Episode 1229 – The Dharmakaya Is Wherever This Sutra Is
>> “Wherever this Wondrous Lotus Sutra exists, through the root of faith, the Path will be attained there. The great Dharma-wheel will be turned there, and the great Nirvana of ultimate peace will be realized there. So wherever this sutra abides, a stupa must be erected as a sincere offering.”
>> The Buddha’s Dharmakaya already abides in this stupa; there is no need to further place sariras there. Bone fragments are sariras of His physical body. This sutra is the sarira of His Dharmakaya, so there is no need to further place sariras of His physical body there.
>> “Medicine King, in each place where the sutras are expounded, read, recited and transcribed and in each place where the sutras abide, a stupa of the Seven Treasures should be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated. There is no need to further place sariras there.”
>> “Why is this? The entire body of the Tathagata already abides within it. This stupa should receive use all kinds of flowers, incense, strings of jewels, silken canopies, hanging banners, and music and songs as reverent offerings, to honor and praise it.”
>> Why is this? The entire body of the Tathagata already abides within it: The sutra manifests wondrous principles. The nature of the principles is pure; they are the pure Dharmakaya of the Tathagata. Wherever this sutra abides, there is a stupa there. The passages of the sutra are the Buddha’s sariras.
>> In the sutras: If there are people who aspire to seek the Buddha’s sariras, these are the people to whom this sutra can be taught. This means that they seek the sariras of the Buddha’s Dharma-body.
>> “To this pagoda, people should use all kinds of flowers, incense, strings of jewels, silken canopies, hanging banners, music and song to reverently make offerings, to honor and praise it”: To this pagoda of treasures, these things should be used to make offerings.
>> Sariras are supposed to be placed in a pagoda, but this pagoda exists wherever the sutra abides. It says that there is no need to further place sariras because this sutra’s meaning is revealed by the Dharma-nature realized by the Buddha.
>> The Buddha Himself proclaimed that because the sutra is there and it already contains the Buddha’s Dharmakaya as well as His reward-body, everything is there. It is the same as having the entire body of the Buddha there. This is more worthy of respect than only having the Buddha’s sariras.
“Wherever this Wondrous Lotus Sutra exists,
through the root of faith, the Path will be attained there.
The great Dharma-wheel will be turned there,
and the great Nirvana of ultimate peace will be realized there.
So wherever this sutra abides,
a stupa must be erected as a sincere offering.”
[From this] we can understand that any place where the Wondrous Lotus Sutra exists or [any place where] we all have roots of faith, deep roots, and can take the Dharma to heart and apply it in our daily living, such places, as well as any place where we turn the great Dharma-wheel, are where the sariras of the Buddha’s entire body abide. This means that any place the Buddha-Dharma is is a place where we can turn the Dharma-wheel. When the Dharma is in people’s minds and is truly applied in this world, then the Buddha-Dharma can become widespread. This is how the Buddha-Dharma enables us all to achieve great Nirvana in our minds.
Our minds are full of afflictions and ignorance that cause them to fluctuate; they do not settle down, even for a second. Our thoughts continuously fluctuate. As Buddhist practitioners, we must learn to settle our minds in tranquility and clarity, so we can return to our [natural] spiritual state. This spiritual state is vast and tranquil, without any hindrances. This is our tranquil spiritual state. It is not defiled by filth, nor is it affected by afflictions and ignorance. This tranquil mental state is the state of mind that we must cultivate. This is not saying that only when we pass away, after entering extinction, will we be in Nirvana.
In the process of the Buddha’s spiritual practice, He suddenly became one with the universe. The skies became tranquil and the true principles of all things in the universe came together and entered the Buddha’s mind. At this time, nothing in the world could defile the Buddha’s body or mind. He was without defilement; He had been completely liberated from ignorance and afflictions. Free of all ignorance and afflictions, He was not disturbed by any kind of environment. Having entered this tranquil and clear state, the Buddha was now beyond arising and ceasing. This is known as great Nirvana. This is the goal of our spiritual practice as well. If we are to attain this, then in the process, we must travel the Bodhisattva-path.
