Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Listen to the Dharma to Attain the Fruit and Grow (聞法得果各得增長)
Date: September.26. 2016
“Those attached to only transforming themselves as Hearers and Solitary Realizers are the average medicinal plants. Bodhisattvas who have firm wisdom, realize that external conditions are illusory and seek the supreme Buddha-fruit are the little trees that grow. Those who joyfully listen to the Dharma and reach the Ten Grounds are the big trees that grow.”
Do you understand? As Hearers and Solitary Reazliers, we engage in spiritual practice, but we are attached to our limited sense of self. We may already understand suffering, causation, cessation, and the Path in life. We understand all the principles and know that living in the human realm is suffering, while the hell, hungry ghost and animal realms are filled with even more suffering. Beings in the heaven realm may be happy, but when they deplete their blessings, they will also fall into a lower realm again. Is this really what we want? Of course it is not.
However, our regular daily lives are always outside of our control. We are tempted a little by external conditions and then just go after them. This world has many traps, so we often find ourselves trapped, without any control, continuously reproducing afflictions and in our ignorance continuously creating karma. Layer upon layer, the desert sand in our minds is already piled as high as a mountain. We must make an effort to mindfully take all this sand, all our ignorance and afflictions and garbage, and constantly clear it away. Then, we can perceive our nature of True Suchness. This bright and beautiful nature is intrinsic in everyone.
For Hearers and Solitary Realizers, in their past, who knows how many lifetimes ago, they accepted the Buddha-Dharma. They uphold the Ten Good Deeds and Five Precepts. They already planted these causes, these seeds for listening to the Dharma, so that in this lifetime they can hear the Buddha-Dharma. This continued until their aspiration was awakened to focus on spiritual practice.
However, they still have attachments. Their attachment is around suffering, the suffering of the human realm. They bring their accumulated ignorance and afflictions. [Now they think,] “I understand the principles so I must immediately eliminate these layers and layers of afflictions. I do not wish to come to the human realm again.”
As for Solitary Realizers, they can accept more than Hearers and understand the law of karma more deeply, that the cycle of the Twelve Links is beyond their control. Solitary Realizers understand this, so they only think of transforming themselves. As they transform themselves, though they only practice for their own benefit, they can eliminate all of their afflictions. Yet, they are still left with dust-like delusions, and they are still afraid to form aspirations and make vows. Thus, they are called “average medicinal plants.”
Small medicinal plants are people living in society who encounter the Buddha-Dharma and practice the Ten Good Deeds and the Five Precepts. As for Hearers and Solitary Realizers, they are average medicinal plants. Given their level of spiritual practice, they are still only plants. They are able to cure themselves, but unable to save the world. “Bodhisattvas who have firm wisdom realize that external conditions are illusory.” Bodhisattvas have wisdom that goes even farther. They are firm as they exercise both compassion and wisdom. With their wisdom, they transcend [the pursuit] of their own enjoyment, and they are willing to help sentient beings attain relief from suffering. They do not purse their own peace and happiness because they thoroughly understand that all things in the world are illusory, like a dream, a bubble, or a shadow, and are no longer attached to them.
So, they are very concerned about the suffering in the world.They are willing to devote themselves in the world while remaining unaffected by the human realm’s afflictions and ignorance, not letting these illusory states disturb their minds.This is the wisdom of Bodhisattvas.
They “seek the supreme Buddha-fruit [and] are the little trees that grow”.These are Bodhisattvas in the initial ground.They hear the Dharma and become joyful and willingly go among people.They are at the state of learning, but they continue to seek progress, not for themselves, but for all sentient beings.
[They] “work for the greater good and set aside personal issues”.This is the initial ground of forming aspirations.
In this way, they have become little trees.Little trees are in more need of the Dharma, in need of rain and dew to provide them moisture.Little trees will, over time, gradually grow in the natural environment.
“Those who joyfully listen to the Dharma and reach the Ten Grounds are big trees that grow.”
Starting from the initial ground, they make continuous and diligent progress as they move ahead with a firm spiritual aspiration.
These are called big trees, continuing on to the ground of Dharma-cloud, until they attain wondrous enlightenment.These are called big trees.
So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must first eliminate our limited sense of self and strengthen our spiritual aspiration.
The ignorance and afflictions of this world are all illusory.Even those we love most dearly will only be with us a short time.The greatest afflictions are still only illusions.They will pass with the passage of time, so we must seize the causes and conditions.
The previous sutra passage states, “The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor. It helps those in all worlds to universally be well-provisioned. By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice. The Dharma of all Buddhas is always of one flavor.”
It is the same kind of Dharma.This Dharma is that we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature.
If we want to discover our Buddha-nature, we must work hard; we must diligently take action.
Throughout this process, we must have patience, and we must focus.This is all the “One Dharma,” with “one appearance and one flavor”.We have spoken of this before.
“It helps those in all worlds to universally be well-provisioned.”I hope that all of us can express our love, starting with the Ten Good Deeds, Five Precepts and all the way to the Bodhisattva-path, enabling us to go among people and serve them.This is the Buddha’s method.
