Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Turning of the Wondrous Dharma-wheel (偈讚勸請轉妙法輪)
Date: January.31. 2017
“They upheld precepts and cultivated blessings with sincerity and integrity and took in the virtue of faith and steadfastness. The palaces are the results of past lifetimes of making offerings and creating blessed karma. Practicing virtuous Dharma, going among people, is cultivating flawless effects and causes. Starting from that original intent, they sincerely came closer from afar.”
To engage in spiritual practice, we must begin with a heart of utmost reverence. When our direction is correct, we must be determined in our faith, and we must be truly mindful in our daily living. All people, matters and things are opportunities for us to regularly cultivate sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness.
Since we are cultivating blessings, we must simultaneously uphold precepts. Sincerity means being genuine and true towards others. This is sincerity. If, as individuals, we are not sincere, it will be impossible to harmonize with others. Everyone has their own mindset, but if each goes in a different direction, then our path will lack integrity. Then how can we model the principles of the world?
So, we should uphold precepts and cultivate blessings. Upholding the principles and cultivating blessings comes from our sincerity. Our direction must also be correct in order to persist in upholding precepts and to avoid getting mixed up over our discipline. So, integrity and sincerity are very important for us as spiritual practitioners.
They are not only for spiritual practitioners; everyone in society needs sincerity and integrity. Only then can the rules and precepts be observed. If rules and precepts are well-observed, naturally we have the virtues of faith and steadfastness. We must establish credit with others. Our word must be stronger than a written contract. Without trustworthiness, even a written contract is useless. Some say, “Talk is cheap. Let’s look at the contract; let’s see what it says in black and white.” Without sincerity, even that which is written down on paper is also open to different interpretations.
Nowadays, the world is in chaos. Things are now written down, and because they are written down, based on the way they are written, if people want to find fault with them, they can also create a situation where our society cannot find peace. So, when it comes to faith and trustworthiness, whenever we speak, our word should carry the same weight as Mt. Tai. Whenever we say something, our word carries weight, so we must be very careful with what we say. This is why we say that faith and trustworthiness is the source of our character.
“I believe in what so-and-so says. If it is what such-and-such says, after you hear, he will probably change anyway. It doesn’t really matter what they say.” When you can trust what someone says, their [words] carry the same weight as Mt. Tai. Therefore, in our regular spiritual practice, faith and trustworthiness are very important.
In the Chapter on Skillful Means and the Chapter on Parables, faith is continually emphasized. So, when people do not have faith, they are like cars without wheels; they are unable to advance forward on the path. So, we must have faith and steadfastness, authenticity and trustworthiness. If someone is true and steadfast, others who work with him will certainly be at ease. To put people’s minds at ease, we must preserve our faith and steadfastness. These are virtues, which help people trust us. People who practice according to the teachings are people with virtues.
So, we “Uphold precepts and cultivate blessings with sincerity and integrity, take in the virtue of faith and steadfastness.” These are very important.
For instance, recently in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, when Great Unhindered Superior Wisdom Buddha sat in the place of enlightenment, we continually spoke of how [His radiance] shone through time and space, from the Brahma heavens down to hell and so on. There was just a single ray of light and as I continually shared with everyone, that light is the principles, the true principles. This ray of light, these principles, have remain unchanged throughout time. We must have deep faith in this. We who transmigrate throughout the Six Realms also must believe in the law of karmic retribution.
We often read in the newspaper today of how animals can be more loyal than humans, how they can be more intelligent than people. There are stories like this about animals. They are not just stories; they are true. News reports like this often come out. Clearly animals, those in the animal realm, have natures just like ours. Instead it is we humans who create karma. We often hear of how people, when a single thought goes astray, bring harm to themselves and to others and even cause endless disasters and calamities. Only in the human world do we hear of these things. The Buddha taught us of causes and conditions, of the law of karmic cause and effect.
When we see humans rampantly killing animals, we should heighten our awareness. Wherever manmade calamities happen, creating tragic and painful situations, this collective karma, sentient beings’ collective karma, was what we created in past lifetimes. So many people created the same karma, bringing such sorrow and suffering to so many now.
There are many such cases. Seeing actual karmic retributions in the world, we can believe in the karmic law of cause and effect that the Buddha taught. Some people created blessings and can now enjoy heavenly blessings. There are different levels of heavenly blessings. We should understand how blessings are created. There is deep and shallow, great and small.
