Episode 897 – The Dharma Was Not Quickly Expounded
>> The Buddha manifested as the Dharma-king for one great cause. In order to adapt to sentient beings, He expounded all kinds of Dharma, enabling them to enter the Buddha’s right mindfulness, contemplation and practice. Because He looked at what everyone could accept, He did not quickly expound this.
>> “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, then spoke these verses ‘The Dharma-king who breaks through existence manifested in the world and, according to sentient beings’ desires, taught all kinds of Dharma’.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “The Tathagata, out of respect and profound and far-reaching wisdom, had long been silent about its essence and did not quickly expound this. If those with wisdom hear this Dharma, they will have faith and understanding. Those without wisdom will have doubt and regret, thus they will always lose [the benefits].” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> He had long been silent about its essence and did not quickly expound it: To give the teachings of the One Reality, He had to wait for conditions and teach whenever He could. The Buddha only expounded the [True] Dharma after more than 40 years. Thus it says, [He] did not quickly expound it.
>> This repeated verse explains the reason He could not quickly expound it: He was still afraid that sentient beings lacked wisdom. If they heard that there was only the One Buddha Vehicle, that there was no second or third vehicle, they would not have had faith and understanding but would give rise to doubt and slander. Then they would forever lose the great benefit of attaining Buddhahood. So, it would not be good to hastily expound it.
>> “This is why, Kasyapa, I expound the Dharma according to ability and, with all kinds of causes and conditions, enable them to obtain right views.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> This is why, Kasyapa, I expound the Dharma according to ability: “With all kinds of causes and conditions” is praising the Buddha’s use of skillful means to first give the provisional, then the true. With all kinds of causes and conditions, He expounded according to ability by first giving the provisional teachings.
>> This is like what the long-form prose says: [He] knows the depths of sentient beings’ minds and the paths they walk. The Chapter on Skillful Means also says: With infinite, countless skillful means, with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, He has proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings.
>> This is why, Kasyapa: He told Kasyapa that this was the reason. I expound the Dharma according to ability: He expounded the Dharma according to their capacities and abilities.
>> With all kinds of causes and conditions, whether He expounded the Five Vehicles or the Three Vehicles, these were all conditions for skillful means.>> Enable them to obtain Right Views: This means that afterwards, He revealed the true. As it says in the long-form prose, [He] revealed all wisdom to sentient beings. Or as it says in the Chapter on Skillful Means, “[all] ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom”.
“The Buddha manifested as the Dharma-king for one great cause.
In order to adapt to sentient beings, He expounded all kinds of Dharma,
enabling them to enter the Buddha’s right mindfulness, contemplation and practice.
Because He looked at what everyone could accept, He did not quickly expound this.”
The Buddha-Dharma is very profound. In order to adapt to sentient beings’ capacities, the Buddha taught according to the conditions. Actually, He only wanted to teach one thing, hoping we would all be able to realize that we have in us an intrinsic nature of True Suchness equal to that of the Buddha. The Buddha hoped that we could all aspire to awaken the great compassion within us and walk the Bodhisattva-path to widely transform sentient beings. This was the Buddha’s one great cause. This was why He appeared in this world as the Dharma-king.
He was just like us ordinary people. He had to undergo the hardship of spiritual practice in order to reach awakening and attain Buddhahood. This awakening meant that. He gained understanding of the Dharma contained within all things in the world.
The Dharma is intangible, but the Buddha brought these intangible principles together with objects, matters and appearances and analyzed them for us to understand. So, “In order to adapt to sentient beings, He expounded all kinds of Dharma.” This is because sentient beings’ capabilities differ. Whether the Five Vehicles or the Three Vehicles, everything was taught for sentient beings’ sake, in order to suit sentient beings’ capabilities. Thus, He gave all kinds of teachings. By using this sequence, He hoped that they would have the causes and conditions to accept the Buddha-Dharma. More importantly, He hoped the disciples who had aspired to engage in spiritual practice would go on from their understanding of the Small Vehicle to enter into the Middle Vehicle and realize the impermanence of this world. Then they could then go further to make the best use of this impermanent life by quickly accepting the Great Vehicle Dharma. He hoped that they all would form great aspirations and make great vows to carry on the Buddha-Dharma by going among others. Otherwise, the Dharma would be lost.
