Episode 98 – The Deep, Wondrous Truth in the Buddha’s Mind
>> The appearance of extinction of all things cannot be proclaimed in words. But when there are causes and conditions, it can be explained. Forty years ago, the Buddha adapted to His listeners’ capacities with provisional and skillful means. In this sutra, He speaks His mind to set aside the provisional and establish the true.
>> The appearance of extinction of all things cannot be proclaimed in words. But when there are causes and conditions, it can be expressed 40 years ago, the Buddha adapted to His listeners’ capacities with provisional and skillful means. In this sutra, He speaks His mind to set aside the provisional and establish the true.
>> The original intent of the Buddha was to [teach] the profound and wondrous Truth. The assembly’s knowledge was simple, their thinking was unpredictable. The Enlightened One has great loving-kindness and spoke according to capabilities.
>> He adapted to His listeners’ capacities and carefully considered the provisional and skillful. He taught according to their levels and did not freely carry out His original intent. Now He observed that the opportunity was ripe and wished to expound this One-Vehicle Dharma. He spoke His mind and freely carried out His original intent. He taught the Mahayana Dharma of all things in the universe, thus including all appearances. He now explained three to reveal one and gathered the provisional into the true.
>> “What benefit was to be gained by putting forth this brilliant light? The Buddha sat in the Dharma-assembly and wanted to teach the wondrous Dharma He attained as well as predict who will become Buddhas.” He showed all Buddha-lands, adorned with many jewels, dignified and pure, as well as visions of all Buddhas. These are not minor conditions.
>> “Manjusri, you must know, the fourfold assembly, dragons and spirits, look to you, benevolent one, wondering what explanation you will give.”
The appearance of extinction of all things cannot be proclaimed in words. But when there are causes and conditions, it can be explained. Forty years ago, the Buddha adapted to His listeners’ capacities with provisional and skillful means. In this sutra, He speaks His mind to set aside the provisional and establish the true.
After listening and observing, we can attain a clear understanding. We often speak of “the appearance of extinction of all things.” Since we have heard about this so often, we should really understand it. But have we really made an effort to [understand] [that all things] have the same characteristic? Of those who have also made an effort to study and understand these principles, how many can truly comprehend them?
Indeed, all things have the appearance of extinction. I would like to ask all of you, do you know how time passes? We do not know. We only know to watch the seconds ticking away on a clock. Some people say that even without looking at the clock they know how quickly the seconds are passing. This is the appearance of time. Even if we do not pay attention to its appearance, it still quietly passes. This is time. How many principles are contained within this kind of quiet movement?
In the workings of the sky, the land and so on, lies these true principles. The rotations of the Earth, Sun and Moon, are precise to the millisecond. See, in astronomy, a [leap] second is added every few years. In addition to leap months and leap days, there are leap seconds. A month has 30 days. Why are there some with 31 days? This is so that within a year’s time we can accurately mark spring, summer, fall and winter.
So, though time quietly passes by, the Sun, the Moon and the Earth nonetheless continue on their precise orbit around each other. Furthermore, they cannot deviate in the slightest.
We are truly very blessed. We are born in the Republic of China. [China] was called the Middle Kingdom. This is not just a name; it is in the middle of the universe, in the middle of the Earth. So, among the different countries in the world, we are lucky to be born in the middle of the Earth, at its [cultural] center. Thus, this is called the Middle Kingdom. So the Buddha said, “It is difficult to be born in a central land.”
The Buddha said that sentient beings are blessed to be born in this land. This is a favorable place, whether in climate or access to knowledge that people can absorb. There are also remote areas on this planet. Consider the cultures in [some parts of] Africa; when a woman is young, her lip is cut open, and something made out of heavy tin or iron is then slowly inserted into the slit. That flesh is stretched out so it can sway to and fro below the chin.
In some tropical parts of Asia, people are generally naked. When it is cold, they rub sand, dirt and oil on their bodies. They cover their entire bodies with dirt to protect themselves from the cold. In these remote areas, this is still their way of life. Based on the sutras, to be born into a developed society is difficult. To be born in a place where morals and ethics truly exist, a place where we can hear true principles, a place that adheres to humanistic culture and etiquette is not that easy. Being born in remote areas can bring unspeakable suffering.
Sentient beings are born according to their karma. They have no control over when they are born, the season in which they are born, or the kind of living conditions [they face]. In this present era, we are all living here on this planet, but we do not see everything, so how do we know what is truly happening? We know because we have traveled globally. We can see places of great poverty and hardship [in the world] right now.
So, “the appearance of extinction of all things” can at present be widely understood. After we understand it, we can then recognize “the appearance of extinction of all things.” We have all been born in this era, but [these principles] have always been the same. However, we do not yet understand that “[it] cannot be proclaimed in words.” Speaking of things for us to know, indeed there are very many things we do not know. We have to use many methods in order to comprehend them. After comprehending, if we try to explain, we still cannot do so clearly. “But when there are causes and conditions, it can be expressed.” When causes and conditions converge, we can witness [their convergence].
The appearance of extinction of all things cannot be proclaimed in words. But when there are causes and conditions, it can be expressed 40 years ago, the Buddha adapted to His listeners’ capacities with provisional and skillful means. In this sutra, He speaks His mind to set aside the provisional and establish the true.
So, for 40 years, the Buddha “adapted to the capacities of His listeners,” to sentient beings’ conditions and capabilities. He adapted to the era, to the circumstances, to people’s knowledge, etc. For 40 years, He always adapted to His listeners’ capacities, so these listeners could accept what was said. Of course this was very hard work. This was not the wondrous teaching in His heart that directly pointed to people’s intrinsic nature. The Buddha had to use provisional methods, which were skillful means. By using these means, others could understand and accept what He said. This was the hard work He did for 40 years.
