Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Perfect Teachings of the Lotus Sutra (法華圓教 直向正覺)
Date: December 08.2017
“[The Buddha] taught emptiness and existence as skillful means to embrace and suit all kinds of capabilities, guiding them to return to the ultimate truth. This perfect teaching and king of all sutras gives birth to all Bodhisattvas. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi so they advance directly toward perfect enlightenment.”
We must mindfully experience it. Throughout the Buddha’s lifetime of teachings using the skillful means of emptiness and existence to patiently guide sentient beings. [Compared to] the Buddha’s mind, which is vast and boundless, sentient beings’ knowledge and understanding is limited to what they can see in front of them. So, the Buddha had to teach within the range of what people were capable of accepting. Sometimes He spoke of “existence”. Suffering exists in human life; it comes from the law of karmic cause and effect. Whenever we say anything take any action, or give rise to any thought, we are creating karma. He taught this in the Agama period.
Next, He entered the Vaipulya period. He taught us about “existence,” then gradually entered the Prajna period to teach us about “emptiness”. He began analyzing the things of this world, so we could more clearly and more broadly. Though things appear to be in existence, after analyzing, there is ultimately nothing there. Everything is empty. This is how, in all the principles the Buddha taught, He gave teachings according to capabilities, discussing emptiness and existence. These were all teachings of skillful means. Skillful means are, in fact, very important ways of teaching. If He did not guide sentient beings according to their capabilities, then how else could He do it? These were ways the Buddha taught, the styles of teachings that He used throughout His life. In the beginning He used skillful means, discussing emptiness and existence. The Buddha put in His heartfelt efforts for sentient beings’ sake. These teachings “embrace and suit all kinds of capabilities.” These teachings are universal. Whether people’s capabilities were limited, average or great, He had to use suitable teachings like these. For those with greater capabilities, He used the Prajna teachings. For those with more limited capabilities, He used the Agama teachings. So transitioning from the Agama to the Prajna. The Buddha embraced and suited both great and limited capabilities; He embraced them all.
So, it says He “embraced and suited all kinds of capabilities.” He embraced and covered everyone’s capabilities. Each person accepted the Dharma they took in and joyfully practiced it. So, “guiding them to return to the ultimate truth” means the Buddha did not want us to only practice the teaching we understood. He wanted us, after understanding one principle, to bring it back [to the ultimate]. From the teaching of “existence,” He helped everyone experience the impermanence and suffering and emptiness in all things. People who are attached to existence need to understand these things, whereas those who believe that all is empty had to be clear about “emptiness”; they must understand the principles of wondrous existence in the Dharma-realm of true emptiness. The Dharma-realm of true emptiness goes back to the entire universe, to the wondrous principles. This is the Buddha’s compassion. [He] “guides them to return to the ultimate truth.” All He wants is to help our faith reach the level of the ultimate truth, to return to true principles, return to the Dharma-realm of the universe, and return to our nature of True Suchness. To unite our nature of True Suchness with the Dharma-realms of the universe, the method that the Buddha used, the ultimate teaching, is the perfect teachings.
“This perfect teaching and king of all sutras” refers to the Lotus Sutra. This Lotus Sutra is the perfect teaching; it is the king of all sutras, and the skillful means of emptiness and existence are all included within it. He considered sentient beings capabilities; He hoped everyone could reach the ultimate truth, could thoroughly comprehend the Dharma-realms of the universe, and return to True Suchness. True Suchness is that which pervades the Dharma-realm as a singular essence. This is what the Buddha wanted to tell us, that all sentient beings have the nature of True Suchness and inherent wisdom. Now was the time to let everyone know that they were all equal to the Buddha. The Buddha viewed all equally with compassion. All beings possess the Buddha’s nature of wisdom. This was the first thing the Buddha realized when He became enlightened. “How amazing! How amazing! All beings possess the Tathagata’s nature of wisdom.” We should always remember this sentence. Now, with the Lotus Sutra, He is beginning to return to the [teaching of] “All beings possess the Buddha’s nature of wisdom.” All of this is brought together in this sutra, the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flowers Sutra, the “perfect teaching and king of all sutras.” It “gives birth to all Bodhisattvas”, because this sutra is entirely about teachings the Bodhisattva Way; it does not teach people to only awaken themselves. It teaches us to know the Dharma, but knowing the Dharma is not enough; we must return to the enlightened Bodhi-path and put the Dharma into practice. This is what Bodhisattvas do. So, it “gives birth to all Bodhisattvas Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi so they advance directly toward perfect enlightenment.” He hoped we could understand all the Dharma. To attain supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment we must go through the Bodhisattva-path. This is what this sutra is. The Path, the road He taught us, is the great direct path that goes straight to Bodhi, which is universal enlightenment, we should understand this very clearly.