The Bodhisattva-path means going among people and [experiencing] many kinds of suffering. Although there is suffering, it will not have any affect on the state of mind of. Bodhisattvas who go among people. Because their spiritual aspirations and their roots of faith are already firm, Bodhisattvas’ mental state is not affected by any kind of worldly suffering. They are entirely willing to go among people. This is walking the Bodhisattva-path. The Dharma of the Bodhisattva-path is what the Buddha taught in the Lotus Sutra. In the beginning, the Buddha praised the Buddha’s wisdom, Buddha-wisdom, wisdom of enlightenment, the wisdom of all Dharma, untaught wisdom, natural wisdom and so on. This wisdom inspires our compassion, and our compassion will then guide our wisdom. This is being replete in both blessings and wisdom.
Blessings must be obtained among people by creating blessings for them and creating good causes and conditions by forming good affinities with others. Good karmic causes and conditions result from actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. The Six Paramitas are giving, upholding precepts, patience diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. With them, we can obtain all wisdom. Because we have the Six Paramitas in all actions, when we go among people, we complete our causes and fulfill all conditions. We perfect our causes and conditions. In order to perfect our causes and conditions of actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions among sentient beings, we must follow this sutra. “This sutra is a path, and this path is a road to walk on.” We must walk this path to get there.
This is like our [Tzu Chi volunteers] in Fujian. [Our volunteers] in Xiamen and Fuzhou communicate with us through video conferencing, along with Taichung and Hualien. [Volunteers] in these four places used technology to interact with each other and learn about the disaster areas [they visit]. Whatever they have seen and heard, they describe their perception of it.
In Fuzhou, over 100 people gathered in one place to share their impressions and the things they had seen and heard. On this occasion, everyone participated, including many young people. There were middle-aged people, youth and seniors. Among them were professors, teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers and even a five-star chef; all these people were there. With manpower like this, everyone lent a helping hand and did things they had never done before. They all devoted themselves to the relief effort.
Hearing the thoughts they shared was truly very touching. In particular, we heard from one commissioner. She told us that she was in the last term of her pregnancy and did not dare to go out. At the behest of her family, she did not go out, but she still took on assignments. From home, she took on supporting work, and she had a full schedule like the others. Others had children who were too young to be brought along [to the relief work]. So, they too shouldered responsibilities. In this way, these volunteers helped take care of logistics. [Some people] came from outside, traveling from Taiwan or from other cities. Where would they stay? They helped them contact hotels, arrange accommodations and so on. So, people who were unable to go out [to help] stayed at home and [helped by] doing this kind of coordination work.
Some who traveled to the disaster area had never done relief work before. Seeing such a severe calamity, what could they do to help? When they arrived at a shelter, they saw an elderly person whose leg had been injured and infected. It was heartbreaking! Nurses exercised their skills and quickly cleaned his leg, washing away all the filth. They helped him apply medicine and took care of [his injury]. There was also a young commissioner who saw an elder there who began to cry. She quickly embraced her and told her, “Do not be afraid; we are all here by your side.” This is [what she did].
Another woman who was over 80 years old told them, “I do not have children. It is only my husband and me. There are only the two of us. To suffer such a big disaster is really difficult for us!” Tzu Chi volunteers went and embraced her too, comforting her [by saying], “Grandma, you have us. We are all your children.” They comforted her and helped her calm down. These were the methods they used. This elderly woman told them, “For many days, I have been eating [nothing but] bread. I can no longer swallow it. I have not eaten rice for days.” Hearing that, everyone quickly mobilized. They all gathered together to figure out a way to quickly prepare a meal for them. So, they set up a stove.
Was setting up this stove a simple task? First they had to clean up, but these [volunteers] were professors, teachers, lawyers and so on. They were [accustomed to] sitting in offices, using their minds, not their physical strength. How were they to suddenly take on this task? It was very tiring, but they had to clean. Where there is a will there is a way! Once they decided to do this, no one feared the filth, and they cleaned quickly. Seeing them clean, [we could se] that they did not fear the filth. The whole kitchen in that middle school was very filthy, but they got to work and brushed, polished and cleaned everything, turning it into a bright, beautiful, clean place. People began sending vegetables which they sorted [in piles] until they had a great amount of vegetables. Then people began to send rice. For every good deed there was to do, as long as someone took the lead, the power of people’s kindness came together.
The [volunteers] then began to cook the food for the seniors and children. Finally, all the disaster survivors could smell the fragrance of vegetables and rice. They were very happy. The [volunteers] not only offered food to eat, but they also applied their wisdom by finding a way to provide food without wasting any. There were no leftovers. Everyone had their fill, and there was nothing left. They all finished all the food in their bowls. The service that Tzu Chi volunteers provided was nothing less than five-star service. They arranged the tables as precisely as if measured with a string. When all the tables and chairs were perfectly arranged, they had the [survivors] file in neatly and sit down in an orderly manner.
