Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Concealing the True, Manifesting the Provisional (內證深因 得四無礙)
Date: June.22.2017
“Those cultivating the Bodhisattva-practice [embrace] all sentient beings either through charitable giving, or loving speech, or the practice of benefiting others in all their actions or working together with different kinds in peace and joy. These are practices that benefit all sentient beings.”
We understand that as Bodhisattva-practitioners, everything we do is for sentient beings’ sake. This is what it means to be Bodhisattva-practitioners. Bodhisattvas are “enlightened sentient beings”. They themselves are awakened, and they want everyone else to awaken as well. They get rid of their own ignorance and hope that everyone else can break through ignorance too. This is the Buddha’s one great cause in coming to the world. He hopes that everyone will become enlightened sentient beings.
This was the Buddha’s goal. He hoped everyone would understand that all can attain Buddhahood. Nevertheless, if we do not awaken and do not overcome our ignorance, how could we possibly attain Buddhahood? He had to use many different methods, all to help sentient beings awaken. So, He gives to sentient beings. Not only did He awakened Himself, He also gives charitably to all sentient beings. This was the Buddha’s goal in teaching people in the world. How could He do this? “Either through charitable giving, or living speech.” There is no great difficulty in being a Bodhisattva; we just need to ordinarily be very willing to help others. Giving charitably means giving without afflictions, so that we are always willing to give. Giving does not mean we need to have a lot of money. Just giving money or material goods to others is not the only way to practice charitable giving. We must see what it is that sentient beings need. Some sentient beings do not need money. Some need us to reach out our arms to them, to support them a little bit. This is also charitable giving. Some people have afflictions and ignorance; they cannot get past their thoughts. They need us to accompany them, to talk with them, to help with this thing they cannot get past, help them think it through, counsel them. “Although that road is closed, there is another that we can take. If that way is not working, we can get it done another way.” Giving like this helps them to do something.
So, whether with physical strength or with material goods, whatever it is that someone needs, if we can accomplish it we will give to help them. This is charitable giving. Counseling others, giving them direction, comforting their hearts, all these things are charitable giving. Does this kind of charitable giving truly pose any kind of difficulty for us? There is so “the practice of benefiting others in all [our] actions.” As we interact with each other in relationships, we are able to help others, able to benefit others. Is this really so difficult? Children should, in their homes, be filial and respectful to their parents and loving to their siblings. This is how things should be. This is a harmonious family; this kind of behavior makes parents happy. Having harmony among siblings and mutual respect, the principles for being a good person are really this simple. What is difficult about it? If we are able to treat not just our family members, but all our good friends with the same equality, if we can respect the elderly as if they were own parents and treat those of a similar age to us as if they were our own brothers and sisters, we are able to take our familial love and extend it throughout society. What is so difficult about this? It is not difficult. Everyone in the world is one family. If we can help others, if we can benefit others in all we do, others will have no need to worry and society can be peaceful, harmonious and joyful. This also comes from people’s minds. When people benefit one another in their conduct, they are Bodhisattvas.
“Or working together with different kinds in peace and joy” means we work together with others. It is because we have affinities with them that we can work together with them in the same place. “With different kinds” means Bodhisattva-practice extends not just to family, or even just to mankind. There are all different kinds of sentient beings for whom we can exercise our love in order to protect and support them. This is love for all different kinds. Since we love and cherish all kinds of sentient beings, how can we ever bear to harm them?
Several days ago I saw a story in the news. Some people like eating things while still alive. They do things like break open shrimp shells while the shrimp are still alive, stuff them into their mouths, then slowly chew them like that. They chew them piece by piece. It makes them very happy to feel the animals moving in their mouths, as they chew them piece by piece. One person’s friend said, “Let’s try it and see. Let’s see what eating things alive what chewing them alive, really feels like for them.” Using his [friend’s] body he takes small picks and jabs several places on his body. He jabs him like this, jabs him with several of them at the same time, all over his body. “Here, try it and see.” ”Stop! It’s painful!” “Painful? Here, let’s try it a little harder!” “It’s painful!” “It’s painful? Here, let me do it even harder!” “No! Stop! I can’t stand it!” The friend, having wisdom, tells him, “Yes, it hurts. Imagine that you were the shrimp and I put you into my mouth while you were still alive. I’ve peeled your shell and put you into my mouth alive. When you chew the shrimp like this, it hurts hem just like that. It hurts them even more than you were hurting.” Thus he understood.