Master Zhizhe（Zhi Yi）of the Taintai School researched the Lotus Sutra and differentiated the teachings of all sutras; He analyzed them all. The Buddha’s teachings throughout His lifetime were categorized into the Five Periods and Eight Teachings. There were Five Periods. The Five Periods cover the course of the Buddha’s lifetime. He taught in accordance with the conditions, with the timing and sentient beings’ capabilities. This is was the sequence of Dharma He taught.
The Five Periods are divided according to chronological order. They are the Avatamsake Period, Agama Period, Vaipulya Period, Prajna Period and Lotus and Nirvana Period.
The Avatamsaka Period was the period after the Buddha first awakened. Amidst tranquil surroundings, the Buddha calmed His mind. He had nothing in His mind; it was completely empty. Suddenly He saw a start in the sky, and His mind became one with the universe. His mind was tranquil and clear; this spiritual state was the Avatamsaka state. The state lasted only a very short time. For 21 days, under the tree of enlightenment, under the Bodhi tree, He remained in the state of Samadhi. The Avatamsaka state is the spiritual realm of the Buddha and of the great Bodhisattvas. So, He taught the Avatamsaka. But the Avatamsaka state is the state of Buddhahood, one that “encompasses the universe and pervades all Dharma-realms.” When He returned from such an expansive state and observed the capabilities of sentient beings, they were too limited. Sentient beings are narrow-minded. They trap themselves in an unenlightened and ignorant state. How could He teach and transform them one by one? He began to contemplate this. He taught the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence. He analyzed the karmic law of cause and effect and human suffering and so on. This was during the Agama period.
The Agama period lasted 12 years. For 12 years, He gave only the Agama teachings, then He taught the Vaipulya for eight years. He opened with the Agama teachings, then moved forward and, using the Vaipulya teachings, taught that we should not only awaken ourselves, but look outside ourselves. He taught the Vaipulya sutras for eight years, then quickly entered the Prajna period. The Prajna period lasted 22 years. He had to use three periods of time, for it was impossible for sentient beings to realize the Avatamsaka state directly; it had not been taught for sentient beings. So, for sentient beings, He taught the three periods of the Agama, the Vaupulya and the Prajna. All of these teachings come back to the Lotus Sutra.
The Lotus teachings are a return to the Avatamsaka state, a return to the Dharma-realm of the universe. So, these are known as the Five Periods. The Avatamsaka, Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna periods together lasted for 42 years, then the seven or eight years after that was considered the Lotus and Nirvana period. These are known as the Five Periods. The Eight Teachings are of [different] natures; they were divided according to their nature. The Eight Teachings are further divided into the Four Categories of Teachings and the Four Styles of Teachings which were to teach and transform sentient beings. So, the Buddha put His heartfelt effort into this. The Four Categories of Teachings are the Pataki, common, unique and perfect teachings. These were ways that He taught.
The Categories of Teachings are ways to teach and transform sentient beings. They are the Tripitaka, common, unique and perfect teachings. The Styles of Teachings are styles of teachings and transforming sentient beings. They are the immediate, gradual, secret, and unfixed teachings.
Among the four groups of pitaka, common, unique, and perfect teachings, pitaka refers to the Tripitaka teachings, the sutra, vinaya and abhidharma pitakas. The common teachings are like the Prajna teachings. Everyone comes in and starts in this way, understanding the suffering of life and so on. And the unique teachings? These are differentiated according to capabilities. The perfect teachings are the immediate teachings for those with great capabilities. He started with those of limited capabilities, continually and gradually leading them to the capabilities of the Middle Vehicle, and then again gradually leading them to enter the great, perfect teachings, the Great Vehicle Dharma. This was how the Buddha mindfully taught, using the methods of the pitaka, common, unique and perfect teachings. The Style of Teachings are the “styles of teaching and transforming sentient beings. They are immediate teachings, gradual teachings”. Immediate teachings are for sharp capabilities. After coming in, though they are taught the limited teachings, they are also capable of realizing great teachings. These are immediate teachings. When they first enter the Buddha’s door, if the Buddha felt their capabilities to be sharp, He would directly give them the Great Vehicle teaching. This depended on sentient beings’ capabilities. This is why we always say to “teach according to capabilities”. Not everyone is the same. The Buddha would observe capabilities before imparting any teaching. So, there are both immediate and gradual teachings. For those whose capabilities were weaker, He would give them the gradual teachings. The secret teachings are the Buddha’s original intent, when He began to speak from the heart. Once someone started to understand the Buddha’s teachings, the Buddha would gradually reveal His mind so he could understand that the Buddha’s mind embraced all sentient beings. Thus He used all these teachings methods and styles.
