Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Showing Reverence and Respect Through Our Conduct (讚佛稀有 身行敬禮 )
Date: June.13.2017
“With utmost sincere intentions, we reverently pay respect with physical conduct. Our minds give rise to respect and admiration as we focus on His kind countenance. The Buddha, replete with all virtues, is respected by all beings in the world. He is singularly honored in the world, and His virtues are peerless and unmatched.”
Let us try to mindfully experience [the meaning of] this passage. The Buddha is magnificent with all virtues; these were cultivated over many lifetimes. For dust-inked kalpas, for lifetimes, the Buddha followed sentient beings as they wandered throughout the Five Realms. While exercising both compassion and wisdom, He always followed sentient beings in the same way. In order to save and deliver them, He continually engaged in spiritual practice and continually manifested in the world, continually exercising both compassion and wisdom. So, [these virtues] are accumulated in this way over a long period of time. Thus the Buddha was replete in all virtues. Since He gave of Himself in this way, shouldn’t we, “with utmost sincere intentions, reverently pay respect with physical conduct”? He is worthy of respect, and He had accumulated long periods of giving for our sakes. So, we must always, with utmost sincere intentions, put the teachings into practice with respect and reverence. So, we must reverently pay respect through our physical conduct. This respect and reverence means using our physical conduct to pay our respects. Every single day we attend morning recitation. Morning recitation is to help us remember, to remind us of our respect for the Buddha. Only if we have respect for the Buddha can we reverently accept the Dharma. So, our morning recitation, although it is a ceremony, is a kind of a purification for our minds. Don’t we straighten our homes every day? If we want to live with good quality of life, then the places where we live, both inside and outside our rooms, should always be kept clean. This is how we maintain a good living environment. This principle is the same. When it comes to our minds, every morning we always enter the Great Hall to express our sincerity to the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas and pay our utmost respect. This is something we must build within our own minds as we clean out our minds and get rid of the ignorance inside of us. The first thing we do early in the morning, in the first moment of our daily living, is to come to the Great Hall for morning recitation. With utmost sincere intentions, we reverently pay respect with our physical conduct. “Our minds give rise to respect and admiration.” As we pay our respects, the sutras are like a path, and as we walk this path, through the surrounding environment, we are better able to comprehend our state of mind. So, “Our minds give rise to respect and admiration.” These are what must enter our minds. In our hearts, when we feel someone has reached a level above us, we raise our heads in respect and admiration and “focus on His kind countenance.” Though the Buddha is not in the world and the statues of Him are created by unenlightened beings, we still call them Buddhas. So, to these statues, to these images, we should show our respect and see them as if the Buddha were really there. This means we must focus; this demonstrates our concentration of mind. When our mind is without discursive thoughts, our thoughts will be very focused. This is all because the Buddha is replete with all virtues.
We sincerely and reverently respect the Buddha because we want to learn from the Buddha, because the Buddha is replete with all virtues. These virtues were accumulated over a long period of time. I keep speaking to you of dust-inked kalpas, of endless kalpas, of lifetime after lifetime. It was in the era of the 16 princes that we formed these Dharma-affinities. Over a period of dust-inked kalpas, after having heard the Dharma, we may have practiced it accordingly or not. Or our thoughts may have gone astray so we have been wandering throughout the Five Realms and four forms of birth. But because the 16 princes had formed affinities, no [prince] would ever abandon any of the associators in their assemblies. So, wherever they were in the Five Realms or the four forms of birth, they always followed sentient beings like this. They are always seeking out those who had once received the teachings in the past. They hoped to be able to bring them back to again listen to and then transmit the Dharma. Sentient beings need many people to bring them in and transform them. So, the Buddha’s past lives were like this. Over the course of many lifetimes, He kept seeking out sentient beings like this, seeking out those He had affinities with. Thus, He had to continually devote Himself among the people, constantly forming affinities with sentient beings. The virtues He became replete with over lifetimes were incalculable.
