TLS Chapter 2 – Page 8 – Dharma As Water

Ch02-ep0386

Posted on October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Episode 386 – Be Gentle and Accommodating

>> The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished. Great compassion is gentle like pure water. By exercising both compassion and wisdom, we hold fast to our vows and practice.

>> [Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

>> “After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana, there are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” In, “after Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana,”

>> After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana: “Parinirvana” refers to the extinction of the Three Delusions, delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusion of ignorance. To cross is to transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational. It is the everlasting extinction of great troubles.

>> There are those with virtuous and gentle minds: Those who are gentle will follow the path of upholding the Buddha’s teachings. They faithfully accept them and are flexible, willing and harmonious, not rude and coarse. Thus, they are considered gentle.

>> Myriad living beings such as these: Also known as sentient beings, this is referring to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of myriad accumulated conditions, so they are called myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are called myriad living beings.

>> [They] have realized the path to Buddhahood: A path refers to something that leads somewhere. The Buddha’s wisdom can lead us perfectly and without obstructions, therefore it is called a path. There are three kinds of paths: 1. The path attained by Hearers 2. The path attained by Solitary Realizers 3. The path attained by Buddhas.

The goal of learning the Buddha’s teachings is to attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must first draw near to the Buddha. He is actually not far away from us; He exists in our nature. Therefore, “The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished.”

The mind is the Buddha. The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished. Great compassion is gentle like pure water. By exercising both compassion and wisdom, we hold fast to our vows and practice.

When I prostrate to the Buddha in the morning, after bowing down, as I stand and look up, [behind] the Buddha statue I see the image of a vast and expansive universe filled with twinkling stars. Then suddenly I think of the Buddha-nature within all of us as I bow to the Great Enlightened Buddha.

We all intrinsically have this [Buddha-]nature. We know that the Buddha has said that all of us intrinsically have Buddha-nature. We must believe what He told us and respect our Buddha-nature. If we do not respect our own Buddha-nature, then we are only paying respect to a physical, manmade statue of the Buddha. Isn’t that Buddha statue carved by humans? We have reverence for a manmade Buddha statue but [are we reverent of the Buddha] of our minds? Our Buddha-nature will never be extinguished. Have we manifested our Buddha-mind, our Buddha-nature? Are we using our Buddha-nature to help manifest reverence for external Buddhas?

Everyone, to truly engage in spiritual practice, we have to love ourselves. There is a story about this.

One day, King Prasenajit, after settling his mind, suddenly thought of the Buddha’s teachings on adjusting the mind and loving oneself. What does it mean to love oneself? He contemplated this silently. Does truly loving oneself mean creating positive karma with body, speech and mind? Is this loving oneself? Does creating negative karma with body, speech and mind mean we do not love ourselves? Is that correct? So, he went to ask the Buddha for teachings.

The Buddha smiled, “You’re correct, King Prasenajit, very good. You took my words to heart, so you are asking yourself how to love yourself; this is very praiseworthy. When our body, speech and mind are pure, we speak kind words and do good deeds because the thoughts in our mind are good. With good thoughts in our minds, our words and actions will be wholesome. When we are wholesome, we will be respected and loved by all. This is a way to love ourselves. If our minds are not well-adjusted, if our minds are scattered, everything we say and do will be negative. Then we will be disparaged, rejected and disrespected. This is not the way to love ourselves.” This is the dialogue that took place between the Buddha and King Prasenajit.

This is a very short story, but it inspires us to think about how we spiritual practitioners must constantly reflect on ourselves. Do we really believe we have [a Buddha-nature]? Do we have faith in the Buddha-Dharma, and if so, have we accepted it?

“The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished.” In the past, before we were born into our lives, we already intrinsically had Buddha-nature. Yet, before each of our lives, what positive or negative [karma] did we create? Did we create a mix of both? We return to this world through our karmic connection with our parents and the causes we created in the past. Because of this “circumstantial retribution,” we come to this world. Because of our “direct retribution,” we can engage in spiritual practice. The workings of karma are truly inconceivable.

Our [Buddha-nature] has always existed. “The Buddha in our hearts is never extinguished.” The Buddha in our hearts is not extinguished at all. Even if in this life, some people still refuse to hear the Dharma, or will not practice it even after hearing it, their Buddha-nature has not been extinguished. They will still bring it into future lifetimes. But in future lifetimes, will they encounter the Buddha-Dharma so easily? We do not know. Although we bring our Buddha-nature with us, lifetime after lifetime, we unceasingly create afflictions. As our [layers of] ignorance grow thicker, our Buddha-nature is buried more deeply and we have fewer opportunities to recognize it.

We can eliminate our ignorance layer by layer. If we spend this life [immersed in] the Buddha-Dharma, listening to the Dharma, practicing the Dharma and adjusting the karma of our body, speech and mind, we can eliminate layers and layers of ignorance. If we cannot attain Buddhahood now, we may still do so in a future lifetime because in this lifetime, we have already eliminated many afflictions and our awakened nature is slowly emerging. We hope, with our present causes and conditions, in future lifetimes, our circumstantial retribution and direct retribution can lead us again to the Dharma. Whether we hear one thing and realize ten, or realize 100, or realize 1000, or hear one thing and attain great realizations, this all depends on whether we can reduce our afflictions and ignorance. If we unceasingly create afflictions, our layers of afflictions will grow thicker. When we bring greed, anger and ignorance with us into our future lifetimes, we will become more and more deluded; that would be a pity. For the Buddha to keep teaching us is also a lot of work for Him.

Therefore, “great compassion is gentle like pure water.” What is great compassion like? It is as gentle like water, which takes the shape of all vessels. When poured into a long vessel, water becomes long. When poured into something square and short, water becomes square and short. In a round vessel, it is round. When our mind is like water, it is in perfect harmony [with all things].

Water takes the shape of its vessel. This describes the harmony of the mind, which comes from perfect awakening. When we awaken, as we are in this environment, we must adapt to the way of life here so we can be free of afflictions and be happy. Only then can we be “gentle like pure water.”

When dealing with the myriads of stubborn and hard-to-train sentient beings, we must look to ourselves, not others; it is our own mind that is stubborn and hard to train. What should we do? We must learn [the Dharma]. When we feel an aversion toward others, we ourselves tend to be the ones causing this feeling of aversion. When we become afflicted by the sight of others, we are the source of our afflictions. Others are not provoking us; we are provoking ourselves. This is because we lack wisdom and are not understanding or accommodating toward others. This is why we are filled with afflictions. Since we aspire to engage in spiritual practice, we must always have compassion for all sentient beings.

They do not know better, so their minds are covered by afflictions. We have to teach them by exercising our wisdom. This is how we transform others by working or practicing alongside them. We must “exercise both compassion and wisdom,” and “hold fast to our vows and practice.” Since we have formed aspirations and vows, we must firmly uphold them. This is the most important method for learning and practicing the Buddha-Dharma.

