Episode 1204 – Spreading the Dharma with Impartial Compassion
>> If sentient beings can peacefully abide in compassion and impartiality, they will vow to sincerely safeguard, listen to, read and recite [this sutra], giving rise to joy. This is to say nothing of those who accept and uphold the entire sutra, make all kinds of offerings and, in accord with the teachings, have faith in, uphold and promote the Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.
>> Medicine King, if there are people asking what kind of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood, you should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood.
>> Why is this? If these good men and good women can take even one phrase of the Lotus Sutra and accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe it….
>> This means that though they understand one phrase, since they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of the teachings, they must not teach it to an assembly, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer, thus hindering the promotion of the teachings. If they want to teach this one phrase, they should speak to one person privately.
>> The sutra commentary states: People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder.
>> The sutra commentary also states: People with wisdom but a lack of learning also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great darkness; though they have eyes, they see nothing. People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great brightness; though they have lamps, they illuminate nothing. People who have not learned and have no wisdom are like cattle in human form. People who have learned and have wisdom take all the teachings they hear to heart. Thus, those who expound the Dharma broadly are certainly people of much learning and wisdom.
“If sentient beings can peacefully abide in
compassion and impartiality,
they will vow to sincerely safeguard,
listen to, read and recite [this sutra], giving rise to joy.
This is to say nothing of those who accept and uphold the entire sutra,
make all kinds of offerings and, in accord with the teachings,
have faith in, uphold and promote
the Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.”
As sentient beings, if we understand how precious it is to be born human, we should be grateful and peacefully abide among people. Since we are listening to and learning the Dharma, we must treat the world’s sentient beings with impartiality and compassion. [To understand] this principle, we must understand the sutras, the Dharma taught by the Buddha. Everything the Buddha taught was to inspire in people’s hearts an appreciation for their human form, to inspire everyone to cherish the human body they were born with. We have human form and are counted among humans. Humans are often said to be the most intelligent of all beings. This is so precious! In this world, there are so many sentient beings. How many different kinds are there? An incalculable number of life forms. There are so many!
We are fortunate to be born human. There are so many kinds of animals; we need cherish the fact that we were born human. As humans are the most intelligent of all beings, we must exercise love and care for all beings. This is what the Buddha taught us. We must cherish all beings. This is because sentient beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature; they all have Buddha-nature. So, we should seek to comprehend what the Buddha taught.
The Buddha did this because He saw how in the kingdom of Kapilavastu, a country in ancient India, people were not treated equally. This was one of the reasons He left the lay life. He experienced life’s impermanence and understood life’s cycle of birth, aging, illness and death. Everything is temporary. Moreover, people are treated unequally. This caused Him to wonder how He could thoroughly understand the value of life and how He could help everyone understand that when we interact with each other, we need to exercise impartial love.
Yet, this is easier said than done! Passing laws alone cannot lead people to treat each other impartially. This can only be done through principles. The principles must come from people’s minds. Only by comprehending the principles and exercising genuine compassion and love can we talk about people cherishing one another and having impartial love toward all. The Buddha resolved to seek the true principles. Once He realized the true principles, the principles of the universe were completely clear to Him and He became one with heaven and earth. The Buddha hoped that everyone would be clear on these principles of impartiality. So, He returned to this world in the hope that everyone would listen to the Dharma and awaken.
Thus, he spent a great amount of effort, teaching for several decades. [He hoped] that people would be able to truly experience the teachings, listen to, rejoice in and accept the teachings and put them into practice, becoming one with the principles of the universe. Were people able to have this kind of realization? This was very difficult! This is because it is hard to encounter a Buddha in the world. “It is hard to be born in the time of a Buddha.” Encountering a Buddha in the human world is very difficult. Still, do we have the chance? We do! Once we become one with the principles, the Buddha can enter our mind, and the Buddha-mind and our unenlightened mind can become one. By following the Buddha’s teachings and putting them into practice, never deviating from the principles life after life, by being able to do this, eventually there will come a lifetime when we can engage in spiritual practice like the Buddha’s.
