Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Buddha Opens Us What Is Hard to Believe (時期難信 願佛開解)
Date: December.21.2018
“Our minds are blocked by heavy obstructions, attached to delusions and are unable to open up and understand. The Buddha expounded the Dharma for us’ so that we can open up our minds and understand, connect with and comprehend it. The true nature of all Dharma is pure and equal. True Suchness is what is true.”
We must be mindful. We are constantly discussing the mind. Every day, I tell everybody to be more mindful. From start to finish, I am always saying just one phrase, “always be mindful.” Indeed, in our everyday lives, is there anything we do that does not require mindfulness? If we are mindful, we will do things flawlessly. If we are not mindful, we will do nothing well. This is why mindfulness is so important. Moreover, as we learn from the Buddha and listen to the Dharma, the true principles, we must listen to these principles and bring them into our minds. Only then can we act upon the Dharma. If our minds can become one with the Dharma, we will find ways to handle the matters of our daily lives, and we will “have the Dharma” to deal with people. This principle is certain. This all begins with mindfulness.
Yes, we must be mindful. “Our minds are blocked by heavy obstructions.” If we shut the doors of our minds, the path will be obstructed. We will have no way to bring out what is inside us and no way to bring what is outside inside us. When the doors of our minds remain shut, how can we ever take the Dharma to heart? How can we find a way to deal with others?
Therefore, we must open the doors of our minds. If we open them, in due course, the Dharma will flow into us, and we will free our minds. Then, we can broaden our minds to encompass the universe and embrace the boundless worlds within it. Everything in the world has its principles; if we do not open our minds, how will we ever be able to see the principles behind all things in the world? Therefore, we absolutely must open our minds to let in the world around us. We must take in the Dharma that we hear and put it to use so that we will be unobstructed.
Otherwise, if we shut the doors of our minds, we are refusing the Dharma entry. Without it, we will never move forward. When we shut ourselves off, we shut our afflictions and ignorance inside our minds, sealing them deep inside. Our minds and our intrinsic nature are inherently tranquil and clear. Our minds are inherently pure and undefiled. Our nature is the Tathagata-nature, but we seal off the doors of our minds, keeping our melancholy feelings inside us, piling up afflictions.
[Our mind] is like a wastebasket. We have never cleaned it out, so it says damp and dirty inside. In this case, even if we stop throwing dirty stuff into it, if we do not clean the moisture and filth out, if we never clean it or wipe it dry, it will stay damp and dirty. Even if we stop throwing trash in, even if we close the lid and keep everything sealed inside it, it will stay damp and dirty and will never get clean. If we leave it closed for a few days and open it much later, then the things at the bottom will start to stink, and it will get moldy inside. Everything inside will get even filthier.
By the same principle, if we do not clean out our dirt from the past and eliminate our afflictions and ignorance, even if we say, “I will no longer create bad karma,” as long as we keep the doors of our minds shut and fail to clean out [our dirt] from the past, the Dharma will have no way to come in. If we do not put in the effort, our ignorance will pile up and obstruct us. If we do not clear a way through our ignorance, in the same way, those obstructions inside of us will continue to produce [more obstructions]. When we do not open our minds, we remain lost and attached to our delusions. We are unable to understand anything, and the Dharma is unable to enter us. We lack any understanding of the principles. This delusion lies in our attachments to the past. The past is all in the past, yet we still cling to it. We cling to delusions, we cling to the past, to our past afflictions, to our worries over gain or loss and so on; we are still very attached to them, so our minds cannot open up and understand. We still cling to past afflictions and ignorance. If we do not open our minds, we will never understand. So, we accrue more and more karma, and this leads to mental illness. We see nothing clearly, so we act rashly. In so doing, we create even more karma.
Therefore, we must open the doors of our minds and work hard to clear out the wrongful attachments of our pasts. We must take the Dharma to heart. When the Dharma lives within our hearts, it enables us to grow our wisdom-life. So, we must be very mindful. We must not close off our minds and add to our karmic obstacles. When our minds are closed, our karmic obstacles starry sealed inside, breaking out into actions. Thus, we will never be able to release our attachments to delusions, and karma will keep building up, layer by layer.