So, “The Buddha, replete with all virtues, is respected by all beings in the world.” In each of the many lifetimes in which. He came to the world, He was respected. In walking the Bodhisattva-path, it was the same; in every lifetime He continually help countless sentient beings succeed, so He “is respected by the world. He is singularly honored in the world.” In every lifetime it is the same; He is praised by the people of the world, for no one is higher in virtue than Him. Therefore, “He is singularly honored in the world.” This is because He has understood the Dharma. He understood all the Dharma of the universe. Even before attaining Buddhahood, before His causes and conditions were sufficient, even before He attained Buddhahood, for dust-inked kalpas and over many lifetimes, He always applied an abundance of the Dharma to deliver sentient beings in the world. The Dharma brought Him honor, so “He is singularly honored in the world.” He understood all the workings of the world and was honored for the Dharma, so “His virtues are peerless and unmatched.” This is the Buddha. When any Buddha comes to the world, He does not become replete with [virtues] only after attaining Buddhahood. Attaining Buddhahood depends on the causes and conditions being mature; only then will He manifest the appearance of attaining Buddhahood. Actually, dust-inked kalpas prior to that, since Beginningless Time, He already intrinsically possessed Buddha-nature. In terms of causes and conditions, we can say that this is the beginning; He was replete with it from the beginning. The name Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha means He was unhindered in His understanding of all things and all principles. This is the wisdom of the Great Vehicle. In fact, it is intrinsic to everyone. Speaking of causes and conditions, it was during the era of the 16 princes that the 16 princes formed affinities with us. All of us were people who, dust-inked kalpas ago, formed affinities with the 16 princes. Now, the 16 princes have attained Buddhahood, while we still remain as unenlightened beings. Nonetheless, we continue listening to the Dharma and continue to learn from Their teachings. If we try a little harder, we can accept even more of Their teachings and can form even more affinities with others. The more we take the Dharma to heart, in this world, the more the Dharma will succeed and be respected. As we succeed and take in more Dharma, we are able to exercise it among people. I often tell everyone, “Without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom.”
This is like this recent incident that occurred just before the Lunar New Year (2016). This earthquake that occurred in Tainan was a great disaster. Tzu Chi volunteers in Tainan were just like Bodhisattvas. They had no regard for their own safety. They threw themselves into disaster relief efforts. There was no New Year’s Eve celebration for them. They did not care that it was New Year’s. We all talk about how we prepare for New Year’s, first two days before, then on New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately this disaster occurred two nights before New Year’s. While it was still dark, before 4 am in the early morning, at 3:57 am, the earth suddenly rocked. Many awoke in panic and fear! When they looked around at their houses, the houses of many were cracked. Some cracks were less severe, while others had walls collapse. Those even more severely affected sustained structural damage. Many woke up in a panic from their dreams. Tzu Chi volunteers, those Living Bodhisattvas, woke up and their first thought was, “We are safe; let us quickly go to check on our neighbors!” They quickly contacted and asked after everyone. “Are you safe?” “We are safe.” They quickly asked about each other. “What are the conditions like around you?” “Pretty much the same.” “What about the conditions around you?” “The neighboring building collapsed.” “How widespread it; how many were affected?” Tzu Chi volunteers quickly arranged a time for them to gather at the [Tainan] Jing Si Hall. They set up a disaster care center and then went into action. A little after 4 am, at the Jing Si Hall, they all gathered. They wanted to first understand where that big building had collapsed and what places were affected by the disaster. They quickly split into several routes to go look. On the 28th day of 12th lunar month, at 3:57 early in the morning, right after that quake happened, Tzu Chi volunteers began dividing up the work, dividing into routes and into teams. When day broke, what they saw was an appalling scene of devastation! There were many rescue workers, pulling people from the rubble. They were rescuing people even before it was light. People were rescued in the beginning, but as time went on they became more difficult to save. The Tzu Chi volunteers at eh disaster site began thinking of how they could provide comfort. Survivors worried for their families. Had some not made it out of the building? They quickly began preparing food there, so that as day broke, they could provide hot meals to the rescue workers and to the frightened disaster survivors. This was at the start of the first day. They continued like this every day for the next seven or eight days there. Though everyone spoke of it being New Year’s, how could anyone celebrate the New Year? The evening of the 28th day of the 12th month is called Little New Year’s Eve. Though Little New Year’s Eve had already arrived, there would be no New Year’s celebration. Saving people was urgent; helping others was what was important.
