Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Buddha’s Infinite and Inconceivable Dharma (佛說無量 不思議法)
Date: March.25.2019
“These principles are so profoundly wondrous that our minds cannot conceive of them. These matters are so extraordinary that they cannot be described in words. They are said to be wondrous, therefore, they are called inconceivable.”
We must mindfully seek to realize and understand this! Here it tells us that the principles are profound. We cannot understand them just by contemplating or listening to them, nor simply [by way of] the people, matters and things we encounter in our daily living. This Dharma is very profound; every word we listen to contains principles. To realize the principles and take them to hear is truly difficult. When we hear the principles and take them in, [we feel that] we know them all. But though we may know them, we still have a long way to go before we can properly analyze them. Though it seems we can describe the principles in only a few short sentences, there is much more significance within them. Truly, “Our minds cannot conceive of them.” Can we measure the Dharma or grasp its profundity simply through thinking? To our ordinary minds, this is indeed inconceivable, for we could never measure its wondrous profundity. So, “These matters are so extraordinary that they cannot be described in words.” When we hear about phenomena in the world and the worldly things that worldly people do, if we try to describe these worldly people and the things they do, how do we describe their goodness? How do we describe their unwholesomeness? The extremities of good and bad are truly difficult to describe. This is to say nothing of the wondrous and profound principles taught by the Buddha. The Buddha taught for a long time about how causes and conditions lead to the effects and retributions in the world and the results of this in people’s [lives]. How is it that they suffer so greatly? This suffering still contains countless causes, countless seeds. How can there be so many of them? We must illustrate the principles using matters, using people’s everyday affairs [to illustrate the karma] they create every moment, every day. [Aren’t the principles] present in people’s actions? Indeed! Things must be explained clearly and distinctly. Every matter has its cause, and every matter has to have its result. To analyze the cause of something and conclude its outcome is also very difficult.
So, this is “extraordinary”; everyone has journeyed here on inconceivable karmic conditions, which have created this result. This is something we should mindfully contemplate. Each day, we easily pass our time and things seem to happen very quickly. As we interact with people and act in society, seemingly simple things that pass by quickly actually contain complicated principles within. This is to say nothing of people and matters. All matters begin with someone’s thoughts, which lead them to deliberately act a certain way. When their mind is set, they begin to act in such a way as to cause this thing to happen. How did this incident arise? If we keep going back to why things happen, we will see that the things that one person does further entangle many other people.
So, it says, “These matters are so extraordinary that they cannot be described in words.” Even if we are just discussing the outcomes for one person in their present situation, though we attempt to analyze their past causes, we will be unable to describe them thoroughly with words. It would take too long, since [such things] are very complex. So, if describing worldly matters is so hard, [consider how hard] it would be [to describe] the principles! Principles are even deeper and more profound. [Their depth] is truly inconceivable.
This is especially [true] of the Buddha’s “infinite lifespan” or His “infinite wisdom-life” described [previously]. Where did His wisdom-life come from? How did He manifest His lifespan? How much merit and virtue did the Buddha attain? These merits and virtues, you see, [came from] all the many people, the many Bodhisattvas, that He transformed. Each of those many Bodhisattvas had their own causes and conditions. The more of them He taught the Dharma to, the more their numbers grew. The more He taught, the more their numbers grew. So, this too is inconceivable. Now, we have arrived at the Chapter on Distinguishing Merits and Virtues, in which it describes those who had achieved, those who were achieving and those yet to achieve. Here, [the Buddha] describes the number of those who attained [awakening], these Bodhisattvas from their countless worlds. They had all arisen from one, for one can give rise to infinity. So, as one give rise to infinity, infinity arises from one; this goes on in an unending process. Thus, He will explain even more about merits and virtues [in this chapter]. So, we should mindfully seek to comprehend how to utilize these principles for “they are said to be wondrous.” Now, He will explain these subtle, wondrous and extremely profound [principles]; they are so extremely profound, subtle and wondrous that they are “inconceivable.” So, there are many extremely profound, subtle and wondrous people, matters, things and phenomena, all of which contain inconceivable Dharma. There is so much that is inconceivable.
So, the previous sutra passage said, “These sentient begins, upon hearing about the extensive length of the Buddha’s lifespan, attained infinite, flawless, pure and clear retributions.”
