Category: TLS Chapter 3

Episode 583 – Inheriting the Father’s Virtuous Mission

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>> “Noble and unenlightened beings live together in the Five Destinies. The Tathagata responds to all in the Three Realms and serves as a father to all in the world. He treats all in the Three Realms with equal benevolence. He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son. As a father, He passes on. His virtuous mission to His children.”

>> “Sariputra, the Tathagata is also like this.”

>> “I serve as a father to all in the world.” The Tathagata is like a parent. “[I] take all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry, all the dark coverings of ignorance and eliminate them forever, so nothing remains.”

>> “[The Tathagata] perfects infinite views and understanding, powers and fearlessness, great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom. He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas. He has great loving-kindness and compassion, and is never indolent or tired. He always seeks out good deeds to benefit all and thus is born in the decaying, burning house of the Three Realms.”

>> He “attained supreme, perfect enlightenment and was replete with unsurpassed, extraordinary wisdom.” Then, “For all sentient beings, He turns the wondrous Dharma-wheel.”

>> The Tathagata “is perfectly at ease. Thus He has the powers and fearlessness.”

>> The powers exercised by the Buddha are inconceivable. They are “spiritual” because they are unfathomable. He inherently treats everyone equally, with compassion and wisdom. The power of His vows is inconceivable. To create favorable assisting conditions, He never ceases in His efforts.

>> With “powers of wisdom” one can “have faith in and accept Right Dharma. With fierce determination, one cultivates purifying practices in body and mind.”

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“Noble and unenlightened beings
live together in the Five Destinies.
The Tathagata responds
to all in the Three Realms
and serves as a father to all in the world.
He treats all in the Three Realms
with equal benevolence.
He sees all of the four kinds of beings
as His only son.
As a father, He passes on.
His virtuous mission to His children.”

The Buddha responds to and transforms the world. He is a noble being, a sage, and He comes on the vehicle of True Suchness to the human realm for the sake of the one great cause, which is to deliver sentient beings. This is why He comes to this world and lives among us ordinary people where the beings of the Five Destinies co-exist.

You should all be clear about the Five Destinies, the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Realms. The good and bad karma we have created leads us to be reborn in one of the Five Realms. If we regularly practice the Ten Good Deeds, we do many good deeds and create blessings. If we do good deeds and create blessings, if we are replete with the Ten Good Deeds, of course, this will lead us to the highest realm among the Five Destinies, which is heaven, to enjoy the blessings there. Ordinarily, people uphold their fundamental duties and carry out the things that need to be done. They simply go about their normal lives. There are many people like this; they are the ordinary people in this world.

Aside from them, in this world there are people who live very difficult lives. If people are in a family which is poor and are also dealing with illnesses, disabilities, etc., they may feel like they are living in hell. As for those who lack basic life necessities, they are in the state of hungry ghosts. As for those who do not abide by human morals, do not feel gratitude or loyalty, they are like those who live in the animal realm; this can also be in seen in this world. Under the heavens and on top of the earth, all beings of the Five Realms live in the same world. The goal of the Buddha, noble beings and sages in coming to this world is to teach and transform all beings. This is what noble beings do. So, noble beings live together with the beings of the Five Destinies. “Noble and unenlightened beings live together in the Five Destinies.” So, no matter who we encounter, we must approach them with respect.

The Buddha told us that everyone can attain Buddhahood because everyone has an everlasting nature of True Suchness. It is just buried under our ignorance. So, we engage in spiritual practice and learn the Buddha’s teachings to quickly break open one by one those layers of the dark coverings of ignorance. We remove layer after layer, until the layers of ignorance have been cleared up. Then the light of pure wisdom begins to manifest. This is our nature of True Suchness. The nature of True Suchness is pure as crystal, and everyone has it.

The Tathagata comes on the vehicle of True Suchness to transform all beings in this world. So, it is said, “The Tathagata responds to all in the Three Realms.” Everyone has the nature of True Suchness, and the Buddha regularly applies the principles of True Suchness while. He interacts with people. The Three Realms we speak of are the desire, form and formless realms in [the minds of] sentient beings. The formless realm is that of our thinking. If our thinking is pure, no “form” in our surroundings can entice us. Thus we are pure. A pure mind is free of “desire.” So, free of desires, we are pure. This is how we transcend the Three Realms.

The Buddha taught us in the hope that we will be able to transcend the desire realm in our minds, transcend the form realm in our minds and transcend the formless realm in our minds to become completely liberated. This is what the Buddha came to this world to teach us.

Within the Three Realms, the Buddha is known as the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings. The burning house is an analogy for the Three Realms, and all the sentient beings in the Three Realms are the Buddha’s children, His disciples. The Buddha loves sentient beings equally. So, “He treats all in the Three Realms with equal benevolence.” He does not discriminate between them. All sentient beings of the Three Realms are treated equally by the Buddha, thus He does not discriminate between them.

“He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son.” He does not only treat humans equally, but all beings, womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born and transformation-born. The Buddha loves all of the four kinds of beings. Therefore, He said, “All living, moving beings have Buddha-nature.” Not only does He care for humans, but He also cares for all creatures, down to the smallest living beings. Thus, “He sees all of the four kinds of beings as His only son.” The Buddha cherishes all living beings. “As a father, He passes on. His virtuous mission to His children.” The Buddha hopes we can be like Him and treat all sentient beings the same, with equal benevolence, loving and caring for them in the same way.

From the previous sutra passage, we learned that the elder in this world cared so deeply about his children and other family members that he devised ways to help them escape the burning house. The Buddha is just like him. So, the Buddha said,

“Sariputra, the Tathagata is also like this.”

The Tathagata is just like this elder.

“I serve as a father to all in the world.” The Tathagata is like a parent. “[I] take all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry, all the dark coverings of ignorance and eliminate them forever, so nothing remains.”

All of sentient beings’ fear, panic, weakness, anxiety and worry about gain and loss, all these dark coverings of ignorance, are completely eliminated [by the Tathagata].

Similarly, when the children stayed in the burning house to enjoy their games, their father used various methods to draw them out, saying, “Do not keep playing in there. Do not remain in that confusion. Leave that place right away and come out now.” The Tathagata, in the same way, uses various methods to draw out the children inside, who are all the sentient beings of the Three Realms. Our fears, weaknesses and worries are like the fire. When the fire starts blazing around the house, the Buddha slowly draws us out to help us escape the burning house of the Three Realms.

The same things are happening in our minds. Our mind is our spiritual home; in everyone’s minds, there is also a great house. In this house in our minds, our spiritual home, these [negative emotions] are like sparks of fire that can start a blaze. If we are able to accept the Buddha-Dharma, that is like acquiring the cart drawn by the great white ox. Then we will be able to travel smoothly and steadily advance on this path as humans in the Three Realms. Not only must we transform ourselves, we must also transform others. This is our goal as Buddhist practitioners. If we can transcend the ignorance in our minds, naturally we will be able to gradually realize the principles of the Buddha and apply them in our daily living. By slowly putting an end to our ignorance forever, it will no longer remain in our minds. This is why we must learn the Buddha’s teachings and comprehend the principles He taught.

The next sutra passage states,

“[The Tathagata] perfects infinite views and understanding, powers and fearlessness, great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom. He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas. He has great loving-kindness and compassion, and is never indolent or tired. He always seeks out good deeds to benefit all and thus is born in the decaying, burning house of the Three Realms.”

This house in the Three Realms is already old and decaying. Here, the “Three Realms” refer to the Three Realms that exist in our minds.

For a very long time, our habitual tendencies have been with us. For countless lifetimes these habitual tendencies have already polluted our minds. Thus, this is “the decaying…Three Realms.” The home in our mind is already decaying, like the burning house with fires on all sides. This is because, lifetime after lifetime, we have accumulated layers of habitual tendencies. Having had these habitual tendencies for a long time, we say our mind is “decaying.” It has already deteriorated. All of our minds have reached this point, so we must accept the Dharma right away. The Dharma taught by the Buddha is like water. We must cleanse our minds right away, so we need Dharma-water in our hearts to wash away the impurities within our minds. Then our minds will be pure again. This is what we must immediately do in our minds.

When the Buddha came to this world to teach sentient beings, He needed to exercise His power. So, He manifested a body to exercise this power. This body that exercised the teachings was the legacy of conduct that the Buddha passed down when He came to the world. The way He lived is a teaching for us. This is the way life can truly be lived in the world. Over the course of His life, the Tathagata lived the same way that we do. He was born to parents and grew up in this world. He spent time in the world first enjoying luxury then contemplating [suffering]. Then, for the sake of saving people and in the hope that we can treat everyone equally, he abandoned his life in the palace. In this way, he no longer enjoyed those objects of desire. He had transcended the desires in his mind. With his body, he demonstrated how one can leave the pleasures of the palace. He demonstrated that, to engage in spiritual practice, we must go through an arduous process of delving into the principles of life.

He collected the methods of spiritual cultivation. He thoroughly analyzed how people suffered, how thoughts stirred in their minds, etc. All these principles were accumulated within the Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment. Through spiritual practice, he became awakened and achieved supreme and perfect enlightenment. While interacting with people, everything he learned as a spiritual practitioner was absorbed into his views and understanding. After he grasped the principles of the world, he absorbed them into his ocean of enlightened wisdom. Having understood everything,

He “attained supreme, perfect enlightenment and was replete with unsurpassed, extraordinary wisdom.” Then, “For all sentient beings, He turns the wondrous Dharma-wheel.”

This is what makes Him the Tathagata.

The Tathagata “is perfectly at ease. Thus He has the powers and fearlessness.”

Because of His views and understanding, the Tathagata has powers and fearlessness. He has seen and understood so much. He knows the truths of all things in the universe; nothing was unknown to Him. With His understanding of things, He is at ease. Because the Buddha’s powers, understanding and views are very complete, He has “great spiritual powers and powers of wisdom. He is replete with the wisdom of skillful means and the Paramitas.” These are “the powers exercised by the Buddha.” His powers and the power of His wisdom are very complete.

The powers exercised by the Buddha are inconceivable. They are “spiritual” because they are unfathomable. He inherently treats everyone equally, with compassion and wisdom. The power of His vows is inconceivable. To create favorable assisting conditions, He never ceases in His efforts.

What was the extent of His wisdom? We have no way of fathoming it. The power of the Buddha’s wisdom is truly inconceivable. He has the wisdom to understand the truths of all things in the universe. So, we call these His “spiritual powers. Spiritual” refers to His spirit and not a strange supernatural power. This power comes from our spirit. The Buddha’s spirit and ideals are unfathomable; we cannot understand them. Not only is His power unfathomable, His spirit and ideals are also hard to fathom.

The Buddha “inherently treats everyone equally.” He applies His spiritual powers equally towards all sentient beings. This shows His compassion. Every single one of the four kinds of beings is equal in the eyes of the Buddha. He cherishes all beings with equal benevolence. I hope we can learn from the Buddha how to treat all living beings with equal benevolence. The Buddha has compassion and wisdom, and when the power of His vows are added to that, of course [His state] is inconceivable. With the kind of spirit and ideals that He has, and the power of His wisdom and compassion, of course [His state] is inconceivable. By adding the power of His vows, He creates favorable assisting conditions for all and never ceases in His efforts or takes a break.

Why is it said that He creates favorable assisting conditions? Because sentient beings inherently have Buddha-nature, the Buddha comes to the world only for the sake of providing them with assisting conditions. By means of His wisdom, compassion and the power of His vows, He comes to this world to live among all beings. Living here together with us, He “opened and revealed” teachings so sentient beings must accept them so we can “realize and enter.” Therefore, He came to this world to create favorable assisting conditions for us to attain Buddhahood. “Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature.” This is what He came to tell us, to “open and reveal” to us, so we can go from the state of ordinary beings to the other shore, the state of noble beings. This is done with wisdom and the paramitas.

By transforming us with skillful wisdom, He creates favorable assisting conditions for us. Thus, He is also our virtuous friend. As both our teacher and father, He guides and teaches us solely in the hope that we will be able to cross from this shore to the other shore. He does this with wisdom, “with the wisdom of skillful means and paramitas.”

With “powers of wisdom” one can “have faith in and accept Right Dharma. With fierce determination, one cultivates purifying practices in body and mind.”

We are also endowed with these powers of wisdom. However, we must have faith in the Buddha’s teachings. We must believe and accept the principles and Right Dharma He taught. “With fierce determination…in body and mind,” when we can accept the Buddha’s teachings, we can eliminate our ignorance, layer by layer. In this way, by reducing each layer of ignorance we can develop our wisdom-life more. Therefore, as we clear away layers of ignorance, our wisdom-life will continue to grow. Our powers of wisdom, vows and compassion will empower our body and mind to

“cultivate purifying practices.” When we give without expectations, our minds become very pure. Purifying practices bring purity. Although we live among people in this evil world of Five Turbidities, by walking the Bodhisattva-path, we purify our minds. So, we must accept the Buddha’s teaching.

To His disciples, the Buddha is like “a father” who “passes on His virtuous mission to His children.” The legacy our father wants to leave us is teaching us how to manage our “mission.” Since our vows are to go into the world, we must remain among the people and love them as the Buddha loves His children. I constantly tell everyone, “We must take the Buddha’s mind as our mind,” for He has passed on His virtuous mission to us.

If the Buddha is in our minds, we will carry on His virtuous actions by doing good deeds and benefiting others while also cultivating purifying practices. This helps our minds constantly remain pure, free of desires, forms and afflictions. If we can achieve this state, we can transcend the Three Realms. We can leave behind the burning house in our minds and all our fears, etc. Our afflictions and dark coverings will all be left behind. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must always be mindful.

Episode 582 – Forever Eliminate the Dark Coverings of Ignorance

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>> “Earnestly cultivate good affinities and plant good seeds. When the seeds mature into fruits, we attain liberation. If we have not formed good affinities, we must quickly accomplish good things and diligently plant seeds to obtain good fruits. The Great Enlightened One has compassion and exercises wisdom. He is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and father of the Four Kinds of Beings.”

>> We often say, “Quickly give rise to goodness that has not yet arisen. Nurture any goodness that has already arisen. Prevent evil that has not arisen from arising. Quickly eliminate evil that has already arisen.”

>> “Moreover, this elder knew that his wealth was infinite. He wanted to benefit all of his children by equally giving them great carts.” The Buddha told Sariputra, “Excellent, excellent. It is as you say.”

>> “Sariputra, the Tathagata is also like this.”

>> “I serve as a father to all the world and take all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry, all the dark coverings of ignorance, and eliminate them forever, so nothing remains.”

>> The title “Tathagata” refers to the nature of True Suchness,

>> “Journeys on the path of True Suchness, and from this cause, He comes to the effect, attaining perfect enlightenment.”

>> “Also, one who journeys on the path of True Suchness to come to the Three Realms in order to transform others is called Tathagata.”
>> So, He “serves as a father to all in the world”

>> “In a certain kingdom’s city or settlement, there was an elder who possessed limitless wealth. His house was spacious and large and had only one door.”

>> So out of compassion, he used kind words to guide them.

>> All fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry: Aging, illness and death are weakness. Suffering and afflictions are vexations. Anxiety exists in our minds, while worries relate to matters.

>> Ignorance: A state of mind that is dark and dull. It cannot reflect the light of the Dharma, matters and principles. It is also called delusion. Those who are ignorant cannot understand the Dharma.

>> All the dark coverings: Because of ignorance, we are covered in darkness. We are in the dark on all matters and principles, hindered from being free of delusion by all kinds of contaminants, which lead us to create karma.

>> All the dark coverings of ignorance [are] eliminated forever, so nothing remains: The roots of delusion, karma and suffering are the dark coverings of ignorance. By eliminating them forever so nothing remains, one has eliminated all evil and accomplished all merits and virtues. This explains the Buddha’s “virtue of ending.”

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“Earnestly cultivate good affinities
 and plant good seeds.
When the seeds mature into fruits,
we attain liberation.
If we have not formed good affinities,
we must quickly accomplish good things
and diligently plant seeds to obtain good fruits.
The Great Enlightened One has compassion
and exercises wisdom.
He is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms
and father of the Four Kinds of Beings.”

To practice the Buddha’s teachings, we must first “cultivate good affinities” and regularly “plant good causes. When the seeds mature into fruits,” then “we attain liberation.” This is what we need to constantly say. The karmic law of cause and effect is the fundamental belief of spiritual practitioners; we must understand it very well and always engage in spiritual cultivation. What are we cultivating? Goodness. In our interpersonal relationships, we must form good affinities with everyone. As we form good karmic affinities, we are planting good karmic seeds. Positive causes and conditions will automatically yield positive karmic retributions. When causes and conditions mature, retributions will manifest. So we said, “When the seeds mature into fruits, we attain liberation.”

In our daily lives,

We often say, “Quickly give rise to goodness that has not yet arisen. Nurture any goodness that has already arisen. Prevent evil that has not arisen from arising. Quickly eliminate evil that has already arisen.”

Isn’t this what the Four Right Efforts teach?

