Category: TLS Chapter 0

Episode 3 – Wholeheartedly Seek and Pass on the Dharma

>> Prostrating to the sutra is like making a pilgrimage to Vulture Peak. Reverently obtain the sutras, diligently seek the Dharma. Each word of Dharma-essence nourishes wisdom-life. Every prostration is like taking a step forward. Visualize that you are approaching the Dharma-assembly.

The eighth day of the second lunar month is the day Sakyamuni Buddha left home and became a monastic. We are very grateful for this day. We are thankful that Prince Siddhartha gave rise to that thought of not wanting to let sentient beings suffer. The suffering of sentient beings is found in their minds and in the reality of their lives. At that time people lived in four distinct castes. They suffered from these unfair circumstances. [The Buddha] saw the profound mystery of life, that all humans go through the cycle of birth, aging, illness and death. So, why are humans born into such inequality? Then He saw and understood that sufferings are deeply-embedded. Whether one is wealthy or poor, even if one is as wealthy and noble as a king, one will still experience birth, aging, illness and death. The Buddha had been a prince Himself and His father was a king. As He grew from childhood to adulthood, He also saw His fathers gradual aging. He saw how people outside of the palace, who lived in poverty and suffering, looked old and decrepit. They were poor, sick, and old. In the end, don’t they eventually die? This is the path for the poor. But isn’t the path the same for the rich too? True, His father was wealthy and noble but he still would get old and sick, and would die one day, too. Since everyone goes through the same cycle of aging, illness and death, why were there caste distinctions? These are spiritual afflictions; everyone has them. The Buddha hoped to break through the profound mystery of these afflictions and discover the principles behind them. Therefore, He left the palace and became a monastic. He searched for a belief system that would bring true liberation from the cycle of life and death, bring true equality to people’s lives and be the most profound. How can one even begin to understand the causes of birth, aging, illness, and death? Because of this question, the Buddha left the palace on that day and never returned to secular life. He was able to transcend the secular world because His will was extremely firm. And because of this, we can all sit here today, learn together and help each other succeed. Every time a sutra is spoken, the Six Fulfillments are required. The Six Fulfillments refers to the fulfillment of time and place, and of those who speak and listen etc. There are six in total. Here today, we have the fulfillment of time. This time every day is the most appropriate time [to speak], because right now no one is looking for me nor interrupting me. So the time I have right now is the perfect time. This is also our time together. This is the time for us to fulfill our duty and be diligent, hardworking and reverent. So, this moment is the fulfillment of time. Your timing is perfect. My timing is perfect. Along with this perfect timing, our location is also perfect. This is called the fulfillment of place. I am at the Abode in Hualien. Because we have this location, the Abode, we are able to have this period of time for me to speak to you today. So there is this place, and you, and me, and this time. There needs to be a speaker and listeners etc. to complete this fulfillment. And this fulfillment is possible because, over 2000 years ago, the Buddha left the palace in the middle of the night, before dawn. So the Buddha-Dharma can now spread throughout the world. As ordinary beings who came to this world, we should really cherish the opportunity we have to come in contact with the Buddhas teachings. Now that we are in this training ground for spiritual practice, we must sincerely and reverently visualize that all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas from the trichiliocosm have gathered here. What is our training ground like? We can visualize it as Vulture Peak. Isn’t there a verse saying, there is no need to go far to seek the Buddha on Vulture Peak. Vulture Peak is already in our own minds. In each person there is a stupa on Vulture Peak. We can practice at the foot of that stupa. Isn’t that just so? There is a stupa on the Vulture Peak within each of our minds. How far away is Vulture Peak? It exists in this very time and place. So, we must practice with the utmost reverence. As we prostrate, we visualize Buddhas and Bodhisattvas descending to the assembly on Vulture Peak. Of course, we also need to practice diligently and with utmost reverence. As we prostrate to the text of the Lotus Sutra Preface, every word is a treasure, so we prostrate to every word. I remember when I was young, living in the small wooden cabin, I prostrated to the entire Lotus Sutra, word by word. Because the sutra is a path, and this path is a road to walk on, we must pay respect and prostrate to the sutra with utmost reverence. It is as if with each word we recite and each word we prostrate to we are taking one step forward. We must be diligent every step of the way. Every character is imbued with meaning, and each one has the ability to enter our hearts. Every prostration we do is like taking another step forward, as if we are walking to the assembly on Vulture Peak. As we prostrate to the sutra, with every prostration we take one step closer toward the assembly at Vulture Peak. We need to visualize it in that way.

