Category: TLS Chapter 3

Episode 712 – Valuing the Dharma Sincerely and Reverently

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>> Some people may understand inherent True Suchness. But the dull roots, chronic afflictions and deluded karma of ordinary people are hindrances. If we can give rise to respect and pure faith, we will be reverent and careful, take joy in diligently advancing and forever sustain this without retreating.

>> If there are people who are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness, unsparingly dedicating their lives, you can teach them this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there are people who are respectful, with no discursive thoughts, who distance themselves from ordinary foolishness and live alone among mountains and streams, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there are people who are respectful with no discursive thoughts: This describes those with respectful hearts, who practice ending evil, eliminating defilement and turning to purity. With many kinds of diligent practices and the wisdom of Samadhi from tranquil contemplation, those who are without discursive thoughts can be taught this sutra.

>> They distance themselves from ordinary foolishness and live alone among mountains and streams: They are diligent, not indolent, and courageously practice all beneficial Dharma. With loving-kindness and compassion for sentient beings, they distance themselves from ordinary foolishness. They are not contaminated by others, as if living alone in the mountains and streams.

>> Living alone among mountains and streams also means: They do not abide in cyclic existence and remain uncontaminated by the dusts of delusion. They are Bodhisattvas who practice both Samadhi and wisdom and walk the Middle Way.

>> Those who listen to the Dharma like this and give rise to respect, who value the Dharma sincerely and reverently, who can concentrate with no discursive thoughts and bring back their minds with the Samadhi and wisdom of contemplation, who do not engage in self-indulgence or have scattered minds, can be taught this sutra.

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“Some people may understand inherent True Suchness.
But the dull roots, chronic afflictions and deluded karma of ordinary people are hindrances.
If we can give rise to respect and pure faith,
we will be reverent and careful, take joy in diligently advancing and forever sustain this without retreating.”

We often say, “If people want to understand all Buddhas of the Three Periods, [they must contemplate] all things as being created by the mind.” This phrase is so common, but do we actually understand, or do we still not understand? True Suchness is our intrinsic nature. It is inherently within all of us. When we read and recite this, we all know and understand it, but have we actually experienced it? What would experiencing it feel like? Most people are still unable to comprehend this. Therefore, we must engage in spiritual practice.

We are still in the state of ordinary beings. Oh, ordinary people! What makes us ordinary people? It is our dull roots and chronic afflictions. We are driven by the Ten Afflictions. In the past I have explained the five chronic and five acute afflictions. We have greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. We have deviant views, extreme views and all kinds of perspectives that influence the way our minds connect with our daily environment. When our eyes connect to our external conditions, our minds give rise to discursive thoughts. When our sense organs connect to sense objects, discursive thoughts arise. This is why our minds cannot become still. Then with so many tangible objects, our ignorance and our afflictions will continue to be endlessly replicated. These many tangible forms will tempt us, causing desires to endlessly grow in our minds. Thus, our intrinsic nature of True Suchness continues to be influenced by external phenomena; with our delusions and karma, our ignorance continually covers it. Our minds continue to meet with objects and external conditions.

This matter is so clear and obvious; we know what we need to do to take care of it. But then many challenges begin to appear. As Bodhisattvas, we must go among people. People face very much suffering, so as Bodhisattvas, we must go among people and find a way to relieve their suffering. When we see this kind of suffering, we must find a way to help them.

For example, recently a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in Ukraine. Family members were not able to go there to identify the bodies [The Ukraine] is a place of conflict filled with manmade tragedies, so they were unable to go there. Through arrangements made by the UN and so on, finally these bodies were able to be recovered, one by one. Presently, the bodies have been sent to the Netherlands, because most of the people on this plane were from the Netherlands

[We saw that] in the Netherlands, after the plane crash occurred, their society remained calm and stable. It was not yet clear what had happened; had the plane been shot down erroneously, or had something happened to cause the plane to crash? Was it due to human action, or was it simply an accident? The Dutch did not cast blame on anyone, nor did they hurl insults or get overemotional. From this, we can see their self-cultivation.

When the bodies arrived in the Netherlands, they were received with a formal ceremony. The motorcade was organized very neatly. As the bodies were received with military honors, we saw the citizens of the Netherlands gather in long lines all along the route. Everyone remained very solemn and reverent. This ceremony and everyone’s demeanor were indeed very admirable.

In Taiwan, recently a TransAsia Airways plane took off from [Kaohsiung] Siaogang Airport and crashed near Penghu [Magong Airport]. Some passengers were injured and many died. In total, there were over 50 people on board. In Taiwan, their family members wailed and lamented, unable to accept what happened; we can comprehend how they felt. So, we mobilized many volunteers; each family member was accompanied by many volunteers. When we saw that scene, it was truly filled with sorrow and suffering.

Having just witnessed the incident in Penghu, another aviation accident occurred two days ago. This took place in Africa. Yet another plane crashed. Where did this happen? In Algeria. This plane crashed shortly after takeoff, and it came down in the desert with more than 160 people on board. It has been verified that they all died because the plane was smashed into pieces. Think about it; this is the impermanence of life. So, we must have great respect for nature and a healthy sense of fear. We cannot just say, “I’m not afraid of anything, I can do whatever I want.” We should have a healthy fear of nature, for the power of nature is formidable. Moreover, karmic forces cannot be resisted. Thus, the Buddha said, “I cannot alter the karma of sentient beings because the karma of sentient beings is as massive as Mount Sumeru.” Thus, we must try our best not to create karma, With the karmic law of cause and effect, the karmic forces we create will indeed be massive. If we understand this, we must recognize that we need to have respect for the whole universe.

We must respect the Dharma by earnestly taking it to heart and putting it into practice. If we can have this “pure faith,” naturally we will “be reverent and careful and take joy in diligently advancing.”

We can be very respectful, whether towards principles, people or matters. I often say we must engage in spiritual practice to be a harmonious person and handle matters harmoniously; then naturally we will be in harmony with principles. Being a harmonious person depends on being able to [properly] handle matters. In all that we should do and all we should consider, are we being thorough? We must do everything with respect and faith. Moreover, we must always be diligent. If we do not diligently advance, then we are retreating.

When something happens, how should we deal with it? The earth’s climate brings natural disasters. Then there is the impermanence of sudden manmade disasters or the impermanence of causes and conditions suddenly converging and giving rise to calamities and so on. How should this organization of Bodhisattvas go among people to deal with these matters in a manner that is in accord with principles and very harmonious? This requires being “reverent and careful and taking joy in diligently advancing.” We must preserve the pure faith in our minds and maintain this sense of respect. We must be respectful towards the Dharma. Only by taking the Dharma to heart can we develop the wisdom to deduce ten things from one example.

Instead, when I ask you to do something, you say, “Very well, I will do it,” and then as you do it, [I have to tell you,] “[Your plan] does not seem very comprehensive. You should do it this way.” You respond, “Fine, I will pay more attention,” but then [I still have to ask], “Why did you do things this way? Haven’t you thought about how you might be able to do this for him instead of just telling him to do it?” There are so many things that require us to have a few crucial skills and being very meticulous. This requires being respectful.

When we handle major matters, and in everything we do, we must be mindful. If our faith is very pure, we are able to understand everything. From one example, we can deduce the rest; we can understand everything else. Therefore, we must constantly train ourselves to “take joy in diligently advancing and”

“forever sustain this without retreating.” Since we have listened to the teachings, we must earnestly take the Dharma to heart. We do this through our daily living; in our every encounter with people and matters, we must try to mindfully align ourselves with it and apply it to handle every situation. To do this we must “take joy in diligently advancing.” We cannot think of things as being bothersome and just handle them [carelessly]; then, “You fell short; this is not good enough. You fell short; you did not complete this.” This means we lacked sufficient respect and faith. Thus, we must constantly be mindful to “take joy in diligently advancing and forever sustain this without retreating.”

This is what we must do in our daily living. As I often tell everyone, the Buddha-Dharma is found in our lives. So, it is not the case that every day we only talk about great principles [The Dharma] is not just great principles, but also the very subtle principles of how we interact with people and deal with matters. It is in these subtle principles. Thus, we must make an effort to be mindful. We must be mindful and diligent.

The previous sutra passage states, “If there are people who are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness, unsparingly dedicating their lives, you can teach them this sutra.”

This expresses that if we are truly engaging in spiritual practice, we must have a sense of respect and “pure faith.” We must be “reverent and careful, take joy in diligently advancing and forever sustain this without retreating.” This is “constantly cultivating loving-kindness.” This is being “diligent.” This comes from completely dedicating our lives. The life of every cell should be dedicated to diligently cultivating loving-kindness and being respectful of the Dharma. Only in this way are we able to walk the Bodhisattva-path and share principles with other people.

The next sutra passage states, “If there are people who are respectful, with no discursive thoughts, who distance themselves from ordinary foolishness and live alone among mountains and streams, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”

We must constantly give rise to respect. People who can do this demonstrate that they are focused. When our mind is focused, it will not give rise to discursive thoughts. Our mind will be focused on walking the Bodhisattva-path, on finding ways to relieve the suffering of sentient beings we meet and harmoniously complete our mission. “With no discursive thoughts” means that our mind is very attentive. “Distancing [ourselves]” means no longer having an unenlightened mind. Since we have given rise to Bodhicitta and want to walk the Bodhisattva-path, we are “Bodhisattvas in name.” We must not stray from our Bodhisattva-resolve, so we must “distance [ourselves] from ordinary foolishness.” We must quickly bring ourselves closer to the Bodhisattva-resolve; to become more like a Bodhisattva, we must transcend our unenlightened mind. So, this is how we learn the Buddha’s Way.

“Living alone among mountains and streams” is about our minds. This does not mean going to the top of a mountain; we must reach the level where we can go among people without being affected by them. Though we are among people, it is as if we are in a quiet place. Even if we are in a troubling environment, our minds stand alone and remain pure. For people who can do this, this sutra can be taught; they will be able to accept the Lotus teachings

If there are people who are respectful with no discursive thoughts: This describes those with respectful hearts, who practice ending evil, eliminating defilement and turning to purity. With many kinds of diligent practices and the wisdom of Samadhi from tranquil contemplation, those who are without discursive thoughts can be taught this sutra.

This is clearly telling us that being respectful means to “practice ending evil.” We must make an effort to earnestly cultivate and uphold the Buddha-Dharma. Unwholesome thoughts, ignorance and afflictions are all considered evils. If there is ignorance in us, or afflictions, or dust-like [delusions], even afflictions as tiny as a speck of dust, we must completely clear them all away. This is how, “With respectful hearts, [we] practice ending evil and eliminating defilement.” This is how we develop a pure mind. Only then can we experience and feel for ourselves where our nature of True Suchness is. Thus, we must make an effort to preserve the purity of our minds.

“Many kinds of diligent practices” means we must use various methods. Our external environment is a place where we engage in spiritual practice. The place where Bodhisattvas practice is among suffering sentient beings. Therefore, when we encounter all kinds of suffering sentient beings, we must diligently practice, earnestly cultivate and review [the teachings].

Then we [develop] tranquil contemplation, the wisdom of Samadhi. As we know, tranquil contemplation is to be in a state of stillness, as if we are in a state of meditation. Being in “Samadhi” means that our mind is both very still and stable. Carrying firewood and water is also meditation. As we move, our mind must remain still. Thus, we must engage in tranquil contemplation. With a mind that is very still and uncontaminated by our environment, we contemplate what suffering beings need and how we can give that to them.

That is the state we must be in. Next, with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, this is where we need to focus our minds so we avoid giving rise to discursive thoughts. “Discursive” means changing and shifting. Our minds must be focused. Since we want to learn and practice the Bodhisattva-path, we must focus on learning and practicing, without allowing external conditions to divert us and cause us to retreat from our resolve to learn and practice the Bodhisattva-path and return to an ordinary and foolish state. Therefore, we must have the “wisdom of Samadhi from tranquil contemplation [and be] without discursive thoughts.” People in this state can cultivate the Dharma. They can be taught more profound teachings.

They distance themselves from ordinary foolishness and live alone among mountains and streams: They are diligent, not indolent, and courageously practice all beneficial Dharma. With loving-kindness and compassion for sentient beings, they distance themselves from ordinary foolishness. They are not contaminated by others, as if living alone in the mountains and streams.

“Those who distance themselves” have completely eliminated their foolishness, so their minds will always remain in a pure state.

Thus, in the past I often told everyone that the Buddha actually wanted to dispel people’s deviated views and understanding. He hoped that everyone could go among people without being contaminated by them. In this way, though they are in a complicated situation, it is as if they are “living alone among mountains and streams” where nothing can contaminate them. This is “diligence.”

“They are diligent, not indolent, and courageously practice all beneficial Dharma.” We must be mindful. When challenges arise, we must handle them with great respect. In this way we “courageously practice all beneficial Dharma.” We must be courageous and diligent. External phenomena that pose challenges enable us to engage in spiritual practice

“With loving-kindness and compassion for sentient beings” means that we must treat all sentient beings with loving-kindness and compassion. We must serve suffering sentient beings. “Distancing [ourselves] from ordinary foolishness” we can transcend this unenlightened state and go among people with the heart of a Bodhisattva while “not [being] contaminated by others.” When our minds cannot be contaminated by others, that is like “living alone among mountains and streams”

Living alone among mountains and streams also means: They do not abide in cyclic existence and remain uncontaminated by the dusts of delusion. They are Bodhisattvas who practice both Samadhi and wisdom and walk the Middle Way.

“Living alone in the mountains and streams” also means, “not abiding in cyclic existence.” We do not solely practice for the sake of transcending cyclic existence. That is not it. We must dedicate ourselves to [helping] people without a mindset of gain and loss. Thus, we truly engage in spiritual practice. Not being contaminated by the dusts of delusion is a sign of our purity. Lotus flowers grow in the mud but remain undefiled. This is like cultivating Samadhi and wisdom and walking the Middle Way of the Bodhisattva-path.

“For people like this, you can teach this sutra.” These are people who listen to the Dharma with a respectful mind. With respect and reverence for the Dharma, we can be focused, without distraction. We can wholeheartedly accept this Dharma without a second thought. With this mindset, we are free of discursive thoughts; this is tranquil contemplation. When our minds are very still, they are in “Samadhi”; this is still contemplation. With wisdom, we can rein in our scattered minds. For people who are neither indulgent or scattered, we can teach this sutra.

Those who listen to the Dharma like this and give rise to respect, who value the Dharma sincerely and reverently, who can concentrate with no discursive thoughts and bring back their minds with the Samadhi and wisdom of contemplation, who do not engage in self-indulgence or have scattered minds, can be taught this sutra.

Everyone, as Bodhisattva-practitioners, we must always be mindful. Remember [the phrase], “Some people may understand inherent True Suchness.” We must truly realize for ourselves that with our dull roots and chronic afflictions, in this environment, we will constantly connect to conditions and thus bury our wisdom. That is such a pity. We must give rise to a sense of respect. We must be respectful toward the Dharma and earnestly practice it. When we attain a good teaching, we must make an effort to retain it. We must have pure faith, be reverent and careful, and take joy in diligently advancing. Truly, we must earnestly persevere and not retreat. Thus, we must always be meticulous and mindful!

Episode 711 – Teach This to Those Who Vow to be Diligent

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>> Deep resolve is our place of spiritual practice where merits and virtues are developed. The Buddha-wisdom is deep and far-reaching, so we must have the resolve to earnestly seek equal enlightenment. Our resolve in listening to the Dharma is deep and solemn. We vow to seek the Buddha Vehicle and deeply plant the virtues of Bodhi-seeds; thus we reap conditions of purity.

>> If there are people who have seen countless Buddhas in the past, have laid all foundations of goodness and are firm and stable in their deep resolve, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there are people who are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness, unsparingly dedicating their lives, you can teach them this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> These people have Great Vehicle aspirations, practice the paramita of diligence and walk the Bodhisattva-path. If there are people who are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness, from their initial aspiration to now, they remain diligent and never retreat.

>> From their initial aspiration to now, they remain diligent and never retreat. They joyfully give away wealth and practice generosity. For the sake of respecting the Dharma, they unsparingly dedicating their lives, and with all other difficult and ascetic practices, they resolve to learn them as they can.

From their initial aspiration to now, through uncountable kalpas, they give their lives to practicing generosity for the sake of respecting the Dharma. They unsparingly dedicate their lives and face many other difficult practices. Able to practice these difficult practices, they make vows to learn them as they can. For diligent Bodhisattvas such as these, you can then teach this sutra. They constantly cultivate loving-kindness and do not seek peace and happiness for themselves, but wish for liberation from suffering for all sentient beings. They do this continuously in every thought, without interruption. In the actions of body, speech and mind, they never quit from tiredness.

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“Deep resolve is our place of spiritual practice where merits and virtues are developed.
The Buddha-wisdom is deep and far-reaching, so we must have the resolve to earnestly seek equal enlightenment.
Our resolve in listening to the Dharma is deep and solemn.
We vow to seek the Buddha Vehicle and deeply plant the virtues of Bodhi-seeds; thus we reap conditions of purity.”

Learning the Buddha’s Way requires deep resolve. Deepening our resolve requires deepening our roots. As we often say, when it comes to faith, we must have deep faith, when it comes to vows, we must have deep vows; this is the only way to deepen our roots and capabilities. As Buddhist practitioners, having a deep resolve is very important, as it is our place of spiritual practice.

If we have this place of practice of deep resolve, naturally we will grow in merits and virtues. Merits come from internal cultivation. Virtues manifest through external practice. We must constantly keep our minds on the Dharma and manifest this Dharma in our actions. This comes from having a deep and firm resolve, our inner spiritual training ground. Both internal cultivation and external practice help us grow in merits and virtues. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

The mindset we must have is one of seeking the Buddha’s wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom is deep and far away! Achieving it depends on the vows we make. When making vows, we must make great vows and develop firm resolve. When our vow to seek the Buddha-Dharma is firm, we have deep resolve. With this deep resolve, we vow to achieve the Buddha’s wisdom, to achieve all-encompassing wisdom. This is what we are striving for.

As we often say, “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” Everyone intrinsically has a nature of True Suchness. It is actually already within our minds! The Buddha wanted us to awaken and wanted to help us understand that all sentient beings are equal.

