Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Blessings from Praising and Upholding the Sutras (歎美持經 其福復過)
Date: November 16.2017
“They heard the truth of suffering, that it arises from greed and other afflictions which accumulate as the truth of causation. Based on the truth of cessation, Bodhisattvas contemplate the fruit of Bodhi, the most supreme and unsurpassed path to enlightenment, which they attain. They wish for all sentient beings to universally attain Bodhi.”
We must mindfully listen and watch; we must gain even more understanding! We must listen, contemplate and practice. When we take in the Dharma we hear each day, we must earnestly contemplate and also put it into practice. For a very long time we have been saying that from the beginning, the Buddha held the Great Dharma of the One Vehicle in His mind. He wanted to tell everyone that everyone is able to attain Buddhahood. However, for sentient beings, the Great Dharma was not something they could experience or understand. So, the Buddha had to use [the truths of] suffering, causation, cessation and the Path in order to patiently guide us. when sentient beings heard the Truth of Suffering, they understood it. [Life] truly is suffering! Where does suffering originate? Greed, anger, ignorance and so on, these various kinds of afflictions and ignorance, accumulate and turn into suffering in the world. They could understand these principles. If they want to eliminate suffering, the only way is by understanding its origin. To understand the source of its causation, we must earnestly seek out its source; only then can we eliminate the reason for its causation. This is only [possible] with wisdom. Indeed, those with wisdom [understand] suffering is the fruit; causation is the seed. This suffering that results is caused by the accumulation of the afflictions of greed, anger, ignorance and so on.
So, Bodhisattvas form great aspirations and make great vows and begin to put the teachings into practice in order to seek the truth of cessation. Since life is suffering, and since we came to the world due to all the ignorance we accumulated, we must be vigilant. We must find ways to investigate the source of cessation; we must learn how to find this path.
After we hear the Buddha’s teachings and understand them, after we understand them for ourselves, we must begin to cease these thoughts. For greed, anger, ignorance and arrogance, and any doubts we have in the Dharma, we must step by step begin to eliminate these thoughts from our minds. Not only must we not give rise to these thoughts, but our conduct must also be correct. So, once we realize this, we must cultivate ourselves and then practice accordingly. The Buddha taught that [practicing] cessation only to benefit ourselves is not the ultimate [goal]. We must benefit others while eliminating our own afflictions. The principles must be applied in parallel, both within and without. If we only eliminate our own greed, anger and ignorance, around us, there are still myriad sentient beings. In the world around us, they are still replicating greed, anger and ignorance; they are perpetually creating this karma. In this way, achieving cessation for ourselves is not the ultimate. The Buddha taught us to walk the path, to pave this path and go among people [to help them].
Thus, “Based on the truth of cessation, Bodhisattvas contemplate the fruit of Sodhi, and attain the Bodhi fruit.” Since we want to eliminate the fruit of suffering, it is even more crucial for us to seek the fruit of Bodhi. Bodhi means awakening. We are only taking care of our own minds, but are still unable to completely awaken. So, we must seek ways to completely eliminate the suffering and causation. This requires us to seek out the source of enlightenment. How do we enable ourselves to become enlightened? We must reach the “most supreme and unsurpassed path to enlightenment, which they attain”. Spiritual cultivation is not simply saying, “If I have no greed, then everything’s fine. If I just practice for my own benefit, there is nothing else I need to do. As long as I do not crave what others [have] and do not take advantage of them or get into disputes with them, then haven’t I already eliminated all of my afflictions?” We may have eliminated some ignorance, but our afflictions still remain. Even if we have eliminated greed, anger and ignorance, the true source of these afflictions remains.
Thus, we must attain perfect enlightenment. This perfect enlightenment is to reach “the most supreme and unsurpassed;” it is supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment. We must advance towards this goal until we reach enlightenment. To succeed on the path to enlightenment, we certainly must care for others. So, we must have “universal vows”. We must form great vows, “wishing for all sentient beings to universally attain Bodhi”. It is not enlightenment for ourselves to become awakened; we hope that all others will achieve Bodhi also. This is the aspiration of Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas aspire to deliver all sentient beings. Ordinary people desire many complicated things. They want all of these things. Even when they have already had faith in and learned the Buddha’s teachings they remain the same, filled with many desires.
