Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Imparting the Great Teachings (急施大教小根難信)
Date: February.18. 2016
“Though we urgently impart the great teachings and expound the One Vehicle, those with limited capacities cannot easily believe. If they do not have great capabilities, do not inopportunely teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. Forgive and have compassion for the ignorant who have not yet made great vows. For fear of injuring their young and immature rots of goodness, do not force them to come here.”
As we listen to sutras and take in the teachings, we cannot let things remain at a superficial level. We must delve deeply into them in order to understand. Take this passage from the sutras for example. There was once a very poor man. When he saw how wealthy those in rich families were, he sighed to himself and lamented, “Why do other people have so much money while I am so poor? I only have a few coins, only a little bit of money.” How could he compare with these rich people? He hoped to be as wealthy as they were, but looking at these coins in his hand, how could he ever compete with them? Since his coins were so insignificant compared to what other people had, he decided to toss them all into the water.
A bystander saw this and stopped him, saying, “This small amount of money on you can sustain you for several days. With these coins, you will be able to survive for a number of days. So, work hard! Do your best, and one day you will be as rich as them.” This is a passage found in the sutras. But it is in fact an analogy for how, after leaving the lay life, when an inexperienced monastic receives offerings, he might hope to receive offerings comparable to what experienced spiritual practitioners receive.
These virtuous sages have many disciples and receive an abundance of offerings. Compared to them, why does he receive so little? So, he sights and laments to himself; why can’t he receive what these experienced and virtuous practitioners receive? Is this fair?
Later on someone might tell him, “These people have engaged in spiritual practice for a very long time. They have taken the Dharma to heart and have also expounded teachings to create affinities with many people. Many are willing to make offerings to them because of their virtues and wisdom. As for you, what can you offer? You should be mindful and learn earnestly. Only by taking the Dharma to heart can you make use of it to create good affinities. Then naturally, you will receive offerings.”
In this example, one person is an impoverished by lay person, and the other is a monastic lacking in spiritual cultivation and virtue. This is the analogy made. However, we can also compare this to people today.
In Mozambique, there is a woman named Maria who is one of our volunteers. She heard the Bodhisattva[-volunteers] from South Africa say, “This is how we were able to do what we have done. We wanted to help people; we didn’t have money but we had strength. So, we rented a piece of land and planted vegetables. We can now provide hot meals to many people. Several times each week, we can help to provide meals to orphans and impoverished people so they can eat their fill. This is what we enjoy doing most.”
When Maria heard this, she thought, “If they can do it, why can’t we?” So, she formed the same aspiration. She told a landowner about her wish, and this landowner was willing to rent a piece of land to them cheaply, for 2000 meticals each year. They began cultivating the land, and 45 days later there were six or seven kinds of vegetables that they were able to harvest. They began providing meals in several districts.
Each week they were able to provide two meals, and each time they could provide for people in four districts so that the orphans, the elderly who lived alone and impoverished people could have hot meals with a little bit of rice and fresh vegetables to eat.
This made everyone very happy.These are people in our world today.
The person in the sutra parable resented and pitied himself.But today we can do better by coming together and working happily to be able to provide meals for so many people.This makes everyone even happier.These are truly Living Bodhisattvas, who have accepted the Dharma and put it into action.
This is very practical.
So, when we think about teaching others, we must remember, “Though we urgently impart the great teaching and expound the One Vehicle, those with limited capacities cannot easily believe.”
Those who have very limited capacities find it very hard to believe that everyone can attain Buddhahood.Is anyone capable of immediately taking the Dharma to heart upon hearing it?It would be better to use these skillful means, to use these Small [Vehicle] teachings, to help people believe in the law of karma.
Once they are willing to listen to teachings and take the Dharma to heart, even by taking very small actions they can come together to give of themselves.If they can do this, they will be able to believe.
In fact, by doing this they will be happy; helping others brings the greatest joy.If we suddenly tell people, “You can also attain Buddhahood, you just need to engage in spiritual practice,” [they say,] To engage in spiritual practice until I attain Buddhahood would be very hard!”
If we tell them, “Go transform sentient beings!” hearing the words “transform sentient beings,” they say, “That’s a very big undertaking!”Moreover, they already understand the causation of suffering, that it comes from contriving affinities with others and giving rise to discursive thoughts, so they are scared.They do not want to go among people again.
So, we do not need to talk to them about contriving affinities.First we tell them, “If you do good deeds, you will be very happy and also be able to help others. This is not contriving affinities; it is creating good affinities and benefiting everyone.”
