Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Dharma-Rain Falls Equally for All (平等法雨終無懈倦)
Date: September.12. 2016
“With a heart of impartial compassion, we love and protect living beings. We extend this to all sentient beings to help them be safe and secure. With an impartial mind, we can create good goodness and blessings. Once we are replete with great impartial wisdom, we can then expound the Dharma.”
The Buddha came to this world for one great cause. He wanted to tell us that we all have the same pure intrinsic nature as the Buddha. Not only humans but all sentient beings in the world have this Buddha-nature.
So, among our fellow human beings, apart from loving and caring for each other, praising each other and helping each other succeed, human beings should also help all living beings with the same impartial love. This is being impartial.
This is just like the Buddha; His teaching the Dharma to sentient beings is like clouds and rain in the sky. When the one rain falls universally, all trees and plants in the world receive nourishment. This is an analogy for the Buddha’s love. For sentient beings, again and again, He returned to this world for one great cause, to teach the Dharma.
One time, the Buddha was at Jetavana. At that time, there was an elder called Elder Pindada, Elder Anathapindada. His family was wealthy and he had deep faith in the Buddha-Dharma. He joyfully accepted all the Buddha’s teachings. Whatever the Buddha taught, he would practice accordingly. As a lay practitioner, what he could practice was charitable giving.
Once, the Buddha asked, “Elder, have you been giving like you have in the past, to all those who are in need, impoverished or unable to make a living? Are you still giving like this to them?” The elder replied to the Buddha, “Yes, World-Honored One. What the World-Honored One taught, I dare not forget even for one day. I not only give to the poor in the city, but I also go out of the city to give to suffering people. Non only this, I also give to birds and animals in the same way. I heard the Buddha say that all living and moving beings have Buddha-nature. All sentient beings need to live, so even with birds and animals, I give in the same way.”
The Buddha heard this and was joyful. The Buddha praised him, “You give so extensively, without discriminating between different species. This is what the mind of a Bodhisattva is like.” The Buddha then specifically reminded the elder by reciting a verse. “Give universally without hesitation.” “You must earnestly, wholeheartedly and universally give to sentient beings. Without reservation or regret, you will never regret your charitable giving. ‘Without reservation or regret,’ you will never regret your charitable giving. ‘You will definitely encounter good friends’. In this and in future lifetimes, all those you meet will be your virtuous friends who share the same resolve as you and will be transformed by you to do good deeds together. Thus, ‘You will be delivered to the other shore.’ In the future, you and your friends will be able to walk the great, direct Bodhi-path together. These are your blessings. Elder, you must earnestly learn the impartial giving of Bodhisattvas. You absolutely must persevere in this.”
This was how the Buddha instructed Elder Anathapindada. As we engage in spiritual practice, we truly must be persistent. We should not act upon a momentary joy that arises from listening to the Dharma and only give for a short time. If our will to practice is not firm, with the slightest disturbance, our minds will be in disarray. Our minds will waver, and we will stop [practicing]. This would be such a pity!
Practicing the Bodhisattva-path is really not difficult. To realize the Buddha’s intent, we all must have impartial minds and cultivate compassion to love and protect all sentient beings. This is the mindset we must persevere with. We can extend this mindset to all sentient beings, enabling all to be safe and secure. “With an impartial mind, we can create goodness and blessings.”
The Buddha interacted with all sentient beings through the use of His great wisdom and an impartial mind, for the sole purpose of guiding everyone to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Only on the Bodhisattva-path can we develop the great aspiration to view all sentient beings as equals and help them. This was the Buddha’s one great cause and His purpose for coming to this world to teach.
In the previous sutra passage, it says, “Whether for one person or for many, it is the same. I constantly expound the Dharma without any other cause. Coming, going, standing or sitting, I never feel weary. I fulfill the needs of the world like the rain nourishing all universally.”
The Buddha came to this world to teach the Dharma equally to sentient beings. The Buddha did not discriminate. Whether many people or only a few people came to listen, the Buddha always had an impartial and joyful mind when He expounded the Dharma for them. When He was not orally teaching the Dharma, He was creating the causes and conditions for transforming sentient beings. To create the conditions for transformation, every action the Buddha took would make anyone who saw him feel joy and respect and give rise to a heart of reverence. This was the Buddha’s Four Demeanors.
