Author: Scott Ogata

Episode 431 – Do Not Give Up on Sentient Beings

>> “Sentient beings are stubborn and foolish and do not accept teachings. Inclined toward improper and unwholesome thoughts, they are hard to train. The Buddha is kind and will not abandon them, so He established skillful means. He used provisional teachings and analogies to teach the Three Vehicles.”

>> “I then thought to myself, ‘Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle, beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma They would slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms.'”

>> “I would rather not teach the Dharma and quickly enter Parinirvana. Then I recalled that the Buddhas of the past employed the power of skillful means. And as I now have attained the path, I should also teach the Three Vehicles.”

>> After Venerable Sakyamuni attained Buddhahood, He wanted to teach the way to enlightenment to transform the minds of all sentient beings. Then He began to think, “There are none who can faithfully accept it. If my staying in the world brings no benefits, I might as well enter Parinirvana.”

>> “World-Honored One, today the sea of Dharma has been filled. The banner of the Dharma has been erected. Now is the time to nourish and guide. How could you say that you want to abandon all sentient beings and enter Parinirvana without teaching the Dharma?”

>> “The Buddha received this request from King Brahma.”

>> “For the Five Bhiksus, including Kaundinya, He turned the Dharma-wheel of the Four Truths.”

>> “He taught the Great and Small Vehicle and all kinds of other Dharma. This was the expounding of the Dharma.”

>> Then I recalled that the Buddhas of the past employed the power of skillful means: Venerable Sakyamuni recalled the way that past Buddhas transformed sentient beings using skillful and suitable means, which are wondrous and provisional teachings.

>> The Buddha explained that giving leads to great wealth, upholding precepts leads to rebirth in heaven, patience leads to transcendence of anger and hate, diligence leads to achievement of merits and virtues, Samadhi leads to the end of discursive thinking, wisdom leads to the letting go of all afflictions. These were the kinds of skillful means. He used to teach sentient beings to enable them to escape the wheel of suffering and attain Dharma-joy.

>> And as I now have attained the path, I should also teach the Three Vehicles: The Buddha attained the path in the kingdom of Magadha and, under the Bodhi-tree, realized perfect enlightenment. Later, stupas were built at this place. According to people’s great, average or limited capabilities, they practiced the Three Vehicles and attained the wisdom to eliminate delusions and realize truths. This is the path. Practicing the Three Flawless Studies to realize this knowledge is called attaining the path.

“Sentient beings are stubborn and foolish and do not accept teachings.
Inclined toward improper and unwholesome thoughts, they are hard to train.
The Buddha is kind and will not abandon them, so He established skillful means.
He used provisional teachings and analogies to teach the Three Vehicles.”

Sentient beings are truly stubborn and unwilling to learn. The Buddha, out of His compassion, expounded the Dharma in the world for 49 years. He expended so much effort, but not many people accepted the Buddha-Dharma. Even after they accepted the Dharma, could they take it to heart? Even after they had taken it to heart, how many people could put it into practice?

Of the Buddha’s many disciples, the sutras always mention the ten chief ones. In a vast country such as India, how much could these ten chief disciples have helped the Buddha to advance and promote Right Dharma? Moreover, sentient beings are stubborn and foolish. Even if they listened, some could not accept it, or worse, deviated toward improper views. They became inclined to commit evil. Although they clearly heard the Right Dharma, not only did they not accept it, they even slandered the Dharma and harmed the Buddha.

Look at Devadatta. He was the Buddha’s disciple, but his mindset changed and he became arrogant, thus he deviated toward evil. This harmed the Buddha’s teachings and harmed the resolve of many people to observe, listen to and contemplate the Dharma. However, out of His loving-kindness, the Buddha did not give up on him. The Buddha’s compassion is evident in the Chapter on Devadatta in the Lotus Sutra. There, the Buddha gave His blessing and prediction that. Devadatta would attain Buddhahood in the future.

This shows the Buddha’s compassion for us. He penetrated all principles and realized that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. Because He understood the law of karma, every time He was persecuted by Devadatta, the Buddha never complained. He just continued to try to train him, though it was difficult. The Buddha knew the causes and conditions that led to this kind of karmic retribution, so He understood how a person could commit these serious transgressions. The Buddha did not abandon him,

let alone any other sentient beings; He treated them all with kindness and compassion. So, the Buddha did everything He could, giving provisional teachings and skillful analogies suitable for great, average and limited capacities. Thus, the Buddha-Dharma was applicable to all. From this, we can see the extent of His compassion.

We all must learn His kindness and compassion. If people are like Devadatta, we should not complain about them but instead, we must find a way to persuade them and to help them thoroughly understand. This is why we must emulate the Buddha’s heart.

I hope we can all have this karmic condition to listen to one thing and realize one thousand. Or if not, to listen to one thing and realize ten. Or else, to hear one thing and realize one is also fine, just as long as we understand. After we understand, we must take it to heart. Then we must put it into practice. Upon putting the Dharma into practice, in that state of mind, we understand what we hear. When we begin to put the teachings into practice, our state of mind allows us to experience and comprehend as we take action.

We often hear people say, “When I first heard about Tzu Chi’s work, I thought it sounded great. Then Tzu Chi volunteers kept inviting me to join. So, I volunteered to work with them. After helping other people, I felt very happy, so I proactively told them, ‘If you are conducting home visits or cleaning houses for people, please let me know.'” Once they start, they are happy to do the work. This allows them to realize the suffering in life, and understand that every family has [problems]. Those issues are hard for people to resolve. But as an outsider, we can take them as teachings.

Think about this; the Buddha always said that suffering is caused by an accumulation [of karma]. People’s families and lives are the way they are because they created certain karmic causes and are now reaping these karmic effects. Everything from their bodies to the makeup of their family is the fruition of their karmic causes. As we look at the stories of their lives, we should understand how they are all in line with Buddhist principles. By putting the teachings into practice along this path, we are walking the Bodhisattva-path.

In order for Bodhisattvas to attain Buddhahood, they must interact with others and come in contact with people, matters and objects to grow their wisdom-life and increase their wisdom. As Buddhist practitioners, we need to realize the Buddha’s mindfulness. Out of great compassion for sentient beings, He established many kinds of skillful means to teach according to their capabilities, using great, average and limited teachings known as the Three Vehicles. The Buddha came to this world out of compassion, hoping we can all accept the Buddha-Dharma. If we can, we will all have a state of mind where Right Dharma always abides.

So, the Dharma in people’s minds is always Right Dharma and the true principles exist in us forever. Therefore, we must take the Right Dharma into our minds and manifest it in our actions. By walking the Bodhisattva-path, we spread the Buddha-Dharma to sentient beings.

Therefore, the previous sutra passage began with, “I then thought to myself.”

“I then thought to myself, ‘Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle, beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma They would slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms.'”

For 21 days, the Buddha thought about how to bring the Dharma to the people. He also thought, “If I were to just praise the Buddha Vehicle, which is a Buddha’s spiritual state, sentient beings would not be able to accept it.” This is because sentient beings are buried under their afflictions. “Beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma.” They could not believe in the spiritual state of the Buddha after He attained enlightenment. Therefore, not only would they not accept it, they would slander the Dharma out of disbelief. Thus they would “fall into the Three Evil Realms.”

This is what we discussed yesterday. The passage after that states,

“I would rather not teach the Dharma and quickly enter Parinirvana. Then I recalled that the Buddhas of the past employed the power of skillful means. And as I now have attained the path, I should also teach the Three Vehicles.”

For these 21 days, this was what the Buddha contemplated in His spiritual state. He first thought, “If sentient beings cannot accept [the Dharma] why should I stay in this world?” That was what the Buddha was thinking at that moment.

After Venerable Sakyamuni attained Buddhahood, He wanted to teach the way to enlightenment to transform the minds of all sentient beings. Then He began to think, “There are none who can faithfully accept it. If my staying in the world brings no benefits, I might as well enter Parinirvana.”

At that time, a thought quickly flashed in His mind. “I then thought to myself.” He thought about how difficult it was for these sentient beings to take the Dharma to heart. Even if He were to reveal everything that was in His heart to them, sentient beings could not accept it. What then could He do? “There are none who can faithfully accept it.” No one could believe this kind of Dharma and no one could accept this kind of spiritual state. “My staying in the world brings no benefits.” If He was staying in the world to deliver the Dharma into the hearts of sentient beings but they could not accept it, what was the use of His staying in this world? “I might as well enter Parinirvana.” Wouldn’t it be better to just stop there? This was the thought that flashed through His mind.

At that time King Brahma appeared. King Brahma said to Him,

“World-Honored One, today the sea of Dharma has been filled. The banner of the Dharma has been erected. Now is the time to nourish and guide. How could you say that you want to abandon all sentient beings and enter Parinirvana without teaching the Dharma?”

Now that He had attained perfect enlightenment, at that moment, “the sea of Dharma has been filled. The sea of Dharma” refers to wisdom. The truths of all things in the universe have all been taken into the Buddha’s mind. Therefore, we say “the sea of Dharma has been filled” and “the banner of the Dharma has been erected.” This is the time when the banner of the Dharma should be erected. “Now is the time to nourish and guide.” He should now help sentient beings see that the Buddha has manifested in the world. He should help them hear the teachings and guide them onto the path to enlightenment. This was precisely the time, so how could the Buddha “want to abandon all sentient beings and enter Parinirvana without teaching the Dharma?”

Every Buddha, upon attaining enlightenment, would consider how to help the Dharma resonate with the multitudes of sentient beings. It is always very difficult! Therefore, King Brahma would appear to provide encouragement.

The Buddha manifested this mindset to teach us that, even after attaining enlightenment, the Buddha found things very difficult, seemingly impossible. By manifesting this state, the Buddha gave us something to discuss, something to teach. Even the Buddha felt this way, not to mention unenlightened beings like us. When we face difficulties, we need encouragement so we can continue moving forward.

From the previous sutra passage, I feel we should do the same and be each other’s. King Brahma who helps everyone’s wisdom grow. If we see people become indolent and lose their spiritual aspirations, we can quickly counsel and guide them. Thus we act as their King Brahma; we can immediately encourage them.

So, at the time, in the Buddha’s inner place of enlightenment, which was His state of mind, this was what King Brahma said to Him.

Therefore, “at this time,”

“The Buddha received this request from King Brahma.”

King Brahma requested that the Buddha turn the Dharma-wheel, so He immediately went to Deer Park to transform the five bhiksus.

“For the Five Bhiksus, including Kaundinya, He turned the Dharma-wheel of the Four Truths.”

As we all know,

“He taught the Great and Small Vehicle and all kinds of other Dharma. This was the expounding of the Dharma.”

Previous sutra passages have also mentioned that for three weeks, the Buddha contemplated how subtle and wondrous the Dharma was and how sentient beings would be able to accept it. Through careful observation, He saw that they had great, average and limited capabilities. Therefore, He decided to establish skillful means. He decided this during the second week.

During the third week of contemplation, He thought about who should be the first to listen to the teachings. After careful consideration, He returned to Deer Park to transform these five people. So, He began by teaching the Four Noble Truths. All kinds of “suffering” have their “causation” in the accumulation of afflictions. Suffering, causation, cessation and the Path were how He began His teachings. “This was the expounding of the Dharma.” Manifesting in the world to teach the Dharma is one of the Buddha’s Eight Aspects. The Buddha manifested Eight Aspects in the world. At this time, He manifested “the expounding of the Dharma.” This is how the Three Treasures, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, became complete.

Next, the passage states, “Then I recalled that the Buddhas of the past employed the power of skillful means.” The Buddha further contemplated how to expound the Dharma and bring it to the people.

Then I recalled that the Buddhas of the past employed the power of skillful means: Venerable Sakyamuni recalled the way that past Buddhas transformed sentient beings using skillful and suitable means, which are wondrous and provisional teachings.

Sakyamuni Buddha recalled how past Buddhas expounded the Dharma, and how They taught and transformed sentient beings. The way They transformed sentient beings in the past was just like this, “using skillful and suitable means.” Past Buddhas also taught according to sentient beings’ capabilities with wondrous provisional and skillful teachings. These are the skillful means Buddhas establish.

The Buddha explained that giving leads to great wealth, upholding precepts leads to rebirth in heaven, patience leads to transcendence of anger and hate, diligence leads to achievement of merits and virtues, Samadhi leads to the end of discursive thinking, wisdom leads to the letting go of all afflictions. These were the kinds of skillful means. He used to teach sentient beings to enable them to escape the wheel of suffering and attain Dharma-joy.

The Buddha explained that giving leads to great wealth. He told us to uphold precepts and by doing so, we can be reborn in heaven and not fall into the Three Evil Realms. He also told us we need to be patient. Patience helps us transcend anger and hate. Regarding diligence, He said it helps us achieve all merits and virtues. As for Samadhi, it leads to the end of our discursive thinking. Our minds are in a state of chaos but if we can maintain Samadhi, we will have no discursive thoughts or afflictions. Then, wisdom enables us to let go of afflictions. Samadhi is having no discursive thoughts and wisdom is letting go of all afflictions. People with wisdom can naturally think through and resolve their own afflictions. That is having wisdom.

“These were the kinds of skillful means. He used to teach sentient beings.” All these skillful means were ways of teaching sentient beings the Six Perfections. He used the Six Perfections to encourage sentient beings to give to others, cultivate blessings and so on. To have the wisdom to eliminate afflictions, we must cultivate wisdom. These are the Six Perfections. The Six Perfections are delivered to the minds of sentient beings so they can practice the Bodhisattva-path; they are all ways to help sentient beings “transcend the wheel of suffering.” They all teach us how to transcend suffering and avoid being submerged in afflictions again. We need to transcend afflictions and move forward so we can “attain Dharma-joy.” Naturally, we will become happy and joyous.

So, “as I now have attained the path, I should also teach the Three Vehicles.” The Buddha recalled that this was the way past Buddhas had taught sentient beings. So now that He, Sakyamuni Buddha, had realized the path, He needed to transform sentient beings with the same methods as past Buddhas.

And as I now have attained the path, I should also teach the Three Vehicles: The Buddha attained the path in the kingdom of Magadha and, under the Bodhi-tree, realized perfect enlightenment. Later, stupas were built at this place. According to people’s great, average or limited capabilities, they practiced the Three Vehicles and attained the wisdom to eliminate delusions and realize truths. This is the path. Practicing the Three Flawless Studies to realize this knowledge is called attaining the path.

After the Buddha attained the path under the. Bodhi-tree in the kingdom of Magadha and realized enlightenment, this was His state of mind. The Buddha began to contemplate how to teach those of great, average and limited capacities according to capacities using the Three Vehicles. This allows unenlightened beings to, step by step, eliminate afflictions from delusions of ignorance and gradually acquire wisdom. Then we can turn the wheel in our minds, turn the Dharma-wheel, and get past whatever suffering we encounter in life. This comes from practicing the Three Flawless Studies.

We must all practice the Three Flawless Studies. In the past, I have continually told you that precepts, Samadhi and wisdom are called the Three Flawless Studies, which can be used to inspire everybody to attain the path. Since the Buddha had already attained the path, He also hoped that everybody would, step by step, diligently advance without going astray. Whether they practice the Four Noble Truths, actualize the Six Perfections or achieve the Three Flawless Studies, by continuing on that path, they will become like the Buddha and attain the initial enlightenment that. He did at Magadha, the state of mind of turning the Dharma-wheel. Thus I hope that everyone, in learning from the Buddha, will be determined and will always be mindful.

Episode 430 – Transform Others with the Dharma in Your Hearts

>> “A perfectly enlightened mind encompasses the universe. An awakened understanding embraces the boundless worlds within it. The Buddha used the Dharma in His mind to transform the minds of others, but the minds of sentient beings cannot reach the Dharma.”

>> When I first sat in this place of enlightenment. I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation. For three periods of seven days, I thought over matters such as these. The wisdom which I achieved is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.

>> At that time, all Brahma Kings, as well all Sovereign Sakras, the four heavenly kings who guard the world, the king of Great Freedom Heaven, and the other multitudes of heavenly beings, with retinues numbering in the billions, reverently put their palms together and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel. I then thought to myself, “Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle….”

>> “Beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma. They would slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms.”

>> I then thought to myself, “Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle”: Because the Buddha wanted to fully teach the meanings of all Dharma, He contemplated and planned, never forgetting that instant of enlightenment. He praised the Buddha Vehicle and taught it to transform people.

>> Beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma: They are immersed in the sea of samsara. That which causes suffering and afflictions leads us to not have a peaceful and stable nature. Thirsts and cravings are hard to satisfy, like a sea that constantly absorbs streams. We are covered in desires, as if drowning in a sea of suffering. Greed, anger, foolishness and delusion are sources of suffering and afflictions. Thus when we hear the Dharma, we certainly will not believe or respect it.

>> They would slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms: Because of their improper views, they slander the Dharma out of disbelief. Thus they deny the law of karma and criticize the Buddha’s Right Dharma. They listen to the Dharma but do not believe or accept it, so they give rise to slander and create negative karmic causes and conditions. This causes them to fall into the Three Evil Realms.

