Episode 921 – The Dharma is Suitable for All Capabilities
>> First the Buddha explains that the Dharma is one but differs according to capabilities so all can be well-provisioned. Thus in this life they attain peace and stability and practice according to the teachings. In future lifetimes, they will be born in a good place where they enjoy happiness and have retributions suitable for learning the Dharma. When Two Vehicle practitioners encounter a Buddha in the world, they can turn from the Small to the Great.
>> “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 sizes, gradually grow lush.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> “The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor. It helps those in all worlds to universally be well-provisioned. By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 5 – The Parable of the Medicinal Herbs]
>> The Buddha first explains that the Dharma is one but capacities differ in the nourishment they get. It helps all to universally be well-provisioned so in this life they attain peace and stability, engage in practice and attain the fruits. In future lifetimes, they will be born in a good place and enjoy happiness.
>> The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor. We must remember this. Buddhas always use the one true Great Dharma, which is of one flavor and equal for all. This is the infinite Great Dharma of the Buddha-mind. There is no other Dharma apart from the mind.
>> The world is the simple term for time and space.
>> The Three Periods, past, present and future are called time. Everywhere in the ten directions of east, west, south, north, up and down, etc. is called space.
>> What is called ‘the world’ is the universe, which includes the myriad phenomena of the earth and of human lives. All these taken together are called the world.
>> The land, heaven and earth that sentient beings depend on is called the world of material existence. The physical bodies of sentient beings, which undergo birth and death, living and dying, and arise in response to the karma we create out of delusion, are called the world of living beings.
>> This means everyone can be well-provisioned with the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, the beneficial teachings of the Human and Heavenly Being Vehicles that serve as the foundation for transcending this world.
>> So, By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice. The Three Vehicle practitioners gradually practice the Path in stages. Resonating with the Buddha-mind, they make vows and will all attain the fruits.
>> Even if they are settled in the virtuous paths of the Human or Heavenly Being Vehicles, they can gradually cultivate the world-transcending Dharma. In this way, they can attain the world-transcending spiritual fruits of the Three Vehicles, like how small and average medicinal plants receive benefits and grow.
“First the Buddha explains that the Dharma is one but differs according to capabilities so all can be well-provisioned.
Thus in this life they attain peace and stability and practice according to the teachings.
In future lifetimes, they will be born in a good place where they enjoy happiness and have retributions suitable for learning the Dharma.
When Two Vehicle practitioners encounter a Buddha in the world, they can turn from the Small to the Great.”
We are able to comprehend what we have mentioned earlier, that the Buddha-Dharma is fundamentally singular; it is the one True Dharma. But we have so many differences in our capacities. No matter what our capabilities are, the Buddha likewise used the True Dharma of the One Vehicle to give separate teachings according to capacity. This is how He responded to sentient beings so everyone could accept the teachings. This illustrates the Buddha’s wisdom. “Thus in this life, they attain peace and stability and practice according to the teachings.”
Sentient beings are unenlightened and wavering. In a moment of enthusiasm, we accept the teachings, but due to our limited capabilities, we are unable to put them into practice. Thus we waver back and forth. Most sentient beings are like this.
To engage in spiritual practice, we must have a steady mindset. If our minds keep fluctuating…. How much time do we have in this lifetime? So, the Buddha put His heartfelt efforts into this. He hoped sentient beings could realize this and engage in spiritual practices while there is time.
If we have the causes and conditions to accept the Buddha-Dharma, to receive the Buddha’s teachings and take the Dharma to heart, then in this lifetime we will be able to keep our minds at peace. Since we have formed spiritual aspirations, we can engage in spiritual practice on this path. “In future lifetimes, they will be born in a good place.” Because of these causes and conditions now, we are able to keep our heart steady. Thus, “In future lifetimes, [we] will be born in a good place where [we] enjoy happiness.”
Which place is the happiest? We must understand circumstantial and direct retributions. With our circumstantial and direct retributions, what circumstances will we be born under? We really hope that the place we will be born in has this kind of environment. What kind of environment are we referring to? A place where we can encounter the Right Dharma, where the Buddha-Dharma is flourishing. Thus, we will “have retributions suitable for learning the Dharma.” We must make good use of our present lifetime to enjoy happiness in future lifetimes. Having the Dharma brings us great happiness. When the Buddha-Dharma is flourishing, society will be peaceful and stable. In a stable society, we can hear the truth, listen to principles and practice the Dharma. Doesn’t this bring us the greatest happiness?
