Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Gathering Multiple Manifestations to See the Truth (欲集分身 徹見實相)
Date: January.25.2018
“In order to gather together the multiple manifestations in the ten directions, this defiled Saha land must be transformed. We must eliminate our discriminating mind, our limiting and obstructing consciousness and our sense of self and other. Only then will we be able to see the true state of ultimate reality, the Dharma-seal of the ultimate truth of all phenomena that is free from all illusions.”
We must understand this clearly. All Buddhas [teach] the same Dharma; they are spread throughout the universe. As we mentioned yesterday, Many Treasures Buddha and His stupa of treasures appeared at the Lotus Dharma-assembly. A voice emanated from within the stupa. The voice was loud and clear, and it came from within the stupa, praising, “Excellent!” It furthermore affirmed that Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings were true. Everyone became curious and wanted to know about Many Treasures Buddha in His stupa. What might His entire body be like? Everyone hoped to be able to see it. Sakyamuni Buddha explained to everyone, “Many Treasures Buddha made such a vow that wherever the Lotus Sutra is taught, His stupa of treasures will appear. If you wish to see the entire body of the Buddha in this stupa, then the Buddha who teaches the Lotus Sutra must gather all of His multiple manifestations from the ten directions. Then the door to this stupa will open and you will see the entire body of Many Treasures Buddha.” These were Many Treasures Buddha’s conditions. “If you all wish to see me, Sakyamuni Buddha’s multiple manifestations from the ten directions must gather here.” These were these Buddhas’ conditions for each other, which also show Their mutual aspirations and the mutual respect They have for each other.
Since Many Treasures Buddha came from so far away, Sakyamuni Buddha should also gather His multiple manifestations into one place out of respect. This was Their mutual respect for one another. So, “In order to gather together the multiple manifestations of the ten directions, this defiled Saha land must be transformed. We must eliminate our discriminating mind, our limiting and obstructing consciousness and our sense of self and other. Only then will we be able to see the true state of ultimate reality.” This is how we should understand this passage. The multiple manifestations of the Buddha from the ten directions must gather together.
But to gather all Buddhas from the ten directions, all these many numerous [Buddhas], the Saha world’s defilements had to be eliminated. This is a defiled land, so it must be completely purified and cleansed of [all the defilements]. This is just like wherever we hold an event; we must clean and set up the area. We must clean it up and clear away all of the dirty things and then take clean and dignified things to decorate it anew. The principle is the same; it is as if we are holding a dignified Dharma-assembly. For the doors of the stupa of treasures to open, the Buddhas from all ten directions had to gather. So, the defiled Saha land had to be transformed. Moreover, we must “eliminate our discriminating mind.” This means that our minds are full of afflictions and ignorance. Now we must experience the great principles of the perfect teachings. We all have Vulture Peak stupas in our hearts. Our Vulture Peak stupa has already begun to surface. Since we have listened to the Dharma for so long, we should let our intrinsic nature of True Suchness surface. This is something that we should have had since Beginningless Time. We must understand this more thoroughly. Our Vulture Peak stupa contains our pure and undefiled nature of True Suchness. It pervades the Dharma-realms of the universe.
So, we must “eliminate our discriminating mind.” Defilements must be eliminated so our pure and undefiled mind can naturally emerge. If we remain defiled, we have “limiting and obstructing consciousness.” We place limits between people, between him, you and me. This means in our relationships, we have a discriminating mind. We discriminate between those we do and do not like and whether or not we are satisfied. This is a discriminating mind. Now, we definitely need to like others. Now, we must take joy in [other] people, and we must also be satisfied ourselves, because all living beings are equal to the Buddha. We do not discriminate between humans and animals, not to mention between two human beings who are both Buddhist practitioners. We must open up our hearts to free ourselves of limitations and obstructions. We must use the great capacity of our hearts to accommodate all [beings]. This kind of consciousness does not have a “sense of self and other;” it does not have a discriminating mindset. Bodhisattvas are awakened sentient beings. They care for all sentient beings. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are like this. As we humans learn the Buddha’s teachings, we must be like this as well. This is why we all must study [the teachings]. For ordinary beings to learn the Buddha-Dharma, we must learn from the state of mind of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. So, we must clear our minds of the things that limit or obstruct us, such as our ignorance. We must eliminate all ignorance and our discriminating mind. We must eliminate all of this so [our minds] become empty like the void; our consciousness must be unhindered and unobstructed. The eighth consciousness is our karmic consciousness; it is limited and obstructed. Before the eighth consciousness are the seventh, sixth and the five consciousnesses. The [five] roots connect with external conditions and take them in. All the [karma] we create is stored within our eighth consciousness. [The Buddha] hopes that we can empty our karmic consciousness, clear it out bit by bit. We must open it up and empty it, so that our karmic consciousness will no longer keep us entangled. We should have this sense of awakened love. We should have this sense of awakened love. We should look into the fact that all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas already thoroughly understand sentient beings; they view them all as a connected whole. So, this is universal compassion. This is what it means when it says, “Only then will we be able to see the true state of ultimate reality.” We must eliminate our ignorance, our afflictions, our interpersonal conflicts and so on; we must completely eradicate them. We must expel and eradicate them. All sentient beings are equal. We must not have any discriminating thoughts towards each other that can hinder our spiritual aspirations. We must focus on learning the awakened love of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, for only when we do that can we “see the true state of ultimate reality.” I hope we all can mindfully comprehend this.
