Episode 864 – Transforming with the Four Siddhantas
>> The Buddha knew that the roots of goodness in sentient beings had matured. He taught and transformed them at all times in response to mature conditions for liberation. Thus for those whose capabilities and conditions had matured, He lost no time in teaching them.
>> “[The Buddha,] knowing sentient beings’ various desires and pleasures and the power of their aspirations, teaches according to what they accept.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “Using countless analogies, He expounds the Dharma for them. He does so according to sentient beings’ roots of goodness from past lives.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> “He also understood those who had matured and those who had not yet matured, thus He devised various strategies so they could each attain realizations. From the One Vehicle Path, He followed what was suitable, thus expounding the Three.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 4 – Faith And Understanding]
>> He also understood those who had matured and those who had not yet matured: The Buddha was able to know whether a person’s capabilities had matured or not. Thus He could teach all kinds of Dharma-doors which would lead sentient beings to each attain the Dharma-benefit of the Four Siddhantas.
>> The Four Siddhantas: “Si” means “universal”. “Dhanta” is related to the Sanskrit word “dana,” which is translated as “giving”. This is the meaning of siddhanta. With the Four Siddhantas, the Buddha taught and universally gave the Dharma to all sentient beings.
>> Siddhantas: The worldly life siddhanta. The individual siddhanta. The curative siddhanta. The supreme meaning siddhanta
>> 1. The worldly life siddhanta. Life refers to time and its passing. Worldly has a meaning of being bounded. As sentient beings’ capabilities were shallow and weak, the Buddha went along with what they desired to hear to individually give the sequence of teachings and bring forth joy in them. This is the worldly life siddhanta.
>> 2. The individual siddhanta. When the Buddha wanted to expound the Dharma, He had to first observe whether sentient beings possessed great or limited capabilities, whether seeds from past lives were deeply planted. Then, according to what was suitable, He could expound the Dharma for them so they would give rise to Right Faith and develop their roots of goodness. This is the individual siddhanta.
>> 3. The curative siddhanta. For instance, for sentient beings with much greed and desire, He teaches the contemplation of impurity. For those with much anger, He teaches the cultivation of compassion. For those with much ignorance, He teaches the contemplation of karmic law. To treat these and other illnesses, the Buddha universally gives this Dharma-medicine to all sentient beings. This is the curative siddhanta.
>> 4. The supreme meaning siddhanta. This refers to meanings and principles. The Buddha knew the roots of goodness of sentient beings were mature, so He expounded the Dharma to enable them to awaken to the noble path. This is the supreme meaning siddhanta.
>> Thus He devised various strategies so they could each attain realizations: He observed the maturity of their capabilities and devised strategies for each according to their capabilities. Those with great capabilities receive the Great. Those with limited capabilities receive the Small. If they were mature, He helped them succeed; if they were not yet mature, He waited.
>> From the One Vehicle Path, He followed what was suitable, thus expounding the Three: From the supreme path of the One Buddha Vehicle, He used suitable skillful means to expound the Three Vehicles. For this reason, in the prior 40 years, from the One Vehicle Dharma, He skillfully expounded the Three Vehicles.
>> To anyone who had heard Him teach the Dharma, even just one sentence or verse, He gave each a prediction of attaining Buddhahood and led them all to enter into Nirvana by means of the Tathagata’s Nirvana. This is the all-embracing virtue.
“The Buddha knew that the roots of goodness in sentient beings had matured.
He taught and transformed them at all times in response to mature conditions for liberation.
Thus for those whose capabilities and conditions had matured, He lost no time in teaching them.”
For the sake of sentient beings’ varying capabilities, the Buddha always taught the Dharma according to their capabilities. Those with dull capabilities were unable to quickly accept the meaning in His heart that He wanted to convey, so He had to patiently guide them. He had to be patient for a long time, continuously giving of Himself until their roots of goodness matured.
So, “He taught and transformed them at all times in response to mature conditions for liberation.” When their causes and conditions were mature, the Buddha would immediately take the opportunity to transform them. He hoped that everyone could be moved and transformed by the Dharma. He hoped that very soon their causes and conditions would mature. So, to teach and transform, He had to give according to their capabilities, enticing everyone to gradually mature from limited capabilities to great capabilities, hoping that from seeking to benefit themselves they would develop the resolve to benefit others. In this way, He lost no time in teaching them. He taught and transformed sentient beings by seizing every opportunity, seizing every moment; He could not bear to lose even a second. He hoped that once everyone awakened themselves, they would seek to awaken others.
