Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Not Hearing the Name of the Three Treasures (惡業因緣 不聞三寶)
Date: February.21.2019
“Actions that violate the principles are evil and are carried out by the body, speech and mind. All these actions, once carried out, create karma; these are the Ten Evils and Five Offenses. All the negative karma we created in the past is rooted in greed, anger and ignorance since Beginningless Time and is as copious as the dust particles throughout the great chiliocosm. From Beginningless Time, subtleties have accumulated into enormity.”
We must mindfully seek to realize and further understand this. “Actions that violate the principles are evil.” To “violate” means to go against. Actions that go against principles are described as “evil”. How is this “evil” expressed? Through “actions carried out in body, speech and mind.” “Evil” is merely a term; it is expressed through our body, speech and mind. With “the body,” [there are the actions of] killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. With “speech,” there are false speech, flattery, gossip and harsh speech. With “mind,” there are greed, anger and ignorance. Summing this up, with our body, speech and mind, we can create the Ten Evils. Killing, stealing and sexual misconduct clearly [produce] negative karma. They are actions done with the body. Harsh speech, false speech, flattery and gossip are kinds of speech spoken using our mouths. They wreak havoc in human hearts and minds. These sounds are emitted from our mouths. These actions from our bodies and the speech from our mouths all originate in our minds. If there are kind thoughts in our minds, naturally our bodies will carry out good deeds; we will express ourselves with gentle countenance and [observe] the rules of etiquette. This is all goodness [expressed] through the body.
And what about evil? There are the acts of killing, stealing and sexual misconduct, which all go against the principles. These we carry out using our bodies. The same applies for speech. When people hear [evil speech], they feel very unhappy. In addition, if we spur others to do evil deeds, distort right and wrong or sow discord in people’s relationships and so on, then we are causing disharmony among people. When smearing [others with our speech], each word is sharper and more poisonous than a [poisoned] blade. This is the karma of speech. Everything arises from our minds. If our thoughts and perspectives go astray and deviate toward evil, naturally, our bodies will perform evil deeds, and our mouths will produce evil speech. All this arises from the deviation of our minds, which is what leads us to do these things. This is why we say, “actions that violate the principles are evil.” When we go against the principles, what we do begins to become evil. This is not right. This [deviation in our minds] is then expressed through our body, speech and mind, and it thereby becomes a reality. So, we must be very careful not to deviate from the beginning. If we deviate, we begin to do evil deeds and give rise to evil thoughts.
So, we must pay attention to this. We must pay attention to our direction to not be in “violation,” which means to go against [the principles]; we must not do this. So, we must carefully tend to the direction of [our] minds. Furthermore, “All these actions, once carried out, create karma.” Speaking of evil deeds, although in name, evil deeds are done with our body, speech and mind, if these actions are not carried out, then we create no karma. So, actions must be taken [for karma to form]. If we take action and perform this evil deed, we will bring this negative karma to fruition. As soon as we complete this deed, the seed of [evil] karmic forces is [sown]. How many kinds of karmic seeds are there? There are “the Ten Evils and Five Offenses.” These [actions] can all quickly bring about the seeds of [evil] karma. When we act according to the thoughts in our mind, we sow the seeds of evil karma, which are then brought to fruition. The negative karma and evil deeds we have done always come from a deviation in our thinking during this lifetime. As a result, with our entire body, through our body, speech and mind, we start to take action and create karma. This is not only a matter of our present lifetime. [The karma] accumulated through these actions is continuation of our habitual tendencies since many lifetimes in the past.
Throughout our many lifetimes and countless kalpas in the past, we have created and brought to fruition the seeds of our karma and habitual tendencies. [This phenomenon] continues into our present, so in our present lifetime, we already have these habitual tendencies, and these seeds cause us to take action. So, this is what is referred to by “all the negative karma we created in the past.” In “the Chant for Dedicating Merits,” we often read this phrase. “All the negative karma we created in the past is rooted in greed, anger and ignorance since Beginningless Time.” After our sutra chanting, in “the Verse of Dedicating Merits” that follows, [we find] this phrasing. So, we must be vigilant. We must have deep faith in the law of karmic cause and effect; we must deeply believe in it! [The karma] we created over many lifetimes follows us to this lifetime.
