TLS Chapter 3 – Page 5 – Dharma As Water

Ch03-ep0616

Posted on January 7, 2025 by Scott Ogata

Episode 616 – All Visible Phenomena Are Impermanent

>> All Visible Phenomena Are Impermanent. Amidst the universe’s nebulous colors, from the past until today, all things have been undergoing formation, existence, decay and disappearance. To build a hall, one must gather earth and wood. The hall’s eaves, beams and girders create a space. Amidst the subtle changes of time, space and relationships, all tangible, visible phenomena are impermanent.

>> As this house was old, it had been repeatedly damaged. The halls and the quarters were high and precarious. The bases of the pillars were brittle and fragile. The girders and beams were all aslant. The foundations and stairs were falling apart. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> The walls were cracked and collapsing, the plaster was peeling and the straw roof was scattered messily. The rafters and poles were crumbling, the surrounding fences were all bent, and various filthy things were everywhere. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>> When people grow old and frail, we can say they are falling apart. The walls were cracked, split and collapsing, thus in the plaster there were fissures, and and it was peeling and falling off. The straw roof, due to the wind and rain, had scattered and fallen.

>> When the body’s four elements are not in balance, it is damaged. We can say it is cracked and collapsing. The plaster is like our skin. The withering of age is like plaster peeling. The straw roof is like our hair; with old age it falls, thus it is scattered messily.

“Amidst the universe’s nebulous colors, from the past until today,
all things have been undergoing formation, existence, decay and disappearance.
To build a hall, one must gather earth and wood.
The hall’s eaves, beams and girders create a space.
Amidst the subtle changes of time, space and relationships,
all tangible, visible phenomena are impermanent.”

“Amidst the universe’s nebulous colors” is referring to the world, to this universe that is vast and boundless. “Nebulous” means very vast. As our planet rotates, as we go from darkness to light, we can see that there are so many colors, colors of every description, in this world. Out of this expanse of sandy yellow soil, so many different colors emerge. There are countless colors in this vast space. It has been like this “from the past until today.” It has been this way since ancient times, for an incalculably long period of time. This space in the universe was always this way. As for “all things in universe,” though there are so many things in this world, they all go through “formation, existence, decay and disappearance.”

The general space we live in is the universe. The immediate space we live in is our residence, which is in a certain country, a certain county, city, town or village. Wherever we live, there needs to be a house so that we can protect our body from the wind and the rain. This is just a tiny part [of the vast world]. However big the world is, the space we humans live in is actually not that big. Moreover, though all we need is this small space, a single building, to construct this building we still need materials taken from the world around us.

First we need to plan out the construction, [described in Chinese as] “the raising of earth and wood.” Before we start building on this piece of earth, we need wood, or lumber. Perhaps we also need to use cement. Ingredients for cement come from earth; they must be mined from mountains. These raw materials must be processed through the furnace and so on in order to become cement. So, cement also comes from the earth. From earth, we can also get the bricks we need. The raw materials for bricks likewise come from digging in the earth and the mountains. Bricks are also manmade. Individual blocks of earth become bricks after being baked in a brick kiln. In ancient times, people were very wise. They mixed soil from the earth and water and then molded bricks from it. They called those bricks “mud bricks.”

Whether we are using cement or bricks, this is done for the sake of sheltering our bodies. To build a house, we must consume many resources from the earth. Nowadays, people also use iron and steel. To make steel, we also need to dig into the earth and mine the mountains. After extracting the raw materials, in a furnace we smelt them to get steel and iron. Steel, iron and so on are building materials that must be obtained from the earth. To decorate the interior of a house, wood is necessary.

We take many kinds of building materials from the world around us in order to complete this house. So, we should always be appreciative, cherish the land that enabled us to build our home and always preserve it so everything looks neat. If there is debris, we must clean it promptly. In this way, the land will remain very beautiful and healthy. It is the same with windows and doors. We open and close them, wipe and maintain them. If we do these things, the house will last a long time. It will be very well taken care of.

After a house is built, no matter how sturdy it is, if nobody lives in it for a few years, the house will deteriorate very quickly. Or, if people live in it but do not take care of it, the things inside the house, like the walls, windows and so on, will deteriorate very quickly. So, we have to cherish everything. Many people build large houses. Since we live in the house, we should cherish it. This is a feeling of gratitude and is called cherishing one’s blessings.

So, all the people who live in a house must bring a sense of life to it and carefully maintain it so that the house can stay in good shape. It is said, in time and space and between people, things constantly undergo infinitesimal changes, undergo the aggregate of action. All tangible, visible phenomena are impermanent. As for time, think about how there is the past, present and future. This time, this space and our interactions with each other are all subject to the aggregate of action. Time continues to pass while we are unaware. In fact, this place will not last forever either; it will eventually decay and disappear. Therefore, time, space and relationships are constantly going through infinitesimal changes. This “aggregate” is an unchanging principle that has applied to all things in the universe since the beginning; everything is subject to the aggregate of action. This applies to all things. For example, steel and iron will get rusty, will become worn down and so on. This is because they undergo all these infinitesimal changes.

We must clearly understand these principles. All visible phenomena are impermanent. Anything that is visible, any kind of physical matter, any kind of phenomenon, is impermanent. So, we must put our hearts into experiencing this.

Now let us examine the previous sutra passage. The Buddha was restating Himself in verse form, so these verses began with,
“As this house was old, it had been repeatedly damaged. The halls and the quarters were high and precarious. The bases of the pillars were brittle and fragile. The girders and beams were all aslant. The foundations and stairs were falling apart.”

This “house” refers to the Three Realms, which are the desire, form and formless realms. This house was built a long, long time ago. It has been here “from the past until today,” but “It had been repeatedly damaged.” After so long, this house had visibly begun to deteriorate.

Because of our desires, our greedy and desirous thoughts, we fight for and take things. As we just talked about, on this land, though we humans need earth to build houses on top of, that is no longer enough for us. We have started to dig underground. This causes great damage to the earth. There is not much we can do. That is what people do right now. Though people harm [the earth] to build houses, how long will the houses last? Although people believe “man can conquer nature,” we cannot actually withstand the power of nature.

In the Three Realms, first, people give rise to desires. This leads them to do destructive things. So, first among the Three Realms is the desire realm, where we create destruction. The second is the form realm. Our minds take in all the “forms” around us. There are so many things out there, and we think, “I love this, I want to possess this.” We might have a lot but we want even more. So, we think up many ways to take possession of everything on earth. So, in our minds, all tangible and visible forms, all tangible and visible phenomena, are what we wholly want to possess. Our minds are filled with thoughts of taking possession of these objects. Actually, “All tangible, visible phenomena are impermanent.” If we do not understand this principle, we will continue to create [bad karma]. Last is the formless realm. There are things we clearly can never obtain, yet we still fantasize about them.

When the Three Realms are analyzed in Buddhist teachings, we find that the desire realm is composed of [six] desire heavens and the form and formless realms [have more]. But these realms are actually in our minds. When it comes to our minds, we must first understand that our minds are in the three states of the desire, form and formless realms. Because of the state of the formless realm, we let our imagination run wild and thus give rise to much affliction and ignorance. So, discursive thoughts keep arising in our minds. Discursive thoughts lead to desires, so we want to possess a wide array of things. This leads us to take certain actions which cause the world to weaken even faster; we cause it to deteriorate. So, we must be mindful.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha shares His hope that all of us can truly comprehend [the workings of] the physical realm and the human world. So, we talk about the heavens, earth and humans. The heavens are above, the earth is below and we are in the middle. We humans need to care for the sky and keep it free of pollutants. We also need to keep the earth safe and peaceful. This all depends on what we do. So, each one of us should heighten our vigilance.

Next, it states,
“The walls were cracked and collapsing, the plaster was peeling and the straw roof was scattered messily. The rafters and poles were crumbling, the surrounding fences were all bent, and various filthy things were everywhere.”

These words are hard to recite. When reciting the Lotus Sutra, the words might not flow out smoothly. But we are actually surrounded by these things on a daily basis. Only with these things can our lives be peaceful and safe; we will be protected from the wind or rain. But these things are seemingly hidden from sight, so we hardly notice them. Therefore, we cannot name many of them.