So, “If we have not formed good affinities, we must quickly accomplish good things.” We must form good affinities with everyone and “diligently plant seeds” in our daily living. Then, whatever situations we encounter, the results will naturally be positive. In our daily living, as we interact with each other, if I express my gratitude towards you, you will also feel very happy. When we show gratitude to each other and both feel happy, this is a cycle of positive karmic conditions and the experience of positive karmic effects.

This is what can happen in our daily living. So, the Buddha, “the Great Enlightened One, has compassion and exercises wisdom.” With His great awakening and His compassion, the Buddha comes to this world and exercises His wisdom to “open and reveal” to sentient beings so they can “realize and enter” [the Dharma]. By realizing the karmic law of cause and effect, they will do good deeds and benefit others; this is how they walk the Bodhisattva-path. Therefore, the Buddha is “the guiding teacher of the Three Realms” and “father of the Four Kinds of Beings.” He loves all sentient beings in the world equally and has the same hope for everyone, that they earnestly accept the Buddha-Dharma. Not only should we accept the Dharma ourselves, we should turn the Dharma-wheel for others. Every day, we should work to understand the Dharma. Every day, we should transmit it with our actions. This is our responsibility. In our modern society, we need to bring purity to people’s hearts and constantly share good things. By sharing good things, we are turning the Dharma-wheel.

“Moreover, this elder knew that his wealth was infinite. He wanted to benefit all of his children by equally giving them great carts.” The Buddha told Sariputra, “Excellent, excellent. It is as you say.”

In the previous sutra passage we discussed, the elder was a very wealthy man, so he gave his children an abundance of things. This is an analogy for benefiting sentient beings. The elder benefited all of his children, and the Buddha benefits all sentient beings.

This “benefit” comes from the Four All-Embracing Virtues, charitable giving, loving words, beneficial conduct and working together. These are the fundamental teachings for us as we walk the Bodhisattva-path. What the elder passed on to his children was a “benefit” to them. What the Buddha passes on to His disciples are “precepts that benefit all sentient beings.”

This is what the Buddha taught. He passes on the wealth of the Dharma to us, so we should open our hearts and minds to accept the wealth of the Buddha-Dharma. Then we can benefit sentient beings every day. Everything we do should benefit sentient beings.

This is like [driving] the great cart, the cart drawn by the great white ox. Sariputra answered the Buddha’s question about the elder setting up the three kinds of carts but only giving them one cart in the end by saying, “[Regardless,] he saved their lives.” By escaping [the burning house] safely, they had already received so much. Furthermore, the elder gave them a great ox-cart. For people in this world, their physical existence is their life; is there anything more valuable than that? Living a healthy life is a great blessing. This is what our biological father can give us. But what the Buddha wants to give us is help with “keeping our wisdom-life intact.” Since we live in safety and have already accepted the Buddha-Dharma, our wisdom-life is naturally growing.

The Buddha does not tell sentient beings anything false. The teachings that He gave are all True Dharma. Sariputra conveyed this idea by saying that the elder did not commit the fault of being false. This made the Buddha happy, so He praised Sariputra. “Your response is very good. It is just as you say.”

He told Sariputra in the following passage,

“Sariputra, the Tathagata is also like this.”

Sariputra said it very well; the Tathagata is also like this.

“I serve as a father to all the world and take all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry, all the dark coverings of ignorance, and eliminate them forever, so nothing remains.”

This was the Buddha beginning to come back from talking about the elder to how the Tathagata Himself was like this. The Tathagata is “a father to all the world.” The Tathagata is the father of the Four Kinds of Beings and guiding teacher of the Three Realms. He is both a teacher and a father. So in the human realm, [He eliminates] “all fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry.” In the Three Realms, sentient beings may be filled with panic and fear. Perhaps, as they experience birth, aging, illness, death etc., they feel anxiety, sadness, pain and vexation. As they interact with people, matters and objects they are under “the dark coverings of ignorance,” living that kind of life. The Buddha, the Tathagata, wants to help eliminate sentient beings’ “dark coverings of ignorance” completely. He wants to help them completely eliminate their ignorance.

The title “Tathagata” refers to the nature of True Suchness,

the Buddha-nature we all intrinsically have. After the Buddha attained enlightenment and realized the nature of True Suchness, He was completely awakened. The great awakened Tathagata.

“Journeys on the path of True Suchness, and from this cause, He comes to the effect, attaining perfect enlightenment.”

Because we all have the nature of True Suchness, if we regularly create positive karmic causes, we are [practicing the path of] True Suchness. The path of True Suchness is laid out in true principles. When we actualize true principles in our actions, we unceasingly cultivate positive causes and go among people to benefit them and engage in spiritual practice. When we give, we do not seek anything in return nor do we add to our afflictions. When it is the right thing to do, we just do it. “From good causes, we come to good effects.”

Look at the Buddha. For countless kalpas, He has engaged in spiritual practice with countless Buddhas throughout this process. He was practicing to give up His physical life for the sake of sentient beings. He gave of Himself without any expectations. This is how “from this cause, He comes to the effect.” For a long time, He gave to others. For a long time, He has been eliminating His afflictions and ignorance. As a result, He attained perfect enlightenment and is thus called the Tathagata, one who “journeys on the path of True Suchness, and from this cause comes to the effect, attaining perfect enlightenment.” This is the characteristic of a Tathagata. If we want to attain Buddhahood, we must persevere for a long time as we continuously undergo this cycle of positive cause and effect and continuously give to help others.

“Also, one who journeys on the path of True Suchness to come to the Three Realms in order to transform others is called Tathagata.”

One who follows the principles of the Tathagata and returns to the Three Realms to transform others is called Tathagata. One who journeys on the path of True Suchness to come to the human realm and transform sentient beings is called Tathagata. The Tathagata is the pure nature that we all intrinsically have. We often say that we all intrinsically have this; it is just that we have yet to resolve our afflictions, so we remain in the ignorant state of unenlightened beings. Every day, we must earnestly do good deeds and benefit others without asking for anything in return. In daily living, we must be understanding and constantly grateful and content; that is also part of our spiritual practice.

So, He “serves as a father to all in the world.” The Buddha is a father to all beings in the world. All in the world includes all beings in the Three Realms. There is an analogy for this in a previous passage.

“In a certain kingdom’s city or settlement, there was an elder who possessed limitless wealth. His house was spacious and large and had only one door.”

But inside of this door was a group of very ignorant children, who were attached to their games. When he saw fire arising on all sides, the father could not bear to [leave them there],

So out of compassion, he used kind words to guide them.

With these kind words, he tried to lead them out of the house, so they would not stay inside. But the children still were greedily attached to remaining in the house. No matter what the father said to them, they would not leave. So, he used all kinds of methods and set up three carts to entice them. In the previous sutra text, this was explained very clearly.

The Three Realms are analogous to the burning house. The burning house refers to “all in the world.” This world is also called “the world of sentient beings.” It includes time, space and the relationships between sentient beings. On top of this, the emotions of sentient beings create much confusion and afflictions that constantly accumulate. This ignorance covers the mind and gives rise to all kinds of “fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry.”

All fear, weakness, vexation, anxiety and worry: Aging, illness and death are weakness. Suffering and afflictions are vexations. Anxiety exists in our minds, while worries relate to matters.

Since we are in the human realm, we inevitably experience aging, illness and death. These are considered “weakness.” We gradually grow weaker. In our old age, our bodies are frail, and all of our strength gradually disappears.

There will inevitably be a day when we lose what we have. We may lose what we love most, or we may lose our own life. In summary, we live life in “anxiety, worry and fear.” We worry about interpersonal relationships, about manmade calamities and natural disasters. We have many fears. Even when we have things, [they never truly belong to us]. This really worries us. These afflictions in our daily living, the various weaknesses that we naturally suffer and the afflictions of aging, illness and death are all suffering which cause us to be very worried. Afflictions in our minds are “anxiety.” Afflictions arising from matters are “worries.” We are very troubled because birth, aging, illness and death, worries about gain and loss etc. all cause us to be worried. So, “All the dark coverings of ignorance [must be] eliminated forever, so nothing remains.”

Ignorance creates many afflictions. What is ignorance? It is a dark and dull state.

Ignorance: A state of mind that is dark and dull. It cannot reflect the light of the Dharma, matters and principles. It is also called delusion. Those who are ignorant cannot understand the Dharma.

Dark and dull refers to those with relatively limited capacities. Their minds “cannot reflect the light of the Dharma, matters and principles.”

Sometimes, when we are driving in cold weather and there are many people in our car, the body heat from so many people causes the windshield to fog up because of the cold air outside and the warm air inside. We have to immediately wipe the windshield clear so that we can see the road ahead. Our mind is the same. If there is a gap between our minds and things going on around us and we cannot get what we want, our minds will become filled with afflictions. If our minds are not in harmony with our external conditions, then our minds “cannot reflect the light of the Dharma, matters and principles.” Our minds will always be in conflict with our external conditions, causing us to lose the clarity of our radiant mirror. If we do not earnestly polish it, it will lose this “light.”

“It is also called delusion”; this refers to ignorance. Ignorance is a state that is dark and dull. A state that is dark and dull is one of delusion, so this is another name for ignorance. [Those who are deluded] “cannot understand the Dharma.” Because we are ignorant, we cannot understand all Dharma.

The passage continues, “All the dark coverings [are] eliminated forever, so nothing remains.” How can something dark and dull become very clear and sharp? The text explains that “all the dark coverings of ignorance” are things that are obscuring our minds. No matter what, our pure intrinsic nature is still there, but it is covered by ignorance.

All the dark coverings: Because of ignorance, we are covered in darkness. We are in the dark on all matters and principles, hindered from being free of delusion by all kinds of contaminants, which lead us to create karma.

Indeed, inside each of our hearts, our pure and clear nature of True Suchness is still there. It is just that it has been covered by ignorance, so we are in the dark on matters and principles and develop a habitual nature of ignorance. In this way, we are “hindered from being free of delusion by all kinds of contaminants.”

“Being free of delusion,” we would be in a state of clarity. When we are not deluded or lost, our minds are very clear. But when we are hindered by ignorance, we are “hindered from being free of delusion.” It is obstructing us. This causes our undefiled minds to be covered [by darkness].

All the dark coverings of ignorance [are] eliminated forever, so nothing remains: The roots of delusion, karma and suffering are the dark coverings of ignorance. By eliminating them forever so nothing remains, one has eliminated all evil and accomplished all merits and virtues. This explains the Buddha’s “virtue of ending.”

Ignorance is also called delusion. As for “delusion, karma and suffering,” having ignorance means we are deluded. Out of delusion, we create karma. Because we create karma, we suffer. This is the root [ignorance]. Root [ignorance] is the dark coverings. Because we are in a state of delusion, we create karma, which causes us to suffer. In the human realm, the Buddha tells us that all in the world experience suffering. The truth of “suffering” is that it comes from “causation.” We accumulate delusions and karma; delusions lead to karma which leads to suffering. This is root ignorance.

If we can be mindful in accepting the. Buddha-Dharma and using it to cleanse our minds, then [our ignorance] will naturally be “eliminated forever, so nothing remains.” Then we will have “eliminated all evil and accomplished all merit and virtues.” This is the state of Buddhahood. This shows that the Buddha has already eliminated all “delusions and karma.” Therefore, the Buddha has already been freed from the suffering in the human realm. He understands the principle that suffering comes from delusions and the karma we create. He explains this to us so that we can earnestly engage in spiritual practice and earnestly eliminate ignorance and afflictions. Most importantly, if we eliminate ignorance and afflictions, we naturally achieve “the virtue of ending. The virtue of ending” comes from completely eliminating all ignorance, so our minds can be pure and clear.

As Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful and put in effort. Everything results from ignorance and afflictions covering our minds. That is why we create various karma and must deal with so many complications in the world. Over time, we have created karma in this space, so we end up facing painful retributions as we interact with people. This is why we must always be mindful.

Episode 581 – The Dharma-Children Inherit Great Dharma

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>> “In the families of this world, fathers pass on their legacy to sons. This relationship is a conditioned phenomenon. The World-Honored One passes on the Great Dharma to Dharma-children. This is the unconditioned Dharma based on True Suchness.”

>> “World-Honored One, even if this elder. World-Honored One, even if this elder did not give even the smallest carts to the children, there was nothing false in what he said.”

>> “‘Moreover, this elder knew that his wealth was infinite He wanted to benefit all of his children by equally giving them great carts.’ The Buddha told Sariputra, ‘Excellent, excellent It is as you say.'”

>> To benefit: This is describing how Bodhisattva-practitioners, whether through charitable giving or through kind words or through conduct that benefits others or through engaging in the same kind of work lead all sentient beings to attain peace and joy. This is the meaning of “to benefit.”

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“In the families of this world,
fathers pass on their legacy to sons.
This relationship is a conditioned phenomenon.
The World-Honored One
passes on the Great Dharma to Dharma-children.
This is the unconditioned Dharma
based on True Suchness.”

Recently, we have been repeatedly studying this sutra passage about the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. The elder of the great house had children who were lost and confused, so he set up three kinds of carts for them, eventually giving them the cart drawn by the great white ox. This story seems so short. How could it contain so many principles?

In fact, the human realm is very vast, and there are so many people! Each person has different views and afflictions. In this world, there are so many complications with people, matters, relationships and principles. We can summarize all this with these words, people, matters, relationships and principles, but from these things are created many complications between people. So, the Buddha manifested in the world solely to help everyone understand the principles of people, relationships, matters and objects.

[In the parable of] the burning house alone, many of our afflictions are described through analogies to the complications in the house, for instance, the children’s stubbornness, attachments, greed etc. The burning house is full of dangers. Similarly, in this world, there are many hazards and traps that have been created by people, layers upon layers of hazards buried beneath us. These are all related to the burning house of the Three Realms and to the dazed and confused state of the children in it. These children’s attachments and these children’s stubbornness are all a part of this. There are many principles behind [the interactions of] all these people in the great house.

In summary, “In the families of this world, fathers pass on their legacy to sons.” Isn’t this very simple? The relationship between father and son is passed down from generation to generation. In this world, is there any father who does not wish to pass his business on to his son? In this world, doesn’t every son [hope to] have a close relationship with his father? The son’s family background and growth can be very simple, but the relationship between father and son can be very complicated. Some fathers love their children dearly and work themselves to death for their sake. Fathers who are wealthy may think, “Because my son will take over this business, I must work harder to build it up. I have a lot, but it’s not enough. I have a big business, but it’s not big enough. I need to lay down a foundation for him which is long, wide, sizable and strong.” However, the son may not be grateful to his father. He feels, “All my father wants to do is make money. He doesn’t even care about having a genuine father-son relationship.” So, the father’s efforts backfire.

Is this kind of life a happy one? Thus, these “conditioned phenomena” give rise to relationships. In this world, there are conditioned phenomena. Father, son, grandson and so on are all labels for “conditioned phenomena.” But they are the basis for our relationships. If propriety is no longer respected in these relationships, parent-children relationships become very complicated. These relationships are affected by [desires]. [Fathers] desire to build up a business. To fulfill expectations and desires, people create many industries in different fields. Producing new material goods requires more than one industry. With all these things, in order to have future advancements, more industries must be created. Everything that has been created is conditioned phenomena.

In this realm of physical existence, we want to make all kinds of things because of our desires. Thus, [we disrupt] our relationships and other conditioned phenomena. Whether people’s feelings towards each other or material objects in the realm of physical existence, all these conditioned phenomena can disrupt our relationships. The desire hidden within each of our minds has no shape or form, but once it is unleashed, it turns everything in the entire universe upside down. Our desires can extend everywhere.

So, if these conditioned phenomena disrupt the propriety of our relationships, think about how complicated and frightening the effects of that will be. Once these desires are unleashed, they turn everything upside down. Think about the Three Realms, this burning house; people cling to this place out of confusion, unaware that the fire will burn them. Think about it, don’t these confused children lead very complicated lives? In the beginning, things were so simple, but when a single thought deviated, it disrupted everything. Conditioned phenomena disrupt so many worldly matters, objects and principles.

The World Honored One was an exception. “The World-Honored One passes on the Great Dharma to Dharma-children. This is the unconditioned Dharma based on True Suchness.” So, the Buddha came to this world to find ways to reestablish these relationships. He explained to us that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature and we must take the Buddha-Dharma to heart to return to our nature of True Suchness.

Our intrinsic nature of True Suchness is “unconditioned Dharma;” it is ever-abiding. Thus it contains the principles; these principles are straightforward and orderly. They are not confusing; they are direct. So, the great and direct path is Bodhi, the great and direct Bodhi-path. We have lost this great and direct Bodhi-path, so the Buddha returned to the world to “open and reveal” the way for us. “You are on the wrong path; turn back quickly.” So, He had to teach with various methods to help us clearly recognize that each lifetime is limited and that we have created causes and conditions etc. He helped people clearly see the objects of their desires and their relationships, so they can return to the purest state. He explained relationships, principles and things so that everyone can understand the Dharma and be clear about the principles. Then their feelings can become simple and pure again.

This is the one great cause for which the Buddha came to the world. He brought the Great Dharma to this world to pass it on to His Dharma-children. To receive the Dharma, we also need the right causes and conditions. For instance, an inmate from a US prison donated 21 canisters of coffee. He also wrote a very emotional letter. He said, “I’m in prison, so many things are very inconvenient for me. I sent these [canisters of coffee] hoping you can sell them for charity and use the money for disaster relief in the Philippines.” How would someone in prison know [about this]? He is even in the US, so far away.

