Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Essence of the Principles of True Suchness (真如理體 慧命無量)
Date: March.04.2019
“Bodhisattvas have perfected their Dharmakaya, their wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness. There is no such thing as a long or short lifespan in cyclic existence. If a lifespan lasts 10,000 kalpas, this is not long. If a lifespan is a brief as a thought, this is not short. [Bodhisattvas] only seek to transform sentient beings, adjusting to capacities and conditions to manifest the appearance of long or short lifespans while their minds are free of hindrances. Thus, they are at ease about their lifespan.”
We must mindfully comprehend the meaning of this. “Bodhisattvas have perfected their Dharmakaya, their wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness. There is no such thing as a long or short lifespan in cyclic existence.” This is telling us that Bodhisattvas engage in very long periods of spiritual practice, spanning many kalpas, which accumulate without interruption over the course of many lifetimes. Through practice, they attain the Dharma-body, which is “their wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness.” True Suchness is something all of us should understand. It is the Buddha-nature intrinsic to us all.
This essence of the principles aligns with all things in the universe, for it is intrinsic to everything. This means True Suchness is inherent in all of us. This is to say that all things possess the nature of True Suchness; the essence of the principles is present in all things in the world. This means that both the macrocosm and microcosm inherently possess the essence of the principles of True Suchness. Its nature is the wisdom-life. We see how all things in the world depend on one another for coming into being.
Everything thrives in its specific environment. What kind of things grow in a place depends on the kind of place it is. If we just talk about plants, there are certain plants that will grow naturally on plateaus. The same goes for [plants] on the sea floor. Some things grow by adapting to the sea-water, while some things grow by adapting to the plateaus. This is the essence of the principles that all things in the world inherently possess. They adapt to wherever they are. In the same way, all mountains, rivers and land exist according to the space they are in.
In the world, all forms of life adapt to the physical features of their surrounding. Those that have [adapted] to the water are in the water, while those that have [adapted to] dry [climates] are in the mountains. And what about humans? They are adapted to living like this, with their daily living on flat ground. All things in the world have their own inherent vitality. Their vitality [depends on] their respective natures. This is their wisdom-life. All things inherently possess this vitality. So, when it comes to our wisdom-life as humans, since we are born in the human realm, how should we use our lives? We often speak of [life] as being long or short. Although the law of nature is something we cannot predict, and the length of our own lifespan is not something we can foresee for ourselves, what we can determine is the depth of our lives. Do we want to lead a life of depth? This is what we need to earnestly put effort into. Do we want to lead valuable lives? [If so], then we must earnestly see the value of our lives in the world. To be valuable is to be useful; when we have a function [to serve], [our lives] possess value. We come to the world without knowing the length [of our lifespan], but we are determined to use the depth of our lives extensively. To what extent should we apply our value? In our interpersonal relationships in this world, have we exercised the value of our lives in order to benefit others?
This depends on our wisdom-life, how we make use of our wisdom-life in the course of our lives. As for the time we have, our lifespan, we do not know how long it will last. So, we must utilize our lifespan to grow our wisdom-life. In this lifetime, the way we exercise our wisdom-life to benefit the world is the Dharmakaya perfected by Bodhisattvas. What we use to benefit the world is our Dharmakaya, “the essence of the principles of True Suchness.” The Dharmakaya, people’s intrinsic nature and the essence of the principles of the great macrocosm are all the same.
So, Bodhisattvas have perfected their Dharmakaya, “their wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness.” So, we must be very mindful. “There is no such thing as a long or short lifespan in cyclic existence.” We do not discuss [the length] of lifespans. If we can understand [the principles] thoroughly and strive to use our lives to benefit the world, then the length of our lives does not matter. If it is long, then we keep fulfilling our duties each day. Each day we live is one more day of responsibility, regardless of its length. So, it does not matter whether our lifespan is long or short.