Then suddenly, we can become one with the universe. When our minds, our awakened nature, come together with the universe and become one, there is nothing we will not know and no principle we will not understand. The principles He taught helped reestablish for humankind the principles in this world. This is because we are now again in an era of Dharma-degeneration. The Dharma goes through the eras of Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration. The era of Right Dharma is when a Buddha abides in the world and reestablishes the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. When a Buddha is in the world, He clearly expounds the Buddha-Dharma for everyone to understand. When a Buddha abides in the world, everyone can directly receive the teachings from Him. If we do not understand, while the Buddha is still in the world, seeing that we lack understanding, He will then use other methods, all kinds of analogies and expressions, to directly lead us from partial understanding toward complete understanding.
The Buddha began to bestow predictions on those people with complete understanding, one after another, until the 2000 received predictions. These people had already begun listening to the Buddha’s teachings. They just had to take the Dharma to heart and begin to form aspirations. Once a Buddha has entered Parinirvana, His disciples will still be in the world. Those who have already formed aspirations, those who are being transformed, will continue [to practice] the Right Dharma in the world. After a Buddha enters Parinirvana, the Buddha’s disciples are still there, those who comprehensively understand the Buddha’s principles, who can still practice according to the teachings. They continue to abide in the world and teach. So, the Right Dharma still remains. They have the Dharma, they listen, they practice and they achieve realization. Teachings, principles, practice and realization [are the elements present] while the Right Dharma abides in the world. These principles are the teachings, meaning that the principles taught by the Buddha are still in the world.
Those engaging in spiritual practice still live as when the Buddha was in the world. They live in this [same] way and practice in this [same] way. They comprehend the principles and continue their spiritual practice. This kind of people will still be in the world, teaching the Dharma. So, the Buddha bestowed predictions upon the 2000 disciples so that in the future they would be able to continue listening to the Dharma and verify the teachings, principles, practice and realization. In this way, the Right Dharma still remains in the world.
Then, gradually, it turns into Dharma-semblance. During the era of Dharma-semblance, as time gradually passes by, people’s minds become more unyielding. With each passing generation, as new people listen to the Dharma, they hear only what has been passed down. As each generation passes down what they heard, naturally the Dharma becomes more superficial. So, only a semblance of [the Dharma] remains. The teachings still exist, but the practice and realization are lacking. There are teachings and principles, but a lack of practice and realization. So, only a semblance can be seen. There are no true spiritual practitioners.
This happens already during the era of Dharma-semblance, not to mention the era of Dharma-degeneration. In the era of Dharma-degeneration, the Dharma exists in name only. This is very worrying. We are now in the era of Dharma-degeneration. With the form [of the Dharma], shouldn’t we form aspirations and make vows? We also need the substance; we must put [the Dharma] into action. Sentient beings can then peacefully abide in the world. The Buddha taught us hoping we would take the Dharma to heart and treat all living beings with impartial compassion. So, He started breaking through the Small Vehicle Dharma and establishing the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This happened at the very end of His life, when He taught the Lotus Sutra. So now, in the Chapter on Dharma Masters, He hoped that we would mindfully comprehend every sentence and phrase.
Thus, the Buddha turned to Medicine King Bodhisattva and started out by saying, “Medicine King Bodhisattva, do you see this? There are 80,000 great beings, visible and invisible beings of the world, the eight classes of Dharma-protectors.” If these sentient beings are able to hear the Dharma, the True Dharma of the Lotus Sutra, even just one phrase or one verse, and take joy in it and form aspirations, this shows that their hearts have already received the seed. The seed of the True Dharma is so precious! This is the future, for the sake of the future. So, in case anyone was to ask, “Can these people attain Buddhahood in the future?” the Buddha said, “You should tell them that they too will attain Buddhahood in the future. As long as they take joy in listening to, accepting, upholding, reading, reciting, copying and explaining the sutra, they too will attain Buddhahood in the future.”
