Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Extensive Practice of the Seven Good Merits (廣修七善 蹈七寶華)
Date: September.27.2017
“Human nature is inherently good. We are similar in our nature, but differ due to our habits. People naturally and intrinsically have an awakened nature, with the innocence and purity of a young child. Having genuine hearts, they can enter the path without defilement. They are like perfect mirrors of pure and radiant wisdom. As their nature is pure and accommodating, they realize the nature of all Dharma and attain awakened wisdom.”
We must be mindful! In life, “Human nature is inherently good;” we all intrinsically have pure Buddha-nature, and our wisdom is also similar to the Buddha’s. It is just that we have been permeated with afflictions and ignorance. Increasingly, our pure intrinsic nature has become covered in the filth of ignorance and afflictions. Thus, our habitual tendencies gradually cause us to become separated from it, isolating us from our nature of True Suchness. Where is this nature of True Suchness? Throughout the universe and all Dharma-realms the nature of True Suchness is within everything. Yet, we are unable to experience it. The reason we are unable to experience it is because our afflictions and habitual tendencies block us from it. This causes us to continue to suffer unbearably in the midst of our afflictions and ignorance. So, we mentioned “Human nature is inherently good.” This is what Confucian teachings tell us as well. The Buddha-Dharma speaks of our nature; we are also similar in nature to the Buddha. It is just that all along we have remained embroiled in our ignorance and habitual tendencies and thus we have become covered with ignorance. What a pity! How far have we separated from it? Truly, not very far. In our daily living, true principles are found everywhere. We are constantly in the presence of True Suchness. Yet unfortunately, our ignorance shields us from it while our habitual tendencies play tricks on us, so we are dragged around by our habits. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this! Humans intrinsically have an awakened nature, which is like a child’s, innocent and pure. For a very young, small child, their intrinsic nature is so pure and not yet tied to the people, matters and objects of the world. From the time we are born, our parents raise and take care of us. We spend each day of our lives like this, and the matters of life seem unrelated to us. For children, whether they are born in poor families or rich families, for young children, these things have nothing to do with them. All they know are their parents. This is their mind at a very young age, when they are not defiled by the outside world. Thus, they are innocent and pure. However, as we gradually grow up, slowly over time, we become mixed up with people and matters. As we grow older with the natural passage of time, without realizing it, we gradually become closer to human affections and worldly matters. With knowledge, we learn to discriminate. “Why are other families’ situations so good?” “Why are other people’s lives so abundant?” “As for my family, while others’ parents have fame and status, my parents are just manual laborers who are looked down on by others.” In their own minds, some children understand their parents’ hardship, and know they must work harder themselves. They must grow up and share their parents’ burden.
This shows their understanding of things. Their intrinsic nature still [shines through] and has not been defiled by many afflictions. Then there are some who [complain], “Why are other people’s parents so powerful, wealthy and famous, gaining the respect of others wherever they go. Compared to others’ families, my parents make me look bad.” They start to form a discriminatory mindset as this ignorance and their afflictions begin to cover them continuously. These children start to misbehave, and they want to carve out their own niche. When one thought goes astray, they take many steps down the wrong path. In life, we have these habitual tendencies.
We “differ due to our habits.” Our intrinsic nature is so simple and pure. Time causes us to grow, but in the process of growing up in the world, we are tempted by our desires for people, matters and objects. When these afflictions arise, habitual tendencies become more and more severe, and our separation from our pure, innocent nature becomes greater and greater. Our confusion covers us in even more ignorance. This is life!
This is like Rahula, born in the palace to Prince Siddhartha, his father, who became a monastic early on. However, Rahula’s name translates to “repeated obstructions”. He represents two layers of obstacles; firstly, he obstructed his mother and secondly, he obstructed himself; he was in the womb for six years. From the time the prince left the palace, six years passed before Yasodhara gave birth. This drew a great commotion in the palace. Everyone began a great debate about Yasodhara’s chastity. After long debate, they decided to sentence Yasodhara to death. In “The True Fragrance of Precepts and Samadhi,” Yasodhara is saved from disaster, as the flames turned into red lotus flowers. In this story it is explained that their method of execution was death by burning on a pyre. They dug a pit, built the funeral pyre and were going to force her to jump into the fire, onto the middle of the pyre they built. Yasodhara was terrified, but she was helpless, and her cries for help went unanswered. She was clearly pure and chaste, but her child remained inside her for six years. She could not explain this. There was no way for her to contest it. So, on the spot, she spoke to the heavens, “I have remained pure and chaste. Today, I am faced with [death], and I cannot do anything about it.” She cradled her child in her hands. This was her fate So, she hope that heaven and earth would bear witness for her that she had remained chaste. All she hoped was for heaven and earth to bear witness to her chastity. As she leaped into the pit, the fire suddenly went out, pure water [appeared] and a giant lotus flower arose and supported the bodies of Yasodhara and Rahula. When everybody saw this, they could not believe it. Why would such a thing happen? Everybody believed this was proof of Yasodhara’s chastity. This child was of royal blood. So, as if guarding a precious treasure, they quickly swaddled the child. Yasodhara had proven her innocence by surviving this dangerous incident, and because of this, Rahila was cherished by everyone in the palace.