The Buddha was always expounding the Dharma. “I fulfill the needs of the world like the rain nourishing all universally.” Everything was the Dharma to Him. Whether speaking or in silence, in motion or in stillness, He was expounding the Dharma. This is like the tangible Earth, the macrocosm of the world, which needs rainwater. The ground of our minds need rain even more. Our minds are filled with fiery afflictions and in need of Dharma-water to nourish them. The Buddha came to this world to give the Dharma-water universally, to nourish the ground of sentient beings’ minds. This is an analogy.
In the next sutra passage, it says, “Whether noble or lowly, great or limited, whether upholding or slandering the precepts, whether replete with dignified demeanors or not, whether with right views or deviant views, whether with sharp or dull capabilities, I let fall the Dharma-rain equally on all, without slackening or becoming tired.”
We can now understand how the Buddha taught the Dharma equally, like a Dharma-rain. When rain falls from the sky, all receive it according to their capacities. This is like how a big tree can absorb much rainwater, while a small plant can absorb just a little water. The rainwater is the same, but we accept it according to our capacities. In the long-form prose, there is this sutra passage.
“At this time, the Tathagata observed whether these sentient beings had sharp or dull capabilities, whether they were diligent or lax. In accordance with what they could accept, He taught them the Dharma.”
The Tathagata teaches according to capabilities.
He observes whether the capabilities of sentient beings are sharp or dull. Those with sharp capabilities can understand with just one teaching. One phrase can bring clarity amidst confusion. These are people with sharp capabilities. With a few words, they can understand like when the Buddha first turned the Dharma-wheel. From that time to the time of the Lotus Sutra, more than 40 years had passed. During those 40 years, He saw people who were diligent or lax, people with sharp or dull capabilities. The Buddha still used an impartial mind to instruct sentient beings, without slackening or becoming tired. He certainly never became weary. He hoped sentient beings would understand the Dharma.
This was the Buddha’s mindfulness. Whether they were noble, lowly, great or limited, [the Buddha] never discriminated between the noble and the lowly castes. Whether of great or limited wisdom, the Buddha taught them all the same. The Buddha used the Five Vehicles to individually teach sentient beings.
In the Five Vehicles, His outside disciples, people in society, He taught the Ten Good Deeds to encourage everyone to give and to love, to eliminate resentment with love and to practice giving to benefit others and so on. He taught the Ten Good Deeds to lay practitioners. At the same time, He taught them to uphold the Five Precepts. If they could uphold the Five Precepts, they would be born again as humans. By upholding precepts, they naturally would not commit the Five Offenses, not kill, steal or commit sexual misconduct. Thus, they would definitely not fall into the Three Evil Realms.
If they formed aspirations to become monastics, the Buddha would teach the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the Six Paramitas to them. Actually, the Six Paramitas were for both lay and monastic practitioners. So, the Buddha hoped that everyone could form great aspirations and make great vows to walk the Bodhisattva-path among people.
These were the teachings of the Five Vehicles. He hoped that everyone, whether lay or monastic, could be in the Five Vehicles. The Buddha hoped all would uphold precepts. Precepts guard against wrongs and stop evil; they protect our minds. We must understand the principles. When someone is spreading some kind of rumor and it reaches our ears, we must not believe it before making sure it is true. So, we must always uphold precepts, guard against wrongs and put a stop to evil. We will then never do the wrong things.
In a computer, there is a “firewall.” When something tries to invade us, we immediately block it off, so hackers will not enter our computers. In the same way, we must also uphold precepts to guard against wrongs and put a stop to evil. So, our minds must constantly be mindful of the precepts and “remember them without forgetting.” The Buddha wished for all of us to earnestly and “constantly be mindful of the precepts.” He hoped that we would always remember and never forget, so we would not commit evils.
“Whether upholding or slandering the precepts: This means we should constantly be mindful of the precepts, remember them without forgetting and refrain from and evil. This is called upholding precepts. Those who uphold precepts will always remain pure. Those who violate precepts will always be defiled.”
As Buddhist practitioners, we must do good and not evil. “Refrain from all evil; do all that is good”. To do this, we must uphold precepts and constantly keep them in mind. “Those who uphold precepts will always remain pure. Those who violate precepts will always be defiled.” So, if we can uphold precepts, we will always remain pure.
