Category: TLS Chapter 2

Episode 346 – Walking the Path According to the Dharma

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>> We are born with delusional thinking. Value can be seen in many different ways. Having many expectations, we are never satisfied. If we are content, we are always grateful. Those without greed feel the most well-off. Those with virtue feel they have more than enough.

>> [They,] under infinite Buddhas, have walked the profound and wondrous path. For these Buddha-children, I give the Great Vehicle teachings. I predict that people who practice such teachings, in a future life, will attain Buddhahood.

>> For these Buddha-children: This is also a reference to all sentient beings because they all have Buddha-nature. Sentient beings can be nourished by great teachings to develop their wisdom-life. Thus, they are like the children of all Buddhas.

>> “Today, indeed, I know that. I am a true child of the Buddha, born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma; I have obtained a share of the Buddha-Dharma.”

>> I give the Great Vehicle teachings: The Buddha assesses great and limited capacities to give either Great or Small [Vehicle] teachings. For those with limited capabilities, He gave Hearer and Pratyekabuddha teachings. Those are considered Small Vehicle [Dharma]. For those with great capabilities, He taught the One Vehicle, the great, subtle, wondrous and true Dharma. This is called the Great Vehicle sutra treasury.

>> I predict that people who practice such teachings: Those who practice according to the Dharma solemnly practice the flawless studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, actualize the Six Paramitas and establish the Four Infinite Minds.

>> [They], in a future life, will attain Buddhahood: In future lifetimes, they will diligently engage in spiritual practice and will never go astray. By staying on the Middle Way, they will then attain supreme, perfect and universal wisdom.

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We are born with delusional thinking.
Value can be seen in many different ways.
Having many expectations, we are never satisfied.
If we are content, we are always grateful.
Those without greed feel the most well-off.
Those with virtue feel they have more than enough.

I often think, “Indeed, we are born into this life with delusional thinking, which causes us to feel lost. Why exactly do we come to this world? What is the value of life? In our time here on Earth, what exactly is it that we seek?”

When we think about life’s value, “value can be seen in many different ways.” What kind of people do we want to be, what kind of things do we want out of life and what kind of environment do we want to be in? How many of our needs must be met before we will feel satisfied?

We all live on this same planet, but the poor and suffering are powerless and have nowhere to turn. As for those who are well off, they seek more and more. Can they be satisfied? No, they cannot. This is another way of life. They live a wealthy life, but are they happy? No, they are not. I often say, the more we gain, the more we worry about loss but in our hearts, we never feel content. So, “if we seek much, we are never satisfied.”

What exactly is the best way to live? With contentment. Aside from feeling content, we must always feel grateful. Those who are content will naturally feel a sense of gratitude. Those who are content and grateful enjoy life the most. They do not seek wealth or luxuries. The more we seek, the more we suffer.

What kind of people is content and not greedy? Virtuous people. We must engage in spiritual practice and realize that all conditioned phenomena in the world will arise and cease, so we must seek unconditioned Dharma, the true principles. True principles enable us to always be content and allow us to penetrate teachings so that we will be grateful for all people and all things. These principles help us to be content and seek nothing.

By penetrating principles, we can apply them in our daily living. They pave the road before us, which is the great, direct Bodhi-path. If we walk forward wholeheartedly, then this road will be wide, straight and level. Then, we will have more than enough. There is a very long road for us to walk, a very smooth road that feels very safe. The virtuous feel they have more than enough.

In life, we may pursue many things. But how much we attain depends on how we lived in our past lives. The causes and conditions we brought with us determine the retributions we face in this life. If we are born in a wealthy country, in a wealthy family, to very good parents, this means we created causes in a past life that bring us wealth.

Some created [good] causes and conditions in their past lives, but are not taking advantage of them in this life to seek truths and help other people. This is really a pity. They do not give, but just greedily seek more. When awakened beings see them, they feel sad that people are just relying on good karmic conditions from the past to live comfortably, and thus remain deluded. This is very sad! When awakened ones see these deluded people, they feel sad for them.

In contrast, consider those who are born into a land with many disadvantages. Their lives are impoverished. However, in such a poor environment, they can develop a sense of abundant love and willingness to give. The awakened ones see them as role models. There is much abundance in their lives, and they are living most virtuous lives. These Bodhisattvas are “virtuous [and] feel they have more than enough.” All this is because they have the karmic affinity to be born in that country and to be able to give to others and help people there.

In the country of South Africa, there is a group of people who look different but share the same mission as us and have developed the same aspiration to willingly give. Thus, for so many years, this large group of South African volunteers have worked with a sense of happiness and freedom. Though the road is difficult, they still traverse it happily. As they climb mountains and walk rough roads, they are constantly smiling and singing. These happy songs keep them company, so they happily keep walking forward. Where are they going? To help people with AIDS. They bathe them, help clean [their homes], comfort them and deliver material goods to them. [The volunteers] are poor, but they are wealthy.

In 2012 alone, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture gave over 600 tons of rice to Tzu Chi for us to transport to countries in Africa, We divided the rice among three or four countries and [distributed them] based on need.

Consider our work in Swaziland. It took time to set the criteria, identify the families and create the distribution list. We were distributing 3000 bags of rice, which would be given to 3000 households. How many Bodhisattvas do we have in South Africa? At most five or six of them could go to Swaziland, so they started their preparations in March. Besides surveying the area, they began to share Tzu Chi’s ideals, little by little, in this way guiding the local people. Over time, their efforts yielded volunteers. By the time they distributed the rice in August, they had already recruited local volunteers.

So after the distribution at the end of August, the local volunteers started fundraising on the street. Why did they fundraise? They did it for those without families, for orphans and old people living by themselves and for those who had greater needs. The spirit of the bamboo banks became deeply rooted in their hearts, so they took action and started fundraising. Ultimately, their actions moved an Indian businessman in Swaziland, so he also started providing financial support.

They are already using the money they raised to support orphans on a monthly basis. Some of these orphans were children with AIDS, others were poor or abandoned. They were able to support these children, as well as those who are old and ill. These local volunteers had already formed groups to visit poor families to clean their homes, to wash and groom their bodies, and to comfort and care for them. If we think about it, aren’t they the most endearing role models? They are truly bringing happiness to Africa, so those who are poor can still be happy.

But we must also transform those living in places of abundance so the wealthy can also become courteous. Then they can also develop expansive hearts, humble themselves and truly give. Then they will be the wealthy among the wealthy. After seeking and attaining much, they must be very content. The more content they are, the more they can give. If they seek much but do not feel content, they will suffer, perhaps even more so than those in Africa.

So, how does being poor or rich affect us? Does it lead us to be very happy and to help others in the world? Does it cause us to be very worried about gains and losses? This is how the world is, so the Buddha comes to teach us to have a clear and expansive view of the world so we can benefit others. Among the poor, there are those who feel wealthy. Among the wealthy, there are those who feel poor. If we can see clearly, we realize that everything is created by the mind.

So the sutra passage states, “[They,] under infinite Buddhas, have walked the profound and wondrous path.” This is a profound and wondrous path. After we attain these principles, how do we use them to pave a road? How long or how far does it need to extend? How many people will join us on this road? When we walk the profound and wondrous path, if we can penetrate its principles, there is no goal we cannot attain. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

[They,] under infinite Buddhas, have walked the profound and wondrous path. For these Buddha-children, I give the Great Vehicle teachings. I predict that people who practice such teachings, in a future life, will attain Buddhahood.

So “for these Buddha-children, I give the Great Vehicle teachings. Buddha-children” is also a common way of referring to sentient beings.

For these Buddha-children: This is also a reference to all sentient beings because they all have Buddha-nature. Sentient beings can be nourished by great teachings to develop their wisdom-life. Thus, they are like the children of all Buddhas.

The mind, Buddhas and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]. Buddha-children began as ordinary people, as sentient beings. Because they are returning to and drawing near the state of Buddhas, they are Buddha-children. This means that when they were ordinary people, they already entered and began walking this path. All sentient beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature, so they are called Buddha-children.

This comes from accepting the Buddha’s teachings. We must accept the Buddha’s teachings and learn what we can do and cannot do. If we are able to, we should just do it. This is wisdom. If something should not be done, we should prevent ourselves from doing it. If we do those things, we are foolish. So, if we accept the Buddha’s teachings we “can be nourished by great teachings to develop our wisdom-life.” Accepting the teachings is like using Dharma-water to nourish the long-arid land in our hearts. Now that we have the Dharma-water, our wisdom-life can finally grow.

We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. When a seed is planted in the field of our minds and is nourished and immersed by Dharma-water, our wisdom-life will grow. This makes us Buddha-children. In the Lotus Sutra, there is a passage that states,

“Today, indeed, I know that. I am a true child of the Buddha, born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma; I have obtained a share of the Buddha-Dharma.”

This is in the Chapter on Parables. Sariputra and other disciples realized, “Today I have finally learned that. I am a true child of the Buddha; I am born from the Buddha’s mouth,” because the Dharma comes from His mouth, and we have taken the Dharma to heart. So, we are “born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma.” Dharma can transform us ordinary people into sages and noble beings. This is being “transformed by the Dharma.”

We can “obtain a share of the Buddha-Dharma.” If we are mindful, we can gradually take the Dharma to heart. By taking it to heart we remember it. Thus we “obtain a share of the Buddha-Dharma.” The Buddha-Dharma, bit by bit, has entered our hearts. This is why the Buddha began to “give the Great Vehicle teachings.”

I give the Great Vehicle teachings: The Buddha assesses great and limited capacities to give either Great or Small [Vehicle] teachings. For those with limited capabilities, He gave Hearer and Pratyekabuddha teachings. Those are considered Small Vehicle [Dharma]. For those with great capabilities, He taught the One Vehicle, the great, subtle, wondrous and true Dharma. This is called the Great Vehicle sutra treasury.

The Great Vehicle teachings are the Lotus Sutra. For over 40 years, the Buddha gradually learned about us. So, He “assessed” and He made a plan. He comprehended and figured out what teachings we could accept, and then gave those teachings. These teachings are the foundation for the path to the Great Vehicle. So, “the Buddha assesses great and limited capacities to give either Great or Small [Vehicle] teachings.” The Small and Middle Vehicle teachings are teachings for Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas.

You likely still remember that. Hearers practice the Four Noble Truths and. Pratyekabuddhas or Solitary Realizers practice the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. These two types of teachings are for Hearers and Solitary Realizers, for those with limited capabilities. Both of these are Small Vehicle teachings and are provisional, skillful means. For those with great capabilities, the Buddha gave the subtle and wondrous true teaching of the One Vehicle. His goal is to teach the One Vehicle path, the subtle and wondrous true Dharma.

We feel that the Dharma has influenced many people. Tzu Chi was founded in Taiwan, and now we can see its presence around the world in so many countries, from the richest countries to the poorest ones. Though they are poor, they are very happy because they can do good deeds. When we see others freed from suffering, that makes us so happy. Indeed, these are all the subtle, wondrous, true Dharma of the One Vehicle. This teaches us to give to others. This “is called the Great Vehicle sutra treasury.”

“I predict that people who practice such teachings…. People who practice such teachings” are those who practice according to the Dharma.

I predict that people who practice such teachings: Those who practice according to the Dharma solemnly practice the flawless studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, actualize the Six Paramitas and establish the Four Infinite Minds.

“People who practice such teachings” are those who practice according to the Dharma. It means they are cautious and vigilant, so they can guard against wrongs and stop evils. Those who earnestly and diligently practice will “carefully cultivate the flawless studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.”

Then when we are among sentient beings, our minds will not be tempted by desires and pleasures and will not be defiled by other afflictions. We do this by cautiously upholding precepts, by sincerely and vigilantly cultivating the flawless studies of precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, and “actualizing the Six Paramitas.” We must take good care of our minds and our behavior, and more earnestly practice the Six Paramitas. We must also [develop] the Four Infinite Minds. The Buddha predicts that these people, “in a future life, will attain Buddhahood.”

This will happen in the future, in a future life. How many future lifetimes will that take? Regardless, the most important thing right now is to aim ourselves in the right direction on this long road and walk it with determination to take good care of our minds. Then after this and future lifetimes, if we do not stray from this path, we will ultimately attain Buddhahood.

[They], in a future life, will attain Buddhahood: In future lifetimes, they will diligently engage in spiritual practice and will never go astray. By staying on the Middle Way, they will then attain supreme, perfect and universal wisdom.

“In future lifetimes,” we will eventually arrive at the end of our long road. As long as we practice the Six Paramitas, the Four Infinite Minds and the Three Flawless Studies, then we can continue on this path. So, “we can diligently engage in spiritual practice and never go astray. By staying on the Middle Way, we will then attain supreme, perfect and universal wisdom.”

We must stay on the Middle Way, between true emptiness and wondrous existence. In emptiness, there is wondrous existence. If we become attached to emptiness, we will deny the law of cause and effect. If we become attached to existence, our faith will be deluded and we will degenerate. We know that everything is empty in nature, but in emptiness there is wondrous existence. Everything is truly empty. But in true emptiness there is truly subtle and wondrous existence. If we can penetrate the principles of unconditioned Dharma, the conditioned phenomena we encounter become an opportunity for spiritual practice. If we understand these principles, we will understand all things. All principles lead to the Bodhi-path. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 345 – Teaching Buddha-children the Wondrous Path

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>> The world and its people and matters are the concern of Bodhisattvas. When the mind and the Dharma are one, we are on the Bodhi-path. With the Buddha-mind and wondrous Dharma, we have universal compassion.

>> My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle, therefore I expound this sutra. Buddha-children are pure in heart, gentle and have sharp capabilities, and who, in the presence of infinite Buddhas, have walked the profound and wondrous path. For these Buddha-children, I give Great Vehicle teachings.

>> [They have] walked the profound and wondrous path: The aim of all Buddha-minds is to walk the profound and wondrous path and only expound the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. The wondrous Dharma encompasses both the provisional and true teachings as one. Since there is much suffering in this world, They taught with principles and guided with the Dharma.

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The world and its people and matters are the concern of Bodhisattvas.
When the mind and the Dharma are one, we are on the Bodhi-path.
With the Buddha-mind and wondrous Dharma, we have universal compassion.

“The world and its people and matters are the concern of Bodhisattvas.” I always think this way. In this world, all people, all environments and all living beings are the intimate concerns of Bodhisattvas.

We learn the Buddha’s teachings so that we can take the Buddha’s mind into our own. This is the pure Buddha-nature that we all intrinsically have. I seem to be saying this every day. So, since the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature], doesn’t that apply to all beings born under the heavens and on earth? All living beings are connected to the things that happen in this world. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings in this world, we must thoroughly understand worldly matters. In addition to thoroughly understanding worldly matters, we must also understand the principles of attaining Buddhahood.

Because we are learning the Buddha’s way, we are called Bodhisattvas, which truly makes us Buddha-children. Because we listen to the Buddha’s teachings, we take the Buddha’s Dharma-water into our heart to nourish our wisdom-life in hopes it will grow. I hope our wisdom-life and our nature of True Suchness become one; then we will forever be in a state of non-arising and non-ceasing. This is what Buddhist practitioners call liberation.

The first thing learned by those who want to engage in spiritual practice is that human existence comes with afflictions; matters, objects and other things will bring about much suffering. Because of this, we seek the Buddha-Dharma to find ways to be liberated from suffering we cannot control, such as cyclic existence in the Six Realms. This is what we seek.

The only way to transcend the Six Realms is to reach a state of non-arising and non-ceasing. What is a state of non-arising and non-ceasing? It is one of returning to what is natural. The natural state is unconditioned; it is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. This is something we intrinsically have. However, we transmigrate through the Six Realms. Again and again we are influenced by countless worlds, time periods, spaces, environments and so on, so we continuously multiply our defilements. This is what makes us unenlightened beings. Now that we know this, we want to leave this unenlightened state and return to our pure intrinsic nature. The only way to do this is to walk the Bodhisattva-path.

