Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Loving-kindness, Compassion, the Ten Powers and [Fourfold] Fearlessness Arise (慈悲十力無畏起)
Date: October. 17, 2013
The Three Insights, Six Spiritual Powers and [37] Practices to Enlightenment are developed. Loving-kindness, Compassion, the Ten Powers, and [Fourfold] Fearlessness arise. Good karmic conditions for sentient beings appear.
Every day, I speak with everyone about the “mind”. Are our minds always radiant and clear? If our minds are pure, everything around us will be clear. “The Three Insights, Six Spiritual Powers and [37] Practices to Enlightenment are developed.” You probably still remember them. I hope we can remember that the foundation for spiritual practice beings with the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. If we develop the Three Insights and the Six Spiritual Powers, we may understand them more easily. Next, we will talk about how ”loving-kindness, compassion, the Ten Powers and [Fourfold] Fearlessness arise”. Everyone knows about loving-kindness and compassion. Don’t we often talk about loving-kindness and compassion? Isn’t it very simple? Loving-kindness and compassion are very simple, but can we clearly understand, correctly exercise them without deviation? loving-kindness and compassion without deviation? This is very important for us.
Some people [talk about love a lot]. What is such love? Determining whether our love is one of wisdom and knowledge or of foolishness and delusion requires us to be very mindful. With even a small deviation or a slight mistake, we can cause trouble in each other’s lives. So, the Buddha taught us that the way to exercise loving-kindness and compassion is to “bring joy,” to bring happiness to sentient beings.
What kind of joy is this? Some parents spoil their children, so they do not learn any discipline. They just keep asking for things. When they make mistakes, their parents keep sheltering them. The parents say, “As long as you are happy, that’ s fine.” Haven’t we also heard young people with wealthy parents who have successful businesses say, “I can just rely on my parents. I have more than I need for this lifetime, so I don’t have to worry about my spending.” They refuse to work. Does this bring [these children] happiness? If the children do not grow in wisdom but remain deluded because they have always been provided for, are the parents truly showing loving-kindness? True loving-kindness must be applied with wisdom. So, we must exercise both compassion and wisdom. This remains all of us that when we are kind and compassionate, we must know clearly [what we are doing]. A slight deviation makes a big difference. Here, loving-kindness means “bringing joy”. We bring people happiness and good fortune. To be happy and blessed requires a sense of safety. The Sutra of Infinite Meanings states, “Having relieved [living beings] from suffering, Bodhisattvas [then] teach the Dharma for them.”So, to save sentient beings from suffering, the most important thing to do is teach them.
Therefore, to help them attain happiness and stability, we must give them teachings. “To relieve their suffering is called compassion.” Sentient beings have many kings of suffering. Even if someone’s family is clearly wealthy, they may still say that they suffer.People still feel discontent even if they have eight or nine things out of ten. How do we satisfy a person who suffers from this kind of discontent? Only through education and wisdom. Of course, the most common suffering we see and talk about are generally the result of natural and man-made disasters, poverty and illness. We should immediately reach out and relieve them from this kind of suffering.This applies to the suffering we commonly see.
Do you all know about the Four Infinite Minds? Infinite loving-kindness, infinite compassion, infinite joy and infinite equanimity. Loving-kindness and compassion are two of the Four Infinite Minds. Since we have the infinite minds of loving-kindness and compassion, this will definitely spread so that we have infinite joy and infinite equanimity. Joy and equanimity can purify people’s minds, which beings happiness. Because sentient beings minds are tainted by all kinds of defilements, they create much karma. Sentient beings’ collective karma leads to many sufferings in life. As I have often mentioned recently, the imbalance of the four elements is a result of collective karma.Sentient beings’ collective karma is very worrisome. Because of the imbalance of the four elements, no matter where we live, how great our personal circumstance are, if these much [collective] karma in that area that karma will converge and cause a greater imbalance of the four elements. If people’s hearts are not harmonious, there may be large-scale man-made calamities. This comes from the afflictions and ignorance of sentient beings. So, even people who live in safety may worry.
Because sentient beings share collective karma, we all feel afflicted. These afflictions steam from long-standing conflicts and confrontations. People’s minds are not harmonious, and there is no mutual respect, so more and more afflictions are created. This is how sentient beings have created this imbalance in the climate through collective karma.
If we can be joyful, then the Dharma has entered our minds and we no longer have afflictions. If we each do our duties and respect each other, we will have open minds toward each other. Then we will not create these afflictions that shape our lives and societies and affect the four elements. These things are catually interconnected; one event leads to the next. This is the workings of karmic cause and effect.
We must know that the Four Infinite Minds are loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. With loving-kindness, we hope that everyone can be safe and free, that there are favorable conditions everywhere, and that people can love and respect each other. If we each so our duties and respect each other. This is the loving-kindness that should be taught. So, if we can [cultivate] the Four Infinite Minds, loving-kindness brings joy.
So, if we can [cultivate] the Four Infinite Minds, loving-kindness brings joy. Its pervasiveness brings a sense of calm, so people's minds are free of afflictions, and they will have mutual respect. Teaching others is about simultaneously bringing loving- kindness and joy to them. So on the one hand, we should love them; and on the other, teach them. This is the Buddha's infinite loving-kindness. Compassion and equanimity must also be combined. With compassion, when a person suffers, we protect and care for him. Afterward, other than emergency aid and long-term care, we also need to teach him, so he can let go of all his afflictions. This comes from infinite compassion. So great loving-kindness encompasses joy, while great compassion encompasses equanimity. Thus, great loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity are the Four Infinite Minds.