So, when we speak, a tiny deviation can cause a misunderstanding.When it comes to people with limited capacities, it is best to guide them forward step by step.Then they will stay on the right course and will also not become scared.
“If they do not have great capabilities, do not inopportunely teach the Great Vehicle Dharma.”
Since we know they do not have great capabilities, we do not need to talk to them about very profound or overwhelmingly great teachings.This is like how, when the Buddha first awakened, He wanted to share His realizatios with everyone.
But then He withdrew them and gave Small [Vehicle] teachings instead.These teachings were the Four Noble Truths.To truly cultivate an understanding of suffering is not an easy feat.If we do not go among others, how can we recognize suffering?
But if people have not opened up their minds and are still unwilling to go among people, at this time, “Do not teach [them] the Great Vehicle Dharma.”
So, all we can do is “forgive and have compassion for the ignorant”.This is how open and spacious the Buddha’s mind is.Ordinary people do not have the capacity to accept [the Dharma], so the Buddha had to be forgiving.
He understood that His children, His disciples, only had these limited capabilities.So, He had compassion for the ignorant they had “not yet made great vows”.In their hearts, they had not yet made the Four Great Vows; they had not yet opened the door to their minds.So, the Buddha had to be forgiving and compassionate; sentient begins’ ignorance lies in their not yet making those vows.This was “for fear of injuring their young and immature roots of goodness”.
Since this was the case, it would be hard even if He wanted to force them.Initially, the Buddha wanted to help everyone step onto the path to Buddhahood right away and immediately absorb the principles for attaining Buddhahood.But this was very difficult.
As Subhuti said, after listening to the Dharma for so long, they were tired and would sometimes fall asleep.This is because sentient beings are still in a state of ignorance.They cannot take the teachings to heart.This is because they lack focus; thus, they are ignorant.
It would be better to let them go so they can gradually calm down and learn to earnestly listen to and take the Dharma to heart.
The previous sutra passage states, “The messengers, holding him ever more tightly, forcibly dragged him back.The poor son at this time thought that, thought innocent, he was being taken prisoner and would surely be put to death. With that he became increasingly terrified and fainted, collapsing on the spot”.
He struggled greatly; the suffering was unbearable. Thus, he fainted right there, collapsing on the spot.
The next sutra passage states, “The father saw this from afar and said to the messengers, I do not need this man. Do not force him to come here. Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him”.
The father saw this from afar and sighted. He had to quickly tell the messengers, “I do not need this person. Do not forcibly drag him back like that He has fainted; sprinkle cold water on him so that he can be quickly revived. There is no need to say anything to him. I just want him to wake up”.
It previously said, “From afar, [the son] saw his father”, and now it says the father saw [his son] from afar. The father and son saw each other from afar. This is an analogy for how limited capabilities and the Great Dharma are still far from each other. Thus it says, “The father saw [his son] from afar.
Before it said, “The son saw his father from afar”. Prior to the father seeing the son, the son had already seen his father from outside the house. But fear arose in his heart, so he turned around and ran away quickly. Now, “The father saw his son from afar”. The father saw the figure of his son as he was leaving. So, “The father and son saw each other from afar”. The son saw his father from a distance, and the father also saw his son from afar. However, the son had not recognized that this man was his father, while from afar the father recognized his son.
This is an analogy for “limited capabilities and the Great Dharma”. The son [represents] limited capabilities. [His father] wanted to give him the Great Dharma, but he could not understand it. This is the analogy.
So, they are “still far from each other”. The distance between the two was still very large. His capabilities were so limited, and the Dharma was so great, so they were not yet proportionate. This Dharma cannot be taken in by people of this level of capabilities.
“Thus it says, ‘The father saw [his son] from afar’”. People with limited capabilities are very far from the Great Dharma. Thus it says “afar”, very far.
Then, “[He] said to the messengers…”. If this Dharma was taught to people, that would be like the messenger forcibly dragging the son back. The strength of the messenger is akin to the great power of the Dharma. So, teaching this to those of limited capabilities is something that cannot be done.
[He] said to the messengers: The messengers are like the teachings, and the teachings must be given based on wisdom. If their wisdom is lacking in capacity, without that wisdom, the teachings cannot be given.
“The teachings must be given based on wisdom”, but “Their wisdom is lacking in capacity”. They have the wisdom to know but their capacities cannot yet connect, so the Great Dharma should be paused. Then it will not be like dragging [the son] back, causing him to struggle so much that he faints. Just as [the messengers] had to let him go, the power of this Dharma has to be set aside for now.
