Author: Scott Ogata

Episode 735 – Helping Sentient Beings and Purifying Buddha-lands

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>> Entering the Dharma-nature together is playing freely within spiritual powers. What Bodhisattvas practice and uphold is purifying Buddha-lands. Upon attaining Buddhahood, we will have a reward-land to make use of. Bringing sentient beings to fruition is a way of dignifying ourselves.

>> [As for] purifying Buddha-lands, and perfecting sentient beings, we took no joy in these. Why was this so? The World-Honored One had helped us to transcend the Three Realms and attain realization of Nirvana.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> Bringing sentient beings to fruition: The Buddha transformed and delivered sentient beings through the Dharma. He enabled those who had not yet planted roots of goodness to plant them, those whose roots were not mature to mature and those whose roots were mature to be liberated.

>> That every place where there are sentient beings is a place that Bodhisattvas must go to for spiritual practice; each is a pure land. So Ever since [Bodhisattvas’] initial aspiration when they made the great vows, they have walked the Bodhisattva-path without retreating. Through the sentient beings they transform, they can attain a pure-land. When Bodhisattvas.

>> For the sake of dignifying the Buddha-lands, Bodhisattvas return repeatedly to teach and transform sentient beings. As sentient beings are taught and transformed, they are perfected both mentally and physically. Due to their pure and positive karma, in the future they will certainly be born with both circumstantial and direct retributions of being in a pure Buddha-land. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> Both the helper and the helped attain purity. Those who mobilize their own strength are helpers. The receptive and affected ones are the helped. The helpers are those who transform others; they are Bodhisattvas. The helped are those transformed; they are sentient beings. Thus teaching and transforming all beings is called bringing sentient beings to fruition.

>> We took no joy in these: When the Buddha taught the Great Vehicle, Subhuti and the others had long been acquainted with it through listening, so as they sat there, conversely they became tired and lax. They remained stuck there in their realizations, in their bias towards emptiness and took no joy or interest in all the work of the Great Vehicle.

>> Because the World-Honored One helped me, Subhuti, and the other practitioners of the Two Vehicles to practice according to the World-Honored One’s teachings of the Four Noble Truths and other Dharma, we ended accumulation, extinguished suffering and escaped the Three Realms. Upon observing this Bodhisattva Way, we saw all things as empty. We thought that we had achieved realization of Nirvana and that we were no different from the Buddha, so we had no endurance to do anything else.

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“Entering the Dharma-nature together is playing freely within spiritual powers.
What Bodhisattvas practice and uphold is purifying Buddha-lands. Upon attaining Buddhahood, we will have a reward-land to make use of.
Bringing sentient beings to fruition is a way of dignifying ourselves.”

As Buddhist practitioners, we must have objectives. In addition to seeking the Buddha-Dharma, we seek to bring ourselves to fruition. In life, ignorance and afflictions cover us, and there is much we do not know. Because we do not know why things are this way, we are even less able to understand why, in our daily living, so many things do not go the way we want. Eight or nine out of ten things do not go our way. Indeed, many times our intention to pursue things does not yield the result we want. Isn’t this very hard on us? Buddhist sutras speak of “the suffering of not getting what we want.” Unfortunately, we humans want to pursue things, and this pursuit is very hard on us. In particular, throughout this process of “birth, aging, illness and death,” each person has their own set of afflictions. How can we let go of these afflictions and make the most of our relationships, this time and this space?

Subhuti, Katyayana, Mahakasyapa and Maudgalyayana, these four elders among the Buddha’s disciples, repented and confessed what was in the depths of their hearts. Though they themselves had listened to the Dharma, they still had a long way to go before they could “enter the Dharma-nature together.” So, when it came to the Great Vehicle Dharma and “playing freely within spiritual powers in the world,” they had no interest at all. Since they believed before that the world was impermanent, suffering, empty and without self, so why would they go into the world to contrive more karmic affinities? This being their point of view, they had no interest in “playing freely in the world”; they found “entering the Dharma-nature together” to be very difficult.

We should understand that “playing freely within spiritual powers” is in fact true liberation. To give without expectations, we must practice the Three Spheres of Emptiness. Isn’t that right? We see this from many Tzu Chi volunteers; even when they join international relief efforts, they must cover their own expenses. They may have to take a very long journey and travel by land, sea and air. No matter how high up into the mountains or how difficult it is for vehicles to get through, though the journey may be very difficult, they will complete their mission of giving to and comforting suffering sentient beings. Having completed this task, they return home happy and at ease

[I say,] “You all must be so tired!” [They say,] “Not at all! We are grateful that Master has given us this opportunity.” See, there are many such Bodhisattvas in the world. They give to others no matter how tiring it is and then return home filled with Dharma-joy. They have entered the Dharma-nature, “taking the Buddha-mind as their own and taking their teacher’s mission as their own.” Though making the round-trip journey is tiring, because they make it willingly, they feel as if they are playing.

So, “What Bodhisattvas practice and uphold is purifying Buddha-lands.” What Bodhisattvas practice and uphold, their goal, everything they cultivate and create, is for the sake of “purifying Buddha-lands.” We learn the Buddha’s Way to attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must first create positive affinities. Every single Buddha and Bodhisattva has spent countless kalpas, lifetime after lifetime, in the Six Realms. Wherever there are sentient beings, there will be Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

I saw a [story about] a dog in Taiwan. A person had bought some fish and left them on the ground. They were still alive and struggling wildly. This dog quickly found some water close by that had accumulated in a depression. Then the dog used his snout to splash water from the puddle onto the bodies of the fish. He even held his snout against the fish’s mouth as if checking to see if the fish was breathing. He continued splashing water, even though the shallowness of the depression meant his snout was damaged by its impact against the ground. Yet he kept splashing water to keep the fish alive.

All sentient beings have Buddha-nature! On Facebook, there was even a veterinarian who said, “This dog is a very spiritual being! He may be the Buddha reborn.” When I heard this, I was really moved. You see, the Six Realms are the realms of sentient beings, and dogs are sentient beings in the Six Realms. By acting in the way that he did, with such compassion, you can see how he is forming affinities with sentient beings on his way to attaining Buddhahood.

To have “a reward-land to make use of,” we must now form affinities with sentient beings. No matter the realm and the kind of being, we must help them. Even that dog could touch so many people. So, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we hope that one day we will [attain Buddhahood]; not knowing how much longer it will take, [we hope] one day we too can attain Buddhahood. If in this life we form many positive affinities, in a future life, in the reward-land we have, we will be well-liked by everyone. Every word that we speak, people will believe. Everything that we do, people will affirm. This is “having a reward-land to make use of.”

We all have both circumstantial and direct retributions. But as for how our lives turn out in the future, that depends entirely upon us. Will we face good or evil? If we have formed positive affinities, everything will be very joyful. If we have formed negative affinities with people, we must willingly repay our debts to get a discount. This is how life works. The environment we experience now as retribution is “a reward-land [we have] to make use of.” Helping to bring all sentient beings to fruition “is the way to dignify ourselves.”

“Wisdom comes from experience”; when we go among people and learn what they suffer from, what their needs are, we will know how to serve others. “Oh, so this is the method we can use to help sentient beings who suffer in that way.” When people have been helped, we feel happy. This strengthens our knowledge and wisdom of walking the Bodhisattva-path. So, on one hand we are “bringing sentient beings to fruition”; on the surface we seem to be helping people, but in fact we are learning the Buddha’s Way. This is actualizing the Bodhisattva-path. Doing this “is the way to dignify ourselves.”

In the previous sutra passage it states, “[As for] purifying Buddha-lands and bringing sentient beings to fruition, we took no joy in these.” Those four elders said they “took no joy in these.” They were unwilling; they did not want to. Why was this? After listening to the Dharma for so long, they were feeling tired, and they were quite old as well. It was for these reasons that when it came to “freely playing within spiritual powers, purifying Buddha-lands and bringing sentient beings to fruition,” they were unwilling and uninterested. “Why was this so?” Why was this the case?

The following passage states, “Why was this so? The World-Honored One had helped us to transcend the Three Realms and attain realization of Nirvana.”

「於菩薩法，遊戲神通、[As for] purifying Buddha-lands, and perfecting sentient beings, we took no joy in these. Why was this so? The World-Honored One had helped us to transcend the Three Realms and attain realization of Nirvana.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

Didn’t the Buddha tell them this at the beginning? He wanted to help them escape the Three Realms and attain Nirvana and the fruits of realization. When they heard this, they put [the Dharma] into practice. From the time they were young until now, they worked to escape the Three Realms and move in the direction of realizing Nirvana. This is what “Subhuti and the others” expressed.

Bringing sentient beings to fruition: The Buddha transformed and delivered sentient beings through the Dharma. He enabled those who had not yet planted roots of goodness to plant them, those whose roots were not mature to mature and those whose roots were mature to be liberated.

Now let us explain “bringing sentient beings to fruition”. The Buddha hoped to first help everyone plant roots of goodness, to help them understand they must “refrain from all evil and do all that is good.” The world is filled with suffering; people have accumulated much negative karma, so they have experienced much suffering. The Buddha told everyone not to commit evil; ever since the beginning, in the Agama period, the Buddha constantly told us this

“[He enabled] sentient beings whose roots were not mature to mature.” For those who have planted roots of goodness, it is not enough simply to sow a seed; we must continue to work hard. We must take good care of the soil, make sure it gets adequate water, sunlight and fresh air. Then the seed will sprout and grow into a tree. We must help it mature, then, “Those whose roots are mature can be liberated.” We first help everyone plant roots of goodness and take the Dharma deeply to heart. After they take the Dharma deeply to heart, they will attain liberation.

These four elders had not yet developed a very deep understanding; in fact, “Anywhere sentient beings are is a pure land where Bodhisattvas practice.” Actually, any place with sentient beings is a place for spiritual practice. This is not only about humans; even the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms need Bodhisattvas to relieve the suffering of sentient beings. This was the Buddha’s goal. However, Small Vehicle practitioners did not recognize this. They did not realize that the Buddha taught them

that every place where there are sentient beings is a place that Bodhisattvas must go to for spiritual practice; each is a pure land. So “Ever since [Bodhisattvas’] initial aspiration when they made the great vows, they have walked the Bodhisattva-path without retreating. Through the sentient beings they transform, they can attain a pure-land.”

When Bodhisattvas save and transform sentient beings, they do not just form affinities with them in this life; they follow those sentient beings wherever they go. Before the Buddha had attained Buddhahood, He aspired and vowed to do this. Walking the Bodhisattva-path is always like this; these are the pure lands of Bodhisattvas, where they play freely within spiritual powers.

For the sake of dignifying the Buddha-lands, Bodhisattvas return repeatedly to teach and transform sentient beings. As sentient beings are taught and transformed, they are perfected both mentally and physically. Due to their pure and positive karma, in the future they will certainly be born with both circumstantial and direct retributions of being in a pure Buddha-land.

“For the sake of dignifying Buddha-lands, Bodhisattvas return repeatedly to teach and transform sentient beings. As sentient beings are taught and transformed, they are brought to fruition in body and mind; this is their pure and positive karma.” If sentient beings constantly receive these teachings over a long period of time, naturally they will accumulate much good karma. So, “In the future, they will certainly be born with both circumstantial and direct retributions of being in a pure Buddha-land.”

Everyone is clear on “circumstantial and direct retributions.” We will follow the blessings that we created to go to these places. Because of our direct retributions, we have been able to come together with sentient beings who have purified their minds and have cultivated good karma. This is a pure Buddha-land

Both the helper and the helped attain purity. Those who mobilize their own strength are helpers. The receptive and affected ones are the helped. The helpers are those who transform others; they are Bodhisattvas. The helped are those transformed; they are sentient beings. Thus teaching and transforming all beings is called “bringing sentient beings to fruition.”

“Both the helpers and the helped attain purity.” As for the “helpers” and the “helped,” the “helpers” are those who can save others, and the “helped” are sentient beings who are saved. Bodhisattvas are the ones who save, and sentient beings are those who are saved. Thus, “The helpers and the helped [both] attain purity.” The helpers, the Bodhisattvas, are pure, and the sentient beings who are saved are pure too. “Those who mobilize their own strength are helpers.” People who are self-motivated, Bodhisattvas who save people, are “helpers.” The ones who transform are Bodhisattvas; the ones who are transformed are sentient beings. This is why [Bodhisattvas] are teaching and transforming sentient beings and “bringing sentient beings to fruition.”

But “Subhuti and the others took no joy in these.” Though the Buddha encouraged them to do this, they thought, “He is only encouraging Bodhisattvas. He is not talking about us.” Only now did they realize this. Subhuti expressed this on everyone’s behalf. His tone was very repentant. In the past, they “took no joy in these.” They had no interest in this.

They only wanted to eliminate cyclic existence and afflictions; they had no interest in transforming sentient beings. Why did they “take no joy in these”? Subhuti said, “As the Buddha taught the Great Vehicle, over time, we became used to hearing it.” They constantly listened. “So as they sat there, instead they became tired and lax.” After listening so long they had become used to it. So, no happiness or jubilance arose within them, nor willingness to accept it or to give to others.

We took no joy in these: When the Buddha taught the Great Vehicle, Subhuti and the others had long been acquainted with it through listening, so as they sat there, conversely they became tired and lax. They remained stuck there in their realizations, in their bias towards emptiness and took no joy or interest in all the work of the Great Vehicle.

We say we must “sustain our initial aspiration.” To always be happy and jubilant when listening to the Dharma and then to act on it is truly very difficult. So, we often say, “Lay Bodhisattva-practitioners are very wise.” Because lay Bodhisattvas spend time in society, they see and come in contact with many people. Thus, whenever they listen to the Dharma, they gain many realizations. This is why they are so willing to accept [teachings] and happily give to others. If people live uneventful lives, peacefully, quietly and without ever suffering, it is hard to give rise to that kind of aspiration.

So, “They remained stuck there in their realizations.” They stopped in that state where, “I have already eliminated my afflictions, and my days pass uneventfully. This is good enough. This is because I understand ’emptiness,’ that all things are empty.” But they were unaware that they had attachments; they clung to their bias toward emptiness. So, they had not realized the ultimate state of “emptiness.” They now knew that, “In their bias towards emptiness, they took no joy or interest in all the work of the Great Vehicle.” This was what Subhuti repented. He expressed this to explain what was in their minds.

Because the World-Honored One helped me, Subhuti, and the other practitioners of the Two Vehicles to practice according to the World-Honored One’s teachings of the Four Noble Truths and other Dharma, we ended accumulation, extinguished suffering and escaped the Three Realms. Upon observing this Bodhisattva Way, we saw all things as empty. We thought that we had achieved realization of Nirvana and that we were no different from the Buddha, so we had no endurance to do anything else.

Because the World-Honored One helped me, Subhuti, and the other practitioners of the Two Vehicles to practice according to the World-Honored One’s teachings of the Four Noble Truths and other Dharma, we ended accumulation, extinguished suffering and escaped the Three Realms.

In the past, the World-Honored One taught them to escape the Three Realms and attain Nirvana. This was what He taught, so we relied on the World-Honored One’s teachings of the Four Noble Truths and other Dharma. The past Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna teachings all used these kinds of methods to end suffering, to bring the causes of suffering to cessation, to be able to escape the Three Realms

“Upon observing this Bodhisattva Way, we saw all things as empty.” We thought that we had achieved realization of Nirvana and that we were no different from the Buddha. We had no endurance to do anything else. “Upon observing the Bodhisattva Way, we saw all things as empty.” Because they felt that going into the world and transforming others was something that was empty, they rejected the teachings. “We thought we achieved realization of Nirvana” and “were no different from the Buddha.” They thought the Buddha’s spiritual practice ultimately ends with Him entering Nirvana. However, what they did not know was that the Buddha’s attainment of great Nirvana is something all beings can achieve equally. When He gives to sentient beings, He expects nothing in return. He has been doing this for a long time, but it is as if no time had passed. This is why we constantly say, “Seize the present moment and sustain it forever.” This “present moment” that we seize may be quite short, but we can sustain it forever so as to reach Nirvana together with sentient beings of the Six Realms. He hopes that all sentient beings can understand the truth of all principles in the world, which are without shape or substance. For a vast number of kalpas, an incalculable period of time, the Buddha repeatedly returned to the Six Realms, constantly coming and going to save and deliver sentient beings and bring all beings to the same state of Nirvana.

Dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners we must exercise great patience and have the mindset of great Nirvana to mindfully “enter the Dharma-nature together.” To truly “purify Buddha-lands” we must “bring sentient beings to fruition.” In so doing, we dignify ourselves with the Dharma and are dignifying Buddha-lands. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 734 – Enter the Buddha’s Wisdom to Purify Buddha-lands

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>> With faith and understanding of wondrous Dharma, we stand at the ground of joy. By recognizing the true principles, we stand at the ground of freedom from defilement. By entering the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom, we reach the ground of radiating light. With utmost purity and clarity, we are at the ground of blazing wisdom.

>> When one first attains a degree of awakening, that is the ground of joy. When Bodhisattvas uphold the pure precepts, that is the ground of freedom from defilement. Replete with wisdom of innate enlightenment, one is at the ground of radiating light. Tranquil, clear and pure perfect awakening brings one to the ground of blazing wisdom.

>> “In the past, the World-Honored One had expounded the Dharma to us for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers…. 、淨佛國土、成就眾生，心不喜樂.”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> In the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, there is the following sutra passage. If Bodhisattvas vow to attain a pure land, they must first purify their own minds. As their own minds are purified, so is the Buddha-land.

>> One must realize eight teachings in a land to make it a pure land: The first is richly benefiting sentient beings without expecting anything in return and accepting much suffering in the place of all sentient beings. All the merit and virtue created are completely given away.

>> The second is treating all sentient beings with a mind of equality, by being humble and not creating hindrances.

>> The third is looking upon all Bodhisattvas as if they were Buddhas.

>> The fourth is listening to the sutras one has not yet heard without any doubts.

>> The fifth is not turning our back on Hearers.

>> The sixth is not being jealous of others’ contributions, not being conceited of one’s advantages and through this process subduing one’s mind.

>> The seventh is constantly reflecting upon one’s own faults while not announcing the shortcomings of others.

>> The eighth is forever wholeheartedly seeking all merits and virtues.

>> Land: The place where sentient beings face circumstantial retributions, which is created by sentient beings’ collective good karma. This place came into existence through the minds of sentient beings.

>> Bodhisattvas make great vows to transform and deliver sentient beings whenever they appear and thus attain purity in thought and action.

>> When the hearts of sentient beings are pure, they collectively create good and blessed karma, thus the land of their circumstantial and direct retributions will be pure. To purify the minds of sentient beings, one must rely upon the Buddha-Dharma. Thus purifying sentient beings’ minds is also purifying Buddha-lands.

>> Bodhisattvas benefit, nourish and bring all sentient beings to maturity, all without limits. This is like rain after a long drought, when all plants and trees and forests will grow and flower and fruit, and all will be brought to fruition. Thus it says, bringing sentient beings to fruition.

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“With faith and understanding of wondrous Dharma, we stand at the ground of joy.
By recognizing the true principles, we stand at the ground of freedom from defilement.
By entering the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom, we reach the ground of radiating light.
With utmost purity and clarity, we are at the ground of blazing wisdom.”

We constantly talk about “faith and understanding.” We need to have deep faith and understanding and must be mindful to truly realize the wondrousness of the principles. If we can comprehend the truly wondrous applications of the principles, the joy we feel will be indescribable.