Our past habitual tendencies continue into the present. They cause our direction to deviate and cause our body, speech and mind to produce “the Ten Evils and Five Offenses.” Moreover, what we created in this lifetime will of course be carried into our next lifetime. So, this present lifetime is very important! The past is in the past, so we cannot probe it further. Since we are here right now and the causes and conditions have created this state, what [will happen] in our future lifetime? We must quickly reflect on ourselves. This is called “repentance.” We [must] repent for the negative karma we created in our previous lifetimes. We have encountered the Buddha-Dharma in this lifetime, so we understand the law of karmic cause and effect. As we experience [the effects] in this lifetime, we must not complain; instead, we must repent. We must repent for our past and gladly accept [everything] in this lifetime. We must earnestly accept adverse and harsh conditions as well. Since we have blissfully taken action in the past, and such were our deeds in the past lifetimes, in this lifetime, we must willingly accept [the retributions] and furthermore be vigilant.
Since we have acted this way in our past lifetime, in this lifetime, apart from accepting it, we must [also] reflect on ourselves. We must quickly recognize the principles and immediately accept them. We must quickly form good affinities with people to create blessed karma in this world. Since we have this opportunity, we must quickly make use of these virtuous causes and conditions to serve others and create blessings for all sentient beings.
In fact, what we now describe in name as creating blessings for sentient beings is actually accumulating blessed karma for us, because we are doing good deeds. [To be] virtuous is a blessing; we create more blessings to our own [benefit]. We must accumulate them for our future lifetimes, so we must [keep] making good use of this lifetime. If we have an adverse affinity, we must make an effort to accept it. If we have a good affinity, we must quickly cherish it and give of ourselves. This is leveraging our present lifetime for the sake of the next. Thus, in our future lifetime, we will again have the karmic conditions to encounter the Buddha-Dharma and the good causes and conditions to encounter virtuous friends. With virtuous friends to guide us, we can enter through the Buddha’s door, continue [learning] the Dharma and engage in spiritual practice.
Our [era] is an era without a Buddha, an era of Dharma-degeneration. The era of Dharma-degeneration will continue on for quite a while longer. If we think about this, this kalpa, this great length of time, we will realize that this time of degeneration in our world will continue on. Since our human lifespan lasts only for a few decades, as [this degenerative era] continues, there will still be time in our future lifetimes. Though the Buddha-Dharma is degenerating, we have heard Right Dharma in this lifetime.
In fact, Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration are all in people’s minds. In this lifetime, now that we have heard Right Dharma, we must have right thinking, right mindfulness and right conduct to accept this teaching. We must deeply carve this into our minds, directing our learning toward Right Dharma. Then the seeds of Right Dharma will be in our minds. We hope that, in future lifetimes, we will have the karmic conditions to keep the seed of Right Dharma in our minds. [If we can] carry it into subsequent lifetimes, we will [enjoy] the blessed causes and conditions of being educated with Right Dharma. Now, we are permeated by Right Dharma. We all speak of being “permeating by the Dharma.” Indeed, we come to be “permeated” by it. We are permeated and immersed in the Dharma, and thus we can cultivate this seed well with right understanding, right views, right thinking, right mindfulness, right conduct and so on. We have already accumulated [much Dharma], and we carry these karmic seeds into our future lifetimes, so we can encounter virtuous friends who again guide us to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. With these seeds in our heart and the guidance of virtuous friends in the future, our minds will abide within Right Dharma. So, Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degenerating are based on people’s actions. When we maintain our minds within Right Dharma, the Buddha’s Right Dharma still remains [intact].
I hope that we can teach Right Dharma to the future generation. Meanwhile, we must earnestly cultivate our right thinking and right conduct, so that this karmic seed will remain. Then, we can be clear [about the principles] and carry [the seed] to the next lifetime. So, [negative karma] is all [from] the past. “All the negative karma we created in the past is rooted in greed, anger and ignorance since Beginningless Time.” From this we can see that greed, anger and ignorance are highly impactful, so we must heighten our vigilance. Have we been greedy in this life? If we have [greed], we must quickly eliminate the seeds of greed [in our minds]. If we have a greedy mindset, we must do our best to get rid of it in this life. What about “anger”? if we easily become angry, we must [learn to] eliminate it quickly also. “Ignorance” is not understanding the principles. How can we continue to live in confusion, without any understanding of the principles? Once we receive the principles, we must immediately cherish them and know to admire them. We previous spoke of “admiration”. We must constantly recall these true principles. As we listen to them, we can bring our lives closer to them. We must constantly remember this Dharma, actualizing it daily through every action. With every thought we must recall Right Dharma. And at every step, in every action, we must actualize it in our daily living. Through this, we etch the Buddha-Dharma forever into our hearts. This is how we can eliminate afflictions and ignorance in a timely manner. So, when it comes to greed, anger and ignorance, we must always heighten our vigilance. We must not continuously be attached to greed, anger and ignorance.
