Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Two Pure Foods that Benefit Wisdom-Life (二種淨食 資益慧命)
Date: July.04.2017
“Dharma-joy: When we cultivate contemplation, our hearts become joyful and at peace. Dharma-food: When we hear the Dharma and practice it, our hearts become happy and at ease. It is like being in the land of peace and joy, born in a lotus. We constantly hear the Buddha’s deep and wondrous voice teaching the Dharma.”
In the process of learning the Buddha-Dharma, Dharma-joy is the orientation of everyone’s minds. I hope we all can always experience joy from taking the Dharma to heart. How do we go about taking the Dharma to heart? We do this through cultivating contemplation. Our minds and thoughts must not be scattered. As unenlightened beings, our minds are always distracted. Our thinking is always wild and unruly, like a wild horse or a stubborn monkey. We are unable to settle our thinking. Now that we are listening to the Dharma and take joy in it, we form aspirations to engage in spiritual practice. As we begin this process of spiritual practice, we must be patient with this, must endure that, must face this and must put that into practice. It seems that enduring so much in our spiritual practice is so taxing, so our spiritual resolve gradually begins to fade. This is the flow of thinking that leads to us losing our will to practice. Our thoughts are just like the tide of the ocean that comes in, wave after wave. One after another, these afflictions continue to invade our thinking.
We cannot see through interpersonal problems and cannot thoroughly realize the principles. Thus, the direction of our thinking goes far off course from a slight deviation. We become continually immersed in afflictions and are unable to cultivate our contemplation. We cannot settle our minds and cannot concentrate as we reflect on the Dharma. Thus, how can we ever attain Dharma-joy? To experience Dharma-joy, our mind must be still and tranquil. Our path must be correct. We cannot stray from the great, direct Bodhi-path. When we are able to truly still our minds and walk according to the great, direct Bodhi-path, our hearts will always be “joyful and at peace”; our hearts will naturally feel joy. “The mind is without hindrances; there are no hindrances.” Thus we are free from discursive thinking, and there are no other things to frighten us remaining in our hearts. So, we must, in learning the Buddha’s teachings, let go of all interpersonal conflicts. What we must practice is forming great aspirations and walking the great Bodhi-path. Only this is our true direction. We go among people and give unconditionally. As we go among them, we encounter many afflictions. We must know how to overcome them, one by one, for only in overcoming these afflictions will we learn to be free and at ease.
In the past few days, Tzu Chi volunteers from Europe are still in Serbia. Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries are there and have begun to work and carry out distributions. In the report that they sent back yesterday, there was a video of their fourth day of work, as well as photos. They gave a short written report of the difficulties they encountered there, but by the looks of their bright, smiling faces, everyone was full of joy. Why were they joyful? Because they have given to others. The distribution the day before was too late for the refugees [who left that morning]. So, the amount distributed was very little. According to the report they sent back yesterday, they split themselves into two groups. One remained at the train station, while the other left, heading toward Adasevci, a way station for refugees. They left for that place early in the morning, at five or six o’clock. They were very glad that four buses loaded with refugees had just arrived. They were in a hurry because the refugees were on their way to catch a train. So, they hurried after those four tour buses that were filled with refugees. As the refugees got off the buses, they quickly took their measurements one by one to measure them for their clothing size. Each person was then given an overcoat that bore the Tzu Chi logo. The refugees were so happy, as were those who did the giving. Those who gave were joyful and light-hearted. Those who received were also joyful to be able to receive these things. Both groups were able to share this joy together. Those who received the gifts were truly joyful, as shown by the smiles upon their faces. Yesterday the temperatures had dropped to just three or four degrees Celsius there; it was quite cold. So, we were just in time to give them warm clothes that they could wear. When they put these on, grateful and joyous feelings poured out of them. Some pointed to the logo and gave a joyful thumbs-up. Wearing these clothes, they felt very warm.
