Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Many Treasures Shared the Throne (多寶分座 法身不二)
Date: February.28.2018
“After the stupa opened, it still remained in empty space, so Many Treasures Buddha yield half His seat. Sakyamuni Buddha entered the stupa and the two Buddhas sat level with each other and met one another. This is like the Dharma of blessings and wisdom that meets conditions and responds to the world. Many Treasures Buddha represents the Dharma-body that emerged from the ground at the Vulture Peak Assembly. The past and present Buddhas shared the same throne.”
When we listen to the Dharma, we must connect [the teachings]. Yesterday, we discussed how Sakyamuni Buddha was already in the sky and had opened the stupa of treasures. So, the stupa of treasures was in the sky, and Sakyamuni Buddha also rose up into the sky to open the door to the stupa. Everyone looked up and watched the Buddha go into the stupa of treasures. Many Treasures Buddha immediately shared half His seat, inviting Sakyamuni Buddha to sit with Him. This was very rare and extraordinary. To be able to have two Buddhas to sit together, at the same time and on the same level is exceedingly rare.
Usually, there is a very long time between each Buddha. It was only at this moment that past and present Buddha came together in the same place. Moreover, the past Buddha, Many Treasures Buddha, came with the stupa of treasures, suddenly appearing at the Vulture Peak Assembly. In particular, the stupa of treasures appeared hovering in empty space. We should all recall the imagery from this sutra passage and the principles of the Dharma it reveals. Let us think back a little. Yes, the height and width of the stupa and in particular how it appeared in empty space represent the transcendence of the teachings of the Five Vehicles. This means that the Great Vehicle Dharma, the perfect and harmonious Great Vehicle Dharma, is the way to Buddhahood. On the way to Buddhahood, we must “actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions,” [practicing] giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. While engaging in spiritual practice, we must form Great Vehicle aspirations and use these six methods as we go among people to transform sentient beings. We must go among people to transform sentient beings, giving them the Dharma and the teachings. Of course, we must continuously seek the Buddha-Dharma. This is because we have just now formed Great Vehicle aspirations. We are still cultivating the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. We are still in the process of practicing the causal actions of Bodhisattvas, so we must seek the way to Buddhahood and constantly seek to learn and understand the Dharma. We must listen to the Dharma, constantly take the principles to heart, and put them into practice in our daily living and among people. This way, we can attain perfection. This is the True Dharma, the Bodhisattva-path in this world. This is the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. We must perfect the causal actions of Bodhisattvas in all actions. We must go among people to create blessings and form blessed affinities. By going among people, we will witness the afflictions and ignorance of sentient beings. The deluded thoughts of sentient beings cause them to give rise to afflictions and ignorance. In this world, our state of mind, our behavior, the turmoil and unrest in the society and so on all arise from people’s minds. Our minds cause our bodies, speech and mind to [create] karma. A single thought [can affect] [our] body, speech and mind. With one thought of goodness, we can bring blessings and virtue among people and cultivate both blessings and virtue. But what if it is a thought of evil? Our harsh speech, evil deeds, evil thoughts and so on can destroy everything. It is all decided in a single thought!
Therefore, we must practice the Bodhisattva-path and transcend the Five Destinies, the place where the beings of Five Destinies co-exist. This human realm is filled with so much ignorance and so many afflictions and delusions from sentient beings. People are entangled with one another, resulting in families, societies and people all hurting one another and causing trouble for each other. This is unbearable suffering.
So, we must seek to comprehend the appearance of the stupa. Its width represents the place where the Five Destinies co-exist. What about its height? It [represents] the transcendence of the Five Vehicle teachings. It has already appeared. As for these teachings, because Sakyamuni Buddha transcended the world, He established Himself as a role model within the world. Through His conduct, the Buddha set Himself as a role model. Then, through His speech, the Buddha began to open and reveal the Dharma. The Dharma came from the Buddha’s mouth and entered the hearts of sentient beings. The Buddha opened and revealed [the Dharma], and sentient beings understood and awakened to it. Everyone understood it; we understand that in our hearts, we have the same Buddha-nature as the Buddha. We understand this and have already taken the Dharma to heart. We have also built a stupa of treasures in our hearts. Within this stupa of ours Many Treasures Buddha is also there. This stupa and Many Treasures Buddha are a testament to this Dharma. Aren’t we all a testament to this Dharma?
