Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Abiding by the Good and Giving with Great Love(遵善行施大愛)
Date:March.06. 2017
“The Buddha taught the Bodhisattvas to abide by the good, engage in giving with great love, earnestly uphold precepts, practice patience and diligently seek to understand the practice of the right path. The Buddha-Dharma is the eyes of the world. With Samadhi and wisdom, we live in the Dharma. We come into being when myriad phenomena converge, hence we are called myriad sentient beings.”
The Buddha came to the world to teach, hoping that all people will become Bodhisattvas and abide by the rules of spiritual practice, which are goodness. The teachings of goodness must be practiced through charitable giving, through giving with great love. This is the most important thing in our practice, to abide by Buddha’s teachings, which are to do good and give with great love. This is very simple; it is really not difficult. As long as we are mindful, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. This loving intent is intrinsic to all of us, to say nothing of “abiding by the good.” If in our interpersonal relationships we can mutually abide by the practice of goodness, this is the most joyful kind of mutual interaction that we can have.
This is always what we should have in our world. So, it is not something that is difficult. We just must “earnestly uphold precepts, practice patience” and furthermore “diligently seek to understand the practice of the right path.” We must be diligent and further seek to understand the practice of the right path. This is also not difficult. Walking the Bodhisattva-path has always been about actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. Doing good is practicing giving, diligence and patience, which are all indispensable parts of our practice of the Six Paramitas. Following correct behavior in our lives is truly not something difficult at all, as long as we are willing to form the aspiration.
So, “The Buddha-Dharma is the eyes of the world. With Samadhi and wisdom, we live in the Dharma.” Our living is in accord with the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha is the Great Enlightened One; His awakening gives Him clarity about the world’s principles. There is only one path and one direction. He taught us in this manner, and we have taken the Buddha’s views as our direction. The one with clear eyes pointed the way for us, so we ourselves can also see; our direction is to head toward that place. It is very firmly set, and there are no other deviations or mistakes. We must believe that as we walk on this path, it is certainly not a path with any deviation. This is “Samadhi,” which stabilizes our minds and awakens our wisdom, so we can determine that this path is definitely free of deviation and free of any error. This is how, with our Samadhi and wisdom, we can practice in our daily living. This is a teaching of goodness. Teachings of goodness are practiced in daily life. Our way of daily living is inseparable from the Six Paramitas. We must be very clear on this.
So, the practice of the Six Paramitas encompasses all teachings of goodness in the world. There are many teachings of goodness in the world, but the Six Paramitas encompass all of them. When going among people, sentient beings have myriad needs. If we want to give them something suitable, to practice giving, there are many different ways, tangible or intangible, countless different ways. Just one good practice alone is done in many different ways, not to mention practicing giving, upholding precepts [and the rest]. There are many traps and snares in the world. Do we have a steady enough mind so that, with the direction the Buddha indicated, we can move forward without deviation, without being tempted or deluded by the extreme or deviant [views] the world? Can we walk determinedly toward the right path? This depends on our steadiness and direction.
So, we must practice giving and practice upholding precepts. To uphold precepts, we need the steady mind of Samadhi. We must never go astray in anything we do. We must not deviate in our direction. To walk along a correct path in this manner depends on our wisdom and how we persist in our direction. Thus, once we are determined in our direction, we must be diligent. There are many kinds of diligence. Because there are many desires in the world that can tempt us, if we are not careful, we will be tempted and fall into a trap. Then we cannot free ourselves. So, we must know to avoid these traps and know to persist and overcome difficulties. This is diligence. There are countless directions to advance in. These depend on whether our diligence is equipped with the power of Samadhi. This is intimately tied to the power of Samadhi. Do we have wisdom? With wisdom, naturally we can discern right from wrong. Clearly discerning right from wrong depends on our wisdom. We need the power of Samadhi and wisdom to be able to practice giving, upholding precepts, patience and diligence.
As for patience, there are countless difficulties in the world. How do we overcome them? This depends on our behaviors in daily living. It sounds so easy, as if there is no difficulty at all. However, when challenges appear, when our desires arise or situations manifest, will the way we interact with others be influenced? This all happens in our daily life. Otherwise, abiding by the Buddha’s teaching would not be difficult at all. It is just that with external circumstances, it we are not careful, we will be tempted and deluded.