So, there were a great many of those Bodhisattvas, which is not to mention those yet to achieve [awakening]. Those who had achieved, those achieving and those who yet to achieve all referee to sentient beings. Those who were achieving had already begun transforming others. Those who had achieved had already attained universal prefect awakening. Those yet to achieve had yet to be transformed; they had only just begun to encounter [the Dharma] and be transformed. When they first encountered [the Dharma], they begun by hearing the Buddha explain the extensive length of His lifespan. It was from the Chapter on the Tathagata’s Lifespan that they began to listen. These sentient beings had yet to achieve [awakening] and had only just begun to encounter [the Dharma]. [There were others] who had been listening to the Dharma for a long time in that place of spiritual practice. [The Buddha] spent seven years teaching the Lotus Sutra, and people came and went during that time. So, whenever people first came to listen, they would not have heard what He had previously taught. Some had only recently come and begun to listen at the time when the Buddha was explaining the infinite, His “infinite lifespan.” Hearing about His infinite lifespan, they rejoiced and began to willingly accept the Dharma.
They quickly attained infinite realizations [from the teachings]. What they attained was “infinite and flawless.” They thus attained many teachings. Those who came to listen during the middle had the past karmic conditions to do so, due to their deep karmic conditions from the past. Although they had the karmic conditions [to hear the Dharma] in their present lifetimes, it was only just at that period of time that they arrived there to listen to it, and what they attained was “infinite and flawless.”
They took the Dharma they heard to heart and were immediately able to understand that it was “infinite.” Although He entered Parinirvana at the age of 80, the Buddha wanted to tell them that life extends back to before Beginningless Time, and it continues through the present. From the present, His wisdom-life will continue infinitely into the future. It is not the case that when His bodily form entered Parinirvana, there was nothing left. This was not so! Wisdom-life is everlasting, even though physical lifespans are fragmentary. This is like what we discussed before when we talked about “fragmentary samsara.” In response to conditions, we come to the world in accord with this world’s natural law. Although our physical lives are fragmentary, the wisdom-life of True Suchness in our minds is everlasting. When it comes to these principles, when people have [the right] karmic conditions and capabilities, as soon as they begin to hear the Dharma, they immediately take it to heart. What they attain is flawless and resonates with their capabilities. Since it resonates so deeply with them, they can take it to heart like this and can thus attain “pure and clear retributions.”
They can get rid of all afflictions and worries. Before they heard the Dharma, those people may have also had their own afflictions due to cyclic existence. But once they heard the Buddha describe how His lifespan was infinite, their minds gained a clear understanding, and their afflictions disappeared. This is what “pure and clear retributions” means.
“Furthermore, sentient beings as numerous as the dust particles of eight worlds, upon hearing the Buddha discuss His lifespan, all form the supreme aspiration.”
Next were “eight worlds.” There were so many sentient beings who, when they heard of how long the Buddha’s lifespan was, also formed aspirations for unsurpassed Bodhi. They also began to form aspirations because they had superior capabilities. Their capabilities were so great because they too had been taught and transformed by the Buddha in previous lives. Thus, their karmic conditions were now ripe for accepting His teachings. Their capabilities and conditions were such that they could now understand as soon as they heard. So, once they heard [the teachings] they immediately awoke and understood.
Below, the next passage continues, saying, “The World-Honored One teaches the infinite and inconceivable Dharma. It provides many benefits, which are as boundless as the universe. Celestial Mandarava flowers and Mahamandarava flowers rain down. Sakras and Brahmas as numerous as the Ganges’ sands come from countless Buddha-lands”.
In this section, “the inconceivable Dharma refers to what the Buddha had started to teach about “the infinite”, how his lifespan is infinite, how the Dharma is infinite and how wisdom is infinite as well. His causes and conditions began such a long time ago, and He had transformed sentient beings everywhere. This was truly inconceivable.
The World-Honored One teaches the infinite and inconceivable Dharma: The World-Honored One taught about His infinite lifespan. From the past and onward, He widely benefited countless sentient beings throughout infinite time, space and worlds. Thus, it says “inconceivable”.
So, the World-Honored One taught that His lifespan was infinite that it spanned “from the past and onward”. He taught that it [spanned from] long, long age in “the past”, how it continued into the present and that it would extend into the future. Thus, it [extended] “from the past and onward”. What had He been doing for such a long time? He had always been “widely benefiting countless sentient beings”. It was because He had been doing this everywhere for such a long time that the Buddha-Dharma could be widely spread through every time and space and benefit the sentient beings of this world. Since this had gone on for a very long time, the sentient beings He had transformed were inconceivably boundless in number. They were everywhere. That the numbers of sentient beings. He delivered and transformed were so many was also inconceivable. To be able to transform so many people, of course, the teachings He used had to be even more infinite and boundless. This is inconceivable! The time, space and number of worlds required to do this were so numerous, they were incalculable. This is why it says this was “inconceivable”.
