Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The 500 Bhiksus Become Buddhas in Sequence (五百比丘次第作佛)
Date: August.07.2017
“In the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him. Those 500 bhiksus were firm in their resolve. As the previous Buddha’s teachings disappear, humans and heavenly beings will grieve. Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions in turn to bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.”
“In the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him.” Every time a Buddha appears in the world, a very long time must have passed before that Buddha was able to appear. When Buddhas appears in the world, the length of Their lifespans are always different. For instance, Sakyamuni Buddha lived in the Saha World. Lifespans in the Saha World are all very short. This is how lifespans in the Saha World are. The Buddha only lived for 80 years. This is just talking about the time in which He appeared and lived in the world. In accordance with the world, this was the length of His lifespan. The Buddha’s teachings however, the lifespan of His Dharmakaya, in fact last a very long time. When it comes to the Buddha-Dharma, all Buddhas share the same path. For instance, Sakyamuni Buddha, from the time He was one of the 16 princes, had already discovered His nature of True Suchness. Furthermore, as He learned the Buddha’s teachings, listened to the Dharma, experienced its truth and formed aspirations to deliver sentient beings, the lifespan of His Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) was very long, having been continually extended onward since Beginningless Time. However, He still needed to reach universal, perfect enlightenment. To attain universal, perfect enlightenment, He had to constantly engage in spiritual practice until the causes and conditions matured enough that He could manifest in the world as a Buddha. He went among people and announced, “I have awakened! I am in perfect harmony with the true principles of all things in the universe.” There is nothing He did not know, nothing He was not aware of, no principle He did not understand. In all things throughout the universe, in all principles, even the most subtle, there was nothing He did not know. This is awakening. This enlightenment only comes with the perfection of [awakened] action. Then His enlightenment is naturally perfected, this extremely subtle awakening that could encompass things as vast as the universe or reach things as subtle as particles of dust. He could understand things even smaller than dust. We speak now of how in physics or pathology, many things are done by using microscopes to help us to see things that we cannot see with our naked eyes. By using microscopes that magnify tens or hundreds of times, the tiniest, subtlest of worlds, these profound and subtle worlds of physical objects, all appear before us. The Buddha used His Buddha-eye to observe these most minute of particles. He was able to thoroughly understand them, because even the tiniest of microorganisms all have their principles. Although the principles are invisible to the naked eye, these things that we cannot see have incredibly powerful effects. In our bodies, there are germs and so on. These pathogens, these cells, are so tiny. When they act up it can lead to serious illness and great imbalance in the body. In all things found in the macrocosm of the world, there are very subtle principles at work.
The microcosm, our body, is like this, and the macrocosm is like this as well. So, the Buddha often spoke to us of emptiness and how there is wondrous existence in emptiness, the true principles of wondrous existence. This was to help us thoroughly understand and bring our minds together with these principles. Where is True Suchness? True Suchness is the principles. These principles are inherent in everyone’s mind. So, when the Buddha manifested the appearance of attaining Buddhahood in the world, it was by thoroughly penetrating all principles. He manifested the appearance of Buddhahood in response to worldly conditions. So, the Buddha had to adapt to the conditions of the world. When it comes to the Buddha’s lifespan, the Buddha could live for a very long time. Sometimes kalpas are even used to calculate a Buddha’s lifespan. But, in order to deliver people in the world, He had to have the same lifespan as other humans. In the Buddha’s era, 80 years was considered a long lifespan. So, this was “the Buddha’s lifespan in the world.” Of course, there are other worlds, where the Buddha’s lifespan is the same as that of the people in those worlds. If the lifespan of people in that world is long, the Buddha’s lifespan is long.
