Category: TLS Chapter 2

Episode 3 – Transform Others by Awakening Wisdom

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>> “The Dharma is subtle, wondrous and hard to comprehend. The principles the Buddha attained cannot be understood. He awakens and exercises wisdom with expressions and analogies. He applies loving-kindness and compassion to skillfully transform others.”

>> “Sariputra, I do all this so that they may attain the One Buddha Vehicle and all-encompassing wisdom.”

>> The One Buddha Vehicle: It is the only teaching that can guide people to attain Buddhahood. Like the vast universe where all planets and galaxies appear, all things have an intrinsic nature. This pure and clear True Suchness reflects the conditions that arise.

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“The Dharma is subtle, wondrous and hard to comprehend.
The principles the Buddha attained cannot be understood.
He awakens and exercises wisdom
with expressions and analogies.
He applies loving-kindness and compassion
to skillfully transform others.”

This is telling everyone that the Buddha continuously tries to awaken the nature of True Suchness in all of us. To do this, the Buddha uses many methods, which are subtle, wondrous and hard to comprehend. They are all different; there are so many appearances and teachings in this world. Yesterday, we talked about natures and appearances. How many appearances are there? In this world, there are too many to speak of. These countless forms and types of appearances each have their own intrinsic natures. Thus, the number of natures corresponds to the number of appearances.

In reality, natures and appearances are inseparable from causes and conditions. [For all things], there is only one ultimate reality, thus there is only one true nature. If we could thoroughly and clearly understand these principles, we would truly praise the Dharma for its wonder and subtlety.

This is the Dharma attained by the Buddha, so we ordinary people cannot understand it. Only the Buddha can penetrate the truths of all things in the universe. He fully understands the one nature and one appearance. However, we ordinary people see many different forms, appearances and natures. For the Buddha, there is only one ultimate reality, one true nature. This is the subtle and wondrous Dharma. The Buddha can understand it; however, ordinary people are still attached to their own state of mind, to the forms and appearances they see. So, they cannot thoroughly understand. True Suchness, which is the ultimate reality. As unenlightened beings, we vary in our particular natures and appearances, so we cannot understand the state of the Buddha. The Dharma He attained and. His state of mind are things we cannot realize.

However, the Buddha has always compassionately [told us] we ordinary people can definitely achieve this because Buddhas were originally sentient beings. Thus, sentient beings are also [future] Buddhas; all Buddhas were enlightened as ordinary beings. The Buddha is persistent, so “He awakens and exercises wisdom.” He utilizes various methods to unlock our wisdom.

Ordinary people only have “knowledge.” We have “knowledge” and “intelligence.” We may know and we may understand, but this is different from having “wisdom.” Wisdom can deeply penetrate; it goes beyond knowing and can discern different natures and appearances. This is “discerning wisdom,” with which we can distinguish between true emptiness and wondrous existence. Discerning wisdom is the wisdom of the Buddha, which can be used to understand the difference between natures and appearances. In truth, there is just one appearance, one nature. This is His wisdom.

The Buddha exercises His “discerning wisdom” to awaken “impartial wisdom.” The Buddha applies His “discerning wisdom” and “impartial wisdom” to teach sentient beings so that we can develop our wisdom. We sentient beings are in a state of confusion, so the Buddha compassionately lifts off our layers of ignorance, one by one. Bit by bit, our wisdom is gradually revealed. From “discerning wisdom,” He guides us to understand that in discerning, we can see equality.

I often talk about loving-kindness, about showing compassion to all equally. If we are compassionate, we will see everything as equal. The Buddha’s wisdom is also impartial, so He has never said that. He is the only one who can attain Buddhahood. Never. He constantly says we can all attain Buddhahood. Buddha-nature is the same in all sentient beings. This is “wisdom”; this is the Buddha’s compassion. He constantly stresses that we too have Buddha-nature and can attain Buddhahood.

With compassion, the Buddha “awakens and exercises wisdom with expressions and analogies.” The Buddha constantly utilizes many methods to draw analogies for everyone, to find ways for us to understand the essence of the Dharma and the truths of ultimate reality. So, He tirelessly teaches the Dharma through “expressions and analogies.”

“He applies loving-kindness and compassion.” He has unconditional loving-kindness, which is expansive and boundless. After the Buddha became enlightened, He realized the truths of all things in the universe and in His realized state observed the Ten Realms. In all the Ten Realms, only Buddhas have completely transcended ignorance and realized all principles. Bodhisattvas, Solitary Realizers, Hearers, and those in the heaven, human, asura, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms are each progressively more ignorant. Thus, the Buddha, in His unconditional loving-kindness, works to spread His state of mind across the Ten Dharma-realms.

So, “loving-kindness” represents the expansiveness of the Buddha’s mind and how, with compassion, He cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer. Even those in the state of Bodhisattvas still have slight hints of ignorance. We ordinary people are still ignorant, so the Buddha has to exercise His compassion to awaken our compassion. He helps all of us understand that we are interconnected with everything in the world, so we must have great universal compassion. We are truly one with all sentient beings. We feel others’ pain and suffering as our own. This is the loving-kindness of the Buddha.

So, He applies loving-kindness and compassion. His Loving-kindness is unconditional and very expansive. So, with compassion, [the Buddha] sees that all sentient beings are suffering, have many afflictions and create karma. With His compassion, the Buddha treats the afflictions of sentient beings as His afflictions. Bodhisattvas also treat others’ suffering as their own. The Buddha cannot bear to let sentient beings create karma. Therefore, “He applies loving-kindness and compassion to skillfully transform others.” With various causes and conditions, expressions, He creates analogies to teach sentient beings.

If we want to understand the Buddha’s original intent, we must know that it is truly expansive. These teachings are subtle and wondrous. Since the Buddha’s mind is the Dharma, it is subtle, wondrous and hard to comprehend.

The passage we discussed previously speaks of [teaching] “according to their original nature.” The Buddha comes to this world hoping we can all return to our intrinsic nature. But, we still cycle through the Six Realms, and habitual tendencies are continuously being ingrained in us. He hopes we can all return to our intrinsic nature. As we discussed yesterday,

the Buddha next told Sariputra,

“Sariputra, I do all this so that they may attain the One Buddha Vehicle and all-encompassing wisdom.”

The Buddha wants us all to return to our intrinsic nature. The Buddha establishes teachings according to the nature of sentient beings. Each of their capabilities and ignorant thoughts range from superficial to deep. Some have deep-rooted ignorance. To eliminate the ignorance bit by bit, the Buddha slowly guided them to develop aspirations and make vows, then put them into practice, until they attain the Bodhisattva state of vowing to transform all beings. He not only helps us all walk the Bodhisattva-path, He also helps us attain the One Buddha Vehicle and return to the truths it contains. We all practice the Six Paramitas to transform sentient beings,

so we must return to the One Buddha Vehicle. Thus, the Buddha, to transform sentient beings, utilizes these sincere and skillful approaches so that we can acquire “all encompassing wisdom.” This is the wisdom of the Buddha.

Let us further explore the One Buddha Vehicle.

The One Buddha Vehicle: It is the only teaching that can guide people to attain Buddhahood. Like the vast universe where all planets and galaxies appear, all things have an intrinsic nature. This pure and clear True Suchness reflects the conditions that arise.

The One Buddha Vehicle is the only teaching “that can guide people to attain Buddhahood.” Look at the way the Buddha’s teachings have helped people in the world to eliminate their attachments and superstitions and have guided them to develop right beliefs. They help everybody penetrate the right beliefs and the law of karma.

We all need to know that all of us sentient beings are subject to the karma we created in past lives. Our karma has brought us here. Just having faith in the Buddha will not eliminate all the karma we created nor fix the unpleasant events in our lives. Not at all. We should further understand that the challenges and suffering we face help us practice. We know that those things are due to past causes and conditions. In this life, we must be willing to end the negative causes we created in the past, and end our previous negative karmic connections. Our negative causes and conditions torment us in this lifetime and cause us hardship. So, our spiritual aspirations must be firm, and we must adapt to these conditions to resolve such negative causes and conditions. We must turn negative karmic conditions into assisting and positive conditions.

This is what the Buddha teaches, which shows us the way to resolve our past karmic affinities. Right now our spiritual aspirations are firm, and we can uphold and practice the teachings to attain Buddhahood. These comprise the One Vehicle Dharma. Since sentient beings have countless afflictions, the Buddha opened up countless teachings to educate us, which are the only teachings “that can guide people to attain Buddhahood.”

“Like the vast universe” refers to the endless void, where “all planets and galaxies appear.” When we look up into the sky here, it seems boundless. Before daybreak, before clouds cover it, we see a sky filled with stars. Consider the size of the universe and all the planets and galaxies in it. How big are the planets we see in the sky? We ordinary people have no idea.

For us humans, the world is huge. But when we talk about the “world,” we are only talking about Earth. This world is big, but in the greater universe, it is only one planet [among many]. It is not very big. There are much bigger planets, even in this solar system alone. So, Buddha-nature is what we realize after awakening. It is our nature of True Suchness. So, the Buddha teaches us methods to help us return to our ultimate true nature.

“Like the vast universe, where all planets and galaxies appear, all things have an intrinsic nature.” Indeed, [Buddha-nature] is intrinsic to all. All phenomena in the vast universe, and all worlds are included in “all things”; they all intrinsically have this. “All things” refers to the world’s various appearances. The vast universe, the endless void, is also encompassed in “all things. All things have an intrinsic nature.” The Buddha always talks about the nature of True Suchness, which is intrinsic to all of us. What is it? Our intrinsic Buddha[-nature]. We originally had an awakened nature; it is inherent in us all. This is also like the vast universe, where “all things have an intrinsic nature.” We all intrinsically have this nature of True Suchness.

So, we all have boundless wisdom. These truths are already in our minds, but they have been covered by ignorance. So, “This pure and clear True Suchness reflects the conditions that arise.” We can uphold the Buddha’s teachings and really put them into practice. We can faithfully accept the Buddha’s teachings and use various methods to eliminate our ignorance. With every bit of ignorance we eliminate, we grow a bit in wisdom.

The Buddha comes to awaken our wisdom so we can properly utilize it. Impartial wisdom and discerning wisdom can help us, in modern times, to clearly understand right and wrong. This requires us to awaken our wisdom. With “wisdom,” we can distinguish right from wrong. Thus, our wisdom must be awakened, so we can see these distinctions.

We need to understand that, in the world, the imbalance of the four elements and the lack of harmony between people are causing natural and manmade disasters. In this era of great difficulty, shouldn’t we awaken our compassion? If we can awaken our compassion, then in this era, in this world, when ignorance manifests, we can apply great wisdom.

Our ignorance comes from the karma we created in the past. If we can wash away our ignorance, [we will return] to what is intrinsically there, our nature of True Suchness, “this pure and clear True Suchness.” It is already clean, without any defilements at all. Similarly, if we look into clear and still water, we see the world reflected in it. The principle is the same; our nature acts in the same way. With every bit of ignorance we eliminate, we understand a bit more of the principles.

The Buddha’s principles are deep and boundless. Like the vast universe, they can encompass infinite things and teachings. There are endless sentient beings and boundless teachings. There are many sentient beings, so there are countless teachings to deal with them.

Everyone, we really need to be mindful in learning the Buddha’s teachings. When we think about the Buddha’s wisdom, [Hearer-wisdom] and all-encompassing wisdom, these wisdoms which encompass all phenomena, we should give rise to a sense of joy. We must have the joy of faith and believe in the Buddha’s teachings. To have joy is to be very happy, to happily accept the Dharma. If we have faith and take joy in the teachings, naturally we will earnestly [learn them].

The Buddha does everything He can to awaken and exercise wisdom with expressions and analogies. He utilizes various methods to draw analogies solely to awaken our loving-kindness, so we may exercise our compassion, wisdom and vows. With these skillful means, He transforms us. And by accepting these means, we can also use them to transform sentient beings. The Buddha can do this, and so can we. He teaches us these methods, so we can put them into practice. We do not just listen to and share them. We must listen, contemplate and practice, then actualize the teachings in the world. This is the way to learn the Buddha’s teachings.

The process of the Buddha’s spiritual practice was really unbearably painful. It cannot be understood by us ordinary people. As we mentioned before, He had entered the hell, animal realms, and so on and experienced much suffering. He lived through and learned from all that. We must also do the same and learn what the Buddha knows and understands. So, the Buddha’s understanding and views are what we are now learning. So, we need to always be mindful.

Episode 305 – Let Go of Deeply Rooted Attachments

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>> “[The Buddha] understands ultimate reality and the source and origin of all things. There is nothing He does not understand and see, like the sun illuminating the world, like a mirror reflecting appearances, which reflects everything wherever it is.”

>> “They wish for sentient beings to realize all Buddhas’ understanding and views.”

>> “They wish to enable sentient beings to enter all Buddhas’ understanding and views.”

>> “Sariputra, I am now doing the same. I know that sentient beings have various desires and attachments deep in their minds.”

>> Deeply rooted in their minds: 1. The vow to seek the Dharma is extremely deep and respectful 2. The will to seek great and profound Dharma is extremely deep and intentional 3. The original vow to have deep faith in the Buddha and have no doubts is a firm and unwavering choice to act benevolently.

>> “According to their original nature, with various causes and conditions, analogies and expressions and the power of skillful means, gives teachings.”

>> This means that “the Buddha’s intrinsic great wisdom can illuminate our natures so we can see that we are no different from the Buddha and replete with wondrous virtues as many as the sands of the Ganges.”

>> Original nature can be general and particular 1. General nature refers to the original nature of all things, which is empty and tranquil, non-arising and non-ceasing. It has always been thus. True Suchness and Buddha-nature are the same 2. Particular nature refers to how people who enjoy committing evils become evil in nature and how people who do many good deeds become good in nature, just as fires are hot in nature and water is wet in nature.

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“[The Buddha] understands ultimate reality
and the source and origin of all things.
There is nothing He does not understand and see,
like the sun illuminating the world,
like a mirror reflecting appearances,
which reflects everything wherever it is.”

