Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Buddhas’ Demeanor in Accepting a Request (諸佛受請之儀)
Date: February.01. 2017
“Silent consent is all Buddhas’ demeanor in accepting a request. The Dharma is like this, as it follows the ways of previous Buddhas. Heavenly beings respect, long for and admire Him. They are different from unenlightened beings. Non-Buddhist practitioners were enabled to see and hear it so that the Path would exist.”
While this sounds very profound, in fact it is only a rule, a practice of propriety. We often read in the sutras that when heavenly beings or humans came to ask the Buddha for teachings, the Buddha would always give silent consent. We often see this in the sutras. This is the demeanor of all Buddhas in accepting a request. If a request were made of the Buddha and He responded by saying “Stop, stop,” that meant it was not possible yet, that the causes and conditions were not ripe. This is the demeanor of all Buddhas in responding to a request. It is a matter of propriety, a rule [of His]. “The Dharma is like this.” This is the way it is. “It follows the ways of previous Buddhas.” This is a matter of propriety.
So, we must know that propriety is very important, especially for Buddhist practitioners. We must accept the teachings and transmit the Path. If we accept the teachings without transmitting the Path, or transmit the Path without accepting teachings, we are disrupting the order. So, we must do things in an orderly manner. In this world, all organizations must do the same. Whatever it is that we want to do, we need to have an order and rules. This is the same principle. Since ancient times this kind of order and rules has been needed.
Otherwise, as is the case now, living in the era of Dharma-degeneration, people already no longer obey the rules and the concepts of ethics and morality have disappeared from their thoughts. As for today’s society, just look at society today; the rules have truly become mixed up. In households in the past, whether there were five generations under one roof or four generations or three, there was a sense of order based on generation. Each subsequent generation respected the previous. In this way, they respected the elderly and practiced filial piety. Now, it is no longer like this. “You are old; you have retired. Do not interfere in young people’s affairs. You must respect us young people and our opinion.” Nowadays we often hear people say things like this.
In society, we also hear people say that we are increasingly an aging society, and as there are more elderly, it becomes a problem. When I hear that people see the elderly as a problem for society, I feel very sad. Are we supposed to care for the elderly, or treat them as a problem in our society? I also feel that in today’s world, the population is increasing. It is inevitable that the human lifespan, as medical science advances, will grow longer and longer, because everyone is physically healthy. This is actually a good thing. Elderly people are healthy, climbing in age. Climbing in age means people are living longer, becoming more elderly. Of course, thinking back to the past, if we heard someone was in their 60s, we would have thought they were old. 70 years old? That was such an advanced age! But nowadays, someone in their 60s is still young. When I see someone in their 60s, I think they look about the same as their child. When a mother and daughter come before me, sometimes I will mistake the daughter for the mother’s older sister. Because the mother is in her 40s and 50s, has makeup on and is dressed the same, she may seem younger than her daughter.
In short, we may wonder how people have come to be this way. Before, if someone was in their 40s or 50s, they would not dare to wear red clothing or clothing with prints or patterns. “You are so old. How can you wear prints like that? You are in your 40s or 50s.” Nowadays, people dress more simply, but the clothing has become more revealing. So, they look like they are still young; they refuse to accept their age. But there is one sign of aging they must accept, memory loss or Alzheimer’s. Now, when people are in their 60s, they begin to forget this and that. Gradually, they may also develop depression. Depression and Alzheimer’s are the actual “aging population problem.”
Why does this happen? Physically, they look very strong and healthy, yet they may be depressed. With many afflictions, memory loss is natural. Depression goes hand-in-hand with memory loss. These are problems of the mind. Why do these ailments appearing the mind? Why do their brains forget what just happened yet remember everything from the past?
This is backwards. These are the kinds of problems we see more often nowadays. Why is this? Because we have lost the moral principles of the family. So, the elderly become anxious. When they are left alone or when they do not feel respected and so on, this creates a state of mind that easily becomes unbalanced. We must abide by ethics and moral principles and have the spirit of transmitting the Path. By observing the proper etiquette, even if five, four or three generations live together, each generation will set an example for the next. When the elderly are respected and treated with propriety, in a society with this kind of propriety, what problem is there for the aging population? In the past, if an elderly person was living with three or four generations under one roof, [we would say,] “You are so blessed! You have wealth, children and a long life. Happiness, prosperity and longevity are yours!” It was a thing to be proud of.
