Episode 325 – Diligently Uphold the Dharma
>> Earnestly listen to teachings and diligently uphold and practice them. Single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice. Do not doubt the teachings and obstruct yourself. Do not be like the 5000 people who left.
>> “Bhiksus and bhiksunis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith.”
>> The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
>> 1. Initiators. At the Vulture Peak assembly, Sariputra requested teachings three times, which led the Buddha to freely teach what He originally intended to. This mobilization and response brought the Vulture Peak assembly to fruition. Thus, he was part of the initiators.
>> 2. Adopters. The adopters were people who sat there, such as Hearers, who properly listened to these teachings. They are those who benefited by awakening and attaining realizations.
>> 3. Influencers. Bodhisattvas such as Manjusri and Guanyin came from other places to help the Buddha teach sentient beings in the Saha World. Those who dignify Sakyamuni Buddha’s. Dharma-seat are considered influencers.
>> 4. Associators. Sentient beings lacking in blessings do not currently have the benefit of attaining realizations but they create the causes and conditions for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma. They create the causes and conditions for attaining the Path in the future.
Earnestly listen to teachings and diligently uphold and practice them.
Single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.
Do not doubt the teachings and obstruct yourself.
Do not be like the 5000 people who left.
This world needs religious teachings. Each religion has its own direction and doctrine, and its own teachings and methods. [To learn] the Buddha’s teachings, we must mindfully listen to the Dharma and diligently uphold and practice it. We cannot just listen briefly [and say,]. “Yes, I have listened.” We listen, but has it penetrated our minds? Did we listen earnestly and mindfully? Or did we listen casually? Human form is hard to attain, and. Right Dharma is difficult to encounter, so when we listen to the Dharma we must be earnest. Afterward, we must diligently make progress and accept and uphold the teachings. Only by doing so can the Dharma we hear be internalized. So, we must be mindful and earnestly accept and uphold it.
We “single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.” Since we chose to follow these particular religious teachings, after we listen to the Dharma, we must work to uphold and practice it. We must wholeheartedly “uphold the vows and follow the Way; then the Way is truly great.” This means that if we can be single-minded, if we can focus our minds and thoughts and uphold our vows, then we are really learning from the Buddha and can draw near to His true teachings. So, we must “single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.” After listening to the teachings, we must carefully contemplate them. Is this teaching useful to us? If it is useful, we will apply this Dharma in our daily living as we deal with people and matters. This is truly listening to and applying the Dharma. Of course, we have to contemplate it first. If it is Right Dharma, we must apply it to diligently advance [in our practice].
“Do not doubt the teachings and obstruct yourself.” We cannot have doubts. We should not doubt the Dharma as we listen to it because then we will not take it to heart. This would be like splashing water on rocks. When the sun shines, that water dries right away. It will not be absorbed by the rock. So, we must have faith. Every day, I talk about “faith.” We must faithfully accept and practice the Dharma. If we do not have faith in the Dharma, then we will have doubts. This is how we “obstruct ourselves.”
“Do not be like the 5000 people who left.” We should not be like the 5000 people who left the assembly. That would really be a pity, and we would have wasted this lifetime. When we listen to the Dharma, we must listen mindfully and earnestly. Life is impermanent; we do not know how long we will live. Thus, we must seize every moment.
Earlier, after the Buddha finished speaking in prose, to help everyone mindfully listen to the Dharma and to reinforce everyone’s memory of it, after He finished, He repeated the key parts to help them remember. Thus, the Buddha repeated the teachings in verse.
So, earlier it stated,
“Bhiksus and bhiksunis may harbor overbearing arrogance. Upasakas may have self-arrogance and upasikas may lack faith.”
Haven’t we heard about this before? The following verse talks about “the ones such as these in the fourfold assembly.”
The ones such as these in the fourfold assembly were 5000 in number. They did not see their own faults. Their upholding of the precepts was flawed, but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.
Bhiksus and bhiksunis, and upasakas and upasikas were the Buddha’s disciples in this world. They were known as the fourfold assembly. But in addition to [that], it is then explained that “[they] were 5000 in number.” There were 5000 people who “did not see their own faults.” So, “5000” [is the number] of people who left the assembly. At the moment the Buddha was beginning His teaching, the 5000 people who left were disciples of the fourfold assembly who did “not see their own faults.” They did not know that they had these problems.