When the Buddha was in the world. He had thoroughly understood the truths of all things in the universe and the natures and appearances of all principles. He completely understood every object, every appearance and every nature. [He knows] “the source and origin of all things,” which is infinite and countless. He fully penetrates the natures and phenomena of principles; there is nothing He does not understand or see; He understands everything. Everything, from the sky to the universe, to the Three Realms, the desire, form and formless realms and so on, and all the underlying principles are, as the Buddha says, as apparent to Him as if they are right in front of Him. He completely comprehends their appearances.

This is like the way the sun in the sky can illuminate all things on Earth. When the sun is out, sunlight can reach everything unless it is blocked by clouds. Regardless, the sun is still there. If we attain the state of Buddhahood, we have already brushed aside all the clouds, so the sky is clear, and the sun shines brightly. With a clear sky and a bright sun, the entire land is illuminated by the sunlight.

Therefore, the Buddha’s understanding and views are like sunlight illuminating the world, everything from high mountains to great oceans. As long as the sun is out, nothing can block its light. This is an analogy for the Buddha’s wisdom. In fact, I always say that all of us have Buddha-wisdom, but it has been covered. Like a mirror reflecting appearances, it reflects everything wherever it is. So, wherever the mirror is, naturally it can reflect the world around it. When we pick up a mirror, we can see our expansive surrounding in the face of the small mirror. This mirror can contain the wider world.

So, the mind is a mirror. I always tell you that the mirror is an analogy for the nature of the Tathagata’s mind. Our external conditions will be reflected in this mirror, but once these conditions pass, the mirror will not retain any trace of them. We hope our minds can work in the same way, mirroring and reflecting appearances. How do we attain clear wisdom and not retain defilements in our minds? This is very important.

If we understand the origin of all things, “there is nothing we will not understand and see, like the sun illuminating the world.” We can understand everything we want to. Take a mirror for example. As long as we mindfully wipe it clean, the function of the mirror can be restored. The issue is that we may have covered this mirror, tainted it with filth and dust. Otherwise this mirror would always be clean. We all have this pure and clear mirror in us, but it has been tainted by the dust around us. As we now engage in spiritual practice, we must work hard to clear off this dust and protect this mirror. Once we clean it, we cannot allow it to be dirtied again. These are the teachings that the Buddha took great care to give us sentient beings. So, we must take the Dharma to heart.

The Buddha’s desire, His hope, is for His understanding and views to awaken sentient beings. He wants to awaken sentient beings with all Buddhas’ understanding and views. The sutra passage we have been discussing keep stating,

“They wish for sentient beings to realize all Buddhas’ understanding and views.”

The Buddha comes to the world solely for this.

“They wish to enable sentient beings to enter all Buddhas’ understanding and views.”

Next, [the sutra passage] states,

“Sariputra, I am now doing the same. I know that sentient beings have various desires and attachments deep in their minds.”

The Buddha said to Sariputra again, “Sariputra, I am now also doing this. All past Buddhas did this, and now I, Sakyamuni Buddha, am also doing this. I can better understand sentient beings and their various desires.” Because all Buddhas understand that sentient beings’ capabilities vary, They use skillful means to teach them. In order to utilize various means, They have to first understand what sentient beings are thinking deep in their minds. The sentient beings He is speaking of here are those who have deep faith and have already accepted His teachings. But even people with deep faith and no doubts still have “attachments deep in their minds.”

The Buddha works very hard. Though sentient beings are foolish and ignorant, the Buddha will gently coax them like children. These children are in a state of confusion, so how can He get them to not fuss and cry? “Come, I will give you a piece of candy. Come, how can I get you to calm down? I will take care of you.” To deal with these young and ignorant “children,” He had to teach according to their desires.

When the Buddha was in this world, He taught according to Buddhist practitioners’ capabilities. For those with basic and average capabilities, He gradually guided them toward developing great capabilities. With great capabilities, they would have deep faith. But even people with deep faith have attachments. Even if they really want to understand something, they still have attachments. They are like professors who keep researching a very specific subject area; that is their attachment. The deeper they go, the more attachments they form because they think only their results are right.

This also applies to we who learn the Buddha’s teachings. In Buddhism, each school has its own attachments. But the Buddha did not want people to form attachments. Still, having them deeply rooted is good; by being mindful, having teachings deeply rooted, they can expand their minds. Doing these things are good because it shows that they accepted and have respect for the Dharma.

Deeply rooted in their minds: 1. The vow to seek the Dharma is extremely deep and respectful 2. The will to seek great and profound Dharma is extremely deep and intentional 3. The original vow to have deep faith in the Buddha and have no doubts is a firm and unwavering choice to act benevolently.

First, “The vow to seek the Dharma is extremely deep and respectful.” Second is “the will to seek great and profound. Buddha-Dharma.” Their will is to seek great and profound Buddha-Dharma. We know that the Dharma is endlessly expansive and boundless, So, the will to seek great and profound Buddha-Dharma must be “extremely deep and intentional.” This kind of will has to be extremely deep. A mind that seeks the Dharma must have this kind of strong will. The third part is “the original vow to have deep faith in the Buddha and have no doubts.” This is also deep in the mind. As for those attachments deep in the mind, how do we describe them? As convictions.

Some people hold that their beliefs are correct. That is their attachment. But the Buddha understands sentient beings’ capabilities and would rather they become attached to “a firm and unwavering choice to act benevolently” instead of to their own state of mind. If they are attached to their own state of mind, it would be impossible to spread the Dharma far and wide. If people become attached to extremes, the teachings would not be good. So, the Buddha hopes people could take His teachings deep into their minds. But sentient beings still have attachments and are attached to extremes; this was not what He wanted.

So, the Buddha still teaches “according to their original nature.” He still has to teach in accord with people’s natures. Although we seek the Buddha-Dharma, we still need to eliminate attachments. So, for these sentient beings, the Buddha,

“According to their original nature, with various causes and conditions, analogies and expressions and the power of skillful means, gives teachings.”

Those with deep understanding will have faith. However, though they have faith, they still have attachments. So, the Buddha still has to find a way for the Dharma they have deep faith in to grow roots that are not only deep, but very broad and extensive. This is the Root of Faith.

The Buddha works very hard. For a person with limited capabilities, the Buddha must give basic teachings. For a person with average roots and capabilities, He gives average teachings. For a person with great roots and capabilities, He must take even greater care to help those with great capabilities to attain a more thorough understanding. If they can attain [realizations], it will greatly benefit sentient beings. Aside from eliminating their own attachments, they can also widely help all sentient beings. Since the Buddha teaches the. Bodhisattva-path for the sake of sentient beings, When teaching those with great capabilities, He took great care.

So, we should understand that He taught “according to their original nature.”

This means that “the Buddha’s intrinsic great wisdom can illuminate our natures so we can see that we are no different from the Buddha and replete with wondrous virtues as many as the sands of the Ganges.”

This is describing the Buddha’s understanding, because the Buddha’s nature is already replete with wondrous virtues as many as the sands of the Ganges. The Buddha has already attained infinite and countless virtues. But the Buddha also knows that every sentient being intrinsically has great wisdom and is inherently a Buddha. I have already spent time explaining how all Buddhas were once sentient beings who took joy in the Buddha-Dharma. They sought it and then diligently learned it, so They attained Buddhahood. Sakyamuni Buddha did this. Other Buddhas also began as sentient beings. All beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature,

so the original nature we are talking about is clearly understood by the Buddha. He also understands that all sentient beings intrinsically have this radiant wisdom, so we can illuminate ourselves and contemplate our own nature.

When we listen to teachings, we also need to reflect on our own nature. External causes and conditions are analogies that we can use to understand ourselves. Thus, Tzu Chi volunteers often say, “Witness suffering to recognize blessings.” We look around and promptly reflect on ourselves. What do we have to complain about? Look at all the suffering around us. What is there for us to cling to or pursue?

Therefore, the Buddha is telling us something more profound. We must reflect on our own nature, not just compare ourselves to other people. We think we are suffering, but others are experiencing even more suffering. Such is life. We should [focus on] our self-nature. The Buddha says that we must compare ourselves with Him. He says He has an original nature, which all sentient beings intrinsically have. We must believe this. Deep in our hearts, we must believe that our original nature is equal to Buddha’s nature. So, we must promptly reflect on ourselves.

This self-reflection is wisdom, which is also intrinsic. We are intrinsically Buddhas, with Buddha-nature and have wondrous virtues, numbering as many as the sands of the Ganges. We do not just have a hint of Buddha-nature, it is very extensive and has as many merits as the sands of the Ganges. This is our original nature, our Buddha-nature. It is our “intrinsic Buddha.” Every one of us has an intrinsic Buddha. There are two kinds of original nature.

Original nature can be general and particular 1. General nature refers to the original nature of all things, which is empty and tranquil, non-arising and non-ceasing. It has always been thus. True Suchness and Buddha-nature are the same 2. Particular nature refers to how people who enjoy committing evils become evil in nature and how people who do many good deeds become good in nature, just as fires are hot in nature and water is wet in nature.

First is general nature, referring to “the original nature of all things, which is empty and tranquil.” The nature of all things is inherently empty. Only when we look at them as a whole can we apply this label to their nature. Indeed, we often say that in our world there are so many things. Each thing is not simply [made of] one thing. Many causes and conditions must converge for it to become this thing. A grain of sand, a tiny particle, has not always existed as a grain of sand. It is also shaped by the mountains and rivers, the universe and climate, to be what it is now. Therefore, the nature of all things is empty and tranquil. Nothing can simply arise on its own.

The same applies to us coming to the world; our mother and father had to come together, etc. All things in the world work in the same way. Once causes and conditions disperse, nothing will be left. Thus, “original nature is empty and tranquil, non-arising and non-ceasing. It has always been thus,” always been in this state of true emptiness. “True Suchness and Buddha-nature are the same.” Our True Suchness and the Buddha’s nature are the same, so our nature is actually empty and tranquil. Haven’t we always said that the Buddha’s wondrous nature of True Suchness is non-arising and non-ceasing, tranquil and clear?

Second is particular nature. Earlier we talked about general nature, now we will speak of particular nature. So, “people who enjoy committing evils” become evil in nature. [Some people] do many good deeds. If we are inclined to goodness, we do good deeds. If we are inclined to evil, we do evil deeds. With good and evil, if someone does evil deeds, we know this person has a very evil nature. If someone always does good deeds, then this person has a very good nature, then this person is intrinsically kind. But actually, according to the Buddha’s teachings, good, evil and indeterminate [karma] are simply habitual tendencies formed by the convergence of causes and conditions.

[This is their nature,] “just as fires are hot in nature.” Fire needs to be produced; it does not exist [permanently] and requires the convergence of causes and conditions. Trees also arise from the union of the four elements. These elements come together to create things. The growing and wilting of things depend on them. Water can help trees grow, while trees can help create fire. They all help each other.

When we analyze an element specifically, we examine its conditioned nature. If we touch something hot, we think of that as the nature of fire. Everything we see in the world is conditioned and has a particular nature. So, “just as fires are hot in nature” and “water is wet in nature, we call this particular nature.” These things are distinguishable; their appearances reflect their natures.

An appearance requires the convergence of many elements. Each kind of appearance has its own label and each label refers to a different kind of nature. Water has the nature of water, which is wet. Fire has the nature of fire, which is hot. Everything that is conditioned and created has a particular nature.

To know if something is good or evil, we look at what it leads to, its appearance, and analyze it based on that. But actually, the true nature of things is empty. Even when things converge, there is only one nature of True Suchness. That is the most real.

Everyone, this seems to be very profound, but we are still using external conditions to reflect on our nature. From the shallow we can see the profound; from matters, we can realize our original nature. This depends on how mindful we are.

Episode 304 – Open, Reveal, Realize and Enter

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>> “The Tathagata gave teachings to the assembly. He freely carried out His original intent by revealing His understanding and views. The mind and Buddha do not differ [in nature]. To return to our original nature, we must take the Bodhisattva-path.”

>> “Sariputra, all Buddhas want to solely teach the Bodhisattva Way because They wish to reveal all Buddhas’ understanding and views to sentient beings.”

>> Teach the Bodhisattva Way. “Bodhisattva” used to translate to a sentient being with great spiritual aspirations or a sentient being with spiritual aspirations. “Bodhisattva” now translates to a greatly awakened sentient being or an awakened sentient being. Those who seek the Path with great aspirations are sentient beings with spiritual aspirations. Those who seek the Path for great awakening are called greatly awakened sentient beings.

>> So, all Buddhas “wish for sentient beings to realize all Buddhas’ understanding and views and wish to enable sentient beings to enter all Buddhas’ understanding and views.”

>> Open, reveal, realize and enter: He opens and reveals the Buddha’s understanding and views so others may realize and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views. These words convey why the Buddha comes to this world.

>> The Buddha’s understanding and views: Those with such understanding and views know the wisdom of the principles and see the True Dharma. The True Dharma is unconditioned and non-discriminating. To explain the principle of unconditioned Dharma, He revealed distinctions to discuss this understanding and view. So, the Buddha kindly opened and revealed the. Dharma for sentient beings to realize and enter.

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“The Tathagata gave teachings to the assembly.
He freely carried out His original intent by revealing His understanding and views.
The mind and Buddha do not differ [in nature].
To return to our original nature, we must take the Bodhisattva-path.”

This is telling everyone that Sakyamuni Buddha’s one great cause for coming to this world is to give teachings to sentient beings. He comes to teach them so that they can all understand how to return to their intrinsic nature.

During the 40-plus years prior to this, He utilized skillful means to establish various kinds of teachings because sentient beings’ capacities were such that they could not accept His understanding and views, His perspective and understanding. Although the Buddha gave teachings through various provisional skillful means to teach sentient beings to return [to their nature,] there is only one path that leads to the source. We must take the Bodhisattva-path to

truly realize the Buddha’s understanding and views. His original intent is something we must each comprehend. However, to realize it, to return to our intrinsic nature, we must take the Bodhisattva-path. So, in conclusion, the Buddha comes to teach. His understanding and views, which are to have loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity and to walk the Bodhisattva-path.

The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings do not differ [in their nature]. Our minds, the Buddha’s mind and the minds of all sentient beings need to be one. Together, they are known as the Buddha-mind. This is the principle the Buddha comes to proclaim.

Today, we continue to discuss how the Buddha once again said to Sariputra,

“Sariputra, all Buddhas want to solely teach the Bodhisattva Way because They wish to reveal all Buddhas’ understanding and views to sentient beings.”