The Bodhisattva-path is all about people and matters in this world. Since we are Bodhisattvas, under the heavens and on the earth, we will carry out the spiritual mission of the Bodhisattva-path. So, “the world and its people and matters are the concern of Bodhisattvas.”

“The mind and Dharma [must be] one.” We must be mindful. If we are not mindful in our spiritual practice, we forget the Dharma once we hear it. If we are going to forget it, why listen? If the Dharma leaks out of our minds, how will we know how to practice? Without knowing principles, how can we practice? Similarly, if we do not know the way, do not know the terrain or the course, how will we know where to go? That is why we need to know the way. When we do not know the way, we need to ask for directions. By the same principle, if our capabilities are relatively sharp, we can listen mindfully and understand right away. “I know what course to take.” But if we do not understand, we have to rely on our virtuous friends. As we have said before, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, we really need wholesome and virtuous friends, These wholesome and virtuous friends can accompany us onto the right course and point us in the right direction.

So, we must be mindful and first understand the principles in order to engage in spiritual practice. If we do not listen to and learn the principles, how can we engage in spiritual practice? How can we walk the Bodhisattva-path? So, we must be mindful. By listening mindfully to the Dharma, it will enter our minds so that in our daily living, the Dharma and our minds are one.

Tzu Chi volunteers often say, “Have the Buddha in your mind, the Dharma in your actions.” The Buddha and the Dharma must be in our minds at all times. Then the Buddha-mind will be one with our minds. And when the Dharma is one with our minds, we are on the Bodhisattva-path, which is also the Bodhi-path, the road to awakening. Bodhisattvas are people who walk on this path, so the path is called Bodhi. Bodhisattvas are “awakened sentient beings” who understand and then walk this path. Thus, their minds must be one with the Dharma. This is [how to walk] the Bodhisattva-path.

“With the Buddha-mind and wondrous Dharma, we have universal compassion.” This sense of universal compassion is the mindset of a Bodhisattva and is something the Buddha wants to teach us.

Every single day, we hear very moving [stories related to this]. The volunteers who help out at [Tzu Chi] hospitals act as the bridge between the medical team and the patients. Listening to their daily sharing of their experiences is like listening to teachings for me. I am listening to teachings about suffering, I am listening to and learning about the way these dedicated Bodhisattvas exercise the wisdom of [doctors] and [volunteers] as they work among suffering sentient beings. I hear their sharing as if listening to teachings. Every day I am moved and am grateful,

especially when I listen to the doctors. Being a doctor is not very easy. Modern medical treatments are very complex. Medical technology is so advanced that we can understand exactly what kind of disease the stomach, liver or intestines are suffering from. This is truly sophisticated technology.

Aside from equipment that helps with diagnosis, if we want to see even more clearly, we can use a tube, [an endoscope]. It has a camera on one end that has been reduced to the size of a bean, and can be sent down our esophagus. But how do we get it in there? Through a “natural opening.” Everyone of us has nine orifices. It is often said, “The nine orifices constantly discharge impurities.” We all have nine orifices on our bodies. These are all “natural openings.” Look, our eyes are two openings, our ears also have two openings, our nose also has two, then the mouth is another. How many orifices are these? Seven orifices. Where are the other two openings? The places where we urinate and defecate. These are the nine. “The nine orifices constantly discharge impurities.” These are called “natural openings.”

This [scope] has to enter through a “natural opening.” Some enter from the mouth and are swallowed. This is [esophageal] endoscopy. When endoscopy was performed in the past, it was very uncomfortable and very painful. Some patients will throw up during the process as it is very uncomfortable. Doctors could not bear [their suffering]. How could they reduce the patient’s suffering. One of the department chairs, Dr. Hu Chi-tan, is continuously finding ways to save patients. He looked for ways to alleviate their suffering, ways to help patients be healthy and feel at ease. So, he continuously conducted research to replace the esophageal endoscopy by introducing the endoscope through the nasal passage.

When he was in Japan back in 2005, he learned that introducing the endoscope through the nostrils can greatly reduce the pain. The patient would not feel any pain and could even talk to him during the procedure. But to what extent is the pain minimized? He experimented on his own body to find out.

First, he stood to observe the image. He inserted the scope himself through his nostril as he stood and tried to examine the image. Why didn’t it seem like it reached the stomach? Why wasn’t the image clear? He wondered, “Is it my posture?” Then he tried sitting. The image was still unclear. As the image shifted, he thought, “Maybe I should lie down.” So, he adjusted the position of his body and limbs and the positioning of his organs. After making the adjustments, he realized he had to lie back in a chair, half sitting, half lying down. This allowed the camera to enter the stomach and other organs. But, he wanted to make the patients more comfortable, and to feel peaceful and at ease, so he made further adjustments. Once he moved onto the bed, he felt comfortable.

He also wanted to make [colonoscopies] more relaxing. So, he developed the water-assisted method, which made it more comfortable. He worked on ways to isolate and identify the source of the illness, as well as ways to treat it. We can see how he tested the scope on himself, how he must have felt. He said, “When others are in pain, I am also in pain. When I see others suffer, I feel their suffering. When they are in pain, I feel very sad.” In particular, he also said, “I cherish those who are ill.” This shows his sense of mission.

He even experimented on his son. His son also consented to be experimented on. This father and son team worked together to find a way to make the patients most comfortable. Indeed, doctors have a Buddha-mind, which means they apply wondrous skills, wondrous techniques and wondrous treatment. Isn’t this universal compassion, the wisdom the Buddha wanted to share with us?

The Buddha wanted us to understand our bodies. Our bodies are filled with impurities and are impermanent. Our ever-changing bodies experience much illness and suffering. So, we need doctors who aspire to walk the Bodhisattva-path to relieve suffering. This also requires mindfulness.

So, the Buddha, and all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in this world, are always trying to find ways to help relieve sentient beings of their suffering. So, “[His only] aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle.” By the same principle, medicine alone is not enough. We must also learn something that is most beneficial to sentient beings so they can be free of suffering, and be happy and at peace. This is the fundamental Great Vehicle Dharma of working for sentient beings that the Buddha wanted to teach us. So, the Buddha taught this sutra.

My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle, therefore I expound this sutra. Buddha-children are pure in heart, gentle and have sharp capabilities, and who, in the presence of infinite Buddhas, have walked the profound and wondrous path. For these Buddha-children, I give Great Vehicle teachings.

“Buddha-children are pure in heart, gentle and have sharp capabilities.” We hope people not only work for their own sake, but give unconditionally for the sake of others. Yesterday, we discussed how we need to be gentle toward sentient beings. Of course, we must always be mindful, “gentle and have sharp capabilities.” Buddha-children such as these [studied] “in the presence of infinite Buddhas.” These Bodhisattvas learn not [only] in the present, but also learned in the past; lifetime after lifetime, they [studied with] infinite Buddhas and were continuously permeated [with teachings]. After those teachings are internalized, we will walk the Bodhisattva-path and learn many principles. This wonderful state of mind is found on the path.

Doctors have a healer’s path, Bodhisattvas a Bodhisattva-path. Both paths help develop wisdom-life and protect physical life. Both are intimately related to sentient beings and are profound and wondrous paths. Therefore, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas walked the profound and wondrous path for the sake of sentient beings.

The hearts of all Buddhas have always been profound and wondrous, so They teach only principles that lead to the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. One Vehicle means there is only one path, one road that can transport us [if we] apply its principles, the principles of ultimate reality. What is the ultimate reality? [To learn this,] we have to experience many things through our bodies, which are formed by our parents’ sperm and egg. The human body is a conditioned phenomenon. Without our parents, there is just an unconditioned phenomenon, our intrinsic Buddha-nature. But when causes and conditions converge,

there is conditioned phenomenon, a body. When it is ill, we need a doctor to treat it. By the same principle, when we sentient beings have mental aliments, we rely on the Buddha-Dharma to treat them, similar to the way doctors treat our bodies. This is all wondrous Dharma, the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. Wondrous Dharma is a combination of both true and provisional teachings.

Provisional teachings are conditioned phenomena, tangible things. I work hard to help everyone understand that the body is like a small universe unto itself. [The microscopic things] that are omnipresent in the natural world are really not visible, so we need to rely on tangible things, like our bodies, to learn more about them. We can use the vast field of medicine to study this small universe and the many things within it. We must try to absorb principles of the natural, [unconditioned] world to help with conditioned phenomena, those things that are already formed, [so we know how to] let them recover and repair themselves. Although things in the world can be fixed or restored, everything that is a conditioned phenomenon will inevitably cease. But everything has its inherent principle.

If we humans listen to principles and return to our intrinsic, unconditioned nature of True Suchness, does that mean we will not die? We will still die. But these spiritual principles will help us return to our pure intrinsic nature. The tangible are provisional teachings. The intangible are true teachings. These two are one, so the Buddha can teach Small Vehicle Dharma to help us thoroughly understand the Great Path, the Great [Vehicle] Dharma.

In this world, there are many different forms of suffering. So, the Buddha teaches with principles and guides with the Dharma. This is why the Buddha comes to this world.

[They have] walked the profound and wondrous path: The aim of all Buddha-minds is to walk the profound and wondrous path and only expound the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. The wondrous Dharma encompasses both the provisional and true teachings as one. Since there is much suffering in this world, They taught with principles and guided with the Dharma.

He used examples of suffering to make analogies, and taught with all kinds of expressions so we can realize [true] principles.

When our body suffers from illness, how can it be treated? Doctors have to use various methods. They also constantly improve, constantly innovate better methods to save people. So, I always say, the times are different, but the Dharma does not change. However, unchanging Dharma and principles must adapt to the ever-changing ways of living. This is why the Dharma is necessary to this world; it has to be here. Therefore, since we are Buddha-children, we must always be mindful.

Episode 3 – Be Gentle, Pure in Heart and Sharp

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>> Buddha-children are pure in heart and gentle. With compassion and wisdom, they transform suffering and nurture happiness. They cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, so they assist the old and the sick, the handicapped, widowed and young.

>> “My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle, therefore I expound this sutra. Buddha-children, pure in heart, are gentle and have sharp capabilities.”

>> Diligently engage in spiritual practice to seek all-encompassing wisdom, the Buddha’s wisdom and natural wisdom. The Tathagata’s understanding and views lead to compassion for all sentient beings and the aspiration to bring them peace and joy. We intrinsically have compassion and wisdom, a natural and wondrous wisdom, which is all-encompassing wisdom. People with great capabilities form Great Vehicle aspirations and aim to enter Great Vehicle Dharma.

>> Buddha-children are pure in heart: Sentient beings who accept the Buddha’s precepts are called Buddha-children. This is also another name for Bodhisattvas. Because they follow the Buddha’s noble teachings, they give rise to the noble path. It also means Buddha-seeds are constantly sowed so they will never disappear [from the world]. This is also a name for all sentient beings because they all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.

>> Buddha-children are pure in heart: Bodhisattvas cultivate purifying practices to transcend all afflictions. They do not develop attachments to the Dharma, so they are pure in heart. [They] are gentle and have sharp capabilities: This is saying our hearts are really gentle, so we can go along with the conditions and principles. Thus, the sutra states, “Sentient beings, then tamed by faith, become genuine, straightforward and gentle.”

>> Keen refers to having sharp capabilities. Roots refers to. Faith and the other spiritual roots, as well as the eyes and the other [physical] roots. Roots also refers to capabilities, the Five Root-Consciousnesses.

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Since we have faith in and learn from the Buddha, we must diligently [practice His teachings]. This is what makes us the Buddha’s disciples. Thus, we must learn how to [keep] our hearts pure and undefiled.

We are unenlightened beings because one ignorant thought defiled our minds and our delusions continuously multiplied. This is what makes us unenlightened. Since we have this opportunity to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must return to our [pure] intrinsic nature. What methods can we use to purify our minds? We can continuously absorb Dharma-water and use it to cleanse our minds.

In addition to purifying our minds, we must also evoke loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Loving-kindness and compassion are things we all understand. When we hope that everyone in the world will lead peaceful and blessed lives, we have “loving-kindness, unconditional loving-kindness.” Having “great universal compassion” means “we feel others’ pain and suffering as our own” and we are one with the world’s sentient beings. This is the loving mindset we use when we interact with all sentient beings. So, we must have “unconditional loving-kindness” and “great universal compassion.”

We must also feel joy. When sentient beings are joyful and at peace, of course we will feel very joyful, too. To bring blessings, peace and joy to the world, we must have “equanimity” [in giving]. We must learn how to give [selflessly] with our hearts, wisdom, abilities and so on for the sake of sentient beings in this world. With loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity, naturally our hearts will be gentle.

As part of our self-cultivation, in our daily living, we must treat other sentient beings as softly and gently as we treat ourselves. “Buddha-children are pure in heart and gentle.” Since we want to be Buddha-children, have we trained our minds to be very clean and pure? As we interact with others, do we hope that they are blessed and happy? We constantly ask ourselves these questions. If the answer is no, we must promptly give to others so we can become pure in heart and gentle.

“With compassion and wisdom, they transform suffering and nurture happiness.” We must exercise compassion as well as wisdom to transform the suffering of sentient beings. We transform their suffering and “nurture happiness.” We teach them how to remain even-tempered as they interact with each other and how to benefit and make one another happy. This takes nurturing.

Tzu Chi volunteers around the world do so much work. We are constantly doing the work of “transforming suffering and nurturing happiness.” For example, in Haiti, there was a major earthquake in 2010. This opportunity led our US Tzu Chi volunteers to get involved. They are still there, whether they are building schools, or trying to help the locals sustain their lives and get all the nutrients they need. So, we guide them through our. “Cash for Relief program.” This allowed us to set up a moringa farm. This is how we exercise compassion and wisdom.

Since we have the karmic conditions to go there, we must try to transform their suffering and teach them to realize that they are wealthy and can lead abundant lives. This is “helping the poor to realize their riches.” In the US, we teach the rich to help the poor, so wealthy people go to poor nations to help them. At the same time, we also teach people there ways to make a living so they can support themselves, which is only possible if they are healthy. So, “with compassion and wisdom,” we “transform suffering and nurture happiness.” We teach them how to be healthy and how to help each other. This is because we “cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer.”

So, Buddha-children are pure in heart and gentle and cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer. So, wherever we are, we “assist the old and the sick, the handicapped, widowed and young.” These are the most disadvantaged people, those who cannot get by on their own. How do we help them? We Buddha-children must continuously nurture our own hearts to give unconditionally, expand the scope of our love and give to others in the hope that the world will be at peace and everyone can live in a happy, healthy environment.

This is what the Buddha taught us. As Buddha-children, we must be pure in heart and gentle. Every single day, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings and diligently practice, I hope we can maintain this mindset.

Buddha-children are pure in heart and gentle. With compassion and wisdom, they transform suffering and nurture happiness. They cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, so they assist the old and the sick, the handicapped, widowed and young.

In an earlier sutra passage, we previously discussed how the Buddha taught “according to the capabilities of sentient beings.” In this world, the Buddha used the Nine Divisions of Teachings to suit sentient beings’ capabilities until the karmic conditions ripened. Previously He used these nine divisions to pave the way. At that moment He was going to lead people onto the Great Vehicle path.

“My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle, therefore I expound this sutra. Buddha-children, pure in heart, are gentle and have sharp capabilities.”

Indeed, shouldn’t we examine our hearts now? If our hearts are already pure and undefiled, we will be unaffected by interpersonal conflicts. We will wholeheartedly and diligently move forward on the great, direct Bodhi-path. Are our hearts pure to this degree?

We must be pure in heart, be gentle, have compassion and sharp capabilities, as well as wisdom. If we have compassion but no wisdom, then we cannot discern right from wrong. So, we must mindfully accept the Buddha’s teachings for us.

“My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle.” This was the Buddha’s original intent. Originally, the Buddha wanted to teach us the Great Vehicle Dharma. The Great Vehicle points directly to our minds so we can understand it and realize our true nature. It helps us all understand that you and I are both equal to the Buddha. The Buddha originally wanted to teach this. The wondrous Great Vehicle Dharma of One Reality was the Buddha’s original intent. So, from this moment on, His “aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle.” Thus, He began “to expound this sutra” so they can diligently engage in spiritual practice. He began to guide them toward diligent practice “to seek all-encompassing wisdom.”