So, we must be resolute. We have already formed aspirations; we must be resolute [in following] our aspirations. We have walked all this way. Now, Sakyamuni Buddha opened the door of the stupa of treasures. Those who had formed aspirations looked up at the Buddha with admiration as. He opened the door of the stupa of treasures. As soon as the doors to the stupa were opened, they saw Many Treasures Buddha inside, sitting there peacefully, as if He had entered Samadhi. At the same time, He proclaimed in praise, “Excellent! Sakyamuni Buddha, quickly teach this Dharma.” This represents how the door to our stupa is also open and how we are also very eager. We already have the practice of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Through practicing the teachings and realizing the principles, we too are approaching the Great Vehicle Dharma. We have formed aspirations, so from the outside, Sakyamuni Buddha came to enter our stupa of treasures to confirm this for us. He does this to guide us to [realize that] the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in their nature]. We must take His teachings to heart and elevate the True Suchness that is in our hearts. This is represented here, in how “Many Treasures Buddha yielded half His seat”.
Sakyamuni Buddha helped us understand that we are all equal to the Buddha. The mind and the Buddha are equal [in nature]. Of course, the Buddha continued to teach us that sentient begins are all equal. So, “Sakyamuni Buddha entered the stupa and the two Buddhas sat level with each other and met another.” They had both attained Buddhahood, so the two Buddhas sat level with each other and met one another. The past and present Buddhas sat together in that place. This represents the perfect fulfillment of blessings and wisdom, the cultivation of both blessings and wisdom. We must actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions and cultivate both blessings and wisdom. In terms of the past and present Buddhas, the principles have always been like this, so they are [represented by] the past Buddha. As for the present Buddha, He [represents] our nature of True Suchness, which has been awakened by Sakyamuni Buddha. Our nature of True Suchness must also manifest; we must begin to put it to practice to create blessings for the world and cultivate wisdom among people. This is “the Dharma that meets conditions and responds to the world”. This means we must make use of circumstances. In fact, this also worldly Dharma. If we do not understand worldly Dharma, how will we ever transcend this world? Worldly Dharma and world-transcending Dharma must be united. The past Buddha [represents] the world-transcending Dharma, where the present Buddha shows we cannot abandon our present conditions. So, within our current environment, within this life and throughout future lives, we must remain resolute. Thus, Many Treasures Buddha represents the Dharma-body, the Dharmakaya “that emerged from the ground at the Vulture Peak Assembly”. The past and present Buddhas shared the same seat. Past and present Buddhas are all equal. This means that “Sentient beings, the mind and the Buddha are no different [in their nature].”
Even though there is no difference between us, if we do not put our hearts into understanding [the Dharma], if we do not work hard to put it into practice, and if we are not mindful to completely eliminate our afflictions, ignorance and delusions, we will remain as unenlightened begins. We are learning the Buddha’s teachings, so we can understand the principles. However, the Buddha within our hearts right now has yet to respond with inspiration, so we still have no way to open our stupa of treasures with the touch of a finger. We still need to keep working just as hard. Thus, the emergence of the stupa of treasures represents non-ceasing. Countless kalpas ago, Many Treasures Buddha attained Buddhahood and entered Parinirvana. This shows how our Buddha-nature is everlasting and non-ceasing.
Emerging represents the negation of ceasing. Sharing the seat represents the negation of arising. Entering the stupa represents the negation of externalism. The stupa appearing represents the negation of nihilism. The multiple manifestations represent the negation of oneness. The entire body represents the negation of difference. Many Treasures yielding His seat represents the negation of coming. The Buddhas each sitting on half the seat represents the negation of going. These eight negations are all true. This is to “reveal the ultimate truth” as said earlier.
