Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Reflecting on Our Own Body (法無遠近 尋思自體)
Date: May.16.2017
“He described the past and explained the present; in this, all Buddhas share the same path. The Dharma is not near or far, Great or Small. We must reflect on our own body. All principles of matter are Dharma. Living things can be understood by their rules. The principles can be understood by the forms and appearances of things. The path can be taught through propriety.”
Everyone, we must mindfully understand that the Dharma is very profound. [The Buddha] uses all kinds of methods and analogies, with which He can teach without end. Actually, the Dharma is very profound, so it requires us to be very mindful. We must give rise to deep faith and understanding. We must constantly give rise to faith in the Dharma, and furthermore it must be very deep faith in order to understand it. Actually, if we give rise to deep faith and understanding, [we see that] all things are the Dharma; everything, no matter what it is, is encompassed by the Dharma. All Buddha and Bodhisattvas in this world teach and guide us in this way. They teach us and guide us in order to help us know that our lives in this world are all contained within the principles of the Dharma. If we understand the Dharma, naturally our wisdom will be able to penetrate all phenomena. If we deviate from the rules of the Dharma, naturally we will become lost and confused; we will not know anything. In our lives, we must truly be mindful. In our lives, the explanation of all matters is something we must be clear on. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to teach us about all the people, matters and things we come in contact with in our lives and the principles contained within. So, we must be mindful. All Buddhas share the same path; it is the same, even the Dharma taught by all Buddhas countless kalpas ago. Now Sakyamuni Buddha is describing the past, how the Buddhas dust-inked kalpas ago are the same. They ceaselessly repeat the Dharma and constantly use analogies, all in hopes that we have faith and understanding, and in particular deep faith. This is the same path all Buddhas share. The coming Maitreya Buddha similarly will describe Sakyamuni Buddha’s process from long ago of teaching and transforming [sentient beings]. Thus, all Buddhas share the same path. So, the Dharma is not near or far, Great or Small. We must reflect on our own body.
Actually, the Dharma is not far from us; it is very close, not very far. If you want to say it is far, it originates from dust-inked kalpas ago. But the Dharma is actually in our surroundings. Everything is Dharma; it is very close. We do not even need to talk about the universe; just talking about our own bodies [it is there]. Our own bodies are very small and insignificant. If we use people’s bodies or other living beings as an explanation, each has its own principles of life. So, we must earnestly reflect on our own bodies. Our own bodies are all illusory. The human body is a temporary union of the four elements; it is earth, water, fire and wind. Everyone will think, “How is that possible? My body is my body!”
Actually, all of the hardware of our body is analogous to the earth. Our blood corresponds to water. If blood vessels are blocked, we have a stroke, because the blood cannot flow through. This is also a matter of the four elements. If air [is blocked], it cannot flow through, so our breathing [is affected]. If our body temperature rises, that means that a part of our body is inflamed. These four elements are imbalanced in our bodies. In this way, we already [see] that it is a temporary union of the four elements. The macrocosm of the world is the same. In the macrocosm, if earth, water, fire and air are not in balance, then there will be disasters in the world. The microcosm and the macrocosm are things we must earnestly reflect on; we must mindfully and carefully contemplate this. In the world, in addition to living beings, plants and so on also all have Dharma within them.
So, it is often said in the Buddha-Dharma that we must “contemplate the body as impure, contemplate all feelings as suffering, contemplate the mind as impermanent and contemplate all things as beings without self.” This must also start with our bodies. Along with our bodies, our surroundings must be earnestly and carefully contemplated. We must reflect on and seek the principles. Where are the principles? They are in our bodies, they are around our bodies, and are even beyond our bodies; they are everywhere in the world.
“The Dharma is not near or far, Great or Small. We must reflect on our own body.” We must earnestly, starting from our own bodies, consider how this temporary union of the four elements is impure. This is just like how we eat daily. We must eat; we have three meals a day. There is breakfast, lunch and dinner. Once we have eaten, where will the food go? Our food does not stay in one place for long. The food we eat goes into our bodies and is constantly being digested without our awareness. After it is digested, what does it turn into? Impure things! It becomes very unclean.
