Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Guiding Them to Enter the Buddha-Wisdom (既知證小 引入佛慧 )
Date: June.06.2017
“All Buddhas have the impartial view of great loving-kindness and exercise wisdom according to capabilities. They are replete with all-encompassing wisdom and supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. The reason the Tathagata appears in the world is to teach His one great cause. The Buddha’s wisdom is boundless, so we enter through the mind’s door of pure Bodhi.”
“All Buddhas have the impartial view of great loving-kindness and exercise wisdom according to capabilities.” This is the Buddha’s heart. Sentient beings, especially Buddhist practitioners, should have deep faith in and an understanding of the Buddha’s heartfelt intentions toward us. The Buddha’s intention is to serve all sentient beings equally. He cherished all sentient beings in the same way that He cherished Rahula. Sakyamuni Buddha loved sentient beings the same way He loved His only son. All Buddhas are the same. In the past, dust-inked kalpas ago, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and the 16 princes were the same. All renounced the lay life and accepted the teachings; they continuously transmitted the Dharma to the sentient beings of that time, that life. Since then, these sentient beings have continually had affinities with the 16 princes. This means that they had causes and conditions to follow these 16 princes to engage in spiritual practice in the presence of all Buddhas. They did this for such a long period of time; we have already discussed this. It is just that we sentient beings all have varying capabilities. So, while some people were transformed, some are still transmigrating in the Five Destinies or Three Evil Destinies. Perhaps some are in the Three Evil Destinies enduring extreme suffering, while some are still in the human realm in a state of ignorance. Sometimes they rise, sometimes they sink [to a lower realm]. Sometimes they hear the Buddha-Dharma with joy. Sometimes they are amidst the Buddha-Dharma, yet give rise to afflictions. They are all creating karma.
These are sentient beings with dull capabilities; they are difficult to teach and transform. However, the Buddhas just do not give up. For instance, Sakyamuni Buddha is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the four kinds of beings. He cherishes all sentient beings equally, so He repeatedly comes [to the world] to teach sentient beings. No matter what capabilities sentient beings have, the Buddha never gives up on them. This is the spirit of the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. The love that He has for sentient beings is an equal and impartial love. He makes no distinction between poor and rich, noble and lowly, makes no distinction between humans and all other kinds of beings. The Buddha treats all equally. They are all the beings He wants to save, which is why we say that He “saves and transforms all living beings.” He is not only “saving and transforming humans.” He in fact saves, transforms and teaches all sentient beings. We can say this is His impartial view of great loving-kindness. He had impartial, great loving-kindness; but sentient beings’ capabilities varied.
Thus He adapted to sentient beings’ capabilities. Those with great capabilities could accept the Buddha-Dharma and had already gone among the people to transform sentient beings and walk the Bodhisattva-path. Those with average capabilities accepted the Buddha-Dharma and knew how to engage in spiritual practice and eliminate their ignorance. Those with limited capabilities knew that the world is full of suffering, and this comes from the accumulation of cause and conditions; they understood this, so that wanted to quickly eliminate these causes and conditions that drag us to come to this world. So, these were the Hearers.
For those of great, average, limited capacities, the Buddha returns to our world life after life and constantly teaches. From limited capabilities, they can advance to average capabilities. From having average capabilities, they can advance even further, until they reach the Bodhisattva-path of the Great Vehicle. Thus He gradually led us stage by stage to repeatedly cross this dangerous path. This is like His creating the conjured city. He led us to this place [to rest]. “If you say you are tired, I will let you rest.” We thought we could just rest there forever, but then the guiding teacher tells us we cannot. This place just means that we have crossed over a difficult point. Hurdle after hurdle, we have endured much hardship to get here. However, we must continue going forward. That is the place where we will truly attain something. It is the place we can always be safe and enjoy this limitless abundance of treasures. The girdling teacher uses provisional, skillful means in this way.