As we said yesterday, “Subhuti and the others,” the four elders, told the Buddha frankly that. He had already taught the Dharma for so long, and they “were always present.” They were tired from listening; they were exhausted. They had also seen the Buddha bestow predictions of Buddhahood on the Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas, so they felt, “[The Great Vehicle] is limited to. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and it has nothing to do with me. I have no part in attaining Buddhahood. That is because my goal is to eliminate afflictions and no longer transmigrate in the Six Realms. I am content with that.” Thus they stopped at the state of the Two Vehicles. They did not seek to keep advancing, so they were unable to realize the Great Vehicle. The joy of truly going among people was something they could not experience.

The difference in those who [go among people] is that those who do this may feel physically tired, but their hearts are joyful. So, “With faith and understanding of wondrous Dharma, we stand at the ground of joy.” This is like our initial enlightenment. In the past, we did not know anything. Now that we have heard [the Dharma], we feel, “I know now that the Dharma can actually help us eliminate all of our attachments. The Dharma helps us eliminate our afflictions. Now that I understand the principles, I have awakened.” This then gives rise to joy that comes from the bottom of our hearts.

“By recognizing the true principles….” If we can truly eradicate our afflictions, with every bit of affliction we remove, we will gain a bit of wisdom. We will understand the principles of absolute truth. When we recognize these principles, naturally we will “stand at the ground of freedom from defilement.” Having eradicated all of our afflictions, what are we still clinging to? What are we still fighting over?

Thus, “By entering the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom, we reach the ground of radiating light.” Since we are in this environment, we must steadfastly engage in spiritual practice. With our mind and body in harmony, if we carry out our responsibilities in this environment, we will attain mastery. If we can do this, we will gradually realize the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. We will be very clear on them, so there will be no darkness in our minds. Then naturally, “We [will] reach the ground of radiating light.” If we “enter the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom,” our minds will be clear and bright. Free of darkness, they will radiate light.

“With utmost purity and clarity….” If our mind is completely pure and free from all kinds of afflictions, if we have eradicated all of our afflictions, our wisdom will be radiant. This is “the ground of blazing wisdom.”

Sentient beings share collective karma. If everyone has a pure mind, this creates a “place of purity.” If our minds are filled with afflictions, even a place of spiritual practice will become the “place of afflictions.” So, we must take the Dharma to heart. For us to take the Dharma to heart and for our minds to be pure and bright, we must attain an awakening. It is because we are seeking to awaken that we must listen to the Dharma and take the principles to heart. And to take the principles to heart, we need to have “faith and understanding.” We must believe in and mindfully experience the wondrousness of the Dharma. Only then will we be able to be joyful and eradicate afflictions. Only then can we radiate light from our minds and exercise the brilliance of our wisdom

When one first attains a degree of awakening, that is the ground of joy. When Bodhisattvas uphold the pure precepts, that is the ground of freedom from defilement. Replete with wisdom of innate enlightenment, one is at the ground of radiating light. Tranquil, clear and pure perfect awakening brings one to the ground of blazing wisdom.

In the previous sutra passage, “Subhuti and the others,” four of the leaders of the Sangha, expressed to the Buddha that they had the wrong mindset in the past. This was their repentance and their sincere confession.

The World-Honored One had already expounded the Dharma to them for a very long time ․”We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers….”

“Emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance” were what they were stuck on contemplating. “As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers,” they did not put their hearts into pursuing this Dharma.

Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world; they use all kinds of methods to play freely. What is the Bodhisattva Way? What is “playing freely within spiritual powers”? To follow the Bodhisattva Way we must form great aspirations. To have “spiritual powers” and be free of obstructions truly takes great aspirations.

The following sutra passage states, “As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers, purifying Buddha-lands and bringing sentient beings to fruition, we took no joy in these.” This was what the se four leaders of the Sangha had said. They were tired of listening to the Dharma, so “[They] took no joy in these.” As they listened, they had become tired. We can sense that Subhuti, Mahakatyayana, Kasyapa and Maudgalyayana were very frank. They deeply repented [their old ways] and spoke of this in front of the Buddha.

Let us see how we can “purify Buddha-lands” In the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, there is the following sutra passage. “If Bodhisattvas vow to attain a pure land, they must first purify their own minds. As their own minds are purified, so is the Buddha-land.”

This was said by Vimalakirti, a lay practitioner. “In a land, one must realize eight teachings.” If we want to “purify Buddha-lands,” there are eight ways. Let us hear the eight methods he shared.

One must realize eight teachings in a land to make it a pure land: The first is richly benefiting sentient beings without expecting anything in return and accepting much suffering in the place of all sentient beings. All the merit and virtue created are completely given away.

First, we need to “benefit sentient beings without expecting anything in return and accept all kinds of suffering in the place of all sentient beings. All the merit and virtue created must be completely given away.”

This is what the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra states. Aren’t the things Tzu Chi volunteers do in line with this? Yes, we are truly working to “benefit sentient beings.” We give unconditionally, “without expecting anything in return.” We accept all kinds of suffering in the place of all sentient beings.

Look at the gas explosion in Kaohsiung. Tzu Chi volunteers in the Kaohsiung area have been helping for a long time, around 20 days. Even now, they are still walking through the disaster area. They walk until their feet develop blisters. Yet look at their faces. They are all smiling very happily. When they meet with disaster survivors, they speak gently, comforting them. Then they say to the survivors, “I’m grateful to you! I was worried about you. But when I saw you smiling and looking peaceful, I feel very happy and grateful.”

You see, we should “accept all kinds of suffering in the place of all sentient beings.” We feel others’ pain and suffering as our own, so their worries become our worries. When it was time to register for school, we rushed to comfort the families beforehand. “Don’t worry. If you need help, we’ll help you figure it out. Oh, it is tomorrow? I will bring the registration fee today.” Just like that, “All the merit and virtue created must be completely given away.” When sentient beings have a need, we will help meet it

The second is “treating all sentient beings with a mind of equality, by being humble and not creating hindrances.”

With a mind of equality, we do not discriminate. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, so we must treat all sentient beings and all human beings equally. Whether you are called an “elder” or a “descendant,” those are just labels. We should treat everyone equally.

However, to behave with proper etiquette, if someone is our elder, such as our grandfather, our parents, our great-grandfather, we must treat them with propriety. But they intrinsically have Buddha-nature, as do we. Among human beings, there is a moral order to family relationships, but everyone’s intrinsic nature is equal. Regardless of whether they are cats or dogs, all living, moving creatures are equal. So even if we have a higher status, we must be modest and humble. This is the second way

The third is “looking upon all Bodhisattvas as if they were Buddhas.”

Do you still remember? When chanting the Lotus Sutra [we hear how]. Never Slighting Bodhisattva did not care if others bullied him, hit him or threw stones at him. He would dodge aside and still prostrate to them. “I dare not slight you because you will attain Buddhahood in the future.” This is the mindset of Bodhisattvas; they see everyone as Buddhas

The fourth is “listening to the sutras one has not yet heard without any doubts.”

When we listen to sutras we hear the True Dharma. We must listen mindfully. These texts beginning with, “Thus have I heard,” are the ones we must mindfully comprehend and understand without any doubts. We must absorb the Dharma and take it to heart to develop our wisdom-life. If we have doubts, it is like splashing water onto a rock. Once water is splashed on it, the surface of the rock is wet. But it dries quickly; the water cannot seep in

The fifth is “not turning our back on Hearers.”

Although we are with Hearers, people who practice the Small Vehicle Dharma, we should not reject them. They have their way of spiritual practice, and we have our way of forming aspirations to go among the people. Instead of rejecting them, we must think of ways to slowly guide them to join us in going among the people. We must not look down on. Hearers and Small Vehicle practitioners. In practicing the Bodhisattva Way, the Great can accommodate the Small

The sixth is “not being jealous of others’ contributions, not being conceited of one’s advantages and through this process subduing one’s mind.”

When people are more outstanding than us, we must not be jealous of them. We should admire them and be happy for them. What if other people are jealous of us? We must further humble ourselves.

We must not constantly show off how great we are, how exceptional we are, how superior we are. We must not be like this. If we can humble ourselves, naturally people who are jealous of us will gradually become less jealous as they recognize we are acting out of sincerity and that everything we do is done out of genuine affection

The seventh is “constantly reflecting upon one’s own faults while not announcing the shortcomings of others.”

Regardless of others’ shortcomings or others’ weaknesses, we must not go around talking about them, criticizing them over what is right or wrong. That is not right. Do others [criticize] us because they are jealous of how great we are? Perhaps it is because we have many weaknesses. When people criticize us, we should earnestly engage in self-reflection, not talk about how what they are doing is wrong. This is “not announcing the shortcomings of others”

The eighth is “forever wholeheartedly seeking all merits and virtues.”

“Seeking all merits and virtues” does not mean being attached to them. “Being humble in our hearts brings merit. Being courteous to others brings virtue.” If we can be “humble in our hearts,” then by applying this skill, naturally we will constantly reflect on ourselves and will not create karma of speech by announcing other people’s shortcomings. We must deal with people and matters courteously and be accommodating.

If we can do all this, these are eight ways of “purifying Buddha-Lands”

Land: The place where sentient beings face circumstantial retributions, which is created by sentient beings’ collective good karma. This place came into existence through the minds of sentient beings.

“Land” is the place where sentient beings face circumstantial and direct retributions. It is “created by sentient beings’ collective good karma.” We followed our causes and conditions here. The causes and conditions we created in the past led us to this place, where we began to listen to the Buddha-Dharma, so we must earnestly accumulate good karma together. If we can collectively accumulate good karma, our minds will be pure, so the land will be pure. With our minds we can create a pure land

Bodhisattvas make great vows to transform and deliver sentient beings whenever they appear and thus attain purity in thought and action.

“Bodhisattvas make great vows to transform and deliver sentient beings whenever they appear and thus attain purity in thought and action.” We must engage in Bodhisattva-practices. For countless lifetimes up to this day, we have had to unceasingly make great vows. We vow to accomplish this aspiration to deliver and transform sentient beings whenever they appear. We hope everyone can attain purity in thought and action. We must now quickly engage in spiritual practice to cultivate a pure mind. If we successfully attain a pure mind, in subsequent lifetimes when we form Bodhisattva-aspirations, we will have those merits and virtues. We will have the merit of internal cultivation and the external appearance [of virtue] with which we can transform people. Transforming people and purifying their minds is “purifying Buddha-lands”

When the hearts of sentient beings are pure, they collectively create good and blessed karma, thus the land of their circumstantial and direct retributions will be pure. To purify the minds of sentient beings, one must rely upon the Buddha-Dharma. Thus purifying sentient beings’ minds is also purifying Buddha-lands.

“When the hearts of sentient beings are pure, they collectively create good and blessed karma.” If everyone here has a pure heart, this place will be blessed. When we collectively create blessed karma, this land where we face our circumstantial retribution, this land which supports us, will be pure; this can also purify the minds of sentient beings. In an environment where everyone’s mind is pure, we will be able to [go out and] transform others and bring purity to their hearts. To achieve this purity, we must also “rely upon the Buddha-Dharma.” We have to rely on the Buddha-Dharma so that our hearts can be pure. Only when our hearts are pure can we purify the hearts of sentient beings. This is “purifying Buddha-lands.”

Bodhisattvas benefit, nourish and bring all sentient beings to maturity, all without limits. This is like rain after a long drought, when all plants and trees and forests will grow and flower and fruit, and all will be brought to fruition. Thus it says, bringing sentient beings to fruition.

“Bringing sentient beings to fruition” is when. “Bodhisattvas benefit, nourish and bring all sentient beings to maturity” ․Bodhisattvas benefit, nourish and bring all sentient beings to maturity, all without limits. This is like rain after a long drought, when all plants and trees and forests will grow and flower and fruit, and all will be brought to fruition. Thus it says, “bringing sentient beings to fruition.”

This is how Bodhisattvas bring sentient beings to fruition. First, they benefit them with the Dharma; they nourish all sentient beings with the Dharma. When sentient beings are nourished with Dharma, they will be brought to maturity and will bring to fruition a pure mind “without limits. One gives rise to infinity; infinity arises from one” [The Dharma] is like rain. Those in an arid land only ask for rain. Once the rain falls, the land thrives. When a wilted forest is nourished by rain, the trees will flourish and will produce an abundance of flowers and fruit. Thus they are brought to fruition.

Dear Bodhisattvas, truly we must have faith and understanding. If we have faith in and understand the Buddha-Dharma, we can mindfully enter the Path. Then naturally this Dharma will be wondrous to us. If we are joyful every day, we can take true principles to heart and sweep away all afflictions. When we awaken our wisdom, when we enter the ocean of enlightened wisdom, our minds will radiate light “with utmost purity and clarity.” If our minds are pure, this clarity will come from the light of the ground of blazing wisdom. What is so difficult about this? We just need to sweep away our afflictions and benefit sentient beings in everything we do; that is the right thing to do. Then we are truly. Living Bodhisattvas playing freely in this world, purifying Buddha-lands. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 733 – Bodhisattvas Play Freely Within Spiritual Powers

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>> Bodhisattvas play freely within the wondrous application, subduing all demon armies inside the mirror. They realize the Bodhi within the dream. Within this illusive and empty existence, they are able to truly play. They are successful in seeking the Buddha’s Way while transforming sentient beings. They purify the Buddha-lands with wondrous application.

>> “In the past, the World-Honored One had expounded the Dharma to us for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers…. （、淨佛國土、成就眾生，心不喜樂）”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> As for the Bodhisattva Way: These are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. The Fourfold Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Bases of Fulfilling Power, the Five Spiritual Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Factors of Bodhi and the Eightfold Noble Path are all important spiritual nourishment for the practice of the Path.

>> These 37 Practices to Enlightenment are practiced along with the Six Paramitas and the Four All-Embracing Virtues, charitable giving, loving speech, beneficial conduct, collaborative work.

>> The spiritual practice of the Bodhisattvas is different from the practice of the Hearers and this is the reason Two Vehicle practitioners feel no joy in their hearts for the practice of the Great Vehicle or for going among the people.

>> Playing freely with spiritual powers: This is the teaching of the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment, and refers to the spiritual powers belonging to all Bodhisattvas at the first ground or above.

>> Spiritual refers to the mind. It is said a tranquil mind reflects all things. Remembrance of past lives, as well as all kinds of clear discernment, derive from the power of Samadhi. As they do not have obstructions, they are known as spiritual powers.

>> All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas save sentient beings out of compassion and treat what they do as playing.

>> Venerable Sakyamuni used the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment to play freely while transforming others: 1. The descent from Tusita heaven. 2. Entry into his mother’s womb. 3. Birth in the human world. 4. Leaving the lay life. 5. His period of ascetic practice. 6. His attainment of enlightenment. 7. The turning of the Dharma-wheel. 8. Entering into Parinirvana.

>> Buddhas and Bodhisattvas play within their spiritual powers, transforming and delivering sentient beings while having fun and enjoying themselves. Thus it says that they play freely.

>> One who plays: It means one who is free and at ease, without any hindrances.

>> The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas use their spiritual power to captivate and transform sentient beings. They can come and go without hindrance, with freedom and ease.

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“Bodhisattvas play freely within the wondrous application, subduing all demon armies inside the mirror.
They realize the Bodhi within the dream.
Within this illusive and empty existence, they are able to truly play. They are successful in seeking the Buddha’s Way while transforming sentient beings.
They purify the Buddha-lands with wondrous application.”

In life, when it comes to spiritual practice, we must make an effort to be mindful. Since we have developed Bodhicitta, we need to walk the Bodhisattva-path. As we must faithfully accept [the Dharma], we must have deep faith. As we begin this journey, we must not be afraid of the long road ahead. We should just fulfill our basic responsibilities and do what we are supposed to do. So, there is no need to calculate how long this will take. We just need to form the aspiration to walk the Bodhisattva-path, then do this in life after life.

With a true Bodhisattva-mind, [those vows] are deep and firm in our hearts. Then in our future lifetimes, wherever there are sentient beings, we will manifest to transform them no matter how hard it is, even if it means going into the hell, hungry ghost or animal realm. This is to say nothing of playing in the human realm, having a mindset of playing freely in this world or in the other realms of sentient beings, within the wondrous application.

Sometimes, people say, “Isn’t everything empty? If you engage in spiritual practice and strive to transform others, just what do those people have to do with you? They are like the demon armies inside the mirror.” Actually, are these demon armies outside or inside? Doesn’t this call to mind another story? There was a dog in a room with multiple mirrors. When he ran between those mirrors, he suddenly saw that there were many dogs. Sensing these dogs were not friendly, he continued barking at them and kept turning around in circles. As he turned, he felt that those dogs were more vicious than him. He answered viciousness with more viciousness, so he continued barking at them. This dog kept barking and turning, in order to subdue the dogs he saw in the mirrors. However, though he tried to subdue them, in the end, he died from exhaustion.

This is a parable for subduing the demon armies inside the mirror. In fact, the demon armies we see inside the mirror are not found in our surroundings, they are in our minds. If a dog comes in, the mirrors reflect the dog, if a tiger the tiger, if a cat the cat, if a person the person and if a Buddha the Buddha. They [reflect] the conditions that appear, No matter the phenomena, the causes and conditons, these mirrors are fundamentally empty. They are clear, bright and empty. It is because of us, because our own ignorance and our own afflictions are reflected in the mirrors, that things become so difficult for us.

So, when we aspire to walk the Bodhisattva-path, our resolve must be firm. External conditions are so complicated; is our resolve strong enough to overcome those complicated conditions? This is a test of our spiritual cultivation. Our life is like a dream; if we engage in spiritual practice in our dreams, when we wake up we will feel very happy. If we engage in spiritual practice even in our dreams, our dream state will also be very wonderful. This life is like a long dream. This life is like a play on stage.

Our short and temporary lives are simply like dreams that last a long time. Some people have nightmares and experience many bad dreams. People who can actually have good dreams, like dreams about spiritual practice, are probably very few in number. If we can understand and realize [the Dharma], we can more deeply experience the Buddha’s teaching of how all things are merely temporary unions, temporary unions of causes and conditions. With the convergence of causes and conditions, we have this short and temporary life. Our individual karmic conditions together make up a very complicated world. In the end, they are all ultimately empty. People who can see through these things recognize that all things are temporary unions, so they feel no need to be greedy and to create so much karma.

As we constantly mention, the bigger a business, the more karma it creates and the greater the damage it causes to the planet. This is why there are so many disasters nowadays. Many of them were created without our awareness. The damages we have caused are real, while the wealth we gain is illusory. No matter how much money we have, it is all deposited in a bank; we cannot carry it all with us or use it to adorn ourselves, no. So, “Fighting for empty things, we attain emptiness.” No matter how we fight for it, it will not last. What we are left with is emptiness, but the damage we cause the planet is real. This creates karma.

“We cannot take anything with us when we die; only our karma follows us to our next life.” Bodhisattvas understand this. Because they have attained the principles and have understood them, they do not just eliminate their own afflictions and all their desirous thoughts about the world; they have realized that everything is illusory, a convergence of things that are empty in nature. Thus, from the Small Vehicle, they have already passed through the Middle Vehicle and penetrated the Great Vehicle Dharma. They have already thoroughly understood “illusive and empty existence.” So, the Buddha’s mission in teaching [all beings] has been shouldered by Bodhisattvas. This is “shouldering the Tathagata’s family business.” They have taken on this responsibility and “are able to truly play.” With a genuine heart, they play effortlessly in this world and through all the realms of sentient beings. This is the mindset of Bodhisattvas.

With this genuine heart, they play effortlessly in this world; they play in this space and among sentient beings. They do this to be “successful in seeking the Buddha’s Way while transforming sentient beings.” They remain constantly immersed in the Dharma, so their playing in this world helps them realize its principles. Everyone is a sutra through which we verify the Buddha-Dharma. Illusiveness, emptiness, impermanence, suffering, being without self, etc. are all principles we can realize by interacting with people. Afterwards, as they become more solid and more grounded in our minds, we will aspire to transform sentient beings.