So, once we have attained this Dharma and awakened to the Buddha-nature of True Suchness, when our minds are one with the universe and we understand the truths of all things, we must then proclaim this to all sentient beings. At the same time we must patiently teach and also go among sentient beings to deliver them from suffering. We must “lose no time in teaching them.” We cannot wait any longer; we must earnestly seize the time we have. For the sake of transforming sentient beings, we must engage in spiritual practice, eliminate afflictions and seek awakening. This is what the Buddha truly hoped for and how sentient beings can repay the Buddha’s grace. This is what we must mindfully comprehend.
The previous sutra passage states, “[The Buddha,] knowing sentient beings’ various desires and pleasures and the power of their aspirations, teaches according to what they accept.”
The Buddha observed that sentient beings have various desires and pleasures. The desires of sentient beings and what they take pleasure in are different for each person. So, He had to exercise patience and wisdom and have compassion for them in their foolishness, ignorance and confusion. He must also, based on their capabilities, adapt to the power of sentient beings’ aspirations. Are they able to shoulder this responsibility? Can they handle being entrusted by the Buddha to deliver sentient beings and so on?
“Using countless analogies, He expounds the Dharma for them. He does so according to sentient beings’ roots of goodness from past lives.”
So, He “used countless analogies” to inspire these people to form greater aspirations, to stabilize their strength and fortify the power of the vows they have taken on. So, the Buddha had to use countless analogies. For the intangible principles, tangible matters and objects could be used to give explanations and make analogies so that sentient beings could understand ․Using countless analogies, He expounds the Dharma for them. He does so according to sentient beings’ roots of goodness from past lives. So, “Using countless analogies, He expounds the Dharma for them.” He used all kinds of methods. Based on the kinds of difficulties they encounter, He would give different teachings in response to provide inspiration and help them understand. This was how the Buddha taught the Dharma, transforming them according to their capabilities. They also needed “roots of goodness from past lives. Past lives” means this goes beyond this life. In this life, the Buddha still had to observe the depth of the affinities they had accumulated in past lifetimes and the capacities and capabilities they had fostered. The extent of their capabilities determined the kind of Dharma they could accept.
With the following sutra passage, we have come to the end of the Chapter on Faith and Understanding
“He also understood those who had matured and those who had not yet matured, thus He devised various strategies so they could each attain realizations. From the One Vehicle Path, He followed what was suitable, thus expounding the Three.”
The Buddha wanted to deliver sentient beings, but it was truly very difficult. How could He give teachings suitable for their capabilities? Fortunately, the Buddha had infinite and boundless “merits and virtues and wisdom.” Thus, “He also knew who had matured and who had not yet matured.”
He also understood those who had matured and those who had not yet matured: The Buddha was able to know whether a person’s capabilities had matured or not. Thus He could teach all kinds of Dharma-doors which would lead sentient beings to each attain the Dharma-benefit of the Four Siddhantas.
The Buddha, in His wisdom, observed the capabilities of sentient beings; had they matured or had they not yet matured? When the Buddha transformed sentient beings, this was a very taxing part. This was not easy at all. Though sentient beings had accepted the Dharma, had their capabilities and causes and conditions matured? Could they accept the Great Dharma? “Thus He [taught] all kinds of Dharma-doors which would lead sentient beings” to each attain the benefit of the Four Siddhantas. The Buddha had to, if their capabilities were not mature, use the Four Siddhantas. He used these methods to nurture their roots of goodness and help them gradually mature.
What are the Four Siddhantas?
The Four Siddhantas: “Si” means “universal”. “Dhanta” is related to the Sanskrit word “dana,” which is translated as “giving”. This is the meaning of siddhanta. With the Four Siddhantas, the Buddha taught and universally gave the Dharma to all sentient beings.
“Siddh” is [interpreted as] universal. “Dhanta” is related to the Sanskrit word “dana,” which translates into giving. Put together, this means “to give universally.” The Buddha used the Four Siddhantas to teach the Dharma, to universally give to all sentient beings.
After the Buddha attained the Dharma and became enlightened, His aspiration was not to keep for Himself any of the Dharma He attained, but to fully share it with sentient beings. Thus, He applied all kinds of methods to universally give all Dharma to sentient beings. This is what “siddhanta” means. These four methods help sentient beings’ capabilities and causes and conditions to be able to mature.
What are the Four Siddhantas?
Siddhantas: The worldly life siddhanta. The individual siddhanta. The curative siddhanta. The supreme meaning siddhanta
1. The worldly life siddhanta. “Life” refers to time and its passing. “Worldly” has a meaning of being bounded. As sentient beings’ capabilities were shallow and weak, the Buddha went along with what they desired to hear to individually give the sequence of teachings and bring forth joy in them. This is the worldly life siddhanta.
