Episode 809 – Upholding the Path and Transmitting the Dharma
>> Those who accept the Buddha’s teachings are called Buddha-children. They uphold the noble path and transmit the Dharma-lineage. This is a general term for Bodhisattvas. By following the Buddha’s noble teachings, they ensure that the seeds of Buddhahood continue on uninterrupted. Everyone can be said to be replete with the Buddha-nature.
>> “Only now do we realize that the World-Honored One never withheld the Buddha-wisdom from us.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “Why is this so? In truth, we have always been Buddha-children, yet we delighted in the Small [Vehicle]. Had our hearts delighted in the Great, the Buddha would have taught us the Great Vehicle Dharma.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> In truth, we have always been Buddha-children: From the Buddha’s teaching of the provisional and the true and the power of His great wisdom, we are born into the noble path. Thus, we are called Buddha-children.
>> Those who ensure that the seeds of Buddhahood continue and are never cut off are called true Buddha-children.
>> This explains how the poor son, though joyful at receiving the family wealth, also expressed regret for the past: We previously wondered if the Buddha withheld the Great Vehicle from us by not teaching it. Now we know that what the Buddha taught us from the start contained the teachings of the Great Vehicle.
>> Yet we delighted in the Small [Vehicle]. Had our hearts delighted in the Great: They regretted having selfishly held on to the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, clinging to the state of. Hearers and Solitary Realizers and lacking the heart to delight in the Great and deliver and transform sentient beings.
>> As we applied the Buddha’s [awakening] only to our own nature, only we received this Dharma-joy. Yet He had never withheld anything; if we had known earlier to take delight in the Great, the Buddha would have revealed and taught it to us even earlier.
>> Everything the Tathagata taught, from the ultimate reality of the Middle Way to the infinite superior wondrous Dharma-doors, can enable sentient beings to practice the Dharma in accord with the Buddha-mind and thereby achieve perfect enlightenment. This is called the Great Vehicle Dharma.
“Those who accept the Buddha’s teachings are called Buddha-children.
They uphold the noble path and transmit the Dharma-lineage.
This is a general term for Bodhisattvas.
By following the Buddha’s noble teachings,
they ensure that the seeds of Buddhahood continue on uninterrupted.
Everyone can be said to be replete with the Buddha-nature.”
All of us who learn the Buddha’s teachings are being educated by the Buddha. For more than 2000 years, the Buddha’s teachings have continually been passed down. When we accept and uphold the teachings, the Dharma helps our wisdom grow. So, all who have been taught the Buddha-Dharma can be said to be Buddha-children, the children of the Buddha. As long as we take the Dharma to heart and make use of it, we can be called Buddha-children, who “uphold the noble path and transmit the Dharma-lineage.” If we call ourselves Buddha-children, we should have a sense of mission. We have already accepted the teachings; we should also accept the responsibility of transmitting the Dharma-lineage. Over the past 2000-plus years, if it were not for ancient sages and benefactors who kept on transmitting the Dharma, how would we have any Buddha-Dharma to listen to today? How would there be any Dharma for us to teach? The Dharma has to be transmitted continuously.
We often see this in our recycling Bodhisattvas. There are so many adorable recycling Bodhisattvas, like one in Tainan, a 92-year-old Bodhisattva by the name of Gao Yulian. This elderly Bodhisattva has very good eyesight, and her hearing is very sharp too. She has a good life at home, with two sons and two daughters. Her daughters-in-law are very filial, so she does not need to do any housework. But without any housework to do, she ended up feeling very bored. “Why is life so boring? Why is it so painful?” Many discursive thoughts arose in her mind.
Some five years ago, when her son was exercising in the park, he saw a recycling station; he became very happy and went home to tell his mother. She said, “I also saw this on Da Ai TV. So we have one near us? OK, I will go.” The next morning, she went to the recycling station. The moment she began, she felt joyful.
Since she was very nimble, her eyesight sharp and her hearing excellent, it was as if she, by herself, could do the work of many people. The Bodhisattva in charge of this station said, “If grandma does not come for a day, I have to go and find many people to do her share.” However, whenever Grandma Gao stays at home, she will only rest for a day or so. She comes almost every day and very rarely takes breaks. She comes on time at 5 am every morning to listen to the Dharma, then start her recycling work. She works from a little after five in the morning until three in the afternoon. She goes home around 3 or 4 pm. That whole time, she works very nimbly. She really can do the work of many all by herself.
