Episode 1258 – Banners and Canopies of Seven Treasures
>> “The surrounding railings are a metaphor for the Dharma’s protecting of retaining and upholding. The countless chambers are a metaphor for the room of compassion. The draped strings of jewels represent the supreme, magnificent Dharmakaya.”
>> Retaining and upholding: This means retaining goodness so it is not lost and upholding not letting any evil arise. We must take our thoughts, Samadhi and wisdom as our body. The thoughts, Samadhi and wisdom cultivated by Bodhisattvas are replete with these merits and virtues.
>> Those who uphold and retain uphold virtue so it is not lost and seize evil so it will not arise. To forget nothing is known as retaining. The Bodhisattvas’ virtue of upholding and retaining is limitless.
>> “Trillions of precious bells hung from it. From all four sides, it emitted the fragrance of tamalapatra and sandalwood which pervaded the world.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 11 – Seeing the Stupa of Treasures]
>> “All those banners and canopies were made from gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl and rose stone, the Seven Treasures. The stupa was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 11 – Seeing the Stupa of Treasures]
>> All those banners and canopies: and canopies of treasures were used to dignify the top [of the stupa]. They represent the Buddha’s merits and virtues. Banners and canopies: They represent His virtue of benefiting all beings. There is nothing they do not cover.
>> [They] were made from gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl and rose stone, the Seven Treasures: In terms of representations of the Dharma, since gold is firm and resilient by nature, it represents the wisdom of firmness. Silver is pure and white by nature, so it represents purifying practices. The translucence of crystal represents the wisdom of thorough understanding. The smooth curls of mother-of-pearl represents a mind that yields. The multicolored chalcedony represents a mind that takes all actions in response to change. Round and bright pearls represent a mind that is clever and wise. Rose stone is a kind of jade that represents a gentle mind. All these virtues serve to dignify, thus, it says “made from the Seven Treasures.”
>> Those banners and canopies were made from the Seven Treasures: This is a metaphor for being replete with the Seven Noble Treasures. The Seven Noble Treasures are seven kinds of Dharma-wealth: The seven kinds of treasures are the Dharma-wealth of merit and virtue attained by noble beings who have awakened to the Path.
>> The Seven Noble Treasures: The treasure of faith: Faithfully accepting the Right Dharma. The treasure of the precepts: Upholding the laws of the Dharma. The treasure of listening: Being able to hear the correct teachings. The treasure of remorse: Feeling remorse for oneself. The treasure of contrition: Feeling contrite toward others. The treasure of renunciation: Renouncing all things and remaining undefiled. The treasure of wisdom: Illuminating matters and principles with wisdom.
The teaching of these virtues is called the Seven Noble Treasures. The sentient beings who do not retain these are said to be extremely impoverished.
>> It stood tall and reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings: This indicates that all these virtues are exceptional and respected. The Four Heavenly Kings dwell in the belly of Mt. Sumeru. The stupa of treasures was so high that it stood equal to the heavenly palaces. The Fourfold Mindfulness protects the mind just like the heavenly kings.
>> The stupa was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings: This is an analogy for transcending the Four Forms of Birth. The Four Forms of Birth: Womb-born: Contained before birth. Egg-born: Developed within a shell. Moisture-born: In need of moisture for birth. Transformation-born: Transforming into existence from nothing.
“The surrounding railings
are a metaphor for the Dharma’s protecting of retaining and upholding.
The countless chambers
are a metaphor for the room of compassion.
The draped strings of jewels
represent the supreme, magnificent Dharmakaya.”
We must be mindful! The stupa of treasures appeared solely to express the Dharma through appearances. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this Dharma. The stupa’s dimensions were 500 yojanas high and 250 yojanas wide. A yojana is 40 li, so we know it was 20,000 li high; this is very high. Its height represents breaking through the Five Realms. I hope everyone will be able to understand and remember this. This is something we must commit to memory. The Five Realms is the place where the beings of the Five Destinies coexist. In this world, there are people with both good and evil. If we do good, we will have blessed retributions, such as the reward of being born in heaven, enjoying wealth and nobility. [This happens] in both the heaven realm and the human realm.