[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

The earlier sutra passage stated, “[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving.” After we hear the Dharma, we need to apply it. How can we help everyone apply it? We must put it into practice ourselves. With the Dharma we practice, we can exercise both compassion and wisdom to give to others, to teach, inspire and transform others. This is “hearing the Dharma and practicing giving.”

If others have strayed, we must have patience. We ourselves must follow precepts and be patient. We should not speak of other people’s mistakes, or our mistake would be worse than theirs; that would be wrong. As part of our spiritual cultivation, we must focus on our own practice. So, we must uphold precepts and practice patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. Through these kinds of practices, [we attain] blessings and wisdom. As we interact with people, we must train our minds well. Only then are we truly cultivating blessings and wisdom.

So, “People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” They are able to practice giving, upholding precepts, ․patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom and constantly create good affinities with others and are of benefit to them. If we are always in perfect harmony with all things, we have wisdom. People who can do this “have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” This is how we attain Buddhahood. To walk the Bodhi-path without deviating at all, we must always be mindful.

The next sutra passage states,

“After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana, there are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” In, “after Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana,”

“Parinirvana” refers to the extinction of the delusion of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance.

After Buddhas crossed into Parinirvana: “Parinirvana” refers to the extinction of the Three Delusions, delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusion of ignorance. To cross is to transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational. It is the everlasting extinction of great troubles.

“Delusions” are afflictions. Afflictions and ignorance arise from views, understanding, and thinking. Our understanding and thinking give rise to dust-like ignorance. This is why we are suffering, why we create karma, why we accumulate many negative [causes] that cause our wholesome thoughts to be constantly buried underneath negative thoughts. Thus our wholesome thoughts lose this tug of war and negative thoughts win. Following the same principle, in our own minds, the delusions of views and thinking, dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance are endlessly multiplying. The Buddha comes to teach us about the cessation of suffering along with the truth of suffering and its causation. Its causation is the accumulation of many dust-like ignorance and afflictions. Now we must bring these to cessation. If we want to eliminate afflictions, we must begin with our perspective and thinking.

“Crossing” is to transcend both fragmentary and transformational samsara. I have discussed this in the past. Ordinary people go through “fragmentary samsara.” Arhats and Solitary Realizers go through “transformational samsara.” Thus we ourselves must quickly transcend and [transform] how we come to and leave this life. We must not go down the wrong path. This is what we must start doing right now. If we find it hard to end our fragmentary samsara, how can we discuss transformational samsara?

The arising of the slightest thought [traps us] in “transformational samsara.” This arising of subtle thoughts still occurs in the minds of Pratyekabuddhas. So, we must learn to eliminate them. But to really eliminate them is not easy. If we can eliminate them, “it is the everlasting extinction of great troubles.”

So, “those with virtuous and gentle minds” means that people’s minds must be gentle and follow the path.

There are those with virtuous and gentle minds: Those who are gentle will follow the path of upholding the Buddha’s teachings. They faithfully accept them and are flexible, willing and harmonious, not rude and coarse. Thus, they are considered gentle.

Since we have aspired and vowed to walk the path to enlightenment, as we walk the Bodhi-path, which is clearly a direct path, we must follow it carefully and upholding the Buddha’s teachings. We must continue to move forward. As we advance through our environment, we must have virtuous and gentle minds.

We must be like water poured through a small hole into a square vessel. Water is poured through a small, round hole, yet it will take on the full square shape. It can actually take on any shape. As long as our minds are gentle, we can be in perfect harmony with anything. This is what the Buddha teaches us. As we deal with many stubborn sentient beings, how can we train our own minds, as well as the minds of others? Doing this requires gentleness.

Our minds must be gentle, and we must get along with others as we follow the teachings of the Dharma. “Upholding the Buddha’s teachings” [means we] follow the Buddha and draw near to the Dharma. In order to do this, we must accept the teachings. So, we must be “flexible, willing and harmonious, not rude and coarse.” Our mind has to be very gentle, so flexible that it becomes very willing. We constantly ask, “Are you willing?” If we willingly do something, we happily accept what happens. If we are not willing, we will be rude and coarse. We must be willing to be in harmony with people. We must not be rude and coarse. This is known as being flexible. If we are rude and coarse, then we are making our own life difficult, and making things difficult for others as well. This fills our minds with afflictions. Thus, we have to be flexible and gentle. Then other people will find us pleasing and be happy to see us. If we find a way to perfectly accomplish something that is not easy, then we will be very happy too.

So, “myriad living beings such as these” refers to sentient beings, as I have previously said.

Myriad living beings such as these: Also known as sentient beings, this is referring to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of myriad accumulated conditions, so they are called myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are called myriad living beings.

All animals have sentience and consciousness. We humans are also animals. We have life and we can move, so we are also considered animals. However, we are labeled “human.” A pig is an animal and is labeled “pig.” A dog is an animal and is labeled “dog.” A worm is an animal and is labeled “worm.” If we try to catch any animal, or try to drive it away, it will struggle. If we catch it, it will keep struggling because it has sentience and consciousness. It has feelings, which is a form of sentience and consciousness. So, we should know that myriad living beings are alive.

“They arise out of myriad conditions accumulating.” Why were we reborn as humans? Because in the past, we created these causes and and formed these conditions. Our past and present causes and conditions have converged, thus our parents gave birth to us and we can now live in these surroundings. There are all kinds of life in this world; they are all considered myriad living beings.

All the myriad living beings have the potential of attaining Buddhahood. So, we say they “have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” They can draw near the Buddha-Dharma to feel this. Previously I have told the story of how, while sutras were being aired outside a cow came by and sniffed at the Diamond Sutra a bit. She will also be able to attain Buddhahood. Just by smelling the Buddha-Dharma, she will also be able to attain Buddhahood.

The sutras contain many stories like this. They “have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” A path is something that leads somewhere. If it can take us somewhere, it is a principle; if it goes nowhere, it is not a principle.

[They] have realized the path to Buddhahood: A path refers to something that leads somewhere. The Buddha’s wisdom can lead us perfectly and without obstructions, therefore it is called a path. There are three kinds of paths: 1. The path attained by Hearers 2. The path attained by Solitary Realizers 3. The path attained by Buddhas.

“The Buddha’s wisdom can lead us perfectly” and there is nothing obstructing it, “therefore it is called a path.”

There are three kinds of “paths,” the path attained by Hearers, the path attained by Solitary Realizers and the path attained by Great Enlightened Buddhas. So, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must be on the Bodhi-path. Whether we are Hearers, Solitary Realizers or Buddhas, we are all on this path to enlightenment. Small Vehicle practitioners, the Hearers, will take the small side roads. If their minds are not straightforward, if they are not on the right road and their spiritual aspirations are not yet firm, it will be easy for them to go astray.

