Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Conditions Behind the Stupa of Treasures (啟請開示 寶塔因緣)
Date: January.17.2018
“Great Joyful Eloquence’s request to see the Buddha’s multiple manifestations inspired the Tathagata to speak of Many Treasures Buddha’s power of vows. He wanted to use His manifestations to reveal that Buddha to the fourfold assembly. So the Buddha’s manifestations gathered in one place to testify to the wondrous Dharma.”
For the past couple of days, we have been discussing how the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha appeared. Its magnificent appearance bore witness to the Lotus assembly. Because of this, all Bodhisattvas and all members of the fourfold assembly were jubilant and joyful. However, their minds gave rise to questions. How could this stupa suddenly appear like this? While they were joyful, they also felt that this was something quite out of the ordinary. This kind of thing had never happened before now, so they gave rise to doubts and everyone wanted to ask questions. The Buddha then designated Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva who was present to serve as the recipient of the teachings. He asked, “Great Joyful Eloquence, do you see this stupa right in front of everyone?” On behalf of the others, Great Joyful Eloquence wanted to resolve the doubts regarding this extraordinary occurrence. Great Joyful Eloquence also wanted to see the truth behind this stupa of treasures and the voice that emanated from within. He looked forward to seeing the truth behind the stupa of treasures. In particular, the multiple manifestations of Sakyamuni Buddha wanted to bear witness to the stupa of treasures, which itself had come to stand as testimony to the wondrous Dharma. Therefore, Great Joyful Eloquence asked the Buddha. This was precisely the time for the Tathagata to discuss the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha and Many Treasures Buddha’s past vow.
Many Treasures Buddha had already attained Buddhahood countless kalpas ago. Before He entered Parinirvana, He said to His disciples at that time, “Build a stupa for me so that my entire body can abide in this stupa of treasures. I vow that in any world where the Lotus Sutra is taught, my stupa of treasures will appear at the Lotus Dharma-assembly to bear witness to what the Buddha of that time says. The Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. It is the cure for saving the world.” This was the vow of Many Treasures Buddha. In any world where a Buddha teaches the Lotus Sutra, the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha will appear, not just in the Saha World. Now, when Sakyamuni Buddha taught the Dharma, the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha appeared. Wherever any Buddha expounds the Lotus Sutra, the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha will appear. According to the Dharma, the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha represents the principles. Everyone listened to the Lotus Sutra. Starting from the Introductory Chapter, they saw the Buddha manifest radiance and auspicious signs, which illuminated 18,000 Buddha-lands to the East. Everyone minds were also [illuminated] “They attained what they never had before.” In the past, the Buddha had never radiated light or manifested auspicious signs. He had never illuminated the East. So why did He do it this time? People felt this had “never happened before.” Now that the stupa of treasures appeared, they felt, “Such wonders were unprecedented.” What does it really mean for something to be “unprecedented”? [People say] “I have never felt this happy before.” In the same way, they had never felt this way before in the past. They felt like this now; they felt this kind of joy at this time. What were the causes and conditions behind this? This is also true for listening to the Dharma; from the very beginning, as we constantly listen to the Buddha-Dharma, we gradually gain comprehension and understanding of the contents of the Lotus Sutra. Continuously, we will come to understand the richness of its contents. The Dharma-realm of the universe, the human realm, our state of mind and the principles of all tangible things in the world are all encompassed by the Dharma. Whether in the vastness of the sky or in the subtleties of sentient beings’ consciousness or in all phenomena of the universe, all these subtle and wondrous principles are contained in this sutra.
