Episode 268 – The Supreme Two-Footed Honored One
>>”Two Vehicle practitioners have limited capacities, strong attachments and tremendous obstacles. The True Dharma of the One Vehicle is hard for them to believe in and understand. Because of His wisdom, the Buddha kept in mind that their arrogance and doubt could give rise to slander.”
>>”At that time, Sariputra further addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.'”
>> “Presently, within this assembly are those equal to me, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them. Life after life, they have been taught by the Buddha. People such as these would certainly respect and believe You. Then they could safely pass the long night and enjoy many benefits.”
>> Sariputra, with the wisdom of knowing past lives, said that many of those at the assembly had long been taught by Buddhas. So, they would certainly have faith and respect. Thus, the Buddha should not stop expounding the Dharma just because of a few people.
>> Then they could safely pass the long night: The long night refers to how the afflictions from cyclic existence are dark and endless. So, [Sariputra] prayed that the Buddha would use the light of wondrous Dharma and wisdom to abundantly benefit all sentient beings.
>>”Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”
>>”Supreme Two-Footed Honored One” is an honorable epithet of the Buddha, because among two-footed sentient beings, the Buddha is the most honored and esteemed. It is also said, the merits from precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom, are like the Buddha’s two honored feet, which allow Him to freely travel through Dharma-realms.
“Two Vehicle practitioners have limited capacities,
strong attachments and tremendous obstacles.
The True Dharma of the One Vehicle
is hard for them to believe in and understand.
Because of His wisdom, the Buddha kept in mind
that their arrogance and doubt could give rise to slander.”
This is telling everyone that the Buddha observed the capabilities of the Dharma-assembly. Had all of their capabilities matured? A few people had the limited capabilities of. Two Vehicle practitioners. So, they still had strong attachments and tremendous obstacles. The Buddha was concerned about those with strong attachments, tremendous obstacles and limited capabilities. If they could not understand, that was fine, but they might give rise to self-arrogance and overbearing arrogance and then commit slander. If this happened, they would create karma. The Buddha was compassionate and could not bear to let these few people do that, so He remained silent.
Yet, Sariputra still persisted and sincerely requested the Dharma. So, the previous passage stated,
․”At that time, Sariputra further addressed the Buddha, saying, ‘World-Honored One, I only pray that You will speak it; I only pray that You will speak it.'”
“Only” signified his utmost reverence; he was wholeheartedly reverent and respectful as he requested that the Buddha freely teach the true and wondrous Dharma that. He had [been guarding] in His mind. Sariputra’s sincerity was an expression of his thinking.
He said, “Presently, within this assembly are those equal to me, hundreds, thousands, millions, billions of them. Life after life, they have been taught by the Buddha. People such as these would certainly respect and believe You. Then they could safely pass the long night and enjoy many benefits.”
“Presently, within this assembly” refers to those who were present. “Those equal to me” suggest that many bhiksus like Sariputra were likely present at the assembly in great numbers. There were many who respected and had great faith in the Buddha-Dharma. These people had very deep karmic connections. “Life after life, they have been taught by Buddhas. People such as these would certainly respect and believe You. Life after life” means in the past and the present these people have continuously had a deep connection with and been taught by the Buddha. They would certainly believe and respect the Buddha-Dharma. Then certainly, “they could safely pass through the long night and enjoy many benefits.”
This shows that Sariputra had the wisdom of knowing past lives. His wisdom of knowing past lives came from cultivating and accumulating wisdom over many lifetimes. So presently, Sariputra, among all the disciples of the Buddha, was still foremost in wisdom. He spoke on behalf of many at the assembly. For a long time, these people had been receiving the Buddha’s instruction, so they would certainly respect and believe Him. Thus, Sariputra said this again to express, “Venerable Buddha, You must not stop expounding the Dharma just because of a few people.”
Sariputra, with the wisdom of knowing past lives, said that many of those at the assembly had long been taught by Buddhas. So, they would certainly have faith and respect. Thus, the Buddha should not stop expounding the Dharma just because of a few people.
There were many disciples who respected and believed in the Buddha. Hundreds, thousands, millions and billions of them. Not only did the disciples who were there need His teachings, His future disciples would as well. Sariputra hoped He would not stop speaking just because of the few people with overbearing arrogance, who lacked faith and respect. So, Sariputra sincerely made his request again.
Earlier we mentioned, “through the long night.” These people’s minds were already at peace. So, no matter what the Buddha said, they would be able to accept it. For a long time, over many lifetimes, they had been following the Buddha. So, “long night” actually refers to our cyclic existence. We ordinary people are still transmigrating in the Six Realms. As we go through cyclic existence, we still continuously have afflictions, which give rise to doubts and lead us to create karma. This signifies that, for a long time, we have lived in ignorance, [lacking illumination]. So, the long night is an analogy for the long time we spend in cyclic existence.
Then they could safely pass the long night: The long night refers to how the afflictions from cyclic existence are dark and endless. So, [Sariputra] prayed that the Buddha would use the light of wondrous Dharma and wisdom to abundantly benefit all sentient beings.
These ordinary people had spent a very long time following the Buddha. Life after life they were taught by Him and had lived through this long, endless dark night. “Night” implies ignorance and lack of clarity, this dark and endless path. They have passed through cyclic existence, so their minds have become peaceful and calm. [So, Sariputra] said that the Buddha could confidently proclaim and teach the Dharma. People’s minds, at that moment, were in a calm and peaceful state of deep faith; they had absolutely no doubts.
