Episode 883 – The Four Great Vows Leading to Nirvana
>> After the Four Noble Truths were taught thrice, we began to understand suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. We make the great vows to realize our compassion and connect with those who suffer to bring them joy. Because we witness the truth of suffering and pain, we make the great vows to deliver countless suffering beings so they can attain enlightenment.
>> “He calls out these words, ‘I am the Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans, Buddha, the World-Honored One.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “I enable those not yet delivered to be delivered. I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated. I enable those not yet at peace to be at peace. I enable those not yet in Nirvana to be in Nirvana.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> This is the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths, understanding suffering, eliminating its cause, practicing the Path and realizing cessation. Thus, we must make the Four Great Vows. To deliver sentient beings, understanding and views cannot be in error. Great vows fundamentally arise out of compassion, and through compassion we connect with those who suffer and bring them joy. The practice of great vows starts with accepting the Four Noble Truths.
>>If we witness the truth of suffering, seeing people oppressed and in misery, living in pain and bitterness, from this connection we are inspired to make vows. Thus it says, “I enable those not yet delivered to be delivered”; this is the vow to deliver countless sentient beings. Deliver means to liberate from suffering and affliction.
>>I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated: If we witness the truth of causation, seeing people who are confused and stuck in cyclic existence, who are bound by delusion and [lost in] in endless samsara, we feel deep pity for them. From this connection we are inspired to make vows. Thus it says, I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated; this is the vow to eliminate endless afflictions. Liberation: Eliminating evil and cultivating good.
>> I enable those not yet at peace to be at peace. This is the path to purity, but sentient beings do not recognize it. Those who practice this path escape from samsara to a place of peace and joy and desire to demonstrate and safely establish this path for sentient beings.
>> I enable those not yet in Nirvana to be in Nirvana. The place where afflictions have been eliminated is called Nirvana; here, seed and fruit end their cycle.
>> Seeds give rise to fruits and fruits to seeds, thus resulting in our present retributions. After seeds give rise to fruits, we can end any subsequent retributions. Thus this is not a fruit giving rise to seeds.
>> Thus we attain two kinds of Nirvana. From this connection we are inspired to make vows. Thus it says, “I enable those who have not realized cessation to realize the truth of cessation and Nirvana”. This is the vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood. To be in Nirvana: This is attaining the Buddha’s Nirvana.
“After the Four Noble Truths were taught thrice, we began to understand suffering, causation, cessation and the Path.
We make the great vows to realize our compassion and connect with those who suffer to bring them joy.
Because we witness the truth of suffering and pain, we make the great vows
to deliver countless suffering beings so they can attain enlightenment.”
Do we understand this? The Four Noble Truths were taught thrice. We have often talked about how, when the Buddha first attained perfect enlightenment, He observed conditions; thus the first time He taught the Dharma was to the five bhiksus in Deer Park. What He taught were the Four Noble Truths. Just to teach the Four Noble Truths of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, He had to repeat it for them three times before all five of them understood completely.
Suffering in life results from our accumulation of many karmic causes, conditions and retributions. Knowing this, how should we engage in spiritual practice in order to eliminate our suffering? We must practice the Path and put the teachings into action. In the human realm, there are many troubles and disturbances, and traps await us everywhere. These cause our minds to conctantly fluctuate and remain unsettled, as well as give rise to discursive thoughts. Spiritual practice is truly not an easy thing, so this is why we must make the great vows; the Four Great Vows are what we must cultivate.
Everyone knows the Four Great Vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” We must form great aspirations and make great vows. We have experienced suffering, and we wish to transcend this suffering. We also want other people to realize the principles as well and engage in spiritual practice together with us. Then, they will be able to transcend suffering.
Where does our suffering come from? Its causation was the many afflictions accumulated. We need to help people recognize ignorance and afflictions and the karmic law of cause and effect. This is causation; we accumulate many karmic causes and many karmic conditions that become the karmic effects, so when we come to this world, we bring our karma. This is out of our control.