Therefore, we say that the Lotus Sutra is the wondrous medicine for treating the world. If we have the aspiration to comprehend it, then naturally, when it comes to this Dharma, we will earnestly and sincerely accept each principle we learn. This is like using a microscope to observe a drop of water. This drop of water contains all kinds of bacteria. All things are like this. We analyze all the wondrous principles behind all things. In biology, we are able to see all these things. This is what we can see using the microscope, which can see what our naked eyes cannot. However, it is through physics that this microscope can reveal everything for us. One day I went to (the Tzu Chi Hospital in) Taipei. When I was on the 16th floor, the wife of Vice Superintendent Shyu, Professor Shuyuan, happened to be in the lab working and doing research. I happened to enter the lab. At that moment, she was looking at something under a microscope. Upon seeing me enter the room, she stood up and said to me, “Master, just now. I discovered something. Would you like to take a look?” She asked me to sit down and asked me to look through the microscope. After taking a look, I said, “Which country did you go visit? Where did you go sightseeing?” She said, “Nowhere I did not go anywhere at all.” Then I said, “If not, then what scenery is this? How could it be so beautiful?” She said, “Master, This is not a scenery. This is just bacteria. Take a closer look.” I took another look, and indeed, these bacteria are truly like a scene from another world.
We cannot see them with our naked eyes. However, within these bacteria, we can witness a subtle and wondrous world. Indeed, these are principles. As for the appearance of the stupa of treasures, think about it; in the sutra passages, it is 500 yojanas in height and 250 yojanas in width. When it comes to 500 yojanas, I have been telling everyone that one yojanas is equal to 40 li. Therefore, 500 yojanas are equal to 20,000 li. In terms of the width of the stupa, it was 250 yojanas wide. This is half of 500 yojanas, so it was 10,000 li [wide].
The Buddha’s kingdom of Kapilauastu, or Vulture Peak where He expounded the sutra, how big were they? How could Vulture Peak possibly be big enough to hold this stupa with a base of 10,000 li? [How could it hold] such a wide stupa, especially one that is so tall? It terms of height, of course, the sky is boundless. But in terms of width, the land of a kingdom has its limits. Of course, this is a description. The teachings behind this description is to use appearances to describe the principles. This is to help us understand that the Dharma is supreme and unsurpassed. The wondrous Dharma is very lofty. In order for the Buddha to understand this Dharma, this supreme and unsurpassed Dharma, He had to cultivate virtue; His virtue had to be just as high. So, [the stupa] “displayed virtues.” There was a time when Venerable Maudgalyayana wanted to see how high the Buddha’s virtues [reached]. So, he used his spiritual powers to see how high the Buddha’s virtues actually [reached] and how large the Buddha’s Dharma-body was. He used his spiritual powers to survey the Dharmakaya of the Buddha. Having manifested his spiritual powers, he rose all the way up to Trayastrimsa Heaven. Following the Buddha’s Dharma-body, he rose all the way up to Trayastrimsa Heaven. Even then, he still could not measure [the height] of the Buddha’s Dharma-body. After Maudgalyayana’s body arrived in that place, some heavenly beings discovered him and said, “Where did this come from? Why is there a black-bellied worm here at this place?” Some heavenly begins said, “Do not look down upon this little being. Actually, he is one of the ten great disciples of Sakyamuni Buddha of the Saha World, Venerable Maudgalyayana, who is foremost in spiritual powers.”
Imagine; the bodies of heavenly beings are this large [compared to humans] to say nothing of the Buddha’s Dharma-body. When it comes to our world, when our human bodies from the Saha World go to heaven, we look like tiny little creatures, like worms. How much greater then is the Buddha’s virtue? When Venerable Maudgalyayana tried to measure the Buddha’s Dharma-body, though he went all the way to Trayastrimsa Heaven, he still could not measure the Buddha’s virtue, which is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. This is to say nothing of us unenlightened beings. However, we know the meaning behind this stupa, which is to demonstrate that the Buddha’s virtue.
So the name stupa can also mean “display virtue”. This means that only those who are very virtuous are qualified to enter the stupa. [In the past], after people passed away, only eminent monastics of great virtue could [be interred] within stupas. By now, this has become a very common practice, and anyone’s ashes can [be interred] within stupas. In fact, stupa means “display virtues”; they display the virtues of spiritual practitioners. Thus, they are called “stupas”. Inside the stupa [of treasures] is the Dharmakaya. The Dharmakaya is supreme and unsurpassed. So, for this sutra passage, we need to use the Dharma to analyze [the stupa’s] appearance. If we merely use external appearances to understand the principles behind this sutra, we will fall into confusion and will unable to understand the principles.
