Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Foremost in Teaching the Dharma (滿慈願力 說法第一)
Date: June.26.2017
“Purna’s past merit and virtue: In the past, in the presence of all Buddhas, he was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. In the depths of his heart, he perfectly realized wondrous existence and true emptiness. With unobstructed eloquence, he taught the Dharma purely. He was replete with the power of vows and constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct.”
Every day we talk about Purna Maitrayaniputra, yet we still cannot say everything we need to! The Buddha praised Purna Maitrayaniputra, praised him for currently, in the Buddha’s place of practice, helping the Buddha to promote the Buddha-Dharma. Actually, since long ago in the distant past, for such a long time, for dust-inked kalpas, he had constantly engaged in spiritual practice over the course of many lifetimes, and lifetime and lifetime, whenever he met a Buddha appearing in the world, he would engage in practice as a monastic. In the Dharma-assemblies of those Buddhas, he always manifested as a Hearer, as a bhiksu. In the Sangha, he benefited others in this way. Outside, he would help the Buddha teach the Dharma. He could go to the places of greatest stubbornness to transform and deliver the stubborn and hard to train sentient beings there. He did this in his present lifetime, as well as in countless lifetimes past. So, “In the past, in the place of all Buddhas, he was foremost among those who taught the Dharma.” Of those who would listen to the Dharma and who would teach on behalf of the Buddha, among this large group, he was always foremost. He was like this now, and he had been like this in the past. He was foremost among those teaching the Dharma. Sakyamuni Buddha praised Purna Maitrayaniputra with the highest regard. He praised him not only for his ability to teach the Dharma, but also praised him because, “in the depths of his heart, he perfectly realized wondrous existence and true emptiness [and have] unobstructed eloquence.” This was his true mastery. He had absorbed the Buddha-Dharma into his heart and moreover did so very deeply, into the depths of his heart. This was perfect and complete. He had already realized it for himself, had truly experienced this truth, had really understood the principles of “true emptiness and wondrous existence.” In particular, he had unobstructed eloquence and the wisdoms of unobstructed meaning, of Dharma and of joyful eloquence. This was Purna Maitrayaniputra; his mind was pure and undefiled, and he was single-minded in his resolve to seek the Buddha-Dharma, to assist in promoting the Buddha-Dharma and delivering sentient beings. He was single-minded in his resolve, so of course the Buddha praised him. This was only natural. The Buddha would never exaggerate. He was expressing true joy from deep in His heart. Regarding this disciple, He was filled with such satisfaction and praise; He truly admired this disciple, how from Beginningless Time, he had been firm in his aspirations and had listened to the Dharma without letting it leak out. His practice of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom and listening, contemplation and practice were all without Leaks. In this way he could, “in the depths of his heart, perfectly realize wondrous existence and true emptiness [and have] unobstructed eloquence.” This means the Dharma does not leak out. Over the course of his spiritual practice, he was so earnest in listening to the Dharma. In his practice, he upheld his responsibilities. When facing everyone in the fourfold assembly, whether heavenly beings or humans, among the assembly, he was an exemplary spiritual practitioner. So, he taught the Dharma without obstruction, and everyone admired him.
This was because of the way “he taught the Dharma purely” and was replete with the power of vows. He had always practiced Brahma-conduct, thus he was “replete with the power of vows and constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct.” This is truly not a simple matter! Not only was his aspiration firm, in his practice, his spiritual cultivation, he continued without interruption. It is very rare to find someone like this. Besides the Buddha, who could keep up with him? The Buddha treasured such a talented person. So, in this chapter, before bestowing predictions on all the disciples, He praised Purna Maitrayaniputra for a long time. This is also very rare.
So, we must be mindful in our spiritual practice, be mindful in learning the Buddha’s teachings. Since we have resolved to learn from the Buddha, we must be determined to attain Buddhahood. From being determined to learn from the Buddha to being resolved to attain Buddhahood, in between we need to persevere in our spiritual practice, which must take place among the people. Sentient beings are stubborn. The nature of their minds is complicated. When dealing with such defiled, complicated and stubborn sentient beings, our own minds must remain undefiled. No matter the complications or difficulties regarding people, matters and objects, no matter the twists and turns and troubles, we must maintain our spiritual aspirations; the great Bodhi-path is direct. With our spiritual aspirations, we must always continue to move ahead on this path and not turn this way and that. We certainly need to have this kind of aspiration; only then will we be able to learn the Buddha’s teachings and attain Buddhahood. Most importantly, this period in between is very long. We must be able to endure it patiently; we need endurance and patience. We must patiently endure a world like this, endure suffering like this. To do so we must take good care of our minds. If one thought goes astray, our whole mind can be thrown into chaos. After we become confused, to try again to pull our mind back together is not such an easy thing. So, there is nothing special to learning the Buddha’s teaching; we just need to take good care of our minds.
