Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Reverently Listen to the Dharma and Repent (虔誠聞法及時懺悔)
Date: November. 22. 2013
As we engage in spiritual practice, we must seize the moment and listen attentively. All things expound the Dharma at all times. So, we must “reverently listen to the Dharma. Understanding the Buddha’s teachings is like being nourished with Dharma-water to help our wisdom-life grow.”
I hope we all know to cherish our time. Our spiritual cultivation and wisdom-life begins with seizing each moment. So, to be diligent, we must listen to the sounds of all things in the world. As we were sitting quietly just a moment ago, were we listening to our surroundings? The sound of rain was rhythmic, drip, drop, drip, drop. This is the sound of falling rain. In stillness, we can realize the principles of the universe; it gives teachings at all times. Even when it is not raining and things are very quiet, we can hear the breathing of the land. This means our minds are truly tranquil and we are listening mindfully. So, we realize that all things in the universe are living and breathing. This world is alive. We need to fully comprehend this.
All things are constantly expounding the Dharma. Look at the fields we cultivate. A few days after we sow vegetable seeds, we gradually see green sprouts emerging from the ground. We attentively care for them, and the vegetables will grow without us knowing it. Aren’t they expounding the Dharma to us? If we are living mindfully, we will feel closely connected to all living things around us. External conditions [change] with the seasons. Things are lush in spring, growing in summer, starting to wither in autumn and hibernating during winter. The four seasons are expounding the Dharma to us. From this we can relate [the seasons] to birth, aging, illness and death. Once we are born, we are subject to time and continuously grow. In the past, we likely did not pay attention to or realize how we were growing. Without knowing it, we move from childhood to adolescence to middle age.
Over time, our physical body keeps undergoing these subtle changes. In the past, we did not notice them.Now that we engage in spiritual practice, we need to focus our minds and carefully pay attention to our physical existence.Our body is “aging” as time passes, and our lifespan also decreases over time.Our body is aging, and our life is growing shorter.What can we retain?Our wisdom-life.Wisdom-life grows with the passage of time.How can we grow wisdom-life?By making an effort to learn the Dharma and by seizing the moment right now.Every sentence [vanishes] by the second.There are [milli], femto- and micro-seconds.
A millisecond is a very short amount of time; femtoseconds fly by, and microseconds are incredibly small.These periods of time are so short and temporary; we really need to cherish them.We do this by listening mindfully.If we listen to every sentence mindfully, the Dharma that is concealed within the words can be absorbed into our minds.So, we must seize the moment and listen mindfully, even when we are not sitting in an Dharma lecture.
All things around us in our daily living are constantly giving us teachings.As we encounter all people and things in our daily living, we must feel grateful.They are teaching us all the time.So, all things expound the Dharma at all times.We must reverently listen to their Dharma to understand the meaning of the Buddha’s teachings.Listening to the Dharma does not only happen when you sit here and listen to me speak.We need to always listen reverently.Our external conditions are always expounding the Dharma, with and without sound.If we can treat everything reverently and sincerely accept these teachings, it will not be difficult for us to understand the Buddha’s teachings.
The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One of the universe, and the Dharma He expounded encompasses the true principles of all things in the universe.Because we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must realize that as time passes, our lives are growing shorter.So, we must grow our wisdom-life at every moment in this physical lifetime.
This is how living things [interact] with rain.The rain nourishes the land and helps all things grow.So by the same principle, when we are nourished by Dharma-water, our wisdom-life grows.Therefore, we must always be mindful.
Earlier we discussed how, in the sutras, Manjusri Bodhisattva was at Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly when He radiated light and manifested appearances.
As this light radiated from between His brows, people had doubts in their minds.
So, Maitreya Bodhisattva invited Manjusri Bodhisattva to explain how this Dharma-assembly [differed from those in the past].
The Buddha was in Samadhi for a very long time, radiated light and manifested auspicious signs. What was the reason for this? Manjusri responded to this questioning by analyzing and reviewing the era of Sun-Moon-Lamp-Radiant Buddha. There was not just one Buddha, but 20,000 of them, all sharing the name Sun-Moon-Lamp-Radiant Buddha. The last of Them had eight sons, princes who also became monastics. As I explained to everyone earlier, Manjusri Bodhisattva likely recounted the past to tell those at the assembly that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.