So we said, “They purify the Buddha-lands with wondrous application.” This is how we shoulder the Tathagata’s family business. “For Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” It is for the sake of sentient beings that we spread the Dharma. It is for their sake that we use the Buddha-Dharma to purify people’s hearts.

We must be able to deal with external conditions. When the demons in our minds converge with external conditions, we create more karma. Once we understand [the Dharma], we realize that this mirror has always been clear; the trouble [we see reflected] is created by us. If we are clear on this principle, no matter how short and temporary our life is, we will be very willing to dream this Bodhi-dream.

When it comes to life, as we walk through this world, no matter how brief our time is, we must seize every moment and sustain it forever. This requires mindfulness. All things in the world are “a convergence of the illusive and empty.” We must make use of “wondrous existence.” With the Dharma of “wondrous existence,” we can truly play freely in this world. We must form great aspirations and make great vows; only then will we be “seeking the Buddha’s Way while transforming sentient beings.” By diligently seeking the path to Buddhahood and tirelessly transforming sentient beings, we take responsibility for [passing on] the Buddha-Dharma in this world. Thus, “[We] purify the Buddha-lands with wondrous application.”

“In the past, the World-Honored One had expounded the Dharma to us for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers…. （、淨佛國土、成就眾生，心不喜樂）” 

The previous sutra passage mentions how the World-Honored One had already expounded the Dharma for a long time. In the past, the World-Honored One had expounded the Dharma to us for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers…. The World-Honored One had taught for a long time, for more than 40 years. By the time He gave the Lotus teachings, more than 40 years had passed. As we mentioned yesterday, His disciples had followed Him and listened to these teachings over this long period of time. So Subhuti, “foremost in understanding emptiness,” Wisdom-life Subhuti, frankly expressed on behalf of everyone present the thoughts that were in their minds. He repented that in the past, he was unable to comprehend the Buddha’s intent.

The Buddha had been expounding the Dharma for a very long time. These disciples had always been present, but they had become very tired. They were physically tired “[They] only contemplated” means what they had heard, understood and realized was only “emptiness, non-appearance, non-contrivance.” These were the Vaipulya and Prajna teachings, which helped them understand how to eliminate afflictions and understand that all things in the world are temporary unions of causes and conditions. This was the extent of what they knew.

The passage continues, stating, “As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers….（、淨佛國土、成就眾生，心不喜樂）”

What exactly is the Bodhisattva Way? To learn to be like Bodhisattvas, we must also go from the superficial to the profound, starting with our initial aspiration. What is the Dharma we need to learn upon forming our initial aspiration? We need to begin with the 37 Practices to Enlightenment

As for the Bodhisattva Way: These are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. The Fourfold Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Bases of Fulfilling Power, the Five Spiritual Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Factors of Bodhi and the Eightfold Noble Path are all important spiritual nourishment for the practice of the Path.

These are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment; everyone should know them by now. The Fourfold Mindfulness, the Four Right Efforts and the Four Bases of Fulfilling Power are called the “three Fours.” These are three groups of four, so they are the three Fours. The “two Fives” are the Five Spiritual Roots and the Five Powers. These are the two groups of five. Next are the “Seven and Eight.” The “Seven and Eight” are the Seven Factors of Bodhi and the Eightfold Noble Path. These are the three Fours, the two Fives, the Seven and Eight. What are the Fourfold Mindfulness? “Contemplate the body as impure”; you can all recite them. The Four Right Efforts and the Four Bases of Fulfilling Power are the foundation for our spiritual practice. The Five Spiritual Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Factors of Bodhi and the Eightfold Noble Path are also part of the foundation for our spiritual practice. This is all the most important nourishment for our spiritual practice. A Bodhi-tree needs to extract nourishment and water from the soil. So, if our cultivation of the 37 Practices to Enlightenment is solid, that is like having very strong roots. Therefore, the 37 Practices to Enlightenment are the foundation for our spiritual practice.

In addition to the 37 Practice to Enlightenment, we also need to practice the Six Paramitas. The Six Paramitas are giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. This is the Bodhisattva-path.

These 37 Practices to Enlightenment are practiced along with the Six Paramitas and the Four All-Embracing Virtues, charitable giving, loving speech, beneficial conduct, collaborative work.

The Bodhisattva-path is inseparable from the Four All-Embracing Virtues. All of you know the Four All-Embracing Virtues, charitable giving, loving speech, beneficial conduct and collaborative work. Everyone needs to be able to accomplish them.

“To embrace” is “to transform.” We want people to take our words to heart; this is the charitable giving of the Dharma. Whatever they need most now, that is what we give them to help them. Helping people in either tangible or intangible ways, being of some assistance to them, is a form of “charitable giving.” When we practice charitable giving, we need to use “loving speech.” Only when we say something to their liking will they truly listen. So, we need to speak in a way that they will like in order for them to take the Dharma to heart.

When it comes to “beneficial conduct,” since we are practicing the Bodhisattva-path, everything that we do must benefit sentient beings. We must not take issue over small things; the important thing is that they are happy. If all act according to the Dharma and are happy, that is part of “collaborative work.” Before we start working on something together, we need to give to others first in order to bring them close to us. When they are working with us, we must help them understand and accept what we say. When we work collaboratively, we will be happy and can complete the matter successfully. This is very important when we work with others. Thus, these are the Four All-Embracing Virtues. They are critical for spiritual practitioners and in spiritual practice centers. This world is a huge spiritual practice center. We start within our small area, but must work to influence the broader area.

The spiritual practice of the Bodhisattvas is different from the practice of the Hearers and this is the reason Two Vehicle practitioners feel no joy in their hearts for the practice of the Great Vehicle or for going among the people.

“The spiritual practice of the Bodhisattvas is different from the practice of the Hearers.” Hearers only seek to benefit themselves. The 37 Practices to Enlightenment is enough for them. However, Bodhisattvas need to also practice the Six Paramitas as well as the Four All-Embracing Virtues. This is very different. This is the reason why Two Vehicle practitioners took no joy in the practice of the Great Vehicle and took no joy in going among the people.

Since they do not enjoy going among the people, they feel no need to practice the Six Paramitas or to do collaborative work. They only seek to benefit themselves. So, when we are listening to the teachings, besides understanding the fundamental teachings, the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, which we must understand, we also need to practice the. Six Paramitas and the Four All-Embracing Virtues. This is how we can “seek the Buddha’s Way while transforming sentient beings.”

Playing freely with spiritual powers: This is the teaching of the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment, and refers to the spiritual powers belonging to all Bodhisattvas at the first ground or above.

“Playing freely within spiritual powers” shows “the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment.” The Buddha came to the world to manifest “the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment [and] the spiritual powers belonging to all Bodhisattvas at the first ground or above. Spiritual” refers to the mind

Spiritual refers to the mind. It is said a tranquil mind reflects all things. Remembrance of past lives, as well as all kinds of clear discernment, derive from the power of Samadhi. As they do not have obstructions, they are known as spiritual powers.

When it comes to our minds or our spirits, it is said, “A tranquil mind reflects all things.” Our minds [should not] be scattered. As in the room with mirrors that I spoke of, our minds need to be tranquil to clearly reflect. If a beautiful thing is placed before all the mirrors, there will be a beautiful reflection in them all. With two mirrors reflecting each other, the light is repeatedly reflected in the mirrors, so it looks like there is a long row of lights. Actually, these mirrors have always been always clear and bright. The boundless minds of pure sentient beings have this kind of spiritual power.

“Remembrance of past lives.” If our minds are very pure, not only can we clearly understand this life, we also clearly understand our past, the causes and conditions from our past lives. This is “remembrance of past lives,” also known as the Power of Knowing Past Lives. Next, “all kinds of clear discernment” means we are very clear on our past and present, so naturally we will not be confused about our future. This is “derived from the power of Samadhi.” If we can achieve that, our minds will be clear, and we can clearly reflect all things. Then naturally, our minds will not be scattered. “As they do not have obstructions” this is a “spiritual power.”

What about “play”? “Play” is when “All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas save sentient beings out of compassion” and treat what they do as playing.

All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas save sentient beings out of compassion and treat what they do as playing.

When we are willing and happy to do something, after we do it, if asked, “Are you tired?” [we say,] “Not at all; I feel grateful. I want to do it again.” This is because we treat it as play. Sakyamuni Buddha also manifested the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment as a way of playing effortlessly in this world. The Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment begin with “the descent from Tusita heaven.” He manifested in the palace with “entry into his mother’s womb” followed by “birth in the human world.” Then, he “left the lay life.” Fifth was “a period of ascetic practice.” Sixth was “attainment of enlightenment.” Seventh was “the turning of the Dharma-wheel.” Once He began, He turned the Dharma-wheel for 49 years. Last was “entering Parinirvana.” These are the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment.

Venerable Sakyamuni used the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment to play freely while transforming others: 1. The descent from Tusita heaven. 2. Entry into his mother’s womb. 3. Birth in the human world. 4. Leaving the lay life. 5. His period of ascetic practice. 6. His attainment of enlightenment. 7. The turning of the Dharma-wheel. 8. Entering into Parinirvana.

These are the Eight Aspects; they are eight aspects of life. When we are born, we have the aspect of a baby. We have the aspect of childhood, youth, middle age and old age. We end with the aspects of illness, death, etc. All these are “aspects.” So, when the Buddha manifested in this world, He made use of His spiritual powers; He could avoid being contaminated by the world, but still play effortlessly in this world.

Buddhas and Bodhisattvas play within their spiritual powers, transforming and delivering sentient beings while having fun and enjoying themselves. Thus it says that they play freely.

So, “Buddhas and Bodhisattvas play within their spiritual powers, transforming and delivering sentient beings” while having fun and enjoying themselves. Because they do this willingly, they vow to return to this world to “play” again.

One who plays: It means one who is free and at ease, without any hindrances.

“Play” means they are free of hindrances, as this is a performance of a play.

When actors are on stage, they confront and fight with each other. When they get off the stage, they are happy. They are still good friends. By the same principle, if we treat life as a play, we will be free of all obstacles, and our minds will not be obstructed by external conditions.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas use their spiritual power to captivate and transform sentient beings. They can come and go without hindrance, with freedom and ease.

So, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas all playfully use their spiritual powers to embrace and transform sentient beings, as if they are putting on a play on stage to transform the people in the audience. By earnestly immersing them in the play, they can understand the principles. So, they “come and go without obstacles.” Feeling as if they are in a play, they can come and go without obstacles, with great freedom and ease. As Buddhist practitioners, we want to achieve this state, so we must always be mindful

Episode 732 – Clinging to Emptiness Without Seeking to Advance

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>> They only contemplated emptiness, so they took no joy in the wondrous application. They contemplated non-appearance, so they took no joy in seeking Buddha’s wisdom. They contemplated non-contrivance, so they took no joy in transforming others. Their hearts were not joyful, so they no longer sought to advance.

>> “We have been the heads of the Sangha and are already old and decrepit. We said we had attained Nirvana, that there was nothing more to endure, thus we no longer sought to advance to. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “In the past, the World-Honored One expounded the Dharma to us for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance.”   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> After attaining enlightenment, for the first three periods of seven days, the Buddha gave the Avatamsaka teachings. In Deer Park and many other places, he taught the Agama for 12 years. Following the end of the Agama period, he taught the Vaipulya for eight years, and after this He taught the Prajna for 22 years, and after this He taught the Prajna for 22 years, making a total of 42 years. He expounded the Lotus teachings for seven years. This is why it says He had already taught for a long time.

>> We of the Two Vehicles were all present, and though we listened to the Great Vehicle Dharma, we had no intent to pursue, practice or realize it. Thus, it says, Our bodies had become tired and lax.

>> We only contemplate emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance: This is contemplation upon the Three Samadhis, also known as the three gates of liberation. This refers to how the Two Vehicle practitioners had affinities with the Four Noble Truths and other similar practices through which they attained Samadhi.

>> The Samadhi of Emptiness: This is the observation that all worldly phenomena arise interdependently and are also illusory and unreal.

>> This is also called the view of emptiness: It is contemplating all phenomena as suffering, empty, impermanent, without a self, impure and so on.

>> The Samadhi of non-appearance: This is the observation that all appearances in the world are illusory and temporary existences. Realization of non-appearance is Nirvana; it is the extinction of all afflictions as being without any appearance to grasp.

>> The Samadhi of non-contrivance is the observation that all phenomena are illusory existences, thus resulting in not seeking anything

>> Non-contrivance: Since they say they have accomplished everything, they observe all conditioned phenomena and do not wish for anything more

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“They only contemplated emptiness, so they took no joy in the wondrous application.
They contemplated non-appearance, so they took no joy in seeking Buddha’s wisdom.
They contemplated non-contrivance, so they took no joy in transforming others.
Their hearts were not joyful, so they no longer sought to advance.”

Everyone, we must constantly encourage ourselves. We must never allow our mind-s to become fatigued. If we become fatigued to the point that we are not interested in anything, how would that be considered engaging in spiritual practice? Because they are engaging in spiritual practice, some people think, “I already understand that all things are empty, so when it comes to everything else, I’m not interested. I will just earnestly work to benefit myself because all things are empty.” They understand this but cannot go any further; they only understand the principles biased toward emptiness.

Indeed, life is empty in nature; everything that happens is like a daydream. Take us humans, for example. In the past, no telling how long ago, we created many interpersonal conflicts and gave rise to very unpleasant things. Over those many lifetimes, who knows how many negative affinities we formed. Yet all of this is in the past. We must repent what we have done in the past. We must also immediately eliminate those past afflictions. More important is to improve for the future. We must repay the debts we owe. Repaying it happily reduces what we have to pay. And do we hope for anything in return? There is no need. When we understand the Dharma, we do not expect to get anything more.

Throughout this process, if we can proactively go among people and give to others, we are walking the Bodhisattva-path. Doing this is “taking joy in the wondrous application.” We should do everything we can right now. Everything is illusory and empty; we all understand this. But the Buddha-Dharma always teaches us about wondrous existence. Wondrous existence is about taking advantage of our current time, space and interpersonal relationships. These three combine to be a place where we practice wondrous application. We have the causes and conditions in this world that allow us to give. This is the wondrous application of the Bodhisattva-path we have practiced and learned. In the past, we might have instead said, “I am very tired. I just want to rest.” If we are like this, we “take no joy in the wondrous application.”

As we learn the Buddha’s Way, it is the same. We must not just “contemplate non-appearance.” By [only] “contemplating non-appearance,” our spiritual practice becomes biased; “No matter what I do in the world, isn’t it ultimately empty? So, I can listen to the Buddha-Dharma and engage in spiritual practice. Thus I can eliminate afflictions and have no further worries. I have put an end to samsara and no longer undergo transmigration in the Six Realms. I have attained the fruit of Arhatship.” Because of this, we stop at this stage. If we are satisfied with limited realizations and the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, we “take no joy in seeking the Buddha’s wisdom.” We have no desire to advance. During the Buddha’s lifetime, wasn’t there a group of disciples like this? Over the past few days, we have been talking about. “Subhuti and the others.” These four leaders of the Sangha indeed felt this way. “Contemplating non-contrivance, they took no joy in transforming others.”

They felt that in the past, the Buddha taught them to “contemplate non-contrivance,” because they had to eliminate afflictions and not contrive affinities. So, because of this, “They took no joy in transforming others.” Earlier it was about “taking no joy in seeking Buddha’s wisdom.” They felt that their spiritual practice was sufficient. The Buddha wanted them to put an end to transmigration in the Six Realms, and they had already done so, so they felt there was no need to keep advancing. Next, they wanted to guard against wrongs and stop evil. They did not want to contrive any more affinities, so they did not want to “transform sentient beings.” This was indolence. In this way, the kind of stillness in their minds was actually complete indifference; they lacked joy in their hearts. Thus, “They no longer sought to advance” and no longer had any aspirations about moving forward. The goal of learning the Buddha’s Way should be the attainment of Buddhahood, but they stopped at this Small Vehicle state, the state of Solitary Realizers.

If our lives are like this, that is worrisome. In today’s society, many people simply spend their time on ignorant and afflicted pursuits; we only try to make money, not create blessings. In life, impermanence can strike in an instant. How much life do we still have left, and when will we have made enough money? We will never feel that we have enough. But in life, the day will come when we either fall ill or impermanence suddenly strikes. When we reach the end of life, what else is there? If we do not make use of this time and the space, we are like these four elders who had come before the Buddha in order to repent and express what was in their hearts. They had thought that their level of spiritual practice was good enough, so they had stopped advancing. Now they recognized this, so they can advance toward seeking the path to Buddhahood.

Thus, the previous sutra passage states, “We have been the heads of the Sangha and are already old and decrepit. We said we had attained Nirvana, that there was nothing more to endure, thus we no longer sought to advance to. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”

They believed that since they were now in old age they had already practiced enough. So, they no longer sought to diligently advance. But actually, there was still the most important goal of spiritual practice, which was attaining “Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.” This supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment is the attainment of Buddhahood. So, we also have the chance to attain Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha continued to encourage everyone to keep advancing to benefit themselves and others and to save and deliver sentient beings.

The following passage continues with, “In the past, the World-Honored One expounded the Dharma to us for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance.”

This is similar to what we said before. They repented before the Buddha and said everything that was on their minds. “World-Honored One, You have expounded the Dharma for so long. Whenever You taught, we were always present. Arising, abiding, changing and ceasing, we understand these principles [of the mind]. Material things go through formation, existence, decay and disappearance; there is no such thing as a true appearance. We have heard these principles before and have grown tired of hearing them.” Listening to teachings can also get tiring. They believed that over such a long period of time they had heard everything they needed to hear.

So, what was the Dharma that the Buddha had been teaching? “After attaining enlightenment, for the first three periods of seven days, the Buddha gave the Avatamsaka teachings.”

After attaining enlightenment, for the first three periods of seven days, the Buddha gave the Avatamsaka teachings. In Deer Park and many other places, he taught the Agama for 12 years. Following the end of the Agama period, he taught the Vaipulya for eight years, and after this He taught the Prajna for 22 years, and after this He taught the Prajna for 22 years, making a total of 42 years. He expounded the Lotus teachings for seven years. This is why it says He had already taught for a long time.

“Three periods of seven days” is three weeks, so how many days is that? 21 days. For the first 21 days, from the time He attained enlightenment, when His mind and all things in the universe were united as one, from that instant, His mind was in the Avatamsaka state. The Avatamsaka state is tranquil and clear; it is such a beautiful state. In that state, His mind traveled freely about the universe to realize the truths of all things, and then He expounded this Dharma for great Bodhisattvas; those were all Dharmakaya Bodhisattvas. That Dharma-assembly was very dignified; it was the state of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

However, the Buddha’s one great cause for coming to the world, the true audience He wanted to teach to, was the myriad of sentient beings. At that time He wondered, “How can this state be understood by ordinary people? What methods can I use?” In the end, He decided to teach according to capabilities. So, He adjourned from [teaching] this state of. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and retained it in His mind. Then He began teaching the Dharma according to sentient beings’ capabilities. Thus, at Deer Park He began to turn the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths.

Moreover, at Deer Park the Sangha was formed. Three or more monastics was called [a Sangha], not to mention five. Thus, the Sangha was formed. He then expounded the Dharma many times. For 12 years, He gave the Agama teachings. He taught the Agama sutras over 12 years. Aside from the Four Noble Truths, He taught the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. These were the states of. Hearers and Solitary Realizers.

