Category: TLS Chapter 4

Episode 768 – Concealing the True and Giving the Provisional

---

>> Two Vehicle practitioners’ capabilities are limited. They have no great resolve, intent or vows. Fearing cause and effect, they practice for their own benefit and carefully keep the precepts. They take no joy in the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle or in going among the people. They fear suffering in the Five Destinies and see upholding the Four Noble Truths and the [Twelve] Links as sufficient.

>> Why did he do so? The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept. Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means. He never told anyone else, “This is my son”. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “The messenger said to the son, ‘I now set you free’ ‘You can go where you wish’. The poor son was joyous. Having attained what he had never had before, he picked himself off the ground and returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> So, The messenger said to the son, ‘I now set you free, you can go where you wish’. This passage means that, In the place of enlightenment, the Bodhimanda, the Buddha’s innate enlightenment merged into the Avatamsaka ocean of enlightenment, and He realized that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, so He urgently desired to give the great teaching. He was aware their capabilities were not suitable, so He gave provisional teachings and slowly ceased transforming with Great Dharma.

>> He knew their capacities were great yet weak, so they were unable to uphold the Great Dharma. Thus it says, I now set you free. He recognized they sought limited benefit. Those with limited capabilities only resolve to seek cessation of samsara’s causes and effects, to cross over samsara’s raging currents. Thus it says, You can go where you wish.

>> The poor son was joyous, having attained what he had never had before: To accord with their limited capabilities, He catered to their liking and followed their basic vows. Thus He concealed the true to give the provisional. He did not pressure them about the great teaching, but catered to their liking. Thus it says that the poor son was joyous, having attained what he never had before.

>> To cater and adapt to their capabilities, the Small [Vehicle] was given so they could attain awakening. Thus it says, He picked himself off the ground. When capabilities and teachings are in harmony, practitioners are able to engage in proper spiritual practice. In the midst of samsara, they aspire to seek the Two Vehicles. Thus it says, He picked himself off the ground.

>> Those who engaged in spiritual practice through the Small [Vehicle] Dharma are said to abide in the principle of emptiness, seeking the correct practices to enlightenment, or in the teaching of Four Noble Truths. Thus it says, [He] returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.

>> Also, when they first heard the great teaching, they were as if deaf, blind, not understanding, as if lying bewildered in a place of ignorance. Now, by listening to the limited teachings, they can attain awakening. Thus it says he picked himself off the ground.

---

“Two Vehicle practitioners’ capabilities are limited. They have no great resolve, intent or vows.
Fearing cause and effect, they practice for their own benefit and carefully keep the precepts.
They take no joy in the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle or in going among the people.
They fear suffering in the Five Destinies and see upholding the Four Noble Truths and the [Twelve] Links as sufficient.”

Those with limited capabilities have no great resolve or vows; they are unable to form aspirations. This was what concerned the Buddha most at first, what caused Him the greatest worry. The Buddha was getting older as the years went by, and His conditions for transforming the world were almost exhausted. But who would take responsibility for the Dharma? Who would be willing to transmit it? This was what worried the Buddha the most and caused Him the greatest concern. But when He looked around, most practitioners had stopped at having the capacities of the Two Vehicles. Those practitioners claimed they wanted to learn the Buddha’s Way and engage in spiritual practice, but their practice focused on understanding the law of karma. They knew emotions of love, hate passion and enmity in relationships would give rise to many afflictions. So, they began to fear cause and effect. They were very scared of becoming entangled with the karmic retributions of sentient beings. This is why Small Vehicle practitioners wanted to isolate themselves from sentient beings. They only wanted to benefit themselves. As long as they upheld precepts themselves, that was good enough for them. So, “They take no joy in the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle.”

The Great Dharma of the One Vehicle [requires] going back among the people to deliver and transform sentient beings. They had no interest in this at all and were unwilling to go among others. They feared that by being in the human realm, they would carelessly give rise to an ignorant thought, which would result in 84,000 afflictions. Then, following negative causes and conditions, they would transmigrate in the Five Destinies and four forms of birth without any control; this is what they feared. Now that they had become clear, had understood the Dharma and eliminated their afflictions, they dared not aspire to go among people. They simply feared being tempted by others. If a single thought of evil or a thought of ignorance or affliction were to arise, it would be very problematic because they would be unable to return [to a pure state]. These are the fears of. Small Vehicle practitioners. So, they only focused on the Four Noble Truths, on eliminating the “causation” of “suffering,” on bringing suffering to cessation. When they can prevent afflictions from arising, they have achieved “cessation.” This requires practicing the “Path.” By practicing a limited path, Hearers and Solitary Realizers did not recognize that these were merely provisional teachings given by the Buddha.

To reach the land of ultimate bliss, the [pure land] in the west, what does the Amitabha Sutra say we must do? For seven days, we cannot give rise to a single thought, to say nothing of how we “cannot lack the causes and conditions of roots of goodness, blessings and virtues to be born in the pure land.” This is telling everyone that only those who possess great roots of goodness and great capabilities are capable of being born in that pure land.

The best thing to do is, as we now know, no matter what realm awaits us in the future, to steadfastly walk the. Bodhisattva-path in this world now. We can become Bodhisattvas right now. We can help people right away. There is no need to wait for a future lifetime to walk this path. Beginning in this lifetime, we must start putting this into practice. To truly work to benefit everyone, to truly attain wisdom by interacting with others, this is true Buddha-Dharma. We must constantly strengthen our aspiration to give of ourselves for others. This is what makes one a Bodhisattva.

The passages we looked at previously were still about the poor son [The messengers] wanted to bring him back, and when they tried to forcibly drag him, he struggled furiously and became so afraid that he fainted. The elder had no choice but to give him some room. “Wake him! There is no need for him to come. Let him go.” The father was very worried about him and hoped he would come through the gate so they would be reunited. However, the son did not recognize his father. But because his son was always on his mind, the father knew him at a glance. Clearly, fathers in the world are like this, to say nothing of the world-transcending Great Awakened One. He had but one thought, [to deliver] the myriad sentient beings; this was His one great cause. Every single sentient being was His child. He hoped they could accept the Buddha-Dharma and awaken to it in order to return to their intrinsic nature.

In listening to Dharma, as in spiritual practice, at first we hear that we must quickly enter the Buddha’s teachings; He wanted to use the True Dharma to lead us from the small road to the big road, to the great, direct Bodhi-path. This is like the son continuing to gradually approach that luxurious home. Yet when he saw it, he was frightened. He turned and ran away. When the elder saw his son, he saw that he was afraid to come inside, so he had to first go easy on him. It was the same with the Buddha. Since sentient beings were unable to directly accept the Great Vehicle, the Buddha had to first let them be and gradually devise methods. He hoped to bring them back, and at last He had caught sight of them. For instance, the Buddha returns life after life; if He cannot deliver them in this life, He will work to deliver them in the next.

In the Introductory Chapter, we were warned. Manjusri and Maitreya already told us that spiritual cultivation takes a very long time. Furthermore, “All Buddhas share the same path.” They continuously return again and again. If They cannot deliver us in this lifetime, They will come again in the next. This is the Buddha’s compassion; He comes life after life until the next Buddha, Maitreya Bodhisattva, attains enlightenment.

However, future sentient beings would become more and more complicated in their thoughts. This is because every time they come to the evil world of Five Turbidities they are contaminated. This contamination grows more and more severe, so many people are needed to protect [the Dharma]. See, when Sakyamuni Buddha came to the world, so many Bodhisattvas came to assist Him! Manjusri, Maitreya, Samantabhadra, Earth Treasury, Guanyin and many other Bodhisattvas followed Sakyamuni Buddha to come and transform and deliver people in this world. If they cannot deliver us in this life, they will try again in the next. No matter how many lifetimes it takes, they will continue until we attain Buddhahood, until we have formed Bodhisattva-aspirations and we ourselves can deliver others.

So, the previous passage discusses why [the elder] released his son. “Why did he do so?”

Why did he do so? The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept. Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means. He never told anyone else, “This is my son”.

“The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept.” The time was not right. “Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means.” Now that he knew where his son was, he could devise skillful means. “He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son’.” He never told anyone that this man was his son. He would devise skillful means himself that would allow him to approach his son. This was the love and compassion of the father. Isn’t the Buddha the same?

The passage continues again by stating, “The messenger said to the son, ‘I now set you free’ ‘You can go where you wish’. The poor son was joyous. Having attained what he had never had before, he picked himself off the ground and returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.”

The messengers heard the elder say, “Let him go. Wash his face with water to wake him up. Then set him free.” So, the messengers had to let him go. One told him, “I am letting you go. I am setting you free. You can go where you wish”; he gave him his freedom. “The poor son was joyous.” He was happy that this man was letting him go

So, The messenger said to the son, ‘I now set you free, you can go where you wish’. This passage means that, In the place of enlightenment, the Bodhimanda, the Buddha’s innate enlightenment merged into the Avatamsaka ocean of enlightenment, and He realized that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, so He urgently desired to give the great teaching. He was aware their capabilities were not suitable, so He gave provisional teachings and slowly ceased transforming with Great Dharma.

So, “The messenger said to the son, ‘I now set you free, you can go where you wish’.” This passage means that, “In the place of enlightenment, the Bodhimanda, the Buddha’s innate enlightenment merged into the Avatamsaka ocean of enlightenment, and He realized that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, so He urgently desired to give the great teaching.”

This again describes the instant Sakyamuni Buddha became enlightened. In the Avatamsaka ocean of enlightenment, He became one with the universe and realized [its] vast and expansive principles. In that moment, He attained realizations, the first of which was that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature. Thus, His original intent was to quickly help everyone know this state. However, they were unable. Knowing this, He contemplated further ․”He was aware that their capabilities were not suitable, so He gave provisional teachings and slowly ceased transforming with Great Dharma.” He understood what sentient beings were like. At this time, they were unable to accept this Great Dharma. So, this was not a suitable time for teaching with the Great Dharma. What method should He use? So later, He devised teachings; “He gave provisional teachings.” He began teaching with skillful means.

He looked at the world to see what kind of Dharma could quickly help sentient beings resolve their suffering. That would be the truth of suffering. To relieve sentient beings of their suffering, He had to first help them understand suffering. So, upon returning to Deer Park, He taught suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, the Four Noble Truths. He had to turn this Dharma-wheel three times just for five people [to understand]. These five had all come from the palace to accompany the prince in his spiritual cultivation; when suffering was explained to them, they were unable to understand. See, just for five people, He had to teach it three times before they finally understood the truths of suffering. In this way, He began to deliver sentient beings. All the teachings He gave were inseparable from worldly suffering. All the truths He taught had to do with the workings of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, He wanted everyone to understand the karmic law of cause and effect.

So, if we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we should listen to the Great Dharma. The Buddha had the intention of leaving this wonderful Dharma to the world, so we should faithfully accept it and put it into practice. Yet, with our capabilities we are still unable. When people’s karma manifests, we will not be able to sway them, no matter how persuasive we are. They will not be persuaded! This is due to that single ignorant thought. We can share the Great Dharma with them, but they will not be able to accept it. Sentient beings like this are hard to train. So, “I now set you free, you can go where you wish”

He knew their capacities were great yet weak, so they were unable to uphold the Great Dharma. Thus it says, “I now set you free.” He recognized they sought limited benefit. Those with limited capabilities only resolve to seek cessation of samsara’s causes and effects, to cross over samsara’s raging currents. Thus it says, “You can go where you wish.”

This describes how, “Their capacities were great but weak.” Although everyone has the potential to attain Buddhahood, everyone has wisdom equal to the Buddha and everyone has the ability to help others, these [capacities] are weak and limited. The aspirations they form are weak. When it comes to the size of people’s capacities, people do not inherently have limited capacities. Actually, their capacities are inherently great. They possess that latent ability within them; it is just that their aspirations are weak, and they are unwilling to dedicate themselves to helping others. In this way, their capacities were weak, so “They were unable to uphold the Great Dharma.” How can people like this be willing to accept the Great Dharma? They are unwilling. Thus it says, “I now set you free.” The Buddha let them go and temporarily did not teach the Great Dharma; instead He imparted limited teachings, leaving them to enjoy limited benefits. Limited benefits refers to self-awakening.

“Those with limited capabilities only resolve to seek cessation of samsara’s causes and effects.” They think that by not coming into contact with other people, they can eliminate samsara’s causes and effects and never again transmigrate in the Six Realms. So, they will “cross over samsara’s raging currents.” They think they will not return to samsara, that they can deliver themselves. Samsara’s raging currents are very frightening, so they focus on awakening themselves and delivering themselves from samsara. They do not deliver others. Others are experiencing samsara as well, but they are unwilling to extend a hand and tell them, “Come, let’s cross together.” So, people with limited capabilities do this alone, which is in fact very dangerous. Yet, they just want to awaken themselves. “You can go where you wish.” They follow their own intent.

The poor son was joyous, having attained what he had never had before: To accord with their limited capabilities, He catered to their liking and followed their basic vows. Thus He concealed the true to give the provisional. He did not pressure them about the great teaching, but catered to their liking. Thus it says that the poor son was joyous, having attained what he never had before.

The poor son is an analogy for how “[He] accorded with their limited capabilities.” They did what they were willing and happy to do. “I am just happy and willing to practice the Small Vehicle Dharma.” So, “To accord with their limited capabilities, He catered to their liking and followed their basic vows, thus concealing the true and giving the provisional.” The Buddha could not do anything except to accord with their capabilities.

“He did not pressure them about the great teaching.” He did not want to pressure them through using the great teachings and saying, “You must immediately understand that you yourselves can attain Buddhahood.” Actually, they could not understand this. If He were to continually tell them this, then of course they would feel pressured. So, “He catered to their liking”; that is why He gave so many teachings, as in the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka. This was truly hard work. Thus it says, “The poor son was joyous, having attained what he never had before.” When we can do what we want, we feel very happy. It is best when no one bosses us around. This is our self-indulgent nature.

To cater and adapt to their capabilities, the Small [Vehicle] was given so they could attain awakening. Thus it says, He picked himself off the ground. When capabilities and teachings are in harmony, practitioners are able to engage in proper spiritual practice. In the midst of samsara, they aspire to seek the Two Vehicles. Thus it says, He picked himself off the ground.

“Catered and adapted to their capabilities” means catering and adapting to capabilities by teaching with the Small [Vehicle] so they could gradually awaken. Even people with limited capabilities can at least eliminate their afflictions and gradually awaken.

“When capabilities and teachings are in harmony,” when teachings and capabilities mutually connect, and teachings are given according to capabilities, they are gradually guided to engage in proper spiritual practice. At least they could understand the law of karma and proper principles. “They can engage in proper spiritual practice. In the midst of samsara, they aspire to seek the Two Vehicles” [These are] the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. This is called “picking oneself off the ground.” It is at least better than following a deviant path.

Those who engaged in spiritual practice through the Small [Vehicle] Dharma are said to abide in the principle of emptiness, seeking the correct practices to enlightenment, or in the teaching of Four Noble Truths. Thus it says, [He] returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.

“He returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing” ․Those who engaged in spiritual practice through the Small [Vehicle] Dharma are said to abide in the principle of emptiness, seeking the correct practices to enlightenment, or in the teaching of Four Noble Truths. Thus it says, “[He] returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.” Engaging in spiritual practice through the Small [Vehicle] Dharma is abiding in the principle of emptiness, in the state of emptiness. By breaking our attachment to “existence” we enter the principles of “emptiness.” Or, we enter the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths. This is returning to applying the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths and firmly remaining there.

Also, when they first heard the great teaching, they were as if deaf, blind, not understanding, as if lying bewildered in a place of ignorance. Now, by listening to the limited teachings, they can attain awakening. Thus it says he picked himself off the ground.

As for the great teaching spoken of before, it was as if they were deaf or blind and had no way of understanding it. When the Buddha taught the Great Dharma, they all thought, “This is for Bodhisattvas. It is not for me, I cannot understand it by hearing or reading it.” So now, “By listening to the limited teachings, they can attain awakening.” The Small [Vehicle] teachings could gradually lead them toward awakening; this is like “picking himself off the ground.”

Everyone, the Buddha-Dharma is so profound; understanding it is so difficult. So, we must make an effort to be grounded and mindful in our spiritual practice. Since we have aspired to learn the Buddha’s Way, we must move toward attaining Buddhahood. This is only possible through the Bodhisattva-path. So everyone, we must always be mindful.

Episode 767 – Replete with Dharma-Wealth and Virtues

---

>> We are replete with innate enlightenment, Dharma-wealth and all virtues. Small Vehicle practitioners’ resolve is limited so they fear the Great Dharma. Two Vehicle practitioners’ wisdom is shallow and their blessings thin, so the Great Dharma is difficult for them to accept. Thus, He did not speak according to His intent to directly teach the Bodhisattva Way.

>> “Why did he do so? The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means. He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son’.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> He knew full well that in the presence of two trillion past Buddhas they had formed spiritual aspirations and were truly Buddha-children

>> He never told anyone else, This is my son: An analogy for how the Buddha inherently knew that they had previously formed great aspirations. Since the time and capabilities were not yet ripe, it would not be beneficial to teach it. Thus, to follow their wishes to listen to and utilize the Small Vehicle Dharma for their spiritual practice, He gave provisional teachings of skillful means.

---

“We are replete with innate enlightenment, Dharma-wealth and all virtues.
Small Vehicle practitioners’ resolve is limited so they fear the Great Dharma.
Two Vehicle practitioners’ wisdom is shallow and their blessings thin, so the Great Dharma is difficult for them to accept.
Thus, He did not speak according to His intent to directly teach the Bodhisattva Way.”

“We are replete with innate enlightenment, Dharma-wealth and all virtues.” This “innate enlightenment,” as I am constantly, constantly telling everyone, is something we all intrinsically have. This originally pure and undefiled nature is the Buddha’s enlightened nature. With this innate enlightenment, all it takes is for each of us to take action and turn our mindset around, and this innate enlightenment can quickly manifest, as this innate enlightenment is inherent in us all. We just need to find a way to clean up the defilements in our minds, to eliminate our afflictions, our greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. These are our afflictions; this is ignorance. These are dust-like delusions. If we continue to create them, that is like [generating] garbage.

If, after we use a can, we just throw it away, then it becomes dirty and water builds up inside where mosquitos can breed. By continuously doing things like this, we harm the planet. The same thing applies to our minds. When our innate enlightenment is covered over by afflictions, we become very troubled. This is why we are often ignorant and foolish. We only point out other people’s mistakes, never recognizing our own faults.

So, [we have] “innate enlightenment, Dharma-wealth and all virtues.” Our innate enlightenment is always there, so if we are not contaminated by afflictions, naturally our wisdom will be equal to the Buddha’s.

Some young children, as we have often heard recently, can immediately understand the Dharma they hear. Many of them uphold vegetarian precepts because they know to cherish life. Yesterday, I heard what a child said on Da Ai TV. This three-year-old girl said, “We should cherish these animals’ mothers. Baby animals will be very sad without their mothers, so we should cherish their mothers.” This is wisdom [She also said,] “Don’t eat baby animals. If we eat baby animals, their mothers will cry. They will hurt.” So, she upholds a vegetarian diet. Nothing can tempt her to [eat meat]; she has remained vegetarian.

