Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Causes of Past Lives Allow Us to Listen to Dharma (種宿因聞大法)
Date: April.14.2017
“For long and distant kalpas, they had constantly listened to the sound of the Buddha’s teachings. Entering the Buddha’s understanding and views, they walked toward the great, direct Bodhi-path. Others constantly abided in the state of Hearers or remained as Solitary Realizers who benefit only themselves. Now seeking the Buddha’s understanding and views they reach supreme, universal enlightenment.”
We should try to comprehend that dust-inked kalpas ago, in Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s era, Sakyamuni Buddha was one of the 16 princes. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha was again describing the 16 novices’ past, how they had made offerings to so many Buddhas. In this way they have continually sought the Dharma and transformed others, gathering in one place with many Bodhisattvas and forming good affinities with many sentient beings. For long and distant kalpas they sought the Dharma and transformed others in this way, until the time of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. They formed great aspirations and made great vows in hopes of hearing the Buddha expound the Great Vehicle Dharma. They sought the Buddha’s understanding and views; they hoped to have the same understanding and views as the Buddha. They were hoping to enter the great, direct Bodhi-path, to practice the Bodhisattva-path. This was their wish.
This was like when Sakyamuni Buddha taught in the Saha World and patiently guided people. Only after 42 years did He begin hoping they would open up their hearts, and advance toward the path of the Great Vehicle. When in the Saha World Sakyamuni Buddha felt that causes and conditions had matured [enough], that He was running out of time, He encouraged everyone to open up their hearts and walk toward the Bodhisattva-path. But, by Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior’s era, the 16 princes had already spent a very long time, several trillion kalpas, making offerings, seeking the Dharma and transforming others. Now, at this time, they had truly understood. At Great Unhindered Buddha’s place of enlightenment, they asked Him to turn the Great Dharma-wheel. They took initiative in requesting that the Buddha turn the Great Vehicle Dharma-wheel. However, in our Saha World, it was Sakyamuni Buddha who encouraged everyone to enter the great Bodhi-path and mindfully experience it. In the Saha World, sentient beings’ capabilities were still not very sharp, so they stopped at the state of Hearers and Solitary Realizers, who only sought their own awakening or only to benefit themselves. This is what sentient beings in our Saha World are still like.
Actually, this compares to what the 16 novices did. In addition to the time they spent in the past during Great Unhindered Buddha’s era, afterwards they continued teaching the Dharma life after life to those who had created affinities with them. In this way, they continually guided them. Even after a very long time, these associators “constantly abided in the state of Hearers or remained as Solitary Realizers who benefit only themselves.” They continued, for a very long period of time, lifetime after lifetime, to uphold the Small Vehicle Dharma. Now they were at Sakyamuni’s place of enlightenment, and they still needed Him to encourage everyone to enter the great Bodhi-path. So, He hoped everyone would “seek the Buddha’s understanding and views” and “reach supreme, universal enlightenment.” This was the Buddha’s goal in coming to the world. He hoped the disciples He taught could all comprehend [the Dharma]. This would fulfill the past karmic conditions they had formed together. Now that in this life Sakyamuni Buddha had already attained perfect enlightenment, all of His associators should at this time also form great aspirations and make great vows. This was the Buddha’s one great cause in coming to the world.
Indeed! This was His one great cause, so we must earnestly seize it. The world really needs everyone to form great aspirations and make great vows, to go into places of suffering and help people. This too is a way of sowing of seeds of goodness and forming blessed affinities. When we recite the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, in the beginning we chanted about this. Love is what we use to sow the seeds of goodness. This is what we must work very hard to do.
Right now in Turkey, Tzu Chi volunteers are there sowing seeds of goodness by going into the homes of the suffering. They have already gone to that place. Yesterday was their fifth day. By their fifth day, they had already distributed aid to them, so they are now going into their homes. They visited these Syrian families. Once [these refugees] arrived in Turkey, what were their lives like? Living in a country not their own, especially after their own country was so devastated by a manmade calamity that they had to escape to Turkey, how were their living conditions after settling down? [Tzu Chi volunteers] made arrangements to visit these families after the aid distribution. They went to visit their homes. Everywhere they went, they saw the blankets Tzu Chi had given them. These were blankets for Turkey that Mr. Hu had specially ordered. These blankets were rewoven blankets so that they were especially thick and very large and imprinted with Tzu Chi symbol, Tzu Chi’s logo. Every family took the Tzu Chi logo, this symbol, and hund this blanket up high. Using ropes, each had hung it up so that when we visit each family we could see this blanket that we had given them. This was their way of showing gratitude.
