Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Requesting the Dharma-Wheel Be Turned (梵天大悲請轉法輪)
Date: February.02. 2017
“With great vows and compassion, they save others from suffering. Bodhisattvas have compassion and the Four Infinite Minds. The compassion and wisdom of all Buddhas are great, perfect and wondrous. With Bodhisattva-aspirations, they work for the seed of great practice. With the source of the Bodhi-path, they are replete with the great fruits. The Brahma kings, out of great compassion, requested the Dharma-wheel [be turned].”
Can we understand this? “With great vows and compassion, they save others from suffering.” I hope each of us can make the great vows; these are the shared vows of all Buddhas. Every Buddha has this same set of vows, which were the Four Great Vows and Four Infinite Minds. These are the shared vows of all Buddhas.
Of course, each Buddha also has specific vows, but They must have these shared vows. All Buddhas share the same path and same vows; only then can They give rise to specific vows. Attaining Buddhahood is separable from the Four Great Vows and Four Infinite Minds. We must first make the great vows. When we give rise to great compassion, we cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer. Thus we form Bodhisattva-aspirations to save and deliver suffering beings.
There have been suffering beings since Beginningless Time, because sentient beings have always been subject to the cycle of karmic cause and effect. Since Beginningless Time, there has been good and evil in everyone. Wisdom and ignorance have likewise been in all of us since Beginningless Time. So, since we have accumulated much goodness since Beginningless Time, of course we have accumulated much evil since Beginningless Time as well. To accumulate goodness, we must constantly form aspirations and make vows. Ordinary people who cultivate goodness are cultivating heavenly blessings. When sages cultivate goodness, they cultivate blessings to be in the Brahma heavens. If noble beings cultivate goodness, they can put an end to cyclic existence; this is different. Regardless of the kind of goodness cultivated, even if one reaches the Brahma heavens, or even Akanishtha heaven, the highest heaven of the form realm, even in this ultimate heaven, where all one does is enjoy heavenly blessings, and there is no suffering, very long lives and many pleasures, still, heavenly beings in the Brahma heavens are all themselves aware that their heavenly blessings are limited. So, they also look forward to going a step further to thoroughly understand the true principles.
Only with an ultimate, thorough understanding of the true principles can they put an end to samsara. Then, they will no longer transmigrate in the Six Realms. Therefore, they were very mindful. They waited for a Buddha to be born in the world so they could ask Him to turn the Dharma-wheel. Clearly, even beings in the Braham heavens had to go through a process of spiritual practice. But they cultivated blessings, and once these have been enjoyed and depleted, they will once again fall [into a lower realm]. So, when we form aspirations and make vows, we not only [seek to] cultivate heavenly blessings but to transcend this and put an end to cyclic existence. When we pursue heavenly blessings to the end, when we get to the bottom of that goodness, the source of all goodness, it is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. This is what Buddha’s great awakening was, when He became one with the universe. So, we should also have the same state of mind.
Of course, this means we must make the great vows. We must have the great compassion to save others from suffering. When sentient beings are suffering, we form the aspiration to provide relief. “Bodhisattvas have compassion and the Four Infinite Minds.” First we must make the great vows to inspire our compassion, only then can we remain firm in the Four Infinite Minds.
The Four Great Vows and Four Infinite Minds are very clear to everyone. So, “The compassion and wisdom of all Buddhas is great, perfect and wondrous.” We must first make the Four Great Vows and then put the Four Infinite Minds into practice. Our goal is to attain Buddhahood, supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment. By continuously advancing in this direction, we will attain Buddhahood; this is what all Buddha have done. The shared vows of all Buddhas are the great vows and infinite great compassion.
So, “The compassion and wisdom of [all Buddhas] is great, perfect and wondrous.” They are replete with compassion, and with the Four Great Vows, “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” Their wisdom is perfected, so, “The compassion and wisdom of [all Buddhas] is great, perfect and wondrous.” They have accomplished great perfect mirror wisdom. This is because, “With Bodhisattva-aspirations, they work for the seed of great practice.”
When we form aspirations for great practice, our goal is to attain Buddhahood. To attain Buddhahood the first requirement is to “vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” This is part of the Four Great Vows. Countless sentient beings have so much suffering, so we first must form great aspirations and make great vows to deliver all suffering sentient beings. Sentient beings and we ourselves are all in an unenlightened state of ignorance. So, the afflictions of sentient beings are boundless, and we must vow to eliminate them. We must earnestly eliminate our afflictions. In addition to our own afflictions, we must also aspire and vow to eliminate the afflictions of sentient begins.
