arrogance, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. This arrogance arises in us. These are sentient beings’ severe turbidities. When our perspectives are impure, the turbidity will increase.

“Craving offerings” is “the turbidity of afflictions.” It is because we crave offerings that our afflictions keep increasing.

“Unwholesomeness increasing” is “the turbidity of life.” Because in our lives we have already done things that were not pure, we keep multiplying our ignorance and afflictions. In our lives , if we lack good and allow evil to increase, then this is “the turbidity of life.”

Then, we will “stray far from liberation.” When we stray far from liberation, this is called “the kalpa of turbidity.” Now, after much effort over the course of many kalpas, we have encountered the Buddha-Dharma in this life. Yet, once discursive thoughts arise in us, our roots of goodness will decrease and our negative thoughts will increase.

This is having few roots of goodness and overbearing arrogance, craving offerings, increasing our roots of unwholesomeness, straying far from liberation and so on. This is because in this time, in this evil world of the Five Turbidities, this is “the kalpa of turbidity.” This is how it is; so much turbidity of sentient beings is created. The collective karma sentient beings have created all arises from “the turbidity of views,” arises from “the turbidity of afflictions” in people’s minds. Thus everything people do in their lives, all the karma they create, is unwholesome. This becomes sentient beings’ collective karma. In this era, at this time, these turbidities have become very severe. This is what we as sentient beings are doing.

The world will continue to degenerate and deviant practices will proliferate. In the world of the Five Turbidities, those with right faith will be few, while those with deviant views will be many. They only seek wealth to indulge their bodies, so how could they aspire to eliminate the Five Desires?

“The world will continue to degenerate and deviant practices will proliferate.” This age will continually become more evil and turbid. So, the world of the Five Turbidities is the severely turbid era we are living in now. Those with right faith have already become few, and those with deviant views are increasing. This is why everyone gives in to these desirous thoughts of wealth and continually cares only about physical pleasure. No one wants to engage in physical work; they are afraid it will affect their hands, afraid it will affect their bodies. So, all they have come to care about is staying beautiful and dainty. They never think that, as humans in this world, our bodies are for working. So, they do not dare to go out and work. Caring only for their own four limbs and bodies, they are not willing to put effort into work or to be of service to the world.

This is because in their minds there is only the Five Desires. They can never escape the Five Desires. This means our minds have become totally bound by sentient beings, by interpersonal relationships, by our perspectives, by our afflictions, by everything we do in life and so forth. All of this comes together. So, in our world now, the turbidities are indeed severe. I hope everyone will be very vigilant of this and always be mindful!

Ch13-ep1362

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1362 – Upholding This Sutra Is Difficult

>> “In the Saha World that must be endured, it is difficult to uphold this sutra. It is best for our minds to abide in peace and patience. In the era of Dharma-degeneration, it is difficult to advance the noble Dharma. Thus He demonstrated the. Three Directives for Spreading the Sutra. These are entering the Tathagata’s room of great compassion, wearing the Tathagata’s clothing of gentleness and patience and sitting on the Tathagata’s seat of the emptiness of all phenomena. We must make great vows to diligently uphold the sutra.”

>> “At that time, Medicine King Bodhisattva-Mahasattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, together with a retinue of 20,000 Bodhisattvas, came before the Buddha and made this vow.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> “We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry. After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 13 – On Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra]

>> We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry: We hope that the Buddha, World-Honored One, will not need to worry about no one being able to spread the sutra.

>> We only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry: They meant that the noble path would be written down in the sutras, but the power to spread and advance it would lie within people of wisdom. If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing. Then no one would understand this sutra, and it would not be practiced in that time. Now that they were capable of taking on this task, they wished that the Buddha would be free of worry.

>> After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra: We will all take on the responsibility of advancing the sutra. Here, “uphold” means to reverently uphold this sutra in the Saha World, the evil world of the Five Turbidities. >> This explains how they made great vows and requested to uphold the sutra. Medicine King and Great Joyful Eloquence were foremost among the 20,000 Bodhisattvas. In previous chapters, the Buddha clearly stated the difficulty in upholding this sutra in the world of turbidities. Thus, along with the assembly of Bodhisattvas, they made great vows together to carry out their mission to uphold the sutra and advance the wondrous Dharma. So, they asked Venerable Sakyamuni not to worry about this.

“In the Saha World that must be endured, it is difficult to uphold this sutra.
It is best for our minds to abide in peace and patience.
In the era of Dharma-degeneration, it is difficult to advance the noble Dharma.
Thus He demonstrated the. Three Directives for Spreading the Sutra.
These are entering the Tathagata’s room of great compassion,
wearing the Tathagata’s clothing of gentleness and patience
and sitting on the Tathagata’s seat of the emptiness of all phenomena.
We must make great vows to diligently uphold the sutra.”

We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. The Saha World is the world that must be endured. We often say we have to endure suffering. This world is very complex. It is not just human beings that are complex; human minds are even more complex. This is why in our lives, in the world, there is so much suffering. Several decades in the world can pass by very quickly. Time is always passing by the second, and a second is very short. These moments pass us by continuously, vanishing without a trace. Although human life in this world last several decades, these several decades are very short. Let us think about this carefully. [Our lives] are truly very short, but they are remarkably complex. People’s minds are constantly changing. Everyone’s thoughts are different from each other; this is all very complicated. Because of this, the world is full of so many afflictions and ignorance, and we replicate them constantly.

People want more than just to live; they seek to satisfy their desires. Desire is like a deep and bottomless pit. No matter how much we put in, we can never fill [the pit] of our desire. This is just like when we eat each day and digest our food. We eat three regular meals a day. We quickly digest the food, and it is gone very quickly. In a few hours, we need to have another meal. Is it enough to live a simple life? It is not enough. We want to eat exotic delicacies. If we were to devour the lives of all sentient beings, would we be satisfied then? We would still not be satisfied. This is the reality of human life. This is just [the desire of] our mouth alone; no matter how much we eat, we will never be satisfied. This is human life. Our desire is deeper and bigger than our mouths. It is endless.

If a person enjoys success in their business, makes a lot money and has an affluent family, will this be enough? It is never enough. They want to seize this opportunity; since they are making money, they want to open more chain stores. Then, they become enchained; their mind is in chains. These chains are never-ending, continuing on and on. They are endless, and they become bound by these endless chains that go on and on. Even when they want to stop, they cannot. In fact, this causes many people to lose control of themselves. Even though they have to take on a lot of debt to build a name for themselves, they still want to build a good reputation, so they keep opening up more chain stores. We can see people with this kind of life everywhere. They are famous, wealthy and have a big business, but on the inside, they are suffering too. This is what the Saha World is like.

Some people truly suffer so much from birth, aging, illness and death. When we had to prepare Tzu Chi Hospital for its accreditation, everyone had their own way of preparing. During the meetings, just by listening, we could understand how much heart people had put into this. In order to run a very strong hospital that is of very high quality, not only do we need to care for patients, but we also need to provide education. In addition to education, we also need to conduct scientific research. In addition to research, we also need to make many innovations and so on. It goes on and on, seemingly endless.

During the presentations, some people had adopted very creative approaches. At the start of a presentation by one of the Tzu Chi Hospitals, we heard some very pleasant music. It was a song called “Hot Zongzi.” [The doctor presenting said,] while [the singer] was singing this song, he suddenly collapsed. People rushed to help him get up, believing he would be fine. This was not the case. He needed emergency care, so he was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be revived. This very famous singer, while singing on the stage, in such a relaxed atmosphere, suddenly collapsed. What had happened? [The doctor] continued with the presentation.

In the emergency room of our hospital, a person who appeared to be healthy happened to be there and was walking about. Suddenly, he also collapsed. Fortunately, he was inside our hospital. People immediately helped carry him and sent him to the operation room for emergency care. It turned out that he suffered from a heart attack. The blood could not flow through his vessels, so he collapsed like that.

People asked, “What happened? I don’t know. He frequently visits this hospital. He was just walking around. He is not a patient, but is actually a doctor himself. He is a doctor outside this hospital. When he has time, he comes to walk around. With his hands behind his back, he was walking around leisurely. We saw him looking back, and after walking a few steps, he collapsed.” So, people rushed to resuscitate him. Upon examining him, it turned out that his blood vessels were clogged. So, [doctors] immediately placed several stents [in his heart].

This is what life is like; we go through birth, aging and illness. Will we reach old age? It seemed he was only a little over 50 years old. This is not considered old. As time passed by, he went to school and became a doctor to treat other people’s illnesses. However, he could not treat his own illness. He often visited our hospital. It was surprising but fortunate that he collapsed while in the hospital. From this presentation, we learned how impermanence strikes so suddenly. People can turn around and just collapse.

Previously, we discussed the dragon girl’s story. People did not believe it. How could this dragon girl, an animal, attain Buddhahood? How could she accept this teaching? She belonged to the animal realm. Furthermore, she was a female. How could this be possible? How could she have the courage to be able to accept such a great teaching? Wisdom Accumulated did not believe this. Sariputra was even more doubtful. However, the dragon girl said, “Look, when I presented this precious pearl to the Buddha, the Buddha immediately accepted it. Do you think this happened quickly or slowly? Very quickly. Yes, and I will attain Buddhahood even faster than the Buddha accepted the pearl I offered him.” She turned around and transformed her body and attained Buddhahood. I saw [in the presentation] how all that doctor did was turn around and take a few steps, and then he collapsed. In our lives,

attaining Buddhahood comes from a single thought. However, impermanence also strikes in an instant. Impermanence struck, and his blood vessels were clogged; without noticing this himself, he suddenly collapsed like this. The dragon girl had engaged in spiritual practice over many lifetimes. So, in the Six Realms and the Four Forms of Birth, she had transformed sentient beings everywhere. Thus, she knew, “I am perfect in causes and effects. If I want to attain Buddhahood, I just need to turn around and transform my body. Then, I can attain Buddhahood.”

Unenlightened beings, those without spiritual cultivation, do not understand that these moments go by very quickly. They spend their lives in a state of confusion. They do not know that time quickly accumulates. Very quickly, when they give rise to a discursive thought and their desirous thoughts arise, they will accumulate many afflictions, ignorance and [bad] karma; they will the accumulate these seeds. They accumulate the seeds over many lifetimes. Their karmic retributions are created in these instants, minutes and seconds throughout many lifetimes.

What about noble beings? Sages and noble beings seize the time; in all instants, minutes and seconds they remember to seek the wondrous Dharma. They seize the time and go among people to transform sentient beings. With the same amount of time, unenlightened beings let it pass in vain. Noble beings, lifetime after lifetime, regardless of the life forms they have, will transform sentient beings. They perfect their causal practice and approach fruition and awakening. From this we know that this single thought, this aspiration, is very important.

We ordinary beings are living in the Saha World that must be endured. In the world that must be endured, if we want to form aspirations to take on the Tathagata’s family business, that is not easy at all. “In the Saha World that must be endured, it is difficult to uphold this sutra.” We need to shoulder the teachings expounded by the Buddha and [become] those who listen to, teach and, transmit the Dharma. [Spreading] the Dharma among people is easier said than done. Therefore, we know we have so much to endure in this world. If we are careless, when one thought goes astray, every step that follows will also be wrong, and we will go down the wrong path. This is the greatest suffering.

Because of this, we create suffering that lasts throughout lifetime after lifetime. What should we do [to address that]? We have to endure suffering. “It is best for our minds to abide in peace and patience.” This is why Bodhisattvas work hard to engage in spiritual practice with clarity and awareness. They clearly understand that the Saha World is hard to endure. However, they still constantly return to the world by steering the ship of compassion and constantly transform sentient beings throughout the Six Realms. Thus, we should hold onto this aspiration. Although we clearly understand that taking on the Tathagata’s family business is not easy, we still need to form aspirations “for our mind to abide in peace and patience.” We need to be very mindful about that.

Moreover, “In the era of Dharma-degeneration, it is difficult to advance the noble Dharma.” This is truly difficult. In this era of Dharma-degeneration, in this evil world of the Five Turbidities, the Dharma is constantly disappearing. Thus, it is called the era of Dharma-degeneration. The principles are continuously disappearing. All that remains in this world is severe turbidities. Therefore, to advance the sutras like this is truly very difficult. To pass down the noble Dharma, the teachings of noble beings, is truly not easy at all. Therefore, “in the era of Dharma-degeneration, it is difficult to advance the noble Dharma.”

“Thus, He demonstrated the. Three Directives for Spreading the Sutra.” The Buddha began to teach us. In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, [it states] [that we must] “enter the Tathagata’s room and wear the Tathagata’s clothing. Great compassion is the room, gentleness and patience are the clothing.” Therefore, we must enter Tathagata’s room of great compassion. We need to promote this sutra and apply the Buddha’s teachings in the world to teach and save sentient beings. The only way to save the world is to spread the Dharma of this sutra. How can we shoulder the responsibility to widely spread this sutra throughout the world? We need to “enter the Tathagata’s room of great compassion.”

In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha already taught us this. We also need to wear the Tathagata’s clothing of gentleness and patience. We should know that we must wear the clothing of gentleness and patience; we must wear it on our bodies. Look how orderly we are. In this group of Living Bodhisattvas, we are learning the Bodhisattva-path. The subject of our studies is the Bodhisattva-path. Just like in school, students need to wear uniforms. For some sizeable companies, their employees also need to wear company uniforms during their work hours. As Buddhist practitioners who are learning the Bodhisattva-path, for the same reason, we also need to wear our uniform of gentleness and patience. I am not saying that we should only be patient when we put on our uniforms. This is just an analogy.

