Episode 824 – Establish Faith to Do Great Works
>> The poor son’s resolve was weak; he was not motivated. He lacked the faith to seek to do great works. He was willing to uphold Small [Vehicle] Dharma but took no delight in the Great. With a change in perspective, there is in fact no difficulty.
>> “At this time the elder, sitting upon the lion throne, saw his son from afar and silently recognized him. Thus he ordered a messenger to chase, capture and bring him back.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “But the poor son cried out in alarm. Confused and dazed, he collapsed on the ground ‘This man has captured me,’ ‘and I will surely be killed!’ ‘For what did I seek clothing and food’ ‘when it has brought me to this?’.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> Thus he ordered a messenger to chase, capture and bring him back: When the father ordered his messenger to chase and capture him, the son cried out in alarm. The father had missed his son with all his heart, so upon suddenly seeing him, he urgently sent people after him.
>> The poor son cried out in alarm: Because they chased him with such urgency, the son was at a loss as to what to do, so it says he cried out in resentment and alarm. Confused and dazed, he collapsed on the ground. Frightened and helpless, he felt terrified like never before, so he fainted on the ground.
>> So, Before, at the Avatamsaka Assembly, it was as if they were deaf and blind. They were confused about matters and principles, so it was of no benefit to them to listen to the Great Dharma. So, They were confused, dazed and ignorant, retreating from the Great and not practicing it, instead seeking to end birth and death.
>> This man has captured me: The messenger, in his urgency to capture him, forcefully restrained him. It did not seem like he was hiring him for a job, but more as if he wanted to kill him.
>> I will surely be killed! is an analogy for being without aspirations or not intending to seek great practices, yet being forced to cultivate them. This would be no different than death.
>> So, For what did I seek clothing and food when it has brought me to this? Was there ever anyone here who could give me food and clothing? Of what use was getting myself into this?
“The poor son’s resolve was weak; he was not motivated. He lacked the faith to seek to do great works. He was willing to uphold Small [Vehicle] Dharma but took no delight in the Great. With a change in perspective, there is in fact no difficulty.”
What the Buddha teaches us is all about the mind. He teaches us to form aspirations. If our aspirations are aroused, they bring great fortune, wealth and power. No one will be harmed; no one will be lacking. This is subtle and wondrous Dharma.
We ordinary people are all living like “the poor son [whose] resolve was weak; he was not motivated. Poor” means having no money, lacking material resources. In all respects, people like this lack tangible goods. This is what material poverty looks like. When people are impoverished, their willpower will be lesser and weaker. Because of this, they think, “I have these things I wish to do, but without money, what can I do? I am lacking in everything. What can I use to accomplish these things?” So their willpower is diminished. They have no will to work to develop their talents. People like this have little motivation. Because of their lack of material possessions, they do not dare do anything; they are also unwilling to do it. This is the weak willpower caused by poverty.
The ancients said it this way, “One may be poor, yet not lack aspiration.” Everyone possesses a hidden potential. If we have the will, if we make vows, there is nothing that we cannot achieve. We should worry most about having a lack of faith. A lack of material resources is not a problem, but we should worry if we are lacking in faith.
If we lose faith in ourselves, there is no way to “do great works,” no way to form aspirations or accomplish things. This is what happens when we lack faith. If we have simple and pure faith, [we believe] we all have hidden potential. “Is it true? Do I also have it? If I have this potential, I am willing to put it to use and go out and help others.” We just need to have faith that we also have this potential. This potential has long been hidden within us. As long as we are sincere, we can manifest this innate ability.
This is what we need to cultivate in our practice. A lack of tangible goods is called poverty, but intangible faith is what achieves great works. It is most valuable. So, we must not lose faith nor [be attached] to material resources. When we do not have them, we worry about how to get them, and when we do have them, we worry that we will lose them. We should not harbor this way of thinking.
So, if spiritual practitioners uphold the Small and take no delight in the Great Vehicle, they believe that, “I engage in spiritual practice so that I can be liberated from cyclic existence.” Seeking liberation from cyclic existence is a very shortsighted goal for their own sake. This is like the poor son with weak resolve; they only seek their own liberation and have no motivation [to do more] “[His] vows were weak; he was not motivated”; we are placing limits on ourselves.
So “He lacked the faith to seek to do great works.” If we limit ourselves by only seeking to be liberated from the cycle of birth and death, we will not have the greater faith to go among people, and we will not seek to do great works. If we just stay at our starting point, that would be a great pity. “He was willing to uphold Small [Vehicle] Dharma but took no delight in the Great.” If we can have “a change in perspective, there is in fact no difficulty.” Actually, learning the Buddha’s Way and practicing the Great Vehicle Dharma is not hard. We only need to change our perspective and form great aspirations and make great vows. We will live the same way; it is just that we will go among people and use of our strength to help them. If we have the strength, we can use it to help those who do not. So, going among people to transform them is not hard.
Now, let us look at the previous sutra passage “At this time the elder, sitting upon the lion throne, saw his son from afar and silently recognized him. Thus he ordered a messenger to chase, capture and bring him back.”