The Tripitaka refers to the teachings of the Small Vehicle. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, Mahakasyapa gathered many people together, and 500 Arhats compiled the sutras, compiled the sutras, vinaya, and abidharma into the Tripitaka. In the Tripitaka, in the teachings compiled by Kasyapa and others, in the teachings compiled by Kasyapa and others, they were somewhat partial to collecting the teachings of the Small Vehicle. So, “The Small Vehicle is called the Tripitaka teachings”. This was the process that they used when they compiled the Buddhist sutras.
Then, it speaks of the “perfect [teachings]”, since this sutra is the perfect teachings. “Perfect means impartial” which is the principle of the Middle Way explained by this teaching. It does not lean to the Small nor the Great, neither to existence nor emptiness. Emptiness and existence have been combined in order to let us know that “emptiness” and “existence” are both skillful means. He hoped that through these skillful means, He could guide us in [further teachings].
Perfect means impartial. This refers to the principle of the Middle Way as explained in this teaching. Its nature and appearance are in perfect harmony, unhindered in matters or principles, and replete with all teachings. Thus, it is called the perfect teaching. The method of contemplation as described in the perfect teaching is the perfect and immediate method of contemplation.
This is like the path we walk everyday to reach the dining hall. We must pass through the corridors on either side of the courtyard to be able to reach the dining hall. This is the way by which we reach it; these paths are like skillful means, and our goal is to reach the dining hall. The principle is the same. We have no choice but to take this path, but our goal is not to stop along the path; our goal is to reach our destination, which is the dining hall. It is the same principle.
So, “[The Buddha] taught emptiness and existence “as skillful means to embrace and suit all kinds of capabilities”. Everyone must pass over a path like this. This is why it says it is “embracing”. It allows anyone to travel it. It “guides them to return to the ultimate truth”. It allows us to reach our goal. This is what we just touched upon.
So it says, “This refers to the principle of the Middle Way as explained in this teaching”. It is the principle of this process. It is “unhindered in matters or principles”. Whether in regard to matters, or to principles, it is totally unhindered. This is the way that we must pass through. So, it is “replete with all teachings”. “Thus, it is called the perfect teaching”. The Lotus Sutra is the perfect teaching. It includes emptiness and existence, and most importantly, after passing through teachings of skillful means, it returns to the ultimate true Dharma. It is “replete with all teachings”, so it is called the perfect teaching. I hope everyone mindfully seeks to comprehend it. “The method of contemplation as described in the perfect teachings is the perfect and immediate method of contemplation”. “Contemplation” means to consider. Really and truly listening to the sutra means listening, contemplation and practicing. We have to take it into our minds and meticulously contemplate it, think about it in earnest. So, we must put our heart into understanding the previous sutra passages.
“Why is this so? All Bodhisattvas Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi belong to this sutra. This sutra opens the door of skillful means to reveal the ultimate truth”.
Through this sutra one directly arrives at universal enlightenment, which is the state of Buddhahood.
This can only be reached via the Bodhisattva-path, which is contained within this sutra. This sutra teaches the Bodhisattva Way. So, “This sutra opens the door of skillful means to reveal the ultimate truth.” The Lotus Sutra opens up skillful means; it has opened up the door of skillful means. In fact, once this door is open, what we see is the True Dharma. this is what we should seek to experience. In the past we were separated by a wall; we were on the wrong side of the door. We were only within the teachings of “the skillful means of emptiness and existence”. Now that the wall, the door has been opened up, we find that it has always been the Dharma of ultimate truth, the Great Vehicle Dharma.
We must advance forward toward it. The broad path, the great direct Bodhi-path is the path we should walk on.
So, the next passage then says, “This Lotus Sutra treasury is deep and unyielding, remote and distant. Nobody can reach it. Now the Buddha teaches and transforms to help people become Bodhisattva and thus He opens and reveals it.”