“A perfectly enlightened mind encompasses the universe.
An awakened understanding embraces the boundless worlds within it.
The Buddha used the Dharma in His mind to transform the minds of others,
but the minds of sentient beings cannot reach the Dharma.”

I want to share with everyone that, when the Buddha attained enlightenment, He attained perfect enlightenment. He perfectly comprehended all phenomena and awakened to all things in the universe. All true principles were contained in His mind, so His understanding was all-encompassing, embracing boundless worlds. It is said, “The mind cannot be applied in two places.” The minds of ordinary people only function to give rise to greedy clinging. When we see something that is the best, we are greedy for it; we want it to be ours. We want to possess it; this is attachment.

However, in the Buddha’s enlightened state, His mind can encompass the universe and all things within it. He understands all people, matters and objects. No matter what appears before Him, nothing can defile His mind. His mind is like a clean mirror. When a condition appears, it is fully reflected. When it disappears, not a trace of it remains in His mind. This is the perfect enlightenment of the Buddha. He enlightened Himself and others, and has perfect enlightened conduct.

Any kind of object, matter or principle can be analyzed by Him in great detail. His mind was so expansive that any place that flying dust could reach, His mind could also reach that place. He could analyze things meticulously, down to a grain of sand; the Buddha could penetrate and analyze the principles of matter underlying even a grain of sand. He could break it down to its most subtle and intricate components. Moving outward, He could expand His mind to the farthest corners of the universe.

When the Buddha first attained enlightenment, He was looking at the morning star when suddenly, the true principles of the universe entered His mind. His mind opened wide to become one with everything in the universe. That was the moment. He first attained perfect enlightenment. His mind had just reached a perfect state. At that moment, He wondered how to help everyone understand such a state and know that, indeed, everyone has a pure intrinsic nature that can attain Buddhahood. How could He help them experience, as He had, this intrinsic enlightened nature everyone has?

So, “the Buddha used the Dharma in His mind to transform the minds of others.” This was the Buddha’s state of mind. He came to this world for one great cause, which was this. In the world there are many profound mysteries that cannot be understood. Yet, He understood them and was able to unravel these profound mysteries. He realized that since He could, everyone else could unravel them as well. To unravel them He used this specific method that He had discovered. He wanted to transform others by sharing these teachings with them. However, the Buddha realized that this would not be easy at all. “The minds of ordinary people cannot reach the Dharma.” If all He did was tell people about the true, Great Dharma, could they reach this state of mind? It would be very difficult!

This was the Buddha’s state of mind when He first attained enlightenment. For many days, He remained in the same place. In that place, He continued to “contemplate the tree and walk in meditation.” He engaged in contemplation over three periods of seven days as He “contemplated the tree and walked in meditation.” In that environment, between heaven and earth, He felt gratitude for the tree and was mindful of the virtues of the land.

When I first sat in this place of enlightenment. I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation. For three periods of seven days, I thought over matters such as these. The wisdom which I achieved is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.

With this state of mind, it was not enough that. He awakened and understood everything. “I am enlightened.’ “I understand everything now.” But after He understood everything, He still came back to this world to show gratitude to each tree and blade of grass.

Living on this land, He was grateful for the virtue of the land and the grace of the trees. As for each blade of grass, tree, or speck of dust, the Buddha was mindful of their grace and virtue, not to mention those of sentient beings. The Buddha said that sentient beings have showed Him kindness. This was the Buddha saying that sentient beings had bestowed upon Him much grace and virtue. Without sentient beings, He would not have thought of engaging in spiritual practice. Because sentient beings manifested ignorance, delusion and suffering, it was to relieve their suffering that. He began considering how to break through all the attachments and misunderstandings in life that cause this cycle of suffering. So, in lifetime after lifetime, He explored this path to enlightenment.

However, it is impossible for us ordinary people to have such an expansive mind as the Buddha, one that is free of afflictions and defilements. This is what makes us ordinary people. But we can have the same mindset as the Buddha, the willingness to give to others. However, in the process of giving, interpersonal conflicts will inevitably arise and lead to afflictions and unhappiness. These troubling afflictions bring suffering.

So, though we suffer, we still contribute happily. Suffering still exists; we give happily and willingly, but there are still many interpersonal conflicts and many other challenges we cannot resolve. What about the recipients of our help? Are they happy when they receive it? I think they are very happy.

What about us? We are people who are helping others. We take the Buddha’s mind as our mind. We need to become like the Buddha and develop a very broad and great mind that does not make distinctions based on religion or ethnicity. When sentient beings suffer, we help them. When we give, we feel grateful. This is the mindset of a Bodhisattva. As newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, we aspire to develop the mindset of. Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. If we truly achieve the state of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, we have reached the next level, which is very different.

Bodhisattvas give to all sentient beings with willing hearts and with enlightened love. They treat sentient beings with a mindset that is close to that of the Buddha. He treats all sentient beings like His only son. After He became enlightened, He wanted to share the Dharma that He attained so others could be transformed, like Him. Unfortunately, the minds of sentient beings cannot reach the Dharma. So, we must constantly reflect on ourselves. Why are our minds like this? The Buddha can awaken, why can’t we awaken? We still have to follow the Buddha’s teachings and put them into practice. However, we human beings often make progress and then regress. We give rise to joy as well as afflictions. If we were constantly filled with Dharma-joy, wouldn’t that be great! Therefore, we must be mindful.

Previously we talked about how all heavenly beings came to the Buddha soon after He attained enlightenment. He urgently wanted to share the teachings with sentient beings, yet realized they could not accept it. So, He had a thought, “Since the Dharma is useless to sentient beings, why should I remain in this world?” In that instant, He wanted to enter Parinirvana. In that instant, Brahma Kings, Sakro-Devanam Indra, the four heavenly kings and their retinues of infinite beings emerged in His state of mind. So, all heavenly beings consoled Him by saying that past Buddhas also had to come up with methods to teach sentient beings. This took place in the Buddha’s mind. They all invited Him to turn the Dharma-wheel.

At that time, all Brahma Kings, as well all Sovereign Sakras, the four heavenly kings who guard the world, the king of Great Freedom Heaven, and the other multitudes of heavenly beings, with retinues numbering in the billions, reverently put their palms together and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel. I then thought to myself, “Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle….”

Now this sutra passage states, “I then thought to myself, were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle….” Since Their minds were enlightened, past Buddhas had to come up with methods and skillful means for all sentient beings. So, He contemplated this very thoroughly. “Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle….” He could [teach] these sentient beings by continuously praising a Buddha’s state of mind as being one of tranquility and clarity, one that encompasses all things in the universe, that knows and understands everything. This kind of vast and endless, tranquil and clear state was

the Buddha Vehicle He wanted to share. “Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle….” He could focus on praising this state and telling everyone that they all possessed it, but for people to open up their minds to this state is not that easy. Why? Because sentient beings are immersed in suffering.

“Beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma. They would slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms.”

Sentient beings do not realize that they can also attain that spiritual state of mind.

The Buddha had this inner place of enlightenment, this pure and intrinsic Tathagata-nature. The Buddha had realized the truths of all things. Because He had awakened, He also knew everyone had the same intrinsic. Tathagata-nature of True Suchness. He wanted to say to everyone, “You have it, and so do you.” Yet, sentient beings wonder, “How could I possibly be happy? I cannot possibly understand this state. I am suffering!” Sentient beings are always suffering. They suffer from not getting what they want, from things not going as they wish, from birth, aging, illness, death, parting with those they love, meeting with those they hate and the raging Five Skandhas. No matter their state of mind, when they face reality, not one thing goes as they wish. How could they realize the. Buddha’s state of mind, which is pure, undefiled and clean as crystal? How could they possibly realize it? Thus, sentient beings cannot believe that such a spiritual state exists.

Not only they do not believe, they will slander it and fall into the Three Evil Realms. So, if He simply praised the Buddha-Vehicle, that method would not achieve the goal of transforming sentient beings.

I then thought to myself, “Were I to praise only the Buddha Vehicle”: Because the Buddha wanted to fully teach the meanings of all Dharma, He contemplated and planned, never forgetting that instant of enlightenment. He praised the Buddha Vehicle and taught it to transform people.

So, this explanation is saying, “the Buddha wanted to fully teach the meanings of the One Vehicle Dharma.” If the Buddha directly taught. His state of mind to sentient beings, it would not have worked. So, after the Buddha went among people, He contemplated and planned. He carefully contemplated and observed their capabilities to teach accordingly. He always recalled the mindset. He attained upon first attaining enlightenment. That mindset would always be there. This was the spiritual state that. He wanted to share with sentient beings, but it was impossible; no matter what method they used to contemplate it, they could not experience this state.

So, the Buddha thought of ways to praise the. Buddha Vehicle and teach it to transform people. But there were some obstacles. Where were these obstacles? “Sentient beings are immersed in suffering.” Because we are immersed in suffering, we do not have faith and are immersed in the sea of samsara; we are already sinking in the sea of birth and death. Basically, we are always suffering in the sea of samsara. All sentient beings feel this pain [because of] “that which causes suffering and afflictions.” All sentient beings suffer and are afflicted. With afflictions and suffering, we do not have a peaceful and free nature. Currently, all sentient beings are immersed in this kind of environment, “unable to believe this Dharma.”

Beings immersed in suffering would be unable to believe this Dharma: They are immersed in the sea of samsara. That which causes suffering and afflictions leads us to not have a peaceful and stable nature. Thirsts and cravings are hard to satisfy, like a sea that constantly absorbs streams. We are covered in desires, as if drowning in a sea of suffering. Greed, anger, foolishness and delusion are sources of suffering and afflictions. Thus when we hear the Dharma, we certainly will not believe or respect it.

Every one of us has these thirsts and cravings that are hard to satisfy. It is as if we are all constantly thirsty. We are like parched land. Even when water is poured onto it, it is not really moistened. Similarly, when we are very thirsty we keep drinking and gulping down water. Cravings are like a sea that absorbs streams. All the river water flows into the sea and the sea just keeps taking it in. This is what our desirous mind is like. Rivers, streams and creeks all flow into the sea, and the sea absorbs them all. The sea will never be full. This is like being covered with desires.

Greed, anger, ignorance and afflictions are great liabilities for sentient beings. So, when they hear the Dharma, they cannot respect and believe in it. If they cannot believe or respect it, how can they take the Dharma to heart? Instead, “they will slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms.”

They would slander it out of disbelief and fall into the Three Evil Realms: Because of their improper views, they slander the Dharma out of disbelief. Thus they deny the law of karma and criticize the Buddha’s Right Dharma. They listen to the Dharma but do not believe or accept it, so they give rise to slander and create negative karmic causes and conditions. This causes them to fall into the Three Evil Realms.

If they hear the Dharma and do not accept or apply it, not only do they not believe it, they will slander it and so on. They do not believe the Dharma, so they deny the law of karma and slander and damage the Right Dharma. Thus sentient beings who do not believe will easily fall into the evil realms. After hearing the Dharma, they do not believe or faithfully accept it, and instead slander it. This is a negative karmic cause and the condition for creating more karma. With negative causes, conditions and karma, they will ultimately “fall into the Three Evil Realms.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must accept them. The Buddha’s spiritual state is so vast and great; “His mind encompasses the universe and embraces the boundless worlds within it.” If we understand the Buddha’s spiritual state, then we will naturally hope that all sentient beings can do the same. After we attain the Dharma, the Dharma-joy that fills us is something we want to share with everyone. Yet, sentient beings are unable to accept it and instead give rise to many afflictions. Even if attaining this state of mind makes us happy, if we do not know how to teach according to each person’s capabilities, we may teach inappropriately. If we try to force the Dharma we enjoy on them, they will not be happy.

So, we must use different methods, skillful methods. Otherwise, delivering the Dharma from our mind into theirs will not be easy, because sentient beings’ minds cannot reach the Dharma. They cannot reach that state. The Buddha greatly cherishes sentient beings with this hope; He hopes we can develop the same state of mind [as Him]. This is the same as when we care for people who are suffering. We hope that they can live better lives, that we will be able to help them even more. This is our mindset.

Similarly, people who have accepted our help also do their best to give a little bit, so they feel like they are contributing something. Then they also feel very happy. The principles are the same; only the scale is different. Our minds can be opened as wide as the Buddha’s. To have “a perfectly enlightened mind” that “encompasses the universe,” we still have to work very hard. To realize an awakened understanding that embraces boundless worlds, we still need to be very diligent. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 429 – Dharma-Protectors Request Teachings

>> “Take the Dharma to heart and make the Great Vows. Practice the Bodhisattva-path among people, then heavenly beings will protect the Great Dharma. When minds are oriented toward goodness, the Dharma-wheel will turn.”

>> All Brahma Kings and Sovereign Sakras, as well as “the four heavenly kings who guard the world and the king of Great Freedom Heaven,”

>> “The other multitudes of heavenly beings, with retinues numbering in the billions, reverently put their palms together and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel.”

>> Along with all Brahma Kings, all Sovereign Sakras and so on, all kinds of heavenly beings that are part of the multitudes of their retinue invited [the Buddha] to turn the Dharma-wheel. The heavenly retinue numbered in the billions and Brahma heavens numbered in the trillions. One of the Brahma Kings was named Sikhin. He had deep faith in Right Dharma. Every time a Buddha came to the world, he had to be the first to invite the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.

>> [They] reverently put their palms together, and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel: They pressed their left and right palms and fingers together to demonstrate their wholehearted respect. Chinese people cup one hand in the other before their chest to show respect. Indian people put their palms together in respect. Turning the Dharma-wheel is an analogy for giving teachings. Using one thing to refer to another is using the simple to teach something profound. Turning the wheel of Dharma in His mind can transform the minds of others, just like turning the wheel of a cart.

“Take the Dharma to heart and make the Great Vows.
Practice the Bodhisattva-path among people,
then heavenly beings will protect the Great Dharma.
When minds are oriented toward goodness, the Dharma-wheel will turn.”

As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must take the Dharma to heart. Not only must we take the Dharma to heart, we must also make the Great Vows. First we must understand the Dharma. It is good to understand the Dharma because it will help us to eliminate afflictions and guide everyone onto the path toward goodness, so they head in the right direction. When we ourselves attain the Dharma, we know which path to take. Then we must aspire and vow to pass the Buddha’s teachings on to others and encourage them to join us in practicing the right Dharma of the Buddha, eliminating afflictions and turning evil into goodness.

We must all form this aspiration to transform sentient beings, eliminate afflictions, learn the Buddha-Dharma and attain Buddhahood. When we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must all make these Great Vows. Making vows to spread the Buddha-Dharma far and wide shows that we have truly taken the Dharma to heart.

We do not engage in spiritual practice only for our own benefit or liberation; we must go among the people. As we interact with people, our cultivation, attainment and behavior serve as examples that can guide others. This is how we transform sentient beings. To transform sentient beings, we must go among them. Those who do this must be. Bodhisattvas who have made the Great Vows. On the Bodhisattva-path, we must go among people.

If we have this intention, then naturally “heavenly beings will protect the Great Dharma.” Heavenly beings will protect this Dharma. Every spiritual practitioner must, at the very least, abide by the Five Precepts. The lay disciples who study the Buddha’s teachings must uphold the Five Precepts. Those who do not uphold the Five Precepts cannot be considered the Buddha’s disciples. This is the most fundamental teaching that the disciples must uphold and practice.

Everyone knows the Five Precepts, no killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying or drinking alcohol. Upholding one precept brings us five Dharma-protectors. Upholding five precepts brings us 25 Dharma-protectors. They help us to guard our minds. If we can guard our minds, naturally we can maintain good behavior.

Precepts guard against wrongdoings and stop evils. When the precepts are on our minds, we can prevent and stop our bodies from committing unwholesome actions. If our actions are wholesome, there will be Dharma-protectors around us. If our minds are not pure and we violate one of the precepts, five Dharma-protectors will withdraw. If we violate two precepts, ten Dharma-protectors will leave. If our resolve weakens and we lose our spiritual aspirations, the 25 Dharma-protectors will automatically leave and no longer protect us. By making Bodhisattva-aspirations, walking the Bodhisattva-path and going among people, we will speak the right Dharma, have the right mindset and be on the right path. Then naturally, “heavenly beings will protect the Great Dharma.”

Our minds must be oriented toward goodness for the Dharma-wheel to turn. The Buddha comes to this world for the sole purpose of turning the wheel in our minds. We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, but our minds have been covered by afflictions and ignorance. The Buddha comes to the world for one great cause, for the sole purpose of turning our unenlightened minds back toward our pure intrinsic nature. Doing this requires the Dharma.

When the Buddha first reached enlightenment, He attained the Dharma and was filled with Dharma-joy. The truths of all things in the universe were completely open to Him. He understood such great, profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma and was eager to share it with everyone. However, [He knew] that for people to accept, understand and realize it would not be easy. So, a thought arose in the Buddha’s mind that perhaps it would better to just enter Parinirvana. Since the Dharma was teachings for this world, if humans could not accept the Dharma, what was the point of staying in this world? Perhaps He should enter Parinirvana early.

