Episode 383 – Skillful Means Help Reveal the Supreme Meaning
>> There are all kinds of skillful means in the world that help explain the principles of unconditioned truth. Thus, teaching through conditioned phenomena helps reveal the ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.
>> “And these great lords of sages know the deep desires in the hearts of all the heavenly being, humans and other beings in all the worlds.”
>> “Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning. There is a myriad of living beings who have met these past Buddhas.”
>> Different skillful means are used: Skillful means are exceptional. All Buddhas, the Tathagatas, according to different capabilities, teach different skillful means so that sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.
>> [These] help explain the supreme meaning: The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. It is the ultimate true principle. Because it is unsurpassed, it is supreme. The deepest truth is the supreme meaning. This is the wisdom realized by all sages.
>> Myriad living beings are also “sentient beings.” This term refers to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions, so they are myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are myriad living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, with the exception of the Buddha-realm, the sentient beings in the other nine realms are collectively referred to as myriad living beings.
This world contains all kinds of environments. Living in different eras, people give rise to different kinds of afflictions. This all happens in the world. The number of times the Buddha has come into and left this word is incalculable. In addition to Sakyamuni Buddha, countless other Buddhas have come into and left this world as well. They come to this world for one purpose, to teach sentient beings. When you hear this, you may wonder why I say this every day. Indeed, I say this every day because true principles do not change. I say the same words, but at different times.
Looking at yesterday, today and tomorrow, past, present and future, throughout this constant, repeating cycle of time, the same One Vehicle Dharma [is always taught]. This, the most important teaching, must be repeated every day. I hope that all of us can [transcend] the complicated conditioned phenomena of this world. Everything that we do can create good or bad karma.
Good karma comes from our intrinsic nature. Therefore, creating bad karma [goes against our nature;] it is not normal. When a thought goes astray, [our minds give rise to] the Three Subtleties, which are three kinds of very subtle afflictions. They are limitless and boundless, and cannot be seen nor touched. They cannot be traced back to a [tangible] source. But when we act on them, we create a lot of karma. Yet there are people who, when one [desire] stirs, destroy the magnificent mountains and rivers of the land. Aren’t these myriad of forms dependent on the workings of our minds?
Take Gansu Province, for example. If, decades ago, people did not think of cutting down the trees, today the mountains would still be beautiful and have vast [forests] that could provide the world with fresh, pure oxygen. They would be able to absorb a lot of carbon dioxide. Nowadays, the air quality is not good because we lack trees to absorb the pollutants in it. When thoughts stir in people’s minds, they become greedy and, without realizing it, [destroy] the entire environment. So, it has already gotten to the point where we can all see and feel what had been done
10, 20 years ago, to help people in Gansu Province, we began by building water cisterns. There were already no trees; the land was completely barren. Even if rain fell on the Huangtu Plateau, the plateau had already lost the ability to absorb water. Therefore, the province lacked water, which greatly affected people’s lives. If it did not rain, having the cisterns [would not be helpful]. So, this was not a good long-term solution. The only solution was for the entire village to move to a place where they could have access to water by drawing up water from the Yellow River using level after level [of dams]. Now the government can transport water through giant pipes up the mountain.
The water flows up through a series of dams until it reaches this Great Love village. People there now have easy access to water and can use it to cultivate their fields. Their harvest of crops is many times better than when they lived [higher] on the mountain. They now have a stable livelihood. Once their lives were settled, the focus turned to education, so we built schools. Now they can live and work in contentment.
We were so successful with this village that we were provided with another piece of barren land. We estimated that the land could accommodate more than 300 households and provide enough fields for them to cultivate. This is how [Tzu Chi] is now (2012) helping to move another wave of villagers down from the mountains and restore the function of the land.
We must use various methods to, first, stabilize people’s lives, and second, restore the vitality of the land. Then we must give the mountains and the Huangtu Plateau time to heal. We must allow them to lie fallow and undisturbed, so they can recover naturally and so the land can regain its functions. These are “all kinds of skillful means in the world.”
There are all kinds of skillful means in the world that help explain the principles of unconditioned truth. Thus, teaching through conditioned phenomena helps reveal the ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.