A few years ago, there was a pastor in Las Vegas who brought Jing Si Aphorisms with her into the prison. After some inmates read the Jing Si Aphorisms, they wrote to the Tzu Chi Las Vegas service center. From then on, we often received letters from inmates. Each letter is filled with stories.

Tzu Chi USA Headquarters received a package with the canisters of coffee. When this package arrived at the headquarters, one of the volunteers who read the letter said, “This is so moving. Even though he is [in prison], he is still thinking about disasters elsewhere and sent this to us on his own accord. Buying things [in prison] is so difficult. Since he sent this to us, I will buy one.” She bought it for several hundred dollars. Many people bought [the coffee] until there were only a few cans left. When Faith Corps and Honorary Board members learned about this, they said, “I’ll ‘buy’ it for US 3000” but will not take it, “I’ll ‘buy’ it for US 2000” but will not take it, “I’ll ‘buy’ it for US 1000” but will not take it.

I heard that the remaining canisters of coffee being [sold for charity] have raised over US 10,000. People are still making donations. Once someone understands this kind of love, once someone knows the principles, then causes and conditions will develop. Now, inside many prisons in the United States, there are volumes of Jing Si Aphorisms. We are gradually expanding this program so that inmates can encounter these simple principles of how to be a good person. Then they will realize that the way they used to behave was wrong.

With a slight karmic affinity, these people can perhaps be inspired and guided to understand, uphold and act according to the Dharma; in this way, these words are Great Dharma. Similarly, people who have karmic connections with the Buddha can accept the Buddha-Dharma.

Because of the Buddha-Dharma, “Dharma-children are born of the Buddha’s mouth. This is the unconditioned Dharma based on True Suchness.” Indeed, these principles have always been this way. They were not created by anyone. They have always been in place, so after the Buddha unlocked His wisdom, He was able to describe to us this Dharma which has always existed for us to understand it. So, it is said that. “Dharma-children are born of the Buddha’s mouth.” If we can understand and accept the Dharma, we are truly the Dharma-children of the Buddha. If we do not understand, we will never take the Dharma to heart and our wisdom-life will not be nourished by the essence of the Dharma. Then our wisdom-life will not be able to grow.

The beginning of this passage states,

“World-Honored One, even if this elder. World-Honored One, even if this elder did not give even the smallest carts to the children, there was nothing false in what he said.”

This elder and the three kinds of carts outside were analogies. Sariputra answered Sakyamuni Buddha by saying, “There was no falsehood.”

The Buddha spoke the truth, what is real. What He really wanted to give His disciples were the most abundant teachings, the Great Vehicle Dharma which helps everyone return to their pure nature and attain Buddhahood. He had always planned to help everyone return to their intrinsic nature. The Buddha is like the elder in the parable. Although the elder did not give the children sheep-carts and deer-carts, he gave them a cart drawn by a great white ox. This does not count as a falsehood, as he gave them more than what they needed. In the same way, the Buddha taught the Dharma in the human realm in the hope that we can all return to our intrinsic Tathagata-nature and have pure and liberated [minds]. This was the Buddha’s intention.

In the next sutra passage, Sariputra is still speaking.

“‘Moreover, this elder knew that his wealth was infinite He wanted to benefit all of his children by equally giving them great carts.’ The Buddha told Sariputra, ‘Excellent, excellent It is as you say.'”

The “elder” mentioned is “an older person of great virtue and prestige” who is also “cautious and genuine.” It is not an easy matter for a person to be considered an “elder.” An “elder” has to first be old enough. In ancient times, someone had to be over 60 to be called an “elder. An older person of great virtue and prestige” is someone who is known for having virtue. He does everything very cautiously and is very genuine toward others, which means he is very honest. Faith, steadfastness, sincerity and integrity are part of the character of someone considered an elder.

He has to be old enough and behave in a way that is of great virtue and worthy of respect. This kind of person can be considered an “elder.” Earlier, the elder drew his children out of the house by promising them these three kinds of carts. In the end, he only gave them one kind of cart. This was something unexpected. “Originally, I only asked for this much, but I actually received so much more.” They originally wanted [something smaller], but in “seeking something small they got something big,” so they should be pleased beyond expectations. They should be overjoyed.

People in this world say, “I have built up such a big business so. I can leave it to my child.” The child says, “I don’t need this from my father. I don’t want it; I don’t want to rely on him.” If this is the case, it does not matter how wealthy the father is. However wonderful the Buddha-Dharma is, if people are unwilling to accept it, it is of no use. Therefore, this all depends on karmic conditions. Furthermore, when we are doing things, we have to be very cautious. This elder has great virtue and prestige; he does things very cautiously and is a very genuine person. What this elder gave to his children greatly surprised them. “I thought I would only get this much, but actually I got so much more.” This is because this elder gave with great love.

“He wanted to benefit all of his children by equally giving them great carts.” The elder wanted to benefit these children, so he gave them a great cart. “To benefit [others]” is something Bodhisattva practitioners want to do. If we are willing to engage in the Bodhisattva-practice, we must practice “leading all sentient beings whether through giving [or through other means].” What is the Bodhisattva-practice? It is cultivated through “charitable giving, charitable giving” or “kind words.” When we speak, we must use good words, helpful words and educational words. Perhaps we can engage in “conduct that benefits others.” Then everything we do will benefit people. Perhaps we can cultivate through “engaging in the same kind of work,” or working with those who want to do something together. These are the Four All-Embracing Virtues, the foundation for being a Bodhisattva.

To be a Bodhisattva, we must practice the Four All-Embracing Virtues. All sentient beings need us to bring them these “benefits.” This is an essential part of Bodhisattva-practice.

To benefit: This is describing how Bodhisattva-practitioners, whether through charitable giving or through kind words or through conduct that benefits others or through engaging in the same kind of work lead all sentient beings to attain peace and joy. This is the meaning of “to benefit.”

To [benefit] all sentient beings, we must earnestly use the power of love to give to everyone. Then, people can attain peace and joy. Look at the inmates in prison who received books of Jing Si Aphorisms. Though only a few simple sentences, they took those simple principles to heart. Thus they were able to stabilize their minds and change their behavior. After they are released, they will likely change their ways and become a completely different person. This is how we “benefit” them. So, this great cart brings benefits to all sentient beings.

When the Buddha heard what Sariputra said, He was very happy. “Excellent, excellent! It is as you say.” This is a double praise. “Excellent, excellent!” means the Buddha was very happy, praising him for his proper and correct answers. This elder did not say anything false, as his intention was that with his abundant wealth and his love for his children, he would give his children an abundance of things. This is just as the Buddha loves sentient beings as His own children and hopes that every disciple can attain the. Great Dharma, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. The same principles apply here. So, He was very happy with Sariputra’s answer and praised him twice.

This was because “the Buddha would not say that His own words are not false.” The Buddha would not say, “What I say is very true.” He let others say, “The Buddha spoke the truth, what is real. What the Buddha says is right.” If Sariputra said this, everyone would be more convinced. So, He asked Sariputra to answer His question and was very satisfied with his response. This is the reason everyone will regard the Dharma with more respect, have more confidence in it and find it to be more powerful. Because of this, the Buddha praised him doubly.

When Sariputra, as one who heard the Dharma, understood and realized the principles, then shared what he learned, this proved that there was nothing false in the Buddha’s teachings. As Buddhist practitioners, we must place great importance on this. Though we are discussing the parable of the burning house, if we make an effort to be mindful, then aren’t the people, matters and objects that we face everyday no different from the people, matters and objects of the Three Realms? If we are mindful, the Dharma is right before us. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 580 – Teaching Principles with Skillful Means

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>> “With skillful means, He patiently taught based on the principles. By adapting to conditions, He guided them with provisional teachings. He taught simply according to capabilities, while the meaning within was profound. His language was skillful, and in the end, led them to understand the path.”

>> “What is the reason? He protected their bodies and lives and each attained something that brought them joy. Furthermore, he used skillful means to rescue them from the burning house.”

>> “World-Honored One, even if this elder did not give even the smallest carts to the children, there was nothing false in what He said.”

>> “What is the reason? This elder first had this thought, ‘I will use skillful means to lead my children out.’ These were the causes and conditions, so he spoke no falsehood.”

>> Sariputra respectfully expressed his belief that the World-Honored One had not said anything false. He only wanted His children to escape the fire. By further giving them all great carts equally, he did not commit the fault of speaking a falsehood.

>> In the end he did not give the smaller carts, but equally gave each a great cart; this describes the elder’s original intent. Both the small and great carts were part of his original intent.

>> “What is the reason? This elder first had this thought, ‘I will use skillful means to lead my children out.’ These were the causes and conditions, so he spoke no falsehood.”

>> This an analogy for how the Great Vehicle that the Buddha is formally teaching now does not conflict with the Three Vehicles that were skillfully taught in the past.

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“With skillful means,
He patiently taught based on the principles.
By adapting to conditions,
He guided them with provisional teachings.
He taught simply according to capabilities,
while the meaning within was profound.
His language was skillful,
and in the end, led them to understand the path.”

As Buddhist practitioners, we cannot depart from skillful means. With skillful means, we can patiently guide others. We are still adhering to the principles as we use various methods to explain the Dharma.

There are people for whom this Dharma is useful, so we use skillful means to share our understanding with other people in a skillful manner. Thus, “With skillful means, He patiently taught.” Of course, we must take the Dharma to heart and be able to practice it. Only then can we help other people see, listen and understand it.

We must also “adapt to conditions.” After observing people’s capabilities, should we give these teachings as strict rules or as principles that are more harmonious? This is also related to “skillful means.” Thus “[We] guide them with provisional teachings.” We must also devise teachings according to their capabilities so they can take the Dharma to heart. Then, we guide them to move forward in the right direction, with steady and sure steps.

Of course, if the principles are too profound, people cannot understand them or put them into practice. Therefore, we must “teach simply according to capabilities, while the meaning within is profound.” They have to be able to walk this road in order to understand how smooth it actually is. If they have a proper goal, though they are still far away from it, their journey will be steady and enjoyable, so they will keep walking forward.

Therefore, we must use “language that is skillful.” After hearing the Dharma and taking it to heart, if we speak about it with various methods, those who have been listening a long time will eventually be moved. Being moved, they will give rise to faith. Faith will then lead to action, which will also lead them to realize the principles.

So, the Dharma truly must be put into practice. We often talk of the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. Previously, we discussed the Four Right Efforts, the Four Bases of Fulfilling Power and the Fourfold Mindfulness. As I have shared with everyone, the foundation for practicing the Lotus teachings is also the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. I often say that for a group study, it is best to use the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. This is what we should be reviewing constantly.

When Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines (in 2013). Tzu Chi volunteers around the world mobilized. They provided emergency relief starting when things seemed the darkest; everything was in ruins and people did not have even a shred of hope. In an instant, they had been plunged into what felt like the dark depths of hell. A group of Living Bodhisattvas went to help them right away. They contributed and helped by raising funds.

This is like what happened in Honduras and the Dominican Republic; you may still remember what happened in 1998 with Hurricane George. A string of seven or eight countries all suffered a great deal of damage. That year, Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan mobilized. We gathered all of these material things and meticulously organized everything with love. In addition, we solicited donations. Therefore, it was possible to conduct a series of of relief distributions in many of those countries. The Dominican Republic, Honduras and El Salvador are now all places where the seeds [of Tzu Chi] have been planted. We have seen how in the Dominican Republic, they have begun to mobilize people there.

We understand that education is essential for the local children. When we discovered that the children [we worked with] had no school to attend, we built a school for them right away. The school was built on a mountain of trash. After we cleaned up and removed all the trash, that piece of land was dedicated to education, as part of “Project Hope.”

The teachers and principal are very mindful. In December of every year, Tzu Chi volunteers deliver a Thanksgiving present to them. This year (2013), at the beginning of December, This year, at the beginning of December, which was the beginning of this month, they gave apples as gifts to the children. At the same time, they told the teachers about the major disaster in the Philippines. The teachers then shared this information with the children. They told them, “Those who help others are more blessed than those who are being helped. No one on earth is too poor to help other people. Those with money can give money, those who are able can lend a hand. If you can give even a little bit out of love, you will be helping others.”

This is what the teachers shared. When students in the afternoon classes heard this news, they began to donate the change they had on them. There was a very poor student who brought a bag of corn flour. He told his teacher, “Teacher, I really don’t have anything to give. My family doesn’t have much, but I can give this bag of corn flour. This is not much, but this is all I have.” There was also another student who, after depositing his loose change, said to his teacher, “Teacher, I also have this package of noodles, please send it to the Philippines for me.” Though these children were very poor, no one on earth is too poor to help others, so they did whatever they could. Hearing stories like this is very moving.

Something similar happened in Honduras. In 2011, another major storm struck Honduras. We have been building houses for them since then. These villagers who have received assistance from Tzu Chi have also joined us as volunteers, one by one. After learning of the disaster in the Philippines, everyone there began to call on people to help. They wanted to do a charity sale, so everyone donated whatever they could. Some people had clothing, so they donated clothing. Some had shoes, so they donated shoes. Whatever they had at home, they were willing to give.

Some storeowners also gave in the same way. They collected certain items and then [donated them to] our charity sale. Though we did not have a great many things to sell at this charity sale or things of great value, it was the people’s intentions which made them very valuable. Although Honduras is a poor country, everything people did added up. “Nurture any goodness that has already arisen. Quickly give rise to goodness that has not arisen.” Everyone was giving rise to goodness.

But we must also “quickly eliminate the evil that has already arisen” and “prevent evil that has not arisen from arising.” I am not sure what kind of information reached the inside of an American prison, but one of the inmates there learned about the major disaster that struck the Philippines, so he bought coffee from the prison commissary. Then he sent somewhere between 10-20 canisters of coffee in a package to Tzu Chi USA Headquarters. He included a simple message. “I hope you can sell them for me and use that money to support the Philippines disaster relief.”

When we shared this story of what we received, his love created a ripple effect. Some people who saw these coffee canisters bought them out of love, for a few hundred [US] dollars. There was also a man, Mr. Gao, who was very moved by the story of this inmate who had lost his freedom, yet still wanted to donate money to help and sent these coffee canisters in spite of the difficulties. He was very touched and said, “I will buy it out of charity.” He gave US 1000. People “bought” these canisters as a sign of love; no one actually took them home.

It happened that there was a person who had just come back to the US from Manila after helping with the disaster relief. Chi Jue had personally gone to the disaster area and seen the hardship people faced. When he returned to the US and heard about this inmate with such a loving heart, he wanted to help his efforts succeed. So, he donated US 3000 to “buy” this coffee. Another person donated US 2000. All together, by this point, more than US 6000 was raised.

See, this is love. We see cycles of love and ripples of love. What can be considered the Buddha-Dharma? Teachings that awaken the love in people’s hearts. That is what we call the Buddha-Dharma. “Refrain from all evils; do all good deeds.” This is the teaching of the Buddha. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must not look down on “skillful means,” for they are the True Dharma.

Good words and good deeds will create an endless cycle and “in the end lead them to understand the path.” No matter what methods we use, in the end, we can come together with the path and the true principles. True principles invariably teach people to do good and to eliminate their afflictions. The Buddha’s teachings make Him “the guiding teacher of the Three Realms” and “the kind father of the four kinds of beings.” In His approach to teaching sentient beings, He views them as His children. This is the compassion of the Buddha. He is the same as the elder of the great house who could not bear to see his children burned by a fire and thus used various methods to draw them out. “Come out quickly!”

When all else failed, he came up with a skillful way to do this. He set up three kinds of carts outside to draw them out. By doing this, was he deceiving them? Certainly not. It was to save them that he used various methods to convey to them that they should “leave quickly and not remain in that dangerous place.” After the various things he said to them did not work, he enticed them to come out with material goods.

So, in the previous sutra passage, Sariputra understood the Buddha’s intent, so he replied to His question with great care. “He did this to save people; that was his original intention. These people were able to preserve their lives and be unharmed by the fire. They could emerge safely. This is a benefit they have already received.”

“What is the reason? He protected their bodies and lives and each attained something that brought them joy. Furthermore, he used skillful means to rescue them from the burning house.”

Life is the most valuable thing. Nothing else is as valuable. So, being safe is already like attaining “something that brought them joy.” They had already attained something very valuable. The elder had planned from the beginning to show them a few things that would entice them to come out. He was going to give them all that he had. So, there was nothing false in what He said.

The next sutra passage states,

“World-Honored One, even if this elder did not give even the smallest carts to the children, there was nothing false in what He said.”

“World-Honored One, in order to save the children, the elder said various things to draw them outside. Since they have all emerged safely, even if he did not give them anything, even if he did not give them the smallest cart, what he said would still not be considered false.” He did this to save them and keep them safe, so what he said was not false.

Sariputra emphatically said again,

“What is the reason? This elder first had this thought, ‘I will use skillful means to lead my children out.’ These were the causes and conditions, so he spoke no falsehood.”