Eventually, her son said, “It is strange; sometimes when my mother holds her chopsticks, her hands don’t seem to have much strength. She doesn’t even have strength to cut her nails. How is it she is so nimble at the recycling station?” Every morning she collects recyclables nearby and transports them in a baby stroller. She uses a baby stroller to transport the recyclables to the station. Grandma Gao is very joyful every day. She says, “I want to thank Master. I am grateful to Master for creating this recycling station for us, giving us something to do during the day that gives us joy and makes us tired so when we go home, we can shower, eat dinner and lie down to sleep without discursive thoughts. So, I feel very grateful.” She is fortunate to have such a life. She keeps her body and mind very well-adjusted; she has found just the right amount of activity.
We must put earnest effort into caring for our physical health and adjusting our mindset. Then we will naturally remain healthy in body and mind; our thinking will be proper, and we will have. Right Understanding, Right Views, Right Thinking. Whenever we give to others, we will be following the Right Dharma. So, “Those who accept the Buddha’s teachings are called Buddha-children.” This elderly Bodhisattva is truly simple and pure; she is truly a Buddha-child. She is very reverent, chanting the Buddha’s name as she works. Her mind is focused, and she is very agile. She is truly a Buddha-child,
to say nothing of us spiritual practitioners. We must “uphold the noble path and transmit the Dharma-lineage.” Even just by being an example for others to see and thus feel that, “Yes, this is the right thing to do! It is useful and makes people happy. I am willing to do it too,” one is still transmitting the Dharma-lineage. Besides doing [good], we must also talk about it. After listening to and taking in the Dharma, we need to analyze the Dharma [for others] so that everyone can hear it, talk about it and put it into action. This is the Dharma-lineage.
If you call someone an elderly Bodhisattva, it means that they are kind; what they do is worth learning. This is why we call them Bodhisattvas. Those who do good deeds are called Bodhisattvas [Buddha-children] is a term for all Bodhisattvas. So, “By following the Buddha’s noble teachings,” by practicing according what the Buddha taught, we can “ensure that the seeds of Buddhahood continue on uninterrupted.” We must continue recruiting Living Bodhisattvas. When more people can listen to and learn the Dharma, the Dharma-lineage will not be broken. The seeds of Buddhahood will continue uninterrupted. Because everyone is a Buddha-child, the more Buddha-children there are, the more seeds of Buddhahood there will be. One gives rise to infinity, and infinity arises from one. We must put our hearts into the Buddha-Dharma, put it into practice and share it with others.
So, “Everyone can be said to be replete with Buddha-nature.” In summary, every single person is replete with Buddha-nature. Since we are all replete with Buddha-nature, we should put the Bodhisattva-path into practice.
“Only now do we realize that the World-Honored One never withheld the Buddha-wisdom from us.”
So, the previous [sutra] passage states, “Only now do we realize that the World-Honored One never withheld the Buddha-wisdom from us.”
Subhuti and the [other three] elders expressed the fact that, in the past, they had misunderstood. They mistakenly thought that the Buddha taught the Great Dharma only for Bodhisattvas with great capabilities. They thought it had nothing to do with them. Only at this point did they realize that the Buddha saw everyone as equal and that it was their own capabilities that determined whether they accepted [the teachings].
It continues below, “Why is this so? In truth, we have always been Buddha-children, yet we delighted in the Small [Vehicle]. Had our hearts delighted in the Great, the Buddha would have taught us the Great Vehicle Dharma.”
Actually, all of us, from the past up until now, have always been Buddha-children. “Yet we delighted in the Small [Vehicle]. Had our hearts delighted in the Great….” We have been Buddha-children from the start, but we delighted only in the Small Vehicle Dharma. “Had our hearts delighted in the Great,” if we had only been willing and had the resolve to seek the Great Vehicle Dharma, “The Buddha would have taught us the Great Vehicle Dharma.” If we had really wanted to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma, then the Buddha surely would have taught it to us. The Buddha did originally teach it to us, but we did not pay attention to it and never asked the Buddha to teach it again. We thought the Buddha taught this Dharma for Bodhisattvas with great capacities, that it had nothing to do with us.