The Bodhisattvas from Tainan, over 60 of them, reverently came back here, back to our Jing Si Abode. They described scene by scene this disastrous earthquake in Tainan, what they had seen and heard, the impermanence of life they experienced there. In that brief moment, the earth shook, while everyoen was still sleeping in their beds. On such a cold day, while warmly under their covers, they were perhaps still dreaming, dreaming beautiful dreams. Some may not have slept yet, still busy planning their work for the next day. Some were perhaps planning for the New Year’s celebrations starting the next day. For New Year’s, people usually want to have a family gathering for a happy new year. Perhaps some planned to leave on vacation, to go somewhere [special] on vacation. Everyone had different intentions, different lifestyles, different aspirations. Every person was different. Some were sleeping soundly, some were in the middle of good dreams, some were in the middle planning the direction their lives would take the next day. Who could have known that in an instant the earth would quake the way it did? So many people all cried out at once, pleading for help. They were lost in a panic, crying out for help. Listen; how could so many people be crying out? A moment later, those cries had already stopped, and the next sound was that of ambulance sirens, rising and falling through the night. The ambulance came one after another, along with rescue workers. The sky was still dark, and the weather was very cold, but there were also Tzu Chi volunteers living in those communities severely affected by the disaster. For instance, in the Yongkang district, one of our Faith Corps volunteers lived near that building, the Weiguan building, about 200 meters away. 200 meters is actually not far. It is a distance of only a few steps. On a sports field, one lap is 200 meters, or perhaps 400 meters. Think about it, on a small sports field, how far is a distance of 200 meters? Though his own house similarly had some cracks in it, when he hurried outside and looked up he saw that an entire building had toppled. He quickly put on his blue and white uniform and hurried out the door. Water pipes were broken and there was flooding. He quickly ran forward through the water to the [toppled] building. One firetruck had already arrived. Ambulances had arrived. Rescue personnel and workers had all arrived. Starting then [he reported] all the different things that he saw at the site. As our Faith Corp volunteers were doing this, there were Tzu Chi commissioners nearby, living within that larger neighborhood. They similarly rushed outside and saw the [toppled] building. They could see the building not far away, and the ambulances and rescue personnel there. They quickly rushed over there. The first to be saved was an infant and her mother. We saw the firefighters and rescue personnel, how they had such love and thoughtfulness, such meticulousness. They has such loving, caring hearts as they held this child in their arms while rescuing her [from the rubble]. They pulled this woman out from the toppled building’s pile of rubble, telling her how to step down. She was so scared that she kept trembling. How was she to step down? The rescue worker tugged her by the leg saying, “Step down! Step down, don’t worry!” She hopped down like this and was saved. Tzu Chi volunteers took her in their arms. This was right at the start, when the sky was still dark, the air still chilly. They quickly grabbed blankets, grabbed clothing and hurried to wrap them around her. This was only the start. We could see the tenderness of these tough men. Both firefighters and rescue workers saved people like this. One day passed, then two days passed, all the while they continually rescued people.
During this time, some who were rescued had severe injuries. Some who were rescued had had limbs missing. Some when pulled out were already dead. There was a volunteer firefighter. We kept urging him, saying, “Rest for a moment. Come have some hot soup!”. We had to forcefully bring him over. As he started to drink the soup, he was crying loudly. He was very agitated and kept saying. “I really wanted to save her! I could still hear her voice and I went to save her, but I was unable to I couldn’t get to her, I couldn’t pull her out. I really wanted to save her. It breaks my heart!” “Who is this person?” “It was an elderly woman. We rescued the others, but we couldn’t rescue the elderly woman”. You see, he was sobbing loudly. This was one of the rescue workers who, with no concern for his own life, went into those dangerous areas, over and over. If he could save someone, he could not. He could hear her crying, could see her trapped there, but had not way to pull her out. This pained him so!