[The Buddha’s] manifestations of the ten directions must gather. This represents how all of the Dharma, the principles which pervade the entire universe, is gathered here within the perfect teachings of this sutra, the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. To reveal the principles of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, these many principles that pervade the universe, we all must [purify] our minds, like the defiled land of the Saha world. The ground of our minds is still like a defiled land. If we cannot patiently endure in our practice, we cannot engage in spiritual practice at all. This is like the world we live in; the Buddha also told us that this is called the world of endurance, that this is the place where the Five Destinies coexist. The hell, hungry ghost, animal, human and heaven realms, the Five Destinies, all coexist in this place, just like in our hearts. Sometimes our hearts may be affected by the external environment, and it is as painful and full of suffering as hell. When the external environment delude our minds, we are like animals. When the external environment leads us to have insatiable desires, it as if we are in the hungry ghost realm; we are never full and our desires are never-ending. This is the same principle. Our hearts are the same as the external world; they are in this defiled Saha world. In terms of the Dharma, [the Buddha] had to gather. His multiple manifestations of the ten directions. That would then be the Dharmakaya, the principles. For the principles which pervade the universe to be brought together, we must eliminate all of our various afflictions. Only then can we earnestly accept the Dharma into our hearts. If we our minds are defiled, then we will have no way to apply the Dharma. We must eliminate our ignorance and afflictions; only then can we apply the True Dharma inside our minds. We must be mindful of this passage moving forward so that we can truly understand what we will be discussing later. So, this is “the Dharma-seal of the ultimate truth of all phenomena,” How do we imprint the Dharma-seal of ultimate truth on our hearts? We must imprint it, must verify this Dharma inside our hearts. If our heart is like a piece of paper that is not very clean, then how could we imprint the seal on it? Thus, we must clear out our minds just as we must also cleanse the defiled land of the Saha world. So, by carefully clearing out our minds, the Dharma-seal of ultimate truth will truly be able to be imprinted our minds, [This is to be] “free from all illusions”. We must first free ourselves from our illusions. When it comes to worldly matters, the past is a distraction and an illusion. In the present, if we get lost in fantasies, that is a delusion. So we must earnestly seize the time [we have now]. Our minds must be in accordance with the Dharma. We do this in our daily living. As we listen every day and interact with others, do we really take the Dharma to heart? If we take the Dharma to heart, then in our handling of worldly matters, we have to have harmony as our objective and not discriminate or create conflicts. [Otherwise], we will be unable to handle matters very steadily, unable to open our hearts and unable to bring matters to harmonious completion. Worldly matters must be brought together with the true principles. The Buddha came to the world and did whatever He could for the world; he already did this to the best of His ability. For the sake of his one great cause, He gave teachings according to our capabilities. He did everything possible, but are we able to accept it. This is the mind of sentient beings. Have we purified our own minds? Have we removed all of our afflictions? This depends on sentient beings’ minds.
