Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Stop Evil to Escape the Prison of the Three Realms (教誡止惡 出三界獄)
Date: February.27. 2017
“Seeing how much suffering there is in the world, the Buddha teaches loving-kindness and long-lasting compassion. With thoughts of great mercy, He covers and protects; the Tathagata’s loving-kindness is universal. He turns the Dharma-wheel to liberate all, so we can attain a state of everlasting peace.”
This passage’s meaning is fairly self-evident. The world is filled with suffering. The Buddha, out of loving-kindness and mercy, comes to the world for one great cause. Because there is so much suffering in the world, with loving-kindness and long-lasting compassion, He taught us the path to enlightenment and the principles of enlightened sentient beings. These are the teachings of the Buddha given out of His compassion.
Are our lives in this world limited to this single lifetime? No; we return life after life. Since this continues on, life after life, some people will be happy, some will suffer. Some people will be rich, some will be poor. The rich enjoy the world’s pleasures; the poor experience the extent of its sufferings. Just what are the reasons for this? The Buddha came to the world and wanted to let everyone know how to attain wealth and how to prevent poverty. The Buddha mindfully analyzed and explained the reasons why people are rich and poor. He helped everyone to understand that life is not limited to a single lifetime, but goes on over a long period of time. As the lifetimes continue, one after the next, how could He, for sentient beings in the world, establish an everlasting and uninterrupted way for people to become enlightened sentient beings? This is done by teaching the Bodhisattva Way.
How do we practice the Bodhisattva Way? The way of the Bodhisattva is to benefit the world, to go among sentient beings in the world and help everyone give rise to joy, help everyone attain benefit. These are sentient beings with feelings, and moreover with feelings of long-lasting compassion. They are called enlightened sentient beings. Their practice lasts lifetime after lifetime, not only for a short time.
This is why in the sutras there is a story like this. When the Buddha was at the Jetavana Abode, very early one day, before daybreak, when everyone had begun diligently gathering to listen to the Buddha teach, a ray of light suddenly appeared in the heavens, and a heavenly maiden appeared before the Buddha. The heavenly maiden came before the Buddha, prostrated in reverence and paid respect to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. She came to pay respects to the Buddha and Sangha, then she stepped back and sat to one side. The Buddha began teaching the Dharma. As the Buddha taught the Dharma, the heavenly maiden again came before the Buddha, again bowed and gave thanks, saying, “I now understand how I came to attain heavenly blessings. It was because of the Buddha’s teaching that I was enabled to be born in heaven. While listening to the Buddha teach now, I suddenly had an awakening. Life in heaven, no matter how long it lasts, will eventually come to an end. I wish to take refuge as the Buddha’s disciple, hoping that I will constantly be able, whenever the Buddha is teaching, to listen to the Dharma by His side.” The Buddha then taught her the Dharma so she could comprehend the ultimate truth of the principles of Buddhahood.
Everyone thought it strange. Why did this heavenly maiden come before the Buddha to give thanks? And what were the causes and conditions behind the conversation that they had? They immediately asked the Buddha, so the Buddha told them this. He said this was related to Elder Sudatta. There was one time previously that a thought had arisen in his mind. This thought was that he would like everyone in his family to be able to attain the virtuous teachings and put them into practice by doing good deeds. Having had this thought, he began gathering all his family and servants, and every day he would, after hearing the Dharma that the Buddha taught, return home and share it with his family. He would gather all his servants together and teach them the Dharma that he had heard. He would begin with, “Thus have I heard,” then relate what the Buddha had taught. Elder Sudatta felt that everyone was joyful; everyone was willing to donate small amounts to give charitably. It was not only the elder who was able to give charitably; he wanted everyone to have the chance, for drops of water eventually fill a barrel. This was how they gave and made offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. But then Elder Sudatta had the thought, “Even my servants are willing to give small amounts. I see how they rejoice in making offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. Making offerings to Buddha and the Sangha is not limited to the wealthy like me. Even those who are so poor take the wages they earned through hard labor and are willing to give and put all these small amounts together. They wish to practice giving.”