In truth, we have always been Buddha-children: From the Buddha’s teaching of the provisional and the true and the power of His great wisdom, we are born into the noble path. Thus, we are called Buddha-children.
What this means is, “From the Buddha’s teaching of the provisional and the true and the power of His great wisdom, we are born into the noble path. Thus, we are called Buddha-children.” We have always been Buddha-children. The Buddha taught the provisional from early on. From the beginning, He contemplated how He could help sentient beings take the Dharma to heart, how to get them to realize that everyone inherently has Buddha-nature. The Buddha considered how to help sentient beings listen and understand, experience the truth and truly eliminate afflictions. If their minds could be without discursive thoughts or afflictions, afflictions would not again defile their minds in the future. This had to be done step by step, so He had to begin by using provisional means.
During His teachings in Deer Park, He started with the Four Noble Truths. He helped everyone to understand suffering, to comprehend how we create karma and thus face karmic cause and effect. These were the provisional means He began with. Actually, the provisional teachings already contained the true. Moreover, some of the Buddha’s disciples had great capabilities that were already mature, and He could promptly give them the true teaching. The true teaching is the One True Vehicle, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. Great Dharma like this can be called the True Dharma of the One Vehicle or the Great Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha would also seize the moment to reveal the Great Vehicle to disciples whose karmic conditions had already matured. There were other disciples there who were listening as well, so He used the provisional to teach the true. The power of the Buddha’s great wisdom was such that in His teachings, the provisional always contained the true, and the true contained the provisional. When the Buddha first taught the Dharma, those with great capacities were able to understand, whereas those with limited capacities could not and remained stuck.
When the Buddha taught, not only did He teach the provisional, at the same time, He also taught the true. This was the greatness of His wisdom. The Buddha’s disciples all listened to the Dharma together; they were all on the noble path, nurturing their wisdom-lives. Therefore, they were all Buddha-children. As Buddha-children, they had received the Buddha’s teachings and could help the seeds of Buddhahood flourish
Those who ensure that the seeds of Buddhahood continue and are never cut off are called true Buddha-children.
Even if your capacities are limited, as long as you share your insights with everyone, share them in a proper way, others will slowly come to understand you, and you will gradually create good affinities. The more you nurture your capacities, the greater they will grow. Thus you can ensure that the seeds of Buddhahood are never cut off. I hope we can all be true Buddha-children, who form aspirations and make vows.
This explains how the poor son, though joyful at receiving the family wealth, also expressed regret for the past: We previously wondered if the Buddha withheld the Great Vehicle from us by not teaching it. Now we know that what the Buddha taught us from the start contained the teachings of the Great Vehicle.
The sutra passage here is also referring to and explaining the previously mentioned poor son. After wandering about for long time, he returned to the elder’s house and gradually became the keeper of the family’s valuables. But still it never occurred to him that he might possess these things for himself, not until the elder announced, “This man is in fact my son, who was born to me.” This is like teaching the Dharma; [we are] “born from the Buddha’s mouth and transformed by the Dharma.” This is what Subhuti and the others expressed ․This explains how the poor son, though joyful at receiving the family wealth, also expressed regret for the past: We previously wondered if the Buddha withheld the Great Vehicle from us by not teaching it. Now we know that what the Buddha taught us from the start contained the teachings of the Great Vehicle. What is expressed here is his joy at attaining the family wealth, but at the same time he felt a little regretful. The disciples had regrets about how, though the Dharma had always been taught impartially, their capacities had been limited. They had doubts, thinking the Great Vehicle Dharma that the Buddha taught was only for those with great capacities and not for them. So, they did not accept it.
Although Subhuti and Maudgalyayana practiced by the Buddha’s side, they also thought the same way. “The Buddha is not specifically talking to me, so I don’t specifically need to do as He says.” This word “specifically” means that they thought He was telling others what to do, that he was teaching for others, that it had nothing to do with them. This was not correct. He spoke to everyone, so everyone should listen, no matter whom He was adressing.
