Category: TLS Chapter 7

Episode 984 – The Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Within Us

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>> We must always cultivate contemplation and concentrate on the essence of our minds. Everyone intrinsically possesses a Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior within. It is inexhaustible and limitless, this beginningless Buddha-nature. It is flawless, great and unhindered, its nature pure and wondrous.

>> “Suppose a man used his strength to grind up all of the lands in the great trichiliocosm and turned all of these grains of earth completely into ink. Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot, continuing on this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> “Suppose all these lands, whether inked or not inked, were all ground into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa. The number of all those dust particles is surpassed by the number of the kalpas since that Buddha entered Parinirvana; such an amount of countless kalpas has passed.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> Suppose all these lands, whether inked or not inked: In this way he would pass through thousands and thousands of lands. With both those he inked and those he did not, there are countless worlds of dust particles.

>> [These] were all ground into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa: All the grains of earth and things on the land, along with the thousands of worlds, would be completely ground into dust. One particle of dust represents one kalpa.

>> The number of all those dust particles is surpassed by the number of the kalpas since that Buddha entered Parinirvana; it has been such an amount of countless kalpas: Though such grains of earth and things were all exhausted, the kalpas that have passed further surpass this number.

>> “With the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom, I know that Buddha’s entering of Parinirvana, along with that of the Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now. All you bhiksus must know, the Buddha’s wisdom is pure, subtle and wondrous. It is without Leaks, without any obstructions. It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> With the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom, I know that Buddha’s entering of Parinirvana: Sakyamuni Tathagata, with His unobstructed wisdom, was able to know the appearance of Great Unhindered when He entered Parinirvana.

>> So, [He saw those] Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now. He also sees the assemblies of. Hearers and Bodhisattvas transformed by that Buddha, just like He sees them today, with no difference.

>> All you bhiksus must know: He told all the bhiksus that they must know this matter. Must know are words of caution and admonishment. This means that everyone intrinsically has a Great Unhindered [Buddha], so shouldn’t we carefully reflect on ourselves?

>> Pure, subtle and wondrous: With the three kinds of wisdom united in one mind, it is called pure. With the one mind containing the three kinds of wisdom, it is called subtle. Neither three nor one, yet both three and one, it is called wondrous.

 >> It is without Leaks, without any obstructions: Seeing one thing and abandoning another is called having Leaks. Seeing that one but not this one is called having obstructions. The Buddha, with His wisdom free from all Leaks and obstructions, was able to see the Parinirvana of that Buddha and those Hearers and Bodhisattvas as clearly as if He saw them now. So, this is His pure and wondrous wisdom.

>> It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered: He can skillfully reach all of the matters of infinite kalpas before, completely unhindered. To reach is to be unhindered. The Tathagata views the past as if it is today. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior manifests in this way. The assembly did not know these far-off things because their Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior had not yet manifested.

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“We must always cultivate contemplation and concentrate on the essence of our minds.
Everyone intrinsically possesses a Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior within.
It is inexhaustible and limitless, this beginningless Buddha-nature. It is flawless, great and unhindered, its nature pure and wondrous.”

Recently I have continuously spoken of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. How long ago was [the lifetime] of this Buddha? You all probably still remember; it is impossible to describe. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s initial causes and conditions. They were before Beginningless Time began, an infinitely distant Beginningless Time truly has no beginning. When we speak of this time, it is so long ago that if we gathered a group of many mathematicians and their students and had them use their combined ability to calculate just how much time had passed, it would be impossible for them to calculate.

Since there is no way to calculate when. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had His origins, it would better that we [focus on] “always cultivating contemplation and concentrating on the essence of our minds.” Since we cannot calculate this length of time, we simply must be mindful. In our spiritual practice, we must focus our energy and put our efforts into stabilizing our minds. With pure minds we cultivate contemplation. Everyone knows what Samadhi is. Concentrating our thinking is called Samadhi. When our minds are without contamination, or defilements, this is the essence of our minds. What is the essence of our minds? It is a great perfect mirror, the great perfect mirror wisdom. This great perfect mirror wisdom is the pure Buddha-nature we all possess. We all intrinsically have this;

we all intrinsically have a Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior within us. Actually, this Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior has existed since Beginningless time. Unfortunately it has been covered by ignorance. We have yet to manifest this great perfect mirror. If our Great Unhindered Wisdom, our wisdom-nature, can be opened up, it will similarly be inexhaustible and limitless. This shows how the Buddha-nature is inexhaustible. We cannot say when we first began to have our Buddha-nature. It has truly been a long time; we all intrinsically have it.

“It is flawless, great and unhindered.” Everyone inherently has a mind that is extremely pure and undefiled. The Dharma is inherently in our minds; we were originally flawless. The true principles go back to our mind-nature. Clearly, we intrinsically have this, but instead we look everywhere else for it.

“It is flawless, great and unhindered, its nature pure and wondrous.” All people intrinsically have it. Every day, we listen to the sutras. Now every day, I continue to teach. Countless kalpas ago, a long time ago, there was. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. His [lifetime] was so long. Coming up, there is still more time to describe. So, we need to put our hearts into this. If we are mindful, we can cast aside our ignorance so our great perfect mirror wisdom can manifest. We simply need the resolve.

The previous sutra passage states, “Suppose a man used his strength to grind up all of the lands in the great trichiliocosm and turned all of these grains of earth completely into ink. Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot, continuing on this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted.”

This length of time is very long.

The next passage states, “Suppose all these lands, whether inked or not inked, were all ground into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa. The number of all those dust particles is surpassed by the number of the kalpas since that Buddha entered Parinirvana; such an amount of countless kalpas has passed.”

This is such a long time. The previous passages already said this many times. Did it need to be elaborated on again later? The sutras are like this.

Suppose all these lands, whether inked or not inked: In this way he would pass through thousands and thousands of lands. With both those he inked and those he did not, there are countless worlds of dust particles.

So, “Suppose all these lands, whether inked or not inked” is saying “in this way he would pass through thousands of thousands of lands.” He passed through these many lands. “With both those he inked and those he did not,” whether or not he inked these lands, “there are countless worlds of dust particles.”

[These] were all ground into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa: All the grains of earth and things on the land, along with the thousands of worlds, would be completely ground into dust. One particle of dust represents one kalpa.

In these worlds, wherever there is land, there will be minute dust particles, there will be sand, these kinds of things “[These] were all ground into dust.” All of the mountains, rivers and land are all ground up into dust. “One particle of dust represents one kalpa.” In this way, one particle represents one kalpa

We are all very familiar with kalpas. A cycle of one increasing and one decreasing kalpa is only one small kalpa. In summary, this time is very long. “All the grains of earth and things on the land, along with the thousands of worlds, would be completely ground into dust.” Everything is completely ground into dirt. “One particle of dust represents one kalpa.”

We already know this. “The number of all those dust particles is surpassed by the number of the kalpas since that Buddha entered Parinirvana; such an amount of countless kalpas has passed”

The number of all those dust particles is surpassed by the number of the kalpas since that Buddha entered Parinirvana; it has been such an amount of countless kalpas: Though such grains of earth and things were all exhausted, the kalpas that have passed further surpass this number.

“That Buddha” is. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. It has been such a long time; the grains of earth in this analogy were exhausted. Everything on the land was ground into sand, and all this dust is used to represent time, a long time; a kalpa is a long period of time. This is all to describe time. “The kalpas that have passed,” the time that has passed, “further surpasses this number.” The time that has passed is even more than the time in this analogy, so it is truly an indescribable amount of time.

The next passage states, “With the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom, I know that Buddha’s entering of Parinirvana, along with that of the Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now. All you bhiksus must know, the Buddha’s wisdom is pure, subtle and wondrous. It is without Leaks, without any obstructions. It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered.”

This analogy is of the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom.

With the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom, I know that Buddha’s entering of Parinirvana: Sakyamuni Tathagata, with His unobstructed wisdom, was able to know the appearance of Great Unhindered when He entered Parinirvana.

What Sakyamuni Buddha said was that after one attains Buddhahood, including He Himself, that wisdom after enlightenment will pervade the Dharma-realm of the universe. Wit this unobstructed wisdom, He understood. What was just said earlier kept telling us this was a very, very long time, dust-inked kalpas, such a long time. That Buddha [existed] such a long time ago. Now Sakyamuni Buddha was recalling the past time of this Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, up until He was about to enter Parinirvana. Sakyamuni Buddha was remembering the past,

So, [He saw those] Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now. He also sees the assemblies of. Hearers and Bodhisattvas transformed by that Buddha, just like He sees them today, with no difference.

The Hearers and Bodhisattvas of that time, “as if seeing them cross into extinction now.” That was during the time when Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha expounded the Dharma. During that time, there were also Hearers and. Bodhisattvas. After a long period of time, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha entered the state of Parinirvana. From that time until now, Sakyamuni Buddha’s course of [spiritual practice] was still clearly in His memory ․So, “[He saw those] Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now. He also sees the assemblies of. Hearers and Bodhisattvas transformed by that Buddha, just like He sees them today, with no difference.” It was just like what we can see right now. This was the course of events.

Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha at the time was transforming sentient beings. During that time, for sentient beings to accept the Buddha-Dharma was not very easy. During that time, sentient beings’ capabilities were similarly uneven. That Buddha, similarly, had to [divide His teachings into]. Hearer, Solitary Realizer and Bodhisattva in order to teach. In the end, He too expounded the Lotus Sutra. So, that Buddha, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, went through the same process as [our Buddha].

All you bhiksus must know: He told all the bhiksus that they must know this matter. Must know are words of caution and admonishment. This means that everyone intrinsically has a Great Unhindered [Buddha], so shouldn’t we carefully reflect on ourselves?

“He told all the bhiksus that they must know this matter.” They must understand this particular matter. “Everyone must understand what I am saying now.” He was explaining the time of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. “Must know” means they must understand. He wanted to give everyone words of caution and admonishment. Everyone must know.

Though a very long time had passed, He used the Tathagata’s wisdom to tell everyone. Everyone must be vigilant and put effort into cultivating calm contemplation in our minds, using Samadhi to reflect on ourselves. Why are we still ordinary people? Why do we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature? Why are we still listening to the sound in order to understand the Dharma? Everyone intrinsically has the Buddha-Dharma in their minds. Everyone needs to mindfully experience this. This is not a story! It is the Dharma. So, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City are not stories; they are teachings.

This was the Buddha’s compassion. He wanted to let everyone know these true principles that have existed since Beginningless Time. The teaching is that “Everyone intrinsically has great unhindered wisdom.” So, we need to put effort into “carefully reflecting on ourselves.” We need to cultivate contemplation and reflect on ourselves. By earnestly investigating the outside world, we reflect on ourselves. If we can concentrate on the essence of our mind and earnestly contemplate, we see that our mind-essence, our inherent nature, is the same; the great perfect mirror wisdom still exists.

“The Buddha’s wisdom is pure, subtle and wondrous. It is without Leaks, without any obstructions.” Everyone’s Buddha-wisdom is very pure. We can return to this very pure [state], which is the most subtle and wondrous wisdom. “It is without Leaks, without any obstructions.” The Dharma that we have does not have any Leaks.

Pure, subtle and wondrous: With the three kinds of wisdom united in one mind, it is called pure. With the one mind containing the three kinds of wisdom, it is called subtle. Neither three nor one, yet both three and one, it is called wondrous.

“Pure, subtle and wondrous:” With the three kinds of wisdom united in one mind, it is called pure. “The three kinds of wisdom” are wisdom of all Dharma, wisdom of enlightenment and all-encompassing wisdom. These are called the three kinds of wisdom. They are contained within the one mind, so with the one mind containing the three kinds of wisdom, it is called subtle. “Neither three nor one,” yet both three and one, it is called wondrous.

This is [the nature] of our minds. Actually, how much is hidden in our minds? There is quite a lot. So, in the fields of the eighth consciousness, there is much positive and negative karma hidden. We need to put effort into [understanding this]. This is truly subtle and wondrous.

“Neither three nor one, yet both three and one,” it is called wondrous. In one mind, there are three kinds of wisdom. Actually it is not three kinds. The “three” in fact come back to the “one.” This means we return to our intrinsic nature, our nature of True Suchness. So, “It is without Leaks, without any obstructions”

It is without Leaks, without any obstructions: Seeing one thing and abandoning another is called having Leaks. Seeing that one but not this one is called having obstructions. The Buddha, with His wisdom free from all Leaks and obstructions, was able to see the Parinirvana of that Buddha and those Hearers and Bodhisattvas as clearly as if He saw them now. So, this is His pure and wondrous wisdom.

Because we are ordinary people, if we see one thing, we abandon another. If we see one thing, then we forget the other one. When we are reading the sutras, isn’t this what happens? We see the first line and read on, to the second and third lines. The mind is not focused, so we continue reading on and forget what we had read before. This is having Leaks, letting it “leak out.”

“Seeing that one but not this one is called having obstructions.” Seeing that one but not this one means we look over there, so we do not see what is here. If we look forward, then we are not able to see what is behind. These are obstructions. We are all like this. If we look toward the front, we cannot see what is behind. These are obstructions. But the Buddha’s wisdom is unhindered. It is without Leaks, without any obstructions. He can [understand] all the principles, and there is no obstruction in any direction. This is the Buddha’s wisdom.

The [Buddha’s wisdom] is free from all Leaks and obstructions. So, He was able to thoroughly understand. He “was able to see [the Parinirvana of] that Buddha and those Hearers.” That Buddha was. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. This Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, could recall the past lifetime of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. During that time, Hearers, Bodhisattvas and that Buddha entered extinction. That world and lifetime were seen “as clearly as if He saw them now,” just as if He was seeing them in this lifetime, in the present. This is due to the Buddha’s “pure and wondrous wisdom.” This is the Buddha’s wisdom.

It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered: He can skillfully reach all of the matters of infinite kalpas before, completely unhindered. To reach is to be unhindered. The Tathagata views the past as if it is today. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior manifests in this way. The assembly did not know these far-off things because their Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior had not yet manifested.

“It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered” ․It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered: He can skillfully reach all of the matters of infinite kalpas before, completely unhindered. To reach is to be unhindered. The Tathagata views the past as if it is today. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior manifests in this way. The assembly did not know these far-off things because their Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior had not yet manifested.

The Buddha’s wisdom can reach back unhindered to [recall] things from countless kalpas before. This is called reaching back unhindered, just as if He saw them now. Our Sakyamuni Buddha was already enlightened, so He was one with the universe. “The Tathagata views the past as if it is today.” See, He could speak of things from long ago and see the things that happened at that time. His memory was [as clear] as if it happened today, as if Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha was right in front of Him. From such a long time ago, from Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s lifetime to the present, “Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha” has been in all of our minds. So, this is to say, “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” Thus, “Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha manifests in this way.”

“The assembly did not know these far-off things.” We do not know these things because we are still ordinary people. So, “Their Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior had not yet manifested.” This is because in our minds, our Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior has not yet manifested. For Sakyamuni Buddha, “Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha” had always been in His mind. We all intrinsically have this as well. We have had Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior from the beginning of Beginningless time. Originally, we did not have obstructions; we could reach the great principles of everything in the universe. We all inherently have this kind of unobstructed great wisdom, but it became covered by ignorance and afflictions. So now, for us to return to it, “We must always cultivate contemplation and concentrate on the essence of our minds.” We must put effort into cultivating contemplation and concentrating on the essence of our minds. With focus, we examine the essence of our minds and our intrinsic nature of True Suchness.

So, everyone intrinsically has the flawless Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior. This pure and wondrous nature inherently exists in us. I only hope that everyone can always be mindful.

Episode 983 – A Pure Mind Pervades the Three Periods

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>> We must stop evil, prevent wrongdoings and eliminate ignorance and delusions of views and thinking, plus dust-like delusions. The mind-nature is pure and clear and can thoroughly illuminate time dust-inked kalpas ago. It pervades throughout the Three Periods from beginning to end and across all of the Dharma-realm.

 >> “I, with the power of the Tathagata’s understanding and views, observe those things long ago and far away as if they are here today. At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> “As I think of past lifetimes infinite, boundless kalpas before, there was a Buddha, a Two-Footed Honored One, named Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> The assembly here today had, during the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, formed affinities with the 16th novice. Therefore, today, under Sakyamuni Tathagata, they are able to listen to the Lotus [Sutra] and achieve realizations and attain the fruits.

>> “Suppose a man used his strength to grind up all of the lands in the great trichiliocosm and turned all of these grains of earth completely into ink. Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot, continuing on in this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> Grains of earth: Earth is one of the four elements. It can give life to causes for phenomena of form. Hence these are called grains. Grains of earth refer specifically to the element of earth in the great chiliocosm.

>> Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot: He passes through 1000 Buddha-lands before inking one spot of dust. He passes through 1000 lands: This refers to the realm one Buddha transforms, which is the great trichiliocosm.

>> He would finally ink one spot: For every 1000 lands he passes through, he inks one spot. The 999 lands that he passed over are the lands not inked. There are great quantities of ink and only [small] drops.  >> Continuing on in this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted: From 1000 Buddha-lands to another 1000 Buddha-lands, he again inks one spot. In this way, he exhausts all the ink from the grains of the earth of the lands of the trichiliocosm. This shows how many lands he has passed through.

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“We must stop evil, prevent wrongdoings and eliminate ignorance and delusions of views and thinking, plus dust-like delusions.
The mind-nature is pure and clear and can thoroughly illuminate time dust-inked kalpas ago.
It pervades throughout the Three Periods from beginning to end and across all of the Dharma-realm.”