The Lotus Sutra is constantly telling us to walk the Bodhisattva-path and all become Bodhisattvas. To become a Bodhisattva, we must first awaken. We must be awakened sentient beings. We need to spend a very long time on transforming sentient beings. Not only do we need to transform people, we need to transform and save all sentient beings. If we wish to save them, how can we still kill them and eat them? So, we must not do that! We must nurture our Bodhisattva-minds and save and transform sentient beings. Our resolve must be very deep and long-lasting. The Bodhisattva-path is very long, so we must create many affinities with sentient beings; saving and transforming them is what we vow to do. With this mindset, we earnestly seek equal enlightenment.

Thus, “Our resolve in listening to the Dharma is deep and solemn.” We must certainly work to deepen this resolve. Our goals are [given by] our vows. We vow to practice the Four Infinite Minds. When we make the Four Great Vows; we vow to deliver all sentient beings and learn all the Buddha-Dharma. With the Four Infinite Minds, we can deliver all sentient beings by going among people with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. These are our vows, our great vows. So, “We vow to seek the Buddha Vehicle.”

When we learn the Buddha’s Way, our goal is to attain Buddhahood so “We vow to seek the Buddha Vehicle.” Since we want to seek the Buddha Vehicle and attain the state of Buddhahood, we must “deeply plant the virtues of Bodhi-seeds.” We must constantly make an effort to plant Bodhi-seeds. Moreover, these seeds must be planted deeply. Once their roots extend deeply and widely, the seedlings will sprout and slowly grow into trees. We must deeply plant the virtues of Bodhi-seeds; we must cultivate this virtue. Then we “reap conditions of purity.”

Everyone, learning and cultivating the Dharma is very important. We must place great value on the law of karma. The Buddha constantly used examples of karmic retribution from the past, present and future to teach us.

During the Buddha’s lifetime, in the city of Sravasti, there was a well-known elder who just had a child. While he was still a baby, he was able to speak.

The first thing he said was a question; he asked, “Is the Buddha still in this world?” His parents replied, “Yes, He is.” The baby continued to ask, “Are Sariputra, Ananda, Maudgalyayana, all those people, still present? Yes.” His parents felt that this was so strange, so they quickly and reverently went to Jeta Grove to consult the Buddha. The Buddha said, “This child is not a bad omen. He has great blessings and great capabilities.” The parents heard this and went home relieved.

The child then asked his parents, “If the Buddha is still in this world, shouldn’t we make offerings to Him and the Sangha?” The father replied, “Making offerings is not as easy as just saying that we want to. We need to make preparations.” The child said, “Actually, it is very simple. We just need to reverently tidy up the surroundings and then set out the best foods. If we make preparations with utmost sincerity, naturally the Buddha will come.”

The child also made another request. As preparations were being made, he asked for three seats to be set higher than the others. The parents asked, “There are so many people in the Sangha. Why are you only asking for three special seats?” The child said, “The first seat is obviously for the Buddha. The second seat is for my mother from my past life. She is still alive now and lives in the kingdom of Varanasi. I wish to ask you, my present parents, will you allow me to make an offering to my mother from my past life? The last seat is for my mother in this present lifetime.”

Indeed, at the location the child had specified, they found his mother and invited her to come. After everything was prepared, the Buddha indeed came with the Sangha. The boy’s [past] mother from Varanasi, who was invited, sat in one of the elevated seats. The present mother also sat in one of those seats. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, everyone became very happy. This way of making offerings was wonderful.

After this occasion, the child gradually grew older. He asked his parents to let him be a monastic. He left the lay life and joined the Sangha. When they met this young man joining the Sangha with such an acute understanding of the Dharma, they were all very curious about him. So, they asked Ananda to ask the Buddha. The Buddha began to explain.

Not long ago, in Varanasi, there was a prominent family. This family was once very wealthy, up until the time of this particular elder. After he passed away, his family fell into a steep decline and faced difficult circumstances. The elder’s son grew up in those conditions. At that time in the kingdom of Varanasi, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha flourished. When he saw others making offerings, he wished to make offerings when he was older too. However, he did not have the ability to do so.

He decided to go to another elder’s family and earnestly plead with them, “I offer myself to you for one year. You can ask me to do anything. I will do it. But what I want to ask in return is 1000 taels for this one year of service.” The elder thought, “This child, this young man, has delicate features and looks very clever, but he is willing to spend one year giving his life over to my work in exchange for 1000 taels.” Thus, the elder agreed to this request.

One year later, the young man received the salary of a year’s work. The elder asked him, “What do you want to do with the money?” The young man said, “I have a wish. I want to make offerings to the Buddha and Sangha.” The elder then said, “That is a very good wish. I will give you the money to fulfill your wish. You can also hold the ceremony at my home.” The young man was filled with joy and accepted the elder’s offer. In this way, he fulfilled his wish.

But not long after, this young man passed away. After he passed away, the wife of the elder in Sravasti became pregnant. Almost ten months later, the child was born. At this point of the story, the Buddha said, “Do you know? The young man in this Sangha was that young man [who made the offering]. He is now this young bhiksu in our Sangha.” See, this is indeed the law of karma at work. When we look at the past and present life, we can recognize [the connections]. What about the next life? We can comprehend this too, so we must deeply believe in the law of karma.

Thus, the previous passage we discussed states, “If there are people who have seen countless Buddhas in the past, have laid all foundations of goodness and are firm and stable in their deep resolve, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”

For someone to listen to this sutra and comprehend this Dharma, they must be this kind of person. Having seen countless Buddhas in the past shows that they have done this for a long time and have already deeply taken the Dharma to heart. Over this long period, they have engaged in spiritual practice and constantly planted seeds of goodness. Thus, they developed this foundation of goodness. People like this are said to be “firm and stable in their deep resolve.” It is only this kind of person who is able to accept the teachings of the Lotus Sutra.

The following passage states, “If there are people who are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness, unsparingly dedicating their lives, you can teach them this sutra.”

In the story we told earlier, that young man was willing to devote his life for that one year in order to make offerings to the Buddha and Sangha. Isn’t he “unsparingly dedicating [his] life”? To make offerings to the Buddha and Sangha, he worked with such determination. Wasn’t this being diligent? Hadn’t he, for a long time, “constantly cultivated loving-kindness”? In order to realize the Buddha-Dharma, he made offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. To make these offerings, he unsparingly dedicated his life. For people like this, “you can teach this sutra.”

These people have Great Vehicle aspirations, practice the paramita of diligence and walk the Bodhisattva-path. If there are people who are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness, from their initial aspiration to now, they remain diligent and never retreat.

So, “If there are people who are diligent, these people have Great Vehicle aspirations, practice the paramita of diligence and walk the Bodhisattva-path” These people are very diligent. They have this mindset; they formed aspirations and are firm in their vows. They have made the Four Great Vows and aspired to practice the Four Infinite Minds. This is forming Great Vehicle aspirations and “practicing the paramita of diligence”; they advance and never retreat. When we learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, we must continue to advance. We cannot take one step forward, two steps back. We must be earnest and attentive.

“If [people] are diligent and constantly cultivate loving-kindness,” those people must have formed that aspiration. Not only do they want to transform themselves, they also want to transform other people too. We must transform ourselves and others. People who walk the Bodhisattva-path are ones who are actually diligently cultivating their loving-kindness. From their initial aspiration to now, they remain diligent and never retreat, unsparingly dedicating their lives. For such people, we can teach this sutra

From their initial aspiration to now, they remain diligent and never retreat. They joyfully give away wealth and practice generosity. For the sake of respecting the Dharma, they unsparingly dedicating their lives, and with all other difficult and ascetic practices, they resolve to learn them as they can.

Starting with our initial aspiration, we must remain diligent and never retreat. We must all ask ourselves, as we interact with people, matter and things, are we applying common sense? Are we applying knowledge? Or are we applying wisdom? Everyone, common sense is an ability we learn in our normal lives. Knowledge is being clever and adaptable, but wisdom comes from our nature of True Suchness. It is pure and undefiled; it goes beyond both common sense and knowledge.

Common sense is acquired; knowledge is cleverness. Those are both temporary and contaminated. What we need is wisdom. So, what mindset are we using as we vow to engage in spiritual cultivation? How many of our past habitual tendencies have we eliminated? When we listen to the teachings every day, how much do we lose? Shouldn’t we constantly reflect upon ourselves? We must reflect so that we will not regress as we advance. If we regress as we advance in our practice, our efforts will have been in vain. Apart from happily letting go of material goods

as we practice giving, it is most important that we “respect the Dharma.” Thus, we will “unsparingly dedicate our lives.”

If we have truly learned the Dharma, we must happily let go of our material wealth and completely let go of the past. We must respect the Dharma from now on. When we respect the Dharma, we transform ourselves as well as others. We must be willing to work hard, not try to spare ourselves. It is more important to cherish our wisdom-life. We must earnestly seize each day and apply the Dharma we hear in our daily living. This is how we develop our wisdom-life. “All other difficult and ascetic practices” are achievable. “Able to practice all of them, they make vows to learn them as they can.” In this case, since we have made the vows we should go along with this environment, this place of spiritual practice, and make an effort to learn the Dharma at all times.

From their initial aspiration to now, through uncountable kalpas, they give their lives to practicing generosity for the sake of respecting the Dharma. They unsparingly dedicate their lives and face many other difficult practices. Able to practice these difficult practices, they make vows to learn them as they can. For diligent Bodhisattvas such as these, you can then teach this sutra.

I hope everyone will be mindful. Beginning with our initial aspirations many, many kalpas ago, we have already aspired to unsparingly devote our lives to charitable giving. Practicing the Four Great Vows is a way of giving; to transform all sentient beings we give up everything. In seeking the Dharma, we must give with our body and mind. This is how we respect the Dharma, by “unsparingly dedicating our lives” through “all kinds of difficulties.” In this way, we are “able to practice these difficult practices.” This is making the vow to constantly learn. “For diligent Bodhisattvas such as these, you can teach this sutra.” For this kind of Bodhisattva, we can teach this sutra, as they are able to accept it.

They constantly cultivate loving-kindness and do not seek peace and happiness for themselves, but wish for liberation from suffering for all sentient beings. They do this continuously in every thought, without interruption. In the actions of body, speech and mind, they never quit from tiredness.

Those who “constantly cultivate loving-kindness do not seek peace and happiness for themselves, but wish for liberation from suffering for all sentient beings.” If “They do this continuously in every thought,” they thus transform themselves and others and apply the Dharma in the present moment. Thus, in actions of body, speech and mind, they will never quit from being tired. We must constantly be learning, constantly dedicating our lives to this. This is how we respect the Dharma and take the Buddha-Dharma to heart. Every day, we advance for the sake of the Dharma. Thus, we must always be mindful.

Episode 710 – Planting Roots of Goodness through Giving

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>> When our faith is awakened, we diligently listen to the Dharma and practice what we hear. Though we have made great vows, our roots are shallow, so realization is difficult. The One Vehicle carries and transforms us wondrously through provisional teachings and virtuous Dharma.

>> If there are people with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding, learned and knowledgeable, who seek the path to Buddhahood, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there are people who have seen countless Buddhas in the past, have laid all foundations of goodness and are firm and stable in their deep resolve, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

 >> Those who have already seen and clearly understood the teachings and have been developing aspirations for a long time have previously planted deep roots of goodness. They have long practiced the virtuous Dharma with countless Buddhas in the past and have widely practiced charitable giving. They are the ones you can teach it to.

>> Since they are Bodhisattvas who have given rise to Bodhicitta, and in the past, in the presence of all Buddhas, have practiced the Six Perfections, they have laid all foundations of goodness, upheld and cultivated the meritorious roots of goodness, blessings and wisdom and are firm and stable in their deep resolve.

>> If people have deep faith and no doubt in the True Dharma of the One Vehicle and put it into practice, for people like this you can teach this sutra. > > Deep faith in the law of karma: They have deep faith in the karmic law of cause and effect, that all their actions are causes, that all they experience is the effects and that good causes develop into good conditions. These are seeds of goodness. Witness suffering and recognize blessings, cherish blessings and create more blessings, continue to extend good causes and conditions and constantly cultivate a mind of loving-kindness. We must never cut off any affinities.

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Our life passes with every second and every minute. If we want to mindfully learn the Dharma, we also need time. We need time for causes and conditions to converge. We need each one of them. So, we must make good use of present conditions and promptly seize the time. If even one factor is out of place, if these causes or conditions cannot converge, we will not be able to successfully listen to or teach the Dharma. I hope that, starting today, we can take every word of the Dharma to heart and constantly spread the Dharma through the world.

We are all journeying on with. Sakyamuni Buddha’s instant of awakening, and His aspiration to bequeath the Dharma to the world. Ever since then, the Dharma has been passed on to this day. Right now, we must be even more mindful to seize the moment causes and conditions converge to earnestly accept the Dharma.

The Dharma does not discriminate between young and old. Some people say, “I’m so old. How long do I have to listen to the Dharma? I don’t understand it, so can’t I just chant the name of the Buddha?” Chanting the Buddha’s name is good; are we able to chant the Buddha into our hearts? Once we take the Buddha to heart, can we transform our mind into the Buddha-mind? If we only chant the Buddha’s name but do not transform our minds, chanting is just an empty practice. It is not that people cannot understand. If old people listen mindfully, they can likewise understand. Think about it. In the TV program “Grassroots Bodhi,” many elderly Bodhisattvas have been featured. Some of them are already in their 80s or 90s. These Bodhisattvas listen to my morning teachings and become filled with Dharma-joy. They are likewise able to transform the habitual tendencies they have had for decades. Once they accept the Buddha-Dharma, they begin to practice it diligently.

In fact, our intrinsic nature is everlasting. Whether in this lifetime or the next, this [pure] nature will never increase or diminish. It is no different in the old and in the young, as long as we resolve to accept the Dharma and take it to heart. If we can experience and understand it, then naturally, our mind will start to manifest our Tathagata-nature. We should not worry about old age, but rather that we will not take the first step, that we will not accept the Dharma in time.

It is the same with young children. They may be young, but their minds are very pure and radiant; they have not yet been polluted by society in this lifetime [Their mind] is like a clear and bright mirror that can reflect the external conditions very clearly and distinctly. Many children we interact with show us that the Buddha-nature is equally in all. So, we should first awaken our faith
When our faith is awakened, we diligently listen to the Dharma and practice what we hear. Though we have made great vows, our roots are shallow, so realization is difficult. The One Vehicle carries and transforms us wondrously through provisional teachings and virtuous Dharma.

So, the earlier our faith is awakened, the earlier we can accept the Dharma. When we accept the Buddha-Dharma, it is most important to be earnestly diligent. This earnestness comes from the heart. When we wholeheartedly accept [the Dharma], when we manifest this sense of reverence, we will be willing to advance in our practice; this is being earnestly diligent.

When we take the Dharma to heart, it is like filling a box with incense. Even if we use up all the incense, the box remains fragrant. As we listen to the Dharma, if we can take more of it to heart, it will remain in our minds. When the fragrance of Dharma permeates our hearts, of course we will always be filled with joy. So, “We diligently listen to the Dharma and practice what we hear.” We must earnestly take the Dharma to heart. We must listen often, and after listening, we must practice.

If we have negative habitual tendencies, after hearing the Dharma we must immediately turn them around. This is turning the Dharma-wheel. We must turn around our unwholesome tendencies. Turning the Dharma-wheel is not just standing on stage and speaking, saying “Thus have I heard” these teachings. People call that turning the Dharma-wheel, but it is more than that. We must be very mindful. When we take in the teachings, we understand them. After understanding them, we must apply them to everything we encounter. This is truly taking the Dharma to heart. Only by turning our minds around and adjusting the way we interact with others are we truly turning the Dharma-wheel.

Furthermore, “Though we have made great vows, our roots are shallow, so realization is difficult.” We must understand that although we have formed aspirations and say we want to listen to the Dharma, we all have different capabilities. Some people, upon hearing a single phrase, can immediately absorb and understand it, form aspirations and make vows. But some people hear the Dharma and say, “The Dharma is very good, but….” This “but” is followed by many excuses, so they are unable to form aspirations. Although they have heard the Dharma, they cannot form any aspirations. There are also some people [who say], “I have already accepted the Dharma and really wish to form aspirations, but my ability to comprehend is quite poor. I have to proceed gradually.” Why is that? That is due to karmic causes, which are like seeds. That seed will sprout more slowly if its roots have not yet extended deeply. This is having shallow roots.

True principles are indeed wondrously profound. From hearing one Dharma, we can attain 1000 realizations. We can deduce so much from a single principle. A person with sharp capabilities, if he is taught how to do something, that this corner is made in this way, he can use the same method to make the other three. All four corners are made in the same way. This is how the corners of a table are made. Thus, once we learn how to make one corner, we should clearly know how to make the other three. It is the same with our awakening; the same principle applies.

If we thoroughly understand the principles, we will be able to understand and let go. All things in this world are empty in nature; there is no need for us to become attached to them. We must understand that that is how our many afflictions come about. In this troubled society, what teachings can we use to resolve people’s troublesome afflictions? If the Dharma is always in our hearts, we will aspire and vow [to practice it]. Then naturally our roots will grow deep. If our karmic seeds are planted deeply, we can extensively form [good] karmic connections. Then regardless of what phenomenon appears before us, even if it is an affliction, we can turn it into Bodhi. However, those with shallow roots say, “Afflictions are afflictions; they are always bothering me.” They are unable to transform their minds.

You may remember the young Bodhisattva Yanhe. His younger sister is now in preschool. She comes with her mom and older brother to the morning Dharma lectures. When she heard the passage on “heads aflame,” that afflictions are like fires burning our head, she noted down, “The tops of their heads aflame.” Beneath it she wrote, “This is punishing ourselves with others’ mistakes. Venting anger is temporary insanity.” She wrote down both these Jing Si aphorisms using the phonetic symbols.

Look at this; when this young child takes in the fragrance of the Dharma, by simply hearing this passage from the sutra, these few words, “the tops of their heads aflame,” she was able to connect it [to what she knows]. Isn’t she like a very clear mirror? She can reflect the world around her very clearly. Thus, when we listen to the Dharma, our faith must be quickly awakened so we are able to “diligently listen to the Dharma and practice what we hear.” Then, we will be able to form the aspiration and shoulder the responsibility to become one who teaches and transmits the Dharma. This requires great aspirations and great vows.

Next, “The One Vehicle carries and transforms us.” The provisional teachings and skillful means are now being turned around; the Three Vehicles are turned back to the One. We need to start using the great white ox-cart.

