Category: TLS Chapter 1

Episode 144 – One Who Is Diligent Quickly Attains Buddhahood

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>> [He] rose up from his seat and approached the Buddha with all 80,000 Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas in the assembly. They bowed, with their heads at His feet, and circumambulated the Buddha hundreds and thousands of times. They scattered heavenly flowers, burned heavenly incense and presented the Buddha with heavenly robes, heavenly garlands and heavenly treasures of priceless value, which came twirling down from the sky.

>> “Offerings come from the six desire heavens. Flowers fall randomly and ubiquitously.”

>> “The last to become a Buddha was named Burning Lamp. Among the 800 disciples was one named Seeker of Fame, who was greedily attached to offerings of wealth. Although he read and recited many sutras, he did not comprehend them.”

>> “One who is diligent quickly attains Buddhahood, one who is lazy eventually becomes a Buddha, but is delayed by many kalpas.”

>> “The 800 disciples.” The lazy ones who will become future Buddhas were among the 800 disciples mentioned earlier. Here it clearly states that Maitreya was one of the 800.

>> The Seeker of Fame is one driven by the seeking of fame and wealth; thus He is distracted and loses his resolve.

>> One who seeks fame and craves offerings of wealth cannot comprehend the meanings in sutras. Then one may be called Seeker of Fame.

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Every day, as time keeps passing, we must constantly protect our minds. Our thoughts must constantly protect our inner spiritual training ground. We must not allow our minds to wander; instead, we must be single-mindedly focused.

The Dharma-assembly for the Sutra of Infinite Meanings was very grand. Other than bhiksus and Bodhisattvas, there were also kings, ministers and the citizens of entire countries. They shared a common resolve to pursue the. Dharma and true principles of the Great Vehicle. The Buddha had been giving teachings for for over 40 years. In the 42nd year, He completely changed course. Before, He patiently taught with skillful means, but now He set these aside for True Dharma. Before, He taught in accordance with sentient beings’ capabilities, but now He freely carried out His original intent.

As I mentioned previously, these bhiksus and Arhats had all attained the mental state of true liberation. Among them was Great Magnificent Bodhisattva, a representative of the assembly, who was, of course, a great Bodhisattva. [He] saw how they had all become quiet, with /their minds focused on one resolve, to seek the true principles. This was the mindset they had. So, it appeared that the time had come. Therefore, [Great Magnificent Bodhisattva] led all 80,000 Bodhisattvas to rise. When he saw their minds were focused enough, he asked for teachings.

[He] rose up from his seat and approached the Buddha with all 80,000 Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas in the assembly. They bowed, with their heads at His feet, and circumambulated the Buddha hundreds and thousands of times. They scattered heavenly flowers, burned heavenly incense and presented the Buddha with heavenly robes, heavenly garlands and heavenly treasures of priceless value, which came twirling down from the sky.

This is from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. Naturally they followed the right etiquette, so they “bowed, with their heads at His feet.” There was one Buddha and more than 80,000 people, as well as bhiksus. How could they all bow to His feet? In their hearts, they prostrated with their whole body. This signified the respect and admiration in their hearts. They visualized the Buddha in front of them, put their head and hands, then their full body to the ground, and then touched their hands to His feet. This was a form of visualization. So, they “bowed, with their heads at His feet.” This is a very sincere way to pay respect.

Then they “circumambulated the Buddha hundreds and thousands of times” and “scattered heavenly flowers.” After bowing at His feet, they were very joyful. Then, they circumambulated the Buddha, so that it was as if they all passed in front of Him. This is called “circumambulating the Buddha.” Whether we are reverently prostrating or circumambulating the Buddha according to the rules and the teachings, we are turning the Dharma-wheel. This shows our respect, which we make as an offering. What do we do to make an offering of respect? We scatter heavenly flowers and burn [incense].

Because that place in India was in the middle of the wilderness, there were lots of trees and grasses. There were also many mosquitoes and insects. Perhaps because of this, they burned and scattered [flowers] to repel those mosquitoes and insects, which then also emitted a very fragrant, grassy scent. This was a way to cleanse the Dharma-assembly and allow fragrance to disperse. The “heavenly flowers” created a very pleasant atmosphere in this spiritual training ground. At the assembly, they “burned heavenly incense” and presented the Buddha with “heavenly robes, heavenly garlands, treasures of priceless value, which came twirling down from the sky.” So it was that when they all looked up, all the offerings came down from the sky. Perhaps this was to express that.

“Offerings come from the six desire heavens. Flowers fall randomly and ubiquitously.”

Reverence does not only come from this world. Heavenly beings from the six heavens of the desire realm also made offerings out of joy, respect and sincerity. This describes the magnificence of the assembly.

Bhiksus, Bodhisattvas, humans and heavenly beings all waited at the assembly with such sincerity for the moment when the Buddha would expound His teachings. This was such a wondrous assembly. In truth, our internal spiritual training ground is the same. We also look forward to coming in contact with the Buddha-Dharma. Which one of His teachings will touch and move our hearts and be practiced for the rest of our lives? With the Buddha in our hearts and the Dharma in our actions, we can practice [His teachings] for a lifetime. This is what we all look forward to in our hearts,

At this time, the Buddha saw the opportunity, that it was the time for Him to expound the true Dharma, which was what He originally intended to teach. So, the Sutra of Infinite Meanings described people’s mental state at this time, their sincerity as they were about to come in contact with the Dharma.

From the Lotus Sutra, I already mentioned the passage,

“The last to become a Buddha was named Burning Lamp. Among the 800 disciples was one named Seeker of Fame, who was greedily attached to offerings of wealth. Although he read and recited many sutras, he did not comprehend them.”

We should know that there are 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas. They shared the same name and surname. Thus, we can see how the spirit of all Buddhas and their principles were passed down continually. These 20,000 Buddhas also came in sequence. One was the first of the 20,000 and one was the last. During this process, the diligent attained Buddhahood first. They were the first, second and so on, depending on their diligence. So,

“One who is diligent quickly attains Buddhahood, one who is lazy eventually becomes a Buddha, but is delayed by many kalpas.”

The diligent ones attained Buddhahood quicker, while the more indolent ones were slower. Actually, this is telling us that we all inherently have Buddha-nature. If we can be more diligent, we can more quickly realize the Buddha within. I often say that. Buddha-nature is in all of us. If we can discover our intrinsic Buddha-nature earlier we are clearing our minds and seeing our true nature.

Our unenlightened minds lack clarity. The mirror in our mind is blurry. Therefore, we must work hard. We must wash away our inner defilements of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. All these impurities and afflictions must be completely swept out of our minds. This is called clearing our minds. With clear minds, we can see our true nature and the Buddha can enter our hearts.

I often say that we need to take the Buddha’s mind as our own. Indeed, the Buddha-mind is our intrinsic Buddha-nature. If our intrinsic Buddha-nature emerges, the true principles of all things will become [evident] in our minds and in our lives. So, by being diligent we can attain Buddhahood quickly. If we are diligent and can quickly eliminate ignorance and afflictions from our minds, we will truly become liberated.

What if we become lazy? Well, we can still attain Buddhahood someday. Because we have intrinsic Buddha-nature, that day absolutely will come, but it will come much later. So, “One who is lazy eventually becomes a Buddha, but is delayed by many kalpas.” A “kalpa” is a very long time, so [Buddhahood] will come slower. How much slower? If we are counting in “kalpas,” we are talking about a very long [time].

We must quickly remind ourselves to be vigilant, to eliminate ignorance from our minds. Then we can attain a clear mind and see our true nature more quickly. Then we can truly become liberated.

In the time of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas, when the last of the 20,000 attained Buddhahood, His children also became monastics. As this was happening, He transmitted the Dharma to. Wondrous Light Bodhisattva, who had 800 disciples. His disciples included the eight princes. This shows the Dharma-lineage being passed down. Among these 800 disciples, there were also lazy ones, [and even they] will still attain Buddhahood in the future. So, among these earlier and later Buddhas, among these 800 disciples, there were also lazy ones. Actually, among these 800 disciples, that lazy one is now Maitreya Bodhisattva, the initiator at the Lotus Dharma-assembly.

Was Maitreya Bodhisattva really lazy? Actually, he and Sakyamuni Bodhisattva both lived in the time of Amoghasiddhi Buddha. At that time, Amoghasiddhi Buddha bestowed predictions for these Bodhisattvas to become Buddhas. He assessed them and [felt that] although Maitreya Bodhisattva was replete with wisdom, he had not yet created enough affinities with sentient beings.

So, although he was wise, that did not mean he was very diligent. True diligence involves interacting with people and creating good affinities with them. In addition to wisdom, he also needed blessings. Blessings come from good affinities with sentient beings. So, [Maitreya] had to spend a long period of time on creating good affinities with sentient beings. He did this for a very long time, so after Sakyamuni Buddha became a Buddha, He then bestowed a prediction upon him to become the future Buddha of this world.

“The 800 disciples.” The lazy ones who will become future Buddhas were among the 800 disciples mentioned earlier. Here it clearly states that Maitreya was one of the 800.

In the time of Wondrous Light Bodhisattva, he was a disciple named Seeker of Fame. This name represented his character, which craved recognition and wealth. If we desire recognition and wealth, we will have many afflictions. We have one, but lack nine because, although we have many things, we still feel like we lack a little something more. This [craving for] fame and wealth is constantly on our minds. So, we are “driven by the seeking of fame and wealth.” Our minds are bound and restricted by fame and wealth. Because we crave recognition and are attached to wealth, though we should give away many things, we are reluctant to let them go. This happens because of greed.

So, fame and wealth drive our minds, so we “become distracted and lose [our] will” if we are still greedy, we will not be able to make the resolve and will become distracted and lose our will. Our minds will still be ensnarled in the desire for wealth. So, Seeker of Fame Bodhisattva had this problem.

The Seeker of Fame is one driven by the seeking of fame and wealth; thus He is distracted and loses his resolve.

So, Seeker of Fame craved offerings of wealth. We may seek fame because we crave offerings of wealth. We want these offerings of wealth. Respect from others is also something we want. We want all kinds of things. This is craving offerings of wealth. Even if we become a monastic, we may still crave offerings from people. This can also be very exhausting. To truly eliminate afflictions and ignorance is also very difficult. Transcending the mundane is already difficult, thus transcending afflictions is even more so. Although we are monastics, if we crave fame and offerings of wealth, we have not yet transcended the mundane. If we still seek pleasures, this is very exhausting.

One who seeks fame and craves offerings of wealth cannot comprehend the meanings in sutras. Then one may be called Seeker of Fame.

So, if we crave offerings of wealth, we will not be able to “comprehend the meanings in sutras.” Every day, our minds are calculating what we are gaining or losing. How can we get more people to make offerings? If our mindset wanders, it will be very difficult to refocus. Then how can we understand people, matters and principles in the world? All we think about is flattering people to get more and more. If we do not think about how we can give, then how will we understand people, matters and principles? If we cannot even clearly understand people, matters and principles, we will not understand that this sutra is the Way. We will not clearly understand the principles in sutras. Although we can recite the words easily, we do not understand their meaning.

Fellow Bodhisattvas, if we crave recognition and offerings of wealth, we will not comprehend the meanings of sutras. So, if we have this kind of habitual tendency, we must eliminate it as soon as possible. Then, we can clear our minds and return to our true nature. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 143 – Offerings to Countless Buddhas

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>> “At that time, Great Magnificent Bodhisattva-Mahasattva saw that the assembly sat with settled minds.”

>> “[He] rose up from his seat and approached the Buddha with all 80,000 Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas in the assembly.”

>> “Those princes gave offerings to immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of Buddhas, then all attained Buddhahood.”

>> Were taught by Wondrous Light Bodhisattva, so they “could all enter the ultimate stage of the Tathagata’s Dharma-wheel.”

>> “The last to become a Buddha was named Burning Lamp. Among the eight hundred disciples was one named Seeker of Fame, who was greedily attached to offerings of wealth. Although he read and recited many sutras, he did not comprehend them.”

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As I have been telling everyone every day, we cannot stop time. Each second continues to pass us by, so we must all be more diligent and race against time [in spiritual practice]. Will we advance more quickly than the passage of time? This depends on whether we have a firm resolve. Are we diligently [learning] the Dharma?

As our understanding of the Dharma progresses, by grasping one truth, we understand all truths. When we can penetrate one thought, our minds can encompass the universe and all principles and phenomena become clear to us. So, in comparison to the speed of time, [our understanding] will still be faster, depending on the scope of our realization. If understanding one thing leads us to understand many things, then we have [advanced exponentially]. Comparing the speed of our thoughts [relative to the passage of] time, of course, our thoughts are much faster. So, as time continues to pass, we must continue to accept the Dharma.

Right now, we are discussing the assembly where. Sakyamuni Buddha was about to expound the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. So, we think back to the beginning of the Six Fulfillments. At that time, people kept arriving. Many people were gathering at this Dharma-assembly. As they arrived, they all reverently prostrated to the Buddha and then sat down, one after another. At the Dharma-assembly, there were 80,000 Bodhisattvas along with 12,000 bhiksus, who had all attained spiritual liberation.

Speaking of the Dharma-assembly at. Vulture Peak, there were Bodhisattvas, bhiksus, the eight classes of Dharma-protectors, heavenly beings and human kings, etc. With the magnificence of this Dharma-assembly, everyone’s minds were already calm, so they quietly sat down. Of course, at that time, the Buddha was still in the state of Samadhi.

“At that time, Great Magnificent Bodhisattva-Mahasattva saw that the assembly sat with settled minds.”