This is like how in our solar system, the planets orbit the sun, making one revolution around the sun. When our plant revolves once the sun, it takes 365 days. We call this one year. For the planets that are farther from the sun, for [Neptune] to revolve once around the sun, it takes 160 years of our time. So, we could say that the lifespan there is much longer [than compared to Earth]. For us here, it is like this. One year on Mercury is equivalent to only a few months on Earth. So, lifespan on different worlds are all different lengths. It was the same for a Buddha’s life in the world. How long does He live in the world? No matter how long there will inevitably come the day when that Buddha crosses into extinction, when He enters Parinirvana. This is a law of nature. Even someone who has become a Buddha must similarly follow the laws of nature. When a Buddha appears in the world, there will be Buddha-Dharma. With His enlightenment, He awakened to he principles that pervade the entire universe. He knew them all like He knew His own hand; that is how clear they were to Him. Then He taught the Dharma. For a long time, the Dharma would be taught for as long as the Buddha’s lifespan in the world; that is how much could be taught. When a Buddha enters Parinirvana the Dharma will still abide in the world. The length of time it abides in the world will of course be longer than the Buddha’s lifetime. Thus, the Dharma must be continually passed down. So, the Buddha –Dharma is continually passed down like this. As sentient beings’ karmic forces, afflictions and ignorance grow greater, though the Buddha-Dharma may still abide in the world, in people’s daily living, the Dharma becomes a kind of mere semblance of itself. It is merely an appearance. People may know the text of the teachings, may be able to teach it and listen to it, but very gradually the Dharma turns into merely a semblance. This is called “Dharma-semblance”. Very gradually, the ear of Dharma-semblance also passes. Though the Buddha-Dharma still exists, people gradually stop paying attention to it. During the era of Dharma-semblance, people still create images and respect the text of the teachings, but very gradually we reach the era of Dharma-degeneration, when people’s minds are seriously afflicted and they disrespect both the Buddha and the Dharma. As this attitude slowly progresses, people gradually stop placing importance on the Dharma and the principles, so these gradually continue to disappear. They may even say, “I understand the Buddha-Dharma and I can teach the Buddha-Dharma, but I may not necessarily be able to practice according to the teachings.” This is in the era of Dharma-degeneration. These periods of time, for every Buddha, will be different. In different worlds, the time will be different. The time They live in the world will differ, and the lengths of the eras of Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration differ. However, “in the time of the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and the Dharma’s abiding,” during the time when the Buddha lived in the world, the Dharma too was in the world. The Buddha and the Dharma would be in the world. Everyone will listen to the Dharma and practice according to the teachings. This is a world in which everyone is joyful. “Humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him.” Humans revered and admired the Buddha, while heavenly beings protected the Dharma. This was in the Buddha’s time. During the Buddha’s lifespan in the world and during the time the Dharma abides, the world is one in which everything is elegant. We have already spoken of several Buddhas. Their worlds are all beautiful and elegant; the people there are all kind-hearted and so on. They are worlds where humans and heavenly beings live together. Thus, when a Buddha abides in the world, the Dharma prospers. Our present Buddha, Skayamuni Buddha, more than 2500 years ago had His Sangha. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, as we have often said, each time He taught, the number of people present differed. As the Buddha was teaching the Lotus Sutra, when He reached this point, there were “500 bhiksus” present at that place; Kaundinya and the rest of the 500 were by His side. At that time, the Buddha began calling out names, began bestowing predictions of Buddhahood. These 500 people had the causes and conditions to be gathered there at that time. There just happened to be 500 of them there at that time.
This is like what is happening now (2016). Yesterday we saw the pictures and articles that came back from Serbia. The first picture was of them listening to the Dharma. When it is morning time here, it is 10 o’clock in the evening in Serbia. They have not gone to sleep yet, but like all of you here, they are all listening to the Dharma. The people we saw yesterday and the people we saw several days before were all different, because gradually in that place more than a month of time has already passed. They had to begin wrapping up their trip. Some left yesterday, while a few stayed behind. Today, two more will arrive. The people we will see there tomorrow and today will be different again. They will likewise listen to the Dharma there. Their mission there has its set time; though they are helping those suffering there and though they are reluctant to part, starting now, the local volunteers, some of the refugees and [Tzu Chi volunteers] form different countries, are already at the end of the first phase. Some are starting to return to England, some to France. They are reluctant to leave, so they took a picture together. In the picture are refugees and volunteers. There are also volunteers from Bosnia and from Serbia. They knew two volunteers were leaving today, so they said, “Come! Let’s quickly take pictures.” They were already getting ready to leave, but they felt so reluctant to go. Compare this to a month before when they first arrived to help and work with them; everyone was a stranger to each other; they did not know each other. Inside they were thinking, “What can I do today to make you happy? What can I do to help things go smoothly?” Their feelings, due to this lack of understanding, would fluctuate; they would rise and fall. Now everyone understands, thus they are reluctant to leave. So, every day people are leaving, while others are coming to take their place. Thus, there are different people there every day.