Furthermore, we gave to them without expectation, yet we felt filled with Dharma-joy. Tzu Chi volunteers from 11 countries had quickly assembled to fulfill this whish together. On those four buses, how many adults and how many children were there? There were at least 200 people in all. One by one, they were able to receive this clothing that would keep them warm. Another group [of volunteers] went to the refugee camp near the Sid train station, where they again saw some people getting ready to board a train. However, there were also some who were unable to board the train. They were not permitted to board. Why was this? It was because they were from Afghanistan, not from Syria. They were from Afghanistan, yet they too were refugees. However, the only people allowed to pass and board the train were the Syrain refugees. In the refugee camp, there were many Afghanis who were stuck there. Their faces were filled with worry, and they endured such suffering! When would they ever be able to leave that place and go where they wished to go, where they chose to go? They suffered such hardship. There were elderly and middle-aged people as well as children there. In particular, there were many children. The Tzu Chi volunteers then got the idea to make use of Jing Si aphorisms. Besides distributing clothing and material aid to them, they were also able to interact with them by letting them pick out Jing Si aphorisms [to read]. Each of the Jing Si aphorisms that the chose were very useful to them. They also took the opportunity to start teaching them sign language. We had [volunteers] who spoke many languages. Whatever Jing Si aphorism they picked, those who understood from each country would translate it. No matter the language, volunteers were able to give the translation form the Jing Si aphorisms that they chose. After picking the aphorisms they were happy and communicated and shared amongst each other. Thought this, they shared about Tzu Chi and taught them the song, “We Are All One Family.” They began teaching them the song, “We Are All One Family,” in Chinese. Everyone there began singing. “We Are All One Family.” The children and young people learned quickly, and we could hear them singing the words in Chinese, “Because we are all one family….” In this way, they all came together, and for a short while they forgot their suffering. We could see them there embracing one another, sharing their joy and reading Jing Si aphorisms. They sang, “We Are All One Family”; what a great method [to bring people together]! This is what we call Dharma-joy.
Tzu Chi volunteers walk the Bodhisattva-path by putting the teachings into practice. After engaging in the their thought process, they were willing to gather together from faraway places. Theses Bodhisattvas gathered like clouds, coming together in Serbia. They were willing to help those fleeing refugees who have fallen on hard times. This is a matter of their perspective and thinking. They are willing and able to help others. They are joyful and at ease. Today, they were able to help those people on those four tour buses, both adults and children. They gave them warm clothes and alleviated their hunger with material supplies. This is what makes them most joyful. This is the Dharma of unconditional giving. They are joyful, and their minds are at ease. This is our path as Living Bodhisattvas.
So, there is Dharma-joy, and there is Dharma-food. Dharma-food means, “When we hear the Dharma and practice it, our hearts become happy and at ease.” When we listen to the Dharma, our hearts naturally become joyful and at ease. We can see those refugees stuck there, unable to advance or retreat. They want to go forward, but are unable to do so; their path is blocked. Their path is restricted so they are unable to advance. If they wanted to go back the way they came, that way is also blocked. So, they are stuck there, their faces full of worry, in great suffering! Tzu Chi volunteers there comforted them, giving them short aphorisms to read. The aphorisms they drew helped ease their minds. “Life is suffering, so we must have courage, be free from resentment” and so on. These few short phrases brought them comfort. These words that they received, which they chose themselves, allowed them to, for a short while, find joy in that place. Having warm clothes to wear, food to alleviate their hunger and these aphorisms [to comfort them] can all be called Dharma-food. “[If] we hear the Dharma and practice it,” we have no need for resentment; we open the door to our heart so that. “When our luck turns, blessings will come.” This is the kind of patience they had. Since they could neither advance nor retreat, all they could do was wait there patiently. There is nothing they could do. The Dharma was able to [benefit them]; was it a short- or a long-term benefit? Over the short term they found peace. Even if it was a short time, the good affinities they formed from interacting were a kind of joy for them.
“It is like being in the land of peace and joy, born in a lotus.” Although they were in the midst of suffering, they were able to temporarily forget it. In that place, everyone felt joy and happiness. Although they could neither advance nor retreat, as if stuck in a swamp, their bodies and minds were temporarily liberated. Even if it was temporary, they had made good friends from afar. These good friends came to visit them and support them, bringing them happiness and peace of mind. Though it was only a stop on their path of escape, they considered it to be a land of peace and joy. Although they were still stuck in the swamp, for a short time it was as if lotus flowers were growing out of this mud, making the swamp beautiful. Lotus flowers of the heart also blossomed there. Even though it was temporary, it could still be described in this way.