The Buddha similarly used suffering, causation, cessation and the Path to enable us to understand suffering. He used the law of cause and effect to help everyone understand that coming and going in cyclic existence all depends on our thoughts. However, how could He teach people to settle their minds? On this dangerous road, He used many different methods to respond to their capabilities. Some people had become attached and thought, “If I sit in meditation, I can become liberated.” They became attached to this method. Without being careful, they may become obsessed. This is a very dangerous road.
The Buddha patiently guided and taught us, from the Agama and Vaipulya teachings all the way to the Prajna teachings, when He taught us eliminate our attachments. “It is completely without attachments that. [Bodhisattva] give reset to their aspirations.” We must not be attached. “Those who see me in form or seek me in sound are on a deviant path”; they cannot see the Tathagata. Everyone is familiar with the Diamond Sutra, which breaks attachments to the Dharma. As people’s capabilities began to transform, He started telling everyone that the most abundant treasury was not far off. The most abundant Dharma-treasury [was near]. So, as long as we keep going forward, the Dharma-treasury is in that peaceful place we diligently reach up ahead. The state of Buddhahood is like this. We just need to keep going forward. He hopes that all of us can truly engage in spiritual practice where it is most abundant, on the Bodhisattva-path. As we awaken ourselves, we also awaken others. As we awaken others, we benefit ourselves. When we can help everyone to awaken, actually, we are the ones who benefit. This is because as we go among the people, we can see all kinds of people and things, will see countless afflicted and ignorance to beings there. We can apply our wisdom to cultivate the Buddha-Dharma. When we experience the origin of the Dharma, this Dharma will flow on endlessly, like a gushing spring. We can use this gushing spring of the Dharma to bring purity to people’s hearts and save and transform sentient beings. When sentient beings are transformed, this brings the greatest joy to Bodhisattvas. This is the most abundant treasury. When we make use of this storehouse of treasures, the most abundant of Dharma-treasures, we can be safe and stable as we walk forward on the great, direct Bodhi-path. In this way, our whole world opens up and we can become one with the whole universe. Then with minds tranquil and clear and vows as vast as the universe, “They are replete with all-encompassing wisdom and supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.” This means having wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. We need to understand this thoroughly. “The reason the Tathagata appears in the world is to teach His one great cause.” The reason the Tathagata appears in the world is to teach His one great cause. What is His one great cause? It is to guide beings to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. If sentient beings can be taught in this way to go forward step by step, then they can enter the Buddha’s wisdom. “The Buddha’s wisdom is boundless,” but we ourselves must actualize it. The Buddha only shows us the road; we ourselves must walk this road. Whether entering the Small Vehicle, Middle Vehicle or Great Vehicle teachings, we still need to walk the path ourselves, moving forward one step at a time. We need to have faith in the direction that the guiding teacher indicates for us; we should not give rise to doubts. Once our minds have doubts and afflictions arise, along the way we will become indolent and weary; we will become lax. Then we will abandon our steady and grounded steps forward on the road of spiritual practice. As for the road we have already walked because of a single thought of ignorance, we ourselves gave rise to indolence.
The Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City continuously warns us to be vigilant of this; it continuously calls upon us, constantly asking us, “Why desire to retreat and turn back? Why desire to be indolent? Why do you want to once again return to the path of ordinary beings? Why do you want to be lax? Why do you want to abandon the aspirations you formed before and the path you have already traveled? Why?” The Buddha continuously guides us, allowing us sentient beings to keep moving forward over and over again on this path of wisdom. So, the Tathagata appears in our world for the sole purpose of guiding us to enter the Buddha’s wisdom, which is boundless.
“The Buddha’s wisdom is boundless,” so we must “enter through the mind’s door of pure Bodhi”. Pure Bodhi is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. We must return to our nature of True Suchness, open the doors of our minds and let the light of our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, the light of our wisdom, be brought forth. This is the safest place. We will never again return to the path of darkness and ignorance. This is what we must put our heart into believing in and understanding. This previous passage is what we must mindfully seek to understand. We are already at the end of the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City. So, everyone should be very mindful.