When it comes to interpersonal interactions, people are very complex; they all have different temperaments, and they all have their own habitual tendencies. In our lives, if other people have habitual tendencies and temperaments that are different from ours, what should we do? We need to have broad minds and pure thoughts. We need to have hearts that encompass the universe. Even though we may not like [others], we still need to learn to have patience. We need to have patience. If we do not like someone’s remarks, it is useless to argue, so we should be patient and wait until they calm down. Then we will have the chance to explain to them. Or, if they misunderstand us and it is useless to try to explain things, then we can show them, just like the dragon girl. Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva had his doubts. He hoped Manjusri Bodhisattva would explain this. The dragon girl did not need Manjusri Bodhisattva to explain things for her. She expressed everything through her actions and Wisdom Accumulated understood.

It was also the same for Sariputra. He had even greater doubts than Wisdom Accumulated. So, he came to question the dragon girl. However, the dragon girl did not explain to him, but used her actions; she presented the pearl to the Buddha, and the Buddha accepted it. She expressed [herself] with her actions; she did not need to [verbally] explain herself. There would have been no use in explaining. So, by the same principle, we must “wear the Tathagata’s clothing of gentleness and patience.” We need to face the world with a gentle attitude. It does not matter how others treat us. We must be gentle and patient. We need to show others with our actions. This means we need to be gentle and patient. Regardless of how other people treat us, even if others insult us, we should bear with it.

Even children are able to do this. Do you still remember? Among a group of little Bodhisattvas, one of them understood this and said, “He is always pulling my hair. I cannot be angry; I need to bear with it.” She also said this. This is the same principle. “Wearing the Tathagata’s clothing of gentleness and patience” refers to our attitude. In dealing with people, matters and things, we should always wear “the Tathagata’s clothing of gentleness and patience.” When it comes to our bodies and physical appearances, we must treat people in a polite manner. This is our spiritual cultivation.

[We must] “sit on the Tathagata’s seat of the emptiness of all phenomena.” The Tathagata takes the emptiness of all phenomena as His seat. As Buddhist practitioners, we must seek to mindfully comprehend this. We do not have to take issue with others; everything is illusory. We only have a few decades to live. Time is running out. Therefore, we need to earnestly seize the time. We should not be like ordinary beings, giving rise to thoughts in every short moment over many lifetimes and replicating our afflictions. We should seize the time to seek the Buddha-Dharma and transform sentient beings. As we use our time, if we are not attached to various matters in the world, we can naturally put time to good use. Otherwise, there is no way for us to attain or achieve everything we want in the world.

When it comes to our desires, we can never be satisfied. We need to understand the world is illusory, just like a drop of dew or a flash of lightning. Everything in the world is painfully short. We cannot say, “I am not old yet.” I just mentioned these two men a moment ago. One of them was like this. He did not look old at all. He was famous and was singing on stage. With a loud thud, he suddenly collapsed. Doesn’t this [show us that the world] is illusory and impermanent?

That doctor was very famous and understood physiology. However, he did not understand what was going on with his own body. He was walking about and just collapsed. Life is painfully short, illusory and impermanent. Thus, “the emptiness of all phenomena is the seat.” We need to hurry and seize the time. We need to take the Dharma to heart and put it into action. We need to apply the Dharma among people to benefit others. This is the value of truly making the most of our time. Thus, “we must make great vows to diligently uphold the sutra.” We must truly make an effort to seize the opportunity [to study] this sutra.

The previous sutra passage states,

“At that time, Medicine King Bodhisattva-Mahasattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva-Mahasattva, together with a retinue of 20,000 Bodhisattvas, came before the Buddha and made this vow.”

Since the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha began to recruit people for the Dharma. Medicine King Bodhisattva was from the Chapter on Dharma Teachers. The Buddha used Medicine King Bodhisattva as the recipient of the teachings. He explained to Medicine King Bodhisattva the virtues of Dharma teachers who uphold the Lotus Sutra. Everyone should still remember this. I have just explained the Three Directives. Everyone should still know about the Three Directives, which are, “great compassion is the room gentleness and patience are the clothing” and “the emptiness of all phenomena is the seat.” These are called the Three Directives.

So, to Medicine King Bodhisattva, the Buddha taught so much wondrous Dharma to educate us. This was because Medicine King Bodhisattva had suitable capabilities. The Buddha explained the teachings to him because Medicine King Bodhisattva was very diligent in upholding the Lotus Sutra. When we continue on [in the sutra], we can see that Medicine King Bodhisattva gave up his life to uphold the Lotus Sutra. This was how he led the assembly. Also, there was Great Joyful Eloquence. In the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, Great Joyful Eloquence wanted to see the entire body of Many Treasures Buddha. The Buddha answered him, saying, “I need to gather my multiple manifestations.” This was because of. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva.

At critical moments, these two Bodhisattvas both became recipients of the teachings. They became recipients of the teachings. They shouldered the responsibility of Bodhisattvas who request the teachings from the Buddha. They were “together with a retinue of 20,000 Bodhisattvas” whom they had taught and transformed. Because these two Bodhisattvas both upheld the Lotus Sutra, they were very mindful of the Buddha’s teachings. Thus, the retinue they had taught and transformed were also called Bodhisattvas. Having formed aspirations, they were Bodhisattvas. “Together with a retinue of 20,000 Bodhisattvas, [they] came before the Buddha and made this vow.”

In the following sutra passage, it states,

“We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry. After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra.”

Medicine King Bodhisattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva, along with 20,000 more Bodhisattvas, immediately came to comfort the Buddha so He would not worry. “After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, everyone will be able to uphold, read, recite and teach this sutra. We will be able to read, recite and teach this sutra.” This is because these Bodhisattvas wanted to comfort the Buddha. “Do not worry. After You enter Parinirvana, we will shoulder the responsibilities. We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry.” They hoped the Buddha, the World-Honored One, would not have to worry that they would be unable to uphold this sutra. They were all mentally prepared.

We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry: We hope that the Buddha, World-Honored One, will not need to worry about no one being able to spread the sutra.

“We only hope that the World-Honored One will not worry. You do not have to worry.” In the future, this noble path would be written down in the sutra. This Dharma would be recorded in the sutra in the future. When everyone reads this sutra, “the power to spread and advance it would lie within people of wisdom.” With an open and spacious heart and the power to make great vows, people of wisdom would be able to spread and advance this sutra. [The Buddha] only worried that. “If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing.” If people were not mindful and were unwilling to make vows, if this were the case, though they hear and teach [the Dharma], their power of vows would still be very weak. The Dharma that they teach would also be very weak. As time passes, the Dharma would disappear.

The 20,000 Bodhisattvas told the Buddha not to worry, because the teachings would be written down in the sutra for the future. Although the teachings would be recorded in the sutra in the future, they still needed people of wisdom who form great aspirations and make great vows to [spread and advance] the sutra. Not only must they recite and expound, but they must also put the teachings into practice. If people could not do that, these words would fade away, and although they may be willing to teach and expound the Dharma, they would fail to bring forth this kind of power. This is what the Buddha worried about.

We only hope that [the Buddha] will not worry: They meant that the noble path would be written down in the sutras, but the power to spread and advance it would lie within people of wisdom. If these people could not be found, the words would fade away to nothing. Then no one would understand this sutra, and it would not be practiced in that time. Now that they were capable of taking on this task, they wished that the Buddha would be free of worry.

“Then no one would understand this sutra.” If no one formed aspirations, even if the sutra was spread to later generations, even if we read and recite the sutra, we would not be able to understand the sutra. After reading and reciting this sutra, no one would be able to understand it, “and it would not be practiced in that time.” They would be unable to implement the Dharma in the world for everyone to be able to experience and practice it. This would be really difficult. “Now that they were capable of taking on this task, they wished that the Buddha would be free of worry.” This means that they would take on this task; they would pass down the sutra. Everyone had already made their vows. They would diligently fulfill their duty with a sense of mission. They would shoulder this responsibility. So, “they wished that the Buddha would be free of worry.” They asked the Buddha to not worry. Although the Buddha worried that no one would be able to carry on this task after Him they had already appeared. In the future, they would have the power of vows to uphold this sutra and put the teachings into practice among people. So, the Buddha did not have to worry.

After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra: We will all take on the responsibility of advancing the sutra. Here, “uphold” means to reverently uphold this sutra in the Saha World, the evil world of the Five Turbidities.

Thus, “after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will all reverently uphold, read, recite and expound this sutra.” So, the Buddha did not have to worry or [hesitate]. “We can all shoulder this responsibility.” Everyone made vows to shoulder this responsibility. “I am willing to advance this sutra at this place.” This place refers to the Saha World. “We are all willing to patiently endure the Saha World. If we [dedicate ourselves] wholeheartedly, we can absolutely pass on and spread this sutra.”

“This is because we all know that we need to use the Three Directives to advance the sutra.” The Three Directives refer to those three methods. In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha taught the Three Directives, and Medicine King Bodhisattva bore them in mind. [He knew] to use the Three Directives to advance the sutra, to “enter the Tathagata’s room, wear the clothing of gentleness and patience” and take “the emptiness of all phenomena as the seat.” They were willing to be in this Saha World and were willing to face the stubborn sentient beings there. They had awakened and wanted to shoulder this responsibility. In “the Saha World, the evil world of the Five Turbidities,” they wanted to “reverently uphold” and transmit this sutra; they wanted to uphold this sutra.

This explains how they made great vows. They asked the Buddha not to worry. They would earnestly uphold this sutra. They would be able to [uphold] this sutra forever and ever and preserve and spread its teachings among people.

This explains how they made great vows and requested to uphold the sutra. Medicine King and Great Joyful Eloquence were foremost among the 20,000 Bodhisattvas. In previous chapters, the Buddha clearly stated the difficulty in upholding this sutra in the world of turbidities. Thus, along with the assembly of Bodhisattvas, they made great vows together to carry out their mission to uphold the sutra and advance the wondrous Dharma. So, they asked Venerable Sakyamuni not to worry about this.

“The Four Great Vows” are, “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” The aspiration of Bodhisattvas is to attain Buddhahood. They must “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” We must reverently uphold this sutra and practice the Bodhisattva-path.

Medicine King Bodhisattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva were foremost among the 20,000 Bodhisattvas. These 20,000 Bodhisattvas were taught, transformed and guided by these two Bodhisattvas. So, they were foremost among the 20,000 Bodhisattvas that they led. “In previous chapters, the Buddha clearly stated the difficulty in upholding this sutra in the world of turbidities.” Previously, starting from the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha kept saying how extremely profound this sutra is, how subtle, wondrous and extremely profound it is. In order to expound this sutra, we need to exercise our wisdom and [expound it] based on people, time and location. When we expound this sutra, especially when we are teaching it to others, if we cannot teach this sutra according to their capacities, we might incur negative reactions from them, such as being slandered by others. If we do not suit their capabilities when we want to lead everyone to do good deeds, we will likewise incur many negative remarks [against us].

In summary, in this evil world of the Five Turbidities, it is really difficult to uphold the sutras. Through previous sutra passages, the Buddha constantly cautioned us to heighten our vigilance. In order to expound this sutra and uphold this sutra in the world, we need to exercise the power of great wisdom. We also have to endure with patience. We need to take “great compassion as our room gentleness and patience as our clothing” and “the emptiness of all phenomena as our seat; being at this place, [we] expound the Dharma.” Then this sutra will be able to exercise its great function in saving the world.

This was mentioned by the Buddha in many previous chapters. “In previous chapters, the Buddha clearly stated [this]. Previous chapters” refers to chapters before this one. “Clearly stated” means that in several previous chapters, the Buddha had already mentioned that in the world of turbidities, the world that must be endured, it is really difficult to uphold this sutra. We need to put effort into using our wisdom. We need to be able to patiently endure and have the drive to pass on and spread [the Dharma]. We need to have “the clothing of gentleness and patience.” Furthermore, we should be able to not be attached and “take the emptiness of all phenomena as the seat.” All of these are qualities that those who uphold the sutra must have. They need to clearly understand this.

“Thus, along with the assembly of Bodhisattvas, they made great vows together to carry out their mission to uphold the sutra and advance the wondrous Dharma. So, they asked Venerable Sakyamuni not to worry about this.” Medicine King Bodhisattva and. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva led a group of Bodhisattvas who had already formed great aspirations. They expressed their intent before of the Buddha. It was not that they did not understand the difficulties in advancing this sutra in the Saha World. It was not that they did not understand. They had already made great vows and were willing to uphold the Three Directives, to “enter the room of great compassion, wear the clothing of gentleness and patience and take the emptiness of all phenomena as their seat.” They were already mentally prepared for this.

“Thus, along with the assembly of Bodhisattvas, they made great vows together” to uphold their mission. “We must uphold our mission and follow the Path, then our path will be great.” Don’t I constantly mention this to everyone? We need to uphold our vows. We need to make great vows to uphold the sutras, especially the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. So, they asked the World-Honored One not to worry about this. Indeed, the Buddha did not have to worry. However, have we truly made great vows? Or are we just listening? When we face interpersonal conflicts, do we simply retreat, retreat in our spiritual aspiration? Is that the case? This requires us to be constantly vigilant of ourselves. So, we must always be mindful!

Ch12-ep1324

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1324 – Resonating with the Path in a Rare Encounter

>> “With the natural karmic affinities of their past lives, they converged in resonance with the path. Had it not been for this king, the mystic would have had no one to take as a companion. Had it not been for the mystic, this king would have had no one to honor as his master. When the king sought a master, the mystic came readily. This kind of encounter is extraordinary” .