We should all be mindful of how very long it took Him and how many [teachings] it took to widely deliver and transform all of them. So, “[The Dharma] provides many benefits. Wherever He goes to transform sentient beings, [the Dharma] always benefits them.
It provides many benefits which are as boundless as the universe. Celestial Mandarava flowers and Mahamandarava flowers rain down: [The Dharma’s] benefits are vast and are as boundless as the universe. All the heavenly beings rejoiced as flowers rained down from the sky.
He had benefited sentient beings for a very long time and across a vast space. The sentient beings He benefited were infinite in number; they were boundless. Infinite numbers of people had gone from the stage of unenlightened beings to become sages, nobles and Bodhisattvas. Those becoming Bodhisattvas, those who had achieved, who were achieving or who had yet to achieve this were also infinite. So, “They were as boundless as the universe”. The heavenly beings were moved by this and began raining “Mandarava flowers” down on them.
Everyone ought to remember the “Mahamandarava flowers”. These were small wish-fulfilling flowers and great white wish-fulfilling flowers. The flowers which rained down from heaven were evidently magnificent. All of heaven and earth rejoiced; everyone’s heart bloomed with joy. Why did everyone rejoice so? Because “the Dharma’s benefits were vast”. They were as boundless at the universe. This benefited sentient beings everywhere, helping them attain fruition.
The fact that they had become Bodhisattvas was inconceivable! So, “All the heavenly beings rejoiced as flowers rained down from the sky” [means that these beings] scattered flowers from the sky. So, we must learn to benefit sentient beings.
Benefitting sentient being: 1. Forming aspirations of great wisdom. This means desiring to use wisdom to extensively seek all Dharma for the sake of benefiting sentient beings. 2. Forming aspirations of great compassion. This means having the compassion to benefit all and vowing to save sentient beings from all the suffering of cyclic existence. 3. Forming aspirations of great vows. This means following the Four Great Vows and forming supreme Bodhicitta to benefit all beings, seek the path to Buddhahood and transform sentient beings.
What it means to “benefit all sentient beings” is to first “form aspirations of great wisdom”. When beginning our spiritual practice, we must form Great Vehicle aspirations to cultivate the Great Vehicle Dharma. In order to cultivate the Great Vehicle Dharma, we must aspire to achieve great wisdom. This is because transforming people; requires us to learn many teachings; “without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom”. We seek the Dharma by listening to it. We must go among people to hear and seek the Dharma for “without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom”.
So, “This means desiring to use wisdom to extensively seek all Dharma”. As we seek the Dharma while, transforming sentient beings, we gain wisdom from our experience among people. When we go among people, we can practice giving, and as we do so, our wisdom will continue to grow. The more we help others, the more our wisdom, knowledge and experience will grow. Isn’t this benefiting each other? By benefiting others, we in fact benefit ourselves. This is the first [aspiration].
And the second? It is “forming aspirations of great compassion”. “This means having the compassion to benefit all and vowing to save sentient beings from all the suffering of cyclic existence”. From a single ignorance thought, sentient beings can create much greed, anger and delusion that bring upon them countless karmic retributions. This leads them to transmigrate in the Six Realms, especially in the Three Evil Destinies where they face unbearable suffering. In order to save these sentient beings, Bodhisattvas must firmly make great vows. They “vow to deliver countless sentient beings, vow to eliminate endless afflictions, vow to learn the infinite Dharma-doors” and vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” In seeking the Buddha-Dharma for the sake of sentient beings they must form aspirations of great compassion, for they cannot bear to see sentient beings suffer.
This is “universal compassion.” They “feel others’ pain as their own” and “grieve when others are suffering.” They form great aspirations and compassionately benefit all sentient beings.
These are the requirements for us to cultivate the Bodhisattva-practice. First, we must form aspirations of great wisdom and second, aspirations of great compassion. What is the third? We need to “form great vows.” This is what “following the Four Great vows” means. As we just discussed, “we vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” When we form these Four Great Vows, we “form supreme Bodhicitta” to seek the path. Furthermore, we must then seek “the great direct and broad Bodhi-path” that leads directly to the state of Buddhahood. So, we must spend a very long time “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. We must absolutely practice “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions.” We must follow this open and spacious path a very long way. Not only is it open and spacious, we must also follow it a long distance. Only by widely opening this door can we widely transform sentient beings. We keep advancing forward without stopping, doing this lifetime after lifetime.
