Episode 1621 – Taking Joy in Spreading the Teachings
>> “Spreading the Dharma is not easy, for the Dharma is hard to spread. Those who spread the Dharma find it hard to convey their aspirations. The aspiration to pass on the Buddha’s wisdom-life is hard to carry out, so Ananda, out of grief and shame, sought to enter cessation.”
>> [Once] when Ananda came to a bamboo grove, he heard a group of bhiksus reciting a verse incorrectly, “Living for a hundred years without seeing a crane is not as good as living for one day and getting to see a crane.” Ananda sighed at this and said, “Living for a hundred years without understanding the law of arising and ceasing is not as good as living for one day and being able to understand arising and ceasing.”
>> ..or a city, a town, a street, an alley, a settlement or a farm, and based on what they have heard, they expound it for their parents, elders, virtuous friends and acquaintances to the best of their abilities. [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 17 – On Distinguishing Merits and Virtues]
>> “All these people hear this and take joy in it, and they too pass on the teachings. When other people hear [this sutra], they also take joy in it and pass on the teachings. In this way, it is passed on and on in turn until it reaches the fiftieth person.” [Lotus Sutra, Chapter 17 – On Distinguishing Merits and Virtues]
>> All these people [pass it on] in cities, towns and villages to their relatives, acquaintances, good friends and so on, on and on until it reaches the fiftieth person. If they were to continuously pass it on, listening to the sutra and spreading the Dharma on and on until the fiftieth generation, this would be of merit
>> All these people hear this and take joy in it: All these people pass on [this sutra] from one group to another. They pass down the Dharma from generation to generation; upon hearing the Dharma, they all take joy in it. All these people: This refers to the aforementioned parents, relatives and so on.
>> [They] hear this and take joy in it: This refers to the people [who go to] the monasteries, farms [and so on]. Upon hearing the Dharma, they leave the Dharma-assembly and are immediately able to expound it to others. This also refers to the others who also take joy in it and enjoy teaching it to people; they also pass it on by teaching it to a third group of people.
>> They too pass on the teachings. When other people hear [this sutra], they also take joy in it and pass on the teachings: Even more people hear the Dharma in this way and pass down the teachings on and on in turn. When others hear them teach, some of them will also pass on the teachings to others to the best of their ability.
>> In this way, it is passed on and on in turn until it reaches the fiftieth person: In this way, they disseminate [the sutra], passing on the teachings in this order. One person passes it on to another, all the way until it reaches the fiftieth person. Once these other people have heard it, they give rise to joy in their hearts. Then they also go on to pass on the teachings to the fourth and fifth generations. They pass them on and on until they reach the tenth and twentieth person, all the way until they reach the fiftieth person.
>> Those who teach and listen may be eminent monks, famous scholars or virtuous friends, people young and old, or foolish men and foolish women. They might spread [the Dharma] in teahouses, taverns, inns, parks, in vegetable gardens among the bean trellises, along the main road, in small alleys, or on fishing boats along the river. In this way, they pass it on and on in turn, gradually spreading it further and further until it reaches the fiftieth person.
“Spreading the Dharma is not easy, for the Dharma is hard to spread.
Those who spread the Dharma find it hard to convey their aspirations.
The aspiration to pass on the Buddha’s wisdom-life is hard to carry out,
so Ananda, out of grief and shame, sought to enter cessation.”
This is very difficult and also very lamentable. The Right Dharma is needed in the world, so when the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, His greatest worry was regarding how the Dharma was to be spread. Starting with the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha kept increasing His efforts; He clearly wanted to spread the Dharma. This meant that He had to recruit people. To spread the Dharma, He had to recruit people. People needed to be able to form great aspirations and make great vows; making great vows to spread the Dharma was what the Buddha worried about the most before He entered Parinirvana.
