Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Manifesting Death to Transform Sentient Beings (方便示死 實為度生)
Date: February.13.2019
“The truth and principles exist forever, and when conditions mature, [the Buddha appears] as a worldly father or doctor. The Dharmakaya of True Suchness always exists. The Buddha’s Nirmanakaya manifested death as a skillful means. His true purpose was to transform sentient beings to escape suffering. The Buddha-Dharma prohibits falsehood, but if He had not applied skillful means, He would have had no way to teach the Dharma.”
We must very mindfully seek to understand this. When it comes to “truth and principles,” “truth” refers to the absolute truth, which are truth principles. When it comes to true principles, we often say that they are everlasting. At any time, in any space and pertaining to any person, the “principles” are everlasting. In humans, the nature of True Suchness also exists forever. From this lifetime to the next, it stays the same. Everyone intrinsically possesses this nature of True Suchness. As we come and go in this world, it is neither used up nor worn out. It is just that our intrinsic nature is defiled; we become afflicted. Afflictions enshroud our [nature of] True Suchness; thus, what we carry around are afflictions that are beyond our control. This is how we are brought here.
Similarly, the principles are also everlasting. In any space, at any time, principles always exist. It is just that we have our preconceptions and our habitual nature. Lifetime after lifetime, we refuse to change our habitual tendencies. Thus, these tendencies become our habits. These [habitual tendencies] constantly permeate us. We are a certain way in this lifetime, and in future lifetimes, [our habitual tendencies] intensify. In the past, we often spoke of “transmigrating through the Six Realms.” When it comes to the Six Realms, we usually talk about the Five Realms. Yet some sutras speak of the Six Realms. In addition to the Five Realms, there is one more realm, making them Six Realms. What is added? It is the asura realm. There are asuras in the human realm. They exist in the hungry ghost realm too. So, what are “asuras”? They may be born in heaven or in this world.
If in heaven, they have heavenly blessings but lack heavenly virtues. This is because while they were in this world, they were willing to give and help others by giving of themselves. But they only cultivated blessings, not virtues. With these blessings, they are born in the heaven realm and enjoy heavenly blessings. However, due to their habitual tendencies, they often lose their temper and stir up trouble in heaven. When born as male, asuras are very ugly. If female, they are born very beautiful. So, Sovereign Sakra’s queen was a female asura. Often, the heavenly palace and the asuras are in conflict. This is the way they are. It is the same in this world. In this world, some people are very blessed. When they do business, they are very successful. When they do business, they are very successful. When doing good deeds, they do so very joyfully, but because of their bad habitual tendencies, they always lose their temper. These are the asuras of this world.
Some do not follow rules, so they fall into the animal realm. Some in the animal realm like to fight. [For example], some dogs are very aggressive. There is a type of chicken that only wants to cockfight. There is also bullfighting. Even insects can be like this. Their habitual tendencies are the same regardless of which realm they are born into. So, they have these shortcomings.
When the asura realm is added to the Five Realms, we speak of the Six Realms. We must be very mindful [of this]. When it comes to “the truth and principles,” principles are there to teach us. This is a path of spiritual practice. We must give and help others for the sake of this world. This is a way to cultivate merits and accumulate virtues. We must form good affinities with everyone. [To cultivate merits and virtues], we must form good affinities with everyone. It is not that once we help others, they must then listen to our orders, and if they fail to do so, we will get angry. This is not correct. Upon receiving others’ aid, requiring us to then submit to them in everything is not right. If people only want everyone to obey them, then no matter how much they do, they will always lack the virtues that make people respect and love them. If they only give but do not form good affinities, people will feel fear and dread them. This is “obeying out of fear.” It is because of their power that we fear and obey them. This is not “following out of respect.” We must form good affinities in order for people to respect and follow us. This is the difference spiritual cultivation makes. So, we must put effort into being mindful.
