Episode 1228 – Aspirations Guide Our Intentions
>> “The Fourfold Faith is the power of thought. The Four Great Vows are the power of vows. Great wisdom is the power of good roots. This means that aspirations can guide our intentions. Our vows lead us to aspire to form the great vows of the true and pure Great Dharma.”
>> The Fourfold Faith: 1. Faith in the fundamentals. This is the origin of all practices, faith and joy in the Dharma of True Suchness 2. Faith in the Buddha: This is faith and joy in the Buddha’s great merits and virtues 3. Faith in the Dharma: This is faith and joy in the great benefit of the Dharma 4. Faith in the Sangha: This is faith and joy in the Sangha’s great practice.
>> “These people have the power of great faith, the power of aspirations as well as the power of all good roots. You must know that these people will abide together with the Tathagata and the Tathagata will stroke their heads with His hands.”
>> The practitioners’ heads represent true wisdom. The Tathagatas’ hands represent provisional wisdom. They resonate with the Way. Thus it says “stroke their heads.” This means bestowing predictions on them.
>> Medicine King, in each place where the sutra is expounded, read, recited and transcribed, and in each place where the sutra abides, a pagoda of seven treasures must be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated. There is no need to go further by placing sariras.
>> Medicine King, in each place where the sutras are expounded, read, recited and transcribed and in each place where sutras abide: This explains that a place where sutras abide, is where the Buddha’s entire body [abides]. Wherever people circulate this sutra is a place where this sutra abides.
>> In each place: This refers to the place where the sutras are expounded, read, transcribed and so on. This place is not fixed. Whether it is in cities or in remote mountain villages, the place where the sutra abides will be noble.
>> In the Agama Sutra, it states that a pagoda should be built in four places: These places are the Buddha’s place of birth, the place where He attained enlightenment, the place where He turned the Dharma-wheel, and the place where He entered Parinirvana.
>> A stupa of the Seven Treasures should be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated: This sutra is the birthplace of the Dharmakaya, the place where He attained enlightenment, the place where He turned the Dharma-wheel and the place where He entered Parinirvana. Thus it says: In a place where the sutra abides, a stupa must be erected to make offerings.
>> The Seven Treasures: This is the general term for precious treasures. In ancient times, that which was considered treasure were divided into seven categories. So they have always been called “the Seven Treasures.”
>> There is no need to further place sariras there: This is because the entire body of the Buddha, His Dharmakaya, already abides there, so there is no need to place sariras. In general, erecting a stupa was originally for the purpose of reverently placing the Buddha’s sariras.
>> Sariras: These are the Buddha’s bodily relics left undestroyed by cremation. This can only be attained by those who achieve merits and virtues of the Buddha’s Samadhi.
“The Fourfold Faith is the power of thought.
The Four Great Vows are the power of vows.
Great wisdom is the power of good roots.
This means that aspirations can guide our intentions.
Our vows lead us to aspire
to form the great vows of the true and pure Great Dharma.”
I hope we can all be more mindful in committing this Fourfold Faith to memory. For us spiritual practitioners, this is a very important tool, so we must put effort into this.
“The Fourfold Faith is the power of thought. The Four Great Vows are the power of vows.” In the Fourfold Faith, first is faith in the fundamentals. We need to have deep roots of faith. All [sutras] emphasize that our faith in the fundamentals must be deep. So, because. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits” it is “the origin of all practices.” [“Fundamentals” means] “having faith and joy in the Dharma of True Suchness.”
We [must] have this faith. The Buddha dedicated Himself to this world; He wanted to tell us all that everyone has the nature of True Suchness. Everyone can attain Buddhahood. Our innate enlightenment is neither greater nor smaller than the Buddha’s. The Buddha wanted to tell us this directly, but we were unable to understand. Thus, the Buddha had to [teach] indirectly. Giving limited teachings using skillful means, [He taught] the Vaipulya and Prajna sutras, guiding us all along the way. He hoped for us to form great aspirations and make great vows to enter the great, direct Bodhi-path. This is the Buddha’s compassion and wisdom; this was how He guided us.
Without faith and patience, how would we make it on such a long road? Without the Buddha enticing us in this way to start walking this long road, we would simply be unable to experience our nature of True Suchness that is equal to the Buddha’s. We would simply be unable to understand it. So the Buddha gradually and patiently guides us. We must have faith, be willing to listen and believe. We must be resolute, with single-minded focus.
