Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Resonating with the Dharma to See the Buddha (與法契合 與佛同在)
Date: December 20.2017
“After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, wherever [people] listen to, uphold and teach the Dharma and wherever the Dharma abides, the entire body of the Buddha is present. It will be as if the Buddha manifests to teach the Dharma to enable us to reach attainment. This is in response to those who promote the Dharma without ever growing indolent.”
“After the Buddha enters Parinirvana, wherever [people] listen to, uphold and teach the Dharma….” Everyone should still remember what we previously discussed, that wherever this sutra is upheld, wherever it abides, the entire body of the Buddha will be there, in that place where the Dharma is taught. We must understand this clearly. Yesterday, we also talked about how, if someone is able to teach the Dharma somewhere, the Buddha will dispatch people to listen. In addition to the fourfold assembly, the two groups each of laypeople and monastics, the Dharma-protectors will also [be there]. They have all been transformed by the Buddha, so the eight classes of Dharma-protectors will be there in the empty air, listening to the Dharma. The Buddha, beginning in the Chapter on Skillful Means, continuously emphasized this sutra. The skillful teachings of the past all served as the foundation of this sutra to guide everyone to accept it. They first had to completely understand the people, matters and things in this world in order for Him to be able to lead them into these perfect principles. So, He had to tell everyone to be very vigilant and very reverent. According to this sutra, it is as if the Buddha is eternally abiding in this world. The Buddha came to this world solely to spread and teach the Dharma, to spread and teach [the Dharma of] how everyone has Buddha-nature, how everyone can attain Buddhahood and how everyone should transform sentient beings. This is the path to Buddhahood. This is the Buddha’s one great cause, the Dharma He kept in His heart that He ultimately wanted to teach. So, in the Buddha’s later years, He was constantly worried about how to pass down this sutra in order to [call on] everyone to sustain the Bodhisattva-path in this world forever so that we can all continue to walk this path.
In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the ability to uphold, read, recite, transcribe, explain and teach this sutra was something He encouraged us all to value highly. So, once the Buddha entered Parinirvana, He needed a way for the Dharma to be upheld and passed down. This is why He [focused] completely on how the Dharma was to be transmitted after He had entered Parinirvana. “Wherever [people] listen to and uphold” [means] there are people who listen to the sutra and willingly accept, uphold, read and recite it and then explain and transcribe it. Wherever this sutra is, that is, “wherever [people] listen to, uphold and teach the Dharma” is a place where there are be people who honor this sutra. They are willing to listen and take joy in it and to do so over a long time. Thus, they are willing to accept and uphold it. Accepting and upholding it, they feel enriched and are willing to widely spread and teach it. Wherever the Dharma is present, the Buddha is there, just as if He was still in the world. “Wherever the Dharma abides,” wherever the Dharma is, “the entire body of the Buddha is present.” As long as the Lotus Sutra’s spirit and concepts abide in their entirety in a place, it is just as if the Buddha was in this world. This is because the Buddha’s Dharmakaya, the Buddha’s entire body, is present.
