Episode 804 – Liberating Sentient Beings from Birth and Death
>>We must courageously and diligently practice the great goodness of the Dharma and end evil with a mind of clarity. We must be earnest and diligent and clearly distinguish good from evil. By being sharp and nimble in evaluating matters, we can treat our laxness and complete our cultivation of virtuous karma. In our practice of the Dharma, we must remain pure and undefiled.
>>”Having already attained this, we gave rise to great joy. We felt this was enough, and we said to ourselves, ‘Due to our earnestness and diligence in the Buddha-Dharma, we have attained so much’.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>>”Yet the World-Honored One knew from the start how our minds were attached to base desires and delighted in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma. You saw us become indulgent and give up, and thus did not say to us specifically, ‘You all have a part in the treasure of the Tathagata’s understanding and views’.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>>A previous sutra passage said, Later, on another day, he saw the figure of his son in the distance. Now it says, The World-Honored One knew from the start how our minds were attached to base desires.
>>[We] delighted in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, so He indulged us as we were: This is Small Vehicle Dharma. The Chapter on Skillful Means says, “Those of dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.”
>>A storehouse with accumulated precious treasures, the wondrous Dharma can save sentient beings from suffering and distress.
>>All Tathagatas manifest in the world to expound the Great Dharma and transform all sentient beings so that they may escape from samsara and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight. They are exemplary teachers for sentient beings.
“We must courageously and diligently practice the great goodness of the Dharma and end evil with a mind of clarity. We must be earnest and diligent and clearly distinguish good from evil. By being sharp and nimble in evaluating matters, we can treat our laxness and complete our cultivation of virtuous karma. In our practice of the Dharma, we must remain pure and undefiled.”
Be mindful! In learning the Buddha-Dharma we must be mindful. Every thought we give rise to is what we must work on in our spiritual practice. When thoughts arise, are they always kind? Do they always benefit others? If it is a thought of great goodness, we must courageously and diligently cultivate it. We cannot let our good thoughts be interrupted; rather, we must courageously and diligently accept and uphold them. We must also eliminate unwholesome thoughts and keep our minds very clear. If our thoughts are the least bit confused, we cannot discern good from evil. Then we may unintentionally give rise to evil; these unwholesome thoughts can lead us astray.
There is also a story like this in the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish. It is a story about two brothers. Each of the brothers had their strengths. The younger brother was a successful merchant and made a lot of money. The other was an arbiter who was trusted by both the government and the people. In that kingdom at that time, when people would borrow money from each other, they had to have a guarantor. They called this person an “arbiter.”
At that time, [an elder] wanted to search the seas for treasures. So, he gathered many people to take a merchant ship to sea. He did not have enough money so he came to this arbiter’s little brother. This elder came to borrow money from him, and since he offered interest on the money, the brother was willing to lend it to him. But this second elder, the younger brother, thought, “Life is impermanent, and my health has never been very good. I will lend the money in my son’s name, and the interest will be paid to my son.” Since his older brother was an arbiter, of course he said, “No problem. I have always made judgments fairly and impartially, so I can be the guarantor for your son.”
While the ship was at sea, a storm suddenly brought wind and rain. The ship was blown over and capsized in the storm. It sank completely, and [the debtor] was the only survivor. He then borrowed from friends and relatives. After collecting a sum of money, he now used two ships and set out to sea again. This time at sea everything went smoothly, and they recovered many precious objects from the ocean and brought them back to trade, earning a lot of money.
One day, quite stylishly dressed, this elder was walking down the street. Many years had passed since [the loan was made], and the young son had already grown up. The elder saw that the son had grown up and also knew that he had to repay the money. However, the money he would have to repay, the principle plus the interest, was so much that if he were to repay it, it would use up the greater part of the money that he had earned from his trip. Then, he gave rise to a wicked thought and went to prepare. He took a pearl he had brought back from the sea and brought it to go look for the arbiter’s wife.
The wife said, “That is impossible. My husband is a most trustworthy person. How could I ask him to do an immoral thing like this?” The merchant promptly took out another pearl and said, “Here. I can also give you this one.” The wife still did not feel she could do this. He took out another one, making it three pearls in total. At that moment, the wife’s resolve wavered. She took the pearls and brought this matter to her husband.
However, the arbiter felt, “That is impossible. Money borrowed is money borrowed.” His wife said, “If you are so determined, since I have already accepted these things, if you can’t do this for me, fine. What use is there for me to stay with you now? What will I do? Our son is still so young. I am unable to leave, so it would be better if I killed my son and then killed myself.” The husband listened to what she said. His wife and son were his most beloved. If she really did what she said, what would he do then? It was really a tough decision. After a long struggle, he went against his conscience.
The arbiter asked his nephew, “Was there really such an arrangement? If so, why have I forgotten it? I have no recollection of it at all.” The young man wondered, “Uncle, how can you now go against your conscience like this? How can you be so confused?” The uncle got angry. “You are my nephew! How dare you criticize your elder as wrong?” He was very angry and drove him out of the house.
