Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Past Buddha Never Forgot His Original Vow (古佛入滅 本願不忘)
Date: March.07.2018
“He called on those present nearby entrusting them to long remain within this Saha World to spread the wondrous Dharma here. He called on those far away, entrusting the disciples living in this land, the Bodhisattvas as numerous as dust particles in the realms below, to spread the Dharma wherever they go for the sake of this majestic, wondrous Dharma which transcends speech and is unfathomable.”
Please be mindful! We all need to heighten our focus. We must be mindful! Time is always passing us by. Our life disappears with the fading of time. Come, let us lift our heads up high! As we read these words, we need to contemplate the meaning of the Dharma. Everyone, please be mindful!
With this sutra passage, ever since the beginning of the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, we have been coming to realize and comprehend how we all clearly possess the Buddha-nature, and we are all undoubtedly close to the Dharma. The Dharma, our true body, our original essence, is intrinsic to everyone. The Buddha, with earnest words and a kind heart, patiently teaches [sentient beings] according to our capacities. However, we sentient beings keep wallowing in delusion, unable to awaken. We are still stuck in our old ways. By being so stubborn, who do we end up hurting? Ourselves. We continue to sink down. As time passes by in vain, karmic forces continually accumulate and our lives continue to fade away. “Like fish in a dwindling pond, what joy have we?” No one knows how much water this fish still has left. “With each passing day, [we draw closer to death].” How much time do we have in our life? [Sentient beings] continue to sink down, unable to wake up. This is truly lamentable. Now
the Buddha began to pass down [the Dharma] and entrust it [to others]. That He had begun to pass it down meant that He did not have much time left. However, sentient beings were the same as always. They had supposedly formed great aspirations, but they still were very far away from their own nature of True Suchness. The Buddha had no other choice but to “call on those present nearby, entrusting them to long remain within this Saha World to spread the wondrous Dharma here.”
Yesterday, we discussed something similar. So why are we repeating ourselves today? I still need to remind everyone that time will never stop, and our lives will continue to fade away. We need to make the most of our time and circumstances. We have such a wonderful environment here; we need to cherish it. We do not have much time left. It is so precious, so we must make the most of it. While we still have our health, while our minds are still clear, we should work hard to embrace [the Dharma]. The word “nearby” here represents how our nearby surroundings are so full of suitable times, spaces and conditions. We should have a better understanding of the meaning of “entrust” here. How did [the Buddha] turn over [the Dharma] to us? What is the meaning of this? The Buddha did not have much time left. So He hoped that we will “long remain within this Saha World to spread the wondrous Dharma here.” He hoped that we will form aspirations and willingly come to the Saha World again. Although we do not know how much time we have left in this life, we must remain in this world. We need to have this love, our awakened love. Since it was in this world that the Buddha attained Buddhahood, His vow was to transform sentient beings in this world. In this world, the human lifespan can only be so long. So, as always, the Buddha comes and goes, returning on the ship of compassion, hoping to carry on this karmic affinity so that it may be sustained. He hoped that people today will form aspirations. Unenlightened beings who do not form great aspirations will remain unaware of their future and direction, pulled to this world by the forces of karma. The forces of karma have pulled us to this world, so why don’t we form great aspirations right now? Why don’t we hurry up and elevate our spirit and ideals to put them into action? He hoped that we will “long remain within this Saha World to spread the wondrous Dharma here.” In this lifetime and our subsequent lifetimes, we need to make this vow because sentient beings in the Saha World are still sinking. They have yet to awaken. Therefore, we must have awakened love; we must form great aspirations and quickly awaken. For the sake of this Saha World, we must spread our great love and extend our compassion. We do not know how much time we have left on life, but we still need to form aspirations, make vows, and establish a mindset where we will never forget to come to this land, the Saha World, to come and spread this wondrous Dharma. We should have this kind of mindset. This was the Buddha’s sincere hope for His disciples at the assembly; He entrusted [the Dharma] to them like this. “He called on those who were far away, entrusting the disciples living in this land, the Bodhisattvas as numerous as dust particles in the realms below…”. Not only do we need to promptly form aspirations to spread the Dharma in this life; [we must do so] even in the future. “Far away” means that in the future, we still need to do the same. People today must form this kind of aspiration for the future. We should also not limit ourselves to our current domain; we must have the spirit of spreading the wondrous Dharma even more universally, spreading it wider and wider. This was the Buddha’s conception of time and space. This was all a remainder to His disciples at the assembly, those who were “present”. Here, “present” is like the people who are in front of me right now. They are those who are “present”. Those who are present while I speak, who hear and understand the teachings, must form this aspiration. They must promptly remind themselves to form aspirations and make great vows. He declared these thoughts to everyone so they would earnestly spread the wondrous Dharma. It was not just in this present [life]; “Bodhisattvas as numerous as dust particles in the realms below” means lifetime after lifetime in the future. We must not remain within our own domain alone, but go to sentient beings far and wide. We should all have this mindset. These are the “Bodhisattvas numerous as dust particles in the realms below.” This is because all sentient beings intrinsically possess the Buddha-nature. Everyone has this original essence, our true nature, our nature of True Suchness. Thus, [He entrusted the Bodhisattvas] “to spread