People, with one ignorant thought, can destroy all things on this land. We must now recover the kind heart that we have had since the beginning. We need more people to realize [the importance of] helping others and restoring the functions of the land.
We use various methods to restore the land. They “help explain the principles of unconditioned truth.” How do we understand and apply these principles? Only the Buddha-Dharma can save this world. This world needs a collective effort from everyone between the heavens and earth to save it. The Buddha-Dharma can guide our minds back to our intrinsic nature so we can exercise this potential to protect our world. This “helps explain the principles of unconditioned truth.” We turn these intangible principles in our minds into a paved road; we call this paving the path with love. This is the Bodhisattva-path. Paving the path with love is unconditioned Dharma. We manifest the principles in our minds in tangible and material ways to show everyone a path that they can walk on. We all share the same power of love, so we can go in the right direction.
“Teaching through conditioned phenomena helps to reveal [this]. Conditioned phenomena” helps reveal the principles of unconditioned truth. We are using visible examples to show how the principles of the Buddha-Dharma can purify people’s hearts and bring forth their strengths. Strength comes from the heart, so revealing the Dharma helps to reveal ultimate reality. As mentioned previously in the Lotus Sutra, the appearances of conditioned phenomena help reveal the ability to help others, purify the world and restore the function of the land. So, we must apply our unconditioned mindset to create something tangible to reveal unconditioned Dharma.
This is how the principles of the mind are revealed. Our thoughts cannot be seen nor touched, but the things we do are what we thought about doing. People cannot see what we think, but our actions reveal our thoughts. This “helps reveal the supreme meaning,” which is the One Vehicle Dharma. So, the One Vehicle Dharma helps us return to the “ever-abiding True Suchness in sentient beings.”
The sutra passage says,
“And these great lords of sages know the deep desires in the hearts of all the heavenly being, humans and other beings in all the worlds.”
We discussed this previously. Next, we will discuss,
“Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning. There is a myriad of living beings who have met these past Buddhas.”
This section tells us how. [Buddhas] used various skillful means. “Different skillful means are used.” We cannot just sit down and listen to teachings. We must go outside to observe the world and the workings of life and nature. Why is our world out of balance? Because of human actions, which come from our minds. Our minds can lead us to harm nature. This is what we must understand. We need to go beyond “Thus, I have heard; the Buddha expounded the Dharma at some place.” The Buddha expounded the Dharma somewhere, so we must internalize it. As we realize one principle, we can understand all principles. Once we thoroughly comprehend the principles, we must put them to into practice.
“Apply the Buddha-Dharma to your daily living and be Bodhisattvas in this world.” We are connected to everything. When all of humanity is suffering, we must mobilize everyone to express their love, which is an unconditioned truth and comes from the True Suchness within them. With our collective strength, we can protect all the myriad forms in the world and restore their vitality. We can eliminate sentient beings’ daily suffering, whether they are near or far. These are “different skillful means.”
We do not just listen to teachings of the sutras. If we only read the words on a page or listen to teachings from the sutras, our faith and understanding will not be deep. We must put the Dharma to practice. Upon seeing suffering, we must recognize our blessings and create more. This is how we put the Dharma into practice. The “desires deep in the heart” are the deeply rooted causes we each have. Good causes must be firmly and deeply planted. In this way, our surroundings will not disturb us. The more we give, the happier we will be and the more clearly we can demonstrate the value of this life, which is to develop our wisdom-life.
The next passage states, “Different skillful means are used, which help explain the supreme meaning.” We must put this principle into practice. When we do, people in need can live stable lives and our own minds will also be at peace. After we bring stability to the lives of others, after we give, when we see that they are safe and happy, our hearts will also be at peace. If we visit the first Great Love Village in Gansu now, the trees they planted have already grown, and their harvests are very abundant, season after season. Whether we look at the improved vitality of the land or the way they live, we can already tell that this was the right thing to do. This is “helping to explain the supreme meaning.”
