Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Transforming the Deluded to the Enlightened (化迷向覺 捨小求大)
Date: August.09.2017
“For those practitioners who followed the Buddha and cultivated and learned the pure Dharma, He gave predictions of Buddhahood. All Buddhas share the same Dharam and path; They give predictions so that these can be transmitted forever. All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause, to transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment.”
The Buddha was already at an old age when He began bestowing predictions on His disciples, giving them confidence in their spiritual practice and giving everyone further confirmation that they all can attain Buddhahood in the future. With this kind of confidence, they practiced according to teachings. All Buddhas do the same. They want to help us understand that among all the Dharma-realms of the universe, there are so many principles. When gathered together, they all form this mind of enlightenment. For us to become enlightened, we must earnestly be mindful and follow the teachings of those who are enlightened. We must have deep faith, must have this deep respect in accepting the Dharma. To take the Dharma to heart, we need deep faith. We must take the Dharma to heart often and be unwilling to let any leak out. This is flawless precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. So, the Buddha taught us in this way; this life of suffering is caused by accumulating many causes and conditions. These causes and conditions arise when, in a moment of carelessness, we give rise to a certain thought or action which brings into being karmic forces of afflictions and ignorance. So, the Buddha taught us to [uphold] precepts. Precepts guard against wrongs and stop evil. First, He explained the [truths] of suffering, then He told us of the actions that are the “causation” and how we need to guard against them. We must be careful of these actions and not transgress in these ways. The origin of these actions is just one single thought. So, we need to take good care of our thoughts. These are the precepts.
So, sometimes we will feel, “I have not violated any precepts.” But have we truly not violated them? We have given rise to these thoughts! Have we really done nothing wrong? We have taken these actions! Thus we very easily accumulate this ignorant feeling in our relationships. If this ignorance is planted in people’s minds, then we will form bad affinities with them. Truly, in speaking of this, it is very subtle. Yet all of these things are [karmic] seeds. Do we plant good seeds or spread negative seeds? This depends on whether we are always mindful and cautious. We must not create karma, must not create negative causes nor give rise to unwholesome thoughts. So much suffering is accumulated in that way. Thus, we need to engage in spiritual practice. In our spiritual practice, we need precepts. From these precepts, we can understand many things and learn to have self-discipline, learn to be vigilant and learn to guard against [evil]. So, we must engage in spiritual practice in order to be able to eliminate suffering.
These are the teachings of precepts and Samadhi that allow our minds to listen to the Dharma for a long time. As we listen to the Dharma, we must take it deeply into our minds. Our faith must not be broken off. We say, “In the past, I had such faith. Now I feel like it has been a long time, I….” Gradually, our faith and actions weaken. If our faith weakens, we will become lax in our spiritual practice.
Because of Tzu Chi’s 50th anniversary, volunteers wished to express their respect by commemorating our beginnings 50 years ago and the road we have mindfully walked since then. With their diligent resolve, at this time everyone has gathered together to reverently walk in a bowing pilgrimage. I saw this large and dignified group reverently prostrating from the entrance. The group, entering in such an orderly manner, was expressing their earnest diligence. Can we apply this earnest diligence in our daily lives? We go to morning and evening recitation when the time comes. In our regular work, everyone is very busy and is seizing the time. In the morning recitation, we must be diligent. When we hear the bell and drum, in an orderly manner, we enter the Buddha Hall. This is diligence. Everyone shares a common intent. These are the rules of our daily living. This was the first thought we had when we decided to become spiritual practitioners. Life in a monastery like this. Starting from this thought, we need to follow a set of rules to live by, to engage in spiritual practice. So, morning and evening recitations represent the diligence of monastic discipline. This is more important than coming once a year for a one-or two-hour pilgrimage.
However, this annual [pilgrimage] brought Tzu Chi volunteers from across Taiwan. They were all expressing their resolve, that they had not forgotten their initial aspiration. They experienced again that feeling of reverence from when they formed initial aspirations. These thoughts of reverence are not just about tangible actions once a year; they should always be [expressed], just like Never-Slighting Bodhisattva. Though in teaching this sutra, we have yet to reach Never-slighting Bodhisattva, since the beginning we constantly talked about Never-Slighting Bodhisattva’s attitude in spiritual practice. He believed what the Buddha taught, that all people intrinsically have Buddha-nature. He respected all people and did not look down on any person, because everyone can attain Buddhahood. This was what Never-Slighting Bodhisattva practiced.
