Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Dual Benefits of His Form and Voice (形聲二益 橫闊豎遠)
Date: Dec ember 28.2017
“The king of all noble beings teaches the Dharma to transform sentient beings. All Dharma is empty; there is nothing to show. The appearance of words is tranquility and cessation. Because of causes and conditions, He can teach the Dharma using all kinds of analogies. The dual benefits of His form and voice reach far and wide, in space and time throughout the Dharma-realms.”
We must mindfully seek to understand this. “The king of all noble beings” is the Buddha. Sakyamuni Buddha is the king of all noble beings. He appeared in this world for one great cause; He came to this world solely to teach the Dharma to transform sentient beings. This was the Buddha’s one great goal. We sentient beings of this world need this because we are all lost; we reproduce afflictions and accumulate karmic forces. The king of all noble beings is the “guiding teacher of the Three Realms” and the “kind father of the four kinds of beings.” How could He bear to let the sentient beings of the Three Realms remain mired in these complicated thoughts and enshrouded in dust-like ignorance? How could He bear for sentient beings of the form realm to have deviant, ignorant thoughts? How could He bear for sentient beings in the desire realm to be laden with layer upon layer of afflictions? All sentient beings throughout the Three Realms give rise to discursive thoughts. Perceiving sounds and appearances, they lack clarity and therefore accumulate karmic forces. The Buddha keeps returning to this world lifetime after lifetime solely to open and reveal [the Dharma]. He teaches the Dharma to transform sentient beings. When will sentient beings finally be able to think clearly, thoroughly understand worldly matters and discern right from wrong? How much longer will this take? And how many people [will be able to do this]? We have seen how people successively began to understand [the teachings], but after this, how many more people will be able to follow? Among the myriads of sentient beings, how many can truly comprehend the Buddha’s intent and truly resonate with the Buddha’s mindset?
Yet the Buddha still has compassion for us all. So, “All Dharma is empty; there is nothing to show.” “The appearance of words is tranquility and cessation.” How could this possibly be taught? Sentient beings hear it and seem to understand, yet they also seem not to understand. So, we can only be patient. “Great loving-kindness and compassion is the room. Gentleness and patience are the clothing.” In the end, it all comes back to, “The emptiness of all phenomena is the seat.” Regardless of whether we take great loving-kindness and compassion as our room and regardless of how we serve others, sentient beings are still unable to understand. They are still attached to their own standpoints and to their own perspectives. Will they be able to understand this? “Great loving-kindness and compassion is the room.” When we are transformed by this great compassion, we will together enter the Tathagata’s room. We personally experience the Tathagata’s intent, the room of the Tathagata’s heart. If we can abide in the same place as the Buddha and take the Buddha’s heart as our own, if we are able to do this, we take “great loving-kindness and compassion as the room.” We are able to embrace all sentient beings. [We must also] take “gentleness and patience as our clothing.” Sentient beings are stubborn. As people who are able to comprehend the Dharma, we must put on this clothing of patience and use it to cover and protect sentient beings to prevent them from giving rise to evil and stop them from committing more misdeeds. The clothing of gentleness and patience enables us all to get along peacefully and unite with one heart as we serve for the sake of the world’s sentient beings. This is our goal in spreading the Dharma and our reason for teaching the Dharma. We wish to help everyone cultivate a heart of gentleness. Even if others have made mistakes in the past, we must be gentle and forgive them. So, “covering with clothing” is forgiving. In this way, we can help stubborn sentient beings stop giving rise to evil and stop committing wrongdoings. This is what it means to guard against wrongs and stop evils. In order to keep them from giving rise to discursive thoughts of wrongdoing, we must quickly “cover” them. We must use the clothing of gentleness and patience to cover and protect them. People who do this are Bodhisattvas! Can we say to the sentient beings of the world, “I am telling you, the way you act right now, you have to change right away!” Will they change?