In summary, these are the things we need in a house; they are essential. These things are an analogy for us, for our bodies. Our body is just like a house. In our body, there are bones. If there were no bones to support us, how could our internal organs be safe? In addition to bones and organs, there also needs to be skin and muscles. In addition to skin, there needs to hair on the body and head for us to look human [These external appearances] allow us to distinguish people from each other. This is the wonder of the universe.

Similarly, to build a house, we need beams and ridges, girders, pillars, walls and so on. It is the same with the human body. When a house in this world falls into disrepair, if it is not well cared-for, it will be in bad shape very soon. The same thing happens when we age. When we are old and frail, our body naturally goes slack. The skin on the faces of old people loosens. Nobody can stop the aging process. When we get old, our vision becomes increasingly blurry. When we get old, we cannot walk as nimbly and so on. This is what we look like when we are old. The bones become more loosely held together, so we have the posture of old people. When the foundation everything is built on is no longer that sturdy, we have begun to show signs of aging and frailty

When people grow old and frail, we can say they are falling apart. The walls were cracked, split and collapsing, thus in the plaster there were fissures, and and it was peeling and falling off. The straw roof, due to the wind and rain, had scattered and fallen.

“The walls were cracked and collapsing.” Because pillars and beams had become loose and were less able to support [the building’s weight], naturally the walls split and cracked. People cover the walls with plaster for the sake of decoration, so everything looks smooth. But it is “peeling off.” Things are beginning to deteriorate. Once there are cracks in the wall, the plaster will fall out. Gradually, the plaster will begin peeling off.

“The straw roof was scattered messily.” In ancient times, people covered the roof with straw and mugwort and so on. They used [bundles of] straw to cover the roof. As time passed, the straw would also gradually become loose. When the wind blew, pieces of straw would fall off. This is the appearance of a house; it is also similar to the human body. When the four elements of our body are not in balance, the body will be damaged. Over time, the plaster of a house, like our aged, withered skin, will become loosened. Our hair will start to fall out, too. We gradually begin to show signs of aging.

When the body’s four elements are not in balance, it is damaged. We can say it is cracked and collapsing. The plaster is like our skin. The withering of age is like plaster peeling. The straw roof is like our hair; with old age it falls, thus it is scattered messily.
So, often when we build a house, we extend the eaves a little bit to protect the house so that when it rains, the water will not splash against the house. This protects the windows, walls, etc. But to extend the eaves, the ridges of the roof have to extend out, too. Our tendons and bones work in the same way. Although we have hands, we also need fingers to exercise all the functions of our hands.

All in all, our joints and our bones and the rest of our body, for the sake of the body’s functioning, must all work well with each other. Every single part is very important. But having lived a long time, these parts have been used a long time. Look at what happens to people who work hard [with their hands]. Their hands and fingers become deformed. Their fingernails no longer grow. The skin of their hands is worn and damaged. This is what happens to people.

But this work [gives their hands] value. If we decorate our hands prettily and are reluctant to use them, they are useless; all they will be is decoration. If they only serve as useless decoration, they will accomplish nothing. They would be like a vase, which is the most useless thing in a house. We do not need to have flowers in a vase; we do not need such decorations. The only function of a vase is to simply be a decoration. Living in this world, we want to be useful. Every house protects people’s bodies, and we must use our bodies to protect the planet, to protect this world. We must make full use of our body for it to have value.

This analogy refers to more than a house, it refers to everything within the Three Realms. The “nebulous” universe has great variety, with all kinds of forms. There are so many things that exist in this world between the heavens and earth. From the past until today, they have undergone infinitesimal changes. All visible, tangible phenomena are impermanent, and they are all deteriorating. Since everything is deteriorating, why must we give rise to so many afflictions that bind our body? We should now be able to see through things and quickly learn to understand the principles behind their workings. We must not just be mindful about the tiny matters in our daily living; we must strive to understand the truths of all things in this vast universe.

When we sum up the principles of all things, we know that all tangible, visible phenomena are impermanent. So, why do we give rise to so many afflictions and create so much karma for their sake? We must always remind ourselves to be vigilant and always be mindful.

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Posted on January 7, 2025 by Scott Ogata

Wisdom at Dawn

Chapter 3

Episode 615 – Our Retributions Follow Us Like Our Shadows

>>Our Retributions Follow Us Like Our Shadows. Sentient beings face both circumstantial and direct retributions. The karma they create is stored in their eighth consciousness. Their retributions follow them closely like their shadows; the burning house of the Three Realms is created only by their minds.

>>The Buddha, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke the following verses. This is the parable of an elder who had a large house. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>As this house was old, it was collapsing. The halls and the quarters were high and precarious. The bases of the pillars were brittle and fragile. The girders and beams were all aslant. The foundations and stairs were falling apart. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>As this house was old, it was collapsing. The halls and the quarters were high and precarious: A house is a place that provides a shelter for us. This house had not been repaired for many years so it was collapsing. There were halls and rooms inside the house.

>>This is likened to circumstantial retributions, all within the house of the Three Realms. The Three Realms have existed since Beginningless Time. They were not created now. Impermanence subtly leads to collapse. The halls and rooms represent the Three Realms. The halls represent the two upper realms while the rooms represent the desire realm.

>>The quarters: Where our bodies take shelter. The supports against the walls are pillars. Horizontal supports are girders, vertical ones are beams. The base of the room is the foundation. Steps up and down are called stairs. To the east and west and to the front and back are the walls.

>>Halls and quarters denote the aggregate of form. The pillars represent the aggregate of action. Girders and beams are the aggregate of feeling. Foundation and stairs are what halls and quarters are built on. This is an analogy for the basis of life and the seeds of our thinking.

“Sentient beings face both circumstantial and direct retributions.
The karma they create is stored in their eighth consciousness.
Their retributions follow them closely like their shadows;
the burning house of the Three Realms” is created only by their minds.”

This helps us better answer the question, what is stored in the karmic consciousness of our minds? Everything we have done in our past lifetimes. Can our brains recall the things that happened yesterday? We remember them. Can we recall what happened the day before that? We still remember those things clearly. What about the things that happened last year, two years ago, ten years ago?

In particular, [do we remember] our interactions with people? In our interactions with others, when people are good to us, if we are kindhearted, we will not forget to repay their grace. We always remember those who treated us well. “When we drink water, we think of the source.” As for those who did not treat us well, no matter what bad thing they did to us, whether they bullied us or caused us harm or so on, we remember what they did even more clearly. We will never forget these particular people. They are stored in our memory. If we were to physically open up our head, we could not see these memories. But although they are not physically tangible, scene after scene of things that happened a long time ago are stored in our mind forever. It is like this in our present life.

We often hear the saying, “We cannot take anything with us when we die; only our karma follows us into our next life.” All the karma we create is collected in our “storehouse [consciousness],” in the field of our eighth consciousness. It is in our eighth consciousness that we ordinary people store all the karma we have created in the past. Good or evil, all our karma is stored there, so we call this our “karmic consciousness.” We bring our karmic consciousness with us as we leave this life and go into the next or when we left our previous life to come to this one. This karmic consciousness that we bring with us leads us to our circumstantial retributions and our direct retributions.

I remember many years ago, we provided aid to Ethiopia. The volunteers filmed and took pictures of what life in Ethiopia was like. The kind of life they lived was terrifying and gut-wrenching.

We saw how people in Ethiopia drank water. The water they drank flowed downstream from a place of high elevation down to a place much lower in elevation, then into a depression, where it became stagnant. Who knows how long it had been sitting there? The water was dirty and there were worms in it. The water was the same color as the dirt. But we saw a man drop to all fours to slurp at the water. then the man spat the water onto his hands to wash them. Images like this were engraved on our minds.

So at that time, when we went to Ethiopia we did not just help to build medical stations and provide medication. At their various medical centers and medical stations, we helped train, in total, more than 300 medical staff. We not only trained them in how to dress a wound and how to apply medicine, we also helped build water stations. The water was guided down the mountain through plastic tubes. We connected tube after tube until the water reached them. This gave them a source of clean water. We could see the smiles on the faces of the women there. They collected the water in buckets, and, balancing them on their heads, they happily went home. These images are also often in my head.

We often say that we leave this life for the next. If we were born into those kinds of conditions, in a place like that, what could we do? This is very worrisome. So, I truly believe in circumstantial and direct retributions. In the end, where will the things that we do now lead us? We do not know.

