Episode 847 – Practicing Precepts, Samadhi and Wisdom
>> Depart from the defilements of afflictions to attain the pure Dharma. Be like the noble practitioners of the Three Vehicles in the Dharma they accept and uphold. With precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation, liberation’s understanding and views and non-contriving and flawless Dharma, we reach the truth of the noble path.
>> “Having eliminated what was within, we took this to be sufficient. We only sought to finish this matter and never sought any other matters. If we heard of the purifying of Buddha-lands or the teaching and transforming of sentient beings, we took no delight in them.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “Why was this so? All phenomena are empty and still, neither arising nor ceasing, neither great nor small. They are flawless and uncontrived. Because we contemplated them as such, we did not give rise to delight.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> Why was this so?: They took no delight in the Great Vehicle Dharma, that could eliminate their afflictions, but remained content in the Small Way was this so? Since they possessed the Small Vehicle virtues of wisdom and ending, they had no wish for the Great Vehicle or for eliminating great afflictions. Since they possessed Small Vehicle wisdom, they took no delight in Great Vehicle wisdom.
>> All phenomena are empty and still: From sense organs to sense objects and so on, all phenomena are empty and still. Since they are empty and still, the land and all sentient beings are also empty and still. So, what is there to seek?
>> From the Five Skandhas to reaching Nirvana, True Suchness is covered by dust. Following conditions, it gives rise to all conditioned phenomena; everything arises from conditions. Cultivate the door of emptiness to liberation by observing that the Five Aggregates are all empty and still.
>> The Five Aggregates: The Five Skandhas are obstructions that can cover the Dharma-nature of True Suchness and give rise to all afflictions.
>> The Dharma-nature is inherently still. It comes without coming from anywhere, thus it does not arise. Since it is fundamentally non-arising, it does not cease. Thus, it is neither great nor small. The Six Great Elements are also called Six States; they are earth, water, fire, air, space and consciousness. These six phenomena pervade all Dharma-realms and form all things, whether sentient or not. Thus they are called great. Non-sentient things are created from the Five Elements; sentient beings arise from the Six Great Elements.
>> For the sake of skillful means, the teachings were divided into the Great and Small Vehicles. In the perfect, immediate teachings, all coarse things are also subtle. The Small does not exist outside the Great, thus even the smallest is also great. In the only perfect and harmonious teaching, there is neither great nor small.
>> Flawless and uncontrived. Flawless: Observing the emptiness of the Four Noble Truths. Uncontrived: Observing the emptiness of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. Since the nature of things is empty, they are inherently pure. There are no flaws, nor is there any contrivance.
“Depart from the defilements of afflictions to attain the pure Dharma. Be like the noble practitioners of the Three Vehicles in the Dharma they accept and uphold.
With precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation, liberation’s understanding and views
and non-contriving and flawless Dharma, we reach the truth of the noble path.”
If we can depart from defilements of afflictions, we will naturally attain the pure Dharma. How can we return to the pure Dharma? We must be like the Hearers, Solitary Realizers and Bodhisattvas, the noble practitioners of the Three Vehicles. Hearers uphold the Small Vehicle, Solitary Realizers the Middle Vehicle and Bodhisattvas the Great Vehicle. Though divided into Small, Middle and Great, everyone begins their spiritual practice by eliminating afflictions and ignorance. Therefore, we must practice as the practitioners of the Three Vehicles do.
First, we form aspirations to hear the Dharma. When we begin to listen to the Dharma, we become the Buddha’s disciples. The rules for Buddha’s disciples are to uphold the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds.
The Five Precepts are no killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying or drinking alcohol. We must completely abstain from these five things. As for the precept of no killing, some will say, “That’s right. I do not kill.” But every day, to satisfy their cravings they still consume the flesh of sentient beings. They kill in this way without realizing it. Although they do not kill those beings directly, they still kill them indirectly.
Then, there is stealing. Some people may feel, “I do not rob people. I do not steal.” But as they do business, they have choices to make. They can choose to do what is beneficial to people and make things that are necessities in life. Of course, they must do this in a way that makes money. Then they must make good use of that money. Not only should they not seek ill-gotten gains, they must also reach out to help others with love. This is what lay practitioners should do.
So, we must not be greedy, must not kill and must not steal. There are also rules for families and couples. Other than with their spouse, they should not engage in [sexual relations]. That is sexual misconduct. They must completely abstain from sex with people outside their marriage. Only if they are in a [committed relationship] can there be harmony in their family.
