Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Entrusting Manjusri to Get Many Treasures to Stay (佛託文殊 以留多寶)
Date: May.01.2018
“The Buddha exercised compassion and wisdom to open the doors of the provisional and the true by manifesting appearances. His intention to reveal the principles through matters had been fulfilled, yet the intrinsic had yet to be revealed had yet to be revealed. So, he entrusted Manjusri to get Many Treasures Buddha and Wisdom Accumulated to stay. Venerable Sakyamuni’s deliberate intention was unknown to be Bodhisattvas.”
If we can comprehend the previous sutra passages, then we will understand how Sakyamuni Buddha expended such painstaking effort. When it comes to these very profound principles, He wanted to help us thoroughly understand them, and He also wanted to help us all to be able to truly harmonize matters with principles. This is no simple task. The Buddha used His great wisdom to exercise the power of His compassion. Compassion and wisdom must be exercised in parallel; this shows Sakyamuni Buddha’s efforts.
In the Chapter on Devadatta, the Buddha opened the doors of the provisional and the true by manifesting appearances. This is because the Lotus Sutra opens the provisional to reveal the true. Previously, there was a period of time when we were discussing the principles behind opening the provisional to reveal the true. At this time, the Buddha is doing the same thing to help everyone understand [these principles] even more clearly and add to our understanding of the ultimate truth.
So, in this chapter, [the Buddha] uses matters to reveal the principles. To express His intent, He utilized the matter of Devadatta to reveal the principles. Everyone in the Sangha knew about Devadatta. However, at that time, the Buddha surprisingly bestowed predictions of Buddhahood upon Devadatta. This was inconceivable to them. The Buddha’s intention behind this was to help everyone understand that everyone has the nature of True Suchness. He wanted to emphasize here that whether a person is good or evil, we all have the nature of True Suchness. The Buddha often taught [through analogies]; in teaching the Jataka Sutras, He used analogies to illustrate the principles. He discussed His karmic affinities with His disciples, as well as the causes and conditions of His own, His own past lives. In each story He taught was the inevitable mix of suffering and joy in life. Life is like this; life is a mix of suffering and joy, a mix of good and evil. This is life. Among the realms where sentient beings exist, which are known as the Ten Dharma-realms, there are the Six Unenlightened Realms, where both good and evil [beings] exist. Then there are the Four Noble Realms where beings engage in spiritual practice. These are the realms of Hearers, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas. The beings of the Four Noble Realms already understand the principles very well. They are free of afflictions and no longer create any [negative] karma. They only advance toward goodness and clearly understand the principles. These are the “Four Noble Realms”. What about the “Six Unenlightened Realms”? The heaven, human, asura, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms are known as the “Six Unenlightened Realms.” In these Six Unenlightened Realms, between the heaven and human realms, there is also the asura realm. [In these realms] good and evil intermingle. Although heavenly beings have practiced the Ten Good Deeds, there is still unresolved ignorance that remains from their past.
There is still unresolved negative karma that remains from their past, so when their blessings inevitably run out, they will fall back again into the Six Realms. They have yet to transcend the Six Realms. So, they also still have a mix of good and evil, to say nothing of human beings! In people, there is good and there is evil. Even virtuous people will become filled with afflictions at times and get worked up over certain things. Some people do many people deeds, yet still retain some measure of greed and attachment, and so they continue to create [negative] karma through their actions. This shows that people are a mix of good and evil, to say nothing of asuras! Though asuras have cultivated blessed karma, they still have yet to transform their ignorance and habitual tendencies, so they continue to accumulate [negative] karma. These are asuras. Even though asuras are disposed to greed, anger and delusion, they are nonetheless able to do good deeds and are also very willing to help others. However, they have very bad tempers. Their habitual tendencies are hard to break. If a person is good, yet verbally abuses others, are they still considered a good person? If a person is good, yet verbally abuses others, are they still considered a good person? If they are helping others, then yes, this is a good person! They are a good person, but their minds may be severely suspicious. They easily form negative thoughts; they doubt others and so forth. So, there is good and evil [in them], but the evil outweighs the good. So, they are called asuras. Their afflictions outweigh their goodness. This is to say nothing of the begins of the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms; most of these begins are evil. To fall into the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms is the most unbearable suffering! However, all the begins in these realms also have the nature of True Suchness. Even asuras and sentient begins in hell and in the hungry ghost and animal realms all have the nature of True Suchness inside them as well. Even the slightest virtuous karmic affinity may be able to lead them toward goodness. These are seeds, the seeds of goodness. So, we often say that when we give charitably, when we help others, it is not enough to just give material resources. “Having relieved sentient begins from suffering, Bodhisattvas then expound the Dharma for them.” We should go a step further to lead them, guide them and help them to do good deeds. Isn’t this what the Buddha did when He was in the world? There are many stories about how. He saved people in poverty and transformed evil people. This is because Buddhas and Bodhisattvas transform the world’s sentient beings not merely with material resources, but most importantly, by giving them spiritual ideals.