Actually, in life, one extremely unclean thing is this body. So, it says in the Treatise on Great Perfection of Wisdom that washing with all the water of the ocean will never clean this body. Even if we use all this water to wash our body, we will never be able to fully clean it. Clearly, we must constantly contemplate the body as impure! Our bodies are like this. In fact, is there anything in this world that can remain permanently pure? There is nothing like this. Yet [people pursue] so many things. In the end, these things return to nothingness. Moreover, throughout the process, they are so unclean. What is it are we actually seeking?
We can see that the world is full of unbearable suffering. In particular, in our medical mission. I hear them during meetings discussing the future of the medical mission, how to work with society and people, what methods are needed to treat disease and pain, how to operate [the hospitals] how to take responsibility etc. They discuss many things. It truly all sounds so complicated. So, I said, “I do not know how to operate [a hospital]. However, no matter what, medicine is also charity. This is charitable medical care. The principle behind this mission is something that we must continue to uphold. As for how to operate [the hospitals] and how to save sentient beings, I do not understand the methods, but the principle to uphold is that of a medical mission based on charity.”
This time [on my travels], when I went to Taipei, I saw former superintendent Chen Ing-ho, who had just come back from Xiamen. He went to Xiamen to see two people; one is Yan Xiadong and the other is Chen Tuanzhi. They are both major medical cases who lived lives of unendurable suffering! Though they are both human beings and have human bodies, what these care recipients have encountered [in life] is different from most. When he came to see me in Taipei, he came to Guandu after returning from Xiamen and brought Lin Chuanqin. Hearing the name Lin Chuanqin, everyone should still remember. Lin Chuanqin was [a case] when our hospital was first established. Less than two years in, there was a 14-year-old child. A truck had suddenly overturned, and he was crushed by the entire truckload of gravel. The ambulance brought this child to the hosp his upper body was still in good condition, but his lower body was crushed and even his intestines were exposed. In the emergency room alone, who knows how many dozens of buckets of saline water were used to clean off all the gravel and rocks. His intestines even had to be cleaned. This was such a terrible sight to behold! This was one of our major cases. He was rescued from the jaws of death. Still, I remember that. I would often, almost every day, go into the intensive care unit (ICU) to visit him. In the ICU, he was not resting in a bed, but hanging from high up. This was because after he was washed with water, blood and water would ceaselessly drip off of him, continuing to drip like this. Half of his legs were shattered, and his feet were the same. Superintendent Chen kept trying to save his feet and legs; he was only a 14-year-old child, and he wanted to allow him to keep his legs and feet. But the process was very, very hard and took a very long time. After he was hung in the air, [doctors] gathered from the departments of surgery, orthopedics, internal medicine, nutrition and many others. There were consultations with each department in order to take care of this child. I do not know how long it took; eventually he was able to lie flat. They kept taking care of this child to save him; this took an entire year. From the time he entered the ICU until he finally left the ICU after a very long time, I visited him almost every day. This child was very resilient. He could no longer use one of his legs. I heard Superintendent Chen say to me, “We cannot keep this leg. We might have to amputate it to here.” I looked at him again; could he have a prosthetic in the future? “There is no way; we have to amputate all the way up to the upper half of the thing.” What about the other leg, can we keep it? “It seems it has the same degree of necrosis; we have to amputate that leg as well.” They had to amputate it section by section. For a long period of time it was like this. His legs had to be amputated section by section all the way up to the pelvis. So in the end, he only had half a body. But this child was very optimistic. How would we help him to sit up? He does not have sit bones, so how could we have him sit up? Thus, at that time, Superintendent Chen Ing-ho spent all night blowing up balloons. He kept blowing up these small balloons himself. I do not know how many hundreds of them. He used a very large bucket and put all of the balloons in there until it was very full. He then put the body inside the bucket. In this way, he was training the boy to teach him to sit up. This was a very difficult period of time. Doctors and nurses from each department as well as rehabilitation specialists and so on all took care of him. This lasted several years until volunteers came in to [take care of him], beginning with Jing Xi. Because this child was like this, in the years since, we began to encourage him to develop some specialized skills. This child’s body was still very strong. He was very happy and also very naughty. Once he could sit in a wheelchair, he was outside every day “drag-racing”; he would often give his wheelchair one push and quickly speed away. Once, I had already reached the hospital exit when I finally saw him, but I did not even have time to say hello. He quickly rushed past me. I turned my head; where was he going? It turned out there was someone on a motorcycle who fell over in front of the hospital. He really wanted to be helpful. He rushed on his wheelchair to the front and from the side of his wheelchair right away took out some tools. He quickly turned the motorcycle over, then began fixing a place on it that was broken. Upon seeing this, [I felt that] after only one to two years of rehabilitation, for him to be able to do this [was truly amazing]. He was very good with his hands. Thus, I kept wanting to help this child succeed.