So, “We come into being when myriad phenomena converge, hence we are called myriad sentient beings.” As sentient beings, there are so many different things that entice us, causing thoughts to stir in our minds and leading us to create our individual positive and negative karma. Once there are various causes and conditions, we are born in the Five Realms and four forms of birth. So, we come into being when myriad phenomena converge. Do we really want to be in the animal realm? If, when we are human, we do not follow precepts and disregard human morals, then when conditions converge, we will be reborn in the animal realm. Of the myriad phenomena of the world, these are negative phenomena; naturally, when this evil karma converges, we are born into the animal realm.
The most extreme negative [karma] is killing, stealing and sexual misconduct. These various evil behaviors in the human realm will result in the worst negative karma, leading to rebirth in the hell realm.
Then we become sentient beings in hell. It is the same for those in the hungry ghost realm. When human, they were miserly, greedy and jealous, with all kinds of [negative] behavior. When they see other suffering, they are miserly and unwilling to give. They have insatiable greed for material things. They never do any good deeds. They have so much greed and desire and are miserly, without any thought of kindness. When these converge, they will be reborn in the hungry ghost realm.
Naturally, if when human, people practice supreme good deeds and uphold precepts of purity, all of these will converge. After a long period of giving, of course they can be born in the heavens. Depending on how much goodness they did and how many blessings they created, they are born in different heaven realms. The Brahma heavens are distributed in the ten directions. This is in the form realm. The Great Brahma King Sikhin we are discussing now resides in the Brahma Heaven above. He was born in Brahma Heaven because as a human he practiced the supreme good deeds.
He also upheld the supreme precepts of purity. So, all kinds of causes and conditions accumulated. Myriad conditions converged, and he was born in heaven. If we are not very kind in the human realm, we cannot be born in heaven. But now we are in the human realm, which is good for spiritual cultivation. With enough causes and conditions in this world, the Buddha appears in the human realm, and the Buddha-Dharma spreads in the human realm. If we have the affinity to encounter the Buddha when He appears in the world, then the Buddha can teach us to understand true principles and know our direction.
In this way, we can step by step follow the Buddha’s teachings to walk the path of kindness. In abiding by the Buddha’s teachings, beyond the ways of Hearers and Solitary Realizers, we can widely practice the path of Living Bodhisattvas. We can practice giving and act with great love.
This is also done in the human realm. Although the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the Dharma is still in the world. The Dharma that we are applying now is what Sakyamuni Buddha has passed down. So, the Buddha is still the guiding teacher of the Three Realms, still the kind father of the four kinds of beings. Thus, He hopes that all of us will practice the Bodhisattva-path in our daily living. This is the Buddha’s teaching for us. When the Buddha was still in the world, He did His best to create causes and conditions. One day, the Buddha spoke to Ananda, “Ananda, there is an opportunity. I need to go to into the city.” Ananda very reverently followed the Buddha into the city. Along the way, as they walked toward the city, when people saw the Buddha, they showed reverence and paid respect to Him. They praised the Buddha for His dignified manner. After their visit, as they were returning to the abode, there was a Brahman. Just from seeing the manner in which the Buddha carried Himself, this Brahman became joyful and reverent. He followed the Buddha all the way to the abode. He observed His etiquette, behavior and gestures. In their daily living and actions, everyone in the Sangha was the same; they lived with such discipline.
After this Brahman observed them, a period of time passed, and then he again came to the abode. The Buddha was teaching the Dharma. the Brahman sat quietly listening to the Dharma. When the Buddha finished teaching, the Brahman very reverently, with a piece of cloth in his hands, came before Buddha, prostrated to pay respects and offered the piece of cloth to Buddha. The Brahman said, “Oh Buddha, on the day You walked by in the city. I could not help but feel joyful. I very carefully paid attention to Your actions. I very carefully paid attention to Your actions. I noticed that Your robes had several holes in them. I felt that You could use this piece of cloth to mend the torn parts of your robes. I saw that it was the same in the Sangha. Everyone is so hard-working in their practice. Although their hearts are free of desire, there are holes in their robes. They should have something to mend them. I have worked very earnestly.
