Episode 797 – Abiding in the State of the Dharmakaya
>> This is the great cause of our Bodhisattva-practice; since we have established faith, we can all abide in the state of Buddhahood and attain the impartiality of innate enlightenment. Then, because we gave rise to great aspirations, we approach and enter the wondrous path, and our minds can encompass an amount equal to the Dharma-realm of the great void.
>> “He then made this declaration, All of you nobles should know that this is my son He was born to me in a certain city He then left me and ran away and suffered many hardships for more than 50 years.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “He had a certain name, and I had a certain name. Long ago in that city, worried, I set out in search of him. Suddenly, in this place, by chance I encountered him again. He is in truth my son, and I am in truth his father.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> Since Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, they had all lived countless lifetimes and had been called by countless names. These names cannot be pointed out with certainty. Only the Buddha can know them all. Thus it says, He had a certain name.
>> Sentient beings have long been sinking. The Buddha, in His compassion, follows them and does not abandon them. His lifetimes are countless so. His names are countless; only the Buddha can know the infinite times, places and names. He has used to teach and transform. Thus it says, I had a certain name.
>> Long ago in that city, worried, I set out in search of him: The Buddha abides in the state of the Dharmakaya where the Dharma is His body. It is pristine like the endless void; this is called the Dharmakaya. He searches for the causes and conditions to deliver and transform.
>> Another meaning of Dharmakaya: The essence of the flawless Dharma-realm that He realized is called the Dharmakaya.
>> Bodhisattvas know what sentient beings’ minds take joy in. They take on the bodies of the Dharma-realms as their own. This includes the bodies of sentient beings and even the body of the endless void.
>> They always use two kinds of wisdom. The two kinds of wisdom: First is ultimate wisdom, the wisdom that reaches the true principles of Bodhi. Second is provisional wisdom, also known as the wisdom of skillful means. This is the wisdom that understands the skillful means of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
>> From the time of two trillion Buddhas in the past, the Buddha has used two kinds of wisdom to constantly search for opportunities to transform, imparting teachings according to capabilities, teaching both the Great and Small and enticing and guiding in many ways. Thus it says, Worried, I set out in search of him.
“This is the great cause of our Bodhisattva-practice; since we have established faith,
we can all abide in the state of Buddhahood and attain the impartiality of innate enlightenment.
Then, because we gave rise to great aspirations, we approach and enter the wondrous path,
and our minds can encompass an amount equal to the Dharma-realm of the great void.”
We must form aspirations! We aspire to cultivate the Bodhisattva-practice [To be] a Bodhisattva, we must form great aspirations. When we create the seed that is great aspirations, naturally, the cause that is this seed will come to fruition. If we plant a grass seed in the soil, what emerges will be grass. If we plant a tree seed, what comes to fruition will be a big tree. The causes we plant determine the effects. The aspirations we form determine the practices we engage in. So, we engage in the Bodhisattva-practice because we formed this kind of aspiration in the past. We have faith in and understand the Dharma. So, we are willing to make great vows and create these great causes. This is because we have great faith.
Since we have established faith, “We can all abide in the state of Buddhahood and attain the impartiality of innate enlightenment.” This means that our minds will abide in the state of Buddhahood. If we can strengthen our faith and advance toward Buddhahood, in this way we will gradually discover our pure Tathagata-nature. Because we walk the Bodhisattva-path, we give without expectations while eradicating our afflictions and attachments. As we go among people to give unconditionally, we eliminate old habitual tendencies and do not allow any new afflictions to enter. When we take the Buddha-mind as our mind, our minds abide in the state of Buddhahood. Thus we “attain the impartiality of innate enlightenment.” Only with an impartial mind will we be able to continue moving forward. What should we be impartial toward? “The mind, Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” If we are impartial,
when we practice charitable giving, we will also give impartially. The act of giving should come from a deep sense of joy. It is not about how much money we have. It is not only rich people who can practice giving or strong people who can help others. In fact, everyone can give. Everyone has the strength [to help]. If we understand the principles, we will all be willing to give to others. This thought comes from the impartiality of innate enlightenment; status makes no difference.
So, “Because we gave rise to great aspirations, we approach and enter the wondrous path.” If we form aspirations, naturally we will head toward and enter the most subtle and wondrous Dharma. Only with the impartiality of innate enlightenment can we truly form great aspirations and realize the wondrous Dharma. So, “Our minds can encompass an [equal] amount.” If we have this state of mind, we are capable of encompassing an [equal] amount. This “amount” means that our minds have the capacity to encompass as much as the Dharma-realm of the great void. Thus, “Our minds encompass the universe and embrace the boundless worlds within it.” As Buddhist practitioners, this is our great cause for forming. Bodhisattva-aspirations and engaging in practice. When we sow seeds, we must sow seeds for big trees, for Bodhi-trees. We must strengthen our faith and believe in and understand the great path; this is our direction.
The previous sutra passage states, “He then made this declaration.” The elder had gathered his relatives, kings, ministers, Ksatriyas and householders, all together in one place and then declared to everyone, “All of you nobles should know that this is my son. He was born to me in a certain city. He then left me and ran away and suffered many hardships for more than 50 years.”
