Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Observing Principles Through Matters (依事就理 入佛妙覺)
Date: February.01. 2016
“Through matters, we observe causes and conditions and the appearances that they give rise to. Through principles, we observe all Dharma and consider all phenomena with our true nature. Though we encountered the Buddha’s compassion and share the same nature and True Dharma, we have not yet entered the Buddha’s true wisdom, the Dharma ocean of wondrous enlightenment.”
Regarding matters and principles, our daily living is caught up in matters and appearances. So, it is through matters that we must observe causes and conditions and the matters and appearances they give rise to. For instance, during the Buddha’s lifetime, in the city of Rajagrha, there was an elder who had a young child, only give or six years old. At this age, he was very adorable and brought his father much happiness. But one day, a fortuneteller came to see the child and told the elder, “This child seems to be very blessed. It is a shame that his life will be so short.”
When the elder heard this, he began to worry about his child every day. So, he brought his son with him and traveled around everywhere, seeking to extend the life of his child. Then he heard that the Buddha was at His abode. So he brought his son with him to seek help from the Buddha.
When the Buddha heard why the elder had come and saw how sad, anxious and worried he was, with great compassion He told him, “No one can determine the length of another person’s life. The length of one’s life depends on oneself. So, do not be anxious. Do not give rise to worries. Instead, give rise to faith. The two of you should seize the moment and have faith that time can bring everything to fruition. See if you can seize this moment to go right outside the city, where there are many people living in poverty and hardship. One by one and with great joy, you and your son should give to help them. Furthermore, whenever you encounter people outside the city, bow and prostrate to them with great respect.”
Hearing this, all the elder could do was trust Him. There was no use in worrying. Therefore, after preparing many things, they went outside the city. Sure enough, many people there were suffering from poverty and hardship. He actually forgot that they were doing this to gain blessings for his son. He just focused on teaching his son how to give to each person. Not only did they give to these people; they showed them heartfelt respect. As they gave things to these impoverished people, they also prostrated to them.
Every time they prostrated to someone, they wished blessings upon that person. Everyone responded by offering them blessings in return. “I wish you a long life and great blessings.” This was what father and son did every day. Prostrating to every person and wishing blessings upon them, had become father and son’s favorite activity. Giving to others was what they did most willingly every day.
One day, many people passed by as usual. One of the people who received their bows, prostrations and blessings automatically replied, “I too wish you long life and many blessings.” After he passed them, he turned back “Oh right! My mission was to find this child.” Just who was this person?
Just who was this person?The Ghost of Impermanence.He had a rule that he would always live up to his word.Today, he had come to find this boy and take him away, but instead he had wished him a long life and great blessing, so how could he possibly take his life after that?“Forget it! I will let him be, as I have reverently wished him a long life and great blessings.”Sure enough, this child enjoyed a long and peaceful life.
During the Buddha’s lifetime, He encountered people and matters like this.This man sought Him out regarding this matter, and the Buddha told him, “Long life is not something another person can grant you. It [depends] on you].”The Buddha told this elder not to have expectations and not to be afflicted.He should happily give to other people and treat every person with respect.
The fatter heard the Buddha’s instructions.This was not a profound principle, but a very simple task.
So, he did as the Buddha instructed.These are causes and conditions.
“Through matters, we observe causes and conditions.”If we treat other people well, we are creating good affinities with them, and naturally they will be good to us in return.They will also feel joyful when they see us.This is the workings of people and matters.These are matters, so we must observe the causes and conditions.
What about principles?Speaking of principles, “Through principles, we observe all Dharma.”Since we are engaging in spiritual practice, we have to listen to the Dharma.In addition to being in harmony with people and matters, we must also be in harmony with the principles.It is precious to be born human, precious to hear the Buddha-Dharma.Behind people and matters, there are always principles.
Every word we say, every thought we think and every action we take, everything we do with our bodies, is connected to our external conditions and results in positive or negative karma.This is all Dharma.
Every day, if we are in harmony with people, matters and things, then we are acting according to the principles.Thus, we are in harmony with the principles.When we are in perfect harmony with all principles, we have “perfect awakening”.
So, “Through principles, we observe all Dharma.”As we interact with the world, we must see people, matters and things with a clear mind.So, “Consider all phenomena with your true nature.”We must sincerely, meticulously and mindfully observe the Dharma in all things in the world.
There are both virtuous and unwholesome teachings.