Those who align with the principles cultivate wisdom and blessings in parallel. We must have wisdom, and when facing people, we must truly form good affinities. We must give without expectations, and furthermore, we must show respect to others. This is forming good affinities. This is the truth and the principles. This is a oath of spiritual practice, a path of growing our wisdom-life.
So, “The true principles exist forever”. These principles exist at all times; they are forever like this.
So, these principles are found within these affinities. With good affinities, we can help each other. We can serve each other and have mutual respect and love. When we interact in this way, aren’t we very happy and blesses?
And won’t we share the same aspirations and be willing to walk on this path together? So, the world is like this. “[The Buddha appears] as a worldly father or doctor.” Regarding worldly people, lay people, many people are fathers; they have children. People are fathers or mothers. This is how the generations are continued. Are their affinities with their children good? Or are their affinities bad? Do their children obey them in everything? Do they always listen obediently? This also depends on how we formed affinities with people in our past. We nurture each other and support each other. In this way, what our relationships with others are in this life and what our affinities and relationships with others will be in our next life all depends on karmic conditions. when it comes to worldly causes and conditions in relationships between fathers and sons, brothers, sisters, friends and so on, there are causes and conditions behind them.
Likewise, when it comes to doctors and patients, if the doctor, in his past lifetimes, formed very good affinities with people, the doctor will [enjoy] blessings in this life. Naturally, when patients come to see him, the process of examining and diagnosing the patients and prescribing medicine will go very smoothly. People say, “If the doctor has good affinities, the patient will be blessed”. This means that there are blessings; there are [good] affinities. Between doctors and patients, it is also a matter of blessed affinities. Though some doctors are clearly very skilled, [ some may say], “He is supposed to be very skilled. Why is it that with hos prescription and his examinations, I can never get better? Why does his diagnosis seem incorrect? Or, “His diagnosis was very accurate. His questions during examination were spot on, and his diagnoses was very good as well. Why is it that during treatment he resolves a problem, only to have another arise? Why can I never shake [this illness]? In reality, such simple natters are all due to causes and conditions. by the same token, when it comes to interpersonal relationships, in this lifetime, we can treat everyone the same and engage in our own spiritual practice. We can be very forgiving of others and give without expectations. In this lifetime, [if in this way] we dedicate our entire lives every day, [we may think], “This is how I am in this lifetime; I do what I should do”. When our minds are without hindrances, we feel peaceful and free. We must not continue to have hindrances as we give [and think], “Why did you not return the favor to me? Why did you not praise and flatter me?” Without these hindrances in our minds, we are naturally peaceful and at ease. In future lifetimes, when we encounter [each other] again, we will naturally be joyful; we will be very harmonious with others. We must have faith in this. These are very natural [results of] causes and conditions in our daily living.
So, we should dedicate ourselves in this lifetime. Whether we understood the principles or not in the past does not matter. Now that we understand, we must earnestly use our current lifetime to change the poor attitudes we had in the past toward others, [change] our own bad habits. If we have any bad habitual tendencies, we should change them immediately. We must dedicate our bodies and life to cultivating ourselves in the lifetime. After all, life is impermanent. How much longer do we have to change and nurture our habitual tendencies? Let us immediately begin to change our habitual tendencies for the better practice, there is nothing to cultivate except our habitual tendencies. We must change the bad habitual tendencies we had in the past by earnestly turning negative habitual tendencies into virtuous ones. This is “correcting past mistakes and practicing for the future”. To correct our past mistakes, we must quickly do so right now for the sake of the future. This is “correcting past mistakes and practicing for the future”. We must change immediately. We should not just keep saying, “I cannot help it; it is so hard for me to change. Everything is created by the mind. So, we must change ourselves. “The Dharmakaya of True Suchness always exists”. We must remember our intrinsic nature. We must remember our intrinsic nature our Dharmakaya of true Suchness refers to our Dharma-nature. Everyone’s Dharma-nature of True Suchness exists forever. As we brought it to our current lives, we are covered by ignorance.