Actually, we can just look at ourselves. Are we not constantly making mistakes ourselves? We should hold up our great perfect mirror wisdom and take a look at ourselves in that mirror. What kind of appearance do we see? With this kind of appearance, how can we tame others? If the person in the mirror smiles, it is because the person outside the mirror smiles. When the person outside the mirror smiles, the person in the mirror will smile. This method is “the clothing of patience and gentleness”.
However, sentient beings are stubborn, so this is easier said than done. All we can do is [keep in mind] the “emptiness of all phenomena”. I want to talk to you about it, but there is nothing for me to show you. We can only teach the Dharma using empty words; “there is nothing to show”. “The appearance of words is tranquility and cessation.” So, I am only about to speak about it. Those who have the aspiration and the capabilities will be able to accept it, for they will feel a sense of shared understanding. This seems to be what the Dharma is like. Since it is like this, it is very hard to teach. Since it is like this, it is very hard to transform sentient beings. This is because “All Dharma is empty; there is nothing to show.” Many principles of matter require intensive study before we can understand what this matter is like. [We must study] all components of an object before we can fully realize its true nature, its principles. It is the same with the principles of medicine. If someone is ill, what medicine should we use to treat them? We must carefully study this. Everything in the world is medicine. Whether good medicine or poisonous medicine, it can all be found on this earth. When we look at a flower, it might seem pretty, but what we do not know is that it is extremely poisonous. I once heard, many, many years ago, how someone had brought a lunchbox but had no chopsticks. He brooked branches off a nearby tree to use as chopsticks and was poisoned beyond rescue. This is very scary! If no one studied the poisonous [plants] in this world, no one would know what they can do to our nervous system. Which substance is it that can have this kind of effect? We must study this. There are also other kinds of medicines that, when mixed together, can cure people’s illnesses. This also requires us to be very mindful. There is no sign displayed in front of these things to say, “This is the principle of this thing. It is a medicine that can treat illness.” And it is not [enough] with one kind. Just one kind of medicine may not be effective. If we take Chinese medicine, we can see for ourselves how, when pharmacists in Chinese medicine stores fill prescriptions for herbal medicine, some prescriptions require up to10 or 20 medicinal herbs to be mixed together and brought home to brew. Only then will we have an effective medicine that can treat our illness. I am sure that in Western medicine, to make even a small pill requires countless different specialties to refine it and mix it with who knows how many kinds of medicine in order to manufacture that pill.
Indeed, it take a very long period to research, develop and refine [a medicine]. The phenomena of our world are also Dharma, but when it comes to these phenomena and principles, how well do we actually understand most of them? We need to be very mindful. [We must] constantly teach and always be mindful. Teaching someone to achieve fruition is not easy. To be also to study something for a long time, we must undergo a long period of difficulties. Will we be successful? We do not know. How long will it take? We do not know. Actually, there are so many things that are like this. This is the case also with the principles. If we wish to engage in spiritual practice, can our capabilities resonate [with the Dharma]? Can we be mindful? Can we comprehend [the teachings]? In the same way, “All Dharma is empty; there is nothing to show.” There is no way to point out to someone, “This is what the Dharma is like. This is what the principles are like.” This Dharma lies within our enlightened nature. We use our words to describe things to others. The sound of my voice is intangible and invisible. Can it enter your ear-root so that your ear-consciousness, through the nerves within your ears, can hear it? Once it enters your ear-root, does your mind-consciousness take it in? This is also intangible. Are you attentive? I cannot know. So, “The appearance of words is tranquility and cessation.” Do [the words] I have spoken, my voice, after entering your hearts, remain there or are they nowhere to be seen? Thus, “The appearance of words is tranquility and cessation.” The Dharma is like this; it is this profound. But “Because of causes and conditions, He can teach the Dharma using all kinds of analogies.” We need causes and conditions. we need causes and conditions to converge for people with this kind of talent, willingness and capabilities to gather together. [Only then] will they be able to study together and use all kinds of materials to keep experimenting, over and over, testing all kinds of different substances. It is the same with the Dharma. should I be using the Agama’s law of karmic cause and effec5t to teach? Or should I directly tell people, “Everything is suffering!” and teach everyone about suffering? Everyone knows about suffering; it can be seen and felt. Illness is suffering! Yes, everyone is very afraid [of suffering]. So, what can be done? We must know that “suffering” arises from “causation”. Those who suffer from illness will die! We are afraid, so we want to find a cure. Treatment requires medicine; this requires methods. So, regarding “causation,” we all need to understand how this causation comes about through the accumulation of discursive thoughts. Even the word “causation” alone is not such a simple thing. We must understand this. why are we so opposed to this particular person? Why do we have these thoughts that are so complicated? Why are we…? This is something that we must understand. If we cannot open our minds, when it comes to suffering, we feel we know it. But when it comes to causation, we keep getting ourselves more and more entangled.