In the Buddha’s era, there was a couple who came to His abode daily to make offerings. Whatever [needed to be done] in the abode, they would contribute it and also clean. This couple always served reverently in this way. They were very reverent every day. One day, the Buddha saw the couple cleaning up the grounds. He walked over to them and asked the wife, “Upasika, good woman, every day I see you coming here to clean, and preparing hot water for tea. You prepare tea and water for the Sangha, whatever is needed. You are both so reverent. Is there anything the two of you want in return? Is there anything you seek in exchange?” This upasika replied to the Buddha, saying, “Venerable Buddha, we come to reverently draw near you and serve. But if You are asking if I seek anything, there is something that I seek in my heart.” The Buddha asked her, “What is your heart’s desire?” The upasika replied, “I hope to be able to have four children.” The Buddha then asked her, “Why do you wish to have four children?” She replied to Him, “Of these four children I am hoping for, the first will become a merchant, and as he grows older, he will be successful in his business and earn lots of money so he can live without worry, enjoy life and obtain many riches.” The Buddha asked her, “And if you have a second child, what would you want him to do?” [She replied,] “If I had a second child, I would hope for him to buy many lands, with many fields an houses. I hope that each year, he will have a plentiful harvest. Whether it is rice or grains, [his harvest] will fill his storehouses, and his life will be without worry.” [The Buddha asked,] “If you had a third child, what would you want him to do?” [She replied,] “If I had a third child, I would hope for him to hold a government office and for him to attain both success and fame, to be a high-ranking official, so he could bring prestige to our family. If our family had a child how became a high-ranking official, then I would be very pleased.” The Buddha asked, “You also want a fourth child; what will this fourth child do?” [She replied,] “If I had a fourth child, I would hope for him to leave home and become a monastic so he could follow along by Your side to cultivate himself in the Sangha. In the future he could attain the fruits and help transform sentient beings. [He could] transform his parents and all sentient beings.” Upon hearing this, the Buddha smiled and nodded His head. “You thought carefully to be seeking these four things.”
Not long after, this upasika became pregnant, and had a child, but she had only one. So, this upasika loved him dearly. Both his parents loved and cherished him dearly, and they took care of him meticulously. The child grew older year after year. One day, [he said to] his parents, “I am so grateful! I see how much you two care for me, and compared to most parents, I can tell that you [love] me even more. Why is it that you two are so loving towards me and cherish me more than other parents would towards their kids? Why is this?” The mother recounted her request to the Buddha and her wish to have four children. She told the story to her son and said to him, “I wanted four sons, but I only have you. The love I had for four children, is focused on you alone. No wonder you feel our love this way.” Hearing this, the son took her words to heart. How could he fulfill his parents’ wishes? He needed to work hard and be very earnest. Before he turned 20, he began to engage in business with others. His business became very successful, and after several years of trade, he had earned a lot of money. By his early 20s, he had quite a bit of money. With all this money, he purchased some farmland, and sure enough, his farm was successful. Each year, his harvest filled many storehouses. His parents were very pleased. As time passed, he was always very mindful. Out in the world, his business and farming ventures were successful. During this period, the king and his officials saw the son’s success and brought him to the imperial palace. The king spoke with him and saw that he had a good understanding of governance. So, the king appointed him to a high position. Now, having also become a high official, the son brought honor to his family and increased the prestige of his household. At this time, he went to his parents and said, “Father, mother, of the four things you wished for, I have achieved three of them for you. However, life is impermanent, and wealth has its limitations. We are now very wealthy, but there will always be someone wealthier still. Life is impermanent, in the end, how long can we enjoy wealth? As for our farmland and real estate, the weather must be good for crops to grow. It depends on the climate. Sometimes the four elements are out of balance, and the earth may [yield] a poor harvest. Misfortune and fortune are difficult to predict! Even when one is ruling a kingdom, human life is impermanent. In the end, following the laws of nature, I took will become old and sick, and in the end, nothing will be left. You both put faith in the Buddha’s teachings and you also expressed your wish to Him that your fourth son should become a monastic. My parents, would you please allow me to become a monastic? I can join the Sangha and seek the true principles. I can come back and help you both understand the origins of life and comprehend the true principles. In time, on behalf of the Buddha, I can take on the Buddha’s family business and help transform all sentient beings. My parents, will you allow me to do this?” As disciples of the Buddha, his parents were both very reverent, and they had not forgotten the wish they had made to the Buddha. So, they parted with their beloved son and allowed him to become a monastic.