“When Two Vehicle practitioners encounter a Buddha in the world, they can turn from the Small to the Great.” We also really hope for this to happen in a future lifetime. So, we must put in effort to engage in spiritual practice now. If there is Dharma, we must listen right away and quickly put it into practice. We hope to accumulate Buddha-Dharma until we can encounter the Buddha in this world. We can be like Ajnata Kaundinya, Venerable Kasyapa, Sariputra and so on, who encountered the Buddha in this world and listened to the Buddha’s teachings. We can also turn from the Small to the Great.
In the birthplace of the Buddha, Nepal, on April 25, 2015, just past noon time, the earth suddenly shook violently. It was an earthquake of magnitude 7.8. Many houses were shattered in an instant. Such a tragic disaster! Thinking back to the past, in Nepal there was also a great flood [in 1993]. Tzu Chi volunteers also mobilized to help. It was the birthplace of the Buddha, so we felt we had to go there to help. That great flood was very horrible; many people died and many villages were destroyed. So, during that period of time we worked very hard. When the volunteers arrived in Nepal, they traveled back and forth. Other than holding disaster relief distributions, in that place, we built 1800 homes.
So many years have passed since then. In the beginning of November 2013, there was a Tzu Chi Faith Corps member in the US named Pohjoo Chen who had a friend from Nepal. He guided his friend into Tzu Chi, and he also became a certified volunteer. This volunteer, Damai from Nepal, returned to his homeland to look for these places where. Tzu Chi had left its footprints. Were those houses still in good shape? So, they found the Tzu Chi Da Ai villages. They visited a Tzu Chi Village. There, they visited 200 families. Among these 200 families, they visited seniors, young people and children. Everyone was living in the houses with ease, and the village was safe and sound. Sadly, they are still suffering from poverty. Their lives have not been greatly improved.
This is the suffering of life [Nepal] is the Buddha’s homeland, but so many disasters have occurred there. No wonder when the Buddha had awakened, all the suffering He experienced made Him hope that everyone could understand the way of life in this world and the true principles of all things in the universe. It was also His hope that everyone could thoroughly understand the workings of the mind. It was not only the workings of the universe, but even more importantly the workings of the human mind [that we must grasp], how afflictions and ignorance cause us to waver and create karma so we wander around lost in the. Five Realms and the four forms of birth. This is unbearable suffering.
Just look at the Buddha’s homeland; the gap between the classes is so extreme. They [still] have the four castes, and the poor remain in poverty for generation after generation. This poverty does not allow them to attain a full understanding of the mind, so they cannot open the door to their minds. They continue to think they are low caste and believe themselves to be poor people; they willingly accept their status and continue on in their way of living. Now, what they need the most is the ambrosial dew of the Dharma. I hope that this Dharma can be transmitted to that place of suffering and can be used to relieve their suffering. We really need everyone to reverently and sincerely wish them blessings.
The previous 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 sizes, gradually grow lush.”
The Dharma is always of one flavor; it is the same. When there are suffering people, we must simply go to save them. There is only one Dharma, and that is to save them. What method should we use? The method must adapt to what they need, but our first thought must be to save them, to help these suffering sentient beings. So, we must practice loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity; this is the Bodhisattva Way.
The next sutra passage states, “The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor. It helps those in all worlds to universally be well-provisioned. By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice.”
We need to earnestly put our efforts into this. “The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor.” Whether in the past, present or future, it is always the same Dharma. Its purpose is always to open people’s minds, in the hope that everyone can recognize suffering. People who do not recognize suffering are often lost, deluded and indolent. They are unwilling to be diligent and do not recognize the suffering in human life. They only have themselves in mind and do not think about others. In this way they sink forever. Thus, the Dharma of all Buddhas is always of the same one flavor; it helps us open up our minds and discover our nature of True Suchness, to understand that we have unlimited amounts of strength and hidden potential. This was what the Buddha put His heart into.
The Buddha first explains that the Dharma is one but capacities differ in the nourishment they get. It helps all to universally be well-provisioned so in this life they attain peace and stability, engage in practice and attain the fruits. In future lifetimes, they will be born in a good place and enjoy happiness.
So, “The Buddha first explains that the Dharma is one” ․The Buddha first explains that the Dharma is one but capacities differ in the nourishment they get. It helps all to universally be well-provisioned so in this life they attain peace and stability, engage in practice and attain the fruits. In future lifetimes, they will be born in a good place and enjoy happiness. Now, we must learn and understand the Dharma, and we must be steadfast in this aspiration. The Dharma is one; it is the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. There is no other Dharma. This is the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This is the same path all Buddhas share. However, “Capacities differ” “in the nourishment they get.” Because our capacities differ, the amounts we can accept are different. “To universally be well-provisioned” means people with great capacities are able to accept the Great Dharma, a great amount of Dharma. They can fully accept the True Dharma of one flavor and one appearance. These are people with great capabilities. For people who have limited capacities, it will depend on how large their capacities are. The volume of their capacities determines the amount of Dharma they can accept.
