Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Perfecting Our Practice with All Pure Virtues (因行圓滿萬德純淨)
Date: January.10. 2016
“With the virtue of actualizing the Six Paramitas as the cause, we will be replete with compassion and wisdom. Having perfected our causal practice of compassion and wisdom, our fruition is perfect, our practice fulfilled, and we will have all pure virtues. All those who behold us will attain great auspiciousness.”
In spiritual practice we must cultivate ourselves and awaken others. This is what we must do as practitioners and is what the Buddha instructed. We should faithfully accept and practice this. The Six Perfections, whether we are monastic or lay practitioners, are teachings we can all apply. It is very convenient for lay practitioners to practice the Six Paramitas, and monastics have the fundamental duty of cultivating the virtues of the Six Paramitas. This was what the Buddha taught.
We must exercise both compassion and wisdom. Compassion means we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer, so from the bottom of our hearts we naturally bring forth selfless great love. To manifest the potential of this love, we put the teachings into practice to serve others. This is compassion. In the Buddhist teachings, Buddhists often talk about “great loving-kindness and great compassion.” Indeed! What is great loving-kindness? It is “unconditional loving-kindness.” Even though they have no relation to us, we hope for all sentient beings in the world to enjoy good fortune and blessings. This is great loving-kindness.
It is like how parents hope that their children will be successful, that they will succeed and be free from worry in all that they do. This is what parents hope for. Bodhisattvas are like this toward sentient beings. They hope things go the way that people want and that they have peace and happiness. This is great loving-kindness. Although these sentient beings are not related to us at all, though they have no connection to us, nonetheless, when we see them happy, we are joyful and wish them blessings. This feeling is called unconditional loving-kindness. Creating happiness in sentient beings’ lives is also unconditional loving-kindness.
Next is “universal compassion.” Although the myriad sentient beings have given us to cause, though they are completely unconnected to us, their suffering is heartbreaking for us. “We feel others’ pain and suffering as our own.” This is known as universal compassion. Sentient beings are [to the Buddha] like children are to their parents.
Previously in the Lotus Sutra, there were the analogies of the burning house and of the poor son and so on. Both used the relationship between father and son as an analogy for the relationship between the Buddha and sentient beings. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must learn to emulate the Buddha’s heart and likewise treat all sentient beings like our own family, like our own dearest relatives. This is how we emulate the Buddha’s state of mind.
So, “With the virtue of actualizing the Six Paramitas as the cause,” we must certainly be replete with compassion and wisdom. We must earnestly learn how to have universal compassion and treat sentient beings as our own dearest loved ones. We cannot bear to let them suffer, so we must apply our wisdom. When sentient beings suffer, we should find ways to apply our wisdom and help them. This is unconditional loving-kindness. Creating happiness for sentient beings and eliminating their various kinds of suffering requires being replete with compassion and wisdom and exercising both in parallel.
This is a method we use to engage in spiritual practice. As for “having perfected our causal practice,” what does perfected mean? It means the same thing, not lacking compassion or wisdom. Thus, it is called perfected.
For several days, I have been talking about great perfect mirror wisdom. Though we are engaging in spiritual practice and understand all the principles, if we lack a mind which can accommodate all sentient beings in the world and feel universal compassion for them, how will we be able to think from their perspective [to benefit them]? This requires compassion and wisdom; then, our spiritual practice can be perfected.
After a long time of spiritual practice, we have perfected our causal practice. The “causes” come from giving, and the “practice” is cultivating the causes of saving beings, cultivating these seeds. Life after life we practice this; this is called “causal practice.” Starting from forming aspirations and making vows, we continue on in this way. With the practices we engage in among the people, we prefect our compassion and wisdom. I often tell everyone that compassion means going among people and giving for the sake of sentient beings. Wisdom means going among people and experiencing how sentient beings’ afflictions and ignorance arise. “Afflictions are Bodhi.” How can afflictions be turned into Bodhi? Only by comprehending the source of the cause of afflictions can we teach sentient beings to transform afflictions into Bodhi. This is “perfecting our causal practice” of compassion and wisdom.