In the earlier passage, the elder had already caught sight of him; the father saw his lost son. Having seen and discovered [him], the elder was anxious, so he sent people to quickly go after him
But the poor son “cried out in alarm. Confused and dazed, he collapsed on the ground ‘This man has captured me,’ ‘and I will surely be killed!’ ‘For what did I seek clothing and food’ ‘when it has brought me to this?’.”
In this sutra passage, the poor son was already leaving. When he heard people chasing him from behind, he ran even faster, and the people behind him chased him even more urgently. So, when he was caught, “Confused and dazed, he collapsed on the ground.” He was very frightened, overly terrified, so his legs lost their strength, and he was unable to continue walking. Thus he collapsed and cried,
Thus he ordered a messenger to chase, capture and bring him back: When the father ordered his messenger to chase and capture him, the son cried out in alarm. The father had missed his son with all his heart, so upon suddenly seeing him, he urgently sent people after him.
“This man has captured me, and I will surely be killed! For what did I seek clothing and food when it has brought me to this? If these people are seizing me like this, I am bound to die. Do I really need clothing and food that badly? Why did I come here?” In that place, he was scared, so he cried out in fear. His feet would not move, so his entire body weakened. He was confused and dazed, so he collapsed.
This is explains how, “when the father ordered his messenger to chase, capture and bring him back, the son cried out in alarm.” Alarmed, he cried out This expresses how the elder longed for his child. Suddenly seeing the figure of his son outside, he felt such joy, such excitement. But he feared that his child would be lost again. This expresses how. “The father had missed his son with all his heart. So upon suddenly seeing him, he urgently sent people after him.” He was overly anxious, so he quickly called people to go after [his son] without explaining why or saying who that person was to him. So, the people in pursuit did not know. They just quickly went after him to bring him back.
The poor son cried out in alarm: Because they chased him with such urgency, the son was at a loss as to what to do, so it says he cried out in resentment and alarm. Confused and dazed, he collapsed on the ground. Frightened and helpless, he felt terrified like never before, so he fainted on the ground.
Thus, “The poor son cried out in alarm.” The people in pursuit moved so urgently, so the poor son was “at a loss as to what to do. What should I do?” He became completely dazed and did not know what to do. “People are chasing me. What did I do wrong? After being captured, what will happen to me?” So, “[He] was at a loss as to what to do” and “cried out in resentment and alarm.” In that place, he kept saying, “I didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t do anything to you. I didn’t steal anything. I didn’t do anything to you. So why are you…?” He made a great fuss there, and then. “Confused and dazed, he collapsed on the ground.” His legs became weak, and he fainted
“Frightened and helpless, he felt terrified like never before.” This expresses the son’s fear. So, “He fainted on the ground.” He could not catch his breath, his arms and legs became weak, and so he collapsed and fainted. This shows the poor son did not have strength and that his captors were also quite anxious
So, “Before, at the Avatamsaka Assembly, it was as if they were deaf and blind. They were confused about matters and principles, so it was of no benefit to them to listen to the Great Dharma.” So, “They were confused, dazed and ignorant, retreating from the Great and not practicing it, instead seeking to end birth and death.” This is like a person collapsing on the ground.
This [is an analogy] for us ordinary people. When the Buddha first attained enlightenment, His state of mind was one with all things in the universe. At that time, at the Avatamsaka Assembly, heavenly beings, Bodhisattvas and. Buddhas appeared, filling the Dharma-realms of the universe. His spiritual state at that time, such a tranquil and still state, is one with all things in the universe. When this Dharma-assembly began, many heavenly beings were also there to listen. They could not understand; his words fell on deaf ears. “It was as if they were deaf and blind.” It was as if they did not hear it at all. They could not understand; they could not see the magnificence of Buddha’s awakened Dharmakaya.
This refers to ordinary people in this world. The spiritual state of the Buddha forever remains in the state of Avatamsaka Assembly, the state of His mind upon enlightenment. Yet ordinary people remain unenlightened; they need to be patiently guided from a young age. No one could understand the Buddha’s state of mind. No one was able to realize His original intent.
So, the Buddha taught sentient beings by adapting His teachings to conditions. He observed their capacities and conditions; the capacities and conditions should have matured. He had taught the Dharma for more than 40 years, After more than 40 years, [His] time in this world was coming to an end [His] affinity with this world was ending, so at that time He had to teach [His intent]. Thus, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He began to reveal the state of His initial enlightenment within this realm of unenlightened beings. Although the Small Vehicle practitioners had heard the Dharma for so long, the Buddha wanted to slowly guide them to return to their intrinsic nature of True Suchness and become one with all things in the universe. Yet there seemed to still be a ways to go. So, although these disciples seemed to attend the Avatamsaka Assembly, where the Buddha expressed His state of mind although they attended the Buddha’s spiritual Dharma-assembly, “It was as if they were deaf and blind.” They were unable to understand it deeply.
