Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Secret Dharma Was Never Taught (袐要隱護 未曾顯說)
Date: November 22.2017
“In terms of people, the intrinsic and manifest [aspects] of teacher and disciples have both existed for a very long time. The people and the methods differ from the past, thus it is hard to believe and comprehend. What is always hidden and protected is called ‘secret’. The ultimate reality of True Suchness which retains all teachings and uphold all goodness is called a ‘treasury’”.
That is to say, people [come together due to] affinities. There is the affinity between teacher and disciple as well as between people and the Buddha. When a Buddha has affinities with the world, He will manifest in the world, will be born into the world according to His direct and circumstantial retributions. Take Sakyamuni Buddha for instance; He was born in the kingdom of Kapilavastu. His karmic conditions were made manifest through the footprints He left in the world. He was born in that place, born into the palace; these are part of the footprints He left, part of His life’s path. He engaged ibn spiritual practice, attained Buddhahood and then went among people to teach the Dharma. some people had [good] affinities with Him; others did not. Those He had affinities with heard the Dharma and believed in and understood it.
They accepted and practiced the teachings, becoming His disciples. Some became monastics and joined the Sangha. Some had families or social responsibilities. There were kings, ministers and so on. They had different titles, but they all had affinities with the Buddha. These are “the intrinsic and manifest [aspects] of teacher and disciples”.
The Buddha manifested in this world. It is the same for us all. We ordinary people all came in the same way. We came to this world without any choice of our own. However, the Buddha came with a purpose, a mission He came to transform the sentient beings who were led here by karma.
So, He came to this world for one great cause. Thus, we have these records in history in the sutra treasury etc. and so on of the Buddha’s path in life.
The Buddha was the Great Enlightened One, so it is a part of human history that such a person existed. Actually, at that time, we were also [in the world], but we did not leave the same footprints because we were too insignificant. Also, we were among the myriad sentient beings, unaware of where we came from or where we would go. Perhaps, when the Buddha was teaching the sutras, [we were] among His disciples. In the Chapter on Faith and Understanding, the four [great] disciples addressed the Buddha. Perhaps those four disciples can be found among us know. In the Chapter on 500 Disciples Receiving Predictions, it was the same with Purna; perhaps he is among us, in a place of suffering somewhere in the world, teaching and transforming sentient beings. There was also Rahula, the Buddha’s disciple. During the Buddha’s lifetime, they were e[all] in His Sangha and were all recorded in history. They all wanted to return to this world. They may be anywhere in the world right now, in any spiritual training ground or in any country, among people in that society. They are all transforming sentient beings according to their own karmic conditions. These are the “intrinsic and manifest [aspects] of teacher and disciples”.
In the Buddha’s time, the Buddha Himself and His disciples kelp transforming people in this world. It is just that it has been a very long time. Between Sakyamuni Buddha and our time alone, it has been more than 2000 years. Was that the only [lifetime] for the Buddha? Before He attained Buddhahood, for countless dust-inked kalpas, He came [to this world] lifetime after lifetime. So, in the past, before He attained Buddhahood, He likewise had to engage in spiritual practice. From knowing nothing of the Buddha-Dharma, He accepted it and began to engage I n spiritual practice. In this process, He attained understanding and formed great aspirations and made great vows to walk the Bodhisattva-path. He created blessings by [serving] others, and He formed great positive affinities, unceasingly [cultivating] causes and conditions. In each lifetime, He never forsook these karmic conditions. He kept coming back to this world, continuously forming affinities with people. [He did this] for a very long time.
“The people and the methods differ from the past”. Our current era is different from the past; we need different methods to teach and transform. The times have changed, and so must our methods. Modern day technology is very advanced, so we can use technology to aid us. I can teach the Dharma here, but throughout the Jing Si Abode alone, whether you are listening outside or inside, the sound is the same. My voice is not louder or softer. Furthermore, among the 32 Marks of the Buddha was His deep and far-reaching tone of voice. He could be heard from very far away, but people nearby would not find it too loud. With modern technology, the words I speak here are not even confined to the Jing Si Abode. People both inside and outside can hear my voice as well we [people] overseas and around the world. Simply by [accessing this] technology, this “cloud technology,” they can [hear my voice]. With the push of a finger, after starting the computer, people anywhere can hear my voice, just as we in here can hear it right now. They can not only hear my voice but also see me.