In the human realm, there is also poverty and hardship. [People suffer from] illness and disability, and some suffer from poverty as well as disease and disabilities. This kind of life is like living in hell. That is to say nothing of the actual hell realm. The hell realm is one of uninterrupted suffering; it is truly extreme suffering. There is also the hungry ghost realm, where Maudgalyayana rescued his mother and where Bright-Eyed Girl rescued her mother and so on. These filial sons and daughters had mothers who created karma in the human realm. They went to hell or the hungry ghost realm to save their mothers. We have spoken about this before, about the suffering in the hell and hungry ghost realms. We cannot see the hell or hungry ghost realms, but in this world, there are so many [people who suffer from] starvation and poverty. Their bellies are very bloated due to a lack of nutrition. Their necks are tiny and their limbs are thin. They are all shriveled up; they are just skin and bones, with a great big belly. These are scenes straight out of the hungry ghost realm. This is suffering; it is unbearable suffering.
We can also see the animal realm. It is all around us. All animals belong to the animal realm. Look at hell on this earth. There are so many in the hell of cesspits. They are surrounded by garbage and filth. Most people would not get dare get close, but those people live among garbage day after day. Or they depend on garbage to stay alive, eating from garbage piles. This is something we often see. Whether around the world or here in Taiwan, Tzu Chi volunteers often go to clean up for them. They are living just like in the hell of cesspits. They are poor, ill and disabled, and moreover live in this kind of environment. Their minds are truly as if in hell or in the realm of hungry ghosts or the animal realm, which is everywhere around; there are all kinds of animals. This is beyond their control. These are the Five Realms.
Since we engage in spiritual practice, we must seek to understand this. These are all living beings. The Buddha taught and strongly affirmed that all living beings have the Tathagata’s nature of wisdom, His enlightened nature; we all intrinsically have this. It is just that we unenlightened beings are lost in confusion. We are unable to see things clearly, so they entangle our minds. Why is that? We cannot turn [our thinking] around, so we experience so much suffering.
The stupa was 500 yojanas [high]. A yojana is 40 li 500 yojanas is equal to 20,000 li. This represents actualizing blessings and wisdom in 10,000 actions. As we [practice] the Six Perfections, we actualize blessings and wisdom in 10,000 actions. Is it really only in 10,000 actions? It must be in every action. Blessings and wisdom are created among people. So, the purpose of the stupa was to exhibit these virtues, to exhibit these qualities and virtuous practices, This requires us to take action.
The Six Perfections are giving, upholding the precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These six things can deliver us from this shore to the other shore. This is what it means to cross to the other shore. If we want to cross to the other shore, we must use these six methods. We must go among people and create countless blessings. Through the ignorance of sentient beings we temper our wisdom. This is the meaning of blessings and wisdom. Blessings and wisdom follow [our practice of] the Six Perfections. In this way, we will constantly keep advancing. This is the meaning of “in all actions.”
[This is the purpose of] the stupa of treasures. So vertically, in terms of height, it was 500 yojanas high. In terms of width, its foundation was 250 yojanas wide. This is 10,000 li. This represents us unenlightened beings. Unenlightened beings start out with so many afflictions and ignorance. So, all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to this world in order to transform sentient beings. This is why they need to open the Dharma-doors to teach sentient beings with all kinds of Dharma. They begin with the ignorance of sentient beings’ in the “25 forms of existence” and from there continue to analyze for us the names and appearances of the 108 afflictions. We have accumulated such an array of afflictions; it is so wide and vast. The Buddha had to [teach] in accord with sentient beings’ limitless [afflictions]. He thus opened His Dharma-doors to us. By teaching us according to our capabilities, He enables us to engage in spiritual practice.
Engaging in spiritual practice is like climbing a stupa, level by level, step by step. The higher we get, the more we need railings. There needs to be railings all around, or else it will be dangerous; we will easily fall. So, for safety, the stupa had railings all the way around it. They surrounded it. This is “a metaphor for the Dharma’s protecting of retaining and upholding.” [The Buddha] used all kinds of Dharma as analogies to teach us and help us protect our body of precepts, so we will not go astray. As we engage in spiritual practice, we must take care to maintain our body of precepts. So, we must “retain and uphold,” retain all goodness so it is not lost and uphold not letting any evil arise. This is the meaning of “retaining and upholding.”
