Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Passing Countless Lands Without Ever Leaving (雖過萬土不離當處)
Date: February.03. 2017
“They sought the causes and conditions of the auspicious radiance. There must be an extraordinary cause. From this they deduced it was surely not due to someone being born in heaven, but must be a Buddha manifesting in the world. One must know that, though passing over countless lands, they never left the place they were.”
Does everyone still remember the previous sutra passage? The Brahma kings from the southeast and the other heavenly beings saw the radiance; its illumination was unusual, something that they had never seen before. It was different from what was usual in the past. Where did the light come from? The ray of light came from the northwest, so, in the southeast, all the heavenly beings gathered to discuss it. They deduced that it could not be due to a person with blessings being born in heaven. It must be a Buddha manifesting in the world.
When a Buddha appears in the world, it is a matter of great importance. When He is about to teach the Great Dharma, that is a matter of even greater importance. The reason a Buddha manifests in the world is of course for the sake of sentient beings. But sentient beings’ capabilities were dull and inferior, so how would it be easy for them to understand the profound, subtle and wondrous principles? Even if they understood the principles, to put them into practice would be adding difficulty on the top of difficulty. However, in every Buddha’s heart, each knows the Dharma must be spread, and sentient beings must be taught. Even if sentient beings are stubborn, Buddhas still wish to make good use of causes and conditions. When causes and conditions do mature, They will definitely appear in the world. This is every Buddha’s aspiration.
So, it is not easy for a Buddha to manifest in the world; the causes and conditions are extraordinary. These are not ordinary causes, not easily [attained]. The Brahma kings deduced that the birth of an ordinary heavenly being could not emit such radiance. Only the appearance of a Great Enlightened One in the world could cause such an unusual light to shine forth. This is what the group of Brahma kings gathered together to discuss. They determined that the light was coming from the northwest. So, they decided to start out from the southeast and go toward the northwest to investigate the source of this ray of light.
Thus, we know that they had to travel for a very long time. You should all still remember this. The source of the radiance was so far away that for the Brahma kings to reach its source, they had to cross trillions of Buddha-lands. This light was so far away. Yet, no one begrudged that hardship and went to search for the light’s source anyway.
I always tell everyone that this radiance is the principles. In regards to the principles, there are two explanations of this. First, the principles have existed since Beginningless Time, for a time impossible to calculate, since before Beginningless Time. So, at the beginning of the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, Sakyamuni Buddha tells of how kalpas more numerous than all the dust in the great trichiliocosm had already passed, a trichiliocosm’s worth of dust-inked kalpas. Everyone must think back to this principle and try to remember. This is saying that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha represents the principles, how the principles are beginningless. The principles have always existed. As the principles have always existed, it is impossible to calculate how long ago they began to exist.
“Great Unhindered Superior Wisdom” represents the truth, the principles, and also the nature of True Suchness that is inherent in all of us. This is telling us that in regards to our nature of True Suchness now, since it is intrinsic to us all, shouldn’t it be close by? How could it be so far? But we continue to separate ourselves from this principle. We are very far from it, because it is difficult for us to comprehend the principles.
We know that each individual has Buddha-nature, that clearly we are inseparable from our nature of True Suchness, but unfortunately our ignorance separates us farther and farther from our nature of True Suchness, from this principle. This is because our ignorance multiplies and grows greater and greater.
We are all like this. When we first form aspirations and make vows, we are filled with confidence in ourselves. “I can definitely achieve this. I am certain that having made vows in this direction. I can achieve them.”
However, we gradually distance ourselves from the resolve and power to achieve these vows that we thought we were able to achieve and have already become lax. When we listen to the principles, do we take them in? In the past, when we first began to listen to and discover the teachings, we were full of passion and self-confidence, but after a while, as time passes and we encounter people, matters and things, our ignorance increases more and more.
Was it others who created this ignorance for us? Or was this ignorance something that we gave rise to ourselves? This is due to causes and conditions; the conditions of other people’s ignorance can lead to the ignorance in our own minds being stirred up. So, there is ignorance on both sides. Ignorance is like the coming together or atmospheric conditions; in our minds these fierce storms arise and this winds of ignorance blow away and demolish that initial aspiration we had formed.
Look at Typhoon Souneler. Meteorological bureaus around the world tell us that a typhoon like this is rarely seen. Thus, many have been carefully observing; when this typhoon came to Taiwan, what kind of impact would it have? This impact, from landfall until it had passed, lasted nearly 30 hours before Taiwan escaped these fierce winds. Taiwan is very small and such a large typhoon had completely covered Taiwan. Looking down from the satellite, you could not see Taiwan at all. All you can see is an immense typhoon. But underneath this typhoon, on the ground, we experienced strong winds and heavy rain.