If we are able to be nourished by the Dharma, we will “universally be well-provisioned.” Based on our capabilities, we receive as much Dharma as we can. So, “In this life they attain peace and stability.” If we believe that life is full of suffering, then we should witness suffering and recognize our blessings. We have the power, so we should be helping others. No matter how much or little we are giving, when we help others according to our abilities, our hearts will be at ease. In this life, our hearts will remain at ease. This is in the process of our spiritual practice.
When we nurture this love in our heart, we will have “great loving-kindness without regrets and great compassion without resentment.” With a mindset free of regrets and resentment, we act willingly, with no thought of gain or loss. Thus, we have no worries. If we are willing to help others in great amounts, that is our spiritual practice. The fruits that we receive will put our hearts at ease throughout our lives. “In this life they attain peace and stability.” When we help others, we will attain peace of mind “[We] engage in practice and attain the fruits.” If we persist in walking down this path, we will receive the fruits. In future lifetimes, we will be in a good place and enjoy happiness. We will be able to encounter the Buddha-Dharma and have circumstantial and direct retributions to live with the Buddha-Dharma
We say again, “The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor.”
The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor. We must remember this. Buddhas always use the one true Great Dharma, which is of one flavor and equal for all. This is the infinite Great Dharma of the Buddha-mind. There is no other Dharma apart from the mind.
This one flavor is like pure water; the rainwater will always be of one flavor. The one true Great Dharma is like water. The true appearance of water and the true flavor of water are [analogies] for the one true Great Dharma. “This is the Buddha-mind.” Actually, this Dharma is the Buddha-mind. The Buddha-mind is also the true principle, because it is also enlightenment. Enlightenment is the absolute truth; it is principles. So, “This is the infinite. Great Dharma of the Buddha-mind. There is no other Dharma apart from the mind.” The Dharma of all Buddhas is the nature of True Suchness. They always use Their original intent and enlightened nature to teach the Dharma to sentient beings. Thus it is “always of one flavor.” Apart from the nature of True Suchness, there is no other Dharma to be taught.
So, “It helps those in all worlds” The world is the simple term for time and space.
The world is the simple term for time and space. The Three Periods, past, present and future are called time. Everywhere in the ten directions of east, west, south, north, up and down, etc. is called space.
What is called ‘the world’ is the universe, which includes the myriad phenomena of the earth and of human lives. All these taken together are called the world.
The land, heaven and earth that sentient beings depend on is called the world of material existence. The physical bodies of sentient beings, which undergo birth and death, living and dying, and arise in response to the karma we create out of delusion, are called the world of living beings.
This means everyone can be well-provisioned with the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, the beneficial teachings of the Human and Heavenly Being Vehicles that serve as the foundation for transcending this world.
So, By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice.
The Three Vehicle practitioners gradually practice the Path in stages. Resonating with the Buddha-mind, they make vows and will all attain the fruits.
Even if they are settled in the virtuous paths of the Human or Heavenly Being Vehicles, they can gradually cultivate the world-transcending Dharma. In this way, they can attain the world-transcending spiritual fruits of the Three Vehicles, like how small and average medicinal plants receive benefits and grow.
So, “the world” includes the concept of time; [it includes] past, present and future. Short measures of time are minutes and seconds. When “one second” has passed, our “present” has passed; and our “future” [arrives]. Time passes by very quickly. When it comes to long periods of time, we see these among the planets. In the vastness of space, time seems to be very long and everlasting. There are many worlds out there, orbiting in space, revolving around the sun as they turn. This happens over time.
“The world” also refers to “space. Space” is referring to “everywhere in the ten directions of east, west, south, north, up and down, etc.” This is all considered to be space. So, the universe and the entire earth are all considered to be space, great amounts of space. All of this is called “the world. The world” is the simple term for time and space, as well as interpersonal relationships
“What is called ‘the world’ is the universe, which includes the myriad phenomena of the earth” and of human lives. All these taken together are called “the world.”
This not only includes human lives, but also the lives of all animals and plants. All are included in this universe. All these are called “the world.”
The land, heaven and earth that sentient beings depend on is called the world of material existence. The physical bodies of sentient beings, which undergo birth and death, living and dying, and arise in response to the karma we create out of delusion, are called the world of living beings.