Why would these people be able to attain Buddhahood? Because they took these teachings, the Great Vehicle Dharma, and listened to, read and copied them. Whether many or few, these principles gradually purified their minds. Thus, they took joy in the sutra. With joy in their hearts, they would never forget it. This is accepting and upholding it. They believed in this sutra, took joy in this sutra and did not forget it. In this way, the Dharma had already entered their eighth consciousness. So, vowing to have a mindset of compassion comes from taking the sutra to heart.
We have been born human and are fortunate enough to hear the Dharma. We begin to understand the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. Once we understand, we must then make vows to support and reverently safeguard it, safeguard this Great Vehicle sutra whether just one line or one verse. Perhaps we readily copy the sutra and its verses for people to read out and recite line by line and verse by verse. This also brings merit and virtue! So, they “vow to sincerely safeguard [this sutra].” This is not about writing for fun. It is about feeling joy from deep within. When I take joy in this line of verse.
So I enjoy copying it and I find it very applicable. When I write it out and people see it, they feel very happy too. In this way, “[they] listen to, read and recite [this sutra], giving rise to joy.” Because of our reverence, when we read, recite, copy, accept and uphold it and so on, when people see this, they also feel joy. This brings merits and virtues. This too creates merits and virtues. So, these people, in future lifetimes, will not just read and copy the sutra, they will be able to put it into practice. Because the sutra is already in their hearts, in their eighth consciousness, when they see it in future lifetimes they will be happy, and when they hear these teachings they will accept them and put them into practice. In this way they widely form good affinities and create good karma lifetime after lifetime. Of course they will attain Buddhahood.
Thus, it is said that even just listening, reading and reciting and giving rise to joy creates merits and virtues that enter our eighth consciousness. “This is to say nothing of those who accept and uphold the entire sutra [and] make all kinds of offerings.” We do not just listen, read and recite, give rise to joy or copy. This is not all we do. We accept and uphold the entire sutra. At the same time, we give rise to thoughts of making all kinds of offerings. We must all remember that these offerings we speak of are the practice of giving. We willingly and joyfully give to others, whether giving to humankind or to all sentient beings. Having understood the principles, we are willing and happy to give to sentient beings. Seeing that everyone is a future Buddha, we make offerings by helping them.
This is what I have emphasized these few days, so everyone, please be mindful. Moreover, “In accord with the teachings, [they] have faith in, uphold and promote the Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.” We should always keep this sutra engraved in our minds. We should carefully store this Dharma in our minds. In this era of Dharma-degeneration, we must adjust to the present time in our work to re-establish the Buddha-Dharma. This is something everyone can do. Listening to or copying the sutra is not the only way to create merits and virtues. Not at all. Listening to and copying the sutra helps us memorize the words of the sutra. We must then bring the Dharma together with in our daily actions and living. Our living and the Dharma must become one.
This means that we become one with the universe. As we go about our daily living, we must bring it together [with the Dharma]. That is the only way for us, in the future, to help the true principles pervade the universe. We must be able to thoroughly understand them all. Right now we need to first learn to make the Dharma one with our daily living. Then, in the future, naturally our consciousness will be filled with nothing but Buddha-Dharma and we will become one with the universe. This is what we need to mindfully experience, being one with all things in the world.
I saw some international news. In the US, there was a horse whose owner had kept him for 40 years. His owner also had a goat. The horse was slowly going blind in one eye. He had only one good eye left. Then gradually, he began going blind in that eye too. As this was happening, the owner thought, “When this animal is blind, how will he be able to get around?” As he was thinking, a thought occurred to him, “Should I put him down?”
His goat seemed to understand his intention. He began approaching the horse. The horse could not see at all with one eye, and the other had blurry vision. Every day the goat drew near the horse, until the horse came to recognize him. This is what the goat was doing. Any time the horse started walking, the goat would always walk beside him on the side where he was blind.
