Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Cultivating the Three Virtues (除戲論修三德)
Date:April.11. 2016
“The one cloud and one rain are of one appearance and one flavor. They are truly without any difference, nothing but water. After the Buddha’s initial enlightenment when He became one with the universe, He peacefully abided in the Avatamsaka state. Today, He can finally freely express His original intent and teach the wondrous Lotus Sutra.”
If we take the Dharma to heart, we should be able to experience how everything in our daily living all connects back to [the teachings]. In fact, “By grasping one truth, we understand all truths.”
We should be able to see everything clearly. For example, when we look up into the sky, if it is overcast and there are thick clouds, it will definitely rain. Rain and water are the same. So, they are “of one appearance and one flavor.” Seeing clouds, we know they will become rain, which is water. “They are truly without any difference, nothing but water.” Whether clouds or rain, they are the same; in the end they are water. This is a kind of cycle.
When the sun shines on the moisture on the ground, it evaporates into vapor and rises. Then it condenses into clouds and falls as rain. This is a natural cycle, a natural cycle in this world.
In our lives we need to recognize that this is also Dharma. “After the Buddha’s initial enlightenment when He became one with the universe, He peacefully abided in the Avatamsaka state.” We must understand this better. When Sakyamuni Buddha began to engage in spiritual practice, He spent a long time travelling to understand all kinds of other religious practices.
Then, He underwent six years of ascetic practice. Suddenly one day in a very tranquil environment, His mind’s innate enlightenment merged with the universe. In that moment of initial enlightenment, His mind came to abide in the Avatamsaka state.
The Avatamsaka state contains so many principles, principles of the mind and principles of all things in the world. There are truly so many. This all came about when His mind opened up to that ocean of enlightened wisdom. In this way, He came to abide in the ocean of enlightened wisdom that is the Avatamsaka state. The Avatamsaka state is the state of mind of all Buddhas. How could He help everyone experience this awakened nature that can merge with the entire universe?
He physically manifested among sentient beings to teach according to their capacities. He did this for more than 40 years until He could freely carry out His original intent and finally express what He wished to say. This was the moment He had to teach it. This was because He was getting old and His conditions for transformation were at an end. [The teachings for achieving] this important state were still contained within His mind.
So, He wanted to express this Dharma in His mind in order to help everyone understand. If everyone could apply these teachings, we could likewise return to the Avatamsaka state. Thus it was necessary to teach the Wondrous Lotus Sutra, about the Bodhisattva-mind that can emerge from the mud without being sullied. We must continuously go among people, which is like being in the mud. Like the lotus that grows from the mud, we must be in the mud but remain unsullied by it. Also, when the lotus blooms, we see its fruit.
This is a special characteristic of the lotus. Among flowers, the lotus is very special. When we see its flower open up, its fruit is already completely formed. The fruit of the lotus, the lotus seed, and the lotus root can both be consumed by people. This is very special. This type of flower is used as an analogy for the principles in this sutra. This sutra is wondrous Dharma. The wondrous Dharma is analogous to a lotus.
This Dharma teaches and guides us to be like the lotus and [grow from] the mud without being defiled. Thus, we must not merely benefit ourselves. We must take what was taught in the past, everything that we absorbed and comprehended, then form great aspirations, make great vows and go among people to transform sentient beings. Thus, “Today, He [could] finally freely express His original intent.” This was what the Buddha hoped for His entire life.
The previous passage of the sutra states, “World-Honored One because of the Three Sufferings, in the cycle of birth and death we have suffered all kinds of fiery afflictions. Confused, deluded and ignorant we delighted in and clung to limited teachings.”
This was how Subhuti expressed to the Buddha what was on their minds. “We” means that they had all been like this. Since Beginningless Time, they had experienced the Three Sufferings. As you might remember, the Three Sufferings are the suffering of suffering, of decay and of action. These are all suffering. It had been this way, life after life; they remained in the cycle of birth and death, begin pressed by fiery afflictions. They were confused, deluded and ignorant and delighted in and clung to limited teachings.
The next sutra passage states, “Today the World-Honored One had led us to contemplate and to cast away the excrement of frivolously debating all Dharma. Through this, we earnestly increased our diligence and attained the single day’s wages of Nirvana.”