In the city of Malacca in Malaysia, there is a young Bodhisattva, a child named [Fan] Yuan-en. Yuan-en’s father, [Fan Yun-qiang,] used to sell meat products. But in the year 2010, he installed the Da Ai TV channel at home. He started watching our programs, listening to my lectures on “Wisdom at Dawn” and watching my program “Life Wisdom.” By watching the Da Ai TV channel, Yuan-en’s father, Mr. Fan, came to see how we create good and bad karma in life. He realized that through his livelihood he enabled people to consume countless living beings. These animals were all killed to satisfy people’s cravings. So, he recognized that the business he ran was creating the karma of killing. Thus he changed his ways, and now he sells vegetarian food.

When he and his wife had time after work, they started watching the Da Ai TV channel. Their daughter, at that time, was six months old. Whenever they watched TV, they would put her in the baby walker. She would also watch quietly and listen to what I was saying. She was so intent that she kept scooting forward. The baby walker kept moving forward and forward. Every day, she started out close to her parents. But whenever she was listening intently, she would move closer and closer to the TV. She listened earnestly and smiled a great deal. This is incredible.

When she was three years old, she attended group studies with her parents. She would remain quiet and bow to the Buddha and listen to the teachings. Even now she is still very earnest. This is really incredible. This began when she was six months old, and now she is three or four years old. She is only in kindergarten, but she knows she should do good deeds.

We go through this kind of process in life. In the beginning, we are born. Due to our karmic affinities with our parents and with this place, we come here. After we are born, we can choose whether we want to be in a wholesome or unwholesome environment. This choice also depends on our past affinities. Our good and bad affinities affect us now. If we created negative causes in the past, committed wrongdoings and created bad affinities, bad people can easily influence us and entice us to go astray. So, causes, conditions, effects and retributions play out circumstantially or directly. Our circumstantial and direct retributions are based on the karma we have created. Karma is stored in our karmic consciousness, in the field of our eighth consciousness. Therefore, we must believe that.

“Their retributions follow them closely like their shadow.” This is the way life works. How we come into this life depends on the karma we created in the past. Then, following the [karma] created in this life, we go into the next.

So, “The burning house of the Three Realms is created only by their minds.” Our minds create everything. Our afflictions cause us to become confused about many matters. Our pure Tathagata-garbha has been obscured by our ignorance. Thus we become confused and cannot tell right from wrong. So, I hope that we will all be vigilant and earnestly guard against wrongs and stop evil.

Now we know we have. Tathagata-garbha consciousness. We must quickly wash away our impurities to allow our pure Tathagata-garbha consciousness to quickly manifest its purity and illuminate [everything]. I hope everyone will be mindful of this.

The previous sutra passage states,
The Buddha, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke the following verses. This is the parable of an elder who had a large house.

Previously we described how the elder of this burning house saw children playing inside, unaware that the house was deteriorating and that fires had already started on all sides. Foolishly, these children remained inside. The elder set up three kinds of carts outside to give to the children when they came out. In the end, the elder felt, “I have so much wealth, I should give it all to the children in equal and plentiful amounts. I should distribute it among them.” So, he encouraged everyone to accept the cart drawn by the great white ox. This is the summary of the lengthy text that we have discussed so far.

Now the Buddha, “wishing to restate His meaning, spoke the following verses.” He restated His words because there were still things left to be said. He wanted to reinforce people’s understanding. So, He described everything again.

The elder is an analogy for Sakyamuni Buddha, and the large house is the Three Realms. The Three Realms are compared to a burning house. Why are the Three Realms, the desire realm, form realm and formless realm, called a “burning house”? The following text reinforced this description.

The next sutra passage states,
“As this house was old, it was collapsing. The halls and the quarters were high and precarious. The bases of the pillars were brittle and fragile. The girders and beams were all aslant. The foundations and stairs were falling apart.”

“This house” refers to the [burning] house. “Old” describes how it was rundown. It was on the verge of falling over. “Collapsing” describes the bad shape it was in. “The halls and the quarters were high and precarious.” This house was built up very high, which made it more dangerous. A large house built this high is very dangerous, especially as it is old

As this house was old, it was collapsing. The halls and the quarters were high and precarious: A house is a place that provides a shelter for us. This house had not been repaired for many years so it was collapsing. There were halls and rooms inside the house.

A house is something we cannot do without in our everyday living. The basic necessities of our life are clothing, food, housing and transportation. We need to have food to eat and a place to stay to be able to live a safe and peaceful life. So, housing is very important. It is “a place that provides shelter for us.” A house can protect our body. We can rely on the house to shield us from the wind and the rain. A place that keeps the elements out will be a safe and stable place for us to live in. Such a place is a “house.”

But this house had not been repaired for years. It was on the verge of “collapsing.” It was in very bad shape and had become a very dangerous place.

“There were halls and rooms inside the house.” Every house has halls and rooms. There may be lounges, bedrooms, kitchens and so on; we can distinguish many different halls and rooms.

This is likened to circumstantial retributions, all within the house of the Three Realms. The Three Realms have existed since Beginningless Time. They were not created now. Impermanence subtly leads to collapse. The halls and rooms represent the Three Realms. The halls represent the two upper realms while the rooms represent the desire realm.

This is likened to circumstantial retributions, all within the house of the Three Realms.

A house can also be an analogy for our circumstantial retributions. We can understand that the place where our physical body is born into can be likened to the location where this house was built. The different types of houses are like the different forms our body can take. We may be a human, a pig, a dog or so on. Everyone’s body can be considered a microcosm. Each microcosm is like a house. The location of the house and the type of house correspond to what we are born into. Some people naturally look very dignified. Some people are very unsatisfied with the body they are born with.

After we come to the human realm, what is especially important, besides this body, is our environment, our circumstantial retributions. What kind of environment do we live in? This completely depends on our karmic causes and conditions, which decide where we will be born. But everything is “within the burning house of the Three Realms.” We remain within the Three Realms. We are still on this planet, under this sky and on top of this earth, regardless of where we are born. So, everything is “within the house of the Three Realms.”

“The Three Realms have existed since Beginningless Time.” No one knows how long they have existed. Perhaps hundreds of millions of years. How long has the Earth existed? We still do not know. Nonetheless, we are constantly within this vast space.

It was not established just recently. It has existed for a very long time. So, we say “The [Realms] were not created now.” They came into being a very long time ago, so they are something old, not new. This is the [burning] house.

“Impermanence” is talking about insignificance. We are, in fact, insignificantly small. However, we tend to think highly of ourselves; we have this sense of self-importance. In fact, we live in this place that we call the Three Realms, on this planet called Earth. Actually, in the universe, Earth is just like an ant at the foot of Mt. Sumeru. I often say that, in this universe, there are countless solar systems. The human realm is so insignificantly small. It is also impermanent and will go through formation, existence, decay and disappearance. But we humans do not understand this principle. We do not recognize that impermanence is so subtly leading to collapse.

“The halls and rooms” represent the Three Realms. In the Three Realms, there are “the two upper realms.” The two upper realms are the form realm and formless realms. Our daily living takes place in the desire realm. Can we go a day without pursuing some desire? Many people, in pursuit of their desires, endlessly create karma. Living in this desire realm, they never stop creating karma. So, “The bases of the pillars were brittle and fragile. The girders and beams were all aslant. The foundations and stairs were falling apart.” This house is already in [bad] shape

The quarters: Where our bodies take shelter. The supports against the walls are pillars. Horizontal supports are girders, vertical ones are beams. The base of the room is the foundation. Steps up and down are called stairs. To the east and west and to the front and back are the walls.

The quarters are “where our bodies take shelter.” This is our living area. Then there are “the supports against the walls.” The exterior structure of a house is considered a wall. Within the walls are pillars. Horizontal supports are girders, vertical ones are pillars and beams. A house has girders and beams, both horizontal and vertical supports. Under the roof, there are walls and pillars. This is the basic structure of a house.

These pillars, roofs and walls must have a foundation. The foundation is raised, with steps going up. These are called stairs. Within the house, the halls, when raised, [will have stairs]. These are the basic parts of a house. To the east and west are walls; there are walls on the outside of the house. To the front and back there are also walls.

Halls and quarters denote the aggregate of form. The pillars represent the aggregate of action. Girders and beams are the aggregate of feeling. Foundation and stairs are what halls and quarters are built on. This is an analogy for the basis of life and the seeds of our thinking.