When children are born, they have this innate enlightenment and Dharma-wealth. If we tell them one thing, they can [understand] many others. In this way, “We are replete with innate enlightenment, Dharma-wealth and all virtues.” This is our “innate enlightenment.” With our intrinsic nature and wisdom, we can be one with all things in the universe. This is the Dharma-wealth we are replete with.

“Small Vehicle practitioners’ resolve is limited.” They only seek to benefit themselves; they have no desire to form great aspirations and make great vows “[Their] resolve is limited, so they fear the Great Dharma.” They think, “If I practice the Great Dharma, then I have to care for all sentient beings. I do not want to take on this responsibility.” Not wanting to take it on, they avoid it.

“Two Vehicle practitioners’ wisdom is shallow and their blessings thin, so the Great Dharma is difficult for them to accept.” The Two Vehicle practitioners, Hearers and Solitary Realizers, when among people still refuse to benefit them. If they do not interact with people, they cannot grow in wisdom. So, their wisdom will always be limited to. “Thus have I heard.” They are unable to understand the true suffering of all people, how its “causation” is accumulated or how they can bring the suffering from afflictions to “cessation.” They will not know this. So, to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, we must become one with everyone. Two Vehicle practitioners focus on. “Thus have I heard. I understand, I realize, this is what the Dharma says, so thus have I heard, thus are my understanding and views.” They are limited to “thus,” unable to expand their understanding and views. Because they refuse to accept the Great Dharma, the Buddha “did not speak according to His intent.”

After the Buddha’s enlightenment, He originally wanted to share with everyone, “You, you and you, every one of you will become a Buddha because you all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.” But we were unable to realize this Dharma, because over countless kalpas we have only taken care of ourselves. It is because our minds have given rise to endless thoughts of ignorance that all these ignorant thoughts have continuously covered our innate enlightenment. Not only are we unable to understand, we actually give rise to more afflictions and dust-like ignorant thoughts. For this reason, the Buddha could not directly teach about innate enlightenment. So, He “did not speak according to His intent.” He could not freely express His original intent.

As I have said many times in the past, because sentient beings did not have the capabilities to accept it, He could not directly teach the Bodhisattva Way. So, He had to slowly and mindfully teach according to capabilities. Sentient beings have 84,000 kinds of ignorance, so the Buddha had to open 84,000 Dharma-doors to accommodate them. Then could sentient beings accept the teachings? Our ignorance toward all things still causes us great suffering. This is why, in life, we are unable to awaken, why we are unable to turn our minds around. Thus we always remain in a state of ignorance.

We are like the poor son. When he saw that magnificent scene, he became scared and ran away. But the elder inside, his father, saw his figure. He quickly dispatched people to bring him back. This led to a struggle, scaring the son so much he fainted. The father could not bear this, so he told them to loosen their grip and let him go. His son had fainted, so he told them to use water to wake him up. The priority was to wake him up first. This is an analogy for how giving direct teachings can scare people. It is better to use limited teachings and help them understand the Four Noble Truths. He taught with this Dharma, along with the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, this [Dharma-]water, to first wake people up.

This is an analogy for how ordinary people are in a state of darkness, so the Buddha had to teach according to their capabilities. First, He taught with the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence to help them wake up. Then they could understand the principles of “suffering” and “causation” and know to earnestly eliminate their afflictions by cultivating the “Path.” These are the Four Noble Truths.

Furthermore, He helped them understand the source of suffering in life, that it comes from a single thought, like the desire between men and women. This kind of possessiveness and ignorance then continues to propagate. We are ignorant of the fact that. “We cannot take anything with us when we die.” No matter how much we learn, how advanced our schooling is, if we have not eliminated our ignorance, an ignorant thought arises “We cannot take anything with us when we die. Only karma follows us to our next life.” In the future, we keep that thought of ignorance as we carry our karma with us [to the next life]. This then propagates continuously. Out of ignorance, we feel pride and arrogance, which then further multiplies our ignorance. So, the Buddha used the Dharma-water of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence to awaken everyone. But listening to the teaching of the Twelve Links, they think, “We are already suffering; to avoid further propagating this ignorance, I no longer want to form affinities with people.” For this reason, they remain focused on benefiting themselves and have no desire to go among people.

Over the past few days, I have said very clearly that if you do not interact with people, you cannot cultivate blessings. If you are not among people, you cannot experience infinite Dharma-doors. “Without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom.” So, starting from this point, the Buddha wanted everyone to go among people to give to them without becoming contaminated by them. This is a very important concept [to realize]. So, when we listen to the Dharma, this is a very important part. We must tirelessly listen to and talk about it, truly imprinting it on our minds.

The Buddha helped people understand that this is the way life works. But they were still unable to accept the Great Dharma, so the Buddha quickly let them go for now. Because of this, the Buddha “did not speak according to His intent.” Their capabilities had not matured yet. “His intent” was to tell everyone that they can become a Buddha. But people still did not understand. To truly attain Buddhahood, we have to walk the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path is the bridge between our unenlightened state and Buddhahood. If we do not cross this bridge, we will be unable to cross from this shore to the other shore.

To realize prajna, He taught us to practice the Six Paramitas, giving, precepts, patience, diligence, etc. With these tools, we can cross this river of afflictions. We can build a bridge to cross from this shore to the other shore. This requires the Dharma, which is the Bodhisattva-path. Bodhisattvas benefit people, society and the world. We should awaken ourselves and others, transform ourselves and others. Seeing that some were unable to accept teachings, like the father He had to say, “Let them go. Do not forcibly pull them back. Just help them quickly awaken.” This was the time to teach with limited teachings.

The previous sutra passage states, “Why did he do so? The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept.”

The father understood that his son did not have this kind of resolve and would rather continue wandering than come home. So, he did not want to force him. The Buddha fervently hoped His “children” could accept and spread the Dharma, expounding the Dharma to others. He clearly knew they had this talent, and He had this hope for them, but they had “limited resolve.” Right when He needed them to [accept it], they were unwilling, so He had to let them go. Because “The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his nobility and grandeur would be difficult for his son to accept.” They were not vessels for the Dharma because they were unable to accept, expound and spread it, so the Buddha had to let them go. This previous sutra passage spoke of how causes and conditions had not matured.

The next passage states, “Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means. He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son’.”

Now that the father knew where his son lived, he had them let him go. By gradually understanding where he was, he could go back and develop skillful means. He did not tell people, “This is my son.” He did not tell people this. This was when he began to develop skillful means

He knew full well that in the presence of two trillion past Buddhas they had formed spiritual aspirations and were truly Buddha-children

This means that. “In the presence of two trillion past Buddhas, they had formed spiritual aspirations and were truly Buddha-children.” Remember, the Introductory Chapter spoke of the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas. Manjusri and Maitreya mentioned in the Introductory Chapter that the Buddha had been in the presence of 20,000 Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas; at that time, They taught and transformed [Him]. Those 20,000 Buddhas had manifested in the world one by one, all with the same name, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha. In every lifetime, They taught many people. In every lifetime, there were people who formed great aspirations and made great vows. At that time, many people had also heard the Bodhisattva Way and knew they should form great aspirations. The spiritual aspirations they formed then were great aspirations;

“[They] were truly Buddha-children.” Actually, these people were all Buddha-children. From the time of the 20,000 Lamp Radiant Buddhas, they continued extending these affinities. Life after life they have abided in the Dharma and often connected with these principles. In fact, they were all Buddha-children. These Buddha-children are analogous to the son of the elder, but they likewise became lost. So, “He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son’.” This is like what the Buddha already knew. He already knew that these people once formed great aspirations. Thus they had the affinity to draw near the Buddha-Dharma in this life. They all formed aspirations, so they have these affinities now

He never told anyone else, “This is my son”: An analogy for how the Buddha inherently knew that they had previously formed great aspirations. Since the time and capabilities were not yet ripe, it would not be beneficial to teach it. Thus, to follow their wishes to listen to and utilize the Small Vehicle Dharma for their spiritual practice, He gave provisional teachings of skillful means.

“Since the time and capabilities were not yet ripe, it would not be beneficial to teach it.” If He taught them the Bodhisattva Way right away, saying, “You will become a Buddha. The way to attain Buddhahood is to walk the Bodhisattva-path,” telling them this right away would not be beneficial; they would be unable to do it. So, He had to slow down in order to “follow their wishes.” This depended on their capabilities. He clearly knew that these were Buddha-children who could inherit and accept all this Dharma, this abundance of Dharma. They had once formed great aspirations, but the causes and conditions were not yet ripe, so, “It would not be beneficial [to teach it].” Rather, they should do the work first.

We frequently talk about Living Bodhisattvas. When they invite people who listen to the Dharma to help others, those practitioners would say, “Do not contrive affinities.” So, in these past decades, we have said that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. Everyone has a loving heart. Where there is suffering, we can find a way to help those people. Helping people is a good deed; by helping people, we can become very happy. “Come on! Offer just a bit of your strength. Reach out your hands so we can help this person.” When they reach out to help them and say, “Be well,” seeing others at peace makes them happy. People do not realize that doing this is practicing the Dharma; the happiness it brings is Dharma-joy.

Dharma-joy comes from continuously aspiring to help other people. This is a method [of practice]. We should not directly tell people, “You are Buddhas, you really are!” Do not say this. We do not need to share very profound Dharma, helping them distinguish between the five chronic and five acute afflictions. There is no need to go into detail and analyze the Ten Afflictions for them. Just say, “If we each give a little, by pooling our efforts together, we can help many people” [They realize,] “I can do this. It doesn’t negatively affect my life. When I donate 50 cents, I feel at peace. Some say a household that practices good deeds will certainly have more than enough blessings. I donate 50 cents every day. Making this donation makes me happy.”

“When I go shopping at the market, I say, ‘Give me 50 cents less vegetables’.” Hearing that people will naturally ask, “What will you do with that 50 cents? I can help others! 50 cents can help people? That sounds reasonable. In this case, I will donate 50 cents too.” During these transactions, when people deposit these donations, they feel happy; when they are pooled together, these coins can help save others. Isn’t this unconsciously awakening the love in their hearts? Isn’t this unconsciously paving a road of working with people in this world?

Nowadays, we can see that wherever there is a disaster, there will be many people in Tzu Chi uniforms. They rush to help others. After serving others, they mutually express their gratitude. “I’m grateful! You have given me this chance to join in this work.” Thus everyone is happy. This is something we Buddhist practitioners intangibly accumulate.

In the past few years, the effects of the “Dharma as Water” lectures have been seen. The Dharma is like water. We must have faith in it. Of everyone born into this world, who is without mistakes? Who is without fault? We all inevitably make mistakes and create karma. So, we must repent! After I taught the Water Repentance for a while, people began to look at the world and see there is so much imbalance in the macrocosm and an endless series of manmade calamities. This planet is the evil world of Five Turbidities; people’s minds are impure. So, we began to practice and promote repentance as a way of spiritual practice.

Dear Bodhisattvas, in life, everyone has innate enlightenment. All sentient beings have a pure intrinsic nature. The awakened nature in their minds has always been pure. That is their Buddha-nature. So, we need to “transcend all delusions,” all thoughts of delusion. If we can correct our negative habitual tendencies. I believe everyone can return to their innate enlightenment. So everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 766 – The Doors of Exhortation and Admonishment

---

>> The two doors, exhortation and admonishment, practiced together transmit blessings and wisdom. With wisdom and compassion, the Buddha used both doors, exhortation and admonishment. With their capacities, it is difficult to resonate with the Great Dharma, so He had to adhere to capabilities. Waiting for capabilities to ripen, He opened both doors, of exhortation and of admonishment.

>> “The father saw this from afar and said to the messengers` do not need this man Do not force him to come here Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him.”      [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “Why did he do so? The following sutra passage continues, The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept. Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means. He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son’.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> This explains, All Buddhas who come to the world share the same path; they conceal the true and give the provisional, first teaching the Three and then the One.

>> He temporarily ceased the great transformation and taught according to capabilities. So, no one knows the son like his own father.

>> [The father knew his son] to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept: We detest suffering and enjoy emptiness. Thus, later in the sutra it says, We are subject to the Three Sufferings.

>> The Three Sufferings: The suffering of suffering, The suffering of decay, The suffering of action. First is the suffering of suffering. This is suffering that we give rise to because of the conditions of suffering such as being cold, hot, hungry and thirsty and so on.

>> Second is the suffering of decay. This is the suffering we give rise to when our state of happiness decays.

>> The third is the suffering of action. This is suffering due to the impermanence of and constant changes in all conditioned phenomena.

>> Thus, in samsara when we faced all kinds of fiery afflictions, confusion, delusion and ignorance, we joyfully clung to the Small Vehicle Dharma.

>> Grandeur and nobility are metaphors for the Great Vehicle. One mind giving rise to myriad practices to cultivate virtue is called grandeur. Myriad practices of cultivating the virtue of our intrinsic nature encompassed by one mind is called nobility.

>> Their compassion and wisdom had yet to develop, so they feared the Great Vehicle Dharma would be hard and thus had no wish to seek grandeur and nobility.

---

“The two doors, exhortation and admonishment, practiced together transmit blessings and wisdom.
With wisdom and compassion, the Buddha used both doors, exhortation and admonishment.
With their capacities, it is difficult to resonate with the Great Dharma, so He had to adhere to capabilities.
Waiting for capabilities to ripen, He opened both doors, of exhortation and of admonishment.”

“Exhortation” is counseling everyone to practice all kinds of good deeds. “Admonishment” is cautioning everyone not to create a lot of negative karma out of afflictions and ignorance. So, “exhortation” and “admonishment” are two kinds of methods, two kinds of doors, that must be practiced in parallel. The Buddha has taught us this way for a long time. He did this for the sole purpose of teaching us to cultivate blessings and wisdom in parallel.

But in order to cultivate blessings and wisdom, we must put efforts into the “door of exhortation.” We must practice kindness for the greater good. We should not just benefit ourselves, but simultaneously benefit others as well. This is kindness for the greater good. We must not just focus on our own benefit. The Buddha asked that we look beyond ourselves to also care for all sentient beings of the world and go among the people. He explained this clearly to us to help us to know how to eliminate afflictions and to help us eliminate our past habitual tendency of contriving affinities.

We must all be clear on what it is to “contrive affinities.” Contriving affinities is saying different things to different people and spreading rumors about things to affect people’s relationships, or forcibly creating connections with people to gain some advantage for ourselves. This is definitely not the proper mindset. The Buddha taught us to be sincere. Awakened beings care for everyone in the world and for all worldly matters; this is to be selfless and assume responsibility for the world. This is how we benefit everyone and create good affinities with sentient beings. Thus we are replete with blessings and wisdom.

Some people cultivate empty wisdom. All they have done is understand many principles; they have not applied them among people. They think others have nothing to do with them; this kind of wisdom is biased and empty. What the Buddha needed was to teach us to keep our feet on the ground, to create blessings among people and to cultivate wisdom among people. To cultivate blessings and wisdom among people while not being contaminated by them is true spiritual practice. So, “The two doors, exhortation and admonishment, practiced together transmit blessings and wisdom.” This is very important for all of us.

“With wisdom and compassion, the Buddha used both [doors].” The Buddha’s original intent was freely expressed in the Lotus Sutra. At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He shared everything that was in His mind. So, He still placed great importance on how compassion and wisdom must be used simultaneously. Therefore, “the doors of exhortation and of admonishment” must be used in parallel like this. That is what the Buddha emphasized for us in the Lotus Sutra.

“With their capacities, it is difficult to resonate with the Great Dharma.” With their capacities, resonating with the Great Dharma is very difficult. Even if they are engaged in spiritual practice, they are practitioners with limited capabilities who only focus on self-awakening. They do not want to form great aspirations and benefit everyone. Many people are like this. Thus, even if we hear many teachings, though we listen, we still continue to say different things to different people and draw distinctions between ourselves and others; “What you like, I do not like.” We extol the virtues of people we like, but speak of others’ shortcomings, explaining them clearly and exhaustively, until everyone knows that they have more than just this one shortcoming; they are also flawed in many other ways. It is as if we are afraid that this person’s flaws are not clear to everyone. That is not right either.

In the past people said, “Praise people’s virtues and conceal their faults.” We know everyone innately has Buddha-nature, but habitual tendencies are hard to change. If someone has the will to change, we must put our hearts into helping them. Regarding their small habitual tendencies, we must find a way to help them eliminate these [bad habits], so they are able to develop their kindness and their pure potential. We must find a way to accompany them. Everyone has innate enlightenment, a pure Tathagata-nature. So, when among fellow spiritual practitioners, we must be each other’s virtuous friends.

How do we organize a place of spiritual practice? How orderly a place of spiritual practice is depends on each person’s mannerisms and actions. Are we all behaving in an orderly manner? Take morning recitations for example. As we are chanting, to express our reverence, we must let our voices ring out from our hearts. The more reverent we are, the louder our voices will be. Yet as we sing loudly, we must be in concert with other people’s singing. We listen to their voices and sing out with our own voices. When our voices and their voices join together in harmony, that demonstrates reverence of speech, reverence of the mind and reverence of the body. When our Threefold Karma of body, speech, mind are united in reverence, we can resonate with the Great Dharma with our capacities. Even just practicing in this way, achieving unity and harmony, is Dharma. Being orderly is also Dharma. When voices are in unison, that is also Dharma. All of this begins with our hearts.

To be so orderly in a place of spiritual practice, our hearts must be united with those of others. Everyone is orderly when prostrating to the Buddha because they are paying close attention and are united in their hearts. When we chant, the melody is harmonious when our hearts express reverence through our mouths. Praising the Buddha and chanting both come from the mouth. Every day, with our Threefold Karma, we enter the Great Hall in an orderly manner. With this first action we can already “resonate with the Great Dharma.”

“With our capacities, it is difficult to resonate with the Great Dharma.” If we are unable to unify our minds, then we know that we have not yet taken the Dharma to heart, that we are not being mindful of the Great Dharma. Thus, the Buddha “had to adhere to capabilities.” We must really make an effort to be mindful.

“Waiting for capabilities to ripen, He opened both doors, of exhortation and of admonishment.” He waited for our capabilities to ripen so we could realize His “exhortation” and “admonishment.” He exhorted us to practice good deeds. He exhorted us to be united in our intent to create blessings and cultivate wisdom for the sake of all sentient beings. He waited for the opportunity to do this in the hope that all of us spiritual practitioners could open both doors. We spiritual practitioners must not miss this opportunity. Otherwise, we will be like the poor son in the story Subhuti told. The poor son poked his head in, then quickly ran off.

The previous sutra passage states, “The father saw this from afar and said to the messengers, I do not need this man Do not force him to come here Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him.”