Afflictions are boundless; it is not only we how have them, but all sentient beings. So, the path to Buddhahood is very wide. We must mindfully learn, mindfully listen, mindfully experience all of it. The path to Buddhahood is supreme, what we must vow to attain. We engage in spiritual practice in order to attain Buddhahood. We will not stop until we attain Buddhahood. So, “With Bodhisattva-aspirations, [we] work for the seed of great practice.” We must engage in great practice life after life. Forming great aspirations, making the great vows, these are the great practice, which is like a seed.
What about the Bodhi-path? “With the source of the Bodhi-path, they are replete with the great fruits.” This is about attaining Buddhahood. We must walk this road, this Bodhisattva-path. With the seed of great practice, the Bodhisattva-path, we must continue to advance without interruption. So, this is “uninterrupted practice.” We must walk the Bodhisattva-path; this is our path to awakening, the origin of the path to Buddhahood. At the end of this path, we attain Buddhahood. This is being replete with great fruits; this is attaining Buddhahood. So, the Brahma kings, out of great compassion, requested the turning of the Dharma-wheel.
Recently, we have been talking about Brahma kings. From the Brahma heavens of the east, west, south north, southeast, northwest [and so on], the Brahma kings of the ten directions all came. The Buddha was about to turn the Dharma-wheel. The eight directions and above and below are altogether the ten directions. The Brahma kings all came to seek the Buddha’s path to enlightenment. Only the path to enlightenment can eliminate suffering; otherwise, the collective karma created by sentient beings of the world will attract disasters.
In the world there is collective karma as well as people’s individual karmic causes and effects. Every person follows his or her own karma and is also [subject to] collective karma. For example, we are safe and at peace right now, and the weather is calm outside, thus we can sit here, I can teach and you can listen. But actually, Typhoon Soudelar is over the ocean. This typhoon has already appeared on the ocean, and it is getting closer to Taiwan. It will make landfall in Taiwan today.
Since ancient times, many typhoons have landed on Taiwan on August 7. There have been 11 typhoons that have made landfall in Taiwan on August 7. One that left a deep impression on us was the August 7th Flood that we often mention. This happened in 1959. If we talk about an August 7th flood now, we are referring to the flood of 1959. That August 7th Flood was caused by a typhoon that did not land on Taiwan. It was a medium-sized Typhoon called Ellen. Typhoon Ellen did not directly hit Taiwan. It remained on the periphery, a tropical depression heading toward Taiwan, creating a powerful southwesterly air current. This brought three days and three nights of heavy rain, from August 7th until the 9th. This heavy rain lasted for three days. This rain caused great damage in all 13 counties and cities in Taiwan. Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi, etc., were places where the damage was most severe, especially Changhua County. This left a deep impression on me.
For an entire month, when we passed through Changhua by car, we could see the devastation everywhere. At the time, people built houses out of mud bricks or bamboo. After the heavy rain and two days of flooding, the clod houses collapsed. This led to the deaths of more than 600 people, close to 700 people. More than 400 people were missing, and more than 180,000 people were affected.
Another report stated that approximately 300,000 people were deeply affected. Whether 180,000 or 300,000 people, at the time, Taiwan’s population was only seven million. If 180,000 people were affected, or according to another report, 300,000 people were affected, we can imagine the scale of the disaster.
After the Flood of August 7th receded, on August 12, the government banned animal slaughter in the entire country for eight days. The disaster was so severe the government at that time recognized that they should pray for blessings, should find a way to sincerely pray for blessings. So, they banned animal slaughter for eight days. They put a stop to all banquets, to rituals that required sacrifices. This was what they did back then. When we look at this period in history, we feel great shock and astonishment.
During that era, Taiwan’s population was about seven million, and so many people were affected by the disaster. Clearly people at that time in Taiwan, especially in the government, were very wise. They used an eight-day ban on animal slaughter as a form of sincere prayer. This was truly moving and also tells us how devastating the disaster was. According to the older generation, those who lived through that disaster all knew how devastating it was [at the time]. Many places suffered losses.
Next we may think back to the year 2009. Typhoon Morakot also struck on August 7th. That is when Typhoon Morakot made landfall. It left a deep impression on us. It resulted in a great disaster in the south; so, they called it the August 8th flood. Since August 8 is Father’s Day, they called it the August 8th flood. It touched down on August 7, and on August 8, its effects still had not passed. After it made landfall, there was heavy rain. We continually heard reports of damage. So, our Living Bodhisattvas began to mobilize to travel from the north to the south. My memory of this time is still vivid because it happened in 2009.
