Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Seeking the Dharma for the sake of Others (為眾求法 終致成佛)
Date: August.17.2017
“To perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas, Bodhisattvas must diligently engage in the causal practice. First we must make vows, then uphold and practice them. Vows and practice support one another like two feet. First [the Buddha] taught the karmic law of causes and conditions, then He taught the causal practice of the Six Paramitas. Only by upholding our practice to perfection in accordance with His teachings will we attain the Bodhi-path to Buddhahood.”
We still need to be mindful. “To perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas, Bodhisattvas must diligently engage in the causal practice.” These past few days, we have kept bringing up to the topic of perfecting the practice of the Six Paramitas. This process of fulfilling the Six Paramitas refers to many kalpas ago in a past lifetime, when Sakyamuni Buddha was a king and went through this process of spiritual practice. We often say, “It is difficult for the rich to learn the Way,” but with the will to learn it, it is not difficult. He was a majestic king way back in an era when the human lifespan was very long. Indeed, the kingdom He possessed was a peaceful and prosperous one. As the king, he was the wealthiest man in the kingdom; why would He think to seek the Dharma? He had long since satisfied all of his desires. His riches were sufficient to satisfy all the desires and passions of the world. For this king, could all the material wealth imaginable, enough to fulfill his every desire, not feel like it was enough? Could it be that his greed led him to pursue other things? Absolutely not! There was nothing left to pursue. He understood very clearly in his heart that however long he might live, the moment of his demise would inevitably come. However vast his kingdom might be, however abundant his material goods, he knew that one day they would all disappear. The only thing he wished to pursue was that which could never be obliterated, which is the world’s wondrous Dharma. The wondrous Dharma was all he really wanted; it was all he thought to pursue. He wanted this not for himself, but so that everyone might thoroughly comprehend, might understand, that besides enjoying life’s pleasures, there also existed very profound and very wondrous principles.
So, he began seeking these. This was to fulfill the Six Perfections, to perfect the Six Paramitas. Learning to perfect the Six Paramitas is the foundation of what we are learning as Buddhist practitioners. During that era, the principles likewise existed in the world; it was just that no one had awakened to them. So, what he wanted to seek was awakening; He wanted to seek the path. Seeking the path, the path of true realization, of true awakening, is called perfecting the Six Paramitas.
The Six Paramitas are known as the Six Perfections. To perfect these, “Bodhisattvas must diligently engage in the causal practice.” Diligence in the causal practice of Bodhisattvas is something that is carried over from past lives, from past lives and then lives even before that, from countless dust-inked kalpas previously. At that time He had formed aspirations and had never forgotten them since. He remembered them even over the course of many lifetimes; He knew to seek the wondrous Dharma, to practice the Bodhisattva-path which in the end leads to awakening. This is what He wanted to seek. Ordinary people may say, “I want to make vows; I want to be able to do it.” However, upon meeting the slightest setback, the strength of their vows then dwindles; they change their minds and once again sink into confusion. Or after a period of time goes by, they forget, to say nothing of their next lifetime; by then that memory will completely be gone. Even in this life, we already are unaware what went on in our past life. So, when it came to the vows Sakyamuni Buddha had made infinite dust-inked kalpas ago, He pursued them lifetime after lifetime. What He pursued over the course of many lifetimes was the spiritual practice of the Six Paramitas. This is a Bodhisattva. This is the cause, their cause for attaining Buddhahood. Their seed for attaining Buddhahood never changes. It is always continually preserved. Lifetime after lifetime He always practiced to perfect the Six Paramitas. This is what enabled the Buddha to attain Buddhahood; this is how He got to this point. “Bodhisattvas must diligently engage in the causal practice.” He did this to perfect the Six Paramitas; lifetime after lifetime, He pursued the Dharma like this, never forgetting about it. So, when it comes to the Chapter on Devadatta, the most important thing to remember is this. When we can remember like this, regardless of how much time passes, our