We must seize the time to accept the Dharma. The Dharma is like water which can cleanse the filth from our minds and flush our hearts clean of obstructions so that we can connect every matter and every principle together. The Buddha expounded the Dharma to us “so that we can open up our minds and understand connect with and comprehend it”. These are the Buddha’s teachings, even if the Buddha [lived] more than 2000 years away from us by now. Human life is always so short. Over 2000 years passed by in the blink of an eye. But the Buddha-Dharma, though the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance have both ended, still remains with us in these texts. Now, we must quickly use the texts that have been passed down to us and mindfully seek to comprehend their principles. We still have these traces left; we can abide by this Dharma and follow it. It will tell us our direction. We know our direction and see the traces of a path. It is just that it is completely overgrown with weeds. But as long as we know the direction, we can follow the traces of the path. We must clear away the weeds and tangled trees, clearing them away again and again so that the path will emerge clearly again.
The people who opened the path before us already [knew] this direction. These were all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The Buddha opened the path, and behind Him, the Bodhisattvas paved it and also helped to clear it. But because a long time has passed, this ancient path from long ago has long been without anyone to tend it, and it has become overgrown by weeds. Now, we must follow in this direction, along the traces of the path, and immediately form aspirations to put the Dharma into action and clear this path. In following this direction, we can see its traces. When we understand these “traces,” we will start to put effort into making [this path] clearer and safer. We must make it very clear and very safe to put this path into order and open it up. This is our current mission.
The Buddha taught the Dharma to us “so that we can open up our minds and understand, connect with and comprehend it”. If we do not clear the path and only say “I get it, I get it,” even if we do understand, all we will see is a tangled mess of weeds and trees. We have yet to clear this path.
So long as we take action to clear this path, it will really start to look like a path. We will walk it joyfully and clear it freely. Not only will we ourselves advance forward, but people behind us will advance by following us. This is “understanding, connecting with and comprehending [the Dharma]”. In the Buddha’s time, didn’t they clear this path in the same way? Regarding the Buddha’s disciples, the Bodhisattvas who had formed aspirations, isn’t this how they kept on [clearing it], one section after another? Thus, there was the era of Right Dharma and then the era of Dharma-semblance. From then until now, thought this is “the era of Dharma-degeneration,” fortunately, in the era of Right Dharma, [the Dharma] was passed on by word of mouth, and during the era of Dharma-semblance, it was inscribed word by word. Thus, in the era of Dharma-degeneration, we have these texts and images that we can read and study.
But if we do not hasten to form aspirations now, even these texts, in the modern era, even the texts might disappear in the future. These days, everything is begins digitized. Every kind of text, anything written on paper, is all being simplified. Using computers, texts are being uploaded onto computers. They just [upload it], and it is all done. With computers, it is always out with the old and in with the new. We are replacing them constantly. Computers and entirely dependent upon electricity. When a picture of an object is uploaded into a computer, [that image] will only be accessible through the computer. Because of this, if something were to happen one day, [it could disappear] in an instant, and the next time we search for that text, it may be gone. When I was young, I saw that in the sutras, the Buddha said that there will come a time when the Dharma is destroyed. After the era of Dharma-degeneration, the Dharma will be gone. Even the texts will disappear instantly. I always wondered, “Is this even possible”. Once a text is written down, it is written down. Once it is inscribed, it is inscribed. How is it possible for a text to disappear in an instant? Now I believe it. Not only do I believe it, I am also very worried about it. It is not only a possibility, but in a blink of an eye, we will be unable to call back these texts. Even if we call a thousand times, they will not come [back]. This is a very worrying matter.
Therefore, we must be very mindful. The Dharma we take to heart lasts the longest. In this lifetime and our future lifetimes, it will follow us together with our karmic consciousness. This is just like the Buddha’s Four Wisdoms. We must transform consciousness into wisdom.
We must transform the five consciousnesses into all-accomplishing wisdom. We must transform the sixth consciousness into profound discerning wisdom. We must transform the seventh consciousness into universal equality wisdom. We must transform the eighth consciousness into great perfect mirror wisdom.
Our sense organs that connect with sense objects make up the five consciousnesses. We know about the five consciousnesses by now. When we transform the five consciousnesses, as our sense organs meet sense objects, we will turn these [sensations] into wisdom. In this way, our five consciousnesses will turn into “all-accomplishing wisdom”. Abiding in our “all-accomplishing wisdom”, we do not see things as objects of desire, but rather find a way to make good use of them to transform our sixth consciousness. This is “profound discerning wisdom”, which is careful contemplation. The world is full of suffering. How much power do we have? How many things do we have [to give]? How many material goods do we have [to offer]? How can we hurry to help relieve suffering? This requires profound discerning [wisdom]. What is the extent of human suffering? What is it that they lack? Beside lacking material goods, what are their spiritual needs? We must mindfully consider all of these matters. This is profound discernment; we must engage in careful contemplation. Then, all the sense objects that our sense organs encounter will converge to form the power of love which we can give to others. How can we gather the strength of even more people to be able to help even more people? This [requires] profound discerning wisdom.
