Episode 852 – Taming Delusion With Wisdom of Skillful Means
>> The mind of the Tathagata is equal to the entire universe. Through retaining and upholding, it can cover all things in the world. He upholds all virtuous Dharma and prevents it from dissipating. Upholding the Dharma has the power to prevent evil from arising. Increasing thoughts of wisdom allows one to freely apply and retain all.
>> “This is just like that wealthy elder who, knowing his son’s resolve was limited, used the power of skillful means to soften and tame his mind. Then afterward, he handed over all this wealth.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> ” The Buddha was just like this. He manifested these extraordinary matters. Knowing they only delighted in the Small, He used the power of skillful means to tame their minds, then taught them great wisdom.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> The Buddha used skillful means, just like the elder in the analogy. He manifested these extraordinary matters: The Buddha displayed the wisdom of skillful means; there is nothing [like it] in the world. This is called a rare and extraordinary matter.
>> Knowing they only delighted in the Small, He used the power of skillful means: Knowing that these practitioners of the Dharma only took delight in the Small Vehicle practice of benefiting themselves, [He] used the power of skillful means to patiently teach and skillfully guide them.
>> He tamed their minds, then taught them great wisdom: Teaching with skillful means and the power of wisdom, gently adjusting and patiently guiding with the power of gentleness, He tamed their deluded minds.
>> “Today, we are able to attain what we never had before. This is not what we first hoped for, yet today we spontaneously attained it. This is like how the poor son obtained infinite treasures.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> Today, we are able to attain what we never had before. We Hearers have attained in this Dharma-assembly today the profound and intricate wondrous Dharma. This kind of wondrous Dharma is something we never had before.
“The mind of the Tathagata is equal to the entire universe. Through retaining and upholding, it can cover all things in the world. He upholds all virtuous Dharma and prevents it from dissipating. Upholding the Dharma has the power to prevent evil from arising. Increasing thoughts of wisdom allows one to freely apply and retain all.”
“The mind of the Tathagata is equal to the entire universe.” How big is the universe? We truly have no way to measure it. The Buddha’s mind is equal to the entire universe; we should know this. So, we must all have a Buddha-mind, meaning that we must open up our minds and broaden our heart to be as vast as the universe. This is the Buddha-mind we must learn to have.
Because the Buddha’s mind is wide open, He was able to, through retaining and upholding, cover all things in the world. The universe is so big. There are so many stars in the universe, not to mention our own planet. All things in the world, in the whole universe, are covered [by His mind]. This is the Buddha’s mind, the Buddha’s wisdom. Thus, of all existing things and principles, there is nothing He does not know or understand. They are all encompassed by His mind. Clearly, the truths of all things in the world are within the Buddha’s ocean of enlightened wisdom. Thus, He is able to retain and cover all things.
The principle is the same. He is able to “uphold all virtuous Dharma and prevent it from dissipating” [He upholds] all virtuous Dharma. Though the Buddha taught for 49 years, the principles of all things in the world and the workings of the human mind still could not be explained fully and clearly. This because there are too many principles. The problem was not in His ability to teach, but in our inability to understand. The Buddha’s mind was wholly focused on helping all sentient beings to comprehend the great path and preventing virtuous Dharma from dissipating. Thus, we have been saying that we must uphold the [Three] Flawless Studies.
We must not allow virtuous Dharma to dissipate; we must earnestly listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. Taking it to heart is not enough; we must also put it into practice. Only by acting on it can we experience it. Once we experience it, not only can we understand the virtuous Dharma, from what we experience, we can give rise to this same Dharma with our own understanding. Having our own understanding is more clear than only hearing it. This is intimately connected with both our wisdom-life and our physical lives; this naturally helps us develop our wisdom-life.
“Upholding the Dharma has the power to prevent evil from arising.” The Buddha also taught us how to hold firm to our spiritual aspirations. We must hold firm to the Dharma. We cannot allow our mind to [be influenced] such that when we face external conditions we will be quickly led astray. We cannot allow this! If there is virtuous Dharma in our mind, it can “prevent evil from arising.” Then these evils, all the unwholesome things around us, will not contaminate our minds, as we are already upholding all virtuous Dharma. If virtuous Dharma does not dissipate, naturally unwholesome things will not arise. This is a great power, so we must develop and continue to grow, continually “increasing our thoughts of wisdom.” As our wisdom-life grows, we can freely apply our wisdom; we can apply it with total freedom. So, we must put our efforts into being mindful.
In the past, we and Sakyamuni Buddha engaged in spiritual practice at the same time. In the presence of countless Buddhas, we likewise engaged in spiritual practice. But when we practiced, we were not mindful and did not persist in upholding the virtuous Dharma. So, our minds were tempted by external conditions. A single thought gone astray can give rise to 1000 erroneous thoughts, thus we fall again into the Five Realms and four forms of birth. In the parable of the poor son, he wandered about for 20 to more than 50 years “20 years” represents transmigrating in the heaven and human realms.
