Episode 464 – Wisdom-life Arises from the Dharma
>> “[One who realizes] the ultimate truth of the One Vehicle is a true child of the Buddha, born of the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma.”
>> “World-Honored One, for a long time, I have, day and night, continually reproached myself. And now, from the Buddha, I have heard what I never heard before, this Dharma which has never been known before. Now all my doubts and regrets have been eliminated, my body and mind are at ease, and I feel a sense of peace and stability.”
>> “It was not until today that I realized that. I am a true child of the Buddha, born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma; I have realized my part in the Buddha-Dharma.”
>> It was not until today that I realized that. I am a true child of the Buddha, Today: We are confident that we can understand. In the past, it was said that Bodhisattvas are Buddha-children, but I and others like me stayed at the state of the Small Vehicle and never truly attained peace in our hearts. Now, hearing the Buddha teach the Bodhisattva Way, we know that we will all attain Buddhahood and that we are truly children of the Buddha.
>> The way to attaining Buddhahood comes from the Buddha’s mouth. I believe in the Buddha’s words, so I also became a child of the Buddha.
>> So, “These children are born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma.”
>> “They transform afflictions into Bodhi and turn cyclic existence into Nirvana. Knowing that all phenomena are created by the mind, they achieve and perfect their wisdom-body.”
“[One who realizes] the ultimate truth of the One Vehicle
is a true child of the Buddha,
born of the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma.”
Actually, this is the passage that we will discuss today. First, we must understand what it means to “[realize] the ultimate truth of the One Vehicle.” The ultimate truth is the One Vehicle. Yet we sentient beings cannot truly comprehend these simple, ultimate principles. If we can deeply comprehend the Buddha’s state of mind after He attained enlightenment, if we are grounded in it, we will want to help everyone quickly understand it. So, I hope that we all have faith in ourselves and believe everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature.
Yet we ordinary beings cannot accept this because of our ignorance and delusion. “Delusion” is lack of clarity. It is because we still have so much ignorance that we cannot clearly understand [this truth]. So, the One Vehicle, the ultimate truth, is actually quite simple. For example, when listening to someone talk, if they speak a single sentence, isn’t is so simple? Simplicity is beautiful, and purity is goodness. Do you understand this? We must understand that simplicity is beautiful. Where is the beauty? Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Everyone has her own perspective. Everyone’s viewpoint is different.
I appreciate bamboo plants; you may appreciate peonies. Is the bamboo beautiful? Or are the peonies? Everyone has a different viewpoint. In terms of flowers, trees, grasses or so on, people appreciate different things. This is how ordinary people are. Our eye-root connects to an external sense object, this sense object is taken in by our eye-consciousness and thus enters our mind-consciousness. Then our mind-consciousness discerns it. Once this happens, we get attached [to our view]. These layers of phenomena enter the mind, layer by layer. Once they enter our minds, we cling to our views. So, our views are all different.
Fundamentally, in this world, there is only the One Vehicle, which is truly quite simple. It allows us to experience and realize all principles of the universe. But unfortunately, we cannot realize everything, so the Buddha tries to expand our horizons. He opens up His views for us to understand, so we may understand that principles are actually unconditioned Dharma. The unconditioned Dharma in the world is the true principles. Many things must come together [to form something]. When certain causes and conditions converge, the result is a peony. The causes and conditions of a peony began with a cause, a peony [seed]. What about a rose? It is also a flower, but a rose has its own seed. Everything has its own causes and conditions, and when they converge, they form the appearance of that particular flower. When the causes and conditions of a peony converge, they form this particular appearance. What determines how they converge? The underlying principles. If the [causes and conditions] are not there, no appearance will be formed. These principles cannot be touched and cannot be seen; they must be realized and understood with our awakened nature.
So, how we come to this world is also due to our own causes and conditions. We were born into this world to a particular set of parents. Our parents were brought together by their own causes and conditions. There are also causes and conditions between us and our parents. Thus, the law of karmic causes and conditions is actually a very simple principle, but they converge in very complicated ways, resulting in a myriad of appearances. This is how a simple Dharma gives rise to complicated appearances. Therefore, unconditioned Dharma is quite simple, but conditioned phenomena are very complicated. Conditioned phenomena refers to all appearances.
The Buddha hoped we can eventually attain “the ultimate truth of the One Vehicle.” This is His one great cause in coming to the world. To teach for all three capabilities, He had to use many methods from His ocean of enlightened wisdom. He took these complicated things, these various forms and appearances, and found a way to connect them to the principles, to return to the ultimate reality of True Suchness, which is the true principles. How do we connect to the ultimate reality of the Dharma-realm? The Buddha had to use His ocean of enlightened wisdom to teach according to capabilities.
All Dharma, so many teachings, originated from the Buddha’s mouth. So, “[We are] truly children of the Buddha.” If we can follow the Buddha’s teachings with utmost sincerity, we can reverently accept His teachings and take them to heart. Then in our own hearts and minds, we can create more teachings and share them with others. When we are among people, “infinite Dharma-doors will readily appear before us. We attain great wisdom and completely understand all Dharma.” This [Dharma] is created in our minds. Isn’t this how we “attain great wisdom” and return to our awakened nature? Thus we are “born from the Buddha’s mouth and are transformed by the Dharma.” This is why we must accept the Buddha-Dharma with utmost reverence and faith.
