Category: TLS Chapter 2

Episode 456 – Deep Faith Will Lead to Buddhahood

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>> “The Buddha gave skillful, provisional teachings in order to teach the True Dharma. With analogies, causes and conditions, He guided people according to capabilities. Those of great, average and limited capabilities can thus all understand the meaning of the Buddha Vehicle.”

>> Sariputra, you should know, the Dharma of all Buddhas is like this: By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable. But those who do not study it will never come to understand this.

>> “Since all of you already know how the Buddhas, the teachers of the world, work by giving suitable skillful means, you should have no further doubts. Let your hearts be filled with joy, knowing that you will attain Buddhahood.”

>> With utmost reverence, we must respectfully believe that the Buddha, for the sake of the one great cause, skillfully gave provisional teachings according to capabilities. Ultimately, the provisional and the true are the same thing, without a doubt.

>> They had long listened to the Buddha give provisional teachings and gradually advanced accepting these teachings accordingly. At this point they were turning from the Small Vehicle to the Great. Since they knew they could attain Buddhahood, they should respect and have faith in all Buddhas as teachers for this world, since They manifest here to teach suitable skillful means.

>> You should have no further doubts. Let your hearts be filled with joy, knowing that you will attain Buddhahood: Since the Vulture Peak Assembly, when He sat in meditation and radiated light, everything He has earnestly taught was to remind us of this. With the right opportunity and with confidence, we should have no further doubts. When we can deeply believe and not doubt the Dharma, our hearts will give rise to great joy, knowing that we will attain Buddhahood.

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“The Buddha gave skillful, provisional teachings
in order to teach the True Dharma.
With analogies, causes and conditions,
He guided people according to capabilities.
Those of great, average and limited capabilities
can thus all understand the meaning of the Buddha Vehicle.”

Whichever methods the Buddha used, He was always teaching the True Dharma. Though these teachings were called skillful, provisional teachings, every one of them, whether He employed analogies or explained causes and conditions, still conveyed true principles. For example, the general term for a person is “human.” But each one of us has a different name. We each have different karmic conditions, and each have our own families. Each family lives in different conditions. So, we are all called “human” and all have karmic conditions, but we each have our own causes and conditions. Our causes and conditions are all different. But this true principle underlies them just the same. Depending on what we actions take over the course [of our lives], we will face the corresponding consequences.

This is True Dharma. This helps us to quickly understand that. Buddha-nature is pure and undefiled. With Buddha-nature, as we work with others, we can deal with complicated relationships while maintaining a pure state of mind. Then when we are among people and witness their suffering, we can give unconditionally to help them. This is the Bodhisattva-path. We must work among the multitudes of people to train our minds not to give rise to [afflictions] when we encounter external states. Then we have a mind that is pure, non-arising and non-ceasing. Although the Buddha gave provisional teachings, He did this to teach the ultimate truth, the One Vehicle Dharma.

So, “With analogies, and causes and conditions, He guided people according to capabilities.” Since everyone’s capabilities are different, He used analogies to help them understand. If the analogies still did not help them understand, He then drew on causes and conditions. So, Buddhist sutras contain many such teachings. The Jataka Sutra, the sutra about the Buddha and His disciples’ karmic conditions, describes His past lifetimes, as well as present causes, present conditions, future effects and future retributions. This is all True Dharma. But we must know how to truly apply these skillful means to return to our nature of True Suchness.

So, “those of great, average and limited capabilities can thus all understand the meaning of the Buddha Vehicle.” From the beginning, we need to understand that these skillful means have always contained True Dharma. If we believe that, naturally these teachings of “analogies, and causes and conditions” will be clearly understood as methods of guiding us to enable us to steadily walk this path and awaken the pure and undefiled great love inside us so that we will go among others and help them. This path is the Bodhisattva-path. With it, people of great, average and limited capabilities can thoroughly understand the principles of the Buddha Vehicle. We must all clearly understand this.

The previous sutra passage begins with, “Sariputra, you should know.”

Sariputra, you should know, the Dharma of all Buddhas is like this: By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable. But those who do not study it will never come to understand this.

The Buddha addressed Sariputra as a way of reminding everybody to focus their minds and listen carefully. Everyone should know that “the Dharma of all Buddhas is like this.” All past Buddhas taught the Dharma by giving skillful and provisional teachings. Because sentient beings had varying capacities, He had to give skillful and provisional teachings. The present Buddha, Sakyamuni, taught this way, and all past Buddhas also taught in this way.

So, “by means of trillions of skillful means,” the Buddha taught according to capabilities with many different kinds of methods. He “[taught] the Dharma that is suitable” by skillfully speaking to them according to their capabilities.

“But those who do not study it, will never come to understand this.” There are those unwilling to listen to and accept the Buddha-Dharma. If they are unwilling to accept it, then, of course, they will be unable to understand. Thus, “they will never come to understand this.” They cannot understand. So, even if clever people encounter the Dharma, but do not accept it, nothing can be done. The Buddha was always saddened that these people were stubborn and hard to train.

The next sutra passage states,

“Since all of you already know how the Buddhas, the teachers of the world, work by giving suitable skillful means, you should have no further doubts. Let your hearts be filled with joy, knowing that you will attain Buddhahood.”

In this passage, the Buddha said that all Buddhas came to this world to teach, and every one of them devised suitable means according to sentient beings’ capabilities. This was how They connected with all beings. These “suitable and skillful means” include the way the Buddha continually returns to this world. Over 2000 years ago, when causes and conditions had matured, the Buddha manifested in this world to describe the suffering here and how He began to engage in spiritual practice and how He attained enlightenment. After He awakened, He wanted to describe His spiritual state. The Buddha’s manifestation in this world, His causes and conditions, became our model of spiritual practice. This gives us something to talk about. “More than 2000 years ago, In the kingdom of Kapilavastu….” Actually, this is also a form of skillful means. He manifested this tangible appearance as a basis to help us understand the origin of the Dharma.

Before the Buddha manifested the attainment of Buddhahood, He had repeatedly returned to this world. After He manifested enlightenment and taught the True Dharma, He still repeatedly returned to this world. So, we always say that. Buddhahood can only be attained in the human realm, because guiding teachers are here among us. In the Lotus Sutra, Never-Slighting Bodhisattva always told others, “I dare not belittle any of you because every one of you can become a Buddha.” This indicates that all of us in the world have Buddha-nature. Perhaps, in this group of people, Sakyamuni Buddha is coming and going among us. Therefore we must always express gratitude to whomever we meet, whatever their appearance. Whether they are our virtuous friends, or whether they create adverse or favorable conditions for us, we must always show our respect and gratitude.

Adverse conditions will not make us joyful but we still must be grateful to them for helping us to discipline our minds. Do our minds react to these external conditions? Perhaps we allow things we find pleasing to give rise to a sense of happiness. Happiness can also cause us to lose focus and to allow desires to arise in our minds. This can also disrupt our minds. Whether we encounter favorable or adverse conditions, we must take good care of our minds. Caring for our minds is where we engage in spiritual practice. Everything in our external conditions can help us engage in spiritual practice.

These are “suitable and skillful means.” In this world, everything is constantly teaching the Dharma to us. All people, matters and objects are teachings. Therefore, we must have faith. “You should have no further doubts.” We must not have any more doubts or delusions. We must always remind ourselves that in our surroundings, everything is our teacher and everywhere is a place for spiritual cultivation. If we are in this state of mind, we can deeply believe in the Dharma without any doubts. This is the only way to sustain our spiritual aspirations.

“Let your hearts be filled with joy, knowing that you will attain Buddhahood.” We must understand that no matter what the conditions are like, whether they are adverse or favorable, they are opportunities for spiritual cultivation. If the Dharma is always in our hearts, then the joy we experience here will be Dharma-joy. If everything that we encounter is a teaching, happiness will arise in our hearts. That happiness is not one that comes from external states eliciting our desires, no. It is happiness from understanding truths. This is Dharma-joy.

We should be very happy that we have encountered the Buddha-Dharma and taken good care of our hearts. We ourselves know that we will attain Buddhahood. “Knowing that you will one day attain Buddhahood” means that in the future we will awaken and reach the same spiritual state as the Buddha, one that encompasses all things in the universe and is tranquil and clear and as pure as crystal. After attaining enlightenment and realizing that ocean of enlightenment, we will forever be carefree and at ease. So, “knowing that we will attain Buddhahood,” we must still engage in spiritual practice. These suitable and skillful means must be a part of our spiritual cultivation. We must reverently and respectfully believe this.

With utmost reverence, we must respectfully believe that the Buddha, for the sake of the one great cause, skillfully gave provisional teachings according to capabilities. Ultimately, the provisional and the true are the same thing, without a doubt.

The Buddha’s one great cause is something we must believe in with utmost respect and reverence. The Buddha manifested in this world for one great cause and. He “skillfully gave provisional teachings according to capabilities.” Responding to our different capabilities, He gave provisional teachings. These skillful means are wondrous and provisional. They are skillful and wondrous Dharma. “Ultimately, the provisional and the true are the same thing, without a doubt.” The “provisional” and “true” are actually the same thing.

Whatever your name is, ultimately we are all “human. Human” is the general term for all of us. However, these general terms, these labels, contain true principles, the nature of True Suchness. In order for this true nature to manifest, it must do so through the appearance of things. They are the only means for us to return to the true principles. Thus the provisional and the true are the same. The “provisional” will ultimately lead us to be one with the “true.” I constantly hope that everyone can understand that though there are many analogies and labels in the Lotus Sutra, the most important thing is that they lead us back to the True Dharma. I have continued to repeat this. With this sutra, I hope that all the names and labels will not cause us to neglect the True Dharma.

The True Dharma must be heard through our ears. So, the Buddha said to His disciples, “You have long listened to the Buddha give provisional teachings and gradually advanced, accepting these teachings accordingly.”

They had long listened to the Buddha give provisional teachings and gradually advanced accepting these teachings accordingly. At this point they were turning from the Small Vehicle to the Great. Since they knew they could attain Buddhahood, they should respect and have faith in all Buddhas as teachers for this world, since They manifest here to teach suitable skillful means.

Everyone had been listening to the Buddha teach. For over 40 years, He gave provisional teachings. With these skillful means, He slowly advanced from the Agama to the Vaipulya, from the Vaipulya to the Prajna, and only then reaching the Lotus. The Lotus teachings were meant to return us to the state of the Avatamsaka. The Avatamsaka state is the great ocean of Dharma. “Ocean” signifies a vast and fathomless state. Such vastness is like the universe. In the past, people could not fathom what a universe was, so He used “great ocean” as a metaphor for something that is very open and vast. Everyone’s awakened nature is one with the entire universe.

But the Buddha had to use springs, rivers and then the great ocean as analogies for us [to understand]. Whether a spring, pond, stream, river or ocean, all are water. He used these various kinds of skillful means in order to “gradually advance” from the small to the great. To get to this point, He moved from the limited to the great teachings. Now, He turned from the Small to the Great, from the Small Vehicle Dharma to the Great Vehicle Dharma.

This is something we should understand. If we all “know [we] can attain Buddhahood,” we know we will return to our intrinsic nature and will be Buddhas in the future. So, we must “respect and have faith in all Buddhas as the teachers for this world.” We must believe that the present Buddha, Sakyamuni, and all past Buddhas have come to this world to be guiding teachers. “They manifest here to teach suitable skillful means.” They come into this world for one great cause. Even Manjusri Bodhisattva, Maitreya Bodhisattva and Guanyin Bodhisattva are always among us in this world, guiding us with wisdom and love.

“You should have no further doubts.” We must not have any more doubts. “Let your hearts be filled with joy, knowing that you will attain Buddhahood.” The Buddha assured us over and over that we will all be able to do this in the end; at the end of the Bodhisattva-path lies Buddhahood.

You should have no further doubts. Let your hearts be filled with joy, knowing that you will attain Buddhahood: Since the Vulture Peak Assembly, when He sat in meditation and radiated light, everything He has earnestly taught was to remind us of this. With the right opportunity and with confidence, we should have no further doubts. When we can deeply believe and not doubt the Dharma, our hearts will give rise to great joy, knowing that we will attain Buddhahood.

So, “Since the Vulture Peak Assembly, when He sat in meditation and radiated light, everything He has earnestly taught….” This refers back to the beginning, to the Introductory Chapter of the Lotus Sutra. Everyone should still remember that a lot of time was spent describing the state of the Lotus Dharma-assembly. A great number of people came, many bhiksus, many Bodhisattvas, many kings and ministers and so on. They all gathered together at this time. They were eager to listen to teachings.

The Buddha was seated there, then He entered Samadhi and radiated light. Meanwhile, everyone waited in joyous anticipation until they began to have doubts in their hearts. When would the Buddha begin to teach the Dharma? Do you remember what happened at the beginning? Maitreya knew what was in their minds, so, he sought out a suitable person [to answer], which was Manjusri Bodhisattva. The two of them engaged in a dialogue there, and Manjusri Bodhisattva described many states from the past.

This was [the start of] the Vulture Peak Assembly. The Buddha radiated light as He sat in meditation, and with this unspoken Lotus Sutra, He guided people through one state after another. At this point, He had finished describing the state in the Introductory Chapter and moved on to the state after that, the Chapter on Skillful Means. That is the part of the sutra we are at now. The Buddha continued to describe skillful and provisional teachings, which have never deviated from ultimate truth. Even at this point, He continued to remind us that we must pay careful attention to this. Everyone must place great importance on the teachings from the Lotus Dharma-assembly, which is the True Dharma we are now discussing. The Buddha continued to remind us to take great care in remembering this.

“With the right opportunity and with confidence” means that as people listen to the Dharma here, their capabilities and the Dharma must be in accord. “[They] should have no further doubts.” Then they “can deeply believe and not doubt the Dharma.” The Buddha hoped that we can keep the Dharma in our mind and behave carefully in all conditions. Everywhere is a place for spiritual cultivation. We must take care of our minds as we interact with people, matters and objects.

We must all believe this. We should all know that, at this point, everyone should already know that, “we will attain Buddhahood” because we all intrinsically have a nature of True Suchness that is pure, undefiled and clear as crystal. This is our intrinsic nature. We must not allow people and matters to further defile it. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 455 – Resonate with the Buddha’s Heart

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>> “From ancient times until now, the Dharma has been this way. Out of infinite virtuous Dharma, the Buddha taught the Three Vehicles. According to people’s capabilities, He gave suitable Dharma to transform their minds. When the Dharma resonated with their minds, they would comprehend the Dharma.”

>> “Those who are remorseful and pure will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood. For people such as these. I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.”

>> Sariputra, you should know, “the Dharma of all Buddhas is like this. By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable. But those who do not study it will never come to understand this.”

>> Sariputra, the wise one with suitable capabilities should know that this is how all Buddhas teach the Dharma. First They use trillions of skillful means, then They reveal the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.

>> By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable: All Buddhas, according to capabilities, teach trillions of skillful means. If we do not learn the provisional and true teachings of the Buddha, we will not understand what it means to open the provisional to reveal the true.

>> These are the skillful teachings all Buddhas taught out of loving-kindness and sympathy according to capabilities and conditions. But these were actually taught for the sake of the One Vehicle, the great direct path to enlightenment. This was what all Buddhas originally intended to teach.

>> The Buddha, with trillions of skillful means, gave wondrous provisional teachings and guided sentient beings tirelessly. Observing that they had matured in capability and could accept the Great Dharma, He opened the provisional to reveal the true. When disciples who follow the Buddhas in spiritual cultivation and listen to the Dharma are ready to understand, all Buddhas teach them the suitable Dharma.

>> But those who do not study it, will never come to understand this: He lamented the stubbornness of sentient beings. Though they have seen the Buddha and Sangha, they refuse to believe and accept [the Dharma]. Those who do not study it will definitely not be able to understand.

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“From ancient times until now, the Dharma has been this way.
Out of infinite virtuous Dharma, the Buddha taught the Three Vehicles.
According to people’s capabilities, He gave suitable Dharma to transform their minds.
When the Dharma resonated with their minds, they would comprehend the Dharma.”

I always tell everyone that the Dharma never changes. These principles have been the same from the beginning until now and will remain so even into the future. The principles of all things in the universe also remain the same. Though unconditioned Dharma cannot be seen or touched, if we can continue to eliminate the ignorance in our minds, then the clarity of our intrinsic nature will gradually grow and manifest. We will feel the Dharma drawing closer to our hearts.

All of us must depend on the Buddha’s infinite virtuous Dharma. He had to devise many ways of giving teachings. With the Three Vehicles, the Small Vehicle, Middle Vehicle and Great Vehicle, He taught according to sentient beings’ capacities so that we could be mindful and gradually comprehend the Dharma. This shows the Buddha’s compassion; He always adapted to sentient beings.

What do the hearts and minds of sentient beings need? To adapt to the way we live in this era and figure out how to suit our capabilities, the Buddha had to exercise His wisdom. He could not bear for sentient beings to be lost in mundane matters of the evil world of the Five Turbidities and remain unawaken. So, the Buddha exercised His compassion, and thus had to also apply His wisdom; He exercised both compassion and wisdom.