Everyone, we must transform our unenlightened minds. In this place where the Five Destinies coexist, there are six unenlightened and four noble realms. The Six Unenlightened Realms are the heaven, asura, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. There are the six realms. These are unenlightened beings. What about the Four Noble Realms? Hearers, Solitary Realizers, Bodhisattvas and Buddhas are the Four Noble Realms. We begin as ordinary beings, and after hearing the Dharma, we begin to realize that “all phenomena arise due to causes and conditions.” Then, as Solitary Realizers, we begin to form aspirations to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. From here, we can then enter the noble state of the Buddhas. These are the Four Noble Realms.
We can go from the state of ordinary beings to enter the four Noble realms, but have we opened our minds yet? Have we truly planted roots? Has our faith taken root? Facing unenlightened beings every day, even Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can feel helpless. So, I hope that everyone will be mindful. There is so much suffering in the human realm. Bodhisattvas must begin to form aspirations now. There is so much for us to learn; our time is short, and expounding the Dharma requires a long time.
Come, look at the previous passage. “Great Joyful Eloquence.” Sakyamuni Buddha called to Great Joyful Eloquence, “Great Joyful Eloquence, all of my multiple manifestations who are teaching the Dharma throughout the worlds of the ten directions must gather together now.
Sakyamuni Buddha already put it very plainly. Many Treasures Buddha had these conditions. Since the stupa had appeared, in order to open it and see the entire body of Many Treasures Buddha, all [Sakyamuni’s] manifestations had to gather, now, He had to [gather] all the Buddhas teaching the Dharma in the worlds of the ten directions. Now, They must all be gathered together. When Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva heard, he gave rise to joy. Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva said to the Buddha very joyfully, “World-Honored One! We also wish to see all of the World-Honored One’s multiple manifestation, to pay our respects and make offerings to Them.
This was not just Many Treasures Buddha’s Wish. To see all of Sakyamuni Buddha’s multiple manifestations [gather] here from the ten directions was what everyone hoped for the most.“ [We hope to] see Sakyamuni Buddha’s multiple manifestations from the ten directions gather here so that we can express our [reverence], pay our respects and make offerings.” This was meant as an expression of their reverence. All Dharma [was to be gathered] because Many Treasures Buddha had come to listen to the Dharma; His stupa appeared for Him to listen to the Dharma. This Dharma exists throughout the Dharma-realms of the ten directions. Thus, all the Dharma throughout the Dharma-realms of the ten directions must be gathered together. Only then will it be perfect.
As for those present, Great Joyful Eloquence Bodhisattva was also at a very high level. He hoped that all the Dharma in the universe could be gathered together. People’s reverence, their expression of reverence and their resolve to make offerings and worship represent [their wish] to make offerings.
The following passage says, “At that time, the Buddha emitted a ray of light from His of tuft white hair immediately, they saw in the east. Buddhas from lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers.
At this time, the Buddha emitted a ray of light from the tuft of white hair between His brows, a ray of light from the white tuft of hair. This ray of light shone into the east and illuminated lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers.” The Buddha was born in Nepal. In the Introductory Chapter, He emitted this ray of light, and it also shone towards the east. Clearly, the Buddha sat in the west facing east. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, whether because the Dharma spread to the east or because sutras were obtained from the west, [many] came to know the Buddha‘s True Dharma and its perfect teachings. The Great Vehicle Dharma in particular was spread eastward, to China. And so here it says, “At that time, the Buddha emitted a ray of light from His tuft of white hair. Immediately, they saw in the east. Buddhas from lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers for such a long way, so very far. How far? [Across lands] as numerous as the lands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers. Isn’t that a long [way]? The sands of the Ganges Rivers are impossible to count. Even the grains of sand beneath one’s fingernails from scooping up the Ganges sands, are difficult to count, not to mention all the sand from the entire river, let alone lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers. By comparing the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers to the number of lands from which all these Buddhas would gather doesn’t this seem like a lot? There were so many!
The [tuft being] between His two eyebrows represents the Middle Way. We should see this in terms of the Dharma. If we see this in terms of the appearances, this light shone so far away, on so many Buddha-lands, so that the Buddha’s manifestations would gather. If we see it this way, how could the Saha World accommodate them all? In terms of the Dharma, “The [tuft being] between His two eyebrows represents the One Vehicle Dharma of the Middle Way.” The Lotus Sutra is fundamentally the One Vehicle Dharma of the Middle Way. So, the white hair represents “realizing the path of the pure-white Dharma with no Leaks.”
