Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Six Practices: Ten Grounds Part 8(六行~十地行八)
The Buddha became enlightened for the sake of deluded sentient beings. Under delusion, we are tormented by suffering. The enlightened Buddha wanted to free us from our delusions. Since we have great causes and conditions to encounter Buddha-Dharma and to practice the Bodhisattva-path amidst innumerable suffering beings, all of us must begin to evoke altruistic intentions and make great vows.
The Ten Grounds: The Stages of Joy, Defilement-free, Radiance, Blazing Wisdom, Utmost Difficulties, Manifestation, Far-reaching, Stillness, Excellent Wisdom, Dharma-cloud.
We have mentioned the Stage of Far-reaching. The path from delusion to awareness is very long. On it, we inevitably encounter hurdles and obstacles. We should keep going and break through them. If we do not do our best to get through wave after wave of obstacles and eliminate them, we will not reach our destination.
In our practice, we may come across various difficulties. There are people who say, “The demons test us because of our practice.” Some misunderstand and say, “Evil manifests itself because I want to do good and practice. That is why I encounter so many unfavorable circumstances.” This is incorrect. We should know that everyone has her or his own karma which was already created. Even if one has not resolved to practice, one still encounters negative causes and conditions. There are many obstacles to the things that one wishes to do. Even if one does not want to practice, one still encounters adversity.
When we encounter obstacles after making vows, we should be more at ease. Before taking the vows, we drifted with the waves. We did not know that we were entangled in our afflictions. We gave rise to calculative and judgmental thoughts, deeming them normal. But now that we are practicing, we know them to be incorrect. So when the same afflictions arise, we must open our minds and use a method to resolve them so that we can eliminate them and not be hindered by them again in our future lives.
Have altruistic intentions and make great vows to not drift along with the world, not have issues over anything or with anyone, and not give rise to agitated thoughts. Then you can eliminate all obstacles and afflictions.
Moreover, as we said yesterday, since we vow to save all beings, we should always have a heart of compassion. The path of cultivation is very important. To strengthen our resolve, we must cultivate the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, which help us walk the Bodhisattva-path and eliminate the many obstacles along the way. This is something that has been discussed before.
We are now on the eighth Stage, the Stage of Stillness, which is, “The principle of True Suchness is all-encompassing. When one attains complete realization, one remains in the state of unwavering stillness and tranquility.” We have talked about how the Stage of Radiance lights up our path and how the Stage of Far-Reaching lets us follow the path without hindrance. As such, our True Suchness is manifest, and we must reach the destination. Once we have arrived, we naturally see into the principle of True Suchness. After listening, practicing, and experiencing so much, we should be able to “attain complete realization.” When we know the truth and have physically practiced and experienced the “true and lasting stillness, then our True Nature should always abide in our minds.”
When our minds settle into stillness, no matter how chaotic the outside world, or how overwhelming our afflictions, our minds remain still. Does everyone remember the passage, “With our minds pure and tranquil, with vows as vast as the void, we remain unwavering for countless eons.” This is “true and lasting stillness.” We remain unwavering for countless eons in the state of complete tranquility. If we can realize the true nature of True Suchness and keep it in our minds, we will not take issues with any external states, such as interpersonal conflicts, etc. Thus the text states, “When the mind remains one with True Suchness, it is called the Stage of Stillness.”
“One” means consistently being with True Suchness. The True Suchness is consistent. It is in our minds. If we can manifest the Tathagata-nature in our minds, then worldly fame and profit are not important. That is the Stage of Stillness. Since we are already practicing Bodhisattvas, we must eliminate obstacles. When we eliminate them and realize the Truth, we are unwilling to abandon sentient beings. Although our True Suchness is unwavering, the suffering sentient beings are still engulfed in a vast ocean. When we have become aware of ourselves and realized the Buddha’s teachings, we also know that the Buddha revealed the state of enlightenment for the sake of deluded beings. For the suffering begins of the Saha World, the Buddha continuously returns, sailing the Ship of Compassion to teach us.
Similarly, we care for all sentient begins. Because of their delusion, we evoke altruistic intentions and vow to care for them. The 37 Practices to Enlightenment help us do this. Yesterday I kept saying they enhance out practice on the Bodhi-path. They aid our Bodhisattva practice so that our minds are not affected by afflictions.
Let the innate nature of True Suchness abide in the mind. Let the mind remain still and silent. No matter how external conditions change, afflictions will not move the mind.
