Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Understanding the Buddha’s Mind Brings Great Joy(解佛心大歡喜)
Date: January.11. 2016
“Their understanding was attained from constantly listening to the Dharma for many decades. This is why they rejoiced and were glad to have attained the great path of great understanding. From what they heard recently of the analogies and this extraordinary Dharma, they understood the Buddha’s intentions and obtained the benefits of awakening.”
How long do we have in this life? Isn’t being able to listen to the Dharma for many decades such a cause for rejoicing? If we can constantly listen to the Dharma, we should feel very fortunate. Then naturally we will cherish the Dharma; we will not dare to neglect it or be indolent. When we are nourished daily with Dharma-water, when it permeates the ground of our minds, gradually, we will be able to absorb the Dharma, and in our hearts we will comprehend the great path. It is for this reason that, even if we heard a teaching in the past and did not really understand it, perhaps at any moment, with a particular matter or a particular metaphor, the Dharma of this analogy may awaken our minds. When we first heard it, we did not really understand the meaning behind it. But now, after seeing this person or this matter, it becomes an analogy that helps us understand that the principle is like this. Once we can understand and experience it, we can recognize that the Buddha-Dharma has always been meant to be applied in our daily living, that the Dharma has always been for this world and that it is inseparable from [our lives].
[We will know that] Bodhisattvas have always been alive and present, in us and the people around us. When we view everyone with a Buddha-mind and see everyone’s life as a sutra, then every person is our teacher. Every person’s story is a sutra we can read. Thus we can attain an abundance of realizations.
If we approach the Dharma with this frame of mind, we will be taking in the Dharma every day. The Buddha came to this world for one great cause. His goal was to manifest [enlightenment] in this world. He descended from Tustia Heaven into the palace; He entered a womb, was born and engaged in a period of ascetic practice until He attained Buddhahood and began to spread the Dharma. In the following 49 years, was there ever a day when He did not teach? He began with “suffering, causation, cessation and the Path.” Then He spoke of the people, matters and things in this world. In life, we go through “birth, aging, illness and death.” People create afflictions as their minds go through “arising, abiding, changing and ceasing.” All things in the environment we live in, all material things, undergo “formation, existence, decay and disappearance.” These are the Three Principles and Four States. For those 49 years, the Buddha mindfully analyzed them to help everyone be very clear on the karmic law of cause and effect.
Karmic retributions are created whenever we open our mouths, give rise to a thought, take action and so on. [He taught that] all karmic forces arise from our minds and continued to analyzed how, from the “emptiness” of the entire universe, things converge to give rise to “existence”. The suffering of “existence” is the cause of many things in the world.This is the Buddha-Dharma.
So, Tzu Chi has been in existence for a long time, almost 49 years as well.Over all theses decades, we have not merely listened to the Dharma; we have put the teachings into practice first.We began with charity work, then medicine, education and humanistic culture.We have done this all long.We should cherish this!
So, now we must develop understanding. Their understanding was attained from constantly listening to the Dharma.”We must all constantly listen to the Dharma, no matter when we began volunteering, even if it has been “many decades. ”
Therefore, we should rejoice that we have come so far along the Bodhisattva-path.Now, the Dharma can verify that what we do does not go against the Dharma the Buddha taught.So, we should have attained many benefits because we have brought blessings to many people.
Our greatest joy comes from sentient beings attaining the Dharma.This is Dharma-joy.When sentient beings attain the Dharma, it brings us great joy.
This is true Dharma-joy.
If we merely say, “I know! I know! I understand many things, so I am very happy!” is this Dharma-joy?
It is not Dharma-joy comes from giving to others and then seeing them attain understanding.“Having relieved them of suffering, [we] then expound the Dharma for them.”Their understanding makes us happy.This is a benefit.This is how we pave a wide road.
I constantly say that only in thoroughly paving a road through the world will we be able to enter the Bodhi-path.So, “[This is] from what they heard recently.”
Recently, we have been listening to the Lotus Sutra, from the Introductory Chapter to the Chapter on Skillful Means to the Chapter on Parables.By now we should have deep faith and understanding.We should be able to realize the Buddha’s one great cause in coming to the world.It is through this that we “obtain the benefits of awakening.”For this we must be very grateful.I hope everyone will put their hearts into this.Let us look at the previous passage.
“Furthermore we are now already old and decrepit, so when the Buddha taught the Bodhisattva Way that leads to Anttara-samyak-sambodhi, we did not give rise to any thoughts of taking interest or joy in it.”
