Episode 920 – The Tathagata’s Ambrosial Dew
>> The Dharma is originally of one appearance and flavor. It is capabilities and conditions that differ. The teachings of the Tathagata are like rain and ambrosial dew. The true principle of the teachings is singular; there is no other.
>> Drops of water from the heavens fall and moisten all things.
>> Dew: Covers all things. When hot air is dominant, the rain and dew disperse. With mild air, moisture condenses as dew.
>> “The Buddha uses this analogy to skillfully open and reveal; I use all kinds of expressions to expound the One Dharma. Within the Buddha’s wisdom, these are like drops in the ocean. I let fall the Dharma-rain, filling the world.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “With the Dharma of one flavor, all cultivate according to their strength. This is like how those forests of medicinal plants and various trees, according to their size, gradually grow lush.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> The teachings of the Tathagata are like the sweet dew, with its Dharma-flavor. The truth and direction of the teachings are singular; there is no other. Thus it says one flavor.
>> In the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Medicinal Plants, the long-form prose states, The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor. So, The giver and receiver teach and accept. What receives nourishment are the seeds that will flourish. The Dharma is fundamentally of one flavor, but as we resonate with it and make vows, we practice in different ways according to the measure of our capacities. Thus there are differences.
>> This is like how those forests of medicinal plants and various trees, according to their sizes, gradually grow lush: This previous analogy is cited again to explain how each attains the Dharma-benefit.
>> With the Dharma of one flavor, all cultivate according to their strength. The Dharma-flavor is fundamentally one. According to the power of our wisdom, we cultivate it and put it into practice. It adapts to sentient beings’ minds and responds to their mental capacities. Hence, ‘All cultivate according to their strength’.
>> Here, The Buddha’s teachings are likened to clouds and rain. The different capacities of sentient beings are likened to plants and trees. Plants and trees are used as analogies to illustrate sentient beings’ capabilities. Although the rain of the Buddha-Dharma is of one flavor, according to the different varieties of sentient beings, it nourishes the wisdom-nature of each.
>> Because they cure delusion, they are called medicinal plants. Though among them there are differences between the the three plants and two trees the two trees are fewer in number than the three plants, so it is not [named] for the fewer but for the more.
>> The average plants among the three kinds of plants explained in this chapter refer to Hearers and Solitary Realizers, the Two Vehicles, so it speaks of medicinal plants to connect to them.
>> This is like those forests of medicinal plants and various trees. The dense growth of trees is an analogy for the nourishment of Dharma-rain.>> According to their size, [all] gradually grow lush. Receiving the teachings according to capabilities, they gradually grow and flourish.
“The Dharma is originally of one appearance and flavor. It is capabilities and conditions that differ.
The teachings of the Tathagata are like rain and ambrosial dew. The true principle of the teachings”
“is singular; there is no other.” The Dharma is always of one appearance and flavor. This is the True Dharma. However, our capabilities differ. The Dharma is received according to the size of people’s capacities. This is like how every day we drink soup, water and tea or coffee, or any of many other kinds of [beverages]; all of these liquids originally came from tasteless and flavorless pure water. Pure water comes from heaven and earth. When dense clouds gather across the heavens, it rains. Or, moisture rises from the earth. When the sunlight hits the earth, this moisture rises and forms clouds, then these clouds gather densely, and when the weather conditions are right, this water falls again. This is a cycle that occurs between heaven and earth. This is a principle. So, the Dharma is the principles, and all principles returns to a single [truth], which can be likened to water. Water has only one appearance and one flavor. So, “It is capabilities and conditions that differ.” The [beverage] depends on what people like, but it is water all the same. How we adjust the flavor depends on our needs. This principle is the same.
Thus, “The teachings of the Tathagata are like rain and ambrosial dew.” The teachings of the Tathagata adapt to sentient beings’ capabilities. Sentient beings’ capabilities are not uniform. Since capabilities and conditions differ, He had to adapt to capabilities and conditions. The Buddha’s teachings of the true principles ultimately never change. The great universe is constantly transforming as things are cycling. The earth’s moisture always returns to form clouds in the sky, then falls as rain again. This is the wonder of heaven and earth. The Buddha-Dharma is the same.
This ambrosial dew, with its sweet flavor, refers to essential liquid from the heavens, which can moisten all things. This is an analogy.
