Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Fourfold Fearlessness of Bodhisattvas Part 1 (菩薩四無畏一)
Every day we talk about the mind. Yes, everything the Buddha taught us is about how to train the mind. Previously, we talked about establishing the Fourfold Faith. We should establish the Fourfold Faith because faith is the source of the Way, mother of virtues. We must have Right Faith to be certain that we have made the right choice. After we have affirmed our faith, we should have faith in the Buddha’s teachings.
Buddha taught that everyone is like Him, with a pure and undefiled nature. We should believe deeply in this innate nature. Even though our contact with external objects gradually creates habits, our pure and undefiled Buddha-nature is still there. We should believe that everyone has the same innate nature as the Buddha.
Since we believe that, we should continue to practice so that we get closer to the state of Buddhahood. Although we are only ordinary beings if we move forward diligently, starting at the state of ordinary beings and following the Bodhisattva-path, we will get closer to the state of Buddhahood. We must believe in the infinite merits of the Buddha and in His teachings. If we cannot believe in Him, we cannot follow the Bodhisattva-path. Therefore, we must have faith in His teachings.
There are many ways to practice. To attain Buddhahood one should renounce lay life, completely purify one’s mind, and nurture the virtue within, like the Buddha did. To do that, we need to transcend our limited love so that we can attain Buddhahood. At the same time, we should not cling to attachments, and should work among people to benefit them all. This is our spiritual practice. We left our loved ones to become monastics. We did this in order to train our minds. We should know that if we do not transcend our limited love, if we do not truly cut it off, we will not be free of it. When we cut off the limited love completely, we can truly engage in the Bodhisattva practice of Great Love.
In the monastic community we must learn to live with others in harmony, transform our hearts, and connect with the hearts of others. We must learn to be accommodating and receptive toward those from different families and cultures. We must realize we have different habits. We must practice living with a heart of purity and contentment. If we can do that, then dedicating ourselves to helping others will not be difficult.
So, we should establish the Fourfold Faith. Doing so, we can eliminate the Fourfold Evils. Previously, we talked about how terrible the Four Evil Destinies are. We should believe in the existence of Hungry Ghosts, Asuras, Animals and Hell Beings. We cannot physically see them because they exist in another dimension. In the Human realm, some people are like Asuras, Hungry Ghosts, Animals and beings in Hell; living a life of suffering. Buddhas said that the world is full of suffering. This suffering exists side by side with joy. This gives us the opportunity to witness the suffering of others, and connect with them. Then we have an opportunity to unite our resources to save these suffering people. This Human Realm is the best place to practice, as long as we have faith.
Faith is the source of the Way, mother of virtues. Faith nurtures the root of all goodness. It is faith that allows us to develop the root of goodness. The meaning of Faith is deep and profound. We should have the Fourfold Faith, which is inseparable from the Three Treasures. We should believe in everyone’s Buddha-nature. If we can do this, we will be free of the ignorance and greed that create negative karma and lead to the Four Evil Destinies. If we can establish the Fourfold Faith, we can eliminate the Four Evil [Destinies]. With the Four Evil [Destinies] eliminated, we attain the Fourfold Fearlessness, which is an important teaching for those who vow to benefit others.
So everyone should take these four teachings and practice mindfully. In teaching and helping sentient beings transform, Bodhisattvas should practice the Fourfold Fearlessness.
How can we be fearless? By working among sentient beings to help them transform. If we do this, we can be at ease. Some people say, “You want to transform others, but are transformed by them.” This is because our faith is not firm enough. Thus we cannot be brave and resolute. If our faith is grounded, we can dedicate ourselves to the Buddha-Dharma and absorb many of the Buddha’s teachings.
There are all kinds of things in the world which we must know, which we must experience. We need deep faith in the Buddha-dharma. You should have faith in yourselves so that you will be fearless among people.
Fourfold Fearlessness of the Bodhisattvas in expounding the Dharma:
1. Completely upholding without forgetting.
2. Feeling the joy of knowing all Dharma and completely understanding sentient begins.
3. Answering questions skillfully.
4. Being above to eliminate doubts.
First, we need to uphold and remember the teachings. In order to help others, we must apply many skillful means. Think about this. The Buddha taught for 49 years. During the first 42 years, before the Lotus Sutra, He taught with skillful means. Why skillful means? Why not just tell sentient beings directly that we can all attain Buddhahood? Recognizing that not all the capabilities of sentient beings fit that teachings, He taught instead, with patience and love, according to different capacities. He taught in stages in order to establish faith in his listeners so they would be ready to receive His teachings on Ultimate Truth. He taught this way for 42 years before teaching the Dharma of Ultimate Truth, which is revealed in the Lotus Sutra.
