Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Thrice Transforming the Pure Lands for All Buddhas (三變淨土 容盡諸佛)
Date: February.12.2018
“All Buddhas throughout dust-inked kalpas attained enlightenment with one thought. This reveals that the infinite worlds were all one and thoroughly reveals the wondrousness of the mental states of sentient beings and the Buddha. This proves that the manifestations numbered in the trillions.”
We must be mindful! All Buddhas awakened with one thought. For countless kalpas, all Buddhas have awakened with one thought. In fact, when all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the world to transform sentient beings, they all come for the purpose of teaching us, of helping us clearly understand that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. They teach us to be pure in heart. If we have an open heart and pure thoughts, then the world will be the most peaceful, the most beautiful and wondrous pure land. This is what we need to learn [to achieve]. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn to eradicate all ignorance and be free of afflictions and discursive thoughts. We must be pure in heart and treat people equally, with loving respect. This is a simple way of putting it. But if people have not yet awakened, they are unable to eliminate their ignorance. Without eliminating our afflictions and ignorance, we will not be able to awaken. So, we must begin to engage in spiritual practice. We engage in this practice for the sole purpose of cultivating our minds, refining our character and correcting our behaviors. “Spiritual” refers to cultivating our minds and refining our character. “Practice” refers to correcting our behavior. This is engaging in spiritual practice. This is the process of spiritual cultivation; it is this straightforward and simple. So, when we engage in spiritual practice, if we do not take good care of our minds, then we are not cultivating our minds. As for our original habitual tendencies, if we do not earnestly eliminate them, then we are not cultivating our nature. Cultivating our mind and refining our character is talking about refining our habitual nature. We must always remain pure. If we do this, if we constantly have this state of mind, after a long period of time passes, then naturally we can awaken with one thought. The principles of all things in the world will be very clear to us, and we will not be deluded by the people, matters and things around us. This is very important. So, we must believe that “All Buddhas throughout dust-inked kalpas attained enlightenment with one thought.” We must believe deeply that we can do the same. From Beginningless Time, we have had the same awakened nature as the Buddha. It is just that our awakened nature has been covered by defilements, and the Buddha’s awakened nature is already pure and undefiled. This is the only difference. We just need to cultivate having an undefiled awakened nature, then we can likewise attain Buddhahood. So, everyone can attain Buddhahood; we must have this confidence in ourselves. “This reveals that the infinite worlds were all one.” Sakyamuni Buddha revealed this in the perfect teachings of the One Vehicle. In past, He constantly analyzed this to help us return to our intrinsic nature and to help our awakened nature be free of defilements. Just for this purpose, He had to use so many methods to teach us. To expound profound teachings, He used very simple appearances as analogies and helped us experience things in our daily living so that we could understand. This is the compassion of all Buddhas. They are patient with the stubbornness of sentient beings, They generously give us the Dharma. The Dharma is the most precious of all things. No matter how valuable a material thing is, these tangible things really do not have much benefit. We speak of gold, silver and diamonds and often speak of an abundance of the Seven Treasures. In this world, where are the Seven Treasures from? They are said to be invaluable. Why are they worth so much? Diamonds come from a mine in the mountains. When people survey and find that there are gems in a mountain, they use all means to excavate it. It is not enough to mine it by hand. Gradually, people began using explosives to blow up [mountains]. They abandon the small, shattered pieces and retrieve the large pieces.1000
this True Suchness is here right now. All of us are in “the muddy pond of the Saha World, [where] both defilement and purity are of one essence, form the same source”. Saha is the world we live in now. This is the Saha World. The Saha World is where the begins of the Five Destinies coexist. The Five Destinies are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Five Destinies. Those who cultivate blessings as humans can be born into the heaven realm in the future. In the human world, when we form aspirations and make vows, are we going to walk the Bodhisattva-path? Or are we merely going to uphold the five precepts so that in the future we will not lose our human form? To not lose our human form means to be born as humans again. This is because we never commit the Ten Evil Deeds or the Five Offenses, and we observe the Five Precepts and human ethics and morals. As ordinary people in the human realm, if while human, we commit the Ten Evil Deeds, the Five Offenses, or great evils, then in the future, we will certainly fall into hell. Those who often fail to observe human ethics and morality will be born into the animal realm in the future. Those who are stingy, greedy and envious will be born in the hungry ghost realm in the future. It all depends on what we