Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Practice with Deep Faith to Seek Buddha-wisdom (勤修深信求佛慧)
Date:July.07. 2015
“Listen to the Dharma and faithfully accept it, so that you may carefully contemplate wisdom. Uphold diligence to earnestly engage in spiritual practice. Realize the Buddha’s intention and seek the Great Vehicle. The nature of True Suchness intrinsically has natural wisdom.”
I want to share that, in our spiritual practice, we must have faith in the Dharma that we hear; moreover, it must be deep faith. With faith, we then need to reverently accept it. After we accept it, we must very carefully contemplate it.
Wisdom is something everyone inherently has. Why, if we all have inherent wisdom, are we still thoroughly unenlightened beings? Although we listen to the Dharma, we forget it after we hear it. Have we really taken the Dharma deeply to heart? This depends on whether we spiritual practitioners listen to the Dharma with deep faith or not. After we have listened to the Dharma, have we faithfully accepted it? If we have faithfully accepted it, have we also practiced according to its teachings?
Aside from faithfully accepting and practicing it, have we earnestly and meticulously contemplated it? Have we exercised our inherent wisdom? This depends on whether we are genuinely and sincerely upholding our diligent practice. Are we? We must ask ourselves this question. Only we know whether we are earnestly upholding our practice diligently. Our spiritual cultivation is our own task; no one else can help us accomplish it. Only when we engage in careful contemplation will wisdom emerge. This depends on our upholding diligent practice. We must be mindful in accepting the Dharma and in diligently practicing it. We must earnestly engage in spiritual practice.
If we “earnestly engage in spiritual practice,” then we should be able to personally realize the Buddha’s intention. The Buddha came to the world to teach us because His intention was for everyone to have the same state of mind as His.
The Buddha was able to realize the true principles of all things in the universe. When His mind converged with the universe, He was in a tranquil and clear state. He hoped that we could all be in the same state, this was His intention.
If our thinking is limited to, “I will just listen to the Dharma. By listening, I will understand everything,” then isn’t our understanding limited to the words? Do we understand the source of these teachings? To truly understand, we must take in the teachings and then truly realize the Buddha’s mindfulness. If we realize the Buddha’s mindfulness, we will naturally seek the Great Vehicle Dharma.
In our spiritual practice, we carefully contemplate, then we can earnestly and diligently practice. In addition to realizing the teachings ourselves, we must also go among people to share our experiences with others. Sentient beings experience much suffering. We must find a way to unite everyone’s mind with the Buddha’s mind in order to extensively transform sentient beings. Then we are following the Great Vehicle Dharma. Doing this brings us closer to our nature of True Suchness. The nature of True Suchness is inherently within us. We all naturally have this nature, this wisdom.
So, when we say we “seek natural wisdom,” we are speaking of the wisdom we inherently have.
If sentient beings hear the Dharma from the World-Honored One and faithfully accept it, are diligent, seek natural wisdom, take joy in solitude and tranquility and deeply understand the interdependent arising of all phenomena,they are following the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle.
They are like those children who left the burning house to seek the deer cart.
We have said that Pratyekabuddhas practice the Middle Vehicle.They are beyond the state of Hearers.
They can sallow realize the principles of all things in the world.By encountering the natural world, they are able to understand [its principles].This is due to their natural wisdom.
They also have a deep understanding of the interdependent arising of all phenomena.There are Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising.In terms of our environment, the macrocosm of the world, the four elements converging are the causes and conditions [of its arising].In terms of human life, there are twelve kinds of causes and conditions.
Ignorance“ is the first.“An ignorant thought creates the three Subtleties. External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks.”This is something I often explain to everyone.
Actually, we all intrinsically have this pure and undefiled natural quality of True Suchness.“Natural wisdom” is something we inherently have, but we are surrounded by external conditions of form, sound, smell, taste, touch and so on, and because of these external conditions we give rise to an ignorant thought in our minds.
Once ignorance begins to stir, one condition leads to the next.So, ignorance gives rise to volitional formation.Volitional formation refers to some sort of action.Because an ignorant thought stirred in our minds, we act on our external conditions to connect with things and pursues them.
In this process, our “ignorance” leads to “volitional formation,” and “volitional formation” to “consciousness”.Our “consciousness” is set in motion, our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind; the mind-consciousness begins to stir.