Prostrating to the sutra is like making a pilgrimage to Vulture Peak. Reverently obtain the sutras, diligently seek the Dharma. Each word of Dharma-essence nourishes wisdom-life. Every prostration is like taking a step forward. Visualize that you are approaching the Dharma-assembly.

This is like making a pilgrimage to obtain sutras. Consider Dharma Master Xuan Zangs pilgrimage to the West. India is west of China, so it is called the West, or the western heavens. The Buddha was born to the west of China. That place was very far away; going there was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. It was extremely difficult. Back then, he relied on his own two legs and a horse. Traveling like this was very arduous. Only with utmost reverence and resolve could he bring the Buddhas teachings from India back to China. This is the reverence and diligence required to obtain the sutras and seek the Dharma. See, had it not been for Dharma Master Xuan Zangs reverence and diligence in seeking the Dharma, today we would not have so many Sutras to discuss and to study. Actually, the Lotus Sutra was translated by Venerable Master Kumarajiva. Master Kumarajiva came to China from Kucha to pass on and translate the sutras. This is also something we need to be grateful for. This was possible because of their reverence. Whether they brought the sutras to China or traveled from China to acquire the sutras, they were always reverent. Seeking the Dharma and spreading the Dharma require a diligent mindset. Every day that we prostrate to the sutra, we are moving forward step by step. Our minds continue to get closer to being at the Vulture Peak Assembly. We want to participate in the Buddhas Dharma-assembly. We want to acquire the sutras. Therefore, we must be reverent. Sutras are tapestries of words woven into Dharma. Words are woven together and sentences combined to make up the Dharma. That is why we need to cherish every single word. Every word is a treasure. Every word is the Dharma. Thus, every word is the essence of the Dharma that can nurture our wisdom-life. So we should cherish and treasure every single word because each is the essence, the marrow of the Dharma that will nurture our wisdom-life. If we do not take every word and every sentence to heart, how can our wisdom-life grow? Therefore, if our wisdom-life is to grow, we need to treat every word as the marrow of the Dharma. For our physical body, the function of bone marrow is to make blood. Similarly, our wisdom-life helps us give rise to the infinite wisdom of the Dharma. As I just mentioned, the Buddha wanted to investigate the mysteries of life and the key to Truth. But if we do not have sufficient wisdom it is difficult for us to comprehend His teachings. During His life, the Buddha spent 42 years trying to help people understand the true essence of the Dharma. So, He used various analogies and discussed many limited teachings to suit the needs of those of limited capabilities. That way, people with limited capabilities would be willing to accept His teachings. Bringing people closer so that they could accept the teachings was just the first step. But it took 42 years just to initiate these preliminary steps. Did the Buddha come in contact with everyone in India? Not yet. We must know that although 42 years seems long, it is still relatively a short time 42 years does not even amount to one day in the Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings. So it is considered short. Even though the Buddha was born on Earth, into the Saha World, He was only one person, born in India. Do you know how big India is? It is huge. It is a big piece of land, very big. But how much land can one person cover? Can one person even cover just the places along the two banks of the Ganges River? No. At that time, India consisted of many nations. Each city was a state, was its own kingdom, so there were many places to cover. Once, the Buddha arrived at a certain country. In that country’s capital, there were 90,000 people in total. Out of those 90,000 people, only one-third had the opportunity to see the Buddha in person and hear His teachings. The other one-third had heard the Buddhas name but did not see Him in person. The remaining third did not even have the chance to hear His name. It was a small city, with only a population of 90,000. Based on this, how many people could have been be reached by the Buddha-Dharma in those 40-plus years? The number was limited. So in a sense we should count ourselves as blessed to receive the Dharma-essence. It is already over 2000 years since the Buddhas time 2000-plus years seem long in our world. But let me tell you, it is still quite short, not even equivalent to a month in Trayastrimsa Heaven. One day there is 100 years for us 1000 years here is merely 10 days there. It has been merely 2000-plus years since the Buddha came to this world. Is this time long or short? This period is very short in the heavens, especially because there are many heavens above the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings and Trayastrimsa Heaven. In other words, our lives in the world are short and fleeting. Nevertheless, only in this world can we hear the Buddhas teachings, so this life is essential and important. So even though this life is temporary, we can encounter the Buddha-Dharma, we can receive His teachings. So we must take very good care of our wisdom-life. For our wisdom-life to grow, we must grow in wisdom. Once we have wisdom, we can truly be nourished by the teachings. Only when we are nourished by the Buddha-Dharma can our wisdom-life grow. Therefore, we must treat every single word as the marrow of our Dharma. Each word is very essential. Each word nourishes our wisdom-life. Therefore, we need to cherish the Dharma. Each word is a treasure and is the Dharma, thus we prostrate and pay respect to every word. With every prostration we are getting closer to the Dharma-assembly at Vulture Peak. We must have this mindset. So, as we come across such auspicious opportunities today, we really should cherish them. As we make prostrations to the sutra, every prostration takes us one step closer. Every word is a drop of Dharma-essence. With utmost reverence we need to work to understand its content and realize the magnificence of the Vulture Peak Assembly. We each have a stupa within. There is no need to seek Buddha-Dharma far away. Indeed, our minds are training grounds, so it is best to practice at this inner stupa. So, we should be respectful and grateful at all times. We especially should be reverent and seek the Dharma diligently. When we treat every word as a jewel, we can advance step by step. Every drop of Dharma-essence will then nurture our wisdom-life. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 2 – Lotus Sutra Preface (2)

