Episode 355 – Sharing the Dharma Without Reservation
>> A lotus flower emerges from the mud and its fruit is inherently undefiled. The Buddha emerges in a turbid world and His nature is inherently radiant. He gives provisional teachings according to causes and conditions and teaches the universal Great Vehicle Dharma with analogies.
>> “If I transformed others with the Small Vehicle, even one person, I would be considered stingy and greedy. Such a thing could never be.”
>> If I transformed others with the Small Vehicle: The fruit of the Great Vehicle is Buddhahood. The fruit of the Small Vehicle is the state of. Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas. The fruit of Buddhahood is the manifestation of all-encompassing wisdom, the realizations we will attain from transforming and benefiting sentient beings until the end of time.
>> Even one person: The Buddha is the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. He could not bear to abandon any sentient being. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva followed the Buddha’s teachings and made the great vow to not attain Buddhahood until hell is empty.
>> I would be considered stingy and greedy: Those who are stingy with all things do not want anyone else to have what they have. They may keep the Dharma for their own use and not teach it to anyone else. This is stinginess with the Dharma. The Buddha widely teaches the great Dharma and is never stingy. The Buddha realized the universal Great Vehicle Dharma, so with an impartial mind, He teaches and guides all beings. If He [only] taught others the Small Vehicle, He would degenerate into being stingy and greedy.
In a turbid place such as our world, some places are peaceful and wealthy, while other places are full of unbearable suffering. So, the Buddha uses those who suffer as an example to teach the law of karma and to guide people to recognize their blessings through witnessing suffering. He hopes everyone will understand that suffering arises when we create bad causes and conditions and thus invite painful retributions. When we fear this, we avoid doing these things and create blessings [instead]. This is why the Buddha appears in this world, the lesson He teaches to sentient beings. He teaches by revealing all kinds of worldly appearances and guiding us, allowing us to have a complete course of study with which to understand this. So, we must seize this opportunity.
A lotus flower emerges from the mud and its fruit is inherently undefiled. The Buddha emerges in a turbid world and His nature is inherently radiant. He gives provisional teachings according to causes and conditions and teaches the universal Great Vehicle Dharma with analogies.
“A lotus flower emerges from the mud and its fruit is inherently undefiled. The Buddha emerges in a turbid world and His nature is inherently radiant.” I hope we can all learn from the Buddha. Although we live in this muddy, turbid and evil world, we can maintain [the purity of] our minds, like a lotus flower that emerges from the mud.
Other flowers only bear fruit after the blossoms wilt, but a lotus fruit is mature when its flower blooms. This is like when we listen to and accept the Buddha-Dharma. Once the Dharma enters our hearts, our pure intrinsic Tathagata-nature will naturally manifest. This has always been there. That is why we are compared to lotus flowers. Once the flower blooms,
the fruit that emerges is inherently undefiled. The Buddha decided to emerge in this turbid and evil world, because only in such a world can He enable sentient beings to see the defilements and sufferings in the world. This is how He gives us teachings.
So the Buddha said that a human life is “like a dew drop and a flash of lightning; it should be contemplated as such.” Knowing that human life is fleeting, we must make good use of the time we have. Furthermore, life is impermanent and we do not know when [we will die]. On top of impermanence, there is suffering, and in the end, everything is empty. So, life is suffering, impermanent and empty.
The Buddha wants us to know our “nature is inherently radiant.” Although the world is turbid, our intrinsic nature is always pure and radiant. It is just that we have tremendous ignorance. At this time (the 16th of the lunar month), the moon should be round. People say, “The moon is rounder on the 16th than the 15th.” But we have not seen the moon when we walk outside, because these days (in October, 2012), the air currents of a typhoon [has brought clouds]. Although the typhoon did not approach Taiwan, its air currents have affected our sky. So, when we look up, we cannot see the moon.
The principle is the same; we are in the same atmosphere, in the world. Though there is an air of turbidity in the world, the moon is still round. However, it is covered by [clouds] because of the atmospheric pressure. Though each of us is born to this turbid world, our hearts are radiant. Because we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, our “nature is inherently radiant.”
“He gives provisional teachings according to causes and conditions.” In this turbid world, the Buddha responds to sentient beings’ capabilities. Some are dull, some are very sharp. Those with sharp capabilities are very keen and can attain 100 realizations from one teaching. Those with dull capabilities cannot attain realization even with hundreds of teachings. The Buddha wanted people of various capabilities to all equally receive teachings and principles. So, the Buddha “gives provisional teachings” and teaches skillful means “according to causes and conditions.”
