Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Dharma-Wheel Destroys Evil (法輪破惡 不退不動)
Date: March.20.2019
“The Dharma that the Buddha taught can crush and destroy the evil in sentient beings like a gigantic wheel that can crush a mountain of rock, hence the analogy of the Dharma-wheel that can crush and shatter sentient beings’ afflictions.”
We must be mindful! We must always mindfully comprehend the Dharma. As we listen, we must uphold a reverent mindset, like when the Buddha taught at Vulture Peak, when we were present listening to the Dharma. Because sentient beings, [including] you and I, are all ordinary beings, our minds fluctuate and are unstable. Now, we ought to awaken [ourselves], for how much time do we have before our minds fluctuate and become unstable again? We must earnestly seize the moment and listen to the Dharma with focus and single-minded resolve. This is called reverence. “The Dharma that the Buddha taught can crush and destroy the evil in sentient beings.” Sentient beings are evil, but to what degree? In truth, the evil we mentioned here refers to thoughts, thoughts that fluctuate, uncontrollable thoughts. When we give rise to a thought of goodness, the next evil thought quickly destroys the previous good one. Likewise, in ordinary people’s minds, when thoughts of greed, anger and ignorance arise again, the thoughts of goodness that we give rise to are quickly suppressed by them. Sometimes, when evil thoughts arise, if we also form thoughts of goodness, they can remove the evil thoughts, suppressing them. A thought of goodness arises, but then it is also quickly overturned by evil and discursive thoughts again. In this way, good and evil push each other.
How long will they push until evil diminishes and goodness remains? This depends on us. Have we taken the Dharma to heart? We must absorb the virtuous Dharma, listen to the Buddha-Dharma and make use of it. Then, the virtuous Dharma will always abide in our minds. This is the Buddha’s goal in teaching the Dharma in the world. Sentient beings’ minds are hard to train. It is because they are hard to train that the Buddha must persist [in teaching them] lifetime after lifetime. In this way, He teaches the Dharma for sentient beings. So, although the Buddha left us long ago, we should be all the more determined to absorb the Dharma. When it suits our capabilities, we must quickly accept it. We must not merely make use of our capacities, but must also earnestly take hold of our time. Time flits by second by second. There is no way to turn back time! So, we must not think that if we do not listen to or accept and make use of the Dharma today, we can do so the next day. We must not do that.
This is the case for us now; we know the Buddha-Dharma is good, but if we wish to return to the Buddha’s era in the past, this is impossible. So, we must cherish our time. We must seize the moment and quickly make use of the Dharma. Otherwise, we will never be able to crush the stubborn evil thoughts of sentient beings. If the root of evil is present, no matter when the thought of goodness arises, these evil thoughts will quickly surge forth, destroying our thoughts of goodness. So, we must be earnestly diligent. We must not be indolent in the slightest. So, we must always be mindful. The Buddha-Dharma’s power is very great. As long as we are willing to accept it and earnestly take it to heart, then the Dharma is “like a gigantic wheel that can crush a mountain of rock.” It is like a big bulldozer. Since the Buddha-Dharma, the Dharma taught by the Buddha, can destroy many deviant and evil thoughts, we just need to willingly and mindfully accept it. Sentient beings are stubborn with deviant and evil thoughts. Yet regardless of how stubborn they are with these deviant and evil thoughts, they are still just like “a rock.” While they may be hard and tough, as long as we have this bulldozer, this gigantic wheel, we can push them down and crush them. No matter how high or tough the rock is, it will be crushed, shattered and pushed over. This will be the case if we have accepted the Buddha’s teachings. This is an analogy of a gigantic wheel. This gigantic wheel is like a very big truck. It is like the bulldozer we are talking about now; it is like a great machine. Looking around us, caves and mountains are being damaged. Aren’t people using [machines with] giant wheels? To drill into caves? [Even] when it comes to a big mountain of rock, they are able to drill all the way through it. They continuously excavate and destroy the mountain from within. They destroy this sturdy mountain, destroying it like this so that people can pass through it.