Truly, when we devour living beings, we never know the abuse, injury and death we inflict upon them. What kind of state of mind are they in then? What are they feeling at that time? With this method of experiencing it, we will know we must be more empathetic. In our relationships and with different kinds [of sentient beings], we should be empathetic. “Actions like these do not feel good. Action like these cause me pain and suffering. This is what it is like when it is done to me, when I do these things to others they also feel the same!” If we truly wish to understand others, we must understand how our actions affect them. Do we take actions that benefit us while harming others? Or do we benefit ourselves while also benefiting others? This is what we must learn.
When we talk about “the practice of benefiting others in all of our actions,” It sounds quite simple. In fact, when it comes to our habitual tendencies, how do we normally act? What are our habits in our daily living? What are our habits around food; what are our habits in eating? We can experience and understand these layer by layer. “Working together with different kinds in peace and joy.” We should try to accommodate all different kinds of living beings, as well as our fellow humans. Whether with those in our families, those in our societies, or those in our society who work together with us, in any case, when dealing with others, we should have consideration for them so that everyone will feel at peace and everyone will be happy. To now bring peace to everyone, we must be reverent in our attitude. With reverence, the world’s four elements can become balanced, and then everyone can live upon the earth in peace.
For the four elements to be in harmony and all living begins to live in peace, of course, everyone now knows that we need to reduce the earth’s temperature. To lower the earth’s temperature, there are three methods. One is to reduce industrial emissions. For this to happen now, it may entail serious difficulties. Another option is recycling; everyone can do recycling. If people only pursue profits, it is impossible to reduce industrial production. They only way is for everyone to share a common vision. We cannot only have a common understanding; we also need a common vision. With a common vision, we also need common action. We all already know what we must do for the world to be at peace and the four elements to be balanced so that everyone can be at peace and happy. The only way is for everyone to have common understanding, a common vision and common action, working together by recycling together. We all must have an environmental consciousness and protect the environment through our actions. With an environmental consciousness and actions to protect the environment, next, to really make our actions thorough, we need to also adopt vegetarianism. By eating a vegetarian diet, we can reduce a lot of pollution and emissions. Then even if the population increases, we do not need to worry about our food supply. If everyone were vegetarian, all the living things in nature, all these plants, these crops and grains which sustain humans, would undoubtedly be abundantly sufficient. As long as the four elements are in balance and the amount of livestock raised is reduced, the things mankind needs to eat will naturally never be lacking. So, for the world to be in balance and for all people to find peace and happiness, the only way is to educate everyone on how to have an environmental consciousness, to have common understanding, a common vision and common action. Environmental protection includes vegetarianism as well. Then naturally, the weather will be favorable, people will be safe and harvests will be abundant. Our lives will be peaceful, happy and safe.
So, “Working together with different kinds in peace and joy” is the Bodhisattva-practice. “These are practices that benefit all sentient beings.” If we can do this, we follow “precepts that benefit sentient beings”. Everything under the scope of sentient beings, all in the realm of sentient beings, will be able to benefit from what we do. If everyone became a vegetarian, sentient beings would be safe and stable. They could live and die naturally. People would not breed them specifically to kill them in large quantities. They would be just like us humans, following their own karma. In the animal realm, they would. Live and die according to their own karma instead of being deliberately bred in vast numbers. It would not be like that. Their cycle [of life] would naturally be smooth. This is practice that would benefit all sentient beings. This our practice; it can also be called “precepts that benefit sentient beings”. These are the Four All-Embracing Virtues. Cultivating the Bodhisattva-practice is really not that difficult. It is actually quite simple. The Bodhisattva-practice is charitable giving, loving speech, beneficial conduct and working together. These are things that, in our daily living, we are all quite capable of doing. In our relationships with others, there are so many things that we can do to help one another. If we can put effort into being mindful, then there is nothing difficult about it. This is like our organization. Every day, both at home and abroad, everyone is always like this.
