Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: A Straightforward Mind and Deep Faith (滿慈願力 說法第一)
Date: July.05.2017
“A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place. The depths of our heart is the pure land. By making vows to transform all living beings, when Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood, they are replete with merits and virtues. Sentient beings journey on their blessings to be born in that land.”
“A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place.” We must always pay close attention to and take good care of our minds. Our mind is our place of spiritual practice; if we do not take good care of our minds, how can we engage in spiritual practice? “[To know] all Buddhas of the Three Periods, [know] all things are created by the mind.” Thus, our minds are our place of practice. How should we engage in spiritual practice? We need to have deep understanding, deep faith and deep, strong vows. Regarding the Buddha-Dharma, we must have right understanding and right views. We must delve deeply into the Buddha’s teachings. However the Buddha taught us, we must have the greatest sincerity as we listen to and delve deeply into the Dharma. After we listen to it, we must mindfully seek to experience it so the Dharma can be taken straight into our heart. If we can take the Dharma straight into our heart, then our whole mind will be a pure land. This is because we have faith in the Dharma from the depths of our hearts. The Dharma is the principles; it is a path for us to walk, a very grounded path, a Bodhisattva-path that goes straight to the state of Buddhahood. This state of mind is a pure land. Our mind is not troubled by anything else, not disrupted by any interpersonal conflicts. Afflictions and ignorance will not cover our minds.
Our minds will always be a completely pure place of spiritual practice. This is our pure land. Maitrayaniputra was about to receive a prediction of Buddhahood. The Buddha often praised Maitrayaniputra for the fact that his straightforward mind and the depths of his heart were places of spiritual practice and were both completely pure. He was able to comprehend the Buddha’s intent and walk the path the Buddha wanted to walk. This was Purna Maitrayaniputra’s straightforward mind and the depths of his heart; the spiritual training ground of his mind. He relied on the great vows he had made in the depths of his heart, the vows of his straightforward mind and the depths of his heart. Once he understood the Buddha-Dharma, he began to make the great vows. He vowed to deliver all sentient beings. The Four Great Vows start with “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” Sentient beings are everywhere. On Earth alone there are so many countries. There are over 190 countries in this world. Every country is [different]; some of them are large and others are small. Some are rich and others are poor. The people of some countries are kindhearted while people of other countries have [calculating] minds. There is good and evil in every country’s people. Countries have their own numerous problems. This is all because people’s minds are confused. Everyone’s mind is covered by afflictions and ignorance. So, the Buddha, the Great Enlightened One, came to the world. He did not come for the sake of one country or for the sentient beings from one place. He wanted to cover all of the ten directions, which is all sentient beings. Because of this, He said, “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” So, “vows to transform all living beings” were the vows of Purna Maitrayaniputra. The Four Great Vows are the vows of all Buddhas. They are the universal vows of all Buddhas. These are the Four Great Vows. Every Buddha, in order to attain Buddhahood, needs to have the Four Great Vows and the Four Infinite Minds. These are universal vows.
So, “making vows to transform all living beings, when Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood….” Before Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood, when they are in the period of vowing to transform all living beings, they will spend lifetime after lifetime forming connections with sentient beings. Once these causes and conditions are sufficient, they will have perfected their merits and virtues. The sentient beings a Buddha transforms will be able to be like Him. Because they were transformed by Him, they will be born during the Buddha’s lifetime. “They will be born in the that land.” They will be with this Buddha because in past lives they continually created affinities with Him. In previous lifetimes, before he attained Buddhahood, when he was walking the Bodhisattva-path, he planted seeds and created blessed affinities over many lifetimes. As they were now replete with good affinities and had achieved perfection in merits and virtues, in future lifetimes, these people would be born in the same era as the Buddha. This is something we must believe. Bodhisattvas have to go to all places; when they hear [the cries of] sentient beings, they will find and help those who are suffering. Indeed, this is how they are.
