Episode 1387 – Abiding in the Ground of Patience
>> “With sincerity, we vow to deliver all sentient beings. With integrity, we vow to eliminate all afflictions. With faith, we vow to learn the boundless, wondrous Dharma. With steadfastness, we vow to attain Bodhi, universal enlightenment.”
>> They must abide peacefully in four methods: 1. Wherever [Bodhisattvas] teach and practice and wherever they draw near to is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body 2. Guarding against transgressions of speech enables [Bodhisattvas] to excel in expounding the Dharma. This is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with speech 3. Purifying their karma of mind to free themselves from greed, anger and delusion is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with the mind 4. Giving rise to compassion and vowing to transform all beings is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with vows.
>> “The Buddha told Manjusri, ‘If Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas wish to expound this sutra in the future age of evil, they must abide peacefully in four methods.'” The Buddha had begun to answer Manjusri Bodhisattva. “First, they must abide peacefully in the places where Bodhisattvas practice and the places they draw near to to be able to expound this sutra for the sake of sentient beings.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 14 – On The Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy]
>> “Manjusri, what do I mean by the place of practice of Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas? When Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas abide in the ground of patience, are gentle, harmonious, virtuous, compliant and never impulsive or ill-tempered, moreover, when their minds remain undisturbed….” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 14 – On The Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy]
>> “Practice” refers to the practice of contemplation. They must abide in the ground of patience so their minds remain undisturbed. Having contemplated the practices of bringing peace and joy, they use the true wisdom of contemplation as their foremost guide and then begin to practice. All teachings of the Small Vehicle take freedom from desire as their foundation, whereas the teachings of Bodhisattvas take freedom from anger as their foundation. If we cannot free ourselves from anger, we will not be able to benefit others. In this evil world of turbidities, wherever we go, we must not be disturbed by our afflictions.
>> Each of these two places, the place of practice and the place to draw near to, contains practices of matters and of principles. Without matters, we would have no way to be involved with the mundane world. Without principles, we would have no way to resonate with the truth. Once we understand both matters and principles and are not hindered by the true or by the mundane, we will teach the Dharma to benefit beings and wherever we go, we will abide in peace and joy.
>> When Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas abide in the ground of patience: People who can engage in practice will abide peacefully in the ground of patience. Bodhisattvas take patience as their abode. They abide in patience, just as they abide upon the ground of the earth. They are like the great earth, able to embrace all the mountains, oceans plants, trees and living beings. All sentient and non-sentient beings are incapable of leaving this earth to go live in other places. We must all do our best to abide here peacefully.
>> “Ground” here is that which can bear. There is nothing the ground does not bear. Their patience is like the ground; likewise, there is nothing they cannot bear. They do not have preferences, likes or dislikes, so they can transform the violent world. They dwell in patience, thus it says they “abide.”
>> If they are gentle, harmonious, compliant and never impulsive or ill-tempered…: Being gentle, they will not be forceful. Being harmonious, they will not start conflicts. Being virtuous, they will stay far from evil. Being accommodating, they will do what is appropriate, and they will not act hastily or impulsively.
>> When their minds remain undisturbed…: If they hear the wondrous Dharma, they will not be doubtful or fearful. Bodhisattvas enter the world to transform sentient beings. What they do is not done to be in accord with worldly desires. When it comes to the cravings for and attachments to the Five Desires and samsara, Bodhisattvas vow to eliminate them all. Thus they will always be resented and harmed by evil sentient beings.
“With sincerity, we vow to deliver all sentient beings.
With integrity, we vow to eliminate all afflictions.
With faith, we vow to learn the boundless, wondrous Dharma.
With steadfastness, we vow to attain Bodhi, universal enlightenment.”
[We must be] sincere! Everyone, do we all have sincerity in our hearts? Sincerity is giving rise to the power of vows from our heart. As Buddhist practitioners, we must take the Buddha’s teachings to heart. As we take the Buddha-Dharma to heart, our hearts must be full of reverence. Are we sincere? Do we take genuine joy in the Buddha-Dharma? We have faith in the Buddha-Dharma, but do we truly respect the Buddha? If we truly respect the Buddha, then we must engage in long-term practice, uninterrupted practice and practice with nothing further. This is how we genuinely express our sincere reverence.
