Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Reach Supreme and Complete Awakening with The Five Vehicles and Six Teachings (五乘六法正遍等覺)
Date:July.28. 2015
“The Buddha teaches according to capabilities with the Five Vehicles and Six Teachings. He goes among the Five Destinies, suiting the capacities of all beings by giving the Three Vehicle teachings. On the vehicle of Great Bodhi, we travel the Bodhisattva-path with compassion, and by giving rise to Great Vehicle aspirations, we can reach supreme and complete awakening.”
Because sentient beings had varying capabilities, He had to teach accordingly. So, with the Five Vehicles and Six Teachings, He went among the Five Destinies to give suitable teachings to all beings.
Everyone knows that the Five Destinies are the heaven, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal destinies. We ordinary people transmigrate in the Five Destinies. But all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, so the Buddha did not just go to the human world. He traveled among the Five Destinies solely in the hope that sentient beings in every realm would have the karmic conditions to return to the human realm and come in contact with the Buddha-Dharma.
So, at first He taught the Three Vehicles, but our ultimate choice in the end is to take the Great Vehicle of Bodhi and go among the people with a heart of compassion, aspiring and vowing to walk the Bodhisattva-path. This was the Buddha’s greatest hope.
So, we should form the ultimate Great Vehicle aspirations and not just walk the Bodhisattva-path. The goal of the Bodhisattva-path is to reach supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment, which is to attain Buddhahood. The Buddha came to the Five Destinies with the power of His vows. This can be seen in many places in this world. If any place is suffering from disaster, Living Bodhisattva will immediately go there to save and transform people.
For example, recently, a group of doctors in Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA), about 10 or 20 people, traveled from Taiwan to Jordan. We all know that [the people of] Jordan have big hearts. Many refugees are fleeing to Jordan for protection. And, since ancient times, many Bedouins have also arrived and permanently settled there. They have been poor for generations. Many years ago, we saw that their medical equipment was in bad shape. So, we sent them several sets of dental equipment. Now five years later, they have malfunctioned. So, this gave us the opportunity to go to Jordan. One of their goals was to hold a free clinic. Another goal was to help repair their dental equipment.
I saw that the doctors from Taiwan, before holding the free clinic, had great respect in their hearts. They first went to the location and cleaned up and organized the place; everything was laid out neatly.
We also saw how they treated patients, especially those children with special needs. Indeed, working on their teeth and doing a checkup on them was not an easy matter. Often they did not move as they were told. But these dentists still had a way to convince them to obediently open their mouths and follow directions. They spoke to them softly and gently. A local dentist was shocked when he saw this. He said, “I’ve never seen this kind of mindfulness when dentists interact with patients.” This was the first time he had seen such a connection.
“I’m also a dentist. When I treat patients, I don’t feel very happy.” Maybe it’s because I do this to make money that I don’t feel happy. I see that these people are doing this for free and [simply] giving to others, so they do their work so joyfully. Today, I didn’t make money either. But after I observed many of you in action, by doing things the way you did them, I also worked very joyfully.”
He said that this was something he had never felt before [about his work].Though the Bodhisattva-volunteers in Jordan want to expand their work and recruit more volunteers in Jordan, it is not an easy matter.There are laws and regulations in Jordan that limit the scope of what we can do.
This time, in the poor areas where Bedouins live, TIMA volunteers held a free clinic with surgeons, internal medicine doctors and mostly dentists.After seeing our doctors give to others with [selfless] love, the TIMA volunteers in Jordan were deeply moved.
The Buddha came to the human realm in the same way these Bodhisattva[-volunteers] go to places that are facing great difficulties.
The principle is the same.
They decide to go to these places because of their vows, in order to help the suffering.Over the long road, over a long time, we have to overcome many difficulties to help.
I want to tell everyone that the Buddha did not come to this world because of His karma; He did not bring His karma.He is here because of His great aspirations and great vows to be the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind fatter of the four kinds of beings.With such a mindset, He constantly sailed the ship of compassion back to deliver sentient beings in the Three Realms.
Then according to sentient beings’ capabilities, the Buddha used the Five Vehicles.He gave us the Five Vehicles and Six Teachings.He entered the Five Destinies to suit the capacities of all beings.Thus, He taught the Three Vehicles in the hope that we will take the vehicle of great Bodhi and awaken our compassion to then walk the Bodhisattva-path.
This was the Buddha’s hope.
He hope that, on the Bodhisattva-path, our goal will be to attain supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment and to be equal to the Buddha by returning to our nature of True Suchness.