“We constantly hear the Buddha’s deep and wondrous voice teaching the Dharma”. Of course, the Dharma that we wish to speak of is the process of spiritual practice. We can constantly maintain that spirit of benefiting others, focusing our minds with a single resolve. Our minds must not follow external conditions so that we become shaken and disturbed. We have chosen a path toward awakening. Thus our hearts, no matter where we are, will always be at peace and at ease. Most important for us is to always listen to the Buddha-Dharma. We look forward to the future when we will be born in the same era as the Buddha and can often hear His voice in person, when we can draw close to the Buddha and hear His deep, wondrous voice teaching the Dharma. If we can earnestly engage in spiritual practice, lifetime after lifetime we can follow the Buddha’s teachings. The Buddha paved a path for us to walk on, so that we can reach our destination more quickly. We will reach the place the Buddha has gone, the ultimate destination, which is the state of attaining Buddhahood. This all requires us to be mindful.
The previous sutra passage states, “They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will radiate light. They will be able to fly about freely. Their resolve and thoughts will be firm, and they advance diligently with wisdom. The bodies of all will be golden in color, and they will be dignified with the 32 Marks”.
We spoke of this yesterday. This is the place where Purna would attain Buddhahood, the world of Dharma Clarity [Tathagata]. In that realm, not only will Dharma Clarity Tathagata be like this, all the sentient beings in His land will also be this way as well, having attained such freedom of mind. “They will attain great spiritual powers, and their bodies will radiate light. They will be able to fly about freely”. This requires earnest spiritual practice. If our minds can always be unobstructed, our bodies will naturally be unhindered as well. Our body and mind will be free of any hindrances. This must begin with “firm resolve and thoughts” and “advancing diligently with wisdom”. If we can do this, naturally our physical appearance will have the 32 Marks. Both our bodies and minds will radiate light, as if they were made of gold.
The next sutra passage then states, “The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food. First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy.
“The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food”. These two foods are Dharma-joy and meditative joy. This means that sentient beings receive the spiritual provisions of the Dharma to nourish their wisdom-life.
The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food: This explains that the sentient beings. Receive the spiritual provisions of the Dharma to nourish their wisdom-life. They often take two kinds of teachings as their pure food.
Four our wisdom-life to grow, we need both the Dharma and meditation. We must constantly listen to the Dharma and take it to heart. Meditation means always cultivating contemplation. It means earnestly ridding our minds of discursive thoughts and focusing our minds with a single resolve. This is right thinking. “The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food”. These two kinds of Dharma are pure provisions that nourish our wisdom-life. Of these two kinds, one is the food of Dharma-joy. The other is the \food of meditative joy.
First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy. When they hear the Dharma and are happy, their minds full and contented, this is called the food of Dharma-joy. When they practice the Buddha’s Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and stability, this is called the food of meditative joy.
The food of Dharma-joy means that when we hear the Dharma and are joyful, our minds are full and contented; we call this the food of Dharma-joy. I often say that worldly wealth can never satisfy us. Regardless of what we have, we always want more. It only serves to increase sentient beings’ greed. If we are greedy, we are poor because we will never be satisfied. This is the meaning of poverty; it is a state of lacking. No matter how much material goods we may have, we will still remain in a state of poverty, dissatisfied with our lives. So, we should listen to the Dharma, listening to the Dharma makes us happy, so naturally our minds are full and contented. Then, even if poor, it is as if we are rich! We will have no greedy thoughts, be at peace with poverty and practice joyfully. We will be at peace in our poverty and take joy in our journey on the Path.
