Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Our Search for the Precious Treasure(珍寶難求將欲棄捨)
Date: April.28.2017
“People of limited capabilities accept provisional teachings but fear the Great Dharma. Newly-inspired Bodhisattvas must hear the teachings, remember and uphold them and draw near virtuous friends and every place where the Dharma is taught. Single-mindedly upholding initial aspirations, they diligently practice, advancing toward the Dharma of the Right Path.”
We should be mindful. “People of limited capabilities accept provisional teachings but feat the Great Dharma”. So, the Buddha patiently guided them, but the disciples still stuck to their own [practice]. they could not give rise to the mindset and great capabilities of benefiting others as well. So, their capabilities remained limited. Since their capabilities remained limited all they tool in were provisional teachings. Whatever the Buddha taught, they took it in according to their capabilities and thus remained stuck where they were. “I am happy and willing to “engage in spiritual practice the way I do. Abiding peacefully in myself like this is enough. I do not wish to return to the world, for the world is filled with terrible suffering! As long as I can escape from the world and not return to it, that will be enough. Those with limited capabilities are like this; they seek only to awaken themselves. The Buddha always taught the Great Dharma, but those of limited capabilities were never willing to accept it because they feared the Great Dharma. The Buddha taught those of great capabilities the way of benefiting oneself and benefiting others, practicing to cultivate oneself and also widely transforming sentient beings, cultivating virous practices and upholding virtuous precepts. For more than 40 years the Buddha taught this. it was not that there were no such people, there were those with such capabilities, he had taught this Dharma to these people, and they were able to accept it and form great aspirations. Unfortunately, those in the Sangha who following the Buddha and accepted the teachings could not give rise to these aspirations. Everyone in the Sangha knew that transmigration in the Six or Five Realms and the four forms of birth was very painful. Without any control, in the future would they be womb-born, egg-born or moisture-born? Of not careful, they could easily be reborn in the four forms of birth and the Five Realms. They knew this was suffering. “Once the human is lost, it will take eon to regain. They also knew this, so they wished to use their present physical form to eliminate their afflictions. They did not want to continue forming affinities, to contrive affinities with living beings. on the chance they contrived improper affinities, their emotions might go off-track and their affinities would become disordered. Then they would easily fall into [a lower realm]. So, they thought that they should safeguarded themselves and never deviate from the right track. They felt they should not break the rules and form entangling karmic connections with others. They had this kind of thinking, so they did not dare to become involved with others.
These are people with limited capabilities. they understood the Buddha-Dharma, but they only knew one aspect, that rebirth in cyclic existence is suffering. They did not know the rest, that they must continue to temper themselves and that the best training ground for doing so is going among the people. It is precisely because we fear sentient beings that we must go among them to temper and train ourselves. When we face these kinds of situations, do we have the ability and unwavering faith to safeguard our minds and not be enticed by external temptations? In this present lifetime, we should understand the principles. Then we will want to quickly go among others in order to temper ourselves. We often use this analogy. If we want a sharp and refined [piece of metal], it must go through tempering by fire. What things do not undergo this process of tempering in a furnace? Steel objects, hardware and so on all undergo tempering in a furnace. Only in this way can they be made with such precision. The things we now call instruments, those very precise tools, have all undergone tempering in a furnace. Being among people is like being in a hot furnace. We are like metal, like steel that similarly goes through a process of tempering. It has [intrinsic] qualities, but without tempering in the fires of a furnace, a precise instrument cannot be made.
So, our spiritual practice is the same. We have this intrinsic quality, this intrinsic nature of True Suchness, but we must eliminate the impurities of ignorance and afflictions. This is why we need to enter the furnace, to become tempered in the furnace and hammered out so that we too become refined, valuable things. Similarly, diamond, jade and other precious gems, before they are put on display for people, before a value is assigned to them, likewise need to be cut and polished. If they are not cut and polished, how can they ever become such precious gems?