The halls and quarters are also analogies in the Buddha-Dharma. This house represents our body, our consciousness and our mind ․Halls and quarters denote the aggregate of form. The pillars represent the aggregate of action. Girders and beams are the aggregate of feeling. “Foundation and stairs” are what halls and quarters are built on. This is an analogy for the basis of life and the seeds of our thinking. Where will our next life be? Will we lead a life of nobility or a life of poverty? Actually, all life is equal. It is our karma that determines where we are born and the kind of family we will be born into. Will it be a royal family? A government official’s family? A wealthy family? Or a poor family? All of these conditions depend on the karmic consciousness we bring, on our circumstantial and direct retributions. So, where we will be born is closely related to our behavior and thinking.

These verses are actually more profound than the prose. I hope we can be deeply reverent as we look into the burning house. What is it actually trying to tell us? We must carefully contemplate this with great meticulousness. We must constantly listen to the teachings and always be mindful.

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Posted on January 7, 2025January 7, 2025 by Scott Ogata

Wisdom at Dawn

Chapter 3

Episode 614 – Returning to the One Vehicle with Skillful Means

>>The Tathagata’s Dharma-nature is perfect. His wisdom is vast like the ocean. All teachings are the same as the One Dharma. Sentient beings accept as much as their capacities can hold. The Buddha established skillful means according to their capacities, but ultimately returned to the True One Vehicle.

>>Why is this? The Tathagata has infinite wisdom, powers, fearlessness, all these treasures of the Dharma. He can give all sentient beings the teachings of the Great Dharma but they cannot accept all of it.

>>Sariputra, because of these causes and conditions you should know that all Buddhas use the power of skillful means to give the One Buddha Vehicle by teaching it as the Three.

>>Sariputra, because of these cause and conditions: The Buddha inspired faith and gave teachings, yet due to sentient beings’ inability to accept all of the Dharma, for those with limited wisdom, He taught the One [Vehicle] as the Three.

>>In the Dharma, there is only the One Vehicle; originally there was not two or three. It is only because all beings, though possessing the world-transcendent, flawless seed-nature, still have differences of great or small capacity that the One Buddha Vehicle was skillfully taught for them to hear as the Three.

“The Tathagata’s Dharma-nature is perfect. His wisdom is vast like the ocean.
All teachings are the same as the One Dharma.
Sentient beings accept as much as their capacities can hold.
The Buddha established skillful means according to their capacities,
But ultimately returned to the True One Vehicle.”

The Buddha has engaged in spiritual practice since Beginningless Time, so there are no afflictions, ignorance, delusions or impurities, etc. that can contaminate His mind. Moreover, since Beginningless Time, all Buddhas’ teachings of wisdom have completely awakened His intrinsic nature of True Suchness so that it is already one with the universe. Therefore, the Dharma-nature of the Tathagata is completely perfect.

As we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must learn to [recognize] the perfect Dharma-nature in all things. That means we have already manifested our nature of True Suchness. If we are able to manifest our true nature, that is wisdom. “His wisdom is vast like the ocean.”

“All teachings are the same as the One Dharma.” The Buddha actually teaches everyone equally. He teaches only the One Dharma; there are no others. He absolutely teaches the same One Dharma. It is just that we sentient beings have varying capabilities. Some people have sharp capabilities while some have dull capabilities. People with sharp capabilities are sharp. They can hear one thing and understand it. Or, “They hear one thing and realize ten.” Some people can even “hear one thing and realize 1000.” These people do exist. People like this must have also learned this in the past. For an unknown number of lifetimes, they have continuously learned and have awakened to these principles. They bring with them a pure and undefiled nature that cannot be contaminated. Every time they come, they reduce the afflictions [that cover it] so they become more pure; thus they are able to return to the human realm. Take our young volunteers for example; they are very responsible. Some have been volunteering since they were in kindergarten. They wear aprons and help organize books and wipe tables at the Jing Si bookstore. They know how to restock the books and arrange them neatly. One of these children watched the rehearsals of the musical sutra adaptation. While his grandmother practiced sign language, he observed her from the side. Eventually, he could sing along and also perform the sign language. He was even able to help teach others.

Seeing him, I thought, “Even children this young can listen to and accept the Buddha-Dharma.” Not only do they accept it, sometimes when I watch our children’s programs, the teachings flow from their mouths. They can also share the Dharma with people. This is very endearing.

Sometimes I think, this is the pure intrinsic nature of True Suchness. In past lifetimes, this boy had already eliminated his afflictions. After eliminating many of his afflictions, he could develop his wisdom-life. Bringing this with him to his present life, he could accept the Buddha-Dharma. This path seemed very familiar to him. It seemed as if he had said these words before. This time, when he returned to the human realm, he had the causes and conditions, the circumstantial and the direct retributions, to be born to this family to continue his past causes and conditions.

There is another child like him in Hualien. On his weekends and holidays, he comes to the Abode and helps with filming. I see him moving the cables. As his teacher, the cameraman, carries the video camera from place to place, he follows him with the cable in his hands. At the right time, he will quickly grab a blank tape and pass it to his teacher.

Two days ago, I saw him controlling the camera. When a new person went on stage to speak, he could adjust the focus to switch between a close shot and a long shot, between a panoramic shot and a close up. I could tell that he is very experienced and had firm control over the shot. As I went on stage to speak, I saw him run quickly onto the stage to turn on the lights. He has already become a lighting technician! Not only is he a cameraman, he is also a lighting technician.

He is only in fourth grade this year. Two days ago, more than 600 children from. Tzu Chi Elementary School and Tzu Chi Kindergarten brought their bamboo banks “home.” They brought the bamboo banks home to me at the Abode. This time, it was for disaster relief in the Philippines. The children came on stage to speak. Whether they were in first grade or second grade, or third or fifth grade, they all spoke very well. They were filled with compassion as well as wisdom. One even persuaded her mother and grandmother to adopt bamboo banks of their own and deposit NT 10 every day.

This was her arrangement with her grandmother and her mother that they mutually agreed on. Another child saw the adult volunteers holding fundraisers for the Philippines. When his mother bought cookie rolls from them, he came up with the idea of bringing cookie rolls and bamboo banks to the vegetarian restaurant they usually ate at. He said he would fundraise with the bamboo bank. Indeed, many people actually donated money. This really boosted his confidence, so he decided to figure out how to give more people the chance to help the Philippines. He started to go to many stores and tell them, “This bamboo bank can save many lives. It can help the Philippines,” and so on. As a result, five of the stores agreed to adopt bamboo banks, and he collected quite a lot of donations.

These children even shared that we should constantly express our love and that helping people brings the greatest happiness. The older students formed a team that adopted seniors in Shuiyuan, which is in the mountainous area. Some had difficulties caring for themselves, so these students often helped and cared for them by chatting with them and so on.

They saw that some seniors who lived alone did not eat the food they brought them. Why was that? It was too tough for them to eat. So, [the students] quickly prepared food that was suitable for seniors. Seeing that a senior did not have hot water, these elementary school students chipped in to buy a water heater for the senior.

Think about this. Doesn’t this show how sentient beings bring their storehouse consciousness from their past life? In a past life, they must have encountered the Buddha-Dharma and created good causes and conditions so that and created good causes and conditions so that, in this life, their circumstantial retributions brought them together at this school where there is an environment that inspires their love. This is how their storehouse consciousness has gradually awakened and brought them closer to their Buddha-nature.

When the Buddha expounded the Dharma in the world, He taught the same Dharma to everyone; the teachings were all the same. “All teachings are the same as the One Dharma.” He taught all sentient beings equally with the same Dharma. “Sentient beings accept as much as their capacities can hold.” What we take in depends on our capabilities. If our capacities are very pure, we can accept the Buddha-Dharma more quickly, develop a deeper understanding and apply it more widely. Those with dull capabilities say, “I will just listen along with everyone else. Listening is good enough for me.” If this is what we think, we will not actually learn anything. This depends on the depth of our understanding, on whether we have sharp or dull capabilities. So, “Sentient beings accept as much as their capacities can hold.”

Even though these children are young, they have deeply internalized the teachings. So, whether sentient beings are young or old, their Dharma-natures are all equal. There are no differences. Our inherent Tathagata-wisdom is impartial and always perfect. It is the same, regardless of age. The Buddha established skillful means suitable for all capacities. How much we accept depends on our capabilities.