Diligently engage in spiritual practice to seek all-encompassing wisdom, the Buddha’s wisdom and natural wisdom. The Tathagata’s understanding and views lead to compassion for all sentient beings and the aspiration to bring them peace and joy. We intrinsically have compassion and wisdom, a natural and wondrous wisdom, which is all-encompassing wisdom. People with great capabilities form Great Vehicle aspirations and aim to enter Great Vehicle Dharma.

Now, we must also do the same. We must continuously and diligently practice. We must always seek “all-encompassing wisdom,” which is the Buddha’s wisdom as well as “natural wisdom.” This is unconditioned Dharma.

Just because the Buddha has extensive spiritual powers, that does not mean that if He hopes all sentient beings can attain Buddhahood, He can create a Tathagata-nature in them. He cannot use His spiritual powers to create another Tathagata-nature in us. The Buddha also cannot take our defiled hearts and wipe them clean with His hands so that everything is clear and bright to us.

This is also impossible because in truth, we all have an intrinsic nature of True Suchness. This is a truth. If we can clearly understand the truth, our intrinsic nature of True Suchness will appear. This is unconditioned Dharma. [That nature] has always been there and is intrinsic to all of us, so it is also “natural wisdom. Natural wisdom” is not something people can grant us. We must diligently practice and seek it on our own. Then we can take the principles to heart.

So, we should “seek all-encompassing wisdom, the Buddha’s wisdom and natural wisdom.” This refers to the Buddha’s understanding and views. Because of His understanding and views, He can have compassion for sentient beings and [aspire to] “bring them peace and joy.” He also teaches us what to do when sentient beings are suffering so that we can relieve their pain and so on. This is where we must start; this is the Buddha’s understanding and views.

He saw the suffering of sentient beings, so He taught us the Four Noble Truths. We need to thoroughly understand them. “Suffering and its causation” mean that because we accumulated afflictions, we will suffer. So, we must bring about its “cessation.” The way to eliminate it is to have compassion for all sentient beings. If we can have sympathy for other people, that shows we have taken the Dharma to heart. Then we have enough to be able to help others. This begins with feeling compassion.

This is how we teach the rich to help the poor and inspire the poor to realize their riches. That is also our goal. Teaching us how to cultivate compassion and bring peace and joy to all sentient beings is an important part of the Buddha’s aim “to lead [us] into the Great Vehicle.” This is His goal for expounding this Dharma.

“We intrinsically have compassion and wisdom.” Compassion and wisdom are things we intrinsically have; this is a truth. This is our intrinsic Buddha-nature. “We intrinsically have compassion and wisdom, a natural and wondrous wisdom.” We all have natural and original wisdom, “which is all-encompassing wisdom.” It is something natural. We can even understand that this wisdom allows us to thoroughly comprehend everything in the universe. This is intrinsic to all of us.

With great capabilities, we must develop Great Vehicle aspirations. Since we have accepted the Buddha-Dharma, we must believe in ourselves, believe that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. Therefore, we must already have great capabilities. We cannot feel inferior or think, “My capabilities are very limited. I don’t know anything.” Actually, you know everything, but you lack mindfulness. Thus, we must know “we intrinsically have compassion and wisdom.” Everyone possesses these equally. This is natural and wondrous wisdom. So, since we have natural and wondrous wisdom, which is “all-encompassing wisdom,” then we know we definitely have great capabilities and can naturally form Great Vehicle aspirations and “aim to enter Great Vehicle Dharma.” Thus, we should have faith in ourselves.

Buddha-children are pure in heart: Sentient beings who accept the Buddha’s precepts are called Buddha-children. This is also another name for Bodhisattvas. Because they follow the Buddha’s noble teachings, they give rise to the noble path. It also means Buddha-seeds are constantly sowed so they will never disappear [from the world]. This is also a name for all sentient beings because they all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.

“Buddha-children are pure in heart. Sentient beings who accept the. Buddha’s precepts are called Buddha-children.” Since we are learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must cultivate the Three Flawless Studies, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, so our hearts will not be defiled by impurities and we can remain pure. This is how precepts can maintain the purity of our hearts. So, we are known as Buddha-children.

Then we have to develop Bodhisattva-aspirations. Bodhisattvas are also commonly referred to as Buddha-children because they continue the spirit of the Buddha’s Dharma-lineage in this world. So, another name for Bodhisattvas is Buddha-children. “Because they follow the Buddha’s noble teaching, they give rise to the noble path.” He teaches us in the hope that we can be like Him. Thus, His teachings are the noble path that allows us to become sages and noble beings. To be sages, we must walk the Bodhisattva-path. To be noble beings, we have to attain Buddhahood.

This is how the Buddha’s teachings are passed on. So, “Buddha-seeds are constantly sowed so they will never disappear [from the world].” This is the Dharma-lineage the Buddha taught. If we can continue this Dharma-lineage, then we are Buddha-children who will never let the Dharma disappear.

“This is also a name for all sentient beings.” Because we sentient beings have the potential to attain Buddhahood, and since we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, as long as we believe in the Buddha and learn the Dharma, then all of us are Buddha-children.

So, “Buddha-children are pure in heart.” Being “pure in heart” is very important, since “Bodhisattvas cultivate purifying practices. Purifying” means cleansing. If we want to walk the Bodhisattva-path, we must cultivate purifying practices. Our hearts must be free of impurities and desires. This kind of purity comes from being free of greed, anger and ignorance. We must leave all these afflictions behind. By eliminating ignorance and afflictions, we can maintain the purity of our hearts. “They do not develop attachments to the Dharma.” So, we have to understand that when Bodhisattvas cultivate purifying practices, it cleanses them. Giving must be unconditional and must be carried out with gratitude.

Tzu Chi volunteers typically say, “Give without expectations and be grateful.” It reflects this passage, “Bodhisattvas cultivate purifying practices to transcend all afflictions.” They have no expectations and attachments. “They do not develop attachments to the Dharma.” As for the Dharma, even if we cultivate virtuous Dharma, we must not have any expectations. We have to just do it. When we do what we should, we are happy. A heart without attachments or expectations is a pure heart.

Buddha-children are pure in heart: Bodhisattvas cultivate purifying practices to transcend all afflictions. They do not develop attachments to the Dharma, so they are pure in heart. [They] are gentle and have sharp capabilities: This is saying our hearts are really gentle, so we can go along with the conditions and principles. Thus, the sutra states, “Sentient beings, then tamed by faith, become genuine, straightforward and gentle.”

This passage comes from a verse in the latter part of the Lotus Sutra. Sentient beings are tamed by faith. Since they believe in the teachings, their minds can be tamed.

Sentient beings are stubborn, and since we are one of them, our hearts are also stubborn and unyielding. Sometimes when people try to counsel us, we do not listen. We have to transform our own mindsets. If sentient beings are tamed by faith, and we are sentient beings as well, after we believe in the Buddha’s principles, we must tame our own minds. If we can tame our stubborn minds, we “become genuine, straightforward and gentle.” We must use a very direct, great Bodhi-mind

to train our minds to be gentle. Thus, we will be pure in heart and gentle. We discussed this earlier. If we are gentle, then naturally our capabilities will be sharp. Whatever people are saying, we will listen mindfully and with a straightforward mind. It is often said, “A straightforward mind is where spiritual training takes place,” so we “become genuine, straightforward and gentle.” A straightforward mind is where spiritual training takes place. This is a mind that is gentle. With a gentle mind come sharp capabilities, [which are also called keen roots].

Keen refers to having sharp capabilities. Roots refers to. Faith and the other spiritual roots, as well as the eyes and the other [physical] roots. Roots also refers to capabilities, the Five Root-Consciousnesses.

The Five Roots, the Five Spiritual Roots, the Five Powers and and the 37 Practices to Enlightenment are concepts we have already discussed. What are the Five Roots? Besides the Five Roots of our sense organs, there are the Five Spiritual Roots in the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, the root of faith, the root of diligence, the root of thought, the root of Samadhi and the root of wisdom. These are the Five Spiritual Roots, or the Five Dharma. We must also be mindful of the Five Dharma, and constantly review and try to understand how the Buddha-Dharma can tame our minds. If our minds are not tamed, then our minds cannot be “gentle.” Having “gentle minds” is very important. To be “pure in heart and gentle” is our goal in learning the Buddha’s teachings.

Dear Bodhisattvas, life is filled with suffering, so we must aspire to be mindful of the Dharma. When we can tame ourselves, we can care about all things in this world. Thus, we must always be mindful.

Episode 343 – Teaching the Nine Divisions Accordingly

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>> When timing and conditions were both suitable, He gave the Nine Divisions of Teachings. These wondrous provisional teachings lead to the One Vehicle, the great, direct Bodhi-path.

>> The Nine Divisions of Teachings: Perhaps He may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, and things that have never been. He may speak of causes and conditions, and analogies along with geyas, and the upadesa texts.

>> The remaining three divisions were. Apavaipulya (broad and expansive teachings), Vyakarana (predictions of Buddhahood) and. Udana (voluntarily taught without being asked).

>> I did not say that, because the time to speak had not come. Now is the right time, so. I have decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. The nine divisions of my Dharma are taught according to the capabilities of sentient beings. My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle, therefore I expound this sutra.

>> According to the capabilities of sentient beings: Bodhisattvas want to give teachings to sentient beings, so first they use suitable skillful means to give them guidelines that enable them to give rise to the joy of faith. Later on, they explained in detail the extremely profound, wondrous Dharma of Tathagatas to enable them to easily understand and enter it and attain great benefits. This is what it means to teach according to the dispositions of sentient beings.

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The law of karma works in marvelous ways; everything depends on causes and conditions. Every day we observe the world. With different karmic conditions come different ways of living. If we can help those who suffer from these complicated ways of living to return to a simple and pure way of living, we can live harmoniously with the law of nature. Indeed, the Buddha comes to this world for the purpose of teaching us all how to maintain a peaceful mind. All beings in the world are like one big family. We are a big family of brothers and sisters. If our minds are in unity and harmony, if we show mutual love and work in concerted effort, this family will be so happy and beautiful.

Starting on such a small scale, these principles can then gradually expand and develop. The unity and harmony of an individual’s mindset and within a single family can influence society and the rest of the world. Simply by applying this same method, the world can be at peace. This is what I often think. Many complicated issues actually began as something simple. But returning to that simple state is actually not very easy. That depends on timing and conditions.

When timing and conditions were both suitable, He gave the Nine Divisions of Teachings. These wondrous provisional teachings lead to the One Vehicle, the great, direct Bodhi-path.

The Buddha also taught sentient beings when “the timing and conditions were both suitable.” He observed the timing and the capabilities of sentient beings to see whether they were at the same level, whether they achieved the same understanding, whether the concepts were widely comprehended.

When the Buddha was about to teach the great Dharma at Vulture Peak, were all the factors in place? It was very likely. After the 5000 people left, the ones who stayed had readied their minds to receive the Buddha’s great teachings. So in this moment, “the timing and conditions were both suitable.” When the timing and conditions converged, He “gave the Nine Divisions of Teachings.”

The Nine Divisions of Teachings: Perhaps He may speak of sutras, gathas, previous lives of disciples, previous lives of Buddhas, and things that have never been. He may speak of causes and conditions, and analogies along with geyas, and the upadesa texts.

Actually, the Nine Divisions of Teachings [were taught] before the Buddha started expounding the One Vehicle Dharma. Before sentient beings’ capabilities were equal, the Buddha taught using the Nine Divisions of Teachings. These nine divisions were briefly explained earlier. Actually, the Tripitaka has twelve divisions. But the Buddha perceived that the capabilities of sentient beings were incomplete, so He used the Nine Divisions of Teachings to expound the Dharma to sentient beings. The remaining three divisions were only then about to be revealed.

The remaining three divisions were. Apavaipulya (broad and expansive teachings), Vyakarana (predictions of Buddhahood) and. Udana (voluntarily taught without being asked).

Aside from these three divisions, the others were the Nine Divisions of Teachings. Those nine divisions were wondrous provisional teachings. With these provisional teachings, He guided people to the Great Vehicle. So, “these wondrous provisional teachings lead to the One Vehicle.”

The fruit of His previous teachings was that people were led to the One Vehicle Dharma, which was in His heart. No one asked for this Dharma, but He had been safeguarding it in His heart and now He was going to share it without being asked. This was unprecedented.

Within everyone is a broad road, which is the great, direct Bodhi-path. We must return to this simple, broad and direct road. Though we say it is “simple,” it is actually very wondrous and profound and cannot be overlooked.

Do we still remember the storms that swept through Myanmar in 2008? Devastating winds and floods inflicted huge losses; the casualties exceeded 100,000 people according to reports. Many big countries donated an abundant amount of relief goods for emergency relief in Myanmar. Though Myanmar wanted to accept assistance, they also questioned those countries’ motivations with regards to international politics. This incident reflects the complicated nature of international relationships. So, the Myanmar government preferred to let the disaster victims work hard themselves to get back on their feet. This way they would maintain their national pride.

During that period of time, we also went into Myanmar. There were a lot of unknowns, so we could only directly help a limited number of people. This all depended on whether our karmic conditions gave us the opportunity. But with a very simple, sincere, reverent and proper mindset, we worked for the sake of the poor and the disaster victims. We had no other motives or any other objectives. Our sole objective was to provide emergency assistance. It was that simple.

So, we worked slowly and were very discreet in the way we made contact with and helped the people. By working in this way, [the government] saw that we had no other motives or goals and did not ask for anything in return, nothing at all. Hence, the Prime Minister of Myanmar wrote an official letter to invite Tzu Chi to enter his country to assess the needs of his people and help them. That happened in May 2008.

Now we can travel freely in and out of Myanmar. We were there to work on giving the country hope for the future through construction of schools. We call it Project Hope. We built three schools under very difficult conditions. But the construction was completed in accordance with regulations and building codes so we did not need to worry about it. These schools were truly well-constructed. Therefore, their Minister of Education made a special trip to Taiwan to express his gratitude to Tzu Chi. [He also] sincerely expressed that. Myanmar really needs the humanistic culture of Tzu Chi to be integrated into their society. So, he hoped to allocate a piece of land for Tzu Chi to establish itself as an official organization there. When he saw our Da Ai TV Station, he felt that widespread education of the people is also a necessity.

So, our causes and conditions at this time were suitable. If something can be achieved, we must not give up. We must seize the present and sustain our resolve.

Back then, we seized the moment to build these big schools in Myanmar, both elementary and middle schools. They are in places with a dense population and many students. If we did not build these schools in time, they would have little hope for education. Where did the hope come from? From seizing the opportunity in that moment. To date, tens of thousands of students have the hope [that comes with education]. This happened because we seized the moment. With its [sound] construction, if everything in the world can exist harmoniously, a school like this can last hundreds, thousands of years without problem.

So, we call this “seizing the moment and sustaining it forever.” This moment can last forever. But being able to sustain karmic conditions is a different matter. If a society can be more peaceful and people can work together more harmoniously, things will be even better. But this also depends on karmic conditions. So, when the Buddha gave teachings, He also observed the timing and karmic conditions.

From the beginning, I have been telling everyone that the mind, Buddha, and sentient beings that the mind, Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]. The moment He attained enlightenment, the first thought that surfaced in His mind was, “Amazing! Amazing! All sentient beings have the Tathagata’s wisdom.” This was what the Buddha wanted to share, but upon observing sentient beings’ capabilities, [He realized] things were not that simple. So, He waited. He devised the Nine Divisions of Teachings to use provisional and skillful means to guide sentient beings.

At this moment, the Buddha had already said, “I did not say that because the time to speak had not come.” So, He was not yet able to share this because the timing and conditions were not ripe. The time had not arrived.