Is this good or bad? Whether it is in the short term, or even after another hundred or thousand years in the world, decay always occurs. Everything in the world has its time of deterioration. If we excavate a hole in a big mountain, the mountain will still age. Over the decades and centuries, it will deteriorate too. Can the power of man overcome nature? Things will only go so smoothly for a short period of time. This is all to say that since there is such a great power destroying the earth, only [another] great power can protect it. So, this great power lies in people’s minds. However, the [power] to destroy things also lies in people’s minds. The designs of so many powerful machines also came together from people’s minds; they were drawn up to destroy things. Let us look at good and evil from another point of view. Evil destroys things, but what about goodness? It also must come together in order to cleanse, accept and protect. Since [evil] is destroying [nature], how does [good] protect it? If we protect the earth, this world, we can make use of it longer. In this way, it will not [deteriorate] so rapidly. We arrived in a world replete in great resources, but now they have been totally destroyed and wiped out. There must be someone to protect [the earth] so that it will not be continuously destroyed. We must earnestly extend [the earth’s] lifetime.
[To this end], the Dharma transforms these kinds of unwholesome thoughts with goodness. It is not difficult to transform our minds. Look at how many people [have joined us]. These Living Bodhisattvas use their past experiences in society, experiences of living a misguided life of suffering and enduring hardships. They engage others and say, “I did not take care of my body before. I smoked, drank, chewed betel nuts and gambled. I did not take care of my body. I rashly destroyed my own body and more. But causes and conditions allowed me to turn my life around.” What is more, they are capable of becoming experienced [Bodhisattvas] and learning how to protect themselves. Then they share [their experiences] with others. “I have suffered before. I must help people prevent this and avoid suffering. Through this, they can attain joy.” This is called “loving-kindness.” When we have endured [suffering], we understand its sources. We must prevent that others suffer. So, with the principles and experiences we know, we tell everyone to hold on to their happiness. Or if they are suffering, we will eliminate their suffering and help them be able to let go and be at ease.
Their minds can be in comfort and at ease, and they can live a peaceful life. This all requires us to apply the Dharma. We must do so. Some people use wisdom to comprehend the Dharma. Some have the causes and conditions to comprehend it from their own experiences. These people can then share it with others. Because they have listened to the Buddha-Dharma, they can awaken their wisdom. Because they have listened to the Buddha-Dharma, they awaken and transform themselves. They then teach people about their experience. This all depends on causes and conditions. With good causes and conditions, we can easily encounter the Buddha-Dharma. With negative causes and conditions, we might spend our entire lives in hardship. Only after such difficulties can we listen to the Buddha-Dharma. No matter how we listen to the Buddha-Dharma, once we listen to it, we must quickly form aspirations and turn the Buddha-Dharma like a giant wheel, pushing it toward the world. We cannot be like the Buddha’s gigantic wheel, but our small wheel also possesses a small amount of power. When the combined power of all our small wheels, we likewise have great strength.
In this era, we must all listen to the Dharma, spread it and turn the Dharma-Wheel. We must turn the evil wheels of our minds into good ones. The wheel can turn toward the east or the west. It can turn toward the great even road, or it can destroy goods and materials. [Like] a car with its wheels, it can carry people, but it can also crush and crash into things.
In short, there are big wheels and small wheels. Although we have not started our wheel, we must earnestly accept this gigantic wheel so that it might help us eliminate our past afflictions, ignorance and evil habitual tendencies. The hindrance of knowledge and the hindrance of afflictions obstruct us. This greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt obstruct us. They [are like] unyielding mountains and rocks that are obstructing us. We must accept the Great Vehicle Dharma and quickly open up a way so that our small wheel can pass over every obstacle. Then we make our way toward going among people. I hope we all can accept this. We must accept the Great Vehicle Dharma to train our minds. The Dharma is like water and also like a wheel. We must go among the unyielding and stubborn sentient beings and use the Buddha’s great wheel to destroy the enormous rocks that are obstructing their minds. At the same time, we must accept the Dharma. We must nourish ourselves with the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now, when we destroy this gigantic rock, there will be dusty haze everywhere. Thus, we need Dharma-water to nourish us at the same time. The principle is the same. The Buddha-Dharma can cleanse our minds and destroy the stubborn obstructions in our minds. So, we must earnestly accept the transformation of the Buddha-Dharma.