The father saw his son from afar struggling against the men he had dispatched. He urgently told them, “Stop, I do not need this man. Do not forcibly drag him back; let him go. He has fainted; quick, sprinkle water on him. Splash it on his face so he will quickly wake up.” This is like the Dharma; the Buddha knew that the Great Dharma was still unsuitable for sentient beings’ capacities. In an act similar to the father’s, He temporarily let go of teaching the Great Dharma. He still continued to teach the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links and allowed them to remain in the Small Vehicle, peaceful and at ease. The father did not yet say who the son was, nor did he reveal his own identity, so as not to give his son pressure.

In fact, the poor son was the son of this wealthy man, but he had wandered away from home “Why did he do so?” The following sutra passage continues, “The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept. Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means. He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son’.”

His father took great pains to help him. For now, he would wake him up and then let him go. In this way, he would know where he was. He just wanted to know where his son was, but he did not yet reveal the son’s identity. How would the father interact with his son? He had to devise certain methods ․This explains, “All Buddhas who come to the world share the same path; they conceal the true and give the provisional, first teaching the Three and then the One.”

Every single Buddha in the world uses the same methods, “first teaching the Three and then the One.” The state He achieved upon enlightenment is definitely not something that ordinary people would be able to realize. So, He has to first use Small [Vehicle] teachings “to teach about existence and emptiness.” Only later does He bring “existence” and “emptiness” together. By talking about wondrous existence in emptiness, He brings them together to teach the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle.

This explains, All Buddhas who come to the world share the same path; they conceal the true and give the provisional, first teaching the Three and then the One.

At this time, Sakyamuni Buddha did as all past Buddhas had done. He began to “bring the Three into the One.” He wanted to give great teachings, but since their capabilities had not yet matured, He “temporarily ceased the great transformation.” Because their capabilities were not mature, He had to spend a long time patiently guiding them.

Think about this; Sakyamuni Buddha spent seven years expounding just the Lotus Sutra. Isn’t that a long time? He still had to spend seven years teaching it. So, He still had to slow down and “temporarily cease the great transformation.” He was about to enter Parinirvana so He had to earnestly teach the Dharma to help them understand it very clearly.

He temporarily ceased the great transformation and taught according to capabilities. So, no one knows the son like his own father.

Thus, “A father knows his son best.” People say that no one knows a son better than his own father. Now he had to teach according to capabilities. Knowing that his son’s resolve was not strong, he had to go slowly. This was the father’s mindfulness toward his son.

[The father knew his son] to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept: We detest suffering and enjoy emptiness. Thus, later in the sutra it says, We are subject to the Three Sufferings.

His son had limited resolve, but the elder had “grandeur and nobility.” This means that one who has “limited resolve” will “detest suffering and enjoy emptiness.” As Two Vehicle practitioners, they already recognized suffering. Ah, suffering! As the Buddha said, [life is] filled with suffering. They understood birth, aging, illness, death and the raging Five Aggregates. In particular, in the human realm we suffer from not getting what we want, parting with those we love and meeting those we hate. In addition, there are the Five Aggregates. Time keeps moving through infinitesimal changes, and with these aggregates, we endlessly accumulate negative karma over time. As time endlessly passes, we keep collecting negative karma and afflictions. How frightening! Every day we experience happiness, anger, sorrow and joy, love, hate, passion and animosity. These feelings are also suffering. So, these practitioners “detest suffering and enjoy emptiness. I want to cut off all karmic connections. I have no need to contrive affinities. Living a life of only awakening myself brings me such joy and such freedom. Isn’t that a good thing?”

The sutra text says there are the Three Sufferings. What did the Chapter on Parables say that the Three Sufferings are? First is “the suffering of suffering. This is suffering that we give rise to because of the conditions of suffering such as being cold, hot, hungry and thirsty and so on.” This is suffering that happens in life.

The Three Sufferings: The suffering of suffering, The suffering of decay, The suffering of action. First is the suffering of suffering. This is suffering that we give rise to because of the conditions of suffering such as being cold, hot, hungry and thirsty and so on.

Many people experience poverty and hardship. They do not have roofs or have broken roofs. And their walls? Their walls are not solid; they all have cracks in them. The freezing wind blows right in. The snow falls on top of them. The rain completely drenches them. When the cold wind blows, they shiver. In this way they experience extreme heat and cold. Whether it is hot or cold, they suffer immensely. Sometimes impoverished people are also hungry and thirsty. This is truly unbearable suffering. They face these painful conditions, on top of which comes birth, aging, illness, death. If they are old and sick, or disabled, aren’t they suffering? This is tremendous suffering! This is “the suffering of suffering.” There is not just one [layer] of suffering. Facing suffering on top of suffering is “the suffering of suffering.”

Second is the suffering of decay. This is the suffering we give rise to when our state of happiness decays.

The second is “the suffering of decay.” We possess many things, but we hope to have even more. What worries us most is losing things. This is decay, deterioration. This gaining only to lose is “the suffering of decay.” When a state of happiness decays, that suffering is even worse. Some may have lived in comfort and wielded great power; they could even “command water to freeze.” But once they fail, they end up on the streets, and no one knows them. Once they fail, everyone else will distance themselves. This is the “suffering of decay”

The third is the suffering of action. This is suffering due to the impermanence of and constant changes in all conditioned phenomena.

The third is “the suffering of action. This is suffering due to the impermanence of and constant changes in all conditioned phenomena.” Living in a world of conditioned phenomena, we create karma. Then impermanence strikes in the blink of an eye, bringing suffering; this happens often. This is suffering caused by constant changes; everything is truly impermanent. We often hear how the four elements are imbalanced. We often hear that the world is impermanent, etc. When people’s minds are in discord, manmade calamities will endlessly arise. This truly brings great suffering.

Therefore, we all have these Three Sufferings. “Thus, in samsara we face all kinds of fiery afflictions.” This is why practitioners of the Two Vehicles renounced coming back to the human realm and going among people.

Thus, in samsara when we faced all kinds of fiery afflictions, confusion, delusion and ignorance, we joyfully clung to the Small Vehicle Dharma.

With “confusion, delusion and ignorance, [they] joyfully clung to the Small Vehicle Dharma.” They did not know that, by trying to end suffering in this way, they are in fact adding to confusion and delusion. They only eliminated their afflictions, and had not yet eliminated their ignorance; they still had dust-like afflictions.

In the past, we have constantly said that, regarding the afflictions of the Three Realms, even if we [transcend] the desire and form realms, we may not be able to transcend the formless realm. With dust-like afflictions, inevitably more afflictions will arise. With this “confusion, delusions and ignorance,” we “joyfully cling to the Small Vehicle Dharma.” Why do we not train ourselves to cultivate blessings among people, to cultivate wisdom among people? Only by going among people do we know what kind of Dharma they need. Only if we can train ourselves to go among people without becoming contaminated by them can we truly eliminate our dust-like afflictions.

So, the Buddha already understood these practitioners of the Small Vehicle.

Grandeur and nobility are metaphors for the Great Vehicle. One mind giving rise to myriad practices to cultivate virtue is called grandeur. Myriad practices of cultivating the virtue of our intrinsic nature encompassed by one mind is called nobility.

He knew [they feared His] “grandeur and nobility. He knew” means that He understood. This Great Dharma, the Great Vehicle Dharma, begins with one mind. One mind giving rise to myriad practices to cultivate virtues is grandeur. We cultivate myriad virtues with one mind. Where do we go to cultivate myriad virtues? The only thing to do is to go among sentient beings that need our help; only by giving to them can we cultivate myriad blessings and virtues. This is called “grandeur.”

“The innate enlightenment of one mind encompassing myriad practices,” this enlightened and virtuous nature, is called “nobility.” Everyone intrinsically has a virtuous nature of innate enlightenment. We all inherently have it. We all have a virtuous and enlightened nature, which we can exercise by going among people to cultivate myriad virtues and myriad practices. We can cultivate these by going among the people. So, we all inherently have “grandeur and nobility.” With our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, we are replete with many teachings and can exercise both compassion and wisdom.

However, for Small Vehicle practitioners, “Their compassion and wisdom had yet to develop.” They were still lacking in compassion. They were unwilling to exercise wisdom. “Their compassion and wisdom had yet to develop, so they feared the Great Vehicle Dharma and had no wish to seek grandeur and nobility.” They thought it would be “difficult.” Their compassion and wisdom had yet to develop, so they feared the Great Vehicle  Dharma would be hard and thus had no wish to seek grandeur and nobility.

Actually, if we are willing to form aspirations, nothing is difficult; it is just that we refuse to form aspirations. If we fear the Great Vehicle Dharma, this will be difficult; if we want to walk the Bodhisattva-path, we will find that every step is difficult. Thus we have “no wish to seek grandeur and nobility.” We are unwilling to seek wealth, unwilling to seek the Great Vehicle Dharma.

So, we must form great aspirations and make great vows. We were all originally children of a wealthy family. We must hurry back to our original home. We have a grand home and abundant treasures, so we should make an effort to go back, to find the road back. In our intrinsic nature, our myriad virtues gives us grandeur, and our intrinsic awakened nature gives us nobility. We all have this wealth within us, so we must always be mindful.

Episode 765 – Imparting the Great Teachings

---

>> Though we urgently impart the great teachings and expound the One Vehicle, those with limited capacities cannot easily believe. If they do not have great capabilities, do not inopportunely teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. Forgive and have compassion for the ignorant who have not yet made great vows. For fear of injuring their young and immature roots of goodness, do not force them to come here.

>> “The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back. The poor son at this time thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. With that he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “The father saw this from afar and said to the messengers, I do not need this man Do not force him to come here Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> It previously said, From afar, [the son] saw his father, and now it says the father saw [his son] from afar. The father and son saw each other from afar. This is an analogy for how limited capabilities and the Great Dharma are still far from each other. Thus it says, The father saw [his son] from afar.

>> [He] said to the messengers: The messengers are like the teachings, and the teachings must be given based on wisdom. If their wisdom is lacking in capacity, without that wisdom, the teachings cannot be given.

>> Speaking of them as people, “The father saw this from afar” means the father knew his son had no great resolve. [He] said to the messengers: “Slowly relax and cease your urgency. Do not create alarm in sentient beings, so as to cause doubts to arise in them”

>> I do not need this man. Do not force him to come here: As they lacked great capabilities, He feared injuring their roots of goodness. He temporarily ceased using the great teachings to transform those Two Vehicle practitioners. Thus it says, “I do not need him”.

>> Sprinkle cold water upon his face: He knew they had limited resolve so He fittingly used the provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles, the Dharma-water of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, to sprinkle upon the hearts of those who seek Nirvana for themselves.

>> To wake up: By first subduing the delusions of the Ten Afflictions and then gradually escaping the Eight Sufferings, one is born in the human or heaven realm and can escape unhappiness while gradually awakening to the Four Noble Truths.

>> Then say nothing more to him: He decided He should cease the Great Vehicle teaching.

---

“Though we urgently impart the great teachings and expound the One Vehicle, those with limited capacities cannot easily believe.
If they do not have great capabilities, do not inopportunely teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.
Forgive and have compassion for the ignorant who have not yet made great vows.
For fear of injuring their young and immature roots of goodness, do not force them to come here.”

As we listen to sutras and take in the teachings, we cannot let things remain at a superficial level. We must delve deeply into them in order to understand. Take this passage from the sutras for example. There was once a very poor man. When he saw how wealthy those in rich families were, he sighed to himself and lamented, “Why do other people have so much money while I am so poor? I only have a few coins, only a little bit of money.” How could he compare with these rich people? He hoped to be as wealthy as they were, but looking at these coins in his hand, how could he ever compete with them? Since his coins were so insignificant compared to what other people had, he decided to toss them all into the water. A bystander saw this and stopped him, saying, “This small amount of money on you can sustain you for several days. With these coins, you will be able to survive for a number of days. So, work hard! Do your best, and one day you will be as rich as them.”

This is a passage found in the sutras. But it is in fact an analogy for how, after leaving the lay life, when an inexperienced monastic receives offerings, he might hope to receive offerings comparable to what experienced spiritual practitioners receive. These virtuous sages have many disciples and receive an abundance of offerings. Compared to them, why does he receive so little? So, he sighs and laments to himself; why can’t he receive what these experienced and virtuous practitioners receive? Is this fair? Later on someone might tell him, “These people have engaged in spiritual practice for a very long time. They have taken the Dharma to heart and have also expounded teachings to create affinities with many people. Many are willing to make offerings to them because of their virtues and wisdom. As for you, what can you offer? You should be mindful and learn earnestly. Only by taking the Dharma to heart can you make use of it to create good affinities. Then naturally, you will receive offerings.”

In this example, one person is an impoverished lay person, and the other is a monastic lacking in spiritual cultivation and virtue. This is the analogy made.

However, we can also compare this to people today. In Mozambique, there is a woman named Maria who is one of our volunteers. She heard the Bodhisattva[-volunteers] from South Africa say, “This is how we were able to do what we have done. We wanted to help people; we didn’t have money but we had strength. So, we rented a piece of land and planted vegetables. We can now provide hot meals to many people. Several times each week, we can help to provide meals to orphans and impoverished people so they can eat their fill. This is what we enjoy doing most.” When Maria heard this, she thought, “If they can do it, why can’t we?” So, she formed the same aspiration. She told a landowner about her wish, and this landowner was willing to rent a piece of land to them cheaply, for 2000 meticals each year.

They began cultivating the land, and 45 days later there were six or seven kinds of vegetables that they were able to harvest. They began providing meals in several districts. Each week they were able to provide two meals, and each time they could provide for people in four districts so that the orphans, the elderly who lived alone and impoverished people could have hot meals with a little bit of rice and fresh vegetables to eat. This made everyone very happy.

These are people in our world today. The person in the sutra parable resented and pitied himself. But today we can do better by coming together and working happily to be able to provide meals for so many people. This makes everyone even more happy. These are truly Living Bodhisattvas, who have accepted the Dharma and put it into action. This is very practical.

So, when we think about teaching others, we must remember, “Though we urgently impart the great teaching and expound the One Vehicle, those with limited capacities cannot easily believe.” Those who have very limited capacities find it very hard to believe that everyone can attain Buddhahood. Is anyone capable of immediately taking the Dharma to heart upon hearing it? It would be better to use these skillful means, to use these Small [Vehicle] teachings, to help people believe in the law of karma. Once they are willing to listen to teachings and take the Dharma to heart, even by taking very small actions they can come together to give of themselves. If they can do this, they will be able to believe. In fact, by doing this they will be happy; helping others brings the greatest joy.

If we suddenly tell people, “You can also attain Buddhahood, you just need to engage in spiritual practice,” [they say,] “To engage in spiritual practice until I attain Buddhahood would be very hard!” If we tell them, “Go transform sentient beings!” hearing the words “transform sentient beings,” they say, “That’s a very big undertaking!” Moreover, they already understand the causation of suffering, that it comes from contriving affinities with others and giving rise to discursive thoughts, so they are scared. They do not want to go among people again. So, we do not need to talk to them about contriving affinities. First we tell them, “If you do good deeds, you will be very happy and also be able to help others. This is not contriving affinities; it is creating good affinities and benefiting everyone.” So, when we speak, a tiny deviation can cause a misunderstanding. When it comes to people with limited capacities, it is best to guide them forward step by step. Then they will stay on the right course and will also not become scared.

“If they do not have great capabilities, do not inopportunely teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.” Since we know they do not have great capabilities, we do not need to talk to them about very profound or overwhelmingly great teachings. This is like how, when the Buddha first awakened, He wanted to share His realizations with everyone. But then He withdrew them and gave Small [Vehicle] teachings instead. These teachings were the Four Noble Truths. To truly cultivate an understanding of suffering is not an easy feat. If we do not go among others, how can we recognize suffering? But if people have not opened up their minds and are still unwilling to go among people, at this time, “Do not teach [them] the Great Vehicle Dharma.”

So, all we can do is “forgive and have compassion for the ignorant.” This is how open and spacious the Buddha’s mind is. Ordinary people do not have the capacity to accept [the Dharma], so the Buddha had to be forgiving. He understood that His children, His disciples, only had these limited capabilities. So, He had compassion for the ignorant. They had “not yet made great vows.” In their hearts, they had not yet made the Four Great Vows; they had not yet opened the door to their minds. So, the Buddha had to be forgiving and compassionate; sentient beings’ ignorance lies in their not yet making those vows. This was “for fear of injuring their young and immature roots of goodness.” Since this was the case, it would be hard even if He wanted to force them.

Initially, the Buddha wanted to help everyone step onto the path to Buddhahood right away and immediately absorb the principles for attaining Buddhahood. But this was very difficult. As Subhuti said, after listening to the Dharma for so long, they were tired and would sometimes fall asleep. This is because sentient beings are still in a state of ignorance. They cannot take the teachings to heart. This is because they lack focus; thus, they are ignorant. It would be better to let them go so they can gradually calm down and learn to earnestly listen to and take the Dharma to heart.

The previous sutra passage states, “The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back. The poor son at this time thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. With that he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot.” He struggled greatly; the suffering was unbearable. Thus, he fainted right there, collapsing on the spot.

The next sutra passage states, “The father saw this from afar and said to the messengers, I do not need this man Do not force him to come here Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him’.”

The father saw this from afar and sighed. He had to quickly tell the messengers, “I do not need this person. Do not forcibly drag him back like that. He has fainted; sprinkle cold water on him so that he can be quickly revived. There is no need to say anything to him. I just want him to wake up”

It previously said, “From afar, [the son] saw his father,” and now it says the father saw [his son] from afar. The father and son saw each other from afar. This is an analogy for how limited capabilities and the Great Dharma are still far from each other. Thus it says, “The father saw [his son] from afar.”

Before it said, “The son saw his father from afar.” Prior to the father seeing the son, the son had already seen his father from outside the house. But fear arose in his heart, so he turned around and ran away quickly. Now, “The father saw his son from afar.” The father saw the figure of his son as he was leaving. So, “The father and son saw each other from afar.” The son saw his father from a distance, and the father also saw his son from afar. However, the son had not recognized that this man was his father, while from afar the father recognized his son. This is an analogy for “limited capabilities and the Great Dharma.” The son [represents] limited capabilities [His father] wanted to give him the Great Dharma, but he could not understand it. This is the analogy.

So, they are “still far from each other.” The distance between the two was still very large. His capabilities were so limited, and the Dharma was so great, so they were not yet proportionate. This Dharma cannot be taken in by people of this level of capabilities. “Thus it says, The father saw [his son] from afar’.” People with limited capabilities are very far from the Great Dharma. Thus it says “afar,” very far.

[He] said to the messengers: The messengers are like the teachings, and the teachings must be given based on wisdom. If their wisdom is lacking in capacity, without that wisdom, the teachings cannot be given.

Then, “[He] said to the messengers….” If this Dharma was taught to people, that would be like the messenger forcibly dragging the son back. The strength of the messenger is akin to the great power of the Dharma. So, teaching this to those of limited capabilities is something that cannot be done.

“The teachings must be given based on wisdom,” but “Their wisdom is lacking in capacity.” They have the wisdom to know but their capacities cannot yet connect, so the Great Dharma should be paused. Then it will not be like dragging [the son] back, causing him to struggle so much that he faints. Just as [the messengers] had to let him go, the power of this Dharma has to be set aside for now.