The previous sutra passage expresses this. “Wherever the Dharma abides, the entire body of the Buddha is present.” So long as this sutra exists in a place, the entire body of the Buddha is present there. “It will be as if the Buddha manifests to teach the Dharma to enable us to reach attainment.” So, wherever the Lotus Sutra is, it is as if the Buddha was there teaching the Dharma. Indeed! Humans are always subject to the law of nature, and our lifespans are limited. However, the Dharma is endless and inexhaustible. Since Beginningless Time, the Dharma has been everlasting and ever-abiding. Dust-inked kalpas ago, in Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s era, an incalculably long time ago, at that time, the 16 princes listened to the Lotus Sutra and then repeatedly explained it [to others]. The affinities they formed in this way are everlasting and uninterrupted. It is today 2500 or 2600 years since Sakyamuni Buddha appeared in this world. Like [us], He was subject to the course of nature of the life of people in this world and experienced birth, aging, illness and death. The Buddha was born into this world just like us, and His life took exactly the same form as ours. It was just that His thoughts were transcendent; they transcended the thinking of all ordinary people. Our thoughts as ordinary people follow the ways of life in the world; this is how we live out our days. We all struggle for fame and fortune with the same insatiable greed. Generation after generation, unenlightened beings remain in this cycle, creating severe karma, ignorance and afflictions. However, Prince Siddartha at the time had very different thoughts and perspective. Living in a palace as royalty, all he saw was wealth and extravagance. All he saw and heard was wondrous beauty and music. It was like this in the palace yet he did not think it was special at all. He thought, “Is this all there is to life?” [He] saw how, in life, youth gives way to old age. He also came to understand that with old age comes illness and death. So with life being like this, what is most precious, most worth treasuring? This is what he wanted to seek out, that which is most precious in life. Without it, human life is filled with suffering. The palace was full of comforts and pleasures, but what about beyond the palace? Everywhere, there were poor, suffering people performing manual labor and living impoverished lives. He saw both outside and inside the city a vast disparity between rich and poor; the gap was too large! This made him think, “What could possibly have happened? from one person to the next, why was there such a big difference?” Regardless of how great the difference was, no one escaped birth, aging, illness and death, parting from lived ones or meeting those they hate. People were not able to open their minds to comprehend the wondrously profound principles. Because of this, He abandoned His high position and great wealth and renounced the lay life. After becoming a monastic, his life was full of hardships. He lived following the course of nature, experiencing the changes of the seasons. When it was cold, it was freezing, and when it was hot, it was scorching. When the weather was irregular, it would cause disasters on the land. After leaving the palace to dwell in nature, he had to practice patience.
Moreover, every day he was very hungry and cold, without any clothes to wear. He had no way to protect himself from the cold. This too was something he had to patiently endure. Whether his external environment or his bodily sensations, whether conditioned or unconditioned phenomena, he had to endure them, learning both arising patience and non-arising patience. He spent a long period of time like this, but persevered in His spiritual aspirations to find the most precious principles of human life. How could he attain a state of non-arising and non-ceasing and break through afflictions and suffering of samsara in this world? So, he set out to seek these answers. He had to spend a very long time doing this, but he did so with patient endurance, all the way until He attained enlightenment. At that moment, He became one with all things in the universe. All principles were encompassed within. His nature of True Suchness. This nature of True Suchness neither arises nor ceases; it is everlasting, from dust-inked kalpas age all the way into the future, an incalculable, endless time.
So, is Sakyamuni Buddha still here? He is; His Dharmakaya abides forever. The Buddha’s entire body is the Dharmakaya. “All Buddhas manifest Their entire body.” This is due to the reverence of everyone’s mind. When everyone is filled with reverence, naturally all Buddhas manifest Their entire body. This is how [the principles of] the universe come together as a single entity, the intrinsic nature of True Suchness. The Buddha does not arise or crease; this enlightened nature neither arises nor ceases. And so “It will be as if the Buddha manifests to teach the Dharma to enable us to reach attainment.” This is because the Buddha’s entire body is there. His teachings, these true principles, remain forever. This enlightened nature was not only present in Sakyamuni Buddha more than 2000 years ago. Sakyamuni Buddha merely awakened to this Dharma and passed it sown for us to learn. The Buddha’s most important [teaching] was that everyone possesses innate enlightenment. This true principles of our innate enlightenment are likewise one with heaven and earth. If we can comprehend the Buddha’s entire body, then [we can understand] the true principles. His entire body is present; the Buddha’s entire body, the Dharmakaya, is here. To spread this Dharma in the world, we must our hearts into comprehending it. When we put our efforts into understanding these principles that live within the innate enlightenment of our nature of True Suchness, it is as if the Buddha manifested; the true principles are brought back to life. Although the true principles are intangible, they are already one with our innate enlightenment and have entered into our nature of True Suchness. he manifests His entire body to again teach the Dharma of our nature of True Suchness. When we realize the true principles, they resonate with our innate enlightenment. This is what it means to resonate with the Buddha’s mind, to take the Buddha’s mind as our own. Our mind and the Buddha’s will merge in great awakening and become one with the universe.