After we sentient beings receive the Dharma, if we do not take it to heart, then “no Dharma can transform them.” This does not mean the principles are not there; The principles exist, but we are unable to understand them. With compassion and wisdom, the Buddha devised ways to transform us. We listen but then we forget. After hearing it, we do not retain it. Why do we not hold on to it? Because of our habitual tendencies. The Dharma we have heard is great, but when our six sense organs connect with the six sense objects in our conditions, the conditions influence and change our minds.

Since we aspire to engage in spiritual practice, we must be very careful about this. When we take the Dharma into our hearts, we must engrave it in our minds. People in ancient times had a saying, “To forever remember something, I will engrave it on my mind.” They do not just place it there; they carve it in deeply. This is the way to take the Dharma to heart.

Although the Buddha taught skillful means, [what He taught was] actually True Dharma. These principles form this path, which is a road. The Buddha can only tell us the principles of the path; He can only point us north, south, east or west, send us in the right direction. Then who will build this road? We have to build this road ourselves.

Knowing the right direction, we have to work hard. For every inch of this wild road, we must pull the weeds, inch by inch. Once the rocks and weeds are cleared away, it will be easy to walk this road. We must then put our hearts into paving the road to make it smooth. So, this path leads to enlightenment; it is the Bodhi-path. We sentient beings must start by paving a road through this world in the way we work with people and matters. In our daily living, are we on the correct course? Are we living in line with the Dharma that we hear? We must pay close attention to all this. If the things that we do are consistent with the Dharma that we hear, then we are walking on the path to awakening, the Bodhi-path. We need to use this road through the world to connect with the Bodhi-path. The Bodhi-path we can connect with has come from countless eons in the past. No matter how ancient the teachings are, the principles remain the same today. We can still apply those principles today.

Indeed, these ancient principles have not changed. However, people living in this modern era do not try to comprehend them. Over 2000 years ago, people wrote and compiled the sutras and used very profound words. Fortunately, there were sages and great teachers who unceasingly expounded the Buddha-Dharma. So, as the times changed, the Buddha-Dharma became more illuminated. Now, the Buddha’s teachings have been passed down to us in this era of advanced modern technology. We must put our hearts into realizing how this path has been walked in the world. With the advanced technology we have today, we can increasingly verify [the truths realized by the Buddha]. The more clear they are to us, the closer we draw to them. So, by paving this road, we get closer to connecting with the Bodhi-path. This great path has always been very direct.

We must, step by step, strengthen our aspirations to walk the path. When we take the Dharma to heart, it is like engraving it on our minds. When we resonate with it, we will understand it because our minds are in harmony with the principles. “Resonance” is more than just meeting something, it is taking it deep into our hearts. Nowadays, when people do business or work on some project, it is very important for them to have a contract. We sign an agreement to describe the terms of our collaboration. These words are written down in an agreement as proof of our resonance. So, when the Dharma resonates with us, when we take the Dharma to heart, it will be imprinted in us forever. Then we know; this is how to walk this road. The vows we make are also like this; we follow our vows to walk [this path]. When our vows converge with our strengths, the Dharma will become very clear in our minds. This is called comprehending the Dharma.

The previous sutra passage states,

“Those who are remorseful and pure will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood. For people such as these. I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.”

As I said yesterday, part of remorse is being humble. How deep has our previous learning been? In the past, we may have been lax and in many respects, not measured up to others. Now, we must be earnest and practice diligently. This is a true sign of repentance.

We often hear people say, “I feel so remorseful!” If they feel remorse, they must confess it. After confessing it, they must repent and eliminate all their bad habitual tendencies. As for the Dharma we are receiving right now, we must accept it with a very pure heart. Thus can we be considered as one who has resolved to seek the path to Buddhahood. Likewise, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have firm spiritual aspirations. There are many Tzu Chi volunteers like this.

We heard (2013), Yulan, a volunteer from Malaysia, passed away. The news made me very sad. ․She has been in Tzu Chi for 20 years. In 1993, she learned about Tzu Chi. Encountering Tzu Chi made her very happy. She never married and was fully dedicated to Tzu Chi. She took on much of the administrative work for Tzu Chi in Malaysia. She worked on everything from humanistic culture and administration to case visits and international disaster relief. In particular, from 2006 to 2008, she made multiple trips to Sri Lanka. She taught the staff in Sri Lanka how to conduct case visits and give to others. She shared the Jing Si Dharma-lineage and the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism. This one woman, firmly establishing her faith, devoted herself and made multiple trips there.

Indeed, every day she worked there she would write an account of the construction progress in Sri Lanka, the conditions in that country, the suffering of its people, and the innocent and pure youths there who were willing to volunteer with Tzu Chi. She described many things vividly, and left us with a clear history of Tzu Chi’s work in Sri Lanka, which has become a part of the Tzu Chi archive.

She truly lived courageously. In 1997, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she first learned about it, she could not accept it. Later, when she came back to Taiwan, I told her, “This is how life is, but you should not waste a second of it. You need to positively accept things and live in peace with your illness. When you need treatment, focus on being treated. When you need to work, focus on working. Your body may be sick, but you cannot let your mind get sick.” She truly let these words resonate in her heart.

During all these years, she was constantly paving a road for the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism and constantly helping to transmit the teachings of the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. However, she passed away on June 7th. Before she passed, she remained very active. As long as she was able to go outside, she did. As long as she could talk, she shared her experience with others. She said, “During these last critical moments of my life, I want to keep sharing with everyone, even just for one more minute or second.”

Even the care recipients she assisted came to visit her as well, one after another. Whether her visitors were Dharma-relatives, or people she had helped in the past, she greeted them all with a smile, very much at ease, despite being gravely ill. With her every word, she expressed her hope for everyone to help transmit this Dharma-lineage and pave this road through the world. She made full use of her life, up to her last breath. Having observed her journey, I am truly touched by this woman. She “resolutely sought the path to Buddhahood.” She truly resonated with the Dharma and engraved it on her mind.

So, for people like this, “For people such as these, I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.” Since her mind never left the Dharma, she took it with her when she passed on and will bring it back when she returns. The Dharma has been deeply engraved on her mind.

So, next, Sakyamuni Buddha continues in the next passage,

Sariputra, you should know, “the Dharma of all Buddhas is like this. By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable. But those who do not study it will never come to understand this.”

Sakyamuni Buddha again called out to Sariputra, so everyone who hears the Dharma would know that the Dharma of all Buddhas has been like this from ancient times until now.

Sariputra, the wise one with suitable capabilities should know that this is how all Buddhas teach the Dharma. First They use trillions of skillful means, then They reveal the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.

We sentient beings cannot realize the Dharma of all things in the universe, so the Buddha must use trillions of skillful means to slowly guide and teach us.

You are able to see me speaking here right now. In other parts of Taiwan and across the world, others have the opportunity to see the same image. Once they turn on the computer, no matter where they are, they can also listen to me teaching the Dharma.

They, too, can hear what I am saying right now. You see, this phenomenon is what the Buddha spoke of as spiritual powers. This includes the power of the heavenly eye, of the heavenly ear and of transporting oneself. He already mentioned something like this over 2000 years ago. The principles of the world are so wondrous. Indeed, with the right capabilities, trillions of principles will be clear to us. However, we lack understanding, so the Buddha had to start from the beginning and explain what the principles are. Thus He said that skillful means are also true principles, but because we are paving a road in this world, He teaches us how to be good people and how to pave this road.

If we do not pave this road, how can we connect to the Bodhi-path? There are trillions of methods for paving a road. This is the Buddha’s wisdom. “By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable.”

By means of trillions of skillful means, I teach the Dharma that is suitable: All Buddhas, according to capabilities, teach trillions of skillful means. If we do not learn the provisional and true teachings of the Buddha, we will not understand what it means to open the provisional to reveal the true.

According to people’s capabilities and the conditions they had encountered, at the right place and time, He explained things to everyone and taught them. For those who wanted to learn, they would have the opportunity.

“But those who do not study it,” if they do not want to learn or do not have this resolve or cannot accept it, “will never come to understand this.” This is what the Buddha told Sariputra, who as the wisest, was the recipient of the teachings. When He called to Sariputra, He was calling on all His disciples to awaken, to listen earnestly and to thoroughly understand that all Buddhas teach in the same way. First, They make use of various means to patiently guide people. Only later on do They tell everyone what these teachings ultimately lead to. Doing this requires the use of various methods. These are the skillful teachings of all Buddhas.

These are the skillful teachings all Buddhas taught out of loving-kindness and sympathy according to capabilities and conditions. But these were actually taught for the sake of the One Vehicle, the great direct path to enlightenment. This was what all Buddhas originally intended to teach.

At this time, Sakyamuni Buddha was teaching in the same way that all past Buddhas had. Out of loving-kindness and sympathy, He taught sentient beings according to their capabilities. Actually, He was teaching all this for the sake of the direct path of the One Vehicle. He gave many teachings with the sole purpose of helping everyone build a proper road in this world that would connect directly to the Bodhi-path. This was the original intent of all Buddhas.

Trillions of skillful means were suitably taught. All Buddhas taught according to capabilities with trillions of skillful means.

The Buddha, with trillions of skillful means, gave wondrous provisional teachings and guided sentient beings tirelessly. Observing that they had matured in capability and could accept the Great Dharma, He opened the provisional to reveal the true. When disciples who follow the Buddhas in spiritual cultivation and listen to the Dharma are ready to understand, all Buddhas teach them the suitable Dharma.

However many phenomena exist in the world, the Buddha had to use as many methods to explain them to everyone. Whatever habitual tendencies sentient beings have, He taught ways to address each one of them. If they had trillions of habitual tendencies, He used trillions of methods to teach according to their capabilities.

So, He hoped everyone would understand that. He taught with these kinds of skillful means. Those disciples who studied with the Buddha naturally had the capabilities to be able to [resonate with] His mind. In the past, He had adapted His teachings to them. Now, these sentient beings could directly hear what was in His heart, which was the True Dharma.

Next we will discuss how “those who do not study it, will never come to understand this.”

But those who do not study it, will never come to understand this: He lamented the stubbornness of sentient beings. Though they have seen the Buddha and Sangha, they refuse to believe and accept [the Dharma]. Those who do not study it will definitely not be able to understand.

This was what the Buddha lamented. Although some people’s capabilities had matured, there were still those whose had not. This was what the Buddha lamented, the stubbornness of sentient beings. Though they had met the Buddha and became part of the Sangha, some still refused to study and still could not accept the True Dharma. They could not realize it.

In conclusion, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must resonate with His mind so that we can directly reach our nature of True Suchness, which is to return to our pure intrinsic-nature. Therefore, I hope that everyone can experience this great Bodhi-path. Actually, we need to begin by developing a sense of remorse. We must realize that the Dharma has been this way from ancient times until the present. Have we taken the most important things to heart? If we have, they will be useful for the rest of our lives. By applying the Dharma until the end of our lives, we can remain clear-minded. In the end, we can remind others that we have all agreed to continue this work in our future lives. If we can do this, then we have truly internalized the Dharma.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must train our minds this way. “When the Dharma resonates with our minds, we will comprehend the Dharma.” That is how we return to our Buddha-nature. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 454 – Remorse Can Prevent Wrongdoings

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>> “We are humbled that our virtues and learning are superficial. When we are always humble, our minds will give rise to goodness. We are ashamed because we have committed wrongs and been criticized by others. Feeling ashamed and at fault, we will stop committing wrongs.”

>> “Unwholesome people of the future, upon hearing the Buddha teach the One Vehicle, will not believe or accept it out of delusion. They will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms.”

>> “Those who are remorseful and pure will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood. For people such as these, I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.”

>> Those who are remorseful and pure will mindfully and diligently seek the path. They will take this great opportunity to understand and accept the principles. [The Buddha] does not fail to recognize people with the right capabilities or fail to speak at the right time. Thus, they resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood.

>> For people such as these. I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle: When people encounter the Buddha’s Right Dharma and resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood, [the Buddha] teaches them the. True Dharma of the One Vehicle. For people such as these, those who cultivate goodness and enjoy listening to the Dharma, I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.

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What is remorse?

“We are humbled that our virtues and learning are superficial.
When we are always humble, our minds will give rise to goodness.
We are ashamed because we have committed wrongs and been criticized by others.
Feeling ashamed and at fault, we will stop committing wrongs.”

We must be humble [with our achievements] and be ashamed [of wrongs we have done] to others. Are we humbled by our superficial virtues and learning? When we see how capable other people are, if we are not humble, we may say, “Whatever you can do, I can do it too. Your talent is not a big deal.” By saying this, we are not being humble. If we are humble, we will reflect upon ourselves. Why is it that other people can do these things so well but we cannot? We must be humbled by our lack of virtue.

In our spiritual practice, we have not accumulated deep virtues. We have not learned enough, so we must be diligent. “The virtuous will attain.” We have not done enough, so we do not attain anything. Or we have done little, so we only attain a little. Thus, we are rather lacking in virtue; our practice of virtue is rather thin and our learning is rather superficial. We must always have this mindset so that [we will always be humble and] “our minds will give rise to goodness.”

Shame is something we feel around others. We must be ashamed of the transgressions and wrongdoings we have committed. In our daily living, are we behaving ourselves? We may have made mistakes in the past and may still have not thoroughly eliminated our habitual tendencies, or other negative or unwholesome things. These wrongs we have committed must be examined continuously. Will our past or our present indolence be criticized by others? Will other people mock and judge us? This is the feeling of shame.

When we feel ashamed and guilty, we will stop committing wrongs. This is another way of saying that when our transgressions are seen by others, or heard of by others, and we are then criticized, what we feel will be “a sense of shame.” We will feel embarrassed and know we were wrong. When we know we did wrong and feel embarrassed, we will stop doing those things. So, we must constantly reflect on ourselves. “We are ashamed because we have committed wrongs and been criticized by others.” We must constantly engage in self-reflection. This is the deeper meaning of the word “remorse.”

We often hear people say, “I am remorseful.” But as they talk about remorse, are they truly reflecting on themselves? Are they changing their ways? Being humble leads to self-reflection. Being ashamed leads to change. Only when people reflect and change are they truly remorseful.

One time, the Buddha had gone out to ask for alms. Later, He came to a forest and sat down to eat. There were some bhiksus who were also eating at the same time in that forest. After finishing their meals, everyone collected their bowls and returned to the abode. After resting for a moment, everyone sat down and the Buddha also sat in meditation, then afterwards swept His gaze across them, stopping when He reached a certain bhiksu. He said, “After we asked for alms, as everyone sat in meditation in that forest, one of the bhiksus among the Sangha, while sitting in meditation, lost his focus.” He strayed from his mind’s pure state, and gave rise to a desire. At this time, in the forest, a heavenly being appeared. This heavenly being was a protector of the Dharma. This heavenly Dharma-protector noticed that the bhiksu was not concentrating and was lost in his desires, so he asked the bhiksu, “Virtuous One, if people have sores on their body,” sores can also refer to boils, “what should they do?”

The bhiksu responded by saying, “See a doctor for treatment.” The heavenly being then asked, “If the boil has already festered, emitting pus and blood, if it has burst and is even growing maggots, then what should they do about it?” The bhiksu responded, “If things are already that serious, then they must practice right mindfulness. With right mindfulness and right wisdom they must reflect on why this boil, this sore or tumor, has reached such a serious state. It must not have been cared for properly. Since things are already that serious, they must cultivate right mindfulness. Having right mindfulness is the best way to treat an illness. After establishing right mindfulness, they can practice good hygiene and then seek a doctor for treatment.” Upon hearing this, the heavenly being said, “That is correct. What you have said is right.” After saying this, the heavenly being left.

After the Buddha told this story, He looked at the bhiksu intently. The bhiksu rose slowly, walked to the Buddha and respectfully prostrated. He said, “Venerable Buddha, it was me. I’m ashamed! I’m lacking in virtue. I easily give rise to discursive thoughts. From now on, I will take good care of my mind. If I do not take good care of my wisdom-life, I will easily become physically ill. After a physical illness, I will still be reborn. But if my wisdom-life is ill, once I lose human form, regaining my wisdom-life will be difficult. I understand this now.”

This was his remorse. The Buddha was actually able to see and feel the state of mind of every bhiksu. The bhiksu immediately felt remorse and openly repented. This is the best medicine for the body and mind. So, when we are learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must always remind ourselves to be vigilant. Even if others cannot see our lack of humility or shame, it still poses a big problem for our wisdom-life. So, when we are among others, we must always maintain a sense of remorse. Only then can we maintain the health and wholeness of our wisdom-life.

So, the previous sutra passage states,

“Unwholesome people of the future, upon hearing the Buddha teach the One Vehicle, will not believe or accept it out of delusion. They will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms.”

