Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Attaining Great Benefits from Hearing the sutras (得聞妙經 欣獲大利)
Date: November 17.2017
“Because those who uphold the sutras have not yet perfected their meritorious practice, if people slender them, they will abandon what they have learned; thus, this is a grave offense. If people praise and respect them, they will be successful in their practice of virtue and learning. This means that with the harm and benefit to both parties one must be cautious.”
We must always be mindful! As we read this, we must take it to heart in order to experience [the truth of] it. The words are profound, yet the meaning is simple. However, we must practice them in our daily lives and also carry on the Dharma in the future so that it can abide forever in this world. So, when we hear the sutras, we must be mindful. “Because those who uphold the sutras have not yet perfected their meritorious practice….”
Previously, I talked about the merits and virtues of upholding the sutras. If the Buddha-Dharma cab be passed down to future generations, the Buddha-Dharma can bring harmony to the world and balance to the four elements. This is because it is the principles; the Dharma is the principles of all things in this world, including the climate. Humans live on the earth. A [favorable] climate and peace in the world depend on the human realm. If the climate is favorable and the earth is safe, this is a blessing for the world. These blessings for the world must be created by us.
Conversely, the opposite of blessing is disaster. Do we want to create blessings of disasters? How do we create blessings? By doing good deeds, we create blessings; if we commit evil deeds, we create disasters. So, the difference between disasters or blessings is determined by us and the karma we create in the world. How do we create blessings in the world? This is why we need the principles. The principles of the Buddha-Dharma reach us in great detail and give us a profound analysis. This truly profound and meticulous [analysis] enable us to realize the true principles of the universe and of the world. If we are very mindful, with the comprehensive Buddha-Dharma, we learn the principles of influencing the world. How can we not be mindful?
Where are these principles? In the sutras. The Buddha expounded the One Vehicle Dharma, which was the Lotus Sutra; this was His original intent. His first thought after He attained enlightenment was “How amazing! All beings possess the Buddha’s nature of wisdom.” When the Buddha first attained enlightenment, in that state of mind, His first realization was that. His first realization was that all beings have the same wisdom as the Buddha. Unfortunately, the ignorance of sentient beings had been replicated over and over again, accumulating over many lifetimes. Now it has frown thick and covers the enlightened nature within us. this Tathagata-nature abides in us eternally. However, it has been covered in many layers of ignorance. The habitual tendencies of sentient beings keep us entangled in our ignorance and cause us to continuously create karma. Thus, our lives get turned around. How can we set our lives straight again? [By focusing on our enlightened nature], our behaviors will become corrected. This is what the Buddha hoped we can all mindfully experience. All along, the Buddha wanted to share this first thought of enlightenment to help us all attain awakening at the same time. Sadly, this is not so easy for sentient beings. Our accumulated habitual tendencies have already made us stubborn and hard to train. The Buddha had to use patience and love, and exercise His wisdom; He needed both compassion and wisdom. For more than 40 years, He patiently guided us, but time waits for no one. Time passes by continuously. The Buddha waited for all beings to awaken and accept [the Dharma], yet it was still difficult for them. Time was ticking, and the Buddha had to teach [His original intent], because He had already entered old age. If He did not teach it, nobody could learn it. Then, His treasury of wisdom, the One Vehicle Dharma could not remain in this world. Therefore, He had to teach the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. He wanted to teach it, but the stubborn beings in this evil world of Five Turbidities not only refused to listen but also slandered Him.
In order to protect this sutra, the Buddha went to great lengths. He wanted us to earnestly protect and uphold it, and He explained the merits and virtues of protecting and upholding [it]. This was the heartfelt effort He put into this. [This is] “Because those who uphold the sutra have not yet perfected their meritorious practice.” Evil people with evil thoughts were slandering the Buddha, but this did not sway or influence Him at all. Yet for us less-experienced practitioners, those of us who are currently learning and aspiring to uphold and share the sutras, we are easily swayed by the many gusts of ignorance around us. Spiritual practitioners like this have not perfected their meritorious practices, so they are easily influenced.
“If people slander them, they will abandon what they have learned; thus, this is a grave offense.” This is because they have not yet perfected their meritorious practices. If they hear others slandering [them], without firm aspirations or strong power of practice, they will be very easily influenced. So, they must earnestly learn and accept and uphold the sutras. They are willing to strengthen their faith as they transcribe, recite, listen to and transmit the Dharma; they are willing to do this. Yet, if they are influenced [negatively] they will abandon all that they have learned. Hearing others commit slander, they themselves are influenced, and thus neglect what they have learned. The karma caused by this transgression is very severe. They not only affect others but create karmic obstacles for themselves too.