So, all of us have within us such a valuable treasure of True Suchness. It resides within our minds, but we use only our form and not our essential quality. Our essence is the intrinsic Buddha-nature that everyone possesses. Our form changes with causes and conditions; lifetime after lifetime, we go through the changes of the Five Realms and four forms of birth. In fact, each lifespan lasts only several decades, and in particular the lives of the transformation-born, moisture-born are even shorter. This continues lifetime after lifetime. We only know this aspect but not the other; we know the suffering of cyclic existence, but have no idea about ultimate joy. Ultimate joy is found after polishing our essence returning to our pure intrinsic nature and aligning our essence with the entire universe. Then there is nothing we do not understand, nothing we do not know. We understand everything; this is our intrinsic nature. Now, having begun our spiritual practice, with our limited capabilities, what we accepted are provisional teachings. We have continually been like this. Those with affinities accept the Buddha’s teachings. While in fragmentary samsara, in each fragment, each lifetime, there is a guiding teacher who forms affinities with us and leads us. This is why we are able to sit here today and listen to the Dharma.
If we had not formed affinities [life after life] with our guiding teacher, who knows where we would be in this lifetime? We do not know. This is to say that if we are able to listen to the Dharma, it is because the causes and conditions are still there. Those who can take in the Dharma those with sharp capabilities, have been refining themselves for a very long time. So, in each lifetime, we should be very mindful. We must earnestly take these seeds into our eighth consciousness so they can be even more refined. We hope that one day everything can return to our ninth consciousness. This requires us to enter the Great Dharma.
So, Bodhisattvas form aspirations to walk the Bodhisattva-path. We must form aspirations in each lifetime. When we first form this aspiration, we become newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. We have already begun taking the Buddha-Dharma to heart, have begun forming great aspirations. Newly-inspired Bodhisattvas must listen to the teachings. They need to hear and accept the Dharma. Then they must constantly remember and uphold the teachings they have heard. They must take them to heart, take the Dharma to heart and constantly remember it. They must not only remember but also faithfully accept it and put it into practice. We need faith; our root of faith must be deep, and we should accept the teachings wholeheartedly. In all our actions and our speech, we must always remember them. With all the teachings we have received, how should we speak? If there is something we should say, then we should say it. If it is something we should not say, if the time is not yet right, then we should not say it. We talked about this for a time in the past.
The Chapter on Parables also mentioned this, how we cannot teach the Dharma to inappropriate persons, at inappropriate times or in inappropriate places. If sentient beings’ capabilities are insufficient and we tell them something, because their cultivation is insufficient, they “only know one aspect but not the others”. With shallow understanding, they will take the information they have gained and spread it around [arbitrarily]. We kept speaking of dull capabilities in the past, of dull and sluggish capabilities, and the five chronic and five acute afflictions. Though people like this may study the Dharma, they still have no way of understanding it. If the Dharma is received by those will dull capabilities and they deviate even slightly, “A slight deviation will take them far off course.” Or they might use the Dharma for some other objective. So, in teaching the Dharma, we must always earnestly remember it and uphold it. Those receiving the Dharma must also always earnestly remember and uphold it. We must be very mindful of when is the right time to teach and to not teach.
As newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, these chronic afflictions and acute afflictions are still there inside our minds. With this aspiration, we have yet to totally eliminate our afflictions. We must understand the Dharma that we accept. So, in dulling with people and their capabilities, the Buddha had to be very mindful so that He could teach according to capabilities. This applies even more so to us in our dealings with sentient beings. If we are not careful with our speech or if the other person is full of afflictions he has yet to eliminate, we may say something carelessly that could possibly undermine his roots of goodness. Or one may spread the Dharma [without thinking], which at times can lead to slander. So, when we speak and listen, we should observe the timing, capacities and location. Then they will be correct. If the person, timing or location is incorrect, it can sometimes lead to slander, so we must always be very careful. As newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, we want to form aspirations. We listen to and accept the teachings. We should earnestly put effort into remembering and upholding [these teachings]; we must always remember them. “Remember what I said to you about what you should and should not do, what you should and should not say. You must earnestly remember all of this.” In this way we will be able to smoothly go through this process of taking in the Dharma and transforming others. If we do not accept and take the Dharma to hear, how can we teach it to other sentient beings? So, newly-inspired Bodhisattvas must be also be very mindful.