We must not forget our initial aspiration. When we first formed this aspiration, we wisely chose the path of. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, which is the path to enlightenment. Upon this path of enlightenment, if we wish to single-mindedly advance, this relies upon our sincere will. “We must completely devote our lives. With sincerity, we vow to deliver all sentient beings.” As we learn from the Buddha, the Buddha’s intent and the Buddha’s teachings are all for the sake of His one great cause in the world. This one great cause in the world is suffering. There are countless [different kinds] of suffering. In addition to the human realm, within this universe, [there is the cycle of] formation, existence, decay and disappearance. Within our natural environment and our interpersonal relationships, our state of mind is impermanent and changing. In the world, impermanence brings change and among people, impermanence does the same.
As Buddhist practitioners, are we determined [to pursue] our aspiration? Do we have the sincere will that, clearly knowing the world is suffering, we form aspirations and make vows to go among people? How do we eliminate sentient beings’ suffering? Sentient beings exist within the natural world and within the human world. Within this greater environment; there are different ethnicities, different ways of thinking, different nationalities and different cultures. So, how do we face them all? They are all different, but this difference is created in our minds. The thoughts [in our minds] arise, abide, change and cease. This is what our mind are like. As soon as we form aspirations, we start to mindfully put them into action with willingness and sincerity. However, if we give up half-way through, this is “changing.” When our minds change, we can turn from goodness toward evil. This is why our world, the space [we are in], the human world, is in such chaos.
This world has no fixed appearances; this is the source of suffering. People’s minds are always changing. So, there are no fixed appearances or fixed natures. In fact, this instability in appearance and nature is entirely created by people’s minds. Actually, when we talk about natures, our nature of True Suchness is everlasting. It is just that ignorance has tarnished our nature; this defilement coats us layer by layer. We are haunted by our external afflictions such that our nature of True Suchness is always trapped within, unable to break through our ignorance and afflictions. So, our minds fluctuate; they undergo arising, abiding, changing and ceasing. [Once our thoughts] change, they are different.
If we do things in this way, at a certain point, we will feel “self-important.” This is arrogance. Doesn’t the Chapter on. Encouragement to Uphold the Sutra [mention] the turbidities of sentient beings? These turbidities arise from the greed of sentient beings. They desire recognition and benefits, so they easily give rise to anger. Because of greed, they have expectations, and thus are quick to give rise to anger. They crave recognition and benefits, seeing themselves as very important. Slowly, their greedy and desirous thoughts arise; if they do not crave benefits, they crave fame, authority and power and they will abuse their power; these are people’s habitual tendencies. With all these afflictions, people suffer; this is where suffering come from. Naturally, people become angry, afflicted and confused. “Everyone else is wrong, and I alone am right.” These angry thoughts, this self-importance, is “anger.”
As for “ignorance,” ignorance brings even more suffering. Since we are trapped by afflictions of greed and then defiled by the ignorance that anger brings, once they enshroud us in this way, we become defiled, and are thus unable to free ourselves. This is called “ignorance.” To be lost in delusion amidst our greed and anger is “ignorance.” We are unable to escape from this place. This is foremost because we are not sincere enough. That initial aspiration we formed has already been obscured by external conditions, by [cravings for] fame and power. So, our arrogance comes from greed, anger and delusion. We are arrogant and think we are most important. With such “self-importance,” we think that “power” and “fame” belong to us. This is our delusion going into action. When we are deluded, we cannot distinguish between the principles of right and wrong, so we give rise to arrogance.