He felt that since this was the case, then everyone in the city should be given the chance to make offerings of the Buddha. With this thought, he began planning how, in seven days, all of the people of the city could have the chance to practice giving and joyfully create merits and virtues. The news of this reached the ears of the king. The king rejoiced when he heard this and said, “You aspiration to appeal to the poor to pool their small amounts together in order to practice giving is wonderful.” So, he sent out word and announced to everyone in the city that in seven days, Elder Sudatta would give everyone the chance to make offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. Everyone was very happy.
Among those who came seven days later was a woman, a very poor woman. She actually had no money at all. However, not very long before, she had painstakingly accumulated some money and had bought a piece of fabric, a piece of old fabric to cover her body. It was cheap fabric that had been used before. She thought when it got cold, she could use it to keep herself warm. It was the only thing she had, yet she brought it and presented it to Sudatta. She told him, “Elder, is this piece of cloth of any use? Can it count as my sincere offering? It is the only thing I own, but I am willing to give it.” The elder felt joy when he saw this and received it personally with his own hands. “This is no simple matter. In your poverty, you saved for so long just to get a little money together to purchase this piece of old fabric, and yet you are willing to give it away. I am very moved, so I will offer it to the Buddha and the Sangha. It will probably make the Buddha very happy.” Thus, he accepted it from the woman. However, the elder already knew that this woman was so impoverished. His heart went out to her, so for a long time after that, he gave to her so she would always have something to wear and provisions to keep her full, rice and food for the rest of her life. After this woman had practiced giving, she felt joyful every day. Since Elder Sudatta had passed on the Buddha’s virtuous Dharma to her, she formed an aspiration and made a vow. “My only hope for my future lifetime is that I will be able to hear the Buddha-Dharma.” After that, she died due to her weak health. After she died, because of her wholeheartedly creating blessings, with her pure blessings she was reborn in heaven. She also fulfilled her wish, for she descended from heaven to hear the Buddha-Dharma.
So, the Buddha thus answered the bhiksus’ questions. All the bhiksus were wondering why this heavenly maiden had suddenly descended from the heavens. So, the Buddha spoke of the past, of what had happened more than ten years ago. At that time, what Elder Sudatta had given was the [chance] to break free of poverty and suffering. He wanted everyone to hear the Buddha-Dharma so they could be liberated from suffering. That was Sudatta’s wish. This woman, because of Elder Sudatta’s aspirations, was also able to benefit as a side effect.
When I see this passage, I too feel joy. Look at us now; no matter how poor a country may be, Tzu Chi volunteers still share with them the spirit of bamboo banks. Likewise, wherever there is a disaster, wherever we go to bring relief aid, we also share the story of the bamboo banks in order to teach everyone. When we give aid to them, we share the principles for them to hear, so they know the origin of our charitable giving, that it started with the story of the 50 cents. So, in many places, already many people, when they come to receive relief aid, bring their coins, whether 10 cents, 50 cents or a dollar, to throw them in as a way of giving back. It also gives them a chance to create blessings, to give back bit by bit.
Look at Tzu Chi volunteers returning from Nepal. They brought bamboo banks back from Nepal with the money that everyone had donated there. They had brought back these coins. The image on the coins there is that of an ox pulling a cart. That image reminds us of that picture of our early life here at the Jing Si Abode and how we had to borrow an ox to plow our fields. The images are so similar. So, when we see the story of Sudatta gathering the poor people to donate, it is like Tzu Chi volunteers now who are dedicating themselves in every country. At the same time they are there serving, they tell the story of Tzu Chi’s origins, the story of the 50 cents. So, everyone likewise donated their coins. In 2014, during the Year-End Blessing Ceremony, the money brought back by Mozamique volunteers was also in 50-cent coins. They brought all the money they collected back to Taiwan, which totaled more than 1000 yuan. I told them we would buy those coins for them and put them inside that year’s red envelopes that we use for year-end blessings. Then we would send them back to Mozambique for them to use in their own year-end ceremony. The money that they brought back was again returned to them. They still made a donation; we just bought the coins from them. This is like Elder Sudatta; he accepted the poor woman’s donated cloth, but then still continued to help her with provisions for a long time so that she would not go hungry nor suffer from the cold. This story is very similar to how our volunteers practice giving around the world, very similar to the spirit of the bamboo bank. This is how the principles are.
