Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Mirror of the Mind Illuminates Three Realms (心鏡光明徹三界)
Date: July. 01, 2013
Sentient beings in the eastern worlds have strong causes and connections with the Buddha. The conditions for spreading the Dharma to eastern lands are extraordinary. [Those with] sharp capabilities can realize the profound and wondrous Dharma.
I share this to remind us that the previous passage describes how the light of the Buddha illuminated 18,000 worlds in the east. This is a very large number of worlds. This means that the light was far-reaching. Vertically, it reached far below; horizontally, it stretched far and wide. The light between the Buddha’s eyebrows can illuminate so broadly, so widely, so deeply and so thoroughly. This signifies that the Buddha is the Great Enlightened One of the Universe, that His enlightened nature is great. But, this radiance was directed toward the east. We often note that the sun rises in the east, so the light first appears in the east. As sentient beings in the human realm, we are also the closet to the Buddha’s radiant wisdom. This is because everyone’s mind also has this facet of limitless light. I have often mentioned the mirror of the mind; we all have a clear and undefiled mirror in our minds. See, if we can clean this mirror of the mind, then naturally its light will converge with the light of the Buddha’s mind. At the Lotus Assembly, everyone had already polished the mirror of their minds; their ignorance and dark defilements had already been completely eliminated. Each mirror of the mind was already shining. When the Buddha’s light shone, it was like the light of the sun. No matter how many mirrors there are, as long as they all face the sun, each mirror will reflect the brightness. That light is also infinite and far-reaching. As long as a mirror faces the sun, it can illuminate things far away. I remember there was once a group of climbers who ran into difficulties in the mountains. A helicopter in the air kept searching in this mountainous zone, not knowing exactly where those to be rescued were. One climber had brought a mirror, so, he used that small mirror he had with him to reflect the light of the sun in the direction of the helicopter. The helicopter saw that flashing light. Following the light, it went to rescue the people. This was a story in the news.
Mirrors can also be stacked on top of one another, and after some processing and so on, can make a lens that can be used to magnify. A magnifying lens can clearly show tiny things beneath it. After some processing, the lenses that are cruder are used as magnifying glasses, and those that are finer are called microscopes.
One time I went to Taipei and visited a research lab equipped with many high-tech instruments. They were doing research on bacteria.They let me look through the microscope.After I looked, I said, “Bacteria can have such patterns that are spread out so beautifully.”“That’s right, in the cells of the human body, there are bacteria with all kinds of patterns.”I said, “It seems like they have their own worlds.”Indeed, each of our bodies are microcosms, with innumerable different microorganisms; each has its own world.Each cell lives in its world.So, we can say that if we can each polish the mirror in our minds till clean and unite our light with that of the Buddha, then we ourselves will see through many worlds.
Moreover, this is the light radiating from between the Buddha’s eyebrows.If our minds can truly be tranquil and clear, then with this purity and clarity, we can reflect the light of the Buddha like a small mirror reflecting the sun.
So, we in the east are the sentient beings of the hunman realm who have strong karmic connections with the Buddha.The Buddha attained enlightenment and engaged in spiritual practice for the human realm.He manifested and practiced, leading by example for us all to see.
Like us, He also had parents.After He was born, He also experienced a childhood.Just like us, He grew older.Just like us, He faced birth, aging, illness and death in this world.He experienced life’s challenges, its impermanence and its suffering.So, He made a vow to engage in spiritual practice.
This was His process in this world.He manifested this appearance to demonstrate how the process of spiritual practice takes form, so that we could witness it.This is called teaching by example.
If we understand that the Buddha was originally non-arising and non-ceasing, then how was He born?After He saw the state of the human realm, He vowed to practice and attain Buddhahood.
Then He expounded the Dharma for over 40 years.He entered Parinirvana when He was 80.
This period of His physical existence was all for the sake of teaching us.He used His appearance to show us sentient beings that He was similar to us.The way we live is similar to the way He lived.
So since we live much like He did, and the Buddha attained enlightenment, then we too can also attain Buddhahood.Our way of living is very similar, but our intrinsic nature is even more similar; it is just that we have departed from it.
One ignorant thought defiles us and multiplies, just like bacteria.A tiny bacterium multiplies endlessly, until it causes all kinds of diseases in the body.Our minds follow the same principle: that is, one ignorant thought multiplies endlessly.It multiplies until our minds are in darkness and lack clarity, creating many afflictions.This is like how bacteria create many toxins.Therefore, the Buddha came to the human realm to manifest and show us how similar we are to Him.He showed us the similarity of our ways of living and the similarity of our spirits.
At the time of the Lotus Dharma-assembly, this light calmed and quieted everyone’s minds.
As they sat, the Buddha’s and sentient beings’ minds converged.These karmic conditions were so strong.
Sentient beings in the eastern worlds had strong causes and connections with the Buddha.
The conditions for spreading the Dharma to eastern lands extraordinary.
[Those with] sharp capabilities can realize the deep and wondrous Dharma.