So, how do we treat this? we know that illness causes death. The more we fear it, the more panic-struck we feel. We need medicine to treat us, but which medicine should we take? We desperately try all kinds of medicines, try so many. So how can we find the right medicine. That is suitable to treat the illness? This is very important. The principle is the same; it all depends on our causes and conditions. “Because of causes and conditions, He can teach the Dharma using all kinds of analogies.” [The Buddha] used all kinds of methods to make analogies. Are we truly able to listen to these analogies and take them to heart? There are many things He used to make analogies. He used gentle analogies and He used forceful analogies. Who knows what is actually. In the minds of sentient beings, so what methods should be used? Life is short and impermanent. How much time do we have left? We must quickly seize the time we have. Once the causes and conditions have come together, we should all share the same idea. This was what the Buddha most urgently [hoped].
So, the Chapter on Dharma Teachers points us toward the perfect teachings.[The Buddha] now brought together the past Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna teachings as He opened the door to the true teachings. These were all integrated into these perfect teachings. We must mindfully seek to understand this.
Earlier in the Lotus Sutra, there were many analogies that we have previously spoken of, and there are many more to come later on. Since there were analogies in the previous sutra passages, why are there still more to come? It is because even though He taught sentient beings so much before, they still may not necessarily understand. So He had to continue to use these causes and conditions and all kinds of phenomena as analogies. We must mindfully seek to understand “causation”. We cannot give up on this. how can sentient beings accumulate so many habitual tendencies? How can sentient beings accumulate so many afflictions? This was still the same [even though] they had [heard] the perfect teachings. “I have already heard the Lotus Sutra! So, when it comes to the Agama, Vaipulya and Prajna teachings, I have already attained these.” We have not attained them yet! At this time, we are still confused. The Agama teachings contained within them analogies based on causes and conditions. this is also discussed in the Lotus Sutra. The Vaipulya and Prajna teachings [show that] the nature of all phenomena is empty. The Buddha still teaches us this.
So, this “dual benefit of His form and voice” is found within this sutra. This has to do with people’s facial expressions and their voices. If they speak good words and teach the Dharma, a single sentence can reach people everywhere. But if they speak negatively about someone and stir up trouble, when people hear it [they will think], “How could that person make such a mistake? How could he do such a thing? We must stop him!” we are constantly saying that everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature and that everyone can attain Buddhahood. We must accommodate both good and evil [people]. In the Lotus Sutra [it describes] how we will so9metimes encounter [people], as mentioned in the previous passages, who denounce us with harsh words or harm us with knives or sticks. These are evil forms, evil voices and evil appearances. But we may be able to turn these things around. By using the wondrous sound of goodness and the appearance of a gentle attitude, we can have this dual benefit. By using our voice to teach the Dharma and our every [action] to transform sentient beings, everything we do serves as a good example. We can then transform others through our positive example. Id we want to transform people and teach the Dharma, we must use both our voice and form to do this. both voice and form can benefit sentient beings. In terms of space, this kind of benefit can extend throughout the entire world. By making good use of today’s technology, our images and sounds can extend horizontally to benefit sentient beings everywhere.
