Episode 208 – Diligently Practice All Teachings of the Path
>> “Spiritual practice is the work of great
people. They can clearly understand their course, clearly distinguish right
from wrong, walk the difficult-to-walk path, sever things that are difficult to
sever, let go of thoughts that are difficult to let go, realize the Dharma that
is difficult to realize.”
>> “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this
meaning, then spoke in verse.”
>> “The Hero of the World is unfathomable. Among heavenly beings or
humans of the world, among all sentient beings, none can understand the
Buddha.”
>> “Hero of the World” is another name for Buddhas. This means
that in this world, a Buddha is a noble hero among the people who has
eliminated all afflictions.
>> “If they learn the path but do not practice it, that is the same
as not learning it. As they begin to serve a Buddha, they must exhaustively
practice His infinite teachings of the path. Serving countless Buddhas and
exhaustively practicing infinite practices to enlightenment of countless
Buddhas is being courageous and diligent.”
>> No one can understand the Buddha: With the causes the Buddha created
in the past, He never parted from Buddhaskalpa after kalpa and constantly
learned from Them. For hundreds, thousands, millions of [lives], at the sides
of countless Buddhas, He diligently cultivated teachings of the path
“Spiritual practice is the work of great people.
They can clearly understand their course, clearly distinguish right from wrong,
walk the difficult-to-walk path,
sever things that are difficult to sever,
let go of thoughts that are difficult to let go, realize the Dharma that is difficult to realize.”
As we engage in spiritual practice, we must have this kind of determination. If we are not determined, the path will be difficult to walk.
Since we are determined to engage in spiritual practice and have formed aspirations and vows to walk the Bodhisattva-path, we must have the mind of a great person. Since ancient times it has been said, “Spiritual practice is the work of great people; it is difficult even for great leaders.” Not everyone who wants to engage in spiritual practice is capable of doing so. Thus, we should know to respect ourselves because we have already chosen this direction. Furthermore, within our lives, this is the most proper direction. So, we must “clearly distinguish right from wrong.” Since we have chosen this direction in this present era in which people’s lives are very complicated, as spiritual practitioners, we must maintain our direction by clearly distinguishing right from wrong. This is very important for spiritual practitioners.
Moreover, it is “the work of great people.” When we walk the difficult-to-walk path, we need to eliminate things that are difficult to eliminate. We have much greed, anger and ignorance and create interpersonal disputes over people and matters. We need to very clearly distinguish right from wrong. When something is right, we cannot be afraid of difficulties. If something is wrong, we must end it promptly. So, we must dare to act, take up responsibility. As for things that are wrong, we must dare to end them immediately. To eliminate things that are difficult to eliminate,
we must really train our minds well. With clear minds, we can quickly decide whether to hold on or let go. What we should hold on to, we must take responsibility for. If we should not hold on to it, we must quickly let it go.
So, we must let go of things that are difficult to let go. We should not be attached to things that we should not hold on to, so we must quickly relinquish them. In summary, regardless of how difficult it is to relinquish people, matters or objects, we need to learn how to let go. Only then can we return to “nature, form, embodiment and power” and create “causes, conditions, effects, retributions and the ultimate [wholeness] from beginning to end.” This is the work of a great person and is very important for our spiritual practice. Thus, we must be very mindful.
Next is a section of verses. The prose above has come to an end, so what follows are “repeated verses.” They are repeated because of concerns that after listening to the teachings, we allow them to leak out and forget them, with no way to keep the principles in our minds. So, when the sutras were compiled, the very important points were repeated in verse form.
“At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate this meaning, then spoke in verse.”
This helps us understand even more clearly that what was explained before is now repeated in short verses that are easier to memorize, recite and understand. So it says,
“The Hero of the World is unfathomable. Among heavenly beings or humans of the world, among all sentient beings, none can understand the Buddha.”
Haven’t I explained this earlier? Sakyamuni Buddha’s understanding and views cannot be fathomed by us ordinary people because there are infinite, countless teachings. For 40-plus years, He used wondrous provisional teachings and wondrous wisdom to teach according to capabilities. Therefore, He used a variety of methods to establish skillful means.
Then at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He changed the topic and put aside skillful means for direct teachings. He became very direct. As for the 42 years of skillful teachings, He told them that they were provisional and that He would now expound the True Dharma and freely express the One Vehicle teachings He had originally intended to teach.
The Buddha wanted to gather and direct people of various capabilities in the same direction, so they could all experience the same thing. What they experienced was the first thing the Buddha said after achieving Buddhahood. “How amazing! All beings possess the Buddha’s intrinsic nature.” This one sentence is what He said now at the very end as a thesis to help everyone clearly understand that they all have this intrinsic Buddha-nature. Thus, this is the true path of the One Vehicle.
But this is difficult to know and understand. Though the Buddha had spoken for a long time, did people really know and understand what was said? Did it really stay in people’s minds? Are they diligently walking forward on this path? We ourselves can self-reflect and ask, “Over time, have I been more diligent? Or, after starting out diligently, have I slowed down or stopped?” Is this the case? “Only the person who drinks the water knows if it is hot or cold.”
So, we know the Buddha is “the Hero of the World.”
“Hero of the World” is another name for Buddhas. This means that in this world, a Buddha is a noble hero among the people who has eliminated all afflictions.
Earlier we also discussed “the Six Unenlightened and Four Noble Realms.” In the Ten Dharma-realms, He is the most noble, so He is called a “hero, Hero of the World.” He is the most noble of heroes and has already eliminated all afflictions. We have countless, boundless afflictions, including root and branch afflictions etc. The Buddha has surpassed all these afflictions. By eliminating all afflictions, He is the most noble among those in “the Six Unenlightened and Four Noble Realms.”