We cannot simply rest after a singly lifetime of practice. We cannot! Without rest, we must continuously “benefit all beings” lifetime after lifetime by seeking the path to Buddhahood and transforming sentient beings. This is what Bodhisattvas must diligently and mindfully work toward.
As we learn the Buddha-Dharma, we must be earnest and diligent like this. It continues by saying that “Sakras and Brahmas as numerous as the Ganges’ sands come from countless Buddha-lands.
Sakras and Brahmas as numerous as the Ganges’ sands come from countless Buddha-lands: Sovereign Sakras and King Brahmas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River all came from countless lands to this Saha World.
Sakras and Brahmas are heavenly beings. Sakro-devanam Indra scattered flowers King Brahma was there as well. Whether from the desire, form or formless realms, heavenly beings and kings had all arrived there. So, how many were there? How many heavenly kings and heavenly beings had come there? [As many as] “the sands of the Ganges River”. There were so many! They pervaded the universe and all Dharma-realms. Their numbers were great, and they came from infinite heavenly lands and Buddha-lands. Whether from the Saha World or any of the many other worlds, the heavenly and human beings there were incalculable in number. Those who came from those “infinite lands” to the
Saha World were also impossible to count.
Next, it says, [Powdered] Tamalapatra sandalwood and agarwood rain down in riotous profusion like birds descending from the sky to be scattered upon all Buddhas as an offering, in empty space, celestial drums spontaneouslt emit wondrous sounds. Thousands of kinds of celestial robes come spiraling down.
We must be mindful of this. Here, the sutra passage goes on to talk about, “[Powdered] Tamalapatra sandalwood and agarwood raining down in riotous profusion.” We can imagine the purity of that place. Not only was the place pure, but the fragrance of incense permeated it. It seemed that the scent of “sandalwood and agarwood” was everywhere.
[Powdered] Tamalapatra sandalwood and agarwood rain down in riotous profusion: Finely powdered Tamalapatra sandalwood and agarwood rained down. This riotous profusion of wondrous incense floated down from the sky.
Have you seen this [in the news]? The temperatures in some countries are very low, and it has already begun to snow. When the snow falls, it does not fall like rain; it comes down in flakes, with great flakes falling [from the sky]. That fine powder of Tamalapatra sandalwood rained down from the heavens like this as well. It kept falling sown like this and, moreover, “it rained down in riotous profusion. It did not simply fall like rain, but it was falling profusely in flakes. So, “Finely powdered Tamalapatra sandalwood and agarwood rained down. This riotous profusion of wondrous incense floated down from the sky. Flakes of finely powered agarwood continued to rain down profusely like this, “like birds descending from the sky, to be scattered upon all Buddha as an offering”.
… like birds descending from the sky, and are scattered upon all Buddhas as an offering: They were like birds flying down from the sky, and were scattered upon Many Treasures, Sakyamuni and all Buddhas as an offering. The line comparing them to birds describes how the fragrant flowers fell in the previous [passage].
The flakes fell like big flocks of birds. They looked like birds flying down from the sky. This is how it is described. They rained down like this from the sky to be scattered as offerings upon the Buddhas, failing on Their heads and all around Them. This was the scenario. “They were like birds flying down from the sky and “were scattered upon Many Treasures, Sakyamuni and all Buddhas as an offering”. They fell upon Many Treasures Buddha as well as Sakyamuni Buddha and the many Buddhas from the ten directions who were sitting beneath the trees of treasure. We should recall how, at that Dharma-assembly, the Buddhas from the ten directions were still seated beneath those trees of treasure. “Like birds,” or like fragrant flowers, [the powdered sandalwood] floated down on Them. It fell like petals of fragrant flowers, continuously raining down on Them. “In empty space, celestial drums spontaneously emit wondrous sounds”.
In empty space, celestial drums spontaneously emit wondrous sounds: In empty space, without anyone to beat them, the celestial drums sounded on their own and emitted wondrous sounds.
In the empty space above, heavenly music gradually began to fill the sky, but [the drums] were not being played by anyone. The previous sutra passage says, “celestial drums naturally sounded”. Now, this passage is talking about the same thing. “In empty space, without anyone to beat them…” No one needed to beat the celestial drums, for they emitted wondrous sounds on their own. This was happening naturally. Many such subtle and wondrous states exist in the natural world. The sutra passage continues with, “thousands of kinds of celestial robes”. Many celestial robes “came spiraling down”. Many celestial robes continuously fluttered down like this. There were “wondrous celestial robes” of countless different kinds, that came spiraling down from empty space.