We must also take care to guard our thoughts. We must take “Samadhi and wisdom as our body.”
Retaining and upholding: This means retaining goodness so it is not lost and upholding not letting any evil arise. We must take our thoughts, Samadhi and wisdom as our body. The thoughts, Samadhi and wisdom cultivated by Bodhisattvas are replete with these merits and virtues.
As we engage in spiritual practice, our minds must be focused and resolute. As we give rise to each thought, we want every thought to be on the Dharma. [With the] Dharma, we actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions and adapt to the capabilities of sentient beings. Times are changing. People’s minds are unstable. Living among these changes and this instability, spiritual practitioners must have firm faith. Therefore, we must “take thoughts, Samadhi and wisdom as our body.” As we engage in spiritual practice, this must be our body; we must put [the teachings] into action. As for our aspirations and our power of thought, we must very mindfully preserve these. We have to travel along the Bodhisattva-path. So, “the thoughts, Samadhi and wisdom cultivated by Bodhisattvas are replete with these merits and virtues.”
[To cultivate] Samadhi and wisdom, we must work hard. By working hard, we will be able to exhibit virtue. If we do not work hard, how will [our virtue] be visible? Spiritual practitioners must have the resolve of spiritual practitioners. This resolve must be put into action. We must express our perseverance and express our power of wisdom. Our minds must be firm, so that we will not be led astray by external conditions. So, this Dharma is an analogy for the protection of retaining and upholding. We need to protect our good thoughts. We must retain all goodness; [our actions] must include all good deeds. We must work hard to learn this. We must also be very vigilant. We must uphold not allowing any evil arise and retain all goodness so it will not be lost. We must [retain] all goodness so it is not lost and must not allow any evil to arise.
Once we give rise to the aspiration to do good, we absolutely must not let it become lost. After we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we will have a clear understanding. So, we know we can not give rise to evil. Therefore, we need the power of Samadhi and the power of wisdom in order to be able to exhibit these virtues. This is just like this stupa. It was very high, 20,000 li, 500 yojanas.
Inside the stupa, there were chambers. “The countless chambers are a metaphor for the abode of compassion.” Inside such a big stupa, there is chamber after chamber. If we were to enter such a stupa, we would see one chamber after another. This is a metaphor for the room of compassion. Great compassion is the room. If we want to walk the Bodhisattva-path and engage in the Bodhisattva-practice, first we must establish loving-kindness and compassion. As for “countless,” in order to save all sentient beings in the world, we need countless people to be replete in great loving-kindness and compassion so they can enter the Tathagata’s room. Thus, when it comes to the contents of this stupa, as we have previously mentioned, “Great compassion is the room and gentleness and patience are the clothing.” These are already contained within this stupa.
[Next is] “draped strings of jewels.” In this way, we continue to draw closer. Inside, there were many strings of jewels, banners and streamers [hung] high all around the stupa. They were hanging down from above. This is just like all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas as they transform sentient beings; they have a very lofty and refined character, but they humble themselves to care for sentient beings and patiently guide them. It is as if they covered them in robes that were [adorned] with strings of countless jewels. The principle is the same. This represents the magnificence of the Dharmakaya. This magnificence of the Dharmakaya is something we must seek to experience and understand. So, we must “retain and uphold.” We must retain all goodness as we give rise to it and [uphold] not letting any evil arise. This is what we must be very mindful of. So, when it comes to these virtuous practices, Bodhisattvas must retain and uphold them. They will then naturally have infinite virtues.
Those who uphold and retain uphold virtue so it is not lost and seize evil so it will not arise. To forget nothing is known as retaining. The Bodhisattvas’ virtue of upholding and retaining is limitless.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage.
“Trillions of precious bells hung from it. From all four sides, it emitted the fragrance of tamalapatra and sandalwood which pervaded the world.”
[There were] “trillions of precious bells.” This stupa had many bells hung all over it. When the wind blew, the bells would ring. This represents that the Dharma must be spread. It is an admonishment, warning sentient beings to “refrain from all evil and do all that is good.” The principles of the Buddha-Dharma are lofty and upright. They are very lofty. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas exhibit virtue as They teach and transform beings in this world. This is just like bells hung very high. When the wind blows, the sound of the bells helps everyone pay attention to the loftiness of these virtuous practices. They teach, transform and protect sentient beings in order to help us understand.