The past teachings of the Three Vehicles, the provisional teachings, were taught to pave the path for the true wisdom of the One Vehicle. This process of skillful means [was explained]. It was followed by the Chapter on Parables because we need to teach with parables in order to comprehend the virtuous Dharma. These guide everyone to eliminate their former attachments and avoid a bias toward emptiness. We should realize the wondrous principles of true emptiness. In true emptiness there is wondrous existence. Now we must make use of wondrous existence to come together with our nature of True Suchness. A small deviation will us lead far off course, so we must not deviate in the slightest bit from this Dharma.

The previous sutra passage states, “If there are people with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding, learned and knowledgeable, who seek the path to Buddhahood, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”

This earlier passage explains to us that without mature capabilities and proper faith, people cannot thoroughly understand [this Dharma], so we should not teach it to them. If they deviate in the way they apply it, not only will they not benefit from it, they will actually damage the Dharma in many ways. They will bring pollution to the Dharma and deviate from the teachings. We spoke of many examples of people we should not share [this Dharma] with. Now we are talking about people who have developed sharp capabilities, have wisdom and understanding, are learned and knowledgeable and sincerely seek the path to Buddhahood. These are the kinds of people we should share this Dharma with.

The sutra passage continues, “If there are people who have seen countless Buddhas in the past, have laid all foundations of goodness and are firm and stable in their deep resolve, for people like this, you can teach this sutra.”

“If there are people who have seen countless Buddhas in the past….” It is truly difficult to encounter a Buddha, but for kalpas since Beginningless Time, we have been extending our roots of goodness. This was the case for Sakyamuni Buddha. In the Introductory Chapter, in the dialogue between Manjusri and Maitreya, Manjusri mentioned. Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha. For each of these Buddhas to attain Buddhahood it took countless kalpas; then after countless more kalpas, another Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant would appear. Then after countless more kalpas another Buddha would appear, all with the same name, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant. This happened over and over until 20,000 of Them had appeared.

See, this took a very long time. The [principle] is the same; those who listen to the Dharma and develop deep and strong roots of faith likewise follow Buddhas life after life to learn the Dharma. During each lifetime, they share and transmit the Dharma and then return when they again have conditions to draw near the Dharma and again teach and transmit the Dharma. In this way they passed countless kalpas and encountered countless Buddhas. Thus, it is said, “If there are people who have seen countless Buddhas in the past….”

This clearly tells us that these people have already formed aspirations. They formed these aspirations a very long time ago. This did not only happen in their previous life, but over many lifetimes and over countless kalpas. In life after life, as we listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma, our roots will continue to deepen. Thus we “plant deep roots of goodness”

Those who have already seen and clearly understood the teachings and have been developing aspirations for a long time have previously planted deep roots of goodness. They have long practiced the virtuous Dharma with countless Buddhas in the past and have widely practiced charitable giving. They are the ones you can teach it to.

We are not saying that simply by listening to, teaching and transmitting the Dharma we can automatically attain Buddhahood; not at all. That still takes practice. When we go to school, we go through the grades one by one, primary school, secondary school then college, and later we can obtain a Ph. D, In conclusion, this takes a long time. We must constantly cultivate our roots of goodness and constantly be permeated by this Dharma.

If we encounter people like this, people with sharp capabilities who can hear one thing and realize 1000 and can even explain the Dharma to others to continue transmitting it, we must believe that they were permeated by teachings in the past

“[Those who] have seen countless Buddhas” have “widely practiced charitable giving.” They are this kind of person. Charitable giving is not just about giving money; we also must have kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity and must practice the Six Paramitas. People who have done this “have laid all foundations of goodness and are firm and stable in their deep resolve.” Since they have given rise to Bodhicitta, they must practice the Bodhisattva-path

Since they are Bodhisattvas who have given rise to Bodhicitta, and in the past, in the presence of all Buddhas, have practiced the Six Perfections, they have laid all foundations of goodness, upheld and cultivated the meritorious roots of goodness, blessings and wisdom and are firm and stable in their deep resolve.

In the past, “in the presence of all Buddhas,” they have engaged in spiritual practice. “Practicing the Six Perfections” is practicing the Six Paramitas. They are willing to give with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. These Four Infinite Minds and the Six Paramitas taken together are called the Ten Paramitas. As I have explained before, at the spiritual training grounds of all Buddhas, “They have laid all foundations of goodness, upheld and cultivated the meritorious roots of goodness, blessings and wisdom.” We must diligently cultivate the fields of our minds and nurture our meritorious roots of goodness, blessings and wisdom. This helps deepen and strengthen our roots of goodness.

“For people like this, you can teach this sutra.” These are the kinds of people that we can teach the One Vehicle Dharma to

If people have deep faith and no doubt in the True Dharma of the One Vehicle and put it into practice, for people like this you can teach this sutra. The One Vehicle Dharma is the True Dharma and the Buddha’s original intent. The Buddha had safeguarded this Dharma in His mind for more than 40 years. Now He shares it [at this assembly]. We must comprehend the Buddha’s original intent

and understand that we must have “deep faith in the law of karma.” For countless kalpas, we must have deep faith in the law of karma. If we do not have deep faith in it, how will we be able to accept that deep roots of goodness are developed over countless kalpas? Thus, we must have deep faith in the karmic law of cause and effect

Deep faith in the law of karma: They have deep faith in the karmic law of cause and effect, that all their actions are causes, that all they experience is the effects and that good causes develop into good conditions. These are seeds of goodness. Witness suffering and recognize blessings, cherish blessings and create more blessings, continue to extend good causes and conditions and constantly cultivate a mind of loving-kindness. We must never cut off any affinities.

Recently, we have seen many occurrences, whether imbalances in a worldwide level or collective karma shared on an individual level. There are many such manmade calamities. This is due to the karmic law of cause and effect. Because we created this cause, we will experience this effect. So, in all that we do we must be very mindful. We must truly cherish our blessings and then, to create more blessings, we must genuinely form good affinities. Then we can have good connections with each other. We must never cut off our affinities with anyone, but instead create more [good] affinities.

Many things have come about because the convergence of causes and conditions has led people to face much suffering in life. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 709 – Teaching All Beings to Plant the Roots of Virtues

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>> Bodhisattvas want to teach the Dharma to sentient beings. First they adapt teachings with skillful means. Then they teach sentient beings to give rise to faith and joy. They derive great benefit and teach joyfully according to conditions.

>> I tell you, Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there are people with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding, learned and knowledgeable, who seek the path to Buddhahood, for people like this, you can then teach this sutra.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> If there are people with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding: If practitioners give rise to great Bodhicitta, practice the Six Perfections with both blessings and wisdom, the two world-transcending roots of goodness, and have deep faith in the Great Vehicle, they are thus said to have sharp capabilities.

>> Practitioners of the Three Vehicles: Bodhisattvas have sharp capabilities. Solitary Realizers have average capabilities. Hearers have dull capabilities.

>> If there are people with sharp capabilities, they can believe and understand upon hearing. Possessing wisdom, they can discriminate between right and wrong. They understand, thus they do not become confused.

>> Learned and knowledgeable, [they] seek the path to Buddhahood: They are learned and knowledgeable, so they recognize that the Buddha, in His wisdom, uses provisional teachings and skillful means. They have deep faith and retain this knowledge. Those who resolve to seek the path to Buddhahood hope to attain the Great Vehicle Dharma.

>> Those of sharp capabilities and wisdom clearly understand the provisional and the true. Learned and knowledgeable, they resolve to seek the fruit of Buddhahood. They draw near to all Buddhas and plant the roots of all virtues. They give rise to firm aspirations, thus they are unmoved by material desires. People like this can shoulder the burden of spiritual practice. They accept it faithfully upon hearing it, so it is suitable to teach them.

>> They have six virtues: The virtues of freedom, flourishing, majesty, renown, auspiciousness and honor. They must also practice the perfection of wisdom; then this sutra can be taught to them.

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“Bodhisattvas want to teach the Dharma to sentient beings.
First they adapt teachings with skillful means.
Then they teach sentient beings to give rise to faith and joy.
They derive great benefit and teach joyfully according to conditions.”

Sentient beings’ minds are full of afflictions. Thus, we give rise to afflictions and create karma. Having replicated so much negative karma, we have to follow our circumstantial retributions as we bring our karma into this life. Because of this, Sakyamuni Buddha came to this world over countless lifetimes. Life after life, He formed Bodhisattva-aspirations and walked the Bodhi-path, the path to enlightenment. With the aspiration to be an enlightened being, He awakened and then went among sentient beings to transform them.

He had to adapt to sentient beings’ capacities. “First [He] adapted teachings with skillful means.” He taught sentient beings according to their capabilities and the time. He also constantly gave us warnings through expressions, analogies, etc. to help us gradually experience and understand the teachings. So, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the world have to face us sentient beings, with our countless afflictions. Thus, they must have great patience to teach us, to alert us and to help us gradually draw near the Dharma. If they cannot transform us in this life, they will wait to transform us in the next life. In this way, life after life, they follow sentient beings into the Three Evil Destinies and the Six Realms.

Human life is a mix of suffering and joy. Those with a life of suffering truly suffer. On the other hand, there are also many people who live in heaven on earth. They are born into such blessed circumstances and can enjoy a life of comfort. If you ask them, “Are you happy?” they are definitely not happy, because they do not feel satisfied. If they try to derive a sense of satisfaction solely through fulfilling their material desires, they will never feel satisfied. Since there are no principles in their minds, they feel a sense of emptiness; all they have are afflictions.

So, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have to exercise patience. For those people with no principles and only emptiness in their hearts, those who deny the law of karma, they will still do all they can to find a way to patiently guide them. They hope everyone can have faith and joy, that people can believe in, delight in and accept the principles and thus attain great benefits. They can also teach the Right Dharma in a way sentient beings can happily accept. This is what we should aim for as we learn.

At this time of the year in Taiwan, many schools are holding graduation ceremonies. At the Tzu Chi College of Technology, one of the graduates from the Department of Nursing is Lin Shenghan. He lived in central Taiwan, in Nantou, and attended Zhongxing Secondary, [one of the schools we rebuilt]. He was filled with gratitude. He said that in his hometown, because Tzu Chi quickly helped rebuild his school, he was able to complete his schooling.

He did not come from a wealthy family. With his strong connection to Tzu Chi, he decided to come to Hualien and chose a career in nursing. Although he is male, he felt he wanted to work closely with patients. When patients are seriously ill, they need people to mindfully take care of them. This profession is not limited to men or women. Moreover, taking care of patients is hard, and he was willing to take on the toughest job. He vowed that he will face tremendous pressures with a smile and give of himself to the most severely ill patients. He even vowed to stay in Hualien forever. He wants to stay in this place most people do not want to come to. This young man has such a firm resolve and willingness to bear responsibilities. Hearing young people make these kind of vows makes me very happy.

The reason he made this kind of vow was because of the education he received. If we had not promptly constructed those schools over a decade ago, what would have happened to these children? We have seen each of these seeds become giant trees and join society.

Our schools in Indonesia also held their graduation ceremonies. The secondary school students rehearsed the Sutra of Profound Gratitude toward Parents. From the beginning to the end, they performed this musical adaptation in Chinese. This was not just a performance. Ever since they started rehearsing, these children’s state of mind has changed. Some of them even vowed to become vegetarian. In the past, some would do as they pleased. One girl would refuse to do anything that her parents asked of her. Now she knows the depth of her parents’ kindness. “Now, if my parents ask me to do something, I immediately do it, because life is impermanent, and I don’t want to have any regrets.”

This is what education can do. With this kind of education, though these students are Muslim, they can accept the Buddha’s teachings. This inspired them to realize that, “Doing good deeds and being filial cannot wait.” This is also happening in our time. When I see our graduation ceremonies, I am very touched and also feel very grateful. I am grateful to all the Bodhisattvas who help carry out our Four Major Missions. During this time, they have been serving like this. When I see what they have done, I feel very grateful.

The previous sutra passage states, “I tell you, Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.”

Again, the Buddha spoke to Sariputra, hoping that when we teach the Dharma to people, if there are those who cannot accept it, we will not share these teachings with them. This is because it will have the opposite effect and lead them to commit transgressions. The negative karma they create will be very severe and its effect will be very long-lasting. If they slander the sutra, deny the law of karma, sever people’s roots of goodness and ruin people’s wisdom-life, the karma of these transgressions will be severe. Therefore, [the Buddha] told us, “Do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.” This is what the Buddha both taught us and warned us about. He helped us understand that even miraculous medicine should not be given in heavy doses; we need to give the amount people can accept. This is the Buddha’s compassion and wisdom.

The next passage states, “If there are people with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding, learned and knowledgeable, who seek the path to Buddhahood, for people like this, you can then teach this sutra.”

At this point of the sutra, the Buddha begins to tell us who we can share these teachings with; what kind of people have the capabilities to learn this? “People with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding.” They have given rise to great Bodhicitta and are willing to practice the Six Perfections

If there are people with sharp capabilities, who are wise and understanding: If practitioners give rise to great Bodhicitta, practice the Six Perfections with both blessings and wisdom, the two world-transcending roots of goodness, and have deep faith in the Great Vehicle, they are thus said to have sharp capabilities.

Giving rise to Bodhicitta means becoming awakened; awakened beings go among people to benefit them. How can we bring blessings to others? Through the Six Perfections of giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. Giving rise to great Bodhicitta is wisdom. Practicing the Six Perfections is cultivating blessings. Doing both creates world-transcending roots of goodness. The root of Bodhi is our awakened nature. We need to put the Dharma into practice and go the among people. That develops our root of goodness. Having deep faith and great capacity for goodness, we are willing to form Great Vehicle aspirations.

As I said earlier, clearly knowing that working in the medical field and taking care of patients is hard work, our students still willingly vowed to do the most difficult jobs and accept the high pressure of caring for patients who are seriously ill. They vow to do this job with a smile on their face. Think about this; without great faith, how could they make these great vows? These young people, these new graduates, are able to [make this vow]. Shouldn’t we be able to do this as well?

Practitioners of the Three Vehicles: Bodhisattvas have sharp capabilities. Solitary Realizers have average capabilities. Hearers have dull capabilities.

Sentient beings have three types of capabilities, thus there are three types of spiritual practitioners, the practitioners of each of the Three Vehicles. Bodhisattvas are the ones with sharp capabilities. Solitary Realizers are the ones with average capabilities. Hearers have dull capabilities.

The Buddha taught the True Dharma of the One Vehicle out of expectations for those with sharp capabilities. “If there are people with sharp capabilities, they can believe and understand upon hearing”

If there are people with sharp capabilities, they can believe and understand upon hearing. Possessing wisdom, they can discriminate between right and wrong. They understand, thus they do not become confused.

People with sharp capabilities have the capacity to be Bodhisattvas. Listening to the Dharma, they naturally understand it and have faith in it. With faith and understanding, naturally they will make vows. People like this are replete with wisdom. Therefore, for people like this, we can expound this Dharma, this great and profound Dharma. To discern whether this is the right teaching to share, we must be mindful and put it into practice. If this is the wrong teaching to share, we must stop immediately.

Cultivating the Three Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, depends on our ability to make proper choices. When we are doing the right thing, we must concentrate and strengthen our resolve. When we understand and are determined, we will not get lost.

Learned and knowledgeable, [they] seek the path to Buddhahood: They are learned and knowledgeable, so they recognize that the Buddha, in His wisdom, uses provisional teachings and skillful means. They have deep faith and retain this knowledge. Those who resolve to seek the path to Buddhahood hope to attain the Great Vehicle Dharma.

“Learned and knowledgeable, they seek the path to Buddhahood. Learned and knowledgeable” means those who understand the Buddha. They know that although He taught with skillful means, the true is contained within the provisional. So, people like that understand that the Buddha, in His wisdom, used provisional teachings and skillful means according to the person, the time and the place, to teach sentient beings and guide them in how to walk the Bodhisattva-path ․Learned and knowledgeable, [they] seek the path to Buddhahood: They are learned and knowledgeable, so they recognize that the Buddha, in His wisdom, uses provisional teachings and skillful means. They have deep faith and retain this knowledge. Those who resolve to seek the path to Buddhahood hope to attain the Great Vehicle Dharma. So, they have no doubts; “They have deep faith and retain this knowledge.” When it comes to the Buddha’s teachings, they absolutely have deep faith in them and take them all into the field of their eighth consciousness; not only to their eighth consciousness, but also to their ninth consciousness. Thus, they have returned to their nature of True Suchness. This is called “retaining this knowledge [They] resolve to seek the path to Buddhahood.” They are the people who seek the Great Vehicle. Those who seek the Great Vehicle Dharma are the ones “with sharp capabilities and wisdom”

Those of sharp capabilities and wisdom clearly understand the provisional and the true. Learned and knowledgeable, they resolve to seek the fruit of Buddhahood. They draw near to all Buddhas and plant the roots of all virtues. They give rise to firm aspirations, thus they are unmoved by material desires. People like this can shoulder the burden of spiritual practice. They accept it faithfully upon hearing it, so it is suitable to teach them.

“Those of sharp capabilities and wisdom” can, upon hearing the Dharma, instantly form their resolve. They understand that provisional teachings are part of the process and that there is True Dharma in provisional teachings. This makes them “learned and knowledgeable.” So, they resolve to seek the fruit of Buddhahood and never have doubts about it. They want to attain the state of Buddhahood; they will not stop at the state of Hearers, nor the state of Solitary Realizers. Benefiting and awakening themselves and others are the vows they make. “They resolve to seek the fruit of Buddhahood. They draw near to all Buddhas.” They also “plant the roots of all virtues.”

“Planting the roots of all virtues” means going among people and giving to others. This is like sowing seeds and cultivating the field of our mind. This is how we “plant the roots of all virtues.” We need to plant the [seeds] for many virtues. This is part of our spiritual practice.

I constantly tell everyone that we need to form good karmic affinities and create good karma. This is also “planting the roots of all virtues.” We need to plant causes for blessings and create good karma. “Then we will be unmoved by material desires.” We will not be led by external desires to give rise to discursive thoughts. We want to become like this, unwavering and focused on our course. We must have sharp capabilities and be learned and knowledgeable. Only people with these qualities can shoulder the Tathagata’s mission, the spiritual practice of the Bodhi-path.

These people can “accept it faithfully upon hearing it.” People must have these kinds of capabilities to not be affected by others. People like this will certainly have faith after hearing the Dharma. For people like this, we can expound this sutra. “For people like this you can then teach this sutra.” These people must be replete with the six virtues

They have six virtues: The virtues of freedom, flourishing, majesty, renown, auspiciousness and honor. They must also practice the perfection of wisdom; then this sutra can be taught to them.