However, the Buddha taught us that though all beings intrinsically have Buddha-nature, in the end we become deluded with one thought. With one thought, we give rise to evil thoughts or to [the thought to] practice virtuous Dharma. This is all determined by a single thought. This is also something we must always nurture. Everyone has this intrinsic Buddha-nature, but from beginningless kalpas ago, we allowed this one thought to run away, enticed by the external environment. When a seed is planted in the ground, this seed grows into a great tree and is heavily-laden with fruits. The seeds of evil, afflictions and ignorance, these karmic forces, are constantly reproduced in the same way. So, our nature of True suchness, our originally pure intrinsic nature, is affected by this reproduction of ignorance and afflictions. In this way, these habitual tendencies prevent our nature of True Suchness from being able to express its ability. We have fewer good thoughts, as our habitual tendencies have been permeated by evil thoughts. So as our good thoughts are about to be expressed, evil thoughts immediately take over. Greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt, prejudice toward others and so on, are all continuously reproduced. With these doubts, [we think,] “Can that person really attain Buddhahood?” It even becomes rare for us to think about how. Yet the Buddha-nature that is in everyone and our memory of the Buddha’s teaching is covered by the discursive thoughts that we have during our daily living. So, we need to express that, “I still respect you, because in the future, you will become a Buddha.” Never-Slighting Bodhisattva’s spirit is very rarely manifested.
In summary, as practitioners of the Buddha –Dharma, we must always follow the Buddha. However the Buddha teaches us is the way we need to accept the teachings. Though the Buddha lived more than 2000 years ago, when our minds are reverent, the Buddha is before us. If we can always be reverent, the way things were 2000 years ago and our spiritual practice now will be the same. “We pass through long kalpas in a single moment.” If we are not reverent, one moment can drag on for a long time. What I am saying now, perhaps what I said a few minutes ago, may have already been forgotten. With time, we quickly forget. This means that time drags on. If we hear this Dharma now, though we are separated by more than 2000 years, what does 2000 years matter? It is only 20 days in Trayastrimsa Heaven. How can this be considered long?
So, to sum things up, we need to seize and make good use of our time. The Buddha is not far from us. The Buddha’s teachings have been passed down to the present, so we need to follow the Buddha. In whatever way the Buddha teaches us, one only must we sincerely remember, we must also put the teachings into practice. So, “For those practitioners who followed the Buddha and cultivated and learned the pure Dharma, He gave predictions of Buddhahood.” The Buddha, at the Vulture Peak Assembly, bestowed predications on His disciples. Where are these disciples today? Perhaps they are with us now. For those who lived in the Buddha’s era, we may perhaps remain, lifetime after lifetime, living in the same time as a Buddha. Having accepted the Buddha’s teachings, life after life, we continue in the same way. Perhaps we may even have received the Buddha’s predictions. So, for the Buddha, for all Buddhas, “All Buddhas share the same Dharma and path; They give predictions so that these can be transmitted forever.”
I often say that all Buddhas share the same path. When any Buddha comes to the human world, His teaching methods are the same. At the end, He will do this to pass the Dharma on; that is how the Buddha-Dharma can forever remain and continue on in the human realm. So, He needs to give predictions to His disciples. He bestows predictions that in the future, we can all attain Buddhahood in the future. However, every one of us must continue listening to the Buddha-Dharma lifetime after lifetime. We listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma. Then when we live at the same time as the Buddha, we should receive a prediction of Buddhahood. In according with the changes of our modern era, we are also manifesting a form here, with circumstantial and direct retributions in response to this time. With circumstantial and direct retributions, we come to the human realm. During this time, we need to use our physical form to transform sentient beings. This requires us to adapt to sentient beings. When the Buddha came to our world, He also had to adapt to sentient beings. So, as we learn the Buddha’s teachings, regardless of whether or not we are living at the same time as the Buddha, isn’t it possible that we had also received predictions when He was in the world? We have come to the human realm many times since, yet we must still have the same sense of duty, because all of us are still the Buddha’s disciples. The Buddha is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. We chant in the “Verse in Praise of the Buddha, Guiding teacher of the Three Realms, kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings”. Since we are the Buddha’s disciples, we must all have a sense of mission. This sense of mission is that, in our regular spiritual practice, we need faith, understanding, practice and realization. We must uphold precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, the Three Flawless Studies, so that we can improve. Then, we can truly call ourselves the Buddha’s disciples.