As they ate, the Tzu Chi volunteers stood by the tables and provided them with meticulous service. In the beginning, the first two days of serving, Tzu Chi volunteers also cleared the dishes and even washed the bowls. They then exercised their wisdom again. They told everyone, “[The volunteers] all come from different places, some from faraway, from Taiwan. They all have a family and a career, but out of love, they could not bear for you to suffer so much from this disaster. So, they set aside their jobs and came from faraway places to help you.”
“There is also a five-star chef, a very famous chef, who has joined this effort, so the food looks, smells and tastes great and is also very nutritious. They have all taken leave [from work], and they do not get paid for that time. Some entrepreneurs have left others in charge of their businesses to come here [to help]. They serve with such respectful love. So I hope that we can all cherish our blessings and show gratitude. When we finish a meal, aside from eating everything in our bowls, we should also wash them clean. Then these people who have traveled so far will not need to wash so many bowls. Several hundred or over 1000 bowls take a very long time to wash. [We should] let these [volunteers] use this time to go do even more [good] deeds.”
Their wise leadership and expressions of love inspired gratitude in [the disaster survivors], so they lent a hand to help. They not only washed the dishes, they also became volunteers. This is wisdom. From the start, we supported and looked after them. This is like how the Tathagata covers and protects those who uphold the sutras. As Bodhisattvas, we must protect suffering sentient beings. Not only must we protect them, but also guide them and inspire them to apply their strength in serving others. People sent large amounts of vegetables every day, so every day there was more than they could cook. They could not let the food rot or allow it to go to waste. So what could they do with the food left uneaten?
Cheng Hao (Joe Huang) advised them, “Do not worry! If some vegetables rot, we can dig holes in the ground and bury the rotten [vegetables] underground. They will become fertilizer, so you can plant things there.” Moreover, there were so many white cabbages and napa cabbages. What could they do with those that they could not finish? Joe Huang again had a solution; “We can peel off each layer, [leaf by leaf] like this.” They had no knives to use to peel each one, so he taught them to use their hands to tear them off layer by layer. Then they laid it all out to dry under the sun. [In the future], if they would not have [fresh] vegetables to eat, they would have dried vegetables to use. This was what he taught them.
“Everyone, come! Come help us with this.” Thus, these disaster survivors became volunteers. Everyone took on a task. Some washed dishes, some peeled off cabbage leaves and others helped spread the vegetables to dry. Rather than just sitting around in that place, constantly worrying, they opened their hearts and mobilized their bodies. Engaging one’s body is healthy. Thus, instead of having an air of depression, they were working together, giving of themselves. As they were creating value for their lives, they soon broke into smiles. They all felt joyful.
This matter may seem insignificant; what is the big deal about drying vegetables? Actually, it [represents] great principles. When we can enable people to open their hearts and mobilize their bodies, they can forget their afflictions. This allows them to interact with others and form good affinities with each other.
If you look at me and smile, as I see you, I feel happy. Then, we can get to know each other and be there to comfort each other. “You and I are both disaster survivors; when we encounter each other, we can encourage one another.” There is no need to be strangers, [thinking,]. “You and I are unrelated. I am suffering more than you so you cannot understand my [situation].” That would make people strangers to each other, living in the same shelter, yet not knowing each other. If we can open the doors to our hearts and mutually accommodate and care for each other, we will form good affinities and be able to cherish our blessings. They heard the Tzu Chi volunteers [explain this], and [the volunteers] also started leading them to do recycling work. They started teaching them how to do recycling.
Aside from learning how to dry vegetables, everyone began to do recycling work. They taught them to sort recyclables and so on and let them know that the blankets they distributed to them were made from recycled PET bottles. These plastics are sorted, washed and turned into PET flakes and then granules. They clearly explained to them how yarn was manufactured from these and weaved into blankets to let them understand how it all [was done]. Thus they realized that the things they used to throw away can be recycled and used to save people, can be recycled and used to save people people who really need blankets to shield them from the cold.
[Our volunteers] even explained how [this yarn] could be used to weave cloth for clothing and so on. In this way, although it was a small action, it helped them understand great principles and develop aspirations to care for each other. If we can continue to lead them like this, these ordinary people will become Bodhisattvas. We must not say that minor actions have no effect. The smallest acts can contain great principles. We saw lawyers and professors who took responsibility for directing traffic. The person directing traffic was a doctor, who also took care of general services work. They performed all kinds of tasks. Regardless of their expertise, they did work they had never done before.
