Episode 877 – Dharma Rain Falls, Benefiting Sentient Beings
>> The land is covered by clouds and rain, so all things can flourish and thrive. The rain from the sky moistens all things, giving the grace of nourishment to the world. The earth can give birth to, nourish and bear all things. The Dharma is likened to the sky, earth, clouds and rain, as it can nourish our wisdom-life.
>> “So, In the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants, there are those with small roots, small stems, small branches and small leaves, those with average roots, average stems, average branches and average leaves and those with great roots, great stems, great branches, great leaves and so on.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> Since clouds and rains equally cover all, the nourishment they provide is received universally by all grasses and tress, and the medicinal plants that can cure diseases receive equal nourishment as well.
>> So, in the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants, vegetation is a general term for all plants, including the great, average and small plants. There are also the two groups of trees, big trees and small trees. When they grow together, it is called a forest.
>> This is likened to the Buddha’s mystery of speech. With the Four Eloquences in His voice, He easily lets fall the rain of Dharma. If clouds are not dense, they cannot equally rain on all things, nourishing the land and nurturing the plants. If [His] kind aspirations were not densely formed, [He] could not widely benefit sentient beings.
>> So it says, There are those with small roots, small stems, small branches and small leaves, those with average roots, average stems, average branches and average leaves. Humans and heavenly beings are those with small roots and small stems. Hearers and Solitary Realizers are called average medicinal plants.
>> For those with great roots, great stems, great branches and great leaves, roots are an analogy for good seeds, stems are an analogy for good vows, branches are an analogy for good methods and leaves represent the good practices.
>> Among the trees of this world, those with great roots and stems will have many branches and leaves. This is an analogy for Bodhisattvas, whose vows and wisdom are great. Those who form Bodhisattva-aspirations are people with great wisdom and vows. They have profound practice and understanding.
>> The stalk of the plants is called the stem. The roots, stems, branches and leaves of great, average and small plants grow in sequence. These represent the Human, Heavenly Being, Hearer, Solitary Realizer and Bodhisattva Vehicles. They each realize the principles according to the teachings, engage in practice according to the principles and attain fruits according to the practice.
“The land is covered by clouds and rain, so all things can flourish and thrive.
The rain from the sky moistens all things, giving the grace of nourishment to the world.
The earth can give birth to, nourish and bear all things.
The Dharma is likened to the sky, earth, clouds and rain, as it can nourish our wisdom-life.”
Medicinal plants are born and grow on the land. The land is that which “gives birth,” while medicinal plants are that which “is born.” It is not only medicinal plants; big and small trees [are born] as well. Nor is it only big and small trees and medicinal plants; everything that we humans have in the world, everything we can see, all material things,, exist between heaven and earth, and all must be nourished by clouds and rain so they can flourish and be nurtured.
“The rain from the sky moistens all things, giving the grace of nourishment to the world.” When rain falls from the sky, it can nourish and moisten the land. All of the various seeds on earth can sprout and grow into trees, into plants, all kinds of grains and so on. These all depend on rain from the sky. So, the earth can bear all things, while in the sky there are clouds, rain, wind and also sunlight. These all exist in the space of our world. When the [natural] cycle is in harmony, we have sufficient material resources and do not need to worry about our living. Thus, we must be grateful for this. “The rain from the sky moistens all things,” giving the grace of nourishment to the world, allowing our world to be safe and peaceful and helping our lives to be smooth and easy.
I keep listening to the weather reports. Our government and the water company are constantly warning us. The weather reports are saying that [in 2015], there may be a drought. This is something we should worry about. Even more worrying are the water reservoir levels, which are gradually dropping. The bottoms of the reservoirs are beginning to emerge. When we see this, we must be vigilant. We really must conserve water.