“There are those with virtuous and gentle minds. Myriad living beings such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” The Buddha has always given us this blessing. As long as our minds are wholesome and gentle, we can all attain Buddhahood. The Buddha has always given us His blessing, so we must promptly accept it. After accepting it, we must put the teachings into practice. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0385

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Wisdom at Dawn

Chapter 2

Episode 385 – Diligence, Samadhi, Compassion and Wisdom

>> Flourishing Buddha-Dharma can help and transform sentient beings across mountains, streams, foreign lands, all places under the same sun, moon and sky. We place our hope in Buddhist practitioners to create connections with the Buddha-Dharma.

>> [Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

>> Diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on: Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

>> Samadhi and wisdom are the “cultivation of contemplation,” also called “meditative contemplation.” In the form realm, this is a way to bring stillness to the mind. Through “meditative contemplation,” the mind abides in one state and ponders wondrous principles.

>> [They] cultivated blessings and wisdom: Blessings are blessed virtues, which are five of the Six Perfections, giving, upholding precepts, diligence, patience and Samadhi. Wisdom is prajna, which is one of the Six Perfections.

>> The first five practices help us manifest wisdom. Wisdom directs the other practices, such as giving. They are like the eyes and feet, which cannot do without each another. With dignified great wisdom, we have the great compassion to fulfill great vows.

>> When we relieve others’ suffering, we achieve the meaning of the true principles. When we are dignified by blessed virtues, we have the great compassion to fulfill vows and help others achieve the joy of blessings. This is how, with blessings and wisdom, we are replete with compassion and wisdom.

In learning the Buddha’s teachings, we awaken ourselves and others and we transform ourselves and others. As Buddhist practitioners, these are part of our fundamental duties. We are not just liberating ourselves from afflictions or just opening our own minds. I often say that I pray for harmony in society. If only a few people have open minds and are on the right course while most people are not, how can our society be harmonious? So, if we want there to be harmony in society, we must continue to transmit the Buddha-Dharma. When everyone is on the same course, we can all train our bodies and minds together.

Flourishing Buddha-Dharma can help and transform sentient beings across mountains, streams, foreign lands, all places under the same sun, moon and sky. We place our hope in Buddhist practitioners to create connections with the Buddha-Dharma.

“Flourishing Buddha-Dharma can help and transform sentient beings.” If the Buddha-Dharma thrives in this world, we can all work together to help transform sentient beings. Sentient beings experience all kinds of suffering. Each person has his own anxieties. Each person has his own desires. Each person has his own feelings of helplessness. There are so many kinds that they cannot be clearly explained. They are all truly suffering.

How do we transform sentient beings? Actually, this world is so vast it includes “mountains, streams, foreign lands, all places under the same sun, moon and sky.” There are mountains, rivers and seas, and there are people living in all these places. Wherever there are people, the Buddha-Dharma can be spread. So, everything under this same vast sky, in the same solar system and beneath the same sun and moon, is considered our macrocosm. The Dharma must [pervade] this macrocosm.

In this space and in our interactions with others, we teach [the Dharma] to inspire one another. We place our hope in Buddhist practitioners, because saving the world and people’s minds truly requires much learning and awakening. We must learn to free ourselves from the ups and downs of life, eliminate our karma and afflictions and earnestly try to realize and experience the truth of suffering as taught by the Buddha. How do we inspire wholesome thoughts so that everyone will be good?

To balance the four elements in the macrocosm, we must go among people and continuously transmit the Buddha-Dharma we have learned by putting it into practice. Only by knowing the original “cause” of suffering will we have the means to bring the world’s various disasters to “cessation.” Thus we need to practice “the Path”

and try to feel their suffering as our own. “When others are hurt, I am in pain. When others suffer, I am saddened.” Then we are truly Buddhist practitioners who transmit the Dharma. We must “place our hope in Buddhist practitioners” to apply what they learn and realize all kinds of [truths] about this world. These people are Buddhist practitioners who

“create connections with the Buddha-Dharma.” So, we definitely must be mindful. Only when the Buddha-Dharma flourishes can we help and transform sentient beings; we must all work together to transform sentient beings.

[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.

We discussed the beginning of this passage yesterday. “[Those who] heard the Dharma practiced giving.” After listening to the Dharma, we must then teach it to others. After we listen, we take it in and digest it, then we can use it to see the principles in all things. If we apply the Dharma we hear to dealing with people, matters, objects and principles and enter into a dialogue with the land, the Dharma will be everywhere. After we take the Dharma to heart, we can apply it at all times to create karmic affinities and to practice giving. This is most important in learning the Buddha’s teachings.

So, having heard the Dharma, we must also practice giving, upholding precepts and patience. Didn’t we discuss this yesterday? We must practice patience. If someone deliberately and unreasonably tries to disturb us, for people like this, we must forgive them with an expansive heart and not take issue with them. Not only should we not take issue with them, we should try to teach them.

In this world, many things can lead us to feeling dissatisfied. People often say, “Eight or nine things out of ten do not go our way.” When something does not go as we wish, if we cannot patiently remain at peace, afflictions will constantly arise and cease, sink and surface, in our minds. After making an aspiration, external [challenges] may obstruct our spiritual aspiration. Our will to diligently practice will quickly be affected by our environment and [may disappear]. So, we must first learn to patiently remain at peace.

To be patient, we must uphold precepts. If we want to be in Samadhi, but lack precepts, we cannot remain peaceful and unmoving. Of course, learning the Buddha’s teachings requires diligence. Having diligence is very important, but how can we develop this diligence? Through Samadhi and wisdom. Diligence, Samadhi and wisdom are all mental skills we must master.

Diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on: Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

Free of discursive thoughts, we can concentrate on our resolve. This is being “focused.” To “advance,” we must move forward in a precise direction. If we do not move forward, we will stand still forever. If we remain standing still, we are being indolent and will degenerate. As time continues to pass, our time in this world continues to grow shorter. From middle age, we quickly enter old age. Therefore, we must advance without regressing.

We must advance on the path with a straightforward mind. Then, as we often say, “the great Bodhi-path is direct.” Indeed, if we have a straightforward Bodhi-mind, the path to enlightenment will be direct. After we verify that our course is direct, we must diligently cultivate Right Dharma and do all good deeds. So, we must exercise a diligent and straightforward mind in our spiritual cultivation. Our spiritual training is walking the Bodhisattva-path.

Before Samadhi comes diligence. Samadhi is a state of contemplation.

Samadhi and wisdom are the “cultivation of contemplation,” also called “meditative contemplation.” In the form realm, this is a way to bring stillness to the mind. Through “meditative contemplation,” the mind abides in one state and ponders wondrous principles.