Next, we must not lie; we must earnestly guard our speech. Sometimes we follow our habitual tendencies; if our thinking is not proper, we can unintentionally hurt people with our words. Since we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we must always look after our karma of speech. We must not lie, not use flattery, not gossip and not use harsh speech. This is what we must practice.
Lastly, we must not drink alcohol. Once we consume alcohol, we will lose the function of our wisdom, since drinking can cause us to make big mistakes. This is an essential precept to uphold.
In conclusion, if we can learn [and apply] the Buddha-Dharma, we can safely walk the path of our life because we have the Five Precepts. Precepts help us refrain from evil. We want to guard against and stop evil. When [thoughts of] evil arise, we must immediately put a stop to them and prevent ourselves from acting on them. This is what the precepts are for.
So, “with precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation,” if we earnestly uphold precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, naturally we will feel stable and free. By upholding the Five Precepts, we can feel stable and at ease. So, Solitary Realizers cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, and Bodhisattvas have even greater need of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Bodhisattvas uphold precepts, Samadhi and wisdom to reach a flawless state.
So, “With precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation, liberation’s understanding and views,” we attain “non-contriving and flawless Dharma.” This is already the state of Bodhisattvas. This is the “truth of the noble path.” The true principle of the path noble beings walk is to achieve this. Only then will we have truly departed from the defilements of afflictions. Only then will we have truly attained purity.
Thus, the previous sutra passage states, “Having eliminated what was within, we took this to be sufficient. We only sought to finish this matter and never sought any other matters. If we heard of the purifying of Buddha-lands or the teaching and transforming of sentient beings, we took no delight in them.”
“Having eliminated what was within,” [they thought,] “I am upholding precepts. I have eliminated afflictions. I have already eliminated ignorance and ended cyclic existence.” This is what Venerable Kasyapa and others believed. “I only need to put an end to cyclic existence. Those other matters have nothing to do with me.” So, they “never sought any other matters.”
“If we heard of the purifying of Buddha-lands or the teaching and transforming of sentient beings, we took no delight in them.” When it comes to transforming sentient beings, if sentient beings’ minds are defiled, then the Buddha-land would be defiled as well. The Saha World that the Buddha came to was an impure land, a defiled land. But the Buddha had compassion for all beings; He came to this evil world of Five Turbidities, where the turbidity of sentient beings was severe. He came to this place in order to “open and reveal” so that sentient beings could “realize and enter.” He came to purify the lands of their minds. Therefore, as the Buddha’s disciples, we must help the Buddha purify and transform the minds of sentient beings. This is “the purifying of Buddha-lands.” To purify Buddha-lands, we must teach and transform sentient beings.
The next sutra passage states, “Why was this so? All phenomena are empty and still, neither arising nor ceasing, neither great nor small. They are flawless and uncontrived. Because we contemplated them as such, we did not give rise to delight.”
Why was this? All phenomena are empty and still. In the Prajna period, the Buddha also said this. All things are empty and still, “neither arising nor ceasing, neither great nor small.” After obtaining this Dharma, [some felt], “I am flawless and completely uncontriving.” They feel no need to do anything else. With this type of thinking, they wonder, “What else is there worth doing? What do other people’s issues have to do with me? All things are empty and still. How are other people’s issues related to me?” In the past, this was their thinking.
Why was this so?: They took no delight in the Great Vehicle Dharma, that could eliminate their afflictions, but remained content in the Small Way was this so? Since they possessed the Small Vehicle virtues of wisdom and ending, they had no wish for the Great Vehicle or for eliminating great afflictions. Since they possessed Small Vehicle wisdom, they took no delight in Great Vehicle wisdom.
So, taking no delight in the Great Vehicle, they peacefully abided in the Small Vehicle. Why did it come to be like this? Because they “possessed the Small Vehicle virtues of wisdom and ending.” They were still attached to the Small Vehicle, so “They had no wish for the Great Vehicle or for eliminating great afflictions.” Since “They possessed Small Vehicle wisdom, they took no delight in Great Vehicle wisdom.”
“They possessed the Small Vehicle virtues of wisdom and ending. Wisdom” is the virtue of wisdom. “Ending” is the virtue of ending. But they were attached to the Small Vehicle. “I uphold wholesome teachings. I know I must eliminate my afflictions.” These are the virtues of wisdom and ending. Practicing wholesome teachings is the virtue of wisdom. With wisdom, we understand virtuous Dharma and recognize the principles. This is the virtue of wisdom. After we recognize the principles, we understand we must not violate precepts. As for afflictions, we must eliminate them all. This is the virtue of ending. Simply put, these are virtues of wisdom and ending.