We must be mindful. Is it true we heard the Buddha-Dharma in the past? The answer should be yes. We have this karmic seed, the karmic conditions, such that, in this lifetime, we definitely have the causes and conditions to hear the Dharma. This lifetime is one of our many accumulated lives. We still have many future lives, so we need the causal practice of this life to continue on, until in our future lives, our causal practice is perfected, and our compassion and wisdom are complete. Thus, we must make good use of this opportunity.
“Our fruition is perfect, our practice fulfilled, and we will have all pure virtues. All those who behold us will attain great auspiciousness.” This is how spiritual practice should be. Journeying on our past causes, we carried on in this present life. In this present lifetime, we must seize the causes and conditions to continue to go among people and benefit others, to go among people and increase our wisdom-life. We go on like this for countless future lives until our fruition is perfect, our practice is fulfilled and we have all pure virtues. On one hand, we benefit others, on the others, in this place where the Five Destinies coexist, we train ourselves to eliminate ignorance and afflictions and persist in our will to practice. This path of ours is the Bodhi-path. Once we are headed in the right direction, we must move forward, step by step.
Then we have pure virtues, very simple and pure. We must correct afflictions, eliminate ignorance. It is because we have many affections that we must practice. We go among people to benefit others. There is so much turbidity in society, but among the turbidity, we can realize the truth and increase our wisdom-life. We use these causes and conditions to complete the spiritual training ground of our mind.
So, by eliminating afflictions and going among people to practice, we can achieve simple and pure [virtues]. Then those who see us will be joyful. Our virtues have accumulated lifetime after lifetime, and our ignorance is eliminated lifetime after lifetime. Thus, “We will have all pure virtues.” Naturally, people who see us will naturally give rise to joy. With this joy, the afflictions filling their minds will be put aside. Through our spiritual practice, other feel joy when they see us and abandon ignorance; all of this auspicious. This requires us to practice earnestly.
For instance, the Sutra of the Wise and Foolish also contains a story like this. In it, there was a prime minister, which was an important position. His family was very rich, but he was lacking something; he had no children or heirs. He heard people say that if he went to the Ganges River and prayed to the gods, he would certainly be bestowed with a son. Upon hearing this, he brought sumptuous offerings to the Ganges River and enlisted many people to help him. With a reverent heart, he prayed to the gods for an heir. This was what he said, “If you give me a son, I can make a golden image. With the seven treasures I can adorn your temple and make an image of you, if I do not get a son in this lifetime, I may take strong measures, and use the dirtiest, foulest things, to defile your temple and to defile your golden image. What I have said I will do, I will do.”
The spirit of the Ganges heard this and was afraid. A country’s minister carries out whatever he has said he will do. How would he give this man a son? The spirit of the Ganges quickly reported to a spirit in heaven, who said, “If he does not have an heir, there is nothing I can do!” “What can be done?” They reported the matter higher up. The king of heaven felt, “I, too, am powerless!” A report was then sent up to Sakra, the [ruler] of all heavenly beings. There happened to be one heavenly being who suddenly manifested the Five Forms of Decay. He was afraid. Lord Sakra said, “As your heavenly blessings have come to an end, why don’t you reincarnate into the prime minister’s family?”
This heavenly being felt, “I do not want to. Can’t I be born to an ordinary family? I want to become a monastic. Though heavenly beings’ lives are long and we have many comforts, there still always comes a day such as this, when the Five Forms of Decay appear. Then, we will fall again into the Six Realms. I would like to become a monastic and free myself from birth and death. I no longer desire heavenly blessings, and I dread the Six Realms and Three Evil Destinies. Why don’t you allow me to be born into an ordinary family so I can have the freedom to become a monastic?”