What we seek is the virtuous Dharma, yet there are also many unwholesome teachings that are disruptive to people’s minds. So, through matters, we must begin to earnestly observe causes and conditions.Then through principles, we must earnestly observe all Dharma.
For instance, people love gold, silver and jewels, but where do they come from?They are mined from the earth.Because our minds [crave] material goods, we destroy material things.Principles underlie all things in the world.Though the principles are always there, we cannot see them.We all have a “consciousness” that leads us to take action.When our minds connect with external conditions, we may do either good or evil.
So, we “ encountered the Buddha’s compassion and share the same nature and True Dharma.”Indeed, we all have the same nature as the Buddha.We have also aspired to engage in spiritual practice, get rid of unwholesome teachings and seek virtuous Dharma.
We and the Buddha “share the same nature and True Dharma”; it is just that “We have not yet entered the Buddha’s true wisdom.”
We have His compassion, but the Buddha’s perfect enlightenment and His impartial wisdom are still beyond our reach.We still [think], “That is you, and this is me.”We still draw distinctions between ourselves and others; we have not been able to reach the level of the Buddha.
If we can achieve the Buddha’s true wisdom, we will attain “the Dharma ocean of wondrous enlightenment,” so we can freely apply wisdom in all situations.
Thus, the most recent sutra passages have all been about gradually growing closer to the state of the Buddha.The poor son who had been wandering had now gradually come to stay in the same city as [his father]. As we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must also gradually experience the Buddha-mind and quickly draw near His state of mind.
The previous passage states, “He repeatedly had this thought. If only I could find my son, I could entrust my wealth to him. I would be calm and happy and have no further anxieties. ”
This is Subhuti describing the father’s mindset. “My son ran away. I have so much wealth. If my son came home, I would have someone to entrust my wealth to. I could pass down my business. That would make me very happy, and I would have no further anxieties”. This is how matters appear; people in this world are just like this.
The next passage states, “World-Honored One, at that time, the poor son was hired as a laborer from place to place until he arrived at his father’s house and stood beside the gate”.
Subhuti turned back to addressing the Buddha. “World-Honored One, at that time, the poor son..”. this impoverished child had now started coming closer to his father’s house. This was [like] “understanding the five turbidities taught in the Chapter on Skillful Means”.
World-Honored One, at that time, the poor son: This is explaining the analogy of the father and the son meeting. This means that one has come to understand the Five Turbidities taught in the Chapter on Skillful Means and the burning house of the Three Realms taught in the Chapter on Parables.
The children [in all the parables] are like the Buddha’s disciples. For a time it was as if they were wandering about in other lands, in the midst of the Five Turbidities. Their minds were not yet pure; they still had not eradicated their afflictions.
The Chapter on Parables talks about “the burning house of the Three Realms”. In the Chapter on Parables, it is constantly mentioned that the turbidities in the Three Realms are still very severe. Although through spiritual practice they had [transcended] the desire realm, their thinking still contained afflictions, so they were still in the form and formless realms. Thus, the Three Realms are like a burning house, and people are still unable to let go of their views, afflictions and ignorance. This is like being “hired as a laborer from place to place”.
Being “hired as a laborer from place to place” is great hardship. It means we must constantly work hard. To put an end to “suffering”, we must cut off “causation”; we “yearn for cessation and practice the Path”. Once we know the Dharma, the principles of suffering taught by the Buddha, we must earnestly put an end to “causation”. How do we put an end to causes and conditions? We yearn for and try to have our afflictions and these causes and conditions cease, and we earnestly practice the Path so that in this way, we can gradually accumulate world-transcending roots of goodness.
“I want to quickly put an end to ‘causation’. I want to quickly eradicate all [afflictions]”. To these disciples wanting to achieve “cessation” meant that they were very afraid of creating affinities with sentient beings. Thus, they were afraid; they did not dare to go among people, so they were unable to manifest the Great Vehicle Dharma. Thus, they simply kept practicing the Path; thought they cultivated virtuous Dharma, they lacked great vows and aspirations. This also made things hard for them.
So, this was like being “hired as a laborer from place to place”. To be “hired as a laborer” means working for wages. It means working for another person. “The value of a day’s wages is equal to the value of a day’s work”. This is an analogy for “delighting in limited teachings.”
They focused only on self-awakening and delighted in limited teachings. This was the practice they engaged in, so in the end, the scope of their understanding was limited, hence, “hired as a laborer from place to place”.
Thus, “until arriving at his father’s house” is an analogy for when, “Sentient beings diligently cultivate world-transcending good karma, great and small, so all can resonate with the Buddha’s compassion”.