After some time passed, the horse began to trust and rely on the goat. Gradually, his other eye also went blind. Once both his eyes were blind, the goat would walk in front of him, and the horse would use his sensitive hearing to listen to the movements of the goat. Wherever the goat went, the horse would follow in his footsteps. Every day the goat led the horse out to graze. This was how things were. One day, there was a sudden, violent storm. The goat ran very quickly to the owner’s home. He kept calling for the owner, making bleating sounds. The owner had heard that the storm had just ended, so why did the goat come running so quickly? He quickly followed the goat as he ran back. The goat ran back, and the owner followed him.
Then he saw a thicket where some trees had fallen. The horse was in the thicket, buried under those trees. He could not get out, and he could not see. The owner immediately cleared the trees a way with his own hands, saving the horse’s life. After this experience, the owner understood even better that even different species of animals can have this kind of love for each other. The owner felt reassured. He continued to care for the horse. This went on for 16 years. For 16 years, the goat guided the horse in his daily living. After 16 years, the horse finally passed away.
The goat knew that the horse had died. After the owner buried the horse’s remains, the goat went to the horse’s final resting place. There, he lowered his head, as if bowing in respect. He remained there for a long time, as if he was speaking to him and expressing his grief. He seemed to be reminiscing on their life together. For some time, he stood there with his head lowered. Then he turned around and left serenely. The owner watched the goat as he walked away with very steady steps.
For 16 years, the goat had always led the horse along a particular narrow path. Now, after 16 years, he had completed his mission, so he returned to his herd to live together with them.
Think about it; this is the world of animals. Animals, even animals of different species, are able to be this compassionate and loving. So what about us humans? Are we humans also capable of the same? This is what we need to learn; we need to learn to love, to have impartial love. Sentient beings are all equal; everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. This is what we all need to believe. So, we must mindfully seek to experience this. These are the principles. The principles are found in this world, in the world of sentient beings. So, we must mindfully seek to experience them.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage,
“Medicine King, if there are people asking what kind of sentient beings in future lifetimes will attain Buddhahood, you should indicate that these people in future lifetimes will certainly attain Buddhahood.”
If anyone asks this question, you should tell them that you are confident that these people will all attain Buddhahood in the future. It goes beyond just these people. Take this horse and goat. I believe they will return to the world. I believe they will bring with them this gratitude, respect and impartial love as they return to the world. Presently, I see many innocent children. This is their original nature of True Suchness, they have this innate goodness. People have been covered by ignorance. Now, by returning to the principles, we are returning to our nature of True Suchness. So, everyone should be able to attain Buddhahood.
The next sutra passage states,
“Why is this? If these good men and good women can take even one phrase of the Lotus Sutra and accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe it….”
Why is this? These good men and good women who have already formed aspirations are clearly kind-hearted. They understand the principles and are definitely very kind. So, they are called good men and good women. Those who listen to the Buddha’s teachings and faithfully accept and practice them are all called good men and good women. So, they “can take even one line of the Lotus Sutra and accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe it.” As we said before, these people pass on the sutra. When they teach, they are passing on the principles of the sutra, even if only one phrase. They may be applying a single verse or phrase, or they may be reading and reciting the entire sutra. Or perhaps after reading and reciting it, they understand and explain the sutra text to help everyone gain a better understanding. This is called transmitting the teachings. They pass on the sutra’s teachings in this way.
As the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, what He worried about most was the. Great Vehicle Wondrous Dharma. Lotus Flower Sutra. This is what the Buddha worried about the most. So, the Buddha hoped that everyone would comprehend His original intent and take this Dharma to heart.
This means that though they understand one phrase, since they do not have wide learning and broad understanding of the teachings, they must not teach it to an assembly, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer, thus hindering the promotion of the teachings. If they want to teach this one phrase, they should speak to one person privately.