Speaking of them as people, “The father saw this from afar” means the father knew his son had no great resolve. [He] said to the messengers: “Slowly relax and cease your urgency. Do not create alarm in sentient beings, so as to cause doubts to arise in them”

Speaking of them as people, “The father saw this from afar” means that. “The father knew his son had no great resolve,” that he had not formed great vows “[So, he] said to the messengers, Slowly relax and cease your urgency’.” They should temporarily relax their hold. They should stop for now, not rush. “Do not create alarm in sentient beings so as to cause doubts to arise in them.” This shows that the Buddha knew that sentient beings had limited capabilities, so He had to temporarily slow down the teaching of this Dharma. Instead of rushing, He stopped temporarily. If He forced the Dharma on them, they would get scared.

It is said that in His state of mind after attaining enlightenment, He hoped everyone could promptly comprehend the path to Buddhahood. But seeing that their capacities left them incapable, He temporarily stopped teaching it.

So, the sutra passage states, “I do not need this man. Do not force him to come here.” There is no need to forcibly bring him here.

I do not need this man. Do not force him to come here: As they lacked great capabilities, He feared injuring their roots of goodness. He temporarily ceased using the great teachings to transform those Two Vehicle practitioners. Thus it says, “I do not need him”.

This is about people without great capabilities. He was afraid that by forcing them, their roots of goodness would be injured. Since their capabilities had not matured, “He temporarily ceased using the great teachings;” He temporarily stopped giving the great teachings. So, He devised methods to “transform those Two Vehicle practitioners,” the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. With the Hearer and Solitary Realizer Vehicles, He began to teach them to help them slowly understand that life is suffering and that all causes and conditions arise from our minds. In this way, He did not immediately teach them with the Great Dharma. To transform sentient beings, He devised limited teachings suitable for those of limited capabilities. So, the father told them, “Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him”

Sprinkle cold water upon his face: He knew they had limited resolve so He fittingly used the provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles, the Dharma-water of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, to sprinkle upon the hearts of those who seek Nirvana for themselves.

This is what the sutra states. He knew that those people with limited resolve and those without resolve would not want to form great aspirations. Therefore, they only wanted to awaken themselves; they only [practiced] for their own sake. He still wanted to teach people like this. To help them recognize the suffering in the world, He taught with “the provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles.” With skillful means, He gave the Dharma-water of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. He slowly guided ordinary people into the Small Vehicle Dharma. “Refrain from all evil; practice all that is good.” He used this kind of Dharma-water to wake them up. Ordinary people can at least practice to attain the state of Solitary Realizers. Hearers and Solitary Realizers only seek [attainment] for themselves. “They only seek Nirvana for themselves.” Nirvana sounds like cessation, eliminating all afflictions.

To wake up: By first subduing the delusions of the Ten Afflictions and then gradually escaping the Eight Sufferings, one is born in the human or heaven realm and can escape unhappiness while gradually awakening to the Four Noble Truths.

So, “To wake up, [they must] first subdue the delusions of the Ten Afflictions and then gradually escape the Eight Sufferings”

The five chronic and five acute afflictions are called the Ten Afflictions. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt are the five chronic afflictions. What about the five acute afflictions? [Deviant] views, the view of self, extreme view, stubborn view and the view of deviant precepts all lead us astray. These are the Ten Afflictions. We also gradually escape the Eight Sufferings. We are all familiar with the Eight Sufferings, birth, aging, illness, death, parting from loved ones, meeting those we hate, not getting what we want and the raging Five Aggregates. By understanding these principles, “One is born in the human or heaven realm and can escape unhappiness.”

As humans, we experience much suffering, but in the human realm, we still have time to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. In heaven, we can enjoy heavenly blessings, but we still have to return to the human realm. If we get lost, we end up in the Three Evil Realms. Only by being in the human or heaven realms do we temporarily escape afflictions and ignorance to gradually attain realizations. Realizing the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links is a gradual process.

Then say nothing more to him: He decided He should cease the Great Vehicle teaching.

“Then say nothing more to him” means at first, He would teach this Dharma. He temporarily held back in teaching the. Great Dharma and the path to Buddhahood. “He decided to cease the Great Vehicle teaching.” This was the Buddha’s decision at that time, to teach the Great Vehicle later. When He attained enlightenment, He was in the Avatamsaka state. That was His state of mind. With the Lotus teachings now, He is instructing us on how we can approach this state. In the past, He talked about emptiness and existence to help us eliminate our afflictions. Only by ceasing to create karma can we be free of obstacles. If we create karma, we will face obstacles. So, we need to first remove the ignorance and afflictions that hinder us in order to approach the path to Buddhahood. Now, Small Vehicle practitioners are gradually coming closer to it. So everyone, please be mindful in urgently drawing near the Dharma. This is the only way to listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. In our daily living, we must always be mindful.

Episode 764 – Without Seeking the Great Dharma

---

>> Impermanence presses us; the four elements are imbalanced. With birth, aging, illness, death, pursuit, craving, resentment, hatred and the raging Five Skandhas, sentient beings remain stubborn. Two Vehicle practitioners do not seek the Great Dharma, so no thoughts of interest or joy arise within them.

>> “He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back. At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him. Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back. The poor son at this time thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. So, he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back: This is like the door of admonishment of the Great Vehicle teachings, which is to maintain and uphold in their entirety the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Planning to pass down and entrust the teachings in a timely manner, He spoke of fearsome things.

>> This is like the door of admonishment being taught to those who lack the capacities. Their ignorance has not been eliminated, so they are still lost and unenlightened. Thus it says: He thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner.

>> With constant compassion and pity for sentient beings trapped in the prison of samsara, He taught with a Bodhisattva’s compassionate wisdom and followed sentient beings wherever they were to save them.

>> This is like how the Two Vehicle practitioners are lacking great loving-kindness and compassion, thinking themselves unconnected to the affairs of sentient beings and hoping to mutually do no wrong to each other. Thus it says: He thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner.

>> He did not know why he had been taken prisoner. If one lacks great skillful means and thus enters samsara, one will undoubtedly lose forever the wisdom-life of the Three Vehicles. Thus it says, [He] would surely be put to death.

>> He was thinking about such things , thus  it says, “He became increasingly terrified”. With limited wisdom, he could not grasp the great teachings; thus, it says, “He fainted”. He was engulfed in this spot of ignorance. Thus it says, “He collapsed on the spot”.

>> Increasingly terrified, [he] fainted, collapsing on the spot: This means that trying to forcibly teach and transform through Great Vehicle doctrine will not only not lead others to faithfully accept it and bring out their original Great Vehicle aspirations, it can further damage the roots of goodness and the spiritual aspirations they once had. This will cause them to sink forever into the sea of samsara.

---

“Impermanence presses us; the four elements are imbalanced. With birth, aging, illness, death, pursuit, craving, resentment, hatred
and the raging Five Skandhas, sentient beings remain stubborn. Two Vehicle practitioners do not seek the Great Dharma,
so no thoughts of interest or joy arise within them.”

In life, there is so much impermanence. Impermanence presses us! In this world, when we think of the imbalance of the four elements, it is frightening indeed. In addition, in life we suffer from birth, aging, illness and death, not getting what we want, parting with loved ones, meeting those we hate and many other sufferings. Then there are the raging Five Skandhas. All of this is suffering!

With form, feeling, perception, action and consciousness, isn’t the karma we sentient beings create due to encountering external phenomena, or “form”? Then we have a feeling, “I want to pursue this, I love this, I resent this, I hate this,” and so on; this is very complicated. All of this is the workings of form, feeling, perception, action and consciousness, which lead us to create karma.

But all past and present Buddhas and Bodhisattvas continuously return to this world to teach and transform sentient beings. Still, sentient beings are stubborn, difficult to train and transform. Therefore, Subhuti and the others did not seek the Great Dharma; no thoughts of interest or joy arose in them. Even thinking about the Great Vehicle Dharma frightened them. “We dare not accept it.” This was because sentient beings are difficult to train and transform. Moreover, in this world there is birth, aging, illness, death, not getting what we want, parting with loved ones, meeting those we hate, the raging Five Skandhas. This is a place of tremendous suffering, especially as the earth is fragile, and life is impermanent. It is filled with suffering, so though they were asked to return, they hoped to put an end to cyclic existence and never come back again.

But walking the Bodhisattva-path means we have to come back and go among people again. We must unceasingly give of ourselves and create positive affinities with others. At the same time as we cultivate blessings, we gain wisdom through interacting with people. Blessings and wisdom can only be cultivated in this world. Only now did the disciples understand this. Before, they feared sentient beings’ stubbornness, how difficult they were to train and transform. Therefore, “The Two Vehicle practitioners did not seek the Great Dharma, so no thoughts of interest or joy arose within them.” They were unwilling to return to this world.

The Buddha had great hopes that everyone would transmit the Buddha-Dharma. Having attained the Buddha-Dharma in this life, even though [these disciples] were old, they could still aspire to return in the future to pass on the Dharma. The Dharma must be continuously transmitted until Maitreya Bodhisattva attains Buddhahood. So, the Buddha was worried that there would be no one to transmit the Dharma in this world. He continued to have this hope that everyone would form great aspirations and make great vows.

In the previous sutra passage, [the father] saw how the son was about to run away, so he quickly called on people, the “messengers,” and dispatched them to go after him. The messengers quickly went after him. “At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him.” They hurried to go and drag him back, however, “shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, ‘I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?’.”

“He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back. At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him. Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”    

“I haven’t committed any crimes, but you’re dragging me away; what do you want with me?” So, he was terrified and “cried out in complaint.” What he meant was, “I simply don’t want to do this; I’m unwilling. But you keep forcing me.” The same happens with spiritual practitioners. “I’m simply unwilling to go among the people, but you’re forcing me to interact with them.” So, they cry out in complaint.

The following passage goes on to say, “The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back. The poor son at this time thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. So, he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot.”

This means that the more the poor son struggled, the tighter the messengers held on to him. They forcibly dragged him back.

The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back: This is like the door of admonishment of the Great Vehicle teachings, which is to maintain and uphold in their entirety the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Planning to pass down and entrust the teachings in a timely manner, He spoke of fearsome things.

This is “the door of admonishment of the Great Vehicle teachings.” There is a “door of exhortation” and a “door of admonishment. Exhortation” is to encourage everyone to do good, to “practice all that is good. Admonishment” is about upholding precepts to “refrain from all that is evil”; this is also Great Vehicle Dharma. Every one of us should maintain this state of mind. We must have this mindset of being interconnected with all sentient beings, of being unwilling to let others suffer; we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer. This resolve to practice all that is good comes from teachings of exhortation. Exhortations encourage us to do this; the method this teaches us is to dedicate ourselves in this way.

“Admonishment” is the teaching of the precepts. With precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we can guard against wrongs and stop evil. Our minds must be focused, be in Samadhi, to avoid being tempted by external phenomena. So, we must guard against wrongs, stop evil and keep our minds in Samadhi. Our original aspiration was to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Since we have decided to benefit humanity, we must never retreat from this aspiration. This is “sustaining our original aspiration.” If we walk the Bodhisattva-path, after a long time, we will be replete with blessings and wisdom and will then attain Buddhahood. When what we do brings blessings to everyone and increases our wisdom, then as this continually accumulates, we will be cultivating both blessings and wisdom. This will accumulate until one day we finally awaken to the truths of all things in the universe.

So, the door of admonishment and the door of exhortation, these doors of exhortation and admonishment, are akin to the doors of blessings and wisdom. We must put our hearts into entering these doors. We need to uphold all rules and precepts and become replete with Samadhi and wisdom. This requires “planning.” We must be mentally prepared. Knowing what we should do and how to do it is “planning.” We must promptly make preparations for passing down and entrusting teachings. The Buddha had this mindset [at this assembly], so He made preparations to transmit the Dharma in hopes that everyone would accept it. He was slightly forceful in the way that He passed on these teachings, as He wanted to entrust them.

By teaching the Lotus Sutra, He hoped that with the two doors of exhortation and of admonishment, everyone would definitely be able to enter. So, in the Chapter on Parables, He spoke of many fearsome things; He used many analogies to illustrate how this world is terrifying. In His lifetime of teaching the Dharma, He constantly exhorted and admonished us to recognize that the world is impermanent, that the land is fragile and that the suffering in life of birth, aging, illness, death and so on, is truly everywhere. This should make us very afraid. Beyond the human realm, there are also the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. The hell, hungry ghost and animal realms are not simply independent realms; these states exist among humans as well. There are people who live as if they are in hell, who live as if they are hungry ghosts, who live as if they are animals and so on. These are the Three Evil Realms. We see less severe versions of them in this world. In fact, the Three Evil Realms are more painful and torturous than the states we see in this world. Spending long periods of time in them is truly unbearable suffering.

So, “He spoke of fearsome things.” Thus the sutra says, “The messengers grasped him ever more tightly.” The Buddha wanted to quickly help us understand this Dharma. He wanted to help us understand suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, so we could open wide the door to our minds and learn to deal with the impermanence and suffering of life.

The Buddha, life after life, constantly returns to this world, and Bodhisattvas continually come to assist Him. Since these [disciples] had accepted the Buddha’s teachings, they should not try to run away from this world. The Buddha urgently wanted to entrust the Dharma. So, “forcibly dragging him back,” means He wanted to pull them back.

“The poor son at this time thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner”

This is like the door of admonishment being taught to those who lack the capacities. Their ignorance has not been eliminated, so they are still lost and unenlightened. Thus it says: He thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner.

This is an analogy for those who enter the door of admonishment; they lack the capacity to form great aspirations. So, when “the door of admonishment [was] taught to those who lack the capacities,” after understanding suffering and causation, the path they practiced was the Small Vehicle path. They eliminated all the afflictions they could through teachings biased towards emptiness, but they had not completely eliminated their dust-like afflictions. Their [realization] of emptiness was incomplete; they had only eliminated [afflictions] that come from other sentient beings. “Their suffering is their own business; it has nothing to do with me.” They still clung to their biases; they were still attached to their “self.” So, the afflictions they eliminated were only at the stage of the Small Vehicle; they had not reached the stage of the Great Vehicle. With their way of cultivating precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, they still had not attained great capacities.

So, “Their ignorance had not been eliminated.” They were still lost and unenlightened. Because of this, it was said, “Though innocent, he was being taken prisoner” [They felt,] “What do those people over there have to do with me? I haven’t done anything to them, so they shouldn’t bother me.” They drew a line between themselves and others. “I only want to awaken myself, so I do not contrive affinities with them. What is wrong with that?” There is nothing wrong with that. But the Buddha hoped to be able to give us something even better. He wanted to lift us higher. We are actually the master of this house; there is no need to wander about outside. So, we should quickly enter this house, for there is an abundance of wealth in there that we can enjoy.

What this means is that the Buddha hoped everyone would set aside the Small Vehicle and enter the door to the Great Vehicle Dharma. Naturally, once the door of our minds is opened and we look upon the [welfare of the] world’s living beings as our own responsibility, we will become filled with joy. Our hearts will become as spacious as the sky. Then we can accommodate and embrace all whom we wish to. It is because we have not opened this door that we are afraid of stubborn sentient beings. Actually, by expanding our hearts and opening up our love, our pure minds will naturally remain uncontaminated by other sentient beings. We just need to form the aspiration to teach them, then we will be able to truly realize the true principles of the world.

Because [these practitioners] were lost, they felt that they did not want to contrive affinities with sentient beings. This is why they struggled and did not wish to enter this great house.

With constant compassion and pity for sentient beings trapped in the prison of samsara, He taught with a Bodhisattva’s compassionate wisdom and followed sentient beings wherever they were to save them.

So, this is an analogy for [the Buddha’s] constant compassion and pity for sentient beings trapped in the prison of samsara. The Buddha, in His compassion, always pities sentient beings who are lost and trapped in the prison of samsara. The Buddha continuously came “to teach with a Bodhisattva’s” compassion and wisdom. He “followed sentient beings wherever they went.” He repeatedly came and went in this world for the sake of teaching sentient beings. With compassion and wisdom, the Buddha followed sentient beings through the Five Destinies. In the Five Realms and four forms of birth, He followed sentient beings and worked to relieve and save them from their unbearable suffering.

This is like how the Two Vehicle practitioners are lacking great loving-kindness and compassion, thinking themselves unconnected to the affairs of sentient beings and hoping to mutually do no wrong to each other. Thus it says: He thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner.

He also provided an analogy for how. “The Two Vehicle practitioners are lacking this great loving-kindness and compassion,” so they “think themselves unconnected to the affairs of sentient beings”. The Two Vehicle practitioners lacked great loving-kindness and compassion. What does it mean to have great loving-kindness? To be without regrets. And great compassion? To be without complaint. Yet the Two Vehicle practitioners “cried out in complaint” [They said,] “I don’t want to form affinities with sentient beings, so I don’t hope to do this; I don’t delight in walking the Bodhisattva-path.” So, they cried out in complaint. Indeed, they were reluctant to do it.

Great loving-kindness is without regret. When we open our hearts and give to others, all sentient beings will be at peace. This is the vow of loving-kindness that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have made. They feel they are one with all beings, so when sentient beings are suffering, they give with great compassion to save and transform them, without the slightest complaint. No matter how long it takes, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas will repeatedly return without the slightest complaint. This is their great loving-kindness and compassion. Though sentient beings are stubborn and difficult to train and transform, the Buddha still feels great loving-kindness toward them, hoping that they will be blessed and will return on their own some day. There will be no need to force them; they will come back on their own. This is what the Buddha was hoping for.

So, regarding the “affairs of sentient beings,” the Two Vehicle practitioners thought that these things have nothing to do with them. They do not concern themselves with the affairs of sentient beings. Thus, they “mutually do no wrong to each other,” like [the poor son] who had just gone his own way. Thus it says, “He thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. So, he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot”

He did not know why he had been taken prisoner. If one lacks great skillful means and thus enters samsara, one will undoubtedly lose forever the wisdom-life of the Three Vehicles. Thus it says, “[He] would surely be put to death.”

When the son was wandering about, he was free. So, he felt that if he were captured, he would surely die. This was a person of limited wisdom. He was lost, so. “He did not know why he had been taken prisoner.” He did not know why this was happening. “Why are they trying to catch me? Why?”

“If one lacks great skillful means and thus enters samsara….” Because he lacked the Dharma of great skillful means and his wisdom was not advanced enough, he was very afraid of samsara. Going among people, we must have skillful means and great wisdom to come and go freely. If we do not have this Dharma of great skillful means, we will not have great wisdom or the wisdom of exhortation and admonishment. He lacked compassion and wisdom, so he did not dare; he was afraid to enter samsara. Thus, “One will undoubtedly lose forever the wisdom-life of the Three Vehicles.” So, if this happens and we becomes lost in samsara, not only will we not reach the Bodhisattva-path, we will even lose the limited wisdom-life of. Two Vehicle practitioners. This is why they were so anxious. Small Vehicle practitioners were very worried that if they entered [the Great Vehicle], they might even lose the Small Vehicle with which to benefit themselves. They were afraid of becoming contaminated by the myriads of sentient beings. They were also scared of losing their wisdom-life. This is like [the poor son] thinking, “I will surely be put to death.” Thus, they were timid and fearful. They were very afraid. Just thinking of this scared them, so they became increasingly terrified.