In the Buddha’s lifetime, He could manifest anywhere to teach the Dharma. How could we do that now? Actually, with modern technology it is possible. The times are different, and as technology develops, we must quickly make use of it to spread the Dharma everywhere.
However, we still need the causes and conditions. When it comes to causes and conditions, [it is the same] in our age as in the past. In the past, some people lacked affinities with the Buddha. Or they accumulated envy and negative affinities, so they slandered and denounced the Buddha for lifetime after lifetime. People who slandered the Buddha-Dharma [existed back then], not to mention now. So, if the conditions are not yet ripe, it will really not be easy to spread the Dharma. Sentient beings nowadays are stubborn and difficult to train and transform. It was like this even during the Buddha’s time. Even He could do nothing. They could hear His voice and see His image. What else could He do? There was nothing He could do. He had to rely on causes and conditions. So, “The people and the methods differ from the past.”
Times have changed, but karmic conditions remain the same. Those with good karmic affinities can accept [the Dharma]. It is a matter of people and methods. The affinities differ, but just as in the past, those who lack affinities lack affinities. “Thus it is hard to believe and comprehend.” People with shallow or negative affinities cannot be trained; they are very stubborn. There are all kinds of people. There were [people with] different capabilities in the Buddha’s time, and it is the same nowadays. In the Buddha’s time, there were people who were unable to believe and comprehend, to say nothing of us today. There are still sentient beings today who find it hard to believed and comprehend; this is how people are different.
Thus, “The Buddha always hid and protected the secret Dharma.” The Buddha held onto His original intent [to teach] the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This original intent was [what He realize] after His awakening. “How amazing! All beings possess the Buddha’s nature of wisdom.” He wanted to tell everyone that all can attain Buddhahood. Every person can attain Buddhahood; it is just that their abilities differ. It was like this in the past, and it is still the same now.
So, the Buddha took into consideration those who were unable to believe and understand. Thus, [He hid] the True Dharma in His mind, always keeping it there. Dust-inked kalpas ago, He accepted Great Unhindered Buddha’s [teaching of] the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. Having accepted it, He taught it to everyone, from affinities with them. In this way the Lotus Sutra, the True Dharma [of the One Vehicle], was stored in His mind. So, “What is hidden and protected is called secret.” He was never able to teach it to sentient beings.
However, since He had now attained Buddhahood. He absolutely had to teach the true Dharma. So, after over 40 years, He had no choice but to make His original intent, the True Dharma that He had kept secret, completely open and known to everyone. This Dharma had been hidden in the Buddha’s mind, so it was called “secret”; this secret Dharma had been kept hidden and was not openly revealed. Thus, it was described as “secret”. Now, He began to tell it to everyone. So, exactly what does this Dharma contain? “It retains all teachings.”
We discussed this yesterday, how at the time the Buddha was awakened, the spiritual training ground of His mind opened up and became one with the universe. His inner spiritual training ground [entered] the Avatamsaka state. Yet, from that time onward, He would still return to the world. In returning to the world, His wish was to plant seeds in the minds of sentient beings to help them all expand [their minds]. The seed in everyone’s mind is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, but ignorance and afflictions have covered it, one layer after another. So, layer by layer, the Buddha wanted to gradually help us lift away our afflictions. This was His method.
So, [He gave] the Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna [teachings]. In this way, 42 years passed. In the 42 years, He taught emptiness and existence and the great and small according to capabilities. He taught on both the illusory and the real. So, at this point [He taught] “retaining all teachings and upholding all goodness”. This is the Bodhisattva-path.
“True Suchness is called a treasury”. As for the ultimate reality of True Suchness, True Suchness exists in sentient beings’ minds, and the principles of the ultimate reality are stored in the Buddha’s original intent. Thus, [the Buddha] had to think of how to open up the True Dharma for everyone to understand.
Already in chapter ten, the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha wanted to tell everyone about the True Dharma of people and phenomena. [Yet due to] their varied capabilities, the changing times and different karmic conditions, [sentient beings] remain difficult to train and transform. It is still hard for them to believe and understand. The Lotus Sutra encompasses all sutras, from the Avatamsaka, to the Agama, to the Vaipulya and the Prajna. Arriving at the Lotus teachings, He wanted to return to the Avatamsaka state. For all to attain that tranquility and clarity and open their minds requires a very long time. That time is very long, so we must put in effort to comprehend the wondrous principles of the Buddha-Dharma. We must be mindful!