This is to say, even if we have heard the explanation for just a single phrase, having understood it, we can then explain this phrase to others to help them understand it. Though we may not “have wide learning and broad understanding of the teachings,” though we do not know more, we can just concentrate on fully understanding this one phrase. There is no need to seek more. So, “They must not teach it to an assembly, as they may be asked difficult questions that they are unable to answer.” This is because we have not concentrated on attaining full understanding of this teaching. If we just have wide learning and broad understanding, if we have not focused on these principles and do not understand them, then if others ask us questions, we will not be able to take this sutra’s essence, its spirit and ideals, and clearly explain them. This shows lack of understanding. Understanding sutras takes concentration. Doesn’t it say in the sutras, “With only broad learning and love for the Path the Path is hard to attain”? We need single-minded focus; only then “will our path be great.” So, we must be mindful.
“[That] hinders the promotion of the teachings.” If we take sutra passages out of context, that will not work. If we [understand] just one phrase or one verse, that will be the extent of our joy. We should have a complete understanding, concentrate on understanding the entire sutra. Otherwise, if others ask us deeper questions, we will not be able to explain clearly. As a result, we will be unable to promote the great teachings, unable to keep passing them on. So, when it comes to this sutra, we must mindfully seek to understand it.
“If they want to teach this one phrase, they should speak to one person privately.” We must not say this before a crowd; we should only tell a single individual, “When I hear this phrase, I am filled with joy.” That is all we can do. “Privately” means behind closed doors. “Hearing this fills me with great joy.” We cannot say before a great assembly, “This is what I have heard. Let me tell you.” If we teach in this way, if a single thought of ours goes astray, that slight deviation will take people far off course.
“People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder.” If we only know one phrase, we can only teach it to a single individual.
The sutra commentary states: People with limited wisdom and not much learning are like a light rain with no thunder.
We will be unable to teach to an assembly with great confidence on the Lotus Sutra. We are unable to completely explain it so that others can understand. This is like a very light rain which brings just a little bit of moisture. There is no thunder, no loud sound. This is an analogy. If the aspiration we form is just, “This is all I need to hear; the merits and virtues from taking joy in one line are good enough for me,” that would be a pity indeed. Since we take joy in a single line, we should also take joy in an entire verse, and not only in one verse. A verse means four lines. If we are happy with a single verse of four lines, then wouldn’t it be even better to happily accept and uphold the entire text, reading, reciting and copying it, in this way going even further?
So, “People with wisdom but a lack of learning also do not know the ultimate truth.”
The sutra commentary also states: People with wisdom but a lack of learning also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great darkness; though they have eyes, they see nothing. People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate truth. It is as if they were in great brightness; though they have lamps, they illuminate nothing. People who have not learned and have no wisdom are like cattle in human form. People who have learned and have wisdom take all the teachings they hear to heart. Thus, those who expound the Dharma broadly are certainly people of much learning and wisdom.
We may think that we have wisdom, that after hearing a single phrase, we understand. Is this how it works? No, it is not. When hearing it brings us joy, we should then listen to another phrase. We must continue investigating even further and continue to listen. We cannot just listen to a single phrase or a single passage and then say, “I am happy; I have merits and virtues.” No, we must continue listening. We “do not know the ultimate truth.” We cannot simply think that we completely understand from one phrase. If we have not learned much, if we do not continue listening, we “also do not know the ultimate truth.” We will be unable to understand the ultimate truth of the entire sutra, the principles of the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. So, “It is as if they were in great darkness.” It would be very dark, as if at night. “Though they have eyes, they see nothing.” It would be as if it were the middle of the night; although we have eyes, since it is dark, we cannot see anything around us. “Though they have eyes, they see nothing.” We have eyes but we cannot clearly see what is right in front of us.
So, “People with much learning but no wisdom also do not know the ultimate truth.” If we continue listening but do not take the [teachings] to heart, they simply go in one ear and out the other. We have often talked about listening, how we listen on one side but let what we hear leak away on the other. We should practice the Flawless [Studies] and truly take in what we hear without letting it leak out. How do we prevent it from leaking away? We must put it into practice. Only with the experience that comes from doing will the Dharma truly become our own. So, we must mindfully experience it.