He was thinking about such things , thus  it says, “He became increasingly terrified”. With limited wisdom, he could not grasp the great teachings; thus, it says, “He fainted”. He was engulfed in this spot of ignorance. Thus it says, “He collapsed on the spot”.

With limited wisdom, they could not comprehend great teachings. This is like fainting. They could not comprehend the Great Dharma; they were under so much pressure that they could barely breathe. So, “He was engulfed in this spot of ignorance.” Because he was engulfed in a spot of ignorance, it says, “He collapsed on the spot.”

In this way, he sank into terror and fainted. He was that scared.

Increasingly terrified, [he] fainted, collapsing on the spot: This means that trying to forcibly teach and transform through Great Vehicle doctrine will not only not lead others to faithfully accept it and bring out their original Great Vehicle aspirations, it can further damage the roots of goodness and the spiritual aspirations they once had. This will cause them to sink forever into the sea of samsara.

Regarding teaching and transforming with the Great Vehicle doctrine, the Buddha felt a great sense of urgency. But forcibly teaching the Great Vehicle Dharma not only would not lead them to develop faith and form Great Vehicle aspirations, it would cause them to become scared. So, “The roots of goodness [they had]” and their spiritual aspirations might be damaged. They feared sinking forever [in the sea of samsara]. This was due to everyone rushing to seize the son. So, later on, the father says, “There is no need to forcibly capture him. Let go of him right now.” This comes in the later sutra passages. The Buddha felt a sense of urgency, hoping that His disciples would quickly aspire to accept the Dharma. But these disciples were still unable to accept it. Teaching the Great Dharma was like giving them medicine that was too strong for them, so He had to moderate His efforts. As people pulled at the son, he struggled. So, the elder said, “Let him go for a moment.” This is the same principle. In summary, life is impermanent, and the land is fragile. How long will we indulge ourselves? If we do not pull ourselves together quickly, when will we do so? We do not know. When we think of how the world is filled with suffering, we must promptly remember to always be mindful.

Episode 763 – Exhorting and Admonishing Us to Enter Bodhi

---

>> Instructing and guiding to do good deeds is exhortation. Stopping the practicing of evil is admonishment. The Tathagata’s teaching is none other than this. The sutra treasury is considered exhortation to practice all that is good. The vinaya treasury is considered admonishment to prevent all evil. The abhidharma treasury explains and discusses how to practice and verify the Dharma.

>> “He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back. At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him. Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him: The timing was right, just as it was for the Great Vehicle Dharma to be clearly and directly revealed. To seize this opportunity and quickly dispatch the attendants to urgently bring him back is like teaching Bodhi and transforming [people] with exhortation and admonishment, which can also help them swiftly enter Bodhi.

>> This is an analogy for teaching with exhortation when there is a lack of conditions and mature capabilities. Although they had previously formed great aspirations, they had long cast them aside and forgotten them. Suddenly hearing the great teaching without any intention or desire to do so resulted in their shock and bewilderment, so they cried out in complaint.

>> [He] cried out in complaint: The Small Vehicle sees afflictions as grievances and samsara as suffering.

>> If one exhorts them to see afflictions as Bodhi, they cry out in complaint. Hearing that samsara is Nirvana, they cry out in suffering. Thus it says, cried out in complaint.

>> I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?: This is like one not seeking the Great Vehicle of one’s own accord.

>> As Subhuti said previously, “We did not give rise to any thoughts of taking interest or joy in it”. If I find no happiness in seeking the Great Vehicle, then why should you force me to do so? Thus it says, “I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”

---

“Instructing and guiding to do good deeds is exhortation. Stopping the practicing of evil is admonishment.
The Tathagata’s teaching is none other than this.
The sutra treasury is considered exhortation to practice all that is good.
The vinaya treasury is considered admonishment to prevent all evil. The abhidharma treasury explains and discusses how to practice and verify the Dharma.”

Do you understand? We read sutras, sutras, rules and treatises. These are three things we must understand in our spiritual practice. When we take all of the Buddha’s teachings, all of the Dharma taught by the Buddha, and compile them, these are known as “sutras.” Sutras are the exhortations that teach and guide us to practice goodness; they tell us why we need to do good deeds. Under the law of karma, as are the causes, so too are the effects and retributions. People who practice good deeds will receive positive retributions. “Refrain from all evil” tells us to stop committing negative deeds. This is called “admonishment. Exhortation” and “admonishment” are the roles of the sutras. In the Buddha’s teachings, the Great and Small Vehicles are both said to “exhort and admonish”; they do not deviate from these two roles.

There is a story about this in the sutras. In the past, there was a certain kingdom in which there was a prime minister. The prime minister had been suffering from illness for years, so the king then gave him permission to go back to his hometown and recuperate. However, after he went home, his illness continued to torment him for many more years. The medicine for his treatment was very expensive, so after a few years, he used up all his wealth. Eventually, he died from this illness, and the family’s fortune gradually declined. Then his wife passed away; their child was just a teenager, yet had lost one parent after the other. As a child in his teens, what could he do? He wandered around, living a life of poverty and hardship.

At one time he thought, “To support myself, I might as well steal.” So, he decided to be a thief. But then he thought, “But if I steal…. Many people are already quite poor. If I steal from them, won’t they be even poorer? That won’t do.” Then he thought, “Well, the king has so many treasures. If I steal from the palace, the king will not really suffer any loss.” So, he dressed up to look tough and stuck bamboo into a scabbard so it looked as if he was carrying a sword. Dressed in this way, he slipped into the palace.

As he entered the palace, the king had not yet fallen asleep, and he sensed that someone had entered the palace. He was afraid to make a noise, so he remained still and observed this intruder. What did this intruder want? It turned out that he was stealing things. He took the king’s necklaces, jewels and clothing and wrapped them all together. After he made this bundle, he saw a bucket of water in the room. He was very thirsty, and as he was about to drink, he thought of the dirt in his scabbard. He had a thought. He mixed the dirt with the water and then drank it. After drinking it, he felt full and satisfied. In that moment, he had a sudden realization; just drinking dirt and water had made him full, so how much better would wild herbs and fruits be? “As long as I can be full, that is enough. Why would I need to resort to thievery? If my father were alive, he would never have permitted me to do that.” Standing there, he began to repent and quietly left the palace empty handed.

The king saw everything this young man did, that he was so gentle and just left like that. The king immediately ordered people to follow him. They followed him to where he lived. It turned out he did not have a house to live in; he was just living in a cave under a tree. They asked, “Why did you do this? Well, I was going to be a thief in order to relieve my hunger. But then I drank some water that had been mixed with dirt, and it was able to fill me up, so I didn’t steal anything. You don’t have to arrest me.” But the people who came said, “Whether you stole something or not, you must still go before the king to report.” So, the young man went before the king.

When the king questioned him, he told his story from the beginning. “When I was a young child my parents taught me in this way, so though my family situation deteriorated, I know I should not have behaved like this.” Hearing this, the king felt that the young man was very open and honest. He seemed decent and showed promise, and from the time he was a child, he had received a wonderful education. Moreover, he had very few desires. “Just drinking a pot of dirt and water was able to satisfy him. He must be a virtuous person.” This made the king very happy. “I think you should inherit your father’s post as prime minister.”

From this story, we know that when put into certain situations, people may give rise to improper thoughts. But, human nature is inherently kind. Since he was the son of a prime minister, how could he behave in this way? Actually, life can be very simple. A cup of water and a handful of dirt mixed together could fill him up. He could survive, so why should he have to steal? When that thought arose, he quietly left. It deeply touched the king that this young man recognized his faults and changed his ways; he had the thought but he did not follow through. The young man did not actually steal anything; he changed his ways in time, thus showing his potential. This is the effect of “instruction.” Regularly instructing and guiding people to do good deeds is called “exhortation.” We can see that when this young man was a child, he took his parents’ teachings to heart. He did not dare to commit acts of evil because their teachings and admonishments were with him.

“The Tathagata’s teaching is none other than this.” The Tathagata also taught in this way. Everything in the sutra treasury is part of this; it all exhorts us to practice all that is good. The vinaya treasury is considered admonishment. Admonishment prevents us from committing evil. “If it is something I should not do, I must quickly prevent myself from carrying it out. When it comes to evil deeds, I must put an end to them right away.” This is the role of the vinaya treasury. It helps us guard against wrongs and stop evil.

The abhidharma treasury explains, discusses how to “practice, achieve realization of the Dharma.” This Dharma was taught by the Buddha. After everyone took it in, they analyzed it with each other. With their experiences, they engaged in discussions, etc. Listening to each other increases understanding; this allows us to “verify” [the teachings]. “This proves that the Dharma is useful in my life. It gave me these kinds of experiences.” This is the abhidharma (treatise). The sutra, vinaya and abhidharma [treasuries] comprise the Tripitaka.

So, returning to the sutra text, thus far in the parable, the poor son had arrived at the gates of the elder’s house. After seeing how awe-inspiring it was inside, he became scared. He quickly turned to run away. The elder had seen the figure of his son. When the son ran away, the elder quickly sent someone to go after him and bring him back. “He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back.” They quickly rushed after him to bring him back.

The previous sutra passage states, “At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him. Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, ‘I have done nothing wrong!’ ‘Why have you seized me?’.”

The attendants dispatched did not know who this person was. Upon seeing him, they seized and forced him to go back with them. The poor son was in great shock. “I tried to leave, but they seized me.” He became very scared. He cried out in complaint very loudly, “I have done nothing wrong! I was just standing there. I did not do anything wrong. Why have you seized me?” He yelled this over and over.

At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him: The timing was right, just as it was for the Great Vehicle Dharma to be clearly and directly revealed. To seize this opportunity and quickly dispatch the attendants to urgently bring him back is like teaching Bodhi and transforming [people] with exhortation and admonishment, which can also help them swiftly enter Bodhi.

This shows that the timing was right. The father had been looking for his son. After many decades, the son had arrived at where his father lived. “Opportunity” means that the Buddha taught for decades to help His disciples develop their capabilities in hopes that they could connect with and accept the Great Dharma. It looked as though they were slowly coming to comprehend it. Sariputra, Subhuti, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa and so on were beginning to realize it. So, it could be “clearly and directly revealed.” Quickly ordering attendants to capture him and bring him back is like teaching the Dharma very directly. So, “seizing this opportunity” is directly seizing and capturing the poor son.

“Dispatching the attendants to urgently chase him back is like teaching Bodhi and transforming with exhortation, admonishment.” Urgently chasing him back was a very direct method. They had been in the state of the Small Vehicle teachings, when suddenly, He wanted them to set aside the Small to follow the Great; this seemed very direct. Thus, “[It] can also help them swiftly enter Bodhi.” To help them quickly go beyond the Small Vehicle, beyond only benefiting themselves, He exhorted and admonished them.

His “exhortations” tell us to devote ourselves to [helping] other people. “You must thoroughly eliminate your afflictions. You must interact with people.” If we can truly go among them without being [negatively] influenced, that is “admonishment”

“[This] can also help them” quickly. “Them” are those who the attendants were sent to bring back. This is like directly telling people that though they had practiced the Small Vehicle, now they must return to the Great Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha addressed them directly like this, hoping that they could “swiftly enter Bodhi.” Because He did not have much time left, He hurried to tell them, “You must quickly enter the Bodhi-path. Bodhi” is enlightenment. “You need to attain great enlightenment, not limited enlightenment.” In addition to attaining great enlightenment, they must also bring sentient beings to fruition. This is the Bodhisattva-path. Thus it states, “At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him.” The “messengers” are Bodhisattvas. “Swiftly went and captured him” means that the Dharma was [taught] very swiftly and directly. This is the analogy.

“Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint.” He cried, “I don’t want to!” This is an analogy for “teaching with exhortation when there is a lack of conditions and mature capabilities.” The conditions were not right for teaching with exhortations, nor had people’s capabilities matured

This is an analogy for teaching with exhortation when there is a lack of conditions and mature capabilities. Although they had previously formed great aspirations, they had long cast them aside and forgotten them. Suddenly hearing the great teaching without any intention or desire to do so resulted in their shock and bewilderment, so they cried out in complaint.

Observing their capabilities, the Buddha wondered, “Why haven’t their capabilities matured?” With their capabilities and conditions, why had they remained in the Small Vehicle? So, the Buddha felt a great sense of urgency to quickly help everyone enter the Bodhi-path. He wanted to directly tell them to earnestly practice the Bodhisattva-path, but their capabilities and conditions had not matured, so they were like the poor son. These disciples were still not replete with an abundance of Dharma nor [knowledge of] the matters of samsara. They only had a limited grasp of samsara. They had not yet realized that they are interconnected with all living beings in the world. They had not yet understood all life is one. Thus, they “lacked maturity in their conditions and capabilities.”

“Previously” means they were undisciplined. In the past, they were ones who had formed great aspirations, each one of them. When we first engaged in spiritual practice, we had magnificent aspirations. We were certainly courageous. But slowly, we became lax. “They had long cast them aside and forgotten them.” They neglected [their aspirations]. Their powerful aspirations for engaging in spiritual practice had slowly slackened. They had already forgotten the aspirations they formed at the start. “Suddenly hearing the great teaching” means they unexpectedly heard this great teaching. “Without any intention or desire to do so” means when they heard that they should go among people to transform them, [they said,] “I do not have the will. I do not have this intention or desire.” This shows their sense of resistance. They were “in such shock and bewilderment and cried out in complaint. Cried out in complaint” refers to Small Vehicle practitioners, or Two Vehicle practitioners, They are the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. People like this “see afflictions as grievances and samsara as suffering.”

[He] cried out in complaint: The Small Vehicle sees afflictions as grievances and samsara as suffering.

Because they had finally been able to put an end to their afflictions, they thought that when they passed away they would enter extinction and no longer return to the human realm. “Why should I have to continue returning to the Saha World to transform sentient beings? That brings suffering!”

They did not want to contrive affinities with sentient beings, but now they were asked to do so. Is this in fact contriving affinities? No, it is not. The Buddha wanted everyone to create positive affinities with sentient beings. To create good karma, we must cultivate blessings. If we are lacking blessings, how can we transform sentient beings? If we cannot transform sentient beings, how can we unlock our wisdom? If we cannot unlock our wisdom, we lack both blessings and wisdom. Then how would we attain Buddhahood? The Buddha wanted us to attain great Nirvana and the [ultimate truth of] samsara and become one with all living things in the universe. We must go beyond the Small Vehicle state of only benefiting ourselves.

He wanted us to take good care of our minds, to not commit evil and to practice doing good deeds. By practicing doing good deeds we create positive affinities with sentient beings and benefit everyone. Better still, we must put these words into action. This is the Bodhisattva-path.

 Thus it says, if one exhorts them to see afflictions as Bodhi, they cry out in complaint.

If one exhorts them to see afflictions as Bodhi, they cry out in complaint. Hearing that samsara is Nirvana, they cry out in suffering.

“Exhortation and admonishment” are two doors that the Buddha has opened wide for us. Stopping evil and practicing good deeds were His exhortations. “Afflictions are Bodhi.” This is to say, though we are among beings with afflictions, in our minds, we clearly know the Bodhi-path, so we will not be led astray by them. We have our path. “They cried out in complaint.” These sentient beings had not clearly understood the door of exhortation. They were still unclear on these teachings, so they “cried out.” Because they were unwilling, they complained. “I just don’t want to!”

So, “Hearing that samsara is Nirvana, they cry out in suffering” [They felt,]. “We were finally free from [fragmentary] samsara; that was good enough for us. But now we are supposed to go among people and continue transmigrating for countless lifetimes. This will be suffering.” Coming to the human realm is suffering, but they did not understand that thoroughly. If they understood it thoroughly, then though there are afflictions among people, they would know that, “Afflictions are Bodhi.” The afflictions of sentient beings help us grow in wisdom. They were unable to understand this point, so they called out in agony.

I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?: This is like one not seeking the Great Vehicle of one’s own accord.

“I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?” Since the poor son did nothing wrong, why was this happening? This is like “one not seeking the Great Vehicle of one’s own accord.” As Subhuti mentioned previously, “We did not give rise to any thoughts of taking interest or joy in it.” Regarding the Great Vehicle Dharma, they had no interest or joy in it. “I find no happiness in seeking the Great Vehicle. Why am I being forced to do this?” This is like saying, “I have done nothing wrong. Why have you seized me?”

As Subhuti said previously, “We did not give rise to any thoughts of taking interest or joy in it”. If I find no happiness in seeking the Great Vehicle, then why should you force me to do so? Thus it says, “I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”

They did not want to do this, so why were they being forced to? Before they had awakened, Subhuti and the others only cared about their own samsara, no one else’s.

Everyone, when we form aspirations, we have to form great aspirations. We go among people to cultivate both our blessings and wisdom. When we go among people, we can learn so much about how to teach and transform sentient beings. So, instructing and guiding people to practice good deeds is “the door of exhortation”; it is a way of teaching. The Buddha used many kinds of sutras to encourage and guide people to practice good deeds. Admonishment is the “door of admonishment.” The door of admonishment teaches us how to not break the precepts, how to eliminate afflictions and how to go among people without being contaminated, so that our mind is the Bodhi-path. This is what the Buddha taught. Even the stories He told are filled with an abundance of truths that we can learn. So, we should always be mindful.

Episode 762 – Clearly Illuminating All Capabilities

---

>> The enlightened father saw that his lost son had gradually approached his city. The room of the Tathagata’s Dharmakaya is stately and adorned magnificently. In the state of truth and fearlessness, He can clearly illuminate all capabilities. Seeing His disciples settled in the Dharma, He no longer had any worries.

>> “I have constantly yearned for this child yet had no way to see him. Now he has suddenly appeared on his own, which exactly suits my wishes. Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back. At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him. Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> In terms of principles, it is wisdom that dispatches, and the teachings that are dispatched. The sutras are what has been compiled from all of the teachings of the Buddha. Thus it says, He quickly dispatched attendants.

>> The Buddha-Dharma only admonishes and exhorts. Admonishment makes clear that we should refrain from all evil, and exhortations encourage upholding all goodness. Thus the exhortation to practice goodness is expressed as urgently chase and bring him back.

>> Compassion arose in the Buddha so He quickly dispatched and entrusted nearby Bodhisattvas to expound the perfect and immediate teachings. By exhorting people to practice the virtuous Dharma of the Great Vehicle, and admonishing them to uphold the flawless teachings to transform and guide them, they would go among the people to practice the Bodhisattva-path.

---

“The enlightened father saw that his lost son had gradually approached his city.
The room of the Tathagata’s Dharmakaya is stately and adorned magnificently.
In the state of truth and fearlessness, He can clearly illuminate all capabilities.
Seeing His disciples settled in the Dharma, He no longer had any worries.”

This describes how, when the enlightened father saw that his son was lost, he felt saddened. He clearly saw the figure of his child, but when this child saw his father living in this magnificent house, where everything he used was of high quality, all objects he had were precious and every person serving him was very dignified, stately and awe-inspiring, the lost child became very frightened and quickly left.