I did not say that, because the time to speak had not come. Now is the right time, so. I have decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. The nine divisions of my Dharma are taught according to the capabilities of sentient beings. My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle, therefore I expound this sutra.

“Now is the right time.” This was the moment. The time had arrived. He could wait no longer. Conditions and capabilities were mostly mature, so. He “decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.”

“The nine divisions of my Dharma are taught according to the capabilities of sentient beings.” Because sentient beings’ capabilities varied, He had to go along with the karmic conditions and capabilities He observed to teach people the ways to eliminate afflictions from their minds and the ways to understand this path so they would engage in spiritual cultivation and be inspired to practice to eliminate their worries. Myriads of sentient beings have boundless afflictions. So, the Buddha had to teach accordingly. He had to establish various suitable teachings

to accord with sentient beings over a long time. But then karmic conditions ripened. Because time waits for no one, the Buddha had no choice but to teach so that the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra could be passed down to the present era. Although the Buddha used the Lotus Sutra like Dharma-water to wash away sentient beings’ ignorance and afflictions, this evil and turbid world has become more defiled. This was why the Buddha had no choice but to expound the wondrous Great Vehicle teachings to treat sentient beings of this turbid world.

The Nine Divisions of Teachings taught earlier were very important. Because of their limited capabilities and wisdom, people are still filled with many afflictions and worries. So, the Nine Divisions of Teachings are very important in the Buddhist sutras. The Dharma itself is not great or limited. If we have great capabilities, we will hear and instantly realize the teachings; we can understand them. If our capabilities are dull, even if we were actually there when the Buddha was teaching the Lotus Sutra, that would not be very helpful to us.

You see, in the end when the Buddha wanted to hand down the responsibility for the Dharma, none of the disciples were willing to take on the responsibility. “My aim is to lead them into the Great Vehicle.” That was what the Buddha said. But how many people were willing to take responsibility for the Great Vehicle Dharma? As we continue to read the Lotus Sutra, [we can understand] the Buddha’s feelings and why He had to continue teaching. Hoping that everyone could understand these principles, therefore [the Buddha] expounded this sutra. That was the reason He gave this teaching.

As for sutras, the Lotus Sutra states, “The nine divisions of my Dharma are taught according to the capabilities of sentient beings.”

We read this earlier. “According” refers to “the way Bodhisattvas want to give teachings to sentient beings.”

According to the capabilities of sentient beings: Bodhisattvas want to give teachings to sentient beings, so first they use suitable skillful means to give them guidelines that enable them to give rise to the joy of faith. Later on, they explained in detail the extremely profound, wondrous Dharma of Tathagatas to enable them to easily understand and enter it and attain great benefits. This is what it means to teach according to the dispositions of sentient beings.

Before attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha was a Bodhisattva in previous lives. He had also walked the Bodhisattva-path for a very long time. Based on the path He took, “first He used suitable skillful means to give [sentient beings] guidelines.” This enabled sentient beings to give rise to the joy of faith. As we begin to teach others, we who have developed Bodhisattva-aspirations must also use these methods of skillful means and teach according to capabilities. Then we must tell them, “This is what you must do immediately. This is what you must not do.” Those are “guidelines.” We teach them to do what they should do and to avoid what they should not do. Doing the right thing is wise. Doing the wrong thing is ignorant. If something is right, just do it. It is that simple. When everyone believes and has faith, they will do these things happily, and the doing brings them joy. These are suitable [teachings] for sentient beings.

At this moment, society needs people who promptly devote themselves to diligently helping others, as well as people who can teach precepts. In Tzu Chi there are ten precepts. We promote the ten precepts and the Ten Good Deeds. First we inspire the joy of faith in others, “later on, [we] explain in detail the extremely profound, wondrous Dharma of Tathagatas.” We help people go into society, willingly give whatever is needed to others and do so joyfully.

Recently I have wondered, with what can I repay all of you? The Dharma. We must all have the Buddha in our hearts and the Dharma in our actions. We must accept the Dharma, realize how impermanent life is, and know we are subject to the law of karma. We cannot take anything into or from this life; the only thing that follows us is karma. Therefore, we all need to understand the law of karma. Through conditioned phenomena, we slowly help people comprehend what unconditioned Dharma is. Truth is not created out of tangible things, it has to be experienced in our hearts. To gradually guide people to enter the extremely profound and wondrous Dharma, it must be “explained in detail,” bit by bit.

This is why, even after teaching a long time, we are only at this [early] part of the sutra. Indeed, because people do not really understand, this must be “explained in detail to enable them to easily understand and enter it.” The Nine Divisions of Teachings must be used to help people more easily understand. This takes causes and conditions, analogies etc. Short verses are also easier for us to memorize.

Thus, we can “attain great benefits.” If we can really take the Dharma to heart, we can truly attain benefits. No matter how much worldly wealth we have, it will all eventually disappear; whatever we obtain, we will eventually lose. Only the Dharma can remain forever in our minds. This is “attaining great benefits. This is what it means to teach according to the dispositions of sentient beings.” We must carefully guide them to take the Dharma to heart. Only then can they attain benefits. In the past, to suit sentient beings, [the Buddha] developed the Nine Divisions of Teachings. When we think of how hard the Buddha worked, we must always be careful. After taking the Dharma to heart, we must not let it leak out. Please always be mindful.

Episode 342 – The Time to Teach the Great Vehicle

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>> Seize every present instant and do not let any moment slip by, Our thoughts at each instant determine whether we are noble or ordinary beings, thus this present moment is the right time.

>> I have not yet said to you all that all of you will attain Buddhahood. I did not say that because the time to speak had not come. Now is the right time, so. I have decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.

>> Now is the right time: This present moment is the right time. Time, conditions and capabilities have matured. Time waits for no one. Upon encountering this excellent assembly at this time, now is the right time.

>> [He] decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma: The Sanskrit word Mahayana means Great Vehicle. Great simply means that it is not small or limited. Vehicle means it is a mode of transport that takes us from this shore to the opposite one.

>> [The Great Vehicle] can be compared to a large ship that can carry many people from

>> Those attached to seeking emptiness and stillness through teachings of Nirvana are Small Vehicle practitioners.

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Seize every present instant
and do not let any moment slip by,
Our thoughts at each instant determine whether we are noble or ordinary beings,
thus this present moment is the right time.

We must seize the moment and sustain it forever. Each moment is the present for that point in time. Across thousands or tens of thousands of years, or across minutes or seconds, we need to be present in every instant. We must really take advantage of every moment and every second. This is to “seize the present.”

So, we must be diligent and “not let any moment slip by.” Do not let even the smallest increment of time slip by. The ancients said, “Time cannot be purchased with gold.” If we try to trade an ounce of gold for a moment of time, it will not work; that is impossible. So, we must not let even the smallest increment of space or time go to waste. Whether we are speaking of time or space, we must take advantage of every bit of it.

Actually, this “instant, our thoughts at each instant,” happens in the blink of an eye. The brief moment our eyes close is an instant. It is the time it takes for us to blink or for a thought to arise. This is how quickly that moment passes; it happens in the blink of an eye. See, this is the way time passes. However, “our thoughts at each instant determine whether we are noble or ordinary beings.” If we are always present and mindful, and if our thoughts are correct, that determines “whether we are noble or ordinary beings.”

If we give rise to this thought, if we resolve, aspire and vow to take the Dharma to heart and to manifest the Dharma in our actions, that thought [determines that we are noble]. If we allow [that thought] to slip away, then we will always remain ordinary beings. So, if in that instant, in “our thoughts at each instant,” we establish a strong resolve, we will learn and advance on the noble path.

With our thoughts, “Forming an aspiration is easy, sustaining it is hard.” If we form an aspiration but immediately lose it, if we cannot seize our thought in that moment and hold on to it, then we will forever be ordinary and unenlightened. Our capabilities will still be dull, and we will never understand natural phenomena. So, we must put our hearts into “seizing every present moment.” We must hold on tight and not let them slip away.

As I have told everyone in the past, we must not let go of listening, contemplating and practicing, the Three Flawless Studies, After we take the Dharma to heart, if we are not careful we will lose it. So, true spiritual practitioners will treasure each moment. We must adhere to every teaching we obtain.

Every moment is very valuable. Each present moment is full of wondrous Dharma, as is every time, space, person, object and state. This is true in every moment. But the Buddha waited over 40 years [to teach]. What was the problem? It was not the Buddha, but we ordinary people. As much as the Buddha wanted to share His spiritual state at the moment of His awakening, sadly, ordinary people could not understand it. So, the Buddha had to wait for over 40 years.

“Now is the right time.” This was stated in the sutra. So, “This present moment is the right time.” This time was the “right time.” This time refers to the present. What does “the present” refer to? To every moment of every day; we are always living in the present. This is the exact moment we can attain teachings. Any time can be the present.

There was once a spiritual practitioner who worked very hard and always used his time well to try to enter a truly tranquil state of mind. His name was Chajali. Chajali was always diligently practicing, he never had time to cut his hair or to shave his beard. He was covered in hair; both the hair on his chin and head were very long. For convenience’s sake, he coiled his hair on top of his head. Who knows how long it was, but it was all coiled on the top of his head. Then he sat down and entered Samadhi.

At that moment, a bird was about to lay eggs. She saw something resembling a nest, so she landed on top of it and quickly began to lay eggs. She laid one egg after another. After the bird laid the eggs, she felt free to incubate them there. Once in a while, she flew away to find food. Eventually, the eggs hatched and the nestlings emerged. The mother bird looked after the nestlings and sometimes flew away to find food for them.

After being in a state of deep meditation for some time, this spiritual practitioner awoke and felt that there was more weight on the top of his head. Also, something seemed to be moving. He reached up and discovered a bird’s nest. The eggs had just hatched, so there were nestlings and egg shells. The mother bird was away, so he was afraid to move. He tried to hold his breath and did not dare breathe too heavily. So, he only took shallow breaths for fear of frightening the birds. This was how he sat. One day passed, then two, then seven, then one month, two months, three months. During that time, the mother bird taught the nestlings to fly. As the nestlings matured, they needed their mother to teach them how to spread their wings and fly. Once they flew away, they needed to learn how to find their way back to the nest. In this way, one month passed, then two, then three. Finally, the mother bird and her nestlings flew away. These birds flew far away because fall was turning into winter and it was growing cold. This spiritual practitioner saw that the birds had left the nest and was beginning to feel quite cold, so he stood up with his frail body. For three months, he lived as if hibernating; his body had not moved one bit and he had only taken shallow breaths. So, he had very little physical strength and when he stood up, his body was frail and skinny. He walked without weight, as if he could be blown away by the winds that blew as fall became winter.

For a period of time, this man had lived in such a peaceful state, with heaven and earth, human and animal. Human and animals had lived together in harmony. He was so loving that he was afraid of startling the animals. For three months, he was really in harmony with the world. The mental state of this spiritual practitioner was such that heaven, earth, human and animal were all one. They were truly in a state of union. This serene state in the world was truly beautiful. That period of three months felt like the “present moment” to him, and his practice led him to cherish all things and to be one with the world. I always feel that this story truly shows that at any time, “now is the right time.” His mind was in Samadhi and so filled with love that heaven, earth, human and animal were one. This was the best time.

I have not yet said to you all that all of you will attain Buddhahood. I did not say that because the time to speak had not come. Now is the right time, so. I have decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.

“Now is the right time”; this is the time. So, “Now is the right time, so I have decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.” The Buddha announced this to everyone. In the past, He had not told everyone that they could all become Buddhas “because the time to speak had not come.” The time to speak had not yet arrived, but now this was the right time, so He decided to tell everyone. So, “Now is the right time,” What “time” does this refer to? It refers to a moment that has already arrived.

Now is the right time: This present moment is the right time. Time, conditions and capabilities have matured. Time waits for no one. Upon encountering this excellent assembly at this time, now is the right time.

In the past, the Buddha always said that sentient beings must have great capabilities, develop aspirations, earnestly and diligently move forward and understand the past. The teachings He gave and established were subtle and wondrous, and were the foundation for His present [teachings]. This is just like building a house. After the foundation is firmly established, it is time for the house to take shape above ground. This was the time to expound the great Dharma. “Now is the right time.” This means that the time has arrived. What is the time that has arrived? The karmic conditions and timing are ripe.

We cannot lack the [proper] conditions, and now, causes and conditions have completely matured. As for timing, now, after over 40 years, the principles of people, matters and objects [the assembly] had heard about and seen had probably been verified. They had probably seen and understood it all since the Buddha always seized the opportunity to teach them.

For example, one time He was walking and saw a young cowherd driving cattle. The Buddha suddenly smiled and shook His head. Ananda was very bright, so he immediately asked the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha, there must be a reason behind your smile.” He said, “Yes, the causes and conditions of life. You see, because the cattle need to drink water and graze the cowherd cares for them by driving them out. After they finish, they come back. When I see each cow return with a full belly, I feel a sense of sorrow, so I shake my head out of sadness. I could only smile at the foolishness of sentient beings. Full from water and grass, they grow fat. Eventually, they will be sold and it will be time for them to go to the slaughterhouse. I am sad that humans are just as foolish. Each day, they do not know death is approaching. So, I think about how sad life is in the human realm.”

You see, just by observing a herd of cattle leaving and coming back, He was able to teach Ananda the foolish ways in which humans and animals live their daily lives, day after day. This is how the Buddha looks at the world and teaches the Dharma according to capabilities whenever opportunities arise. This is an example of causes and conditions and timing.

Based on this timing and causes and conditions, He drew analogies and connected daily living to the Dharma. Based on their way of living, the Buddha gave teachings about impermanence and the foolishness of sentient beings. At every moment, He seizes the opportunity. In every moment, for the Buddha, causes and conditions are ripe. Based on our capabilities and karmic conditions, the Buddha gives suitable teachings.

Now, this moment, this time is different. The Lotus Assembly was an excellent assembly because every person’s capabilities had matured. The Buddha was about to freely express the Dharma in His heart that. He had always wanted to teach. So, “Time waits for no one. Upon encountering this excellent assembly at this time, now is the right time.” Now, at the Vulture Peak assembly, He could not wait any longer because seconds and minutes were constantly passing. The Buddha had already entered old age, so He had to quickly seize the opportunity to expound the wondrous Dharma in His heart. Indeed, time truly waits for no one.

So, He “decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.” The Buddha had made this decision. He estimated the time [He had left] to expound the Great Dharma. He knew He needed time to teach it. Thus, He decided to speak.

[He] decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma: The Sanskrit word Mahayana means Great Vehicle. Great simply means that it is not small or limited. Vehicle means it is a mode of transport that takes us from this shore to the opposite one.

In “the Sanskrit word Mahayana, Maha” means great. So, “Mahaprajna” means “great prajna. Prajna” is wisdom, So, “Mahaprajna” is great wisdom. Therefore, it is “great. Mahasattva” means great Bodhisattva. So, “maha” means “great” in Sanskrit. “Yana” means “vehicle.” So, “the Great Vehicle” is “Mahayana.” The Sanskrit word Mahayana, means “the Great Vehicle” when translated.

“Great” means “it is not small or limited.” This is not the Small Vehicle, and it is different from the provisional teachings of the past. Now He taught the Great Vehicle, not the Small Vehicle. Only people with great capabilities and great faith can accept it. So, it is called “great,” meaning that it is not small, but great. “Vehicle” means carrier, a means of transport.

[The Great Vehicle] can be compared to a large ship that can carry many people from

this shore to the other.

In the past we were stubborn and clung to emptiness and stillness. Some spiritual practitioners could only sit and be in a state of deep meditation. That was the state of mind they sought. So, they only sought emptiness and Nirvana. In the past, the Buddha taught the Small Vehicle Dharma to people like this. This was like taking a brief rest at a conjured city; it was a limited teaching.

Those attached to seeking emptiness and stillness through teachings of Nirvana are Small Vehicle practitioners.