After 12 years had passed, the Buddha began giving the Vaipulya teachings. In the Vaipulya, He raised the level of teachings to enter the Great Vehicle Dharma and expanded everyone’s horizons by analyzing matters and material things. The growth of a tree begins with a seed. With soil, water, air and sunlight, the seed will begin to grow. If the seed is cut off from the air, the result will only be “emptiness.” Principles like these were taught beginning with the Vaipulya teachings. Then He wanted to help everyone understand even more thoroughly the origin of these principles, where this seed comes from. Thus, He entered the state of Prajna. The Prajna teachings were all about emptiness; all things are empty in nature. Emptiness does not just apply to material things. Even when it comes to our bodies, “The Five Aggregates are empty in nature.” These are the Prajna teachings, which include the Diamond Sutra, the Prajnaparamita Sutra, etc.

The Agama sutras were taught over 12 years, the Vaipulya sutras for eight years and the Prajna sutras for 22 years. Doesn’t this add up to 42 years? After 42 years had passed, He began to turn toward the Lotus [teachings]. The Lotus Sutra was taught over more than seven years. On the Buddha’s last day, He taught the Parinirvana Sutra. This was known as the Lotus period. In summary, [He taught] for a very long time.

The Buddha also taught the Lotus Sutra over many years. Starting with the Introductory Chapter, then the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Chapter on Parables, and so on, there were 28 chapters altogether. Though everyone had heard these [teachings], the Buddha still started from the beginning. So, the teachings started from “existence,” then went to “emptiness,” and then to “wondrous wisdom,” that extremely profound and unsurpassed Dharma. Only then did people comprehend that the past teachings, the Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna sutras, were principles that would be needed in the future to attain Buddhahood, were part of the path to Buddhahood.

He had already taught these for over 40 years. Thus, they inevitably said, “World-Honored One, You had expounded the Dharma for a very long time. We were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax.” They were very honest. At this time, they expressed to the Buddha that after listening for so long, they had grown tired of doing so

We of the Two Vehicles were all present, and though we listened to the Great Vehicle Dharma, we had no intent to pursue, practice or realize it. Thus, it says, “Our bodies had become tired and lax.”

So, “we” refers to these four [leaders] who spoke on behalf of the Two Vehicle practitioners. Those Two Vehicle practitioners who were present had “listened to the Great Vehicle Dharma, [but] had no intent to pursue, practice or realize it.” Although they had listened to the Buddha teach the Great Vehicle Dharma to Bodhisattvas, they believed it was intended only for Bodhisattvas. “It has nothing to do with me.” So, they “had no intent to pursue, practice or realize it.” Thus, they said, “Our bodies had become tired and lax.” If people listen to someone speak every day, they may get tired of listening. All of you should ask yourselves, “Do we have this same kind of attitude?”

We only contemplate emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance: This is contemplation upon the Three Samadhis, also known as the three gates of liberation. This refers to how the Two Vehicle practitioners had affinities with the Four Noble Truths and other similar practices through which they attained Samadhi.

“We only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance.” By contemplating only these things, we think everything is “empty” and that we need not form attachments, meaning attachments to the appearance of things. We must eliminate afflictions; what else is there to do? There is nothing more to do. So, this is also saying that we must engage in “contemplation among the Three Samadhis.” The three kinds of Samadhi are “the three gates of liberation.” These people only cultivated liberation, only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. That was all they did. The Two Vehicle practitioners, the Hearers and Solitary Realizers, practice the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, the Sixteen Meditations and so on. All of these teach us methods for eliminating our afflictions. The concentration we have when we do this is called Samadhi. But these people stopped at this state of Samadhi.

The Samadhi of Emptiness: This is the observation that all worldly phenomena arise interdependently and are also illusory and unreal.

When we “contemplate emptiness,” we will “observe that all worldly phenomena arise interdependently and are also illusory and unreal.” This comes from “contemplating emptiness.” So, because of this, since all things are illusory and unreal, there is no need to keep afflictions in our minds, and we can let go of issues of the past or of the future, as well as our afflictions

This is also called the view of emptiness: It is contemplating all phenomena as suffering, empty, impermanent, without a self, impure and so on.

“Emptiness” is also called the “view of emptiness.” This is contemplating all phenomena as suffering, impermanent and being without self. It is contemplating everything as impure.

In this world, we “contemplate all things as being without self, contemplate the mind as impermanent” and [contemplate] many things as being impure. If we then grow weary of and renounce the world, why would we create impure karma for the sake of these unwholesome things? So, “[contemplating] non-appearance” teaches us to eliminate [attachment] to appearance.

The Samadhi of non-appearance: This is the observation that all appearances in the world are illusory and temporary existences. Realization of non-appearance is Nirvana; it is the extinction of all afflictions as being without any appearance to grasp.

The Samadhi of non-appearance means observing that all appearances in the world are illusory and have a “temporary existence.” Which of them are real? All of them are only temporary. Our appearance and our label constantly change; is there ever any kind of everlasting appearance? No, there is no such appearance. Without an appearance, there can be no label. So, what is there to be attached to? Thus, we awaken and realize non-appearance. This is Nirvana. Then we will not contrive affinities for the future. This puts an end to our cyclic existence in the Six Realms. This is the “extinction of all afflictions as being without any appearance to grasp”

The Samadhi of non-contrivance is the observation that all phenomena are illusory existences, thus resulting in not seeking anything

The “Samadhi of non-contrivance” is “the observation that all phenomena are illusory existences, thus resulting in not seeking anything.” Since we contemplated emptiness earlier, [we realize] all appearances are “empty” and that everything has an illusory existence. But then some do not continue to seek anything.

When Living Bodhisattvas take in the Dharma, whenever [a disaster] occurs somewhere, they will immediately come together and combine their strengths to be able to save lives, etc. This is making use of the True Dharma in the world. If people take a more passive approach, they simply learn the Dharma that all things are illusory. If they do not take the Dharma to heart, it truly is illusory.

Non-contrivance: Since they say they have accomplished everything, they observe all conditioned phenomena and do not wish for anything more

So, “non-contrivance” means not bringing anything into being. They felt they had pretty much done everything. They felt they had pretty much heard all the Dharma. Thus, they did not behave in a way that advanced their practice. So, having “observed all conditioned Dharma, they did not wish for anything more.”

All phenomena are conditioned Dharma, which arise from a convergence [of causes and conditions]. As I have said to everyone before, the Dharma is without substance or appearance. It is because we sentient beings have afflictions that we create all kinds of karma, which then come together, resulting in “suffering” and “causation.” In order to understand why there is so much suffering in the world, we must thoroughly realize the causation that is accumulated through the karma we create. Therefore, we must awaken and practice according to the path. To eliminate our suffering, we must walk the path right away. If we are mindful, what is the path that we must be practicing? What the Buddha wanted for us to practice was the great Bodhi-path. This means we must walk the Bodhisattva-path; that is the true path.

Everyone, when learning the Buddha’s Way we cannot say, “Yes, I have heard the Dharma. I am tired of listening to it. I do not seek to advance.” If we are like this, that would be a pity. From the way the four elders expressed the thoughts on their minds, we must compare ourselves to them and ask, “Are we thinking these thoughts?” If we are, we must quickly remind ourselves to advance in our practice and always be mindful.

Episode 729 – Meticulously Contemplate the Dharma-nature

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>> Meticulously contemplate the Dharma-nature of universal and great wisdom. Apart from the Dharma-nature, there is nothing that can give peace of mind. It can bring our minds peace and great Dharma-joy. We must know that Bodhisattvas abide in the home of all Buddhas.

>> [They] heard from the Buddha teachings they had not heard before. When the Buddha predicted Sariputra would attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they gave rise to a rare aspiration and were joyful and jubilant. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> Thus, They rose from their seats, straightened their clothing, bared their right shoulder and touched their right knee to the ground. They wholeheartedly put their palms together and bowed out of respect. They gazed reverently upwards and spoke to the Buddha. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> Thus, they rose from their seats, straightened their clothing: This represents letting go of their. Small Vehicle realizations that were biased towards emptiness.

>> Thus, straightening their clothing indicates reverence; Their Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind were all perfectly respectful.

>> The Hearers in the Sangha usually lived together with the Buddha. Relying on hearing the Buddha’s voice and teaching, the virtue of wisdom and the virtue of ending. Illuminating true principles is the virtue of wisdom. Eliminating afflictions is the virtue of ending. These are known as Bodhi and Nirvana.

>> They draped their kasaya and bared their right shoulder. This expresses the bhiksus’ reverence and respect toward the venerable one. Now they are expressing their most sincere respect for the World-Honored One.

>> [They] touched their right knee to the ground: This means that, when practicing repentance, one should place one’s right knee on the ground. This expresses one’s earnest sincerity.

>> They wholeheartedly put their palms together to express that the provisional and true are non-dual; in all actions, they act wholeheartedly.

>>[They] bowed out of respect and gazed reverently upwards: They were expressing that they knew what they had practiced in the past was the provisional, and now they had faith in, understood and moved toward the True Dharma of the One Vehicle that the Buddha taught.

>> [They] spoke to the Buddha: This means that, from their initial enlightenment and entry to the path to their uniting with innate enlightenment today, over this long time, they had understood the Buddha’s compassionate teaching. He was both like a teacher and a father. This was what they expressed with utmost sincerity.

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“Meticulously contemplate the Dharma-nature of universal and great wisdom.
Apart from the Dharma-nature, there is nothing that can give peace of mind.
It can bring our minds peace and great Dharma-joy.
We must know that Bodhisattvas abide in the home of all Buddhas.”

Where does our mind abide? We often read the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, so when we ask, “Where do our minds come from?” we should all be clear that they “come from the Buddha’s abode.” Indeed, everyone has a mind equal to the Buddha’s. We all have a Buddha-mind. However, we unenlightened beings are often lost. We do not know at what time we left that spiritual home and began wandering. We no longer know where that home is or how to find our way back. So, we engage in spiritual practice now in the hope that through serious effort, we can return to our original home, which is our nature of True Suchness.

To find this path, our minds cannot deviate from the course. So, we need to “meticulously contemplate the Dharma-nature.” What is the Dharma-nature? The Dharma is eternal and unchanging; it is without shape or substance, yet it is always abiding. Moreover, it is universal and great wisdom. We have a very pure nature of True Suchness. All sentient beings have this intrinsic nature. It is not only in Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas or even human beings; all sentient beings have this same Dharma-nature.

There is a saying, “The mind encompasses the universe and the boundless worlds within it.” Our minds must be like the universe and encompass and embrace all things in the world. This was the Buddha’s state after His awakening. So, He wanted to teach us the Dharma step by step.

At that time, more than 2000 years ago, people’s lives were simpler and the population was small. However, ever since the Buddha’s lifetime, we are able to see [more clearly] the greed, anger and ignorance in the human mind. The Buddha already saw people with this nature, people who discriminate and bully the weak. This is human nature. Under those conditions, the Buddha began thinking about the future. How will people live their lives in the future? This is why He put His heart into seeking the truths of life. At the moment when He reached enlightenment, He became one with the universe.

In that space, [His mind] reached into the future, a future of excessive greed in our minds and particularly a future in which spiritual powers would manifest. These “spiritual powers” that were described during the Buddha’s time have actually become reality in our time. For example, we have a very advanced instrument. This instrument is called the Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System. Yesterday, we commenced using it.

We saw the instrument and how the person controlling it was on a different machine in a different room. We saw that although he was far away, he was able to use the computer to operate. On the screen, we saw the organs in the patient’s abdomen. We saw how the scalpel and forceps were used to carefully cut into and peel back the tissue. They cut the tissue and grabbed it, layer by layer. This machine can perform many kinds of operations. It is truly amazing [I wondered,] “Isn’t this what the Buddha called a great manifestation of spiritual powers?” It was even used on a patient in Europe by a surgeon in the United States. He was able to operate across that distance.

Two children, Christopher Yang and Cheng Xin, were in the same car as me. I asked them, “Come, share your feelings. After seeing this way of performing surgery, what have you learned?” Christopher said, “Technology is very advanced. Some people use technology to earn money, but we are using this technology to save people out of respect for life. All of us have very wholesome intentions. We act for the sake of the patients’ health, to reduce their suffering from surgery and help them quickly recover.” A 12-year-old child was able to think in this way.

The other child is ten years old. I asked him, “What about you? What do you think?” He said, “Technology is very advanced. But, sometimes technological advancements can be very destructive. Advancements in technology can save lives. This machine, the Da Vinci Surgical System, can save people. It can make surgery easier for the doctor and help the patient recover very quickly. It can also reduce the length of the surgery. It is of very high quality.”

Listening to these two children, I realized that they truly understood what they heard and saw. So, aren’t the [analyses] of these two children “meticulously contemplating the Dharma-nature, which is universal”?

If we are “apart from the Dharma-nature,” if we depart from it, our world will become unstable. Looking at this instrument, it makes us happy because it saves lives. What worries us is [technology] that destroys the land and harms human lives. Nowadays, we frequently hear of manmade calamities and wars. In modern times, technology has reached such an advanced state. If it continues to advance, what kinds of weapons will there be? So, “Apart from the Dharma-nature, there is nothing that can give peace of mind.” When an imbalance develops in people’s minds and manmade calamities arise, there will not be a single place in this world where people can feel completely at peace. At that time, humanity will not have any space to breath

“[The Dharma-nature] can bring our minds peace and great Dharma-joy.” Nowadays, what is most important is for everyone’s minds to be at peace. So, I always say bringing purity to people’s minds is so important.

In fact, the Three Treasures exist in all of us. We were originally very pure, but as time passed, over countless kalpas we became contaminated. We are like a child who left his family, got lost and cannot find the way back. Actually, we are like the people in his family too. Therefore, I constantly talk about the Tzu Chi Dharma-family and how we must quickly bring these Living Bodhisattvas, our Dharma-relatives, back to the family, back to the home of the Tathagata so we can walk the Bodhisattva-path together

[They] heard from the Buddha teachings they had not heard before. When the Buddha predicted Sariputra would attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, they gave rise to a rare aspiration and were joyful and jubilant.

Previously, we discussed how, Wisdom-life Subhuti and the others, these four great disciples of the Buddha, expressed the words in their hearts. They said, “[We] heard from the Buddha teachings [we] had not heard before.” In the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha praised the Buddha-wisdom. In the Chapter on Parables, all kinds of things in this world were used as analogies for teaching the Dharma. In particular, in the Chapter on Parables, the Buddha bestowed the prediction of Buddhahood upon Sariputra. Thus, these four disciples felt these were teachings they had never heard.

The Buddha bestowing predictions on. Bodhisattvas was understandable; but when He bestowed it on a Hearer, that was unheard of. He “predicted Sariputra would attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi,” which is supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. In the future, Sariputra will attain supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment, which means he will attain Buddhahood. Thus, they “gave rise to a rare aspiration.” Everyone began to form aspirations. Hearing what they had not heard before, they were now filled with joy.

Next, they talked about how happy they were. In this state, they “rose from their seats.” The four of them stood up at the same time. In the past, the Buddha had never expressed these teachings. Now that He had expressed them, and the four of them had understood, they stood up at the same time. “They rose from their seats [and] straightened their clothing.” As they stood, they straightened their clothing neatly. This demonstrates reverence

Thus, “They rose from their seats, straightened their clothing, bared their right shoulder and touched their right knee to the ground. They wholeheartedly put their palms together and bowed out of respect. They gazed reverently upwards and spoke to the Buddha.” They arranged themselves properly, knelt in front of the Buddha, then gazed reverently upwards at Him. This shows the depths of their respect and expresses their determination, that they had “given rise to a rare aspiration.” They had made up their minds to “let go of their Small Vehicle realizations that were biased towards emptiness”

Thus, they rose from their seats, straightened their clothing: This represents letting go of their. Small Vehicle realizations that were biased towards emptiness.

These four disciples had realized the principle taught by the Buddha that. “All things are empty in nature,” but they remained at that level. That they now stood up demonstrates that they “gave rise to a rare aspiration.” They came to make vows in front of the Buddha to express the readiness in their hearts

Thus, straightening their clothing indicates reverence; Their Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind were all perfectly respectful.

Thus, straightening their clothing indicates reverence; “Their Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind were all perfectly respectful.” They demonstrated such reverence with their body, but it actually came from the sincerity in their hearts and mind. With their speech they also expressed their sincere desire [for the Dharma]. Thus, they showed their respect with body, speech and mind.

These [early] disciples of the Buddha, including Sariputra, Maudgalyayana and. Mahakasyapa, successively came to take refuge with the Buddha after He attained enlightenment, to become monastics in those early years

The Hearers in the Sangha usually lived together with the Buddha. Relying on hearing the Buddha’s voice and teaching, the virtue of wisdom and the virtue of ending. Illuminating true principles is the virtue of wisdom. Eliminating afflictions is the virtue of ending. These are known as Bodhi and Nirvana.

Therefore, in the Sangha, they represented the Buddha and led the Sangha. They also represented the Buddha in traveling and spreading the Dharma. Yet, they were also often found by the Buddha’s side; they “usually lived together with the Buddha.” They were constantly with Him.

So, “[They relied on] hearing the Buddha’s voice and teaching.” They were close to the Buddha, so the sound of the Buddha’s teachings entered their ears; this is how they listened to the Dharma. This is because they were by the Buddha’s side. “They inwardly cultivated the virtue of wisdom and the virtue of ending.” The virtue of wisdom “illuminates true principles.” This is the virtue of wisdom [It lets us] brush aside our ignorance and see true principles. This is the virtue of wisdom. “Eliminating afflictions” is the virtue of ending.

Now the Buddha was giving the Lotus teachings, so this was the time to form aspirations. In the past, Bodhi meant the virtue of wisdom and eliminating afflictions was called Nirvana. In the Buddha’s Sangha, His main disciples had achieved this state and mastered these skills; they had already reached this level. Though they had not yet formed great aspirations, they had “illuminated true principles.” They had penetrated them all, as well as eliminated their afflictions. Now the Buddha waited for them to form great aspirations and enter the Bodhi-path.

Next we discuss, “bared their right shoulder.”

They draped their kasaya and bared their right shoulder. This expresses the bhiksus’ reverence and respect toward the venerable one. Now they are expressing their most sincere respect for the World-Honored One.

That was because in ancient India, the right shoulder was usually covered by the robe. To express utmost reverence, they would “bare their right shoulder.” This was how bhiksus expressed their respect toward the World-Honored One. When they “bared their right shoulder” in front of the World-Honored One, they were expressing their utmost sincerity. Their Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind were united in expressing their sincere respect; this was how they expressed their utmost reverence.

[They] touched their right knee to the ground: This means that, when practicing repentance, one should place one’s right knee on the ground. This expresses one’s earnest sincerity.

“Touching their right knee to the ground” demonstrated their repentance. What were they repenting? They repented that they had been unable to realize the Buddha’s original intent and that they had only cared about their own escape from cyclic existence. So, this was the manner in which they came before the Buddha. First, they expressed their respect. Second, they expressed that because they had remained in the state of the Small Vehicle, they wanted to repent for being unable to realize the Buddha’s Great Vehicle ․[They] touched their right knee to the ground: This means that, when practicing repentance, one should place one’s right knee on the ground. This expresses one’s earnest sincerity “[They] touched their right knee to the ground”; this was to demonstrate their utmost sincerity in expressing their state of mind to the Buddha

“They wholeheartedly put their palms together” to express that “the provisional and true are non-dual; in all actions, they act wholeheartedly.”