He now told everyone, “My son left me more than 50 years ago. I have finally found him again, and we have acknowledged each other as father and son. I have found and acknowledged my son,”
“and as for my son’s name…” “He had a certain name, and I had a certain name. Long ago in that city, worried, I set out in search of him. Suddenly, in this place, by chance I encountered him again. He is in truth my son, and I am in truth his father.” Now he said, “He had a certain name.” Why was the name not specified? Since the time of. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, there have been more than two trillion Buddhas. A very long time has passed. Sakyamuni Buddha spent this long period of time following and learning from Them, life after life. Not only did He follow and learn from Buddhas, life after life, He went among people to walk the Bodhisattva-path. This took a very long time; how long? Very long. This does not only apply to Sakyamuni Buddha but to all sentient beings as well
Since Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, they had all lived countless lifetimes and had been called by countless names. These names cannot be pointed out with certainty. Only the Buddha can know them all. Thus it says, “He had a certain name.“
Because the Buddha saw all sentient beings as His only son, it talks about how “They had all…”; all sentient beings had “lived countless lifetimes.” The Buddha had already spent a very long time learning the Dharma and making vows. Of course, these people had done the same. “They had all lived countless lifetimes,” transmigrating in the Five Realms and four forms of birth. Life after life, they transmigrated in this way, over incalculable time in countless places; they do not know exactly where. In summary, this had been going on for a very long time, and they had been born in so many places the number is uncountable. For this reason, they “had been called by countless names.” Have we been womb-born as humans? Or, have we been womb-born as cows, sheep, horses, pigs, dogs or cats? We do not know. In addition to these, there are egg-born, [moisture-born] and transformation-born; these forms of birth include countless kinds of beings. Thus there are countless names.
“Human” is a general label. Each person also has a specific name. Since we have taken so many forms, our names have changed countless times. So, we have “been called by countless names. These names cannot be pointed out with certainty.” They cannot be specified. This is because length of time that we have experienced is too long, the number of places too numerous. We have also lived lives in so many different kinds of physical forms. So, our names cannot be specified. “Only the Buddha can know them all.” Thus it states, “He had a certain name.”
No specific name could be given.
Sentient beings have long been sinking. The Buddha, in His compassion, follows them and does not abandon them. His lifetimes are countless so. His names are countless; only the Buddha can know the infinite times, places and names. He has used to teach and transform. Thus it says, “I had a certain name.”
He introduced himself with, “I had a certain name.” This indicates that sentient beings have spent a long time immersed in the Five Destinies and four forms of birth, transmigrating between them. “The Buddha, in His compassion, follows them and does not abandon them.” He follows these sentient beings continuously No matter which realm sentient beings go to, the Buddha will go there and transform them according to conditions. He cannot bear for anyone to suffer. This is the compassion of the Buddha. “His lifetimes are countless so. His names are countless.” As He had lived countless lifetimes, He had been called by countless names.
“Only the Buddha can know [them].” Only the Buddha Himself knows the countless lifetimes He has experienced. But even He could not say, “In this particular lifetime, my name was…” because it had also been a very long time of Him manifesting in the world in different times and places, with different names. Wherever sentient beings are, He responds to their karmic conditions by manifesting in those places. Does He transform them in the human realm? Or does He transform them in the animal realm? Or does He transform them in the hell realm? With His transformation-body, He transforms them according to conditions. As He responds to conditions, He has been to all the realms. What should be the realm used to represent Him? Which should be the name used to represent Him? Thus it is said, “I had a certain name.”
Next we discuss, “Long ago in that city, worried, I set out in search of him”
Long ago in that city, worried, I set out in search of him: The Buddha abides in the state of the Dharmakaya where the Dharma is His body. It is pristine like the endless void; this is called the Dharmakaya. He searches for the causes and conditions to deliver and transform.
When the child was young, he ran away. The father searched for his son everywhere. He looked continuously until he found him. When he was searching for his child but could not find him, his mind was filled with worries and afflictions. He wholeheartedly wanted to find his son.
This shows that. “The Buddha abides in the state of the Dharmakaya.” In the state of the Dharmakaya, the Dharma is His body. His body is the Dharma, is the principles. In every realm, He manifests the Dharma. The Dharmakaya is inseparable from His appearance. No matter what kind of physical form He takes, the Dharma is a part of it; the true principles follow His physical form to manifest in each place. He abides in the state of the Dharmakaya where the Dharma is His body. He goes there to transform sentient beings, so He always brings principles with Him to transform them. Thus, the Dharmakaya is forever; regardless of which realm He is in, it is “pristine like the endless void.”
We always say that engaging in spiritual practice is about eliminating afflictions, ignorance and dust-like delusions. Then even when we go among sentient beings, our minds can remain pure, and we can come and go without being contaminated. This is the Dharma; it is true principles. It is “pristine like the endless void. This is called the Dharmakaya.” The elder was constantly searching. “Worried, I set out in search of him.” He continuously looked to see where his son went. This is continuously seeking “causes and conditions to deliver and transform.” No matter where his son was, he was determined to find him and devise all kinds of causes and conditions to deliver and transform him
Another meaning of Dharmakaya: The essence of the flawless Dharma-realm that He realized is called the Dharmakaya.