In the world today, there are all kinds of causes and conditions. Every day, we have endless stories to tell and each story has its own causes and conditions. For example, in Taiwan we have mobilized Tzu Chi volunteers for quite a while. For what purpose? For the Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan.
In Syria (in 2011), there has been a conflict between the people and the government. People held demonstrations and protests and the government sent military and police to forcefully suppress them, leading to confrontations. This caused deaths and injuries. Now [civil] war is raging on mercilessly. They are constantly fighting and killing each other. They cannot continue farming and there is no electricity and water for factories. Syria is in a state of chaos. Over 300,000 people have fled the country. They scattered over the borders in all directions and have suffered tremendously.
The United Nations has been trying to convince Jordan to provide some land by the border that could accommodate over 100,000 refugees. However, for a long time, the soil in Jordan has continuously undergone desertification. Their water supply kept shrinking, but out of their humanitarian spirit, Jordan still set aside some land to take in these refugees.
It is now winter. In the desert, the strong wind brings rolling dust and sand from all directions. On all sides, they are unprotected. How can they live in such conditions? This is suffering. How could we describe their suffering? They have nowhere to call home and have no idea what may happen each day. This is the life they are living. However, in Jordan, Mr. Chen and his fellow Tzu Chi volunteers mobilized local charities to work with Tzu Chi volunteers. When this information made its way to Taiwan, Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan promptly started a winter clothing drive.
In the past few days, we have asked people to donate plain clothing. People in the Middle East wear plain clothing, without many colors and patterns. Most of what they wear is black or white. So, with great respect, we sent them our sincere great love. We closely examined all clothing that came to us. If it was dirty, we washed it; if any button was missing, we replaced it, and all of them were sorted by size.
We also saw that at the Xindian Tzu Chi Hospital, Supt. Chao and the assistant superintendents, the heads of all departments and the managers not only donated clothing but every Sunday, they went to the Sanchong office to help sort and repair the clothing. Our medicine-kings and. Bodhisattvas in white (doctors and nurses) gave in such a way. They said that compared to seeing patients, performing surgeries or giving injections etc., this was much more grueling. They realized that helping and giving out of love required such earnestness and respect. They have now experienced this.
Indeed, this world can be so heart-warming. This shows that even though we are born into this turbid world, wherever there is need, no matter how far away, our love can still reach that place. We can give with respect because all sentient beings are equal. The Dharma expounded by the Buddha teaches us about the universal Great Vehicle. He helped us see the suffering in the world to inspire our love so there is no place we cannot reach. This love links us directly to far-reaching places. This is “the Buddha’s universal. Great Vehicle Dharma.”
The Buddha, “having realized the supreme path,” already had love as great as the universe. The true principle is love. Although we cannot see “love,” we can express it. This great loving-kindness, great compassion, impartiality and great love are taught to everyone solely in the hope that we can all realize “the universal Great Vehicle Dharma.”
The Buddha says that.
“If I transformed others with the Small Vehicle, even one person, I would be considered stingy and greedy. Such a thing could never be.”
He would not even give up on even one person. The Buddha wants to help everyone experience impartiality and great love, to enable everyone to realize this. This is what the Buddha teaches.
We see Him “[teaching] with the Small Vehicle,” but when we look closer, the fruit of Buddhahood is from the Great Vehicle. If we seek the fruit of Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas we are cultivating the Small Vehicle.
If I transformed others with the Small Vehicle: The fruit of the Great Vehicle is Buddhahood. The fruit of the Small Vehicle is the state of. Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas. The fruit of Buddhahood is the manifestation of all-encompassing wisdom, the realizations we will attain from transforming and benefiting sentient beings until the end of time.
The Buddha hopes sentient beings do not stop at cultivating the Small Vehicle but go on to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha openly tells us this is like how, if we go to school, we must go to college and then attain our doctorate and become a professor. Having a doctorate is not enough. Even if we have a doctorate, we may not be qualified to be a professor. We must advance further instead of stopping with obtaining a doctorate. We must become a professor and teach others.
So, the fruit of Buddhahood is the manifestation of “all-encompassing wisdom.” Our wisdom can be unlocked so that we can attain “all-encompassing wisdom.”
“All-encompassing wisdom” is the great wisdom of Buddha-nature, “the realizations we attain from transforming and benefiting all beings until the end of time.” We can transform sentient beings. We can do this for a long time. A long, long time is said to be “until the end of time.” Now we must mindfully work to understand the Buddha’s teachings. If we cannot do it in this lifetime we do it for the sake of the future, “Until the end of time” means that for a long, long time into the future we can “attain realizations from transforming and benefiting [sentient beings].” Although we have not attained realization yet, for the sake of transforming and benefiting sentient beings in the future, we can attain and realize the Dharma.
