Episode 68 – The Dharma Is Passed Down to Nurture All
>>The world is at peace. All beings of the four forms of birth coexist in this world. The eight classes of Dharma-protectors will safeguard our minds. They will bless the world with safety and health.
>>The Buddha manifests in this world and uses the path to save all sentient beings. The Dharma is passed down through generations. With loving-kindness, He nurtures all.
>>The eight classes of Dharma-protectors will guard us. Therefore, the sutras often list the assemblies of the eight classes of Dharma-protectors.”
>> There were eight dragon kings: Dragon King Nanda, Dragon King Upananda, Dragon King Sagara, Dragon King Vasuki, Dragon King Takshaka, Dragon King Anavatapta, Dragon King Manasvin [and] Dragon King Utpalaka, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
>>Four kinnara kings: Kinnara King Dharma, Kinnara King Wondrous Dharma, Kinnara King Great Dharma, Kinnara King Upholding Dharma, and each had a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
>> There were four gandharva kings: Gandharva King Music, Gandharva King Musical Sound, Gandharva King Beautiful [and]. Gandharva King Beautiful Sound, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
>> There were also four asura kings: Asura King Bhandi, Asura King Kharakantha, Asura King Vemachitrin, [and] Asura King Rahu, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
>> There were four garuda kings: Garuda King Great Majesty, Garuda King Great Body, Garuda King Great Fullness [and] Garuda King As One Wishes, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
When the four elements are in harmony,
The world is at peace. All beings of the four forms of birth coexist in this world. The eight classes of Dharma-protectors will safeguard our minds. They will bless the world with safety and health.
I often tell everyone that, our minds should be very harmonious, and we must constantly be reverent and vigilant. If our minds are in harmony, and we are reverent, vigilant and hold nature in awe, naturally our prayers will reach all Bodhisattvas, Buddhas, dragons, heavenly beings and. Dharma-protectors, who will guard and bless the world with safety. Since we believe in the eight classes of Dharma-protectors, we should understand where the power to harmonize the four elements comes from.
This power comes from harmonious minds and gratitude for the blessings of heavenly beings, dragons, heavenly kings, etc. I often mentioned these in past lectures, especially in discussing the Earth Treasury Sutra. The wind, water, earth and fire gods, [as recorded] in many sutras, have their own areas of influence and oversee certain things in the world. Therefore, for the four elements to be in harmony, the wind gods, water gods, earth gods and fire gods must also be in harmony. If the four elements are not in harmony, there will be no peace in the world. All beings go through one of four forms of birth. The four forms of birth are womb-born, moisture-born, transformation-born and egg-born. Life must arise through these four forms of birth. Whether we speak of plants, animals, human beings, microorganisms or any other beings, they all coexist in this world. All are born from the earth and nurtured by heaven. If the earth and heaven are imbalanced, living beings face disasters and calamities and cannot achieve a state of well-being. If we want the four elements to be in balance and everything to be safe and sound, we must be reverent and hold nature in awe. If we respect nature and live our lives according to the laws of nature, naturally the eight classes of Dharma-protectors will guard and bless us.
Consider how parents are the most compassionate. But if a child acts too wickedly, even his parents will be disheartened. Although relatives also want to help the child, they are unable to, so they also give up. There are also those who believe that since this child cannot be reformed, some hardship may be beneficial for him. We in the human realm have such mindsets, and so do the eight classes of Dharma-protectors. If they see that people in the world are abiding by natural laws, naturally they will guard and protect us.
Therefore, we must believe that because everyone is a good person, we all deserve the protection of the heavenly emperor and gods. Naturally, “they [will] guard and bless the world with a state of well-being.” We must all have this mindset. We cannot just do what we want and deny the law of karma. I often talk about the law of cause and effect. When we do good deeds, the eight classes of Dharma-protectors will guard and bless us by keeping the four elements in balance. This is how good causes naturally result in good effects. This is the cycle of goodness. If we do bad deeds and create bad causes that lead to bad effects, naturally the eight classes of Dharma-protectors cannot guard or protect us because of our collective karma as sentient beings.