initial aspiration to engage in spiritual practice, that vow to engage in practice, will never be forgotten. It is never obliterated with time. This is “to perfect the practice of the Six Paramitas, Bodhisattvas must diligently engage in the causal practice.” This is very important. Thus, in our spiritual practice, “First we must make vows, then uphold and practice them. Vows and practice support one another like two feet.” So, we must first have the thought to engage in spiritual practice. The thought first comes from inside. “I wish to engage in spiritual practice. I am determined, I have decided that I shall engage in spiritual practice! I know about life, how ordinary people are reborn in the Six Realms beyond any control of their own. Which realm will be born into? I am not the master of my own fate! We come and go in the Six Realms without rest. This is suffering! This is how we feel ourselves; then at the same time we begin thinking of others. Everyone else is the same! We are all in the Six Realms! We must listen clearly so as not to confuse “Paramitas” with “realms”. The Six Realms are like six paths. Is this the path that leads to heaven? The path to heaven requires practicing the Ten Good Deeds. One must be replete in the Ten Good Deeds. And the human realm? This requires us to accept and uphold the Five Precepts. It means we cannot violate the precepts. So, with the human realm, if we want to keep our human form, not lose it, then we must know to follow the rules. If we follow rules properly, in our future lives, we will again be born human. Will we then be rich or poor in our future life? Will we suffer, or will we be happy? This depends on our past lives. Besides not just violating the precepts, did we benefit others? Did we nurture good affinities with everyone? Although during our lives, we may not have violated the Five Precepts, did we nevertheless transgress in other ways or did we perhaps create other negative karma? If we did, while in this world, we may again suffer retribution; life will provide no peace or stability, nor will we be able to joyfully associate with others in or relationships. In life, there are myriad different ways of living. Throughout our past lives, each of us had different ways of behaving. Therefore in our present lives, each of us has a different way of living. This is the human realm. If we did violate the precepts, if we committed evil deeds, we may become an asura among humans. Then, over the course of our entire lifetime, even if we are wealthy, our mind still can never be tranquil. We will continually be angry and we will again create negative karma. If we keep on doing this, then when we are born again, we may end up in hell realm or the hungry ghost or animal realms. Besides the human realm where suffering and joy are mixed, in the heaven realm people enjoy life’s pleasures. Although asuras may have human form, their minds are such that in daily living, they find many things in personal relationships that they do not like or do not go their way. So constantly, inside of their minds, they can never find even a single good things that can bring them peace and stability. They feel an aversion toward people and they feel like things never go their way, so they frequently lose their tempers, suffer afflictions and ignorance. A life like this is also very painful. Besides these, there are the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. The suffering in these is unbearable. These are known as the Three Evil Realms. Those are the Six Realms. So, it is very important for us to be good people and earnestly form aspirations and make vows. So, when we make vows, we need to understand that since life is like this, having experienced it for ourselves, when we look at the world and its sentient begins, we should be able to understand them too. So, for our own sakes and for the sake of sentient begins, we should form great aspirations and make great vows. These first arise in our mind; we make vows and then decide to put them into practice. If we have only made vows but are not able to put them into practice, then these are empty vows. These are also impossible to accomplish. So, we should first make vows, then afterwards definitely practice them. On the other hand, if we only practice without vows in our heart, it will not last long. So, if we have vows without practice, we will not succeed upon the Bodhisattva-path. If we have a practice without vows, we will not last long upon the Bodhisattva-path. So, it is a must that “First we must make vows, then uphold and practice them.” We must put them into practice. Vows and actions come together to nourish one another; they help each other. Practice is what helps us to accomplish our vows; vows are what succeed in giving us direction for our practice.