This is to tell everyone that in our spiritual practice we must prevent wrongdoings and stop evil. We must eliminate ignorance and delusions of views and thinking, plus dust-like delusions. On an everyday basis, we must always, in all thoughts, uninterruptedly prevent wrongdoings and stop evil. Since we engage in spiritual practice, when a dust storm is blowing outside, the doors and windows of our minds must be shut tightly. If the doors and windows are not completely closed as dust is swirling in the air [outside], the tables and chairs that we have just cleaned will quickly be covered by dust again; the floor that was just swept clean, because the door was not completely shut, must be swept again. There is so much dust again. The door was clearly closed, so why is there so much dust? How did this dust and dirt manage to get in? Although the door was closed, it was not shut tightly. Our mind is also like this. While we are engaging in spiritual practice, we must uphold the precepts. Upholding the precepts is something we must do. We know we should uphold the major precepts, but sometimes we neglect the small ones. This is why we have not yet eliminated our habitual tendencies. So, in our spiritual practice, we must mindfully guard against wrongs and stop evil.

Spiritual practitioners must be constantly vigilant at all times. We cannot let evil thoughts arise. We cannot, when dealing with people or matters, benefit ourselves at the expense of others. We can absolutely never think like this. To have these kind of thoughts is to have evil thoughts. We must not only not take these actions, we must prevent these thoughts from even arising. This is what is meant by “prevent wrongdoings.” Once we take action, we have committed evil. If we are about to do it, we must quickly stop ourselves. This is what is meant by “stopping evil.”

To prevent wrongdoings and stop evil is to truly uphold the precepts. If we are able to strictly abide by the precepts, we will be eliminating ignorance. We will no longer commit evil deeds nor give rise to discursive thoughts. New [discursive thoughts] will not arise while the old ones are eliminated. By eliminating the old ones and not allowing new ones to enter, we will “eliminate ignorance and delusions of views and thinking, plus dust-like delusions.” This dust is very subtle, very subtle delusions. Delusions are ignorance.

So, in the beginning of the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, there are many, many layers of causes and conditions, immeasurable and countless, with no beginning and no end. With these causes and conditions, whether positive or negative, we accumulated so much ignorance over a long time. We must eliminate this and not create any new [ignorance]. If we understand this, when we begin to learn the Buddha’s Way, we will not increase our ignorance nor create more negative affinities with others. Negative causes and negative conditions lead to negative effects and negative retributions; thus we are endless entangled. Look at all the suffering in this world! There is really too much! Since we are learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must remember to stop evil and prevent wrongdoings.

To prevent wrongdoings and stop evil, the most important thing is to eliminate ignorance, delusions of views and thinking and dust-like delusions. We must eliminate all of these and return to our “mind-nature [that] is pure and clear and can thoroughly illuminate time dust-inked kalpas ago.” When we have this purity and clarity, we can very thoroughly illuminate time dust-inked kalpas ago. This is something we should be very clear on. The Buddha had already eliminated ignorance and was not defiled by delusions of views and thinking. So, He has great perfect mirror wisdom; His mind-nature is pure and clear. He is completely clean and pure. What He sees is unobstructed and far-reaching.

“It pervades throughout the Three Periods from beginning to end and across all of the Dharma-realms.” No matter how many countless past lifetimes, it pervades [throughout the Three Periods]. The Three Periods are the past, present and future. The Buddha truly seized the moment and thus thoroughly understood [everything]. This is the state of the Buddha. Since the state of the Buddha was one of complete and thorough understanding, He came to tell us of these wondrous, inconceivable causes and conditions. From Beginningless Time until now, being able to be pure and to frequently listen to the Dharma comes from a deep affinity with the Buddha.

If we are able to understand and know about the Buddha-Dharma now, but we are unable to thoroughly [grasp it] or our understanding becomes interrupted, it must be from one thought of ignorance. We follow our external conditions to continuously pursue these external states, worldly desires and so on. We continuously reproduce ignorance, fall into the Three Evil Destinies and transmigrate through the Six Realms. This is all from subtle causes and conditions. So, the Buddha used His utmost efforts to lead us and help us understand and return to our past causes and conditions.

Thus, the previous sutra passage says, “I, with the power of the Tathagata’s understanding and views, observe those things long ago and far away as if they are here today. At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.”

Sakyamuni Buddha had great self-confidence. “I have the Tathagata’s understanding and views. I use the Tathagata’s understanding and views,” which is to use a pure and undefiled [mind] to thoroughly understand the universe. “I can understand everything in the past as if it [happened] today.” He could remember perfectly clearly. This was what Sakyamuni Buddha said of Himself.

Because this meaning is very deep, it says, “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.” He worried that they did not understand, so He spoke again. “To restate His meaning [He] spoke this verse.” Using verse form [He] clarified it one more time.

In the next passage, the verses state, “As I think of past lifetimes infinite, boundless kalpas before, there was a Buddha, a Two-Footed Honored One, named Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior.”

The verses further describe how. Sakyamuni Buddha, the World-Honored One, engaged in self-contemplation. “As I think” means that He again calmly engaged in contemplation. He calmed His mind and contemplated past lifetimes. He had been through so many countless kalpas, a very, very long time. This was what He had gone through. “There was a Buddha, a Two-Footed Honored One, named Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior.” This Buddha was already replete in both blessings and wisdom. He had both blessings and wisdom.

How did Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha come to be named Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior? Furthermore this Buddha was replete in both blessings and wisdom [He] was also replete with great spiritual powers and with great power of wisdom. He was “superior to the Three Vehicles.” This Buddha’s blessings, wisdom and spiritual powers were very complete, surpassing those of the Hearers, Solitary Realizers and Bodhisattvas. So, He was “superior to the Three Vehicles.”

This Buddha, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior, “3000 dust-inked kalpas ago” manifested in this world. It was 3000 dust-inked kalpas ago that a Buddha appeared. His name was Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior, this Tathagata.

Before He became a monastic, this Buddha fathered 16 princes. These 16 princes were born before Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha became a monastic. These 16 princes also became monastics, practiced as novices and “heard the Lotus Sutra from that Buddha.” They heard the Lotus Sutra from. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. After Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra to them, He entered Samadhi for a very long time. So, after these 16 novices heard the [teachings] of the Lotus Sutra, they took the Lotus Sutra completely to heart, put it into action and with what they learned, went among people to transform sentient beings. They likewise ascended the [Dharma]-throne and, for sentient beings and the assembly, once again taught the Lotus Sutra.

Of these 16 novices, the 16th one, after beginning in this way, continuously engaged in spiritual practice lifetime after lifetime. Now He has already attained Buddhahood. That person is the present Buddha, Sakyamuni. “The 16th novice attained Buddhahood.” He is our present day guiding teacher, “Sakyamuni Tathagata. Those who had listened to the 16th novice expounding the Dharma are the assembly seated here today.” Those seated here today refers to those in Sakyamuni Buddha’s lifetime. Sakyamuni Buddha said, “You who are seated here today were in Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s era. When I taught the Lotus Sutra, we formed affinities that have lasted to this day.”

So, “The assembly here today had, during the era, of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, formed affinities with the 16th novice. Therefore, today, under Sakyamuni Tathagata, they are able to listen to the Lotus Sutra and achieve realizations and attain the fruits”

[The affinities from] the era of the 16 princes have continued to today. “Today” refers to more than 2000 years ago, when Sakyamuni Tathagata bestowed predictions on those in the assembly. Because they had awakened, after the Chapter on Bestowing Predictions, the Buddha again told the assembly of 500 people that they could receive predictions of Buddhahood. Now, He began; there were still 500 in the assembly who would receive predictions of Buddhahood. These were all those who, in the past, formed affinities in the era of those 16 novices. When the Buddha manifested in this world, He first bestowed predictions on them. In the future, these people will be able to attain Buddhahood.

The next sutra passage states, “Suppose a man used his strength to grind up all of the lands in the great trichiliocosm and turned all of these grains of earth completely into ink. Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot, continuing on in this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted.”

This is talking about the past era countless kalpas ago of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. “Suppose a man used his strength to grind up….” This was such a long time ago. “All of the lands in the great trichiliocosm” would be ground up by his strength, all the lands in the trichiliocosm would be ground. Everything on the ground would become grains and then ink. After passing through 1000 lands, one spot would be inked. We have spoken about all of this before. He “continued on in this way.” This was a very long time ago. All grains of earth became dust.

Grains of earth: Earth is one of the four elements. It can give life to causes for phenomena of form. Hence these are called grains. Grains of earth refer specifically to the element of earth in the great chiliocosm.

“Grains of earth” refers to how. “Earth is one of the four elements.” Of earth, water, fire and air, earth can “give life to causes for phenomena of form.” So, “grains of earth” refer specifically to the great trichiliocosm and is referring to the element of earth.

When it comes to form, all things come from the land. If things spring forth from the land, there is a seed beneath the land. So, all things have causes for phenomena of form. Everything we see has its principles. Physical things have physical principles; this is the phenomena of form. Our lives also follow principles of life; this is also form. “I am this kind of person, this age. You are this kind of person, at this age.” We all undergo childhood and adulthood, youth and old age. Everyone’s physiology is continuously changing. This is the phenomena of form,

to say nothing of the things that we see, the things our eyes come in contact with. Whether it is the light or the background, or the things we are sitting on, or the ceiling we look up to see, these are all phenomena of form. So, [earth is] one of the four elements; all things have the cause for the phenomena of form. They all originate from earth. So, “grains of earth” mean that all things begin in the ground. “Grains of earth” refers to the great trichiliocosm.

Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot: He passes through 1000 Buddha-lands before inking one spot of dust. He passes through 1000 lands: This refers to the realm one Buddha transforms, which is the great trichiliocosm.

The “elements of the earth” are all like this. So, “Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot.” He passes through 1000 Buddha-lands “before inking one spot.” Every Buddha has great Buddha-lands. Thus, he passes through 1000 lands. This refers to the realm one Buddha can transform, which is the great trichiliocosm. He passes through 1000 lands and inks one spot. After passing through another 1000 lands, he inks another spot. In this way he passes through 1000 Buddha-lands. He passes through 1000 Buddha-lands in this way. “Then after passing through 1000 lands, he would finally ink one spot.” This is referring to Buddha’s transformation realm. It is the great trichiliocosm. So, a Buddha’s transformation realm is one great trichiliocosm. Imagine, how large is that? This is an analogy. “For every 1000 lands he passes through, he inks one spot. the 999 lands that he passed over” were the lands that were not inked. “There are great quantities of ink and only [small] drops.”

He would finally ink one spot: For every 1000 lands he passes through, he inks one spot. The 999 lands that he passed over are the lands not inked. There are great quantities of ink and only [small] drops.

The inking was like this. Some places were not inked; not every place was inked. So, after many lands, only one was inked. This is to show there were many dust-inked kalpas

Continuing on in this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted: From 1000 Buddha-lands to another 1000 Buddha-lands, he again inks one spot. In this way, he exhausts all the ink from the grains of the earth of the lands of the trichiliocosm. This shows how many lands he has passed through.

“[He continued] on in this way until all the ink from the dust was exhausted. From 1000 Buddha-lands to another 1000 Buddha-lands,” going from 1000 Buddha-lands to the next 1000, “he again inks one spot. In this way, he exhausts all the ink from the grains of earth of the lands of the trichiliocosm is exhausted.” This shows that he passed through many lands.

It really was a very great number. There were so many lands that were all ground to dust to ink the land. How much time did this [represent]? The sand on the ground was all considered time. So, it took a very long time!

Thus, this sutra passage really does require us to use great wisdom to understand it. It is telling us that all of us, from Beginningless Time, already have a pure and undefiled intrinsic nature. But we have the dusts of endless ignorance covering it up. So, now we must return to our pure, undefiled nature. As Buddhist practitioners, it is really simple. We must be mindful to realize how to prevent wrongdoings and stop evil. We should not reproduce ignorance. As for the afflictions and ignorance of the past, we must quickly eliminate them, and new ignorance should not be reproduced. This is the most important thing for us to realize. We must always be mindful.

Episode 982 – The Tathagata’s Views are Like a Perfect Mirror

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 >> If one thinks back to the times and happenings of the past few decades, they would be as clear as something right in front of one’s eyes. They can be remembered and recalled. The mind-nature across and throughout many lifetimes can be brought into our present thoughts. Yet ordinary people are sealed within a husk of ignorance, unable to see the Path.

 >> “Fellow bhiksus, suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through, whether inked or not, and grinds them into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa. The time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana is greater than that number by countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

 >> “I, with the power of observe those things long ago and far away as if they are here today’. At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.”      [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

 >>  I, with the power of the Tathagata’s understanding and views: The mind-consciousness is called understanding. The eye-consciousness is called view. This is the power of understanding and views that Buddha Himself realized. It shows what the Tathagata’s wisdom is able to see.

 >> The power of [His] understanding and views: This is the Tathagata’s great perfect mirror wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom is extremely profound. In the ocean of ksetras from the past until now, He can equally reveal all.

 >>  Great perfect mirror wisdom: It clearly reflects all phenomena, thus there is nothing He does not know. This refers to the perfect and enlightening wisdom that all Buddhas intrinsically possess. It responds to all matters but leaves no trace. Its essence never wavers. As it is non-ceasing and non-arising, it neither moves nor changes. It is the everlasting fruition.

 >> [I] observe those things long ago and far away as if they are here today: He observes the past as if it is today. The Buddha has the power of knowing past lives. One thought can reach 10,000 years; one thought arises in an instant.  >> This shows that the Tathagata’s. Three Understandings can illuminate from afar. He revealed these past happenings He mentioned clearly and unmistakably. Next He spoke of the causes and conditions of previous lives.

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“If one thinks back to the times and happenings of the past few decades,
 they would be as clear as something right in front of one’s eyes. They can be remembered and recalled.
The mind-nature across and throughout many lifetimes can be brought into our present thoughts.
Yet ordinary people are sealed within a husk of ignorance, unable to see the Path.”

In life, [everything we experience] comes from our mind-nature. When we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we say that we are learning the teachings, but it would be better to say that it is the mind that learns the Buddha’s teachings. Only when our minds are willing to accept the Buddha-Dharma will the Buddha-Dharma be able to enter our minds. Otherwise, after we pass our life as we have, when this lifetime has passed, will that be the end of it? No, it will not. People will say, “That’s right! This is not all there is. I believe in future lifetimes. I believe we have past lifetimes, this present lifetime and future lifetimes.”

However, just in our daily lives, dealing with people, matters and objects is already difficult enough. How could we ever hope to understand our past and our future? We do not even know what will happen with things in the next few seconds! We do not know even if we will still be safe in the next second. We do not know at all. How could we possibly know the past or future? Nevertheless, we must always try to be mindful.

As we live in this present lifetime, if we make an effort and think back for a moment, we can recall the past. As long as something happened within the past several decades in our present lifetimes, it should still remain fresh in our memories “[It] would be as clear as something right in front of one’s eyes.” If we think back on the past, “[It] can be remembered and recalled.” It appears clearly before our eyes; it should come back very quickly to us.

What is it that enables us to so quickly recall a state of mind we had several decades, or several years earlier? What power allows us to do this? This is the mind-nature. Our memory, when we search it, can recall times from the past to the present. As for space, our environment, where did we live? Where did we come from? We can traverse time and space to recall these. We can look throughout time at the past, or across space to different places. Like this, we go “across and throughout many lifetimes.” We are not simply trying to remember things happening in this present lifetime. What we are also looking back on are times much further back in the past. Just what were our causes and conditions? How long have these causes been accumulating?

This is what it means to go “across and throughout [many lifetimes],” to look far back into the past, to times from the past into the present. How long has it been? How many lifetimes, how many eras have we lived through? How many lifetimes have we continuously experienced? Now, we do not remember how anything was in the past. If we can return to our original nature, return to our pure intrinsic nature, we will gradually come to understand the karmic law of cause and effect.

I do not know if you have heard of the 18 Hells and of King Yama’s palace. The Black and White Ghosts of Impermanence escort people before Yama, the king of hell, where he asks them, “How many evil deeds and how many good deeds have you done in your life?” Everyone wants to justify themselves by saying, “I never did any evil, and I have done a fair amount of good.” However, in front of King Yama is a special mirror. In that mirror, images of your life, your past and everything you have ever done will appear like this one after another. No matter how you argue with him, the evidence will be there before you.

This means that all of the causes and conditions that we create [eventually] come to fruition. None of these seeds, even the smallest, are ever lost. All are stored in the storehouse consciousness in our eighth consciousness. Already, many afflictions and ignorance, as well as all of the evil we have ever done, are all stored in there. If we do not engage in spiritual practice now, we will fundamentally never be able to see into our storehouse consciousness, in which are stored the many causes and conditions from past lifetimes that cause us to arrive in the world. In these circumstances beyond our control, we accumulate so much suffering.

In the history of Tzu Chi, in the Tzu Chi sutra treasury, countless tales of suffering are clearly recorded. Even with story after story, human suffering is impossible to describe! Just take for instance one case in Chiayi. A family there had accumulated so much garbage, so many filthy and dirty things, that as soon as one reached the door and stepped inside, the smell was so bad it was overwhelming!

The house belonged to two brothers, the care recipient and his younger brother, who both lived inside. The care recipient was mentally challenged, and it was impossible for him to work. The younger brother still had the ability to work, so he worked odd jobs for others. Furthermore, the care recipient’s wife was also severely mentally challenged. They had three daughters and one son, and of those three daughters, only the second daughter was mentally normal. So, five of those in this family were all mentally challenged.

When we took the case, naturally our first thought was to clean their house for them, but the younger brother continually refused. We eventually went through the village head, who managed to open up communications with him. After much difficulty, he talked the care recipient’s younger brother into finally becoming willing to accept our help in cleaning out their house. So, we mobilized more than 60 Faith Corp members.

When they saw the toilet, they wondered how anyone could have lived there. As they cleaned, they all kept wondering, “How could anyone possibly live in conditions like these?” So, they carefully taught the family [to clean]. “Come! Come help us clean!” When those who were cleaning in other rooms began moving the beds, they found nothing but trash under them. There were also many cockroaches and rats. You could hear the startled cries of volunteers. That family’s suffering was unbearable.

To clear out all those things, it took six loads with a garbage truck. After everything had been cleared out, then the real cleaning began. They scrubbed, cleaned and swept from the ceiling to the walls to the floor, until everything shone like a mirror. There had even been tile underneath after all! After the tilework had been cleaned and polished, everything became bright and shiny. Then Tzu Chi volunteers then took refurbished beds from the recycling station and brought them there for them to use and arranged everything nicely for them. After refurnishing the place with recycled goods, it made for a very comfortable home.