With the wages I earned, I quickly exchanged them for a piece of cloth. I bought this piece of cloth to make offerings to the Buddha and the Sangha. I cannot afford to give everyone a new robe. However, this piece of cloth, apart from mending the Buddha’s robe, can also be used by the other practitioners. Even though I have had a difficult life, I can work and earn money and accomplish this [offering]. I beg You to mercifully accept my offering.” The Buddha was very joyful. He accepted the piece of cloth and said to the Brahman, “I give you my blessings. I hope in the future, you will be like me and form aspirations to engage in spiritual practice and practice giving and great love in the world.”
After two great asankyas kalpas you will attain enlightenment just like I did. This news spread around. Many said, “A small piece of cloth in offering led to such a great prediction of Buddhahood from the Buddha. The Buddha was so joyful. We should all form aspirations to make offerings”. Starting with this, whenever the people in the city saw monastics, reverence arose in their hearts, and more people came to listen to the Buddha-Dharma. what was the principle behind these great merits from an act of giving?
The Buddha often taught everyone the practice of the Ten Good Deeds. This is how the Buddha taught according to capabilities. With these causes and conditions, He set out on a walk and allowed so many people to notice Him, even down to the robe that He was wearing. This then led to actions. Abiding by the Buddha’s teaching of good deeds, people began to walk the Bodhisattva-path and give with great love. This is the power of love. It seems so easy. Actually, it is this simple for myriad phenomena to converge. Myriad good deeds start from a single thought. All evil also begins with a single thought. With causes and conditions, the Buddha guided many to listen to the Dharma. Naturally, they all practiced good deeds. This is a method to transform sentient beings.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage. Since the Buddha could come to the human realm, naturally He could benefit many sentient beings, so naturally, those in the good realms grew, and those in the evil realms diminished. When there are causes and conditions to give teachings of goodness, those who uphold and practice good deeds increase. So, the Brahma kings came to the human realm to ask the Buddha to teach the Dharma. It had been a long time since a Buddha appeared, so good teachings for the human realm diminished while those in the evil realms grew in number. They hoped the Buddha would come to the world to turn the virtuous Dharma-wheel. This was the wish of the Brahma kings from every direction. They asked Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel.
So, this verse is a continuation from the previous sutra passage. It says it has been a very long time, since a Buddha appeared in the world. “They have not been transformed by the Buddha”. Because a Buddha had not appeared in this world, sentient beings had no chance to accept teachings.
So, “They have not been transformed by the Buddha and constantly descend into the evil realms. The Buddha serves as the eyes of the world. He only appears after a long time. He has compassion for sentient beings and therefore appears in the world. He transcends all and achieve perfect enlightenment. All of us are deeply joyful and thus celebrate.”
We explained this previously. Because a Buddha did not appear in the world, the teachings of goodness could not be turned and set in motion. The Buddha comes to serve as the eyes of the world and guide us in the right direction.
Next, the following verse says, “And with the rest of the assembly, we joyfully praise what never happened before. All of our palaces were magnificently adorned by the radiance. Now we present them to the World-Honored One, only wishing that You mercifully accept them.
This verse discusses how the Buddha has appeared in the human realm. He is now able to help sentient beings follow what is good and reduce what is evil, to help all gradually understand Right Dharma so they can transcend the world and achieve perfect enlightenment. So, all of them were very joyful, not just the Brahma kings and all heavenly beings, but also the rest of all sentient beings.
And with the rest of the assembly, we joyfully praise what never happened before: The rest of the fourfold assembly and the eight classes of Dharma-protectors all joyfully praised what had never happened in the past.
In additions to those from the Brahma heavens, there were other sentient beings. They were all also very joyful. The fourfold assembly and eight classes of Dharma-protectors also gave praise. This is because when beings It was not only those in the Brahma heavens; even the fourfold assembly gave praise in the Brahma heavens come, it means the assembly is complete, and it is now the moment to turn the Dharma-wheel. So, there were the fourfold assembly and the eight classes of Dharma-protectors.