He “ultimately returned to the True One Vehicle.” The Buddha began by teaching the Three Vehicles, and actually all of them, even the Hearer and Pratyekabuddha Vehicles, contain the principles of True Suchness, which are the principles of the One Reality. Before entering Parinirvana, the Buddha also reminded us that the Four Noble Truths are the foundation. Although He began with [the One Vehicle], people could not understand, so He had to teach the Three Vehicles beginning with the Four Noble Truths. But right before entering Parinirvana, He again reminded us that the Four Noble Truths. He again reminded us that the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Perfections are the most fundamental teachings. So, we say that the teachings of the Buddha “ultimately return to the True One Vehicle.” How much of it we can accept depends on our capabilities.

The previous sutra text states,
“Why is this? The Tathagata has infinite wisdom, powers, fearlessness, all these treasures of the Dharma. He can give all sentient beings the teachings of the Great Dharma but they cannot accept all of it.”

Though we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, our afflictions have covered it so we are unaware of it. In ordinary people, this is known as “karmic consciousness.” We know that we should not lose our temper, but sometimes we suddenly erupt in a rage. Our habitual tendencies are activated more quickly than our nature of True Suchness. Our nature of True Suchness is equal to that of the Buddha’s and is replete with both compassion and wisdom. Yet, our habitual tendencies are still on top. So, when we connect with external conditions, our habitual tendencies, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt always rush out in front; they are expressed more quickly. This is because our afflictions still bind us and cover our nature of True Suchness. Therefore, we are called Tathagatas-in-Bonds; this is our Tathagata-garbha consciousness [To reveal it,] we must quickly eliminate our afflictions, layer by layer.

The next sutra passage states,
“Sariputra, because of these causes and conditions you should know that all Buddhas use the power of skillful means to give the One Buddha Vehicle by teaching it as the Three.”

The Buddha said this to Sariputra again [He taught in this way] due to these causes and conditions. What exactly are these causes and conditions? The Buddha purposely called to Sariputra again as a means of getting everyone to pay attention to the causes and conditions. He had mentioned previously

Sariputra, because of these cause and conditions: The Buddha inspired faith and gave teachings, yet due to sentient beings’ inability to accept all of the Dharma, for those with limited wisdom, He taught the One [Vehicle] as the Three.

In the beginning, the Buddha set up three carts for sentient beings. It is because their capabilities varied that. He had to open this Dharma-door of skillful means. The Buddha “inspired faith and gave teachings.” He wanted to tell everyone that there was no falsehood; this was His true intent. He sincerely wanted to teach sentient beings. To help everyone realize [the Dharma], none of His words were false; they were all true.

“Yet due to sentient beings’ inability to accept all of the Dharma….” The reason was that sentient beings’ capabilities were not yet mature and their capabilities varied greatly. Because of these causes and conditions, for people with limited wisdom, “He taught the One [Vehicle] as Three.” Originally, there was just the One Vehicle, which was to help everyone understand that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, and this Buddha-nature is one with the universe. Things are really that simple. However, sentient beings have limited wisdom and could not understand this. For people with limited capabilities and wisdom, the One Vehicle was taught in three stages, as the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles.

This is like how our schools are set up. There are elementary schools, middle schools and universities. In the same way, there are the Great, Middle and Small Vehicles. Over 2000 years ago, the Buddha taught according to sentient beings’ capabilities. He originally intended to teach the One Dharma, but based on sentient beings’ capabilities. He “taught the One [Vehicle] as the Three.” Originally, there was only one True Dharma. But then He divided it into the stages of the. Hearer, Pratyekabuddha and Bodhisattva Vehicles. Therefore, we should understand that. “All Buddhas use the power of skillful means to give the One Buddha Vehicle by teaching it as the Three”

In the Dharma, there is only the One Vehicle; originally there was not two or three. It is only because all beings, though possessing the world-transcendent, flawless seed-nature, still have differences of great or small capacity that the One Buddha Vehicle was skillfully taught for them to hear as the Three.

“In the Dharma, there is only the One Vehicle; originally there was not two or three.” All Buddhas actually give only one teaching. We should all believe that there is just one, the One Dharma taught equally to all. This means that. He gives teachings to everyone equally. The last of the three carts is the cart drawn by the great white ox. This is like how, when giving things to children, we need to distribute the same amount to everyone. So, “There was not two or three.” There are no Two Vehicles or Three Vehicles. There is only the One Dharma.

” It is only because all beings, though possessing the world-transcendent, flawless seed-nature”. So, the Buddha had consideration for sentient beings. Everyone inherently has a world-transcendent, flawless seed-nature. “World-transcendent” refers to True Suchness. Our nature of True Suchness can enable us to transcend the Three Realms. The nature of True Suchness is intrinsic to everyone. We are all replete with this wisdom that we have always had. “Flawless” means that our nature of True Suchness cannot be contaminated by afflictions. Having “Leaks” means we have afflictions. Being “flawless” means we are free from them. Our minds were originally pure and clean, uncontaminated by afflictions. Everyone has this “seed-nature.” Having this seed means we have the nature of True Suchness. But we sentient beings have varying capabilities, some greater, some more limited. These capabilities depend on whether there is a shallow or thick layer of afflictions over these seeds that are gradually surfacing.

So, “The One Buddha Vehicle was skillfully taught for them to hear as the Three.” Though we may have a nature of True Suchness, it has been buried deeply. Now it is in the process of being awakened and has begun to emerge. This was why the. Buddha taught the Three Vehicles.

In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha constantly wanted everyone to know that we must not stop at the state of Hearers. We must not engage in “casual listening.” We must not stop at awakening only ourselves. We must be inspired to listen and take the Dharma to heart so that we can awaken our nature of True Suchness and go among people to experience the workings of the world. The more we go among people, the more we will understand the truths of impermanence, suffering, emptiness and no-self.

If we can more deeply understand the truths of impermanence, suffering, emptiness and no-self, then we will realize “true emptiness.” After we realize “true emptiness,” we can penetrate it more deeply by giving without expectations, thus realizing “wondrous existence.” Then we not only transform ourselves by realizing the principles of “true emptiness,” with such a mindset, we can make use of this nature of True Suchness which cannot be contaminated to go among people and transform them. So, after taking the Dharma to heart, we can realize everything and, at the same time, widely transform and help sentient beings.

Think about this. As Buddhist practitioners, we need this mindset. We must not think that, “If I have a chance, I’ll listen. If not, so be it.” This cannot be our mindset. “The Tathagata’s Dharma-nature is perfect”; we must not let it become even slightly chipped. Since we already understand this, we must practice the Three Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evil. We must always engage in “the cultivation of contemplation,” and we must “concentrate on the Dharma.” I hope we will all carefully protect our minds.

The Buddha’s main intent in expounding the Lotus Sutra was to reveal the true appearance of many things in the world to help everyone to realize their one and only nature of True Suchness. Because of this, we must always be mindful.

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Posted on January 7, 2025January 7, 2025 by Scott Ogata

Wisdom at Dawn

Chapter 3

Episode 613 – Enter the Buddha’s Dharma-Treasury

>>All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the world to promote the Great Vehicle Dharma and transform all sentient beings. Thus all attain infinite meanings, benefits, peace and joy. They are sentient beings’ role models and teachers.

>>The Tathagata is also just like this, There was nothing false in what He said. He first taught the Three Vehicles to guide sentient beings. Afterwards He employed only the Great Vehicle to liberate them. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>Why is this? The Tathagata has infinite wisdom, powers, fearlessness, all these treasures of the Dharma. He can give all sentient beings the teachings of the Great Dharma but they cannot accept all of it. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 3 – A Parable]

>>This is explaining why the Tathagata had not spoken any falsehood. Pretending there was something when there was not and promising but being unable to deliver are examples of speaking a falsehood. But the Buddha, since He has infinite treasures of the Dharma, did not speak a falsehood.

>>Pretending there was something when there was not and promising but being unable to deliver. This is speaking a falsehood. ․But the Buddha, since He has infinite treasures of the Dharma, did not speak a falsehood. ․The treasures of all Dharma: By practicing provisional and skillful teachings we can enter the Buddha’s Dharma-treasury, the ultimate state of the far shore. Upholding the Tathagata’s profound treasures of the Dharma protects the Buddha-seed of our nature. For sentient beings, He opens up the Dharma-treasury, extensively giving precious merits and virtues.

>>He can give all sentient beings the Great Vehicle Dharma without holding anything back. But as the Dharma is great and their capacities are limited, the Buddha can give all of it, but sentient beings cannot accept all of it.