Fortunately, however, when it hit the Central Mountain Range, its strength weakened. But perhaps since the wind was at a high altitude, it quickly passed the Central Mountain Range. We kept calling everywhere to ask whether everyone was safe. All safe! However, in some places roofs were torn off, and there was flooding in others. Though we experienced such a strong typhoon, we should still be grateful, for the damage has so far been minimal for such a large typhoon.
In the past, people always used to say, “Man can conquer nature.” When I went to Jing Si Hall, Lin Da-Chin of the Humanities Center told me, “Our news reporters thought it was safe to go outside to assess the damage that the typhoon caused to the surroundings. There was one sight in particular; by the seaside there was a large stone with. Man can conquer nature’ written upon it.”
I asked, “What happened?” He said, “In an instant, the wind blew over that ‘Man can conquer nature’ rock, and the road was destroyed as well. Our news reporters are going there to take pictures of this sight.” When I heard this, I thought to myself, “Is that true? Can man conquer nature?” Our Taiwan is such a small place, yet it holds so many people. With such a large population, when even the land cannot withstand the typhoon’s destruction, since it has passed, we should be grateful, for the disaster has been minimal this time. However, this shows how arrogant people can be; we dare to say man can conquer nature. The human mind is like this; it cannot withstand wind and waves. When some people heard that a typhoon was coming and that the waves would be huge, they instead became arrogant and went to stand at a place near the ocean to see how big the waves would be. One of the waves grabbed both adults and children and swept them out to sea. Many braved the danger to search for them, but could not find them. Although they tried to save them, there was nothing that could be done.
The human mind is lamentable! People do not know how to be humble. They think they can conquer the might of nature. They knew the wind and rain would be strong but still chose to stand against the might of nature to show off how they could conquer it. This is how the ignorance of sentient beings drags us away from the true principles. This is an example.
So, it says, “In seeking the principles, they came from the Brahma heavens so far away.” They did not begrudge the distance, for they wished to find the true principles, the source of that ray of light. In contrast, when we humans [seek] our source, which is our aspiration, the power of our vows, we have vows but not enough power. If we wish to find the principles, the principles are within our minds. But we are unable to exercise the power of the vows inside us. We cannot maintain our initial aspirations. Our initial aspiration, our earliest aspiration, that power of our vows, is so weak that we cannot withstand interacting with others or facing ignorance. So, we are easily affected by the causes and conditions of ignorance, which lead us to produce even more ignorance ourselves. This obstructs our nature of True Suchness and pulls us away from the true principles. Now we have become quite distant from them.
Even if we chant the sutras every day, we are just moving our mouths, not being mindful. Even if we are mindful, it is only for a moment and then it passes; we do not take it deeply into our hearts. This is lamentable!
When will people ever comprehend the principles? This typhoon just passed us on August 8. This August 8, (2015) typhoon lasted for over 28 hours, not just 24 hours, but close to 30 hours. This wind and heavy rain caused certain places to experience landslides and mudslides. We were very lucky; when we compare this typhoon with others, we were very lucky and should be grateful. However, there are still those who are suffering due to effects of the disaster.
Some people’s houses were swept away; some people lost their loved ones. The disastrous winds and rains left them suffering. Suffering was what left in their wake. Can we still say that “Man can conquer nature”? In fact, only if we walk our path in life steadily can we truly walk upon the Bodhisattva-path for a long time. So, we also saw a group of Bodhisattvas who served as “unsummoned teachers.” At the time of the disaster, some called the village heads and asked, “Does you village need our help?” When one village head heard this, he said, “Yes we do; we need Tzu Chi volunteers here! We need them now! We need Tzu Chi volunteers to help out.”
And, like that, Tzu Chi volunteers in blue and white uniforms became their “unsummoned teachers.” The began mobilizing; they cleaned up the road. Some soldiers were moving the mud from the road, while Tzu Chi volunteers went into homes to help them clean. Whether working in the roads or in people’s houses, they volunteered out of their own initiative.
It is at times like these that people think, “We need Tzu Chi volunteers.” The principles are so close to us. When people are in difficulty, they discover that Tzu Chi volunteers are the ones who can help others; they are the ones who people in this world need. This is a true principle. When we help give the world what it needs, the principles are all around us. The principles are [found] among people. When people mutually help each other, then we are truly one family on earth; why worry about blood ties? Then entire world is one family. This is a true principle, not a slogan.