He was so sincere. “All Buddhas want to solely teach the Bodhisattva Way.” We must know that all Buddhas of Three Periods, of the ten directions and of this moment, all do the same thing in this world. “All Buddhas share the same path,” which is to “solely teach the Bodhisattva Way.” They only come to teach the Bodhisattva Way. However, sentient beings have deeply rooted attachments and a thick layer of ignorance. So, all Buddhas do the same thing and teach through various skillful means. This is all for only one reason, to teach sentient beings to walk the Bodhisattva-path.

Only through the Bodhisattva-path can we return to our intrinsic nature; this is the path spiritual practitioners must take. If we are to become one with the Buddha in mind and return to our nature of True Suchness, we must walk the Bodhisattva-path. Though He utilizes countless, boundless means to teach infinite sentient beings, all these methods are all part of one path, which is the Bodhisattva-path.

“They wish to reveal all Buddhas’ understanding and views to sentient beings.” They teach us all to walk the Bodhisattva-path, so we can truly understand. Their understanding and views, what They understand and what They see. Only by walking the Bodhisattva-path can we see its scenery. If we do not walk this path, we will not have the understanding and views of the beautiful scenery along the path. We simply cannot experience it.

So, the Buddha compassionately guides us to take the path He has walked and brings us to see the state He has seen. He guides us toward comprehension and to attain realizations, so we can fully realize the true principles of all things in the universe. The Buddha’s compassion is such that. His mind encompasses the universe; He uses such an open heart to care for all beings. Therefore, all of us must be grateful to Him and accept His teachings.

So, “teach the Bodhisattva Way” has two explanations.

Teach the Bodhisattva Way. “Bodhisattva” used to translate to a sentient being with great spiritual aspirations or a sentient being with spiritual aspirations. “Bodhisattva” now translates to a greatly awakened sentient being or an awakened sentient being. Those who seek the Path with great aspirations are sentient beings with spiritual aspirations. Those who seek the Path for great awakening are called greatly awakened sentient beings.

Bodhisattva used to translate to “a sentient being with great spiritual aspirations” or “a sentient being with spiritual aspirations.” These are called “Bodhisattvas.” The Sanskrit word Bodhisattva means an awakened sentient being. “Awakened” is having “great spiritual aspirations. Sentient being” is a “living being.” So, sentient beings with spiritual aspirations are not necessarily human. Actually, I have often shared that “sentient beings” are in all of the Six Realms, and they all have an awakened intrinsic nature.

In the Buddha’s Jataka Sutra, it mentions many times that even an ant has an awakened nature; a honeybee has the same awakened nature, and a spider also has this kind of awakened nature. Another word for awakened is “Bodhi -sattva” means sentient being. All living beings have sentience and feelings, so they are sentient beings. “Great spiritual aspirations” also means Bodhi. [We talk about] “the great, direct Bodhi-path.” Once we know that this path is the right one, as we walk on it, we must also take others along. This is how we become “sentient beings with great spiritual aspirations” or “sentient beings with spiritual aspirations.” A Bodhisattva may be in a state of having achieved, of achieving or of having yet to achieve [Buddhahood]. One who has achieved is one with “great spiritual aspirations.” One who is achieving, or has not yet achieved it, is one who has “spiritual aspirations,” which are intrinsic to everyone.

The current translation of [Bodhisattva] is “greatly awakened sentient being” or “awakened sentient being.” Actually, the meaning is the same. “Greatly awakened sentient beings” are Bodhisattvas who have awakened and then work to awaken others. They are those who have realized this path, then vowed to extensively transform sentient beings. They are “greatly awakened sentient beings.” Others, after understanding what the truths really are, form aspirations and make vows. Thus, they are “awakened sentient beings.” After they have this understanding and begin to form aspirations, they are “those who seek the Path with great aspirations.” They seek the Path and make great aspirations, so they are “sentient beings with spiritual aspirations, those who seek the Path with great aspirations.”

In forming aspirations, they form great aspirations; they do not seek to only benefit themselves. After achieving [their aspirations], they also help others do the same. The path will always be the same length; if we walk by ourselves, it is that long; if we walk it with others, it is still that long. The more people we walk with, the broader the path will be. If we walk it alone, the path will be narrow and harder to walk. So, we must forge a great, straight, Bodhi-path. When many people walk this straight path together, of course it will be easy to walk.

If we all receive teachings and share the same resolve, then the world will be truly peaceful and harmonious. Then wouldn’t life be very simple? Is it really that complicated? In this world, everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, so can’t this world be a pure land? This is why we learn the Buddha’s teachings.

So, all Buddhas “wish for sentient beings to realize all Buddhas’ understanding and views and wish to enable sentient beings to enter all Buddhas’ understanding and views.”

The Buddha’s compassionate original intent was to make use of His understanding and views to awaken sentient beings. His spiritual state was tranquil and free, and He wished sentient beings would have the same state of mind. He wished that everyone would enjoy the same boundless awakened state. This was the Buddha’s greatest hope for us, and He gave teachings for this purpose.

He “wished to enable sentient beings to enter the Buddha’s understanding and views.” He hoped sentient beings could realize and enter them. In “realizing” something, we think, “Oh, so this is how things are! Entering” means fully taking the Dharma to heart.

Take medical treatments for example; some people have leukemia, so their bodies cannot produce [healthy] blood cells. But under the doctor’s guidance, they may be implanted with healthy bone marrow. Once they receive it, they can regain their health because their own bodies have recovered the ability to produce blood cells.

The principle is the same; our lives are like this. The Buddha is also like a great healer. Our bodies can originally produce blood cells, but with a momentary imbalance in our bodies, we may lose the ability to make blood cells. If a healthy person, one who we have good affinities with, has bone marrow that can be transplanted into us, we can then recover our ability to produce blood cells. Our wisdom-life is also the same. All of us originally had this [illuminating] ability, but our ignorance blocked off this illumination, causing us to lose our ability. So, [taking in] the Buddha’s teachings is like receiving a transplant of healthy Dharma-marrow, which allows all of us to recover our own intrinsic potential and functions, as well as our intrinsic nature.

So, the Buddha comes to develop our wisdom-life. This is His purpose for coming to this world. So, for sentient beings, He “opens and reveals” in the hopes that we can “realize and enter.”

Open, reveal, realize and enter: He opens and reveals the Buddha’s understanding and views so others may realize and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views. These words convey why the Buddha comes to this world.

So, “He opens and reveals the Buddha’s understanding and views.” This means He helps all of us by teaching, “You must know that you intrinsically have the Buddha’s understanding and views. You must enter them to learn more.” So, this is to “open and reveal.” This allows sentient beings to “realize,” which is to understand or know. But it is not enough just to “know,” without also applying them. After we know, we must practice.

To a patient, the doctor may explicitly say, “You have this illness; you must receive this treatment. I know this.” During the course of treatment, the diseased [cells] in the body must be destroyed. So, the body must endure pain for a period. If the patient is determined and accepts, he will suffer for a period of time. But after dealing with this hardship, the new bone-marrow is injected into and more easily accepted by the body; it will not be rejected.

Some Buddhist practitioners are attached to the teachings. They do not understand how to promptly accept and apply Right Dharma, so they seek shortcuts and easy paths. Thus, although they know they are sick and know that this illness is dangerous, they are unwilling to go through the treatment. If this is the case, even if they are given blood transfusions, that will only [help them temporarily]. There are many people who cannot find a match, so they rely on blood transfusions to extend their lives for a short period of time. But only when they recover their ability to produce blood can they be considered truly healthy again.

By the same principle, for our wisdom-life to grow, Dharma-essence must be injected into our minds. In order to grow our wisdom-life, we must go through this period [of treatment]. Our prejudices and false views must be eliminated. We must have right understanding and right views and understand the law of karma. Only then can we truly realize and take in the Buddha’s teachings. Once we achieve this understanding, we can accept the Buddha’s teachings.

Consider the Buddha’s compassion; He wishes to fully transfer His enlightened state and the methods to attain it to us. If we do not accept them, we may know but have not internalized [teachings]. For some time, I have been telling everyone to listen, contemplate and practice as we cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. These are all very important. So, we must listen. Having listened, we must earnestly contemplate, then diligently seize opportunities to put [the Dharma] into practice.

The Buddha guides us toward the path that we must take, which is the Bodhisattva-path. It is the path the Buddha has taken. So, to “enter the Buddha’s understanding and views” is to put His original intent into practice. Everything that the Buddha taught conveys His intention for coming to this world. His intention was one of loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. Life after life, He works to relieve sentient beings’ suffering and help them reach a safe, stable and joyful refuge. That is a place where they can eliminate their unenlightened views and understanding and thus attain the Buddha’s understanding and views.

The Buddha’s understanding and views: Those with such understanding and views know the wisdom of the principles and see the True Dharma. The True Dharma is unconditioned and non-discriminating. To explain the principle of unconditioned Dharma, He revealed distinctions to discuss this understanding and view. So, the Buddha kindly opened and revealed the. Dharma for sentient beings to realize and enter.

“Those with such understanding and views know the wisdom of the principles.” To attain wisdom requires true principles, not limited understanding and views. We must deeply penetrate things to attain great realizations and wisdom, which is all-encompassing wisdom. This is “knowledge.” This wisdom, all-encompassing wisdom, is always in line with the principles. This is the state of all-encompassing wisdom. [Those people] “see the True Dharma. The True Dharma is unconditioned.”

After understanding true principles, we will know that they are unconditioned; they are all natural [principles]. Because we sentient beings are ignorant, the Buddha utilizes various skillful means, conditioned Dharma, expressions, analogies, verbal teachings and other methods. These various teachings are conditioned Dharma; they still require making use of things such as people, matters and objects to help everyone understand the principles. If we can truly see the Absolute Truth, [we will find that] “True Dharma is unconditioned.” We have always had it; it is a natural part of us. We are all born with a pure intrinsic nature; this is unconditioned Dharma, which is very natural. “[True Dharma] is non-discriminating.”

To explain unconditioned principles, He revealed distinctions. We originally knew this, but we sentient beings are such that one ignorant thought leads us to draw countless distinctions and create various interpersonal conflicts. So, the Buddha has to use various methods to present different appearances in order to explain His understanding and views. He utilizes various methods to draw analogies and explain various principles. This is the Buddha’s compassion in coming to “open and reveal. The Dharma is for sentient beings to realize and enter.”

To “open and reveal” shows the. Buddha’s compassion. People must willingly accept the Dharma. If we willingly accept it, we will “realize” it and allow it to “enter” our minds. Then we will have Dharma. If we only listen and let it pass, then we will never be transformed by the Dharma. If the Dharma cannot enter our minds, how can we be transformed? People in the past would say, “No Dharma can transform me.” But the Buddha never gave up because sentient beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature, and the truth is still within them. So, how can we say, “I cannot transform”? With His compassion, He comes to “open and reveal” [the teachings] for sentient beings in the hopes that someday, sentient beings can “realize and enter.” So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 303 – An Awakening Arises in Response

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>> “When sentient beings hear the teachings of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they praise Bodhi and the One Buddha Vehicle. Upon hearing it, they attain the joy of faith. Listening to the Dharma in this way is an assisting condition. They delight in the Buddha’s great wisdom and develop Bodhicitta.”

>> “These sentient beings, listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all encompassing-wisdom.”

>> Listening to the Dharma: This is listening to the teachings. The Practice of Peace and Happiness chapter in the Lotus Sutra states, “Put palms together to praise the Buddha. Listen to the Dharma and be joyful.” When our thoughts resonate, we begin to awaken. By transcending subtle, discursive thoughts, we can see our true nature. If our minds can forever dwell in this state, we have attained ultimate awakening.

>> Which is one of the Three Kinds of Wisdoms. Thus, “with all-encompassing wisdom, we can know all Buddhas’ teachings of the Path and the various causes and conditions of all sentient beings.”

>> The Three Kinds of Wisdom 1. Worldly wisdom 2. World-transcending wisdom 3. Supreme world-transcending wisdom.

>> World-transcending wisdom: The wisdom of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. With their wisdom, they practice teachings of the Four Noble Truths, so they can transcend the world. Thus, they have world-transcending wisdom.

>> Supreme world-transcending wisdom: The wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. By observing the appearance of stillness and tranquility of all things, they do not experience arising and ceasing. They reach the stage of the Tathagata and will surpass Hearers and Solitary Realizers in wisdom.

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“When sentient beings hear the teachings of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas,
they praise Bodhi and the One Buddha Vehicle.
Upon hearing it, they attain the joy of faith.
Listening to the Dharma in this way is an assisting condition.
They delight in the Buddha’s great wisdom and develop Bodhicitta.”

We listen to the Buddha-Dharma solely to obtain the teachings that will help us return to our pure intrinsic Buddha-nature that is equivalent to the Buddha. So, upon hearing the Dharma, we must first feel joy. Once we hear the teachings of all Buddhas, we need to sincerely praise the Bodhi. We give praise out of joy, and Bodhi refers to the path of enlightenment. As we listen, not only do we personally feel joy, but we share our admiration for it with others; [we share] it with each other and praise Bodhi, which is the path of enlightenment. In which direction does this path head? We must know this clearly and make sure our course is correct.

The One Buddha Vehicle leads us directly to understanding the Buddha’s understanding and views. We must understand the Buddha’s understanding and views; this is very important. So, as we listen to the Dharma, if we value the One Buddha Vehicle and are mindful of the Buddha’s understanding and views, naturally we will “attain the joy of faith.” As long as we have the will, as long as our course is correct, after listening to and understanding the Dharma, we will certainly be joyful. If we are not joyful, how can we continue to receive and uphold [the teachings]? If we are not joyful, how can we practice this Dharma-door? So, we must cultivate this happiness, the joy of faith.

The Buddha teaches according to capabilities. If we are capable of resolving and vowing to follow the One Buddha Vehicle, naturally when we hear about the Bodhi-path, we will feel great joy. We will have the joy of faith and belief.