One of these families was a family of five people, a married couple and their three children, two sons and one daughter. The older son was 13 years old, and the younger son was 11 years old. After this man had arrived in Turkey, a car accident left him unable to work. It was impossible for him to work. These two sons, one 13 and one 11, consoled their father “Dad, please focus on getting well. We will take care of the family. We will find work”. So, these two children went to find work as laborers. Each person earned 750 lira. Together they earned 1500 lira. This family of five lived on this income. But actually, their rent was 500 lira per month, and their father, having been injured, had to each month pay 150 lira for medical expenses. So, they lived on what was left that, after deducting more than 600 lira. Living this way was a great hardship. Water and electricity cost another 200 lira. From 1500 lira, 500 went to rent, 150 lira went to medical expenses and then another 200 lira to utilities. They had to live on what was left after all that. Think about how difficult life must be for this family! When Tzu Chi volunteers discovered this, they subsidized the family with the same amount. That the children earned from work. The father was extremely grateful. He was grateful that his family could survive and even more grateful that his children could go to school. This was why he was extremely grateful. He said that each day, with a heart of reverence, he prayed and gave thanks for Tzu Chi. Thus he expressed his sincerity. Mr. Hu had met this family, and he told us that when they went to visit, they asked the father how much his children earned per month. The father answered, “Each person earns 650 lira. Mr. Hu explained this man knew that Tzu Chi was going to cover the family expenses on the children’s behalf, that the amount his children earned was what we were going to give them, so he gave us a smaller amount. The children actually earned 750 lira, but he told the Tzu Chi volunteers 650 lira. Mr. Hu later said to him, “Your children earn 750 lira at the factory, why did you say 650?” he said, “That Tzu Chi is willing to help me, I already feel very grateful. If I took a little less, then Tzu Chi could help even more people. This was the sincerity he showed and the story to Tzu Chi volunteers. Tzu Chi volunteers were also very grateful. They felt that this was a family with great aspirations, with moral integrity. They saw how clean they kept their home; it was very tidy. With the way they taught the children, the father and mother sat on chairs, and the children sat on the floor. This was their rule. They were a very good family. Father talking [to the parents], Mr. Huang Qiuliang to the children, “Do not complain about momentary hardships. In the past, I …”. He then told them his own story. “In the past, my family had a hard life, too. But I worked hard. Work hard in your studies, work hard at being a good person; then in the future you will succeed one day”. The volunteers went into people’s homes and counseled them one by one like this. they had to split into five groups because there were so many families to visit. Each family was a very moving story. Everyone had self-respect they had their own [religious] beliefs, and their own discipline of self-respect. In facing such tremendous difficulties, they needed this love that came from so far away. So, they were deeply grateful.
As for this group of Bodhisattva [-volunteers], wherever there is suffering in the world, they will go there to help. At the same time, their actions inspire even more people to join them. Local Turkish volunteers began to join them. With this wave of assistance, in Turkey people’s opinion of Tzu Chi went up another level. They understood that even though Tzu Chi is a Buddhist organization, we do not differentiate based on religion. We give of ourselves with sincerity, without expecting anything in return. This kind of pure love they are happy to accept. They accept it without worries and even accept it joyfully. Their gratitude was a very sincere gratitude. From deep in their hearts, they were very moved, very grateful.
