Episode 192 – Spiritual Practice Is Inseparable from the Path
>> “The Tathagata is perfect in all exceptional virtues. The worlds in ten directions have all heard His name.”
>> “The Buddha has, in the past, drawn near to countless Buddhas, exhaustively practiced all Buddhas’ infinite teachings of the Path and forged ahead with courage and vigor. Thus, His name is widely known.”
>> Teachings of the Path: The 37 Practices to Enlightenment develop the wisdom of True Suchness. The principle for realizing True Suchness is the wisdom attained through teachings of the Path.
>> So, [we must] “Contemplate the body as impure. Contemplate all feelings as suffering. Contemplate the mind as impermanent. Contemplate all things as having no self.”
>> Next are the Four Right Efforts. “Eliminate any evil that has already arisen. Prevent future evil from arising. Nurture any goodness that has already arisen. Encourage future goodness to quickly arise.”
>> The Four Bases of Fulfilling Power, which are the Power of Diligence, the Power of Aspiration, the Power of Thought, the Power of Contemplation.
“The Tathagata is perfect in all exceptional virtues.
The worlds in ten directions have all heard His name.”
Truly, the Buddha has come to this world many times over countless eons, repeatedly engaging in spiritual practice to accomplish the teachings of the Path over many lifetimes. This also alerts us that once we have aspired to spiritual practice, to learning the Buddha’s Way, we must look to the Buddha. He has come to the world over countless eons and has never deviated from the teachings of the Path. For an unknown length of time, He repeatedly comes to this world to engage in the spiritual practice of the exceptional teachings of the Path.
Recently, I have been discussing the Path and the teachings. In this world, the Bodhi-path is a very broad and direct road for us to walk on. Over the past countless eons, He has repeatedly engaged in spiritual practice here and continuously cleared the way for this great Bodhi-path. Thus with a sense of gratitude, we must be diligent and learn how. Tathagatas perfect all teachings of the Path. This is a very exceptional thing.
Since He repeatedly engages in spiritual practice over countless eons and many lifetimes, His name is widely known throughout the worlds of the ten directions. This is the state of all Buddhas. As for us ordinary beings, we may or may not understand that the Buddha has been coming to this world for such a long time, for countless eons, solely to teach and transform sentient beings and forge this path for us. Do we understand this? Thus, teachings of the Path are very important.
As I have discussed before,
“The Buddha has, in the past, drawn near to countless Buddhas, exhaustively practiced all Buddhas’ infinite teachings of the Path and forged ahead with courage and vigor. Thus, His name is widely known.”
We can clearly understand this passage. Since the Buddha drew near to so many Buddhas, we can deduce that He spent a very long time on spiritual practice. He cultivated the teachings given to Him by the [many] Buddhas He drew near to. He put His heart into storing them all in His mind. This is what “exhaustively practiced all Buddhas’ infinite teachings of the Path” [means]. All these teachings were stored in His mind.
Thus, His name is widely known and understood in the worlds of noble beings. [Yet] we in the world of ordinary beings can only know [about these things]; we cannot thoroughly understand them. We listen to but do not yet truly comprehend the Buddha’s teachings. Truthfully, we still cannot fully understand the beauty of this great Bodhi-path.
As spiritual practitioners, we must mindfully comprehend the “Path” and the “teachings.” At the most basic level, one could say the foundation of our spiritual practice is the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. These are practices that help us enter the Great Vehicle Bodhi-path, this very direct path of the One Vehicle.
Teachings of the Path: The 37 Practices to Enlightenment develop the wisdom of True Suchness. The principle for realizing True Suchness is the wisdom attained through teachings of the Path.
“The 37 Practices to Enlightenment develop the wisdom of True Suchness.” They can help us open up, clearly understand and exercise the wisdom of True Suchness. So, “our intrinsic nature is perfect and radiant.” This perfect and radiant nature inspires and develops the wisdom of True Suchness.
Within the bounds of the natural world, if our minds can be one with nature, all paths will be open to us. But, we have not yet attained [this state,] so we have to rely on the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, which develop the wisdom of True Suchness. When the clarity of the wisdom of True Suchness is evoked, we can realize its principles. This is the wisdom of the teachings of the Path, which we achieve through the 37 Practices to Enlightenment.
If we remember them as three Fours, two Fives, Seven and Eight, they will be easier to recall.
The [first of the] three Fours refers to the Fourfold Mindfulness. “Mindfulness” refers to our thinking, thoughts and ideas about our body, feelings, mind and all things.
So, [we must] “Contemplate the body as impure. Contemplate all feelings as suffering. Contemplate the mind as impermanent. Contemplate all things as having no self.”
These four methods [focus on] our bodies and minds, as well as our thoughts. If we are constantly aware of how impure our bodies really are, then we have no reason to take issue on behalf of this body.
From the time we leave the womb until now, we have had this body. As the body goes through [the cycle of] birth, aging, illness and death, what can it actually do? When our thinking goes astray, it can commit all evils. A single thought that goes astray may attract countless afflictions. Thus, we should know that this body was originally impure, so we will not take issue over this body.
Everything we feel in our physical existence is suffering. Though people constantly pursue pleasures, is there truly joy in such pleasures? Human life is like the moon reflected in water. The reflection is truly illusory. Although there are 1000 moons in 1000 rivers, if the water ripples even slightly, the image of the moon shatters. If the water is polluted, the moon becomes blurry. This is how the world works; it is illusory and impermanent.