So, he then asked the Buddha again to use the light of wondrous Dharma and wisdom to illuminate and benefit these people, not only those who were there at the time, but also those in the future. They all waited very reverently, praying that the Buddha would quickly open and reveal His wondrous teachings, so they could develop greater peace and better understanding. This is known as “abundant benefits.” This was not only for those who lived in the Buddha’s lifetime, but for those in the future, our present. So, as Sariputra made his requests to the Buddha, he reassured Him that everyone would develop faith and understanding and really benefit from the light of His wisdom. So, this was what Sariputra said earlier.
Now let us continue to read, “At that time, Sariputra,” wished to restate his meaning. So, after the passage in prose, he repeated his request in verse.
“Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma. I, as a senior disciple, sincerely implore You to explain it in detail.”
In “Supreme Two-Footed Honored One, supreme” refers to the ultimate, highest level, and “Two-Footed Honored One” is a way to address the Buddha. Every Buddha has ten epithets, and one of the ten is the “Two-Footed Honored One,” The Buddha is [the most honored] among two-footed beings. “Sentient beings” include all living beings, but here, special mention is made of the “two-footed” ones. Humans are the most intelligent of all beings and the most receptive to the Buddha-Dharma. Among these sentient beings, the Buddha is the most honored one. Among both heavenly beings and humans, He is supreme and unsurpassed, so He is known as the Two-Footed Honored One.
“Supreme Two-Footed Honored One” is an honorable epithet of the Buddha, because among two-footed sentient beings, the Buddha is the most honored and esteemed. It is also said, the merits from precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom, are like the Buddha’s two honored feet, which allow Him to freely travel through Dharma-realms.
The Buddha is already replete with these two feet, “precepts and Samadhi” and “blessings and wisdom.” This is because, since ancient kalpas, He has cultivated “precepts and Samadhi” and “blessings and wisdom.” During the process of our spiritual practice, we must follow precepts.
Precepts are rules for us spiritual practitioners. So, spiritual practitioners must follow precepts and “treat precepts as their teacher.” The precepts are the most important rules for spiritual practitioners to follow; if we deviate from our rules, from the precepts, we will easily transgress repeatedly and be covered by ignorance. Then, we will fall into the dark and endless night again. So, as we engage in spiritual practice, we must get through the long endless night, this condition of darkness. Then we will quickly see the light of wisdom, So, we must uphold the precepts.
To strictly adhere to the precepts, our minds must be in Samadhi. If we engage in spiritual practice without Samadhi, we will constantly move forward, then backward, forward, then backward. If so, how can we successfully walk this dark and bumpy path? So, we cannot go backward anymore; we must keep going in a straight line.
We can accomplish this with our minds in Samadhi. At the same time, on this endless road, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom. From the start of the Lotus teachings, the Buddha placed great importance on the mission of going into the world to save and transform sentient beings. He greatly valued this. For the past 40 years or so, He used skillful teachings to help everyone understand that this world was filled with suffering, impermanence and subject to the law of karma, etc. He spent a very long time helping people transcend that ignorant and dark state. This was what the Buddha taught in the past.
Previously, we also talked about the Two Vehicles, which are actually the foundation for the One Vehicle. Without the Two Vehicle teachings from the past, how could there be the One Great Vehicle now? In the past, if people had not accepted the Buddha-Dharma and used the Dharma as water to cleanse the darkness from their minds, how could they have kept walking this long path? So, they have been on this path of cyclic existence for a very long time. They listened to the Buddha teach the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and so on, and now place great importance on the Six Paramitas, the Six Perfections.
The Six Perfections are how we cross the river of samsara and the sea of desires. Not only must we cross them ourselves, we must also help other people cross. We already have the tools to cross this vast sea of desires, a ship of compassion. We are on this ship, using it to weather the wind and waves. As we cross this vast sea, we still see multitudes of sentient beings immersed in the water. So, we have to pull them out, one by one. We save them from suffering by bringing them onto this ship of compassion; this is how we create blessings.
If our minds are in Samadhi, we will not be afraid of going among people. Among those living confused lives, we will not be influenced by the confusions of life, and instead, in this confused and ignorant world, we can give teachings [to help people]. We can give everything from material goods, the Dharma, to fearlessness and so on. Whatever sentient beings are in need of, we will continuously give it to them. This is what we do in the world.
This is why, besides “precepts and Samadhi,” the Buddha is also replete with “blessings and wisdom. Blessings and wisdom” are cultivated by going among people. “Precepts and Samadhi” are used to guard ourselves as we go among people to practice “blessings and wisdom.” So, “precepts and Samadhi, blessings and wisdom” are the merits and virtues that the Buddha cultivated since Beginningless Time. These are the two feet of “precepts and Samadhi” and “blessings and wisdom.” With these two feet, He freely travels throughout Dharma-realms. Not only does He travel through this world, He also travels through Dharma-realms.
So, at this point, Sariputra’s only wish was, “I pray You will expound the supreme Dharma.” He hoped the Buddha would expound the supreme Dharma, which is the most profound and wondrous Dharma that He had been safeguarding in His heart. This was a state of mind. “The supreme Dharma” was His state of mind, which encompassed all things in all worlds. This is the state of mind the Buddha, the Two-Footed Honored One, uses to freely travel throughout all Dharma-realms.
It was guarded in His mind and. He was about to explain it, but had not for the sake of a few people. Yet, Sariputra continued to sincerely ask for it. So, we must also patiently wait for someone like Sariputra to, for all our sakes, sincerely ask the Buddha, the Two-Footed Honored One, [to share] the supreme Dharma He has used to freely travel through Dharma-realms. We must learn to discover this supreme Dharma in ourselves. Therefore, we must always be mindful.