The emergence of the stupa of treasures represents the negation of ceasing. The act of sharing the seat represents the negation of arising. This is non-arising and non-ceasing. Because it is non-arising, it is something that we intrinsically possess. The true principles are like this; we are already replete with them. It is the same in the past and present. So, “The act of emerging represents the negation of ceasing. The act of sharing the seat represents the negation of arising”. Originally, it was only Many Treasures Buddha inside the stupa. Sakyamuni Buddha opened the door and went inside, and the two Buddhas shared the same seat. This demonstrates that there is no increasing or decreasing. The past and present Buddhas both shared the one same truth, so the truth was neither increasing nor decreasing. Thus, this is “the negation of arising.
The act of entering the stupa represents the negation o eternalism”. This does not happen all the time. Take us, for example. We all intrinsically possess our nature of True Suchness, but how many times a day are we actually able to realize our intrinsic nature of True Suchness? Don’t we all just fall back to living the ordinary life of ordinary beings? So, we must know that entering the stupa represents the negation of eternalism. This is because we are constantly losing ourselves. “The stupa appearing represents the negation of nihilism”. Although we do not often discover our intrinsic nature of True Suchness, our intrinsic nature of True Suchness is everlasting and unchanging. In this life and in every lifetime, we innately possesses it. This principle will always be there. The way to Buddhahood will always be there. Then, “The multiple manifestations represent the negation of oneness”. This is because the multiple manifestations represent not just one principle. When it comes to the principles, “One gives rise to infinity and infinity arises from one”. All phenomena throughout the world and the true principles of all things are all [contained within] a single true principle. Every single one of them is inseparable from the four elements. When [the elements] converge, they take form.
So, it is through the convergence of many elements that the principles can take on an appearance. When they do not converge at all, everything is empty. All these converging forms will, of course, ultimately disperse. The appearances of this world are all empty, but the principles are everlasting. So, this is what is meant by “the multiple manifestations represent the negation of oneness”. Things are always converging and separating. Separation is emptiness. Convergence means to become one. One gives rise to infinity, and infinity arises from one. The principles is the same.
Thus, “The entire body represents the negation of difference”. The entire body appeared with the stupa of treasures; the entire body of Many Treasure Buddha is still inside. The principle is the same. If we can unite with the principles, the Buddha of our nature of True Suchness will likewise become whole. However, afflictions and ignorance that we have accumulated lifetime after lifetime have covered up [our Buddha-nature]. Therefore, we must use lots of Dharma to wash away our afflictions. By using all kinds of Dharma, it all will converge to become one. We must be of one mind. Most of the time, our minds are very scattered, so we must now return to one mind. There are many teachings, but we must return them to one. We must return to this; this is the meaning of the entire body. “The entire body represents the negation of difference”.
No matter how many names and appearances or what school [of teaching] it is, they are all inseparable from “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions” and inseparable from precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. This is why we must be earnest, understand [the teachings] clearly and put them into practice. This is because “the entire body represents the negation of difference”.
“Many Treasures yielding His seat” represents the negation of coming. Where did the Many Treasure Buddha come from? He had been there since the beginning. He did not come from far away far away from the east. In fact, He is the same as our body; we are born with Him. So, “The Buddhas each sitting on half the seat represents the negation of going”. The Buddha of our intrinsic nature is always with us in our daily lives. In our daily lives, the Buddha of our intrinsic nature [lives] within us, eats, walks and sleeps with us. He does not go away. This is our intrinsic nature. Thus, “These eight negations are all true”. They are all true. There are eight “negations”. These eight [negations] are the negation of ceasing, negation of arising, negation of eternalism, negation of nihilism, negation of oneness, negation of difference, negation of coming and negation of going. There are eight negations in total. These “eight negations” are all true. This is the Dharma of True Suchness.
Therefore, as said earlier, [the eight negations] reveal the ultimate truth. The previous sutra passage also states that they “reveal the ultimate truth”. Indeed! This is the perfect teaching. So, “let us look at our previous sutra passage. We must listen to the Dharma mindfully. Once we have listened to it, we must mindfully seek to comprehend it and understand it on a deeper level. The appearances are very simple, just like a story; however, the story [contains] principles.