No matter how many heavenly blessings on enjoys, or how long one lives, the time for that will always pass. As for space, whatever space one may enjoy oneself in, one’s blessings will always run out eventually. So, we still need to engage in spiritual practice. How do we cultivate our mind so it is undefiled, without contamination and attachments? Those who can do this are in the Brahma heavens where they enjoy all kinds of tangible objects and material blessings. However, they have no sexual desires nor that kind of behavior.
So, their hearts are very pure. They enjoy all sorts of material blessings. This is in the Brahma heavens. These heavens are the ultimate blessed retribution. But those there understand the principles. Although they enjoy Four Dhyana Heavens, the four highest states of meditation, where the mind remains stable and fixed, they know their blessings will eventually come to an end. It is still impossible for them to transcend cyclic existence. When blessings are exhausted, negative karma still remains, and they still fall into the human, hell, hungry ghost or animal realm.
So, although their palaces were magnificent, they were the “results of past lifetimes of making offerings and creating blessed karma.” They had created a great deal of blessed karma. Not only had they created blessed karma, they were people who followed the precepts. They just did not yet have the ultimate understanding of the principles.
This is like Hearers and Solitary Realizers. They understand all of the Buddha’s teachings, but they only practice for themselves; they just want to have completely pure minds. Who knows when their causes and conditions will again present themselves? Once they give rise to a deluded thought, their blessings will be depleted. That deluded thought will cause them to again create defiled karma. Once they create karma again, once they open the door to karma, their ignorance naturally multiplies, and they again fall into the Three Evil Destinies, the Five Destinies and the four forms of birth.
So, merely cultivating blessings and enjoying them is not our goal. Fame, wealth and status are as fleeting as clouds. This is why there have been many wise people who gave up fame, wealth and status to focus solely upon spiritual practice. As they practice in society, what do they do? They cultivate virtuous Dharma for society’s sake. They are “cultivating flawless effects and causes.”
They upheld precepts and cultivated blessings with sincerity and integrity and took in the virtue of faith and steadfastness. The palaces are the results of past lifetimes of making offerings and creating blessed karma. Practicing virtuous Dharma, going among people, is cultivating flawless effects and causes. Starting from that original intent, they sincerely came closer from afar.
“Practicing virtuous Dharma, going among people, is cultivating flawless effects and causes. There are all kinds of people, with all kinds of habitual tendencies, all kinds of suffering and all kinds of ignorance. When people have so many habitual tendencies so much suffering and ignorance, who will come and save them? Only the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas! The Buddha, in His compassion, came to the world lifetime after lifetime with the heart of a Bodhisattva to go among people and teach and transform others, to cultivate these flawless effects and causes.
As they do so, Bodhisattvas do not seek blessings nor do they seek fame in society. When people contrive to seek blessings or fame, those are all flawed phenomena. These [practitioners] have Bodhisattva-aspirations. People are their spiritual training grounds. They must experience sentient beings’ habitual tendencies, afflictions and ignorance as a training ground to increase their wisdom. By cultivating wholesome and blessed affinities, they have flawless causes and flawless effects.
Flawless effects and causes are found among people, by facing sentient beings who are suffering painful retributions from creating negative karma. When we go among these people, we give our all to help them to understand, to help them realize, all while expecting absolutely nothing in return. This is what is meant by flawless.
So, going among people to give of ourselves is what we call spiritual cultivation, cultivating virtuous Dharma. Virtuous Dharma is the Bodhi-path. The Bodhi-path of enlightenment is to go among people and give unconditionally. This is “cultivating flawless effects and causes.”
Thus, “Starting from that original intent.” Our original intent has existed since Beginningless Time. This is our earliest intention. It is like how the Brahma kings and their followers came seeking out the radiance. They came to the place of enlightenment of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. They wanted to find the principles; similarly, our most original intent is that as we now engage in spiritual practice, we want to experience the truth of the principles. This sincere intent is to “come closer from afar,” from so very far away, as far away as Beginningless Time, right up until our thoughts in this moment. These thoughts are our nature of True Suchness, our true and sincere intent.