Once such thoughts arise, we must quickly eliminate them. We must transform greed into giving, transform anger into gentleness, harmony, virtue and compliance, and transform delusional thoughts into wisdom. So, we must always be mindful. Our past afflictions are like the great chiliocosm. They are layered and as numerous as dust particles. Previously, when we took the time to describe how long this period of time was in the past, [we compared the kalpas] to dust particles. Over this long period of time, the karmic [seeds] we accumulate, layer by layer, are also as numerous as dust particles.
With such a long period of time having passed, we have created just as much karma. So, “From Beginning less Time, subtleties have accumulated into enormity”. Little by little, over this long period, we have accumulated [these subtleties] such that their number is already very great. [This is like how] dust accumulates, particle by particle, until it becomes a whole layer of dark dirt. [Likewise, our karma] accumulates bit by bit. Just as dirt accumulates in this way, our pure thoughts can also accumulate like this. Kind thoughts and good deeds can also [accumulate] little by little. Right Dharma and virtuous thinking also [accumulate] with every thought that arises. As we mentioned, these unceasing [good] thoughts [accumulate from] all sentient beings, forming an infinite accumulation of goodness. This is how “sentient beings” are. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. This is the habitual tendency of goodness. [To achieve it], we must accumulate kind thoughts bit by bit, so that they constantly arise and never cease in thought after thought. Likewise, good thoughts and deeds are [accumulated] little by little. Negative karma was gradually accumulated from the past, little by little. As we are now trying to eliminate it, we must also eliminate it bit by bit. Similarly, we accumulate kind thoughts one by one which [becomes] purity as well. This is possible. As long as we make up our minds, we can accomplish anything in the world.
So, we talked about this. This sutra passage says, “The groves, halls and pavilions are magnificently adorned with various treasures. Threes of treasures abound in flowers and fruits, and all beings play joyfully here. The heavenly beings beat celestial drums, constantly making all kinds of music. They rain down Mandarava blossoms, scattering them upon the Buddha and the assembly”.
We should still remember the discussion of “the groves, halls and pavilions”. From that, we know that “the groves, halls and pavilions” are all made magnificent by the Dharma. “Magnificently adorned with various treasures” refers to the Dharma. The 37 Practices to Enlightenment and so on are fundamental teachings. They grow from a sapling into a big tree. They grow from a foundation into a pavilion. This is our teachings. The “three Fours, tow Fives, Seven and Eight” from the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, the foundation of spiritual practice. By constructing a good foundation, great halls and pavilions can adorn the groves, creating a very magnificent palace. This symbolizes how, by [learning] the fundamentals of spiritual practice very well, we can establish our personal character. The principle is the same. “Three of treasures abound in flowers and fruits”. In this way, “one gives rise to infinity”. By planting a seed of goodness, a tree will grow and blossom. It not only blossoms, but it also bears seeds. This is how “one gives rise to infinity”. It is Iaden with fruits. [Because of] a single seed of goodness, we follow the virtuous Dharma for many lifetimes, accumulating infinite [virtue]. So, “All beings play joyfully here”. At that time, we will be peaceful and at ease. If there is no heavy karmic force to weigh us down and oppress us, we will be peaceful and at ease at that time. This is like heavenly beings’ celestial drums, which are heavenly drums that emit loud and clear sounds. [They] “constantly make all kinds of music”. The sounds we hear, the forms we see and the actions we take should benefit people. The things we say [should] make people joyful. Thus, we can guide each person toward goodness and toward the right path. This music is very [pleasant]. Throughout this realm, “they rained down Mandarava blossoms, Mandarava blossoms, are various kinds of soft flowers. In this place, people’s hearts are very gentle.
This realm was very beautiful. [The blossoms] constantly descended from the sky. This describes the realms of the Bodhisattvas and the Buddha. Everything is magnificent, and everything we touch and experience is peaceful and at ease.
The next sutra passage continues, “My pure land is indestructible, yet these beings see it as consumed by fire. They are full worry, fear and all kinds of suffering and afflictions. All these sentient beings with their transgressions, due to their negative karmic conditions, will go through asankyas of kalpas without ever hearing the name of the Three Treasures.”
