Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Abiding in the Great Vehicle, Entering the Path (常住大乘漸入佛道)
Date: April.18.2017
“Originally, we constantly abided in the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle. We persisted and never retreated on the supreme path. We uinitially planted great causes, but became lax and thus retreated. We turned from the Great toward the Small, abiding in the state of Hearers. The Buddha always teaches and transforms with the Great Vehicle Dharma. All must gradually enter the path to Buddhahoo”.
From the beginning everyone has intrinsically had Buddha-nature. For all of us, “Human nature is inherently kind”. Originally, the power of love led us to continuously interact with other people. But we humans always have that bit of ignorance, so our love turns into ignorance and greed, and we each focus on protecting ourselves. When we greedily cling to external states, we give rise to discursive thoughts, and continuously create ignorance. This is why we sentient beings suffer. We suffer because ignorance has covered our intrinsic nature. If not for this, everyone would constantly abide in the Great Vehicle Dharma. Each person has “a heart that encompasses the universe”. Each person can converge with the principles. Originally this was the case, but ignorance has covered [our pure nature]. We are very fortunate that we have affinities with the Buddha-Dharma, so we are able to encounter the Buddha-Dharma and listen to the Great Vehicle Dharma. We must rejoice in our good fortune.
So, we should “persist and never retreat on the supreme path”. This is something we have always had. In particular, during the era of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, we were likely at His Dharma-assembly and likely listened to the Dharma then. Perhaps after hearing the Dharma there, some of us already understood it; they had faith and understanding. But the majority still had doubts. We should always remember [the teachings] and take in the Dharma that we heard in the past. We must remember that state. In Great Unhindered Buddha’s era, when He taught the Lotus Sutra, some people gave rise to faith and understanding, while many still harbored doubts. So, when the Buddha entered the mediation room, the 16 novices, on the Buddha’s behalf, spoke to the people with doubts and confusion. Then they each led away the people who had affinities with them each ascended to the Dharma-throne and continued to explain the Lotus Sutra, the Great Vehicle Dharma. So, each person who had an affinity with the 16 novices followed the novices to listen to the Dharma. We were among them.
We were those people who had doubts. Now, Sakyamuni Buddha has attained Buddhahood. We followed Him as He taught the Dharma and already have faith in it. But we have not yet thoroughly understood it. At that time, we already “initially planted great causes”. During that era, we had already accepted [the teachings of] one of the 16 novices, the present Buddha, Sakyamuni. He expounded the Great Dharma, planting great causes for us. We then continued this way, life after life. Then, because we have lived so many lifetimes and it has such a long period of time, in the process of engaging in spiritual practice, we still gradually give rise to ignorance that covers our minds. So, we retreat from our great aspirations and return to the Small Vehicle Dharma. In this process, we grew lax, so we turned from the Great toward the Small. Thus we abide in the state of Hearers, which means we rely on sounds to comprehend the Buddha-Dharma.
This is such a pity. We all already intrinsically have Buddha-nature. Because of an ignorant thought, we thus ended up retreating again. We still have the affinities, so in Great Unhindered Buddha’s era, we listened to the Great Dharma again and also planted great causes. Then as time passed, we again grew lax and retreated. Now we only rely on sound to take in the Dharma. So, we must earnestly and mindfully seize [the moment], seize the Great Vehicle Dharma. The Buddha did not give up ”He always teaches and transforms with the Great Vehicle Dharma”. He will never give up. Life after life, He was in the company of Bodhisattvas. Life after life, He sought the Dharma and transformed others. Life after life, He expounded the Great Vehicle Dharma for us. We need to be grateful for the Buddha’s grace. The greatest offerings we can make, as we discussed in the past, the greatest offering is practicing the Dharma. We accept the Dharma and make offerings; by accepting the Dharma and putting it into practice, we express our [gratitude] and repay the Buddha’s grace.
So it says, “all” referring to all of us, “must gradually enter the path to Buddhahood”. We must earnestly enter the Bodhi-path of great enlightenment. This was the Buddha’s greatest hope.