If we want to truly delve into the details, one yojanas is equal to 40 li, and 500 yojanas is equal to 20,000 li. The stupa is very tall, which displays virtue. The width of the stupa is 10,000 li. Some people might make an issue of this. “How could on earth could this be real? This is impossible!” They dismiss it as unreasonable. Actually, there are the reasons behind it. When it comes to the width, truly what we sentient beings have created lifetime after lifetime is the “existence” of afflictions and ignorance. This encompasses the heaven and earth. The afflictions of sentient beings are truly tremendous. In order for all Buddhas to transform sentient beings, they must have this space in their hearts to come to this world. If we use this kind of mindset to analyze the principles behind the stupa, later on, when we discuss the Dharma to come, we will understand it more thoroughly. We need to understand what is ahead of us so that we can successfully navigate this path. In order to walk along this path, we first need to understand its environment.
Because of this, there was “Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva’s request to see the Buddha’s multiple manifestations.” This is because Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva and Medicine King Bodhisattva are of the same kind. For countless kalpas, they had continuously engaged in spiritual practice and upheld the Lotus Sutra. They are the same kind of Bodhisattva. So, [Great Joyful Eloquence] understood that with the emergence of the stupa, if he could begin to ask questions, Sakyamuni Buddha’s multiple manifestations from throughout the ten directions would appear. Because of this, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva hoped to inquire into the stupa’s causes and conditions. Then, naturally, all would be able to see the multiple manifestations of the Buddha. So, this is why he asked [the Buddha]. Only by doing this was he able to initiate the Buddha’s explanation of Many Treasures Buddha’s power of vows. Through this kind of mutual exchange, the principle of how “all Buddhas share the same path” could be revealed. So, “He wanted to use His manifestations to reveal that Buddha to the fourfold assembly.” Sakyamuni Buddha was about to explain. Many Treasures Buddha’s power of vows. Thus, Sakyamuni Buddha said, “Through my [manifestation], I will reveal this to the fourfold assembly.” We have explained the fourfold assembly before. These are the male and female monastics and male and female lay practitioners. Due to the emergence of the stupa and the fact that the eight classes of Dharma-protectors were all present, Sakyamuni Buddha wanted to demonstrate the power of Many Treasures Buddha’s vow. So, in order to help the fourfold assembly, understand this, Sakyamuni Buddha had to gather together His multiple manifestations. To let everyone understand the power of vows of Many Treasures Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha’s multiple manifestations would all gather together in one place to bear witness to this wondrous Dharma. Many Treasures Buddha’s stupa of treasures emerged to affirm the fact that the Lotus Sutra Sakyamuni Buddha taught is the wondrous Dharma suited for this world. Sakyamuni Buddha’s transformation bodies were in different worlds expounding the Dharma. Responding to skillful means, He would transform and He would go everywhere to transform sentient beings with whom He had affinities. He multiplied Himself and went in all directions of to attain Buddhahood. With all these appearances, Sakyamuni Buddha still had to gather all of them together to bear witness to the vows of Many Treasures Buddha who was inside Many Treasures Buddha’s stupa. So, Sakyamuni Buddha had to [gather] the Buddhas from throughout the ten directions; He gathered together His manifestations. These Buddhas praised one another; Many Treasures affirmed Shakyamuni’s [teachings] and Sakyamuni Buddha testified to Many Treasures Buddha’s vows. This shows that all Buddhas share the same path. They praised one another’s accomplishments.
After “the Buddha from the eastern land of Treasure Purity” entered Parinirvana, His fundamental vow was that, with “the saria of His entire body, wherever Buddhas teach the Lotus Sutra, He will definitely appear before them.”
In the eastern land to Treasure Purity, after Many Treasures Buddha entered Parinirvana, He had this fundamental vow. His entire body was inside the stupa. His fundamental vow was to go wherever Buddhas teach the Lotus Sutra and appear at those Dharma-assemblies.