If we accept the Dharma with reverence and faith, the Dharma will be in our hearts and our actions. Then we can easily comprehend it as we engage in spiritual practice. If the Dharma only enters our ear-consciousness but does not enter our mind-consciousness, the Dharma will never be in our minds. Then after having heard the Dharma, we will still return to a life of ignorance and delusion. Sometimes I [ask] people, “Do you understand? Yes, fortunately I have heard the Buddha-Dharma. Can you put it into practice? Master, let me take things slowly.” When I hear this, I feel very worried. “Taking things slowly” and “time is running out” are opposite approaches. How much time is left in our lives for us to “take things slowly”? I wish for us to develop our wisdom-life right away. I wish for our minds and the Buddha’s mind to corroborate each other right away.
Buddha-nature is an ocean of enlightened wisdom that we all intrinsically have. Unfortunately we are still pacing back and forth at the edge of this pure ocean of enlightenment and wisdom. Then we are easily drawn away by external temptations. Thus, it seems we are still very far away from it. How much time do we really have to “take things slowly”? So, when the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra, He felt a sense of urgency. He hoped that that everyone would gain His understanding and views. He wanted people to understand things with the same state of mind as Him, and in their own pespectives, see the same Dharma that He was able to see. The Buddha’s understanding and views are right in front of us. Why is there layer after layer of ignorance concealing them from us?
The previous sutra passage states,
“World-Honored One, for a long time, I have, day and night, continually reproached myself. And now, from the Buddha, I have heard what I never heard before, this Dharma which has never been known before. Now all my doubts and regrets have been eliminated, my body and mind are at ease, and I feel a sense of peace and stability.”
Even though it was already in the past, Sariputra still reproached himself. For several decades, he had often heard the Buddha teach the Bodhisattva Way. Bodhisattvas are children of the Buddha. When Sariputra heard this, he wondered, “If all these Bodhisattvas are true children of the Buddha, then what are we [compared to them]?” This was how Sariputra had felt when the Buddha praised Bodhisattvas. As he reflected on himself, he felt that he was not at the same level as them, as if something separated him from them. “If Bodhisattvas are true children of the Buddha, then what about us?” He felt a slight sense of inferiority as well as some resentment. “Has the Buddha treated us differently? Was He partial to Bodhisattvas?”
So, this sutra passage from the Lotus Sutra mentioned that Sariputra had doubts. What did he doubt? He doubted both himself and the Buddha. He doubted that his capabilities were sufficient. He suspected that the Buddha favored Bodhisattvas. This led to doubts and regrets.
Now he understood [the truth]. After he understood, he reproached himself day and night. “When will the Buddha take notice of me? When will the Buddha bestow a prediction of Buddhahood upon me?” This was what Sariputra hoped for. He hoped he could be like those Bodhisattvas who received the Buddha’s praise and predictions.
Now they had reached the Vulture Peak Assembly. “And now” refers to the time of the Lotus Assembly when the Buddha was expounding the Lotus Sutra. At this time, “from the Buddha, [they] heard what they had never heard before.” What the Buddha said now was very clear. What [Sariputra] could not understand before, he could now understand. His old suspicion that the Buddha preferred the Bodhisattvas and had only given the others Small Vehicle teachings was resolved at this time. Actually, the Buddha wanted all His disciples to “likewise realize the nature of things.” Everyone is equal, but their capabilities and degrees of acceptance were different.
So, the previous passage states, “The fault was ours, not the World-Honored One’s.” The fault did not lie with the Buddha, but with us. Because of our limited roots and capacities, the Dharma we received was that of the Small or Middle Vehicle. The problem was not with the Buddha. The problem was with us. Now that we understand, we can completely eliminate our doubts, delusions and afflictions.
So, “[Sariputra’s] body and mind were at ease and he [felt] a sense of peace and stability.” He was very joyful. On that day, he began to be very happy. What was he happy about? The next sutra passage states,
“It was not until today that I realized that. I am a true child of the Buddha, born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma; I have realized my part in the Buddha-Dharma.”
Now Sariputra completely understood; all his doubts were gone. So, from that day on, he knew he was also a true child of the Buddha. Bodhisattvas were not the only Buddha-children. “From this day forth, I know that I am also a child of the Buddha.” From that day forth, he was confident, about himself and about his realizations. If we are not confident in ourselves, we cannot easily accept the Buddha’s teachings. If we cannot accept it, we do not understand it.
We must be confident that we can actually attain Buddhahood as well. The Buddha told us confidently that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature and wisdom that is equal to the Buddha’s. So, now we must be confident that we have Buddha-nature and that our wisdom is on par with the Buddha’s. We must have this kind of realization.
It was not until today that I realized that. I am a true child of the Buddha, Today: We are confident that we can understand. In the past, it was said that Bodhisattvas are Buddha-children, but I and others like me stayed at the state of the Small Vehicle and never truly attained peace in our hearts. Now, hearing the Buddha teach the Bodhisattva Way, we know that we will all attain Buddhahood and that we are truly children of the Buddha.