We brought our karma from past lives to this life, and with these karmic retributions we brought, we continue to create more karma in this life. Again, without any control, we bring all kinds of afflictions to the next life. Does this ever come to an end? How can we eliminate these causes, conditions, effects and retributions? We must “vow to deliver countless sentient beings vow to eliminate endless afflictions, vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors” and “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” Yes, these are the Four Great Vows, and as we work to fulfill these Four Great Vows, we must continuously nurture our compassion to connect with suffering sentient beings. There are many suffering sentient beings, so we must go among the people and relieve sentient beings’ sufferings. This is called “connecting to those who suffer.” They face suffering, and we resolve it for them. We see many people who, after learning the Dharma, are able to comprehend, let go, see clearly and change their lives. They turn negative conditions into positive ones and turn those they hate into spiritual friends. Accomplishing this requires having great vows and then nurturing our compassion to connect with those who are suffering in order to help them find happiness.
“Because we witness the truth of suffering and pain, we make great vows.” When the truth of suffering manifests, when a state of suffering appears, we must understand its underlying principles. Only then do we understand the truth of suffering. Otherwise, all we feel is the unbearable pain of our afflictions. We will be trapped, entangled in our suffering and unable to escape from it. If we know the principles of suffering, we can naturally eliminate suffering and pain so that our minds will be still and settled.
Every day I tell everyone that our minds must be settled; they must be still. We must not let them be disturbed by other people. So, we must be even more earnest in making great vows and must not retreat from our will to practice. We should not allow certain circumstances to cause us to retreat. We must increase our [determination]. We should not forget our great vows. We must deliver countless sentient beings. We must not retreat and say, “I will just seek to awaken myself; the myriad of sentient beings and the turbulent world of temptations is so frightening.” This would be to retreat from our great aspiration to walk the Bodhisattva-path. If our aspirations were cut off, and we retreated, seeking only to awaken ourselves, that would be a shame. We must still make great vows; we still must deliver countless sentient beings.
The Buddha attained Buddhahood in His lifetime, yet throughout that process, over that period of 80 years, with the suffering He endured in His practice and the troubles He encountered, He had to undergo all kinds of difficulties. This is to say nothing of us ordinary people! The myriads of sentient beings are truly stubborn, and it is because sentient beings are stubborn and difficult to train that we must make great vows and transform them. We hope that the principles can reach the minds of sentient beings. This is the aspiration we must form.
In the previous sutra passage it says, “He calls out these words, ‘I am the Tathagata, One Worthy of Offerings, Completely Awakened One, One Perfect in Wisdom and Action Well-Gone One, Knower of the World, Unsurpassed Guide, Tamer, Teacher of Heavenly Beings and Humans, Buddha, the World-Honored One.”
Yesterday we discussed the Buddha’s ten virtues and ten epithets. The Buddha said, “I am the Tathagata.” This is how He introduced the ten epithets. When He said “I,” He was not referring to Himself as a person, but to all of the principles, to the greater self, not the limited self. With these true principles, He journeyed on the Tathagata’s Dharma to come to this world and transform sentient beings. There is no Dharma that He does not know. There is no principle that He cannot see through. He is the Great Enlightened One. All Buddhas, the Enlightened Ones, are called “Tathagata.”
The next sutra passage says, “I enable those not yet delivered to be delivered. I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated. I enable those not yet at peace to be at peace. I enable those not yet in Nirvana to be in Nirvana.”
The Buddha comes to the world with this aspiration. We, as Buddhist practitioners, must also form this aspiration. We must make the Four Great Vows. Every Buddhist practitioner must put them into action in order to “enable those not yet delivered to be delivered.” The Buddha came to this world over numerous lifetimes to lay down the conditions needed to transform sentient beings. He went among people to create good affinities with sentient beings and accumulate the conditions to transform them.
“I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated.” For example, for the five bhiksus, He had to thrice teach the Four Noble Truths . Even with five people, the Buddha had to ask, “Do you all understand the principles of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path?” One of them said, “I understand. And what about you others?” The other four had listened, but they did not understand completely. “Let me teach you again! Now do you understand?” Two more people understood, but there were still two who did not. “Can you comprehend it? We do not understand in detail. That is alright; I will teach you again.” So, the Four Noble Truths were taught thrice.
Once they understood the law of karma thoroughly, they no longer wished to be covered by ignorance and afflictions. Thus, “I enable those not yet in Nirvana to be in Nirvana.” The Buddha hopes that all of us will not only recognize and understand, but will also engage in spiritual practice until all our ignorance and afflictions have truly been eliminated.