See, this is how the world is. These are “ordinary people who are sealed within a husk of ignorance, unable to see the Path.” Think about it; if the home of our mind the house in our minds, is like that house, then how will “our mind-nature” ever be “brought across and throughout lifetimes and into our present thoughts”? This would be impossible. If we were to totally clear out all these things so that the home of our mind became totally clean, then our original nature would instantaneously reveal itself in our thoughts.

You should all understand this analogy. By sweeping clean all ignorance and afflictions, our mind-nature naturally becomes pure, and our original nature of True Suchness manifests. This can all happen in a single thought. What a pity that with one thought of ignorance, life after life we continue to transmigrate as unenlightened beings. We are sealed within our own husks of ignorance. We cannot see the Path. We do not even know how to walk the path that is ahead of us. So, we must put our effort into being mindful. This lifetime we have now is precious, as are these conditions that enable us to listen to the Dharma together. So, we should make good use of this opportunity, make good use of every moment of every day. We must cultivate contemplation and always abide in the Dharma, never allowing it to leak away.

Furthermore, in this way, with the Buddha-Dharma as our guide we can understand the distant past through an analogy. This should not be difficult. If we can eliminate the filth of afflictions and ignorance, then naturally we will gradually come to understand this principle. The road should be right in front of us. We just need to not let the husk of ignorance seal us up. Once we break it open, we see the road has been right in front of us. So, we must work hard and always be mindful.

The previous passage states, “Fellow bhiksus, suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through, whether inked or not, and grinds them into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa. The time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana is greater than that number by countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.”

This is a very long time ago, a very long time in the past! If he uses the ink to mark a spot, then crosses 1000 lands before marking another small spot, the lands he will pass will be many indeed. Whether marked by a drop of ink or not, if these thousands of lands he passed through were all taken together and ground into powder, were ground into dust, then imagine the time that this [represents]; it would be immeasurable indeed! It would be countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas, a very long time. There is no analogy for this exact number.

The next passage continues on to say, “I, with the power of the Tathagata’s understanding and views, observe those things long ago and far away as if they are here today’. At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.”

Sakyamuni Buddha said, “I, with the power of the Tathagata’s understanding and views….” By using the pure awakened wisdom of undefiled True Suchness to view things that happened long ago in the past, to view the causes and conditions back then, He could see them as if viewing things today, very clearly. This is what the Buddha told us. He verified things that happened so long ago. He had already encountered countless Buddhas as. He sought the Dharma while transforming others.

I, with the power of the Tathagata’s understanding and views: The mind-consciousness is called understanding. The eye-consciousness is called view. This is the power of understanding and views that Buddha Himself realized. It shows what the Tathagata’s wisdom is able to see.

This is His mind-consciousness; mind-consciousness is “understanding.” Eye-consciousness is called “views. This is the power of the understanding and views that the Buddha Himself had realized.” This shows what the Tathagata is able to see with His wisdom. This is saying that when our minds and our eyes observe external states, what arises are called understanding and views. The Buddha used the “understanding and views [He] Himself realized.” These are not the understanding and views of we ordinary people, but the understanding and views of one who has already become awakened. We unenlightened beings only reach our eighth consciousness. Karmic seeds all go to the eighth consciousness. However, the Buddha transcended the eighth to reach the ninth consciousness; these are the understanding and views of a Buddha.

“This is the power of the understanding and views that the Buddha Himself had realized.” This shows what the Tathagata, through His wisdom, is able to see. With His Buddha-wisdom, He transcends what ordinary people [can see]; this is what the Buddha-wisdom of awakened nature is able to see

“The power of [His] understanding and views: This is the Tathagata’s great perfect mirror wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom is extremely profound. In the ocean of ksetras from the past until now, He can equally reveal all.”

The wisdom of the Buddha is profound. From the past until now, it has been such a long period of time. A ksetra is a realm. He passed through so many realms, through lifetime after lifetime of realms, so many that they were like a great ocean. Yet He could reveal them all in a single thought. He could [reveal] absolutely everything as [clearly] as if it was happening today. This is like how our mind-nature manifests. When Buddha-wisdom manifests, when pure enlightened wisdom manifests, we can understand things from the past to present as if they were things happening today. The principle is the same; we will understand them quite clearly.

Ordinary people, after a while, may say, “Oh, why don’t I have any impression of that? I don’t remember that.” But the Buddha’s memory is transcendent. With that kind of perspective, He can remember back many, many lifetimes, can still recall incalculable numbers of things and causes and conditions

Great perfect mirror wisdom: It clearly reflects all phenomena, thus there is nothing He does not know. This refers to the perfect and enlightening wisdom that all Buddhas intrinsically possess. It responds to all matters but leaves no trace. Its essence never wavers. As it is non-ceasing and non-arising, it neither moves nor changes. It is the everlasting fruition.

The mirror can reflect these things, but if they are moved away from the mirror, they will no longer be reflected in it at all. This mirror is forever undefiled, pure and without afflictions. This is great perfect mirror wisdom.

This mirror is everlasting; it is the nature of True Suchness. So, “[As it is] non-ceasing and non-arising, it neither moves nor changes. It is the everlasting fruition.” This is something all of us possess, but right now, we are still practicing in the causal ground. The Buddha has already attained Buddhahood, and that fruition is everlasting. His mirror, with that fruition, has become so completely clear. This has already manifested. It has been polished [through spiritual practice]. This is just like that house where so many people polished and swept. As a result, it began to shine. In the same way,

[I] observe those things long ago and far away as if they are here today: He observes the past as if it is today. The Buddha has the power of knowing past lives. One thought can reach 10,000 years; one thought arises in an instant.

He “observes those things long ago and far away as if they are here today” The mirror of the Tathagata’s mind is like this. Although it reflects both good and evil, in regard to good and evil, the Buddha can distinguish everything very clearly. So, He came to the world to teach the Dharma to sentient beings, to let us know that suffering comes from creating so many negative causes that result in negative retributions, in facing negative effects. The Buddha had to know of these evil things, while also teaching us how to do good. These were the Buddha’s understanding and views. “He observes those things long ago and far away as if they are here today.” Now everything is understood. Things of the past have become perfectly clear.

So, “He observes the past as if it is today.” When thinking of past things, they are as clear as if right in front of Him. This is Buddha-wisdom, “the Buddha’s power of knowing past lives.” He can remember so far back that He can go 10,000 years in the past in a single thought. In a thought, He can go back 10,000 years. Not only could He go back 10,000 years, He could go back countless kalpas in the past. This is in an instant, in the span of a thought. He could go back countless kalpas, countless thousands of years, all in the space of a single thought

This shows that the Tathagata’s. “Three Understandings can illuminate from afar. He revealed these past happenings He mentioned clearly and unmistakably. Next He spoke of the causes and conditions of previous lives.”

The Three Understandings are the Three Insights, insight of the heavenly eye, into previous lives and into the ending of all Leaks. In a Buddha, these three are called the Three Understandings. He thoroughly understood that the.

“Three Understandings can illuminate from afar. He revealed these past happenings He mentioned.” He revealed past causes and conditions, revealed past events, “clearly and unmistakably. Next He spoke of the causes and conditions of previous lives.” These were causes and conditions far in the past, and the Buddha gradually taught them now. So, in the Buddha’s mind, He thoroughly understood the past. With so many principles, for the sake of the profound Dharma and meaning, “At that time” ․”the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning,” continued on in verse.

Dear Bodhisattvas, we must be meticulous and mindful as we learn the Buddha’s teachings. When we use our minds clearly, the Dharma will manifest clearly before us. So, let us always be mindful!

Episode 981 – Endless Dust Particles and Ceaseless Kalpas

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>> Like the particles of dust after the ink from the grains of earth is exhausted, the number of worlds is countless. Even a mathematician cannot calculate their boundary. Transcending all numbers, this affinity is long-lasting and vast.

>> “What do all of you think?  In terms of those lands,  can a mathematician  or a mathematician’s disciples  ever know the boundary and  calculate the number of those lands?  No, World-Honored One.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> “Fellow bhiksus, suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through, whether inked or not, and grinds them into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa. The time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana is greater than that number by countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]

>> Fellow bhiksus: The Buddha called out to the assembly to again remind them to contemplate carefully. Suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through: This refers to all the lands that the person inking those spots has passed through.

>> Whether inked or not [he] grinds them into dust: He further takes all the lands inked and all the lands not inked and grinds them all into dust. If the particles of dust are compared to kalpas, the [length of time] is greater than that number. >> One particle of dust represents one kalpa, the time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana: From the beginning of Beginningless Time, or beginning with Beginningless time,  the kalpas represented by dust particles are the time since Great Unhindered Buddha entered Parinirvana. This time surpasses the number of dust particles. The many tiny particles of dust are describing the number of kalpas.

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“Like the particles of dust after the ink from the grains of earth is exhausted,
the number of worlds is countless.
Even a mathematician cannot calculate their boundary. Transcending all numbers, this affinity is long-lasting and vast.”

