Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Bhiksunis Peacefully Abided in the Path (尼眾安道 祈佛授記)
Date: June.11.2018
“As He transformed His family members, He regarded everyone impartially. Thus they entered a state of purity and abandoned the dusts of worldly desire. They purified their minds and eliminated their defilements. They feel themselves of attachments and purged their afflictions. Path-of-Great-Love Bhiksuni and the bhiksunis at and beyond learning, with their minds peacefully abiding in the path, beseeched the Buddha to bear witness and bestow predictions upon them.”
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. Sakyamuni Buddha came to this world to transform people, making no distinction between relative or stranger. However, while it is usually relatively easy to transform others, it is more difficult to transform our own family members.
Yet because of the Buddha’s virtue, after He attained Buddhahood, when He returned to the kingdom of Kapilavastu a few years later, His father, the king, was very happy. He hoped that in the kingdom of Kapilavastu, everyone would be able to draw near to the Buddha-Dharma, since it is the true principles. He hoped that people in his country could attain the true principles and be at ease in body and mind. This was King Suddhodana’s wish. So, he decreed that any households with two or more sons could allow at least one son to become a monastic. This was the same for citizens, minsters and royal family members.
The more closely related people were to the Buddha, the more He hoped they could draw near to the Buddha-Dharma. This was also King Suddhodana’s intention. He had faith that the true principles of the universe that Prince Siddhartha awakened to after attaining Buddhahood and becoming the Great Enlightened One were definitely correct. [He felt] everyone should follow the path and quickly draw near to the true principles. Only in this was would his country have blessings. This was what King Suddhodana thought.
Many royal family members and many minsters’ sons were willing [to become monastics], because the Buddha had taught the Dharma in the palace for some time already. Everyone took joy in the Buddha-Dharma and hoped to draw near to the Buddha and the Buddha-Dharma. There were also many who were willing to become monastics. Thus, those who always followed the Buddha increasingly grew in number. This continued until King Suddhodana passed away and “Path-of-Great –Love,” who was the Buddha’s maternal aunt, realized that life was truly impermanent. She had understood the principles [and knew] it would be best to draw near to the Buddha so she could constantly listen to the Dharma. This was what she hoped for. She hoped for a simple life without attachments.
So, she led a group of palace maids who were willing to follow her into monastic life and implored the Buddha to accept them as monastic practitioners. Yasodhara was among them. At first, the Buddha was unwilling. Everyone should know this story. Later, Path-of-Great-Love, whose [Sanskrit name] was Mahaprajapati, asked Ananda for help. At the time, Ananda was already the Buddha’s attendant and was always by His side. So, Mahaprajapati said, “Please, please!” She sincerely begged him, “Ananda, please beseech the Buddha on our behalf.” Ananda felt sorry for the Buddha’s maternal aunt and these many royal relatives from the palace. For all these women to be willing to draw near the Buddha was not an easy thing. [Seeing that] they were actually willing to forego their wealthy lifestyle in the palace and live such simple and harsh lives, Ananda was very touched. He knew that the Buddha loved all sentient beings and hoped they could all be transformed, so why should women not be able to draw near the Buddha and engage in spiritual practice in His Sangha? He kept beseeching the Buddha. The Buddha listened to Ananda beg again and again, repeatedly imploring Him. So finally, the Buddha could only agree to it.