As soon as this thought arose in His mind,

All Brahma Kings and Sovereign Sakras, as well as “the four heavenly kings who guard the world and the king of Great Freedom Heaven,”

all these beings, suddenly appeared.

“The other multitudes of heavenly beings, with retinues numbering in the billions, reverently put their palms together and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel.”

With great reverence they invited. Sakyamuni Buddha to remain in this world and turn the Dharma-wheel. This is was the scene.

In the sutra passage we are discussing, it includes the phrase, “At that time. At that time” refers to a moment after the Buddha attained enlightenment, when He was wondering how to teach the Dharma in this world. For an instant, He considered entering Parinirvana. The sutra describe that moment as “at that time.”

Many heavenly beings simultaneously appeared.

These heavenly beings, Brahma Kings and the others, exist in a realm where they have attained a state of purity in body and mind. Heavenly kings of the form realm have transcended their desires; their minds are free of desires. In the universe, there are these pure and undefiled Brahma Kings. Sovereign Sakras come from the desire realm. From the desire realm, Sakro Devanam-Indra and the four heavenly kings who guard the world are also supervising those of us who are in this world, in the desire realm. As for “the king of Great Freedom Heaven,” that is the sixth heaven in the desire realm. These heavens are immense. They are countless, innumerable.

This passage in the sutra goes on to talk about “the other multitude of heavenly beings.” The heavenly kings did not come alone; they also brought their heavenly retinues with them when they appeared at the Buddha’s inner place of enlightenment. ․All these heavenly beings appeared with “retinues numbering in the billions.” All the kings and their retinues numbering in the billions pressed their palms together in reverence and respectfully made this request of the Buddha. The Buddha said, “They requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel.” This was a very beautiful scene. All of this occurred after the Buddha’s awakening, when all kinds of things [were encompassed by] His expansive mind. So, the desire, form and formless realms all converged and appeared in the Buddha’s enlightened state of mind.

The heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, Sovereigns Sakra’s heaven the Brahma heaven, the Heaven of Great Freedom, these are all part of the heaven realm, not of the human realm. Beings at the stage above humans are heavenly beings. They also fall into different categories. These heavens are divided into three types, those in the desire, form and formless realms.

Those in the desire realm still have a retinue. Those in the form realm do not have any, and the formless realm is a spiritual state. Beyond the formless realm is a very pure state, replete with the principles. This describes the spiritual state of the Buddha. This state is filled with subtle and detailed principles and boundless and inexhaustible principles. This is the spiritual state of the Buddha.

In the heaven realm, which is one of the Six Realms, there are still desires. Humans are a stage below that. The human realm is our world. We can be good or evil. There are good people who create blessings and there are evil people who commit evils. This is because good and evil pull at us in a tug of war. When we are pulled toward evil, we will begin to unceasingly create [evil] karma. If we cannot maintain purity in our minds, our minds will easily be covered by the afflictions and ignorance of maras. If we are blessed, we can come together with wholesome friends and encourage each other to be of benefit to the world. By slowly accumulating blessings, we will be reborn in heaven.

In the human realm, it is possible to attain Buddhahood and practice so that we will be reborn in heaven. But we can also commit evils in the human realm. Tormented by all kinds of suffering, we may do even more evil deeds and multiply our ignorance. Then out of this ignorance, we create more evil. This is how we fall into the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. This also happens in the human realm. Thus, “Karma is good, evil or indeterminate.” We can do good deeds, or if an evil thought arises, we may commit evils. So, the world is a good place for spiritual practice because only by seeing suffering in the world will we recognize our own blessings and thus create more blessings by benefiting others. Only by seeing evil in the world will we be awakened and realize we must earnestly engage in spiritual practice.

If we are more blessed, we will encounter the Buddha-Dharma, which is very profound. This allows us to find the Dharma in our daily living. When the Dharma is in our lives and. Bodhisattvas are walking among us, we are indeed very blessed. In the human realm, we can engage in spiritual practice and gradually draw closer to the Buddha-Dharma so that we can transcend the desire realm to reach the form realm. When we transcend the form and formless realms, we can return to a pure and undefiled state, which is the state of enlightenment.

Along with all Brahma Kings, all Sovereign Sakras and so on, all kinds of heavenly beings that are part of the multitudes of their retinue invited [the Buddha] to turn the Dharma-wheel. The heavenly retinue numbered in the billions and Brahma heavens numbered in the trillions. One of the Brahma Kings was named Sikhin. He had deep faith in Right Dharma. Every time a Buddha came to the world, he had to be the first to invite the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.

One of the Brahma Kings in the form realm was a leader by the name of Sikhin. Great Brahma Sikhin was a leader who had deep faith in Right Dharma. This heavenly king had deep faith in Right Dharma and had already purified his body and mind. He no longer had sexual desires and no longer desired material things. Thus, thoughts of greed, anger and ignorance had been completely eliminated from his mind; his body and mind were pure because he had such deep faith in the Dharma. Every time a Buddha appeared in the world, he invited that Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel. Whenever a Buddha first awakened, Great Brahma Sikhin, this Brahma King, always led the heavenly beings to appear in the mental state of this Buddha after He first attained enlightenment to respectfully invite the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel in this world.

We always say that thousands of years is such a long time! “Rarely encountered even in billions of kalpas” describes how rare it is to meet a Buddha. Knowing this, we can tell how long. Brahma Kings in the form realm can live in this pure world. One day in the heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings is 50 years in the human realm. One day in Trayastrimsa Heaven is 100 years in the human realm and so on. This number grows larger in the higher heavens. This is particularly true in the formless realm. That pure and undefiled state is everlasting, so this king was aware that tens of thousands of years must pass for a Buddha to appear.

So, to be able to hear the Buddha-Dharma, we must be truly grateful to these heavenly Dharma-protectors for helping the Buddha to be willing to go among people. Actually the Buddha engaged in spiritual practice and attained Buddhahood for our sake. He manifested these appearances for us. Thus, inevitably, His state of mind was very broad and expansive. In His mind, He came up with this kind of plan. So, all this was a description of His state of mind upon attaining enlightenment.

“[They] reverently put their palms together, and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel.” All these heavenly beings, including Brahma Kings, were very reverent when they came to this place and pressed their left and right hands together. They placed their fingers against each other. This is a way to demonstrate that their minds were unified and to pay respect. Pressing our ten fingers together symbolizes how we gather our discursive thoughts together so our minds can be focused. Paying respect in this way is a way to express our utmost reverence. So, Chinese people cup one hand in the other before their chest to show respect. Confucius said that making this gesture is a way to pay respect. But in India, they press their palms together in respect. So, we put our palms together in accordance with Buddhist traditions. In India, putting palms together is respectful and demonstrates wholehearted reverence.

[They] reverently put their palms together, and requested that I turn the Dharma-wheel: They pressed their left and right palms and fingers together to demonstrate their wholehearted respect. Chinese people cup one hand in the other before their chest to show respect. Indian people put their palms together in respect. Turning the Dharma-wheel is an analogy for giving teachings. Using one thing to refer to another is using the simple to teach something profound. Turning the wheel of Dharma in His mind can transform the minds of others, just like turning the wheel of a cart.

They invited the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel through analogies and many kinds of methods. The Buddhas of the past did the same. For ordinary people to completely understand the spiritual state of the Buddha is impossible. So, the Brahma Kings invited the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel. Past Buddhas taught the Dharma with analogies and other verbal teachings. An analogy can describe to us what is round. What does roundness look like? What would we consider round? Something round is like this; this is round. What are the different degrees of roundness? Look at the moon; that is something that is round. This means that we are using an object to illustrate a principle. This is what we consider an analogy. Simple things that we understand are used as analogies for profound Dharma, so we that can take the Dharma to heart, so that we can understand. By turning the wheel of Dharma in His mind. He can transform the minds of others.

The enlightened mind of the Buddha is what He, over time and bit by bit, mindfully tried to deliver to ordinary people. This is “transforming the minds of others.” He turned the Dharma-wheel in His mind to deliver the Dharma into ours. To do this, He used analogies to turn the Dharma-wheel, so this is an analogy to a cart’s wheel. What do we mean by “turn”? Think about wheels. As the wheels turn, the cart will move forward. The underlying principle is the same. If the wheels in our minds are not turning, we cannot diligently advance. If [the wheels of] Right Dharma are not turned, we will never be able to eliminate our ignorance. So, we must practice according to His teachings.

Look at the heavenly beings; When this Buddha appears in the world, from the Brahman Heaven in the form realm to the heavens in the desire realm, more heavenly beings than can be counted, all appeared to Sakyamuni to comfort him. They reassured Him that past Buddhas used the same methods in transforming the minds of sentient beings. So, since we can hear His teachings today, we must be grateful to the Buddha for coming to this world for one great cause and attaining Buddhahood in His inner place of enlightenment. We must be even more grateful for what the Buddha described as heavenly beings manifesting in His mind so that He decided to stay in the world to turn the Dharma-wheel. We must always be grateful.

We can never fully express our gratitude, so we must turn the Dharma-wheel with firm resolve. Then heavenly Dharma-protectors will be with us. We must constantly be vigilant of ourselves, remain disciplined and reverent, and always be mindful.

Episode 428 – All Heavenly Beings Protect the Assembly

>> “As the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings, when the Buddha teaches the Great Dharma all heavenly beings protect the assembly.”

>> “But sentient beings have dull capabilities and are attached to pleasure and blinded by delusions. When it comes to beings such as these, how can they possibly be transformed?”

>> “At that time, all Brahma Kings, as well as Sovereign Sakras, the four heavenly kings who guard the world the king of Great Freedom Heaven….”

>> All Brahma Kings are heavenly beings of the form realm. When sentient beings’ minds are cleared of desires and awakened and not tempted by the dusts of desires, their bodies’ will be pure. Bodhisattvas will then appear before them as Brahma Kings and teach them the Dharma, enabling them to attain liberation.

>> Sovereign Sakra is the king of Trayastrimsa Heaven. He dwells at the peak of Mt. Sumeru in City of Good Views and leads the kings of the thirty-three heavens. Distant kalpas ago, after Kasyapa Buddha entered Parinirvana, there was a woman who aspired to build stupas. With blessings, virtues and great wisdom, she [recruited] 32 friends to also cultivate blessings and virtues. She became the king of Trayastrimsa Heaven. The people who helped her became her ministers. Together they [ruled] the thirty-three heavens.

>> These kings live below Trayastrimsa Heaven. In the east is King Dhrtarastra. In the south is King Virudhaka. In the west is King Virupaksa. In the north is King Dhanada.

>> The Great Freedom Heaven is the sixth heaven in the desire realm. It is six heavens above the heaven realm. If we sentient beings [attain] “freedom from desires of the body,”

“As the guiding teacher of the Three Realms
and the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings,
when the Buddha teaches the Great Dharma
all heavenly beings protect the assembly.”

The Great Enlightened One, the Buddha, has manifested in this world. The Great Enlightened One is the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings and also the guiding teacher of the Three Realms.

“The Four Kinds of Beings,” as we know, refer to the womb-, egg-, moisture- and transformation-born. These are the Four Forms of Birth. Among the Four Forms of Birth, apart from humans like us, the transformation-born are born in the heaven and the hell realms. Transformation-born is also part of the Four Forms of Birth. Some beings are egg-born. Chicken, birds and other animals all hatch from eggs. Moisture-born refers to bugs and other creatures that emerge from underwater or from filthy places. Damp places are naturally home to certain living organisms.

Therefore, the Buddha does not only show compassion to humans. Even those in heaven, the heavenly beings, take refuge with Him because. He is the guiding teacher of Three Realms. People in hell face unbearable suffering and lack the karmic conditions [to hear the Dharma]. In the animal realm, whether they are womb-born, egg-born or transformation-born, the opportunities for them to hear the Dharma are even more rare. Only human beings, those in the human realm, can create all these world with their minds. We always say, [karma can be] “good, evil or indeterminate.” Good things are done by humans; people doing good deeds can benefit the world. Evil also comes from a slight deviation of the human mind. When unwholesome thoughts arise, the evil they lead people to commit causes manmade calamities in this world.

Thus the Buddha comes to the human realm again and again to teach sentient beings. So, He is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. He comes to the human realm to teach the Great Dharma. Wherever the Buddha teaches, naturally “all heavenly beings protect the assembly.” They will come to protect the Dharma. At the beginning of each sutra, the text will mention the heavenly beings and eight classes of Dharma-protectors that came to be part of that Dharma-assembly. They came to “protect the assembly.”

Previously, I have also told everyone that if we can uphold one precept, five Dharma-protectors will be by our side. If we uphold five precepts, there will be 25 Dharma-protectors. There was a person who reverently believed in the Buddha, listened to the Dharma and accepted the precepts. Because he sustained his reverence after accepting the Five Precepts, no matter what happened to him, dangers always turned into blessings.

Eventually he asked his teacher this question. He explained that a couple of times when he ran into danger, incredibly, things turned out well. His teacher told him, “Because you accept and uphold the Five Precepts, there are usually 25 Dharma-protectors guarding you.” Hearing this, he was very happy and very proud. He thought, “In my daily living, there are 25 Dharma-protectors by my side. What do I need to be afraid of?”

He became more filled with pride and arrogance. Without realizing it, he no longer treated others with humility. Eventually, he began to feel that as long as his spiritual cultivation led to a thorough understanding of the teachings, he did not need to adhere to the practice. He began to satisfy his cravings for tastes and thus returned to the lifestyle he had led before he had faith in the Buddha and accepted the precepts. Thus he slowly stopped upholding the Five Precepts.

One day, after he had a full meal, he felt tired and went to rest. As he was napping, he heard someone say, “This person is no longer pure in body and mind. Should we keep on protecting him?” Each precept’s Dharma-protectors said, “Based on his behavior, I will also abandon him,” and like this, the protectors decided to stop protecting him. Thus, they all left.

When he awakened, he was terrified. “Is it true that all of my Dharma-protectors have left me?” So, he went back to the temple to ask his teacher. His teacher said, “Judging by your appearance, there is no aura of spiritual refinement around you anymore. Your aura of spiritual refinement has disappeared.” The man became more terrified. He told his teacher what he heard during his nap. “What should I do?” His teacher said, “Repent and start over.”

Although this is a story, we need to know this is how Dharma-protectors work. If we are engaging in spiritual practice, we must cultivate virtue. “The virtuous attain.” If we do not practice, we will have no attainment. If have no attainment, we have no virtue. We must be diligent in our spiritual practice and take the Dharma to heart. After we have taken it to heart, we can also transform others. This is awakening ourselves and others. When we share what we have attained with others, we create blessings.

So, when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must emulate His virtues and actions. We must be diligent in our practice. If we can do this, any place can be a place of spiritual cultivation and the Dharma-protectors will all surround our spiritual training ground. We must also be mindful and reverent every day and accept and abide by precepts to continue to diligently advance.

The sutra passage states,

“But sentient beings have dull capabilities and are attached to pleasure and blinded by delusions. When it comes to beings such as these, how can they possibly be transformed?”

This is the previous passage in the sutra. This was what Sakyamuni Buddha [observed in] sentient beings with dull capabilities. To open the door to their hearts and wash away the ignorance in their minds was truly very difficult. How could He transform these people? So, He pondered for three periods of seven days. For 21 days, He contemplated how. He could bring this Dharma into the human realm. As there were people with varying capabilities, how could He teach according to these great, average or limited capabilities? He decided to use provisional skillful means. Who should be the first to listen to the Dharma? To whom would He teach the Dharma first? This is what He contemplated during those 21 days.

Over these past few days we have been discussing how Ajnata Kaundinya and the others became the five bhiksus. After they became the five bhiksus, the Buddha-Dharma and the Sangha had come into existence. Then the Buddha went among people.


while the Buddha was there contemplating,

“”At that time, all Brahma Kings, as well as Sovereign Sakras, the four heavenly kings who guard the world the king of Great Freedom Heaven….”

These are all kinds of Dharma-protectors. As Sakyamuni Buddha contemplated how to transform sentient beings, He thought, “How can they possibly be transformed? I have awakened, and this Dharma is so subtle and wondrous, but these sentient beings are so difficult to transform. Maybe it is better not to say anything and simply enter Parinirvana.” So, many heavenly beings appeared to console Sakyamuni Buddha.

This is a story I have told in the past. This took place after His initial awakening. At that time, [there were] “all Brahma Kings,” which refers to heavenly beings in the form realm. The form realm is beyond the desire realm. The human realm is in the desire realm. Beings in the form realm have eliminated all desires from their minds. These heavens are very pure.

All Brahma Kings are heavenly beings of the form realm. When sentient beings’ minds are cleared of desires and awakened and not tempted by the dusts of desires, their bodies’ will be pure. Bodhisattvas will then appear before them as Brahma Kings and teach them the Dharma, enabling them to attain liberation.