This is the way to practice the Bodhisattva-path, transforming oneself and transforming others, benefiting oneself and benefiting others. In learning and practicing the Buddha-Dharma, we must move forward diligently, not just keep listening to the Dharma. If all we do is listen, but are unwilling to put them into practice We only know how to purify the ground of the mind, but we are not unwilling to sow seeds. If we do not sow seeds and all we do is plow the field, then we will never reap a harvest. When we are willing to sow seeds, one will give rise to infinity. This is the spirit of the Lotus Sutra. Its essence is in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings; it was already revealed to us. So, we often chant the Sutra of Infinite Meanings because that is the same as constantly [actualizing] the spirit of the Lotus Sutra, absorbing the essence of the Lotus Sutra. We should moreover seize this time to go among people and actualize the teachings of these two sutras and have the experience of putting them into practice. Only with realization from that experience will we have these seeds in our minds. I believe that, throughout the first five days and when they enter their sixth day, every day they are sowing seeds. The power of love is arising in that place. The seeds are sprouting; the seeds they sowed are already sprouting. We should witness to this, testify to the power of love. This is our nature of True Suchness, that very pure and undefiled seed of goodness. We must plant it in the ground so that it will be able to take root.
We constantly say that our roots of faith must grow long and deep. If we do not plant it, the seed will have no way of sprouting or growing roots. We must provide these causes and conditions, with soil, with earth. When we sow a seed in the ground, naturally it will grow roots, naturally it will sprout. By the same principles, when we listen to the Dharma and take it to heart, we must plant it deeply in the ground of our mind. Only when a seed is sown in the ground of the mind will it be able to sprout.
This is like when we used to plant peanuts. We would prepare the ground by loosening the soil and creating furrows. Then after we planted the peanut seeds, we had to sweep dirt over them with our feet. We sweep the dirt with one foot then the other until the dirt on top is thick enough. Then we must stomp down very firmly. If we do not bury them under a lot of dirt, if we do not stomp down on the dirt firmly, the birds will dig through the soil and snatch up the seeds. So, when we plant the seeds in the field, we must also know the nature of the seed and the proper planting methods. We have to do our homework.
The same applies to our spiritual practice. Practicing the Great Vehicle is the same way. It is like planting peanuts, planting rice. It is the same principle. Otherwise the seed will not grow roots or produce sprouts. Thus in our spiritual practice, we must earnestly absorb the Buddha-Dharma and take it deeply into our hearts and help it take root. This takes mindfulness.
The Buddha did this for a very long time, and actually we have too. For a very long time, we have lived in this state of confusion; that is a great pity. But the Buddha has continued [teachings us], life after life. Since He was among the 16 novices in Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior’s era, He has wanted these associators to succeed in forming great aspirations and making great vows to have understanding and views equal to the Buddha’s. This is the Buddha’s intent and the direction we should advance in.
Let us look at the previous passage. “Bhiksus, when we were novices, we each taught and transformed countless billions and trillions of sentient beings, as many as the Ganges’ sands.”
In this previous passage, Sakyamuni Buddha described how in Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s era, each of the 16 novices transformed countless billions and trillions of sentient beings, as many as the Ganges’ sands. Each novice, in this way, revealed his aspirations of seeking the Great Vehicle Dharma and applied his realization of the Great Vehicle Dharma. From the time Great Unhindered Buddha entered His meditation room, they addressed those with doubts and confusion and explained the principle of the Great Vehicle. They formed affinities with so many people, billions, trillions of sentient beings, as many as the sands of the Ganges. Lifetime after lifetime, they hoped everyone would understand and not just have understanding but form great aspirations. They spent such a long time.
Sentient beings are stubborn and hard to train. We are this way, still in this state of confusion. After many lifetimes, without any control, we have ended up in this era. The Buddha is 2000-plus years removed from us. But right now we still have the Buddha-Dharma in the world. 2000-plus years after the Buddha’s Parinirvana, we are living in the present perhaps we had lived in the Buddha’s era and listened to the Dharma. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, there is no telling how many lifetimes we have lived before this current lifetime. Have we actually understood [the Dharma]? Perhaps our ignorance and confusion still have not been eliminated. So, as we listen to the Dharma now, we still only have a partial understanding. Thus, we still have far to go on this road. Thus, we still have far to go on this road. As for this long road ahead of us, we should quickly begin to pave it ourselves. We pave it so that it becomes broader the further we go. With what we see and hear, our understanding of the principles taught by the Buddha, we pave this road in the world. Sentient beings and the way they live pave this wide road for us to walk. We must discover this road for ourselves and repair it ourselves so that it goes in the correct direction. We must qalk this road ourselves and also pave it ourselves. The lay of the land and direction have already been provided to us by the Buddha. Now, it is up to us to pave the road; it is up to walk on this road.