I often talk about Africa, about the many “Black Pearls” there. Though materially they are very poor, they are extremely spiritually rich in the Dharma. Their hearts are filled with spiritual wealth; this is within their hearts. When they have wealth in their hearts, their lives are joyful and carefree. Don’t we often see this in South Africa, Mozambique or Lesotho? In these seven or eight countries after receiving the Buddha-Dharma, the volunteers there are so joyful. Every day they are joyful as they think about how to give of themselves and use their strength to help others. Whether the impoverished, sick or handicapped, there is no one that they do not help. From the wealth in their hearts, they derive endless and continual strength while constantly giving to help. This is true abundance in the ground of the mind. They got this from listening to the Dharma. So, they are very joyful. This is called the food of Dharma-joy. Thus, “By practicing the Buddha’s Samadhi, they attain the joy of peace and stability.” Practicing and learning the Buddha-Dharma enables their minds to be in calm contemplation. Their minds abide peacefully in the Dharma, so they remain calm and grounded. This is what is known as meditative joy. We are like as well. If our minds are always stably resting in the Dharma, if all our thoughts are on the Dharma and our thinking is always in right mindfulness, if we can reach this state, this is meditative joy.
First, the food of Dharma-joy. They hear the Dharma and are happy; as a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life. Second, the food of meditative joy. They enter meditation and Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and calm. As a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life.
Dharma-joy, the food of Dharma-joy, means, “They hear the Dharma and are happy, as a result, their roots of goodness grow. This nourishes and benefits their wisdom-life.” After listening to the Dharma, their roots of goodness will continue to grow. We only want to benefit others; we do not want to take issue with people. When we broaden our hearts, even if the state of sentient beings’ minds is turbid and evil, we nevertheless embrace them. We still interact with them just the same and always think of how we can inspire them. These are our roots of goodness. We never leave sentient beings and will strive to form good affinities with them. This nourishes and benefits our wisdom-life. Nourishment refers to a resource; it is something that helps us, that benefits our wisdom-life and helps it grow. This is why we must earnestly listen to the Dharma.
The second is [the food of] meditative joy. Meditative joy means “to enter meditation and Samadhi and attain the joy of peace and calm.” When our minds are always in a state of peace, this is the power of Samadhi. From precepts, Samadhi and wisdom we put in great effort to discipline ourselves and eliminate our minds’ afflictions and ignorance. We eliminate these; we must not create resentment, enmity or hatred with others. If there is resentment, enmity or hatred, in this present lifetime, we must get rid of all of it. We must transform evil into goodness, turn past evil affinities into good thoughts. Then our minds naturally become peaceful. Without any interpersonal conflicts, our minds are naturally at peace, and we have tranquility and clarity. This is true joy. When we are joyful, we are always happy. Then we will not get unhappy due to seeing someone not give rise to discursive thoughts when we encounter challenges. We will not be like this. Our minds will be pure and simple, and we remain in a state of Samadhi.
We will “enter meditation and Samadhi” and “attain the joy of peace and calm. As a result, [our] roots of goodness will grow. This nourishes and benefits our wisdom-life.” By doing this, we also develop our roots of goodness and are able to benefit our wisdom-life.
The food of meditative joy means world-transcending practitioners, due to attaining the power of Samadhi, nourish themselves to nurture wisdom-life. Their practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant. Their minds are constantly filled with joy.
Next it says, “world-transcending practitioners.” We look forward to the day when we are no longer within this evil world of Five Turbidities, when we can become liberated from the world, from the web of ignorance of this turbid world. This is also our goal in spiritual practice, to transcend this evil world of Five Turbidities, this web full of ignorance that entangles us. We engage in spiritual practice in order to attain liberation. This is what it means to be a world-transcending practitioner. “Due to attaining the power of Samadhi means that because we have decided to not remain entangled in this web of ignorance, we must work hard and have firm concentration. Since we wish to engage in spiritual practice, we should be determined in our practice and not allow external phenomena to tempt us astray, causing us to give rise to discursive thoughts and lose our will to practice. If our power of Samadhi is insufficient, then naturally the provisions that nourish our wisdom-life will become lost. So, because we have the power of Samadhi and determination, we “nourish ourselves to nurture wisdom-life.” Our own inner strength is like nourishment to grow our wisdom-life.