>>As to how the Buddha gives teachings, He uses the power of wisdom to give the One Great Vehicle to sentient beings. Actually, this Dharma is one that sentient beings intrinsically have, but they await the Buddha to open and reveal it before they know they have it. Thus we say that the Buddha gives it. ․The Tathagata’s Dharma-nature is perfect and. His wisdom is like the ocean. He teaches everyone the same Dharma, but sentient beings have limited abilities and can only accept certain amounts of it, thus they cannot accept it all. If they could accept it all, these sentient beings would be Buddhas, and they would have already received it without it being given.

“All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the world,
To promote the Great Vehicle Dharma and transform all sentient beings.
Thus all attain infinite meanings, benefits, peace and joy.
They are sentient beings’ role models and teachers.”

All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas appear in the world for one great cause, the hope that the Buddha-Dharma, the principles of enlightenment, can be spread throughout the world. They hope everyone in this world will have the chance to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. “To promote the Great Vehicle Dharma” means to help the teachings become universal so that everyone can understand them. They hope that “all attain infinite meanings, benefits, peace and joy.” Once we have all accepted the Buddha-Dharma, naturally our wisdom will be awakened. “By grasping one truth, we understand all truths.” When we clearly perceive what is happening, we understand exactly what we need to do. If we can interact with people with this clarity, then we will naturally be able to gain others’ affirmation and trust and live a life that sets an example for the world. Isn’t this what we are seeking to do?

We must not only understand the Buddha-Dharma and not only transform ourselves, but also transform other people. However, with the Buddha-Dharma, the Buddha not only tells us to give to others, He also wants us to recognize ourselves. We must all return to our intrinsic nature because we have the same pure nature as the Buddha. But [it is obscured by] all the karma we created, which comes from our ignorance. Because we created karma out of ignorance, karma has covered [our nature]. So, our intrinsic nature of True Suchness is hidden underneath all that karma. Thus, we unenlightened beings have what is called “karmic consciousness.” Deep within this karmic consciousness lies our pure, intrinsic Tathagata-nature. So, for ordinary people, this is called storehouse consciousness.

If we understand this, then we know we must eliminate our ignorance and delusion. We are confused by worldly delusions. With so little time in this world, why would we lose ourselves in mundane matters? We do not know how long we will live. We do not know how our lives may change in the next moment. We do not know ourselves at all, but we keep looking outward, endlessly searching outside of ourselves. This is delusion. We do not know ourselves and yet we constantly pursue the unpredictable matters that are external to us. This delusion leads us to create karma. If we understand this principle, we can guard against wrongs and stop evil. We will clearly know what we need to do.

This is what the Buddha came to the world to help everyone understand. So, He “promoted the Great Vehicle teachings and transformed all sentient beings.” He hoped to help many sentient beings understand these principles, to become clear on countless principles so they could attain “meanings, benefits, peace and joy.” If everyone understands the principles, then everyone understand “meanings.” If we understand infinite principles and infinite meanings, then naturally we can understand anything. This is very beneficial to our spiritual practice and can keep us from making mistakes. If we form good affinities with sentient beings, naturally the sight of us will inspire happiness, faith and approval. Then won’t we be role models and teachers?

In a recent update from the United States, I saw how Tzu Chi volunteers took to heart what I often say about creating good affinities with others and sharing the Buddha-Dharma among people. They were able to return to the spirit of the bamboo banks from 40-50 years ago and to how [we spread the Dharma] in the markets. In one case, they went to a farmer’s market to earnestly [introduce people to Tzu Chi]. One of the vendors was a farmer who, upon learning about Tzu Chi’s [work], made space in his booth for. Tzu Chi volunteers to set up. They displayed our eco-friendly. Da Ai Technology products. They also laid out issues of Tzu Chi Monthly and so on. They furthermore wrote Jing Si Aphorisms on tiny slips of paper and rolled them up as gifts.

Simply by setting up all these things, passersby wondered, “What’s going on at this booth?” They were very curious. Then the volunteers would explain. Many people stopped in this way. They were inspired to ask, “How can I become a volunteer? How can I participate?” Among them was a Chinese medicine doctor. After he approached us to find out more, he saw what Tzu Chi has done for people and how we have given to people around the world to provide disaster relief and to help the suffering. He was very moved, so he donated US 2000 and even said that he was willing to volunteer in order to understand more about Tzu Chi. This all happened at a farmer’s market. Even mothers would bring their children over and ask, “How can we participate?” This is how Tzu Chi volunteers promote Tzu Chi in Farmers Market.

People were curious about “Era of Bamboo Banks”, volunteers shared the spirit of the bamboo banks, telling people that Tzu Chi originated from these bamboo banks. Out of curiosity, many people took these bamboo banks home. “How can we donate the money we deposit in these bamboo banks to Tzu Chi?” The volunteers told them, “You can either bring it to us or we can come to your home. Or, you can bring it [to our office].” As they talked they were all happy and formed many new friendships.

This is why we must spread the Buddha-Dharma and go among people to interact with them. This is how we “transform all sentient beings.” If we only wanted people to go pray at a temple, people are very busy. But when we go among people, what we say goes beyond religion. All religions lead to the same place. Only by coming together can we attain “infinite meanings, benefits, peace and joy” and be “sentient beings’ role models and teachers.”

The previous sutra passage states,
“The Tathagata is also just like this, There was nothing false in what He said. He first taught the Three Vehicles to guide sentient beings. Afterwards He employed only the Great Vehicle to liberate them.”

The Buddha is just like the elder who saw his children in the burning house and could not bear to let them suffer, so he put three kinds of carts outside the door to draw the children out of the house. In the end, He gave them all great carts. The Buddha likewise did not speak any falsehood. The Dharma He teaches contains an abundance of principles. He is able to teach sentient beings according to their needs. So, we should be able to follow the Buddha’s teachings. When we accept them, we must act on them; We can achieve the same things. This is not falsehood; it is true. We give with great sincerity.

For example, on the island of Bohol, an earthquake struck some time ago. After providing initial assistance, we wanted to go back and help them again. But then Tacloban was struck by an even more serious disaster, so we focused our efforts there. After three months of helping Tacloban, we returned to the island of Bohol, which had suffered an earthquake around three or four months earlier. When people there saw us, they were surprised. “People have stopped paying attention to us. Why have you come back to help us?” We said, “We always intended to come back.” Then we explained what happened and how we had come back there to see how we could help them. Like the Buddha, we did not speak any falsehood.

The next sutra passage states,
“Why is this? The Tathagata has infinite wisdom, powers, fearlessness, all these treasures of the Dharma. He can give all sentient beings the teachings of the Great Dharma but they cannot accept all of it.”

This is explaining why the Tathagata had not spoken any falsehood. Pretending there was something when there was not and promising but being unable to deliver are examples of speaking a falsehood. But the Buddha, since He has infinite treasures of the Dharma, did not speak a falsehood.

Although the Buddha, the Tathagata, was not guilty of speaking any falsehood, what exactly does it mean to speak a falsehood? Pretending there was something when there was not, making promises but not delivering on them. These are examples of speaking a falsehood

Consider what happened after the South Asian Tsunami. Relief workers came from all over the world, so we chose to go to the poorest, most widely devastated area. It was very far away. To get there from the capital by car took around six to seven hours. The place we chose was far away. That place suffered from many fatalities, and the people there were already very poor. Look at what Hambantota in Sri Lanka is like today. That place has become a town, a really flourishing township. Not only is it a thriving place, their school is also very well built. This school we built became a public school. Hambantota is now an international port. It has an airport and is linked to the highway.

This all started because of our commitment. After the disaster happened, we aspired to help them so we pledged our assistance and started the construction. After everything was complete, we returned several years later to visit them and saw how they had prospered. We did what we promised, so we did not speak any falsehood. If people do not have this resolve [to help], or if they collect money for construction but never complete the project, which shows they did not have the will, then this is ․”Pretending there was something when there was not and promising but being unable to deliver.” This is speaking a falsehood. If I have already promised you something but did not live up to my promise, then that was speaking a falsehood

“But the Buddha, since He has infinite treasures of the Dharma, did not speak a falsehood.” The Buddha had always intended to freely express His original [teachings]. He hoped to give everyone these teachings, and He hoped that everyone could accept them, since “the treasures of the Dharma” are found within all of us. We all have an intrinsic Tathagata-garbha, but it is bound by our afflictions

The treasures of all Dharma: By practicing provisional and skillful teachings we can enter the Buddha’s Dharma-treasury, the ultimate state of the far shore. Upholding the Tathagata’s profound treasures of the Dharma protects the Buddha-seed of our nature. For sentient beings, He opens up the Dharma-treasury, extensively giving precious merits and virtues.