Here, “today” means at the Lotus Dharma-assembly. It can also represent encountering the Buddha in this lifetime. Since the beginning, the Buddha has taught us to engage in earnest contemplation, not just “frivolously debate all Dharma.” When we learn the Dharma, we must be earnest. If we never apply it to our minds or to our actions, if we only speak of it eloquently but accomplish nothing and remain immersed in afflictions, this is the “excrement of frivolous debate.” If all we do is talk about it but never apply it, this results in afflictions. So, “Through this, we earnestly increased our diligence.” At this time, we must be very diligent in eliminating the excrement of frivolous debate.
Only by being very diligent now can we “attain the single day’s wages of Nirvana.” We are just like the poor son. By working earnestly, he was able to receive his wages. That is the values of the effort he put forth.
Next we examine “today the World-Honored One.” This is analogous to the story about how the elder enticed the poor son to return home. “[This illustrates] how He transformed people through the Two Vehicles.” So here, “today” means encountering the Buddha in this lifetime. He began with methods like the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, as well as the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. These were taught during the Agama period.
After the Agama period was the Vaipulya period. This is how the Buddha accompanied us along the way. Hearers and Solitary Realizes gradually developed clarity about the Dharma and understood it.
Thus, “today” refers to how.
“For many previous lifetimes they delighted in the Small [Vehicle], even up to today in this lifetime.”
They still lingered in the provisional and limited teachings. From previous lives on into this life, they had stopped at the provisional and limited teachings, remaining at the stage of the Agama [teachings].
In past lives they had also lived at the same time as the Buddha.
The Buddha also taught them continuously, but they were still stuck in the provisional, remaining at the stage of the Agama [teachings]. The Buddha had to spend a long time with them. [He] led us to contemplate.”
Think about it, during the Agama period, the Buddha gradually taught over 12 years’ time. “The Buddha knew that in former days we experienced suffering and delighted in the Small. So, He led us to contemplate.” His disciples had experienced much suffering in the past and were still in that state. Thus, “[He] led us to contemplate. He told us to earnestly contemplate and think clearly so we will not remain stuck. We must not stop with the Small Vehicle Dharma. So, He wanted us to earnestly contemplate. Then we must “cast away the excrement of frivolously debating all Dharma”.
We must take our discursive thoughts and afflictions and cast them all away. Even delighting in the Small [Vehicle] and focusing on benefiting ourselves is a kind of affliction that we must quickly remove. All this is garbage.
So, “excrement” is an analogy for all kinds of ignorance and afflictions. All frivolous debate of the Dharma is affliction.
The cast away the excrement of frivolously debating all Dharma: “Excrement” symbolizes all kinds of ignorance and afflictions. All frivolous debate of the Dharma is affliction. Contemplation refers to our mental states; all good and evil actions arise from these states.
Contemplation is talking about our thoughts, our mental states. Contemplation is a kind of mental state. Our mental states are the results of the mind-king connecting with external phenomena. We call these mental states. All things start from our mind-king. These mental states are the mental phenomena that arise in the span of a thought when we see something. When we give rise to greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, our mental state is being affected by the mind-king, so our mind connects with external conditions and greedily clings to them. Our mind-king determines what we connect with.
So, contemplation is a mental state. We must earnestly engage in contemplation and spiritual practice to take good care of our mental states. We must not allow them to connect to so many external conditions.
“All good and evil actions arise from these states.” Regardless of good or evil, everything begins with our mental states. “To cast away” is to practice elimination. To eliminate indolence, ignorance and other afflictions, we need to take what the Buddha taught and faithfully accept and practice it.
Subhuti and the others had the resolve to listen to the Buddha’s teachings in this way, to earnestly listen and contemplate. They cultivated contemplation, but they remained stuck in the practices of the Small Vehicle. They eliminated delusions of views and thinking but were still only benefiting themselves. This is “the excrement of frivolous debate.”
To cast away means to practice elimination. Following the Buddha’s teachings to give rise to the Small Vehicle practices of listening, contemplation and practice and severing delusions of views and thinking is casting away the excrement of frivolous debate.