What about in terms of time? Since infinite kalpas ago, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have taught the Dharma to help us understand that everyone’s nature of True Suchness is without beginning or end, without arising or ceasing. It is intrinsic to everyone. This true Dharma can be attained by everyone; becoming Bodhisattvas is not an impossible task. One group of Bodhisattvas after another have made special trips here to show me their exhibits. Every Jing Si Hall is putting on an exhibit. These historical exhibits serve to “bear witness to our era and write the history of Tzu Chi”. These people are not professionals, but they all come together with one heart. The designs they have drawn out and the concepts they have thought of impressed me greatly. The images of Living Bodhisattvas who personally go out to serve are seen in [these exhibitions], and other peoples’ images are also included. [They show] the way to serve. Aren’t they Living Bodhisattvas?
They are! They are able to accomplish this. can we do it? There are people today who are able to have “unconditional loving-kindness” and “universal compassion”. Isn’t the Dharma taught by the Buddha, “unconditional loving-kindness and universal compassion,” the True Dharma? the Dharma taught by all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can be practiced in the world today. The Buddha spoke of “trillions of transformation-bodies”. With modern technology, we can accomplish this. while I am sitting here, right now, how many images of my person can be seen out there? I do not even know this myself.
But we can now accomplish what the Buddha said over 2000 years ago. This required the knowledge of many people who engaged in research for us to actually be able to manifest “trillions of transformation-bodies” to widely transform sentient beings. If we use [technology] in destructive ways to harm the earth and to hurt people, what kind of world will this become in the future? Technology can be used in this way as well. Several decades ago, two nuclear bombs were dropped in Japan and destroyed so many lives. Several decades later, trace quantities of radioactive dust still remain in the air.
Everyone, all humans have unlimited potential, a limitless innate capacity. Isn’t this having spiritual powers? Will we use our spiritual powers for evil or use them for good? Should we use them the way Devadatta used them or the way Purna Maitrayaniputra used them? These were completely different. They both heard the same Buddha-Dharma, but Devadatta was full of ambition whereas Purna Maitrayaniputra. Had the Buddha’s heart of loving-kindness. They were completely different. This is to say that with what the Buddha’s voice and form taught Purna, it was as if infinite Buddhas were in the world teaching the Dharma. in the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha taught Medicine King Bodhisattva that the Lotus Sutra is the wondrous medicine for saving this world. The Buddha again called to Medicine King Bodhisattva. This was because Medicine King Bodhisattva was very mindful in seeking the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and the Dharma taught by the Buddha. He sacrificed his own life seeking the Dharma. This was the spirit of Medicine King Bodhisattva as he sought the Dharma and spread the Dharma. In the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha uses medicine King Bodhisattva as the recipient of the teachings. These were hos causes and conditions. in order to teach, the Buddha had to continually look at people’s capabilities. [He saw] medicine King Bodhisattva’s diligence in seeking the Dharma and thus chose him as recipient for the teachings. Dharma teachers must uphold the sutras and be determined. They must endure suffering, gather all compassion together, wear the clothing of patience and sit upon the seat of emptiness. They must take the emptiness of all phenomena as their seat. So, [the Buddha continually taught] to Medicine King Bodhisattva. The Buddha called to Medicine King Bodhisattva [to arouse] all of His disciples. From this we can see how the Buddha taught according to people’s capabilities, and how great importance He put on the Lotus Sutra. Thus, we should be able to comprehend His intent. As for “the dual benefits of His form and voice, if we use this for good, in terms of space, [the teachings] can spread throughout the world and the Three Realms. In terms of time, they will keep flowing endlessly from that distant source Dust-inked kalpas ago, the Dharma was like this. having been passed down until today, it is still the same. So, we must mindfully seek to understand these Dharma-realms. How much time do we have in this world? We cannot let any more time slip away.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage. The previous sutra passage says, “After I enter Parinirvana, if there are people who can expound this sutra, I will transform and dispatch the fourfold assembly of bhiksus, bhiksunis and pure men and women to make offerings to these Dharma teachers. And to guide sentient beings to gather together so they can hear the Dharma.”
We have already been told very clearly that it truly is difficult to uphold this sutra. To expound this sutra is also difficult; we will encounter many challenges.
