Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Original Intent Deep in Our Hearts (深心本願 眾德深固 )
Date: June.15.2017
“We must seek to learn the true principles and the right path and, from the depths of our hearts, enter the Buddha’s wisdom. [The Buddha’s] merits and virtues are immeasurable and boundless, unable to be fully described with speech or discussion, nor fully taught over countless kalpas. How could we possibly proclaim them?”
Clearly, the Buddha-Dharma is very profound. How could it be possible for an ordinary person to thoroughly explain the Buddha’s teachings? Just explaining them is already not easy, let alone putting them into practice! To practice them diligently at all times is even more difficult. We mindfully seek to learn the true principles. The true principles cannot simply be explained through speech. In fact, if we only talk or hear about them, we will be unable to genuinely experience them and thoroughly take them to heart, let alone put them into practice. When we seek to learn them, we must be focused from the very beginning. Our minds must be very focused, and we must put our hearts into overcoming numerous difficulties. We must believe; only with faith and understanding in the depths of our hearts can we possibly experience this truth.
So it says, “We must seek to learn the true principles and the right path and, from the depths of our hearts, enter the Buddha’s wisdom.” Just to be able to truly resonate with the wisdom of the Buddha, we must be very focused in seeking it. After seeking, once we attain the true principles, we must mindfully stay on the right path and never deviate in the slightest. This is particularly true for “the depths of our hearts”.
Recently, in this period of time, I have kept telling everyone about “the depths of our hearts”. This requires us to focus and penetrate deeply. When we enter deeply, we are single-mindedly focused on the Buddha’s wisdom. We must seek to experience and comprehend how the Buddha’s wisdom came about. We have spoken of how long this takes; we keep talking about dust-inked kalpas. This time spans many lifetimes; life after life He lived among the people, among sentient beings in the Five Realms and four forms of birth, constantly giving for the sake of sentient beings. This was the aspiration the Buddha formed even before He attained Buddhahood. His aspirations arose from amidst suffering. Where was this place of suffering? Do you remember? It was hell. The Buddha’s initial aspiration [was formed] because of the suffering He experienced in hell. [As explained by] suffering and causation, he created karma and thus hell into hell to experience suffering. He suffered himself, and he suffered worse when seeing others suffer. He felt others’ pain and suffering as his own. This mindset spontaneously arose in him. This is “universal compassion”. He himself suffered, and he suffered worse when he saw the other tortured, his skin flayed and then used to drag a red-hot cart behind him while he was being beaten by yaksas, evil ghosts. Eventually this man could no longer move, and he fainted. He went to the brink of death, then came back and was made to continue dragging the cart. Seeing this sight, the Buddha could not bear it; He was so pained. He was willing to drag the cart in the man’s place. I have shared this story with everyone in the past. This was before the Buddha attained Buddhahood. This was His initial aspiration. In the midst of hardship, He was suffering, and He saw another suffering, so He willingly formed an aspiration to help.
In this way He continued life after life, through dust-inked kalpas. This time is impossible to describe. Whose standard of time should we use? Do we use the standard of time of the human realm, or do we use the standard of time of the animal realm? Or, do we use the standard of time of the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, of the Trayastrimsa Heaven or of the Heaven of Neither Thought nor Absence of Thought? Time in all of these places is different. I often speak of how one day in Trayastrimsa Heaven is the same as 100 years in the human realm. One day in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings is the same as 50 years in the human realm. Right now we think of how in the universe time passes differently on different planets. Time in the universe, in all the Dharma-realms, is impossible to describe. Regardless, [the Buddha] wanted us to know this is a very long period of time. Is it the standard of time from the era of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddhas? Or is it the standard of time of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha?
The time of Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha can be described in terms of the Sun and Moon. In this universe, these have existed since primordial times. We have no way to trace back when exactly the Sun and Moon came into being. The Sun and the Moon in the universe are among countless suns and moons in countless galaxies. There are so many of them. All this is let us know how long it has been, that it has been a very long time. Since He formed His initial aspirations, He has been in the Five Realms and four forms of birth, endlessly accumulating merits and virtues in countless, limitless amounts.