Take Sariputra as an example. In this sutra, Sariputra was the recipient of the teachings. He began asking, “Venerable Buddha, You continually praised the Buddha-wisdom as being unsurpassed, that the Buddha-wisdom is such and such. Venerable Buddha, are you able to teach this to us?” Sariputra had to ask three times. Thus, in order for the Buddha to teach this sutra, Sariputra had to be the recipient of the teachings. Does this mean that the Buddha was only teaching to Sariputra? He was teaching to everyone who was present. So, when everyone saw Sariputra receiving predictions of Buddhahood, they began to comprehend, “It is just that we ourselves did not accept it, not that the Buddha did not give us the teaching.”
In the past they had doubts, thinking the Buddha was not specifically teaching them. Therefore, “Now we know that what the Buddha taught us from the start contained the teachings of the Great Vehicle.” Within the provisional teachings there were already true teachings, the true Great Vehicle Dharma. So, we must all be mindful. The Dharma is like water; no matter what kind of water, when it seeps into something, it is still water. “The nature of water is one.” Whether water is from a stream, a river or a well, it is the same; “The nature of water is one.” It is all Dharma, so we need to treasure it. However, in the past, Subhuti and the others said, “Yet we delighted in the Small [Vehicle]. Had our hearts delighted in the Great…”
Yet we delighted in the Small [Vehicle]. Had our hearts delighted in the Great: They regretted having selfishly held on to the Small [Vehicle] Dharma, clinging to the state of. Hearers and Solitary Realizers and lacking the heart to delight in the Great and deliver and transform sentient beings.
“They regretted” means they had regrets, regrets for the past. “If only we had formed this great aspiration early on!” This is the regret expressed in this section. They repented what they did in the past, that they had wasted time like this. They repented “selfishly holding on to the Small [Vehicle] Dharma,” only being concerned with themselves. All they hoped for was to practice the Buddha’s teachings by themselves, to practice only for their own benefit and eliminate their afflictions so as to never again transmigrate through cyclic existence. They just lingered in the state of of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. They “lacked the heart to delight in the Great and deliver and transform sentient beings.” They never thought about transforming others.
As we applied the Buddha’s [awakening] only to our own nature, only we received this Dharma-joy. Yet He had never withheld anything; if we had known earlier to take delight in the Great, the Buddha would have revealed and taught it to us even earlier.
“As we applied the Buddha’s [awakening] only to our own nature,” since they only applied it only for themselves, “only we received this Dharma-joy” ․As we applied the Buddha’s [awakening] only to our own nature, only we received this Dharma-joy. Yet He had never withheld anything; if we had known earlier to take delight in the Great, the Buddha would have revealed and taught it to us even earlier. Buddha means awakening; this awakening was “applied only to our own nature.” We only sought to awaken ourselves. We did not think how we might awaken others.
“If we had known earlier to take delight in the Great, the Buddha would have revealed and taught it to us even earlier.” The Buddha certainly would have told us earlier, but we still felt that the Buddha never told us directly, and this caused us to waste time, remaining stuck in that state. When we think about it, the Buddha probably feel misunderstood as well; He had worked so hard [to teach] while His disciples still had doubts in their attitude toward Him. There was truly nothing He could do
Everything the Tathagata taught, from the ultimate reality of the Middle Way to the infinite superior wondrous Dharma-doors, can enable sentient beings to practice the Dharma in accord with the Buddha-mind and thereby achieve perfect enlightenment. This is called the Great Vehicle Dharma.
“The Buddha would have taught us the Great Vehicle Dharma.” If we had delighted in it earlier, the Buddha would have taught us the Great Vehicle Dharma. So, this was everything the Tathagata taught, like “the ultimate reality of the Middle Way.” The Tathagata early on already taught the ultimate reality of the Middle Way. The principles of wondrous existence and true emptiness were always included in the teachings. And “the infinite superior wondrous Dharma-doors” could all “enable sentient beings to practice the Dharma in accord with the Buddha-mind.” He hoped all could draw near the Buddha-mind, be able to understand the Buddha’s intent and put this Dharma into practice. They should all have known this earlier, but they did not realize it.
To “achieve perfect enlightenment,” we should know that if we had practiced the Great Vehicle Dharma in accord with the Buddha’s mind and practices, with this True Dharma, naturally we would have been able to attain perfect enlightenment early on. So, the Buddha taught the Great Vehicle Dharma for everyone; it was just that our capacities were too limited. Thus, I hope everyone seizes the moment. We must not let any moment pass in vain and must always be mindful.