So, I mention this so that we can recognize that it does not matter if our lives are long or short. Even if our lives last 10,000 kalpas, when it comes to truly helping sentient beings, this is not considered long. Because our lives are so useful and so applicable, regardless of how long our lives are, they will always be of use. “If a lifespan is as brief as a thought, this is not short.” Even if our lifespan is very short, if during that brief lifetime we fully utilize the time that we are alive to do what is valuable, then we will be at peace and die without regret. This is because, although we come to the world with a short lifespan, we have fulfilled our responsibilities and to this day, what we have done has been faultless and correct. Thus, we are at peace. So, whether our time here is long or short, we must live our lives according to our values. We must mindfully realize that our lifespan has its function. There was a period when it too would lament how the years are passing me by so quickly. As time goes by, I felt that time seems only to have made my hair gray. I realized, “How limited life is!” When we see ourselves getting old, our minds become all occupied with aging and we feel sorry for ourselves. When we become old, we sigh, lament and pity ourselves. We feel like we have become old and useless. Naturally, we become old at heart, and our way of living heads in a direction where we have no function. Such a life devoid of aspiration is truly tragic. We also see people who are not very old, people who are not even 70, beginning to develop memory problems. How lamentably short life is! Soon after we finished the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, we discovered from what the Buddha told us that our wisdom-nature, the span of our wisdom-life, is boundless. So, the essence of the principles of our Dharmakaya is eternal. You and me, all of us, intrinsically have Buddha-nature. Our Buddha-nature is not distinguished by age. Our enlightened nature is timeless. This is what we are always saying. So, it does not vary by age. The lifespan of our wisdom-life is very long. So, we use this principle to encourage everyone. We can see everyone accepting it [and saying], “It’s true! I should stand up and set aside the burden of my age!” Setting aside the burden of age, all of us can use our present vitality, keep our chins up and begin meaningful work in life afresh.
For example, Dr. Tanaka is a 101-year-old Bodhisattva. [In 2018], volunteers in Shuanghe accompanied him to come here. He was happy to visit the abode for the first time. He brought several books for me to read, books that he had written himself and had completed at over 90 years old. He brought his story for me to read. He opened a hospital in Japan and lived in Taiwan for many years. He wanted me to understand that he was really as old [as he said]. [He included] his age when he was studying, which schools [he studied at] and so on. This was all for me to understand him, through his whole life until now. I also heard from one of our volunteers, Mr. [Huang] Qiuliang, who told me that someone had [recently] allocated a plot of land, and they sought Dr. Tanaka to collaborate on building a hospital there. Dr. Tanaka was going to accept the plan. That is how he is, even at 101 years old! He has such vitality that he is still making plans for his life.
However, he went on to tell me, “I am not [building the hospital] anymore! I want to become your disciple and join the volunteer training. I want to join Tzu Chi’s medical association now.” Everyone, he is already 101 years old. This is a true story! This is why he brought his story, the book he wrote, for me to read. There are even people who wish to work with him to build a hospital. This shows that even at a very old age, [we do not need to act] old. People who are very old can still have a direction in life.
In [another instance], during the Year-end Blessing [in 2017] in Yuli, a volunteer named Wang Chengzhi came up to me and indicated his age with his fingers saying, “Master, this is how old I am! I have set aside two sets of fifty [years]! That’s how old I am!” I saw him briefly at the Year-end Blessing. He stood in the line to come up and see me, and when he came up, he briefly paused to tell time, “I have set aside two sets of fifty [years].” I gave him a red envelope, urging him [not to dally], and he left the stage. After the ceremony, past noon, when I was in the hallway, he saw me and told me again, “Master, I never rest. I want to keep on going. I am still collecting donations!” He told me this also. Even a long lifespan does not matter; if we see it as a natural way of life then we must live healthily, [exercising] our mind and wisdom with ease to benefit others. Regardless of how long we live, it is not considered long because there is still so much for us to do. If we think [about them] after putting aside two sets of 50 years, one is only four years and the other one year old. Or if we set aside only one set of 50 years, [Dr. Tanaka] is only 51 years old. This is not so old at all! So, we should all raise our spirits.
So what does this all mean? We are not hindered by the length of our lifespan. “[Bodhisattvas] only seek to transform sentient beings, adjusting to capacities and conditions to manifest.” Wherever our causes and conditions lead us to transform sentient beings, that is the place where we will appear. This is why we must live earnestly and mindfully. Depending on the affinities we create with others, wherever those affinities may lead us, that is where we will go.
For “the appearance of long or short lifespans, whether their lifespans are long or short, their minds are free of hindrances”. They are completely unhindered because “they are at ease about their lifespan”. When considering our lifespan, we need not be so concerned with our age. We should be at ease when facing our lifespan, regardless of when it will reach its end. We need only be vigilant of our thoughts every day. Are we benefiting life or are we harming it? If something is harmful, then we must be very cautious and refrain from it. If it is beneficial, then we must seize the moment to diligently advance. This is putting our lifespan to valuable use. We all must be sincerely and earnestly mindful.
Our “wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness” neither increases nor decreases. This depends on how we apply it. I hope everyone can mindfully comprehend this.
In the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, every word and every line illustrates how the Buddha’s Dharmakaya has an infinite lifespan. Thus, those who hear the Dharma and comprehend, realize and awaken diligently put their vows into practice to benefit and perfect their own merits and virtues as well as others’.
