Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Without Seeking the Great Dharma, the Wisdom of the Three Vehicles is Lost (不求大法失三乘慧)
Date: February.17. 2016
“Impermanence presses us; the four elements are imbalanced. With birth, aging, illness, death, pursuit, craving, resentment, hatred and the raging Five Skandhas, sentient beings remain stubborn. Two Vehicle practitioners do not seek the Great Dharma, so no thoughts of interest or joy arise within them.”
In life, there is so much impermanence. Impermanence presses us! In this world, when we think of the imbalance of the four elements, it is frightening indeed. In addition, in life we suffer from birth, aging, illness and death, not getting what we want, parting with loved ones, meeting those we hate and many other sufferings. Then there are the raging Five Skandhas. All of this is suffering! With from, feeling, perception, action and consciousness, isn’t the karma we sentient beings create due to encountering external phenomena, or “form”? Then we have a feeling, “I want to purse this,” “I love this,” “I resent this,” “I hate this,” and so on; this is very complicated. All of this is the workings of form, feeling, perception, action and consciousness, which lead us to create karma.
But all past and present Buddhas and Bodhisattvas continuously return to this world to teach the transform sentient beings. Still, sentient beings are stubborn, difficult to train and transform.
Therefore, Subhuti and the others did not seek the Great Dharma; no thoughts of interest or joy arose in them. Even thinking about the Great Vehicle Dharma frightened them. “We dare not accept it.” This was because sentient beings are difficult to train and transform.
Moreover, in this world there is birth, aging, illness, death, not getting what we want, parting with loved ones, meeting those we hate, the raging Five Skandhas. This is a place of tremendous suffering, especially as the earth is fragile, and life is impermanent. It is filled with suffering, so though they were asked to return, they hoped to put an end to cyclic existence and never come back again. But walking the Bodhisattva-path means we have to come back and go among people again. We must unceasingly give of ourselves and create positive affinities with others. At the same time as we cultivate blessings, we gain wisdom through interacting with people. Blessings and wisdom can only be cultivated in this world.
Only now did the disciples understand this. Before, they feared sentient beings’ stubbornness, how difficult they were to train and transform. Therefore, “The Two Vehicle practitioners did not seek the Great Dharma, so no thoughts of interest or joy arose within them.” They were unwilling to return to this world. The Buddha had great hopes that everyone would transmit the Buddha-Dharma. Having attained the Buddha-Dharma in this life, even though [these disciples] were old, they could still aspire to return in the future to pass on the Dharma. The Dharma must be continuously transmitted until Maitreya Bodhisattva attains Buddhahood.
So, the Buddha was worried that there would be no one to transmit the Dharma in this world. He continued to have this hope that everyone would form great aspirations and make great vows.
In the previous sutra passage, [the father] saw how the son was about to run away, so he quickly called on people, the “messengers,” and dispatched them to go after him. The messengers quickly went after him. “At that time, the messengers swiftly went and captured him.” They hurried to go and drag him back, however, “shocked and bewildered, the poor son cried out in complaint, I have done nothing wrong! Why have you seized me?
I haven’t committed any crimes, but you’re dragging me away; what do you want with me?” So, he was terrified and “cried out in complaint.” What he meant was,“I simply don’t want to do this; I’m unwilling. But you keep forcing me.” The same happens with spiritual practitioners. “I’m simply unwilling to go among the people, but you’re forcing me to interact with them.” So, they cry out in complaint.
The following passage goes on to say, “The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back. The poor son at this time thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. So, he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot.”
This means that the more the poor son struggled, the tighter the messengers held on to him.They forcibly dragged him back.This is an analogy for “the door of admonishment of the Great Vehicle teachings.”
The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back:
This is like the door of admonishment of the Great Vehicle teachings, which is to maintain and uphold in their entirety the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Planning to pass down and entrust the teachings in a timely manner, He spoke of fearsome things.
This is “the door of admonishment of the Great Vehicle teachings”.There is a “door of exhortation” and a “door of admonishment”.“Exhortation” is to encourage everyone to do good, to “practice all that is good”.
“Admonishment” is about upholding precepts to “refrain from all that is evil”; this is also Great Vehicle Dharma.
Every one of us should maintain this state of mind.
We must have this mindset of being interconnected with all sentient beings, of being unwilling to let others suffer; we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer.This resolve to practice all that is good comes from teachings of exhortation.
Exhortations encourage us to do this; the method this teaches us is to dedicate ourselves in this way.
“Admonishment” is the teaching of the precepts.With precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, we can guard against wrongs and stop evil.Our minds must be focused, be in Samadhi, to avoid being tempted by external phenomena.
So, we must guard against wrongs, stop evil and keep our minds in Samadhi.Our original aspiration was to walk the Bodhisattva-path.Since we have decided to benefit humanity, we must never retreat from this aspiration.This is “sustaining our original aspiration”.