He had been spreading the Dharma His entire life, for a full 42 years. When those 42 years had passed by, the Buddha was already 72 years old. He had been spreading the Dharma for 42 years. As He was by then already 72 years old, He knew how impermanent life was and that He did not have much time left, so He immediately turned toward teaching the Lotus Dharma. He let go of the skillful means of the past and turned to the true path. He kept telling everyone that the teachings used before were all skillful means that. He had applied in earnest patience. Now, having set aside the skillful for the direct, His teachings were very practical. The teachings He wished to give were all very direct. He had now set aside His previous teachings of skillful means and began teaching anew, directly expounding the Lotus Sutra, the direct path to Bodhi.
In the past, I have repeatedly discussed the great, direct path to Bodhi. This is the Lotus Sutra. To get people to enter Bodhi and lead them toward awakening, He ultimately had to use direct teachings. Yet the Lotus Sutra contained all of the past teachings as well as the present and future [teachings]. [It contained] His reminders of the present and the teachings to be passed on in the future. So, chapter by chapter, passage after passage, be it from the Chapter on Parables, the Chapter on Faith and Understanding or so on, they were the teaching of the manifest.
Now we are in “the teaching of the intrinsic.” So, we can see how urgently the Buddha wanted to spread the Dharma, but He lamented how difficult spreading it was. It is difficult to spread the Dharma; this is not easy. Spreading the Dharma is difficult indeed!
Moreover, those wanting to spread the Dharma find it difficult to convey their aspirations. They want to spread [the Dharma], but the words they use to teach seem to not be well-understood by people. This is why “those who spread the Dharma find it hard to convey their aspirations. The aspiration to pass on the Buddha’s wisdom-life is hard to carry out.” They may understand it, but their karmic conditions are insufficient for them to form vows to carry out this aspiration. This is truly difficult. This is why “Ananda, out of grief and shame, sought to enter cessation.” We must be very mindful to reflect on this and be vigilant. This is describing Ananda, who received the Buddha’s Dharma to spread.
When the Buddha entered Parinirvana, He passed the Dharma on to Venerable Kasyapa. Venerable Kasyapa revered the Buddha’s teachings. When it came to the Dharma in the Buddha’s mind, Kasyapa was very sensitive and acute. The Buddha merely picked up a flower, and an expression of joy, a smile, began to show on Venerable Kasyapa’s face. The Buddha felt that Kasyapa understood the aspiration in His mind. He saw how willing Kasyapa was to work hard and endure hardship; with such firm resolve, [Kasyapa] willingly engaged in ascetic practices and willingly went among people. He could resonate with the Buddha’s aspiration, so when the Buddha entered Parinirvana, He decided to hand the Dharma and the Sangha over to Venerable Kasyapa.
Venerable Kasyapa spent a period of time mindfully organizing the Sangha and gathered people to compile the sutras. After they had compiled the sutras, they began to go out to spread the Dharma. Having done all that he was supposed to do, he thought, “I must pass on the Buddha’s robes and His alms bowl to the future generation.” So, with this mission, he went to Cock’s Foot Mountain, went into a cave and entered Samadhi, awaiting Maitreya’s birth in the world so that he can pass the Buddha’s robes and bowl on to Maitreya. This was his mission.
This is why Venerable Kasyapa passed on the Dharma to Ananda. Then it was up to Ananda to spread the Dharma. So, Ananda spread the Dharma that was passed down to him by Venerable Kasyapa, dedicating himself to fulfill this responsibility over the course of the next several decades. Ananda lived for a long time; even when he was over 100 years old, He still spread the Dharma among people.
[Once] when Ananda came to a bamboo grove, he heard a group of bhiksus reciting a verse incorrectly, “Living for a hundred years without seeing a crane is not as good as living for one day and getting to see a crane.” Ananda sighed at this and said, “Living for a hundred years without understanding the law of arising and ceasing is not as good as living for one day and being able to understand arising and ceasing.”
