Episode 40 – Benefitting Ourselves and Others, We Are at Ease
>> “Having exhausted all Leaks, they had no further afflictions. Having attained benefits for themselves, they had severed all bonds of existence; their minds had attained a state of freedom.”
>> By practicing and learning Samadhi, one has attained perfection and can freely enter and exit all states. One’s mind has attained liberation. This state of freedom is attained through wisdom.
>> Their minds attained a state of freedom but they had not yet achieved complete freedom. Benefiting self and others leads to freedom.
We follow the Buddha’s way to learn how to calm our minds. We must have a “pure and tranquil mind” and “vows as vast as the universe.” A “pure and tranquil mind” means a pure mindset with unwavering aspirations and vows. To have “vows as vast as the universe,” we must make great aspirations; this requires Samadhi. We will attain perfection by practicing Samadhi.
We began to explain earlier that,
“Having exhausted all Leaks, they had no further afflictions. Having attained benefits for themselves, they had severed all bonds of existence; their minds had attained a state of freedom.”
These few phrases should completely describe our state of mind as it turns from the Small to the Great Vehicle Dharma. This requires vows as vast as the universe and great aspirations that are firmly established. So, we must practice Samadhi to attain perfection. Have we already attained this state of perfection by making the vows? Of course, each of us is still an ordinary person. We start from the stage of ordinary people. The problem is not the road being too far, but our unwillingness to take the first step. So, we must all make up our minds.
In the era of the Buddha, people followed Him in their spiritual practice [but] could not instantly make great vows and aspirations. So, the Buddha expounded the Dharma for over 40 years. Finally, He came to the Vulture Peak Assembly and began to turn from the Small to the Great Vehicle. This makes us aware of the right course of spiritual practice. It is not that if we make a vow today, we will fulfill it tomorrow. We must have perseverance.
In the era of the Buddha, it took over 40 years for some to “have attained perfection” and thus “enter and exit all states freely.” True perfection means that, whatever kind of state [we encounter], we can freely enter and exit. In the era of the Buddha, it was very possible for all spiritual practitioners, whether lay or monastic, to uphold precepts. They followed the Buddha in spiritual practice so they were all considered part of the Sangha. Though the Buddha taught them diligently, it was hard to say how many afflictions those spiritual practitioners could eliminate after they heard and retained the teachings. However, the Buddha still explained that once we have made great aspirations, our mindset should freely enter and exit any state. So, it is very important for one’s mind to attain liberation; this state of freedom can only be attained through wisdom.
By practicing and learning Samadhi, one has attained perfection and can freely enter and exit all states. One’s mind has attained liberation. This state of freedom is attained through wisdom.
There is such an example in a Buddhist koan. An old spiritual practitioner, Jin Bi-feng was very skilled at entering the state of Samadhi. When he entered into the state of Samadhi, he truly felt the emptiness of all things. Due to his great spiritual practice, the king awarded him a purple-gold alms bowl. When Monk Jin Bi-feng received the alms bowl, he was very joyous. Because of his spiritual practice, he had originally felt that nothing was important, and he felt indifferent toward material goods. But when the king gifted him this purple-gold alms bowl, he felt it was the most precious thing in his life. So, every day he cared for this golden alms bowl.
One day, the King of Hell found out that the lifespan of this practitioner, Jin Bi-feng, had run out, so he sent his minions and told them, “Go and find this Jin Bi-feng and bring him here quickly.” These two minions arrived at the temple to look for the elderly monk. At that place, they only saw his physical body, but where was his soul? They could not find it. Soon, it was the time to report back, what could the minions do? They turned to a local guardian deity for advice.
The local deity told them, “With his spiritual practice, he has attained liberation, so if he has entered Samadhi, you will not find him. He has already transcended the Desire Realm, so you cannot find him. What can we do? If we cannot find him we cannot fulfill our mission.” The local deity said, “I’ll tell you, he has been liberated from most things in the world, and his mind is free and at ease. But the one thing he loves most is the purple-gold alms bowl. Find this purple-gold alms bowl and lightly tap on it three times. When the alms bowl emits a sound, he will naturally return.”
So, the minions searched the surroundings and found the alms bowl hidden in the closet. The minions took it out and followed the deity’s instructions by tapping on the alms bowl; it rang three times. The monk heard the sound of his gold alms bowl and thought, “Who touched my gold alms bowl?” So, he [was drawn out of] the state of Samadhi and hurriedly went to check on his bowl. The minions caught him and said, “Your hour has come.” He said, “When I was in the state of Samadhi, you could not find me. Now what method did you use to find me?” The minions repeated what the local guardian deity had said, “Your heart still has cravings. You are still attached to this place. There still exists a subtle desire in your heart. Because your mind is not yet free and at ease, when I tapped on the alms bowl three times, you returned.”
“I see. If my lifespan is at an end, that is fine; but give me a little bit more time. Then I will immediately go with you. Sure, I will give you a little bit more time.” He took out the purple-gold alms bowl and said, “It is because of you that my heart is not free. I have practiced for decades and. I have already attained liberation. It is because of you that. I still have some afflictions.” So, he threw it down with great force and broke it. He then quickly sat back in his seat and rushed into the state of Samadhi. Indeed, the minions could not find him again.
