Episode 462 – Perfect and Immediate One Vehicle Dharma
>> “[The Buddha] has realized all things in the universe. He teaches the perfect and immediate One Vehicle Dharma. The ultimate reality of the Middle Path is not something known by. Three Vehicle practitioners.”
>> “Why is this so? If we had waited for the Buddha to teach….”
>> Which is Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Then they “certainly would have been delivered by the Great Vehicle.”
>> “But I and others like me did not understand that skillful means were taught according to what was appropriate. So, when we first heard the Buddha-Dharma, we immediately believed and accepted it, thinking we had attained realizations.”
>> But I and others like me did not understand that skillful means were taught according to what was appropriate: The Buddha, for those of limited capabilities, established provisional teachings. The listeners received the Dharma that resonated with them, so they immediately believed and accepted it, thinking they had attained realizations.
>> “So, when we first heard the Buddha-Dharma, we immediately believed and accepted it, thinking we had attained realizations.” This means that when people first heard the skillful and provisional teachings, they were “immediately joyful.” They were already very happy, so they accepted [that Dharma] and sought to attain that state of fruition, “mistakenly believing it to be the ultimate.” They thought this was the ultimate Dharma.
>> Not knowing that aside from the Small Vehicle, there were other wondrous principles, Sariputra felt sad that he had not fully understood the Buddha’s understanding and views. He and the others often felt remorse [that they did not achieve the same realizations] as others who had also listened to the Dharma.
“[The Buddha] has realized all things in the universe.
He teaches the perfect and immediate One Vehicle Dharma.
The ultimate reality of the Middle Path
is not something known by. Three Vehicle practitioners.”
Everyone should be able to comprehend the meaning of these words. After we comprehend the meaning, can our minds truly awaken to it? Can we connect with this state? “[The Buddha] has realized all things in the universe.” This is the state of Buddhahood. Because the Buddha was enlightened, He understood the vastness of the universe and the infinite principles of this boundless world. This state of mind is not something ordinary people are able to realize. However, this does not mean that ordinary people cannot realize it; they just have to transcend the state of ordinary people.
Why are we called ordinary people? Because of our ignorance and delusions. So much ignorance has covered our minds; that makes us ordinary people. The Buddha had already eliminated all of His afflictions, delusions and ignorance. His mind was completely pure, so with His enlightened nature He was able to realize [the truths of] the universe. So, “the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” They are no different [in nature], but they are still “three” because there are still sentient beings, who are called ordinary people. Once we set these distinctions aside, there is only the Buddha, only the “one.”
So, the Buddha comes to this world to help us eliminate such distinctions of “one, two” or “three.” Thus “He taught the perfect and immediate One Vehicle Dharma.” The One Vehicle [originates in] the Buddha’s enlightened nature. He hoped to help sentient beings completely understand and realize this enlightened nature. So, this is a perfect enlightened nature. He should be able to explain it directly so that people can understand the principles right away. It should be that simple, but the minds of ordinary people are covered by ignorance and delusions; there are layers upon layers of obstacles. So, when the Buddha sought to reveal the ultimate reality of the Middle Way, He had to explain from the beginning, hoping sentient beings could start at the beginning and gradually return to the Bodhisattva-path, eventually reaching the state of Buddhahood.
But the ultimate reality of the Middle Way is not “known by Three Vehicle practitioners,” Hearers, Solitary Realizers or those who have just aspired to walk the Bodhisattva-path, newly-awakened and newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. They may know about the principles of this path and know that it ends at the state of Buddhahood, therefore, they start walking in this direction. They know the course, but they have not truly realized it.
Think about cows drinking water and eating grass. The quantity they consume allows them to have a certain amount of physical strength. The amount cats and dogs drink and eat only supports their level of physical strength. So, they consume similar things but in different quantities. The Buddha taught the same Dharma to everyone. But how much of it could each person accept? The same principle applies here. Sariputra finally understood that he had only absorbed a part of the Buddha’s teachings. “It was our fault, not the World-Honored One’s.”
As we previously discussed,
“Why is this so? If we had waited for the Buddha to teach….”
They were all hoping to attain supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment, which is Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.
Which is Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Then they “certainly would have been delivered by the Great Vehicle.”
In the past, they were attached to the Small Vehicle Dharma. If they had formed Great Vehicle aspirations and applied the mindset of the Great Vehicle to accepting the Buddha-Dharma, then they would have felt that supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment and Bodhisattva-aspirations were something they were a part of. But because of their capabilities, they were attached to the Small Vehicle, so they remained in that state. Now, they finally understood.