「一心合掌」，就是表示「權實不二，萬行合為一心」。

By this point, they had already understood that the provisional teachings that the Buddha gave in the past, all those skillful means, were actually taught to pave the way for the Dharma of the One Vehicle. In fact, the provisional and the true are united; although those teachings were skillful means, they were actually taught so that people could enter the ultimate truth; they paved a path to the Dharma of the One Vehicle. “In all actions, they act wholeheartedly.” They wholeheartedly put their palms together to show that the provisional and true are united; they would no longer cling to the old teachings but become one with the Great Vehicle Dharma.

 [They] bowed out of respect and gazed reverently upwards: They were expressing that they knew what they had practiced in the past was the provisional, and now they had faith in, understood and moved toward the True Dharma of the One Vehicle that the Buddha taught.

Then, as [they] “bowed out of respect and gazed reverently upwards, they were expressing that they knew what they had practiced in the past was the provisional.” In the past, they clung to listening [to the teachings]. Understanding those principles, they eliminated their afflictions. But these were actually provisional teachings given as part of the Buddha’s plan to teach them. “Now they had faith and understood.” Now they believed; now they understood. Thus, they “gave rise to a rare aspiration.” Inspired to form this aspiration, “[They] moved toward the True Dharma of the One Vehicle that the Buddha taught.” Now that they were ready to listen earnestly, they requested the Dharma from the Buddha. This was what they all hoped to express to the Buddha as they respectfully put their palms together

[They] spoke to the Buddha: This means that, from their initial enlightenment and entry to the path to their uniting with innate enlightenment today, over this long time, they had understood the Buddha’s compassionate teaching. He was both like a teacher and a father. This was what they expressed with utmost sincerity.

This shows how from “initial enlightenment and entry to the path” they went from not knowing anything, from being lost, to entering the Buddha’s Sangha. They had followed the Buddha for a very long time and understood the Buddha’s compassion, how He compassionately taught sentient beings. To them, the Buddha was “both like a teacher and a father.” Now, with the proper mindset and a heart of reverence, they requested the Dharma from the Buddha. Clearly, they were very earnest. Though they had followed the Buddha for decades, they were still very respectful toward Him, as close to Him as to “a teacher [or] a father.”

Thus, we must understand that after the Buddha has inspired us, we must put our hearts into comprehending the principles of life. These are not only found in Buddhist sutras; science, philosophy and other knowledge such as astronomy, geography, biology and psychology are all encompassed within [these principles]. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 722 – Upholding the Dharma and Understanding the Truth

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>> Listening to the Dharma we must accept and uphold it with faith and respect, contemplate and carefully understand the truth. Then we are supplemented by vast principles while not losing sight of our compassionate vows.

>> Introductory Chapter: The Three returned to the One to teach the Bodhisattva Way.

>> In the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha emerged from Samadhi and told Sariputra: The wisdom of all Buddhas is infinitely profound. This door of wisdom is difficult to understand and enter. No Hearers or Pratyekabuddhas are able to understand it.

>>Why was this the case? Because in the past, the Buddha had drawn near countless Buddhas.

>> He earnestly praised the supremely skillful, extremely profound, subtle, wondrous and difficult-to-understand. Dharma of all Buddhas.

>> After Sariputra requested this Dharma three times, 5000 members of the assembly paid their respects to the Buddha and left. >> The Chapter on Parables: Sariputra received a prediction of Buddhahood. The Chapter on Parables cites the parable of the elder, the burning house, the three carts and so on. Many different situations are used to reveal the Dharma through parables.

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>>”Listening to the Dharma” we must “accept and uphold it with faith and respect,
contemplate and carefully understand the truth.
Then we are supplemented by vast principles
while not losing sight of our compassionate vows.”

We listen to the Dharma and learn the Buddha’s Way; we listen to the Dharma to learn from the Buddha. What do we want to learn from the Buddha? We are learning to develop His compassion and His wisdom.

Out of compassion, the Buddha worked to save all sentient beings; this was His vow. Engaging in spiritual practice was difficult, yet He never retreated from. His spiritual aspirations. He wholeheartedly sought out Buddhas to listen to the Dharma, for the sole purpose of being able to transmit the Dharma to people in this world. He hoped that everyone could faithfully accept it, put it into practice and thus return to their intrinsic nature. This is the Buddha’s compassion. So, if we want to learn from the Buddha, we have to listen to the Dharma.

Listening to the Dharma does not mean just listening casually. It does not mean if we have time, we listen to it, and if we lack time, we forget about it, [saying]. “I just don’t have time.” In fact, the Dharma is just like time. It slips by in a flash; we wink and it is gone. So, we must always be vigilant and be mindful of impermanence.

Only by taking every word of the Dharma to heart will we be able to make this Dharma forever remain in our lives. Then, when we face people, matters and things, we will have “the Dharma to transform them.” We will have a way to work with them, because we have already accepted the Dharma. By taking the Dharma to heart, we can promptly apply it in our interactions with the people, matters and things around us.

Since the Dharma we take to heart is of such great help to us, we must treat it with respect. We “accept and uphold it with faith and respect.” If we do not have this sense of respect, we will not succeed in learning the Buddha’s Way.

We show this respect through our focus and reverence. Our attitude should not be, “I’ll learn it, more or less.” Saying “more or less” shows a lack of focus. Saying “more or less” shows a lack of reverence. If we take in more Dharma only to end with less, this is the Dharma leaking away. We take in the Dharma, then it leaks out. Thus, as we learn the Buddha’s Way we must definitely have respect, a respectful faith. Only with this kind of faith can we take the Dharma deeply to heart.

After believing in the Dharma and making vows, we must be very careful and earnestly contemplate it. There is Dharma for transcending the world and Dharma for abiding in it. “World-transcending” and “world-abiding” [must be carefully distinguished]. Dharma for transcending the world Dharma for transcending the world is how we understand what the Buddha taught about liberating ourselves from the Six Destinies and the Three Realms. The “Three Realms” refer to the afflictions in our minds. We must find a way to eliminate these afflictions and dust-like delusions so that we will not remain in a confused state where we create karma and fall into the evil destinies beyond our control. Even if we come back to the human realm, in our circumstantial and direct retributions, we still want to have room to make choices.

So, we form aspirations and vows. What are our aspirations and vows? To find a way to take control of our lives and repeatedly return to this world with absolute confidence in our direction. This is world-abiding [Dharma]. With a world-transcending spirit, we carry out our missions in this world. This is what happens after we “listen to the Dharma and accept and uphold it with faith and respect” and then “contemplate and carefully understand [it].” We must be very mindful in contemplating it and very careful in understanding it; we should not deviate from it. We must completely “understand the truth” and be very clear on the principles. The “truth” is the principles. The way we live is inseparable from these very clear principles.

As Buddhist practitioners, we should learn to deal with matters calmly and resolutely. When complications arise, we must know how to calm our minds and how to deal with matters in a steady manner. This is to “understand the truth.” When facing people, matters and things, we must handle them without allowing afflictions and dust-like ignorance to cover our minds. This takes contemplation; it takes very clear thinking and very careful understanding. We must always keep the principles in our minds. This is our goal in learning the Buddha’s Way.

If we can accomplish this, “We are supplemented by vast principles. Vast” means very extensive. These far-reaching principles are in our minds. And at the same time? “[We do] not lose sight of our compassionate vows.” We must “seek and transform.” To “transform” is to deliver sentient beings. What we seek is the Buddha-Dharma being held clearly in our minds. What we put into practice is our compassionate vows. We cannot bear for sentient beings to suffer. For this reason, we aspire and vow to help and deliver them. These are the Buddha’s aspirations and vows, and they are also our aspirations and vows.

From the beginning of the Lotus Sutra, in the Introductory Chapter, through the dialogue between. Manjusri and Maitreya, It became very clear to us that the Buddha spent countless kalpas seeking the Buddha-Dharma. So, the Buddha-Dharma did not have its beginnings 2000-plus years ago. That was just when, in the Saha World, Sakyamuni Buddha manifested as a Buddha to explain the Buddha-Dharma anew with the realizations He attained at that time.

He had personally experienced being one with the truths of all things in the universe, and His original intent has always been to explain this to us. Thus, the Buddha gave the Lotus teachings, starting with the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. After teaching the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, He entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, thus teaching the unspoken Lotus Sutra. While in the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, He radiated light that reached 18,000 Buddha-lands. Many beings saw the light radiated by the Buddha and became very curious. “The way the Buddha expounds teachings today is completely different from before.” Everyone at the assembly began to discuss this.

Among the Bodhisattvas, Manjusri, foremost in wisdom, understood what was happening. He saw that everyone had questions. Maitreya Bodhisattva, who will be the next Buddha to teach and transform sentient beings in the Saha World as Maitreya Buddha, also realized what was happening. They wanted to help dispel everyone’s doubts. So, the two of them engaged in a dialogue and described how, a very long time ago, there were 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas who expounded the Dharma and bestowed predictions of attaining Buddhahood for each other. This helped everyone understand that the Buddha-Dharma had always been there.

“All Buddhas share the same path.” They must go through countless kalpas of spiritual cultivation and countless kalpas of practice. Regarding cultivation and practice, cultivating is seeking the path, and practicing means putting it into action. Those vast principles, countless in number, must be absorbed. As for all suffering sentient beings, we must spend life after life transforming them.

Thus, in the Introductory Chapter we already saw that after teaching for more than 40 years, when it came to the Lotus teachings, the Buddha made a big shift. He smoothly moved to teaching the Bodhisattva-path and “returned the Three to the One” in order to “teach the Bodhisattva-path.” In the Introductory Chapter, this is an important point that we must understand.

Introductory Chapter: The Three returned to the One to teach the Bodhisattva Way.

This is just a brief and simple review of the Introductory Chapter.

Next is the Chapter on Skillful Means. When the Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He called on Sariputra as the recipient of the teachings. When He spoke, He wanted to be speaking to someone who had the capabilities to realize the Dharma. He was now teaching the Bodhisattva Way especially for the sake of His monastic disciples. Since they had aspired to leave the lay life and not cling to personal gain, the next step was to form great aspirations. So, designating Sariputra as the recipient of the teachings was a way of reminding all spiritual practitioners to pay attention and understand.

The Buddha began by offering His praise. “The wisdom of all Buddhas is infinitely profound. This door of wisdom is difficult to understand and enter.” In particular, “No Hearers or Pratyekabuddhas are able to understand it”; they are unable to comprehend it.

In the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha emerged from Samadhi and told Sariputra: The wisdom of all Buddhas is infinitely profound. This door of wisdom is difficult to understand and enter. No Hearers or Pratyekabuddhas are able to understand it.

These monastics were by the Buddha’s side every day, but the Buddha’s state of mind, His original intent and His wisdom, was infinitely profound. So, they were unable to realize the Buddha’s mind, unable to enter the door of the Buddha’s mind ․Why was this the case? Because “in the past, the Buddha had drawn near countless Buddhas.”

Why was this the case? Because in the past, the Buddha had drawn near countless Buddhas.

Sakyamuni Buddha has already mentioned that. He was able to attain Buddhahood because He had spent countless kalpas, lifetime after lifetime, drawing near countless Buddhas. It is difficult for us ordinary people to encounter a Buddha. Why is that? Because we are selfish and pursue things out of desire and personal gain. Thus, we unceasingly give rise to ignorance and replicate karma. Then, how can we possibly purify our minds or draw near Buddhas life after life?

However, Sakyamuni Buddha, from the very beginning aspired and vowed precisely to draw near Buddhas in life after life, without turning away from Them. Having a resolve this firm is not easy at all. How can we unenlightened beings achieve this? The Buddha repeatedly and continuously “earnestly praised the supremely skillful [means of all Buddhas]”

He earnestly praised the supremely skillful, extremely profound, subtle, wondrous and difficult-to-understand. Dharma of all Buddhas.

Though the door to the Buddha’s wisdom was always open, not even the disciples by His side could enter this door to wisdom.

The Buddha, considering that they were still unable to understand, worried that people would give rise to unwholesome thoughts and distort the true principles of ultimate reality, thus giving rise to a slanderous mindset. He felt this would be a bad thing, so He established all kinds of skillful means in the hope that everyone would understand.

Although these were skillful means, they were “extremely profound, subtle, wondrous and difficult-to-understand Dharma.” The subtle and wondrous was taught with all kinds of analogies and expressions. This was how there came to be the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka. In the Chapter on Skillful means, the Buddha unceasingly praised the all-encompassing wisdom of all Buddhas, Buddha-wisdom, untaught wisdom and natural wisdom. He endlessly and constantly praised Buddha-wisdom. Eventually Sariputra was able to understand. Admiration arose in his heart, and he was ready to form great aspirations. So, he asked the Buddha to expound [this Dharma]. The Buddha stopped him three times. “Stop, stop; there is no need to speak further.” This was because sentient beings still could not understand. Only Sariputra could understand; the other people still could not.

When Sariputra asked a second time, the Buddha again said, “Stop, stop; there is no need to speak further.” When Sariputra asked [a third time], the Buddha finally saw true admiration in people. He saw that the minds of a majority of the people seeking the Dharma had begun to mature. When causes and conditions were finally present, the Buddha seized the moment, saying, “You have asked three times; how could I not give the teachings?” Sariputra had already asked three times. Since he had asked for teachings three times, how could the Buddha not tell him?

Just as He was about to speak, 5000 people, including upasakas, upasikas, bhiksus and bhiksunis, paid their respects to the Buddha, prostrated and left.

After Sariputra requested this Dharma three times, 5000 members of the assembly paid their respects to the Buddha and left.

These people were “overbearingly arrogant people.” Thus, the Buddha said of them, “It is better that they left.” Since these people still could not develop faith and understanding, it is better that they were not there to listen. This prevented them from slandering the Dharma out of lack of understanding. So, “It is better that they left.”

The Buddha gave the Lotus teachings in hopes of helping everyone develop faith and understanding. However, is it really that easy for people to believe and understand? Thus, starting with the Chapter on Parables, the Buddha used all kinds of analogies to help people understand worldly phenomena and how to use the Dharma to deal with all these phenomena. In the Chapter on Skillful Means, Sariputra formed [great] aspirations. In the Chapter on Parables, the Buddha began by bestowing upon Sariputra a prediction that he would attain Buddhahood. This was also to help the monastic disciples at this assembly to strengthen their faith. It turned out Sariputra was actually able to receive a prediction of Buddhahood; since Sariputra could receive such a prediction, there was hope for the rest of them.

Next, the Buddha gave many parables, such as that of the elder and the burning house

The Chapter on Parables: Sariputra received a prediction of Buddhahood. The Chapter on Parables cites the parable of the elder, the burning house, the three carts and so on. Many different situations are used to reveal the Dharma through parables.

The elder was originally very wealthy. He was constantly travelling, and when he came back, he saw that this family had become corrupted. The children had lost their manners and only wanted to have fun and enjoy themselves. This is an analogy for how, in this world, no Buddha had appeared for a long time, so the sentient beings of this Saha World were unceasingly creating karma and afflictions. They would harm each other and create negative karma.

The elder had to think of all kinds of methods to find a way to get these children to come out, so he set up three kinds of carts outside the door. This describes how, after the Buddha attained enlightenment, He could not bear for sentient beings to suffer, but He could not directly call on everyone to come out of the Three Realms and leave the burning house. So, He had to use skillful means, the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles, to teach according to sentient beings’ capabilities. This is just like the elder setting up three carts outside the burning house, the sheep-cart, deer-cart and great white ox-cart.

We spent a long time discussing this text. This describes how, because sentient beings had different mindsets, the Buddha taught them through the Three Vehicles. Now that the causes and conditions had matured, He could no longer wait. After 42 years of teaching, the Buddha began to teach the Lotus Sutra. He encouraged everyone to move from the sheep-cart and deer-cart to the great white ox-cart, because this great white ox-cart contained so many treasures inside and was adorned so beautifully. He persuaded them to set aside the Small for the Great.

So far we have discussed the Introductory Chapter, Chapter on Skillful Means and Chapter on Parables. It has taken a very long time. Today, I have spent less than an hour going over the essence of each chapter; I hope you will bear all of it in mind so that you can enter the Chapter on Faith and Understanding. Thus, we must always be mindful.

Episode 721 – Endlessly Seek the Path with Mature Capabilities

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>> We must listen to the Buddha-Dharma, which is wondrous and difficult to conceive of. Faith is the merit that allows us to enter the path. We must be more mindful to deeply cultivate meticulous contemplation. We must cease evil and practice good deeds with body, speech and mind. Faith destroys deviant views and thinking; understanding destroys ignorance and delusions.

>> So the Buddha, for the sake of Bodhisattvas, expounded the Great Vehicle sutra entitled Infinite Meanings, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way and is guarded and retained by all Buddhas.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> After the Buddha finished expounding this sutra, He sat in full lotus and entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, His body and mind unmoving.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> So, He said, I say to you, Sariputra, if I tell you of the characteristics of those who seek the path to Buddhahood, I will not finish in endless kalpas. People like this will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> [To tell of] those who seek the path to Buddhahood. I will not finish in endless kalpas: They deliver themselves while transforming others and walk upon the great Bodhi-path. They are focused as they establish great vows. Those who seek the path to Buddhahood will take endless kalpas.

>> Kalpa: A long period of time, a great number [of years], likened to the amount of water in the great ocean. It is an endless amount.

>> With that initial great aspiration, Bodhisattvas spend an ocean of endless great kalpas, kalpas as numerous as the desert’s sands, in seeking the Bodhi-path for sentient beings. If one tries to describe the power of a Bodhisattva’s vows, one will not finish in endless kalpas.

>> Practicing and upholding in this way: They undergo long kalpas yet retain their initial aspirations, and their capabilities are sharp and mature. People like this, when they hear this sutra, will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.

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“We must listen to the Buddha-Dharma, which is wondrous and difficult to conceive of.
Faith is the merit that allows us to enter the path.
We must be more mindful to deeply cultivate meticulous contemplation.
We must cease evil and practice good deeds with body, speech and mind.
Faith destroys deviant views and thinking;
understanding destroys ignorance and delusions.”

Consider this mindfully. We have been listening to this sutra for a while, but how much of the text do we comprehend? When listening to the Dharma, we must try to experience and understand its wondrously profound teachings. In fact, the more we understand, the more wondrously profound we find the Buddha’s ocean of enlightened wisdom. This is not something that we ordinary people can simply express with our speech. It is not something that we ordinary people can simply listen to and comprehend. It is truly difficult to conceive of. Yet, the Dharma is just so wondrous and difficult to conceive of; that is why we must make a vow [to learn it]. The most important thing to have is faith. We must have deep faith, If we believe, we can certainly reach the end of this road.

After attaining enlightenment, the Buddha, for the sake of teaching us the True Dharma, kept the state that He awakened to constantly in His mind for over 40 years. By the time He reached old age, He still had not clearly said what He wanted to; He still had not spoken of how everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, nor helped everyone believe in their Buddha-nature and put it to use.

How could He help us exercise our Buddha-nature? By reaching out to us and gradually guiding us onto the Bodhi-path. This way we will truly be to able to go among people without being defiled by them, to go among people and give to others, thus attaining a sense of Dharma-joy. When we have attained Dharma-joy, we will naturally stop clinging to emptiness; we will not cling to emptiness, nor will we cling to existence. By penetrating “true emptiness,” we realize that within it is “wondrous existence.” This is the state of the Buddha, which is steadfast and not influenced by others. This is the state of Buddhahood.

Do you still remember? In the Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha proclaimed that in teaching the Lotus Sutra, He was freely expressing His original intent.

Many people came from all directions to Vulture Peak to respectfully gather around the Buddha. So the Buddha, “for the sake of Bodhisattvas, expounded the Great Vehicle sutra entitled Infinite Meanings, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way and is guarded and retained by all Buddhas.”