One day, when Ananda was in a bamboo grove, he saw a group of bhiksus reciting a verse, but they were not reciting it correctly. As they taught each other this verse, the way they were saying it was, “Living for a hundred years without seeing a crane is not as good as living for one day and getting to see a crane.” This describes someone who may have lived for 100 years without ever seeing a crane. Everyone should know the crane. It is a kind of bird, a water fowl. This describes how if someone were to live to 100 without ever seeing a crane, “it is not as good as living for one day and getting to see a crane.” When Ananda heard this, he told them, “You are mistaken! The way you are saying this verse is wrong. According to the Buddha’s Right Dharma, the verse should go, Living for a hundred years without understanding the law of arising and ceasing is not as good as living for one day and being able to understand arising and ceasing. It is not about seeing a crane. It is about understanding the law of arising and ceasing.” He corrected the bhiksu and taught it to the whole group of bhiksus as well.
Then, the leader of those bhiksus went back and told his master, “Master, Venerable Ananda said your verse is incorrect.” Then he related to his master the way that. Ananda told them how the verse should go. His master exclaimed, “Ananda is already very old. His memory is bad; he remembers incorrectly. The Buddha was talking about a crane, not about the law of arising and ceasing.” Of course that bhiksu, believing his master, returned to that group of bhiksus and told them, “This is how our master taught us. We should pass it on according to the way that our master taught us.”
“A crane is something that we can see if we look for it. The law of arising and ceasing is something we ordinarily cannot see or touch. If we describe the Dharma like this, then people cannot comprehend it. A crane is something we can see. Getting to see it is a blessing! Cranes can live for 1000 years; if we can see a crane, it symbolizes blessings and longevity.” We often see how crane are [portrayed] on gifts and birthday cards. The symbol of the crane is used to represent well-wishes, for the crane symbolizes longevity.
So, during that era, this is how those bhiksus passed on this verse. When Ananda heard them, he corrected them, but it was still of no use. Because of this, Ananda was truly disheartened. He never stopped spreading the teachings, transmitting the Buddha’s Right Dharma, but when he heard these people recite them, they had deviated in a verse. Further, if only one word was incorrect [then], this is to say nothing of people in the future who would have very strong opinions of their own. From one thing, they may go on to say that they understand ten more things. Perhaps to show how knowledgeable they are, they may say they know 100, 1000 things from one. From listening to one teaching, they approximate it [with other explanations], saying things like. “[The Dharma] is like this and like that.” Thus, it becomes a big mess when people begin using their own thinking to give their own interpretation of [the Dharma]. In this way, things just keep developing. A slight deviation can cause a great divergence. If we are mistaken, then we must quickly [correct ourselves], for when it comes to spreading the Dharma regarding people, matters and objects, if we deviate even a little, then we may deviate across the board.
So, [Ananda] deeply lamented this. I also find myself deeply lamenting the fact that spreading the Dharma is so difficult. As for the Lotus Sutra, our Da Ai TV recently broadcasted a program about Master Zhizhe. His master, Master Huisi, had told him, “If you wish to spread the Lotus Sutra and aspire to enter into the Lotus Sutra, if you focus on studying it and wish to spread the Dharma, then you will encounter many difficulties, for spreading the Dharma is difficult.” Master Huisi told him, “My master also warned me that the Dharma is indeed difficult to spread.”
When we first began watching this show, we could see how Master Huisi had been oppressed at every step by those in power, to the point where they even poisoned him with a slow-acting poison that caused his body to continuously deteriorate. They used all sorts of ways to thwart him. It was when Master Huisi had become thoroughly disheartened that the young Zhiyi appeared. He could see how keen his capabilities were, and he was a person who could spread the Dharma, so he helped him understand [the Dharma] quickly. Zhiyi then began focusing his mind with a single resolve, for the Lotus Sutra truly resonated with his aspirations. Because of this, he formed aspirations and made vows.