So, in order to ensure that Dharma is transmitted unendingly, the Buddha gave predictions to His disciples. “All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause”, in order to “transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment”. They transform deluded sentient beings and lead them to the path of enlightenment. Because sentient beings have lost their intrinsic nature of True Suchness, they reproduce ignorance and constantly create [negative] karma. This karma becomes our collective karma. Due to collective karma, the turbidities in this era are quite severe. Thus, we face karmic retributions. These collective retributions are the causes of disasters in our world. Bodhisattvas manifest in the human realm “because of suffering beings”, to help them.
In Serbia, there are over a dozen Tzu Chi volunteers. They have gotten closer to the refugees and the local people, as well as newly-inspired volunteers who have joined in to volunteer with Tzu Chi and already united all as one. They have guided and led them so that they now have the spirit of a volunteer. They are helping the refugees open their hearts, even if it is just for a moment of happiness. There was a youth in his early teens. In his mind, he had some resentment. He had not cracked a smile during the three years as a refugee. He was now stuck in Serbia, and there was this resentment in his mind. This was how he looked at the world and life. He saw that everyone came to help now and he had encountered this group of such good people, who tried everything to make them smile. When we saw them smile, we assumed that they had a bed to sleep on and food to eat, that they were already settled. He said, “Right now we have no home. I don’t have a home, I don’t have a school where I can learn. I don’t have many thing”. Then he said, “In the past, in my own country, I had a house. I had a school to learn at. I had everything”. He fled [Syria] at age 10. This year, he is 13. In that place, he has met so many good people, doing everything they can to love the refugees. His mother said, “I see how you treat my son and my daughter. They are actually happy in their hearts. Though my child still has some resentment in his mind, he is still very happy for everything you have given him.” His mother quickly explained what her son had said. Though he still had a little resentment, his mother was quick to explain, “My son is extremely happy. I am grateful that you are here to bring him joy and help my son and my daughter have smiles on their faces”. This was the mother’s gratitude toward our group.
Actually, we can understand this young man. He is 13 now; what age must he reach before being able to have a stable place to live? When can he have an education? When can he have a home that he can call his own? Right now, what he needs is a home, a safe and stable home and a school where he can learn and have the opportunity to be educated. Right now, he can only [wait] like this; but how long will he have to wait? We do not know. This is the collective karma there. How many more people are like him? It is not just in one country, but in many countries, not just in Serbia, but in Italy as well. There are not many Tzu Chi volunteers there, just two here and two there, and between them a very long distance, 400 to 500 kilometers apart, in the same country, there are a total of four Tzu Chi volunteers. Two of them are already certified; the other two have not yet been certified. One was from Taiwan and married someone there, and the other is just now undergoing training. But for these four people to gather together at one place in order to help African refugees was not an easy matter. They were separated by 400 to 500 kilometers. Some had to ride a train to gather there. Also, some flew from Germany. There was a total of six volunteers who could reach Italy. They too such a long journey to gather together in order to help the refugees and buy clothes for them. When it was cold, the local people said the refugees were pitiable and had no covers or blankets suitable for winter. They asked for donations. The Tzu Chi volunteers in Italy sought donations of covers or blankets. They gathered this [support] from local schools and local people. They first explained about Tzu Chi’s love, how they had come from a great distance and gone through great difficulty to get there in order to serve others. Everyone heard this and was moved. So, the local people also got involved to help and comfort them, to help them settle in this refugee camp in central Italy while in the process of their journey. The volunteers did not just give them things, they also led “Daddy Walks the Water Buffalo.” These people who were helping others had to learn the rhythm to “Daddy Walks the Water Buffalo” and would lead them in singing it. Even the refugees from Africa were led to sing along. These six volunteers came from Italy and also from Germany Tzu Chi volunteers from many different places gathered in central Italy to mobilize local people with love in their hearts. Once they understood, they got involved and held relief distributions for the refugees. Before the relief distributions started, everyone was very happy, because their hearts had opened. However, these refugees could only stay for three months at this stop in their journey. Then, [the government] matches them with different places in Italy. After three months, there will be a new group. They already had these standard protocols. These refugees, in different places in Italy, may perhaps be able to find a safe place to stay. This is another place. There are not many Tzu Chi volunteers in Europe. There are not many Tzu Chi volunteers in Europe In Italy, they are exercising their love to mobilize people, calm the refugees minds and inspire happiness in them. These is truly the result of cause and conditions. These are the causes and conditions of the one great cause in our modern times. Bodhisattvas must go to different places, to give of themselves for the sake of those sentient begins’ facing collective karma.