So,
“If they learn the path but do not practice it, that is the same as not learning it. As they begin to serve a Buddha, they must exhaustively practice His infinite teachings of the path. Serving countless Buddhas and exhaustively practicing infinite practices to enlightenment of countless Buddhas is being courageous and diligent.”
We all know that in learning from the Buddha, if we do not earnestly practice the Dharma the Buddha taught, that is the same as not learning it at all. Do you recall [this passage]? The Buddha drew near to countless Buddhas and diligently practiced each of. Their teachings of the path. In the past I have said, if we learn Buddhism but do not learn or walk His path, that is the same as not learning it at all.
All the other four kinds of noble beings, Hearers, Solitary Realizers and Bodhisattvas, must also learn His teachings of the path. If they do not learn, aren’t they no different from those in the Six Unenlightened Realms? So as we begin to learn, we must give rise to the mindset of a great person. Since we have vowed to follow the Buddha, we must learn His teachings of the path and walk the road He walked.
“As they begin to serve a Buddha” is when one starts drawing near to a Buddha and practicing His teachings. This is “serving,” drawing near to, following and practicing the path. So, whoever draws near to a Buddha should “exhaustively practice His infinite teachings of the path.” Each Buddha has infinite teachings of the path. Thus, when we “serve a Buddha,” we must “exhaustively practice His infinite teachings of the path. Serving countless Buddhas and exhaustively practicing infinite practices to enlightenment”
refers to how Sakyamuni Buddha drew near to countless Buddhas. Each Buddha had infinite teachings of the path, all of which He diligently practiced. Moreover, practicing countless Buddhas’ infinite teachings of the path is all part of our courageous and diligent spiritual practice.
Thus, the sutra text states, “Among all sentient beings, none can understand the Buddha.” We sentient beings are in the Six Unenlightened Realms. We cannot comprehend just how high, vast and great the Buddha’s wisdom is. Nobody can understand it, even Hearers, Pratyekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas. Even Bodhisattvas fall a little short, let alone Pratyekabuddhas and Hearers.
No one can understand the Buddha: With the causes the Buddha created in the past, He never parted from Buddhaskalpa after kalpa and constantly learned from Them. For hundreds, thousands, millions of [lives], at the sides of countless Buddhas, He diligently cultivated teachings of the path.
Thus, “no one can understand the Buddha. With the causes the Buddha created in the past.” Here, “in the past” is since Beginningless Time. As I have been telling everyone recently, that length of time is incalculable. It is also impossible to calculate the number of teachings the Buddha practiced. Thus, “kalpas” are used to describe the immeasurable, limitless time in which. He never parted from Buddhas. In every one of His lifetimes, He was never apart from Buddhas. Thus, lifetime after lifetime, He remained inseparable from Buddhas. He diligently practiced. Their teachings of the path. So, He treated Buddhas as. His teachers and learned from them. This is how He attained Buddhahood.
This happened in the past. For hundreds, thousands, millions of [lifetimes], at the sides of countless Buddhas, He diligently cultivated teachings of the path. Under many Buddhas, He continuously, diligently practiced Buddha’s teachings. Thus, we should understand that it is not easy to attain the Dharma, so this path is difficult to practice. Yet, what is hard to practice can be practiced. Therefore, we must engage in spiritual cultivation.
When the Buddha was in the world, how did He guide sentient beings? One day, Venerable Kasyapa asked Buddha a question, “Venerable Buddha, in the beginning there were few spiritual practitioners. You also established few rules. At the beginning there were no rules. Or, when there were, there were only a few. But now there are many more monks, and. You have gradually established more rules. Yet as the number of rules increases, there are fewer people who follow them. It seems those who obey You are few. Since so many people are not following what You have said to do, must there still be precepts?”
The Buddha responded, saying, “The lives of sentient beings have become more and more turbid. The turbidity is getting worse. There are also many bonds and instigators, which also bring turbidity. Bonds” are afflictions. There are so many afflictions in this era and in future kalpas. In the future, as sentient beings have more opinions, their afflictions will also increase. Thus, during the kalpa of turbidity, there will be many changes and disasters. Thus, future sentient beings living in this turbid, chaotic kalpa will have serious defilements and be more troubled. The pollution in their minds will worsen, because the Right Dharma is gradually changing.
Since the Buddha had established many rules and few people were following them, there were not many people faithfully practicing the teachings. This was what causes the era of Right Dharma to. become the era of Dharma-semblance, which then becomes the era of Dharma-degeneration. This happened as humans’ afflictions and defilements increased and they committed more transgressions. And with more people doing evil deeds, there needed to be more rules. Nothing can be done about this. Thus, from the era of Right Dharma till the era of Dharma-degeneration, there is even a greater need for precepts.
As I said earlier, “Spiritual practice is the work of great people; it is difficult even for great leaders.” Since this is the work of great people, even if a ruler in power was asked to engage in spiritual practice, he would not dare. Thus, we spiritual practitioners must have the strength to shoulder all things in the world. So, we must clearly understand “embodiment, power, nature and form.”
Because we understand the law of karma, what we must seek in this world of Dharma-degeneration is a return to the pure source of the Tathagata, which is the Buddha-nature inherent in all of us. Thus, we must clearly identify our direction and clearly distinguish right from wrong. We want to practice the difficult-to-practice path. This is what the Buddha told us. If after listening, we refuse to practice, it is like never having heard the Dharma. Since we are all engaging in spiritual practice, we must cultivate purifying practices. Thus, I hope everyone will always be mindful.