Since we vow to walk the Bodhisattva-path, we must often draw near to virtuous friends. The places virtuous friends teach the Dharma are the places we must draw near to. “Virtuous friends and every place where the Dharma is taught” are places that we should draw near to. Now people have come here to listen so we should earnestly seize this opportunity to listen to what questions they ask and how they are answered. In the current era, in this world today, there are so many processes related to people, matters or things. All of this is the Dharma. So, virtuous friends can be the intended recipients of the teachings or the initiators [of the opportunity]. Those who ask for the Dharma are virtuous friends and by answering, we mutually inspire one another. Thus we are all virtuous friends. After listening to the Dharma, people then form study groups. By inspiring each other in study groups, we are also virtuous friends. “After listening, this is what I felt. When you listened, what did you feel? Your analogy is really good. If you applied the teachings that way, then maybe I can also apply them”. These are all virtuous friends to whom we should often draw near. Study groups are very good or, after listening to the Dharma, we can share our thoughts with one another. In this way, we can hear and understand more as we share experiences and insights. In this we are all virtuous friends. We draw near the Dharma, accept it and then share our insights afterwards. This is all [drawing near to] “virtuous friends and places where the Dharma is taught”.
These people are not gossiping; they are truly listening to the Dharma and sharing their experiences with each other. They are not spreading rumors. “Single-mindedly upholding initial aspirations, they diligently practice”. Our initial aspiration is what we must uphold a long time, diligently practicing and advancing toward the Dharma of the Right Path. We must put our hearts into doing this.
We see so many instances of impermanence in the world. If, in all of our actions, we can not only benefit sentient beings, but also truly practice diligently, this would all be of benefit to the world, or could save people and save the world. These are all teachings of goodness. You all heard that over 100 days ago, more than four months ago, a dust explosion occurred at Formosa Fun Coast. At the time, many people in society were shocked because of that incident. 400 to 500 young people suffered in that manifestation of impermanence, that instantaneous dust explosion. 400 to 500 children were injured. How many families were affected? 400 to 500 were wounded, so 400 to 500 families and parents suffered great emotional pain. There were 400 to 500 young people who had to be sent to different hospitals. The medical staff in every hospital had to make use of their abilities to save these lives. With loving hearts, they treated their ailments and wounds. How would they treat the injured? Their bodies were burned beyond recognition, their skin was completely destroyed and they had surface infections that were gradually leading to the deterioration of inner organs. Their external wounds were intensely painful. It was as if they were in the skin-peeling hell where one’s skin is peeled off inch by inch. Wouldn’t having those bandages changed daily be just like living in the skin-peel hell? This was such pain and suffering! How could they bear such pain and suffering? The patients were in so much pain that those who were treating them could never relax; they were under so much pressure fighting a battle of life and death, dedicating themselves to saving the lives of those people. They had to use extreme care and maintain focus under great pressure. I heard that Tzu Chi hospital in Taipei accepted 13 severely injured patients with burns covering over 70, 80 or 90 percent of their bodies. Imagine the pressure [medical staff] were under! Just changing the dressings and treating a single person required more than ten medical staff. On that day I went to Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital and the doctors, the nurse and all the medical staff gathered together to describe to me how they were caring for those patients. One patient had been discharged the day before, a patient who had been there for 125 days. When they first looked at his x-rays, his inner organs and lungs were still clean. But in less than a day, when they checked again, an entire section had suddenly become white, which meant that the patient’s condition had already become critical. It was at that time that sepsis (blood poisoning) had set in. the body had an inner infection and his lungs had turned entirely white. Our doctors, the entire medical staff, came together as a team, and every single day from then on, they all fought for this life. There were several dozen people all crammed into one room, where they met together twice a day to report on the treatment and medication used. They even used “diamond-grade” medicine, which is very expensive. This anti-viral medicine costs NT$150,000 per vial, and two vials were needed per day, which came to NT$300,000. Life cannot be measured by money. They had to use it, and in this way they did everything they could in order to save his life. Our doctor shared with us how every doctor is like a master boatman, who, for those who are sick and suffering, tries to them up and help them cross the river of cyclic existence. He had taken an analogy from the Buddha-Dharma to describe his mission. How many had come together as one big team just to save the life of a single person, to say nothing of 12 lives? So, in the end, of the 13who were brought there, one of them passed away after a few days. By the time she had arrived at the hospital, they had already announced that there was nothing they could do. They cared for her for three or four days, and then she passed away. The 12 who survived were all severely injured. Imagine how many people worked to save them! It is truly a long story. Making use of every inch and every second, many people packed into a tiny space to operate the artificial lung machine. This patient’s life was dependent upon the support of the artificial lung. Unless a person’s life is in critical conditions, the artificial lung is not used. There were tubes coming out of his entire body, and it took many people at his bedside to look after and operate this machine. How many all packed into a place several feet wide, had to be there by his side? There were 14 people, totally surrounded by instruments. Every inch pf space and every second was used for the sake of saving that person’s life. They struggled to pull him back from the brink of death, truly demonstrating their life-saving skills. They applied the Buddha-Dharma as they treated his wounds and sickness, saving both his physical and spiritual life.
