Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Defilement and Purity Come From the Same Source (娑婆染淨 一體同源)
Date: February.13.2018
“Throughout the entire universe and all Dharma-realms, the true principles are the same. The enlightened nature of all Buddhas and the source of the Dharma are contained within the Lotus-treasury. In the muddy pond of the Saha World, both defilement and purity are of one essence, from the same source. All Dharma-doors are inexhaustible at the Lotus Flower Assembly.”
Be mindful everyone! “Throughout the entire universe and all Dharma-realms, the true principles are the same.” Let us mindfully seek to understand this. This is what we have been saying recently. Sakyamuni Buddha spread the Dharma in the world. Every one of us should be mindful and mindfully seek to take all the Buddha’s teachings into our hearts. The Buddha taught the Dharma while in this world, and the Dharma has remained within the world for more than 2000 years. It spread from India to China and from China to Taiwan. We are fortunate here in Taiwan to be able to [accept] these abundant teachings and mindfully seek to comprehend them as well as teach and listen to them. The causes and conditions exist for me to be able to teach at this place but also spread it throughout the world.
With modern technology, I can say something here, and with technology [my words] can go to the “cloud” and then back down to Earth. For anyone who has the will, they can open these sounds and videos at the touch of a button and can hear and see them. This Dharma can be found universally, and everyone is capable of understanding it. Is this not because throughout the universe and all Dharma-realms the principles are the same? True principles are referring to truth, which is the principles. No matter how far away you may be, it is still the same sound, so we can all accept [the Dharma] and take it in.
This is how, throughout the Dharma-realms of the universe, we spread the principles; we can spread them so conveniently and can accept them so conveniently. This is the blessing of everyone in this era. We must know how to accept our blessings. We must recognize our blessings. We must create blessings. We must know to cherish these blessings. Once we accept the Dharma, we must further transmit the Dharma, transmit it to even more people so they will be able to listen to it and come to understand it thoroughly. Only when we apply it in our daily living can we truly experience the Buddha-Dharma. So, “The enlightened nature of all Buddhas and the source of the Dharma are contained within the Lotus-treasury.” The enlightened nature of all Buddhas is intrinsic to everyone. Since the very beginning, [the Buddha] has been saying this to everyone. It is just that we have yet to unlock our enlightened nature. Yet we all intrinsically possess this. What we intrinsically possess lies within the source of the Dharma. Everyone’s wisdom that is equal to the Buddha’s. Since the Buddha could completely understand, and we also intrinsically have Buddha-nature, then we too can understand. However, we only understand; we have not thoroughly penetrated it.
“What we spoke of yesterday, did you hear it?” “Yes, I did.” “Did you understand it?” “Yes, I did!” “Did you understand it thoroughly?” “I will take it slowly and be mindful.” Indeed! You must go through this stage of taking it slowly and being mindful. Where are you “taking it slowly”? With the source of the Dharma. We must all thoroughly explore our source of Dharma, the source of Dharma in our enlightened nature. If you do not recognize the Dharma, you will not even know what “enlightened nature” is. When we come to know the Dharma, we become aware that this enlightened nature is something we all intrinsically possess, and that we can explore our enlightened nature through the Dharma. Where is the source of the Dharma? It lies within the Lotus-treasury.
The lotus flower rises, undefiled, from the mud. As sentient beings, we are still stuck in the mud. We still have yet to blossom. This flower has yet to emerge; it has yet to blossom. When our flower blossoms, we will see the fruit. Now we are still at the source of the Dharma, in the Lotus-treasury, so we must put in effort to explore the source of the Dharma. Within the Lotus-treasury [is] our intrinsic nature of True Suchness; 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, we can also learn something, which is. “Why take issue over things in life? Why care about things so much?” We realize this through experience. “Through experience, we grow in wisdom”. It is within the Buddha-Dharma that we are training ourselves. So, we have this opportunity to go among people, whether among regular people, or into hospitals as volunteers. Or we may go into schools to become Tzu Chi mothers and fathers, on one hand listening to what the professors teach the children, and [on the other] accompanying the children. We understand what their teachers are teachings and also help them by accompanying them in their lives to help them understand common etiquette, to help them to understand the dignity in having composure. This is the opportunity we have in Tzu Chi, for these newly-inspired Bodhisattvas to be able to train themselves. We must take care of our own demeanor. Only then can we guide the students to accept their teachers’ instruction. Only then can we go into the hospital to guide patients to accepts their treatment and accept the doctors’ and nurses’ care. This is how, through doing this, we “seek the Buddha-Dharma and transform sentient beings”. We also are learning among the people. The principle is the same.