But the August 7th Flood was a flood that happened in 1959. How many years apart were these? Today, there is also a typhoon; [Typhoon Soudelor] is over the ocean. We must heighten our vigilance. Furthermore, its wind speed is very high, and its winds are very powerful. Its makeup is very stable, and it is moderate in strength. As for its direction, it will likely make landfall near Hualien. Will it be between Hualien and Yilan or between Hualien and Taitung that it makes landfall? Right now it is very large; its radius alone is more than 290km. It can cover all of Taiwan. It will make landfall in Hualien, either closer to Taitung or Yilan. In any case, we must heighten our vigilance.
Everyone, please be reverent and pay close attention. Right now, there is still no rain or wind outside. But what about this time tomorrow? We cannot know. Starting this afternoon, the wind and rain will gradually arrive. Everyone, please pay close attention.
Based on our past experiences and memories, we must not take this lightly. Everyone must pay close attention. There is this kind of suffering in the world because of the collective karma of sentient beings. So, we must earnestly and always be vigilant and mindful.
Making the great vows is something we must do. The Four Infinite Minds is the path Bodhisattvas must ravel. It is the great cause for attaining Buddhahood. Therefore, to attain the fruit of Buddhahood, we cannot be lacking the Four Great Vows and Four Infinite Minds.
Come, let us read the previous sutra passage. “At that time, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Tathagata silently consented. 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.”
Previously we described Brahman Kings from the east. Now these are the ones from the southeast. The Brahma kings from 500 trillion lands all saw their palaces beings illuminated by light. They quickly gathered together to discuss this. This light seemed very unusual. It originated from the west. Had a Virtuous One been born in heaven or had a Buddha manifested in the world? This was what previous passages mentioned. Brahma kings from the east had this question in their minds. Finally, they confirmed that it was a World-Honored One of great enlightenment. Either a Buddha had manifested in the world or He was about to turn the Dharma-wheel. So, they all began to seek out [this sign] and discuss this matter together.
Then the sutra continues as follows, “Then, from amidst that assembly, a Great Brahma King named Great Compassion spoke in verse for those in the Brahma heavens.”
There was a Great Brahma King among them named Great Compassion. This was because this Great Brahma King had this aspiration to provide compassionate relief to all beings. Thus, this was his name. He also sought out the ultimate teachings. So, his name was Great Compassion.
“[He] spoke in verse for those in the Brahma heavens.” This means that Brahma King Compassion had hopes for everyone who came on the blessings they created in their past lives by saving sentient beings. However, this was not the ultimate Dharma. So, they had to further pursue the thorough teachings of the Buddha. After the Buddha attained enlightenment, they all came together. Now He was about to turn the Dharma-wheel, so Brahma King Great Compassion asked those in the Brahma heavens, “What are the causes and conditions of this, that such a sign would appear? In all palaces there is a great radiance like never before. Has a Virtuous One been born in heaven or has a Buddha manifested in the world? We have never seen such a sign before, so we should seek this together with one mind.”
What were the causes and conditions behind this matter, this radiance? With this auspicious sign of such subtle and wondrous radiance, the palaces were brightly illuminated. What were the causes and conditions behind this? Everyone wanted to quickly seek out the causes and conditions behind this light and this auspicious appearance.
“In all our palaces there is a great radiance like never before.” A radiance like this one had almost never appeared in the past. There has never been this radiance in the palaces. “Has a Virtuous One been born heaven or has a Buddha manifested in the world?” This was what Brahma King Great Compassion asked. Has someone who walks the great Bodhisattva-path in the world been born in the Brahma heavens? Or has a Buddha manifested in the world?
They earnestly sought to answer this question. This Brahma king from the southeast, Brahma King Great Compassion, was encouraging everyone to find the source of the light. The source of this light is the source of the true principles. “We have never seen such a sign before, so we should seek this together with one mind.”
We have never seen such a sign before, we should seek this together with one mind: They saw what they had not seen before, so he encouraged them to investigate together. When the Brahma kings from the southeast, because of the light, asked in astonishment, Brahma King Great Compassion brought the discussion together to explore this.
“We have not seen this before in the past; now we must be diligent and earnestly seek the source of this light.” The Brahma king from the southeast said this. Because of this light, everyone asked each other in astonishment. They each saw this radiance and were astonished; how did this auspicious sign come to be there? So, they asked each other. This was why Brahma King Great Compassion gathered so many people, so they could together seek the answer and ask each other about this.
This Brahma King Great Compassion asked, “Has a Virtuous One been born heaven?” people who do many good deeds can be born in the Brahma heavens. This is not easy to achieve. The Brahma heavens are in the form realm. As we have said, the form realm is the heavens with material things. It is a place of material things, of enjoyment. To create enough blessings in the human realm to be born in this heaven is not an easy thing to achieve.