Master Huisi then told Master Zhiyi, “Since you have made such vows, in the future, you too will similarly encounter layers of severe hardships in spreading the Dharma.” Indeed, Master Zhiyi faced countless obstacles. In those times, it was an age of constant warfare, where one calamity occurred after another. Despite such hardships with people and matters, he always persisted in spreading the Dharma. He continued to spread the Dharma widely and many kept coming to listen to him teach it.
However, Master Zhiyi told his disciples, “I am very worried.” His disciples told him, “The Dharma is really flourishing now! Master, you should be overjoyed!” Yet Master Zhiyi told them, “Many listen to the Dharma, yet few understand it.” As the Dharma was only spread by word of mouth, it may seem as if everyone understands it, yet those who can truly comprehend it and actually put it into practice are in fact very few in number.
Thus, Master Zhiyi had to be determined to move forward, even after the emperor revered him and made him the Imperial Preceptor. He then became the emperor’s teacher and was widely called Master Zhizhe (the Wise One). However, he still wanted to continue [teaching]. It happened to be an era of chaos and warfare, and he still wished to spread the Dharma further. It was hard work and very exhausting, yet he never stopped spreading the Dharma until the end of his life. Actually, Master Zhizhe passed away when he just over 60, entering Perfect Rest. When it came to the Dharma of the Lotus Sutra, even during a period of such chaos, an era of so many changes, he still persisted in going among people and completing all of the treatises that he was writing regarding the Lotus Sutra, such as the Textual Commentary on the Lotus Sutra and so forth. This is something quite extraordinary. Master Zhizhe was the one able to take all he learned about the Lotus Sutra and write it all down so that future generations would be able to read and understand it.
The eras have passed by until now. We hope now that the Buddha-Dharma will not remain something that we only talk or write about but something that we actualize among people. The one great cause of the Buddha is to teach the Bodhisattva Way. Although the [Dharma] is so comprehensive, with beautiful, profound and wondrous writing, despite the beauty of its words and the great profundity of its principles, to understand it and carry it out is not something that is easy at all.
Actually, to put it clearly, there is no need to talk about it. We simply need to directly carry it out, carry it out until everyone can understand it, until they can “comprehend the great path and form the supreme aspiration.” After comprehending these principles, everyone will form aspirations to go among people and read “the sutra of suffering” of each person. The very first time the Buddha taught the Dharma, did He not teach about suffering? “Suffering” arises from “causation,” the accumulation of the karma that people create, which results in suffering difficult to relieve.
Every year, our TIMA conference gathers here in the Jing Si Hall in Hualien (In 2018) we invited [Rajendra Kumar Pachauri], who received the Nobel Peace Prize for his research in climate change. How can we mitigate [climate change]? It is truly very difficult. I told him, “When it comes to climate change or to these extreme changes in the weather, people have no way to change it. It will only happen after people purify their hearts and everyone puts [the Dharma] into practice.”
Just having knowledge is not enough. We must go on to put it into practice through each of our personal actions. Only when we know how to cherish everything that we use will we not create so much garbage. Not only that, we must cherish the lives of all beings.
In fact, that Nobel Prize winner is a vegetarian himself. He said that he has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years himself. Nevertheless, I hope we will still keep promoting the need for everyone to become vegetarian. I kept asking him how many lives we take every day just for our craving of taste? How many do we kill every month? Living creatures are crying out. This is still secondary; most importantly, how many months does it take to raise a chicken, a chicken or a duck? How long does it take to raise a pig? How long does it take to raise a cow? This is one of the reasons why the environment is becoming so polluted.
We often discuss the air pollution. I also talked to him about breathing; about how when so many people exhale, their breath then becomes a kind of contaminant. So, this is how the increase in population reduces air quality. Furthermore, what everyone needs to breathe in is fresh oxygen, but the air now has become very polluted.
So, these are things that we keep talking about. I am always saying this, but these things need to be said regardless, because they need to be explained clearly. The emissions and excrement produced by one cow is many times more than that of a human, a great many more times. The amount of water a cow drinks and the amount of food it eats is greater than that of a human being. Mankind is now facing a water crisis. There are already water shortages in some places. If the water dries up, then people cannot live, as mankind and all life on Earth are dependent on water.