“Through this, we earnestly increased our diligence.” With focused minds and concentrated thoughts, they cultivated the practice of the Path. Subhuti and the others had already attained Arhatship. They achieved this with diligent practice; they had earnestly advanced and cultivated and upheld teachings with focused minds. They had already eliminated afflictions. Thus, “earnestly increasing their diligence” is “searching for and casting away excrement.” This means wherever there is filth, we should quickly go there and clear it away.
In this, we earnestly increased our diligence: With focused minds and concentrated thoughts, we cultivated and upheld the practice of the Path to eliminate afflictions. We earnestly increased our diligence, which is to search for and cast away excrement.
“[We] attained the single day’s wages of Nirvana is an analogy, an analogy of asking, “In exchange for my work, how much will I be paid each day?” This is like spiritual practitioners asking, “If I engage in spiritual practice like this, how much can I get out of it?”
Actually, we should be more like farmers, who only focus on the effort they put in, not how much it will yield. This is what we should be doing. However, Small Vehicle practitioners ask, “If I practice in this way, what stage can I reach?” This is what they are concerned about when it comes to spiritual cultivation. So, all they attain is Nirvana biased toward emptiness. They are only cultivating themselves. This is “Nirvana biased toward emptiness.” They themselves achieve a state of tranquility and become liberated from afflictions. This is “a single day’s wages;” it is only the value of one day of work.
[We] attained the single day’s wages of Nirvana: This is like what the previous passage says, “[He] first asked for the value of his wages. But what they attained was not much, only the Nirvana biased towards emptiness. This is referred to as the single day’s wages.
So, what they gain over three great asankya kalpas will still be the same. What level should we strive to attain instead? “The Three Virtues can be perfected.” The three Virtues all need to be perfected. This is “of infinite value.” Only in this way cab we attain much. Otherwise we just get the value of one day’s work; that is all we get.
Actually, we do not need to think too much. No matter how long it takes, and three great asankya kalpas is a long time, we must continue until we achieve the Three Virtues.
In this great asankya kalpas the Three Virtues can be perfect; this is infinite value. The Nirvana of the Small Vehicle can be gained by those of sharp capabilities in 60 kalpas. Those of dull capabilities turn and retreat, so the time it takes them is undetermined.
These Three Virtues are first, the virtue of the Dharmakaya (Dharma-body), second, the virtue of prajna and third, the virtue of liberation.
The virtue of the Dharmakaya is being able to attain the Dharmakaya, the Buddha’s ever-abiding and indistinguishable body of the Dharma-nature. This is virtue of the Dharmakaya. If it is not all-encompassing, we have not yet attained it.
The virtue of prajna is the infinite and boundless wisdom of the Buddha. This too much be all-encompassing.
The virtue of liberation is the most superior and wondrous Dharma that the Buddha attained, the Avatamsaka state. The Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment is at this level, thus He is able to “transform and deliver all sentient beings while unhindered and at ease.” This is the virtue of liberation.
We need to perfect the Three Virtues in order to attain infinite value, this is how we can gain so much.
The virtue of the Dharmakaya: The Buddha’s inextinguishable and everlasting body of the Dharma-nature is all-encompassing. The virtue of prajna: the Buddha’s wisdom is infinite and boundless. The virtue of liberation: The most superior and wondrous Dharma realized by the Buddha allows Him to transform and deliver all sentient beings while unhindered and at ease.
As for the Nirvana of the Small Vehicle, even if practitioners biased toward emptiness and the Small Vehicle have sharp capabilities, since they just focus on benefiting themselves, they will have to practice for 60 kalpas in order to attain [that state]. Those with dull capabilities may retreat, making the time it takes them undeterminable.
Therefore, when people see that the length of time, they feel that they still have so far to go. When will they ever achieve this? So, the only way is to start “attaining liberation from hindrances of delusion.” As we are gradually liberated from our many delusions, we attain all kinds of prajna and the Nirvana of the Great Vehicle. Comparing where we are with the Nirvana of the Great Vehicle, we still have a long way to go.
]However, “A journey of 10,000 miles begins with a single step.” To cover that cast distance, we start with a single step. We must have faith and believe that when we take this first step, we are going precisely in the right direction, that this is the most correct direction, which will take us to our goal one step at a time.
Therefore, we must earnestly work to liberate ourselves from hindrances of delusion. So, this sutra passage is about eliminating, about earnestly cleaning our minds. So, we must make the effort to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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