The previous sutra passage states, “At that time, the Buddha again told Medicine King Bodhisattva-Mahasattva. The sutra I teach are countless trillions, including what I have taught, am teaching now and will teach in the future. Among those sutras, this, the Lotus Sutra, is the hardest to believe and comprehend”.
As the Buddha spoke this passage, He felt very helpless within. Clearly, every person is a Buddha, yet no one was able to comprehend that our intrinsic Buddha-nature exists within. Clearly, all people have this treasure, yet our minds are so impoverished; our knowledge and wisdom are so lacking. This was why the Buddha felt so helpless! People rely on cleverness and can argue very eloquently, but they have no wisdom. This describes people nowadays. Everyone appears to be very smart, but what we lack is wisdom. Our roots of goodness are continuously mired. When our roots of goodness are submerged, our wisdom-life is unable to grow. This makes it “hard to believe and comprehend”. The Buddha said, “The sutras I teach are countless trillions”. He had already taught so many [sutras] in the past. So, “What I have taught” is what He taught in the past. “What I am teaching now” is the Lotus Sutra He was teaching now. “What I will teach in the future” is the sutra He would teach right before entering Parinirvana; “what I will teach in the future” refers to the Nirvana Sutra.
“Among those sutras…,” among these many sutras, “this, the Lotus Sutra is the hardest to believe and comprehend”. It is difficult to believe and comprehend. If we can all believe and comprehend this sutra, that means that our afflictions have already been eliminated, layer by layer. The Dharma is truly engraved in our minds, and on the road which is already paved before us, we go among people, advancing step by step. This is an awakened state of mind, to willingly go among suffering people. This is how we can advance step by step.
The next sutra passage states, “Medicine King, this sutra is the secret and essential treasury of all Buddhas. It cannot be taught carelessly to people. All Buddhas, World-Honored Ones, protect it. From the past to the present, it has never been openly taught”.
We should understand that this sutra is “the secret and essential treasury of all Buddhas”. All Buddhas share the same path; every Buddha attains Buddhahood in this world, and before They enter Parinirvana. They must teach the Lotus Sutra. This is the original intent of all Buddhas. [It is] their true principles and their path to attaining Buddhahood. So, it is “the secret and essential treasury of all Buddhas”.
Medicine King, this sutra is the secret and essential treasury of all Buddhas: This [sutra], the Lotus Sutra, is al Buddhas’, all World-Honored Ones’, secrete and essential Dharma-treasury of wondrous merits and virtues.
The Buddha’s mind contains the Lotus Sutra; it is the true principles, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This is the same path all Buddha share; it is the same for every Buddha. They attain Buddhahood, and before entering Parinirvana, they definitely must teach the Lotus Sutra.
So, “This [sutra], the Lotus sutra, is all Buddhas’ World-Honored Ones’, secret and essential Dharma-treasury of wondrous merits and virtues”. Every Buddha who comes to this world, each World-Honored One, had this secret and essential [treasury] which they secretly keep in Their ninth consciousness. It is the Buddha’s original intent. Ordinary people can only reach the eighth consciousness. Having attained Buddhahood, one has obtained the True Dharma. one has returned to one’s intrinsic nature, the pure and undefiled ninth consciousness. This is the Dharma-treasury of the Buddha’s mind, “the Dharma-treasury of wondrous merits and virtues”. All Buddhas share this path; they all have this.
Secret and essential treasury: This is said because it is deeply hidden and hard to understand and believe in. it is hidden and untaught, so it is called secret. It retains all teaching and uphold all goodness, so it is essential. That which contain the ultimate reality of True Suchness is called a treasury.
[It is called] “secret and essential treasury because it is deeply hidden and is hard to understand and believe in”. this secret and essential treasury is the True Dharma. it is not in the eighth consciousness, but at an even deeper level, in the ninth consciousness. This Dharma is such that ordinary unenlightened beings [cannot] truly comprehend it. [This is because] their roots of goodness are not yet deep enough, their wisdom-life has not yet matured and they have not yet walked the Bodhisattva-path. Now, we see Bodhisattvas mobilizing in the world [in response to] all its suffering. There is goodness in their hearts; “Human nature is inherently good”. With this “inherently good nature,” they have already formed initial aspirations. they are newly inspired Bodhisattvas, very joyful and willing to go among people to serve them. They have begun to pave the path, but before they truly comprehend this Dharma, the Buddha’s secret and essential treasury, they still have quite a long way to go. So, “It is deeply hidden and is hard to understand and believe in.” because we are only newly-inspired, our aspirations are not yet firm.