Life has always been about exercising the potential of our inherently kind nature. Look around now; every day we hear about the suffering in the world. In our spiritual practice centers across the world of Tzu Chi, as Living Bodhisattvas dedicate themselves to helping people, what they see and understand are the true sufferings in life. Moreover, in recent times, changes in the climate have resulted in frequent disasters. All over the globe, on an international scale, Tzu Chi volunteers have been diligent and have exercised the love in their intrinsic nature to help others. We recognize these familiar faces; they are all part of our Tzu Chi organization. So, we have an understanding of when and which country’s volunteers have gone beyond their borders to help with disaster relief. We know all this. We witness suffering in this world and go among people to verify the true principle of suffering. We have seen all this. The year, month and day and so on are carefully recorded with great detail.
Take Indonesia for example. Tzu Chi has worked closely with Indonesia. Many there people were suffering, and their society has not been at peace. How did the Tzu Chi volunteers there assist the local, suffering people? How did they encourage the wealthy to quickly get involved in these efforts and give to help others? By “teaching the rich to help the poor,” the local wealthy Chinese businessmen were all inspired, and everyone exercised their love and joined in to give back to society. Throughout 2003, the Taiwan Council of Agriculture gave rice to Tzu Chi. Tzu Chi used this rice to help Indonesia and have been doing so up to today. We have been helping them in this way. So, [the volunteers] took this rice and mindfully distributed it. They put together a list of impoverished people so that every household, bid or small, could get a [sufficient] amount. Big households received a big portion, and small households received a small portion. They distributed the rice very carefully.
There is an Islamic boarding school there Principal Habib took in close to 4000 students; some were orphans, some were poor and others wanted to study. In total, there were close to 4000 children. At that time, their lives were very difficult, whether due to the narrow spaces or the [amount of] food they had. Finding a source of food was very difficult. They needed food for around 4000 people, in particular for youths and young children. So, this principal came to Tzu Chi for help, to see if Tzu Chi could give them rice and help resolve their difficulties. Starting from August 2003, Tzu Chi sent 2500 bags of rice to this Islamic boarding school. We saw these children with the rice; the first time the smell of cooked white rice, that fragrant aroma of rice, permeated the air, we could see how happy the children were. As the hot rice gave off steam, with a single command, all the children came with their bowls and plates. Holding a huge plate of rice in one hand, they quickly shoved rice into their mouth with the other. There was such contentment, such happiness, such pure and innocent smiles in that large group of children. Look at that scene; this is the greatest pleasure in life. Eating the rice, they were so happy, and their stomachs were full and satisfied. See, from the image, we can see the joy in those who gave. Starting at that time, for five years, we committed to sending them 50 tons of rice every month. During this period, the number of children at that school increased. One year the number of students at the boarding school exceeded 10,000. Five years later, when we were about to conclude this distribution, Principal Habib made a request to Tzu Chi. “Could you could extend it for another year?” Mr. Guo came back and told me this. I said, “Yes we can. This is within your abilities. The rice Taiwan sends to you must be carefully distributed. But, why don’t you encourage the principal to become self-sufficient? They have such a large piece of land, close to 1000 acres. They should allow these youth to both study and do farm work so they can be self-sufficient.” I told him, “Share with the principal the way we live at the Abode; although we are engaging in spiritual practice, we are also self-sufficient. If necessary, we can teach them. All kinds of crops can be planted in that land; If they can start farming like this, we can send some help to teach them how to farm”. The principal was happy after hearing this. “Yes! We can be like your group of spiritual practitioners and become self-sufficient”. So, we provided them with rice for another year. During that year, in Taiwan we found farmers and agricultural experts who had these aspirations, and in Indonesia we found people who understood farming. Thus we began teaching them how to cultivate flooded paddies and how to farm non-irrigated land. We spent one year’s time teaching them, and they mindfully learned. After one year, they had planted all kinds of crops. They planted wheat and harvested wheat, planted rice and harvested rice. Like a community of spiritual practitioners, these 10,000-plus people work in concert. The stronger, older youth lead the teenagers, and the teenagers watch over the children. This was the life of this big family. Of course, during this time, we developed this relationship with them. We helped them regardless of religion. Seeing these practitioners’ numbers increase, seeing this religious institution stabilize their livelihoods, we were very happy. But later we found out that because the principal accepted our help, he faced a lot of pressure from other Muslims. Other Muslims told him, “You should not accept help from foreigners, from Taiwan. You should not accept help from people who are not of our religion”. Accepting help from those of a different religion and from another country led him to face a lot of pressure. Yet Principal Habib, in his response to them, was firm in his resolve. He told them, “This religious group from Taiwan came to help us. They are not here to convert us to believe in their religion. In all these years, they have not changed. They helped us out of genuine love, out of a universal humanitarian spirit. So, what have I done wrong?” We only found out later what Principal Habib did for the sake of these children, these orphans and impoverished children. To secure a healthy diet for them and provide them with a stable place to live, he sacrificed a great deal personally. He faced lots of pressure from people around him. Only later did we recognize how truly incredible he is.