Six years after the Buddha reached enlightenment, King Suddhodana asked Prince Siddhartha if, now that He had attained Buddhahood, He would return to transform His people. The Buddha agreed to the invitation, so His disciples first came to King Suddhodana to explain to him that, having attained enlightenment, the Buddha belonged to the sentient beings in the world, not to the palace or his family. He was all sentient beings’ loving father. They explained to King Suddhodana that attaining Buddhahood placed him beyond common affection; He already had great love for the whole world and was all sentient beings’ guiding teacher. King Suddhodana understood. With reverence in his heart, as the Buddha approached the city, with quite a distance left to go. King Suddhodana took his ministers outside the city walls to wait for the Buddha there. From very far away, he saw the Sangha of more than 1000 people. They were very dignified as they made their approach to the royal city. When King Suddhodana saw this group, the dignified Sangha, slowly arrive, he slowly walked forward also. Both sides moved forward slowly. As he gazed at the Buddha and the Sangha, King Suddhodana’s heart grew more reverent. He forgot about everything. He forgot that the Buddha he was approaching was actually his son. He had forgotten because his heart was completely filled with reverence and respect. He could not help prostrating at the Buddha’s feet. The king prostrated, and all his ministers prostrated as well. Following the laws and customs, they came to receive the World-Honored One, the Buddha, whom all people in the world revered. In this manner, they received Him into the palace. To start, all the ministers, officials, royal family and relatives came to hear the Dharma. This took a very long time.
Of cause, Yasodhara saw how everyone rejoiced, but she felt completely different! She had mixed emotions, with the mindset and affections of an ordinary person. So, when stalled for a long time, not wanting to go see the Buddha with the rest. However, she also looked forward to seeing the royal prince; in her mind, the Buddha was still the royal prince, the same prince from over ten years ago. She kept hoping that the affection between them would still remain. What methods could she use? She took Rahula, who was still very young, and dressed him in adorable clothes. She called to her child, saying, “Come, your father is among this group of people. Go and see your father”. She did not tell him which man was his father, but our sense of kinship is in our nature. He had never met his own biological father, and they just appeared to be a large group of bhiksus. When Rahula came out, everybody held their breath. They wanted to see if Rahula could tell which of them was his father. This innocent, little boy kept walking and walking until he came before the Buddha. At that place, he felt a sense of familiarity and threw himself into His arms. The Buddha taught him to prostrate and pay respects, and obediently, the child left the Buddha’s arms. The adults taught him how to prostrate and pay respects. These are ordinary human emotions, the kinship of blood relations.