The principles of the Lotus Sutra are to teach us to walk the Bodhisattva-path. It took 40 years for the Buddha, with His wisdom and power, to teach the Dharma to all sentient beings. It was not easy for Him, let alone for us ordinary people. Although we are still ordinary people, we should not be discouraged. Though we are still far away from the Buddha, the Great Enlightened One of the Universe, we can still vow to start from where we are, and practice Great Love to benefit others. The Buddha has done all the groundwork. He taught with skillful means for over 40 years, establishing the way to help us in our practice so that it will take us less time. Now that we have learned this, we should make a vow to practice the teachings. We should strive to carry them out and teach what we have learned. We should walk among the people to help transform sentient beings.
So, as mentioned before, we should uphold the teachings and practice all goodness. This is what “upholding” is about. We should strive to understand all Dharma and practice good things daily. This is upholding all Dharma. We should strive to know and understand the infinite Dharma in this world.
Strive to understand the truth of all things. Resolve to help transform sentient beings. Do good every day. This is upholding the teachings and practicing all good deeds.
Take Tzu Chi’s Four Major Missions, for example. The Dharma of Charity is learning about others cultures and people. Whether they are poor, rich, good or evil, we should strive to understand them. Before the U.S-Iraqi War began, we had tried to understand the situation.
We got the news that they might start the war in March, 2003. Before this, we had no idea. We wondered what would happen if war broke out, causing widespread suffering. What if there were refugees? How could we best help them? We started to prepare daily necessities, making hundreds of thousands of blankets. During that time, starting Jan. 1 we began to prepare foods that suited. Middle Eastern tastes and were also nutritious. We had to quickly do research to come up with flavors which would suit Middle Eastern tastes. We even invited people from the area to try the food we developed to make sure that when delivered to that area, the locals would find it acceptable and nutritious.
Do you all remember this? In our charitable works, we should closely pay attention to the events in the world. When things are happening, when one country invades another, many innocent people will suffer. How should we help them?
We remember the great earthquake in Iran in 2003. When we first arrived to help, we offered emergency relief including medical supplies, food and care. We did this within a short time. Within 37 hours, all the preparations were done. When the physicians and the relief materials were ready, we embarked on the trip to Iran. The trip from Taiwan to Iran was about 30 hours. Our relied efforts were carried out swiftly. This is because we are always prepared. So, no matter what happens around the world, we can mobilize right away. We need to anticipate international relief efforts beforehand, regularly. We need to understand the conditions of the world.
Upholding all Dharma involves learning about the world, including learning about different cultures. We also practice good deeds to benefit others. When benefitting all sentient beings we should give to others and uphold all Dharma without forgetting. We must strive to understand world events and remain unwavering in our acts of kindness. With tense relationship among countries, our work to benefit others cannot cease. We say, “Practice all Dharma, do not forget good deeds.” If we can do this, we are “expounding the Dharma with fearlessness.” In the same way, if we can know everything in this world and remain firm in doing good, we will naturally understand the Buddha’s teachings and all the Dharma in the world. It is not just about doing charity.
This also applies to the field of medicine. When physicians treat patients, they must have strong self-confidence. To gain self-confidence, one must learn. As medical students, they needed to study their field carefully. But knowledge is not enough. After graduation, they intern with physicians to learn the clinical aspect of things. Next, they become resident doctors. Then they study with another group of physician-mentors to earn how to interview patients and make diagnoses. After five years, the residents will choose specialties, depending on their interest and confidence level. Thus, they learn their specially and become attending physicians so that when treating patients. They can find the cause of illness and apply the appropriate treatment. This is also upholding the Dharma. This is the Medical Mission. The same principle applies to the Missions of education and humanistic culture. No matter what you set your mind to, strive to understand as much as possible.
All in all, to do charity work, we must be fearless and confident so that we will not waver, and our mission will remain firm and steady. This is the same principle. From one small thing we can know many things. From faith we can eliminate evil, and establish the Fourfold Fearlessness. Everyone, think about this today. What is upholding all Dharma? How can we practice all good deeds? How can we remain confident and fearless? How can we work among people and teach without any fear? So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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