They heard that those from the Brahma heavens came and had asked the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel, so everyone was even more joyful. The causes and conditions for the Buddha to turn the Dharma-wheel had now increased. “All joyful praised what had never happened in the past. This shows how everyone was very joyful.
The fourfold assembly is broken down into four categories of those who were present. When the Buddha teaches the Dharma, those who listen are the fourfold assembly. First, the initiators. Second, the adopters. Third,the influencers. Fourth, the associators.
First, there are the initiators. When the Buddha teaches the Dharma, there is fourfold assembly of those who listen. First, the initiators: For example, in the Chapter on Skillful Means in the Lotus Sutra, because Sariputra requested three times, the teaching of this sutra was initiated, and the Tathagta began to teach. So, [Sariputra] was the initiator.
The initiators are like [Sariputra] in the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Skillful Means. When the Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He continuously praised the One Vehicle Dharma and how wondrous Buddha-wisdom was. He continuously praised it. That sutra passage was also very long. In the assembly, Sariputra, who was foremost in wisdom, heard Him praise the Buddha’s spiritual state, that of the Great Vehicle Dharma. The wisdom of the Great Vehicle Dharma encompasses the whole universe and is completely contained in the Buddha’s mind.
How could they also experience such a state of mind? He asked the Buddha to give teachings. He made the request three times; the Buddha stopped him three times. Sariputra was persistent He continued to ask and ask again.
Only then did the Buddha start to say, “You have asked me three times, how can I not teach it? Only then did He begin teaching the Lotus Sutra, from the Chapter on Skillful Means to the Chapter on Parables and so on, all the way to [the present chapter]. This is because of Sariputra, the initiator. These are those who are at the assembly, among those gathered, who raise questions or ask for teachings;these are the initiators. They can initiate a passage or even a sutra. They initiate by asking for teachings, and then the Buddha begins to teach. They are called the initiators.
Second, there are the adopters. When the Buddha teaches the Dharma, there is the fourfold assembly of these who listen. Second, the adopters: This refers to those sitting there with the right capabilities, such as all of the Hearers. They listened to this sutra and attained the benefit of realization.
They were also in the Dharma-assembly. They were also at the same place. Someone then stood up to request the teachings. Everyone sitting there was also hoping and waiting for the Buddha to accept Sariputra’s request. They hoped for the Buddha to teach the Dharma. These are the adopters. At that place, when someone asked, the Buddha was able to teach the Dharma. So, the sound of the Buddha teaching the Dharma came from the Buddha’s mouth, and those present took it in through their ears. These are the Hearers, who heard the Right Dharma. They were those in the assembly who could hear the Dharma and receive its benefit.
The Buddha taught and they understood. Although one person raised the question, everyone listened to the whole answer. There were many with sharp capabilities. When they listened, they could understand. Those who understood and received benefit are the adopters. They were also at the same place and had causes and conditions to hear the Dharma. These are called the adopters.
Third, we have the influencers. When the Buddha teached the Dharma, there is the fourfold assembly of those who listen. Third, the influencers: This refers to those like Manjusri and Guanyin who come from other places to help the Buddha transform sentient beings and to dignify the Dharma-throne.
“Influencers” come to assist at the assembly for instance, in the Introductory Chapter, after the Buddha taught the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, the assembly did not disperse. The Buddha sat there, radiating light with an auspicious appearance. Everyone remained and wondered whether the Buddha had finished teaching that day. However, He had no intention to leave His throne. The Buddha sat down and radiated light. He manifest an auspicious sign of radiance. Everyone looked at each other.