>> Since distant kalpas ago, this king had been seeking the Great Vehicle Dharma . From the very beginning all the way to this day, . He resonated with the path, so they suddenly met in this place .

>> “The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan. But for the sake of the Dharma,. I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince. The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions, ‘For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, ‘I will offer myself as a slave’ ‘for all my life'” . [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 12- Chapter on Devadatta]

>> “At that time a mystic came and said to the king, ‘I have the Great Vehicle Dharma’ ‘known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra’ ‘If you do not go against me,’ ‘I will teach it for you'” . [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 12- Chapter on Devadatta]

>> At that time a mystic came and said to the king: . Because the king sought the Dharma and had publicly issued a proclamation, there came a mystic . This shows that the mystic’s agreement to impart the Dharma was in exact accord with the king’s wishes to accept the Dharma and serve him reverently . The mystic said this to the king and the king was delighted . Thus they connected in resonance with the path . Had it not been for this king, the mystic would have had no one to take as his companion . Had it not been for the mystic, this king would have had no one to honor as his master .

>> I have the Great Vehicle Dharma known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra: . That mystic said, . “I have the great teaching known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra” . When the king sought a master to pass the wondrous Dharma unto him, the mystic came readily .

>> The teacher and student, request and response were all in harmony . This kind of encounter is extraordinary . It is the manifestation of the great provisional and is incredible .

>> “Nevertheless, this wondrous sutra’s principles transcend the Four Agamas, so it is called the Great Vehicle. Its teachings encompass the One Vehicle and “contain all Small and Middle Vehicle teachings, so it is called the wondrous Dharma. The Four Agamas: Ekottaragama, Madhyamagama, Dirghama and. Samyuktagama.” .

>> If you do not go against me, . I will teach it for you: . If you do not go against my wishes, then I will teach it for you . Do not go against: This means that he must not go against his master’s wishes . So long as the king did not go against his instructions, the master would readily impart the teachings .

>> Do not go against me: . He must call the teacher of the path his master . The king must listen to his words and follow his actions, instead of just relying on his own status . The mystic was testing the king to see if he still clung to anything, such as his nobility and power . If the king was like this, he would be not worthy of being taught the Path .

>> When the Buddha transformed sentient beings, . He completely accorded with their minds to teach and transform them . At that time the mystic was only willing to teach if people did not go against his wishes . This shows that he was a friend providing adverse conditions.

“With the natural karmic affinities of their past lives,
they converged in resonance with the path.
Had it not been for this king,
the mystic would have had no one to
take as a companion.
Had it not been for the mystic,
this king would have had no one to
honor as his master.
When the king sought a master,
the mystic came readily.
This kind of encounter is extraordinary” .

This means that everything happens due to karmic conditions . Let us recall the previous sutra passage . In the king’s “search for the Dharma throughout the four directions,” he “beat drums to announce” this . He posted proclamations in search of a master; he looked for someone who could teach him the wondrous Dharma . This kind of person would serve as his master and guide him to enter the wondrous Dharma . Although this king was the ruler of his kingdom, he did not cling to his country, nor did he cling to his position or his wealth and so on . Life invariably follows the laws of nature . Our lives are finite, but what he sought was infinite wisdom-life .

Our wisdom-life comes from the Dharma; it grows through the Great Vehicle Dharma . Only with our wisdom-life can we resolve the many hardships of sentient beings . So, because of this, for himself and for others, [the king] hoped to attain the wondrous Dharma . Therefore, he posted proclamations in search of the Dharma throughout the four directions . Who was willing to teach him the Great Vehicle Dharma? . This is in the previous sutra passage . As long as someone was willing to come and teach him [the Dharma], the king was willing to dedicate both his body and mind to him . This was his sincere aspiration to seek the Dharma .

Yet it is not that we can get it just by asking; it all depends on karmic affinities . “With the natural karmic affinities of their past lives, they converged in resonance with the path” . Moreover, “Had it not been for this king, the mystic would have had no one to take as a companion” . [They were] teacher and student, master and companion . This mystic knew that he had this ability . But this mystic did not want to transmit the Dharma to ordinary people . It was just that the king had such good conditions to seek a master; he [sought] someone who could teach him the Great Vehicle Dharma . This mystic had great confidence in himself; he was confident that he had this wondrous Dharma to teach,

and the person he would teach it to was the king . He felt that [this king] was the right recipient for him to pass on the Dharma to . So, “Had it not been for this king, the mystic would have had no one to take as a companion” . In other words, the mystic was choosing a disciple or a recipient [of his teachings] . [The mystic] would not accept anyone without the status of a king . However, “Had it not been for this mystic, this king would have had no one to honor as his master” . The king was seeking a confident person like this, someone who had the wondrous Dharma and confidence in himself . This was the person he was seeking .

This teacher had to have confidence, and this Dharma had to be very wondrous; it is the subtle and wondrous Great Dharma . Because of this, the king was willing to accept this [mystic] who had confidence in himself . The king was willing to honor this teacher as his master, and he was willing to accept his teachings . This was also because of what the mystic was like; otherwise, the king would not honor him as his master .

So, because this king sincerely sought the Dharma, and especially since he sought the Great Dharma with sincere aspirations, . “When the king sought a master, the mystic came readily” . The king’s requests suited this mystic, so [the mystic] came; this was due to their karmic affinities . “This kind of encounter is extraordinary” .

Think about it; this majestic king sought neither fame nor fortune nor riches . All he sought was the Wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle . In this world, a king like this is very extraordinary . He was respected by his people, yet was willing to seek the Dharma, the Great Vehicle Dharma . He was not tempted by worldly pleasures; . His heart was dedicated to the Dharma . This is not easy to come by; this is very extraordinary in this world . Moreover, there was this mystic who had such confidence; he was confident that his Dharma was unsurpassed . So, he dared to express to the king that he was confident and he had this wondrous Dharma . Think about it . Isn’t this an “extraordinary encounter”? . These two people were both like this; they each had such confidence . This is not easy to come by .

We know that, “For many distant kalpas, this king had been seeking the Great Vehicle Dharma” and not just in this lifetime alone .

Since distant kalpas ago, this king had been seeking the Great Vehicle Dharma . From the very beginning all the way to this day, . He resonated with the path, so they suddenly met in this place.

Yesterday we discussed how this process lasted many kalpas . Throughout lifetime after lifetime, he never forgot to seek the Great Dharma . The Great Dharma cannot be attained in one lifetime . Many causes and conditions needed to be fulfilled . Just knowing it is not enough; we must put it into action by fulfilling the “Six Paramitas” . We must truly seek to experience it by genuinely going out to serve others . It is not enough to just know the . Dharma’s names and appearances . We must genuinely go among people and learn from experience .

What does it mean to give? . What we give to others is more than just external objects . What we give comes from both the outside and the inside; we are willing to give with every part of ourselves . Even if it means giving our lives, we are willing to give . This practice of giving also [creates] great affinities . This is what it means to put the Dharma into action . Not only must we give, we must also uphold the precepts . We must give and uphold the precepts . Upholding the precepts is not just something we talk about . To uphold the precepts, one also need this kind of environment . Even as a king, he did not lose his aspirations to the temptations of desire and pleasure . He still remembered to seek the Dharma . The Dharma and our wisdom-life are even more important than our own lives . The Dharma is more precious than any worldly pleasures . So, his every thought was on the Dharma . He was not deluded by pleasure and desire . Thus, he guarded against wrongs and stopped evils . His mind was free of greed and desire . When it came to his throne, his wife and so on, he was willing to give them all up and uphold the precepts .

He did not fear hard work and was willing to serve as a slave . He was willing to become a slave to follow his master . “I will offer myself to him as a slave” . We also discussed this yesterday . He was a king, and yet he was willing to offer himself as a servant . He was willing to become a slave and give his master everything that he wanted . He was willing to humble himself and work hard without complaint . Even if it cost him his head, eyes, marrow and brain, he was willing to give . This was how he was willing to give his life and engage in the practice of patience . He not only upheld the precepts; he also practiced patience . He was willing to serve as a slave; this is diligence . In order to seek the Dharma, he was diligent . This is also a testament to his power of Samadhi throughout many kalpas; he focused on seeking the Dharma and never lost sight of [His aspiration] . This is wisdom . Throughout lifetime after lifetime, throughout many long kalpas, this king sought the Great Vehicle Dharma, practiced the Six Paramitas and perfected them all throughout the course of many lifetimes . He put the Dharma into action . He did more than just know about it or talk about it; . He physically devoted himself and put it into action .

“From the very beginning all the way to this day” means that [he sought the Dharma] from the very beginning all the way to now . Thus, “He was able to resonate with the path” . Now, he was a king . He sought a master and his master came . The mystic came to accept him and teach the Dharma . Isn’t this because they both resonated with the path? . [The king] was seeking, and the mystic came in response to His request, “so they suddenly met in this place” and had this encounter . So, this is how they came to meet each other at this time . One of them sought the Dharma, and the other said, . “I have Dharma to teach you, and here are my conditions…” . Then he began to reveal his conditions . This is because they both connected in resonance with the path .

So, the previous sutra passage says, . “The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan” .

“The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan. But for the sake of the Dharma,. I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince. The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions, ‘For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, ‘I will offer myself as a slave’ ‘for all my life'”.

At the time when he was king, people had very long lifespans . This was when people’s lifespans lasted up to 84,000 years . After every 100 years, one year was subtracted . This is because sentient beings’ greed grew greater and greater, and they killed more and more beings . This is the collective karma of sentient beings . Their lifespans decreased every 100 years, and this decreasing continued . So, now we see very few people who live past 100 . This is because we are in a decreasing kalpa .

So, when this king was alive, it was during the era when people had immeasurably long lifespans . “But for the sake of the Dharma, he renounced his royal position” . He wanted to seek the Dharma, so he [renounced] his royal position as king and entrusted it to the prince . He did not cling to his royal position as king . He gave up his title and position and focused on seeking the Dharma . Who was the person he sought, the one to teach him the Wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle? . So, “The drums were beaten to announce his search for the Dharma throughout the four directions” . He sought [the Dharma] everywhere and

even announced his conditions, . “For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle,. I am willing to offer myself as a slave for all my life” . This would be for his entire life! . It was not a temporary thing . A slave is an enslaved servant . He was willing to offer himself up and take orders . He was originally in the position to give orders and tell others what to do . He only needed to speak; he never needed to lift a finger . Now, he was willing to use his body for whomever could teach him the Dharma, serving that person . This is how sincerely the king sought the Dharma .

In the next sutra passage, the Buddha said, .

“At that time a mystic came and said to the king, ‘I have the Great Vehicle Dharma’ ‘known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra’ ‘If you do not go against me,’ ‘I will teach it for you'”.

This mystic had seen the king’s proclamations posted everywhere that he was in search of a master . He saw this proclamation being made, and this is when the mystic appeared . He came to the palace on his own, went before the king and said, . “I have the Great Vehicle Dharma. This Great Vehicle Dharma is called the Wondrous Lotus Sutra. If the king will not go against my conditions,. I am willing to teach you” . These were the conditions he presented to the king . He did not only want the king to be his slave, he also had very demanding conditions .

So, it was because the king “sought the Dharma and publicly issued a proclamation” that this mystic appeared .

At that time a mystic came and said to the king: . Because the king sought the Dharma and had publicly issued a proclamation, there came a mystic . This shows that the mystic’s agreement to impart the Dharma was in exact accord with the king’s wishes to accept the Dharma and serve him reverently . The mystic said this to the king and the king was delighted . Thus they connected in resonance with the path . Had it not been for this king, the mystic would have had no one to take as his companion . Had it not been for the mystic, this king would have had no one to honor as his master.

This shows that the mystic was already willing and had already agreed . He agreed to [teach] the king and told him, . “I have confidence. I have the Wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle, which is called the Lotus Sutra. I am willing to teach it to you” . This “was in exact accord with the king’s wishes” . Nothing else was important to the king . The most important thing was the Wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle . This was what was in true accordance with the king’s wishes . Because of this, the king accepted with utmost respect . One was willing to give and the other was willing to accept; they were in mutual accord .

The mystic told [his conditions] to the king . “As long as you promise to do every single thing I say,. I am willing to teach you and pass this Dharma on to you” . The king heard this and rejoiced . He was delighted and bursting with joy . He heard [the mystic] had the wondrous Dharma, and this was exactly what [the king] was seeking, so he was full of joy . This is “connecting in resonance with the path” .

One sought the Dharma, and the other said, “I have confidence that. I have this wondrous Dharma that I can give you” . One had a request, and the other was willing to give it to him; this is “connecting in resonance with the path” . So, “Had it not been for this king, the mystic would have had no one to take as a companion” . If it had not been for this king, this mystic would not have appeared . This is because this mystic was very proud and had a very arrogant personality . If he had not been a king, [the mystic] would not have been willing to impart the Dharma to him . So, had it not been for this king, this mystic would not have appeared . So, “Had it not been for the mystic, this king would have had no one to honor as his master” . Because the king saw that this mystic was very confident, the king gave rise to great joy in his heart . This is resonance . This was their karmic affinities . This is connecting in resonance with the path . [Thus,] the king honored him as his master .

The mystic said, . “I have the Great Vehicle Dharma known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra” .

I have the Great Vehicle Dharma known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra: . That mystic said, . “I have the great teaching known as the Wondrous Lotus Sutra” . When the king sought a master to pass the wondrous Dharma unto him, the mystic came readily.

That mystic said to the king, . “The wondrous Dharma I have is called the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra” . This was just what the king needed . Just hearing the words . “Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra,” he could not help but give rise to joy . The mystic came and the king rejoiced . It was incredible! . This was their karmic affinity .