“At that time” refers to the moment when their minds truly became calm. The state of mind of Bodhisattvas and that of the Small Vehicle’s ultimate stage is already very orderly and stable. At that time, Great Magnificent Bodhisattva stood up to ask the Buddha a question. Great Magnificent Bodhisattva could comprehend the Buddha’s mind and that “the unspoken Lotus Sutra” must contain very profound wisdom. The appearance that the Buddha manifested showed that He would freely express the wondrous Right Dharma He had retained and guarded in His mind. This required the right timing and people. At this moment, were the minds of these people settled? Were they reverent? Did they aspire to seek the Way? Many causes and conditions had to converge when the Buddha carried out His original intent so the listeners could live up to it. So, there must be Bodhisattvas of this capacity. Now, we will look at how.

“[He] rose up from his seat and approached the Buddha with all 80,000 Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas in the assembly.”

Great Magnificent Bodhisattva was the representative of the 80,000 Bodhisattvas. So, when these Bodhisattvas saw. Great Magnificent Bodhisattva arise, all Bodhisattvas “rose up” at the same time “and approached the Buddha together.” Think about this scenario; 80,000 is a very large number. But as I have explained previously, we must not be attached to actual numbers. These Bodhisattvas had risen from their seats and were prepared to seek teachings from the Buddha. To request teachings, they must do certain things. This was within the state of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. The Lotus Sutra and Sutra of Infinite Meanings are both part of “the unspoken Lotus Sutra” and the manifested Lotus Sutra.

[The understanding of] the Buddha’s Lotus Sutra has always been guided by Manjusri Bodhisattva. He guided everyone to delve into the causes and conditions for Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha to expound the Lotus Sutra. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha. There were 20,000 Buddhas with the name Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, which shows that all Buddhas share the same path. Every Buddha has wisdom like the radiant sun, compassion like the gentle moon and is like a lamp shining in the dark to guide people onto a path that is safe and enlightening. This is the intrinsic nature of every Buddha.

The last Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha had eight children. These eight children also [followed] their father into monastic life. These princes became students of Wondrous Light Bodhisattva. These disciples made a great effort, and so did their teacher. Teacher and students were very diligent, so they remained firm in their spiritual aspiration to attain Annutara-samyak-sambodhi.

So, now we will discuss how.

“Those princes gave offerings to immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, millions of Buddhas, then all attained Buddhahood.”

We know that these eight princes are just a description. The names for the eight princes all contain the word “intention,” thus representing our Eight Consciousnesses. When these connect with external conditions, of course many defilements will arise. Conversely, their fundamental powers are pure and can potentially [be returned] to the state of the mind-king, to the mind and its cognition. The mind-king is our intrinsic nature, [which we find by] reuniting the eight into one.

This is found in the sutra. If we want to delve into it more deeply, we can understand that the eight princes had already given offerings to immeasurable hundreds, thousands, ten thousands and millions of Buddhas. Their connection to Buddhas did not just arise now. In the distant past, before they became [the sons of] the last Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, the princes had continually engaged in spiritual practice and made offerings.

For a very long time, they had continually made offerings to hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands and millions of Buddhas. You may ask, are there that many Buddhas to make offerings to? It is not easy at all to attain Buddhahood. Will our minds be stuck again and become hindered by numbers and time?

In fact, as I have shared recently with everyone, Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world. By focusing on saving and helping others, they create good affinities with everyone. Didn’t the Buddha say that everyone is a Buddha and intrinsically has Buddha-nature? So, [all this means to say] is that in the eight princes’ past, they had also walked on the Bodhisattva-path with multitudes of sentient beings. Take Never Slighting Bodhisattva for example. No matter who he met, he always said, “I do not dare to slight you. You may also attain Buddhahood.” By the same token, if we look at others with a Buddha-mind, then won’t everyone be a Buddha to us? To summarize, when we normally deal with people and things, we must feel gratitude, respect and love. When we treat others with this kind of mindset, they are all receiving our offerings.

When we show gratitude to others, they also become happy. They feel happy because they have received our offering of gratitude. When we respect others, they will also become very happy, and there will be unity, harmony, mutual love and concerted effort as people accept, help and love each other. This is how we make offerings to each other. This is how we feel when we see each other. When we feel something is wholesome, it is an offering of Dharma. When we feel something is unwholesome, as spiritual practitioners, we should take it as a mirror. We should understand that we do not just learn the Buddha’s Way from words. More importantly, we must feel it in our hearts.

Over 2000 years ago, during Sakyamuni Buddha’s time, Bodhisattvas talked about the time before the three incalculable eons. Think about it, does time go by faster or do we think faster? The mind can quickly recall events, people and matters from a long time ago. With a shift in perspective, the state of Bodhisattvas will manifest.

So, these princes “gave offerings to immeasurable hundreds, ten thousands, millions of Buddhas, then all attained Buddhahood.” This means that these eight princes.

Were taught by Wondrous Light Bodhisattva, so they “could all enter the ultimate stage of the Tathagata’s Dharma-wheel.”

The Tathagata turns the Dharma-wheel all the time. So, the Dharma-wheel never rests. The Dharma-wheel is a mental wheel. The Buddha’s mental wheel is His thinking; it is His spiritual state. These eight princes were taught and guided by Wondrous Light Bodhisattva and had gradually entered the Buddha’s spiritual state. So, this is to “enter the ultimate stage of the Tathagata’s Dharma-wheel.” This is a very advanced state.

After the eight princes received teachings, they made offerings. As you all know, we can make offerings by giving wealth, respect and conduct.

First we can give tangible offerings, which is giving wealth. How do people without money make offerings? They can offer respect and revere the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. They use their actions to make offerings. Some people not only offer wealth and respect, they offer their conduct, which is putting the teachings into practice. Together, these three things are called offerings.

When giving and making offerings, regardless of how much wealth was given, if a person makes offerings with a mindset that is not pure, and gives to others in order to attain blessings, that person’s merits will be very slight. Some people with no money may pay and show reverence to the Buddha. Though that comes from their hearts, if their behaviors are improper and they pay respect to Buddhas only for protection, and revere the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha only to receive blessings, their merits will also be limited. Conduct is the most important, which is putting [the Dharma] into action.

If we want to walk this path, we cannot stand at a distance to look at the path. We must walk on it. A Buddha is most honored of two-footed beings. Of the two feet we must set in motion, one foot is blessing and the other is wisdom. So, these are the two feet of the honored one. If we do not set our two feet in motion and walk, how can we understand the state of our minds? Or, if we do not walk this enlightened Bodhi-path, how can we know the state of this path? So, we may just stand still and talk about respect and prayer, but those things are secondary. Whenever we can, we should physically practice the teachings.

If we can put it into action, we will naturally become very respectful. Once we are respectful and understand principles, naturally we will give away our wealth. That will be very natural. So, out of the three kinds of offerings, the most important is conduct. Aside from making offerings of wealth and diligently making offerings of respect, we must also make offerings of Dharma-conduct. We must comply with the Dharma and put it into action. Only then can this be called true offerings. The best scenario is if we can combine these three offerings into one. This is what we need to understand about the eight princes’ spiritual states.

Then the next passage states,

“The last to become a Buddha was named Burning Lamp. Among the eight hundred disciples was one named Seeker of Fame, who was greedily attached to offerings of wealth. Although he read and recited many sutras, he did not comprehend them.”

In the era of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva upheld and taught the Lotus Sutra. He had 800 disciples. Among these 800 disciples was one named “Seeker of Fame.” Let us think hard about why he was named “Seeker of Fame.” During his spiritual cultivation, he still craved offerings of wealth. Because he had these attachments, naturally he did not retain what he read and chanted. If our minds are not focused and become scattered, although we continue to chant sutras, we will not understand the principles they contain.

So if we want to learn the Buddha’s Way, the first thing to do is to completely eliminate afflictions from our minds and end all Leaks. Then our minds can be filled with pure water. The Dharma is like water. [If we do this,] the pure Dharma-water can enter our hearts and cleanse our minds of defilements. This is the mindset we must maintain in the process of our spiritual cultivation. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 142 – Transmitting the Unsurpassed Mahayana Teachings

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>> These and other Bhiksus numbered 12,000 in all. They all were Arhats, having exhausted all bonds and Leaks, never again to be bound or attached. They were truly liberated -Chapter on Virtues, Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

>>Arhat: the Small Vehicle’s ultimate stage of realization 1. “One who kills thieves,” meaning they kill the thieves of afflictions 2. “One worthy of offerings,” meaning they are worthy of receiving offerings from humans and heavenly beings 3. “One who forever enters Nirvana,” meaning they will not face the karmic retribution of birth and death again.

>> Liberation: breaking bonds and attaining freedom, dissolving the entanglements of delusion and transcending the fruits of sufferings of the Three Realms.

>> “After the Buddha finished making this prediction, at midnight, He entered Nirvana without remainder.”

>> “After this Buddha crossed into extinction, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva upheld the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra for a full 80 small kalpas, expounding it to others.”

>> “The eight sons of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant acknowledged Wondrous Light as their teacher. Wondrous Light taught and transformed them, enabling them to firmly establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”

>> All eight sons had Wondrous Light as a teacher and could all solidify their unsurpassed enlightenment. The teacher and those who were taught were all virtuous and unwavering in the teaching. This means they would not retreat.

>> The eight sons of Lamp Radiant did not have their father as their teacher but Wondrous Light as their teacher. The ancients taught each others’ sons. Thus, Rahula had Son-of-Body (Sariputra) as his teacher.

>> The past Buddha’s eight sons had. Wondrous Light as their teacher. That Buddha emerged from Samadhi and taught him the Lotus Sutra. Rahula, the present Buddha’s son, had. Son-of-Body as his teacher. When the present Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He expounded this sutra to Sariputra.

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At the Dharma-assembly, Buddhas from ancient times to the present have been continually giving teachings. Within the Dharma-assembly, there will always be countless sentient beings and spiritual practitioners listening to the Dharma. There are speakers and listeners. Upon those who continuously and faithfully accept and practice the Dharma, Buddhas will bestow predictions to attain Buddhahood. If we think about how this has remained the same from ancient times to the present, we must examine our minds and see if our internal spiritual training ground can continue in the same way forever.

We have talked of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. In listening to the Buddha’s teachings, we must comprehend “the unspoken Lotus Sutra” of His heart. The Buddha’s original teaching, the Dharma He retained and guarded, was the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. The intangible “unspoken Lotus Sutra” is the infinite meanings [we perceive] every day in our hearts. When we look at anything, any matter or thing, we see principles. So, the principles of all matters and things are encompassed within these infinite meanings. So, infinite meanings is the Buddha’s true principle and is retained and guarded in the heart of all Buddhas.

These and other Bhiksus numbered 12,000 in all. They all were Arhats, having exhausted all bonds and Leaks, never again to be bound or attached. They were truly liberated -Chapter on Virtues, Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

What is intangible is in our hearts. What is tangible still requires teachings. When the Buddha taught the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, there were many spiritual practitioners, among them, “these and other bhiksus.” The bhiksus mentioned were led by Sariputra and included. Maudgalyayana, Subhuti, Mahakatyayana, etc. They were senior disciples of the Buddha. How many monastics did they lead? 12,000. Many people there were already Arhats and had “exhausted all bonds and Leaks, never again to be bound or attached. They were truly liberated.” By that time they were no longer bound by anything, and were already liberated.

What is an “Arhat”? An Arhat is someone who has reached “the Small Vehicle’s stage of ultimate realization.” There is the first, second, third and fourth fruits. The fourth is the highest state of the Small Vehicle, [at which one becomes] an “Arhat.”

An Arhat has engaged in spiritual practice and has skills of “one who kills thieves.” He destroys afflictions, which act as thieves. Each of us has a Dharma-treasury in our hearts, but unwittingly, we let afflictions come like thieves into our treasure rooms and carry everything off. Thus, engaging in spiritual practice is similar to catching thieves. We need to know what afflictions we have. Once we know, we can guard against thieves. Thus, “one who kills thieves” means one who destroys afflictions, which are like thieves.

These are Arhats, who have achieved the highest fruit in their practice of the Small Vehicle teachings. At the very least, Arhats have destroyed all afflictions in their minds. Because they have attained [realizations] through their spiritual practice, they can eliminate all afflictions from worldly activities and objects. Having eliminated afflictions they became “one worthy of offerings,” those who can accept offerings. To accept offerings from others, they must completely eliminate the thieves in their minds, their afflictions. They must have attained this skill through their practice of cultivating the virtue needed to be worthy of offerings from heavenly beings and humans.

Arhat: the Small Vehicle’s ultimate stage of realization 1. “One who kills thieves,” meaning they kill the thieves of afflictions 2. “One worthy of offerings,” meaning they are worthy of receiving offerings from humans and heavenly beings 3. “One who forever enters Nirvana,” meaning they will not face the karmic retribution of birth and death again.

We all engage in spiritual practice to transcend birth and death, for this is our goal as spiritual practitioners. But why are we yet unable to [do so]? This is because people continually force affinities. They constantly create good and bad affinities, so they are always pulled towards and entangled by birth and death. They are entangled with cyclic existence and with other people.

As humans, we may have roots of goodness or encounter the Buddha-Dharma and spiritual friends. If we did not have these causes and conditions, perhaps our evil acts would cause us to leave the human realm and go to the animal realm. In the Six Realms, aside from the heaven and human realms, the others are all evil realms, filled with unbearable suffering. So, we pray for liberation from the bonds of birth and death. Once we are liberated, we are free.

Liberation: breaking bonds and attaining freedom, dissolving the entanglements of delusion and transcending the fruits of sufferings of the Three Realms.