Loving-kindness and compassion: Bringing joy to others is called loving-kindness. Saving them from suffering is called compassion. There are two of the Four Infinite Minds.
A passage in the Lotus Sutra, from the Chapter on the Dharma Masters, states,
“The abode of the Tathagata is a state of mind that shows great loving-kindness and compassion toward all living beings. The clothing of the Tathagata is a mind that is gentle and patient.” These are teachings for us . Then there is this passage, “Great loving-kindness, compassion is the abode. Gentleness and patience is the clothing. The emptiness of all phenomena is the seat. This is the place for expounding the Dharma. ”
These texts in the Lotus Sutra also teach us that the Tathagata 's abode exists in our minds. It is the mind's abode. We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, and this great loving-kindness and compassion.“Human nature is inherently good”. Our good nature is our abode, our state of mind. Everyone intrinsically has this, which is called the Tathagata 's abode. This is everyone's intrinsic nature. After becoming enlightened, the Tathagata demonstrated this loving-kindness and compassion in the world to teach sentient beings and to relieve their sufferings.
Sentient beings are stubborn and difficult to tame, so He had to put on the Tathagata 's clothing. That meant He had to be gentle and patient. What is the Tathagata 's clothing? Why do we become monastics? Why are we called spiritual practitioners? Spiritual practitioner must wear the Tathagata 's clothing. So through our behavior, we must express the actions, manner, etiquette and attitude of our role as spiritual practitioners. This is wearing the Tathagata 's clothing.
”The clothing of the Tathagata is a mind that is gentle and patient”. So, spiritual practitioners must be gentle. Because sentient beings are stubborn, we must be patient and gentle when approaching sentient beings. The Tzu Chi School of Buddhism is about interacting with people, so it is called “the road of working with people in this world”. To go into this world and interact with people, we must be gentle and patient when approaching sentient beings.
The Ten Powers refer to the ten kinds of powers that the Tathagata inherently exercises.
1.Knowing the right or wrong of every condition.
2.Knowing karmic retribution in the 3 Periods.
3.Knowledge of meditation, liberation and Samadhi.
4.Knowledge of relative capabilities.
5.Knowledge of many types of understanding.
6.Knowledge of different states.
7.Knowledge of all paths.
8.Knowledge from unobstructed Heavenly Eyes.
9.Flawless Knowledge of past lives.
10.Knowing how to eliminate habitual tendencies.
Next, we will talk about the Ten Powers “Loving-kindness, compassion, the Ten Powers, and the [Fourfold] Fearlessness arise.” The Ten Powers are the ten kinds of powers the Tathagata inherenty exercises and used to transform sentient beings.
What are these ten powers? First, “knowing the right or wrong of every condition.” Second, “knowing karmic retribution in the Three Periods.” I have often said that we must know about causes, conditions, effects and retributions, as well as about the past, present and future. If we have a clear understanding, we will have in complaints.Third, “knowing of meditation, liberation and Samadhi.” Meditation is a state of Samadhi. Carrying firewood or water can be a meditation. Anything we focus on doing can be a meditation. If we concentrate and clearly identify our direction, naturally we can attain liberation and our minds will be in Samadhi. We will do what we must do and walk on the right path. This is the “knowledge of meditation, liberation and Samadhi,” which is also Right Knowledge, View and Concentration. When we are very focused, that is a power of knowing.
Fourth, “knowledge of relative of relative capabilities.” Fifth, “knowledge of many types of understanding.” Then sixth is “knowledge of different states.” We need to clearly understand all realms and states. There are different levels within this world. The desire realms, form realm and formless realm are all encompassed [in it].In fact, when we are among other people, we each have our own circumstances and states. We must make an effort to comprehend this.
Seventh is “knowledge of all paths.” When we walk or act, what are we really doing? Should we take this path? We really need to let the Dharma enter our hearts. We must keep evil things away and prevent them from coming near. We need to clearly differentiate between these different things.Eighth is “knowledge from unobstructed Heavenly Eyes.” As I have said, this refers to insight into future Conditions. Then [ninth], “Flawless Knowledge of past lives.”
[Tenth] “knowledge how to eliminate habitual tendencies. These are the Three Insights I mentioned before. With the Three Insights, we naturally attain the Six Spiritual Powers.
[37] Practices to enlightenment are developed. Here, “loving-kindness, compassion, the Ten Powers and “[Fourfold] Fearlessness arise. The previous verse also mentions this.
So when we practice the Buddha’s way, we must do everything in our power to benefit people. Even if [we can only give a little], we must still help others. I have often said, “grains of rice can fill up a bushel; drops of water can form a river. We should give whatever we can to help others. This is the right thing to do. In life, if we cannot make clear discernments, if we lack the power of knowing, even when we see a good deed that we can do with minimal effort, we will still refuse to help. And if many desirable gains are presented to us, we feel we can seize [that opportunity]. But we should also avoid doing something that is improper. Sometimes if we are not able to protect [our mind], this leads to collective karma. We must use our power of knowing to discern everything.
Everyone, in our daily living, we must apply the Buddha’s wisdom as we must apply the Buddha’s wisdom as we interact with prople. He can clearly and precisely discern the course of His action. This comes from the power of knowing. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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