So, “In the muddy pond of the Saha World, both defilement and purity are of one essence, from the same source”. We can listen to the Buddha-Dharma. We can understand its principles. We know to learn the Bodhisattva-path. We can go among people, among turbidity, and remain undefiled by the mud. The mud allows us to grow. As we have talked about in the past, lotus flowers flourish because of the mud, and the mud is beautified by the lotus flowers. This is why the Saha World needs Living Bodhisattvas like these, to bring harmony to a world of suffering. We often see suffering in the world, but when we see people wearing the blue and white volunteer uniforms in the midst of that suffering, comforting and giving of themselves to others, we will feel that this world still has warmth in it. The lotus flower blooms and flourishes because of the mud. The mud is beautified because of the lotus flower. This is why it says “both defilement and purity are of one essence, from the same source”. We should mindfully seek to comprehend this.
So, “The teaching of all Dharma-doors is inexhaustible at the Lotus Flower Assembly”. There are so many teachings. The Buddha taught for more than 40 years, and every single word He spoke contained the true principles, the truth. He ceaselessly tried to help us be able to realize and understand this. This truth, “the true principles, are as one”. They can extend through the entire universe. His every word contained the true principles. Moreover, after teaching for more than 40 years, He taught the Lotus Sutra, uniting true emptiness with wondrous existence. “Both defilement and purity are of one essence, from the same source”. He used the Dharma in the world to purify and transform human beings. The teachings, Dharma-doors, are inexhaustible; there are so many teachings. They are all contained in the Lotus Flower Assembly. When the lotus flower blooms, each flower will have its seeds. How many seeds are there in one seed pod? Sometimes, when a lotus flower blossoms, I will pick off one of seed pods and let it dry. After it dries, I will put it on my table. Sometimes, when I am listening to others speak, I will pick up a lotus pod. I will sometimes pick one up and look at [how many seeds] are in single flower. When I count, there are 30 or 40 seeds in a single flower. In one flower there are over 40 seeds, or more than 30 seeds inside. If every one of them fell into the mud, each would also [sprout and] bloom and would likewise bear seeds, going on and on like this without stopping. There is the inexhaustible treasury of the Lotus Flower Assembly.
The Buddha-Dharma is like this. A single word of the Buddha extends into infinite, boundless teachings that accord with sentient beings’ capabilities and relieve sentient beings of their afflictions.
All Buddhas come to the world for one great cause, to give various teachings. We, their disciples, have faith that we can attain Buddhahood. It is just that we are attached to deluded views and cannot forget them. Through erasing our views of arising and ceasing and eliminating our attachment to purity and defilement, we reveal the countless worlds of the Dharma-realm and everything we lay eyes upon will be the state of ultimate reality.
So, it says, “All Buddhas come to the world for one great cause, to give various teachings”. In coming to the world, they teach using all kinds of methods. So, we, “their disciples…”. Since we are Buddhist practitioners, we have faith in the Buddha’s teachings and have faith that we ourselves can become Buddha. This is because the Buddha told us that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. We have Buddha-nature, but to become a Buddha depends on us being mindful. However, as sentient beings, we remain attached to our deluded views. We all still hold on to our own individual attachments. The views of unenlightened beings are deluded, and their thoughts are illusory. We still cannot get rid of these.
