Episode 250 – Cultivating a Straightforward Mind
>>”A straightforward mind is our spiritual training ground. A tamed and straightened mind is free of doubts and worries. The Buddha’s wisdom is inconceivable; only with faith can one enter the path.”
>>”[You attained] dhyana, Samadhi, liberation and other inconceivable teachings. Of the Dharma attained at the training ground, no one was able to raise questions. I find its meaning hard to fathom, and no one was able to ask about it. Without being asked, You explained it, praising the path You have walked.”
>> Praising the path [He] has walked: Those who vow to repay the Fourfold Grace will readily enter the path.
>> On the Four Broad Streets, they respectfully put their palms together, circumambulate and practice the path. They take refuge and prostrate, walking the path to advance in virtue.
>>”[You praise] the wisdom, subtle and wondrous, that is attained by all Buddhas. All Arhats, who are without Leaks, and also those who seek Nirvana….”
>> Wisdom, subtle and wondrous: One with such wisdom can faithfully accept Right Dharma, have a clear and keen body and mind and practice purifying practices.
“A straightforward mind is our spiritual training ground.
A tamed and straightened mind is free of doubts and worries.
The Buddha’s wisdom is inconceivable;
only with faith can one enter the path.”
This is telling everyone that we all have to develop a straightforward mind, which is our spiritual training ground. Haven’t I previously mentioned that “a straightforward mind is our training ground”? “A straightforward mind” refers to being in Samadhi, a meditative state of concentration. If we can keep our minds on what we are doing, then we will be able to focus on every single thing we do. When we are listening to the teachings, we need to focus on listening and then faithfully accept the Dharma. The Buddha came to the world and applied deep contemplation and wisdom to observe the capabilities of sentient beings in order to give them the teachings they need. If each one of us faithfully accepts and practices [the Buddha’s teachings,] we will develop “a tamed, straightforward mind.”
As we listen to the teachings, are we listening mindfully? After we listen, do we take the teachings into our hearts? This depends on our minds. So, spiritual practice is about taming and training our minds to become straightforward. “The great Bodhi-path is straight.” We have to adjust our minds to walk this great Bodhi-path. This takes a straightforward mind. So, “a tamed and straightened mind is free of doubts and worries.” We cannot have doubts.
A straightforward mind is where we practice. We have to adjust our minds to walk the great straight path. We cannot have doubts. “The Buddha’s wisdom is inconceivable.” We ordinary people cannot possibly conceive of and comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom. The Buddha’s mind and His wisdom are difficult to conceive of and discuss. Still, we must try our best. So, “only with faith can one enter the path.”
As mentioned earlier in the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha told everyone to “give rise to great power of faith.” When we listen to teachings, we must give rise to the power of great faith. So, everyone, spiritual practice truly requires not only a straightforward mind, a tamed mind, but also great faith. This is why we must adjust our minds each day.
So this passage of the sutra states,
“[You attained] dhyana, Samadhi, liberation and other inconceivable teachings. Of the Dharma attained at the training ground, no one was able to raise questions. I find its meaning hard to fathom, and no one was able to ask about it. Without being asked, You explained it, praising the path You have walked.”
This sutra passage is telling us that the Buddha’s mind is constantly in Samadhi. He has already attained liberation from all afflictions in the world. This is an inconceivable teaching. This is not something we ordinary people can realize. Since the Buddha’s wisdom is like this, “no one is able to raise questions.” No one can ask a question because no one can understand His state of mind. Thus, how could anyone raise questions?
The Buddha’s wisdom is [inconceivable]. In the past, people tried their best to learn the Buddha’s teachings. Having obtained a peaceful mind, they felt that they had attained liberation. But now the Buddha wanted them to continue to move forward toward the true path of the One Vehicle, which is subtle, wondrous and extremely profound. What exactly does this subtle, wondrous and profound true path of the One Vehicle look like? They could not ask because, with their [limited] wisdom and knowledge, they could not realize the Buddha’s intent. This was the reason “no one was able to raise questions.” None of them could ask questions.
This was why Sariputra said, “I find its meaning hard to fathom.” This passage is. Sariputra asking the Buddha for teachings. First, he praised the Buddha’s state of mind. Then, he explained that no one could conceive of the Buddha’s mind. In particular, even Sariputra, who was foremost in wisdom among the Buddha’s disciples, said, “I find its meaning hard to fathom,” Even he could not fathom the Buddha’s spiritual state, this extremely profound, wondrous Dharma. He had no way [to grasp it]. Therefore, “no one was able to ask about it. I cannot fathom it, and no one else can ask about it.” This was what Sariputra said.
But now, “without being asked, [the Buddha] explained it, praising the path [He] had walked.” No one raised a question, but the Buddha kept expressing praise and admiration. “The Dharma I have attained is so profound, subtle and wondrous.” He continued to describe. His personal spiritual state. No one was able to ask questions, so He praised the “path He had walked.”
The Buddha revealed, “In the past, I drew near countless Buddhas.” He diligently and mindfully absorbed all Their wisdom and paths into His mind. What He was praising was the collective spiritual training ground of all Buddhas and the way They walked Their path. This is what Sakyamuni Buddha said without being asked.
What is the path we need to follow? As we begin our spiritual practice, we ordinary people must aspire to draw near virtuous friends. This is how the Buddha used His own experience to inspire future sentient beings. His path included learning from all Buddhas, so right now, we must draw near virtuous friends. We are now just taking our first steps. We have the opportunity to hear the Dharma, so we must aspire to walk this path.