“From all four sides it emitted the fragrance of tamalapatra and sandalwood.” This fragrance came from all four sides. This is because when we experience the Dharma, when we perceive the fragrance of the Dharma, we feel joy from within. When the wind blows over fragrant wood, whether fragrant flowers or wood, this fragrance immediately spreads throughout the four directions. So, in all four directions, it was very fragrant. This image from the previous [sutra passage] is a metaphor for the Dharma.
So, the next sutra passage continues,
“All those banners and canopies were made from gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl and rose stone, the Seven Treasures. The stupa was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“All those banners and canopies” refers to the many banners and canopies made from treasures. We should all be clear on this. Great numbers of treasures were used to adorn these banners. “[There were also] canopies of treasures.” There were banners and canopies of treasures, completely adorned in treasures. They could cover [the stupa] from above. For example, in Japan, whenever there is a big Dharma-assembly, or when there is a large ritual where the emperor is present, or a Dharma-assembly held by eminent monastics, they will raise a canopy high above that can block the sun as well as the wind. It also represents great majesty; it is very dignified. So, “[They] were used to dignify the top [of the stupa].” This represents the Buddha’s merits and virtues, that they are supreme and unsurpassed.
The Buddha’s virtues are supreme and unsurpassed virtues. These virtues pervade the universe. So, the banners and canopies represent. “His virtue of benefiting all beings. There is nothing they do not cover.”
All those banners and canopies: and canopies of treasures were used to dignify the top [of the stupa]. They represent the Buddha’s merits and virtues. Banners and canopies: They represent His virtue of benefiting all beings. There is nothing they do not cover.
The Buddha appeared in this world to benefit sentient beings and teach sentient beings to give rise to love in their hearts and, with that love, go to [the aid of] suffering sentient beings everywhere. This is how the Dharma, the Dharma of goodness, can spread throughout the world. [In this way], love in this world can spread to the places of greatest suffering. This “represents His virtue of benefiting all beings.”
Isn’t this what our Living Bodhisattvas do? They act according to the Buddha’s teachings and exercise this Dharma, this great love, to bring benefit to sentient beings. So, this word, “beings” refers to how all sentient beings can receive protection. When it comes to His virtue, “There is nothing it does not cover.” There is nothing in the world it does not cover. Beneath the canopy of the sky, the Buddha’s virtues are one with the universe. “His heart encompasses the universe and the boundless worlds within it.” After the Buddha was enlightened, He became one with the universe. So, because of this, “There is nothing [His virtue] does not cover.” [He teaches] these principles solely to benefit sentient beings.
So, “[They] were made from gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl and rose stone, the Seven Treasures.” These are supreme, unsurpassed treasures.
[They] were made from gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl and rose stone, the Seven Treasures: In terms of representations of the Dharma, since gold is firm and resilient by nature, it represents the wisdom of firmness. Silver is pure and white by nature, so it represents purifying practices. The translucence of crystal represents the wisdom of thorough understanding. The smooth curls of mother-of-pearl represents a mind that yields. The multicolored chalcedony represents a mind that takes all actions in response to change. Round and bright pearls represent a mind that is clever and wise. Rose stone is a kind of jade that represents a gentle mind. All these virtues serve to dignify, thus, it says “made from the Seven Treasures.”
So “in terms of representations of the Dharma,” gold is “firm and resilient” by nature. Since we want to engage in spiritual practice, we cannot be lacking in determination; we must be firm and resilient. This determination is something that we spiritual practitioners must be replete with. So, the ancients said, “Becoming a monastic is the work of a great person; even a great general would find it difficult.” A general may dare to enter the battlefield, but he dares not engage in spiritual practice. He may be able to unify a country’s rule, but he does not dare to become a monastic. This is because he knows that to become a monastic and engage in practice, he must have great firmness and resilience. He must demonstrate firm wisdom. It requires great wisdom before one will be able to choose the path of a monastic. To engage in spiritual practice on this path requires great firmness and power of wisdom.