This was the previous sutra passage. Some people not only do not support virtuous Dharma, on the contrary, they destroy it. When it comes to their own wrongdoings, not only do they not reflect on them, they commit ever more serious ones. This is a transgression that we sentient beings of this evil world of the Five Turbidities easily commit, so we must all be very vigilant. The Buddha-Dharma is rarely encountered. To hear the Buddha-Dharma and take it to heart is not very easy. Being able to hear, believe and understand it is already very hard to come by. So, we must earnestly uphold and accept the Dharma. We must earnestly put the Buddha’s teachings into practice. Otherwise, once we become deluded, we will quickly lose our faith as well. Once we lose faith, we will easily slander the Dharma or fall into an evil realm. All this can happen in the span of a thought.

The next sutra passage states,

“Those who are remorseful and pure will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood. For people such as these, I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.”

We must be remorseful. Being remorseful is purifying. Only by being remorseful can we improve. Only with humility can we cultivate goodness. Only when ashamed will we stop doing wrong. Eliminating wrongs and cultivating goodness are the sources of our physical and mental purity. So, we must place great value on remorse. If we are not remorseful, we will keep degenerating and have no concern over whether others know about our wrongdoings or criticize us for our indolence. If we are this kind of person, our resolve will be very weak. We will easily be tempted by external states and be unable to uphold our vows and follow the path. People like this will easily lose their spiritual aspirations.

So, if we are people with pure minds, we will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood. “For people such as these, I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.” If people are remorseful and have firmly resolved to learn and cultivate the path to Buddhahood, the Buddha will devote more effort to guiding them. He constantly spoke to them about the One Vehicle and praised that path. Similarly, as we meet people, we should also promptly nurture and guide them. This is how the Buddha taught us to transmit the Dharma in this world. We must select and teach the capable. Transmitting the Buddha-Dharma is very important.

So, “those who are remorseful and pure will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood.” The people who are remorseful and pure will mindfully and diligently seek the path and seize this great opportunity. They know receiving the Buddha-Dharma is rare and receiving Right Dharma is even more rare.

Those who are remorseful and pure will mindfully and diligently seek the path. They will take this great opportunity to understand and accept the principles. [The Buddha] does not fail to recognize people with the right capabilities or fail to speak at the right time. Thus, they resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood.

The Buddha taught the Dharma with skillful means. For over 40-plus years, He had taught everyone how to be a good person. Starting from this point, He began [teaching that] the One Vehicle Dharma is the only path for learning and attaining Buddhahood. He was only beginning to teach this at that time, so this was [a great] opportunity. People who had already mindfully and diligently sought the path now had the opportunity [to hear it]. As I told everyone previously, it was as if, in the past, the door was closed. There were many pictures outside that were used to show everyone what things were like inside this state [of mind]. This helped everyone understand. Through pictures, texts and sounds, they began to comprehend [teachings]. When everyone had a good understanding, He opened the door so that they could see the true conditions inside.

With analogies and other methods, He had slowly led and guided [everyone] to arrive at this place, so now the time had come. Thus, they should “take this good opportunity to understand and accept the principles.” Now they could truly see that the principles are just like this. Their minds had come together with the conditions, and had already unified with the principles. So, “[the Buddha] does not fail to recognize people with the right capabilities.” These people finally had the capabilities to accept them, so He quickly gave them these teachings. Their capabilities were now suitable; the people able to accept the Great Dharma were now there. So, “[the Buddha] does not fail to recognize people with the right capabilities.” He took advantage of this opportunity to immediately help people accept these truths.

“[He] does not fail to speak at the right time.” It was the right time to teach the Great Dharma. It was the right time to reveal true teachings. He had to teach them right away, otherwise it would be too late. So, in terms of capabilities, people and timing, He had to give the teachings right away.

Everyone, since we have vowed to learn the Buddha’s teachings and engage in spiritual practice, our resolve must be very firm. Only then can we realize the Buddha’s intent and comprehend the True Dharma that is in His mind. For more than 40 years, the door to the Buddha’s mind had been closed. He had hoped we could realize it right away, but our wisdom and capabilities were insufficient. So, He had no choice but to teach the provisional. Now He was revealing the true. Thus, for the people with mature capabilities, He “extensively praised the path of the One Vehicle.”

For people such as these. I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle: When people encounter the Buddha’s Right Dharma and resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood, [the Buddha] teaches them the. True Dharma of the One Vehicle. For people such as these, those who cultivate goodness and enjoy listening to the Dharma, I extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.

So, “People encounter the Buddha’s Right Dharma and resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood.” If people have encountered the Dharma, Right Dharma in particular, they will not only seek to awaken themselves, They will not just know about karma without grasping karmic cause and effect’s full [meaning]. They will not just listen to the Dharma without hearing the essence of the Dharma. If they did so, it would be a great pity. So, the Right Dharma is the correct path. The Buddha wanted to lead everyone forward onto the Bodhisattva-path so they could achieve the state of Buddhahood.

“For those who vow to seek the path to Buddhahood, He teaches the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.” The True Dharma of the One Vehicle was taught “for people such as these.” These were the people with mature capabilities who could comprehend the Buddha’s intent. For these people, He gave a heart-to-heart talk; the Buddha taught them the. True Dharma He had kept in His heart. So, “for people such as these,” people who could comprehend His mind, people who cultivate goodness and value hearing the Dharma, people who very earnestly and diligently practice and are also very happy to listen to the Dharma, people who could take it to heart and apply it after listening, He opened and praised the path of the One Vehicle.

If we can comprehend the Dharma, we should constantly share its benefits with everyone. We should share what we learned from it. Other people’s realizations can be helpful for our own understanding. Perhaps our realization and understanding, once we have heard other people’s thoughts, can become more precise because of what they shared. Then we can continue to discuss our realizations with them. After these kinds of discussions, the Dharma will become more clear and our realizations will become more extensive. Therefore, we must not be attached to the text. We must transform the words into principles and take the principles into our hearts. Once we have realized these principles, every sound we hear, everything we connect with, will be the Dharma.

You see, isn’t this what Tzu Chi volunteers do? “They seek to improve by revealing shortcomings.” They are willing to openly share their mistakes with everyone. After everyone has heard their story, not only do they not look down on them, they praise them for their courage. Later, if someone continues to talk about what they did in the past, we can speak up for them and answer, “He has changed. He told us about all of his past mistakes. We know all about them.” Thus, rumors can be stopped by the wise. This is how being remorseful and openly repenting can purify the body and mind. Then they will not be hung up on past mistakes or worry about people talking behind their backs. Rather than letting people criticize, they prefer to talk openly about everything. This Dharma-door, applying the Dharma as water, washes away our defilements so we can be pure. We are already learning the Buddha’s teachings,

so we must be earnest and not make the same mistakes again. In the past we may have been indolent, or arrogant and self-important. We must not have that mindset, nor should we hide our mistakes. We must disclose them so we can improve. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. “Those who are remorseful and pure will resolutely seek the path to Buddhahood.” For these people, we can teach the Dharma and “extensively praise the path of the One Vehicle.” Everyone can walk the Bodhisattva-path, as long as we form the aspiration. The Bodhisattva-path, as long as we have faith, can help us attain the state of Buddhahood. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 453 – Delusion and Awakening Are Decided in a Thought

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>> “Good, evil and indeterminate [karma] are decided in a single thought. All phenomena are boundless and arise from the mind. When we realize the One Vehicle, we [attain] the ultimate truth. Delusion and awakening, misfortune and blessing are also determined by a single thought.”

>> “In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, people are still attached to desires. Sentient beings such as these will never seek the path to Buddhahood.”

>> “Unwholesome people in the future, upon hearing the Buddha teach the One Vehicle, will not believe or accept it out of delusion. They will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms.”

>> Now or in the future, in the evil world of turbidity, people will accept unwholesome teachings and commit evil deeds. They will not believe in virtuous Dharma nor accept proper teachings. Thus, those who hear the One Vehicle Dharma and can believe and accept it will be hard to find.

>> Deluded, they will not believe or accept it. They will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms: Thus, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, those who could comprehend the [Dharma’s] true meaning became hard to find. For people who are unwholesome, be careful not to teach them this. Teaching them this is not beneficial, and may actually cause harm. Staying silent is better.

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“Good, evil and indeterminate [karma] are decided in a single thought.
All phenomena are boundless and arise from the mind.
When we realize the One Vehicle, we [attain] the ultimate truth.
Delusion and awakening, misfortune and blessing are also determined by a single thought.”

Every thought is so critical. Therefore, we must always be vigilant of every single thought, [as our karma can be] good, evil or indeterminate. I continually tell everyone that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, but because we ordinary people have given rise to ignorance with a single thought, that ignorance has already multiplied into countless habitual tendencies. Therefore, in our daily living, as we interact with people, matters and things, whether [the karma we create] will be good or evil is determined in the span of that thought. If a good thought arises, we can be of benefit to others. If a greedy thought arises, we may cause many disasters in the world; we can create all kinds of calamities.

So, all phenomena are boundless. All of the many principles in the universe are indeed extensive and boundless. All matters contain true principles and all objects have their own ultimate truth. Plants come in all different shapes and colors. These shapes and colors are the result of different genes. The modern term is “gene;” it is the seed of a cause that converges with various aspects of its nature. Different causes and natures can combine to manifest different forms. This [truth] is contained within all things in the world. No matter what kind of thing it is, it has its own unique underlying principle. Principle cannot be seen. But as [causes and conditions] converge, they form the various appearances of the world.

So, all phenomena are boundless and exist within the space of a thought. If we can thoroughly understand this, then we will not be attached all these different material goods. We will not be tempted by material things that arouse our desires, nor give rise to ignorance due to desire.

Therefore, if we understand the Dharma, we will direct ourselves on the right course towards goodness. If we still have not awakened, then we are deluded. We are either in a state of delusion or awakening. We can look at something and identify it, but in order to break it down and understand its underlying principle, it requires further study. Biologists are able to understand the elements of living things. They carefully analyze their composition and so on. Yet they still do not truly understand the. Three Principles and Four States of Existence and the awakened nature in all things of this world. They know one aspect but not the others.

We each have a profession and a specialty. Regardless of our level of education, we can invent new things. Will these new things be beneficial to the world? Some people are not concerned with that. They only care about inventing something new and being at the forefront of their field. They spend a lot of money in the process and can create pollution or cause harm to nature. But they do not consider these things at all. Some only want the recognition and gains that come from this type of research [and invention]. People like this are very unclear about the workings of things in this world. So, our delusion or awakening determines our blessings or misfortunes in the span of a single thought.

For example, lately (2013), we have been discussing food [safety] issues. For a period of time, we had also discussed genetically modified soy beans and similar issues. These have all formed a dangerous situation around food meant for human consumption. With scientific developments in farming, we are using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, or genetically modified crops and so on. We already know these are harmful to humans.

In fact, farmers have a great understanding of astronomy, geography, the four seasons, as well as the 24 divisions of the seasons. Farmers know what should be planted at each point of the 24 divisions of the seasons. Truly, they live by the natural cycle and cultivate the land according to the natural workings of heaven and earth. This is the wisdom of past farmers. Nowadays, humans have already disrupted the climate of the four seasons and allowed the natural ways of farming to gradually fall into disuse. People thought they were clever, but they are actually deluded. As Buddhist practitioners, I hope we can emulate the natural, awakened nature of the Buddha to realize the true principles of all things. We need to learn how the heavens, the earth and people can exist together harmoniously. We need to learn how people can respect the heavens, love the earth and benefit humanity. This is the enlightened nature of the Buddha; these are the principles we need to seek.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha gave many explanations that if people did not awaken, [they would face] what the Buddha described over 2000 years ago as “the outcome of the future,” which is our present, an evil world of the Five Turbidities. If we can follow this principle and trace things back, it will not be difficult to return to the ethics and morals we used to have. As long as we have the will, this will not be difficult. This is what we must work towards right now.

So, the previous section of the sutra states,

“In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, people are still attached to desires. Sentient beings such as these will never seek the path to Buddhahood.”

For sentient beings, the Buddha predicted over 2000 years ago what this world would be like right now. Sentient beings are still attached to desires, thus they create this evil world of the Five Turbidities. Sentient beings like this, if asked to listen to the Dharma, will feel afraid. They know that if they accept the Buddha-Dharma, they must abide by the precepts and abstain from satisfying their desires. Some people, knowing this, dare not accept the Buddha-Dharma. That is how the Buddha describes people in this evil world of the Five Turbidities. Attached to desires, they avoid the proper beliefs that can guide them to transcend impurities and evils.

So, the Buddha says in the next sutra passage,

“Unwholesome people in the future, upon hearing the Buddha teach the One Vehicle, will not believe or accept it out of delusion. They will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms.”

Some people dare not accept the Buddha-Dharma. When they hear someone intentionally slander it, they begin to pass this on to others. Then these mistaken understandings continue to spread, thus slandering Right Dharma. I often hear people say that they used to have deep misconceptions about Tzu Chi. “Where did that misconception come from? I heard it from someone. What did they say? They said that Tzu Chi is very rich, so….” This misinformation was heard from others and they made no effort to try to verify it. Once they finally learn the truth, they feel great regret for not having joined Tzu Chi decades earlier. This is because of delusions. Sentient beings, deluded by desire and pleasure, easily commit transgressions. This is how evil continues to exist in this world. Those who obstruct Right Dharma and prevent others from practicing it are unwholesome. These are people who hinder virtuous Dharma.

“Unwholesome people in the future, upon hearing the Buddha teach the One Vehicle” refers to people who live now or in the future. In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, because the population is so large, once incorrect teachings become widely shared, those errors continue to be compounded.

Now or in the future, in the evil world of turbidity, people will accept unwholesome teachings and commit evil deeds. They will not believe in virtuous Dharma nor accept proper teachings. Thus, those who hear the One Vehicle Dharma and can believe and accept it will be hard to find.

With advanced modern technology, everyone has a cell phone in their hands. It serves multiple purposes; it can even go online. People can casually write a few words and thousands upon thousands of people can read them within seconds. Once incorrect teachings are circulated, this can be truly disastrous for the world.

Currently (2013), in the international community, all countries are very concerned about the effects of the Jasmine Revolution (Arab Spring), which led to many refugees fleeing, families being destroyed, and people dying. The refugees have spread across many countries. For some countries, like Jordan, a million refugees suddenly appeared at the borders. With so many refugees fleeing there, in addition to more space, they also need food and other necessities. Just getting enough drinking water is a huge problem.

This problem is not limited to Jordan. Many countries have been affected by waves of refugees who are spreading further and further. One small incident led to such extensive troubles. This is the era of Five Turbidities. The spread [of turbidity] through technology is truly frightening.

This is to say that, in the present or the future evil world of turbidities, beginning now and extending into the future, if we do not immediately reflect on ourselves, we will accept unwholesome teachings and commit evil deeds. In this turbid and evil world, all we will receive will be unwholesome teachings. Education will stray from the right course. Originally education was simply about passing on knowledge and teaching trades. It was about teaching what principles to follow and what specialized skills to develop and to make a living. This was the simple goal of education. However, in this evil world of turbidities, from now and on into the future, people learn unwholesome teachings and commit evil deeds. If people receive unwholesome teachings, all of their actions will be evil deeds.

For example, right now there are people around the world who specialize in training people for terrorist groups. Every day we hear about how some country has suffered a devastating attack from terrorists. Think about it, isn’t this spreading unwholesome teachings? Isn’t this doing evil deeds? This is truly worrisome. In this turbid and evil world, people’s minds are not inclined to believe in virtuous Dharma and accept proper teachings, so how could they accept the One Vehicle Dharma when they hear it? This is why the Buddha was very concerned. The future sentient beings of His time are those of us living now.

Since we are able to listen to Right Dharma, we should take on the responsibility and mission to prevent Right Dharma from disappearing and help wholesome and virtuous Dharma remain in this world unceasingly. We need to share the Dharma with each other to replicate virtuous Dharma. One gives rise to infinity and infinity arises from one. If we each form aspirations and vows, we should be able to pass on Right Dharma.

Otherwise our present world will be [filled with] those who will not believe or accept it out of delusion. Delusion is the opposite of awareness; it is the inability to discern principles. So, it is ignorance. If people cannot discern or see things clearly, they are in a state of delusion and confusion. People like this do not believe or accept the Buddha-Dharma, because they have already been deluded by a life of desires and pleasures. They take delight in unwholesome teachings. This a result of their environment.

They are like maggots who crave rotting flesh. As human flesh rots, maggots will appear. I remember (in 2000), when Dalin Tzu Chi hospital began operations, we began by holding free clinics. The very first patient of the free clinic was an old lady whose feet had festered so badly that the flesh was rotted and filled with maggots. The doctors and nurses used a cup and tweezers to remove each of the fat, wriggling maggots. Maggots such as these gather around rotten and smelly things.

Indeed, in the past, I saw [a similar case]. A person who was injured in a car accident could only move his head and talk, but was otherwise entirely paralyzed. To support their children, his wife had to work. The man could only lay in bed all day. It was completely dark inside. I reached up and touched the light, one of those old-fashioned five-watt light bulbs. After turning it on, the first thing I saw was a rat, a very plump rat who was biting his feet. Though we came in, the rat was not afraid and refused to leave. How was this possible? We quickly chased it off, but the fat rat waddled off slowly. “The rat was biting you, don’t you feel the pain? I did not feel it at all.” I witnessed this myself; everything I just said is true. So, this was something I witnessed firsthand.