This was a principle during the Buddha’s era, and now, more than 2000 years later, as we help people, those who are wealthy can help those who are poor, and those who are poor also accumulate [blessings]. “Many grains of rice make a bushel many drops of water make a river.” Every drop of water that enters the great ocean will never dry up. This means that when everyone comes together, we can accomplish things of great merit and virtue. So, this is the principles the Buddha taught when He came to the world.
We now encourage everyone to do good deeds, hoping everyone can have long-lasting compassion, and spread great love. So it is said, “The Buddha teaches loving-kindness and long-lasting compassion. With thoughts of great mercy, He covers and protects; the Tathagata’s loving-kindness is universal”. Such great loving-kindness and mercy is universal, allowing even more people to be able to benefit. This is like Elder Sudatta, who thought, “It is not only I who can make offerings to the Sangha and create blessings. My family and my servants can also create blessings.” Seeing the joy his family and servants took even in making small donations, he thought of everyone else in the city and how to give all in poverty the chance to also make offerings to the Buddha and listen to the Dharma. This kind of method has continually spread like this. These are the blessings of making offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. For us now, we hope that everyone will be able to exercise their love. As everyone gives of their love universally, those in hardship can receive help, and the rich can attain Dharma-joy. Helping others is the happiest and most joyful thing that one can do. So, this is the compassion of the Tathagata. His great loving-kindness and mercy are for all the world’s sentient beings. He safeguards us from doing evil while encouraging us to do good deeds. Then, lifetime after lifetime we can attain blessings and create blessings, create blessings and attain blessings. So, the Tathagata’s compassion is universal, and He continually passes on the teachings. This is called turning the Dharma-wheel, to liberate suffering sentient beings. Furthermore, we can all extend this long-lasting compassion and great love so it lasts lifetime after lifetime. Those who give are the happiest and most at ease. So, they “can attain a state of everlasting peace.”
Being able to do good deeds is a very joyful thing. This means that on receiving the Buddha’s teachings and understanding the principles, we can spread the Dharma lifetime after lifetime so everyone can practice according to the teaching. This is how the Dharma is transmitted. This is how we walk the Bodhisattva-path. This is what we must be doing in this world for a long time to come. Though life is painfully short in the Saha World, we already know the most meaningful thing in life, so we should just do it; then we will be at peace. The laws of nature dictate that all of us will eventually depart one day. However, every day, our conscience remains clear and we are at peace because we are practicing giving. By doing good deeds and giving to help others, we live every day in peace and ease.
Now let us look at the previous sutra passage. The Brahma kings from above, led by Great Brahma King Sikhin, had all arrived at the place of enlightenment of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha. So, the passage states, “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. They also saw the 16 Princes asking the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.”
Having arrived at this place, they saw the assembly there. Apart from heavenly beings, there were the eight classes of Dharma-protectors. They also saw the 16 princes asking the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel. This was an auspicious Dharma-assembly. So, they had came down from the heavens.
“Then all the Brahma kings prostrated out of respect for the Buddha, circumambulated Him thousands of times and scattered celestial flowers upon Him. The flowers they scattered were like Mt. Sumeru. They were used to make offerings to both the Buddha and the Bodhi-tree. Having made offerings with flowers, they each offered their palaces to that Buddha.”
The heavenly beings, upon seeing such an auspicious Dharma-assembly, gave rise to a sense of joy. They were also very reverent and respectful, paying respect to the Buddha and circumambulating Him thousands of times while continuously scattering flowers. “The flowers they scattered were like Mt. Sumeru. They were used to make offerings to both the Buddha and the Bodhi-tree.” The flowers they scattered were not just offerings for the Buddha, but also for the Bodhi-tree. The flowers they scattered were so plentiful that not only did they cover the ground, they had accumulated into a pile like a mountain. Celestial flowers represent purity. So, this place of enlightenment was dignified by pure celestial flowers falling to the ground.