The previous sutra passage states, “All buddhas, with the power of skillful means, teach the Three Vehicles separately, but there is only the One Buddha Vehicle. For you to have a place to rest, I taught the Two Vehicle. Now I teach our the true. What you have attained is not extinction. For the Buddha’s all-encompassing wisdom, you must form great aspirations and be diligent”.
In this sutra passage, the Buddha has already very frankly told us that, in the past, the road He guided us to walk on, from station to station, was part of the process. So, this is called skillful means. The Buddha used all kinds of skillful means to guide us to walk this road, stage after stage. This was the Buddha’s wisdom of skillful mans, how He guided us to walk this path. He “teaches the Three Vehicles separately”, teaching according to our capabilities. For people with limited capabilities, the Buddha taught the Small Vehicle teachings of karmic causes and conditions. For those with average capabilities, He taught the Middle Vehicle teachings for ending fragmentary samsara. What about those with great capabilities? He taught about transformational samsara, how the delusions of ignorance must be completely eliminated. This means that before attaining Buddhahood, we must form affinities with sentient beings and through those affinities eliminate dust-like delusions and delusions of ignorance. In this way, we train ourselves and walk on the Bodhisattva-path. This is the One Buddha Vehicle that the Buddha taught for sentient beings. Actually, His goal was for everyone to reach the One Buddha Vehicle, not the Three Vehicles. The Three Vehicles are just part of the journey. The most important destination is “only the One Buddha Vehicle”. This was the Buddha’s goal in transforming sentient beings. His one great cause was to guide people to enter the Buddha’s wisdom, hoping all could have wisdom equal to the Buddha’s and open the mind’s door to pure Bodhi. This was the Buddha’s goal in coming to our world.
So it says, “There is only the One Buddha Vehicle”. For sentient beings, in accord with their capabilities, they needed to walk stage by stage. He had to give everyone an objective. For those with limited capacities, their goal and the place they reached was their course of study. Once they knew their lessons were almost finished, they would earnestly engage in practice. When they reached this stage of practice, He said that though they had finished their lessons, they still had to keep improving. There were still university courses to take, so they had to keep going forward. There is no end to learning, they must keep going. These are people with average capabilities. After graduating from university, they are not done; there is more room [to improve]. There are still many principles that they do not understand, so they must choose to become a doctoral candidate. They must seek to attain a doctoral degree in order to clearly understand the goal that they pursue. This is how the worldly studies are. Primary school teachers teach primary school students. Secondary school teachers teach secondary school students. College professors teach college students and doctoral candidates. This is how education is in the world; it is broken into stages. How much more true this is for the Buddha! Because sentient beings are in a state of confusion and ignorance, in cyclic existence among the Three Evil Realms, the Five Destinies and four forms of birth, because they are lost like this, He follows them wherever they go. With this compassion, He does not give up on them, wherever they are. Not a second of His time is wasted as He follows sentient being’s lifetime after lifetime. He goes everywhere universally; there is not a place in the Three Evil Destinies or Six Destinies that the Buddha does not go to. This all for the purpose of saving sentient beings. Look at the Living Bodhisattvas in the world. They are the same; wherever there is suffering, they cross over mountains and oceans or sail through the vast sky by plane. In the same way, no matter where in the world, so long as there is suffering, they will use all kinds of methods and all different means of transportation to go deliver sentient beings. This is what Living Bodhisattva do, to say nothing of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