In this way, everyone became even more convinced that Rahula shared Prince Siddhartha’s blood. Everyone was fully satisfied. Back then, the flames turned into lotuses, but now, in this moment when the Buddha returned, any inklings of doubt were fully resolved. The Buddha started to teach Dharma in the palace, and after awhile, the Buddha thought, “The Sangha has been living in the palace, with lavish accommodations and plenty of food. Everything here is so abundant. This will not do!” The practitioners should return to living as a group of practitioners, return to their state of spiritual practice. So, He led the Sangha to a place not far from the royal palace. They went into the forest there, and in that place, they led a very natural monastic lifestyle. However, they often went back to the royal palace. Because King Suddhodana took the Dharma to heart, he understood the Buddha-Dharma. He hoped that the prince’s teachings, the Buddha’s teachings, could always be promoted and taught in the palace. Therefore, the Buddha was constantly invited to the palace to accept offerings and teach the Dharma. During this period, Rahula loved being close to the Buddha’s side. When the Buddha entered the royal palace, Rahula would always follow Him around everywhere. One time, the Buddha ended His teaching and walked away from the royal palace, and Rahula followed Him out. He was by the Buddha’s side and continually pestered the Buddha, not wanting to leave. He said to the Buddha, “Venerable Buddha! When can I always follow you by your side? I really like being at your side”. When the Buddha heard Rahula say this, He smiled and said to him, “Very soon. One day, I will bring you along by my side”. From that day on, this was on the Buddha’s mind, and He felt He should convince King Suddhodana. Because the child was still very young, and King Suddhodana was getting old, if King Suddhodana were to pass away, how could such a young child [rule] this country and handle taking over its politics? This would not be good for the country. So, the World-Honored One, the Buddha, eventually told King Suddhodana the thoughts that He had in mind. He hoped King Suddhodana would see beyond worldly affections and the fame and power of titles. He hoped King Suddhodana would be able to accept the Buddha-Dharma and be liberated from all these worldly concerns. King Suddhodana understood this too. He was indeed getting very old, and His royal grandson, Rahula, was still very young. When faced with the issue of succession, the boy would have no way to lead the country. It was just as well. So long as the child was happy, even if he would not become a benevolent ruler, he could still become a Dharma-King! By becoming a monastic, he could be taught and transformed by the Buddha and eventually he could transform sentient beings. This would be preferable to serving one country, where he might not be able to benefit its people. There was still the problem of the caste system, which was a long unresolved issue, and thus, there were still many impoverished people. For such a small kingdom, there were many complex problems. He should allow the boy to become a monastic, attain truths and hear the Buddha-Dharma. This shows that he truly loved his little grandson. He saw how his own son had already attained this degree of accomplishment. He became the great awakened one of the universe. He was revered by everyone in the world. This proved that there was nothing for him to cling to; a small city could not be compared to [what the Buddha had attained]. So, King Suddhodana was willing to go along. The Buddha needed King Suddhodana to agree so that King Suddhodana’s feelings would not be hurt. It was evident that the king’s mind was open and the Buddha-Dharma had entered his heart deeply for he was not entangled by these worldly affections. The Buddha was also very joyful. He called to Sariputra and Maudgalyayana, “Come, Rahula is now in your charge. Maudgalyayana will instruct Rahula, and Sariputra will serve as Rahula’s master.” So, these two would guide this young child. [He became] what we call a novice, and Rahula was the very first and Rahula was the very first. Rahula entered the monastic order. However, though this little novice among bhiksus was very adorable, he was also very mischievous. He was both mischievous and adorable, and everyone in the Sangha doted on him. He was the Buddha a son and the king’s grandson and he was also related to monastics from the royal family who watched him grow up. So, they all doted on him very much. Therefore, he became very mischievous, and he grew to playing pranks on people. Sometimes when people came to meet the Buddha, even when the Buddha was clearly inside, he would say to the people outside, “The Buddha is not around! He is traveling in other places!” These people who came from very far away would thus return disappointed. When the Buddha was clearly not around, he would go outside and say, “The Buddha is in the abode! If you can see Him, it is a great blessing!” Everyone wanted to come see the Buddha, but they were disappointed! In this way, he often played pranks.
The Buddha found out about this. One day, the Buddha came back from outside, and seeing Rahula, He grew very stern and refused to speak to Rahula, keeping a very stoic demeanor. He went inside and took a seat, and even when Rahula went before the Buddha, prostrated before Him and greeted Him, the Buddha remained stern and did not respond. Seeing how stern the Buddha was made Rahula extremely anxious. At this time, it was about time to wash their feet. Rahula quickly took a bucket of water and went before the Buddha He squatted down and place the Buddha’s feet inside the bucket. Very gently, he washed the Buddha’s feet. He washed and dried His feet, and as he was about to pour out the water, the Buddha Buddha finally spoke to him and said, “Rahula this water you sued to wash my feet, you may drink it.” Rahula raised his head to look at the Buddha “No, I cannot! Buddha, when you just came back from outside, [your feet] were very dirty. After washing them with water, your feet are clean, but the water is dirty. How can I drink it?” “So it is, Rahula. Your mind now is as dirty as this bucket of water. The water was originally pure, but because my feet were dirty, after washing them, now the water is dirty. This is just like you. Originally, when you were in the palace, you were very young, innocent and uncorrupted. Your mind was very pure. Now you are a monastic, and though you have spent this period of time in the Sangha, you have not earnestly purified your mind. Instead, you have defiled your mind. When dealing with others, you told lies and made false statements. When I was not here, you said that I was. When I was here, you said that I was not. With these lies you told and pranks you played, now whenever you say something, who will be willing to believe you? You wanted to become a monastic, and you wanted to learn the Dharma. In the future, you will also become someone who will teach the Dharma, but now nobody wants to believe what you say. You are just like this bucket of water. You lost your intrinsic nature of being human. You lost your character.”