He teaches the “One Dharma, ”hoping everyone will awaken their Buddha-mind.The process of awakening our Buddha-mind requires that we walk the Bodhisattva-path.
“By practicing in sequence, all will attain the fruits of spiritual practice.”
The next sutra passage states, “Hearers and Solitary Realizers live in the mountain forests. They are in their final incarnation. They listen to the Dharma and attain the fruits. Thus, they are called medicinal plants and each is able to grow.”
Hearers and Solitary Realizers are like this, very mindful in [practicing] for themselves.
They live in the mountain forests to focus on their spiritual practice.These are the Hearers and Solitary Realizers.
So, this passage is about “ [praising] the growth of plants and trees”.“If Hearers do not meet the Buddha, they cannot eliminate all afflictions in their current lifetime.”
This is praising the growth of plants and trees.
If Hearers do not meet the Buddha, they cannot eliminate all afflictions in their current lifetime.
Because they meet the Buddha, this becomes their last incarnation, but the bond of attachment still exists.
When they listen to the Dharma, they turn from the Small to the Great and attain the fruits, so they are above-average growing [plants].
If Hearers do not meet the Buddha, if they do not hear the Buddha expound the Dharma, how can they understand the principles?If they cannot understand the principles, then there are no teachings they can practice.
Without the methods, how could they eliminate their afflictions?
So, “They cannot eliminate all afflictions in their current lifetime.”They have no way to eliminate their afflictions.
“Because they meet the Buddha” meant this is because they meet the Buddha.They live at the same time as the Buddha and are able to meet Him, so “this becomes their last incarnation”.
They listen to and accept the Buddha-Dharma, so they eliminate their afflictions.They do not wish to be reborn again.So, they hope that this lifetime is the last.They do not want to return to the world, as the human realm is filled with suffering.
Thus, “the bond of attachment still exists”.It is like taking a rope and tying oneself up; these kinds of afflictions still remain.As they are still seeking to benefit themselves, their hearts and minds have not yet opened, and they remain bound by their own ropes.
The Hearers [kept] listening to the Dharma.
The Buddha taught for more than 40 years 42 years later, He changed the direction [of His teaching].He set aside the Small for the Great and taught the Great [Vehicle] Dharma.
So when everyone heard this,they began to understand. They were attached to the Small, but their personal liberation was not the ultimate; they still had to go among people to be tempered.
So, they all understood, and from listening knew to turn from the Small to the Great to attain its fruits. These are above-average medicinal plants, or even little or big trees. Still, this passage speaks of medicinal plants because they have just begun to shift and turn from the Small to the Great [Dharma].
“Hearers and Solitary Realizers live in the mountain forests. They are the Buddha’s disciples of the Small Vehicle Dharma”. These were Hearers and Solitary Realizers who were practicing the Small Vehicle Dharma. They listen to the Buddha’s teachings, awaken to the principle of the Four Noble Truths and eliminate delusions of views and thinking”.
These were called Hearers; they listened to the Four Noble Truths and understood how to eliminate their afflictions and their delusion of views and thinking. These were Solitary Realizers, who are also called Realizers of Conditions. They are called Solitary Realizers if they live in a time when there is no Buddha. Those born in the time of a Buddha are called Realizers of Conditions.
Solitary Realizers: Also called Realizers of Conditions. Those born in the time of a Buddha hear the Dharma of [the Twelve Links of] Causes and Conditions. They are called Realizers of Conditions. Those born in times without a Buddha observe the causes and conditions of the arising and ceasing of all phenomena and through their own practice achieve awakening. They are called Solitary Realizers. Two Vehicle practitioners take joy in stillness, hence they live in the mountain forests.
When the Buddha was born in the human realm, He expounded the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and the karmic law of cause and effect. They accepted these principles deeply. So, after learning the Four Noble Truths, they also came to understand that all things are subject to the law of karma. They knew that once a thought arises, it will set [the cycle] into motion. Ignorance will begin to arise, and give rise to “volitional formation”, creating the cause for [rebirth in] the world. It begins like this.
Thus they understood that they must safeguard their minds. They must not give rise to these thoughts. In this way, they focus on eliminating ignorance. To attain tranquility, they live in the mountain forests, hoping to not come in contact with others. These people practice as Realizers of Conditions.
“Those born in times without a Buddha observe the causes and conditions of the arising and ceasing of all phenomena”. Sometimes, when in the past someone has already listened to the Dharma and understood the basis of the teachings, after they come [back] to the human realm, the teachings they practiced in the past are still deeply impressed upon them.
“Through their practice [they] achieve awakening”. As they connect with this state, through their own practice, they achieve awakening. These people are called Solitary Realizers. Just by observing the states of spring, summer, autumn and winter and seeing how, in life, the trees start to flower and then lose their leaves, in this way they are able to awaken. These people are called Solitary Realizers.
However, their awakening is still stuck in just awakening themselves. “Two Vehicle practitioners take joy in stillness”. Whether Hearers or Solitary Realizers, they are focused only on awakening themselves and do not want to contrive affinities with others. Thus, “They live in the mountain forests.”