To contemplate is to think about something thoroughly. So, “meditation” is not the same as not thinking, because “all things are empty.” What does it mean for all things to be empty? This requires focused contemplation to understand.

The modern translation [for Samadhi] is “meditative contemplation,” which is more than just “contemplation.” The old translation is “cultivation of contemplation.” We must practice our contemplation. Take listening to the Dharma for example. The Buddha gave certain teachings, but since the times have changed, the Dharma now has to be applied [differently]. People now have different kinds of afflictions, which must be treated with different kinds of teachings. This requires the “cultivation of contemplation,” which is applying what we learn. Now, some people call this “meditative contemplation.” Our minds must be still as we thoroughly consider our course in life.

Whether we engage in “cultivation of contemplation” or “meditative contemplation,” these are the practices for cultivating Samadhi in our minds.

“Form” refers to things we can see. In the form realm, we look at things with desire. If we engage in spiritual practice, we will consider whether material things are necessary for sustaining our lives. Do we really need these things to live? We do not. Do we really need these things to live? We do not. Do we only think, “I want it”? Is this all we can think of? If that is the case, when we see something tangible, we must realize that we are living in the form realm and must find a way to keep afflictions from arising from the desire for material enjoyment. We must deeply contemplate how to [apply teachings] in our lives so we can be free of worries and afflictions. This requires wisdom, “Samadhi and wisdom,”

which is using the cultivation of contemplation and meditative contemplation to look at this material world. Then we will not be tempted by these desires to break the boundaries [of what is acceptable]. This is the function of meditative contemplation. We need to contemplate this carefully, in order not to allow our minds to continually be tempted by material objects. This is a way to bring stillness to our minds in the form realm. This teaches us to bring our minds into Samadhi as we interact with all kinds of material objects.

“Meditative contemplation” is when “the mind abides in one state and ponders wondrous principles.” When we are not tempted by external phenomena, we can stop desiring all kinds of material objects and rein in our minds. Then we can focus our minds into one state. When we can rein in our minds, we can contemplate in a state of stillness. To “ponder” means to be quiet, to be free of all interferences so we can quietly, silently and thoroughly contemplate these wondrous principles.

We also often say that every object is simply a temporary union. I often say that a flower or a blade of grass both come from seeds, but their seeds are different. Different seeds are causes of different temporary unions. We need the causes of temporary unions to converge with the conditions of temporary unions in order for the seeds to grow. These are the wondrous principles of things with forms and appearances. If we can comprehend this, we will not be troubled by these forms and appearances. So, we must thoroughly comprehend this principle.

As for “cultivating blessings and wisdom,” the sutra text mentions, [people uphold] “diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom.” When it comes to all objects with form, all material objects, if we can comprehend their principles, we will understand how to utilize them. If we greedily cling to them, we create karma. When we greedily cling to our desire for them, of course we will create karma. If we can thoroughly understand forms, appearances and material objects, we can create blessings.

[They] cultivated blessings and wisdom: Blessings are blessed virtues, which are five of the Six Perfections, giving, upholding precepts, diligence, patience and Samadhi. Wisdom is prajna, which is one of the Six Perfections.

Blessings are blessed virtues. How do we use [material] things to create blessings? Through the practice of giving, of course. So, when we create blessings, we create virtues. Those who create blessings are virtuous and practice giving. Virtue comes from giving, upholding precepts, diligence, patience and Samadhi. These are five ways to “cultivate blessings and wisdom.”

When we have equanimity, we will be able to give. Greed leads us to create karma. Once we understand the function of material objects, we can use them to cultivate blessings and wisdom.

As we practice giving, we must also uphold precepts. When material objects pass through our hands, will we give them away with a pure mind or will we be greedy? We must uphold precepts carefully. We must also diligently advance; “as one foot steps forward, the other must let go.” When we accomplish something successfully, we will feel happy.

Take the winter relief distributions [in 2012], for example. In several locations in China, we have completed winter relief distributions. Hundreds of thousands of people now have thick blankets for the winter. As snow falls and nothing grows, they will have rice, oil and salt to sustain their lives.

After the volunteers completed their mission of giving to others, they happily returned.

For the poor and suffering to have supplies to sustain their lives during the winter, the volunteers happily and willingly went to help. Knowing that people had what they needed to survive, when they were done, they happily returned. They seek nothing in return. This is considered diligence.

In learning the Dharma, we must resolve to keep doing the right thing. “As one foot steps forward, the other must let go.” When the teams return home, they feel at ease. They feel relaxed and peaceful because the poor and suffering people were helped. Bodhisattvas’ minds are peaceful and at ease; this is also diligence.

So, Samadhi, as I just mentioned, comes after we thoroughly understand all the principles of material objects. Once we know how to utilize them in this world, we will not greedily cling to them. This is a state of Samadhi.

After Samadhi comes wisdom. Wisdom is considered prajna. Prajna, or wisdom, is one of the Perfections. Actually, it is because we have wisdom that we engage in spiritual cultivation. Our spiritual cultivation leads us to practice giving, upholding precepts, patience and so on. Likewise, to develop the first five practices, we must rely on [the sixth], wisdom, to guide us in the right direction. This is the function of wisdom. Thus, wisdom will guide us toward the right course of spiritual practice. So, the first five practices will help us manifest wisdom. Everything we do comes back to our wisdom. Therefore, “wisdom directs the other practices, such as giving.”

The first five practices help us manifest wisdom. Wisdom directs the other practices, such as giving. They are like the eyes and feet, which cannot do without each another. With dignified great wisdom, we have the great compassion to fulfill great vows.

Wisdom is impartial; it guides everyone to [practice] giving, upholding precepts, patience and Samadhi. These all come from wisdom. These first five practices help manifest wisdom. In other words, those first practices come from wisdom and wisdom leads us back to True Dharma.

“They are like the eyes and feet.” Though we have wisdom, if we do not cultivate the first five practices and just think about them, that is useless. We often say that the Dharma is to be practiced. So, “They are like the eyes and feet.” The eyes can see [the path] very clearly, but if we do not walk it with our feet, then our bodies and minds cannot enter the Dharma. We cannot just look; we must walk. If we walk but cannot see clearly, that is also very dangerous. We put the first five into practice, and the last, wisdom, will guide us.

So, “With dignified great wisdom, we have the great compassion to fulfill great vows.” With “great compassion to fulfill great vows” we will relieve people’s suffering. Then “we achieve the meaning of true principles.” The principles can help us reach the [destination] we are going toward. So, “dignified by great wisdom,” we will have the great compassion to fulfill vows.

When we relieve others’ suffering, we achieve the meaning of the true principles. When we are dignified by blessed virtues, we have the great compassion to fulfill vows and help others achieve the joy of blessings. This is how, with blessings and wisdom, we are replete with compassion and wisdom.