Single-mindedly upholding initial aspirations, they diligently practice. this group of doctors, this medical team, the nurses, the anesthesiologists and so on, including the pharmacists and the nutritionists, all came together as one great group of people. They did their best in applying their skills and fulfilling their mission. With such diligence, they constantly tried to understand what medications they could use and what medications they could use and what methods they could apply. They “single-mindedly and diligently practiced, advancing towards the Dharma of the Right Path”. They used the right methods for saving this life. It was only yesterday that the last dust-explosion patient was finally discharged. From them to be discharged from the hospital, we also wanted to go to their homes to check on their home environments, installing air conditions if there were none. We should them how rooms were to be disinfected and how to deal with inaccessible places. We had to fix the place so that it was without obstructions or contagions and had air conditioning. We had to go to every patient’s home to check on their environment. We were truly very dedicated in doing this.
The power of love is truly great. Thus, we say when it comes to spiritual practice, there is nothing that is not spiritual practice. we must always be mindful, mindful in every single moment.
So, we say that life is a dangerous path. How should we walk upon this dangerous path? Each of our steps needs to be a steady. Some people are ignorant and stubbornly tread on this dangerous path, so they need others to constantly caution them and constantly protect them. Therefore we need a guiding teacher along this dangerous path; we need someone who can lead us. This is why the world needs the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. The world needs the Buddha’s teachings to help us cross this dangerous path very smoothly. Thus we avoid transmigrating beyond our control in the four forms of birth and Six Destinies. So, we must listen to and clearly understand the Dharma.
The sutra from two days ago states, “He knows well the passable and obstructed features of this dangerous road and will lead a group of people who wish to pass through these hardships. But the people he leads along the way become lax and retreat.
This is from the day before yesterday. But as this happens, “They speak to the guiding teacher”. The previous passage said, “They speak to the guiding teacher”. [They say], “We have come so far and are all very tired”.
They speak to the guiding teacher, “We are extremely exhausted and also afraid. We cannot advance further. The road agead seems long. We now wish to retreat and go back.
“We are extremely exhausted and also afraid.” Not only were they tired, but also afraid. “We can no longer go on walking for the road ahead is still very long. Everyone is exhausted. The road ahead is so long; if we need to walk further, we will be very afraid. So, we want to stop here”. We talked about this yesterday.
Next, it continues on to say, “The guiding teacher has many skillful means, so he gives rise to this thought, ‘These people are truly pitiable. Why do they give up a great treasure and wish to retreat and go back?’”
Wasn’t everyone’s goal in passing through this dangerous road precisely to reach the place of great treasure? Isn’t this like how many people in the past would go on adventures? Why did they go on adventures? It was because there treasures ahead. Thus they willingly crossed over dangerous roads in search of treasures. They used to always make movies like this. I don’t know if they do anymore. It is the same principle. What we are now looking for is our nature of True Suchness. We must walk a road like this. Otherwise, on this road we will walk for a long time, many lifetimes. Now, what we want is to find our nature of True Suchness, and this is the road over which we must pass. Thus, the guiding teacher considered many skillful means to help lift these people’s spirits so they would again keep walking forward. So, “He gives rise to this thought, ’these people are truly pitiable’”. These sentient beings are truly pitiable. They obviously know how dangerous life is, that even one stray thought can lead every subsequent step to be in error, as one continues to regress. They clearly know the road is dangerous, so why don’t they walk on it carefully? They could make it, so why did they stop? “Why did they give up a great treasure? and wish to retreat and go back?” Why did they stop halfway? If they had just gone one step further, they would have reached the great treasure. Why were they unwilling to advance? It was just that they felt the road was still long and far, so they became lax and gave rise to fear. They did not advance courageously. So, “Sentient beings fear that the place of treasure of the Buddha’s merits and virtues is far off”.