In the past, everyone lingered in the two teachings of emptiness and existence. They remained there. Whenever they heard the Great Vehicle Dharma, they always felt it too deep and far off, as well as being unyielding, not something anyone could easily enter, [They felt that it was] remote and distant and not something people could reach. With high walls and a far road, it was not something people could arrive at.
This is like in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City; the guiding teacher had guided them a long time, and now everyone was tired. They did not wish to go on. The guiding teacher, in His wisdom, created a conjured city far off in the distance, telling everyone, “Do you see it? Ahead is a conjured city! We are almost there!” this was how the Buddha had opened the door so that everyone could see from a distance that there was indeed a conjured city; there was hope. If they worked to push ahead, it would not be difficult. Though in their minds, everyone was afraid that it was “deep and unyielding, remote and distant, [that] nobody could teach it, though it seemed as if it were unreachable, now the Buddha teaches and transforms to help people become Bodhisattvas.” He tells us to form great aspirations and make great vows. We must seek wisdom amidst the Dharma, and create blessings by going among people. We need the two feet blessings and wisdom to be one who is honored in the world, one who is respected by the world. So, to become Buddhas we must move forward again. Thus, “Now the Buddha teaches and transforms to help people become [Bodhisattvas].” We must take this path; this was how He opened and revealed it to us.
“This Lotus Sutra treasury” [contains] “the principles of ultimate truth”. Stored within the Lotus Sutra are the principles of ultimate truth which “are intrinsically possessed by all”.
This Lotus Sutra treasury: The principles of ultimate truth within this Lotus Sutra are intrinsically possessed by all. They had yet to be revealed, so people were unaware of them, as if they were a hidden treasury.
Here it is reiterated to everyone that the principles contained in the Lotus Sutra are the principles of ultimate truth. These are intrinsic to everyone. We all innately have a stupa on our Vulture Peak. We have always had this. so, it “had yet to be revealed”. It was merely yet to be unlocked. If the door to our heart is shut, we remain closed off by the door of the skillful means of emptiness and existence. We have still not opened the door of skillful means, of emptiness and existence. Although we are already Buddhist practitioners and we know the Dharma, we have yet to gain enough faith in ourselves.
So, “[the principles] have yet to be revealed”. No one has opened up the door yet. The Buddha wanted to open the door to His mind, to the principles of His original intent. He wanted everyone to be able to see His original intent, but their capabilities had not matured yet. So, the Buddha protect and stored His original intent in His mind. He wanted to open and reveal it, but would sentient beings be capable of realizing and entering it? Not yet. He had to temporarily hide it from them. So, it says, “They had yet to be revealed, so people were unaware of them.” People were not yet aware of them. Although He had opened and revealed them to us, we were still covered by our own ignorance. We have yet to uncover ourselves and are still in a haze of ignorance that was not yet cleared away. The Buddha had no way to reveal His original intent, to teach the True Dharma.
By the same principle, we ourselves must open the door to our own mind. Then, the Buddha’s original intent will be able to be revealed. Otherwise, “People were unaware of them as if they were a hidden treasury.” Our True Suchness likewise still remains hidden; it remains stored within us.
The Buddha already wanted, to help us to understand, but unfortunately, our minds were still hazy; they had not yet opened, and we were unaware, The True Dharma, our nature of True Suchness remained buried by ignorance and unable to be revealed.
Because of this, it says “deep and unyielding, remote and distant. For us unenlightened beings, even though we have entered the Buddha’s door, we still remain unenlightened. We are ordinary people who have entered the Buddha’s door. So we are still afraid when it comes to the Great Vehicle Dharma.
Deep and unyielding, remote and distant. Deep and unyielding: It is understanding the Buddha’s utmost principle of unsurpassed Bodhi. Thus, it called “deep”. It is definitive and cannot be destroyed, so it is called an unyielding, strong teaching.
“Deep and unyielding remote and distant” refers to “the Buddha’s utmost principle of unsurpassed Bodhi”. For unenlightened beings, this seems quite deep. “It is definitive and cannot be destroyed” because this teaching is definitive, because it is a perfectly harmonious principle. The nature of True Suchness, the ultimate true principle, is very sturdy; there is nothing that can destroy it. This is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. Although as ordinary beings, we have, over many lifetimes, been coming and going among the myriads of sentient beings, our nature of True Suchness never ceases to exist. Since beginningless time, this nature of True Suchness has been very sturdy. It is a true teaching; true principles are unyielding. For every one of us, the true principles never cease to exist, but we assume they are very deep. However, they are inside of our minds; they are always with us. We simply have not manifested our nature of True Suchness. It is just that layers of ignorance have covered us. We think the Dharma is outside of us, that the Dharma is too deep.