If we walk the Bodhisattva-path, after a long time, we will be replete with blessings and wisdom and will then attain Buddhahood.
When what we do brings blessings to everyone and increases our wisdom, then as this continually accumulates, we will be cultivation both blessings and wisdom.This will accumulate until one day we finally awaken to the truths of all things in the universe.
So, the door of admonishment and the door of exhortation, these doors of exhortation and admonishment, are akin to the doors of blessings and wisdom.
We must put our hearts into entering these doors.
We need to uphold all rules and precepts and become replete with Samadhi and wisdom.
This requires “planning”.We must be mentally prepared.Knowing what we should do dandy how to do it is “planning”.We must promptly make preparations for passing down and entrusting teachings.
The Buddha had this mindset [at this assembly], so He made preparations to transmit the Dharma in hopes that everyone would accept it.He was slightly forceful in the way that He passed on these teachings, as He wanted to entrust them.
By teaching the Lotus Sutra, He hoped that with the two doors of exhortation and of admonishment, everyone would definitely be able to enter.
So, in the Chapter on Parables, He spoke of many fearsome things; He used many analogies to illustrate how this world is terrifying.
In His lifetime of teaching the Dharma, He constantly exhorted and admonished us to recognize that the world is impermanent, that the land is fragile and that the suffering in life of birth, aging, illness, death and so on, is truly everywhere.This should make us very afraid.
Beyond the human realm, there are also the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms.The hell, hungry ghost and animal realms are not simply independent realms; these states exist among humans as well.
There are people who live as if they are in hell, who live as if they are hungry ghosts, who live as if they are animals and so on.These are the Three Evil Realms.We see less severe versions of them in this world.
In fact, the Three Evil Realms are more painful and torturous than the states we see in this world.
Spending long periods of time in them is truly unbearable suffering.
So, “He spoke of fearsome things”.Thus the sutra says, “The messengers grasped him ever more tightly.”The Buddha wanted to quickly help us understand this Dharma.He wanted to help us understand suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, so we could open wide the door to our minds and learn to deal with the impermanence and suffering of life.
The Buddha, life after life, constantly returns to this world, and Bodhisattvas continually come to assist Him.Since these [disciples] had accepted the Buddha’s teachings, they should not try to run away from this world.
The Buddha urgently wanted to entrust the Dharma.
So, “forcibly dragging him back,” means He wanted to pull them back.
“The poor son at this time thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner”.
This is like the door of admonishment being taught to those who lack the capacities. Their ignorance has not been eliminated, so they are still lost and unenlightened. Thus it says: He thought that, though innocent, he was being taken prisoner.
This is an analogy for those who enter the door of admonishment; they lack the capacity to form great aspirations. So, when “the door of admonishment [was] taught to those who lack the capacities”, after understanding suffering and causation, the path they practiced was the Small Vehicle path. They eliminated all the afflictions they could through teachings biased towards emptiness, but they had not completely eliminated their dust-like afflictions. Their [realization] of emptiness was incomplete they had only eliminated [afflictions] that come from other sentient beings.
“Their suffering is their own business; it was nothing to do with me. They will still clung to their biases; they were still attached to their “self”. So, the afflictions they eliminated were only at the stage of the Small Vehicle; they had not reached the stage of the Great Vehicle.
With their way of cultivating precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, they still had not attained great capacities. So, “Their ignorance had not been eliminated”. They were still lost and unenlightened. Because of this, it was said, “Though innocent, he was being taken prisoner”. [They felt], “What do those people over there have to do with me? I haven’t done anything to them, so they shouldn’t bother me”. They drew a line between themselves and others.
“I only want to awaken myself, so I do not contrive affinities with them. What is wrong with that?” There is nothing wrong with that. But the Buddha hoped to be able to give us something even better. He wanted to lift us higher. We are actually the master of this house; there is no need to wander about outside. So, we should quickly enter this house, for there is an abundance of wealth in there that we can enjoy. What this means is that the Buddha hoped everyone would set aside the Small Vehicle and enter the door to the Great Vehicle Dharma. Naturally, once the door of our minds is opened and we look upon the [welfare of the] world’s living beings as our own responsibility, we will become filled with joy. Our hearts will become as spacious as the sky. Then we can accommodate and embrace all whom we wish to. It is because we have not opened this door that we are afraid of stubborn sentient beings.
Actually, by expanding our hearts and opening up our love, our pure minds will naturally remain uncontaminated by other sentient beings. We just need to form the aspiration to teach them, then we will be able to truly realize the true principles of the world.
Because [these practitioners] were lost, they felt that they did not want to contrive affinities with sentient beings. This is why they struggled and did not wish to enter this great house.
So, this is an analogy for [the Buddha’s] constant compassion and pity for sentient beings trapped in the prison of samsara. The Buddha, in His compassion, always pities sentient beings who are lost and trapped in the prison of samsara. The Buddha continuously came “to teach with a Bodhisattva’s” compassion and wisdom. He “followed sentient beings wherever they went”. He repeatedly came and went in this world for the sake of teaching sentient beings.