When we are arrogant, we become doubtful. We start to doubt other people. This doubt turns into resentment, and our resentment turns into hatred. So, this will cause chaos in the world. The chaos and hardship in this world is where our suffering lies. What methods should we use to correct ourselves and reflect upon ourselves? If we become like this, [full of] greed, anger, delusion, arrogance and doubt, we must treat these diseases in our minds. This requires sincerity. We must ask ourselves, “Since I first formed aspirations, my direction has been to serve others with selfless love. Am I sincere in this?” Our sincere will is the “vow to save all sentient beings. We vow to deliver all sentient beings.” We must begin to frequently ask ourselves, “In our daily lives, do we treat other people with sincerity?” If we do, then we must have integrity.
It is inevitable that as we do things, as external conditions constantly arrive, our Six Roots and the Six Dusts will stir up our minds. If this is so, we will have so many afflictions. What can we do? We must have integrity and the power of vows that comes with it. We must seek to eliminate all kinds of ignorance and afflictions. As we just mentioned, aren’t we already in this world of turbidities? As for these “turbidities,” isn’t it our minds that are turbid? The world within our mind is turbid; the Five Turbidities have already taken form within our minds. Isn’t this so? We must immediately use a mindset of integrity to eliminate our afflictions. So, “With integrity, we vow to eliminate all afflictions.” We must be upright and make sure we do not deviate in direction.
We must recall the aspiration we had when we first made vows. “With faith, we vow to learn the boundless, wondrous Dharma.” The Buddha-Dharma is something we must use. It is not that the Buddha-Dharma has some kind of power. The Buddha-Dharma’s principles are like this, and this is how the Buddha teaches us. He hopes that when it comes to these principles, we can sincerely take them to heart, change our way of thinking and always maintain right mindfulness. This is what the principles teach us, so we ourselves must work hard to accept them. We must clear our own minds of afflictions and ignorance. No one can help us do this. Thus, we must reflect on ourselves.
Do we have faith in others? Do our words earn people’s trust? Are we loyal to other people? Do we serve others with devotion? Are we tolerant of others?
So, our mindset must be upright, with integrity. With integrity, we will eliminate afflictions. This is the power of vows that comes from faith. “With faith, we vow to learn the boundless, wondrous Dharma.” The wondrous Dharma is for us to make use of, to apply within our minds and within our actions as we deal with people, matters and things. It nurtures our wisdom-life and brings out our power of love. We must have open and pure hearts and leverage each other’s strengths as we serve sentient beings together. We must have broad and open minds to be able to accommodate others. We must have a pure heart. We all put our heart into the things we do, so we must have faith in everyone else. Thus, with faith, we can accept the wondrous Dharma. With faith, we will not be suspicious of people, but be grateful to them. This is all part of the wondrous Dharma.
So, with steadfastness, we vow to attain universal, perfect enlightenment. We should treat others with sincerity and regard the Buddha-Dharma with sincerity. With a mind of utmost sincerity and reverence, we will not deviate in any way, internally or externally. Internally, our hearts must be sincere and upright. Externally, our hearts must be faithful and steadfast. When we deal with people and matters, we must be like this. In order for our appearance to truly earn people’s respect, we must engage in inner cultivation and externally practice loyalty and faith. Only in this way will we be able to earn other people’s respect and unite everyone under the same aspiration and the same direction. So, we must engage in spiritual practice.
Previously, I told everyone that. “[Bodhisattvas] must abide peacefully in four methods.” You should remember this.
They must abide peacefully in four methods: 1. Wherever [Bodhisattvas] teach and practice and wherever they draw near to is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body 2. Guarding against transgressions of speech enables [Bodhisattvas] to excel in expounding the Dharma. This is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with speech 3. Purifying their karma of mind to free themselves from greed, anger and delusion is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with the mind 4. Giving rise to compassion and vowing to transform all beings is the place of the practice of bringing peace and joy with vows.