So, “Their practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant.” These are the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. I often talk all of you about the 37 Practices to Enlightenment. We should try to remember them and often take time to read over them. In our actions, in our daily living, do we ever stray from these practices? The three Fours, the two-Fives, the Seven and the Eight, have we truly taken these numbered teachings to heart? We must thoroughly assess ourselves. If we can do this, naturally “our practices to enlightenment are perfect and radiant.” If we always take these to heart, our hearts will always be joyful and happy. This is the food of meditative joy. Because we are always like this, with our minds free of hindrances every day, all roads will be open to us. However, the road we have chosen is the great direct Bodhi-path of opening our minds and understanding. So, sentient beings in the Three Realms are those in the desire, form and formless realms. “Sentient beings in the Three Realms, all depend on food and dwelling.” Everyone, especially those in the desire realm, is in need of clothing, food and lodging. Food is especially important among these; we have at least three meals per day. If not, we only eat two, and at minimum we need at least one meal a day in order to sustain our lives. We depend upon this “food”.
Sentient beings in the Three Realms all depend on food and dwelling. There are the Four Foods, food for the body, food for the senses, food for the mind and food for consciousnesses.
There is food for the body, food for the senses, food for the mind and food for consciousness. There are four kinds of food.
Food for the body: This refers to the kind of food and drink taken by sentient beings in this land. Food for the senses: This is the feelings of joy and so on received by the Five Roots from external states.
When it comes to “food for the body,” how many meals do we eat over the course of a day? Each day we eat at least three meals. This is a very ordinary life. Some make do with two meals a day to sustain themselves. Then there is the “food for the senses”. Food for the senses is everything we come into contact with in our daily lives. The clothing we need to wear, the roads we walk upon and the provisions we need for daily living are all things we come into contact with. All these things that we need are called food. Dharma-food refers to the Dharma, which is something that we need. The joy of meditation is also Dharma, because when our mind is firm, that is also the Dharma. It is something that ordinary people also need. As spiritual practitioners, we also need several meals per day. As spiritual practitioners, we also require material things, things that we come into contact with. This is called food for the senses.
Food for the mind: This refers to our thinking, hopes and so on. Food for consciousnesses: This refers to all kinds of karma permeating the alaya consciousness and giving rise to continuous retributions. It enables the deluded mind to abide.
Food for the mind refers to our thinking. In our thinking, purity comes from cultivating contemplation, while afflictions come from what we encounter, which is ignorance. What exactly is it that we want to encounter? We choose this through our thinking. Regarding “food for consciousness,” we have the Six Consciousnesses as well as the seventh and the eighth consciousnesses. The most important one, which we hope to return to through our spiritual practice, is the ninth. However, as we are all still unenlightened beings, it is still too early for us to speak of the ninth. We speak of karmic consciousness, where we store all of the karma we create. The sixth, seventh and eighth consciousnesses are all inseparable from our daily living. Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are what we call the Six Consciousnesses. Who does not experience these things as they go about their daily living? In our thinking, do we choose the good or choose the bad? All of this occurs in our thinking. Everything we do, everything we think, all we do, all our karma of action, speech and thought all returns daily to this storehouse, to this storehouse in the eighth consciousness. These are things that all of us sentient beings in the Three Realms experience. These tangible and intangible things are all called food. We absorb all this things; food refers to something that we take in. How do we go about choosing the things we will take in? So, food for the body “refers to the kind of food and drink taken by sentient beings in this land.” Food for the senses is “the feelings of joy and so on received by the Five Roots from external states.” This depends on what feelings we have. We follow whatever feelings we might experience when we encounter external states. Of course, we really hope what we encounter, what our Five Roots encounter, the Five Sense Objects, are pure, that they bring us happiness and unburdened joy. Of course, this depends on what we encounter. “Food for the mind” is the thought sand hopes of spiritual practitioners as well as the thoughts of laypeople; it is the food of their mind and their hopes. As spiritual practitioners, the food of the mind is also our hopes. We hope that we can draw closer to the Dharma of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. This is our hope. The hopes of ordinary laypeople are to attain money, fame and fortune, status and so on. For them, these are their hopes. These are different for everyone.