Thus He had to speak of many worldly matters as analogies to help them understand the principles. So, using matters and principles to explain the suffering found in the world and so on, the Buddha taught us the Dharma on how to become free of ignorance and afflictions and return to our pure nature of True Suchness. Regardless of the method, everyone had heard the message more or less. After listening, though they said they knew it, it quickly faded from their minds. They had Leaks in their minds; the Dharma they heard leaked away. Or perhaps after listening, “They were confused about matters and principles.” They misunderstood; they were unable to intimately, thoroughly and clearly comprehend, So, they misunderstood [the Buddha’s] meaning. “They were confused about matters and principles.” It was just as if they had not heard it.
“They were confused about matters and principles so it was of no benefit to them to listen to the Great Dharma.” Even after hearing the Great Dharma, they did not accept it into their hearts. This was the analogy made by Venerable Kasyapa. So, “They were confused, dazed and ignorant.” They were so confused and dazed that they could not understand what the Buddha taught.
So, “They retreated from the Great and did not practice it.” Because they could not understand, they retreated from the vows of great aspirations. They felt it better just to end cyclic existence. So, they “sought to end birth and death.” They tried to find ways to end birth and death. Because of this, they collapsed on the ground; their legs gave in, and they did not wish to move forward. Arriving at that point was good enough for them; they did not wish to go further.
This man has captured me: The messenger, in his urgency to capture him, forcefully restrained him. It did not seem like he was hiring him for a job, but more as if he wanted to kill him.
“This man has captured me,” refers to the messenger whom the elder ordered to bring back [the poor son]. This is “the messenger” “The messenger, in his urgency to capture him,” quickly captured him and “forcefully restrained him.” He held on to him very tightly, so. “It did not seem like he was hiring him for a job. This is not someone who wants me to work together with him. He is grabbing me so tightly. I must have done something wrong.” So, he was very afraid. It seemed “more as if he wanted to kill him. He is so fierce, as if he is catching me in order to kill me.” This was a mistaken assumption, a misunderstanding. It previously said, “They were confused about matters and principles.” They could not accept the Great Vehicle Dharma, so they made a mistaken assumption. They thought this Great Dharma was too much for them, so they had no desire for it
“I will surely be killed!” is an analogy for “being without aspirations or not intending to seek great practices, yet being forced to cultivate them. This would be no different than death.”
“I did not want this to begin with. I do not have the aspiration to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma. I only wish to end birth and death.” So, “This would be no different than death. You are forcing me to do this work, I do not wish to go. I do not wish to go among people, yet you are forcing me to go among them. It would be better for me to die. I just do not want to do it. I would rather die, I do not want to do it.” In this way, they were determined to remain in the Small Vehicle.
So, “For what did I seek clothing and food when it has brought me to this? This is not what I want, but they are forcing me to go. This is really not what I want.” This is a person with weak resolve. They truly cannot bear the hard work. They cannot bear to use their strength to work. They fear the path ahead of them
So, “For what did I seek clothing and food when it has brought me to this? Was there ever anyone here who could give me food and clothing? Of what use was getting myself into this?”
“This isn’t a place to seek clothing and food. They will only force me to work here. What benefit can I get from this? I don’t wish to stay here.”
“For what did I seek clothing and food” means, “At this place, I’m being forced to work, but I don’t want that.” So, “They only wanted to seek limited teachings. For what would they seek the clothing and food of the Great Vehicle and be compelled to engage in spiritual practice?”
“I will just practice the Small Vehicle Dharma. Why should I go among people? I do not need the Great Vehicle to dignify me. Being in the Small Vehicle is enough for me.” Do not “compel me to engage in spiritual practice. Why must you force me to practice Great Vehicle? I am fine with where I am.”
The Buddha truly could do nothing about this. To learn the Buddha’s Way, we need to be willing. Being compelled by others is truly taxing. Yet the Buddha was reluctant to just let it go; mature causes and conditions are so precious. It takes so many lifetimes to attain Buddhahood. Starting in Beginningless Time, He had to engage in continuous spiritual practice. He had affinities with the beings in this world, so when causes and conditions matured, He manifested in this world. Since He had manifested in this world, His disciples had the affinities to follow Him. The Buddha of course hoped that these many disciples of His would all be like His one son; He treated everyone as His only child. He treated each one as His only child. With this kind of feeling, He hoped all could understand the Great Vehicle Dharma and that all would make the Four Great Vows.
“I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” To deliver sentient beings, we must eliminate afflictions at the same time. “I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” Everyone must open their minds, earnestly accept the Great Vehicle Dharma and work to go among people to form good affinities. By going among people like this, we can understand more Dharma. This is what the Buddha earnestly taught, yet we are unable to comprehend the the Buddha’s way of thinking. We think that the Buddha is compelling us, saying we absolutely must go among people.
Yes, He hopes we will, but He is not forcing us. He hopes that each of us will go among people so that first, we can create blessings, and second, we can grow our wisdom. When we can cultivate both blessings and wisdom, we are engaging in true spiritual practice. As we go among people we eliminate afflictions so we can be free from fear about birth and death and be free and at ease in cyclic existence, coming and going freely. Then, we can return to the world on the vehicle of the Dharma, and everyone will be Tathagatas manifested. So, we all need to always be mindful.