So, “All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause, to transform the deluded and lead them to enlightenment.” In this vast sea of people where can these refugees go? First, their minds must be calmed. They need to first have a direction in their heart. This is the love we all have in life. Only in this way will they not be lost in hatred. We must first give them a direction of love are now planted one by one in the hearts of these sentient beings who are experiencing suffering. This is what we need to work toward. This is our sense of mission. The Buddha’s teachings must not be allowed to leak out of our minds. The Dharma has continued for over 2000 years. In our present times, with our society and way of loving, etc., we need to be able to adapt. So, we adapt to people’s way of life now in order to give to help others.
Now, let us read the previous sutra passage. “The magnificence and purity of their lands and all their spiritual powers, the assembly of Bodhisattvas and Hearers there, the eras of Right Dharma and Dharma-semblance and the number of kalpas in their lifespans will all be just as described earlier
500 people had received predictions. In the future, when they become Buddhas, their land will be magnificent and pure; it will be very magnificent and pure. It will be the same for all 500 people.
The next sutra passage states, “Kasyapa, you already know of these 500 who are free. The remaining Hearers in the assembly will also be like this. For those not at this assembly you must announce this.”
These 500 people had already accepted the Buddha’s teachings. They were already very firm [in their aspirations]. The rest of the Hearers were the same, the people who were not present would also become Buddhas in the future. “For those not at this assembly,” similarly, “you must announce this. Kasyapa, in the future you can follow what I have said and tell them in this way.” “They have also always been able to attain Buddhahood in the future.”
“Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature. They will likewise continue on with the same name. Their lands when they attain Buddhahood will be these 500 bhiksus who have received predictions for the future. This is what you should tell them.
At that time is how the next passage of the sutra continues. “At that time, those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions in front of the Buddha, were happy and jumped with joy. They immediately rose from their seats, came before the Buddha, prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves.”
“At that time, those 500 Arhats, having been given predictions in front of the Buddha....” These were the people who were present and received predictions from the Buddha in person. These Arhats were happy, very happy. They were so happy that they jumped for joy. These 500 bhiksus received predictions in front of the Buddha, so they truly jumped for joy. “They celebrated that now they had attained realizations.” Everyone was very happy, so happy that they immediately stood up. Everyone gathered together and moved even closer to come in front of the Buddha. They wanted to express their great happiness to Him. This kind of expression of happiness was due to the Buddha giving them deep confidence, because in the future, they could receive predictions, and in the future, they could become Buddha.s The Buddha had bestowed these predictions that in the future, they could attain Buddhahood, so they expressed their thoughts, their mind’s understanding. Thus, they began to leave their seats to explain their happiness. What were they happy about? So, everyone immediately gathered in the front.
They immediately rose from their seats [and] came before the Buddha: They celebrated that now they had attained realizations and were given predictions by the Buddha. They were going to express their mind’s understanding. Therefore, they left their seats and went forward to where the Buddha was.