But they were at the stage of the Small Vehicle; they still clung to the Small Vehicle. So, “They had no wish for the Great Vehicle or for eliminating great afflictions.” What are great afflictions? The multitudes of sentient beings are suffering; this is the Bodhisattvas’ great affliction. Bodhisattvas’ great afflictions are that they are unwilling to abandon suffering beings. Practitioners of the Small Vehicle were not interested in this. “They had no wish for the Great Vehicle.” They did not seek the Great Vehicle, so they had no desire to eliminate great afflictions.
All phenomena are empty and still: From sense organs to sense objects and so on, all phenomena are empty and still. Since they are empty and still, the land and all sentient beings are also empty and still. So, what is there to seek?
“All phenomena are empty and still.” They believed all phenomena are empty and still. That is to say, from the sense organs to the sense objects, all phenomena are empty and still
We all know what sense organs are. The Six Sense Organs are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Our Six Sense Organs connect to the Six Sense Objects in our surroundings. Actually, in the final analysis, this is [all] empty. We can see things with our eyes, but the [eye] itself is composed of other things. What about the sense objects around us? They are also temporary unions. Seeds, soil, water, air and sunlight are elements that converge to give rise to things. If these elements disperse one by one, there is just emptiness. People were originally at peace and at ease with their place in life, but when their sense organs connected with sense objects their minds gave rise to a thought of greed, this desire to grasp things. Otherwise, on this planet, with such a beautiful natural environment, why would people want to dig into the mountains? Why would they want to harm the earth? This has to do with sense organs and sense objects coming together so that our consciousness begins to function. Otherwise, all things return to a natural state, and isn’t that empty and still?
Since [everything] is empty and still, “The land and all sentient beings are also empty and still.” What land is there to destroy? What sentient beings are there to save? If we can avoid creating karma, we can all live life with a pure mind. Then what afflictions would we have? We would have no afflictions at all. All would be empty and still; everything would be that way. So, they thought all phenomena empty and still.
From the Five Skandhas to reaching Nirvana, True Suchness is covered by dust. Following conditions, it gives rise to all conditioned phenomena; everything arises from conditions. Cultivate the door of emptiness to liberation by observing that the Five Aggregates are all empty and still.
Thus it says “from the Five Skandhas to reaching Nirvana.” Let us go back to the Five Skandhas; we go from the Five Skandhas to Nirvana. Nirvana is a pure state. The Five Skandhas are form, feeling, perception, action and consciousness. These are the Five Skandhas, also called the Five Aggregates. Originally, we were very pure, but as the Five Skandhas begin to function, we begin to create [karma]. Where is the source of these things? “True Suchness is covered by dust.” Dust is ignorance; we are immersed in ignorance and delusion. So, “Following conditions, it gives rise to all conditioned phenomena.” Originally, everything was unconditioned phenomena. Unconditioned phenomena are empty and still. But then workings of the Five Skandhas began, form, feeling, perception, action, consciousness. These five are inseparable from True Suchness. So, True Suchness is affected by external defilements, then led by ignorance, it follows external conditions and “gives rise to all conditioned phenomena.” Conditioned phenomena are things that are created; through taking action, we create things. This is how things are produced.
So, “Cultivate the door of emptiness to liberation.” We must earnestly engage in spiritual practice to thoroughly understand the principle that everything is empty. This is one of the doors to liberation. Therefore, [we must] “observe that the Five Aggregates are all empty and still” ․From the Five Skandhas to reaching Nirvana, True Suchness is covered by dust. Following conditions, it gives rise to all conditioned phenomena; everything arises from conditions. Cultivate the door of emptiness to liberation by observing that the Five Aggregates are all empty and still. If we understand this, these Five Aggregates, the Five Skandhas, can be empty and still. It is because we do not understand the Five Aggregates that we are obstructed every day.
The Five Aggregates: The Five Skandhas are obstructions that can cover the Dharma-nature of True Suchness and give rise to all afflictions.
An aggregate is something that obstructs us. Our nature of True Suchness is pure. It is completely free of defilements. Our pure intrinsic nature is wisdom. But this wisdom is covered by the Five Skandhas, thus we give rise to many afflictions. These are the Five Aggregates
The Dharma-nature is inherently still. It comes without coming from anywhere, thus it does not arise. Since it is fundamentally non-arising, it does not cease. Thus, it is neither great nor small. The Six Great Elements are also called Six States; they are earth, water, fire, air, space and consciousness. These six phenomena pervade all Dharma-realms and form all things, whether sentient or not. Thus they are called great. Non-sentient things are created from the Five Elements; sentient beings arise from the Six Great Elements.