“Hence the analogy of the Dharma-wheel that can crush and shatter sentient beings’ afflictions”. For us sentient beings, great afflictions are great obstructions. They are like gigantic “rocks”. We must use a gigantic wheel to push, crush and break them. We must mindfully accept the Buddha-Dharma. So, “The Dharma the Buddha taught while He abided in the world did not stop with one person”.
The Dharma the Buddha taught while He abided in the world did not stop with one person. There is no place that can hinder the Buddha-Dharma. It is passed on from person to person in turn. No object can conceal it. This is like a cart-wheel that is used to represent the ever-turning Dharma-wheel.
When the Buddha taught the Dharma, He did no wait for anyone but taught the Dharma constantly for as long as he was able. So, “[the Dharma] did not stop” for anyone. Even when the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, in that short time before Parinirvana, a 120-year-old man came to seek the Dharma. The Buddha still did not let this last disciple who sought the Dharma down. So, when the Buddha came to the world, He “did not stop with one person”. He seized the time. Since the wheel has started moving, it cannot stop. We must keep pushing it constantly. So, “There is no place that can hinder the Buddha-Dharma”. Mundane matters do not hinder the Buddha. The Buddha-Dharma is everywhere in the world. As long as there are affinities, “there is no place that can hinder the Buddha-Dharma”. Affinities are important. Even in the presence of the Buddha, without affinities, we cannot be transformed. With affinities, no matter where we are, the Buddha-Dharma will be there. So, “It is passed on from person to person in turn”. Even in distant places, as long as the affinities and causes and conditions are present, the Buddha-Dharma will be there. Then, the seed of the Buddha-Dharma will be passed down to people. They will continue to be transmitted. So, “No object can conceal it”. The Buddha-Dharma is penetratingly bright. We could not conceal it even if we wanted to, so long as we have the affinities. So, “This is like a cartwheel”. It is like the wheel of a cart, one [moved] by a motor. Once the Buddha-Dharma’s power is activated, it will continuously advance forward to wherever [people] have affinities. So, “[It] is used to represent the ever-turning Dharma-wheel”. The Buddha-Dharma has to constantly turn in the world in order for [the teachings] to continue on here. The principles are everywhere. With the Dharma, the principles are able to manifest. The principles abide in people’s minds, but their minds are veiled by ignorance. It veils our nature of True Suchness. The absolute truth and the principles are veiled by afflictions and ignorance that we have accumulated over many lifetimes. Now, only by relying on the Buddha-Dharma, can we remove our ignorance. We must use the Buddha’s power and our own, leveraging each other’s strength. Only with the power of the Buddha-Dharma can we have the diligence of mind to accept it. We must not let time pass us by. Listening to the Dharma is important, but we must be mindful. We must motivate ourselves when it comes to people, mattes and things. We must not merely listen to the Dharma without mindfully [applying it] in our daily lives. If we are like this, we are indolent. This hurts people’s hearts the most. It hurts those who have the heart to teach the most. If the Buddha’s disciples are indolent, the Buddha’s heart will hurt the most. Everyone, we must not be indolent. We must listen to the Dharma. As we listen to the Dharma, we must put it into practice and actualize it in our daily lives. Only thus will the teachings be truly useful. The teachings will be useful to our lives when we have [truly] made use of the Buddha-Dharma, benefit people’s lives.
By the same principle, if we do not mindfully rise to action in our daily lives, how will we come together with the Buddha-Dharma? Everyone, even though we who teach may be very good at teaching, we must ask ourselves if we can take action. We must urgently practice what we preach, demonstrating [the teachings] though action. Everyone, please be mindful!