Similarly, right now people are living in such an evil world of turbidities that they consider unwholesome teachings as something very precious. This is just like how each kind of living being has something they take particular delight in. The evil world of turbidities of the future will be truly terrifying, as armed conflicts and the three major and three minor calamities gradually appear in this world. So, we need to seize the present [to practice], otherwise people “will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms.” Then in the future, the human realm will also be one of the evil realms, and people will suffer tremendously here.

Deluded, they will not believe or accept it. They will slander the Dharma and fall into the evil realms: Thus, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, those who could comprehend the [Dharma’s] true meaning became hard to find. For people who are unwholesome, be careful not to teach them this. Teaching them this is not beneficial, and may actually cause harm. Staying silent is better.

“Thus, after the Buddha entered Parinirvana….” These [slanderous] things had already been said during His lifetime, to say nothing of after His Parinirvana! How many people can actually still realize the true, virtuous Dharma? So, “For people who are unwholesome, be careful not to teach them this.” Because many unwholesome people will deliberately try to slander the Dharma, they will cast virtuous Dharma as unwholesome teachings. Thus they will fall into the evil realms.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, there were already evil-natured bhiksus, people like Devadatta. Even if they were given many teachings it would lead them to create karma of speech instead and slander the Dharma. We should refrain from sharing teachings with people like this. Not only is it not beneficial, it is harmful. Therefore, we do not need to share Right Dharma with this kind of people.

It is not easy to propagate the Buddha-Dharma in this world. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we are very blessed to encounter the Dharma. We can cultivate it in our minds and apply it in our actions. I hope we will all safeguard the Dharma’s seeds of goodness. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 452 – Sentient Beings in a Turbid World will Awaken

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>> “In this evil world of Five Turbidities, the turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views are strong. It is difficult to hear the Dharma and have faith because of severe obstructions. People are immersed and drowning in greed.”

>> So He said, “All of you, Sariputra.”

>> So even “Hearers and Bodhisattvas” should know that this wondrous Dharma “is the secret of all Buddhas.”

>> “In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, people are still attached to desires. Sentient beings such as this will never seek the path to Buddhahood.”

>> In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, they are still attached to desires: Sentient beings accumulate habitual tendencies, leading to more ignorance and delusion. Strongly attached to pleasures, they gradually drown in the Five Turbidities, yet are still attached to their desires.

>> Those who do not seek the path to Buddhahood, when it comes to the unsurpassed Dharma, give rise to a sense of overbearing arrogance. They claim to have attained what they did not attain. Therefore, these people never seek the path to Buddhahood.

>> Sentient beings such as this will never seek the path to Buddhahood: Sentient beings in this turbid world are in a turbulent sea of desires, but do not seek to be transformed or escape. Amidst the Five Turbidities, sentient beings are deluded by desires. They listen to the Dharma without faithfully accepting it. The Five Turbidities are the turbidity of life, the turbidity of sentient beings, the turbidity of afflictions, the turbidity of view and kalpa of turbidity.

>> First, the turbidity of life. Because sentient beings’ afflictions thrive and accumulate, they are mentally and physically exhausted. Thus, their lifespan is shortened.

>> Second, the turbidity of sentient beings. Many people in this world are drawn to evil, so they are mentally and physically impure and cannot understand the meaning of the principles.

>> Third, the turbidity of afflictions. People in this world cling to cravings and desires so they continue to fight over things, get angry and deceive others.

>> Fourth, the turbidity of view. People in the world do not have proper understanding and views and do not follow the right path. With diverse and confused views and sayings, they cannot come to an agreement.

>> Fifth, the kalpa of turbidity. Born into a decaying world, famine, epidemics, wars and so on arise one after the other. Countless living beings are killed and never live a day in peace.

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“In this evil world of Five Turbidities,
the turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views are strong.
It is difficult to hear the Dharma and have faith because of severe obstructions.
People are immersed and drowning in greed.”

This tells us that, in this evil world of Five Turbidities, the turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views are very strong. So, listening to the Dharma is difficult and there are severe obstructions to having faith. So, people “are immersed and drowning in greed.”

The turbidity of sentient beings and the turbidity of views [exist] because there are so many people in this world. Because there are so many people, they openly fight or secretly plot against each other. Fame, wealth and dominance are things these people are constantly striving for. Does securing any of these victories actually bring us anything that makes our lives better than those of others? As we live out our lives in this world, isn’t there more than just losing ourselves in the enjoyment of pleasure? We come to this world empty-handed and leave it empty-handed. Yet we seem to not understand this. After a life of painful struggle, or one of deluding ourselves with empty pleasure, or any of these kinds of lives, what else do we have? There is nothing. Yet sentient beings are still constantly competing with each other, creating endless man-made calamities. All this begins with their perspectives.

However, the Buddha-Dharma can cleanse sentient beings’ minds of defilements. But people find it hard to have faith in it because of these turbidities. The turbidity of sentient beings, the turbidity of views, the turbidity of afflictions and so on, are the layers of obstructions that prevent people from listening attentively to the Dharma. It is already rare to hear the Dharma, but even if people can hear the Dharma, they may not have deep faith in it. Without deep faith, though they hear the teachings, changing their habitual tendencies and turbid perspectives will still be difficult. So “it is difficult to hear the Dharma and have faith because of severe obstructions.” Because people are drowning in greed, they constantly fall [into the evil realms]. This is very frightening. If the mind gives rise to just one greedy thought, 80,000 obstructions will appear.

The Buddha-Dharma teaches us to understand suffering through the Four Noble Truths and simultaneously guides us to realize the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. This allows us to understand how the arising of one ignorant thought results in rebirth and a person forming inside the mother’s womb. All of this is explained by the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. After we are born, in the way we live, the way we grow up and the way we interact with others, karmic causes and effects are constantly cycling through these twelve [stages].

With such causes and such conditions come such karmic retributions. This is how we come to and leave our lives. After learning how we come to and leave our lives, what should we do? We should practice the Six Paramitas, also known as the Six Perfections. This is the Bodhisattva-path that leads us back to our pure intrinsic nature. This is what the Buddha taught to us.

The previous passage begins with, “All of you, Sariputra.” Sakyamuni Buddha addressed Sariputra with this reminder as a way to refocus everyone on the teachings.

So He said, “All of you, Sariputra.”

He wanted them all to be as wise as Sariputra,

So even “Hearers and Bodhisattvas” should know that this wondrous Dharma “is the secret of all Buddhas.”

Though the Dharma the Buddha was speaking of included distinctive labels such as. Hearers and Solitary Realizers, He was actually teaching the Bodhisattva Way. Hearers are also Bodhisattvas. After understanding principles, if they are inspired to make great aspirations, then these Hearers would be equal to Bodhisattvas. They could all accept this Dharma. They should all know that this is the wondrous Dharma, “the secret of all Buddhas.” The Bodhisattva-path had been concealed in the Buddha’s mind for more than 40 years. This was something they must know. They must mindfully listen to this Dharma.

The following sutra passage states,

“In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, people are still attached to desires. Sentient beings such as this will never seek the path to Buddhahood.”

Everyone must know that, in this world, the first time the Buddha taught, He spoke of suffering, causation, cessation and the path. Suffering is caused by the accumulation of sentient beings’ ignorance and afflictions. We are now in this evil world of Five Turbidities. The Five Turbidities are caused by the accumulation of ignorance. At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, the Buddha wanted to more thoroughly explain and help everyone to better understand where the source of suffering is.

In our present world, people create such tremendous turbidities because they “are still attached to desires.” Sentient beings are deluded by their desire to lose themselves in pleasures, make more money and constantly expand their businesses. If they have a big company, they want it bigger. Running a successful business in their own country is not enough for them. They are constantly planning how they can expand their business from one country to another, and create a chain of companies.

This kind of desire knows no limits. But they can never know exactly when impermanence will strike. They only think about expanding their businesses bigger and bigger. Think about a person’s mind. When we look at his actual brain, it is not very big. So, how can the mind encompass the universe? Yet we have the desire to claim everything in the world as our own. This makes us unenlightened beings.

The Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment contains. His realization of the impermanence of this world and His thorough understanding of the law of the arising and ceasing of all things in the universe. This is the enlightened nature of the Buddha. His wisdom is extensive and boundless. However, the desires of unenlightened beings are also so extensive that they encompass the mountains and the oceans. We may even want our company to expand to every single country in the world. Think about this. Doesn’t everyone intrinsically have Buddha-nature? However great our Buddha-nature is, our ignorance is just as great. Thus, our ignorance and greed obscure our intrinsic Buddha-nature. This is why we sentient beings create so much turbidity. The Five Turbidities are all created by people.

“Sentient beings such as this” have greed and desires that are so tremendous there will never be an end to them. Once greed arises in our minds, we busily [try to satisfy it], causing significant pollution in the world. As businesses expand, so does manufacturing. Factories pollute the air and damage the land. So, the Five Turbidities are created over and over. This is why we sentient beings “will never seek the path to Buddhahood.”

If someone is told, “You have such a successful business and have made more than enough money, don’t you want to calm your mind and focus on learning the Buddha’s teachings?” they may say, “No, I can’t. I have such a great opportunity right now. With an opportunity like this, I do not have the time to seek the path to Buddhahood.” This is really a pity and waste of their life’s potential; they have blessings, but they lack wisdom, and cannot put an end to their desires.

Therefore, “In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, they are still attached to desires.” This is how sentient beings accumulate habitual tendencies, ignorance and delusion; they continue to add to their habitual tendencies. The pure minds we originally had thus become more and more deluded.

In this evil world of the Five Turbidities, they are still attached to desires: Sentient beings accumulate habitual tendencies, leading to more ignorance and delusion. Strongly attached to pleasures, they gradually drown in the Five Turbidities, yet are still attached to their desires.

We often hear about “sandstorms.” Sand and dust are blown about in the air, making things very murky.

People’s minds are strongly attached to desires and pleasures. The [results of] pursuing desires and pleasures are indeed terrifying. Every day when we watch the news, we find it incredible that people in this world can be this vicious. One woman was so obsessed with the lottery that she went into debt. To continue playing the lottery and to repay her debts, she bought life insurance policies for her mother and her mother-in-law. She then poisoned her mother-in-law and her mother. But she did not stop there; there was her husband as well. When her husband got sick and had to go to the emergency room, she actually poisoned him. While the nurse was not looking, she injected a syringe with a poisonous mixture into the tube administering intravenous fluids. Fortunately, the nurse discovered this in time. The woman left immediately after injecting the poison, so the nurse did not see who did it. But when she saw the change of color in the fluid, she quickly pulled out the IV and rushed the patient to intensive care. After that incident, his hospital room was well-guarded. No one was allowed to take care of him.

The woman’s first attempt was not successful. After her husband was discharged, he felt unwell again and returned to the hospital. The woman made another attempt, and this time she was successful. One after another, her loved ones, from her own mother to her husband’s mother, died at her hands. She even poisoned her own husband. According to the news, this woman was sentenced to life in prison, but many people were unsatisfied with the verdict. Now she is sentenced to death. Among all the death row inmates, she is the only woman. Think about how strongly attached she was to her desires and pleasure. It caused her to sink into a mess of wrongs. She was unable to stop herself. In our modern society, this is the kind of news we see every day. So, people gradually drown in the Five Turbidities. Attached to their desires, they do not seek the path to Buddhahood.

Even with the unsurpassed, wondrous Dharma, some people, after accepting the Buddha-Dharma, can still give rise to overbearing arrogance.

Those who do not seek the path to Buddhahood, when it comes to the unsurpassed Dharma, give rise to a sense of overbearing arrogance. They claim to have attained what they did not attain. Therefore, these people never seek the path to Buddhahood.

As the Buddha was about to expound this sutra, the true One Vehicle Dharma, 5000 people left. He had opened the provisional, and was now about to reveal the true when 5000 people got up and left the assembly. Even people who had listened to the Dharma had overbearing arrogance, not to mention other people in society. No matter what they do, they say, “I take credit for what went well, but if something didn’t go well, it’s not my fault.” This comes from the kind of overbearing arrogance we sentient beings have. People who have heard the Dharma may act like this, not to mention people who have not heard it. After listening to teachings, [some people] claim to have attained what they did not attain. In reality, they did not really understand, but they still think, “I understand everything.” With this attitude, they “will never seek the path to Buddhahood.” Therefore, they will never improve. This is something we worry a lot about. If this is how we live, it will be very worrying.

So, “sentient beings in this turbid world are in a turbulent sea of desires.” Everyone is in this state, but we do not seek to be transformed or escape. This is where sentient beings of this era are confused.

Sentient beings such as this will never seek the path to Buddhahood: Sentient beings in this turbid world are in a turbulent sea of desires, but do not seek to be transformed or escape. Amidst the Five Turbidities, sentient beings are deluded by desires. They listen to the Dharma without faithfully accepting it. The Five Turbidities are the turbidity of life, the turbidity of sentient beings, the turbidity of afflictions, the turbidity of view and kalpa of turbidity.

What are the Five Turbidities? Please listen and pay attention carefully. The Five Turbidities are desires. Since desires have deluded us, we continue to live in this turbulent world of sensory pleasures. We cannot be saved, because though we listened to the Dharma, we did not faithfully accept and practice it. Thus we created the Five Turbidities.

The first of the Five Turbidities is the turbidity of life, second is the turbidity of sentient beings, third is the turbidity of afflictions, fourth is the turbidity of view and fifth is the kalpa of turbidity.

First, the turbidity of life. Because sentient beings’ afflictions thrive and accumulate, they are mentally and physically exhausted. Thus, their lifespan is shortened.

The turbidity of life arises because many afflictions thrive and accumulate. How many are there? As many as all the trees, grasses and so on in all the thriving forests on the planet. If we count each one of them, that is how many [afflictions] have “thrived and accumulated.” With so many afflictions accumulating, we continue to create karma. In this turbulent sea of desires, we never think about how much longer we have to live. This is the turbidity of life. Our lifespan is very brief. It ends when we cannot take our next breath. This is the turbidity of life.

Second is the turbidity of sentient beings,

Second, the turbidity of sentient beings. Many people in this world are drawn to evil, so they are mentally and physically impure and cannot understand the meaning of the principles.

Each sentient being in this world has his own habitual tendencies; evil comes from habitual tendencies. If we have negative habitual tendencies, we will be mentally and physically impure and cannot understand the meaning of the principles

because our minds remain afflicted. This is because we are sentient beings. Third is the turbidity of afflictions.

Third, the turbidity of afflictions. People in this world cling to cravings and desires so they continue to fight over things, get angry and deceive others.

We have so many afflictions because we cling to cravings, desires and physical affection. We have afflictions of meeting those we hate, parting from those we love and so on. In addition, we fight over objects of desire, recognition, gain, status and so on. If we cannot get what we want, we get angry and deceive others. Thus we continue to create karma.

Fourth is the turbidity of view. The turbidity of view is the improper understanding and views of people in this world.

Fourth, the turbidity of view. People in the world do not have proper understanding and views and do not follow the right path. With diverse and confused views and sayings, they cannot come to an agreement.

If people in the world do not have proper understanding and views and do not follow the right path, there will be discrepancies in what they say. So, there are various interpretations by those who do not know which principles are correct. We end up saying different things because our understandings are all different.

Fifth is the kalpa of turbidity.

Fifth, the kalpa of turbidity. Born into a decaying world, famine, epidemics, wars and so on arise one after the other. Countless living beings are killed and never live a day in peace.

Kalpa of turbidity means that, in this era, principles have become unimportant. In this world, we see famine and epidemics. In our interactions, we fight each other and create disasters. This cycle continues. In addition, the imbalance of the four elements, earth, water, fire and air, causes many natural disasters.

Because of the karma created by people, afflictions continue to multiply. This is why we call this the evil world of Five Turbidities. Therefore, in this modern time, we must immediately become more vigilant. Earth-shattering disasters frequently occur, so we must have world-awakening realizations, beginning right now. So, everyone please always be mindful.

Episode 451 – Cherish the Wondrous Dharma

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>> “We must vow to maintain our reverence and respect. When we have a Buddha-mind, our mind is a place for spiritual cultivation. The Dharma pervades the world and we share its teachings. The Dharma is taught through provisional and skillful means.”

>> “All of you should have no doubts.”

>> “For I am the Dharma King. I declare to the assembly, ‘I use only the path of One Vehicle to teach and transform Bodhisattvas I have no disciples who are Hearers.'”

>> “All of you, Sariputra, Hearers and Bodhisattvas, should know that this wondrous Dharma is the secret of all Buddhas.”

>> All of you, Sariputra, Hearers and Bodhisattvas: This includes the Hearer Vehicle and the disciples labeled as Hearers. Buddhas use this convenient and temporary label to guide sentient beings to enter all Buddhas’ understanding and views with these provisional teachings.