To be dignified by blessed virtues, we must have perfect wisdom.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must learn the Buddha’s teachings completely. We must piece all the teachings together, just like having eyes and feet. If we can see something, we can reach it. [The Buddha-Dharma contains] many subtle and intricate [teachings]. So, we must always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0384

Posted on October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Wisdom at Dawn

Chapter 2

Episode 384 – Cultivate Blessings, Plant Right Causes

>> The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections are used to transform sentient beings. We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

>> The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections help transform sentient beings. We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

>> “Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

>> Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving: Sentient beings who can listen to the Dharma and give rise to right faith will think about the meaning behind it and practice according to the teaching. They will listen to the Dharma and then teach it to other sentient beings.

>> [Practice] upholding precepts, patience: Those constantly mindful of precepts will remember and uphold them, not forget them and not commit evils. This is upholding precepts.

>> When people encounter things that go against principles and are disturbing to them, if they can be broad-minded and forgiving, remain at peace and be unmoving, they have patience.

>> Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the Path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence
and the Six Perfections are used to transform sentient beings.
We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions
to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must apply them to our daily living. If we take good care of our minds, with every good thought we accumulate blessings. When the mind strays, it brings about boundless suffering. Where does suffering actually come from? The Buddha spoke of “suffering, causation, cessation and the Path.” These are the Four Noble Truths. They are the foundation of our spiritual practice.

So, we must carefully analyze the few decades of our lives to see how many wholesome and unwholesome things we have done in the past, how many thoughts of joy, anger, sorrow and happiness and so on we have given rise to. If we analyze this further, we see the “causation” of suffering is the accumulation of [these causes] throughout our lifetimes.

Things that cause suffering do not only exist in our minds. The global climate is not in balance. Over the course of a year, this will result in many worrisome things occurring. When there is no rain for a month, we begin to worry about vegetable beds drying up or the people lacking water for their use. The news media begins to speculate on a drought. If two months pass [without rain], we look up at the sky and ask, “Are there clouds? Will it rain?” We long for rain. Perhaps it may rain every day for a whole year. Without sun, the roots of the crops in the ground will keep deteriorating and the seed itself will rot and so on. If there is no sunlight, farmers will be very worried.

Indeed, if this period of [heavy rain] is prolonged, the price of food will rise, increasing the burden of those who live in difficulties. If the climate is imbalanced for even longer, harvests will be lost and everyone in the world will worry. [Now, the weather is extreme] in all four seasons. Those in the freezing cold lead very hard lives, especially those in remote areas. Their buildings are so primitive, how could they live through even one winter day? Every day, we can see imbalances in the world.

If we quickly analyze the joy, anger, sorrow and happiness we experience in our daily living, we may find that there are not many things that truly make us happy. Moreover, there is meaningful happiness and there is happiness from meaningless things. This is something we must discern. Are any of us this mindful?

The Four Noble Truths start with suffering and its causation, which is accumulated in daily living with our every thought and action. This applies to everyone in this world. The Buddha taught this. If we understand it, we will reflect on ourselves and think about ways to eliminate our suffering and to gradually alleviate the state of extreme imbalance that the climate is currently in and help it [return to normal]. Although people all over the world are becoming aware of this, there is nothing they can do other than call attention to it.

Haven’t we talked about how [in 2012], people in England celebrated the Christmas holiday by buying many things? Consider just the food. In just one day, almost two million turkeys were thrown away as kitchen waste. Over ten million pies were also thrown away. In short, the amount of food wasted alone on this holiday was a huge quantity.

If only, instead of wasting these things, they use these resources to help the unemployed who are leading difficult lives. In this kind of cold and freezing weather, many people are starving or freezing to death. Instead of wasting these things, they can give fresh, warm and filling food to help other people in England. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful thing to do? This is just one holiday and celebrating it only brings momentary happiness. And is this happiness actually meaningful or not? Though there is global awareness of this [waste] and the [government] is also aware of this, can they implement policies to stop this waste? They cannot.

The same things happen in Taiwan. Right now everyone is planning to celebrate the holidays with firework displays. This pollutes the environment and is also wasteful. But is there a way to stop the fireworks? It is so wasteful, and everyone knows [it is wrong], but nothing can be done.

This is a clear example of how confused people in this world are. So, the Buddha taught us to clearly understand the “causation” of suffering accumulated in this world. Our collective karma is manifesting in this era.

We must awaken in order to achieve “cessation.” To achieve “cessation” [of suffering], we must know how it comes about. Do we know? If we know this and promptly awaken, we will stop [our current actions] and stop creating karma. If people are wasteful, we must remind them to be frugal, and take what they save to give to people in need. This is the best way. If we want people to give, we do not force them; we need to teach them to happily give with equanimity. This is the Buddha’s teachings to us. It certainly contains principles which we can then share with others. Thus, [if everyone understands] “suffering, causation, cessation and the Path” and can walk on this road, the path to awakening which is the Bodhi-path, then this world can be saved.

The Four Noble Truths, Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections help transform sentient beings. We must uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions to plant wholesome causes and conditions.

These are the Four Noble Truths. The Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence also allows us to understand that in our lives, we must not take issue over or complain about so many things because they result from the karmic conditions we have created ourselves. If what we have created is evil, it may affect the better family we were born into. Or perhaps we may be born with ignorance, afflictions and disobedience etc. These are all direct retributions, which come from direct causes.

We may be born into a negative environment, with parents limited by physical or mental hindrances, or we may be born into a family with much poverty and suffering. But as long as we bring wholesome and blessed direct causes with us, if we work hard we can become one of the wealthiest people in the world. For some people, “wealth does not last beyond three generations.” This depends on whether their next generation, when entering this familial environment, bring blessed and wholesome karma with them. If so, the family enterprise will continue to develop. Otherwise, it will be subject to the impermanence of life and fragility of countries.

So, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence are taught specifically to help us realize that we need not complain or take issue over things, but we do need to take good care of our minds. Then we must earnestly “practice the Six Perfections to transform sentient beings” through giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. By “practicing the Six Perfections to transform sentient beings,” we “uphold precepts and cultivate blessed conditions.” We must carefully abide by the rules for being a good person. Besides practicing giving, we also must also uphold precepts and plant various wholesome causes and conditions.

This is what the Buddha has taught us. As I mentioned before, He used various skillful means and accorded sentient beings’ capabilities to devise [suitable] teachings. He actually only wanted to speak of the supreme meaning, which is the unsurpassed, ultimate true principle. This is what we discussed yesterday.

If there were sentient beings who could encounter the Buddha, they must have had the right karmic connections and roots of goodness. They must have more or less planted some wholesome causes. So, the next passage of the sutra states,

“Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on, and cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.”

