Episode 307 – Return to the One Buddha Vehicle
>> In accord with the original nature possessed by sentient beings, the Buddha opened. His understanding and views for all. In His understanding and views, there is only the One Buddha Vehicle, not two or three vehicles.
>> “Sariputra, this is all done so that they may attain the One Buddha Vehicle and all-encompassing wisdom.”
>> “Sariputra, in the worlds of the ten directions, there are not even two vehicles, much less three.”
>> So, “There are not even two vehicles, much less three. Before giving the Lotus teachings, the Buddha gave skillful teachings. He did not tell Hearers and Solitary Realizers, the Two Vehicle practitioners, that they can attain Buddhahood.”
>> At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He gave true teachings, the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma. He began to say that the Two Vehicle Dharma is really the One Buddha Vehicle. There are not two or three vehicles. All Buddhas of the Three Periods first give skillful means and provisional teachings. Then They open the provisional to reveal the true and bring all teachings back to the One Buddha Vehicle.
[Seasons progress from] spring, summer, fall to winter. We pass the days in the same way while the seasons are soundlessly and unnoticeably changing. So, we must always heighten our awareness to notice the subtle changes in the world and how all things have an intrinsic nature.
Over these past few days, I have been talking about nature and appearances. Indeed, all things in the world have an intrinsic nature and also take on different appearances. Different appearances can reflect different natures. But these natures and appearances are created by the convergence of causes and conditions. So, when those causes and conditions separate, the natures and appearances will change.
All of these different things and all of these countless appearances each seem to have a different nature. But actually the ultimate true nature is the One Buddha Vehicle, which is the truth, the existence of the truth. This truth is our Buddha-nature. This truth exists within all people; it is inseparable [from us].
So, the Buddha comes to the world [to teach] “in accord with the original nature possessed by sentient beings.” The Buddha has great faith that all sentient beings have this intrinsic nature. Even though we have many habitual tendencies, He wanted to help us recognize that all of us have the same shared intrinsic nature. This shared intrinsic nature is the Tathagata’s pure Buddha-nature.
In accord with the original nature possessed by sentient beings, the Buddha opened. His understanding and views for all. In His understanding and views, there is only the One Buddha Vehicle, not two or three vehicles.
Even though we continuously transmigrate in the Six Realms and continuously strengthen our habitual tendencies, the Buddha did not give up on us. So, “the Buddha opened. His understanding and views for all. For all” means He did this universally. The Buddha was not only kind to humans, but to all beings of the Six Realms. He never gave up on any being, even those in evil realms such as the animal realm. So, He did this “for all.” He truly [taught] all in the Six Realms universally; He taught everyone His understanding and views.
How can we sentient beings truly realize the Buddha’s understanding and views? The Buddha can see the ultimate reality of everything. That is how refined. His understanding and views are, how true, how universal. “Refined” means that they are as pure and undefiled as crystal. “True” means they are not false. He has a complete, true and thorough understanding of ultimate reality. The Buddha’s understanding and views are like this. “In His understanding and views, there is only the One Buddha Vehicle.”
The Buddha taught many provisional principles according to sentient beings’ capabilities. But actually, they all fall under the One Buddha Vehicle “not two or three vehicles.” The Two and Three Vehicle teachings are convenient steps for reaching the One Vehicle Dharma. He guided sentient beings in the hopes that they all would return to the One Buddha Vehicle. This was His goal in coming to this world.
Earlier, we also mentioned that the Buddha called to Sariputra and said,
“Sariputra, this is all done so that they may attain the One Buddha Vehicle and all-encompassing wisdom.”
This is because the Buddha gave many teachings in the hopes that everyone could realize and attain the One Buddha Vehicle and all-encompassing wisdom.
All-encompassing wisdom is something which. I have recently discussed quite a bit. This was the wisdom the Buddha exercised to teach sentient beings. Because they all had different capabilities, to give them suitable teachings, the Buddha taught worldly Dharma, worldly principles, the Five Precepts of the human realm and the Ten Precepts of the heaven realm. He even spoke of the. Three Evil Realms, and so on. He utilized [Bodhisattva-wisdom] to teach ordinary sentient beings. There is also [Hearer-wisdom], which can identify the right principles, and which gives us sentient beings a truly broad and smooth road, a great, direct Bodhi-path for us to walk on.