In truth, what is inside us is that innocent and pure nature of True Suchness. After we eat a fruit, there is a seed, and around that seed is a shell. It is inside that shell that the genes, the actual seed, are. Thus, it is the genes that are the true seed. So, in other words, every one of us is like this too.
In summary, our Dharma-nature of True Suchness is our Dharmakaya. Therefore, it exists forever. What we must work hard on is to completely eliminate our ignorance and habitual tendencies. Our afflictions are the [outer shell]. It is because of these afflictions that ignorance arises. Where do our afflictions come from? They come from our habitual tendencies. Habitual tendencies create our afflictions, and our afflictions have become habits deep in minds. This is what we call ignorance. [because of this], we are utterly unable to understand principles.
Thus, these layers [of habitual tendencies] are what we need to change quickly; we must immediately fix our habitual tendencies. We must not carry these habitual tendencies, afflictions and ignorance to our future lifetimes. So, our “Dharmakaya exists forever”. Our nature of True Suchness exists forever. “The Buddha’s Nirmanakaya manifested death as a skillful means. The Buddha’s Nirmanakaya [came due to] cause and conditions. When it comes to causes and conditions, since He is the Great Enlightened One and comes for one great cause, Him repeatedly returning to this world always depends on causes and conditions. I have often spoken of this recently. When it comes to the Buddha, in the Saha World, in the Kingdom of Kapilavastu, the causes and conditions were mature. Therefore, He was born in the palace. In the journey of this lifetime, He came to the palace with such blessed retributions.
In the world, He passed a lifetime in this way. He attained Buddha, taught the Dharma and so on. Just like people, He also aged, became sick and passed away, entering Parinirvana. This is to show the people in the world that the Buddha also lived in this world, attained Buddhahood and then passed away. This is to let us know that the world is inherently impermanent. This is impermanence. This is the same even for the Buddha, who had attained Buddhahood. This is a normal occurrence. Everyone resides within such impermanent infinitesimal changes. “Infinitesimal changes” occur without our notice in every second. This is why we often say that we do not know how we go from our youth to old age. No one is aware of this. How does the world’s environment changes? When did this overgrown land become developed to such a great extent and when did it become so prosperous and vivacious? After decades or centuries, we look back in time. After centuries, we look at historical sites. [Places] that were at a point in time very prosperous and civilized have now turned into ruins. The place where we are right now used to be barren land. Now, it has become very developed.
This all occurred on this earth. When did this change in era occur? It [happened] without us noticing. In particular, in the environment, the trees become exuberant and the landscaping becomes very beautiful. When did these [changed] occur? The principle is the same. In the world, what is outside our bodies is continuously going through the aggregate of action. Within our bodies, these changes are even more astounding, and we still do not know when they are changing. Unbeknownst to us, our nails grow longer and require trimming. And regarding our hair, when did it grow out again? These [changes] occur within our bodies and are impossible for us to notice. They are very minute. These are examples of “the aggregate of action”. Everyone often recites the Heart Sutra, [saying], “The Five Aggregates are all empty”. Among them, there is “the aggregate of action”. “The aggregate of action” refers to changes that happen without us noticing. There are many [of these changes]. Both external to and within our bodies, the aggregate of action [acts]. We take issue over things and become attached to our bodies or to our external environment. These all create our habitual tendencies, afflictions and ignorance. All of these things happen without us noticing.