“Unable to be fully described with speech or discussion” means neither with speech nor discussion can we fully describe the Buddha’s merits and virtues. From the time He first formed aspirations, the merits and virtues He has accumulated over the course of many lifetimes is a quantity that cannot be fully described with speech or discussion. No matter how much we say, we cannot fully describe them. Even if we speak for countless kalpas, they can never be fully described. How long do we need in order to describe them? How long is this period of time? Do we use the standard of Sun-Moon-[Lamp Radiant], of the standard of Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha? In any galaxy in the universe, no world of living beings has a standard of time that this could be measured by. [The issue] is the same! How could we modern-day people ever describe exactly how great the Buddha’s merits and virtues are? Truly, we can never finish describing them. We recognize that in this lifetime, we have listened to the Buddha-Dharma. We have been born human and heard the Dharma. We have also experienced how the world is filled with suffering. We understand birth, aging, illness and death and the imbalance of the four elements in the universe. As humans, in our interpersonal interactions, we often cannot help [creating problems]; we cannot reach mutual understanding or connection. This is also very taxing. Humans create conflicts, humans create karma, and these creations result in manmade disasters. Just our interpersonal relationships are already very complicated. There is nothing we can do; this very taxing. This is not to mention what happens when manmade calamities or natural disasters occur. Clearly the human suffering the Buddha spoke of cannot be fully described in words either. Just the conflicts between individuals alone result in so many afflictions, quite a few. This is why we say there is so much suffering! In a world with so much suffering, what can we do?
We have already accumulated many afflictions and ailments. When we have aliments, when we are sick, we need medicine to cure us. What kind of medicine cures us? Dharma-medicine cures us. So, the principles of the Buddha-Dharma are what we must earnestly seek and deeply penetrate. Paving the way with love and guiding other with compassion is the way to deliver sentient begins. This can resolve so many aliments that arise from interpersonal conflicts and lessen the karma we create in the world, our afflictions and our ignorance, lessen disasters that impact much of the world. Only the Buddha-Dharma can do this. Therefore, we must listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma. So, we must form great aspirations and make great vows. The Dharma can certainly be transmitted; we should not say there is no way to transmit it.
We have also spoken of many people now who touch us deeply in the way they listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma. Look at the “Black Pearls” in South Africa; every one of those volunteers is luminous. How do they polish themselves so that each of them shines like a pearl? For the past two or three years, they have gone beyond their own country’s borders, transmitting the Dharma in other places. Teaching and transmitting the Dharma is what they call “spreading love”. Happily riding in a single vehicle, they set out in the morning at 7 am. In Africa, they spread the seeds of love like this. So, a large group of them gathered together at 7 am to drive off. That journey took a total of 11 hours. By the time they arrived at King William’s Town, it was already evening, around 6:30 pm. A volunteer named Gloria let them stay at her home. This volunteer has, for over a year, earnestly gone around. King William’s Town, around that community, continually telling everyone about Tzu Chi, about how good Tzu Chi is. She took the happy stories she heard and the dedication she saw in others and spared them around the village one by one, thus sowing the seeds of goodness. They made many of these trips all last year. As the South African Bodhisattvas took trip after trip there, village after village would join in. Because of this, the number of volunteers continued to grow. It has reached the point where they could begin caring for the orphans there. There is a group of volunteers that takes care of orphans by providing meals for them. This is the result of two or three years of cultivating [these seeds]. After a year in King William’s Town, there was a big enough group of volunteers that these “local resources” began pooling their love together to take care of the orphans and provide meals for them. This is where Gloria, one of our Bodhisattva-volunteers, lives. She is very dedicated; from one, she has given rise to infinity. The South African volunteers gather at her home. After they arrived, they observe propriety. Once they arrive, they settle in. In fact, it is a very simple house, very crude, yet they feel it is wonderful. They would lay their [bedding] on the ground, then stand up and pay respects to one another. “You must be exhausted. After traveling the entire day to reach here, you must be exhausted”. Then they would begin preparing for the next day. They have such a strong spiritual resolve; before turning in for the night, they all pray together. Before bed, they pray one more time by singing the song “Prayer”. They project the lyrics and pray there like this. Having traveled all day, they are very weary, yet still they would follow this etiquette. When I saw this I was moved deep in my heart.