So, waterer sentient beings’ capabilities are, the Buddha wants to transform them thoroughly. Thus, from ignorance to their awakening, the Buddha never gives up on any sentient being. He Himself is simultaneously like a preschool and elementary school teacher, a nanny, and even up to a college professor or graduate school professor. He does all this simultaneously; this is how the Buddha is. Is Buddhahood limited to one person only? No. This is the intrinsic nature of all people. After we attain awakening, we can use the Great and Small Vehicles to transform others according to capabilities. This is an ability and potential that all people inherently have. It is the same with teachers. To teach preschool, they must first learn; they must first learn this knowledge [to teach]. However, the Buddha’s knowledge is wisdom; He turned knowledge into wisdom. There is infinite Dharma inside the Buddha’s mind. The Buddha’s ocean of enlightenment is something we all intrinsically have. Our intrinsic nature has an ocean of enlightenment equal to the Buddha’s. So, by following the Buddha’s teachings, we can walk this path level after level. Thus, in the Buddha’s compassion, “For us to have a place to rest, He taught the Two Vehicles”. He did this to enable sentient beings to accept the teachings stage by stage, to take in the Dharma lifetime after lifetime, He had to use skillful means to constantly give teachings. He continuously used these methods with the goal of enabling every sentient being one by one to accept the teachings, one by one to experience them, one by one to awaken and one by one go among people to transform others. Through transforming others, in the end, they realize their intrinsic nature and ocean of enlightenment equal to the Buddha’s. This is the Buddha’s compassion and the intrinsic nature of True Suchness we all have. So, Sakyamuni Buddha continued to say, “Now I teach you the true.” Now He will lay out the true to teach everyone. The past teachings were all stages in the process. That part of the process has already passed. So, “What you have attained is not extinction.” They had not truly arrived. “You are already past what I taught you.” Now they needed to start again. “For the Buddha’s all-encompassing wisdom, you must form great aspirations and be diligent.” Only if we can keep walking and moving forward can we reach everyone’s true goal. So, to reach this future goal, this treasury of infinite Dharma-treasures which is not too far ahead, we must continue to walk forward.
So, “For the Buddha’s all-encompassing wisdom, you must form great aspirations and be diligent.” Then very quickly, since they have already attained Arhatship, if they keep going forward, they will reach the fruit of Buddhahood; all-encompassing wisdom is what we seek, because we wish to attain the fruit of Buddhahood. The fruit of Buddhahood is all encompassing wisdom. All encompassing wisdom is Buddha-wisdom. For this, we should all form great aspirations of diligence and raise our spirits to move forward. We move forward, improve and increase our diligence.
The next sutra passage is the last passage of the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City. So, it says, “When you realize all encompassing wisdom, the Ten Powers and Dharma equal to a Buddha, and you are replete with the 32 Marks, that is true extinction. All Buddhas, as guiding teachers, expound Nirvana for you to rest. Since They know you have rested, They guide you to enter the Buddha-wisdom.”
We must all keep moving forward; to attain the fruits of Buddhahood, we need to form great aspirations. When we reach the state of the Buddha, we have already realized all encompassing wisdom. Realizing all encompassing wisdom means being replete with the Ten Powers and being equal to the Buddha in wisdom. So, with “the Ten Powers and the Dharma equal to a Buddha, we are already equal to the Buddha.” With regards to all Dharma, we are at an equal level of wisdom. So, when we arrive at this point, we “are replete with the 32 Marks. That is true extinction.” Only this is true extinction. The Buddha is replete with the 32 Marks, so being replete with the 32 Marks is true extinction. We have extinguished our afflictions, our ignorance has been eliminated and our dust-like delusions are all gone. Thus we are replete with the 32 Marks. This is what we truly must seek. So, “all Buddha, as guiding teachers,” means attaining Buddhahood is the same for all. All Buddhas are just like guiding teachers. They “expound Nirvana for you to rest. Guiding teachers are just like [the Buddha] dust-inked kalpas ago, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha, who taught and guided the 16 princes. These 16 princes have now attained Buddhahood in all ten directions. So, He was the guiding teacher for those Buddhas. In fact, Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha is the intrinsic Buddha-nature everyone has. So, this is also the guiding teacher for Buddhas. We need to awaken ourselves while teaching and transforming others so they too can attain Buddhahood. To teach others so everyone can attain Buddhahood, we ourselves also need to attain Buddhahood. In short, Sakyamuni Buddha in the past also sought teachings from the Buddha-Dharma and, through diligence, attained Buddhahood. Now, from Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings, we can also diligently seek the Dharma. With mindfulness and diligence, we will also attain Buddhahood. The principle is the same.