This was the elder’s plan from the beginning. Because the children did not want to come out, he had to use skillful means to draw them outside. The elder already “first had this thought.” In his heart, he was already prepared to entice them to come out by various means. Therefore, there was nothing false in what he said.

The way Sariputra answered the question demonstrated his respect. He respected and believed that the World-Honored One had not said anything false. Not only did the children emerge with their lives intact, once they came out, they were all given an ox-cart. He gave them such a great gift; how could that be false or wrong? It could not.

․Sariputra respectfully expressed his belief that the World-Honored One had not said anything false. He only wanted His children to escape the fire. By further giving them all great carts equally, he did not commit the fault of speaking a falsehood.

After they came out, “In the end he did not give the smaller carts, but equally gave each a great cart.”

In the end he did not give the smaller carts, but equally gave each a great cart; this describes the elder’s original intent. Both the small and great carts were part of his original intent.

After they came out, he gave everyone a great cart. This describes how the elder’s original intent was to give them the great cart. Similarly, the Buddha originally wanted to teach us the Great Vehicle Dharma, but we were unable to accept it. Thus, the Buddha had to find a way to get sentient beings to open their minds so they could take in the Dharma.

The burning house was dangerous. Everyone needed to quickly make their escape. However, they had so many afflictions that they could not leave through the door. This shows how we sentient beings cannot accept the teachings because we have limited capabilities and cannot eliminate our afflictions because they are too great. In particular, our greed and attachments are immense. So, we are unwilling to leave. This is why the smaller carts were needed. The sheep-cart and the deer-cart were placed outside for people who had not yet fully eliminated their afflictions.

Sariputra emphatically restated,

“What is the reason? This elder first had this thought, ‘I will use skillful means to lead my children out.’ These were the causes and conditions, so he spoke no falsehood.”

Because the elder had spoken this way, this was what was originally in his heart.

This is an analogy for how “the Great Vehicle that the Buddha is formally teaching now does not conflict with the Three Vehicles that were skillfully taught in the past.” This verifies that the Buddha would, at this Dharma-assembly, begin to “formally teach the Great Vehicle. Setting aside the skillful for the direct, He began to teach the supreme Dharma.” He began to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.

This an analogy for how the Great Vehicle that the Buddha is formally teaching now does not conflict with the Three Vehicles that were skillfully taught in the past.

“[It] does not conflict with the Three Vehicles that were skillfully taught in the past.” Now He was going to teach the Great Vehicle. We already know that, in the past, the Buddha had established the Three Vehicles for Hearers, Solitary Realizers and Bodhisattvas. We also know that now the Buddha wanted to teach the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path He was going to teach did not conflict with the teachings for. Hearers and Solitary Realizers. These Hearers and Solitary Realizers should be able to accept the Bodhisattva-path now, for Sariputra was one of them.

This was intended for everyone to see. You see, in the past, Sariputra was among the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. Now, having come to the Lotus Dharma-assembly, he had begun to attain realizations. After gaining understanding, he made great vows, so he was worthy of receiving this prediction that he would attain Buddhahood in the future. It was at the Lotus Dharma-assembly that. Sariputra received this confirmation. So, there is no falsehood in what the Buddha said. We must believe that the Buddha’s teachings are very organized and sequential.

This was why teaching the Lotus Sutra and the Great Vehicle Dharma did not conflict with what He had taught in the past. Now the great could encompass the small; this refers the past provisional teachings and the True Dharma He was now teaching. This is also like why the elder set up the three kinds of carts outside the burning house; it was for the sole purpose of guiding the sentient beings inside the burning house of the Three Realms to transcend these Three Realms and eliminate afflictions; He did this with various methods.

So, “With skillful means, He patiently taught based on the principles. By adapting to conditions, He guided them with provisional teachings. He taught simply according to capabilities, while the meaning within was profound. His language was skillful, and in the end, led them to understand the path.” The Great [Vehicle] Dharma He now taught does not contradict the Small Vehicle Dharma taught before. The Small Vehicle Dharma also leads ultimately to the Great Vehicle Dharma. This was the Buddha’s intention. He hoped everyone would return to their nature of True Suchness and be equal to the Buddha in realizing the true principles of all things in the universe. This was what the Buddha intended, as well as the intent of the elder. So, we must always be mindful.

Episode 579 – Free from Dust, Bodhisattvas Play in this World

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>> “Bodhisattvas free themselves from dust to play effortlessly in the world. They give willingly, take joy in this and never tire. They develop their wisdom-life among people. On the path of awakened sentient beings, they feel free and at ease.”

>> “What is the reason? He protected their bodies and lives and each attained something that brought them joy. Furthermore, he used skillful means to rescue them from the burning house.”

>> Sariputra understood the Buddha’s intent and thus answered: “The elder only wanted to help all his children to escape the fire. Thus he promised them the three carts in accordance with what they each desired so they each could get what made them happy. Those who had sought the small, instead attained the great and were joyful.”

>> Furthermore, according to their capabilities, the Buddha gave provisional teachings by exercising His skillful wisdom. Understanding the One Vehicle’s True Dharma is true wisdom. Understanding the provisional teachings of the Three Vehicles leads all to escape the burning house and be liberated from the suffering of the fire.

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“Bodhisattvas free themselves from dust
to play effortlessly in the world.
They give willingly,
take joy in this and never tire.
They develop their wisdom-life among people.
On the path of awakened sentient beings,
they feel free and at ease.”

As Buddhist practitioners, to walk the Bodhisattva-path we must first free ourselves from dust. We must first brush aside our afflictions and let go of them. The Buddha came to the world for one great cause, to “open and reveal” the Dharma in the hope that we will all understand the principles and keep ourselves from creating karma. So, we must free ourselves from dust, which is the defilements of afflictions.

We have the potential to become Bodhisattvas while we are in this world if we can free our minds from dust and defilement. If we have a pure, selfless and undefiled mind, we can play effortlessly through the world. By hearing the Buddha-Dharma in this world, we can understand the Three Realms. Then when our terrifying desires arise, we can protect ourselves with precepts. When we see things of all shapes and sizes, we must guard against wrongs and stop evil. When something does not belong to us, we must not have improper thoughts about it. Then we will not be tempted [into action] by anything. On top of this, we must purify our hearts. Even if there are many objects of desire and the potential for instant pleasure somewhere, we will not want to linger there.

Look at this passage of the sutra text. We have already spent a very long time talking about this “burning house.” The “burning house” is the human realm. It is not just the human realm, but everything we have created. When the Six Roots (sense organs) connect with the Six Dusts (sense objects), that triggers the Six Consciousnesses. If, before anything reaches the seventh consciousness, we can eliminate any kind of desire, our thinking will naturally be pure. If our thinking is pure, then naturally in everything we do we will be able to live as if we are playing in the world. Everything we do will be done with the understanding that this is how life is. Then we can interact with people with great ease and live with a sense of playfulness.

For instance, recently (in 2013), in the Philippines, our “cash for work” program has come to an end. We have now begun distributing cash assistance and relief aid. We have seen people there experiencing all kinds of hardship. Some of these residents went from having a lot to having nothing, from living harmoniously with their families to being separated from them forever. How have these people managed to get by?

Fortunately, there were Tzu Chi’s. Bodhisattva[-volunteers], who gathered from all over the world to get involved in the efforts there and contribute to these disaster survivors. There was an 80-year-old grandmother who was left all alone with her granddaughter. Their roof had flown off, and everything in the house was scattered about. Their lives were already difficult to begin with, and after this natural disaster, the suffering was unbearable; everything seemed hopeless.

Then Tzu Chi volunteers appeared and gave them the necessities they needed right away. Upon receiving these things, they were so happy. In particular, upon receiving loving comfort from the volunteers, they felt very grateful. Their spirits were raised. The grandmother said to her granddaughter, “You must study hard in school and. I will stay by your side and watch you grow up.” Now they have the strength to start anew.

Yesterday, after they received relief aid from us, upon their return home, they saw that it was 15,000 Philippine pesos. They said to each other, “This must be wrong. There are only two of us, so we should only receive 8000 pesos. They gave us the wrong amount. We should return the extra 7000 pesos right away.” Holding hands, grandmother and granddaughter returned to where we were distributing aid. They said, “Thank you for your monetary assistance, but we received an extra 7000 pesos. There are only two of us, so we want to return it right away.” The Tzu Chi volunteers were very moved and accompanied them back to their home.

Looking up, they saw there was no roof. Looking inside, they saw that everything had been completely damaged. The volunteers could see that the emergency items they received a few of days ago, blankets, rice, oil, grass mats, etc., had already been put to use in their daily living. The grass mats were laid out on the ground, the blankets were being used and the bags of rice had been opened and used in their cooking. The items provided to them by Tzu Chi were what they had immediately needed. The money that Tzu Chi had provided them with could have been used to sustain their lives or to buy corrugated metal sheets for a new roof, but they were not greedy about the extra money that they had received. One of the volunteers asked, “You had the excess money in hand; why did you come back to us to return it?”

The young girl, the granddaughter said, “This is not what we were supposed to receive. Tzu Chi volunteers have told us, ‘We should always be grateful.’ When we feel grateful, we do not feel greedy, so we felt that we should return it.” What we have seen and heard during the time we have spent with the survivors there, giving to help them, shows how the volunteers were constantly teaching.

This was done by putting the Dharma into practice, by opening up their arms to embrace the survivors and comfort them. They consoled and were even able to motivate them. To the survivors, life seemed gloomy and hopeless. The volunteers guided and energized them, helping them regain their hopes and move on with their lives.

The volunteers raised their spirits and helped them become energized. By working hard, the survivors earned money from our “cash for work” program. With their labor and their strength, they cleaned up their own neighborhoods and were able to earn money for doing it. A man who was part of the program said, “The first day I received my wages from the Tzu Chi volunteers they taught me not to waste my money, but to do something for my wife and children.” He said, “With money I received that first day, I immediately bought things that my family could eat and use.” He bought rice and oil so that his children would have food to eat. He said, “In the current situation, though the 500 pesos are gone once spent, but the volunteers’ words will stay with me forever.” This is the effect of Living Bodhisattvas who come from all over the world to give with utmost sincerity.

A few days ago, the president of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce was on a video conference with me when he said, “On behalf of the Chinese people here, I want to express our tremendous gratitude. Thank you all for being willing to come here. Those few days after the disaster first struck, there was a terrible smell from all the corpses. The animal carcasses also gave off a stench. Yet despite the foul odor so many volunteers have come here to help out. They have also mobilized so many people to join the cleanup efforts. So, we are all very grateful.”

Indeed! Living Bodhisattvas are not afraid of hard work. [The disaster area] was smelly, filthy and very chaotic. But people spent their own money to get there and were undeterred by the difficulty of the journey. Think about it, aren’t they like Bodhisattvas who have freed themselves from dust? They are playing effortlessly through the world!

Those affected had no prior connection with us, and they lived so far away. Yet, Tzu Chi volunteers were willing to go there and do their part. They treated strangers as part of their family and willingly gave of themselves. One of the volunteers who just returned asked me, “Master, can I go back again?” [I asked,] “Isn’t it very tiring to be there? The people there really need our help, and I feel like I have to go.” So, there were volunteers who kept going back. They give willingly, take joy in this and never tire.

In this world of suffering and hardship, when we willingly go into these situations, we take joy in this and never tire. From the bottom of our hearts, with genuine love, we say, “I am willing.” Then we can experience this joy from taking action. Once we have chosen this kind of path, we are willing to go repeatedly to help. “I am willing” implies an eagerness to give and to keep helping others in this world without complaining about being tired or how hard it is. When we take joy in this and never tire, we are indeed growing our wisdom-life. This is how our wisdom-life develops and matures.

This world is filled with impurities, and the turbidity of afflictions creates much suffering in this world. So, Bodhisattvas must go among people. Though people have myriad afflictions, Bodhisattvas do not become defiled by them. They remain uncontaminated, so “Bodhisattvas free themselves from dust.” Their minds are already pure. Bodhisattvas minds are very healthy, as if they have a strong immune system.

If our state of mind is proper and correct, we can go among people without being affected by them. There are so many kinds of people. Every person is a sutra [for us to read]. By learning about their lives, we attain more wisdom. This is why Bodhisattvas go among the people.

When the Buddha taught His disciples, why did He insist that they all walk the Bodhisattva-path in order to attain Buddhahood? This is because by going among people, our wisdom-life will grow.

The Buddha, in the Lotus Sutra, constantly taught with analogies. He constantly mentioned that spiritual practice always takes place in the human realm and always requires us to remain strong in the face of suffering and hardship. By willingly walking the Bodhisattva-path, we can travel in peace and with great ease. This is how the Buddha-Dharma helps us cherish being born as a human. We are grateful for the body our parents gave us. We are grateful to the Buddha for opening up the right path for us. We are grateful to sentient beings for enabling us to sustain our physical life, and we are grateful for the appearances they manifest that help our wisdom-life grow. We are also grateful for the heavens and earth. This is the Fourfold Grace. Because of the Fourfold Grace in our lives, we must cherish the body we have and use it to walk the Bodhisattva-path.

The parable of the burning house contains an abundance of teachings, which constantly remind us to be vigilant. Every one of them is True Dharma. Because we cannot understand True Dharma, the Buddha used the analogy of the burning house.

The previous passage starts with. “Sariputra said.” The elder had set up three kinds of carts outside the house but ended up giving them the great cart. Was he thus being deceptive? The Buddha asked Sariputra to answer this question. He called upon Sariputra to answer, asking him, “By doing this, was the elder being deceptive?” Sariputra answered, “not at all! How could this be considered deceptive?”

“World-Honored One, the elder wanted to quickly get his children out of the burning house in order to preserve their lives, so he used various methods to achieve that. By setting up the three kinds of carts, he saved their lives. How could what he said have been false?”

“Why?” Sariputra responded in an emphatic tone,

“What is the reason? He protected their bodies and lives and each attained something that brought them joy. Furthermore, he used skillful means to rescue them from the burning house.”

This shows that. Sariputra already understood the Buddha’s intent, that He wished to help the listeners develop an even clearer understanding. Therefore, Sariputra answered by saying, “This elder, out of love for his children, skillfully set up the three kinds of carts to entice his children to leave the burning house.”

He was acting according to their needs. Knowing what the children felt they needed and “in accordance with what they each desired,” he gave them the things they wanted. That was why he set up these three kinds of carts. In the end, he gave them the cart that was the best and would make them most happy.

Sariputra understood the Buddha’s intent and thus answered: “The elder only wanted to help all his children to escape the fire. Thus he promised them the three carts in accordance with what they each desired so they each could get what made them happy. Those who had sought the small, instead attained the great and were joyful.”

Actually, what the children wanted were the smaller sheep-carts and deer-carts. That is why they ran outside. However, when they saw the cart drawn by the great white ox, they felt even happier. That was because this ox-cart had already been decorated with priceless treasures. It was particularly beautiful and attractive. Moreover, they could travel with companions. So, of course the ox-cart was the best option. Thus He was able to “keep their bodies intact.” If their bodies were not damaged by the fire, they would still have their lives. This in itself makes them very fortunate and is something they should be grateful for.

Moreover, “the Buddha gave provisional teachings in accord with capabilities.” To get them to come out, He devised skillful means. He used skillful means because even though He wanted to give them so much, their capabilities were limited. So, He said things like, “There are sheep-carts and deer-carts, carts drawn by sheep and carts drawn by deer. Hurry up and come out.” In fact, the elder was already mentally prepared to give them the great ox-cart, not the small carts. He mentioned the small carts because that was what they thought they wanted. This is an analogy for how the Buddha gave provisional teachings in accordance with people’s capabilities. This is an analogy for how the Buddha taught. He originally wanted to guide us to walk the Bodhisattva-path so we could ultimately attain the goal of becoming a Buddha. But beforehand, the Buddha had to devise the Three Vehicles. The Three Vehicles are the Hearer, Solitary Realizer and. Bodhisattva Vehicles. In fact, He ultimately wanted to teach us the. Great Vehicle, the Bodhisattva Way.

Furthermore, according to their capabilities, the Buddha gave provisional teachings by exercising His skillful wisdom. Understanding the One Vehicle’s True Dharma is true wisdom. Understanding the provisional teachings of the Three Vehicles leads all to escape the burning house and be liberated from the suffering of the fire.

“Understanding the One Vehicle’s True Dharma” means that we already understand in our hearts that what the Buddha used in the past was skillful means and provisional wisdom. This understanding is true wisdom. Out of true wisdom, the Buddha gave provisional teachings; this was why He established the Three Vehicles.

Thus we “understand the provisional teachings of the Three Vehicles.” The Buddha knew [our capabilities], so He used the Three Vehicles as a guide to help us along the way. These skillful means are absolutely essential teachings in this world. We must use these ways of living in this world to enter the Bodhisattva-path. For the sake of those who are suffering, we give of ourselves. By taking on the suffering in this world, we can develop our wisdom. This demonstrates how mindful the Buddha was; He applied His wisdom to transform all beings.