Sometimes, we take joy in this work, but sometimes some situation arises, and our afflictions obstruct us. People-related afflictions obstruct us, natural afflictions obstruct us and afflictions due to karmic obstacles obstruct us. each morning, we [recite], “I vow to eliminate the Three Obstructions and all afflictions. I vow to attain wisdom and true clarity.” But have we obtained wisdom? If we have obtained true wisdom, our minds will naturally be focused and settled. We will understand the Four Noble Truths and the 12 Links of Cyclic Existence. We will understand it all, the Vaipulya and the Prajna, all [teachings] on wondrous existence and all [teachings] on true emptiness. We should also enter the Lotus Sutra to realize this wondrous existence. All things are empty, so what is there that can obstruct us then? Yet we still do not comprehend wondrous existence, and sometimes “emptiness” also obstruct us. So, the Buddha definitely had to teach us the principles of wondrous existence. Thus, in the Lotus Sutra there are [teachings of] emptiness and existence, of suffering and of abundant Dharma-joy; these are the wondrous principles of the Dharma.
So, the Buddha knows that our capabilities are not yet fully developed and that we have only recently formed aspirations. we have already formed aspirations, but we still do not dare [to go among people]. Our capabilities are still very limited; we have planted the seed, but it has only just sprouted. It has not become a big tree, so we are afraid of the wind and rain. Although we have understood, we are still very afraid. We are afraid that sentient beings’ stubbornness will [cause us] to lose ourselves to lose our spiritual aspirations. thus, we dare not [go among people]. Although we have formed aspirations, we dare not [go among people], for [fear of] being obstructed and losing ground. So it says, “It is hard to believe and comprehend”. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha continually seeks to let us know, as stubborn, unbelieving sentient beings, how we can hone ourselves and stabilize our faith. This is the reason the Buddha taught this sutra.
So, what is “hidden and untaught” is “secret”. It is still kept secret, stored in His mind. So, “It retains all teachings and upholds all goodness.” This is very important. This sutra encompasses the Agama, the Vaipulya and the Prajna, all of them. It encompasses the Buddha’s great awakening the Avatamsaka state.
In order to be truly enlightened, we must “retain all teachings and uphold all goodness.” “The heart encompasses the universe and the boundless worlds within it. Only with this kind of open mind are we able to comprehend this principle. So, “that which contains the ultimate reality of True Suchness is called a treasury”. The principles of the ultimate reality of True Suchness are contained within it. “contained” means it is completely held inside it. This, it is called a “treasury”. “The secret and essential treasury of all Buddhas….” It is the secret treasury of all Buddhas. Their original intent, the True Dharma, is hidden in this place.
So, “’secret and essential’ refers to the Tathagata’s skillful teachings for the benefit of others. Those who have not perfected their causes and attained fruition cannot practice this secret and essential path.”
Why must it be kept secret? The Buddha-Dharma is a good thing, so why must it be kept secret? It is because sentient beings’ capabilities are insufficient; they find it hard to believe and understand. The Buddha felt the time had not yet arrived. He was still waiting for sentient beings to learn from the Prajna sutras to activate their wisdom; since everything is empty, there is nothing we need be attached to. However, this was still not enough. “There is wondrous existence in emptiness. We must quickly attain] that state of purity where we manifest the ultimate reality of True Suchness. This is [what is taught in] the Lotus Sutra. This refers to “the Tathagata’s skillful teachings for the benefit of others.” Intrinsically, we all possess the Buddha-Dharma. however, we do not realize it. So, the Buddha had to use all kinds of methods to peel away the ignorance of sentient beings.
We have so much ignorance, so how can we identify it all? Our ignorance is the common form of all our hindrances. In our daily living, we frequently give rise to ignorance. We have so much ignorance.