For the past few days, we have been talking about a group of Bodhisattvas who are still in Serbia. They came from 11 different countries and all went to Serbia for the same purpose. They went for the sake of the refugees fleeing from another country. They suffer, and every step of the way is hard. They have experienced all kinds of suffering from the imbalance of the four elements and have taken many risks along the way, all to keep themselves and their families alive. They wanted to survive, so they fled their countries. This suffering is truly unbearable. They have no clothes to wear, no food to eat and no shelter to live in. With people suffering like this, we had the opportunity [or help]. Our volunteers quickly seized this opportunity to go to that country. It has already been many days. From the day they left until now, they have worked morning to night. In that place, they hope the roads ahead can be opened so that more refugees can get through and the clothes we have prepared for them can be handed out. However, at this time, not many people are able to get through. They allow only 200 to 300 people to get through at a time, so the volunteers have to wait there patiently. We see how, in that place, when they go out every morning, they split up into two routes. One goes to Adasevci, which is a waystation for the refugees. When the buses arrive, they allow the refugees to stop there for a while, so our volunteers will quickly seize that time to interact with them and dress them in the supplies we prepared. We can see how they put clothes, hats, socks, scarves, shoes and everything on them. After seeing their smiles, our volunteers feel so at ease. As for those who stayed near the train station, which is also a waystation for the refugees, they [worked with] t hose who were stuck there or those who were waiting for their train to come. This other group of Tzu Chi volunteers stayed there to help these refugees. They have seen many refugees at the Sid train station refugee camp. Some of them are able to get on the train as soon as the door opens, but some are kicked off after getting on the train. Why did this happen? Because they did not have the appropriate ID. Some of them lost their identification cards, so they quickly got off the train to look for their IDs. They kept digging through the pile of trash. Tzu Chi volunteers and other people went to help them look for their identification, but they still could not find them. They cried as they searched for their IDs. Just as the train was about to leave, they were still looking for their IDs. Some were being brought back by the train because they had been injured. They were fine when they left but injured when they returned. There was a man named Hasan who was sent back because when he got off the train to go in, that country actually prevented his entry. Why did they refuse to let him in? There was some problem with his ID again, so he was not allowed to enter [the country]. He was so anxious to cross the border that he was struck and injured by the police. His arm was injured and he was sent back. He was so angry. Our Tzu Chi volunteers quickly got close to him and cheered him up. They asked him to be patient and wait for a bit. The road to Croatia was tightly guarded. Though he was able to board the train in Serbia and had already reached Croatia, after he got off the train, there was this kind of clash there, and he was sent back. Moreover, his hand was injured, so he was truly very upset. We could see Shu-Wei gently comforting him there. We also saw the refugee commissioner, the head of the refugee committee, who originally was not very kind to the refugees. The process the refugees had to go through was truly like going through the gates of hell. They faced some very shameful attitudes there. However, over those few days in that place, Tzu Chi volunteers showed their sincere love [to the refugees], which deeply touched this refugee commissioner, the head of the waystation. He became more soft and gentle. He became friends with the Tzu Chi volunteers and began to treat others like the volunteers did. He also became a Bodhisattva. This is what it means to transform sentient begins. We vow to transform all sentient beings. For people who suffer, we provide comfort. We see their suffering, so we put clothes on them to make them warm. Our attitude makes them feel that a dear friend has come to look after their hearts. This becomes, in their lives, a share of “Dharma-food”. Dharma-joy comes from a Bodhisattva’s loving attitude while helping others. Form the spiritual training ground of their straightforward mind and the depths of the heart, they give selflessly. For those people, fleeing their country was like a nightmare, a nightmare they could not wake up from. It was all beyond their control, and they did not know what lay ahead. But they could spend some heart-warming time with this group of Bodhisattvas. This group of kind friends were there to guide them and provide them with the material goods they needed. This was like passing through a pure land. This was because Bodhisattvas were there spreading seeds of love that would grow into a forest of merits and virtues. Those who were there to serve were also very deeply moved.