This is like what we have done in Italy; European Tzu Chi volunteers gathered in Italy. On the 15th 16th of December [in 2016], they started arriving in northern Italy to first hold a Year-end Blessing there to [nourish] the affinities formed there 4 years ago. When we went to help out after the earthquake, we formed these affinities there. Now the volunteers go there every year to accompany [the locals] and hold a Year-end Blessing for them there so that they will always remember Tzu Chi. We are a Buddhist organization, and since we have this karmic affinity, we will never give up on them; we will always go and care for them. So, at this Year-end Blessing, they lit lamps and prayed. Including officials from the local government, the mayor and so forth, several hundred people attended the Year-end Blessing. By the second day, on the 17 th, the volunteers had arrived in the central region. There were earthquakes in central Italy in August [of 2016]. They went to assess the damage then too, and went to provide care. For those who needed it most, they held a distribution there. Now that the year was coming to an end and it was nearing Christmas, Tzu Chi volunteers went to the disaster sites again to hold another large-scale distribution. They held the first distribution on the 17th. After the distribution, when they were returning to their lodgings, on their way back to their hotel, they saw [markets] everywhere along the road. Because it was almost Christmas, the streets were full of market stalls for the Christmas market. They saw it and suddenly had an idea. They went to the group of young people onstage playing rock and roll music and asked them, “Would it be possible to lend us the stage for 10 minutes?” First, they introduced themselves, explaining how they were a Taiwanese organization. They first introduced the Tzu Chi organization, then told them why they had come there, that they had come to hold relief distributions somewhere that day. They had been inspired by seeing them in passing and hoped to borrow the stage for about 10 minutes. These Tzu Chi volunteers from 10 countries wished to offer their blessings to everyone in Italy. They wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. The young people really liked this idea. “Ok!” They had ten minutes to sing two songs to offer everyone their blessings. Then, just like that, they went onstage and began [to give their blessings]. There was [a volunteer] named Pan Yaqian who was very fluent in Italian, so they left it to her to do the speaking. She greeted everyone from the stage and gave everyone their blessings. Then she told the story of Tzu Chi by giving a very short introduction. She told them how, during earthquake in August, they had come [to help]. [She told them] that they hoped to awaken the love in everyone’s hearts, that love creates blessings among people, and that love is the greatest happiness. They hoped everyone would come together in love so that more people could be cared for. Everyone rejoiced, and after a round of enthusiastic applause, they passed around a donation box to give everyone a chance to [join in]. One person was moved to tears. She felt these were such sincere blessings. She was thinking of here elder brother who had been in a car accident several days ago. She was feeling great sorrow then, but when she saw these people from ten countries all working together in a group and how they were giving of their love to her country, her sorrow transformed into strength, and she too made a donation. This shows what a joyful thing it is to participate in Tzu Chi’s work.
You see, these are Bodhisattvas. When Bodhisattvas give their love [to others], they do not discriminate based on nationality, nor do they discriminate based on race. All they think of when they see others is, “How can we deliver and transform them? We never discriminate based on religion. This is because the Buddha teaches us that we should always exercise our power of love and [plant] the seeds of love inside our hearts. How do we relieve people from suffering and find the chance to teach them the Dharma? This is the Dharma, the method of love. Love is not necessarily just for people who are close to us. Love can bring different countries together, uniting our strength to care for others. They do not necessarily have to be people we know, nor do they need to be of the same religion as us. Wherever sentient beings suffering the world, we can always go there and help them. This is called great love. These people are called Bodhisattvas. The love of Bodhisattvas pervades the universe, for it has no boundaries.