Because some Buddhas lack affinities, no one asks Them to teach the wondrous Dharma, so They simply enter Parinirvana. For instance, in the Lotus Sutra, the World-Honored One Many Treasures was never requested to [teach the sutra], so He simply entered Parinirvana. Later on, He manifested His Buddha-body and this stupa of seven treasures, which emerged as proof that teaching the Lotus Sutra is the wondrous [medicine] to save the world. Thus, He appeared at that time.
This [passage] describes that some Buddha lack affinities. Before They entered Parinirvana, no one requested the wondrous Dharma from Them. So, if no one requests the teachings, the Buddha are unable to teach them. For instance, when Sariputra saw that the assembly had doubts, on the assembly’s behalf, he requested that the Buddha teach the subtle and wondrous Buddha-wisdom which the Buddha praised. The Buddha constantly praised the wisdom of all Dharma, wisdom of enlightenment and all-encompassing wisdom all Buddhas possess. In the Chapter on Skillful Means, He praised this constantly. When no one was able to understand this, Sariputra requested teachings from the Buddha on everyone’s behalf. He did not ask the Buddha only once or even twice, after the third time he asked, the Buddha finally began to teach the Lotus Sutra.
Some Buddhas lack these kind of affinities, so no one will ask these Buddhas to expound the wondrous Dharma. In this case, they will enter Parinirvana. However, every Buddha must expound the Lotus Sutra before they enter Parinirvana. Still; there are Buddhas like [Many Treausres] who lack the affinities. Before they teach the Lotus Sutra, they enter Parinirvana. However, They still have Their vows, just like the World-Honored One Mary Treasure in the Lotus Sutra. In His time, before He entered Parinirvana, nobody had requested that He expound the subtle and wondrous Dharma. Therefore, He told everyone, “After I enter Parinirvana, build a great stupa for me and keep my body inside the stupa.” This was His wish.
Since He did not expound the Dharma Himself, wherever the Lotus Sutra is taught, He will definitely manifest His body at that assembly. So, “Later on, He manifested His Buddha-body and this stupa of seven treasures which emerged as proof.” Later, He naturally manifested His entire body as well as the stupa of seven treasures. This tells us that every Buddha who comes to the world, even if He lacks the affinities and has yet to expound this wondrous Dharma, even if He has already entered Parinirvana, must still return to the world to testify that the Lotus Sutra is the wondrous Dharma, the medicine to treat the world. All Buddhas share the same path.
Though They may have lacked affinities in in the past, now, They will come to help fulfill the causes and conditions any Buddha needs for expounding the Dharma and attest to it. So, [It was proof that] “teaching the Lotus Sutra” is the wondrous Dharma that can save the world. He came to bear witness to the Lotus Sutra, so [Many Treasures Buddha] had to do this. When the Lotus Sutra [was taught], when the karmic conditions were ripe, the stupa of treasures appeared. We need to understand these principles.
The previous sutra passage says, “At all time, there was a Bodhisattva-Mahasattva whose name was Great Joyful Eloquence. He understood the doubts in the minds of the heavenly beings, humans, asuras and others of all the worlds.”
Because it was strange and unprecedented, everyone had doubts and questions. The following sutra passage says, “So he said to the Buddha…” Now, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva had begun to ask the Buddha. The sutra passage showed us that Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva had begun to ask the Buddha.
“So he said to the Buddha, World-Honored One, what are the causes and conditions that allowed this stupa to emerge from the ground and this voice to emanate from within?”
Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva asked Sakyamuni Buddha, “What are these causes and condition?” “What makes it so extraordinary?” “Why did this stupa of treasures emerge [from the ground]?” “What are the causes and conditions behind this?” By inquiring into the causes and conditions, everyone wanted to understand where this stupa came from and what it’s causes and conditions were. This is to reveal the [Buddha’s] one great cause.
He then said to the Buddha, “World-Honored One, what are the causes and conditions that allowed this stupa to emerge from the ground”: What were the causes and conditions? They wanted to know where the stupa of treasures came from. [It came] precisely to manifest the one great cause.