So, if we are constantly able to genuinely comprehend this Dharma, the Dharmakaya will remain forever. This awakening [must be passed on]. If we coming before have attained understanding, we must quickly pass this Dharma on to those coming after, to enable them to understand too. The Buddha guided us to walk this path, so we must also lead those behind us and walk together with them along the same path. [This was the path] the Buddha walked and the one that past sages and Bodhisattvas walked. Right now, although we are still ordinary beings, we are likewise seeking the Dharma, and we must likewise walk this path. When we are thirsty, we must look for water. We still carry afflictions as we work; this is like digging for water on a high plateau. But although we still carry these afflictions, as long as we work hard [to eliminate] them, our afflictions will become fewer and fewer. As we constantly make an earnest effort to become stronger and more diligent, as we continue to work hard like this, we will naturally reach moist earth. As we then continue to put in effort, naturally we will see mud, and later we will see water. In the same way, we must work hard. As ordinary beings, we still have afflictions and ignorance. We are still lacking the water of these principles. Everyone should remember what we said earlier. The principles and the Dharma are like water that can wash away the defilements from our minds. It can cleanse the defilements from our minds, and can nourish the fields of our minds; it is this water that can grow our wisdom-lives. That we can reach water is due to our hard work. On this one piece of dry earth, we are constantly putting in effort. Ordinary beings are full of afflictions. Therefore we must be determined to listen to the Dharma and uphold the sutras. We must take the Dharma we hear and apply it to our daily living. We come to understand the principles by observing and listening as we go among people. “Without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom.” We trust that by observing and listening, [we can realize] the principles of the world. If we can understand this, [we are approaching] our innate enlightened nature and the Dharma of True Suchness. we are already drawing near to it, and gradually, we will be able to attain it. This is because the Dharma has manifested; it has been brought to life. Thus, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya lived again in this world. That refers to this sutra, this perfect teaching. This sutra encompasses all phenomena in the world.
So, we have already discovered that this sutra has the worldly Dharma to treat this world, the methods for curing the world. We have already realized this, so we are “enabled to reach attainment.” He hoped we could all reach attainment. This is like when the Buddha was in the world, when He taught the Dharma. this sutra will never lose its potency; the Buddha-Dharma will abide in the world forever. So, “This is in response to those who promote the Dharma without ever growing indolent.” We must spread the Dharma to benefit sentient beings. Spreading the Dharma is benefiting sentient beings. To spread the Dharma and benefit sentient beings we must never become indolent. When we are not indolent, in response, the entire body of all Buddhas will manifest before us. when we are always sincere, when we have earnest sincerity, then naturally the entire body of all Buddhas will manifest. This earnestness refers to diligently advancing without indolence. We reverently seek the Dharma without being lax. So, this is “in response to being without indolence. It helps us constantly sustain this Dharma so it can remain in this world forever. Thus, we may attain “the dignity of the power of Samadhi and wisdom.”
The dignity of the power of Samadhi and wisdom enables us to patiently endure, influence beings, guard against wrongs, put an end to all evils and manifest the dignity of merits and virtues. This is known as “the clothing”. Those wearing this clothing patiently endure all day, yet do not see anything that needs to be endured. In order to spread the teachings of this sutra, we certainly need Samadhi and wisdom; we must have firm resolve. Within these teachings, we are able to perfect our wisdom. With this power, we take the dignity of the Buddha-Dharma as our spiritual training ground. We take great compassion as our room and gentleness and patience as our clothing.
So, once we have the power of Samadhi and wisdom to dignify our place of spiritual practice, we can “patiently endure and influence beings”. We must moreover put on the clothing of patience. The clothing of patience is able to cover many beings, people, animals, all living beings. The principles of everything on earth, whether tangible of intangible, are covered by the clothing of gentleness and patience. Because this clothing can guard against wrongdoing and put an end to evil, it is tantamount to the precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. The precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, are all contained within the clothing of patience. If we can enter the Tathagata’s room and wear the clothing of patience, naturally we will “manifest the dignity of merits and virtues. This is known as ‘the clothing.’” We must wear the clothing of patience. We must be very mindful and constantly [apply] the Dharma in our lives. So, “Those wearing this clothing patiently endure all day yet do not see anything that needs to be endured.” If we are able to apply compassion when dealing with others, we can guide everyone to enter the Tathagata’s room. If we ourselves wear the clothing of patience, we can accommodate all things in this world. If we do this, if we wear this clothing all day, we will patiently endure all day long, yet we will “not see anything that needs to be endured”. When we have great respect for the Dharma and practice it in our daily living, everyone will have respect for us. then there will be no impurities that can defile us, none! And there will be no afflictions that can degrade us, none at all! This kind of effortless patience is known as “great patience”. This is the clothing of patience. Because of this, we need to take “the emptiness of all phenomena as the seat.” We teach the Dharma all day, yet do not see any Dharma to be taught. We transform sentient beings all day, yet do not see anyone to transform. Because sentient beings all have the intrinsic nature of True Suchness, everyone is a Buddha, so what sentient beings are there to transform? This is the same principle. So, we must maintain our resolve in learning the Buddha-Dharma and truly put effort into firmly upholding our faith.