Principles teach us the right thing to do. As we do it, we gradually pass on the Dharma, so those who were helped can now help others, too. For the winter relief distributions of 2012 in Gansu, the volunteers did not come only from Taiwan, or only from China; everyone came together to provide help this winter. Those from the first Great Love Village who had received assistance and stabilized their lives also traveled a great distance to return to the mountains and participate in the winter relief distribution. With this cycle of goodness, once they stabilized their lives, it was their turn to help others.
So, “There is a myriad of living beings.” These myriad of living beings are not just heavenly beings or humans, but also other kinds of sentient beings as well. All of them are sentient beings. “[They] have met these past Buddhas.” They had the right karmic conditions to be helped. These people must have had good karmic connections in the past. They must have formed good connections with past Buddhas.
So now, we need to further understand how.
“Different skillful means are used.”
Different skillful means are used: Skillful means are exceptional. All Buddhas, the Tathagatas, according to different capabilities, teach different skillful means so that sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.
“Different skillful means” are exceptional means. There are different kinds of skillful means. Some involve words and expressions, while others involve putting teachings into practice. They all help teach and guide sentient beings to resolve their afflictions and give them ways to eliminate difficulties in their daily living, etc. This requires exceptional means. So, [He used] various methods to give teachings. Various can be considered “different.” There are various methods for [different] needs.
For example, when we see others who are hungry or sick and we want to help them, if we say, “Grandpa, listen to what I have to say” he will respond, “I’m hungry. But you have to listen to what I have to say first.” Will he become full [by listening]? Of course not. Someone may say, “I am sick. Come, I will help you, but you need to sit up. I can’t sit up; how can you ask me to? But you must listen to Dharma with respect, so you must sit up.” Think about this, can he sit up? The Buddha-Dharma does not give us magical powers to cure people with a simple touch. That is impossible.
Doctors may undertake arduous journeys to [reach their patients]. I saw a news report on Da Ai TV. From Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Supt. Chien went up to Lishan with some doctors. The road was difficult to travel, but in Lishan, there are no doctors, yet there are many patients, so they traveled there to see them. This is “using different skillful means” according to sentient beings’ needs. When we help them first, they will do the same for others in the future. It may not be possible in this lifetime, but we may be planting seeds for the future so “sentient beings can see the path to Buddhahood.”
There are many skillful means “which help explain the supreme meaning.”
[These] help explain the supreme meaning: The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. It is the ultimate true principle. Because it is unsurpassed, it is supreme. The deepest truth is the supreme meaning. This is the wisdom realized by all sages.
The supreme meaning is the path of the One Reality. “It is the ultimate true principle.” To save others, to share the Dharma with sentient beings, we must use the ultimate true principles. This helps them escape suffering completely. The supreme meaning is unsurpassed; thus it is supreme. “The deepest truth is the supreme meaning.” When it contains the most profound principle, it is called supreme; this is the wisdom of the sages.
“There is a myriad of living beings.” All kinds of things arise out of the temporary union of elements. Therefore, they are called myriad beings. Sentient beings arise out of the convergence of causes and conditions.
If we understand this, we will not take issue over many things, because they are all temporary convergences. Myriad living beings are sentient beings. They are all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions. Thus, a myriad of living beings are in the Ten Dharma-realms. Except for the Buddha-realm, sentient beings are in the other nine realms. I have also discussed this before.
Myriad living beings are also “sentient beings.” This term refers to all animals with sentience and consciousness. They arise out of the accumulation of conditions, so they are myriad living beings. They also experience myriad births and deaths, so they are myriad living beings. In the Ten Dharma-realms, with the exception of the Buddha-realm, the sentient beings in the other nine realms are collectively referred to as myriad living beings.
I hope everyone will listen to the Dharma mindfully. The Ten Realms include the Four Noble and. Six Unenlightened Realms. The Buddha-, Bodhisattva-, Hearer- and Pratyekabuddha-realms are the Four Noble Realms. The Six Unenlightened Realms are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost, animal and asura realms. Together these are the Ten Dharma-realms. In the Ten Dharma-realms, aside from the Buddha-realm, the other nine are realms of sentient beings. The Buddha has already returned to the state of non-arising and non-ceasing, but sentient beings in the nine realms are myriad living beings. I hope everyone can comprehensively interpret this passage from the sutra. I hope you will always be mindful.