the Dharma wherever they go for the sake of this majestic, wondrous Dharma” which transcends speech and is unfathomable. The Dharma is so profound! The Dharma is unsurpassed! It is as supreme as a majestic mountain summit, as high-reaching as the tallest peak. This Dharma is the wondrous Dharma of supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment. [The Buddha] hopes we will take this as our goal, “spreading the Dharma wherever [we] go”. All the places we have set foot, all the places we have reached and all the people we have met, these people, matters and objects, all serve to awaken our Dharma-nature in the fields of our minds. This Dharma encompasses the universe. All things are Dharma for us to awaken to. Thus, “this majestic, wondrous Dharma transcends speech and is unfathomable”. We need to be very reverent toward the Dharma the Buddha awakened to and taught. We cannot say “The Dharma we discuss every day is more or less the same”. What is “more or less the same” for you is my “majestic, wondrous Dharma”. It is the pinnacle. While people may feel the Dharma is “more or less the same,” my feeling toward the Buddha-Dharma is that it is supreme and unsurpassed. From my experience, it is like a bottomless [ocean]. This is how deeply profound the Dharma is. Unfortunately, I am not capable of presenting the teachings so that everyone can understand clearly. Although they listen to my teachings, they feel they are nothing special, that they are repetitive. I hope everyone will not look down on the teachings because I cannot express them clearly, or think that the Dharma is nothing special. No, this is because there is no way to express it. “This majestic, wondrous Dharma” truly transcends language. It cannot be described in a way that will enable everyone to take it to heart and contemplate it thoroughly. Sadly, I can do nothing about this.
Therefore, everyone’s mind is still a bit distant from [the Dharma]. However, I am really grateful to everyone for listening to the Dharma and being willing to accept it and put it into practice in their daily lives. This is why I always express my gratitude. Can we not be content in life? There are so many people willing to help others, so I always feel so grateful. Unfortunately, I have not thoroughly penetrated the Four Unobstructed Wisdoms. I do not have the unobstructed eloquence that enables everyone to completely understand the Dharma, awaken and be more diligent when it comes to the Dharma. We are all following the Bodhisattva-practice. Of course, I am grateful of that. I hope everyone can understand a little better so once they come in contact with the Dharma, they can thoroughly understand the principles. If they can thoroughly understand it, that would be even better, and I will feel more at ease. I believe that in the Buddha’s heart, toward His disciples, He also had this kind of hope and expectation. This passage is deeply relatable.
This ancient Buddha had already entered Parinirvana, yet He never forgot His original vow. For the sake of the Dharma, His stupa would emerge in all places so He could listen to and affirm the sutra. As for all of us, though we are able to hear the sutra’s teachings, we have not yet attained realizations. Why are we still unwilling to make great vows?
“The ancient Buddha had already entered Parinirvana, yet He never forgot His original vow. For the sake of the Dharma, His stupa would emerge in all places so He could listen to and affirm the sutra”. The stupa of treasures appeared. Inside the stupa of treasures was Many Treasures Buddha, the ancient Buddha. In each person there is a stupa on Vulture Peak. Our nature of True Suchness is all the same. Since ancient times, it has neither arisen nor ceased. Since dust-inked kalpas ago, it has always been like this; it has always been innate to us. During the age of Great Unhindered Superior Wisdom Buddha, the 16 princes listened to the sutra and comprehended it, then taught the Lotus Sutra to others. Those who had the karmic affinities then followed the 16 princes to listen to the sutra. This is most likely not something [we gained] dust-inked kalpas ago, as mentioned in the Lotus Sutra; we all must have had this mindset from even earlier than dust-inked kalpas ago; it must be inherent to us. We must have faith in this. We must have faith that inside all our minds is an ancient Buddha who returns to the world with us. However, because we constantly produce ignorance and afflictions, we have concealed Him and buried Him more deeply and darkly within us. And so, this ancient Buddha still remains tightly locked up. He is intrinsic to all of us, but even His stupa of treasures is buried deeply in the bottomless depths of our minds. It is so rare to be able to hear the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha clearly expounded the Lotus Sutra. In the Nine Divisions of Teachings and the 12 Divisions [of the Tripitaka], by using all kinds of analogies and teachings, the Buddha utilized all possible methods to awaken us. He helped us understand suffering and that its oppressiveness is like being in a burning house. Sentient beings are still lost inside. We are just like that. Our hearts are still inside the burning house. The ground of our minds is still full of foxes, wolves and jackals. The ground of our minds is full of fierce beats. Have we excelled these foxes, wolves and jackals? In the house of our hearts, have we extinguished the fires? Have we put out its cinders? Only we will be able to know this for ourselves. The Buddha taught many methods of bringing purity to the ground of our minds. In order to let the stupa of treasures appear, He had to “thrice transform the pure land”. Then the Buddha’s multiple manifestations gathered together. He had already given the three cycles of teachings, and when the stupa of treasures appeared, in order to help everyone understand. Many Treasures Buddha, He had to thrice transform the pure lands. Think about it. Have we cleaned our burning house? As for our foxes, wolves and jackals, these fierce and deranged beats, have we gotten rid of them? Most likely not. Thus, we need to thrice transform the pure land. We must transform [our hearts] into pure lands to contain the Dharma so it may return to its place. This is all about the Dharma. Only in this way will we be able to open the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha. See, isn’t this how the Buddha used all kinds of phenomena, appearances and matters to open our minds to understand the principles? We need to be very mindful.