The heavenly sovereign said, “Now the prime minister needs a son, and he has been anxiously praying for a son. In order to fulfill his wish, you are to be born to this family. If you want to become a monastic, I will help you become one.”
Thus, they agreed that indeed, this heavenly being would be reincarnated into the minister’s family. Upon having a son, the minister was joyful. He asked a fortune teller to come and read the son’s fortune and give him a name. The fortune teller felt the child had a very blessed appearance and that he was no ordinary human. He asked, “How did you finally have a son?” The minister responded, “I went to the Ganges and asked the gods for a son.” So, the fortune teller gave the child the name “Gangadatta” (Ganga’s gift). The minister went to the Ganges with his prayer, and his wish was fulfilled, so the fortune teller named the son “Gangadatta.”
Time passed quickly, and the son was nearly 20 years old. At that time, he was eager to seek the Path. He wanted to lead a monastic life. “The Buddha is in this land expounding the Dharma. I delight in the Buddha-Dharma, and I have a strong desire to become a monastic.” He asked his parents, but not matter how he asked, he did not get what he wanted. His parents could not to bear to let him go. They hoped he could carry on the family’s work, but he eagerly sought to live a monastic life. When it came to leaving home, he thought, “I have not received my parents’ blessings and have no chance to become a monastic, I might as well end my life. If I can be reborn into an ordinary family, I can engage in practice to have a chance [to attain Buddhahood].”
He climbed up a tall mountain and jumped. However, he jumped right into some vegetation, into some thick bushes. Jumping where he did, he was completely unharmed. “Since jumping off such a tall mountain did not hurt me, I should jump into the water instead.” He went to a river and jumped in. But after the sank, he floated up again. He still was not dead. What could he do? He thought of a way “I will go and offend the king, hoping he sentences me to death. He knew that the king’s concubines were bathing. At the royal bath, there was a group of palace maids and concubines who were bathing. He crept into the area and took the clothes they had removed. He intentionally let someone see him. The guards reported him to King Ajatasatru. King Ajatasatru, upon seeing this, was outraged. He ordered his men to fire their arrows at him.
Surprisingly, though the arrows had been released, they turned and came back. One after another, the arrows were fired, but each one turned around. King Ajatasatru was terrified. He quickly called for the young man to come over. “Who are you? Are you a dragon god or a ghost?” He said, “My King, listen to what I have to say. If you want to know my identity, you have to grant my wish. If you can grant my wish, I will tell you who I am.”
King Ajatasatru said, “Very well, as long as you tell me who you are.” He said, “I am the prime minister’s son. I want to lead a monastic life, but my father does not agree. So, without my father’s permission, I cannot become a monastic. Because of this, I want to die and be reincarnated so in a future life. I can become a monastic. My King, my situation is just this simple.”
Upon hearing this, the king felt that becoming a monastic was such an easy thing, so he said, “Fine, I will fulfill your wish.” Because King Ajatasatru believed in the Buddha and had taken refuge with Him, he felt allowing someone to become a monastic was a great merit and virtue. He brought this young man before the Buddha. The Buddha joyfully let him become a monastic and dress as a bhiksu.
The Buddha then taught him the Dharma. Gangadatta opened his mind and understood and thus became a bhiksu. King Ajatasatru saw that Gangadatta now had the appearance of a bhiksu. He had heard the Buddha expound the Dharma, and his mind was opened. He must have his great causes and conditions.
Indeed, he had great causes and conditions. The Buddha then taught these causes and conditions. His causes and conditions were that [in the past] a young man was listening to a palace maiden singing while she danced. The young man could not control himself. As he stood outside listening to the singing, he loudly sang along with the melody. He stood outside loudly singing along. It sounded so beautiful Hearing him, the king was enraged and wanted him caught and put to death wanted him caught and put to death. Outside, a minister happened to be walking in He saw this young man being captured and asked the guard, “What crime did this young man commit?” “He was out here singing loudly, which made the king unhappy. He wants him put to death.”