Actually, the Dharma is within us; it is just we have not eliminated our ignorance. Ignorance makes our nature of True Suchness, which has always been within our reach, become something hidden and hard to see. Once we change our perspective, our nature of True Suchness can be revealed. We have just not been able to change it, so we remain entangled y our afflictions. This is something we should mindfully put effort into trying to experience.
We must mindfully experience it to understand this definitive principle, the Dharma of ultimate truth. It is the true principles of the universe. Despite the imbalance of the four elements or the formation, existence, decay and disappearance of the world, these principles will always exist. These principles are very unyielding and will always exist. So, we should mindfully seek to experience this.
Deep an unyielding, remote and distant. Remote and distant: Its principle is subtle and secret, hidden and hard to see. Thus, it is called “remote”, When an ordinary being looks at the Buddha, He is separated by ten stages of fruition. Thus, it is called “distant”.
“Its principle is subtle and secret, hidden and hard to see”. Since the principles are very subtle, if we are not mindful, the true principles will be “hidden and hard to see” Because our ignorance has caused us to get stuck, [the principles] are hidden deeply in our mind, while this ignorance is covering us. [True Suchness] is subtle and secret, so we cannot see it. The true principles have no substance or form; they cannot be seen. No matter how a human body is dissected, it is impossible to find out where True Suchness is. It is without form or substance. When we are alive, we have our thoughts, which we are born with. We have thoughts and consciousness at birth. Consciousness does not have substance either! Where will you find it in the body? When you dissect a human body, where is the consciousness? It is not there! Consciousness is a principle. This principle within us has no form or substance. It is indeed extremely subtle and secret. It is truly a subtle and secret principle, so it remains hidden from us and hard to see. If we are careless and our minds are filled with afflictions, how can we ever see principles that are so subtle and intricate? Subtle and secret principles truly are “hidden and hard to see”. Actually, they are part of our enlightened nature. We must awaken. If we do not awaken, we will never be able to do this. What is awakening? From our ordinary lives, we must take our habitual tendencies and our obvious thinking and constantly filter it. We must eliminate discursive thoughts. “Thus, it is called ‘remote’”. It is subtle, secret and remote. We cannot see it; it is remote and far from us. It seems to be quite distant. So, “When an ordinary being looks at the Buddha,” from an ordinary being’s point of view, the Buddha appears quite distant.
“He is separated by ten stages of fruition”. When we look at the Buddha’s stage of fruition, He is already ten stages ahead of us. In our spiritual practice, we must start from the ground of joy and go all the way to the ground of Dharma-cloud. We must engage in spiritual practice from the very first stage. In any case, there are 51 stages before reaching the Buddha’s stage of fruition. To [eliminate] our ignorance and afflictions and advance in our perspectives and thinking to the same level as the Buddha, we must truly be mindful. So, “Nobody can reach it”. It seemed like no one could reach it.
Nobody can reach it: Only among Buddhas can it be known. Those in the Six Realms and Three Vehicles are unable to reach it. Thus, in this sutra it says that nobody can reach it.
“Only among Buddhas can it be known”. Since the principles are so subtle and intricate, only among Buddhas can it be known. “Those in the Six Realms and Three Vehicles are unable to reach it”. Sentient beings in the Six Realms, and disciples of the Three Vehicles, practitioners of the Three Vehicles, still cannot truly realize this stage. So, now we are still learning. The Buddha taught us to practice the Bodhisattva-path. Among the Three Vehicles, we have already entered the Bodhisattva Vehicle and are approaching the Buddha Vehicle.
So, many practitioners thought it was deep, remote and far away. “How can we reach it?” However, we must have faith. So, starting from the Chapter on Skillful Means, it continuously reminds us to be firm in faith; there was never an instance where it did not tell us to have unyielding faith. So, “In the sutra it says that nobody can reach it”.
Now the Buddha teaches and transforms to help people become Bodhisattvas and thus He opens and reveals it: Now the Buddha opens and reveals to teach and transform everyone so they can achieve the great Bodhisattva-path of the One Vehicle. So, He opens and reveals the teaching of the One Vehicle.