Even very close by, in northern Taiwan, there is a Mr. Chen. His family was originally very peaceful and happy, but met with impermanence in a car crash. The car crash was severe and although he recovered, he nevertheless suffered brain damage. The optic nerve in his brain had become damaged, and his vision became seriously impaired. Very gradually, he began losing his sight. So, in 2008, several years ago, he became someone who could not see at all. When this incident happened, he was in his 50s. His wife then divorced him. Because he could no longer see, there was not really any work he was capable of. He had no way to provide for his family. So, his wife divorced him and took their children with her, leaving him to face life alone. Faced with this situation, he always felt like giving up on himself, so he shut himself up inside his home. His friends later discovered how bad his situation had become. He had been a lively and accomplished person, but meeting with impermanence in that car crash, he had become very dejected, dismayed and very negative and would stay at home all day long. This would not do, so they reported his case to Tzu Chi. Tzu Chi took on this case in 2011. Two or three years had already gone by before we received this case, so we quickly went and cared for him. When we began caring for him, the door to his heart was indeed difficult to open. Two or three years had passed since he had lost the function [of his eyes]. During the two or three years since his wife and children left him, you can imagine what his emotional state was, so approaching and counseling him at the start was not so easy. We would often send him things, constantly draw near to him until he got to know this group [of volunteers]. Everything he heard from them was loving speech; everything was words of encouragement, so he could joyfully accept it. This is how he became one of our long-term care recipients. Our Faith Corps Bodhisattvas started carefully approaching him. A specific person would come to accompany him; before and after work they would take turns to go there to spend time with him. Our Mr. Lu is truly a Bodhisattva He constantly went to keep him company. He later encouraged him to learn some kind of specialized skill. They invited someone who also had lost his sight, who was visually impaired [to visit]. He also had already completed introductory volunteer training and was already in advanced training. He worked alongside our Faith Corp brothers. So, they asked this person, our visually impaired Bodhisattva, to go and talk with him, to go and encourage him, to tell him of how he in the past once too had a similar experience and what he had gone through since then, how after joining Tzu Chi, he now did things just like everyone else, took shifts just like other Faith Corp members was active just like they were, dedicated himself just like them and helped others just like them. He kept telling him [these stories]. Later, after he had confidence, after some confidence was established in him, he was then introduced to a comprehensive training center in Yilan called the Mu-Kuang Rehabilitation Center. This is a center for the visually impaired, where people are trained to function in every aspect of life. He began learning Braille, how to feel the letter s with his fingers, how to be able to read Braille. After he was able to do this, the next question was his means of livelihood. He chose massage therapy. He began learning massage, has already earned his Class C massage license. Now, he has officially begun working. As a massage therapist. He is now very joyful and happy every day. He goes himself to the market to buy vegetables, and the greengrocer helps him cut his vegetables so he does not have to cut them when he gets home, so he can cook them directly. He can cook for himself now and no longer has to eat porridge and pickles each day. Now he can cook sumptuous vegetarian meals for himself and can live life just like normal people. He made a vow that he would go out [in the world]. He was willing to use his profession, use his abilities in order to help others. All this was a result of “loving speech”, of “charitable giving” and “beneficial conduct”. Whether someone is of the same kind or of a different kind, we go to help him and deliver him by “working together”. You see, these are Bodhisattvas.
When Living Bodhisattvas help others, they can work together as a group, or one on one, or two on one, or three on one, thus keeping him company until he could come out from the darkness of his path and turn toward the light. Though he had lost his eyesight, his heart had been opened. His heart was completely illuminated. This is also [what is possible].
In short, Bodhisattvas in the world are not always doing some incredible, great deeds. Even in the smallest things in our daily living. They are able to help others. They can consider many things on other’s behalf. They are all “enlightened beings”. on a large scale, they look after the whole world. Although our strength [as individuals] is minute, we can also unite our strength to save the world. We can bring the four elements into balance and bring peace and happiness to living beings. when people can unite their efforts, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. So, the Buddha came to the world in order to deliver sentient beings, to teach them and inspire them to open their hearts. This is what He did.
The previous passage says, “Moreover, regarding the Dharma of emptiness taught by all Buddhas, he understood and comprehended it and attained the Four Unobstructed Wisdom. He could constantly examine the truth and teach the Dharma purely, without any doubts or delusions. He was replete with a Bodhisattva’s spiritual powers and throughout his lifetime constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct.