However, the Earth’s water [sources] have begun to continuously dry up. In places without water, it seems that there is no sign of life. Not even an inch of grass grows there, and the land is parched and cracked. How can people live in such deserts and so on?
Everyone, water is so important to us. How can animals live without water? They need water. So, they increase [carbon] emissions, their excrement is even more excessive and they use more water than humans themselves. Look at all the lives that are lost every day. These living creatures, large and small, are crying out. When they harbor such grievances and hatred, how can the world ever be at peace?
It seems like I am always repeating these things, but they are all very worrisome. Now is the time when we need to spread the Dharma. How are Bodhisattvas going to save the earth? They do it through environment protection. Environment protection relates to all life. The fate of our Earth depends on it, so our every thought should always be about the fate of our Earth.
We must continue to go and help countries suffering from disasters. Whether it is the refugee crisis, climate change or the issue of poverty, all these issues are becoming more frequent. If we do not promote the Bodhisattva-path, those who suffer will just keep on suffering. The accumulation of all these different issues leads to suffering. Who is able to go there and lend a helping hand? Only Bodhisattvas can do this.
If we do not practice the Bodhisattva-path, the world will quickly be destroyed. The era we live in now is an era of destruction. If people do not know to take good care of their minds, if they do not know to cherish one another or protect lives to reduce pollution, if they do not know the source of the issues, then indeed, there is nothing we can do. There will be nothing to do or say. So, since the world is so vast, we need everyone to spread the Dharma.
Ananda lamented, “It is hard to spread the Dharma.” The Buddha had just passed the Dharma to Ananda; Ananda was only the second generation in spreading the Dharma, yet the Dharma was already deviating. This was hard for Ananda to bear, and He felt ashamed. What could he do? So, having lost all hope, he began thinking about entering Nirvana.
He went to King Ajatasatru to bid him farewell, but when he arrived there, King Ajatasatru was sleeping. He was taking his afternoon nap. His attendant stopped Ananda and told him, “You cannot go and disturb the king right now.” Ananda then told the attendant, “In this case, when the king is awake, please tell him that I stopped by to say goodbye. I am leaving the kingdom, and soon, I will enter Nirvana.” Then he left.
After the king woke up, his attendant, his imperial bodyguard, told him what had happened. The king exclaimed in shock, “No wonder! During my afternoon nap, I had a huge nightmare. It turns out it was because Ananda is about to enter Nirvana. Why didn’t you wake me? How many hours have it been?” [The attendant said], “It was a while ago.” The king immediately went after Ananda and pursued him to the bank of Ganges river. Ananda was already in the middle of the Ganges. Not only was Ananda already in the middle of the Ganges, he was also by then in another kingdom. When the king of that kingdom heard that Ananda was about to enter Nirvana, he too hastened from the other bank of the river.
There were kings then on both sides urging him, “Venerable Ananda, please remain in the world!” Ananda told them, “There is no use in my remaining [here].” While this went on, many others began gathering around in the many spaces [around the river]. Even dragon-gods and [Dharma-protectors] began gathering there. Ananda then began thinking, “What will happen to my remains after I die?” It would be like when the Buddha entered Parinirvana; many kings fought over His remains. Kasyapa went to a cave and entered Samadhi, so this was not a problem for him. Ananda was the only one left to pass on the Dharma. Since he too was about to enter Nirvana, people would certainly fight over his remains. [The thought of this] was unbearable for Ananda, so while all of this was happening, Ananda turned and disappeared.
This was what happened to Venerable Ananda. Still, Ananda managed to pass on the Dharma to the third generation, and it has continually been passed down until now. If we think about how truly disheartened. Ananda became during his own time, then how much more disheartening must it have been for those who came even later? Spreading the Dharma must have been even harder. When it comes to the Buddha-Dharma, the Dharmakaya of the written word still remains, but the true spirit of the Dharma has deviated. Regardless of how [much] it has deviated, we still must always pass on the Dharma, Right Dharma.