First is the “worldly life siddhanta. Life” refers to time and its passing. Time is without form, and it leaves no trace; it passes incessantly by the minute and second. When it comes to the Buddha, how long did He engage in spiritual practice? For countless kalpas. Yet, although countless lifetimes is a very long time, each one passes [individually]. The previous, current and future lifetimes are each distinct lifetimes, and this cycle continues endlessly.
In this world where time passes, “sentient beings’ capabilities are shallow and weak.” This is because over time, as we keep coming and going life after life, we remain immersed in ignorance and afflictions, in a constant cycle. So, we replicate our ignorance and afflictions, causing the turbidities in the world to worsen and accumulating so much collective karma that disasters frequently occur. This happens because sentient beings’ capabilities are weak and shallow; they are unable to understand, and remain in confusion and ignorance. The Buddha could not bear to let this happen. So, no matter how tiring it was, He kept doing this lifetime after lifetime, for a very long time. “The Buddha went along with what they desired to hear.” He said what sentient beings delighted in hearing. The Buddha utilized this method to teach according to sentient beings’ capabilities, giving a sequence of individual teachings to expound Dharma suitable for their capacities, enabling them to realize and understand. Thus, when sentient beings listened to the Dharma, they took it to heart and were happy. “It brought forth joy in them.” This was the Buddha’s purpose in continually returning to the human realm. So, this is the worldly life siddhanta.
Second is the “individual siddhanta”
2. The individual siddhanta. When the Buddha wanted to expound the Dharma, He had to first observe whether sentient beings possessed great or limited capabilities, whether seeds from past lives were deeply planted. Then, according to what was suitable, He could expound the Dharma for them so they would give rise to Right Faith and develop their roots of goodness. This is the individual siddhanta.
“When the Buddha wanted to expound the Dharma, He had to first observe whether sentient beings possessed great or limited capabilities.” He needed to observe their capabilities, the extent of their capacities. This means that if they had great capabilities, they would also have great capacity to shoulder responsibilities. This is why the Buddha had to devise strategies. These strategies we just mentioned are about assessing whether people have great or limited capabilities. These were planted in the past. What kinds of seeds did they plant in past lives? What kinds of capabilities were planted? Everything depends on their seeds. Great trees come from the seeds of great trees. Small trees come from the seeds of small trees. Were their capabilities deep or shallow? “Then, according to what was suitable,” the Buddha taught the Dharma [The teaching] had to be just right. The Dharma had to be given according to capacities. He gave as much as they were able to hold. Thus, “They would give rise to Right Faith.” The Buddha taught the Dharma solely to enable sentient beings to give rise to Right Faith and to gradually nurture their roots of goodness.
3. The curative siddhanta. For instance, for sentient beings with much greed and desire, He teaches the contemplation of impurity. For those with much anger, He teaches the cultivation of compassion. For those with much ignorance, He teaches the contemplation of karmic law. To treat these and other illnesses, the Buddha universally gives this Dharma-medicine to all sentient beings. This is the curative siddhanta.
Next, the third is the “curative siddhanta.” The curative siddhanta means for sentient beings with much greed and desire, the Buddha would teach them certain methods. What did He want to teach them? To contemplate impurity. There are many impurities in the world. We must contemplate the body as impure. There is no need to look beyond ourselves; let us contemplate our own body. Does it contain impurities? In order to satisfy a momentary craving, we eat all kinds of things. After we eat, don’t we expel waste every day? If there is an imbalance of the four elements in our body, our body will [fall ill and] be very unclean.
Look outside; right now on Earth there is so much filth; some cities are even surrounded by garbage. There are so many dirty things and so much garbage. Where did all of these dirty things come from? They were created by people. In conclusion, we must contemplate impurity.
What about people with much anger? He taught them the “cultivation of compassion” For those with much anger, He teaches the cultivation of compassion. For those with much ignorance, He teaches the contemplation of karmic law. To treat these and other illnesses, the Buddha universally gives this Dharma-medicine to all sentient beings. This is the curative siddhanta. For those with much ignorance, we must patiently guide them and teach them to contemplate causes and conditions.
“Why did I have so many possessions in the past? Why did I lose them all in an instant? Why do I love this person so much? Why did impermanence suddenly strike? Why?” We must tell them about causes and conditions. When causes and conditions converge, we gain. When causes and conditions end, we lose. This is the law of nature, which has to be analyzed through all kinds of causes and conditions.