do while we are human. [Everything depends on] what we do as human. If we create blessing, we will ascend into heaven. Ordinary people who [commit] neither good nor evil [deeds] will be born as humans again in the future. But [is we commit] the Ten Evils or Five Offenses, we will most certainly y fall into hell. If we do not understand morality or abide by ethics, we will fall into the animal realm. If we are stingy, greedy or envious, we will fall into the realm of the hungry ghosts. This is the place where the Five Destinies coexist. This all takes place in the Saha World. Because the Saha World is like this, it is likened to a muddy pond, a dirty and turbid pond. A lotus pond is very muddy. Because it is so dirty, it easily makes other things dirty. If you drop something like a white cloth into the muddy pond, it will certainly be filthy when you pull it out. When something clean falls into a muddy pond, it will definitely be dirty when you pull it out. However, for lotus flowers in a muddy pond, the seeds in the muddy pond will actually be able to absorb many nutrients from it and will slowly blossom through the mud. This is defilement and purity. Defilement means that in a muddy pond, things will become defiled. For ordinary people, in such an evil and turbid environment, I believe that they will likewise become defiled by the environment. People nowadays are like this. When the wind of ignorance blows, they follow the direction of the wind. This is what people nowadays are like. They do not know to make an effort to mindfully contemplate things. Is it true or is it false? Is it real or is it illusory? They have no way of discerning. They cannot distinguish between right and wrong. This is what unenlightened beings are like. According to whatever kind of environment unenlightened begins are in, they will be defiled by the contaminants of that kind of environment. So, the principles are often explained unclearly. This is because to accept these principles clearly and thoroughly is indeed difficult. This is what it means to be an unenlightened being. Unenlightened beings in this muddy pond have been defiled. When it comes to a lotus flower, they muddy pond is where it grows. This is just like spiritual practitioners. We too live in this world. This world is full of interpersonal conflicts. But because we engage in spiritual practice, we are very clear and we can understand; we can discern right from wrong. Amidst these conflicts, we know to be understanding. Amidst these conflicts, we can get involved to find ways to transform them. This is just like a hospital. These are all kinds of germs in a hospital, but the doctors and nurses there not only remain unafraid of being infected by the germs, but also work to treat the ailments of sentient beings. This is just like our volunteers. For those who volunteer in the hospital, I remind every group, “You must remember to take care of yourselves! Wear your masks and always wash your hands. You must be attentive.” We are not doctors. We are not nurses. But if we are going into a hospital, we must take precautions. Then, naturally we can go in and out without any problems. The principles is the same. Even though we have not yet attained Buddhahood, and even though we are not yet Bodhisattvas, we are in the process of learning form the Buddha, so we too must form aspirations. We must make vows. We must also dedicate ourselves to go among suffering sentient beings. We must go out and relieve sentient beings of their suffering. In this conflicted, tumultuous world we must still get involved, and we still must transmit the true principles to them. When they are in hardship or cannot open up their hearts, we should find a way to untie the knots in their hearts. Moreover, from these afflictions and ignorance, 2000
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So, if he can now further let go and proactively arouse this aspiration, then, having thoroughly understood the law of karmic cause and effect, he must earnestly eliminate afflictions to exercise his intrinsic potential and virtuous nature. In this way, in his interpersonal relationships, he will naturally let go of afflictions and resentments. When we eliminate afflictions, we also eradicate ignorance. This is a type of mastery we must apply. So, this is like understanding all principles. However, once we have clearly understood, we must proactively let go of resentment and hate. Resentment and hate are afflictions. If we understand the principle, but do not let go of our resentment and hate, they will still continue on in an endless cycle. This mindset of exacting revenge on one another is karmic cause and effect in the world. Negative causes and negative conditions result in negative effects and negative retributions. This is how things are endlessly predetermined. With these predetermined negative causes and effects, if people do not let go of them now, they will continue to replicate themselves. In the future lifetimes, there will still be these negative cause and negative effects. This will continue endlessly. In the end, this world will become an evil realm. The evil realms are the hell, hungry ghost, asura and animal realms. This world will be in the four evil realms. Even if people are wealthy, their minds may not be at peace. Out of arrogance and jealousy, they give rise to anger. This disturbs the state of their minds and the state of their surroundings. This is an endless cycle. The human world is where the Five Destinies coexist. So, the human, hell, hungry ghost, animal and asura realms are spread throughout the world. This is unbearable