By practicing any kind of virtuous Dharma, we recognize the Buddha’s compassion. By practicing the Great Vehicle Dharma, we can have even deeper realizations.
“Sentient beings have the cause to connect to the Buddha”. Everyone can understand this; disciples practicing both the Great and Small Vehicles are able to understand the compassion of the Buddha.
“The Buddha has the conditions to respond to sentient beings”. If sentient beings have the cause to connect to the Buddha, then the Buddha has the conditions to respond to sentient beings.
Sentient beings have the cause to connect to the Buddha. The Buddha has the conditions to respond to sentient beings. These all become the nourishment for the attainment of Buddhahood. We will reach the place of treasure where Buddhahood is attained.
Because of this, the Buddha’s conditions for responding to sentient beings are inexhaustible; they continue lifetime after lifetime.This must be mutual this connection and response. Sentient beings connect, and the Buddha responds. Sentient beings who have no affinities with Him cannot be transformed [by Him]. These karmic conditions must exist.
The Buddha has gone among people and spent a long time transforming them. Thus, He has been responding to their capabilities, and through the Buddha’s teachings, sentient beings have received the nourishment for their wisdom-life and will this reach the place of treasure where Buddhahood is attained.
So, as it states in the Lotus Sutra, “The Tathagata’s room is a heart of great compassion.”
What is the “Tathagata’s room?” a heart of great compassion is the “Tathagata’s room.” The “Tathagata’s room” is our nature of True Suchness. Only by engaging in spiritual practice are we able to continue drawing near it.
“When sentient beings resonate with the Buddha-mind and practice the Great Vehicle, they have entered the room of the Buddha’s compassion.” This is what we should continually nurture in our minds.
In terms of matters, “until he arrived at his father’s house” is an analogy for “encountering” [the Buddha], the son had already arrived at a place close to where his father lived. This is like comprehending the Buddha’s Bodhimanda, the place where He first attained unsurpassed enlightenment. This was when the Buddha and the universe became one. [They] were now drawing near the state of the Avatamsaka assembly at the Bodhinabda, the state of that instant of enlightenment.
So, “He stood beside the gate.” The poor son had already arrived at the place where his father lived, but he stood outside the gate, right be the door. This is an analogy for the disciples having arrived just outside the door of the Great Vehicle teachings. Two Vehicle practitioners are attached to and biased towards the principle of emptiness and have not awakened to the Middle Way, which has only one door.”
So, they did not know about the Middle Way, that there is only one door they could enter. They still clung to biased principles, so they just stood by the side of the gate, not knowing that they must walk through the middle of the door. This is an analogy for Small Vehicle practitioners.
The practitioners of the Two Vehicle, the Hearers and the Solitary Realizers, clung to their bias toward emptiness. In the beginning, they had these Great Vehicle roots. When they formed their initial aspirations, they wanted to be like the Buddha and likewise attain Buddhahood. In the beginning this was what they wanted.But as they learned that creating karmic affinities result in karmic retributions, they chose to create no affinities at all in order to eliminate all karmic retributions. So, they practiced only for the or own benefit.
Practitioners of the Two Vehicles in this life had already planted Great Vehicle roots of goodness in the past, but they cultivated few causes and thus could not yet realize the fruits. So, it says that [they] stood beside the gate and peeked in. they could not enter the door of the noble beings of the Great Vehicle.
Thus, the Two Vehicle practitioners had already planted Great Vehicle roots of goodness in the past, “but they cultivated few causes. They had not earnestly nourished these seeds, which means they had not cultivated causes. So, they “could not yet realize the fruits.” They had not earnestly nourished seeds, which means they had not cultivated causes. So, they “could not yet realize the fruits.” They were still unable to create and bring together all kinds of conditions to help them grow. They lacked those conditions. Though they had the “cause,” they lacked the “conditions” to bring it to fruition. Thus, they “stood beside the gate and peeked in. They stood by the gate and stole glances inside. They were scouting it out but were not brave enough to enter. This is what is meant by “peeking in.”
“They could not enter the door of the noble beings of the Great Vehicle.” Subhuti already understand all of this, so this is why he told this parable. They were like children, like the poor son who was “hired as a laborer from place to place until he arrived at his father’s house and stood beside the gate.”
He had arrived, yet he did not dare enter. Thus, we should be very mindful in observing matters; they is very important. If we cannot take care of worldly matters, how can we possibly understand all the principles of this world? Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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