Thus, “We must transform the sixth consciousness into profound discerning wisdom”. From our individual [perspective], these people have no relationship with us, and the disasters they face are so far away, so why is it that we must care for them? All sentient beings are equal. We all live together on the same earth. The Buddha in our hearts loves all sentient beings. Because we know this, we cannot bear to see any being suffer. Because the Buddha teaches us to practice the Bodhisattva Way, we must never discriminate against sentient beings based on their distance from us or their appearance. As long as we hear of them and have affinities with them, as long as we know of them, we are linked, so we must promptly give of ourselves to them. This is “transforming the seventh consciousness into universal equality wisdom”. Sentient beings are equal in their Buddha-nature. “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]”. Since they are no different, they are all equal.
So, we must “transform the seventh consciousness into universal equality wisdom” and “transform the eighth consciousness into great perfect mirror wisdom”. These are the correct actions to take, but what are the fruits of our actions? They come from our eighth consciousness. How do we keep our eighth consciousness pure? When it is completely pure and undefiled, we can return to our ninth consciousness, which is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, the Buddha’s pure, undefiled intrinsic nature. So, we must be very mindful. We must use the power of love. We must not take anything lightly, but be very mindful and put [the Dharma] to use in our daily lives.
So, the Buddha “expounded the Dharma to us so that we can open up our minds and understand” and connect with it. If we “transform consciousness into wisdom”, then we will make this connection. Everything we contact externally will connect with out “all-accomplishing wisdom”. When we mindfully seek to transform our sixth consciousness, this is “profound discerning [wisdom]”. Isn’t this connecting [with the Dharma]? The seventh becomes “universal equality [wisdom]”. The eighth becomes “great perfect mirror wisdom”. Then, all our surroundings will become clear, and we will be complete. For example, Tzu Chi USA volunteers, [after Hurricane Harvey], went to each county, each city and each neighborhood [in Houston], holding distribution after distribution. They were constantly busy; they finished in one place and moved to the next. In this way, [the survivors] were gradually able to return to their jobs and clean up [their homes]. After they finished in each place, just as a mirror [does not cling to a reflection], they were free of attachments. It was perfect. These areas joyfully began to recover. [Our volunteers] also mobilized young people to help people clean [the survivors’ homes]. They slowly cleaned up the ground and the homes, gradually cleaning up their surroundings. Isn’t this an example of “great perfect mirror wisdom?” Once they finished [working in one place], they returned to this state of a clear mirror and were able to move on to other places. They did not need to remain in any one area. They did not need to remain in any one area. They had finished their work, so the mirror of their hearts could again [reflect] everything in the world. This is making that connection. So, this path, since “the Buddha expounded the Dharma to us so that we can open up our minds and understand”, connects without obstruction.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage, “The World-Honored One is also like this. He has attained enlightenment very recently. Yet all these Bodhisattvas have firm resolve and have no fear or timidity. For countless kalpas, they have practiced the Bodhisattva-path. Being skillful at answering difficult questions, they have no fear in their hearts”.
In the previous passage, Maitreya said that the World-Honored One was also like this; He patiently guided [sentient beings], so there were so many Bodhisattvas [who came]. These Bodhisattvas had actually been gathered over a long period of time. He spent a long time teaching and transforming [sentient beings] thus He had gathered so many Bodhisattvas. They had emerged continuously in a number that was impossible to count. The people who were present saw so many people emerge forth all of a sudden, so they gave rise to doubts in their minds, not only did those present have doubts; Maitreya also inquired on behalf of future generations He made the analogy of a young father and old sons. This analogy demonstrates how certain matters cannot be reconciled with certain with certain principles. “World Honored One, in the same way, You attained enlightenment so recently. You said that in this very same lifetime, You attained Buddhahood and then taught the Dharma for about 40 or so years. This time is so short. [Yet] all these Bodhisattvas “have firm resolve and have no fear or timidity”. The Bodhisattvas already had such firm resolve, and they were so experienced. So, [Maitreya] said that for the Buddha to attain Buddhahood and transform these Bodhisattvas all in the same lifetime seemed contrary to reason nobody could imagine this, so they all had doubts. These Bodhisattvas were so skilled in discourse and must have been practicing for a very long time it was not a short period of practice at all. The Bodhisattvas had come and gone from this world many times. They spent such a long time patiently enduring [this world] and were very experience at transforming sentient beings. They must have expended tremendous efforts.