But actually Tzu Chi volunteers, those local entrepreneurs, gave so much. In addition to the rice from Taiwan, they also provided a lot of help. Because of the school’s limited space, they built additional classrooms for them and even additional dormitories as well. They also continuously held free clinics, provided nutritional supplements and so on. They gave a lot too. By 2008, 2009, we fully stopped distributing rice to them. But just as before, every year during Ramadan [the volunteers] still go to the school, as if they were making offerings. They continue to give and help them. They also signed an agreement to provide free clinics. This is still ongoing to this day. So it is said, if a religion’s direction is proper, the teachings are all about love. Look at Principal Habib; he is so amazing! For the sake of the 10,000-plus teenagers, children and orphans. He personally endured so much pressure. But, he remained so strong! He maintained friendly relations with Tzu Chi. This is indeed admirable. This is also a kind of spiritual practice. Although religions have different names, their spirit of great love and selfless love is the same. This is very admirable. Every time this matter is brought up, admiration arises from deep within my heart. [What he did] was truly not easy.
So, everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. Everyone’s intrinsic nature is loving and kind. For this kindness to persist is not an easy matter. So, “Originally, we constantly abided in the True Dharma of the Great Vehicle”. Everyone fundamentally has this open and spacious heart. Everyone has the strength to protect many people. This is inherently within us. But, we need to persist and not retreat from this supreme path and supreme Great Dharma. This was what the principal did. So, we “initially planted great causes”. Actually, this good cause came from the Buddha dust-inked kalpas ago. In the era of the 16 novices, the Buddha already helped us plant good causes. Life after life, for our sake He expounded the Great Dharma, taught the Great Vehicle Dharma. It was we ourselves who retreated, retreated from the Great toward the Small. This is truly a pity.
Now we are starting again, we must earnestly be mindful and take the Great Vehicle Dharma to heart. Everyone must enter the great, direct Bodhi-path and diligently advance.
So, in the previous sutra passage, it says, “At that time, those countless sentient beings, as many as the Ganges’ sands, whom I transformed, are now all of you bhiksus, as well as those disciples who will be Hearers in future lifetimes after I have entered Parinirvana”.
From dust-inked kalpas ago until now, He has delivered so many people. The countless sands of the Ganges is an analogy for this great number of sentient beings, those who are “now all of you bhiksus”. Now, they have all met again at this spiritual training ground. “You, the bhiksus who are listening to teachings and engaging in spiritual practice now, and those disciples who will be Hearers in the future after I enter Parinirvana are all the same”. Whether they are in the era of Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance or Dharma-degeneration, there is still a long time to come in the future, with many disciples who need to be transformed. There are still many sentient beings who are being transformed and are yet to be transformed.
In the next sutra passage, it continues on, “After I enter Parinirvana there will also be disciples who have not heard this sutra and do not know and are unaware of the practice of the Bodhisattvas. With the merits and virtues they have attained, they will think of crossing into extinction, that they should enter Nirvana”.