In what way are we free? We can play effortlessly in this world. Our ability to freely come and go comes from the power of our vows. We focus on helping suffering beings, and we go among the people with this sense of mission. This is the goal of our spiritual practice.

When the Sutra of Infinite Meanings was taught, many Bodhisattvas were present, as well as 12,000 bhiksus who had already attained Arhathood, the highest fruition of Small Vehicle practices. Their minds had already attained liberation and purity, and they no longer experienced cyclic existence. This took place at the Dharma-assembly before the Sutra of Infinite Meanings was taught.

Let me now speak of the Lotus Sutra. Manjusri described the Dharma-assembly of. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha as being the same. There were also many spiritual practitioners there. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha also radiated light and so forth. After emerging from Samadhi, He gave teachings to Wondrous Light Bodhisattva and bestowed a prediction upon. Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva.

“After the Buddha finished making this prediction, at midnight, He entered Nirvana without remainder.”

Having fulfilled His one great cause, He was to enter Nirvana without remainder at midnight. “Nirvana without remainder” is a very open and tranquil state. This was Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha’s one great cause being fulfilled.

The next passage states,

“After this Buddha crossed into extinction, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva upheld the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra for a full 80 small kalpas, expounding it to others.”

Once Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha entered extinction, many people still remained at the Dharma-assembly, those who have achieved, are achieving and have yet to achieve [Buddhahood]. So, this Dharma must continue to be transmitted. Who will be responsible for this transmission? Wondrous Light Bodhisattva. Thus, he upheld the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. For how long? “For a full 80 small kalpas, expounding it to others.”

How long is 80 small kalpas? Very long. If the [average] human lifespan is ten years and increases by one year every 100 years until the [average] human lifespan is 84,000 years, this is called “one increasing kalpa.” After the [average] lifespan reaches 84,000 years, the collective karma of sentient beings causes their [average] lifespan to start decreasing. After 100 years, it decreases by one year. After another 100 years, After 100 years, it decreases by one year. This decrease continues until the [average] human lifespan is ten years. This is called “one decreasing kalpa.” One increasing kalpa and one decreasing kalpa complete one small kalpa. So, 80 small kalpas is a really long period of time. In conclusion, it is innumerable and boundless.

Indeed, the state of the Buddha cannot be measured by human [understanding]. Within this universe, whether time is short or long depends on our state of mind. Thus, if we compare a human lifespan with a heavenly being’s, or those who have surpassed the form and formless realm, their [lifespan] seems very long to us. Thus, [teaching for] 80 small kalpas is not an impossibility. From Buddhas’ and Bodhisattvas’ view of time, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva can uphold and teach the Lotus Sutra for a full 80 small kalpas. Thus, we can believe this explanation.

This tells us that the Buddha’s manifestation is subject to the law of nature and will end, while intangible, true principles are everlasting, and do not arise or cease. Yet, true principles that neither arise nor cease must be promoted by humans as the Way. People must uphold, promote and teach them for these true principles to survive in this world. Thus, after Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha crossed into extinction, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva came to uphold the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra and continuously pass it down.

“The eight sons of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant acknowledged Wondrous Light as their teacher. Wondrous Light taught and transformed them, enabling them to firmly establish. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”

Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha had eight sons. When they heard their father became a monastic and achieved Buddhahood, they also left home like this Buddha. Yet, to become a monastic, they must have a teacher. Where could they find a teacher? Should they just take refuge with Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha? No. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha would find a teacher for them. What kind of teacher did He look for? He sought a Bodhisattva who could uphold the Great Vehicle, namely, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha selected. Wondrous Light Bodhisattva to teach His eight sons.

All eight sons had Wondrous Light as a teacher and could all solidify their unsurpassed enlightenment. The teacher and those who were taught were all virtuous and unwavering in the teaching. This means they would not retreat.

It says, “All eight sons had Wondrous Light as a teacher and could all solidify their unsurpassed enlightenment” because Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha chose someone who transmitted the great teachings, the true principles of the wondrous Dharma. “Wondrous Light taught and transformed them” means Wondrous Light had assumed the duty of not just guarding and upholding this great Dharma, but of teaching and transforming others. So, the teacher is one who had been taught. First, one receives the teachings. Then, one teaches them to others. When one receives goodness, one passes on goodness. When one receives the unsurpassed. Great Vehicle Dharma, one also passes on the same unsurpassed Great Vehicle teachings.

But transmitting these Great Vehicle teachings to people is a very arduous task. So, they are “all virtuous and unwavering in the teaching.” This requires conviction and steadfastness. Transmitting teachings like this requires one to conquer many difficulties and to never retreat or turn back. Thus, teaching is a method of transmission. One first receives the Buddha-Dharma and then teaches and transforms sentient beings. Doing so requires a very firm conviction.

The sons of this past Buddha took Wondrous Light Bodhisattva as their teacher. What about the present Buddha? The present Buddha, Sakyamuni, had a son named Rahula. [He had a shortened name,] [but we refer to him as “Rahula”]. He was the son of Sakyamuni Buddha, and his teacher was named Son-of-Body, or Sariputra. This was because when Sariputra was born, his eyes were like his mother’s, so his name came from his mother (Sari). And because he resembled his mother, he was also called Son-of-Body.

The eight sons of Lamp Radiant did not have their father as their teacher but Wondrous Light as their teacher. The ancients taught each others’ sons. Thus, Rahula had Son-of-Body (Sariputra) as his teacher.

The eight sons of the Buddha in the past took Wondrous Light Bodhisattva as their teacher. He was the son of Sakyamuni Buddha, and took Sariputra as his teacher. When Sakyamuni Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He also expounded this sutra to Sariputra.

The past Buddha’s eight sons had. Wondrous Light as their teacher. That Buddha emerged from Samadhi and taught him the Lotus Sutra. Rahula, the present Buddha’s son, had. Son-of-Body as his teacher. When the present Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He expounded this sutra to Sariputra.

If we compare the past and the present Buddha, They should be very similar. So we say, all Buddhas share the same path. We understand that Buddhas manifested here solely to awaken our pure and undefiled minds. The past Buddha had eight sons. The present Buddha had one son. Did anyone notice that those eight sons all had the character “intention” in their names? Combining the “intentions” of the eight sons [creates] one mind-king, which is analogous to having one son, just as the present Buddha [did].

From the very beginning, it was said that everyone has a pure and non-discriminating mind that is no different from a Buddha’s. Thus, the principles are the same. So, my fellow Bodhisattvas, we must work hard to learn the Buddha’s Way. We do not just repeat the written words. In fact, those words were compiled to help us understand the wide array of principles they contain. There are infinite [principles] that are not written down in this text. We can only realize the vastness of the Buddha-Dharma after our wisdom has been awakened. So, I ask everyone to always be mindful.

Episode 141 – Seek the Dharma with Pure Mind and Body

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>> Great Wisdom Sariputra, Spiritual Power Maudgalyayana, Wisdom-life Subhuti, Maha-Katyayana and. PurnaMaitrayani-putra.

>>Bhiksus are called almsmen. They seek the Dharma from the Tathagata to nurture their wisdom-life. They seek food from ordinary people to nourish their physical life.

>>Bhiksus can also be called. Bhiksus can also be called “demon-scarer” or “evil-destroyer” or “life-purifier.”

>> “Everything arises from causes and conditions and ceases because of causes and conditions. The Buddha, the great Sramana, often says this.”

>>Sariputra and Maudgalyayana were known and recognized among all of the Buddha’s disciples. Their causes and conditions for becoming monastics: They were originally non-Buddhists. When [Sariputra’s] teacher died, he wandered to seek the Path. On his journey, he saw. Bhiksu Asvajit’s serene and peaceful demeanor and asked about his teacher.

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Is everyone’s mind very tranquil? Our minds may enable us to attain infinite merits and virtues, but once our minds become confused, we will create all kinds of karma. The mind is so important!

Earlier I already said that, starting from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, the Buddha’s original intent was to help everyone reach the state of tranquility and clarity and the perfection of precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation and liberation’s understanding and views. As I have continuously explained before, this is all about the mind.

When we use our mind to take action, it is called “making an effort.” Making an effort to practice [the Dharma] is a virtue. So, what we must practice is benefitting this world. To achieve inconceivable merits and virtues is impossible for one person alone. We need a lot of people to accomplish this. Therefore, in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, when the names of bhiksus were mentioned, Sariputra was first. The great teaching the Buddha intended to give can only [be received] by one with great wisdom. Moreover, the Sutra of Infinite Meanings is the essence of the Lotus Sutra. Therefore, Sariputra assumed a very important role in both the Lotus Sutra and the Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

At this point in the sutra, the names of these incredible bhiksus who were going to attain. Anuttara-Samyak-Sambohdi are mentioned. [The list] begins with.

Great Wisdom Sariputra, Spiritual Power Maudgalyayana, Wisdom-life Subhuti, Maha-Katyayana and. PurnaMaitrayani-putra.

There are many more after this.

First, we will discuss the term “bhiksu.”

Bhiksus are called almsmen. They seek the Dharma from the Tathagata to nurture their wisdom-life. They seek food from ordinary people to nourish their physical life.

These are [a monastic’s] basic qualities.

How do we engage in spiritual practice? What kind of person can be considered to be properly engaged in spiritual practice? What is the purpose of spiritual practice? To seek knowledge and understanding. We need to ask the Buddha for the Dharma, for the teachings. However, the Buddha passed away over 2000 years ago. So, from whom can we seek the Dharma now? We still seek the Dharma from the Buddha.

Although the Buddha’s physical body entered perfect extinction and He had finished a lifetime of teaching and transforming, His Dharmakaya is still in the world. We respect the Buddha as if He is still alive. If we truly respect the Buddha, whether or not He is in the world does not matter. So, we need to feel as if the Buddha is still alive, and reverently and respectfully seek His teachings. Only by doing this can our wisdom-life grow.

Life follows the laws of nature and lasts for only a period of time. The Buddha had a limited lifespan, not to mention our own as ordinary beings. We are the same! We are subject to the laws of nature and will one day age and wither. However, even though the Buddha entered extinction, His Dharmakaya, His Dharma-body, still thrives in this world. Our wisdom-life is our Dharmakaya. The Buddha had attained enlightenment, thus His is called the Dharmakaya. Since we have not attained enlightenment, we need to depend on the Dharma to nourish and nurture our wisdom-life and awaken our intrinsic Buddha-nature.

[We are] like seedlings. When a seed encounters many favorable conditions, it sprouts. Fertile soil, nutrients and other conditions must be present for a seed to grow successfully. Similarly, after we have accepted the Dharma, it is not enough to simply know about it, we must also carry it out and apply it to truly experience it. [For example], if we feel hungry and there is abundant food before us, we do not become full by complaining of hunger. We must ingest that abundance of food into our stomachs to have sufficient nutrition. It is the same with the Dharma, which is the food that nourishes our wisdom-life. That is why we “seek the Dharma from the Tathagata to nurture our wisdom-life.” And toward others? “They seek food from ordinary people to nourish their physical life.”

When the Buddha was alive, to make everyone equal and eliminate everyone’s arrogance, every day He went from house to house to beg for alms. The Buddha had a purpose for doing this. When the Buddha’s community was just established, other people were not aware of this new religion. Brahmanism was the mainstream religion in. India at that time. Did they know of the existence of the Buddha? No. So, once the Sangha had been established, the Buddha then asked them all to go door to door to beg for alms. This showed other people what kind of spiritual practitioners they were, and then they could tell those people, “A Buddha has emerged in this world and now we follow Him in our spiritual practice.” Walking on the streets of a town or a village to beg for alms from house to house every day is called “conditions for transformation,” or “promoting the Dharma.”

This was during the Buddha’s time, and He had His reasons for doing this. In the age we live in now, we do not need to do this. We need to focus on seeking the Dharma to nourish and support our wisdom-life. We must accumulate various causes and conditions to benefit all beings. This is why we need to be very grateful for and cherish the present moment.

Bhiksus can also be called. Bhiksus can also be called “demon-scarer” or “evil-destroyer” or “life-purifier.”

These are three other definitions.

Everyone already knows about “demon-scarer.” When one becomes a monastic, one intends to transcend the Three Realms and escape the control of demons. However, for spiritual practitioners to break away from demons requires great effort. Indeed, demons do not exist outside of our bodies. Real demons all reside in our minds because greed, anger and ignorance are our mental demons. Therefore, we all need to be focused and make an effort to prevent our mental demons from disturbing us. We cannot [allow this]. So, we need to scare demons and use our righteousness to subdue them. This causes demons to fear us. We should not fear them; they should be afraid of us. This is what it means to be a “demon-scarer.”

The other name is “evil-destroyer.” Will spiritual practitioners still commit evils? They will not. Once all evils have been eliminated from our minds, any tempting evil deeds or thoughts that may lead to bad behavior are completely destroyed when we encounter them.

[Finally], the most important is “life-purifier.” We need to have a pure life and live among others to help them. This is what “life-purifier” means. When we help others without expecting anything in return, we are being a “life-purifier.” I often tell everyone, “Not only do we give unconditionally, we must also express our gratitude.” This is how we can live among others in a clean and pure way.

Among the Buddha’s disciples, Great Wisdom Sariputra and Maudgalyayana are known by all. How they became bhiksus is a very interesting story.

Sariputra and Maudgalyayana were already very good friends, as well as spiritual [teachers] who led disciples in spiritual practice. They both practiced a branch of Brahmanism. As Sariputra engaged in spiritual practice, his teacher grew old, and when he was about to pass away, Sariputra was by his side. With his last breath, the teacher uttered, “How strange it is! Why can’t people see through and overcome their desires?” Sariputra immediately grasped the opportunity to ask, “Teacher, are there still contradictions that you cannot resolve in your final moment?”