What are the “six virtues”? The six virtues start with the “virtue of freedom.” Only people with great capabilities can constantly feel peaceful and at ease while interacting with the myriads of suffering sentient beings. If we are firm in our spiritual aspirations, as we have already accepted the right path, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, we will feel peaceful and at ease, and the afflictions around us will not cause our spiritual aspirations to waver. This is the “virtue of freedom.”

The second is the “virtue of flourishing.” This means that our spiritual aspirations will never grow cold. As the days pass, our spiritual cultivation will continue to develop and our aspirations will become more firm. Our wisdom-life will constantly grow. We should always maintain this enthusiasm for the Dharma and constantly help it grow.

The third is “the virtue of majesty.” We cannot be frivolous; we need to be solemn. In order to transform people, we need to be solemn and dignified. With wisdom in our minds, we must not display a frivolous appearance. We are friendly toward people, but we can still inspire respect in them. So, we must not be frivolous. Therefore, we need “the virtue of majesty.”

The fourth is the “virtue of renown.” In the past, some people said, “Master does not care about recognition.” I would tell them. “I do! I cherish recognition. Because I worry that. Tzu Chi’s name may be tarnished, I want to make sure we have a good reputation.” So, the Jing Si Dharma-lineage must be transmitted to future generations; we need to take good care of it. The Tzu Chi School of Buddhism must be established properly in order to attract sentient beings.

In the past, people spoke of the importance of maintaining a good moral standing. That means we must not damage our reputation. So, we have established discipline in many ways. When people want to be [certified volunteers], we ask them to uphold the Ten Precepts. After one year of introductory training and then one year of advanced training, after understanding everything about Tzu Chi, people can then become certified volunteers. This is “the virtue of renown.” In order to be a Commissioner or a Faith Corps member, you must have a certain kind of moral character. With this majestic character, when people hear we are volunteers from Tzu Chi, they know they can definitely trust us. This is the “virtue of renown.”

The fifth is “the virtue of auspiciousness.” If we feel “freedom” and are “flourishing,” we will give off a sense of vitality. Moreover, we have “majesty” and “renown.” If we live up to all this, won’t we give off a sense of auspiciousness? Society will be filled with good people; everyone will be a spiritual practitioner.

The sixth is the “virtue of honor.” We need to take good care of our moral standing. When we bring people into our school of Buddhism, if everyone follows the rules, then we can indeed establish good karmic affinities, benefit others, [walk] the Bodhi-path and practice the Six Perfections.

Only by being replete with these six virtues can people cultivate both blessings and wisdom. For people like this, we can teach them the unsurpassed Great Vehicle of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.

The Buddha taught us how to interact with the world and how to teach sentient beings. Based on the level of their capabilities, we give them certain teachings. So, as part of our spiritual practice, we need to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Ultimately, we want to reach the state of Buddhahood, so we cannot deviate from the Bodhisattva-path. “Bodhisattvas want to teach the Dharma to sentient beings,” but they need to know the methods. “First they adapt teachings with skillful means.” Based on people’s capabilities, we need to give certain teachings and reminders. This is the way to teach [They also need] faith and joy. We help sentient beings believe in and happily accept this Dharma. Then, when everyone attains the Dharma, they will always be able to attain great benefit. When they keep the principles in mind, everything they do [will be principled]. We need to uphold the six virtues. This is most important as we accept the Buddha-Dharma. We also “teach joyfully according to conditions.” To know which people we can constantly talk to about the principles and what is in our hearts, we must always be mindful

Episode 708 – Observe the situation and teach accordingly, encourage good deeds and guide people to correct mistakes

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>> The king of all noble beings has severed delusions and realized the principles. He teaches and transforms us through the Dharma, encourages goodness and guides us to propriety. He teaches tirelessly to transform evil into goodness. All Buddhas only teach the Bodhisattva Way.

>> I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa: The transgressions of slandering the teachings of the Great Vehicle would be difficult to exhaust even in a kalpa. This sutra cannot be taught carelessly for it can impart harm to foolish people.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> The Buddha taught the Dharma solely so that blessings may arise. Confused people who have no faith bring calamity down upon themselves. The One Vehicle of the True and Wondrous Dharma nourishes wisdom-life and nurtures and educates people. If it leads people to transgress, it is harmful to hear.

>> Now, the Buddha teaches tirelessly, so that those propagating the Dharma observe others’ capabilities and so that others will recognize suffering and stop slandering. This is thorough and great compassion.

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“The king of all noble beings has severed delusions and realized the principles.
He teaches and transforms us through the Dharma, encourages goodness and guides us to propriety.
He teaches tirelessly to transform evil into goodness.
All Buddhas only teach the Bodhisattva Way.”

The Buddha came to the world to open and reveal [the Dharma] in the hope that sentient beings will realize the true principles. He hopes everyone can make great vows, form great aspirations and practice the Bodhisattva-path.

He hopes that we can accept the Dharma and return to our pure and undefiled nature. Unfortunately, we are unenlightened beings, and our minds are filled with afflictions. It is because we have so many afflictions that we need to accept the teachings in order to brush aside our ignorance and manifest True Suchness.

This is why the Buddha manifested the appearances of engaging in spiritual practice and attaining Buddhahood to help us understand that his spiritual practice originated in his not understanding certain things about the world and thus searching out the true principles. He himself had to seek out the principles of true emptiness and wondrous existence and He awakened to the true principles of all things in the universe. With this Dharma, one who has become awakened is the king of all noble beings, that is, the Buddha, the Enlightened One.

From the beginning, the Buddha told us that the [potential] to be enlightened was not unique to Him. It is inherent in everyone. Therefore, He wanted to proclaim to everyone that, as long as we can eradicate our afflictions, we will have returned to our intrinsic nature, the nature of True Suchness. But because we are unenlightened beings, we could not understand right away. So, the Buddha taught with all kinds of methods to patiently teach us and encourage our goodness, to “transform evil into goodness.” He transformed the thoughts of ignorance and evil that lie in all of our hearts; once transformed, these become thoughts of goodness. Thus, all Buddhas who come to the world come to teach and transform sentient beings with the goal of helping them all attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood, we must practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, which teaches us the Bodhisattva Way, how to practice the Bodhisattva-path.

So, the Buddha had to use many different methods. In Buddhist sutras, there is a story like this regarding a particular Bodhisattva. “Bodhisattva” refers to an awakened being. This awakened being understood the principles clearly and went among people to serve others. He looked like any other ordinary person, and like them, he made his living by working hard as a laborer. He specialized in moving very heavy objects. Though this manual labor was hard work, he happily took on this job to help others.

One day, after working hard, he stopped at noon to rest. As everyone ate lunch, there were many birds in the tree above them, but their cries were different than usual; they were very noisy. Hearing these sounds, everyone felt very unhappy; this laborer was the only one who was smiling. His fellow laborers thought, “How strange! We are so annoyed by the cries of these birds. How is it that when you listen to these birds, you can remain calm and dismiss it with a smile? What do you hear in the sounds of these birds?”

This laborer told them, “This flock of birds was talking about how, at a great distance from where they are, there was a crane. In the beak of that white crane is a pearl, a priceless treasure. These birds kept saying that they hoped to attain that pearl. They wanted to catch that bird, kill him and take his pearl. After taking his pearl, they could eat his flesh. This is what this flock was saying. They constantly talked about catching that bird and taking that pearl.” They then asked him, “So, why are you laughing?”

He told them, “I already understand the Dharma. The principles of the Buddha-Dharma encourage everyone to do good. Living in this evil and turbid world, we accumulate so much negative karma. This negative karma is inseparable from desire. If something does not belong to us and we try to take it forcefully, that is unjust. Killing is not benevolent. I am not interested in things like that.”

“In my past lives, I have already experienced so much suffering. It is precious that, in this lifetime,” “in this era of Dharma-semblance, I can listen to the Dharma and read the sutras. So, I must not lose my way again. In my past lives, I took what did not belong to me. Therefore, in this present lifetime. I should contribute my strength and constantly help others. I must uphold justness, loyalty and faith and continue to safeguard the goodness in my heart. This is the discipline that I mindfully uphold in my present lifetime.”

After he finished explaining this, everyone held him in great admiration. In life, if we live carelessly, we may easily give rise to discursive thoughts, fail to be benevolent toward others and act in ways that are not just. He had already understood these principles, which is why he was so willing to do these things with an ever-joyful mindset. Everyone was able to understand that these were the benefits of learning the Buddha’s Way.

In truth, the world is filled with suffering. The Buddha came here to teach the Dharma, and though the Buddha is no longer in the world, the Buddha-Dharma still remains. We have the causes and conditions to read the sutras and listen to the Dharma whenever we like. Though we have created and carried our [negative] karma along with us, we also brought positive causes and conditions which will enable us to change our fate. With the negative karma we created, we come to this world to face retributions. We experience all kinds of suffering, but after the bitter comes the sweet. This is like how, after we experience suffering, kind benefactors appear.

There was a young woman from Xiamen. Three months ago, she came here with her mother. The Tzu Chi volunteers in Xiamen brought her here to Taiwan, to our Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital. This young woman was born with a physical deformity. Our feet are like this; when we put them on the ground, we can walk forward. She was born with feet pointing the opposite way. For 26 years, the bottoms of her feet never touched the earth. She knelt and used the backs of her knees to move around.

Yet, this young woman has a sunny disposition and a healthy mental state. She looks very sweet. She had the good karmic condition to eventually meet [Tzu Chi volunteers] in Xiamen. They brought her to Taiwan. When our superintendent emeritus Dr. Chen Ing-ho received this case, he put his heart into it. He said, “I might be able to help. I will try very hard to find a way to turn her feet around.” So, she came back in March.

The surgery was so difficult that it had to be divided into five operations. By the middle of May, after the success of the fifth surgery, she was put into a cast. On June 3rd, they removed the cast. After it was removed, she stood up, and for the first time in 26 years, the bottom of her feet touched the ground. There is no way anyone else could describe her happiness. Not only was she happy, so was everyone else there.

This young woman had the positive karmic causes and conditions to encounter these benefactors. We also saw how, as they prepared for when she would stand up, the volunteers helped her find what to wear. This is because I had asked her, “What is your dream?” [She had replied,] “I hope that. I can stand up, and I hope I can wear a skirt.” For most women, isn’t wearing a skirt such a simple matter? But for her it was her dream. She hoped that she could stand up. She hoped she would be able to wear a skirt.

Finally she was able to stand up. The way she walked, she looked like a proper lady. There is really no way to describe it. It is so inconceivable. We call this “unexplainable,” because it is impossible to describe. The medicine practiced in the hospital we built is so incredible. The doctors and nurses do their best to change people’s lives. This indeed makes me very happy

 “I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.”

Here the sutra begins to explain that the suffering focused on in the previous passages is the result of slandering the sutras; the negative karma they create is very severe, so the Buddha called to Sariputra again, to remind him of what He had said before. These people fall into hell, fall into the hungry ghost realm, fall into the animal realm and return to the human realm to face suffering, like physical disabilities, impaired faculties,, illness and other kinds of unbearable suffering. This all happens because, in their past lives, they denied the law of karma and misled people to a place of deviance and biased views. Then people would live a life without principles; this is considered slandering the sutras, slandering the true path.

If we were to speak of their transgressions, indeed, we would never finish. Hence, “I could not finish in an entire kalpa. It is because of these causes and conditions.” Because they slandered the principles and denied the law of karma, with so many similar kinds of karmic conditions, they fell into the evil realms. “It is because of these causes and conditions.” Because they have these causes and conditions, they face retributions for slandering the Dharma. Because of these causes and conditions, the Buddha said, “[Thus I] tell you, Sariputra.” The Buddha said He would tell him, “Do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom.”

This is why, when we teach the Dharma to others, we must observe their capabilities. We must teach according to the person, the time, the place and so on. This is how a wise person teaches according to capabilities. See, even after the Buddha became enlightened and wanted to give teachings, He also had to pay attention to the timing. So, before everyone could accept [True Dharma], He had to establish the Three Vehicles. After patiently guiding them for more than 40 years, He began to teach the Great Dharma. He manifested many [wondrous] appearances to inspire everyone to seek [the Dharma]. Then when He finally began to teach, 5000 people left the assembly.

This teaching had to be given at the right time, to those with the right capabilities. The Buddha was very cautious. This was why He told us again and again that when we accept this sutra, we should do so with genuine sincerity. We must not slander it out of carelessness

I tell you Sariputra, regarding those who slander this sutra, if I were to speak of all their transgressions, I could not finish after an entire kalpa: The transgressions of slandering the teachings of the Great Vehicle would be difficult to exhaust even in a kalpa. This sutra cannot be taught carelessly for it can impart harm to foolish people.

Slandering the Great Vehicle teachings results in negative karma that would be difficult to exhaust even in a kalpa. If we want to describe such transgressions, it would take a very long time indeed. They will face retributions for their transgressions for a very long time as well. Thus it is said, “I could not finish after an entire kalpa.” We cannot speak of this [sutra] lightly; we cannot teach it in a casual manner. Not only would that not help the people who could not understand, but it would instead cause harm to them. “It can impart harm to foolish people.” Foolish people cannot accept this teaching, so they will actually become afflicted instead. So, “It is good that they left”

and [did not listen]. “The Buddha taught the Dharma solely so that blessings may arise,” only for the sake of sentient beings, to create blessings for the world The Buddha taught the Dharma solely so that blessings may arise. Confused people who have no faith bring calamity down upon themselves. The One Vehicle of the True and Wondrous Dharma nourishes wisdom-life and nurtures and educates people. If it leads people to transgress, it is harmful to hear.

These are the most important principles that the Buddha taught. He hoped everyone would return to their intrinsic nature, awaken their wisdom and give to all people. However, “Confused people have no faith.” They are unwilling to believe, and they also slander the Dharma. Thus, “They bring calamity down upon themselves.”

“The One Vehicle of the True and Wondrous Dharma nourishes wisdom-life.” The Buddha used this Dharma to nourish wisdom-life. Besides nourishing wisdom-life, [the Dharma] nurtures virtue and educates people, helping them develop their wisdom-life. For the sake of teaching people, we must determine if these people have the capabilities to accept these teachings. If they are able to accept them, then we should teach them promptly. But if they are still unable to accept them, we must use other methods to guide them patiently so that they will not give rise to discursive thoughts and bring calamity down upon themselves. If we cause them to commit slander, that is harmful to them and brings no benefits. This is what the Buddha warned us of. “It is because of these causes and conditions that I tell you, Sariputra, do not teach this sutra among those without wisdom”

Now, the Buddha teaches tirelessly, so that those propagating the Dharma observe others’ capabilities and so that others will recognize suffering and stop slandering. This is thorough and great compassion.

So, the Buddha patiently guided us and taught us ceaselessly; He unceasingly opened and revealed teachings in the hope that we would propagate the Dharma by observing others’ capabilities. We must have this flexibility and wisdom “so that people will recognize suffering and stop slandering.” If someone is slandering the sutras, we must come up with all kinds of methods to help put an end to the thinking that leads them to commit slander. We must find a way.

For example, yesterday someone said, “Master, I need your help. I have talked to this person about Tzu Chi hoping that he would join us, and he enjoys listening to what I tell him. But when I went to America for a while, after I came back he told me, ‘I have heard people’ ‘saying [negative] things about Tzu Chi’.” This volunteer told me, “I have tried to transform him for over ten years. He is always happy to hear about our work and is very affirming. But after some time passes, he tells me people have told him these things. In this case, what should I do?”

Yesterday I told him, “This depends on causes and conditions.” When the time is right, naturally he will [join]. Before that time has come, people will still [dissuade him]. People who slander the Dharma and true principles are obstructing his path of goodness and are cutting off his seeds of goodness. There are still people who do this. If he has the karma to be cut off like this, then he will be unable to move forward.

In the same way, “[The Buddha leads] others to recognize suffering and stop slandering. This is thorough and great compassion.” This can truly help people develop empathy. With universal compassion, they will understand how everything and everyone in the world are interconnected. When we feel others’ suffering as our own, we will form aspirations and make vows; how can we purify people’s minds and eradicate their suffering? Only by stopping evil and praising goodness can this evil be stopped so people will avoid creating more karma that will cause them to fall into the hell, hungry ghost, the animal realm and so on.

We must make an effort to [spread] the Dharma, but we must teach it according to capabilities. We do not give up on people; we must wait for the right time . The Buddha’s teachings never stray from encouraging goodness, guiding people to propriety. We must do the same. We should also encourage goodness, guide people to propriety and teach tirelessly to transform evil into goodness. This is what all Buddhas come to the world to teach. This is why we should always be mindful.

Episode 707 – The Body Is Impure; Karmic Seeds are the Cause

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>> Contemplate the body as impure and suffering. The karmic seeds of afflictions are the cause. Our parents’ unclean actions are the conditions. These all come together resulting in our physical body. The human body has nine orifices that constantly excrete impurities. Those who have these thoughts are wise and respond by distancing themselves from dust and defilement.

>> Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses. These and other diseases are worn like their garments.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Next, it says, Their bodies constantly stink, are filthy and impure. Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage, and they are ablaze with lust, indistinguishable from birds and beasts. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Their bodies stink: Being impure and filthy is a negative appearance. The lotus flower is a metaphor for the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Its fragrance is sweet and clean, and it is pure in appearance. The one who does not believe and even slanders it obtains the retributions of a foul-smelling body.

>> Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage. Their evil actions come from the raging of the Three Poisons. Deep attachment to view of self: The poison of deviant understanding and biased views. It escalates their anger and their rage: This means that in unreasonable situations or when things do not go their way, anger arises in their minds.

>> Those who slander the sutras: In the past they never had the cause for seeing the Buddha or hearing the Dharma. They do not know enough to repent and change and are attached to their view of self. Their retribution is their inferior appearance. Others detest them, but since they have no sense of remorse, this only increases their anger and rage.

>> Indistinguishable from birds and beasts: They display the poisons of greed and anger. Of all the bad karma of sentient beings, there is none that does not arise from these three poisons. Their karmic retribution escalates into serious transgressions and deep hindrances, and there is nothing worse than this. >> It says at the end of a kalpa they are reborn, continuing on for countless kalpas without end. These karmic retributions are all due to slandering this sutra.

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“Contemplate the body as impure and suffering. The karmic seeds of afflictions are the cause.
Our parents’ unclean actions are the conditions. These all come together resulting in our physical body.
The human body has nine orifices that constantly excrete impurities.
Those who have these thoughts are wise and respond by distancing themselves from dust and defilement.”

How do we come into this world? We should earnestly contemplate this.