“Consciousness” leads to “name and form”.We see forms in our external conditions and [desire them].
Craving arises between men and women.With this craving, when the father’s sperm and mothers’ egg unite, the mother becomes pregnant.
As time passes, the fetus in the womb gradually develops the Six Roots (sense organs).So, “name and form” leads to “the six entrances,” the formation of the Six Roots.After almost ten months, the baby is born and then experiences ”contact”.
Contact leads to “feeling”.We develop feelings starting from our time in this world as children.When we come in contact with external conditions, we decide “I want this,. I like this person, I do not like that person, I crave this; I crave that.”Thus we develop “craving”.
“Craving” leads to “grasping”.We love this, therefore we must have it.“Grasping” then leads to “becoming”.
Our “grasping” causes conflict with other people.
See how everyone grasps at what they crake.Acting in this way gives rise to so much ignorance and so many interpersonal conflicts.Things become more complicated as [causes and conditions] continue to come together.
To fulfill our cravings, we grasp things.As we grasp things to fulfill our cravings, over the course of our lives, we continuously recreate our ignorance.
Whether we pursue recognition, advantage, status, wealth, sensual pleasure, etc., we keep grasping at things.Our greed has no bounds.
So, as we struggle to seize things, even though we have all that we want in life, blessings, good fortune, longevity, wealth, children and so on, do we feel like we have enough?
Or is this still not enough?It is not enough.Our minds are still filled with afflictions.When can we finally eliminate our afflictions?On our last day, as we take our last breath, our minds are still “becoming” filled with thoughts of things we still want.This regret and discontent is still present.With this lack of fulfillment and these regrets, we fall ill and die.The last link is death.
These are the Twelve Links of Interdependent Arising.
This cycle starts with ignorance.“Ignorance” leads to “volitional formation,” “volitional formation” leads to “consciousness,” “consciousness” leads to “name and form,” “name and form,” lead the “six entrances,” the “six entrances” leads to “contact,” “contact” leads to “feeling,” “feeling” leads to “craving”, “craving” leads to “grasping”, “grasping” leads to “becoming”, “becoming” leads to “birth”, “birth” leads to “old age and death”. These are the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. This is the process of human life.
In the previous sutra text, we discussed Pratyekabuddhas. In addition to hearing the Dharma, they continuously and carefully contemplate how it relates to the world and to the working of their lives. Therefore, they have a deep understanding of the interdependent arising of phenomena. This makes them Pratyekabuddhas. They understand causes and conditions and treat people, matters and things very cautiously. Although they seek only to benefit themselves, they are very careful in their daily behavior.
The next sutra text states, “[Some] sentient beings hear the Dharma from the World-Honored One and faithfully accept it, earnestly practice with diligence and seek Hearer-wisdom, Buddha-wisdom, natural-wisdom, untaught wisdom and the Tathagata’s understanding and views, His powers and His fearlessness”.
From this, we understand that sentient beings who engage in spiritual practice are divided into three groups. One group is the Hearers, one group is the Pratyekabuddhas and one group is the Bodhisattvas. This is what we sentient beings choose for the course of our spiritual practice.
“[Some] sentient beings, some people who engage in spiritual practice, hear the Dharma from the World-Honored One and faithfully accept it”. If we “earnestly practice with diligence”, this shows that we are seeking Buddha-wisdom”.
To seek Buddha-wisdom, we cannot just listen to it or rely on having been permeated in the past, over successive lifetimes, by this pure wisdom. If we can maintain this pure wisdom when we come back to this world, even if we are not born in an era with a Buddha, we can still connect with various conditions to realize that all phenomena arise from the convergence of causes and conditions and that everything is ultimately empty in nature. These are the principles of nature.
In this world, everything naturally goes through formation, existence, decay and disappearance. In the end, everything “decays” and the “disappears”. This is what Pratyekabuddhas realize. Human follow the Twelve Links. In the end, we still experience “death”. But in this “death”, there is “becoming”. This “becoming” is the result of the good and bad karma we created in the past. This good and bad karma leads to “becoming”. This “coming into existence” is wondrous, so it is called “wondrous existence”.