“Having made offering with flowers, they each offered their palaces to that Buddha.” Beside scattering flowers as offerings, they were even willing to give the palaces they brought with them as offering to that Buddha. That Buddha was Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior. This represents making offerings with the most supreme reverence.
Next, we continue with today’s passage, which says, “They said these words, ‘Please look upon us with mercy and benefit all of us. As for the palaces that we offer, may You honor us taking them.’ Then all the Brahma kings in the presence of the Buddha, with one mind and in one voice spoke in verse.”
After their offerings, they entreated the Buddha to accept all that they offered. They were expressing their reverence. At this time, the Brahma kings were all before the Buddha, and “with one mind and in one voice spoke in verse.” So, many people all were of one mind and all spoke in one voice, asking the Buddha to accept their offerings. At the same time they all spoke in verse. So it says, “Look upon us. We only wish to see the Buddha.” These heavenly beings left the Brahma heavens and traveled such a long distance to come to the Buddha’s place of enlightenment, just to see the Buddha. They knew that it was the Buddha’s one great cause to turn the Great Dharma-wheel, so they came from very far away, with their wish being to see the Buddha. So, they wished for “Him to think of us with compassion and mercy.” We came here with one intent, to see the Buddha, and with one mind, we wish to make offering. From our offerings, the Buddha should be able to “know we thirst for the Dharma.”
In coming here at this time, it is as if they were thirsty, only hoping for a drink of water. So, the Buddha should understand them and know that what they seek is the Dharma. Thus “We pray He [is] merciful.” They prayed for the Buddha’s compassion and mercy, for Him to benefit them and everyone, to benefit everyone by giving them the Dharma.
They said these words, “Please look upon us with mercy and benefit all of us”: We only wish to see the Buddha, for Him to think of us with compassion and mercy and for Him to know we thirst for the Dharma so as benefit all of us.
Every one of them had come due to the light, had come seeking the source of the light. The light came from the source of principles. So, they reverently offered their palaces, all with the hope the Buddha would accept would accept them and in turn would give them the Buddha-Dharma. Thus it says, “We often the palaces we brought.” Everything they brought with them was offered to the Buddha. “May the Buddha look upon us with mercy.” They were begging the Buddha to accept all of their offerings; such was their reverence. So, the Brahma kings, in expressing their intent, “with one mind and in one voice spoke in verse.” They repeated themselves again in verse. This was the Brahma kings’ sincerity. All of them were of one mind. So many people were all of one mind, a very reverent mind, to request that the Buddha teach them the Dharma.
So, “Excellent! We see all Buddhas, the honored sages who save the world, who, in the prison of the Three Realms, can spur sentient beings to escape.”
“Excellent!” This is expressing their joy, their joy in seeing all Buddhas and Taehagatas. Since the lifespan in the Brahma heavens is long, and Buddhas always manifest in the human realm where the lifespan is short, the Brahma kings had already seen many Buddhas manifest in the human world. Although it takes a very long time between Buddhas manifesting in the world, though it is a long time from a human viewpoint, for heavenly beings, especially those in the Brahma heavens, the highest Brahma heaven in the form realm, their days are very long. We often talk about Trayastrimsa heaven, how 100 years in the human realm is only one in Trayastrimsa heaven. So, as one goes upward through the heavens, as one continually achieves higher states in the heaven realm, the days become longer and longer. So, although tens of thousands of years may pass in the human realm, in the heaven realm, especially in the Brahma heavens it still counts as a very short amount of time. So, most likely they had already seen more than a few Tathagatas manifesting world.
Thus, here it is talking about all Buddhas. They see all Buddhas, not just one Buddha. We always say that a Buddha rarely appears, that They rarely manifest as humans in the world, but it that place, where all the Brahma kings had come, they expressed their joy in seeing “all Buddhas.” All Buddhas means many Buddhas and Tathagatas, for they had seen many. Every Buddha comes to the human realm to save and protect the world. They are the great sages, the World-Honored Ones, the great sages who are respected by everyone. The Brahma kings wanted to praise Them for coming to the world. Seeing Great Unhindered Wisdom Buddha sitting in His place of enlightenment and about to turn the Dharma-wheel, the heavenly beings’ hearts grew joyful.