The next passage states, “They listened to the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. Of these many sentient beings, today there are some who abide at the stage of Hearers. I always teach and transform them so they can attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi”.
Those taught and transformed earlier, in Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior’s era, those taught and transformed by the 16 novices, were countless trillions of sentient beings who “listened to the Dharma from me.
They listened to the Dharma from me in order to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: From the Buddha they heard the teaching of the Great Vehicle, for they desired to achieve Bodhi.
I continually taught them the Dharma like this lifetime after lifetime so they might attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. The Dharma I taught them was like this. I hope that everyone could comprehend supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment. Of these many sentient beings, [today some] abide at the stage of Hearers. These sentient beings are here now, “now” being Sakyamuni Buddha’s era, They are still abiding at the stage of Hearers. “They are in the stage of Hearers. I, Sakyamuni, still teach and transform them in the hope they would attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. This is my goal. This is my one great cause so, attaining Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi is why the Buddha hoped everyone would enter the Dharma.
So, this Dharma was the Great Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha, in every moment, hoped in His heart that everyone could comprehend the Great Vehicle Dharma. This was the Buddha’s original intent but they did not have the capabilities for this, so He had to use all kinds of methods in order to draw them in. everything He did was to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma, for they desire to achieve supreme Bodhi. With the Great Vehicle Dharma, He hope to help all sentient beings succeed and attain supreme, perfect, universal enlightenment. So, there were “many sentient beings, sentient beings who “in the past” were at the Dharma-assembly of Great Unhindered Buddha and at the same as the 16 novices. The Dharma taught by Great Unhindered Buddha were understood by some people, but others still had doubts and confusion.
Of these many sentient beings: in the past, at the Dharma-assembly of Great Unhindered Buddha, [the novices] resolved doubts and removed delusions for the beings, as many as the Ganges’ sand, whem they transformed.
The 16 novices helped them resolve their doubts and confusion. Those they taught and transformed, these beings as numerous as the Ganges’ sands, have come to the Buddha’s place of enlightenment. Now, at Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly, some were still in the stage of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. So, “Today there are some who abide at the stage of Hearers”.
Today there are some who abide at the stage of Hearers: Even up into this lifetime there are still those who retreated from the Great Vehicle and abide in the Small Vehicle as Hearers. They practice the Dharma to benefit themselves and dwell in the Small Vehicle.
Even up into this lifetime there are still those who retreated from the Great Vehicle. Not only did these Hearers and Solitary Realizers remain in these stages, they retreated from their spiritual aspirations to practice the Great Vehicle. Not only did they remain in the stage of Hearers, when the Great Vehicle Dharma was taught, they left the assembly.
See how when the Buddha consented to Sariputra’s request, He said, “How can I not teach it? Three times you have implored me. How could I not teach it?” when He began teaching it, 5000 people left the assembly. Opening up the Great Vehicle Dharma is easier said than done. Since Hearers seek only to benefit themselves, when they heard the Great Vehicle Dharma, they left; they retreated from the Great. So, “They abide in the Small Vehicle as Hearers. They practice the Dharma to benefit themselves and swell in the Small Vehicle. In the Buddha’s era, Sakyamuni Buddha’s era, there were similarly those who would rather leave. They preferred to remain Hearers and were unwilling to attain Buddhahood. It was like this. they had no faith in themselves, so they retreated from their Great Vehicle Bodhi-aspirations. “I always teach and transform them so they can attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi”.
I always teach and transform them so they can attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: to suit capabilities and karmic conditions, he taught all kinds of Dharma. However, the Tathagata’s intent was only to teach the Buddha Vehicle. All He had done was always for this one cause. Thus it is said: I always teach and transform.
Sakyamuni Buddha said, “I always teach in this way”. From Great Unhindered Buddha’s time, He has taught in this way, taught and transformed with all kinds of methods. After hearing the teachings, some were like this; they remained in that stage and were unwilling to diligently move forward. Sentient beings like this are truly stubborn; the majority of them are. “To suit capabilities and karmic conditions,” the Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, constantly taught and transformed them so they could attain supreme, universal enlightenment. Yet sentient beings continued to remain in the state of Hearers, Solitary Realizers. Because of the conditions and capabilities of these unyielding sentient beings, the Buddha always had to begin again, to constantly repeating these teachings that suited sentient beings’ capacities.