But, this is the extent of what Pratyekabuddhas know. They understand up to “aging, illness and death”. So, what is the use of “wondrous existence”? it brings us closer to the Buddha’s wisdom. Is Buddha-wisdom the wisdom of Sakyamuni Buddha? Is it or is it not? Is it or is it not? It is not. Most people think it is. Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment. Have your attained enlightenment? No, you have not.
After Sakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment, what was His first thought? That everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature, and this nature of True Suchness is “wondrous existence”. After listening to the Dharma the Buddha taught, we need to very carefully contemplate it. We must take in the Dharma and then apply it in our daily living to realize how all things and principles come about. In order to understand everything, we need to take the Buddha as our role model. We hope to return to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. To return to this pure Buddha-nature, we must go through a period of training.
In the past I have said that, as part of our spiritual practice, we must come to the human realm in order to attain Buddhahood. We train ourselves by engaging in spiritual practice. Where do we under go this training? It is like the process of turning scrap metal into something refined and useful again. This metal must be heated in the furnace and reshaped with hot flames. In the past, scrap metal was often worked on at the blacksmith’s shop. First it was tossed into the furnace, then it was removed. After it had been heated and softened, it was taken out from the heat and hammered by the blacksmith.
After some hammering, it went back into the fire. Then it was taken out again and hammered again. It was hammered over and over until all of the impurities had been removed. For a clump of metal to take a new form, it must be heated again and again. After it has become malleable, it is taken from the heat and hammered. This is called forging metal.
To forge metal is to refine it. Only after heating the metal in the furnace can it be formed into a vessel. This is what we unenlightened beings are like. We have not yet made something of ourselves. We must engage in spiritual practice and [be strengthened] by the furnace.This furnace is the human realm.
So, why do Bodhisattvas go among people? Going among people is like entering a furnace; things can be very chaotic.People torment each other. Interacting with people can cause us to give rise to various afflictions. Why do people experience so much suffering? Suffering arises from interpersonal relationships. If we do not get along with each other, we fight and cause trouble for each other. So, we all share collectively in the karma that has been create in this world. We must find a way as we go among people to with stand the furnace, being among the contaminants and the filth, while still staying very clean. We must be tempered in that furnace. This evil world of Five Turbidities is like a muddy pool.
Afflictions and ignorance are like the furnace. We must withstand sentient beings’ ignorance and be trained by going into the flames. In this evil world of Five Turbidities, we must work to maintain the purity of our intrinsic nature of True Suchness; this is called engaging in spiritual practice.
When we seek Buddha-wisdom, we are seeking the wisdom to awaken ourselves, not “relying on the Buddha’s wisdom.”
The Buddha has already expounded the Dharma and transmitted to us the wisdom of the natural world. How do we accept it? If we thoroughly understand it, then we can awaken our natural wisdom then we can awaken our natural wisdom. However, the Buddha is very far removed from us. In an era without a Buddha, what can we do? We follow the Dharma He left for us, which has been passed on by unenlightened beings. I am also an unenlightened beings who relies on the Dharma the Buddha left us by mindfully contemplating it. We look at people, matters and objects. We can figure out what a person’s temperament is and what kind of ignorant thoughts caused him to lose him temper. If people have this kind of habitual tendencies, should we give up on them? No because sentient being all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.
The Buddha views all beings as His only child. The Buddha said, “All moving sentient beings have Buddha-nature.”Therefore, I feel love toward everyone. Not only do I love people, I cherish the life of material things. There is no one I do not trust, no one I cannot forgive and no one I do not love. These are the vows we have made.
In daily living, no matter what situation we encounter, we must immediately reflect on ourselves. We ask ourselves, “Have we indeed made this vow?” If so, we must quickly apply it. Then this will become natural Very naturally, in this world, we will learn to apply this wisdom to everything we come across.
We must take the Dharma to heart so that we can constantly alert ourselves to earnestly engage in spiritual practice. Thus we speak of “essence, appearance, function.”
We all intrinsically have a Buddha-nature. When we hear the Dharma, how can we apply its function to eliminate ignorance so that we can return to our pure wisdom? This is very important. Everyone must clearly understand the need to “seek Buddha-wisdom.” The Buddha [spoken of here] is the Buddha within us. As we listen to the Dharma the Buddha taught, which still remains in the world today, we must apply it in our daily living and wholeheartedly seek to manifest our nature of True Suchness.This is why we “seek Buddha-wisdom.” I hope we can always contemplate carefully and always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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