Now, it is time to begin to turn from these limited teachings to the Great Vehicle. So, in the Lotus Sutra, there is a passage stating about how opening all-encompassing wisdom is teaching the Great Vehicle Dharma. This “all-encompassing wisdom” is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, which is the Great Vehicle Dharma.

So now, the Buddha had “decided to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.” He was starting to teach, so we must mindfully prepare. The Buddha-Dharma has lasted for over 2000 years up to the present. Now we must review what the conditions were like when the Buddha taught the Great Dharma. How well we accept the Dharma depends on whether we are always mindful.

Episode 341 – When Potential and Conditions Mature

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>> The Buddha teaches according to the people, place, time and opportunity. When the conditions are ripe, it is time for Him to teach the wondrous Dharma for people to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. With practice and faith, they attain Buddhahood.

>> I have established these skillful means to enable all of you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. I did not yet tell you all that all of you will certainly attain Buddhahood. I did not say that because the time to speak had not come.

>> For over 40 years, He kept it in His heart because the conditions were not yet ripe.

>> “I did not say that because the time to speak had not come.”

>> “Now is the right time.”

>> So, “Now is the right time to decisively give the Great Vehicle teachings. The nine divisions of my Dharma are taught according to the capabilities of sentient beings.”

>> Because the time to speak had not come: Teaching requires [the right] people, timing and place. If suitable circumstances have not matured, if any of the causes and conditions are incomplete, He is unable to speak.

>> The karmic conditions were not ripe; they had not matured because “those of lesser capabilities are slow to awaken.”

>> Now is the right time: Those of great and sharp capabilities can instantly awaken.

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Time passes by with every minute and second, [so] we must seize every moment. I seem to repeat this sentence every day. Still, as we live our lives each day, we cannot escape the passing of the minutes and seconds; everything we do accumulates over time. So, we must take advantage of every second. It is often said, “Time makes all things possible.” Though we frequently hear [these words] and frequently repeat them, it is very easy to forget them as each moment passes. Similarly, when the Buddha came to the world for His one great cause, from birth to spiritual practice to attaining Buddhahood to expounding the Dharma, [every step of] this process happened with the passage of time.

His one hope was for sentient beings to be equal to the Buddhas, to reach the same spiritual state. This was the Buddha’s vow and hope for sentient beings. This thought never once left His mind.

So, we must know that the minds of the Buddha and of sentient beings contain the same universal wisdom. Yet none of us have thoroughly understood this. The Buddha always wanted to share this with us and was waiting for the right opportunity.

But if we have the same wisdom as the Buddha, why was He waiting [to teach us]? He was waiting for people who could truly understand the Dharma in His mind, the views and understanding that. [He] had attained.

The Buddha teaches according to the people, place, time and opportunity. When the conditions are ripe, it is time for Him to teach the wondrous Dharma for people to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. With practice and faith, they attain Buddhahood.

The Buddha was waiting for people who could comprehend His views and understanding and. His state of complete enlightenment. Finding people like this to converse with Him was not easy at all. [It takes the right] people, time and place.

The Buddha hoped to widely spread the Dharma for people to understand, so He waited for those who could accept and comprehend it. But, the timing must also [be right]. Had such people gathered [before Him]? In such a large group of people, were everyone’s capabilities equal? Would all of them be able to accept the teachings? He was [waiting for] the right time. In addition to a time, there has to be a place. How many people could be assembled there? So, I frequently tell everyone that explaining a certain thing requires the [right] people, timing and place, the convergence of these causes and conditions.

So, for the Buddha to expound the Dharma and achieve His one great cause was really not easy.

When the conditions were ripe, then it was time. It was time for Him to freely carry out His original intent. These sentient beings, His disciples, were all more or less [ready], and the 5000 people who could not accept [the Dharma] had left the assembly. Those who remained were all determined [to learn]. The timing was right, the place was appropriate, so the conditions were ripe, and it was time. So, He would teach the wondrous Dharma. He hoped people could follow this Dharma to enter the Buddha’s wisdom and attain the Buddha’s understanding and views.

But how could they enter the Buddha’s wisdom? Through faith and practice.

We have spent some time talking about deep faith. Our faith must be broad and very deep; our Root of Faith must be planted deeply. Roots must be deep and extensive to be strong. We must strengthen our faith, strengthen our vows. We must form great aspirations and great vows. If our Root of Faith is not very deep, very extensive or very strong, then we cannot hold fast to our vows. So, the Buddha’s great Dharma builds upon our faith and practice. Not only must we have faith in it, we must also put it into practice.

“We must keep the Buddha in our minds, the Dharma in our actions and. Samadhi in our practice of the Dharma.” We already know that the Buddha is in our minds; we intrinsically have profound, wondrous wisdom. Yesterday, we spoke of conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. Through the conditioned phenomena in the world, we can enter unconditioned Dharma, which is an intrinsic part of us. It is something natural, not something humans can create.

The universe around us has always been present. There are stars and planets in the sky, and Earth is also included in this space. Modern science hypothesizes that. Earth is several billion years old. As time continuously passes, even Earth will experience formation, existence, decay and disappearance. This [process] is an example of unconditioned Dharma in the universe and in nature. Similarly, our bodies go through birth, aging, illness and death. This is a very natural process, a natural law. It has always existed. And in all of us, there has always existed a pure Buddha-nature. Like the universe, this is everlasting and unchanging.

Within the natural world are the living beings of the Six Realms, which are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms etc. We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, but we also have an unenlightened nature. This was not created by other people. It came about when our minds gave rise to an ignorant thought and triggered the cycle of cause and effect. We bring nothing with us when we are born and take nothing with us after we die; only our karma will follow us. The things we cannot bring or take with us are conditioned phenomena. For these conditioned phenomena, we work so hard for our whole lives in this world and create so much karma. Then this karma will follow us [to our next lives].

If we are born in the heaven realm, we created good karma and practiced the Ten Good Deeds. In this world, we can practice the Ten Good Deeds to attain the blessing of becoming heavenly beings. So, where are these heavenly beings? Based on what we know now, we can see people living in heaven on earth. They must have created blessings in past lives. Those who create blessings return to this world to be born into a blessed family. Then their entire lives will be filled with blessings and abundance. For an entire lifetime, from their childhood to old age, everything will go smoothly for them. These are people replete with good karma. This is heaven on earth.

There is also hell on earth. There are also hungry ghosts on earth, as well as asuras and animals. We see them all in this world. Who created these [destinies] for us? No one; we did this ourselves in our past lives with our karmic conditions and habitual tendencies. Our causes and conditions separate us into the poor and the rich. Because of our habitual tendencies, we have different morals and characters. We created all of this ourselves.

This idea is very profound, yet it is simple to explain. But faith is essential. We must have faith in the Buddha-Dharma and [understand] that conditioned phenomena are what we create in this world. Though karma in the world is created by individuals, if many people commit evils, that becomes our collective karma. Then there will be many disasters in this world. If many people create blessings, we will have collective blessed karma. Then the weather will be favorable, the world will be as peaceful as a pure land, and there will be no turbidities. This also happens because of the convergence of the karmic conditions we have created. So, this is something we must believe.

This is why we talk about quickly recruiting Bodhisattvas in this world. If we each recruit one Bodhisattva, the entire world will be full of Bodhisattvas. Then wouldn’t this world be a pure land? This is something we must believe. But just believing is useless, we must also take action. If we can put [the Dharma] into action, then we can attain Buddhahood. To purify our minds, we must cultivate faith, vows and action. With a strong resolve, naturally we can penetrate the Buddha’s wisdom and attain Buddhahood. To do this, we must always be mindful.

Previous passages in the Lotus Sutra [explained that] the Buddha established skillful means to enable all to enter the Buddha’s wisdom, and even many great teachings, such as the subtle and wondrous Dharma of One Reality.

I have established these skillful means to enable all of you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. I did not yet tell you all that all of you will certainly attain Buddhahood. I did not say that because the time to speak had not come.

The Buddha is still waiting. We previously said that we need to wait for the right people, time and place. When the conditions were ripe, it was time for the Buddha to teach the wondrous Dharma. Now He was telling them that they could all attain Buddhahood.

“I did not say that because the time to speak had not come.” The Buddha’s one great cause was to teach the wondrous Dharma in His heart. He had waited for over 40 years. ․For over 40 years, He kept it in His heart because the conditions were not yet ripe. The time was not yet right. Sentient beings’ capabilities had not matured and still varied. So, “The time to speak had not come.”

It was not yet time to say what He wanted to say because people’s capabilities had not matured. If He said this to those with immature capabilities, they might misconstrue, then slander the Dharma and thus damage the Buddha-Dharma. So, He was waiting for the right conditions.

“I did not say that because the time to speak had not come.” The time to speak had not come.

“Now is the right time.”

The next section of the sutra then states, “Now is the right time.” Right now is precisely the right time.

The 5000 people with overbearing arrogance had left the assembly. Those who did not really want to understand had left. The ones who remained were people with mature capabilities, and the Buddha could not wait any longer. This was the time.

So, “Now is the right time to decisively give the Great Vehicle teachings. The nine divisions of my Dharma are taught according to the capabilities of sentient beings.”

Let us first understand what “the time to speak had not come” means.

Because the time to speak had not come: Teaching requires [the right] people, timing and place. If suitable circumstances have not matured, if any of the causes and conditions are incomplete, He is unable to speak.

Thus, teaching requires [the right] people, time and place. Suitable circumstances must be present. “Circumstances” may or may not be mature, but calling them “suitable” means they are mature. “Can I pick this fruit?” An expert, the fruit farmer, examines it and says, “Yes, it can be picked. [It is] suitable.” It is now “suitable” to be picked. This ripened fruit can now be picked. The underlying principle is the same. If suitable circumstances are not present, we do not have the right karmic conditions yet. We cannot be missing any [necessary] karmic condition.

Take the Lotus Dharma-assembly for example. If those 5000 people had not left, although many were gathered there, the place was suitable and the timing was right, there would still be those who could not accept the Dharma due to their capabilities. In that case, it would not be right to speak. Therefore, the Buddha still had not taught it. They had a time and place, and people had gathered there. After the unsuitable people left, then it was “the right time.”

If they had not left, if people incapable of accepting it remained, the Buddha would have stayed in Samadhi because He would not want to speak yet. Once He began speaking, He kept praising the Dharma, which made some people impatient. They naturally weeded themselves out by leaving. Then it was the right time for Him to speak. Before this moment, the timing was not yet right. “Because the time to speak had not come” means the time was not right.

The karmic conditions were not ripe; they had not matured because “those of lesser capabilities are slow to awaken.”

These people had immature capabilities and could not accept the great Dharma. This was not the time for them to accept it, and their capabilities were insufficient. So, these people were among “those of lesser capabilities [who] are slow to awaken.” If such people remained, with their immature karmic conditions, they might gain only a partial understanding. Then they may go on to incite those who are even less familiar with the Buddha-Dharma, causing them to create bad karma. Because of this, the opportunity was not ripe.

“Now is the right time.” Now was the time, because these people left. The timing was just right. In that place, the Buddha began to speak, because people had “great and sharp capabilities.” Those with “great capabilities,” those who could awaken instantly, would understand it once He taught it. Not only would they understand, they would believe. Not only would they believe, they would put it into practice.

Now is the right time: Those of great and sharp capabilities can instantly awaken.

This is truly having faith and understanding developing in parallel. Those with sharp capabilities can instantly awaken and understand the Dharma taught by the Buddha. So, “Now is the right time.” This was the moment; this was the time. This was when the great Dharma had to be taught.

When conditions, capabilities and timing ripen, people’s faith also solidified. They could understand and cherish the Dharma, and know to mindfully seek to realize it. So, the time for waiting was over; this was the time. This was an excellent assembly; the best place for teaching the Dharma. This was the Vulture Peak Assembly. At this assembly, the Buddha began to teach the great Dharma.

Dear Bodhisattvas, the Buddha is compassionate. From the moment He awakened, the wondrous Dharma had been on His mind. He realized that all sentient beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature and that all things are conditioned phenomena. Amidst conditioned phenomena, sentient beings create karma out of their accumulated afflictions and ignorance. Now, 2000 years later, what the Buddha referred to as the future 2000 years ago is what we consider the present. In this evil and turbid world, sentient beings face unbearable suffering. So, when the Buddha taught in His lifetime, He hoped we could form great aspirations and vow to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Not only must we listen to the Dharma and benefit ourselves, we must widely motivate everyone to transform others and turn evil into goodness, the [spiritually] poor into the [spiritually] wealthy. There are the wealthy among the poor and the wealthy among the wealthy. We must not cling to being the poor among the wealthy and be slaves to wealth. We must also not create bad karma out of poverty.

This requires everyone in the world to make vows; we must promote this and make vows together. This is the Dharma the Buddha taught over 2000 years ago for the future, for us now. The opportunity and karmic conditions are aligned, so we must seize this time and always be mindful.

Episode 340 – Awaiting Conditions to Teach the Buddha’s Wisdom

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>> We must keep advancing and going forward. We must recognize the beautiful state of mind within us. We must nourish our wisdom-life with Dharma to attain an everlasting state of tranquility and clarity.

>> I established these skillful means to enable all of you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. But I have not yet told you all that all of you will certainly attain Buddhahood. I have not yet said that, because the time to speak has not come.

>> I established these skillful means: The Buddha established teachings with provisional wisdom. This is the wisdom that leads to true wisdom through skillful means. The small side street that leads to the great path is the wisdom of practicing skillful means.

>> Enable you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom: The Buddha must first, according to what is suitable, give Small [Vehicle] teachings. Gradually, through provisional teachings, He guides people onto the great path to enable all to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. All Buddhas have great universal wisdom, which is all-encompassing wisdom, supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment.

>> The Chapter on Skillful Means states, “The Tathagata appears in this world for the purpose of teaching the Buddha’s wisdom.”

>> I have not yet told you all: The time had not arrived; people’s capabilities had not matured. He waited for the right conditions and was about to proclaim the Dharma He had not taught before.

>> All of you will attain Buddhahood: There is no other way to attain Buddhahood; it is only possible through the One Vehicle Dharma. The varying capabilities and karmic conditions of every person are different, but only one teaching leads to Buddhahood.

>> “So, I have not said that.” For 40-plus years, the Buddha kept this wondrous Dharma in His mind. The timing and capabilities were not mature, so the time to speak had not arrived. “So, I have not said that.”

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We must keep advancing and going forward.
We must recognize the beautiful state of mind within us.
We must nourish our wisdom-life with Dharma
to attain an everlasting state of tranquility and clarity.

In learning from the Buddha, we must practice diligently. “We must keep advancing and going forward.” We know that time waits for no one, so we must treasure every moment. We must seize every second to practice diligently. There is a common saying, “Only the person who drinks the water knows if it is hot or cold.” The way spiritual practice affects our minds is something only each of us knows for ourselves. Other people cannot comprehend our minds.

What are we thinking about? About listening, contemplating and practicing. About the teachings we heard yesterday. About the things we did yesterday. About whether our interactions yesterday made us happy or not. These various states of mind are known only to ourselves.

Whenever we think of something, it will have an appearance. A person’s image surfaces in our minds when we are thinking of that person. Is this a person who makes us happy? [If so,] then our state of mind is happy. This kind of thinking, this happy state of mind, comes from contemplating. By engaging in contemplation, we are cultivating the field in our minds; we are imprinting things onto our minds.

When we meticulously think about the things that happened yesterday, whether we were happy or not, our minds are focused on appearances. This is conditioned phenomena.

For some time, we have been listening to the Dharma every day. After listening to it, have we really analyzed the underlying principles? Have we mindfully cultivated the field in our minds? We must ask ourselves whether or not we have learned to clearly recognize the beauty of our state of mind. When we are in a clear state, we will very clearly understand everything. Our beautiful state of mind is known only to us. So, “Only the person who drinks the water knows if it is cold or warm.” We have listened to so much Dharma; have we taken any of it into our minds? Have we mindfully cultivated [our minds]? Have we discovered this beautiful state of mind in our spiritual cultivation?