So, He had to teach “all kinds of Dharma”. The Tathagata’s intent was always [to awaken] their Buddha-nature, for everyone to attain Buddhahood. But sentient beings’ capabilities were this way, so the Buddha had to continue adapting to them. But this was not the Buddha’s original intent. His original intent was for everyone to attain Buddhahood. “All He had done was always for this one cause”. The Buddha did what He did in the hope that everyone could attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. He hoped that everyone would attain perfect enlightenment. “I always teach and transform. I am always teaching and transforming, over and over, again and again. I keep telling you this; why do you deep doing that?” He kept teaching them, but they remained the same; this was very tiring. However, He could not complain about being tired. This was His one great cause; all Buddhas share this same path, this same wish. He would not leave a single sentient being behind, so He had to have this kind of patience to make the great vows and plant great causes. He continuously did this. But some sentient beings listened to the Dharma and found it wonderful. With the Great Vehicle Dharma, in the future they will go among people to transform them and then attain Buddhahood. Everyone was willing and happy, but after planting seeds of goodness, they retreated halfway. They retreated from their great aspirations and again returned to the Small Vehicle. This is how sentient beings are.
After making the great vows, planting great seeds, halfway they retreated from the Great and turned to the Small, abiding at the stage of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. The Buddha always taught the Great Vehicle. All people should apply Great Vehicle teachings to work with others and transform them, thus gradually entering the path to Buddhahood.
This is like what I said about tilling the soil in order to plant peanuts. We must first make furrows in the soil, plant the peanut seeds and then use our feet to sweep dirt over them before stomping firmly on them. Why? We were afraid the birds would take them and we would lose these seeds. So, we have to continually keep watch over them. After the peanut seeds are planted, we keep an eye on them until they sprout. After they sprouted, we could stop worrying. When the peanuts mature, when we dig them up, one single peanut seed is now a long strand of peanuts. Let us count, how many peanuts do we have? 50, 60. We have 50 to 60 pods. However, a peanut pod often contain two peanuts inside, sometimes even three or four. So, a peanut pod can have up to four peanuts. From a single seed planted in the ground, when we dig it up we have 40, 50 pods. Think about it, if one pod has an average of two or three peanuts inside, then imagine how one can give rise to hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of peanuts. This is a continuous cycle. This happens with cultivation. As long as our spiritual aspirations are firm, in lifetime after lifetime the associators we form affinities with will increase more and more in number. This means our will to practice must be firm; we must not lose it halfway. That would be a pity. “Halfway they retreated from the Great and turned to the Small”. Indeed that was a pity. So, they always remained at the stage of Hearers and Solitary Realizers. The Buddha felt helpless and sad about this, but He would never give up on them.
So, “The Buddha always taught the Great Vehicle. No matter your dull capabilities, stubbornness. I will continue to patiently teach you. Lifetime after lifetime I will teach you”. So, “All people should apply Great Vehicle teachings to work with others and transform them, thus gradually entering the path to Buddhahood”. He hoped everyone would earnestly be mindful, would earnestly form great aspirations and make the great vows. If everyone could form great aspirations and make the great vows, naturally they could gradually mature in the Great Vehicle Dharma. By going among people, they continue to cultivate a loving heart and [begin] to feel that the value of their life comes from giving to others in this way. Gradually, they grow.
The next section again says, “These people and others should apply this Dharma to gradually enter the path to Buddhahood. Why is this so? The Tathagata’s wisdom is” “hard to believe and hard to understand”.