There are many heavenly beings. Some [spiritual practitioners] begin their spiritual cultivation in the human realm, then their “minds are cleared of desires and awakened.” Their minds, which were turbid with greed and desires, have completely awakened. They “will not be tempted by the dusts of desires.” Since we know that the world is impermanent, we know that all material things are illusory and not real, but we still pursue them because we have desires. Worldly desires, whether for sensual pleasure, fame or wealth and so on, are all very tempting for humans. They prevent people’s minds from calming down, from upholding precepts and being in a state of Samadhi, ․because desires are very disruptive to our minds. Those who have not formed a firm resolve will easily be led astray by their desires.

So, if people’s “minds are cleared of desires and awakened” they can resolve to “not be tempted by dusts of desires.” Desires are defiling, like dust or dirt. If people do not become defiled due to the influence of desires, “their bodies will be pure.” As we begin to engage in spiritual practice, though we are still ordinary beings, we can resolve to cultivate a pure body and mind. For people like this, “Bodhisattvas will appear before them.” With people like this, [Bodhisattvas] will appear “as Brahma Kings and teach them the Dharma.” A Brahma King did not come to teach the Dharma; it was a Bodhisattva appearing as a Brahma King and teaching the purifying Dharma to enable sentient beings to resolutely uphold the purity of their minds.

As long as we have this aspiration and vow, we have this power as an assisting condition that helps us cleanse our body and mind. So, they appear as the kings of Brahma Heaven to teach us the Dharma.

“As well as Sovereign Sakras.” In addition to all Brahma Kings, there were also Sovereign Sakras. The king of Trayastrimsa Heaven is Sovereign Sakra.

Sovereign Sakra is the king of Trayastrimsa Heaven. He dwells at the peak of Mt. Sumeru in City of Good Views and leads the kings of the thirty-three heavens. Distant kalpas ago, after Kasyapa Buddha entered Parinirvana, there was a woman who aspired to build stupas. With blessings, virtues and great wisdom, she [recruited] 32 friends to also cultivate blessings and virtues. She became the king of Trayastrimsa Heaven. The people who helped her became her ministers. Together they [ruled] the thirty-three heavens.

Sovereign Sakra lives on Mt. Sumeru in City of Good Views. You have all heard of the Earth Treasury Sutra and we have also read the Earth Treasury Sutra. The Buddha taught the Earth Treasury Sutra in the thirty-three heavens, also called Trayastrimsa Heaven. At the center of the thirty-three heavens is. City of Good Views.

There is a story behind this. This story took place distant kalpas ago. Kasyapa Buddha appeared in this world. After appearing, He eventually entered Parinirvana. After He entered Parinirvana, people created golden statues and built stupas for Him. Then another long period of time passed. These stupas and shrines were in shambles and the golden statues had long been in disrepair.

There was a woman, a very kind woman, with 32 friends. In total they were a group of 33 good friends, who shared the same ideals and did good deeds together. Among them was a woman who was the leader and influenced others. One day, as she passed by a place, she was surprised to find a stupa there. It looked abandoned. She could not help but walk into the stupa. The ceiling was leaking, and the Buddha statue had completely deteriorated. So, when she returned, she told her good friends. She hoped that they could completely restore this stupa and repair the golden statue.

This would take a lot of money. So, the woman in charge said, “Even if this costs me every last penny, I am willing to give everything for this purpose.” The other 32 people thought, “Me too! Even if I deplete all of my material assets, even if I have to sell my lands, I am willing.” These 33 friends shared the same resolve to rebuild the stupa, fix the shrine and repair the golden statue. That place was originally in ruins, but they turned it into an elegant place.

Later, after these 33 friends passed away, because of the blessings they had created, they were born in Trayastrimsa Heaven, which is split into four quarters, with eight cities in each quarter. As 4 times 8 is 32, there were a total of 32 cities. The palace in the middle of the 32 cities is City of Good Views. It is where Sovereign Sakra lives. He is the leader of these 32 cities, so his title is Sovereign Sakra, the heavenly lord of the thirty-three heavens. He is Sovereign Sakra, Sakro-Devanam Indra, the king of Trayastrimsa Heaven. One day in Trayastrimsa Heaven is how many years in the human realm? 100 years. Those that live there enjoy great longevity.

Then, there are the “four heavenly kings who guard the world.”

These kings live below Trayastrimsa Heaven.

These kings live below Trayastrimsa Heaven. In the east is King Dhrtarastra. In the south is King Virudhaka. In the west is King Virupaksa. In the north is King Dhanada.

These four heavenly kings live in the heavenly realm of Mt. Sumeru, halfway up the mountain. By practicing the paramitas of giving and upholding precepts, they were able to obtain the blessings to become the kings of the four heavens.

One day in the four heavens of the heavenly kings is how many years in the human realm? 50 years. The lifespan in that heaven is also very long. Their lifespan is 500 years old.

There is also “the king of Great Freedom Heaven.”

The Great Freedom Heaven is the sixth heaven in the desire realm. It is six heavens above the heaven realm. If we sentient beings [attain] “freedom from desires of the body,”

after our desires are eliminated, Bodhisattvas will naturally appear before us and manifest as heavenly beings to teach the Dharma.

So, as long as we are willing to cultivate blessings, we can give charitably and be disciplined. By upholding precepts, we can cultivate patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom, the other disciplines. If we carefully abide by these, we will naturally have good karmic conditions all around us.

In summary, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, first, we must eliminate our desires and delusions. If we are blinded by delusions, it is impossible for us to accept the Buddha-Dharma. This passage from the sutra tells us that our minds must always be pure. If our mind is free of desires, so is our body. This means that only with pure body and mind can we accept the Buddha-Dharma and take this subtle and wondrous Dharma to heart. So, I hope when you listen to teachings, you will always be mindful.

Episode 427 – The Differences in Karmic Conditions

>> “The intrinsic Buddha-nature is the same in sentient beings and Buddhas. Being able to encounter the Buddha is due to the wholesome power within. We attain world-transcending Dharma based on the strength of our causes and conditions.”

>> “But sentient beings have dull capabilities and are attached to pleasures and blinded by delusions. When it comes to beings such as these, how can they possibly be transformed?”

>> Sentient beings have dull capabilities: Though the Buddha’s wisdom is extremely subtle and wondrous, sadly, sentient beings have very dull capabilities. Greedily clinging to worldly pleasures, their minds are entangled by the Five Desires and obscured by delusions and cravings. Their mind’s eye is covered by ignorance so they cannot see absolute truth or the teachings of the path.

>> Therefore, the Buddha had no way to freely express His original [teachings]. Teaching the One Buddha Vehicle’s subtle and wondrous Dharma to transform those with dull and limited capabilities is as hard as fitting a square peg into a round hole.

>> [They] are attached to pleasures and blinded by delusions: Because they suffer in their ignorance, these sentient beings not only refuse to believe in, but may even slander the Buddha-Dharma. They greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are deluded, ignorant and lack clarity. Like a blind man walking on the road, they may step onto evil paths.

>> “Sentient beings are ignorant. They greedily satisfy desires and pleasures, so they are drowning in ignorance. It is as if they have been swallowed by the sea.”

“The intrinsic Buddha-nature
is the same in sentient beings and Buddhas.
Being able to encounter the Buddha
is due to the wholesome power within.
We attain world-transcending Dharma based on
the strength of our causes and conditions.”

This tells everyone that we sentient beings have the same Buddha-nature as the Buddha. So, we are in essence the same as the Buddha. In the past, we ordinary people were lost and confused. However, the Buddha told us that we should believe that as long as we follow His teachings, we can also return to our intrinsic Buddha-nature. Most importantly, we can encounter the Buddha and the Dharma.

It is actually quite easy to encounter the Buddha-Dharma nowadays. The Buddha-Dharma is ubiquitous. If we want to, we use our computer to go online, and there we can find very detailed explanations of the Buddha-Dharma. This is due to the efforts of many people in the Buddhist community. Even more precious is that we can go to a spiritual practice center to listen to the teachings together. Through the Buddhist sutras, we can understand many things that we encounter in our contemporary society. The Buddha-Dharma cannot exist apart from worldly teachings, and if worldly teachings deviate from the Dharma, they cannot train people’s minds. So, we must take advantage of this opportunity. The Buddha-Dharma is thriving, and if we are willing to delve into it, modern technology has helped to make the. Buddha-Dharma available to anyone in the world.

But let us examine “being able to encounter the Buddha.” The Buddha-Dharma may now be easily accessed, as well as easily encountered, but do we actually value it? If we value it greatly, “it is due to the wholesome power within.” People with karmic connections will end up at the same practice center. Thus we accept and practice the Dharma together. All this is due to our wholesome power. If our hearts have the will to seek the Dharma, this power can attract people even from far away. If we lack this wholesome power, if we do not respect the Dharma, even people who are close to us may go far away and be unwilling to diligently practice. This all depends on whether we have the wholesome power of the will to seek the Buddha-Dharma.

So, “we attain world-transcending Dharma based on the strength of causes and conditions.” People’s karmic connections differ in their depth. Some people have deeper karmic connections, and thus naturally they have wholesome power. They are very earnest in seeking and listening to the Dharma. By earnestly listening, they take it to heart. When they meet another, they will find the right opportunity to spread the seeds of goodness.

One time, Ananda and Kasyapa were following the Buddha as He traveled and taught. The weather was very hot that year. There was drought everywhere. When they reached an open space, in the distance, the Buddha saw a melon farm. The Buddha said to Ananda and Kasyapa, “I am thirsty and hungry. Can one of you ask the farmer for a melon?” At that moment, Ananda turned and walked toward the melon farm.

When he reached it, there was a young woman there. Upon seeing him come closer, her expression turned sour. Ananda stood before her and humbly said, “We are thirsty and hungry. I hope you can give us a melon as an offering to Sakyamuni Buddha.” This young woman, before Ananda had even finished speaking, angrily pointed at him and shouted, “Get out of here! I don’t want to hear you speak. The sound of your voice makes me upset.” Then she chased Ananda away.

Ananda returned to the Buddha. He helplessly explained to the Buddha what had happened. The Buddha smiled and looked at Kasyapa, “Kasyapa, you go.” From afar, as the young woman watched. Kasyapa approach her, step by step, happiness arose in her heart. She picked a big, ripe melon, and carrying this big melon, walked over to him. She presented it to Ven. Kasyapa with both hands.

Ananda wondered, “How could this happen? How did he easily obtain this very ripe melon?” He had a little trouble accepting this, so he asked the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha, what are the causes and conditions behind this?” The Buddha smiled and said, “Let me tell you about the causes and conditions.”

A long time ago, two people arranged to become business partners. As they traveled, one walked in front and the other walked behind. The one in front saw the carcass of a dead cat. It had already begun to stink and there were worms all over the corpse. The person in front saw the dead cat and covered his nose because of the stench, then rushed past it. The one walking in the back also smelled this stench. When he saw the dead cat, he felt great compassion. So, he quickly dug a hole and placed the dead cat into the hole.

Before completing the burial, he began talking to it, “You had certain causes and conditions that led you into the animal realm. It is sad and tragic that you died on the side of the road and your corpse has been eaten by maggots. This is due to karma you created in past lives. Right now we have this karmic connection and I hope in your future life you will have the karmic conditions to encounter virtuous friends and study the Buddha-Dharma. Only then will you be liberated someday.” Having said all this to the cat, he covered it with soil and left.

After the Buddha gave this bit of history, He turned around and asked, “Ananda and Kasyapa, do you understand now?” Ananda said, “I understand. What the Venerable Buddha is telling us is that I was the one walking in front and. Kasyapa was the one walking behind. This is how we formed these karmic affinities.” The Buddha was satisfied with Ananda’s answer, so He kept speaking, “All causes and conditions are created through actions directed by our minds. In this life, when you meet others and they are happy to see you, that is because you have formed good karmic affinities with these people. When everyone is happy to see you, but there is one person who is not, then this is someone you have created a negative karmic connection with. Causes and conditions always go hand in hand. The causes you create determine the conditions you face.”

So, “we attain world-transcending Dharma based on the strength of our causes and conditions.” These two disciples of the Buddha had created causes and conditions, one weak, one strong, one positive, one negative. What they were experiencing were the outcomes. So, when we learn the Dharma, we should not treat these as nothing more than stories and overlook them. The causes and conditions that the Buddha spoke of are definitely True Dharma. We must listen and take it in so we can constantly plant good causes and create good conditions. Then we can listen to the Dharma and diligently advance. Therefore, we should be mindful.

The sutra passage states,

“But sentient beings have dull capabilities and are attached to pleasures and blinded by delusions. When it comes to beings such as these, how can they possibly be transformed?”

Even the Buddha lamented the dull capabilities of sentient beings. Their greed and ignorance have completely blinded their mind’s eye. Their physical eyes may still see clearly, but their mind’s eye is blind. They cannot see the principles and are not diligent. They look for instant gratification; “Listening to the Dharma and bowing to the Buddha is hard work. I should just do whatever I want.” They say they are engaged in spiritual practice but are actually “attached to pleasures and blinded by delusions.” Because of their delusions, they do not take advantage of these wonderful causes and conditions. Instead they indulge themselves. This shows how they are ignorant and blind. For people like this, “when it comes to beings such as these how can they possibly be transformed?” Who has a way of transforming them? The Buddha has done everything He can for us. But are we willing to accept the Dharma? Are we willing to practice Right Dharma? All of this depends on us.

Next we will talk about how “sentient beings have dull capabilities.”

Sentient beings have dull capabilities: Though the Buddha’s wisdom is extremely subtle and wondrous, sadly, sentient beings have very dull capabilities. Greedily clinging to worldly pleasures, their minds are entangled by the Five Desires and obscured by delusions and cravings. Their mind’s eye is covered by ignorance so they cannot see absolute truth or the teachings of the path.

Let us now discuss the wisdom of the Buddha. Though the wisdom of the Buddha is extremely subtle and wondrous, sadly, sentient beings have very dull capabilities. Not much can be done about this. They are greedily attached to worldly pleasures or entangled by the Five Desires. They cannot open their minds, so greed, anger and ignorance remain in their hearts. They may crave sleep or pleasures or certain sights, scents, foods and so on. Sound, smell, taste and touch remain on their minds, entangling them.

Thus they are “obscured by delusions and cravings.” This is their ignorance. For the sake of momentary enjoyment, they let go of their body and mind to freely indulge. This shows that they do not earnestly cherish the Buddha-Dharma. These delusional cravings have covered their intrinsic Buddha-nature. “Their mind’s eye is covered by ignorance.” It is as if their eyes are covered in mold. Our eyes are like a camera. If the lens of a camera fogs up, then the pictures it takes will be blurry. So, if our mind’s eye is covered, its vision is obscured, like having cataracts. Then we “cannot see the absolute truth or the teachings of the path.” We cannot see true principles.

If we are like this, though the Buddha has already clearly laid out the Dharma about matters, appearances and principles for us, ignorance has blinded our mind’s eye. When this happens, the Buddha cannot realize His original intent of transforming us with the One Vehicle Dharma.

Therefore, the Buddha had no way to freely express His original [teachings]. Teaching the One Buddha Vehicle’s subtle and wondrous Dharma to transform those with dull and limited capabilities is as hard as fitting a square peg into a round hole.

“It is hard to teach subtle and wondrous Dharma to transform those with dull and limited capabilities.” The Great Vehicle Dharma is subtle and wondrous, but people’s capabilities are limited. This Dharma cannot enter a limited mind, much in the same way that a square block of wood cannot be forced into a round tube. That would be very difficult. This is like teaching wondrous Dharma to someone with limited capabilities. It is indeed very difficult. The Dharma itself is not difficult, but it is difficult for people with limited capabilities to take in.

So, when we make aspirations, we must make great aspirations. When we seek the Dharma, we must seek the Great Vehicle Dharma. When we seek the Great Vehicle Dharma, we must be diligent. Sentient beings cannot be diligent because “they are attached to pleasures and blinded by delusions.” For this reason, sentient beings suffering from ignorance remain in a state of ignorance. Amidst greed, anger and delusion, they cannot accept the pure, Great Vehicle Dharma. So, in their ignorance, they continue to suffer.

[They] are attached to pleasures and blinded by delusions: Because they suffer in their ignorance, these sentient beings not only refuse to believe in, but may even slander the Buddha-Dharma. They greedily cling to desires and pleasures, so they are deluded, ignorant and lack clarity. Like a blind man walking on the road, they may step onto evil paths.

Immersed in ignorance and suffering, they simply cannot let go. Refusing to be diligent, they only care about their physical pleasure and refuse to dedicate their strength and spirit to Right Dharma. Thus they will never [be liberated]. People like this not only refuse to believe, they will readily slander the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma can be widely promoted through the actions of spiritual practitioners. If we do not learn and practice earnestly, everything from the Dharma we teach, to the conversations we have, to our demeanors will cause people to wonder if Buddhists are truly spiritual practitioners.