Thus, He thought of various methods to help us brush aside these afflictions and ignorance. “Provisional and skillful teachings” help us “enter the Buddha’s Dharma-treasury. The ultimate state of the far shore” is the state of noble beings we want to reach from our state as unenlightened beings. This is the state of the Buddha. The Buddha has opened up the. Dharma-treasury for the sake of sentient beings, so we say He came to “open and reveal.” The Buddha “opened and revealed” [the Dharma] so we sentient beings must “realize and enter” it. Thus we say “open, reveal, realize and enter.” By endlessly sharing with everyone. His methods for attaining Buddhahood, He was continuously giving to us. He expected nothing in return for Himself. His only goal was to help everyone understand.

This is like what we do in Tzu Chi. Around Chinese New Year, many people came to visit the Abode in Hualien. They were not asked to make offerings nor did we pass around a donation box. We did none of this. At noontime, they would come to the Abode. So every day, we set up hundreds of tables to share a meal with them. We also gave them mementos to take with them as they returned home, so that they will remember the Tzu Chi path. This path is easy to walk on. They do not have to spend any money to attain abundance, joy and happiness. We inspire them to open up their minds in the hope that they can accept [the teachings]. Here, they can also see people with hearts filled with love, who are willing to give to others. This can also make them happy. This is why we give without expectations. This is “extensive giving, extensively giving precious merits and virtues.” We do this without any expectations. We just continue to give.

He can give all sentient beings the Great Vehicle Dharma without holding anything back. But as the Dharma is great and their capacities are limited, the Buddha can give all of it, but sentient beings cannot accept all of it.

“He can give all sentient beings the teachings of the Great Dharma but they cannot accept all of it.” When we give to sentient beings in this way, do they feel anything? It depends whether we are giving with great sincerity. So, “He can give all sentient beings the Great Vehicle Dharma without holding anything back.” If we can give like this, without asking for anything in return, we are giving very generously

“But as the Dharma is great and their capacities are limited….” We keep giving to others with an expansive mind and selfless great love. But, do the people who receive our help feel it? Perhaps they do not really feel it, because “the Dharma is great but their capacities are limited.” If the Buddha taught the Great Dharma right away to help everyone understand that they all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, they would not be able to immediately accept it. Therefore, He had to teach the Three Vehicles.

After people heard these limited teachings, could they clearly understand them? People who clearly understood took them to heart. This prevented them from creating karma and helped purify their intrinsic nature. People like this focus on practicing for their own benefit. However, those with greater capabilities are willing to give to others. When the Tzu Chi volunteers in the United States set up a table at that booth, they encountered that doctor who immediately donated US2000. This Chinese medicine doctor also wanted to join us to learn more. People like this choose the cart drawn by the great white ox. They are willing to give to other people. This is Great Dharma meeting great capabilities. If “the Dharma is great but their capacities are limited,” they will be unable to absorb the teachings. There is so much clean water, but if we scoop up only one bowl’s worth, we will lose the rest of it because we did not have the capacity to accept it. Thus, “The Buddha can give all of it,” He is able to continuously teach the Dharma, “but sentient beings cannot accept all of it.” This means that we are unable to take in all of it.

>> “Bodhisattvas’ affinities are with all sentient beings. With the power of fearlessness, they give rise to compassion. Adapting to the Threefold Karma of all beings, they benefit all with peace and joy and bring them to a state of fearlessness.”

>> “Sariputra, I am just like that elder who saw that all his children had each safely escaped from the burning house and reached a state of fearlessness. He considered how his own wealth was infinite and equally gave a great cart to all the children.

>> “This is describing how the elder, knowing all his children had escaped the burning house, considered his own infinite wealth and equally gave a great cart to all the children.”

>> This is an analogy for how Bodhisattvas cannot bear to let sentient beings create all delusions and karma and thus suffer from the oppression of birth and death and sink into the evil realms. Thus, adapting to capabilities and conditions, they devise teachings. They eliminate all unwholesome teachings and remain in a state of goodness. Then they can help others’ minds attain a state of safety.

>> The Buddha lives among the people to teach the Dharma and has the virtue of composure and fearlessness. In transforming sentient beings, He does not fear the difficulty and works undauntedly until sentient beings are safe and at peace. This is the state of fearlessness.

>> Seeing all his children and contemplating his own infinite wealth, the elder felt he should give equal amounts. So, he gave them all great carts. Those children who sought the small but attained the great were very happy.

>> The Chapter on Skillful Means talks about limitless and unhindered powers and fearlessness. This is called learning well the net of fearlessness and understanding all illusory phenomena.

“Bodhisattvas’ affinities
are with all sentient beings.
With the power of fearlessness,
they give rise to compassion.
Adapting to the Threefold Karma of all beings,
they benefit all with peace and joy
and bring them to a state of fearlessness.”

Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings. To give of oneself while among sentient beings is not an easy matter. So, in addition to having compassion, they must have wisdom. On top of having wisdom, they need fearlessness. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas need the courage and willingness to dedicate themselves to helping sentient beings in hardship with the things they need. Only by giving rise to compassion can Bodhisattvas “adapt to the Threefold Karma of all beings.”

Sentient beings are stubborn and hard to transform. However, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have compassion and wisdom. They never give up on sentient beings. No matter how tiny an animal is, the Buddha likewise respects its life. We often say that the Buddha is the kind father of the four kinds of beings. The four kinds of beings are egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born and transformation-born. All of these different kinds of beings are taught by Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with love.

How does this apply to human beings? Regardless of their skin color, their ethnicity and so on, if these beings are suffering, we will put our hearts into respecting them. We respect their culture and way of life. We also use the different languages they speak to adapt to [their] environment and way of life. Even with sentient beings’ various desires, pursuits, etc., Buddhas and Bodhisattvas still adapt to them, teaching whenever there is an opportunity. In this way, “They benefit all with peace and joy and bring them to a state of fearlessness.”

I recently received some news from Thailand. In mid-February (2014), our school there received a request from the head of the village of Mae Salong Nai, asking Tzu Chi volunteers in Thailand to help another village. That village was 40 kilometers away from Mae Salong Nai. There were nearly 20 thatched houses there. Because it was so dry, a single careless spark completely burned down all of these houses. They were burned to ashes, which left these nearly 20 families homeless, with nothing at all.

Despite being an educational institution, the Tzu Chi school [in Chiang Mai] was notified whenever any disaster or difficulty arose in northern Thailand. Principal Yang, the head of [Tzu Chi Elementary], happened to be there when they received the news. She, along with the teachers and students, 13 people in all, went to that other village. They carried many supplies, including kitchen utensils such as pots, bowls and plates, along with oil, salt, rice and other daily necessities. These 13 people made the 40km journey that was all mountain roads; it was very tiring. They carried the supplies with them up to the mountain for distribution.

The distribution they held was very orderly; it was arranged very well. The supplies being distributed were arranged neatly by family. The way [our teachers] comforted and gave to them was very proper and courteous. Their mutual gratitude, respect and love was very touching to see.

Another place where we saw this was Guatemala. The new school year was starting, and in some schools in a mountainous area, the children did not have school supplies. They lacked many things for their schooling. They hoped we would help them. In Guatemala, there are not many Tzu Chi volunteers, but they do whatever is needed.

Seven people, three Tzu Chi volunteers, one [local] volunteer and three government officials, went into the mountains and found that these families truly led difficult lives. See, at one of the schools, there were four teachers and over 70 students. These students all came from poor families. Another school had three teachers and over 80 students. Every school had rundown buildings.

The children who could consistently go to school were those in the first and second grades. For those in the fourth to fifth grades, they pretty much stop going to school or have to take time off during the harvest season, so they could pick coffee beans to earn money for their studies. Seeing their situation makes us very sad. The Tzu Chi volunteers felt compassion for them and counseled the parents, “Let the children focus on going to school. We will help them with the things they need. The children need to go to school to have a promising future.”