So the Buddha, for the sake of Bodhisattvas, expounded the Great Vehicle sutra entitled Infinite Meanings, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way and is guarded and retained by all Buddhas.  

“This Sutra of Infinite meanings, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way,” is “guarded and retained by all Buddhas.” This is the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, which fulfills the Buddha’s original intent to teach the Bodhisattva Way “After the Buddha finished expounding this sutra, He sat in full lotus and entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, His body and mind unmoving.”

“After the Buddha finished expounding this sutra, He sat in full lotus and entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, His body and mind unmoving.”

In the past, regardless of the teaching the Buddha was expounding, when He finished speaking, everyone would joyfully pay their respects and then leave. However, this time, when He finished expounding the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, the Buddha did not rise from His seat. This indicated to everyone that there was more He wished to say. Since the Buddha continued to sit there, nobody dared to “pay their respects and leave,” so everyone remained there, waiting.

The Buddha sat in meditation, but did so for a very long time because He had “entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings,” which is a state of Right Samadhi. Having finished expounding that sutra, He entered the Right Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, His body and mind unmoving. And from between His eyebrows, He continued to radiate light. This had never happened before. So, everyone continued to sit, anticipating that the Dharma He taught next would be inconceivable, subtle and wondrous. But the Buddha still did not emerge from Samadhi, so Manjusri and Maitreya engaged in a dialogue. Everyone should remember this section of the sutra.

I hope that everyone has listened to and retained this sutra all the way from the beginning. I hope you did not leave any of it behind, forgetting the previous teaching while listening to the current one. We must remember all of it. Although the Lotus Sutra is very long, when we look at the current text, we must refer back to the earlier text so that we will cherish it. Only by cherishing it will we have faith in it.

“Faith is the merit that allows us to enter the path,” so we must believe. Faith is the merit that allows us to enter the path. “We must be more mindful to deeply cultivate meticulous contemplation.” We must repeatedly bring forth that mindfulness and earnestly cultivate [ourselves]. Like a farmer cultivating his fields, we must mindfully cultivate ourselves; we must be mindful to cultivate deeply. We must be meticulous and earnestly contemplate the Buddha-Dharma in detail. We must begin to cease all evil and uphold all goodness in body, speech and mind. We must cease the Ten Evils and practice the Ten Good Deeds. So, we must “cease evil and practice good deeds with body, speech and mind.”

“Faith destroys deviant views and thinking.” If we can develop faith, genuine faith, naturally we will be able to destroy deviant views, deviant views and thinking. If we are unable to realize [the Dharma], our minds will often go astray. When we go astray, we will deviate. So, with “faith,” when we develop genuine faith, naturally our afflictions, deviant views and deviant thinking will be eliminated. “Understanding destroys ignorance and delusions.” Understanding comes after we have faith and actually take the Dharma to heart. So, although we have ignorance and afflictions in our minds, with the Dharma in our hearts, deviant views and deviant thinking will not enter our minds.

Don’t we often speak of “guarding against wrongs and stopping evil”? We must promptly stop evil, as well as immediately practice goodness. We are among a group of Bodhisattvas, so we encourage each other to give to those who are suffering in the world. We bring each other encouragement, motivation and joy. We do not get any material benefit out of this, but rather joy; after we help other people, seeing them relieved of their suffering brings us happiness. This is what we must believe and comprehend for ourselves. If we do not put the Dharma into practice, we will be unable to comprehend it; without comprehending it, our ignorance will cover our minds. Then how will we be able to understand the wondrous principles of the Dharma? Thus, we must be mindful.

The previous sutra passage states, “I say to you, Sariputra, if I tell you of [their] characteristics….” The Buddha said, “I will tell you of these characteristics.” Here, “characteristics” refers to the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka. From what He taught in the past to what He was teaching now, “The Three were returning to the One.” The Dharma of the Three Vehicles was now returning to the One Vehicle So, He said, “I say to you, Sariputra, if I tell you of the characteristics of those who seek the path to Buddhahood, I will not finish in endless kalpas. People like this will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.”

So, He said, “I say to you, Sariputra, if I tell you of the characteristics of those who seek the path to Buddhahood, I will not finish in endless kalpas. People like this will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.”

To listen to and take in all these teachings, and understand them, is not an easy feat. To do this, we must have a firm resolve.

Life is painfully short, and we pass through the Three Periods in a flash. So, we must seize every moment. This must be our mindset as spiritual practitioners. We must not think we still have a lot of time, that if we do not finish listening in this life, we can continue in our next life. In our next life, will we still have the karmic conditions to continue listening? In this life, if we have not fully eliminated our afflictions, if we have not firmly taken the Dharma to heart, will we have karmic conditions in our next life to be born human? If we are born human in our next life, will we have karmic conditions to hear the Dharma? We do not know, because it is a long way off.

So, “Those who seek the path to Buddhahood will take countless kalpas.” The Buddha gave so many teachings, so at all times we must unceasingly seek them out. I constantly tell everyone that our daily living is inseparable from the Dharma; people, matters and things are all [encompassed] in the Dharma. If our minds are upright, if we can eliminate our afflictions, then all people, matters and things are teaching us and allowing us to practice the Bodhisattva-path.

Over this long period of time, there will be so much [to learn]; this “will not finish in endless kalpas.” If the Buddha-Dharma is constantly on their minds, then, “People like this will have faith and understanding.” Only people like this can develop faith and understanding. “For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.” The Buddha told His disciples at the assembly that only when they come across people like this can they teach the Lotus Sutra.

When it comes to the Lotus Sutra, we must study it properly, then naturally we can make use of it in the world, for living in or transcending the world.

Next it states, “They deliver themselves while transforming others”

[To tell of] those who seek the path to Buddhahood. I will not finish in endless kalpas: They deliver themselves while transforming others and walk upon the great Bodhi-path. They are focused as they establish great vows. Those who seek the path to Buddhahood will take endless kalpas.

Those who seek the path to Buddhahood work to transform themselves; and by taking the Dharma to heart, they can transform others at the same time.

I feel like I am constantly talking about “walking upon the great Bodhi-path.” This is walking the Bodhisattva-path, which means we must constantly take good care of our pure nature and our inherent kindness. As we interact with every person, we must form good affinities and be constantly grateful and constantly express our respect toward them. We need a heart that “encompasses the universe”; this is love. It is that simple. Is this the path we are walking in our daily living? This is why we must be focused as we establish the great vows; we must concentrate on them, and we must also put them into practice. All of this takes a long time. “Those who seek the path to Buddhahood will take endless kalpas.”

“Endless kalpas” refers to all time, from long, long ago, from the beginning of time until now, and also on into the future. This “will take endless kalpas,” so our mind and body must not deviate from the Dharma. We must spend all our time on this. Everything we do must accord with the Dharma. We cannot waste any time, nor do things that cause the Dharma to leak out. We must fully make use of every moment to benefit ourselves and others and to transform ourselves and others. This is what we must mindfully seek to realize.

Kalpa: A long period of time, a great number [of years], likened to the amount of water in the great ocean. It is an endless amount.

This will take “a long period of time, a great number [of years]” How long is this period of time? It is truly very long. How can it be measured? The Buddha talked about “kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.” Each grain of sand is a kalpa. How many grains of sand are in the Ganges River? “A great number, likened to the amount of water in the great ocean. It is an endless amount.” It is not just as numerous as grains of sand. It is like the amount of water in the great ocean; it is impossible to measure how much water there is. In the end, we must be mindful.

With that initial great aspiration, Bodhisattvas spend an ocean of endless great kalpas, kalpas as numerous as the desert’s sands, in seeking the Bodhi-path for sentient beings. If one tries to describe the power of a Bodhisattva’s vows, one will not finish in endless kalpas.
Everyone formed an initial aspiration at some time. “With that initial great aspiration, Bodhisattvas spend an ocean of endless kalpas [seeking]” ․With that initial great aspiration, Bodhisattvas spend an ocean of endless great kalpas, kalpas as numerous as the desert’s sands, in seeking the Bodhi-path for sentient beings. If one tries to describe the power of a Bodhisattva’s vows, one will not finish in endless kalpas. A Bodhisattva spends an ocean of endless great kalpas [seeking]. This will take a very long time. These kalpas are as numerous as grains of sand. If we count the grains of sand one by one, each grain is a kalpa. If we count the drops of water in the ocean, each drop is a kalpa. This is an analogy for how long the great aspirations formed by Bodhisattvas must last, “until the end of time.”

Since we have made the great vows, we must “encompass the universe and pervade all Dharma-realms.” We are not afraid of how long this will take; every day, the Dharma is by our side, so everything we do brings us joy. Then why would we be afraid that this will take such a long time? By practicing according to the Dharma, we can play effortlessly in this world. We will do everything willingly. We will do everything joyfully. Thus, why would we be afraid of how long we have to spend on spiritual cultivation? From the time we form our aspirations, we must embrace this mindset of. “Just do it” and. “Work willingly and accept joyfully.” If we work in this way, will we lose our spiritual aspirations? That would be unlikely as long as we have this mindset. So, no matter how long it takes, we “seek the Bodhi-path for sentient beings.” It is for the sake of sentient beings that we seek the Bodhi-path;

we “seek the Bodhi-path for sentient beings. If one tries to describe the power of a Bodhisattva’s vows….” This is an analogy for the vows of Bodhisattvas. From the time they form their aspirations until the very end, the power of those vows will not weaken. This is what is meant by “will not finish in endless kalpas.” To explain all these teachings clearly, even if we take endless kalpas to expound them, we will still be unable to finish. However, if we are willing to form aspirations, this can happen at this very moment. Thus, the following passage states, “People like this will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra”

Practicing and upholding in this way: They undergo long kalpas yet retain their initial aspirations, and their capabilities are sharp and mature. People like this, when they hear this sutra, will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.

We must practice according to this sutra, undergoing countless kalpas while retaining our initial aspirations. Although we go through countless kalpas, a very long period of time, we must still retain our initial aspirations. Then our “capabilities [will be] sharp and mature.” We must constantly train ourselves; then naturally our capabilities will become very sharp and keen. No matter what we see, we will understand the principle behind it. When we see things, we will know; are they truly empty? Within “true emptiness,” there are the principles of “wondrous existence.” With sharp capabilities, we will be very keen and will be able to quickly understand. So, with “capabilities sharp and mature,” our causes and conditions will quickly mature.

“People like this, when they hear this sutra, will have faith and understanding.” When people like this hear the teachings of this sutra, which are so subtle and wondrous, so precious and difficult to understand, they will try to realize the principles of this sutra. However, if we can constantly safeguard our initial aspirations, naturally our capabilities will become sharp, and when we listen to the Dharma, we will hear one thing and realize 1000. As soon as we hear it, [we say,]. “This reminds me of something from not long ago.” We will realize [the principles] very quickly. Thus, we must constantly go among people to experience and realize the principles [of life]. Then when we listen to the sutras, we can hear one thing and realize 1000. “People like this, when they hear this sutra, will have faith and understanding.” Naturally they will believe and understand. “For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.”

Everyone, although the sutras are very profound, as long as we are mindful, they are not difficult, nor too deep for us, because they are applicable to daily living. In the Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra, a beautiful state is laid out before us. The Buddha began by expounding the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. After we all listen to it, we understand that this sutra is all about benefiting people and saving all sentient beings. “Having relieved them from suffering, we then expound the Dharma for them.” This is the power of love. After expounding that sutra, the Buddha then clearly explained to us that the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka are contained within it. This is something we should be clear on.

So, though the Dharma is wondrous and difficult to conceive of, as long as we have faith, we have “the merit that allows us to enter the path.” Naturally, if we can deepen our faith, entering the Bodhi-path will not be difficult. By “deeply cultivating meticulous contemplation,” we can cease evil and practice goodness. With faith and understanding, we can destroy deviant views and thinking. By destroying them, we completely eradicate the delusions of ignorance. Then won’t we manifest our pure Buddha-nature? So, all of this means that we must always be mindful.

Episode 720 – Developing Deep Roots and Firm Aspirations

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>> In the ocean of enlightened wisdom, the Dharma is boundless. Time and space stretch on at length, while we pass through the Three Periods in a flash. We must protect and preserve our resolve on the Bodhi-path to enlightenment. Maintain faith and understanding as at the start with deep roots and firm spiritual aspirations.

>> “People like this have the sincerest intentions to seek the Buddha’s sariras and, seeking the sutras in this way, they have gained and reverently received them. Such people never again resolve to seek other scriptures, nor do they ever think to seek heretical texts. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.”   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> “I say to you, Sariputra, if I tell you of the characteristics of those who seek the path to Buddhahood, I will not finish in endless kalpas. People like this will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> To remind him to respect the Dharma and carefully guard the teachings and precepts, the Buddha told Sariputra, I [will] tell you of their characteristics. He is speaking of the ten characteristics of world-transcending and virtuous people.

>> The ten teachings for being world-transcending and virtuous people. Virtuous means being in accord with the principles. One who practices these ten teachings will always be in accord with the principles of virtuous Dharma.

>> Cessation: Causing one’s own evil to cease and no longer troubling others. Practice: Cultivating triumphant virtue for the benefit and peace of all.

>> The Ten Good Deeds: Not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, not gossiping, not speaking harshly, not engaging in flattery, not having greed, not having anger and not holding deviant views.

>> 1. Not killing: The cessation of all killing. Since we are no longer killing, we must practice the good deed of releasing living beings.

>> 2. Not stealing: The cessation of all theft. Since we are no longer stealing, we must practice the good deed of charitable giving.

>> 3. Not engaging in sexual misconduct: The virtue of the cessation of sexual misconduct. As we are no longer engaged in misconduct, we must practice the good deed of purifying practice.

>> 4. Not Lying: One who does not tell lies does not speak empty words. This is the virtue of the cessation of lying. We must practice the good deed of speaking truth.

>> 5. Not gossiping: Not spreading conflicts between two parties so as to lead them to fight is the meaning of not engaging in gossip. We must practice the good deed of bringing harmony and benefit to others.

>> 6. Not speaking harshly: Not engaging in coarse or malicious speech is the virtue of the cessation of harsh speech. We must practice the good deed of gentle speech.

>> 7. Not engaging in flattery: Refraining from flowery or embellished speech is the meaning of not engaging in flattery. We must practice the good deed of being straightforward and proper in our speech.

>> 8. Not having greed: It is the virtue of the cessation of greed. Since we no longer have greed and desire, we must practice the good deed of engaging in purifying practice.

>> 9. Not having anger: It is the virtue of the cessation of anger. Since we no longer become angry, we must practice the good deed of loving-kindness and patience.

>> 10. Not holding deviant views: It is the virtue of the cessation of deviant views. Since we no longer hold deviant views, we must practice the good deeds of having Right Faith and Right Views.

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“In the ocean of enlightened wisdom, the Dharma is boundless. Time and space stretch on at length, while we pass through the Three Periods in a flash.
We must protect and preserve our resolve on the Bodhi-path to enlightenment.
Maintain faith and understanding as at the start with deep roots and firm spiritual aspirations.”

I constantly tell everyone, “In the ocean of enlightened wisdom, the Dharma is boundless.” This “ocean of enlightened wisdom” is something we all intrinsically have. It is just that we unenlightened beings tend to think about too many things. With our unenlightened minds, one moment we are thinking of Taiwan, and then another thought arises, and our minds turn to Africa, to the poorest places, where there are many people of a different ethnicity suffering. Then our minds may turn to Europe. Europe is a place of beauty, with luxurious buildings. It is rich in culture and traditions. All we have to do is turn our thoughts there, and our awareness will go there too. Our minds will follow [suggestions] around us to imagine what a certain state is like.

If we do this through our pure intrinsic nature, that awareness, we will know that in this vast world, on this planet, people are born into different places and face different amounts of happiness or suffering. As we have said, this is because of circumstantial retribution. Their circumstantial retribution led them there; because of the karmic law of cause and effect, they followed their causes and conditions to be born there. This is what the Buddha taught us by analyzing many causes and conditions for us. He is an enlightened being, one who has already awakened, so He can share many teachings with us.

Such was His ocean of wisdom, it was as vast and boundless as the ocean. “Time and space stretch on at length.” The space of the universe is vast indeed. What about time? It is the same. Like space, it has no beginning and no end. Time is measured in long periods called “kalpas.” This long expanse of time stretches on at length the same way space does. Time stretches on, yet we unenlightened beings “pass through the Three Periods in a flash.” At this very moment, we experience past, present and future in an instant. In one instant, we go through past, present and future. That is happening as I speak; every word I said is already in the “past,” but in the moment I spoke it, it was the “present.” A second ago, however, this present moment was the “future.” From recent events, we should have attained more realizations about this. In an instant, impermanence can strike, causing much suffering anywhere in this world.

This reflects the Buddha’s wisdom. With the ocean of His enlightened wisdom, He told us about this more than 2000 years ago. In the world around us, we can see, hear and practice so many of His teachings. Time, relationships, everything is inseparable from the Dharma. So, “We must protect and preserve our resolve on the Bodhi-path to enlightenment.” The Bodhi-path to enlightenment lies in our minds. “The great Bodhi-path is direct”; there is just this one road. When we dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to transforming ourselves and others, we will be able to realize many teachings.

In Fengyuan, there is a boy named Lin Xuechen. This young Bodhisattva is only 11 years old. Ever since he was in kindergarten, he has accompanied his mother to the Jing Si Bookstore. He has learned so much in that place. When the adults spoke, he listened carefully. When the [the bookstore staff] shared with him about the law of karma, he understood clearly. He retained the stories he read and the teachings he heard in the bookstore to share them with his classmates. He taught them the karmic law of cause and effect. When his classmates were short-tempered, he counseled them. Xuechen is truly very exceptional.

Though his mother enjoyed going to other Buddhist practice centers, he did not want to go. His mother said to him, “Oh! You are discriminating!” He said, “I am not discriminating; it is just that the Jing Si bookstore is a place of practice that suits me better.” He then shared with her, “One time I heard Grandmaster say that there was a group of older male volunteers who went to the Abode to do chores. Grandmaster called that a mini seven-day retreat. The older male volunteers also shared with Grandmaster that they took the beneficial grasses and buried them in the soil so that they would become fertilizer. But, if the grasses were weeds, they would pull them up by the roots so that the weeds wouldn’t spread.”

He said, “When I heard this, I thought about how, just as good grasses can become fertilizer, negative thoughts, when kept in the mind, can lead us to do bad deeds.” This is what he shared with his mother. He even said to her, “At the bookstore, I heard Grandmaster say that every time we do something that benefits others, we are a Bodhisattva. When we see something good in someone, we must promptly learn from them. I have learned so much here. When I see the older volunteers saying the same things over and over again, nagging at others, I remind myself to not criticize others in any way.”

Because, at a very young age, he learned so much at the [Jing Si] bookstore, when he grows up, he will contribute so much to others and to society. See, isn’t this an example of working to “protect and preserve our resolve on the Bodhi-path to enlightenment”? A child so young can develop this resolve, so what about us? “Maintain faith and understanding as at the start with deep roots and firm spiritual aspirations.” Can we do this? “Maintain faith and understanding as at the start.” Is the aspiration we formed when we first started still in our hearts? Is our original desire to diligently practice, is the power of the vows we originally had, still within us now? This is something we should reflect on. When we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must have the sincerest intentions.

So, the previous passage states, “People like this have the sincerest intentions to seek the Buddha’s sariras”

People like this have the sincerest intentions to seek the Buddha’s sariras and, seeking the sutras in this way, they have gained and reverently received them. Such people never again resolve to seek other scriptures, nor do they ever think to seek heretical texts. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.