Rahula said, “I know.” The Buddha said, “Take the water and pour it out.” But when the Buddha then said, “Ruhula, take the bucket and put rice in it, Rahula thought again, This is not right!” “Buddha, rice should be in a bow! The bucket was used to wash feet. The water was dirty, and now the bucket is dirty too. Why do You tell me to put rice in it?” “You are correct, Rahula. Your mind now is just like this bucket. It has been defiled, and you have not thought to completely clean it. [Likewise], you have also been polluted. Just as this bucket cannot be used for rice, neither can your defiled mind [hold the Dharma]. If you do not make the effort to clean it, your habitual tendencies will still be in your mind.” Rahula felt even more remorseful. He lowered his head and did not dare to meet the Buddha’s gaze. Then the Buddha kicked the bucket forcefully, which shocked Rahula. He watched as the bucket spun in place until it overturned. The Buddha said, “Rahula, the bucket is now overturned. Can you still put water in it?” “Buddha, for the bucket to be filled with water, it must be turned over.” The Buddha said, “Right, in this case, since the bucket cannot be used to keep water or rice, and because it is already dirty, then what use is there for this bucket?” Rahula said, “Yes, this bucket is merely crude and cheap. It is useless, we could throw it away!” The Buddha said, “It is just like you. Now that it is useless, people may think to throw it away, just as you did. If we make no effort to repent, there is no use for us. If we are useless, we may well be thrown away. Now, everyone holds you in contempt. First, you defiled your own mind, so it I could not be used anymore. Nobody will believe you, and you have not made any effort to repent. This makes you even more useless. You said [the bucket] is crude and cheap. Yes, [likewise] you have become someone completely devoid of value. It is as if you are throwing your life away.” He sternly gave Rahula this teaching. Rahula started to cry. He lifted his head and said to the Buddha, “Buddha, I know I should repent. I want to thoroughly, completely repent. I want to engage in spiritual practice. I will never dare to pull pranks on people like this again.” The Buddha then said, “Yes, Rahula. Let me tell you a story.” The Buddha said that, in the past, there was once a king whose country was at war another nation. He had a very brave and fierce elephant, and when he went to war, he would tie onto the animal’s body and four legs very sharp knives and weapons. Its whole body was covered with sharp blades, which were tied to the animal. These many weapons were all tied to this elephant’s body for it to go to war. When this elephant started to fight, it would retract its trunk and charge forward with only its body. The Buddha ended His story here, but Rahula did not know its meaning. The Buddha said, “This is an analogy. The elephant was very strong, and its body was covered with armor. Its four limbs were fastened with sharp weapons, and even its tusks had sharp weapons. But its weakest spot was its trunk. Even the elephant knew that, if its trunk was injured by weapons, its life would end. So, this elephant knew to protect its trunk. As a human, why do you not try to protect your wisdom-life? Life moves on with each passing day. Now, you are in your teenage years; you are no longer a child. Now is the time for you to protect your wisdom-life.” Rahula understood even more thoroughly. “Buddha, I swear I will never transgress again.” This was [the story of] Rahula, and how the Buddha sternly lectured him.
As a child, Rahula was young, innocent and pure. From that point on, “[With a] genuine heart, [he] could enter the path without defilement.” Although he became a monastic at a young age, everyone doted on him. Although he loved to pull pranks, the Buddha educated him strictly. Starting in this way, he entered the path with a child’s innocence and a genuine heart without defilement. [He became] like a “perfect mirror”. His great perfect mirror wisdom is naturally bright and clear, for there is no more filth to contaminate it. The mirror of his mind had retained its purity, the great perfect mirror wisdom. In the past, there was period of time when I was explaining “great perfect mirror wisdom;” this is when our mind-mirror is very clean. “As their nature is pure and accommodating, they realize the nature of all Dharma and attain awakened wisdom.” As human beings, our “Human nature is inherently good. We are similar in our nature, but differ due to our habits.” Rahula joined the Sangha at a very young age, so he had not been pulled too far from his nature. He just had a moment of habitual tendency for which the Buddha sternly lectured him, so he immediately corrected himself and began to guard his intrinsic awakened nature. His childlike innocence and purity still remained the same. So, with his genuine heart, he could enter the path without defilement. His mirror was very clear, [meaning] his nature was pure. As he followed the Buddha’s teachings, naturally, all true principles, his awakened wisdom, his ocean of enlightened wisdom, could thus float to the surface. This was Rahula.