Life after life, we have the same Buddha-nature. Our intrinsic nature is pure and undefiled and is Buddha-nature even though we ordinary people have Eight Consciousnesses. I often tell you all that we have a pure and undefiled Buddha-nature, which is our ninth (Amala) consciousness. From this pure, undefiled Buddha-nature, one delusional thought stirred and gave rise to the Eight Consciousnesses. Because of greed, anger and ignorance, the Eight Consciousness connect with external conditions and continuously become defiled. As this is happening, if someone can guide us to realize that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, we can cultivate our Eight Consciousnesses.
Ordinary people connect to the Six sense objects in their external conditions and process them through the Six Consciousnesses. This defiles our thinking (seventh consciousness), which gives rise to greed, anger and ignorance, so we begin to grasp, etc. Then the body starts to take action and create a lot of karma, which is stored in the eighth consciousness. This is what ordinary people do. However, when our Buddha-nature manifests, we must aspire to spiritual cultivation like Sun-Moon-Radiant Buddha, who gave up the throne to become a monastic. This is called manifesting Buddha-nature. When our Buddha-nature manifests, we strive to cultivate all eight Consciousnesses at the same time. So, the eight princes are a metaphor for these.
So, (Manjusri told Maitreya) “After that Buddha had crossed into extinction, the indolent one was you. That Buddha had crossed into extinction. ”“Extinction” refers to eliminating delusions of views and thinking.
In our daily living, all the external phenomena we pursue are delusions. Since these illusory things cannot truly be obtained, we become afflicted. So, our thinking becomes very complex. These are the delusional thinking, perceiving and recalling of ordinary people. Buddhas have already eliminated them, so they no longer have delusional thinking, perceiving and recalling. Because of that , naturally they no longer have delusions. Therefore, “extinction” refers to the elimination of delusions of views and thinking. And “crossing” is a way of cutting something off. After crossing over “fragmentary samsara,” we must also cut off “transformational samsara”. Fragmentary samsara refers to each period of life we live as we transmigrate in the Six Realms.
Transformational samsara happens in our minds. If we make aspirations we must make a great one, as in a Bodhisattva’s aspiration to save sentient beings.
However, if our resolve is not strong, even if we have made Bodhisattva-aspirations, “making aspirations is easy, persevering is hard.” Why is it hard to persevere? Because there is still arising and ceasing in our minds, which is transformational [samsara]. We are still in transformational samsara.
Therefore, when a Buddha crosses into extinction, He had eliminated delusions of view and thinking. He no longer experiences fragmentary or transformational samsara. He had returned to the ninth consciousness, which is non-arising and non-ceasing Buddha-nature. He comes to transform sentient beings because He cannot bear their suffering. That is why He returns to this world on a ship of compassion.
It is not because of karmic retribution, not at all. Since He transcended karmic retributions, He has returned to His pure intrinsic nature, which is non-arising and non-ceasing. This forever eliminates great troubles. By “crossing into extinction, all our troubles, our fragmentary and transformational samsara, are completely eliminated. Our Eight Consciousnesses will no longer connect with external conditions, and our eighth consciousness will no longer store all that karma. So, crossing into extinctions is also called entering Nirvana.
Eliminate delusions of views and thinking ends fragmentary samsara. When great troubles are eliminated forever, that is Nirvana.
“After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the indolent one was you.” Manjusri Bodhisattva had returned to be part of Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly. Because Maitreya asked him a question, he told a story from countless eons past about Sun-Moon-Lamp-Radiant Buddha. Now back at Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly, he responded to Maitreya by saying, “the indolent one was you, Maitreya.” This was because he would not become a Buddha until later.When he said “you,” he was referring to Maitreya. We must also self-reflect. Perhaps we were all at that Dharma-assembly, and in Manjusri’s wisdom, when he said “you” referring to Maitreya, he was also speaking to everyone at that Dharma-assembly. Perhaps we were also indolent, craved recognition and wealth and “often visiting the heads of great clans.”
Therefore, when we listen to the Dharma, we need to listen attentively and carefully. When people are criticizing others, we must immediately self-reflect. “Did I make this mistake? Am I like the person who is indolent?” Then we must immediately repent. So, we must always be mindful and seize the moment to attentively listen. All things expound the Dharma at all times. “Reverently listen to the Dharma. Understanding the Buddha’s teachings is like being nourished with Dharma-water to help our wisdom-life grow.” Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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