>> A sincere thought can pervade the trichiliocosm and reach all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May all Dharma-protectors forever safeguard us. May we reverently invite them, with their compassion, to guard this. Tzu Chi training ground, where the teachings of the Jing-Si Dharma-lineage are practiced.

>> Today we vow to take refuge. May we transcend the sea of life and death.

>> We wholeheartedly prostrate to our fundamental teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha. We wholeheartedly prostrate to. Many Treasures Buddha of the past. We wholeheartedly prostrate to the emanations of. Sakyamuni Buddha in all ten directions. We wholeheartedly prostrate to all Buddhas of the Lotus Sutra and of the ten directions and Three Periods.

>> We wholeheartedly prostrate to the Buddhas and. Bodhisattvas at the Lotus Dharma-assembly for the Lotus Sutra and to the wondrous treasure of yi (one, whole).

Every day, with utmost sincerity we enter this place of spiritual practice. From across the entire universe, we invite the assembly of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to gather. This sincere thought can pervade the trichiliocosm and reach all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas so they will hear the voice of our heart. You may remember a story I have told before. There was an honest county magistrate who was uncorrupted and upright, who treated all the people in the county like his own children. He truly cared for them like a parent, so he was loved and respected by all. When he grew old, he retired and returned to the countryside. But as he had been honest all his life, his family had no savings, and were very poor. He also brought his daughter back to the village with him. A few years later, this aging magistrate got sick. What could they do once he got sick? They had no money to see a doctor and they lived in a very rural area; what could they do? His daughter thought of praying to the Buddha, but she had to look after her father and could not go to the temple to pay respect. What could she do? A Dharma master told her, If you are sincere, no matter how far away you are, your reverent thoughts can be heard by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. So every day at home, set up an incense table by the door that faces the temple. Pay your respects there every day, and pray sincerely. That will do. Because she was mindful, after she heard the Dharma masters words, on her way home, she counted her footsteps and kept track of the time. So she knew that going from her home to the temple took this many steps, this much time. Every morning by the incense table, she sincerely [paid respect] in this way: The number of steps to the temple was the number of times she prostrated. Each prostration equaled one step. Moreover, after prostrating, she even circumambulated the Buddha. She was very devout. Perhaps her devotion was felt; her father got better day by day. After he recovered, this young lady kept up this ritual every day, in the hopes that her father would be happy and healthy. In that same year, a young scholar placed first in the National Exams and then returned home to pay respect to his ancestors. The scholars mother felt that her son had been blessed by the Buddha. Since he had fared so well, when he returned home, she felt he should first pay respect at the temple. So, the scholars mother sent someone to the temple with this message, My son, the scholar, will light the first censer of incense. So that morning, nobody else went to light the incense. The scholar arrived very early. But when he showed up, there was already incense in the censer; three sticks of incense were burning. He thought, My mother clearly said that I will light the first censer of incense. How could this happen? Thats ok, I will come earlier tomorrow. He arrived earlier the next day, but again three sticks of incense were already lit. The scholar was very unhappy. The abbot said, That is odd. We did not! Truly, none of us lit that first censer of incense. Why are there 3 sticks of incense every day? The scholar thought it was strange. Since monastics do not lie, it was impossible [that they had done it]. Thus he said, Ok, I will stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will see who lights the incense. So that night he stayed