They have a patient and resolute mind and are upright with might and virtue. They are praised by the Buddhas of the ten directions. They excel at explaining in detail. They take no joy in being among the crowds, but always take joy in being in Samadhi. To seek the path to Buddhahood, they abide in the empty space below.
So, they were “upright with might and virtue. The Buddhas throughout the ten directions all praised them. Every Buddha gave these Bodhisattvas the highest praise. These Bodhisattvas had already gone among people with such stability in their minds that desire the confusion and noise of the crowds, they were still able to remain at peace. Their minds abided entirely in Samadhi, in a state of tranquility and clarity.
These numerous Bodhisattvas wholeheartedly sought the path to Buddhahood so everywhere they went, they remained unattached to emptiness or existence. They walked the Middle Way. This is no small feat. So, this was a group of great Bodhisattvas and the Buddha said He had transformed them all. That He had accomplished this in a single lifetime was very hard to believe. This is more or less what [Maitreya] meant.
In the next passage, [Maitreya] says, “We all heard this from the Buddha, so we have no doubts about this matter. But I hope that the Buddha will expound it for people in the future so they can open their minds and understand. If there are people who give rise to doubt and do not have faith in this sutra, they will surely fall into the evil realms. I hope that You will explain it for them now.
This section is very clear, Maitreya Bodhisattvas had already said this. “We have all believed the Buddha from the start, so we have no doubts about this matter. We are merely [concerned for] the capabilities” of newly-inspired Bodhisattvas and stubborn sentient beings in the future. “[Our of concern] for present and future people who form initial aspirations, I come to represent their doubts and ask questions on their behalf. We have no doubts of our own. We believe that the Buddha speaks the truth”. This passage serves to “describe how they believed that the Buddha taught suitably and according to capabilities”.
We all heard this from the Buddha, so we have no doubts about this matter: This describes how they believed that the Buddha taught suitably and according to capabilities. They all heard the Buddha say this, thus they had no doubts in their minds.
The Buddha adjusts to capabilities and opportunities. The Buddha teaches the Dharma in accordance with peoples’ capabilities and opportunities. He gives each person teachings suited to their capabilities. This is the Buddha’s ingenious way of transforming sentient beings. He absolutely never strayed from the truth. Maitreya and the Bodhisattvas [in the assembly] all “heard this from the Buddha, so [they had] no doubts in this matter. Maitreya and the senior Bodhisattvas had absolutely no doubts at all. The disciples who had always followed the Buddha were also free of doubts. They were merely [concerned for] newly-inspired Bodhisattvas and future sentient beings. Thus, [Maitreya] asked questions on their behalf
I hope that the Buddha will expound it for people in the future so they can open their minds and understand: He further hoped for [the Buddha] to free those in the future from the negative karma of not believing and damaging the Dharma. He hopes that the Buddha, in His compassion, would expound this for future generations of newly-inspired Bodhisattvas to help them open their minds and understand.
“I hope that the Buddha will expound it for people in the future so they can open their minds and understand”. He very earnestly hoped that the Buddha would free those in the future from the negative karma of not believing and damaging the Dharma. If the Buddha did not explain this matter very clearly, the people of the future might have doubts. Having doubts can easily lead to slander. Those who lack true faith and acceptance can easily damage the Dharma.
So, he hoped that the Buddha would explain the Dharma very clearly. So, “He hoped that the Buddha, in his compassion, would expound this for future generation of newly-inspired Bodhisattvas to help them open their minds and understand. To allow them to create this negative karma of destroying the Dharma would be truly unthinkable! This is the nature of human life. No matter what you do, some people [will say] “I cannot stand how everyone respects you. I absolutely cannot stand it. I will think of every way I can to destroy you. Isn’t this creating karma? They are creating Karma indeed.
If there are people who give rise to doubt and do not have faith in this sutra: If those who hear the Dharma do not understand the meanings and principles in the Dharma, they will easily give rise to doubts. If their doubts are not resolved, they will likely damage the Dharma and create karmic obstacles along the path.