So, such a person is called “Virtuous One.” This is one who is replete in practicing goodness, [cultivating Samadhi] and upholding precepts, the pure precepts. Because the Brahma heavens are pure, only those who do not violate precepts and have practiced great goodness can be born in this heaven. So, they are “Virtuous Ones born in heaven.”
OrａBrahma might have manifested in the world, and that was source of this radiance. The Brahma kings from the southeast made these two speculations, had a Virtuous One been born in heaven or had a Buddha manifested in the world? The Brahma kings from the southeast had these speculations. Then, “They solely believed it was a Buddha manifesting.”
Brahma kings Great Compassion: As to whether a Virtuous One was born in heaven or a Buddha had manifested in the world, the two speculations of those in the southeast, they solely believed it was a Buddha manifesting. This differs slightly from earlier.
We said previously that those in the Brahma heavens of the east also made these speculations. Did this light signify a Virtuous One being born in heaven? Or a Buddha manifesting in the world? However, according to Brahma kings Great Compassion’s evaluation, he was certain it was a Buddha manifesting in the world. When a Buddha manifests in the world, there is a great radiance, which is the true principles. It is the true principles of the universe, converging like a beam of light.
So, it was likely a Buddha appearing in the world. After their discussion, this was their consensus. As Buddhist practitioners, we must truly be mindful. The Buddha-Dharma is in this world, so with our minds and actions, our minds must make the great vows, and we must understand that we have to truly take care of each other we have to truly take care of each other. When we put ourselves in other’s shoes, we know the world is indeed full of suffering.
Every day I tell everyone about the suffering in the world. Have we not felt this suffering? In particular, in our modern society, we have an abundance of material things to enjoy, but we have even more afflictions and ignorance. Right now, especially, not only do we cause trouble for each other with our afflictions and ignorance, disrupting families, societies and minds, which already results in great suffering, there are also manmade disasters on top of that. Manmade disasters [originate] in people’s minds. When our minds are disorderly, we are deluded, so we create manmade disasters. On a small scale, this affects the individual, or a family or a society. On a larger scale, it affects the nation. All disasters in the world arise from a single thought. When a single thought goes astray, an individual’s afflictions harms the individual. An individual’s ignorance causes family tragedies. An individual’s mindset affects other’s mindsets. When the ignorance in people’s minds converges, it will stir up societal unrest and destroy ethics and morality. Then society will be in crisis. In more severe cases, there will be manmade disasters; national manmade calamities will occur.
Recently, I have often talked about how refugees are spread throughout so many countries. Look at how over these past few years, in Syria, Iraq and so on, manmade disasters continue to spread endlessly. There is an unceasingly flow of refugees; those who have been displaced number in the millions and tens of millions. This is unbearable suffering!
Every day, watching the news we see how after being displaced, they have to face natural disasters. Think about it; when there is strong wind and heavy rain, what will the refugees in tents experience in their lives? Under the blazing sun, they are living in tents. When the snow falls, they are living tents. Think about it. How many people are suffering in the world?
Then there are natural disasters. Look at how floods, winds and earthquakes cause suffering. Even in wealthy nations, if the natural disaster is severe, the resulting damage will be great. Think about it; how can this world be free of suffering? In addition there is the suffering from birth, aging, illness and death, from disharmony in the family, from negative karmic affinities. Often when we do charity work, we encounter a single family with several members who have troubled minds or who are physically challenged. The entire family’s karma is severely entangled. This truly brings unbearable suffering. Think about it; how can this world be free of suffering?
The Brahma kings may enjoy heavenly pleasures, but they understand the principles. They know they still have one more thing to do; they have not yet put an end to cyclic existence. Since they still experienced samsara, what they now sought was to find a way to put an end to samsara. The goal of our spiritual practice is also to put an end to samsara. Now we are also looking forward to no longer transmigrating the Six Realms. The Six Realms are indeed full of suffering! However, this will take a very long time.
Right now, we all need to be vigilant and reverent. There is a typhoon approaching Taiwan. Everyone, please make preparations to protect your homes. Even more importantly, we must not only prepare ourselves, but gather all our neighbors and together clean out the storm drains, secure anything that might be blown away and tightly shut doors and windows. We must check up on each other.
Yesterday, I saw in the news how Tzu Chi volunteers are already visiting vulnerable households to ensure that they are safe. I also hope that we can remind village heads about the people who need more support so they will check in on them during the storm.
In summary, we must all use the most reverent and vigilant mindset and reverently and mindfully pray for blessings. In conclusion, I hope through the power of love, our most reverent prayers can be heard by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Of course, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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