So, the Fourfold Mindfulness alone is something we must be really vigilant of. This body, our minds and our feelings about our daily surroundings are impermanent. Our thought of engaging in spiritual practice arises, abides, changes and ceases; therefore we cannot solidify our spiritual aspirations. So, we must contemplate our minds as impermanent, for they constantly waver as well. When we form an aspiration, we are very diligent, but when we are lax, we degenerate.
If we put our heart into contemplating all things, in our minds we will reflect on external phenomena. As we interact with external conditions, we must really contemplate them. All things have no [permanent] self. Does the body have a [permanent] self? In our daily living, we may feel pleasure, suffering or happiness. [But] where is the “self” in all that? Also, when our thoughts arise and stir, which thought is actually our “self”? Think very carefully about this. Actually, there is no self in anything. This is the Fourfold Mindfulness.
Next are the Four Right Efforts. “Eliminate any evil that has already arisen. Prevent future evil from arising. Nurture any goodness that has already arisen. Encourage future goodness to quickly arise.”
In the Four Right Efforts, the word “right” means not deviating.
When we understand that we must engage in spiritual practice, we must engage in Right Thinking. Think carefully about how difficult it is to be born a human and to hear the Dharma. Since we have listened to Buddha’s teachings, are our thoughts proper? Do we strive to differentiate between good and evil?
As for good and evil, if our minds have not given rise to “future evil,” then fortunately we can “prevent it from arising” then fortunately we can “prevent it from arising”. At present, our minds do not have evil thoughts. We must always be vigilant and think proper thoughts, so we will not permit any evil thoughts to arise. Thus, we prevent [future evil] from arising. For “any evil that has already arisen,” we should quickly “eliminate” it. This is [how to be] right and not deviate.
What about goodness? “Nurture any goodness that has already arisen. Encourage future goodness to quickly arise.” When goodness has already arisen, we want to seize the moment and make it last forever, so this goodness can be everlasting. We want this to continue on. This is known as Right Effort. In short, to diligently advance,
we must eliminate evil and cultivate goodness. If an evil thought has already arisen, we must immediately get rid of it. If good thoughts have not arisen, we must quickly give rise to them. When good thoughts have arisen, we want them to last forever.
The third of the three Fours is.
The Four Bases of Fulfilling Power, which are the Power of Diligence, the Power of Aspiration, the Power of Thought, the Power of Contemplation.
Here, fulfilling power means being able to “fulfill their aspirations to engage in spiritual practice.” Since we have aspired to spiritual practice, we hope for smooth sailing. In the state of ordinary beings, we make that initial aspiration. From this starting point, a smooth journey to the state of Buddhas is what we spiritual practitioners really hope for.
We want to be like the Buddha, who drew near countless Buddhas and also diligently practiced the teachings of the Path. This is why, when the Buddha came to this world, from the moment He formed that initial aspiration, His journey forward was very smooth. By smooth I mean that. His aspiration was extraordinarily steadfast. Lifetime after lifetime, He faced many obstacles, but He overcame all of them. He successfully sailed through them because of His diligence.
The first [fulfilling power] is Right Diligence, or the Power of Diligence. To have the Power of Diligence we need Right Mindfulness and Right Diligence. This is the Power of Diligence.
Second is the Power of Aspiration. Once we have made vows, we must be very steadfast; If we are not steadfast, we may give rise to a diligent mindset, but when external challenges arise, we lose our will to practice. How could this be a power? If we have no way to overcome our difficulties, the road of spiritual practice will not be smooth. Thus, it is essential for us to be steadfast in our vows. This is called the Power of Aspiration.
The next power is related to our thoughts, the Power of Thought. We must have Right Thinking, Right Views and Right Mindfulness. Once we have formed aspirations and vows, those thoughts are in our minds, and then these aspirations, vows and thoughts will be focused and strengthened through a continuous cycle.
Otherwise, if our thinking goes even slightly astray, we will have scattered minds and discursive thoughts. “Thoughts of the past are a distraction. Thoughts of the future are a delusion.” We all continually think of the past and have delusions about the future, so our minds are not focused. So, we definitely must have the Power of Thought.
The next one is the Power of Contemplation. In our contemplation and conceptualization, we want to think carefully and mindfully. The Buddha-Dharma is difficult to hear; the way to Buddhahood is difficult to practice, yet we have heard what is difficult to hear and practiced what is difficult to practice. Since we already have such good conditions and such fortunate opportunities, why don’t we grasp this chance and seize the present [moment]?
As for our present capacities, I think we are probably on the same level. We know the Buddha-Dharma is [divided] into Small and Great Vehicle teachings. [To teach] the Small Vehicle, the Buddha had already used many methods to teach accordingly. We are even more blessed that we have the opportunity right now to listen to the One Vehicle teachings. Therefore, we should be very grateful. This is the Power of Contemplation, and
we should persist in our contemplation. We have so many teachings in our minds, and they are all inseparable from spiritual practice and self-awakening. Since we all understand this, we want to immediately think of ways to benefit others. When we benefit ourselves and others, we have perfect awakened conduct.
To all things and people in the world, we can apply infinite worldly methods. Thus, we can apply the Dharma to our daily living and be Bodhisattvas in this world. Buddha-Dharma is to be applied in this world. The Buddha’s great cause in coming to the world is solely to establish and give teachings. Thus, we really need to think about these things. Therefore everyone, please always be mindful.