>> [You] should know that this wondrous Dharma is the secret of all Buddhas: The Buddha reminded those listening to the Dharma that they should know that in the wondrous Dharma, the teachings He gave the Hearer, Pratyekabuddha and other vehicles are actually included in the secret of all Buddhas.

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“We must vow to maintain our reverence and respect.
When we have a Buddha-mind, our mind is a place for spiritual cultivation.
The Dharma pervades the world and we share its teachings.
The Dharma is taught through provisional and skillful means.”

As spiritual practitioners, we must hold on to these vows and sustain our original aspirations forever. Since we made this resolve, we must constantly maintain our reverence and our respect.

The mind is where spiritual cultivation happens. If the Buddha is in our minds, our place of spiritual cultivation will be filled with our intrinsic nature’s ocean of enlightenment. If we reverently safeguard this place of cultivation, “the Dharma [will naturally] pervade the world and we share its teachings.” No matter where we are, every encounter with people and matters will be a chance for us to give teachings or accept teachings. I often mention to everyone that “infinite Dharma-doors will readily appear before us.” The principles of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings describe a state of tranquility and clarity, where there are infinite Dharma-doors. As long as the Dharma is in our hearts, there is an abundance of Dharma around us. Every person is a teaching for us. Everyone is a great treasury of teachings. Everyone is a stupa of treasures in our minds. This is how the Dharma permeates this world. We can find the Dharma anywhere, as long as we have a firm resolve.

For instance, countless kalpas ago, Universal Sound Buddha appeared in this world, and taught many Bodhisattvas, Hearers and Solitary Realizers. At that time, the world was very pure and the Buddha-Dharma was pervasive; everyone aspired to engage in spiritual practice and protect the Dharma. After this Buddha entered Parinirvana, all those who accepted the Dharma became Dharma teachers. They also spread the Buddha-Dharma to every corner of the world. In a small kingdom in a remote part of the world, there was a young man. He knew that the Buddha-Dharma existed, but what was its true essence? Where could he go to engage in spiritual practice? Where could he find the Buddha-Dharma?

This young man was named Very-Steady. He was very mindful. One day, as he sat quietly in meditation, he seemed to hear a subtle and wondrous voice from the sky. It said to him, “You are so reverent, and you have the aspiration to seek teachings. The Buddha-Dharma still exists in the world. This Dharma exists because a long ago, Universal Sound Buddha already spread it throughout the world. Then His disciples also advanced the Dharma.” Very-Steady was very happy to hear this.

“But Universal Sound Buddha has already entered Parinirvana. Not only have His Disciples become scattered, many have also passed away. This all happened a long, long time ago.” When Very-Steady heard this, he became worried. He said, “I heard that a Buddha had appeared, and even though He already entered Parinirvana, there were still Dharma teachers. But then you said that their numbers have gradually declined as they likewise passed away. My hopes of finding the Dharma seem very bleak.”

This voice then responded, “The Dharma is still here! About 300 kilometers from here, there is a Dharma master named Clear-Sound. He is still alive and preaching the Dharma there.” When Very-Steady heard this, he became joyful again. He gathered his friends, his family and many treasures and then followed the voice’s instructions to travel those 300 kilometers. When he arrived, and saw the Dharma master, he asked Master Clear-Sound for teachings.

This Dharma master began to give teachings with simple and clear words. He talked about the truth of suffering, causation, cessation and the path. Very-Steady heard this and became filled with joy, so he vowed, “I will not leave this spiritual practice center. I will wholeheartedly serve you in the hopes that in this lifetime I can attain even more profound principles.” The Dharma master happily accepted his offer.

A very long time passed, but Master Clear-Voice never gave him another teaching. He earnestly requested the Dharma again, but he received the same teaching. He continued to earnestly request the Dharma. Even though he asked many times, he did not learn any more profound Dharma.

So, one day when he was meditating, some maras wondered how this man’s spiritual aspirations could be so firm. He faced such difficulty in seeking the Dharma; how had he not lost his spiritual aspirations? So, these maras intentionally came to disrupt his practice. One of them took the form of a beautiful girl, another took the form of. Dharma Master Clear-Voice. The two appeared before him, flirting with each other. Then the mara king said, “See, your master has not actually eliminated lust from his heart. How is he qualified to be given your respect?”

Though this group had come to incite him, Very-Steady thought, “I don’t believe this. I do not believe that my master would give up his spiritual aspiration. That wondrous voice I heard clearly told me that Dharma Master Clear-Voice was renowned for his virtue. How could he now have this kind of desire?” So, he made a vow and thought to himself, “If this is an illusion, may this image I see immediately disappear.” This was the thought that arose in his mind. He had firm faith in his master and that this was an illusion that would disappear right away. The mara king could not withstand the power of his faith, so he disappeared. The illusion in front of him also disappeared.

In that moment, he thought to himself, “If I do not strengthen my spiritual aspirations, and something like this happens again, I may lose my spiritual aspirations and easily fall into the evil realms or end up on a deviant path, in the state of maras. I must strengthen my spiritual aspirations.” This was the spiritual journey of

that young spiritual practitioner. Actually, in our spiritual practice, doesn’t this happen to us as well? Sometimes our faith is strong, but then sometimes we hear [troubling] things from our surroundings. Also, we sometimes seem to diligently advance in our quest for the Dharma, but then once we think we have reached it, we stop and remain in that place forever. We may also lose our spiritual aspiration or see illusory things that cause our minds to waver. But this young man, Very-Steady, was in such a tranquil and focused state of mind, wholeheartedly maintaining reverence and respect, that he was not influenced by his surroundings. This is the Buddha-mind, and our inner place of spiritual cultivation.

If we firmly believe in the. Three Treasures, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, because of our faith, our inner spiritual practice center will be very stable. Then, “the Dharma pervades the world and we share its teachings.” With a strong resolve, we can apply the Dharma we hear in our lives and share it from our hearts. These “provisional and skillful means” can all be applied.

The previous sutra passage states,

“All of you should have no doubts.” Do not doubt it,

“For I am the Dharma King. I declare to the assembly, ‘I use only the path of One Vehicle to teach and transform Bodhisattvas I have no disciples who are Hearers.'”

Though the Buddha spent more than 40 years patiently guiding them according to their dispositions and capabilities and giving teachings they could understand, He was actually teaching only one thing, the Bodhisattva Way. So, “[He had] no disciples who are Hearers.”

He hoped everyone who accepted the Buddha-Dharma could benefit and awaken themselves, and benefit and awaken others. This was the Buddha’s intent. So, there should be no. Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas. Those were just labels from the process of the Buddha’s provisional and skillful teachings. Indeed, after listening to the Dharma, people should set their sights on the Bodhisattva-path, on cultivating the Bodhisattva Way.

The next sutra passage states,

“All of you, Sariputra, Hearers and Bodhisattvas, should know that this wondrous Dharma is the secret of all Buddhas.”

Everyone should know Sariputra because he was the recipient of these teachings. So, when the Buddha wanted everyone to pay more attention, He called out, “Sariputra.” This signified that everyone must listen carefully. Everyone must listen carefully!

“Hearers and Bodhisattvas, should know that [this is the] wondrous Dharma.” We should know that this wondrous Dharma is the secret of all Buddhas. “Secret” refers to something that is hidden. I constantly mention the Buddha’s original intent. After the Buddha attained enlightenment, He wanted to fully share this Dharma. But knowing that sentient beings did not have the capabilities to accept it, He retracted this Dharma and safeguarded it in His heart. So, this was a “secret”; this Dharma was a secret. Actually, it isn’t that the Buddha has any secrets. He had just been carefully safeguarding these important teachings. So, it was called a secret.

Therefore, [He said,]. “All of you, Sariputra, Hearers and Bodhisattvas…. Hearers” refers to that vehicle and the disciples who cultivated by listening to the Dharma. They thought that listening to teachings was the most important thing. What is the purpose of listening to the Dharma? They did not try to figure out the purpose. They only wanted to listen and understand. For these people, “Buddhas use this convenient and temporary label. Hearers” is the Buddha’s convenient and temporary label for these disciples. Whatever He taught, they just listened. So, they are the “assembly of listeners.”

All of you, Sariputra, Hearers and Bodhisattvas: This includes the Hearer Vehicle and the disciples labeled as Hearers. Buddhas use this convenient and temporary label to guide sentient beings to enter all Buddhas’ understanding and views with these provisional teachings.

Speaking of a group of listeners, (2013) Tzu Chi volunteers everywhere came here to hold their board meetings. The listeners included not just board members, but also officers responsible for reporting on how, in all these different countries, they applied Tzu Chi’s teachings to widely help others and relieve their suffering. These officers who mobilized others were listening, and those who lead Tzu Chi in these countries were also there to listen. Actually, the audience was also engaged in doing volunteer work. They may not have a title, or they may not have officially registered [Tzu Chi] as an organization or set up a board of directors in their country. But in their respective countries, they are also in charge of branch offices and service centers and are making contributions to their local community. So, they sat in the audience and happily listened to the presentations.

Everyone has his own purpose for listening to the Dharma. If a person says, “I just want to listen and learn,” they are still missing the next part, “I will put it into practice.” Thus I have heard, thus I have comprehended, and thus I have realized. Is this all we want to do? When we comprehend something, we must share our comprehension. When we realize something, we must share those realizations. This is the only way for the Buddha-Dharma to become widespread in this world. So, the Buddha called certain disciples “Hearers.”

Actually, Hearers is a temporary label; everyone should be walking in the direction of the Bodhisattva-path. So, to guide sentient beings toward. His understanding and views, He skillfully used convenient labels. For example, after the board meetings, volunteers from countries without official boards said, “When we go back, let’s do what they do.” This is one way of walking the Bodhisattva-path.

Next we will discuss, “[You] should know that this wondrous Dharma is the secret of all Buddhas.”

[You] should know that this wondrous Dharma is the secret of all Buddhas: The Buddha reminded those listening to the Dharma that they should know that in the wondrous Dharma, the teachings He gave the Hearer, Pratyekabuddha and other vehicles are actually included in the secret of all Buddhas.

Everyone should know that this Dharma comes from all Buddhas, from the ocean of enlightenment filling Their minds. They want to tell everyone, “You can also become a Buddha. It is possible for you, too, because your mind contains so many enlightened principles.” They hoped everyone could perceive this, but no one could accept this. So, They retracted these teachings and kept them in Their hearts. This is the wondrous Dharma. “Secret” means that it is dearly cherished. It was still retained in the Buddha’s mind. It is His most important teaching and what He really wants sentient beings to know.

The Buddha gave this reminder to help everyone understand. He was now on Vulture Peak, holding this Lotus Dharma-assembly, to help people return to their intrinsic nature. After teaching for so long, He was afraid that people were tired from listening. So, the Buddha continued to remind the listeners “that they should know this is wondrous Dharma.” Everyone should understand that this Dharma is very precious.

So, the Buddha’s Three Vehicles, the teachings for Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas, actually encompass and include the secret of all Buddhas. Regardless of whether we are Hearers, if we do not listen with our ears, how will the Dharma enter our minds? The ear is the doorway that we use to take the Dharma into our hearts. The Dharma must be heard through our ears.

What about Solitary Realizers? Solitary Realizers are a level higher than Hearers. Because Solitary Realizers’ capabilities for attaining realizations are higher, when the Buddha said one thing, they realized ten. If the Buddha spoke of impermanence, they could understand the four seasons, the blooming and wilting of flowers. They could [connect] the changing of the seasons with the cycle of birth, aging, illness and death, these laws of nature. When the Buddha said one word, “impermanence,” they were able to understand so many things.

Is it enough to hear one and realize ten? No, it is not enough. The Buddha’s true principles [are so profound], even if we hear 1 thing and realize 1000, we cannot realize them all. The universe is so vast, filled with billions of things, many forms and appearances. Moreover, the minds of sentient beings are covered by so much ignorance. If we hear 1 thing and realize 100 or 1000, will that be enough? It will not be. So, although His state of realization [was so profound], the Buddha still brought together all the principles He realized, which remain the ultimate truth. [To attain] these true principles, that secret path, we must still go through the paths of listening and attaining realizations. We must bring all these paths together to truly enter the Bodhisattva-path.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we learn the Buddha’s teachings in hope of attaining the Buddha-mind. The Buddha-mind and our own minds are where we engage in spiritual cultivation. In this place of practice, we must first strengthen our resolve and make sure we are on the right course, which is the “great, direct Bodhi-path.” Our minds must be settled, and on this path to enlightenment, we must diligently move forward. Then the Dharma can pervade the world and we can share its teachings. It is not enough if only we understand. Now is the time that we must recruit Living Bodhisattvas. But there are multitudes of sentient beings, so we must devise many skillful means to share these teachings. There is so much suffering right now, and. “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering beings,” so we must apply various methods to spread [the Dharma] throughout the world and teach, save and transform sentient beings. These are the Buddha’s goals in coming to this world. So, as we learn and listen to the Dharma, we must put it into practice and always be mindful.

Episode 450 – The True Dharma of the One Vehicle

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>> “Faith is the source of the Path. The Buddha is the foremost guiding teacher. He taught the True Dharma of the world, which is so subtle and wondrous it can enter our minds.”

>> “Those who hear this Dharma and give joyful praise are, by uttering just a single word, making offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods. People like this are extremely rare, more rare than the udumbara flower.”

>> “All of you should have no doubts, for I am the Dharma King. I declare to the assembly, ‘I use only the path of the One Vehicle to teach and transform Bodhisattvas I have no disciples who are Hearers.'”

>> All of you should have no doubts, for I am the Dharma King: The sincere resolve to enter the Path begins with faith. We must not have doubts about trustworthy people. Without faith, one cannot establish oneself. One who is king among people must be truthful in what one says. The Buddha is the Dharma King, thus He will not say anything false.

>> In the past He gave provisional teachings and taught skillful means. The Three Vehicles for different capabilities ultimately lead to the One Vehicle. They are true but the path of the One Vehicle is the way to spread the Great Dharma. When we listen to the Dharma King teach the Great Dharma, we must not give rise to doubts. In the past He gave provisional teachings, [yet] “the Three Vehicles for different capabilities ultimately lead to the One Vehicle.”

>> For more than 40 years before the Lotus Dharma-assembly, the Dharma was concealed in the Buddha’s mind. This was the direct path of the One Vehicle, which encompasses tens of thousands of roads. So, the Buddha said, “[I] teach the Bodhisattva Way. I have no disciples who are Hearers.”

>> I have no disciples who are Hearers: Everything considered the Buddha-Dharma is part of the One Vehicle, which is the teaching of the Bodhisattva Way. He did not give teachings specific to Hearers, so He does not have disciples who would be called Hearers.

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“Faith is the source of the Path.
The Buddha is the foremost guiding teacher.
He taught the True Dharma of the world,
which is so subtle and wondrous it can enter our minds.”

To accept the Buddha’s teachings, having “faith” is very important. When we have faith in our hearts, it will awaken our wisdom, and the true principles of all things in the universe will manifest in our minds, and the awakened nature within us will be aroused. This is our nature of True Suchness.

The Buddha comes to this world to arouse our awakened nature so we can realize that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. However, the Dharma is very profound and difficult to comprehend. Its transcendent principles are too profound. So, He teaches according to our capabilities by giving us teachings that we can understand. This is how. “He teaches the True Dharma of the world.”

Everything has to do with the way people live. As they go about their daily living, they may continue to give rise to afflictions. Afflictions arise from greed and greed arises from ignorance. Thus, we create such causes, such conditions and such effects. People become indolent and degenerate and cycle among these karmic causes of suffering. So, the Buddha exercised His wisdom to teach us how to change our lives, our perspectives and our direction. Thus, He is the guiding teacher for this world who gave subtle and intricate teachings which will penetrate each of our minds.

Indeed, there is unbearable suffering in life. This is what we heard during our board meeting. One of the participants told me, “Master, I must repent to you.” For years he has heard me constantly praise how well volunteers in Indonesia are doing, how harmoniously they work together, how humble and how successful they are. He said, “To be honest, for many years, I couldn’t fully accept this. I felt [our own volunteers] had also done well and worked together harmoniously, so why were you constantly praising Indonesia?”

He said, “After this trip, I am fully convinced. I was very moved by them.” He said, “With my own eyes, I saw this big group of wealthy businesspeople working together so harmoniously, with great unity and strength. During the many days they have been here, they have acted so humbly and have never requested any special treatment. They were always very harmonious and quietly accepted everything for so many days. They are so agreeable. All of them are successful businesspeople in their own country. Some even took their own private jets to Hualien. But at the Abode, they are doing what everyone else is doing and following the same way of living. They are so earnest and diligent.”

He said, “Now I have witnessed this. After seeing it with my own eyes, I understand. So, from the depths of my heart, I am repentant. I have been deeply touched and have come to admire [the Indonesian volunteers].”

This came up during our review after the board meeting. From their hearts, people shared what they had heard and seen and witnessed. From what they saw and heard, they verified that there are. Living Bodhisattvas among us. In the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, everyone faithfully accepts and practices the teachings of the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. With these spiritual ideals, this stream of purity, we first purify ourselves, then form great aspirations. The Tzu Chi School of Buddhism is a road of working with others in this world while training our minds to be in unity and harmony with others. So, recently (at the board meeting), this is what people observed in each other and realized. What they witnessed and were moved by has inspired them to keep improving.