The next day was the 29th day of the 12th month. On that day, families gather to celebrate the Lunar New Year’s Eve. How could they be in the mood for this? They still spent the night at the disaster site. Some bodies had already been pulled out. The family members felt very lonely. Tzu Chi volunteers went to the scene to accompany those relatives. Two Tzu Chi volunteers were assigned to accompany each family member. What was New Year’s Eve to them then? It meant nothing. Everyone shared in the suffering of those people, shared in their pain. They did not care about any taboos. When people ordinarily celebrate the New Year, they are very careful to say only nice things, to not say anything bad, to not say anything inauspicious. We want everything we do to be auspicious. If fact, was there anything auspicious about that time then? What did taboos mean to them then? They meant nothing. This is was just another day for them. Their minds were as they always were, Bodhisattva-minds, Buddha-minds. This how they served others. Why didn’t they care about taboos? Why didn’t they make any distinctions between auspicious and inauspicious things? Saving people’s lives was most important. This is because they had right understanding, right views, right thinking, right action and right conduct. These are all very normal for them. These are all very normal for them. Bodhisattvas in the world give for the sake of suffering sentient beings. They share in sentient beings’ suffering, share in their pain. This is “virtue”. When we give of ourselves, what we harvest in return is virtue. When we give with our love, it increases our wisdom and increases our virtue. With virtuous conduct, we increase our wisdom-life. Throughout this process, when people were really needed later, more hands came out to help. They came from Taipei and Taichung, from north, central and south, from Pingtung and Kaohsiung. All of these with experience, whether from international relief or from being involved for decades, those with the most experience, hurried there to help. People said that the Tzu Chi volunteers in Kaohsiung had a lot of experience. They knew how to deploy in disaster areas, how to go and comfort the survivors, how to set up a base and, in the midst of chaos, how to bring some order. This was because the year before (2014) before the gas explosion, there was an aviation accident in Penghu. Tzu Chi volunteers from Kaohsiung and Penghu dedicated themselves during those times of chaos, so they had gained much experience. After seven or eight days, when Kaohsiung Tzu Chi volunteers returned to Kaohsiung, on the very evening they returned home, on the 31st of July, just before dawn on the evening of August 1st, that gas incident took place. Those explosions were so large that they affected dozens of [urban] villages. So many people were terrified! There were also those killed and injured. It took Tzu Chi volunteers a whole month, more than a month, to go into all of these neighborhoods. There were families who were injured, people who were injured, some who suffered emotional trauma and some who were severely wounded. How would they be able to help to enable all of society, entire communities, to recover some normalcy? They gained experience from this. So, during this disaster in Tainan, they demonstrated this experience. Whether they were volunteers from Taipei, or form north or central Taiwan, or whether they were locals from Tainan all spoke in unison saying, “Kaohsiung volunteers are rich in experience!” Think about it, doesn’t this prove the saying, “Without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom”? there is much suffering in the Saha World. How can we save people? How can we save people? We need to listen. We must first get rid of the ignorance from our own minds, get rid of superstitions and afflictions. Our minds must be dedicated to sentient beings; we share in their pain, share in their suffering. These thoughts arise and continually accumulate, so these are newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. Or they may be those who, over a long time, over many lifetimes, formed aspirations and made vows to walk the Bodhisattva-path. In going among the people, we form affinities with suffering sentient beings. While living among sentient beings, we set an example for them in our own living. This is the goal of Bodhisattvas in coming to the world. They accumulated this virtuous conduct over many lifetimes, so they were respected. We must all be mindful! This is how we understand the Buddha-Dharma; it is accumulated by going among the people. So, “He is singularly honored in the world and His virtues are peerless and unmatched”. For our wisdom-life to continuously develop we must continually accumulate karmic conditions and experience from saving sentient beings. This is what we should make efforts toward.
So, the previous passage says, “He further heard of the causes and conditions of previous lifetimes and also heard that all Buddhas have spiritual powers of great freedom. Thus, he attained what he never had before. His mind was purified and leapt with joy. Thus he arose from his seat and came before the Buddha.”
This is speaking of Purna Maitrayaniputra He had already heard of all these things, had “heard of the causes and conditions of previous lifetimes.” These include those in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City and the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas from the introductory Chapter in the era of the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas and in Great Unhindered Buddha’s era these were the causes and conditions of past lives. Listening further, he “also heard that all Buddha have spiritual powers of great freedom.” All Buddhas share the same path. Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha and the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas were all like this. All Buddhas share the same path. The Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas were 20,000 Buddhas who all shared the same name. They were called Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha. Those Buddhas likewise shared the same path. He also heard how they have true spiritual powers. All Buddhas have spiritual powers of great freedom. Having heard all this, joy arose within him. Purna Maitrayaniputra, in his wisdom, comprehended the Buddha’s intent. He rejoiced so much that he felt a leap of joy. That was when he arose from his seat and went before the Buddha. “He prostrated with his head at the Buddha’s feet.” This demonstrates extreme reverence.