The [tuft being] between His two eyebrows represents the One Vehicle Dharma of the Middle Way. The white hair represents realizing the path of the pure-white Dharma with no Leaks. White is also the base of all colors. This means that the One Vehicle is the source of all teachings.
“The white hair represents realizing the path of the pure-white Dharma with no Leaks.” “No Leaks” means He had no afflictions that let [Dharma] leak out. Afflictions persist for such a long time. The Ganges’ sand does not refer to the sand at the bottom of the river that flows with the water; it refers to the sand of the beach where nothing “Leaks,” nothing washes it away. This is the same principle. The afflictions as numerous as the Ganges’ sands are completely gone.
Therefore, “the pure-white Dharma has no Leaks.” “White hair” [means] it is very clean. Moreover, “White is the base of all colors.” Everything originates from white; white is the most basic of all colors. If you have a piece of cloth to dye, whatever color we want to dye it in, we can dye it. When we remove the dye, it is white. Thus, “White is the base of all colors.” This expresses that “The One Vehicle is the source of all teachings.” The One Vehicle Dharma is the source of all Dharma.
So, “At that time, the Buddha emitted a ray of light from His tuft of white hair.” To gather all of the Buddha’s multiple manifestations, the Tathagata shone light from His white hair of the Middle Way.
[He emitted] this light to call upon the many Buddha to return. This also shows that the Buddha‘s wisdom already thoroughly encompassed the universe and all its true principles. These true principles, free of all impurities and defilements, were symbolized by this ray of white light. So, when Sakyamuni Buddha emitted this light from His tuft of white hair, He “illuminated the pure lands of all Buddhas in the ten directions.” The ray of white light did not just shine in one direction, but in ten. Just in the east alone, [it illuminated] lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers. It was the same in all ten directions. This single ray of light was able to shine so far and so wide [that it illuminated] the entire universe.
So, the white hair is between His two eyebrows, which represents the teachings of the Middle Way.
The Middle Way is the Buddha’s teachings that all phenomena arise from causes and conditions. So many teachings begin by analyzing “suffering, causation, cessation and the Path.” Where does suffering come from? From phenomena arising from causes and conditions. What causes and conditions give rise to is both defiled and pure phenomena. All of this arises from causes and conditions. Without wind, there cannot be waves. When we see waves on the ocean, it is because there is wind. Thus, the wind and ocean have converged. This is the meaning of causes and conditions. The appearance we see is of a large wave; we call it a wave. But waves are on the water and caused by the wind. These causes and conditions create this appearance. It is the same for us human beings. all joyous occasions have causes and conditions. Anger also has its causes and conditions. Neither good nor evil depart from interdependent origination. So, this is the Middle Way.
The Middle Way: When we discuss the phenomena that arise out of causes and conditions, we say that they are all empty. We also say that they are illusory names. This is the meaning of the Middle Way.
When we discuss the phenomena that arise out of causes and conditions, we say that they are all empty. Anything that arises from karmic conditions, when we discuss it in truth, is always empty. “We also say that they are illusory names.” It is called an illusory name. In fact, every name in the world, like John or Joe, are all illusory. Actually, John is a person, and so is Joe. Every individual has his or her own unique name, but they are all called “people”. Will people always be in this world? No. Following birth, aging, illness and death, everything returns to emptiness. These are illusory names, all returns to emptiness. “This is the Middle Way.” This is the Middle Way. Whether we speak of illusoriness or emptiness, we must remain on the Middle way. No matter what, good and evil coexist in the world. We Buddhist practitioners are in the midst of this good and evil; we must clearly distinguish one from the other.
We must not be biased toward emptiness, nor toward existence, nor toward neither emptiness nor existence. By not falling into either extreme, we are in perfect harmony without hindrances. This is known as the Middle Way.
And so, we “must not be biased toward emptiness.” When it comes to the Dharma, we should not be biased toward emptiness, nor should we be biased toward existence. We cannot be biased towards existence. As for “neither toward emptiness nor existence nor toward both emptiness and existence, don’t we experience this in our daily living?