Once the Buddha enters Parinirvana, there will still be such disciples, those “who have not heard this sutra, which is the Great Vehicle sutra”. When the Buddha began to give the Lotus teachings, didn’t 5000 disciples leave? This happened in the Buddha’ lifetime. After the Buddha’s Parinirvana, in His future, or even in our present time, when some hear this sutra, and it is time to enter the Great Dharma, they leave. So, they “do not know and are unaware of the practice of the Bodhisattvas”. Because they left when He expounded the Great Vehicle sutra and did not want to listen, how would they know the way to walk the Bodhisattva-path? How would they form great aspirations and be willing to enter the Bodhi-path to go among the people? So, they “do not know and are unaware of the practice of the Bodhisattvas”. They do not know the joy Bodhisattvas have when they go among people and transform them. When they see the suffering in the world they can help relieve that suffering. Having relieved that suffering, they are happy. But these people cannot feel such Dharma-joy. They themselves believe, “I already know, I already understand. I know so much, I’m ready a practitioner. With the merits and virtues they have attained they will think of crossing into extinction, that they should enter Nirvana”. They think they know a lot, that their minds are already tranquil and clear, that their minds will not be defiled so they can already cross into extinction. Therefore, we need to earnestly be mindful.
If people have doubts in their minds, they wonder, “Why does it have to take so long? Why do we need to continuously listen to the same Dharma?” This type of person has “arrogance”. From doubt they give rise to arrogance. “From this day onward, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, in the future it will not be easy for these Hearers, the disciples, to connect with the Buddha’s mind. To truly resonate with the Buddha’s mind is not an easy matter, to say nothing of comprehending the Buddha’s understanding and views”.
Therefore, this is the difficulty doubt in attaining Buddhahood. During the Buddha’s lifetime, there were already 5000 people who walked out. From the Buddha’s lifetime on into the future, the time after the Buddha’s Parinirvana, which should be our present era and on into future eras, all Hearers, these disciples, must resonate with the Buddha’s mind. Being in accord with the Buddha’s intent is truly not easy. During the Buddha’s time, it is already hard, let alone after His Parinirvana. When regular humans expound the Buddha-Dharma, for people to experience the Buddha’s intent is truly not a simple matter, let alone for them to comprehend the Buddha’s understanding and views.
When the 16 novices requested that He turn the Dharma-wheel, they were asking Him to teach the Great Dharma to help everyone’s understanding and views be the same as the Buddha’s, to help everyone awaken to the principles of the entire universe just like the Buddha. This was what the 16 novices sought in addition to the 16 novices, in fact the rest of us Buddhist practitioners must also do the same. But we must first resonate with His mind. We need to understand and “take the Buddha-mind as our own”. We need to first understand His mind in order to take the Buddha-mind as our own. Our minds can understand the Buddha-mind. The Buddha-mind is our intrinsic nature. If we do not understand how Sakyamuni Buddha, who was teaching now, had, after He attained enlightenment, through His speech explained the Dharma He conceived of and understood, if not for this, how would we have teachings to listen to? We must listen to the Dharma, take it to heart and awaken the intrinsic Buddha in our nature. So, as for the Buddha-mind, if we can understand the Buddha’s teachings, our true faith and true understanding can be applied to our lives, be engraved in our hearts and be used to awaken our mind’s intrinsic Buddha. Thus, first our roots of faith must be deep. Only by believing in the Buddha’s teachings can we resonate with the Buddha-mind and take it as our own mind to awaken our nature of True Suchness. If we do not do this, how can we realize the Buddha’s understanding and views? With the sate the Buddha awakened to, that of all the principles in the universe and all Dharma-realms, how can we understand it all?
So, to have the same understanding and views as the Buddha, we need to first resonate with the Buddha-mind and with His mindfulness in teaching the Buddha. We need to believe, this is absolutely necessary. So, Therefore, this is the difficulty of doubt in attaining Buddhahood. After His enlightenment, the Buddha taught the Dharma, and sentient beings had doubts. Sentient beings may want to attain Buddhahood but they have doubts, so it is difficult. It is difficult to attain Buddhahood. By the same principle, if we find it hard to believe in the Buddha-Dharma, then attaining Buddhahood will be very difficult, because of those doubts.
So, we must first brush off our doubts. Our roots of faith must be deep and extensive. Only then can we truly take the Buddha-Dharma to heart and awaken our intrinsic nature of True Suchness so that we can exercise our Buddha-nature, take the Buddha-mind as our own mind and strengthen our aspirations.