I have told everyone, “The lion’s parasites eat the lion’s flesh.” Since we are learning the Buddha’s teachings, we should promote the Buddha-Dharma. However, those with limited capabilities refuse to be diligent and are in the process of degenerating. Not only do they not believe the Buddha nor faithfully accept and practice the teachings, they even end up slandering the Buddha-Dharma. For other people to see their behavior is not beneficial for the Buddha-Dharma. They greedily cling to their desires, so they have not eliminated their delusions and ignorance. It is as if they are blind. When people who are blind walk together, how do they find the right path? A moment of carelessness will cause them to step onto evil paths.

So, we must mindfully learn the Buddha’s teachings. “When it comes to beings such as these,” they do not have self-respect, do not strive to transform themselves and refuse to be diligent. How can these ignorant people “possibly be transformed?” How can we transform them?

“Sentient beings are ignorant. They greedily satisfy desires and pleasures, so they are drowning in ignorance. It is as if they have been swallowed by the sea.”

The sea receives all bodies of water. Water from river, streams and springs can flow into it and be fully accepted by the sea.

Similarly, when people create karma, out of ignorance, they flow into the sea of karma. Therefore, if they do not control their minds, then their desires will be as endless as their ignorance. Ignorance can, like the sea, swallow up water from streams, rivers and springs. This is why sentient beings have so much karma. It is truly difficult to save people like this because their karma and ignorance are as vast as the ocean and cannot be restrained. How can these deluded and ignorant people be transformed?

The Buddha was very worried, so He spent three periods of seven days engaging in contemplation. “My Dharma is so subtle and wondrous, but how can I teach according to capabilities?” During the second seven days, He thought, “The capabilities of sentient beings can be great, average or limited. What sort of methods should I devise for the sake of sentient beings? Who can be the first ones to learn the Dharma?” This is how He contemplated the Dharma for three periods of seven days to find ways to bring it into the world so it would be accepted. Think about it, the Buddha worked painstakingly but our capabilities are so complicated. So, shouldn’t we constantly repent? Shouldn’t we constantly reflect on ourselves?

Dear Bodhisattvas, time flies and waits for no one. “With each passing day, we draw closer to death.” As each second passes, that is one less second that we have. We should really seize each moment. Each second can affect the rest of our lives, so let us not waste any minute or second. Everyone must always be mindful.

Episode 426 – The Twenty-one Days of Contemplation

>> “The Buddha vowed to sit in meditation under the tree and engage in still contemplation until. He attained Bodhi. Then He silently contemplated ways to transform sentient beings according to their capabilities and inspire them with loving-kindness and tremendous grace. He contemplated the tree, walked in meditation, and was grateful for the kindness of the tree and the virtue of the land.”

>> “When I first sat in this place of enlightenment, I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation.”

>> “I thought over matters such as these. The wisdom which I attained is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.”

>> After the Buddha attained enlightenment, for three period of seven days, He contemplated the tree and walked in meditation to ponder how to teach the wondrous Dharma to transform sentient beings. He contemplated for three periods of seven days. In the first period of seven days He thought: My Dharma is wondrous; no one can accept it. In the second period of seven days He thought: Sentient beings have great, average and limited capacities. In the third period of seven days He thought: Who should be the first to hear this Dharma? So, He went to Varanasi to teach the Four Noble Truths and so on to the five bhiksus.

>> The wisdom which I attained is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness: The Buddha’s wisdom is subtle and wondrous, as it is supreme and perfect enlightenment. He knows worldly truth through discerning wisdom and illuminates absolute truth with impartial wisdom. This Dharma is extraordinary, difficult to understand, and foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.

“The Buddha vowed to sit in meditation under the tree
and engage in still contemplation until. He attained Bodhi.
Then He silently contemplated ways to transform sentient beings according to their capabilities
and inspire them with loving-kindness and tremendous grace.
He contemplated the tree, walked in meditation,
and was grateful for the kindness of the tree and the virtue of the land.”

This tells everyone that when the Buddha engaged in spiritual practice, He waited until karmic conditions had matured, and then sat under the Bodhi-tree. As He began to sit in meditation, He made the following vow. “As I sit upon this Diamond Throne, if I do not achieve perfect enlightenment. I will never leave this place.” He made use of every single second to engage in still contemplation of the principles of all things in the world, as well as the phenomena of this world and of the universe. He engaged in silent contemplation, and finally, through wholehearted concentration, He penetrated the truth of all things in the universe. So, “He engaged in still contemplation “until He attained Bodhi.”

Bodhi is the path to enlightenment. He connected His mind to the path of the universe and thoroughly understood it, thus attaining the path. He understood all truths of the universe, and then He silently contemplated the methods of transforming sentient beings. Upon understanding the truths, the Dharma He realized was so expansive. This is such great Dharma; how could He begin to give this great teaching to sentient beings? How should He teach the Dharma in a way that could be accepted by all beings? This shows the Buddha’s great compassion. So, He “inspired them with loving-kindness and tremendous grace.”

Out of His compassion, the Buddha wanted all sentient beings to realize that they intrinsically have Buddha-nature. If sentient beings could understand their minds and realize their true nature, then there would be no interpersonal conflicts, greed, anger, delusion or various kinds of ignorance and afflictions. We create tremendous karmic forces that disturb the order in the world. This is caused by the ignorance of sentient beings. How could He help them eliminate their ignorance and return to their intrinsic Buddha-nature? What method could He use? Since sentient beings have countless afflictions, the Buddha had to start by opening infinite Dharma-doors. So, He engaged in silent contemplation. To transform sentient beings, He had to teach in accord with their capabilities. This shows the great compassion of the Buddha. He utilized different means to inspire us.

The Buddha was mindful of the grace. He had received from sentient beings, so He continued to work to transform sentient beings. To put it another way, we must be even more grateful for. His tremendous grace in transforming us over so many lifetimes.

In that lifetime, when karmic conditions matured, He manifested in this world by being born into the palace. Upon experiencing the suffering of this world, He wanted to discover the source of suffering so He could help and transform sentient beings. He became enlightened and engaged in still contemplation, then contemplated the tree and walked in meditation. He observed the tree, the environment and so on, keeping in His mind a sense of gratitude for the kindness of the tree and virtue of the land.

Do you see how the Buddha treated the environment? From the beginning He was filled with gratitude for the virtue of the land. So, we must be mindful of these words. We must remind ourselves to be vigilant. As we engage in spiritual practice in this kind of environment, do we constantly feel grateful? We are grateful that in this place, we do not need to worry at all about clothing, food, shelter and transportation. We are sheltered from the wind and rain. Since we can live freely upon this land, we must be even more grateful.

Yesterday we discussed how the Buddha said,

“When I first sat in this place of enlightenment, I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation.”

After the Buddha first sat there and attained enlightenment, for three periods of seven days, He contemplated the tree and walked in meditation. For three periods of seven days, He diligently contemplated.

“I thought over matters such as these. The wisdom which I attained is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.”

After He became enlightened and realized true principles, He went back to the original goal of His spiritual practice, which was to transform sentient beings and relieve their suffering. “Matters such as these” refers to bringing the Buddha-Dharma into the world and how to spread and teach it. After He clearly understood the principles, He now wanted to teach them. Thus He “thought over matters such as these.”

“The wisdom which I attained is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.” The Buddha’s mind at that time was filled with wisdom and the truths of the universe, of people and matters, of the world and so on, all of which were subtle and wondrous, all of which were realized by the Buddha. In this subtle and wondrous state, everything was fully taken in by the Buddha’s mind. But how could these subtle and wondrous truths be shared with all sentient beings? The Buddha spent three periods of seven days to really think about this. So, “for three periods of seven days,” He “thought over matters such as these.”

After the Buddha attained enlightenment, for three period of seven days, He contemplated the tree and walked in meditation to ponder how to teach the wondrous Dharma to transform sentient beings. He contemplated for three periods of seven days. In the first period of seven days He thought: My Dharma is wondrous; no one can accept it. In the second period of seven days He thought: Sentient beings have great, average and limited capacities. In the third period of seven days He thought: Who should be the first to hear this Dharma? So, He went to Varanasi to teach the Four Noble Truths and so on to the five bhiksus.

During the first period of seven days He thought, “My Dharma is wondrous; no one can accept it.” He thought about how subtle and wondrous the Dharma was, and based on His observation of their capabilities, He knew that for all sentient beings to accept this teaching would not be easy. It was very unlikely. All living beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature, but this nature has already been deeply buried underneath boundless ignorance and countless afflictions. The layers of afflictions are so thick. How could He use the Dharma to truly awaken their intrinsic nature of True Suchness? He felt like they were such a long way off. So, “My Dharma is wondrous; no one can accept it.” Even if He wished to give teachings, there might not be anyone who could accept it.

Indeed, I often wonder, “How do I transmit this Dharma-lineage?” In order to experience these teachings, we must be in this world. How can we take the Dharma to heart, put it into practice and then lead others onto this path? This is what I constantly contemplate.

Realizing the principles behind worldly matters is already quite difficult, let alone understanding the Buddha’s state of mind. We constantly say it is “tranquil and clear, with vows vast as the universe.” This is such a beautiful and wondrous state! We can read about this subtle and wondrous state of mind in the text of the sutras, but can we experience this feeling? Even if we experience it, it only lasts for an instant. In our daily living, our minds are still covered by tremendous afflictions. So, it is no wonder that the Buddha spent seven days contemplating how to use His enlightened state of mind to fully inspire sentient beings’ intrinsic Buddha-nature to resonate with His. This was what He contemplated over the first seven days.

For the second period of seven days, the Buddha contemplated sentient beings’ varying capabilities. So, the Buddha decided to establish skillful means and use wondrous provisional teachings to transform them. This was decided during the second seven days. During the third period of seven days, He wondered where to begin. Who should be the first to listen to the Dharma? After careful consideration, He concluded that He should begin with those who had stayed by His side during those five years of traveling and six years of ascetic practice. Those five were still engaging in ascetic practice.

They were His relatives, sent by the king to protect the crown prince and they engaged in spiritual practice with Him. This was Kaundinya and the others. This was how He decided to teach these five people first.

So, He set out for Deer Park in Varanasi. When He arrived at Deer Park, those five people saw Him from afar and said, “Look, our prince cannot survive on his own; he is coming back to look for us.” Together, they decided, “A person who has lost his spiritual aspirations is not worthy to be around us. Let us simply ignore him.” But the crown prince had attained Buddhahood and become the Great Enlightened One. From the expressions on their faces, how could He not know what they were thinking? Still, He approached them unhurriedly and His dignified and majestic presence, His virtuous appearance, captivated them in spite of themselves.

Seeing their prince’s dignified demeanor and. His majestic appearance, it seemed as if His body was radiating beams of light. They could not help but feel respect for him as He slowly approached them from afar. When the Buddha was in front of them, together they spontaneously prostrated to Him. The Buddha was joyful and sat down. He began to explain to these five the path of His spiritual cultivation, the state of His mind and. His realizations about the subtle and wondrous appearances of all things in the world. The five of them quickly made a request, “Venerable Buddha! You have already become the Great Enlightened One. Can you promptly teach us your realizations? “Please teach us!” Out of His compassion, He began teaching the Four Noble Truths. First He asked, “Is life suffering? Yes it is!” Through this question He elicited the response that they had all experienced suffering. So, He proceeded to explain to them suffering, its causation, cessation and the Path.

This was the first time He taught the Dharma, but among those five people, only one became awakened and realized the principles of the Four Noble Truths. That was Kaundinya. Though the other four listened attentively, they could not understand those principles. They told Him this honestly. The Buddha said, “That is fine, I will explain it again.” Did they then understand the Four Noble Truths? Two of them said, “I realize now that suffering in life is caused by the accumulation of many afflictions.” The other two people said, “It is still not clear to us. It seems very hazy and indistinct.” Then the Buddha replied, “That is fine, I will explain it a third time.” Did they then understand the Four Noble Truths? The five spoke in unison, “We are very happy. We have attained Dharma-joy.” All of them now understood. This is the Three Turnings of the Dharma-wheel of the Four Noble Truths. After the Buddha attained enlightenment, the first to listen to the teachings were these five bhiksus.

The Buddha was enlightened, the Dharma established, and there was a group of bhiksus, so the Three Treasures were complete. After the Buddha’s contemplation over those three periods of seven days, He went into the world and completed the Three Treasures. Upon their completion, the Sangha came into being. Three or more bhiksus is a Sangha. So, from that moment on, the Buddha-Dharma was in this world.

The next sutra passage states, “The wisdom which I attained is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.”

The wisdom which I attained is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness: The Buddha’s wisdom is subtle and wondrous, as it is supreme and perfect enlightenment. He knows worldly truth through discerning wisdom and illuminates absolute truth with impartial wisdom. This Dharma is extraordinary, difficult to understand, and foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.

“The Buddha’s wisdom is subtle and wondrous, as it is supreme and perfect enlightenment.” This describes the Buddha’s wisdom. The wisdom that the Buddha attained is the subtle and wondrous wisdom of supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment. In the sutras we recite. “Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi,” which means supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment. This is the wisdom of the Buddha.

So, when we speak of “knowing,” we are referring to worldly truth. People, matters and objects in the world are part of worldly truth. He illuminates absolute truth with impartial wisdom. Absolute truth is the Buddha’s true principles. Worldly truth is worldly matters. With discerning wisdom, we can discern right from wrong in all things. This is discerning wisdom. Impartial wisdom is absolute truth, the true principles and unconditioned Dharma. Absolute truth is impartial so we speak of impartial wisdom. In our spiritual practice, when we attain compassion for all equally, we have manifested impartial wisdom. So, we need to develop wisdom. There is discerning wisdom and impartial wisdom. When we do not discriminate between ourselves and others and see ourselves as one with all sentient beings, we have impartial wisdom.

“This Dharma is extraordinary, difficult to understand, and foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.” The Buddha’s wisdom is extraordinary. It is not something we ordinary people can [fully] comprehend. Indeed, the Dharma is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness. So, the Buddha-Dharma requires that we be in the world to realize all principles. Therefore, we must learn to cultivate the Buddha’s sense of gratitude. As I just mentioned, when we begin to engage in spiritual practice we must make great vows and sit in a place for spiritual cultivation. We must all make great vows, “I will engage in spiritual practice. I will never give up until I succeed.”

We must be diligent and always remain calm. Only then can we take the path to heart. If we are calm, we can face people and matters by engaging in true silent contemplation. We must consider things carefully and not react impulsively. We must maintain our determination without becoming too stubborn. We must silently and carefully contemplate what is suitable for people’s various capabilities. Only then can we resonate with and understand the Buddha’s mind.

Look at the mindset of the Buddha. He was always grateful for the grace of sentient beings. We sentient beings must be even more grateful for His boundless grace. The Buddha, in that particular place, contemplated the tree and walked in meditation. He was constantly grateful to the tree and mindful of the virtue of the land. So, we must learn to be like the Buddha. We can learn a lot from His attitude toward life. Thus, our daily living is inseparable from principles. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 425 – Transform Others with Initial Enlightenment

>> “Initial enlightenment is intrinsic and everlasting. By sustaining our initial aspiration, we see our nature. By deeply contemplating and carefully practicing according to the Dharma, we can realize the path to awakening and transform others.”

>> Instead they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering. For the sake of these sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion.

>> “When I first sat in this place of enlightenment. I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation. For three periods of seven days, I thought over matters such as these. The wisdom which I achieved is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.”

>> “When I first sat” sets a time, yet there is no beginning or end to ultimate truth. This illusory concept of time is used to transform others.

>> His place of enlightenment was in the Kingdom of Magadha, not far from the Niranjan River. At the beginning He sat in spiritual practice here and attained Bodhi under the tree. He was grateful for the kindness of the tree and the virtue of the land, thus He said “When I first sat” and “contemplate this tree.”

>> Where we make offering to Buddhas and Sangha, and where the Dharma is transmitted and accepted is called a place of enlightenment. Also, a place where monastics engage in spiritual practice together and lead the assembly in discussion of the path is also called a place of enlightenment.

>> For three periods of seven days, I thought over matters such as these: After the Buddha attained enlightenment, for three periods of seven days, He contemplated and walked in meditation, thinking about how to teach the wondrous Dharma to transform sentient beings.

“Initial enlightenment is intrinsic and everlasting.
By sustaining our initial aspiration, we see our nature.
By deeply contemplating and carefully practicing according to the Dharma,
we can realize the path to awakening and transform others.”

I want to share with everyone, initial enlightenment is intrinsic and everlasting. So, Buddha-nature is something we have always had. But being lost in cyclic existence in the Six Realms, we have forgotten this. Our intrinsic enlightenment has become covered by our ignorance and afflictions.