However, as Ananda was expressing his gratitude for the Buddha’s approval, the Buddha told him, “Do you know? Because I agreed to women renouncing the lay life and becoming bhiksunis, I fear the Right Dharma’s [time in this world] will be lessened.” Frightened, Ananda asked, “Why is that?” He said, “Women are not focused on engaging in spiritual practice. Women have their charming attitude and appearance. Their physical constitutions seem very weak. They have many discursive thoughts. Becoming a monastic is the work of a great person, but a woman’s mind is very complicated.” Ananda replied, “In the past, all Buddhas likewise had the four kinds of disciples. Why is it that in the Saha World women have such great hindrances?” The Buddha sighed, “Indeed! The Saha World’s sentient begins are desirous and stubborn. Moreover, if men and women are close to one another, it causes men to lose their focus and causes women’s thoughts to turn complicated.” Ananda said, “This is so unequal! Didn’t You say that all sentient begins have Buddha-nature? [The Buddha] has great impartial compassion toward all sentient beings, regardless of their appearances as men or women.” The Buddha said, “This is not about appearances. This is about their state of mind and habitual tendencies.” Indeed, this is about our states of mind and habitual tendencies. But is this really the case? The Buddha said that “[Men and women] are equal; there are just [different] states of mind and habitual tendencies. Men’s daily lifestyles tend to be simpler.” Every day, it is simple. They just need to wash clean and wear proper clothing; that is all they need. Women are different; they need to dress up meticulously. Looking at a room, the times a women uses are more than a man’s. For a man, a wardrobe, a bed and a desk should be enough. Women need a vanity table with many bottles and jars of different shapes and colors and many other strange items. Clearly, with such a lifestyle and these habitual tendencies, [women like this] never have enough time. We can see from their way of living the wastefulness of their habitual tendencies. They waste time, mental energy and money. This is the hindrance of habitual tendencies that the Buddha talked about.
Of course, the Buddha was always impartial. When Ananda came to intercede for Mahaprajapati, the Buddha only used these appearances to purposely [express]. His unwillingness to accept women as monastics. In His mind, He clearly knew that Mahaprajapati would ask Ananda for help for He knew that Ananda was soft-hearted. Ever since he was young, he had always relied on motherly figures such as Mahaprajapati, who doted on him as he grew up. So, Mahaprajapati would certainly ask Ananda for help, and Ananda would surely speak on her behalf. The Buddha was fully aware of this. So, He purposely rejected them as a way to remind future women to be vigilant.
Thus, people say that women have more severe karmic obstructions and need to practice for 500 years more. Indeed! They require more time to eliminate their habitual tendencies. When it comes to these tendencies and mindsets, finding ways to be able to change and correct these mindsets and habitual tendencies is not such a simple task. As it is, everyone is equal. The Buddha did not reject them in His heart. He deliberately went through this process to remind women to be vigilant. As the Buddha transformed His family members, He regarded everyone impartially. He was always impartial. Moreover, He was also very grateful to His maternal aunt. As He returned to the palace to teach the Dharma, He also expounded the Dharma to His family in the palace and the palace maids. Thus, they were able to take the Dharma deeply to heart. Of course, He transformed sentient begins without distinguishing between friend and foe or between relatives and strangers.
So, “As He transformed His family members, He regarded everyone impartially.” Whether they were relatives or strangers, to the Buddha, they were all sentient beings to be transformed. They were all sentient beings. The Buddha wished to transform even non-human beings and animals, not to mention His fellow human beings! So, the Buddha regarded everyone impartially.
As for Mahaprajapati and this group of women, they were determined to enter the Buddha’s door. “Thus they entered a state of purity and abandoned the dusts of worldly desire.” They had already resolved to enter the Buddha’s teachings, meaning to become pure. They had to let go of everything. Their habitual tendencies and their way of life, they had to abandon them all. Thus, they needed to eliminate their desires and [abandon] the worldly lifestyle of lay people. Even their magnificent and luxurious wealth of material possessions had to be entirely given up. They completely distanced themselves from such worldly ways of life; they were determined. So, “They purified their minds and eliminated their defilements.” Once they had completely transformed their minds, they were entirely purified. Their defilements, discursive thoughts and bad habitual tendencies had all been completely eliminated. They were determined to “free themselves of attachment and purify their afflictions.” They had already become free of attachments. They too were pure and free of afflictions. Both men’s minds and women’s minds are [affected by desires] . Women’s desires are focused on themselves, while men’s desires are constantly directed outward, toward fame, sex, wealth and success. Both women and men are contaminated.