He “then sat down to one side. He gazed reverently on the Buddha’s countenance, never lowering his gaze for an instant. He then gave rise to this thought, ‘The World-Honored One is truly unique. His actions are rare.’”
Purna Maitrayaniputra expressed this reverence. He rose from his seat and came before the Buddha. He prostrated himself at the Buddha’s feet. Prostrating oneself at another’s feet is an expressionof utmost reverence. After paying respect like this, he again returned to his place and gazed reverently at the Buddha’s countenance, never lowering his gaze for an instant. He attentively watched the Buddha’s expression, the Buddha’s magnificence. So, he gazed upon the Buddha, but inside he was thinking, “How is it that the Buddha so unique?” “He is so extraordinary and so special. His actions are rare. Absolutely everything that He does is beyond what ordinary people can do. He prostrated with his head at the Buddha’s feet and then sat down to one side.” Paying respect like this demonstrates utmost reverence. This is the method. “After paying respect,” he then “went back and sat to one side.” When he returned to his seat, he still “gazed reverently at His countenance, never lowering his gaze for an instant.” He continued to gaze attentively at the Buddha. This is respect He gazed up at the Buddha with respect.
He gazed reverently at the Buddha’s countenance, never lowering his gaze for an instant: He looked up at Him with reverence He gazed upward at the Buddha’s countenance with reverence and admiration, never lowing his gaze for a moment.
The Buddha sat in a higher place than His disciples did, so they gazed up at Him. “He gazed upward at the Buddha’s countenance.” This shows Purna Maltrayaniputra’s respect and admiration for the Buddha. He never lowered his gaze even for a moment. While listening, he never shut his eyes, or nodded off to sleep. He always paid attention. He was always respectful and focused. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, he was always thinking of the greatness of the Buddha’s virtues.
So, “He then gave rise to this thought, ‘The World-Honored One is truly unique. His actions are rare.’ He then gave rise to this thought refers to the thoughts that arise in our minds. The World-Honored One is extremely rare. His reward-body is superior, greatly respected and uniquely special. Everything the Buddha does is extremely rare.”
In the world, it is indeed rare to find a World-Honored One like Him. There are so few, They almost do not exist. So, “His reward-body is superior.” To suit the needs of the world, He manifested in the human realm. His reward-body had the 32 Marks of a Buddha, making it superior. So, [His reward-body] was “greatly respected and uniquely special.” He inspired respect in any who saw Him. He was greatly respected and uniquely special. “Everything the Buddha does is extremely rare.” Not only was the Buddha’s body magnificent, all that the Buddha did, all of His actions, all His teachings and transformations, were indeed rare for people to see. Purna received his prediction relatively later. As we know, Sariputra had received predictions first, then after that came Venerable Kasyapa, one of the four who later received them. However, it was only after those five disciples had received them that Purna received his prediction of Buddhahood.
Although Purna received predictions later, in fact during each of the three cycles, as the Buddha taught with all kinds of methods, he had personally heard, understood and penetrated the teachings from beginning to end. Thus, he alone had deep thoughts of praise [for the Buddha] as unique and rare. This was not something that the noble beings of the Three Vehicles were all able to understand.
As I have previously mentioned, the Lotus Sutra was taught over seven years, which was a very long time. “In fact during each of the three cycles, as the Buddha taught with all kinds of methods, he had personally heard, understood and penetrated the teachings form beginning to end.”
The three cycles of teachings: The cycle of teaching the Dharma. The cycle of analogies. The cycle of cause and conditions from past lives.
