Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Concealing the True and Giving the Provisional (覺非機宜隱實施權)
Date: February.23. 2016
“Two Vehicle practitioners’ capabilities are limited. They have no great resolve, intent or vows. Fearing cause and effect, they practice for their own benefit and carefully keep the precepts. They take no joy in the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle or in going among the people. They fear suffering in the Five Destinies and see upholding the Four Noble Truths and the [Twelve] Links as sufficient.”
Those with limited capabilities have no great resolve or vows; they are unable to form aspirations. This was what concerned the Buddha most at first, what caused Him and greatest worry. The Buddha was getting older as the years went by, and His conditions for transforming the world were almost exhausted. But who would take responsibility for the Dharma? Who would be willing to transmit it? This was what worried the Buddha the most and caused Him and greatest concern.
But when He looked around, most practitioners had stopped at having the capabilities of the Two Vehicles. Those practitioners claimed they wanted to learn the Buddha’s Way and engage in spiritual practice, but their practice focused on understanding the law of karma. They knew emotions of love, hate passion and enmity in relationships would give rise to many afflictions.
So, they began to fear cause and effect. They were very scared of becoming entangled with the karmic retributions of sentient beings. This is why Small Vehicle practitioners wanted to isolate themselves from sentient beings. They only wanted to benefit themselves. As long as they upheld precepts themselves, that was good enough for them. So, “They take no joy in the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle.”
The Great Dharma of the One Vehicle [requires] going back among the people to deliver and transform sentient beings. They had no interest in this at all and were unwilling to go among others. They feared that by being in the human realm, they would carelessly give rise to an ignorant thought, which would result in 84,000 afflictions. Then, following negative causes and conditions, they would transmigrate in the Five Destinies and four forms of birth without any control; this is what they feared. Now that they had become clear, had understood the Dharma and eliminated their afflictions, they dared not aspire to go among people. They simply feared being tempted by others. If a single thought of evil or a thought of ignorance or affliction were to arise, it would be very problematic because they would be unable to return [to a pure state]. These are the fears of Small Vehicle practitioners.
So, they only focused on the Four Nobel Truths, on eliminating the “causation” of “suffering,” on bringing suffering to cessation. When they can prevent afflictions from arising, they have achieved “cessation”. This requires practicing the “Path”.
By practicing a limited path, Hearers and Solitary Realizers did not recognize that these were merely provisional teachings given by the Buddha. To reach the land of ultimate bliss, the [pure land] in the west, what does the Amitabha Sutra say we must do? For seven days, we cannot give rise to a single thought, to say nothing of how we “cannot lack the causes and conditions of roots of goodness, blessings and virtues to be born in the pure land.” This is telling everyone that only those who possess great roots of goodness and great capabilities are capable of being born in that pure land.
The best thing to do is, as we now know, no matter what realm awaits us in the future, to steadfastly walk the Bodhisattva-path in this world now. We can become Bodhisattvas right now. We can help people right away.
There is no need to wait for a future lifetime to walk this path.Beginning in this lifetime, we must start putting this into practice.To truly work to benefit everyone, to truly attain wisdom by interacting with others, this is true Buddha-Dharma.We must constantly strengthen our aspiration to give of ourselves for others.This is what makes one a Bodhisattva.
The passage we looked at previously were still about the poor son.[The messengers] wanted to bring him back, and when they tried to forcibly drag him, he struggled furiously and became so afraid that he fainted.The elder had no choice but to give some room.“Wake him! There is no need for him to come. Let him go.”
The father was very worried about him and hoped he would come through the gate so they would be reunited.However, the son did not recognize his father.But because his son was always on his mind, their father knew him at a glance.
Clearly, fathers in the world are like this, to say nothing of the world-transcending Great Awakened One.He had but one though, [to deliver] the myriad sentient beings; this was His one great cause.Every single sentient being was His child.He hoped they could accept the Buddha-Dharma and awaked to it in order to return to their intrinsic nature.
In listening to Dharma, as in spiritual practice, at first we hear that we must quickly enter the Buddha’s teachings;.He wanted to use the True Dharma to lead us from the small road to the big road, to the great, direct Bodhi-path.This is like the son continuing to gradually approach that luxurious home.
Yet when he saw it, he was frightened.He termed and ran away.When the elder saw his son, he saw that he was afraid to come inside, so he had to first go easy on him.It was the same with the Buddha.
Since sentient beings were unable to directly accept the Great Vehicle, the Buddha had to first let them be and gradually devise methods.He hoped to bring them back, and at last He had caught sight of them.