“This is the origin of all practices.” As we advance [on the path], the Buddha teaches us how to walk and what direction we should walk in. We must have faith and constantly embrace a joyful mindset. We must “have faith and joy in the great Dharma of True Suchness.” Our faith should be in the Buddha’s teachings. Walking on this path, everything we do comes from our enlightened nature of True Suchness. Willingly and happily we go out to serve others. All Bodhisattvas “work willingly, accept happily.” This is the conduct of Bodhisattvas. This is because they have faith in the fundamentals.
Second is faith in the Buddha. We must have faith. First, we must believe in ourselves. This is what the Buddha taught us. Our faith [in the fundamentals], our roots of faith, must go very deep. Second, we must truly have faith in the Buddha. The Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, had already become one with the universe. The true principles of all things in the universe were thoroughly understood by the Buddha. The Buddha’s mind encompassed the endless void; it was one with the universe. So, we definitely must have faith in the Buddha.
We must have faith in the Buddha and the Dharma that the Buddha taught. Only then can we have faith and joy. We must joyfully receive the Buddha’s teachings, faithfully accept and practice them. The Buddha already perfected His great merits. Since dust-inked kalpas ago, He had continually [practiced] until He attained Buddhahood in the Saha World. Over such a long time, He perfected such great merits. The Buddha [accomplished] this, so we must have faith in His perfect character. Thus, the Dharma taught by the Buddha [is what] we must faithfully accept and practice.
Third is faith in the Dharma. This is “having faith and joy in the great benefit of the Dharma.” The Buddha-Dharma benefits sentient beings, so we must have faith in it. Due to sentient beings’ ignorance and afflictions, they experience so much suffering. Even if someone is famous, has a high position or is very wealthy, don’t you think he suffers from afflictions? He does! His worries over gain and loss are great. The higher his position is, the more he worries. The more fame he has, the more afflicted he is. [With such concern] over gain and loss, compared to the average person who has no fame or high status, his afflictions are much greater. So, when we “have” [something], we “worry about losing” it. When unenlightened beings lack something, they instead “worry about obtaining” it. Lacking, we continually desire things. We seek to greedily acquire things and constantly pursue the things we wish to obtain. So, this pursuit to obtain things also brings afflictions.
Having something, we worry that we will lose it. Having a high position, we worry about demotion. Having fame, we worry about slander and so on. Such a focus on gain and loss, in ordinary people, is called “afflictions.” There are so many afflictions that we cannot name them all. So, we simply say there are “84,000 afflictions.” What this means is that in one day, over the course of 86,400 seconds, every second brings afflictions. So, there are said to be “84,000 afflictions.” These afflictions cause us unbearable suffering. But with faith in the Dharma, we can understand and let go of all [these afflictions]. During the Agama period, the Buddha taught us the law of karma. By understanding causes and conditions, we know we will get what we are supposed to get and will not get what we are not supposed to get. Everything is due to causes and conditions.
Then, in the Vaipulya period, He encouraged us to put forth effort and be mindful. It is rare to attain human form, but as humans who have heard the Dharma, we must put in effort to seize [this opportunity]. Next, in the Prajna period, the Buddha wished to help us eliminate attachments. We must give up all attachments. [Having] the Dharma is like going from the shore of ordinary beings to the opposite shore of noble beings. Between the two is “the river of cravings where 1000-foot swells rise.” On this river, we need a bamboo raft. We need to cross by boat or by bamboo raft. Do we want to take a big ship or a small boat? When we finally reach the other side, we must abandon the boat and step ashore.
Thus, in the Diamond Sutra it says, “If even the Dharma must be relinquished, how much more so what is not the Dharma?” The Dharma is like a bamboo raft on which we go from this side to the other shore. We must abandon this small boat. We must abandon this bamboo raft and step onto the other shore; we cannot be attached to this bamboo raft. What this is telling us is that we must not be attached to these teachings. With proper teachings, we can advance and avoid remaining stuck in the same place. With the Small Vehicle, we remain stuck within the Dharma. We do not seek to diligently advance, and we are unwilling to go among people. Thus we remain in our own pure environment, unwilling to go among people. This is why the Buddha began teaching us to let go of our attachments. After letting go of our attachments, we can step ashore. So what are we to do? The Buddha simply said, “Follow the path without worries; go among people.” This is the [meaning of] the Lotus Flower. The Lotus Sutra wants us to go among people.