[Spiritual practice] is like weeding a garden. When we look at one patch of grass after another, they are full of weeds we must clear. Do we know what kind of weeds they are? When we are weeding, we must be able to identify the weeds. Is it nut grass, creeping oxalis, or some other kind of weed? If we want to clear it but do not know its name, that is like trying to eliminate ignorance without knowing its source. Thus, “Farming is a form of meditation. The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha is the Dharma.” This all depends on our minds. “We must recognize the beautiful state of mind within us.” But whether we can or not depends on our minds being focused, not scattered, advancing, not regressing, as we diligently move forward. We must put effort into this.

Thus, we must “nourish our wisdom-life with the Dharma.” Spiritual practice develops our wisdom-life; it revives the wisdom-life in our minds. Otherwise, our wisdom-life is hibernating. For our wisdom-life to grow, we must nourish our minds with the Dharma.

Our minds must always be in a state of tranquility and clarity. We must seize every moment, every second. If we can constantly eliminate our afflictions while remaining tranquil and clear forever, [we can manifest] Buddha-nature.

Everyone, we must advance and not regress. Our minds must be focused and not scattered, so we can recognize our own beautiful state of mind. This is such a wonderful state, so we need the Dharma to nourish our wisdom-life. We must always keep our minds in this pure state forever. Only then can we live up to the Buddha’s one great cause. He established various skillful means, all to help us enter the Buddha’s wisdom.

I established these skillful means to enable all of you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. But I have not yet told you all that all of you will certainly attain Buddhahood. I have not yet said that, because the time to speak has not come.

Yesterday, we discussed how the Buddha “established these skillful means.” He taught with various skillful means and various forms of provisional wisdom. “Provisional” leads to true [wisdom]. To better reveal the True Dharma and to help everyone understand it more easily, He used skillful means. This shows the Buddha’s meticulousness. If He did not want to help sentient beings experience and realize true wisdom, the Buddha would not need to work so hard.

So, He guides us through small side streets solely because He hopes we will eventually reach the main street. From the side streets, we reach the main road, which is the only path that leads to the Buddha’s wisdom. Otherwise, we will get lost among the side streets. They keep splitting off, so we need guidance to go from the side streets to the main road. We cannot stop on the side streets. If we go back that way, we will be lost and will not be able to reach the great path.

I established these skillful means: The Buddha established teachings with provisional wisdom. This is the wisdom that leads to true wisdom through skillful means. The small side street that leads to the great path is the wisdom of practicing skillful means.

The Buddha’s sole intention was to “enable us to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.” He guides us through small side streets in the hope that we will step onto the broad and direct Bodhisattva-path. This shows the Buddha’s meticulousness. He established skillful means to “enable [us] to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.”

Enable you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom: The Buddha must first, according to what is suitable, give Small [Vehicle] teachings. Gradually, through provisional teachings, He guides people onto the great path to enable all to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. All Buddhas have great universal wisdom, which is all-encompassing wisdom, supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment.

Although the Buddha established skillful means, He still hopes sentient beings will enter the Buddha’s wisdom. Thus, “the Buddha must first, according to what is suitable, give Small [Vehicle] teachings.” He gave teachings that suited their capabilities, so that sentient beings could accept them. Suitable teachings are more skillful and simple, so He could guide sentient beings to understanding with these skillful means. Thus, He gave Small [Vehicle] teachings.

“Gradually, through provisional teachings, He guides people onto the great path.” With “provisional” and skillful teachings, He guides everyone to the great path, so they can enter His wisdom. If we do not pass through the small side streets, we cannot reach the main road. Because we ordinary people have limited senses, capabilities and wisdom, the Buddha has to guide us through small streets to help us reach the main road, which is the great universal wisdom of all Buddhas.

The Buddha wants us to do the same. Don’t all of us, including me, have a state of mind filled with many afflictions and discursive thoughts? So, the Buddha uses various methods to help us eliminate discursive thoughts and afflictions. Then from discursive thoughts and afflictions we return to the great wisdom equal to the Buddha’s.

We keep saying that “the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” This “unconditioned Dharma” is very natural; it is intrinsic to all of us. Yet we are affected by “conditioned phenomena.” We allow all kinds of appearances, all kinds of shapes and colors to enter our minds, and then we cling to those appearances. They disrupt our thinking and cause the weeds in our minds to flourish by continuously giving rise to discursive afflictions. So, it is from conditioned phenomena that all afflictions arise.

If we can all return to the great universal wisdom we intrinsically have, we will all be equal. The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings all have this great universal wisdom, which is supreme, perfect, universal enlightenment. If all of us can reach this state, we will have entered the state of unconditioned phenomena. The unconditioned Dharma is intrinsic to us all. It is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness.

Thus in the Lotus sutra, this passage in.

The Chapter on Skillful Means states, “The Tathagata appears in this world for the purpose of teaching the Buddha’s wisdom.”

The Tathagata appears in this world for the one great cause of teaching the Buddha’s wisdom. He wants to tell everyone that the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]; all have great universal wisdom. We often say we must have loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity and view all with equal compassion. We must teach these compassionate practices to sentient beings, so they treat all equally. There is no such thing as “a giver.” There is no such thing as “a receiver.” There is also no such thing as “a gift given.”

Indeed, all things in the world exist to be collectively used by all sentient beings. How do people lay claim to particular things? Because of their causes and conditions. Some of us lack these kinds of karmic conditions, while others have them in abundance. So, the Buddha came to teach us that those who have good karmic conditions must quickly fill the needs of those who lack them. Since we are taking things from the world, we must use them to meet the needs of others. This is conditioned phenomena.

However, we must manifest unconditioned Dharma. We inherently have this universal compassion. With great universal wisdom, we can lead sentient beings. We hope that they are replete with these karmic conditions and have an abundance of compassion and wisdom. This is intrinsic to all of us.

The Buddha gave many teachings in the past; there are countless scriptures. When He said, “I have not yet told you all, you all” referred to the initiators and adopters. We have mentioned four kinds of practitioners, initiators, adopters, [influencers] and associators. At a Dharma-assembly, whether they were associators or adopters, the Buddha spoke to them all. This was why the Buddha said, “you all.” Sakyamuni Buddha said at the assembly, “I have not yet told you all.” He had not yet told them. What hadn’t He told everyone? Why hadn’t He said it? Because “the time had not arrived”; “people’s capabilities had not matured.”

I have not yet told you all: The time had not arrived; people’s capabilities had not matured. He waited for the right conditions and was about to proclaim the Dharma He had not taught before.

Why couldn’t the Buddha simply tell everyone, “You can all attain Buddhahood. You can all be my equals. Everyone can be a Buddha.” He did not say this, because even if He did, they would not understand. So, “the time had not arrived”; “people’s capabilities had not matured.” If He said it then, no one would understand. So, the Buddha did not speak of it then. Thus, the Buddha kept waiting for His opportunity. For a very long time, He did not say this because He was waiting for the right time, the right karmic conditions.

“I have not told all of you this in the past.” He had not yet told “all of you.” What hadn’t he told “all of you”? The Buddha had not begun to speak, but He was getting ready to because the timing was right and the karmic conditions had matured. The Buddha had already entered old age, and it was about time for Him to enter Parinirvana. So, the timing was about right, and people’s capabilities were also almost mature. When everything was about to come together, the Buddha “was about to proclaim” [this teaching]. He was about to make a proclamation to the assembly. What was He going to proclaim? “The Dharma He had not taught before.” He had not taught this in the past.

What exactly was He going to tell them? “All of you will attain Buddhahood.” This was such great news. The Buddha was saying, “You can also attain Buddhahood. You are not just listening to the Dharma; [this Dharma] already exists within your hearts. This wondrous Dharma of universal wisdom is intrinsic to all of you. So, you can attain Buddhahood.”

All of you will attain Buddhahood: There is no other way to attain Buddhahood; it is only possible through the One Vehicle Dharma. The varying capabilities and karmic conditions of every person are different, but only one teaching leads to Buddhahood.

There is no other way to attain Buddhahood. There is not a second road, nor a second door. There is only one broad, direct path. The only way to achieve our mission is “through the One Vehicle Dharma.” The ultimate reality of the One Vehicle is the wondrous Dharma of True Suchness. “The varying capabilities and karmic conditions of every person are different.” Since sentient beings have different capabilities and karmic conditions, even when they listen to the same Dharma, each of them will understand it differently. So, “The varying capabilities and karmic conditions of every person are different, but only one teaching leads to Buddhahood.” No matter what our capabilities are, and what the karmic conditions are, there is only one True Dharma of the One Vehicle.

“So, I have not said that.” For 40-plus years, the Buddha kept this wondrous Dharma in His mind. The timing and capabilities were not mature, so the time to speak had not arrived. “So, I have not said that.”

This was because even if He did say it, [people] could not understand. It would be as if He had not spoken at all. So, the Buddha was compassionate. He always kept people company and guided them with various methods in the hope that they could, by penetrating the world’s conditioned phenomena, come to realize the unconditioned Dharma, the universal and true wondrous Dharma that is intrinsic to everyone.

So, dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners, the only thing to do is to diligently advance. We should not let such a beautiful state of mind slip away; otherwise, we will be lost among the side streets. Those small street are complicated; if we take a wrong turn and have to find our way back, that will delay us. Thus, we must “advance and keep going forward” on this broad path in order to experience our beautiful state of mind. So, everyone must always be mindful.

Episode 339 – Provisional Teachings Guide People to Truth

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>> The Buddha’s heart is filled with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. To speak of conditioned phenomena, He uses analogies. To give profound and wondrous teachings, He uses provisional wisdom. He teaches and guides people onto the path to Buddhahood.

>> “I established these skillful means to enable all of you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. But I have not yet told you that all of you will attain Buddhahood.”

>> I established these skillful means: The Buddha established teachings with provisional wisdom. This is the wisdom that leads to true wisdom through skillful means. The small side street that leads to the great path is the wisdom of practicing skillful means.

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The Buddha’s heart is filled with
loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
To speak of conditioned phenomena, He uses analogies.
To give profound and wondrous teachings, He uses provisional wisdom.
He teaches and guides people
onto the path to Buddhahood.

The Buddha’s heart is filled with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. He comes to the world to give teachings; in accord with the world’s conditioned phenomena, He uses various skillful means to make analogies. Otherwise, with our dull capabilities, understanding the Buddha’s state of mind and the true principles of the universe would not be easy. We must have the Buddha’s compassionate intent and exercise loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity to see all sentient beings as we see ourselves, or as we see our own children or our own family. This will lead to a sense of closeness.

Since He can comprehend the true principles of all things in the universe, and can realize that the true principles of all things come from our nature, that the intrinsic Buddha-nature we all have gives rise to the true principles of all things, He can bring those true principles back together in people’s minds. Thus, “to speak of conditioned phenomena” is to use all phenomena of the world, conditioned, tangible or contrived, as analogies for our non-arising and non-ceasing pure intrinsic Buddha-nature. This helps us return to it. So, in order to “speak of conditioned phenomena, He uses analogies.” He uses worldly phenomena as analogies for intangible and unconditioned Dharma.

The Buddha gives “profound and wondrous teachings” by using “provisional wisdom.” His words are so very profound and wondrous. But teaching us about our intrinsic pure nature of True Suchness so we can understand it is very difficult. This is what the Buddha wants to teach us. “To give profound and wondrous teachings,” to teach us such true, profound, subtle and wondrous principles, He has to use provisional wisdom,

because ordinary people really cannot understand. There is no way they can understand the Buddha’s wondrous Dharma right away. So, He has to exercise provisional wisdom to “teach and guide people onto the path to Buddhahood.” Thus He patiently guides us, mindfully teaches us and gradually leads us onto the path to Buddhahood, to walk this broad and direct path to awakening. This is how the Buddha mindfully, lovingly, compassionately and patiently [teaches us]. He is the great teacher over these vast kalpas, so He must return again and again to continuously guide us.

When some people stray from the path, He has to make the effort to find them. He is just like a cowherd. He finds lost cows and reunites them with their herd, as they head toward pastures filled with grass and water, places with plenty of food. This is the responsibility of the cowherd. The Buddha takes on this kind of responsibility. Because the Buddha cannot bear to abandon sentient beings, as long as He has a chance to awaken them, He is willing to go, even to the animal realm. This is the Buddha’s compassion. He continuously transmigrates within the Six Destinies based on the power of His vows. Because of His compassion, He comes to the Three Realms to guide sentient beings.

Even by simply encountering a blade of grass or a tree, He can attain realizations, which He then uses to inspire others. People can be inspired by grasses and trees to attain realizations. This also teaches us that all conditioned phenomena in the world are encompassed by the Buddha’s wisdom and heart. Indeed, if we are mindful, we can constantly receive teachings.

To enter the Buddha-path, we need teachings; we must properly take in and practice these teachings. Thus we enter the Buddha-path. So the Buddha, at all times, is expounding profound and wondrous Dharma. In this world, amidst the conditioned phenomena, He uses provisional and wondrous wisdom to manifest all kinds of appearances. This helps our causes and conditions ripen, so we can awaken. This is the Dharma. All analogies are wondrous Dharma. He hopes everyone can truly attain realizations.

Thus, the earlier sutra passage said that sentient beings cling to cyclic existence and cannot realize the impermanence of life in the Six Destinies. We ordinary people do not recognize the depths of suffering in this world. We complain about it, but we do not seek to discover its source. We only complain about it; we only know to be resentful and greedy, to take things for ourselves. When we do not get what we want, we become angry, make poisonous vows, have poisonous thoughts and commit poisonous actions. This is what we ordinary people do. We do not realize that our suffering in the Three Evil Destinies comes from [the karma we created] in the human realm.

After we accept the Buddha-Dharma, we may try to awaken only ourselves. We do not understand that the afflictions reproduced by sentient beings and this defiled world we live in make it hard for us to awaken ourselves alone. We do not know this, so there is no way we can understand the concept of the Buddha’s “conjured city.” These limited, provisional teachings allow us to rest our minds. This allows our minds to fully recover from the fatigue of samsara. We can purify our minds and avoid developing entanglements. This is Small Vehicle Dharma.

But actually, the Buddha said that once we are freed from entanglements, we must begin to move forward. We are only at a conjured city [on a long road], so we must keep moving forward to walk the Bodhisattva-path of widely transforming sentient beings. This is the broad Bodhi-path. This is the path that truly and thoroughly eliminates the afflictions of samsara.

In this earlier passage, the Buddha showed His concern and care for all. Therefore, He pointed out how sentient beings are still clinging to samsara. People have formed karmic connections with countless Buddhas. As I mentioned before, they were associators or influencers, adopters and so on. Though they could now listen to the Dharma and encounter the Buddha in this lifetime, they still have “dull capabilities” and “delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.” In the presence of countless Buddhas, they have remained associators who only listen casually without being mindful.

So, we must be adopters. If we feel that the Buddha is [directly] teaching us and thus mindfully accept His teachings, we will find them applicable. To apply them, we must put them into practice. To put them into practice, we must not simply stop there and “refuse to walk the profound and wondrous path.” We must put [the Dharma] into practice.

We sentient beings must first realize that the world is full of suffering. So, the sequence of the Buddha’s teachings starts with “suffering.” After understanding suffering, we can prevent it from troubling us again. We will know the causes of suffering. The countless minds of sentient beings have countless, incalculable afflictions. When accumulated, those afflictions will truly trouble the people in this world.

So, the Buddha used all kinds of methods to first help us eliminate greed, anger and ignorance from our minds, to eliminate desires. He first led us to leave our family and loved ones and cut off entanglements, so our minds can be pure. By transcending cyclic existence, we leave behind the turbulent river of samsara. Not only must we eliminate our own afflictions of samsara, but also the afflictions of our family and the entanglements of many kinds of relationships. These are all part of our cyclic existence, so we talk about “the turbulent river of samsara.”

I talked about this yesterday. The afflictions in our own lives are already very troubling. We already have many of our own afflictions; on top of that, we worry about the afflictions of aunts, uncles, children and spouses, all our loved ones. We are all in “the turbulent river of samsara.” And when countless beings come together, we create social unrest and disturbances, in addition to natural disasters. Think about it, won’t this bring suffering?

