Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: A Heart Filled With Jubilance for Others (解佛契理悲心入眾)
Date: March.02. 2015
“Becoming replete with blessings and wisdom, leads to infinite joy. The convergence of causes and conditions brings happiness and delight. This perfect enlightenment manifests as great freedom. Our hearts are filled with jubilance for others receiving predictions of Buddhahood.”
To attain Buddhahood, we must cultivate and perfect both blessings and wisdom. If we do so, we will gradually draw closer to our pure intrinsic Tathagata-nature. Because our minds and our intrinsic nature are equal to that of the Buddha, it is therefore often said, “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature].” We are all equal. But we unenlightened beings have given rise to one ignorant thought, that has caused this huge difference. Over many lifetimes and countless kalpas, our ignorance and habitual tendencies have continued to grow. We have no control over our rebirth. We have no idea where we will be born. How did our previous lives lead us here? Where will we go when we leave this life? We do not know, but if we have the karmic conditions to encounter the Buddha-Dharma, even if we live in the least ideal, the poorest and the most distressing places, we can still see the light of dawn every day.
Take Africa, for example. In that place, people there are truly living in poverty and are looked down upon by other people. Though they live that kind of life, there is a group of Bodhisattvas who have spread the Dharma in these countries. This group of Bodhisattvas from Taiwan ended up in that place. Though they went there for business reasons, causes and conditions came together. These causes and conditions allowed them to bring this love from Taiwan to South Africa. After almost 20 years of hard work, local Bodhisattvas have emerged. With more people, they have more strength, so this year, for their winter relief distributions, they not only went to Zimbabwe and Lesotho, but also Swaziland and Mozambique. [Volunteers from] these five countries distributed the rice from Taiwan to people in their countries.
In Mozambique, because of the [invitation from] Denise Tsai and her husband, starting last year, South Africa Bodhisattva[-volunteers] went there to sow the seeds of Tzu Chi. This couple has been working to cultivate them. The distribution in August of this year was really possible thanks to them. Denise’s husband, Dino, started a group of “Facebook volunteers”. This group of volunteers was a very great help and helped a lot with [transportation]. August 12th was the day the distribution was going to be held in Matendene.
We are very grateful to Michael Pan, Wende Lai, John Wu and many other Taiwanese Tzu Chi volunteers in Africa. This group of volunteers helped to lead the South African volunteers in Swaziland. After the relief distribution there was over, they immediately rushed to Mozambique for the second day of distributions, which was going to be in Matendene. When they arrived, that increased the number of volunteers. Then there were also the “Facebook volunteers,” so suddenly there were a lot of people [to help].
Denise started to worry about this; how could they [get] so many people there? She initially wanted to reduce the number of people, but luckily Michael Pan reminded her that “We can think of ways to arrange transportation so that people can come. We must not lose these seeds of love.”With that, they began to squeeze more people into the same number of cars.The people there are on the “wider” side, so this was very difficult.
The local volunteers close to Matendene said, “We can walk instead.”So, before sunrise, those who lived closer, about four or five kilometers away walked there and arrived quite early. The trucks carrying the rice also arrived, but they could not make the climb to the distribution location,because the roads were made of gravel and were especially narrow.So, the trucks carrying such heavy loads could not get close to the distribution site.
What could they do?Luckily, there were so many people, including the local residents.They stood in a line of over 80 meters, that even crossed over two walls.Then they [passed the rice] from person to person, all the way down the line.In the videos that they took, we can see a very, very, long line.This line of people was truly quote long.Bag after bag of rice seemed to fly down the line.They seemed to float through the air.This was truly a magnificent sight to behold.
It was fortunate so many Bodhisattvas appeared at the last minute; thus it was possible to unload so many truckloads of rice in a very short period of time and get them to the distribution site.
This was incredible.
See, having the will to do this [can move us forward like] our two feet.With blessings and wisdom as our feet, when we use both together, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far we need to travel, as long as we have love in our hearts, we will definitely reach our destination.Actually, those conducting the distribution did not want it to end.When the volunteers saw how happy people were, they also rejoiced and were willing to continue dedicating themselves.
This kind of love and wisdom, and the deep happiness that comes from giving, give rise to infinite joy.So, “Becoming replete with blessings and wisdom leads to infinite joy.”