We must not constantly say, “Everything is empty.” If everything is empty, we do not need to eat at all for the whole day, because in the end our stomachs will be empty; after eating, we become hungry again. So, should we not eat? But if we do not eat, can we stand it? Perhaps one or two days would be bearable, but how much longer could we persist? So, we must not be biased towards emptiness, nor should we be biased towards emptiness, nor should we be biased towards existence. Eat, but eat just enough food, and eat at different times. It should not be, “I will eat everything I need to eat in my life all at once.” Is this possible? It is impossible! So, we must not cling to existence, nor should we cling to emptiness, “nor toward both emptiness and existence.”
In this world, we must not get hung up on things. We must not “fall into either extreme.” We must not fall to either side. When we walk on a path, we can walk on this side or on that side. Do you want to walk on this side of the river or on that side of the river? We cannot stand with one foot on each shore. So how should we walk? We should always choose the Middle Way. We should give up both this side and that side so that we can follow the Middle Way. When we sail the ship of compassion, we follow the Middle Way. “We must not be biased toward emptiness, nor toward existence, nor toward neither emptiness nor existence. By not falling into either extreme, we are in perfect harmony without hindrances.” Thus, we will not be obstructed by either side because we are in the middle. This is the Middle Way. “Immediately, they saw in the east Buddhass from lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers.”
Immediately, they saw in the east Buddhas from lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers: Because the radiance illuminated Them, they were all able to see Them.
They could already see this. When Sakyamuni Buddha emitted a ray of light, they immediately saw Buddhas from lands as numerous as the sands of 500 trillion nayutas of Ganges Rivers. They saw this instantaneously. What does “500 trillion” signify? It represents the “Bodhisattvas’ five stages of true causes.”
500 trillion: This represents Bodhisattvas’ five stages of true causes. They are the true right causes, the true causes of the teachings, the practice, faith, realization and [entering] Great Nirvana. Buddhas as numerous as the Ganges’ sands: This refers to all pure thoughts.
We must follow the Bodhisattva-path and the Bodhisattva’s causal practice to reach Buddha’s stage of fruition. Thus, we need the “true right causes, need the truth and the causes.” We need the truth and the right causes. So, “the teachings, the practice, faith, realization and entering Great Nirvana” are the true causes. “The teachings” refers to how we must accept these teachings. “The practice” means we must put it into practice. We must believe in the Dharma with “faith” and thus verify our “realizations” in our hearts. Only then will we be able to eliminate the afflictions of our body and mind and enter into Great Nirvana. Great Nirvana is clear and tranquil, free of discursive thoughts and the arising and ceasing of phenomena. It is a completely pure, tranquil and clear state. So, the Buddhas, countless as the Gangers’ sands, have pure thoughts. This is what it means by “Ganges’ sands.” There were many Buddhas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges. In fact, in terms of the Dharma, this represents our pure thoughts. When afflictions as many as the Ganges’ sands return to the one, our thoughts are pure. Bodhisattvas must go from the teachings, practice, faith and realizations until they reach Great Nirvana. When we take the Dharma to heart, our thoughts will be pure. This is how our hearts will become pure.
As for, “The five stages of the true causes, they are divided into fives stages. In “practicing and realizing the true right causes of Great Nirvana, there are five stages, which are “the stage of provisions, the stage of earnest efforts, the stage of understanding, the stage of cultivation and the ultimate stage. These are known as the five stages. The first stage is called the stage of provisions. The first of the five stages is the stage of provisions: This refers to all Bodhisattvas in the stage of Ten Abiding Conducts, Ten Practices and Ten Dedications. They take blessings, virtues and wisdom as their provisions to help them practice the Path.
[Obtaining] provisions requires spiritual practice. If we do not practice, then we will not attain the Dharma-water and the seed in the ground of our mind will not sprout. Thus, we have the Ten Abiding Conducts, Ten Practices and Ten Dedications. These are our Bodhisattva stages. Bodhisattvas must progress through each stage and practice constantly. In the past, we often talked about the Ten Abiding Conducts, Ten Practices and Ten Dedications. These are all part of the path we must walk. So, we must use “blessings and wisdom.” Bodhisattvas need blessings and wisdom. Responding to the suffering of this world, we go among people to create blessings and cultivate wisdom. This is the path we must follow. These are provisions that we store to nourish our wisdom-life.
The second stage is called “the stage of earnest efforts. This refers to Bodhisattvas in the stages of the Four Earnest Efforts. Having gained the provisions of blessings and wisdom, they practice with increased effort to enter and see the Path and abide in the nature of True Suchness.”
