Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Shouldering the Tathagata’s Family Business (荷擔家業莫學小道)
Date: January.14. 2016
“Do not have faith in limited teachings, for even a minute deviation can cause a great divergence. Do not learn limited paths, for then you will be like young children. Do not form a habit of indulgence, for this will increase your desires. Do not crave enjoyment, for you will lose your way back.”
When we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must earnestly form great aspirations and make great vows. Once we have aspirations and vows, we should not retreat from them, not retreat from the Great to take up the small. It is rare to be born human and rare to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. When we are able to hear the truth of the Dharma, we must make an effort to be mindful and not put our faith in limited teachings. Limited teachings prevent our minds from being open and spacious; we will only care about ourselves.
The Buddha taught us that we must open up our minds and widely form good affinities with others. We must create positive affinities with all sentient beings. But if we go even just slightly astray, we cut off our opportunities to form affinities with sentient beings. We should create affinities, not cut them off. [“Create” and “cut off” sound similar in Chinese,] but their meanings are very different.
We should eliminate afflictions; that is true. The Buddha taught us to eliminate afflictions. But the afflictions we must eliminate are the ones that arise when we interact with people so that we will no longer be tempted by them, no longer be negatively influenced by them or confused by them.
If we do not make use of the Great Dharma, we will go far astray. Thus, “Do not learn limited paths, for then you will be like young children.”
In this case, “young” and “children” have nothing to do with age. It means being focused on instant gratification, and in this way obstructing our own lives. So, “Do not form a habit of indulgence, for this will increase your desires.” We must not indulge ourselves. When we let our minds run loose, it is not easy to rein them in.
This happens in our spiritual practice as well. When we listen to sutra lectures every day, it becomes a habit. If we take a break for a few days, to catch up and continue is much more difficult. If we diligently practice from the start, then the more we listen, the more joyful we become. This is because we now understand what we did not before. In addition to understanding our daily living, we also understand the truths of all things in this world. Thus, we continue to take in the fragrance of the Dharma.
This “fragrance” is also something that we can cultivate within ourselves. With external fragrances, if we carry a piece of fragrant wood with us, after a while, even if we then take it away, our clothes and pockets will still be permeated by this fragrance. This is an analogy; the same applies to the Dharma.
We continuously absorb it, continuously listen. At first we take it in through the sounds, absorbing the words. As we listen to it repeatedly, after a while, we can take the Dharma to heart. From the spiritual refinement of our demeanor and of how we express ourselves through speech, we are already emitting the fragrance of virtue. So, we must earnestly make use of our time and avoid becoming indulgent; if we are undisciplined, the Dharma in our minds will leak out, leaving us with only desires thoughts.
“Do not crave enjoyment.” If you do, “You will lose your way back.” We must earnestly put our hearts into drawing close to the Dharma. Not only do we need to get close to the Dharma, we must let the Dharma get closer to our heart, to enter into our heart.
The previous sutra passage states, “World-Honored One, I and the others who are here now would be pleased to employ a parable to elucidate our meaning.”
Subhuti, Katyayana, Mahkasypa and Mahamaudgalyayana these four elders came before the Buddha and repented with utmost reverence for how they had been attached to limited teachings and had no interest in the Great Dharma.They felt that they had missed out on a lot.
Meanwhile they had continued to grow old.Now they finally comprehended the Buddha-Dharma.They wanted to describe this with a parable.
What kind of parable would they use?In the next passage, these four elders express what was in their hearts on befall of the assembly.
“There was a person who, while still small and young, abandoned his father and ran away, then lived a long time in foreign lands, for perhaps 10, 20, or even 50 years.”
In this passage, we know that there was a person who while small and young was very mischievous and left his parents.He ran away from his family.He craved having fun, so he left.Without him noticing, he aged from his teens, to his 20s, and up into this 50s.
These four elders had already realized that for a period of time in the past they had been like this child who craved fun who craved fun and enjoyment.The more he played the further away he went from his family until 50 years had passed.
This is a contrast to how the [previous] children had first entered the house due to their playing.
The father-child relationship if used throughout this and the previous chapter to demonstrate the grace of the Buddha in nurturing His disciples until they matured and to illustrate that the disciples would take up the Buddha’s family business.
People in their 50s are already middle-aged, on the verge of old age.Ever since he left at a young age, he kept playing and going ever further away.By the time he was in a desperate state and wanted to come back, he did not know the road home.He had forgotten the way back.This is an analogy.