The next sutra passage states,
“But I and others like me did not understand that skillful means were taught according to what was appropriate. So, when we first heard the Buddha-Dharma, we immediately believed and accepted it, thinking we had attained realizations.”
If they could have accepted the Buddha’s teachings with a vast and expansive mind, they could probably have attained supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment and been transformed. “But I and others like me did not understand that skillful means were taught according to what was appropriate.” They did not yet understand that the Buddha started teaching from the beginning to help them eliminate their afflictions and attachments. Instead, they [clung to] Small Vehicle teachings. The Buddha had devised these provisional teachings for people with limited capabilities.
So, when people first heard the Buddha-Dharma, “the listeners received the Dharma that resonated with them.” Those who heard this Dharma would connect to it according to their capabilities. Those with limited capabilities connected with it on a superficial level. Those with average capabilities connected with it on a moderate level. The Buddha gave the same teachings, but people of varying capabilities achieved various realizations. So, though the Buddha taught for the sake of. Small Vehicle practitioners, both Great and Small Vehicle practitioners could accept these teachings. However, these listeners had stopped at the state of the Small Vehicle. Because they had limited capabilities, they were limited in the teachings they could accept. Actually, the Buddha did not distinguish between Great and Small Vehicle Dharma. It was people with limited capabilities who seemed to hear it that way.
So, the Buddha taught the One Vehicle Dharma. Provisional teachings are wondrous. Wondrous refers to the perfect teachings of true emptiness and wondrous existence. However, we only understand it as a provisional teaching that He gave. For limited people, He taught the provisional. But this also contains the wondrous [Dharma]. We should comprehend His painstaking efforts, but many people can only realize the Dharma step by step. So, “the listeners received the Dharma that resonated with them.” For some, the limited teachings resonated. For some, provisional teachings resonated. So, they “immediately believed and accepted it, thinking [they] had attained realizations.” They realized that life is suffering and that ultimately, it is empty. So, they only practiced for their own sake. They only sought to benefit themselves and attain the [Small Vehicle] fruit. That is all. So, they “immediately believed and accepted it.”
But I and others like me did not understand that skillful means were taught according to what was appropriate: The Buddha, for those of limited capabilities, established provisional teachings. The listeners received the Dharma that resonated with them, so they immediately believed and accepted it, thinking they had attained realizations.
After attaining the Dharma, they became attached to the Small Vehicle and did not progress beyond that state.
“So, when we first heard the Buddha-Dharma, we immediately believed and accepted it, thinking we had attained realizations.” This means that when people first heard the skillful and provisional teachings, they were “immediately joyful.” They were already very happy, so they accepted [that Dharma] and sought to attain that state of fruition, “mistakenly believing it to be the ultimate.” They thought this was the ultimate Dharma.
Sariputra and the bhiksus around him all had this type of thinking. They felt that the Buddha had taught them to eliminate all attachments and afflictions because life was suffering and suffering came from attachments and the pursuit of cravings and desires. So, they let go of their cravings and desires; they were no longer attached to fame or gain. But they stopped there. They did not know that in addition to the Small Vehicle, there was also the nature of things. In addition to the Small Vehicle, there were true and wondrous underlying principles. This is what was realized by Bodhisattvas. So, he did not “[know] that aside from the Small Vehicle, there were other wondrous principles.”
Not knowing that aside from the Small Vehicle, there were other wondrous principles, Sariputra felt sad that he had not fully understood the Buddha’s understanding and views. He and the others often felt remorse [that they did not achieve the same realizations] as others who had also listened to the Dharma.
At this point, Sariputra understood all this. But he “felt sad that he had not fully understood the Buddha’s understanding and views.” Everyone said that Sariputra was foremost in wisdom among the Buddha’s disciples. But he was still at the state of the Small Vehicle and did not realize that the Small Vehicle contained wondrous principles. So, he was sad that he had not really understood the Buddha’s understanding and views.
With His wisdom, how much did the Buddha really understand? There was nothing in the universe that the Buddha did not know or understand. So, the Buddha’s understanding and views were not something Sariputra could penetrate with his [Hearer-wisdom]. Thus “he and the others always felt remorse, [as they did not achieve the same realizations]” as Bodhisattvas and those who formed great aspirations. They had all heard the same teachings from the Buddha, yet. [Bodhisattvas and those who formed aspirations] had a completely different understanding.