A board member from another country told me, “I saw how diligently other people worked. I thought we were doing quite well, but then I saw how other people carried out the Mission of Charity and how meticulous and mindful they are in contributing their efforts.” He said, “I feel like there is a place where we have not mindfully engaged with our work.” Then he told me about a town [in his country] with population of more than 300,000. There is a historical background to all this. People in this town have been oppressed by the government. They live in such poverty and have remained poor for generations. They cannot leave to work elsewhere either.

How poor are they? For example, one day, one of the volunteers went there to assess the situation to see if there were people in need that we could help. Walking into one of the houses, he said, “I heard that your child has trouble going to school so I’d like to meet him.” The mother replied, “He is still sleeping.” It was already past 10 in the morning. So, he asked, “It’s so late, why is he still asleep?” The mother answered, “Let’s not wake him. If he wakes up, he will say he’s hungry, then I have to give him food. If I let him sleep, he won’t need to eat. The earlier I wake him, the earlier he gets hungry.”

What did this signify? One word, “poverty.” They are so poor that they let the child sleep so that he would not be hungry. He said that this was just one of the households that they visited. In a town of over 300,000 people, every household was equally poor. This was a great field of blessings that had not been cultivated. It has not been cultivated at all. So, he vowed to me that they want to go into this area immediately, to understand the situation and to care for them.

Then he also mentioned the vocational training program in the Philippines that has been very successful. They have taught women how to be seamstresses and this really transformed their lives. He was very moved by it. So I immediately offered my encouragement, “Absolutely, if you offer this kind of vocational training program there, they will be able to develop a skill that can help them make a living in this society.” So, he decided, “Yes, this will be my course of action this year.”

Each country has its own unique characteristics. Most often, when people have an idea about how to improve something in the country or benefit the society somehow, the government will not do whatever they want. No. They need a method in order to do this. There must be people who will accept the Dharma, make great vows and be willing to give to sentient beings in the world without asking for anything in return. So, they practice the Bodhisattva-path.

This is the worldly Dharma [we practice]; it is the True Dharma of the world. There are many kinds of suffering people. This all comes from a single [ignorant] thought that multiplied into countless afflictions, causing problems for the society and the country and creating conditions of poverty and hardship. For people living this kind of life, the True Dharma of the world is needed to show them how to help and guide others. This is very important.

So, we must have faith in the Buddha’s teaching that all of us intrinsically have Buddha-nature and that we each have our own karmic conditions. [Living] Bodhisattvas arise in this world in response to the world’s suffering. So, we are able to follow the path that has been paved for us. This begins with “faith [as] the source of the Path and the mother of merits and virtues.” If we can take this Dharma to heart, it will give rise to infinite merits and virtues. So, when we listen to the Dharma, we must accept it joyfully.

The previous sutra passage states,

“Those who hear this Dharma and give joyful praise are, by uttering just a single word, making offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods. People like this are extremely rare, more rare than the udumbara flower.”

Everyone can hear the Dharma and become very happy. They can listen with joy and utmost reverence, then take it to heart and walk the Bodhisattva-path. This is how they make offerings to the Buddha. But the people who do this are very rare. So I keep telling everyone, we must keep recruiting Living Bodhisattvas; we need more. So, there is still a lot of work to do; we must be diligent and encourage each other.

In the following passage of the sutra, the Buddha says,

“All of you should have no doubts, for I am the Dharma King. I declare to the assembly, ‘I use only the path of the One Vehicle to teach and transform Bodhisattvas I have no disciples who are Hearers.'”

This passage tells how the Buddha taught the Dharma impartially. He told everyone once again that they should not have any doubts about the Dharma. If they have doubts, they will not have faith. “For I am the Dharma King” is. Sakyamuni Buddha verifying that. He had already realized the true principles of all things in the world and the universe. So, the Buddha understood not just world-transcending truths but also worldly Dharma very clearly. So, no one should have doubts.

All of you should have no doubts, for I am the Dharma King: The sincere resolve to enter the Path begins with faith. We must not have doubts about trustworthy people. Without faith, one cannot establish oneself. One who is king among people must be truthful in what one says. The Buddha is the Dharma King, thus He will not say anything false.

So, “The sincere resolve to enter the Path begins with faith.” We need to truly make aspirations to walk on this path. Only when we are sincere can we give rise to faith. Once we have faith, the Buddha then reminds us, “We must not have doubts about trustworthy people.” We must not doubt the Dharma. We must also not doubt people. If we have faith in the Dharma, we must also have faith in other people. “There is no one in the world I cannot trust.”

As we just mentioned, the CEO from one country said, “Master, I must repent. You always praise Indonesia, but I was not convinced, and I had doubts. Could they possibly be that humble?” This is doubting other people. Now I want to tell everyone, “We must not doubt trustworthy people.” We must have faith in every person. “There is no one in the world I cannot trust.”

“Without faith, one cannot establish oneself.” As a human being, each of us must first establish faith. We must have faith in ourselves and have faith in Right Dharma. As other people also practice the Right Dharma, we must also have faith in them. When we have faith in ourselves and others, we must work to be someone whom people will have faith in. Thus, having faith in ourselves and others and being trustworthy are all very important.

“One who is king among people must be truthful in what he says.” Here, “king” does not [just] refer to the leader of a country. It refers to ordinary people like us who are willing to give and to lead others. Near the end of the board meeting, we had a question and answer session and people asked, “In Africa, how do you train the local volunteers?” Mr. Michael Pan stood up and said, “I only accompany them, I do not train. I only know how to keep them company, how to give them love and care. I never lecture or instruct.”

You see, what they gave to the volunteers was spiritual abundance. This is worldly Dharma. Because they accompanied the local volunteers with love, those people were moved and inspired, and felt great respect for them. So, they are also kings among people. Those who can lead others are [truthful in what they say]. This establishes faith. We should not say one thing to this person and say something different to another person. We must treat everyone equally. With the Dharma, with the One Vehicle Dharma, with this truth, we can lead people.

In this world, those who lead and are respected must be truthful in what they say, let alone the Buddha, the Dharma King. Thus we must firmly believe the Buddha-Dharma, and that the Buddha never says anything false. He would never say something and then not take responsibility for it or not fulfill it. He would never do this. He takes responsibility for the things He says so we can be confident in applying those teachings. This makes Him the Dharma King.

So [He said], “I declare to the assembly, ‘I use only the path of the One Vehicle.'” Sakyamuni Buddha was the Dharma King who taught the true Dharma to all sentient beings. He said, “I use only the path of the One Vehicle.” What He taught was actually the path of the One Vehicle, which enables everyone to attain Buddhahood.

In the past He gave provisional teachings and taught skillful means. The Three Vehicles for different capabilities ultimately lead to the One Vehicle. They are true but the path of the One Vehicle is the way to spread the Great Dharma. When we listen to the Dharma King teach the Great Dharma, we must not give rise to doubts. In the past He gave provisional teachings, [yet] “the Three Vehicles for different capabilities ultimately lead to the One Vehicle.”

The Three Vehicles were for gradually guiding people of different capacities to have faith in the Buddha and not doubt the Buddha-Dharma. This was the way that they “ultimately led to the One Vehicle.” Indeed, in the past He also taught true principles. What He taught now was the everyone must believe that they can attain Buddhahood. This is the One Vehicle. “The path of the One Vehicle is the way to spread the Great Dharma.” The One Vehicle is an extensive teaching that can pervade the world and encompass all things. So, “when we listen to the Dharma King teach the Great Dharma,” we must not be suspicious because

“[the Buddha] teaches Bodhisattvas. [He has] no disciples who are Hearers.” Indeed, we must believe the Dharma He taught was all for one reason, “to teach Bodhisattvas.” He hoped everyone would attain Buddhahood and return to their intrinsic nature of True Suchness. There is only one way to do this, but in the past, their capabilities were immature, and they did not have faith in themselves. Once they developed this faith, He taught the Bodhisattva Way. He has no disciples who are Hearers; there is only the Bodhisattva Vehicle.

For more than 40 years before the Lotus Dharma-assembly, the Dharma was concealed in the Buddha’s mind. This was the direct path of the One Vehicle, which encompasses tens of thousands of roads. So, the Buddha said, “[I] teach the Bodhisattva Way. I have no disciples who are Hearers.”

Before the Lotus Sutra, for over 40 years, the Dharma that could teach everyone to walk the Bodhisattva-path and return to their nature of True Suchness was hidden in His mind, for over 40 years. Thus, this True Dharma was now being expounded. He shared His original intent and extensively taught the True Dharma so everyone could understand that they could all attain Buddhahood. But they had to put it into practice, and cultivate the Bodhisattva Way for the sake of suffering sentient beings. “This was the direct path of the One Vehicle.” There is only one great Bodhi-path, “which encompasses tens of thousands of roads.” All teachings can be summarized as one teaching, the One Vehicle. When it is taught, the One Vehicle can cover the capabilities of all sentient beings. So the Buddha said, “[I] teach the Bodhisattva Way. I have no disciples who are Hearers.”

I have no disciples who are Hearers: Everything considered the Buddha-Dharma is part of the One Vehicle, which is the teaching of the Bodhisattva Way. He did not give teachings specific to Hearers, so He does not have disciples who would be called Hearers.

The Bodhisattva-path alone include the disciples of the Three Vehicles. The great, average and limited capabilities are all covered by this one vehicle, which is the Bodhisattva Way.

Everyone, the Bodhisattva-path is the True Dharma. We keep hearing about how [volunteers] all over the world help those who are suffering. This is all because their sincerity helps them resonate with the Buddha-mind and walk the Bodhisattva-path. With only this Dharma, they can give suitable teachings in different countries to transform sentient beings and relieve their suffering. All they need is the Bodhisattva-path.

Everyone, learning to practice the teachings means practicing the One Vehicle Dharma and returnign to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. So, we must always be reverent, have faith and be mindful.

Episode 449 – Make Offerings with Utmost Sincerity

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>> “The highest offering is sincerity. Listening to the Dharma with utmost reverence is the most supreme offering. Cultivating precepts, Samadhi and wisdom is a true offering.”

>> “[The Dharma is] like the udumbara flower, in which all take delight which heavenly beings and humans prize, yet which only blooms at the right time.”

>> “Those who hear this Dharma and give joyful praise are, by uttering just a single word, making offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods. People like this are extremely rare, more rare than the udumbara flower.”

>> Those who hear this Dharma and give joyful praise are, by uttering just a single word: This refers to people who can reverently and faithfully vow to practice it. Upon hearing the Dharma, they give joyful praise, take the Dharma to heart and apply it, then guide the Dharma into the hearts of others so they may also apply it. Upon hearing the Dharma, they attain Dharma-joy, and, by uttering just a single word, praise it with utmost sincerity.

>> When people joyously listen to the Dharma and take it to heart, they will not forget to apply it when dealing with people and matters. When principles and matters are in harmony, mind, Dharma and principles are connected. When all matters are in harmony, they can be clearly perceived without obstruction. Thus people will praise the Dharma.

>> They make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods: In body, speech and mind they reverently and respectfully praise [Them]. With utmost sincerity of the Threefold Karma, they make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods.

>> “People like this are extremely rare, more rare than the udumbara flower.”

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“The highest offering is sincerity.
Listening to the Dharma with utmost reverence is the most supreme offering.
Cultivating precepts, Samadhi and wisdom is a true offering.”

What is considered an offering? What kind of offering should we make to show our utmost reverence? An offering of sincerity. A mind that is deeply sincere, free of discursive thoughts and fully committed to one goal is a mind of sincerity.

Before we chant a sutra, we recite the Incense Chant. As we recite the opening words, delicate spirals of smoke rise from the censer. As we watch the incense floating up, our thoughts turn to those clouds, auspicious clouds. These auspicious clouds [gather] in our hearts. If we have utmost sincerity, in those clouds there are countless Buddhas who will enter our sea of enlightenment. This is because of our infinite sincerity. Because of our sincerity, those Buddhas will enter our hearts and we will manifest the Buddha in ourselves.

For our intrinsic Buddha-nature to manifest, we have to start by uniting our utmost reverence with our awakened nature. This is the highest offering to the Three Treasures of our nature. We realize the Three Treasures within us by faithfully accepting and practicing the Dharma, by making that kind of offering. This may sound very profound, but it is actually all a state of mind, in [which] we reverently listen to Dharma. We listen with the most sincere reverence.

Haven’t we been discussing this recently? A very long time passes before a Buddha appears, so to encounter a Buddha is quite difficult. Haven’t we talked about this the past few days? Even if a Buddha comes to this world and wants to share His enlightened state of mind with everyone, it would still be difficult [for us to realize it]. Who among us can actually awaken to it? For our minds to realize this state, we still have a long way to go. If we cannot reverently accept the Great Vehicle Dharma, we might misunderstand or not believe it. We might even slander it. This was what the Buddha considered. In other words, He contemplated whether people could listen to the Dharma with utmost reverence.

With utmost reverence, [we attain a] “straightforward mind where spiritual cultivation takes place.” If they could faithfully accept and practice the Dharma, it would be easy for the Buddha to expound it. However, sentient beings could not accept it with such a straightforward mindset. Even if they were able to do so, they could not put it into practice. Thus, it was difficult for the Buddha to teach sentient beings because they lacked sincerity. This was why they did not have deep faith.

Since the Introductory Chapter, we have been talking about deep faith and the roots of goodness, just as we are discussing now. Another aspect of deep faith is reverence. Only with a straightforward mind for practice and deeply rooted reverence and faith can we be one with the Buddha’s state of mind. This is the most supreme offering. The greatest and most profound offering is to “listen to the Dharma with utmost reverence.” We must put our hearts into listening, and then take it to heart.

Usually, when we listen to the Dharma, we quickly forget it. We listen, but it does not remain in our minds. It is like water flowing through a pipe. After the water flows through, the pipe remains empty. This is because we are lacking in the cultivation of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.

When the Buddha taught the Dharma, He gave us many methods to apply. He taught us what mindset we need in our daily lives to purify ourselves so we can accept the Dharma. Unless we make no mistakes at all, we need to uphold precepts to prevent our minds from giving rise to discursive thoughts. If our minds give rise to discursive thoughts, greed or afflictions will arise and our ignorance and habitual tendencies will appear again.

On the Da Ai program, Grassroots Bodhi, I saw an interesting couple, a husband and wife who were in their 70s. The husband once lived an irresponsible life. He had neglected his family responsibilities and had even abused his wife. He did not take care of his family. He lived in a state of confusion for decades. Then his friend said to him, “Let’s go together to learn about Tzu Chi and volunteer with them.” The man said, “OK, I have heard you are very obsessed with Tzu Chi.”

His friend said, “Obsessed or not, come learn more about it. Where should I begin?” His friend took him to do recycling work.

He sat down and gave it a try. He saw that as others did recycling work, they praised each other. “This Dharma-brother is very diligent. That Dharma-sister is always very mindful.” Hearing them praise one another, they seemed to be like a big family.

“Isn’t this fun? Yes, it is.” So, he kept coming back. He began by sorting recyclables, then he found his way to the motors and electronics. He said, “This is my specialty.” So, he put his focus there. He carefully disassembled electric fans and computers. His work made him very happy. The next step was attending activities with fellow volunteers.

When he saw the suffering of other families and how the elderly and ill had no one to care for them, he thought to himself, “Haven’t I lived a fortunate life? Considering what I have done to my family….” He began to repent. He took part in our musical sutra adaptation, so, he went to the sutra study groups and listened to people share. He thought, “I really must repent.” Thus, he began to change his habitual tendencies. Gradually, at home, he truly became a model husband.

However, his wife still clung [to the past]. “It is only right that he treats me well now. You don’t know [what he did to me].” She kept complaining about his past actions and reprimanded him very often. He simply smiled in response. Other people would say, “Hey, what has happened to your temper?” He said, “What temper? I have used up all of my anger already, so now I can be yielding. Being scolded can be a good thing. I won’t allow what she’s saying to put me back in that old frame of mind. We need to follow Master’s teachings.”

So, he just practiced the Dharma. “Indeed, what I did in the past was wrong. When I think about it, I feel very ashamed, so now I want to repent. I see people who are suffering and I have the strength to help. Though I am over 70 years old, I can still help them.” [They] asked, “Do you want anything in return? No, I don’t want anything. I just want my body to be nimble enough to do recycling work. Without me, there is one fewer pair of hands. The environment still needs me. Is there anything you want? No, but I am needed to do recycling work.”

See, this is wisdom. “Is there anything you want? No, they need me to do recycling work.” He gave without asking for anything in return. He demonstrated precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. How deeply rooted was he in the precepts? This elderly man in his 70s was able to change his old ways. Why should this be difficult? He simply followed my words. Just by following my words, he was able to change his habitual tendencies, repent and help others every single day. When I saw [the program], I felt that this was a true offering. Those who make true offerings have great reverence for the Dharma.

