Episode 263 – Respect and Believe the Supremely Honored One
>>”The root of faith fosters the source of the path and constantly nurture all roots of goodness. When the Dharma we listen to enters our minds, we contemplate its extreme wondrousness. To practice the Dharma, we must have respect and faith.”
>>”World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it. For what reason? In this assembly are countless, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings.”
>> They had seen all Buddhas. Their capabilities are sharp, and their wisdom is clear. As they listen to what the Buddha says, they are able to respect and believe it.
>>”At that time, Sariputra, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke the following verses.”
>>”Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.”
>> Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, The Buddha is the king of all Dharma because. He thoroughly understood it without impediments. This is great freedom. He also transcended the entanglements of afflictions and thoroughly understood them without impediments. This is the freedom attained through the Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha is called Dharma-king.
>> The Nirvana Sutra states that, “One must be sincere and diligent and prostrate to the Supremely Honored One.”
“The root of faith fosters the source of the path
and constantly nurture all roots of goodness.
When the Dharma we listen to enters our minds,
we contemplate its extreme wondrousness.
To practice the Dharma,
we must have respect and faith.”
We always say, “Faith is the source of the path, the mother of merits.” All of our virtues and merits, whether created through internal spiritual cultivation or external practice, must begin with “faith.” The root of faith must be deep and extensive; it is the source of the path. Our [belief in] principles arises when we develop the root of faith. Therefore, the root of faith can nurture all roots of goodness, enabling us to walk longer on the path and learn more deeply. It also fosters our spiritual aspirations.
When we listen to the Dharma, we must take it into our minds. If we fail to do so, the Dharma simply flows through us, like water passing through a water pipe. When the water no longer flows from the source, the water pipe becomes empty. Listening to the Dharma is the same. If we do not take the Dharma to heart, we will gain nothing from listening to it. This is why we must take it to heart. When we listen to the Dharma mindfully, we can take it into our minds. After listening to it, we also must contemplate it; we must thoroughly contemplate what we have heard.
The Verse of Opening a Sutra [speaks of] “the unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma.” Such unsurpassed, profound, wondrous Dharma is something we must thoroughly contemplate. After we take the Dharma into our minds, we must thoroughly and mindfully contemplate every single sentence. Even simple objects, every flower and blade of grass we see, [can teach us] extremely profound, subtle and wondrous principles about life. Therefore, we must be mindful.
There was once when several professors and instructors from the Biology Department of Tzu Chi University came to share their botanical knowledge with me. In botany, even one tree can be of [great benefit]. All the elements required by the human body are contained in this one tree. It is called a Moringa tree. It has existed for thousands of years and originated from India. It is a miraculous tree for humans.
So, we discovered that this kind of tree is beneficial for our physical health. Haiti is very impoverished, so when Tzu Chi volunteers from the United States found out about this tree, they mindfully introduced this tree to Haiti and established Moringa tree farms. When they were harvested, they were provided to poor and suffering people who lacked food and were malnourished lacked food and were malnourished. Tzu Chi volunteers from the United States came back here and reported that actually, Hualien also has this kind of tree. But, nobody knew about its uses and value.
It is easily cultivated and fast-growing. Through cutting and grafting, they can grow very quickly. Its every part, from its leaves, branches to its roots, is replete with abundant nutrients. In terms of protein, vitamins B, C and others, it contains higher amounts of them than other food. We asked the university’s Biology Department to research and analyze this tree, and we have obtained the findings. This is truly a fantastic tree; it [has the potential] to benefit humankind, but few really knew about it.
Therefore, we must listen to the Dharma. This is an example of worldly Dharma. In the universe, all things have a principle behind their existence in this world. So, living in this world, the Dharma is in everything around us, and the principles are in all people, matters and objects. However, we do not recognize them. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn not only knowledge, but also wisdom.
Knowing and recognizing something gives us knowledge. We then need to turn our knowledge into wisdom. Therefore, we contemplate the Dharma. Aside from listening to it, we must also contemplate it in detail. We must contemplate its most wondrously profound principles. Thus, “we contemplate its extreme wondrousness.”
And once we understand these profound principles? We must then practice the Dharma and put the teachings into action. We now know that the Moringa tree is fantastic. Those who live in poverty, and lack resources and nutrition [may find this useful]. So, we quickly took action to transplant these trees to Haiti. We told them about its nutritional value and how it is very beneficial to humans. They have a lot of faith in us, so they planted these trees and took great care of them. So, from then on, everyone’s bodies could physically absorb these nutrients.
This is a form of practice. Practice means to take action. So, when we knew that this [tree] could meet people’s needs, we put our knowledge into action. As we take this action, we must feel a sense of respect and faith. We must feel great respect that there are such natural resources in the world that can nurture the human body. Then, we must take the next step of helping them grow their wisdom-life as well.
Wasn’t this section from the Lotus Sutra meant to elevate our sense of respect and faith? As we have mentioned previously, the Buddha began [the Lotus Sutra] by continuously praising the One Vehicle Dharma until everyone started to admire the Great Vehicle. But then He switched to another method and said, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” But Sariputra relentlessly persisted.