Now the elderly live alone; this is very typical. We ask, “Do you have children? Oh, don’t mention my children. How many do you have?”
“Don’t bother counting.” Indeed, in our society, this has become the norm. But, when it comes to the life of the elderly, everyone treats it as an aging population problem. Every family should treat their parents as their treasure. We should be filial to them. These are the family morals we teach. If we can do this, how would there be any problem for our society? All would have happiness, prosperity and longevity. This would be praiseworthy.
But, this is already impossible in today’s society. Everyone is very talented and has received a high level of education; after they graduate, everyone must find a job. By going to work, they bring ever greater benefits to society. As the society develops more, the young people in the family become very busy. They either go to school or go to work, while the elderly stay at home bored. When they are always bored at home, how can their minds not give rise to anxiety? How can their minds not develop depression? The aging population problem lies here.
Why do the elderly remain in the villages? Why don’t they follow their children [to the city] as they get old? “It would be like locking them in a cage. They wouldn’t talk to anyone. At the village, they have their old friends. They can breathe the fresh air. They can come and go freely. So, naturally, they stay in the countryside.” But no matter how good the village environment, their hearts feel empty. This is a vicious cycle. When it comes to geriatrics and the aging population problem, by this time we can see there are many layers of problems.
When we see a group of elderly people doing recycling, when we hear them talk, there is so much wisdom. Yesterday, I saw one of our recycling volunteers who is in her 80s. Every day she is happy; she is always at the recycling station. Someone asked her, “Why work so hard like this? Being able to do this is a blessing!” “What are you doing all this for?” “I’m doing this for Tzu Chi. Tzu Chi can saves people’s lives.” The same person then asked, “Doesn’t Tzu Chi already have a lot of money? You still do this to give money to Tzu Chi?” She said, “Think about it. Master wants to save lives. We have to regularly save up some money. Sometimes saving people in foreign countries costs a lot of money. Whatever there are disasters in Taiwan, she will save them too. This all requires regularly saving money. As people say, ‘When it is sunny, save up provisions for a rainy day.” “Don’t people say Tzu Chi has a lot of land?” She answered, “That’s right. Without the land, how would we have space to do recycling work?”
Hearing about this yesterday made me feel so happy inside. I wish I could tell her directly, “You are very wise!” I wish I could give her a pat on the back. Truly, look at how pure and innocent she is. It is this simple.
The ancients indeed said, “When it is sunny, save up provisions for a rainy day.” This is a rule; this is something to follow. We do not spend money carelessly just because we have it. People used to say, “This is a lot of spending. A lot of spending.” Now we know they mean spending money. In Taiwanese we would say “paying money,” while now in Mandarin we say “spending money.” In Taiwanese now we also say “spending” money. This is how it is.
So, we can say that people nowadays not living according to the rules creates many problem. The principles of the Buddha-Dharma must be [taught] according to the rules. This type of “silent consent” is a response to requests for teachings or requests for the Buddha to [accept] offerings. If the Buddha gives silent consent, it means that He agrees. This is His demeanor in accepting a request.
So, “The Dharma is like this, as it follows the ways of previous Buddhas.” This is how the Dharma is spread. It follows a type of etiquette, which is considered a rule. “Heavenly beings respect, long for and admire Him. They are different from unenlightened beings.” Heavenly begins respect these rules of etiquette. So, they came from the Brahma heavens, scattering flowers as offerings to the Buddha and offering up their palaces. This showed their utmost sincerity. This shows that heavenly beings understand how hard it is to encounter a Buddha. It take a long time for a Buddha to appear. It is not easy to be present when the Buddha turns the Dharma-wheel. This is the etiquette heavenly beings follow to show respect for the Buddha. They are different from unenlightened beings. When the Buddha appeared in this world, there were those who did not respect the Buddha. There are also many stories of people who tried to harm the Buddha.
This is how unenlightened beings are Unenlightened beings live in this evil world of Five Turbidities. The Buddha came to this world of endurance, this place where the Five Destinies coexist. Unenlightened beings turn against the path of the Enlightened One. As they disrupt the world, the Buddha came to this world to teach the Dharma, to help these disruptive unenlightened beings find the right path and walk toward the path to enlightenment.