So later, our volunteers tried to help him. Jing Xi went to Changhua to visit a school. She felt that this school could accommodate him and provide him with an education. Thus, he went there to receive an education. There, he learned many things. He was very active there; although he had no legs, he often won first place in swimming races. Back then (1987), this child was 14 years old. Now he is over 40 years old. He has become fat sitting in his wheelchair! I said, “You ae still so fat!” He said, “I am losing weight”. Now he is the one blowing up balloons [for others]. He also has a wife. In other words, after a period of such suffering, he was still able to survive and was able to marry someone who can also help take care of him.
I also think of these two in Xiamen. Xiaodong was hunched over like this; his face and his knees [almost] touching. He was also at [our hospital] for over half a year and went through five surgeries. He has now returned to Xiamen, and you can see he is doing rehabilitation himself. You can see him walking and even riding a bicycle, taking Superintendent Chen Ing-ho around. Chen Ing-ho was very happy to be carried by him, to be carried by bike to Xiaodong’s home. He also visited Chen Tuanzhi, a 26-year-old girl. She was born like this with both of her legs deformed. Other people’s legs bend backward, but her legs bend forward. So, from the time she was born, for over 20 years, she was unable to put blankets on herself because when lying down, both of her legs are up; it is truly difficult. 26 years later, because of Xiaodong’s case, after he returned to Xiamen the newspaper reported on him. When she saw the article in the newspaper, she asked to come to Taiwan. When she finally arrived in Taiwan, it was also Chen Ing-ho’s team that took the case. The orthopedic team took on this case and performed seven major surgeries on her. Finally, after 26 years, the soles of her feet could touch the ground. People used to carry her to her wheelchair or help her to walk on the backs of her knees with her legs bent forward. Her legs were very deformed. After a little more than six months and seven major surgeries, she can finally stand up. Her feet can now ouch the ground. She can walk back and forth like this. She is now in the hospital in rehabilitation and even happily working in the hospital. She can get to and from work on her own; she takes the bus to work on her own and all the while is still doing rehabilitation.
After Superintendent Chen Ing-ho visited her, he came back and visited Lin Chuanqin. He was able to see all three care recipients. He was able to see all three care recipients within these few days. Life is truly incredible, especially this body which is not clean. As for the form that we are given at birth, some people are born healthy and happy. However, impermanence can strike [at any moment]. A whole truck fell on top of him like that; his upper body had no damage, but his lower body was completely crushed. His abdomen was full of gravel and rocks. Look, this is truly an impermanent life! After an injury, we see just how unclean we are.
So, in the end, “We must reflect on our own body”. Look at people; go into a hospital and look. Their bodies have wounds and if they do not heal, they begin to smell. It is a very frightening thing. I often see case reports from the doctors, often see these bloody [images], whether of the body cavity or the internal organs; this is so frightening. We must earnestly reflect on this. What does it take to be a happy person? What is there that can last forever? What is there that is pure? If we cannot come to terms with our own bodies, how can we possibly understand external matters? So, “The Dharma is not near or far, Great of Small. We must reflect on our own body”. This is something so close to us, our own bodies. Let us think about it; especially in our medical mission, we must understand human suffering even better. We witness suffering and recognize our blessings. So, “All principles of matter are Dharma. Living things can be understood by their rules.” All of these principles of matters are the Dharma. As for our bodies, the principles of life and of matter encompass everything, both within our bodies and beyond. But because our minds begin to make trouble, according to the principles of the mind, though we clearly know it is like this, our afflictions and ignorance will still multiply. These are principles of matter, life and the mind. These principles of matter, of life and of the mind are all Dharma. “Living things can be understood by their rules.” Everything, all that we can see with our eyes, has its rules; these are the laws of the Dharma. We must earnestly be mindful to experience how every single object has own principles; true principles exist within it. “Living things can be understood by their rules.” Everything follows a set path and sequence and is shaped into different forms and substances. With these kinds of causes and conditions, all kinds of natural laws shape all things.