Now, expounding the Lotus Sutra, He was “speaking His mind to set aside the provisional and establish the true.” At this point, He could no longer afford to delay. His manifested appearance in this world was reaching its old age. If He did not quickly speak at this time, then what could be done? So, He moved quickly to pass on [the teachings].
At this time, the Buddha was about to teach the Lotus Sutra, to freely carry out His original intent. Not everyone could understand [His teachings]. But those who had followed the Buddha longer, and the Bodhisattvas who were assisting Him at the time had the opportunity to understand. It was time to pass on this teaching.
The original intent of the Buddha was to [teach] the profound and wondrous Truth. The assembly’s knowledge was simple, their thinking was unpredictable. The Enlightened One has great loving-kindness and spoke according to capabilities.
Though the Buddha taught for more than 40 years, even now, despite being at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, everyone’s wisdom was still very limited. The Buddha manifested light and amazing appearances. When He radiated light from a tuft of white hair, was this amazing appearance understood by everyone? Some people still could not understand.
So, the Buddha had to have great loving-kindness and had to exercise His great love, be truly open-minded and teach according to capabilities. So “the Enlightened One has great loving-kindness and spoke according to capabilities.” To teach the Buddha-Dharma according to His listeners’ capacities, He had to be able to bend and adapt, much like water. Regardless of the shape of the container, whether it is round, curved or rectangular, when water is poured into it, the water takes on the container’s shape. So, to bend is to adapt to others’ capabilities, whether they are great or limited.
Those with sharp capabilities can [accept] the immediate teachings and become awakened very quickly. During the 40 years the Buddha taught, there were also those with sharp capabilities. When He spoke of “existence,” they realized “emptiness.” There were also people like that. So, there were also those to whom. He taught very subtle, wondrous principles. However, those with limited capabilities could not comprehend these principles. So, “He adapted to the listener’s capacity.” Whether He taught directly, or had to bend what He said, He just wanted sentient beings to understand, to be able to accept it.
Thus, carefully thinking about the provisional and skillful, He taught according to their level. For over 40 years, He worked very hard in this way. So, He constantly thought about how to gradually help people accept [the Dharma]. But at that time, He still could not freely carry out His original intent.
He adapted to His listeners’ capacities and carefully considered the provisional and skillful. He taught according to their levels and did not freely carry out His original intent. Now He observed that the opportunity was ripe and wished to expound this One-Vehicle Dharma. He spoke His mind and freely carried out His original intent. He taught the Mahayana Dharma of all things in the universe, thus including all appearances. He now explained three to reveal one and gathered the provisional into the true.
“Now He observed that the opportunity was ripe,” At this time He could no longer wait to speak. People’s capabilities had also [improved]. At this time, the causes and conditions for speaking were there, so the opportunity was ripe. He wanted to expound this One-Vehicle Dharma, which was the Lotus Sutra. The time had come to speak His mind and freely carry out His original intent of teaching the Great Vehicle Dharma.
The Great Vehicle Dharma encompasses all principles and phenomena in the universe. So, He explained three to reveal the one. Three refers to the three vehicles, the Great, Medium and Small Vehicles. But in the end, there is just One Vehicle. Aren’t the teachings all about refraining from evil and doing good? Not only do we need to do good deeds, but we also must go among people to transform sentient beings.
So, the next passage of the sutra explains why the Buddha came to this world.
“What benefit was to be gained by putting forth this brilliant light? The Buddha sat in the Dharma-assembly and wanted to teach the wondrous Dharma He attained as well as predict who will become Buddhas.” He showed all Buddha-lands, adorned with many jewels, dignified and pure, as well as visions of all Buddhas. These are not minor conditions.
The Buddha had expounded the Dharma up to this point. After He finished the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, He sat in meditation and radiated a light to illumine 18,000 worlds. What exactly was this scene really like?
“The wondrous Dharma the Buddha gained as He sat in the place of enlightenment.” The place of enlightenment, where He gained the wondrous Dharma, was under the bright stars that night. At that moment, how did the Buddha suddenly become enlightened? In that moment, the true principles of all things in the universe entered the Buddha’s mind. “He wanted to express this,” the true principles of all things in the universe, which entered into His mind. Now, was He about to freely express the wondrous Dharma He had initially received when He sat in that place of enlightenment?
Or, was He about to “predict who will become Buddhas?” Did He want to start handing over [His duties] and start letting His disciples know the causes and conditions of their attaining enlightenment because He was entering old age? Was that the case?
“He showed all Buddha-lands, adorned with many jewels, dignified and pure.”
Through this, He began to help everyone understand the magnificence and purity of all Buddha-lands. “As well as visions of all Buddhas. These are not minor conditions.” The fine light illumined 18,000 Buddha-lands to help everyone understand the Buddhas’ pure lands. To [teach] this kind of deep and wondrous Dharma truly takes more than minor conditions. These are not minor causes and conditions. This assembly was truly a very great condition.
“Manjusri, you must know, the fourfold assembly, dragons and spirits, look to you, benevolent one, wondering what explanation you will give.”
Everyone was looking at each other, not just those in the assembly, but also the eight classes of heavenly beings, etc. Everyone hoped that under these great causes and conditions, great Dharma will be taught. These hopes were bestowed upon the benevolent Manjusri, for him to quickly help everyone understand.
This is just like when we have a lecture, there needs to be a master of ceremonies. It is as if there were a pair of emcees here; when one speaks, the other has to respond. The content of this dialogue was very exciting. This assembly truly made everyone very joyful. But though they were joyful, could everyone comprehend it? This is still a kind of appearance of extinction. So, I hope that, as we seek to comprehend [this], everyone will always be mindful.