So, what is most important is for us to eliminate the views of arising and ceasing. Actually, the Buddha-Dharma is everlasting. So long as there is arising and ceasing, there will always be afflictions. The unenlightened mind is still subject to arising, abiding, changing and ceasing. This is what we unenlightened beings [are like]. When we give rise to a thought to earnestly engage in spiritual practice, we will quickly be influenced by our environment. Having given rise to thought, it will “change” and then “cease”. Our spiritual aspirations will disappear. If we are determined in our spiritual aspirations and [practice] the Three Flawless Studies of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we will naturally return to our pure aspiration to attain Buddhahood. We will become firm and determined. So, we should rid ourselves of defilement and maintain our purity, the purity of our mind. We should preserve the purity of our minds and never allow our minds to become defiled. So, we should get rid of defiled thoughts. We must use our pure mind, our determined, pure aspiration, to rid ourselves of our defiled attachments. We must eliminate these, for only by doing so will we be able to reveal “the countless worlds of the Dharma-realm”. The Buddha-Dharma truly pervades all Dharma-realms of the universe. As for this Dharma that pervades the universe, the true principles, once we sentient beings have accepted them, we preserve the purity of our minds. We must no longer be attached to defilements. We should also manifest this mind that has already accepted the Dharma. Even if [the teachings] are very subtle, we still need to seek to comprehend this very subtle Dharma. “The countless worlds” means this is universal. We must be meticulous in trying to [understand] the Buddha-Dharma; we must seek to comprehend it.
Whatever the principle is, we must understand it. So, “Everything we lay eyes upon will be the state of ultimate reality”. When we are like this, then no matter what we see, who we meet or what we may encounter, our hearts will always remain tranquil. Because “we, their disciples, have faith that we can attain Buddhahood, we must persevere in upholding” this pure and undefiled mind. We must be determined to keep [our aspirations] from arising and ceasing along with the arising and ceasing of phenomena. As we take the Dharma to heart, we must be firm. We must not [cycle through] arising, abiding, changing and ceasing, for then our minds will always be fluctuating and never still. So, we must always be mindful.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage. “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”.
We spoke of this earlier. He went and transformed all of them again. He transformed everything that was defiled, so now “there were no hell, hungry ghost animal or asura realms there. He also moved the heavenly beings away to other lands”.
This shows that those who already found it impossible to accept the Great Vehicle Dharma also had to be moved to [make room for the Buddha’s] multiple manifestations. The multiple manifestations represent the Dharma. We should always remember this. We must rid our mind and heart of attachments. Once we completely eliminate our attachments, one by one, the principles will return to their place within our hearts. This is the principle beings expressed here.
The following passage says once again, “In the lands that He transformed, the ground was also made of crystal, and there were magnificent trees of treasures. The trees were 500 yojanas in height. Their branches, leaves, flowers and fruits were [arranged] in magnificent sequence”.
It seems we have read this passage before. That is correct, we have discussed it before! It is the Dharma, it contains a lot of Dharma, so the sutra passage repeats over and over. When the sutra passage appears repeatedly, we should investigate it mindfully.
In the lands that He transformed: This refers to the other worlds of the great chiliocosm that He widely transformed. Lands: This refers to how each great trichiliocosm is the land that one Buddha manifests in as the founder of their religion.
“In the lands that He transformed” refers to the entire Saha World. The Buddha wanted to completely transform it, to transform this world, the great chiliocosm. The great chiliocosm is inseparable from our mind. The desire realm, form realm and formless realm all are inseparable from our mind. Our mind’s desires, our minds thoughts or consciousness, as well as our mind’s delusions all compose the great trichiliocosm; it is all within our minds. Within our minds, we must eliminate thoughts of the desire realm, thoughts of the form realm and even the subtlest thoughts of the formless realm. These attachments, these defilements, must be eliminated of until we are entirely pure. This is what it means-to transform, to “widely transform”. All must be transformed; these defilements must be transformed into purity. The “lands” refer to each great trichiliocosm, which is the world within our mind. “[This] is the land that one Buddha manifests in as the founder of their religion”. This world in which everyone gathered is the place where Sakyamuni Buddha taught and transformed. All of mankind, all of those infinite great trichiliocosms, were all places taught and transformed by Sakyamuni Buddha. So, He continuously transformed this land of unenlightened beings and the defiled minds of unenlightened beings. “The ground was also made of crystal, and there were magnificent trees of treasures”. The ground was made of crystal is a metaphor for the pure ground of the mind. “Magnificent trees of treasure” are a metaphor for our purity”. Our body and mind are just like trees of treasures. Our minds should have spiritual aspirations, and in regard to our bodies, our behavior should be pure and undefiled.
