Episode 233 – With Strong Faith We Resonate with the Truth
>> We must “believe that our minds are no
different from the Buddha-mind. When the mind and phenomena are one, we are in
sync with the ultimate truth. With wisdom and compassion, the Tathagata gave
both provisional and true teachings. When power of faith solidifies, it brings
us closer to the Buddha’s understanding and views.”
>>”The Buddha used the power of skillful means to reveal the Three
Vehicle teachings so that sentient beings, who are attached to everything, may
be guided and released.”
We must
“believe that our minds are no different from the Buddha-mind.
When the mind and phenomena are one, we are in sync with the ultimate truth.
With wisdom and compassion, the Tathagata gave both provisional and true teachings.
When power of faith solidifies, it brings us closer to the Buddha’s understanding and views.”
This tells us that we must have faith, we must believe. By giving rise to great power of faith, we will believe that our minds are no different from the Buddha-mind. [The nature] of mind, Buddhas and sentient beings are no different. So, the Buddha’s mind and sentient beings’ minds are the same. We must have faith in ourselves and believe that our intrinsic Tathagata-nature is also equivalent to the Buddha’s.
If we have this kind of faith, the mind and all phenomena become one, and we can return to our pure intrinsic nature. Then our capabilities will be in sync with true principles. So, we become “in sync with the ultimate truth” when our capabilities connect with these principles. Whether we can do this or not depends on whether we have great faith.
If we have great power of faith, we will absolutely believe what the Buddha has told us about everyone intrinsically having Buddha-nature. We must believe this. Having “great power of faith” means we have great self-confidence. We must have great self-confidence. Then we will have great capabilities and powers, and we can be in sync with true principles. So, “when the mind and phenomena are one, we are in sync with the ultimate truth.” This is how we elevate ourselves.
Because the Buddha has compassion and wisdom, He exercised both simultaneously and came to this world for one great cause. The Buddha is both compassionate and wise. If He was not compassionate, He would not return. But because He is replete with compassion, He cannot bear to let sentient beings experience such great suffering in their cyclic existence in the Six Realms. He cannot bear to let them cause imbalance in the [natural world] through their collective karma. For so many people to be suffering is something Buddhas and Bodhisattvas cannot bear.
They cannot bear it because they have “universal compassion.” Therefore, the suffering of sentient beings is the suffering of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. This “universal compassion,” when exercised, awakens wisdom. Then with wisdom, they teach according to capabilities in this world. This is what it means to “exercise both compassion and wisdom.” So [Buddhas are called] Tathagatas (Thus Come)
because they come to this world by the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. They come to this world with this teaching to exercise and spread their compassion and wisdom. Because sentient beings have varying capabilities, the Buddha has to give wondrous provisional and wondrous true teachings. He does this out of both compassion and wisdom. He “gives both provisional and true teachings.”
So, we must give rise to a great power of faith and work to further strengthen it. Momentary faith is of no use, so we must reinforce it. Earlier I spoke of how the root of faith must be deep and extensive, so we can strengthen our power of faith. By doing this, we can be “closer to the Buddha’s understanding and views.” To learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must first establish faith.
We all know that the Buddha was born on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. When Buddhism spread to China, that day was celebrated as the Buddha’s Birthday. But the times are continuously changing, and agricultural societies are a thing of the past. When the Dharma came to China from India, people used the lunar calendar because they lived in an agricultural society. But in modern times, internationally we use the [Gregorian calendar]. So, here in Taiwan we also started thinking that we should globalize [the Buddha’s Birthday].
Look at how Christmas is a global holiday, [popular] even in Taiwan. So, of course, we must also globalize. Sakyamuni Buddha’s Birthday. Thus we established the second Sunday of May as the Buddha’s Birthday. This way, we can all celebrate it together.
On this day, in every region around the world, things are very festive from morning to night. In Hong Kong alone, their [2012] Buddha-bathing ceremony was very touching. The Hong Kong branch office space is very small, so [volunteers] applied to the government to use Da Tong Road in the Central District, which is a major road downtown. This is typically the busiest street in Hong Kong, with a lot of traffic. It is really a bustling city center.
We applied to the government to close the street for one day on May 13 from nine o’clock in the morning till five o’clock in the afternoon. It would be closed off this whole day, so Tzu Chi could hold our Buddha-bathing [ceremony]. Originally, the weather forecast said there would be heavy rain. And, incredibly, it rained and rained in the early morning, but when the preparations were about to begin, the rain stopped.
Then, we started to set up and rehearse. Because the ceremony was to begin at 10am, the road was not sealed off until 9am. There was such a large area to decorate, so while some people were setting up, others were rehearsing at the same time. The loudspeakers played the music for the ceremony. On the sidewalks, there were many pedestrians who were out shopping, including many foreigners. When they heard this beautiful music and saw that area being decorated, many shoppers came to see what was going on.
When they saw the Buddha statue and the setup, they could not help but put their palms together. As volunteers rehearsed and decorated, more and more people gathered and held their palms together. There were both foreigners and locals. That scene was very beautiful and orderly.