The only exception was the chef, the head chef. As soon as he came in, he told us, “I will work for as many days as needed.” He was willing to cook every day. Others asked him, “Aren’t you tired?” He said, “I am tired! I am tired; that is why I must come. By doing Tzu Chi work, I will not feel tired.” This is wisdom. It is tiring to stand by the stove the whole day. How could it not be? He indeed felt tired, which was why he had to come out. When he did Tzu Chi work he would not feel tired. When asked, “How many days can you work?” [he said], “However many days you need cooking, that is how many days I will work.”
See, this head chef was willing to serve others in this way; this is the power of love. To sum it up, we should know that they mindfully serve others with love; these are all very touching stories, very moving [moments] in history. I heard many such stories. Starting from around 3 pm, I listened to them for close to three hours, or two and a half hours. For the last half hour, I shared with them [my thoughts]. In this way, I heard [the stories] from Fuzhou and Xiamen, and after Xiamen, from Taichung and then from here in Hualien. Only then did I respond to them.
They are Bodhisattvas manifesting spiritual powers. They abide peacefully, without wavering. At our center in Fuzhou, over 100 people gathered. Once they were done, they began listening to [the volunteers] from Xiamen; that group had just come back from the disaster area, so they shared their stories from Xiamen. People from Taichung also listened to the stories from Fuzhou and Xiamen. Then, those from Taichung also spoke once it was their time to share. We not only heard them, we could see them too. Simultaneously, [the volunteers in] those two places in China as well as those in Taichung, in all three places, were right here with me in Hualien.
As one individual here in Hualien, at the same time, I could be with them in those three places. In Fuzhou they could see my image, and in Xiamen and Taichung, Taiwan, my image appeared as well. So, they could see my image at the same time, and at the same time, I could see theirs too. Everyone came together, and back here in Taiwan, I could see them all. Doesn’t this modern technology help today’s Bodhisattvas manifest spiritual powers? For two and a half hours, I heard each of their sharings. I was truly very touched. The Wondrous Lotus Sutra was present there, the principles of the Wondrous Lotus Sutra. Wherever the Wondrous Lotus Sutra is, it teaches the Bodhisattva Way, These are real-life Bodhisattvas who are saving people in those places.
I asked them, “Are you done [with the relief work]?” Tzu Chi volunteers in Fuzhou said, “Not yet; we still continue. When will you finish? Now, the disaster survivors have gradually moved in with family and friends. There are schools that need to be cleaned up; the children are about to start school. Those who were evacuated are making plans to stay with family and friends.”
Was their work done? I said to them, “We are not done yet. We must continue to grow this bond with these people. We must continue to learn about what their lives are like. In the future, for those who have no homes to live in, where will the government find land? How will they build houses for them? For people in poverty, is the government’s support enough? How will they go about rebuilding their homes? We Bodhisattvas have lasting compassion and great love we must expand our great love make our relationship with them long-lasting. We must continue caring for them.” This was my final reminder. Everyone said they could do it and were willing to continue this work. This is what those three places shared with me.
I feel that they are all Bodhisattvas; they are “[where] the Wondrous Lotus Sutra exists.” They are all walking the Bodhisattva-path. Wherever they go, they are all Bodhisattvas. So, “Through the root of faith, the Path will be attained.” With their roots of faith, they pave the road they walk. Following [the teachings] they hear, they walk along this road. “The sutras are a path, and this path is a road to walk on.” The path of the sutras is a road for us to walk on. So, this is having the root of faith. They have faith, so they are willing to serve and follow this road. So, “Through the root of faith, the path will be attained.” Walking this path, they truly embrace suffering sentient beings. Bodhisattvas embrace sentient beings, just like how the Buddha embraces us. They are able to do this.
So, “The great Dharma-wheel will be turned there.” [The volunteers] taught them how to do each of these small actions [which contained] great principles within. They taught them how to wash dishes, how to do recycling work and how to dry vegetables. This is the great Dharma-wheel; this also requires exercising some wisdom so as to not hurt their pride. They told them where these [volunteers] came from and what their jobs are to help them understand that it is not that these people have nothing to do; they are not like that. They had come on their own initiative, due to the love in their heart. [The evacuees] could feel [the volunteers’] love, and thus gave rise to gratitude. With gratitude, they naturally mobilized and all worked together. They opened their hearts and exercised their strength. This is turning the great Dharma-wheel.