The teacher and student, request and response were all in harmony . This kind of encounter is extraordinary . It is the manifestation of the great provisional and is incredible.

“The teacher and student, request and response were all in harmony” . The teacher came, and the student had a request . So, when it says “teacher and student,” the “teacher” refers to the instructor, and the “student” refers to the pupil, the one who sought the Dharma . The teacher was there because the student sought the Dharma . So, he had to reach deep inside himself to find sufficient teachings to to suit his student’s needs . This is the “teacher and student” . So, “request” here refers to the request of the student . The teacher had to meet this request . Thus the “request” accorded with the “response” . They were in harmony; they were in perfect accord with each other . So, “This kind of encounter is extraordinary” . It was “an extraordinary encounter” .

The mystic who came had many great demands . He used all kinds of challenges to test him . There was nothing he did not ask him to do . [The king] very willingly accepted them . So, the teacher and student had this request and response for each other . “Whatever the teacher asks me to do,. I will absolutely do it” . When the teacher had a request, the student also had to respond . The Dharma that the student sought was something his teacher could give to him . If students do not first serve as apprentices, then how can their masters pass on their skills to them? .

It is the same principle . So, requesting and responding are mutual . One sought the Wondrous Dharma, so the other was willing to give it to him . One said, “I have the Dharma, and I am willing to give it to you, but I have many requests for you before I give this Dharma to you” . This was a mutual request and response; both sides were willing to accord with one another . This is truly an “extraordinary encounter” . Even when [the mystic] made unreasonable requests, [the king] was still willing to serve him . He underwent so many trials and tribulations without blame, regret or complaint . In so doing, he fulfilled the Six Paramitas . Thus, he sought the Dharma with great sincerity .

This was the “manifestation of the great provisional” .

The king was a sage of great wisdom . We have said before that [despite] being a sage of great wisdom, he did not hesitate to serve as a slave and was willing to bear all kinds of tribulations; he did all of this willingly .

This is the great provisional . [The Buddha] applied it here to teach us about how this king was able to seek the Dharma with such sincerity, so for us insignificant ordinary beings, what is there to be afraid of? . What suffering is there to fear? . The king was willing to humble himself in order to seek the Dharma . For us average people, what kind of status are we so concerned about? . How much arrogance do we still have? . What qualifications [do we claim] to feel so haughty and arrogant? . Our aspiration to seek the Dharma is very sincere to begin with, so we must let go of all views of self and seek the Dharma with determination . In seeking the Dharma, we must go out to serve others . This is the great provisional,

using skillful means to teach the future world . He was willing to use this kind of teaching, to reveal [the Dharma] in this way, so He also needed someone like this to be an adverse and harmful friend . [He needed] this kind of spiritual friend to treat him in this way . So, He was free of hatred and regret . This was incredible; it was the revelation of the great provisional . If he did not have someone come to test him, then how would we be able to see this spiritual practitioner’s ability to willingly put everything aside to serve others? . This is the “manifestation of the great provisional” . This is the role model of the wise sage seeking the Dharma . This is the “manifestation of the great provisional” . It truly is incredible .

So, “Nevertheless, this wondrous sutra’s principles transcend the Four Agamas, so it is called the Great Vehicle. Its teachings encompass the One Vehicle and “contain all Small and Middle Vehicle teachings, so it is called the wondrous Dharma” .

“The Four Agamas” are the “Four Agama Sutras” . The Agama Sutras were later divided into four, the “Ekottaragama,” the “Madhyamagama,” the “Dirghama” and the “Samyuktagama” .

“Nevertheless, this wondrous sutra’s principles transcend the Four Agamas, so it is called the Great Vehicle. Its teachings encompass the One Vehicle and “contain all Small and Middle Vehicle teachings, so it is called the wondrous Dharma. The Four Agamas: Ekottaragama, Madhyamagama, Dirghama and. Samyuktagama.”

The Agama Sutras are divided into these four .

The Ekottaragama is the Dharma spoken by the Buddha . These are the short, fitting verses that, during the compilation of the sutras, were gathered together again . This is called the “Ekottaragama” . What about the “Madhyamagama”? . Those are stories from the sutras that are neither long nor short and are suitable for our usual Dharma studies . How do we choose models [for us to follow]? . In this sutra, there are stories we should learn that are suitable for our use .

What about the “Dirghama”? . When it comes to the “Dirghama,” this sutra text is fairly long, with long stories . This is the “Dirghama” . As for the “Samyuktagama”, all kinds of teachings have been compiled together in this sutra . As long as they could inspire people’s minds and be of use to everyone, they were all gathered together here . This is known as the “Samyuktagama” .

As long as it could inspire people’s minds, [it was included] . When the Buddha taught the Dharma, sometimes, on the road, . He would observe His surroundings and teach the Dharma accordingly . This is all recorded in the sutra .

For example, one time, while walking down the road, a gust of wind blew a piece of paper [before Him] . The Buddha said to Ananda, . “Come, pick up that piece of paper” . He picked it up . Then the Buddha said to Ananda, . “Smell it. What does this paper smell like?” . Ananda took it and smelled it . “This piece of paper is very unusual; it is so fragrant!” . The Buddha then asked Ananda, . “Why is this piece of paper fragrant?” . Ananda answered, . “It is very simple. Venerable Buddha, this paper was probably used to wrap incense. That is why this paper is so fragrant. It smells like fragrant wood” . Yes, this made sense .

They walked farther and saw some string . “Ananda, bring that string over here and smell it” . He picked it up . “Ack! Venerable Buddha, this string stinks like rotten fish” . The Buddha asked, . “Ananda, why does the string stink like rotten fish?” . Ananda said, . “This string has a fishy odor. It smells like rotten fish. Buddha, this string must have been used to wrap fish” .

The Buddha said, . “Yes, this is grass twine used to wrap fish. This is just like us humans. Whatever environment we are in, whatever kind of people we interact with, we will be influenced by them. If we are around good people, diligent people, then naturally we will be diligent. If we are around lazy, unwholesome people, we will become the same as the lazy and unwholesome people. It is the same thing. We need to choose our friends wisely” .

This is all written in the Agama Sutras . The Ekottaragama, the Madhyamagama, the Dirghama and the Samyuktagama are generally referred to as the Four Agamas . These are the Agama Sutras; they are divided into the Four Agamas .

However, the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra has already surpassed the Four Agamas . It not only surpasses the Four Agamas, but it also surpasses the Vaipulya and surpasses the Prajna . So, the Buddha has opened up the provisional to reveal the true . This is the One True Great Dharma known as the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra . So, this is a wondrous sutra . It is the most subtle and wondrous sutra . Its principles surpass the Four Agamas and even the Vaipulya and the Prajna . This is true emptiness and wondrous existence, the wonderful Lotus Sutra . So, it has surpassed [all else] .

“Its teachings encompass the One Vehicle” . This means that it encompasses everything in the Middle and Small Vehicle teachings . The Lotus Sutra encompasses all these teachings and principles . So, “Its teachings encompass the One Vehicle” . So, everything in the Small and Middle Vehicles, whether it is the Small Vehicle or Middle Vehicle, all that Dharma is encompassed in the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra . All of the principles this sutra contains are free of contradictions; it contains everything . [This sutra] distils the essence of all sutras . It is free of any miscellaneous elements . The Buddha has [filtered through] the Small and Middle Vehicle Dharma and encompassed its essence within [the Lotus Sutra] . Even the Mahaprajnaparamita sutras are integrated within [this sutra] .

So, the Lotus Sutra is the king of all sutras . It is the essence of all Dharma and encompasses all . Middle and Small Vehicle teachings, “so it is called the wondrous Dharma” . All Dharma is a method . Everything that these methods have to teach us is within this Wondrous Dharma .

So, “If you do not go against me,. I will teach it for you” .

If you do not go against me, . I will teach it for you: . If you do not go against my wishes, then I will teach it for you . Do not go against: This means that he must not go against his master’s wishes . So long as the king did not go against his instructions, the master would readily impart the teachings.

This mystic came, and this is what he said . “I have such good teachings. It is the most subtle and wondrous Dharma. King, if you do not go against my requests, my orders and whatever I tell you to do and so on, if you do not disobey me,. I will teach it to you” . This was a very demanding request . [He made this] very, very demanding request, in hopes that the king would not go against him . Thus he said, . “If you do not go against my wishes, then I will teach it for you. This is what I want and you must act in accordance with my wishes” .

So, “do not go against” here means “do not disobey the master’s wishes” . Whatever the master wants, his disciple must obey him . “The king [must] not go against his instructions. Whatever I tell you to do, you must do it; you cannot disobey my wishes. If you can manage this,. I will readily impart the teachings. If you can follow me and do not disobey my wishes,. I will naturally impart to you this Dharma ” .

So [he said], “Do not go against me” .

Do not go against me: He must call the teacher of the path his master . The king must listen to his words and follow his actions, instead of just relying on his own status . The mystic was testing the king to see if he still clung to anything, such as his nobility and power . If the king was like this, he would be not worthy of being taught the Path.

“Do not go against me” means that “he must call the teacher of the path his master” . [The mystic] would impart the teachings of the path unto him, thus [the king] must call him master . So, “The king must listen to his words and follow his actions” . Since these were the words of his teacher, this disciple absolutely had to listen . For everything [the mystic] said, [the king] “listened to his words and followed his actions” . No matter what it was, he had to be very respectful and obedient . He could not “just rely on his status,” no . He could not say, “I am the king, and you are a mystic. You came to teach me, and you must respect me because I am the king” . He could not have this mindset . “Do not think that because you are the king,. I must respect you; no. You cannot use your title of king to win any favors from me. Rather, you have to obey my teachings” .

This is how [the mystic] tested him [to see if he] “still clung to anything” . Did he have any [hidden] intentions, such as “clinging to his nobility and power”? . Being a king, this was such a noble position . He had power; he was the king . The authority was in his hands . So [the mystic felt] just because he was the king he did not need to have that nobility and status . “Since you are going to become my disciple, you have no wealth or status now; now you have no power as king” . [Thus,] “If the king was like this, he would not be worthy of being taught the Path. If you are like this and feel that you have a king’s position, or that you still have special authority, if you are like this, [you are] not worthy of being taught the path, and I will not teach you the Dharma. If you still have this mindset, then I will never teach the Dharma to you. Let me be clear about that. You do not have a king’s status. You do not have a king’s authority. You do not have a king’s nobility. You have to listen to everything I say and serve as my slave. This is what you must do” .

So, “When the Buddha transformed sentient beings,. He completely accorded with their minds to teach and transform them” . We should know that the Buddha wanted to transform sentient beings, so He had to give everything He could give . He had to fulfill the Six Paramitas . If sentient beings did not make a request, . He did not respond . For everything they sought, He had to answer . This is to say nothing of the manifestation of the great provisional . The Buddha revealed this [teaching] so people in future lifetimes could understand that seeking the Dharma is a very serious, very precious and sacred matter . So, “When the Buddha transformed sentient beings,. He completely accorded with their minds to teach and transform them” . This is the revelation of the great provisional so that everyone would understand that this is the process of seeking the Dharma .

“At that time the mystic was only willing to teach if the person did not go against his wishes” . For this mystic to impart his teachings, the recipient could not disobey his wishes . Only then would he be willing to teach the Dharma . So, his request was that . “You must act in accord with my wishes. This shows that he was a friend providing adverse conditions” . We already know this . We have discussed earlier about favorable and adverse conditions and positive and negative affinities . Both positive and negative affinities are assisting conditions . His encounter with this mystic now was an adverse condition, an adverse and negative affinity that came to temper and refine him . He was a friend providing adverse conditions .

When the Buddha transformed sentient beings, . He completely accorded with their minds to teach and transform them . At that time the mystic was only willing to teach if people did not go against his wishes . This shows that he was a friend providing adverse conditions .

As Buddhist practitioners, we must be understanding and forgiving . I constantly tell everyone that in dealing with people, if someone treats us like this, we must quickly change our mindset to one of understanding, forgiveness and gratitude . “You have treated me this way;. I am very content” . When we can use this kind of contentment, understanding, forgiveness and gratitude to face every kind of condition in this world, they will all become assisting conditions . Is it a beneficial adverse condition or a positive assisting condition? . If we want to engage in spiritual practice, we must know that whatever the conditions may be, we have to adapt to them all . Then we will be able to truly fulfill the Six Paramitas . Therefore, we must always be mindful

Ch12-ep1323

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1323 – Toiling Throughout Many Kalpas to Seek the Dharma

>> “He raised as an example how He toiled throughout many past kalpas. He did not hesitate to give his life or serve as a slave to advance in seeking the wondrous Dharma. He did this to inspire those people. How could they not seek to diligently follow the Bodhisattva-path of diligently advancing? Noble beings of great wisdom who approach the great path to Buddhahood are most easily taught and transformed and most easily attain Bodhi.”

>> “I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart, not elephants, horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms, cities, wives, children, slaves, maids, servants, not my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands or feet. I would not even begrudge my own life.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 12- Chapter on Devadatta]

>> “The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan. But for the sake of the Dharma, I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince. The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions ‘For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, I will offer myself as a slave for all my life.'” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 12- Chapter on Devadatta]

>> The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan: At that time in the past, peoples’ lifespans were very long. Kalpa: An immeasurably long time, so long it is difficult to fathom.

>> But for the sake of the Dharma, I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince: Out of His desire to seek the wondrous Dharma, He readily abandoned His position as king and entrusted the affairs of the kingdom to the crown prince.

>> The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions: The great drums were beaten, announcing his proclamation to seek the wondrous Dharma throughout the four directions.