So, yesterday we discussed this passage,

“[The Dharma is] like the udumbara flower, in which all take delight which heavenly beings and humans prize, yet which only blooms at the right time.”

We should know that it is rare for a Buddha to manifest in this world, just like the udumbara flower, which appears once every few thousand years. It is already rare for a Buddha to appear; moreover, They have to teach according to capabilities. It is particularly hard for people to have the capabilities to directly connect with the Dharma. It is, therefore, so rare that. “Heavenly beings and humans prize it.” When it comes to the lifespan of a heavenly being, one day in their realm equals 100 years in ours. Even from their perspective, it is very rare for an udumbara flower to appear, let alone for those of us in the human realm.

Although the udumbara flower only appears once in a very long time, it still exists in this world. Its underlying principles are still present. So, “it blooms only at the right time.” Only when there are great causes and conditions will this flower manifest. Whether the Buddha or the Dharma is in the world also depends on causes and conditions. Is the Buddha-Dharma so widespread that everyone can listen to it? Of the people who can listen to it, how many can faithfully accept and practice it? They are also very rare.

The following sutra passage describes how very important the Dharma is for this world. Now, the sutra passages says,

“Those who hear this Dharma and give joyful praise are, by uttering just a single word, making offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods. People like this are extremely rare, more rare than the udumbara flower.”

The Buddha now used the udumbara flower as a metaphor for how very difficult it is for humans to encounter and accept the Buddha-Dharma.

“Those who hear this Dharma give joyful praise.” This is showing how we can reverently and faithfully vow to practice [the Dharma]. When we listen to the Dharma, we must do so with utmost reverence. We must have this faith. Not only must we be reverent and sincere, we must develop deep faith. After we have faith, we must then vow to practice the teachings. If we can attain this Dharma take it to heart and practice it, “those who hear this Dharma give joyful praise.” Only by taking the Dharma to heart will we be happy. If we do not take it to heart, we will not be happy.

Those who hear this Dharma and give joyful praise are, by uttering just a single word: This refers to people who can reverently and faithfully vow to practice it. Upon hearing the Dharma, they give joyful praise, take the Dharma to heart and apply it, then guide the Dharma into the hearts of others so they may also apply it. Upon hearing the Dharma, they attain Dharma-joy, and, by uttering just a single word, praise it with utmost sincerity.

Take that recycling Bodhisattva, for example. He has already taken the Dharma to heart. So, no matter what attitude he sees at home, what his family says about him, he does not mind, because the Dharma is in his heart. So, he is always very happy. Thus, we must take the Dharma to heart, listen joyfully to the teachings and also praise them.

Not only should we take the Dharma to heart, we should also apply it. When we take it to heart, we must first digest it. When volunteer guides at the Abode come back to meet with me, I ask them, “Are you here to guide tours?” They say, “Yes, it’s our turn to be tour guides.” I tell them, “You must first guide yourselves to be able to guide others.” By the same principle, we need to take the Dharma to heart first before we can “guide the Dharma into the hearts of others so they may apply it.”

According to the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, “One gives rise to infinity and infinity arises from one.” Each of us takes the Dharma to heart, then considering people’s different causes, conditions and capabilities, we can teach the Buddha-Dharma accordingly. This is how we share the Dharma with them.

How do we help sentient beings? If they are in need of material things, we must quickly meet that need. We must find ways to alleviate their suffering. After we alleviate their suffering, they will be receptive to what we say. When they understand [the Dharma] we share, they can apply it. This happens after we ourselves have digested it. We walk the Bodhisattva-path to help people; this is how we apply it. Then, we can help guide others to apply it too. So, listening to the Dharma, we attain Dharma-joy. After having listened to the Dharma, we attain the happiness of the Dharma. “By uttering just a single word, they praise it with utmost sincerity.” People who listen to the Dharma are joyful and will praise it.

When people joyously listen to the Dharma and take it to heart, they will not forget to apply it when dealing with people and matters. When principles and matters are in harmony, mind, Dharma and principles are connected. When all matters are in harmony, they can be clearly perceived without obstruction. Thus people will praise the Dharma.

After joyfully taking the Dharma to heart, we must not forget it. Hearing the Dharma today we may say. “I will remember, I heard the teachings today very clearly.” If we hear it clearly, we must remember it clearly. “For Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” I will always firmly remember these words. For many people, “Just do it” are the words they firmly remember.

If we can always remember these words, we can apply them to people and matters. There are principles underlying people and matters. We must clearly distinguish right from wrong and resolve interpersonal conflicts in a way that is in harmony with [true] principles.

In addition to this, the mind, the Dharma and the principles are also connected. Our minds should also resonate with and be in harmony with these teachings and principles. “When all matters are in harmony, they can be understood without obstruction.” Then will there be anything in this world we cannot clearly understand? People, matters, objects and principles have always been connected. They have never obstructed each other. This is where joy comes from. Because we take the Dharma to heart, we will always be happy and always give praise.

Because people, matters, the Dharma and principles are connected, then “when all matters are in harmony, they can be understood.” If all matters are in harmony, won’t they be understood without obstacles? “Infinite Dharma-doors will readily appear before us and we will attain great wisdom.” Isn’t this what happens when we have taken the Dharma to heart? So, we must always be mindful.

“They make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods.” If we can take the Dharma to heart and put it into practice in this world, we have applied it ourselves and enabled others to apply it as well. This an offering we make. By reverently accepting the Dharma,

we can apply it and so can others. This an offering we make.

They make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods: In body, speech and mind they reverently and respectfully praise [Them]. With utmost sincerity of the Threefold Karma, they make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods.

To “make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods,” of the past, present and future, our body, speech and mind must be unified to “reverently and respectfully praise [Them]. With utmost sincerity of the Threefold Karma, they make offerings of all Buddhas of the Three Periods.”

The Threefold karma is body, speech and mind. Our speech should be inseparable from the Dharma. Our bodies engage in action by following the Dharma. The Dharma has been reverently [accepted] into our minds. Speaking and doing things reverently all begins with the mind. This is how we can make offerings to all Buddhas of the Three Periods. These are offerings of utmost reverence.

“People like this are extremely rare, more rare than the udumbara flower.”

People like this are truly rare. “Such people, when they encounter the Buddha and listen to the Dharma,” can immediately become happy and give praise.

People like this reverently make offerings. Their Threefold Karma, body, speech and mind, are inseparable from the Dharma in this world. “Such people” are very rare. These people can encounter the Buddha, listen to the Dharma and always be happy because they make offerings with utmost sincerity. Such people are truly very rare.

Indeed, people like this are extraordinary. We may often tell others, “You are very reverent.” But true reverence is shown in our daily living. When we listen to and accept the Dharma, we apply it ourselves and help others to do so. We change our past habitual tendencies. Cultivating precepts, Samadhi and wisdom is an offering of mind and body. This is an offering of utmost reverence.

Dear Bodhisattvas, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we learn to make offerings with body and mind and to joyfully listen to the Dharma. “Uttering just a single word” means that, with utmost reverence, a single sentence of the Buddha-Dharma can be applied to countless situations. The Dharma is infinite. This kind of offering is the best offering. Those who make such offerings have the greatest spiritual wealth. So, we must all mindfully learn the Buddha’s teachings. Making offerings with utmost reverence is part of “the diligent path of the Jing Si Dharma-lineage” and “the road of the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism.” We must listen, faithfully accept and diligently practice the Dharma. Only then can we truly become one with the Buddha and the Dharma. Thus, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must seize the present and take all Dharma to heart. This is the only way to attain realizations. We must take the Dharma to heart, so we must always be mindful.

Episode 448 – Rare and Difficult to Encounter

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>> “This extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma, [has existed] for a long time, for countless kalpas. When we encounter the Dharma, we can then listen to it and spread it. So, we must seize the opportunity in that moment.”

>> “Throughout incalculable, innumerable kalpas, it is also rare that one may hear this Dharma. A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

>> “[The Dharma is] like the udumbara flower, in which all take delight, which heavenly beings and humans prize, yet which only blooms at the right time.”

>> [The Dharma is] like the udumbara flower, in which all take delight: Udumbara flowers are used as analogies because this flower only appears at the right time and not at any other time. This Dharma also had to wait for the right time.

>> This flower waits for the right time to appear, so it blooms “at the right time.”

>> So, the Lotus Sutra states, “The Buddha told Sariputra that such wondrous Dharma is like the udumbara flower, [its appearance] is very fleeting.”

>> “Is very rare and only appears briefly in a long time.”

>> “An analogy for how long it takes to appear and how difficult it is to encounter.”

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“This extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma, [has existed] for a long time, for countless kalpas. When we encounter the Dharma, we can then listen to it and spread it. So, we must seize the opportunity in that moment.”

This is restating what we have been talking about for quite some time, that it is rare to hear the Buddha-Dharma. Nowadays, if we want to listen to teachings, it is not difficult at all. What is most important is whether we can take the Dharma to heart and whether we can put it into practice. This should be most important for us modern-day [Buddhist practitioners], so we must be aware of this.

Our [journey] began countless kalpas ago. “For a long time, for countless kalpas,” we have undergone many cycles of births and deaths. We leave this realm for another. We leave this life for the next. This is how we endlessly undergo cyclic existence in the Six Realms.

The Buddha-Dharma explains this very meticulously. Though those born in heaven live long lives and enjoy many pleasures, unfortunately, because of their karma, once they deplete their blessings, they will eventually fall [into a lower realm]. If they do not listen to the Buddha-Dharma, they cannot increase their blessings and wisdom. So, they transmigrate according to their karma and fall when their blessings are depleted.

The best thing about being born human is that we can hear the Buddha-Dharma and see how the true principles taught by the Buddha manifest in this world. They allow us to witness the truth of suffering [explained] in the Buddha-Dharma.

Because the human realm is filled with many kinds of appearances and many kinds of interpersonal conflicts, we can verify many of the truths of the Buddha-Dharma. This is what we can achieve in the human realm. If we can completely understand the Dharma, we will naturally remind ourselves to do all good deeds and refrain from all evils, and to practice loving-kindness and compassion. When we can inspire our loving-kindness, we will begin to exercise our compassion. With universal compassion, we will devote ourselves to the world, and thus develop our wisdom. We will use our discriminating wisdom and our intrinsic wisdom to dedicate ourselves to helping others and contributing to the world.

Then, we do not need to pray to the heavens for anything. Naturally, our state of mind will transcend even the heavenly realm to be tranquil and clear, and as pure as crystal. The boundless universe will be contained in our sea of enlightenment. Our minds will encompass the universe. This enlightened state of Buddhahood is peaceful and still.

But, ordinary people have not awakened yet, so at present, our minds are limited to the world around us, to what we see and hear, so we are constantly giving rise to conflicting emotions. Thus our minds cannot settle down. This is suffering. So, for a long time, we have fallen into the state of unenlightened beings and have been transmigrating in the Six Realms.

The Buddha, for the sake of sentient beings, comes to this world with one great cause. He gives many teachings to help us develop great respect for the Dharma. In the past, 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas manifested continually in this world to transform sentient beings. They did this just to help us realize that we have always had this nature of True Suchness. So, we must unceasingly protect and care for our pure intrinsic nature and not allow external conditions and ignorance to cover it. So, in the beginning of the Lotus Sutra, the most important takeaway is that our intrinsic nature will always exist.

Just as there have been so many Buddhas who, lifetime after lifetime, listen to the Dharma, practice it and make vows, we can also do the same over a long span of time. We can sustain this mindset far into the future. Over countless kalpas, we can take good care of our minds with the daily spiritual practice of eliminating our ignorance and defilements.

If we can constantly safeguard our minds, then, “when we encounter the Dharma, we can listen to it and spread it. Encounter” refers to when we come upon the Buddha-Dharma. Actually, if we have this mindset, everything we see is the Dharma. All the people meet, regardless of their habitual tendencies, can teach us the sutra of their lives. This sutra may be one of the Agama sutras, the Vaipulya sutras or the Prajna sutras. Each person’s appearance manifests certain truths of life.

So, encountering the Dharma is not difficult. By fully understanding the principles, no matter what kind of people we meet, our wisdom-life will grow, and we can exercise our spirit of learning the Dharma. From every person around us, we can learn the principles of this world and of interpersonal relationships. After understanding the Dharma, we can connect it to worldly matters and appearances. Then we can advance and spread the Buddha-Dharma.

We can see how little control some people have over their lives. They are born into suffering, into poverty or illness. Not only are their families poor, they may suffer from an illness or disability. Life is suffering, and the world is full of manmade calamities. The attitude of just a few people can create collective karma for the whole country. How does this collective karma come about? The Buddha-Dharma teaches that we sentient beings all face circumstantial and direct retributions. Circumstantial retributions are when the negative karma of our past lives matures, thus manifesting collective karma in that place. So, the perspectives of a few people can cause the people of an entire country to endlessly experience manmade calamities. This is sentient beings’ collective karma.

There are also people born in that country who, even before those disasters occur, leave that country and evade those manmade calamities. Therefore, the principles of the Dharma are very thorough. This is not a matter of choice; everything happens because of the law of karma. This is the Buddha’s teaching.

The Buddha-Dharma can help us understand that we must not create negative causes and conditions. By avoiding this, we will only accumulate wholesome causes and conditions. This [grows] the power of our love for each other. As these karmic causes and conditions endlessly appear before us, even when a momentary [opportunity] arises, we will be able to seize it immediately. Thus, over this lifetime and for many more, we will be each other’s benefactors. We can become mutual benefactors who awaken each other’s understanding of the Buddha-Dharma and of worldly principles.

We should be able to realize this. For example, at the board meeting (2013), volunteers from each country shared how they carried out Tzu Chi’s missions locally. In Thailand, there was a college student, whose family was so poor that he could no longer afford to continue his studies. Then, he encountered [a group of] benefactors, Tzu Chi volunteers, who supported him. Now, he is a doctor who wants to give back [to his community]. These are the kinds of karmic affinities we see.

In the Philippines, there was a similar situation; we visited a family there, and during our visit, we discovered an exceptional young woman in the family. She had excelled in school, but her family was in great difficulty. From elementary school to college, she was always among the top in her class. But during college, she felt that her tuition was too large a burden for her family, so she decided to work part-time. Because she was working a part-time job, her school work was affected. Originally, she was on a scholarship, but because of her job, her grades suffered and her scholarship was cut in half. After it was cut in half, she could no longer pay the registration fee, so she borrowed some money. But as she could not continue doing this, she dropped out.

When Tzu Chi volunteers visited her family and learned about this outstanding young woman, they could not bear to let her drop out of school. So, they asked her to be a part of their “cash for work program.” They asked her to come to the regional office and gave her miscellaneous tasks. They also took her on other special case visits. Before going on these case visits, this young woman had been very unhappy and felt the pain of life. It was very rare to see her smile. Yet, by coming to our regional office, she earned more than. PHP200 for her work each day. In our regional office, she came into contact with many people and learned a lot about their suffering. She opened her heart, became happy and focused on her studies. When she graduated, she was third in her class. We can see benefactors like this who help others everywhere we look. In that particular place, they have already helped nearly 1000 people [to attend school]. This is because, in this place, there is this group of Bodhisattvas. These Bodhisattvas have already understood the Buddha-Dharma and are spreading it. They [demonstrate] the Dharma with their lives. So, after listening to teachings we can treat everything in life as Buddha-Dharma. With these teachings, we need to benefit others.

In the Philippines, at every relief distribution, [the volunteers] talk about Tzu Chi. They talk about the spirit of the bamboo banks, while at the same time comforting people’s hearts. They help them change their lives and their habitual tendencies; there are many cases like this. This is how we spread the Dharma. With the Buddha-Dharma, we can help others and also share the Buddha-Dharma with them. In Tzu Chi we say many drops of water form a river and many grains of rice make a bushel. With this spiritual ideal, we inspire them to help other people, as well. Isn’t this encountering the Dharma and then listening to and advancing it? All this is due to causes and conditions. When we encounter the right causes and conditions, if we can seize that moment, each of us can help many people by becoming benefactors in many people’s lives.

So, the previous sutra passage states,

“Throughout incalculable, innumerable kalpas, it is also rare that one may hear this Dharma. A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

It seems very difficult. As I have just explained to everyone, we know that the Buddha-Dharma is really not rare. It is just that if we have not taken it to heart or applied it in our living, then it is as if we have never heard it. There is no difference in having listened or not if we do not retain the Dharma in our minds. Retaining the Dharma in our minds is truly difficult.

Next, the sutra states,

“[The Dharma is] like the udumbara flower, in which all take delight, which heavenly beings and humans prize, yet which only blooms at the right time.”

This is a kind of analogy. The Dharma in this world is like the udumbara flower. A true udumbara flower, according to the Buddha-Dharma, only blooms once every few thousand years. Thus, “all take delight” in it because it is very extraordinary. It only blooms once every few thousand years, so it is not very easy to see. Thus everyone looks forward to the moment the udumbara flower blooms. They really hope to see it. Not only do humans hope to see it, “heavenly beings and humans prize [it].” Heavenly beings also find the blooming of the udumbara flower to be very extraordinary. Yet, it “only blooms at the right time.” From this description, we know that the udumbara flower is an analogy [for the Dharma]. This flower will only appear at the right time. If it is not the right time, it will not bloom.