in the temple. In the morning, before dawn, he was watchful. Indeed, there was clearly a girl. He clearly saw the figure of a girl. The temple door was not yet open, but she was already inside. She prostrated sincerely and then circumambulated the Buddha. He told this to the abbot. Then it occurred to the abbot, The girl you mentioned actually exists. She is the daughter of a former county magistrate. When he retired, he returned here. Not long ago, the county magistrate fell sick. His daughter was very devoted and watched over him, day and night. She sincerely wanted to pray here, but could not come. Once I told her to set up an incense table by her door and prostrate towards the temple. Perhaps her piety is the reason that at this time every day, as she is praying, the power of her sincerity brings her presence here. The scholar heard this story and thought it was inconceivable such a thing could happen. So he went to visit the former county magistrate. When he saw the daughter serve tea, he was startled. Undoubtedly, she was the girl who lit incense and prayed early in the temple. The scholar was very moved, and greatly admired the girls beauty. So, he went home and told his mother, Quickly, send someone to propose marriage. Thus, this wonderful union came to be. The county magistrate had a scholar as his son-in-law and this became a story that people in the village loved to tell. They all enjoyed recounting this tale. So, from this we know that if we reverently pay respect to the Buddha, if we are sincere, miraculous things will happen. This is a form of devotion. If we are devout, the thoughts arising from our sincerity can be heard by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and pervade the trichiliocosm. Depending on the strength of our piety, even heavenly Dharma-protectors will surely come and always watch over us. So in our spiritual training ground, every day we practice with great sincerity. For the Dharma-protectors who guard this place, we feel a sense of gratitude and respect. Let us give rise to a sense of veneration and reverently invite them to guard us.

A sincere thought can pervade the trichiliocosm and reach all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. May all Dharma-protectors forever safeguard us. May we reverently invite them, with their compassion, to guard this. Tzu Chi training ground, where the teachings of the Jing-Si Dharma-lineage are practiced.

This is the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. In Tzu Chi, the method we use for group practice is to prostrate to and chant the Lotus Sutra. In Jing Si Halls across Taiwan, and in all our offices, when we practice together, arent we bowing to and chanting the Lotus Sutra? So, we revere and treasure every word in the Lotus Sutra Preface. Thus, we prostrate and chant sincerely. This is a characteristic practice of Tzu Chi. This spiritual training ground is also called the Jing Si Dharma-lineage, the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism. Usually when we are engaged in group practice, we bow to and chant the Preface of the Lotus Sutra. I hope that when we practice together, when we bow to and chant the Lotus Sutra, we do so with a mindset of utmost sincerity. As I mentioned yesterday, in addition to our sincere contemplation of all Buddhas, Bodhisattvas across the universe, our offerings of incense and flowers likewise pervade all Dharma-realms. That is an expression of our piety, and it dignifies our place of practice. In every moment, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas grace us with their presence and surround this place, so we must be very sincere in the way we prostrate. We hope to thoroughly understand this Great Vehicle Sutra and the principles of the doors of the intrinsic and the manifest, and to thoroughly comprehend the Dharma, the analogies etc. Whether one aspires to practice the Great Vehicle or only to follow the Small Vehicle, everyone can understand this Great Vehicle Dharma, and turn from the Small to the Great Vehicle. I hope we can all awaken and realize the Buddha-Dharma from deep within our hearts. Thus, the Preface states that we need to take refuge. We need to sincerely take refuge and dedicate our body and life to spiritual practice because we hope we will be able to transcend the sea of life and death.