They must abide peacefully in these four methods. The first is “wherever [Bodhisattvas] teach and practice,” and “wherever they draw near to.” We must draw near people. We must have a broad and open mind to accommodate others. Not only do we need to draw near people, but when they need us, we must put [the Dharma] into action and dedicate ourselves with genuine courage. When we peacefully abide in this Dharma and treat others in accordance with it, this is “the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body.” If we do this, whatever we do, wherever we go, when people see us, they will be joyful and happy to draw near us. When we bring peace and joy with our bodies, people will naturally have faith in us. Using exemplary bodily conduct to teach others and draw them in is “the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body.” The second is “guarding against transgressions of speech.” When we open our mouth to speak, we should not [speak] lightly or suddenly say whatever [comes to mind]. Sometimes, words spoken lightly can be sharper than knives and swords. So, this “enables [Bodhisattvas] to excel in expounding the Dharma.” How should we speak so that we can bring peace to people’s minds? To bring peace to people’s minds with our words is the most difficult thing. We must engage in self-reflection; did we say something wrong?
It “enables us to excel in expounding the Dharma”; this is bringing peace and joy with speech. If we speak but people cannot accept it and misunderstand us, we should truly feel repentant. Sometimes, I constantly feel I must repent. This is due to insufficient virtue. So if, when we talk, people do not listen, then we must repent for ourselves. Otherwise, what can we do? In the end, this is what we must do. We must constantly repent; this is the method for abandoning afflictions.
The third is “purifying [our] karma of mind.” We must always remind ourselves that when we cannot influence others, we must immediately go back to “purify” ourselves, to “purify” our karma of mind. [In purifying] our karma of mind, we “free [ourselves] from greed, anger and delusion,” as well as arrogance and doubt. “Arrogance and doubt” are what people most dislike seeing in others. “How could they be so arrogant? How could they be so self-important?” They have not come near us yet, but they already cannot tolerate us. So, this is due to “arrogance and doubt.”
This person, if you speak with him, is always quick to become suspicious of others. Thus, you do not want to speak with him. So, there is not only greed, anger and delusion but also about arrogance and doubt. If we can purify our karma of mind, naturally, this is the “practice of bringing peace and joy with the mind.” This is what the Dharma teaches us, but have our minds been able to accept it? Have we put it to use? When we put it to use, [they will say,]. “This person has changed for the good. Everyone enjoys being near them.” Won’t this be due to our spiritual cultivation?
Next is the fourth [method], which is “giving rise to compassion.” We must always be compassionate and never forget our “vows to transform sentient beings.” This is sincerity. Our hearts must be sincere to eliminate greed, anger and delusion. Making vows must begin from a sincere intent. So, with sincerity, we take “great compassion as the room and gentleness and patience as the clothing.” We have talked about this before. So, we must “give rise to compassion” and “vow to transform all sentient beings.” This is “the practice of bringing peace and joy with vows.” When we make vows, we must always peacefully abide in this place.
Previously, the Chapter on Encouragement to. Uphold the Sutra taught that the evil world of Five Turbidities will be severe, so right now, we must be very vigilant. In the evil world of Five Turbidities, what should we guard against? We must truly be vigilant. In the Chapter on the Practice of. Bringing Peace and Joy, the Buddha teaches us how to bring peace and joy. We must be grateful to Manjusri. Before the Buddha opened His mouth to speak, Manjusri Bodhisattva quickly asked the Buddha on behalf of the Bodhisattvas. “In such an evil place, simply enduring it is not good enough. Besides endurance, is there any other method that will enable us to have effortless patience?” It is not about enduring the unendurable; whether they had to endure or not, they would always have peace and joy. What method was needed for this? So, Manjusri Bodhisattva began to ask questions.
The previous sutra passage says,
“The Buddha told Manjusri, ‘If Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas wish to expound this sutra in the future age of evil, they must abide peacefully in four methods.'” The Buddha had begun to answer Manjusri Bodhisattva. “First, they must abide peacefully in the places where Bodhisattvas practice and the places they draw near to to be able to expound this sutra for the sake of sentient beings.”
Our minds must earnestly abide in the place where we form Bodhisattva-aspirations. “The places they draw near to” means to allow others to draw near. When people willingly approach us, we must draw near to them and go among them. “To be able to expound this sutra for the sake of sentient beings” we must not only teach the principles, but also put them into practice.