They did not only see Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha; they had seen many other Buddhas in the past. So, they were praising all Buddhas, who came to the world to bestow Their grace. Thus, they exclaimed “Excellent!” to praise the Buddha’s virtue.
“It is a word of self-congratulation.” They themselves were celebrating, congratulating themselves for again seeing another Buddha in the world. “With His boundless Dharma-doors, He saves and benefits sentient beings.” If a Buddha appears in the world, naturally His ocean of enlightened wisdom will spread throughout the world. The Dharma He teaches is vast and boundless, and every Dharma-door is a method of transforming sentient beings. He uses all kinds of methods to adapt to sentient beings’ capabilities. So, these are called “His boundless Dharma-doors.” Sentient beings’ capabilities differ, so different methods must be used. These are called Dharma-doors. He uses them to “save and benefits sentient beings.” He saves and transforms sentient beings with these. “Sentient beings” are all beings with sentience. It says “sentient beings” to show it is not only talking about humans. “All living, moving beings have Buddha-nature.” Sentient beings must be taught to protect other living beings. When sentient beings understand the principles, they cannot bear to kill other sentient beings. So, with the virtuous Dharma, if we know to listen to the Dharma, we will know to protect all living beings. Thus, if humans can be saved, all sentient beings can be saved. So, to aid and to save them, the Buddha appeared in the world to teach the virtuous Dharma. “He saves and benefits sentient beings.”
“Excellent! We see all Buddhas, the honored sages who save the world.” Excellent: This expresses their joy at being able to see all Buddhas, all Tathagatas, the great sages, the World-Honored Ones, who save and protect the world. What follows praises the Buddha’s grace and virtue. Excellent: It is a word of self-congratulation. With His boundless Dharma-doors, He saves and benefits sentient beings. Hence it speaks of the honored sages who save the world.
For example, now in the seventh lunar month, we are continuing to promote the right teachings. In Dajia, more than 20 neighborhood leaders extended invitations to our Tzu Chi volunteers. The village heads said, “We invite your volunteers to our neighborhood to lead us in a prayer ceremony.” Our Tzu Chi volunteers were happy to do this. Whenever any village head invites us, we immediately mobilize Tzu Chi volunteers go to that village to lead them in a prayer ceremony. Everyone prays with great reverence. When they come back, I ask them, “Did our prayer ceremony get them to avoid sacrificing animals for ‘Universal Deliverance’? If so, that creates countless merits!” With correct beliefs, there is no need to burn joss money, no need for animal sacrifices or taking lives. These folk traditions need to be reformed; we should not have to kill animals to “feed the spirits.” It truly has no meaning; it is just a custom that has been passed down. It has absolutely nothing to do with Buddhism. Buddhism is completely about expressing reverence. We use flowers to decorate the halls to express purity and reverence. When we pray, we pray for blessings. This is what we call prayer. When we pray for blessings, we pray for the world to have peace, for the four elements to be in harmony. Peace is a blessing. This requires reverence in our hearts, not the taking of lives. So, the Buddha came to the world to teach the principles, to teach Right Dharma. When we practice right conduct and right thinking, we naturally come to understand the principles and know we must love and protect all life. So, when humans are saved, sentient beings are too. Because of this, the Buddhas are called “the honored sages who save the world, who, in the prison of the Three Realms, can spur sentient beings to escape.” The Three Realms are the desire, form and formless realms. Now everyone had already gathered together at Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s place of enlightenment. The Brahma kings who were lords of all the heavens of the form realm had arrived. So, there are the three Realms, the desire realm, the form realm and the formless realm. The Brahma kings still faced cyclic existence. They still had a small amount of delusion and had not thoroughly understood all the principles. Thus, there was a small measure of delusion that they still had not eliminated.