But in spiritual practice, be they overt or subtle [afflictions], women’s subtle afflictions must be eliminated and men’s overt afflictions must also be eliminated. So, they all “freed themselves of attachments and purged their afflictions”. As for “Path-of-Great-Love” Bhiksuni and the bhiksunis at and beyond learning, “Path-of-Great-Love” refers to Mahaprajapati. She and those at and beyond learning, some of who had very sharp capabilities, began to follow the Buddha in renouncing the lay life. They all listened to the Buddha’s teachings. Their capabilities were great, so they were able to comprehend the Buddha’s teachings. This means they had reached the stage “beyond learning”. What about those “at the stage of learning”? they had formed initial aspirations and had begun to learn the Buddha-Dharma. Or if they had weaker capabilities, they were gradually accepting [the teachings]. Those were all still at the stage of learning.
So, they were called “the bhiksuni and beyond learning”. This big group of bhiksunis all shared the same mindset; “Their minds peacefully abided in the path”. Whether they were at or beyond learning, everyone’s mind was peacefully abiding in the path. On this path, everyone was very determined. Women very earnestly engaged in spiritual practice. They were also very dutiful. So, they beseeched the Buddha to bear witness for them and bestow predictions upon them. This was their aspiration.
Path-of-Great-Love led those many people, gradually accumulating [followers], until the group of bhiksuni had 6000 people. So, Path-of-Great-Love, Mahaprajapati, was the leader of the assembly. She was the leader of the bhiksunis. She led these people who likewise rose from their seats, hoping the Buddha could bear witness and bestow predictions upon them.
Path-of-Great-Love: “If we are speaking of Hearers, those bhiksus are all Hearers. We have also upheld the Buddha’s teachings and are Hearers as well. Since we all hear the same Dharma-sound, and our understanding of the principles is the same, why haven’t we received predictions yet?”
Path-of-Great-Love and the group of bhiksunis all had this same thought. “If we are speaking of Hearers” refers to how the Buddha had already bestowed predictions on the Hearers. The 500 and 8000 bhiksus at and beyond learning had all received the Buddha’s predictions, one [group] after the other. These were Hearers. Path-of-Great-Love thought, “Those bhiksus are all Hearers”. Those bhiksus were Hearers. “We have also upheld the Buddha’s teachings and are Hearers as well. Those male bhiksus are Hearers and we bhiksunis are also Hearers. We are the same. Whatever the Buddha taught us, we have accepted and upheld [His teachings]. Since we have all heard the same Dharma-sound and understand the principles the same way, there should be no difference between us! Men and women both listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. They do not have any differences”.
“The same” means there are no differences. “Why haven’t we received predictions yet”? After coming to this point, the predictions stopped. The Buddha went on to expound the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, then the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures and so on. But they had not yet heard. Him bestow His predictions upon them. Devadatta was so evil, but the Buddha had even bestowed predictions upon him as well. Why had they still not heard Him bestow predictions upon them? Why was it still not their turn to received predictions of Buddhahood? This was what Path-of-Great-Love and the group of bhiksunis hoped for. They were also worried, fearing that the Buddha would not bestow predictions on the bhiksunis. So, they were worried but still hoped that the Buddha could bestow predictions upon them.
Thus, in the previous passage we already talked about the sramanas, the bhiksus and Hearers. These people were willing to form aspirations. 20,000 Bodhisattvas made vows, so these Hearers and bhiksus also formed aspirations before the Buddha. “We are willing to form aspirations and accept this Dharma. We just hope to not be in this place. In the Saha World, people are filled with corruption and evil. We are willing to accept the Great Vehicle Dharma and promote its teachings, but we do not want to do it here, since people in the Saha World are always filled corruption and evil and harbor overbearing arrogance. Overbearing arrogance includes greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. All these traits [describe] the Saha World’s sentient beings.
Why is this so? Because in the Saha World, many people are filled with corruption and evil. They harbor overbearing arrogance and are shallow in merits and virtues. They are angry, confused and engage in devious flattery. They are insincere at heart.