We must apply this Dharma to enter the path to Buddhahood step by step. We must mindfully comprehend it. This is like “all Hearers in the assembly”. These Hearers are hearing the Buddha’s voice; the sound has entered their ears. But we should know that even though the Hearers have heard the Dharma, listening to it [does not guarantee] advancement. After the sound entered their minds, naturally He would patiently guide them step by step. “Why is this so? The Tathagata’s wisdom…”. The Tathagata applied His wisdom to gradually draw them in. Because the Buddha’s principles are so profound and difficult to understand, He had to mindfully make use of the Dharma to explain it to them. Because the principles are so deep, no wonder no one could understand them. So, the Buddha had to use a long-term mindset. Because sentient beings’ roots had not yet grown that long or that deep and the Buddha’s principles were truly profound, they had difficulty understanding. This is why the Buddha had to exercise wisdom and have patience and love. With long-lasting compassion, He never gives up. This was what the Buddha was like. He understood sentient beings’ capabilities. With His understanding and views, He knew these principles were truly deeply profound and that the minds of ordinary people or people with shallow roots would find them very difficult to understand. So, these were “hard to believe and hard to understand. When the mind is clear, one can immediately attain Buddhahood”.
Hard to believe and hard to understand: When the mond is clear, one can immediately attain Buddhahood. With a high level of mastery, one can reach the hard –to-believe perfect and immediate great teachings. In teaching the Buddha’s understanding and views, the meaning is profound and hard to understand. This explains the meaning of their retreating and abiding.
Actually, this is because we lack clarity. When our minds are clear, we can attain Buddhahood. Originally, our mind could understand the Buddha’s principles; it is just that we are unable to with our [present] capabilities. So, we must put in hard work. To have inner cultivation and outer practice and achieve understanding of the perfect and immediate great teachings requires very advanced skills. We must form supreme aspiration, which is seeking the Buddha’s understanding and view. Seeking the Buddha’s understanding and views requires hard work. Because we form supreme aspirations, supreme and unsurpassed aspirations, this requires hard work that is supreme and unsurpassed. Of course, understanding the Buddha’s understanding and views is not at all easy. “In teaching the Buddha’s understanding and views the meaning is profound and hard to understand”. In teaching the Buddha’s understanding and views the meaning is profound and hard to understand. No wonder for sentient beings to understand it is so difficult. So, for us to explain the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha is very difficult, not to mention for people to accept it. This explains why so many retreat and abide in the state of Hearers. Because it is difficult to understand. Though the Buddha “planted great seeds,” which have great uses, and He hoped great causes and great conditions would help people to be able to understand, it was still difficult for them to understand. The Buddha’s wisdom was still hard to understand. So, they retreated from the Great toward the Small.
Though great seeds had been planted, the Buddha’s wisdom was hard to comprehend they therefore retreated from the Great toward the Small. Reflecting on today, the fact that we are fortunate to hear the Great Dharma is not without past causes How do we know that we are not the remaining assembly from Wisdom Superior? If we can advance diligently, perhaps we can understand the Buddha’s wisdom.
The way we see it now, we are listening to the Great Dharma. Our being able to hear the Great Dharma now resulted from causes and conditions of past lives, karma from lives countless kalpas in the past. We have these causes and conditions, it is just that our capabilities are shallow, that our ignorance is thick. Nevertheless. we should be very glad that we can still listen to the Great Dharma. When Great Unhindered taught the Dharma, people still had doubts and confusion. Afterwards, the 16 novices answered and explained on the Buddha’s behalf to those with doubts and confusion. After those people finished listening, they also said, “I know, I know”. Though they said they knew, though they had faith and understanding, they still did not truly comprehend. They only had faith and understanding, they had not yet truly comprehended. So, we sentient beings who have yet to fully comprehend, In lifetime after lifetime until today, can listen to the Great Dharma again. We truly are” fortunate to hear the Great Dharma”. Our listening to the Great Dharma now ” is not without past causes”. Everyone has past causes and conditions. So, “how do we know that we are” not the assembly remaining from the time of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha? Dust –inked kalpas ago, we listened to the Dharma in that place of enlightenment. Don’t we imagine ourselves to be one of the associators who formed affinities at that time? “If we can advance diligently, perhaps we can understand the Buddha’s wisdom”. If we earnestly move forward, then we should really not have many difficulties. It will not take a very long time. Having heard, we should gradually begin to enter. Actually, all of us were among the associators at the same. We were at the same place, practiced together. We advanced together. In a moment of indolence, we lost our aspirations and again fell into samaras in the Five Realms and four forms of birth up until today when we heard the Great Vehicle Dharma again. So, we must be very mindful not to allow it to leak away again. Let us always be mindful
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