So, “The trees of treasures are the Bodhi-tree of enlightenment, comprised of the Seven Treasures”. If we want to attain enlightenment, we must use all sorts of treasures; these various kinds of worldly treasures are metaphors for the Dharma. Among the teachings we have, in the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, they are many numerical terms for the Dharma. They are all treasures. The Seven Factors of Enlightenment and the Eightfold Noble Path are all treasures.
The trees were 500 yojanas in height: this represents transcending the Five Destinies and the disciples of the Five Vehicles. This also represents the karmic causes and effects of the One Vehicle and transcending the causes and effects of the Buddha-Dharma of the Five Vehicles.
So, “The trees were 500 yojanas in height. This represents “transcending the Five Destinies”. They had already transcended the Five Destinies. Not only had they already transcended the Five Destinies, but they were also above the disciples of the Five Vehicles. The disciples of the Five Vehicles are those who form aspirations to engage in spiritual practice. “[Disciples] of the Five Vehicles” are those who have already accepted the Dharma. When it comes to the Dharma, the Buddha divided it into five types, which are the Human Vehicle, the Heavenly Vehicle, the Hearer Vehicle. The Solitary Realizer Vehicle and the Bodhisattva Vehicle. These are the Five Vehicles and the disciples of the Five Vehicles. These trees of treasure represent [those who] have already transcended [the Five Vehicles]. Having transcended them, they are practicing on the Bodhisattva-path and moving toward the state of Buddhahood. They are already above the disciples of the Five Vehicles. They practice the Great Vehicle Dharma and are drawing near the Buddha.
So, they also “represent the karmic ”causes and conditions of the One Vehicle”. The cause of the One Vehicle is the Bodhisattva-seed, and the place where they will arrive is the fruit of Buddhahood. So, this also [represents] “transcending the causes and effects of the Buddha-Dharma of the Five Vehicles”.
They have arrived at the state of Buddhahood, where they attain] all wondrous principles of true emptiness and Great Nirvana, where everything is tranquil and clear. They have already reached the state of Buddhahood; they have already transcended everything. “Their branchesm leaves, flowers and fruits…”.
Their branches, leaves, flowers and fruits. Branches: they represent matters and appearances. In each of the appearances, there are many differences, which are represented by the leaves. Blooming flowers: They represent the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. Fruits: They represent the fruit of enlightenment of the Buddha-wisdom.
The branches represent matters and appearances, the appearances of things in the world. How should we engage in spiritual practice? in each appearances, there are many differences which are analogies. This is just like leaves [on a tree]. What kind of tree is this? it is impossible for us to tell just by the branches. Only when the leaves come out can we figure out what kind of tree it is. It will be very obvious, very lush. There are “branches, leaves, flowers and fruits”. There are the leaves, and there are the branches. Naturally, they bloom, and then they bear fruit. So, “blooming flowers” represent the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. The “fruits” represent the Buddha-wisdom’s fruit of enlightenment. So, we must be mindful. Thus it says, “[arranged] in magnificent sequence”.
Arranged in magnificent sequence: By practicing in such a sequence, we can dignify our Dharma-body. Dharma-body: The essential nature of all conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. Through upholding the precepts, we give rise to Samadhi. Because of Samadhi, we develop wisdom. through wisdom, we attain liberation. This is the sequence that we must go through.
[Arranged] in magnificent sequence means “practicing in such a sequence”. As we begin to engage in spiritual practice, we practice by listening to the Buddha’s voice and coming to understand the principles. This all occurs in a sequence. “By practicing in such a sequence,” by advancing sequentially in our practice, we can “dignify our Dharma-body”. By beginning with the teachings initially taught during the Buddha’s era, we learn how to observe the precepts. Precepts guard against wrongs and stop evil. As spiritual practitioners, we must observe the precepts, for we observe the precepts, we naturally guard against transgressions and dignify our Dharma-body the body that accepts the Dharma. By taking the principles to heart, we can implement them in our daily living. Not violating the precepts and maintaining the purity of our body and mind is called dignifying the Dharma-body.
