Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Destroying Mara’s Army with Unhindered Wisdom (淨無礙智破魔軍)
Date: December.22. 2016
“The Tathagata views the past as if it is today. This is the manifestation of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior. The assembly cannot know these far-off things because their Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior has not yet manifested. Today, the Buddha speaks of these past causes and conditions to explain that from Beginningless Time to this day we have been replete with this.”
We must be mindful; for the past several days now, we have continually been talking about Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. This was countless, beginningless kalpas ago, a time so long ago it is impossible to describe or know when it began. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had expounded the Dharma at His Dharma-assembly, teaching the Lotus Sutra. When He taught the Lotus Sutra, there were 16 novices there who each received the spirit and ideals of the Lotus Sutra. They all clearly understood it.
Then, when that Buddha entered Samadhi, the 16 novices separated and each went to hold. Dharma-assemblies wherever they had affinities and began to teach the Dharma. When they taught the Dharma, they formed affinities with many people. Each of them formed affinities with different sentient beings. Starting in this way, all of them from that era, all of those 16 novices, have now attained Buddhahood. Each made their own vow in regard to their lands of circumstantial retribution.
Sakyamuni Buddha was one of those novices. He vowed to go where He was most needed, the most complicated place with most afflictions, the place with difficulties everywhere. So, in making His vows, Sakyamuni Buddha made vows of compassion. He did not fear sentient beings’ stubbornness nor did He seek peace and joy for Himself. Therefore, He did not choose comfortable circumstantial and direct retributions. No, He was willing to enter this world of endurance as the place where He would transform people. For the sake of suffering sentient beings, He would engage in spiritual practice. For the sake of stubborn sentient beings He would attain enlightenment. This was the Buddha’s aspiration.
Sakyamuni Buddha came here out of His own willingness. So, He journeyed on the Dharma of True Suchness to come to this world, lifetime after lifetime since Beginningless Time, from the time of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha all the way until now, for countless kalpas, an indescribably long time, right up to the present. Though it has been such a long time, nevertheless the Tathagata, Sakyamuni Buddha, “views the past as if it is today.”
You see, looking back on the past, over such a very long period of time, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s teachings were continually passed down, all the way to the present. Looking back, it was the same as it is now. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha also taught the Dharma according to capabilities, giving teachings of skillful means until finally teaching the One Vehicle Dharma, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle, which is the Lotus Sutra. So, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha then did the same as [Sakyamuni Buddha] now. So, “This is the manifestation of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior.”
When Sakyamuni Buddha looked back and remembered, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha was the same as He is now.
This passage should be explaining how everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. As for that “Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha that had manifested,” where was that now? It was manifested in Sakyamuni Buddha. If we mindfully listen to the Dharma, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya will remain forever in the world and in people’s hearts. When the Dharma is in our hearts and we practice according to the Dharma, it will just be like that Dharma-assembly beginningless kalpas ago. It is just that “The assembly cannot know these far-off things.” We have already been lost for a very long time.
How long had it been? We have been lost for dust-inked kalpas. For such a long time, we have remained in the Five Realms and the four forms of birth and have been covered by ignorance and afflictions. These have covered our nature of True Suchness.
So, “The assembly cannot know these far-off things, because their Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha has not yet manifested.” Our own nature of True Suchness has not yet manifested. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior is the nature of True Suchness within all of us. It is just that for beginningless kalpas we were lost in the Five Realms and four forms of birth.
So, “Today, the Buddha speaks of these past causes and conditions to explain that form Beginnignless Time to this day we have been replete with this.” The Buddha is now speaking of the past, of causes and conditions form Beginningless Time. We should understand and be quite clear about this. From Beginningless Time, continuously until now, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha has always been there, forever abiding in our minds. It is just that He has not manifested because we have remained covered by ignorance.
Sakyamuni Buddha had already eliminated all ignorance, revealing great perfect mirror wisdom. Of all the myriad thighs in the universe, there were none He did not understand. This was Sakyamuni Buddha. His Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior had already manifested. This kind of unobstructed and unhindered wisdom is called Great Unhindered; it is Superior.
So, the previous sutra passage says, “With the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom…” Sakyamuni Buddha had already attained unobstructed wisdom. “I know that Buddha’s entering Parinirvana.” “That Buddha” is Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. Sakyamuni Buddha’s wisdom was unobstructed. He knew that Buddha of the past, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, had entered Parinirvana.