Today we vow to take refuge. May we transcend the sea of life and death.

In life, life and death is a state of mind. Does everyone die only once in a lifetime? No, our thoughts are constantly arising and ceasing. So let us turn thoughts that arise and cease into something ever-lasting and, with vows as vast as the universe, we remain unwavering. Thus we can transcend the sea of life and death. So, we are not simply speaking of a lifespan of several decades, or of a century. Definitely not. We are now speaking of the arising and ceasing of every thought. I often tell everybody about the four states of the mind, arising, abiding, changing and ceasing. These all take place in our minds. Good thoughts arise and cease. A good thought arises, but then quickly ceases. So, when we make a vow, we cannot persevere to the end because we cannot maintain our will and tend to quickly change our minds. This is a form of laziness and this is how evil thoughts arise. Evil thoughts also arise and cease. We should remember to first turn our present thoughts into everlasting ones. We can transcend arising and ceasing thoughts. This is what we must thoroughly understand and then practice with perseverance. So, let us sincerely prostrate.

We wholeheartedly prostrate to our fundamental teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha. We wholeheartedly prostrate to. Many Treasures Buddha of the past. We wholeheartedly prostrate to the emanations of. Sakyamuni Buddha in all ten directions. We wholeheartedly prostrate to all Buddhas of the Lotus Sutra and of the ten directions and Three Periods.

”Prostrate to our fundamental teacher,” Sakyamuni Buddha is the founder of our religion, the Great Enlightened One of the universe. So, we must prostrate very sincerely and prostrate to Many Treasures Buddha of the past. This Buddha came to this world as a witness, to testify at the Lotus Dharma-Assembly so that we would more strongly believe that Buddhas of the past, present and future share the same path. Many Treasures Buddha of the past verified the Dharma expounded by the present Buddha. So, we must be grateful and prostrate to all Buddhas in the Lotus Sutra and of the ten directions and Three Periods. We need to be aware that there are many Buddhas in the Lotus Sutra. In the process of chanting the Lotus Sutra, we need to keep in mind that many, countless worlds exist. How many are there above and below? They cover the universe of the ten directions and Three Periods of Time. There are Buddhas all across the universe. At the Lotus Dharma-Assembly, there are many Buddhas from all the ten directions.

We wholeheartedly prostrate to the Buddhas and. Bodhisattvas at the Lotus Dharma-assembly for the Lotus Sutra and to the wondrous treasure of yi (one, whole).

Aside from all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the Dharma-realms of the universe, there are some who were listening to the Buddha teach the Dharma at the Lotus Dharma-Assembly. When we pay respect, we must prostrate and visualize this image, that we are surrounded by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. We must have this devout mindset when we prostrate. In the past, alone in my small wooden cabin, I prostrated until I was filled with Dharma-joy. One time, as I prostrated, I suddenly felt my surroundings filled with a luminous light, very gentle, like the moon at the Mid-Autumn Festival, so perfectly round and radiant. It was a very gentle and tender light. With great reverence, I felt that that state was filled with a beautiful, perfect and soft light. At the Lotus Dharma-Assembly, this kind of state emerged constantly. Though I was not doing it for a long time, I prostrated and chanted with great sincerity, so that state manifested. You know, such Dharma-joy is indescribable. Every time I prostrate, when my head touches the ground, I think of that state. Everyone, this sincere state of mind is absolutely not illusory or unreal, not a visual or auditory hallucination. Absolutely not. We must all train our minds so that when we face any person, matter or condition, we will use a selfless and pure mind to deal with everything. As we chant the Buddhas name and prostrate with a pure and selfless mindset, that is called sincerity. So everyone, if every morning we treat this training ground as the assembly at Vulture Peak, at that moment we will have instantly pervaded the trichiliocosm. Presently, we are also at Vulture Peak during the time when the Buddha taught. So, as long as we are very sincere, a distance of over 2000 years means nothing. With a heart of sincerity, we have already returned to the Buddhas. Lotus Dharma-Assembly at Vulture Peak. Sincerity in prayer is very crucial, especially when prostrating to and chanting the Lotus Sutra. Every word in it is precious, so we must chant every word sincerely. Everyone, please always be mindful.