This sounds very similar to the Dharma I teach you all each day. Indeed, these teachings are very similar. They seem nearly identical. So, since they are so similar, have we absorbed them yet? Have we drawn near to our nature of True Suchness yet? We must go among people, for it is there that we can find ways to accommodate so many different people with their attitudes and tones of voice. Are we able to accommodate them? If we are unable to do this, that means we have not taken the Dharma to heart.
If we can take the Dharma to heart, we can go among people and always remain joyful. When we hear things that are displeasing or see unwholesome appearances or evil deeds, our mind will [still] be without hindrance and we can keep gratitude in our hearts. When we have unfavorable affinities with someone, we must make use of this opportunity to quickly form good affinities with that person. Having formed good affinities, the negative affinities will be eliminated. [We must be] grateful! At that instant, we have diminished our negative affinities and increased our good affinities. If our mindset is like this, we can take the Dharma to heart and apply it among people. Only by taking the Dharma to heart will we be able to apply it among people. This requires having faith in the Dharma. “This is having faith and joy in the great benefit of the Dharma.” So, we must have faith.
Fourth is faith in the Sangha. “This is faith and joy in the Sangha’s great practice.” We need the Buddha-Dharma in this world. Without the Sangha to spread the Dharma, how could the Buddha-Dharma exist in the world? In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha’s hope was that there would be people willing to receive, read, recite, transcribe and expound [the Dharma]. This is the duty of the monastics in the Sangha. Single-mindedly and wholeheartedly, they leave their family and loved ones. Single-mindedly and wholeheartedly, they place the Dharma ahead of themselves. This is how they uphold [the Dharma], all for the sake of spreading the Dharma among people. “This is faith and joy in the Sangha’s great practice.”
The Fourfold Faith: 1. Faith in the fundamentals. This is the origin of all practices, faith and joy in the Dharma of True Suchness 2. Faith in the Buddha: This is faith and joy in the Buddha’s great merits and virtues 3. Faith in the Dharma: This is faith and joy in the great benefit of the Dharma 4. Faith in the Sangha: This is faith and joy in the Sangha’s great practice.
We must believe deeply in these four. Only with faith can we truly enter the Buddha’s path. This is how we enter the path of the Buddha-Dharma. Thus, the Fourfold Faith [is what brings] power to our every thought. I often tell everyone that everything is determined by the mind. So, the power of our thoughts is what enables us to uphold the Four Great Vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” The power of the Four Great Vows is found in the power of our every thought. The power of our every thought comes from the Fourfold Faith; it is linked to the power of our Fourfold Faith. Buddhist practitioners must be like this. So, “Great wisdom is the power of good roots.” If our great wisdom does not [grow] first from the power of good roots, we cannot become firm in our faith and in our vows.
So, “This means that aspirations can guide our intentions.” Our aspirations guide our intentions so we diligently advance. If in our spiritual practice we have no intention, very quickly, our faith, vows and practice will disappear. We must have aspirations in order to charge forward. This is our intention, how our intention is guided. We must continuously push forward toward our goal. No matter what waves of ignorance we encounter along the way, we must remain uninfluenced. We must be resolute in our aspirations. If in spiritual practice we have no aspirations, we have no strength to diligently push forward.
So, “The power of vows leads us to aspire to form the great vows of the true and pure Great Dharma.” If we have no vows, [it is because] we lack aspirations. Aspirations lead to vows, and our vows can guide our aspirations along. This is the power of vows. This is how our aspirations and our vows [strengthen] each other; they work together in partnership. This is what enables us to form the great vows of the true and pure Great Dharma. This pure Great Dharma is what is stored within our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. This storehouse of treasures is intrinsic to us all. It is just that our thick ignorance covers it, layer after layer. Now, we have already begun to peel away this ignorance layer by layer and we can draw closer to the great vows of the true and pure Great Dharma; we can form “the great vows of the true and pure Great Dharma.” We must go among people. With the heart of a Buddha, we see all sentient beings as our own children. This is the vow the Buddha made, and we must also make this kind of vow.
So, this is the great power of faith. Thus, we can abide in the same room as the Buddha. The previous [passage] says,
“These people have the power of great faith, the power of aspirations as well as the power of all good roots. You must know that these people will abide together with the Tathagata and the Tathagata will stroke their heads with His hands.”