It was probably the same during the Buddha’s time. At the start of the Dharma-assembly, in the Introductory Chapter, when He was about to teach the Dharma, many people were there! There are several thousand, tens of thousands, humans and heavenly beings, kings, ministers, bhiksus from afar, thousands of people. The Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra and the Mahaparinirvana Sutra over a period of eight years in total. For seven of these He taught the Lotus Sutra. Of course, at the same assembly, as He would teach every day, there would be people coming and going, thus the number of people would differ. So, at that time, “Those 500 bhiksus were firm in their resolve”. These 500 bhiksus were there, and the Buddha felt causes and conditions [were right], that they were firm in their resolve to listen, so He began bestowing predictions upon them. “As the previous Buddha’s teachings disappear, humans and heavenly beings will grieve”. Whenever a Buddha manifests in the world, when the time for that Buddha to leave draws near and it is about time for Him to enter Parinirvana, humans and heavenly beings begin to grieve. Dharma-semblance will abide, but as it gradually begins to disappear, humans and heavenly beings are even more uneasy! This is the case for every Buddha; no matter how long a Buddha’s lifespan may be, there will be Buddhas before and after. When the previous Buddha appeared in the world, everyone joyfully revered and admired Him. When that Buddha entered Parinirvana, everyone grieved. “Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions”. Future Buddhas will continue this process. So, it will be a very long time before the next Buddha gradually becomes ready and is born in the world. When He does appear, while He lives in the world, “Humans, heavenly beings revere and admire Him”. It will be a similar situation. He will likewise practice with His Sangha, and people’s capabilities will likewise differ. Some have firm spiritual aspirations, while others easily get lost. All of these kinds will likewise be present. Over long periods of time, people will come and go from the Sangha. So, when the time arrives and that Buddha enters Parinirvana, another Buddha will later manifest in the future, who will likewise continue this same cycle. So, “Future Buddhas will continue to appear and bestow predictions in turn to bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability”. After the prior Buddha crosses into extinction, the Dharma will still remain in the world. When it reaches the era of Dharma-degeneration, the world will not be at peace and there will be many disasters. After some time, the Dharma is needed to bring peace to the world, so another Buddha will then appear and the Dharma will again be taught anew. Then gradually, that Buddha will enter Parinirvana, and the Dharma will abide through Dharma-semblance, Dharma-degeneration. Again, the era of Dharma-degeneration will arrive. While the Buddha-Dharma is still in the world, He will begin to make predictions in turn. Every Buddha is like this, in life after life; before They enter Parinirvana, They are certain to bestow predictions on future Buddhas in order to comfort heavenly beings and humans, because after a Buddha has entered Parinirvana, the time that Dharma-semblance will abide and the time of Dharma-degeneration will be very long. So, while the Buddha is still in the world, He must hasten to bestow predictions on successive Buddhas who will come to the world to bring peace and stability to the minds of heavenly beings and humans, so that everyone’s minds can be peaceful and calm. For us in the human realm, we speak of dozens of years, or of thousands of years. Actually in heaven, these are very short periods of time. What seems like a long time to us from the point of view of heavenly beings, is a very short time. Just in Trayastrimsa Heaven, a single day there equals 100 years for us 10,000 years passing for us is only 100 days in their time. In any case, regardless of the length of the Buddha’s lifespan, He will always attain Buddhahood in places where He is needed. In any place where He attains Buddhahood, there will be formation, existence, decay and disappearance, there will be birth, again, illness and death, arising, abiding, changing and ceasing. This is a law of nature. We should better understand these. This is how it will be.