“Contemplate the body as impure.” With everything in our daily living starting from our first sensations, we must consider our body. It is summertime now, so the weather may be quite hot. If we are out under the sun and start to do a little work, the moment we move, sweat immediately starts trickling down our back. Working outside, we also become covered in dirt, causing us to feel filthy. After a day like this, we want to take a bath or a shower to clean ourselves off. But how long can our body stay clean? Very quickly, we start sweating again. Nowadays, people use air conditioning so they can feel clean and cool. Walking out from an air-conditioned home is like walking into an oven from a refrigerator. This kind of feeling is very uncomfortable.

Thus we must mindfully contemplate the Fourfold Mindfulness. “Contemplate the body as impure. Contemplate all feelings as suffering.” Of course, we must also. “Contemplate the mind as impermanent,” and. “Contemplate all things as being without self.” If we can thoroughly understand these principles, we will have no more afflictions. But if we do not thoroughly understand them, we will be afflicted. With these afflictions, we begin to cling to our sense of “self. I love this. I want it done this way. I want to have this”; the list goes on and on! So, we start to create karma. Our afflictions multiply and give rise to karma, so we create even more karma. Of course, this karma is the karma of afflictions. Out of afflictions, ignorance and dust-like delusions, we create karma; these things are the causes. With these, we have the causes and the conditions for remaining sentient beings, and as we create all kinds of karma, we will suffer karmic retributions.

When we come to face our karmic retributions, how do we enter this world? Through our parents. How did our parents come to give us this body? “Our parents’ unclean actions are the conditions.” Their coming together is an unclean action which created the condition [for us to be here]. We have affinities with them, and thus [these causes and conditions] “come together resulting in our physical body.” This is the beginning of our lives.

Now, “The human body has nine orifices.” Count them. The eyes, two, the ears, two, the nose, two and the mouth, one. All together, aren’t there seven orifices on a face? Then there are two more for urine and feces. This is what we humans are like. Once people fall ill, you can see that, all over their body, their seven orifices are discharging impurities. This is our human body;

“[It] constantly excretes impurities.” This is our life. If this body is so unclean, why do we take issue with other people for its sake? [Instead,] we should make the best use of the body we have now to earnestly listen to the Buddha-Dharma. We should make an effort to comprehend our cyclic existence and how we come and go in this world. If we can understand this, “Those who have these thoughts are wise.” Once we understand how we come and go from life, naturally, the principles will become clear. We will naturally be able to “distance ourselves from dust and dirt.” Naturally, we will not say things like, “This person said such and such about me” or. “That person treated me this way” or. “Looking at this matter, I think things should go this way. Why won’t he go along with what I want?” Our minds become filled with afflictions and hateful thoughts.

The greatest liability in life comes from having this body. Our body originally came from such an unclean [action]. In this world, if we can clearly understand principles, then we will recognize the workings of karma. We will recognize that we have created these kinds of causes and formed these kinds of affinities with people. When people treat us [negatively], we think, “Ah, I can get through this easily; I do not need to take everything so seriously. Thank you for going easy on me; I’m grateful.” If we can respond this way, if we always have gratitude in our minds, is there any karma we cannot exhaust? Are there any [negative] affinities that will lead us to continue the cycle of animosity? There will be none. We can do this because we have come in contact with the Buddha-Dharma, understood the principles, eliminated our ignorance and retained wisdom. If we manifest wisdom in our daily living, we can “distance ourselves from dust and dirt.” We can distance ourselves from our afflictions.

We have seen what happened in Lesotho and when [volunteers] from South Africa went to Swaziland. They were holding trainings for volunteers to become certified. When they held this training, it was not like ours, where people can just drive to the training and then go into a room with electric fans or air conditioning. We have a roof, a floor and chairs to sit on. We have a dignified spiritual practice center [In Lesotho,] they did not have any of this. We could see how they held their training under the open sky, on the bare ground. That country is vast and sparsely populated, and the roads everywhere are hard to travel. However, they still wanted to conduct trainings, and the news spread from one person to another.

They also heard Meijuan (Jennifer Chen) share about the Tzu Chi spirit and the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. There in Lesotho, she inspired the locals, led them in chanting the Buddha’s name, led them to accept the Dharma and explained the law of karma to them.

They held two days of training. Over those two days, more than 300 people read Jing Si aphorisms and shared their realizations. They shared about how, in their villages, there are people who are ill, elderly and lonely, or who have disabilities. According to their malady, the local volunteers find a way to care for and serve them. Their faith is steadfast, and they are very dedicated. They are willing to do all this because they have already taken the Dharma to heart.

We also saw Tzu Chi volunteers from South Africa. When they went to Swaziland, they still woke at dawn to listen to my Dharma teaching. They would prostrate and wish me good morning and so on. They did everything properly. See, they have already taken the Dharma to heart. Though these Bodhisattvas are [far away], they are also my disciples and are very disciplined. The videos they sent back were very touching. Clearly, they have taken the Dharma to heart, so they have wisdom. Their wisdom has already been awakened, and they have eliminated their afflictions.

Take for example Tzu Bi (Beatrice Sibisi), a local volunteer who is over 70 years old. Her leg had been broken in two car accidents, so now she walks with a limp. But all the same, she believes that, “This body is very precious. With it, I can listen to the Buddha-Dharma and walk the Bodhisattva-path; I do not want to stop.” She lives out her wisdom-life in this world. She is not just living a physical life, but also making use of her wisdom-life. Thus, she can manifest wisdom and distance herself from dust and dirt. She is not hindered by the long distances. Truly, if she had not come here because of her vows, she would not have this kind of courage.

Thus, with these causes and conditions, though this world is full of suffering, in this place of such extreme suffering, these volunteers can still happily give to others. So, we can compare this to our own lives and surroundings. It is so easy for us to walk the Bodhisattva-path. The [volunteers in Africa] must overcome such great difficulties; they are true spiritual practitioners.

The previous passage states, “Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses. These and other diseases are worn like their garments.”

This kind of life is indeed filled with suffering. Signs of their severe physical illness include their whole body being putrid, or [problems with] their eyes, ears, voice, etc. Many appearances [of illness] have manifested on their body, like a garment they are wearing. These can be clearly seen by other people

Next, it says, “Their bodies constantly stink, are filthy and impure. Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage, and they are ablaze with lust, indistinguishable from birds and beasts. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

Indeed, the body is filled with impurities. On top of that, if there is an imbalance of the four elements in our body, “The body constantly stinks.” This happens when our body is out of balance. When we are ill or… we may give off a bad odor. When there are a lot of people and no ventilation, we find the smell unpleasant. Moreover, sentient beings refers to more than just humans; there are many other physical forms. Animals take many forms. Pigs are found in a sty, cows in a pen, certain insects in cesspits. Animals live in all of these environments. Humans are just one kind of animal. Even though our bodies are “filthy and impure,” we are stil greedy [for its sake]. Thus, we are “deeply attached to our view of self.” Our body is so impure, yet just due to our perspective of [having a] “self” we give rise to so many afflictions.

Having this human body, most people experience lust. This kind of human desire, the attraction between men and women, etc., is unclean. People with no shame are “ablaze with lust” and are “indistinguishable from birds and beasts.” We all know the ways that birds and beasts live their lives. With the karma of transgressions, “For slandering this sutra, [we] face retributions such as these.”

Their bodies stink: Being impure and filthy is a negative appearance. The lotus flower is a metaphor for the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Its fragrance is sweet and clean, and it is pure in appearance. The one who does not believe and even slanders it obtains the retributions of a foul-smelling body.

Why is that? “The lotus flower is a metaphor for the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Its fragrance is sweet and clean, and it is pure in appearance.” This flower grows in the filthy mud, yet it remains clean. It rises from the mud, beautiful and undefiled. It lives in the mud, but is not tainted by it. Yet there are people who use disrespectful words to describe the shape of this lotus flower. By the same principle, we clearly know that the Buddha gave teachings in this evil world of Five Turbidities for the sole purpose of teaching us and helping every one of us emerge from these severe turbidities with a mind as pure as the lotus flower. But some people do not believe in this wondrous Dharma, so instead they slander it. By slandering the Dharma, they sever people’s root of goodness, causing turmoil in people’s minds and in society. This creates very severe karma.

So, the Buddha said to Sariputra, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” Three times He said, “Stop” because if this Dharma is expounded and people do not believe in it, it will actually lead them to create karma. For this reason, He said “Stop” three times. At the same time, He also analyzed for us why this sutra must be taught to those who are willing to believe in it. If they cannot believe in it, we must not share it with them. That is because if they do not believe in it and instead slander it, they will create very severe karma. This shows the compassion of the Buddha. However, He also could not fail to teach it. His one great cause for coming to the world was to enter the evil world of Five Turbidities and manifest the lotus lower. He hoped that though we are in the evil world of Five Turbidities, our minds can remain undefiled so we can go among sentient beings to transform them.

Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage. Their evil actions come from the raging of the Three Poisons. Deep attachment to view of self: The poison of deviant understanding and biased views. It escalates their anger and their rage: This means that in unreasonable situations or when things do not go their way, anger arises in their minds.

Otherwise, “Their deep attachment to their view of self escalates their anger and their rage.” Their evil actions come from “the raging of the Three Poisons.” What kind of poisons are these? They come from a “deep attachment to view of self.” Our view of self leads to deviant understanding and biased views. If our understanding is deviant, if our views are biased, our minds will give rise to poisons that lead to slander. Naturally, this “escalates our anger and our rage.” When poisonous thoughts arise, we feel rage, lose our temper, etc.;

all these affliction arise.

Thus, we do things that go against what is proper. When wholesome principles are not to our liking, it is easy for us to feel a sense of rage. So, it will be easy to slander this sutra

Those who slander the sutras: In the past they never had the cause for seeing the Buddha or hearing the Dharma. They do not know enough to repent and change and are attached to their view of self. Their retribution is their inferior appearance. Others detest them, but since they have no sense of remorse, this only increases their anger and rage.

Why do they slander them? Actually, in the past they might not have seen the Buddha or heard the Dharma because they had not created the causes for that. They lacked the causes [to know] Right Dharma, so when they hear others slandering it, they join in spreading those slanderous words. If someone tells them, “You are wrong to do that,” they refuse to change their ways. Once they do something wrong, they persist because they refuse to admit they are wrong. People like this are “attached to their view of self.”

Those who are “attached to their view of self” will suffer from having an inferior appearance. As it says in the previous passage, “They are deaf, blind or mute.” Or, they “have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses”; their physical appearance is inferior. Because of their lesser, inferior appearance, people detest them. Those who see them reject them. But they think to themselves, “You reject me and ignore me, but I do not need your attention.” They still feel very self-important and do not engage in even a bit of self-reflection to contemplate, “Why do others not like me when they see me?” These kinds of people have no sense of shame, but instead become more and more angry. Not only do they not reflect on themselves, they become resentful of other people.

So, “[They] escalate their rage and their anger, and they are ablaze with lust, indistinguishable from birds and beasts.” All of these things arise from poisonous thoughts of greed and anger. When our state of mind is filled with greed, anger and ignorance, poisonous thoughts will arise. Thus, “Of all the bad karma of sentient beings, there is none that does not arise from these Three Poisons.” Greed, anger and ignorance are the Three Poisons, and karma arises from them. Because we create karma, our karmic retributions escalate. As we replicate our afflictions, we replicate delusions and karma; we create more karma. Because of this, we commit serious transgressions and face deep hindrances. There is nothing worse than falling into the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms before returning to the human realm to face so many [negative] retributions.

Indistinguishable from birds and beasts: They display the poisons of greed and anger. Of all the bad karma of sentient beings, there is none that does not arise from these three poisons. Their karmic retribution escalates into serious transgressions and deep hindrances, and there is nothing worse than this.

This happens because we slandered this sutra, slandered all those principles. Thus we caused a lack of principles in this world, leading people to create turmoil. This is truly frightening. So, “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

How long will this go on? The answer must be calculated in kalpas. At the end of a kalpa of suffering, they will continue to be reborn in the hell realm, in the hungry ghost realm, in the animal realm and in the human realm, always under the most unfavorable conditions. In this world, they undergo the worst suffering. In this world, they have the ugliest physical appearances and worst sufferings from illness. So much suffering will be concentrated in them. Then, when this life ends, they will be reborn to face the same. Having suffered so much in one lifetime, they are unable to then accept the Dharma, they do not repent, nor do they have the chance to engage in self-reflection. Thus, this kind of negative situation will continue to entangle them. They remain “in this continuous cycle for countless kalpas without end”

It says at the end of a kalpa they are reborn, continuing on for countless kalpas without end. These karmic retributions are all due to slandering this sutra.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must have compassion for sentient beings. Since we have these causes and conditions, this kind of opportunity, we must make an effort to accept the Dharma. We are able to listen to the Dharma every day. If we thoroughly understand it and make good use of this body to accept the Buddha’s teachings, accept the Great Vehicle Dharma and benefit ourselves and others, transform ourselves and others, then we resonate with this kind of wisdom. Thus, we can distance ourselves from dust and dirt. So, I hope we will always be mindful.

Episode 706 – Wearing Poverty and Illness as Garments

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>> Illness of the body: An imbalance of the four elements. An imbalance in the element of earth causes the body to become heavy. An imbalance in the element of water causes the body to become swollen. An imbalance in the element of fire causes the body to become over-heated. An imbalance in the element of air causes the body to become inflexible.

>> Illness of the mind: The suffering, afflictions, worry, sadness or sorrow held in the mind. This is the suffering of illness.

>> They often dwell in hell, and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions like these.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, or have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses, These and other diseases are worn like their garments.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> The transgression of slandering the Dharma results in spending countless kalpas of suffering in the Three Evil Destinies. If they do manage to attain rebirth as humans, they still face harm and evil. They may be harsh, with garments of evil, an appearance of evil and acts of evil.

>> Deaf, blind and mute: Deafness is dysfunction of the ears. Blindness is dysfunction of the eyes. Muteness is being unable to hear properly and being incapable of speech.

>> Impoverished: They lack wealth, are hard-pressed and worn out. This is the suffering of poverty; so, it is said they are impoverished, with signs of deterioration.

>> The actions taken with their Six Sense Organs result in negative retribution. They do not know they have a wicked and ugly appearance which is due to unexhausted karmic retribution. Thus it says they think of themselves as majestic.

>> Carbuncles or boils: Poisonous ulcers that are large and light red are called carbuncles. Poisonous ulcers that are deep but not red are called boils. Now they are called cancer. These are all malicious diseases that are difficult to cure.

>> These and other diseases are worn like garments. These illnesses are very difficult to treat. Worn like garments means they are untreatable and cannot be removed from the body.

>> Those who practice goodness wear good karma for their garments. Those who practice evil wear negative karma for their garments.

>> When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies and are born as humans, they are blind, deaf and so on. They think themselves to be majestic, not recognizing their ugliness, and wear their bloating and so on like garments, which will never be removed from their body.

>> Disabilities, illness, poverty and the external ugliness and filth are the manifestations of suffering of the body. They also have greed, anger and ignorance, which give rise to evil actions from the mind. These are severe transgressions and deep hindrances.

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There are two kinds of illnesses, illnesses of the body and illnesses of the mind.

Illnesses of the body come from an imbalance of the four elements. What are the [imbalances of] the four elements? First is imbalance in the element of earth. If it is out of balance, we feel as though our body has become heavy. Second is imbalance in the element of water. When it is out of balance, it causes the body to become swollen. Third, an imbalance in the element of fire causes the body to become over-heated. Fourth, an imbalance in the element of air causes the body to become inflexible.

When these four elements are out of balance, we get sick. There are many kinds of illnesses. The element of earth is everything that we can touch in our body, from our skin to our muscles, flesh and bones. These all fall under the “element of earth.” When this element [is out of balance], [we say,] “I feel pain throughout my body,” or, “My body feels so heavy.” Our skin, muscles, flesh, bones, etc., along with our internal organs, any part that we can see and touch belong to the “element of earth.” Any kind of illness [affecting these] will bring us tremendous suffering.

Two days ago, at our hospital, a homeless person came in from the street. He had a boil on his cheek that had putrefied over time, to the point that it affected his entire face. Nearly two-thirds of his face had putrefied.

He put off [seeking treatment] for this illness. This was because he was homeless and had no family or anyone to care for him, no house to live in, etc. He simply wandered through the streets. Though he saw a doctor occasionally, he was unable to get treatment, so his condition worsened until an ambulance brought him to our hospital. We admitted him for treatment and put him in one of the hospital rooms. You can imagine what it smelled like in that room. But our doctors, nurses and also our volunteers did not reject him. Instead, with love, they begged him to eat. They placed the food in front of him, a bowl of steaming hot stew. They tried to help feed him, but he refused to eat. They did everything they could, alternately being gentle and strict. They came close to him, sitting next to him; they were willing to comfort him, to soothe him and care for him. This is truly admirable.

I am deeply moved by them. But [his case] gave us a glimpse of what hell must be like. On his entire face, the only features we could see clearly was a part of his eyes. The remainder was a mess of blood and pus, completely exposed. This suffering must have been truly unbearable. This falls under the “element of earth,”

because it was affecting his flesh, his tangible body parts, his outer appearance. In a story from long ago, Master Wu-da developed a human-faced boil on his leg. This was also due to “an imbalance in the element of earth,” but when he washed it with Samadhi-water and repented, he was able to exhaust his karma. The practice of repentance is not about chanting sutras, but about deeply realizing all the karma we created in our past lives. We must also encounter benefactors to have the chance to repent. Only when we encounter benefactors can we exhaust our karma

[Next is] “an imbalance in the element of water.” Humans cannot live without water, but if there is an imbalance of water, we may drink but be unable to expel it. Then, our body becomes swollen. Some people’s bodies might be very swollen, yet their hands and feet are shriveled and skinny. We encounter many cases like this in the hospital as well. This happens with “an imbalance in the element of water.”

Next is “an imbalance in the element of fire,” which “causes the body to become over-heated.” We become hot and feverish; heat within spreads to the surface of our body. This happens with “an imbalance in the element of fire.”

We usually refer to this as inflammation. “An imbalance in the element of air causes the body to become inflexible.” When the element of air is out of balance, aside from affecting our breathing, our body keeps shuddering, shuddering very violently, and we find it hard to calm our body down.

These are the imbalances of the four elements of the body.

Illness of the mind: The suffering, afflictions, worry, sadness or sorrow held in the mind. This is the suffering of illness.