What are these challenges? “If anyone wants to do evil to them and attack with knives, sticks, bricks or stones, I will dispatch people I have transformed to guard and protect them. If those who expound the Dharma are alone in an empty place, in solitude with no sounds of people around, reading and reciting this sutra….”
So, “If anyone wants to do evil….” For the sutras and to those who teach them, I am truly very grateful. Since [I] began to teach this sutra, the states [described] in the sutra have continuously manifested. I am very grateful. Truly, seeing today’s society and the ignorance and afflictions in people’s hearts today, to accomplish anything at all is truly very difficult. “If anyone wants to do evil to them and arrack with knives, sticks, bricks or stones….”
If anyone wants to do evil to them and attack with knives, sticks, bricks or stones: Some people may come harboring ill intentions in their minds. They will give rise to evil and cause all kinds of harm.
Preciously it discussed revilement. And now? It speaks of attacking with knives, sticks, bricks or stones”! how can we gather food causes and conditions together? This is so difficult! It is truly difficult. So, some people may “come harboring ill intentions in their minds. What are [people’s] states of mind? When we transform sentient beings we must not allow even one to slip through. Especially for an organization like us, we need to nurture people. We truly need people. We must [find ways to] educate and nurture people, to help people fulfill their potential, one by one. We must enable them to go among people to transform sentient beings, alleviating illness and suffering. From their bodies and minds. one more person one more bit of strength. [Together], we can save so many people! But when people come with intentions, what kind of intentions are they? Are they good intentions, or are their intentions laden with afflictions? We do not know to sum it up, “Some people may come harboring ill intentions in their minds. They will give rise to evil and cause all kinds of harm.” This is a teachings from this sutra. Reading these sutra passages, my heart feels very heavy. So, if we encounter people like that, what should we do? The earlier prose passage [described how] the Buddha wants to quickly cover and protect us. the Buddha even said He would “dispatch people [He] had transformed.” He wanted to quickly find people to help them, to cover and protect them, so, “I will dispatch people I have transformed.” The Buddha is no longer in the world, so these needs to be other people who quickly go to “guard and protect them” and enable them to have peace of mind. This is also very important. How can we help people be at peace? If we can bring peace to this person, will we be able to bring peace to that person too? Who are we actually able to bring peace to? [Life] truly is suffering.
So, “I will dispatch people I have transformed to guard and protect them. This means He will dispatch those He transformed who excel in protecting the Dharma teachers to guard and protect them with skillful means.”
It requires the kind of people who can interact very harmoniously with others. Are these harmonious people capable of being very considerate and empathetic? Do they have the Tathagata’s wisdom and can exercise both compassion and wisdom? This is very hard, very difficult. What kind of skillful means. As for their ignorance and afflictions, how can they eliminate them? How can they go on to inspire good thoughts? This is truly very difficult. Doing things is hard, and being a good person is even harder. It is truly very difficult.
So, “If those who expound the Dharma are alone in an empty place…. If there are people who diligently uphold and expound the sutra alone in an empty place….”
When among people, we face constant challenges. We may want to teach the Dharma but are not necessarily able to be on perfect harmony among people. The difficulties we encounter are so many. Sometimes we need to be “alone in an empty place” where we can calm our minds a bit. The myriads of sentient beings are difficult to transform and train. In this kind of environment, with this kind of appearances, what should we do? We need to sit alone in an empty place and engage in earnest contemplation. We cannot give up. This is what the world is like. So we must calm down a bit and think clearly. So, “If there are people who diligently uphold the sutras and expound the Dharma….” [We must] be diligent, very diligent. Although we encounter many afflictions, we cannot give up. [We must be] diligent and earnest and persevere in upholding this sutra. How can we turn the principles within [this sutra] into a wondrous medicine that will cure the illness of afflictions in our mind? This requires us to calm ourselves. This means that those who teach the Dharma must be truly calm. So, they go to a solitary place by themselves to be “alone in an empty place”. This is what they must do. This shows how, for those who read and recite the Wondrous Lotus Sutra with utmost sincerity, “this helps them engage in inward contemplation and resonate with the Dharma”.