Early next morning, they would get out of bed before 5 am. After getting ready and washing up, they turn on the computer and project the video on the wall. They pay their respects to me, their teacher; they are very disciplined and obedient. They would start listening to “Wisdom at Dawn” and taking notes. I saw a large group of them taking notes. After they finished taking notes, they took pictures of the notes they had written and sent them [to Taiwan]. Because they wrote in English. I could not understand, but their writing was very neat. Clearly, they were making great efforts. Though this was taxing, they still listened to my morning Dharma-talk. In that simple and crude place, despite being exhausted from the day before and having gotten up so early in the morning still they were so disciplined. They still paid their respects and listened to the Dharma. They are very diligent. Truly, we must put our hearts into comprehending how diligent they were. They began by going into the village with [local] volunteers. When they reached the village, first they went to visit those they were helping. There were four families; they were impoverished and ill. The volunteers in this village have cared very well for these impoverished and ill people. The [experienced] volunteers went to see; truly everything was well-managed. Those who were old and alone or poor and ill were cared for so lovingly. They shared the Dharma with them as well. They taught the Dharma, passed on the Dharma-lineage. Where did their teachings of the Jing Si Dharma-lineage come from? They took the Dharma from Wisdom at Dawn and shared it. What did they listen to this past time? The Chapter on Faith and Understanding. They took the parable of the poor son and shared it with everyone there, how the poor son [had wandered] for 50 or 20 years. In the teachings they heard this analogy, and they were able to help others understand that this referred to the concept of transmigration. “50” is an analogy for the Five Realms. I believe they explained in a more exciting way than I did. Because of the poverty and suffering there, they could more deeply penetrate the teachings. So, they taught and passed on the Dharma like this. Truly, we can already see that the spirit and strength of the volunteers has already come to fruition. All of the four families receiving care were visited by them. They also used putting the Dharma into practice a way to teach by example to show the ways of caring for them. This was indeed truly moving. As for new volunteers that have come forth, when they come back they shared with them as well. The seeds of love are continually increasing there. One gives rise to infinity, and infinity arises from one. We could see them listening so attentively as slide by slide went by on the wall. [The program] “Life Wisdom” and the suffering in the world. Were explained to them, slide by slide. “These are the workings of the world”.
[The volunteers] also went to the orphanage. How did they provide meals for the orphans? They wanted to understand how this worked. Everyone came together to provide these meals. You could see how familiar the local volunteers were with the orphans. It was as if they were all one family. They all came together to make the food. We could see how they had plates and pots and everything. Everyone greatly enjoyed this meal. They served it as a buffet; it was all very dignified. This journey of theirs had just begun; it was the first and second days of the process. They did not waste any time. Those Bodhisattvas they worked with before, those newly-inspire Bodhisattvas then invited Bodhisattvas just forming aspirations. [They came in] group by group, those transformed and those still in the process. They helped volunteers at each level succeed. They were just like a family. They are already giving to suffering beings.
Think about it, I am not even able to tell all of their stories. I have only told you, about the first and second days. What happened next was even more amazing! We cannot even finish this, let alone all of the Buddha’s merits and virtues. Even just talking about the dedication of these “Black Pearls” alone, the way they give to others, the results they have achieved, the way suffering people have been helped and saved by them. I already cannot tell you about all they have done. We saw that when they were about to leave, everyone was in a very happy mood. They took group pictures and were very happy. Though they were reluctant to part, they had to keep moving forward. They had to get to Port Elizabeth. This part of the journey was even longer and even more exhausting. Along the way, they encountered heavy rain. It had already rained heavily the night before, and in the morning when they set out, the roads were still extremely muddy. As they drove they sank into the mud, until the care was stuck. The wheels kept spinning but the care would not budge. Everyone got out to push, but they still could not move the car. As the wheels kept spinning, they became increasingly covered in mud all over their blue-and white uniforms. Some wore white pants, others white skirts. All there completely covered in mud. One volunteer, while pushing the car, lost her footing, slipped and rolled through the mud. Her pants were completely covered in mud! They found joy amidst suffering and were finally able to push the care out of the mud. This took a very long time, and once the care was out, they discovered the tire was flat. In that place, there were no houses ahead nor motels behind. What were they to do? They were on a mountain road; what could they do? Luckily, there was a collegiate volunteer among them. They were all women, but there was one among them, a collegiate volunteer. He began to put his abilities to use by changing the tire. As he was changing the tire, they all stood around discussing, “What did we learn from pushing the car out? Come, let us share!” All Six shared their experiences right there. One volunteer said, “Pushing out a car that was stuck in the mud was very difficult. This is like the circumstances we encounter in life. Some circumstances can be very difficult. This is what suffering in life is like. How can we overcome circumstances like this? this is a situation that tests us it is testing us to see whether we can wholeheartedly pool our strength. It was only because we wholeheartedly pooled our strength and gave it all we had that we were able to free the car from the mud.” They were very happy. “It was because we shared the same resolve and exerted our strength on the same thing that we could overcome this crisis together. We must be even more earnest, be even more diligent.” You see, they have reached this kind of state. they can be understanding and teach the Dharma. People like them do not say, “Oh! We are so tired. We are so exhausted! No, their understanding let them teach the Dharma. This also touched me deeply. This is how “from the depths of our hearts, we enter the Buddha’s wisdom. we find a way to experience for ourselves how through living in the world, we can find a way to accept the Buddha-Dharma. Seeking to learn the true principles and the right path. Takes a lot effort! When they encountered difficulties, from the depthe of their hearts they entered the Buddha’s wisdom. stabding there [they said], “Everyone, let us all share what we have learned from this difficulty,” “See, this was a test for us. Life is full of suffering like this. this is a test for us. This kind of situation tests our faith.” See, it was like this!