The teacher then told a story, “There was a king of a small country who loved his wife dearly. His wife loved him very much, too. When the king became seriously ill, the one who grieved the most was his wife. Throughout her life, she had been most dependent on the king. Therefore, while one fell ill, the other became tormented. After the king died, as he was being cremated, she leapt into the fire and immolated herself.”

After telling the story, his teacher sighed and said, “How sad and lamentable it is that we are unable to transcend our passions.”

Sariputra again asked, “Teacher, you have not traveled recently, how do you know these things?” The teacher then said, “I do not need to leave this place to see.” Then, he stopped breathing. Upon hearing this at that moment, Sariputra was very shocked, and he thought, “It turns out that my teacher really had spiritual powers. But why didn’t he pass them on to me?” He began to feel very depressed and regretful. So he thought, “I need to look for another teacher.” Therefore, he worked hard on seeking the Way.

One day on the road, he saw a spiritual practitioner who walked serenely and had a dignified appearance [and wondered,]. “How does this person make others so joyous, as if they are seeing the first rays of dawn?” So, Sariputra could not control himself and respectfully asked him, “What practices are you cultivating? What system of religion are you practicing? Who is your teacher?” When this man, Bhiksu Asvajit, heard Sariputra ask him these questions so earnestly, he said,

“Everything arises from causes and conditions and ceases because of causes and conditions. The Buddha, the great Sramana, often says this.”

Just by hearing these recited verses, Sariputra suddenly felt as if nectar was poured over his head. His whole being felt happy and peaceful. Even though Bhiksu Asvajit had not practiced the Buddha’s teachings for very long, [he was able to share] teachings that came from his teacher’s great wisdom. Wasn’t this the mental problem that his teacher was unable to explain before passing away? Bhiksu Asvajit’s teacher had the great wisdom to speak these words. What kind of a person was this? Sariputra became very joyous. He asked for the current location of the Buddha and immediately went to find Maudgalyayana.

This was because they had an agreement. “If I can find the best teachings, I will tell you, and if you find them, you must tell me.” For this reason, Sariputra rushed to tell venerable Maudgalyayana about [the person] he met and how the verse he heard made him very joyous. Maudgalyayana heard Sariputra repeat the words, “Everything arises from causes and conditions, ceases because of causes and conditions. The Buddha, the great Sramana, often says this.” Just by hearing these words, the hairs [on Maudgalyayana’s] entire body stood up. One was joyous and so was the other.

They felt that this was a great teaching and that this Great Enlightened One must become their teacher, so they should bring their disciples to take refuge with the Great Enlightened One, Sakyamuni Buddha. This was how they came to take refuge. They rushed to visit the Buddha at His abode and expressed their intentions to take refuge with Him.

Sariputra and Maudgalyayana were known and recognized among all of the Buddha’s disciples. Their causes and conditions for becoming monastics: They were originally non-Buddhists. When [Sariputra’s] teacher died, he wandered to seek the Path. On his journey, he saw. BhiksuAsvajit’s serene and peaceful demeanor and asked about his teacher.

I am explaining the Lotus Sutra at the moment, but I want to take a moment to discuss the meaning of being a bhiksu. We need to understand that bhiksus must have a spirit of seeking teachings. We must always make an effort to seek the Dharma and be grateful to live in this era. By giving unconditionally, we are purifying lives. We can seek the Dharma, have pure minds and bodies and can benefit all people. If there are no evil thoughts in our minds, naturally, we can scare demons. If we do not commit evil, we are destroying evil. This is a good environment for us to engage in spiritual practice. We just need to focus our minds on the Dharma.

Sariputra only heard the two sentences: “Everything arises from causes and conditions ceases because of causes and conditions.” As soon as Sariputra heard this, BhiksuAsvajit quickly made it clear that the words were not his but were often said by the Buddha, the great Sramana. When they heard “the Buddha, the great Sramana,” these two sages, one with wisdom, one with spiritual powers, were able to give rise to a sense of great joy. So the virtue [attained by] a spiritual practitioner can bring joy to others just from someone describing his teachings or introducing him. These are the merits and virtues of practice. So, everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 140 – Abide in Vows and Purify Buddha-lands

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>> “They will very soon attain. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. All these Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas have such inconceivable merits.”

>>Anuttara is the supreme wisdom of true principles. Its path is true; there is nothing that is not known. Thus, this is called Completely Awakened.

>> Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas are great enlightened sentient beings who seek the fruit of the path.

>>Maha [means big or great]. There are three ways they are great. They have great vows, take great actions and perform great transformations of sentient beings. Therefore, they are called great sentient beings and also enlightened sentient beings.

>> They all have inconceivable merits and virtues. Merits are the ability to benefit others and create blessings. This ability allows us to attain virtue from good actions. So, being virtuous also means to attain.

>> Says this about merits and virtues: “Merits refer to ability or function. A good action has the function of nurturing our ability to bless and benefit others.” A good action can nurture us to bless and benefit all sentient beings.

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Every day we talk about the mind. “[Bodhisattvas] abide in the power of their vows and extensively purify Buddha-lands.” The power of vows is something we spiritual practitioners cannot lack. With the power of our vows, our minds will be able to abide peacefully, and we can extensively purify and dignify Buddha-lands. What does it mean to dignify Buddha-lands? [To act] for Buddha’s teachings and for sentient beings. Since the ancient times, all Dharma-masters have vowed to transform themselves, others and all beings.

People used to say, “Whether the Buddha’s teachings will flourish, depends on the monastic community.” Monastics are those who have left home, those who represent spiritual practice. What practices are you cultivating? The Buddha’s teachings. We follow and practice what He taught. By doing so, we can demonstrate the value of the Buddha’s teachings. In our spiritual practice, if we cannot express the teachings through our actions, what worth do the Buddha’s teachings have in this world? So, monastics and spiritual practitioners are those who pass down the teachings.

Therefore we often say, the Jing Si Dharma-lineage must be passed on, in our mission as spiritual practitioners, and in our rules of practice in the monastery. This way, people will know that this way of living was passed down as part of the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. By the same principle, the Buddha came to this world to transform us solely so we can all pass the teachings down. So, let us “abide in the power of our vows and extensively purify Buddha-lands.” This will happen if we settle our minds. When the mind is pure, the land will be pure. Thus we “abide in Buddha-lands,” which means we settle our minds. Every one of us intrinsically has Buddha-nature; every one of us has this state of mind. Our intrinsic state of mind is pure, so manifesting it is the best way to dignify Buddha-lands.

If we can do this, as the next passage in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings states,

“They will very soon attain. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. All these Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas have such inconceivable merits.”

We often recite this passage, so we are very familiar with it. When we can settle our minds, extensively purify Buddha-lands and reveal the spirit of the Buddha’s teachings, we are manifesting the Dharma in our actions. Then very soon after that, we will attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. How soon is “very soon”? Let me tell you that. I do not know. That depends on whether our minds can meet the path. If our minds meet the path, will we abide in it? If we understand the path and abide in it, [attainment] will happen quickly. Otherwise, how long it takes depends on our aspirations and vows.

Anuttara is the supreme wisdom of true principles. Its path is true; there is nothing that is not known. Thus, this is called Completely Awakened.

Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi can also be called “the supreme wisdom of true principles.” Supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment encompasses the principles of all matters and objects in the universe. It is supreme and unsurpassed wisdom. This is called Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi or supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment. It is the realization of the true principles of all things in the universe. The principles of all things are contained within. Therefore, “its path is true.” These principles are the most correct. One word alone, Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi encompasses all principles which are the truest, most genuine principles.

Therefore, we must make a great effort to understand this word. Indeed, once we attain true realization, by understanding one principle, we understand all principles. If we can completely understand one principle, that will help us understand all principles. Then, “there is nothing that is not known.” This is what it means to be “completely awakened,” to thoroughly know everything.

So, as Buddhist practitioners, our minds must be focused and still. Even Bodhisattvas who play effortlessly need to single-mindedly focus. As I have discussed, we need to focus to save sentient beings. They experience many kinds of suffering, which are not all visible to the naked eye. [For example,] we may see a wealthy person who spends money like running water, freely and easily. If he wants to eat delicious food from another country, he has no concerns about buying a plane ticket for the sole purpose of going to that country to indulge in his cravings. Such a trip costs a lot of money, and he is willing to spend it so easily. Even though he spends money freely, is he truly free? Has he attained liberation? Is he truly happy?

I have an interesting story to share about a wealthy, young socialite. When she was asked to change [her habits], she had no problem doing so. But when it came to her cravings [for food], she found it difficult. Eventually, she became very committed in observing vegetarian precepts. One day, her friends gave her two crabs. This was usually her favorite food. However, when she saw that these two crabs were very much alive and their legs were still moving, she really struggled in her heart. She said, “I made up my mind to observe vegetarian precepts. I need to have sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness.” So she thought, “I will give them to someone else.”

Then she wondered, “Is it right to give them to someone else? I will not be the one killing them, but if I let someone else kill them and create that karma, that is not good either. If I don’t eat them, someone else will kill and eat them. Then I will be adding to their karma. So, it is better that I kill and eat them.” Thus she had a very good excuse; she didn’t want others to create bad karma, so she would create the karma herself.

So, she steamed the crabs live, as usual. Then, she removed the shells from the freshly steamed crabs. After removing the shells, she began to eat, but she realized she did not enjoy the taste. She found it strange that it tasted different than usual, even to the point of making her a bit nauseous. That was when she realized, “I made an aspiration! In the past, I did not know any better and gave in to my cravings. But now that I have been very diligent, this feeling I have now is my awakened conscience.”

Truly, this was fortunate! It was fortunate that she did not enjoy the taste and even felt nauseous. This helped solidify her resolve, and to this day, she remains a vegetarian. Not only does she observe vegetarian precepts, she has become very diligent and has eliminated all her cravings. Now that she has purified her mind, she can abide in the path and purify Buddha-lands. In the past, she could not control herself. Whenever she heard of delicious food somewhere, she had no self-control, so she was not free. She was led by her cravings for taste. Now she is free and at ease. She has understood the principle of eating.

We eat only to sustain our life, to get enough nutrients. Our bodies will only be purified if we can still our minds. With a pure body and still mind, the path will be clear. This leads to the understanding of the most correct principles.

As I just said, because she had this opportunity to [listen to] the Dharma, she faced this struggle and eventually achieved an understanding. Will this understanding last a lifetime? Can she abide by what she said? “I will never do it again.” Whether or not her mind will always be pure, we do not know. That depends on whether or not her mind wavers. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas remain firm.

The Dharma attained by the Buddha is called Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. That is the wisdom realized by the Buddha. Thus, it is perfect and universal enlightenment.

Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas are great enlightened sentient beings who seek the fruit of the path.

[When we break down] “Bodhisattva, Bodhi” means enlightenment and “sattva” means being. They are called “enlightened sentient beings. Maha” means great, as in “great enlightened sentient beings” abbreviated as “great sentient beings.” Therefore, they are “great sentient beings who seek the fruit of the path” in the Buddhist sutras, especially in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, those at the assembly where the Buddha [taught] “the unspoken Lotus Sutra” were all great enlightened beings who sincerely sought the path. Moreover, with every step they realize the fruits [of Arhathood,]. This is “seek[ing] the fruit of the path.” This means that, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, not only did they form aspirations, they physically put them into practice and attained realizations at every step of this spiritual journey.

Maha [means big or great]. There are three ways they are great. They have great vows, take great actions and perform great transformations of sentient beings. Therefore, they are called great sentient beings and also enlightened sentient beings.

So, “Maha” means great. There are three things that are great. First, to “have great vows.” When we make vows, we must make great vows. We should not make vows like ordinary people. For example, when their children have impending exams, they go to the temple and buy fruits, incense and flowers to pray. They vow that if their children get accepted into their ideal schools, they will be vegetarian twice a month. That is also making a vow. However, that is a small vow. The type of vows we need to make are great vows. For the vow to be great, we need to start by aspiring to transform ourselves and others, to save ourselves and others. So, we must make great vows.

We also need to “take great actions.” Simply making a vow is useless. We must physically act on it. No matter how great our vow is, if we refuse to carry it out, that is an empty, insubstantial vow. So, we must put our vows into action to save all sentient beings.

Great transformation of sentient beings means we must widely transform sentient beings, not just one or two but a countless number. This is truly “perform great transformations of sentient beings.” Then we can be called great sentient beings, great enlightened sentient beings, which are known as Mahasattvas. So as Buddhist practitioners, we need to learn to form Bodhisattva-aspirations and make great aspirations.

They all have inconceivable merits and virtues. Merits are the ability to benefit others and create blessings. This ability allows us to attain virtue from good actions. So, being virtuous also means to attain.

“They all have inconceivable merits and virtues” and are about to reach Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi because they have each already realized the fruits of the path. Those who are already close to reaching Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi all have inconceivable merits and virtues. They have already accomplished so much. As I have just discussed, [they had] great vows, took great actions and performed great transformations of sentient beings. Thus, they create infinite [merits and virtues]. This is called inconceivable merits and virtues.

“Merits are the ability to benefit others and create blessings.” Our ability to create blessings and benefit all sentient beings is called “merit.” There is no use in just making vows in our minds, we still have to express them. So, “the virtue attained from good actions” means we must go and carry out good actions. By doing them, we attain virtue. For a person to be virtuous, they must take action.

It is said, “the virtuous attain.” I have often discussed this with you all. As we gradually take actions, we attain virtues. So, the Essay on the Meaning of the Great Vehicle.