So, the Buddha came to the world to teach and transform. “The Buddha’s Nirmanakaya manifested death as a skillful means”. This means that He manifested the appearance of arising and ceasing. So, we must be vigilant. For the Buddha, His nature of True Suchness is eternal. He has already awakened, meaning His Dharmakaya always exists. However, since He is in this world, He must be the same as us. [He must] be equally impermanent and illusory. The Dharmakaya was originally everlasting, yet He manifested in this way so that. He would undergo birth, aging, illness and death. The Buddha manifested in this world to teach us [impermanence]. “His true purpose was to transform sentient beings to escape suffering”. He did not need to be born human and experience that sort of life and death. However, for the sake of transforming sentient beings, He came to the world. As sentient beings go through cyclic existence, He wished to teach and transform them. As sentient beings go through cyclic existence, they constantly create karma. So, the Buddha wanted to come to the world so that we would all understand that we must stop creating evil karma. We must earnestly create good karma so that, in our cyclic existence in the world, we do not continuously experience one hardship after another and the torment of afflictions and suffering. The Buddha comes to teach and transform us so that we can detach ourselves from the suffering of cyclic existence. From birth all the way until death, every person experiences profound suffering. Looking at this world, there are so many suffering sentient beings. We are very blessed, so we must seize time and earnestly cultivate ourselves. We can see suffering, but we can also experience blessings. We experience a mix of suffering and joy. With our opportunity to encounter the Buddha-Dharma and the time we have to encounter it, how can we not truly cherish our blessings and seize the time to earnestly engage in spiritual practice? We truly must be mindful.
“The Buddha-Dharma prohibits falsehood”. When it comes to the Buddha, we say that He speaks the truth and what is real. He does not speak falsehoods or lies. However, in this passage, He manifested in the world as a doctor as well as a father. He examines people’s illnesses, but when his children are sick and unwilling to take the father’s medicine, the father thinks of a way to leave and asks someone to go back and tell the children, “Your father has passed away elsewhere”. Is this falsehood? It is actually a means for the children to awaken. [One of the children may say], “I am sick, and my father is good doctor. I must wait for my father’s return to examine me”. Only when the father has passed away outside do [the children] remember the medicine the father has prescribed and his instructions before leaving home.
Now that their bodies are sick and uncomfortable, they will at last seek the medicine to take. If [the father] did not ask someone to return and say that [he has passed away], these children would still possess ignorant habitual tendencies and would be waiting there. When the father first returns and prescribes the medicine to them, they do not take it. This time, he leaves the medicine before going out and asks someone to tell them that he will not return again. Naturally, they will then take [the medicine].
By the same token, when the Buddha came to the world, He could forever abide in it. However, He manifested birth and death, entering Parinirvana; this was in order to make us sentient beings become vigilant. He devised skillful [means]. In this way, how can we say that He [spoke] falsehoods? He used skillful means to teach and transform sentient beings. Otherwise, what other methods can transform sentient beings? [The only way is to] devise skillful means, for sentient beings are both ignorant and stubborn. Not only are they ignorant, they are very stubborn. So, we must act strongly, softly and so on to persuade [sentient beings]. Whether they change or not is of no concern, but it is [important] to first persuade them. The principle is the same. This is also just a means.
So, to give the Dharma, we must employ skillful means for stubborn and ignorant sentient beings. “He would have had no way to teach the Dharma.” Otherwise, for Him to thoroughly expound the true principles so that [sentient beings] can accept them is no easy task. So, we must very mindfully accept [the Dharma].
The Buddha patiently guides us in this way, so we must mindfully accept [His teachings]. So, the previous passage says, “They feel that they are orphans with no one to rely on.” They harbor constant grief, and thus their minds awaken. When they know that their after has passed away, they become vigilant and begin to awaken. “Only then do they realize that this medicine is wonderful in form, flavor and fragrance.” They take it immediately, and their aliments from the poison are fully cured.
[The children] have realizations, so they take the medicine and their illness is cured. They can only rely on the Dharma to treat them, on the medicine to treat them. They cannot rely on the Buddha being in this world. Therefore, they must truly accept the Dharma mindfully.
So, “When the father hears that all his sons have recovered, he soon returns home and allow them to see him”.
At this time, the doctor, their father, returns to see the children. This is to show the children that their father is still healthy and has returned. This is the meaning of this sutra passage.
In the next sutra passage, [the Buddha] goes on to say, “Good men, what do you think?” Can anyone say that the excellent doctor has committed the transgression of falsehood? No, no one can, World-Honored One.