Come, the previous sutra passage states, “They will all ascend the wonderful towers and travel the lands of the ten directions. With unsurpassed devotional items, they reverently make offerings to all Buddhas. Having made these offerings, they are filled with great joy and in an instant return to their original land. They will have such spiritual powers”.
As described earlier, this is Kaundinya ‘s land after he attains Buddhahood, his land when he attains Buddhahood in the future. His lifespan and his land are like this.
How long will that Buddha live? For 60,000 kalpas. “Right Dharma will abide twice that long, and Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. These 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood”.
That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas! Our Buddha’s lifespan, Sakyamuni Buddha’s lifespan, was only 80 years. See, in the future Kaundinya and those 500 bhiksus will have lifespans as long as 60,000 kalpas! “Right Dharma will abide twice as long”. Twice as long means double 60,000 kalpas, which makes it 120,000 kalpas. “Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again”. If you double those 120,000 kalpas, that makes 240,000 kalpas. This is how it will be. When the Dharma abides in the world, there are the eras of Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration. This will continue on for a long time. So, “When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will both be saddened.
However, “These 500 bhiksus, one after another, will attain Buddhahood.” This is how it will be passed on. Their spiritual aspirations are firm, so they pass it in through spiritual practice and likewise attain Buddhahood one after the other. This way, amongst themselves they mutually pass on teachings and bestow predictions.
That Buddha’s lifespan will be 60,000 kalpas; right Dharma will abide twice that long: This is the lifespan of the Buddha’s manifestation. During his lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire him. The era of Right Dharma will last 120,000 kalpas.
“This is the lifespan of Buddha’s manifestation, during his lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding, humans, heavenly beings revere and admire him.” We just talked about this. that Buddha’s manifestation is the form he will take in response to the world, his way of life and his lifespan in the world. So, “the lifespan of the Buddha’s manifestation” means “during the Buddha’s lifespan and the Dharma’s abiding.” He will have his lifespan in the world, then after that, the Dharma abides in the world through the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance. When these are in the world, humans and heavenly beings still show respect. They have respect with Right Dharma in the world and practice according to the teachings. They have respect with Dharma-semblance; they respect it by creating statues, and the texts will also flourish. This is the era of Dharma-semblance. This is when humans and heavenly beings still have respect [for the Dharma].
So, Right Dharma will abide for 120 ,000 kalpas. This is when the right Dharma abides in the world.
Dharma-semblance will abide for twice as long again. When the Dharma disappears, heavenly beings and humans will grieve. Dharma-semblance will last 240,000 kalpas, which is a very long time. “When the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as the eyes for people. When this Dharma disappears, humans and heavenly beings all greive.”
That Buddha, by observing the world with his eyes, can see even the subtlest things, he can take all of these invisible principles and can, one by one, explain them to us clearly and expound upon them so that everyone is able to experience these principles. So, “When the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as the eyes for people.” Sentient beings do not understand the principles, as if they were blind. They do not know anything; they are confused in their perspectives. With these perspectives, even in what they see, they cannot understand the principles contained within. Everything they hear confuses them, so it is impossible for them to be clear. So, when a Buddha is in the world and we do not understand, He will teach us until we do. He will explain the things we cannot understand so we can see the principles within things. Thus, when the Buddha-Dharma abides in the world, it serves as eyes for people. It is just like eyes for the people. The principle is the same; this is how it is.
When the Buddha-Dharma is in the world, it is like what we were just saying about Serbia. There is a person there named Peter who said he has known about Tzu Chi for four years now. After he got to know Mr. Zhong, Mr. Zhong would often tell him of things I say, and Peter would listen to him. He said for the past four years he has been applying the Dharma in his living and it has helped him resolve many complications. This is a foreigner who is listening to me te4ach the Dharma as well. My words were, with Mr. Zhong’s help, passed on and repeated for Peter. He is now in Serbia, getting involved as a volunteer there for a time. He is there now, working with other Tzu Chi volunteers, giving love to the refugees there. When he went to see the refugees, he met many more Tzu Chi volunteers. He is not just friends with Mr. Zhong now, but has already become friends with a large group of Tzu Chi volunteers. He listens to the Dharma every day with them, and when he does not understand, other explain the Dharma further to him. When they explain it to him, it makes him even more joyful. The more he watches and the more he listens, the broader his view becomes.