So, in searching for the principles, heavenly beings did not begrudge the hardship, though it took a long time to pursue them. Unenlightened beings go against the path. We may ordinarily turn our backs on the path, but when we are in need, the principles are all around us. We should understand that the Buddha-Dharma must be applied in our daily living.
The previous passage says, “Then, from amidst that assembly, a Great Brahma King named Great Compassion spoke in verse for those in the Brahma heavens.
The name of the Brahma king was “Great Compassion.” He had “universal compassion.” Isn’t that so? During this time when the world is full of suffering, don’t Bodhisattvas with “universal compassion” appear in the world? Everyone in the world is interconnected. The brahma kings also appeared at this time. When this Brahma king from the southeast saw this radiance, he told everyone, “This radiance is surely not “due to someone being born in heaven. It must be a Great Enlightened One, a Buddha, manifesting in the world.” So, this verse is repeated once again.
“What are the causes and conditions behind the appearance of such a sign? In all our palaces there is a great radiance like never before. Has a Virtuous One been born in heaven of has a Buddha manifested in the world? We have never seen such a sign before, so we should seek this together with one heart.”
It was hard for them to understand the principles. Since a Buddha had appeared in the world, this radiance must be the principles, which were hard for them to understand in the past. Now that it had appeared, they quickly went to search for the ray of light. They all shared the heart to search for it. So, Brahma King Great Compassion had universal compassion. Universal compassion is sharing one heart; everyone shares this same hearth. When everyone’s hearts are unified, of course we have the power to conquer nature. As long as we are reverent, as long as everyone understands the principles, naturally, in accordance with principles, disasters will be reduced. Everyone must universally unite as one, uniting body and mind with the great principles. Only when everyone is united together can man then conquer nature.
With a reverent heart, [our prayers] reach the ears of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. This requires many people together, so we must have universal compassion, and everyone must share the same heart. This is how we must respond to the present times. So, let us earnestly be mindful of this.
The next sutra passage says, “We must pass over trillions of land to seek out this radiance and investigate together. It is most likely that a Buddha manifested to deliver and liberate suffering sentient beings.
After such a long time, the principles, the conscience we originally had, must be found again. This is our original undefiled nature; though it may be very far away, we should quickly recover this pure mind. The Brahma King’s minds were pure. We should hurry to be just like those Brahma Kings who earnestly sought out the ultimate principles. With pure minds, they still hoped to find the ultimate principles of ending cyclic existence.
So, “We must pass over trillions of lands to seek out this radiance and investigate together.”
We must pass over trillions of lands to seek out this radiance and investigate together: They had to pass over distant lands, following the radiance, investigating together. With reverence, they came from afar to seek the radiance of these true principles, passing over trillions of [lands]. This says that the radiance is not in this land; they had to pass over trillions of lands to seek it. One must know that, though they passed over trillions of lands, they never left the place they were.
“They had to pass over distant lands. Those lands covered a great distance. They were trillions of lands away; the distance was measured in light-years. Still. They wished to search for the ray of light, even thought it was very far away. They “followed the radiance, investigating together.” It required great reverence for them to travel so far away to seek the radiance of these true principles.”
These past few days, a group of Bodhisattvas came back from the US. Adult Bodhisattvas returned with little Bodhisattvas, returning thousands of miles to seek their roots. The birthplace of Tzu Chi is in Taiwan, and this group came back from the US, bringing the next generation of Bodhisattvas. They returned here to seek their roots. In the same way, when the Brahma Kings with their pure minds discovered the principles, discovered that a Great Enlightened One had appeared in the world and was about to turn the great Dharma-wheel, they “passed over trillions of lands” to seek that ray of light. It was not in their own land. It must have been in a very distant land. They did not begrudge the very long distance, the long journey. They passed over trillions of lands to seek it.
We should know that “Though they passed over trillions of lands, they never left the place they were.” Although we say that they passed over trillions of lands, in reality, they really never left the place they were. Actually, the principles are within our hearts. Where else can we go to find them? Although they are described as traveling a great distance through many lands, they fundamentally never left where they were. Indeed, the principles abide in our mind. They are nowhere else but in our mind. Where are we going to go to find our mind? Our mind is within us. Where else would we go to find our mind? The principles have always been there.
So, “It is most likely a Buddha manifested to deliver and liberate suffering sentient beings.”