So, their merits and virtues are already very shallow. The people who want to do good deeds are few. If they were to do a little bit of good, no matter how small, they would have expectations. They seek something in return. They do it to obtain what they want. Thus, their mind is “angry, confused and engages in devious flattery”. They are insincere; they lack true sincerity. “Sincerity, integrity, faith, and steadfastness” are all lacking. This is why the Saha World’s sentient beings are unable to be mindful and unwilling to engage in spiritual practice. So, a mind like this is not steadfast. If we are lacking sincerity, and lacking deep faith, then of course we also lack genuine steadfastness. So, it is hard for sentient beings in the Saha World to eliminate the Five Turbidities. This is how it is in the Saha World. So, these Hearers did not dare [to go there]. Although they wanted to form great aspirations, they dared not do it in this place. This was what everyone expressed. Although they all expressed this, the Buddha did not reply to them but changed course instead. The Buddha looked at everyone. “You are willing to form vows, but are unwilling to be in this place.” The Buddha, in His compassion, observed them all.
At this moment, His gaze fell upon His maternal aunt. He looked at her, so this passage continues, “At that time, the Buddha’s maternal aunt, Mahaprajapati Bhiksuni, along with the bhiksunis at and beyond learning, 6000 in all, rose from their seats, wholeheartedly put their palms together and gazed upward in admiration at the Buddha’s countenance, never averting their eyes for an instant.
The Buddha looked at everyone. He saw how His maternal aunt and these bhiksunis were so reverent. Everyone had reverently put their palms together and gazed upward in admiration at the Buddha’s countenance. Their gaze was so focused, as if they wished to express something. They had this appearance.
Mahaprajapati means “leader of the assembly. She was the leader of the bhiksunis. She is also called Path-of-great-Love, as well as Gautami. The following passage will use “Gautami” to refer to her. This was also Mahaprajapati’s name. The Buddha’s maternal aunt was also called “Gautami”; this was her family name. “She was the leader of the assembly of bhiksunes.” This assembly of bhiksunis was led by her.
Gautami: The surname of the Buddha’s maternal aunt. She was the leader of the assembly of bhiksunis. Therefore, she led the 6000 bhiksunis in requesting predictions of Buddhahood.
Gautami, as everyone knows, was the Buddha’s maternal aunt. She was the younger sister of the Buddha’s mother. When the prince was born, Lady Maya was weak and did not stop bleeding. So, seven days later, her life came to an end and she passed away. In order to raise the prince, the king had to find someone at that time.
Gautami, Mahaprajapati, was very sad when her older sister passed away. She also saw her sister’s newborn baby, and her heart went out to him. During that time, she was constantly there taking care of him. Many ministers also suggested that the prince needed a maternal [figure] by his side. Seeing how Mahaprajapati treated the child her sister left behind with such care and such love, [the ministers] suggested that the king accept Mahaprajapati as an adoptive mother to raise the prince. So, she was still his maternal aunt, but in this way, the king accepted her as the prince’s mother. Thus, she mindfully cared for him. “His maternal aunt raised him as her own” meaning that she brought him up.
So, “Guatami had Ananda ask. She asked for permission to become a monastic, but the Buddha refused. She did not dare to speak of it, so she went to ask Ananda for help. Ananda, as we said before, beseeched and implored the Buddha. Only then did the Buddha begin to accept this group of women as monastics. The Buddha accepted the bhiksunis, but there were also some obstacles. When it came to women, [because of] the many hindrances in their minds, He reminded them to be vigilant. It was so hard for them to become monastics, so having done this, they sincerely engaged in spiritual practice, purified their minds and abided in the path. They just had to prove themselves. “I must put in effort and earnestly engage in spiritual practice.” It was Gautami, Mahaprajapati, who made this vow and sternly led this group of bhiksunis. From the moment they first became monastics, they were always like this. They continued to earnestly engage in spiritual practice. So, Gautami led the bhiksunis who were at and beyond learning, all 6000 of them.
