Episode 271 – Explaining the Teachings According to Conditions
>>”The compassionate Buddha observed that the conditions were not yet ripe. After being earnestly asked three times, how could He not expound it? He exercised compassion and wisdom and taught and reminded people to develop wisdom. He opened Three [Vehicles] to reveal the One, so we must eliminate doubts and give rise to faith.”
>> The countless beings assembled here will respect and believe this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.
>>”There are 1200 of us, and more, seeking the Buddha’s teachings. For those assembled here, I pray You will bestow teachings in detail. Having heard this Dharma, we will give rise to great joy.”
>> I pray You will bestow teachings in detail: For those with dull capabilities, He reduced One Vehicle teachings and separated it into Three Vehicles. According to people’s different capabilities and conditions, He gave different teachings.
“The compassionate Buddha observed that the conditions were not yet ripe.
After being earnestly asked three times, how could He not expound it?
He exercised compassion and wisdom and taught and reminded people to develop wisdom.
He opened Three [Vehicles] to reveal the One, so we must eliminate doubts and give rise to faith.”
This is telling everyone that the Buddha was compassionate, so He contemplated whether the audience could accept the Dharma. Were their capabilities mature enough to accept the true, subtle and wondrous teachings? If their capabilities were still immature, they would hear but not understand, or they might give rise to overbearing arrogance. With overbearing arrogance, they might easily commit slander and create karma. This was the Buddha’s concern.
Yet Sariputra was so reverent and earnest; he had already asked three times, so the Buddha thought it was about the right time. Now He observed the proportion of those who sincerely wanted to listen to teachings and the few who were not yet ready. After such a long waiting period, did those few people develop faith? Did they wish to seek the Dharma now? This [waiting] period was how the Buddha tested those who wanted teachings.
But, Sariputra understood the Buddha’s intention, so he earnestly asked three times. Over the course of this test, people’s capabilities had approached maturity. Those whose capabilities had not been ready had already been tested to the utmost. So, “how could He not expound it?” Thus, the Buddha began preparations to expound the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma. This was due to Sariputra, who “earnestly asked three times.” So, “how could [the Buddha] not expound it?” It was time.
The Buddha had always wanted to teach this. But, He was concerned that people were not ready. With their capabilities almost mature now, the Buddha still exercised both compassion and wisdom. Compassion formed the Buddha’s original intent. Because of His compassion, He came to the world for one great cause, to teach sentient beings that they originally had wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. However, they stubbornly remained deluded, so the Buddha had to utilize His wisdom. So, He “exercised both compassion and wisdom,”
“taught and reminded people to develop wisdom.” He had to patiently teach and carefully guide them to the Three Vehicle Dharma that suited their capabilities. He was worried for the proud and arrogant, those with overbearing ignorance. The Buddha constantly taught and reminded everyone to respect the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha.
Merits from respecting the Buddha allow us to comprehend the great path. Merits from respecting the Dharma allow us to have wisdom as vast as the ocean. Merits from respecting the Sangha allows us to lead the assembly harmoniously. This was how the Buddha used various methods to help people develop respect. When they listened to the Dharma with respect and faith, naturally they would grow in wisdom.
So, the Buddha previously used the Three Vehicles to give suitable teachings to sentient beings. Now, He wanted to “open Three to reveal One.” He began to tell everyone that the Three Vehicles He taught were provisional teachings, and now. He wanted to take the Three Vehicles and combine them into the wondrous. One Vehicle Dharma. In this way, He “opened Three to reveal One.” At the same time, He wanted [people] to eliminate doubts and give rise to faith. Most people probably still had doubts, and this was the time to eliminate them. Listening with respect and faith requires a firm and steady mind. We must be firm in our respect for and faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Our respect and faith must be strong, so we must “eliminate doubts and give rise to faith.” We are now slowly entering the part of the sutra where the Buddha “opened Three to reveal One” and taught the subtle and wondrous Dharma.
In the previous sutra passage, Sariputra said that, “The countless beings assembled here can respect and have faith in the Dharma. The Dharma” was the Great Vehicle Dharma safeguarded in the Buddha’s mind. Sariputra spoke to the Buddha, as if guaranteeing that, there were infinite people who, just like him, had suitable capabilities and wisdom. Thus, they could all respect and believe in the subtle and wondrous One Vehicle Dharma that the Buddha was about to teach. This is “the Dharma.” Everyone could have respect and have faith in this Dharma, so he asked the Buddha to teach without worries. These people had, life after life, since Beginningless Time, followed the Buddha and listened to His teachings. So, they had developed enough wisdom and common sense [to accept it]. They were very respectful and felt, “With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.”
The countless beings assembled here will respect and believe this Dharma. For You have, life after life, taught ones such as these. With one mind, with palms together, we all want to receive Your words.
Next [Sariputra] said,
“There are 1200 of us, and more, seeking the Buddha’s teachings. For those assembled here, I pray You will bestow teachings in detail. Having heard this Dharma, we will give rise to great joy.”