Yesterday we spoke about “sariras.” Everyone should be clear that any place where there is Dharma is a place where the Buddha’s. Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) is present. Though the Buddha has entered Parinirvana, the Buddha-Dharma lives on in people’s hearts. The Buddha’s wisdom still exists. “Seeking the sutras in this way, they have gained and reverently received them.” With this mindset, they seek out the Dharma wherever it exists. In any place we attain the Dharma, we should earnestly accept the teachings.

“Such people never again resolve to seek other scriptures. Nor do they ever think to seek heretical texts.” They do not wish to seek other teachings; they are single-minded in their resolve. “For people like this, you can teach this sutra.” Only when we have this wholehearted resolve are we able to attain the subtle and wondrous Dharma of the Great Vehicle.

The following passage states, “I say to you, Sariputra, if I tell you of the characteristics of those who seek the path to Buddhahood, I will not finish in endless kalpas. People like this will have faith and understanding. For them you must teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.”

The Buddha wanted to give everyone a reminder, so He called out, “Sariputra! I [will] tell you of their characteristics.” He had already given so many teachings, the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka. For more than 40 years, He continued to teach according to the capabilities of sentient beings. The nature and the appearances of the Dharma are encompassed in the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka. This reminds all of us to listen to the sutras and the Dharma. We should “respect the Dharma” and follow the precepts. Thus, we must “carefully guard” [the teachings]. We should be very cautious

To remind him to respect the Dharma and carefully guard the teachings and precepts, the Buddha told Sariputra, “I [will] tell you of their characteristics.” He is speaking of the ten characteristics of world-transcending and virtuous people.

In the past, [out of ignorance,] we may have committed all kinds of wrongdoings. After learning the Buddha’s Way, we must respect the Dharma, follow the precepts. Therefore, we must now be very cautious.

All of this Dharma [that was taught] is inseparable from the “ten characteristics of world-transcending and virtuous people.” These are ways of teaching us, because as He was guiding sentient beings, His teachings were never separate from these ten teachings for being world-transcending and virtuous people. Knowing how to be good person is very important. If we want to be a Buddha but are unable to be a good person, how will we ever attain Buddhahood? Therefore, there are ten ways of being world-transcending virtuous people.

Virtue comes from following the principles. “Being in accord with the principles” means we can follow moral principles. This is virtuous Dharma. “One who practices these ten teachings will always be in accord with the principles of virtuous Dharma.”

The ten teachings for being world-transcending and virtuous people. Virtuous means being in accord with the principles. One who practices these ten teachings will always be in accord with the principles of virtuous Dharma.

If we can follow these ten teachings, we will be in accord with all the principles. When we follow the principles in our actions, we will be a virtuous person. There are two aspects to being a virtuous person; one is cessation and the other is practice. With “cessation,” what are we trying to cease? This means putting a stop to something. “Cessation” is “causing one’s own evil to cease and no longer troubling others. Cessation” is using the precepts to guard against wrongs and stop evil

Cessation: Causing one’s own evil to cease and no longer troubling others. Practice: Cultivating triumphant virtue for the benefit and peace of all.

As we engage in spiritual practice, we must uphold the precepts. As Buddhist practitioners, If on the one hand we listen to virtuous Dharma and on the other still create negative karma, what should we do? When we give rise to a thought of evil, we must promptly stop and extinguish it. Then we will no longer cause harm to or trouble other people.

The second is “practice. Practice” means spiritual practice. We must promptly engage in spiritual practice. Since we have put an end to evil, we must diligently do good deeds. This gives rise to “triumphant virtue,” which is exceptional virtue. We must seize exceptional karmic conditions to accomplish the things we should do. Only through internal cultivation and external cultivation of goodness can we work for the “benefit and peace of all.” Everything that we do will benefit ourselves and others and bring peace to ourselves as well as others

The Ten Good Deeds: Not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, not gossiping, not speaking harshly, not engaging in flattery, not having greed, not having anger and not holding deviant views.

How do we [practice] the Ten Good Deeds? First is by not killing. Not killing means to cease killing. This is why I constantly promote vegetarianism. To love and protect the earth, we must earnestly purify people’s minds. This starts with the karma of the body. Killing is committed by the body. Thus, we must cease killing. “Since we are no longer killing, we must practice the good deed of releasing living beings.

1. Not killing: The cessation of all killing. Since we are no longer killing, we must practice the good deed of releasing living beings.

The true meaning behind releasing living beings is the protection of all living beings. We must protect all life and keep their habitats peaceful and safe. That is the principle behind “not killing.”

2. Not stealing: The cessation of all theft. Since we are no longer stealing, we must practice the good deed of charitable giving.

The second is not stealing, which is also karma created by the body. Some people will steal, rob or seize thing, Some people will steal, rob or seize things, or they may loot things. By no means can we do this; we must cease. This is “the cessation of all theft.” If we stop doing this, that is a way of doing good. “Since we are no longer stealing, we must practice the good deed of charitable giving.” Not only must we not steal or desire others’ goods, we should practice charitable giving.

3. Not engaging in sexual misconduct: The virtue of the cessation of sexual misconduct. As we are no longer engaged in misconduct, we must practice the good deed of purifying practice.

The third is not engaging in sexual misconduct, which is also karma created by the body. So, this must “cease.” The cessation of sexual misconduct is a good deed as well. “As we no longer engage in sexual misconduct, we must practice the good deed of purifying practice.”

4. Not Lying: One who does not tell lies does not speak empty words. This is the virtue of the cessation of lying. We must practice the good deed of speaking truth.

The fourth is, “One who does not tell lies” is one who “does not speak empty words.” This is the virtue of the cessation of lying. Speaking lies damages our moral character. When we speak, we should speak the truth. Thus, “We practice the virtue of speaking truth.” We must not speak of fake or false things, creating something out of nothing and giving rise to many conflicts. This is not the right thing to do

5. Not gossiping: Not spreading conflicts between two parties so as to lead them to fight. This is the meaning of not engaging in gossip. We must practice the good deed of bringing harmony and benefit to others.

The fifth is not gossiping. Not gossiping means not spreading stories or telling different people different things. We say bad things about that person to this person and bad things about this person to that person, creating conflict between both. By gossiping about other people, we are creating problems in relationships and tearing apart friendships. These are not the right things to do.

All these things “lead them to fight.” On a small scale, we cause conflicts among people. On a large scale, we spread rumors throughout society. On an even larger scale, a country in conflict ruins many lives. All of this is caused by the negative karma of creating conflicts. So if we are doing this, we should quickly stop. “We must practice the good deed of bringing harmony and benefit to others”; we must encourage people to come together, not to split apart. We should not manipulate them.

6. Not speaking harshly: Not engaging in coarse or malicious speech is the virtue of the cessation of harsh speech. We must practice the good deed of gentle speech.

The sixth is not speaking harshly, or “not engaging in harsh or malicious speech.” We must not speak harshly; instead, we “practice the good deed of gentle speech.” We should speak the truth and encourage people to come together. We must use soft and gentle words and be elegant when speaking with people. Speaking is a kind of art, so we must be mindful.

7. Not engaging in flattery: Refraining from flowery or embellished speech is the meaning of not engaging in flattery. We must practice the good deed of being straightforward and proper in our speech.

The seventh is not engaging in flattery. Speaking softly and gently is a good thing, isn’t it? But here it says we must “not engage in flattery. Flattery” is superficial. There is no sincerity behind those words, but on the surface they sound very pleasant. They speak well of us to our face, but say bad things about us behind our backs.

“Not engaging in flattery” is “refraining from flowery or embellished speech.” We must not dress up what is false to make it sound like it is true or make it very pleasant; we must not do that.

So, we must “not engage in flattery,” but rather, “We must practice the good deed of being straightforward and proper in our speech.” We should be very straightforward. “This is the way things are; this matter is like this. I am speaking the truth of things, and I do so with absolutely no ill-intent. This is how it happened; that is the truth. Let us figure out how to salvage the situation and make things right.” This is being “straightforward in speech.” This means that our words are direct, proper and of excellent quality. These words are true, but still must be gentle and harmonious.

8. Not having greed: It is the virtue of the cessation of greed. Since we no longer have greed and desire, we must practice the good deed of engaging in purifying practice.

The eighth is greed. It is no longer having greed and desire. That is “the virtue of the cessation of greed. Since we no longer have greed and desire, we must practice the good deed of engaging in purifying practice.”

9. Not having anger: It is the virtue of the cessation of anger. Since we no longer become angry, we must practice the good deed of loving-kindness and patience.

The ninth is not having anger. We must not get angry. This is “the virtue of the cessation of anger.” If we start to lose our temper, we must quickly put a stop to it. Once we have the virtue of ceasing our anger, we must practice the good deed of “loving-kindness and patience”

10. Not holding deviant views: It is the virtue of the cessation of deviant views. Since we no longer hold deviant views, we must practice the good deeds of having Right Faith and Right Views.
The tenth is not holding deviant views. Our views and understanding should be correct. “This is the virtue of the cessation of deviant views. Since we no longer hold deviant views, we must practice the good deeds of having Right Faith and Right Views.”

All of these are related to our everyday karma of body, speech and mind. There are three good deeds of the body; they are not killing, not stealing and no sexual misconduct. Speech is not lying, not engaging in flattery, not gossiping and not speaking harshly. These are the four good deeds of speech. In our minds, there is greed, anger and ignorance.

So, the Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind can be turned from the Ten Evils into the Ten Good Deeds. For this we must both “cease” and “practice.” With regard to our body, speech and mind, in our daily living we must earnestly heighten our vigilance otherwise, “Time and space stretch on at length, while we pass through the Three Periods in a flash.” This happens in the span of a single thought. Time passes very quickly; in a flash it is gone. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 719 – The Sariras of the Dharmakaya are the Middle Way

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>> In general, the Buddha-Dharma is called the great path to liberation. Unattached to either emptiness or existence, one enters the path of the Great Vehicle. The sariras of the Dharmakaya are the Middle Way of the Tathagata. The principles of ultimate reality are invariable and immutable.

>> “If there are bhiksus who, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma, seek the teachings in all four directions, put palms together in reverent reception, joyfully accept and uphold the Great Vehicle sutras, while refusing to accept even a single verse from any other scripture, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> “People like this have the sincerest intentions to seek the Buddha’s sariras and, seeking the sutras in this way, they have gained and reverently received them. Such people never again resolve to seek other scriptures, nor do they ever think to seek heretical texts. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> This is talking about seeking the Buddha’s sariras, which refers to the sariras of This is like a passage in this sutra which states, At a place to accept and uphold, read and recite [this sutra], one should build a stupa. Within this will be the sariras of the Buddha’s entire body.

>> In addition to that, The sutras containing the Buddha’s teachings are called the sariras of the Dharmakaya.

>> The principles of ultimate reality and the Middle Way taught by the Tathagata are forever immutable and unchanging. Their nature and appearance will always be the same. Thus, they are the sariras of the Dharmakaya.

>> So, in the Lotus Sutra, in the Chapter on Dharma Masters, there is a passage that states, Wherever the sutras are kept, a seven-jeweled stupa should be erected, exceedingly high and wide and magnificently adorned. There is no need to enshrine the sariras there. Why is this so? Within it is already the entire body of Tathagata.

>> When we focus on seeking the Lotus Sutra and can pay respect to, accept and uphold it without ever forgetting, then we will no longer make vows to seek the sutras and treatises of the Small Vehicle. Furthermore, we will not think to read or research heretical texts.

>> Whether an initial aspirant or a long-time learner, through teaching this sutra accordingly, all can help others attain the Buddha’s wisdom. Thus, they distance themselves from other religious teachings and seek enlightenment with the Buddha.>> Those who can listen to, accept, uphold and cultivate contemplation with the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra will attain the Buddha’s prediction. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.

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>>”In general, the Buddha-Dharma is called the great path to liberation.
Unattached to either emptiness or existence, one enters the path of the Great Vehicle.
The sariras of the Dharmakaya are the Middle Way of the Tathagata.
The principles of ultimate reality are invariable and immutable.”

The Buddha-Dharma is the great path to awakening. Why should we learn the Dharma? Why should we faithfully accept and practice according to the teachings? We have already chosen the Buddha-Dharma; this is our blessing. It is rare to be born human and rare to hear the Buddha-Dharma. As we have been born human, encountered the Buddha-Dharma and have the karmic conditions to hear it daily, we should truly treasure this opportunity. Why? Because if we make an effort to mindfully listen to, experience and comprehend the principles, can’t we [apply them] to all of the people, matters and things we face every day? The Buddha-Dharma always reminds us that life is impermanent and the earth fragile. It also remind us often that the world is like a bubble or a shadow, like a dew drop or a flash of lightning. It is constantly warning us that life is short and temporary; life is impermanent. Isn’t it constantly telling us about suffering, emptiness and impermanence? It is always saying that we humans are continuously creating karma. When we accumulate bad karma, we give rise to collective karma, which leads to widespread suffering. The three major and three minor calamities are constantly arising in this world. The Buddhist sutras are always reminding us of this. Thus the Buddha, in giving the Lotus teachings, taught in many different ways, using the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka all in the hope that after listening to the Dharma, we would take it to heart, delve deeper and deeper into it and then go even deeper still, one layer after another, hoping that we can eliminate our attachments and let go of our ignorance. Only by letting go of attachments and ignorance are we able to delve more deeply into the Dharma and understand it better. If we can completely understand the Buddha’s teachings, they are the great path to liberation. This is what our nature of True Suchness is like, with layer upon layer of ignorance that has covered and obstructed it. Thus, only by putting in the effort to lift, peel off and discard the layers of ignorance will we naturally become one with the truths of all things in the universe. Isn’t this the great path to liberation? It truly is the great path to liberation, the great path that is worthy of praise.

How can we achieve great liberation? By clinging neither to emptiness nor existence. We must not be attached. If we have attachments, our minds will experience ailments. People nowadays call this stress. We bring upon ourselves all this pressure caused by ignorance and afflictions.

In fact, “With each passing day, we draw closer to death.” Thus, we must earnestly make use of our time. If we cause ourselves problems, they will remain with us day after day. Consider “each passing day.” Consider this vast world around us. In the evil world of Five Turbidities, there is no way for people’s minds to be purified. All over the world, disasters frequently arise, and in our afflictions and ignorance, we continue to idle away our time. We still have no way to realize [the truth]. It is so clear that the world around us is teaching us the Dharma every day. The Dharma the Buddha taught is manifested every day throughout this universe, across this planet.

Recently in Taiwan, just over the past 15 days, disasters have struck, one after the other. Right after a typhoon hit Taiwan, a plane crash happened in Penghu. Then there was the gas explosion in Kaohsiung. Yesterday we heard from Kunshan, China, about a factory owned by a Taiwanese company. After 7am, right as their shifts started, there was suddenly a gas explosion. In an instant, more than 60 people lost their lives. Over 200 people were severely injured. This makes us think about how life is impermanent. Will impermanence strike before tomorrow arrives? I often say there is no need to mention tomorrow; impermanence is manifesting every second. Things can happen in such a short amount of time. Patients have already been sent to hospitals in Kunshan, and in Shanghai and Suzhou.

A few of these hospitals have permitted, and were hoping for, Tzu Chi volunteers to go in to help and provide comfort. This is how we provide direct assistance. In places where there are Tzu Chi volunteers, where we have direct contact with people in need. Tzu Chi volunteers there will mobilize to help and put their hearts into the effort. “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering beings.”

I often say that we must be understanding. When it comes to time, space and relationships, in this impermanent life of ours, we must constantly heighten our vigilance. The karma we have, the causes and conditions that converge, can cause impermanence to manifest in an instant. What happens in that instant may result in long-lasting suffering. So, we must all truly have this sense of awareness. We must no longer be attached to the ignorance within us; we must quickly clear it away. We must promptly enter the Great Vehicle path and not remain attached to the Small Vehicle, focused only on our own awakening.

“The sariras of the Dharmakaya are the Middle Way of the Tathagata.” The Buddha-Dharma is in fact the Buddha’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body), the Buddha’s wisdom. The truth of all things which the Buddha awakened to is everlasting. If we can earnestly make use of them, the Buddha’s teachings can benefit people, so let us make an effort to use them. Thus, “the Middle Way of the Tathagata,” the Great Vehicle Dharma, is not biased. It is not biased toward emptiness nor existence. We understand everything is empty, like an illusion or mirage. But, we must further understand that this is true emptiness, and within that “emptiness,” there is “wondrous existence.” We should not be attached to emptiness or existence.

Having been born in this world, the true Buddha-Dharma can help us achieve liberation from our ignorance. Thus, naturally we can feel peaceful and at ease without remaining attached to anything. So, the sariras of the Dharmakaya will remain forever in the human realm; they are the principles of ultimate reality. I often say that truth is without essence or form. But actually, there is the Dharma, the ultimate reality of the Dharma. We can use many analogies for it. Although it has [no form], when [tangible things] are brought together to provide us with an explanation, we can understand. Thus, the principles of ultimate reality are invariable and immutable. These are true principles. True principles are the Tathagata’s Dharmakaya; the sariras of the Dharmakaya are the Middle Way. Walking the Middle Way, we are not attached to emptiness or existence, so so we can directly enter the Great Vehicle Dharma and transform ourselves and others. This is the general [purpose] of the Buddha-Dharma. In general, the Buddha-Dharma helps us attain liberation.

“If there are bhiksus who, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma, seek the teachings in all four directions, put palms together in reverent reception, joyfully accept and uphold the Great Vehicle sutras, while refusing to accept even a single verse from any other scripture, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.” 

Next we will discuss yesterday’s sutra passage. “If there are bhiksus who, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma…” As everyone remembers, the wisdom of all Dharma is Buddha-wisdom, all-encompassing wisdom. With it we can comprehend the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka, the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms and so on. This means we have returned to Buddha-wisdom.

“Seeking the Dharma in all four directions” refers to the Four Great Vows and the Four Infinite Minds. We should [receive all Dharma] with utmost respect by “putting palms together in reverent reception”

and always maintaining this sense of respect. Whether the Four Noble Truths, 12 Links of Cyclic Existence or Six Perfections, these are all true principles of the Buddha-Dharma. So, we must dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly

“and joyfully accept and uphold the. Great Vehicle sutras, refusing to accept even a single verse from any other scripture.” This means that our minds must be focused. As we have entered the Middle Way and the Great Vehicle Dharma and drawn near the sariras of the Dharmakaya, why are we still so deluded? “[If there are bhiksus] refusing to accept even a single verse from any other scripture, for people like this, you can teach this sutra” [This tells us] that to draw near true principles, we must dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly.

The next passage states, “People like this have the sincerest intentions to seek the Buddha’s sariras and, seeking the sutras in this way, they have gained and reverently received them. Such people never again resolve to seek other scriptures, nor do they ever think to seek heretical texts. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.”

This is talking about “seeking the Buddha’s sariras,” which refers to the sariras of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya which we mentioned.

This is like a passage in this sutra which states, “At a place to accept and uphold, read and recite [this sutra], one should build a stupa. Within this will be the sariras of the Buddha’s entire body.” As long you are there, or there is someone willing to be at this place, to unceasingly and reverently read, recite, hear and uphold the Dharma, this place is where the sariras of the Buddha’s entire body are. This is where the Right Dharma, the Buddha-Dharma, exists

In addition to that, The sutras containing the Buddha’s teachings are called the sariras of the Dharmakaya.

In addition to that, “The sutras containing the Buddha’s teachings are called the sariras of the Dharmakaya.” They are the sutras which the Buddha taught. The 12 divisions of the Tripitaka comprise the sariras of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. The Buddha’s wisdom is wholly contained within them ․The principles of ultimate reality and the Middle Way taught by the Tathagata are forever immutable and unchanging. Their nature and appearance will always be the same. Thus, they are “the sariras of the Dharmakaya.”