Let us look at the previous sutra passage. “At that time, everyone in the assembly…”. Everyone saw Many Treasures Tathagata in the stupa of treasures, “sitting upon a lion’s throne. His entire body was undivided as if He had entered Samadhi. Again, they heard Many Treasures Buddha say from the stupa, “Excellent, excellent! Sakyamuni Buddha, quickly teach this Louts Sutra. For the sake of hearing this sutra, I have come to this place”. He said, “in order to hear this Lotus Sutra, I have come to this place. Quickly teach the Dharma, for I have come especially for this”. When the past and present Buddhas met, they got straight to the point. “When I opened the door, I saw [Many Treasures] Buddha, and He then asked me to teach [the Lotus Sutra]”. This is [getting to the point]. As Buddhist practitioners, we should not only take [the Dharma] to heart, but if we have opportunity and time, we should also share the Dharma with everyone.
The next sutra passage continues, saying, “At that time, the fourfold assembly and the others saw this Buddha who had entered Nirvana countless trillions of kalpas in the past speak these words. They praised this as unprecedented”.
The fourfold assembly present saw this Buddha who had entered Nirvana countless trillions of kalpas in the past, Many Treasures Buddha, begin to speak. So, everyone praised this as unprecedented. Many Treasures Buddha started to speak, saying, “I am here to listen to the Lotus Sutra. Sakyamuni Buddha, please teach it right away”. His voice emanated like this. Everyone had seen him, so they exclaimed in admiration that this was truly wonderful. Everyone took the Dharma to heart [and thought], “This is what the Dharma is actually like! How amazing and wonderful!” The exclaimed in praise and made offerings, for those who had listened to the Dharma there had taken the Dharma to heart. They praised it joyfully. Being able to listen to such teachings, they gave rise to joy in their hearts and exclaimed in praise.
They made offerings of praise and admiration. The fourfold assembly there had already had already seen that Buddha’s body and again heard Him say in praise, “Excellent!” so they praised this as unprecedented. This proved all the more that this sutra is the wondrous Dharma-treasury of the perfect teachings of the One Vehicle. It is worthy of respect and faith, as well as being accepted and upheld as the causal practice of Bodhisattvas.
The fourfold assembly had already seen Many Treasures Buddha’s body and again heard Many Treasures Buddha’s voice exclaiming in praise. This is the voice of our heart. The voice of our heart praises this Dharma. We are very joyful as we listen to this Dharma, and we are filled with Dharma-joy. So, the voice of our heart also exclaims in praise. This affirms this sutra all the more. We also need to have faith in this sutra. Many Treasures Buddha exclaimed in praise to testily to the perfect wondrousness of this sutra, which is the “Dharma-treasury of the perfect teachings of the One Vehicle”. This sutra is worthy of our respect and faith and enable us to accept and uphold the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. Once we understand the Dharma, we must have more respect and faith, and be all the more determined to practice the Bodhisattva-path. We must uphold the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas must continuously actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions and be replete in both blessings and wisdom. These are Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. Since ancient times, we have had this non ceasing intrinsic nature; it is both non-arising and non-ceasing, carrying on throughout the ages. Our Buddha-nature converges with the Buddha-Dharma; True Suchness is one with the Buddha’s teaching, just like how the two Buddhas sat level with one another in the stupa. The principle is the same.
So, the next sutra passage continues, saying, “They gathered precious celestial flowers and scattered them upon Many Treasures Buddha and Sakyamuni Buddha.”