>> For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, I will offer myself as a slave for all my life: For the sake of seeking the Great Dharma and a teacher of the Great Vehicle, he vowed to attend to and serve his master for his entire life.

>> By saying “all my life”, He meant this would not be merely temporary. By saying He was willing to become his slave, He vowed to remain at his disposal to run errands for him in order to provide what he needed and act as his servant.
>> If one is not humble, how can one learn the Dharma? If one is not patient, how can one endure toilsome hardships? For the sake of the people of the world, He set an example as a noble being to help those who seek the path follow the principles.

>> All the favorable conditions we benefit from, as well as our direct retributions, our family and so on are all part of our own blessed retribution. He was no longer attached to these and was willing to give up this retribution to seek a master who could expound this Lotus Sutra. Moreover, he was willing to serve his master for all his life.

>> Since distant kalpas ago, Sakyamuni had diligently sought out this sutra. He viewed internal and external wealth such as this as defiled and impure. He abandoned it and remained unattached to desire.

“He raised as an example how He toiled throughout many past kalpas.
He did not hesitate to give his life
or serve as a slave to advance in seeking the wondrous Dharma.
He did this to inspire those people.
How could they not seek
to diligently follow the Bodhisattva-path of diligently advancing?
Noble beings of great wisdom
who approach the great path to Buddhahood are most easily taught and transformed
and most easily attain Bodhi.”

We must mindfully seek to understand this! In His compassion, Sakyamuni Buddha used the principles to help us understand. It was not easy [to do it this way], so He used matters and appearances to help us understand even more clearly. He began to speak of the past, about how, countless kalpas in the past, He engaged in spiritual practice. Throughout many kalpas in the past, for a very long period of time, for lifetime after lifetime, He persisted in. His spiritual aspirations to seek the Great Vehicle Dharma. So, He toiled lifetime after lifetime; He [worked] very diligently and was not afraid of hard work. At the same time, He did not hesitate to give His life, even if it meant serving as a slave. This is how He advanced in seeking the wondrous Dharma. In particular, as a king who held a position of utmost respect and nobility, he willingly served as a slave to seek the Dharma and advanced in seeking the Buddha-Dharma this way.

This was no simple aspiration; how could an average person do this? So, He used this appearance to encourage us, encouraging us ordinary people, us practitioners, to have this kind of spirit. This was the process that. Sakyamuni Buddha went through in seeking the path to Buddhahood. So, what about us who have now formed aspirations and made vows? We must emulate Sakyamuni Buddha. This is what it means to learn the Buddha’s teachings. To learn means to emulate. To learn from the Buddha, [we must practice] as the Buddha practices, taking what the Buddha tells us to do and practicing according to what we have heard. This is to encourage us.

In Sakyamuni Buddha’s past lives, lifetime after lifetime, He walked this path. Now, since we have formed aspirations, we must form aspirations for lifetime after lifetime in the future. What Sakyamuni Buddha did in the past is what we [must do] in the future. We must also learn from the Buddha and not be afraid of hard work. The Buddha was very straightforward in letting us know that spiritual practice is no short-term matter. He did not say, “Let me tell you; if you just obey me, you will be saved.” It is not that at all! “It depends on you. If I teach you something, you must comprehend it and engage in spiritual practice accordingly. This is not just for a short time. This is not just for one lifetime. This must be done lifetime after lifetime.”

This is because, for lifetime after lifetime, we have accumulated so many habitual tendencies; we have already formed habits, which are ignorance and afflictions. Our minds are full of delusions. We really do not understand anything. They have accumulated for a very long time. Lifetime after lifetime, they have led us to become lost led us to become ignorant. We cannot see matters clearly, to say nothing of the principles. How could we quickly come to a realization? To eliminate our habitual tendencies and eliminate our ignorance and afflictions is not easy at all! We can all comprehend this now. We must eliminate afflictions. We must eliminate ignorance. When it comes to our own afflictions, in our everyday lives, we clearly understand, “Ah, I should not be afflicted over this matter. Ah, I should not get angry over that small comment. Is that necessary?”

We should ask ourselves this; if we can say, “Let it go. Not only must I be free of resentment and hatred, I must also eliminate my bias toward this person. I must work hard to form good affinities with him.” Are we doing these things? If we are, this shows that our habitual tendencies and ignorance have already been reduced. And if we are not, this shows that we are still our old selves. If we still remain the same, then spending a long time [in spiritual practice] will still be of no use. This is why the Buddha came to encourage us. In His past lifetimes, He toiled throughout many past kalpas. For a long time, He had gave his life unstintingly. He had the high status of a king, but for the sake of seeking the Dharma, He was willing to serve as a slave to seek the wondrous Dharma.

He was able to do it; are we able to do it? When we do some small thing for others, and they give the slightest look or tone, we begin to give rise to arrogant thoughts and a [bad] attitude. We are such unenlightened people; just from giving to someone else, we become proud and have such haughty and arrogant thoughts that we are unable to control them. This is to say nothing of a person of such high status [as the king]! He was willing to humble Himself and, for the sake of seeking the Dharma, serve as a slave to be ordered around, without hesitating to give up His life. Would we be able to do this? This is very difficult. However, the Buddha truly was able to do this. The Buddha does not speak falsehoods or make overstatements. What He speaks is the truth. So, when He speaks of the past, we should have faith in it.

Once we have faith in it, we should make vows to understand it. To understand it, we must put it into practice so that we will be able to realize it and experience it. Only then will we truly be able to experience it, understand it and attain realization. If we do not believe in what was said to us, how can we be willing to make vows to understand it? To understand it, we must put it into practice. “Only the person who drinks the water knows if it is hot or cold.” If someone says, “This cup of tea is very bitter,” how would we know? “It is bitter; do you dare drink it? Taste it.” When we taste it, “It really is bitter! You have to drink it all. I don’t dare to.” So, only the person who tries it will know. If we are brave, “As long as it is good for me, I will drink it.” If we take the medicine suited to our illness, this will be helpful to our body and mind. Good medicine tastes bitter. If we do not try it to see what it tastes like, how will we know that good medicine is bitter? We would not know.

The principle is the same. In His compassion, the Buddha spoke of His past to inspire people. “I did it, so why can’t you do it?” This is how the Buddha encouraged us. “I was not afraid to toil and did not hesitate to give up my life. How is it that you are all afraid to do it? Why don’t you diligently seek to advance? In the past, I also took this path. Why won’t you dare to take this path? I came on this path, walking this diligent Bodhisattva-path. This is the direction of the Bodhisattva-path. This is the path you must take. How could you not have faith in it? “Do you dare not to walk this path? You must have faith, make vows and take action. You must have faith. You must make vows. You must put it into practice in order to experience and comprehend it. Then we can go from that place to this place.” This was to encourage us.

“Noble beings of great wisdom approach the great path to Buddhahood.” The fact is that we are not willing to walk [this path]; we think too much of ourselves and are afraid of hard work. So, we have difficulty [doing this]. What about the Buddha? He was a noble being of great wisdom. He was eager to approach the great path to Buddhahood. Due to His great wisdom, He also sought to attain enlightenment. He sought to do so very extensively so that He could become one with the universe. He wanted to understand things to this extent. So, [He was] a “noble being of great wisdom.” His aspiration was to approach the great path to Buddhahood. [Attaining] Buddhahood is enlightenment; this is approaching the great path to awakening. When people have this kind of determination, they are the easiest to teach and transform. This is what it takes for people to easily accept [the Dharma]. If people lack this great wisdom, they will not be willing to approach the path to awakening. It will be very difficult.

For us, we must truly be able to listen to and receive the Dharma. We must also put it into practice. In our interpersonal relationships, we must also truly have understanding and tolerance and maintain a mind full of gratitude in all matters. Just being able to do this is not easy on its own, not to mention approaching the great path to Buddhahood. This is very difficult. Only noble beings of great wisdom [can do this]. This kind of person of great wisdom is willing to approach the great path to awakening. To approach Buddhahood is to approach awakening, to approach the great path to awakening. A person like this is the easiest to teach and transform. A person like this is capable of attaining Bodhi.

So, people must go through many kalpas, an incalculable amount of time. Thus those in the world who want to attain Buddhahood are few. Although the present Buddha Sakyamuni [lived] over 2000 years ago, for the next Buddha to come, for one who has attained Buddhahood and realized the true principles of the universe to appear in this world, we must continue to wait several billion years for Maitreya Buddha. Now, we still call Him Maitreya Bodhisattva. In the future, He will be Maitreya Buddha; at that time, He will truly find this great path to Buddhahood to walk upon.

It is possible that Maitreya Bodhisattva is among people in this world now, humbling himself and serving without fear of hard work. We have seen quite a few people [like this] by now. Who of these Living Bodhisattvas is Maitreya Bodhisattva, who humbles himself and truly goes among people to serve without fear of hard work? There are many people who are like this now. But have these people truly reached [the point where] they do not hesitate to give their life and serve as a slave to advance in seeking the wondrous Dharma? Do they have this kind of determination? Do they diligently seek the Bodhisattva-path? Are they so diligent that they are actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions?

It is the same with us. In lifetime after lifetime, sometimes our practice [in a monastic community] cannot compare to the many [who practice] outside at the recycling station, or in their communities or coming and going internationally. They are all serving others like this. They also must undergo this for a long time. In this lifetime, they must be tempered. These seeds [in our] consciousness must be continually accumulated. As we serve others, these resulting seeds will gradually be accumulated and stored in our eighth consciousness.

Within our eighth consciousness, with our current behaviors, ignorance and afflictions will gradually decrease. Within our eighth consciousness, our ignorance, afflictions and dust-like delusions will gradually decrease. This takes a very long time. Bad seeds will continually be eliminated, while good seeds will continually grow. Bad seeds [such as] afflictions, ignorance and dust-like afflictions will continue to decrease until none remain. What remains in the eighth consciousness is pure. This is returning to our nature of True Suchness. This pure ninth consciousness is [found] by the most completely pure seeds returning to the ninth consciousness. If there are still any seeds of contamination, we remain in the eighth consciousness.

So, how long will it take before our seeds of affliction are completely eliminated? When will these seeds be able to be completely pure and return to our ninth consciousness? At that point we become one with the universe; between heaven and Earth, there will be no principles that we do not thoroughly understand. This is how those with great wisdom approach the great path to Buddhahood approach the great path to awakening. When our eighth consciousness is continually purified, we can become noble beings of great wisdom. The more we purify ourselves, the more our ignorance gradually decreases. Being noble beings of great wisdom means we gradually approach [the state of] noble beings. We develop our great wisdom and decrease our ignorance and afflictions. This way, naturally our mind and efforts will approach the great path. Then, when we listen to the Dharma, we will hear one teaching and understand 1000. When we hear the Dharma, we must understand it deeply. We must not only understand, but also form great aspirations, make great vows and put them into practice. This way we can easily attain Bodhi.

This is why we must put great effort into spiritual practice. Sakyamuni Buddha has already attained Buddhahood. He explained how, before He attained Buddhahood, this was the process by which He sought the Dharma. He told us about many kalpas ago, a very, very long time ago. “It takes a very long time [to attain Buddhahood]. Does this scare you?” In the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, they were on a very long journey. “The road ahead may also be very dangerous. It is still very far, so I don’t dare to go. I think I will just stop here. I want to go back.” Perhaps most people were like this. So, the Buddha wanted us to first know, “There is still a very long way, so everyone must be mentally prepared for this.”

The Buddha does not speak falsehoods. He absolutely did not say, “If you listen to me, you can attain Buddhahood right away.” He did not. We must still spend a long time serving like this, being unafraid of suffering or facing resentment. When adversity and evil come to torment us, our hearts will be free of resentment. This means we have polished away the afflictions and ignorance in our minds. Our hearts are free of resentment and hatred, and we are still willing to give. “I am grateful! The one who was testing me also has the Buddha-nature in his mind. In the future, he can also attain Buddhahood.” This is what is admirable about the Buddha. He had enduring perseverance and taught us with true words. So, we must really have faith in the Dharma that the Buddha taught us.

The previous sutra said,

“I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart, not elephants, horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms, cities, wives, children, slaves, maids, servants, not my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands or feet. I would not even begrudge my own life.”

[He said,] “I gave both external wealth and internal-external wealth, such as wives and servants, which were most beloved to me. These wives, princesses, children and so on were what I loved most and was most attached to. I had to give them all up. These people were outside of my own body. They were apart from my own body, but they were the people I was most attached to. If I had to completely give them up for the sake of the wondrous Dharma, I was willing.”

But for people nowadays, if the person they love falls in love with someone else or if another comes to fight over the one they love, they cannot stand it and will fight others to the death. This is how ordinary people are. For noble beings, “Even the person I love, I am willing to give them up. I will allow the two of them [to be together], so I am willing to let go.” But ordinary beings cannot do this with this half-internal, half-external wealth. “I am willing to give it up. Even if I need to give up my own life, then that is what I will do. I want to develop my wisdom-life, so I am willing to do this. I can give up my life; our lives are limited in years, but our wisdom-life is endless. I can still seek the wondrous Dharma and grow in wisdom-life. I am willing to give my life.” Sakyamuni Buddha was one who sought the Dharma like this in a past life and told us about it. Are we able to do it?

The next passage says,

“The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan. But for the sake of the Dharma, I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince. The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions ‘For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, I will offer myself as a slave for all my life.'”