Says this about merits and virtues: “Merits refer to ability or function. A good action has the function of nurturing our ability to bless and benefit others.” A good action can nurture us to bless and benefit all sentient beings.

This is what we call “merits and virtues.” This is what the Buddha originally taught us to do. The Essay on the Meaning of the Great Vehicle also teaches us to do the same. So, we must not stray from the principle of benefiting all beings found in the Great Vehicle. Thus, we truly cannot stray from the true principles of the Buddha’s teachings. All of these teachings are to help people’s minds dwell on the path in their daily living. The course of that path must be correct. Aside from that, we must further understand that being a spiritual practitioner is not just about becoming a monastic and living in a monastery. True Bodhisattvas play effortlessly and are truly focused on benefiting all beings. This is the actual goal of our spiritual practice. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 139 – Bodhisattvas Play Effortlessly in this World

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>> “Are like majestic and brave lions that can subdue and overpower all beasts, near impervious to harm.”

>> The lions, fierce and brave, fear no sounds. Just like one who speaks fearlessly when facing deviant and odd teachings. When the lion roars, the brains of wild beasts will burst.

>> Replete with all precepts, there is no shortcoming in demeanor. In the practice of all good deeds, each has its decree. Thus, it is called a demeanor.

>> What is a dignified demeanor? “Having dignity in the way we move and act.”

>> Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in all the Paramitas; then at the stage of Tathagata they remain firm and unwavering, they abide in the power of their vows and extensively purify Buddha-lands -Chapter on Virtues, Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

>> “Attain the Samadhi of effortless play.”

>> “It is said that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas focus on saving sentient beings as play.”

>> So, “at the stage of the Tathagata” refers to how. So, “at the stage of the Tathagata” refers to how “all Bodhisattvas use this vehicle of Dharma to arrive at the state of the Tathagata.”

>> “Dignifying the Buddha-state is a great matter. Merits and virtues from benefiting ourselves cannot accomplish this, so this requires the power of great vows.”

>> “After the Buddha bestowed this prediction, at midnight, He entered Nirvana without residue.”

>> “After the Buddha crossed into cessation, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva upheld the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra for a full 80 small kalpas, expounding it to others.”

>> To uphold: This has many meanings. After hearing and understanding the Dharma, that comprehension leads to actions. Through actions, one attains realizations.

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In our spiritual practice, “the mind is without hindrances, therefore there are no hindrances.” This is how we must cultivate our mind to take in the Dharma. As for taking the Buddha-Dharma to heart, before the Buddha gave the Lotus teachings, He gave the “unspoken Lotus Sutra,” which was His state of mind. When our mental states are free of hindrances, we.

“Are like majestic and brave lions that can subdue and overpower all beasts, near impervious to harm.”

So, the bravery and fierceness of lions can [give rise to] majesty. It is commonly said, “The absence of greed results in bravery; the absence of fear results in determination.” So, if our minds are free of greedy thoughts and if we can eliminate afflictions, that is bravery. So, “the lions, brave and fierce” is an analogy for spiritual practitioners. After removing all afflictions, [everything we think and do is right,] so we are naturally fearless. Moreover, the words we speak will be right.

The lions, fierce and brave, fear no sounds. Just like one who speaks fearlessly when facing deviant and odd teachings. When the lion roars, the brains of wild beasts will burst.

[When we are right,] we “speak fearlessly when facing deviant and odd teachings.” Knowledgeable people may ask us very difficult and profound questions. But no matter how they argue, as long as the Buddha-Dharma is firmly in our minds, our mindset, path and actions will be right. So we will not be afraid to speak up or. Then we are “majestic.” So, the Buddha’s expounding of Dharma is like a lion’s roar. As a lion lies in the jungle and is about to release his roar, That sound will shake the entire land. Not only will the sound be heard throughout the jungle, the ground will seem to quake. This is the comparison He makes.

At the same time, there are many other creatures in the forest. In saying “the brains of wild beasts will burst” the “wild beasts” are rodents, which can refer to people with a limited mind and incorrect mindset. So when the roar is heard, “the brains of wild beasts will burst.” They are so scared that it feels as if their brains will split apart. This is an analogy. The Buddha’s majesty can cause all beasts to surrender.

Replete with all precepts, there is no shortcoming in demeanor. In the practice of all good deeds, each has its decree. Thus, it is called a demeanor.

To train all sentient beings, we must have a dignified demeanor. Thus, we use our demeanor to subdue sentient beings.

What is a dignified demeanor? “Having dignity in the way we move and act.”

As we walk, stand, sit or lie down, every movement of our body must have a dignified demeanor.

We must be dignified in the way we move and act. For a spiritual practitioner, internal cultivation and external practice are very important. “Replete with all precepts” means that, aside from our external behavior and our every action and conduct, we must also uphold internal discipline. We cannot keep breaking precepts in our minds or when no one is watching, then act dignified when someone is around. This goes against our spiritual aspirations. “Dignity without virtue” cannot tame sentient beings.

So, we must be “replete with all precepts” so that “there is no shortcoming in demeanor.” With internal cultivation and external practice, we are not lacking in discipline. “In the practice of all good deeds, each has its decree. Thus it is called a demeanor.” Everything we do, all the words we speak, every movement of our body, all interactions with people and things, must be carried out in accordance with rules. These are decrees. We base them on our scriptures. If we can achieve this, we truly have a dignified demeanor.

Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in all the Paramitas; then at the stage of Tathagata they remain firm and unwavering, they abide in the power of their vows and extensively purify Buddha-lands -Chapter on Virtues, Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world. We have been born into this world, and I often talk about how. Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world. Sometimes they see people and wonder why they cannot get past things and be understanding. Life is like a play and. Bodhisattvas play effortlessly. But in this play, whatever role we play, we must act the part very successfully. Then on this stage of life, we have successfully played our roles. We can also compare our spiritual cultivation to being in a play. In the Record of Passing on the Lamp, one of the passages states,

“Attain the Samadhi of effortless play.”

This means,

“It is said that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas focus on saving sentient beings as play.”

Samadhi is the mind’s meditative state. In it, the mind does not waver, and spiritual aspirations absolutely do not waver. While there may be outward movement, inwardly the mind remains very still and does not waver. Therefore, “all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas focus on saving sentient beings as play.” Focus leads to Samadhi, an unwavering spiritual aspiration, right thinking, right view and right action. There are multitudes of suffering sentient beings, and Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to this world to transform sentient beings. But this requires focus. They treat this as play. So, we say, “Bodhisattvas play effortlessly.”

In the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, this passage contains the right Dharma that has been retained and guarded by all Buddhas.

So, “at the stage of the Tathagata” refers to how. So, “at the stage of the Tathagata” refers to how “all Bodhisattvas use this vehicle of Dharma to arrive at the state of the Tathagata.”

All Bodhisattvas have this mindset when they engage in spiritual practice to reach the state of the Buddha. But before reaching that state, they have to save all sentient beings. Saving all sentient beings is the Bodhisattva Wath. So, we need to follow this path to arrive at the state of the Tathagata. Once there, we can rest peacefully. When we abide peacefully, we are in Nirvana, a state with neither arising nor ceasing. Therefore, “they abide in the power of their vows and extensively purify Buddha-lands,”

“Abiding in the power of their vows” is talking about the “power of great vows;” it is the power of fundamental vows. In the Treatise on the Great Wisdom Paramita, it is said,

“Dignifying the Buddha-state is a great matter. Merits and virtues from benefiting ourselves cannot accomplish this, so this requires the power of great vows.”

We engage in spiritual practice for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings. Spiritual practitioners must dignify the Buddha-state. We need to reach a place where the Buddha-Dharma, the right Dharma, can peacefully abide. In this world, whether it is the realm of physical existence or a spiritual state, we must be able to dignify the Buddha-Dharma. This is a vow we must all make. So, this is a great matter. The Buddha came to this world for one great cause, so that in this physical existence, and in our state of mind, we can hold on to the power of our vows. This is how we dignify the Buddha-Dharma. So, this is “a great matter.” Dignifying the Buddha-state is our great matter.

“Merits and virtues from benefiting ourselves cannot accomplish this. Benefitting ourselves” refers to practicing only for our own awakening. If we want to only practice by ourselves, our merits and virtues cannot accomplish this. How can we widely spread the Buddha-Dharma throughout the realm of physical existence and throughout the minds of all sentient beings. So, we must work in concert with others, with unity, harmony and love. This is how great merits and virtues are achieved.

In the next passage of the Lotus Sutra, this section begins to discuss how Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha bestowed a prediction upon Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva.

“After the Buddha bestowed this prediction, at midnight, He entered Nirvana without residue.”

“Nirvana without residue” is a state not tarnished in the slightest. Because the mind is pure and tranquil and has eliminated all afflictions, this state is “without residue.” The rapids of life and death have been cut off, so one will not return to the Six Realms. Even if one returns to the Six Realms, one will be steering the ship of compassion. All afflictions have been eliminated, so the spirit is calm and the mind is unwavering. As I have discussed previously, majesty is [a state of] freedom and ease.

Though all Buddhas share the same path, their term of transformation is limited by time. So, a lifetime of transformation will come to a conclusion. When it has reached its end, “at midnight, He entered Nirvana without residue.” This is also called Perfect Rest. The conditions for transformation have been “perfected.” There are no flaws, so everything is perfect. Therefore, this is called Perfect Rest. Because these conditions are perfected, what one takes in is tranquil and still, free of afflictions and hindrances. Entering a tranquil and still state is entering the Land of Calm Illumination. Nirvana is also the Land of Calm Illumination. It is tranquil, still and bright, free of impurities. This is called a Buddha-land, or a pure land. This is also called Perfect Rest or Nirvana. At this moment Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha was about to enter Nirvana.

So the next passage says,

“After the Buddha crossed into cessation, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva upheld the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra for a full 80 small kalpas, expounding it to others.”

Though a Buddha may be in Perfect Rest, the Buddha-Dharma is still here, just as Sakyamuni Buddha is in Perfect Rest, but the Buddha-Dharma is still here. It had to be passed down from lamp to lamp. Over 2000 years later, don’t we still have the same Buddha-Dharma? So now we must promote it in the world in the hope that there will be Dharma in both the physical and the spiritual world. This is what it means to “uphold.” For Dharma to be passed on, we must uphold it.

So, “since the Buddha crossed into extinction, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva upheld the teachings to transform the assembly.” He needed to uphold the sutras and the Dharma to transform sentient beings. This means he “endlessly turns the Dharma-wheel.”

Not only can the Buddha turn the Dharma-wheel, Bodhisattvas can also turn the Dharma-wheel. The Dharma-wheel cannot stop turning. Similarly, when a car is traveling, its tires cannot stop turning; they have to keep moving to go forward. Bodhisattvas must still continuously turn this [Dharma-]wheel to arrive at the state of the Tathagata. So, this is the reason Bodhisattvas uphold the teachings and transform the assembly. Thus, they “endlessly turn the Dharma-wheel.” To “uphold” has many meanings. But most importantly, it means to understand the Dharma they hear. We need to take in what we hear. “That comprehension leads to actions” means we must physically put our understanding into practice. Only then can we have a wonderful state of mind. When we see and attain realizations ourselves, we bear witness to the Buddha-Dharma.

Ancient masters and virtuous people of the past have upheld their understanding of the Buddha-Dharma and passed it down to today. We start by taking action and then later review to verify that we have not strayed from the teachings. “Through actions, they attain realizations.”

To uphold: This has many meanings. After hearing and understanding the Dharma, that comprehension leads to actions. Through actions, one attains realizations.

To focus on saving all sentient beings is spiritual practice and how Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in the world. This is also bearing witness. “Acting on one’s own accord to transform another” is part of what it means “to uphold,” like how Dharma Master Wondrous Light upheld the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. This is what it means to “uphold.” This story comes from. Manjusri Bodhisattva’s description of the era of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Bodhisattva. At that time, the demeanor of. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Bodhisattva before He began to expound the Dharma also included radiating light and manifesting auspicious signs. Likewise, there were many people waiting. And, upon emerging from Samadhi, He also bestowed predictions on the Bodhisattvas. After doing so, He also entered Parinirvana. Then there were also Bodhisatvas who continued to pass down the Dharma.

This is how Manjursri Bodhisattva presently described Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Bodhisattva. So, this tells everyone that. Sakyamuni Buddha is now about to expound the wondrous Dharma. The Buddha is sitting there, starting off just like the ancient Buddhas. That is a “cause.” Because He is going to expound wondrous Dharma, He manifested appearances and radiated light. So, all Buddhas share the same path. Fellow practitioners, fellow Bodhisattvas, we must truly be joyous when we hear the Dharma. To do that, we will need to always be mindful.

Episode 138 – One Lamp Kindles the Flame of Another

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>> “As tamers or great tamers, they are disciplined in their conduct. They are like trainers of elephants and horses who can train all.”

>> The Buddha-Dharma is a cart. The disciples are horses. The true Dharma is the treasure and the Buddha is the tamer. If the horse deviates from the course, He immediately commands and tames it.

>> At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, who was bestowing a prediction, announced to the bhiksus, “Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva will next become a Buddha called Pure Body, Tathagata, Araha, SamyakSambuddha.”

>> “At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury.” Virtue Treasury: Replete with merits and virtues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. By storing them in his treasury, he benefitted himself. With these virtues, he widely gives to sentient beings to benefit them.

>> Bestowing a prediction: When a Holy One speaks and imparts, He is bestowing. The fruit and His expectation is the prediction.

>> Question: In the past, while expounding sutras, the Buddha gave predictions to Bodhisattvas. Now He gives predictions to Hearers. How can we say they are the same? Answer: Those who have perfected [their virtues] are now called Bodhisattvas. Those who will also practice this path are the Hearers.