The Buddha began His manifestation in this world by being born into the palace and [later] engaging in spiritual practice. After a period of tough spiritual practice, He eventually attained enlightenment. That enlightenment was His “initial enlightenment.” This initial enlightenment is intrinsic to every one of us, but we have lost knowledge of it for a very long period of time. Therefore, to teach this to sentient beings, the Buddha manifested in the world. He was born and raised by parents, and grew up observing people, situations, objects and so on until He finally realized why there is birth and death in the world. And in between birth and death, the people and situations He saw were filled with suffering.

To teach us about these things, the Buddha lived in this world as we do. In this way, He led us on the path of spiritual practice. Because this was. His process of spiritual practice, and because He realized the suffering of life, He sought out the path to enlightenment, and eventually, He became enlightened. This was His “initial enlightenment.” After He became enlightened, He realized that we all intrinsically have an awakened nature. Thus, “Initial enlightenment is intrinsic and everlasting.” This [initial enlightenment] has always existed. And it has always existed not only in the Buddha, but also in every one of us.

All Buddhas were once human beings. If They can become enlightened and attain Buddhahood, as long we aspire to engage in spiritual practice, we can also attain Buddhahood. Therefore, “By sustaining our initial aspiration, we see our nature.” If we can develop our aspirations, we can be like the Buddha and attain sudden enlightenment. We have that same [potential] within us. So I often say, “If we sustain our initial aspiration, we will surely attain Buddhahood.” We will absolutely reach the state of the Buddha.

Therefore, we must “deeply contemplate and carefully practice according to the Dharma.” Since we want to engage in spiritual practice, we need to put our hearts into it and have faith in the teachings of the Buddha. We believe in the Buddha, so we need to think about how, in this world and in our own lives, we can follow in His footsteps with the same firm resolve as Him.

We must contemplate this with deep faith. In our daily living, we must be vigilant, self-disciplined and reverent. Every single day, I appeal to all of you to be self-disciplined and reverent. This is called “deeply contemplating and carefully practicing.” We must follow the Dharma. In our daily living, we need to follow rules and abide by the Dharma. If we can follow the rules, in our daily lives we can “realize the path to awakening” and can also “transform others.” Not only can we awaken ourselves, we can thoroughly understand principles, as well as transform others. We must be mindful about this.

We must realize the Buddha’s care for us. Indeed, He had already attained Buddhahood, but when causes and conditions matured, He manifested the attainment of Buddhahood. He had to spend a period of time to lead us to follow in His footsteps. So, the previous sutra passage explained that because we sentient beings transmigrate endlessly in the Six Realms, we have lost awareness of our pure intrinsic nature. This pure intrinsic nature is covered by ignorance and afflictions. Knowing that life is suffering, we want to engage in spiritual practice. However, a tiny deviation can lead us far off course. Thus we develop and “are deeply immersed in deviant views.” This is what we discussed yesterday.

People want to transcend the suffering in this world. However, planting causes of suffering in order to reap the fruits of blessing is impossible. This is why the Buddha came to guide all beings. He helped us realize that we cannot receive blessings by causing [ourselves] suffering. Out of His great compassion, He used various methods in coming to this world to transform sentient beings.

․Instead they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering. For the sake of these sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion.

In the following passage, the Buddha stated,

“When I first sat in this place of enlightenment. I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation. For three periods of seven days, I thought over matters such as these. The wisdom which I achieved is foremost in its subtlety and wondrousness.”

For this passage, we need to understand that the Buddha said, “when I first sat in this place of enlightenment. I” was the Buddha referring to Himself first sitting in this place of enlightenment. This was the start of His “initial enlightenment,” which began at this place.

“When I first sat” sets a time, yet there is no beginning or end to ultimate truth. This illusory concept of time is used to transform others.

Actually, we should say it is without beginning or end. We cannot say when it began, or when it will end. Nobody can say exactly when it began because it was too long ago.

If we were to analyze the word “kalpa,” which is a very long period of time, it is impossible for us to say when it began. But this passage states, “When I first sat in this place of enlightenment” which implies that the principles are also endless and limitless. Similarly, we all have intrinsic Buddha-nature. When did our Buddha-nature arise? The Buddha tells us we all have it intrinsically. As for when it began, there is no way to give a specific time.

The Buddha repeatedly comes to this world, and no one knows how long this has been happening. Even with the Buddha’s Jataka Sutra, we are still unable to determine how much time He has spent here in past lives. We do not know. Basically, there is no beginning or end to this. However, worldly things have beginnings. At our birth into this world, the moment our mothers felt the first contraction signaled that we were about to be born. This is how we entered this world. The Buddha had already attained enlightenment, thoroughly penetrated the nature of enlightenment. However, in order to help us follow Him, He purposely came back and became like us, and started from the state of unenlightened beings.

Just like us, He was born to His parents and then raised by them. Later, He left to engage in spiritual practice and then came back to share His experiences. This began at that moment of enlightenment. Thus He could say, “When I first sat in this place of enlightenment.” Time has no beginning and no end. The same applies to principles. The true principles of all things in the universe have always existed; we cannot say when they began. However, we do need to use this illusory concept of time to transform others. By describing how causes and conditions [converged] at a certain time, we can transform sentient beings.

Where is this place of enlightenment? “When I first sat in this place of enlightenment.” Where is this place of enlightenment? In the Kingdom of Magadha.

His place of enlightenment was in the Kingdom of Magadha, not far from the Niranjan River. At the beginning He sat in spiritual practice here and attained Bodhi under the tree. He was grateful for the kindness of the tree and the virtue of the land, thus He said “When I first sat” and “contemplate this tree.”

Everybody knows the the Buddha engaged in ascetic practices. Then He realized that. His six years of ascetic practice did not help Him in penetrating the true principles of the universe. He still could not clearly understand them. So, He felt that to engage only in ascetic practice was not right, and He needed to turn to another method of spiritual practice. Therefore, He left Uruvilva, but still remained in the Kingdom of Magadha. Soon after He left Uruvilva, the Buddha bathed in the Niranjan River. Because He had long engaged in ascetic practice, the Buddha was malnourished. Therefore, after He finished bathing and came ashore, He was not able to remain standing. Because He was human, being malnourished made Him light-headed and He fainted there. A shepherdess whose sheep were grazing nearby, saw this practitioner who had collapsed. She approached Him and saw a very thin person. She realized that His hunger and thirst must have made Him physically weak. So, she quickly milked some of the sheep and fed Him their milk.

After the Buddha awoke, He was very grateful. Thus His strength was restored, and He walked toward the Bodhi-tree and sat on a rock beneath the tree. After sitting down He vowed, “If I cannot attain enlightenment at this place. I will never leave here.” Then He began to practice under the tree. The shepherdess came at mealtimes to offer Him milk from the sheep. After seven periods of seven days, He gradually recovered His physical strength and spirits and gradually realized things about the world and the universe. He realized things about His surroundings and people, matters and objects in the world. Eventually, on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, He saw the morning star at night and thus attained enlightenment.

This is the place the Buddha engaged in spiritual practice. He practiced sitting meditation. He silently engaged in contemplation in that place until He attained Bodhi. Afterwards, He was grateful to the tree for providing shelter from the sun and the wind so He could practice in peace at this place for spiritual cultivation. It allowed Him to focus on His practice. Therefore, He was grateful for the grace of the tree and the virtue of the earth, as well as for the offerings of the shepherdess. All of these allowed Him to peacefully engage in spiritual practice.

Thus, in this place of enlightenment, He mindfully focused on contemplating the tree. As He sat, He engaged in silent contemplation. He was not sitting for the entire 21 days. Just like other people, He engaged in sitting and walking meditation to contemplate the tree and its surroundings. This brought peace to His mind, so He was in a tranquil and clear state. At that time, in that state, this was the Buddha’s place of enlightenment. Thus He said, “When I first sat in this place of enlightenment, I contemplated this tree and walked in meditation.”

Where is the true place of enlightenment? Actually, it is not just in Magadha at the Bodhi-tree by the Niranjan River. Actually, right now any place.

Where we make offering to Buddhas and Sangha, and where the Dharma is transmitted and accepted is called a place of enlightenment. Also, a place where monastics engage in spiritual practice together and lead the assembly in discussion of the path is also called a place of enlightenment.

For us as monastic practitioners, the place where we advance the Buddha-Dharma and guide the assembly is called a place of enlightenment. It is our spiritual training ground of compassion. Any place with the Buddha, Sangha and Dharma is a spiritual training ground.

After the Buddha attained Buddhahood, at the place of His enlightenment, “for three periods of seven days, [He] thought over matters such as these.”

For three periods of seven days, I thought over matters such as these: After the Buddha attained enlightenment, for three periods of seven days, He contemplated and walked in meditation, thinking about how to teach the wondrous Dharma to transform sentient beings.

At this place of enlightenment, the Buddha spent three periods of seven days, 21 days, in deep contemplation. What exactly was He thinking about during these three periods of seven days? At that place, He “contemplated this tree and walked in meditation.” He looked at this tree and engaged in deep thinking. For three periods of seven days, He repeated these actions. He was very mindful and calmed His mind. As He sat in mediation, He engaged in deep and silent contemplation. Then He stood up and walked around. He looked at His surroundings. He looked at the tree. There were sounds of birds chirping. There was sun and rain; sunny days and rainy days. And there were also moments where the spring breeze blew gently. Sometimes the wind was strong and the tree rustled loudly, and so on. He experienced all kinds of states in three periods of seven days. In that place, He mindfully contemplated the natural laws of the universe. Then He thoroughly understood the true principles of all things in the universe. All this penetrated His mind and was etched into His heart. The Dharma of all things entered into His deep contemplation.

After thoroughly understanding everything, while He was in this tranquil state, He thought, “After gaining understanding of so many principles and penetrating the subtle and intricate. Dharma underlying all things, how can I transmit this Dharma to others? How do I teach the Dharma in order to transform sentient beings?” This thought occurred after. He attained Buddhahood. Indeed, His state of mind. Indeed, His state of mind truly “encompassed the universe and all the worlds within it.” All the worlds were completely open to Him. This state of mind is truly hard to describe. The Buddha felt that there were so many principles in the universe. How could He help all these sentient beings who were so filled with afflictions to realize their intrinsic enlightened nature? How could He explain this so that they could comprehend it? This is what He contemplated for three periods of seven days.

Indeed, it is very hard to analyze. His state of mind at that time. What causes and conditions allowed the Buddha to fully awaken. His enlightened nature? This is not something that can be described in words because we have not pulled back our [layers of] ignorance; we remain covered by them. So how can we possibly realize that state of tranquility and clarity? That is very difficult.

Therefore, the Buddha established means. How did He come up with these means? He contemplated for three periods of seven days. The principles He came up with were very profound, so we need to seize the moment. To understand His thinking from this period, at this moment, we need to think carefully about why the Buddha put aside the ascetic practices He had engaged in and how, after He bathed, His body could not physically support Him and. He fainted by the river. We may ask how this could happen to the Buddha. The Buddha was a human being, so He needed nutrients. During this period of spiritual practice, the Buddha was grateful to the tree and the land. Of course, He was grateful for the sheep milk that was provided so that. He could recover a bit of strength every day. Only after He was [healthy] could His wisdom be gradually unlocked. This is what things were like for the Buddha before He attained enlightenment. The Buddha was grateful for the tree’s grace and the land’s virtues. What about us? Shouldn’t we also always feel this sense of gratitude? Everyone, we must always be mindful.

Episode 424 – Compassion Transforms the Deluded Multitudes

>> “Deviant and proper can be hard to distinguish; a small deviation will lead us far off-course. Wholesome causes and conditions help us stay on the Right Path. When we take great love to heart, we can transform sentient beings.”

>> They are deeply attached to the five desires, like a yak obsessed with his tail. They smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing. They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the Dharma which ends suffering.

>> Thus, “they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering. For the sake of these sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion.”

>> Deviant views refer to non-Buddhist heretical teachings. When we are in the web of deviant views, our afflictions will destroy right wisdom and we will stray from purifying precepts. In seeking liberation from pain, we instead fall into heretical paths.

>> Instead they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering: Those on the heretical path also seek to be liberated from suffering and distress. They seek ways to transcend suffering and attain joy, but they let go of proper beliefs and slander Right Dharma. Not believing in good and bad karmic retributions or that proper causes and conditions give rise to goodness, they are deeply immersed in deviant views. All of this happens because they deny the karmic law of cause and effect. Hoping to shed suffering through suffering, ultimately they cannot eliminate suffering. Thus their suffering will never end.

>> Some smear themselves with ash, walk around naked, act like cows and dogs, or willingly eat what animals eat. They engage in these ascetic practices, but such earnest actions bring no benefits. They desire to shed suffering, but instead create causes of suffering. How could it be possible to escape suffering this way?

>> For the sake of such sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion: The Buddha sees sentient beings as His children. With loving-kindness and compassion, He safeguards all sentient beings. He exercises wisdom to establish and give provisional teachings, to guide people to Right Dharma and to awaken their compassion.

“Deviant and proper can be hard to distinguish;
a small deviation will lead us far off-course.
Wholesome causes and conditions help us stay on the Right Path.
When we take great love to heart, we can transform sentient beings.”

When we learn the Buddha’s teachings, it is most important to go in the right direction. If we deviate even slightly from our course, we may end up far off-course. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must recognize our direction clearly.

“Deviant and proper” can sometimes be “hard to distinguish.” In learning the Buddha-Dharma, some think that because cultivating ascetic practices is not easy, it is a superior form of spiritual cultivation. Some people believe that since life is full of suffering, if they make haste to engage in spiritual practice and face all their suffering in this lifetime, they can completely escape suffering in the future. They think they will attain the ultimate fruit. Is this line of thinking right or wrong? According to the law of karma, as are the causes and conditions, so are the effects and retributions. We have absolutely no control over this.

In our past lives, we created these causes. In a state of confusion, we created these causes and conditions, that then came to fruition in this lifetime. Indeed, by creating causes of suffering and forming the conditions of suffering, in this lifetime, we will face painful retributions when they converge. Those of us who understand this principle will joyfully and willingly accept and bear the retributions we face this lifetime. We will not complain or be afflicted by them. This is how we accept the law of karma.

Some people who grow up in poor surroundings, complain about everything, resent their parents, resent their family and everyone around them. These feelings of resentment and hatred “are causes of animosity.” The things they do because of their suffering may reproduce unlimited suffering.

Some spiritual practitioners say, “In this lifetime, I need to seek out suffering as part of my spiritual practice.” They do not live normal human lives and consider this their spiritual practice. They are “blind and in darkness, and see nothing. Blind” means their minds are blind. We should engage in spiritual practice by following the laws of nature. Our minds must overcome our desires and our selfishness, so we can eliminate our greedy mindset. This is most important. Then we need to open up our hearts and transform personal love into great love. This is how we truly follow the law of nature. There are [many] natural and man-made disasters, as well as people who live in illness or poverty. When we encounter suffering beings, we should exercise our inherent goodness and give with wholesome love. This is the way to practice Right Dharma.

Thus, we say, “Deviant and proper can be hard to distinguish.” What is the correct way to engage in spiritual practice? We just need to accept the laws of nature. Against the backdrop of the laws of nature, we can, with clarity, see through people’s state of confusion. We must take good care of our minds and resist the temptation of our confused desires. That is the right thing to do. Thus, “deviant and proper”, can sometimes be very hard to distinguish. Still, “a small deviation will lead us far off course,” so we must be mindful.

We [form] wholesome causes and conditions by encouraging and helping each other succeed in staying on the Right Path. Then this will be the most precious time and space for us to engage in spiritual practice because we are all helping each other to form wholesome causes and conditions and encouraging each other to walk the Right Path. In this kind of environment, we can learn that, “When we take great love to heart, we can transform sentient beings.” We seek the Buddha and the Dharma. The Buddha’s perfect enlightenment and right understanding and right views are what we must emulate. By accepting the karmic law of cause and effect, we can overcome our greed and our attachment to pleasure. When our minds can overcome these desires, we will work hard, live frugally and benefit others. This is how we engage in spiritual practice.

Let us look at the following sutra text, “Instead they are immersed in deviant views.” We have said previously, “They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the Dharma which ends suffering.”

This is something we have discussed.

They are deeply attached to the five desires, like a yak obsessed with his tail. They smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing. They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the Dharma which ends suffering.

This is an analogy about how greed, desire and cravings can blind us. We are just like a yak obsessed with his long tail and who uses his entire body to protect that tail. He is always looking at his tail instead of getting a clear look at what is ahead. This is an analogy. This applies to our spiritual practice also. Sentient beings are deluded, but spiritual practitioners may not have the proper views and understanding. Then, “they do not seek the Buddha of mighty power.”

With His compassion and wisdom, the Buddha guides us to enter His understanding and views and to diligently cultivate the. Five Spiritual Roots and the Five Powers. He can guide us to advance forward, but we contrarily are unwilling to seek the Dharma, nor do we want to learn how to eliminate our ignorance. Thus we face karma created out of afflictions. Most ordinary people are like this, so “[they] are immersed in deviant views.” Even if they want to engage in spiritual practice, they may still head in the wrong direction and go astray, so they cling to deviant views of spiritual practice and cannot be awakened.