This was the Buddha’s one great cause; “In order to adapt to sentient beings, He expounded all kinds of Dharma.” He did this for the purpose of “enabling them to enter the Buddha’s right mindfulness, contemplation and practice.” The Buddha hoped everyone could broaden their minds, clarify their thinking and diligently engage in spiritual practice. At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, this was what He most hoped for from His disciples. “Because He looked at what everyone could accept, He did not quickly expound this.” In the past, He took His time to observe and teach them according to their capabilities. Would they be able to accept this Great Dharma? This was why, for over 40 years, “He did not quickly expound this.” Yet by the time of the Vulture Peak Assembly, the Buddha had already entered old age, so now He was anxious to teach it right away. This was what the Buddha was most eager to do.
So, the previous passage is a repeated verse. The long-form prose [section] has finished, so He is repeating Himself through verse; this is more profound than the long-form prose. Thus, He repeated Himself once more.
The previous passage states, “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, then spoke these verses ‘The Dharma-king who breaks through existence manifested in the world and, according to sentient beings’ desires, taught all kinds of Dharma’.”
He still had to adapt to sentient beings’ desires. So, the Buddha revealed how He had eliminated all afflictions. All our afflictions can be categorized as “existence.” What is it that exists? What “exists” are our afflictions, which give rise to further afflictions. This is “existence.”
It is like when a woman first becomes pregnant; she says, “I am having a baby.” Indeed, she “has” a baby, which means a baby will come into “existence.” Can she rely on this child for a lifetime? Will the child bring her a lifetime of joy and peace of mind? Not necessarily. It depends on whether mother and child brought positive or negative affinities with them. In any case, even love brings afflictions with it. Now, this new “existence” comes bringing love, and with love comes the suffering of parting with those we love. These affinities may be good, but they also bring with them more “existence”; they bring with them the afflictions caused by love. Or, [some children] cause their parents to worry from a young age. This is the suffering of meeting those we hate.
We often hear parents complain, “This child has come to collect a karmic debt. I must owe this child something.” Isn’t this true? This is “existence,” the existence of the suffering of parting with those we love, meeting those we hate. In life, we face the “existence” of many afflictions. At the same time, the Buddha completely understood these principles, those of all things in the world and of sentient beings’ states of mind. The Buddha had eliminated all afflictions, so He is called “the Dharma-king who breaks through existence.” When the Buddha came to this world, He adjusted to causes and conditions in this world. When causes and conditions matured, He attained Buddhahood. He manifested the attainment of Buddhahood to transform sentient beings. Even more importantly, with the Dharma He attained after achieving Buddhahood, He began to hope that His disciples would likewise be able to pass [the teachings] on.
In the next passage, it again states, “The Tathagata, out of respect and profound and far-reaching wisdom, had long been silent about its essence and did not quickly expound this. If those with wisdom hear this Dharma, they will have faith and understanding. Those without wisdom will have doubt and regret, thus they will always lose [the benefits].”
“The Tathagata, out of respect….” Out of respect for what? Out of respect for all teachings. The profound wisdom and far-reaching wisdom attained by the Tathagata was not attained in a single lifetime. In fact, for countless kalpas in the past, Sakyamuni Buddha had had deep respect for the teachings of all Buddhas. All along the way, He cultivated wisdom, which came from [the teachings of] all Buddhas, He continually accumulated [wisdom] as He sought the path to Buddhahood. It was profound and far-reaching; this took a very long time. His wisdom grew over many lifetimes. Only in this lifetime did He seize the opportunity and declare, “I have attained Buddhahood. I have become enlightened.”
After He became enlightened, there were things He wanted to tell everyone, but sentient beings’ capabilities were [insufficient]. Thus, He took this Dharma and respectfully stored it deep in His heart. So, He “long [remained] silent about its essence.” For a period of 42 years, “He did not quickly expound this.” There was nowhere that He could just teach the principles of the One Vehicle. He had to teach according to capabilities, and He had to take things slowly,
because for sentient beings, “If those with wisdom hear this Dharma, they will have faith and understanding.” It was only those who had wisdom who would have faith and be able to understand. “Those without wisdom will have doubt and regret.” For those without wisdom, if the Great Dharma was taught, not only would they not understand, but doubts and regrets would arise inside of them. Where there is doubt, there cannot be faith. Their minds would become disturbed, and once disturbed, they might be lost forever.