When she saw the Buddha’s compassionate gaze looking upon the whole assembly, she could feel that the Buddha’s eyes were already upon them. They already had their palms together, gazing in admiration at the Buddha. When she saw the Buddha looking at them, she quickly moved, rising from her seat. At that time, she felt both worried and hopeful. “How could our turn to receive predictions not have come yet?” Everyone’s mind was filled with hope. Seeing the Buddha looking at them, they quickly seized the opportunity and rose from their seats. They all moved in unison with their palms together, focused and reverent. Thus, the Buddha’s maternal aunt and these bhiksunis all moved in unison; they were very orderly. She had taught them very strictly and managed them well. Everyone was very harmonious and dignified. They stood up together and put their palms together in unison. They then “gazed upward in admiration at the Buddha’s countenance, never averting their eyes for an instant”. They were all in a state of anticipation. They had originally been sitting down, but seeing the Buddha looking at them, they all, in unison, quickly rose from their seats. They then kneeled down and put their palms together.
[They] gazed upward in admiration at the Buddha’s countenance, never averting their eyes for an instant: They had a request [for teachings] and were willing to hear, accept and uphold [them], so they gazed at Him with respect, unable to avert [their eyes] for even an instant. Never averting their eyes for an instant: This was their appearance as they hoped to receive the Buddha’s predictions, which they sought but had yet to attain.
“They had a request [for teachings]”; they really wanted to ask the Buddha for teachings. “They were willing to hear, accept and uphold”. Everyone was sincerely listening in hopes that the Buddha would bestow predictions upon them. They had this hope. Those bhiksus had formed aspirations, saying they would accept and uphold the Lotus Sutra. “We also have this aspiration and this hope. Since the Buddha’s gaze fell upon us, did He have some instructions for us?” So, “They never averted their eyes for an instant” and hoped the Buddha would call their names and bestow predictions on them. This was the hope in their hearts. “They sought but had yet to attain”. They were so reverent, but the Buddha still had not spoken to them. These bhidsunis all thought in their hearts, “The Hearers have already received predictions, and the dragon girl has attained Buddhahood”. They all felt this deeply, yet their aspirations were even firmer.
The assembly of bhiksunis had witnessed the Hearers receive predictions and the dragon girl attain Buddhahood. Inspired, they formed this aspiration. Path-of-Great-Love thought to herself, “The Buddha has already bestowed predictions upon His disciples. So, if we are talking about Hearers, they are Hearers, and so are we. Since we have heard the same Dharma and the principles should be no different, why hasn’t the Buddha bestowed predictions on us? If we are talking about being female, the dragon girl was female and so are we. Since we are considered the same, we must be on the same path. Are we lesser than the dragon girl?”
This describes Path-of-Great-Love’s thoughts. In her heart, she contemplated how these Hearers had already attained predictions and the dragon girl had also attained Buddhahood. “Our aspirations should all be the same”. The Buddha had already bestowed predictions upon His disciples. If He was talking about Hearers, they were Hearers and so were [the bhiksunis]. She was comparing them in her mind. So, “We have heard the same Dharma and the principles should be no different”. The Buddha expounded the same Dharma, and they accepted it in the same way. The principles He taught should be the same. “The Buddha’s principles have no discrepancies. What we accepted must be the same! Why did He bestow predictions upon the bhiksus, but we have not received them yet? Why has it not yet been our turn? In bestowing predictions, why has He not called our names yet? Why have we not heard the Buddha bestow predictions on us by name?” This was what this group of bhiksunis were thinking.
So, “If we are talking about being female, the dragon girl was female and so are we. If we are talking about how we are female, the dragon girl was also female. So, if the dragon girl could attain Buddhahood, we should also be able to achieve it. Since we can attain Buddhahood, why has the Buddha not bestowed predictions upon us yet? Since we are considered the same,” meaning they were equal, “we must be on the same path”.