So, “It serves as the eyes for the people.” However, everyone worried, for “When this Dharma disappears, humans and heavenly beings all grieve. What happens when the Dharma disappears? When the Buddha crosses into extinction, there is still Right Dharma and Dharna-semblance, but when Dharma-semblance is also gone, during the era of Dharma-degeneration, the Dharma will disappear. This is what heavenly beings and humans are saddened by. So, this is what we should be [very mindful of. Though we now say that we are living in the era of Dharma-degeneration, actually Right Dharma, Dharma-semblance and Dharma-degeneration are all created by the mind. When it comes to our minds, if we can list4en to and take the Dharma to hearts, then put it into practice, then this is no different from when the Buddha was in the world. The Buddha taught the Dharma for us to hear, and after hearing it we must put it into practice. we are listening to the Dharma now as well, taking it to heart, but are we really putting it into practice? if we are putting it into practice, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya abide forever in the world. This is no different from Right Dharma abiding in the world, no different from Dharma-semblance. So, we should be mindful. Thus, “Those 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood.”
Those 500 bhiksus one after another will attain Buddhahood: On those 500 bhiksus who were at the assembly listening to the Dharma, He bestowed predictions in turn. “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood.” This is the meaning of “in turn”.
Those 500 bhiksus, when the Buddha was alive, had already been to meet the Buddha in that life. The Buddha bestowed predictions on all of them. Because their spiritual aspirations were firm, the Buddha understood and thus bestowed predictions upon them. He predicted that they would later attain Buddhahood one by one. They all had their causes and conditions for being there. If they lacked the causes and conditions, they would have missed this assembly. Replete with causes and conditions, they received predictions of Buddhahood. So, “On those 500 bhiksus who were at the assembly listening to the Dharma, He bestowed predictions in turn.” In the future, after many lifetimes of strengthening their spiritual aspirations, after many lifetimes of engaging in spiritual practice among the people, causes and conditions will come together, so “He bestowed predictions in turn.” Everyone strengthened each other’s aspirations, mutually encouraged one another and engaged in spiritual practice together, so He told them, “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood. After I cross into extinction, you will also attain Buddhahood in the future.” This was bestowing predictions in turn. Among those 500 bhiksus, some had more profound levels of practice and more extensive affinities with sentient beings. They will attain Buddhahood faster. They have causes and conditions to be always together so once causes and conditions mature, that particular Buddha will then bestow predictions for the future upon others. This is how it is passed down. “After my Parinirvana, you will attain Buddhahood.” He said, “After I cross into extinction, in the future you will also attain Buddhahood.” This is called bestowing predictions. Buddhas bestow predictions on subsequent Buddhas. They all will practice together, so they will attain Buddhahood one after another. This explains that “The 500 bhiksus were all transformed the same way”. Those 500 disciples had all been taught and transformed by Sakyamuni Buddha in the same way and at the same time.
This explains that the 500 bhiksus were all transformed the same way. As the Dharma of a previous Buddha disappears, heavenly beings and humans lose hope, thus they will grieve. Future Buddhas continue to bestow predictions in turn, bringing heavenly beings and humans peace and stability.
“As the Dharma of a previous Buddha disappears, heavenly beings and humans lose hope.” Although everyone there had already received the Buddha’s teachings, and in particular, the 500 bhiksus had all already been transformed by the Buddha with the same Dharma, when this previous Buddha disappears, both heavenly beings and humans will likewise by very disappointed. Because they are saddened, “Future Buddhas continue [to bestow predictions]”. When future Buddhas come again, they will in turn bestow predictions. This is the kind of cycle that occurs all in order to “bring heavenly beings and humans peace and stability”. This is something we all should understand.
The next passage of the sutra says, “They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,]’ After my Parinirvana, so and so will attain Buddhahood. “The world that he transforms will be like mind today.”’