So, “The principles can be understood by the forms and appearances of things.” To understand principles, we must make use of the appearances of things. What is this actually called? What is this thing? In this way, we humans can experience so many things. “The path can be taught through propriety.” As for the principles of the path, “Propriety is a set of principles.” Principles will certainly have an order to them. We must be very thorough; to be able to understand the path of these principles of matter, we must mindfully seek to experience them. Property is also all about principles. Where there are principles, there is propriety; if there are no principles, then there is no propriety. So, this needs to be taught. The Buddha came to this world, and all Buddhas share the same path. “He described the past and explained the present; in this, all Buddhas share the same path.” All of these “principles can be understood by the forms and appearances of things. The path can be taught through propriety.” This is comprehending the teachings. We must be mindful in seeking to experience this.
So, the previous sutra passage states, “At this time, the World Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse.”
Sakyamuni Buddha spoke of many principles, explanations, analogies, verbal teachings etc. He taught so much. This is especially so in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City. From dust-inked kalpas ago, He continued to teach. This section of text is very long. Now at this point, He stared again in verse. This was because, though He taught so much, as everyone practiced and listened to the Dharma in this way, some gave rise to indolence and thought to retreat. He had no choice but to use [various] methods. So, this section of the text is very long. In order to help us understand more clearly, He spoke in verse to help us remember.
“Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha sat the place of enlightenment for ten kalpas. Yet the Buddha-Dharma did not manifest, and He could not attain Buddhahood. All heavenly deities, naga kings, asuras and so on constantly rained celestial flowers as offerings to that Buddha. All heavenly beings beat celestial drums and played all kinds of celestial music.”
Do all of you still remember this? The previous long-form prose is now repeated again from the beginning here. He sat at the place of enlightenment a long time but the Buddha-Dharma had not yet manifested. At that time, all heavenly beings made offerings until He finally attained Buddhahood. The Brahma kings also came, and in the process the 16 princes also arrived. We should be very familiar with this process. I will describe again the scene of the place of enlightenment.
“The tragrant breeze blew away withered flowers. The rain further moistened new and good ones. After ten small kalpas had passed, He was finally able to attain Buddhahood. All heavenly beings and all humans in the world felt leaps of joy in their hearts.”
The Buddha had appeared in the world, and everyone was very joyful. For ten small kalpas He sat at the place of enlightenment and finally attained Buddhahood. Everyone leapt for joy, all heavenly beings beat celestial drums etc. This expresses that all humans and heavenly beings celebrated together and were very joyful.
The next passage states, “That Buddha’s 16 sons all came with their family and followers. Surrounded by thousands of trillions, they all went to where the Buddha was. They made prostrations with their heads at His feet and requested that He turn the Dharma-wheel. ‘Noble Lion, please let fall the Dharma-rain to satiate us and everyone else.’”
It says “that Buddha’s 16 sons,” because at this time, after attaining Buddhahood, everyone greatly admired the Buddha-Dharma and eventually the 16 princes wanted to become monastics too. So, the wheel-turning sage king and his ministers were all joyous and accompanied the 16 princes to Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s place of enlightenment. Everyone should still remember this. At this place, the 16 princes were very diligent.
That Buddha’s 16 sons all came with their family and follows: The Buddha’s 16 sons were very diligent and took joy in the Great Dharma. They requested that He turn the Dharma-wheel and along with their family and followers made offerings.