When the official ceremony began, we saw such magnificent scenes. They were very dignified in their [formations]. Some foreigners asked, “Can we join in bathing the Buddha?” Tzu Chi volunteers who were maintaining order sincerely invited them to join in. Soon, foreigners continuously streamed in, as did locals, both young and old. They all came to bathe the Buddha.
We also heard about another incredible thing. There was a group of demonstrators protesting inflation and [low] wages, etc. In Hong Kong, there are also such protest groups. When this group came near [the ceremony], our Tzu Chi Commissioners very sincerely approached them with palms together and invited them, saying, “Your protests cause your emotions to fluctuate. Come, we welcome you to bathe the Buddha. When we bathe the Buddha together, our minds become very peaceful.”
Incredibly, many of the protestors, after hearing our sincere invitation and music, felt that they should join us. They put their palms together and calmed their hearts to bathe the Buddha. This was indeed very amazing. Protestors nearby saw how reverent we were, and this calmed their minds. Though they were dissatisfied with the government and resentful of society, they were able to calm their minds.
“With wisdom and compassion, the Tathagata gave both provisional and true teachings.” When the Buddha comes to the world, He has to use provisional, skillful means that suit the situation and time in order to teach and transform sentient beings. Even now, over 2000 years later, as long as we, Buddhist disciples, have the will to understand the Buddha-Dharma and are strengthening our great power of faith, even if we are in another country and do not have a venue, we are able to borrow one from the government, so we can purify people’s minds.
Because we have faith, regardless of what the weather forecast said, amazingly, the rain stopped that morning as we were about to decorate the site. For that entire day, it remained very cool, so people were amiable and things were peaceful. With this sense of harmony, the Buddha-bathing was completed. This was very incredible.
So, we must understand that, to learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must have faith. So, we must “believe that our minds are no different from the Buddha-mind. When the mind and phenomena are one, we are in sync with the ultimate truth.” We can elevate our capabilities as long as we have faith. The Buddha exercises compassion and wisdom in this world, so we can definitely purify people’s minds, ensuring that there will be harmony in society. With strong power of faith, naturally we can be close to the Buddha’s understanding and views. Earlier, I mentioned that,
“The Buddha used the power of skillful means to reveal the Three Vehicle teachings so that sentient beings, who are attached to everything, may be guided and released.”
Remember, we sentient beings truly form attachments to all things. Previously, I have said, “There is nothing we are not attached to. There is nothing we do not crave.” For humans, for all sentient beings, when we give rise to greed, we experience anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt. This leads to many calamities in the world. So, the Buddha used His wisdom to give provisional teachings. To teach us, He used skillful means,
the teachings of Three Vehicles. The Small Vehicle refers to Hearers. The Middle Vehicle refers to Solitary Realizers. For Small and Middle Vehicle practitioners, as well as sentient beings in the Six Realms, the Buddha teaches various skillful means solely to enable them to eliminate the entanglements of suffering. This is the Buddha’s goal in coming to this world. He hopes everyone can further cultivate the Six Paramitas,
which are giving, upholding precepts, patience diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. The Buddha hopes Small Vehicle practitioners can turn from the small to the great. As for the last teaching the Buddha gave in the world, the Lotus Sutra is the ultimate truth of the One Vehicle. He wanted to help Small Vehicle practitioners realize that His past teachings were just the fundamentals for [learning] the Dharma. Those teachings helped us cleanse our hearts and eliminate our ignorance, as well as our habitual tendencies.
As He taught skillful means in the past, He was actually cleansing our hearts. When our hearts are cleansed, we can turn our thinking around and return to our intrinsic nature. Our pure and undefiled intrinsic nature will then manifest. With that undefiled nature, we will awaken ourselves and others at the same time. Multitudes of sentient beings are still in cyclic existence in the Six Realms, so He needs everyone to form great aspirations and vows to return to the Saha World.
Although the Buddha wants to transform us so we can transcend the Three Realms and the Six Destinies, He still needs people to return to the Saha World, this world of endurance, to transform others. So, we must turn from the small to the great.
After we clean the mirror of our minds, we must examine ourselves. Once our hearts are clean, we can turn this mirror to reflect others, so they can also see their true nature. Then we can ask them, “Can you see yourself in this mirror? Yes, we can. Actually, you have such a mirror, too.” When we take out our mirrors, it may not yet reflect things clearly. We need to find a way to wipe it clean, so the surface will be clear and bright. Then naturally we can use it to reflect ourselves, as well as other people. This is how we awaken ourselves and others.
All sentient beings originally had a pure, undefiled great perfect mirror wisdom. We all have this great mirror. It is called great perfect mirror wisdom.
The Buddha used many methods to enable us to escape painful entanglements so that, according to the verses, we “may be guided and released.” Since we are “attached to everything.” He finds ways to guide and release us from our many sufferings. Helping us transcend suffering is why the Buddha comes to the world and exercises both compassion and wisdom. So, we must put our hearts into giving rise to great power of faith and mindfully understanding how the Buddha exercises compassion and wisdom. We must always be mindful.