Some of the Tzu Chi volunteers stayed at a hotel. I saw a picture of all the Tzu Chi volunteers gathered around a table with a computer in the middle. Everyone focused on listening to something. What were they listening to? It was “Life Wisdom”. Now, the Dharma can be sent to the clouds then be brought down anywhere in the world. These Living Bodhisattvas gathered at the table and very mindfully listened to me talk about the process of t heir relief work in Serbia. They were all so mindful. This is also the Dharma. Even though they are very far from us, they were also listening to the teaching. They were listening to how they, as modern Bodhisattvas, were helping suffering beings in other places. At the hotel where they stayed, they already created affinities of friendship and joy with the owner. The owner offered his kitchen so the Tzu Chi volunteers could cook the vegetarian foods they wanted to eat. Everyone was very happy because they could make home-cooked meals there. They could make home-cooked vegetable dishes. The owner also took the volunteers to buy groceries to bring back. Using the kitchen, they were able to have meals with the flavor of their hometown. Everyone was very happy. This is how Bodhisattvas are.
They vow to go there, and though they face many difficult, they use their love, they truly use the power of gentleness, a very soft and gentle demeanor to overcome these obstacles one after another. This is truly very touching to see. So, we should all be mindful. We must be mindful in our daily living. This is how to be a Buddhist practitioner. As practitioners, we have the food of Dharma-joy and meditative joy. This is our process of spiritual practice, the things we experience as we practice. Tzu Chi volunteers create affinities wherever they go. They truly created such joyful affinities in that restaurant. They also listened to the Dharma there, so they have the food of Dharma-joy and meditative joy. They could listen to the Dharma and also eat what they wanted by cooking for themselves. These cause and conditions were sufficient.
Previously we talked about how “The sentient beings in that land often take two kinds of food. First, the food of Dharma-joy. Second, the food of meditative joy”.
This is just like the Tzu Chi volunteers in Serbia. They have both kinds of “food”. This is how they feel as they served. We talked about this yesterday.
The next sutra passage states, “There will be countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas in that assembly. They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, so they can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings”.
In that place, the sentient beings in that land will constantly experience these two [feelings] of Dharma-joy and meditative-joy. This is what sentient beings in that land experience in their lives. “There are countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas in that assembly”. There are not only sentient beings but also many Bodhisattvas.
There are countless asankyas of billions and trillions of nayutas of Bodhisattvas in that assembly: This explains the virtues of the followers of the Three Vehicles. The number of Bodhisattvas of the Great Vehicle will be extremely large.
“This explains the virtues of the followers of the Three Vehicles.” In that place, there are practitioners of the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles engaging in spiritual practice in the land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata. There are many Bodhisattvas there; the majority have formed Great Vehicle aspirations. This is because now Purna Maitrayaniputra uses the Great Vehicle Dharma to create affinities with people. Thus, in his future land, the majority will be Great Vehicle Bodhisattvas. So, these people, these Bodhisattvas, will all attain great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdom, especially the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms.
They have attained great spiritual powers and the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms: With the power of Samadhi, they are able to attain spiritual powers. They understand thoroughly all kinds of Dharma-nature and realize the four kinds of unobstructed wisdom.
“With the power of Samadhi” means that to attain spiritual powers, we must start with the power of Samadhi. With precepts, we give rise to Samadhi, and with Samadhi we give rise to wisdom. This principle is certain. In regards to spiritual practice, I am always teachings everyone about the Three Flawless Studies. Our precepts, Samadhi and wisdom must be flawless. Our Samadhi comes from upholding the precepts. There are things we should and should not do; if we can follow this well, then our minds will not be troubled by interpersonal conflicts. This way, our minds will not be scattered. So, with a mind that is not scattered, we can focus our spirit. This is attaining spiritual powers. We are focused and not scattered, concentrating our spirit. Then there is nothing we do not know. This is the Bodhisattvas power of Samadhi. “They understand thoroughly all kinds of Dharma-nature.” They ultimately understand /all of the Dharma-nature. Dharma-nature is something we all inherently have. As for the principles of all things in this world, there are none that they do not comprehend. They “realized the four kinds of unobstructed wisdom.” With the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, we must be mindful in order to understand. They are also the Four Unobstructed Understandings or the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence.