Indeed, this is life; there are so many wished we want to pursue. But the Buddha still fulfilled the woman’s wishes. She wanted four children, and while she was only given one, her one son was able fulfill all four wishes. Her final wish for him to become a monastic was the ultimate one. Of all that we wish for in life, how much can we really attain? From that one thought, the mother sought after so much. Actually, from a single thought, as long as it is proper and righteous, is there any wish we cannot fulfill? Moreover, [things are] impermanent, full of suffering and empty, such as wealth, lands and titles; these are all inherently impermanent. What we pursue in the end turns out to be empty. So, with the truths of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path if we clearly understand the truth of suffering, we will realize that it comes from our pursuits. If we pursue the wrong things, we will become confused and lost. If we pursue wealth, we just continue to pursue it. This can go on forever without end. [We may] hope to always have abundant harvests, but is this truly possible? This is impossible. If the sun and rain do not come when we need them, our feelings of loss will cause us to suffer! The instability of government is even more severe. There, a single deviant thought can bring harm to an entire nation. To truly benefit the people of a country, we must have right mindfulness and create blessings for our society. Yet, ordinary people’s thoughts are unstable. For those who are not yet fully awakened, mistaken thoughts are hard to avoid. So, when it comes to politics, even slight deviations [in thought] are dangerous! There is only one thing that is safe, that is the ultimate, and that is the true principles. They help us to realize the value in life. The true principles allow us to see material things in this world clearly and enable us to realize the pain that our mistakes in the world cause the disasters we invite and the severity of these karmic retributions. Only by pursuing true principles can we truly distinguish misfortune from fortune. When thoughts go astray, the misfortune [they cause] can extend to later generations. This is from a thought that went astray. The manmade calamities and natural disasters will continue unceasingly, if our thoughts stay on course, then we are creating blessings for humanity. These principles are always in the world. By upholding the principles of this world, we can help pure society achieve harmony and reduce natural disasters.
This requires that principles abide in this world, by pursuing spiritual practice as a monastic, not only do we not give rise to evil thoughts, but we also do good deeds, create blessings from good affinities and spread seeds of goodness. This is the direction that we should choose in the world.
So, if we clearly understand the Four Noble Truths and form great Bodhisattvas-aspirations to seek the true principles, then [we are on] the path to awakening. On the path to awakening, we not only benefit ourselves, nut must also make great vows to benefit others so that all sentient beings may attain Bodhi. This is our greatest objective in this world. As the Buddha gave His teachings, what He kept in his mind was the Dharma of the One Vehicle. This was what it was He hoped that everyone could understand it; this was what He came here to reveal to us.
Thus, in the previous sutra passage, [it says that] we are expected to protect and support those who uphold the Dharma. Not only do we protect and support those who uphold the Dharma, but we must also uphold the Dharma ourselves. We must accept the Buddha-Dharma, listen to it, share it and protect and uphold it as well.
So, the following sutra passage says, “Those who over the course of a kalpa continually harbor unwholesome thoughts and denounce the Buddha with angry expressions commit boundless, grave transgressions.”
This speaks of the ignorance of sentient beings. An ignorance person may not respect the Dharma and then go on to slander it, or [in the Sangha] may become someone like the lion’s parasites who eat the lion’s flesh. Devadatta was like this; although he knew the Buddha-Dharma, his greed had not yet been vanquished. He still wanted to surpass the Buddha, so he tried to lead his own monastic assembly. He hoped that his monastic assembly would surpass the Buddha’s Sangha. So, he constantly “denounced the Buddha with angry expressions”. Devadatta was related to the Buddha; he was a member of His clan, His cousin, who had become a monastic also, yet he denounced the Buddha with angry expressions because He harbored bad thoughts. He “committed boundless, grave transgressions”. Because of this, Devadatta descended to hell; his transgressions were severe. This is to day nothing of ordinary people. Most enlightened beings hear what someone tells them and then go along with whatever they are told; deluded, afflicted sentient beings are like this. [They mistake] delusions for principles and, not knowing right from wrong, and they pass on [their confusion] to others. With this kind of unwholesome mindset, they distance themselves from virtuous friends and draw near bad influences. These people cannot understand the principles; they do not clearly understand the principles, so they easily lose right mindfulness, and thus, commit boundless, grave transgressions; they create very severe negative karma.
Next, it says, “But if people read, recite and uphold the Lotus Sutra, uttering evil words against them for a moment is an even more sever offense.”