From this description, we should be able to see; isn’t this just like spiritual practice? Life after life, over many sequential lifetimes, our roots of goodness may have remained limited. Perhaps there are some who came into contact with the Buddha-Dharma and formed great aspirations and made great vows. But slowly, living in this world, over lifetime after lifetime, they constantly were influenced by external contamination and slowly retreated from the great aspirations that they had formed in that moment.

In this world we frequently see many dedicated Bodhisattva[-volunteers]. The production staff of “Grassroots Bodhi,” one of the shows on Da Ai TV, shared that in producing this show, they were so moved by some elderly recycling volunteers that, years later, they wanted to go back and find those volunteers to see what they are doing now. Have they continued with their recycling work?

They actually went back and looked for them. One of the shows they produced in 2001 featured an elderly couple. That year, the husband was already 76, and the wife was 71. They shared the same resolve. They had heard me say, “Right now, the earth is constantly being damaged by human activity. At this moment in time, we must quickly take good care of the earth, which is only possible if everyone has this concept of environmental protection.” When this couple heard this, they said, “We cannot care for the planet in other ways, but recycling work is something we can do.” So, starting 10 or 20 years ago, this couple devoted themselves to recycling work.

The husband was 76 years old and appeared quite strong. The wife was also in good health. At 71, her movements were still very agile. We saw the husband riding a bicycle to leave the house to do recycling work. We saw the wife pushing a two-wheeled cart, following in her husband’s wake. In this way, they picked up what others discarded. As they did this, they bickered playfully. This was how they did recycling work, and doing this made them very happy

13 years have passed. The wife is now 84 years old, and she looks completely different. More than a decade ago, when she was pushing the two-wheeled cart, she could run with good posture. She could run as she pushed and could go uphill. This is no longer the case. She is pushing the same cart as before, but her hair is all white, and her body is bent over at the waist.

Her husband has already passed away. Now she is single and alone, since her daughter has gotten married. But she is very optimistic. She suffers many aches and pains each day, so when her neighbors see her leave the house, they ask, “Are you going out again? Your body is not in good shape. I’m fine! When I support myself with this cart, my entire body becomes relaxed.” Every day she goes out, pushing this cart.

Furthermore, this old woman, this elderly Bodhisattva, explained, “In my past life, I must have been very wealthy and very wasteful. That is why, in this life. I want to pick up everything I see. In my past life, I was so wasteful. So in this life, I have to cherish everything. Whenever I see something [on the ground], I feel happy and I want to pick it up.”

She even said that she only had one wish now. She said, “I have never seen Master in person. I have never met her. I’ve always wanted to ask her, ‘If I keep doing this work’ ‘until I can’t do it anymore,’ ‘will she let me come to be by her side?’.” When I heard this yesterday, right away I told the people around me, “Write down this elderly Bodhisattva’s name. Help me write it down.” Where does she live? Dongshan District in Tainan. She is now 84 years old. She also said, “I will keep doing this work until my last breath. I hope that once I stop breathing, my body is just dumped in the ground like garbage, so no one has to see it, and no one has to deal with it. This is what I hope for. I don’t want to trouble anyone.” She is this kind of Bodhisattva.

The Da Ai TV staff said, “Her figure looks like that of an elderly monastic bowing to pay respect.” She looked like an elderly monastic bowing and paying respect to the earth. This was how our staff described her. From the back she looked like a spiritual practitioner paying her respects to the earth. Whenever she saw something [on the ground], she bent over to pick it up.

She even went to the recycling station every day. Once she finished collecting recyclables, she would go to the recycling station. First she would go to the market to buy many vegetables; she pays for all of it herself. She said, “I eat lunch there, so I buy lots of vegetables to form good affinities with other volunteers.” See, isn’t her spiritual cultivation on the same level as any of us monastics? Her heart is pure and simple. She is wholehearted in her dedication. Though she had never met me, she loves her teacher so much. She only has one wish. Since she had never met me, she wondered if she could come be with me once she could no longer do recycling work. This is what she is like.

Think about it. This disciple had never met her master, as if she was outside, and I had only just seen her figure. This is the principle. “The enlightened father saw that his lost son had gradually approached his city. The enlightened father,” whether in reference to the father or the Buddha, is someone who understands the principles. “The enlightened father” describes the innate enlightenment in all of us. In every single one of us there is an “enlightened father.” Every single one of us has this innate enlightenment. This innate enlightenment is absolute truth. These true principles exist forever. Look at this elderly Bodhisattva. Although she is in her 80s and is hunched over and frail now, according to the laws of nature, one day she will [pass away] and then return, just as pure and adorable as she is now. Whatever enlightenment she has now and whatever enlightenment she will have in the future is all part of her innate enlightenment. This enlightenment is so simple and pure.

So, we should be very careful. We must earnestly seek to return to our innate enlightenment, a “state of truth and fearlessness.” When we are in that state, we can “clearly illuminate all capabilities.” This is not limited to the Buddha. In fact, we are the same as the Buddha; we have the same wisdom. We can transform sentient beings. We can also teach according to capabilities and seize every opportunity.

So, this is like the enlightened father “seeing His disciples settled in the Dharma.” The enlightened father saw that His children were already abiding in the Dharma. Perhaps they had already formed great aspirations. Perhaps they had retreated from those aspirations and had gone back to having limited capabilities. Regardless, they were still in the Dharma. So, “He no longer had any worries.” As long as they were still in it, a day will come when they would be

able to unlock that innate potential. If people do not listen to the Dharma, how can they be spiritual practitioners? As the Buddha’s disciples, how can we draw near the Buddha-Dharma if we do not listen to it? So, [if we listen] a day will come! This is what we must thoroughly understand. We must know how the Buddha took great pains to look for sentient beings with great capabilities and how much effort He took to transmit the Dharma. He returned life after life for the sake of delivering sentient beings, like a father looking for his son. We ourselves should also look for our nature of True Suchness; we should earnestly look for our innate enlightenment. The children should look for the father, not just wait for the father to find them.

The previous sutra passage states, “I have constantly yearned for this child yet had no way to see him. Now he has suddenly appeared on his own, which exactly suits my wishes. Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth.”

This describes how the Buddha looked for sentient beings with [great] capabilities [At the assembly,] He saw that His disciples had slowly begun to form aspirations. Sariputra had received a prediction of Buddhahood, and Subhuti and the others had also begun to form aspirations, in addition to many others. There were many like them at the Lotus Assembly. Everyone should develop this kind of aspiration.

So, the next passage explains that after seeing the child’s figure, “He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back”

He quickly dispatched attendants to urgently chase and bring him back. At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him. Shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, “I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?”

Now that the father had seen the son, he acted quickly, “Do not let him flee too far. Quickly follow him and bring him back.” He had finally seen him, so he had to act quickly.

“Quickly dispatching attendants” is an analogy for “the Buddha’s Great Vehicle teachings.” In the past, His disciples had clung to the Small Vehicle Dharma. So, when He saw that they were beginning to form aspirations, He had to quickly use the Great Vehicle teachings to help them understand.

So, “As the truths of the Great Vehicle were realized by the Buddha Himself, these truths are the master of the Great Vehicle while the methods of teaching are the attendants of the Great Vehicle.” I have frequently described for everyone how, upon His initial enlightenment, the Buddha realized the truths of all things in the universe. The state He was in at that time, those principles, were kept in His heart with the constant hope that everyone could recognize these truths. So, these truths are “the master of the Great Vehicle.” When He discovered these truths, He said, “How amazing! How amazing! All beings possess the Buddha’s nature of wisdom.” This wisdom of the Tathagata-nature is the truth of the Great Vehicle, and it is also the master of our minds. It is like the awakened father sitting in the room. Actually, the master sitting in that room is in each of our minds.

So, “The methods of teaching are the attendants of the Great Vehicle.” We need to apply this Dharma. The Dharma is inherently within us, but we must unlock this Dharma inside. To unlock it, we must apply it. This is why I often tell everyone that we must take the Dharma to heart and manifest it in our actions. The Dharma is for us to make use of. The Buddha also makes use of the Dharma, teaching it to transform sentient beings. And when we accept and take it to heart, we must also make use of it to teach other people. When it comes to the Dharma, “The methods of teaching are the attendants of the Great Vehicle.” This is the meaning behind “to dispatch. Quickly dispatching attendants” is like making use of, or entrusting [the Dharma]. The Dharma is entrusted to people so they can use it to transform others.

In terms of matters, “Bodhisattvas are the attendants of the Buddha.” Bodhisattvas are taught and transformed by the Buddha with the Dharma. They give rise to Bodhicitta and want to walk the Bodhisattva-path. So, Bodhisattvas are carrying on the teachings of the Buddha; that is why they transform sentient beings. In this way, they have been “dispatched. Being dispatched” means they had been entrusted. “Please go.” This means to go with the teachings. People are entrusted with the Dharma, and we use this Dharma to go among people

In terms of principles, it is wisdom that dispatches, and the teachings that are dispatched. The sutras are what has been compiled from all of the teachings of the Buddha. Thus it says, “He quickly dispatched attendants.”

The teachings are that which “are dispatched”; they are the Dharma is used to educate people. Principles are used to teach and transform, and the Dharma is used to teach everyone. They come from the Buddha. “The sutras are what have been compiled from all the teachings of the Buddha.” Right now, we are discussing the sutras. If the sutras had not been compiled, how would we be able to discuss these principles? Everything that has been compiled is to be applied right now in order to go among people to transform them. This is “quickly dispatching attendants”

“to urgently chase and bring him back.” This means to act quickly. The opportunities and conditions are before us, the causes and conditions are almost mature, so how can we just let things be? The father could not let his child run off; the son had finally come close, but he dared not come in. So, the father quickly entrusted people to bring him back right away. The same principles apply here. “The opportunities and conditions were present, so how could he carelessly allow him to flee?” How could he let him go again? So, “Urgently chase and bring him back” means he said to follow him and bring him back. This is an analogy for “immediate teachings of the Great Dharma,” preparing to quickly use “exhortations to teach the virtuous Dharma of the Great Vehicle.” He wanted to quickly help people understand the Great Dharma.

The Buddha-Dharma only admonishes and exhorts. Admonishment makes clear that we should refrain from all evil, and exhortations encourage upholding all goodness. Thus the exhortation to practice goodness is expressed as urgently chase and bring him back.

The Buddha-Dharma only “admonishes and exhorts. Admonishes” means to teach discipline. All of the Dharma that the Buddha taught was for the purpose of teaching us to “refrain from all evil, practice all that is good.” He “admonished” us to refrain from all evil. He “exhorted” us to practice all that is good. With teachings, He exhorted everyone to earnestly do good deeds and to advance diligently. Actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions and passing on the teachings to others are what the Buddha taught us to do

The Buddha was already very advanced in age, so He did not have much time left. Thus He felt a sense of great urgency. “To urgently chase and bring him back” means. He wanted to quickly help everyone understand.

Compassion arose in the Buddha so He quickly dispatched and entrusted nearby Bodhisattvas to expound the perfect and immediate teachings. By exhorting people to practice the virtuous Dharma of the Great Vehicle, and admonishing them to uphold the flawless teachings to transform and guide them, they would go among the people to practice the Bodhisattva-path.

“Compassion arose in the Buddha.” This is because He has universal compassion; it will always be present in Him. Therefore, “He quickly dispatched” means. He quickly entrusted [the Dharma] to Bodhisattvas, those who had already formed aspirations, hoping that they would again actively go among people. This is “expounding the perfect and immediate teachings”. The Buddha could no longer take it slow. He wanted to give the complete teachings, so He combined the Small and Great Vehicles into the One Great Vehicle. He wanted to quickly “exhort people to practice the virtuous Dharma of the Great Vehicle,” It had to be done immediately; it could not wait. He “admonished them to uphold the flawless teachings.” He transformed and guided sentient beings to have discipline and quickly teach others. He admonished everyone to avoid again becoming indolent and falling. They might have listened to the Dharma and let it leak out, or they might have been indolent and refused to accept the Dharma. This was no longer acceptable. So, to transform and guide sentient beings and to “go among people to practice Bodhisattva-path” are very important.

Dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be proactive. We are running out of time. I can only keep walking forward. I cannot keep looking back to see if people are keeping up. If you want to follow someone, you must follow them. People cannot keep looking back to check. So, I hope everyone will be earnest and diligent. We must be careful to not be indolent, and we must not allow ourselves to get lost. If we are lost and do not look for a way back, we have turned our backs on our enlightened father and on our nature of True Suchness. So everyone, we must always be mindful.

Episode 761 – Waiting to Entrust the Great Vehicle

---

>> With our initial great vows and aspirations, we cultivate the practices of the Great Vehicle. We are diligent with the Bodhisattva Way and maintain a joyful heart. The lost son saw the enlightened father, yet did not recognize him. Rich and poor were separated only by a wall; the father inside and the son outside had not yet met.

>> “At that time, the wealthy elder, seated upon the lion’s throne, saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “I have constantly yearned for this child, yet had no way to see him. Now he has suddenly appeared on his own, which exactly suits my wishes. Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth.”       [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> The father was old, and he constantly yearned for this child: Sentient beings transmigrate in samsara, where they are hard-pressed by many sufferings. It was due to His great compassion that this caused Him pain

>> So, Yet had no way to see him means, Though He desired to rescue them, He had not yet had the opportunity to do so.

>> Now, roots and conditions have matured, so the opportunity to transform them is near. Thus it says, Now he suddenly appeared on his own. This was in accord with His great compassion, so it says which exactly suits my wishes.

>> Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth: He had already become old, and His period of conditions for transformation would soon be at an end. Thus it says, Though I am already old. This also indicates that from when He received a prediction of Buddhahood from Burning Lamp of incarnating in the world from Tusita Heaven, becoming a monastic and attaining enlightenment, this period of transformation was ending.

>> Having not yet seen those with great capacities, He was unable to entrust the Dharma to anyone. So, from whom would future disciples attain liberation? For the sake of those to be transformed, it says he was still unable to pass down his wealth. Here ends the analogy of the father meeting the son.

---

“With our initial great vows and aspirations, we cultivate the practices of the Great Vehicle.
We are diligent with the Bodhisattva Way and maintain a joyful heart.
The lost son saw the enlightened father, yet did not recognize him. Rich and poor were separated only by a wall; the father inside and the son outside had not yet met.”

“I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” With every person we meet, we will think of a way to deliver them. If we listen to and take the Dharma to heart, with every thought that arises, we will know as soon as we see people how to spread the seeds of goodness among them. If we have the aspiration, we will apply the Dharma that we hear. That means that when we see other people, we know they are our fields of blessings. We must quickly take the Dharma we have heard and plant this seed [in other people’s minds], thus creating good causes and good affinities. This is how listening to the teachings [applies to] our interpersonal relationships. Thus we must constantly [remember] “our initial great vows and aspirations.” We should always remember the aspirations we initially formed.

As I often remind everyone, every single person we encounter is our spiritual training ground. Every single thing they say is the Dharma to us. If we can use such a broad and expansive mind to accommodate all things, we can apply all Dharma to the minds of countless sentient beings. This is truly practicing the Great Vehicle.

“We are diligent with the Bodhisattva Way.” Furthermore, at all times, since we have made the great vows, we must engage in the Great Vehicle practice. We have to be immersed in the Bodhisattva Way. Every day, we must be diligent “and maintain a joyful heart.” We should always happily accept the Dharma. When we listen to the Dharma, we cannot merely listen; we must actually apply it.

For instance, last year, four or five. Tzu Chi volunteers came here from Mozambique. When they came to Taiwan, each of them carried a bamboo bank, a bamboo bank made of cardboard; each was this long and this wide. They were full of 50-centavo coins. They carried these bamboo banks with them and presented them to me. I placed it on the table, and we poured out the coins from the banks, with loud, clanking sounds; they were heavy! One after another, these containers of coins were poured into a rice sieve, filling it up. Then I asked them, “Why did you carry back these heavy things?” They expressed that they had received my [New Year’s] red envelopes in the past. For this year, they hoped that the red envelopes they receive would have a coin of their local currency.

When I heard this, I was very moved. I immediately asked people to count up these 50-centavo coins to see how much money they amounted to. The total was around NT 1000 or so? Anyways, it was more than NT 1000. I told them, “I will purchase these coins.” Of course I have to exchange this money with mine. That money is a donation to Tzu Chi Foundation. I will buy up these coins so we can put them into their red envelopes. The money that goes in there is still coming from me. So, we must remember that this year, these thousands of coins from Mozambique, there are probably 2-3000, will be placed into their red envelopes.

There was one family where the mother came along with her son and daughter. The mother told me, “Master, I came to show you my gratitude.” She pointed to her daughter and said, “This is Anna. You saved her. You have brought my daughter back to me” [I asked,] “What happened?” She then began to share Anna’s story.

Anna was a very wild girl. She was considered the thug of the village, even though she is a girl. But, Tzu Chi volunteers from South Africa, like Tzu Lei (Tholokele Mkhize) and Michael Pan, went there once, twice, again and again. They went to Mozambique and and held several activities, so the local volunteers were touched. This very vicious girl became well-behaved. She accepted the Buddha-Dharma and accepted the teachings of Tzu Chi. She learned that, “Doing good deeds and being filial cannot wait.”

The South African Bodhisattva[-volunteers] shared about their own poverty and hardships and how they had also once lived unwholesome lives. Now, they have become very happy volunteers and have changed to be like loving and kind mothers, filled with compassion [Anna] was very happy to see them. They shared about their spiritual wealth. The South African Bodhisattva[-volunteers] told the Mozambican Bodhisattva[-volunteers]. “We are poor, but we became wealthy very quickly. Wealth is not just about material wealth. Love is also wealth. If we do good deeds and are filial, if we care for our neighbors out of goodness, we will be the wealthiest people. Helping people brings the greatest happiness.”

When Anna heard those words, she began changing her ways. Everything she did was to benefit other people. So, she changed completely. She went back and apologized to her mother. She went back and repented to her grandma. In the past, she was very angry that her mother had left her for her grandmother to raise. She was grateful to her grandmother, but she also misbehaved. Though grateful, she had a bad attitude. So, once she changed her ways, she repented. She apologized to her mother, then recruited her mother and younger brother. Both of them became a part of Tzu Chi.

Her younger brother was very smart. He could speak English and would go online to Da Ai TV’s website. Every day he watched. “Wisdom at Dawn” and “Life Wisdom.” This was his responsibility. Every week at the church, he mindfully explained the teachings I shared so that everyone could take them in and accept the Dharma. The Tzu Chi School of Buddhism teaches people how to be Tzu Chi volunteers, so they decided they wanted establish a farm for spiritual practice.

One of the volunteers became very happy upon hearing this. He said, “I have a piece of land that I’m willing to provide. I will rent it to you cheaply, just 2000 meticals a year” 2000 meticals has about the same value as NT 2000. The rent for this big piece of land was just 2000 meticals a year, so the volunteers agreed to rent it from him. They rented this land so that they could emulate the South African volunteers, growing vegetables and providing them to orphans and impoverished people who need them. The rest could be sold to support their work.