The Four Unobstructed Wisdoms: They are also called the Four Unobstructed Understandings or the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence. The wisdom of unobstructed Dharma, the wisdom of unobstructed meaning, the wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric and the wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence.
As long as we fully comprehend the principles, as long as we understand all of them, then with these principles we understand, if other people cannot comprehend them and misinterpret or misunderstand us, we can explain things of them. This is unobstructed eloquence. These four, the Fourfold Unobstructed Eloquence, are the wisdoms of unobstructed Dharma, meaning, rhetoric and joyful eloquence. Among these four.
What exactly is wisdom of unobstructed Dharma? “It is to thoroughly understand the terms of all Dharma and differentiate them without hindrance.”
For all the terms in the Dharma, we are able to have thorough understanding. When we hear a term, we will be able to know what it means. When we say “suffering, with this one word,” we all fully comprehend the suffering of the world. All kinds of appearances of suffering and principles appear in our minds. These teachings come from just one word. From the word, “causation,” we are able to experience how countless amounts of ignorance accumulates and gives rise to so many afflictions. This is called the wisdom of unobstructed Dharma. As for the Dharma’s terms, whether they are one word or multiple words, we can understand them as soon as we hear them. We are able to understand everything. This is the kind of wisdom we have.
The second is called “wisdom of unobstructed meaning.” “It is to comprehend the principles of all Dharma thoroughly without obstruction.”
We just spoke of how we understand all terms. Whatever terms we encounter now, we will be able to fully know what they are. We understand the principles, and we know what kind of Dharma they belong to. We categorize them by type and teaching, thoroughly and without obstruction.
The third is the wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric. The wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric: It is to understand all kinds of languages and freely expound [the Dharma] at will.
We will understand the teachings and fully comprehend the principles contained within. What terms should we use when teachings people so that everyone understand? What kind of language should we use? Since there are so many countries and even some countries with multiple languages, if we want to spread the Dharma, how many languages do we need to know? In Taiwan alone, there is Hakka, Taiwanese, as well as many different indigenous languages. Speaking of only indigenous tribes, there are already dozens of different languages. In short, we must use all kinds of terms and languages to teach so that sentient beings will understand. We interact with them through methods that enable them to understand.
In the past, there was a period when I continually told people, “You all have to learn international sign language.” I hope that, whatever their country of origin, though we do not speak their language, we could use sign language [to communicate]. However, they would need to understand it too. In short, there may be many methods and languages that we do not understand. Not everyone knows sign language, either. So, to be able to listen to the Dharma is not so simple. Teaching the Dharma also is very difficult. To transform sentient beings is not easy. Thus, if we are not familiar with the terms and do not know all kinds of languages, then we cannot teach the Dharma. If you want me to talk to Americans, there is no way I could do that. If you want me to talk to Japanese people, I cannot do that either. This is because I do not know the words.
Thus, the wisdom of unobstructed joyful eloquence. “Is to eloquently speak the Dharma’s meaning, perfectly and harmoniously without hindrance and teach sentient beings joyful and freely.”
If we cannot communicate, we must rely on others to translate for us. We need to find people who know how speak and know how to translate to come translate. This is joyful eloquence. “I cannot speak this [language]”. “Please come here and help me translate. All I want to do is wholeheartedly let them know about the Dharma.” We must think of all possible methods. If we cannot use sign language or spoken words to communicate, we have to ask people to translate and think of some kind of method. There is truly nothing we can do about this; sentient beings speak different languages. To transform sentient beings is by no means easy. However, when we can speak and understand [the same language as others], we should use unobstructed joyful eloquence. We learn things thoroughly over and over, and after we learn, we explain them to others. We hope those who have affinities can accept them. These affinities must be constantly accumulated, so we should “skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.”