Thus it says that [the Buddha] revealed the principles through matters. Sakyamuni Buddha frequently used causes and conditions from His past lifetimes to teach everyone [the Dharma]. We now can use present-day people and matters as examples to teach everyone. This is what we call the principles. These principles, this love, [applies] across different countries and races; we are all equal. This is showing compassion to all equally. So, in the Chapter on Devadatta the principles of the Great Vehicle Dharma are revealed through matters. Yet this is just the method of the manifest, provisional means used to reveal the truth. [The Buddha] used the method of the manifest, meaning that He utilized methods that people could see, hear and touch. “These real people were like this, especially Devadatta! You all know who Devadatta is!” Now the Buddha bestowed predictions upon him. This shows how the Buddha showed compassion to all equally. He showed that even the evil people He had talked about still have some good in them; they also have the nature of True Suchness. In particular, Devadatta had the great karmic affinity to be born in the same era as the Buddha, throughout lifetime after lifetime. This was someone with great causes and conditions. So, it follows that the Buddha predicted that the time in which Devadatta attains Buddhahood will be longer than others and his Right Dharma will abide in the world [longer]. Moreover, the number of sentient beings he will transform will be greater than others. This demonstrates that Devadatta is manifesting the great provisional.
Despite all this, the meaning behind Devadatta’s [story] is that although he listened to the Dharma a lot, he never eliminated his ignorance, afflictions or habitual tendencies. This is why he fell into hell. This is the clear difference between good and evil; karmic cause and effect is fully accounted for. Thus, this helps us to thoroughly understand “the method of the manifest”. So, there is “the method of the manifest”. We have discussed this before. [The Buddha] used matters to real the principles and had already fulfilled His intent [to do this]. But “the intrinsic had yet to be revealed”. After discussing this, I wonder if you all can understand it. I already have spent so many days repeatedly explaining why, despite Devadatta being [as bad] as he was, the Buddha still bestowed predictions upon him. Although I have discussed these things, is everyone clear about them? Do you understand the principles behind this? This is very worrying, for if people do not truly understand, they may end up going very far off track. Having reached this point, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva started to remind Many Treasures Buddha. This is because Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva had accompanied Many Treasures Buddha to the Saha World to hear the sutra. At this point in the Chapter on Devadatta, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva felt that they had finished what they had come to do, so he reminded Many Treasures Buddha that it was probably time for them to return home. However, the Buddha felt that “the intrinsic had yet to be revealed”. “The intrinsic” refers to the principles. Although the method of the manifest had been demonstrated, the principles were not entirely clear. So, “the intrinsic had yet to be revealed”.
“The manifest” refers to matters. “The intrinsic” refers to the principles. Though [the Buddha] had revealed the principles through matters and had finished expressing His meaning, perhaps Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva had still not understood it clearly, for at that point he thought of returning home. Because of this and because Sakyamuni Buddha knew that Manjusri Bodhisattva would soon return, Sakyamuni began to think about using Manjusri return as a way to get Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva to stay. Sakyamuni Buddha was very thoughtful and very meticulous; He carefully considered how He had to make these principles even clearer to everyone. He wanted to use Manjusri Bodhisattva to get. Many Treasures Buddha and Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva to stay. After Manjusri had returned, the Buddha would be able to reveal the principles even more clearly. He still had very exciting Great Vehicle Dharma that He wanted to show them. These were Sakyamuni Buddha’s intentions. These were not things that an ordinary person could fathom, nor something even an ordinary Bodhisattva would be able to understand.
In the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, it says: Before this Buddha became a monastic, he fathered 16 sons. His first son was named Wisdom Accumulated, who was now the Bodhisattva who followed Many Treasures Tathagata and came to the Lotus Sutra assembly to discuss with Manjusri Bodhisattva the matter of the dragon girl attaining Buddhahood.
Does everyone remember this in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City? Does everyone remember that in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City before Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha became a monastic, he fathered 16 sons, the 16 princes? The first of the 16 princes was Wisdom Accumulated. You should still remember this. So, this Wisdom Accumulated came to following Many Treasures Buddha. We can see how, dust-linked kalpas ago, together with Sakaymuni Buddha, he had been among those 16 princes. They had already transformed and delivered sentient beings in all kinds of worlds and had become a Buddha and a Bodhisattva respectively. They each had their own causes and conditions and had lived in different worlds. So, now Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva had come to the Saha World with Many Treasures Buddha.