“Like the particles of dust after the ink from the grains of earth is exhausted….” If all the dust particles and all the things [in a trichiliocosm] are ground into ink, “The number of worlds is countless.” After passing every 1000 lands, a spot is inked. In this way, with so much ink, so many lands are passed over between spots until the ink is used up. How vast [an area] is this? There is no way to use numbers to measure it. How extensive is the boundary of these lands? Even when mathematicians and their disciples joined in to help calculate, they still cannot understand the boundary. It is truly a lot. It is impossible to describe their amount or the extent of their border. It is already beyond all the numbers. It tells us that “This affinity is long and vast.” Whether the time or amount of lands, when such numbers are used to express the number of kalpas, to express time, that time is incalculable. This represents how truly, “The beginning of Beginningless Time or that which begins in Beginningless Time is that which has no end and no beginning.” This is a very long time.

Sakyamuni Buddha, at that time, began to create His affinities with. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. He started to form aspirations to listen to the Dharma, understand the Dharma, take the Dharma to heart and then expound and explain the Dharma. Clearly, as Sakyamuni already reached Buddhahood, He must have engaged in spiritual practice over such a long period of time. For such a long time, He had engaged in spiritual practice until causes and conditions matured. His vow was to come to the Saha World, the world with the most suffering, where the Five Destinies co-exist. He came to this world of endurance for one great cause, to “open and reveal,” hoping that we can all experience, “realize and enter” [His understanding and views].

The Buddha, beginningless kalpas before, kalpas with no beginning or end, started to seek the Dharma and transform others. He extensively formed good affinities with people. He went among people to benefit them and formed good affinities with sentient beings. As He went among the people, He incessantly experienced suffering. He chose to come to this world, particularly the kingdom of Kapilavastu in [Ancient] India. For such a long time, this place had a feudal system, and the four castes were strictly segregated. When someone was born as a Ksatriya, they believed every they would remain in the caste of the royalty life after life, always in a noble family. When a person was born as a businessman, made lots of money and had a wealthy household, [he would stay] in this kind of caste. Some remain only butchers by profession, in that kind of caste. Or some people were untouchables. The castes were clearly segregated. They assumed they would stay the same, lifetime after lifetime.

As for the religious practitioners, they were always above the noble caste. They stood on the shoulders of the nobility. They were called the Brahmins. In an environment of such complicated philosophy, complicated religions and complicated caste discrimination, life was full of suffering. “How can I help people to treat everyone equally?” This was Prince Siddhartha’s thought back then. He also observed birth, aging, illness and death.

Whether one was a religious practitioner, a wealthy person, or in the untouchable caste, one still faced birth, aging, illness and death. Doesn’t this show human nature is equal? So, the Buddha wanted to investigate how to transform this kind of thinking. Thus, He became a monastic to investigate the principles of the world.

In a state of tranquility, He transcended this world. All principles of time, space and relationships were understood by him. However, breaking the caste system was still very difficult. Not many people had a chance to listen to Dharma. In that era, with their [level of] technology, with people’s thinking not yet being open, the Buddha-Dharma could not quickly spread. Unfortunately, the Buddha only lived in this world for 80 years. Thus, in this world, to explain the principles so that everyone can be clear, so that all humans can be treated equally, so we can return to True Suchness, is not easy!

But now in Nepal, [in 2015,] the discrimination between the castes has started to loosen. We see the noble class there, because of the earthquake there, starting to interact with the poor, the people they used to call untouchables. They were able to draw near to them and embrace them. Moreover, when they gave, they bowed down to them. This was the way they gave to the poor; they even hugged and patted their backs. This never happened in the past.

I have seen the footage that they sent to me. In order to put together a tea party to show their gratitude for Tzu Chi, two businessmen and their families got involved and even put on our culinary aprons and uniforms. What did they do after putting on this apparel? They went to serve food to the guests. They introduced our rules in this place. When it was time to eat, they served the food. Serving food also has its humanistic culture. These two rich businessmen were lined up to serve the food and even wore the culinary uniform to help serve food to others.

These businessmen and the volunteers made no distinctions between the different ethnicities. So, this event was one of true ethnic equality. This power of love coming together just [comes together so well], mixed together in such harmony. This is not a simple matter at all! Seeing this kind of situation, we know the Dharma is spreading in the Saha World. This was also the reason why the Buddha became a monastic. The Buddha did not live to see this scene of people working together harmoniously; such a pity! But, I believe that the Buddha is still among the people. He would never leave us in any lifetime. Perhaps He also manifests this kind of appearance in His land and is one of those who is mobilizing other people.

This means that the Buddha, for such a long time, has repeatedly come to this world. Does He bring karma or the Dharma with Him? He takes advantage of causes and conditions, the causes and conditions for Him to start implementing [the Dharma] in that place. The true principles and the Buddha-Dharma are starting to be promoted in that place once again. I saw them providing free medical service to the bhiksunis. They were so meticulous; before the free clinic they gathered everyone and talked about the “spirit of the bamboo banks.” They told the story of Tzu Chi, then shared with everyone the song. “The Spirit of Great Love” and led them to perform the sign language of this song.

Among them, there was also a soldier. He shared his feeling and said in “The Spirit of Great Love,” the most touching part was the final verse about “long-lasting compassion and great love.” He felt long-lasting compassion and great love indeed pervade and fill the universe. “Long-lasting compassion and great love pervade and fill the universe,” forever without end. The power of love is just like this. Such a short phrase was able to bring out the wisdom in his mind, and the principles within him were awakened.

So, it does not matter whether the Dharma is spread to the west or to the east. In the past the Buddha-Dharma was spread east; now we spread the principles to the west and return them to the Buddha’s land. This Dharma is pervading the universe. This is a very joyful matter.

The previous sutra passage states the following, “What do all of you think?  In terms of those lands,  can a mathematician  or a mathematician’s disciples  ever know the boundary and  calculate the number of those lands?  No, World-Honored One.”

The amount of time in kalpas that has passed is so long. When we talk about pervading the universe, it is long-lasting compassion and great love that fills the universe. They last forever without end. It truly has been an endless amount of time, such a long time, that the Buddha-Dharma has been passed down.

The next sutra passage states, “Fellow bhiksus, suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through, whether inked or not, and grinds them into dust, and one particle of dust represents one kalpa. The time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana is greater than that number by countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.”

“That Buddha” refers to. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. A long, long time ago lived Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. He taught the Dharma for an even longer time. He spent a very, very long time, an incalculable amount of time teaching the Dharma. Then after teaching the Dharma, He entered Parinirvana. After His Parinirvana, another long period of time passed, “greater than the number of countless, boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.” Such a long period of time has already passed.

So, “fellow bhiksus” means the Buddha called out “to again remind them to contemplate carefully.” Everyone must consider this mindfully.

Fellow bhiksus: The Buddha called out to the assembly to again remind them to contemplate carefully. Suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through: This refers to all the lands that the person inking those spots has passed through.

“Suppose this person takes all the lands he has passed through. This refers to all the lands that the person inking those spots has passed through.” These are the lands that he already passed through. It has been such a long time, and the places he passed cover such a vast area. This [analogy] expresses the length of the time and the vastness of the space [he passed through]. These are truly boundless; it is such a long time.

Whether inked or not [he] grinds them into dust: He further takes all the lands inked and all the lands not inked and grinds them all into dust. If the particles of dust are compared to kalpas, the [length of time] is greater than that number.

“Whether inked or not, [he] grinds them into dust.” Whether inked or not inked, all the lands are ground into dust. Thus, “[all the lands] ground into dust” are used to represent the number of kalpas “[The length of time] is greater than that number.” To explain this amount of time, the Buddha used an analogy of so many lands and all things in them. Already there are so many particles of dust, then all of these things are ground into dust. Each dust particle represents one kalpa. Even in the present, there is so much dust just from sweeping the floor. The Buddhist sutras often mention kalpas as numerous as the sands in the Ganges River. But [this period] is longer than that. Now, not just the sands in the Ganges River but a great trichiliocosm is all ground into dust to become particles as numerous as the kalpas. The time represented by the dust particles, one dust particle per kalpa, is very long. It is truly a very long time.

“Every 1000 lands he passes through, he inks one spot. These are the lands that were inked. The 999 lands that he passed over” are the lands not inked. After he inks a spot, he has to pass over 999 lands before inking another spot. Those lands that were not inked, those 999 lands, would likewise be ground into dust. “Taking all these lands, inked or not inked,” both those inked or not inked, all these lands, all the lands in the trichiliocosm, would be ground. “This shows how much dust there is.”

One particle of dust represents one kalpa, the time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana: From the beginning of Beginningless Time, or beginning with Beginningless time,  the kalpas represented by dust particles are the time since Great Unhindered Buddha entered Parinirvana. This time surpasses the number of dust particles. The many tiny particles of dust are describing the number of kalpas.