>> “From one lamp two flames were kindled. One [flame] was passed to Wondrous Light to promote the Dharma and benefit living beings by transforming endlessly, so this path will never vanish. One [flame] was passed to Virtue Treasury for humans and heavenly beings to rely on, so the lamps will be passed on.”

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We must constantly tame our minds. We listen to teachings solely to tame our minds. The Buddha taught us the Dharma because. He wanted us to return to our intrinsic nature. That intrinsic nature is still within us. If we can tame the mind and keep it pure, then that is our intrinsic nature. If our intrinsic nature has been defiled, then it becomes the discriminating mind. Then it is a “mind” and no longer a “nature.” That is why we must work on taming our minds. We walk the right path without straying, so we can return to our intrinsic nature.

So, this passage from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings states,

“As tamers or great tamers, they are disciplined in their conduct. They are like trainers of elephants and horses who can train all.”

When we talk about a tamer, we are using the analogy of a carriage. The cart needs a horse. A horse needs someone to care for it, so it can take the cart to a destination. The cart is like the Buddha-Dharma. The horse is the disciple. On the cart, there are true treasures of Dharma. The driver of the carriage is the Buddha. He wants to train His disciples to carry the Dharma to a destination. He wants to drive this carriage. He knows where to direct the cargo. The horse pulling the carriage forward must not deviate from the path. If the horse deviates from the path, it must be corrected immediately. This is an analogy.

The Buddha-Dharma is a cart. The disciples are horses. The true Dharma is the treasure and the Buddha is the tamer. If the horse deviates from the course, He immediately commands and tames it.

So, the Sutra of Infinite Meanings uses crazy elephants and wild horses as an analogy for sentient beings. These animals can only be controlled by a tamer. He has to know the nature of the beasts. He knows the kind of method that is needed to tame each kind of beast. We sentient beings are like these wild animals, so we need a tamer to discipline us. The Buddha is the tamer that disciplines us. He is a great tamer.

I recall a story about how Devadatta wanted to kill the Buddha. He intoxicated some elephants and caused them to become out of control. When he saw the Buddha coming in the distance, he let these wild elephants loose. he released these drunken elephants, so their violent energy would cause them to trample the Buddha. But the Buddha is dignified and wise, awe-inspiring and at ease. Though He saw the herd of wild elephants, He remained calm and at ease, advancing steadily. The elephants ran toward the Buddha. But when they came right up to Him, they stopped suddenly, as if bolted to the ground. They stopped moving. The Buddha gestured toward them, and they calmed down. The elephants were then well-behaved and sat down in an orderly fashion. Their minds and bodies were calmed. They became docile and obedient. This is what a tamer, a great tamer, does. He is a great tamer.

A tamer has to know the nature of sentient beings. To do that, he must tame his own mind. Because inside each one of us, there are crazy elephants and wild horses. If we do not pay attention, even just momentarily, the elephants in our hearts will get drunk and the horses that are in our minds will not accept our taming. So, these states of mind are signs that we are still unenlightened beings, that we are still sentient beings.

The Buddha appeared in the world to tame sentient beings. There are so many sentient beings; how does one begin to tame them? Even though the Buddha manifested cessation over 2000 years ago, His Dharmakaya still remains in the world. We must apply the Buddha’s teachings and methods. We need to spread Buddha-Dharma in the world, so all sentient beings can come in contact with it. This is using the Dharma to tame the mind. The Dharma of the mind has to be experienced.

So, “as tamers and great tamers, they are disciplined in their conduct.” We must be disciplined in our conduct. Time passes quickly. Life exists in the space of a breath. Why take issue over things? Being able to accept Buddha-Dharma is precious. We have to be diligent and make progress; that is our great goal as we learn the Buddha’s teachings.

At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, who was bestowing a prediction, announced to the bhiksus, “Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva will next become a Buddha called Pure Body, Tathagata, Araha, SamyakSambuddha.”

The previous passage comes from the Lotus Sutra. “At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury.” Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha picked him out of so many people to bestow this prediction [of Buddhahood]. He accumulated virtues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. That is a very large number. He was replete in all kinds of virtues.

Everybody, [doing] a good deed is a virtue. [Saying] a kind word is also a virtue. Helping others is also a virtue. All these small deeds accumulate until there are “virtues as numerous as sands of the Ganges.” By doing something regularly, it becomes “stored in our treasury.” It is said, “If the husband practices, he attains. If the wife practices, she attains. If someone does not practice, they do not attain.” So, he practiced everything, and stored it all in his heart. This is called “virtue.”

I often say that internal cultivation creates “merit,” and external practice creates “virtue.” We have to constantly tame the crazy elephants and wild horses within us. We must constantly tame [our minds] and take action to help others. The ability to control ourselves is a “merit.” If we can give, that is a “virtue.” These are then stored. In doing this, we benefit ourselves. He was replete with both internal cultivation and external practice.

“At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury.” Virtue Treasury: Replete with merits and virtues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. By storing them in his treasury, he benefitted himself. With these virtues, he widely gives to sentient beings to benefit them.

So, “with these virtues, he widely gives to sentient beings to benefit them.” With these kinds of virtues from internal and external practices, we can also set an example for others and pass along these teachings to them. If we have the virtue to widely give to sentient beings, everybody will listen to and comply with our words. This is called benefiting others. So, Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva is replete with all these virtues. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha bestowed the prediction on him to attain Buddhahood out of the many people there.

Bestowing a prediction: When a Holy One speaks and imparts, He is bestowing. The fruit and His expectation is the prediction.

Bestowing is when a Holy One speaks and imparts. When a Holy One makes you a promise, that is called bestowing a prediction. A Holy One’s promises never fail. When He tells you that you will become a Buddha, you must believe Him. Everyone else must also believe Him. This is the promise of a Holy One. This is called bestowing a prediction. “The fruit and His expectation is called a prediction.” That he will become a Buddha is what the Buddha wishes for him deep in His heart. His promise is His hope. It is more than hope; Virtue Treasury will certainly become a Buddha.

Question: In the past, while expounding sutras, the Buddha gave predictions to Bodhisattvas. Now He gives predictions to Hearers. How can we say they are the same? Answer: Those who have perfected [their virtues] are now called Bodhisattvas. Those who will also practice this path are the Hearers.

Some people asked, “In the past, Buddhas expounded sutras and bestowed predictions on Bodhisattvas.” But this time [was different] as Sakyamuni Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra. Later there is a Chapter on Bestowing Predictions in which those to whom predictions were bestowed upon were Arhats. So for those who have read sutras, they found this strange. In the past, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha bestowed predictions on Bodhisattvas that they would become Buddhas. So, why was Sakyamuni Buddha bestowing predictions on Arhats, instead? What is the reason? People asked this question.

The answer is, “those who have perfected their virtues are now called Bodhisattvas.” At the time when. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha bestowed predictions on Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva, who had already accumulated merits and virtues as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. After perfecting his virtues, he became a Bodhisattva. Now, the Arhats that Sakyamuni Buddha bestowed predictions on are still at the stage of learning. They are predicted to become Bodhisattvas. The Buddha gave them teachings so they can focus on practicing the Bodhisattva-path. If they practice that path diligently, they can also become Buddhas in the future.

Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva once became a monastic, a bhiksu, then an Arhat. Then he made a great aspiration to practice the Bodhisattva Way, so these predictions were bestowed upon him by Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha. Now, the Buddha bestowed predictions on these bhiksus. These bhiksus have also aspired to practice. Whether they were Solitary Realizers or Arhats, they listened to Him teach the Great Vehicle Dharma and they formed Bodhisattva-aspirations. Thus predictions were also bestowed upon them. Now, He was bestowing the predictions earlier so they would practice the Bodhisattva-path and become Buddhas. So “those who will also practice this path,” had predictions bestowed upon them that they can also become Buddhas in the future.

People also asked, “Why did He give teachings to Wondrous Light and give predictions to Virtue Treasury?” Didn’t Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant give teachings to Wondrous Light Bodhisattva after emerging from Samadhi? Why did He bestow predictions on Virtue Treasury? The answer is, “Wondrous Light had the capabilities. He must have already received a prediction.”

Wondrous Light was the one the teachings suited and had predictions bestowed upon him in the past. This implies that Wondrous Light [Bodhisattva] had already attained Buddhahood in the past. This reflected how Buddhas and. Bodhisattvas constantly return out of compassion. [They are those] who have achieved, have yet to achieve and are achieving. Wondrous Light had achieved, he had also attained Buddhahood in the past and had returned to assist at this Dharma-assembly. Virtue Treasury is achieving Buddhahood. And then the Hearers, on whom the Buddha bestows predictions in expounding Lotus Sutra, are those who have not yet achieved Buddhahood. But, they will achieve Buddhahood in the future. Have achieved, is achieving, and yet to achieve are the three categories of capabilities. These three are in completely different stages, but they can all achieve Buddhahood.

“From one lamp two flames were kindled. One [flame] was passed to Wondrous Light to promote the Dharma and benefit living beings by transforming endlessly, so this path will never vanish. One [flame] was passed to Virtue Treasury for humans and heavenly beings to rely on, so the lamps will be passed on.”

So, this was the prediction: You now know that one had become a Buddha and returned as a Bodhisattva. The other is a Bodhisattva about to achieve Buddhahood. This is using “one lamp to kindle two flames.” Once one lamp is lit, another two can be illuminated. All will be bright. I hope we can all understand the Buddha’s wisdom and the wonders of Dharma. One flame was passed to Wondrous Light to promote Dharma and benefit living beings. This path will continue forever. The other lamp was passed to Virtue Treasury for humans and heavenly beings to rely on so that future humans and heavenly beings will know that there are those who will become Buddhas, and we can rely on them. The wisdom of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha and the wisdom of our Sakyamuni Buddha should be equal.

Everyone, we must really make an effort. After Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant bestowed predictions, He soon entered Nirvana without residue. So when we hear this sutra, we must cherish it. We must use our bodies to practice the Dharma. We must not hear the teachings and then forget it. Without practice, listening to it would be useless. So, I hope that the Dharma will be in our heart and in our actions. Everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 137 – With Spiritual Medicine, Transform Self and Others

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>> “As master boatmen or great master boatmen, they ferry all living beings across the river of life and death to the shore of Nirvana.”

>> A medicine-king or great medicine-king analyzes the phases of diseases, knows well the properties of the medicine, dispenses it according to the disease and enables people to joyfully take it -Chapter on Virtues, Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

>> Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha finished expounding this sutra at the end of 60 small kalpas. To the Brahma, maras, sramanas, Brahmins, heavenly beings, humans and asuras assembled, He made this announcement: “Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue.”

>> “At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, who was bestowing a prediction, announced to the bhiksus that. Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva would become the next Buddha, called Pure Body, Tathagata, Araha, SamyakSambuddha.”

>> “After the Buddha made this prediction, at midnight, He entered Nirvana without residue.” I had just generally explained that Nirvana means “crossing into cessation,” a state of calmness and cessation, no rebirth and non-contriving. It is a state of peace and joy, as well as liberation.

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Being a Buddhist practitioner is about transforming ourselves and others. This is our aim as Buddhist practitioners.

“As master boatmen or great master boatmen, they ferry all living beings across the river of life and death to the shore of Nirvana.”

Everyone, when we read this passage, doesn’t joy arise in our hearts? The master boatman can cross the river and simultaneously help others cross.

On the other shore is the tranquility of Nirvana, such a pure and undefiled state. The afflictions of birth and death on this shore are truly unbearably painful. Aside from having a confused and chaotic state of mind, people suffer from illnesses of the body and mind. According to the laws of nature, humans must go through birth, aging, illness and death. This is what happens to a physical body; it naturally ages and becomes ill. This is unbearable suffering! There are also psychological illnesses, such as mania, depression and autism. These states of mind are truly unbearably painful. Patients do not suffer alone, their entire families suffer with them. Not only does the family suffer, other people who come in contact with them suffer as they do not know how to interact with them. This is life. Mental illnesses are more painful than physical illnesses.

The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One. Someone who has attained Buddhahood specializes in treating sentient beings’ illnesses and teaches according to capabilities. Thus, the Four Noble Truths and the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence both help us discover our problems. But after we discover our problems, how should we proceed? What physical actions can we practice to treat illnesses of the mind? The best treatment method is to actualize the Six Perfections in all actions. These six methods are tools that become our boats. Regardless of the size of the boat, it will need someone to sail it. We ourselves are master boatmen, the best at steering boats. Not only can we take ourselves from this shore of afflictions and confusion, of chaos and panic, directly across to the opposite shore, we can also help many people cross over. One gives rise to infinity, infinity arises from one.

The myriad actions of the Six Paramitas must be adapted to all kinds of people and their many kinds of suffering. People are numerous and their suffering is boundless. If we aspire to be a great boatman, we must adapt to the suffering of numerous sentient beings. We have to face boundless suffering. Their suffering is boundless; it has no end. So, we use 80,000 Dharma-doors to realize the Six Paramitas in all actions. Thus, there are many methods we need to adapt. This is how we transform the world, transform ourselves and others.

A medicine-king or great medicine-king analyzes the phases of diseases, knows well the properties of the medicine, dispenses it according to the disease and enables people to joyfully take it -Chapter on Virtues, Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

Thus, the Buddha came to the human realm as the Great Medicine-King and was able to analyze what causes people to suffer, and then figure out how to treat their boundless suffering. [The Buddha is] the Great Medicine-King and “analyzes the phases of diseases and knows well the properties of medicine,” This means He understands every person’s nature and the varying capabilities of all beings. He knows which method and medicine to use to treat each illness. The Great Medicine-King comprehends all of these things and has control over them. He knows how to “dispense medicine according to the disease, and enable people to joyfully take it.” He does not just prescribe medicine, He enables the patient to accept it and joyfully take it.