The minister considered this, then said, “This crime does not warrant death. Wait a moment.” The minister went to the king and said, “This man did not do anything to deserve the death penalty. Your majesty, you should not, on this joyous occasion, have such anger in your heart that you would want to take someone’s life. As for this young man, why not let him go?”
The king heard the minister’s counsel and let him go. The young man knew the minister saved his life in order to repay his grace, the young man told him, “I am willing to stay at your side as a servant.” After several years of dedicated service, the minister said to him, “All I did was speak a few words on your behalf. For all these years, you have been deeply loyal in serving me is there nothing you would like to request?” He replied, “If I were to make a request… I have already seen what there is to the world. Because of enticing sights and sounds, people can lose their life. This was how I almost lost my life; I was listening to music and took joy in these enticing sights and sounds. I could not refrain from singing. That was how I almost lost my life. It was you who saved me, so my service has been in repayment. You asked whether there is something I wish. I wish to engage in spiritual practice.” The minister said, “Fine, I grant your wish and permit you to go engage in spiritual practice.”
He was very earnest and went into the forest and devoted himself to spiritual practice. After 10, 20 years had passed, truly his mind opened, and he understood. He attained the status of a Pratyekabuddha. He thoroughly understood the impermanence of the universe and of life He wanted to take this principle and share it with the minister. Upon seeing his achievements, the minister was quite pleased. He quickly made an offering, and after the offering, this Pratyekabuddha demonstrated his powers by levitating in mid-air. The minister realized, “Spiritual practice brings such freedom and ease. Truly, life is impermanent. Although I am a minister with power and fame, I have grown old. In life, birth, aging, illness and death are unavoidable. This is also great suffering. If I become lost in enticing sights and sounds, what will my future lives be like? Fine, I too am willing to engage in practice.”
The minister formed a vow. “If I engage in spiritual practice in the future, I hope in a future life I will be able to encounter the Buddha, become a monastic and attain the true principles. I hope to end samsara and reach Nirvana.” This was his vow.
The Buddha related this story up to this point and asked King Ajatasatru, “Did you know that Gangadatta was that minister? He saved a man’s life and, at the same time, enabled him to become a monastic. He also formed a great vow that in a future life he could live in the time of a Buddha and become a monastic. In order to end samsara, he vowed to attain Buddhahood. This was this man, Gangadatta, who is before you.”
That is how the story goes. So, we should know to actualize the Six Paramitas in all action. Though it might take a very long time, lifetime after lifetime, as long as we have the vow, we must put the Buddha-Dharma into practice. Then naturally, someday our vow will be fulfilled, and all will attain great auspiciousness. As Buddhist practitioners, we must have great faith.
The previous sutra passage says, “All of us attain positive benefits and congratulate each other with great joy. Sentient beings always suffer and are afflicted. Blind, in the dark, with no guiding teacher, we do not recognize the path to end suffering, nor do we know to seek liberation. In the long night, those in the evil realms increase in number, while those in the heaven realm have diminished.”
Heavenly beings will also manifest the Five Forms of Decay, so the sovereign of heaven let this heavenly being be reincarnated in the human realm. Truly, in the world, we are blind, in darkness, with great suffering and afflictions. If we do not thoroughly understand this, lifetime after lifetime we will be “blind, in the dark, with no guiding teacher.” “We do not recognize the path to end suffering.” We go on like this, not knowing to seek liberation. We are all in the long night, where those in the evil realms increase in number. If we fall into hell, being born into the world again is not easy, let alone being reborn into heaven! That is even more difficult! So, seeking liberation in the world is truly very difficult.