“Now the Buddha teaches and transforms to help people become Bodhisattvas and thus He opens and reveals it. By now the Three Vehicle teachings had reached this place. The Buddha had given the Bodhisattva teaching. Since we have formed great aspirations, have formed Bodhisattva-aspirations, the Buddha pointed the path out directly saying, “Walk on this Bodhisattva-path, the path of great awakening, the great, direct Bodhi-path. Just walk on it! The Buddha has now opened and revealed it to us. “Although very deep, the Buddha has now already opened and revealed it. He “taught and transformed everyone so they can achieve the Bodhisattva-path of the One Vehicle”. He has already taught us. from the skillful means of emptiness and existence, everything is collected into the perfect teachings of the Lotus Sutra.
We must realize this. so, “He teaches and transforms everyone so they can achieve the Bodhisattva-path of the One Vehicle.” The skillful means of emptiness and existence were now collected and revealed as the Bodhisattva-path. To walk this path, we must go among people to experience afflictions and ignorance. To learn to sweep them away, one must go among people to experience the truth. We know all the principles; we completely understand the skillful means of emptiness and existence. Now is the time to go among people. So, He had opened and revealed to teach and transform everyone so they can achieve the One Vehicle.”
The only path is “the great Bodhisattva-path. So, He opens and reveals the teaching of the One Vehicle”.
He has already opened and revealed it. This One Vehicle is one path, one method. From the sheep-cart and the deer-cart, He indicated that only this cart can travel the great path. Benefiting ourselves as well as others, this is the Great Vehicle Dharma. so, “the skillful means taught by the Tathagata [means that] the Tathagata’s teachings are skillful means. [They are,] “For us to attain the fruit of Buddhahood and give rise to great compassion of benefiting others, the supreme application of the Dharma.”
The skillful means taught by the Tathagata were the supreme application of the Dharma arising from the great compassion of benefiting others after the Buddha reached enlightenment. In this sutra, if the Tathagata had not thoroughly revealed this, sentient beings of all Vehicles and would never understand the Buddha’s intent. Thus, it says: This Lotus Sutra treasury is deep and unyielding, remote and distant and nobody can reach it.
This is how the Buddha taught us. He used skillful means in order to help us, to entice us gradually toward the state of Buddhahood, to attain the fruit of Buddhahood.” This is how we move forward. To attain the fruit of Buddhahood, we must benefit others. We must achieve the supreme application of the Dharma arising from great compassion. This is what the Buddha wanted to teach us, these skillful means. After the Buddha realized the fruit of Buddhahood, He came back to teach us to benefit others, form great aspirations, exercise great compassion. “When others hurt, I hurt when others grieve, I suffer.” This is becoming one with the universe, and coexisting with sentient beings. With “unconditional loving-kindness” and “universal compassion,” the Dharma-realms of the universe are all places we need to go to transform all beings. So, “In this sutra, if the Tathagata had not thoroughly revealed this, if He had not done this, then “the sentient beings of all vehicles would [still] cling to the teachings”. Sentient beings would remain attached to those teachings.
If still attached to the Dharma, it is impossible to eliminate attachment to self. Everyone is attached to their own practices. We must break our view of self and attachment to self; we must break them open. “We would never understand the Buddha’s wisdom”. If we still have attachment to the self and attachment to the Dharma, it is impossible to see the Buddha’s knowledge and views.
Because of this, in the Lotus Sutra, “This Lotus Sutra treasury is deep and unyielding, remote and distant, and nobody can reach it.” It is indeed quite deep.
“Teaching and transforming to help people become Bodhisattvas indeed takes a very long time. So, when their capabilities have matured, He will help people become Bodhisattvas. So, this sutra “teaches the Bodhisattva Way” and is “taught according to capabilities” by the Buddha. Thus, we should be mindfully experience this. The Buddha want sentient beings’ capabilities to be brought to the same level, and for sentient beings to not be attached to the views and understanding that they cultivated. We must break our attachment to and view of self, open our minds and benefit ourselves and others. Only then can we truly realize the Buddha’s mind. The Buddha’s mind is one of great compassion. Great compassion is the Dharma. the great application of this supreme teaching is the great compassion of the Buddha. Great loving-kindness and compassion, “unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion;” is what each of us must learn. The path we learn is the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path is found among people. [Practicing] the path depends on us to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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