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this passage. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this passage. Good men” is what the Buddha called those who were very determined and had not lost their original minds; these people already practicing and upholding the Dharma are called “Good men”.
Good men, what do you think?: The Buddha spoke to those whose minds and aspirations were firm and who practiced and upheld the Dharma. The Buddha called them “good men”. He asked, “What do you think?” He was asking how much they knew, recognized, practiced and comprehended regarding the Dharma.
These people were all very pure. When they listened to the Dharma, they believed and accepted it without any doubts. So, they had not lost their original minds. They continuously practiced the Dharma and accepted its teachings. They did not have doubts in their minds. So, they were called “good men”. [The Buddha] asked these people, “What do you think?” “How do you feel?” “I used this analogy of the doctor’s ill children in this story”. How do you feel after listening to it? He was asking, “Do you understand?” With this story, how much do you know and how much do you understand? How much can you put into practice and comprehend? What are your thoughts? This was what He asked. The Buddha was very compassionate. After expounding the Dharma, He would ask how they felt and how much they accepted and comprehended after listening to the Dharma. He probed and asked them in order to understand how much sentient beings could comprehend with their capabilities. So, “Can anyone say that the excellent doctor has committed the transgression of falsehood?”
Can anyone say that the excellent doctor has committed the transgression of falsehood? For the sake of saving his sons, the father, the doctor, uses skillful means He falsly announces, “Your father is dead” in order to save his sons. Can anyone say that he made the transgression of falsehood?
[The Buddha] asked, “How do you feel?” How much have you comprehended? According to such analogies, is there anyone who can say that this doctor, this good doctor, [speaks] falsehoods, that [he is] untruthful? Can they say that? This doctor, this father, in order to save his children, uses skillful means and posits. He uses a substitute method. For the sake of saving his children, he asks other people to tell their children, “You father has died”. The death of the father is, of course, not real, but it is [used] to save the children. “You all must be earnest”. Your father has already passed away elsewhere. You children who are sick must no longer wait for your father’s return. “Your father has prescribed medicine, so you must hurry and take it”. This is [what the Buddha] means. This messenger is a Bodhisattva, while the father is an analogy for the Buddha. The person he commissioned to speak is an analogy for a Bodhisattva. Regarding Bodhisattvas, in the era without a Buddha, we need Bodhisattvas in the world.
So, the Chapter on Dharma Teachers and the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy are entirely about how the Buddha continuously encouraged everyone to transmit the Dharma. These people who transmit the Dharma are in this world to pass on and spread the teachings. Just like these commissioned emissaries who come to tell the children [about their father], the Bodhisattvas expound [the Dharma] to sentient beings. There is the Dharma, and this Dharma is what the Buddha expounded in the past. These are teachings. The Buddha taught the Bodhisattva-path, and Bodhisattvas must take on the responsibility to pass it down. When the Buddha is not present in the world, there must certainly be Bodhisattvas who can shoulder [the responsibility] of the world and guide everyone to practice according to the Dharma. The principle is the same. So, this is a skillful means.
The Buddha’s spirit is forever in this world. The Dharma that the Bodhisattvas speak of is the Dharmakaya of the Buddha. The Buddha’s Dharmakaya is everlasting. Every bit of Dharma [contains] true principles. With true principles, [we are] “awakened”. [What we awaken to] is the Dharma. This Dharma of awakening is called “the truth,” the absolute truth. In conclusion, true principles [are what we] awaken to. With the Dharma of awakening in the world, the Buddha forever abides in the world. Bodhisattvas come to introduce these teachings so that we can employ them. These teachings help us to practice and put the Dharma into action accordingly. We must know and understand [the Dharma] and accept and uphold the practice accordingly. We are capable of achieving this.
This method is for the sake of saving and transforming sentient beings; it is skillful means. So, “He falsly announces, ‘Your father is dead’”. In truth, this is to save the children, to transform sentient beings. In this case, will anyone say that [the Buddha] committed the transgression of falsehood? Will anyone express such criticism? In this way, the Buddha turned around and asked the people listening to the Dharma how they felt.