Thousands of kinds of celestial robes come spiraling down: Thousands, millions and billions of kinds of wondrous celestial robes came spiraling down from empty space.
As I told everyone before, the “robes scattered from heaven” [symbolize] the great mission given to us from above. All Dharma are already in the world. As for the Dharma the Buddha wanted to teach us, He continuously analyzed it for us all along the way. The Buddha’s Dharma, more specifically the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, begins with the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, which is its preface. It is the preface to the Lotus Sutra and [contains] the essence of the Lotus Sutra’s spirit. The Sutra of Infinite Meanings begins by fully explaining the Bodhisattva Way. This complete explanation of the Bodhisattva Way examines the many different ways that people suffer in the world, from poverty, sickness, disability and so on. How can Bodhisattvas relieve their suffering? What state of mind do they use, how should they practice giving and how they teach and transform others? The Sutra of Infinite Meanings begins by describing these ways so that we might come to know its ultimate truth. For us to know its ultimate truth better, we must further analyze these phenomena. So, at the beginning of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha praises the wisdom of all Buddhas. He [furthermore] praises the wonder and subtlety of the Dharma in the world. This continued until Sariputra, out of curiosity, petitioned the Buddha to teach the Dharma to them. However the Buddha told him, “Stop, stop, stop!” “There is no need to speak further!” This was because He could not teach it too soon. Everyone’s mind was not yet settled, and their views were not yet correct. The time was not yet right. Since their aspirations had still not [matured], they had not yet drawn near to this Dharma. Due to all of this, He could not yet teach it.
During the Buddha’s time in the world, He in the same way searched everywhere for the [right] causes and conditions. He wanted people to discover the community of Buddhist practitioners so that they might have the opportunity to hear what the Buddha-Dharma had to say. The Buddha continually creating opportunities for His Sangha to go into the cities. He took His bhiksus into the cities, to attract people’s attention so that they would become curious and follow them. When He found a place, the Buddha would stop, and the Sangha would sit down in an orderly manner. The curious crowd who followed [them] would see how orderly and proper they were and wonder, “Why are they like this?” The minds of those city people, having followed the Sangha to that place, became tranquil too, and they naturally sat down [with the Sangha]. As they watched the group, their curiosity turned into respect. Because of the atmosphere there, their minds also began to quiet down. The Buddha waited until their minds were quiet before He began to teach them the Dharma, teaching them according to their capabilities.
For more than 40 years, the Buddha looked for opportunities to draw people’s attention and lead them to listen to the Dharma. As long as people rejoiced upon seeing the Buddha and willingly followed Him, they could quiet their minds and listen to the Dharma. Then, [they] could open their hearts and achieve understanding. This was during the Buddha’s lifetime. Our karmic conditions now are very special. With modern technology, as long as we set a time, based on a fixed schedule and routine, we can all diligently [listen to the Dharma]. Early in the morning, we seize the time by going out early and gathering in one place to listen to the Dharma. When the time comes people can turn on their TVs, and images and sounds will appear. When we listen to the Dharma, we gain insights which we can then apply [to ourselves], and in turn, we can teach them to others. When people want to listen, they will listen joyfully and accept the Dharma. Having spread the Dharma, we are grateful. We will do this very naturally and reverently. We do this simply to purify people’s minds, never for our own profit or gain. No, we do it only to benefit sentient beings. How do we bring about this purify? We need to give rise to great wisdom to seek the Great Dharma and transform sentient beings. This is what we must do to benefit all beings. This is our objective. The Buddha taught us to do this, so we should listen to His teachings, spread them and teach them as they are. For this, we must always remain in the Dharma. So, all of us must always mindfully take the Dharma to heart and apply it as we go among people. In this way, the Dharma can purify the world. Like a rain of flowers, incense and celestial music, we spread the wondrous sound of the Dharma until its wondrous sound is [heard] everywhere. When this sound is emitted, it can help guide people to open their hearts and achieve understanding. By going among people, we grow our wisdom-life and benefit all sentient beings. This is like scattering flowers as offerings for future Buddhas. When our minds are like this, “we joyfully teach the Dharma.” This is our goal as we listen to the Dharma. So, only if we can bear in mind the flawless Dharma we hear and apply it in our daily living without fault can we become true listeners of the Dharma. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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