So, it says, “After I enter I arinirvana. After I enter Parinirvana is the Buddha reminding us and instructing us”. By saying “After I enter Parinirvana, He was already reminding us”. The Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra, the Great Vehicle Dharma, in preparation for entering Parinirvana. So, He spoke every word mindfully as reminders and instructions for us.
After I enter Parinirvana: This is an exhortation: The Tathagata will cross into extinction in this world among people. Right Dharma: It will disappear and fade away with the passing of time. Dharma-semblance: The Dharma follows the changes in the world and will gradually become corrupted. Dharma-degeneration: In the evil world of Five Turbidities, the defilements of sentient beings are severe.
So, “After I enter Parinirvana” is His exhortation. “The Tathagata will cross into extinction” “in this world among people”. This is a reminder to us that the Tathagata journeys on the Dharma of True Suchness to come to the world and transform sentient beings, and it is also in this world that He will cross into extinction and thus disappear from the world. This is how He instructed us. Likewise, the day will come when the Tathagata will enter Parinirvana. So, after He enters Parinirvana, the era of Right Dharma will, with time, fade away as well. Dharma-semblance will also follow along with the changes of the world and will gradually decay accordingly.
Look at the Buddhist caves at Dunhuang, China. There are many statues of the Buddha there. Many stories from the Buddha’s teachings were transformed from text into images. They were drawn as paintings. After they were drawn, they were carved. Many Buddhist statues were carved out of these mountains of rock. There are many giant Buddha statues too. After 1000 years, they have all been destroyed or damaged. Although the era of Right Dharma passed, that 1000 years passed, the era of Dharma-semblance began. In the era of Dharma-semblance, gradually the images have become damaged. Not only have the physical Buddha statues been damaged, the rules for practicing the Buddha-Dharma have also continuously deteriorated. Beginning with the era of Dharma-semblance, [the Dharma] has gradually changed. By the era of Dharma-degeneration, the Buddha-Dharma has completely changed. The ways of spiritual practice and so on have also changed and deteriorated. Now we are in the era of Dharma-degeneration, already in the evil world of Five Turbidities, a time when sentient beings are severely defiled. We need to improve our spiritual practice and find a way to return to the era of Right Dharma. Though the Buddha has entered Parinirvana, the Right Dharma He taught is what we are applying in our modern-day lives. All the Buddha wanted was for us to awaken our compassionate heart and walk the Bodhi-path among the people.
So, at this time, we must restore [the Dharma] of the Buddha’s era. When the Buddha’s teachings are applied to our present–day lives, then we are still in the era of right Dharma. This was what the Buddha hoped for.
“There will also be disciples” “who have not heard this sutra”. This shows the Buddha’s mindfulness. With the passing of time, Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance have ended. We are now in the era of Dharma-degeneration. There will be future disciples who “have not heard this sutra”. It was like this in the Buddha’s lifetime. It will be like this with future disciples too, but even worse. So, in the Chapter on Skillful Means, as everyone should remember, there is a sutra passage that says, “After the Buddha has crossed into extinction, when there is no Buddha present…”. Then the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra will be even harder to understand. “Those who teach it will be extraordinarily rare. Those who listen to it will be few as well”. When no Buddha is in this world, for the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra to be continuously passed down is truly not easy; it is even harder. In the Buddha’s time, it was already difficult. 5000 disciples walked out then let alone now! To listen to the Lotus teachings, to actually understand its meaning, is truly very difficult. “Those who teach it will be extraordinarily rare”. After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, in an era with no Buddha, expounding this sutra will be extremely difficult. People who can teach it are rare. Because this is such a long sutra, to teach it continuously will require a lot of patience. As for those who are listening, even if the speaker can patiently teach it, will the listeners have the patience to continue listening? If they cannot understand it, they will become lax. Naturally, understanding this sutra is hard. In the Chapter on Skillful Means, there is just such a passage.