Since everyone was equal, there should be no difference. “We are walking on the same path. They can reach the goal, so we should likewise be able to reach it”. So, “Are we lesser than the dragon girl? Are we not as good as the dragon girl?” This was their thinking. Despite thinking this way, and although they had a lot of confidence and were very sure of themselves, they were hesitant to say it out loud. They did not dare to say it.
Though they were confident in themselves, they were still hesitant and irresolute. Thus, though they wished to speak their minds, they found it difficult to speak out. They merely raised their heads and gazed at Him, waiting to hear His instruction.
So, “They wanted to speak their minds, but found it difficult to speak out”. Although it was what they were thinking, they were very hesitant and did not dare to say the words that were in their hearts. They hesitated when they wanted to speak. They wanted to speak but stopped themselves. “They merely raised their heads and gazed at Him”. They were waiting for the Buddha, waiting to hear Him call their names. Everyone wanted to know what they could do to hear the Buddha call their names. They all rose from their seats and reverently put their palms together. Among this assembly, 6000 people stood up. They were very sincere. The Buddha also saw them. They were all waiting for His instruction, for Him to call their names. This was because they and the others were equal. Indeed, they were equal! In particular since they formed great aspirations, they were equal also to the Bodhisattvas. This is just like in our organization, Tzu Chi. Everyone is equal; there are no distinctions of age or gender. We often hear a saying, “Men do the work of supermen and women do the work of men”. From this, we can understand that for example when we are helping people, providing relief or caring for others, whether on a mountain or in the countryside, no matter how far we must travel or how difficult the road is, men and women are equal [in their hard work.] The Bodhisattva-path is hard to walk on, but they all [walk on it.]
Take for example [our volunteers] in Yuli. Yuli is the largest town in Taiwan. It is very big, but it has very small population. There are many mountains, and those who live on the mountains lead very difficult lives. In Yuli, there are few people doing Tzu Chi’s work, so they have to take on many responsibilities. There are only 107 Tzu Chi commissioners in total and their average age is almost 70 years. This means that there are commissioners close to 80 years old. They are very experienced. But [the number] of cases they have to care for there is 490 households. Most recipients are in the mountains. It is such a vast land with many tall mountains. Think about it; how can they do it? Our Faith Corps members and commissioners are so few in number. Now, those in charge of the volunteer teams are close to 80 years old. The ones in charge are Mr. Lin Yulong and Liang Meiying; both are almost 80 years old. So, those two must travel throughout the entire mountainous area to frequently assess and visit [care recipients]. But they also want to work on recycling. So, they have a very big recycling station where they lead volunteers. The elderly Bodhisattva, Meiying, is in charge of that recycling station. They have few people, so she gets her husband to come out to gather a few more people. Mr. Lin is in charge of transporting the recyclables. So, one is responsible for the recycling station, while another goes out to collect recyclables. Of course, there are also other people, but there are not many who show up. Everyone is already advanced in age. A commissioner, Huang Liyun, said, “When I see them, my heart goes out to them. I am in charge of the activity team. I always look for someone to take over, but I hear that many of them, the majority, have had surgeries. If they undergo surgery, they worry about the work they are in charge of.” Take Mr. Lin Yulong, who just had an eye surgery. The doctor told him, “You cannot return to work for a month.” But before one month was up, he began going all over the place, hiking in the mountains to make home visits. That is how he has always worked. He even drives a truck to collect recyclables; he also does this. He feels that when it comes to learning Buddhism, we are “learning the Buddha’s teachings,” not “learning Buddhist studies.”
“Master says,’This body is temporary. Our wisdom-life is developed through the use of our body.’ We can move, work and go among people to extensively form Dharma-affinities. So, we must ‘use the illusory to cultivate the true.’ We must use this body and do what we can.”
So, when we speak of how men and women are equal, we should simply do what we can. Men are giving of themselves, and women are also giving of themselves. This is regardless of their age or gender. So, when we are practicing in the same way and walking on the same path, we will reach the same goal and be settled in that [same] place. On the Bodhisattva’s journey, the destination is attaining Buddhahood. We should believe in this. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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