These thoughts never disappeared; they have been present since Beginningless Time. They have just been covered by ignorance. To have a way to eliminate this ignorance now, we need that ray of light, for only that can eliminate darkness and ignorance. If we seek world-transcending Dharma, we cannot find it merely by seeking worldly, contrived knowledge. What we seek is the unconditioned Dharma, the world-transcending Dharma. This is why we became monastic practitioners. So, I hope everyone can put their heart into comprehending the Buddha’s teachings.
The Buddha had to work very hard, for unenlightened beings’ minds were continually covered by ignorance, covered by the influence of worldly phenomena. Thus our minds lack clarity and cannot settle down. We cannot settle them, cannot concentrate, and because of this, we drift further and further away. This is what we must be mindful of.
A Great Unhindered Superior Wisdom Buddha has existed within us since Beginningless Time. It has always been very close to us, for it is in our intrinsic nature. It is just that our ignorance pulls us farther and farther away from it. This makes us very worried and is also a pity. We are seeing so many disasters in the world, and whenever there is a disaster, it is a great disaster affecting so many. This is truly worrisome. This is sentient beings’ collective karma! For decades, since before becoming a monastic, I have always believed that sentient beings create collective karma. It is true! With this collective karma, for the past few decades now, we have increasingly seen the retributions of collective karma manifesting. So, this is something we should really believe in.
The previous passage stages, “We [have] come from the 500 trillion lands.” They had traveled through space from so far away! “[We] have set aside the joy of deep Samadhi in order to make offerings to the Buddha.” They had already engaged in spiritual practice. Having cultivated blessings in the past, they were now enjoying their blessings. They upheld precepts and cultivated blessings and as a result were reborn in the Brahma heavens, where they enjoyed material pleasures, while their minds remained pure and uncontaminated. Their happiness came from Samadhi, being totally free and at ease.
However, they knew that their enjoyment of blessings would end one day. No matter long it lasted, it would eventually end. They knew that they had not fully penetrated the ultimate truth. So, they had to seek enlightenment, seek awakening. They had to awaken. Still, some confusion remained in them. They still could not escape cyclic existence. When their blessings were exhausted, they would still transmigrate in the Six Realms. They had still not put an end to cyclic existence, and because their awakening was not complete, they willingly set aside the joy of deep Samadhi in order to make offerings to the Buddha. They knew He would teach the Great Dharma, so they gave up the joy of Samadhi to come and draw near the Buddha.
So, “With blessings from our former existences, our palaces are magnificently adorned.”
With blessings from our former existences, our palaces are magnificently adorned. Now we present them to the World-Honored One, only wishing that You mercifully accept them.
Having practiced like this since long ago, they had cultivated many blessings, so the pleasures they enjoyed were great. Now they wanted to reverently express that they [were willing] to give up everything. So, “Our palaces are magnificently adorned. Now we present them to the World-Honored One.” This shows they would give up everything. All of the Brahma kings were willing to abandon all of their enjoyments, to give up all that they loved most. Giving up these things was their way of making offerings. They gave up everything to use it all as an offering. Through these most reverent actions they made offerings, “presenting them to the World-Honored One.” They asked the Buddha to accept their token.
We in the world are also like this “I am willing to do whatever it takes. For the true principles I willingly help others.” There are many who are willing to do this. There are lay practitioners who willingly give up everything to go and serve others. We monastics are the same. We have already parted from family and loved ones. What we seek is wisdom-life. We are unafraid of a difficult life, for without challenges and suffering, how could we be polished until we shine with the clarity of the true principles? So, lay practitioners contribute material things, while we monastics dedicate our lives. This is how we make offerings.
This is the attitude we should have when making offering to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. True offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha are made like this; we part with the small for the sake of the great. This is true spiritual practice and reverent dedication.
The next passage says, “At that time, all the Brahma kings, having extolled the Buddha in verse, each spoke these words. We only pray that the World-Honored One will turn the Dharma-wheel and deliver and liberate sentient beings by opening the path to Nirvana.”
This says that at that time, besides expressing their reverence through prose, the Brahma kings felt that they should express it again in verse. The people who compiled this sutra also felt this section was very important. So, after finishing the long-form prose, they decided to repeat it again in verse to fix it deeper in the listeners’ memories so we can take the sutra’s principles to heart. They did not want the principles to go in one ear and out the other. That would be no different from not listening at all.