People in this world do not know to be grateful and cherish things. Now a crisis is already imminent, but people are still ignorant, consuming and wasting vast quantities of water. People remain totally unaware. They also do not work to wake people up; instead, they talk about improper matters, listen to improper matters and read about improper matters. If these inappropriate things just continue to be read, listened to and spoken about, this will make society more and more turbid, making harmony even more difficult to achieve. In this day and age, everyone should settle their minds and be calm. “Calmness leads to stability.” We want our minds to be stable, so we must always have a grateful heart.
Thus, “The earth can give birth to, nourish and bear all things.” We must be very grateful for heaven’s great space that encompasses so much and keeps the four elements in harmony. We must be grateful that the earth gives birth to, nourishes and bears all things. We are all born and live together on this earth. We must coexist with the whole world, mutually care for each other, love each other and help each other, thus benefiting others and ourselves. We must earnestly engage in spiritual practice; this is benefiting ourselves. We must earnestly care for the earth, people and all things; this is benefiting others. We must have a heart of gratitude.
Next, “The Dharma is likened to the sky, earth, clouds and rain, as it can nourish our wisdom-life.” In the space of the world, everything needs water. Furthermore, in our interpersonal relationships we need the principles of absolute truth and moral values in order to maintain propriety in our lives in the world. The Dharma can help us to maintain moral values in our lives so that we treat each other and deal with matters with a sense of propriety. This is such a beautiful thing! Treating each other with sincerity brings harmony to our society. So, a world of truth, goodness and beauty depends on the Dharma, on principles and morals. This is how we can live a life that is true, wonderful and happy.
So, “The Dharma is likened to the sky, earth, clouds and rain.” It can nourish our wisdom-life, nourish our wisdom. This is not just knowledge, but wisdom. When we can understand the truth of all things, our wisdom-life has developed. Then, naturally we will not violate the rules nor will we go against the Dharma. When we are interacting with people, seeing others doing good deeds will make us happy. If we join them and do good deeds together, with the Dharma-joy we experience, whether we do it ourselves or see others do it, we will feel great happiness. Such a life is one of even greater abundance.
The previous [sutra passage] speaks of “the forests of plants and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants.” The rain and clouds, clouds and rain, cover all universally. This means that the mountain forests and the valley groves begin to be nourished by clouds and rain
So, “In the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants, there are those with small roots, small stems, small branches and small leaves, those with average roots, average stems, average branches and average leaves and those with great roots, great stems, great branches, great leaves” and so on.
We can see that if a tree is big, its roots are thick and long, and grow very deeply; this is a tree. The thickness of the trunk shows the thickness of its roots; they continue to extend into the ground. So when it rains, the leaves, branches and stems naturally collect the water, which slowly flows down leaves, branches and stems down to its roots as they enter the soil. This is a cycle [The water absorbed] depends on the tree’s size. This is a cycle of rain and water. So it says, “There are those with small roots, small stems, small branches and small leaves” [Plants] such as these absorb less water. “Those with average roots, average stems, average branches and average leaves” can absorb a little bit more. If there are “those with great roots, great stems, great branches, great leaves,” they protect the land by pentrating even deeper. So, whether they are big or small trees, over time, they protect the land.
Since clouds and rains equally cover all, the nourishment they provide is received universally by all grasses and tress, and the medicinal plants that can cure diseases receive equal nourishment as well.
For both big trees and small trees, “Since clouds and rains equally cover all, the nourishment they provide is “received universally by all plants and trees,” and the medicinal plants that can cure diseases receive equal nourishment as well. Medicinal plants grow in forests. There are many plants and trees on the land, many medicinal plants. For these plants to flourish, they need clouds and rain.
So, in the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants, vegetation is a general term for all plants, including the great, average and small plants. There are also the two groups of trees, big trees and small trees. When they grow together, it is called a forest.
So, in “the forests of vegetation and trees and all kinds of medicinal plants, vegetation” is “a general term for all plants,” including the “great, average and small plants.” There are also the two groups of trees, big trees and small trees. When they grow together, it is called a “forest.” So, this is the “forest of vegetation and trees.” This is a forest that is completely undamaged. It is called a “forest.”