Everyone was joyful. Their hearts bloomed like flowers; they were very joyful. This shows we are full of Dharma-joy. This joy emerges endlessly. They expressed this by gathering celestial flowers and scattering them upon the stupa, Many Treasures Buddha and [Sakyamuni] Buddha. This stupa was so high. All the disciples of the fourfold assembly joyfully gathered these flowers and scattered them into the sky. This is an analogy. Our joy is like flowers blooming in our hearts. The Dharma-joy is like floating up into the sky, like floating in the sky and scattering flowers. “They gathered precious celestial flowers”. They gathered the most precious flowers. Because they saw Many Treasures Buddha, they joyfully expressed their utmost respect. Since we have the Buddha in our own hearts, we should also feel very joyful and should also respect ourselves. So, we often say that we must also respect ourselves. Respecting ourselves is looking after our own demeanor and character. This is what it means to respect ourselves.
So, “[They scattered them upon] Sakyamuni Buddha”. It was because Sakyamuni Buddha opened and revealed [the Dharma] that sentient beings awakened to and entered into [the Dharma] and were able to see Many Treasures Buddha. So, they scattered flowers to make offerings to Sakyamuni Buddha. If Sakyamuni Buddha did not open and reveal [the Dharma], how could we realize anything? How would we be able to enter into treasury of the Buddha-Dharma? Therefore, we must be very grateful for Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. “Sentient beings awakened to and entered into [the Dharma and were] able to see Many Treasures”. So, they scattered flowers to make offerings to Sakyamuni Buddha. This is how they expressed their respect.
Next, it states, “At that time, Many Treasures Buddha in the stupa of treasures share half of His seat with Sakyamuni Buddha, and said these words,” Sakyamuni Buddha may sit upon this seat.
Previously, upon seeing the Buddha open the stupa, Many Treasures Buddha opened His mouth and said, “Great! I am here to listen to the Lotus Sutra. Sakyamuni Buddha, teach the Lotus Sutra right away”. Next, “At that time” Many Treasures Buddha quickly yielded His seat and asked Sakyamuni Buddha to expound the Dharma right away. He had to sit down to expound the Dharma. By this time they saw that Many Treasures Buddha in the stupa had yielded half of His seat and asked Sakyamuni Buddha to sit down quickly and start teaching right away. This represents how, “in the Tathagata’s stupa, [two Buddhas] share the same seat.” In the Tathagata’s stupa, two Buddhas shared the same seat.
“The Dharmakayas of the Buddhas of the past and present are not two in number. This proves that Buddha-bodies are all equal”.
Whether it was Many Treasures Buddha or Sakyamuni Buddha, there are no two Dharmakayas; they both have the same Dharma-body. The Dharmakaya is the principles. All Buddhas share the same path. Thus, the “Dharmakayas [are] not two in number”. When Many Treasures Buddha attained Buddhahood, He had also relied on these principles to attain Buddhahood. It was just that Many Treasures Buddha lacked affinities; no one ever asked Many Treasures Buddha to open and reveal the perfect teaching of the Great Vehicle Dharma. Thus, He made this vow to go everywhere to listen to this sutra. This shows that we have yet to attain Buddhahood. Even though we have the intrinsic nature of True Suchness and listen to the Dharma, we have yet to learn the perfect teaching. We have not formed enough affinities with sentient beings yet, so we have not yet attained Buddhahood. We have the intrinsic nature of True Suchness, but we still need to practice. So, we must form aspirations and earnestly listen to the Buddha-Dharma. Many Treasures Buddha had this aspiration and vow “I want to listen to the Dharma again. Wherever the Lotus Sutra is taught, I will go there”. This was Many Treasures Buddha’s vow.
This shows that “In the Tathagata’s stupa, [two Buddhas] shared the same seat”. The Dharmakayas of the Buddhas of the past and present are not two in number. The past and present Buddhas share the same principles. “This proves that Buddha-bodies are all equal”. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. “At that time, Many Treasures Buddha in the stupa of treasures shared half of His seat with Sakyamuni Buddha”. Many Treasures Buddha shared His throne and asked Sakyamuni Buddha to sit, so Sakyamuni Buddha could sit down and earnestly expound the Dharma. Sakyamuni Buddha went to sit down. We must understand more about the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma is very profound, so we must be very meticulous. [When we compare] the modern world with the Buddha-Dharma of ancient times, what is the difference? The Buddha-Dharma from ancient times was taught by Sakyamuni Buddha in response to that time. He taught the Dharma according to the capabilities of the people of that era. Today, by the same principle, we also need to adapt to the present era and the minds of sentient beings, the perspectives of sentient beings and their way of life in the world. We must earnestly understand these things and then apply the Dharma to help others.