In summary, to learn and practice the Dharma, we must be diligent. Each sentence of the Buddha-Dharma can be adapted to the capabilities of all sentient beings. How do we adapt them? We must mindfully and deeply examine them. Thus, we interact with others to gain a deeper understanding.

The Buddhas of the past were like Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha who did this for a very long time. Once He sat down at the Dharma-assembly, He sat for 60 small kalpas. This means this Buddha was in this world for a very long time. He encountered countless beings, two billion beings, and He taught according to their capabilities. Buddhas of the past did this, and. Buddhas of the present are the same.

Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha finished expounding this sutra at the end of 60 small kalpas. To the Brahma, maras, sramanas, Brahmins, heavenly beings, humans and asuras assembled, He made this announcement: “Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue.”

Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha took 60 small kalpas to finish giving this teaching. He spent such a long time, 60 small kalpas, on teaching “the unspoken Lotus Sutra,” or the true Dharma to transform the world. He explained everything. Thus, Therefore, in the previous passage, the words “Brahma” and “maras” refers to a pure-minded heavenly king and beings who try to obstruct the Dharma. “Maras” destroy and disturbs spiritual aspirations. But by this point, they have self-reflected, changed their ways and become Dharma-protectors. So, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha had beings like these at His spiritual assembly.

Besides heavenly kings and maras, there were sramanas and Brahmins, as well as heavenly beings, humans and asuras. Amid such a large gathering, He announced. “Today, at midnight, I will enter Nirvana.” This shows everyone that even one who attains Buddhahood is still subject to the laws of nature. So, He was about to physically enter Nirvana. [Beings’] capabilities and circumstances had matured and the conditions for transformation had arrived. The things that needed to be done were done. Those with karmic connections were all transformed. The capabilities of those transformed were almost fully mature. So, this “transformation-body” should manifest extinction in this world.

The conditions for transformation for. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha had ended, Within that assembly He announced that. He would soon physically enter Nirvana. Indeed, Parinirvana is known as “calm illumination” or “tranquil stillness” or “crossing into cessation.” It destroys the rapids of birth and death. This is called Nirvana.

We ordinary people are still in the rapids of birth and death without any control. Amidst the 1000-foot swells in the river of cravings and the rapids of birth and death, we are stuck treading water. We need to know that the cause and effect of cyclic existence is continuously sowing seeds in and reaping fruits during our interactions with others. Because of these karmic retributions, we are trapped in the cycle of birth and death. Because of affinities with this set of parents, or with the person who becomes our spouse or child, we are entangled in these karmic connections.

So, we must understand the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. Then we make use of the Six Paramitas as six kinds of tools for building a boat. We need to cross the Truths of Suffering and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. After we safely cross the rapids of birth and death, we reach Nirvana. This is crossing into cessation.

As stated in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, “As master boatmen or great master boatmen, they ferry all living beings” from this shore across to the shore of Nirvana, which is the opposite shore, so “across the river of life and death to the shore of Nirvana.” I speak of this repeatedly because this is the Buddha’s “unspoken Lotus Sutra.” Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant said the same thing. So, crossing into cessation is called Nirvana. Attaining Nirvana is crossing into cessation. What do we cease? We cease the rapids of birth and death.

We cross over with a boat, by using the Six Paramitas: giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These are the tools for building a boat, and among these tools is a steering wheel. We should let everyone know our course and how the rapids of birth and death come about. We already know that these rapids come from our suffering. We have accumulated many afflictions, so we want to extinguish and eliminate them. Then we can escape [from the rapids].

Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha had already attained this stage. He said to everyone, “Today, at midnight, I will enter Nirvana.” When a Buddha’s connection to this world is almost over, He will expound the great Dharma. After freely sharing these major teachings, He has finished saying all He wanted to say and can depart in peace.

Then the Lotus Sutra states,

“At that time, there was a Bodhisattva named Virtue Treasury. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha, who was bestowing a prediction, announced to the bhiksus that. Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva would become the next Buddha, called Pure Body, Tathagata, Araha, SamyakSambuddha.”

“[He] announced to the bhiksus” that is, He said to them, “Everyone should know that one of my disciples, Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva, has accumulated sufficient wisdom and sufficient connections with sentient beings. In the future, He will attain Buddhahood and come to transform sentient beings; he has the necessary qualifications.” This was because by interacting with people, Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva had already eliminated many afflictions. The intrinsic nature of his Dharmakaya had been awakened and was radiating light. So, he was called Pure Body, referring to his pure Dharmakaya. Also, “Tathagata” means “Thus Come,” meaning He remains unwavering as. He freely comes and goes. Thus Come is His pure and wondrous nature. Araha means “Arhat,” particularly the great Arhats, those worthy of offerings. “SamyakSambuddha” means completely awakened.

We all know the ten epithets of the Buddha, Tathagata, One Worthy of Offering, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action, Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans, Buddha the World-Honored One. Each Buddha is endowed with these ten epithets.

At that time, Virtue Treasury Bodhisattva had already begun to slowly enter that state. Thus, the Buddha made a prediction.

“After the Buddha made this prediction, at midnight, He entered Nirvana without residue.” I had just generally explained that Nirvana means “crossing into cessation,” a state of calmness and cessation, no rebirth and non-contriving. It is a state of peace and joy, as well as liberation.

Non-contriving is transcending the world of physical existence. This material world is marked by contrivances and activities. By transcending this world of physical existence, we are in a state of non-contriving where nothing in the universe will hinder us. “Non-contriving” means “free of hindrances” or “creating nothing.” This is not like when ordinary people do nothing, it means one’s body and mind are freed and thus unaffected by obstacles in the realm of physical existence. This is non-contriving. It is called Nirvana.

“Nirvana” has many meanings. Ordinarily it is explained as “perfect stillness” or eliminating the cause and effect of birth and death, crossing the rapids of birth and death. As I just explained, it is a land of peace, joy and calm illumination.

Every Buddha is motivated by compassion to return to the Saha world, to re-enter the midst of sentient beings. In fact, a Buddha comes and goes freely and is always in a land of peace, joy and calm illumination. He only comes here to manifest an opportunity for sentient beings and once the conditions mature, He declares that He will cross into cessation. Afterwards, there are others who can provide guidance, who can transmit the right Dharma.

Fellow Bodhisattvas, when we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must make a great effort to cross these rapids of birth and death. Let us remember the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links and how we can create the Six Paramitas. Thus can we safely cross the river of life and death. To treat the illnesses of the mind and many other illnesses of the world, we must make an effort to apply the wondrous medicine at all times. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 136 – Help All Beings Cross the River of Life and Death

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>> “Superior conceit, equal conceit and inferior conceit. Those with these three kinds of conceits may have disputes. The elimination of these three conceits is called unmoving thinking.”

>> So, “to turn those who are confused, in chaos and panic, toward great Right Mindfulness,” we must become “master boatmen or great master boatmen who ferry all living beings across the river of life and death to the shore of Nirvana.”

>> “Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha finished expounding the teachings at the end of 60 small kalpas. To the assembly of Brahma, maras, sramanas, Brahmins, heavenly beings, humans and asuras, He made this announcement: ‘Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue’”

>> After 60 small kalpas of expounding this sutra, [the Buddha] said He was crossing into cessation and entering Nirvana. Brahma: beings who are pure. Maras: beings who seize wisdom-life, damage spiritual practice, obstruct virtuous deeds. Sramanas: beings who still their minds to stop evil. Brahmins: beings who engage in purifying practices.

>> The Buddha’s Dharmakaya neither comes nor goes. It does not arise nor cease. With this transformation-body and according to the capabilities and conditions of sentient beings, He gave teachings.

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Every day, I talk about time. Every day, I talk about the mind. Time and our mind are essential to our daily living, particularly in our spiritual practice. We must seize this moment, live in the present and [discipline] our minds. We must have full control of our minds. This is the true goal of our spiritual practice.

In our lives, as we communicate with each other, not only must our ears discern right from wrong, we must speak the right Dharma. This is how we truly, mindfully learn Buddha’s teachings. This does not only apply to ourselves. We also hope that other people can have correct views and understanding, can discern right from wrong in what they hear and can speak the right Dharma. These roots, [these sense organs,] that were not utilized properly in the past, must be corrected now. [We must] guide them toward correct views and understanding and help them to discern right from wrong. If we are to guide others to do this, we must be able to practice it ourselves. We want to always be able to remain unmoving in body and mind.

Actually, first we have to break down our arrogance. There are several kinds of “arrogance.” In the sutras, there is this story from the Buddha’s lifetime. There was a dignified-looking young man who had just become a monastic and held very firm spiritual aspirations. One day before daybreak, he went to a pool to bathe. After he took off his clothing and was heading into the water, in the dark [he suddenly] saw a ray of light shine upon him. This young man felt slightly alarmed. When he was able to focus, he saw a dignified heavenly being.

This heavenly being appeared before the young bhiksu to ask, “Young bhiksu, I esteem you for becoming a monastic at such a young age. But why did you choose to leave home at such a young age? You could still be enjoying the many sensory pleasures in this world. Why did you become a monastic so young?” The bhiksu replied, “Although it has not been long since I became a monk, I know that this is my heartfelt aspiration. I heard the Buddha talk about how young He was when He became a monk and how that is the right time for people to leave their secular lives. But that time does not seem to be a suitable time for the Buddha’s teachings.” The heavenly being heard this and said, “I don’t understand. You say you became a monk at the right time, but it is not the right time for the Buddha’s teachings. What do you mean?”

The young bhiksu said, “I heard the Buddha say that this world is filled with the Five Desires. These desires will confuse people’s minds, [lead them to] create much karma and cause them to experience much suffering. So, this is not the right time.” The heavenly being said, “I still don’t understand. The Five Desires are an inherent part of this world. Aren’t people born into the world to enjoy them?” The bhiksu replied, “I haven’t been a monk for that long; I have not heard that many teachings. I heard the Buddha say this but I do not fully understand it either. If you want to understand, why don’t you ask the Buddha yourself?” The heavenly being said, “If this is the case, can you present me to Him?” The bhiksu said, “No problem.” And so it was decided. After the sun rose, he brought the heavenly being to the Buddha,

The Buddha was very glad to see this heavenly being. After the heavenly being sat down, he asked, “Venerable Buddha, I was just listening to this young bhiksu’s aspirations for becoming a monastic. He said he became a monk at the right time, but in the world it is not the right time. I don’t understand what that means.” The Buddha said, “Whether the time is right or wrong, you only need to ask yourself how you came to be born in the heaven realm?” The heavenly being responded in an arrogant tone of voice and said, “I practiced the Ten Good Deeds in” “the human realm so. I could be born in the heaven realm. Since I practiced them often, I was able to be born in heaven.” He repeated this statement three times. The Buddha smiled and replied, “In this world, many impermanent things also arise from the mind.”

Then the Buddha told him,

“Superior conceit, equal conceit and inferior conceit. Those with these three kinds of conceits may have disputes. The elimination of these three conceits is called unmoving thinking.”

The heavenly being told the Buddha, “I don’t understand this principle.” Then the Buddha told him, “Right now you are a heavenly being and are very joyful”. “You believe you were born in heaven because you practiced the Ten Good Deeds. Will it last forever and ever?” The heavenly being said, “I don’t know how long I will stay in heaven. I really don’t know.” The Buddha said, “Though a heavenly lifespan is long, it will still come to an end. When heavenly blessings are exhausted, one will still descend. Descend to where? “That depends on the karma you have created aside from your heavenly blessings.” The heavenly being said, “I don’t know. I don’t know how much good I have done. I really don’t know. I also don’t know how much evil I have done.”

The Buddha said, “Ah, yes, evil”. “Evil arises from the mind, from greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt. During your past lives, you probably did not have many greedy thoughts. You knew to give from what you obtained. You created blessings so you were reborn as a heavenly being. [Your] anger probably varied in intensity. Delusion easily caused you to become arrogant.” The heavenly being quietly thought to himself, and then said, “Oh, I understand now. Venerable Buddha, you mentioned ‘arrogance.’ Is that because in my mind, there is still a sense of arrogance?”

The Buddha said, “Correct! Arrogance [is also conceit] ‘Superior conceit’ means you feel like you have done so much that you are many times better than other people. Do you have that mindset? Yes, I do. What do you think of people who did more good deeds than you? I think that although they did more, since I was also born in heaven, we are about the same. We are equal. And then, what about when you are not as good as others? I think their goodness and my goodness having nothing to do with each other.” The Buddha said, “All right, you know you are not as good as others, yet you still don’t think about being more diligent. You even feel that it is fine to be not as good. You have a mind that is not willing to progress. This is called ‘inferior conceit.'”

Indeed, the Buddha taught the heavenly being about the Three Conceits. If they remained in his heart, then he would not know how scary the Five Desires are and thus would still want to enjoy pleasures. Then, he would still have conflicts [with others]. “If you can eliminate these three conceits, then you can be born in heaven and still comprehend the Buddha-Dharma and eliminate attachments. If this is the case, the mind becomes unmoving. As it enjoys pleasures, there are no ups or downs; such is an unmoving mind that will not be influenced by desires. Otherwise, although your good deeds have enabled you to be born in heaven, evil thoughts can still lead you into the three evil destinies.” Thus, “arrogance” is an illness of the mind.