[The Dharma is] like the udumbara flower, in which all take delight: Udumbara flowers are used as analogies because this flower only appears at the right time and not at any other time. This Dharma also had to wait for the right time.

An udumbara flower blooms only for a great cause. So, it “only appears at the right time and not at any other time.” When it appears, there must be a major reason that it [has bloomed] in this world. And when this flower appears, it also quickly wilts. So, “at the right time” tells us that it takes a long time for the udumbara flower to bloom, only once every few thousand years. It needs the right causes and conditions to bloom. It is only waiting for all its required conditions to come together. We must mindfully wait for this to happen.

This flower waits for the right time to appear, so it blooms “at the right time.”

What are we waiting for? For the right capabilities and opportunities.

These capabilities and opportunities I mentioned refer to the karmic conditions for encountering the Buddha-Dharma. If we encounter [such conditions], we must seize them right away, for they are like the udumbara flower. So, if we do not seize a good opportunity and let it pass, it will disappear.

So, the Lotus Sutra states, “The Buddha told Sariputra that such wondrous Dharma is like the udumbara flower, [its appearance] is very fleeting.”

The Dharma is like the udumbara flower; it appears and disappears in an instant. “Heavenly beings and humans prize [it], yet it only blooms at the right time. At the right time” means that it only appears after a very long period of time. So, heavenly beings greatly admire the appearance of the udumbara flower. This happens when great capabilities, great opportunities and great conditions are about to converge. But, when great capabilities, great opportunities and great conditions come together, it is up to us to quickly seize the moment. If we can seize that moment, it will be with us forever.

For example, every day, you hear the phrase, “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” Many branch offices and service centers have been set up in so many different countries. Some countries have official boards of directors. The Living Bodhisattvas in these countries are only working for one thing, “for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings.” Isn’t that what everyone reports on at the board meeting?

“For Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings” are six very simple words. They arose from causes and conditions over 50 years ago when my teacher softly said them to me. In that instant, in that span of a thought, I earnestly and quickly accepted them and my course has never wavered. The thought I had at that one moment has affected the rest of my life. It has already spread to many other countries where so many Living Bodhisattvas have appeared. The Buddha’s ideal world of Bodhisattvas from over 2000 years ago can be seen now in these Living Bodhisattvas. Without hesitation, they walk the Bodhisattva-path of giving to others. The power of their love is truly moving.

So, it “blooms only at the right time. The right time” can mean waiting for a very lengthy period of time. “The right time” can also mean that these true principles will exist forever. However, if they appear only once in a long time, then capabilities, opportunities and conditions have converged. This convergence only happens briefly and then it passes. So, we must seize that moment.

The udumbara flower.

“Is very rare and only appears briefly in a long time.”

Truly, only when causes and conditions are met will this happen. So, this is.

“An analogy for how long it takes to appear and how difficult it is to encounter.”

The time when the udumbara flower appears is an analogy for the sutra passages just discussed, how being born human and hearing the Dharma “is [rare] and difficult.” We discussed this earlier. So, for heavenly beings, the udumbara flower appears once every thousand years in their realm. This is even more rare in the human realm. So, we must seize every moment.

Indeed, everyone is a teaching for us. We must always be grateful towards everyone and respectfully accept the appearances they manifest because they help us understand the principles. The manifestation of principles can be found in every person. Through their interpersonal conflicts, we realize how complicated life is and that we are covered by ignorance because of these kinds of habitual tendencies. These appearances allow us to realize the Buddha-Dharma and recognize what ignorance is.

They also help us see how, after we give, we can change lives and become benefactors to others. This teaches us how to walk the Bodhisattva-path. So, we must always treat everyone with gratitude, respect and love. This is how we can walk the Bodhisattva-path without obstructions. Everyone who appears before us teaches us marvelous Dharma. Dear Bodhisattvas, we must always have respect for this world and be grateful to everyone for teaching us. This requires us to always be mindful.

Episode 447 – Those Who Hear the Dharma Are Rare

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>> “Time is a long river that keeps flowing. Our journey in this world is far and long, yet the connections of affections are brief. To be able to encounter the Dharma is rare.”

>> “When all Buddhas appear in the world, it is rare and hard to encounter them. Even when They appear in the world, it is hard for Them to teach this Dharma.”

>> “Throughout incalculable, innumerable kalpas, it is also rare that one may hear this Dharma. A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

>> Although it was rare to hear the Dharma, today the sound of the Dharma fills our ears. The Buddha, for more than 40 years, taught suitable, provisional teachings. Now that people’s capabilities were mature, He was about to freely express His original intent and open the provisional to reveal the true. When He taught the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, some had not eliminated their obstructions or awakened their capabilities, so 5000 people paid their respects and left. Thus isn’t it hard to listen to the Dharma?

>> Those who can listen to this Dharma have sharp capabilities and great wisdom. Others who can listen to this Dharma have eliminated their impurities and obstructions, but their capabilities have not been awakened, so understanding the Dharma is hard for them.

>> In the Dharma-assembly, those similar to Sariputra were the wisest among the Buddha-children. Those with average and limited capabilities could listen to the Dharma but not understand, so [the Buddha] had to wait for the right time. Thus, it is said, “A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

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“Time is a long river that keeps flowing.
Our journey in this world is far and long,
yet the connections of affections are brief.
To be able to encounter the Dharma is rare.”

This is what I want to share with everyone. To attain human form, to hear the Buddha-Dharma, then to understand it, take it to heart and put it into practice is not easy at all. This is because the time that the Buddha spends in the world is so very short. Yet the time between one Buddha and another is so very long. It takes a very long period of time for a Buddha to appear in the world. Time moves like a river; it keeps flowing endlessly from its distant source. But what are our odds of actually attaining the Dharma?

For instance, heavenly beings enjoy longer lives and greater happiness. However, when it comes to the Buddha-Dharma, they really do not have the opportunity to realize that it is what they need. Similarly, because they live in a heaven on earth, the wealthy are less likely to feel a need to delve into these principles. So, among the. Twenty Difficulties on the way to Buddhahood is, “It is difficult for the wealthy to learn the Way.” This applies to ordinary beings, which includes heavenly beings.

Because we live in the human realm, the things we encounter lead us to question, “Why is there so much suffering in this world? When people gather together, they feel very blessed. But why is that time so short? Parting from those we love is suffering. Some people, since birth, have lived in poverty and experienced much sorrow. Not only are they poor, some impoverished families have members with physical disabilities or those who keep falling ill. Life is full of such tremendous suffering! As we quickly try to escape this suffering, we instead suffer from meeting those we hate. Not only do we face suffering within our families from poverty and illness, in addition to that, when we meet certain people, we face the suffering of meeting those we hate. From the Tzu Chi volunteers at our hospitals, we hear so much about illness and suffering.

Why is there this suffering? Because “the connections of affections are brief.” What kind of affections are these? Deluded affections, desires and so on. These complicated affections can be good or bad. This world is filled with love, hate, passion and animosity, which bind and defile us; our brief connections continue to entangle us. We are not aware of the passing of each day, so we remain deluded by our affections. In this brief lifetime, we endlessly create more entanglements.

Think about this kind of life. Even if we encounter the Buddha-Dharma, to still our minds so we can carefully listen to and realize the Dharma, take it to heart and put it into practice is truly not easy. So, “To be able to encounter the Dharma is rare.”

It takes a very long time for a Buddha to appear in the world, and when He appears, His time here is very short. For the Buddha-Dharma to remain in the world and for sentient beings to truly attain, accept, listen to and practice the Dharma is truly not easy. However, when we look at the world [we can see] the Buddha’s ideal Bodhisattvas that. He mentioned over 2000 years ago, going among people to alleviate their suffering. We see these Living Bodhisattvas right now.

Consider [the events of] the past few days (2013). Over ten countries held their. Tzu Chi board meetings here at the same time. Including the audience, there were around 200 to 300 people. The board members from each country shared their experiences. On the first day, we heard about how, amidst the suffering and hardships in Africa, there are people who are materially poor, but who have developed open hearts and pure thoughts. Under those difficult conditions, they received from Taiwan the seeds to become Living Bodhisattvas. These seeds were brought there, were mindfully cultivated in that place and then were mindfully spread from there.

Local volunteers are like bamboo shoots after the spring rain. Currently, in South Africa alone, there are 5000 to 6000 local volunteers. With much difficulty, over the past few years, a few have been chosen each year to travel from that faraway place to come to Taiwan. This requires the help of many people, or else they would not be able to afford the travel costs.

On that continent, they have led so many to feel Dharma-joy, to be happy when they listen to teachings and to take the Dharma to heart. They themselves paved and are walking on the Bodhisattva-path. They realized ways they could help others and experienced the joy of giving. So, though they are materially poor, they are content and free of desires. Without the hindrance of desires, they can easily unlock their great capabilities and awaken their enlightened nature. They comprehend the suffering of life because they themselves live in suffering, and those around them suffer also. Thus, when they learn the Buddha-Dharma, they are inspired to help more people understand that though they are poor, they can still be very happy. Doesn’t this show the radiance of their awakened nature?

Similarly, the Buddha walked through this world and saw all the suffering in life. By mindfully engaging in spiritual practice, everything he experienced while living in this world brought Him to great realizations; when His enlightened nature appeared, this sea of enlightenment was full, and the infinite true principles of the universe all manifested in His mind. He felt joy, tranquility, clarity and a state of mind that was as pure as crystal. That feeling was what He hoped that all sentient beings could experience. This was His genuine hope for everyone.

Looking at South Africa, I often think about how their lives are filled with such suffering and how they are lacking so many material things. With their physical conditions and way of living, they still climb up and down mountains, hiking such rocky and uneven paths. They are caring for over 5000 AIDs patients currently whom they visit each month, traveling all across the countryside. Some patients live in the mountains. Even though they are heavyset, the volunteers sing as they walk and seem to be very free and at ease.

They found the joy of helping others. Once they took this Dharma to heart, their minds became free and at ease. When I mention our South African volunteers, I always feel that they are [exemplary] Living Bodhisattvas, for they teach the Bodhisattva Way that the Buddha taught. He hoped everyone could enter such harsh and difficult conditions to relieve sentient beings of their suffering. Only after we attain the Buddha-Dharma can our minds resonate with this aspiration and put the teachings into practice.

We have mentioned before,

“When all Buddhas appear in the world, it is rare and hard to encounter them. Even when They appear in the world, it is hard for Them to teach this Dharma.”

It takes a long time for a Buddha to appear in this world. Even when Sakyamuni Buddha appeared, He only had a lifespan of 80 years before. He entered Parinirvana. However, the teachings are still being transmitted and His Dharma-body still exists. The Dharmakaya is the true principles, and these principles will remain in this world forever. Now, with our modern technology, we can easily encounter the Buddha-Dharma. Even though the Dharma is widespread today, there are not many who want to seek it. So, “even when They appear in the world,” even when Buddhas appear before us, for Them to “teach this Dharma….” What is this Dharma? The One Vehicle. Again, this is hard

because sentient beings did not have the capability to accept this kind of Great Dharma. Because they did not truly believe it, He was afraid they might slander it and create karma of speech. Therefore, the Buddha had to patiently and slowly guide them.

The next sutra passage states,

“Throughout incalculable, innumerable kalpas, it is also rare that one may hear this Dharma. A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

Truly, though the Buddha was already in the world it was still hard for Him to expound this Dharma. “Incalculable, innumerable kalpas” is the long period of time for a Buddha to make a rare appearance. But hearing this Dharma is also difficult; True Dharma of the One Vehicle is [rare]. “A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.” Finding people who can listen to, realize and put the Dharma into practice is also very difficult.

Although it was rare to hear the Dharma, today the sound of the Dharma fills our ears. The Buddha, for more than 40 years, taught suitable, provisional teachings. Now that people’s capabilities were mature, He was about to freely express His original intent and open the provisional to reveal the true. When He taught the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, some had not eliminated their obstructions or awakened their capabilities, so 5000 people paid their respects and left. Thus isn’t it hard to listen to the Dharma?

Even if the teachings of True Dharma were broadcast everywhere, only a few people would earnestly listen. In our modern time, when the Dharma is being taught, the use of loudspeakers is very prevalent. When someone is teaching, the whole area becomes a place of spiritual practice. However, as the teaching is being broadcast, people may still be conversing with each other, talking and laughing and so on.

Remember the story I told a few days ago? The Buddha scolded seven old bhiksus for talking like this. Though they were engaging in spiritual practice, they could not focus their minds on the Buddha’s teachings. After departing from where the Dharma was taught, they returned to their hovels to talk and laugh. What they discussed was only worldly matters, so the Buddha criticized and scolded them. “What you are doing is wrong. How long do you have to live? What are you still relying on? Why can’t you focus your minds on your spiritual practice?”

If this happened during the Buddha’s lifetime, of course, it is also happening right now. No wonder the Buddha spent over 40 years giving provisional teachings to transform people according to their capabilities. Now the Buddha was almost 80, so the opportunity was probably ripe. This meant He had to teach it at that time. “Now that people’s capabilities were mature, the Buddha was about to freely express His original intent and open the provisional to reveal the true.”

When He taught the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, some people, after learning the Bodhisattva Way, became inspired and motivated. However, there were still many who had not yet eliminated the obstructions in their minds. Therefore, they still could not develop their full capabilities. So, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, when the Buddha was about to give the teaching, 5000 people paid their respects and left. Is it easy to listen to the Dharma? Truly, listening to the Dharma is not easy.

So, “A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.” Do you remember this? At that point, 5000 people prostrated and left. The Buddha did not stop them. After they left, the Buddha said. “It is better that they left.” At this place, He was about to expound the Great Dharma. If they did not have the capability to accept it, they might as well not listen because once they listened, they might even damage their capabilities because they might slander the Right Dharma. Therefore, when those 5000 people began to leave, the Buddha did not stop them.

Next, “A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.” To listen to True Dharma, people must have sharp capabilities and superior wisdom.

Those who can listen to this Dharma have sharp capabilities and great wisdom. Others who can listen to this Dharma have eliminated their impurities and obstructions, but their capabilities have not been awakened, so understanding the Dharma is hard for them.

The people who are able to accept this Dharma have begun to gradually eliminate their impurities. These impurities are their ignorance, which must be eliminated. “But their capabilities have not been awakened, so understanding the Dharma is hard for them.” Even if people have great capabilities and great wisdom, if they have not eliminated their impurities, if they still have the slightest bit of ignorance, they will still be hindered and their capacities will not resonate with the Dharma. Although everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, although some people are already considered very intelligent and wise, those who are clever and have sharp capabilities may still have minds filled with ignorance and defilements. If these have not been eliminated, it will still be very difficult for these people to penetrate the One Vehicle Dharma.

So, during this Dharma-assembly at Vulture Peak, Sariputra, a person of great capability and wisdom, understood that the Buddha still needed to teach the True Dharma in His heart. However, some people who were present were still not capable of understanding the Buddha’s original intent. Because his capabilities were suitable, Sariputra invited the Buddha [to share the True Dharma]. Sariputra requested this teaching three times, and the Buddha stopped him three times. Clearly, Sariputra’s mind had gradually realized the Buddha’s intent. Because Sariputra was the wisest among the Buddha’s disciples, he gradually came to resonate with His intentions. Therefore, he requested the teachings three times.

In the Dharma-assembly, those similar to Sariputra were the wisest among the Buddha-children. Those with average and limited capabilities could listen to the Dharma but not understand, so [the Buddha] had to wait for the right time. Thus, it is said, “A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

Luckily, Sariputra made the request three times; thus the Buddha began to expound this One Vehicle Dharma. At this Dharma-assembly, there were still those with average and limited capabilities. The Buddha had started teaching the Lotus Sutra, but they still could not understand it, so they still had to wait for the right time. As the Buddha began to expound the Lotus Sutra, these people had to listen patiently. The Buddha also had to mindfully find a way to inspire them. Therefore, during the Lotus Dharma-assembly, some people still had to wait for the Buddha to patiently guide them to penetrate the One Vehicle Dharma. Therefore, it is said that, “A person capable of listening to this Dharma is likewise rare.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must promptly seize every opportunity to listen to the Dharma. We must, without hesitation, bring it into to our hearts bit by bit and apply it to our daily living. That group of Bodhisattvas from South Africa has already taken the Dharma to heart, so they can be free and at ease as they travel through four or five countries in Africa to sow seeds and cultivate them in that land. Doesn’t this come from taking the Dharma to heart?

Time is a long river that keeps flowing. Our journey through this world is also long, yet the connections of affections are brief. After listening to the Dharma, being able to understand it is still very difficult. Thus we have to put it into practice; the Dharma can only be realized when we put it into action. Therefore, we must learn to apply the Dharma in our daily living. So, we must always be mindful.