Eliminating the causation [of suffering] is not easy at all! Therefore, we must practice the Path mindfully. Suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, these are the Four Noble Truths.
This is the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths, understanding suffering, eliminating its cause, practicing the Path and realizing cessation. Thus, we must make the Four Great Vows. To deliver sentient beings, understanding and views cannot be in error. Great vows fundamentally arise out of compassion, and through compassion we connect with those who suffer and bring them joy. The practice of great vows starts with accepting the Four Noble Truths.
And to put the Four Noble Truths into practice, we must make the Four Great Vows. We help sentient beings have “understanding and views not in error.” We can help everyone further understand where the causes and conditions of the troubles in the world come from. We help everyone to understand, to disentangle their confused minds and have the correct perspective. Of course, this means we must make the Four Great Vows.
“Great vows fundamentally arise out of compassion.” We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. This Buddha-nature of True Suchness means that we intrinsically have compassion. The Buddha’s heart is one of great compassion, and His compassion arises in response to the suffering of sentient beings. So, we must go among sentient beings to bring them joy and eliminate afflictions.
Thus, “The practice of great vows starts with accepting the Four Noble Truths.” When we want to make great vows, accepting the Four Noble Truths is where we begin. In our practice, if we do not face challenges, we will not understand the principles. I often say to everyone that only by witnessing suffering will we know our own blessings. When we witness the suffering of sentient beings, what more will we have to complain about? Others suffer more than we do. This is witnessing suffering and recognizing our own blessings. As we learn the Dharma, we must also go among people to transform sentient beings. As for the Four Noble Truths and the Four Great Vows, one is the starting point, the other is the effect. Thus our cause is [our understanding of] suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, and the effect is that we walk the Bodhisattva-path.
If we witness the truth of suffering, seeing people oppressed and in misery, living in pain and bitterness, from this connection we are inspired to make vows. Thus it says, “I enable those not yet delivered to be delivered”; this is the vow to deliver countless sentient beings. Deliver means to liberate from suffering and affliction.
“I enable those not yet delivered to be delivered. If we witness the truth of suffering, seeing people oppressed and in misery, living in pain and bitterness, from the connection we are inspired to make vows.” To “enable those not yet delivered from suffering to be delivered,” we must make great vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. Deliver” means to liberate them from suffering and affliction. The world is truly filled with suffering. We see poverty, hardship, illness and disability. Within one family, when several members have physical and mental illnesses, a household like this is like a small hell. It is such a shame! This is “seeing people oppressed and in misery, living in pain and bitterness,” and “from the connection we are inspired to make vows.” When many Tzu Chi volunteers visit poor families and see such conditions, from listening to the Dharma and seeing these environments, they all form great aspirations and make vows to connect with the world’s suffering. They understand they need to earnestly practice, and they remind themselves to be vigilant. To “enable those not yet delivered from suffering” is to “deliver boundless sentient beings.” When we first witness “suffering” and “causation,” we must make great vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. Deliver” means to liberate them from suffering and affliction. In this human life, afflictions arise when we give rise to discursive thoughts, so.
I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated: If we witness the truth of causation, seeing people who are confused and stuck in cyclic existence, who are bound by delusion and [lost in] in endless samsara, we feel deep pity for them. From this connection we are inspired to make vows. Thus it says, I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated; this is the vow to eliminate endless afflictions. Liberation: Eliminating evil and cultivating good.
“I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated”. The truth of causation is that because we are confused, we are stuck in cyclic existence. Lifetime after lifetime we continue to replicate our ignorance and keep reproducing negative causes and effects. The chain of causes and effects continues, so we continue to suffer. Our ignorance grows thicker, and our delusions grow greater. Life after life we are like this, “[bound and lost in] endless samsara.” This is very pitiful and miserable. Thus, “From this connection we are inspired to make vows.”
So, “I enable those not yet liberated to be liberated.” The “causation” is the accumulation of layer upon layer of ignorance from the past. In the past, we did not understand or realize. Now, we need to understand and realize this. “This is the vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” We must eliminate all kinds of afflictions. “To be liberated” is to eliminate evil and cultivate goodness. We need to do all that is good and refrain from all evil. We must make an effort to help others eliminate the sources of suffering. We must create blessings for the world.