Every day we go over this again; I have touched on it many times.Subhuti and the others felt deeply repentant, so they opened up about why, in the past, the Bodhisattva Way did not in spire them to feel joyful and to make vows.Why did they do this?
Because they were beginning to attain realizations.
In the Chapter of Skillful Means, they heard praise of the Buddha’s wisdom, that it was extremely profound.
In the Chapter on Parables, they learned about the burning house, the great white ox-cart and so on.
They finally thoroughly understood everything, but they were advanced in age, and their bodies had become weak; for this they expressed regret.
Besides repenting, they also expressed regret.
But the Buddha, in His compassion, told them it was not too late because they could still form aspirations; in fact, wisdom-life is everlasting and the Dharma has no beginning and no end.So, the Buddha continued to gradually guide them.
The next sutra passage states, “When I and the others heard today in the Buddha’s presence the prediction bestowed on a Hearer of attaining. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, a profound joy arose in our minds at having attained what we have not before.”
In the past no joy arose in them, [but] now they were joyful.Why were they joyful?Because the Buddha had bestowed the prediction of Buddhahood on a Hearer, [meaning] Hearers can also attain predictions of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment, which is Buddha-wisdom.
Though the Buddha’s wisdom is extremely profound, unsurpassed in its profundity, Hearers too are able to achieve the same level of wisdom as the Buddha and reach supreme, universal, prefect enlightenment.
That is the attainment of Buddhahood.
Sariputra had already received this prediction of Buddhahood from the Buddha, so everyone began to have confidence in themselves.
“A profound joy arose in our minds at having attained what we have not before.”In the past, they had never been this happy.Now, they were truly joyful at “having attained what [they] have not before.”Next is “when I and the others.”
In the next part we must understand that, “A Hearer receiving a prediction of Buddhahood,”for Subhuti and the others, “allowed them to awaken to [how] the Tathagata must teach [the Dharma]”.
“A Hearer receiving a prediction of Buddhahood allowed them to awaken to fact that the Tathagata must teach the Dharma according to conditions. That is why He went through four periods of teachings to teach a complete cycle. This refers to opening up the provisional to reveal the true.”
They understood that everything the Buddha taught had to be in accordance with conditions. He taught according to conditions, according to the capabilities of sentient beings. He spoke to them in ways that sentient beings were capable of accepting. This is something we should realize by now. So, He went through the Four Periods of Teachings. The Four Periods of Teachings are the Agama period, the Vaipulya period, the Prajna period, and now, the Lotus period, which had already begun. To complete this cycle, we should include the Avatamsaka period, making it the Five Periods.
In this way the Buddha turned the Dharma-wheel. When He first attained enlightenment, that state of Buddhahood was not something sentient beings could realize, so all He could do was to teach them according to their capabilities. Thus He gave the Agama teachings, then the Vaipulya, then the Prajna before beginning the Lotus teachings, to open up the provisional and reveal the true.
Now the skillful means He taught in the past were gradually opened up to help everyone to see the True Dharma. Thus, He “opened and revealed”, opening the door to reveal to us the true teachings that lie within. We must make an effort to realize that the Buddha always had this abundance of Dharma, but that, to teach it according to capabilities, He spent so much time and used so many methods, all for the sake of saving sentient beings.
Sentient beings have already experienced all kinds of suffering in this world, but they still remain deluded by the afflictions in their minds, unable to liberate themselves. So, the Buddha taught them to help the suffering sentient beings around them and to immediately eliminate all the ignorance and afflictions in their minds.
So, opening up the provisional to reveal the true was necessary to help people catch sight of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. The Buddha began to share His wisdom, this Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, which is Buddha-wisdom. Translated from Sanskrit it means, “supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment”. We should all know this. It means truly impartial, enlightened understanding of all true principles. We must be impartial to all; this is viewing all equally with compassion.
In the past I have often shared with everyone that the epitome of compassion is viewing all sentient beings as equals. If we have the perspective that all sentient beings are equal, then killing them and consuming their flesh is a deluded [act], an affliction. It is simply for the sake of “desire”, in this case, the desire for taste, for flavor. Because of this desire, we treat sentient beings unfairly. The Buddha, in His compassion, wanted us all to achieve Buddha-wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom is exercising both compassion and wisdom. We must have compassion and awaken our wisdom. The epitome of compassion and wisdom is viewing all sentient beings as equals. This is genuine impartiality; this is truly Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. It is the principles of all things; it is unsurpassed wisdom.
