Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Enter the Buddha’s Wisdom to Purity Buddha-lands (入佛智海淨佛國土)
Date: January.06. 2016
“With faith understanding of wondrous Dharma, we stand at the ground of joy. By recognizing the true principles, we stand at the ground of freedom from defilement. By entering the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom, we reach the ground of radiating light. With utmost purity and clarity, we are at the ground of blazing wisdom.”
We constantly talk about “faith and understanding.” We need to have deep faith and understanding and must be mindful to truly realize the wondrousness of the principles. If we can comprehend the truly wondrous applications of the principles, the joy we feel will be indescribable.
As we said yesterday, “Subhuti and the others,” the four elders, told the Buddha frankly that He had already taught the Dharma for so long, and they “were always present.” They were tired from listening; they were exhausted. They had also seen the Buddha bestow predictions of Buddhahood on the Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas, so they felt, “[The Great Vehicle] is limited to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and it has nothing to do with me. I have no part in attaining Buddhahood. That is because my goal is to eliminate afflictions and no longer transmigrate in the Six Realms. I am content with that.”
Thus they stopped at the state of the Two Vehicles. They did not seek to keep advancing, so they were unable to realize the Great Vehicle. The joy of truly going among people was something they could not experience.
The difference in those who [go among people] is that those who do this may feel physically tired, but their hearts are joyful. So, “With faith and understanding of wondrous Dharma, we stand at the ground of joy.” This is like our initial enlightenment. In the past, we did not know anything. Now that we have heard [the Dharma], we feel, “I know now that the Dharma can actually help us eliminate all of our attachments. The Dharma helps us eliminate our afflictions. Now that I understand the principles, I have awakened.” This even gives rise to joy that comes from the bottom of our hearts.
“By recognizing the true principles.” If we can truly eradicate our afflictions, with every bit of affliction we remove, we will gain a bit of wisdom. We will understand the principles of absolute truth. When we recognize these principles, naturally we will “stand at the ground of freedom from defilement.”
Having eradicated all of our afflictions, what are we still clinging to? What are we still fighting over? Thus, “By entering the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom, we reach the ground of radiating light.” Since we are in this environment, we must steadfastly engage in spiritual practice. With our mind and body in harmony, if we carry out our responsibilities in this environment, we will attain mastery. If we can do this, we will gradually realize the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. We will be very clear on them, so there will be no darkness in our minds. Then naturally, “We [will] reach the ground of radiating light.” If we “enter the Buddha’s ocean of wisdom,” our minds will be clear and bright. Free of darkness, they will radiate light.
“With utmost purity and clarity…” If our mind is completely pure and free from all kinds of afflictions, if we have eradicated all of our afflictions, our wisdom will be radiant. This is “the ground of blazing wisdom.” Sentient beings share collective karma. If everyone has a pure mind, this creates a “place of purity.” If our minds are filled with afflictions, even a place of spiritual practice will become the “place of afflictions.”
So, we must take the Dharma to heart.
For us to take the Dharma to heart and for our minds to be pure and bright, we must attain an awakening.
It is because we are seeking to awaken that we must listen to the Dharma and take the principles to heart.
And to take the principles to heart, we need to have “faith and understanding”.We must believe in and mindfully experience the wondrousness of the Dharma.Only then will we be able to be joyful and eradicate afflictions.Only then can we radiate light from our minds and exercise the brilliance of our wisdom.
When one first attains a degree of awakening, that is the ground of joy. When Bodhisattvas uphold the pure precepts, that is the ground of freedom from defilement.
Replete with wisdom of innate enlightenment, one is at the ground of radiating light.
Tranquil, clear and pure perfect awakening bring one to the ground of blazing wisdom.
In the previous sutra passage, “Subhuti and the others,” four of the leaders of the Sangha, expressed to the Buddha that they had the wrong mindset in the past.This was their repentance and their sincere confession.
The World-Honored One had already expounded the Dharma to them for a very long time.
“we were always present, but our bodies had become tired and lax, and we only contemplated emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance. As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers…”
“Emptiness, non-appearance and non-contrivance” were what they were stuck on contemplating.
“As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers,” they did not put their hearts into pursuing this Dharma.
Bodhisattvas play effortlessly in this world; they use all kinds of methods to play freely.What is the Bodhisattva Way?What is “playing freely within spiritual powers”?
To follow the Bodhisattva Way we must form great aspirations.To have “spiritual powers” and be free obstructions truly takes great aspirations.
The following sutra passage states, “As for the Bodhisattva Way of playing freely within spiritual powers, purifying Buddha-lands and bring sentient beings to fruition, we took no joy in these.”