If we had the karmic condition to hear the Dharma in the past, once we listened to the Dharma, we would know to practice giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. This is because in our past lives, we had the blessed karma to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. For us to become human in this lifetime, we must also have had the causes and conditions to continue to listen to the Dharma, People who uphold rules and precepts, and cultivate blessings have “cultivated blessings and wisdom. People such as these have all realized the path to Buddhahood.” We can definitely realize the path to Buddhahood.

Let us examine this next line, “Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving.”

Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving: Sentient beings who can listen to the Dharma and give rise to right faith will think about the meaning behind it and practice according to the teaching. They will listen to the Dharma and then teach it to other sentient beings.

“Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving.” This means that if we sentient beings can listen or have listened to the Buddha-Dharma, we can give rise to right faith. We must listen, contemplate and practice. After we listen to the Dharma, we must contemplate it carefully.

“Suffering, causation, cessation and the Path,” which we just mentioned, are not that easy [to understand]. We must think about where suffering comes from. It is caused by accumulation. So, we must think about how “causation” happens. In our daily living, how can we accumulate so many causes in the the ever-changing and impermanent world that we end up affecting all things? What is the force we are accumulating? After understanding it, we must promptly cultivate ourselves. We should not just stop at knowing it. The whole world knows extreme climate change is caused by the way people live their lives and the pollution from industrialization. We know all about this, but may not do anything. This is when we must practice “cessation.” We must cease these inappropriate behaviors, but that is very difficult. The difficulties in the world around us come from the difficulties in people’s minds.

Rather than hoping for our greater environment to change, let us change our own surroundings and state of mind. If we can change our own state of mind, our greater environment will naturally improve. But can small changes in the environment be effective? No. This is why the Buddha wants everyone to understand [His teachings]. So, we must widely spread the Buddha-Dharma all over the world.

“Those who heard the Dharma practiced giving.” After listening to the Dharma, we should give and let go of our greed and indulgences. We must even become frugal in our daily living so that we can practice giving and help all those who are suffering in this world. This is the giving of Right Dharma, the correct way of giving.

So, we need to “give rise to right faith.” We must have right faith in the Dharma. This is not for our own sake; we must contemplate the principles behind it. If we understand the principles behind it, our thinking will be correct and we will follow the right course and go in the right direction. This is how we practice according to teachings. This is because in the past, we have listened to the Dharma and shared it with other sentient beings. We should not be the only ones who hear it. For the Buddha-Dharma to spread, we must all listen, and in turn, teach each other. This is the right thing to do. “They will listen to the Dharma and then teach it to other sentient beings.” This is most important when we listen to Dharma.

“[They practice] upholding precepts, patience.”

[Practice] upholding precepts, patience: Those constantly mindful of precepts will remember and uphold them, not forget them and not commit evils. This is upholding precepts.

“Upholding precepts, patience” means that all of us should always be mindful of and uphold precepts. We often say, “Organize with precepts and manage with love.” Not only do spiritual practice centers require precepts, businesses in society do as well. If we all follow rules and stay on the right course, all kinds of big corporations and enterprises can be very successful, not to mention a spiritual practice center. If we all uphold precepts, this place will be filled with a spiritual atmosphere that can inspire and guide others.

So, in our lives, we must “remember and uphold [precepts], not forget them and not commit evils.” This is upholding precepts. Evils are created by our body, speech, mind, by what our body does and what our mouth says. If our mind is wholesome, everything we say will be the Dharma. If we do not keep the precepts in our minds, the words we speak will be improper. So, we uphold precepts to prevent wrongs and stop evils. We, as spiritual practitioners, must always abide by the precepts.

We must also be patient. As we uphold precepts, we must also be patient.

When people encounter things that go against principles and are disturbing to them, if they can be broad-minded and forgiving, remain at peace and be unmoving, they have patience.

We can practice patience when “things that go against principles are disturbing to [us].” If we encounter someone who is unreasonable, we just let them be. In the Buddha’s lifetime, He had to deal with Devadatta, who always went against propriety and principles. So how did the Buddha handle him? The Buddha’s principle was to be broadminded, so He forgave him with great broadmindedness.

“There is no one I cannot forgive, there is no one I do not trust and there is no one I do not love.” If everyone practices the Three No’s, what is there to take issue over in this world? “[If they can] remain at peace and be unmoving, they have patience.” If they can open their hearts and treat everyone impartially, then there will not be anything to take issue over or be afflicted by.

“Diligence, Samadhi, wisdom and so on” means we should be focused, not scattered, advancing without regressing.

Those who are focused are not scattered. Those who advance will not regress. With a straightforward mind, they walk the Path and diligently practice Right Dharma. They do all good deeds and are never indolent. This is diligence.

We must not be scattered and must keep moving forward. When something is right, we should just do it. I heard that, in Guandu, Taipei, people packed a room to listen to a group of entrepreneurs share how they were influenced by the books from Jing Si Publishing. One successful entrepreneur said the most useful phrase for him is, “Time, space and interpersonal relationships.” Then another person also answered, “Yes, after you understand, just do it.”

Yes, just do it. Regardless of time, space and interpersonal relationships, when something is right, promptly seize the moment and just do it. Regardless of the location, if it is the right thing to do, no matter where we are, we should just give. In our interpersonal relationships, we must find a way to forgive. “Do not use the mistakes committed by others to punish yourselves.” Everything is Dharma. Many entrepreneurs find it useful. So, to “focus” is to remove discursive thoughts from our minds and then face the right direction and “with a straightforward mind, walk the Path and diligently practice Right Dharma.” [We must] “do all good deeds and never be indolent. This is diligence.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, regardless of time, space or interpersonal relationships, everything we do in our daily living will affect all things in the world. Of course, all of us must aspire to continue teaching each other so the Buddha-Dharma can spread to more people. This is beneficial to the world around us and to all things in our lives. When we encounter the Buddha-Dharma in this world, we must seize that moment, and sustain it forever. If all sentient beings have the same mindset, the Buddha-Dharma can save the world. In order to save the world, we must save people; to save people, we need to first save our minds. So, we must take care of our inner spiritual training ground and always be mindful.

Ch02-ep0383

Posted on October 3, 2024 by Scott Ogata

Wisdom at Dawn

Chapter 2

Episode 383 – Skillful Means Help Reveal the Supreme Meaning

>> There are all kinds of skillful means in the world that help explain the principles of unconditioned truth. Thus, teaching through conditioned phenomena helps reveal the ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.

>> “And these great lords of sages know the deep desires in the hearts of all the heavenly being, humans and other beings in all the worlds.”

>> “Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning. There is a myriad of living beings who have met these past Buddhas.”

>> Different skillful means are used: Skillful means are exceptional. All Buddhas, the Tathagatas, according to different capabilities, teach different skillful means so that sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.