The realm we described previously is the Buddha’s pure land. The realm we mentioned previously with the groves, halls and so on is the realm of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. It is filled with Buddha-Dharma, and everyone is peaceful and at ease. This is a very wonderful realm. This is the Buddha’s pure land. Everyone intrinsically has the Buddha’s heart. We all intrinsically have the nature of True Suchness. When our pure intrinsic nature is in the pure land, it will never be destroyed. So, our nature of True Suchness will not perish; it will always exist.
However, “These beings see it as consumed by fire”. “These beings see” refers to the perspective of sentient beings. [our present era] is called the evil world of Five Turbidities, meaning that [people’s minds] are polluted. Now sentient beings’ turbidities are very severe. This severity extends to their views, so all kinds of turbidities [could] their views. In the beginning, “They are full of worry, fear and all kinds of suffering and afflictions. All these sentient beings with their transgressions, due to their negative karmic conditions, will go through asankyas of kalpas without ever hearing the name of the Three Treasures.”
The explanation beings with “The pure land of the Buddha-mind is forever peaceful and at ease.
My pure land is indestructible, yet these beings it as consumed by fire: The pure land of the Buddha-mind is forever peaceful and at ease. Sentient beings with karma, suffering and severe hindrances ignite the fires of greed, ignorance and anger, which destroy both jade and stone indiscriminately and are inextinguishable.
The pure land of the Buddha’s heart is peaceful and at ease. “Sentient beings with karma, suffering and severe hindrances ignite the fires of greed, ignorance and anger. As for these sentient beings, in the ground of their minds there is greed, anger and ignorance. For these sentient beings, this is their mindset. They have severe karmic hindrances, with minds full of greed, anger and ignorance. When He lived in the world with sentient beings, the Buddha’s state of mind was completely pure. [He understood] how sentient beings’ minds views and understanding [lead them] to their current states; their karma [causes them to] suffer and brings severe hindrances.
Sentient beings’ minds are full of afflictions. Their minds are full of afflictions, causing hindrances in their own hearts. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, so why can’t we be peaceful and at ease like the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas? Why do we have such severe karma? When it comes to our afflictions, why are we still confused and lacking clarity? [It is] because the fires of greed, anger and ignorance still burn within us, “which destroy both jade and stone indiscriminately and are inextinguishable. To ordinary beings, these fires are inextinguishable.
The fires of ordinary people’s ignorance burn us ceaselessly, causing the fires of ignorance to arise constantly in our minds. Whether jade or stone, the fires of ignorance burn them both alike, incinerating even the most valuable things with inextinguishable [flames]. This is saying, “The Buddha comes to this world in response to the Dharma of Suchness.”
The Buddha comes to this world in response to the Dharma of Suchness. The lands that He transforms through the truth of the supreme meaning and the lands that have been transformed by the worldly truth cannot be compared. Thus, the transformation-land is consumed by fire, while the pure land is indestructible.
The Buddha responds to sentient beings’ karmic conditions. This is what we have been talking about recently. Because of “the one great cause” and causes and conditions which had matured, the Buddha journeyed to the world on the Dharma of True Suchness. These were His causes and conditions for coming to the world, to transform through the truth of the supreme meaning.” The Buddha-Dharma is the truth of the supreme meaning. This is the foremost teaching in the world. The Buddha taught the Dharma for more than 40 years. At last, He revealed to them the truth of the supreme meaning, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. The Buddha came to the world for this [reason]. His “one great cause” was to proclaim that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. This is the truth of the supreme meaning. We intrinsically have Buddha-nature, so we must find a way to return to it. Thus, in the Lotus Sutra, [we find] the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, which is the truth of the supreme meaning.
So, it cannot be compared to the lands transformed by worldly truths. “Worldly truths” are principles of the world. No matter how we explain worldly principles, they only [apply to] worldly matters. [With them], we can teach people to earnestly engage in worldly matters, but nothing more. The Dharma teaches us to transcend [this world]. We must not merely engage in our own duties, but as we benefit ourselves, we must also benefit others. Helping ourselves and upholding our duty is [merely] transforming ourselves. Small Vehicle [practitioners] merely care for themselves and avoid engaging in wrongful activities. Yet this is only a “worldly [practice], for they are still within the world. The Buddha teaches us that we must surpass [this state]. We must transform ourselves and then others. As we benefit others, we keep our minds free of hindrances. We must not cling to our attachments to fame, fortune and status. We must give without ant expectations. This is “true emptiness”. Then, we obtain “wondrous existence, which is the truth of the supreme meaning.