So, our “Vows and practice support one another.” They help one another. When we walk, our feet must be in tandem; only then will we be able to go a long way forward. So, we depend upon both feet to be able to walk. We must certainly be mindful in order to try and realize and understand this. So, the Buddha “First taught the karmic law of causes and conditions”. When the Buddha came to the world, He used this karmic law of causes and conditions in order to teach us. When He arrived in the world, He was born into the palace. He believed that these were not everlasting. He wanted to find a principle that was everlasting. He wanted to discover the source of human birth, aging, illness and death. He wanted to find out why there were those in the world who had to suffer all kinds of torment, those called untouchables. Why were some people so rich, continually enjoying the pleasures of life, those called nobles? Why? We are all human beings. Why were such distinctions made between the rich and the poor? So, when it came to those many contradictions that existed back during that age. He believed He must investigate them for He wanted to comprehend them. This too is perfecting the Six Perfections. The principle is the same. He wanted to perfect the Six Paramitas. He wanted to know how to be able to find out the truest of teachings, those eternal principles. Only by understanding them Himself would He then have a way to provide them universally, for the rest of mankind, so they could understand them, so that each individual would be able to have a direction in which to seek them themselves. This was the Buddha “first teachings the karmic law of causes and conditions. If he did not have such causes and conditions, He would have never been born in the world to engage in spiritual practice, to complete the causes and conditions for the process of spiritual practice, His manifestation in the world. Finally, while gazing up at the morning star, His body and mind became one with the universe and He realized all the world’s principles. He awakened in a flash. He realized that, in the world, every person has intrinsic Buddha-nature. He firmly believed that this is a true principle, that it is not false. It is intrinsic to all. He then began to go among people in order to transform sentient beings. So, “He taught the causal practice of the Six Paramitas”. In the beginning, He first let everyone know of the world’s suffering, of the truth of suffering. He began by letting everyone understand suffering! The principles say that it comes from past lives, from the continual accumulation of conditions coming together. So, we need to understand that we should form aspirations for spiritual practice, that the ultimate goal of our practice is the attainment of Buddhahood. Over the course of our spiritual practice, we completely transform all of our afflictions. This is what the Buddha came to teach sentient beings.
However, sentient beings are just like this; once they want to become liberated they remain only concerned with their own liberation from samsara. They still have no way to open their hearts to be able to accommodate others. This is what we should do, open our hearts and step out of focusing on ourselves, on our own individual liberation. Once we open the door to our hearts, we naturally will be able to go among people, to go a step further in sharing these principles with everyone else. This is all we lack. We have already understood that the truth of suffering comes from the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence, that this is where our lives as humans come from. We have awakened to the fact of the impermanence of the universe. We understand all this, we just need to open the door of our hearts, to step out of our focus only on our own liberation from cyclic existence. If we can open our minds, we naturally can advance to the Six Perfections. The Six Perfections, the Six Paramitas, require us to go among people. So, “First [the Buddha] taught the karmic law of causes and conditions, then He taught the causal practice of the Six Paramitas”. If we follow the teachings in order, we can uphold our practice according to the way that He taught us, can earnestly accept and uphold it. With this kind of memory, we will always be able to remember. Although we are engaging in practice, we still must continue for a very long time. There are still many lifetimes to come. There is still a very long time in front of us. The important thing for us now is to uphold our practice according to the teachings. We need to perfect the Six Paramitas. So, we always want to remember this, even over the course of many lifetimes. Regardless of our circumstances, we must never forget what we first aspired to, to transform ourselves and transform others and seek the great Dharma. This is to bring to fruition to our vow to save and transform sentient beings. Only in this way “will we attain the Bodhi-path to Buddhahood”. I hope everyone can be mindful to realize this. In perfecting our practice of the Six Paramitas, we will have to uphold and practice the teachings over the course of many lifetimes. We should always maintain our resolve in following these teachings lifetime after lifetime, so that in our subsequent lifetimes, we will always remain determined in perfecting our practice of the Six Paramitas. This is the only way for us to be able to attain the Bodhi-path to Buddhahood. So, we must remember this.
The Three Perfections: The perfection of the practice. The perfection of the fruition. The perfection of the teacher.
As we engage in spiritual practice, we need to become replete in and perfect these three things. There is the perfection of the practice. We need to perfect our practice. This means that when we listen to the Dharma, we should “listen to the Right Dharma” and “engage in practice according to the Dharma”. Lifetime after lifetime, we need ”furthermore to be able to expound it to others in accordance to the Dharma”. We not only practice for ourselves, but also to expound the Dharma for others. We should perfect the practice of benefiting oneself and others.
Next, there is the perfecting of the fruition. “This means perfecting the causal practice throughout the Six Realms and heading toward the perfect fruit of Buddhahood”.