“Listening to the Dharma in this way is an assisting condition.” We must listen to the Dharma more often to comprehend various causes and conditions. After hearing about various causes and conditions, we must observe and really try to understand them. By observing, we develop a deeper understanding. For example, Tzu Chi volunteers around the world come from various countries, and each has its own culture. Each country has both rich and poor people. When we watch their videos, look at their photos and so on, with their narratives, we feel as if we have set foot there and have directly interacted with these people. How do we comfort those who are suffering? How do we help them become open and understanding?

We recognize that life is full of unbearable suffering. The Bodhisattva-path is essential for saving and transforming the world. Only humans can save the world by awakening others’ Bodhisattva-minds and walking the Bodhisattva-path. Then, those who are suffering can be saved. Thus, we can understand why the Buddha continues to teach the Bodhisattva-path.

These teachings are the principles He earnestly protected in His heart. He opens and reveals them to everyone, hoping they can truly penetrate the truth of suffering. Then they will also know that suffering is caused by accumulation. These accumulated causes of suffering remind us that we must accept the Buddha’s teachings. In understanding the cessation of suffering, we will know how to eliminate suffering, so we must practice the path. [We learn this from] the Dharma. “Listening to the Dharma in this way is an assisting condition.”

As we listen, the most important thing is to intimately understand the principles. These are all assisting conditions for us. In our spiritual practice, if we cut ourselves off from assisting conditions, our [knowledge base] will be very narrow, and we will not be able to confirm the principles. Most importantly, the Dharma we listen to must have verifiable principles. Then, [we are learning] True Dharma. So, listening to the Dharma is an assisting condition. We listen to the world’s True Dharma,

so we “delight in the Buddha’s great wisdom and develop Bodhicitta.” The more we observe the world and go among people, the more we will develop unsurpassed admiration for the Buddha’s great wisdom, and the more we will develop a Bodhicitta that will continuously arise, like water rushing forth from a gushing spring. Then as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we will never be indolent. As long as we learn Right Dharma from its source, from the teachings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, we can joyfully accept and constantly praise it. As we learn it ourselves, we can also guide others so we can learn the One Buddha Vehicle together. In this way, we will become more and more joyful.

We start with ourselves and then help others. This is how people naturally show gratitude and respect for each other. Then the unselfish great love we show each other will be continuous, like a gushing spring. This is happiness and the joy of faith. When we have joy of faith in assisting conditions, we will not become indolent in [our practice] of the Buddha-Dharma. We will be happier and happier and “delight in the Buddha’s great wisdom.” The more we delight in the Buddha’s wisdom, the more we can awaken our Bodhicitta.

So, the sutra text then states,

“These sentient beings, listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all encompassing-wisdom.”

We can all have this sense of joy. The Buddha, with various analogies and expressions, gives teachings to sentient beings. So, “These sentient beings,” So, “These sentient beings” naturally “listen to the teachings” from all Buddhas.” The Dharma taught by the Buddha, which we have heard, is the ultimate teaching. Only by listening mindfully can we attain this ultimate teaching.

․Listening to the Dharma: This is listening to the teachings. The Practice of Peace and Happiness chapter in the Lotus Sutra states, “Put palms together to praise the Buddha. Listen to the Dharma and be joyful.” When our thoughts resonate, we begin to awaken. By transcending subtle, discursive thoughts, we can see our true nature. If our minds can forever dwell in this state, we have attained ultimate awakening.

When we discuss listening to the Dharma here, what is the Dharma we are listening to? It is the teachings [of the Buddha]. We want to learn, and teachings help us learn. Since we want to learn, we need someone to teach us. To learn the Buddha’s teachings, we need someone to teach us. This is a mutual relationship. If Buddhist practitioners are reverent, the teacher of the Dharma will be more earnest. Moreover, the Buddha was giving the teachings that He had guarded, the One Buddha Vehicle. So, the Bodhisattva-path He taught is the teaching the Buddha had safeguarded. It is so very precious! Would He simply want us to [fill seats] at the assembly? Would He feel that the bigger the audience, the more respect He would garner? Definitely not.

When people really pay attention to the Dharma, naturally the person teaching the Dharma will mindfully and earnestly share everything he knows. In the era when the Buddha gave teachings and sentient beings listened to and accepted them, the same principles applied.

So, we now know that listening to the Dharma is about listening to teachings, the methods that are being taught to help us attain Buddhahood. In the Lotus Sutra, in the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, a passage states, [people will] “praise the Buddha with their palms together. Upon hearing the Dharma, they will rejoice.”

From this passage of the sutra, we can understand that listening to the sutras is a very dignified and sacred matter. We must be very respectful. “Palms together” signifies reverence and that we will be diligent, not lax, in listening to the Buddha. Moreover, “praise the Buddha” means we do not only listen to it with our ears; we also praise it with our mouth in order to promote the Dharma. So, after we listen to the teachings, we also need to share them with others.

[People] “praise the Buddha with their palms together. Upon hearing the Dharma, they will rejoice.” After listening, we must give rise to joy. Some would say, “We are already listening. Why do we need to feel joy at the same time?” Feeling joy means we have attained true happiness by taking the Dharma to heart. If we feel nothing after hearing the Dharma, it is like water passing through a water pipe; there is no joy in it because people have not attained True Dharma. People who attain True Dharma will naturally find this Dharma to be wondrous and subtle, and find more joy the more they contemplate it.

Often feeling joy in listening to the Dharma means we have taken the Dharma to heart. With this mindset, “when our thoughts resonate, we begin to awaken.” If the Dharma we listen to enters our hearts and we immediately feel a sense of joy, then our thoughts are resonating [with the Dharma]. When the Dharma resonates with our hearts, when the Dharma converges with our hearts, “we begin to awaken.” When listening to the Dharma brings us joy, it nourishes and grows our wisdom-life. “When our thoughts resonate, we begin to awaken.”

We “transcend subtle discursive thoughts.” As ordinary people, our afflictions arise from very subtle discursive thoughts, from greedy and ignorant thoughts. Greed, anger and ignorance are very subtle and causes trouble in our minds. Obviously, we want to calm our minds, but we have many discursive thoughts that are in subtle opposition with the Dharma. We can apply the Dharma, but our discursive thoughts continuously multiply and prevent the Dharma from abiding in our minds. This is what is most worrying. If we do not eliminate these afflictions, taking the Dharma to heart will be difficult.

So, because we have encountered the Dharma, “we begin to awaken.” Naturally we will want to eliminate those subtle discursive thoughts. To do this, we must be very courageous. It is said, “Forming aspirations and vows is the work of a great person.” With firm aspirations and resolve, our awakened minds can naturally eliminate subtle discursive thoughts. Then naturally our awakened minds will develop over time. Thus, we can “see our true nature.” Afflictions have covered [our minds]. Once the mind awakens, it is like sunlight shining through. Gradually, the clouds that have been covering us will gradually be parted. Thus, we can “see our true nature.” Upon eliminating subtle discursive thoughts, we will be able to see the nature of our hearts,

our intrinsic nature that is originally pure. “Our minds can forever dwell in this state.” Then we can always retain this state of purity. Thus, “we have attained ultimate awakening,” which is the state of a pure mind. Naturally we will discover our intrinsic Tathagata-nature. This is the ultimate awakening.

In the hopes that we can ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom, the Buddha teaches for the sake of sentient beings. Those who hear teachings from the Buddha can ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom. To reach the ultimate is to reach the end, to go from initial awakening to ultimate awakening. Without an initial awakening, ultimate awakening will still be very far away. Ultimate awakening is all-encompassing wisdom,

Which is one of the Three Kinds of Wisdoms. Thus, “with all-encompassing wisdom, we can know all Buddhas’ teachings of the Path and the various causes and conditions of all sentient beings.”

This is one of the Three Kinds of Wisdom, the all-encompassing wisdom. He reached the ultimate and understood all causes.

The Three Kinds of Wisdom 1. Worldly wisdom 2. World-transcending wisdom 3. Supreme world-transcending wisdom.

In our world, the first kind of wisdom is “worldly wisdom.” Worldly wisdom is the wisdom of ordinary people and non-Buddhists. Ordinary people are those who do not engage in spiritual practice, and non-Buddhists are those who do not learn Right Dharma. People with complicated afflictions and incorrect ways of thinking, people who are clever and intelligent and think they are always right, all have worldly wisdom.

Because we make these discriminations and have these attachments, we cannot transcend the world. This is worldly phenomena. If we always remain in this hazy world, we will never understand the ultimate principles and will never leave this world. This means we remain in the Three Destinies and Six Realms. In the end, this refers to worldly cleverness.

The second is “world-transcending wisdom.” By understanding all of the complicated things and matters of the world, naturally we will become vigilant. After we are vigilant, naturally we will want to transcend the world.

World-transcending wisdom: The wisdom of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. With their wisdom, they practice teachings of the Four Noble Truths, so they can transcend the world. Thus, they have world-transcending wisdom.

The second, “world-transcending wisdom,” is the wisdom of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. Hearers learn the Four Noble Truths to practice. Solitary Realizers rely on the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence to understand how we come to and leave this world, all kinds of causes and conditions. They begin with Small Vehicle practices. Those who follow these practices hope to transcend this world. They realize that the world is impermanent and full of suffering, so they engage in spiritual practice. But they stop at cultivating the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence.

Third is “supreme world-transcending wisdom.”

Supreme world-transcending wisdom: The wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. By observing the appearance of stillness and tranquility of all things, they do not experience arising and ceasing. They reach the stage of the Tathagata and will surpass Hearers and Solitary Realizers in wisdom.

Thus, they have supreme world-transcending wisdom.

“Supreme world-transcending wisdom” is the wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It comes from Buddhas and Bodhisattvas “observing the appearance of stillness and tranquility of all things.” All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas understand that beyond this world is a state of stillness and tranquility that we all intrinsically have in our hearts. It is just that we cannot yet realize this state of tranquility and stillness. However, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are in this state of stillness and tranquility. “They do not experience arising and ceasing and reach the stage of the Tathagata.” This is the state of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

They do not let various worldly conditions change their minds, so they are resolute in entering the state of Tathagatas. This is “all-encompassing wisdom,” which surpasses the wisdom of. Hearers and Solitary Realizers. Thus, it is “supreme world-transcending wisdom, the ultimate all-encompassing wisdom.” All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas’ minds are in a state of tranquility and stillness.

When we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn how our minds can reach the same state as all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, which is the state of Tathagatas. Only with firm spiritual aspirations can we reach the state of Tathagatas. To achieve this, we must always be mindful. When we listen to the Dharma, we must give rise to joy and respect to really enter a state that is tranquil and clear, with vows as vast as the universe. Then naturally we transcend arising and ceasing and will reach the state of Tathagatas. Everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 302 – The Two Hindrances of Sentient Beings

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>> “Sentient beings are confused and closed off because of the two hindrances. In this way, we are bound and disturbed by afflictions. In order to open and reveal, the Buddha manifested True Suchness to enable the mind to return to its intrinsic purity.”

>> He Proclaimed all Dharma: All Dharma has a harmonious relationship; the teachings can go together without interfering with each other, As one Dharma can accommodate other Dharma, it thus becomes a part of them. If one Dharma encompasses other Dharma, then those others become part of it.

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“Sentient beings are confused and closed off because of the two hindrances.
In this way, we are bound and disturbed by afflictions.
In order to open and reveal, the Buddha manifested True Suchness
to enable the mind to return to its intrinsic purity.”

This is telling everyone that we all still have attachments in our minds. Sentient beings cannot escape from the two following hindrances. The two hindrances are the hindrance of affliction and the hindrance of knowledge. These two hindrances cause us to be confused, deluded and closed off. Since Beginningless Time, we have been transmigrating within the Six Realms, lost and confused, and unable to help ourselves.

After we leave this lifetime, what will our next lifetime be like? Will we enjoy blessings as heavenly beings? Or will we return to the human realm? The human realm is full of turmoil. We do not know what kind of family we will be born into. We might also be born into the hell, hungry ghost or animal realms. We do not know, because we have been obstructed by the two hindrances of affliction and of knowledge. These two hindrances are obstructing us.

We come into this world and have the chance to encounter and listen to the Dharma. If we do not fully seize this opportunity and strive to be mindful, won’t we be the same as other ordinary people? We will be just as lost and confused.

This state of delusion and confusion closes the door to our minds. Only when the door to our minds is opened can we see the light of our wisdom. We are like a house. If all the windows are tightly shut and the door is closed, how then can the sunlight come in? The inside is dark, and nothing can be seen. What is inside? How is it decorated? Even though we are inside this house, we have no idea. If we need something, we do not know where to find it. This is what it is like to have a closed-off mind.

If we listen to the Dharma but do not apply it, it is like keeping the door and windows shut and keeping our minds in the dark. So, of the two hindrances, the first is the “hindrance of affliction,” which affects all ordinary people. The second is the “hindrance of knowledge” or the “hindrance of intelligence.” When it comes to knowledge and intelligence, we believe we know things. We may know and understand the Dharma but we have not yet accepted Right Dharma. Instead we end up with deviant knowledge, views, and teachings. Thus we hinder Right Dharma and pursue deviant knowledge and teachings. This is the hindrance of knowledge; it hinders the understanding of Right Dharma.

So, “In this way we are bound.” We are disturbed by afflictions. We all intrinsically have a pure Buddha-nature, but afflictions have bound us like ropes, so we are trapped and cannot free ourselves. This is being a Tathagata-in-Bonds, so it says, “In this way we are bound.” Our intrinsic nature has been bound by afflictions. We are trapped by them.

We all know about afflictions and are familiar with greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. However, we continue to live a life of greed, anger and ignorance. We only think about the suffering of not getting what we want. We suffer from not attaining desired wealth, not having the children we want, and not achieving the recognition we desire. We keep seeking and wanting more. We do [good deeds] to create merits and see whether things will go our way, whether we can get everything we want and satisfy all of our desires by gaining wealth, children, and longevity.

Trying to extend the length of our lives is very difficult. But over our lifetime, we seek to satisfy our desires for wealth, offspring and a long life. This short lifetime is full of afflictions that we continuously multiply. Why do we continue to entangle ourselves with external conditions so that we cannot attain liberation? We live this way in this lifetime, but what about our next life? As Buddhist practitioners, we must always heighten our awareness and not allow ourselves to become tempted by worldly desires and pleasures. Otherwise, ignorance arises and entangles us.