So, the following sutra passage continues with,
“Manjusri, what do I mean by the place of practice of Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas? When Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas abide in the ground of patience, are gentle, harmonious, virtuous, compliant and never impulsive or ill-tempered, moreover, when their minds remain undisturbed….”
We must be very mindful of this passage. Now it is telling us how to walk. When it comes to “practice,” the place of practice of Bodhisattvas, this is how we must walk.
“Practice” refers to the practice of contemplation. They must abide in the ground of patience so their minds remain undisturbed. Having contemplated the practices of bringing peace and joy, they use the true wisdom of contemplation as their foremost guide and then begin to practice. All teachings of the Small Vehicle take freedom from desire as their foundation, whereas the teachings of Bodhisattvas take freedom from anger as their foundation. If we cannot free ourselves from anger, we will not be able to benefit others. In this evil world of turbidities, wherever we go, we must not be disturbed by our afflictions.
“Practice” refers to the practice of contemplation. With our minds, we must put our efforts in; We must use our minds to contemplate how we should act and how we should engage in spiritual practice. We must begin by “abiding in the ground of patience.” Bodhisattvas must form aspirations to abide in the ground of patience until, as [indicated] in the previous passage, “Their minds remain undisturbed.” This is what we read in the previous passage. The ways for Bodhisattvas to abide and the ways for their minds to remain fearless are what we must seek to mindfully comprehend.
We must abide peacefully, minds undisturbed. If our conscience is clear, if we are neither selfish nor guilty, naturally our minds will be at peace. We practice according to the Right Dharma, so we will not be afraid. So, our “minds will remain undisturbed.” When our minds remain undisturbed, we will not display any [negative] attitudes that would let others clearly see how we are impulsive or ill-tempered. If we cannot bring peace to our minds, our minds will fluctuate. We must bring peace to our minds.
So, “Having contemplated the practices of bringing peace and joy, they use the true wisdom of contemplation.” They have already firmly established this; they have contemplated [these practices]. How do we bring peace and joy? By using our hearts and minds to engage in careful contemplation, in mindful thinking. So, we must “use the true wisdom of contemplation.” We use our true minds and our sincerity to contemplate and observe what these things are actually like. We must take [this wisdom] “as our foremost guide and then begin to practice.” Only after earnest reflection can we start practicing. This is what we must do in order to be able to do things in a very stable fashion, to do them so they bring peace to people’s minds and bring peace to our own minds. This requires us to be mindful so our true wisdom remains undisturbed. We must engage in careful and earnest contemplation. “Contemplation” means reflection. We must put effort into reflecting on exactly what our perspective is. So, this is what we call our perspective. “Your perspective is off” means that our way of thinking is wrong, so we must put effort into being mindful.
However, “All teachings of the Small Vehicle take freedom from desire as their foundation.” Small Vehicle practitioners seek to avoid desire. But for Bodhisattvas to absorb this Dharma, they must work hard to eliminate anger. As we deal with matters, we should refrain from getting angry. This is elimination. Once anger arises, we must learn how to immediately eliminate it. This is taking freedom from anger as our foundation. The Bodhisattva Way is to “take freedom from anger as their foundation.”
Small Vehicle practitioners take freedom from desire as their foundation. Bodhisattvas take freedom from anger as their foundation. They do not lose their temper or give rise to afflictions. “If we cannot free ourselves from anger, we will not be able to benefit others.” If we cannot refrain from losing our temper, how can we benefit others? So, we must be free from anger. We must earnestly cultivate until we are free of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. This word “anger” is just a symbol; this single word brings four more words along with it. This means if Bodhisattvas want to benefit people, they must absolutely eliminate greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. If we cannot eliminate these things, we cannot benefit other people.
So, “In this evil world of turbidities,” we know that we must awaken. The place we abide in is the Saha World that must be endured, where the turbidities are becoming more and more severe. These turbidities are not put upon us by others. It is our own minds that give rise to turbidities, turbid thoughts of afflictions and ignorance. When others’ afflictions and ignorance and our afflictions and ignorance interact with each other, this creates turbidity within our relationships, and the sparks will fly. I used to frequently tell everyone, “Ah, don’t get angry! But I get angry whenever I see him!” I said, “If you throw a ball at the hard ground, it will bounce back up. The [harder you throw] it, the higher it bounces. If you lay a blanket on the floor, when you throw the ball, it will not bounce back. The principle is the same. If people are hard, we should be soft, and the sparks will not start flying. So, when we are in the world of turbidities, it is not just others who are this way; we also have severe turbidities.”