This was because Sariputra and the Buddha were very much in sync. He knew that the Buddha had to freely express His original [teachings]. But He had not yet given these teachings. Stopping before He had happily given the complete teachings was not the Buddha’s intention. So, Sariputra had the wisdom to understand the Buddha’s original intention, and that, for the sake of His one great cause, He must fully and thoroughly give these teachings.
Therefore, when the Buddha stopped, Sariputra made his request again. He said,
“World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it. For what reason? In this assembly are countless, hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of asankya sentient beings.”
Therefore, Sariputra’s words clearly expressed that [the teachings] were not just for the people at that assembly, but the countless people in future generations. He also assured the Buddha that these people, in their past lives, had already formed deep karmic connections with Him.
They had seen all Buddhas. Their capabilities are sharp, and their wisdom is clear. As they listen to what the Buddha says, they are able to respect and believe it.
They had drawn near many Buddhas and followed these Buddhas in spiritual practice to nurture a very deep root of faith and develop very sharp capabilities. They had very resolute faith. These people must have had clear wisdom.
So, he told the Buddha that if He gave these teachings, people could definitely accept it. Thus, He did not need to worry about the small number of people who still could not accept it. He assured the Buddha that the majority of the people had already developed deep karmic connections, so they would respect and believe in the Dharma. Therefore, respect and faith are very important.
Sariputra then continued speaking. The following passage describes how. Sariputra repeated in verse what he had already said. So, ․”At that time, Sariputra, wishing to restate this meaning, spoke the following verses.” This shows the importance of this passage. That was why the people who compiled this sutra presented this text one more time in verse form.
“Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.”
[He said,] “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.” Dharma-King is an epithet of the Tathagata because He is the king of all Dharma. The Buddha had already thoroughly understood all Dharma without impediments. Therefore, He is called the Dharma-king, the king of all Dharma.
Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One, The Buddha is the king of all Dharma because. He thoroughly understood it without impediments. This is great freedom. He also transcended the entanglements of afflictions and thoroughly understood them without impediments. This is the freedom attained through the Dharma. Therefore, the Buddha is called Dharma-king.
Regardless of the type of principle, the Buddha can penetrate it with a single glance. With one look, He sees how each thing contains endless true principles. The Buddha has this wisdom.
From the moment He attained enlightenment, there was nothing in the universe, no principle, that He could not penetrate. Therefore, He is called the Dharma-king, the king of all Dharma. Because He can thoroughly understand all phenomena without impediments, He has freedom. So, the Buddha can analyze and resolve the afflictions of any sentient being in any environment, one by one. So, when each of them listen to teachings, they can become open and understanding. Thus, He expounds the Dharma with ease.
Because He thoroughly understands all Dharma, He can give all teachings with ease. Thus, He is the Dharma-king. In particular, in His mind, the Buddha had already transcended all afflictions, all these entanglements and bonds. He was fully liberated from them. Therefore, He could thoroughly understand [everything] without impediments.
We humans “only understand one aspect of something, but no more than that.” Most of us pretty much only know one aspect of something. But, the Buddha can understand all at once. This is because the great perfect mirror in His mind is already very illuminating. As long as this mirror manifests, all things in the world will appear in this mirror. When the object is removed, this mirror will still remain pure and undefiled. This is the Buddha’s wisdom. This is how the Buddha has already transcended all afflictions. Without afflictions to entangle and bind Him, He is able to have thorough and unimpeded understanding and freedom through the Dharma.
The Buddha does not have even a trace of doubt about any Dharma. Nothing can delude or confuse Him. So, His understanding is very thorough. Therefore, He is the Dharma-king, as He attained freedom through the Dharma.
So, He is “the Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.” Supremely Honored One is a title that shows how the Buddha is the most honored and supreme among humans and heavenly beings.
The Buddha can be called Dharma-king, the World-Honored One or the. Supremely Honored One. He is the most honored and supreme among humans and heavenly beings. Thus, He is called Supremely Honored One as a sign of respect.
The Nirvana Sutra states that, “One must be sincere and diligent and prostrate to the Supremely Honored One.”
The Nirvana Sutra encourages every one of us to respect and have faith in the Buddha. The Buddha is unsurpassed among humans and heavenly beings; thus He is the Supremely Honored One. Hence, “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One.”
This section demonstrates how. Sariputra really understood the Buddha’s mindset when he requested the teachings. So, “Dharma-king, Supremely Honored One. I pray You speak without worries. For, within this limitless assembly are those who can have respect and faith.” Because everyone could respect and believe it, He asked the Buddha to feel at peace and freely proclaim His original intent. This showed Sariputra’s mindfulness.
When we listen to teachings, we must be mindful. The root of faith is the source of the path and mother of merits. Thus, we must listen, contemplate and practice. The Dharma we hear must enter our hearts, and we must contemplate it in great detail. Then we need to practice the teachings with respect and faith. Therefore, through listening, contemplating and practicing, we can nurture deep and extensive faith. Therefore, we must always be mindful.