This is likened to the Buddha’s mystery of speech. With the Four Eloquences in His voice, He easily lets fall the rain of Dharma. If clouds are not dense, they cannot equally rain on all things, nourishing the land and nurturing the plants. If [His] kind aspirations were not densely formed, [He] could not widely benefit sentient beings.
This represents “the Buddha’s mystery of speech;” which is like “dense clouds spread extensively” ․This is likened to the Buddha’s mystery of speech. With the Four Eloquences in His voice, He easily lets fall the rain of Dharma. If clouds are not dense, they cannot equally rain on all things, nourishing the land and nurturing the plants. If [His] kind aspirations were not densely formed, [He] could not widely benefit sentient beings. We have mentioned in a previous sutra passage that. “Dense clouds are spread extensively.” We look up at the sky and see dense clouds that spread extensively. This shows that many principles have been taught through the Buddha’s speech. With a single voice He perfectly proclaims. So, we listen to His voice with our ears; as we hear the principles we are educated. Our wisdom-life will thus grow.
If we listen to unwholesome words and speech, taking it in through our ears, our wisdom-life will be harmed, and we will give rise to afflictions and ignorance. We can also speak [to others] but it can be like the sky; when the rain falls evenly and mildly, it benefits the earth. The earth’s natural environment absorbs it. In this way, the sky and earth are in harmony. Yet if unwholesome words are spoken, clever but lacking wisdom, if we indulge in a moment of careless speech, that shows we do not understand the principles, and we will hurt people with harsh words. Some people do not understand and cannot distinguish right from wrong. They accept deviant principles which give rise to discursive thoughts.
Now technology is advanced. Some people have leukemia, which cannot be cured by medicinal plants. They need another person with matching bone marrow to help them [regain] hematopoietic function. The odds of finding a match are one out of several hundreds of thousands. When there is a successful match, our marrow donor team tries to locate the person who originally had the aspiration to give a blood sample to be kept in our marrow donor registry. Right now we have found a match. Among the vast sea of people, we have located the person who can save a life.
But this person who can save a life heard some rumors. Without discerning whether they are true or false, he began to have afflictions caused by his lack of understanding. Our marrow donor team told him, “You are a match.” But he said that he does not want to donate because of such and such. So, he refused to be a donor. This is a matter of life and death! A patient is waiting for someone to save his life. But the person refused. What can be done? So, on hearing this news, we immediately searched the registry to see if there is another shred of hope. Fortunately, after another search, another suitable match was found. So [all was well.] But what if no match was found? The patient clearly has a chance to survive. But this string of harmful speech and impure views and perspectives could destroy the opportunity to save a life.
This is the speech of we unenlightened beings, which contains such impurity. But the Buddha’s speech is entirely true principles and absolute truths. He teaches us all the truths of the universe to help us understand so that we can know how to save people. The way to save people is not only using medicinal plants. People fundamentally have the ability to donate the organs of our bodies to each other. This is as it says, “His head, eyes, marrow and brain were all given to others.” This is expressed in the sutra. So, this is like the Buddha’s speech, His mystery of speech, which contains so many principles.
He has “the Four Eloquences in His voice,” the Four Unobstructed Eloquences. He has the unobstructed eloquence of the Dharma, the unobstructed eloquence of meaning, the unobstructed eloquence of rhetoric and the unobstructed eloquence of joyful teaching. He continually teaches the principles. So, He has these Four Eloquences. “He easily lets fall the rain of Dharma.” It is like a ceaseless fall of. Dharma-rain from the Buddha’s mouth.