In the next passage in the sutra, the Buddha once again called to Sariputra.
“Sariputra, in the worlds of the ten directions, there are not even two vehicles, much less three.”
The worlds of ten directions He spoke of were the worlds of all Buddhas of ten directions. Each Buddha comes into this world for the sentient beings of His land and establishes provisional and skillful means to give them teachings. He teaches with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions. But in the end, each Buddha ultimately sets aside these various skillful teachings and brings them all together to open the provisional and reveal the true. He takes apart the provisional, skillful teachings and opens them wide to tell people, “I gave these teachings in the past to suit your capabilities so you know to accept the Buddha-Dharma, have faith in it and put it into practice. But those were not the ultimate teachings. I hope the ultimate teachings will help you all return to the wisdom of your Tathataga-nature return to the wisdom of your Tathataga-nature, which everyone intrinsically possesses. You should know [that you intrinsically have this].”
He did not only teach about suffering, about the Four Noble Truths. Most hear about the Four Noble Truths and learn about the truth of suffering in life, and how we remain in cyclic existence in the Six Realms and face impermanence and afflictions, but [the Dharma] is more than that. Some people hear this and realize that all suffering arises from causes and conditions. So, they fear karmic retribution and do not dare go through cyclic existence again. People cannot just stop here; they must go beyond this understanding.
After Hearers understand the law of karma and suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, they only know that they should not create more bad karma. But if they have not eliminated all afflictions, they cannot yet return to the radiance and clarity of their pure Buddha-nature. They have not yet thoroughly understood their intrinsic nature.
This is what the Buddha continuously told His disciples. In the worlds of the ten directions, the methods Buddhas use to teach sentient beings in Their lands and the ways He, Sakyamuni, gives teachings to all those people in His era are the same. They all use various methods first and then begin to “open the provisional.” The Buddhas lay these skillful teachings wide open so people know they are not the ultimate teachings. There is an ultimate teaching beyond that, which is not the Two or Three Vehicle teachings. Those eventually lead to the One Vehicle, which is the Bodhisattva-path.
While the Buddha was in the world, the disciples who followed Him did not clearly understand this either. For example, one year the Buddha held a summer retreat where the monastics gathered together. One day, as Ananda walked among the Sangha, everyone was discussing the Dharma. They said that the Buddha’s teachings were great, but they wondered about the causes and conditions that brought them the blessings to be at the Buddha’s side every day so they could constantly listen to His teachings. They also wondered about the karmic conditions of Ajnata Kaundinya, that not only did he live in the same era as the Buddha, but he also had the exceptional opportunity to be the first to listen to the Buddha teach and was there the first time the Buddha turned the Dharma-wheel. How did this come about?
Ananda thought, “This is a good question. I should quickly ask the Buddha.” The Buddha began by saying, “Ananda, that is a good question. The workings of karma are inconceivable.” [He went on to say that] many kalpas ago, there was a king named Maitribala. This king’s heart and mind were replete with goodness and loving-kindness, so he treated all sentient beings in his kingdom like part of his family; he truly cherished them. He always did things that benefited hem. For example, he gave away all his wealth. When people had doubts, he continually shared his understanding. ․of the Buddha-Dharma with them and taught them to practice “loving speech.”
King Maitribala set an example for others and encouraged everyone to respect each other, to only speak kind and loving words to one another. Then he taught the people in his country to do things that benefited each other. Thus, at that time, the king utilized the Four All-Embracing Virtues in his teachings and governance to benefit all sentient beings.
Among them were five yaksas. Without realizing it, they were recipients of the king’s love and care. We know that yaksas are vicious by nature, but without realizing it, they were influenced by the people’s practice of the Four All-Embracing Virtues, charitable giving, beneficial conduct, working together and loving speech, and how they shared the Dharma with each other.
So, one day, these five yaksas, in great agony, came before King Maitribala. They respectfully told him, “Your Majesty, you constantly encourage people to be loving and we have experienced that love. But we yaksas are like vampires. I want to uphold and practice the teachings, but my body really needs fresh human blood. I really don’t know what to do. I’m so hungry that I feel like I’m on fire.”
King Maitribala could not bear this, so he said, “The body can only be sustained temporarily. Wisdom-life is more important; it is everlasting. I can help relieve your physical suffering momentarily, but I hope you will diligently nurture your everlasting wisdom-life.” After he finished speaking, he stabbed his body in five places with a sharp knife and let the wounds bleed. So, there were five places for the yaskas to feed.