If we do not return to the nature of True Suchness we all have, we will never be equal to the Buddha and awaken to the true principles of all things of the universe.So, we must move forward diligently.
The previous sutra passage explained how the burning house of the Three Realms is in a state physical deterioration.This description of a house is an analogy for the human body.
Yesterday, we said that everyone should “contemplate the body as impure, contemplate all feelings as suffering, contemplate the minds as impermanent” and.Every one of us must understand our body and mind.In our body there are 36 elements, 36 kinds of impurities.
In addition to those, in our minds there are desires, delusions, ignorance, etc..This house, like our tangible body, is constantly deteriorating, and its contaminants are endlessly reproduced and accumulating.This is due to people’s foolishness.
So, the burning house, of the Three Realms is in fact an analogy for our body and mind.
Visibly, “The walls were creaked and collapsed, the plaster was peeling and the straw roof was scattered messily. The rafters and poles were crumbling; the surrounding fences were all bent and various filthy things were everywhere.”
This is a very filthy environment, but every one of us affected to this place.
The next passage states, There were 500 people living inside.
What do these “500 people” represent?We must comprehend this mindfully.
The Buddha came to the human realm in order to teach sentient beings.To teach them, He used the Three Vehicles to gradually entice them to form aspirations and engage in spiritual practice.Thus they enter the stage of forming aspirations.
“The aptitudes of the Three Vehicles practitioners are all encompassed within the Five Destinies. ’’Thus the Three Vehicles are taught in the Five Destinies.So, “They are encompassed in the Five Destinies and enable all the ‘enter, abide and exit’. “
“Enter. Abide and exit ” mean that we have aspired to practice the Bodhisattva-path.
If we want to practice the Bodhisattva-path,we must enter the stages of Bodhisattva-practice. In the past, I have discussed the Ten Grounds. Starting from the ground of joy, we must enter, abide and exit. To go through the states of Bodhisattva-practice, the Ten Grounds, we must [enter, abide and exit] each ground.
The stages of Bodhisattva-practice are Ten Grounds. Each ground is divided into three states: we aspire to “enter” each ground, then we joyously “abide” within the ground, and finally like a Dharma-cloud we “exit” the ground. After we exit one ground,we enter the following ground.
First, we must form aspirations and resolve to accept the Bodhisattva-path. We begin by dealing with the ignorance in our minds; this [initial] aspiration is to eliminate it. By forming this aspiration, we awaken joy. We feel “joy” when we enter and abide in this Bodhisattva ground. Then we proceed forward, one ground after another, continuing to enter them until we finally reach “excellent wisdom”. Then, our minds will be filled with kind thoughts and compassion, and we can eventually awaken our wisdom so that we are in the state of Dharma-clouds; we can move about freely without hindrances at that stage. These stages are the Bodhisattva grounds.
So, “After we exit one ground, we enter into the next, eventually reaching the final stage. Then we have truly ascended the Ten Grounds. We want to move about unhindered; “the ground of Dharma-cloud” is where we do so. To get closer to the Buddha’s mind, Bodhisattvas endlessly sail the ship of compassion to go among people and apply the states of excellent wisdom and Dharma-cloud to deliver sentient beings in this world. They do this by using the Three Vehicles. The ”Three Vehicles” are the three carts outside the burning house.
From how to listen to the Dharma and eliminate ignorance, to how to form aspirations to enter Bodhisattva grounds, they teach us, step by step, how to get closer to the methods of the supreme Great Vehicle.
Now we will talk about “the 500 people,” which is an analogy for the Five Vehicles. The 500 people is an analogy for the 5 Vehicles. These teachings allow each to reach their particular attainment. Thus they are called vehicles.
To get from this shore to the other shore, what kinds of tools do we want to use? This tools are considered “vehicles”. A vehicle is something that can transport us. A bamboo raft can only carry one person. A small boat may carry four to five people. However, a large boat may carry hundreds or thousands of people. We can choose which vehicle to take.
Our goal is to reach another place from this place, and “these teachings allow each to reach their particular attainment”. We decide what kind of boat we want to take The One Vehicle can also be divided into the Five Vehicle.
Do we want to use the One or the Five Vehicle? The Buddha adapts to sentient beings’ capabilities so the Five Vehicles have six kinds of teachings. Although we call them the Five Vehicles, we can divide them into six kinds of teachings.
The Five Vehicles have six kinds of teachings: The Human Vehicle, the Heavenly Being Vehicle, the Hearer Vehicle, the Solitary Realizer Vehicle, the Bodhisattva Vehicle and the Buddha Vehicle.