Sentient beings are now filled with illnesses of the mind. How do we guide these sentient beings with illnesses of the mind toward the correct path? I often say that losing our temper is a form of temporary insanity. Indeed! This is the mind’s madness, recklessness and confusion. If our minds can constantly remain steady and calm, we can stay on the right course. With right mindfulness, throughout time and throughout our thoughts, we can constantly uphold and practice the Path. And not only should we do that, we must also guide others onto the right path.

So, “to turn those who are confused, in chaos and panic, toward great Right Mindfulness,” we must become “master boatmen or great master boatmen who ferry all living beings across the river of life and death to the shore of Nirvana.”

In this boundless sea, there are multitudes of sentient beings. We need to set sail on our Dharma-ship out of our compassion to save sentient beings in this boundless sea. Therefore, we must mindfully enter the path.

So, the next section of the Lotus Sutra states,

“Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha finished expounding the teachings at the end of 60 small kalpas. To the assembly of Brahma, maras, sramanas, Brahmins, heavenly beings, humans and asuras, He made this announcement: ‘Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue’”

60 small kalpas is a very long period of time. As I mentioned previously, even though it refers to a long time, it starts from the moment of “an arising thought” whether it feels long or short, we must cultivate [purifying practices]. Brahma means pure. Brahma also refers to Brahma Heaven. A heavenly being there, unlike those in Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings or. Trayastrimsa Heaven, did not get to be born there just by practicing the Ten Good Deeds. They also had to maintain a pure heart, which is a more advanced [state of] mind. To be born in Brahma Heaven, one must be able to do good deeds without attachment. So, “Brahma” refers Brahma Heaven and people who are pure.

What about maras? They rob us of wisdom-life and damage the teachings of the path. Thoughts that arise can also act as maras to influence people’s spiritual aspirations and destroy their path. This is what maras do. There are also sramanas, which refer to bhiksus, spiritual practitioners who calm their minds to stop evil. As they engage in spiritual practice, they still their minds and cease to be affected by thoughts. They are called sramanas. Then there are Brahmins. “Brahmin” means purifying practices.

After 60 small kalpas of expounding this sutra, [the Buddha] said He was crossing into cessation and entering Nirvana. Brahma: beings who are pure. Maras: beings who seize wisdom-life, damage spiritual practice, obstruct virtuous deeds. Sramanas: beings who still their minds to stop evil. Brahmins: beings who engage in purifying practices.

In conclusion, at Dharma-assemblies where all Buddhas teach, there are heavenly beings and humans. Of course, there are also asuras, blessed beings who did not refine themselves and frequently lose their tempers. At a Dharma-assembly of so many beings, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha announced, “‘Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue’”. Then He began to prepare to physically enter Nirvana. This means that after a lifetime of transforming and helping people cross over, He prepared to enter Nirvana without residue.

“Nirvana without residue” is a tranquil and still state where one has crossed into cessation and completely eliminated every cause and effect of cyclic existence in one’s heart. So, the “midnight” that. He spoke of at that time reflected a kind of long, dark night. When sentient beings’ minds stray into darkness, a Buddha will appear in the world to guide them. When the conditions for this transformation end, He will manifest the form of entering extinction.

Originally, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya is neither coming nor going, is neither arising nor ceasing. It inherently does not arise nor cease, He is only manifesting this form to guide and expound the Dharma for sentient beings. This form is the transformation-body. What enters cessation is the “transformation-body” that gave teachings to sentient beings according to their capabilities and conditions.

The Buddha’s Dharmakaya neither comes nor goes. It does not arise nor cease. With this transformation-body and according to the capabilities and conditions of sentient beings, He gave teachings.

So, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya inherently does not arise nor cease, He only manifested this transformation-body in order to give teachings to sentient beings according to their capabilities and conditions. In conclusion, the Buddha is always abiding in the world, but He only appears on earth at suitable times to guide and transform sentient beings. We must mindfully and meticulously think about this principle in order to understand it. So, we must always be mindful!

Episode 135 – Diligently Focus on Cultivating a Buddha-mind

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>> They are the safe, stable and joyful refuge for all sentient beings. They are the refuge of relief, protection and great support for all living beings. They are the great guiding teachers for all sentient beings everywhere. They serve as eyes for the blind; they serve as ears, noses or tongues for those who are deaf, have no nose or are mute. Thus, they make defective organs complete.

>> For 60 small kalpas, [they sat] with bodies and minds unmoving, listening to the Buddha speak as if in the span of time it takes to eat a meal. At this time in the assembly, not a single person grew weary, neither physically nor mentally.

>> Hence, “Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha finished expounding the teachings at the end of 60 small kalpas.”

>> “[After He finished] expounding the teachings to the assembly of Brahma, maras, sramanas, Brahmins, heavenly beings, humans and asuras, He made this announcement.”

>> “Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue.”

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They are the safe, stable and joyful refuge for all sentient beings.
They are the refuge of relief, protection and great support for all living beings.
They are the great guiding teachers for all sentient beings everywhere.
They serve as eyes for the blind;
they serve as ears, noses or tongues for those who are deaf, have no nose or are mute.
Thus, they make defective organs complete.

The goal of learning the Buddha’s teachings is to enlighten the self and others, to transform the self and others. This is our goal. Previously, this was also explained in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. To engage in spiritual practice, we must have this awareness. This awareness can also awaken the potential of our infinite compassion to save suffering sentient beings. [We can] be their good and wise advisors, their great field of blessings and their unsummoned teacher. Everything we do for others will help to create a safe, stable and joyful refuge for them. Then, wherever we go, we can help others feel happy, safe, stable and joyous. When sentient beings face difficulties, we will set up relief and protection for them. So in our spiritual practice, we must become “a refuge of relief, protection and great support for all living beings.”

Bodhisattvas are the benefactors of all suffering sentient beings. We must all develop this aspiration and establish this vow to make our lives more valuable. People living in poverty may not have a physical or mental refuge. That is why I keep saying that we need to recruit more Bodhisattvas in this world. If Bodhisattvas can be everywhere, and Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings, they can become a refuge for sentient beings, a source of relief, protection and great support.

Unfortunately, Living Bodhisattvas are few. If more people aspire to be living Bodhisattvas, wouldn’t this society become more harmonious? If there are more Living Bodhisattvas, our way of life will return to a more natural state, one of simplicity, few desires and contentment, one of cherishing people, land and all resources. Then we would know to abide by rules in living. Wouldn’t this kind of pure mind be more in harmony with society and the world? So, the Buddha taught us that we must always cultivate and transform ourselves, also teach others to engage in spiritual practice so they will transform themselves and others. If we can awaken ourselves and others, benefit ourselves and others, all sentient beings in the world can live in peace.

That is why the Sutra of Infinite Meanings states, “[They are] the great guiding teachers for all sentient beings everywhere.” Since sentient beings are lost and confused, their minds have afflictions of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. They are skeptical and do not believe in the right Dharma, so eliminating greed, anger and ignorance from their minds will be difficult. If we can all believe in the right Dharma and understand the law of karma, we will be able to accept the Dharma and adjust the working of the mind and body. When sentient beings become lost, one thought [can lead them astray]. That is why we must become the guiding teacher for all beings in all places. We must continuously interact with people to guide them and “serve as the eyes for the blind.”

People have biased views and understanding. Their mind was originally a pure and clear mirror, but material [objects] from external conditions have tainted that clear mirror. If you apply many colors to a mirror and then smudge and smear those colors, wouldn’t the mirror be covered with colors? How then can it reflect the material things in the realm of physical existence? Can principles be [clearly reflected]? The mirror has become blurry and unclear. That is why even though humans have eyes, their views and understandings are biased. Therefore, the great guiding teacher needs to guide others to have correct views. We will orient their views and understanding so they can have a more correct perspective, clearer thinking and a better understanding of material things and principles. This is how we “serve as the eyes for the blind.” This means we guide the direction of their views and understanding and transform their defilements into purity, wash away the mind’s defilements so that it can be pure.

Every day as we chant these passages from the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, do we develop aspirations? We may realize that the Buddha does not teach us to only benefit and save ourselves, but to benefit and save others and bring purity to everyone’s minds as well. This is what the Buddha taught and what He originally intended to say and teach. I hope we can truly comprehend His teachings from the bottom of our hearts. So, we need to “realize and enter” what He “opened and revealed.” Indeed, our minds need to enter the true principles of the Buddha’s teachings.

So, we need to really aspire to become a great guiding teacher for sentient beings in all places. We must guide them with right understanding, right views, right mindfulness and the right Dharma so that they can develop correct views and thinking they can develop correct views and thinking. We must “serve as ears, noses or tongues for those who are deaf, have no nose or are mute” and “make defective organs complete.” As for the ear and nose, some people refuse to hear good things and instead choose to hear things that are not good. Words that incite, nitpick and create disputes are what they like to hear. Because of these words, they cannot distinguish right from wrong and become critical of others and opinionated about their work and so on. Even though they have ears, they do not know to listen to the right Dharma. They want to hear about sexual, violent, disruptive and unwholesome things. This truly makes us very worried.

So, we need to act immediately. Otherwise, it will be too late. We need to form aspirations and make vows to properly lead those who are fond of hearing disturbing things so that they have right understanding and right views. In addition, the nose connects with smells, which may be fragrant or odorous, and let us know if something is good for our bodies or not. Nowadays, people’s appetites are aroused by their noses, and thus they consume all kinds of living beings. This is also wrong. Next, we will discuss [speaking]. Some people have very pleasant voices, but unfortunately, they speak harsh words, flattery, gossip and lies. So, despite their pleasant voices, their words are confusing other people. Don’t our ears hear improper things because some people speak irresponsibly? Therefore, we need to properly guide the ear, nose, mouth and tongue. Those who can hear need wholesome sounds, the right Dharma that allows us to truly understand the principles.

We really need to take good care of our Six Roots. Not only that, we also need to guide others’ eyes, ears, noses, tongues and bodies so they can walk the right path, do good deeds, listen to good words and believe in the law of karma. Doing this is part of our fundamental duty as spiritual practitioners. Otherwise, sentient beings’ sensory organs are gradually becoming defective. Their ears do not listen to the right Dharma so they become confused. Also, when people do not speak good words, they disturb the minds of others. In our lives, [our attitudes] in interpersonal relationships and toward things in the world completely destroy the positive potential intrinsic to our nature.

Fellow Bodhisattvas, please make the effort to become the guiding teacher for sentient beings. We need to truly speak good words and be a great guiding teacher. The Buddha is a great guiding teacher. Every one of us intrinsically has the potential to be a great guiding teacher. So please work to study, recite and understand the Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

For 60 small kalpas, [they sat] with bodies and minds unmoving, listening to the Buddha speak as if in the span of time it takes to eat a meal. At this time in the assembly, not a single person grew weary, neither physically nor mentally.

As previously mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant had remained unmoving in body and mind for 60 small kalpas and radiated light and manifested auspicious signs. We already understand that not only were His body and mind unmoving, the attendees at the assembly were the same. The magnificence of that Dharma-assembly was such that “at this time in the assembly, not a single person grew weary, neither physically nor mentally.” During that time, not one person “grew weary, neither physically nor mentally.” They were all very diligent. Since Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha was coming to expound the great Dharma, they were very happy and attentive, and they single-mindedly came to listen to Him. That was why no one became weary or lax [or said,]. “I have been sitting for so long. I am tired. How come He hasn’t started teaching yet? What will He teach?” None of them had that kind of mindset. They all believed that. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha was very formal because He was about to give great teachings.

So, they remained unmoving in body and mind, as if in the span of time it takes to eat a meal. When we feel very happy and our minds are tranquil and free of defilements, the passing of time will feel very short. “As if the span of time it takes to eat a meal.” When they sat down with a diligent mindset, time passed very quickly. They did not doze off or think about how tired they were from sitting. They did not think this at all. They felt peaceful and at ease; they did not feel that a long time had passed. That was why no one became lax. This showed the sincerity of “the assembly’s desire to hear the Dharma.” The people in the assembly were very happy. That joy came from the heart. They single-mindedly wanted to hear the teachings.

That Buddha was radiating light and was about to teach the supreme, unsurpassed and holy teachings stored in His heart. At the time, that was the setting and the assembly’s mindset.

Hence, “Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha finished expounding the teachings at the end of 60 small kalpas.”

Which teaching does this refer to? Which sutra? The Lotus Sutra.

There, the Buddha [taught] His original intent, “the unspoken Lotus Sutra.” The principles of ultimate truth contained in that silence were used to inspire everyone to have the mindset to pursue supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment. The minds of sentient beings and that of Buddha were in tune. Not only was that Buddha sitting there quietly, radiating light and manifesting auspicious signs, in that setting, everyone’s minds were unmoving and also very joyous. Not one of them was lax because their minds were in tune with that Buddha’s.

“[After He finished] expounding the teachings to the assembly of Brahma, maras, sramanas, Brahmins, heavenly beings, humans and asuras, He made this announcement.”

After He finished giving the Lotus teachings, He told the assembly,

“Today, at midnight, the Tathagata will enter Nirvana without residue.”

At the stroke of midnight, it was very tranquil and still outside. Inside, everyone’s mind was pure and undefiled. This was the time to enter. “Nirvana without residue.” The principle behind it is quite profound. Everyone may think that [entering] “Nirvana without residue” is to pass away. It is not. It is [a state] of tranquility, stillness and pure radiance. Everyone, this tranquility, stillness and pure radiance can exist in our hearts. The goal of learning the Buddha’s teachings is to grow our own wisdom-life as well as guide the lives of all other sentient beings. Therefore, both our bodies and minds need to constantly be immersed in a state of tranquility, stillness and radiance. Then we can resonate with the Buddha’s mind. This depends on whether we can always be mindful.