So, the verse is shorter, but it nevertheless repeats the meaning in that passage they had already stated their praise for the Buddha’s spiritual practice and His turning of the Dharma-wheel. Their resolve to make offerings to the Buddha was such that they had come from places very far away, passing through 500 trillion lands. They begrudged no hardship in coming from far away. They wholeheartedly wished to make offerings and ask the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.
They had all expressed this intention, so “Each spoke these words.” They all told in one voice how, “We only pray that the World-Honored One will turn the Dharma-wheel and deliver and liberate sentient beings by opening the path to nirvana.” They prayed the Buddha would turn the Dharma-wheel to deliver sentient beings, to open the tranquil and still path of eternal elimination of cyclic existence. This is the path to Nirvana. This was what the Brahma kings needed.
They had enjoyed all the pleasures there were, but were still a little unclear on the principles. They had no type eliminated cyclic existence. What they needed then was the True Dharma that could break cyclic existence. They asked the Buddha, in His compassion, to turn this Dharma-wheel.
So, this explains, “The Brahma kings from the east asked Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.” The Buddha silently consented; He did not object.
The Brahma kings had already come from the east, and the Buddha had silently agreed, but He had yet begun. So, at that time, “It first expressed that they made offerings.”
At that time, all the Brahma kings extolled the Buddha in verse: It first expressed that they made offerings to show respect for the teachings and principles. They revered the Dharma, praised the Buddha and made offerings. They praised Him in verse to express [taking] refuge and sincere reverence.
The passage first shows the sincerity with which they made offerings to the Buddha. This sincerity in making offerings was expressed through respect, through their attitude of utmost respect. Their respect was out of seeking the principles. They entreated the Buddha to teach them the principles which He had awakened to. “They revered the Dharma, praised the Buddha and made offerings.” They came and made offerings of their palaces to show they were willing to give all they had. It was expressly for the principles that they had made this trip and willingly made offerings. This is the meaning that the previous passage is trying to convey.
The next passage says, “Each spoke these words.” All had the same wish. So, we often speak of beings united with one heart and speaking in unison with one voice. Many people were all thinking the same thing, so although the words came from different mouths, though everyone’s mouth is on their own face, their hearts had come together, thus what they expressed was the same thought. In this way, they “entreated the World-Honored One, praying only that for the sake of the assembly He would turn the wondrous Dharma-wheel.”
We still remember how when Sakyamuni Buddha attained Buddhahood, He had to deal with stubborn sentient beings who were so difficult to train and transform. What methods could He use in dealing with them?
If sentient beings had no aspirations, if their capabilities were stubborn or inferior, if they would not take the Dharma to heart, what use was there in teaching them? There were also many heavenly beings who came then to entreat the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel. When any Buddha teaches the Great Dharma or first turns the Dharma-wheel, there is always this kind of ritual. In particular, when the True Dharma is about to be taught, all beings from the Brahma heavens will come.
This is because “He saves and liberates” He “delivers and liberates sentient beings by opening the path to Nirvana.” This is not just in the case of the four forms of birth and the Five Destinies. It includes all in the Three Realms. Everyone within the Three Realms is included, since when heavenly blessings are depleted, they will similarly return to the Three Evil Destinies or the Six Destinies. So, He wanted to save them, help them all to be liberated. To “deliver and liberate sentient beings,” He had to open the path to Nirvana. Because sentient beings are extremely confused, they do not know where they come from or where they are going, so they await the path to Nirvana being opened.
How important this path to Nirvana is! Thus it says, “He saves and liberates all sentient beings by opening and revealing the flawless path to Nirvana.” That is the flawless Dharma, the true Bodhisattva-practice. They go among people while giving unconditionally, continually accumulating [virtue] in this way. This path is the path of the Bodhisattva. This is the path the Buddha originally opened, but if people do not walk the path, while the path will fundamentally be there, it will still need to be put it into practice.
So, the next passage again states, “Then the Brahma kings,” “with one mind and one voice, spoke in verse.” They said it again; having expressed it once, they said it again. They repeated themselves again in verse, saying “Hero of the World, Two-footed Honored One, we only pray You will expound the Dharma and use Your power of great compassion to deliver suffering, afflicted sentient beings.”
This is what we must know. “Hero of the World, Two-footed Honored One….” The Buddha is replete with both blessings and wisdom, so He is known as the Two-footed Honored One. The Brahma kings’ wish was that the Buddha would expound the Dharma again. So, this hero of virtue and might in the world is replete with both blessings and wisdom. This is might and virtue.