The next sutra passage continues like this, “From this darkness, they enter into darkness and will never hear the Buddha’s name. Today the Buddha has attained the supreme peaceful and flawless path. We and the heavenly beings are those who attain the greatest benefit, therefore we all prostrate and take refuge in the supremely honored one”
If sentient beings go for a long time without a guiding teacher or without the Dharma as a guide, they will always remain in ignorance, in darkness, and then enter even darker places. This is because we sentient beings endlessly create ignorance and afflictions, so they multiply and increase. Thus it says, “From this darkness, they enter into darkness.” In this way, we move further away from the Buddha. “[We] will never hear the Buddha’s name.” Now, we see the Buddha has already reached the highest state. “Today the Buddha has attained the supreme peaceful and flawless path.” We see the Buddha has already achieved this His myriad virtues are all perfect, and He has attained perfect enlightenment.
So, “we and the heavenly beings” means that as Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha sat for ten small kalpas, heavenly beings, humans and Dharma-protectors, all those heavenly beings, already saw this. The Buddha had already achieved this “[We] are those who attain the greatest benefit.”
Heavenly beings and humans [were lucky to have] a Buddha in the world and Dharma to listen to. This was the greatest benefit, so everyone was very happy. They then prostrated, the Buddha had succeeded, so heavenly beings and humans should prostrate themselves to pay their respects, an expression of praise and blessing for the Buddha’s perfect enlightenment. “From this darkness, they enter into darkness and will never hear the Buddha’s name.”
In the darkness, our consciousness is obscured, so we create a lot of ignorance. Our consciousness is already darkened, so “[we] create karma of darkness.” We create a lot afflictions; we create a lot of evil karma. Our consciousness has been obscured and lost, so we create a lot of evil karma. Thus, “From this state of confusion and darkness, they enter a state of confusion and darkness.” We are in a lost, confused and dark state. Then we go into a darker state where we become more deluded. This is why we sentient beings grow more ignorance lifetime after lifetime, because we always bring our karma and constantly reproduce it.
So, “From this state of confusion and darkness, [we] enter a state of confusion and darkness. We become even more lost and “will never be able to hear the Buddha’s name.” We do not hear the Buddha’s name.
From this darkness, they enter into darkness and will never hear the Buddha’s name: With a mind of darkness, they create karma of darkness and incur the suffering of darkness. From this state of confusion and darkness, they enter a state of confusion and darkness and will never be able to hear the Buddha’s name.
“From this darkness, they enter into darkness.” This is how we ordinary beings are. “We leave one life for the next, never deviating from our path.” So, it says, “From this darkness, they enter into darkness.” We leave one lifetime and are reborn; next life we still have not left the place where the Five Destinies coexist, this truly ignorant world.
“Some were about to encounter the Buddha, but were not able to see the Buddha in time. Although now everyone knows of Buddhism, “I can light incense and bow and pray, pray for fame and many other things.” They encounter the Buddha but they only know to light incense and bow, only know to ask for things. Truly, such people do not have the will to understand who the Buddha is. Why is there a Buddha in the world? They believe the Buddha does nothing more than give blessing to people. They do not know that the Buddha is the Great Enlightened One, the one who opens the Path and teaches the Path. They know none of this; they just know to pray for things. “Some already met the Buddha, yet had no desire to listen to the teachings. Though they meet the Buddha, some are not receptive to hearing the teachings.
For the sake of the one great cause, the Buddha came to teach sentient beings. If one sees the Buddha but does not want to accept the Buddha’s teaching and does not want to hear the Dharma, how is it different from not seeing the Buddha? “Some saw the Buddha, but did not recognize Him.” Through they see the Buddha, some do not recognize Him. This is how all kinds of opportunities are missed.
This is being confused. In the Buddha’s lifetime, there were many non-Buddhist teachings, like the Six Teachers. They were all confused about people. They were not only confused about the teachings, but also confused about people. They guide people into following blind methods of spiritual practice. These were also very painful.