This is different from common worldly truths and worldly principles. These are what we must transcend. “Thus, the transformation-land is consumed by fire, while the pure land is indestructible. In this world, [people] commonly think only about caring for themselves; people fight for “justice,” saying “I can say that in order to save these people, I will kill the others”. This is not right. According to the Buddha-Dharma, we cannot do this. When people mention “loyalty and righteousness,” [we may think of] “the Oath of the Peach Garden” in the Three Kingdoms era. In the name of loyalty and righteousness, didn’t those countries go to war and fight amongst themselves like this? They battled each other to the death. This is the same [principle]. When it comes to many worldly matters, many people say they fight for justice, but their argument is often one-sided. In our world, there are many manmade calamities [caused by] conflicts; [which party] is right or wrong? We have no way to determining this. At this point, maybe one side is “the enemy”; they are the opposition and are in the wrong. But someday in the future, maybe that side will be in the right. We can never be sure. This is the nature of worldly matters. In the tug of war between good and evil, how can we eliminate our defilements [to attain] perfect, undefiled goodness? This is why we must engage in spiritual practice. How can we practice good deeds and further eliminate the view of self, the knowledge of self and the attachment to self? After we eliminate all of these perspectives and reach true emptiness, we must still maintain “wondrous existence”. This is not easy, so we must all be very mindful. So, in this realm of sentient beings, amidst their worldly truths, there are [people] like these in this world. “They are full of worry, fear and all kinds of suffering and afflictions.”
They are full of worry, fear and all kinds of suffering and afflictions: All those hardships of worry, fear and all kinds of suffering and afflictions fill them completely. Worry, fear and so forth are like the mountain forests of the Three Evil Destinies.
“I must take care of my family, I must take care of [my things]” and so on. “I have my worries, suffering, afflictions, my love ones” and so on. [People] are full of worry and all kinds of suffering and afflictions. The things that people love the most are also subject to birth, aging, illness and death, which causes their worries, fears, suffering and afflictions. In order to take care of ourselves, we must [face] the external world. In short, due to their worldly [concerns], people shield themselves; they are full of fear, worry, suffering and afflictions. They have “all kinds of suffering and afflictions”. “All those hardships of worry, fear and all kinds of suffering and afflictions”. These things are “hardships”. They are all hardships in our lives. These kinds of hardships are everywhere. Who is not worried for their family? Who is not worried for the sake of what they cherish the most in their hearts? So, people are full of “all kinds of suffering and afflictions”. Thus, they also have many worries and fears. They also have many afflictions and regrets. [These] “are like the mountain forests of the Three Evil Destinies”. If we are not careful, in our future lifetime, we will go toward the Three Evil Realms.
In this lifetime, people are full of worries and afflictions. With so much suffering and so many afflictions, if they are not careful, they will create a lot of evil karma. As a result, they enter the Three Evil Destinies. The karmic forces and the retributions they experience are just like the trees and plants in the mountains and forests, which are incalculable. So, “All these sentient beings with their transgressions, due to their negative karmic conditions…”. All these sentient beings with their transgressions, due to their negative karmic conditions…: These suffering sentient beings with deeply severe transgressions, for many long and distant kalpas, have committed various unwholesome deeds [and created] negative karma, thus obstructing their karmic conditions for good fruit.
These sentient beings, with their transgressions and suffering, have already accumulated karmic conditions and negative karma. So, they have [accumulated] severe transgressions and severe negative karma by violating the principles and so on. Or perhaps as they transgress in one way, they cause collateral damages on the side, which further take root and sprout. In addition of this tree itself, its trunk will naturally also sprout branches. As its branches sprout, it will then expand and flourish ever more.
If a seed is not correct, as it sprouts and grows roots, it will continuously expand. Then, this single seed will create a lot of severe [karma]. With virtuous seeds, the fruit will be very virtuous. If it is evil, then the retributions will also be numerous!
So, sentient beings with negative karma continuously give rise to causes and conditions, which also continuously expand. So, “For many long and distant kalpas, [they] have committed various unwholesome deeds [and have created] negative karma”. For many long and distant kalpas, how much [karma] have we created? We have created much karma, both virtuous and negative. How much of it is virtuous? We might not have much virtuous karma. How much is negative? We might have much negative [karma] because we have fought only for our own benefit. We have a selfish ego and are attached tour families, so love, hate, passion and animosity become inevitable. Thus, we accumulate many such emotions. “[This] obstructs our karmic conditions for good fruit”. Many such complications arise [unexpectedly]. [Unexpectedly], these karmic causes emerge. So, inevitably, karmic forces accumulate and arise in this way. These are “causes and conditions”.