Hero of the World, Two-footed Honored One, we only pray You will expound the Dharma: He is the mighty hero of the world, replete with the feet of blessings and wisdom, and the supremely honored one. They only hoped that He would expound all Dharma for the assembly.
The actions of some are so virtuous that even without announcing it, they are already teaching the Dharma. They need not even speak, for their appearance alone teaches the Dharma. This is [the Buddha’s] might and virtue. He is replete with the 32 Marks, perfect and complete in all virtues. Upon seeing Him, people naturally feel joyous; they can put down their afflictions. With the joy of taking the Dharma to heart, they naturally can carry out this path. These are the merits and virtues of the Hero of the World, the Two-footed Honored One. Due to inner cultivation and external practice, His appearance was quite awe-inspiring, yet He was very warm. Everyone joyfully drew near Him.
So, He was replete with both blessings and wisdom. He was “the supremely honored one. We only pray You will expound the Dharma for the assembly.” “Use Your power of great compassion to deliver suffering, afflicted sentient beings.”
Use Your power of great compassion to deliver suffering, afflicted sentient beings: He uses the power of great loving-kindness to bestow all happiness and uses the power of great compassion to relieve all suffering, thus enabling all sentient beings to be able to attain liberation from the sea of suffering and afflictions.
Because the Buddha uses the power of great compassion, He “bestows all happiness.” He bestowed all happiness to sentient beings. The Buddha looked upon sentient beings as His only child. He hoped that all could grasp the principles, that all would be free of afflictions and that all would work in concert with unity, harmony and love. A pure land in this world is what the Buddha hoped for. So it says, “He uses the power of great loving-kindness to bestow all happiness.” Helping sentient beings to always be joyous was the goal of the Buddha. “He uses the power of great compassion to relieve all suffering.” Some sentient beings cannot open their minds; they have afflictions, create karma and are covered in ignorance. The Buddha compassionately taught them to help them be open and understanding. He helped them to eliminate the suffering from their afflictions and ignorance. He could “relieve all suffering, thus enabling all sentient beings to be able to attain liberation from the sea of suffering and afflictions.” He hoped everyone could cross over the sea of suffering and afflictions. There is not just material suffering; there is also much mental suffering. So, all of us should be mindful, mindful of giving our love, of giving with a love that is free of afflictions and attachments, a sincere love, as we go among the people. This is called “great loving-kindness.” How can we purify society and people’s minds? How can we go among people to help them have peace and happiness and no afflictions? This is loving-kindness; loving-kindness is what will bring peace and stability to the world. It not only brings peace and stability and frees people of their sufferings, it can also help to keep the seasons in order. The four seasons, spring, summer, autumn, winter, all will follow the appropriate order.
It is because the four elements are imbalanced that the climate is changing now. Tack the news reports I have seen for instance. In the last two or three days, a strong typhoon been forming over the ocean. They have been reporting that thus typhoon is similar to Typhoon ago is similar to typhoon Herbert Herbert 20, even though the Herbert 20 years ago, But even stronger then Herbert.
Even though the weather outside seems nice now, it is impermanent! It not only impermanent, it is abnormal!
It can change very rapidly. The weather seems to be fine right now, without wind or rain and is very sunny. However, above the ocean some distance away, there are high winds and low air pressure, winds and rain, fiercely rotating. It seems to be moving in Taiwan’s direction, continuously drawing nearer. So, I also hope to take this opportunity to tell everyone to start making preparations, to heighten your vigilance and be ready. We must be very reverent and cautious with regard to this typhoon warning. How do we heighten our vigilance? We should heighten our reverence. We must be reverent. We cannot just be reverent during times of need; we should be reverent in every second. So, reverence is our spiritual practice. We should have sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness in our spiritual practice. “They uphold precepts and cultivated blessings with sincerity and integrity and took in the virtue of faith and steadfastness.” This is how we should be reverent. So, even for a moment this reverence should never leave our hearts. It is the same with our sincere offerings. Starting from the moment we formed aspirations, no matter how long ago it was, from Beginningless Time until now, we have come closer from afar. We must not let this mindset change. Our reverence and will to practice must never change. This requires us to be reverent in every moment. I hope that everyone is always mindful and reverent in every moment.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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