With all this suffering, we must do more than leave our loved ones to eliminate our emotional entanglements and purify our minds; that is not enough. We cannot ignore the suffering of others. Is leaving our families and loved ones so that we do not need to worry about our kin all we need to do? The Buddha said, “No.” We must continue to move forward by caring for people who are unrelated to us. These sentient beings have actually formed karmic connections with us in our past lifetimes. Thus, the Buddha told many stories about causes and conditions.

In the Sutra of Profound Gratitude toward Parents, the Buddha paid His respect to a big pile of bones. Ananda asked Him why. “Why are You prostrating to this pile of bones?” The Buddha answered, “These bones in this big pile belonged to my parents from many past lifetimes; they were once my loved ones.”

Consider the Buddha’s state of mind. He sees all sentient beings in the world, whether in the past or future, even countless lifetimes ago, [as His family]. So, the Buddha sees all sentient beings as. His loved ones. Leaving our loved ones in this lifetime does not mean we will have nothing to do with others; we have this kind of [affinities] from past lives. Moreover, we do not know how much time we still need to transform sentient beings. So, we must aspire to return to the Saha World. We still have to form many connections; we cannot stop here.

Previously, I have told this story. [A bhiksu asked a woman,] “Why are you crying?” [She said,] “[Terrible things] happened to my children and husband.” He said, “This is how life is; why cry about it?” Then he walked on. Later, another [bhiksu] saw her and asked, “Ma’am, why are you crying so miserably?” [She said,] “My husband, my child suddenly….” [He replied,]. “This is very sad; you are truly suffering. You grieve for them, you ache for them and you suffer for them, but ultimately, they will never come back. You have to take care of yourself. Here, take this handkerchief and wipe your tears away. Let it go; life is inherently full of suffering. This is what [the Dharma] tells us.” The woman’s heart opened up and she understood. She let go of her afflictions and began engaging in spiritual practice.

Then during the Buddha’s lifetime, there was an old woman who felt an aversion toward the Buddha and avoided Him whenever she saw Him. However, when she saw Ananda, she felt happy and would always follow him. The Buddha said, “In her past life, the first bhiksu who walked by was I. I was followed by the bhiksu who comforted her. He took out a handkerchief for her to wipe her tears away. His teachings led her onto the Buddha-path. This old woman has a karmic connection with the Buddha-Dharma, but not with me. She has a connection with Ananda and follows him to listen to the Dharma and to practice.”

Thus, we cannot only benefit ourselves. We have to return in future lifetimes to transform sentient beings. We hope sentient beings will be happy and follow us when they see us. So, we must form good connections for the future. “Before attaining Buddhahood, we must first form good connections with others.” Thus, the Buddha worked hard in this world. In the next sutra passage, the Buddha said,

“I established these skillful means to enable all of you to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. But I have not yet told you that all of you will attain Buddhahood.”

In this sutra passage, the Buddha said, “I established all kinds of skillful means.” In order to guide everyone to a pure and undefiled state, He had to establish and teach skillful means. How did the Buddha establish skillful means? With teachings of provisional wisdom.

I established these skillful means: The Buddha established teachings with provisional wisdom. This is the wisdom that leads to true wisdom through skillful means. The small side street that leads to the great path is the wisdom of practicing skillful means.

I have previously explained that “provisional” teachings, or skillful means, are wondrous. There are very subtle and wondrous truths in them, passed on as part of a continuous lineage, that do not deviate from profound, wondrous Dharma. So, this comes from “provisional wisdom,” which is the use of simple principles to teach.

This is unconditioned Dharma; something that has always existed. It is an intrinsic part of us; no one else created the Buddha-nature and. True Suchness within us. Similarly, no one can destroy our pure intrinsic nature of True Suchness. It is unconditioned Dharma, which is intrinsic, fundamental truth. This is wisdom that leads to true wisdom. True wisdom is True Dharma of the One Vehicle. And “provisional [wisdom]”? Provisional wisdom is skillful means that utilize various analogies.

This green thing [in front of you] was cut from a tree. But a tree is not just made up of this green thing. A tree comes from a seed. That is a blade of grass, and grass comes from grass seeds. This entire bunch of grass came from that seed. This is part of a tree, a cutting from a Juniper tree. That is all. Thus, all kinds of appearances are created through various phenomena. Each phenomenon arose from a different cause. These are like provisional skillful means, which are taught according to capabilities. So, this is provisional wisdom.

True wisdom helps us to thoroughly understand the original source of these appearances and forms. So, the “provisional” is such in relation to the “true.” The True Dharma is incomprehensible to us, so He uses analogies and skillful means to help us understand. If we can understand [skillful means], we will realize the wisdom behind them.

So, “a small side street leads to the great path.” This small winding road will lead us and bring us to this place. If we keep walking, we will reach a broad path. So, “a small side street leads to the great path.” Though skillful means are limited teachings, they connect directly to the wider road. This is why the Buddha utilizes skillful means and exercises skillful wisdom. This is how He gives teachings. Thus, we must be mindful, so we can “comprehend the great path.”

In order to “comprehend the great path,” we must “bring forth the unsurpassed Bodhi-mind,” not just focus on our own understanding. “I know. I know that cyclic existence in the Six Destinies is suffering, so I just want to benefit myself and not seek karmic connections with anyone. Not only will I leave my loved ones behind, I will not seek karmic connections with anyone.” If someone asks you, “Where should I put this thing? I don’t want to force connections with you. Figure it out yourself.” Would that be your answer?

We come into contact with people every day and are constantly forming karmic connections. If you tell him [where to put it,] he will say, “Thank you.” This creates a good karmic connection. If you tell him, “Figure it out yourself. I don’t want any connection,” then when he sees you again, he will ignore you. This is like what happened with the Buddha and. Ananda and that woman.

In conclusion, if we want “to comprehend the great path,” we must “form the supreme aspiration.” Limited teachings can lead to great Dharma if we keep moving forward. Thus, we must always be mindful.

Episode 338 – May Sentient Beings Walk the Wondrous Path

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>> May all sentient beings understand the Tathagata-path, enter a sea of wisdom, dwell in the Tathagata-home, carry out Tathagata-actions and don Tathagata-clothing.

>> Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma and greedily cling to cyclic existence. Despite encountering countless Buddhas, they have not walked the profound, wondrous path. They are troubled by myriads of afflictions, so for them I speak of Nirvana.

>> [They] have not walked the profound, wondrous path: Sentient beings who wander far from Buddhas cannot come in contact with the profound and wondrous Dharma of the Lotus Sutra. So, they have not walked the profound, wondrous path.

>> [They are] troubled by myriads of afflictions: All suffering in this world arises from greed, anger and ignorance, when things do not go as people wish. Their desires are hard to fully satisfy, so they always suffer from not getting what they want. Thus, they trouble themselves and others without feeling remorse.

>> Life is impermanent, but we are not aware of that. So, we cling to thousand-year dreams and illusions and never awaken. In this era, people’s lives are filled with vicious games. Sexual desires destroy our morality, our models of ethics and virtue. Without sense or reason, there is no shame or remorse.

>> For them, I speak of Nirvana: Nirvana means perfect rest or crossing into extinction, extinguishing the cause and effect of samsara and crossing the violent rapids of samsara. Tranquility and cessation: the perfect stillness of the mind that comes from eliminating afflictions.

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May all sentient beings
understand the Tathagata-path,
enter a sea of wisdom,
dwell in the Tathagata-home,
carry out Tathagata-actions
and don Tathagata-clothing.

As Buddhist practitioners, from the moment we form our initial aspirations and [take refuge] in the Three Treasures, we must always be mindful of the Three Treasures. We are all disciples of the Buddha. From the moment we take refuge, we recite the Three Refuges as part of every morning and evening recitation. We constantly remind ourselves, “I take refuge with the Buddha. May all living beings comprehend the great path and form the supreme aspiration.”

Everyone, have we ourselves understood the great path? When we understand the great path, our minds can remain calm and collected. After we understand the great path, have we [wished the same for sentient beings]? We ourselves have understood the great path, but what about sentient beings? Other people? Do they understand the Buddha’s principles?

In life, there is much suffering, but it is not caused by lack of material wealth. Nowadays, there is a lot of trade and manufacturing, so finding a job is not difficult. Then where is the suffering coming from? People do not lack tangible material goods, but they greatly lack intangible wisdom. People nowadays only have worldly intelligence; they lack the wisdom to completely understand the truth. So, we must form aspirations. “May all living beings” completely understand the truth. As we recite the Three Refuges, this is our first vow and aspiration. This becomes our [mission]. Therefore, we must put the three vows of the Three Refuges into practice.

“I take refuge with the Dharma. May all living beings have wisdom like the ocean.” We must awaken our wisdom, then [vow,]. “May all living beings lead the people harmoniously without obstructions.” This means we must transform sentient beings. Aside from developing the wisdom to understand principles ourselves, we must also aspire to spread the Buddha-Dharma throughout the world, so everyone can enter this great, direct Bodhi-path and recognize its beauty and principles. We should also wholeheartedly enter the Sutra-treasury and return to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness.

This is what all of us must strive to do. We must cultivate ourselves to awaken others. If we do not work hard, how can we use this Dharma to awaken others? So, we must vow, “May all living beings understand the Tathagata-path.” With this mindset, we can vow to help all sentient beings understand the Tathagata’s principles. If we can understand the principles, naturally we will “enter the ocean of wisdom.”

Wisdom is likened to an ocean to signify vastness. If we can develop wisdom, our minds see and recognize our consciousness, like an ocean of wisdom. Only when this happens can we truly approach the state of the Buddha. Thus, if we can “enter an ocean of wisdom,” we will “dwell in the Tathagata-home.”

The Tathagata’s family is a group environment, not a solitary one. The Buddha is the kind father of sentient beings in the Three Realms, so it is clear that our family, the Tathagata-home, is very large. Thus, if we can “enter an ocean of wisdom,” we can “dwell in the Tathagata-home,” which is a very harmonious state.

[Then we] “carry out Tathagata-actions.” The rule of this family is to view the world as part of our family and everyone as our loved one. For all of us, wisdom-life is reinvigorated by the same Dharma-essence. Then we can “don Tathagata-clothing.” The clothing we all wear is Tathagata-clothing. Consider our Tzu Chi organization. When people see Tzu Chi volunteers in an orderly formation, they immediately know that we are. Tzu Chi volunteers. They know we are probably going somewhere to do something that benefits all people. This is already a fixed image in people’s minds.

Each of us must take personal responsibility for all sentient beings. So, we must sustain our initial aspiration. We want to purify our own minds as well as the minds of all sentient beings. We also aspire and vow to widely spread the Buddha’s teachings.

“I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” Our first vow is to deliver sentient beings. In order to do so, we “vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” We must eliminate endless afflictions. If we cannot eliminate our own afflictions, how can we transform sentient beings? “I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors.” We must learn how to eliminate afflictions. The Buddha-Dharma is as expansive as the sea. Sentient beings’ capabilities are infinitely varied, so we must learn many. Dharma-doors and methods to accommodate myriad living beings. This is our vow.

“I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” This road is long and unsurpassed; no principle can transcend the Dharma. So we should realize that we must know and attain the truth and completely understand the state of Buddhahood to return to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. This is the vow we all share.

So, the Buddha comes to this world for one great cause, to transform sentient beings and to share the Buddha-Dharma with all of them so they can understand that all suffering originates from mental afflictions. Thus, to eliminate sentient beings’ afflictions, He has to teach infinite Dharma. But some sentient beings have limited capabilities. “Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.” As I mentioned before, “those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.” Therefore, we must be patient.

The Buddha will not abandon any sentient being.

Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma and greedily cling to cyclic existence. Despite encountering countless Buddhas, they have not walked the profound, wondrous path. They are troubled by myriads of afflictions, so for them I speak of Nirvana.

Of those in this world who have yet to awaken, other than “those with dull capabilities [who] delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma,” there are many others who greedily cling to cyclic existence. They will not promptly sever their link to the world or promptly accept the pure Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha still has compassion for those who greedily cling to cyclic existence

“despite encountering countless Buddhas.” These people have likely heard the Dharma from countless Buddhas. However, their minds were dull, and they still clung to greed, so they had not fully eliminated their greed and afflictions. These people, [in previous lives], must have engaged in spiritual practice with and joined the Sangha of countless past Buddhas. But they “had not walked the profound and wondrous path.” They were never diligent or mindful. Because they nurtured such habitual tendencies, they still acted the same way in the Sangha. Thus in this world, they were “troubled by myriads of afflictions.” Sakyamuni Buddha still did not abandon these people. “For them, I speak of Nirvana.”

We have spoken generally of this before. Next, let us understand how [they have] “not walked the profound, wondrous path.”

[They] have not walked the profound, wondrous path: Sentient beings who wander far from Buddhas cannot come in contact with the profound and wondrous Dharma of the Lotus Sutra. So, they have not walked the profound, wondrous path.

These people, despite encountering countless Buddhas, have not yet “walked the profound, wondrous path.” They all wandered far away from the Buddha. Though they seemed to be engaging in spiritual practice, their minds strayed very far from the Buddha’s. They could not comprehend the Buddha’s understanding and views.

Haven’t we spent a lot of time discussing the Buddha’s understanding and views? Since they strayed so far from the Buddha, how could these people understand. His understanding and views? What is the Buddha’s understanding? These confused people with “dull capabilities who delighted in Small [Vehicle] Dharma” greedily clung to cyclic existence, and their minds were filled with afflictions. So, how could they comprehend the Buddha’s broad and open mind which is vast as the sea, vast as the universe? How could they understand it? People like these are “sentient beings [who] wandered far away from Buddhas.” They have strayed very far away from Him,

so they could “not come in contact with the profound, wondrous Dharma of the Lotus Sutra.” They stopped and clung to the state of the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, and they did not care about the Lotus Sutra. They did not attain any benefits from this Dharma. They “have not yet been able to enter the wondrous path.” Those who have yet to enter it have stopped at the Small [Vehicle] Dharma. They have not yet penetrated the wondrous Dharma of the great path, have not entered it. These people are those who “have not walked the profound and wondrous path.”

“They are troubled by myriads of afflictions.” All suffering is created by the mind. Thus, sentient beings’ thoughts give rise to countless afflictions, which will trouble them and disturb their minds. This is because afflictions are replicated as people interact with each other. This results in confusion in people’s minds. When they become afflicted, their minds cannot remain still.

Isn’t this what the world is like right now? We do not understand principles at all, and morality is fading away from the world. We constantly discuss [the era of] Dharma-decay. Dharma-decay is when morality has almost disappeared and the principles for [being a good person] have faded. This is why society has become disorderly. There is a lot of chaos, not just from the imbalance of the four elements, but more importantly, from the imbalance in our minds. This makes us “troubled by myriads of afflictions.”

[They are] troubled by myriads of afflictions: All suffering in this world arises from greed, anger and ignorance, when things do not go as people wish. Their desires are hard to fully satisfy, so they always suffer from not getting what they want. Thus, they trouble themselves and others without feeling remorse.

“All suffering in this world” arises from greed, anger and ignorance when things do not go as people wish. If we have ten wishes, nine of them will not turn out the way we hope, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction arises from greed, anger and ignorance. If we do not seek anything, then we will never feel dissatisfied. It is only when we have desires and cannot satisfy them that we feel dissatisfied.

Desires are hard to completely satisfy. They are like a bottomless pit; no matter how many good things we put into it, it is still not enough. So, it is often said, “Out of ten, we lack nine.” Our desires will never be satisfied, so we “always suffer from not getting what [we] want.” We constantly pursue things, but we suffer from never getting what we want.

In life, there are many things we regret. Even if we are truly content and have few desires, we will still feel somewhat dissatisfied because we go through aging, illness and death. Is there anything in our lives that can bring us everlasting contentment? Can we be healthy forever? Regrettably, that is difficult. Can we live forever without growing old? That is also very difficult. Can we live till old age and not die [from an accident]? That is also very difficult.