These Bodhisattvas paid out of their own pockets, and with much hardship, they walked along muddy and difficult paths. It was very difficult, yet they were not concerned. They were not defiled. This is like that head chef. He was very tired, but precisely because he was tired, he came out and joined in Tzu Chi’s work. He was happy, so he no longer felt tired. See, we must not allow our weariness to affect our spiritual aspirations. Our heart must be as tranquil as the vast space of the universe. No matter the environment, it did not affect the strength of their bodies and minds. They are very willing to serve others, so they do not waver in body or mind.
“So, wherever this sutra abides, a stupa must be erected as a sincere offering.” This is in the sutra. According to the sutra, wherever this sutra abides, wherever there [are people] with roots of faith who are willing to uphold the sutra, wherever we can expound the sutra and turn the Dharma-wheel, or wherever a Buddha has been born, these are all places where we can erect a stupa. This marks a very respectable and noble place. These are all places where we can erect a stupa. This expresses our reverence.
The Buddha’s Dharmakaya already abides in this stupa; there is no need to further place sariras there. Bone fragments are sariras of His physical body. This sutra is the sarira of His Dharmakaya, so there is no need to further place sariras of His physical body there.
The Buddha’s Dharmakaya is already in this stupa. The reason that these things can happen is due to the Buddha’s Dharmakaya being there. The Buddha’s Dharmakaya is the true principles. Wherever the true principles are, there is no need for the stupa that is erected to have sariras inside. In erecting a stupa, “There is no need to further place sariras there,” since the Buddha’s Dharmakaya is already there.
“Bone fragments are sariras of His physical body.” They are sariras of His physical body. The bones left after cremation are also called sariras. Are they the only reason for erecting a stupa? As for the Buddha’s sariras, He only had one physical body, so how could there be so many sariras? We must realize that. “This sutra is the sarira of His Dharmakaya.” In places where this sutra abides, the sarira of His Dharmakaya resides. “There is no need to further place sariras of His physical body there.” We do not need to place sariras of. His physical body there for it to be considered a stupa. Stupas are erected in these places to show that they are very noble places. So it is said that wherever the Lotus Sutra abides, that is where His Dharmakaya exists. So, we must mindfully comprehend this.
Let us now look at the previous sutra passage.
“Medicine King, in each place where the sutras are expounded, read, recited and transcribed and in each place where the sutras abide, a stupa of the Seven Treasures should be built extremely high and wide, majestically decorated. There is no need to further place sariras there.”
We should all already know this. As long as there is a place where we can put this sutra and the Path into practice, then wherever we go, in each of those places we should be able to build a stupa. However, there is no need to place sariras. This means that wherever the sutras are practiced, these are the most noble of places.
“Why is this?” The sutra passage continues,
“Why is this? The entire body of the Tathagata already abides within it. This stupa should receive use all kinds of flowers, incense, strings of jewels, silken canopies, hanging banners, and music and songs as reverent offerings, to honor and praise it.”
Why is this? This tells us of this wondrous principle. “Why is this? The entire body of the Tathagata already abides within it.” [We must] understand this wondrous truth, that the nature of the principles is pure. “The nature of the principles is pure; they are the pure Dharmakaya of the Tathagata.” The principles cannot become defiled; they are the Dharma, the true principles. True principles cannot be seen and cannot become defiled. However, they educate and purify people’s minds. When humans can coexist in peace and harmony, this will be a pure place. The Tathagata’s pure Dharmakaya is the true principles.
Wherever the sutra is, wherever the principles are, “There is a stupa there.” So long as this sutra exists there, then it is considered a stupa. “The passages of this sutra are the Buddha’s sariras.” Where there are sutra passages or sutras or where people transcribe, read and recite, teach and put [this sutra] into practice are [places where] the Buddha’s sariras exist. They are where the Buddha’s principles exist.
Why is this? The entire body of the Tathagata already abides within it: The sutra manifests wondrous principles. The nature of the principles is pure; they are the pure Dharmakaya of the Tathagata. Wherever this sutra abides, there is a stupa there. The passages of the sutra are the Buddha’s sariras.
“In the sutra,” in the Lotus Sutra, there is this passage, “People like this have [the sincerest] intentions to seek the Buddha’s sariras. For people like this, you can teach this sutra.” This means that. “They seek the sariras of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya.”
In the sutras: If there are people who aspire to seek the Buddha’s sariras, these are the people to whom this sutra can be taught. This means that they seek the sariras of the Buddha’s Dharma-body.