They can skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings: They have unobstructed spiritual powers; therefore, they can skillfully transform and teach kinds of sentient beings. They teach and transform them according to their kind.
Those Bodhisattvas in the land of Dharma Clarity Tathagata already have the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. They have attained great spiritual powers and also the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. So, “They can skillfully teach and transform sentient beings.” They have thoroughly understood all these things; they comprehend the Dharma, the meaning and the rhetoric, so they have joyful eloquence. They have the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms, the Four Unobstructed Eloquence. They will be replete with all of this. They willingly get involved and go among people to transform sentient beings because they have the vow of a Bodhisattva. Because they want to attain Buddhahood, they must walk this Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path is not an easy one; we must be mindful in walking it. So in that place, sentient beings and spiritual practitioners of the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles are able to receive teachings from Dharma Clarity Tathagata. Thus they can all move into the stage of forming Great Vehicle aspirations. Great Vehicle aspirations are to “skillfully teach and transform all kinds of sentient beings.” They can all teach and transform sentient beings. They will have “unobstructed spiritual powers, therefore they can skillfully transform [people].” Because they will be replete in spiritual powers, their powers are without obstruction. When we want to accomplish something in this world, there are many obstacles. Even with the same good deed, different people have different methods of accomplishing it. Some people take their straightforward mind as their place of spiritual practice. When they want to do some task, everyone does it together. Some people think that in order to do these things together, they must work with someone they have affinities with or someone they have already worked with in the past. “This person is not easy to get along with. That person has bad habitual tendencies.” Thus they refuse to interact with this person, even if they may have already changed, even if they fully eliminated all their bad habits. Then coming back, [they say,] “I want to do good deeds together with you! I want to walk the Bodhisattva-path together!” However, some people feel that since that person was this way in the past, they do not want to let them on [the team] or do not want to partner with them. In this way, though they have good intentions, they are lacking that straightforward mind. If we want to do something good, we need to do it with many people. But if we only choose the people we like and the people who listen to us in order to avoid past frustrations, we are not giving others a chance. This is a Bodhisattva lacking a straightforward mind, lacking [vows] in the depths of the heart. With Bodhisattva-aspirations deep in our hearts, our spiritual aspirations will be very firm. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come to the world to transform sentient beings. They do not let even one sentient beings slip by. This is what all Bodhisattvas and Buddhist practitioners have deep in their hearts. No matter how far away people are, as long as there are causes and conditions, we will do everything in our power to help and transform them. This is what is in the depths of our hearts. This is our straightforward mind.
Look at how these [volunteers] are now far away from their homes. They come not only from the ten directions, but from 11 different directions. People from11 different countries all went there to work with the locals, who also formed aspirations and dedicated themselves as volunteers. As they came together, there were originally people from 11 countries, but now, including the locals, there are 12. Previously we talked about reporters. There were also journalists from Hungary who went in there with us, as well as the local ones. If we count these that would make 13 countries. Now, there are people of 11 countries transforming people in another 2 countries. In those 2 countries sees of kindness are planted and they have already joined Tzu Chi. This is how Bodhisattvas transform sentient beings. These are unobstructed spiritual powers. In these faraway places, they are able to bring everyone together to spread the seeds of kindness across a field of merits and virtues. When they arrive, they “skillfully transform”. So, they “teach all kinds of sentient beings. They teach and transform them according to their kind.” To save people there and transform them into Bodhisattvas is truly no easy task. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be mindful. We must be mindful of the process of forming aspirations and making vows. Our minds must be straightforward, and the Dharma must be taken deeply into our heart. It must truly be taken in deeply in order to “have Dharma to transform people.” Thus, “A straightforward mind is where spiritual practice takes place. The depths of our heart is the pure land.” We must “make vows to transform all living beings.”
Dear Bodhisattvas, these are the spiritual provisions we need in order to attain Buddhahood. Yesterday, we talked about Dharma-joy and meditative-joy. This is the spiritual food we absorb to help our wisdom-life grow. We must earnestly absorb it, so we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