“The land and the heaven and earth that sentient beings depend on” are called “the world of material existence.” The world of material existence refers to objects. All things we can see with our eyes, whether a thousand-year-old tree or a small blade of grass on the ground, are all physical objects in the world of material existence, not to mention the buildings we construct in this great space. “The world of material existence” will deteriorate over time. It will always be destroyed. So, the Buddha-Dharma often states that the world of material existence undergoes formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Nepal is the best testament to formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Humans exist in the world of material existence.
So, “The physical bodies of sentient beings, which undergo birth and death, living and dying, and arise in response to the karma we create out of delusion, are called the world of living beings.” Sentient beings are like this. They come to the world and continuously reproduce ignorance. They follow their circumstantial and direct retributions to be born in a certain place, into a certain group there and into a certain lifestyle there. “The physical bodies of sentient beings, which undergo birth and death, living and dying”
“and arise in response to the karma are called the world of living beings.” All physical objects make up the world of material existence. We human beings depend on this place to live. We sentient beings are born in this place. This is the result of the circumstantial and direct retributions of our karma. We can see how those who are suffering [there] are always suffering, without a way to liberate themselves, while those who have blessings naturally have causes and conditions [to change].
This means everyone can be well-provisioned with the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, the beneficial teachings of the Human and Heavenly Being Vehicles that serve as the foundation for transcending this world.
“It helps all to be universally well-provisioned.” Hopefully all will be well-provisioned with these causes and conditions ․”This means everyone can be well-provisioned with the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, the beneficial teachings of the Human and Heavenly Being Vehicles” that serve as “the foundation for transcending this world.” We must put effort into teaching [people], so everyone can begin to uphold the Five Precepts and cultivate the Ten Good Deeds. This way, we can change society and people’s way of life. Then we can gradually create the foundation for transcending this world.
Spiritual practice begins with the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds. When we slowly draw near the Buddha-Dharma, we are able to understand the true principles and will be able to transcend the world. We need to practice the world-transcending Dharma, so we do not bring karma with us to be reborn. If we are reborn again, we must be mentally prepared and bring the Dharma with us. This is what we need to train ourselves in ․So, “By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice.”
So, By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice. The Three Vehicle practitioners gradually practice the Path in stages. Resonating with the Buddha-mind, they make vows and will all attain the fruits.
“The Three Vehicle practitioners gradually practice the Path in stages.” Resonating with the Buddha-mind, they make vows “and will all attain the fruits.”
The Three Vehicle practitioners are Hearers, Solitary Realizers and also lay practitioners who form great aspirations to practice the Bodhisattva-path. This is not practicing only to awaken oneself. When we completely understand the Buddha-Dharma, we will want to liberate ourselves and then dedicate ourselves to going among people. So, we “gradually practice the Path in stages.” Resonating with the Buddha-mind, we make vows and will all attain the fruits. Thus, we need to be more mindful.
Even if they are settled in the virtuous paths of the Human or Heavenly Being Vehicles, they can gradually cultivate the world-transcending Dharma. In this way, they can attain the world-transcending spiritual fruits of the Three Vehicles, like how small and average medicinal plants receive benefits and grow.
“Even if they are settled in the virtuous paths of the Human or Heavenly Being Vehicles” means as ordinary people, we must quickly turn ourselves around and cultivate for the future. Even on the virtuous paths of the Human or Heavenly Being Vehicles, we must begin [to change]. Lay Bodhisattva-practitioners [need] the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds; we must earnestly persist in this “[We] can gradually cultivate the world-transcending Dharma,” thus we slowly understand the Buddha-Dharma. “In this way, [we] can attain the Three Vehicles’ world-transcending spiritual fruits.” We can slowly draw near and understand the Dharma, so our minds will not have discursive thoughts. Our minds will peacefully abide on the Path, and we will gradually cultivate and be able to attain the fruits. This is “like how small and average medicinal plants receive benefits and grow”
․Even if they are settled in the virtuous paths of the Human or Heavenly Being Vehicles, they can gradually cultivate the world-transcending Dharma. In this way, they can attain the world-transcending spiritual fruits of the Three Vehicles, like how small and average medicinal plants receive benefits and grow.
So, when we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we must be firm in our resolve. The world of material existence is affected by formation, existence, decay and disappearance. These all occur within impermanence. Although we have come to this world and during this time we experience the states of birth, aging, illness and death, we must seize the present and not let our minds be affected by arising, abiding, changing and ceasing, those fluctuations in our minds. We should be stable and settled. So, we must always be mindful.