This state of mind produces evil thoughts it does not bring out the good in people. Moreover, it destroys the goodness in people, [causing them] to look for groundless issues to falsely accuse people of and so on. these acts have always occurred in the world. As soon as unenlightened beings give rise to doubt or refuse to accept [the Dharma] and reject it, they will have these doubts. These are not just doubts; they also lead to many kinds of obstructions and produce so many conflicts. This is a terrifying world. In the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, the Buddha told us this already. Maitreya Bodhisattva also worried about this, so he hoped the Buddha would explain in detail.
So, next, [Maitreya] said, “They will surely fall into the evil realms”. They will surely fall into the evil realms. I hope that you will now explain it for them: [Maitreya] sincerely asked Him to answer their difficult questions and resolve their doubts. Fearing that people would slander [the Dharma] and fall into the evil realms, [Maitreya] hoped that the Buddha] would now begin to clarify and explain this for them.
If people give rise to doubts, their spirits will veer off track, or, upon seeing someone well-cultivated, they will lose their patience. When they hear others praise them, they will give rise to evil thoughts. Thus, they fall into the evil realms. When people create this kind of karma through damaging or slandering the Dharma or slandering other’s goodness, they make their future karmic load so heavy that they will fall into the evil realms and carry these evil karmic seeds from this lifetime to the next without any control. Thus, [Maitreya] asked the Buddha to explain this matter clearly. “[Maitreya] sincerely asked Him to answer their difficult questions and resolve their doubts”. He asked the Buddha to explain this matter clearly. So, he sincerely asked the Buddha to resolve their doubts. He feared that people would give rise to doubts, so he deliberately expressed their doubts. If He explained it well, more people would understand it clearly, and when others deliberately slandered it, this would not affect their spiritual aspirations. This requires mindfulness.
So, we often say we must understand old Dharma with new insight. When someone says something [wrong], we must correct them. Correction is very important. Only when we understand clearly can we face people’s lack of understanding or their intentional [challenges]. Only then can we explain these things for them. So, we still need to mindfully seek to clearly comprehend and ask the Buddha to help us understand. He “feared that people would slander [the Dharma] and fall into the evil realms”. He worried that people would slander us or that we would not understand clearly so that we would be influenced by them. It would be a pity if we too fell into evil realms. People deliberately slander others and make them give rise halfway; none of this should be happening.
Thus, “[Maitreya] hoped that He would now begin to explain and clarify this for them”. He hoped that, from then on, the Buddha would be very thorough and help people completely understand everything until people of the future would understand better. This was Maitreya’s sincere request to the Buddha.
In the next sutra passage, he said, “Regarding these countless Bodhisattvas, how could You, in such a short time, teach and transform them, helping them give rise to spiritual aspirations and abide in the state of non-retreating?”
He hoped the Buddha could explain how there could be so many Bodhisattvas who were so accomplished. “Especially considering that the Buddha has attained Buddhahood so recently, how could You have taught so many Bodhisattvas and brought so many of them to Vulture Peak? We see that You have achieved these causes and conditions, but where did they really come from? How did You help them form aspirations which they have upheld for such a long time until You attained Buddhahood in this lifetime? This assembly is so accomplished. We can see that these Bodhisattvas.will never retreat. We implore the Buddha to explain this for us”.
Regarding these countless Bodhisattvas, how could You, in such a short time: These Bodhisattvas were like the innumerable sands of the Ganges’ River, very difficult to count. Regarding these Bodhisattvas who emerged from the ground, how could the World-Honored One, in such a short time, accomplish such great deeds?
This means that these Bodhisattvas were like the innumerable sands of the Ganges, impossible to count. When they first began arriving one by one, they emerged from the ground, so their number continuously increased. Like the innumerable sands of the Ganges’ River, they were impossible to count. So many Bodhisattvas had all emerged from the ground. “How could the World-Honored One, in such a short time, accomplish such great deeds?” How had this been arranged? How could they all emerge at once that way? How was it possible that they were so many that they were impossible to count? These people manifested to confirm that the Buddha-Dharma had long been in the world. How long had He spent teaching them? How did He teach them in the past? In the teaching of the manifest, He taught about the many causes and conditions behind teaching and transforming [sentient beings] that He had built up to over so long. Since this took such a long time, how could it be that, having attained Buddhahood not long before then, He could call upon so many people to come for everyone to see? They were all such accomplished, non-retreating Bodhisattvas. What were the causes and conditions behind their transformation? How did He teach them to form aspirations over such a long time?