In this sutra passage, Sariputra continued to explain how happy everyone was. See, they all sat there respectfully with their palms together, waiting for the Buddha to give teachings. Of the people here now, “there are 1200 of us.” This was the Buddha’s retinue, who were always by His side. Wherever the Buddha went to give teachings, they were right next to Him.
There were also “more seeking the Buddha’s teachings. For those assembled here” means not just for the 1200 people. At the Lotus Dharma-assembly on Vulture Peak, there were many people who respectfully sought the Buddha’s teachings and had faith in what He was about to say. They very attentively and respectfully waited for Him [to speak]. So, he hoped the Buddha would give teachings for all those who were at the Dharma-assembly.
Thus Sariputra, with utmost reverence, used the two words “pray” and “bestow.” We must understand that “pray” meant “may You” and was an expression of utmost reverence. With wholehearted respect, he asked the Buddha to expound the Dharma. “Bestow” gives the sense the Buddha sat high up while everyone sat in the seats below. So, He “bestowed” teachings from above as they reverently listened below. [Sariputra] even asked Him to give them a detailed explanation, implying that the Buddha should not worry that they might not have enough patience to listen or that they might not faithfully accept it. He asked the Buddha to meticulously explain the True Dharma that He had guarded in His mind. This was Sariputra’s heartfelt wish, so he used very respectful language to reverently ask Him for detailed teachings.
Thus, Sariputra said again, “Having heard this Dharma, we will give rise to great joy.” He said that if they, the 1200 people and all those at the assembly, heard the Buddha explain the Dharma in detail, they would definitely be very happy. So, he asked the Buddha not to worry, and to clearly explain the Dharma in detail.
Let us start from. “I pray You will bestow teachings in detail” and meticulously explain it.
I pray You will bestow teachings in detail: For those with dull capabilities, He reduced One Vehicle teachings and separated it into Three Vehicles. According to people’s different capabilities and conditions, He gave different teachings.
With His compassion, the Buddha expounded the Dharma for over 40 years. He originally wanted to teach the One Vehicle Dharma, to point directly at our minds, so we could realize our true nature. This simple teaching tells all of us that we have the same wisdom as Him, so we can also attain Buddhahood, as long as we eliminate our afflictions and ignorance. When we have a clear state of mind, we will have perfect awakened conduct. But we sentient beings have dull capabilities and cannot understand [the Dharma]. So, the Buddha had no choice but to “reduce One Vehicle teachings for those with dull capabilities.”
The Buddha had always praised the ultimate reality of the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma for being supreme and unsurpassed. But this supreme One Vehicle Dharma could not normally be understood by sentient beings due to their dull capabilities. For sentient beings with dull capabilities, the supreme One Vehicle teachings had to be lowered and reduced [in difficulty]. So, He “separated it into Three Vehicles.” The One Vehicle Dharma was separated into the Three Vehicle Dharma.
He started with the Small Vehicle and explained the Four Noble Truths to. ․help everyone learn the workings of the world. This is because after He became enlightened, He wanted to clearly explain the workings of the world to everyone.
The Buddha lived in a palace when He was young, before He left to engage in spiritual practice. He could not bear the inequality and suffering of the world. He could not bear to let these suffering people work so hard and then be treated with such discrimination and disrespect. The Buddha felt all sentient beings were equal; why should there be differences in class? The Buddha saw the way people lived, how they separated into castes. In addition, people go through birth, aging, illness and death, being subject to the impermanence of life, and many other things, [He saw] endless suffering in the world. So, after He attained enlightenment, the Buddha began teaching by talking about the way people lived in the world. The way people live causes so much suffering.
So, the Buddha reduced One Vehicle teachings for people with dull capabilities. Some of them just could not understand, and some were listening to teachings for the first time. Thus, He “separated it into Three Vehicles.” For different capabilities and conditions, He gave the Three Vehicle teachings. So, He taught “according to their capabilities.” Everyone at the assembly had different capabilities. For people of various capabilities to accept the Dharma, they each had to interpret the teachings in a way that suited their capabilities. So, the teachings had to suit their capabilities. Sentient beings accept the Dharma according to their capabilities.
Actually, there is no great or small teaching; people just have greater or smaller capacities to accept teachings. He gave teachings “according to their capabilities.” The Buddha taught according to capabilities, so people accepted teachings suitable to them.
Thus, “[according to people’s conditions,]. [He] gave different teachings.” The Buddha gave explanations according to capabilities and conditions. Depending on their capabilities, they had different experiences upon accepting the Dharma. Those with higher capabilities, upon hearing just the truth of suffering, realized its causation, its cessation and the Path. Those with limited capabilities, after the Buddha taught the truth of suffering, only understood suffering. They only realized one thing from one teaching. Those with higher capabilities can listen to one teaching and realize two, three or four things. They instantly understand the Four Noble Truths. To summarize, “According to people’s different capabilities and conditions, He gave different teachings.” This was how the Buddha exercised both compassion and wisdom.
Everyone, please be mindful, the Buddha-Dharma is really subtle and wondrous, so we should have utmost respect and faith as we listen to the Buddha’s Dharma. So, everyone must always be mindful.