So, as Buddhist practitioners, we should earnestly adapt to the world. Whatever the circumstances, we must earnestly work earnestly work to overcome them.
The previous sutra passage says, “He accommodates the many kinds of seed-natures in the world and with skillful understanding and views teaches them the Dharma to remove sentient beings greed and attachments in all places.
If we take this passage and apply it to a different state of mind, to take about these “Black Pearls, these African Bodhisattvas, aren’t they just like this? they live in Durban. Why would they drive such a long away to share this Dharma with everyone? “He accommodates the many kinds of seed-natures in the world.” There are so many people who still do not understand the Buddha-Dharma. Those suffering in poverty and hardship need people to guide them, people who have formed aspirations and made vows to give to others. So, these volunteers were determined to work hard and travel such a long way in order to apply and share this Dharma with others. This is “to remove sentient beings greed and attachment in all places before these volunteers accepted the Dharma, how would they have been willing to go and help people they did not even know? How would they been willing to provide for children who were not their own, for a group of orphans totally unrelated to them? Everyone only cares about themselves, but they had a way to remove the greed and attachment that led them to care only for themselves so they could open up their hearts more and give to others. This way they will feel that helping others brings more happiness then being helped. In the mental state found in helping others, after giving of themselves, they were able to experience that kind of joy. So, in that place there are many good-hearted people caring for those who are old and alone, impoverished and in difficulty, and looking after those orphans, providing means for them. You see, this comes from people being willing to form aspirations, to go and accommodate others with skillful means and give of themselves. Skillful means are also the Dharma.
The next passage continues, “As for the Buddha’s merits and virtues, we are unable to proclaim them with words. Only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, can understand the original intent in the depths of our hearts.
We can never finish describing the Buddha’s merits and virtues, for the Buddha has been in this world since beginningless kalpas and has repeatedly returned unceasingly, in the Five Realms and four forms of birth, giving this way for the sake of sentient beings. the merits and virtues He has accumulated are not something we have a way to describe.
As for the Buddha’s merits and virtues, we are unable to proclaim them with words: As for the Buddha, all His merits and virtues are supreme and unsurpassed. So, with our inferior wisdom of comprehension, we are unable to use words to proclaim the Buddha’s merits and virtues.
As Purna Maitrayaniputra came to understand the Buddha’s original intent, these were the things he said to the Buddha. compared to ours, the Buddha’s merits and virtues are far superior. Supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment is a state of such superior virtues. Unenlightened beings like the disciples and the others had “inferior wisdom of comprehension.” Though these disciples had accepted the teachings, their wisdom was still too limited to comprehend the Buddha’s merits and virtues. If sentient beings, with their wisdom, try to fathom the Buddha’s merits and virtues, they are too far off. Thus, “We are unable to use words to proclaim“ the Buddha’s merits and virtues”. So, “The Buddha’s merits and virtues. So, “The Buddha’s merits and virtues are immeasurable and boundless, unable to be fully described with speech or discussion. The Buddha’s merits and virtues are truly immeasurable and boundless.
As stated previously, “They cannot be fully taught over countless kalpas, so how could we possibly proclaim or teach them? Earlier we spoke of how even after a long time, we could never finishing speaking of the Buddha’s merits and virtues, let alone describe them all in this lifetime! We could not finish even after countless kalpas; we definitely cannot finish them in a long time. “How could we possibly proclaim or teach them? How can we ever do this?
So, “Only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, can understand the original intent in the depths of our hearts. It is impossible for us to describe the Buddha’s merits and virtues, but the Buddha should be able to understand the original intent in the depths of our hearts.