With utmost sincerity, they read and recite this wondrous sutra. This helps them engage in inward contemplation and resonate with the Dharma. virtuous words and wondrous meaning bring about harmony like how milk harmoniously blends with water. Their minds can contemplate even mor clearly at this time, for they are tranquil, clear, wondrous and profound.
We must be tranquil. We need to reflect on ourselves for a bit, engage in tranquil contemplation. To engage in tranquil contemplation, what methods should we use? If we encounter gossip, harsh words or loud scolding, when we hear this, what should we do? Perhaps we must “[use] virtuous words and wondrous meaning [to] bring about harmony.”
This is just like the Tathagata [His Dharma] is like water. The Tathagata’s Dharma is like water. The Dharma, like water, when mixed with things brings about harmony. People talk about blending [powdered] milk. Yes, milk. Powdered milk needs to be blended with water. In this way, they are harmoniously mixed. Thus, “like blending milk and water” refers to using virtuous words to guide others. So, “virtuous words and wondrous meaning bring about harmony.” This is like when we blend water with milk; we need to blend them together perfectly. We must mindfully seek to contemplate. How can we resolve [issues] with others? We must be “tranquil and clear.” Through these wondrous principles, we must seek to understand them. If someone reviles us with harsh speech or evil words, whether it is an evil, harsh or quarrelsome voice or a voice of blame and so on, we should find a way to transform it into the voice of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Guanyin hears the cries [of sentient beings] and saves them from hardship. This is “Guanyin’s wondrous power of wisdom." Her mind is so pure and clear that no matter what kind of voice it is, when it comes to Guanyin Bodhisattva’s ears, it is completely transformed into a serene voice. So, Guanyin Bodhisattva wears the clothing of gentleness and patience that can transform the harsh or pained voices, the cries of sentient beings. When the voices of disharmony in this world reach Guanyin Bodhisattva’s ears, they are transformed into wondrous voice of tranquility. Unless we can do this, we must use this kind of mindfulness to reflect on ourselves. In order to benefit sentient beings, we must wear the “clothing of patience.” We must know how to accommodate them and how to cover and protect them, to help them accomplish harmony. We hope to truly return to a state of tranquility and clarity. This wondrous Dharma [is something that] everyone is capable of embracing, that everyone can put to use and apply in their daily living. This is the Buddha-Dharma. That [Dharma] is the Lotus Sutra. The Lotus Sutra encompasses all things. Throughout the course of teaching this sutra, in this era, since we began discussing the Lotus Sutra, in the course of this process, so many sounds, forms and appearances, so much ignorance and so many afflictions, have manifested one after the other in a manner that has accorded with time and capabilities.
So, I feel very grateful! I am grateful for the wondrousness of the Buddha-Dharma and for the Buddha’s loving-kindness and compassion “Great loving-kindness and compassion is the room.” When we encounter some situation, we all the more must abide in this room of great loving-kindness and compassion. When we find ourselves in some environment, we all the more need to take “gentleness and patience as our clothing.” No matter how hot the sun is, we must not remove this clothing. No matter how hard the wind blows, we must keep this clothing wrapped tightly around us. We must truly take “gentleness and patience as our clothing” and have “the emptiness of all phenomena as our seat.” In the past, we had to open up our hearts to become “tranquil and clear, with vows as vast as the universe.” When I first began reading the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, wasn’t this my favorite verse? This is the ultimate direction of my life, to return to this “tranquil and clear” state. So, we must constantly with utmost sincerity read, recite and uphold the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. We must have this awareness and persevere in looking within ourselves to [find] the principles that arise from looking within, and the resolve that arises from looking within. The Buddha worked so hard; how can our [difficulties] compare? We must truly use “virtuous words and wondrous meaning” to find a way to bring about harmony. We must take this Dharma like water and [internalize it] so it becomes Dharma-water that can nourish our wisdom-life. For this, we need to benefit sentient beings. So, we must still return to the state of “tranquility and clarity,” to this wondrous principle. It exists entirely within our daily life; this is all part of the Dharma. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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