suffering. This is something we should understand very well. “All Buddhas throughout dust-inked kalpas attained enlightenment with one thought”. This one thought is undeiled innate enlightenment which means having no afflictions nor discursive thoughts. This one thought “reveals that the infinite worlds were all one”. Infinite worlds means everywhere. All living, moving beings have Buddha-nature. This infinite worlds all became one. No matter what kind of world it is, it is inseparable from the principles. So, we must understand [the principles] completely. The true principles are everywhere, not to mention in our hearts. Our hearts are replete with the principles. So, after awakening, we must understand thoroughly. The Buddha has already, in this sutra, announced this to us universally. He taught us, helped us understand and demonstrated that “sentient beings and the Buddha are equal”. Sentient beings are equal to the Buddha. The mental states of sentient beings and Buddhas are profoundly wondrous. Sentient beings’ minds intrinsically have the nature of True Suchness and the awakened nature of a Buddha. But why are we called sentient beings? We are sentient beings because we are confused. We are confused and in the dark. We cannot see anything clearly. We do not understand any matters. We simply follow our external circumstances. This makes us sentient beings. Actually, sentient beings and the Buddha are inherently no different. But the Buddhas mind is pure, without defilement; sentient beings’ mental states are being defiled. As we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we thoroughly understand the principles. We already thoroughly understand the principles. However, our minds have not yet reached that state. We have previously discussed the Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers. The spiritual powers bring thorough understanding. But we have not reached [the goal]. The Buddha already understands and has arrived; He was reached the state of the Buddhahood. With one thought, He completely awakened. So, with one thought, He was enlightened. He awakened to the fact that the infinite worlds were all one and that all sentient beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature. This is the Buddha’s enlightenment; He thoroughly understands everything. As we listen to and understand the Dharma now, we are thoroughly understand the principles, but we have yet to reach that state; we have not yet unlocked our awakened nature. This is the one thing we are lacking. Otherwise, we would be just like the Buddha. So, this is “the wondrousness of the mental states of sentient beings and the Buddha”. The mental states of Buddhas and sentient beings are separated by this boundary, this boundary of ignorance. This ignorance separates sentient beings and Buddhas. When ignorance is removed, then the states of sentient beings and the Buddha are thoroughly interconnected, without any obstacles. The different is all due to ignorance. Letting go of ignorance is actually simple. We should just not take issue over things and not be greedy or have attachments. We should let everything go, unlock our hearts and proactively go among people to benefit others. Amist the afflictions of myriad sentient beings, we awaken to how unnecessary some things are. Why do people need treasures as decorations, and thus damage the mountains, rivers and land? Why use all this manpower and take such great risks, blowing up mountains, to obtain so little? Because there is so little, we say these things are very valuable. This is the confusion of sentient beings. Money is a different currency in every country. Us dollar’s and Taiwaness dollars [are different]. US dollars and Taiwanese dollars [are different as are British pounds and Taiwaness dollars. In comparing Taiwan dollars and other currencies, such as Zimbabwean dollars, billions of dollars there is only worth a few Taiwaness dollars. 3005
In the past, in Zimbabwe, even billions of dollars could not buy a loaf of bread. Is “billions of dollars” really worth that much? It is not real. But this is the way humans are. Because of ignorance, the slightest ignorance, we allow these names and labels to disturb our minds. Which words are virtuous? Which words are evil? Words make up sentences. Why do hearing certain sentences make us so afflicted and cause us to be so angry? However, when we hear other sentences, why do they make us so happy? Actually, the same sentences, in another languase, may not even be understood. If we do not understand this sentence, when we hear it, we give rise to afflictions, or we hear it and our thoughts run away. Then what is the use of this? actually, if we analyze it to the end, there is nothing at all. For the sake of this “nothing at all, we give rise to afflictions and ignorance. This is how unenlightened beings are. We unenlightened beings have through understanding but have nor arrived, although we are engaging in spiritual practice, we are often like this as well; we cannot reach clarity. Why do we have so many concerns? Why do we have so many worries in our minds? When it comes to worries, actually, there are also worries in the Buddha’s heart. His worries are for sentient beings. Sentient beings have not all [been transformed], so the Buddha continuously steers the sheep of compassion back to the world. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva [vowed], “Until hell is empty, I will not attain Buddhahood”. This is why noble beings likewise have afflictions. Of course, my own afflictions are also surrounding gain and loss; this is the state of unenlightened beings.