In the sutra, in the Chapter on Parables, the elder saw his children in the burning house; this was a parable with a father and his children.Subhuti and the others, in the Chapter on Faith and Understanding, also use a father and child as an analogy.
In this parable, the child craves having fun so he leaves his father.In the previous parable it was the father who because of his work went away from the family.But when he came back the house had badly deteriorated.The children [were still] playing inside, so he quickly tried to save them.
Now, in this parable it was because the child craved having fun that he left the house and then lost the way back.The analogy of the father-child relationship is used in both chapters.This expresses the grace of the Buddha in nurturing His disciples.
What did He nurture in them?He nurtured their wisdom-life.
We come to this world because of our affinities with our parents.This is out of our control; we have affinities with these parents, so they give birth to us.
When we enter the Buddhist path, it is because we have made this choice.We “delight in the Buddha-Dharma,” so we learn the Buddha’s Way; this is to develop our wisdom-life, to draw near the Buddha-Dharma and to bring ourselves into accord with the Buddha-mind.
Because we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we must learn to develop the Buddha-mind.By taking in the Buddha-Dharma in body and mind, we can be disciplined in our actions and flawlessly uphold precepts.In our minds we grow in wisdom and attain flawless wisdom.In our daily living we should strengthen our focus and Samadhi.
When we are flawless in these “three studies, we are developing our wisdom-life.”Thus, the Buddha’s grease in nurturing us is nurturing our wisdom-life.
On our side we disciples have the responsibility of shouldering the Buddha’s mission.
As Buddhist practitioners, we must shoulder the Tathagata’s family business.In the Buddha’s later years, He passed on this responsibility to Father treasury Bodhisattva.When the Buddha left the Saha World who would take care of sentient beings in the future?
Although the Buddha-Dharma is in this world, people may not accept it, so they continue to create karma and fall into hell. Thus, Earth Treasury Bodhisattva continues to follow those who create karma and suffer negative retribution. He even goes into hell to save them. Because he has these great aspirations and vows, the Buddha chose Earth Treasury Bodhisattva [to shoulder His mission]. He has the patience and fortitude to be willing to follow sentient beings. This is described in the Earth Treasury Sutra. Clearly, the Buddha entrusted the Dharma to His disciples, so they have to shoulder His mission. They have this responsibility. When you accept the Dharma, your relationship [with the Buddha] is like that of father and son in this world. when your family nurtures you, you must shoulder the family business. A child carries on his father’s mission; that is only right. That is what this parable is about.
“There was a person: The practitioners of the Two Vehicles likened themselves to children who have shallow and limited views and knowledge. They are lacking broad perspective, and their ignorance is thick and heavy. Not yet having knowledge, they are called small and young.”
In the passage, “There was a person”, “person” refers to practitioners of the Two Vehicles. The Two Vehicles, as you all know, are the Hearer and Solitary Realizer Vehicles. Solitary Realizers only benefit and awaken themselves. They have also heard the Buddha-Dharma, but they are stuck at this stage. Thus, they are likened to children “who have shallow and limited views and knowledge”.
Today there are still many who think, “I just need to take good care of myself. Why do I need to mind all these other matters? It’s unnecessary.” Many spiritual practitioners today still hold these views and understanding. So, we should form great aspirations and make great vows. Else, our understanding of the Buddha-Dharma will be stuck at a small and young stage. It would be as if we are still in kindergarten, still needing teachers to take care of us all the time and indulge our desires. Then we will not improve. This is “lacking a broad perspective”. We only know the things happening around us.
With the Dharma, we only understand how it relates to us, not [how it relates to] what happens in the world or the things faced by sentient beings. This is lacking a broad perspective.
So, very often, “Our ignorance is thick and heavy”. There is still ignorance within us. Though we say we want to eliminate afflictions and eradicate ignorance, that only applies to our immediate surroundings. It is said we only “clear away the snow in front of our door”. If we only take care of ourselves, we are being too superficial.
We only are about ourselves and do not think about other people. This is because our ignorance is still heavy. In our spiritual practice, we must open up to the truths of this world. We must go beyond understanding matters related to our own cyclic existence; we must open ourselves to understanding all matters in the world.