We are in the same place as the Buddha. To “abide together” means that all of us have the same intrinsic nature of True Suchness as the Buddha. This is the great power of our vows, our innate enlightenment.
So, “The Tathagata will stroke their heads with His hands.” This [refers to] provisional wisdom. The Buddha using His hands to stroke our heads means that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. We all intrinsically have true wisdom.
The practitioners’ heads represent true wisdom. The Tathagatas’ hands represent provisional wisdom. They resonate with the Way. Thus it says “stroke their heads.” This means bestowing predictions on them.
So, we must firmly establish faith. Our faith must be rooted in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. We must be earnestly mindful. The pure aspirations of the Four Great Vows are what we must tirelessly employ among people.
The next sutra passage says,
Medicine King, in each place where the sutra is expounded, read, recited and transcribed, and in each place where the sutra abides, a pagoda of seven treasures must be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated. There is no need to go further by placing sariras.
This sutra passage tells us of the Buddha’s great mindfulness. He calls out again, “Medicine King.” He is again [addressing] Medicine King. By reminding Medicine King, He is giving this reminder to all of us. “In each place,” no matter where it is, if someone is expounding the sutras, if someone is reading or reciting [the sutras], if someone is transcribing [the sutras] or if there are [copies of] the sutras there, that is a place where the Tathagata abides. This is where His Dharmakaya is. Thus, this is explained as, “A place where sutras abide is where the Buddha’s entire body [abides].” The sutras are the Buddha’s entire body. They are the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. The Buddha-Dharma is [the Buddha’s] Dharmakaya.
Sakyamuni Buddha entered Parinirvana over 2000 years ago, but His Dharmakaya is still in this world. So, Sakyamuni Buddha remains the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings. We must not forget this. The Buddha’s Dharmakaya still resides in the world. As long as we have these Great Vehicle sutras, wherever they abide is also where the Buddha’s Dharmakaya abides. So, they are the Buddha’s entire body. Thus, “Wherever people circulate this sutra is a place where this sutra abides.” If someone circulates this sutra, then that place is where this sutra abides. This is what “in each place” means. As long as someone is reading, reciting, transcribing or expounding [this sutra], in those places the Tathagata’s entire body abides. This is [the meaning of] “in each place.”
Medicine King, in each place where the sutras are expounded, read, recited and transcribed and in each place where sutras abide: This explains that a place where sutras abide, is where the Buddha’s entire body [abides]. Wherever people circulate this sutra is a place where this sutra abides.
This tells us that for this sutra to be taught, read or transcribed, it does not need to be in a specific place. Nowadays, everyone is so busy, so sometimes we can take a copy of the sutra with us when we go abroad. Or if we go out to take care of things outside, we can carry a copy with us so we can read it. Wherever we go, we can share it with others. We can have study groups anywhere. No matter where our home is, we can [gather] and share about “Thus have I heard. This morning we listened to the Dharma. Come, let us review it again today. Let us share our insights.” Anyone can do this at their home, “in each place.”
It does not matter if you read, recite or retell [the sutra you heard]. Didn’t the 16 princes retell [what they heard]? They shared their insights from the sutras and formed good affinities with everyone. [They did this] “in each place.” So, for this sutra to be taught, to be read and to be transcribed, there need not be a specific place. [It can be done] in each place.
[It can be done] in a city or in a remote mountain village. Any place where this sutra exists is noble. Whether one is on a mountain top or in a remote settlement, whether in a temple, an abode or in someone’s house, wherever this sutra is being spread is a noble place. [These places] are not impoverished; they are endowed with wealth and nobility.
In each place: This refers to the place where the sutras are expounded, read, transcribed and so on. This place is not fixed. Whether it is in cities or in remote mountain villages, the place where the sutra abides will be noble.
This is because the people there engage in spiritual practice. Their minds have an abundance, for they understand the principles of the universe. They understand, so they are [spiritually] wealthy. They may be gentlemen or farmers. Whether very learned and educated people or people who farm the land, wherever [they reside] is a wealthy, noble place.
The Agama Sutra speaks of four places where a stupa can be built: A stupa can be built in the Buddha’s birthplace, the place where He became enlightened, the place where He turned the Dharma-wheel and the place where He entered Parinirvana.