When we listen to the Dharma and understand the principles, we do so in order to benefit sentient beings in the distant future. When others can accept what we say, we can all work together to eliminate the ignorance in our minds and discover our nature of True Suchness. This is what we must learn. The Great Vehicle Dharma must be in our hearts. We must seek the Great Vehicle Dharma and accept these teachings.
Even one person: The Buddha is the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. He could not bear to abandon any sentient being. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva followed the Buddha’s teachings and made the great vow to not attain Buddhahood until hell is empty.
The Buddha says, “Even one person.” Actually, the Buddha is the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings and loves them like a father loves his sons. There is an old saying that whichever of the five fingers is bitten, the others will hurt. So, a father cherishes every one of his sons. Similarly, the Buddha could not bear to abandon any sentient being. So, for sentient beings, the Buddha is the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings and is also the teacher of heavenly beings. All that He teaches is for everyone to make great aspirations.
Earth Treasury Bodhisattva is most in line with the Buddha’s intent. He understands the Buddha’s intent the best. The Buddha loves and cares for all people. Since he loves all those the Buddha loves, Earth Treasury Bodhisattva made the great vow, “Until hell is empty, I will not attain Buddhahood.” Exactly when will hell be empty? Transforming sentient beings in hell is very difficult work. Transforming sentient beings in the human realm is already so difficult, how much more so for Earth Treasury Bodhisattva to transform sentient beings in hell? When will hell actually be empty? This is Earth Treasury Bodhisattva’s great vow. He understands the Buddha’s intent, so he entered hell and would not leave even one sentient being behind. What about for the Buddha in this world? Would He abandon any sentient being? The Buddha says, “No. If I did so, I would be considered stingy and greedy.”
I would be considered stingy and greedy: Those who are stingy with all things do not want anyone else to have what they have. They may keep the Dharma for their own use and not teach it to anyone else. This is stinginess with the Dharma. The Buddha widely teaches the great Dharma and is never stingy. The Buddha realized the universal Great Vehicle Dharma, so with an impartial mind, He teaches and guides all beings. If He [only] taught others the Small Vehicle, He would degenerate into being stingy and greedy.
What does it mean to be stingy and greedy? To be “stingy with all things” is the desire to have everything. We have seen that Tzu Chi volunteers often help those who are old and lonely. These people collect all kinds of things, none of which are useful. They accumulate many things but are unwilling to throw any of them out. Rich people already have a lot of money. [There are many zeroes in their bank balance,] but they get upset if they lose any “zeroes,” not to mention any other numbers. This is being stingy and greedy. “Being stingy with all things.”
We “do not want anyone else to have [them].” We want all the benefits and do not want others to have any. This is also being stingy and greedy. “They may keep the Dharma for their own use.” When we learn the Dharma, after we receive it, we must immediately share it. But some people, after learning [teachings], are not willing to share them with anyone. This is like an apprentice learning from a master. If the master withholds skills and refuses to teach the secrets of the trade, the apprenticeship just lasts longer and longer. So, “they may keep the Dharma for their own use and not teach it to anyone else.” Unwillingness to teach others is “stinginess with the Dharma.”
The Buddha cannot be stingy with the Dharma. So He says, “I will not abandon anyone. I hope everyone will receive the abundant teachings of the universal Great Vehicle. I want to make sure everyone attains it. If one person does not receive [the teaching]. I would be considered ‘stingy and greedy.'” The Buddha does not want such things to happen, so He announces [His intent] to everyone. The Buddha widely teaches the great Dharma and is never stingy.
He has already realized the universal Great Vehicle Dharma. “So with an impartial mind,” He teaches and guides all beings. The Buddha impartially guides and transforms all sentient beings. So the Buddha says, “If I [only] taught others the Small Vehicle, I would degenerate into being stingy and greedy.” Hence, “such a thing could never be.” Such a thing must never happen.
He comes to the world for one great cause, to teach and transform sentient beings, without leaving behind even a single one. “He gives teachings when the opportunity arises.” Regardless of their capabilities, He teaches with various causes and conditions. “He does so tirelessly” because this is His one great cause. He comes to the world to open and reveal His understanding and views for sentient beings to realize and enter. This is to open, reveal, realize and enter. He absolutely would not [only] give Small Vehicle Dharma to anyone. Small Vehicle Dharma is part of the process, so. He hopes everyone can return to the Great Vehicle.
I hope that during this period of time, we will all prepare to benefit sentient beings until the end of time to have an opportunity to attain realizations. So at this moment, we must create good affinities by sharing the Dharma. This is more important than giving material things. Therefore, we must understand the Buddha’s intent and practice diligently. We must always be mindful.