So, they traveled such a long road [to help]. Our Tzu Chi volunteers had to travel back forth on this kind of road. The journey was long and hard, so as they walked they said to themselves, “Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world. For the sake of suffering beings, we take these actions willingly and happily receive the effects. We must be grateful; being able to do this is a blessing.” This was how they encouraged themselves and encouraged one another. This mindset that they have is indeed very touching to see. It is very admirable.

This is the perseverance of Bodhisattvas. With the power of fearlessness, they give rise to compassion for sentient beings. This is their mindset. If sentient beings suffer, regardless of ethnicity, or of any language barrier, with just a few words, Bodhisattvas can provide comfort. They help them, provide emotional support and so on. So, “Adapting to all beings’ Threefold Karma, they benefit all with peace and joy and bring them to a state of fearlessness.”

Indeed, in the following sutra passage we can see how Bodhisattvas come to the world and how the Buddha teaches us. His teaching methods are divided into the Great and Small Vehicles. The sheep-cart, deer-cart and ox-cart are analogies for these methods.

So, we read, “Bodhisattvas seek this vehicle.” What Bodhisattvas seek is the Great Vehicle. This vehicle is the great ox-cart; this cart is an analogy for Great Vehicle Dharma. So, Bodhisattvas “are called Mahasattvas,” which are great awakened sentient beings. These great awakened sentient beings “are like those children who [escaped to] seek the ox-cart.” They are like those in the burning house; once they came out, there were three carts for them to choose from. They said, “I want the ox-cart.” To obtain this, they leave the burning house. This is what makes them Bodhisattvas; they are willing to choose the ox-cart and transform themselves and others.

The following [sutra passage] states,

“Sariputra, I am just like that elder who saw that all his children had each safely escaped from the burning house and reached a state of fearlessness. He considered how his own wealth was infinite and equally gave a great cart to all the children.

Once again, Sakyamuni Buddha called on Sariputra in the hope that everyone would be mindful again and raise their spirits to listen carefully. He wanted them to know “I am just like that elder.” He compares himself with that elder. “[He] saw that all his children” had each safely escaped the burning house but the elder, with a father’s mindset, hoped to help the children obtain even more things. “He considered how his own wealth was infinite and equally gave a great cart to all the children. “Equally” means the same. As for these children, he wanted to give them the same things, so they each received a great cart. This was the mindset of the elder in giving to his children.

In fact, the mindset of this elder is the mindset of the Buddha. This wealth is an analogy for the Dharma. The Dharma is boundless, as is His wisdom. So, if sentient beings can develop this mindset, they will become rich in the Dharma and have abundant wisdom.

This is what the Buddha expressed in this sutra passage.

“This is describing how the elder, knowing all his children had escaped the burning house, considered his own infinite wealth and equally gave a great cart to all the children.”

The elder had infinite wealth. Do you remember what that great cart is like? The great cart contained all kinds of treasures, arranged magnificently in great quantities. This is an analogy for “how Bodhisattvas cannot bear to let sentient beings create all delusions and karma and thus suffer from the oppression of birth and death and sink into the evil realms.”

This is an analogy for how Bodhisattvas cannot bear to let sentient beings create all delusions and karma and thus suffer from the oppression of birth and death and sink into the evil realms. Thus, adapting to capabilities and conditions, they devise teachings. They eliminate all unwholesome teachings and remain in a state of goodness. Then they can help others’ minds attain a state of safety.

Bodhisattvas do not have the heart to let people continue to give rise to delusions, which are ignorance. Because of our ignorance and karma, we cannot avoid suffering from the oppression of birth and death. There are sentient beings in all of the. Five Destinies, which are the Five Realms. In the heaven realm, heavenly beings suffer from the afflictions of gain and loss. In the human realm, people suffer from pursuing desires. People in the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms suffer from karmic forces, from the oppression of birth and death.

Nevertheless, we humans are constantly in a state of delusion and ignorance, so we continuously create karma, a mix of both good and evil. Sometimes we give rise to a thought of goodness and create a blessing; this can lead us to be born in the human realm or in heaven. People with blessings can be born in the heaven or human realm. This comes from doing good deeds. If they do not do good, some among the wealthy will tirelessly pursue things with bottomless greed. In this world, they may do many things that cause harm to all things in the world or are detrimental to human beings, etc. They have to repay these debts in the future. Perhaps they will end up in the animal, hell, hungry ghost realms, or even in the human realm, to face all kinds of torments. All this results from creating karma out of delusion. Thus they endlessly suffer from the oppression of birth and death. These beings rise and fall, floundering in these evil destinies.

What can we do about these kinds of people? Bodhisattvas should “adapt to their capabilities and conditions to teach.” We make use of their capabilities and karmic conditions; we must make use of these affinities to help them. Sometimes, when we go to help them, they refuse our help. So, Tzu Chi volunteers have to be mindful and continue to think of different ways to, with patience and love, obtain their trust so that they are willing to accept our help. This is called adapting to capabilities and conditions. Adapting to their capabilities and conditions means that we try everything we can to get close to them to teach and to help. We try everything we can to help them eliminate their unwholesome practices.

There are some people who have been lost for many lifetimes. But [Bodhisattvas] make use of various karmic conditions to connect with them. In the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, many people have eliminated their previous negative tendencies and developed the patience to dedicate themselves to going among people; now it is their turn to transform people. They use their own lives as examples. “Then they can help others’ minds attain a state of safety.” They help people in a state of confusion return to a state of safety and freedom. Thus they are called Bodhisattvas. This is reaching a place of fearlessness; they feel safe and secure. Not only can they transform themselves, they can also transform others. They save themselves, as well as others. This is “a state of fearlessness.” The have already safely returned to their inherently kind nature.

The Buddha lives among the people to teach the Dharma and has the virtue of composure and fearlessness. In transforming sentient beings, He does not fear the difficulty and works undauntedly until sentient beings are safe and at peace. This is the state of fearlessness.

“The Buddha lives among the people to teach the Dharma.” This fearlessness enables Him to teach the Dharma to everyone. He has the “virtue of composure and fearlessness.” The Buddha is without fear; He truly has fearlessness. Because all kinds of Dharma are encompassed in His ocean of enlightenment, He can analyze the principles of all things in the world and can teach the Dharma among the people with composure and fearlessness.

During Sakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime, practitioners of over 90 kinds of religious teachings constantly made things difficult for Him. But for the Buddha, even in this situation, “In transforming sentient beings,” He has no fear of the difficulties and can work undauntedly. He was not afraid of hardship. He wanted to teach sentient beings and overcome their stubbornness. In particular, those other religious practitioners would not only understand and accept the Dharma, they would take refuge with the Buddha. This happened during the Buddha’s lifetime. His wisdom and the power of His vows gave Him the virtue of fearlessness among sentient beings. “Until sentient beings are safe and at peace” means He always helped sentient beings achieve safety and peace. This is accomplished by the Buddha’s teachings. He taught ordinary people to help them reach a state of safety and fearlessness.

The following sutra passage states, “He considered how his own wealth was infinite and equally gave a great cart to all the children.”

Seeing all his children and contemplating his own infinite wealth, the elder felt he should give equal amounts. So, he gave them all great carts. Those children who sought the small but attained the great were very happy.

This expresses that after the children came out, the elder immediately thought about all the things he wanted to give them. He wanted to distribute his wealth to them in an equal fashion. He wanted to equally give them the great ox-cart. “Those children sought the small but attained the great.” They originally sought the sheep-cart and deer-cart; they did not realize there was this great ox-cart. This is an analogy. Those children “sought the small but attained the great.” Indeed, Hearers and Solitary Realizers originally thought their practice was good enough. They never thought that they could also attain Buddhahood. This was the Buddha’s original intent. He hoped that everyone could realize that they are able to attain Buddhahood, that they have a part in it.

So, the Chapter on Skillful Means speaks of “limitless and unhindered powers and fearlessness.”

The Chapter on Skillful Means talks about limitless and unhindered powers and fearlessness. This is called learning well the net of fearlessness and understanding all illusory phenomena.

This is the wealth of the Buddha, that is like the wealth of the elder. The Buddha has an abundance of wisdom. Thus He is not unhindered by anything, and He has powers and fearlessness. He answers the requests of sentient beings and meets their needs; He gives all He has to them. So, I hope everyone will mindfully realize the Buddha’s original intent. He wants to help everyone understand that we intrinsically have the nature of True Suchness. When this Buddha-nature converges with nature, our minds will be pure and undefiled. So, we should always be mindful.