It is not only about teaching the Dharma. Also, while we are in the Six Realms, we never lose the memory of the Six Perfections, giving, the precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. We need to be replete in these, must never lose these Six Perfections. While in the Six Realms, we must use these to benefit sentient beings. Look at the Buddha in the Jataka Sutra. Even while He was in the animal realm, He benefitted others in the same realm as him. Or, as an animal, He warned and taught those humans as well. We have seen those red-hair orangutans, as well as elephants with humane natures. We have seen many animals like this, both birds and beasts, whether living in the water, upon the ground or flying in the sky. We can often see animals with humane natures like this. They are everywhere it is evident in these animals that they too have the nature of True Suchness. They have not forgotten “the Six Paramitas”. Although their physiques are different, they too want to practice perfecting the Six Paramitas. Look at the gorilla Koko and compare her with humankind. “Humans are stupid! They make Koko want to cry.” When it comes to mankind, she is full of sorrow. “Mankind does not know enough to treasure the earth. It breaks Koko’s heart.” You see? Isn’t this the animal realm teaching mankind? So, we should always remember the Six Perfections. We should remember these lifetime after lifetime. In whatever realm we may find ourselves in, we should never forget to practice the Six Perfections. So, we must perfect them. This “causal practice throughout the Six Realms” means it is not necessarily just the human realm. In other realms as well, in any case wherever we are born, we never want to forget to practice the Six Perfections. It is practice of the Six Paramitas that we must most definitely perfect. While in the Six Realms, we wish to perfect our causal practice and head forward perfecting the fruit of Buddhahood. Of course, if we want to engage in spiritual practice lifetime after lifetime, we cannot do so without a teacher. We need someone to guide us. This is like the king; he also sought a teacher. He wanted to learn the Dharma, He wished to seek the Dharma, so he needed someone to come and guide him. This is why he put up a notice, and this is why that mystic, that spiritual practitioner came to tell him, “As long as you do not go against my wishes, I will teach you that wondrous Dharma”. The king sought a teacher, a teacher who had cultivated the path, who was “capable of instructing with the Dharma that the Buddha laugh, one who would teach him”. This would be his teacher.
The perfection of the teacher: The teacher is the teacher from whom we learn the path. This teacher is capable of instructing us with the Dharma that the Buddha taught, can further inspire us to engage in all purifying practices and can help us to perfect them. This is the perfection of the teacher.
So, he “can further inspire us to engage in all purifying practices”. By using various methods, he helps us to know that we must be pure, that our bodies and minds must be pure. Our mind must be pure; it should not have craving, attachment or defilements. When it comes to our bodies, our physical actions must also be like this. What our bodies create is karma. This is defilement. What defiles our bodies is karma. If we want to preserve the cleanliness of our body, then our mind must be clean, so purifying practices like these keep our bodies and minds pure. These are known as purifying practices. When the mind is free of defilements and the body does not make mistakes, then these are purifying practices.
He “can help us to perfect them. This is the perfections of the teacher”. If we want to engage in spiritual practice, we need to be replete in these. From the heart, we want to put our vows into practice and earnestly engage in spiritual practice, both for ourselves and to transform others. To do this for ourselves and to transform others, we must learn the Dharma. To learn the Dharma, we must have a master. We must be replete in and perfect each of these three things. We should be mindful of this.
So, the previous passage says, “I have the subtle and wondrous Dharma that is rare in the world. If you can engage in spiritual practice, then I will teach it for you”.
Just like that, the mystic came. He was a teacher replete in qualifications. There was this teacher who had come to pass the Dharma on to him. However, that mystic, that spiritual practitioner, brought up how he had certain requirements. When the king heard this he was joyful. “Now I have someone with skills like these who is willing to impart to me the Dharma I seek, who will satisfy my wishes. This makes me rejoice! So, when I the king, heard that mystic’s words, my heart gave rise to great joy. I readily followed the mystic, providing him with whatever he needed. With that, he went off and followed the mystic” to go “gathering firewood, fruit and gourds, making respectful offerings at the right times. Because my aspiration for the wondrous Dharma remained, my body and mind never grew tired or indolent”. With that, whatever the mystic required, since he was willing, he would follow by his side and serve him, making sure he was never lacking in anything he needed for daily living.