So, Bodhisattva must free themselves from dust and impurities. Playing effortlessly in this world, they see [life] as a game. No matter how others criticize us, we must also treat it as part of the game. When something is the right thing to do, we must do it. Whether we are on the right course depends on whether we are on the path of awakened beings. Are we walking the Bodhisattva-path? Are we willingly giving to others? Are we giving out of genuine sincerity so we take joy in this and never tire? Have we absorbed the Dharma by interacting with other people? Are we walking this road with a sense of peace and great ease? All of this is a part of the Buddha’s goal in giving the Lotus teachings. In this [parable of the] burning house, there is much True Dharma for us to mindfully delve into. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 578 – Everlasting Wisdom-life With Fivefold Dharmakaya

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>> “The lifespan of the body given to us by our parents is limited. When ordinary people’s desires arise, they create afflictions and turbidities. By purifying our awakened nature, our wisdom-life can last forever. Our awakened nature of True Suchness will enter the ocean of wisdom.”

>> “Sariputra, what would you say? Did this elder, in giving his children these precious great carts, speak any falsehood?”

>> “Sariputra said, ‘No, World-Honored One This elder only wanted his children to escape from the fire and keep their bodies intact Thus he did not speak a falsehood.'”

>> The reason the elder first spoke of three carts was so that all of his children could escape the disaster of the burning house and preserve their lives. Since their bodies remained intact, was there anything false in what he said? Therefore it says, “He did not speak a falsehood.”

>> Because the [Buddha-]children might question that what was said was a falsehood, the World-Honored One followed Sariputra’s answer with further explanation.

>> This is an analogy for how the Buddha first gave provisional teachings to protect the. Fivefold Dharmakaya of Small Vehicle practitioners so they could enter the wisdom-life of emptiness. Thus, they attained the Dharma which suited their desires and made them joyful. Since their bodies were saved from the fire and they had new lives, how could what he said have been false?

>> The Fivefold Dharmakaya is “precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation, liberated understanding and views.” This is the Fivefold Dharmakaya.

>> Therefore, we say. “Precepts transcend the aggregate of form.” With “precepts,” we are able to transcend the skandha of form,

>> “Samadhi” can help us transcend “feelings,” our sensations.

>> “Wisdom” transcends “perception.” It transcends “the skandha of perception.”

>> Then, with liberation, we transcend “action,” the skandha of action.

>> “Liberated understanding and views” can help us transcend “consciousness” and understand True Suchness.

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“The lifespan of the body
given to us by our parents is limited.
When ordinary people’s desires arise,
they create afflictions and turbidities.
By purifying our awakened nature,
our wisdom-life can last forever.
Our awakened nature of True Suchness
will enter the ocean of wisdom.”

We are all brought into this world by our parents. The length of our physical life is limited. If we use the body given to us by our parents in pursuit of the many objects of desire in the world that are constantly tempting us, our minds will be led by our external conditions. Thus we reproduce afflictions, so they constantly multiply. They repeatedly arise and cease, cease and then arise. We continue to reproduce them over and over. These are turbidities, the impurities and defilements that we are endlessly reproducing. This is what we ordinary people do.

If we recognize how rare it is to be born human, how rare it is to encounter the Buddha-Dharma and how hard it is to walk the Bodhisattva-path, we see that we have overcome many difficulties. We have attained this precious human form and heard the precious Buddha-Dharma. As for the difficult-to-walk Bodhisattva-path, since these causes and conditions have come together, we must earnestly seize this opportunity to direct our mind and body to become immersed in the Buddha-Dharma and [return to] our pure awakened nature. As we continue to purify our minds,

we gradually allow our wisdom-life to last forever. As we eliminate our afflictions, our wisdom-life will grow. With each little bit of afflictions we eliminate, our wisdom-life grows by a little bit. If we lose a certain amount of our wisdom-life, our afflictions will increase by that same amount. This is an inverse correlation. Therefore, we must be mindful and make use of our time as human beings in this world to listen to the Buddha-Dharma and experience the truths of life by going among people. These truths must be attained by going among the people. When wisdom manifests, we can see our wisdom-life. By manifesting True Suchness, our wisdom-life can last forever.

“Our awakened nature of True Suchness will enter the ocean of wisdom.” If we can awaken our nature of True Suchness, won’t our ocean of wisdom be equal to the Buddha’s?

The Buddha, from the very beginning, realized sentient beings have limited capabilities. Therefore, He made use of various methods in order to guide and teach us. So, how do we attain wisdom-life and the awakened nature of True Suchness? By tapping into our ocean of enlightenment. The Buddha applied His wisdom to awaken our ocean of enlightened wisdom. This was how the Buddha taught us with great care.

As we have already mentioned, the previous sutra passage states,

“Sariputra, what would you say? Did this elder, in giving his children these precious great carts, speak any falsehood?”

When the elder first saw his children lingering in the burning house without trying to escape, he quickly told them, “There are three kinds of carts outside that can meet your needs. Hurry up! Come out!” These children saw that the things they wanted were outside, so they rushed out without any hesitation.

After they all came out, the elder told the children, “Look at the sheep-cart and deer-cart. They are very simple and can only be used to transport one person. Look at this ox-cart. See how beautifully decorated it is! You can also bring companions with you, as this cart can carry many people. And the ox pulling it is especially healthy and strong. The color of its coat is so beautiful. Why don’t all of you quickly make the decision to choose the cart drawn by the great white ox?” They all looked at it. Indeed! It was very wonderful. Moreover, they would not get lonely on the road. This cart would not just carry one person; it could carry many people. Therefore, everybody abandoned the sheep-carts and deer-carts and headed toward the great ox-cart. This was an analogy made by the Buddha.

He then asked, “Sariputra, [the elder] was originally going to give the children three kinds of carts. After everybody understood [the situation], they chose the one drawn by the great white ox. In this case, did the elder speak a falsehood? Did he deceive these children?” Sariputra responded in the next sutra passage.

“Sariputra said, ‘No, World-Honored One This elder only wanted his children to escape from the fire and keep their bodies intact Thus he did not speak a falsehood.'”

Sariputra said, “No, why would that be called a falsehood? World-Honored One, the elder saw that his children were still in the house and in great danger, and no matter how he yelled, they would not leave. Therefore, in his wisdom, he put what they wanted outside the door.” What did these children really want? No one knew them better than their father. Simply to entice the children out of the house, he gave them what they craved and pursued. However, the intention of the elder was to preserve the lives of his children so that they would not be destroyed by the fire. Thus, to “keep their bodies intact” means the elder used skillful means to entice them to come out. So, “How could he be said to have”

“spoken a falsehood? If he had spoken a falsehood, they would not have gotten anything. If he spoke without purpose and caused harm to people, then he could be said to have spoken a falsehood. If you tell people you have something for them but ultimately give them nothing at all, then that would be considered deceptive. However, he did more than achieve his own aims; he kept his children safe. Since they are safe, there was no falsehood.” This was Sariputra’s answer.

The reason the elder first spoke of three carts was so that all of his children could escape the disaster of the burning house and preserve their lives. Since their bodies remained intact, was there anything false in what he said? Therefore it says, “He did not speak a falsehood.”

After the children came out of the house, with the elder’s continued encouragement, they picked the cart drawn by the great white ox. Concerned that [His disciples] might have doubts, the Buddha purposely asked Sariputra this question.

This was because Sariputra was the designated recipient of these teachings.

Because the [Buddha-]children might question that what was said was a falsehood, the World-Honored One followed Sariputra’s answer with further explanation.

When the Buddha was teaching the Dharma, He considered Sariputra the recipient of these teachings. The Buddha asked Sariputra this question, hoping Sariputra would answer for everyone. It was because the elder said those things in order to preserve the lives of his children that he therefore did not speak a falsehood.

But the Buddha was worried that those of us learning the Dharma in the future, when reading this sutra passage, would wonder, “Was the elder deceiving the children?” We might also criticize the Buddha, “If He wanted to give them the great ox-cart, why would He use sheep-carts and deer-carts to deceptively lure them out?” The Buddha was worried that people in the future would doubt Him, would doubt His teachings, so He wanted to explain away any question that might cause them to have the slightest doubt.

This was similar to how, after the Buddha had attained enlightenment, He originally wanted to share the entirety of [the truths of] all things in the universe and. His ocean of enlightened wisdom with everyone, but people had limited capabilities and could not accept this incredible Dharma. So, He had to teach with the Three Vehicles. He had to use various methods to teach them according to their capabilities. Thus, the Buddha carefully considered the capacities of sentient beings. Would this analogy cause people in the future to get into debates and develop doubts? Therefore, He asked this question.

Sariputra’s answer was that this was “provisional teaching.” Because sentient beings could not accept the Buddha’s teachings that directly pointed to their minds and true nature, He was not able to tell them directly, “Your mind already has the intrinsic nature of True Suchness, and you are already a Buddha.”

They were clearly still unenlightened beings living in a state of confusion, so He could not tell them, “You are a Buddha!” But what is the state of Buddhahood? It is definitely not a state of confusion. The state of the Buddha is absolutely pure and free of afflictions. However, the minds of ordinary people are obviously filled with afflictions. Clearly, they were living in state of confusion. Even if the Buddha told them [they were Buddhas], they would still be afflicted and not understand. So, the Buddha had to teach the Three Vehicles.

The Buddha “first gave provisional teachings to protect the Fivefold Dharmakaya of Small Vehicle practitioners.”

This is an analogy for how the Buddha first gave provisional teachings to protect the. Fivefold Dharmakaya of Small Vehicle practitioners so they could enter the wisdom-life of emptiness. Thus, they attained the Dharma which suited their desires and made them joyful. Since their bodies were saved from the fire and they had new lives, how could what he said have been false?

The Fivefold Dharmakaya is explained in detail in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings.

The Fivefold Dharmakaya is “precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation, liberated understanding and views.” This is the Fivefold Dharmakaya.

With precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, etc., the wisdom-life of our Dharmakaya has already transcended the Five Skandhas.

The Five Skandhas are the Five Aggregates. What are the Five Aggregates? What are the Five Skandhas? They are the same teaching, just one of them is an older translation. The five are “form, feeling, perception action and consciousness.”

“Precepts” deal with “form.” By upholding precepts, nothing of any shape or size will be able to disturb our minds. If we ordinary people do not abide by precepts, when we see this thing, we crave it; when we see that thing, our minds are excited. This leads us to become deluded and to lose sight of the precepts. So, as Buddhist practitioners, precepts can guard against wrongs and stop evil so we can transcend “form.”

Therefore, we say. “Precepts transcend the aggregate of form.” With “precepts,” we are able to transcend the skandha of form,

which is also the aggregate of form. An “aggregate” is an accumulation. To transcend our desires for various forms, we have to rely on precepts.

“Samadhi” can help us transcend “feelings,” our sensations.

We may see something and be unable to control ourselves; that is a kind of feeling. We all understand that some people are very rich and lack for nothing, but when they see something other people have, they cannot control themselves. That is the feeling they have. It means they are no longer in a state of Samadhi. Our belongings are ours. Other people’s belongings are theirs. We cannot cross this line, but we have these improper feelings. If we are in a state of Samadhi, we will not have this inappropriate feeling. Doing things that we should not do is wrong.

“Wisdom” transcends “perception.” It transcends “the skandha of perception.”

Though we know we should not take other people’s possessions, due to our “perceptions,” our thoughts still lead us astray. We know that this thing belongs to someone else, and we must not cross the line. We must concentrate on the rules so that we can carefully abide by precepts. We cannot even have this kind of perception about these objects. Not only should we not break the precepts, we must not allow our minds to even focus on this. This takes wisdom. Wisdom is something that transcends our feelings for material things so external forms and afflictions cannot penetrate our minds. This is wisdom.

Then, with liberation, we transcend “action,” the skandha of action.

This kind of [mental] action takes place without our conscious awareness. Even though we can control our physical actions, this “action” means things are constantly changing, such as the very subtle afflictions that continue to arise in our minds. This “action” takes place in all things. There is nothing that does not undergo “action.” When it comes to our physical body, it is constantly undergoing infinitesimal changes. In the time from birth to death, there is not a single second or moment of thought where we are not experiencing “action.”

The “aggregate of action” refers to these constant, infinitesimal changes. For instance, in this universe, our planet is constantly orbiting in our solar system. We live on this planet, yet this is not within our awareness. Day and night are inseparable from this [action], and it never stops, even for a second. These are the infinitesimal changes of Earth; its orbit must be very precise as it constantly experiences this “action.” This “aggregate of action” works the same way in the microcosm of our body. We must become liberated; liberation is the only way to transcend the aggregate of action. To transcend birth and death and the thoughts in our minds, we must practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom and then need to seek liberation. We cannot only have precepts, Samadhi, wisdom; it is not enough to merely control ourselves. We must be completely liberated, so liberated that the subtle afflictions [caused by] the aggregate of action will be completely washed away. To be liberated from “action,” we must transcend the aggregate of action.

“Liberated understanding and views” can help us transcend “consciousness” and understand True Suchness.

As for “consciousness, we cannot take anything with us when we die; only our karma follows us to the next life.” This karma is stored in our consciousness, the eighth, or storehouse, consciousness. The karma we have created is stored in the eighth consciousness. Whatever is stored in the eighth consciousness, no matter how tiny it is, is what we must work to transcend so we can return to the ninth consciousness, the nature of True Suchness, which is a very pure state. It is as pure as the Buddha’s.

To realize these principles, we must cultivate the Fivefold Dharmakaya, “precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation, liberated understanding and views.” We must return to the Buddha’s understanding and views. This is why we must develop the Fivefold Dharmakaya.

We must strive to answer the question, “Why is this?” Previously, we explained that the the Buddha used the Three Vehicles, setting them up like sheep-carts and deer-carts. This is like the way the elder used sheep-carts and deer-carts. The Buddha is a world-transcending awakened one. He used the Small Vehicle teachings, which are for Hearers and Solitary Realizers, to entice everyone to go all the way to the Bodhisattva-path. The ox-cart represents the Bodhisattva-path.

Everyone, this shows the Buddha’s mindfulness. The Buddha loves sentient beings like His own children. The Buddha not only wants to protect the physical life of all sentient beings, He also wants to protect their wisdom-life by helping them use their lives to develop wisdom.

Our physical life is given to us by our parents. After we are born, we live for a limited time. Since our parents gave us this [precious] life, if we only use our limited time in the world to create afflictions and constantly reproduce them, that would be a pity indeed. We must seize the time we have right away to expand the breadth and depth of our life.

We must heighten our vigilance of the desires that arise in us and be disciplined and reverent. The Dharma is like water which washes away our impurities. Only by developing our wisdom-life can it last forever. With our awakened nature of True Suchness, we will naturally enter the ocean of wisdom and return to our nature of True Suchness. We need to turn the afflictions [stored] in the eighth consciousness into our nature of True Suchness. This is why we must apply [the Dharma] right now. Therefore, we must always be mindful.

Episode 577- The Three Views of Emptiness and Existence

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>> “Infinite loving-kindness brings infinite love. Infinite compassion is endless and spreads without bounds. All sentient beings are the Buddha’s children with lasting relationships and deep affinities.”

>> Why is this so? With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking, to say nothing of my children. At this time all the children boarded their great carts. They obtained what they never had before, beyond what they had ever wanted.

>> “Sariputra! What would you say? Did this elder, in giving his children these precious great carts, speak any falsehood?”

>> Sariputra, what would you say? This is discussing how the elder saw his children in the burning house, clinging to desires and sensory pleasures and completely unaware that the great house was burning on all four sides. To entice the children to leave the house, he promised them three kinds of carts.

>> Now the children had heard about the three carts which suited their desires. Once they were outside the house, he gave them each a great white ox-cart, different from the three carts he promised before.

>> This explains that the elder did not speak falsely. The elder at first promised his children the three carts. Once his children had come out of the house, he did not give them sheep- or deer-carts, but gave them all precious great carts. First speaking of three, then giving one, is this speaking a falsehood?

>> The Three Views are the view of emptiness, the view of illusoriness and the middle view. The view of emptiness is “contemplating all phenomena as arising interdependently, with no nature; thus their essence is empty.”

>> This means “Contemplating all phenomena as neither empty nor illusory and both empty and illusory, with the true principle of the Middle Way.” These are the true principles.

>> The cart drawn by the great white ox: This is an analogy for the path chosen by. Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas who harmonize all three views to contemplate the principles of the ultimate reality of all phenomena, thus ending all ignorance and afflictions and achieving all-encompassing wisdom. This is like riding a great white ox-cart to where the treasures are kept.

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“Infinite loving-kindness brings infinite love.
Infinite compassion is endless
and spreads without bounds.
All sentient beings are the Buddha’s children
with lasting relationships and deep affinities.”

“Infinite loving-kindness brings infinite love.” For us, as Buddhist practitioners, this is the most fundamental lesson we must learn and apply. After taking the Dharma to heart, we must act in accord with the Dharma. Therefore, we must have great loving-kindness and must have great compassion. Our “infinite compassion is boundless.” However expansive this world is, our compassion will be just as expansive. Thus it “spreads without bounds.”