What kind of retributions will this karma bring? Very severe ones! Some might think, “That cannot be! There are those who slander others yet still seem quite well-off.” Indeed, in this life they may be very well-off, but where will their karma bring them in future? They seem well-off at first glance, but will the impermanence of life strike them now? Or perhaps in a future lifetime? We cannot know. We must believe in what the Buddha warns us of. We must not obstruct those who aspire to uphold the sutras; we should protect and praise them. If we praise them, “If people praise and respect them, they will be successful in their practice of virtue and learning.” If we can earnestly praise and support them, their mind will be at ease, and they will make an effort to understand the principles contained within the sutras. Naturally, they will form spiritual aspirations and firmly resolve to earnestly accept and uphold [the Dharma]. They will explore the sutras deeply and go among people to transform sentient beings. If they can do this, “they will be successful in their practice of virtue and learning.”
What this tells us is that the harm or benefit we do depends on whether we praise or slander those who uphold the sutras. If people accept the teachings and put them into practice, do we praise r slander them? This is the harm or benefit to both parties. So, we must be very cautious. When it talks about both parties, that means this will not obstruct the Buddha, but for new practitioners it is a great hindrance. Angrily slandering the Buddha has no affect on Him; but for the people doing it, the karma is very severe. With new practitioners, if we create obstacles, these new practitioners whose spiritual aspirations are not yet firm will be influenced greatly. If so, in terms of the Buddha-Dharma, their passion for transmitting the Dharma will be cut short. Their roots of faith will be severed. This is due to the influence of those who slander them. So, those who slander the sutras not only sever others’ roots of faith and spiritual aspirations, but multiply their own negative karma. This karma is even worse than that of slandering the Buddha, because the Buddha remains unaffected, while new practitioners will be influenced. Therefore, slandering those who uphold the sutra creates layer upon layer of karmic retributions. This is why we must truly be careful.
Speaking of karma, why do we see so many suffering people in this world? When they were born into this life, their direct and circumstantial retributions took them to places of great suffering, such as in Africa. In South Africa, in the wintertime, Bodhisattva-volunteers start distributing rice. Those who are able come to receive the rice themselves so that they can survive the winter. For those who are unable to come, the Bodhisattva-volunteers there deliver it to their homes in person. Those who cannot come truly have very hard lives. In mid-June of 2016, Tzu Chi volunteers in Durban, South Africa, that large group of Bodhisattvas, delivered the rice to families who were unable to get it themselves. We saw that when they delivered the rice, those families live in hellish conditions. The Bodhisattvas carried the rice on truck. When they came to impassable roads, they got out and carried the rice on their backs. They walked across this rough [terrain] until they arrived outside of the families’ homes. With one family in particular, before [the volunteers] even arrived, they could smell the scent of blood in the air. From afar, they saw a group of people next to the house. What were they doing? It turned out that there was a goat, and the group of people there were killing it. They were cutting it into pieces, cutting and hacking at it to divide up the bloody [corpse]. This group of Bodhisattvas sighted with sorrow. They could not bear it and felt pity for the goat, but there was nothing they could do. It had already been divided into pieces. They felt even greater pity for these people. In that place, their hands soaked with blood. That place was like hell on earth, right outside their home. The Tzu Chi volunteers went to the door. The mother came out first. She did not walk out, but crawled out instead. Both her feet were shriveled up and had curled backwards. She used her hands to support her body, with her legs bent behind her; this was how she crawled out. Behind her cam her son, who was drunk. His feet were also curled up, [but] his feet were out in front of him. He was sitting like this, using his hands to support himself as he came out. Seeing this mother and her son, the most tragic part was that the son was drunk. He came outside, shouting loudly and said so himself, “I am drunk! I am….” It was so sad seeing him drunk and shouting. The volunteers were at a loss. What could they say to him? He would not have understood. They were going to tell these people that they should not drink anymore. However, when they turned around, at the other end of the house, there was a group of people sitting on the ground drinking, with many bottles piled up behind them. They could do nothing but just give them the rice. The drunk man with shriveled feet was somehow able to hoist the rice onto his shoulder, and on his hunched body, he carried the rice inside. Our Tzu Chi volunteers quickly handed red envelopes to his mother. His mother took them with gratitude and put them in a bag hanging from her chest. They saw how there were also people who were drinking next door; it was really disheartening [to see] these people living life in a stupor, in these hellish conditions. After the Tzu Chi volunteers left and were returning to the truck, another man approached them. He told the volunteers that he was drunk. He said, “I am also very poor”. So, he asked for rice and supplies from them. At that moment, one of the volunteers, a young man from Taiwan, named Frank Chu, said to him, “You are not poor; you are drunk. You should try becoming a volunteer. Your are able-bodied, yet you are not working and instead you beg from others. This is not right.” The drunk man who was asking for these things suddenly understood. He said, “Okay, okay. I will volunteer in the future”, and he left quietly. This man, Frank Chu, came from Taiwan; he is quite young. There, he accompanies the African volunteers and encourages them to be more diligent. While distributing the rice with them, he truly demonstrated his wisdom. He assumed [a formidable] appearance to spur this able-bodied drunk man. This drunk man, who was able-bodied, heard these words and was awakened. He dared not continue begging from them, but said, “Okay, I will become a volunteer when I can”. See, this is how human beings are. Poverty is a condition of the mind. We need to be remined of our spiritual wealth. So, after this man left them, this young Mr. Chu turned back around [to this group of volunteers]. He addressed this group of Zulu volunteers. Some were boys and some, members of Tzu Ching. He said to them, “True Zulu men are courageous”. He encouraged them, “You are all courageous and are able to look out for your families. Young men, are you willing to be brave Zulu men and look after your families?”