At that moment, Manjusri, Maitreya and Guanyin were there. They were Bodhisattvas from elsewhere, coming to support this spiritual train ground and to dignify this assembly. Manjusri and Maitreya stood up and conversed. This influenced those at the assembly. Those who were at the assembly, after hearing the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, would have joyful paid their respects and left. However, the Buddha radiated light, manifesting such an auspicious appearance, so everyone stayed. This group of dignified
Bodhisattvas were also ay the assembly. Seeing everyone looking at each other, they took the initiative to speak. They spoke about Sakyamuni Buddha’s past and His practice before attaining Buddhahood. That was the time of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas. These are the influencers; they helped everyone understand that in the Buddha’s previous spiritual practice, He had causes and conditions from so long ago, countless kalpas ago. Through the actions of these Bodhisattvas from other places who had come to assist at the assembly, everyone was given a sense of expectation. The light that Buddha was manifesting must have great causes and conditions behind it. He must be about to teach the Great Dharma. These are the influencers. They help everyone give rise to admiration and the hope that the Buddha will emerge from Samadhi and teach the Dharma.
So, Sariputra initiated the request for the Buddha to teach the Dharma. At the beginning there were also the influencers, such as Manjusri and Maitreya, as well as 80,000 other Bodhisattvas who were all present. They are those who influence and dignify the spiritual training ground. Fourth, there are the associators.
When the Buddha teaches the Dharma, there is the fourfold assembly of those who listen. Fourth, the associators: These are sentient beings with meager blessings. Today, they did not attain the benefit of realization, but they created affinities for seeing the Buddha and listening to the Dharma, which will be their causes and conditions for attaining enlightenment in the future.
Associators are beings with meager blessings. Seeing everyone listening to the Dharma,[they think,] “I will just listen along I want to join in the fun.” So, “Today, they did not attain realization.” They did not really mindfully listen to the Dharma. They were just there to listen causally. So, such individuals do not take the Dharma to heart, and they do not attain the benefit of realization. Their causes and conditions of seeing the Buddha and hearing the Dharma were only creating future causes and conditions to again see the Buddha manifest in the world or hear the Buddha-Dharma. They merely maintain such causes and conditions. When the Buddha was expounding the Dharma, they did not take it to heart or accept it. They only formed conditions [through association], so they are the associators.
When the Buddha was expounding the Dharma, they did not attain the benefit, because they did not take Dharma to heart. They just listened carefully; they were not mindful, so they lost it all. This is “having Leaks.” After hearing the Dharma, it leaked away. In the past, for a period of time, I kept telling everyone, do not let the Dharma leak away after listening; do not just be an associator in this place. That would be a great pity. In that place of enlightenment, there were these four kinds in the assembly. Of course, we always talk about the fourfold assembly of disciples. The fourfold assembly of disciples is the two kinds of monastics and the two kinds of lay practitioners. But the fourfold assembly discussed here is the four categories present when the Buddha taught. These are the initiators, adopters, influencers and associators. These four groups of people were all there at the place of enlightenment. So, “All of our palaces were magnificently adorned by the radiance.”
All of our palaces were magnificently adorned by the radiance: The palaces belonging to us Brahma kings were magnificently adorned by the Buddha’s radiance. We come journeying on our heavenly palaces of treasure.
This is what all the Brahma kings said. Besides them, the fourfold assembly present was also joyful. They were all very reverent and had even brought their palaces. Because of the Buddha’s ray of light, they had arrived at this place, by following the light to its source. “The palaces belonging to us Brahma kings were magnificently adorned by the Buddha’s radiance.” The palaces were all very magnificent. All of the palaces were like this, and the people had all arrived. This indicates that with their intangible mindsets and tangible appearances, they had all come before the Buddha with utmost reverence. “Now we present them to the World-Honored One, only wishing that You mercifully accept them.”
Now we present them to the World-Honored One, only wishing that You mercifully accept them: Now we present our palaces to the World-Honored One. Only wishing: They hoped He would honor them by accepting [the palaces]. This clearly shows how deep their sincerity was.
At this time, they were very mindful and reverent. They completely dedicated all tangible and intangible offerings to the Buddha with reverence, wishing the Buddha would mercifully accept them. This is just like that Brahman’s wish to make an offering with a piece of cloth. Although the Brahman was poor, after what he saw, he formed an aspiration. He put all his effort into working and offered the cloth he bought. We also wish the supremely noble Buddha will accept our offerings. The beings of the Brahma heavens were the same. They shared this same thought. Although their palaces were very magnificent and lavish, they shared the same thought of asking the Buddha to “mercifully accept them”, they hoped the Buddha, supremely noble, would accept their reverent offerings.