This passage is very simple; it is like a story. This was the Buddha’s past life many kalpas ago. At that time, people in this world had very long lifespans. We have explained before what a “kalpa” is. In a kalpa, how long is the longest lifespan? It is 84,000 years. It is because of sentient beings’ karma that [their lifespan] decreases by one year every 100 years. In this way, humans’ lives in this world continue to shorten gradually. Our lives today are only several decades long. Although there are people in this world who live to be over or nearly 100 years old, there are [many instances of] impermanence nowadays. The population is large and there is imbalance in nature and in people’s minds. There are manmade and natural disasters.

Especially now that transportation is so advanced, many people travel back and forth, so anything can happen at any time. Now we even see cases with people who have rare disorders. Take diabetes for example. Although it is very common now, previously it was not until someone was older that they developed diabetes. Now, even children have diabetes. Young people also have it. Now there are more and more rare disorders.

There are cases like these that show the impermanence of life. This is to say nothing of brain or heart disease. Someone will be talking and laughing, and suddenly they pass away. This happens too! People’s lives these days are short.

In the past, [human] lives were, on average, 84,000 years. They have continually decreased. Now, people’s lives are, on average, only several decades long. Their lifespans continue to get shorter with the spread of natural and manmade disasters. Every time [a disaster] occurs, there is a sudden great loss of human life. In this way, on average, human lifespans will become ten years. The more disasters there are, the shorter and more impermanent human lives will be. Each day, we do not know what tomorrow will bring. So, we should be very clear about this.

But what the Buddha said about how. “The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan,” was a very long time ago. Back then, a very long time ago in the past, people’s lifespans were measured in “kalpas.” A “kalpa” is an immeasurably long time, “so long that it is difficult to fathom.” This is a very long [time].

The people of the world at that time had an immeasurably long lifespan: At that time in the past, peoples’ lifespans were very long. Kalpa: An immeasurably long time, so long it is difficult to fathom.

At that time, [people’s lifespans] were very long; they were immeasurable kalpas long. They were immeasurable.

“But for the sake of the Dharma, I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince.” This was for the sake of seeking the Dharma. At that time, he wanted to seek the Dharma, so he was willing to renounce his royal position and turn the government over to his prince. This was in order to seek the wondrous Dharma; this was “for the sake of seeking the wondrous Dharma.” Thus, he immediately renounced his royal position. “I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince.”

But for the sake of the Dharma, I renounced my royal position and entrusted the government to the crown prince: Out of His desire to seek the wondrous Dharma, He readily abandoned His position as king and entrusted the affairs of the kingdom to the crown prince.

He wanted to make the most of his time and wanted to immediately seek the Dharma. He felt this was very urgent, so he quickly turned the kingdom’s rule completely over to his son.

“The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions.”

The drums were beaten to announce my search for the Dharma throughout the four directions: The great drums were beaten, announcing his proclamation to seek the wondrous Dharma throughout the four directions.

Since he had turned the government over to his son, he focused solely on finding a teacher. To understand the wondrous Dharma, he needed someone to teach and guide him. But where was this person? As the king, he “beat the drums to announce his search for the Dharma throughout the four directions.” He made a proclamation, seeking throughout the four directions for someone who understood the wondrous Dharma.

So, it says, “For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, I will offer myself as a slave for all my life.”

For whoever can teach me the Great Vehicle, I will offer myself as a slave for all my life: For the sake of seeking the Great Dharma and a teacher of the Great Vehicle, he vowed to attend to and serve his master for his entire life.

Who would be capable of understanding the Great Vehicle Dharma? This is not the Small Vehicle Dharma but the Great Vehicle Dharma, the path to attaining Buddhahood. “For whoever has this wisdom and Dharma and can teach and guide me, I am willing [to serve him]. For my whole life, my entire life, I am willing to offer myself to [serve] him. I will use my body [to serve] him.” This was all for the sake of seeking the Great Dharma. To seek the Great Vehicle Dharma, “He vowed to attend to and serve his master for his entire life.”

This is not something an average person can do. He had the noble status of a king; he was the king of a country and was highly respected by people. He turned the entire kingdom over to his son. For the sake of seeking the Dharma, the Great Vehicle Dharma, he was willing to act as a servant for his master for the rest of his life. This really was not an easy thing to do, to toil for and serve his teacher. This was not an easy thing to do.

When he said, “all my life,” this means not for a short time. It means it will be a very long period of time. So, he said, “I am willing to become his slave.” This means that he “vowed to remain at his disposal to run errands for him.” He was willing to be ordered around. He was “willing to run errands for him to provide what he needed,” acting as his servant.

By saying “all my life”, He meant this would not be merely temporary. By saying He was willing to become his slave, He vowed to remain at his disposal to run errands for him in order to provide what he needed and act as his servant.

“Whatever my master says, I will do. I am not afraid of hard work. Even if I have to act as his servant, I am willing to do it all.” For the sake of the Dharma, he was willing to be a slave.

So, if we have no humility, if we humans are not humble, then how will we be willing to do this? If we want to hear the Dharma, we must be very humble. We must follow the rules and listen to the Dharma.

If one is not humble, how can one learn the Dharma? If one is not patient, how can one endure toilsome hardships? For the sake of the people of the world, He set an example as a noble being to help those who seek the path follow the principles.

To listen to the Dharma, we must humble ourselves. If we are still aloof, proud and self-arrogant, it will be very difficult to continue listening to the Dharma. When we listen to it a little, [we say,] “I have heard this already. Why does it need to be repeated again?” Look at the Lotus Sutra. The Dharma is taught in the long-form prose. Why must it be repeated in verse form? “The Dharma is basically like this. Why do we need so much time to teach it?”

Sakyamuni Buddha spent over seven years teaching the Lotus Sutra alone; it was nearly eight years’ time. This is not to mention that for us now, in this present age, [to explain] the sutra passages, matters and principles must come together. This requires a lot of time to explain. We use matters to understand the principles and use the principles to accord with matters. This way, there is evidence of what is taught. We will not be talking about what we cannot see or a path that we hear about and know is good but are not able to walk; it is not like this. It is a [destination] we absolutely can reach. [We can do it] as long as we are willing to form aspirations and are not afraid of hard work; if we truly believe in it, make vows and want to start walking [this path], we can definitely reach our destination. This is a true path. But it will take a very long time. If we are not very mindful about being humble and putting aside our pride and self-arrogance, how will we ever be able to accomplish this? So, we must be very mindful.

“If one is not patient, how can one endure toilsome hardships?” If we are not humble, how can we listen to the Dharma? If we do not wish to be patient, how can we endure toilsome hardships? Even the king was willing to become a servant to the one who would teach him the Dharma. So, for us who want to seek Dharma, how can we not work hard?

Spiritual practice has always been about diligence and hard work. If we do not work hard in our lives, we are unable to truly call ourselves spiritual practitioners. In the lives of spiritual practitioners, whether it is materials, environment, people and so on, if we are impatient, we will truly be unable to endure these hardships. In today’s environment, people live in their own suites, but for us spiritual practitioners, do we each have our own suite? No one does. Several people sleep together in one room. Furthermore, in the middle of the night, we have to walk through a long hall to get to the bathroom. This is how we engage in spiritual practice.

Can we handle this kind of life? Those who cannot handle it are unable to do it. They cannot get past the first step. The environment is unsuitable for them, to say nothing of the people and matters. People come from different families and from different places. To have everyone be in harmony, accomplish [a task] with concerted effort and work in concert with unity, is in fact not so easy to do. So, we must be patient; if we cannot be patient, /”how can we endure toilsome hardships?”

So, “For the sake of the people of the world, He set an example as a noble being.” We must first emulate noble beings. How did they toil through this path? How did they patiently walk on this path? What vows did they make to seek the Dharma? What kind of conditions were they willing to be tested by and go through? “For the sake of the people of the world, He set an example as a noble being.” [Our path] must be like the one Sakyamuni Buddha took as He engaged in spiritual practice. We have to be humble like this in order to listen to the Dharma; engaging in practice requires patience and diligence. We must be able to do this, just like how, in a past life, Sakyamuni Buddha also walked this path. This is setting an example as a noble being. This is “helping those who seek the path follow the principles.” For those who seek the path, they must follow the principles and rules as they walk upon this path. Otherwise, how can this be considered spiritual practice?

All the favorable conditions we benefit from, as well as our direct retributions, our family and so on are all part of our own blessed retribution. He was no longer attached to these and was willing to give up this retribution to seek a master who could expound this Lotus Sutra. Moreover, he was willing to serve his master for all his life.

So, [it says,] “All the favorable conditions we benefit from, as well as our direct retribution, our family and so on.” These are the favorable conditions we benefit from. For those of us living in this era, everything is about convenience; everything is about enjoyment. However, even with all these indulgences, we do not seek to enjoy them and are willing to give them up. For our direct and circumstantial retributions, we are willing to give up [what is enjoyable] and are willing to engage in practice. Our direct and circumstantial retributions have been continually discussed in the past. We have a very favorable environment, so why would we want to give it up to engage in spiritual practice? It is so we can understand the Dharma and develop our wisdom-life. So, we can endure these kinds of conditions. Even when it comes to our direct retributions and our family, we are able to leave our families and loved ones. These are all our blessed retributions.

If you are just enjoying things, those are simply your own blessed retributions. In your past lifetimes, you were blessed, so in this life, you were born into a good environment. Since we have now come to engage in practice, we should “no longer be attached to these things.” We do not need to think, “I have such a great environment at home! I can stay home and enjoy it.” There is no need. This is just like how Sakyamuni Buddha, in His past life, gave up his throne to the prince. In order to listen to the Dharma personally, he was willing to act as a slave. He had no attachments in His mind. He was not attached to fame or position.

So, “He was willing to give up this retribution to seek a master who could expound this Lotus Sutra.” This was in order to earnestly study the Dharma, to attain Buddhahood in the future and be able to teach the wondrous Dharma. Previously, we discussed seeking to hear, seeking to have faith in, seeking to understand and seeking to realize [the Dharma]. This is seeking in order to “open, reveal, realize and enter” the Buddha’s understanding and views. This is the process of seeking the Dharma. So, “He was willing to serve his master for all His life.” This was all for the sake of seeking the wondrous Dharma. In order to seek the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra, he was willing to serve for his whole life and do things for others.

So, “Since distant kalpas ago, Sakyamuni had diligently sought out this sutra. He viewed such internal and external wealth [as defiled and impure].” Previously it said, he was willing to give up “kingdoms, cities, wives, children, slaves, maids” and so on. He was even willing to give his life and his body; he was willing to give everything, both internal and external wealth. “He viewed such [wealth] as defiled and impure. He abandoned them and remained unattached to desire.”

Since distant kalpas ago, Sakyamuni had diligently sought out this sutra. He viewed internal and external wealth such as this as defiled and impure. He abandoned it and remained unattached to desire.

He considered all these things as trash. His status, fame, fortune and so on, to Him, it was all worthless. The most valuable thing was the wondrous Dharma. In order to seek the wondrous Dharma, He gave up all of this fame, fortune and status.

So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must also learn this. We must be willing to give up and relinquish all pleasures. We must put our emphasis on the Dharma to develop our wisdom-life. This is the direction we should go in. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Ch12-ep1322

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 1322 – Unstintingly Giving Up His Own Life

>> “He vowed to engage in the Bodhisattva-practice, desiring to attain the fruit of Buddhahood. Thus He earnestly increased His diligence and was never indolent in the slightest. In seeking the Dharma,. He would not hesitate to give His life. He diligently engaged in the causal practice of the Six Paramitas. He feared that they would be unwilling to diligently seek the path to Buddhahood, so He used His own story as an example” .

>> For spiritual practitioners, both favorable and adverse conditions are beneficial . These [people] are actually beneficial adverse friends for Buddhist practitioners . In particular, when we come together with adverse and negative conditions, if we take them as favorable, they are beneficial, thus they are beneficial adverse conditions . [People like these] are called virtuous friends .

>> He had been a king in the past . The people had the utmost respect for Him . Yet He did not hesitate to give His life and serve as a slave to seek the Dharma . Noble beings with great wisdom are easiest to teach, yet He attained Bodhi only in this lifetime . This shows the difficulty even within easiness .

>> “Throughout many kalpas,. I was constantly a king. I made vows to seek unsurpassed Bodhi and never retreated or deviated in my aspiration. This was because I wanted to perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas” . [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 12- Chapter on Devadatta]

>> “I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart, not elephants, horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms, cities, wives, children, slaves, maids, servants, not my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands or feet. I would not even begrudge my own life” . [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 12- Chapter on Devadatta]

>> Perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas: . The formal name for giving is the dana paramita . Guarding against the Seven Branches [of karma] is called the paramita of precepts . Enduring physical or verbal abuse without resentment is called the paramita of patience . Persevering in something the whole way through is called the paramita of diligence . Engaging in skillful contemplation is called the paramita of Samadhi . Wisdom is called the prajna paramita .

>> The Seven Branches: . Among the ten evils, the first seven evils are called the Seven Branches . They are the three evils of the body, killing, stealing and sexual misconduct, and the four evils of speech, lies, flattery, gossip and harsh words .

>> The Six Paramitas: . Through practicing these Six Paramitas, we will cross from this shore of samsara . We will cross the currents of afflictions to reach the other shore of Nirvana . The Lotus Sutra’s Introductory Chapter states: . For the sake of the Bodhisattvas, . He responded by expounding the Six Paramitas .

>> I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart: . Among the Six Paramitas, giving is foremost . The dana paramita encompasses all practices . Thus, He said He earnestly practiced giving, sparing nothing, to teach the people of the world the foundations of spiritual practice .

>> This means that those who cultivate the Bodhisattva-practice vow to seek the fruit of Buddhahood. And so they earnestly increase their diligence without the slightest bit of indolence and widely gather all roots of goodness.