In the Agama Sutra, it states that a pagoda should be built in four places: These places are the Buddha’s place of birth, the place where He attained enlightenment, the place where He turned the Dharma-wheel, and the place where He entered Parinirvana.
This is said in the Agama Sutra. This tells us that any place related to the Buddha is a place where His virtues can be made visible. A stupa is [built to] make His virtues visible, to mark places that represent the Buddha’s virtues. In this way, future generations [will know], “This place is the Buddha’s birthplace”; people will forever know that a Great Enlightened One was born in this world. “This is where the Great Enlightened One attained Buddhahood. This is the place where the Great Enlightened One turned the Dharma-wheel after attaining Buddhahood, where He taught the Dharma. This is where He entered Parinirvana.” In this way, these physical forms bear witness to the life of the Great Enlightened One. So, stupas are built to make His virtues visible at these sites.
So, “In each [place], a stupa of the Seven Treasures should be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated.”
A stupa of the Seven Treasures should be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated: This sutra is the birthplace of the Dharmakaya, the place where He attained enlightenment, the place where He turned the Dharma-wheel and the place where He entered Parinirvana. Thus it says: In a place where the sutra abides, a stupa must be erected to make offerings.
This can be anywhere; as long as the Buddha taught this sutra there, a stupa can be built in that place. This is done to make His virtues visible. “Extremely high, wide and majestically decorated” means they must be very dignified [to reflect] the dignity of the Buddha’s virtues. [This applies to] any place where this sutra is present. Wherever this sutra is taught is a place where His virtues can be made visible. Wherever the Buddha was once present and wherever He taught the Dharma, the Buddha’s entire body resides. Thus, a stupa can be built there. There are also the places where the Buddha attained Buddhahood, where the Buddha turned the Dharma-wheel and where He entered Parinirvana. These are all places where the Buddha’s virtues were displayed.
So, [it speaks of] “stupas of the Seven Treasures.” Stupas of the Seven Treasures are very precious “‘The Seven Treasures’ is a general term for precious treasures.” The world has many treasures, but they are symbolized by “the Seven Treasures.” These are gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl [and rose stone]. These are called the Seven Treasures.
The Seven Treasures: This is the general term for precious treasures. In ancient times, that which was considered treasure were divided into seven categories. So they have always been called “the Seven Treasures.”
Thus, “the Seven Treasures” is a general term for treasures. “In ancient times, things which were considered treasures were divided into seven categories.” This is what we just mentioned. Stupas are where sariras are placed. They are places to store the Buddha’s sariras. The Buddha’s sariras are crystals found among the ashes after the cremation of the Buddha’s body when He has entered Parinirvana.
“There is no need to further place sariras there. The entire body of [the Buddha] abides there.”
There is no need to further place sariras there: This is because the entire body of the Buddha, His Dharmakaya, already abides there, so there is no need to place sariras. In general, erecting a stupa was originally for the purpose of reverently placing the Buddha’s sariras.
The Buddha’s Dharmakaya is just like His sariras. It is what the Buddha left behind. The Buddha-Dharma’s essence is encompassed in the Lotus Sutra. Thus it is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya, the Buddha’s entire body. He devoted His whole lifetime in this world for the sake of expounding this sutra and guiding us all back to our Tathagata-nature. The road leading back to our Tathagata-nature is the Bodhisattva-path.
The Lotus Sutra is the king of all sutras; it is the entirety of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. “So there is no need to place sariras.” As long as a place contains the sutras, it does not need the Buddha’s ashes. No sariras are needed. Wherever this sutra is, it is as if the Buddha’s entire body is present. So, most say that constructing a stupa “was originally for the purpose of reverently placing the Buddha’s sariras.” In fact, the Lotus Sutra is His entire body. It is the Buddha’s entire life, including His body, mind and existence. His body and His entire existence were completely [devoted to] the purpose of transforming sentient beings. He transformed sentient beings in order to enable us to move toward our Tathagata-nature until we can attain Buddhahood and become one with the universe. This is the Buddha’s spirit and intent, which are contained within the Lotus Sutra.
So, it says, “Sariras are the Buddha’s bodily relics.” After being cremated, these are the things that remained. The Buddha’s spiritual practice, His meditation, Samadhi, merits and virtues, manifest as these sariras.