As they saw the number of volunteers continuing to increase, the happiness they felt was indeed “the convergence of causes and conditions [that] brings happiness and delight.”Isn’t this kind of human nature equal to that of the Buddha?It is “the manifestation of perfect enlightenment.”
When all are replete with blessings and wisdom, the purity and joy in their mind is “great freedom”.They will feel very happy and free.So, “Our hearts are filled with jubilance for others receiving predictions of Buddhahood.”Isn’t this passage in the Lotus Sutra describing just such a state?
In the previous sutra passage, the Buddha had already bestowed the prediction of Buddhahood upon Sariputra.He gave Sariputra His blessings.“This will be your attainment in the future. Your reward-land in the future will be so prosperous. Those whom you will teach and transform will all be Bodhisattvas, so you should rejoice.”
So, “At that time, the fourfold assembly of bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas, upasikas, alone with heavenly beings, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kinnaras, mahoragas and so on…”
As we explained before, this is the fourfold assembly and eight classes.These humans, heavenly beings, Dharma-protectors and so on were all very joyful.
The next passage of the sutra states, “The assembly, seeing Sariputra, in the presence of the Buddha, receive the prediction of attaining. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, felt great joy and boundless jubilance. Each removed their outer garment and presented it as an offering to the Buddha.”
This passage is expressing that, while seeing someone receiving such a prediction, they were all very happy because they rejoiced in others’ accomplishments.This was because Sariputra had received the prediction of Buddhahood.Sariputra was the leader of the Hearers.Everyone was familiar with him.All of the Buddha’s disciples, were all familiar with Sariputra.This was because Sariputra was the leader of the Hearers in the Sangha and because he was foremost in wisdom.Thus everyone knew and respected him.
”Sariputra was the leader of all Hearers and known by all. At this time, in the presence of the Buddha, he received the Buddha’s prediction that in the future he would attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.”
At this assembly, “at this time, in the presence of the Buddha, he received the Buddha’s prediction that in the future he would attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi”. Now the Buddha predicted that Sariputra would realize supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. In the future, he could be awakened, but he still had a long way to go before he could attain supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. He has to go among people and continue to give. By engaging I spiritual cultivation in this way, he will accumulate many blessings and wisdom until he is replete with them. At that time, he will attain supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment.
So, going amog people is the fuel for our awakening. This is just like what I told you a few days ago, about how the lotus grows from the mud and how it beautifies the mud. Similarly, among the people, there are many Bodhisattvas who are brightening up the human realm. We are just talking about South Africa. If we just think about South Africa, we think about how difficult people’s lives are. But now we have heard about such dedicated local Bodhisattvas [-volunteers]. They are not afraid to travel far. They are of the same ethnicity and as poor as the rest of the population. Now, incredibly, there are so many of these people who are jubilant at the idea of doing good deeds. They feel a deep joy and are unafraid of hard work. They are willing to help carry [the rice]; those who have cars lend their cars and those who have strength lend their strength. See, they are the lotuses that bloom in the mud.
In Taiwan, for example, we do not take pride in anything except for our kindness and love. The power of love, the seeds of love and the spirit of love have continuously been spread from this place. We sow seeds of goodness throughout the world. This is because we have the will.
So, “supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment” is what we are all striving for. Why do we give? Because when we are among people, we see suffering and recognize our blessings, and thus we feel very content. Content means we have more than enough, and so we feel like we have the power to help others. Whether what we can give is physical strength or is in the form of material goods, we are willing to offer it to others. This is the beauty [we see in] the human realm. This beauty lies in the power generated by the energy of love.
As for the world we live in, how can we purify it? How can we bring hope to it? With a loving heart. As we continually bring the love in people’s hearts together, blessings and wisdom will crystallize. Then the world can be pure as crystal. To attain Buddhahood, we must realize the principles of all things in the universe, which is to attain supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. We must turn our minds from the minds of ordinary people into the minds of Bodhisattvas and practice the Bodhisattva-path.
Everything we see and hear in the world adds to our knowledge. When the Chinese character for “sun”, representing the light of dawn, is combined with character for “knowledge” it becomes the character for “wisdom”. When our wisdom converges with the universe, we will attain enlightenment. So, we must cultivate goodness, benefit others and form good karmic connections. Sariputra still has to go through a long period of practice before he can attain Buddhahood. In that assembly, he was the foremost in wisdom and known to all.