Inevitably, unenlightened beings who go against the Path will set up all kinds nets of afflictions and ignorance, ensnaring many people so they cannot be liberated. Thus, heavenly beings had to have engaged in spiritual practice to be born in the heaven realm. Not only did they cultivate blessings, they practiced the precepts. Take those in the Brahma heavens for example. They can enjoy “form,” enjoy material things, but their minds remain pure, and they still diligently seek the Dharma. Though their purifying practice has brought them to the state of the Four Dhyanas, they have not yet realized how to end the cycle of birth and death. How do they end their cyclic existence? If their mind is contaminated again and they give rise to a thought of ignorance, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence will begin again, and they will remain entangled [in the net]. They still have love, hate, passion and animosity, and when they are defiled by an ignorant thought, the net of ignorance will again open, and they will be ensnared by their own ignorance. They are still unable to escape cyclic existence.
In the Brahma heavens, they know that when it comes to the true principles of ending cyclic existence, they have not yet truly made the breakthrough to experience it for themselves. So, it is rare to encounter a Buddha in this world and even more difficult to encounter the turning of the Great Dharma-wheel. Thus, with a mind of utmost reverence, they came from the east to the west to search for this light of true principles. Coming in this way, heavenly beings show their respect and admiration for the Buddha; this is different from unenlightened beings.
“Non-Buddhist practitioners were enabled to see and hear it so that the Path would exist.” The Buddha attained Buddhahood in this world. Though these unenlightened beings had gone astray in their spiritual practice, going against the Path, the Buddha still came to this world, appearing in the human realm to teach the Dharma. Even non-Buddhist practitioners would still have the opportunity to encounter the Buddha-Dharma.
When the Buddha was in this world, there was a group of non-Buddhist practitioners who tried to think of everything they could to break up the Buddha’s Sangha and disrupt His teaching of the true principles. They got together to think on this. After a while, one of them said, “Why not find a butcher, someone who kills pigs and living things, and tell him to ask the Buddha to accept his offerings.” They actually found a well-known butcher; killing pigs and so on, all kinds of living beings, was the profession he specialized in. When he heard their request, he thought, “These people have so much respect for the Buddha that they asked me to make offerings to Him. This creates merits, so I should do it. If I have a chance to make an offering to the Buddha, that is my blessing. But I am a butcher.”
However, these non-Buddhist practitioners continued to encourage him, so he went before the Buddha. These non-Buddhist practitioners also came to see how the Buddha would respond to this butcher. Would He accept the request or refuse this butcher who killed for a living? They all followed him. The butcher came before the Buddha and respectfully prostrated to him. With a reverent mind, he put his palms together and faced the Buddha. He openly said, “Venerable Buddha, I am a butcher in this village. My occupation is one of killing living beings. Though this is my occupation, Venerable Buddha, I also greatly admire You. I hope You will accept my invitation to come to my home to accept my offerings. But, I do not know if you will reject me. Since the work I do is so terrible, I do not know if you will turn me away.”
The Buddha replied, “Everything follows the law of karma. When evil karma has matured, naturally you will fall into a lower realm. When you have enough good karma and blessings, naturally you will encounter the causes and conditions to attain deliverance.” The Buddha responded to him in this way. Then, the Buddha reminded him again, “If there are good deeds to be done, you must quickly seize the opportunity. Evil and good deeds are each separate. When evil karmic effects mature, naturally you will fall into a lower realm. With good karma, when blessed retributions come, you must quickly seize them and take action.”
After giving this response, the Buddha expressed His acceptance and told him to quickly go back to prepare his offering to the Sangha and the Buddha. The butcher was very happy, and he went back to make preparations.
Meanwhile the non-Buddhist practitioners, upon hearing this, opened their minds and understood. The Buddha’s reply was perfect. “Each faces their own karmic retributions. If you have committed evil in the past, when the negative retribution matures, you will fall into the lower realms. If you have positive causes and conditions, you must quickly seize the chance to do good deeds. Go home and prepare, I will accept your offerings.” There was no fault to find in this.
So, these non-Buddhist practitioners greatly admired Him. They could not help but come before the Buddha at the same time to pay respect and ask to take refuge with Him to become His disciples. So, when non-Buddhist practitioners see and hear the teachings, the Path will [continue to] exist. The Path will naturally be passed on.
Therefore, we should always be mindful. In listening to and spreading the Dharma, there are rules and propriety; we must always spread the Dharma in this way. We must do the same with the moral principles of the family. Otherwise, if the Dharma is shared improperly or is not shared, this world will be in chaos.