Do you still remember? Kasyapa and the others, the four great disciples, also did this in the Chapter on Faith and Understanding. After hearing the Dharma, they were very happy, so they came before the Buddha. Now there were 500 disciples. So, in everyone’s happiness, they draw even closer to the Buddha. “They prostrated with their heads at His feet.” One by one, they came in front of the Buddha, and one by one, they prostrated. They prostrated with their heads at His feet, as they also wanted to express their minds. Prostrations express the utmost respect. As they touched their foreheads on the ground toward the Buddha’s two feet, they expressed their utmost respect. Then, they “repented for the past and reproached themselves” and expressed their own minds.
They prostrated with their heads at His feet and repented for the past and reproached themselves: By prostrating with their head at the Buddha’s feet, they expressed their utmost respect. They repented for the past and reproached themselves for previous wrongdoing. They blamed their own foolishness. Repenting for the past: They were ashamed that in the past they did not understand the vastness of the Dharma-analogies.
This is just like Kasyapa and the others, those four disciples. They also expressed what was in their hearts; they had been very confused in the past. “All of us were afraid of the True Dharma that the Buddha expounded and did not dare accept it. Now we understand that in the past, we were like the poor son.” You probably still remember this; this is what the four great disciples expressed when they went in front of the Buddha. Now, it was the 500 disciples who all had the same understanding in their mind. They repented and reproached themselves. In the past, they were wrong. Before, they would try to avoid it; they were unwilling to accept that they must go among people to practice the Great Vehicle Dharma. They reproached themselves for their own capabilities being dull. So, they repented for the past in this way. Their capabilities were dull, so they did not understand the Buddha’s intent. Because of this, they were only practicing for themselves. They were unable to be like Purna Maitrayaniputra, who understood the Buddha’s intent and extensively transformed sentient beings. These 500 people were all only practicing to benefit themselves. Because of this, they repented for the past and felt remorse. They felt remorse that in the past they did not understand the principles contained within the Buddha’s teachings. They did not understand “the vastness of the Dharma-analogies”. The Buddha used many Dharma-analogies, but they were still not clear about them. So, they repented for the past and reproached themselves. How did they reproach themselves?
The next sutra passage states, “World-Honored One, we have often had this thought, thinking we had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction. Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom. Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom,.yet we felt content with limited wisdom.”
They began by speaking to the Buddha very sincerely, saying, “World-Honored One, we have often had this thought.” They often had this kind of thought, thinking of what they had seen. Whether with the teachings the Buddha expounded or with everything they would see, they were always confused. Even with all the Dharma the Buddha expounded, in their minds, they were still very lost. So, everything they saw was still not yet very clear.
World-Honored One, we have often had this thought: Those bhiksus spoke of their own views. They repented and reproached themselves for being confused in the past, being content with attaining the Small and not knowing to seek the Great.
This was speaking of their perspectives. Regarding the Dharma that the Buddha taught, in their minds, they were unable to open up their perspective. So, they were unable to understand the True Dharma that the Buddha taught. They assumed, “I already know the Four Noble Truths. I understand suffering, that transmigration of the Six Realms is suffering. I am afraid to continue transmigrating, so I want to engage in spiritual practice to not transmigrate in the Six Realms anymore. Thus, I will eliminate afflictions and ignorance and no longer contrive connections with people. I only practice to benefit myself. This is what I have continually been thinking, so I have been lost, lost in myself and lost in wanting to attain liberation. I repent! I reproach myself for my delusions in the past.” [They were] “content with attaining the Small.” In fact, this was all they were able to attain. In accepting the Four Noble Truths, they earnestly engaged in practice, but with the other teachings that the Buddha gave, they did not earnestly listen. So, they only attained the Small. “I feel that this is enough.” They were “content with attaining the Small and did not know to seek the Great.” They did not know to seek the Great, so, [they thought,] “We had already attained the ultimate and crossed into extinction.” They themselves assumed, “This is enough”. With the Dharma they heard from the Buddha, they were already clear. They had “attained the fourth fruit.” They thought that this kind of path was already the ultimate. “Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom.” Only now did they know they were people with no wisdom.
Only now do we know that we were like people with no wisdom: Though the Arhats had awakened, after awakening, they again became deluded and were unable to thoroughly comprehend the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now they listened to the Buddha’s words, began to realize and were alerted to their loss. They were like people with no wisdom. They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities and only beginning to awaken. Now they knew the Small was not the ultimate and the Great was the true. They looked back on their past when they were like foolish people with no wisdom.