This is an expression of reverence. We can see “how deep their sincerity was.” They were very reverent and sincere. This sincerity was not weak, but was a very deep and substantial sincerity. This is “deep sincerity.” When we chant the Incense Praise Chant, we say “with deep sincerity”; it is just like this, a very substantial sincerity. Thus they made offerings to the Buddha. This expresses their sincere intent.
In fact, how could the Buddha accept the palaces? Regardless, they expressed their sincerity. The Buddha understood this; this was a description. Indeed, the Buddha’s lifestyle in reality was just like what we mentioned. Everyone lived very frugally with simple means in order to overcome desires. However, in the sutra passages, it is often said that many kings came to make offerings, giving many jewels and valuables. In fact, these were all to express their sincerity and willingness to give in this manner. Actually, the Buddha lived with only three robes and one bowl so He could everywhere. The Sangha would move around, going both near and far in this world. All along the two shores of India’s Ganges River are the footprints left by the Buddha.
So, the Sangha came and went, traveling to different countries, cities and towns. How could they accept all these items given by people making offerings? They could not. This was just a way to express reverence.
Next, the sutra says, “May these merits and virtues universally reach all. May we and all sentient beings attain Buddhahood together.”
“May these merits and virtues” means “I want to offer everything just like this.” Everything they had, mind, body and all material possessions, were reverently offered.
May these merits and virtues universally reach all: May all the merits and virtues from our prostrating with utmost sincerity, reverently scattering flowers and presenting our palaces universally reach and benefit all sentient beings.
So, they willingly dedicated the merits and virtues of their reverence. Paying respects and making offerings must be done with a reverent heart. This includes scattering flowers, offering the palaces and so on. These merits and virtues came from the bottom of their heart and were expressed outwardly through offerings. They hoped these merits and virtues would universally benefit all sentient beings. With these things, they truly hopes all the merits and virtues could be dedicated to all sentient beings. This is the correct way. There are many people who say, “Master, all my wealth is yours.” “Really? But I have no use for it.” “No, Master you can use it. There are so many sentient beings suffering in the world.” I said, “That is correct. Your wealth should belong to sentient beings.” This happened not too long ago; a married couple came to make donations.
So, I said, “You are still so busy with your career. You have huge ambitions in your career.” He said, “No, it is not the case anymore. Master, now I mostly volunteer with Tzu Chi. I have delegated my business to others. I don’t have children so I don’t need to leave them anything.” This is merit and virtue that is truly able to “universally reach all” and “benefit all sentient beings.”
Although he has a lot of wealth and said, “Master, this is all yours, actually they are for sentient beings. many people, at the very end of their lives, choose to give their wealth to a charitable organization. This is the same principle.
“May we and all sentient beings attain Buddhahood together.”
May we and all sentient beings attain Buddhahood together: May we and all sentient beings of all Dharma-realms mutually benefit each other and all attain Buddhahood together.
“May we and all sentient beings” means the Brahma kings did not just ask for they themselves to be able to attain Buddhahood. They also included all sentient beings and hoped will all attain Buddhahood together. “May we and all sentient beings of all Dharma-realms” means all sentient beings of the Dharma-realms can attain Buddhahood. This universally includes the Six Destinies, four forms to birth and Three Realms. All people and sentient beings can have the chance to accept the Buddha-Dharma and engage in practice to escape cyclic existence and thus attain Buddhahood.
This is forming a great aspiration. We just explained this. The Buddha taught the Bodhisattvas to abide by the good and practice giving great love. That was what we just talked about. We must diligently practice upholding precepts, Samadhi and wisdom and universally apply the Six Paramitas in all actions. The Brahma kings are the same. They hoped to universally benefit all beings with everything that they gave so all sentient beings in the world would have these merits and virtues. This is the vow that the Brahma kings, especially Great Brahma King Sikhin, all made. All of us should have the same aspiration, not just thinking about ourselves, but about all sentient beings in the world as we pray for the Buddha-Dharma to remain forever in the human realm. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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