The Buddha said that these disciples, the disciples starting with Kaundinya, those 500 bhiksus, were all like this. They all practiced in this same way, all practiced the same teachings, all went among the people in the same way and transformed sentient beings in the same way. Their practices were all the same, so they will “all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance.”
They will all share the same epithet, Universal Radiance, and will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] “After my Parinirvana, so and so will become a Buddha”: These are words of bestowing predictions in turn. Their meaning is the same as before.
[They] will bestow predictions in turn, [saying,] “After my Parinirvana, so and so will become a Buddha.” Who will it be who receive predictions? The Buddhas had previously already called out the names of many of His disciples, Uruvilva Kasyapa and so on. He had already named them. If we called out the names of all of them now, we would never finish. So, here in this passage it is shortened. Thus, it says “So and so will become a Buddha and will bestow predictions in turn.” This is how it is; everyone will be able to receive predictions. “The world that he transforms will be like mind today.”
The world that he transforms will be like mind today: The matters and principles of his attaining Buddhahood in the future will be the same as the teaching and transforming of all past Buddhas. Thus, it says “will be like mind today”.
“When everyone attains Buddhahood in the future, the sentient beings they will transform and the world they are in will be the same as mind. Mine” is not referring to Sakyamuni Buddha. It is talking about each of these Buddhas. Every Buddha will refer to it as “mine”. They will attain Buddhahood one after the other. All Buddhas share the same path. So, all of the Buddhas there will all be called “Universal Radiance,” and they will bestow predictions in turn.
So, when it comes to the word “mine” it says in the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom, “Though the Buddha’s disciples and others know there is no self, they say ‘I’ and ‘mine’ following worldly customs. This is no real self.”
The Buddha analyzed this principle for everyone. Where is this “I”? There is no “I”. There is no self; it is empty, like a dew drop, or a flash of lightning. Who is it we call “I”? I may say “I” but you also say “I”. Does that “I” refer to me? If everyone only said “I,” how could we tell them apart? Naturally there is a “he,” and there is a “you”. That way we know he is not you, and I am not him. So, these are the workings of the world. When we follow the customs of the world, we use the word “I”. So, every Buddha will say, “‘I’ bestow predictions on you ‘I’ pass the Dharma on to you”. This is just following worldly customs. “There is no real self.” “The 500 disciples practiced the path together.” These 500 disciples were all the same. During the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, they all received predictions together. They practiced together with the same teachings and same actions. So, this is the same as it is now.
The 500 disciples practiced the Path together and now also sowed seeds of goodness together, planting Dharma-affinities. These were the causes and conditions for having the same predictions of Buddhahood in the future.
Thus, one by one, each in the future would become a Buddha. So, “They sowed seeds of goodness together, planting Dharma-affinities.” They all sowed seeds together and formed these kinds of affinities together. So, they had “the same predictions of Buddhahood in the future.” These were their causes and conditions; they all formed the same kinds of affinities.
As Buddhist practitioners we must be mindful. The Buddha came to the world to teach the Buddha-Dharma, taking the most subtle and intricate principles and spreading them all as if He were spreading seeds of goodness. It was as if He was mindfully planting seeds in the hope that this seeds in everyone would become a big tree and its fruits could be planted in the earth again. So, “One gives rise to infinity; infinity arises from one.” With this same seed, this same intrinsic nature of True Suchness, if we can clearly understand it, then naturally we will be able to seize our causes and conditions. The Buddha’s lifespan in the world is limited. This is a law of nature; whether long or short, it is always subject to the laws of nature. So, even if we hear the sutras mention the length of a certain Buddha’s lifespan, the Dharma always remains the same. No matter where in the universe, no matter how long a Buddha’s lifespan, He will never finish teaching. Even if His lifespan is short, and He can only teach a small amount of Dharma, if we can earnestly apply that Dharma, if we can earnestly practice that one teaching, “If we uphold our mission and follow the path, then our path will be great” If we can do this, if we can take the Dharma to heart and put it into practice, then as we go among people, afflictions are Bodhi. If we can collect all those countless afflictions, we will have infinite seeds of Bodhi. This will depend on us always being mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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