We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, but the tangled rope of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt is endless and continues to tie us down. This is how our afflictions constantly disrupt our lives. If we carefully contemplate the question, “What is the most important thing in life?”

we realize that we need to listen to the teachings. So, we listen, contemplate and practice. We must immediately put the Dharma into practice. This is our everlasting work, which allows us to reduce our layers of afflictions life after life. If we cannot eliminate them all in this lifetime, then we must continue to do so in our next life. However, our spiritual aspirations must be firm. Sakyamuni Buddha came to the world life after life, for countless lifetimes, to continuously engage in spiritual practice.

We cannot think that if we cannot penetrate the Dharma in this life, that we will just continue to be trapped in the Six Realms again in future lifetimes. If we think this way, then we must quickly [be determined that] if we cannot achieve a clear understanding in this lifetime, then we will do that in the next. If we cannot fully eliminate our afflictions in this lifetime, we will continue to eliminate them in the next. In thinking this way, we can continue [our practice] life after life.

The Buddha taught [the Dharma] to enable us sentient beings to manifest our True Suchness. He comes to the world and sees that we sentient beings have dull capabilities. For a long time, so long it is counted in kalpas, for such a long time, for countless kalpas, we continuously cycled through the human realm. The Buddha also transmigrates with us. Thus, He does not give up on sentient beings. Despite our dull capabilities, He still patiently teaches us.

The Buddha compassionately teaches for one reason, so we “manifest the True Suchness.” He hopes that sentient beings can manifest their nature of True Suchness. So, He enables our minds to return to our initial purity, to return to our intrinsic nature. So, the Buddha comes to the world life after life to establish various skillful means according to sentient beings’ capabilities. With various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, He illustrates all teachings for sentient beings because our capabilities are [limited].

I believe everyone knows the story of. Maudgalyayana saving his mother. Maudgalyayana was the Buddha’s disciple, and he had great spiritual power. However, his mother was very deluded. No matter how much he tried to counsel her, she clung stubbornly to her delusions. So, he insisted on leaving home to become monastic. Though her son had attained the fruit of Arhatship, she still fell into hell and faced all kinds of suffering and hardships. So, we face the consequences of our own actions and must accept them. The confusion and delusion of sentient beings is truly very frightening.

Maudgalyayana did his best to fulfill his filial duties by saving his mother. He also relied on the virtuous actions of others and on everyone’s collective efforts to create blessings for his mother.

See, being entangled is very tiring. This is what life is like. The Buddha cannot bear to let people suffer, people like Maudgalyayana’s mother and Bright-Eyed Girl’s mother. There are many people like them. In this world, there is so much greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, jealousy and doubt, so people do not accept Right Dharma. How many people does this describe? Some people are tormented in hell. The lifespan in hell is very long. When I started teaching the Earth Treasury Sutra, I discussed how beings there lived long lives and faced much suffering. This kind of suffering is truly indescribable.

The Buddha penetrated the suffering of the Three [Evil] Destinies and saw the way people in the world continuously created karma and afflictions, and descended into hell. In this world, we sentient beings face collective karma. So, a person may experience the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms on earth; this is commonly seen in this world. The Buddha could not bear this, so He continuously utilized various causes and conditions and analogies to awaken everyone so they recognize suffering. Once we recognize suffering, we can be aware. Once we are aware, we can seize the moment and promptly engage in spiritual practice. He helps everyone to realize the law of karma, that we face the consequences of our own actions. To eliminate our own karmic retributions, if we do not repent diligently, if we do not receive blessings and guidance, it will be very difficult.

The Buddha comes to the world and with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, gives teachings to sentient beings. Thus, He has given many teachings. “All Dharma” refers to many kinds of teachings. To teach according to capabilities, the Buddha has to establish as many teachings as there are sentient beings, so they can take the teachings to heart and accept them. This is how He “proclaimed all Dharma.”

Countless sentient beings require countless Dharma-doors. So, we must “vow to transform countless sentient beings.” There are so many of them. “We vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors.” Since there are so many sentient beings, they require so many Dharma-doors. So, the Buddha “proclaimed all Dharma.” As Buddhist practitioners, to deal with people’s myriad ignorant thoughts, we must learn many teachings to know which ones to use to reach certain sentient beings’ hearts. That is why we must be able to grasp one truth to understand all truths.

The Buddha intended to teach only one truth, that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. So, “that is the One Buddha Vehicle teaching.” Indeed, the Buddha only wanted to teach one truth, that we can all attain Buddhahood because we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. As I just mentioned, we are like a house with windows and doors. There are many treasures and splendid decorations inside. Everything is decorated well, but we have shut the doors and the windows so the light cannot shine through. Even though there are fine treasures inside, if we cannot find them, then we cannot easily access the things we need. This is what our minds are like. Our mind is like a house. We have tightly shut the entrances,

so the Buddha uses various methods to get us to open our doors. If we open this door, our wisdom-door will open and the light of wisdom will actually shine upon us from within. We can be illuminated by our own light of wisdom; we do not need to use other people’s light. We ourselves can radiate this light, which is wisdom.

Our wisdom, our Buddha-nature, is equal to the Buddha’s. So, out of His compassion, the Buddha comes to teach all of us the One Buddha Vehicle. But sentient beings could not realize it, so He established the Three Vehicles. He established all Dharma in the hope that all teachings could have a harmonious relationship.

He Proclaimed all Dharma: All Dharma has a harmonious relationship; the teachings can go together without interfering with each other, As one Dharma can accommodate other Dharma, it thus becomes a part of them. If one Dharma encompasses other Dharma, then those others become part of it.

We need to apply the Buddha’s teachings because the purpose of listening to the Dharma is to put the principles into practice. We must allow the Buddha-Dharma to become one with our minds. If we just listen and do not take in anything, then our door is still shut and the Buddha-Dharma is still outside. If we do not open the door to our hearts, the Dharma is kept on the other side. If we can open the door and let the light in, everything will be illuminated. So, “all Dharma has a harmonious relationship; the teachings go together without interfering with each other.” This is similar to adding water to freshly squeezed milk; the two will blend together. Once mixed, we cannot distinguish the water from the milk, as they all blend into one.

The principle is the same. So, if we take the Dharma to heart, it becomes a part of our essence. But we humans have attachments and hindrances of afflictions because we keep the door shut. Even though we know the Dharma exists, we cannot let go of our attachments. “As one Dharma can accommodate other Dharma, it thus becomes a part of them.” When we accept the Dharma, [we understand] true emptiness and wondrous existence.

We realize that we must let go of our attachments. Is there any need for so many attachments? We must truly take in the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha carefully gives explanations according to sentient beings’ capabilities. Therefore, He established many teachings that suit our capabilities. If we accept the Dharma, then we realize the Buddha-Dharma is used to transform sentient beings. If we thoroughly penetrate the teachings, then we will not be attached to thinking that our teachings are correct, that others are wrong. We must not do that. So, “one Dharma can accommodate other Dharma.” Accommodating others is letting go of attachments. Thus, we must adapt to other sentient beings.

During evening recitation, [don’t we chant] “accommodating sentient beings’ capabilities”? The Buddha teaches the Bodhisattva-path to adapt to sentient beings’ capabilities. If we adapt to sentient beings’ capabilities, we “accommodate others.” This is accommodating sentient beings. In this way, it “thus becomes a part of them.” All Dharma can be applied by sentient beings, and all sentient beings can accept the Dharma

and let go of attachments. If we truly accept the Dharma, we must use it to accommodate sentient beings of all capabilities. Then everyone can accept the teachings. “If one Dharma encompasses other Dharma, then all others become part of it.” If we spread the teachings to everyone and everyone can accept our teachings, then we will all be unified as one. We practice the same Dharma and

have a pure intrinsic Tathagata-nature that is equal to all Buddhas, and we are all future Buddhas. As long as we accept the Buddha’s teaching, we are all equal to the Buddha. If we accept the Buddha’s teachings and share it with everyone else, then we can also feel that other people are just like us, with the same Buddha-nature and wisdom. So, “as one Dharma accommodates other Dharma,” we can let go of attachments. To truly learn the Dharma, we must reach all.

When we speak of “delivering all sentient beings,” we are not referring to the ritual performed in the seventh lunar month, but rather to the Dharma that we have received, that we now understand and can share with other sentient beings. If sentient beings accept the Dharma, then we have delivered them. We are one, as our Buddha-nature is one. Thus, one Dharma encompasses other Dharma. The one Dharma is the One Buddha Vehicle. We use the One Vehicle to encompass everyone, to transform and deliver them so that their minds become one with the Buddha-mind. Thus, “all others become part of it, as one entity.” We are all one, which is the True Suchness of our nature.

Dear Bodhisattvas, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn to be one with the Buddha and to live together with sentient beings. If we can do so, the world will become the Bodhisattvas’ pure land. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 301 – Give Provisional Teachings to Reveal the True

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>> “The unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma is rarely encountered even in billions of kalpas. Now that I can see, hear and accept it, I vow to understand the Tathagata’s true meaning.”

>> The Buddha, “with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, has proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings; these teachings are all for the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle.”

>> Analogies and expressions: The Buddha taught the One Buddha Vehicle but the assembly could not understand and realize it. Therefore, He used the three carts and one cart as an analogy. The giving of the first three carts is the giving of the provisional teachings. Later, the giving of the great cart is the revealing of the true teachings.

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“The unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma
is rarely encountered even in billions of kalpas.
Now that I can see, hear and accept it,
I vow to understand the Tathagata’s true meaning.”

Everyone, this passage is something which all Buddhist practitioners can immediately recognize. It is the “Verse for Opening a Sutra.” We have the “Verse for Opening a Sutra” because. Dharma masters in the past, before they expounded a sutra, would recite this “Verse for Opening a Sutra.” They said it at the beginning of the sutra to remind everyone to cherish these teachings and to help everyone recognize the teachings as unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma.

For the 12 Divisions of the Tripitaka to be explained, it would take tens of thousands of texts and treatises. Each of these is unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma. Whenever we listen to teachings from the sutras, we must be reverent and respectful because they are “rarely encountered in billions of kalpas.”

Since they are so rarely encountered and we now have attained this precious teaching, we have attained what is rarely attained. We have attained it, and we can see it. We can see this sutra, and we can read and recite it. And, if when we read and recite it ourselves, we do not truly understand it, now we can also listen to others explain it to us. Dharma masters can explain it to us, help us to comprehend the sutra text and verify our understanding of the text for us. For those teachings we do not comprehend, they can guide us toward understanding. So, this is a very precious opportunity.

After we understand the principles in the sutras, we have to uphold and practice them. In listening to the teachings, we must take them to heart. In accepting the Dharma, we must apply it to our actions and “vow to understand the Tathagata’s true meaning. Without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom.” If we listen to, but do not practice the Dharma, Thus, we must vow to work in the world in order to experience the Dharma. Sometimes, no matter how we hear something, we cannot understand it. Yet if we are mindful in working with others, then maybe we will see the principles in [action].

When it comes to what most people call the Ghost Festival, for us Buddhists, it is the conclusion of the summer retreat. Summer is the period of time in nature when many living beings are busy reproducing. So, there are many bugs and mosquitoes about. The weather is very hot, and it rains very often, or it may be windy. The Buddha made use of summer as a time to gather everyone to listen to the Dharma. This retreat also gave lay practitioners opportunities to create blessings. Monastics could focus on listening to teachings and lay practitioners could make offerings to them while coming into contact with the dignity of the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. This was how the Buddha exercised compassion and wisdom.

During that era, the Buddha would hold retreats during the summer. For those three months, He saw His disciples mindfully and diligently leading disciplined lives to listen to teachings and realize the True Dharma. After three months passed, the season would end, and the Buddha would be very happy. That marked the end of the summer retreat.

At our Abode, we also do the same because we are continuously promoting and advocating ways to bring Right Dharma to the people and lead them to eliminate their superstitions. We want to open the door to Right Dharma to help them penetrate folk tales. Sometimes, folk tales can confuse people and block their way to wisdom. But we want everyone to resolve their confusion so that they can see the True Dharma.

Recently, the international community has been discussing the Greenhouse Effect, which brings imbalances in the four elements and disasters around the world. To deal with this imbalance, I hope we can bring harmony to people’s minds. To bring harmony, we must first eliminate superstitions. We need to have proper beliefs and seek knowledge and understanding from the Dharma. After we understand the Buddha-Dharma, then naturally our relationships will be harmonious, and our living will be disciplined. This all starts with our minds.

So, we are constantly promoting Right Dharma. Recently, I have been very pleased to see that people are indeed beginning to accept Right Dharma. Everyone knows they must change and turn away from folk tales and superstitions. Things are slowly changing. This makes us very happy and very grateful. In these past few years, Tzu Chi volunteers have continuously promoted and advocated this. We are very glad to see that Right Dharma has entered people’s minds. I am very grateful that so many Tzu Chi volunteers have made this happen in communities all over Taiwan. In each community, they remind people that blessings do not come from sacrificing animals, but instead from reverent prayer. This has become very widespread.

So, the Dharma “is rarely encountered even in billions of kalpas. Now that we can see, hear and accept it, we vow we vow to understand the Tathagata’s true meanings.” The Buddha comes to this world for the sake of sentient beings, to inspire them to eliminate their confusion and ignorance, the deeply-rooted ignorance they have accumulated in cycling through the Six Realms that is now piled up layer upon layer. The Buddha comes to this world, life after life and takes on different forms to give teachings. As I have constantly said, the Buddha comes to this world for the one great cause, to “open and reveal [for others to] realize and enter” the Buddha’s understanding and views. He hopes that all sentient beings may have the same understanding and views as Him. He hopes that we know everything He knows. He can understand the truths of the universe, and He hopes that we can all attain the same level of understanding.

However, this is not easy at all. We can certainly become the Buddha’s equal. So, once we realize this, we must work diligently toward that goal. Forming aspirations is easy. The most difficult part of spiritual practice is “sustaining our aspirations.” We need to persevere. We must hold on to our original vows, diligently advance every day and accept the Buddha’s teachings constantly. If we can keep doing this, someday we will be like the Buddha and take the Buddha’s understanding and views into our minds.

We have not yet completely understood the Buddha’s compassion.

The Buddha, “with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, has proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings; these teachings are all for the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle.”