So, in practicing the Bodhisattva Way, we must be diligent while maintaining a joyful heart. They did this work happily. According to them, when they are in the church, they share the Jing Si Dharma-lineage, and when they are at the farm, they say they enter the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism. If they are doing volunteer work, they say they are in the Tzu Chi School. If they are listening to the Dharma, they say they are in the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. This is so clever and wise. This is an example of “maintaining a joyful heart.” Everyone was happy to do this work.

We must be earnest, or else we will also become lost. In the recent passages of the Lotus Sutra, the poor son had already entered the city his father lived in and was even outside his father’s room. He saw his father inside, yet he did not recognize his father. So, “The lost son saw the enlightened father, yet did not recognize him.” Though [these disciples] were with the Buddha, they may not have been willing to form aspirations. This is the same principle.

“Rich and poor were separated only by a wall; the father inside and the son outside had not yet met.” They were separated by a wall, by a gate. The son was just outside the door, but despite seeing his father, he was afraid, so he quickly ran away. This was in the previous sutra passage. The son did not recognize the father, but the father saw the son’s figure. He “saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, ‘Now I have someone to whom’ ‘I can entrust my wealth and stores’.”

“At that time, the wealthy elder, seated upon the lion’s throne, saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.”   

The elder was very happy; he had been looking for his son for a long time. Now that he had seen the figure of his son, his mind was at ease. Knowing that his son was still alive, he was put at ease. Now he would be able to quickly call on his son to return. Now, he would be able to entrust his wealth and stores to his son. This is the meaning of the previous passage.

The next passage of the sutra states, “I have constantly yearned for this child, yet had no way to see him. Now he has suddenly appeared on his own, which exactly suits my wishes. Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth.”

“I have constantly yearned for this child, yet had no way to see him. Now he has suddenly appeared on his own, which exactly suits my wishes. Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth.”       

This expressed what was in the father’s heart. Though father and son had been apart for a long time, as a father, the elder’s mind was constantly on his son. Thus, “I have constantly yearned for this child, yet had no way to see him.” He had been searching, yet after several decades, he still could not find him.

The father was old, and he constantly yearned for this child: Sentient beings transmigrate in samsara, where they are hard-pressed by many sufferings. It was due to His great compassion that this caused Him pain.

The father was quite old, very advanced in age, but he still “constantly yearned for this child.” His mind was always on his child, who is an analogy for “sentient beings transmigrating in samsara. They are hard-pressed by many sufferings, which pained Him due to His great compassion.”

When the father thinks about sentient beings, about these children, about all these living beings in the Six Realms or four forms of birth, transmigrating through cyclic existence, He feels great loving-kindness and compassion and is thus very saddened.

So, Yet had no way to see him means, Though He desired to rescue them, He had not yet had the opportunity to do so.

“Yet no way to see him” means those beings could not encounter Him. In hell and heaven, there is no Buddha-Dharma. Only in the human realm can the Dharma be found. However, there are multitudes of sentient beings, and the Buddha was only in this world for 80 years. For sentient beings, encountering Him is not easy, to say nothing of listening to the Dharma; that is even more difficult. Without the opportunity, He could not save them. This was the Buddha’s state of mind. He knew that sentient beings were suffering; He had compassion for them, but He could not find an opportunity to save them.

However, as the previous passage states, this wandering child was gradually coming closer. “Now he has suddenly appeared on his own, which exactly suits my wishes”

Now, roots and conditions have matured, so the opportunity to transform them is near. Thus it says, “Now he suddenly appeared on his own.” This was in accord with His great compassion, so it says “which exactly suits my wishes.”

The father had been looking for his son for a long time. Now, as he had settled down in this place, his son unexpectedly appeared. His wishes were being fulfilled. This is an analogy for how capabilities and conditions were maturing and how an opportunity for transformation was getting closer. He had cleansed and trained them with the Dharma by teaching according to capabilities from the Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna, all the way to the Lotus Assembly, so their capabilities had slowly matured; they had gradually approached him. Thus it says, “Now he suddenly appeared on his own.”

See, Subhuti and the others had already stood up and come before the Buddha. They were ready to open up their minds. So, when He saw them arrive [at this stage], “This was in accord with His great compassion.” He was able to feel at peace. “This was in accord with His great compassion” means His wishes were about to be fulfilled. His vows were coming to fruition as sentient beings had developed great capabilities. So, “This was in accord with His great compassion. Thus it says, ‘which exactly suits my wishes’.” This passages states, “[This] exactly suits my wishes.” The father had been looking for his son for many decades. Now that he had seen his son’s figure, that meant he was very close. His wish was about to be fulfilled.

Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth: He had already become old, and His period of conditions for transformation would soon be at an end. Thus it says, Though I am already old. This also indicates that from when He received a prediction of Buddhahood from Burning Lamp of incarnating in the world from Tusita Heaven, becoming a monastic and attaining enlightenment, this period of transformation was ending.

“Though I am already old, I am still unable to pass down my wealth”. The older He got, the more worried He became. What was He worried about? His conditions for transformation would soon end. When the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, He was already in His 70s. He knew He was approaching the end of His life, and His conditions for transforming others were about to be over. So, “His conditions for transformation would soon be at an end.” These conditions for transformation were ending. His days and. His conditions for transforming sentient beings were coming to an end. It is because He had a body that He could interact with all these sentient beings. If they had the affinities, He would talk to them. If they accepted the Dharma, they could take it to heart. There is an end to human life. The Buddha’s lifespan was 80 years. When He gave the Lotus teachings, He was already in His 70s. So, He began to worry, as “His conditions for transformation” would soon be at an end. He often thought about how old He was. Thus it says, “Though I am already old.” He was already quite old.

This also means that He had received confirmation from Burning Lamp Buddha; it was from Him that Sakyamuni Buddha received a prediction of Buddhahood. He was told, “When you attain Buddhahood, You will be called Sakyamuni. Your world will be the Saha World. Your lifespan will be….” In the era of Burning Lamp Buddha, [He was told,]. “You will have this long to transform others.” He had already received this prediction during the era of Burning Lamp Buddha. Then He continued to form affinities with people until causes and conditions matured, and He descended from Tusita Heaven to be born into the palace. In this lifetime, He manifested the Eight Aspects of Attaining Enlightenment. He grew up and then engaged in spiritual cultivation and in ascetic practices. After His enlightenment, He transformed sentient beings. This was one period of “conditions for transformation.” He came to this world to transform sentient beings and those karmic conditions were about to end. Thus, “His period of conditions for transformation would soon be at an end.” His causes and conditions for teaching and transforming them were about to be over.

However, as He grew old, “Having not yet seen those with great capacities, He was unable to entrust the Dharma to anyone. So, from whom would future disciples attain liberation? Who would serve those still to be transformed?” Thus, He was “unable to pass down his wealth.”

Having not yet seen those with great capacities, He was unable to entrust the Dharma to anyone. So, from whom would future disciples attain liberation? For the sake of those to be transformed, it says he was still unable to pass down his wealth. Here ends the analogy of the father meeting the son.

When the Buddha reached old age, He still had not found people with great capabilities. All of His disciples, including the ten main disciples, each had their own strong points. But though each had their strengths, they were unable to develop great capabilities, form great aspirations. “Having not yet seen those with great capacities,” He had no one to entrust the Dharma to.

There must be those willing to devote themselves to people without being [negatively] affected by them. He could not yet find this kind of person. “He was unable to entrust the Dharma to anyone. So, [as for] future disciples,” sentient beings in the future, who would help deliver them? So, “Who would serve those still to be transformed?” Who could transform them? Who could help them attain liberation? Because of this, He was still “unable to pass down his wealth.” He endlessly thought about this. He was still lacking someone to take responsibility for going among people,

who had completely eliminated afflictions and was willing to form great aspirations to help others without being affected by people and matters or losing their spiritual aspirations. He had yet to find this kind of person, so He was very worried. He was “unable to pass down his wealth” because He still could not find people like this. He cherished these kinds of capabilities and conditions, but He had not come across them yet.

Thus, “Here ends the analogy of the father and the son seeing each other.” In this parable, the father and son had seen each other. The son had not recognized the father, but the father recognized the son. This parable contains profound teachings, even if the story seems simple. If everyone has been putting their hearts into comprehending it, everyone will have taken the Dharma to heart. Isn’t this a way to awaken our great capabilities and form great aspirations? Everyone, please always be mindful.

Episode 760 – Today the Opportunity for Transformation Has Come

---

>> The Buddha works for the sake of one great cause; He constantly awaits His disciples’ capacities. Now a chance has come that addresses His loving intent. Though the son did not recognize his father, the father nevertheless recognized his son; this fulfilled his wishes, so he was joyous. Abiding in the Dharma, the Buddha gives rise to great compassion, which is relieving great suffering. He abides in the Dharma, which is great loving-kindness and giving joy. Thus, He is filled with joy.

>> “At that time, the wealthy elder, seated upon the lion’s throne, saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> [He] saw his son and immediately recognized him: An analogy for the Buddha’s original intent to teach and transform sentient beings. His only thoughts were of the One Great Vehicle. Upon seeing people who had once formed great aspirations, He could recognize them as Buddha-children. He knew these were sentient beings with whom. He had formed affinities in the past.

>> The Buddha constantly sought out and waited for the appropriate capacities and conditions to deliver sentient beings. He viewed them all impartially with compassion, as if they were all His only child. Now He saw that capacities and conditions had matured. Seeing that His children had come allowed Him to express His loving intent. This was the reason for His great joy.

>> They had developed the capacity for transformation. Thus it says, Now he has suddenly appeared on his own. Their hearts were filled with great compassion, thus it says, [This] exactly suits my wishes.

>> Through cultivation in kalpas past, He has realized great Bodhi. Before seeing their great capacities, He would not rashly give them [the Dharma], thus the Dharma was not entrusted.

>> Now that things look bright, He was joyous, thus it says He was filled with joy. The opportunity had now come. This was in accord with His thoughts, which opens up His great loving intent.

>> He had this thought, Now I have someone to whom. I can entrust my wealth and stores: This is because his wishes were fulfilled by seeing his son. In the past he had seen how, after sentient beings rejected the Great, they rushed off in all four directions, seeking food and clothing, working for wages here and there and constantly desiring wealth, yet without the opportunity to obtain.

>> He saw how sentient beings rejected the Great for the Small, and how in their poverty they sought food and faced hardship in sustaining their lives. They constantly desired wealth, yet were without the opportunity to obtain.

>> Now the opportunity had come for the One Great Vehicle Dharma to be passed on. This was in accord with His great loving intent. Thus it says, “I can now entrust my stores”.

---

“The Buddha works for the sake of one great cause; He constantly awaits His disciples’ capacities.
Now a chance has come that addresses His loving intent. Though the son did not recognize his father,
the father nevertheless recognized his son; this fulfilled his wishes, so he was joyous.
Abiding in the Dharma, the Buddha gives rise to great compassion, which is relieving great suffering.
He abides in the Dharma, which is great loving-kindness and giving joy. Thus, He is filled with joy.”

We know that the Buddha is compassionate. He sees all sentient beings as His only son. The sutras often use the analogy of father and son. In fact, “father” refers to the Buddha and “son” refers to how all sentient beings are the Buddha’s disciples. If we are very clear on this, then we understand that with His great compassion the Buddha views all sentient beings impartially.

For the sake of His one great cause, the Buddha constantly comes to this world, to the realms of sentient beings, to teach and transform us. He hopes we can thoroughly understand and take on responsibility for the Buddha-Dharma, can form great aspirations and make great vows to carry on the Dharma-lineage and can continue to move forward and transform sentient beings. He hopes to find someone that. He has an affinity with to pass on the Dharma. This is the Buddha’s one great cause;

“He constantly awaits His disciples’ capacities.” He wants to find someone He has an affinity with, someone who has the opportunity to connect with the Dharma, someone who can really understand it. This is how, life after life, He transforms people He has an affinity with.

“Now a chance has come that addresses His loving intent. Though the son did not recognize his father….” At this [assembly], He saw that sentient beings were beginning to form aspirations. They had been lost and confused, endlessly transmigrating in the Five Realms and four forms of birth. Gradually, their minds had drawn near the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha saw this. So, “Now a chance has come.” He saw that the chance had arrived, as they had the capacities, causes and conditions to come closer. So, this “addressed His loving intent.” He was like the father who had seen the figure of his son and felt a sense of joy arising from His kind heart.

He was like the father who spent a lifetime looking for his son. For so many decades, the son had drifted about in other lands and no longer recognized the father, but the father still recognized the son. Therefore, when he saw his figure, he became very happy, because he had constantly wished for his son to come back to him. This was the same wish as the Buddha’s. The Buddha hoped that His disciples’ minds would slowly connect with and realize the Dharma, would have the capacity to get close to the Dharma. Therefore, the arrival of the son is an analogy for how the disciples’ capabilities were about to awaken.

“This fulfilled his wishes”; things were coming together to fulfill His wish. Thus, “He was joyous.” When sentient beings’ capabilities come together with the Dharma, that makes the Buddha most happy.

“Abiding in the Dharma, He gave rise to great compassion.” This great compassion arises from the Dharma. I often talk about “unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion.” People can show each other universal compassion; this is not something that only Bodhisattvas do. In fact, what the Buddha wanted to teach us is that we must all have universal compassion. So, we often talk about how we are interconnected with the entire world. We need to reach this level [of understanding]. Then we are one with heaven and earth. When the weather is favorable, the land is safe. When the land is safe, sentient beings are safe.

If we do not have universal compassion, feeling other people’s suffering as our own, if we do not have this mindset, then, though we learn the Buddha’s Way, we will be unable to realize His intent.

The Buddha’s intent and the principles are singular; as we have discussed in the past, all Buddhas share the same path. When we return to our awakened nature, the principles will be [apparent]. Yet at this time, we have not yet penetrated the principles. We are still at “the stage of learning”; we still need to learn. Moreover, there are rules for spiritual practice. These are the rules, but nowadays, ordinary people find it hard to be disciplined in this way. So, we give rise to discursive thoughts and are unable to stabilize our minds. If this is the case, we will find it hard to [realize] the principles.

So, “Abiding in the Dharma, He gave rise to great compassion.” This “universal compassion” is the relieving of great suffering. Sentient beings transmigrate in the Six Realms. They go between the four forms of birth, the Five Realms or Six Realms. After transmigrating in this way, sentient beings may finally aspire to engage in spiritual practice. In the process of spiritual cultivation, they may spend many decades enduring suffering of body and mind. They cultivated ascetic practices and also learned to control their minds. Though in the Sangha there were evil-natured bhiksus that troubled them, their minds had to remain firm. In this way, “Abiding in the Dharma, the Buddha gives rise to great compassion, which is relieving great suffering.” On the path of spiritual practice, people will struggle to get by.

“He abides in the Dharma, which is great loving-kindness and giving joy.” Abiding in the Dharma allowed Him to better understand that. He had to open up His mind and go among people to bring them more blessings and happiness. This is great joy. The Buddha hoped that His disciples could live in harmony with the whole world and be one with all sentient beings. This is called “great compassion.” He hoped that everyone could give rise to great loving-kindness and bring blessings and safety to everyone. For the world and individuals to all be at peace, we need to have the Buddha-Dharma. And the Buddha-Dharma needs all of us, the Buddha’s disciples, to take responsibility for bringing purity to everyone’s minds. Then we can bring peace and stability to the world. This is how the Buddha-Dharma can save the world. This was the Buddha’s intent.

Previously we discussed, “At that time the wealthy elder, seated upon the lion’s throne, saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy.” The father on the lion’s throne had seen his son. “He had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.”

There was someone to inherit his wealth. This means that the Buddha had seen that people’s limited capabilities had turned into great capabilities. Now the Buddha-Dharma could be transmitted. There were people willing to dedicate themselves to transmitting the Right Dharma.

[He] saw his son and immediately recognized him: An analogy for the Buddha’s original intent to teach and transform sentient beings. His only thoughts were of the One Great Vehicle. Upon seeing people who had once formed great aspirations, He could recognize them as Buddha-children. He knew these were sentient beings with whom. He had formed affinities in the past.

Next, “He saw his son and immediately recognized him” This is “an analogy for the Buddha’s original intent to teach and transform. His only thoughts were of the One Great Vehicle.” In the instant the Buddha attained Buddhahood, His mind became one with the universe. This state of mind was the Buddha’s intent. He hoped to help everyone understand this state of mind, because He believed that everyone has the capability to attain Buddhahood. Therefore, His intent and what we wanted to teach sentient beings was only this mindset of the One Great Vehicle. So, in the Lotus Sutra, He “merged the Three to return to the One.” He combined the Three Vehicles into the One, into the Bodhisattva-Path; this was the Buddha’s intent.

“When he saw people who had once formed great aspirations, He could recognize them as Buddha-children. Upon seeing people who have once formed great aspirations,” He felt they were true Buddha-children, born of the Buddha’s speech and transformed by the Dharma. They were true Buddha-children, because He knew these were sentient beings who had formed good affinities in the past. Now they were able to form great aspirations to continue the Dharma-lineage. They did not just do so in this life, but had done so in the past as well. “The past” represents a very long time ago. Throughout His many lifetimes, the Buddha was constantly searching, hoping to find people with great capabilities to teach and transform in life after life.

We should know that life is very short and to help train a person to attain Buddhahood is not easy. So, He had to spend many lifetimes constantly looking for people who could accept the Great Dharma and continue transmitting this Dharma until Maitreya attains Buddhahood; then it must continue to be transmitted. A very long time is needed to train and polish our awakened nature, which can become one with the universe. Thus, when [the Buddha] discovered that people were starting to discover this nature, “His heart filled with joy”

The Buddha constantly sought out and waited for the appropriate capacities and conditions to deliver sentient beings. He viewed them all impartially with compassion, as if they were all His only child. Now He saw that capacities and conditions had matured. Seeing that His children had come allowed Him to express His loving intent. This was the reason for His great joy.

“The Buddha constantly sought out and waited for the appropriate capacities and conditions.” He kept on searching and waiting for people with the [right] capacities so He could approach and transform them. In this way, He continuously looked for people with these kinds of capabilities, these kinds of causes and conditions. He constantly nurtured these causes and conditions and capabilities in people. So, “He viewed them all equally with compassion, as if they were all His only child.” The Buddha views all sentient beings as if they were His only child. When [His son] Rahula engaged in spiritual practice in the Sangha, he lived like everyone else in the Sangha. By the same principle, the Buddha treated all disciples the same. He was simply waiting for their capacities and karmic conditions to mature so they could transmit the Dharma.

“Now He saw that the capacities and affinities had matured. Seeing that His children had come allowed Him to express His loving intent.” When He saw that the conditions had matured, that they had the capabilities to continue drawing near the Great Dharma, it was like a father seeing his son. It “allowed Him to express His loving intent,” so He was very happy. “This was the reason for His great joy”

They had developed the capacity for transformation. Thus it says, Now he has suddenly appeared on his own. Their hearts were filled with great compassion, thus it says, [This] exactly suits my wishes.