So, “They will go through asankyas of kalpas without every hearing the name of the Three Treasures”. As they go through asankyas of kalpas, they cannot hear the name of the Three Treasures.
This is a very long time. So, even though they lived in the same era as the Buddha, some could not hear the Buddha’s name, not to mention the Dharma. That is not to mention after the Buddha was gone. Moreover, while the human population increased, fewer people listened to [the Dharma]. So, the karma of afflictions increased, while the Right Dharma and its principles relatively diminished. In the past during the Buddha’s era, the human population was smaller. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, the majority of people could hear it because people [were fewer] by comparison. Now, the population has increased while the Buddha-Dharma has become less prevalent; so, this ratio becomes smaller. In particular, when it comes to religions, there are more and more new religions, so the ratio of [those who hear] the Dharma decreases. Because of this, those who wish to listen to the Dharma decrease. So, “Due to their hindrances, they will be unable to hear the name of the Three Treasures.” Furthermore, as our karmic forces constantly accumulate like this, we will [eventually] have no way to hear it. So, “They will be unable to hear the name of the Three Treasures.” What are the Three Treasures?
“The Great Enlightened Buddha is called the Buddha-treasure. The Dharma taught by the Buddha is called the Dharma-treasure. The people who practice according to the Dharma taught by the Buddha are the Sangha-treasure. ‘Buddha’ means one who awakens to the truth. ’Dharma’ means the course of the teachings. ’Sangha’ means one who harmonizes. ’Buddha’ means one who awakens to the truth.”
He realized the principles, and He awakened to the principles of all things in the universe. Thus, He is called “the Buddha”; this is “the Buddha-treasure.” This is what it means. “’Dharma’ means the course of the teachings.” The Dharma disciplines us on how to return to our nature of True Suchness. It contains a path and a direction that helps us understand where we should go. This is the path we must clear for ourselves. After we clear this path and point ourselves in the right direction, we must then guide everyone else to go with us.
This is called “the course of the teachings.” This is what it means. So, “’Sangha’ means one who harmonizes.” Sangha refers to those who form the aspiration to uphold the Buddha-Dharma. Our vows are to pave [the path] of the Buddha-Dharma in the world and teach everyone to be in harmony and in unity. We must “work in concert with harmony and unity.” We need unity, harmony, mutual love and concerted effort. As we aim ourselves in the right direction, we must clear and pave this path so that others can follow it too. This is the responsibility of “the Sangha.” They guide everyone toward the Right Dharma. So, we need to guide everyone to take refuge in the Three Treasures.
We must take refuge in the Three Treasures of the Great Enlightened One. Right Dharma guides us along the Bodhi-path to seek teachings and protection. This nourishes the wisdom-life of sentient beings. If we sincerely take refuge in the Three Treasures and never give rise to discursive thoughts or go against the Buddha’s teachings, evil will stay far away and never encroach upon us.
Speaking of the phrase “taking refuge,” when people take refuge [with me], I will tell them that it means to “turn away from [darkness] to [light].” So, regarding “the Three Treasures, we must take refuge in the Three Treasures of the Great Enlightened One.” This is the Buddha-Treasure. Right Dharma guides us toward the Bodhi-path, so we take refuge in it. We seek the teachings to educate and protect us. We head toward Right Dharma by cultivating our own wisdom-life and [helping] to grow the wisdom-life of sentient beings. This is called the Sangha-treasure, which guides our direction. “If we sincerely take refuge in the Three Treasures and never give rise to discursive thoughts,” this means we are wholehearted in our resolve. In this [process], we must not give rise to discursive thoughts. If we have wholeheartedly resolved to [take refuge in] the Three Treasures, we will not “go against the Buddha’s teachings.” If we do not go against the Buddha’s teachings, then we will be separate from evil, and no evil will disturb us. So, we must always put our efforts into the teachings of this right path. We must not deviate from them even slightly. So, “The groves, halls and pavilions” symbolize how we need the Dharma as our foundation. We must earnestly cultivate the Dharma and construct these magnificent grounds, [for] this is the ground of our hearts. We must be like the Buddha, always pure, peaceful and at ease. The Buddha’s pure land is everlasting. It will not perish. We must not have the minds of unenlightened beings where the fires of ignorance, greed and anger destroy our nature of True Suchness. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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