[How could You] teach and transform them, helping them give rise to spiritual aspirations and abide in the state of non-retreating: He taught, transformed and guided them, helping them form spiritual aspirations. Now they all abided in the state of non-retreating.
So, “He taught, transformed and guided them, helping them form spiritual aspirations. Now they all abided in the state of non-retreating”. These people were all in the state of non-retreating. They could never be defiled by their surroundings. This would be impossible. With certainty, they could all go among people while remaining undefiled. Their aspirations were truly firm. [The Bodhisattvas] who “emerged from the ground” showed that He had [taught] for such a long time. These people He had taken so long to transform had been gathering for such a long time. But what everyone saw before their eyes had only taken such a short amount of time. They could not see that the Buddha had done this over such a long time. Ever since Beginningless time, He had practiced to transform sentient beings. “These are my disciples, whom I have transformed.” Although the Buddha was able to say this, it was clear that He had not [taught] for long in that lifetime; it had been only 40 or so years. How could He have built up to so much then? This is why it was hard to believe.
The Bodhisattvas emerging from the ground show that the length of time is hard to believe. He said that because they all listened to the Buddha and had faith in the Buddha, they believed in what the Buddha said and did not doubt this matter. It was just that the shortness of the time. He took to teach and transform these countless Bodhisattvas and help them to abide in the path of non-retreating was truly difficult to believe in.
He hoped that the Buddha would explain this for people in the future so as to keep them from incurring transgressions through doubt and slander. This concludes the previous opening of the near to reveal the far.
“
He said that because they all listened to the Buddha and had faith in the Buddha,” “they believed in what the Buddha said.” This is because they had all been listening to the Buddha’s Dharma all this time. So, Maitreya expressed that although they did not completely understand the Buddha, they still believed that whatever He said must be free of lies; it must be the truth. Therefore, they had no doubts. But when this event actually happened before their eyes, everyone remembered that in this lifetime, from when the Buddha left the palace to pursue spiritual practice to when He attained Buddhahood, not very much time had passed. So how could He have taught and transformed them? This was how they saw it. So, for Him to help so many Bodhisattvas “abide in the path of non-retreating was truly difficult to believe in.” Maitreya really just wanted to tell everyone, “This is how things are. Although we all believe in the Buddha, it is very difficult to bring this together with the principles, so everyone finds it very hard to believe. They do not doubt the Buddha, but this Dharma is truly hard to believe.”
So, “He hoped that the Buddha would explain this for people in the future.” This was not only for the sake of those present, but to help people of the future understand and “keep them from incurring transgressions through doubt and slander.” He did not want the people in the future to be affected by people who would intentionally slander and persecute them. When people intentionally try to harm us, if our aspirations are not firm, we will be easily swayed by them. So, we must help these good men. This is like the earlier passages about helping future good men and good women so that they will be able to have faith and clearer understanding. Then when they encounter people who want to do them harm, they will be able to see things clearly and will know how to respond to this. This was Maitreya’s intent.
So, we must avoid leading others into doubt and keep those who aspire to do good deeds from being influenced from others’ slanderous speech. People like that are very dangerous. Not only are they unable to do good, they also try to damage good teachings. This happens all too often. Therefore, we must be mindful. We must seek to realize and understand all matters. We must understand what we are doing. We need to know this very clearly. Therefore, we must not lead others into doubt, let them incur evil karma through slander or allow them to influence us to stop practicing. In the previous passage, Maitreya Bodhisattva spoke on everyone’s behalf by presenting this question to the Buddha. This was to help every single one of us to understand more clearly.
Yes, we must have clear understanding. We must connect with every teaching and understand all matters. We must understand and connect with all principles and matters. So, these are “matters.” Do you remember what the five consciousnesses turn into? They turn into “all-accomplishing wisdom.” The sixth consciousness becomes “profound discerning wisdom.” The seventh consciousness becomes “universal equality wisdom.” As for the eighth consciousness, yes, “great perfect mirror wisdom” is very important. It clearly reflects whatever is before it, but whatever it reflects, it has no effect on the mirror. This mirror remains pure and undefiled. We must always keep our minds at peace, tranquil, clear and free of turbidities and defilements.
However, to be safe from defilement, we must have clear understanding. Without clear understanding, when this mirror gets obscured when we hear the words of others, the smallest breeze of ignorance will rebuild the obstructions of afflictions inside us. Then this path will be obstructed, and the virtuous Dharma will be unable to advance. Therefore, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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