With compassion and wisdom, the Buddha followed sentient beings through the Five Destinies.
In the Five Realms and four forms of birth, He followed sentient beings and worked to relieve and save them from their unbearable suffering. He also provided an analogy for how. “The Two Vehicle practitioners are lacking this great loving-kindness and compassion”, so they “think themselves unconnected to the affairs of sentient beings”.
This is like how the Two Vehicle practitioners are lacking great loving-kindness and compassion, thinking themselves unconnected to the affairs of sentient beings and hoping to mutually do no wrong to each other. Thus it says: He thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner.
The Two Vehicle practitioners lacked great loving-kindness and compassion. What does it mean to have great loving-kindness? To be without regrets. And great compassion? To be without complaint. Yet the Two Vehicle practitioners “cried out in complaint”. [They said], “I don’t want to form affinities with sentient beings, so I don’t hope to do this; I don’t delight in walking the Bodhisattva-path”. So, they cried out in complaint. Indeed, they were reluctant to do it. Great loving-kindness is without regret. When we open our hearts and give to others, all sentient beings will be at peace.
This is the vow of loving-kindness that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have made. They feel they are one with all beings, so when sentient beings are suffering, they give with great compassion to save and transform them, without the slightest complaint.
No matter how long it takes, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas will repeatedly return without the slightest complaint. This is their great loving-kindness and compassion. Though sentient beings are stubborn and difficult to train and transform, the Buddha still feels great loving-kindness toward them, hoping that they will be blessed and will return on their own some day.There will be no need to force them, they will come back on their own. This is what the Buddha was hoping for.
So, regarding the “affairs of sentient beings, the Tow Vehicle practitioners thought that these things have nothing to do with them.” They do not concern themselves with the affairs of sentient beings. Thus, they “mutually do no wrong to each other, like [the poor son] who had just gone his own way.” Thus it says, “He thought that though innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death.”
“So, he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot.”
He did not know why he had been taken prisoner. If one lacks great skillful means and thus enters samsara, one will undoubtedly lose forever the wisdom-life of the Three Vehicles. Thus it says, “[He] would surely be put to death.”
When the son was wandering about, he was free. So, he felt that if he were captured, he would surely die. This was a person of limited wisdom. He was lost, so “He did not know why he had been taken prisoner.” He did not know why this was happening. “Why are they trying to catch me? Why?”
“If one lacks great skillful means and thus enters samsara.” Because he lacked the Dharma of great skillful means and his wisdom was not advanced enough, he was very afraid of samsara. Going among people, we must have skillful means and great wisdom to come and go freely. If we do not have this Dharma of great skillful means, we will not have great wisdom or the wisdom of exhortation and admonishment. He lacked compassion and wisdom, so he did not dare, he was afraid to enter samsara. Thus, “One will undoubtedly lose forever the wisdom-life of the Three Vehicles.” So, if this happens and we becomes lost in samsara, not only will we not reach the Bodhisattva-path, we will even lose the limited wisdom-life of Two Vehicle practitioners. This is why they were so anxious Small Vehicle practitioners were very worried that if they entered [the Great Vehicle], they might even lose the Small Vehicle with which to benefit themselves. They were afraid of becoming contaminated by the myriads of sentient beings. They were also scared of losing their wisdom-life. This is like [the poor son] thinking, “I will surely be put to death.”
Thus, they were timid and fearful.
They were very afraid. Just thinking of this scared them, so they became increasingly terrified. With limited wisdom, they could not comprehend great teachings. This is like fainting. They could not comprehend the Great Dharma; they were under so much pressure that they could barely breathe. So, “He was engulfed in this spot of ignorance.” Because he was engulfed in a spot of ignorance, it says, “He collapsed on the spot.” In this way, he sank into terror and fainted. He was that scared Regarding teaching and transforming with the Great Vehicle doctrine, the Buddha felt a great sense of urgency. But forcibly teaching the Great Vehicle Dharma not only would not lead them to develop faith and form Great Vehicle aspirations, it would cause them to become scared. So, “The roots of goodness [they had]” and their spiritual aspirations might be damaged. They feared sinking forever [in the sea of samsara].
This was due to everyone rushing to seize the son. So, later on, the father says, “There is no need to forcibly capture him.” “Let go of him right now.” This comes in the later sutra passages.
The Buddha felt a sense of urgency, hoping that His disciples would quickly aspire to accept the Dharma. But these disciples were still unable to accept it. Teaching the Great Dharma was like giving them medicine that was too strong for them so He had to moderate His efforts. As people pulled at the son, he struggled.
So, the elder said, “Let him go for a moment.” This is the same principle. In the summary, life is impermanent, and the land is fragile. How long will we indulge ourselves? If we do not pull ourselves together quickly, when will we do so? We do not know when we think of how the world is filled with suffering, we must promptly remember to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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