What about the mind? Illnesses of the mind come from our internal sufferings and afflictions. Our minds give rise to afflictions, ignorance and delusions, [which lead us to] create karma. These are all the sufferings and afflictions we hold in our minds. We fail to understand any kind of principles, so illnesses of the mind are quite prevalent in today’s society. When people do not know that what they are doing is wrong, they cause society and the people to feel scared and unsafe.

Lack of balance in the mind thus brings out worries, sadness, sorrow, etc. These are all mental ailments. Today, there are many recognized mental illnesses, bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, etc. So, the suffering of illness in our lives is indeed unbearable.

As unenlightened beings, who among us has no habitual tendencies? Who among us has no psychological issues? We have our own habitual tendencies, our own habits, afflictions, dust-like delusions, delusions of ignorance, etc. These are what makes us unenlightened beings; these are all illnesses of the body and mind.

It was for this reason that the Buddha came to help us better understand how we can eliminate illness and suffering of the body and mind. So, the Buddha came to the world to “open and reveal” [the Dharma], hoping that we sentient beings would “realize and enter” it. The Dharma is like wondrous medicine; we must accept it and take this wondrous medicine in order to be cured. If we do not accept the Dharma or take it to heart it is like looking at medicine without taking it. Even if we take medicine, we may not take the right medicine for our illness. Therefore, we must be mindful so that we know how to use this wondrous medicine to treat our own illness and the ailments of other sentient beings.

So, everything we have discussed recently is related to suffering. The previous passage states, “They often dwell in hell and stroll about as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.”

Thus, they come and go in hell. They are also born in the animal realm. “Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel.” People who create karma of suffering often end up in these places. What is the karma that keeps them there? “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

They often dwell in hell, and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions like these. 

People who slander this sutra slander the principles of the Great Vehicle and deny the law of karma. Their spiritual aspirations are not firm, or perhaps their views and understanding have deviated, so they intentionally damage the Buddha-Dharma. This severs people’s roots of goodness and cuts off their wisdom-life, thus naturally causing turmoil in society. Such karma is tremendous. For this reason, they will constantly go back and forth between the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

The following passage states, “Or if they are reborn human, they are deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They think of themselves as majestic though they are bloated or dried out, or have ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses, These and other diseases are worn like their garments.”

In this world, there are also many kinds of suffering people. Our Bodhisattva[-volunteers] encounter many of them. We see people whose ears cannot hear. As part of the natural course of life, as we age, our Six Sense Organs begin to decline. Our ears cannot hear sounds clearly, and some cannot hear at all. Some people lose their hearing due to illness, not old age. A sudden accident or imbalance of the four elements can disrupt their sense of hearing. With these obstructions, they cannot hear. Blindness refers to obstructed vision [These are] the eyes and ears. Then, there is muteness. Some lose their voice due to illness. Some are born this way, while others were in an accident, or fell ill;

an imbalance in the four elements caused an illness to manifest. They may also be “impoverished, with signs of deterioration.” Many people we come in contact with are living in such poverty. Their houses and their furniture all seem like a pile of trash. Everything appears to be deteriorating. This is what “signs of deterioration” refers to. Yet, they think themselves majestic. It is because they denied the law of karma and slandered the truth that they have this appearance. The things they did in their past lifetimes have resulted in so much karma that they have no choice but to experience this way of life in this world

The transgression of slandering the Dharma results in spending countless kalpas of suffering in the Three Evil Destinies. If they do manage to attain rebirth as humans, they still face harm and evil. They may be harsh, with garments of evil, an appearance of evil and acts of evil.

Now, how long will this last? The previous passage says they will go to the hell, animal and hungry ghost realms, then return to the human realm to face suffering. Thus, “They spend countless kalpas of suffering in the Three Evil Destinies.” As for the suffering people we see now, what did they do in their past life? We have no idea. However, in this life, we see that their way of living, their lifestyle, and so on, is filled with suffering and hardship. Though in the human realm, they live as if they are in hell.

“If they do manage to attain rebirth as humans,” they will face much harm and evil, that is, much suffering and hardship. So many evil and harsh situations all befall this one individual. In this way, they face an endless series of hardships. Thus [they wear] “garments of evil,” meaning that no matter how we look at them, they look as though they are suffering [They have] “an appearance of evil,” which is their physical appearance. Furthermore, some [engage in] “acts of evil.” There are many people like this in the world.

Deaf, blind and mute: Deafness is dysfunction of the ears. Blindness is dysfunction of the eyes. Muteness is being unable to hear properly and being incapable of speech.

Some may also be “deaf, blind or mute, impoverished, with signs of deterioration. Deafness” is a “dysfunction of the ear.” Their hearing is obstructed. “Blindness” is “dysfunction of the eye.” Their eyesight is obstructed. “Muteness” is being unable to hear properly, and, having lost the ability to hear, they are thus unable to speak. They are incapable of making a sound, or they cannot enunciate clearly. These are obstructions to their language ability.When they make a sound, people do not understand what they are saying. So, those who cannot make others understand them can be called mute.

“Impoverished” people lack material things. Their life is very difficult, very lacking. These people suffering from poverty are “impoverished, with signs of deterioration.” Impoverished, with signs of deterioration, expresses that, simply by looking at them others know that they have physical disabilities and that their lives are impoverished and that their sense organs are debilitated. We are constantly receiving such cases and providing help to them. Indeed, they are suffering!

Though they have the appearance of suffering and they have impaired sense organs, they think of themselves as majestic. Their body is suffering the effects of their negative karmic retributions, but they are unaware of their ugly appearance.

The actions taken with their Six Sense Organs result in negative retribution. They do not know they have a wicked and ugly appearance which is due to unexhausted karmic retribution. Thus it says they think of themselves as majestic.

There are many people who are unaware of their physical appearance; they are also unable to engage in self-reflection. There are many people like this. They do not realize that they need to repent and do not know how all this came about. They are just focused on complaining, complaining that people are looking down on them and that people are treating them unfairly. Even with a body like this, they do not know to repent, because they fail to recognize true principles.

There are also other kinds of appearances, “bloated or dried out,” with “ringworm, carbuncles or abscesses.” They are bloated because their body retains water. Of course, this will lead to illness. When we see them, their head, face, hands and feet are slim, nothing but skin and bones, yet, their stomach is distended. There are people whose entire body is bloated, even their hands, feet and face. There is bloating all over their body. This kind of illness causes physiological abnormalities. This is due to an imbalance in the four elements.

Ringworm is a kind of skin disease. Skin diseases are quite frightening. There is a kind of skin ailment called ringworm, which is an infectious disease like scabies. Then, there are also abscesses, which fall under “ringworm, carbuncles or boils.” They may be large and light red and so on. This is the appearance of a poisonous abscess. Today, we may call it cancer, but here it is called a “carbuncle” which is very difficult to treat.

Carbuncles or boils: Poisonous ulcers that are large and light red are called carbuncles. Poisonous ulcers that are deep but not red are called boils. Now they are called cancer. These are all malicious diseases that are difficult to cure.

Abscesses are on the inside and cannot be seen. Carbuncles are visibly swollen. Their whole body, inside and out, is totally out of balance. These changes lead them to develop physical abnormalities. These kinds of diseases are extremely difficult to treat; they are truly unbearable suffering

“These and other diseases are worn like garments.” These illnesses are very difficult to treat. “Worn like garments” means they are untreatable and cannot be removed from the body.

These and other diseases are worn like garments. These illnesses are very difficult to treat. Worn like garments means they are untreatable and cannot be removed from the body.

This is like wearing clothing. We can see the clothing people wear and their appearance. With this kind of illness, people can identify their illness in a single glance. So, it says they are “worn like garments.” And, “They will never be removed from the body.”

Those who practice goodness wear good karma for their garments. Those who practice evil wear negative karma for their garments.

“Those who practice goodness wear good karma for their garments.” If people practice goodness, others see them and feel very close to them. If people practice evil, “They wear negative karma as their garments,” and thus they may be impoverished, with signs of deterioration. They are not just poor in worldly goods; they do not have any wealth of Dharma as well. They do not know the principles, and they lack the basic demeanor of being a good person.

When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies and are born as humans, they are blind, deaf and so on. They think themselves to be majestic, not recognizing their ugliness, and wear their bloating and so on like garments, which will never be removed from their body.

Thus, “They are impoverished, with signs of deterioration. When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies, [they] are born as humans” People who suffer like this might have spent their past lives in the Three Evil Destinies before returning to the human realm to face painful retributions. In the human realm, if they do have not have the karmic conditions to encounter a benefactor, no one can save them. Not only is there no one to relieve their physical suffering, but no one will give them the chance to do good deeds. Therefore, they will certainly remain in the Three Evil Destinies.

“When they emerge from the Three Evil Destinies, [they] are born as humans.” They may be blind, deaf or mute but think themselves majestic. This is the life they lead. This is the appearance they have. So, “They do not recognize their ugliness.” Not only are they not self-aware, not only do they not recognize that they brought the karma that resulted in these retributions, they blame and resent others and constantly give rise to negative thoughts, jealousy, resentment, hatred, etc. In this way, they have no chance [to do good]. Thus, “They wear their bloating like garments.” Their body takes on this appearance. It “will never be removed from their bodies.”

Disabilities, illness, poverty and the external ugliness and filth are the manifestations of suffering of the body. They also have greed, anger and ignorance, which give rise to evil actions from the mind. These are severe transgressions and deep hindrances.

When “disability, illness, poverty, external ugliness and filth” are concentrated in one person, it is immediately visible in their appearance. Moreover, the Three Poisons, greed, anger and ignorance, give rise to “internal evil actions.” The transgressions they committed were severe and lead to deep hindrances.

With their minds filled with afflictions and delusions of ignorance, they have no chance to accept the principles and cleanse the defilements from their minds. Thus, they face much suffering. If we unceasingly create karma, layer after layer, never stopping, we have no choice but to face those retributions. So, now that we have been born human and have heard the Dharma, we must make the most of every moment. We must always be mindful.

Episode 705 – The Suffering from Slandering the Dharma

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>> In every world that exists, there is no one who does not age and die. Sentient beings follow the law of cyclic existence, and in every life they will eventually die. Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.

>> Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> They often dwell in hell and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

>> Those who slander the Right Dharma, look down on the teachings, or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha are destroying seeds of goodness and wisdom-life and will long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite.

>> So they often dwell [there]. They cycle in and out constantly, led there by their karmic forces, not by choice.

>> Even if they are born as humans, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies, constantly cycling through remote, solitary hells. Unlike those in the eight cold and eight hot hells that are situated in fixed locations, these people transmigrate according to their individual karma. They constantly go in and out of various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.

>> The ancient sages said: Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they again appear in the world? Thus they are portrayed as often born in and die in these places

>> Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are livestock used to provide man with labor and food. They constantly come and go between them, thus these are the forms in which they travel.

>> The ancients said: If you do not complete the path in this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned. If the disciples in the fourfold assembly slander the sutra teachings, they face these unexhausted retributions. They inevitably reap what they have sown and are led by their karmic forces into the animal realm.

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“In every world that exists, there is no one who does not age and die.
Sentient beings follow the law of cyclic existence, and in every life they will eventually die.
Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods.
In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.”

Ah, the karmic law of cause and effect! Indeed, we must be very careful.

As the Buddha has told us clearly, in this world, everything is subject to formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Everything goes through this endless cycle. All humans likewise go through birth, aging, illness and death. This is sentient beings’ law of cyclic existence. And our minds? Thoughts arise, abide, change and cease endlessly. We may give rise to a sense of joy and thus form aspirations and make vows. In that moment, our resolve is very firm, but as time passes, our thoughts “change” with our environment, and our mental state shifts. After this “change,” our mindset is different. In the end, after this process, those [initial] thoughts have completely “ceased.”

Sentient beings are always subject to this “law of cyclic existence.” With our present mindsets in the present era, we remain in this period of Dharma-degeneration, an era of declining human morality. So, “In every life, [we] will eventually die.” In the end, everyone will die.

When life comes to an end, we take nothing with us, but everything our minds led us to do, all the good and evil, will still exist. Those seeds remain, so, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions.” We created these karmic seeds, so we experience the suffering and joy. This is all stored in our karmic consciousness. The karmic consciousness [encompasses] past causes and conditions, current effects and retributions and future karmic forces, [the workings of karma] over the Three Periods. Our karmic consciousness stores [karma of] the Three Periods, the past, present and future. So, it is said, “In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.”

During the Buddha’s lifetime, He always reminded people to pay attention to cause and effect. At the time, Sariputra had followed the Buddha to the kingdom of Sravasti. One day, after he returned from begging for alms, from far away, he saw a dog by the roadside. The dog had been beaten with sticks and was barely alive. After he asked around, he learned that some merchants had passed by a few days ago after hunting for precious objects in the sea. On their way home, they rested at this place. The dog had wandered over and saw that after these people had eaten, there were leftovers out in the open. Since the merchants were asleep, the dog started eating their leftovers. One of the merchants woke up and saw the dog eating their food. He became furious, and they all yelled, “Beat him!” So, the group of merchants beat the dog

[Once he managed to escape] the dog ran until he did not have the strength to keep going. His bones were all broken, and he had been laying there injured for a few days already. He was injured and very hungry.

Sariputra heard the story and was just on his way back from begging for alms, so he gave the dog some of his food. As the dog ate, tears rolled down his face, and he kept wagging his tail. Sariputra then stayed there and talked to the dog. He explained transmigration in the Six Realms and how doing good and creating positive karma can lead to the blessing of being born human. Then if one is reverent, one can listen to the Dharma, engage in spiritual practice and transcend suffering. He explained the Dharma in this way. He even taught the Four Noble Truths to the dog. Human life is inherently filled with suffering, to say nothing of the life of animals, where the suffering is even more unbearable. As he slowly explained everything to the dog, the dog stopped crying. Looking very serene, the dog took his last breath. Sariputra buried the dog and then left.

Then some time passed. One day when Sariputra was walking in the streets, an elder saw him from far away. The elder asked Sariputra, “Venerable One, why are you out by yourself?” Sariputra replied, “Of course I’m by myself. Who would be my companion?” The elder then said, “You should have an attendant who serves you. My child can follow you into monastic life, but he is only one year old right now. He does not understand much about life. Even if he follows you in spiritual practice, he would be unable to serve you. Can you wait until he grows a bit older?” Sariputra said, “That is possible. That depends on our affinities. Maybe when I return to Sravasti again.” Thus they agreed to meet seven years later.

Seven years later, Sariputra was back in Sravasti. He went to the elder’s house, and the elder told him, “My child is now seven years old, and he is willing [to serve you]. So, I’m putting him in your hands.” This is how this child came to follow Sariputra and become a monastic. When the Buddha saw this child and learned that he wanted to follow Sariputra, He was very joyful. He gave him permission to shave his head and become a novice.

This novice was filled with earnestness and gratitude. Among the Sangha, he was very diligent. One day, while this child sat in meditation, this thought arose in his mind, “Oh, I am truly blessed! In my past life, what were my causes and conditions such that I could become Sariputra’s disciple, meet the Buddha and listen to Him teach? What causes and conditions did I create?”

As he sat in meditation, he came to understand. “I was a dog in my past life. I had the opportunity to receive a meal from Sariputra and listen to him explain suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. He said he hoped I could engage in spiritual practice in my next life. Indeed, now I am engaging in spiritual practice. As long as Sariputra is alive, I will always remain a novice and will not take the full bhiksu precepts.” This was because if he became a bhiksu, he would not be able to remain at Sariputra’s side and be his attendant. So, in this life, as long as Sariputra was alive, he was not going to become a bhiksu. He would remain a novice.

When Ananda heard this, [he wondered,]. “How did this novice and Sariputra come to have this kind of affinity?” He asked the Buddha about this. The Buddha then delved further in the past. He said to everyone, “Listen carefully. A long time ago, during Kasyapa Buddha’s lifetime, there was a young bhiksu who had a loud, clear voice and good memory. He was constantly chanting the sutras. But there was another bhiksu who was very old and had a raspy voice. His recitations were not pleasant to listen to.”

“One day, the young bhiksu heard this unpleasant sound, so he went over to the elderly bhiksu and said, ‘Old Master!’ ‘Your recitation is really unpleasant to hear’ ‘It sounds like a dog barking, very annoying. The elderly bhiksu looked at the young bhiksu, and said, ‘Young man,’ ‘I know your voice is very pleasant to hear,’ ‘but do you know who I am?’ ‘Who are you?’ ‘I am one who has attained Arhatship’ ‘I am a bhiksu following Kasyapa Buddha’ ‘I have already obtained the fourth fruit’.”

“After hearing this, the young bhiksu felt very remorseful [about his rude words] ‘This elderly bhiksu has attained Arhatship!’ ‘How could I have been so rude to him?’ ‘That was not right;’ ‘I must repent right away’! He repented immediately, and the elderly bhiksu was very forgiving and expounded the Dharma to this young bhiksu ‘You cannot just rely on your memory’ ‘and only recite sutras’ ‘You must truly take the Dharma to heart’ ‘You must treat every person as a Buddha’ ‘Then in the future, you will have the chance’ ‘to meet eminent monastics and’ ‘encounter the Buddha-Dharma’.”

“Such were the causes and conditions.” The Buddha said, “The dog was the young bhiksu. Because he had repented, he was able to meet Sariputra. In this life, all these things that Sariputra did for the dog enabled the dog to be reborn as a human. Thus in this life, Sariputra was able to transform him in time. These are their causes and conditions.”

See, this is how, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.” Therefore, we must be mindful. With everything we do in our daily living, the people we see and the things we encounter, we must keep the law of karma in mind.

If we lose our human form and fall into the Three Evil Destinies, we will have to face unbearable suffering.

The previous passage of sutra text we discussed states, “Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete.”

We talked about this yesterday. So, we must always be mindful. Or else, once we lose our human form, it can take a very long time [to regain it]. Once we regain it, we might not have the causes and conditions to hear the Buddha-Dharma.

Thus we long remain in the evil realms; we stay there for a very long time. The next sutra passages states, “They often dwell in hell and stroll about there as if it were a garden, or in other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home. Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are the forms in which they travel. For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such as these.”

As it states in the previous passage, when these people are reborn in the human realm, all their faculties will be incomplete. Moreover, they will often be in hell, repeatedly returning there. They may even end up in the other evil destinies. In those evil destinies, they are unable to engage in self-reflection and do not have the causes and conditions to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. So, they repeatedly return, as if strolling about in a garden; being in these evil destinies is like being at home. They forever remain within these confines. Why is this? “For slandering this sutra.” This is due to slandering this sutra and denying the law of karma. Because of this, “They face retributions such as these.”