People like this angrily denounced the Buddha to His face. This happened in the Buddha’s era, and for this negative karma they created, they must face [the consequences]. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, there were some who formed aspirations to study, recite and uphold the Lotus sutra. But some others came to hear it taught, yet did not take the teachings to heart and gave rise discursive thoughts. Thus, uttering evil words [against the sutra], [their] is an even more severe offense. For people like this, even a brief moment spent slandering those who uphold the sutra is even worse of an offense than denouncing the Buddha to His face. This transgression is even more severe. Denouncing the Buddha does not really harm Him, but slandering future upholders of the Sutra….those who will uphold the sutra in the future. Have not yet fully understood it, so their minds are still prone to fluctuate. They very mindfully seek to transmit the Dharma, but if they are slandered, their spiritual aspirations can be easily damaged. If their spiritual aspirations are harmed, there will be fewer people to spread the Dharma. When this happens, the principles gradually fade from the world. This kind of slander causes the decline of the Buddha’s teachings. Thus, for those [who slander], their negative karma is very severe. These people harm themselves, as slandering the Buddha’s teachings inherently harmful to oneself, but they also harm others as well. So, because of this, their negative karma is doubled.
The following sutra passage says, “There are people who seek the path to Buddhahood and over the course of one kalpa join their palms before me, praising me with countless verses. By praising the Buddha, they will attain infinite merits and virtues. When they praise those who uphold this sutra, their blessings will be even greater.”
Here it is the same idea. In the Buddha’s era, He was continuously praised, yet it did not influence Him for better or worse. Yet, one who praises the Buddha and reverses Him will naturally want to learn from Him. Thus, they will experience great blessings; they cultivate blessings and grow in wisdom. When they see the Buddha, they are joyful. With sincerity, they seek the Right Dharma. This [will go on] for an entire kalpa.
There are people who seek the path to Buddhahood and over the course of one kalpa…: Some people, in order to seek the Buddha’s teachings of the right path, are able to make it through one kalpa. One kalpa: This means a long period of time.
One kalpa is a very long time. In one kalpa, [the average lifespan] grows by one year for every 100 years, until it reaches 84,000 years. Then it decreases in the same way until the human lifespan is only ten years. Think about it; isn’t this a long period of time? This is how long they will seek the Right Dharma. One who does this for such a long period of time certainly possesses great merits. A person who remains reverent for so long constantly bears a respectful mindset. They “join their palms before me, praising me with countless verses: “Joining palms” symbolizes their focused minds. This is the reverence they showed before the Buddha. They used every word of praise that exists to praise the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. They took a great deal of time, one whole kalpa. Whether the Tathagata is in this world or after He enters Parinirvana, for such a long time people will join their hands together reverently. For all that time, they will praise the Buddha, Dharma and Snagha with countless verses. This results in merits and virtues; “By praising the Buddha, they will attain infinite merits and virtues.” The Buddha only lived to the age of 80, yet He speaks here of an entire kalpa. How many lifetimes would it take for one kalpa? For many countless lifetimes, they will worship the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. By revering the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, the merits and virtues they attain will be immense.
By praising the Buddha, they will attain infinite merits and virtues: In praising the Buddha, they will gain many blessings and virtues. Those who praise Him merely benefit themselves, while bringing no benefit to the Buddha. Those who slender Him can only harm themselves, while bringing no harm to the Buddha.
[Those who] revere the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha obtain great merits and virtues. Thus, “those who praise Him merely benefit themselves.” One Jing Si Aphorism states, “To praise others is to beautify oneself.” This also produces merits and virtue. When we earnestly praise others, we build good karmic connections with everyone. If other people do a good deed, we should will continually praise them, saying what they did was the right thing. If they do the right thing and we praise them, it will help increase their faith. The more faith they have, the more [good deeds] they will do. Others can hear us praising them and affirming their good deeds. As we keep praising them, a second person might seek to emulate them, and then a third person, and so on.
By praising everyone who does good deeds, they are really enabling others to do good deeds. Of course, by praising others, we are also doing good deeds. If we do not do good deeds ourselves and fail to acknowledge the good deeds of others, or worse, if we slander them, doing so would have no effect on the Buddha, but for ordinary people, it will cause great harm. This is why we say that praising others leads the entire community to do good deeds. Aren’t these merits and virtues immense?
Suppose that, for no reason, people who do not do [good deeds] themselves merely repeat what others day, and follow others blindly. Of people like this were to slander the Buddha, it would have no affect on Him. However, it would cause great harm to ordinary people because it harms their spiritual aspirations and undermine their seeds of goodness. Then how could society ever improve? People would continue their disputes and commit evil deeds. If this occurs, principles would cease to exist. This path of goodness would be ruined. Then wouldn’t our journey become very difficult? Thus, we must understand how to uphold the sutra and praise those who uphold then as well. This [results in] merits and virtues. [We must] never slander [others], and when we do good deeds, [we must not allow] afflictions and ignorance to stop us. this only does harm to ourselves.