>> [These] help explain the supreme meaning: The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. It is the ultimate true principle. Because it is unsurpassed, it is supreme. The deepest truth is the supreme meaning. This is the wisdom realized by all sages.

>> Myriad living beings are also “sentient beings.” This term refers to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions, so they are myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are myriad living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, with the exception of the Buddha-realm, the sentient beings in the other nine realms are collectively referred to as myriad living beings.

>> “Cultivation of the path and virtue takes place in this world. With focus, sincerity, faith and vows we attain Bodhi. The True Dharma is the One Vehicle; there is no other vehicle.”

>> “All the World-Honored Ones teach the One Vehicle Dharma. Now all those assembled here should resolve all their questions. The teachings of all Buddhas are the same; there is only One Vehicle, not two.”

>> All the World-Honored Ones: All Buddhas utilize teachings of compassion and wisdom to eliminate unwholesome things such as greed, anger and ignorance, etc. By eliminating the eight sufferings of samsara, we end fragmentary and transformational samsara and attain supreme enlightenment.

>> All the World-Honored Ones: All Buddhas utilize teachings of compassion and wisdom to eliminate unwholesome things such as greed, anger and ignorance, etc. By eliminating the eight sufferings of samsara, we end fragmentary and transformational samsara and attain supreme enlightenment.

“Cultivation of the path and virtue takes place in this world.
With focus, sincerity, faith and vows we attain Bodhi.
The True Dharma is the One Vehicle; there is no other vehicle.”

We must always remember that since we are engaging in spiritual practice, we need to walk on the Bodhi-path. As we walk this road, our every step forward must be steady. This internal cultivation and external practice is part of our fundamental duty. In this world, we must be grateful to the people around us who allow us to comprehend countless principles. Our minds must be focused, focused and not scattered, sincere and not false. Our minds must be focused and pure. We must use a pure mind for spiritual practice and must interact with others with a sincere, undefiled and simple mind.

When we engage in spiritual practice, we must deeply respect the Dharma. Only when our faith is deep will we faithfully vow to practice the Dharma. A vow comes from the depths of our hearts. It comes out of our hopes and our goals, as well as our direction. This is a vow. Since we make vows out of deep faith, we must diligently advance on the Bodhi-path. At the end of this road, we will realize our vows; that is our goal.

“The True Dharma is the One Vehicle; there is no other vehicle.” Haven’t we said this before? The Buddha comes to this world for one great cause, to teach the One Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha comes to teach us, to help us understand that if we only cling to conditioned phenomena, we will give rise to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. If we do this we cannot see the principles and instead, create a lot of karma. So, the Buddha wants us to see the principles rather than becoming attached to [things out of] greed, anger and ignorance. If we understand the principles, we will not give rise to more afflictions. This is the Buddha’s goal in this world, “to teach the One Vehicle Dharma.”

“All the World-Honored Ones teach the One Vehicle Dharma. Now all those assembled here should resolve all their questions. The teachings of all Buddhas are the same; there is only One Vehicle, not two.”

Why do “All the World-Honored Ones” come to this world?

All the World-Honored Ones: All Buddhas utilize teachings of compassion and wisdom to eliminate unwholesome things such as greed, anger and ignorance, etc. By eliminating the eight sufferings of samsara, we end fragmentary and transformational samsara and attain supreme enlightenment.

“All Buddhas utilize teachings of compassion and wisdom.” Because of His compassion, the Buddha cannot abandon sentient beings. So, since Beginningless Time, He travels to and from the Saha World, because He is the founder of a religion here and the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. He comes to this world, life after life and His love for sentient beings is everlasting.

The lifetime of a sentient being is very short and brief, but the Buddha will be in the Saha World forever. He exercises His compassion when He sees sentient beings coming to the world, lifetime after lifetime, and creating karma for the sake of people, matters, objects and various “conditioned phenomena.” But time goes by very fast and we will leave this life and then be reborn. How are we reborn? Into the Four Forms of Birth, egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born and transformation-born. We take on one of these four forms based on the karma we create in this lifetime. This is how we are reborn into the Four Forms.

The Buddha cannot bear to see this. Why are beings transformation-born in hell? Why are they transformation-born as microorganisms? Why are they transformation-born in heaven? Those reborn in heaven or hell are transformation-born. If we leave this life and are reborn in heaven, we will be heavenly beings. If we practice the Ten Good Deeds in this life, we will be transformation-born in heaven. We may also be transformation-born in hell. If we commit the Ten Evils over this lifetime, when we leave this life, we will reborn in hell. This is how we can be transformation-born.

We may also be womb-born into this human realm, with average virtues. With a mix of both good and evil [karma], we are born human. Some who come to this world will face all kinds of suffering and torment, while some come to enjoy pleasures. There are still differences. Some beings are egg-born. Chickens, birds, etc. are hatched from eggs. Some beings are moisture-born, which means they are born in the water. Altogether, these are the Four Forms of Birth.

These Four Kinds of Beings live in the Five Destinies. There are Five Destinies because sentient beings create a complicated mix of karma. The beings of the Five Destinies co-exist here. On Earth, these beings [live brief lives]. In this world, people who live to be 100 are indeed very rare. It is not easy for us to live to 100 here. So, don’t you think our lives are very short and brief?

In each of those brief lifetimes, we create karma and are reborn into one of the Four Forms of Birth. The Buddha feels compassion for us, so He gives us suitable teachings. At times, He appears in this world to teach the Dharma to us, to help us understand. Sometimes He gives us clear examples so we will know.

The Buddha came into this world by descending from Tusita Heaven and being born in the palace. From childhood to adulthood, He grew up in the same way as all of us. Then, like [other monastics], He had to beg for alms every day in order to have food to sustain Himself. He also experienced aging and illness. Then, at the end, He passed away and achieved Perfect Rest. These are the “conditioned phenomena.” He manifested while He was in this world. During that period of time, His thinking, His perspective, the things He understood and the realizations He attained were of the truth of “unconditioned Dharma” contained within “conditioned phenomena.” He explained this to us in great detail.

These are teachings of compassion and wisdom utilized by all Buddhas, all for one goal, to eliminate greed, anger and ignorance.

Because of the Three Poisons, we cling to physical objects and their labels and thus give rise to discursive thoughts. Therefore, our minds cannot become settled.

In the media reports on happenings around the world, we often see stories of greed, anger and ignorance. Greed leads countries to conquer each other. Some countries have oil, gold, iron, copper, other ores or gems. An abundance of natural resources is hidden within their mountains and rivers. In order to seize these resources, countries will engage in conflict. Aren’t most wars started for this reason? Desire for tangible objects causes people to chase after fame and profit.