I enable those not yet at peace to be at peace. This is the path to purity, but sentient beings do not recognize it. Those who practice this path escape from samsara to a place of peace and joy and desire to demonstrate and safely establish this path for sentient beings.
“I enable those not yet at peace to be at peace.” For those not yet at peace, we must enable them to attain peace in their minds. We must not deviate; we must walk the Right Path. This is the path to purity. Sentient beings do not know to walk this path. They do not understand how to enter this path. We can “escape from samsara to a place of peace and joy.” So, we need to teach them. We must tell them, “Come, come! We can walk on this path like this, and we will naturally escape from samsara to a place of peace and joy.” Thus, we “enable those not yet at peace to be at peace”
Sentient beings face so much suffering. After we assist them and help their lives to become stable, we must then begin to guide them to be able to give back to sentient beings and to learn how to transform sentient beings. We must carry the Dharma, not our karma, with us. We can carry the Dharma with us life after life, steering the ship of compassion to transform and care for the world’s sentient beings.
“Thus it says, ‘I enable those not yet at peace with the practices to enlightenment to be at peace’. The practices to enlightenment” are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. I often tell everyone that in spiritual practice, the 37 Practices to Enlightenment are our foundation. This is “the vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors.” We find tranquility by cultivating peace and joyful practices. For cultivating peace and joyful practices, the 37 Practices to Enlightenment are indispensable.
I enable those not yet in Nirvana to be in Nirvana. The place where afflictions have been eliminated is called Nirvana; here, seed and fruit end their cycle.
“I enable those not yet in Nirvana to be in Nirvana. Nirvana” is the place where afflictions have been eliminated. It is a safe and stable place for them. “Here, seed and fruit end their cycle.” Where is a place that is safe and stable? This place is Nirvana. Nirvana is not death, not at all. Nirvana is the elimination of our afflictions, including afflictions of views and thinking and dust-like afflictions. Eliminating these two kinds of afflictions is called the “two kinds of Nirvana.” It is also called “great Nirvana.” This is a place that is safe and joyful.
So, “Here, seed and fruit end their cycle. Seed and fruit” [can be explained with] a fruit tree. A tree begins with a seed planted in the ground. When causes and conditions come together, with soil, water, sunlight and air, the fruit tree grows in the earth. When it is grown, it bears fruit, and we will find seeds inside. Some of us eat the fruit, but not everyone will plant the seeds again; the fruit is eaten and not passed on. This is like when we have engaged in spiritual practice, and we understand the law of karma. We “stop it here” and do not carry it further. “Here, seed and fruit [end their cycle].”
Seeds give rise to fruits and fruits to seeds, thus resulting in our present retributions. After seeds give rise to fruits, we can end any subsequent retributions. Thus this is not a fruit giving rise to seeds.
There are no more retributions, just as the fruit that was eaten is no more. “Thus this is not a fruit giving rise to seeds.” It is a “seed giving rise to fruit,” not a “fruit giving rise to seeds”
Thus we attain two kinds of Nirvana. From this connection we are inspired to make vows. Thus it says, “I enable those who have not realized cessation to realize the truth of cessation and Nirvana”. This is the vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood. To be in Nirvana: This is attaining the Buddha’s Nirvana.
“Thus we attain the two kinds of Nirvana.” If we can eliminate the causes and effects which arise from afflictions, we naturally reach the two kinds of Nirvana. Small Vehicle [practitioners] eliminate their affliction of views and thinking. Great Vehicle [practitioners] go among people, but are not defiled by them. They can eliminate dust-like ignorance and delusions and achieve the mission of transforming sentient beings. These are called great fruits; they are able to fulfill their great vows.
In this way, “I lead those who have not realized cessation to realize the truth of cessation and Nirvana.” If we have not reached this state, we must hurry to train ourselves further and remain firm in our great vows. This is the “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” To reach Nirvana is to attain the fruit of Buddhahood. This is like settling in a safe and joyful place. This is what we must learn.
For suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, the way we put [these teachings] into practice is through the Four Great Vows. From “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings” to “I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood,” in this way, we will reach a safe and stable place. I hope everyone will always be mindful.