Sentient beings fear that the place of treasure of the Buddha’s merits and virtues is far off and hard to reach. They thus wish to give up and retreat and fall into the sea of samsara.
So, it was difficult to attain. “I want to seek understanding and views and wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. I really wish to seek them, but they are still so very far away”. From the viewpoint of an unenlightened being, of course the state of Buddhahood still seems very far away. But if we do not move forward, we will forever remain within the Five Realms with no way to reach the state of Buddhahood. However, fear arose in those sentient beings that the place of treasure of the Buddha’s merits and virtues was still so far away. They wanted to seek it, but it was hard to attain. So, “They thus wish to give up and retreat and fall into the sea of samsara”. They were willing to retreat, which meant they would regress again. So, “The guiding teacher has many skillful means”. This describes the Buddha’s use of wondrous provisional teachings.
The guiding teacher has many skillful means: This refers to the skillful and wondrous provisional teachings of the Buddha. He applies the wisdom of many skillful means. Outside the burning house, He intended to set up three carts and with skillful means, open up the Three. He is replete with the Four Intentions, thus He has many skillful means.
He applies many methods and kinds of wisdom. With the wisdom of skillful means, He finds ways to quickly encourage everyone. So, “Outside the burning house, He intended to set up three carts”. This is like how the elder set up three carts outside the burning house. “With skillful means, He opened up the Three”. He told everyone, “You have practiced this way in the past, but in the future, you should walk toward the Bodhisattva-path”. The sheep-cart and the deer-cart were both still lined up there, but there was also the great white ox cart. “Do you see? These are limited principles and only help you benefit yourselves? I have lined these up for you to see. This one is the great principles that you now must listen to. Then you can deliver yourselves and also liberate others”. So, He set up three carts outside the burning house. When the Buddha came to the world, He set up three carts outside the burning house like this, with the great cart in front. If everyone could understand, behind them the house was already burning, so moving forward, they could use the great cart to deliver themselves and others. He employed this analogy to open up the Three (Vehicles); He is also replete with the Four Intentions. “He is replete with the Four Intentions,” so He used “many skillful means”. The Four Intentions were the ways in which the Buddha employed skillful means. He used the Four Intentions.
The Four Intentions: 1. Intention of equality: His original intent. 2. Intention of different times: The Five Periods. 3. Intention of different meanings: Teaching according to capabilities. 4. Intention of sentient beings’ joy and desire: Patiently adapting to what is suitable.
The first is the equality of sentient beings. The principle the Buddha realized was the equality of sentient beings, that everyone has Buddha-nature. “From my own achievement of enlightenment, a state that pervades the universe, a vast state of tranquility and clarity, I should help everyone to be able to enjoy these principles.” However, He realized that there was no way to, because with sentient beings’ capabilities, they would not be able to accept this. So, He needed to use the second method, the “intention of different times”. These were the Five Periods. The Avatamsaka teaching was the Buddha’s original intent. That state that He had realized was His original intent. However, He assessed that it was impossible for sentient beings to accept it, so He had to use the Five Periods. He later opened up the Agama teachings, the Vaipulya teachings, then the Prajna teachings and finally the Lotus teachings. These “Five Periods of teachings” are known as the “intention of different times”. Third was the “intention of different meanings”. This refers to how He taught sentient beings according to their capabilities. This is the method the Buddha used during. His entire life when He taught His disciples. The fourth was His hope for sentient beings to attain joy and happiness. He adapted to sentient beings’ capabilities and patiently guided them until they could accept the teachings and in the end truly arrive at that place of ultimate peace and joy.