When people cannot satisfy their greed, they get angry. If there is no anger, countries will not go to war. If there is greed and anger, they kill and destroy without regard for anything. They kill living beings, cause harm to nature, as well as the land, not to mention other people. All this is caused by greed and anger. Where do these come from? From ignorance.

Because we sentient beings are deluded, we think of our short lives as something [forever] tangible, so we spend our entire lives fighting. We humans are so ignorant and deluded! Ignorance prevents us from thoroughly understanding principles. In our short lives, in order to possess things as our own, we damage the world, harm other people and destroy the land out of greed, anger and ignorance. All this begins with “ignorance.”

So these “unwholesome things” are what the Buddha hopes to eliminate. In order to do so, we must “eliminate the eight sufferings of samsara.” From birth to death, greed, anger and ignorance cause power struggles and mutual destruction, while ordinary people also live with “the eight sufferings of samsara.”

Birth, aging, illness and death are four of the sufferings. Then there is also “the suffering of unfulfilled desires.” Though some people are very blessed and everything goes smoothly for them, they still suffer from unfulfilled desires. When we have desires, we will feel the suffering of gain and loss.

There is “the suffering of meeting those we hate.” Some who are childless beg for a child. Once they have one, will the child be well-behaved? Worldly assets [never truly belong to us]. Un-filial children are one reason this is so. People work hard their entire lives to earn money, but in the end, it does not really belong to them. Their un-filial children cause them suffering [by exhausting their resources]. This is the “suffering of meeting those we hate.”

Love can be passionate. Loving someone can be bittersweet, a lot of work. When people finally come together, get married and form a family, not long after, they may become unfaithful to each other. This is “meeting those we hate” in our families. It also includes disharmony with our in-laws, or conflicts with our friends or relatives. There are many different kinds of “suffering of meeting those we hate.” There is also the “suffering of the raging Five Aggregates.”

“Parting with what we love, meeting those we hate, unfulfilled desires,” and “the raging Five Aggregates,” along with birth, aging, illness and death together make up the eight sufferings. However, we sentient beings do not try to understand these things. We only look at what is in front of us so when we encounter suffering, we do not know what to do.

The Buddha teaches us from the beginning to help us understand that if we can thoroughly understand these principles, we do not need to pursue [these things]. For the sake of our desires, we create much karma. We may seek fame and profit, or to have children, and so on. When we cannot fulfill our desires, we suffer tremendous anguish. When we understand this principle, we will just let things happen naturally. If we are content and grateful, we will not suffer from unfulfilled desires.

Parting with what we love is part of life. Since we have created the causes for this and formed these karmic conditions, we should cherish the time that we have together and live harmonious and happily. When the karmic conditions [are over], we [can learn to] go along with the law of nature. Then we will not suffer as much from “parting with what we love.”

Why should we suffer from “meeting those we hate”? Life is too short; why do we take issue over things? Why do we start feuds with others? “I know that this is karmic cause and effect; I should step back to see the bigger picture.” Then this suffering will vanish.

Most important is “the raging Five Aggregates.” From the Heart Sutra, we understand how the Five Aggregates are all empty. If we can see through things, we realize nothing is worth being attached to. Then will form, sound, smell, taste and touch mean anything to do us? They will not. The five sense objects do not really exist, so we do not need to greedily cling to them. Oftentimes, external conditions bring about much suffering for us.

The Buddha uses various principles to explain this until we can understand. After we understand, we can practice [the Dharma]. Through our practice, we understand the aforementioned eight sufferings and the Four Nobles Truths. Hearers [and Arhats] eliminate “fragmentary samsara. I do not want to return to this world. I do not want to create all these bad karmic connections with sentient beings. I only want to awaken myself.” So, they want to eliminate “fragmentary samsara.”

As for Pratyekabuddhas, they realize the concept of impermanence and the law of karma. They also only seek to awaken themselves, though they are one level higher than Hearers. They know that to end “fragmentary samsara,”

they must thoroughly understand the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence. But there is also “transformational samsara.” Though we clearly understand principles, the fluctuations caused by our habitual tendencies and our mental problems are uncontrollable. This is also part of our lives. We must work harder on our spiritual practice. After we learn these principles, we must work even harder [to eliminate] “fragmentary samsara” and “transformational samsara.” After we thoroughly understand these principles, our minds must be completely pure and in a state of tranquility and clarity.

The Buddha comes to this world for the sake of doing this, to eliminate [samsara]. He taught all kinds of principles for eliminating greed, anger and ignorance in the hopes that we can all understand “the eight sufferings of samsara.”

Birth, aging, illness and death are part of the laws of nature, but the suffering of “unfulfilled desires, parting with what we love, meeting those we hate” and “the raging Five Aggregates” are all created by our minds. If we can understand the true principles taught by the Buddha, we can then eliminate these kinds of sufferings. Apart from birth, aging, illness and death, we can gradually weaken the latter [four sufferings]. Then we can take the next step [to eliminate] “fragmentary samsara.”

After we clearly understand the 4 Noble Truths, we must practice the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence. The 12 Links of Cyclic Existence are the process of how we come to be in this life. The Buddha has thoroughly explained this to us. In the Lotus Sutra, this will be explained later as well. So, this is the Buddha’s goal. He hopes all sentient beings will eliminate “fragmentary” and “transformational” samsara and attain “supreme enlightenment.” The Buddha wants all sentient beings to be equal to all Buddhas by attaining a state of non-arising and non-ceasing.

All the World-Honored Ones: All Buddhas utilize teachings of compassion and wisdom to eliminate unwholesome things such as greed, anger and ignorance, etc. By eliminating the eight sufferings of samsara, we end fragmentary and transformational samsara and attain supreme enlightenment.

We ordinary people are part of the Six Unenlightened Realms. Heavenly, unenlightened and noble beings all live in this world. Regardless of whether we are sentient beings or have transcended this world, all of us “respect and honor Him greatly.” Thus, we call Him “the World-Honored One.”

The World-Honored One comes to this world to clarify these many principles that we do not understand. However, we unceasingly create ignorance and delusion. We know the eight sufferings of ordinary people. Everyone knows birth, aging, illness and death, but [suffering of] “unfulfilled desires” or “meeting those we hate” or “parting with what we love” and so on all come back to the workings of the Five Aggregates in our lives. This is what we really need to understand.

So, we must mindfully learn the Buddha’s teachings. We must not allow one ignorant thought to bring about countless misfortunes in this world. Therefore, “Cultivation of the path and virtue takes place in this world” and moreover, “with focus, sincerity, faith and vows we attain Bodhi.” The Buddha comes to this world solely to teach that “the True Dharma is the One Vehicle.” This is the Buddha’s compassion. Thus, we call Him “the World-Honored One.” All beings in the Six Unenlightened Realms need to respect Him, so He is called “the World-Honored One.” Everyone, please always be mindful.