So, the previous sutra 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.’”
They asked Him to immediately open a path to Nirvana. All Brahma kings greatly respected the Buddha. The extolled the Buddha and praised Him again in verses, hoping that all would take the Dharma to heart and that those in future generations would earnestly listen to and respect the Dharma; they must respect the Dharma.
So, “Then the Brahma kings, with one mind and one voice, spoke in verse.” They began to speak these verses. “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 was the previous sutra passage. The next sutra passage states, “At that time, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Tathagata silently consented.”
Those Brahma kings had this kind of respect. They reverently ad sincerely requested the Dharma. This was so that they themselves could more thoroughly understand the path to ending cyclic existence. It was also to request the Dharma on behalf of all sentient beings, in the hope that everyone can eliminate ignorance and follow the Dharma and the Path. This was the mindset of the Brahma kings. They asked the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.
The Buddha silently consented in this way. He agreed to turn the Great Dharma-wheel. This Great Dharma-wheel was different from the teachings He usually gave. He was going to teach the Lotus Sutra. The 16 princes had asked the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel. Then following the light, heavenly beings also came and requested the Dharma. So, the Buddha’s remaining silent meant He agreed to the request of the 16 princes. This “silence” meant He will speak, but He was still waiting. He was waiting for the heavenly beings to all arrive, for only heavenly beings from the east had arrived. So, He “silently consented.” This is “a Buddha’s sign indicating consent.” This means that He agreed “Alright, please wait another moment because those from other directions are not here yet.”
So, “[This sign] could appear in different ways. Sometimes He nodded His head;” this is showing consent with His body. Sometimes He was silent. This is silent consent. Or He might have nodded His head, like the way we say “Ok.” Although He did not make a sound, He nodded His head, this is using the body His action signaled He was not opposed; He nodded His head
“Or, He might say, I will speak for you.” “Very well, I will tell you.” This is “consent through words.” Today He just remained silent; which shows consent in His mind.
Or, He might say, “I will speak for you.” This is consent through words. Today He just remained silent, which shows consent in His mind. Or, He might say, “Stop, stop.” This shows He did not consent.
He could indicate agreement to teach the Dharma in these different ways. He had already agreed in His mind. So, He remained silent and did not respond because He already consented in His mind. Sometimes He will speak. For example, when the butcher came to make a request of the Buddha, He said, “If blessings come, quickly seize the opportunity. Go back quickly to prepare;” this was with words. Or He could use movement of the body. He could assent by nodding His head. These are all ways to show His consent to teach the Dharma. Or He could say, “Stop, stop.” When Sariptura requested the Dharma, the Buddha said to him, “Stop, stop! There is no need to speak further,” “Enough, your respect is not yet what is must be. Sentient beings’ capabilities are not yet even. Your request for the Dharma is not very reverent.” So He said, “Stop, stop, stop.” Three times He was asked, three times He refused. This was when Sakyamuni Buddha was in the world and just beginning to teach the Lotus Sutra. [Sariputra] requested, and the Buddha refused. Everyone should still remember this.
So, here His “silent consent” means All Buddhas’ demeanor in accepting a request “is silent consent. The Dharma is like this; there are four reasons.” It follows the ways of previous Buddhas. It enables heavenly beings and humans to give rise to respect, longing and admiration. It is different from what unenlightened beings and non-Buddhist practitioners do, and it enables them to see and hear so the Path will exist. These are the benefits of the Four Siddhantas.
These are four reasons. First, “it follows the ways of previous Buddhas.” These are the rules; the rules are like this. Second, “It enables heavenly beings and humans to give rise to respect, longing and admiration.” He hopes that everyone will give rise to respect. Not just humans, but heavenly beings too must express their respect for the Buddha. So, everyone had to clearly understand that previously, the 16 princes had already requested the Dharma and the turning of the Dharma-wheel. Those heavenly beings in Brahma Heaven also understood that the Buddha would turn the Great Dharma-wheel. But they still followed etiquette and came before the Buddha to request that He turn the Dharma-wheel. This is to show the heavenly beings’ respect and longing.
It was not just the Brahma kings of the east who came to make this request. Behind them were still many others who would also come to request that the Buddha turn the Dharma-wheel. This showed heavenly beings’ respect and longing.