This story was told by the Buddha. Why did the Buddha tell this story? There is more to the story. In the Buddha’s time, there was an elder who had five daughters and no sons. The law of the land at that time stated that no matter how much money you had, if you had no son [to inherit it], your assets would return to the country’s treasury. The elder had five daughters, but was lacking a son. Right before he was about to pass away, his wife became pregnant. She was already pregnant, but would the child be a boy or a girl? In his anxiety, this elder passed away.
After a few months, the woman gave birth, and sure enough it was a boy. However, he had no limbs. He had a mouth but no tongue, had eye sockets but no eyes, and he had no ears, either. He was a very deformed child, but he was still a boy. Everyone began talking about this. “As deformed as he is, without arms or legs, with a mouth but no tongue, and without eyes, is he still considered a person?” The daughter was very clever. “Yet, he truly is a boy as long as he has a male organ. Hands do not determine maleness, nor do feet. In fact, he was born a boy. A boy has a male organ, so he must be considered a boy.” The king thought so too. Whether a child is a boy or girl is not something that can be determined by the tongue or the mouth. No. Therefore, though the child was deformed, he was still a male.
What were the causes and conditions for this? The Buddha then told the first story that I just told you. After he finished, the Buddha explained that, although there was a time when [the arbiter] had not properly judged right from wrong and had ignored his conscience, in past lives he had practiced charitable giving. This giving brought him blessings. In lifetime after lifetime, he was born into wealthy families, but his body was always deformed. This was his retribution.
Having said this, we should know that. “We must courageously and diligently practice the great goodness of the Dharma” without deviating even a little. For a mind to eliminate evil it must be clear; we must not harbor evil. So, “We must be earnest and diligent.” We must be very earnest and take good care of our minds. We must clearly distinguish between good and evil. Good is good, and evil is evil. We need to distinguish between them clearly.
Then, we must be “sharp and nimble in evaluating matters.” In judging things by principles, we must be very sharp, nimble and very precise. Furthermore, we must be able to clearly distinguish between right and wrong. This is the kind of person we want to be. In addition, “We can treat our laxness.” By being sharp and nimble in various ways and by distinguishing clearly between right and wrong, we can treat our laxness and complete our cultivation of virtuous karma. We can be very diligent, do all that is good and not violate the precepts. With undefiled Dharma we are diligent and pure, so let us be mindful as we learn the Buddha’s teachings.
The previous sutra passage says, “Having already attained this, we gave rise to great joy. We felt this was enough, and we said to ourselves, ‘Due to our earnestness and diligence in the Buddha-Dharma, we have attained so much’.”
This is the joy Subhuti felt. He felt he had attained so much Dharma. In the past, he felt learning the Small Vehicle Dharma was enough. Being earnest and diligent in the Buddha-Dharma, he had eliminated afflictions and become free and at ease and so he felt quite satisfied.
The following passage says, “Yet the World-Honored One knew from the start how our minds were attached to base desires and delighted in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma. You saw us become indulgent and give up, and thus did not say to us specifically, ‘You all have a part in the treasure of the Tathagata’s understanding and views’.”
Now, he spoke again to the World-Honored One, “World-Honored One, you knew; from long ago, you knew our minds were attached to base desires.” The Buddha, in His wisdom, already knew that we were satisfied with only a little, that ignorance still lurked within in our minds. Our dust-like delusions, that ignorance, had not yet been fully eliminated. So, just as a previous sutra passage said, “Later, on another day, he saw the figure of his son in the distance”
A previous sutra passage said, “Later, on another day, he saw the figure of his son in the distance.” Now it says, “The World-Honored One knew from the start how our minds were attached to base desires.”
The elder saw his son from afar [and thought,] “Isn’t this my son?” It was not easy to entice him to come inside, and “Now it says, The World-Honored One knew from the start how”‘ “‘our minds were attached to base desires.” This is what our current sutra passage is saying. “World-Honored One, long ago you already knew that our minds were still selfish and that we only sought to awaken ourselves. These were afflictions we had yet to eliminate. We had not yet opened up our minds nor ever imagined that we ourselves possess the Tathagata’s nature of True Suchness, nor did we realize that one day our minds could become one with the universe. We have never considered any of this, so we just kept to the Small Vehicle”
[We] delighted in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, so He indulged us as we were: This is Small Vehicle Dharma. The Chapter on Skillful Means says, “Those of dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.”
“[We] delighted in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma. You saw us become indulgent and give up.” The Buddha saw that they were already getting old and had become indulgent. They continually gave up on the Great Dharma and just kept to the Small Vehicle Dharma. So, from the Chapter on Skillful Means, we recall it says, “Those of dull capabilities delight in Small [Vehicle] Dharma.” The Buddha, in the Chapter on Skillful Means, saw the disciples were “of dull capabilities and delighted in the Small [Vehicle] Dharma.” Indeed, they were still quite lax. They never thought to earnestly dedicate themselves to others.