This is the Buddha describing Purna. He is still praising Purna. Yesterday we spoke of how it had not only been at Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma-assembly that purna had helped to promote the teachings given by the Buddha to teach and transform sentient beings. this was not the case. He had learned from many other Buddhas, and with “Dharma of emptiness” these Buddhas taught, “he understood and comprehended.” Purna not only understood Sakyamuni’s teachings, he helped to spread the Buddha’s teachings. In many other Buddhas’ Dharma-assemblies, the Dharma that those Buddhas taught was similarly understood by him without obstruction. This was the wisdom that Purna had attained. He did not only engage in practice this life. Long ago in the past, he had accumulated this from nine billion Buddhas. Or, we could say that from dust-inked kalpas ago, ha had accumulated it like this. thus he was able to “constantly examine the truth and teach the Dharma purely.” He understood the Dharma the Buddha taught and was clear on what was important, without any doubts or delusions.
“He was replete with a Bodhisattva’s spiritual powers and throughout his lifetime constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct. Lifetime after lifetime, however long he lived, he engaged in spiritual practice like this, always cultivating Brahma-conduct.
The next sutra passage says, “The people in those Buddhas’ times all said that he was in truth a Hearer, but Purna was using this skillful means to benefit countless hundreds of thousands of sentient beings.
“Those Buddhas” are referring to those other Buddhas in Their worlds. He had been in the presence of nine billion Buddhas in the past. Lifetime after lifetime, everyone always said Purna was a Hearer because lifetime after lifetime he had displayed the practices of a Hearer. At all those Buddhas’ Dharma-assemblies, he had helped those Buddhas transform others, so everyone thought that Purna was a Hearer.
The people in those Buddhas’ times all said that he was in truth a Hearer. Purna was originally a Bodhisattva who concealed the true, displayed the provisional and exhibited appearance of a Hearer. In the presence of all those Buddhas, worldly people only saw the manifest and they all said Purna was in truth a Hearer. It was not only the people of this time who dod not recognize him. For many lifetimes in the past, most of those who knew him also regarded him as a Hearer. We truly cannot judge people by their appearances.
In fact, Purna was intrinsically a Bodhisattva. He had already inwardly become a Bodhisattva; in his heart he was already a Bodhisattva who “concealed the true, manifested the provisional.” He had already thoroughly understood the Great Vehicle Bodhisattva teachings, but concealed the fact that he was a Great Vehicle practitioner. He concealed the true and manifested the provisional so he could live and practice together with everyone. Thus, he manifested the provisional. When the Buddha taught with limited teachings, he demonstrated acceptance of those teachings, the teachings of eliminating afflictions, just like the others. He had already eliminated his afflictions, but since that was how the Buddha taught and the way everyone had to learn it, that was the way he learned it as well. Actually. He had heard all of the Dharma before, but he was just manifesting an appearance of how he was equal to everyone else. He “concealed the true, displayed the provisional and exhibited the appearance of a Hearer. His displayed a Hearer’s appearance.
So, “In the presence of all those Buddhas, worldly people only saw the manifest and were confused regarding the intrinsic.” The worldly people in past Buddhas’ times and those in Sakyamuni Buddha’s time now were all the same. Sentient beings are confused; that is why Buddhas must come to the world. The sentient beings in world past were the same. The sentient beings mow in this world with Sakyamuni Buddha are also like this. they have eyes but cannot recognize greatness. Similarly, when we look at people, we only see their appearances; we do not try to understand that person or the capabilities that lie within them. We only see their outer appearacnes. So, “Worldly people only saw the manifest and were confused regarding the intrinsic.” Because they only saw his appearance, they never knew he was really a Bodhisattva. This was Purna.
“They all said Purna was in truth a Hearer.” Everyone said that Purna Maitrayaniputra was only a Hearer, so how could he shoulder the Buddha’s teachings and go around spreading the Dharma to transform sentient beings? everyone thought he was only a Hearer, so how could he possibly do this? so, “It was not only the people of this time who did not recognize him, but those in “many lifetimes in the past” as well. It was not just in this lifetime that no one recognized what we really, in Purna’s heart, that inside he concealed a Bodhisattva’s abilities. They saw him merely as a Hearer. Actually, ”in the past,” long in the distant past, for many lifetimes, for such a very long time, he had spent time with nine million Buddhas. “Most of the people who knew him also regarded him as a Hearer.” Those who knew him all regarded him as just another Hearer. “We truly cannot judge people by their appearances.” The Buddha wanted to tell us that we cannot determine from someone’s outer appearance what that person’s abilities actually may be. In fact, when we look at people, we must seek to understand what each is made of, what their strengths are, what abilities they possess. We cannot simply look at someone and treat them as if they are a Small Vehicle Hearer. In fact, inside they may secretly be a Bodhisattva. “Pruna was using these skillful means.” Through skillful means like these he benefitted countless sentient beings.