So, when everyone heard that Sariputra received the prediction of Buddhahood from the Buddha, they all rejoiced on his behalf; they “felt great joy and boundless jubilance”. In that assembly, everyone became joyful from what they had heard. Not only were they happy for Sariputra, they also felt more confidence in themselves. They were also the Buddha’s disciples, and felt, “Since Sariputra received predictions, I will also receive the Buddha’s predictions”. So, they became joyful. They were happy for Sariputra, but actually they were also happy for themselves and each other. “Not only will I also receive such a prediction, others will also receive theirs in turn”. Everyone will have a chance.
“When those who gathered at that assembly, the heavenly beings, humans and the rest, heard the Buddha bestow the prediction of Buddhahood upon Sariputra, they felt happy for themselves and for others. The happiness and delight that arises internally is joy. The delight that is manifested externally is jubilance.”
People felt that kind of happiness when Sariputra received the Buddha’s prediction. “In the future, it will be my turn, in the future, it will also be others’ turn.” They felt happy and delighted for each other. How should they express this great joy? These heavenly beings wanted to express their joy, their great excitement. When the door to happiness opened, they were truly very happy. So, they removed one of their garments as an offerings to the Buddha. This expressed their happiness and excitement.
“They felt such great excitement that they removed one of their garments as an offering to the Buddha. This was a demonstration of their reverence for the magnificent Buddha-body.”
Some nobles also removed one of their elegant garments. They did this to express their happiness. A college graduation, some students throw their caps into the air. Isn’t this also expression of their happiness? These heavenly beings, in the same way, removed one of their garments as an offering. Could the Buddha actually wear these garments? He could not. But this represents a happy atmosphere.
Removing this garment expressed how happy they really were. This let the Buddha know they were all happy. When students at their graduation ceremony threw their caps into the air, it means the same thing. This conveys the magnificence and joy of this occasion. These beings wanted the Buddha to know that they were rejoicing in other’s accomplishments. The garments whirled in the air. They all had beautiful garments that they removed and threw into the air; everyone threw their garments in the air.
One could see garments of all different colors whirling in the air. Similarly, at the distribution, when the trucks were not able to get through, people had to form a line to pass on the rice. From afar it looked as if the bags of rice were floating in air.
The celestial garments whirled in the air to mark that spiritual auspicious occasion. This shows that those listening to the Lotus Sutra had the pure heart to transcend the Four Forms of Birth. They could amass wondrous principles, go between the Three Realms and had compassion for living beings; they could not bear to let them be affected by external phenomena and conditions.
This kind of happiness is an auspicious appearance arising from the heart. It is an analogy for what happened to those who hears the Lotus Sutra. They “had the pure heart to transcend the Four of Birth.” After listening to these teachings, they were happy. The Four Forms of Birth, as we all know, are egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born and transformation-born.
Only humans can achieve [this transcendence]. Humans can help others. Humans can do good deeds, benefit others, form good karmic connections and feel this kind of happiness. Their hearts were already filled with joy. By giving unconditionally, they could bring wondrous principles together in their minds. When wondrously profound principles converge, they “could go between the Three Realms, the form realm, formless realm and desire realm. Thus they “had compassion for living beings and could not bear to let them be affected by external phenomena and conditions. Because they felt happy, they could not bear to let others remain in the Saha World and be influenced by its tangible and intangible changes.
I often say that every day we can hear and see that the macrocosm of the world is out of balance and the earth is being harmed. The Buddha comes here for one great cause, in the hope that true principles. When people take them to heart and then put them into practice, they create an auspicious celebration for the world, a very happy occasion.
The Buddha feels compassion for living beings, so He cannot bear to let them suffer from changes in “external phenomena and conditions. The formation, existence, decay and disappearance of material things are due to the workings of people’s minds. So, we must expound the Dharma to bring purity to people’s minds so that everyone is willing to give to others. Then everyone can help each other to reinforce this pure and undefiled state of mind. That will be the most beautiful world.
Achieving this is not impossible. When everyone’s minds are purified, then this world will naturally be a pure land. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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