[After gold comes silver]. Silver is pure and white by nature. Silver is very white. Gold is yellow while silver is white. It is very pure and white by nature. Moreover, it is able to detect poisons. We can use silver [to detect] whether something is pure or poisonous. In the past, emperors and other nobility would use silver chopsticks when they ate. This is because silver can indicate whether food was poisoned or not. This is what the ancients did. Many rich people used silver chopsticks. So, silver is pure and white by nature, and it can show if something is poisonous. This is the function of silver. It represents purity; it is pure and clean. This is the nature of silver.
As for crystal, it is translucent; it is very clear. [When we say] “as pure as crystal,” [we mean] pure, without blemishes and translucent. This is just like crystal. Thus, it represents “the wisdom of thorough understanding.” With clear wisdom, everything we see is very clear. We can see everything very clearly; our vision is not in the least bit muddled. This is the nature of crystal. Mother-of-pearl has smooth curls. It is rounded with gentle curves and is capable of forming pearls. Also, it represents yielding. From a very high place, it can bend down, yielding according to its external conditions. When [giant clams] are in the ocean, no matter what they encounter, they can curve it according to the conditions. These are its smooth curls.
“Multicolored chalcedony” comes in all kinds of colors. These are all treasures, things that are very valuable in this world. Each of these things has its own characteristics, and they are all very valuable. [Chalcedony] represents “a mind that takes all actions in response to changes.” These things are all found in nature. They follow the conditions of nature to become such precious things.
As for “round and bright pearls,” pearls are round and bright. They “represent a mind that is clever and wise.” Pearls come from oysters. It takes a very long time for them to grow into pearls. They are round by nature and are smooth and bright. Pearls represent a mind that is clever and wise; with it we are able to respond to all things with clever wisdom. “Rose stone” is a kind of stone. It is a kind of jade. Jade is also very valuable. Rose stone represents a gentle mind. So, “All these virtues serve to dignify, thus it says ‘made from the Seven Treasures.'” [The Buddha] has achieved so many virtues, so it speaks of the Seven Treasures.
Specifically, “The banners and canopies were made from the Seven Treasures.” The streamers, banners and so on were all made from the Seven Treasures.
Those banners and canopies were made from the Seven Treasures: This is a metaphor for being replete with the Seven Noble Treasures. The Seven Noble Treasures are seven kinds of Dharma-wealth: The seven kinds of treasures are the Dharma-wealth of merit and virtue attained by noble beings who have awakened to the Path.
Previously, we spoke of the Seven Treasures, gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony etc. [These things] are made from the Seven Treasures. They are also a metaphor for the Seven Noble Treasures. “The Seven Noble Treasures are seven kinds of Dharma-wealth.” They are seven kinds of Dharma. These seven kinds are “the Dharma-wealth of merit and virtue attained by noble beings who have awakened to the Path.”
The Seven Noble Treasures: The treasure of faith: Faithfully accepting the Right Dharma. The treasure of the precepts: Upholding the laws of the Dharma. The treasure of listening: Being able to hear the correct teachings. The treasure of remorse: Feeling remorse for oneself. The treasure of contrition: Feeling contrite toward others. The treasure of renunciation: Renouncing all things and remaining undefiled. The treasure of wisdom: Illuminating matters and principles with wisdom.
What are the Seven Noble Treasures?
The first is the treasure of faith. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits. It nurtures all roots of goodness.” So, we must have faith in the Buddha and faith in the Dharma. We must first establish faith. We must have the right faith. Our faith must be deep in order for us to be able to embrace Right Dharma. Otherwise, we may have all kinds of beliefs, such as superstitious or deviant beliefs. But the faith we speak of is right faith. Faith can serve as the source of the Way and the mother of merits. All spiritual practice begins with faith.
There is also, “The treasure of the precepts,” which is “upholding the laws of the Dharma.” We understand this. We must uphold the precepts, guard against wrongs and stop evils; we must uphold this in our hearts. When our Five Roots connect with our external conditions, in our hearts, we need something like a railing that guards and protects us. When we have a boundary that rails us in, that is upholding the laws of the Dharma. In our spiritual practice, we must [uphold] the conduct of spiritual practitioners. We must follow our rules and etiquettes.
What about the “treasure of listening”? It is “being able to hear the correct teachings.” If it is incorrect, we must not listen to it. If it goes against the principles, do not listen. So, we must listen to the correct teachings.