To be in heaven, we practice the Ten Good Deeds. To be human, we must uphold the Five Precepts. If we can thoroughly practice the Ten Good Deeds, we will be born in heaven. We have talked about this before. As humans,we must obey rules and uphold the Five Precepts. Only then can we be reborn in the human realm. But as unenlightened beings in the human realm, in the place where the Five Realms coexist, it is easy to be tempted by other environments. If our minds give rise to a single evil thought, we will fall into the Three Evil Realms, the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Realms, [represented by] “more than 50 years.” In the Lotus Sutra there is this very clear analogy that helps us understand.
Thus, the previous sutra passage says, “This is just like that wealthy elder who, knowing his son’s resolve was limited, used the power of skillful means to soften and tame his mind. Then afterward, he handed over all this wealth.”
This begins to explain how this wealthy elder had found his son but the son’s resolve was limited. So, he had to remove his magnificent clothing and put on tattered clothes to approach his son. This took so much effort. The Buddha, in order to deliver sentient beings, had to again manifest in the human realm, to be born into the world. In the human realm, He had to endure yet more trials and suffering. Only by manifesting this form to attain Buddhahood would He have stories to share as teachings. He did not appear out of nowhere; like other humans, He went through birth, aging, illness and death. Attaining Buddhahood requires hard training. This is different from how most people live; this is spiritual practice.
If spiritual practitioners live like everyone else how are they engaging in spiritual practice? If we do not engage in practice, how can we attain awakening? So, the Buddha had to manifest this identity of being born into the palace to let everyone know that people should not be split into castes of different status, should not enter into conflict with one another or be attached to recognition, wealth or status. He left everything in search of the truth, then with it He guided sentient beings all over the world to eliminate attachments to afflictions and ignorance. He taught and transformed sentient beings. This is the Buddha’s aspiration and the aspiration of all Buddhas since Beginningless Time. This is the aspiration of awakened beings. Those who have awakened cannot bear the suffering of all sentient beings, so they mindfully dedicate themselves to helping.
However, sentient beings are still deluded. Though they are engaged in practice, they still have attachments and do not dare to accept the Great Vehicle Dharma. So, the Buddha is like the wealthy elder who, knowing his son’s resolve was weak, “used the power of skillful means.” He used skillful means and limited teachings to mindfully and gently tame his mind. Only then could he give his son all his wealth. This was the elder’s aspiration.
“The Buddha was just like this. He manifested these extraordinary matters. Knowing they only delighted in the Small, He used the power of skillful means to tame their minds, then taught them great wisdom.”
The next sutra passage says, “The Buddha was just like this”; the Buddha likewise “manifested these extraordinary matters.” What He manifested was very extraordinary. “Knowing they only delighted in the Small, He used the power of skillful means to tame their minds, then taught them great wisdom.” The Buddha understood His disciples’ minds; their capabilities were not yet mature, and their minds were not yet open so they all still delighted in the Small Vehicle and only practiced for their own benefit. The Buddha thoroughly understood this, so He trained them with skillful means. When the minds of these disciples were almost mature, when it was about time and their capabilities were almost mature, only then did He “teach them great wisdom.” Only then did He begin to use the Great Dharma to unlock their great wisdom.
The Buddha used skillful means, just like the elder in the analogy. He manifested these extraordinary matters: The Buddha displayed the wisdom of skillful means; there is nothing [like it] in the world. This is called a rare and extraordinary matter.
In this way, “The Buddha used skillful means, just like the elder in the analogy. He manifested these extraordinary matters.”
The Buddha “manifested the power of wisdom and skillful means, which is like nothing in this world.” These are “extraordinary matters,” things that are very rare. He used all kinds of skillful means; this is wisdom. Skillful means are a kind of wisdom. If not for skillful means, we would be unable to call on or draw near others, unable to have a heart-to-heart with them. That would be impossible. So, He had to use skillful means to deliver others. This is the power of the Buddha’s wisdom. He uses the power of His wisdom, which is “like nothing in this world. I want to awaken your mind. Only if you like me will you listen to me [I hope] you will not only to listen to me, but also be willing to draw near me, that you will not only draw near me, but also be able to understand my thinking.” Accomplishing this in the world is very difficult, so this is considered “extraordinary.” These are very rare, very extraordinary matters.
The awakened state is as vast as the universe; it is equal to the universe. When this state is explained in this way, can we comprehend it? Impossible. So, the Buddha had to use all kinds of [skillful] means to guide us.
Knowing they only delighted in the Small, He used the power of skillful means: Knowing that these practitioners of the Dharma only took delight in the Small Vehicle practice of benefiting themselves, [He] used the power of skillful means to patiently teach and skillfully guide them.