So, in our sutra passage, it says that people now feel joy wherever they see the Dharma being spread. In the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Joy, we see others listening to, learning and teaching the Dharma. We must praise people when they listen and whenever they do good deeds. This is what the Buddha advocated. It is part of the Bodhisattva Way, these Six Paramitas, giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence and so on. The Buddha placed great importance on all of these. As for good deeds or charitable giving, be it giving of Dharma or money, the Buddha wanted to praise all of these. People in the future must praise these too. Wherever anyone teaches the Dharma, we should take joy in it and praise them.
So, when it comes to locations,
it could be “a city, a town, a street, an alley, a settlement or a farm, and based on what they have heard, they expound it for their parents, relatives, virtuous friends and acquaintances to the best of their abilities.”
If there are people like this, whether they go into cities or busy urban areas, into the streets or the alleyways, they are always teaching the Dharma. They may go into the countryside, where they will teach and pass it on like this. When people there hear [the Dharma], they will pass on this good thing to their parents, their relatives, good friends and acquaintances. We always need to pass the good Dharma we hear on to other people. This was in the previous sutra passage.
The next sutra passage states,
“All these people hear this and take joy in it, and they too pass on the teachings. When other people hear [this sutra], they also take joy in it and pass on the teachings. In this way, it is passed on and on in turn until it reaches the fiftieth person.”
Now we know this. As mentioned previously, “all these people,” whether in the city or countryside, pass on the Dharma from person to person, to their relatives, acquaintances and friends.
All these people [pass it on] in cities, towns and villages to their relatives, acquaintances, good friends and so on, on and on until it reaches the fiftieth person. If they were to continuously pass it on, listening to the sutra and spreading the Dharma on and on until the fiftieth generation, this would be of merit
.”..on and on until it reaches the fiftieth person.” It is continuously passed down like this. They listen to the sutra and spread the Dharma, passing it on from person to person until it reaches the fiftieth generation. Generation after generation, lifetime after lifetime, it continues to be passed down through the generations. If it keeps being passed on like this, it will be able to reach the fiftieth generation. Only then can it demonstrate our resolve. Only when the Dharma is truly passed on like this can it then be said to have any “merit.”
All these people hear this and take joy in it: All these people pass on [this sutra] from one group to another. They pass down the Dharma from generation to generation; upon hearing the Dharma, they all take joy in it. All these people: This refers to the aforementioned parents, relatives and so on.
“All these people.” All these people are worthy of merit. These people can pass [the Dharma] on to group after group of people, to group after group of people generation after generation. When we hear that they do this, we must always take joy. [Regarding] these people, “‘All these people’ refers to the aforementioned parents, relatives and so on.” These are our own people. Our parents’ [lineages] are passed on like this, from our grandparents and great-grandparents. The Dharma-lineage is also passed down like this through the generations. It continues to be passed down like this through generation after generation. This is something really very precious.
“When we do Tzu Chi’s work now, do our children participate? Yes, our whole family participates!” This is already the first and second generations. “Our grandchildren also join us now. They also know the importance of getting their classmates to help others, by donating through the bamboo bank.” Now, a third generation has also appeared. This is how [the Dharma] is passed down generation after generation. It is directly passed down, generation after generation. This is something that is worthy of our praise.
What should we do so that “upon hearing the Dharma, [we] all take joy in it”? We must pass it down directly. [Learning from] people in this way, we must pass it down through generations being sure to take joy in it and praise them. So, “All these people refers to the aforementioned parents, relatives and so on.” We praise them when they really and truly begin to do this. If everyone can do this with their parents and relatives, from generation to generation, until it reaches their grandchildren and onward, then this would certainly be praiseworthy.
So, “They hear this and take joy in it.”
