Episode 356 – With a Penetrating Mind and Faith
>> We Return to the Buddha-mind. With a penetrating mind and faith, we return to the Buddha-mind. With sincerity and freedom from deception, we reach the True Path. Like water that takes the shape of its container, the Buddha taught the One Vehicle Dharma according to capabilities. “With a penetrating mind and faith, we return to the Buddha-mind. With sincerity and freedom from deception, we reach the True Path.”
>> “If people faithfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata will not deceive them. He has no thoughts of envy or greed, and He has eliminated the evil in all things. Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.”
We Return to the Buddha-mind. With a penetrating mind and faith, we return to the Buddha-mind.
With sincerity and freedom from deception, we reach the True Path.
Like water that takes the shape of its container,
the Buddha taught the One Vehicle Dharma according to capabilities.
“With a penetrating mind and faith, we return to the Buddha-mind.
With sincerity and freedom from deception, we reach the True Path.”
This explains that we must be reverent and sincere and maintain “a penetrating mind and faith.”
Earlier, we spent some time discussing how, “with a penetrating mind, [we] are mindful of the Buddha.” We do not chant the Buddha’s name with our mouths alone. We do not have faith in the Buddha only when we are in need. No, The Buddha tells us “to be mindful of the Buddha with a penetrating mind. Penetrating” means not superficial. [Our faith] must truly penetrate our minds. Deep within our minds is our intrinsic Tathagata-nature. We hope that our faith will penetrate deeply to our intrinsic Tathagata-nature. With our every thought, we must “return to the Buddha-mind.”
We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. We all intrinsically have the Buddha-mind. We must take the Buddha-mind as our own. When the Buddha is in our minds, the Dharma is in our actions. The Buddha-mind and Buddha-Dharma can abide in our minds and in our actions. If we can be like this, “with a penetrating mind, we are mindful of the Buddha and return to the Buddha-mind.” We replace our ordinary minds with the Buddha’s mind.
“With sincerity and freedom from deception, we reach the True Path.” Our minds must really be “genuine.” In our daily living, as we interact with people and handle things, we must treat each other with great sincerity. Sincerity is free of deception and lies. It is something we must cultivate. The Buddha also teaches us to cultivate this sincerity. Only by being sincere and free of deception can we reach the True Path, The true principles, the true and wondrous Dharma of the One Vehicle that is safeguarded by the Buddha’s mind, are called the True Path.
“This is like water that takes the shape of its container.” If we can, “with sincerity and freedom from deception, reach the True Path,” then our minds are one with those principles. Then, we can respond to the ever-changing world with an unwavering spiritual aspiration. Sentient beings in the world each have different habitual tendencies. What is the method for transforming them? The Dharma is like water, which takes the shape of all kinds of containers, round or square, long or short. Regardless of the container, “water will take [that] shape.” Water will adapt to all kinds of shapes. In a pipe, [water takes the shape of] the pipe. In buckets, [water takes the shape of] the bucket. Regardless of where we pour the water, it will adapt to all kinds of containers.
The land, in particular, cannot lack water. A single tree absorbs a lot of water, but the amount of water a tree absorbs depends on its size. Similarly, a small blade of grass will only absorb a small amount of water. So, water is absorbed in different amounts by different things. “Like water that takes the shape of its container” means that water takes all kinds of shapes. This is [the nature] of water. Similarly, the Dharma and true principles are suitable for each of our capabilities because the Buddha taught according to capabilities.
The most important part of teaching in this way is to not deviate from the One Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha teaches the Great Vehicle Dharma at all times, but sentient beings’ limited capabilities are like small blades of grass. All things are given the same amount of water, but small blades of grass can only absorb so much. A larger tree with bigger roots can absorb much more water. This is how the Buddha-Dharma [is taught] according to sentient beings’ capabilities. Regardless of what capabilities we have, we must start with “a penetrating mind and faith.” We must always be mindful.
We often talk about imbalances. These are manmade calamities. How can we bring peace to the world? We must adjust our minds and help other people adjust their minds. Therefore, we unceasingly promote “one person, one Bodhisattva,” recruiting [new volunteers] to create blessings so every day can be peaceful.
In Northern California, in the US, Tzu Chi volunteers are doing this diligently. In June of this year (2012), Mr. Poh Joo Tan came to Taiwan from California to attend our global Four-in-One Training Camp. The leaders in the volunteer structure all learned how to spread the power of love, so that all around the world, [volunteers can recruit more Bodhisattvas].