For example, the weather is so hot now that people need to have air conditioning everywhere. We clearly know that the temperature of the earth is rising, but why is it rising? There are many hidden karmic conditions, constant industrial development, pollution etc. These gradually [affect] the atmosphere. The land used to be covered by forests, rice paddies, farmlands and so on, but that is no longer the case. Now, it is all high-rise buildings. The paddies and lakes have been filled in. Grass used to cover the ground, but now it is all tar and cement. As soon as the sun shines on it, the temperature rises. There are also everyone’s air conditioning units. When we do inside, we feel very cold, but the air coming out from [these units] is hot enough to burn people!
See, this is a vicious cycle. The principles are clear, but we cannot help ourselves. Thus, we constantly keep creating more heat. Heat is constantly being created. This is the vicious cycle of the modern world. We cannot help ourselves or control our desires. This is how sentient beings are. So, the Tathagata used skillful means for [our] benefit; there was no other way. It is still the same today. Sentient beings have varying capabilities, so there is no other way. The Buddha had to teach using all kinds of methods.
Now, I too am not able to [do much]. The weather is so hot. I must apologize to you all. The Jing Si Abode has no air conditioning, so it is very hot. If we want to engage in spiritual practice, we must be able to endure hardship. This is what is called spiritual practice. We are still going among people. Are we not among people right now? Everyone’s body produces heat; every person’s body temperature is over 36 degrees [Celsius]. With this body heat and so many people, as soon as we come in, we will feel very hot. But we must endure. This is spiritual practice.
So, we must practice the Four Noble Truths and the Six Paramitas in all our actions. Once we understand the world’s suffering, we must form aspirations [to practice] giving, upholding the precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. This means we must go among people and practice giving while upholding the precepts. We need to abide by our rules. We must be patient. We must endure the weather in the world as well as the stubbornness of sentient beings. Are we able to endure these? We must endure. This is our spiritual practice.
In order to skillfully benefit others, we must share all kinds of teachings with people. Indeed, it is because of all this that we must be more patient. We should not turn on the AC for no reason, or do this or that for no reason; we need to endure. This is also a kind of skill means”. I am teaching you all this for you to know how we must go about accumulating [karma] and eliminating karmic obstacles. This is not only for a few; only when many people learn to have patience can we end all natural and manmade disasters. As it is, with continuous population growth and high-rise buildings constantly being built, the natural world is continuously being destroyed. How could the climate not change? These extreme changes in the climate are not without causes. So, “Those who have not perfected their causes and attained fruition cannot practice this secret and essential path.”
With that said, we must always engage in spiritual practice. Our causes and conditions must be perfected. Otherwise, this path, the Bodhisattva-path, will be difficult to walk. It is difficult to explain; it is not only hard to walk but also hard to explain. Thus, “They cannot practice this secret and essential path.”
Sentient beings are stubborn, so it is hard to teach them; it is hard for them to believe and understand. Even if we wish to truly do this, unless we have very firm patience, we are unable to do it.
So, “For example, when we prescribe medicine for the ill, if we need to use poisonous medicine to treat an illness, anyone who is not a skilled doctor with deep understanding of medicine and its application should not do it.”
For example, when we prescribe medicine for the ill, if we need to use poisonous medicine to treat an illness, anyone who is not a skilled doctor with deep understanding of medicine and its application should not do it. The Buddha is also like this. for those who had formed Great Vehicle aspirations, the Buddha first used Small Vehicle teachings to transform them and help them grow. Then, He opened up the provisional to reveal the true by eliminating their conjured city and helping them return to the One Vehicle. Regarding the Buddha’s original intent, if He did not always have the skillful wisdom of the supreme and true secret, how could He achieve this wondrous application of the True, Great Dharma?
When someone is ill, we must prescribe medicine according to the illness. Thus, the Sutra of Infinite Meanings says that we must “discern the forms of diseases before we can know the principles of medicine. Only then can we prescribe the right medicine according to the illness. Sone medicine includes toxic substances to fight illness. Some illnesses require this kind of medicine, but these toxic kinds of medicine must be used to treat these illnesses only. It is the same in Western and Chinese medicine.