So, Sakyamuni Buddha began at the time of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and [practiced] until now. He serves as the guiding teacher of our world. He wants to help everyone stop and rest from the Three Evil Destinies and Six Realms, to be able to stop and rest like this. So, He “expounds Nirvana for you to rest.” Only if everyone can completely reach the stage of extinguishing the Three Realms, Six Destinies, four forms of birth and Three Evil Destinies have they truly arrived at the level of Nirvana. So, “Since They know you have rested, They guide you to enter the Buddha-wisdom.” Sakyamuni Buddha knew that everyone had already had enough time to rest, so now it was time to continue moving forward. Thus, “You must realize all-encompassing wisdom.” What everyone must seek is to attain all-encompassing wisdom. To “realize all-encompassing wisdom” is to attain all- encompassing wisdom.
When you realize all-encompassing wisdom, the Ten Powers and the Dharma equal to a Buddha: You must realize all-encompassing wisdom. When the Buddha teaches among the assembly, He has the virtues of composure and fearlessness. These are the ten kinds of powers that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas are replete with.
“When the Buddha teaches among the assembly, He has virtues of composure and fearlessness,” the “Ten Powers and the Dharma equal to a Buddha.” As He expounds the Dharma in the world, He has the virtues of composure and fearlessness. These are the virtues the Buddha has attained. So, “These are the ten kinds of powers that the Buddha and Bodhisattvas are replete with.” These are the Ten Powers. The Buddha has the Ten Powers, and Bodhisattvas actually also need the Ten Powers in order to transform beings in the world. However, Bodhisattvas like this are Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) Bodhisattvas. We are presently newly inspired Bodhisattvas, Living Bodhisattvas. We are still learning the Bodhisattvas-path. As newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, we must continue to advance for a long period of time. Then naturally, we can be replete with the Ten Powers.
The Ten Powers that the Tathagata is replete with: 1. The power of knowing, right and wrong in all conditions. 2. The power of knowing all karmic retributions in the Three Periods. 3. The power of knowing all stages of dhyana, liberation and Samadhi. 4. The power of knowing the quality of the faculties of all beings. 5. The power of knowing all kinds of understanding. 6. The power of knowing all kinds of states. 7. The power of knowing all paths. 8. The power of knowing from having unobstructed heavenly eyes. 9. The power of knowing past lives flawlessly. 10. The power of knowing how to forever eliminate habitual tendencies.
The Tathagata is replete with the Ten Powers, which are, first, “the power of knowing right and wrong in all conditions.” We understand what level of awakening is truly the [right] state of awakening. Second is “the power of knowing all karmic retributions in the Three Periods.” As for the past, present and future, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas understand all. Third is “the power of knowing all stages of dhyana, liberation and Samadhi.” We also know of dhyana, liberation and Samadhi. How can we help our minds to settle down, so we are not troubled by external states nor do we create trouble for ourselves with false and illusory mental states? This is the Buddhas’ and Bodhisattvas’ power of knowing which they apply. Fourth is “the power of knowing the quality of the faculties of all beings.” They must understand living beings’ capabilities, whether they are sharp or dull, in order to teach according to capacities. Fifth is “the power of knowing all kinds of understanding.” How can they help beings understand everything, all things in the world and the universe? There are all kinds of afflictions from the people, matter and things in the world; how can they explain these? Sixth is “the power of knowing all kinds of states.” “All kinds of states” [refers to] the heaven realm, human realm, all the Six Destinies and so on. With this power of knowing, they understand all of this. Seventh is “the power of knowing all paths.” This is how to get to the path we must walk on, the stage we have reached by walking and how we should go forward so that we do not deviate from the path. Eighth is “the power of knowing from having unobstructed heavenly eyes.” “Heavenly eyes” refers to how our thoughts and perspectives are not obstructed by any interpersonal conflicts. Ninth is “the power of knowing past lives flawlessly.” With the Dharma of past, present or future we must always seize the moment. Of course, we do not know our past lives. We need to believe that the affinities were there such that in this life we encountered the Dharma. We must be earnestly diligent, uphold precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. We must believe that in the future, the Dharma will follow us physically and mentally in future lives. This is the [power] of knowing past lives. Tenth is “the power of knowing how to forever eliminate habitual tendencies.” How should sentient beings engage in spiritual practice? In fact, sentient beings all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. It is just that we have habitual tendencies. So, we now engage in spiritual practice to eliminate our habitual tendencies and all our accumulated afflictions and ignorance. How do we eliminate these? The Buddha used methods to help us understand. We accept the Dharma to eliminate our habitual tendencies. We need to believe in the Dharma of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and use it to help eliminate our habitual tendencies. All people have their own habitual tendencies.