Drops of water from the heavens fall and moisten all things.
Ambrosial dew is like the water which condenses from the air, forming dew. It meets the needs of all things under heaven. When things are dry, parched, in times of drought, this is moisture from the heavens. It is not a great rain. It is moisture, called “[essential] liquid from the heavens.” In the same way, when there is no rain, after the long night passes, in the morning we see that there is moisture on the land and that there are beads of water on the leaves. This is called dew. Those beads of water are dew. They can moisten the land. It is not rain, nevertheless it moistens the land.
Dew: Covers all things. When hot air is dominant, the rain and dew disperse. With mild air, moisture condenses as dew.
When it is really dry, there is still moisture in the air, which will condense. Then dust will not fly into the air. So, the dew covers all things. In this way, it protects all things. “When hot air is dominant,” the rain and dew disperse. With mild air, moisture condenses as dew. When the hot air is higher up, moisture in the air comes together, forming clouds, condensing into layers of clouds. Hot air means there may not be any clouds, nor any air currents, but there is still moist air in the atmosphere. When nighttime comes, this naturally moistens the land as dew. “With mild air, moisture condenses as dew.” The mild air helps regulate the land. Although no rain has fallen, there is moisture and water in the air, and in the evening, at dusk, the land gradually begins to cool. The moisture in the clouds gradually begins to disperse. This moisture, without us even knowing it, has already moistened the land.
In the same way, “The teachings of the Tathagata are like rain and ambrosial dew.” The more [obvious] form is called rain, while the very fine and subtle moisture condenses as dew. The water from the dew can moisten the land. This depends on the causes and conditions of the land and the air currents. So, “The true principle of the teachings is singular; there is no other.” There is only one true principle of the teachings. It is like the nature of water; the nature of water is to be moist and moisten. “It is singular; there is no other.” Wherever we are, we can accept the Dharma in the same way.
For instance, in Indonesia, in Jakarta, there was a boarding school that we have been helping. So, Principal Habib was very grateful to Tzu Chi. He wanted the children at this Islamic school to better understand the Tzu Chi spirit. By using Jing Si Aphorisms, one sentence a day, they were taught Chinese and taught principles for being a good person.
There was one [student] who, by 2011, had already learned a lot in that Islamic school. He had learned how to cultivate the land and how to sow the seeds. Later, when he was already 30 years old, he saw that in his village there were many young children whose families were unable to educate them. So, without delay, [he went about teaching them]. First, he taught the spirit of [Principal] Habib. Second, he taught them about Tzu Chi’s “spirit of the bamboo banks.” With his understanding of the Jing Si Aphorisms, he taught them these things, how to take these principles to heart and how to put them into practice to help their fellow villagers.
So, in his village, they built a kindergarten where they teach each and every child how to live with propriety. All the people in his village were so grateful that they happily donated to construct the new school. They also donated to maintain the school and hire teachers and so on. He said that if the money donated was not enough, then he would supplement it with his own salary.
We can see the Dharma here. Regardless of your religion, as long as you have the resolve, everything you do will benefit others. Whether rain or dew, both serve to nourish all life, enabling the seeds of goodness in our minds to receive moisture. Moistened by the rain and dew, the seeds can then grow and can benefit many sentient beings. This is how the Dharma develops.
The previous sutra passage states, “The Buddha uses this analogy to skillfully open and reveal; I use all kinds of expressions to expound the One Dharma. Within the Buddha’s wisdom, these are like drops in the ocean. I let fall the Dharma-rain, filling the world.”
This is the previous sutra passage. Again, the Dharma is like rain that moistens the land. The Buddha’s teachings are like drops of water in the ocean. A drop of rain that enters the ocean will forever become a part of the ocean and never dry up. This is the intrinsic Buddha-nature in all of us; when we are touched by the Buddha-Dharma, this nature can be awakened, and we can apply all teachings freely, continuing on without end.
The next sutra passage states, “With the Dharma of one flavor, all cultivate according to their strength. This is like how those forests of medicinal plants and various trees, according to their size, gradually grow lush.”
The teachings of the Tathagata are like the sweet dew, with its Dharma-flavor. The truth and direction of the teachings are singular; there is no other. Thus it says one flavor.