There are so many dust particles. “One particle of dust represents one kalpa, the time since that Buddha entered Parinirvana. From the beginning of Beginningless Time, or beginning with Beginningless Time,” this is truly a very long time. “One particle of dust” is one kalpa. “Great Unhindered Buddha entered Parinirvana.” The time since His entering Parinirvana is “greater than that number by countless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.” It continues to repeat like this to explain the number of particles representing time. Kalpas are as many as “the tiny particles of dust.” What is being said here is that the time is truly very long

Greater than that number by countless, boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas: This time surpasses the number of dust particles. The many tiny particles of dust are describing the number of kalpas. “This is the number of kalpas equal to the dust; from when. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha left up till now, that is the number of kalpas.” Such a long time has passed since then. From when Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior left all the way to the present, that number of kalpas has passed. That is from the present. The number of kalpas is talking about time, about how long it would be. “There is more than this”; it is even longer. It has been a long time from when Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha entered Parinirvana up to the present. It has probably been a very long time, “long and distant as it is.”

That is it. It is tiring just to describe such a long time. It indeed is very long. It is “countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.” Earlier, it was said that it is inconceivable. Thus, “Before a dust-inked kalpa ago.” Before this dust-inked kalpa were even more kalpas. So, it is the beginning of Beginningless Time, and it is always difficult to describe it.

If clarification is needed, first, it is said that “3000 dust-inked kalpas means” grinding the things in a great trichiliocosm into ink.

We grind the things in the great trichiliocosm into powder and add water to make ink. After passing a great trichiliocosm, a spot is inked. This shows how long the time has been since then. Passing through a great trichiliocosm like this, we ink spots until all the ink is exhausted, “and all the worlds that have been passed” turn into “all of the dust particles.” If a dust particle is used to represent a kalpa, it calculates time; this shows that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior, from His birth to the present, has been through a very long time. We can get a clear idea through this method.

Secondly, it describes 500 dust-inked kalpas. “Grind 500 thousand trillion of asankyas of kalpas and trichiliocosms.” This is even more difficult to explain 500 thousand trillion is so many. A great trichiliocosm has so many dust particles. Passing every 500 thousand trillion [lands], for every asankya [of lands], a spot is inked. When all the dust particles are exhausted, all of the worlds passed over will again be ground into dust. Counting every particle as a kalpa represents the time it took Sakyamuni Buddha to attain Buddhahood and even up to the present. This is an analogy to describe a very long time.

This is to describe the Buddha’s hard work. Sakyamuni Buddha used such a vastly long period of time, practicing and training nonstop. This is “before a dust-inked kalpa ago.” Sakyamuni Buddha had started from kalpas as incalculable as dust particles. “Endless dust particles and ceaseless kalpas” is to explain to everyone that although this ink had been exhausted, although Buddha had already attained Buddhahood in this world, the work of “ceaseless kalpas had not yet stopped.” It had not yet ended. This explains that the Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, still makes vows every lifetime [to come to] this Saha World, to this world of endurance where the Five Destinies co-exist. He uses various forms to manifest in this world. Because “ceaseless kalpas had not yet stopped” and the Buddha’s transformation work has not ended,

Earth Treasury Bodhisattva comprehended His mind, so he made the vow that. “Until hell is empty, I will not attain Buddhahood.” Sentient beings in Sakyamuni Buddha’s Saha World have not comprehended the Buddha-Dharma, the Buddha’s teachings, so the Buddha never gives up and stops. Then, we must be grateful that the Buddha painstakingly comes to this world to teach and transform sentient beings and allow the Buddha-Dharma to be passed down from beginning to end and back to the beginning. There is endless Buddha-Dharma; we are now bringing it back to the Buddha’s birthplace. Seeing how the people in Nepal are starting to break through the caste system, I have the hope that this is a beginning [There is] formation, existence, decay and disappearance. For Nepal, it is the beginning again, the moment of formation. So, everyone, we must always be mindful.

Episode 980 – (修因得果劫國莊嚴)

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>> They cultivated seeds and attained the fruit of exquisite and wondrous lands in their circumstantial and direct retributions. Those Buddhas’ lifespans in the world are extremely long, and They deliver infinite sentient beings. The Right Dharma abides in the world for a long time, and Their followers are numerous. In accord with Their original vows, merits and virtues, Their kalpas and lands are magnificent.

>> “( As an analogy, take all the grains of earth in the great trichiliocosm) Suppose someone were to grind them into ink. Then, passing over 1000 lands to the east, he inked just one spot, a drop as large as a dust particle. Again passing over another 1000 lands, he would ink another spot, continuing on this way until the ink from the grains of earth was exhausted.”    [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]   

>> “What do all of you think? In terms of those lands, can a mathematician or a mathematician’s disciples ever know the boundary or calculate the number of those lands? No, World-Honored One.”     [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 7 – On the Conjured City]   

>> By continuing until all the ink from the grains of earth is exhausted, the number of the lands passed would be immense. With great quantities of ink and small drops, the lands covered would be extensive. Continuing on this way until the ink is used up shows how many lands he has passed.

>> What do all of you think?: In terms of those lands, even a mathematician and his disciples could never calculate their amount or know their number.

>> Then he would take the lands inked and the lands where no spot was inked and grind all of them into dust. Each of these particles of dust is like a kalpa. To get to this number, it would be countless and boundless billions of trillions of asankyas of kalpas. Thus, it is said to be inconceivable.

>> Thus it says, ‘Before a dust-inked kalpa ago, though the ink-marked dusts may be exhausted, there are still endless dust-inked kalpas’. The beginning of Beginningless Time or that which begins in Beginningless Time is that which has no end and no beginning.

>> What do all of you think? What do all of you bhiksus before me think about this?>> No, World-Honored One: This number is so large and the amount so great that it is truly beyond the intellectual power of a mathematician to conceive or to explain verbally. The assembly answered the Buddha: No, they cannot know it.

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“They cultivated seeds and attained the fruit of exquisite and wondrous lands” in their circumstantial and direct retributions. “Those Buddhas’ lifespans in the world are extremely long, and They deliver infinite sentient beings.
The Right Dharma abides in the world for a long time, and Their followers are numerous.
In accord with Their original vows, merits and virtues, Their kalpas and lands are magnificent.”

Since the Chapter on Bestowing Predictions began, we have seen how the Buddha bestowed predictions on His disciples. In the future, how many Buddhas will His disciples serve and make offerings to? How much time will it take? Each of them has different causes, so the Buddha gave predictions of cause and effect. It will take them a very long time. Whenever a Buddha was born into the world, they are always very reverent in serving and making offerings to Him. They use their entire life to seek the Buddha’s Way.

In Sakyamuni Buddha’s era, His land is our Saha World. This is because of Sakyamuni Buddha’s original vows and His merits and virtues. This was His original vow and. His chosen direction of spiritual practice. This is because sentient beings in suffering are those that He wanted to transform. The place where suffering sentient beings are is His spiritual training ground.

In the end, the Buddha wanted to lead everyone into a very ideal and pure world and back to our nature of True Suchness. In this contaminated society and world, how can we go against the current to return to our nature of True Suchness? The current of ignorance is like a very strong force constantly pushing against us. Our spiritual practice is to put our hearts into advancing forward against the current. This means our will to practice must be firm. We must be diligent, understand what is needed in life and earnestly cultivate these causes.

Returning to our nature of True Suchness will take a very long time. Only then will we attain the fruit. So, our ideals are still very far away; we must return to face reality and honestly, earnestly engage in spiritual practice to cultivate our causes. Facing the myriads of suffering sentient beings, we must mindfully seek to realize the suffering in the human realm.

If we do not put effort into being mindful and do not carefully guard our consciousness, when our Six Roots come into contact with the Six Dusts in the external world, a single thought arises in the mind, and we will be unable to discern right from wrong. Seeing a beautiful state or a pleasurable environment, we will follow it. That is right, we will be led away by it. This is how karma follows us [after death]. After we take our last breath, external states will immediately appear. To entice you, your loved ones will call to you. The states you hope for most will appear, and you will follow them. Once you go, the next thing you will experience is “the pain of your body contacting air,” and you are reborn into this world crying.

This is why we engage in spiritual practice; We must learn not to follow these states and carefully guard our minds. Our minds, these causes, must be earnestly protected.

In this Saha World, we listen to Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. It has continued on for more than 2000 years. All of it is about the principle of suffering and the causes of the afflictions we accumulate. We must understand the origin of afflictions so we will know the way to eliminate them. We must clearly understand this suffering. We feel the pain of others’ suffering, so we must go among people to comprehend their suffering.

Recently, isn’t all we have encountered suffering? The earthquake in Nepal was so sudden and strong. It caused so many people to suffer! A few days ago, a group of young people were at Formosa Fun Coast when this colored-powder explosion occurred. Within seconds, so many people caught on fire. Their skin was completely burned off. When something like this happens, what words can be used to describe it? Their revels in heaven suddenly became a fiery hell. There was so much pain.

This occurred at around 8:40 pm. Think about it, the hospital suddenly had so many severely injured patients to deal with. Which hospital would not be overwhelmed? Especially as at that hour in the night, everyone was leaving their shift. We can imagine on the road, so many medical staff were rushing back to their hospitals to save people. In Tzu Chi’s Xindian Hospital alone, when Superintendent Chao heard the news, he also sent out a request, hoping that everyone would quickly return to the hospital to prepare. They were very quick; it was after 9 pm and by 10 all the doctors had returned to our hospital. By 10:40 pm, a Tzu Chi volunteer’s daughter, who was among the injured, arrived at the hospital in a taxi. Beginning with that first person, 13 patients arrived, one after the other.