Whether it was for him to eat, to use or so on, he would always vert mindfully serve the mystic. Yesterday we also talked about how he used his body as a couch and a seat for him. In this way, however the master made it difficult for him, he never complained nor had any regrets. He had no regrets; he was without complaint or regret. What was in his heart was gratitude. He went like this, following him, drawing near him. He was never far from him.
Next, this passage says, “For the sake of sentient beings everywhere, I diligently sought the Great Dharma, not for my own sake, nor for the pleasures of the Five Desires. Thus, though I was king of a great kingdom, I diligently sought to obtain this Dharma and was then able to attain Buddhahood. Now I will teach it to you”. This verse has been simplified a bit. It reminds us of how the mystic, in teaching the king, though he still had not given him any Dharma, continued to temper him in this way, making life difficult for him and giving him many difficult problems like he did. Yet the king nevertheless very willingly accepted all of it. What others could never do, he did. And what was it all for? “For the sake of sentient beings everywhere, I diligently sought the Great Dharma”.
For the sake of sentient beings everywhere, I diligently sought the Great Dharma: His aspiration to benefit sentient beings remained. He did not seek for his own sake. For this purpose, he diligently sought to practice and uphold the Great Dharma. He made a universal vow [to help] all sentient beings comprehend and attain the path to Buddhahood.
“Nor for my own sake” means he did not do it for himself. It was for the world’s sentient beings that He had come to seek the Dharma, not for himself. Nor was it to seek pleasure from the Five Desires. It was not like that. He originally was a king. As king he could enjoy everything in the world, so it was not for the pleasure of the Five Desires. Originally he was a king, yet he gave up his kingship. “I diligently sought to obtain this Dharma”. That was how earnest he was. He did it without complaint, discontent or regret. He just kept giving of Himself like this. So, he “was then able to attain Buddhahood”. This is what he had to go through. This is the path to Buddhahood, the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. This was the path that the Buddha traveled. “Now I will teach it to you”. This is how it was, the path He had traveled, from the Bodhisattva-path until reaching the stage of enlightenment. Now He was going to tell everyone about it. This is saying that spiritual practice is not merely about sitting around asking questions about the Dharma, it is about putting it into practice. Whatever suffering it may entail, one must willingly endure all of it. This part cannot be omitted; it is a very important teaching. We must be entirely willing. This is for the sake of enlightening the world’s sentient beings, in order to awaken sentient beings. So, for him to seek the path to awakening, this was a method of spiritual practice that he could not do without. So it says, “Since his aspiration to benefit sentient beings remained, he did not seek for his own sake”. He wanted to benefit sentient beings. He was not seeking for himself. “For this purpose” means it was because of this that “He diligently sought to practice and uphold the Great Dharma”. This was the only way for him to diligently practice and uphold the Great Dharma. He only had one wish. “He made a universal vow [to help] all sentient beings comprehend and attain the path to Buddhahood”. This was the only objective that he had in his spiritual practice. “I do not do it just for myself. I still have hope that all sentient beings will understand the path to Buddhahood”. This is like when we take refuge; we make a universal vow for all sentient beings. It is for all of them, that all of them together will enter and realize the path to Buddhahood. “Not for my own sake, nor for the pleasures of the Five Desires, Thus, though I was king of a great kingdom, I diligently sought to obtain this Dharma”. He was not seeking for Himself, for His own desires and pleasures. He was originally a king in the past. He originally lived very comfortably. It is obvious that he did not engage in spiritual practice seeking peace and happiness, but rather so that sentient beings would be able to attain clear understanding. He wanted to be an example for us in later generations, so “He acquired this Dharma”. As Buddhist practitioners, we should emulate the Buddha. The Buddha once engaged in practice like this. We too should have this kind of spirit in seeking the Dharma.
Not for my own sake: He said that He did not focus on seeking Nirvana for His own sake nor did He seek the pleasures of the Five Desires. He clearly stated that He abandoned His royal status as king of a great kingdom to seek the Dharma all for the sake of others. It is because He was able to benefit others that He ultimately attained Buddhahood.