This is the way life is. We are constantly seeking and constantly not getting what we want, so we are always suffering. Thus, we “trouble [ourselves] and others without feeling remorse.” We do not realize how impermanent the world is, so we dream up long-term plans. Then when we do not get what we want we create trouble for others. This is very common.

Life is impermanent, but we are not aware of that. So, we cling to thousand-year dreams and illusions and never awaken. In this era, people’s lives are filled with vicious games. Sexual desires destroy our morality, our models of ethics and virtue. Without sense or reason, there is no shame or remorse.

Life is impermanent, but we are unaware of that. So, “we cling to thousand-year dreams.” We do not awaken from these dreams. For example, in the current era, we are living in vicious and immoral times. Everyone seems to be playing a game. Some people’s actions are so cruel and ruthless it feels like they must be acting out a play. The way people live now is really worrisome. When awakened people examine this world, they see vicious games being played. “Sexual desires destroy our morality.” There is no longer a sense of morality in these modern times.

So, the Buddha used the Small Vehicle Dharma “to speak of Nirvana.” He wanted us all to know that we must eliminate our afflictions. The Six Realms are full of suffering, so He extensively taught the path, hoping everyone could be aware of their minds.

For them, I speak of Nirvana: Nirvana means perfect rest or crossing into extinction, extinguishing the cause and effect of samsara and crossing the violent rapids of samsara. Tranquility and cessation: the perfect stillness of the mind that comes from eliminating afflictions.

Nirvana means perfect rest, or crossing into extinction, which is extinguishing samsara’s cause and effect. We must not create karmic causes with others, nor create further resentment, so we will not be entangled in the Six Realms with no way of severing [those ties]. So, we must “cross the violent rapids of samsara.” We must learn that we need to form good affinities with others and lead them to the Buddha’s broad path. “I am familiar with this road, so I will guide you. When we reach the destination, I will turn around to guide others who are lost and lead them to the destination as well.” This is the path of Bodhisattvas. They do not greedily cling to cyclic existence. They come back repeatedly. They have eliminated the causes of samsara, but vow to return on the ship of compassion to transform sentient beings. They are in a state of tranquility and cessation, having eliminated the causes of samsara and having crossed the violent rapids of samsara. Thus, they are peaceful and at ease.

Tranquility and cessation are the perfect stillness of the mind that comes from eliminating afflictions. This is Nirvana. To manifest Nirvana, we must eliminate all afflictions and also form great aspirations. We must clearly understand the law of karma to cross the violent rapids of samsara, which are afflictions. The world is full of afflictions; they are like the violent rapids of a river. So, if we can safely cross them, we can be in a state of perfect stillness. “The perfect stillness of the mind comes from eliminating afflictions.” Then we can be at peace.

When we reach [the other shore], we must return to bring more sentient beings across. Then we can return again to bring even more sentient beings across. We do this in tranquility and cessation. Our minds can forever be pure once we eliminate our worldly afflictions by clearly understanding the law of karma. So, we focus on transforming sentient beings, creating good affinities with them and not becoming entangled in worldly defilements. The is the mindset of a spiritual practitioner. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 337 – Let Go of Desires

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>> “In a life of suffering, we are greedy and stingy and do not accept the Buddha’s teaching of the Bodhisattva-path; instead we practice the Small [Vehicle] Dharma for liberation. Thus we distance ourselves from the Great [Vehicle] Dharma.”

>> I also speak of causes and conditions, analogies along with geyas, and the upadesa texts. Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma and greedily cling to cyclic existence.

>> Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma and greedily cling to cyclic existence. Despite encountering countless Buddhas, they have not walked the profound, wondrous path. They are troubled by myriads of afflictions, so for them I speak of Nirvana.

>> Greedily cling to cyclic existence: Greed is having insatiable desires. With a strong sense of greed, we cannot free ourselves from cravings for wealth. Clinging gives rise to ignorance, which creates Leaks that trap us in cyclic existence with endless afflictions.

>> Because of their singular focus on seeking liberation from cyclic existence, they cannot understand the Buddha’s extremely profound and wondrous Dharma, nor can they begin to practice the great Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha first taught the Nirvana of the Small Vehicle.

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“In a life of suffering, we are greedy
and stingy and do not accept the Buddha’s teaching of the Bodhisattva-path;
instead we practice the Small [Vehicle] Dharma for liberation.
Thus we distance ourselves from the Great [Vehicle] Dharma.”

Suffering accumulates in our lives; this is so painful. But we may feel, “There is no suffering; every day is the same.” This reflects our state of confusion. If we do not feel we have suffered in life, we must promptly be grateful. But then we must contemplate this more deeply. Though we do not feel we have suffered, consider that we still go through birth, aging, illness and death. We also suffer being apart from loved ones, being together with those we hate and being separated in life and by death. These are the sufferings in life. Moreover, life is impermanent and no one can predict the changes in their own lives. Isn’t this suffering?

The Buddha knows we live in a state of confusion, so He comes to this world to help us recognize and make us aware of suffering. We must also recognize collective karma, which causes suffering in the world through the imbalance of the four elements. Furthermore, He tells us that manmade calamities come from imbalances in people’s minds. By accumulating the causes of suffering, we are subject to collective karma. Then He explained to us the many paths that will lead us back to our intrinsic nature.

If we can all listen to and take in His teachings, we can diligently walk the road to which He led us and we can follow the principles of this path. By doing so, the sutras, the principles of all things in the world, will be clear to us. Then naturally, we will return to our pure intrinsic nature.

Unfortunately, we continue to accumulate the causes of suffering and are still immersed in greed, stinginess and attachment. We are even unwilling to use the Buddha’s teachings to open our hearts so we can step onto the great, direct path. Rather, we still rely on what other people say; we take in and cling to their words.

This is like a story from the Buddha’s lifetime when He was at the abode in the Jetavana Grove. One morning before dawn, a heavenly lord who had already taken refuge with the Buddha wanted to come and pay respect to Him. However, when he arrived, it was still dark and the Buddha was sitting in meditation. The heavenly lord thought that this was not the time to disturb Him, so he waited outside the dormitory. It just so happened that he stood close to a bhiksu named Kokalika. Kokalika was someone who had been listening to. Devadatta’s slander of. Sariputra, Maudgalyayana and others.

Kokalika took in everything he heard, and then he spread negative things about Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. He slandered them with his harsh speech. When this heavenly lord heard him, he knocked on his door and said, “Kokalika, do not slander Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. You should have pure faith when it comes to. Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. Maudgalyayana and Sariputra are very pure and gentle, and are already engaging in purifying practices. You should not slander them nor accept incorrect information and use it to slander these pure spiritual practitioners.”

Kokalika asked the heavenly lord, “What about you? Have you taken refuge with the Buddha? Yes,” said the heavenly lord, “Yes, I have already taken refuge with the Buddha. Did the Buddha tell you that you have already attained the fruit of Anagamin. Yes, the Buddha said. I have already attained the fruit of Anagamin. Since you have attained Anagamin, you should practice ‘never returning,'” implying that he should not bother himself with worldly matters. “Why do you, a heavenly lord, care about our Sangha’s affairs?” When the heavenly lord heard this, he realized he could not reason with this person, so he did not continue debating with him.

After leaving Kokalika’s dormitory, he came before the Buddha and paid his respects. Then he told the Buddha about his conversation with Kokalika at the dormitory. After hearing the story, the Buddha praised him. “Heavenly lord, you are right. People like this, no matter what you say to them, will remain attached to deviant teachings. Devadatta instilled incorrect principles in him, so he clings to them. Therefore, no matter what you say to him you will not be able to change his mindset.”

During the Buddha’s lifetime, there was such a heavenly Dharma-protector but even among the bhiksus were some who were stingy, greedy and had attachments. What were they greedy and stingy about? They focused on the suffering of samsara, so they quickly sought only to awaken themselves. Because that was all they wanted, they only tried to maintain pure minds and actions. However, they also accepted mistaken perspectives, so they slandered honored monastics in the Sangha. In this way, Small Vehicle practitioners did not thoroughly understand principles, so they went astray. It is good that they watched out for themselves, but they also accepted other people’s mistaken perspectives, so they began to slander others.

Therefore, we must be very careful. As part of a group of spiritual practitioners, do we also have this kind of mindset? We may only seek our own awakening so we can take care of ourselves alone. If we not only take care of ourselves alone, but also slander others, that would make us Small Vehicle practitioners. Then we have not really accepted the Buddha’s teachings to practice the Bodhisattva-path.

Although the Buddha taught according to sentient beings’ capabilities by using various causes and conditions to expound Small Vehicle Dharma, everything He said led people onto the Bodhisattva-path. This was the Buddha’s goal. However, some people may stop halfway and may easily deviate onto the wrong path. So, if we only practice Small Vehicle Dharma and only think about our own liberation, our narrow minds cannot tolerate others. Then how can we attain liberation? That will lead us farther and farther away from the Buddha’s great Dharma. We may even act against [true] principles. Then we are people of limited capabilities who delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.

I also speak of causes and conditions, analogies along with geyas, and the upadesa texts. Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma and greedily cling to cyclic existence.

As we discussed yesterday, the Buddha used various analogies, geyas and upadesa texts to enhance our memory through repetition. No matter how many teachings we have heard and how many sutras we have read, we should [study them] again through geyas. “Geyas” are repeated verses. We recite the sutra again as short verses to help us commit the teachings to our minds.

After listening to the Dharma, we must commit it to memory. Then later we can recite a section so we can discuss it and share our realizations. Through our mutual discussion, we study the text to understand its implications. Sutras are very profound. We must carefully study them because each sentence contains great principles. Additionally, “the upadesa texts” are discussions of the meaning. Through discussion, we can understand the principles and meanings.

But [some] “delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.” Within the Sangha were those with dull capabilities who could not comprehend the great Dharma. They still maintained and were attached to their own states of mind, or they simply repeated what others said and clung to the negative things they heard. These people had “dull capabilities” and “delighted in Small [Vehicle] Dharma, greedily clinging to cyclic existence.” Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.

Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma and greedily cling to cyclic existence. Despite encountering countless Buddhas, they have not walked the profound, wondrous path. They are troubled by myriads of afflictions, so for them I speak of Nirvana.

Then this passage goes on to state, “Those with dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma, and greedily cling to cyclic existence.” They knew that cyclic existence is suffering, so they sought liberation. Then they remained in that mindset, so they remained narrow-minded. Take Bhiksu Kokalika for example. Think about it, can this kind of person really become liberated from birth and death? Because he went astray, he was already on a deviant path.

Thus, “despite encountering countless Buddhas” [over countless lifetimes of spiritual practice,] he had “not walked the profound, wondrous path.” He and people like him who could encounter the Buddha, become monastics and engage in spiritual practice in the Sangha, could do so because of their karmic conditions. His causes and conditions might have originated in time spent with countless Buddhas. Thus, he aspired to engage in spiritual practice. However, due to his dull capabilities, he only delighted in Small [Vehicle] Dharma. He did not “walk the profound, wondrous path,” so he has not truly accepted the Buddha-Dharma. People like him went against the principles of the Buddha and did not diligently practice the great Dharma. Thus they did not penetrate this wondrous path and “were troubled by myriads of afflictions.” So, they were still immersed in the suffering of cyclic existence in the Six Realms. Furthermore, they became troubled by the many afflictions on this deviant path.

The Buddha saw there were still people like this in the Sangha. He knew about them but did not reject them. Instead, He included them. Even though their capabilities [were limited], He still gave them teachings about Nirvana. “So for them I speak of Nirvana.” He taught them ways to eliminate birth and death, but He first used the Small [Vehicle] Dharma to calm their distracted minds because these people could not [yet accept] the great Nirvana. This means that. He first gave them Small [Vehicle] Dharma to help control their discursive thoughts. [Skillful means] could help them get through this stage, until their capabilities matured. All sentient beings have this problem; we “greedily cling to cyclic existence.”

Let us understand what this phrase means. It means that “we have insatiable desires.” This is greed.

Greedily cling to cyclic existence: Greed is having insatiable desires. With a strong sense of greed, we cannot free ourselves from cravings for wealth. Clinging gives rise to ignorance, which creates Leaks that trap us in cyclic existence with endless afflictions.

We just discussed the attachments of spiritual practitioners. However, ordinary people are also greedy. With a strong sense of greed, they cannot be free from cravings for wealth. They are always craving wealth. With such a mindset, when they see what other people have, they want to quickly be like them and own what is fashionable.

This is why our recycling Bodhisattvas have [so much to sort through]. As they sort recyclables, they find many things that are still usable but were thrown out as trash. This is all because of people’s desires. We are greedy for new things, so we get rid of the old ones. This mentality pervades our society.

Greed and attachments will give rise to ignorance “which create Leaks that trap us in cyclic existence with endless afflictions.” Thus, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom leak away, and we fall into samsara and afflictions. The Buddha wanted to pull us up one by one, but we fall down again. ․Indeed, we have “Leaks that trap us in cyclic existence with endless afflictions.”

If our capabilities remain limited, we will only seek to awaken ourselves and practice to liberate ourselves from samsara. We want to be liberated, but if we are unwilling to understand the profound and wondrous Buddha-Dharma, attaining liberation will not be that easy. Thus, [some people] refuse to start practicing. The Buddha began expounding the great Dharma, so we must begin [our practice] anew.

Because of their singular focus on seeking liberation from cyclic existence, they cannot understand the Buddha’s extremely profound and wondrous Dharma, nor can they begin to practice the great Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha first taught the Nirvana of the Small Vehicle.

In the past, the Buddha gave us. Small [Vehicle] Dharma so we could take a short break. This is like a conjured city. As we practice, [the Buddha says,] “We are almost there. We have arrived, rest here.” However, after a while, the Buddha then says, “This is not it. If you really want to attain ultimate Nirvana, that tranquil and still state, you still have a ways to go. This is just a convenient place for you to take a break.” This is the Small [Vehicle] Dharma the Buddha taught to unlock the purity in people’s minds.

From this point on, we must develop great aspirations and move forward. Yet those with limited capabilities delight in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma and stop when they think, “I am already pure; this is good enough.” At the conjured city, the Buddha tells us we still need to move forward so we can ultimately return to our intrinsic Tathagata-nature. So, He wants us to keep moving. People with limited capabilities will stop at that stage, so “they cannot understand or begin to practice the great Dharma.” They do not want to start out again,

so they stop at this point. They are unwilling to move forward and to listen to or understand the great teachings. However, the Buddha would not leave them there. That would be like taking a child somewhere and saying, “Come, just a little further.” If a child throws a tantrum [and stops], the parents must go back and use various means to comfort him and try to get him to keep moving forward. Therefore, “the Buddha first taught the Nirvana of the Small Vehicle.” This was the initial teaching.

As I often mention, “Nirvana” means pure and clean. The purifying teaching of the Small Vehicle is to remain undefiled by impurities of the world and to eliminate our cravings and desires. These are a part of the Small Vehicle Dharma, which was taught first. So, since we engage in spiritual practice, even if we only practice Small Vehicle teachings, we should at least be content and do our duty. We must not have cravings and attachments or desire offerings or wealth. We absolutely must not.

Therefore, we must walk the Bodhisattva-path and practice the Great [Vehicle] Dharma. We cannot stop with the Small Vehicle. Not only can we not stop, but we also must not crave offerings.

As we engage in spiritual practice, we must first purify our minds so various afflictions will not encumber us. We especially must not crave others’ offerings. As we engage in spiritual practice, we must realize how suffering accumulates in life. We cannot be entangled by stinginess and greed. We must also accept the Buddha’s teaching, which is to walk the Bodhisattva-path. We must also be constantly vigilant about whether we have gone against the Buddha’s great Dharma. We must never stray from the Buddha’s great Dharma, but follow Him closely. After reaching the conjured city, we must start off again on the broad Bodhi-path. So, we should always be mindful.