This is our impermanent world, this world where everything is ultimately empty. Just a moment before, they had been in their beds, those more than 200 people who lived inside. Think, more than 100 lost their lives, and there were many who were injured! In this way, isn’t life just like a dream? This is the workings of the world. The Buddha came to the world to let us know how impermanent life is, how there is so much human suffering. Sentient beings are still sunk in confusion, as if lost in a dream. This is a dream from which they cannot awaken a dream within a dream. It may be a bad dream, a nightmare! Have we awakened from it? When that one dream fades away, then another dream comes. That is another lifetime. Whichever family we have affinities with, we just go there. This is how life is beyond our control. After this lifetime, we still have the next. When this life is over, in what manner will we see out this lifetime? Where will we go for our next lifetime? Will we be Taiwanese again? Or will we end up far away? All of a sudden, our skin color will be different, our language system will be different, our way of life will be different. We are already separated by another layer, gone to our next life. We are a different ethnicity, following karma and circumstantial retributions. This is life! No matter what we ordinary people hear, we always think, “I know; you have said this many times. I understand”. What kind of understanding do we really have? Is it an understanding gained through language? When we listen to it, we think, “It’s Taiwanese, I can understand it”. Is it this kind of understanding or is it a realization deep in our hearts? The principles are without form. The sound we hear with our ears is also without form. There is sound, but there is no form. The principles themselves are silent without sound, and they are also without form or substance. However, through our human understanding, we can express them through sound. This sound enters our ears; our ears are one of our sense organs, which receive sound. When I understand this system of language, I know what it is you are saying; I understand. Is this the kind of understanding we have? Or have we taken it into our minds? Where are our minds? How big is the space in our minds? How much can we put in them? I do not know if you have ever considered this.
So we say that as humans, our physiology, the principles of our bodies, is also profound. Life and death depends upon our organs. If our organs are healthy, our bodies will be healthy. If something goes wrong with our organs, our physical activities, way of life and so on will suffer problems. We are very fragile like this. Is this view of the body as impermanent something that everyone has experienced? If we only store up afflictions in our minds, then the Dharma will just pass us by. I truly feel that sentient beings are so pitiable! If we do not take the Dharma into our minds, how can we call ourselves Buddhist practitioners? As Buddhist practitioners, our goal is to attain Buddhahood. During the process of attaining Buddhahood, life can be very complicated. Our life and the land and so on are so impermanent and fragile. What thing is there that is permanent? There is nothing that is permanent! So, can we experience this true emptiness? Have we experienced this true emptiness which is in our mind? What about what is intrinsic to us, the wondrous existence of our awakened nature, have we experienced that? We are still not really very clear. Before we are able to become clear, we again become filled with afflictions. I often feel, “During this process, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, in the process of attaining Buddhahood, how do we actually apply [the teachings]? In our complicated and ever-winding lives, have we paved this great, straight Bodhi-path?” A straightforward mind is our training ground!
Everyone, we all truly need to be mindful. Every morning, before discussing the sutra, there is this section there is this section of my personal insights; I wish to share these insights with everyone. That Purna was able to receive the Buddha’s praise was truly wondrous. Purna Maitrayaniputra was able to form aspirations like this. For dust-inked kalpas, since Beginningless Time, the aspirations he formed throughout many lives led everyone to admire him. Can we sense this as well? If we feel it, ae we willing to form aspirations to learn from him? Never mind learning from the Buddha, can we even learn from Purna Maitrayaniputra? This is truly something we must mindfully seek to experience. He had already “perfectly realized wondrous existence and true emptiness.” So, he had attained “unobstructed eloquence” Furthermore, he “taught the Dharma purely” and “was replete with the power of vows.” Every time he taught the Dharma, every time he made a vow, he “constantly cultivated Brahma-conduct” so there was never any interruption. His aspirations were so pure!
Is learning from Purna Maitrayaniputra something we are able to do? This depends upon each of us.
The previous text stated that “He also transformed imfinite asankyas of people and enabled them to establish Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings.
Because for such a long time he had engaged in spiritual practice over many lifetimes, he was able to encounter so many Buddhas. How much time must go by before another Buddha will appear in the world? Sakyamuni Buddha us separated from us now by more than 2000 years. In terms of our human time, no other Buddha has yet appeared in the world. We must wait until Maitreya Buddha, still hundreds of billions of years away. Everyone, Purna Maitrayaniputra, over the course of his many lifetimes, encountered nine billion Buddhas and learned the Dharma in those Buddhas’ presences. In those Dharma-assemblies, he helped those Buddhas teach, helped them transform and deliver sentient beings. the sentient beings he transformed. They were so many it was beyond calculation. He helped them all to experience, awaken to and understand the principles of supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment. “In order to purify Buddha-lands, he constantly did the work of the Buddhas by teaching and transforming sentient beings. He constantly did the work of the Buddhas” refers to having a dignified demeanor. When among the Sangha, he had to take good care with his demeanor. He made sure he was a role model, a role model for the people. This was how he did the work of the Buddhas.