>> Elephants, horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms, cities and so on show the external forms of giving . This is being able to part with external wealth . To remain unattached to love and desire and to give wives, children, slaves, maids etc. is an internal-external form of giving .

>> Nor my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands, feet. I would not even begrudge my own life: The giving of the head, eyes and the like, refers to the giving of one’s own life. So long as someone requested it, He would give it to them.

“He vowed to engage in the Bodhisattva-practice,
desiring to attain the fruit of Buddhahood.
Thus He earnestly increased His diligence and
was never indolent in the slightest.
In seeking the Dharma,. He would not hesitate to give His life.
He diligently engaged in the causal practice of the Six Paramitas.
He feared that they would be unwilling to diligently seek the path to Buddhahood,
so He used His own story as an example” .

Previously, we have often talked about how Sakyamuni Buddha, lifetime after lifetime, earnestly and diligently practiced . Lifetime after lifetime, He never forgot . He always practiced the Bodhisattva-path . Sakyamuni Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, succeeded [in His spiritual practice] because He never forgot His initial aspiration . He never let His earliest aspiration leak away, even over the course of countless lifetimes . Whatever His environment, . He always vowed to practice the Bodhisattva-path . He never forgot . As unenlightened beings, in this life we are unaware of what happened in previous lifetimes . But Sakyamuni Buddha, over countless lifetimes, never let this leak away . It remained fresh in His memory . Thus, He never forgot His initial aspiration, never forgot that time when . He made His initial aspirations . Dust-inked kalpas before, during the era of the 16 princes, . He made a vow to uphold the Lotus Sutra and to continually seek the Great Vehicle Dharma . Continually, over the course of countless kalpas, it was the always the same . “He vowed to engage in the Bodhisattva-practice” .

So, He “desired to attain the fruit of Buddhahood” . He had but one aspiration, which was to attain the fruit of Buddhahood . He sought nothing else . This was His vow . So, “He earnestly increased His diligence and was never indolent in the slightest” . He always did all He could, was always dedicated . He was always earnest and increased his diligence . Each lifetime He was more dedicated than the last, always seeking the Buddha-Dharma . Regardless of the environment He found Himself in, whether favorable or adverse, whether joyful or harmful, no matter the conditions He encountered, these only strengthened His will to practice . His only goal was to attain Buddhahood . As He earnestly increased His diligence, . He was never in the least bit indolent . Whatever His environment, . He was always very mindful and diligent .

“In seeking the Dharma,. He would not hesitate to give His life” . The lifespan of one’s body always follows the laws of nature . However, our wisdom-life is boundless . This time when I went traveling [around Taiwan], . I kept hearing how everyone listens to the Dharma and takes it to heart . They have come to understand the meaning of physical life and wisdom-life . Everyone already understands this . We must not just care for our physical lives and use this as excuse to become indolent . Even our elderly Bodhisattvas are all aware that life is just a road leading from birth to death . This is natural . However much we cherish and care for our life, it is still the same .

Although some wear feeding tubes down their nose, they still come to the recycling center every day . [One volunteer] works there very joyfully . He said, “What’s the difference?. I am still ill, that doesn’t change. If I sit at home all day, it is very boring. When I’m by myself, the more I think about it, the worse my illness gets. The less I have to do, the more afflicted I feel. I’m better off coming to the recycling station, where I can chat and laugh with others. There, I am not wasting my time away. I can do work there like everyone else, sorting recyclables to the best of my ability. What I gain is my own. I may not accomplish that much, but what I gain is my own. There is companionship and conversation,. I can hear the sound of laughter there and that of people repeating the Dharma [they heard]” . By turning his thoughts around, he could open his mind . A lifetime’s worth of time passes away like this . Since he is ill, it is even more important for him to turn his physical life into wisdom-life .

This is also like Dr. Hong . Both he and his wife are doctors . If this pair of doctors would have kept their clinic open every day, they would have had many patients . Wouldn’t they have been able to make lots of money by keeping their clinic open every day? . Nevertheless, they [prefer] to volunteer with our medical association . They go to visit villages in the mountains, hold free clinics in the countryside and so on . Many in those communities are older than them and have families that are in difficulty . Some are disabled and some are poor and are thus unable to go see a doctor .

They feel that, since those people cannot go out, they should go there to see them . That way they can visit many people, give them medicine, understand their physical conditions and comfort and care for them . They feel that, compared with sitting in their clinic and seeing patients for money, it is better to go out and give people medicine, personally going to those places to care for them . This brings them great joy .

Whether here in Taiwan or whenever they hear that medical assistance is needed abroad, they are very happy to [dedicate themselves] . They may go for half a month or for a month . Sometimes they go back and forth several times . They felt that it was better for them to close the clinic, so their minds could be without hindrances . Then, they could focus on freely going to the mountains or to the countryside and on often going into the community to serve . They say that they are turning their physical life into wisdom-life . And they are not the only ones benefiting . They packed up their clinic and turned it into a spiritual practice center . Every day, more than 100 people come there to listen to the Dharma . They can accommodate more than 200 people .

They feel so happy! . Although they do not earn any money, when they see so many people, they “[wish for] all sentient beings to comprehend the great path” . They see so many coming to listen to the Dharma, mutually sharing what they have learned and developing their wisdom-lives together . They all study the Dharma together; “delve deeply into the sutra treasury and have wisdom like the ocean” . During the discussions, [some may say,] . “I didn’t understand [before], but hearing others share their realizations,. I realized, oh, that is how it is!. Now I understand!” . They encourage and spur each other on to “delve deeply into the sutra treasury and have wisdom like the ocean” . They are so joyful! .

They also hope everyone can “lead the people harmoniously” . They have this spiritual practice center where people can come and go freely . There, everyone can accept the Buddha-Dharma, realize what makes life valuable and learn how to go about helping people in suffering . Having this opportunity to help society grow in love and bring purity to people’s hearts makes them even happier than they would be earning money . In seeking the Dharma like they do, they are unstinting with their time and do not fear hard work; they use their bodies to give in this way . Moreover, they do not wish to earn money; they have already earned more than enough . Now it is their time to give . They live a simple life, and their children are grown and successful . With a change of mindset, they use the money they earned from this world to help the world and use the specialties they have learned, these wondrous skills, to become wondrous humanitarian doctors . Isn’t what they are doing in fact the causal practice of earnestly and diligently actualizing the Six Paramitas? . They don’t just donate money but put the Dharma into action by doing what they do, by giving the way they do .

Sometimes, helping others is not all that easy; difficulties can pile up one upon another . In our relationships with others, sometimes whatever we do, we are unable to satisfy everyone . Nonetheless, giving, precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom are all present in [these doctors’] acts of giving . By giving of ourselves like this among people, in our own lives we sow wholesome seeds in the ground of our minds . Isn’t this something we are all presently able to do in the world? . We should all be able to do this .

We do not hesitate to give our own lives . We might not yet, like the Buddha, “[give our] heads, eyes, marrow and brains to others” . We have not yet reached that level . However, putting the Dharma into action and going to help others is something we should all be able to do . Nowadays, we even frequently hear about people who willingly donate a kidney to save another or [part of] their liver; when there is a match, there are those willing to give their liver in order to save someone else . Is it always between family members? . Not necessarily . Nowadays, there are many fathers and mothers who donate to their children and children who do this for their parents . There are daughters donating to their fathers! . Our modern technology is very advanced; in the Buddha’s time, it shows His wisdom that . [He said,] “head, eyes, marrow and brain were all given to others” .

In this era now, when people are lacking [functioning organs], it is not difficult to donate to them . The hospital will care well for us, and our bodies can tolerate a short time of pain . In this way, we can save people . Isn’t this happening now? . In particular, with bone marrow donation, we often see reunions of donors and recipients . From inside their body, they can extract that which can produce blood . They now use peripheral blood which contains stem cells that can be filtered out . After drawing [the blood], it can save people by providing the function of producing blood cells .

The Buddha’s wisdom was truly incredible . In that era, . He was surprisingly able to say, . “[My] head, eyes, marrow and brain were all given to others” . Although today’s [medical] science has not yet reached the point where we are able to perform head transplants, although this is not possible yet, there are countries now where they can already do successful face transplants . Medicine has now advanced to such a level that as long as we are willing, we can donate anything .

Actually, “In seeking the Dharma, not hesitating to give [one’s] life” is not difficult . As long as we do not begrudge using our hands and feet to help others, as long as we are able to persevere and, with both our physical life and wisdom-life, seize the time we have, not hesitating to use our hands and feet to serve others, this will all be considered “not hesitating to give one’s life” . Even though that elderly person was sick, he felt he was too lonely by himself, so he would come out to enjoy conversation and laughter . Even though he still carried that tube, he was still able to give of himself . He too does not hesitate to give his life; he keeps working like this . He is joyful, happy and willing to do it .

So this is “diligently engaging in the causal practice of the Six Paramitas” . It is by no means easy, but it is not impossible . This is something we too can do . So, the Buddha told us many stories from His past lifetimes . There are many [stories] in the Jataka Sutra, all with the purpose of encouraging us to diligently advance . He worried that we would no longer diligently advance . This was because, as we discussed earlier, the Buddha had already bestowed predictions on His disciples . He worried that those who had received predictions would think, . “I have already received predictions;. I will attain Buddhahood in the future anyway” and thus begin to slack off and become indolent . So, the Buddha, “fearing that they would be unwilling to diligently seek the path to Buddhahood,” then began to “use His own story as an example” . He recounted stories from His own past lifetimes so that everyone would understand .

These tell how, “For spiritual practitioners, both favorable and adverse conditions are beneficial” .

For spiritual practitioners, both favorable and adverse conditions are beneficial . These [people] are actually beneficial adverse friends for Buddhist practitioners . In particular, when we come together with adverse and negative conditions, if we take them as favorable, they are beneficial, thus they are beneficial adverse conditions . [People like these] are called virtuous friends .

For spiritual practitioners, it does not matter what conditions they encounter . Spiritual practitioners treat both beneficial or adverse conditions as assisting conditions that all increase our determination to practice . They all increase our experience as practitioners as they all serve to temper us . Thus, they are all assisting conditions . Even if we face gentle temptations, like wealth, food, fame and lust, our minds will remain very stable . Likewise, if we face harsh negative conditions adverse conditions that pile up on top of us, we will remain very firm in our aspirations . “These [people] are actually beneficial adverse friends for Buddhist practitioners” . Whether our conditions are adverse or beneficial, these people are all good friends who help us succeed in our spiritual cultivation . Whatever [challenges] they present to us, they all serve to help us succeed in our spiritual practice .

So, especially when we find ourselves facing adverse and harmful conditions, we should accept them as favorable . They are actually positive; though they are negative [conditions] that oppress us in all kinds of ways, if we think something is the right thing to do, we will not hesitate to give our all to achieve it . When adversity comes, we accept it as favorable . These people are also our virtuous friends! . They allow us to test our strength . So, it is just like a tug-of-war . Will our adversary win, or will we win? . They want to drag us over there, so we must find a reserve of strength . Not only must we not be dragged there, in the end we must bring them here instead! . Only an adversary enables us to test our strength and learn how much strength we actually have .

So, [these are] “beneficial adverse friends” . Since we are learning from the Buddha, we must take adversity as favorable and see [adversaries] as our beneficial friends . “In particular, when we come together with adverse and negative conditions, if we take them as favorable, they are beneficial” . Whatever adverse conditions we may encounter, we do not fight them, but patiently bear their force; we are able to endure them . “Thus these are beneficial adverse conditions” . These are known as beneficial adverse conditions; they are not favorable, but adverse conditions . We also call people like this “virtuous friends” .

These people are also “virtuous friends” . If we can be understanding and accommodating, then is there anything that could be in opposition to us? . So, we must practice gratitude . Being understanding is having gratitude . By being understanding, we can be accommodating . This is like how “He had been a king in the past. The people had the utmost respect for Him” . The present Sakyamuni Buddha in a previous lifetime was a king for whom the people had the utmost respect .

He had been a king in the past . The people had the utmost respect for Him . Yet He did not hesitate to give His life and serve as a slave to seek the Dharma . Noble beings with great wisdom are easiest to teach, yet He attained Bodhi only in this lifetime . This shows the difficulty even within easiness .

“Yet He did not hesitate to give His life and serve as a slave to seek the Dharma” . He even became a slave in order to seek the Dharma . He 否能 a mystic who told him, . “If you become my slave,. I will teach you the Dharma” . Even with this, He was able to endure! . So, people like this are “noble beings with great wisdom” . They “are easiest to teach” . People like this are the easiest ones to teach .

We just talked about how for Sakyamuni Buddha, lifetime after lifetime, regardless of the environment He found Himself in, . His will to seek the Dharma and engage in practice always increased and never decreased . This was true no matter what environment He was in . So, this describes how “noble beings with great wisdom are easiest to teach” . The environment never mattered . “Yet He attained Bodhi only in this lifetime” . Due to these [difficulties], it was not until now, until the era of Sakyamuni Buddha, that He manifested an appearance of engaging in spiritual practice and uniting with everything in the universe, attaining great awakening . There was nothing in the world that . He did not understand . He understood everything without hindrance .