If we want to put the teachings into practice, to enter our nature of True Suchness, to return to our nature of True Suchness, we cannot deviate from the provisions of blessings and wisdom. We must create blessings, blessed virtues; we must cultivate blessed virtues and wisdom. We must increase our efforts so that we can enter the Bodhisattva Way and abide at this stage. “The stage of the Four Earnest Efforts” is commonly referred to as the of the Fourfold Dharma of Earnest Effort. They are the Dharma of warmth, the Dharma of pinnacle, the Dharma of patience and the Dharma of foremost in the world. These are known as the Fourfold Dharma of Earnest Effort, or the stage of the Four Earnest Efforts. As Bodhisattvas, we must not allow this kind of passion to be cut off “Warmth” means the warmth of passion and kindness. We must use kindness and warmth for the world. We must form great Bodhisattva-aspirations. This is the Dharma of pinnacle, the highest Dharma. To practice the Bodhisattva-path, we must be patient. We must be patient with all the afflictions and ignorance of sentient beings of the world. We must be patient and not allow them to influence us. This is called the Dharma of foremost in the world. This is essential Dharma for walking the Bodhisattva-path. These are the Four Earnest Efforts. We must be sure to increase our efforts.
The third is called the “stage of understanding.” Earlier we said we need complete understanding. We must understand thoroughly “This means Bodhisattvas in the first ground realize the illuminating wisdom of True Suchness and see the Middle Way from the principles.”
These are Bodhisattvas in the first ground. Of the Ten Grounds of the Bodhisattvas, the ground of joy is where Bodhisattvas begin. The Ten Grounds of the Bodhisattvas begin with the ground of joy. We must earnestly comprehend this.
Fourth is the “stage of cultivation.” The fourth of the five stages is the stage of cultivation: This refers to Bodhisattvas of the second to the tenth grounds. They have already awakened to the Path. In order to eliminate obstacles, they continue to cultivate and practice fundamental wisdom.
These are Bodhisattvas in the second to tenth ground. They start from the ground of joy and go all the way to the tenth ground. Everyone should still remember the Ten Grounds the ground of joy, the ground of freedom from defilement, the ground of radiating light, the ground of blazing wisdom, the ground of overcoming difficulties, the ground of manifestation, the ground of far-reaching practice, the ground of stillness, the ground of excellent wisdom and the ground of Dharma-cloud. These are known as the Ten Grounds. One by one, we must continuously progress through each ground. We should examine our hearts. Are our hearts joyful? Are our hearts free from defilement and free from our ignorance and afflictions? Are our hearts following the path of the radiant light so that we will no longer walk in darkness? We must constantly turn our hearts toward the radiant Right Dharma. This is all part of following the Bodhisattva-path to progress through all Ten Grounds one by one. So, “They have already awakened to the Path. “In order to eliminate obstacles, they continue to cultivate and practice fundamental wisdom.” We must be like this, progressing forward one ground at a time until we arrive.
The fifth is called the ultimate stage. The fifth of the five stages is the ultimate stage: This refers to wondrous enlightenment. Buddhas realize this stage of fruition, which is the ultimate, purest and unsurpassed stage.
The ultimate stage is wondrous enlightenment. Here, we have continuously progressed from one ground to the next, experiencing going among people to serve others without becoming defiled. We must maintain our nature of True Suchness, our pure, intrinsic nature. At this point, we have experienced everything. This point is called the ultimate stage. This is wondrous enlightenment. “Buddhas realize this stage of fruition, which is the ultimate, purest and unsurpassed stage.” This is [the path] that we must walk and practice. Only in this way will we be able to truly gather the Buddha’s Dharmakayas in one place. The Buddha had to gather all the Buddhas who taught the Dharma in world of the ten directions. Actually, He hoped that, since we have listened to the Dharma for so long, we would understand the Dharma, which would inspire us to form aspirations; He hoped that we would be able to understand it. Therefore, we should all gather together to listen to the Dharma with a pure heart and eliminate all forms of ignorance. We must gather together with pure hearts to realize the ultimate principles. This is why the Buddha wanted to gather together. His multiple manifestations of the ten directions, so that the true principles, which are pure and free of defilement, would be gathered together. Where are these true principles? In everyone’s nature of True Suchness. Are these principles really so profound? They are in our daily living. Everyone, please always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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