Our time to engage in spiritual practice is short! People may see the merits and virtues others accrue from doing good deeds and wish to quickly begin doing the same. However, after encountering only a few challenges, their faith is diminished, and they give rise to regrets and become confused [They might] start slandering the Dharma, sweeping away all good they have done, while at the same time defiling the virtuous Dharma. In this way, they create a lot of [bad] karma. This will be harmful to sentient beings and result in the creation of more karma. This is why the Buddha chose not to teach right away. He needed to observe their capabilities and accommodate them, taking things slowly. This was why He spent more than 40 years on this.
The Tathagata, out of respect and profound and far-reaching wisdom, had long been silent about its essence and did not quickly expound this. If those with wisdom hear this Dharma, they will have faith and understanding. Those without wisdom will have doubt and regret, thus they will always lose [the benefits].”
So, “The Tathagata, out of respect and profound and far-reaching wisdom….” This refers to [the Buddha expounding] “the true teachings with His true wisdom.” With His profound wisdom, the Buddha understood the True Dharma. But teaching the True Dharma He understood, the true teachings, was truly difficult. So, as it says in the Chapter on Skillful Means, “These teachings are all for the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle. These myriad sentient beings listen to the teachings from all Buddhas and will ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.”
The Buddha wanted us to immediately understand that all Dharma is contained in the One Buddha Vehicle. Sentient beings have been taught by all Buddhas, not only by Sakyamuni Buddha. It was not only in this one lifetime that they encountered Sakyamuni Buddha; they had these causes and conditions in past lives. They had all heard the Dharma before. It was just that they did not have deep faith and understanding. In our ignorance and lack of awareness, we fell into the state of the Six Realms and the four kinds of beings to be repeatedly reborn as sentient beings.
The Buddha hoped that everyone at that time could be earnest and mindful; the purpose of listening to the Dharma is to “ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.” However, even if sentient beings had heard the Dharma in the past, the sentient beings the Buddha faced now were nevertheless unenlightened beings. This One True Vehicle, the ultimate Buddha-Dharma, is not something that those in His presence were able to understand. So, “He had long been silent about its essence.” This teaching was very important, yet He “had long been silent about its essence and did not quickly expound it.” When He first achieved enlightenment, it was impossible for Him to begin to teach sentient beings the ultimate One Vehicle Buddha-Dharma
He had long been silent about its essence and did not quickly expound it: To give the teachings of the One Reality, He had to wait for conditions and teach whenever He could. The Buddha only expounded the [True] Dharma after more than 40 years. Thus it says, “[He] did not quickly expound it.”
So, “To give the teachings of the One Reality, He had to wait for conditions and teach whenever He could.” He had to wait for the people who had the conditions and affinities so He could teach according to their capabilities, and expound something they could understand. So, “The Buddha only expounded the [True] Dharma after more than 40 years.” These teachings of the One Reality were only taught 40 years later when He had no choice but to teach them. It was then that He taught that which “He had not quickly expounded.” It had been set aside for such a long time. Now it was time; time waits for no one. Time does not wait for any person. The Buddha was already more than 70 years old, and not teaching it was no longer an option.
So, finally He taught it, more than 40 years later. Thus, “If those with wisdom hear this Dharma, they will have faith and understanding. Those without wisdom will have doubt and regret, thus they will always lose [the benefits]”
This repeated verse explains the reason He could not quickly expound it: He was still afraid that sentient beings lacked wisdom. If they heard that there was only the One Buddha Vehicle, that there was no second or third vehicle, they would not have had faith and understanding but would give rise to doubt and slander. Then they would forever lose the great benefit of attaining Buddhahood. So, it would not be good to hastily expound it.
This is describing why. He repeated Himself in verse. In other words, why was it that He could not quickly expound it? The reason He could not quickly expound it was because He was worried; He feared sentient beings lacked wisdom. He considered sentient beings’ lack of wisdom. If they lacked wisdom and. “If they heard that there was only the One Buddha Vehicle, that there was no second or third vehicle, they would not have had faith and understanding.” He worried that if He suddenly told them that the Three ultimately return to the One, they would not have been able to understand. They would start to doubt, and this could give rise to slander. “Then they would forever lose the great benefit of attaining Buddhahood.”
If they began to give rise to slander, thinking, “I don’t want to listen to this Dharma. I don’t want to believe in it,” then they might have gone and slandered it, and this slander would influence many others, possibly severing their roots of goodness. The karmic force of slander is great. This why at that time the Buddha was very careful and took great pains. Clearly these words were what everyone really needed to hear, yet He kept them in His heart for a long time. Time would no longer allow Him to wait; He had no choice but to teach it now, even if it resulted in a situation where 5000 people left the Dharma-assembly. Think about it; how must He have felt? But the Buddha could wait no longer to teach it. Even at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, He still had many difficulties.