Some were about to encounter the Buddha, but were not able to see the Buddha in time. Some already met the Buddha, yet had no desire to listen to the teachings. Some saw the Buddha, but did not recognize Him, like the disciples and followers of the Six [Non- Buddhist] Teachers. These teachers were confused about people, and with blinded practices, led others to follow.
“Today the Buddha has attained the supreme peaceful and flawless path.” These heavenly beings saw that the Buddha had attained Buddhahood. This world could thus become peaceful, and heavenly beings and humans could attain the Dharma expounded by the Buddha. So, “Today, Buddha, the World-Honored One, has attained Buddhahood, the supreme peaceful Nirvana, the flawless noble path. Naturally, this is because He could not bear to let sentient beings create deluded karma. The reason the Buddha attained Buddhahood was that He could not bear to let sentient beings create evil karma. Our minds are filled with ignorance and delusion.
So, the Buddha attained Buddhahood to transform sentient beings. He knew that sentient beings create delusions. Delusions are ignorance we create the karma of ignorance, and what we thus face is the suffering of samara’s oppression as we sink and drown in the realms. This is the consequence of the karma sentient beings create. Because this is the way we are, He practiced to attain Buddhahood. Awakening to the Dharma requires working with people. “Therefore He gave all kinds of teachings to eliminate unwholesome practices.”
He could not bear to let sentient beings create deluded karma and thus suffer the oppressive torment of samara, sinking and drowning in the evil realms. Therefore He gave all kinds of teachings to eliminate unwholesome practices and allow them to be in a good place. He enabled them to attain peace and joy, tranquility and wondrous permanence, and forever eliminate the worldly troubles; this is the peaceful, flawless path.
This lets us understand clearly that the Dharma is a path to follow; we cannot commit evil deeds. “We should refrain from all evil and do all that is good. He wanted to give sentient beings a chance to reflect on themselves, letting them turn around to see [the way back], to give sentient beings Dharma to follow, to give us a road to find. Thus when He attained Buddhahood, He enabled them to attain peace and joy, tranquility and wondrous permanence.” He told sentient beings that we all have Buddha-nature. We all have a safe, stable and happy place. He taught is how to engage in spiritual practice.
So, the chaos of the world’s affairs and the world’s ignorance can be completely eliminated. We can all gain mutual love and respect. This is heart of great loving-kindness. He hoped we can all live peaceful lives, free of all disasters. This was the Buddha’s goal.
Next, “We and the heavenly beings are those who attain the greatest benefit. We are the ones who are happiest. For a Buddha to attain complete enlightenment is, for heavenly beings and humans, the happiest event. “All of us, as well as all the other heavenly beings, have attained the supreme and extensive benefits. This means when a Buddha appears in the world, heavenly beings and humans benefit greatly, as they can walk this great, radiant path. So, “Therefore we all prostrate and take refuge in the supremely honored one.”
Because of this, all heavenly beings and humans were joyous and paid their respects with the utmost reverence. “Prostrate” means prostrate with one’s whole body. “Take refuge” means to turn to and rely on. We dedicate our bodies and minds and take refuge in the supreme World-Honored One. The Enlightened World-Honored One was respected throughout the world. After Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had attained Buddhahood, all heavenly beings and humans rejoiced.
We must remember that a Buddha’s attainment is a rare event. He must actualize the Six Paramitas and constantly engage in spiritual practice. He must exercise both compassion and wisdom for many lifetimes until (His practice) is perfect and flawless, until His great perfect mirror wisdom manifests,
until His mind is pure and undefiled.
This is how our spiritual practice should be. How exactly do we make our minds pure and undefiled? This depends on our daily living, how we deal with people and matters, how we use the Dharma in our daily lives, and how we are able to influence others to simultaneously share in this Dharma-joy. In our lives, we can all be very happy. In whatever we are doing, we find the true principles and the Dharma, so we and enjoy our work. We are immersed in the stream of Dharma; this is the greatest happiness. I hope everyone will always be more mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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