These periods of time start with the initial Cycle. That was when Sariputra, by hearing the Buddha, heard Him speak of the wisdom that all Buddhas possessed after attaining Buddhahood. Sariputra understood these teachings one by one, and in the Chapter on Skillful Means he began to accept them. This was the period of “the cycle of teaching the Dharma.” The first cycle went from Sariputra receiving predictions of Buddhahood up to the Chapter on Parables, with its burning house and three carts. Then the second cycle began after the Chapter on Parables, with the analogy of the poor son in the Chapter on Faith and Understanding. In the third cycle, He began speaking again of the causes and conditions of previous lifetimes. So, these three cycles of teachings had all been experienced personally by Purna. After receiving them, he came to thoroughly penetrate them. He came to know them inside and out. Therefore, he alone had these deep thoughts. After he attained a thorough understanding of all the teachings, he had deep thoughts of praise in his mind. “The Buddha is after all so unique and rare. He is rare in the world. The Buddha-Dharma is wondrously profound. This was not something that the noble beings of the Three Vehicles were all able to understand.” Now, he could comprehend this. Through his wisdom, he had tied everything together. His respect and admiration for the Buddha were so great. He was very mindful. “This Purna was in fact a Bodhisattva manifesting as a Hearer.”
This Purna was in fact a Bodhisattva manifesting as a Hearer. His merits and virtues were in no way inferior to those of Sariputra.
We know that Purna, Purna Maitrayaniputra, was really a Bodhisattva who was manifesting as a Hearer. So, as we just mentioned, for dust-inked kalpas, Sakyamuni Buddha had been transforming and delivering beings everywhere. Some had matured, while others had not yet matured. So, some were like Purna; they practiced the Bodhisattva-path among others, while living lives just like others. They suffered like others and shared others’ pain. So, they could give for the sake of others. They were in reality Bodhisattvas manifesting. Now that he was a part of the Buddha’s Sangha, [Purna] appeared like all the others in the Sangha. He too had left the lay life. He too had listened to the Dharma [with them]. Yet, he was rather special, since he was willing to listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma. This is what was unique about him. So, in terms of the merits, the virtues and the wisdom that he cultivated, he was in no way inferior to Sariputra. His wisdom was even with Sariputra’s, but what made him more special than Sariputra was that he rejoiced in going among others. He put in so much effort and was never concerned for himself. You can see how he went to the vilest of places in order to deliver others. The Buddha said, “That place is so evil” and so vicious! You will be injured if you go there.” He said, “It doesn’t matter. They won’t physically injure me, they will just curse at me.” The Buddha then asked, “And if they hit you?” “It won’t matter, I will still be grateful that they do not beat me with a stick.” “If they beat you with a stick and injure you?” “It’s alright, they won’t stab me with a knife.” “And if they stab you with a knife?” “It won’t matter because they will not kill me.” “And if they kill you? What happens if they beat or stab you to death?” “I will be grateful for I will have done my best for the Buddha, taking the Dharma to heart and putting it into practice. I can let go of my body for the Dharma, thereby ending the causes and conditions of this present lifetime so that I may come to world to start anew.” See; among all the disciples of the Buddha, Purna Maitrayaniputra would willingly let go of his body for the Dharma. This is really not a simple matter. There were people who came from other realms to spread the Buddha-Dharma, but the Buddha hoped those disciples present would form the aspirations to transmit it. Everybody said, “We formed aspirations to go to other realms. We do not want to stay in the Saha World, because sentient beings in the Saha World are stubborn.” Think about it, though many disciples formed aspirations, they were unwilling to remain in the Saha World. Purna was willing to do so, and furthermore he put it into practice. So, he went among people very mindfully. He was not any ordinary Hearer.
“Since sentient beings of limited capabilities do not easily turn from the Small to the Great, there must be Bodhisattvas manifesting as beings of limited capabilities appearing among them” “to serve as their leaders and further receive predictions of Buddhahood.”
This is how it is. Since sentient beings of limited capabilities do not easily turn from the Small to the Great, these [Bodhisattvas] have to conceal themselves, must hide themselves toward the back. So, they therefore must appear as if they have limited capabilities. They dare not go out in front of others, but remain toward the rear. These Bodhisattvas manifest limited capabilities in order to go among the people. The Chapter on 500 Disciples Receiving Predictions now begins with Purna Maitrayaniputra. So, they would “serve as their leaders and further receive predictions of Buddhahood.”
Dear Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners we are like this. Purna Maitrayaniputra is a role model for us. In his spiritual practice, he was willing to give. Therefore dear Bodhisattvas, we should give of ourselves; only those who give of themselves are Bodhisattvas. Since we are already here in the world, we should try to deliver others in the world. Sentient beings suffer, and Bodhisattvas arise in response to their suffering, sharing sentient beings’ suffering, sharing sentient beings’ pain. We nourish our wisdom by going among others so our wisdom-life becomes sound. This is our spiritual training ground. So, let all of us always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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