“Not for my own sake” means “He said that He did not focus on seeking Nirvana for His own sake”. He did not seek to attain Nirvana for Himself, to only end samsara for Himself. It was not only that. Nor was it that He sought to enjoy the pleasures of the Five Desires in subsequent lifetimes. It was not that either. It was already explained to us quite clearly that He abandoned His position as king of a great kingdom in order to seek the Dharma. He sought the Dharma because He wanted to benefit sentient beings. He made a great sacrifice by abandoning His entire kingdom, by being willing to dedicate Himself physically. For the sake of this mystic, a spiritual practitioner, in order to serve him, in order to labor for him, He willingly suffered the many indignations that the mystic intentionally created for Him. He certainly did not do this for His own sake. He did it wanting to let everyone understand, in the hope that all sentient beings would be able to attain Buddhahood. This was His objective. So, “I was then able to attain Buddhahood. Now I will teach it to you”. He hoped that everyone would attain Buddhahood, so this is why He was saying this to them now. “He engaged in the practice of causal actions”. It was because He sought the Dharma that He engaged in spiritual practice. “Now He had attained Buddhahood”. Now, Sakyamuni Buddha had already attained Buddhahood. “The Dharma is so wondrous, so He would teach it to them”. This Dharma is so subtle and wondrous. This wondrous Dharma is the Lotus Sutra. It is so subtle and wondrous, and now He was going to teach it to everyone. In the past, there was the Agama, the Vaipulya, the Prajna, right up until the present Lotus Sutra. One by one, the Buddha opened and revealed these for us. The present one is especially wondrous. “This restates Sakyamuni’s purpose in seeking the Dharma. Throughout many kalpas, He was always a king.” It was not only in this lifetime, but actually throughout many kalpas and many lifetimes that he was a king who “formed aspirations to seek the supreme Bodhi. Never retreating or deviating, He urged people of future generations to study diligently.” For lifetime after lifetime, He had never forgotten this. In the midst of all of those pleasures, He had never forgotten the direction of His spiritual practice. So, He made vows to seek the supreme path. “Never retreating or deviating, He urged people of future generations to study diligently.” This is how He encouraged everyone. People of future generations were encouraged to diligently learn from the Buddha like this. Even though He had already been a king over many previous lifetimes, for the sake of seeking the path to Buddhahood, He still sacrificed His body. There were many hardships along the road He traveled. This made people of later generations understand the importance of diligently seeking the Dharma. In the world, besides the true principles and the Dharma, what else is there? So, we should learn from the Buddha.
The next passage then says, “The Buddha told all the bhiksus, ‘The king at that time was me, and the mystic then is now Devadatta.’”
The Buddha began to tell everyone very clearly, “At that time, that individual, that king, that was me.” So, “He spoke to those in the assembly.” He then very frankly told them the story of the king. He was very frank in telling those listening to the Dharma there in the assembly, “I was the king at that time. That king then is now me, Sakyamuni Buddha. That mystic then is now Devadatta. The one who presently is Devadatta was that past mystic.” These are causes and conditions. In the past, so long ago that it is impossible to calculate how long ago it was, that king back then was eager to seek the Dharma. That mystic back then, the one with insight from spiritual practice, came and said to the king, “I have the wondrous Dharma.”
What wondrous Dharma was it that he gave him? The mystic continually tormented the king, kept presenting him with difficult problems, kept presenting him with hardships that were impossible to take. That was Devadatta. Although he was an unwholesome spiritual friend, the Buddha still accepted him with gratitude, without complaint or regret, for it was only because of those adverse negative conditions that. He was able to succeed. He bore so many hardships without complaint, discontent or regret.
So, we should be mindful. Bearing hardship is also spiritual practice. Although we work very hard, people still find it impossible to understand us. Yet we never become resentful. This too is spiritual practice. Spiritual practice will always be about the perpetual adjustment of our minds; whatever the circumstances we may face, they never cause our minds to fluctuate, never cause us to retreat from our spiritual aspirations. Rather, they help us to perpetually remember our initial aspirations, our vows and our practice. This is why as spiritual practitioners we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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