Thus, “they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering. For the sake of these sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion.”

The Buddha sees that those who are deeply immersed in deviant views may want to eliminate suffering. But instead they sink deeper into it and create more causes of suffering in order to shed painful retributions. This is what some foolish sentient beings do. The Buddha [acted] “for the sake of these sentient beings.” The Buddha gave rise to great compassion. This is what the Great Enlightened One does. Actually, all Bodhisattvas are the same. They are awakened sentient beings, who give rise to great compassion among people.

Deviant views refer to non-Buddhist heretical teachings. When we are in the web of deviant views, our afflictions will destroy right wisdom and we will stray from purifying precepts. In seeking liberation from pain, we instead fall into heretical paths.

Thus, “they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering.” These are people with deviant views, which “refer to non-Buddhist heretical teachings.” The Buddha-Dharma has always been a broad and open path. As long as we follow the laws of nature and avoid clinging to our desires, naturally we can slowly eliminate our ignorance and cultivate proper practices. The spiritual practice that the Buddha taught us is a road that is very smooth and easy to walk. But, some people choose the wrong path, so “they are immersed in deviant views.”

These are not proper Buddhist practices. They are heretical practices, which are deviant. If people enter the deviant path, it is like being caught in a net. This net has been dropped from above. In the past, people used nets to catch birds. If birds are caught in a net, no matter how they struggle, they cannot escape. For fishes in the water, if we cast a net, and fishes swim into the net, they also cannot escape, no matter how they struggle. As for humans, if our perspective deviates even slightly, it is like being caught in a net. If we are filled with ignorance, we will forever be trapped by this net. So, “our afflictions will destroy right wisdom.” Right wisdom is destroyed by afflictions. When virtuous friends show us the way, we say, “So this is the way! I should follow you.” But if we have not broken out of that net, afflictions and ignorance will soon rise again and these spiritual practices based on right wisdom will quickly be destroyed. This is how deviant understanding and views can destroy Right Dharma.

The Buddha often said, “The lion’s parasites eat the lion’s flesh.” The Buddha-Dharma is, in fact, a very complete and solid set of true principles. It is most threatened by Those with perspectives shaped by deviant views are like [the parasites on] a great lion. The king of lions is greatly admired by all and none dare to intrude upon him. But the tiny lice on his body, the parasites in his fur, feast on his flesh. This is saying that the Buddha-Dharma is firm and strong, but inside there are small insects like lice that attack it, like those with deviant understanding and views. So, “afflictions will destroy right wisdom,”

and the spiritual practices based on right wisdom. “We will stray from purifying precepts.” Purifying precepts lay out a course for us to stay on. Our morals are damaged by the kinds of improper views we just mentioned. This is very frightening. Therefore it is said, “A small deviation will lead us far off course.” Whether we are teaching at spiritual practice centers or elsewhere, if the teachings deviate just by a tiny bit, it makes a great difference and “we will stray from purifying precepts.” We seek to be liberated from suffering, but instead we fall into a heretical path. So, we must be grounded in the way we engage in spiritual practice and avoid weird and odd methods. We must have proper understanding and views.

Instead they are immersed in deviant views, hoping to shed suffering through suffering: Those on the heretical path also seek to be liberated from suffering and distress. They seek ways to transcend suffering and attain joy, but they let go of proper beliefs and slander Right Dharma. Not believing in good and bad karmic retributions or that proper causes and conditions give rise to goodness, they are deeply immersed in deviant views. All of this happens because they deny the karmic law of cause and effect. Hoping to shed suffering through suffering, ultimately they cannot eliminate suffering. Thus their suffering will never end.

Thus, “those on the heretical path also seek to be liberated from suffering and distress. They seek ways to transcend suffering and attain joy.” They also seek to be liberated from afflictions. They know having afflictions is not right, so they diligently seek [to eliminate them]. This is why they engage in spiritual practice. As spiritual practitioners, they seek ways to be liberated from suffering and attain joy. When these practices, which are spiritual practice in name only, deviate even slightly, they cause a lot of trouble.

If we create negative causes or causes that lead to suffering, attaining wholesome or joyous fruits from them is completely impossible. This happens when people set aside proper beliefs. Having set aside proper beliefs, they will slander Right Dharma. They do not know if they are on the right path, yet they slander the way that others engage in practice as being wrong. These are all considered deviant views. They do “not believe in good and bad karmic retributions,” nor even that “proper causes and conditions give rise to goodness.” To practice with the “right” causes and conditions is practicing true virtuous Dharma.

But they deny all this. Instead they slander other people’s Right Dharma and virtuous practices. Some may also say, “The Buddha-Dharma is based on the law of karma. Those who are facing suffering and hardship have created these bad causes themselves, so they are facing their painful retributions. How can you help them? Helping them goes against the law of karma.” There are people with this kind of perspective. Others accept this [as truth] and then no longer want to help others. These people slander Right Dharma and the law of karma. They deny all these. Thus they are “immersed in deviant views.” They deny the karmic law of cause and effect with these deviant views. Thus, “hoping to shed suffering through suffering, ultimately they cannot eliminate suffering.” This is certain. “Thus their suffering will never end.” If they create more causes of suffering while they are suffering, how will they ever eliminate painful retributions?

Some smear themselves with ash, walk around naked, act like cows and dogs, or willingly eat what animals eat. They engage in these ascetic practices, but such earnest actions bring no benefits. They desire to shed suffering, but instead create causes of suffering. How could it be possible to escape suffering this way?

There are many kinds of spiritual practice. In the Buddha’s time, people engaged in spiritual practices such as taking cow droppings or dog feces and smearing them over their clean bodies. Or they ate foods normally given to cows and dogs. They thought that by acting like cows and dogs, they would not fall into the animal realm. They claimed that living this way was a form of spiritual practice, but “such earnest actions bring no benefits.” We must diligently cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. If we do not cultivate them and think we can end suffering by enduring suffering, then go live like animals, that is a great pity. These teachings practiced by some in ancient India are not beneficial to our spiritual practice at all. So, though these people want to shed suffering, instead, they create causes of suffering. When they create causes of suffering, they do not create any blessings, nor do they cultivate their wisdom, yet they hope to escape suffering. Is this possible? It is not possible.

Dear Bodhisattvas, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, our thoughts and actions must be proper; Only then can we accept the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha treats all beings as His only son and is equally compassionate to all. In this way He acts to safeguard all beings and exercises wisdom and loving-kindness to establish and give provisional teachings. He did this to help ignorant sentient beings attain the Buddha’s Right Dharma.

Thus, “for the sake of such sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion.” This is His loving-kindness and compassion. He treats all sentient beings as His only son. [Guiding] sentient beings to attain Right Dharma is the Buddha’s one great cause for coming to this world. To guide sentient beings into Right Dharma, He gave rise to great compassion. This is the proper teaching of the Buddha.

For the sake of such sentient beings, I give rise to great compassion: The Buddha sees sentient beings as His children. With loving-kindness and compassion, He safeguards all sentient beings. He exercises wisdom to establish and give provisional teachings, to guide people to Right Dharma and to awaken their compassion.

I hope everyone will stay on the right course as we learn the Buddha’s teachings and not stray from it. We can benefit others by giving. We must not only think about how we can escape our own suffering. Actually, if we are on the right course, our giving helps liberate others from suffering, which helps liberate us from our afflictions. If we can do this, we are practicing Right Dharma. All right everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 423 – Craving Hinders the Elimination of Suffering

>> “Because foolish people crave desires and pleasure, the Five Roots and Five Dusts entangle each other. Being covered by ignorance is like being blind. They do not see or know the way to end suffering.”

>> “Like a yak obsessed with his tail, they smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing. They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the Dharma which ends suffering.”

>> They are deeply attached to the Five Desires: These are the turbidity of afflictions. They are like a yak with a big tail who is particularly attached to it and constantly uses his body to protect it. He is completely enamored with it. This is like how sentient beings cling to the Five Desires without regard for their future and safety. Furthermore, they do not know where they will go after they leave this body, nor do they know the suffering of cyclic existence.

>> They smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing: Sentient beings roam about in the long night. They endlessly cycle through the Six Realms of suffering, all because of greed and cravings. Sentient beings are blind and in darkness. They do not abide by morals or their filial duty. Lacking respect, they willfully disobey their parents, make unwholesome friends and cover themselves so they are blind and in darkness.

>> They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power or the Dharma which ends suffering: Humans cling to the Five Desires. They are completely enamored with them, and thus are deluded and cannot awaken. The Buddha has mighty power and can end sentient beings’ physical and mental suffering and its resulting afflictions. Therefore He is the Great King of Healers. Sentient beings cover themselves with greed and desires. Blind and in darkness, they cannot see. They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the teachings which ends suffering.

“Because foolish people crave desires and pleasure,
the Five Roots and Five Dusts entangle each other.
Being covered by ignorance is like being blind.
They do not see or know the way to end suffering.”

In our daily living, we are never free from our greed, anger and ignorance.

Our cravings come from our desires. Because our desires are endless, there are many things we crave and pursue. When our cravings cannot be fulfilled, the ignorance in our minds is multiplied, and we become more ignorant and more foolish. All karma [created] in life originates in ignorance and foolishness. This is how our greed entangles us with each other.

All this is due to the Five Roots and Five Dusts. The Five Roots are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body. The Five Dusts are form, sound, smell, taste, touch. When the Five Roots come in contact with external phenomena, they become entangled with them. When we look at external conditions with our eyes, cravings and desires arise. When our ears hear a sound and it is something unpleasant, we give rise to anger. What we feel with our bodies, the desires we come in contact with and physical pleasures we enjoy, make it harder for us to be separated from our external conditions. This is how we become attached to desire and pleasure and how our mutual entanglements become ever larger and ever tighter. They become very difficult to dissolve.

Then we are living life with our mind’s eye covered by ignorance. So, if our mind’s eye is blind, we cannot see, understand or end our suffering. We are unable to find the source of suffering, or figure out how to completely eliminate it. People who do not understand principles only care about indulging in pleasure. They will not think of seeking out the truth. How did we come to this world? What are we so busy doing in this world? Why is there so much suffering in this world? Suffering comes from natural disasters, manmade calamities, meeting those we hate, parting from those we love. So much suffering arises from interpersonal interactions. When we are suffering, we are bewildered. We do not think to bring clarity to our minds or understand where suffering comes from.

In the past, during the Buddha’s lifetime, there was a large group of 500 people who could not see with their eyes. Because they could not see, they could not work, so they had to beg for alms. These 500 people were always gathered as a group. Someone said, “I heard,” as his ears could still hear, “that Prince Siddhartha has attained Buddhahood through spiritual practice. He is pointing out a way for others to clearly see their hearts. We all feel that because in this lifetime, we cannot see, because we live a life in which we are unable to see our surroundings, our lives are unbearably painful. Every day, we have to beg to make a living. This is so painful! If the Buddha can provide us with guidance, that would be so wonderful!”

Another person said, “I’ve also heard about this. But the Buddha is now in the Kingdom of Sravasti. It’s very far, how can we find our way there?” One of the others said, “It’s possible. We can pool all our resources and hire someone to lead us there.” So, they hired a sighted guide to lead them. This sighted guide led this group of 500 blind people. Each person held the hand of the next. This long and grand procession followed behind the sighted guide.

After a few days, the sighted guide felt annoyed. “They are all blind people. We have to go such a long way to find the Buddha. How many more days do I have to spend guiding them?” An unwholesome thought arose in his mind, so one day he told them, “I have something to do. I’m thirsty, I’ll find some water to drink.” Then he left and never came back. These blind people had already come halfway, and did not know where they were; they grew afraid.

They began to comfort each other. “Since we have come this far, we have to keep going forward. We still have mouths, we can talk to people.” So, they marched on in their procession without knowing their course. Suddenly, they heard someone yelling angrily, “Where did all you people come from? “How could you not see my crops? You have trampled over them! All of my crops have been ruined by you!”

This group of people became even more frightened. In chorus, they quickly called out to the owner of the field, “We apologize! We really cannot see. We are truly blind. Because we heard that the Buddha is in the Kingdom of Sravasti, we wholeheartedly want to find and meet Him. However, the sighted guide we hired has deserted us midway through our journey, so now we don’t know which way to go.”

The owner of the field was moved. This long procession of blind people had traveled so far to look for the Buddha. So, he resolved to hire someone to lead this group of blind people to the Kingdom of Sravasti. The blind people felt very grateful to have encountered this benefactor. So, they marched on with gratitude.

Another sighted guide came to lead them. This one was very loving. Finally, they arrived in the Kingdom of Sravasti, at the Buddha’s abode. But the people there told them, “You’re too late. The Buddha went to the Kingdom of Vaisali.” The Buddha had already left. Everyone was eager to seek the Dharma and see the Buddha, so they asked the sighted guide to quickly lead them to the Kingdom of Vaisali, where they were from. The journey was very arduous. But when they got to the Kingdom of Vaisali, the Buddha had already returned to the Kingdom of Sravasti.

In this way, they went back and forth seven times. They made three round trips. On the seventh leg of their trip, they arrived again in the Kingdom of Sravasti. The Buddha heard about their sincerity and felt great compassion for them, so He waited for them there. Finally this group of blind people could approach the Buddha. Although they could not see with their eyes, every one of them felt as if the Buddha’s light had entered their hearts. The Buddha seemed to stand in front of them with a radiant and dignified appearance. They were all very moved and prostrated to the Buddha and told Him of their suffering and hardship.

Out of great compassion, He expounded the Dharma for them to help them understand that they were living this kind of life because of the law of karma. He talked about past causes and conditions. These people were very moved upon learning how all things happen according to the law of karma. So, they all asked to take refuge with the Buddha. They asked Him if they could become monastics. The Buddha was compassionate and could not bear to abandon any sentient being. The Buddha said, “Welcome, bhiksus, you may shave your own head.” So, these 500 people became monastics, and peacefully resided there. All of them engaged in spiritual practice. Their understanding was clearer than the sighted. So, they attained the first, second, then third fruit, in this way successively realizing the fruits of spiritual practice.

Look at that first sighted guide. His mindset led him to desert these 500 people and go on his way. His eyes could see, but his mind was blind. When it comes to sight and blindness, one who can see with physical eyes may be blind in their mind’s eye. This is from “deep attachment to the Five Desires.” This [next] sutra passage discusses how ignorant and foolish people are deeply attached to the Five Desires.

“Like a yak obsessed with his tail, they smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing. They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the Dharma which ends suffering.”

Isn’t this sutra passage very similar to what we just talked about? In life, we have to eliminate the Five Desires, since we “are deeply attached to the Five Desires.” Our minds are covered because of the Five Desires.

They are deeply attached to the Five Desires: These are the turbidity of afflictions. They are like a yak with a big tail who is particularly attached to it and constantly uses his body to protect it. He is completely enamored with it. This is like how sentient beings cling to the Five Desires without regard for their future and safety. Furthermore, they do not know where they will go after they leave this body, nor do they know the suffering of cyclic existence.

There is a lot of turbidity in our minds, so we have the turbidity of afflictions. We are like a yak with a big tail. A yak is a kind of ox. This yak is particularly fond of his tail so he always use his body to protect it. When he walks, he rarely looks ahead. His hair is very long to begin with, covering his eyes, but when he is walking, he keeps looking at his tail. Even animals also have their own particular attachments.

Don’t we find this kind of clinging in ourselves? Aren’t we sentient beings just like this? We do not understand principles, so all we do is cling to our daily living, enjoying our cravings and objects of desire. This is like how sentient beings caught up in the Five Desires show no regard for their future safety. Indeed, as we go about our day, if our words, actions or thoughts go astray, this can lead to great danger. Our future in the human realm is determined by the thoughts we give rise to and the physical actions we take. Dangers are lurking all around us.

Thus, we constantly speak of impermanence. We are safe now, but not necessarily in the future. This is something we constantly talk about. So, the Five Desires lead us to cling to the present without regard for our future safety, without knowing where our next life will be. We are simply clinging to the present, to how much wealth or recognition we want, to people we love and things we love, and so on. This is all we know. We do not realize that we are creating karma when we love this person, hurt that person or seek this thing and let go of that thing. None of us realize this at all. We may set aside principles to get what we want right now, but do not think about how this affects the future.

So, [they do not know] “where they will go.” In the future, after we leave this body, where will we go? Where will we be in our life after that? We are always talking about the Six Realms. Will we go up to heaven? Or return as a human? Or will we be in the hell, hungry ghost or animal realms? Where will we go? We are only clinging to the present. We do not think about our future. We are like the yak who loves his tail. We human beings crave the Five Desires without thinking about our future and how we should walk the road of this life. “Nor do [we] know the suffering of cyclic existence.” Cyclic existence leads to unbearable suffering.

“They smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing.”

They smother themselves with greed and cravings; blind and in darkness, they see nothing: Sentient beings roam about in the long night. They endlessly cycle through the Six Realms of suffering, all because of greed and cravings. Sentient beings are blind and in darkness. They do not abide by morals or their filial duty. Lacking respect, they willfully disobey their parents, make unwholesome friends and cover themselves so they are blind and in darkness.