We have read this sutra passage earlier as well. Indeed, when we speak of “causes and conditions, analogies and expressions,” these various causes and conditions are truly endless in number. Each of us has different causes and conditions. The same was true during the Buddha’s era, so when He gave teachings, He also used causes and conditions to explain the Dharma. There are causes and conditions between people, as well as between people and matters, and between people and their environment. There are also causes and conditions in the past, present and future. All these are “various causes and conditions.”

To help sentient beings achieve a deeper understanding, He utilized various “analogies and expressions.” If we did not understand one example, He would use another one. Would we understand that example? If we still did not understand, He would come up with other examples. Out of His compassion, He would not give up on any one of us. So, He continuously utilized analogies and various methods.

So, “the Buddha comes to teach the One Buddha Vehicle.” All Dharma He teaches is the One Buddha Vehicle to help everyone become the same as Him. Since the Buddha can understand it, He hopes we can all attain Buddhahood and achieve the same understanding as Him. All the various causes and conditions He uses are to teach the One Buddha Vehicle. Even when He gives analogies and expressions, He is still teaching the One Buddha Vehicle. So, He uses provisional teachings to teach the Dharma of the One Vehicle. For the One Buddha Vehicle, He gave the Three Vehicle teachings. When the causes and conditions are suitable, the Buddha combines the Three Vehicle Dharma back into the One Buddha Vehicle. This is the essence of the Lotus Sutra.

Analogies and expressions: The Buddha taught the One Buddha Vehicle but the assembly could not understand and realize it. Therefore, He used the three carts and one cart as an analogy. The giving of the first three carts is the giving of the provisional teachings. Later, the giving of the great cart is the revealing of the true teachings.

The Buddha now always teaches the One Buddha Vehicle. But this time, “the assembly” gathered there “could not understand and realize it.” They still could not comprehend it. So, in the Lotus Sutra, there is an analogy of three carts. This is in the later sutra passages. He talks about the three carts. The three carts are actually a sheep cart, a deer cart and a great white ox cart. They were chosen to appeal to sentient beings, so that they could easily pick one. As long as it got them away from the burning house, from that dangerous place, they were free to choose any cart. So, the three carts are used as an analogy.

Actually, in the beginning, the Buddha compared Himself to an elder, who, when his house was burning, said, “Everyone, get out quickly!” But most people were like naive children; they thought it was fun to play with fire. They did not know to be afraid of it. So, the elder felt somewhat helpless. He had to use these carts, [which the children] would want to play with, to call to the children from outside the house, “Come out! Hurry up and come out! Look, these things are even more interesting! Hurry up! Come out quickly! You can take your pick of any of these things.”

The children turned around and saw that there were better things to play with, so they quickly left that very dangerous place. The fire was still burning but when they saw more interesting things outside, they quickly ran out of the house. They did not run outside out of fear, but because there were more interesting things. Whether they liked the carts pulled by sheep, by deer, or by a great ox, the elder let them choose, as long as they were willing to come out from the burning house and temporarily escape to a safer place.

The elder told them, “I do not really want to give you a small cart; I want to give you a big cart. With this big cart, in addition to just driving yourself around, you can also drive many people around the world steadily and with ease.” This analogy is telling us that by “giving the first three carts, [He] was giving provisional teachings.” The three carts are analogies for skillful means. “Later, giving the great cart” refers to how He gave the biggest cart last. [After] Hearer and Pratyekabuddha [Vehicles] was the most important, the Bodhisattva [Vehicle]. For Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas, He attracted them with skillful means. But the most important thing. He wanted us to do was to walk the Bodhisattva-path. That is the way for us to transform ourselves, as well as transform others.

So, “with various causes and conditions,” and “with analogies and expressions,” He wanted to solely teach us to transform ourselves and others at the same time. Transforming others is also a way to help us perfect our own spiritual cultivation. This is the Buddha’s compassion.

Dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners, we must learn the Great Vehicle Dharma and use it to develop aspirations and vows. We live together on this land. If people’s minds are in chaos, then order will be disturbed. Even the climate’s order will be in chaos. On the one hand, we must diligently listen to the Buddha-Dharma, and on the other, we must put it into practice, eliminate superstitions, and lead people to the Right Dharma. So, all of us must now diligently put the teachings into practice. I am grateful to each of you for being mindful and loving, and for sharing the same mission to promote Right Dharma amongst people. To do this, we must always be mindful.

Episode 300 – Teaching the Bodhisattva-path

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>> “The Buddha compassionately opens, reveals and teaches the Bodhisattva-path. He greatly benefits sentient beings, so they can attain peace and happiness. By hearing, practicing, realizing and entering [the teachings,] we plant all roots of virtue.”

>> “Sariputra, presently in infinite, countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions, all Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.”

>> “All Buddhas, with infinite, countless skillful means, with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, have proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings; these teachings are all for “the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle.”

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“The Buddha compassionately opens, reveals
and teaches the Bodhisattva-path.
He greatly benefits sentient beings,
so they can attain peace and happiness.
By hearing, practicing, realizing and entering
[the teachings,] we plant all roots of virtue.”

Do we understand this? The Buddha, out of His compassion, continuously “opens and reveals.” He hopes we sentient beings can realize all Buddhas’ minds, understanding and views. Yet sentient beings are attached and deluded. [Over time,] thousands and tens of thousands of analogies and expressions have been given, but how many can we actually comprehend? Perhaps various causes and conditions have already manifested before us thousands of times. Though we have learned from many sutras, we may not apply them to our daily living; we act as if the two are unrelated.

When people and matters trouble us, we do not promptly apply the teachings to the situation at hand. This is how we sentient beings act. Someone can remind us of something over and over again or express an intention again and again, but does that mean we understand it? We may still not understand.

How can we understand the Buddha’s understanding, views and intent? The only way is through the Buddha’s method of opening and revealing the Bodhisattva-teachings and teaching us to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Only by actually practicing this can we understand

what the Buddha-mind is. Typically, ordinary people assume others’ [suffering] has nothing to do with them. The Buddha began by teaching us, “You must exercise your love and see sentient beings’ suffering as your own. All sentient beings in this world share the same collective karma and coexist with each other and the world. By giving out of love, we are actually benefiting ourselves. Do you understand? Yes, we understand. Then go wherever there is hardship. Be with those who are facing difficulties and learn to help and understand them.”

When we truly connect with, help and understand others, we feel very good. Only when we face suffering sentient beings do we recognize the blessings in our peaceful lives. As we help others in need, we attain realizations, so we are grateful to each other. By teaching us to walk the Bodhisattva-path, the Buddha awakens our “unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion.” This way of treating others is called empathy in modern terms; this is the ability to understand others’ pain and put ourselves in their shoes.

Besides putting ourselves in others’ shoes, we also must form great aspirations and make great vows, not just limited to [helping] people in this world. We must vow that in infinite and countless worlds we will “greatly benefit all sentient beings so they can attain peace and happiness.” When sentient beings are suffering, how do we comfort them? How do we bring them peace of mind? We must spring into action and soothe their pain.

Bodhisattvas care for sentient beings the way we care for young children. “Oh! You made another mistake.” We lead them by the hand, so we can teach them. For even younger children, we pick them up. If they cry, we coax and comfort them until they calm down, then we teach them. So, to “greatly benefit sentient beings,” we must have this mindset. When it comes to their pain, we must “relieve their suffering.” We must help them achieve a state of peace, happiness and freedom. This is how we “greatly benefit sentient beings.” When we help them understand the value of the Buddha-Dharma, they will become joyful and happily listen to it. The more they listen, the more they understand and the more they gain.

Around the world, Tzu Chi volunteers promptly show up wherever people experience disasters. In many countries with different ethnic groups and religions, the people are happy to see these Living Bodhisattvas. When our volunteers put their palms together, these people also do the same. By guiding others with love, naturally we become their role models.

Look at Myanmar; they are still helping each other in the same way. Whenever there is threat of a flood, the locals will get together to make preparations in the exact same way Tzu Chi provided relief. The way they help people in disaster areas is exactly the same way that. Tzu Chi volunteers first helped them. This is how people teach and benefit each other and bring each other peace and happiness.

To do this, we must listen. After we listen to the Dharma, through engaging and interacting with others, we refine ourselves and become role models. We must practice and develop our understanding. Then, through the process of our practice, we cultivate virtue. Our inner cultivation will manifest in our actions. As we cultivate our minds, we will become a role model for others.

Thus, we constantly say that inwardly we cultivate the Four Great Vows, and outwardly we practice the Four Infinite Minds. Naturally we will manifest through action our inner cultivation, the Four Great Vows, “I vow to transform countless sentient beings” and the other great vows that we continuously cultivate in our hearts. Then as we [interact with others], “loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity” will manifest in our appearances. This model behavior is the outer manifestation of our inner cultivation. If we have this level of spiritual refinement, we express these virtues in our actions.

This is how we listen, contemplate and practice. So after we listen to teachings, we can cultivate them inwardly and express them outwardly. Then we will naturally “realize and enter”; we will be able to fully comprehend the Buddha’s compassionate intent. Then we can understand the essence of the Buddha’s teachings and take this Dharma-essence into our hearts. This is how we “realize and enter” and

“plant roots of virtue,” so the seed will be planted deep in our hearts. This is like giving our wisdom-life a bone marrow transplant, [revitalizing it with the Dharma-essence]. Only in this way can our wisdom-life grow.

Everyone, we must truly and deeply comprehend the Buddha’s compassion. He comes to this world solely to “open and reveal” the Bodhisattva-path to us. So, we must diligently accept His teachings.

As we said before,

“Sariputra, presently in infinite, countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions, all Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.”

“Presently in infinite, countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions….” Exactly how many Buddha-lands are there? Millions and billions. So, what is the analogy we use to describe this? The universe, which is vast and boundless, and contains countless worlds. Indeed, the Buddha comes to this world and out of His compassion, tells us that our spiritual state is equal to His. Based on this explanation, [we realize that] when we look at people with a Buddha-mind, everyone is a Buddha. In each of our minds there is a world. So presently, there are billions of such worlds. And in any of these countless worlds there are countless Buddhas who teach there. So within the present countless worlds, there are countless Buddhas.

The same principles are taught everywhere. Because sentient beings’ capabilities are dull, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas must also use various skillful means to teach them. We have seen Them “greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.” Clearly, sentient beings have many different sufferings and afflictions, so all Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, in countless billions of Buddha-lands, bring great benefits to these countless afflicted sentient beings.

If we were not so unsettled, these benefits would be unnecessary. Let us think about this sutra passage carefully. The Buddha “greatly benefited” sentient beings. If we had no afflictions, then we would not need the Buddha to find ways to greatly benefit us. The “great benefit” is geared toward those who are afflicted and flawed. Our wisdom is flawed, so afflictions flourish, and we become unsettled. Thus we need the Buddha to find ways to greatly benefit us by educating, comforting and inspiring us.

So although this section of the sutra seems plain and simple, we must mindfully comprehend how “[all Buddhas] greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.” Indeed, we intrinsically have wisdom, but we have blemished it. Is that wisdom still there? Yes, only now it is covered by ignorance. This is why all Buddhas [come to help us]. So in countless, infinite Buddha-lands, all Buddhas greatly benefit sentient beings. I hope that, within the infinite Buddha-lands, we are not just receiving the Buddha’s benefits but greatly benefiting others as well as, bringing peace and happiness to them. This should be the process of our learning.

The next section states,

“All Buddhas, with infinite, countless skillful means, with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, have proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings; these teachings are all for “the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle.”

Haven’t we been listening to these words every day? Yes, every single day. As they are repeatedly mentioned, have we truly comprehended them? This is what we must constantly ask ourselves. In the Buddhist sutras, especially in the Lotus Sutra, there is a large amount of text that teaches similar concepts about our minds.

Look at, “all Buddhas, with infinite, countless skillful means,” In the ten directions, Buddhas in hundreds of billions of Buddha-lands teach with infinite, countless skillful means. Clearly, “All Buddhas share the same path.” The minds of sentient beings in all worlds are similarly covered by afflictions. With our minds covered by afflictions, understanding things is very difficult.

But the Buddha continuously utilizes various causes and conditions. Actually, all things in the world are teaching us the Dharma. The Dharma is not taught only when Sakyamuni Buddha comes before us and speaks to us. How do we break free of afflictions and ignorance to see the Buddha’s understanding and views manifest? We have to make this breakthrough ourselves.

Similarly, we must open our eyes to behold the state of our surroundings. If we close our eyes, we cannot see our external conditions. But those conditions are still there. Will they always be there? With our “ultimate wisdom,” if we close our eyes, we know these external conditions are around us. However, these conditions are always changing as infinitesimal changes accumulate.

This is just like how just now, as I was walking outside, I looked up. I saw gray clouds some distance away, but behind them there were hints of pink and orange light. That shade of pink was very pale, seemingly floating out from the dark gray clouds. The clouds closer to us seemed darker. Then the sky even closer to us was a pale blue. But as I was watching the sky, my focus shifted, and I looked at the trees that surrounded me, and I listened to the sound of the birds. That was all I did. Before I came inside, I looked up at the sky again. In such a short time, the gray clouds had turned white, and the patch of blue sky was now bigger.

As I turned around, a thought came to me. How amazing! This scenery is impermanent and changes so rapidly. How did it change that quickly? This is how external conditions give teachings. In an instant, I saw the impermanent and ever-changing nature of things. Depending on the mindset we use to observe the world around us, everything can teach us the Dharma.

So, “with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, [Buddhas] have proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings.” In infinite and countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas use everything in Their surroundings to constantly illustrate the Dharma. “These teachings are all for the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle.”

Everyone, does this concept seem profound? Yes, it is very profound. Because it is very profound, we must always be mindful.

Episode 299 – Bring Peace and Happiness to Sentient Beings

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>> Thus, “Fundamental wisdom is [His] understanding. Acquired wisdom is [His] views. Combined they illuminate enlightened and unenlightened states. These are the Buddha’s understanding and views.”

>> “These myriad sentient beings listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.”

>> “Sariputra, presently in infinite, countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions, all Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.”

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The sky is a universe unto itself. Its true nature remains unchanging; what moves and changes are the air currents.

So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must learn what this unmoving nature is that can respond to ever-changing phenomena. This is something we need to learn.