In the last sutra passage, Maitreya Bodhisattva expressed gratitude for the Buddha’s mindfulness in freely expressing His original intent. When the Buddha described His spiritual state, Maitreya understood Him. So, Maitreya Bodhisattva rose from the crowd, “bared his right shoulder, put his palms together and faced the Buddha”. Then he spoke in verse. He expressed his praise for the Buddha inverse. In verse, he said, “The extraordinary Dharma that the Buddha teaches is something we have never heard before”. The World-Honored One has great power, and Your lifespan is immeasurable. There are countless Buddha-children, and upon hearing tell of the benefits attained from the Dharma, joy fills their bodies.
In this passage, [Maitreya] expresses his gratitude and praise for the Buddha. [Maitreya] also describes how, starting form when the Buddha attained Buddhahood more than 40 years ago, he had never heard the Buddha freely express such wondrous Dharma. Now that he had heard it, he and everyone else were joyful. So, “[They hear] the World-Honored One distinguish the benefits attained from the Dharma”. So many disciples had heard it. As for these benefits that the Buddha described, they accepted them and were joyful because the Buddha expressed His original intent. He directly expressed His innermost thoughts. Everyone was able to awaken; they realized their past obsession with only pursuing their own attainment. Now, they realized that they should pursue the practice of benefiting themselves and others. Since we have benefited, it is time to benefit others.
[Maitreya] continues in the next sutra passage, “Some abide in the state of non-retreating”. Some abide in the state of non-retreating, some attain dharani and some attain unobstructed joy in teachings and the thousand, million revolution dharana.
[Those present] accepted the Dharma now. They had eliminated the afflictions and ignorance of the past. From joyfully accepting the Buddha-Dharma to eliminating their afflictions, their understanding of the Buddha-Dharma had grown clear. Because the Buddha taught the Dharma according to their capabilities, they were capable of accepting it. The ground of their minds began to radiate out. From “the ground of joy” to the ground of freedom from defilement and “the ground of radiating light” they had ascended to the ground of blazing wisdom. So, “Some attain dharani”. Dharani is “the door of total retention”. They had now entered “the ground of overcoming difficulties”. They had understood. They had attained the Dharma that is difficult to attain and understand. The ground of overcoming difficulties is about retaining and upholding all teachings and all goodness. “Some attain unobstructed joy in teaching”. They had attained dharani and unobstructed joy in teaching. With the thousand, million revolution dharani, they could also turn the Dharma-wheel.
“Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles within a great trichiliocosm are all able to turn the non-retreating Dharma-wheel”.
Everyone had entered the Buddha-Dharma and advanced one step at a time. They had advanced and could retain and uphold all teachings and all goodness. At the same time, they could teach the Dharma and turn the Dharma-wheel. So, it is not only a few people who could do this. It is a great trichiliocosm.
A great trichiliocosm is a great number of worlds “Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles are all able to turn the non-retreating Dharma-wheel”. We should understand this clearly.
Some abide in the state of non-retreating, some attain dharani and some attain unobstructed joy in teaching and the thousand, million revolution dharani: They ascended to the state of non-retreating and entered the door of retaining and upholding. They attained unobstructed eloquence and endlessly taught with joy. They attained the thousand, million revolution dharana.
Reaching the state of non-retreating, they abided there, meaning “they ascended to the state of non-retreating”. They have already entered the Buddha’s door and ascended all the levels. Starting from the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh to the eight ground, they continuously ascended. So, now they abided in the non-retreating state and had “entered the door of retaining and upholding”. They attained dharani and unobstructed eloquence and “endlessly taught with joy”. They attained unobstructed eloquence and endlessly taught with joy. They not only understand the Buddha-Dharma but also can teach without obstruction. Like this, they teach the Buddha-Dharma while also accepting it. The more they teach it, the deeper it enters their memory. As it enters deeper into their memory, the Buddha-Dharma continuously arises from these memories. They “endlessly taught with joy”. So, “They attained the thousand, million revolution dharani”. They attained the thousand, million revolution dharani. The more it turns the swifter it becomes. No matter how far it has to turn or how many revolutions it must make, it will continuously revolve. So, to learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, “our minds must become one with the Buddha-mind”.
To learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, our minds must become one with the Buddha-mind. This will nourish and benefit us daily so that we will gradually improve and grow. We will only advance, never retreat and abide in the state of non-retreating. The sutras say, “When our body and mind become one, we will improve and grow day by day. This is abiding in the state of non-retreating”.
As those who learn and practice the Buddha-Dharma, we must transform our unenlightened minds into the Buddha-mind. We only say that as we chant the Buddha’s name we need to bring our minds to focus on the Buddha, transforming our unenlightened minds into the Buddha-mind. I am constantly reminding everyone of this. As we focus on the Buddha-mind, we must take the Buddha-mind as our own. As Buddhist practitioners, we must keep this in mind. As Buddhist practitioners, we must keep in mind that our [intrinsic] nature is the same as the Buddha’s. We must have this state of mind. So, we take the Buddha’s mind as our own. When our mind and the Buddha’s mind become one, naturally, “this will nourish and benefit us daily”. If we always have the Buddha-mind in our minds, the Dharma will nourish our wisdom-life. Though life is full of illness and pain, the Dharma is forever healthy. So, we must know how to unite our minds with the Buddha-mind. This will nourish and benefit our wisdom-life. So, “This will nourish and benefit us daily”. This will nourish our wisdom-life day and night. Thus, “We will gradually improve and grow”. Because our wisdom-life has the Dharma, our minds will never deviate from the Buddha. The Buddha-Dharma will never leave our minds. Night and day, naturally, we will never leave the Buddha and His Dharma. In this way it nourishes our wisdom-life, and we will gradually improve and grow. We must be mindful!
So, “We will only advance, never retreat”. If we can do this, we will “abide in the state of non-retreating”. We will diligently advance with the Buddha-Dharma. As time easily passes, people will grow old, but if we ascend through the Bodhisattva-grounds, we will abide there forever and never retreat, never losing our wisdom-life. We must comprehend this mindfully. So, the sutras say, “When our body and mind become one, we will improve and grow day by day”. If our body and mind become one, if our mind and the Buddha-mind become one, our wisdom-life will naturally grow, growing greater day by day. Our lifespan becomes shorter day by day, while our wisdom-life grows day by day. This is what I have been telling you all.
So, what are time, lifespan and “the lifespan treasury”? Time causes our lives to pass in this way, while our benefits increase. We take the benefits we gain from our experiences and use them in the future. As for the past, we store it our “lifespan treasury”. When it comes to our future lifespan, we must use our previous experiences to earnestly make the most of it. So, “Bodhisattvas as numerous “as the dust particles within a great trichiliocosm are all able to turn the non-retreating Dharma-wheel”.
Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles within a great trichiliocosm are all able to turn the non-retreating Dharma-wheel: Like earlier, in the Chapter on Medicinal Plants, they abided in spiritual powers and turned the non-retreating Dharma-wheel.
Such people are Bodhisattvas. We mentioned them previously in the Chapter on Medicinal Plants. These small flowers, plants, big trees and small trees are all nourished by this rain. They have already attained benefits. In the Chapter on Medicinal Plants, they abided in spiritual powers and turned the non-retreating Dharma-wheel. This passage is an analogy for us accepting the Dharma. We are like the flowers and plants that are nourished by the rain. So, the seed of a small tree can also grow into a big tree. A big tree can then grow seeds to cultivate small trees. This is how the wheel turns, and [all are] nourished.
So, the present chapter, the Chapter on Distinguishing Merits and Virtues, also discussed this. “Furthermore, Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas as numerous as the dust particles of the worlds of the great trichiliocosm were able to turn the non-retreating Dharma-wheel”. So, during this time, they continuously turned the Dharma-wheel, for many Bodhisattvas had understood clearly. There were so many Bodhisattvas, and these Bodhisattvas had attained “dharani”. They had attained “dharani” and were able to turn the Dharma-wheel.