So, we Buddhist practitioners should believe that,
The Buddha manifests in this world and uses the path to save all sentient beings. The Dharma is passed down through generations. With loving-kindness, He nurtures all.
The Buddha manifested in this world and expounded the Dharma solely to forge a broad path. The Buddha has already walked this path, so He comes back to tell us, “You must practice and tame your mind in this way. It is definitely safe to walk this path which leads us back to our intrinsic Buddha-nature.” The Buddha constantly expounded the teachings to bring peace to our minds and to correct our course. So, if we can settle our minds and head toward the right path, naturally we will be free from harm.
“The Dharma is passed down through generations,” so, “with loving-kindness, He nurtured all.” The Buddha expounds the teachings and hopes they can be passed down continuously. This is like our Dharma-lineage and wisdom-life. Our wisdom-life is eternal. Our physical life is fragmentary. Therefore, we experience Fragmentary Samsara. All beings experience Fragmentary Samsara. [We all] live life one fragment at a time. How long will our lifespan [last]? 30 years? 70 years? 80 years? Or 100 years? It depends on our karmic connections to this world. In our past lives, what kinds of karmic connections did we create for this life? Some [created conditions] for a short life. Others [created conditions] for a long life. These are all fragments.
In this world, all sentient beings are subject to Fragmentary Samsara. But we have something that is everlasting, a wisdom-life that does not arise, cease or die. This is what we call wisdom-life. So, our wisdom-life exists forever. But how do we prevent our wisdom-life from ever getting deluded? Only the Buddha-Dharma [can ensure this].
Through the Buddha-Dharma we realize that along with this lifetime, we go through Fragmentary Samsara; this is the law of nature. We already know that we must make the most of the privilege to live this life. The body is a vessel for spiritual practice. With this body, we encounter the Buddha-Dharma in this lifespan. So, we must quickly absorb and understand it. We must experience it in this world. Those who are learning not only absorb knowledge from outside, but also diligently probe [their own minds]. This is [the way to] learn. We must use this time to study hard and gain realizations through learning.
If we learn mindfully, naturally we can realize that life is inherently impermanent. We can realize that we have a permanent and eternal wisdom-life. Thus, we must cherish it. We must use our physical life and cherish our wisdom-life. This is why I tell everyone to take good care of our minds and not allow our thoughts to go astray.
So, in the human realm, the Buddha-Dharma is the path that helps all sentient beings. It enables them to accept this path to enlightenment. The Dharma is [the source of] wisdom-life, so this Dharma-lineage must be passed down continuously. “With loving-kindness, the Buddha nurtures all.” In His compassion, [He used] the Dharma to nurture everyone’s wisdom-life. So, we must be earnest and diligent. We must apply the Buddha’s teachings to our minds and to our daily living. Then our wisdom-life can grow.
To have the protection of the eight classes of Dharma-protectors, we must live according to the rules, focus on spiritual practice, experience the world and go among people [to help them]. Then naturally,
The eight classes of Dharma-protectors will guard us. Therefore, the sutras often list the assemblies of the eight classes of Dharma-protectors.”
Because [they were there], when the Buddha expounded the teachings, the records of the teachings listed the eight classes of Dharma-protectors.
In the Lotus Dharma-assembly, besides the monastics and Bodhisattvas, of course the eight classes of Dharma-protectors were also there. So if we understand this, we can analyze the next portion of the text. How many of those in the eight classes of. Dharma-protectors were there at this assembly? As before, their representatives were listed.
There were eight dragon kings, [who] were the representatives of the dragon gods of water.
There were eight dragon kings: Dragon King Nanda, Dragon King Upananda, Dragon King Sagara, Dragon King Vasuki, Dragon King Takshaka, Dragon King Anavatapta, Dragon King Manasvin [and] Dragon King Utpalaka, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
The eight aforementioned dragon kings represented the dragon gods in the assembly. How many were actually there? There were roughly hundreds of thousands in each of their retinues.
There were also.