The next sutra passage says, “Bhiksus, Purna also, in the times of the Seven Buddhas, was foremost among those who taught the Dharma.”
Once again, the Buddha called the bhiksus together and said, “All of you should know that Purna, among those who taught the Dharma in the times of the Seven Buddhas, was also foremost.” The Seven Buddhas [remind us that] the nine billion Buddhas are not just from long ago in the past. These were more recent Buddha. among those who taught the Dharma [during the times] of those Seven Buddhas, “in the presence of those past seven Buddhas, he taught in the most wondrous way.” This is all promoting Purna as foremost.
The Seven Buddhas refer to the three Buddhas of the previous kalpas: Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha and Visvabhu Buddha. And the four Buddhas of this Bhadrakalpa: Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kasyapa Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha. Together, these are the past seven Buddhas.
Each one of the Seven Buddhas was separated by a very long period of time. The three Buddhas of the previous kalpas were Vipasyin Buddha, Sikhin Buddha and Visvabhu Buddha. You see, of the past seven Buddhas, these were the earliest three. Then in the Bhadrakalpa, there were four more Buddhas. The four Buddha that came later were Krakucchanda Buddha, then there was Kanakamuni Buddha, as well as Kasyapa Buddha and them Sakyamuni Buddha. these together are the past seven Buddhas.
The following passage then says, “Today among those who teach the Dharma with me, he is also foremost. During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost.”
This is all in the future, now and in the future. Now it is Sakyamuni Buddha’s time. In Sakyamuni’s Dharma-assembly now, Purna is also foremost among those teaching. We have already talked about this for a long time. The Buddha, for 40-plus years, constantly praised Purna as being foremost in teaching the Dharma. He is foremost among those teaching the Dharma, among those learning Sakyamuni’s teachings. “During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost. This was Purna now and in the future. Purna was like this at that time. Among the disciples, he was foremost in teaching the Dharma. When we see this, we really admire him. Why is it that Purna Maitrayaniputra could understand the Buddha’s heart like this, could understand the Buddha’s intent? He even understood everything the Buddha taught; the principles of all things in the world were all so clear to him. He heard one teaching and understood ten. When the Buddha taught a single thing, he was able to comprehend ten, or hundreds or even thousands. After giving him one corner, he knew the other three. To make a table, in shaping corners the craftsman teaches us how one corner should be shaped. If we know how to make one corner well, then with the other three corners, we can use the same skill and shape them well too. With the principles, when one thing is used as an example, the entire principle should become clear. Yet, we are unenlightened beings. As unenlightened beings, even if we are shown one corner, no matter how we are taught, with that one corner, our skills have not matured enough. There is no need to even talk about the others! So, we are unenlightened beings. If we do not focus when learning, if our brains are all muddled, if our hands and feet are clumsy, then in whatever work we do we will never be very refined. If our heads are very clear, then our hands and feet will be agile. Then, very subtle and intricate things can be very skillfully completed.
Some people can take one grain of rice and engrave the entire Heart Sutra on it. Such intricate engraving requires a settled and tranquil mind, and our handiwork must be very precise. Only then can we carve the entire Heart Sutra upon a single grain of rice. Is this something we can do? This requires great mindfulness. There are some who can do this. They are also human beings, and they are able to do this. We too are human beings, but we are unable to do this. This is because their minds are very clear, and they are extremely focused, in Samadhi. Thus they are able to do this. It is the same idea; the principles are the same.
So, “During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Buddhas, he will also be foremost.” Purna Maitrayaniputra and Sakyamuni Buddha were both born in the world during this period. This period is the Bhadrakalpa. There are 1000 Buddhas in the Bhadrakalpa. Sakyamuni Buddha is the fourth. So, “In the times of future Buddhas, Purna, among those who teach the Dharma, will also be the foremost.” In the Bhadrakalpa, Sakyamuni is the fourth Buddha and during that time Purna was foremost in teaching the Dharma. There will be many Buddhas in the Bhadrakalpa. So, Purna Maitrayaniputra, during the time of the fourth Buddha and on into the times of future Buddhas, would always be foremost among those teaching. If we say that Sakyamuni Buddha is now the fourth Buddha of the Bhadrakalpa, who will the future Buddha be? That would be Maitreya Buddha.