Spreading the Buddha-Dharma in the world is a rough road. It really is not easy! There is so much to be considered [Not only] did people lack faith and understanding they even tended to doubt and slander. “Then they would forever lose the great benefit of attaining Buddhahood.” If sentient beings were to lose out on the benefit of attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha would not be able to bear it. He could not bear this happening to sentient beings, for they would fall into afflictions and ignorance again. It was because of the Buddha’s compassion that. “He could not quickly expound it.” He would not teach it hastily. This was the Buddha’s compassion.
Next it states, “This is why, Kasyapa, I expound the Dharma according to ability and, with all kinds of causes and conditions, enable them to obtain right views.”
The Buddha could not allow sentient beings to give rise to doubt or to begin to slander, so He again called on Kasyapa. “Kasyapa! What can I do?” I must “expound the Dharma according to ability. With all kinds of causes and conditions [I] enable them to obtain right views.” This was what the Buddha felt.
This is why, Kasyapa, I expound the Dharma according to ability: “With all kinds of causes and conditions” is praising the Buddha’s use of skillful means to first give the provisional, then the true. With all kinds of causes and conditions, He expounded according to ability by first giving the provisional teachings.
So, He had to use “skillful means to first give provisional teachings, then the true.” According to the various causes and conditions, “He expounded according to ability by first giving the provisional teachings.” He first taught through skillful means, right up until this point. It was then He had to teach the One True Dharma. But to teach the One True Dharma, He had to use all kinds of causes and conditions. “He expounded according to ability by first giving the provisional teachings.” First, He had to give provisional teachings and use skillful means to teach them.
This is like what the long-form prose says: [He] knows the depths of sentient beings’ minds and the paths they walk. The Chapter on Skillful Means also says: With infinite, countless skillful means, with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, He has proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings.
As it says in the Chapter on Medicinal Plants, “He knows the depths of sentient beings’ minds and the paths they walk.” The Buddha already knows all of this. Like the long-form prose says, the Buddha had completely understood the minds of sentient beings.
“The Chapter on Skillful Means also says [this].” It also says this in the Chapter on Skillful Means. The sutra passage says, “With infinite, countless skillful means, with various causes and conditions, with analogies and expressions, He has proclaimed all Dharma to sentient beings.” He used infinite different skillful means to teach. He taught according to causes and conditions, giving teachings with analogies and expressions in the hope that sentient beings could accept them.
“This is why, Kasyapa….” This was what the Buddha said to Kasyapa. Actually, though He singled out Kasyapa, He was really speaking to everyone. He called out Kasyapa’s name because he was a very close disciple. “You understand me the most, but this is for everyone to listen to”
This is why, Kasyapa: He told Kasyapa that this was the reason. I expound the Dharma according to ability: He expounded the Dharma according to their capacities and abilities.
“Kasyapa, you know my mind.” So, “This was the reason. I expound the Dharma according to ability.” It was because sentient beings had no faith or understanding; they were unable to believe or understand. When they doubted, slander would arise.
So, He “expound the Dharma according to ability,” according to what sentient beings could accept. He taught the Dharma according to what they could accept. “He expounded the Dharma according to their capacities and abilities.” He adapted to sentient beings’ capacities, to what their abilities allowed them to accept; this was how He taught the Dharma
“With all kinds of causes and conditions, whether He expounded the Five Vehicles or the Three Vehicles, these were all conditions for skillful means.”
He used skillful means to suit sentient beings’ conditions and
Enable them to obtain Right Views: This means that afterwards, He revealed the true. As it says in the long-form prose, [He] revealed all wisdom to sentient beings. Or as it says in the Chapter on Skillful Means, “[all] ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom”.
“enable them to obtain right views. This means that afterwards, He revealed the true.” He first needed them to enter right views, and only then, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, did He reveal the ultimate reality for them all to see and understand. Like the long-from prose says, “He revealed all wisdom to sentient beings.” The Chapter on Skillful Means also says that. He hoped sentient beings would “ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom.”
The all-encompassing wisdom of the Buddha is something all sentient beings intrinsically have. He hopes sentient beings can ultimately attain all-encompassing wisdom, just as He has. The Buddha’s feelings on this have always remained the same. Ultimately, He hopes that sentient beings will be equal to Him and return to their nature of True Suchness. The Buddha’s compassion is something that we need to comprehend. So, we must always be mindful.