With these Arhats, we need to know that “though the Arhats had awakened,” they were still in delusion. They had only eliminated their coarse afflictions, but their dust-like afflictions and ignorance had not yet been eliminated. So, these were the Arhats. “They were unable to thoroughly comprehend the Great Vehicle Dharma.” With the Great Vehicle teachings, they were unable to have thorough comprehension. So, “Now they listened to the Buddha’s words, began to realize and were alerted to their loss.” Now they realized that in the past, they had lost a lot, at least for themselves. The Buddha was already in His old age, and now He was expounding the Great Dharma, the One Vehicle Dharma. So at that time, they were alerted and reproached themselves for having no wisdom before. Thus, “They reproached themselves for having dull capabilities and only beginning to awaken.” They reproached themselves for their dull capabilities. Only now were they beginning to awaken. “Now they knew the Small was not the ultimate”. Now, they knew practicing the Small Vehicle Dharma was not the ultimate. The Great Vehicle Dharma was actually the true. So, they looked back on their past when “they were like foolish people with no wisdom. Why is this so?” Why was this the case? “We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom.”
Why is this so? We should have attained the Tathagata-wisdom: Why did they say they had no wisdom? They engaged in spiritual practice and should have attained all the Tathagata’s merits, virtues and wisdom.
Actually, all of us are like those 500 people. All of us can have wisdom equal to that of the Buddha. We should be able to attain wisdom equal to that of the Buddha. So why do we have so little wisdom? “They engaged in spiritual practice and should have attained all the Tathagata’s merits, virtues and wisdom.” In engaging in spiritual practice in this way, we ought to have wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. However, we need to cultivate these merits and virtues. We are lacking the cultivation of these merits. “Yet we felt content with limited wisdom.” They lacked the cultivation of these merits, and thought what they had was enough. They did not know that this was limited wisdom and did not seek to practice the Great Dharma. So, “They were satisfied with the limited wisdom of Hearers and did not seek great benefits.” This was how they repented for the past. They repented and reproached themselves, because “in the past, they had abided in the Small and were confused about the Great.” They continued to abide in the Small and had lost the Great Vehicle Dharma, not wanting to go among people to cultivate merits and virtues. So, they understood this and could experience the truth of what they now heard. These teachings turned out to be skillful means. Now, the Buddha revealed the True Dharma. Now, they could understand; He had opened up the provisional to reveal the true.
This means they regretted that in the past they had abided in the Small and were confused about the Great. They further understood how today [the Buddha] opened up the provisional to reveal the true. Before, they thought they had already crossed into extinction, but in truth they did not know they had the Tathagata-wisdom.
In the past, “They had thought they had already crossed into extinction.” They had thought they had crossed into extinction, “but in truth they did not know they had the Tathagata-wisdom.” They did not know that they could be equal to the Buddha and likewise attain Buddhahood. So, in the past they did not know this. Originally, they all believed that they had attained what they should; they felt that they had already attained this. But they actually did not know what they should attain; how could they not know this? This was quite unfortunate. “The Buddha taught the same teachings; why were we unable to perceive them?” This was very unfortunate. So, they “felt content with limited wisdom. For this, they therefore repented the past and reproached themselves.”
They had not known that the Tathagata-wisdom was originally what they should have attained. How did they not know this and feel content with limited wisdom? For this, they therefore repented the past and reproached themselves.
Indeed, shouldn’t they repent for the past? The time they had spent was wasted. Now, the Buddha was in old age, and they had begun to realize that they should go among people to transform them and cultivate many merits and virtues and come together with the Great Vehicle Dharma. Now, they knew. Since they now knew, the Buddha also bestowed predictions upon them. They need to practice for a very long time, and in the future they can attain Buddhahood. This is something we all must have great confidence in. In the past, we did not cultivate the Great Dharma. But, at least the Buddha still gave us an opportunity to start anew and continue cultivating for the future. Thus, we can attain Buddhahood in the future. All of us must have this confidence. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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