Episode 70 – Initiate the Opportunity to Request Teachings
>> Initiate the opportunity to request teachings. Those who hear and comprehend the teachings are those whose capabilities are suitable. Even those who hear the Dharma without realizations can still create conditions to be part of a future assembly.
>> “There was Vaidehi’s son, King Ajatasatru, with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.”
>> “Each made obeisance to the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to one side and sat down. At that time, the World-Honored One was circumambulated by the fourfold assembly. They respectfully made offerings and honored and praised the Buddha.”
Every day, we have the good karmic conditions to gather in one place to listen to [the teachings] and expound sutras. These are great karmic conditions. ․Therefore, we must cherish them. Even in the era when the Buddha taught, a lot depended on karmic conditions. To initiate the opportunity to request teachings, there had to be a speaker and listeners present. This required the proper karmic conditions. Therefore, the following was said:
Initiate the opportunity to request teachings. Those who hear and comprehend the teachings are those whose capabilities are suitable. Even those who hear the Dharma without realizations can still create conditions to be part of a future assembly.
So, hearing teachings requires karmic conditions. Under certain karmic conditions, some have this opportunity. Take Vaidehi for example. She and her husband worked hard to raise their son in the palace. In his youth, their son made a bad friend, Devadatta, so he became rebellious. Originally, she had hoped her son would ascend the throne in the future and become a compassionate and loving king. Unexpectedly, this child became so rebellious. She wondered why a person as wealthy as she was could still have things go against her wishes.
In spite of their wealth, her wish for a well-behaved child was not fulfilled. So gradually, she began to question worldly emotions and began to renounce worldly affections. Therefore, she asked the Buddha to explain, “What kind of a world is this? I am so wealthy and everything is perfect for me. But why is my child like this? What causes and conditions in this world led to this?” Thus, the Buddha expounded the Dharma for Vaidehi. This was the initiation of an opportunity. Because Vaidehi requested the teachings, the Buddha expounded the Dharma for her. So, those who hear and comprehend the teachings have suitable capabilities.
Therefore, the Sutra of the. Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life was suited to Vaidehi’s capabilities. [She initiated the opportunity,] so the Buddha expounded the sutra for her. This teaching suited her. Therefore, after she heard the Buddha’s teaching, she comprehended it. What teachings did the Buddha give her? Earlier we said it was the Sutra of the Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life. The Buddha explained to her that the place she lived was called the Saha World. It was in Jambudvipa. Sentient beings in the Saha World are always very stubborn and hard to teach. These sentient beings each came to the world with their own karmic causes and conditions. This place where beings of Five Destinies coexist has always been filled with impurities.
If she was not satisfied with this world, there was another world. It is the place where the Buddha of Infinite Life resides. In that place, everything happens according to one’s wishes. The environment is beautiful, lifespans are long and so on. It is a wonderful place. This was what the Buddha told Vaidehi so she would realize that this world is indeed detestable. She yearned for a pure land, [a place] which was clean. There, people’s hearts are pure, the land is pure, lifespans are very long, etc.
After Vaidehi heard this, she felt inspired. This doctrine really suited her abilities. Therefore, she used the Sutra of the Meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Life to guide her spiritual practice. So, she attained non-arising patience. Regardless of how her son acted, she could still bear it. She found opportunities to counsel her son. She told him, “When you were little, you father loved you so much. He could not bear for you to suffer. So, when your toe was festering, he sucked out the pus with his own mouth. Consider how parents care for their children; their love is pure, true and without self-regard. They willingly endure all hardships for the sake of their children.”
With this gentle reminder, [her son] Ajatasatru seemed to awaken from a dream. He understood his mistakes. He had already committed rebellious acts and severe transgressions. But consider that in life, just a single thought, a single change in perspective, can [lead us to our] eternal wisdom-life. If we do not change our minds, it may lead to our ever-lasting downfall.
So, hearing teachings requires karmic conditions, so we must initiate the opportunity to request teachings. This is like, when we encounter a problem, we must quickly ask about it. Maybe [someone] will tell you something based on your capabilities. Our lives are thus be changed because we could hear and comprehend [their advice] according to our capabilities. Even though we are asking the question and requesting the teaching, people around us may hear the teaching and think, “I am a bystander, but I feel like this applies to me too. I also find it useful.” Whether the teachings were directed at them or whether they were just in the proximity, they could also understand.
This is called suiting our capability. Whether they asked the question or just listened, if they can accept it, then the Dharma suits their capabilities. This is called suiting our capability.
Some “hear the Dharma without realizations.” If they hear something directed at others but do not understand what they heard, they are not in the same frame of mind. Therefore, this teaching does not feel relevant to them. Not only does it not feel relevant, they cannot understand it either. However, they do “create the conditions to be part of a future assembly.”
A passage in the Lotus Sutra also refers to this. As the Buddha expounded the Dharma, participants in the Lotus Dharma-assembly might have been creating conditions for the future. Perhaps some at that Dharma-assembly were there because of causes and conditions from the past. So, they were hearing the Dharma again at the Lotus Dharma-assembly because once was not enough for them to accept it. Perhaps this time is only the cause and the conditions will exist the next time. Then when causes and conditions converge, we will complete our attainment. So, in listening to the teachings, whether you can understand it or not, you should listen to it respectfully and willingly. If you do not understand it this time, you have still planted a cause that may converge with a future condition.