Looking back, everyone eagerly anticipated the Buddha being able to teach the Great Vehicle Dharma. These 16 princes and their family and followers had arrived at the Buddha’s place of enlightenment to request to become monastics. All diligent, they took joy in the Great Dharma. So, the 16 princes were very diligent in their aspiration to seek the Dharma. “They requested that He turn the Dharma-wheel and along with their family and follower made offerings.” The 16 princes and all their family and followers were equally diligent. “Surrounded by thousands of trillions, they all went to where the Buddha was.” The 16 princes already came to seek the Dharma. This was a lot of people. “There were also thousands of trillions of heavenly beings and Brahma kings.” They circled around and came before the Buddha. “They made prostrations with their heads at His feet and requested that He turn the Dharma-wheel.” So, this was everyone in the assembly, from the 16 princes, to heavenly beings, humans, and all the family and followers who came too. They kept coming to request teachings. To request the Dharma, one must follow propriety, which meant touching their heads to the ground, paying respect at the Buddha’s feet; this is the propriety of utmost respect. In this way, they made vows. Everyone came to pay respect to the Buddha and seek the Dharma. Everyone made vows and said, “With the utmost sincerity I request teachings.” With the utmost sincere hearts, they requested that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha turn the Great Dharma-wheel. It was not only the 16 princes; everyone also had this hope.
They made prostrations with their heads at His feet and requested that He turn the Dharma-wheel: With their heads lowered to the ground, they paid their respects at the Buddha’s feet. They made great vows and with utmost sincerity requested that Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha turn the Great Dharma-wheel.
“Noble Lion, please let fall the Dharma-rain to satiate us and everyone else.” They made this request of the Noble Lion, the Buddha, who is like the king of the mountain forests, the king of all beasts, the lion. The lion is the king of all beasts. When a lion makes noise, when he opens his mouth and makes a sound, it will shake the earth. Everyone will be scared. This means the lion’s courage and majesty is just like the Buddha teaching the Dharma. He can dispel all deviant views and teachings. Thus, we use the lion as an analogy for this.
Noble Lion, please let fall the Dharma-rain to satiate us and everyone else: We only pray that the Noble Lion will let fall the great Dharma-rain to satiate and nourish us with more than enough for everyone else.
“Noble Lion, please let fall the Dharma-rain,” which means to teach the Dharma. This is like when there is very dry soil that needs water to moisten it. With our aspiration to seek the Dharma, we are like a person who is very thirsty who seeks a cup of water to drink. The principle is the same. It completely nourishes us and everyone else; it “satiate us and everyone else.” We are satiated with the Dharma. What we seek is not merely the Small [Vehicle] Dharma; we further seek the Great Dharma, which will nourish our wisdom-life and cause it to grow. So, “We only pray that the Noble Lion will let fall the great Dharma-rain.” We hope the rain can fall in even greater amounts to nourish the earth and provide it with a more ample amount of water. So, “Let fall the great Dharma-rain to satiate and nourish us.” It is sufficient to nourish the hearts of those of us who seek the Great Dharma, “with more than enough for everyone else” It is not just for ourselves, but also the many sentient beings in the future, those who have not yet heard the Dharma. We hope they will go from the small to the Great and be able to listen to the Buddha’s teachings.
The next sutra passage continues, “A World-Honored One is rarely encountered. A very long time must pass before one appears. For the sake of awakening all beings, He caused all things to quake. In all the worlds to the east, in those 500 trillion lands, in the Brahma-places was seen a radiant light like there had never been before.”
Everyone should still remember that when Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha attained Buddhahood, the 16 princes requested He turn the Dharma-wheel, but He had yet to agree to teach the Great Dharma. At this time, all the Brahma kings, starting from the east, to the southeast and so on, began to see this radiance. They began to seek out the source of the light, which must have been a Buddha coming into this world. This is stated in that passage.
“A World-Honored One is rarely encountered. A very long time must pass before one appears.” What is said here is “praising” “the mighty radiance that shone and shook. A World-Honored One, an Enlightened Father, is extremely rarely encountered. Only after long kalpas have passed will one appear.”