This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms [The suffering] they face is indeed indescribable.

This is explaining their transmigration, the retribution of being reborn in the Three Evil Destinies of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.

If we in fact end up in hell, the suffering there will truly be unbearable. Sometimes in this world, we see people who face this kind of suffering living impoverished and degrading lives, in particular from facing starvation and manmade tragedies like violence, war and so on. It is hard enough to just stay alive. It is like living in hell, constantly being on edge. This kind of life is filled with suffering!

Why did this happen to them? [Because they] “slandered the Right Dharma. Those who slander the Right Dharma look down on the teachings or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha.” People like this cut off the roots of goodness and wisdom-life.

We recognize that as we humans continue to create this kind of karma, society will remain in a state of turmoil. This is because people’s seeds of goodness and and [positive] karmic conditions have been cut off. If we do not do good deeds nor clearly understand the principles, we will end up creating this kind of karma. When we [take from], fight and kill each other,

Those who slander the Right Dharma, look down on the teachings, or disparage the Buddha, Dharma or Sangha are destroying seeds of goodness and wisdom-life and will long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite.

We will “long remain in the Three Evil Destinies without any respite.” There is no time to stop and rest. We will always be in the hell, hungry ghost or animal realm. And when we are reborn in the human realm, our lives will be impoverished and degrading, and our body will have incomplete faculties, etc. This will be the course of our transmigration. This is where [slanderers of the Dharma] “often dwell,” which means to be there for a long time. “They cycle in and out constantly.” Sometimes they go into hell. Sometimes they leave hell and go into the animal realm. Then from the animal realm, they go back into hell. After being in hell, sometimes they leave there and go into the hungry ghost realm. After they exhaust their karma for being in the hungry ghost realm, they go into the animal realm again. From the animal realm, they go into hell again. They transmigrate in this way, ․so they “often dwell [there].” They cycle in and out constantly, led there by their karmic forces, not by choice.

Even if they are born as humans, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies, constantly cycling through remote, solitary hells. Unlike those in the eight cold and eight hot hells that are situated in fixed locations, these people transmigrate according to their individual karma. They constantly go in and out of various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.

Indeed, many things are beyond our control. “Even if they are born human, before long they will again return to the Three Evil Destinies.” Although they are in the human realm, they do not have the chance to listen to the Buddha-Dharma or to meet good people. Perhaps because of their physical condition or their environments, etc., they do not have the chance to hear the principles or to change their minds and perspectives. Without that opportunity, they continue to create karma that causes them to fall into the Three Evil Destines again.

Thus they are “constantly cycling through remote solitary hells.” Remote places are very underdeveloped places or very lonely solitary hells. With the individual karma they created, they suffer different retributions from others. This is different from the usual eight cold and eight hot hells where many beings suffer together. Because of the karmic forces they created, they experience their own kind of suffering. Their individual karma leads them to constantly go in and out of such hells,

or “various other evil destinies, which they have come to look upon as home.” They are always going between these places of suffering. As an ancient saying goes, “Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they become human again?” In the Three Evil Destinies, the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms, how long will they spend transmigrating? Thousands of kalpas! They will “often dwell [there].” They will constantly remain in these place of suffering. This will go on for a long time.

The ancient sages said: Each retribution in the Three Evil Destinies lasts for thousands of kalpas. When will they again appear in the world? Thus they are portrayed as often born in and die in these places.

Or, they may end up as camels, pigs or dogs. These are also places they constantly come and go from

Camels, donkeys, pigs and dogs are livestock used to provide man with labor and food. They constantly come and go between them, thus these are the forms in which they travel.

We often see camels in videos. Camels work hard to transport things. The same goes for donkeys. What about pigs and dogs? We often see them hanging in meat stalls. They are killed and eaten by people. In the Three Evil Destinies, they constantly come and go from the suffering of the animal realm. These are the forms in which they travel. Why did this happen to them? “For slandering this sutra, they face retributions such these.” Because they slandered the sutra, they received these retributions.

In the past, in places of spiritual practice, this saying was often heard, “If you do not complete the path this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned to repay.” And there is another saying, “A donor’s grain of rice is as big as Mt. Sumeru. If your three minds still exist, you will return feathered or horned.” Everyone should have heard of this as well.

The ancients said: If you do not complete the path in this lifetime, you will return feathered or horned. If the disciples in the fourfold assembly slander the sutra teachings, they face these unexhausted retributions. They inevitably reap what they have sown and are led by their karmic forces into the animal realm.

So, in our daily living, we must be very cautious. Our minds must be free of desires, and we must work hard. We should come to this world for the sake of transforming sentient beings, not to engage in spiritual practice for ourselves. We come here to widely transform sentient beings. Even as our bodies age, our [aspirations] must not change. This is the truth that the Buddha came to this world to tell us. He hoped we will engage in spiritual practice and “maintain our original aspiration so we can surely attain Buddhahood.” This is the only way for us to return to our Buddha-nature, our nature of True Suchness. This is the true goal for our spiritual practice.

Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must remember that, “Suffering and joy result from one’s own actions; karmic consciousness creates the Three Periods. In accordance with the karma we create, transgressions and blessings bring retributions.” So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 704 – The Eight Difficulties Arise from Negative Karma

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>> The truth of the law of karma is that action will certainly induce a response, and karmic retribution follows us like a shadow. Whether we create calamity or blessings, there will always be consequences. We create our suffering or happiness and face effects according to the cause.

>> If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Such transgressors will never see the Buddha, the king of all noble beings, who teaches and transforms through the Dharma.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> These transgressors severed the roots of goodness, planted seeds of slandering the Great Vehicle and did not create blessed karmic conditions. This negative karma caused their descent into hell, so they will never see the Buddha. They lack good karmic seeds, thus making it difficult to meet the king of noble beings, listen to the Dharma and be taught and transformed.

>> Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Those who commit transgressions and create karma receive retributions according to their karma and are constantly reborn in difficult places. They are like drunken people who cannot hear the True Dharma. Mad and deaf, with minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma.

>> Asankya is a period of countless kalpas, so many that they are incalculable, like the sands of the Ganges.

>> For a long time they have been in this cycle, always born deaf and mute, all their faculties incomplete.

They display these eight difficulties: A difficult place is a place where there are many difficulties, which creates many hindrances and makes it inconvenient to listen to the Dharma. Since they cannot see the Buddha, it is difficult to listen to the Dharma. Then, their faculties are not sound, and at birth are incomplete. Such transgressors encounter capabilities and conditions that make it more difficult to achieve deliverance.

>>The Eight Difficulties: The difficulty of hell, of the hungry ghost realm, of the animal realm, of Uttarakuru, of the heaven of no thoughts, of being blind, deaf and dumb, of worldly intelligence and of the periods before and after a Buddha.

The difficulty of Uttarakuru: People in this place have great measures of blessings but do not know of the Buddha-Dharma and thus cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The difficulty of the heaven of no thought: The heaven of no thought is a place where those who follow other religious teachings may be born. The people there also cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The difficulty of being deaf, dumb and blind: Those who are deaf, dumb and blind cannot see or hear the Buddha-DharmaThe difficulty of worldly intelligence: They rely on their limited intelligence and cannot humbly engage in spiritual practice, even to the point of slandering the Buddha-Dharma.

The difficulty of the periods before and after a Buddha: People born in a period before a Buddha appears or after He has entered Parinirvana cannot see the Buddha and cannot listen to the Buddha-Dharma.

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“The truth of the law of karma is that action will certainly induce a response,
and karmic retribution follows us like a shadow.
Whether we create calamity or blessings, there will always be consequences.
We create our suffering or happiness and face effects according to the cause.”

The workings of karma cannot be changed in the slightest. So, when it comes to all the actions we take, we must accept the consequences according to the karma that we create. The only way to change anything is for us to understand the law of karma and then promptly change [our behavior]. This is a true principle. This is the truth of the law of karma. With any action, once we have created karma, a response will naturally manifest. This is certain.

“Karmic retribution follows us like a shadow.” If we do good deeds, the response we will receive in the way other people feel and the way they react to us will be one of respect towards us. This is certain. If we do something unwholesome, people will criticize us in response. This is the workings of karmic retribution; it follows us like a shadow.

So, “We create our suffering or happiness and face effects according to the cause.” No matter what kind of karma, the working are the same. If we experience happiness and joy, it is because we formed positive conditions and created blessed causes in past lives. Thus we are able to happily come together. The same happens with the causes and conditions for suffering. As we interact with each other, sometimes a casual remark can weigh on people’s hearts; this is like a time-bomb. Who knows how long it will be buried in their mind with these karmic forces unceasingly replicating? Then, when causes and conditions mature, those karmic causes become karmic effects. This is why we should not take the law of karma lightly.

There is a story about this. The story is about a businessman traveling to the city to deal with some matters. He quickly hired a donkey to pull his cart, but when the donkey reached the 100km mark, he suddenly stopped. There were only two or three kilometers to go. The businessman was very anxious. “We are almost there; hurry up!” However, this donkey just stood there. No matter how the man urged him on, the donkey just simply refused to move. The businessman had no choice but to come down from the cart. He half-ran and half-walked to take care of his business matters.

After finishing his business, it was late, so he found an inn to rest. That night, he had a dream. The donkey came to him and said, “I apologize for not taking you to your destination. Since I stole a pair of shoes from you in my previous life, I had to repay you by carrying you for 100km. Therefore, I took you exactly 100km so we would not owe each other anything. I have fully repaid the debt I owed you. I want to thank you and to apologize too for stealing your shoes in the past.” Then this businessman woke up. After he awoke, he was very surprised. “That’s right, I am in the shoe business. Many years ago, my shop was indeed missing a pair of shoes. I was really angry. Who would steal this pair of shoes from me? Whoever stole this pair of shoes, I want him to walk at least 100km in repayment.” He recalled what he had said. “This must be the workings of karma!”

Ever since then, this businessman placed great importance on causes and effects. He donated all the money he made from this business trip, and from then on, he constantly did good deeds. He constantly shared this story with other people, encouraging them to do good deeds and counseling them against doing bad deeds. Just from stealing a pair of shoes, we may have to become an ox, horse or donkey and labor in order to repay that debt.

Therefore, the principles of the law of karma must indeed be applied in our daily living. We must believe in them. With other people, we must say kind words and form good karmic affinities. When it comes to things we can do, we must not be afraid of hard work. As long as our body can handle it, when other people are doing things, we should give them a hand. With each thing we help them with, we are forming good karmic affinities. When we help them, they feel grateful. When we say kind words to them, they have a good impression of us. All of these form positive karmic affinities. Causes and conditions for blessings come from constantly helping people. Therefore, we must believe in the law of karma.

The previous sutra passage states, “If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.”

We already discussed this passage yesterday. When a person is sick and we do not earnestly help them find a good doctor, or misguide them when they try to find a doctor or cause a delay in their treatment, those are the wrong things to do. Perhaps this person is clearly taking the right medicine, but their condition remains the same. Day by day, their condition and their suffering grow worse. Their doctor also says, “I have done everything humanly possible. Why isn’t this person getting better?” Not every doctor can work miracles. Even Hua Tuo himself, the legendary physician, died from an illness, to say nothing of his patients. In conclusion, the law of karma is a law of nature we are all subject to.

“When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing,” we will also be affected by their acts of evil. Some people say, “Clearly I had no part in this. I just happened to pass by,” or “Clearly I only heard something; I did not do anything,” or “Clearly….” Sometimes in society, when people are arguing, even if it has nothing to do with us, we may end up being punched by someone. This happens too. In this way, we “suffer from others’ calamities.”

The sutra passage continues, “Such transgressors will never see the Buddha, the king of all noble beings, who teaches and transforms through the Dharma”

[These transgressors] may suffer in hell without interruption. In the hungry ghost realm, the kind of starvation they experience is like a fire that consumes them; that is the kind of suffering they face. They may also end up in the animal realm. We have seen how [animals suffer], especially if, as an animal, they are born with physical deformities. These are the retributions for transgressions that they suffer in the Three Evil Realms. What if they are born human? They may be disabled, impoverished or ill and so on. All of this is caused by the karma they created in their previous lifetimes. If they are born in the human realm, they are tormented by suffering;

this is due to the karma they created in the past. The karmic causes they created led them to suffer these negative retributions. If people face this kind of suffering as humans, they are hindered by their karmic obstructions. Thus they “will never see the Buddha.” Even if the Buddha is in the world, they will not have the chance to see Him. Therefore, in life we must earnestly seize every moment. When there are positive causes and conditions, we must form aspirations together. When we have the good karmic conditions to hear the Dharma, we need to earnestly put it into practice and cherish this precious opportunity. Otherwise, we “will never see the Buddha”

These transgressors severed the roots of goodness, planted seeds of slandering the Great Vehicle and did not create blessed karmic conditions. This negative karma caused their descent into hell, so they will never see the Buddha. They lack good karmic seeds, thus making it difficult to meet the king of noble beings, listen to the Dharma and be taught and transformed.

These transgressors have severed the roots of goodness and have cut off the seeds of wisdom-life. By slandering the Great Vehicle Dharma and not creating blessed causes and conditions, they cannot encounter the Buddha-Dharma nor obtain the principles. Instead, they go astray and create negative causes and negative conditions. They replicate many of their afflictions and ignorant thoughts, so they create much negative karma.

“This negative karma caused their descent into hell.” Because of that, they cannot encounter “the king of all noble beings,” who can “teach and transform them.” They cannot attain [the Dharma]. Even if they can, they will slander it. All of that generates negative karma, causing them to fall into hell. For this reason, they “will never see the Buddha.” This happened in the past, and it happens now as well. We are lacking in good karmic seeds, so “meeting the king of noble beings” would be very difficult. Seeing the Buddha face to face would be even more difficult. Even listening to the Buddha-Dharma, listening to true principles, would be very hard. If all we have are negative causes, conditions and effects, naturally we will face negative retributions. This is a very natural principle.

The following passage states, “Such transgressors are constantly reborn in difficult places; mad and deaf, minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma. For countless kalpas, numerous as the Ganges’ sands, they are always born deaf and mute, and all their faculties are incomplete.”

All this is due to the negative karma we created in past lifetimes. If we committed an act of evil, a transgression, we will have to face the negative retributions. The human realm is like a big prison. Some people’s transgressions are more serious. That means they have to endure more serious karmic retributions. They face a lifetime of unbearable suffering. They often find themselves in extreme hardship. People like this are “mad and deaf, with minds in disorder” because they do not have principles guiding them in their lives.

People who are “mad and deaf” have mental and physical issues. They cannot control themselves, and they do not know what they are doing. When others talk, they cannot understand what is being said. They do not understand the principles. Even though they heard the sounds, they cannot understand the words. Since they cannot understand it, they are like people who cannot hear

Those who commit transgressions and create karma receive retributions according to their karma and are constantly reborn in difficult places. They are like drunken people who cannot hear the True Dharma. Mad and deaf, with minds in disorder, they never get to listen to the Dharma.

They are like a person who is drunk. Once a person becomes drunk, he is completely unaware of his demeanor. For those who are constantly drunk, they are so drunk that their minds are disordered, and their physical appearances have been ruined. Unable to take the principles to heart, they cannot guard against wrongs and stop evil, uphold precepts or listen to the True Dharma. As a result, “Mad and deaf, with minds in disorder, they will never hear the Dharma.” How long will they remain this way? For asankya kalpas, for infinite kalpas. These kalpas are as countless as the sands of the Ganges; this is an incalculable length of time.

Asankya is a period of countless kalpas, so many that they are incalculable, like the sands of the Ganges.

Isn’t this the description found in the Earth Treasury Sutra? A grain of sand can be counted as a kalpa. A blade of grass can also be counted as a kalpa. A single leaf can also be counted a kalpa. It is not just the sands of the Ganges. “Countless kalpas” is a very long period of time. During that long period of time, hearing the Buddha-Dharma and learning principles will be very difficult.

For a long time they have been in this cycle, always born deaf and mute, all their faculties incomplete.

Having not listened to them, they will “always [be] born deaf and mute.” This is an endless cycle. They are like people who are deaf and mute, like people who can neither hear nor speak. “All their faculties [are] incomplete.” Perhaps their minds are in disorder, or so on. This lasts for a very long period of time. Then in this lifetime, they are unwilling to accept [the Dharma], or may not have the chance to accept it, or even if they accept it, they may be unable to take it to heart. Perhaps, when they listen to principles, they are limited in what they understand from what they hear.

They cannot go beyond that. When we seriously listen, when we constantly listen, we must hear one thing and understand ten things. Take Christopher Yang for example, he is only in his early teens. Yesterday, after I left the Great Hall, he told me he had some questions. I asked, “What is your question?” He replied, “Master, when you told the story about how the Brahmin maiden saved her mother, you said her mother was able to go to heaven because of the. Brahmin maiden’s merits and virtues. How can the other people who are suffering there also go to heaven with the help of the. Brahmin maiden’s merits and virtues? Don’t they have to face the consequences of their own transgressions?” He said he felt doubtful of this. He said, “In the past, these people must have created an affinity with the Brahmin maiden. It is because of this karmic affinity that they were able to go to heaven at that time.”

I said, “That is right. Your explanation is correct. There had to be a karmic affinity between them [She was] Earth Treasury Bodhisattva and had, in a past lifetime a very long time ago, “vowed to deliver all sentient beings from hell. Over many lifetimes she formed karmic affinities with many people.” At that time, because of her affinities with her mother, she vowed to deliver her from hell. To do that, she created blessings and made offerings to the Three Treasures. Because of these blessings she created, the beings who had the karmic conditions to be in the same [hell] as her mother were also delivered; such were their causes and conditions.

This is why we must earnestly listen to teachings so that after hearing one thing, we are able to understand many principles and delve deeply into them. So, we need [the right] causes and conditions to listen to the Dharma. If we can take it to heart, we should then be able to exercise our wisdom. If we have [negative] karma, we will face all kinds of obstacles. If we have wisdom, we can hear one thing and understand ten. We will not face the slightest hindrance; we can reach understanding without any obstacles. This is what we must cultivate at all times.

They display these eight difficulties: A difficult place is a place where there are many difficulties, which creates many hindrances and makes it inconvenient to listen to the Dharma. Since they cannot see the Buddha, it is difficult to listen to the Dharma. Then, their faculties are not sound, and at birth are incomplete. Such transgressors encounter capabilities and conditions that make it more difficult to achieve deliverance.