So, “Those who listen to it will be few as well”. The people who will teach it will be rare, and those who will listen will also be rare. This is because understanding this sutra is not an easy matter. So, “Since the Buddha entered Parinirvana, all those disciples who in past lifetimes had encountered a Buddha in the world…”.
Since the Buddha entered Parinirvana, all those disciples who in past lifetimes had encountered a Buddha in the world, whether in the times when they are reborn or the lands in which they live may not have this Great Vehicle sutra, or they may not listen to his sutra.
After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, there were some disciples who in their previous lifetimes lived during the times of a Buddha. They also listened to the sutras back then. As for “the times when they are reborn and the lands in which they live,” they have likewise listened to the sutra, but the lands in which they live in the future may not have this Great Vehicle sutra. Although in previous lifetimes we have encountered this kind of Dharma, even with the Dharma in this era we may not have the chance to listen to it. Look at things right now. In the same country in which we are discussing the Lotus Sutra, not many people are actually listening; the majority have not heard it. This is to say nothing of other countries. There, some may not have even heard of Buddhism; how could they possibly listen to the Great Vehicle sutra? So, to be able to listen to this sutra is truly very difficult. [They] may not have this Great Vehicle sutra” We may be born in the same land, but even though this sutra is in this land, not everyone will necessarily hear it. This sutra may not be available in some of the other countries. This is very commonplace.
Some cannot hear it; some can, but they refuse to listen. There are many difficulties. For this sutra to be circulated, there are so many difficulties. In this very place, in this same country, there are many who have not heard these teachings.
In countries that have this sutra, there are many people who have not heard it. Those who are close by and can listen may not have the patience to do so. there are many people like that. Moreover, in some other countries it is impossible for people to hear it. So, this is truly very difficult. To listen to this teachings is difficult. Thus, “[They] do not know and are unaware of the practice of the Bodhisattvas”.
[They] do not know and are unaware of the practice of the Bodhisattvas: because they had no faith, they have no way of knowing it because they did not practice, even with the conditions for awareness they again lose it. Therefore, they are confused about all that Bodhisattvas depend upon practice.
Since they are unable to listen to the Great Vehicle sutra, naturally they do not know and are unaware of it. Then, the Bodhisattva-path cannot be practiced. So, “Because they had no faith, they have no way of knowing it”. It is because they do not believe, because their roots od faith are not deep, that they do not cultivate this Great Dharma. “Even with the conditions for awareness, they again lose it”. Due to causes and conditions, they can hear it. But once they understand it, they again lose it. They give up and do not wish to practice. “Therefore, they are confused about all that Bodhisattvas depend upon and practice”. regarding the Bodhisattva-path, they gradually distance themselves [from it]. But, “Because of causes from the distant past, their roots of goodness are deep and firm. “Thus now they also know to seek the Dharma and the Path”. In the past, they planted these roots of goodness so they would grow deep. Now, there are those who still want to listen, to ask for and practice it. There are still diligent practitioners like this. Because of the Hearers’ attachment to Dharma, and had not heard this Great Vehicle sutra. although their practice had already reached the path that Bodhisattvas practice, their understanding and views were still very far from the Buddha. although they had already reached the path and were about to enter the Bodhisattva-path, they are still very far away [from the Buddha]. their understandings and views were still very far from the Buddha’s. we are just beginning to form aspirations now. We are still a far ways from the Buddha. So, “with the merits and virtues attained,” they were still Hearers and Small Vehicles practitioners. The merits and virtues they attained through practice were still very few. However, they had created their own obstacles. Though they planted deep causes in the past, they gradually retreated, retreated to the state of Hearers. They thought they had already attained ultimate understanding. This is because when we listen to the Dharma, first, our roots of faith are not deep, second, we do not have patience and third, our thoughts grow lax. People plant the seeds, but do not carefully cultivate them and thus lose these conditions. thus they are unable to truly develop deep and thick roots of faith. So, we must be mindful. Everyone should quickly use the Great Vehicle Dharma to gradually enter the path to Buddhahood. The Buddha is always teaching the Great Dharma. We need to listen to the Great Vehicle and gradually enter the path to Buddhahood. We must persist in and not retreat from the Great Vehicle Dharma. We must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