First is the Human Vehicle. As humans, we must practice upholding the Five Precepts. We must uphold the Five Precepts. With this method we can be born as humans.
Second is the Heavenly Being Vehicle. We must uphold the Ten Good Deeds. If we can practice and uphold the Ten Good Deeds, then we can follow the resulting blessings to be born in the heaven realm.
Third is the Hearer Vehicle. This is taking delight in the Buddha-Dharma and being willing to listen to it and accept it. Right now many people are willing to listen to the Dharma. For instance, at this moment, people are also listening to me at Tzu Chi offices in many countries. They can hear me right now; despite the time difference, they are with us right now. In the same way, they are listening with us to the Dharma [through live broadcast]. By making use of technology, we can transmit the video and audio of what is happening at the Abode to other places around the world.
I was just talking about Jordan. At this moment, in Jordan Tzu Chi volunteers are also listening. I just spoke of them, and I am sure they heard me. They still have work to do, so they have not yet returned. I know what they have been doing over there. I know what they did on the first day and on the second day. I know all this. Nowadays the technology is so advanced. With today’s technology, we can transmit sound so that everyone can receive and hear it.
With today’s technology, we can transmit sound so that everyone can receive and hear it. Yesterday, the managers and staff of Da Ai TV Station returned to the Abode for the Humanistic Culture Mission planning meeting. They told me that during their trip to Malaysia, they trained the documentation volunteers. The staff who went were happy because they saw how earnest and sincere the volunteers were. They said those volunteers followed my teachings and diligently practiced. As I heard them describe how the Malaysian volunteers woke up early in the morning for group study, their diligence truly put my mind at ease.
The voice of one person can be heard by so many people in so many places.
This is the Hearer Vehicle. “It is practice of the Four Noble Truths to reach the fruit of Arhatship” which helps us to better understand what the Buddha-Dharma first explained.
In life there is suffering, causation, cessation and the Path we must then “contemplate the body as impure, contemplate the mind as impermanent” and “contemplate all things as beings without a self.”
The Three Realms are an analogy for the burning house, and the burning house is an analogy for our body and mind. This helps us better understand what life is like During the Buddha’s lifetime, people wanted “to reach the fruit of Arhatship.” Arhats have eliminated their afflictions.
Fourth is the Solitary Realizer Vehicle 4. The Solitary Realizer Vehicle It is the practice of the Twelve Link of Cyclic Existence to reach the fruit of becoming a Pratyekabuddha.
For Solitary Realizers, the Buddha taught the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence to help them understand how they came to have this body. In fact, we face two kinds of retributions, circumstantial and direct retributions. We follow our karmic affinities to a place. This is our circumstantial retribution. Our direct retribution comes from the good and bad karma we brought from our past lives. The karmic conditions that brought us here, that brought us to these parents, came via a thought of ignorance. Once ignorance arises, it sets off twelve causes and conditions.
The practice of the Twelve Link of Cyclic Existence enables us to reach the fruit of becoming a Pratyekabuddha. We reach it by understanding how to eliminate ignorance, how to take good care of our minds and how to clearly understand the law of karma. This makes us Solitary Realizers.
We may understand the principles, but we are focused on awakening ourselves. So, this is the Solitary Realizer Vehicle.
Fifth is the Bodhisattva Vehicle 5. The Bodhisattva Vehicle It is the practice of the Six Paramitas.
Not only should we listen to the Buddha-Dharma, eliminate afflictions and understand the karmic causes and effects at work in our lives, we must then form great aspirations, which means to walk the Bodhisattva-path. [Walking] the Bodhisattva-path is actualizing the Six Paramitas.
In all actions, to go among people to help them until we reach the Buddha Vehicle. Thus our goal is to attain the state of Buddhahood.
[Six is] the Buddha Vehicle. The Buddha already attained enlightenment, so He wanted to teach everyone how to advance through the Bodhisattva-path to finally reach the Buddha Vehicle; that is the fruition.
That is when our nature of Suchness is one with the universe. This is the One True Great Vehicle Dharma.
These are the six kinds of teachings. The Five Vehicles and Six Teachings lead us to the state of Buddhahood. Everyone, as Buddhist practitioners, we must learn to comprehend the Buddha’s mind. Because of the Buddha’s original intent, He worked hard in the human realm to teach according to sentient beings capabilities. He gave the teachings, one by one, to awaken our Great Vehicle [aspirations] and our compassion of great Bodhi to walk the Bodhisattva-path, so that we can approach the state of supreme and complete awakening. Everyone can attain this state, but we must think carefully and always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