“All sentient beings are the Buddha’s children.” Recently, we have been describing the great elder who of course could not be separated from his children. “With lasting relationships and deep affinities” means that this connection is still there after all this time. The Buddha, countless kalpas ago, started to engage in spiritual practice and transform sentient beings, and He is still doing that. We do not know how many lifetimes we have spent following the Buddha in spiritual practice. Because we have this karmic affinity, He guides us and transforms us. This relationship has lasted for a very long time.

We often say that we must “extend our compassion, spread great love.” This is what Bodhisattvas do. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must become awakened sentient beings. We must constantly form and maintain relationships with sentient beings. As a recent example, after the Philippines suffered a great disaster (Typhoon Haiyan, 2013), people from more than 40 countries so far have contributed to help them.

Every day, the news that they report is very moving and touches our hearts. The “cash for work” program is about to come to an end. This final stage took place in the town of San Jose, When we were initially launching the “cash for work” program there, fewer than 200 people signed up at first. How could we possibly clear away everything? Mr. [Alfredo] Li immediately gathered neighborhood leaders and told them, “Please go to every household right away and tell them that anyone over 15 years old can help clean up the debris and make some money, 500 Philippine pesos per day.”

The neighborhood leaders made a great effort. Right away, they invited people to come help. Suddenly, many people showed up. On the first day, over 1000 people started working. Of course, mobilizing them took a lot of wisdom and skill. After two or three days, we began to wrap up. But there were many touching stories in this time. The interactions of the Tzu Chi volunteers with survivors raised their hopes and helped them see the potential of rebuilding. The survivors heard Tzu Chi volunteers say, “Doing good deeds is not the privilege of the rich, it is the right of those with the will. Everyone can do good deeds.” Many disaster survivors became volunteers.

One of the stories came from a man who was part of a family of fishermen. When the typhoon suddenly struck, he lost six or seven members of his family; they have still not been found. At that time, he lost all hope. How could he go on with his life? After seeing the dedication of Tzu Chi volunteers, he made a vow, “As long as I am still alive, I can still be very useful and can help others.”

There was also a brother and sister who lost many members of their family. Their home and livelihood were destroyed overnight; there was nothing left. They said that for the past month, they found it hard to survive. They did not know how to get by, how to make a living. After joining the “cash for work” program, they were very happy to receive their wages. The brother said, “We should go buy some fish and meat.” But his younger sister said, “We just heard Tzu Chi volunteers say that [these wages] come from the love of people all over the world. Love means having respect for all living beings. These funds from around the world are given to us to help us rebuild our homes, and using it to buy fish and meat would not be the right thing to do.” The brother said, “You’re right! We should respect what the Tzu Chi volunteers shared with us. Fine, as long as we aren’t hungry, it is okay. Then we can use the money for roofing materials.” Thus they began to work on rebuilding every day.

Even though they did not have much money, they took the Dharma to heart. Seeing the [volunteers’] infinite loving-kindness, boundless compassion and an “infinite love that knows no boundaries,” they cherished the love shown to them and respected the Tzu Chi volunteers in return. Aren’t they behaving like one big family? This is what the Buddha taught us. In this world, loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity are essential parts of our lives.

In the previous sutra text, the Buddha told Sariputra that originally, the elder placed three kinds of carts outside, sheep-carts, deer-carts and ox-carts, but in the end, he gave each child a cart adorned with the Seven Treasures and drawn by a great white ox. Why?

The Buddha explained that the elder said, “I have a lot of money, enough resources to give to every person in this country and still have extra. How could I not give more to my children?” So, after his children left the burning house, they climbed onto the carts drawn by the great white oxen. The great white oxen pulled these carts on the bright and broad path in a very steady manner. These children were very happy. What they received was something they would have never have dreamed of asking for. Now, they had received so much. This is the general idea of the previous text.

Why is this so? With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking, to say nothing of my children. At this time all the children boarded their great carts. They obtained what they never had before, beyond what they had ever wanted.

The Buddha called to Sariputra again.

“Sariputra! What would you say? Did this elder, in giving his children these precious great carts, speak any falsehood?”

Was there anything false in what he said? This is talking about what the elder did when he saw flames arise on all sides of this great house. His children were still clinging to being inside, indulging themselves and playing. They did not realize that fire was already burning on all four sides. This was why he set up the three kinds of carts to draw them out. He showed them that outside this great house were things that they loved. With this method, he enticed the children to leave the burning house.

Sariputra, what would you say? This is discussing how the elder saw his children in the burning house, clinging to desires and sensory pleasures and completely unaware that the great house was burning on all four sides. To entice the children to leave the house, he promised them three kinds of carts.

This is the elder’s wisdom. The various carts outside were so beautiful; they were made completely out of treasures.

When these children heard about this, they felt these carts suited their desires. These happened to be precisely what they wanted, so they were very happy to leave the great house to get the kinds of carts that they wanted. But once they were outside the great house, the elder gave them just one kind of cart, the biggest and the best.

Now the children had heard about the three carts which suited their desires. Once they were outside the house, he gave them each a great white ox-cart, different from the three carts he promised before.

This was why the Buddha asked Sariputra, “Think about this. Since I later gave everyone the great cart, was there anything false in what I said? Did I lie?” This elder originally set up three kinds of carts, but in the end, he only gave them one kind. So, did he speak a falsehood? The Buddha asked this to prove that there was nothing false in what the elder said.

This explains that the elder did not speak falsely. The elder at first promised his children the three carts. Once his children had come out of the house, he did not give them sheep- or deer-carts, but gave them all precious great carts. First speaking of three, then giving one, is this speaking a falsehood?

Speaking a falsehood means harming others when what we say does not add up. Then we are speaking a falsehood. If I said I was giving you a small present, one or two items, but end up giving you five, six, seven, eight, nine items, I gave you more than just one or two, but many things, many great things. This is beneficial to you, so I did not commit the fault of speaking a falsehood.

This is also a kind of analogy. The three carts are an analogy for the Three Views, three different teachings.

The Three Views are the view of emptiness, the view of illusoriness and the middle view. The view of emptiness is “contemplating all phenomena as arising interdependently, with no nature; thus their essence is empty.”

This is what I often explain to everyone as “true emptiness.” The Buddha established the Three Vehicles. For the Small Vehicle practitioners, the Hearers, He told them that all things arise from karmic conditions. If we [look] deeper into karmic conditions, we see they have no nature. What do karmic conditions actually look like? If we did not create any karma, how would there be any karmic conditions? Take a big tree for example. A thick-trunked tree comes from a small seed. If there is a seed but not the right conditions, if a seed is placed on a desk for one year, three years, ten years, this seed will always remain a seed. A seed requires the conditions of soil, of air and of water to converge with this seed. When this cause converges with conditions, it will grow into a thick-trunked tree.

If we separate all these conditions, we realize. “All phenomena arise interdependently with no nature.” This means that phenomena do not have any particular kind of nature. Things are dependent on the convergence of various [conditions] to arise. When conditions disperse, there will be nothing there, no nature. “Thus their essence is empty.” We must see that. “All phenomena arise interdependently with no nature.” There is no independently existing nature; [causes and conditions] must converge to give rise to this substance. When these causes and conditions disperse, there is just emptiness. There is nothing left. This is the “view of emptiness.”

Next is the “view of illusoriness.” Everything is illusory, like a dream or mirage. Although everything is like a dream or illusion, everything has an illusory appearance and function. We can say things are illusory and unreal, but living in this world, we must make use of the illusory in order to achieve the “true.” How do we survive in this world? Of course, we need to have certain necessities. Every day we have to eat and absorb the nutrients which make our body healthy so we are able to do things. Although these things are illusory, we can use them to cultivate the true.

The weather is so cold; we must dress warmly. We need these materials to help keep the warmth within our bodies. But if we break down this material, we can see that its existence is illusory. What are the origins of this material? Cotton, sisal and so on, were planted to become material for cloth.

Cotton and sisal each have their own kind of seed. They also rely on soil, water, air and the work farmers do to cultivate and harvest them. After a manufacturing process, they become cloth. Cloth can be weaved to help us keep cool or stay warm. Then this can be made into clothes. But when we keep analyzing these materials, ultimately they are illusory. There is nothing in this world that will last forever.

However, in life, we rely on the illusory to cultivate the true. We depend on many illusory material things. Life is short and temporary, but we depend on the environment we live in. This is the view of illusoriness. This is what we need to understand.

But people are deluded. Everything is illusory, but people continue to cling to their desires, so they want to occupy other countries, take over other people’s businesses. People create conflicts and oppose each other, fighting simply so that. “Yours is now mine; I must have more than you.” That is the sole reason. So, clinging to these things in this world is like clinging to and lingering in the burning house. This happens because of our delusions.

The Buddha comes to teach us some principles. Emptiness! All things return to emptiness; all things are impermanent. All material things are illusory. Through the illusory, we cultivate the true. We must not be enticed by illusory things to give rise to so much ignorance and afflictions. In the end, it is we who will suffer. So, we have to understand the truths of emptiness and illusoriness and their principles.

Most importantly, we must have “the middle view. There is wondrous existence in emptiness and true emptiness in wondrous existence.”

This means “Contemplating all phenomena as neither empty nor illusory and both empty and illusory, with the true principle of the Middle Way.” These are the true principles.

Don’t I constantly say this? Although we understand “true emptiness,” we need to use the illusory appearance of things or the empty space around us, to be grounded and steadfast in our daily living. The sheep-cart and deer-cart are like the “view of emptiness,” the truth of emptiness or truth of illusoriness. As we engage in contemplation of emptiness, if we can understand this principle, we can use the illusory to cultivate the true.

In fact, the most true thing is the Middle Way, the cart drawn by the great white ox. The “view of emptiness” and “view of illusoriness” are part of the process of spiritual cultivation. The most important is the “middle view,” which is like the cart drawn by the great white ox. This is a thorough understanding of how “all phenomena are neither empty nor illusory.” If not for the principle of emptiness, how would we possibly realize how we have been attached to existence and clinging to many things, thinking, “This is mine.” Thus we constantly suffer from meeting with those we hate, parting with those we love and not getting what we want. This comes from not thoroughly understanding the principles of emptiness and illusoriness. The Buddha taught these two principles

to help us understand this. As we come to understand them, we [internalize these teachings]. In the end, we can still steadily drive the white ox forward and onto the Bodhisattva-path. The great white ox-cart is the Bodhisattva-path; Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas have chosen the cart drawn by the great white ox.

The cart drawn by the great white ox: This is an analogy for the path chosen by. Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas who harmonize all three views to contemplate the principles of the ultimate reality of all phenomena, thus ending all ignorance and afflictions and achieving all-encompassing wisdom. This is like riding a great white ox-cart to where the treasures are kept.

By harmonizing the Three Views, we understand that everything is neither illusory nor real and both illusory and real. In conclusion, we must take the “middle view,” which is the “truth of the Middle Way.” This is how we “harmonize all three views.” Only with the wisdom of Bodhisattvas can we realize these principles and go among people without being contaminated.

So, we “contemplate the principles of the ultimate reality of all phenomena.” With the views of emptiness and of illusoriness, though all things are empty and illusory, they contain many wondrously profound principles. There is “wondrous existence in true emptiness.” This true principle can instantly break through ignorance and afflictions. By eliminating all afflictions, we achieve “all-encompassing wisdom.” This is like riding an ox-cart to arrive at the place where treasures are kept. This is returning to our intrinsic Buddha-nature, our nature of True Suchness.

Dear Bodhisattvas, to learn the Buddha’s teachings and to engage in spiritual practice, we must thoroughly understand various principles. Once we penetrate them, we will be able to steadfastly advance on the path we need to take, which is the Bodhisattva-path. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 576 – Exercise Wondrous Powers to Understand All

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>> “We must understand the pure and radiant virtues of our intrinsic nature. This virtuous nature is found inside and out. Inside, it is the wondrous wisdom we possess. Outside, it is all the Dharma we understand and express.”

>> Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially. I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child], with an impartial mind, so that they are not treated differently.

>> “Why is this so? With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking, to say nothing of my children. At this time all the children boarded their great carts. They obtained what they never had before, beyond what they had ever wanted.”

>> Why is this so? With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking, to say nothing of my children: This is an analogy for the pure Dharma-nature which all sentient beings possess. The Buddha did nothing more than teach what sentient beings already intrinsically possess so that they would learn and practice it. This is indicating that human nature is intrinsic, not given, and does not increase or decrease. With the teachings given now, He indicated the way and led us to return to our nature. So, how could we be lacking what we have?

>> The Buddha’s great enlightened wisdom is clearly something sentient beings have. The Dharma-nature is like a great ocean. He does not say it is true or not. Unenlightened beings and noble beings are equal; no one is higher or lower. Only by eliminating the afflictions in their minds can they attain realization as easily as if turning over their hand.

>> All the children who sought the ox-carts only feared not getting them. Now they indeed attained them. Those who at first sought the sheep- or deer-carts sought what was small, but now they attained what was great. Thus it was beyond what they hoped for.

>> At this time: Those who were without affinities had their desires more than fulfilled, not to mention those with the affinities! Those without affinities are those lacking the right causes and conditions. But the Buddha compassionately taught all and ultimately formed affinities without bias.

>> Unconditional loving-kindness is an inherent principle of True Suchness. This means that all sentient beings are the Buddha’s children. Those in the past and the future who had not formed affinities are still the Buddha’s children.

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“We must understand the pure
and radiant virtues of our intrinsic nature.
This virtuous nature is found inside and out.
Inside, it is the wondrous wisdom we possess.
Outside, it is all the Dharma
we understand and express.”

As I often say, we unenlightened beings endlessly transmigrate in the Six Realms, constantly reproducing our afflictions and ignorance. So, our intrinsic nature has already been buried under a deep layer of afflictions. If we want to manifest our true nature right now, we must put in a lot of hard work to break down each layer of afflictions, then brush them aside and wash them away. We have to break down, brush aside, then wash. We must constantly put in this hard work. As the Buddha told us, He Himself spent innumerable kalpas in the presence of countless Buddhas, unceasingly engaging in spiritual practice. In each lifetime, time after time, He built up [His spiritual practice]. In the end, He was able to completely eliminate His impurities so clarity and radiance manifested once again. This was when He became enlightened.

“This virtuous nature is found inside and out.” A virtuous nature is something we must cultivate. We are replete with this in our nature; it is inherently in us. “Inside, it is the wondrous wisdom we possess.” All of us inherently have the power of wondrous wisdom. But for a very long time, we have been confused. We should very clearly understand that we all have this virtuous nature, but this virtue must be cultivated; we must earnestly go among people and interact with them harmoniously.

Whether we are opening our mouth to speak, or moving our body to act, we must be considerate of others and help them reduce their burdens and their work. By making an effort to do a little more, we can reduce the amount of work others must do. This does not mean that only in serious disasters can we go among the suffering in order to do good deeds and cultivate blessings. Here and now, we can do good deeds and cultivate blessings.

After the Philippines experienced Typhoon Haiyan (2013), right now across the world, Tzu Chi volunteers in over 40 countries are working to help them through this disaster. It is very hot in the Southern Hemisphere. Volunteers were sweating under the scorching sun. Their clothes were drenched in sweat, but they still stood there with the donation box, even if all they got was coins. No matter how much a person gave, they bowed to each deeply; this is creating blessings. The volunteers blessed the donors, saying, “You have awakened the love in your heart and increased your spiritual wealth. May blessings be upon you.”

In this way, even though they did not go to the Philippines, they are giving of themselves on behalf of the disaster survivors. This is how they express the love in their intrinsic nature through their actions; that is why they are willing to give. Even if they only raise a little money, they are still engaging in spiritual cultivation. The cumulative effect of this practice is virtue.

This is what it is like in the Southern Hemisphere. What about the Northern Hemisphere? The Northern Hemisphere is cold! People there have heaters at home, so it is very warm inside. But the volunteers chose to leave their house and went into the markets and onto the streets. As it snowed, they stood there with a donation box. Even though the weather was cold, some people gave them looks that were even colder. Their demeanor was truly icy. Tzu Chi volunteers, these Living Bodhisattvas, continued to smile and bow deeply. This is also [a practice]. This is a way they cultivate virtue. Because of their intrinsic nature, they cannot bear to see sentient beings suffer. They hope to use their warm enthusiasm to transform people’s cold indifference.

People with the affinities see the volunteers holding the donation boxes and understand. Even though they see the volunteers from afar they will run over and deposit some cash. This is so heartwarming. The volunteers also tell them, “Thank you! Bless you!” This allows this enthusiastic person to feel that his love has been received. He is happy; everyone is happy. This is Dharma-joy. The donor wants to express his love. This makes him very happy. So, virtuous nature is found inside and out. Inside, we are inherently loving. Outwardly, we must act by giving to others. This is how we are virtuous.

“Virtuous nature is found inside and out. Inside” it is “the wondrous wisdom we possess.” People without wisdom cannot achieve this, and people who are not willing to give cannot be mobilized. Walking the Bodhisattva-path is about meeting the needs of sentient beings and being willing to give to others right away. With the virtue we cultivate with external actions and our pure intrinsic Buddha-nature, we can thoroughly understand and express all Dharma, inside and out. So, whether inside or out,

when people who went to provide disaster relief in the Philippines came back, all of them very happily said, “I’m finally home.” When we asked, “Was it very tiring?” They happily responded, “After those prefabricated classrooms were built, we saw that once the kids had a place to learn, they became very lively. The teachers also had a place to help the children to learn in peace.”