It is most likely that a Buddha manifested to deliver and liberate sufferings sentient beings: The most likely possibility was that a Buddha had manifested in the world, to deliver and liberate suffering sentient beings. There must be an extraordinary person, and then there must be extraordinary signs. From this they determined that this was not from one born in the heavens. It was most likely a Buddha manifesting in the world.
This is saying it was “most likely;” the greatest likelihood was that a Buddha had manifested in the world, for only then would the principles radiate the way they did. Only through the principles can suffering sentient beings be delivered. Since our own minds are deluded, we must seek teachings from the Buddha. Thus, no matter how far it was, they wanted to go to where the Buddha was to ask Him to teach. So, “There must be an extraordinary person.” “Extraordinary” means one who is not average. He is the Great Awakened One. “And then there must be extraordinary signs.” This radiance was not that of an ordinary person. The principles were not those of an ordinary person. They were certain that those principles did not come from one born into the heavens, but from a Buddha manifesting in the world. Because of these principles, it had manifested in the world and was about to turn the Great Dharma-wheel.
The passage following this then states, “At that time, these 500 trillion Brahma Kings went along with their palaces. They each used their mantle to hold all kinds of celestial flowers. Together they went to the northwest to seek out this sign.”
They were in the southeast, so they set out toward the northwest in their search for [the source] of the light. They set out from there and followed the radiance to investigate. These are the Brahma kings of the southeast. Brahma king Great Compassion had such reverence and respect. He gathered the 500 trillion Brahma kings and set out together to the northwest to search for the source of the light, to praise, pay respect to and make offerings to the Buddha.
They knew a Buddha had manifested in the world. They were sure of it and wanted to go express their respect. So, they hurried to meet Him. “At that time,” “these 500 trillion Brahma kings” brought along with them all of their palaces. They brought all of these with them. This shows their sincerity. Upon arrival, they scattered flowers in the air. They continuously scattered flowers to express their joy that they would soon meet a Great Enlightened One and request that He turn the dharma-wheel. They were getting closer and closer, scattering flowers all along the way. “Together they went to the northwest.” This expresses the reverence they felt; they only sought the source of the ray of light.
Next, it says, “They saw Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Tathagata in the place of enlightenment, beneath the Bodhi-tree, sitting on the lion throne. All heavenly beings, naga kings, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, non- humans and so on respectfully surrounded Him.”
There were already many people there before the Brahma kings of the southeast arrived. The Brahma kings of the east were there, and Sovereign Sakra who was even closer. There were Dharma-protectors and heavenly beings who were already there protecting Him. As He sat for ten small kalpas, many heavenly beings were there protecting Him. The eight classes of Dharma-protectors were all there in that place, protecting that spiritual practitioner, that spiritual practitioner who was soon to attain Buddhahood. They had all already arrived there earlier. So, when Brahma kings of the southeast arrived, they saw that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha had indeed already attained Buddhahood. As He sat under the Bodhi-tree, there were already heavenly beings and naga kings who had arrived there and were surrounding [the Buddha].
This is as we explained before. Heavenly beings, naga kings and the eight classes of Dharma-protectors were all there surrounding the Buddha. We should know that we are not the first to discover the principles. Actually, many came before us who early on had already discovered the principles. Sakyamuni Buddha attained Buddhahood, but there were actually countless Buddhas before Him who had already attained Buddhahood. If we can infer about the time from this, there are dust-inked kalpas to come. If we think back on the past, we will realize it has been a very long time. The principles, existing since Beginningless Time, have been followed by countless others who have engaged in spiritual practice and attained Buddhahood.
When the Brahma kings of the southeast arrived, there were already many people who surrounded Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior on His Dharma-throne. Not only that, as we mentioned before, the 16 princes had already asked the Buddha to turn the great Dharma-wheel. So, the heavenly beings from the southeast had arrived. This occasion was when the Buddha was about to turn the Great Dharma-wheel.
So, we know that we must be mindful as we listen to the Dharma. The Dharma has always been there, it is just that we awaken to it later. Therefore, if we do not quickly search for them, then how will we be able to come together with the principles? We are still very far off from the principles, so I ask everyone to truly be mindful. Don’t we feel the world is filled with suffering? Don’t we feel that life is impermanent? Don’t we feel that interpersonal relationships are wondrous and profound? When we become entangled with one another, isn’t it painful?
So, we must thoroughly understand the principles. When we go among people, we should not allow ourselves to be influenced by their ignorance and afflictions to bring out our own ignorance and afflictions, thus multiplying our ignorance and leading us farther away from our nature of True Suchness. So, I hope that everyone can be mindful. The principles exist naturally within our minds. Therefore, let us always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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