These young men answered in unison, “We will work hard to truly become responsible and dignified men.” This is the [power of] education. In this hellish environment, [Me. Chu] led this group to go teach others to recognize their blessings, He used this opportunity to teach them; this is not a simple thing. As they continued on with the distribution, they arrived at a place where a shipping container had been converted into a space to teach kindergarteners. They asked to use a little space to hold a meeting inside. Frank chu and the African volunteers began sharing [their thoughts] with each other. He told them, “We should always be sober in order to be responsible people. This requires following the ten precepts.” Then, he explained Tzu Chi’s Ten Precepts to them. After wards, he went on to say, “We must make vows and aspire to be a modern Purna. He then shared the story of Purna with these volunteers. These people likewise [follow the teachings] just as we do. As I an teaching here right now, they are also listening in from where they are. Therefore, they had already heard Purna’s story; he aspired to go to the most difficult places with the most stubborn people and greatest suffering to9 transform the sentient beings there. So, in that [meeting] space, they reaffirmed their aspirations to become like a modern Purna.
Everyone brought out this spirit of going into areas of the greatest suffering to deliver suffering people and spread and sow the seeds of love among them. They all reaffirmed this great aspiration there. This group of African volunteers was [accompanied] by this capable young man. He upheld the sutras and transmitted the Dharma. the way he guides people there, he is like a modern Purna Maitrayaniputra. He not only taught the Dharma there, but he also people and served the community there. It fills my heart with joy to see this.
That place is so far away from Taiwan, but they take the Dharma to heart and put it into practice all the same. He is a good disciple of mine and a Bodhisattva who makes such great aspirations. he is truly respectable and praiseworthy. Every one of us should learn from him, and young people should also look up to him. He is one who protects and upholds the sutra. He accepts and upholds the Dharma of the sutra, and transmits, teaches and shares it with others as they go among suffering people. This is why we should all earnestly learn from role models such as him. I too am amazed and deeply touched [by him].
Let us look at the previous sutra passage. “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.”
We all understand this already. If one can praise the Buddha with many kind and beautiful words, there are certainly merits and virtues in this. if one praises the Buddha, it is certain that he will learn the Buddha’s way. If one respects and has faith in the Buddha, they will learn from Him. Because they do this, their merits and virtues will be infinite. Furthermore, if they are able to praise people of later generations who uphold the sutra, their merits, virtues and blessings will be even greater than from praising the Buddha when He abided in the world. So, we must be very mindful to praise those who protect and uphold the sutra.
The following sutra passage continues, “For eight billion kalpas, they can use the most wondrous objects of form and sound, as well as smell, taste and touch, to make offerings to those who uphold this sutra. Having made such offerings, if they are able to hear this sutra for even just a moment, then they should feel happy and fortunate that today they attain great benefits.”
For a long time, eight billion kalpas, they can use the most wondrous objects of form and sound. [They use] tangible objects, sounds, as well as things that can be smelled and so on to make offerings to those who uphold this sutra. “Having made such offerings, having made offerings like this, “if they are able to hear this sutra for even just a moment….” They have made offerings for such a long time, and still, it is only “for just a moment,” for a brief moment, that they are able to hear this sutra. “They should feel happy and fortunate.” For a long time, we been constantly making offerings to the Buddha and to those who uphold [this sutra].