So, when their heavenly blessings are depleted, when their heavenly lifespan comes to an end, they still have to come to the world again. Thus, they too sought the Dharma and asked the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel. They are still within the Three Realms, where there is still cyclic existence. So, in the prison of samsara of the Three Realms, Buddhas come to encourage, to save and to transform sentient beings. The Buddha appeared in the world to teach through exhortation and admonishment. So, He exhorted and admonished sentient beings, encouraging them to eliminate their unwholesome tendencies and do good deeds. This is the Dharma the Buddha taught in the world. It is the method to eliminate cyclic existence used universally throughout the Three Realms. It is not just doing good; there is much more, such as how to eliminate afflictions or ignorance, the principles of how to eliminate delusion. Thus they must ask the Buddha to mindfully teach, to distinguish matters and appearances and to turn the Dharma-wheel. This is what we continually talked about earlier, about how Brahma King Great Compassion asked the Buddha to explain matters and appearances through His turning of the Dharma-wheel. Turning the Dharma-wheel and explaining matters and appearances clearly is using worldly matters and appearances to explain the principles. We talked about this before. How do we eliminate the prison of samsara of the Three Realms? Only Buddhas in the world can “encourage all sentient beings and enable them to escape from it.” Only Buddha can do this.
In the prison of the Three Realms, [They] can spur sentient beings to escape: In the prison of samsara of the Three Realms, They encourage all sentient beings and enable them to escape from it.
“Sentient beings are sinking in samsara, twisting and turning, unable to escape.” They twist and turn like this, unable to escape. “Those who commit no sin will not be forces into this prison.” Those without transgressions are not forced into hell. For those without transgressions, it is absolutely impossible to be forced into hell. It is impossible. If we all practice virtue, there is naturally no way hell can drag us in. If we have created blessings in the world, we won’t fall into the hell. “Those who commit no sin will not be forced into this prison.” Only those who have transgressed descend into hell. Without transgression, we will not fall into hell. To remain without transgression, “Those in the Three Realms are always those who are self-deluded.” Those in the Three Realm all still have afflictions, ignorance and delusion. In the Brahma heavens, though they cultivated pure precepts, there are still subtle delusions that they have yet to eliminate. They still have a little bit of delusion. “Those in the Three Realms are always those who are self-deluded.” They are self-deluded, they themselves have still not thoroughly understood the principles. So, they must be “instructed and admonished with stopping evil and practicing good.” They must be taught principles of good and evil. “Instructing” them is educating them, and “admonishing” them is telling them to stop on the way of stopping evil. The way to stop evil is through virtuous teachings. This is why we teach goodness and prevent evil. So, we need to be instructed and admonished to stop the evil and practice the good. These are the two Dharma-doors of good and evil. In the Dharma, the two Dharma –doors of doing good and stopping evil teach us the correct way to practice goodness.
Sentient beings are sinking in samsara, twisting and turning, unable to escape. Thus it is likened to a prison. Those who commit no transgressions will not be forced into this prison. Those in the Three Realms are always those who are self-deluded. The Buddhas urge them to cultivate virtuous Dharma and instruct and admonish them with the two Dharma-doors of stopping evil and practicing good, to enable them to escape from the Three Realms. Hence it says “spur them to escape.”
Previously we talked about supreme good deeds and supreme precepts. There is also supreme evil, which results in supreme suffering. If one commits the Ten Evils, or commits the most extreme evils, one will fall into hell. The next level down is birth as a hungry ghost. If the evil is even less severe, it will result in birth in the animal realm. We have discussed this before. So, we teach goodness and admonish against evil. We must put a stop to evil and teach the practice of goodness. So, these are the two Dharma-doors the Buddha taught while in the world, the two Dharma-doors of good and evil.
“To enable them to escape the Three Realms…” To escape the Three Realms and end cycle existence, we are “spurred.” He encouraged everyone to tell right from wrong. People today do not know the different between good and evil between right and wrong, so often, when an evil thought arises, our ignorance is multiplied endlessly, which leads to the continued degradation of the moral principles in this world. So, in learning the Dharma, we must stay within the teachings of Right Dharma. Please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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