Now, Many Treasures Buddha was sitting in that Dharma-assembly and Manjusri Bodhisattva was about to return. The Buddha relied on this great Bodhisattva who had such great causes and conditions in the past, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva, as well as the present Manjusri Bodhisattva. Manjusri Bodhisattva was also a great Bodhisattva who had great causes and conditions in the past. The Buddha relied on a dialogue between the two Bodhisattvas to teach the true principles of the Great Vehicle Dharma. He hoped that they would discuss the matter of attaining Buddhahood. This is because the dragon girl, the daughter of the dragon king, was actually able to be transformed by Manjusri Bodhisattva and come to the Dharma-assembly. This is in the following [sutra] passage.
All in all, the next passage is truly a wonderful passage. Now we understand how profound Sakyamuni Buddha’s intentions were, and how subtle and wondrous the Lotus Sutra is. It is truly the supreme, subtle and wondrous Dharma. It is very subtle and intricate and very detailed It is great, its principles are everywhere. It truly is so great, yet it is also subtle and intricate. It truly is impossible to express this in words at times. We know [these principles] to be true, but they are still inconceivable , inexpressible, ineffable, unspeakable and impossible to teach. So, let us be mindful, for we can only experience them by being mindful.
So, the previous passage says, “At that time, the Bodhisattva who attended Many Treasures World-Honored One from the world below, by the name of Wisdom Accumulated, said to Many Treasures Buddha, ‘Let us return to our homeland’”.
Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva turned to Many Treasures Buddha and said, “Perhaps we should go home”. This Bodhisattva, who had such great causes and conditions, deliberately wanted to get everyone’s attention. He knew the Buddha’s intent was not something ordinary people could understand. So, he deliberately said at this time, We should go back now. Then Sakyamuni Buddha said to them, “Wait a moment! Manjusri Bodhisattva will soon be here! You can talk to each other”. He wanted to let everyone there know that Manjusri Bodhisattva would soon return Many Treasures Buddha was accompanied by Wisdom Accumulated. What kind of a person was he? Everyone was very excited and looked forward to seeing what these two Bodhisattvas would converse about and what they might clarify about the Great Vehicle Dharma. This sutra passage has wonderful significance. So, Sakyamuni Buddha turned to Wisdom Accumulated and said, “Good man, wait a little while. Wait a minute! There is a Bodhisattva here named Manjusri whom you should meet to discuss the wondrous Dharma. Then you can return to your homeland. Wait for a moment Manjusri Bodhisattva will soon appear. He is about to return. Wait for a moment”.
Then the following passage says, “At that time, Manjusri, sitting upon a thousand-petaled lotus flower as large as a carriage wheel, along with the Bodhisattvas who accompanied him, also sitting upon jeweled lotus flowers, rose up out of the great ocean and emerged with ease from the dragon king Sagara’s palace”.
At this time, Sakyamuni asked Wisdom Accumulated to stay so that he could stay and meet with Manjusri. At that very, right away, Manjusri Bodhisattva [came] sitting upon a “thousand-petaled lotus flower as large as a carriage wheel”. It was like he was seated upon a big lotus platform, a louts flower as large as a carriage wheel. It had a thousand petals, it was magnificent. There he sat upon that lotus platform.
At that time, Manjusri, sitting upon a thousand-petaled lotus flower as large as a carriage wheel: The lotus platform he sat upon was as big as the wheel of a carriage. The lotus represents the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. The wheel represents the perfection of the Six Paramitas.
The flower represents the Bodhisattva’s causal practice. The wheel represents perfecting the Six Paramitas. The roundness of the wheel represents the Bodhisattvas perfection of the practice of actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. They are replete in the causal practice; they are replete in the practice of actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. So, this is about Bodhisattvas [in general], to say nothing of Manjusri Bodhisattva. He was no ordinary Bodhisattva, so he sat upon a thousand-petaled lotus flower as large as a carriage wheel. He appeared on such a great lotus platform. It was not just Manjusri Bodhisattva alone; along with him came many other Bodhisattvas. Many other Bodhisattvas accompanied Manjusri Bodhisattva there.
[There were] Bodhisattvas who accompanied Him, also sitting upon jeweled lotus flowers: Those who accompanied Manjusri Bodhisattva had also fulfilled their causal practice of the Bodhisattva-path. They all came, also seated upon jeweled lotus thrones.