“Food for consciousnesses refers to all the kinds of karma that permeate the alaya consciousness.” This is the eighth consciousness. The karma that we as individuals create, our karma, our actions and so on, the cognition of the seventh consciousness, the thinking of the sixth consciousness and the working of the previous five consciousnesses all return to the eighth consciousness. In this way, karma permeates the alaya consciousness. Because it permeates us, we often say that in spiritual practice there is nothing to practice except working on our habitual tendencies. How true this is! These things are already stored in our karmic consciousness. We are already heavily permeated with habitual tendencies. Thus, what we must practice now is to work with this consciousness. So, it is “giving rise to continuous retributions.” The eighth consciousness is beyond our control. When we depart this life for the next, where will we go? We do not know. It all depends on the eighth consciousness, which is called the karmic consciousness. All the karma we have ever created returns there. “It enables the deluded mind to abide.” Through spiritual practice, we hope to get rid of this deluded mind and naturally bring everything back so that the alaya consciousness can be pure. We must not let it be defiled. If it is defiled, that is defiled consciousness. When we eliminate these delusions, we become pure, and this purity gradually brings us to the ninth consciousness. This requires our earnest effort.
So, “The Four Foods are also called physical food, emotional food, Dharma food and mental food.”
The Four Foods are also called physical food, emotional food, Dharma food and mental food. They can develop strength, joy and hope. They can capture all Roots and cause our form, lifespan and warmth to continue to exist without decay. They are all called flawed foods of the world.
Our body encounters things while our mind experiences sensations. “Today is so cold!” This is coming into contact with an external state, the cold. “The weather today is great!” This is also a kind of contact. For those refugees, the temperature dropped to three or four degrees. Their clothing was insufficient, so when they came into contact with such warm clothing, of course they were joyful! This is how they were kept warm. These are physical feelings, emotional experiences as well as the Dharma; when we hear the Dharma, the emotional experiences it creates within us are all emotional food. Emotional food is what we feel.
“These can develop strength.” As for the foods of Dharma-joy and meditative joy, if we put effort into spiritual practice, then these things that we encounter can transform delusion into truth and turn afflictions into good thoughts. By doing these things, we can develop strength. In the things that we come into contact with in our daily living, we should always try to take the right path and do the right things, so we will be without afflictions. The things we eat and the things we use should all be healthy. This can help us maintain our strength and increase our joy. Being healthy in body and mind is something that we take joy in. It can increase our hope. As we take in the Dharma, the more we hear, the more joyful we become. With this interest, we take it in and must also know to put it into practice. “[The foods] can capture all Roots.” They can increase our hopes and captivate all of our Roots, so that for all the things our Roots encounter, we will follow the rules and not go off track. This is called “capturing all Roots.”
“They can cause our form, lifespan and warmth to continue to exist without decay.” This warmth comes from putting in great effort, like in “contemplating all feelings as suffering, contemplating the mind as impermanent, contemplating things as without self “ and so on. All these are the Dharma. Putting effort into the 37 Practices to Enlightenment is just like rubbing pieces of wood together. After a while, they begin to get warm and may even catch fire. This is the meaning of “ warmth”. Rubbing wood together to start a fire was also a method ancient people used. So, it takes effort. “[They] continue to exist without decay This enables us, lifetime after lifetime, to put our lives to use among the people without ever leaving the Dharma. In this way, “Our form, lifespan and warmth continue to exist without decay.” This requires incessant effort. This warmth is actually our constant hard work. It does not mean being eager in one moment, then quickly losing our enthusiasm. When we stop, we will lose this warmth. Then there will only be “flaws” (leaks). As we engage in spiritual practice, we must not allow flawed phenomena of the world to destroy us. We must always courageously move forward, always “continuing to exist without decay.” If we are in the midst of “decay,” it means that our spiritual practice has Leaks. We often speak of being without flaws. As we take the Dharma to heart, we must not let it get cut off; it must continue. We must not let it decay halfway. This all goes back to spiritual practice and these two kinds of foods. We have already spoken of so many principles.
Dear Bodhisattvas, the power of love must also extend continuously. Bodhi lies in the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path continues endlessly. This is the path we practice as Bodhisattvas, so we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