Everyone, please mindfully comprehend this. It does not require death and cremation for sariras to come into being. True sariras are non-arising and non-ceasing; they are everlasting principles. The teachings given by the Buddha are the sariras of the Buddha’s entire Dharmakaya.

So, in the Lotus Sutra, in the Chapter on Dharma Masters, there is a passage that states, “Wherever the sutras are kept, a seven-jeweled stupa should be erected, exceedingly high and wide and magnificently adorned. There is no need to enshrine the sariras there. Why is this so? Within it is already the entire body of Tathagata.”

From this sutra passage, we see that “the sariras of the Dharmakaya” refers to the Buddha’s spirit and wisdom all concentrated together. His spirit and wisdom, and the ocean of enlightenment He taught about, are truly infinite and immeasurable. They can suit everyone’s capabilities. Depending on how we seek it, as long as put our heart into it, we can comprehend the Dharma. By understanding it, we can hear one thing and realize 1000.

Next, “Seeking the sutras in this way, they have gained and reverently received them”

When we focus on seeking the Lotus Sutra and can pay respect to, accept and uphold it without ever forgetting, then we will no longer make vows to seek the sutras and treatises of the Small Vehicle. Furthermore, we will not think to read or research heretical texts.

“We [must] focus on seeking the Lotus Sutra.” If we want to understand the Bodhisattva-path, the Buddha’s true and original intent, if we want to understand His state of mind, we must listen to the Lotus Sutra and “gain [it] and reverently receive [its teachings].” We must accept all the Dharma it contains and not allow any of it to leak out. This is “without ever forgetting”; we must not allow any of it to leak out.

“Then we will no longer make vows to seek the sutras and treatises of the Small Vehicle.” If we uphold the Great Vehicle Dharma, we do not need to take narrower roads anymore. We should not go back to practicing the Small Vehicle Dharma nor debate those sutras and teachings; that is unnecessary. Our focus should be on walking the Bodhisattva-path; we must not give rise to more discursive thoughts nor desire to study heretical teachings. We must not give rise to discursive thoughts. We must completely believe in the Lotus Sutra and faithfully accept it; we must not doubt it and thus seek out other teachings.

“Such people never again resolve to seek other scriptures, nor do they ever think to seek heretical texts.” That is about being focused. When it comes our initial aspiration, I always say we must sustain our original resolve. “We must sustain our original aspiration” and forever hold on to that resolve we had when we first wished to engage in spiritual practice. That initial aspiration we had when we first sought the Great Vehicle Dharma is what we must uphold forever as we make an effort to learn mindfully.

“This sutra should be taught to them.” If there are those who wholeheartedly dedicate themselves on this path, continuously upholding and learning the Dharma, for people who do this, we can teach this Dharma. This will help them more deeply comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom. This indicates they are people who distance themselves from heretical teachings and seek Bodhi.

Whether an initial aspirant or a long-time learner, through teaching this sutra accordingly, all can help others attain the Buddha’s wisdom. Thus, they distance themselves from other religious teachings and seek enlightenment with the Buddha.

“For people like this, you can teach this sutra.” People like this can hear and uphold the Dharma. They “cultivate contemplation” to bring their minds into a state of stillness. They are people like this. “With the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra,” the people who are willing to uphold and settle their minds in this sutra are said to be able to attain the Buddha’s predictions for Buddhahood. The Buddha bestowed predictions for what will happen in distant kalpas. If only we were still in the Buddha’s lifetime, He could personally bestow these predictions on us. But as the Buddha is not in this world right now, we must practice steadfastly all the same

Those who can listen to, accept, uphold and cultivate contemplation with the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra will attain the Buddha’s prediction. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.

We must have faith in. Life after life, for countless kalpas, the Buddha had received predictions of Buddhahood from previous Buddhas. Because of those Buddhas’ praise and affirmation, He spent many lifetimes engaging in spiritual practice. We are the same. We are here now because of our karmic conditions in the past and present. In future lifetimes, we will again create a connection with the Lotus Sutra. Because of this, for lifetime after lifetime, we will still be [immersed] in the Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra is also a way of referring to the Buddha-Dharma as a whole. The 12 divisions of the Tripitaka are all included in the Lotus Sutra. So, “In general, the Buddha-Dharma is called the great path to liberation. Unattached to either emptiness or existence, one enters the path of the Great Vehicle.” If we can be mindful of this sutra, we can be one with “the sariras of the Dharmakaya, the Middle Way of the Tathagata that are the Middle Way of the Tathagata.” The truth of the ultimate reality has never changed since ancient times. Although a long time has passed, the Dharma is still present and has not changed. Thus, as long as we are mindful, the Buddha-Dharma will always abide in our minds. With the sariras of the Dharmakaya, our inner training ground will be clear and pure. Thus, we must always be mindful.

Episode 718 – Forming Great Vehicle Aspirations with Diligence

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>> We need deep wisdom and Great Dharma, just as a big container must have a big cover. With an awakened nature and ocean of wisdom, we can know inexhaustible teachings. The Tathagata is one with compassion, impartiality and the wisdom of all Dharma.

>> “It states, And if there are Buddha-children among the assembly who, with purity of mind, all kinds of causes and conditions, analogies and expressions, speak the Dharma without hindrance, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> “If there are bhiksus who, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma, seek the teachings in all four directions, and joyfully accept and uphold the. Great Vehicle sutras, refusing to accept even a single verse from any other scripture, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> The wisdom of all Dharma is Buddha-wisdom, also known as all-encompassing wisdom. Thus the sutra says: Practicing earnestly and diligently, they seek all-encompassing wisdom, Buddha-wisdom, natural wisdom and untaught wisdom.

>> Those who take joy in the Great Vehicle and, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma, diligently seek the Buddha-Dharma to transform themselves are the monastic Bodhisattvas who accept and uphold the Great Vehicle. Thus it says: If there are bhiksus who [act] for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma.

>> The ability to know and understand all inner and outer phenomena is known as the wisdom of all Dharma. As we have already made the Four Great Vows, [including] the vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood and the vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors, we seek in all four directions. This is the start of seeking the teachings.

Accepting the teachings and surrounding states is pleasing to both mind and body. This is called joyfully accepting and upholding the Great Vehicle teachings.

When we have deep power of faith, we can “accept”. When we have firm power of mindfulness, we can “uphold”. Again, when we receive something into our minds, this is called “acceptance”. With unfailing faith and mindfulness from beginning to end, we can “accept and uphold”.

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“We need deep wisdom and Great Dharma, just as a big container must have a big cover.
With an awakened nature and ocean of wisdom, we can know inexhaustible teachings.
The Tathagata is one with compassion, impartiality and the wisdom of all Dharma.”

What are we actually cultivating when we engage in spiritual practice? Every day we say that the most important thing is to seek the Buddha-Dharma. Once we can “comprehend the great path,” we must “form the supreme aspiration.” After forming this supreme aspiration, we should further deepen [our understanding]; we must delve deeply into the sutra treasury to comprehend just how deep the Buddha-Dharma is and just how expansive it is.

Some people say that “delving deeply into the sutra treasury” means spending all day in the sutra library, just reading books all day long. They consider that to be “delving deeply into the sutra treasury.” That is not it. To “comprehend the great path,” we must put the Dharma into practice and walk on this broad path. In our daily living, people, matters and objects are our sutras.

Just as there are infinite sentient beings, so too is there infinite Dharma. When we are amidst sentient beings, amidst people, matters and objects, we must try to realize the principles of the world. This is how we truly delve deeply into the sutra treasury. Among people, there are so many sutras to be found. So, we need to be mindful, and we must have wisdom. For our wisdom to be deep and the Dharma vast, our minds must be opened as broadly as possible. Amidst infinite sentient beings and infinite Dharma, we must seek to realize [the principles]. Then we can penetrate the minds of sentient beings and “harmoniously lead the people.”

We must transform ourselves, and we should also transform others. When we are walking in the right direction, we should also lead many other people to walk the same path. Thus we need “deep wisdom and Great Dharma.” This is like how a big water tank must have a big cover. However big a container is, it must have a cover of corresponding size. This is to say, we must have great capacities. Then, when we widely transform sentient beings, we can deliver them all “without obstructions.” Thus we said, “A big container must have a big cover.” This also applies to our awakened nature, our ocean of wisdom.

Unenlightened beings only see one side and not the other; there is a limit to what we know. We only know about what is in our daily living. Our parents gave birth to us, then we grew up in this environment. As our environment [changes], though unaware of it, we too are growing older. We live our lives according to our environments. We study, establish families, start our careers. As we live in this environment, matters and things trouble our minds, so we give rise to delusions and create all kinds of karmic forces out of greed, anger and ignorance. This goes on for a whole lifetime; thus we age, grow ill and die. Where is the value of our lives to be found? We have never thought about this.

Now that we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we should know that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. Everyone has this potential. We walk the Bodhisattva-path because we want to attain Buddhahood. If we want to return to our intrinsic nature, we must use the broad and great path that the Buddha gave us. That is the Bodhisattva-path. Sentient beings experience countless sufferings, so Bodhisattvas have countless methods, because. “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering beings,” Sentient beings experience much suffering. Apart from birth, aging, illness and death, there is also parting with those we love, meeting those we hate, the raging Five Aggregates. Being parted in life or separated by death is a natural part of life, as is impermanence.

We hear and see so many people wailing in grief. This is unbearable suffering. In places where there are Tzu Chi volunteers, when circumstances like these arise, they rush to offer comfort and care. We see impermanence in this world, and the sutras also remind us unceasingly that life is filled with suffering and impermanence. We also always ask the question, “Will impermanence strike before tomorrow arrives?” We often say that we cannot always wait for tomorrow, because impermanence may strike at any time.

Indeed! Impermanence actually arrives before tomorrow. We do not need to look as far as tomorrow; it can happen in an instant. In life, impermanence strikes suddenly. We cannot think, “I’ll wait until I’m older,” or “I’ll wait until this project is complete, and then I’ll do good deeds.” This is not the way. We must act promptly. Life is indeed impermanent. So, we must be mindful and have deep faith in the Buddha’s teachings. If we can comprehend them with deep faith, we must promptly form aspirations and make vows

because the world is full of suffering. If we aspire to walk the Bodhisattva-path, if we elevate the way we look at life to a higher level, we can expand the capacity of our hearts. For us to be able to safeguard the minds and bodies of sentient beings, when they experience physical suffering, we must immediately comfort their minds. Thus, we can pull them out of their suffering. “Having relieved them from suffering, Bodhisattvas then expound the Dharma for them.” As Buddhist practitioners, we must become a big container with a big cover. Because there are so many sentient beings, we must listen to them and learn even more paths.

So, we talk about “an awakened nature and ocean of wisdom”; as we all intrinsically have an awakened nature, we must immediately eliminate all of our ignorance so our wisdom can become as vast as the boundless ocean. No matter how many ways sentient beings suffer, we have just as many methods and the wisdom to help them and relieve their suffering. So, if we open up our ocean of wisdom, this wisdom can discern all things in the world, and naturally, the things we know will be endless; that Dharma will be plentiful. No matter what happens in this world, we can promptly make use of our discerning wisdom. With great precision, we can discern all matters and appearances; this is discerning wisdom.

There is discerning wisdom, and there is also impartial wisdom. Knowing everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature is impartial wisdom. Thus, “We can know inexhaustible teachings.” These teachings are worldly Dharma. By applying discerning wisdom, we thoroughly grasp the workings of the world. These are inexhaustible teachings.

So, “The Tathagata is one with compassion, impartiality and the wisdom of all Dharma.” The Buddha is compassionate and impartial; He treats all sentient beings equally. A person like this is one with “impartiality and the wisdom of all Dharma.” This is the Tathagata. With this sense of impartiality, He helps all of us understand that we can all attain Buddhahood. He also taught us to develop discerning wisdom to discern the workings of things in this world. These are the Buddha’s compassionate teachings. So, we must be mindful of them. “We need deep wisdom and Great Dharma.” Every day we continue to talk about how we can draw closer to the Buddha-Dharma, take it to heart and apply it in our daily living.

Wasn’t this described in the earlier sutra text? It states, “And if there are Buddha-children among the assembly who, with purity of mind, all kinds of causes and conditions, analogies and expressions, speak the Dharma without hindrance, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”

Everyone should still remember the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. As we have internalized many teachings, we have the “wisdom of unobstructed Dharma” and the “wisdom of unobstructed meaning.” We should be clear on the principles of the Dharma. With “wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric,” we also have the “wisdom of unobstructed joy in speaking.” After we take the Buddha-Dharma to heart, we must exercise the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms.

Going among people with a pure mind, we share the 12 divisions of teachings of the Buddha’s Tripitaka. This is making use of causes and conditions. Sentient beings have different capabilities, so we must make use of the Tripitaka, the sutra treasury, vinaya treasury and the abhidharma treasury. There are also 12 categories of methods we can use to teach according to capabilities. This is very important. If we can do this, we will be able to accept the subtle, wondrous True Dharma of the One Vehicle, which is the path to attaining Buddhahood.

The next sutra passage states, “If there are bhiksus who, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma, seek the teachings in all four directions, put palms together in reverent reception and joyfully accept and uphold the. Great Vehicle sutras, refusing to accept even a single verse from any other scripture, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.” This is telling us that when we learn the Dharma we must focus our minds with a single resolve.

So here, “If there are bhiksus who, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma…” is referring to spiritual practitioners; it is saying they clearly have minds such that once they give rise to [great] aspirations, they begin to feel a sense of joy that they can benefit sentient beings “[They] take joy in the Great Vehicle. Joy” is happiness. The Great Vehicle teaching is to transform ourselves and others. We must first seek to understand and investigate the Buddha-Dharma, to understand the true principles. Once we know our direction, we can begin to be mindful and experience how great and broad this path is.

Having eliminated our ignorance, our minds can encompass the universe and become completely illuminated. With this experience and knowledge of how to apply this Dharma, we can open up our mind to encompass all things. This is called the wisdom of all Dharma ․The wisdom of all Dharma is Buddha-wisdom, also known as all-encompassing wisdom.

The wisdom of all Dharma is Buddha-wisdom, also known as all-encompassing wisdom. Thus the sutra says: Practicing earnestly and diligently, they seek all-encompassing wisdom, Buddha-wisdom, natural wisdom and untaught wisdom.

Thus in the sutra text, it stated previously, “Practicing earnestly and diligently, they seek all-encompassing wisdom, Buddha-wisdom, natural wisdom and untaught wisdom.” This is what we seek. We intrinsically have Buddha-nature, so this is our natural wisdom and untaught wisdom. Unfortunately, we unenlightened beings are covered by ignorance. In learning the Buddha-Dharma, we need to come up with ways to eliminate the ignorance that is covering us. If we can eliminate that ignorance, naturally we will be able to discover our wisdom of all Dharma, Buddha-wisdom natural wisdom and untaught wisdom. Together, they are called all-encompassing wisdom.

We must still practice diligently. Though we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, we have been talking about how, as unenlightened beings, our habitual greed, anger and ignorance still abide. As spiritual practitioners, we may say we are not greedy for anything, but regarding anger, can we actually say, “I never lose my temper; I am never arrogant or proud”? Can we? Because we still have ignorance, since anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt remain, we must continue to work hard; we must diligently seek the Dharma to transform ourselves

Those who take joy in the Great Vehicle and, for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma, diligently seek the Buddha-Dharma to transform themselves are the monastic Bodhisattvas who accept and uphold the Great Vehicle. Thus it says: If there are bhiksus who [act] for the sake of the wisdom of all Dharma.

We hope to transform ourselves, and we also wish to transform other people. These wishes make us “monastic Bodhisattvas who accept and uphold the Great Vehicle.” As monastic Bodhisattvas, although we have left the lay life, we are not focused on our own awakening; we want to walk the Bodhisattva-path. During the Buddha’s lifetime, the bhiksus did not know that they could attain Buddhahood. They thought benefiting themselves and eliminating their afflictions was enough. They did not know that they should also transform all sentient beings. At the Lotus [Dharma-assembly], they learned that in addition to transforming themselves, they must also transform others. This is the true path that will return them to their Tathagata-nature. That means walking the Bodhisattva-path and seeking the Great Vehicle Dharma.

Next the sutra states, “[They] seek teachings in all four directions, put palms together in reverent reception.” This demonstrates their diligence

The ability to know and understand all inner and outer phenomena is known as “the wisdom of all Dharma.” As we have already made the Four Great Vows, [including] the vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood and the vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors, we seek in all four directions. This is the start of seeking the teachings.

“The ability to know and understand all inner and outer phenomena” means that, inwardly we must cultivate ourselves, and outwardly we must experience people, matters and things. We must have clarity about everything and not just be focused on our own spiritual practice. When it comes to the phenomena, matters and people of this world, if we do not understand the principles behind them how can we reach the state of the Buddha? Thus we must develop “the ability to know and understand all inner and outer phenomena, [which] is known as ‘the wisdom of all Dharma'”; this is Buddha-wisdom, the ability to understand all worldly matters, to comprehend all worldly and world-transcending things.

If we want to attain the wisdom of all Dharma, the most basic thing we must do is make the Four Great Vows. What are the Four Great Vows? What is the first one? “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” The second? “I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” The third one? “I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors.” The fourth one? (I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood). Yes, “I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” If we wish to attain the wisdom of all Dharma, we must make the Four Great Vows.

To do this, “We seek in all four directions.” We must be constantly seeking. Regardless of whether we are eliminating afflictions or attaining Buddhahood, we must earnestly form aspirations and make vows. The Dharma-doors are truly pervasive; we just need to be mindful. This is why it says “all four directions.” The Four Great Vows are also four kinds of directions; they are four great intentions. Thus, there are infinite Dharma-doors. Where are these infinite Dharma-doors? Among all sentient beings. Therefore, we must be mindful. We do not have to seek far away; we can find them right here. Thus, we should have a heart of deep reverence; from the moment of our initial aspiration, we “put palms together in reverent reception.”

We often say, “If we can sustain our initial aspiration, we will surely attain Buddhahood.” When we aspire to engage in spiritual practice to transform sentient beings, we must always maintain that aspiration. Thus, we “joyfully accept and uphold the Great Vehicle sutras.” By accepting the teachings, [when we encounter] the many appearances in the conditions around us, we must always maintain a sense of joy.

We often say, “Willingness brings happiness.” No matter how tiring the work is, “Willingness brings happiness.” So, it is “pleasing to both mind and body. I am willing; this is what I want to do. I am doing what I vowed to do. Wherever there are suffering sentient beings, I will go to that place.” Because we formed Great Vehicle aspirations, we very willingly and joyfully give to others. This is the Dharma-door of the Great Vehicle sutras.

Why are we so willing to do this? It is because. “With the deep power of faith, we can accept.” If our power of faith is deep, we can accept the Buddha-Dharma. When we accept it with an unwavering resolve, a firm power of mindfulness, we can “uphold” it. So, to “accept and uphold” means we have deep faith and a stable mind. When we receive something into our minds, we call that “acceptance.” If we remain unwavering from beginning to end, if we do not forget the faith we had when we formed our initial aspirations, we are “accepting and upholding.” Thus, it says, “[They] joyfully accept and uphold.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, we have already formed Bodhisattva-aspirations. There are infinite appearances of people, matters and things, so how can we adapt to them all? We must use the Tathagata’s impartial wisdom to find a way to help sentient beings. To do all of this, we must always be mindful.