“They are in their final incarnation. They attain the fruit of Arhatship”. This is [the fruit of] the Small Vehicle practice, “which is called the final incarnation”. “They will be forever free from the Three Realms and never be reborn again”.
They have broken the cycle of fragmentary samsara, but not ended transformational samsara. How could they possibly do this? Nonetheless, the Buddha told them that life is suffering; it is best to eliminate those causes and conditions.
Eliminate what causes and conditions? The conditions for creating karma. The Buddha wanted everyone to eliminate the afflictions that arise as we connect with [external] states and let them enter our minds. The Buddha also hoped for us to know that these external states that enter our minds are illusory. Sentient beings ae suffering, so the world needs us to temper ourselves and to better understand by [living] in the world where the true principles of this suffering and where it comes from. So, the Buddha wanted us all to develop great aspirations and not to just seek to benefit ourselves.
“They listen to the Dharma and attain the fruits. They listen to the Buddha expounding the Dharma, and their minds are able to understand it. They attain the fruits of Arhats and Pratyekabuddhas”.
These are the fruits of the Small Vehicle. “Thus, they are called medicinal plants”. They are called medicinal plants. They are Small Vehicle [practitioners], but they are listening to the Buddha’s teachings. The fields of their minds are moistened, and they can treat their own illness. So, they are called medicinal plants. These are small medicinal plants. This earth has many medicinal plants.
This is like what we often speak of, “Four Magic Soup”, or the “Eight Treasures” or the “Ten Perfections”. Whether their purpose is to nourish or to tonify the blood, Chinese medicine explains their use.
All these medicinal plants come from the earth. There are many different kinds, but if there is no rain, none of them will grow.
Cruel people can also have kind thoughts, and kind-hearted people who do good deeds also have ignorance within them. Thus, we must listen to the Dharma and turn ourselves around and cultivate for the future.
So, these are plants, and “Each is able to grow.” We must listen to the Dharma; this refers to the analogy that clouds and rain can nourish the earth and all of the earth’s different medicinal plants and trees. All of these need the rain. These are the average the medicinal plants, the Hearers and Solitary Realizers Small and average medicinal plants are all still medicinal plants. “They receive benefit so that each can grow.”
“If Hearers do not meet the Buddha, they cannot attain their final incarnation.” Because they meet the Buddha, this becomes their last incarnation. This is receiving benefits so they can grow.”
Hearers themselves believe, “I have reached my final incarnation,” that they are in their last incarnation. “I just want to finish this lifetime; this will be my final incarnation.” But, if they had not lived in a time when there was a Buddha, by merely listening to the Dharma, how could this have been their final incarnation?
They listen to the Dharma like us, but we would not dare say that this is our final incarnation. We only hope to absorb more of the teachings and to create less karma. We do not dare say that all of our ignorance has been eliminated. When one thought arises, volitional formation and consciousness manifest. But there is still Dharma, Dharma in our storehouse consciousness. In this way, we return to the human realm.
That is to say, during the Buddha’s lifetime, the Hearers and Solitary Realizers thought they had already reached their final incarnation. This was what they themselves thought.
“Because they met the Buddha, this becomes their last incarnation.” Because they had encountered the Buddha, they thought that having heard the Dharma in this lifetime, “I have eliminated all afflictions and ignorance and have eliminated my causes and conditions. I have eliminated them all, so I do not have to return to the human realm.” This is called “attaining their final incarnation.” “This is receiving benefits so they can grow.”
Now at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, they heard the Great Vehicle Dharma. All the Hearers and Solitary Realizers, all these medicinal plants, at this time, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, began to change, to turn from the Small to the Great [Dharma]. Spiritual practice should be like this. We are all ordinary beings.
In the past, there was an unenlightened being who understood many sutras and was very talented. He could do many good things and earn a lot of money. But because he understood the Buddha-Dharma, he preferred to be content with what he had and was willing to do strenuous physical labor. He became a laborer for others, moving goods, etc..
One day, he heard a bird calling. The bird’s call was quite loud. He suddenly laughed a bright, hearty laugh. Many people saw this and asked him, “Why did you laugh for no reason?” He said, “The bird was speaking to me. The bird said that in the white bird’s belly there is a priceless pearl. He swallowed a priceless pearl that is worth a whole kingdom.” He said, ‘If you kill the bird, you can get the pearl. With the pearl, you can have unlimited joy, while we can eat its flesh.’” He said, “I heard this and thought it was very funny.”
The other people said, “That was a great opportunity. You should capture that white bird.” He then began to teach the principles to them, “To be greedy for our own pleasure and kill other sentient beings creates great karma. There is much suffering in our lives. Why do we have to do hard physical labor? Because in our past we created negative karma. The law of karma manifests in this way.”
He was able to explain these teachings on the spot and began teaching the Dharma to everyone. Though he was an ordinary being, his consciousness contained the Buddha-Dharma. He was able to uphold the teachings and precepts in the way he chose to live his life. He too was a teacher of Dharma. He thoroughly the principles.
So, in our spiritual practice, we must thoroughly understand the principles. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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