By the second day, a 20-year-old patient had already passed away. That patient’s mother said, “I have already lost a daughter. I still have my second child, my son.” This [20-year-old] patient had taken her younger brother out to play. The sister loved her younger brother. Although she herself was severely injured, she continuously asked how her little brother was doing. Her brother was also in critical condition. How could a mother bear this?

There was another mother in our hospital whose situation was even more heartbreaking. She was from China, and her husband had [previously] passed away. She was raising two children and hoped to have a stable life in Taiwan. Unexpectedly, her husband, her second husband, also passed away. So, this mother had to find work [to support them]. She knew her daughter’s injury at this time was very severe and there was not much hope. She was already lying intubated in our hospital.

This mother came to us on the second day telling our hospital, “I have to go to work and make a living.” We wanted to give her condolence money, but she said, “No, Tzu Chi has already done enough for me. I only ask that if I cannot make it back in time, since I have to go to work, I beg you to please buy a pretty dress for my daughter to wear.” Our social worker started looking. When he got off work, it was already past 10 pm, but he went to buy an outfit and brought it to the hospital. But it looked like this outfit would be impossible for her to wear because her body had begun to swell.

This incident is the most severe fire disaster in Taiwan’s history. There was such extreme suffering. This is the Saha World, the world of endurance, the place where the Five Destinies co-exist. We must all mindfully seek to realize the causes and conditions of the origin of suffering.

So, we speak of cultivating causes. Just these two words, “cultivating causes,” must be mindfully experienced. The fruits can only be attained after a long time. How do we purify people’s minds? How do we purify minds to make the land pure? It will take a very long time before we can attain “the exquisite and wondrous lands of our circumstantial and direct retributions.”

This will take a very long time. A Buddha’s lifespan in the world is very long, and He transforms infinite sentient beings. Every Buddha that comes to the world must go through a long time of [practice]. But the result is that after a long period of spiritual practice, They attain an exquisite and wondrous land, which is Their transformation land. In attaining Buddhahood, They can have a long life and an exquisite and wondrous land. They must transform many sentient beings to do so.

“The Right Dharma abides in the world for a long time, and Their followers are numerous,” depending on Their process of spiritual practice. “They all follow Their original vows.” All Buddhas follows Their original vows, which are to teach us. Going back to cultivating causes, our goal is to reach this magnificent land, but in the process we must go against the turbid current to return to that beautiful state of mind, to return to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. We must practice according to the teachings, seek the Dharma and transform sentient beings. It takes a long period of time to attain the fruit of that magnificent land.

The previous sutra passage states, “Suppose someone were to grind them into ink. Then, passing over 1000 lands to the east, he inked just one spot, a drop as large as a dust particle. Again passing over another 1000 lands, he would ink another spot, continuing on in this way until the ink ground from the grains of earth was exhausted.”

To use up all of this ink would take a very long time. Only inking one spot after passing 1000 lands, think of how much ink there is! He will continue to mark spots like this, one drop of ink after passing every 1000 lands. That is such a long time! It is so long.

The next sutra passage says, “‘What do all of you think? In terms of those lands, can a mathematician or a mathematician’s disciples ever know the boundary or calculate the number of those lands? No, World-Honored One’.”

Does everyone understand this sutra passage? What do you think, everyone? “In terms of those lands,” these lands discussed, “can a mathematician” [calculate] all this? He passes through 1000 lands and inks a drop, then goes through another 1000 lands and inks another drop, until all the ink is used up. Can we calculate how many lands there are? So, in the sutra, the Buddha says “a mathematician or a mathematician’s disciples.” A mathematician specializes in numbers. His [ability] alone is not enough, so he gathers all his disciples together. Can they calculate it? The disciples’ answer is that they cannot do it. It really is impossible to calculate. World-Honored One, who can calculate it? It really is incalculable

By continuing until all the ink from the grains of earth is exhausted, the number of the lands passed would be immense. With great quantities of ink and small drops, the lands covered would be extensive. Continuing on this way until the ink is used up shows how many lands he has passed.

This is “continuing until all the ink from the grains of earth is exhausted.” All the grains of earth were ground into ink to mark spots on these lands. Truly, “The number of the lands passed would be immense.” Even with professional mathematicians and their disciples, even after gathering many mathematicians together, they all would be unable to calculate it. This is because, “With great quantities of ink and small drops, the lands covered would be extensive.” The ink drop is very small, like a speck of dust. The previous sutra passage said, “small as a speck of dust”; it is so small. He must ink so many lands and continue until no ink is left. This is to show how many lands he passed through.

“What do all of you think? In terms of those lands, can a mathematician or a mathematician’s disciples [do this]?” These mathematicians “could never calculate their amount or know their number”; it is incalculable.

Then he would take the lands inked and the lands where no spot was inked and grind all of them into dust. Each of these particles of dust is like a kalpa. To get to this number, it would be countless and boundless billions of trillions of asankyas of kalpas. Thus, it is said to be inconceivable.

So, “Then he would take the lands inked and the lands where no spot was inked” ․Then he would take the lands inked and the lands where no spot was inked and grind all of them into dust. Each of these particles of dust is like a kalpa. To get to this number, it would be countless and boundless billions of trillions of asankyas of kalpas. Thus, it is said to be inconceivable. This means every 1000 lands are inked by one drop. So, before, after and in between, there are lands that did not get inked. Spots were inked one by one every 1000 lands. Some are inked, and some lands have not been inked. These are all gathered together and ground again into dust. Each speck of dust is an analogy for one kalpa. So, in this way, how can we calculate this? Thus it says, “countless and boundless billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas.” These are countless, boundless asankyas of kalpas, billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas. An asankya is impossible to count, to say nothing of calculating the billions and trillions of asankyas of kalpas. “Thus, it is said to be inconceivable”

>> “Thus it says, ‘Before a dust-inked kalpa ago, though the ink-marked dusts may be exhausted, there are still endless dust-inked kalpas’. The beginning of Beginningless Time or that which begins in Beginningless Time is that which has no end and no beginning.”

The meaning is that this happened a dust-inked kalpa before, a very long time ago. These dust-inked specks were already inked over so many lands. But, “There are still endless dust-inked kalpas.” This time had not yet run out. The ink was used up, but time had not yet run out.

“The beginning of Beginningless Time” means the beginning of Beginningless Time. There is no way to explain its beginning. How can it be described? It cannot. “The beginning of Beginningless Time or that which begins in Beginningless Time.” Think about this, it is the beginning of Beginningless Time, or beginning in Beginningless Time. So, when is the beginning? “This is that which has no end and no beginning”

What do all of you think? What do all of you bhiksus before me think about this?

“‘What do all of you think? What do all of you bhiksus before me think about this?’.” The Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, said this to everyone. “What do all of you think about this?” Could any of the bhiksus calculate it? Could they understand? “In terms of those lands,” these lands that had been inked, they were of a great, incalculable number. “A mathematician or mathematician’s disciples” means despite gathering mathematicians from so many lands to calculate it, including their disciples, no one could do it.

Even if a mathematician is only one person, he had many disciples. So many mathematicians and many mathematicians’ disciples came to calculate. Were they able to measure its boundary? It was still bigger! “They could measure the boundary of the world, but could not know the number of inked lands.” There is still no way to do it. So, the answer was that they could not.

No, World-Honored One: This number is so large and the amount so great that it is truly beyond the intellectual power of a mathematician to conceive or to explain verbally. The assembly answered the Buddha: No, they cannot know it.
“No. No, World-Honored One. It cannot be done, World-Honored One.” This is something that cannot be done. “This number is so large and the amount so great that it is truly beyond the intellectual power of a mathematician to conceive.” They could not figure it out by discussing it. This was everyone’s answer.

These mathematicians would be unable to calculate it with their brains. They would not even be able to imagine this amount. Their brains cannot conceive of it. They cannot figure it out by discussing it. So, it is inconceivable. This was everyone’s answer.

This is truly not easy; in the whole great trichiliocosm, if grains of earth were ground into dust and ink, this would really be immeasurable. “And not all lands were inked.” Not every place was inked. We go through 1000 lands to ink one spot. This is a huge amount of spots. There really are too many. The amount of dust particles cannot be understood. “The number of lands passed would be immense.” Even a mathematician cannot calculate it.

This was what the Buddha said in His lifetime. “Can you do it?” Everyone answered, “We cannot.”

“There is no way.” I often say, “There is no way.” What “way” can we use to transform sentient beings? How do we purify and transform sentient beings to change turbidity into a pure stream? How can we go against the surging, turbid flow? How do we all maintain a firm will to practice and go forward amidst difficulties to feel for those who are suffering? When we give to serve others, we realize the true principles of suffering in this world. How can we describe it? Only by relying on our intrinsic Buddha-nature and wisdom equal to the Buddha’s can we realize it. So, we must return to our nature of True Suchness. We must always be mindful.