Third, “This is different from what unenlightened beings and non-Buddhist practitioners do.” In this world, regarding the Buddha-Dharma, there are many more who do not respect it that those who do. They are unenlightened beings; they do not respect the Dharma in this world.
Fourth, “It enables them to see and hear.” No matter what, heavenly beings and humans express their utmost respect to help everyone understand how to spread the Dharma. We must respect the Dharma. It is not easy for the Dharma to appear in this world. Everyone should respect the Dharma. So, this is how it can be seen and heard. By showing such deep respect, even those who do not respect the Dharma will give rise to a sense of respect. This is being a role model. This is teaching through actions. Through their actions they teach ordinary people. With etiquette they manifest the spirit of transmitting the Path. These are teachings of etiquette, a way of teaching by example.
It is in this way that the Path can continue to be passed down. These are also known as the Four Siddhantas. They are the world life siddhanta, the individual siddhanta, the curative siddhanta, and the supreme meaning siddhanta. We have spoken of them previously. For the sake of the world, the Buddha-Dharma must be shared widely. Thus, we must have great respect so that the Buddha-Dharma will remain forever. We must practice this kind of etiquette. Sentient beings’ afflictions, ignorance and delusion are very severe. They need the Buddha-Dharma, the Buddha-medicine, to cure them. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, doubt, these afflictions, must be treated with the Dharma.
So, for the sake of the world and heavenly beings, human, heavenly beings, all in the Three Realms, the Buddha will turn the Great Dharma-wheel to expound the ultimate, great principles for ending cyclic existence. For this reason, heavenly beings passed through 500 trillion lands, coming from far away, to gather together to request the Dharma. This means we must have great respect, great respect for the Dharma. Though the Dharma is repeated many times, it is explained over and over so that everyone can understand clearly. The sutras are not just what is written in text; the principles remain unchanged from ancient times till today. Moreover, as times change, the Dharma is the medicine that the world needs. With society the way it is now, we must use the spirit of the Buddha-Dharma to thoroughly understand and observe the way modern people live. What medicine can we apply to safeguard the Path and the principles and preserve the ethics for living in this world? These principles have remained unchanged since ancient times. So, we must not treat this as an inconvenience; we must continue to mindfully listen to the Dharma and observe the ways people live in this world so that we may comprehend.
The next sutra passage states, “Moreover, bhiksus, in the 500 trillion lands to the southeast, all the great Brahma kings each saw their palaces illuminated by a great radiance, which had never happened before. They jumped with joy and gave rise to a rare and precious aspiration, then immediately went to visit one another to discuss this matter.”
Sakyamui Buddha again reminded the bhiksus at the Lotus Assembly, again reminded everyone, that in the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior, in addition to those who came west from the east, similarly in the southeast, there were also 500 trillion lands in which Brahma kings likewise saw their own palaces illuminated, likewise jumped with joy, likewise gave rise to a rare and precious aspiration and likewise discussed this matter together.
Previously, we only talked about the east. Now, we are talking about the Brahma kings of the southeast. They also saw this light and discussed it together. Where was this light coming from? Everyone knew that the light was shining from the northwest to the southeast. Their palaces were similarly illuminated by a great radiance. Everyone discussed this matter together. Where was this light coming from?
This is the same as what we said previously. “Each of the Brahma kings had this thought.” Everyone had the same thought. Altogether, “with their palaces,” those in the southeast traveled toward the northwest. They followed the same etiquette and rules and also asked the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.
In conclusion, in learning the Buddha’s Way, we must always be mindful. If we are always mindful, even a single phrase, a simple [teaching], contains its own etiquette. There are profound principles behind these rules. They may appear simple, just like how in this world, in order to maintain harmony in the family, there must also be propriety and etiquette. If the family has no propriety and etiquette, then their [attitude] toward the elderly will become more disrespectful with each successive generation. Then they will feel that the elderly are simply taking up space at home. They will not consider how the family they created brought stability and allowed us to enjoy a comfortable life. They easily forget [the elderly’s] grace and give rise to feelings of loathing. The way they treat them reflect their annoyance. They feel, “With my parents here, it is a great inconvenience. I have to go home and prepare their meals.” This is how people feel nowadays. Should they be like this? This goes against principles and morals. When we go against principles and morals, we are not following rules of etiquette. So, we must earnestly listen to the Dharma, constantly follow the principles and stay on the right path. The great Bodhi-path to enlightenment is the brightest, most ultimate principles in life. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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