So, we do “not yet have knowledge” of many things; there are many things we still do not understand. Thus, we are “small and young”. In “There was a person”,
“person” refers to someone who is small and young. But now, they are moving from being small and young to forming great aspirations.
Being “small and young” also means being “weak”. Small means weak. If you have read the Lotus Sutra, in the Chapter on the Conjured City, there is a story.
“In the Chapter on the Conjured City, the first fundamental teacher was Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. At that time, He taught 16 young princes to form great aspirations. But, they had only just formed their aspirations and had not yet engaged in spiritual practice, so their roots of goodness were still weak, thus they were called small and young”.
The parable mentioned in the Chapter on the Conjured City occurred “dust-inked kalpas” ago. “Dust” refers to sand and dust; this is an analogy for how long that period of time is. Earth Treasury Bodhisattva spoke of [kalpas like] “the sands of the Ganges river”; this is even longer than that. At that time, there was a Buddha called Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha.
Before He attained Buddhahood, He was a king. This king had 16 children. Later, he realized the truths of the Buddha-Dharma, so he handed over his kingdom and went off to engage in spiritual practice, eventually attaining Buddhahood. His 16 princes followed in his footsteps. They aspired to become monastics. They were still young at that time, so they were called the 16 novices.
Novices are very young monastics. These young children all left the lay life at the same time.After some time listening to Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, these novices also heard the Lotus Sutra. Though they were small and young in ago, they started accepting the Great Dharma. Even though the 16 princes were novices, they had a great ability to understand, so they taught the Dharma on the Buddha’s behalf.
Similarly, in our modern times, there is a group of young Bodhisattvas who have aspired and vowed to pass on the Dharma. At the ages of two, three four or five, they already say they want to protect the Dharma and be the ones to pass it on, etc..
Recently, we have often heard them say this, so I cannot help but think of this passage. In the Chapter on the Conjured City, though these 16 principles were small and young, they were also able to take their realizations and use them to teach and transform others. However, because people thought, “These are the words of children they would not take their words seriously. Even though they had formed aspirations.
So, “Their roots of goodness were still weak. Those who only form aspirations without engaging in spiritual practice would also be considered “small and young.”This is an analogy from a distant time. These small and young people, frankly speaking, also [represent] us today, because at that time, Sakyamuni Buddha was one of those 16 novices. By now, these 16 novices have all attained Buddhahood in [various places].
And we may have been among those the 16 novices transformed with the Dharma.But we only formed aspirations and did not earnestly engage in spiritual practice; this is perhaps the case.
From that time, dust-inked kalpas in the past, for all the dust-inked kalpas until now, we have been transmigrating in the Six Realms. We have done this all the way to the present. Having that cause, although it seems very tiny, we must now treasure it and be mindful.Then naturally this small seed [will grow]. Within a seed there is a tree, and within a tree there is a seed. We can also say, within a cause is an effect, and within an effect there is a cause. This is the wondrous concept of cause and effect. As long as we have this fundamental cause, we should earnestly treasure it. These children are part of another parable. The Buddha used to teach us to help is gradually develop our understanding.
Returning to the present sutra passage, there was this person who, at a young age, “abandoned his father and ran away. This was the act of a foolish, mischievous child. Over the next several decades, he left his wealthy family and kept wandering about in the world. Until he was in his 50s. He was completely impoverished. This person who “abandoned his father and ran away” represents a person who retreats and clings, who clings to the small and retreats from the Great.
This is an analogy for Small Vehicle practitioners. It is very rare that a Buddha attains enlightenment in this world. They had the causes and conditions to follow the Buddha and become monastics but they were still stuck in the state of the Small Vehicle and had retreated from the Great Vehicle. Even when the Buddha taught the Great Vehicle, they thought it had nothing to do with them.
Even though they were by the Buddha’s side, they had not truly entered the doors to their nature of True Suchness. They still had not entered the door of the Buddha’s original intent.
This is what “abandoned” means. Abandoning or leaving the father is an analogy. The father refers to the Buddha. The child refers to the disciples. “Abandoning the father is an analogy for turning one’s back on the Buddha Vehicle.” The Buddha taught the principles, but they did not mindfully accept them. Thus, they turned their back on the Buddha vehicle.
This is like how we have wandered in the Six Realms for so long and how able to encounter the Buddha-Dharma again; this is the same principle. If we do not promptly accept it, we may never be able to enter the Buddha’s doors. So, we must seize every moment and always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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