So, in the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, every word and every line “illustrates how the Buddha’s Dharmakaya has an infinites lifespan”. This is “the wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness”. The Buddha is always in the world applying the essence of the principles of True Suchness, the wisdom-life He accumulated over countless kalpas. He came to the world in response to [sentient beings’] capabilities and conditions. According to [their] capabilities and conditions, He applied His wisdom-life, the essence of the principles of True Suchness, in the world. So, when we reached the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, every word and every phrase He [spoke was meant to] show that “the Buddha’s Dharmakaya has an infinites lifespan”. The Buddha is awakened and His Dharmakaya is His wisdom-life. The wisdom-life He attained after awakening is infinite. “Thus, [they] hear the Dharma and comprehend”. After listening to the Dharma, we must very mindfully seek to comprehend it. We must truly understand it. We not only need to realize it, we must then put it into practice to realize, awaken and testify to it. This is just like Dr. Tanaka. Although he is 100 years old, everyone says, “I can’t believe it! You don’t look 100 at all!” He is very wise. He gave me [his] book as proof that He had completed it when he was over 90. He also showed me the schools he had studied at, the things he had done in the past and his photographs from primary school through middle school. This was also evidence. I absolutely believe him in all of this, for I have actually met him. So, I am able to verify this. This is what I mean by experiencing and realizing. He is a man of very old age and wisdom. My experience and realization from this person also verified the Buddha’s Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan.
Every word and every line in it gives me even more faith as I teach about [the Buddha’s infinite] lifespan. It gives me great confidence. I am filled with Dharma-joy for what I have taught in the past. It is a testimonial that has helped me to experience and realize this. So, once we recognize this, we must be even more diligent in forming aspirations and making vows. Since there is such truth to the Buddha-Dharma, we must verify and realize it. Since we have witnessed examples like these, we must be even more focused and diligent. We must make great vows and put them into practice to “benefit and perfect [our] own merits and virtues as well as others”. We must perfect our own merits and virtues. As for “the merits and virtues” we discussed, we must cultivate all virtuous Dharma to benefit all sentient beings in this way. These are “our own and others’ merits and virtues”. We perfect ourselves by [using] karmic conditions to transform sentient beings. Once we have perfected ourselves, we have even more strength to help others become accomplished, so we can benefit ourselves as well as others. This is why we must earnestly and mindfully comprehend the Dharma. So, “In the previous Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, the Three Directives and Four Practices enable the practitioner to transform their obstructions in this life and attain Buddhahood in the future”.
In the previous Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, the Three Directives and Four Practices enable the practitioner to transform their obstructions in this life and attain Buddhahood in the future. Next, in the Chapter on Emerging from the Ground, when the Bodhisattvas from other lands requested to uphold the Dharma and advance the sutra in this land, the Buddhas stopped them. He revealed that there were already people who would advance the sutra in this land.
We must be diligent. We have already learned this as we learned about the Four Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy. When it comes to the Dharma, we have heard it, discussed it and listened to it, so we should keep it in mind. What are the Three Directives and Four Practices?
The Three Directives: Great compassion is the room, gentleness and patience are the clothing and the emptiness of all phenomena is the seat. The Four Practice: The Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy with the body, speech, mind and vows.
The Three Directives [express how] great compassion is the room, gentleness and patience are the clothing and the emptiness of all phenomena is the seat. We must understand these Three Directives as well as the Four Practices. We must continue to apply these diligently. This is how “they enable practitioners to transform their obstructions in this life”. When we [practice] them, no matter what circumstances we face, we will always have patience. For a long time, without interruption, we have ceaselessly practiced, so whatever difficulties there may be, we will always find a way to overcome them. So, we will “attain Buddhahood in the future”. When our obstacles are gone, we will “attain Buddhahood in the future”.
So, after the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy came to Chapter on Emerging from the Ground. In [this chapter], we saw how Bodhisattvas from other lands came to the Saha World to petition the Buddha. They were willing to uphold and spread the Dharma in this land, but the Buddha did not accept [their offer]. We should all still remember this. This was because the Buddha came wholeheartedly for the one great cause, to teach everyone in this world to practice the Bodhisattvas-path.
To uphold the Dharma on this Bodhisattvas-path, we must engage on spiritual practice. On this Bodhisattvas-path, we must advance the spirit of the Buddha-Dharma. We must put it into practice. These are responsibilities that the Saha World’s sentient beings must bear. The Buddha recognized the good intent of those Bodhisattvas from other lands. They wanted to spread the Dharma in the Saha World, but the Buddha stopped them. Those from other lands were also disciples of the Buddha, but they had already succeeded in [other] places in the past. “This land” refers to the Saha World. There are sentient beings in the Saha World. The disciples who were already transformed needed to take up this responsibility.