All Buddhas appear in the world for one great cause. The appearance of Many Treasures Buddha’s stupa of treasures also had its own cause. When Sakyamuni Buddha manifested in this world He also had one great cause. We need to understand this cause. “[What allowed] this voice to emanate from within?” It was not just the stupa that appeared. “And from this stupa came a voice that praised the great wonders.” From within the stupa emanated an extraordinary voice. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva’s questions had three implications. We also discussed this two days ago.
His questions had three implications: What were the causes and conditions for the existence of this stupa? Why did it emerge from the ground? Why did the great voice come from the stupa?
“What were the causes and conditions for the existence of this stupa?” His first question was to ask what causes and conditions led to the existence of this stupa. “Why did it emerge from the ground?” Why did this stupa emerge from the ground? And what conditions caused the great voice to emanate from the stupa? These three kinds of karmic conditions were praised by everyone as unprecedented. Why did this happen? Everyone was eager to know, moreover, they wanted to understand it clearly. They wanted to clearly discern the cause of the sounds of praise that came from the stupa.
People wanted to clearly discern the cause for the sounds of praise that came from the stupa, so they inquired with reverent hearts. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva was aware of their thoughts, so He spoke up and asked the Buddha and thereby prompted the Buddha to answer and reveal its causes and conditions.
For what reasons, for what causes and conditions and for what principles did the stupa emanate this kind of sound? We must earnestly discern this; we must understand it clearly. Therefore, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva, with utmost reverence, asked Sakyamuni Buddha. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva understood that everyone was doubtful because this had never happened before. This kind of scene had never existed before; now that it appeared, people had their doubts. As the passage says, [ Great Joyful Eloquence] “was aware of their thoughts.” They all thought this was truly extraordinary. Why did this happen? They wanted to know its causes and conditions.“ So He spoke up and asked the Buddha.” He spoke up and asked the Buddha and “thereby prompted the Buddha to answer.” Because someone asked these questions, because Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva asked these questions, because of this, He prompted the Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, to answer He answered by speaking of Many Treasures Buddha and the causes and conditions of the Dharma that He will be explaining in the future. Therefore, there must be people who are willing to inquire into the Dharma so that the Buddha will start to teach the Dharma and open and reveal it to sentient beings.
Continuing on, [the sutra] says, “At that time, the Buddha told Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva, ’In this stupa of treasures is the entire body of the Tathagata from long ago, from infinite trillions of asankyas of worlds to the East.’”
At that moment, Sakyamuni Buddha began to answer. He replied to Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva, [saying,] “In this stupa of treasures is the entire body of the Tathagata. This Tathagata is Many Treasures Buddha. He is from long ago, from infinite trillions of asankyas of worlds to the East, from very, very far away.” “Asankya” means infinite, countless, infinite trillions of worlds away. This is surely very far away. This is how Sakyamuni Buddha explained the body of the Buddha inside the stupa and this Buddha’s original vow. Now, He was about to begin.
At that time the Buddha told Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva, “In this stupa of treasures is the entire body of the Tathagata”: Having been asked a question, He responded. After all Buddhas enter Parinirvana, Their bodies are burnt by fire and their sariras are disseminated in order to from affinities with sentient beings. On entering Parinirvana, Many Treasures Buddha did not [cremate] His body. Before the end of His life, He instructed people to build a stupa and make offerings to His remains to stand as testimony to the sutra. So the Buddha answered: “In this stupa of treasures is the entire body of the Tathagata.” This refers to the Buddha’s Dharma-body.
Sakymuni Buddha answered, “After all Buddha enter Parinirvana, Their bodies are burnt by fire and Their sariras are disseminated in order to from affinities with sentient beings.” His answer tells us that after all Buddhas enter Parinirvana, Their entire bodies are cremated. After Their bodies are cremated, everyone will disseminate Their sariras all over the place, just like King Ashoka did. In King Ashoka’s time, because of his great respect for the Buddha, 100 years after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, during King Ashoka’s time, he built 84,000 stupas. He took the cremated remains of the Buddha, the Buddha’s ashes, His sariras, and distributed them to 84,000 stupas. These were small stupas. By distributing the Buddha’s sariras to stupas in so many places, he helped the people there make offerings. After Sakyamuni Buddha entered Parinirvana, His body was cremated.