Sometimes people listen without paying attention and things just pass them by. Sometimes, after a while, they may encounter a certain occasion or event that leads them to think, “I think I have heard a teaching once that is now very helpful in my current condition.”
Therefore as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we should learn as much as possible. When in doubt, quickly ask questions. Then we can immediately receive and apply [the teachings]. Perhaps others will benefit as well. If we do not understand, that is all right. Maybe we can apply it in the future. In sum, when learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must listen mindfully. When we have questions, we must immediately ask them. By doing so, we have opportunities to improve.
The previous verse was this:
“There was Vaidehi’s son, King Ajatasatru, with a retinue of several hundreds of thousands.”
They were all at the Dharma-assembly. The place where the Dharma was expounded was. City of the House of Kings. This city was under King Ajatasatru’s governance. So, this was the reason that. King Ajatasatru’s name was listed.
Now, all those who should be at the assembly were there. Therefore, the Buddha was there and everyone had arrived.
“Each made obeisance to the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to one side and sat down. At that time, the World-Honored One was circumambulated by the fourfold assembly. They respectfully made offerings and honored and praised the Buddha.”
This explains those conditions to us. Those who should be there were all present. There were so many people. There were bhiksus, Bodhisattvas, the eight classes of Dharma-protectors and the benevolent kings of the human realm. They were all there. Once they all arrived, “each made obeisance to the Buddha’s feet, withdrew to one side and sat down.” They did not wait for everyone to arrive to make obeisance; they did so as they arrived. Then, they slowly withdrew and sat down.
This is how the Dharma-assembly gathered. All these people arrived, one after another. Those who came earlier were sitting and waiting. After making obeisance to the Buddha’s feet, they withdrew to their seats and sat down silently. Then more people came after them. Those who came also made obeisance and then withdrew to one side and sat down. This showed the [degree of] etiquette the assembly had achieved.
With so many people in the assembly, they had to be orderly and courteous. The Buddha was there, so they had to follow etiquette. An assembly without order will be chaotic. So, the Buddha’s teachings are inseparable from propriety and etiquette. This showed the attainment of etiquette and propriety in the assembly. We can imagine the many people coming to Vulture Peak, how dignified and orderly the group was and how wonderful and reverent the scene was! After they were all assembled, the fourfold assembly circumambulated the Buddha.
After the Buddha first attained enlightenment, the Three Treasures were complete, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. When the Buddha first turned the Dharma-wheel in Deer Park, He led the Sangha to interact with others and transform them. As this was happening, the people of this world saw how dignified the Buddha’s Sangha was, and wondered how they should express their respect.
One time, there was an elder who admired the Buddha’s virtues and majesty and hoped to be near Him. One day, he thought about going to the place where the Buddha gathered His assembly. Back then, the Buddha and his Sangha ate one meal a day and slept under the trees. So, he went before dawn and arrived at the place where the Buddha assembled everyone. He wanted to see how the Buddha and his Sangha lived so he would know the kind of courtesy he should express.
It was a still night, and as he walked along, he saw a ball of light under a big tree. When he looked more clearly, he seemed to see a group of dignified people who were circumambulating the Buddha clockwise. After they finished this walking meditation, they reverently made obeisance to the Buddha. As he watched, he felt deeply moved. Suddenly, this group of people disappeared. The elder thought that this was inconceivable. Where did these people come from?
He calmly thought, “Could they be heavenly beings?” Even heavenly beings came to the world to respectfully make obeisance to the Buddha. Before they made obeisance to the Buddha, they circumambulated Him in an orderly manner. Afterwards, they prostrated reverently. So, this elder began to imitate these heavenly beings and circumambulated the Buddha and paid obeisance.
Everywhere the Buddha went, before He taught, this form of respect was paid to Him. When the Buddha first attained enlightenment and began to engage people and transform them, people did not know how to pay respect. So, heavenly beings from the heavens of purity took on the appearance of humans. They circumambulated the Buddha clockwise and made obeisance. After the elder saw this, he emulated them. Ever since then, circumambulation became a way to pay respect to the Buddha.
This was how they respectfully made offerings and honored and praised the Buddha. This way of paying respect actually expresses reverence and honor. There are three kinds of offerings to the Buddha. There are offerings of material goods, offerings of physical respect and offerings of conduct. This comes from our admiration and respect.
Every Buddha in the world receives worldly offerings. To make offerings to Buddhas, the threefold karma of body, speech and mind are very important. On top of honoring Him with our respect, we must honor Him with our conduct and continuously praise Him. So, in order to promote the Buddha-Dharma, sentient beings must honor, respect and praise the Buddha. Only by making offerings like this can the Buddha-Dharma spread throughout the world. So, when the Buddha was in the world, there was this etiquette of respect and offerings. We need to protect and uphold the Buddha-Dharma, starting with our own actions.
Although the Buddha left this world and entered Parinirvana over 2000 years ago, His Dharmakaya, which is the Buddha-Dharma, is still in the human realm. His wisdom-life will remain in this world forever, so we must respect the Buddha as if He is present. We must deeply respect the Buddha’s teachings and the places that teach the Dharma, for they are the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. They eternally abide in this world. Therefore, we must respect and make offerings to the Buddha at all times. We must respect and pass down the Dharma. As His disciples, we must maintain this attitude.
We must always initiate opportunities to receive suitable teachings and form karmic affinities [to encounter the Dharma]. This is all for the sake of pursuing the Dharma; this is very important. So, we must always be mindful.