Therefore, “Wherever we go, we must not be disturbed by our afflictions.” Afflictions are everywhere. If we have these turbidities, afflictions will be everywhere. Afflictions disturb people’s minds; they disturb our minds. We say we want to engage in spiritual practice, but in actuality, our afflictions disturb us. As a result, we are not always capable of revealing our sincere intentions. “Sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness” [are not always possible] for us to actualize as we deal with people and matters. We cannot do it.
So, “Manjusri, what do I mean by the place of practice of Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas?” The Buddha repeated the question and answered it. “The Bodhisattvas’ place of practice” is something we discussed previously. We must abide in “the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy.” We must earnestly eliminate all the afflictions and ignorance from our minds. Faced with such severe turbidities, we must have the heart of a Bodhisattva, which is free from anger. So, we must be free of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt as we face [turbidities]. Otherwise, Bodhisattvas cannot benefit people; we will just be Bodhisattvas in name and will not actually benefit people.
There are two places, “the place of practice and the place to draw near to.”
Each of these two places, the place of practice and the place to draw near to, contains practices of matters and of principles. Without matters, we would have no way to be involved with the mundane world. Without principles, we would have no way to resonate with the truth. Once we understand both matters and principles and are not hindered by the true or by the mundane, we will teach the Dharma to benefit beings and wherever we go, we will abide in peace and joy.
We must put the Dharma into practice. The place of practice is something we discussed previously. We must draw near [people] and put the Dharma into practice. For people to draw near us, we must draw near them. “Each [place] contains practices of matters and of principles.” We must put the Dharma into practice. As we put the Dharma into practice, there is “the practice of matters” and “the practice of principles. The practice of matters” is part of the place of practice; this is when we encounter people and matters. When we go among people, there will be matters. Within matters, there must be principles, because matters and principles are in parallel. There are both matters and principles.
“Without matters, we would have no way to be involved with the mundane world.” We live in a world that is filled with many mundane matters. When we are saving people, aren’t they all ordinary people? Ordinary people’s lives and our lives are the same. When they are in suffering, we must help them. So, this means that we are all part of the world. In this mundane world, our food, clothing, housing, transportation and our dealings with people and matters are all worldly matters. These worldly matters have principles.
What is it that we need to do? Should we do things that benefit ourselves or do things that benefit others? Benefitting ourselves is developing our wisdom-lives. In fact, when we constantly give of ourselves, this is the [the practice of] principles. As we engage in practice through matters, we hope that we can grow our wisdom-lives; this is the [the practice of] principles. As we go about helping and benefitting others, this is [the practice of] matters. We must actually take care of matters. So, when it comes to matters and principles, we must abide in “the place of practice and the place to draw near to.” There must be matters and principles. If there are none, it is not the worldly Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma is inseparable from the world; the world is inseparable from the Buddha-Dharma. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this.
“Without principles, we would have no way to resonate with the truth.” Without principles, how would we return to our nature of True Suchness? How do we clearly understand the principles? Without principles in the world, wouldn’t the world be in chaos? Without principles in the world, how would we save people suffering from disasters? How would we benefit them? Sick people would not have any doctor to see them. A doctor must know the principles of the illness and keep the principle of love in his heart. These principles are inseparable from the world. So, “Without matters, we would have no way to be involved with the mundane world. Without principles, we would have no way to resonate with the truth.” We must be very mindful and [practice] matters and principles in parallel.