In the next sutra passage, [Maitreya] continues, “Moreover, Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles within a medium chiliocosm can all turn the pure Dharma-wheel. Moreover, Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles within a small chiliocosm, after eight more lifetimes,” “will be able to attain Buddhahood”.
In this passage, [Maitreya] said that there are so many more worlds, a medium chiliocosm. We should all recall what a medium chiliocosm is. A thousand small chiliocosms make up a medium chiliocosm. “Bodhisattvas as numerous as the dust particles within a medium chiliocosm can all turn the pure Dharma-wheel”. So many Bodhisattvas, as numerous as dust particles, could all turn the Dharma-wheel. They turned “the pure Dharma-wheel”. “Moreover, there is a small chiliocosm.” As for a small chiliocosm, a thousand worlds make up a small chiliocosm. These Bodhisattvas, “[as numerous as] the dust particles,” could [attain Buddhahood] “after eight more lifetimes.” After enduring a period of eight more lifetimes, they would be able to attain Buddhahood. This is a small chiliocosm. It said that the time is long. After such a long time, these people as numerous as dust particles transform into Bodhisattvas. So, after eight more lifetimes, these Bodhisattvas will also be able to attain Buddhahood. They can attain wondrous enlightenment. So, we must be very mindful.
As for the eighth ground of Bodhisattvas, everyone should comprehend it by now. What is the eighth ground of Bodhisattvas called? As Bodhisattvas are unwavering, it is “the ground of stillness.” They will not retreat. “Once we have destroyed our afflictions, we will not create karma for hell. Yet we still have our physical bodies, so we are still vulnerable to evil beasts.”
Once we have destroyed our afflictions, we will not create karma for hell. Yet we still have our physical bodies, so we are still vulnerable to evil beasts. We can only resolve this through our conduct. Our afflictions are like tigers and wolves. Those who resolve this through their conduct will thoroughly comprehend the principles while never departing from matters.
Since we have this body, we naturally have many afflictions. We have many afflictions and much ignorance. So, they are likened [to evil beasts]. If we do not eliminate our afflictions, we will have thoughts that create evil karma. When we create negative karma, we will fall into hell. This is as if there were an evil beast devouring our bodies. If we fail to use our bodies to earnestly embrace the Buddha-Dharma and create karma in the world like a walking corpse, this would be truly unfortunate. We must apply the Buddha-Dharma to ourselves. So, “We can only resolve this through our conduct.” As for our actions, if they give rise to afflictions, these afflictions will be like tigers and wolves. Our bodies will create much negative karma. Then, undoubtedly, we will fall into hell. But if we earnestly transform this body in this lifetime and earnestly seek to understand the principles, we will understand them completely. Naturally, we will understand the Dharma, and then we will not create negative karma. In this way we can eliminate so many afflictions and so much ignorance. We can eliminate many evil deeds and head toward goodness. Then, we will not go to hell. This principle is certain. So, “The ground of stillness is the eighth ground of Bodhisattvas.”
The ground of stillness is the eighth ground of Bodhisattvas. With the principle of True Suchness, we will be always be in a focused and tranquil state, and no ignorance or afflictions can disturb us. The sutras say, “When the mind is one with True Suchness, this is known as the ground of stillness.”
We must not let negative karma disturb our minds. We must not use our bodies to do things that do not benefit sentient beings. When all our actions benefit sentient beings, our mind will be at peace. This is called “the ground of stillness. With the principle of True Suchness, we will be always be in a focused and tranquil state.” Our minds will attain stillness, meaning we will be in a tranquil state. “No ignorance can disturb us.” No ignorance will approach us. The sutras say, “When the mind is one with True Suchness, this is known as the ground of stillness.” So, we must earnestly return to our nature of True Suchness and the true principles and become one with the principles in the world. We must unite our nature of True Suchness with the principles. Then, naturally, everyone will be a Bodhisattva, and our minds will abide in the eighth “ground of stillness.” In this way, we will never retreat again.
So, everyone, as Buddhist practitioners our unenlightened minds and the Buddha-mind must become one. Through this, our wisdom-life can grow. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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