Some say only a Bodhisattva can reach this stage. Actually, all humans can reach it; it is quite close to us, even today. In Yilan, Taiwan, there was a Mrs. Yu. Her family was initially financially stable. She had two daughters and a son. Unfortunately, her husband passed away from liver cancer, the woman and her children supported each other and were still pretty well-off. On Christmas Eve in 2000, some bad news came about her only son. He had been working in Taipei and was murdered. As you can imagine, since her husband died only a year earlier, the murder of her son was a devastating blow. The boy was only 17 years old. After his father passed away, he was worried about his mother’s burden. He had been attending technical school, but thought he should go earn some money. So he went from Yilan to Taipei to work. He was her only son. In this kind of situation, we can understand her pain and agony. She suffered a mental breakdown.
The first time she was due in court, her heart was filled with hate. She hid a paring knife in her purse. She thought to go to court, and when this young man was leaving, she would take revenge for her son. Luckily, her relatives discovered her plan. The feelings in her heart and spirit had reached extremes. This internal chaos and incurable pain were very hard for her.
During a New Life support group meeting, a volunteer who helped counsel young prisoners spoke with Mrs. Yu and told her that the family of the boy who killed her son did not have it easy. Their last name was Yang. The boy’s father had been an amputee for a number of years because of a car accident. The family was very poor. They depended on the mother selling flowers in the streets. The son started hanging out with gangsters. This was extremely hard for his mother. She had to take care of the family, and could not educate her son very well. Now her son had committed murder. This mother’s heart was broken, and the whole family suffered a lot.
Upon hearing this story, Mrs. Yu put herself in their shoes. Regardless of how badly the child behaves, a mother’s love and care for her child remains unchanged. It was very difficult for this woman, who also had to take care of a crippled husband. Thinking of this, Mrs. Yu slowly began feeling sympathy for them. She also began feeling love. She knew that only selfless love can relieve hate.Without love in one’s heart, one will always antagonize others. An unwillingness to forgive is a lack of love in one’s heart.
With love in our heart, sympathy emerges. When we feel for others, hatred and resentment naturally fall away. This is love. Gradually, after realizing that only love could bring peace, she changed violent feeling into peaceful ones. So her inner world began to settle down. It no longer fluctuated with mental instability. In addition, there was forgiveness in her heart. As her heart opened bigger and bigger, the hatred disappeared. In the past it seemed as if a knife was lodged in her heart. It was very painful to endure. But once her heart gave rise to great love, she could use an open heart to understand, and her hatred was naturally extinguished. One day she decided to visit the boy in jail. When she arrived and was facing this child, she found that she cared for him. He was still so young and had committed such a serious crime. She actually really cared.
When the young man, Mr. Yang, saw Mrs. Yu arrive, he knelt down on the ground and begged her to forgive him. When Mrs. Yu saw this child begging for forgiveness, she said to him, “Before I came, I was already prepared to forgive you.” So she embraced him, and felt as if she were embracing her own son. After she forgave him and returned home, she often wrote letters to this young man. She gave him encouragement and hoped that he could have a fresh start. She hoped that in the future, he could give something back to the community, use love to make up for what he had done, and turn a new leaf.
This story really gives us a wake-up call. Bodhisattva can abide in True Suchness so that their hearts remain unaffected by the outside world. Can ordinary people achieve this? Bodhisattvas are ordinary people. We just have to set this intention and make this vow. If we have that mindset, we can achieve it. So while we practice, we must use empathetic understanding and tolerance to terminate our old karmic obstacles. Without understanding and forgiveness our karmic obstacles snowball, and we entangle ourselves ever tighter. This is unspeakable suffering. Look at Mrs. Yu. After she opened up her heart, it was as if her son was still alive, and she looked forward to this boy’s future. That is a Bodhisattva-heart. It is using understanding and forgiveness to vanquish past aversions. We must use contentment and gratitude to create proper causes and conditions.
As Buddhist practitioners, this is what we must always keep in our mind, so that no matter what we encounter, we can make use of it all. Otherwise we will be like the gentle Mrs. Yu, who in the past did not make use of conditions, and suffered greatly. Due to karmic causes, she had these conditions and freed herself.
When the heart is strong and steadfast, one is not influenced by external conditions. Remaining firm and abiding in True Suchness one is at the Stage Stillness.
Thus the Stage of Stillness means that we tread on this path with a firm and steadfast mind. Whatever the environment, our minds remain unshaken. This is called the Stage of Stillness.
Everyone, to study Buddhism is to cultivate the mind, so we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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