In fact, the Buddha’s entire body, His spirit, His principles and the essence of the Dharma are in the Lotus Sutra. If we can mindfully comprehend this, we find that the Buddha-Dharma is everywhere. If we are able to understand this, [we will know that] everyone is a future Buddha. This is true not only for humans; all sentient beings likewise have Buddha-nature. All animals and human beings are alike in this. No matter what kind of animal, all beings have Buddha-nature.
There is a village in Chiang Mai, Thailand where a farming family lives. On their family farm they raise big flocks of chickens. Among their flock of chickens is a mynah bird. This mynah bird is always with this big flock of chickens, and he stays with one hen in particular. Why is this? Some people think this is very strange. Why is it that this mynah bird lives among the chickens? The farmer explained how this happened. A fledgling had fallen from its nest; it was this mynah bird. When this fledgling fell from its nest, the mother hen took care of it. She looked after this fledgling. The mother hen cared for the fledgling and this fledgling followed the mother hen around, always staying among the flock of chickens.
When the hen was sitting on her eggs, this bird would stay beside the mother hen and keep her company. When the mother hen’s eggs hatched, the mother hen began to raise her chicks. Sometimes she would pick worms for them to eat, so this mynah bird would also search for worms and helped raise the chicks with her. This is how the mynah bird and the hen were like members of a single family. Some people found this unbelievable. They wanted to test if this mynah bird would recognize the mother hen. This flock had so many hens; would he really recognize this one mother hen?
Someone deliberately tried to remove the hen, and the mynah bird began to attack that person, pecking him front and back. He continually attacked him, so he had to quickly put [the hen] back. If the owner grabbed this mother hen, this mynah bird remained calm and would not peck at him. So, this mynah bird not only recognized the mother hen, he also recognized people. If you were not the one who raised [this hen] and you grabbed her, you might want to hurt her. So, [the mynah bird] wanted to protect her. But if the owner who raised the chickens grabbed [the hen], he was not going to harm her, so [the mynah bird] trusted him and would not try to [attack] him.
See, even a bird has a sense of trust. It put its trust in the owner. Living among the flock of chickens, he also placed trust in this hen, the one who cared for him since he was young and raised him [to adulthood]. This mynah bird even knows how to speak. Mynah birds are innately able to learn to speak from humans. Chickens do not know how to speak, but this mynah bird knows how to speak. When the owner appears, he cries to the owner, “I am hungry! I am hungry!” Speaking in Thai, he says, “I am hungry! I am hungry!” Or, when he is full, he will say to the owner, “Hello, hello.” This is what the bird does!
From this, we could say that humans and birds [are equal], whether chickens or other birds. Animals and humans truly are equal. This is to say nothing of us and the Buddha. Clearly, we are also equal. This is what the Buddha told us, and we should have faith, faith in the Buddha. Since we are equal to the Buddha and the Buddha is able to attain Buddhahood, why wouldn’t we also be able to attain Buddhahood? We are able! The only difference is that the Buddha returned to His nature of True Suchness. Through His process of spiritual practice and. His power of vows, He returned to the true and pure Great Dharma. Because He formed great vows, He had an intention. He began dust-inked kalpas ago, and lifetime after lifetime, no matter how long it took, He always had faith. His root of faith was very deep, so He was able to believe.
Dust-inked kalpas ago, when Great Unhindered Buddha taught, [Sakyamuni] had deep, unobstructed faith. He had faith in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. He [maintained His faith] all along, continually engaging in spiritual practice until He attained Buddhahood, This shows His great wisdom and power of good roots. His aspirations kept guiding his intention. He never faltered in His progress, no; He kept pushing forward. For dust-inked kalpas, He continuously advanced. He had this power of vows, and thus He attained Buddhahood. With faith, we too can attain Buddhahood.
There is much that allows us to see and experience [the principles]. There is the mynah bird and the mother hen. The mother hen had love in her heart for an animal of a different species. She saw the fledgling fall from the nest and recognized [the value of] his life. She knew to care for him. When this mynah bird grew up, he knew he should be protective. He also knew he should follow along and insisted on remaining with this flock of chickens. He upheld his duty and followed them closely. When the owner fed him, he would show his gratitude by saying, “Hello.” This is the Buddha-nature in all sentient beings. If we are mindful in our faith and understanding, the day will come when we will also attain Buddhahood. All it takes is that we are always mindful.