“To treat these and other illnesses….” These are all illnesses. Greed, anger and ignorance are all illnesses. For sentient beings with greed and desire, we teach the contemplation of impurity. For those with anger, we teach the contemplation of compassion. For those who are ignorant, we teach the contemplation of karmic law. In this way, we can use all kinds of methods, which are like medicines; prescribing medicine according to an illness. This is teaching according to capabilities. These are the Four Siddhantas. They are used with the Four All-Embracing Virtues. This is Dharma; it is Dharma-medicine. Thus, it is called the curative siddhanta.
4. The supreme meaning siddhanta. This refers to meanings and principles. The Buddha knew the roots of goodness of sentient beings were mature, so He expounded the Dharma to enable them to awaken to the noble path. This is the supreme meaning siddhanta.
Fourth is the “supreme meaning siddhanta.” The supreme meaning is principles, all principles. When the Buddha understood that sentient beings’ roots of goodness had matured, He expounded the Dharma for them. For those whose roots had matured and who were able to accept the Dharma, He taught the Dharma to “enable them to awaken to the noble path.” This is the supreme meaning siddhanta.
If they do not have the right capabilities, and we continue to teach, saying, “Come, let me expound the Dharma for you,” even if we teach them, they will not hear. Instead they will feel a sense of aversion. We must have mutual accommodation and respect; then gradually, they will stop rejecting and will be able to accept the noble path. This is the supreme meaning siddhanta.
Thus He devised various strategies so they could each attain realizations: He observed the maturity of their capabilities and devised strategies for each according to their capabilities. Those with great capabilities receive the Great. Those with limited capabilities receive the Small. If they were mature, He helped them succeed; if they were not yet mature, He waited.
When He gave the Dharma to sentient beings the Buddha had to use many methods to do this. “Thus He devised various strategies so they could each attain realizations.” He devised all kinds of strategies so everyone could attain realizations. Thus, “He observed the maturity of their capabilities and devised strategies for each.” He had to earnestly devise strategies to assess their capacities, how much their capabilities could accept. He taught “according to their capabilities.” To those with great capacities, He gave much Dharma. To those with limited capacities, He gave less Dharma. For those who were mature, He gradually instilled the Dharma in them and nourished them with Dharma-water until they matured. Then, naturally, the seed would become a tree, and a small tree could become a large tree. This requires patient guidance. If people’s capabilities are not mature, we must continue to wait until their causes and condition become mature. This is the method the Buddha used to teach us. “From the One Vehicle Path, He followed what was suitable, thus expounding the Three”
From the One Vehicle Path, He followed what was suitable, thus expounding the Three: From the supreme path of the One Buddha Vehicle, He used suitable skillful means to expound the Three Vehicles. For this reason, in the prior 40 years, from the One Vehicle Dharma, He skillfully expounded the Three Vehicles
so people with great or average capabilities could come to understand. “From the supreme path of the One Buddha Vehicle, He used suitable skillful means” to expound the Three Vehicles. The Buddha had already attained Buddhahood. Everyone can attain Buddhahood, but we are unable to because of our capabilities. So, He had to use skillful means. “In the prior 40 years, from the One Vehicle Dharma, He skillfully expounded the Three Vehicles.” The Buddha spent more than 40 years doing this. Originally there was the One Vehicle Dharma, but He turned it into the Three Vehicles. Limited capabilities received the Small Vehicle. Average capabilities received the Middle Vehicle. Great capabilities received the Great Vehicle. Whether great, average or limited in capability, each individual was helped to understand based on their capabilities.
In the past He used skillful means; now He revealed the True Dharma, which is the Lotus Sutra.
To anyone who had heard Him teach the Dharma, even just one sentence or verse, He gave each a prediction of attaining Buddhahood and led them all to enter into Nirvana by means of the Tathagata’s Nirvana. This is the all-embracing virture.
“To any who had heard Him teach the Dharma, even just one sentence or verse, He gave all a prediction of attaining Buddhahood.” If people’s capabilities were mature, they could hear just a sentence or verse and understand. So, the Buddha expounded the Dharma to them. This way, He began to “lead them all to enter into Nirvana by means of the Tathagata’s Nirvana.” This is the “all-embracing virtue of beneficial conduct.”
In order to benefit sentient beings, the Buddha led by example to teach them. He used the Four Siddhantas and. Four All-Embracing Virtues to transform them. The Buddha’s grace is so profound and vast. How can we ever repay it? Steadfastly engaging in spiritual practice and putting the Dharma into practice is how we can truly repay the Buddha’s grace. Therefore, I ask everyone to always be mindful.