We must “understand both matters and principles, not be hindered by the true or by the mundane.” We must understand both matters and principles. When there are matters, there are principles. With the true principles, we will not be hindered by matters. We will apply true principles in worldly matters. When these things do not hinder one another and are interconnected, then “We will teach the Dharma to benefit beings.” Matters and principles will not hinder each other. In this way, we will teach the Dharma and benefit beings, and, “Wherever we go, we will abide in peace and joy.” Whatever we encounter, we will be joyful. Why would we have any afflictions? Why would we have any obstructions?
So, “When Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas abide in the ground of patience [means] people who can engage in practice will abide peacefully in the ground of patience.”
When Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas abide in the ground of patience: People who can engage in practice will abide peacefully in the ground of patience. Bodhisattvas take patience as their abode. They abide in patience, just as they abide upon the ground of the earth. They are like the great earth, able to embrace all the mountains, oceans plants, trees and living beings. All sentient and non-sentient beings are incapable of leaving this earth to go live in other places. We must all do our best to abide here peacefully.
This means that great Bodhisattvas abide in the ground of patience. This means that we must form aspirations and put them into action. “People who can engage in practice will abide peacefully in the ground of patience.” We must put our minds at ease. We are doing the right thing; this is the true practice. So, we must be at peace. No matter how turbulent the mundane world is, we must be at peace. This is the ground of patience.
“Bodhisattvas take patience as their abode.” No matter how full of hardships or how evil and turbid the world can be, Bodhisattvas must take patience as their abode. “They abide in patience, just as they abide upon the ground of the earth.” We must abide in patience just like how we always abide upon the ground of the earth. This is like how the great earth accommodates “all the mountains, oceans plants, trees and living beings. All sentient and non-sentient beings are incapable of leaving this earth to go live in other places.” We must do our best to abide here peacefully. Look at this earth; it is like this. Our minds are like the earth. The earth can accommodate entire mountains and hold entire oceans, plants and trees, sentient beings and so on. They are all on this earth. We must be able to endure; we must endure so many things, meaning to accommodate them in the ground of our minds. We must be able to accommodate everything. “We must do our best to abide here peacefully.” Upon the ground of the earth, we are all able to be accommodated.
So, “‘ground’ here is that which can bear.”
“Ground” here is that which can bear. There is nothing the ground does not bear. Their patience is like the ground; likewise, there is nothing they cannot bear. They do not have preferences, likes or dislikes, so they can transform the violent world. They dwell in patience, thus it says they “abide.”
The ground can support and bear all, so we should also be able to support and bear all. The earth endures patiently, so it can bear heavy objects. Whether they are great mountains, great oceans, great trees or small plants, they all live on this earth, so we must coexist with them, in peace; thus we can accommodate them.
“Ground” here “means to bear.” The ground can support and bear. The earth must bear such heavy objects. The current population is over seven billion. Now, on the surface of this earth, there are so many objects. So, it must support and accommodate them all. It must be able to bear them. So, this is the meaning behind “ground.” There is nothing it cannot bear. It cannot refuse anything by saying, “I will not bear it.” The patience of the earth is like this. “I will do what I must.” Their patience is like the ground, like the earth. Our minds must be like the earth. “Likewise, there is nothing they cannot bear.” We must bear [it all] as well.
“They do not have preferences, likes or dislikes.” We should not say to people, “This is what I like, so I will strive for it. This is what I dislike, so I will discard it.” When it comes to the ground of our minds, [we must see] all sentient beings as equal. Regarding sentient beings, the Buddha’s ground of the mind is like this; no matter how bad they are, He accommodates them. If they have bad habitual tendencies, how should we transform them? If we cannot transform them, we must be patient. “If I cannot save you in this lifetime, I will save you in the next.” The Buddha is like this.
Our mind should “not have preferences, likes or dislikes.” We should not say, “I like you more, so I must have you by my side. I dislike you, so I will push you away. I like you more, so I will help you. I dislike you, so I will make things difficult for you.” These are likes and dislikes, and we cannot have them. Our minds must remain level like the ground of the earth. “They do not have preferences, likes or dislikes,”
“so they can transform the violent world. They dwell in patience.” If we want to transform this violent and evil world that has such aggressive, arrogant and prideful people, how do we do it? How do we pacify their minds? First, we must be patient. Without patience, how will we do this? So, we must be patient. “They dwell in patience, thus it says they ‘abide.'” It is like this.