Do we want to increase blessings and wisdom? Or do we want to decrease them? This all depends on us. So, “Those who slander Him can only harm themselves, while bringing no harm to the Buddha. People with firm spiritual aspirations likewise, remain unharmed [by slander]. Their spiritual aspirations are firm and cannot be harmed; they only become more diligent. As Buddhist practitioners, we must learn this, must mindfully seek to comprehend this. “When they praise those who uphold this sutra, their blessings will be even greater.”
When they praise those who uphold this sutra, their blessings will be even greater: The merits and virtues of praising those who uphold the sutra. Exceed those of praising the Buddha. The blessings will be even greater: The Buddha has totally eliminated delusions, so neither praise nor slender can move Him.
If we can always commend and praise those who uphold the sutras, then our merits and virtues will be great. As we just discussed, this world [needs] the sutras, especially the Lotus Sutra, which is the Buddha’s original intent. When the Buddha attain Buddhahood, [He exclaimed] “How amazing! All beings possess the Buddha’s nature of wisdom. This is what the Buddha awakened to; when He awakened, this was His very first insight, that all beings in the world possess the Buddha’s enlightened nature. Unfortunately, sentient beings lifetime after lifetime are covered by ignorance, layer upon layer, which is replicated continuously. Right now, for them to be able to quickly experience their awakened nature is truly very difficult. We all inherently have this awakened nature, but for us to experience it is incredibly difficult!
This is why the Buddha could only keep [His original intent] in His mind. The Dharma of the One Vehicle is the only path for ordinary beings to be able to reach Buddhahood. There is only this path and no other. The Dharma of the One Vehicle is the only way. But when the Buddha observed sentient beings, [He knew] He could not be so direct. [Speaking] indirectly, He used all kinds of matters, things, and people as analogies. If someone faced a certain kind if suffering, He used a corresponding teaching to relieve the suffering in their minds and [help them] realize the principles. He had to do this gradually. This was very painstaking! But after more than forty years, [He had to share it]. After more than forty years, had these sentient beings awakened? It was still very difficult for them. If we recall the final section of the Lotus Sutra, Bodhisattvas from various realms appeared and said to the Buddha, “We are willing to take on the duty of Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings.” Yet, the Buddha had hoped that sentient beings in this world would do this. No one dared to, however, because sentient beings are stubborn and not easily trained and transformed.
If we think of this passage, we might wonder, “Is upholding the sutras really be so difficult?” Sariputra, was foremost in wisdom and the first to receive the Buddha’s predictions. The Buddha bestowed predictions on him and by confirming Sariputra’s future Buddhahood, He hoped that sentient beings of this world would receive and accept this teaching.
Yet, they all remained silent and did not dare to accept it. The Buddha clearly wanted to freely express [this teaching], but really, was there anyone who could truly comprehend the Buddha’s mind? This was truly a shame! However, time waits for no one, and He had to teach this Dharma; He had no choice!
So, in this chapter, the Buddha continuously reminds all of us to be resolute in our spiritual ambitions and to accept, uphold and protect [the Dharma]. It is we who must accept, uphold and protect it. In order to protect it, we must constantly praise the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. We must forever transmit them in the world. The One Vehicle must continually be passed on.
So “When they praise those who uphold this sutra, their blessings will be even greater, even greater than if they had praised the Buddha when He abided in this world. Their blessings will be even greater. Since the Buddha has transcended delusions, neither praise nor slander affects Him. Whether we praise Him or slender Him, it makes no difference to the Buddha. However, for those who come after, the [effect] will be great.
So, “By slandering or praising those who uphold the sutras, their offenses or blessings will be even more severe.” This is because those who uphold the sutras have not yet perfected their merits and virtues. “They have not yet perfected. If people slander them, they may abandon what they have learned.” They may abandon their learning and aspirations. but, “if people praise or respect them, they will succeed in their practice. So, we must be very mindful. Whether we are upholding or slandering the sutra. We must understand the principles very clearly; we should not merely repeat rumors we hear. If we do so, we will suffer great harm and we will not dare to persevere in upholding the Bodhisattva-path. Thus, we will bring harm to ourselves. This long passage from the “Chapter on Dharma Teachers” [encourages] us all to uphold the Dharma and teach others by expounding the principles. This is what the Buddha hoped for us to do. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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