When we aspire to walk the path, what path do we follow? First we must be determined to repay the Fourfold Grace. In the sutra, there is a passage on repaying grace, which is about having a sense of gratitude. We must awaken the love [in our hearts], our sense of gratitude.
Praising the path [He] has walked: Those who vow to repay the Fourfold Grace will readily enter the path.
In particular, the Buddha taught us to be grateful to our parents, to the Three Treasures, to the world and to all sentient beings. So, we must aspire and vow to begin repaying the Fourfold Grace. We must put this teaching into practice.
In particular, [we must be grateful to] virtuous friends and people who suffer. Those who guide us unto the path to Buddhahood are our teachers and good friends. Beneficial teachers and friends guide us toward the right path. This is “the grace of teachers.”
What about sentient beings? Sentient beings experience much suffering. They awaken our compassion so that our hearts go out to them and thus we help them. This is “the grace of sentient beings.” In particular, we who live in this world cannot live by ourselves. A whole society must work together in order to provide us with everything we need in life. Moreover, “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings.” We can succeed on the Bodhisattva-path because of suffering sentient beings. Therefore we say that we must have a sense of gratitude toward everything.
“Those who vow to repay the Fourfold Grace will readily enter the path. Readily enter the path” means they can quickly understand principles. Thus it is said, “[Such people] will readily enter the path.” This happens very quickly.
On the Four Broad Streets, they respectfully put their palms together, circumambulate and practice the path. They take refuge and prostrate, walking the path to advance in virtue.
On this very broad path, we should exercise a respectful mind to engage in spiritual practice. This broad street is the Bodhisattva-path [we see] after we awaken. We must understand that our awakening is Bodhi. On the Bodhi-path, we respectfully engage in spiritual practice. We give respectfully to all sentient beings in the world. This is how we “walk the path to advance in virtue.” As we “walk the path,” naturally our virtue will grow. This is how we “advance in virtue.”
In the next passage,
“[You praise] the wisdom, subtle and wondrous, that is attained by all Buddhas. All Arhats, who are without Leaks, and also those who seek Nirvana….”
This passage tells us that the Buddha’s wisdom is subtle and wondrous. His subtle and wondrous wisdom is indeed something we must learn.
Wisdom, subtle and wondrous: One with such wisdom can faithfully accept Right Dharma, have a clear and keen body and mind and practice purifying practices.
Those with wisdom can faithfully accept Right Dharma. “[They] have clear and keen bodies and minds, and practice purifying practices.” If we can faithfully accept Right Dharma, then even our bodies will be free of impurities. For our bodies to be free of impurities, we must preserve our morality as we engage in spiritual practice. Morality is protecting our bodies from being polluted. This is not about mud defiling our bodies. Not at all. It means that, in our lifetime, our bodies must not do anything to violate the rules of being a good person. This is how we maintain our purity.
There is a story in the sutra about this. A long time ago, roughly 90 kalpas ago, in a kingdom called Pama, there was a Brahmin practitioner who was named Learned-child. He began his spiritual practice in his youth. As he engaged in spiritual practice, he gradually grew older. Meanwhile, he maintained the purity of his body by remaining a virgin. When his teacher observed his wisdom and purity, he encouraged Learned-child to travel the wider world to see and experience new things.
Following his teacher’s advice, he went to a neighboring country. There, 500 Brahmins had set up a lecture hall. In the hall, there was a very high seat. [Someone] told him, “If someone with [great] knowledge dares to ascend to that seat and give teachings, and if the teachings are acceptable to everyone, then the 500 taels of gold on that seat and a very beautiful woman will be given to him.”
Learned-child saw such a grand lecture hall and so many Brahmins who did not dare to ascend the seat. So he said, “May I join your assembly? I am from the Kingdom of Pama, a neighboring country. Therefore, I do not know if you will allow me to join your assembly.” Everyone looked at him and said, “Okay, go on.” Then people asked him questions. Some people asked very basic questions, and he answered them with subtle and wondrous teachings. When he was asked crude questions, he answered them gracefully. As he answered people’s questions, he also educated them.
After hearing his answers, they became open and understanding, and they stopped using crude language. Then no one dared to use crude language again. They were able to understand the profound principles he spoke of with great clarity. So, they prostrated to him and treated him as a Living Buddha.
Afterwards, they wanted to give him the beautiful girl and the 500 taels of gold. But he turned them down to maintain the purity of his mind. The girl was very beautiful and it was a great amount of gold. Still, he was not swayed. He diligently moved forward and traveled to other places for his studies. He always walked his path with. ․a pure and straightforward mind. He experienced many novelties and increased his knowledge.
This all happened a long time ago. The Buddha said that though Learned-child traveled through many countries and faced many temptations, he still continued to share his views and understanding of the Dharma with everyone. When he returned to his home country, he still retained a pure and undefiled mind. To have an untainted body and mind, he had to cultivate purifying practices, also called Brahma-conduct. This is “a clear and keen body and mind.” When both the body and mind are clear, we will benefit others.
Those who constantly receive Right Dharma are wise people. So, the Buddha said that in the past, He cultivated a straightforward mind, which became His spiritual training ground. He trained His mind, so He would definitely not be tempted by His immediate surroundings. Thus He continuously accumulated wisdom. This was His “wisdom, subtle and wondrous.”
Everyone, we must be mindful as we learn and listen to teachings. We cannot simply follow the sutra text. Each passage, each sentence, is very profound. It is difficult to conceive and comprehend. It is also difficult to explain. But, we must mindfully contemplate simple teachings to protect the purity of our body and mind. Then, we will have the wisdom to penetrate the subtle and wondrous teachings of the path. Therefore, we must always be mindful.