More importantly, we must listen to this sutra. Just saying, “I will protect and support you is not enough. No matter how long you support someone, this cannot compare to listening to the sutra, even for a moment. By listening to this sutra and taking it to heart, you will naturally from aspirations. after you understand the principles, you can them advance and transmit the Dharma. so, “They should feel happy and fortunate” means we should be joyful. Hearing the sutra and understanding its principles enables us to promite the Dharma.
This is why we must be joyful. “Today they attain great benefits.” For such a long time, we have made offerings and upheld [the sutras] and we can also truly listen to this sutra; we should be happy about this. only after 42 years did the Buddha finally expound the Lotus Sutra. Think about it; isn’t this a rare opportunity? Only after 42 years did people heat the Lotus Sutra [and learn that] anyone can attain Buddhahood. They spent all of that time praising the Buddha and upholding the sutras, until finally, after more than 40 years, he began to freely carry out His original intent by expounding the Lotus Sutra. So, this is something we should be happy about, something for us to rejoice in. Thus, “Faith in this wondrous Dharma is the mother of the merits and virtues of all Buddhas.”
Faith in this wondrous Dharma is the mother of the merits and virtues of all Buddhas. Thus, praising it with one word or hearing it even for one moment is enough to give rise to immeasurable benefits for both oneself and others. Its blessings and benefits are unparalleled.
The Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra is mother to the merits and virtues of all Buddhas. We must have faith; we have been saying that “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits.” We can put our faith in the Lotus Sutra, for it provides the way to attain Buddhahood. We must accumulate numerous merits and virtues. This sutra has been continuously teaching us; from the Introductory Chapter to now, it has been teaching us to return to our nature of True Suchness; to the [wisdom] intrinsic to us all. However, we must walk the Bodhisattva-path. This is what the Lotus Sutra teaches us.
[We can] “praise it with one word”. “Praising” [means] speaking well of those who uphold the sutra. If we can “hear it even for one moment, if we can take in these words,” even taking it to heart for a brief a moment will be entirely beneficial for us. if we can take the sutras to heart, we are actually benefitting ourselves. Because of what the Lotus Sutra teaches us, as we benefit ourselves, we understand the principles and thus are able to benefit others too. So, by benefitting ourselves and others, we give rise to infinite merits and virtues. The blessings and benefit are enormous, unlike other sutras we might hear.
If we can take the Lotus Sutra to heart, we will certainly benefit ourselves and others. We must refrain from creating karma and go one step further by going among people to create blessings. This is different; this brings infinite blessings, merits and virtues. So, “for eight billion kalpas, they can use the most wondrous objects of form and sound….”
For eight billion kalpas, they can use the most wondrous objects of form and sound: Eight billion kalpas represent the eight consciousnesses. Wondrous forms are things like fragrant flowers and such Wondrous sounds refer to all kinds of music. They use the world’s most wondrous forms and sounds.
Eight billion is an analogy for the Eight Consciousnesses. When we refer to this long period of time, we are speaking of the Eight Consciousnesses. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind are the Six [Consciousnesses]. Going deeper, there is the seventh consciousness. After we see external objects, our consciousness takes them in and we contemplate them with our [sixth] consciousness. “This is what I want, so I strive and work for it. How shall I fight for it and make it mine? If do anything to get what we want, we will create karma. [But] if we see people suffering in the world, and take what we have seen to heart, we can think about how to help them; we can think of all sorts of ways to help. When we contemplate and exercise, this is the [sixth] consciousness. The [sixth] consciousness is contemplation; whether we create blessings or commit wrongdoing, this happens in the [sixth] consciousness. Once we take action, the seeds we receive back from benefitting other people, are stored in the eighth consciousness. We should all know this. Is we create karma out of greed, we receive back evil [seeds], which are also stored in the eighth consciousness.
Thus, the eight billion kalpas represents the eight consciousness that we have experienced. “Wondrous forms are things like fragrant flowers and so forth.” These are tangible objects of this world. [As for] wondrous sounds, they are music, sounds of praise and so on. These are the many ways we can make offerings. For instance, with the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, how can we help everyone remember it? We composed the verses into songs so that people can sing and recite them and physically enter the sutra treasury, using sign language and so on. This is how we use subtle and wondrous sounds to praise those who uphold this sutra. “As well as smell, taste and touch to make offerings to those who uphold this sutra….”