So, “If they are gentle, harmonious, compliant and never impulsive or ill-tempered….”
If they are gentle, harmonious, compliant and never impulsive or ill-tempered…: Being gentle, they will not be forceful. Being harmonious, they will not start conflicts. Being virtuous, they will stay far from evil. Being accommodating, they will do what is appropriate, and they will not act hastily or impulsively.
We must be gentle. “Being gentle, they will not be forceful.” We should not act too aggressively. “Being harmonious, they will not start conflicts.” We should not start conflicts; we just need to explain the principles clearly. Why would we need to start conflicts? “Being virtuous, they will stay far from evil.” If we are virtuous, we will know that we are not strong enough. After those bhiksus and bhiksunis received predictions, they dared not remain in the Saha World. They stayed far from evil and wanted to go to other worlds. But Bodhisattvas do not abandon [sentient beings]; they still go among people. However, as we tend to worldly matters in this world, we must learn how to be harmonious. We are clearly aware of this evil, so how do we keep ourselves vigilant and self-disciplined? Through vigilance and self-discipline, this evil will not draw near to us. While people will draw near to us, evil will not draw near.
So, “Being accommodating, they will do what is appropriate.” We must stay far from evil, but use an accommodating approach to be able to transform people. We must transform people so that they will be clearly aware that they must guard against evil, “refrain from all evil.” They must correct evil habitual tendencies and earnestly engage in self-reflection. So, we do not stay away from these people, but instead stay away from evil habitual tendencies. Thus, we must be virtuous and accommodating. “Being virtuous” means staying away from evil. “Being accommodating” means that to transform these people, we must “not act hastily or impulsively.” We should not act impulsively, decide things on an impulse and immediately give up on them. We must not do this.
So, “When their minds remain undisturbed….”
When their minds remain undisturbed…: If they hear the wondrous Dharma, they will not be doubtful or fearful. Bodhisattvas enter the world to transform sentient beings. What they do is not done to be in accord with worldly desires. When it comes to the cravings for and attachments to the Five Desires and samsara, Bodhisattvas vow to eliminate them all. Thus they will always be resented and harmed by evil sentient beings.
Our minds cannot be afraid. Bodhisattvas intrinsically have great compassion, great courage, great diligence and great loving-kindness. So, we must “wear the armor of patience.” Besides the clothing of patience, we must also wear the armor of patience. We do not need to be afraid. “If they hear the wondrous Dharma, they will not be doubtful or fearful. Bodhisattvas enter the world to transform sentient beings. What they do is not done to be in accord with our worldly desires.” Bodhisattvas enter the world to transform sentient beings. They do not act out of desire; their actions do not follow their desires. We all have our own perspective and our own power of vows. As for sincerity, an upright mindset and right mindfulness, we all possess these things ourselves.
So, we will not be tempted by the desires for worldly fame or wealth, no. This is what Bodhisattvas do as they come to the world to transform sentient beings. They do not use desires to engage with people. We must be mindful. “When it comes to the cravings for and attachments to the Five Desires and samsara, Bodhisattvas vow to eliminate them all.” Bodhisattvas vow to eliminate them all. Whether it is samsara or the Five Desires, we must do our best to avoid them. Bodhisattvas seek to abandon greed and desire, not to abandon sentient beings. “Thus they will always be resented and harmed by evil sentient beings.” We are in this world for the sake of guiding sentient beings and advancing Right Dharma. The world has been overcome by desire, so as we seek to do this, people will often denounce us. This is quite normal. Evil sentient beings are just unwilling to [accept] this aura of goodness and virtue. Amidst their desires and [struggle for] power, they will denounce [us].
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. There are many traps in the world. In the future evil world, there will be so much deviant arrogance. Once our minds deviate, greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt will all flourish. The world we must enter has severe turbidities. We must truly maintain constant vigilance and awareness, so we must always be mindful.