Speaking of them as people, “The father saw this from afar” means that “The father knew his son had no great resolve, that he had not formed great vows. “[So, he] said to the messengers, “Slowly relax and cease your urgency”. They should temporarily relax their hold. They should stop for now, not rush. “Do not create alarm in sentient beings so as to cause doubts to arise in them”.
This shows that the Buddha knew that sentient beings had limited capabilities, so He had to temporarily slow down the teaching of this Dharma. Instead of rushing, He stopped temporarily. If He forced the Dharma on them, they would get scared. It is said that in His state of mind after attaining enlightenment, He hoped everyone could promptly comprehend the path to Buddhahood. But seeing that their capacities left them incapable, He temporarily stopped teaching it.
So, the sutra passage states, “I do not need this man. Do not force him to come here”. There is no need to forcibly bring him here. This is about people without great capabilities. He was afraid that by forcing them, their roots of goodness would be injured. Since their capabilities had not matured, “He temporarily ceased using the great teachings; He temporarily stopped giving the great teachings. ” So, He devised methods to “transform those Two Vehicle practitioners”, the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. With the Hearer and Solitary Realizer Vehicles.
He began to teach them to help them slowly understand that life is suffering and that all causes and conditions arise from our minds.In this way, He did not immediately teach them with the Great Dharma.
To transform sentient beings, He devised limited teachings suitable for those of limited capabilities. So, the father told them, “Sprinkle cold water upon his face to wake him up, then say nothing more to him.”
Sprinkle cold water upon his face: He knew they had limited resolve so He fittingly used the provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles, the Dharma-water of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, to sprinkle upon the hearts of those who seek Nirvana for themselves.
This is what the sutra states He knew that those people with limited resolve and those without resolve would not want to form great aspirations. Therefore, they only wanted to awaken themselves; they only [practiced] for their own sake. He still wanted to teach people like this.
To help them recognize the suffering in the world, He taught with “the provisional teachings of the Two Vehicles.” With skillful means, He gave the Dharma-water of the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. He slowly guided ordinary people into the Small Vehicle Dharma. “Refrain from all evil; practice all that is good.”
He used this kind of Dharma-water to wake them up. Ordinary people can at least practice to attain the state of Solitary Realizers Hearers and Solitary Realizers only seek [attainment] for themselves. “They only seek Nirvana for themselves.”
Nirvana sounds like cessation, eliminating all afflictions. So, “To wake up, “[they must] first subdue the delusions of the Ten Afflictions and then gradually escape the Eight Sufferings.”
To wake up: By first subduing the delusions of the Ten Afflictions and then gradually escaping the Eight Sufferings, one is born in the human or heaven realm and can escape unhappiness while gradually awakening to the Four Noble Truths.
The five chronic and five acute afflictions are called the Ten Afflictions. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt are the five chronic afflictions. What about the five acute afflictions? [Deviant] views, the view of self, extreme view, stubborn view and the view of deviant precepts all lead us astray. These are the Ten Afflictions.
We also gradually escape the Eight Sufferings. We are all familiar with the Eight Sufferings, birth, aging, illness, death, parting from loved ones, meeting those we hate, not getting what want and the raging Five Aggregates. By understanding these principles, “One is born in the human or heaven realm and can escape unhappiness.”
As humans, we experience much suffering, but in the human realm, we still have time to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. In heaven, we can only heavenly blessings, but we still have to return to the human realm. If we get lost, we end up in the Three Evil Realms.
Only by being in the human or heaven realms do we temporarily escape afflictions and ignorance to gradually attain realizations. Realizing the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links is a gradual process.
“Then say nothing more to him” means at first, He would teach this Dharma. He temporarily held in teaching the Great Dharma and the path to Buddhahood. “He decided to cease the Great Vehicle teaching.” This was the Buddha’s decision at that time, to teach the Great Vehicle later.
When He attained enlightenment, He was in the Avatamsaka state. That was His state of mind. Wth the Lotus teachings now, He is instructing us on how we can approach this state. In the past, He talked about emptiness and existence to help us eliminate our afflictions. Only by ceasing to create karma can we be free of obstacles. If we create karma, we will face obstacles.
So, we need to first remove the ignorance and afflictions that hinder us in order to approach the path to Buddhahood. Now, Small Vehicle practitioners are gradually coming closer to it. So everyone, please be mindful in urgently drawing near the Dharma. This is the only way to listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. In our daily living, we must always be mindfuil.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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