Let look at the precious sutra passage. “Medicine King, from another land, I will dispatch those I transformed to gather an assembly of Dharma listeners for them. I will also dispatch transformed bhiksus and bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, to listen to them teach the Dharma.”
We must very mindfully [consider] this. more than 2000 years ago, the Buddha taught [this sutra]. What the Buddha taught, the realm of the Buddha, is non-arising and non-ceasing. From the Buddha’s perspective, although over 2000 years have passed on Earth, in the realm of the Buddha, He is still teaching the Dharma. the disciples of His fourfold assembly abide there forever, as do the eight classes of Dharma-protectors whom He had transformed. In the human world, our lifespan is short. Though it has been such a long time, we must respond to the phenomena in our world. We must spread the Buddha-Dharma in today’s world and accord with the [present] time in the world to continue to transmit this Dharma. this is why the Buddha continues to transform and dispatch people.
Likewise, the Vulture Peak [assembly] has not dispersed. The Vulture Peak assembly has not yet dispersed. [The assembly] is still listening to the Dharma; the Dharma-protectors remain present. This is what it means. The entire body of the Buddha is everlasting. So, He dispatches people He has transformed to listen to the Dharma. Bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas all come to hear the Dharma.
“These people who have been transformed listen to, believe in and accept the Dharma, follow it and do not go against it. If those who teach the Dharma are in empty places, at that time I will widely dispatch heavenly beings, dragons, yaksas, gandharvas and asuras to listen to them teach the Dharma.”
Even if it is in empty places, in expansive, empty spaces, people teaching the Dharma need to have a spiritual state that always abides in the empty nature of all phenomena. They must wear the clothing of patience, enter the Tathagata’s room and sit upon the Tathagata’s seat. Our mindset in our daily living must always remain in the Dharma; we must apply the Dharma in our lives. Then the eight classes of Dharma-protectors will listen to the Dharma of our heart. This is how the Dharmakaya abides in this sutra; the Buddha’s entire body abides [there]. This describes the mind of a Buddhist practitioner, a mind equal to the Buddha’s. With this, the Dharma-protectors will be there. When it comes to listening to the Buddha-Dharma, it is not only a matter of listening to sutra lectures like you are now; it is about always applying the Dharma in our daily living. The Dharma is everywhere. No place is without the Dharma. every place is a spiritual training ground.
The next sutra passage says, “Although I will be in a different land, I will constantly allow those who teach the Dharma to see my body. Should they forget any line of this sutra, I will teach them again so their understanding will be complete.”
That the Buddha will be “in another land” means the Buddha will manifest His transformation-body in a different land.
Although I will be in a different land: The Buddha will manifest according to conditions in another land. A different land: This means that in this land, his affinities to transform have come to an end. He will then appear in another land to deliver and transform sentient beings. It can also be explained as: When the Buddha crosses into Parinirvana, He will no longer be in this land where unenlightened and noble beings abide together, but rather in the Buddha’s magnificent true reward-land or the pure land of calm illumination. So it says “a different land”.