For instance, the Buddha returns life after life; if He cannot deliver them in this life.He will work to deliver them in the next.
In the Introductory Chapter, we were warned Manjusri and Maitreya already told us that spiritual cultivation takes a very long time.Furthermore, “All Buddhas share the same path.”They continuously return again and again.If They cannot deliver us in this lifetime, They will come again in the next.
This is the Buddha’s compassion; He comes life after life until the next Buddha, Maitreya Bodhisattva, attains enlightenment.However, future sentient beings would become more and more complicated in their thoughts.This is because every time they come to the evil world of Five Turbidities they are contaminated.This contamination grows more and more severe so many people are needed to protect [the Dharma].
See, when Sakyamuni Buddha came to the world, so many Bodhisattvas came to assist Him!Manjusri, Maitreya, Samantabhadra, Earth Treasury, Guanyin and many other Bodhisattvas followed Samyamuni Buddha to come and transform and deliver people in this world.
If they cannot deliver us in this life, they will try again in the next.No matter how many lifetimes it takes, they will continue until we attain Buddhahood, until we have formed Bodhisattva-aspirations and we ourselves can deliver others.
So, the previous passage discusses why [the elder] released his son.“Why did he do so? The father knew his son to be of limited resolve. He knew that his grandeur and nobility would be difficult for his son to accept.”The time was not right “Knowing full well that this was his son, he employed skillful means.”Now that he knew where his son was, he could devise skillful means.“He never told anyone else, ‘This is my son.’”
He never told anyone that this man was his son.
He would devise skillful means himself that would allow him to approach his son.This was the love and compassion of the father.Isn’t the Buddha the same?
The passage continues again by stating, “The messenger said to the son, ‘I now set you free. You can go where you wish. The poor son was joyous. Having attained what he had never had before, he picked himself off the ground and returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.’”
The messengers heard the elder say, “Let him go. Wash his face with water to wake him up”. Then set him free. So, the messengers had to let him go. One told him, “I am letting you go. I am setting you free. You can go where you wish”; he gave him his freedom. “The poor son was joyous”. He was happy that this man was letting him go.
So, “The messenger said to the son, I now set you free, you can go where you wish”. This passage means that, “In the place of enlightenment, the Bodhimanda, the Buddha’s innate enlightenment merged into the Avatamsaka ocean of enlightenment, and He realized that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, so He urgently desired to give the great teaching”.
This again describes the instant Sakyamuni Buddha became enlightened. In the Avatamsaka ocean of enlightenment, He became one with the universe and realized [its] vast and expansive principles. In that moment, He attained realizations, the first of which was that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature. Thus, His original intent was to quickly help everyone know this state. However, they were unable.
Knowing this, He contemplated further.
“He was aware that their capabilities were not suitable, so He gave provisional teachings and slowly ceased transforming with Great Dharma”.
He understood what sentient beings were like. At this time, they were unable to accept this Great Dharma. So, this was not a suitable time for teaching with the Great Dharma. What method should He use? So later, He devised teachings; “He gave provisional teachings”.
He began teaching with skillful means. He looked at the world to see what kind of Dharma could quickly help sentient beings resolve their suffering. That would be the truth of suffering. To relieve sentient being of their suffering, He had to first help them understand suffering. So, upon returning to Deer Park, He taught suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, the Four Noble Truths. He had to turn this Dharma-wheel three times just for five people [to understand].
These five had all come from the palace to accompany the prince in his spiritual cultivation; when suffering was explained to them, they were unable to understand. See, just for five people, He had to teach it three times before they finally understood the truths of suffering. In this way, He began to deliver sentient beings.
All the teachings He gave were inseparable from worldly suffering.All the truths He taught had to do with the workings of the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, He wanted everyone to understand the karmic law of cause and effect.
So, if we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we should listen to the Great Dharma. The Buddha had the intention of leaving this wonderful Dharma to the world, so we should faithfully accept it and put it into practice. Yet, with our capabilities we are still unable. When people’s karma manifests, we will not be able to sway them, no matter how persuasive we are. They will not be persuaded! This is due to that single ignorant thought.
We can share the Great Dharma with them, but they will not be able to accept it. Sentient beings like this are hard to train. So, “I now set you free, you can go where you wish”.
He knew their capacities were great yet weak, so they were unable to uphold the Great Dharma. Thus it says, “I now set you free”. He recognized they sought limited benefit.Those with limited capabilities only resolve to seek cessation of samsara’s causes and effects, to cross over samsara’s raging currents. Thus it says, “You can go where you wish”.