So, “sentient beings in the eastern worlds have deep causes and connections with the Buddha”. The Buddha came to this realm our of compassion. In this process, it was now time to spread the Dharma according to His original intent. He would now completely reveal the Dharma that He had guarded. This is the Dharma- expression which is the passion on of the Dharma. So, sentient beings with these karmic connections were very extraordinary. “[Those with] sharp capabilities can realize the profound and wondrous Dharma”. Even in the same spiritual training ground, those with sharp capabilities had realizations that brought them closer, so they experienced a deeper and more wondrous Dharma. So in that same spiritual training ground, there were people of different capabilities. The Buddha then showed His spiritual powers and radiated light from between His eyebrows. So next it says,
“In these worlds, one could see all sentient beings of the Six Destinies. One could also see all the present Buddhas in those lands and hear all the sutras and Dharma that those Buddhas were expounding. One could also see the bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, all who practiced and attained the Way. Moreover, one could see all Bodhisattva- Mahasttvas who, though various causes and conditions, various types of faith and understanding, and their various appearances, were practicing the Bodhisattva-path. One could also see the Parinirvana of all Buddhas and, after the Parinirvana of the Buddhas, the building of seven-jewel stupas to hold the Buddha's sariras.”
This passage is a bit longer to read but it is all connected. The light radiated by the Buddha encompassed the worlds that we could see, starting with the 18,000 of the east. It was very pervasive. As it spread, whether [showing] the form of Avici Hell or the form of Akanishtha Heaven, it spread thoroughly and extensively, vertically and horizontally.With this light, all in the assembly could see everything. As I mentioned earlier, when a mirror reflects the sun, even the farthest places will be illuminated.
So this means the clearer the mirror of our minds, the brighter it will shine. In times of antiquity, when it was dark indoors because there was no electricity, people exercised their wisdom [to find a solution]. They face a mirror toward the sun and used it to reflect light into dark places to make them bright. Since ancient times, we were already familiar with such an intricate principle. If we know how to use the materials of this world, they can be used easily, broadly, for a long time. This is our Buddha-nature; it is also the nature of all things in the world. Even with physical objects, I often speak of the “three sciences and four states of existence”. Everything has its limitless principles. So when the Buddha radiated light at this point, He let us see all sentient beings in those lands.
We could even see those in the Six Destinies. Sentient beings in the Six Destinies are born in the heaven,asura, hell, hungry ghost, animal and human realms. These sentient beings transmigrate through cyclic existence.
Beings transmigrate through cyclic existence. From this world one could see all the sentient beings in the Six Destinies.
The word “destiny” has the meaning of a direction, an inclination. These are the Six Destinies. We sentient beings of this world cannot leave these Six Destinies because we are unenlightened beings. The karma created by unenlightened beings is a lot of “flawed karma”. This is karma of afflictions. Flawed karma is divided into three types.
Destiny means direction.
Sentient beings of the Six Realm create flawed karma, which can be divided into three types.
Of these three,
the first is that of those who create negative karma. They are destined to go to the four evil destinies of asuras, hell hungry ghosts and animals.
Of the Six Destinies, three are positive, they are the heaven, the human and asura destinies.
These are considered positive. Asuras have heavenly blessing but not virtues. Though they easily lose their tempers and have many afflictions in their hearts, they do practice giving. But they are afflicted in their giving. These are asuras, whose existence is considered to be a mix of suffering and joy, and thus belong to the three positive destinies.
Now, hell, hungry ghosts and animals are called the three evil destines. These realms are filled with endless suffering.So, these are the Six Destinies. If we create flawed karma, then we stay in the Six Destinies.
The second type is those who create karma of the Five Precepts and Ten Good Deeds, who are destined for the human path and heavens of the desire realm.
The third type is those who create unmoving karma, such as those who practice flawed meditation. They are destined for all heavens in the form and formless realms.
They all still have flaws. Even if they reach the form and formless realms, their practice is still not perfect nor complete. They still remain in the Three Realms.The Buddha wants us to transcend these realms. Though the heaven realm provides much pleasure and long life, it is still not the state we seek when we strive to learn the Buddha’s Way.
Now, one could see all sentient beings in the six Destinies there, and one could see how the seeds they create destine them for certain fruits. From birth, one is destined to die, from death, one is destined to be reborn, this cycle of transmigration never ceases.
This is not what we aim for in spiritual practice, but we were born human and can hear the Dharma. We are able to see these worlds because of the Buddha-Dharma, if our minds can encounter the Buddha’s Dharma, then we can know all these principles. It is as if our mental states are clear; in this way, we can see everything. Besides this world of humans, there are the world of all the heavens and the evil destinies. We thoroughly understand all of them. If we thoroughly understand them, then we know in which direction to practice. Fellow Bodhisattvas, to learn the Buddha’s Way, we must learn how to thoroughly understand the different environments of the Three Realms and the Six Destinies. If we can understand the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost, and animal paths, and all the tangible things that we see in the human world, we will understand that on Earth everything forms, exists, decays, and disappears. We see our bodies go through birth, aging, illness, and death, and that our thoughts arise, abide, change, and cease. In other worlds, this formation, existence, decay and disappearance, of birth, aging, illness and death, or arising, abiding, changing and ceasing, etc., are great principles that apply even to the subtlest things.
Such are the three sciences and four state of existence. As long as a thing has form, then it contains a great principle. The tiniest bacterium cannot be seen by our eyes. But through a microscope, we can see that it also contains a great principle. So, I hope that everyone can deeply and thoroughly comprehend this subtle wisdom. if so, we can thoroughly understand the principles of the Six Destinies. I hope that everyone will always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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