Four kinnara kings: Kinnara King Dharma, Kinnara King Wondrous Dharma, Kinnara King Great Dharma, Kinnara King Upholding Dharma, and each had a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
The kinnara kings were the gods of song, and these four leaders were the representatives of the gods of song. Their songs were not common, worldly songs. Everything they sang was a teaching. Because these heavenly gods also took refuge in the Buddha-Dharma, the songs they sang were a method of teaching. Kinnara King Dharma taught the Dharma. Kinnara King Wondrous Dharma could explain the subtle and wondrous meaning of the Dharma with beautiful lyrics. Next, Kinnara King Great Dharma and his retinue engaged in great practices of the Dharma. Not only did they understand it, they had entered and practiced it accordingly. The Dharma the kinnara kings upheld was the Dharma the Buddha realized. When we put the teachings into practice, naturally we are upholding the Buddha-Dharma. This was how the four kinnara kings upheld the Buddha-Dharma.
Next,
There were four gandharva kings: Gandharva King Music, Gandharva King Musical Sound, Gandharva King Beautiful [and]. Gandharva King Beautiful Sound, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
Similarly, out of these huge retinues, these four were the representatives. They were the gods of music. They conducted the instrumental musicians. Their music sounded very beautiful and graceful. The beautiful sounds completely depended on how the musicians were conducted. These were the gods of music.
There were also four asura kings: Asura King Bhandi, Asura King Kharakantha, Asura King Vemachitrin, [and] Asura King Rahu, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
We should all know that asuras are not heavenly beings. Although some existed in the heaven realm, they had heavenly merits but not heavenly virtues. We all know that asuras are short-tempered. With such terrible tempers, how could they be born in heaven? It was because they cultivated giving. However, they did not cultivate their minds. In the human realm, [we also see people like them]. Some people enjoy helping others and are willing to donate money, but they are short-tempered. Besides that, the more they give the more arrogant they become. In this world, there are many givers like them. They cultivated blessings in the human realm, so they were born in heaven. But they did not cultivate their minds, so they easily give rise to anger and rage. In heaven, they often fight with heavenly beings. They are argumentative and belligerent. [Such beings] are called asuras.
Next,
There were four garuda kings: Garuda King Great Majesty, Garuda King Great Body, Garuda King Great Fullness [and] Garuda King As One Wishes, each with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.
[A] garuda is a kind of bird, which is particularly enormous. When they spread their wings, their wingspan is about 13,200 miles wide. We have never seen such an enormous bird. But the garuda birds that we make offerings to every day is this kind of bird. It is the bird that dragons are most scared of, because they loved to eat dragons. Each being has a natural predator. Dragons are scared whenever garuda birds appear. In Indian myths, they were the god of birds. They were very enormous. Did they really exist in this world? [We] do not know.
In short, we should believe that the eight classes of Dharma-protectors each have their own areas of influence and oversee certain things in the world. All things in the world are overseen by a particular god. So, we must understand that these spirits have strong spiritual powers. We must believe in this. How do we believe in this? Isn’t this a deluded superstition? No. The Buddha wants us to be wise in our faith. He wants us to believe that these beings have their own areas of influence, their own things to oversee. Ever since ancient times, all religions have had such legends. Not to mention that Buddhism originated in India. [So], it is better to believe than not.
In conclusion, we should know that everything in the universe has to be in balance. This state of harmony starts with our minds. If our minds are harmonious, our behaviors, actions and the way we interact with people and things will be harmonious. As long as things are in harmony, the world can truly be in a state of peace and joy.
So, fellow Bodhisattvas, fellow practitioners, we do not just learn the Buddha’s Way for ourselves. We must also motivate others to practice it. More importantly, we must hold nature in awe and amass blessed karma. We do not know when our physical existence, this Fragmentary Samsara, will end. But we have ever-lasting wisdom-life. So, we must diligently use this body to engage in spiritual practice. [This applies to] our daily living, the way we deal with people and things, the way we speak and act, and all our behaviors. Everything we do in this universe is watched closely by all spirits and. Dharma-protectors. Therefore, we must be vigilant and reverent, and always be mindful.