Next are the treasures of remorse and of contrition. Our minds must constantly have a sense of remorse and contrition. These two words, remorse and contrition, mean “I feel remorse for my own poor virtues. We must always have thoughts of remorse in order to give rise to good deeds.” We ourselves know that we are still very poor in the study of virtue. So, we must constantly remind ourselves to be vigilant. We must always have thoughts of remorse. Only then will we be able to follow others in doing good deeds and putting the teachings into practice. As we follow others to do [good], we must not become haughty or proud, thinking that we already know so much.
We understand, we are very smart, but the virtue of wisdom is something we have not cultivated at all. So, when others do what is right, we should do the same and keep ourselves from becoming arrogant. This is what it means to have remorse. We must always be remorseful. I often hear people say, “I feel remorseful.” But when it comes to “remorse,” they do not know the meaning of this word. It means to have remorse for being so lacking in our virtue. Our spiritual cultivation is lacking, so we must awaken ourselves. We must rejoice in the good deeds others do. We must rejoice and give rise to aspirations. This is what it means to be remorseful.
What about contrition? Contrition is “being afraid of suffering other people’s criticism for the wrong things we did.” If in the past we did things that were wrong, it is difficult to avoid people criticizing us behind our backs for those mistakes. So, we must not do [such things]. We must constantly have a sense of contrition and prevent ourselves from committing wrongs. We did this thing in the past, and other people criticized us. Now that we understand, we absolutely must not do it again. This is called contrition. If we have a sense of contrition, we will naturally keep ourselves from doing wrong. In the past, we had bad habitual tendencies. We were too proud, too arrogant or too foolish, filled with thoughts of ignorance, anger and greed. We committed violations and made mistakes. This was all in the past. But now, if we give rise to a mind of contrition, we will naturally put an end to wrongdoings.
So, this the “treasure of remorse” is “feeling remorse for oneself.” We clearly know ourselves; we know how much [good] we have actually done. We have not done much, so we must not feel overly proud of ourselves. “The treasure of contrition” means that we have made mistakes in the past, so we must not do wrong again. Putting a stop to evil is contrition. So, we must be very mindful. We often talk about these two words, so we should truly seek to understand them better. We must have a sense of what is right and remind ourselves to be vigilant. This is what it means to feel remorse and indebtedness.
“The treasure of renunciation” refers to renouncing everything and not becoming defiled. We must completely renounce our past bad habitual tendencies. Our past ignorance and confusion must be completely eliminated. We must go among people without becoming defiled. This is called renunciation. There is no need to take issue with people. Do not take issue over things; just let them go. The “treasure of wisdom” refers to “illuminating matters and principles with wisdom.” When we are replete with wisdom, we can discern matters and principles very clearly.
These are the treasures of faith, precepts, listening, remorse, contrition, renunciation and wisdom. They are called the Seven Noble Treasures. These seven things are essential in the course of our spiritual cultivation. They are the Dharma-wealth of merit and virtue attained by noble beings who have awakened to the Path. We must mindfully seek to comprehend them.
These are virtues and Dharma. They are called the Seven Noble Treasures. So, “The sentient beings who do not retain these are said to be extremely impoverished.”
The teaching of these virtues is called the Seven Noble Treasures. The sentient beings who do not retain these are said to be extremely impoverished.
In the earlier Chapter on Faith and Understanding, the [parable] of the poor son showed how we have not applied the Dharma in our hearts. This means we lack these kinds of Dharma-wealth, so we are said to be impoverished. Isn’t the world full of people who lack [Dharma-wealth]? Being lacking is to be impoverished. We must put effort into being mindful of this.
In terms of height, this stupa made from the Seven Treasures “was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings.” It was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings. This symbolizes that. “All these virtues are exceptional and respected.” All of these virtues are exceptional and respected. “The Four Heavenly Kings dwell on the slopes of Mt. Sumeru. The stupa of treasures was so high that it stood equal to the heavenly palaces.” This means that “The Fourfold Mindfulness protects the mind like the heavenly kings.”
It stood tall and reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings: This indicates that all these virtues are exceptional and respected. The Four Heavenly Kings dwell in the belly of Mt. Sumeru. The stupa of treasures was so high that it stood equal to the heavenly palaces. The Fourfold Mindfulness protects the mind just like the heavenly kings.