Thus, “Fundamental wisdom is [His] understanding. Acquired wisdom is [His] views. Combined they illuminate enlightened and unenlightened states. These are the Buddha’s understanding and views.”

Remember, a few days ago we talked about “ultimate wisdom” and “relative wisdom.” Do you remember? “Ultimate wisdom” is “fundamental wisdom.” We intrinsically have it; we are born with it. We know all of this, but since we are living in an ever-changing world, to adapt to all the changes, we need to apply “acquired wisdom,” which is also known as “relative wisdom.” We all know that things happen, but how do we adapt to them?

Take the Philippines (in 2012) as an example. The peripheral circulation of Typhoon Sura unexpectedly caused major flooding. A very wide area was affected; this was disastrous for many people. Though the people were safe, many houses were submerged by floodwater. Thus they faced unbearable suffering. That area has a relatively large poor population, so Tzu Chi’s manpower in the Philippines was insufficient. Many survivors needed help and a huge area needed to be cleaned up; even without an assessment, we could already know this.

A group of Bodhisattva-volunteers from Taiwan traveled to the Philippines to help those who were affected. They found the local residents cleaning up the affected areas barefooted. They stood in mud and filthy water, without shoes, to clear the debris. When the volunteers saw this in person, [they thought,] “This is unacceptable. If they injured their feet in this mud full of filth, their wounds might become infected.” So, they immediately recommended a distribution of rain boots for them to protect their feet. This is called “relative wisdom,” which is also known as “acquired wisdom.”

When they went into that environment, and saw what was truly needed there, they promptly took action to help them. This is their “acquired wisdom.”

The Buddha’s understanding and views allow Him to understand the unmoving intrinsic nature and the states of varying capabilities. So, the Buddha is already replete with “ultimate wisdom” as well as “relative wisdom.” Combined, they are “all-encompassing wisdom.”

The wisdom we are talking about now, from the perspective of ordinary people, can be divided into “understanding” and “views. Understanding” means He understands everything. Before we arrived, we knew a disaster took place in the Philippines. However, only upon arriving at the scene did we really know their immediate needs. For example, the essential intrinsic nature is something we all intrinsically have. However, we still cannot experience it. Therefore, the Buddha tailors methods for us based on our capabilities and identities in order to teach us. This is “acquired wisdom.” He taught us according to our capabilities, to help us all understand. So, “acquired wisdom” is “worldly wisdom” and “fundamental wisdom” is “world-transcending wisdom.”

In conclusion, the most fundamental part of us is something we all intrinsically have; what is later acquired comes from mindful study and observation.

After this disaster, the government built neatly plotted rows of houses for these people. These houses looked very nice. But in person, there is not much to them. Each unit was about 160 square feet. How many people lived in each house? It was built for seven people. There was nothing inside at all. The houses were actually built with stacks of concrete blocks, covered by sheets of zinc. From afar, based on photos of the exterior, these houses looked quite nice. Many such houses were lined up in neat rows. But in reality, there were actually seven people living in each 160-square-foot home with no furniture and a mud floor. What we see from the outside may be [nice], but we must go inside to personally experience it. Therefore, “acquired wisdom” comes from experiential understanding. To figure out what is needed, we need to make our own assessments.

Here, “illuminating” means that with His wisdom, His understanding and views, He understands the unmoving essence and the ever-changing, varying and impermanent states of sentient beings that result from karma. He understands and can see them all. He knows and sees. So, His “understanding” is true understanding, and His “views” are true insights. He thoroughly and clearly understands.

“Combined they illuminate enlightened and unenlightened states. Enlightened” refers to “fundamental wisdom,” the essence of True Suchness, which never changes. Take the sky for example. Air pressures and conditions cause it to appear to change. But its essence remains the same. That essence is True Suchness. Here, “unenlightened” refers to all worldly phenomena. We come to this world by following our karmic affinities with our parents that connect us to this world. Our time in this world is brief, but over these decades, we have created so much karma. Each of us face different karmic forces and are in an unenlightened state.

The Buddha understands the Four Noble Realms, the realms of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Solitary Realizers and Hearers. He understands all [ten realms,] especially the Six Unenlightened Realms. He has a clear and thorough understanding of all these different states, as of the palm of His own hand. So this is “the Buddha’s understanding and views”; the Buddha’s wisdom is just like this. Thus, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be more meticulous and deliberate. Previously, I reminded all of you to meticulously and thoroughly understand the state of True Suchness as well as how people live in this ordinary world. We must thoroughly understand all of this; this is our goal in learning the Buddha’s teaching.

Since the Buddha comes to “open and reveal,” how can we not “realize and enter”? We must diligently work to do this. The Buddha’s understanding and views are “fundamental wisdom” and “acquired wisdom, ultimate wisdom” and “relative wisdom.” The labels may be different, but they are actually all part of the same thing. Only by understanding this are we able to distinguish the unmoving essence from ever-changing causes, conditions and retributions. Therefore, the Buddha had to utilize analogies and expressions.

We have discussed the related sutra text earlier.

“These myriad sentient beings listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.”

They had the karmic affinity to “listen to the teachings from all Buddhas,” from those who already attained enlightenment. Those who have already awakened, the Buddhas, come to “open and reveal” [teachings]. We must be mindful and be sincerely willing to seek the Dharma. We cannot just listen occasionally and casually or hear it and then say, “Yes, I understand” and then leave it at that. We must be very earnest because this has a major effect on our wisdom-life.

The suffering in life, cyclic existence in the Six Realms, is beyond our control. We constantly go through this process, without control over what happens. Isn’t this very sad? Since we have the rare opportunity to hear Dharma, we must diligently engage in spiritual practice.

We have the karmic affinity to listen to the Buddha’s teachings now because we created the karmic connection to listening to the teachings in our past lives. Perhaps in the past, we lived at the same time as Sakyamuni Buddha. Even Sakyamuni Buddha followed countless Buddhas in spiritual practice. Perhaps we, along with Sakyamuni Buddha, have listened to teachings from countless Buddhas. The only difference is that Sakyamuni Buddha earnestly engaged in spiritual practice. By listening, contemplating and practicing, He put the teachings into action. Thus, life after life, He has clear understanding and comes to the world to “open and reveal” this to sentient beings.

Yet, we forever remain unenlightened beings. After listening to the Dharma from all Buddhas, we still cannot realize the ultimate. That is what happened in the past. What about now? We should be determined to realize the ultimate by listening to the Dharma. The ultimate is when we completely understand and mindfully accept the teachings. We cannot just casually listen to them and then forget about them, definitely not. After listening, we must consider them carefully. After contemplating, understanding and realizing, we must put the teachings into action. We can no longer wait; time is running out. So, we must act quickly to attain “all-encompassing wisdom.”

“All-encompassing wisdom” is the Buddha’s wisdom. “All-encompassing wisdom” is unmoving and is unaffected by the ever-changing world. No matter how many external changes there are, its essence will remain steadfast..

So the sutra continues,

“Sariputra, presently in infinite, countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions, all Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.”

The Buddha said to Sariputra again, “Sariputra, presently in infinite, countless Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions,” all Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, are present. As we have constantly discussed, every one of us is a Buddha. In the past, there has already been a countless number of Buddhas. This passage is a description of the vastness of time, the expansiveness of space and the myriads of sentient beings in the past. “Sentient beings, the mind and the Buddha are no different [in their nature].” The present is the culmination of a lengthy and incalculable amount of time. Time is an infinitely long river that is constantly moving. As the present is a continuation of the past, the present will also extend into the future.

I also told everyone that the “present” is this current instant, from which we talk about the past. It is also from this current instant that we continue on into the future. The past, present and future do not end at this second; “this instant” goes on endlessly. Thus there were infinite, countless Buddha-lands in the past throughout the ten directions, and also infinite, countless Buddha-lands in the present throughout the ten directions. Many Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, come to greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness. This is the one great cause for which all Buddhas manifest in this world, “to greatly benefit sentient beings.” They come to “greatly benefit” all sentient beings. This is not just human beings but all living beings in the world.

This is why we constantly say that we must not kill living beings. We must protect and respect all life. This is why we have been encouraging vegetarianism. Not consuming the meat of sentient beings is a great way to benefit them. We should not only cherish other humans. The Buddha taught principles to help us understand our cyclic existence in the Six Realms. All sentient beings likewise have Buddha-nature. For the sake of this world, while we are in this world, we cherish all sentient beings with a Buddha-mind. This is how we “greatly benefit sentient beings.” Since the Buddha greatly benefits sentient beings we Buddhist practitioners must also do the same, “greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.”

Sentient beings are suffering. Wherever there is suffering, we must go there and find ways to help them. By assisting and comforting them, they can be at peace and happy in body and mind. This is the one great cause for which the Buddha comes to the world, to “open and reveal.” His understanding and views for sentient beings to “realize and enter.” Since the Buddha has manifested in this world, the countless numbers of past Buddhas in Their Buddha-lands and the present Sakyamuni Buddha in His Buddha-land, this Saha world, all share the same path “to greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.”

Everyone, don’t we wish to learn from the Buddha? The Buddha taught us with this mindset, so we must earnestly accept His teachings. Then we must put these teachings into practice and apply them in this world, so we are able to “greatly benefit sentient beings and bring them peace and happiness.” So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must always be mindful.

Episode 298 – Life Is Short; Engage in Spiritual Practice Now

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When I hear the sound of the rain outside, I think about how vital the wind is to the world, because it circulates the air. Rain is also vital because the world needs to be nourished by water. It needs wind, rain and the sun. The land supports all living things. If seeds fall to the earth and there is moisture in the soil, warmth from sunlight and a circulation of fresh air, these seeds will germinate. All things, from the seeds of small grasses to those of great trees, [grow because] of the union of the four elements. The seeds are the causes; the four elements are the conditions. When they converge, all things will grow smoothly.

Let us look at this world. The landscape is so beautiful; there is a strong sense of vitality. Thus, our world is a pure land. However, no matter which pure land we are in, as long as we are in this world, we inevitably go through birth, aging, illness and death. This is a law of nature. No matter where we live, we age as each year passes. This happens in all the different worlds. Where are those other worlds? There are worlds in the heaven realm. In these worlds, the sense of time is different, and the lifespan varies. Time flows differently in each world.

The world we are most familiar with is the Four Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings. Its annual cycle is very different from that of the human realm. One day in the Four Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings is 50 years in our world. In the Buddhist sutras, the Buddha often talks about heavenly beings [like those in] Trayastrimsa Heaven. One day there is 100 years here. Their lifespan [averages] 1000 years. In the Four Heavens of the Four Heavenly Kings, one day there is 50 years here. These are all natural processes. Natural processes, on Earth or on other worlds, always abide by certain laws.

Heavenly beings, even if they live to 1000, will still one day reach the end of their lives. So when heavenly beings die, they will still fall back into the human realm. Will they definitely fall to the human realm? Or will it be one of the other five realms? Once they deplete their blessings, they must fall.

Isn’t there a story about this in the sutras? There was a heavenly being who suddenly manifested the Five Forms of Decay. Heavenly beings look very magnificent and radiant. Their clothing is very stunning and their faces seem to glow. Even their crowns, the accessories on their heads, their clothing, limbs, facial expression, physical appearance and so on are very beautiful. But then the Five Forms of Decay manifest. Suddenly, the flowers in their hair wilt. The crown they wear loses its luster. Their clothes also became unkempt. Their physical appearances and well-being completely change. They begin to decay, similar to the way humans do.

In this world, we can see photos from when we were 20 and from when we were 30 years old. When we look at photos from our 20s, we look young and beautiful or very handsome. When we look at photos from our 30s, we look the same, just more mature and confident. When we look at photos from our 50s, we look different. Somehow we gained weight, are a little fatter. Our bodies changed, so we do not look as slim in our clothes. When we look at photos from our 70s, compared to now that we are in our 80s, we are the same person, but over this whole process our physical appearance has changed. At the end of our lives, the Five Forms of Decay manifest.

When you are older, you will understand. Your sight becomes blurrier; your hearing becomes worse; your steps are less smooth and so on. This is how we manifest the Five Forms of Decay. The same happens to heavenly beings. Suddenly their physical appearance is sloppy. When they look at their bodies, they also feel dissatisfied. Heavenly beings manifest the Five Forms of Decay, even if they live to be 1000. Even though their lifespan is so long, they are still subject [to the law of nature], and their lives will end one day.

So, when a certain heavenly being manifested the Five Forms of Decay, he knew his time of enjoying heavenly blessings was about to end. He became very frightened; what could he do? A thought struck him and he came to see the Buddha. He begged the Buddha to save him; couldn’t the Buddha add to his blessings so he could remain in heaven? The Buddha smiled and told him, “You are a heavenly being now because you created a lot of blessed karma in your past life. Because you accumulated those blessings, you have enjoyed a long life and good fortune. So, you rose above the human realm to be born in heaven.” The heavenly being then asked Him,

“Venerable Buddha! Once my life in heaven ends, where will I go? Will I come to the human realm?” The Buddha said, “Not necessarily. That depends on the causes and conditions you created. Is your karma to be born human stronger? Or is your karma to be born in the animal, hungry ghost or hell realm stronger? That depends on the severity of your karma when you are reborn. You will led by whichever karma is stronger. You may not necessarily be born human.”

When he heard this, he was very frightened. “If I am born human again, I can create more blessings. But if I fall into the Three Evil Realms, how will I have the chance to create blessings?” So the Buddha said, “Right now, you must form aspirations and vows.” Right then, the heavenly being made a vow. In front of the Buddha, he said, “Since my life in heaven will end, if I can come back to the human realm, I will cultivate a path that transcends birth and death and eliminates samsara. I take refuge with the Buddha and the Three Treasures. If I am born in the human realm, I will become a monastic, engage in spiritual practice and help all sentient beings. I don’t want to be born in heaven again. Once I deplete my heavenly blessings, I do not know where I will go.”

So, the Buddha began to wish him well and accepted him [as a disciple]. At this moment, the heavenly being quickly prostrated. He gave obeisance and paid his respects. Suddenly, he felt his soul leave his body. He seemed to then be in a horse stable. A mare was giving birth to a foal. The foal was stuck in her womb and could not get out. The mare was in great pain and began to wildly run about. The owner of the horse was firing pottery. As he was about to put pots into the kiln, suddenly, this mare that could not give birth and was in great pain wildly ran about and knocked over the trays of pottery. The pots that were about to go into the kiln were now completely shattered.