Mr. Tan learned ways to promote this movement once he returned to California. So, he brought this information back with him. The volunteers there are earnestly promoting [“one person, one Bodhisattva”]. They formed a Silicon Valley Team. Because many technology companies are flourishing there, there are many professors and engineers. [The volunteers want to] find a way to guide them so each person can become a Bodhisattva. The volunteers came up with a plan. They would go to their respective companies and recruit people [to participate]. So, each of them would bring one person to a gathering to hear Tzu Chi volunteers share their personal stories,
explaining how each of them joined Tzu Chi, encountered the Buddha-Dharma, began to engage in the Bodhisattva-practice of benefiting others, and saw suffering and recognized their blessings. The volunteers gathered their colleagues and friends to learn about charity based on the Buddha’s teachings. The listeners really enjoyed this and aspired to become Bodhisattvas themselves. In this way, every person went to their companies to transform their co-workers. They invited them to a gathering and sharing their own experiences. After reading this report, I was very happy.
The volunteers in Northern California also formed a group to [listen to the teachings together]. Every night, at around ten pm, California time, which is morning here, more than 130 people are online together watching my “Wisdom at Dawn” lecture. They are studying the Lotus Sutra.
We saw how they held a gathering to share their experiences. They shared the realizations gained through listening to the Dharma when they gathered together. At this [event] they shared their experiences of listening to the Lotus Sutra. They have truly [absorbed the Dharma]. Though far away, they are actually diligently practicing at the same time that we are. They have not stopped for even a day. They have all learned so much and now have a clear direction in their lives.
Even a young child can learn to protect his peers. [Christopher Yang] has come back to travel with me every summer since he was seven or eight years old, and now he is ten. His wisdom is not less than that of adults. At school, when his classmates were being bullied, he said he wanted to support and help them. His mother said, “What can you do? As a child, how can you stop the bullying?” He replied, “Even though I do not have much street smarts, the Buddha-Dharma can bring harmony. I will use the Buddha’s teachings to deal with the bullying.”
Think about it, Buddha-nature is so universal that even a ten-year-old can form such a great aspiration, and for the sake of his classmates, stand up against the bullying in his school. His mother said, “You do not have any street smarts.” He said, “Though I do not have street smarts, I have the harmony of the Dharma.” He was filled with confidence. So, “With a penetrating mind and faith, we return to the Buddha-mind.” We can all be in this state of mind, regardless of age.
If we want the four elements of the world to be in harmony, our minds must also be in harmony. If we all have “sincerity and freedom from deception” and “reach the True Path” and follow the principles of being a good person, then this world will be at peace. The Buddha-Dharma is indeed harmonizing. Regardless of the shape of the container, the Buddha-Dharma can fill it. So, this is the One Vehicle Dharma the Buddha teaches according to capabilities. We must cherish it.
So, the next passage [of the sutra] states,
“If people faithfully take refuge in the Buddha, the Tathagata will not deceive them. He has no thoughts of envy or greed, and He has eliminated the evil in all things. Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.”
The Buddha tells us that if we have “faith” and take refuge in the Buddha, He will definitely be our support. If we have deep faith in the Buddha, His teaching will definitely guide us all onto the safest path.
“The Tathagata will not deceive them.” Having perfected His spiritual practice, the Buddha will not lie nor will He deceive others. He speaks in a logical manner and is never arrogant. Some people always brag about themselves and exaggerate their capabilities tenfold. Though they understand little, they talk as if they know everything. These are all examples of “deception.” This is untruthful. As Buddhist practitioners, we have to learn to be truthful and sincere.
As I mentioned before, we must have “sincerity and be free of deception.” This comes from learning the Dharma. We can be sincere, we can be free of deceptions and lies. Only when we can deal with others and act with open honesty have we realized the Dharma. Then we can spread the Dharma to others in a way they are willing to accept. This comes from “faithfully taking refuge in the Buddha.”
“He has no thoughts of envy or greed.” We must not have greed. Since we no longer lie, since we are sincere and free of deception, how could we be greedy or envious? We must not be envious.