So I feel that our afflictions are completely different from the Buddha’s. The Buddha is worried for sentient beings. why are we myriad beings worried? We are still unenlightened beings, so we cannot clearly understand the principles. We are clear on them, but we have yet to reach the state of the Buddha. So, we still have flaws in our minds; they are not completely pure.
Thus, the Buddha awakened with one thought. “This reveals that the infinite worlds were all as one. This was the wondrousness of the mental state of sentient beings and Buddhas”. The mental states of sentient beings and Buddhas are wondrous in this way. “This proves that the manifestations numbered in the trillions”.
In fact, these infinite worlds mean that the worlds of each sentient beings are infinite. The teachings and principles of the Buddha allow us to understand; they help us completely understand the principles of all things in the world. This is the same for ancient and current Buddhas. The Buddhas in ancient times and the Buddha in the present are all like this. Ever since dust-inked kalpas ago, all the way until now, all those who hace already awakened, already attained Buddhahood, all Buddhas, are the same the Buddha of the present, Sakyamuni Buddha, is also the same. The Buddhas of the past and present all attained Buddhahood among sentient beings. this is a principle. We must thoroughly understand this.
The previous sutra passage states, “They were combined into one Buddha-land”.
They were combined into one Buddha-land. The ground of treasures was level and smooth, covered entirely by curtains adorned with treasures. Many banners and canopies were hung. Very precious incense was burned. All kinds of precious celestial flowers were acattered throughout the land.
We talked about this previously. The Buddha began to call on all His manifestations to come together. He had turned defiled lands into a pure land. This pure land has a ground made of crystal. There are trees of treasures, thrones of treasures under the trees, and so on. we also described how tall the thrones are. Was there room enough for all the manifestations? Was it enough to accommodate them? It was not, so more lands had to be transformed. In the same way, “They were combined into one Buddha-land”. So, the ground in every place had to be leveled. “The precious ground was level and smooth”. The ground must be level to accommodate all of the people, all of the manifestations of the Buddha. the ground of treasures was level and smooth, [covered by] curtains adorned with treasures”. Golden ropes border its roads. All kinds of treasures [hung] in their air and covered the ground. This is like how when there are a lot of people, and we cannot accommodate them all inside, we will erect a canopy. We put up a canopy, but they used jewel nets strung together with treasures. So, [it was] “covered entirely by [curtains]. Many banners and canopies were hung. There are many magnificent treasures.
Very precious increase was burned. This smell is very fragrant. This means all of the Dharma had returned and was settled in its place. The Dharma has gathered together, and each teaching was returned to its place. This way they took in the fragrance of the Dharma. This is like burning incense, the fragrance from burning the incense. This is the fragrance of the Dharma. So, “Very precious incense was burned. All kinds of precious celestial flowers were scattered throughout the land”. Heavenly beings came to scatter flowers. They were Dharma-protectors.