So, the Buddha, in teaching, employed the Four Intentions. With His original intent, the Buddha had to make use of skillful means to patiently guide and teach sentient beings. The Buddha had given this much thought. “So he gives rise to this thought,’These people are truly pitiable”’.
So he gives rise to this thought, “These people are truly pitiable”: He pities these people for wishing to retreat. Therefore, he gives rise to the thought that these people of limited capabilities are truly pitiful.
The Buddha had His original intent. He saw those sentient beings had reached this point and were stuck on themselves, unwilling to open their hearts and take the Dharma to heart, then transform others. They were unwilling to do this, so the Buddha knew that they must be afraid, afraid of the Bodhisattva-path and going among people. The Buddha thus gave rise to compassion and pity. “He pities these people for wishing to retreat”. Not advancing diligently is retreating. That was as far as they went. They had to again diligently advance. There was the sheep-cart and deer-cart, but they should choose the great white ox-cart. Everyone was hesitating there, so compassion arose in the Buddha’s heart. What He thought was, “These people of limited capabilities are truly pitiful. By “pitiful” He was expressing, “Oh, they are in such a sad state? I have taught you like this; why do you still not understand? He was disheartened. But we should not say the Buddha was disheartened, for He always persisted in His effort. Although teaching them was tiresome, he nevertheless persisted in His efforts. This was the Buddha’s compassion and pity. He saw how slow sentient beings could be. why were they so hard to teach? How could they be so attached to themselves and not think about others? Why were they so narrow-minded, with the habitual tendencies of being so attached to themselves? So, the Buddha also felt helpless. Why do they give up the great treasure of the Buddha Vehicle?
Why do they give up a great treasure and wish to retreat and go back?: Why do they give up the great treasure of the Buddha Vehicle and wish to retreat and turn back along the way?
Why do they not know to keep advancing forward and instead stop halfway? This truly is a pity. But the Buddha definitely unwilling to give up.
So, “Having given rise to this thought, with the power of skillful means, 300 yojanas along the dangerous road he conjures a city and tells the people, ‘All of you, do not fear. You must not retreat and go back.’”
At this point in the passage, everyone’s hearts were finally opened. They had continuously walked along such treacherous paths without anywhere to stop. Actually, those listening were exhausted, and the teacher was exhausted too. They had endlessly retreated from the Great to the Small and were frightened and unwilling to go further. This was truly frustrating. But the Buddha, having made it thus far, was determined to find ways to help these people recover from their exhaustion.
So, “The Buddha had given rise to such a thought. The thought He gave rise to was the provisional use of skillful,l means, the power of the Three Vehicles.
Having given rise to this thought, with the power of skillful means: After the Buddha had given rise to such a thought, He provisionally used the power of skillful means of the Three Vehicles. The guiding teacher has this thought of pity. This is his wisdom of skillful means.
So, the guiding teacher had thoughts of pity; sentient beings created so much karma that they were left transmigrating in the Five Realms. They were truly deserving of pity. It had not been easy for them to enter the Hearer and Solitary Realizer Vehicles. They already knew the principles, so, have already arrived at that point, how could they give up halfway? These people should form great aspirations and get involved by going among people to transform sentient beings. they should train their minds to be free and at ease with life and death. They should train their minds to the point that they can resist and arising of ignorance and afflictions due to external states.
We often hear how when the body is weak, it is less resistant and more easily infected by germs. This is when our body is not strong enough. So, only by nurturing our bodies are we able to resist many germs and viruses. In the same way, we must also train our minds. The way we train our minds it to go among the people. So, the guiding teacher had these same thoughts. It was because he had these thoughts that he would never abandon those people. He hoped everyone would mindfully advance forward.
In summary, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. Time will not wait for us, so we must keep moving forward. If we become lax or fearful, we will stop where we are. The guiding teachers, the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, in their compassion, will never abandon us. Because doctors never abandon their patients, the patients are able to make it through this hardship in life. Fortunately, neither the guiding teachers nor doctors will abandon us. In summary, each of us is just like a patient. We depend on the doctor to heal us, guide us, protect us, lead us to the path to well-being and teach us how to walk the path to good health. So, let us always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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