The teachings of the Tathagata “are like ambrosial dew, with its Dharma-flavor.” They are like ambrosial dew. “The truth and direction of the teachings are singular; there is no other.” That means they are “of one flavor.” The truth of the teachings is the true principles. Their direction is to move towards the world and nourish sentient beings. In fact, wherever we go, anywhere on earth, this remains “singular; there is no other.” It is of one flavor, pure and undefiled.
In the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Medicinal Plants, the long-form prose states, The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor. So, The giver and receiver teach and accept. What receives nourishment are the seeds that will flourish. The Dharma is fundamentally of one flavor, but as we resonate with it and make vows, we practice in different ways according to the measure of our capacities. Thus there are differences.
The taste of water is bland. Pure water is bland, so we adjust its flavor to our tastes, to flavors that we like. It is the same principle ․In the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Medicinal Plants, the long-form prose states, “The Tathagata teaches the Dharma of one appearance and one flavor.” So, “The giver and receiver teach and accept. What receives nourishment are the seeds that will flourish. The Dharma is fundamentally of one flavor, but as we resonate with it and make vows, we practice in different ways according to the measure of our capacities. Thus there are differences.”
This is the Dharma taught by the Buddha. It is very pure, without any other flavors, yet it can nourish our wisdom-life and help our wisdom-life to grow. It nourishes the land, letting all things on the land flourish, like rainwater of one appearance and one flavor.
So, “The giver and receiver teach and accept.” The “giver” is the one who teaches the Dharma. The “receiver” is the land and all things on the land. This includes the human race and the inner workings of the human mind. What is received is the Dharma. What the land needs is rain. The land absolutely needs rainwater; all things [on the land] need rainwater, and people’s minds need the Dharma-water. So, there are the “givers” and “receivers.” The “giver” is the Buddha and the Dharma. The “receiver” is what is accepted by the minds of sentient beings. These are the “giver” and the “receiver.”
Thus, “What receives nourishment are the seeds that will flourish.” No matter what [the receivers] are, if they are people, then they need the Dharma deep in their minds; if they are the plants on the land, then what they need is moisture for nourishment. The forests of vegetation and trees, the crops, etc. all need to have “seeds.” These seeds are nourished according to their types.
“The Dharma is fundamentally of one flavor, but as we resonate with it and make vows….” With our causes and conditions, with our own minds, will our capabilities allow us to awaken to the Dharma taught by the Buddha? The Buddha’s teachings are completely impartial, but what kind of mindset do we use to accept them? Do our minds have the great vows, or do we only seek to awaken ourselves, or only seek blessings for ourselves? We need to look at our own attitudes. Our karmic causes are like seeds. What aspirations have we formed and what vows have we made?
“We practice in different ways according to the measure of our capacities.” We accept according to our capacities. Our sizes are different; “Thus there are differences.” It depends on our capacities. Depending on the capacities of our minds, we are able to accept more of the Buddha-Dharma. “We practice in different ways, thus there are differences.” Fundamentally, what is given and received are the same. It is just that, depending on our capacities, the amounts we can absorb are different
“With the Dharma of one flavor, all cultivate according to their strength. The Dharma-flavor is fundamentally one. According to the power of our wisdom, we cultivate it and put it into practice. It adapts to sentient beings’ minds and responds to their mental capacities. Hence, ‘All cultivate according to their strength’.”
The Dharma of one flavor is all the same, but according to our strength, we cultivate different practices. “The Dharma-flavor is fundamentally one. According to the power of our wisdom….” How great is our power of wisdom? How much of the Dharma taught to us are we able to absorb? As we respond with the power of our wisdom, how much have we really understood? “According to the power of our wisdom, we cultivate it and put it into practice.” The amount of Dharma that we hear, our willingness to practice according to the teachings, the passages we ultimately pay attention to and our willingness to put them into practice ultimately depend on ourselves.
So, it “responds to [our] mental capacities.” For those who want to practice, how much we accept, how we accept and practice, all depends on our attitudes and our capacities to accept the teachings. “Hence, ‘All cultivate according to their strength’.”
This is like how those forests of medicinal plants and various trees, according to their sizes, gradually grow lush: This previous analogy is cited again to explain how each attains the Dharma-benefit.
“This is like how those forests of medicinal plants and various trees, according to their size, gradually grow lush.” Here, the previous analogy is cited again to explain “how each attains the Dharma-benefit.”