Then, the next passage of sutra states, “Sakyamuni Buddha, because all the Buddhas were coming to take Their seats, in each of the eight directions further transformed 200 trillion nayutas of lands, making them all pure”.
Sakyamuni Buddha did this for the sake of all the manifestations. So many were coming, one after another. As more would still come, and those who arrived had taken Their seats, and there were more. “Were coming” means there are more to come. So, “In each of the eight directions. [He] further transformed.
Sakyamuni Buddha, because all the Buddhas were coming to take Their seats: Because His manifestations from the ten directions were coming to take Their seats, in each of the eight directions, He further transformed [lands].
The four cardinal and intermediate directions make the eight directions. He further transformed “200 trillion nayutas of lands”. He transformed even more lands He transformed even more lands. Transforming one land was not enough; He had to transform more and more lands, He had to transform more and more lands, “making them all pure. He makes then all pure. They are coming from the ten directions. The Buddha’s multiple manifestations from the ten directions all came. So, He further transformed [more lands].
In addition to purifying the defiled lands of the Saha World, there were also other worlds that He also had to purify. Just one land in the eight directions is not enough, He wanted to go even further, to transform all the lands. This means that in the Buddha’s world, all principles are clearly understood. “In each of the eight directions, He further transformed “200 trillion nayuras of lands, making them all pure”. This requires many teachings.
In each of the eight directions, [He] further transdormed 200 trillion nayutas of lands, making them all pure: Thus He thrice transformed the pure lands in the eight directions. First He transformed one great trichilicosm, and next He transformed 1600 trillion [lands]. Adding this to the currect amount, in total there were 3200 trillion nayutas of lands. Only then could He completely accommodate the Buddha’s multiple manifestations from the ten directions.
Thus He thrice transformed the pure lands in the eight directions. First He transformed one great trichiliocosm, and next He transformed the 1600 trillion. This means that with eight directions, twice in the eight directions is 16. “1600”represents 2 times 8, which is 16. 16 represents “1600 trillions”. This was the “next” transformation. Then, He “further transformed” these places. Adding this to the current amount, there are four times eight. Four times eight is thirty-two. So, there are “3200 trillion nayutas of land”.
This refers to, starting from the Saha World, the four [cardinal] and intermediate directions. Aside from east, there is west, south and north. These are the four directions. The light of the Buddha first illuminated the east. Besides the east, there is also west, south and north. The four cardinal and intermediate directions make up the eight directions. This means that we must put effort into being mindful on the Eightfold Noble Path.
“Golden cords border its road.” Whether east, west, north, and south, or the four intermediate directions, up or down, these are multiplies of four, showing the Four Infinite Minds, Four Great Vows, Eightfold Noble Path and so on; all these numbers returned to their place. There are many, many teachings; the number of teachings is truly infinite. Thus, it speaks of nayutas. There are many different names. It takes a lot to accommodate them, for these teachings to return to their place. Only then could He completely accommodate ”the Buddha’s multiple manifestations from the ten directions”. He had to transform so many [worlds], had to purify infinite worlds. All these lands had to be transformed.
There were no hell, hungry ghost, animal or asura realms there. He also moved the heavenly beings away to other lands.
The principle is the same. As we mentioned before, every land was transformed into a pure land. People with incompatible capabilities and beings with incompatible capabilities had to be moved to other places. There will be no hell, hungry ghost or animal realms. These are the lower realms. Asura are also included among them, among the evil realms. Their capabilities are such that they are fundamentally unable to accept the Dharma. The heavenly beings, in particular, were the same. Their capabilities had yet to mature, so they were still unable to accept the Dharma of the Bodhisattva-path. Because of this, they were moved.
So, there were “no four evil realms”. The places that He transformed no longer had the four realms. This means that if we can accept the Dharma, our hearts will be free of the four evil realms. this is describing everyone’s state of mind.