Actually, when Sariputra said, “We immediately believed and accepted it,” this sentence implied that he had personal causes and conditions for this. Before Sariputra encountered the Buddha-Dharma, he practiced Brahmanism. The teacher he followed was a widely renowned Brahmin scholar. When his teacher was seriously ill, Sariputra stayed by his side to attend to him. Before the teacher passed away, he shared his last thoughts with Sariputra.
He told Sariputra, “I still do not understand cyclic existence. Do people really come to this world for one reason only, to pursue their desires? The obstacle of lust and affection is especially difficult to break through.” He said that he only had one remaining question that he continued to ponder. In a small kingdom, a king and his queen had a very loving relationship. However, life is impermanent. The king was dying and the queen did not want to let him go. She held him for a long time and would not let go. Clearly, the king was suffering greatly. He did not want to leave her, but he eventually passed away. The queen was devastated. She held him for a long time, refusing to let go. When the king was cremated, the queen did not care about anything and just kept saying, “I want to go with you.” Finally she yelled loudly, “I want to go with you!” Then she jumped into the fire. Though the fire was still burning, she jumped into the fire pit.
This was what Sariputra’s teacher told him with great sadness. This matter had always been on his mind. He said, “Isn’t the attachment to relationships difficult to overcome in this lifetime? “I also do not know what will happen to this body in the future when I leave it. And where will I go? This queen wanted to follow her king. After she jumped into the fire and her body was burned up, did her soul find the king’s soul? I’ve always wondered about this. Now, my life is like a candle in the wind. I do not know when it will be extinguished. In the future, where will I really go?”
So, as he was dying, he told Sariputra, “Even now, I’m still confused. You must immediately seek someone who can truly liberate you from [cyclic existence] and the strong attachment to relationships. You should immediately seek a way to liberate yourself from these attachments and from the rebirth of life.” After he said this, he passed away. Sariputra, upon hearing his teacher’s words, was very confused. He thought, “My teacher was a such a widely renowned scholar. Everyone respected and admired him. Why could he still could not understand this at the end of his life? It was only a small issue of being attached to relationships, but he could not resolve it. In particular, when he was dying, he still did not know where he was going. I have followed this teacher and his teachings, but what use was it?”
So, while he was feeling very sad, he was walking along one day and saw someone far away. He felt he had never seen anyone like this before; he had such dignity! So, he approached this bhiksu and respectfully asked him, “Sir, what Dharma are you cultivating? Who is your teacher? I see that your manner and behavior are completely different from other people. So, what Dharma do you rely on?”
Bhiksu Asvajit said, “‘All things arise due to causes and conditions All things cease due to causes and conditions The Buddha, the great Sramana, always teaches such.’ If you ask me what Dharma is in my mind, that is my answer ‘All things arise due to causes and conditions All things cease due to causes and conditions.’ I learned this from my teacher, the Buddha, an enlightened one. My teacher is the enlightened one. He is a monastic and a spiritual practitioner. So, ‘the Buddha, the great Sramana, always teaches such.’ Therefore, my mind abides in this Dharma.”
Sariputra was very wise to begin with. This bhiksu who was standing here had such a dignified demeanor and behaved in such a refined manner. “His teacher is an enlightened one, so I should follow this enlightened one and seek the Dharma from Him.” As he realized this, he immediately asked Bhiksu Asvajit, “Where is the Buddha now?”
Bhiksu Asvajit told him where the Buddha was staying. Sariputra was very pleased. Maudgalyayana was his best friend and the two had an agreement that. “If I attain the true principles or if I meet a great teacher, I will tell you. If you meet a great teacher who can give us a direction for [our practice] or wholesome principles, you will share it with me. We will engage in spiritual practice together and walk towards the same goal.” So, he was very happy and quickly reported this to Maudgalyayana. Maudgalyayana had 250 disciples and. Sariputra had 250 disciples. The two of them immediately brought their disciples to the Buddha. The Buddha gave them a teaching that explained [the truths of] causes and conditions. After they heard the teaching, they were joyful, so they took refuge with the Buddha.
So everyone, when Sariputra encountered this Dharma, he became very happy, and thus began to cultivate the Small Vehicle Dharma. He wanted to let go of worldly desires and find a way to realize the state of fruition of his own awakening. So, he “immediately believed and accepted it.” This was probably what happened.
So, we must understand that everyone hears the same Buddha-Dharma. However, people’s capabilities are different, so they hear and accept it at different levels. In provisional teachings there are wondrous principles. We can also understand that provisional teachings and wondrous principles are the same. Therefore, all of us must always be mindful.