“A different land” means that “in this land,” “His affinities to transform have come to an end.” They have already ended. He came to the world to teach the Dharma, and His lifespan, which accorded with this world, was already about to end. So, “He will then appear in another land to deliver and transform sentient beings.” He leaves this life for the next, letting go of this place to go to another place. Thus, it says He will be in another land. This is in terms of the Buddha’s [manifestation]. In the Saha world, the Buddha is the kind father of the four kinds of beings and the guiding teacher of the Three Realms. When He leaves this place, to teach and transform sentient beings. This is speaking in terms of matters. If we say that the Buddha crossed into Parinirvana, He “will no longer be in this land, where unenlightened and noble beings abide together.” Since He has entered Parinirvana, He no longer abides where unenlightened and noble beings abide together. What does this mean? We should all remember that [we live where] the beings of the Five Destinies coexist. The place where the Five Destinies coexist is the place where unenlightened and noble beings abide together. The world the Buddha came to [encompasses] the Ten Dharma realms. The Six Unenlightened realms are the heaven, human, asura, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. These are the Six Unenlightened Realms. The realms of Hearers, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are called the Four Noble Realms. So, unenlightened and noble beings abide together in this place, in this Saha World. Since the Buddha has crossed into Parinirvana, He abides “in the Buddha’s magnificent true reward-land or the pure land of calm illumination. So it says ‘a different land’”. This is the Buddha’s spiritual realm. He is no longer in the Saha World; He has already crossed into great Nirvana. Great Nirvana is the Buddha’s spiritual state. This state of mind is His true reward-land, the place of His true reward. The place of the Buddha’s reward is the pure land of calm illumination. It is without even the slightest impurities, and there are no unenlightened beings there. This is the realm of His spirit. So, in terms of principles, this is [another explanation of] “another land”. In terms of matters, the Buddha keeps steering the ship of compassion. He never leaves this world. Thus, He is the guiding teacher of the Three Realms and the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings. In terms of His spiritual realm, the Buddha has His own pure and undefiled land of calm illumination. This is the great Nirvana. There, He constantly teaches the Dharma. the Buddha is constantly teaching the Dharma; at no time does He not teach. So it says, “I will constantly allow those who teach the Dharma to see my body”.
I will constantly allow those who teach the Dharma to see my body: Those who teach the Dharma understand completely within their hearts the Dharma’s meaning. This is seeing the Tathagata’s pure Dharmakaya which abides in calm illumination. His perfect reward-body abides in the true reward-land. His trillions of [transformation-]bodies manifest in the land of coexistence. Whether it is day or night, He is constantly before their eyes.
Those who teach the Dharma should be very clear about this. they should understand these teachings, understand the meaning inherent in the Dharma. understanding this sutra is not just understanding the words. What is the meaning expressed in the sutra? How do we actually take the meaning of the Dharma and apply it in our lives? The purpose of the Lotus Sutra is to embrace all of humanity. Thus, it is called the king of all sutras. Therefore, we must understand very well. “Those who teach the Dharma understand completely in their heart.” We must understand it clearly in its entirety. They “understand the Dharma’s meaning.” They understand the meaning inherent in the Dharma. “This is seeing the Tathagata’ pure Dharmakaya.” This is [the Tathagata’s] pure Dharmakaya. It is not the Buddha’s physical body, it is His Dharmakaya. The essential meaning of those principles is the Buddha’s Dharma-body, [His Dharmakaya].
So, “[He] abides in calm illumination.” The emptiness of all phenomena is His seat; the nature of all phenomena is emptiness. “Abiding in calm illumination” [means that] He abides in [the land of] calm illumination. As for “His perfect reward-body,” His perfect reward-body “abides in the true reward-land”. He abides in the realm of the true reward. This means that He abides in the Dharma. “His trillions of [transformation-]bodies manifest in the land of coexistence.” “Whether it is day or night, He is constantly before their eyes.” by day and by night, it is the same. His pure mind always abides within His perfect reward-body; He dwells in this true reward-land. With His many trillions of transformation-bodies, where has this Dharma reached? If should reach [everywhere].
Look at Africa. Simply [hearing] this Dharma, they can understand it. The color of their skin is different from ours and their languages and ways of life are different, but the Dharma has reached them; they too can practice and understand it. In short, this Dharmakaya, the body of the Dharma, abides in all Dharma-realms. It exists everywhere. Whether it is day or night, it clearly [appears] before us in its entirety. This Dharma, this pure Dharma, once we thoroughly understand its meaning, abides forever in our minds. It is before us, for it is found in its entirety in our lives.