No matter what the numbers are, it is all describing our state of mind. This shows that the Buddha give many teachings. Have we taken all of them in? since we are practicing the Great Vehicle Dharma and have formed Great Vehicle aspirations, our minds must be pure. When our minds are pure, we must go among people. We must absorb a lot of Dharma. But, after listening to so much Dharma, have we returned the Dharma to its place? The Buddha returned all dharma to its place. In our minds, have we already eliminated the mindsets of the hell, hungry ghost, animal and asura realms? Hell is suffering can we see past it? With the greed of hungry ghosts, we will always be hungry and never have enough. Have we eliminated this state of discontent? Animals are without moral principles. They have no moral principles in their minds. Have we lost our moral principles? This is why in this world unenlightened people’s minds are in chaos. We have the wrong perspective and engage in the wrong behavior because in our hearts we have the hearts of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. Have we cleared these thoughts from our hearts? Have we eliminated them? In particular, have our habitual tendencies, the habitual tendencies of asuras, been eliminated? When it comes to people, matters and things, are we still suspicious of everyone we see, do we still feel jealously, dislike, and hatred toward everyone we see? Do we still have stubbornness and ignorance in our mindset?
This state of mind is the mindset of asuras. So, do we still have this mindset? We must engage in self-reflection. We must reflect on ourselves. Have we eliminated these from our minds? If we have completely eliminated them, then we will be without the four evil realms, including the asura realm.
He then moved the heavenly beings away to other lands: Those heavenly beings had not eliminated their afflictions and their great capabilities had not matured, so they could not accept seeing that Buddha’s stupa of treasures. By moving the heavenly beings, He removed the appearances of a defiled heart.
The heavenly beings had not completely eliminated afflictions, so their capabilities were not mature enough to be able to accept the Buddha-Dharma, to accept the teachings, to be able to accept the perfect teachings. So, beginning in the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha said, “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” This was “because the time to speak had not come.” Truly, their capabilities had yet to mature. The time to speak had not yet come because their capabilities had not yet matured. So, the heavenly beings’ capabilities had not matured either. Thus, they were still unable to accept it. So, it says, “Those heavenly beings their great capabilities had not matured.” Although they came as Dharma-protectors, their capabilities had not reached the point in time for them to form great aspirations and make great vows; their capabilities had yet to mature. In this way, “They could not accept seeing that Buddha’s stupa of treasures.” These people were still unable to see The stupa of treasures was about to open and they were still unable to see it. So, these people had to be moved. This was because they were unable to thoroughly understand the principles. The stupa of treasures opens to help everyone thoroughly understand the true principles. So, if they cannot thoroughly understand, they may have mistaken or distorted understandings. Then, they may easily create karma of speech. We have mentioned this before.
Heavenly beings have not eliminated their afflictions, and they do not have the capabilities to accept it, not to mention those in the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. They are even less able to accept the teachings. So, we must mindfully comprehend them. Although we are using these different states to describe the principles, if fact it comes back to the Dharma and the mind. The truths and principles of the Buddha-Dharma are intangible and without substance, but they are everywhere. These are its truths and principles. These truths and principles are in everyone’s minds. Everyone’s minds can comprehend them. But, in terms of our comprehension, ordinary beings are still foolish and cannot experience or understand them. But Buddhist practitioners have gradually comprehended them. As people gathered there, the Buddha knew that they had begun to understand. The Hearers understood. The Solitary Realizers understood. The Bodhisattvas had already begun to form Bodhisattva-aspirations. He began to bring these teachings back to help everyone better understand. These teachings return to their places. But for these teachings to return to their places, everyone’s heart had to be very pure, and they must completely eradicated afflictions and ignorance. Once again, we must clean out our minds so that we can understand the principles, so our hearts and the principles can come together. “Transforming impure lands” means cleaning our hearts so they can “[become] pure lands.” This means the principles return to our hearts. So, when our hearts become pure, then our nature of True Suchness has arrived and thoroughly understands. So, now we are hoping that everyone will always be mindful; with appearances, we want matters and appearances to come together with principles. The more we listen, the more complicated things are. If we are mindful, then at one touch we can thoroughly understand. If we put more effort into this, then we will be able to truly arrive. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)