The Bodhisattvas who came together were the same; they all had perfected their causal practice. They all had completed the Bodhisattva-path. They had also perfected their causal practice. They were all Bodhisattvas who had perfected their causal practice. They all came sitting upon jeweled lotus thrones and emerged before the Lotus Dharma-assembly all at the same time. They “rose up out of the great ocean and emerged with ease from the dragon king Sagara’s palace”. Emerging from the ocean upon lotus flowers, they arrived at Vulture Peak Assembly. Earlier, the stupa of treasures emerged from the earth. Now, Manjusri Bodhisattva and others emerged from the dragon palace upon thousand-petaled lotus flowers. They appeared before the Lotus Dharma-assembly upon these lotus platforms. So, “the various Bodhisattvas” had all come from there.
“Sagara” means the dragon kind. In the salty sea, there are 177 dragon kings altogether, and he was the seventh dragon king. He went by the name of the dragon king Sagara, as well as Salt Dragon King.
So, presently, only this dragon king was named. This is because this particular dragon king was a powerful Bodhisattva who also practiced the Bodhisattva-path; this was a dragon king who engaged in spiritual practice. He already “abided in the Ten Grounds,” a Bodhisattva with the practice of the Ten Grounds. He appeared as a dragon dwelling in the salty sea in order to protect his people and benefit sentient beings.
Presently, only this dragon king was named, because he was a powerful Bodhisattva who abided in the Ten Grounds. He appeared in as a dragon dwelling in the salty sea. He protected the Dharma and his people and benefitted them extensively.
In ancient times, people relied upon the dragon kings of the ocean to bring them favorable weather. Back then, for it to rain when it should, they relied upon the dragon kings. In ancient times, when they wanted it to rain, they would pray to the dragon kings of the ocean. This was what ancient people (in China) did, not to mention [the people] in the Buddhist sutras and in India. So, it was the dragon kings who protected sentient beings in the world and gave them favorable weather. This dragon king now “abided in the Ten Grounds”.
We all know the Ten Grounds. These are the ground of joy, the ground of freedom from defilement, the ground of radiating light, the ground of blazing wisdom, the ground of overcoming difficulties, the ground of manifestation, the ground of far-reaching practice, the ground of stillness, the ground of excellent wisdom and the ground of Dharma-cloud.
All together, these make up the Ten Grounds. This dragon king had already attained the fruits of the Ten Grounds and was able to protect sentient beings of the world, so he too was considered a Bodhisattva. Thus, “The palace he dwelt in was magnificently adorned with the Seven Treasures, just like [the palaces of] heaven”. It was also a very magnificent place. Many treasures can be found on the ocean floor, such as “gold, silver, crystal, glass, mother-of-pearl, chalcedony, pearl” and so on. They are all treasures.
So, in India, merchants always sought treasures from the ocean, for the ocean contains many treasures. “Earlier,” the World-Honored One, Sakyamuni Buddha, “radiated light to illuminate the worlds and taught the Chapter on Skillful Means [and so on]”.
Earlier, when the World-Honored One, radiated light to illuminate the worlds and taught the Chapter on Skillful Means and so on, Manjusri was originally present at this Dharma-assembly. So why is it that at this time, He suddenly emerged from the dragon palace in the great ocean? Teaching the entire Lotus Sutra could not be done in one day and one night.
In the beginning of the Introductory Chapter, after the Buddha had finished teaching the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, He began to radiate light that “illuminated 80,000 lands”. The light that radiated from the tuft of white hair between His eyebrows was able to illuminate many places. When the Buddha entered Samadhi and began radiating light, that was the time when Maitreya and Manjusri engaged in their conversation. From the Introductory Chapter until the Chapter on Skillful Means, Manjusri Bodhisattva had been there at the Dharma-assembly. Why then, in the Chapter on Devadatta, did he suddenly come rising up out of the ocean? This tells us that, when it came to the Dharma-assembly, the Buddha actually taught the Lotus Sutra over a period of seven or eight years. He did not teach it all in one day. So, He started from the Introductory Chapter, and after the Chapter on Skillful Means, many Bodhisattvas left.
After the Buddha had finished opening and revealing the Chapter on Skillful Means, Manjusri and the other great Bodhisattvas understood the Buddha’s original teachings. The various Bodhisattvas who went to transform [begins] in the ten directions came and went at different times. This time, having just happened to finish teaching and transforming at the dragon palace, they returned to the Dharma-assembly.