It takes a very, very long time for a Buddha to manifest in the world. He is the enlightened kind father of the world. We always say that the Buddha is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings. This is the same as an enlightened father. So, previously, in the Chapter on Parables, the kind father is the elder of the burning house. In the Chapter on faith and Understanding, the elder is also the kind father. So, the Buddha is the enlightened father, a father who has already been enlightened. This kind of father treats every child equally. But to encounter a Buddha in the world is not so easy. One “is extremely rarely encountered.” This is very hard to come by. Either we are born after the Buddha entered Perfect Rest, or before the Buddha has been born; when we are born into the world, He has not yet manifested in the world. As we come and go lifetime after lifetime, to encounter a Buddha in the world is not easy. We must pass through many long kalpas, a very long time, to see a Buddha, for a Buddha to appear. “For the sake of awakening all beings, He caused all things to quake.” This was all to awaken all beings, because sentient beings are already lost. The Buddha’s one great cause is to open and reveal [the teachings for] sentient beings so we realize and enter the path to awakening; this is the Buddha’s goal. Thus, “For the sake of awakening all beings. He caused all things to quake.” This was to allow everyone to attain enlightenment. “Because He wished to awaken all sentient beings, He first caused the worlds of ten directions to quake.” The Brahma kings [felt this] because everything had quaked. From the place where He attained Buddhahood, before He began teaching the Dharma, as He attained Buddhahood, He made things quake; these waves of shaking reached far away. The places of the Brahma kings were shaken, and they all saw this radiance. So, “in all the worlds in the east, in those 500 trillion lands” means that those from the worlds to the east, all those 500 trillion lands, also came to the assembly. “This is praising the Brahma kings to the east who gathered like clouds to seek the radiance.” To seek this light, they gathered like clouds. Everyone came together [and discussed], “Where did this light come from? Of the Eight Trigrams, the east is ‘Zhen,’ which is the ruler of motion.’” The east was the first to receive this news, this quaking and this radiance. So, they came from the east. At sunrise, the sun first shines on the east. By the same token, the Brahma kings in the east were the first to encounter it. So, “Of the Eight Trigrams, the east is ‘Zhen(quake).’” This was the first [direction] to encounter it, so it “is the ruler if motion.” The light first shined on the 500 trillion lands to the east. Thus the sequence began; there were so many trillions of lands in the east, and all those in the Brahma palaces felt this. Everyone then came together. “In the Brahma-palaces was seen a radiant light like there had never been before.” The Brahma heavens were already very radiant and beautiful, but this light now was different from the past. They were illuminated by a great radiance, which there had never been before. This is something that had never happened before.
In all the worlds to the east, in those 500 trillion lands: This is praising the Brahma kings to the east who gathered like clouds to seek the radiance. Of the Eight Trigrams, the east is “Zhen,” which is the ruler of motion. Therefore, the radiance first illuminated the 500 trillion lands to the east.
We know that as Buddhist practitioners we need experiential understanding. In this world, we must always try to observe and at the same time learn. The Buddha-Dharma is forever without boundaries. We must understand the past, but also comprehend the future. In the future there will still be much Dharma that we are not yet clear about. All Buddhas share the same path. We must take the Dharma of the past and teach it now. We must use current analogies for past Dharma and take what happens in people’s lives now to bring it together [with the past]. So, the Dharma always follows this same path. We who are learning the Dharma must be very mindful. It is not near or far, Great or Small. The Great and the Small are all encompassed within the Buddha-Dharma. It is like what we just said. We must earnestly seek out [the source] and “reflect on our own body”. All the different substances that we see, including our own bodies etc., are all the Dharma and contain the principles. In fact, so much if the Buddha-Dharma makes use of all kinds of analogies to keep us vigilant and awaken us. We must mindfully seek to experience this. I hope we can understand that with the principles, “All principles of matter are Dharma. Living things can be understood by their rules.” We should try to experience this. So, to understand principles, we must begin by experiencing and understanding matters and things. From the Buddha-Dharma, we must truly seek to comprehend the teachings. To know the principles, we practice propriety. Look at those who came seeking the Dharma. They all came with propriety to reverently and sincerely listen to the Dharma. This how the Buddha-Dharma came to our world. We must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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