Designing this took a very long period of careful research and meticulous assembly. We tried this again and again. We constantly thought about it, tested it and used all kinds of materials to create parts of various shapes and sizes. We wanted a structure that was the most simple and the most safe, and could be neatly collapsed. Then we could transport the maximum number. How many could we stack into one shipping container? The more the better. When it arrives, the simpler it is, the more practical it will be. So, it took a long time to make this happen, many, many years. After we settled on a design, we had to mobilize many people. After we finished, it happened that we needed to use it in the Philippines, so we shipped it over right away.

Not only did we send the materials, we also sent people [to assemble them]. Those volunteers were not afraid of hard work. In the hot weather, they climbed up and down, traveling back and forth to help. Each prefabricated classroom has to be secured with over a thousand screws. See, isn’t this how we are, inside and out? With love inside us, we give to others. We expended a lot of thought on designing and developing [this structure]. So, there are many instances where we must be consistent, inside and out.

We have already discussed the previous sutra text, “Now, these young children are all my children.” See how hard these volunteers worked! See how innocent and lively the children are! Now they have a school they can go to. Once we moved in chairs and desks they began. This is what it is to “love them all impartially.” We treat other people’s children like our own, and we do everything we can to give them the best. “I have these great carts, covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number.” The Buddha never stopped [giving to each of them]. As long as it is something we can do, we should keep giving to others. Everything up to this has been an analogy for what the Buddha has done for sentient beings.

Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially. I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child], with an impartial mind, so that they are not treated differently.

The next sutra passage states,

“Why is this so? With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking, to say nothing of my children. At this time all the children boarded their great carts. They obtained what they never had before, beyond what they had ever wanted.”

When the Buddha taught sentient beings, Small Vehicle practitioners only sought to awaken themselves. They never thought by leaving the burning house they would discover these ox-carts, which were very well-decorated and could be used to deliver themselves and others. Thus everyone formed great aspirations to accept the Great Vehicle Dharma. The same principle applies here.

So, the elder said, “With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking.” This means that the elder still had many things. In this world, if a father has so much to give his children, why would he give them only small amounts? This is an analogy for the Buddha’s wisdom, which contains the principles of all the material things in the universe that the Buddha had realized. He shared the Dharma with the entire world, not just with a single country. When He gave these teachings, in fact, everyone could experience them.

Why is this so? With what I have, I could give to a whole country and still not be lacking, to say nothing of my children: This is an analogy for the pure Dharma-nature which all sentient beings possess. The Buddha did nothing more than teach what sentient beings already intrinsically possess so that they would learn and practice it. This is indicating that human nature is intrinsic, not given, and does not increase or decrease. With the teachings given now, He indicated the way and led us to return to our nature. So, how could we be lacking what we have?

The Dharma is not confined to our surroundings. It can spread wide and far, it can reach anywhere in the world.

So, “What I have” is the Dharma. There is Dharma, inside and out, as we just said. Our love and virtuous nature are found inside and out. We need to unite these. Outside, we give to others. Inside, we inherently have this pure and undefiled great love. This is already within each of us, so it is “what [we] have.” This is not only confined to a small place. The Buddha had openly and clearly explained that any sentient being with a mind has the same intrinsic nature as the Buddha.

He said any sentient being with a mind, but is there any sentient being without a mind? All sentient beings have a mind, Is there anyone without a mind? Everyone has a mind. Having this mind, they have the same Buddha-nature as the Buddha, so they all intrinsically have this. Everyone in the world has this, so it will never run out. Therefore, it is not just the Buddha’s disciples; all beings in the world intrinsically have this. He said, “to say nothing of my children,” so doesn’t this include the people directly taught by the Buddha? They all “boarded their great carts.” People who were directly taught by the Buddha had already realized the principles. They all “boarded their great carts.” All of them chose the great ox-cart.

Thus “They obtained what they never had before.” They were happy. They did not choose the sheep-cart or deer-cart; they chose the cart drawn by the great white ox. Driving the ox-cart made them very happy. They were on an even path and could bring themselves, as well as many other people, to their destination. Walking the Bodhisattva-path, the great Bodhi-path, they can move forward very steadily. Doesn’t this bring happiness? They never expected to gain so much; though they asked for little, they received a lot, so of course they were very happy.

This is also an analogy for “the pure Dharma-nature, which all sentient beings possess.” Everyone has this pure Dharma-nature. As long as we have a mind, we have a pure Dharma-nature. Thus it is said, “The Buddha did nothing more than teach what sentient beings already intrinsically possess.” All of us already intrinsically have this; all He did was “open and reveal” it to us so that we would “learn and practice often.” This is what the Buddha told us, so we must believe Him. We must learn to mindfully experience and comprehend the Dharma.

“This indicates that human nature is intrinsic. This is not given [to us] and does not increase or decrease.” Because we already have it, He does not need to give it to us. We already have it. “It is no greater in Buddhas and no less in sentient beings.” The Buddha does not have more of this than us, and we do not have less of it than the Buddha. Our intrinsic nature is equal to the Buddha’s we just do not realize it. Therefore, we rely on the Buddha [to understand]. “With the teachings given now, He indicated the way.” He gave us teachings and methods. But He was just simply pointing out the direction to us so that we do not go astray. So, “With the teachings given now, He indicated the way and led us to return to our nature.” If we go in that direction, we will find our intrinsic nature.

Next we will talk about “the Buddha’s great enlightened wisdom.” This enlightened wisdom is clear and radiant, “[clearly] something sentient beings have.” This clear and radiant enlightened wisdom, is not just possessed by the Buddha. The Buddha’s wisdom is inherent in everyone.

The Buddha’s great enlightened wisdom is clearly something sentient beings have. The Dharma-nature is like a great ocean. He does not say it is true or not. Unenlightened beings and noble beings are equal; no one is higher or lower. Only by eliminating the afflictions in their minds can they attain realization as easily as if turning over their hand.

We originally have Buddha-wisdom, this great enlightened wisdom. However, we have become deluded. Yet we must know that, ultimately, we all intrinsically have this wisdom. The Buddha understands this very well. “Dharma-nature is great like the ocean”, Our wisdom, our enlightened nature, is as vast as the ocean. So, the Buddha “does not say it is true or not.” Are things actually real? The Buddha said everything is empty in nature. In the end, it returns to nothing. Are these things good or evil? The Buddha said they may be good, evil or indeterminate. As for “unenlightened beings and noble beings,” you are an unenlightened being, and you want to become a noble being. Noble beings were once unenlightened beings. In conclusion, the way the Buddha treats sentient beings is “equal; no one is higher or lower.” This was the Dharma that He taught us. All things in the world are equal. Everyone’s inherent goodness is equal. Unenlightened and noble beings are equal. Everything is equal. The only things that differ are our defilements. If our minds are unclean, we are ordinary, unenlightened beings. If we immediately cleanse this filth, by breaking down, brushing away and washing it, our intrinsic nature will manifest, because we have eliminated these defilements. Then would it really be difficult to truly attain realizations? “[They can] attain realizations as if turning over their hand;” it would be easy. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must always be mindful.

All the children who sought the ox-carts only feared not getting them. Now they indeed attained them. Those who at first sought the sheep- or deer-carts sought what was small, but now they attained what was great. Thus it was beyond what they hoped for.

“All the children” means we can all return to our intrinsic Buddha-nature. To do this, we “ride the white ox. All the children sought the ox-carts.” Originally they wanted the sheep-cart, deer-cart, but they received the great ox-cart. So, they were all very happy.

Whether they had affinities or not, as long as they listened to the Buddha-Dharma, they would be able to plant causes.

At this time: Those who were without affinities had their desires more than fulfilled, not to mention those with the affinities! Those without affinities are those lacking the right causes and conditions. But the Buddha compassionately taught all and ultimately formed affinities without bias.

He continued to work to transform others. This is unconditional loving-kindness and our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. All sentient beings are Buddha-children. Whether we have achieved [realizations], are achieving them or have yet to achieve them, the Buddha will never give up on us. He constantly creates karmic conditions for us, sows seeds and constantly gives teachings.

Unconditional loving-kindness is an inherent principle of True Suchness. This means that all sentient beings are the Buddha’s children. Those in the past and the future who had not formed affinities are still the Buddha’s children.

In summary, all sentient beings in the world intrinsically have Buddha-nature. We understand this completely. As long as we learn virtuous teachings, we can apply them. We are all capable of doing this as long as we are always mindful.

Episode 575 – The Buddha Impartially Teaches the Great Vehicle

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>> “Innocent children are pure and easily taught. He guides them to True Suchness and opens the Buddha’s understanding and views. Thus they will all be replete with the understanding of Right Dharma. A compassionate mind is without differentiation.”

>> “Innocent children are pure and easily taught. He guides them to True Suchness and opens the Buddha’s understanding and views. Thus they will all be replete with the understanding of Right Dharma. A compassionate mind is without differentiation.”

>> Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially. I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child] with an impartial mind, so that they are not treated differently.

>> Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially: This is an analogy for how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds, equally listen to the Dharma and equally put it into practice. Reaching the truth of the Dharma, we attain wisdom. Everyone practices, learns and absorbs the benefits of the Dharma together. Thus we are all equally the Buddha’s children. So, with impartial compassion, He taught each the Great Vehicle Dharma.

>> This refers to how, with an impartial heart, the Buddha views all sentient beings equally, friend and foe alike. He gives to each with an impartial mind, so that they are not treated differently. Thus He has cultivated impartiality toward all things.

>> This is an analogy for how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds, equally listen to the Dharma and equally put it into practice. Thus we are all equally the Buddha’s children, and the Buddha, with impartial compassion, teaches each the Great Vehicle Dharma so that we are not treated differently.

>> Now the Buddha has already perfected His practice. His teachings of wisdom are infinitely abundant. His conditions for transformation are mature, thus He loves all impartially and gives each the great cart. In the same way, He has now revealed the Great Vehicle, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way. By upholding the Great Vehicle Dharma, we can turn the great Dharma-wheel.

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“Innocent children are pure and easily taught.
He guides them to True Suchness
and opens the Buddha’s understanding and views.
Thus they will all be replete
with the understanding of Right Dharma.
A compassionate mind is without differentiation.”

All children are inherently born with roots of goodness. It is often said of human nature, “Human nature is inherently good.” Small children seem so young and innocent. But as they gradually grow in knowledge, as they live in certain environments and receive certain teachings, they are influenced by their relationships.

So, our lives are shaped by our surroundings, along with characteristics we are born with. Though some are born into a wonderful environment, in their past life they may have developed and reinforced strong habitual tendencies. So, from a young age they are unwilling to learn. No matter the environment that nurtured them, their mischievous attitudes and unwillingness to learn are constantly surfacing. Some people were obedient as children. Without being taught, they were well-behaved. However, as they grew up and their environment changed, they became completely different people from the well-behaved children they were before. That is because, as we say, causes and conditions have converged. Negative causes and conditions followed them, so, suddenly they were led astray by these negative causes and conditions.

Life is very complicated. People’s habitual nature is influenced by the karma they created in the past. Consequences, good or bad, are all determined in this way. Therefore, when we engage in spiritual practice, we must always be mindful. We must learn the Buddha’s teachings with a pure and simple heart and not allow our afflictions hinder our learning of the Dharma. Otherwise, even if we listen, our afflictions will stand in the way, and we cannot take the Dharma to heart. And in our hearts, we will always feel a sense of dissatisfaction and unhappiness; thus the Dharma in our hearts cannot give rise to Dharma-joy.

Therefore, if we have the resolve to accept it, the Dharma will be ours. Without this resolve, without respect for the teacher, we will not value the Dharma. Then we will never be able to understand. Even if there is no language barrier, we still cannot internalize the Dharma. If this is the way we are, we no longer have the [pure] heart of a child, we already have a heart filled with afflictions. If everyone had the heart of a child, we could be easily taught. Then, having accepted the Dharma, we could be guided toward True Suchness. If we take the Dharma to heart, we can automatically connect with our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. This is possible when our minds are not hindered by afflictions. If we are free of afflictions and confusion, naturally the Dharma can enter our hearts, verse by verse, drop by drop. So, the Dharma is like water. Even afflictions can be washed away, bit by bit. So, gradually He “opens the Buddha’s understanding and views.”

We also hope that our understanding and views will approach those of the Buddha and that we can also unlock our wisdom and manifest the ocean of enlightenment in our hearts. In this way, “We all possess the understanding of the True Dharma.” The understanding of the True Dharma is something we cannot deviate from as. Buddhist practitioners. On the road of life, if we deviate even slightly and make a mistake, our direction in life may be completely thrown off. How many decades of life do we have? These decades will pass by very quickly. We must clearly know our course and stay on it. We cannot let the slightest affliction confuse our minds.

Each day, the Dharma can, bit by bit, nourish our minds. I hope we will irrigate our minds with Dharma-water so our wisdom-life can grow. There are already seeds in the field of our minds. However, without water and the right conditions, the seeds will always be dry. Without moisture, the seeds will not be able to sprout and grow. Therefore, I hope everyone will be mindful.

The Buddha treats all sentient beings equally. It is because they have varying capabilities that the Buddha had to teach with various methods. Still, some people were unable to accept the teachings. Do you remember this story? Before the Buddha entered Parinirvana, Ananda could not stop crying. Aniruddha saw Ananda crying outside and said, “Ananda, this is a crucial moment; why don’t you ask the Buddha some questions? What should I ask Him about?” Aniruddha told him, “You need to promptly ask about this. During His lifetime, in the Sangha there have been people who are very stubborn and hard to train. After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, if these bhiksus in the Sangha are unwilling to learn, how should we handle that? After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, how can we continue to pass on the teachings? After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, how can the disciples who follow the teachings take on responsibility for passing them on? Ananda, you need to ask Him these questions right now.”

[Ananda said,] “Venerable Buddha, when You are here we regard You as our teacher. After You leave the world, who are we supposed to regard as our teacher?” The Buddha said, “Regard precepts as teachers.” Ananda then asked, “Even while You are present there are bhiksus who are unwilling to learn. After You enter Parinirvana, what method should we use to teach them?” The Buddha said, “Ignore them,” which means to let them be. “Try to move them with your compassion. If you cannot transform them, then let them be.” Let them be. That seems so resigned. In the end, the Buddha could not do much with those disciples who were unwilling to learn.

Aren’t there people like them right now? Each one of us, as spiritual practitioners, need to ask ourselves, “Are we willing to learn? In this community of spiritual practitioners, this Sangha, have we organized ourselves with precepts? As we interact with people, are we able to manage ourselves with love?” We should all cherish ourselves; we should all abide by precepts. Then we will be the Buddha’s pure and undefiled disciples forever. We will be like young children. When children are born, when they are little, they are so adorable. To them, there is no such thing as good or evil. They accept whatever they are taught.

“Innocent children are pure and easily taught. He guides them to True Suchness and opens the Buddha’s understanding and views. Thus they will all be replete with the understanding of Right Dharma. A compassionate mind is without differentiation.”

The Buddha treats His disciples like His only son. He unceasingly guides them to help everyone achieve the same understanding and views as Him. He always teaches with the True Dharma and treats everyone with impartial compassion, hoping that everyone can accept the teachings. This is the meaning of this sutra passage.

Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially. I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child] with an impartial mind, so that they are not treated differently.

The Buddha sees all of His disciples as young children to be cherished. His love is impartial. This is an analogy for how. “All beings have transcendent, flawless seeds.” Whoever they are, the Buddha treats all His disciples the same, because all beings are replete with flawless seeds, in particular, with transcendent ones. This is the nature of True Suchness; it is something that everyone has. Thus, I have often said that we are clearly equal to the Buddha. [He attained Buddhahood] because He had this seed, which sprouted.

In fact, our minds also contain this seed, this transcendent and flawless seed. No one can take it away from us. Lifetime after lifetime, we bring this seed with us. Sadly, we have lacked the causes and conditions to be nourished by Dharma-water. Right now we have the karmic conditions to live in the same environment and apply the Dharma the Buddha taught in the past to the world we live in right now. So, right now we “equally listen to the Dharma.” We also “equally put it into practice.” We have all formed aspirations. We have all come to be in the same place to engage in spiritual practice together. We all accept the Dharma with the same mindset and all must have that same wisdom. This is inherent to all of us. So, “Everyone practices, learns and absorbs the benefit of the Dharma together.” Isn’t this something we should cherish?

Since this is the case, “[We] are all equally the Buddha’s children.” We are all disciples of the Buddha. This is because all of us, including me and all of you here, received the Dharma at the same time.

Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially: This is an analogy for how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds, equally listen to the Dharma and equally put it into practice. Reaching the truth of the Dharma, we attain wisdom. Everyone practices, learns and absorbs the benefits of the Dharma together. Thus we are all equally the Buddha’s children. So, with impartial compassion, He taught each the Great Vehicle Dharma.