First, they did not respect the Buddha and Dharma, and they especially did not respect themselves. Although as spiritual practitioners they aspired to engage in practice, they did not respect themselves. They did not know spiritual practice requires the Dharma taught by the Buddha. When the Buddha began to give teachings, they showed disrespect. Isn’t this not respecting the Buddha, Dharma and themselves? So, “they did not see their own faults.”
The faults of these 5000 people were caused by their “overbearing arrogance.” They had all kinds of excuses like, “I know and understand everything already.” They had all kinds of excuses because they did not realize that by leaving halfway through the teaching they would lose a lot. They had no idea.
So, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed.” These people could not uphold teachings and follow the Path, so they had Leaks and flaws. The true teachings of precepts had already leaked out of their minds. So, “their upholding of the precepts was flawed”
“but they defended their imperfections. So, those with limited wisdom left.” This was saying that people who “defended their imperfections” never recognized their own faults because they covered up their minds. Although they may have felt some embarrassment, they felt justified [in leaving] and found a way to explain themselves. Thus, they covered up [their faults]. People who cover up faults and have no remorse or regrets can be said to “defend their imperfections.”
“So, those with limited wisdom left.” Those with limited wisdom are not very wise people. They are simply clever. [They said], “I know, I know, I understand, I understand,” but they did not fully understand. They said they understood, but their minds were actually still empty. Yet they assumed they had great wisdom. These were people with limited wisdom who claimed to have attained what they had not. These overbearingly arrogant people, this group of 5000, had already left. This once again described the 5000 people who left the assembly.
Now we will talk about the “fourfold assembly.” Besides the one comprised of two groups of monastics and two groups of lay practitioners, it can also refer to the people sitting before the Buddha, ready to listen to His subtle, wondrous Dharma at the Lotus Assembly. This “fourfold assembly” also has four categories. The first was known as the “initiators” 5000 people had left, but among the people who stayed were [members of] the “fourfold assembly.”
With the initiators at the Vulture Peak assembly and Sariputra “pleading three times,” the Buddha was then able to expound and freely carry out His original intent.
Indeed, the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s intent carried out. From the moment He attained Buddhahood, He constantly wanted to give this teaching to awaken the love in every person’s heart so that their loving hearts could return to their [intrinsic purity]. Then their pure hearts could unlock the intrinsic Buddha-nature within. So, in His heart, this was what the Buddha had always wanted to say.
When the karmic conditions were finally complete, at the Vulture Peak assembly, the Buddha was about to teach it. But the hearts of those who came to listen to the teachings were not all the same. There were those who would not earnestly listen, those who still had doubts and those who were arrogant and proud. People at the Vulture Peak assembly had many discursive thoughts. Thus, the Buddha hoped [to teach] only those who were more refined and focused. Only those who were wholeheartedly dedicated could accept the teachings of the true and wondrous Dharma. So, the Buddha said “stop” three times.
If after the first “stop,” Sariputra had not pleaded again, the Buddha would not have had the chance to expound the Lotus Sutra. Then the Buddha said the second “stop. Stop, stop; there is no need to speak further,” Fortunately, Sariputra asked again. But the Buddha saw everyone was still in a state of discursive thoughts. So, there was a third “stop.” If Sariputra had not asked the Buddha to give teachings again, if this had not happened, today we would not have the Lotus Sutra.
When there is a cause, there will be conditions. We must seek the Dharma with sincerity, and must be grateful for Sariputra’s wisdom for bringing together the Buddha’s causes and conditions.
The Buddha was very happy about this; otherwise He would not have had the opportunity to expound the Lotus Sutra, to freely carry out His original intent. Think about how joyful and satisfying it is to be able to say what we want to say. So, He “freely carried out His original intent.” He said everything He wanted to say,
so “this mobilization and response” finally led the Buddha to begin this teaching so everyone could hear. This was a very joyful event. It was a very harmonious, happy and joyful moment. So, it was said, “this mobilization and response brought the Vulture Peak assembly to fruition. Thus, they were called the initiators.”
Sariputra was an initiator. With so many [converging] causes and conditions, and for the sake of so many people. [Sariputra served as the initiator]. One person made this request on behalf of others because so many of them wanted to listen. If he had not asked for the many who wanted to listen, but only for himself, Sariputra would not dare to ask again and again. It was because there were so many people who wholeheartedly sought the Buddha’s teachings that Sariputra became their representative. So, he was among the “initiators.”