This supreme and perfect enlightenment was the state attained by Buddhas. Are we able to view all sentient beings as equals? We still have thoughts like, “This person’s words are to my liking” or “I do not like that person’s attitude”. We all have these discriminating thoughts.
When will we finally be able to treat everyone the same, with an impartial mind? Doing this is very difficult; we can say, “You have to treat everyone equally. All of you should get along and work together with the same mind”. Unfortunately, things remain the same. When certain people do things, they are looking out for themselves. They still have a sense of aversion toward others and a sense of self-importance, etc. If this is the case, how can we say that they have an impartial mind? So, achieving this state is very difficult!
This is why we must engage in spiritual practice; for only if we all engage in spiritual practice can we all show compassion to all equally. Then when we do things, we will only think of the greater good and treat everyone as equals. This is the only way we can [achieve realizations]. Yet right now, when it comes to people, we may say, “This person is capable, daring, etc;” actually that person is still unenlightened.
“Ordinary people lack wisdom; they are lost and unenlightened”.
They have not yet penetrated the Buddha’s truths. They rely upon their cleverness and make use of their relationships to pave their road through the world; this is not true wisdom, nor is it true virtue.
[To create] merits and virtues, we must first cultivate humility within and must be courteous to those around us, we must be consistent, internally and externally. Only then do we have true wisdom. However, it is regrettable that we are all still ordinary people.
[b]The wisdom in heretical teachings is not proper wisdom. [/b]
Heretical spiritual practices will lead us astray. Earlier, in the Chapter on Parables, the Buddha constantly said that if someone had biased or deviant understanding and views, we must not teach them the Lotus Sutra. So, the Buddha also took precautions. This kind of deviant knowledge is not true enlightenment.
As for the biased wisdom of the two Vehicles, as it is biased toward emptiness, practitioners stop at self-awakening; this is also not perfect enlightenment because they have not attained the impartiality toward all people and all sentient beings of [thinking,] I can be transformed, “so all sentient beings should transformed too.”
Two Vehicle practitioners only think, “As long as I am transformed, that is good enough.” Thy do not think about transforming others. As for the wisdom of Bodhisattva, it is the wisdom of the Middle Way. Although they have attained proper wisdom, they must engage in spiritual practice themselves and at the same time transform sentient beings.
So, we are in the middle; we seek the Buddha’s Way, so we must humble ourselves, for the Buddha’s Way is still beyond us. We must continue seeking that path, while seizing the opportunity to transform sentient beings. This is “the Bodhisattva’s wisdom of the Middle Way.” Although with this they have attained universal enlightenment, “They have not yet attained great perfection.”
They have not yet attained great perfect mirror wisdom. In the past, we spoke for some time about “great perfect mirror wisdom.” This refers to a very perfect, harmonious and pure state of mind.
[In this state], the mirror of the mind is exceptionally clean, and the whole and all things in the universe can be taken in by the mind.
“Only a Buddha has transcended the nine Dharma-realms. He is above sentient beings.”
I have spoken in the past of the Ten Dharma-realms. Buddha. Bodhisattva, Hearers and Solitary Realizers comprise the Fore Noble Realms. The hell, hungry ghost, animal, human, heaven and asura realms make up the Six Unenlightened Realms.
Only the Buddha transcends the nine Dharma-realms. [His realm] is topmost of the Four Noble Realms, to say nothing of the Six Unenlightened Realms.
So, Only the Buddha was able to transcend and be liberated “He can be said to have attained supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.”
Subhuti [and the others] already understood all of this, that everyone could become equal to Buddha, so they were very joyful.
“[We have] attained what we have not before. If one seeks something and [quickly] attains it, one may not consider it precious.” If they could easily attain something, if they could attain what they sought, they would not have considered it precious.
Now, “They attained what they had never sought.”
Unexpectedly, they attained something that they had never thought possible to attain before. This is attaining what we have not before. They had never dared to hope for this. They had never dared to think this was possible. Now they heard they actually had a part in this; it was inconceivable to them that they too could attain Buddhahood. So, they were very joyful; thinking back, they had never experienced the king of joy that they experienced now.
Everyone, in learning the Buddha’s Way we must be mindful. We must apply the Buddha-Dharma to our daily life and be living Bodhisattvas in this world. If everyone exercises a Bodhisattva-mind and uses all kind of methods to help all beings come in contact with the Dharma, then we are spreading seeds of goodness.
A seed of goodness is something we are all capable of cultivating; we can all be farmers of the mind, as long as we have the aspiration. So, everyone must be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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