“[He saw those] Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now.”
With the Tathagata’s unobstructed wisdom, I know that Buddha’s entering Parinirvana along with that of the Hearers and Bodhisattvas, as if seeing them cross into extinction now. All of you bhuksus must know, the Buddha’s wisdom us pure, subtle and wondrous. It is without Leaks, without any obstructions. It reaches back countless kalpas unhindered.
Sakyamuni Buddha knew that so very long ago in the past, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had taught the Dharma. There were Hearers and Bodhisattvas there, and it the end, they all crossed into extinction. So, “All you bhiksus must know. You should know that the Buddha’s wisdom is pure, subtle and wondrous.” The Buddha’s wisdom is pure, subtle and wondrous. He is pure and His ignorance is gone, so His wisdom was subtle and wondrous indeed. Thus, “It is without Leaks, without any obstructions.” Thus He sees [both conditioned and] unconditioned phenomena, the principles of matter, life and so on. These have existed since Beginningless Time. This is Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior. If Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior manifests, our Buddha-nature will manifest.
Next, it says, “The Buddha told all the bhiksus that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had a lifespan of 540 trillion nayutas of kalpas. The Buddha had already sat in the place of enlightenment and destroyed the army of Mara.”
Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had a lifespan of 540 trillion nayutas of kalpas. That was a very long time. So, “That Buddha had already sat in the place of enlightenment and destroyed the army of Mara.” He had already sat in the place of enlightenment and destroyed the armies of Mara. Before attaining Buddhahood, maras will undoubtedly come to harass us. Likewise, we must destroy the maras in order to attain Buddhahood.
Listen carefully. Previously, the Buddha spoke in verse form. The previous passage was in verse form, “It is without Leaks, without any obstructions.” This was the previous passage. The next passage says, “The Buddha told all the bhiksus.” The verse had now finished, so the Buddha once more began to explain. He explained that Buddha’s lifespan and how long His kalpas of time were.
The Buddha told all the bhiksus [about]. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha: After He had spoken that verse, He further told the assembly that beginningless dust-inked kalpas ago, there was a Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, with pure and unobstructed wisdom, abiding in the world and expounding the Dharma.
Again, “He further told the assembly that beginningless dust-inked kalpas age.” It was a period of beginningless dust-inked kalpas. A “kalpa” is a very long time. “[At that time] there was a Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, with pure and unobstructed wisdom, abiding in the world and expounding the Dharma.” Such a long time ago, there existed such a Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, with such pure and unobstructed wisdom. He lived in the world and taught the Dharma with pure and unobstructed wisdom. That Buddha “had a lifespan of 540 trillion nayutas of kalpas.” It was not just 500 trillion kalpas. It was furthermore nayutas of kalpas.
[He] had a lifespan of 540 trillion nayutas of kalpas: This is the lifespan of that Buddha’s response-body abiding in the world. If it is expressing an aspect of the Dharma, 500 refers to the Five Realms, and 40 to the four forms of birth.
A “nayutas” is trillions and trillions, countless kalpas, an extremely long period of time. So, “This is the lifespan of that Buddha’s response-body abiding in the world”. This was that Buddha’s lifespan while in the world. It was so long ago that this Buddha existed, and His lifespan was “540 trillion nayutas of kalpas.” “If it is expressing an aspect of the Dharma” means if we turn around this description of time and explain it in terms of the Dharma, then “500” refers to the Five Realms, and “40” refers to the four forms of birth. 540 trillion refers to the Five Realms and four forms of birth. This was an analogy that was used. “The reason that Buddha manifested in the world was that He wanted to expound the teachings of all the suffering in the Five Realms and four forms of birth.”
The reason that Buddha manifested in the world was that He wanted to expound the teachings of all the suffering in the Five Realms and four forms of birth, the teachings of how to escape ignorance and eliminate suffering. This was His lifespan in the world; then when conditions ended, He entered Parinirvana. Nayuta: This refers to trillions and trillions.
Our Sakyamuni Buddha came to the world all for one great cause, to teach the suffering and impermanence of the Five Realms and four forms of birth. He taught the way to transcend the Five Realms, “the teachings of how to escape ignorance and eliminate suffering.” The Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, comes to the world with this aspiration. He would come to teach sentient beings how to transcend this ignorance and eliminate all kinds of suffering. This is Sakyamuni Buddha, who has done this continually from that time until now. It has been a very long time. These are the causes and conditions. “This was His lifespan in the world.” When conditions had ended, He entered Parinirvana. This was His process. A “nayutas” is trillions and trillions; it is countless, so many.