So, “This shows that there were already people who would advance the sutra in this land”. We should be able to remember this. From the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, on Emerging from the Ground and on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, [the Dharma] has connected to this point in the Chapter on Distinguishing Merits and Virtues. We can see how [the chapters] are all connected. We should recall their control again, the content of the Dharma.
Now, we will begin to study the next of the Chapter on Distinguishing Merits and Virtues. “At that time, when the assembly heard the Buddha describe how His lifespan was numbered in kalpas and was so long and extensive, immeasurable, boundless asankyas of sentient beings attained great benefit.
This speak of “when the Buddha taught this Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan”. The Buddha had already taught the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, and the assembly heard it They [learned] how long the Buddha’s lifespan, the length of His wisdom-life, was. The lifespan of His Dharmakaya, His wisdom-life, is boundless. So, “Immeasurable, boundless asankyas of sentient beings attained great benefit”.
At that time, when the assembly heard the Buddha describe how His lifespan was numbered in kalpas and was so long and extensive: When the Buddha taught this Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan, the assembly heard the Buddha say that His lifespan was numbered in kalpas; it was this long and extensive.
His lifespan was so long and lasted so many [kalpas]. So, because the time was so long, He had transformed numerous sentient beings. An “asankya” is an infinite amount. Infinite numbers of sentient beings had already heard the Dharma and attained great benefits. Sentient beings who listen to the Dharma are filled with the Dharma-joy. Everyone has their attainments; this is what nourishes their wisdom-life. This is a great benefit.
Immeasurable, boundless asankya of sentient beings attained great benefit: Since immeasurably long and extensive kalpas ago, those who had attained benefit over this long time heard that the lifespan the Buddha’s Dharmakaya was infinitely long. He opened up the near to reveal the distant so that they would deeply understand the benefit attained through long-term practice.
So, “Since immeasurably long and extensive kalpas ago, many had attained benefit over this long time”. He had transformed so many in the past, an innumerable amount. An “asankya” is countless, a great number. Because He had taught and transformed over such a long time in this way, those who had been permeated by and listened to the Buddha-Dharma for a long time had attained benefit in this way.
So, “They heard that the lifespan of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya was infinitely long. The lifespan of the Buddha’s Dharmakaya is long. Since long ago in the past, for infinite kalpas, an incalculable period, He has transformed so many, countless, people into Bodhisattvas. This has taken Him a very long time. So, they were all finally able to understand. Not only did they understand, they deeply and truly understood that these people had practiced for an extended and uninterrupted time.
So, [it says] “the past and present”. This went on from the past to the present and into the future, from a time in the incalculable past, through the present and into the boundless future. So, from the past, the present and into the future “there is never a time He does not benefit, teach and transform sentient beings. Such is the enlightened nature of the Buddha. The essence of the principles of His enlightened nature of True Suchness is like this.
So, “In the empty void of the Dharma-realms, though He is non-arising, He manifests birth; through He is non-ceasing, He manifests death. When we know what is empty and illusory and thoroughly understand wondrous existence, this is true and not false. This is something we must also mindfully make an effort to remember. “The empty void” refers to the Dharma-realms. “Through He is non-arising, He manifests birth.” Many things that did not originally exist have come into being. “Through He is non-ceasing, He manifests death.” In fact, [many things] have always existed, yet their forms still cease. This is like how, before the Buddha was born into this world, 80 years earlier, there was no Buddha. Before the lifetime of the Buddha, there was no Buddha in the world. It was due to His karmic conditions that He descended and was born in the palace. There was ordinally no prince in the palace. King Suddhodana had no children, but through His causes and conditions and karmic connections with the human world, the Buddha descended and was born in the palace.
From then, He lived a lifespan of 80 years; at 80 years old the Buddha manifested cessation. Did the Buddha cease to exist? No, He did not, because the Buddha’s lifespan still exists. So, it says “Though He is non-arising, He manifests birth; though He is non-ceasing, He manifests death.” This is just an example. This great space, this world of form, actually had no form or substance. It is just that our naked eye cannot see the limits of space. So, we think there is a sky when in fact the universe is boundless.