[His disciples] had now developed the capacities for transformation. Their capacities for truly realizing and taking the Dharma to heart had begun to develop. So, “Now he has suddenly appeared on his own.” Suddenly, this child unexpectedly appeared. Sariputra, from among all these people, had formed aspirations, this also suddenly appeared. Now, Subhuti and the three others had also suddenly attained realizations. This was something that brought the Buddha joy. With universal and great compassion, people feel they are one with the world. So, one by one, they had developed this great compassion and were becoming one with everything. This was their mindset. Hence, “[This] exactly suits my wishes.” My hope is also like this; I hope everyone can work in concert with unity, harmony and love and that everyone can share the same mission. This is what makes me most happy. This is the meaning of “exactly suits my wishes.”

Through cultivation in kalpas past, He has realized great Bodhi. Before seeing their great capacities, He would not rashly give them [the Dharma], thus the Dharma was not entrusted.

“Through cultivation in kalpas past, He has realized great Bodhi”.. “Kalpas past” means that this goes beyond this current lifetime. It has been going on for a very long time. “Kalpas past” is a boundless stretch of time. Ever since the beginning, the Buddha had been searching for those who are capable of forming great aspirations and realizing great Bodhi. These were the people that the Buddha had constantly been searching for over a very long time.

“Before seeing their great capacities, He would not rashly give them [the Dharma].” If we do not see that someone’s great capacities have matured, we cannot casually entrust the Dharma to him. Thus, in the Chapter on Parables, it said that for people like this, “Do not teach this sutra”; for people like that, “Do not teach this sutra.” Their capacities are not yet very mature, so we should not teach this to them. They have not yet penetrated Bodhi or remained mindful and determined; they would not be able to get through this ordeal. For people like this, “We should not teach this sutra.” So, if the Buddha had not seen evidence of their great capabilities, “He would not rashly give them [the Dharma].” He would not transmit it to them so easily. In the wrong hands, it would cause trouble. Thus, finding someone to entrust the Dharma to was in fact very difficult. “Thus the Dharma was not entrusted.” Without people with great capacities, there was no one to entrust it to.

Now that things look bright, He was joyous, thus it says He was filled with joy. The opportunity had now come. This was in accord with His thoughts, which opens up His great loving intent.

“Now, it showed that they were bringing joy.” Being able to see this now, He was joyous. Their great capacities and minds had opened up; “The opportunity had now come.” Today He saw people who were willing to accept and had the great capabilities to penetrate the Dharma. They were willing to open up their minds to teach and transform sentient beings and to expand their compassionate hearts to save and deliver them. This kind of capabilities were seen at this time; they had come. “This was in accord with His wishes to express His great loving intent.” The Buddha’s great loving intent had already been cleared of obstacles; otherwise He would be very worried. Having seen people with great capacities, the Buddha began to feel happy.

“My wealth and stores” can now be entrusted; there were people to pass them down to. This means there were now people to transmit the Dharma.

He had this thought, Now I have someone to whom. I can entrust my wealth and stores: This is because his wishes were fulfilled by seeing his son. In the past he had seen how, after sentient beings rejected the Great, they rushed off in all four directions, seeking food and clothing, working for wages here and there and constantly desiring wealth, yet without the opportunity to obtain.

“He had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores” Upon seeing his son, [the elder’s] “wishes were fulfilled.” The Buddha’s wishes were fulfilled when. He saw disciples with great capacities, who were about to form [great] aspirations. Thus, His wishes were fulfilled. The Lotus Sutra was the Buddha’s final teaching. After these four or five disciples became willing [to form great aspirations], they would be closely followed by more people. As long as some were willing to form aspirations, more and more disciples would do the same. “This is because his wishes were fulfilled by seeing his son.” Seeing his child, his wishes were fulfilled.

“In the past he had seen how, after sentient beings rejected the Great, they rushed off in all four directions.” Those who had formed great aspirations in the past had retreated from them, then “rushed off in all four directions.” In this way, they continued to transmigrate in the Five Realms and the four forms of birth. We cannot assume that if we form aspirations now, we will be safe from now on. After forming aspirations, we still have many opportunities to retreat. If we do not take good care of our minds, we will “work for wages here and there.” Obtaining food and clothing will be difficult.

He saw how sentient beings rejected the Great for the Small, and how in their poverty they sought food and faced hardship in sustaining their lives. They constantly desired wealth, yet were without the opportunity to obtain.

So we say, in life we must seize every opportunity. When the elder saw the poor son, he did not even have an opportunity to help him. This is the same principle. So, when the Buddha saw sentient beings “reject the Great for the Small,” His heart was pained. Retreating from great aspirations, they willingly returned to an unenlightened state. This was truly worrisome. They turned back again, thus, “In a poor neighborhood they sought food and faced hardship in sustaining their lives. They constantly desired wealth.” They desired wealth more and more, “yet were without the opportunity to obtain.” Without this opportunity and affinity, they could not obtain [the Dharma].

Now the opportunity had come for the One Great Vehicle Dharma to be passed on. This was in accord with His great loving intent. Thus it says, “I can now entrust my stores”.

“The opportunity had now come for the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle to be passed on.” Once they developed great capacities, the Dharma could be transmitted to them. “This was in accord with His great loving intent. Thus it says, I can now entrust my stores.”

Dear Bodhisattvas, we should truly form Bodhisattva-aspirations and never retreat from them. For the sake of sentient beings, the Buddha continued looking for people with great capabilities. Forming great aspirations is very difficult. Only when our capabilities allow us to resonate with the Buddha’s mind are we able to “address the Buddha’s intent.” Therefore, we should always be mindful.

Episode 759 – On Impermanence, Suffering and Emptiness

---

>> Ordinary people do not understand that worldly phenomena are impermanent, much less know that the world is empty and illusory. Furthermore, they cannot understand that there is also wondrous existence in the world. Wondrous existence and true emptiness are buried in the mud of the lotus pond.

>> “If I stay here long , they may see me and press me into service forcing me to work. . Having had this thought, he left hurriedly.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> “At that time, the wealthy elder, seated upon the lion’s throne, saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]

>> At that time, the wealthy elder [was] seated upon the lion’s throne: This is the place from which the elder saw his son. The Dharmakaya of the Tathagata abides in the supreme meaning, a state of emptiness and fearlessness. As the Buddha taught Dharma among the people, He had the virtues of calmness and fearlessness, clearly illuminating capabilities in His enlightened state.

---

“Ordinary people do not understand that worldly phenomena are impermanent,
much less know that the world is empty and illusory.
Furthermore, they cannot understand that there is also wondrous existence in the world.
Wondrous existence and true emptiness are buried in the mud of the lotus pond.”

This is how we live out our lives every day. As unenlightened beings, we “ordinary people do not understand that worldly phenomena are impermanent.” Every day, we live in this way. How often does the word “impermanence” surface in our minds? What is “impermanence” really? It is just a term. However, with this true principle, no matter when impermanence strikes, the experience it brings to us is suffering; there is unbearable suffering in life. Only after encountering suffering do we recognize, “Oh, so this is impermanence!”

Nowadays, when we talk about the 921 Earthquake, some people think, “I know, I heard about what happened.” Thus, they describe the events lightly, as if it had nothing to do with them. But those who lived at the epicenter in central Taiwan take it very seriously. “Right! That is impermanence! Impermanence struck suddenly; it looked as if the mountain lost its skin.”

Because of the 921 Earthquake, some suffered serious injuries. For some, in the blink of an eye, a limb was lost. Some lost their loved ones. I recall that, at the time, we deeply devoted ourselves to the relief effort. Thinking back, things were so frightening!

On the day of the quake, at the Abode we felt very intense shaking. Just a little while later, we received a call [from near the epicenter] [We asked,] “Did anything happen there? Yes!” They reported one thing after another. “Have you surveyed the situation? Yes, and we have already mobilized. We are preparing breakfast now, and some people are at the scene offering comfort. Are all Tzu Chi volunteers safe? The houses of some [volunteers] also collapsed. And the people? Everyone is safe.”

Later, I heard people name certain volunteers whose house had collapsed but who did not return to check on it for many days. So I asked, “After what has happened, you didn’t go back to clean up your house? How could we clean up the house? I only have two hands, and my family is small. We can’t rebuild the house, so it is better that we join the relief efforts.”

We heard about and saw people like this. Living Bodhisattvas may also experience disasters. When disaster strikes them, they still have a Bodhisattva’s courage and perseverance, so they set aside their own problems and devote themselves to helping other people. Seeing people who were more severely affected or had greater losses, like some families where many suffered injuries, they felt, “I am still in good shape. While engaging in relief work, I do need not to worry about cooking for myself. We need to help cook for other people and go out and comfort them. Every day, we are so busy.”

What shocked me the most were the requests from our volunteer Chunzhi. Every time I received a call from her, she would ask, “Master, can our hospital in Hualien provide us with body bags? We need bags for the corpses.” I asked, “How many? Can you send 500?” This was the first phone call, We quickly contacted the hospital and had them sent over. A little while later, another phone call came. “Master, can you send another 1000?” 1000 body bags! “We have ordered 500 to be sent already. Yes, but we need more, another 1000. Are you sure? Yes! Please hurry.” So, we quickly ordered another 1000. Soon after, there was another phone call. “Master, can you send 1000 more? Is it that serious?” The more we heard, the more frightened we were. We sent 2500 body bags in three shipments.

Around noon, a phone call came. It was Chunzhi again, who said, “Master, can you provide us with freezers? Everyone is worried about the hot weather. Some of the bodies we have recovered are already beginning to smell.” Where could we find freezers? We quickly thought of an idea. Mr. Lee Zong-ji was in the shipping business, so he had shipping containers, some of which must have contained freezers. So, we immediately called him to ask, “Can you find and borrow two freezers from people in your industry?” Upon receiving the call, he said, “Master, do not worry. I’ll take care of this; I’ll find them.” Sure enough, he found two freezers we could borrow.

At Puli, the corpses had been placed in body bags. Some were missing body parts and were already beginning to smell. So, they were quickly moved into the freezer and stacked on top of one another. The stack grew higher and higher. Hearing the volunteers describe this, [I felt] the Faith Corps members were very courageous. In addition to transporting bodies and moving them into the freezer, every 30-40 minutes, they also had to go inside to rotate the bodies. They had to do this because if the bodies remained stacked like that, those in the middle would be smothered and thus deteriorate [more quickly]. Because of this, they rotated the bodies again and again.

Even the soldiers at a nearby army base were in shock. The military came and asked Tzu Chi volunteers, “Can you come to the base and talk to our young soldiers, help to comfort them a little? Everyone is terrified.” Our hospital [in Hualien] immediately dispatched doctors and nurses aboard a helicopter on the first day and flew directly to Dongshi. This all happened back in 1999. The events that transpired truly shook everyone to their core; that was the 921 Earthquake. Now, when we go to central Taiwan, we can see the more than 50 schools that Tzu Chi helped to build.

After impermanence struck, so many people mobilized; we saw the actions of all these Bodhisattvas. When the strength of so many people was brought together, the power of their love was truly not something that we ordinarily see. These Bodhisattvas gave without expectations, not thinking of themselves at all, but only of how to conduct the relief efforts. They all mobilized to go there; that was the kind of dedication they had. Truly, thinking back on it, there were so many touching stories.

So, in this world, ordinary people quickly forget. Anything that does not directly affect them will be quickly forgotten. But if they personally joined the relief efforts, it would have left a deep impression on them. This is the reality of our world. “Ordinary people do not understand that worldly phenomena are impermanent.” The [principles] of this world cannot be seen, but impermanence will strike regardless.

Recently we have been constantly talking about the imbalance of the four elements. Earthquakes, floods, storms and fires are frequently happening around the world. People far away from them might feel that they are insignificant matters. However, we need to care for the entire planet, to always care about what happens in the world. Every day, we watch the forecast for typhoons. Which direction will these typhoons go? We begin to worry and feel very concerned. Everything on this planet is interconnected. People who are concerned in this way feel closely connected to everything that happens in the world. These people are considered Bodhisattvas.

Thus, our minds must not be so limited as to only focus on ourselves, only benefiting ourselves; otherwise, not a single Bodhisattva will arise. Then when impermanence strikes, who will help? So, we must know and understand the principle of impermanence. Those of us who are able to help other people are very blessed. If impermanence strikes us and we can be understanding, see through things and dedicate ourselves to helping others, our lives will quickly improve.

Then there are people who “[do not] know that the world is empty and illusory.” They still have attachments and think that spiritual cultivation is too hard, too boring, as if by engaging in spiritual practice this year, they should be able to attain Buddhahood next year. That is not how it works; it takes countless eons. We must unceasingly accumulate [the right] causes and conditions. We clearly know that things are illusory, yet we still cling to them. What are we trying to accomplish? When we go among people to help without allowing ourselves to be contaminated, that comes from being able to see through the illusory. If we can penetrate the principles of emptiness and illusiveness, first, we will not be attached to ourselves; we will be firm in our aspirations and steadily put [the Dharma] into practice. Because all things are empty in nature, what is there for the “self” to want? We should just seize the moment and take action.

Ordinary people are unaware [of all this]. “Furthermore, they cannot understand that there is also wondrous existence in the world.” There is wondrous existence in the world because we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, because the principles are everlasting. Although we cannot see them, if we mindfully try to realize the principles, we will find that they are very abundant.

We must know that within impermanence there is also “wondrous existence.” Within this “wondrous existence,” principles converge and give rise to either good or evil. Within everything is an abundance of principles. If we are able to quiet our minds and earnestly contemplate, we can leisurely swim in the ocean of Dharma. Then how would we be bored? We will neither be bored nor lonely. When we still our minds and think earnestly, if there is something to do, we will do it quickly. This is living a down-to-earth life.

“Wondrous existence in true emptiness” [is like] lotus flowers in the mud. Their seeds are buried beneath the mud, so that, unfortunately, all we can see is mud. Thus, we do not help this seed to develop. Lotus flowers can dignify a muddy pond. In the Saha World, don’t Bodhisattvas similarly dignify this world? Yet we are unable to realize this. So, I hope everyone will be mindful.

The poor son endlessly drifted about until he finally arrived at the city his father lived in. He finally had the karmic conditions, yet his mind was in a state of [confusion], so he was still unaware that this was his house. He still stood outside, peering in. Seeing how dignified and awe-inspiring it was inside, [he felt,]. “This does not seem to be a place where I can beg or make a living.” So, he began to leave. “It would be better to return to a poor neighborhood.” It would be better to go back to an impoverished area. With the way people live there, “when I am hungry I just beg for food; when I need clothes I just beg for clothes, or salvage discarded clothing to wear.” This was how people lived there, in “a place where I can put my strength to work and easily obtain food and clothing.” It would be easier to live this way.

This is like some spiritual practitioners; “I want to engage in spiritual practice, but I am unable to accept these principles. I cannot comprehend them, so I have no interest in them.” Thus, they lose their spiritual aspirations. They are like the poor son, who did not know he had a part in the riches of this household. Thus, he was afraid; “They may see me and press me into service. They may even force me to do things.” Therefore, he decided to leave.

So, the previous passage states, “If I stay here long , they may see me and press me into service forcing me to work.  Having had this thought, he left hurriedly.”

This is the previous passage. The next passage in the sutra states, “At that time, the wealthy elder, seated upon the lion’s throne, saw his son and immediately recognized him. His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.”

The father, sitting inside, saw the figure of his son; upon seeing him he immediately recognized him. Although his son had left at a young age and returned only after he was already grown up, when he had already begun entering old age, this father, whose every thought was on his son, saw this figure and immediately recognized, “This is my child.” So, he was very happy. Now, there was someone to inherit his property, so he quickly asked people to bring his son over

At that time, the wealthy elder [was] seated upon the lion’s throne: This is the place from which the elder saw his son. The Dharmakaya of the Tathagata abides in the supreme meaning, a state of emptiness and fearlessness. As the Buddha taught Dharma among the people, He had the virtues of calmness and fearlessness, clearly illuminating capabilities in His enlightened state.

See, “At that time, the wealthy elder, [was] seated upon the lion’s throne.” The lion’s throne is the Tathagata’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body). Sakyamuni Buddha is not the only one who has a pure nature of True Suchness. Actually, we all have this nature of True Suchness. But when explaining this in terms of matters, with His sharp and awakened nature, the Buddha knew the extent of His disciples’ capabilities. For those with limited capabilities, He spoke of “existence” and “emptiness.” Starting from the Agama, He moved to the Vaipulya and then the Prajna. At this point, it was time for “the Three Vehicles to return to the One.” The Buddha knew His disciples would be afraid and dare not accept this. In the past, they focused on benefiting themselves. Now, He wanted to entrust to them [the mission of] delivering sentient beings and walking the Bodhisattva-path, so He taught them the Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra leads Hearers and Solitary Realizers to converge on the Bodhisattva-path. Hearers and Solitary Realizers were afraid to hear about it. “In the past, I focused on benefiting myself and on my own spiritual practice, hoping that I would not come back to this world and suffer [Applying] the Four Noble Truths is not easy. I put in a lot of effort to finally begin eradicating the source of suffering and to clearly understand the truth of causation. Now, I have already eliminated suffering and causation. I have already gone through this process of spiritual practice. Now I am focused on practicing the Path so I will not have to return to this world. But now the Buddha wants us to understand wondrous existence.” Though they knew about “wondrous existence,” though they knew that this seed exists, to help this lotus flower grow out of the mud while avoiding being contaminated by the mud, seemed like a very difficult task to them.

The Buddha understood that His disciples felt this way, that they thought, “Delivering sentient beings is the work of Bodhisattvas. It has nothing to do with me.” This is just like how the poor son tried to escape. At this point of the story, the poor son had gradually approached [his father’s city]. Similarly, the Buddha discovered that. His disciples were repentant. They openly expressed what was in their hearts, so He became happy. Now there were people to transmit the Dharma He wanted to pass on. So, the previous passage states, “His heart filled with joy, and he had this thought, Now I have someone to whom I can entrust my wealth and stores.” Thus, the elder was very happy.

“As the Buddha taught Dharma among the people [with] the virtues of calmness and fearlessness,” His virtuous nature and. His awakened state illuminated everything, He could see into His disciples’ capabilities. They were now close to developing great capabilities. Thus, the father was very happy. There was now hope for passing on his wealth.

So, everyone, in learning the Buddha’s way, we must be mindful. As I read these passages and speak of them, I am filled with joy. I feel that the Dharma in the Lotus Sutra is [connected to] the principles of the Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna teachings. After we understand these principles, they are all brought together in the Lotus Sutra. From the Introductory Chapter to the Chapter on Skillful Means, to the Chapter on Parables and then this chapter which helps us develop faith and understanding, we must use a reverent heart to believe and understand. We must not become tired of hearing the Dharma, thinking it has nothing to do with us. If we think that way, we will feel tired. If we feel connected to it, we will find it very applicable on our path of life. Even if we are already approaching old age, we can still elevate our vitality and develop our wisdom-life. Listening to the Dharma, we should feel Dharma-joy. Therefore, we must always be mindful.