Later, [ King Ashoka] divided His sariras and sent them to many places for people to make offerings to them. However, when Many Treasures Buddha entered Parinirvana, His body was not cremated. His entire body was placed in a stupa. People built a stupa [to house] his entire body.
Actually, in recent times and in the past, some eminent monastics have been placed into urns. Instead of being placed into a coffin, they were placed into urns. Their entire bodies would be placed into urns. Several years later, when people open the urn, their body would still be intact. In Xizhi, Dharma Master Ci Hang’s entire body was still there. Several decades ago, when I had just become a monastic, the urn was opened. When they opened the urn it caused such a sensation because his entire body was still intact. From ancient times all the way to modern times, there have been these “whole-body sariras”. Bodies that have not been cremated but preserved are called whole-body sariras. After entering Parinirvana, Many Treasures Buddha do not [cremate] His body." His body was not cremated; His entire body was preserved because “Before the end of His life, He instructed people to build a stupa and make offerings to His remains to stand as testimony to the sutra." In the future, anywhere in the world, He wanted to testify [to the sutra], for this stupa of treasures to appear and stand as testimony. It would affirm that the Lotus Sutra is the wondrous medicine to treat the world. This was Many Treasure Buddha’s vow.
So, Sakyamuni Buddha answered, “In this stupa of treasures is the entire body of the Tathagata. This refers to the Buddha’s Dharmakaya.” The entire body of the Tathagata is the Dharmakaya. This stupa contains the Dharmakaya of Many Treasures Buddha. Every Buddha teaches the lotus Sutra. The entire Lotus Sutra is the entire body of the Buddha, which is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. So, it says, “from long ago, from infinite trillions of asankyas of world to the East.”
From long ago, from infinite trillions of asankyas of worlds to the East: This means in distant kalpas, long ago, in the worlds to the East.
This was very, very far away; it was measured as infinite trillions. It was infinite trillions of worlds away, a place so far away. This was also in distant kalpas, long ago, a distant era in the past. In such a faraway place, in that world, Many Treasures Buddha had such [strong] power of vows. Over such a length of time and such a great distance, this stupa came from that place and suddenly emerged at this Dharma-assembly. What are the principles behind this? Was this a real object that emerged at this place? We just discussed this. For the past couple of days, we have been saying that the Dharma gives analogies for appearances, and appearances are used to describe the Dharma. This is to help us understand that this stupa is the Dharmakaya. The Dharmakaya is the principles. The height of the principles [described here] shows that they are supreme and unsurpassed principles. This shows that the principles of the Lotus Sutra are the unsurpassed, universal and perfect enlightenment that the Buddha realized. “Unsurpassed” means that it is so high-reaching that it is indescribable. Therefore, we have to use “500 yojanas” to describe how high it reaches and to demonstrate the virtues of the Buddha. The Buddha’s virtues had to be cultivated; how does one cultivate them? We need to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. We must cultivate blessings and wisdom, create blessings for the world and actualize the Six Paramitas. When we go among people, [we see that] sentient beings have so many afflictions. This is like [the stupa] spanning 250 yojanas. They have boundless afflictions. In order to address their countless afflictions, the Buddha needed to come to this world to transform sentient beings. Before the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the Buddha wanted to entrust this Dharma to His disciples of later generations. Thus, we must also go among people. When we go among people, [we see] all the countless afflictions of sentient beings. We can go amidst sentient beings’ afflictions without being contaminated by them, transform afflictions into Bodhi and guide sentient beings to comprehend the Buddha-Dharma. If we can do this, we are cultivating wisdom. Amidst the affliction of sentient beings, we can temper ourselves to gain wisdom. So, to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions, we must actualize them in 20,000 actions., not just 10,000. We must actualize them in 20,000 actions. We must actualize them in 10,000 actions of wisdom and 10,000 actions of blessings. This is accomplished through the Six Paramitas. It is accomplished amidst sentient beings’ 250 yojanas [wide] afflictions, the afflictions of the 25 forms of existence. So, we need to truly listen to the Dharma and always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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