Everyone, though we do not know how long ago this story happened, it can still serve as a warning to us. Spiritual practice is a great undertaking, and we will often face small afflictions. Those subtle afflictions cover our bright, radiant wisdom. Afflictions make that bit of difference. If we do not eliminate that bit of affliction, attaining true freedom of the mind is difficult.
We now use the Lotus Sutra as our guide. A very important part of the Lotus Sutra is the prediction of when Hearers would attain Buddhahood. In that assembly, Arhats and all bhiksus came to understand the Dharma by hearing the teachings. Because the sounds penetrated their hearts, they awakened and understood the truth. Therefore, the ones who truly understood the truth grew in wisdom. The Buddha was followed by this group of over 12,000 bhiksus and great Arhats. At that place, He announced. His prediction of how many people would attain Buddhahood in the future. This is a special feature of this sutra.
Those who can fulfill that prediction must have “exhausted all Leaks, had no further afflictions.” [One who attained] this state was praised for having a mind free of afflictions. So, first they “attained benefits for themselves. Having attained benefits for themselves” refers to what they already achieved. It identifies that in the past, they did not practice for others’ benefit. What they had attained was benefits for themselves. They practiced according to the Dharma in their hearts, so they benefited themselves. Haven’t I been saying this for a few days? This shows they did not practice to benefit others among their choices of practice. They engaged in their own spiritual practice, put in their own effort and hard work. They were willing to be diligent and willing to make an effort. They earnestly listened to the Dharma, and after hearing it, earnestly set about eliminating afflictions. These all refer to psychological afflictions. As for benefitting ourselves, if we can each eliminate our spiritual afflictions, that is to our own benefit.
So, it is often said, “Teachers point the way, but the practice depends on the students.” Are you all cultivating virtues in your minds? Are you minding your virtuous conduct? If you can attain understanding after hearing, then you must let “virtue” enter your mind. Once we reach a certain level of spiritual attainment, then we will be virtuous. So first comes “attainment,” then “virtue.” After we have attained this Dharma, do we practice it? With practice, we will attain virtue. We cultivate virtues to benefit ourselves, but we have not yet done anything to benefit others.
I have spoken before about being worthy of offerings. If we want to accept other’s offerings, we must also destroy thieves, end evil and scare demons. Then we are worthy of offerings; worthy of the offerings of material goods, the offerings of reverence, and [the offerings of] conduct according to our guidance. We must resolve to be a teacher so we can influence and motivate others. So, before this stage, before we lead others, we need to train our minds. We need to seriously cultivate our virtues. Then, we will be able to receive recognition and respect from others. So, in this way, we can lead the assembly without obstructions. This is benefiting ourselves first so we can benefit others.
If we benefit only the self, it shows we do not benefit others. In the past when we had not yet benefited others, we could not attain complete freedom because that freedom was not exhaustive. This means we still had bits of attachments. There is a saying, “An Arhat fears causes.” As we embark on our spiritual practice, we should no longer force conditions. Haven’t I said this before? We should eliminate cause and effect, shouldn’t we? But because we have attachments, we do not take good care of sentient beings. The Buddha came to this world to care for sentient beings, to rescue and transform them. But in this training ground if we stop at benefiting the self, we have not yet reached the stage of making vows.
In the next section of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha offered the Dharma to everyone. In the future, who would be willing to save and teach sentient beings in the Saha World? Who would be willing? Even among those predicted to attain Buddhahood, no one said yes. Why was this? In this world, sentient beings are stubborn and difficult to transform and train. So, nobody dared [to accept]. This required making great aspirations and vows. [Their minds] were not yet free so they did not dare. So, though “[their minds] attained freedom,” were they completely free and at ease? Not yet.
This was indeed very hard work. The Buddha led so many monastics; He praised those worthy of praise and predicted who would attain Buddhahood. Before the assembly ended, the Buddha wanted to hand over His burden but nobody dared accept it. This shows that they had not attained complete freedom. The true teachings of the Buddha had not been realized by these spiritual practitioners, so they had not attained genuine freedom. But the Buddha praised them, saying their minds had attained freedom, because this was His expectation. He hoped His disciples’ minds would attain freedom.
Their minds attained a state of freedom but they had not yet achieved complete freedom. Benefiting self and others leads to freedom.
Everyone, I also have the same hopes. Every disciple must make great aspirations, broaden their minds and establish great vows. Amidst so many interpersonal conflicts, we should remain simple. Let bygones be bygones. If your hand has dirt on it, wash it off and be clean. I hope everyone applies this principle to their daily living. By grasping one truth, we understand all truths and can deal with multitudes of sentient beings and freely enter and exit all kinds of circumstances. Whether we can do so depends on our state of mind. Otherwise, it will be harder to benefit the self and others. So, true freedom and ease comes from being able to benefit the self and others. That is true freedom;
we are only just achieving it now. “Attainment” should lead to freedom. But whether it is true freedom or not depends on us. So, I hope every one of us still works hard in that state of ease. So, we must always be mindful.