“If clouds are not dense, they cannot equally rain on all things”; they cannot let the rain fall equally to universally cover the land of our world. So, clouds must be dense for the rain to be spread universally. “If clouds are not dense, they cannot equally rain on all things.” If there is no rain, nothing can grow. It is the same with our wisdom-life; without the Dharma, our wisdom-life cannot grow. So, “Nourishing the land and nurturing the plants” means the world needs clouds and rain to moisten the land. This is an analogy for the Buddha’s ability to teach the principles with His speech to help our wisdom-life grow. “If His kind aspirations were not densely formed, He could not widely benefit sentient beings.” So, the Buddha’s aspirations, His intent, is great loving-kindness and compassion. He never abandons sentient beings. Thus, densely packed together and concentrated, His thoughts are always on sentient beings
So it says, “There are those with small roots, small stems, small branches and small leaves, those with average roots, average stems, average branches and average leaves. Humans and heavenly beings” are “those with small roots and small stems. Hearers and Solitary Realizers are called average medicinal plants.”
These trees are categorized according to their size, great, average or small, yet they are all equally moistened by the rain [The small are] “humans and heavenly beings.” Some are in the heaven realm, while some are in the human realm. For humans, He teaches the Five Precepts, for the heaven realm, the Ten Good Deeds. These are small roots and small stems. “Hearers and Solitary Realizers are called average medicinal plants.” Average medicinal plants are an analogy for Hearers and Solitary Realizers. Humans and heavenly beings are small medicinal plants
For those with great roots, great stems, great branches and great leaves, roots are an analogy for good seeds, stems are an analogy for good vows, branches are an analogy for good methods and leaves represent the good practices.
Seeds of various kinds are planted in the ground and need to have water, air and so on; all these causes and conditions must come together when seeds are planted. What kind of the seeds are they? The seeds of big trees, when conditions come together after planting, will naturally grow into big trees. “Stems” are an analogy for “good vows.” We have good seeds, but we must also make vows. We have the seeds of great capacity, but we must also make great vows. With the Four Great Vows, we vow to deliver countless sentient beings, etc. We must make these good vows. “Branches” are an analogy for “good methods.” We not only make vows, we must also put them into practice. This is like branches; when branches spread out, they will naturally sprout leaves. Leaves represent “good practices”
Among the trees of this world, those with great roots and stems will have many branches and leaves. This is an analogy for Bodhisattvas, whose vows and wisdom are great. Those who form Bodhisattva-aspirations are people with great wisdom and vows. They have profound practice and understanding.
Among the trees of this world, “those with great roots and stems will have many branches and leaves.” This is an analogy for Bodhisattvas, “whose vows and wisdom are great.” Those who form Bodhisattva-aspirations are people with great wisdom and vows. They “have profound practice and understanding.” Because they have great aspirations, like a big tree, their roots naturally go deep.
The stalk of the plants is called the stem. The roots, stems, branches and leaves of great, average and small plants grow in sequence. These represent the Human, Heavenly Being, Hearer, Solitary Realizer and Bodhisattva Vehicles. They each realize the principles according to the teachings, engage in practice according to the principles and attain fruits according to the practice.
Plants also have roots. The great, average and small plants grow their roots, stems, branches and leaves in sequence. It is the same; plants follow this same principle. This represents the Human and Heavenly Being Vehicles, those who uphold Five Precepts, Ten Good Deeds. Within the Buddha’s teachings, [average plants represent]. Hearers and Solitary Realizers, and trees [represent] the Bodhisattva Vehicle. These all follow the teachings and principles. According to our capacities, we form aspirations and make vows. With teachings and practices come realizations. We follow the teachings and put them into practice. With spiritual practice, we can truly attain realizations, experience this for ourselves. “Engaging in practice according to the principles” means we practice according to the principles and “attain fruits according to the practices.” Having the principles, we must put them into practice. Because we put them into practice, we will attain these karmic fruits
So we say that, when engaging in practice, we must be mindful. Rain falls from the sky; clouds and rain universally moisten the earth. The earth gives birth to and bears all. It is on the land that we are born and carried; we are what is born and carried. The rain from the sky brings nourishment and helps our wisdom-life grow. So, we must be mindful and earnest in learning the Buddha’s teachings. When the principles and the natural world are brought together, we return to the truth. Therefore, we must all always be mindful.