“Knowing they only delighted in the Small, He used the power of skillful means” The Buddha engaged in spiritual practice and attained Buddhahood for the sake of all beings. But Small Vehicle practitioners engage in spiritual practice and seek enlightenment for their own sake, merely awakening and benefiting themselves. So, He had to “know these practitioners of the Dharma.” When someone wants to be a practitioner, when a person is willing to practice and learn the Dharma, what exactly is it that this person wants? What does this person want to attain? So, “He used the power of skillful means.” The Buddha had to apply the power of skillful means “to patiently teach and skillfully guide them.” By patiently teaching and skillfully guiding them, [He] tamed their minds
He tamed their minds, then taught them great wisdom: Teaching with skillful means and the power of wisdom, gently adjusting and patiently guiding with the power of gentleness, He tamed their deluded minds.
“Teaching with skillful means and the power of wisdom” is [the ability of] the Buddha’s wisdom; He teaches sentient beings with skillful means, “gently adjusting and patiently guiding.” To tame [their minds]. He had to use very gentle methods. To “patiently guide,” first He followed sentient beings’ capabilities. The Buddha must follow sentient beings’ ignorance to find skillful means to tame our minds. So, He “gently adjusted and patiently guided with the power of gentleness.” Using gentle methods is using “the power of gentleness.” Although the power of gentleness is gentle, it is truly powerful.
Many who practice tai chi or other martial arts, though their techniques appear very gentle, are actually very strong and forceful within. They have that strength inside them. So, in teaching sentient beings, the Buddha also used this power of gentleness to tame their minds. How can sentient beings actually comprehend the True Dharma? The Buddha has to make use of His time and power. Of course, it always comes back to having a mind of wisdom and a heart of boundless love. Then like the universe, our minds can cover and encompass all things, and we will be able to shelter everything. This is how we can experience the Dharma.
The next sutra passage says, “Today, we are able to attain what we never had before. This is not what we first hoped for, yet today we spontaneously attained it. This is like how the poor son obtained infinite treasures.”
Today, we are able to attain what we never had before. We Hearers have attained in this Dharma-assembly today the profound and intricate wondrous Dharma. This kind of wondrous Dharma is something we never had before.
This shows that the Hearers originally relied on hearing the Buddha’s voice to realize the truth. Now at this Dharma-assembly, the Vulture Peak Assembly, what they attained was such intricate and wondrous Dharma. In the past, they never dared to imagine this nor had they ever experienced it. Truly, “This is something we never had before.”
At this time, they had already realized it. In the past they never thought that this was the path they all wished to follow. They simply remained in the state they were in. Now, after the Buddha bestowed a prediction of Buddhahood upon Sariputra, everyone suddenly attained a great awakening. “We can all attain Buddhahood after all!” This awakened state, their awakened nature of True Suchness, was suddenly unlocked. So, “This is not what we had first hoped for, yet today we spontaneously attained it.”
This was not what our hearts originally hoped for, yet today as we received the Buddha’s teachings, we attained it spontaneously
In fact, “This was not what our hearts originally hoped for.” In the past, we had never dared hope for this. “Yet today as we received the Buddha’s teachings, we attained it spontaneously.” Now we have received the Buddha’s teaching for us, which has opened up our minds. He pointed out this Dharma, these principles, so that we know we can further open our hearts and also that the Buddha-mind is one with the principles of the universe. This is actually a very natural thing. We are already able awaken to the Buddha’s teachings and be one with nature.
So, “This is like how the poor son obtained infinite treasures.” Though the poor son saw there were many treasures and great businesses, he did not dare hope [they were his]. The Hearers were like the poor son, but in the end they finally understood. “Those who are Hearers previously attained the fruit of Hearers. Today they have attained the Bodhi-fruit.”
Those who are Hearers previously attained the fruit of Hearers. Today they have attained the Bodhi-fruit.
In the past, they had already engaged in spiritual practice, having encountered the Buddha-Dharma. So, “today” refers to the Dharma-assembly at Vulture Peak where the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra. At this assembly they took the next step; “Today they have attained the Bodhi-fruit.” In the past they attained the fruit of Hearers, and now at this Dharma-assembly at Vulture Peak, they further attained the Bodhi-fruit. The Buddha had begun to teach the Bodhisattva Way, paving a great, direct Bodhi-path. This very straight path has already been paved, so we can walk this Bodhi-path with peace of mind.
All of us must truly be mindful as we engage in spiritual practice. The mind of the Buddha and the minds of sentient beings are the same; it is just that sentient beings are deluded, while the Buddha is awakened. Awakening and delusion are two sides of one coin. We must return to nature, like “the mind of the Tathagata, [which] is equal to the entire universe.” And, “By retaining and upholding, [we] can cover all things in the world.” Our minds can be this open and expansive. We must return to nature; therefore, we must always be mindful.