The Five Aggregates: The Five Skandhas are obstructions that can cover the Dharma-nature of True Suchness and give rise to all afflictions. So, “The Dharma-nature is inherently still. It comes without coming from anywhere, thus it does not arise.” If we can eliminate [our attachment to] external conditions, we will not give rise to afflictions that cause us to reproduce our ignorance, Then why would we have future lives? Originally, it is non-arising. Originally, it is empty and still. Our nature is inherently empty and still. “It comes without coming from anywhere.” There would be no causes and conditions bringing us here, so there would be no arising.
“Since it is fundamentally non-arising, it does not cease.” If it did not arise, how could it cease? Only something that arises can cease. When we come to this world, only after birth is there aging, illness and death. If we were not born, how would we go through aging, illness and death? So, this means there is no cessation; without arising there is no ceasing. Originally, there was nothing, just emptiness. With nothing there, how can we say, “This one is great; this one is small”? There is nothing there, so we cannot distinguish between great and small. Something must be there for us to distinguish between great and small, long and short.
The Six Great Elements are also called Six States; and we know these as earth, water, fire, air, space and consciousness. We often talk about earth, water, fire and air. Next is our consciousness. In addition to our consciousness there is also space. We speak of earth, water, fire and air, but actually, they are all in space. It is within empty space that the four elements converge to form things. Then we differentiate them with our consciousness. So, “These six phenomena pervade all Dharma-realms.” All phenomena are within the Six Great Elements. “They form all things, whether sentient or not. Thus they are called great.” It is because we sentient beings take action that these [processes] continue on. People bring about more people. Matters bring about more matters. Objects bring about more objects. They are inseparable from the Six Great Elements. In this way, “Non-sentient things are created from the Five Elements.” Sentient beings arise from the Six Great Elements. We must mindfully understand this
For the sake of skillful means, the teachings were divided into the Great and Small Vehicles. In the perfect, immediate teachings, all coarse things are also subtle. The Small does not exist outside the Great, thus even the smallest is also great. In the only perfect and harmonious teaching, there is neither great nor small.
In the perfect teachings, coarse things are those that can be seen. Subtle things cannot be seen. The coarse are tangible; the subtle are intangible. The perfect teachings can encompass both the coarse and the subtle; all are the Dharma. No matter how subtle, we can thoroughly understand that. “The Small does not exist outside the Great.” There is no Small Vehicle outside the Great Vehicle. “Thus even the smallest is also great.” Even a tiny speck is also very big; as it is big, we cannot say it is small. In this way, great and small are equal. So, the Small can be Great. “Thus even the smallest is also great. In the only perfect and harmonious teaching, there is neither great nor small.” This is a very profound principle. With so many laws of physics, something might look very big, but actually inside it are very small things, and these small things are also very great.
Flawless and uncontrived. Flawless: Observing the emptiness of the Four Noble Truths. Uncontrived: Observing the emptiness of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. Since the nature of things is empty, they are inherently pure. There are no flaws, nor is there any contrivance.
So, as for “flawless and uncontrived, flawless” is “observing the emptiness of the Four Noble Truths.” We must earnestly observe the Four Noble Truths and how all things are empty [in nature]. “Uncontrived” is “observing the emptiness of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence.” In fact, if we earnestly uphold the precepts, how can “an ignorant thought create the Three Subtleties”? How would [our cyclic existence] continue? Birth, aging, illness and death would cease. So, we must earnestly uphold precepts, Samadhi and wisdom “All phenomena are flawless.”
“Since the nature of things is empty, they are inherently pure. There are no flaws, nor is there any contrivance.” We are fundamentally pure. Pure means there is nothing here, so how could there be any Leaks? All phenomena are inherently pure; what is there to be contrived? So, “Because they contemplated them as such, they did not give rise to delight.” If we think in this way, is there anything we need to do? Everything is empty and still, “neither arising nor ceasing, neither great nor small, but flawless and uncontrived.” If we think this way, what is there to do? These are all such [profound] principles. As long as we can understand them, every single thing will be clear to us.
In conclusion, in learning the Buddha’s Way, we must begin by departing from the defilements of afflictions, transcending ignorance and purifying our minds of afflictions. Then everything will be pure. This is what the noble practitioners of the Three Vehicles practice. “Precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation and liberation’s understanding and views.” This is the path that we must practice. Therefore, we must always be mindful.