“In the past, it was said that. Bodhisattvas are Buddha-children.” In the past, the Buddha had always said that. Bodhisattvas were like His children, and Sariputra had always felt that only Bodhisattvas were Buddha-children since “he and others like him stayed at the state of the Small Vehicle and never truly attained peace in their hearts.” That was “in the past.” But “today”, he finally understood. In the past, he had the mindset that the Buddha had said that only Bodhisattvas were His children and that he himself seemed to have stopped at the state of the Small Vehicle. So, during that time, he could never put his mind at ease.
“Now, hearing the Buddha teach the Bodhisattva Way, we know that we will all attain Buddhahood and that we are truly children of the Buddha.” At this time, everyone heard the Buddha clearly explain that the past teachings were given to draw them near. Now, He was going to teach them that everyone has to put the Bodhisattva Way into practice. [Sariputra] realized that once he aspired to and began to walk the Bodhisattva-path, he was a child of the Buddha, “born from the Buddha’s mouth” and “transformed by the Dharma,” because the Dharma is the path to Buddhahood. These teachings are the path to Buddhahood.
The way to attaining Buddhahood comes from the Buddha’s mouth. I believe in the Buddha’s words, so I also became a child of the Buddha.
The path to Buddhahood is the teachings that the Buddha spoke, that come from the Buddha’s mouth. The Dharma must be spoken out loud. So, the Dharma emerges from the mouth and enters through the ears. The Dharma that emerges from His mouth comes from the Buddha’s understanding and views. The same Dharma comes from His mouth and. His understanding and views. What does it enter? It enters people of all different capabilities. What people accept depends on their capabilities, so everyone hears the Dharma differently.
Now we know what Sariputra meant when he said that the Dharma “comes out of the Buddha’s mouth. I believe in the Buddha’s words. When I listened to the Buddha’s Dharma today, it actually awakened my Bodhisattva-aspirations. Today, I believe in the Buddha’s teachings, so I ‘became a child of the Buddha.'”
So, “These children are born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma.”
They are transformed by the Dharma. What is being transformed?
“They transform afflictions into Bodhi and turn cyclic existence into Nirvana. Knowing that all phenomena are created by the mind, they achieve and perfect their wisdom-body.”
For over 40 years, the Buddha hoped everyone would learn to eliminate afflictions. “All things arise due to causes and conditions and cease due to causes and conditions.” All suffering comes from “causation,” the accumulation of afflictions that separates us from the pure wisdom of our Buddha-nature. Afflictions are what obstruct us. Now we know the words from the Buddha’s mouth can help us eliminate all past afflictions and understand that “all things arise from causes and conditions.” Once we understand, we can transform afflictions into Bodhi. “They transform afflictions into Bodhi and turn cyclic existence into Nirvana.” We live in the Six Realms of ordinary beings. We bring our afflictions with us as we transmigrate through the Six Realms. This endless coming and going is very exhausting. When our afflictions are transformed [into Bodhi], what we realize is our awakened nature and wisdom. When our awakened nature and wisdom manifest, we can put an end to afflictions that arise from people, matters and objects in the world.
Though we have to go among people to walk the Bodhisattva-path, once our minds are in this state of concentration, and we have confidence in ourselves, we will willingly go among people without being defiled by their impurities. Then, when we are among multitudes of beings and their afflictions, we will remain peaceful and focused. We will no longer allow ordinary beings to cause us to give rise to afflictions. This is Nirvana.
Ordinary people live in the Six Realms, so in order to transform all sentient beings, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas must also be in the Six Realms. As they transform sentient beings, their minds will not be defiled by them because they forever abide in Nirvana. This is the result of their state of mind. “Knowing all phenomena are created by the mind,” that all things arise from our minds, what we can achieve is the wisdom-body. All phenomena are created by our minds. Our pure intrinsic nature is our wisdom-body. Our wisdom-body, our wisdom-life is transformation-born from the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma comes from the Buddha’s mouth, so from now on, we are true children of the Buddha.
This was how Sariputra felt. In the previous sutra passage, he said that he was filled with joy because “all his doubts and regrets have been eliminated” and he had “attained what he had never had.” When he heard the Buddha say that he could also attain Buddhahood, the joy he attained completely eliminated all his doubts and regrets. So, “his body and mind were at ease.” When our heart is joyful, our wisdom-life will grow. This wisdom-life comes from the Buddha-Dharma. Thus he was “transformed by the Dharma.” He attained his wisdom-body and returned to the intrinsic nature of all phenomena.
This is something we can achieve as long as we truly have faith in the Buddha-Dharma. If we take the Dharma to heart, our actions will be in harmony with the Dharma. In this way, aren’t the Buddha’s teachings quite simple? This is the ultimate Dharma of the One Vehicle, which originally came from the Buddha’s mouth. We are “transformed by the Dharma.” If we can clearly understand this, how can it be difficult to attain Buddhahood? So, we must always be mindful.