The excellent doctor, to treat the illness of the children who have their original minds, devises skillful means and informs them that their father had died. The Tathagata, in order to transform sentient beings, did not enter Parinirvana but manifested entering Parinirvana. This matter appears to be false but in fact is a profound vow to benefit sentient beings. Thus, He asked: Can anyone say that this excellent doctor has committed the transgression of falsehood?
“The excellent doctor, to treat the illness of the children who have lost their original minds…”. The children have lost their intrinsic nature, which has been entirely enshrouded in their afflictions and ignorance. These children have already lost their original minds and are ill. They have lost their intrinsic nature. In truth, their intrinsic nature is not lost. We now often hear people say, “Ah! This person has lost their intrinsic nature”. In truth, they have not lost their intrinsic nature. It is just that afflictions, habitual tendencies and ignorance keep their intrinsic nature from springing forth. They have not lost their intrinsic nature, but their original mind. They have lost their [original mind], their right understanding and views. Thus, [the children] have become ill. Their mind has become unhealthy and ill. So, [the father] devises a skillful means and sends back a message to them, “Your father has died”. In this way, he tries to stimulate them. [Saying] “Your father has died” is meant to make them quickly awaken and earnestly seek and take medicine to treat their illness. So, “The Tathagata, in order to transform sentient beings, did not enter Parinirvana but manifested entering Parinirvana”. In order to transform sentient beings, He too manifested in the world, was born in the palace and went on to teach the Dharma. This was a skillful means to come to the world to transform sentient beings. Actually, as the Buddha said, “Life is like an illusion, a dew drop or a flash of lighting”. It is illusory. If He did not use such a method, how could He transform people? So, “[This] in fact is a profound vow to benefit sentient beings”. This is a very great vow to benefit sentient beings. He came in this way lifetime after lifetime. “Thus, He asked…”. He asked everyone, “Can anyone say that this excellent doctor has committed the transgression of falsehood?” Would someone be like this, think this way and say this? This was what He asked. The answer was, “No, no one can, World-Honored One”. No, no one would say this. Who was it that answered for everyone? It was Maitreya Bodhisattva. This is because Maitreya Bodhisattva was in the assembly and asked the Buddha to teach about [the Tathagata’s] lifespan, representing many Bodhisattvas.
No, no one can, World-Honored One: This was the reply of Maitreya Bodhisattva. The father, the doctor, out of good intentions, devises a method to treat his sons’ illness. This means his mind is clear and wise; this is true and not false. Therefore, [Maitreya] directly replied, “No, no one can, World-Honored One”.
In the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, the Buddha [responded to] Maitreya Bodhisattva. We should remember that previously, he again and again made the request to the Buddha, so the Buddha thus began to teach the section about the excellent doctor and compassionate father. Earlier, in a previous sutra passage, Maitreya used the analogy of the young father and old children. Now, the Buddha used the sick children and the compassionate father, the excellent doctor as an analogy. In this sutra passage, when [the Buddha] asked the assembly, it was also Maitreya Bodhisattva who answered the Buddha by saying, “No, no one can, World-Honored One”. So, “The father, the doctor, out of good intentions, devises a method”. It is already very clear that this good father, this doctor, has good intentions; he does it for the sake of his children. He “[treats] his children’s illness. This means his mind is clean and wise”. The father has a clear mind and uses his wisdom to save his children. In truth, in his heart, there is no intention of falsehood or lies. For the sake of treating his children, he has no choice but to use this method, asking others to approach his children and telling them that their father has died. This is the father’s wisdom. He clearly understands what method he must use for his children in order to awaken them to take the medicine. Maitreya answered the Buddha, having understood the doctor’s intent. For the sake of treating the children’s illness, [the doctor] employs such a method. This is being truthful, not false. This is the process of prescribing medicine with a compassionate mind, the process of saving the children. Hence, [Maitreya] answered directly, “No, no one can, World-Honored One”. He answered simply in this way.