Sakyamuni was the fourth Buddha in the Bhadrakalpa. In the times of future Buddhas, Purna, among those who teach the Dharma, will also be foremost. According to the text: In the times of the Seven Buddhas, [Purna] was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Today among those who teach the Dharma with me, he is also foremost. From this we know the Seven Buddhas refers to the past, Sakyamuni to the present and Maitreya and the others to the future.
This passage talks about the Seven Buddhas. “In the times of the Seven Buddhas, [Purna] was foremost among those who taught the Dharma. Today among those who teach the Dharma with me, he is also foremost.” The Seven Buddhas are the [last] three Buddhas of the previous kalpa and the [first] four Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa. Since the start of the Bhadrakalpa, Sakyamuni has been the fourth Buddha [to appear]. So, the Seven Buddhas are the past Buddhas. Sakyamuni Buddha is the present Buddha. Maitreya Buddha will be the future Buddha. These are the past, present and future Buddhas. So, again, “During the Bhadrakalpa, among those who teach the Dharma in the times of all future Budhdas, he will also be foremost.” This is in the sutra. In teaching the Dharma, we truly should be mindful in teaching. There are five blessings and virtues that come from teaching the Dharma.
The five blessings and virtues of teaching the Dharma: One, longevity. Two, wealth. Three, incomparable dignity. Four, far-reaching renown. Five brilliance and great wisdom.
The first is longevity. If we earnestly teach the Dharma, we will gain long life in the future. If we taught the Dharma in previous lifetimes, we [encouraged] everyone to be good. If there were those prone to killing, we knew to quickly teach them the Dharma and help them change their karma of killing. This way many people can be saved. For those whose livelihood entails killing, if we help them change their path, many sentient beings can be saved. So, because of this, longevity can be attained.
The second is the attainment of “wealth” This comes from having constantly taught others in the past to give charitably. We give charitably ourselves and teach others to give charitably as well. If someone likes to steal and we teach them the Dharma, we help them change. Thieves not only can change their desire to steal, they can be taught to give charitably, to save others, to help others. If we can do this, we naturally will be wealthy in our next lifetime. By understanding that we should give charitably and turning people who used to steal into those who can give charitably to others, we not only transform ourselves, we transform others so they give as well. Because of this, in future lifetimes we will be able to attain wealth.
The third is “incomparable dignity”. This means when we taught the Dharma in the past, we had to follow the Right Dharma. We were able to follow the Right Dharma, so we also needed to put it into action. Thus, we always treat others harmoniously. We help our minds abide peacefully and help others abide peacefully as well. This way our facial countenance, our expressions will always remain harmonious, so that when we deal with others, they will rejoice whenever they see us. Then, in this lifetime, we can attain blessings and virtues of incomparable dignity. So, we must quickly begin to change our bad tempers now, or if we give others a bad attitude, we must quickly change. With a harmonious and joyful countenance, people naturally rejoice when they see us.
The fourth is “far-reaching renown”. Through our reputation, everyone will come to recognize us. In past lives, when we taught the Dharma, we were in the role of the virtuous friend. We were always good friends with all and transformed others through working together. As we listen to the Dharma, teach and take refuge in the Three Treasures, we can mutually serve as each other’s good friends and spiritual companions. Because of this we have many friends. No one has any bad impressions of us. We are praised by everyone. This the meaning of far-reaching renown. No one has a bad impression of us. We always have a good reputation, so everyone will praise us.
The fifth is “brilliance and great wisdom.” in past lifetimes we always taught the Dharma joyful and unstintingly. This is teaching with joyful eloquence; it is teaching joyfully. we understood the principles and joyfully shared them with all. With the unobstructed wisdom of joyful eloquence, we continually shared with everyone, “enabling those hearing the Dharma to unlock wondrous wisdom.” we helped those listening to attain joy so that they could open their hearts and minds. Thus, in this lifetime we attain blessings and virtues of brilliance and great wisdom. These are the blessings and virtues of those who teach the Dharma. So, if we are mindful in listening to the Dharma, then naturally we will gain so much. This, let us always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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