So, when we are ill, we have to see a doctor to get the appropriate medicine. Furthermore, the dosage must be just right. Similarly, the Buddha taught and transformed sentient beings according to their capabilities. Sentient beings have illnesses of the mind, so the Buddha had to prescribe spiritual medicine. Thus, He prescribed medicine according to capabilities. The principle is the same. So, “Anyone who is not a skilled doctor with deep understanding of medicine and its application should not do it.” If they cannot understand medical principles well, then there is no way they can be a doctor. They cannot be doctors. Doctors must understand the principles of medicine. We now distinguish between pharmacists and doctors, but back then, Chinese doctors had to memorize prescriptions and types of medicines, know the medicinal [effects of plants] etc., to be able to see patients and prescribes medicine. [It is the same] with us sentient beings.
For the Buddha to transform sentient beings, He faced many difficulties. So, “The Buddha is also like this. for those who had once formed. Great Vehicle aspirations, the Buddha first used Small Vehicle teachings to transform them and help them grow. “Then He opened up the provisional to reveal the true. The Buddha had always had Great Vehicle aspirations; every Buddha has Great Vehicle aspirations, but when They come to this world, They must use the Small Vehicle Dharma0 to teach sentient beings. This is similar to preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, collage, master’s and doctoral programs and so on. [The teachers] must teach according to their students’ capabilities. Only after their limited capabilities had gradually grown, only after they had matured, did He begin to open up the provisional and reveal the true. He then abandoned the skillful means of the past; He now taught the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. He wanted to do away with the conjured city. In the Chapter on the Conjured City, because sentient beings were tired, [He said,] “Finem I will let you rest a bit, but do not turn back. That path is filled with evil and dangers.” They still needed to advance; after the conjured city was eliminated, they had to advance to return to the One Vehicle Dharma. “Regarding the Buddha’s original intent, if He did not always have the skillful wisdom of the supreme and true secret, how could He achieve this wondrous application of the True Great Dharma?”
This is what [the Buddha] is like. If He did not have a mind that encompassed the universe, a mind that contained the True Dharma of the universe, if not for this, then how would He have been able to manifest the true and secret Dharma? He always held these true principles [in His mind]. Ignorant sentient beings have limited capacities, so He had to exercise His wisdom. Thus, if not for the Buddha’s great wisdom in using provisional teachings, how could sentient beings’ illnesses be cured? So, “How could He achieve this wondrous application of the True Great Dharma?” this was the Buddha’s great wisdom. He encompassed the universe and the One Vehicle of all teachings in His mind; He used all kind of methods to guide us and now He revealed this Dharma, the Great Dharma.
To sum it up, “All Buddhas. World-Honored Ones, protect it.” This Great Dharma is what all Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, protect. So, “The sutra states that [this is] the path walked by all Buddhas.” All the sutras are the footprints left by the Buddha. They are “what all Tathagatas protect”. These teachings are in their totality protected by all Tathagatas. So, “From the past until now, it has never been openly taught”. In the past, He never taught it.
From the past until now, it has never been openly taught: Ever since He attained Buddhahood in the past, He never openly taught it because of people’s limited capabilities. So He used skillful means to teach it secretly. This is what is stated in the sutra: Sentient beings hear it, and their minds give rise to doubt.
This means that for more than 40 years, if had not been taught. “Ever since He attained Buddhahood in the past, because of people’s limited capabilities,” because of sentient beings’ inferior capabilities, “It has never been openly taught. He never taught it before, but He “used skillful means to teach it. This means He used all kinds of skillful means to teach everyone. This is what the sutra states. “Sentient beings hear it, and their minds give rise to doubt.”
At this time, we must be mindful, otherwise, it will be as the Buddha described; in the past, “It [could] not be taught.” Because our capabilities have not yet matured, “The wondrous Dharma is hard to believe, [but] people with profound wisdom can be taught.”
It cannot be taught: The wondrous Dharma is hard to believe. People with profound wisdom can be taught, but people with no wisdom do not believe it. They slender it, committing transgressions. So, it cannot be taught carelessly.
Now, He was gradually bestowing predictions in the Chapter on 500 Disciples Receiving Predictions and so on. People with sufficient capabilities and profound wisdom began to receive predictions. Those without wisdom still did not have faith. What do such non-believers do? They slender it. “They slender it, committing transgressions.” They commit the transgression of slander, “so it cannot be taught carelessly.” He worried that it would cause people to slander and give rise to discursive thoughts. If we tell them [these things], they will slander us in return. So, because of this, the Buddha was very careful. In teaching this sutra, He was truly very careful. Even now, we are still earnestly reminded of this. so, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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