“Born deaf and mute” refers to people who constantly listen to the Dharma but cannot take it to heart. They refuse to listen, or they listen and err in their understanding. Thus they do many things to slander the Dharma. So, we need to constantly develop our wisdom. Otherwise, we face the Eight Difficulties. These Eight Difficulties are results of the karma we created that put us in all kinds of difficult places with many kinds of difficulties that prevent us from listening to the Dharma. Thus, we are not able to listen to the Dharma. “Since [we] cannot see the Buddha, it is difficult to listen to the Dharma.” Furthermore, our faculties may not be sound, or they may be incomplete at birth. We may also have other kinds of physical deformities. People who have created negative karma will face these kinds of retributions.

What are the Eight Difficulties? The first is the difficulty of hell. Suffering retributions in hell is very painful. The second is the difficulty of the hungry ghost realm. If we are in the hungry ghost realm, how can we listen to the Dharma? Suffering extreme starvation, how can we listen to the Dharma? The next is the difficulty of the animal realm. Animals live difficult lives; how can they listen to the Dharma? The abovementioned are the Three Evil Realms. “Since their karma is too severe,” they cannot see or hear the Buddha-Dharma

The Eight Difficulties: The difficulty of hell, of the hungry ghost realm, of the animal realm, of Uttarakuru, of the heaven of no thoughts, of being blind, deaf and dumb, of worldly intelligence and of the periods before and after a Buddha.

Next is the fourth difficulty, which is being born in Uttarakuru. It is a place of wonderful pleasures, but we cannot hear the Dharma there.

The difficulty of Uttarakuru: People in this place have great measures of blessings but do not know of the Buddha-Dharma and thus cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The fifth is the difficulty of the heaven of no thought. The heaven of no thought is a place where non-Buddhist practitioners live. In that place, people cannot hear the Right Dharma. This is the difficulty faced in the heaven of no thought.

The difficulty of the heaven of no thought: The heaven of no thought is a place where those who follow other religious teachings may be born. The people there also cannot be liberated from birth and death.

The sixth is the difficulty of being deaf, dumb and blind. If we are blind, we cannot read the sutras. If we are deaf, we cannot hear the teachings. Even if we can hear, [if we are mute,] we would not be able to ask questions. These are difficulties caused by our faculties that make it hard to listen to the Dharma.

The seventh difficulty is the difficulty of worldly intelligence. Being self-conceited, we believe we clearly understand all things in the world. So, we only listen to the Dharma in order to be able to debate with others. We do not take the Dharma to heart at all.

The eighth is the difficulty of the periods before and after the Buddha. We may live in the period before a Buddha appears. Then when the Buddha is here, we are not. Only after the Buddha has entered Parinirvana do we come to the world again. Thus it is difficult to live in the same period as the Buddha. Not only is meeting the Buddha difficult, encountering the Dharma fully formed in the world,  is very difficult as well.

The difficulty of being deaf, dumb and blind: Those who are deaf, dumb and blind cannot see or hear the Buddha-Dharma

The difficulty of worldly intelligence: They rely on their limited intelligence and cannot humbly engage in spiritual practice, even to the point of slandering the Buddha-Dharma.

The difficulty of the periods before and after a Buddha: People born in a period before a Buddha appears or after He has entered Parinirvana cannot see the Buddha and cannot listen to the Buddha-Dharma.

These are the eight types of difficulties, being able to hear the Buddha-Dharma is not that easy.

In conclusion, as Buddhist practitioners, we must have deep faith

In life, we must be able to experience and realize the teachings

After listening to the Dharma, we must take it to heart Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 703 – Giving is the Sturdy Ship Offering Deliverance

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>> We see that the suffering of poverty is deep and vast like the sea. Giving is like a sturdy ship that can deliver those in the sea of poverty. When great compassion arises, the heart’s wealth is a great field of blessings. When we give, though we seek nothing in return, we obtain great blessings for ourselves.

>> Where it speaks of how, Poor and lowly, at the mercy of others, they are often sick, dehydrated and gaunt and have no one to rely upon.  [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them. If they do attain something, in their seeking they lose it again. If they study the healing arts to appropriately cure illnesses, they only add to others’ maladies, or even cause death.   [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them. If they do attain something, in their seeking they lose it again: Even if they have close family members, those with the closest affinities with them, when they fall into difficulties, no one cares for them, and they have no one to rely on.

>> When the body’s four elements are out of balance, hundreds of ailments break out. The path of medicine is to look, listen, ask and determine [the presence of] the six energies of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, heat and all the various symptoms.

>> The skill of healing is to follow the principles; its rules are there to correct any shortcomings. Extreme caution is taken not to treat human life lightly, to misguide in the path of medicine or to prolong treatment of the disease, which can even cause other illnesses or kill the patient.

>> If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.

>>This is an analogy for the experience of extreme suffering. Thus, of the extreme suffering in the world, nothing is worse than illness. Especially if when sick and suffering, there is no one to save or cure them and even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases

>>The chaos created by revolt is a calamity to the world. By using force to rob and plunder, people raid one another and wrest away goods, stealing and pilfering other people’s wealth.

>> The manifestation of having lost their blessings explains why those who commit acts of evil, after facing retribution, suffer further calamity. In saying they suffer further calamity, suffer means to encounter mishaps such as violent or sudden death or meeting with unexpected accidents.

>> Those who have lost their blessings: Because they have these evil retributions, they do not have the protection of blessings and so have no one and nothing to rely upon. They may study worldly, skillful work, or study the Buddha’s Way, and may attain something, but then lose it again. Learning medicine is meant to save people, but instead they harm others’ lives. When another person does bad things, they are affected and suffer on others’ account

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“We see that the suffering of poverty is deep and vast like the sea.
Giving is like a sturdy ship that can deliver those in the sea of poverty.
When great compassion arises, the heart’s wealth is a great field of blessings.
When we give, though we seek nothing in return, we obtain great blessings for ourselves.”

Previously we have been describing the many sufferings of life. Besides the human and animal realms, there are all kinds of sufferings in hell, too. When a single thought goes astray, countless negative retributions are created. After falling into hell, the hungry ghost and the animal realms, upon our return to the human realm, we will be born into poverty and hardship. There are many impoverished and suffering people. When we arrive in poor countries, everywhere we look we see people like that. Because of their collective karma, they were brought together to face poverty. There are so many of them, it looks like a vast sea of people. With so many impoverished people, how can we deliver them from their suffering? Charitable giving is the only way.

Charitable giving out of love is like a sturdy ship. It is a very stable, very big ship that “can deliver those in the sea of poverty.” In this sea of suffering, we can pull them up and rescue them one by one to deliver them across this sea of poverty.

“When we give, though we seek nothing in return, we obtain great blessings for ourselves.” Our charitable giving comes from a single thought, to practice giving willingly and joyfully. Thus our charitable giving becomes the activity that makes us the happiest. In this way, though we seek nothing in return, we will naturally become very happy and attain great blessings.

We often discuss how we sometimes see people who have so much love to give, while also living in such poverty. I often explain that this is because they did not create blessings in their past lives. In this life, they have been born human, so they are able to listen to the Dharma turn their lives around, open up their minds and give of the strength they have.

This is like how once, long ago in China, there was an elderly monastic. His temple had become quite run down. The elderly monastic made a vow to restore and maintain this old temple. So, every single day he went out with his alms bowl to beg for alms, hoping people of the villages, towns and cities would help him to fulfill his vow. However, although he did this for many years, he was unable to collect very much.

During this time, there was a child who had been orphaned. This child was constantly covered in filth. Every day, he sold sesame flatbread. He noticed this elderly monastic walking around every day and saw how people in the village showed him no respect and refused to give to him. Seeing this, he felt very sad. Though he himself was very poor, one day he decided, “Even if this means I cannot eat, I’m willing to donate all the money I make today to this elderly monastic.”

When the people in the village saw this, they said, “Oh my, this child cannot make enough to eat three meals a day, yet now he is donating all of his money. What about us?” They looked at each other and then, feeling moved, they each made a donation to help the elderly monastic rebuild his temple. The news began to spread and passed from one person to the next. Before long, construction was able to begin on the old temple.

One day, this child suddenly lost his sight. A few days later, he fell and broke his foot. After another couple of days, because he could not see and was unsteady on his feet, he lost his footing by the latrine pit, and he fell into the latrine pit and died. The entire village gathered to see what happened, and amongst themselves, they all said, “No good comes from doing good deeds!”

While the elderly monk was sitting in meditation, he suddenly saw the child in front of him. The elderly monastic said to him, “You have fallen into the latrine pit and died. How do you feel right now? Do you have any regrets? Do you have any afflictions?”

The child replied with ease, “None at all! I am very happy because I have been liberated. I now know that throughout my past lives, I created much bad karma. I was supposed to suffer painful retributions for many lifetimes. I have already been in the animal realm, and when I was born in the human realm, I was orphaned, with no one to rely on, and my body was always covered in filth. After this lifetime was finished, there was still much karma I had to face, like being born with impaired physical faculties and other retributions for many lifetimes until finally, in my last life, I would be born as a creature in a latrine pit. But with the momentary aspiration I formed, those lifetimes of karmic retributions were all exhausted in that short amount of time. So, this is why I have come to express my gratitude to you. But I still have one wish that I hope you will fulfill for me.”

“The villagers saw me fall into the latrine pit, and now they are all creating karma of speech, telling each other that no good comes from doing good deeds. I would like to ask you to tell everyone of my past and that due to the negative karma I created in my past lives, I was supposed to face lifetimes of retributions. But I have been able to face a milder retribution for my severe karma and exhaust lifetimes of bad karma in one single lifetime. I beg of you; please clearly convey what I have said to the other villagers so that they will not slander the Buddha-Dharma and thereby sever people’s roots of goodness. This is what I ask of you. Please accept my plea.”

Suddenly, the elderly monk emerged from this meditative state. He hurried towards the village. The elderly monastic then told everyone that this child had, over many of his past lives, created much negative karma. Now he had been able to exhaust those lifetimes of retributions in this one lifetime. When everyone heard what he had to say, their minds opened, and they understood.

This story can be applied to [this part of] the Lotus Sutra where it speaks of how, “Poor and lowly, at the mercy of others, they are often sick, dehydrated and gaunt and have no one to rely upon.”

Let us look at the following sutra passage “Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them. If they do attain something, in their seeking they lose it again. If they study the healing arts to appropriately cure illnesses, they only add to others’ maladies, or even cause death.”

“Though they draw near to others, no one cares about them.” Although people may have family, their own flesh and blood, their loved ones, as soon as these relatives or friends fall into difficulties, they may disregard and ignore them.

“If they study the healing arts to appropriately cure illnesses, they only add to others’ maladies, or even cause death.” The human body is subject to 404 ailments, which arise due to imbalances in the four elements in our body. Our body is also made up of earth, water, fire and air. You see, our human bodies cannot do without water. The blood circulating in our bodies consists mainly of water. That is water. Our body also must maintain a certain temperature; if our temperature is not high enough…. Once we stop breathing, we will lose our body heat. This is an imbalance in the element of fire. When we are breathing, this has to do with the element of air. After breathing out, we breathe in. If the element of air is out of balance, we are short of breath. If the element of air is out of balance and our breathing stops, then we pass away. Then, there is earth. Earth is everything in our body that we can touch. Our muscle and our bones are [solid] like earth. When it comes to our body, we need the four elements to be in balance. When the four elements are out of balance, hundreds of ailments break out

When the body’s four elements are out of balance, hundreds of ailments break out. The path of medicine is to look, listen, ask and determine [the presence of] the six energies of wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness, heat and all the various symptoms.

There are many professions that the world can do without, but we cannot do without the field of medicine. The path of medicine is a process that helps “appropriately cure illnesses.” According to what doctors learn about diagnosis and medicine, they prescribe medicine according to the illness. So, in the path of medicine, how are illnesses diagnosed? In the old days, to treat an illness doctors had to look, listen, ask and determine. When a patient saw a doctor, the doctor had to meticulously observe. To do this, a doctor must “look” very carefully at the color of the skin and so on. Then the doctor must “ask.” He has to ask questions very clearly. Then he has to carefully take the pulse. So, the doctor looks, listens, asks and determines. He carefully observes and listens to what the patient expresses about how his body feels to determine what this illness is. He must also pay attention to the seasons as well to understand whether there is [an excess of] wind, cold, summer heat, dampness, dryness or heat. These are all signs of illness.

Regardless of whether it is the Chinese Medicine of the past or modern Western Medicine, doctors need to undergo education, training and must have clinical experience “to appropriately cure illnesses.” People say, “If the doctor has good affinities, the patient will be blessed.” If a doctor formed many good affinities with people in a past life, he will have so many blessings that when patients come before him, the sight of him alone will have already cured the patients halfway.

If they have blessed affinities with each other, then naturally the doctor will be able to cure the patient almost immediately. This is a wondrous doctor with wondrous skills and methods. Some doctors earnestly try to treat the illness and help the patient, and the medicine they prescribe is of high quality. Yet the patient’s condition worsens day by day. Though they are “appropriately curing illnesses” and prescribing medicine that is appropriate to the illness, “They only add to others’ maladies.” There is nothing they can do

The skill of healing is to follow the principles; its rules are there to correct any shortcomings. Extreme caution is taken not to treat human life lightly, to misguide in the path of medicine or to prolong treatment of the disease, which can even cause other illnesses or kill the patient.

Thus it is said, “The skill of healing is to follow the principles.” All doctors cure illnesses according to principles. The arts of healing are all alike. Doctors must also be very self-disciplined; “The rules are there to correct any shortcomings.” Doctors have their own methods. Doctors have their own rules. When a doctor treats a patient, he must be very cautious and also very earnest. He places great value on the patient’s life. This is how he treats the illness. So, why would doctors “add to their maladies”? Though treating a patient with the same medicine, they instead add to the patient’s maladies until the patient eventually passes away.

There are times when, even though someone is not a doctor, they may say, “For this illness, you shouldn’t go to a Western Medicine doctor. I will take you to see a Chinese Medicine doctor.” The Chinese Medicine doctor tells the patient, “Listen to me and take the medicine I give you. You do not need surgery.” This may cause a delay. The person guiding the patient led him in the wrong direction, and this other doctor delayed his chance to receive [effective] treatment. We hear often of situations like this, too. There are also people who consult spirits and ask for signs. That is not correct either.

When it comes to treating the body, if we feel ill, we should promptly get a checkup and take the medicine prescribed for the illness. This needs to happen promptly and without delay. It is the same as listening to the Dharma. If we only have a partial understanding or have a mistaken understanding, the teachings we transmit will be incorrect, and we will cut off worldly seeds of goodness and sever people’s wisdom-life; that is not right. So, I hope that everyone will truly heighten their vigilance and be very cautious.

The sutra passage continues by stating, “If they themselves get sick, there is no one to save or cure them. Even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases. When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.”

When others are ill, we may add to their maladies by delaying the time it takes for them to get treatment. What about when we ourselves get sick? No one will be able to come and help us. Even if we are taking lots of wonderful medicine, “The severity of [our] illness only increases.” There are many people like this as well. The world is full of suffering, and illness is something beyond our control. One may clearly be a skilled doctor, but there are also times when doctors are unable to successfully treat an illness.

This is an analogy for the experience of extreme suffering. Thus, of the extreme suffering in the world, nothing is worse than illness. Especially if when sick and suffering, there is no one to save or cure them and even if they take wondrous medicine, the severity of their illness only increases

Sometimes, the illness takes a turn for the worse. This is an experience of extreme suffering. “There is no suffering worse than illness,” let alone from [an incurable] illness. Indeed, illness brings suffering. Furthermore, “There is no one to save or cure [us].” Or, even if we take the best medicine, that may only increase the severity of the illness.

“When another person transgresses by revolting, raiding, plundering, stealing or robbing, they will also be affected by and suffer from others’ calamities.”

The chaos created by revolt is a calamity to the world. By using force to rob and plunder, people raid one another and wrest away goods, stealing and pilfering other people’s wealth.

Revolts and rebellions cause tragedy in the world. We often talk about manmade disasters; when we look at the world, so many countries constantly experience these manmade calamities. When people fight for recognition, for advantage or for their greed, that country will be unable to achieve peace and harmony. Revolts and rebellions come about when a few people are in conflict over politics or over territory. Many innocent people are harmed, causing a nation of people to become refugees

The chaos created by revolt is a calamity to the world. By using force to rob and plunder, people raid one another and wrest away goods, stealing and pilfering other people’s wealth. Once society is thrown into turmoil, whether from manmade or natural disasters, there will always be robbing and plundering, or the raiding and wresting away of others’ goods, This is the “loss of blessings.” In the past we did not create blessings; thus, we now encounter all kinds of disasters

The manifestation of having lost their blessings explains why those who commit acts of evil, after facing retribution, suffer further calamity. In saying they suffer further calamity, “suffer” means to encounter mishaps such as violent or sudden death or meeting with unexpected accidents.

This explains the karmic retribution faced by those who do evil. They will eventually experience further calamities. They will experience many disasters, manmade and natural alike.

Those who have lost their blessings: Because they have these evil retributions, they do not have the protection of blessings and so have no one and nothing to rely upon. They may study worldly, skillful work, or study the Buddha’s Way, and may attain something, but then lose it again. Learning medicine is meant to save people, but instead they harm others’ lives. When another person does bad things, they are affected and suffer on others’ account

So, “having lost their blessings,” they will encounter negative karmic fruits and will not have the protection of blessings. They do not have the fruits of blessings, thus they have no blessings that can shield them, and they have no one and nothing to rely on. They may learn worldly skills, or they may study the Buddha’s Way, and thus attain [realizations], but they will just as quickly forget them.

When we listen to the Dharma, why can’t we take it to heart? Because we did not practice enough in the past. With our karma, sometimes there is a mental block, so the things we have heard, learned, etc. cannot remain in our minds, and we are unable to penetrate them. We may attain something, but then lose it again.

The purpose of learning medicine is to save people and yet doctors can also cause them harm. Thus we constantly say that those who want to be doctors must create blessings. Only when they have blessings can the medicine they prescribe cure their patients. Otherwise the opposite might happen; their patients may remain the same or get worse, which can threaten the patient’s life.

When others do bad things, we ourselves may suffer the consequences. I did not commit this wrongdoing, they did. How is it that I have become a refugee? That is very similar.

In conclusion, in learning the Buddha’s Way, we must be mindful. We must begin to create blessings right now. The situations we encounter now arise because of what we did in the past. Now that we know this, we must work [for the sake of our future]. So, we must always be mindful.