This was what these four leaders of the Sangha had said.They were tired of listening to the Dharma, so “[They] took no joy in these.”As they listened, they had become tired.
We can sense that Subhuti, Mahakatyayana, Kasyapa and Maudgalyana were very frank.They deeply repented [their old ways] and spoke of this in front of the Buddha.
Let us see how we can “purify Buddha-lands”.
In the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra, there is the following sutra passage.“If Bodhisattvas vow to attain a pure land, they must first purify their own minds. As their own minds are purified, so is the Buddha-land”.
This was said by Vimalakirti, a lay practitioner.
“In a land, one must realize eight teachings.”
If we want to “purify Buddha-lands,” there are eight ways.
Let us hear the eight methods he shared.
First, we need to “benefit sentient beings without expecting anything in return and accept all kinds of suffering in the place of all sentient beings. All the merit and virtue created must be completely given away.”
This is what the Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra states.
Aren’t the thongs Tzu Chi volunteers do in line with this?
Yes, we are truly working to “benefit sentient beings”.
We give unconditionally, “without expecting anything in return”.We accept all kinds of suffering in the place of all sentient beings.
Look at the gas explosion in Kaohsiung.Tzu Chi volunteers in the Kaohsiung area have been helping for a long time, around 20 days.Even now, they are still walking through the disaster area.They walk until their feet develop blisters.
Yet look at their faces.They are all smiling very happily.When they meet with disaster survivors, they speak gently, comforting them.Then they say to the survivors, “I’m grateful to you! I was worried about you. But when I saw you smiling and looking peaceful, I feel very happy and grateful.”
You see, we should “accept all kinds of suffering in the place of al sentient beings”.We feel others’ pain and suffering as our own, so their worries become our worries.
When it was time to register for school, we rushed to comfort the families beforehand.“Don’t worry. If you need help, we’ll help you figure it out. Oh, it is tomorrow? I will bring the registration fee today.”
Just like that, “All the merit and virtue created must be completely given away.”We sentient beings have a need, we will help meet it.
The second is “treating all sentient beings with a mind of equality, by being humble and not creating hindrances”.
With a mind of equality, we do not discriminate. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature, so we must treat all sentient beings and all human beings equally. Whether you are called an “elder” or a “descendant”, those are just labels. We should treat everyone equally. However, to behave with proper etiquette, if someone is our elder, such as our grandfather, our parents, our great-grandfather, we must treat them with propriety.
But they intrinsically have Buddha-nature, as do we. Among human beings, there is a moral order to family relationships, but everyone’s intrinsic nature is equal. Regardless of whether they are cats or dogs, all living, moving creatures are equal. So even if we have a higher status, we must be modest and humble. This is the second way.
The third is “looking upon all Bodhisattvas as if they were Buddhas”.
Do you still remember? When chanting the Lotus Sutra [we hear how] Never Slighting Bodhisattva did not care if others bullied him, hit him or threw stones at him. He would dodge aside and still prostrate to them.
“I dare not slight you because you will attain Buddhahood in the future”. This is the mindset of Bodhisattvas; they see everyone as Buddhas.
The fourth is “listening to the sutras one has not yet heard without any doubts”.
When we listen to sutras we hear the True Dharma. we must listen mindfully. These texts beginning with, “Thus have I heard”, are the ones we must mindfully comprehend and understand without any doubts. We must absorb the Dharma and take it to heart to develop our wisdom-life. If we have doubts, it is like splashing water onto a rock. Once water is splashed on it, the surface of the rock is wet. But it dries quickly; the water cannot seep in.
The fifth is “not turning our back on Hearers”.
Although we are with Hearers, people who practice the Vehicle Dharma, we should not reject them. They have their way of spiritual practice, and we have our way of forming aspirations to go among the people. Instead of rejecting them, we must think of ways to slowly guide them to join us in going among the people. We must not look down on. hearers and Small Vehicle practitioners.
In practicing the Bodhisattva Way, the Great can accommodate the Small.
The sixth is “not being jealous of others’ contributions, not being conceited of one’s advantages and through this process subduing one’s mind”.
When people are more outstanding than us, we must not be jealous of them. We should admire them and be happy for them. What if other people are jealous of us? We must further humble ourselves. We must not constantly show off how great we are, how exceptional we are, how superior we are. We must not be like this. If we can humble ourselves, naturally people who are jealous of us will gradually become less jealous as they recognize we are acting out of sincerity and that everything we do is done out of genuine affection.