The Buddha teaches us to have “great loving-kindness and great compassion.” Great loving-kindness is all-embracing. Happiness for all sentient beings is our goal. Letting sentient beings suffer is something we really cannot bear. We feel others’ pain and suffering as our own. The Buddha hopes we all can learn the Dharma. He hopes that everyone can succeed in their practice, but time is already short, so how could He have any time to be envious or greedy? He has none. He already has this magnanimous mind. With this expansive mind, He has already eliminated greed and jealousy. He does not have these kinds of thoughts at all. These [kinds of thoughts] are afflictions. Deceit is also a form of ignorance and affliction. Deceit, greed and jealousy are all forms of ignorance.
So, as we learn from the Buddha, we must “eliminate the evil in all things.” When we learn the Dharma, what will hinder us most is our ignorance, [thoughts of] deceit, greed, anger, delusion, arrogance, doubt, jealousy and so on. These are the things that will hinder us the most as we learn the Dharma. So, we must “eliminate the evil in all things,” which is the ignorance that hinders us in our spiritual practice. Since we want to learn the Dharma, we must eliminate and cut off these ignorant thoughts. Thus, we “eliminate the evil in all things.”
“Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear.” All Buddhas have already completely eliminated the “evil in all things,” these ignorant thoughts that are obstacles to our spiritual cultivation. So, in the ten directions, [only Buddhas do this]. We have talked about the “ten directions” before. East, west, south, north, the four intermediate directions, above and below, these are the “ten directions.” In them, the Buddha “alone has nothing to fear.” He is already absolutely fearless. Therefore, He alone teaches the Dharma. Among all people, only He has nothing to fear. He is the king of the Dharma,
because we ordinary people still have fears, are still afraid of things. Some people may say, “This is the best time to make money. Even though I would enjoy walking the Bodhisattva-path with you, I’m afraid I do not have enough time. Now is the time for me to make money. I’m afraid of losing this opportunity. Afraid” means fearing something.
People are afraid that if they become involved, they will have to uphold the precepts. “Then I won’t be allowed to do this or that. Then I won’t be allowed to drink or to gamble. In this case, I’ll just donate money. I’m afraid that I cannot [uphold the precepts].” This is simply a case of having fears. They already clearly know that life is impermanent and that nobody knows what will happen or when. They know all these principles, but getting them to eliminate habitual tendencies from their daily living is not easy at all.
Therefore, only noble beings and sages can resolve to completely “eliminate the evil in all things.” If something hinders our spiritual aspirations, obstructs our spiritual practice or pollutes our minds, these thoughts must be eliminated completely. When we are among people, we must not be influenced or defiled by interpersonal conflicts. We must be free and at ease. We must not allow ourselves to be affected by discursive thoughts and so on. This is how we eliminate ignorance and defilement. Thus the Buddha, in all of the ten directions, is the only one who has nothing to fear.
When the Buddha is giving teachings, it is called “the lion’s roar.” This means that in the Dharma He speaks, there is nothing to be afraid of, nothing to fear, because everything He says is the truth. Although the Buddha-Dharma includes many analogies, causes and conditions and various expressions, although He uses worldly matters as examples, they are all filled with true principles. Thus, the Buddha fearlessly expounds the Dharma. He is the only one.
When we ordinary people have something to say, we must be mindful. “What is the Buddha’s intention? What is this sutra passage teaching us? Is it applicable to the world we live in now? Will it cause people to become superstitious?” We consider all these questions and find various ways to answer them. The Buddha does not need to do this. He teaches according to each person’s capabilities. His words are suitable for all capabilities. [His teaching] is like rain. From it, small blades of grass will absorb the small amount of water that they require, while big trees and forests and large mountains will also absorb water [according to their size]. This is why the Buddha has nothing to fear, His words cover the capabilities of all beings. All He teaches is true principles, so “He alone has nothing to fear.”
Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners we must have “a penetrating mind and faith.” A penetrating mind and faith are most important in learning from the Buddha. With modern technology, we can see as far away as the Bodhisattvas in the US. In Northern California, many people are practicing diligently. In New York, at this moment (October, 2012), the situation is very precarious. We must all, with utmost sincerity, wish them well. I pray that the wind and rain will weaken and that soon it will diminish and stop so that they can begin recovery efforts and carry out charity and relief work quickly. This is how Bodhisattvas appear at any location, at any time, in any environment. Together, we must recruit [volunteers]; “one person, one Bodhisattva.” Let us sincerely pray for them and wish them well. We must always be mindful.