Only the Buddha, the World-Honored One, can understand the original intent in the depths of our hearts: Only the Buddha, the Great Enlightened World-Honored One, can skillfully understand that I and the others seek the Buddha in the depths of our hearts and originally made great vows.
Only the Buddha, “the Great Enlightened World-Honored One, can skillfully understand that I and the others seek the Buddha in the depths of our hearts.” The Buddha knows what is in our hearts. We cannot describe all of His merits and virtues, but He knows what is in the depth of our hearts. Our original vows, our great vows, should be known to the Buddha. This is what Purna, which is short for Purna Maitrayaniputra, thought in his heart. “Venerable Buddha! You must understand my heart. I understand the Buddha’s intent. Though I understand I cannot fully describe the merits and virtues You have, but Venerable Buddha, you must be able to understand my intent!” So, he had “truly reached the depths of the Buddha-wisdom.”
All the thoughts Purna had in his heart had truly reached the depths of the Buddha-wisdom, so the prediction that he received was the prediction of a Buddha’s reward-body. It is different from the predictions that others received.
Purna Maitrayaniputra thought, “Venerable Buddha! You should understand me. I understand the wisdom in the Buddha’s heart. I completely understand the Buddha’s wisdom.” So, “The prediction that he received was the prediction of a Buddha’s reward-body.” Sariputra and the four great disciples had all already received predictions of Buddhahood. This will be his reward-body in the future as a result of the merits and virtues cultivated through spiritual practice. His circumstantial and direct retributions will lead him to the place he will attain Buddhahood. This was a prediction of Buddhahood in the future. It was a promise for the future. “It is different from the predictions that others received.” Now at this assembly, the Buddha was beginning to bestow predictions on everyone, predictions for far into the future. So, we should understand what “depths of our hearts” means Purna Maitrayaniputra understood the Buddha. He believed the Buddha understood him as well. This is in “the depths of his heart. Over the course of my learning, the Buddha must have understood my heart. My heart is filled with deep faith. I deeply believe, wholeheartedly.”
This is the depths of our hearts. We had the resolve to seek the deep and distant fruit of Buddhahood.” This is in the depths of our hearts. “Also, the deep causes and planted virtues are hard to uproot.” They are in the depths of our hearts.
These seeds have been planted very deep. The Buddha must understand that the seed within us are planted very deep and have been for many lifetimes. Yesterday we mentioned that Purna Maitrayaniputra was already a Bodhisattva, but he came down from that state as someone of limited capabilities in order to engage in spiritual practice with everyone else. So, he was one who listened to the Dharma, taught the Dharma and transmitted the Dharma. He went everywhere transmitting the Dharma. Therefore, this was in the depths of his heart. The seed of this cause was already planted deep, and the merits and virtues planted were numerous. He had deeply cultivated them in this way, so if one were to try and pull them out, they would be so deeply rooted that it would not be possible. So, his spiritual aspirations were very firm.
“Our resolve to seek the Dharma is sincere and earnest.” Whatever the circumstances, our resolve will never waver, as it is in the “depths of our hearts”. So, “As for depths, the Buddha-Dharma is deep and far-reaching.” The Buddha-Dharma is very deep. No matter how we seek it, the Dharma is so deep that it is bottomless. So, we should always “seek it with our true mind”. This also happens in “the depths of our hearts”. Though life after life he had formed Bodhisattva-aspirations and always walked the Bodhisattva-path, he still continued to seek the Buddha-Dharma.
He established all virtues deeply and firmly, thus they are difficult to uproot. The depths of our hearts is our spiritual training ground, because it enables merits and virtues to grow.
Just like a tree, “He established all virtues deeply and firmly”. As a tree’s roots extend, they grow deeper and longer. So, these roots grow so deep that no amount of strength will be able to pull them out. This shows the depth of his heart. He believed the Buddha had many merits and virtues. In the depths of his heart, his faith and understanding of the Dharma were very deep. Thus, “The depths of our hearts is our spiritual training ground, because it enables merits and virtues to grow.” Dear Bodhisattvas, we should all be mindful. What we seek to learn are the true principles; we seek to be on the right path. From the depth of our hearts, we enter the Buddha’s wisdom. These are our goals. We must not let the slightest afflictions cause our minds to waver, cause our minds to sink into ignorance, just like the car that got stuck in that place and needed many people pushing it together single-mindedly [to get it out]. So, in our daily living, let us always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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