This passage has forests, medicinal plants and various trees. According to their sizes, the rain of one flavor universally moistens them all. These medicinal plants, no matter their size, all grow luxuriantly. Nourished and moistened, they grow lush ․Here, “The Buddha’s teachings are likened to clouds and rain.”
Here, The Buddha’s teachings are likened to clouds and rain. The different capacities of sentient beings are likened to plants and trees. Plants and trees are used as analogies to illustrate sentient beings’ capabilities. Although the rain of the Buddha-Dharma is of one flavor, according to the different varieties of sentient beings, it nourishes the wisdom-nature of each.
“The different capacities of sentient beings are likened to plants and trees.” Plants and trees are used as analogies to illustrate sentient beings’ capabilities. “Although the rain of the Buddha-Dharma is of one flavor, according to the different varieties of sentient beings, it nourishes the wisdom-nature of each.” We sentient beings are categorized by our different varieties and capabilities, and according to our varieties and capabilities, [the Dharma] nourishes the wisdom-nature of each
Because they cure delusion, “they are called medicinal plants. Though among them there are differences between the the three plants and two trees the two trees are fewer in number than the three plants, so it is not [named] for the fewer but for the more.”
For example, when our minds have an illness, we need Dharma-water, like ambrosial dew, to cleanse the ground of our minds of these ignorance and delusions. It can even get rid of the most subtle and intricate delusions. That which rids us of our afflictions, ignorance and delusions is called a medicinal plant. The rainwater nourishes the medicinal plants, allowing them to grow lush. It enables them to cure illness, to cure ignorance. When dust is on the ground and there is moisture, the dust will not fill the sky when the wind blows. So, here it talks about medicinal plants.
“Though among them there are differences between the three plants and two trees, the two trees are fewer in number.” When comparing trees to plants, there are more plants than trees, of course. “The three plants [are more numerous] so it is not [named] for the fewer but for the more.” There are more plants than trees. The myriad sentient beings outnumber the Bodhisattvas, so the Dharma is ultimately adapted to the minds of sentient beings, inspiring them to form great aspirations, make great vows and become Bodhisattvas. Thus we say. Bodhisattvas are still [unenlightened]; in the Ten Dharma-realms, everyone other than Buddhas is still a sentient being. They still have more to learn.
The average plants among the three kinds of plants explained in this chapter refer to Hearers and Solitary Realizers, the Two Vehicles, so it speaks of medicinal plants to connect to them.
“The average plants among the three plants explained in this chapter refer to Hearers and Solitary Realizers, the Two Vehicles.” The average plants are the Two Vehicles, so “it speaks of medicinal plants to connect to them.” Among the medicinal plants, there are the small, average and great ones. Average plants are Hearers and Solitary Realizers. As for superior plants, they are Bodhisattvas who have formed aspirations, who have begun to form initial aspirations and make great vows, those with the Bodhisattva-mind
“This is like those forests of medicinal plants and various trees. The dense growth of trees is an analogy for the nourishment of Dharma-rain.”
The place where these trees grow densely together is an analogy for the nourishment of Dharma-rain. These big trees require the nourishment of even more rain
“According to their size, [all] gradually grow lush. Receiving the teachings according to capabilities, they gradually grow and flourish.”
Big and little trees alike require water. They absorb the water they need according to their sizes, and then they are able to grow. “Receiving the teachings according to capabilities” means they receive the teachings of the Path according to their capabilities. “They gradually grow and flourish.” Thus, we must be mindful and loving, so we can take the Dharma to heart.
If we always keep to ourselves, love only what we love and remain attached only to what we need, if we are like this, then our world will be chaotic. If we form great aspirations and make great vows, then from the Dharma that we have absorbed, we will go from listeners of the Dharma to those who teach and spread the Dharma. In this way, one can spread to hundreds of billions. This is how we can cleanse people’s minds, how we can bring purity to their minds. This requires us to mindfully accept the Dharma; the power of love lies in our minds.
So, we must remember that the Dharma is of one appearance and flavor; only capabilities and conditions differ. The teachings of the Tathagata are like the rain and dew. We are normally not aware that water from dew is also nourishing the land. If we hope to be able to do this, we must always be meticulously mindful.