We are all equal in the mind of the Buddha. We are all disciples of the Buddha. We need to all form aspirations and make vows to be the Buddha’s children forever and have pure, undefiled hearts like those of young children. If we accept the teachings this way, everything we take in would be the Great Vehicle Dharma. The passage continues with, “I have these great carts, covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child] with an impartial mind.” This passage is an analogy for an impartial heart. “The Buddha views all sentient beings equally, friend and foe alike.”

This refers to how, with an impartial heart, the Buddha views all sentient beings equally, friend and foe alike. He gives to each with an impartial mind, so that they are not treated differently. Thus He has cultivated impartiality toward all things.

To all sentient beings, the Buddha is “the kind father of the four kinds of beings” and “the guiding teacher of the Three Realms.” He never abandoned any of His disciples. If they were unwilling to accept teachings, He would simply let them be. Even if they were unwilling to learn in that life, they might have the causes and conditions to accept the Dharma in their next. For instance, Devadatta was so terrible. He constantly hurt the Buddha and created trouble for the Sangha. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha still gave him a prediction that in the future he will attain Buddhahood.

This is because it was due to Devadatta that the strength of the Buddha’s spiritual aspirations could be proved. It was the harm caused by Devadatta that helped strengthen the Buddha’s perseverance and develop His wisdom. This is why the Buddha was grateful to Devadatta. Thus, He also gave Devadatta this prediction. Compared to the predictions He gave the others, when Devadatta attained Buddhahood he would remain in the world for even longer and transform even more sentient beings. This was how the Buddha treated sentient beings; He was impartial and repaid resentment with virtue.

The Buddha “gives to each” with an impartial mind, regardless of whether they are friend or foe. The Dharma He taught was the same; what we can accept depends on our capabilities. The Buddha did not treat people differently. If we can accept the Dharma, we can benefit greatly from it. If we refuse to accept it, that is our loss. All this depends on us because the Buddha taught the Dharma equally. “Thus He has cultivated impartiality toward all things.” This is what the Buddha has always done.

This is also an analogy for “how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds.” ․This is an analogy for how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds, equally listen to the Dharma and equally put it into practice. Thus we are all equally the Buddha’s children, and the Buddha, with impartial compassion, teaches each the Great Vehicle Dharma so that we are not treated differently. As I mentioned earlier, we must have faith in ourselves. The Buddha also confirmed this for us by always saying that the mind, Buddha and sentient beings [are the same]. As long as we have the resolve, we can have the same mindset as the Buddha. We must believe that we are all replete with these transcendent and flawless seeds, these pure seeds. As we listen to the Dharma together, we will form aspirations together. Thus we are all equal; we are all Buddha-children. “So the Buddha, with impartial compassion, teaches each the Great Vehicle Dharma so that we are not treated differently.” Indeed! Since this is the case, shouldn’t we diligently practice?

The Buddha “has already perfected His practice.” When Sakyamuni Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, He was preparing to enter Parinirvana. Seven years prior to entering Parinirvana, He started to give the Lotus teachings. So, He had “already perfected His practice”; His karmic affinities with this world had ended.

The Buddha could have stayed in this world for a kalpa, for a very long period of time, but King Mara wanted Him to enter Parinirvana, because if He had been in the world, many would have transcended the Three Realms. Then King Mara would not be able to cause trouble in the world. He thought to cause chaos so that the Buddha would not teach for too long. So, he disrupted Ananda’s mind. The Buddha said three times, “If the world still needs me, I will stay here for a kalpa.” He said it three times, but Ananda did not respond. So, King Mara told Sakyamuni Buddha, “See, no one in this world needs you. Your work is done. You should do as You have promised. You said that when Your affinities with this world have ended, You would enter Parinirvana. So, it is time You enter Parinirvana.” See, this is what happened after the Buddha “had perfected His practice.” This was because. Ananda did not reply and tell the Buddha, “The world really needs you.” Because he did not respond in this way, the Buddha thought that, as King Mara said, His work was done and His affinities had ended.

Now the Buddha has already perfected His practice. His teachings of wisdom are infinitely abundant. His conditions for transformation are mature, thus He loves all impartially and gives each the great cart. In the same way, He has now revealed the Great Vehicle, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way. By upholding the Great Vehicle Dharma, we can turn the great Dharma-wheel.

The Buddha has already “perfected His practice. His teachings of wisdom are infinitely abundant.” Although His affinities had ended, His teachings of wisdom were still infinite. There was still much Dharma [to be taught]. As the conditions for transformation had matured at this time, it was time to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. This teaching spoke to all three capabilities. At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He taught everyone equally with the Great Vehicle Dharma. Regardless of their capabilities, the Buddha’s affinities were about to end, so He needed to quickly teach this Dharma.

Thus “[He] gave each the great cart.” This is an analogy for “revealing the Great Vehicle [teaching].” The Great Vehicle Dharma was used to teach Bodhisattvas. To complete His mission in this world, He had to let everyone know that they all inherently have these flawless seeds. So, He hoped that everyone could earnestly accept the Dharma. Like drops of water, it nourishes our wisdom-life and helps it grow quickly.

The teachings given by the Buddha were “the Great Vehicle, which teaches the Bodhisattva Way.” He hoped all could walk the Bodhisattva-path. “By upholding the Great Vehicle Dharma, we can turn the great Dharma-wheel.” We must all quickly accept the Dharma and continue to teach it to each other. That is how we turn the great Dharma-wheel. Therefore, we must not hesitate anymore. We need to earnestly accept the Dharma and not allow afflictions to prevent us from absorbing the Buddha-Dharma. We must always be mindful.

Episode 574 – The Kind Father Loves His Children Impartially

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>> “Human nature is originally good. Children are pure, innocent and uncontaminated. The kind father loves all his children equally, so they reach the same all-encompassing wisdom as the Great Enlightened One.”

>> “Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially. I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child] with an impartial mind so that they are not treated differently.”

>> This is an analogy for how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds, equally listen to the Dharma and equally put it into practice. Thus we are all equally the Buddha’s children. So, the Buddha, with impartial compassion, gives each the Great Vehicle teachings.

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“Human nature is originally good.
Children are pure, innocent and uncontaminated.
The kind father loves all his children equally,
so they reach the same all-encompassing wisdom
as the Great Enlightened One.”

I often say, “Human nature is inherently good.” This pure intrinsic nature is what we were born with, but we have remained unenlightened. We have transmigrated in the Six Realms and reproduced our afflictions, so our inherent goodness has slowly been contaminated. However, right after we were born, at the very beginning of our life, we manifest that inherent goodness, that innocence and liveliness. This is also what we are like in our childhood. So, “Children are pure, innocent, uncontaminated.” As children, we have not yet been contaminated, and our past habitual tendencies have not yet resurfaced. When we are very young, we are uncontaminated. When a kind father interacts with his young children, he finds them adorable. Thus young children are loved and adored by their parents; this is very natural. When children are young, they are innocent and without guile, so parents have great affection for them. Of course, this affection is impartial. Childhood is the time when people are most pure and innocent.

But as the world and the environment change, our family members or our friends slowly and gradually influence and change us. Our originally pure natures have slowly become influenced. So, we have gradually become distant from our pure and undefiled nature; slowly, we grow further from it. The farther we are from it, the closer we are to ignorance and the closer to the habitual tendencies that we brought along with our past [karma] converging again with us. So because of this, we are slowly pulled away from our relationships with our family and with our friends. Thus, what we need is a great awakening, “so [we] reach the same all-encompassing wisdom as the Great Enlightened One.” So, there must be a kind father to teach his children with wisdom and love. This father and his children must also have an affinity and affection. Then this awakened love will constantly bring them together. This is the working of causes and conditions.

In Tzu Chi, don’t we often hear stories like this? There are old people who labored their entire lives to provide for their families. They did all they could for their children and worked hard to support them. As their children grew older, they each developed different personalities, causing their parents to be worried and anxious. Ultimately, the parents may end up alone, or may only have each other. One may fall ill, making the other the caregiver. Or both may fall ill, with no one left to help either of them. Perhaps one is left to grow old and die alone. We hear many stories like this.

We often hear about old people holding the hands of Tzu Chi volunteers and squeezing them tight, unwilling to let go, saying, “The volunteers treat me better than my children. I feel closer to them than I do to my own family. They take good care of me and. I also join them in doing recycling work. I feel very happy now. I have no troubles or worries.” We hear many stories like this.

There are also young people who grew up under difficult conditions. Perhaps they had irresponsible parents who did not love and care for them. They were tormented at home until they finally ran away. Perhaps they ended up doing something illegal, and were punished by the law. In prisons, there are many young people. But there is still a group of Living Bodhisattvas, Tzu Chi volunteers, who visit the prisons. They do everything they can to help these youths, who are not yet adults, to bring purity to their minds and guide them to develop the correct mindsets.

One time (in 2013), when I was traveling around Taiwan, a group of young men came to see me in Pingtung. They were accompanied by Tzu Chi volunteers. Every one of them had delicate features; they were very handsome and very young. They sat up straight in the front row. One of the young man was very brave. He talked about the kind of life he had once led, the problems his family faced and what his parents were like. This was the reason that this child became hateful. He hated his family. He hated his parents. Therefore, he intentionally behaved badly and began to associate himself with people who did not engage in honest work. Eventually, he did everything from selling drugs, to taking drugs, to gambling. When he was older, he began to steal and to rob people. He did unbelievable things. He got into fights, robbed people, drank, gambled and even assaulted people. So, from a very young age, he was in and out of prison. Eventually he received a very harsh sentence.

When Tzu Chi volunteers visited the prisons, they began to keep him company. They taught him to read and to study the Dharma. Through their continuous interactions, he gradually began to purify his mind. This led him to become a vegetarian. He became more well-behaved. He followed rules and. He became a role model inside the prison. He did good deeds, was willing to help others and was very earnest and diligent. This [behavior] came from the vows he made, so after he was released from jail, he became well-behaved. He repented his ways in front of his parents. He knelt before them and kowtowed. His parents came with him to see me. They said, “We are grateful. We are grateful to you, Master, because of Tzu Chi, we got our child back.”

“He was not filial before and did all kinds of [bad] things, He had cut off his relationship with us, which was a relationship of more than ten years. When he came home this time, he knelt before us and repented his ways.” I asked them again, “Is he well-behaved now? Very much so. Every day he brings us tea.” Both his father and mother said the same thing. I asked, “Did he only bring you tea on the day he came home and repented?” They said “No. He does this every morning; he has done this for an entire year so far.” Every day he leaves the house at the same time and comes home at the same time. Every morning he greets his parents and serves them tea before leaving the house.

This is the story from one of those young men. Out of the more than ten young men, there were as many stories of lives that have been changed. Though things began unfavorably for them, they had the karmic conditions to encounter beneficial friends who served as their fathers, their teachers, who visited prisons to teach them, care for them and guide them. The volunteers helped them to be let out of prison. At the same time, most importantly, they were freed from the prison of their own minds. When these men opened up their own hearts, they saw the natural radiance within themselves and returned to their original state of innocence.

“The kind father loves all his children equally.” In fact, with good karmic conditions, everything we encounter will be pure Dharma, and everyone we meet will have pure love. Those who give out of pure love are like parents and like teachers. This is because they give out of an affection as dear as that between father and son,

one that is pure and undefiled. To the Buddha, we sentient beings are like newborns. He loves us the way a kind father loves a newborn child. So, He will never abandon us, and we must always practice according to the teachings. By doing this, we will have “the same all-encompassing wisdom as the Great Enlightened One.” We can return to our pure intrinsic nature. With the Buddha-Dharma we can converge with our nature of True Suchness. This is what we must understand in order to return to our inherent nature.

Everyone should be familiar with the earlier text. The elder had unlimited wealth, and he used various methods and various treasures to draw his children out of the burning house of the Three Realms. He hoped everyone would choose the cart drawn by the great white ox, which would help everyone to travel the bright and broad path and move forward steadily. This is the Bodhisattva-path.

Then the following sutra passage states,

“Now, these young children are all my children, and I love them all impartially. I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number. I should give them to each [child] with an impartial mind so that they are not treated differently.”

The elder wanted to be impartial when he gave them [his treasures], “so that they are not treated differently.” Isn’t this what we just discussed? The Buddha sees sentient beings as if they were His young children. His feelings for them are like that of a father holding a young child. It does not matter how badly children behave. When they are running around all over the place, though their father keeps calling to them and their mother tries to give them directions, the children continue to run around wildly, climbing up and down. Still, their parents remain very patient. Speaking softly, they hold them close. This is how the world is. We sentient beings are hard to train, but the Buddha, or the kind father of the world, still loves us no matter what.

We are confused and do not understand the Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha patiently guides us. With love, He treats us all equally. The Buddha spent more than 40 years helping sentient beings become equal in their capabilities. Only after 42 years had passed did He teach the Lotus Sutra. He hoped that all sentient beings and disciples would be able to hear this teaching. If He had not taught it then, He would have run out of time.

This is an analogy for how sentient beings equally possess transcendent, flawless seeds, equally listen to the Dharma and equally put it into practice. Thus we are all equally the Buddha’s children. So, the Buddha, with impartial compassion, gives each the Great Vehicle teachings.

The Buddha could not change [His limited lifespan] so He understood that though many people were still in a confused daze, He had to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. Therefore, He provided sheep-carts, deer-carts and ox-carts. From this we can clearly see that when the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, there were still many confused Small Vehicle practitioners. Two out of three people were still stuck at the state of the sheep-cart or deer-cart. This is why sentient beings are suffering. They are constantly trapped in cyclic existence in the Six Realms. Thus they were like children. The Buddha feels that. “[These] are all my children, and I love them all impartially.” Thus He said, “I have these great carts covered with the Seven Treasures, countless in number.” The Buddha gave many teachings. But when He taught the True Dharma, He had very limited time so He could not explain it according to all the varying capabilities of sentient beings.

For a period of time in His old age, the Buddha was in poor health. He told Ananda, “Ananda, the lifespan of Buddhas is similar to that of humans. However, Buddhas can live for a long time. If I am needed to stay here for one kalpa, I have the ability to do so. This depends on my affinities with this world. Do the people need me to stay here longer, for the period of one kalpa?” The Buddha asked Ananda this three times in the same way. However, at that time, Ananda did not answer the Buddha.

So, heavenly beings, King Brahma and King Mara stepped in and said, “You have said in the past that once Your affinities with this world have ended, You would enter Parinirvana. Since Your affinities with it have ended, You should enter Parinirvana right now.” That was when the Buddha decided, “My conditions for transforming this world have ended,” so He limited Himself to 80 years. Otherwise, with the power of the Buddha’s vows, if He had needed to extend His time here, He could have lived in this world a long time. But that opportunity was missed.

Later, as Kasyapa was about to compile the sutras, he reproached Ananda for this. He asked Ananda, “At that time, why didn’t you respond by asking the Buddha to stay?” Deeply upset, Ananda said, “When I heard the Buddha ask the question, I really wanted to respond. But I felt as if Mara was controlling my mind. I could not answer.”

From this we learn that this was the karma of the people in this world. “Those advanced in spiritual practice may still be influenced by maras.” King Mara could not control the Buddha, but he could control Ananda’s mind. Therefore, the Buddha did not have enough time to personally teach every sentient being and help each one understand and realize the principles of the Great Vehicle. At the age of 80, the Buddha had to enter Parinirvana. He had been teaching the Lotus Sutra for seven years. So, the Buddha was in His 70s when He began expounding the Lotus Sutra.

He had already bestowed a prediction of Buddhahood upon Sariputra. The Buddha did this because He wanted Sariputra to take responsibility for the Sangha. This was because the Sangha believed that. Sariputra could realize the Buddha-Dharma. Moreover, Sariputra was foremost in wisdom. If Sariputra could believe and accept this, then so could everyone else. This was the Buddha’s intention behind [choosing Sariputra,] foremost in wisdom, as the recipient of the Dharma. This was also why He bestowed the first prediction of Buddhahood upon him.

The Buddha “loves them all impartially,” so in the Chapter on Bestowing Predictions, He bestowed this prediction on more people. Even His nemesis Devadatta received a prediction of Buddhahood from Him. Whether mischievous or obedient, He saw them all as His children. Like a kind father who cares for his children, he loves all sentient beings. Thus He said, “[These] are all my children, and I love them all impartially.”

The Buddha still had many teachings to give, but no way to give them all at that time; His time had run out. However, as we have mentioned, even the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, and the Six Paramitas are all Great Dharma. They are all True Dharma. In the essence of all material things in the universe, there is Dharma; there are principles. As Buddhist practitioners, we must indeed always be mindful. There is so much Dharma in our daily living. If we are always mindful and return to a state of innocence, we can accept the teachings that are given. In this way, one day we will also be able to achieve “the same all-encompassing wisdom as the Great Enlightened One.” Our enlightened state can be equal to the Buddha’s.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must return to our pure Buddha-nature and abide by our “original nature,” which is “inherently good.” We must be like “children [who are] pure, innocent and uncontaminated.” We have a “kind father [who] loves all his children equally.” Therefore, we must mindfully accept the Dharma without any doubts. We must cherish our relationships and pass on the Dharma as Dharma-children, like how a father passes on the family business to his son. By doing this, we will be filled with Dharma-joy, boundless Dharma and “the same wisdom as the Great Enlightened One.” So everyone, we must always be mindful.