“The seventh is constantly reflecting upon one’s own faults while not announcing the shortcomings of others”.
Regardless of others’ shortcomings or others’ weaknesses, we must not go around talking about them, criticizing them over what is right or wrong. That is not right. Do others [criticize] us because they are jealous of how great we are? Perhaps it is because we have many weaknesses. When people criticize us, we should earnestly engage in self-reflection, not talk about how what they are doing is wrong. This is “not announcing the shortcomings of others”.
The eighth is “forever wholeheartedly seeking all merits and virtues”.
“Seeking all merits and virtues” does not mean being attached to them. “Being humble in our hearts brings merit. Being courteous to others brings virtue”. If we can be “humble in our hearts”, then by applying this skill, naturally we will constantly reflect on ourselves and will not create karma of speech by announcing other people’s shortcomings. We must deal with people and matters courteously and be accommodating. If we can do all this, these are eight ways of “purifying Buddha-Lands”.
“Land: The place where sentient beings face circumstantial retributions, which is created by sentient beings’ collective good karma. This place came into existence through the minds of sentient beings”.
“Land” is the place where sentient beings face circumstantial and direct retributions. It is “create by sentient beings’ collective good karma.” We followed our causes and conditions here. The causes and conditions we created in the past led us to this place, where we began to listen to the Buddha-Dharma, so we must earnestly accumulate good karma together. If we can collectively accumulate good karma, pure minds will be pure, so the land will be pure. With our minds we can create a pure land.
“Bodhisattvas make great vows to transform and deliver sentient beings whenever they appear and thus attain purity in thought and action.”
We must engage in Bodhisattva-practices. For countless lifetimes up to this day, we have had to unceasingly make great vows. We vow to accomplish this aspiration to deliver and transform sentient beings whenever they appear. We hope everyone can attain purity in thought and action.
We must now quickly engage in spiritual practice to cultivate a pure mind. If we successfully attain a pure mind, in subsequent lifetimes when we form Bodhisattva-aspirations, we will have those merits and virtues. We will have the merit of internal cultivation and the external appearance [of virtue] with which we can transform people. Transforming people and purifying their minds is “purifying Buddha-lands.”
When the hearts of sentient beings are pure, they collectively create good and blessed karma, thus the land of their circumstantial and direct retributions will be pure. To purify the minds of sentient beings, one must rely upon the Buddha-Dharma. Thus purifying sentient beings’ minds is also purifying Buddha-lands.
“When the hearts of sentient beings are pure, they collectively create good and blessed karma.” “If everyone here has a pure heart, this place will be blessed.” When we collectively create blessed karma, this land where we face our circumstantial retribution, this land which supports us, will be pure, this can also purify the minds of sentient beings.In an environment where everyone’s mind is pure, we will be able to [go out and] transform others and bring purity to their hearts. To achieve this purity, we must also “rely upon the Buddha-Dharma.”
We have to rely on the Buddha-Dharma so that our hearts can be pure.Only when our hearts are pure can we purity the hearts of sentient beings. This is “purifying Buddha-lands.” “Bringing sentient beings to fruition” is when “Bodhisattvas benefit, nourish and bring all sentient beings to maturity”.
Bodhisattvas benefit, nourish and bring all sentient beings to maturity, all without limits. This is like rain after a long drought, when all plants and trees and forests will grow and flower and fruit, and all will be brought to fruition. Thus it says, “bringing sentient beings to fruition.”
This is how Bodhisattvas bring sentient beings to fruition. First, they benefit them with the Dharma; they nourish all sentient beings with the Dharma. When sentient beings are nourished with Dharma they will be brought to maturity and will bring to fruition a pure mind “without limits.” “One gives rise to infinity, infinity arises from one.” [The Dharma] is like rain. Those in an arid land only ask for rain. Once the rain falls, the land thrives. When a wilted forest is nourished by rain, the trees will flourish and will produce an abundance of flowers and fruit. Thus they are brought to fruition. Dear Bodhisattvas, truly we must have faith and understanding. If we have faith in and understand the Buddha-Dharma, we can mindfully enter the Path.
Then naturally this Dharma will be wondrous to us. If we are joyful every day, we can take true principles to heart and sweep away all afflictions. When we awaken our wisdom, when we enter the ocean of enlightened wisdom, our minds will radiate light “with utmost purity and clarity.”
If our minds are pure, this clarity will come from the light of the ground of blazing wisdom. What is so difficult about this? We just need to sweep away our afflictions and benefit sentient beings in everything we do; that is the right things to do. Then we are truly Living Bodhisattvas playing freely in this world, purifying Buddha-lands. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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