This satisfied the yaksas’ blood cravings. Then King Maitribala said, “You have to be like me and vow to diligently walk the path to Buddhahood. Physical life is limited; only wisdom-life is everlasting. I vow to benefit sentient beings, life after life, and take on their suffering. I seek nothing else, only to attain Buddhahood and realize true principles. In the future, when I attain enlightenment, I hope you will be the first to receive my teachings.”
At this point in the story, the Buddha said, “Ananda, do you realize that. King Maitribala is none other than me? Those five yaksas are none other than. Ajnata Kaundinya and rest of the five bhiksus.”
Ananda realized this, but the Buddha had also spoken of a past life as a giant fish. When five fishermen first saw this giant fish, they were asked to tell others to come take his flesh to sustain their lives. So, what about those causes and conditions? The Buddha said, “These are the inconceivable workings of karma lifetime after lifetime.”
Those five yaksas and five fishermen seem to always be brought together by causes and conditions. And when they encountered great difficulties, in the Buddha’s past lives, He would appear in their time of greatest need. As the Buddha engaged in spiritual practice, He was always linked to them by affinities.
Therefore, as we interact with others, we must recognize that to engage in spiritual practice together in this lifetime, we must have done the same in previous lifetimes. Thus, our karmic affinities will always bring us together. So, to receive the Buddha’s teachings takes deep [affinities]. We may have even consumed His flesh or sucked his blood [in past lives]. There are causes and conditions behind all things.
He not only sustains our physical life and gives us the nourishment we need most, but He also helps us to sustain our wisdom-life. This comes from causes and conditions; this is how causes and conditions work. So, we have the One Buddha Vehicle [within us]. All Buddhas of the ten directions teach sentient beings in the same way. In the end, they all open the provisional to reveal the true. “There are not even two vehicles, much less three.” However, the reality of causes and conditions is something we must mindfully realize.
So, “There are not even two vehicles, much less three. Before giving the Lotus teachings, the Buddha gave skillful teachings. He did not tell Hearers and Solitary Realizers, the Two Vehicle practitioners, that they can attain Buddhahood.”
When He spoke to Hearers and Solitary Realizers, He did not tell them that they could also attain Buddhahood. He just told them that based on their capabilities, the Four Noble Truths are suitable for them. Thus, they should focus on comprehending them and realizing the causes of suffering in life and the way to eliminate suffering. He told them to focus on spiritual cultivation, on eliminating ignorance and afflictions. Solitary Realizers [are suited to] the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. The causes and conditions of all phenomena are what they are interested in, can understand, and are receptive to, so they should focus on realizing the law of karma. This is what He first asked them to be mindful of.
So, before giving the Lotus teachings, He utilized skillful means that suited them. The Buddha never told them that they also have the potential to be Buddhas. This is a rarely-given teaching.
Some had the affinity to listen to the Dharma but did not yet have mature capabilities, so He still could not tell everyone that they could all attain Buddhahood. Before giving the Lotus teachings, He did not say that Hearers and Solitary Realizers can attain Buddhahood. But at that moment, He was telling everyone that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature and. Hearers and Solitary Realizers can also attain Buddhahood.
We know this because the Buddha’s teachings have been passed on. Indeed, we already learned from sutras a long time ago that, “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]. We all intrinsically have a pure, intrinsic Buddha-nature.” I taught this at the beginning, so we should already know this. But during the time of the Buddha, before giving the Lotus teachings, He only taught according to capabilities. That was how He began His teachings.
At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He gave true teachings, the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma. He began to say that the Two Vehicle Dharma is really the One Buddha Vehicle. There are not two or three vehicles. All Buddhas of the Three Periods first give skillful means and provisional teachings. Then They open the provisional to reveal the true and bring all teachings back to the One Buddha Vehicle.
Dear Bodhisattvas, we are really very fortunate and very blessed. At this time, we can still listen to the Buddha-Dharma. Though we live over 2000 years after the Buddha, His teachings are [increasingly verified] by scientific advancements, so we can more deeply realize and understand that all things in the world have their own nature and change in subtle and wondrous ways. As long as we are mindful, by understanding one principle, we understand all. There is no need for two or three vehicles. Ultimately, there is just one truth. I hope you will always be mindful.