This sutra contains the provisional and the true. There is nothing that is or is not permissible; there is only the matter of benefiting sentient beings. There is no Dharma that cannot be taught. Thus, the great provisional teachings of manifesting being born and entering Parinirvana are all devised to suit the time and people’s capabilities. How could they be considered false?
“This sutra contains the provisional and the true.” This indicates that when the Buddha expounded the sutras, He used “the provisional”; that is, he devised skillful means. For the past 42 years, He used “the provisional” skillful means. After 42 years, He “taught the true.” He used the true Dharma to expound the Lotus Sutra and teach the Bodhisattva Way. “There is nothing that is or is not permissible.” In employing such teachings, there is no right or wrong. When they accord with sentient beings’ capabilities, enabling them to accept the Dharma, then these are provisional skillful means. When sentient beings accept it, the Dharma is useful. So, “There is only the matter of benefiting sentient beings.”He devised these skillful means. Although these are but skillful means, they are beneficial to sentient beings. Thus, “There is no Dharma that cannot be taught.” As long as it can save and transform sentient beings, any medicine can be used and any teaching can be utilized. So, [this is done] to save sentient beings and help the doctor treat the illness. This depends on sentient beings’ capabilities, on their constitution for taking medicine. Thus, [the Buddha] has to use different methods. He “[manifests] being born and entering Parinirvana.” Because of this, the Buddha must continuously come to the world to “manifest being born and entering Parinirvana.” These are the great provisional teachings.
He uses great effort to teach and transform. These are all great skillful means that are beneficial to sentient beings. “[These] are all devised to suit the time and people’s capabilities.” [The road] may curve and twist, but actually, whether it curves or stays straight, we must be able to reach the destination. No matter what kind of opportunity it is, according to sentient beings’ capabilities, He must teach and transform them using the Dharma. So, how could this be considered false? This is not false. This was how Maitreya answered.
So, the sutra passage continues. “The Buddha said, ‘I too am like this.’” The Buddha said, “I too am like this. Since I attained Buddhahood, countless, boundless, quadrillions of nayutas of asankya kalpas have passed. For sentient beings’ sake, I use the power of skillful means and say that I will enter Parinirvana. Likewise, no one can say according to the principles that I have committed the transgression of falsehood.”
We can easily understand this passage. Since the Buddha’s attainment of Buddhahood, dust-inked kalpas have passed. It has been a very long time. “For sentient beings‘ sake, He told them as skillful means that He was born and would enter Parinirvana.”
We already roughly understand the previous passage. For many lifetimes and many kalpas, this was how He came to the world to teach and transform sentient beings.
Since the Buddha attained Buddhahood, dust-inked kalpas have passed. For sentient beings’ sake, He told them as skillful means that He was born and would enter Parinirvana. Over many lifetimes and many kalpas, He comes to teach them.
To teach and transform sentient beings, He used entering Parinirvana as skillful means. This was His skillful wisdom.
Lifetime after lifetime, the Buddha manifested in this world to teach and transform sentient beings. As skillful means, He said he would enter Parinirvana. This was skillful wisdom, not falsehoods.
The Buddha utilized skillful wisdom to transform sentient beings so that sentient beings can go from not understanding the Buddha-Dharma to accepting it. They can to from being filled with afflictions, being in suffering and accumulating ignorance and creating karma, to understanding the fearsomeness of cyclic existence and karmic retributions. They can understand this. They begin with engaging in spiritual practice to eliminate their afflictions and go on to understand the contemplation of impermanence and the law of karma. Having understood to this point, He began to bring them onto the Bodhisattva-path. The Buddha began to tell everyone that there is only “One Vehicle Dharma”; He taught the Bodhisattva Way. Everyone now understood this clearly. This was a process [that required] skillful means. We must know this. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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