So, “The Buddha appears to teach the Dharma and help all sentient beings reach attainment. This is in response to our maintaining diligence without ever growing indolent.” When we attain this kind of response, it will be as if the Buddha manifests [before us]. to teach the Dharma. When we are teaching this sutra, we must treat it as if it was the Buddha Himself teaching us the Dharma. we must keep the Buddha-Dharma before our eyes, keep the Buddha-Dharma in our hearts. The Buddha is brought back to life inside our hearts. This is how we must imagine it. He “helps all sentient beings reach attainment.” He hoped we will all take His teachings to heart, that we will all attain insights from them and be able to make use of them. But what is most important is that we need to maintain our diligence; we must diligently uphold this sutra without ever growing indolent. In this way we will attain this kind of response. The Dharma will naturally appear before our eyes; it will be laid out before us in its entirety.
“Should they forget any line of this sutra [means], “If they continue to accept, uphold, read, recite, explain and teach yet forget some part of this wondrous sutra….”
[This refers to] people who accept and uphold this sutra. “Read” is to read the sutra, and “recite” is to read it out loud. When we wish to explain and teach this sutra, if we forget some part of it, it will naturally be as if the Buddha appears before us to correct us. “The meaning of this teaching is like this; the Dharma should be like this.” The Dharma adapts to the needs of the world. “I will teach them again, so their understanding will be complete.”
I will teach them again, so their understanding will be complete: At that time, they will suddenly awaken, able to see the Buddha’s principles without forgetting anything. This is why it says that the Tathagata will teach them again so their understanding of each line will be complete.
If those who teach the sutra forget any part, how will they teach it? The Buddha “will teach them again so their understanding will be complete”. He will [explain] the text and its meaning to help us understand even clearer and be able to apply the Dharma of this world. “At that time, they will suddenly awaken.” The Buddha awakens us, reviving these teachings in our hearts; He comes to life [within us]. “Buddha” means awakening. This awakening comes back to life; the Dharma comes to life again. So, this enables us to realize how we can apply this Dharma in the world and teach it to others. We are “able to see the Buddha’s principles”. Naturally, we will retain all the Buddha’s principles without forgetting them. “This is why it says that the Tathagata will teach them again so their understanding of each line will be complete.” If we are able to do this, even if we forget, the Buddha, this awakening, our enlightened nature, will awaken and revitalize these principles for us once more so that we can clearly explain the Buddha’s teachings as principles relevant to this world. “This means those who follow these directives and constantly teach this sutra.” We must honor these directives, the Three Directives [for Spreading the Sutras]. We must enter the Tathagata’s room, wear the Tathagata’s clothing and sit in the Tathagata’s seat. These are the directives we must abide by.
This means that those who follow these directives and constantly teach this sutra will certainly be safeguarded by the Buddha. From this, we know that those who form aspirations to teach and practice this sutra as well as those who listen to, accept and have pure faith in it will all be protected by the Buddha, the World-Honored One.
If we “constantly teach this sutra,” if we wish to teach this sutra, we “will certainly be safeguarded by the Buddha”. The Buddha will definitely safeguard us. This is what previous passage have been saying “From this, we know that those who form aspirations to teach and practice this sutra as well as those who listen to, accept and have pure faith in it….” We must teach this sutra; we must form aspirations to teach it or to listen to or accept and uphold it or to understand it with pure faith. then, “[we] will all be protected by the Buddha, the World-Honored One.” We will all be protected by the Buddha.
So, “Those who see the Buddha’s body are destined to attain Buddhahood.” This is the same as resonating with the Dharma, the same as living together with the Buddha or abiding in the same room as the Buddha. To see the Buddha is not difficult. We are destined to attain Buddhahood. So, “those who listen to the Buddha teach are replete with the benefits of retaining, upholding and promoting this sutra. They bring excellence to the path.” When we can earnestly take this sutra to heart, when we listen to it, it is as if we were listening to the Buddha teaching the Dharma in the world. We must retain all teachings and uphold all goodness and in this way spread this sutra to benefit sentient beings. This is the most magnificent place of practice. Our spiritual training ground will always be this world. Every place is a place of practice; the Dharma is found in every place. It all depends on whether we can always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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