Thus, the Six Paramitas remain unchanged throughout the eras. This is because sentient beings have always been suffering. They need Bodhisattvas to transform and deliver them; this is why Bodhisattvas are in the world. The past and the present Buddhas share the same Dharmakaya. The past Dharma was the same, and the present Dharma is the same as well. The past and the present are one and the same. In the past, the suffering was endless. The world today is full of suffering as well with natural disasters and manmade calamities. Our modern lifestyle is different from the past. The population [of the world] today and in the past are completely different. Our way of life has undergone so many changes; it has been over 2000 years [since then]. Therefore, now, we must adapt to modern times. Right now, the climate is not in harmony. Modern people’s attitude toward nature is to constantly use science to prove its wonders. [These findings] converge more and more with the Buddha-Dharma. What kind of state is our natural world in? We are destroying this earth. Why is there “formation, existence and decay?” Do sentient beings have collective karma? Some people say that sentient beings create their own individual karma. This is not wrong; every individual creates their own individual karma. However, since every individual creates the same karma, there will be collective karma. Everyone carries the very heavy karma of killing. This is because everyone has the craving for taste. Although they may not kill with their own hands, they kill indirectly. The more and more people there are, the greater the craving for taste; people desire more and more. So now they have to raise animals. These animals are raised with great cruelty. It is not natural. People kill [these animals] in order to satisfy such a large population’s craving for taste.
But in reality, do we have to eat meat to survive? No; this is not so! We can see that the Buddha-nature is equal in all. In Indonesia, there is a 10-year-old child named Vincent Fransidy. He is just 10 years old. One day, he attended a prayer service with his parents. At the prayer service, he saw the news that before a cow is killed, the poor cows were forced to drink water; they were very pitiful. The child saw at the prayer service how people slaughter the animals. This child began to make a vow to become a vegetarian. When he was asked why, he said, “Because I love my home. I want to protect my home. This earth is also my home. The world is my family. In order to protect my family and my home. I want to adopt a vegetarian diet”. From then on, he became serious about environmental protection. He stopped buying [bottled] water. He started bring his own bottle from home, bringing his own water to school and so on. Then, one day, our commissioners, in a lecture for Tzu Chi volunteers, invited this child to attend and asked this child to personally testify to his experience with a vegetarian diet. His whole family stood on stage, and the child began talking. Everyone was so moved by him. Upon seeing a cow being forced to drink water and experiencing so much suffering, He put himself in [the animal’s] position. He started to understand the importance of not eating meat and started to do recycling. Everyone was moved. His brother who stood beside him also said, “I also became a vegetarian.” They asked him, “Why did you also become a vegetarian?” He said, “Because I saw my younger brother do it. If he can do it, why can’t I? So, I have done the same for more than two years. Just like my brother, I am also a vegetarian.” So, his whole family became vegetarian. Such a small child can influence an entire family! He understood how the sentient beings that were killed felt wronged, felt hatred at this injustice and their suffering. He realized all this, so he [adopted] a vegetarian diet. Thinking about it, we must [follow his example]!
There was another family in which the younger sister saw her mother become a vegetarian. She became a vegetarian just like her mother had. When her brother saw that his sister could do it and that his mother worked so hard and still kept her vegetarian diet, he also became a vegetarian. He also shared [his experience]. They asked about his experience as a vegetarian. He said, “I feel much lighter. I can wake up very early in the morning. I don’t even have any body odor. I always smell very pleasant, with no body odor.” This was how children became vegetarians, influenced their families and shared their experience with others.
Think about it; aren’t all sentient beings equal in nature? Everyone has Buddha-nature, so the past and the present Buddhas are the same. Thus, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this. We must apply the Dharma to our daily lives. We must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