Sentient beings roam about in the long night. We truly live in darkness. Because our mind’s eye is still in the dark, we are living in an endless night. What is the direction that we want to go in? We do not know, so we “roam about in the long night,” in the Six Realms, and cannot escape. This is simply due to “greed and cravings.” Desires [arising from] greed, anger and ignorance cause us to endlessly cycle in the Six Realms.

We sentient beings who are blind and in the dark do not abide by morals or our filial duty. Because we have greed and desires, we are not filial to our parents, we disobey our elders and we do not abide by principles. All evil things done in this world begin from not abiding by morals. So, “lacking respect, they willfully disobey their parents and make unwholesome friends.” With this, they “cover themselves so they are blind and in darkness.” This is the darkness of life.

Now, let us discuss, “They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the Dharma which ends suffering.”

They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power or the Dharma which ends suffering: Humans cling to the Five Desires. They are completely enamored with them, and thus are deluded and cannot awaken. The Buddha has mighty power and can end sentient beings’ physical and mental suffering and its resulting afflictions. Therefore He is the Great King of Healers. Sentient beings cover themselves with greed and desires. Blind and in darkness, they cannot see. They do not seek the Buddha of mighty power, or the teachings which ends suffering.

We humans cling to the Five Desires. We are completely enamored of them. We have nothing but constant greed. So, we cling to objects of craving and desire. Thus we are “deluded and cannot awaken.” We do not know about the Buddha and do not seek Him. From the story I just told, the blind people focused on meeting the Buddha, but the first sighted guide focused on his greed.

“The Buddha has mighty power and can end sentient beings’ physical and mental suffering.” So, He is also known as the Great King of Healers. You see, when the blind people saw the Buddha, their minds became illuminated and principles entered their hearts. Didn’t this open their mind’s eye? However, if the Five Desires cover our minds, then we cannot understand the true principles of the Buddha-Dharma in the world. Then we do not think of seeking ways of ending suffering. Since we do not see the Buddha or hear the Dharma and do not take these principles to heart, how can we find a way to end suffering? So, sentient beings are greedy and desirous. They “cover themselves with greed and desires.” Because they have covered their own minds, “blind and in darkness, they cannot see.” If their minds are blind, they cannot understand principles.

So, for people who are blind and in darkness, their minds are covered and they cannot see the principles. They do not want to seek them because they do not feel like they are suffering. Suffering people may also create more suffering out of arrogance, inferior arrogance. Perhaps they doubt the Buddha’s teachings. In this case, they will never see the Buddha or hear the Dharma. They will always be roaming in the long night. Forever “blind and in darkness, they cannot see.” This is how life works.

Because ordinary people are “foolish people who cling to cravings and desires,” their Five Roots become entangled with the Five Dusts. “Being covered by ignorance is like being blind. They do not see or know the way to end suffering.” These people refuse to improve themselves. Since we are learning the Buddha’s teachings, after listening to the Buddha-Dharma, we must always be mindful.

Episode 422 – Teach the Buddha-Dharma

>> “The Buddha saw that cyclic existence in the Six Realms is suffering. Sentient beings create negative karma and do not cultivate goodness. Lacking wisdom, they seldom create blessings. Helping the poor to realize their riches [leads them] to a safe place.”

>> The Buddha-eyes of the Buddha encompass the physical eyes of ordinary people, the heavenly eyes of heavenly beings, the wisdom-eyes of Hearers and the Dharma-eyes of Bodhisattvas.

>> “That living beings in the Six Realms are impoverished and lacking blessings and wisdom. They enter the treacherous path of cyclic existence, where they suffer unremittingly.”

>> [He saw] the sentient beings in the Six Realms: He clearly saw the Five Turbidities. Poverty comes from lack of blessings. Ignorance comes from lack of wisdom. When ignorant and poor sentient beings are gathered in one place, there is turbidity.

>> The treacherous path of cyclic existence: In the Six Realms all sentient beings are led by delusions and karma to cycle through birth and death. This cycle of birth and death is like a whirling fire and is the treacherous path of cyclic existence. By contemplating the Three Periods, we know one born in the human or heaven realm can die and fall into the evil realms. Isn’t this a treacherous path?

>> [It is] where they suffer unremittingly: The sufferings of sentient beings’ bodies and minds arise from hunger and illness, wind and rain, cold and heat, whippings, hard labor, and other conditions of suffering. Because there are all kinds of suffering, it is said that suffering is unremitting. The endless cycle of birth and death is like a whirling wheel of fire.

Sentient beings create negative karma and do not cultivate goodness.
Lacking wisdom, they seldom create blessings.
Helping the poor to realize their riches [leads them] to a safe place.”

This tells everyone that the Buddha saw how sentient beings in the cyclic existence of the Six Realms truly face unbearable suffering.

Yesterday we said that the Buddha used. Buddha-eyes to see that all sentient beings were “impoverished and lacking blessings and wisdom.” If someone has a flourishing business, with many assets, a high status and great fame, are they living a life of abundance? In the Buddha’s eyes, they still are not. Sentient beings in the Six Realms are still poor and lack many things. All they are doing is creating karma, without cultivating goodness. So, as stated in the Sutra of 42 Chapters, people face the Twenty Difficulties. “It is difficult for the rich to learn the path. It is difficult for the poor to give charitably.”

Rich people do not only find it difficult to learn the path. If it is hard for them just to learn the path, why would they be willing [to practice it by giving] away the things they had made such a great effort to attain instead of fully enjoying those things themselves? If they give too little, they lose face among their wealthy friends. However, they are unwilling to give too much. Do people like this lead an abundant life? Materially, they do, but spiritually they are still lacking. So, people like this do not cultivate goodness. On the other hand, if someone really wants to give but they themselves are poor, what are they to do? So, “It is difficult for the poor to give charitably.”

This is what the Buddha said in the Sutra of 42 Chapters. So, sentient beings in this world “create karma and do not cultivate goodness.” That is because “lacking wisdom, they seldom create blessings.” Wealthy people may not understand the idea of giving or the law of karma. They may lack the wisdom to understand this. Because they do not understand these principles, they will not create blessings or cherish all sentient beings on earth. The wealthy create even stronger karma.

There was a woman who had a realization; she wanted to engage in spiritual practice and join Tzu Chi as a volunteer. But it was too late because she soon became ill. When she first fell ill, she spoke at length about her younger days. She had been very capable and made a lot of money early in her life. But she did this only for the sake of enjoying life’s pleasures, especially indulging in her cravings for tastes. She told of how, just to satisfy a craving, she consumed an incalculable number of lives, swallowing them and then digesting them in her stomach. As a result, she developed this kind of illness. No matter what kind of torment sentient beings have suffered, she has also experienced it. So, “lacking wisdom, they seldom create blessings.” This probably describes many people.

So, the Buddha comes to the world to “help the poor to realize their riches” so they can reach “a safe place.” He hopes to give all sentient beings, even poor people, a chance to encounter the Buddha-Dharma, put it into practice and give to others.

For the past few years, Tzu Chi’s seeds have been sown in impoverished countries around the world. Bodhisattvas are sowing seeds everywhere. In South Africa, there are many poor people. We have a team of Bodhisattva[-volunteers] there, guiding and teaching them. Over these past few decades, we have seen the volunteers become Bodhisattvas, one after another. These [new] Bodhisattvas further sowed seeds. Some people have expressly gone to South Africa to learn from them, such as Mr. Chu from Zimbabwe. In these past few years, he has been watching Da Ai TV so he has found Tzu Chi and listened to my talks. Since then, whenever he faced adversities, he solidified his spiritual aspirations and began to practice charitable giving.

He began by [addressing] the children’s lack of school supplies by giving them stationery. Then he discovered that the children were all malnourished and that there were patches caused by ringworms on their heads. He could not bear this and began to care for them by helping to shave their heads and apply medicine. Several thousand children benefited from his care. When the parents began to notice that this man from Taiwan was so loving, they were moved, and came to help.

Later on, he made a special trip to South Africa to learn from the volunteers there. He traveled over 1000km to meet with Michael Pan. When Mr. Pan saw his great sincerity, he made a special trip to Zimbabwe to see the ways that Mr. Chu had helped people there and to give him advice and support. He said he wanted to emulate the reverence of Chi Hui, [a volunteer in Jordan,] and transform people locally. He also wanted to gain Michael Pan’s resolve. He hoped to combine the strengths of these two people in himself. So, he has been leading the efforts in Zimbabwe by himself. At the Buddha Bathing Ceremony there [in 2013], there were over 4500 people in attendance. Looking at all the pictures he sent back, each one was very moving,

especially as the things they used in Zimbabwe were all very crude and simple. [In 2012], we built temporary classrooms there. Without them, children would be attending classes sitting on the dirt, under the blazing sun. Their green blackboards had turned so pale that the chalk marks could not be seen at all. Many dozens, close to 100 children, in each class sat in these conditions. A tiny blackboard was hung up high. Did they have tables? No. Did they have chairs? No. The ground was their table and chair. Or else they used rocks. They were so poor and in spite of facing great adversity, they were eager to learn. They were so earnest that our hearts went out to them.

So, on their behalf we asked children in Taiwan to donate stationery, pencils and paper. We also prepared chalkboard paper for them. This allowed them to have a simple classroom with a blackboard that they could see clearly and plenty of paper and pencils.

Their parents were very grateful for this abundance of supplies and the thoughtfulness behind the gift. So, the number of volunteers there slowly grew. Look at how many of them came back [in 2012]. When they watched our performance of “From Vow to Action,” I told Mr. Chu, in particular, “Go back, and see if your volunteers can [put together a performance].” Upon hearing this, he paused for a while, then very readily he said, “I will.”

So, in this most impoverished place with just one single [certified] volunteer, they have manifested a [Dharma-]ship and performed “From Vow to Action.” Right away, we saw them form a ship. They said that they have never seen the ocean, so they [do not know] what this ship looks like in the waves. They had to imagine what would happen to the ship when the wave comes. They truly are very lovable.

But what moved me was that their steps were in such unison. What moved me even more was their recitation of. “With minds tranquil and clear, vows as vast as the universe, they remain unwavering.” They sang so very clearly and in such unison you could not tell that they [were not Chinese], that they were African.

They spoke the words along with the melody, and in unison, engaged in walking meditation. They also held the simplest Buddha Bathing Ceremony. They used the reusable bowls we sent them as the basin for bathing the Buddha’s feet by filling them with water; they filled the bowls with water. After bowing to the Buddha’s feet, they dabbed their fingers with that water. They used wild grasses and flowers [in the ceremony]. They picked them and arranged them. Their sense of reverence expressed great dignity. Afterwards, they began dedicating merits. They did not ask the attendees to kneel, but when the music for dedicating merits signaled the beginning of their prayers, everyone spontaneously knelt down. The sight of over 4500 people with their palms reverently pressed together filled me with great joy.

Everyone, this is the way of “helping the poor to realize their riches [to lead them] to a safe place.” That place had poor public order and was very poor. There were many kinds of suffering there. All it needed [to begin to change] was one seed. “One can give rise to infinity.” So, I cannot help but feel grateful for the Living Bodhisattvas in the world who help to relieve the suffering of sentient beings. This is what the Buddha taught us. With Buddha-eyes, the Buddha contemplated sentient beings’ suffering in the Six Realms. Sentient beings are poor and lack blessings and wisdom, so we gradually inspire people to be volunteers. “Having no money is not a problem, be reverent. Being poor doesn’t matter. With your efforts, we can help even more people.” Those who do not have money give their strength, but they also put into practice the spirit of the bamboo banks. This really is “helping the poor to realize their riches [to lead them] to a safer place.” There are many such moving [stories].

Yesterday we discussed how the Buddha said, “Sariputra, you should know. I use Buddha-eyes.” Yesterday we talked about how the Buddha is endowed with five kinds of eyes.

The Buddha-eyes of the Buddha encompass the physical eyes of ordinary people, the heavenly eyes of heavenly beings, the wisdom-eyes of Hearers and the Dharma-eyes of Bodhisattvas.

These are all [aspects] of Buddha-eyes. He came to teach Bodhisattvas and guide Hearers and heavenly beings. This all begins with His Buddha-eyes. He used skillful means to teach the Dharma [so the teachings] would abide in people’s minds. So, with His Buddha-eyes He observed.

“That living beings in the Six Realms are impoverished and lacking blessings and wisdom. They enter the treacherous path of cyclic existence, where they suffer unremittingly.”

Sentient beings in the Six Realms are impoverished and lacking blessings and wisdom. They indicate the presence of the Five Turbidities. We always talk about the evil world of the Five Turbidities. Sentient beings create much karma that leads to “turbidity of sentient beings.”

[He saw] the sentient beings in the Six Realms: He clearly saw the Five Turbidities. Poverty comes from lack of blessings. Ignorance comes from lack of wisdom. When ignorant and poor sentient beings are gathered in one place, there is turbidity.

Poverty results from lack of blessings, from lack of love and lack of material resources. Poor people lack the resources to benefit others. Many rich people lack the love to give to others. These are all forms of poverty. “Poverty comes from lack of blessings,” from not benefiting others. “Ignorance comes from lack of wisdom.” Everything began with an ignorant thought, which leads to greed and desires. Anger comes from constantly fighting over things. When we cannot get what we want, our afflictions will be bottomless. All this is due to ignorance. Because they are ignorant, they lack wisdom. Thus they “lack blessings and wisdom.” Because they are missing love in their hearts, they lack blessings and wisdom.

When ignorant and impoverished sentient beings come together, this results in turbidity. The more we fight over things, the more we disregard the suffering of sentient beings. In this way, our ignorance multiplies continuously and produces more turbidity. So, we “enter the treacherous path of cyclic existence.”

The treacherous path of cyclic existence: In the Six Realms all sentient beings are led by delusions and karma to cycle through birth and death. This cycle of birth and death is like a whirling fire and is the treacherous path of cyclic existence. By contemplating the Three Periods, we know one born in the human or heaven realm can die and fall into the evil realms. Isn’t this a treacherous path?

We “enter the treacherous path of cyclic existence.” In the Six Realms, heavenly beings and all sentient beings are led by ignorance and karma. Heavenly beings are born in the heaven realm, die, and sometimes fall into the evil realms. Extremely good people are born in heaven. Because their good [karma] was strong, they reap their blessings first, but there are still negative causes and conditions within them. Once their blessings are depleted, they face negative retributions. They may instantly fall into one of the evil realms.

There is much ignorance in all of us. Normally people cannot see whether their minds are full of unwholesome thoughts and afflictions. This is their delusion. The karma of delusion leads to birth and death, death and birth. In this way, we go through birth, death and rebirth. We go through birth, aging, illness and death. After we die, “we cannot take anything with us except karma,” which follows us into our next life. Where will we be reborn? That is unknown. Creating blessings leads to rebirth in the heaven and human realms and doing evil leads to rebirth in the Three Evil Realms. In this way, we go through birth and death and rebirth. The cycle of birth and death is like a turning wheel. We are turning within a wheel of fire; thus it is a treacherous path.

With His Buddha-eyes, the Buddha can contemplate the Three Periods. Whatever we did in our past lives will lead to certain retributions in this life. Blessed people are reborn in the heaven and human realms. But, when those [blessings] are depleted, they still fall into the evil realms. Think about it, isn’t this a treacherous path? Whether we cultivate blessings or fall into evil realms, we continuously undergo cyclic existence. Thus we “suffer unremittingly.”

[It is] where they suffer unremittingly: The sufferings of sentient beings’ bodies and minds arise from hunger and illness, wind and rain, cold and heat, whippings, hard labor, and other conditions of suffering. Because there are all kinds of suffering, it is said that suffering is unremitting. The endless cycle of birth and death is like a whirling wheel of fire.

The sufferings of sentient beings’ bodies and minds arise from hunger and illness. We should know this; we can see it. Some people are truly impoverished. They do not have enough food to eat, nor warm clothes to wear. They live in places that are rundown and subject to cold winds and so on. These sentient beings face hunger, illness, wind and rain, cold and heat. Some sentient beings are even born as livestock. Not only do they work hard, they are even whipped. This is all suffering. These conditions create various kinds of suffering. Not only do they suffer, they continue to create suffering, so their suffering is unremitting. Thus, “the endless cycle of birth and death is like a whirling wheel of fire.” Truly, this is unbearable suffering.

This is because we create too much negative karma and not enough blessings. If we do not create blessings or virtues, we will end up in the cycle of birth and death and transmigrate unceasingly. We can actually create benefits in this world. As long as we accept the Buddha-Dharma and understand the karmic law of cause and effect, we can help the poor and teach the rich. Thus we can bring physical and mental peace, unlock their wisdom and bring benefit to all. This is done with the Buddha-Dharma. As long as we can take it in, we can naturally act on it. This is how we take the Dharma to heart and manifest it in our actions. Therefore, we must always be mindful.