So, by taking refuge in the Dharma, we will never go off-track in our daily lives. So [the Dharma-body] is the essential nature of all conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. This is true conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. The true principles pervade the Dharma-realms of the universe. These principles are everywhere in the universe; they are very natural.
Looking at the universe; each planet has its own place and travel along its orbit. Those paths are formed by gravitational forces, gravitational forces they can never escape. They can never escape them.
So, this is a phenomenon. This is a natural principle; it is invisible, nevertheless, it is always [working] like this allowing the planets] to orbit. These are principles. So, “Through upholding the precepts…”. in our spiritual practice, by upholding the precepts, we give rise to Samadhi. “Because of Samadhi, we develop wisdom”. this is because we abide by the precepts. when we observe the precepts, we will not be prone to transgressions, so our conscience will be clear. Our minds will not disturbed by external disturbances, conflicts, nor strife. We observe the precepts and guard against wrongs, so we will not commit any wrongdoings. We guard against wrong and stop evil, so our minds are in Samadhi that we [gain wisdom; we will naturally give rise to wisdom continually, and our wisdom-life grow. We can discern the principles very clearly. It is because of “Samadhi” that wisdom arises within us. “Through wisdom, we attain liberation. This is the sequence that we must go through”. This is the sequence in our spiritual practice, the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. this is the sequence of spiritual practice. this is what means to be “arranged in magnificent sequence.
That is right! As Buddhist practitioners, this is how we should learn. We must have patience. We have just looked at these sutra passages. The sutra passages that we read earlier have already been explained. Why are the same passages coming up again? Are there any other principles [to learn]?
There are! There are still many other principles! It is not just this section; similar passages also come later, but principles can be found throughout the sutra text. It is time for the principles to return to their place. So, the ground of our minds must be pure. The Dharma in our hearts should be like a tree of treasures that continues to grow, transcending the Five Destinies and surpassing the Five Vehicles. We are no longer Hearers. We must advance to the next level of Solitary Realizers. We no longer need [to rely] on sound; just by looking at the conditions, we can understand the principles. This is what it means to be a Solitary Realized. To not have to [rely] on sound, to achieve realization of the principles, we must first rid ourselves of our afflictions and ignorance. Only by eliminating our afflictions and ignorance and understanding the principles will we come to recognize the principles. The principles contained within, which pervade the universe, can then be clearly understood. This is what Solitary Realizers do. From the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence, they observed [and understood] principles, so they understood that the source of Dharma of enlightened nature of all Buddhas is contained within the Lotus Treasury. Now that we understand this, we should take it a step further and form great aspirations to earnestly practice the Bodhisattva-path. So, we ought to proceed step by step. Hearers follow precepts for Hearers. Solitary Realizers have their own disciplines, and Bodhisattvas should form the great aspirations of Bodhisattvas. So, the Great Vehicle Dharma is to transcend. While among the defilement and purity of the mud of the Saha World, they remain undefiled by the mud of the Saha World and rise undefiled from the mud, which is of the same essence and source. They are Bodhisattvas of Great Vehicle aspirations who go among sentient beings to transform them. We should mindfully seek to comprehend this.
We must not only transcend the Five Destinies, but also transcend the Five Vehicles as well. We must not only form aspirations at the stage of learning, but also put the teachings into practice. We must constantly practice. We must [practice] precepts, Samadhi and wisdom and not have Leaks. Only then will our wisdom-life be able to grow. Only when we grow our wisdom-life will we be able to transcend the Five Destinies and Five Vehicles. So, we must grow our trees of treasures while “golden cords border the roads,” which is having precepts; we need precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Along with precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we need right understanding and right views. Only then will we be able to transcend and attain liberation. This is why spiritual practitioners truly must undergo these teachings sequentially.
As Buddhist practitioners, this is the mindset we must have. We must not become indolent. Refraining from indolence is known as diligence. Only when we are diligent will we be able to grow. Whether growing our trees of treasures or delineating our path with golden cords, [only by doing these things] can we genuinely realize the true principles of the Buddha. All Dharma-doors are contained within the inexhaustible treasury of the Lotus Flower Assembly. By letting our lotus flower bloom, we beautify the muddy pond. We certainly must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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