But Purna was using these skillful means to benefit countless hundreds of thousands of sentient beings: Inside he was secretly a Bodhisattva, while outside he appeared as a Hearer. With these provisional and skillful means, he had benefited and nurtured countless sentient beings of different capabilities and conditions.
Because of this, he concealed his Bodhisattva-abilities. He kept these hidden within and outwardly manifested the appearance of a Hearer. He did this in order to skillfully draw closer to everyone, to be like everyone else. Inside, he was secretly a Bodhisattva. He concealed his skills as a Bodhisattva within, “while outside he appeared as a Hearer with these provisional and skillful means.” He used provisional skillful means. This was just like the Buddha. The Buddha originally wanted to use True Dharma to teach and guide sentient beings, but with sentient beings’ capabilities they could not make use of it. So, the Buddha had to use skillful means in order to teach us. Thus, “Outside he appeared as a Hearer” who used “provisional and skillful means.” He used these provisional and skillful means merely as a means to more easily associate with everyone. It made transforming sentient beings easier. So, he manifested the appearance of a Hearer in order to benefit and nourish “nurtured countless sentient beings of different capabilities and conditions.” This was Purna Maitrayaniputra. He was full of loving-kindness and compassion, so he was called “Filled Son of Loving-kindness.” He had compassion, and he had wisdom. He was replete in both compassion and wisdom. He had walked the Bodhisattva-path and was already a Bodhisattva of equal enlightenment, very close to the state of Buddhahood. Yet, he wanted to assist at the Dharma-assembly, so he still manifested the appearance of a Hearer in order to get close to sentient beings and help the Buddha to promote the teachings. What a remarkable spiritual practitioner he was!
On the path of benefiting others, one cannot do without skillful means. Purna used this skillful means to cultivate the practices of the Buddhas to benefit sentient beings.
For him, “On the path of benefiting others, one cannot do without skillful means.” So, how do we go about benefiting sentient beings? We need skillful means to adapt to sentient beings’ capabilities, to adapt to different types of sentient beings. Earlier we spoke about working together with different kinds. This means adapting to different kinds of beings. With sentient beings’ habitual tendencies and the things that they took joy in, he had to act accordingly to draw close to them, for only then was he able to help them. So, “On the path of benefiting others, one cannot do without skillful means.” We need to use skillful means to adapt to their capabilities in order to be able to deliver them, to have “the Dharma” to deliver sentient beings. These are skillful means. Purna Maitrayaniputra “used these skillful means to cultivate the practices of the Buddhas to benefit sentient beings.” Purna Maitrayaniputra used skillful means like these to cultivate the practices of the Buddhas. This was how close Purna was to the Buddha’s intent. This was how the Buddha taught, so he likewise responded to the Buddha’ teachings and manifested the behavior of a Hearer as he lived and practiced with everyone. So, Purna used these skillful means to cultivate the practices of the Buddhas.” However the Buddha taught the others to behave, he followed along like this, accepted the teachings like this, yet he used his own skillful means in order to benefit sentient beings.
Dear Bodhisattvas, if, as Buddhist practitioners, we can comprehend the Buddha’s intentions, can accept the Buddha’s teachings and use the Buddha’s methods to face sentient beings, then becoming a Bodhisattva is actually not difficult! We just talked about this Bodhisattva-practitioners are all sentient beings; they are enlightened sentient beings. They must practice charitable giving and the rest of the Four All-Embracing Virtues. The Four All-Embracing Virtues are quite simple. Through charitable giving, beneficial conduct, loving speech and working together, we can benefit sentient beings. It is really that simple. It sounds like something that we can all do. Beginning with ourselves, then our families, our society and then everyone we meet, we can use our small efforts to encourage everyone to work together. When we all work together there is great strength. With great strength, we can greatly purify the world. Then, naturally these contaminants, like the severe pollution in the air, will naturally become purified. We can purify the air and purify people’s hearts, for only when everyone forms aspirations to benefit sentient beings will sentient beings be peaceful and happy. Is this really so difficult? We simply must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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