As well as smell, taste and touch to make offerings to those who uphold this sutra: Wondrous fragrances, wondrous tastes, wondrous things to touch and so forth should be offered to those upholding this sutra.
How can we transmit the Dharma? using sounds and musical instruments, rites and music and so on can help people get a sense of it. These help demonstrate the supreme meaning. This is just like the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. All kinds of sounds, all kinds of methods, can be used as praise. “Having made such offerings, if they are able to hear this sutra for even just one moment….” After making offerings like these, we may then hear it and take it to heart. Having practiced by making offerings this way, after we hear [the sutra], we can also participate; we are able to join in.
When I traveled around Taiwan this time [in 2016], in Taipei, the drums and bells performance team adapted the sutra in the same kind of way and made praise with sounds, so that everyone was full of joy. When I went to Kaohsiung, they were also [performing sutra adaptations], showing it with their body language. The Dharma is in our body and mind and can all be expressed like this; these are also ways of making offerings. So, “Then they should feel happy and fortunate that today they attain great benefits.”
Then they should feel happy and fortunate that today they attain great benefits: their hearts should give rise to great joy and rejoice that today they attain great benefits.
If we can hear sounds like this or feel this kind of praise, the Buddha-Dharma can be written into beautiful language for us to read and recite, understand and memorize. Then, everyone can also express their praise using their bodies. Everyone came together and sang in unison, with thousands of people forming one voice. Thousands of people were all doing the sign language simultaneously. They were all of the same mindset, all with the same reverence, all signing the same praises and all with the same intent to transmit the Dharma. think about it; isn’t this beautiful? For such along time, for eight billion kalpas [they made offerings], representing eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. If everyone did this for just one minute, then with 1000 people. It makes 1000 minutes, and 10,000 people makes 10,000 minutes. Those who saw this gave rise to joy and thoughts of kindness. Think about it; thousands of people at the same time performed wondrous sights and sounds. The sights and sounds were wondrous; they looked so beautiful, so orderly. When others heard them, it was pleasing to their ears and brought joy. As they sang, they were truly peaceful and at ease. Think about it. Isn’t this a powerful force?
We have mentioned the Five Dusts [before]; the Eight Consciousnesses connect with the Five Dusts. Our Five Roots meet external conditions; our eyes, ears, nose, togue and body connect with the five Dusts in our environment. Form, sound, smell, taste and touch are the Five Dusts. The Five Dusts defiles our minds. The Five Dusts tempt us unenlightened beings to use our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind to create lots of negative karma. These are the Five Dusts that contaminate our nature of True Suchness. They lead us to ignorance and afflictions. Our [sixth] consciousness connect with them, and the body creates karma. In this way, multiple layers of karma are created. Finally, our eight Consciousness collect the seeds of this karma. This causes us to lose control; by our direct and circumstantial retributions, some are born where suffering is worst. This includes the hell and animal realms, and places full of poverty and hardship. This cyclical existence and impermanence is truly terrifying. Being born with this human body and being able hear the Buddha-Dharma is truly a once in a billion kalpas [chance].
If we have encountered the Buddha-Dharma, this means we have “the causes from making offerings with the Five Dusts for billions of kalpas.”
With the causes from making offerings with the Five Dusts for billions of kalpas, they can hear the One Vehicle Dharma even for just a moment. Thus they have the opportunity to attain Bodhi and will rejoice in gaining great benefits.
For a long time, with our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind, we have been in touch with the Buddha-Dharma. we have heard its true principles and have followed its teachings and put them into practice. So, “with the causes from making offerings with the Five Dusts for billions of kalpas” means in this world of the Five Dusts we can cultivate the causes, the seeds to attain Buddhahood. By hearing the Buddha-Dharma even for a moment, we can form aspirations. this is why we should feel fortunate. We can awaken with even a bit of Dharma and walk on the Bodhi-path. Aren’t these benefits enormous?
So, if we can do this, “If [we] are able to hear this sutra for even just a moment, then [we] should feel happy and fortunate that today [we] attain great benefits. As for the Five Roots and Five Dusts, as the Five Roots connect with the external conditions, we need to form good aspirations. for the Five Dusts, form, sound, smell, taste and touch, we must use all kinds of good things to make offerings.
That bag of rice is one the best [offerings]. Our Bodhisattva-volunteers distribute it to the places with the most suffering. They do this knowing that these people will also attain Buddhahood in the future. Our present Bodhisattva-volunteers are making offerings to sentient beings who will attain Buddhahood in the future. Thus us one way to make offerings. Thus, as Buddhist practitioners, we must earnestly realize the deep principles in this sutra. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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