There is a story in the sutras about a poisonous dragon. He made vows to uphold precepts, to uphold the monastic precepts for a day. One day, there was a hunter who saw this dragon resting. Dragons were extraordinarily rare animals. “If I could bring the dragon’s hide to the king, I could receive a big reward.” Upon having this thought, he used a rod to hold down the dragon’s head and used a knife to remove the dragon’s hide. The dragon was in great pain, but in that moment he thought, “Today, I am upholding precepts. I cannot harm people. I am willing to uphold precepts and endure [abuse]. I must endure this pain.” So, his hide was removed by the hunter. His whole body was stipped bare. The dragon endured this pain over his whole body. He wanted to quickly enter the water, but ants, insects and so on had gathered all over this body. The pain was unbearable, but he still thought, “I promised myself to uphold precepts today. So, I must not have a resentful mind. I cannot harm sentient beings. I must exhaust this retribution at this time”. So, his body was nibbled and chewed by all insects. In the end, this dragon died.
This was a story from the Buddha’s past lives. There was this dragon that upheld precepts. He willingly upheld precepts and at the cost of his life. Animals can do this; why can’t humans do it? So, this is something we must learn, how to be patient.
“Replete with dignified demeanors “[means that] besides upholding precepts and not slandering the precepts, we must also be “replete with dignified demeanors.” These are the Four Demeanors, [which mean] “upholding precepts completely” not violating even minor precepts in our demeanor. “Thus we uphold precepts completely without any transgressions.”
If someone is upholding precepts, we will know it. By observing how they walk, stand, sit, sleep and how they speak, we will know if they are spiritual practitioners. This is done by looking at their demeanors. Those who uphold precepts will never transgress in their demeanors. They will not just do whatever they please.
We need discipline in our movements, speaking or silent, in motion or in stillness. Although these are minor precepts, they give people a very different impression. “Thus we uphold precepts completely without any transgressions. With dignified demeanors not means there are those with dignified demeanors.
This refers to those who, thought they uphold all precepts, are still not completely pure. “Those who know and recognize cause and effect are called people with right views. Those who turn from the principles and are deluded about the truth are called people with deviant views.”
Even if we have upheld the basic precepts, our demeanors may still not be dignified, and we may take the minor precepts lightly. We cannot say, “I have done so many good deeds, and I only smoked one cigarette; is it really that bad? Have I violated a major precept?” it is not violating a major precept, but it is harmful to our own body and to others’ impression of us. So, this is not being completely pure.
“Know and recognize cause and effect.” We must understand the karmic law of cause and effect. When other people watch and observe us, even if there is only a small shortcoming in our demeanor, people will start to talk about it and find fault with us. [This shows] that we have not completely uphold the Ten Precepts.
Of cause, these might be very minor precepts, but due to the karmic law of cause and effect, in our next lifetimes, we might end up violating major precepts. If we have right understanding and right views, we will not turn away from the principles. We must not lose our truth. If our true minds become lost, we will have deviant views.
In “sharp or dull capabilities,” “sharp means quick.” To be very fast and quick is to have sharp capabilities. After hearing one phrase, they can understand ten principles. These are people with sharp capabilities. Those with sharp capabilities can quickly attain the Dharma and take the principles to heart.
“I let fall the Dharma-rain equally on all, without slackening or becoming tired.” The Buddha viewed sentient beings equally. At this time, the Dharma-rain was needed to nourish all, so the Buddha responded to the needs of the world. With His impartial mind, “He lets fall equally the Dharma-rain of one flavor.” “Out of deep compassion for all, He never grows frustrated or weary.”
This is the Buddha’s compassion. In the depth of the Buddha’s heart, hidden with His original intent, is His hope for everyone to attain Buddhahood. He is eager for everyone to quickly understand His original intent. So, He “never grows frustrated or weary.” The Buddha was always teaching sentient beings, never becoming weary or lax. This was how the Buddha taught sentient beings.
Dear Bodhisattvas, it is rare to be born human and come to this world. Our having these virtuous friends who share our common goal is also due to how, in our past lives, we accumulated good causes and conditions. How remarkable this is! We are virtuous friends to each other. You are my virtuous friends, and I am also your virtuous friend. So, we are virtuous friends who are able to share the same goal and gather together. We can share and learn from each other. I believe this is the best. So, everyone, please always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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