Her owner, the pottery master, had spent so much effort sculpting these things. Suddenly, they were knocked over by the mare and completely shattered. He was so angry that he picked up a thick and heavy stick and beat the mare from her head to her stomach. The mare struggled in great pain and finally gave birth to the foal, but both the mare and the foal died.

This period of struggle happened suddenly as the heavenly being stood in front of the Buddha. When he prostrated, His consciousness went through this process of being born. He was in the stable. He saw the mare struggling and being beaten with a big stick by her owner. The mare died, and the foal died at the moment of his birth. Then, this being became conscious again; he looked up and saw the Buddha. The Buddha kindly looked at him and asked, “How are you doing?” He told the Buddha that, for an instant, he seemed to have gone to this other world.

The Buddha said, “Congratulations. Once you depleted your heavenly blessings, you were supposed to go to the animal realm, to the womb of this mare. You were going to become a horse and live a life of torment. But because you had the will to form great aspirations and vows to transcend the Three Realms by becoming a monastic, engaging in spiritual practice and delivering and helping all sentient beings, you were freed from spending a lifetime as a horse. In this lifetime, you must take good care of your spiritual aspiration. Remember, when you come to this world again, you must engage in spiritual cultivation for the sake of all sentient beings.” The heavenly being was grateful. As a disciple of the Three Treasures, he faithfully accepted and practiced the teachings.

This is a story about how in the heavens, even though the course of a heavenly year and the length of a heavenly lifespan is very long, it will still end when his heavenly blessings are depleted. He was going to fall into the mare’s womb [and become a horse].

This also shows us how short our lives are. One day in Trayastrimsa Heaven is 100 years in our world. Based on our current lifespan, most of us will die before one day in heaven is over. In this world, some of us are in our 20s, 30s, 40s, 50, 60, 70s and even 80s and 90s. That is not even one day in Trayastrimsa Heaven. Yet we have already lived for so many years. Thus a human lifespan, compared to a heavenly lifespan, is incredibly short.

On top of that, our lives are impermanent. This kind of impermanence really troubles us. In this universe, especially on this land, in this Saha World, on Earth, we see the imbalance of the four elements. This worries us greatly. And now we hear the sound of rainfall. So, we must always be mindful and vigilant.

Our lives, our lifespan, is so short. The atmosphere of the world and the karma of sentient beings are interrelated. Therefore, this world is a good place for spiritual practice. Only the pressure from tremendous suffering and [disasters] can make us vigilant. So, when we see suffering, we must recognize our blessings. We must take advantage of our time as humans to quickly form aspirations and vows.

When the heavenly beings’ life was about to end, he took refuge in the Three Treasures and vowed to, lifetime after lifetime, engage in spiritual practice and willingly help all sentient beings. As for us, right now there is so much suffering in this world and many examples of impermanence. How can we not seize the day? Even a heavenly being with a long lifespan is seizing the opportunity to practice, so shouldn’t we short-lived humans do the same? A blessed being is doing this, so shouldn’t we humans? The Buddha came to this world to tell us about the truth of suffering and of how it comes from accumulated karma. So, we must know that for the source of suffering to cease, we must practice the path to cessation. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 297 – Sentient Beings Will Ultimately Attain Wisdom

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>> “These myriad living beings listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.”

>> These myriad living beings: All living beings are sentient. So, all animals have sentience and consciousness and arise out of a myriad of conditions. Thus we use myriad to describe living beings. Also, as they undergo myriad cycles of samsara, we use myriad to describe living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, aside from the Buddha [realm], beings in the other nine are sentient beings.

>> They also listen to “teachings from all Buddhas.” It is said, “The complete and immediate One Vehicle is subtle, wondrous, extremely profound and difficult to understand and enter.” People without sharp capabilities or superior wisdom listen to teachings and cannot comprehend them, listen to teachings and do not give rise to faith. They listen to teachings but do not believe them. Instead, they give rise to doubt and slander.

>> For example, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, though the ears of 5000 people rang with the Brahma-voice, they still withdrew and left.

>> “Even in infinite, limitless kalpas, hearing this Dharma is still difficult.”

>> [They] will ultimately attain: With perfect teachings and the ultimate fruit, in the stage of wondrous enlightenment, the delusions of ignorance will be eliminated and the embodiment of fundamental enlightenment will completely manifest. At that time, the mind sees its own nature and will always abide in it. This is the state of ultimate enlightenment.

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All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have unsurpassed wisdom. All phenomena are in a tranquil and clear state. This tranquil and clear state is the Bodhisattva Way taught by the Buddha. The wisdom of all Bodhisattvas is close to the Buddha’s wisdom. Thus, the wisdom and mindset of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are in a very tranquil and clear state. So, every Bodhisattva has already entered the Tathagata’s pure and wondrous land, surpassing the wisdom of. Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas.

So, the Lotus Sutra repeatedly states that the Buddha’s understanding and views cannot be realized by ordinary people. Even Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas cannot realize the Buddha’s understanding and views because He has all-encompassing wisdom. This all-encompassing wisdom, is the pure wisdom of the Tathagata. “It is called world-transcending supreme wisdom.” Supreme wisdom is all-encompassing wisdom, the wisdom of one who has attained supreme, perfect, universal enlightenment. It is the wisdom of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

This is how the Buddha helps all sentient beings realize the truths of the Buddhas. He did this not only for humans, but for all sentient beings. In the Agama teachings, there are so many stories. They take place not only in the human realm but also in the animal realm. The Buddha had also lived in the animal realm, not due to karmic retributions but due to His pure and unsurpassed wisdom. He lived as different animals to transform similar beings or to transform human beings. Even as an animal, He could transform humans. Even as the smallest creature, He could transform others.

The Buddha told a story from infinite kalpas ago. There was a Buddha named All-Transforming King. Among His disciples, there were two who stood out. One was Diligent-Rhetoric. One was Joyous-Virtue. Of these two disciples, one was very diligent and the other was very lazy. They were good spiritual friends. Diligent-Rhetoric knew that Joyous-Virtue sincerely wanted to hear the Buddha’s teachings. But when it came time to listen, once he sat down, he nodded off quickly. [Diligent-Rhetoric] could not bear to see this.

One day, he walked by Joyous-Virtue and saw him sleeping again. Diligent-Rhetoric called to him, “Joyous-Virtue, we must be energized and focused. We can no longer be lethargic. We must not allow momentary drowsiness or physical pleasures to make us forget such precious, wondrous Dharma. If we do not [learn it] in this lifetime, when will we encounter it again? If we lose our human form and grow distant from the Buddha-Dharma, where will we end up? We have no way of knowing.” With great sincerity, he gave this advice and encouragement.

Joyous-Virtue felt deeply remorseful and became more vigilant of himself. He began to practice earnestly. But after a few days, his mind slowly became drowsy and foggy again. Yet he constantly heard a voice in his head, “Be diligent, be diligent. Once our human form is lost, it may take countless kalpas to regain.” So, he found a spot by the water with a rock and sat on top of it [to meditate]. He reminded himself, “If I fall asleep, the slightest movement from nodding off, will cause me to fall into the water.” Thus, he reminded himself to be vigilant. But after sitting there for a while, he dozed off again.

Diligent-Rhetoric saw this from afar. So, [Diligent-Rhetoric] transformed into a bee and intentionally buzzed in front of. Joyous-Virtue’s face. Every time Joyous-Virtue closed his eyes, the bee would fly and buzz in front of his eyes. Then he would quickly open his eyes. When he opened his eyes, he would see this bee flying back and forth. Then he noticed it would fly to a lotus flower on the pond. [When it flew] above the lotus flower, it opened and the bee landed on the lotus blossom.

Suddenly, a gust of wind shook the flower and caused it to bend over so the bee fell into the pond. The pond was muddy and the bee struggled mightily to get out. It kept struggling vigorously until it finally freed itself from the mud. Then it flew over the surface of the clear water, seemingly to wash off the mud from its wings by beating them against the water. This completely washed off the mud. Then it returned to the lotus pod and, at ease once again, looked up into the sky.

The bhiksu observed this entire process and attained a great realization. Wasn’t this kind of scene a reminder for himself to be vigilant? “If we are enamored with the taste of nectar, we will easily become too comfortable and will easily fall into the mud. As we engage in spiritual practice, we need to be vigilant under all conditions and make use of this lifetime to transform ourselves.”

It is very easy to become inspired, but if we do not sustain our [aspirations], we may not be [born human] again for eons. He felt as if the bee was speaking to him, so he reminded himself to be vigilant. He felt very motivated to work hard.

After finishing this story, Sakyamuni Buddha then said, “Do you know that. Diligent-Rhetoric was me, Sakyamuni Buddha, in a past life? Joyous-Virtue is now Maitreya Bodhisattva, who will be the next Buddha. In our past lives, we were companions in seeking the Dharma. I have constantly reminded Maitreya through various means.”

As it turns out, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have been each other’s companions, life after life. They taught and supported each other on the path. This helps us realize how wondrous the Dharma is. “All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have supreme wisdom.” Who is transforming whom? In the future, when Maitreya manifests as a Buddha, I believe that Sakyamuni will become a Bodhisattva and assist at [Maitreya’s] Dharma-assembly.

Based on this understanding, we can realize that we all come to the world due to karmic conditions. So, some people manifest as. Hearers and Solitary Realizers. Without Hearers and Solitary Realizers, how would the Buddha continue to teach the Dharma He safeguarded in His heart? So, this passage in the sutra keeps describing “various causes and conditions.” These “various causes and conditions” encompass many karmic conditions, which are all teachings.

Now we know,

“These myriad living beings listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.”

By utilizing various causes and conditions, the Buddha hopes all sentient beings can listen to the Dharma and ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom. He hopes that everyone will not only realize the teachings for Hearers and Pratyekabuddhas, not just the Four Noble Truths and. Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, but also actualize the Six Perfections in all actions. This shows the Buddha’s care and effort.

Here, “these myriad living beings” is explained as meaning sentient beings.

These myriad living beings: All living beings are sentient. So, all animals have sentience and consciousness and arise out of a myriad of conditions. Thus we use myriad to describe living beings. Also, as they undergo myriad cycles of samsara, we use myriad to describe living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, aside from the Buddha [realm], beings in the other nine are sentient beings.

So, all animals have sentience and consciousness. We all have the Eight Consciousnesses. Not only do humans have them, all animals also have “consciousnesses,” so all are considered “sentient.” All animals can be considered “sentient.”

“They arise out of a myriad of conditions. Thus we use myriad to describe living beings.” Those with sentience and consciousness are considered “sentient.” Because we have accumulated a myriad of causes and conditions, we are part of the myriads of sentient beings. Animals had karmic conditions to become animals. Those with the blessed conditions to be born in heaven are heavenly beings. Those who accumulate evil causes and conditions will become sentient beings who suffer in hell. In conclusion, sentient beings are conscious beings who amass various conditions. Those with sentience and consciousness in the Six Realms are all sentient beings.

Also, “as they undergo myriad cycles of samsara, we use myriad to describe living beings.” We do not know how long we have been transmigrating within the Six Realms. We have experienced birth and death many times, for many lifetimes and in many realms. This happens myriads of times to all sentient beings.

“[They exist] in the Ten Dharma-realms.” The Ten Dharma-realms are the Four Noble and Six Unenlightened Realms. I have explained this before. In the Ten Dharma-realms, aside from the Buddha [realm], beings in the other nine are all sentient beings. Bodhisattvas are “awakened sentient beings,” some are even “great awakened sentient beings.” An awakened person can be called “an awakened sentient being.”

They also listen to “teachings from all Buddhas.” It is said, “The complete and immediate One Vehicle is subtle, wondrous, extremely profound and difficult to understand and enter.” People without sharp capabilities or superior wisdom listen to teachings and cannot comprehend them, listen to teachings and do not give rise to faith. They listen to teachings but do not believe them. Instead, they give rise to doubt and slander.

There are many such people right now, people without sharp capabilities.

For example, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, though the ears of 5000 people rang with the Brahma-voice, they still withdrew and left.

For example, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly 5000 people withdrew and walked out. Remember this? When the Buddha was in the world, He put in great effort to guide people to cherish the Dharma, to seize the moment and to mindfully accept [teachings]. Still, as He began to speak, many people at the assembly paid their respects and then left. This happened even during His time in this world. For those without sharp capabilities, accepting the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle is truly not easy.

So, the sutra states,

“Even in infinite, limitless kalpas, hearing this Dharma is still difficult.”

For a long time, we have been listening to teachings. But to truly hear the essence of the Dharma is very difficult. Moreover, there are many who do not yet have the karmic conditions to accept teachings. There are also those who accepted the Dharma but do not have sufficient capabilities. To hear the true principles of the One Vehicle is not easy. This shows how hard it is to listen to teachings.

[They] will ultimately attain: With perfect teachings and the ultimate fruit, in the stage of wondrous enlightenment, the delusions of ignorance will be eliminated and the embodiment of fundamental enlightenment will completely manifest. At that time, the mind sees its own nature and will always abide in it. This is the state of ultimate enlightenment.

“[They] ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom” which is perfect teachings and the ultimate fruit, the stage of wondrous enlightenment. The Buddha hopes that we can all attain perfect and wondrous enlightenment and return to our intrinsic nature. He hopes that once we fully eliminate the delusions of ignorance, the embodiment of fundamental enlightenment will manifest.

In listening to the teachings, we must be mindful. After listening, we must contemplate and practice to really penetrate their principles. When the embodiment of enlightenment has completely manifested, “the mind sees its own nature.” When the mind can see its intrinsic nature, “it will always abide in it. This is the state of ultimate enlightenment.” If our minds can always abide in our pure intrinsic nature, we have attained ultimate enlightenment, which is perfect, wondrous enlightenment and the pure intrinsic nature of True Suchness.

So, learning the Buddha’s teachings really requires constant self-vigilance. When practicing the Bodhisattva-path, even the slightest bit of carelessness can lead us to be confused, drowsy and indolent again. So, we must constantly raise our awareness and always be mindful.