So, originally there was nothing. There was merely emptiness with no objects. This is why it says, “Though He is non-arising, He manifests birth”. Many things did not exist. In the past, we did not exist. Where were we? Before our parents gave birth to us, we did not exist. After our parents gave birth to us, we then began to experience infinitesimal changes we were unaware of, every day changing and ceasing. When it comes to our metabolism, our cells undergo a daily process of arising and ceasing. This happens inside the microcosm [of our bodies]. There will come a day when the microcosm of our body will similarly disappear from the macrocosm. Yet, our intrinsic nature still remains. It just depends on our karmic conditions. Are we mobilizing ourselves in the world, being useful and beneficial to people? If we are useful and benefit others, then when we come again to the world, our karmic conditions will [enable us] to continue benefiting others. Because we continually benefit others, our consciousness, our eighth consciousness, has been purified. This means that, from our Five Consciousnesses to our sixth, seventh and up to our eighth consciousness, in our daily living our [thoughts] are always good. Within our consciousness, we know that we should eliminate wrong and diligently do virtuous things. We already have habits like these. Our consciousness is already becoming clear. We are continuously relying on our consciousness when we serve others. In the end we cannot bring anything with us, and our karmic conditions have already been brought to fruition by going among others. [However], we do carry our consciousness with us. In this lifetime, our consciousness had already created these [good] habitual tendencies of benefiting others and reducing our afflictions and ignorance. We will see things more and more clearly in future lifetimes. So, there is “the past, present and future”. Our karmic conditions from the past will continue in this lifetime, [enabling us to] encounter the Buddha-Dharma. These karmic conditions make it possible for us to join so many [other] Living Bodhisattvas in benefiting others. The past causes we carry converge with our present conditions so we can continue doing this in the future.
So, “Throughout the past, present and future, there is never a time when He does not benefit, teach and transform sentient beings”. In this way, our consciousness is permeated, so long as we keep seeking to understand the Dharma and the Dharma-nature. This is what the Dharma-nature is like. The essence of His nature is “in the empty void of the Dharma-realms. Though He is non-arising, He manifests birth; though He is non-ceasing, He manifests death”. So, “When we know what is empty and illusory and thoroughly understand wondrous existence,” then “this is true and not false”. This is something we can all understand; this is not false but true. This is what it says, but are we really able to absorb this? Can we understand it? We must be very clear.
The empty void is vast and boundless. Its essence is impartial and all-pervasive. Appearances accord with states and substances, thus they are each different. True emptiness is tranquil cessation, free of all obstructions and hindrances. Amidst all the objects that have hindrances, it can move freely and with ease. So, “the empty void” is “vast and boundless”.
The empty void is vast and boundless. We were just saying that it is boundless. “Its essence” is “impartial and all-pervasive”. The intrinsic essence of the empty void is immense and boundless. Of all things in nature, all things that are fragrant or rank and so on, everything exists within this great empty void.
Thus, “The empty void is vast and boundless”. “Its essence” is “impartial and all-pervasive”. All kinds of things exist within this empty void. So, “Appearances accord with states and substances”. Mountains will be mountains and oceans will be oceans, but they all exist within this great space. Whatever its substance, however great its form, everything is like this. All things that can be distinguished in the world exist within the empty void. So, “True emptiness is tranquil cessation, free of all obstructions and hindrances”. True emptiness is eternally like this; there is nothing that can be hindered by it. So, “Amidst all the objects that have hindrances, it can move freely and with ease”. Though there are many hindrances in the world, we can actually move freely through space. Wherever we have obstacles, [true emptiness] does not care. Whether the hindrance is a great mountain or upon the earth, we can still move freely and at ease in this great space.
No matter how we move, whether we fly through the air in an airplane or sail in a ship on the water, there are no hindrances to this great void.
So, as for “the void and emptiness,” [“void”] means “without form or substance”; ‘“emptiness’ means without obstructions or hindrances”. So, this is called “the empty void”. Then there is “wondrous existence”. “Wondrous existence” is “elusive”; “this is not what unenlightened beings deludedly regard as true existence”.
We still have a long way to go to explain true “wondrous existence”. Wondrous existence is everywhere, and yet we cannot see it in anything; however, it is always there. This is just like the empty void. Although we say it is empty, its emptiness is actually wondrous existence. We “regard” this [as existence]. As unenlightened beings, we “regard” material objects as having existence. In fact, there will always be a time when things that exist break. This is because they are composed of certain substances, so they will decay. Their function depends on their substance. The different forms of things depend upon their substance and quantity; through wondrous existence they can come together or they can separate into many things. The Buddha-Dharma is truly subtle and wondrous. There is a wondrousness within it. For ordinary people to realize the Buddha-Dharma, we must be mindful of every [teaching]. If we are not mindful in our efforts and only depend on what we hear, our “awakening” will truly be very difficult. We must be mindful to comprehend this. I ask everyone to remember “their wisdom-life of the essence of the principles of True Suchness”. This is truly the Dharmakaya that we perfect as Bodhisattvas. This is the most important. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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