“It is as if they were in great brightness, but though they have lamps, they illuminate nothing.” This is like when we are in a very bright place; the lamp we have illuminates nothing. This is like how in the daytime, we do not need to turn on the light. We do not need to light a lamp. So, if we have a lamp but illuminate nothing, this lamp is useless. Thus, the principles are right in front of us; it is as if it were daytime. The principles are clearly right in front of us, but the lamp of our heart, the lamp of wisdom, is not put to use. We have a lamp but it illuminates nothing. This means we have the principles, yet have not awakened the wisdom in our minds.
There are also “people who have not learned and have no wisdom.” If we do not listen, then naturally we will not have any wisdom. We should be “people who have learned and have wisdom, [who] take all the teachings they hear to heart.” If we have listened and also have wisdom, if we truly keep the Dharma from leaking away and absorb it into our minds, we are “people who have learned and have wisdom.” Thus, we develop our wisdom-life. “They take all the teachings they hear to heart.” So, after listening carefully, we should make a great effort to absorb the teachings into our hearts.
“Thus, those who expound the Dharma broadly are certainly people of much learning and wisdom.” This is what we must mindfully seek to experience. We need both much learning and much wisdom. We must not just listen without taking the Dharma to heart. If we do not take the Dharma to heart, then we will not grow in wisdom. In the daytime, the principles are clear, yet if we still do not absorb them into our hearts, if we do not light the lamp of our hearts, then our wisdom-life has still not grown.
Or we might be as if in a deep darkness. Even though we have eyes, we will still be unable to see the clear and bright world outside. It is the same with the principles. If we have wisdom, we must hasten to listen to the sutras. We cannot think that we are so wise that we do not need to listen. We cannot just take things out of context, passages here and there, and think that is good enough. We must not do that. If this is the case, that would be as if we are in darkness. We may have eyes and we may have wisdom, but we would still be unable to fully understand.
It is best to listen to the sutra and, with each phrase and each verse, give rise to joy and begin to awaken. Having already taken these seeds into our minds, we must mindfully cultivate the ground of our minds. In the ground of our minds, we must pull the weeds and completely eliminate our afflictions and ignorance. We must earnestly [cultivate] these seeds. We spiritual practitioners must be the farmers of the ground of our minds and earnestly cultivate it. This is spiritual practice.
The Buddha-Dharma is very open and spacious; in particular, the Lotus Sutra encompasses all the Dharma. It retains all the Dharma and teaches everyone to practice all that is good. This is the door of retaining and upholding. Entering the principles of the Lotus Sutra, we enter the door of retaining and upholding. The teachings of the past were for those with limited capabilities. The Buddha taught the Dharma according to capabilities. After more than 40 years, He was advanced in years. At the end, He wanted to express His [true] intent. So, He was very mindful in hopes that every one of us would place great value on the Lotus Sutra.
The Buddha taught us to start with one phrase or one verse. He said there were merits and virtues in this. “But after we attain the merits and virtues of taking joy in this, I hope you will continue to give rise to joy, accept, uphold, read, recite and copy the sutra. After understanding the principles thoroughly, you can make offerings to countless Buddhas. You will understand that sentient beings are all replete with Buddha-nature. Sentient beings are all future Buddhas. Thus, sentient beings are all equal.” In this way, we can peacefully abide in the world. All of us live together in this world. We are all people, so we must exercise impartial compassion.
We should all encourage one another to make vows to safeguard [the sutra] and very reverently listen to, read, recite and take joy in it. We must unceasingly nurture all this. Furthermore, most important to the Buddha was that we accept and uphold the entire sutra. He hoped we would make all kinds of offerings. Making offerings means practicing giving. Seeking nothing in return, we give unceasingly. We treat all the world’s sentient beings equally and give to others with impartial love. He hoped everyone would comprehend this wondrously profound principle. So everyone, please always be mindful!