This is like how the Four Heavenly Kings protect the four sides of Mt. Sumeru. This is described in the sutras. This is an analogy for how the Fourfold Mindfulness protects our mind.
“The stupa was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings.” This is an analogy for “transcending the Four Forms of Birth.”
The stupa was so tall that it reached the palaces of the Four Heavenly Kings: This is an analogy for transcending the Four Forms of Birth. The Four Forms of Birth: Womb-born: Contained before birth. Egg-born: Developed within a shell. Moisture-born: In need of moisture for birth. Transformation-born: Transforming into existence from nothing.
The Four Forms of Birth are [as follows]. “Womb-born [beings are] contained before birth.” Womb-born beings are contained in their mother’s womb. This is what it means to be “womb-born. Egg-born [beings] develop within a shell.” Things [born from] shells, chicken, birds etc., are all called “egg-born.” They are covered by a shell. At birth, they must break through this shell, freeing themselves from the shell to be born. This is what it means to be “egg-born.” There is also “moisture-born.” They are born in a moist, aqueous environment. These things [live] in moist places or in water. They are all classified as “moisture-born.” [Beings born] in a moist, wet environment are called “moisture-born.” Mosquitos and insects are all like this. They are moisture-born.
“Transformation-born [beings] transform into existence from nothing.” This is called being transformation-born. To be “transformation-born” is to directly go from this life to the next. Heavenly beings go directly from this life to the next. If you have heavenly blessings, once you leave this world having created a great abundance of blessings in this world, you will journey on your blessed retributions and depart from the human world to be transformation-born into heaven. You will be transformation-born into a heaven above. This is what it means to be transformation-born.
We sentient beings cannot escape the Four Forms of Birth. Sentient beings experience suffering because they follow their karma without control. Sentient beings with negative karma are born into this world to suffer; they create more karma and suffer its retributions. The greatest suffering is to be transformation-born into hell, to go directly from this life to hell. In an instant, we fall into hell. This is also being “transformation-born.”
But in the hells of this world, we can also see Living Bodhisattvas. They go to the hells of this world and save people. There is a 96-year-old man in Zimbabwe who is all alone. This elderly man also created karma in his past. In the past, he had a wife and son, but he left home, abandoning his wife and son. He ended up raising another person’s family, working to earn money. All his life, he worked like this, living a very difficult life. Zimbabwe society is matrilineal. This man eventually became old and ill. He had spent most of his time working to earn money, but aside from that, his behavior was quite poor.
His second family consisted of a single mother and her child, whom he helped to raise. However, when he became old, this mother told the child bad things about him. So, even this child who was raised by him came to reject him and drove him out of the house. He was living all alone. He was very miserable, ill and old. He was 96 years old. Tzu Chi volunteers saw him and felt for him. They often cared for him and brought him things.
One day, his grass hut could not withstand the wind, and his roof was blown away. For several days, he suffered the sun’s heat, rain and wind, curled up in a corner of the ruined grass hut. The African Tzu Chi volunteers found him there and felt for him. They immediately went to buy zinc sheets and quickly covered the hut with them. They brought him a [Jing Si] folding bed and provided him with [necessities]. They helped him tidy up and cleaned everything.
The group of volunteers then led him outside, surrounded him and kept wishing him well. He cried and said, “I have no son; I have no relatives.” The group of young African Bodhisattvas kept telling him, “I am your son. I am your daughter.” It was like what we do in Taiwan. They continued to comfort him. This elderly man was so moved that he knelt down. With tears streaming down, he looked up and said, “Thank you! I hope Master can always lead people like this to care for those who are suffering.”
In this world, we see Bodhisattvas using the Seven Noble Treasures to do good deeds and go among people. If we do not have faith or listen to the Dharma, how will we be able to uphold these ways of goodness and continue walking on this path? Our suffering in this world is beyond our control. Will we fall into hell or come to this world again to suffer more hardship? Or will we create many blessings and be transformation-born into heaven? Among the Four Forms of Birth, [where we end up] is beyond our control. So, the Buddha came to teach us to enable us to choose, to help us understand the noble Dharma that enables us to come and go freely. Therefore, we must always be mindful.