This describes how, “Their capacities were great but weak”. Although everyone has the potential to attain Buddhahood, everyone has wisdom equal to the Buddha and everyone has the ability to help others, these [capacities] are weak and limited. The aspirations they form are weak. When it comes to the size of people’s capacities. Actually, their capacities are inherently great. They possess that latent ability within them; it is just that their aspirations are weak, and they are unwilling to dedicate themselves to helping others.
In this way, their capacities were weak, so “They were unable to uphold the Great Dharma”. How can people like this be will to accept the Great Dharma? They are unwilling. Thus it says, “I now set you free”. The Buddha let them go and temporarily did not teach the Great Dharma instead He imparted limited teachings, leaving them to enjoy limited benefits. Limited benefits refers to self-awakening. “Those with limited capabilities only resolves to seek cessation of samsara’s causes and effects”.
“Those with limited capabilities only resolve to seek cessation of samsara’s causes and effects.” They think that by no coming into contact with other people, they can eliminate samsara’s causes and effects and never again transmigrate in the Six Realms.
So, they will “cross over samsara’s raging currents.” They think they will not return to samsara, that they can deliver themselves Samsara’s raging currents are very frightening, so they focus on awakening themselves and delivering themselves from samsara. They do not deliver others.
Others are experiencing samsara as well, but they are unwilling to extend a hand and tell them, “Come, let’s cross together.” So, people with limited capabilities do this alone, which is in fact very dangerous. Yet, they just want to awaken themselves. “You can go where you wish.”
They follow their own intent. The poor son is an analogy for how “[He] accorded with their limited capabilities.” They did what they were willing and happy to do.
“I am just happy and willing to practice the Small Vehicle Dharma.” So, “To accord with their limited capabilities.” “He catered to their liking and followed their basic vows, thus concealing the true and giving the provisional.” The Buddha could not do anything except to accord with their capabilities. “He did not pressure them.” He did not want to pressure them through using the great teachings and saying, “You must immediately understand that you yourselves can attain Buddhahood.” Actually, they could not understand this. If He were to continually tell them this, then of course they would feel pressured.
So, “He catered to their liking”; that is why He gave so many teachings, as in the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka. This was truly hard work. Thus it says, “The poor son was joyous, having attained what he never had before.”
When we can do what we want, we feel very happy. It is best when no one bosses us around. This is our self-indulgent nature. So, “He picked himself off the ground.”
To cater and adapt to their capabilities, the Small [Vehicle] was given so they could attain awakening. Thus it says, “He picked himself off the ground.” When capabilities and teachings are in harmony practitioners are able to engage in proper spiritual practice. In the midst of samsara, they aspire to seek the Two Vehicles. Thus it says, “He picked himself off the ground.”
“Catered and adapted to their capabilities” means catering and adapting to capabilities by teaching with the Small [Vehicle] so they could gradually awaken. Even people with limited capabilities can at least eliminate their afflictions and gradually awaken. “When capabilities and teachings are in harmony, when teachings and capabilities mutually connect, and teachings are given according to capabilities, they are gradually guided to engage in proper spiritual practice.” At least they could understand the law of karma and proper principles. “They can engage in proper spiritual practice.” “In the midst of samsara, they aspire to seek the Two Vehicles.” [These are] the Hearers and Solitary Realizers. This is called “picking oneself off the ground.” It is at least better than following a deviant path “He returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.”
Those who engaged in spiritual practice through the Small [Vehicle] Dharma are said to abide in the principle of emptiness, seeking the correct practices to enlightenment, or in the teaching of Four Noble Truths. Thus it says, “[He] returned to a poor neighborhood in search of food and clothing.”
Engaging in spiritual practice through the Small [Vehicle] Dharma is abiding in the principle of emptiness, in the state of emptiness. By breaking our attachment to “existence” we enter the principles of “emptiness.” Or, we enter the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths. This is returning to applying the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths and firmly remaining there.
As for the great teaching spoken of before, It was as if they were deaf or blind and had no way of understanding it. When the Buddha taught the Great Dharma, they all thought, “This is for Bodhisattvas.” “It is not for me, I cannot understand it by hearing or reading it.” So now, “By listening to the limited teachings, they can attain awakening.” The Small [Vehicle] teachings could gradually lead them toward awakening; this is like “picking himself off the ground.”
Everyone, the Buddha-Dharma is so profound; understanding it is so difficult. So, we must make an effort to be grounded and mindful in our spiritual practice. Since we have aspired to learn the Buddha’s Way, we must move toward attaining Buddhahood. This is only possible through the Bodhisattva-path. So everyone, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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