This is because Manjusri and many other great Bodhisattvas had all already understood these great principles. “The Buddha’s original teachings” were His original principles, the ones He had already taught. [These Bodhisattvas] had also attained Buddahood; in the past, they had also taught countless others to attain Buddhahood as well. Now they had come to the world manifesting as Bodhisattvas to support the Buddha’s Dharma-assembly. So, they did not need to be there to listen to the Dharma. They still had to go to other worlds to transform sentient beings. So, Manjusri Bodhisattva was not there. When the Buddha finished teaching the Chapter on Skillful Means of the Lotus Sutra, Manjusri and the others were not in the assembly. This was something completely normal. Now they returned. This was because the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra for more than seven years, for a period of close to eight years. Because of this, they were just returning from other worlds. So, “The various Bodhisattvas who went to transform [beings] in the ten directions came and went at different times.” They had been coming and going like this. At that time, [Manjusri] just happened to be teaching and transforming at the dragon palace. While he was at the place of practice of the dragon palace, he knew that in the Saha World, Sakyamuni Buddha had already begun teaching the Chapter on Devadatta. At this time, [the Buddha] really needed them to come and assist at the Dharma-assembly and help others gain a clearer understanding of the meaning behind the Chapter on Devadatta, the Great Vehicle Dharma, that Buddha-nature, the nature of True Suchness, is intrinsic to us all. He knew that he was needed, so he quickly returned. Thus, he quickly returned like this. This was how he came and left as he wished, coming on a jeweled lotus flower that emerged from the dragon palace in the ocean.
“From the [perspective of] worldly appearances, the meaning is as such." It means just what it says. "But from the perspective of the mind,” that “dragon palace in the ocean represents the ocean of sentient beings’ minds,” Our intrinsic minds are pure and free.
The ocean [where] that dragon palace is actually the ocean of our mind. The ocean of all sentient beings’ minds contains treasures. So, our minds are all endowed with the Seven Treasures. This is using another perspective [to see] the principles of the Great Vehicle and sentient beings’ nature of True Suchness. In the ground of each person’s mind, not only is there a stupa of treasures, the mind also contains an ocean of wisdom as well. This is all contained within the minds of sentient beings. So, our intrinsic mind is pure and free. Our wisdom is like a great ocean. This is all within the intrinsic mind of all sentient beings.
Manjusri represents the fundamental, non-discriminating wisdom within the Tathagata-garbha mind. “Wisdom Accumulated” means the wisdom attained from cultivating and accumulating all practices. When fundamental wisdom is suddenly opened and revealed within the mind, this is called emerging. Sitting upon a lotus flower shows that they had perfected their causal practice and attained the stage of fruition. This is like how when a lotus flower blooms, the lotus pod can be seen; when the lotus pod matures, the flower fades away.
So, “Manjusri represents the fundamental, non-discriminating wisdom within the Tathagata-garbha mind.” Manjusri had already thoroughly comprehended the Tathagata-garbha mind. The Tathagata-garbha is intrinsic to everyone; the nature of True Suchness is intrinsic to everyone. This is the fundamental “non-discriminating wisdom.” This is universal. The Buddha-mind is non-discriminating, impartial to friend or foe and free of discriminatory thoughts. Its wisdom is also non-discriminating. This fundamental nature is something intrinsic to all of us. "Wisdom Accumulated’ means the wisdom attained from cultivating and accumulating all practices.” We should earnestly engage in spiritual practice. Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva represents how everyone should engage in spiritual practice, so [his name] refers to spiritual practice. “When fundamental wisdom is suddenly opened and revealed within the mind, this is called emerging.” Our fundamental wisdom is perfected through accumulated spiritual practice through spiritual practice. This means when it is suddenly opened and revealed, it “emerges.” “Sitting upon a lotus flower shows that they had perfected their causal practice and attained the stage of fruition.” If we can perfect [the practice of] actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions, then we can all attain Buddhahood. So, “This is like how when a lotus flower blooms, the lotus pod can be seen.” The lotus seeds become visible. When it flowers, we can see the lotus pod and the seeds which have formed. Then, “When the lotus pod matures, the flower fades away.” This is what we need to understand very clearly. What it means is that we all fundamentally have the Tathagata-garbha nature. We all have this fundamental wisdom. Within everyone, there exists the ocean of wisdom of our Tathagata-garbha; all we need to do is engage in spiritual practice. So, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva constantly accumulated [wisdom] like this. When we continually accumulate [wisdom] like this, naturally, when the flower blossoms, the fruit will become visible; the principle is the same.
Although the principles are very profound, we just all need to always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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