They continued to be quite lax “[You thus] did not specify to us by saying, You all have a part in the treasure of the Tathagata’s understanding and views.” The Buddha already knew [us], so He understood we were not yet capable of accepting [the truth]. So, our minds still harbor base [desires], still have defiled objects like this. Our afflictions remain. So, the Buddha, at that time, did not earnestly tell us these things. “You all have a part in the treasure of the Tathagata’s understanding and views.” He had not yet said this. Even if He had, we would not have been able to accept it, for our capabilities were still not yet mature; they were still dull. Because our capabilities were dull, we were still unable to accept it.
A storehouse with accumulated precious treasures, the wondrous Dharma can save sentient beings from suffering and distress.
So, it talks about “the treasure”; the place where precious treasures are accumulated is called the “storehouse [This is] the wondrous Dharma that can save sentient beings.” He had to wait for when we could unlock the Tathagata’s understanding and views.
All Tathagatas manifest in the world to expound the Great Dharma and transform all sentient beings so that they may escape from samsara and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight. They are exemplary teachers for sentient beings.
What are “the Tathagata’s understanding and views”? The Tathagata is the World-Honored One. The World-Honored Ones, the Tathagatas, manifest in the world for one purpose exclusively, which is to “expound the Great Dharma and transform all sentient beings so that they may escape from samsara and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight.” As exemplary teachers for sentient beings, they come to teach and transform sentient beings so that they may escape from samsara. Because we are ordinary beings, we do not know where we came from, nor do we know where we will go in the future. We are merely subject to our karma, which we bring with us as we come and go. So, have we no way of understanding where we have come from or where we will go in the future. Thus, the Buddha returns again out of compassion, coming back to the world life after life on the vehicle of the Dharma of Suchness to continually pass down the Buddha-Dharma and deliver and transform sentient beings. He hopes everyone will be able to escape from the sea of suffering “and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight”
[How can we] “escape from the sea of suffering”? Didn’t we talk about this earlier? Subhuti said life is imbued with three sufferings, the sufferings of suffering, action and decay. Though he had been practicing life after life, he still had not been completely liberated. The Buddha still takes the Tathagata-vehicle to return lifetime after lifetime and complete His great cause. He quickly transforms those with affinities and helps those not yet transformed to attain the causes and conditions for future transformation. So, everyone can transform one another “and attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight.” This allows us to understand our coming and going.
If we know the principles, no matter how difficult it may be to give, we still do so very willingly. This is called “Attaining the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight.” Being willing to help other sentient beings is our aspiration. So “to attain the benefits of infinite meanings, peace and delight,” is to become exemplary teachers to sentient beings.
We learn the Buddha’s Way so that we may gain true and thorough understanding. We must understand it is true that we live through lifetime after lifetime; we have this lifetime and future lifetimes. We must never deny the law of karma. Everything we say creates causes and conditions. Every word we say and everything we do contains clear karmic effects and retributions. All that we experience now is karmic retribution, and each cause and effect is clear; we can never escape any of it. It is just like that arbiter. The Buddha taught how, for his one mistake, although lifetime after lifetime he was reborn into wealthy households, his physical body was nevertheless deformed. This is karmic retribution.
So, in the process of learning the Buddha’s Way, with every single thought that arises, we really need to take good care of our minds. If even a single thought goes astray, a slight deviation will take us far off course.
So, the “great goodness of the Dharma” is what we must “courageously and diligently practice.” We need to be earnest and diligent in distinguishing good and evil; we must be very clear on this. In evaluating matters, analyzing matters and principles, we must be sharp and nimble in discerning right from wrong. Moreover, we must be very clear in judging things. This is very important; discerning the principles is very important. People today act blindly on what they hear. They cannot discern good from evil; they have no way of understanding principles. Now is the time to quickly help everyone clearly understand the Buddha-Dharma. Otherwise, a single confused thought can lead our lives in the future to be filled with unbearable suffering.
To “treat our laxness,” we need to be sharp and nimble in doing things and very willing to help others. Only then can we “complete our cultivation of positive karma” [When our practice of] wholesome Dharma, the Buddha-Dharma, is undefiled, we can truly realize the pure teachings. The Dharma is without substance, so it cannot be defiled. True principles are without substance; they are invisible, but they are found in all matters. It is because people, matters and objects come together and multiply that there are so many things to be said. So, in teaching the Dharma, the Buddha did not distinguish between the Great and the Small; it is just a matter of whether our capabilities are sharp or dull.
If we have sharp capabilities, the Buddha can explain all Dharma to us as soon as He opens His mouth. However, our capabilities are dull so. He guided us patiently for 49 years. By the time of the Lotus Dharma-assembly, were everyone’s capacities mature? They were not all mature, so the Buddha had to explain again and again. Furthermore, though the Buddha’s disciples had already realized and understood, they still had to bring up many principles to help explain. So, Buddhist practitioners like us who have come later must always be mindful.