So, “[When you] are replete with 32 Marks, that is true extinction. All Small Vehicle practitioners detest aging, sickness and death and seek Nirvana. They do not think to transform, guide or benefit sentient beings, so they lack blessings and therefore do not have the Marks or Characteristics. Those on the path to Buddhahood cultivate both blessings and wisdom, putting others before themselves, benefiting themselves as well as others. They attain ultimate Nirvana and thus are replete with the Marks and Characteristics. This is called true extinction.”
We often say that when someone we have good affinities with speaks, every word is Dharma; if people we have negative affinities with speak, every word is a source of conflict. It is like this; when we are Small Vehicle practitioners, we only know to detest aging, illness and death, so we just continually seek to attain Nirvana. We are unable to give rise to the aspiration to transform others; we are unwilling to form great aspirations. We do not want to form our own aspirations, so we are unwilling to benefit sentient beings. Thus, what we lack is blessings. We do not go to the human realm; we are unwilling to create blessed affinities in the human realm. We do not benefit others or create good affinities. So, we “lack blessings” and do not have the “Marks or Characteristics.” We will not have an amazing appearance. So, some people will say, “That person’s appearance is not very good.” This means this person clearly has not formed good affinities with others. Some people will look ugly but actually have good affinities with others.
Do we still remember Lin Ye? Though she had leprosy and her appearance was unattractive on the outside, many people enjoyed listening to her. In the past she created karma, but she also formed good affinities with others. People say, “Instead of being born beautiful, it is better to be born with good affinities.” This means we should form good affinities. Then no matter what we look like, people will naturally want to be close to us. With good affinities, we will have a blessed appearance. By having good affinities with sentient beings, we naturally have a positive appearance and can transform sentient beings. So, “That is true extinction. Those on the path to Buddhahood” are those who “cultivate both blessings and wisdom.” How do we walk the path of Buddhahood? We need to cultivate both blessings and wisdom. Both blessings and wisdom must be cultivated. So, they “put others before themselves.” This means putting others first and thinking of ourselves later. For us to transform sentient beings, we first help others become transformed, then we come later. This is like what Earth Treasury Bodhisattva said, “Until all have been transformed, I will forego enlightenment.” This is putting others before ourselves. The Buddha came to this world for the same reason, to help sentient beings reach attainment. So, He attained Buddhahood. He wanted to transform all, so He was diligent. In this way He attained Buddhahood. So, He “put others before Himself, benefiting Himself as well as others.” Naturally, when we transform others, we also benefit ourselves. We just talked about this. Thus, as we go among people, when sentient beings are transformed, Bodhisattvas are at their happiest. So, “They attain ultimate Nirvana.” Only if we can do this will it truly be “attaining ultimate Nirvana and thus being replete with the Marks and Characteristics.” Naturally, all of us give to others without expectations and from good affinities with people. When people see us, they are naturally very happy. This is being “replete with Marks and Characteristics”, our appearances will be perfect. “This is called true extinction.” This is what can be called true extinction. So, “All Buddhas, as guiding teachers, expound Nirvana for you to rest.”