We must be very mindful in comprehending this. Rahula was a very fortunate person to be able to enter the path at such a young age. The previous sutra passage says, “The World-Honored One is exceedingly precious! He enables me to recall the past Dharma of infinite Buddhas as if I were listening to it today.I no longer have any doubts and peacefully abide in the path to Buddhahood. Being an attendant is but a skillful means to safeguard the Dharma of all Buddhas”.
Ananda used these verses to repeat himself. He hoped everyone would bring this to mind again. Ananda served the Buddha as a skillful means. By serving as the Buddha’s attendant, the Buddha’s teachings actually flowed into Ananda’s mind drop by drop, making Ananda the guardian of the Dharma-treasury. Thus, through skillful means, Ananda practiced the Bodhisattva-path while manifesting the appearance of a Hearer. For this, Ananda received the Buddha’s prediction.
The next sutra passage says, “At that time, the Buddha told Rahula, ‘In a future lifetime, you will attain Buddhahood Treading on Flowers of Seven Treasures.”’
Now that Ananda finished receiving predictions, Rahula was the next to be called. Rahula’s [name] means repeated obstructions, which we mentioned before; it means “obstructed”. The meaning of his name is “repeated obstruction,” The meaning of his name is “repeated obstruction,” and we just explained how he impeded himself, and his mother also, with obstacles.
At that time, the Buddha told Rahula: Rahula means “repeated obstruction”. When the Buddha wanted to become a monastic, His father told Him, “If you have a son, I will allow you to follow your aspirations.” Because of this impediment of having a son, He postponed becoming a monastic.
When the Buddha wanted to become a monastic, the king, King Suddhodana, said that, “If you insist on becoming a monastic, you must wait until you have an heir. Only when you have a son will I allow you to become a monastic.” When the Buddha wanted to become a monastic, King Suddhodana refused, but when Yasodhara became pregnant, the Buddha now had Rahula [to satisfy the king]. Therefore , we can also say that Rahula was an obstacle for the Buddha.
The sutra passage says, “In a future lifetime, you will attain Buddhahood. Your epithets will be Treading on Flowers of Seven Treasures.”
This means that Rahula will, “[attain this] in a lifetime far in the future.” This will still take a long time. “With long and extensive practicing of the seven good merits and virtues as the cause, [he will] attain the fruit of loftily treading on lotus flowers of the Seven Treasures.” This means he will eventually attain Buddhahood. Treading on Flowers of Seven Treasures. This refers to the practice of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. We all know the practice of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. In the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, there are the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. “Having practiced the Seven Factors of Enlightenment as his cause, he attains the fruit of the magnificence of flowers of treasure.” In the future, his epithet will be so dignified. “Flowers” here refers to wondrous practices. “Through practicing the causes, he attains fruits. Thus, he is called Treading on Flowers of Seven Treasures.” This symbolizes that [he must] go through the seven lotuses, which are the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. In the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, there are “the three Fours, two Fives, Seven and Eight”. When these Seven Factors of Enlightenment have been practiced and experienced then he will be able to attain Buddhahood. This will still take a very long time.
Treading on Flowers of Seven Treasures’: Having practiced the Seven Factors of Enlightenment as his cause, he attains the fruit of the magnificence of flowers of treasure. “Flowers” refers to wondrous practices. Through practicing the causes, he attains fruits. Thus, he is called Treading on Flowers of Seven Treasures.
Everyone, the time [mentioned here] is long, but the time we have is not enough, so we must always be mindful. Let us review the Seven Factors to Enlightenment. These are the conditions for attaining Buddhahood and the foundation of our spiritual practice. It is not just the Seven Factors to Enlightenment. We need all 37 Practices to Enlightenment, represented by the Seven Factors to Enlightenment. Actually the 37 Practices to Enlightenment are very comprehensive. Our spiritual practice cannot lack the 37 Practices to Enlightenment as our foundation. So, as we learn the Buddha-Dharma, let us always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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