This shows the “difficulty even within easiness” . [In that lifetime] when He was a king, there was nothing He could not do . However, the mystic had one condition for teaching Him the Dharma . “You must come and serve me. Whatever I want done, you can never disobey my orders or my instruction. Whatever I want done, you have to satisfy me” . So, He was originally a king, but He was asked to turn Himself into a slave in order to seek the Dharma . Mustn’t this have been difficult for Him? . So, this was to help us realize that, even with such difficulties, . He overcame them in His quest for the Dharma . Otherwise, who would willingly submit himself to such requirements? . In particular, as a king of the people, one with utmost respect and nobility, for the sake of seeking the Dharma, . He was willing to become someone’s slave . Who would subject himself to such stipulations? . Only the Buddha; this was how He valued the Dharma . So, in the Jataka Sutra [there are stories] like this about noble beings of superior wisdom that were able to do this .

Thus, the previous sutra passage says, .

“Throughout many kalpas,. I was constantly a king. I made vows to seek unsurpassed Bodhi and never retreated or deviated in my aspiration. This was because I wanted to perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas” .

He did all this solely to perfect His practice of the Six Paramitas . It was not that He did not know the principles of the Six Paramitas, it was just that He sought opportunities to experience them, to put them into practice and apply them . Just knowing them is not enough . Even if we already know all these principles, we need the opportunity to practice them . For example, yesterday at the morning assembly, . CEO Tsai [Ping-Kun] told us about what he saw at the Tainan Tzu Chi Middle School sports competition . The principal was not standing on the podium giving people orders; he came down to join the students and teachers in the competition . He exercised together with them, joining them on the sports field . He did not just stand on the podium giving orders . No, he joined everyone to “work together” with them, competing together with them . This is the same principle .

So, the next sutra passage says, .

“I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart, not elephants, horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms, cities, wives, children, slaves, maids, servants, not my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands or feet. I would not even begrudge my own life” .

As a king, in order to practice giving, . He was able to give up everything [including] external things like elephants, horses and the Seven Treasures, . His kingdom, wives and children, slaves, maids and servants . These are all external wealth; . He could give them all up . As for His “head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands or feet,” . He did not begrudge any of these things . These are internal wealth, things that are parts of His body . He “would not even begrudge His own life” . He was willing to give even this . So, all of this was to “perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas” .

Perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas: . The formal name for giving is the dana paramita . Guarding against the Seven Branches [of karma] is called the paramita of precepts . Enduring physical or verbal abuse without resentment is called the paramita of patience . Persevering in something the whole way through is called the paramita of diligence . Engaging in skillful contemplation is called the paramita of Samadhi . Wisdom is called the prajna paramita .

So, the formal name for giving is “the dana paramita” . Charitable giving is called “the dana paramita” . Of the Six Paramitas, “giving” is called “dana” . This is giving in order to transform sentient beings; it is being willing to give of oneself . Actually, by giving, we transform ourselves . Using the method of giving to others, we can cross from this shore to the other, turning this unenlightened state into an awakened one . Only by seeing past things was He able to give willingly . To give means to let go of all belongings, let go of all cravings, desires and afflictions . This is “the dana paramita” . Through giving, we can transform ourselves while helping others succeed [in their practice] .

“Guarding against the Seven Branches is called the paramita of precepts” . The Seven Branches are the three evils of the body and the four evils of speech .

The Seven Branches: . Among the ten evils, the first seven evils are called the Seven Branches . They are the three evils of the body, killing, stealing and sexual misconduct, and the four evils of speech, lies, flattery, gossip and harsh words .

The three evils of the body are killing, stealing and sexual misconduct . The four evils of speech are lies, flattery, gossip and harsh speech . These are called the Seven Branches . We should earnestly guard against the Seven Branches . Otherwise, our bodies will create negative karma and harm others and as well as ourselves . When we open our mouths to speak, if we gossip, speak harshly, tell lies, flatter others and so on, this also harms our virtue . These are the Seven Branches, the four of speech and the three of the body . Together these make seven . Thus, we must pay close attention to the precepts, uphold the precepts to protect ourselves against bodily and verbal transgressions .

So, “Enduring physical or verbal abuse without resentment is called the paramita of patience” . When we encounter [people] who have negative affinities with us, we must gladly accept this . No matter how adversely or harmfully they treat us, we must not repay them in kind . We must not “take an eye for an eye” but remain accommodating and willingly accept it . This is called “patience” . With “the paramita of patience,” we use patience to transform our minds . This is why it says, . “Enduring physical or verbal abuse without resentment is called the paramita of patience” . With patience, we transform our minds .

“Persevering in something the whole way through is called the paramita of diligence” . When we first form aspirations to do something, no matter what [challenges] we encounter, we must never change, from start to finish . Even throughout dust-inked kalpas, we never change . The 16 princes sought the Great Vehicle Dharma and listened to the Lotus Sutra, hoping to be able to open and reveal [the Dharma] and awaken to and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views . They would open and reveal to sentient beings until all beings were able to awaken to and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views . With this kind of diligence, having formed their initial aspirations, they never allowed themselves to become stuck or to give up half-way . Never! . So, . “Persevering in something the whole way through is called the paramita of diligence” . This is diligence . Whatever the environment was like, [they thought], . “Since I have formed an aspiration,. I will keep going like this. I will keep doing this the whole way through” .

So, “Engaging in skillful contemplation is called the paramita of Samadhi” . Our minds are never rocked by outside situations; we maintain our power of Samadhi . We remain uninfluenced by the outside environment . Whether conditions are favorable or adverse, our will to practice and to seek the Great Vehicle Dharma is never shaken . This is known as skillful contemplation . This is Samadhi, the power of Samadhi . This is what we must be very mindful of .

“Wisdom is called the prajna paramita” . We need to have wisdom . All of these things, including charitable giving such as giving of material wealth, are very important . From our external wealth all the way to [taking parts] of our own bodies, we [are] willing to give it all for others . Starting from this, we then arrive at how to interact with people and deal with matters . We must take great care when it comes to the Seven Branches, with what we say and how we treat people . We inevitably need to speak to others, so we must be very careful . In our actions and conduct, we must never transgress through killing, stealing, sexual misconduct and so forth .

If in this way we can carefully uphold the rules, not only will we not harm others, we will also be able to transform ourselves . These are all good things . Thus, favorable and adverse situations are all assisting conditions . So, we must never be vengeful . This is also a test of the strength of our will to spiritual practice . We must be patient; this is something we must be able to do . When we do things, we must be firm in our initial aspirations . If something is right, we must be resolute in accepting and upholding it . If we do not resolutely accept and uphold it, [we may think], “I give without any expectations. Why must I face so much ignorance?. Why must I suffer so many insults?. Why?” . We do it only for the Dharma .

How do achieve this? . By putting the Dharma into practice . It is not a matter of talking . It is not about yelling orders from a podium . We must come down and break a sweat and get involved ourselves . Only this is true spiritual practice . This is diligence . Our minds must be resolute; this is Samadhi . Samadhi does not mean just sitting in meditation . In fact, chopping wood and carrying water is also Samadhi . In all we say and do, we can be in Samadhi . Samadhi is having a resolute mind . If we can do this, then this is wisdom . Only with wisdom can we achieve the first five paramitas . The first five let us transform our own minds and firmly establish our wisdom . They enable our wisdom to be even more complete .

So, the Seven Branches come from our minds . Thoughts of greed, anger and ignorance are what cause the Seven Branches to stir . It is due to greed, desire, lust and so on that our body will kill, steal and engage in sexual misconduct . These all result from thoughts of greed . There are Ten Evils of body, speech and mind . The first seven of these are known as the Seven Branches . The Seven Branches include the three of the body, killing, stealing and sexual misconduct, and the four of speech, lies, flattery, gossip and harsh words . These three and four together make up the Seven Branches . These all arise from our minds .

So, there are the Six Paramitas; we “practice these Six Paramitas” . Everyone should more or less know this . They enable us to cross from this shore of samsara . This is delivering ourselves . When we practice the Six Paramitas, the Six Perfections, we might think that we are always doing good deeds for others . In fact, we are doing good deeds for ourselves . We are delivering ourselves . In this way we can cross from this shore of samsara .

The Six Paramitas: . Through practicing these Six Paramitas, we will cross from this shore of samsara . We will cross the currents of afflictions to reach the other shore of Nirvana . The Lotus Sutra’s Introductory Chapter states: . For the sake of the Bodhisattvas, . He responded by expounding the Six Paramitas .

Presently, as unenlightened beings, we do not know when birth or death will happen; when impermanence comes is beyond our control . In life, natural disasters and manmade calamities, the length of our own lives etc. are all things we cannot know about . Nobody knows when these will happen . These are some of life’s sufferings . We should now put effort into spiritual practice and rid ourselves of ignorance, afflictions and deluded thoughts . Then naturally our minds can be very clear and stable .

We have often spoken of “great perfect mirror wisdom” . If we can wipe the mirrors of our minds clean, then we naturally will remember, and not only everything in this lifetime; our memory of countless lifetimes in the past will also be very clear . People nowadays constantly remain in ignorance . Now, people often say that in this present age, they worry about the problems of the elderly . Their memories [fail]; as soon as they hear something, they forget . In their own daily living, they may have just eaten but then forget that they had just eaten . They may forget that they just had tea or food . They forget this too . This is called dementia .

Something that is so close, something they experienced with their own body, has been completely forgotten . This is what happens to ordinary beings . The Buddha could talk about His past lives, things that happened countless kalpas ago etc. . Was there anything in the world He did not know? . This resulted from His spiritual cultivation . He had already crossed from this shore of samsara . He already understood samsara; it was very clear to Him . “We will cross the current of afflictions 1000-foot swells rise in the river of cravings” . I often mention to everyone that from this shore of unenlightened beings, to get to the other shore of noble beings [we must cross] the great river between them . Once the wind of ignorance blows, the waves surge . So, crossing this current of afflictions is truly not easy .

However, the Six Paramitas are methods we can use to deliver ourselves . By giving to people in this world, we transform the ground of our own minds and help the ground of our minds settle . This current of afflictions is not something outside of us . It is inside our own minds . If we can calm this flow of afflictions in our minds, we naturally arrive at the other shore of Nirvana . In the Lotus Sutra, a passage from the Introductory Chapter says, . “For the sake of the Bodhisattvas,. He responded by expounding the Six Paramitas” . The Buddha came to the world with the objective of “expounding the Six Paramitas” for all Bodhisattvas . This was the Buddha’s goal in coming to the world . This was His one great cause .

So it says in the sutra, . “I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart” .

I earnestly practiced giving, begrudging nothing in my heart: . Among the Six Paramitas, giving is foremost . The dana paramita encompasses all practices . Thus, He said He earnestly practiced giving, sparing nothing, to teach the people of the world the foundations of spiritual practice .

This is the earnest and sincere practice of giving . His mind begrudged nothing . So, “Among the Six Paramitas, giving is foremost” . This is “the dana paramita” . This is charitable giving . “[It] encompasses all other practices. Thus He said He earnestly practiced giving,” that He very sincerely gave of Himself, “sparing nothing, to teach the people of the world the foundations of spiritual practice” .

So, “Those who cultivate the Bodhisattva-practice vow to seek the fruit of Buddhahood” . They enter the world seeking to attain Buddhahood . “Thus He earnestly increased His diligence” . Because of this, we must always be earnest and always increase our diligence “without the slightest bit of indolence” . We cannot afford to be indolent . Thus, we “widely gather all roots of goodness” .

This means that those who cultivate the Bodhisattva-practice vow to seek the fruit of Buddhahood. And so they earnestly increase their diligence without the slightest bit of indolence and widely gather all roots of goodness.

So, “elephants and horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms and cities” meant He could give them all away . These are all external forms of giving . This is the willingness to give of one’s external wealth .

Elephants, horses, the Seven Treasures, kingdoms, cities and so on show the external forms of giving . This is being able to part with external wealth . To remain unattached to love and desire and to give wives, children, slaves, maids etc. is an internal-external form of giving .

“To remain unattached to love and desire” means . He gave His own wives, children, slaves and maids . These are internal-external wealth . If one has desirous thoughts and cannot give these things away, these are still half-internal wealth . As for wives, children, slaves and maids, if someone wanted them, He would give them to him . These also count as external wealth . However, if in our minds we have thoughts of craving and desire, we remain attached to these and are unable to give them up . If we can give up the [desires] in our minds too, this is considered to be an internal-external form of giving .

So it says, “head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands and feet…. I would not even begrudge my own life” . Giving one’s head, eyes and so on are all “giving of one’s own life” . This is being willing to give the life inside us . “So long as someone requested it,. He would give it to them” .

Nor my head, eyes, marrow, brain, body, flesh, hands, feet. I would not even begrudge my own life: The giving of the head, eyes and the like, refers to the giving of one’s own life. So long as someone requested it, He would give it to them.

Whatever people requested, . He would give it to them . This is charitable giving, to take all internal and external wealth and, without begrudging anything, unstintingly give it all away . Even if they wanted His life, . He would give it to them . When one’s mind is without desires and cravings, one will naturally give . So, this is vowing to engage in the Bodhisattva-practice . If we seek to attain the fruit of Buddhahood, we must earnestly increase our diligence . We cannot be indolent in this .

Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, this is how we must practice . We must learn not to be attached to anything . We must not be grasping, but be willing to give of ourselves . However, we often say, . “Take good care of your health!” . That’s right! We need to care for our bodies too! . We should not do useless things and be unnecessarily wasteful . Some people waste their bodies doing nothing; this is abusing our own bodies . With our bodies, we can do meaningful things . This is like those elderly Bodhisattvas; they are willing . “I am ill, but what can I do at home?. If I go out, at least I can do something and gain some joy at the same time!” . They are making good use of their lives, still serving others . They give of their wealth and of themselves . “I can go outside. I am free to help many people” . They are joyful, for they too are able to give . We should use our wisdom to analyze this power of love . Thus, we must always be mindful!

Ch12-ep1321

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Scott Ogata