All Buddhas, as guiding teachers, expound Nirvana for you to rest: In order to let them stop and rest, the [guiding teacher] conjures up a great city. All Buddhas are the guiding teachers of the world. To let people temporarily rest, They teach the two kinds of Nirvana.
The true way to deliver sentient beings is to allow sentient beings to reach the most fundamental destination. However, the road is still very long. On this long road, sentient beings capacities fluctuate. So, they may have setbacks and have to start again from the beginning. This is why the road is so long, so difficult to walk and so treacherous. Thus, in order for sentient beings to be safe, we walk forward step by step in this way. So, They “expound Nirvana for you to rest.” In order for us to rest, “[The guiding teacher ] conjures up a great city.” This is from the sutra, He conjures this great city so sentient beings can walk forward step by step. He gives them a goal, a set destination. This is the Buddha’s wisdom. So, “All Buddhas are the guiding teachers of the would. To let people temporarily rest, They teach the two kinds of Nirvana.” The Buddha is the guiding teacher of our world. He is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms, so He used these methods to allow everyone to have a place to rest and then be able to keep on going forward. This is why He taught the two kinds of Nirvana. Hearers and Solitary Realizers are transformed, but in fact they have not arrived. So, “Since They know you have rested, They guide you to enter the Buddha-wisdom.”
Since They know you have rested, They guide you to enter the Buddha-wisdom: This means that the place of treasures is near. Since They know people had realized the Small and were able to rest peacefully, They then teach the Great Vehicle and guide them to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.
They already knew that everyone should have enough strength. So, it was time to keep walking forward to directly enter the place of treasures. “This means the place of treasures is near.” Everyone had rested enough and could begin to walk forward again. They were getting close to the place of treasures they were almost there. “Since They know people had realized the Small” means everyone had already realized the Small Vehicle Dharma. Realizing it means taking it to heart; they would no longer retreat and turn back. They already understood Hearers and Solitary Realizers would not retreat again, as they had already completely understood. Thus they rested peacefully and the Buddha could teach the Great Vehicle, guiding them to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. So, “The Buddha-wisdom is all-encompassing wisdom,” supreme and perfect enlightenment. The Lotus Sutra chapter on Skillful Means says, “The reason why the Tathagata appears is to teach Buddha-wisdom.” So, the Buddha-wisdom is boundless and infinite. Thus we need to head toward the Buddha-wisdom as it is truly very vast.
Previously ,we discusses how The Buddha-wisdom us boundless “so we enter through the mind’s door of pure Bodhi.” This is our goal. So when “we advance toward the Buddha-wisdom it means that the place of treasures is near.”
The Buddha-wisdom is boundless. When we advance toward the Buddha-wisdom, it means the place of treasures is near. This chapter is precisely stating that the causes and conditions are now complete.
Because the time was ripe, the Buddha expounded the Lotus Sutra. Throughout the Lotus Sutra, in passage after passage, up to the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City the Buddha opened the Three to reveal the One. He wanted us to understand that in the past, what we practiced were skillful means established by the Buddha. Most importantly, these were to guide us so that we could reach the true place of treasures. Since we have realized the fruits of the Small and Middle Vehicles, we will not retreat. We should have enough strength to be able to accept [ the One Vehicle]. So, this chapter, the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, “precisely states that the causes and conditions” are already mature. “Precisely stating the causes and conditions” refers to the causes and conditions from dust-inked kalpas ago, to the causes and conditions for Sakyamuni Buddha’s coming to transform us now. Are we able to understand the Buddha’s original intentions, His original aspirations? He wanted us sentient beings, the Buddha’s disciples, to comprehend His intentions. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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