“That Buddha had already sat in the place of enlightenment.” This means that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior already sat in the place of enlightenment. This shows “That Buddha’s intrinsic nature is tranquil and still, and His true wisdom is unhindered.”
The unhindered principles are all contained in our Buddha-nature. So, “At that time, He sat in the place of enlightenment.” This was the Bodhimanda, the place where He taught the Dharma, “which is the spiritual training ground where The Buddha vowed not to rise from His seat until He had attained Bodhi.” Until He attained Bodhi, He never left the place of enlightenment. Thus, any place the Buddha taught the Dharma was a spiritual training ground.
So, any Buddha who begins the process of spiritual practice will certainly encounter the army of Mara. In this way, “He destroyed the army of Mara.” This refers to “destroying the mara of afflictions, the mara of the Five Aggregates, the mara of death and Kind Mara of heaven.
King Mara is called Mara-Papiyan, the king of the heavens of the desire realm, also known as Mara of heaven. What worries him most is that when his mara descendants engage in spiritual practice, they will transcend the desire realm. This is why King Mara frequently disturbs the minds of spiritual practitioners. So, there is also King Mara of heaven.
As for the “mara of afflictions,” when we unenlightened people give rise to a single thought of ignorance, 80,000 afflictions will arise. For all of us, as sentient beings, without any control, we bring karma into this life and create more. Then in our subsequent lives afflictions will constantly arise.
The Five Aggregates are form, feeling, perception, action consciousness. In the Five Aggregates, we transmigrate endlessly, continually multiplying our afflictions. This is the mara of the Five Aggregates.
The “mara of death” refers to birth, aging, illness and death. This is also the suffering of the world. We create the Four and the Eight Sufferings, so many kinds of suffering, that result in the creation of many more afflictions. This is the human realm, where everyone is replete with these [afflictions].
Add to this King Mara coming to disturb us, Mara-Papiyan coming to disturb us, and it is truly a lot [to deal with.] As the descendants of mara, the web of ignorance and afflictions binds us. Those who wish to engage in spiritual practice and bound by these.
“All great mara kings” have many followers. “This Buddha” refers to Great Unhindered Superior Wisdom Buddha. When Great Unhindered Buddha “was about to attain the fruit of enlightenment, as He was about to achieve it, He shock the world with the power of His might and virtue.
[He] had destroyed the army of Mara: All great mara kings have many followers. When this Great Unhindered Buddha was about to attain the fruit of enlightenment, He shook the world with the power of His might and virtue. Mara and Mara’s followers all came to battle. Therefore, He had to destroy the maras. When the maras had retreated, He attained enlightenment.
Through His process of spiritual practices, one by one He awakened to the teachings, and His might and virtue shook the world, the whole trichiliocosm. So, the maras, mara kings and descendants of mara were afraid. They all naturally came and drew near. “Mara and Mara’s followers all came to battle, came to do battle with the Buddha’s perfect enlightenment. It was a struggle between good and evil.
There is much ignorance and many afflictions for one sitting in meditation. When one is reaching the ultimate state, when all wisdom and all the principles, all true principles, begin to manifest themselves, this is the time that all of that ignorance will manifest itself completely, and one by one it must be subdued. “Is this correct or incorrect, right or wrong?”
All of us are often like this. “Am I right or not? Is this wrong?” This all happens at that time. If we choose correctly in the end, it means that we have subdued the Mara army. We have vanquished the wrong things and have already chosen the right things, to walk in the right direction. The meaning is the same. So, He destroyed the army of Mara. Only after they had retreated did He attain enlightenment.
You see, Sakyamuni Buddha had to gain experiences for a long time, like when He was about to attain Buddhahood as a result of His spiritual practice. When His Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior appeared and the army of Mara draw near Him, He used the power of His Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior to subdue them. He won, so His Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior remained unhindered. This was the Buddha describing His intrinsic nature, His Buddha-nature. He intrinsically had [the wisdom] of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha.
This is a profound [wisdom], and we should put effort into realizing this. This is the only way for our ignorance and afflictions to be tamed. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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