Those who wish to teach this sutra, as it says in the previous sutra passage, are people who have the intentions, the vow, to seek the Buddha’s sariras. “For people like this, you can teach this sutra.” This means that these people “seek the sariras of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya.” They seek the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. His Dharmakaya is the true principles. For people who sincerely intend to seek the Buddha’s principles, for such people, we can teach the Lotus Sutra. This is to say that seeking the Buddha’s sariras is seeking the Buddha’s true principles. Someone like this can be taught this sutra.
“This stupa is worthy of all kinds of flowers, incense, strings of jewels, silken canopies, hanging banners and music and songs to reverently make offerings, to honor and praise it.” In the places where these stupas are, we should be able to use many treasures to make offerings to honor it.
“To this pagoda, people should use all kinds of flowers, incense, strings of jewels, silken canopies, hanging banners, music and song to reverently make offerings, to honor and praise it”: To this pagoda of treasures, these things should be used to make offerings.
The Seven Treasures are used to erect this stupa and to make offerings. This is because these places are precious ground; they are replete with everything, including the sariras of the Buddha’s entire body, meaning all of the Buddha’s principles.
The Lotus Sutra is the sariras of the Buddha’s entire body. This is not only from the Avatamsaka state, but also from the skillful means of the Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna [periods] and all the way to the Lotus [period]. All this Dharma is included in this sutra. It is the Buddha’s true principles, the sarira of His Dharmakaya.
So, in these places, “In stupas, sariras are supposed to be placed.” However, because the sutras abide in these places, it is not necessary to further place sariras. There is no need. “This sutra’s meaning is revealed by the Dharma-nature realized by the Buddha.”
Sariras are supposed to be placed in a pagoda, but this pagoda exists wherever the sutra abides. It says that there is no need to further place sariras because this sutra’s meaning is revealed by the Dharma-nature realized by the Buddha.
This is the place where the true principles revealed by His. Dharma-nature after He attained enlightenment, the sutras, abide. So, this is like how the stupa has no need for His bone fragments, His sariras. This sutra itself is the sarira of His entire body.
Because. “The Buddha Himself proclaimed that because the sutra is there the Buddha’s Dharmakaya and His reward-body, everything is there.” The Buddha already gave these teachings, which were compiled into the sutra. With this sutra, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya and His reward-body are fully present. Whether His Dharmakaya, reward-body or transformation-body, they are all in this place. So, “It contains the entire body of the Buddha.”
The Buddha’s spirit, all of His principles and the original intent of His mind and body are all in this place. They were made clear through the Buddha’s words and thus became the sutras. In places where this sutra is present, if can we also put it into practice and accept and uphold it, then these places are even more precious than [places with] the Buddha’s [physical] sariras. Simply placing bone fragments there is just that and nothing more. What we must do is resurrect the Buddha’s spirit and wisdom and reveal it to this world. So, making offerings to a place like this is more valuable than making offerings to the Buddha’s bone fragments, His sariras. This is because it brings benefit to others. When the Buddha-Dharma is put into action and applied to the world, everyone will be a Bodhisattva. Then everyone will be able to help and transform sentient beings in this world.
The Buddha Himself proclaimed that because the sutra is there and it already contains the Buddha’s Dharmakaya as well as His reward-body, everything is there. It is the same as having the entire body of the Buddha there. This is more worthy of respect than only having the Buddha’s sariras.
So, the power of love does not require us to prostrate to material items. If this is the Buddha’s true body, the stupa where his cremated bones are stored, and we travel countless miles to prostrate there, is this the only way to make offerings and pay respect to the Buddha? No. The true, living stupa is beneath our feet. As we go out to put the teachings into practice, every [path] we walk is step by step paved with the Buddha’s words. This is the Bodhisattva-path we must learn.
The Buddha’s entire body already abides there. Bone fragments are sariras of His physical body; this sutra is the true sarira of His Dharmakaya. Thus, in erecting a stupa, we need not place bone fragments there. Most importantly, wherever this sutra is, that is a place to erect a stupa. This is what is meant by “in each place”; the Buddha’s Dharmakaya is everywhere. Dear Bodhisattvas, a loving heart is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. Whatever is pure and undefiled is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. Practicing [this sutra] by going among people without being defiled [means one has] the Buddha’s pure [Dharmakaya]. These are all the Buddha’s Dharmakaya; it is in each place as long as we are mindful. So, we must always be mindful.