[They] hear this and take joy in it: This refers to the people [who go to] the monasteries, farms [and so on]. Upon hearing the Dharma, they leave the Dharma-assembly and are immediately able to expound it to others. This also refers to the others who also take joy in it and enjoy teaching it to people; they also pass it on by teaching it to a third group of people.
Within the Sangha, we take joy in listening to the Dharma. Even when we go to the villages in the countryside, we must also praise and take joy in it. If our extended families and relatives keep doing this generation after generation, then we must always praise and rejoice with them.
Some, having heard the Dharma, can also leave [the Dharma-assembly] and quickly spread it to others. When we see someone doing this, then we must feel joyful for them as well. “Upon hearing the Dharma, they leave the Dharma-assembly” and can immediately expound it to others. So, we should feel joyful for such people and praise them as well. If someone forms aspirations like these and can joyfully pass on this Dharma to others, then we must rejoice for them as well. This is how the Dharma is passed on to a third group of people. It passes again from a second group to a third. This is how it is continuously passed down. “They too pass on the teachings. When other people hear [this sutra], they also take joy in it and pass on the teachings.” This is how [the Dharma] is continuously passed on to different groups of people.
They too pass on the teachings. When other people hear [this sutra], they also take joy in it and pass on the teachings: Even more people hear the Dharma in this way and pass down the teachings on and on in turn. When others hear them teach, some of them will also pass on the teachings to others to the best of their ability.
“In this way, it is passed on and on in turn until it reaches the fiftieth person.” It keeps going like this from one to another, vertically and laterally, being passed on from one person to another. “In this way, they disseminate [the sutra], passing on the teachings in this order.” People spread [the Dharma] one to another until it reaches the fiftieth person. By being continually passed down like this, it reaches many people. “Once these other people have heard it, they give rise to joy in their hearts.” They then pass it down to the fourth and the fifth generations. “They pass them on and on until they reach the tenth and twentieth person, all the way until they reach the fiftieth person.” In this way, from generation to generation, they keep passing down the teachings.
In this way, it is passed on and on in turn until it reaches the fiftieth person: In this way, they disseminate [the sutra], passing on the teachings in this order. One person passes it on to another, all the way until it reaches the fiftieth person. Once these other people have heard it, they give rise to joy in their hearts. Then they also go on to pass on the teachings to the fourth and fifth generations. They pass them on and on until they reach the tenth and twentieth person, all the way until they reach the fiftieth person.
“Those who teach and listen may be eminent monks or famous scholars.” Those who teach or listen to the Dharma may be eminent monks, famous scholars, or good and virtuous friends. They may be young or they may be old. As people, they may not even be very wise. They may just be ordinary. In this way, if we can listen to the Dharma wherever we are, then this is something that we should praise.
Because they pass the teachings down in turn wherever they are, the Dharma gradually spreads further and further until it reaches the fiftieth person. This is how the Dharma is spread.
Those who teach and listen may be eminent monks, famous scholars or virtuous friends, people young and old, or foolish men and foolish women. They might spread [the Dharma] in teahouses, taverns, inns, parks, in vegetable gardens among the bean trellises, along the main road, in small alleys, or on fishing boats along the river. In this way, they pass it on and on in turn, gradually spreading it further and further until it reaches the fiftieth person.
Is the Dharma best spread through word of mouth, in written form or by someone teaching it? Or by some other means? This all emphasizes listening and teaching it. Actually, the best way to spread the Dharma is by putting it into practice.
Dear Bodhisattvas, if we really want to do the work of Bodhisattvas, then we must directly go to help others, for each person is a sutra. These sutras are the True Dharma that we wish to share with others. As fellow Bodhisattvas, we can see how others form aspirations, observe how they work together and follow as they lead us so we can learn by doing. From what we do to help, we observe what suffering others are experiencing. These are the best sutras; they are true stories. When we talk about passing on the Dharma, it really requires us to put it into practice. To this end, we must always be mindful. Please always be mindful!