Dharmakaya also has another meaning. That is, “The essence of the flawless Dharma-realm that He realized is called the Dharmakaya.” When we engage in spiritual practice, we must cultivate flawless Dharma. The flawless Dharma-realm is all true principles. After we take them in, we must not let them leak out. The Dharma-realm of true principles pervades the Dharma-realms of the great void. I often mention the sands of the Ganges River. Each grain of sand is a world filled with its own Dharma, not to mention every blade of grass and every tree. Every tree and object, all things that exist throughout the universe, are true principles, are the Dharma. This is “the essence of the flawless Dharma-realm.” All things in the universe are the essence of the Dharma-realm, which is the Dharmakaya. Living in this world, we are always immersed in the Dharma, in the truths of all things. We have always been living within this and encompassed by it.
So, as for the Dharma-realm, “The essence of the flawless Dharma-realm that He realized is called the Dharmakaya. Bodhisattvas know what sentient beings’ minds take joy in.” When Bodhisattvas [manifest] a Dharmakaya, they are Dharmakaya Bodhisattvas. They have already attained the true principles. As Bodhisattvas of Equal Enlightenment, they know what sentient beings take joy in. So, they respond to their capabilities and their likes in order to deliver and transform them accordingly
Bodhisattvas know what sentient beings’ minds take joy in. They take on the bodies of the Dharma-realms as their own. This includes the bodies of sentient beings and even the body of the endless void.
“They take on the bodies of the Dharma-realms as their own.” Bodhisattvas are the same; in the Dharma-realms, regardless of the kind of realm, Bodhisattvas will likewise manifest there. Perhaps even [a small] thing can awaken our minds. So, we often say we must cherish all life. It is not just beings that can eat and move that have life. In fact, everything we make use of can also awaken us. When we are mindful, they can awaken us. This is equivalent to “taking on the bodies of the Dharma-realms as their own.” In regard to all things, as long as we are mindful they can awaken us.
“This includes the bodies of sentient beings”; they also take on the forms of sentient beings. Whether as tangible things or sentient beings, their bodies are in the endless void. So, this includes “the bodies of sentient beings and even the body of the endless void.” Thus, when we learn the Buddha’s Way, our wisdom must reach a level of universal impartiality. Whether things are sentient or non-sentient, we must cherish them all and deliver them all. Therefore we must be mindful, as everything is the Dharma.
They always use two kinds of wisdom. The two kinds of wisdom: First is ultimate wisdom, the wisdom that reaches the true principles of Bodhi. Second is provisional wisdom, also known as the wisdom of skillful means. This is the wisdom that understands the skillful means of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
There have been two trillion Buddhas since the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. “They always use two kinds of wisdom.” The two kinds of wisdom are what we must be very mindful of.
One is “true wisdom.” True wisdom is the wisdom that “reaches the true principles of Bodhi.” This is the wisdom of awakening and Bodhi; it is true wisdom. The wisdom of all Dharma, natural wisdom, untaught wisdom and all-encompassing wisdom is all true wisdom.
The other wisdom is “provisional wisdom.” After we understand the principles, we must deliver sentient beings. We must awaken ourselves and also awaken others. We must make use of skillful means and skillful wisdom, the wisdom with which we can understand the skillful means of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas also want to deliver sentient beings. So, with each of those two trillion Buddhas, everything we needed to learn is inseparable from these two kinds of wisdom. These two kinds of wisdom are also everlasting
From the time of two trillion Buddhas in the past, the Buddha has used two kinds of wisdom to constantly search for opportunities to transform, imparting teachings according to capabilities, teaching both the Great and Small and enticing and guiding in many ways. Thus it says, “Worried, I set out in search of him.”
So, He “constantly searched for opportunities to transform” because He has these two kinds of wisdom, true wisdom and provisional wisdom. From the time of two trillion Buddhas in the past, life after life, He has been searching everywhere for those with the capabilities to be transformed to give them the teachings accordingly.
So, we must be mindful and emulate the Buddha in [observing] capabilities and opportunities. We must find a way to adapt to people. With these two kinds of wisdom, we can teach the Great and Small Vehicles. The Great Vehicle Dharma is expounded for those with great capabilities. If we teach them the Small Vehicle Dharma, that would not suit their capabilities. For people with limited capabilities, we use the Small Vehicle Dharma to help them attain realizations and enter the Buddha’s principles. “Teaching both the Great and Small” requires true wisdom as well as skillful wisdom to set up all kinds of environments to help them and expound all kinds of teachings to awaken them.
So, we must have “the two kinds of wisdoms to constantly search for opportunities to transform.” To save and transform sentient beings, we “impart teachings according to capabilities, teaching both the Great and Small and enticing and guiding in many ways.” We use all kinds of methods to entice people to enter the teachings of the Path and help them draw near the Buddha-Dharma. Only in this way can we resolve sentient beings’ delusions. Then, with a pure body and mind, they can walk the Bodhisattva-path. So, we must be mindful to learn the Buddha’s Way. Please always be mindful.