1. Initiators. At the Vulture Peak assembly, Sariputra requested teachings three times, which led the Buddha to freely teach what He originally intended to. This mobilization and response brought the Vulture Peak assembly to fruition. Thus, he was part of the initiators.
The second group was the “adopters.” At that time, the Buddha had already excluded those who harbored overbearing arrogance 5000 people had already left the assembly. So, those who remained at the Dharma-assembly were the people the Buddha wanted to teach. They were those who wanted to receive the Buddha’s teachings, so they were known as the “adopters.” They were there in person, including the Hearers who properly listened to the teachings, awakened and benefited. After they heard the teachings they attained realizations and understood that
[there is more to the teachings of] suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. There is more than just understanding the karmic conditions that cause suffering. Although everyone works hard to eliminate the source of suffering by engaging in spiritual practice on the Path, they do not stop there. On this Path of spiritual practice, there is a broader and more direct route. So, they must not stop. The road ahead is even broader and more direct; it is the Bodhisattva-path they must walk. Thus, after hearing [the Dharma], if they are able to “realize” and understand it, they know they have to open up and broaden their minds to understand these benefits. Then afterwards, they can walk the direct path, which is the Bodhisattva-path. So, the “adopters” are the people the Buddha wanted to teach. They were those who could accept great Dharma, and after accepting it, develop aspirations and vows. Thus, they were known as the “adopters.”
2. Adopters. The adopters were people who sat there, such as Hearers, who properly listened to these teachings. They are those who benefited by awakening and attaining realizations.
The third group was the “influencers.” In the Lotus Dharma-assembly, there were many who already thoroughly understood the Dharma, such as Manjusri Bodhisattva, Guanyin Bodhisattva, etc. Many Bodhisattvas had come from other places and had already become Buddhas. When they came to the Saha World at that time, they were known as Bodhisattvas because the Saha World already had a Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha. They were Buddhas from other worlds who came to help Sakyamuni Buddha transform sentient beings. They came to help Him in the role of Bodhisattvas.
So, Manjusri, Samantabhadra and other Bodhisattvas came from other places “to help the Buddha teach sentient beings in the Saha World,” and to dignify Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-seat in His spiritual training ground. If there were more leaders from other places, the Dharma-assembly at Vulture Peak would be even more magnificent. Thus, they were the “influencers.”
3. Influencers. Bodhisattvas such as Manjusri and Guanyin came from other places to help the Buddha teach sentient beings in the Saha World. Those who dignify Sakyamuni Buddha’s. Dharma-seat are considered influencers.
The fourth group was the “associators.” They were sentient beings who lacked blessings, so they did not currently have the benefit of attaining realizations or awakening. Although they listened to the teachings, they did not quite understand them. Yet, they still sat there and obediently listened. These were the “associators.” Although they could not attain realizations in this lifetime, they would benefit in the future because they had created this karmic affinity. So they “created the causes and conditions for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma” and “the causes and conditions for attaining the Path in the future.”
4. Associators. Sentient beings lacking in blessings do not currently have the benefit of attaining realizations but they create the causes and conditions for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma. They create the causes and conditions for attaining the Path in the future.
Now, it does not matter if we understand or not, we should always listen mindfully. If we cannot understand it in this lifetime, we can still create karmic conditions for our future lives. So, listening to the Dharma is always beneficial. Although we currently cannot attain realizations, we still benefit from listening to the Dharma, So, we must be mindful. These are the four types of people in the assembly.
So, dear Bodhisattvas, I hope that once we have formed aspirations, we do not just listen. After we listen, we must accept and apply it. If we do not earnestly listen to the Dharma, then we cannot diligently practice. So, we must earnestly listen to teachings and not let them pass us by in our confusion. We must earnestly and single-mindedly sustain our vows. Really, since we have learned teachings, we must single-mindedly sustain vows and listen, contemplate and practice.
Recently, I keep saying to everyone that we should “not doubt teachings and obstruct ourselves.” We must not obstruct ourselves. More importantly, I want to remind everyone to “not be like the 5000 people who left.” So, we have to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to learning and applying the Dharma. If we can do this, then we are not wasting our lives. So, we must always be mindful.