Thus, “The ancient Buddha had already entered Parinirvana, yet He never forgot His original vow”. In our past, although our nature of True Suchness has been part of us for such a long time, it has always been completely concealed. This is as if it has entered Parinirvana, where it no longer transforms sentient beings, nor appears or demonstrates its use. However, [Many Treasures Buddha] did not forget about His original vow; this [represents] our nature of True Suchness. When it comes to the power of vows, so long as we can make great aspirations and vows, if we can give rise to the Four Great Vows, then, for the sake of the Dharma, naturally this stupa will emerge in all places. This stupa of treasures will constantly emerge. As long as we bring purity to our minds, as long as we can strengthen our power of vows, naturally, “for the sake of the Dharma, [this] stupa will emerge everywhere”. So we can “listen to and affirm the sutra”. We need to act on this to take the Dharma to heart. After we do this, we will truly be able to comprehend the Dharma and [realize that] helping others actually brings us such joy; it is such a joyful thing. Being willing to help others is not a difficult thing to do. It is not difficult. It is only that we are indolent and deluded. Thus, the Buddha sighed with regret. He used the ancient Buddha as an analogy. The ancient Buddha will always come for the sake of the Dharma and to listen to the sutra. Now, at this moment, “all of us”, everyone here, though we are able to listen to the Louts Sutra, have not yet attained realization. Although we all listen to the sutra, listening is just listening. We still have not attained any realization. Why not? It is because we are unwilling. “We are still unwilling to make great vows”. We are all like this. But the ancient Buddha did not forget about His original vow. Still, when we, as unenlightened beings, listen to the sutra, we listen like this, but we are still unable to comprehend it. We are still unable to comprehend it. This is because we are unwilling to make vows if we are unwilling to make vows, how can we possibly comprehend [the Dharma]? We do good deeds because “helping others is the root of happiness”. In order to be happy, we need to help others. If we are unwilling to do so, then how will we be able to attain happiness? So, “Why?” Why is this? Why are we still unwilling to make vows? Why are we still unwilling to make great vows? This is what we need to be asking ourselves.
[The Buddha] used the coming of Many Treasures to encourage the assembly of that time to diligently practice and learn this. Great Dharma of the One Vehicle. This indicates that our power of vows must extend everywhere. The causal practice Bodhisattvas leads directly to the fruit of Buddhahood.
So, He “used the coming of Many Treasures”. Because Many Treasures Buddha had come, the Buddha used the coming of Many Treasures to encourage people in that era. I am also hoping for the same. I also hope that we can use Many Treasures Buddha, the Buddha-nature we all intrinsically possess, to encourage us all to escape the burning house. We need to work hard [to rid] our hearts of foxes, wolves and jackals; all our afflictions and ignorance need to be quickly eliminated. We must “diligently practice and learn this Great Dharma of the One Vehicle”.
After we listen to this sutra passage, we should be more mindful and seek to diligently practice and learn. We must make vows. We must be diligent and practice. We must earnestly practice. This clearly indicates that “our power of vows must extend everywhere. The causal practice of Bodhisattvas leads directly to the fruit of Buddhahood”. We should form aspirations and make vows. Everywhere, every single place, is a place where we can put our vows into practice. Everywhere is our spiritual training ground. We must continue to form aspirations and make vows until we attain the fruit of Buddhahood, so everyone, please be mindful!
As time passes, my heart grows heavy and anxious. I really hope everyone can use this sutra passage to inspire themselves. This is hard to describe with words. I lament that I am not capable enough to help everyone truly understand, so everyone must work hard to be mindful.
The previous sutra passage states, “Now is the time”. At this time, we have listened to the Dharma up to this point. Now, we must work hard to be mindful. “The Tathagata will soon enter Parinirvana”. Because the Tathagata did not have much time left and would soon enter Parinirvana, “The Buddha wanted to entrust this Wondrous Lotus Sutra to those present”.
Sakyamuni Buddha, with His heart of compassion, was very saddened. He did not have much time left to teach the Dharma. Everyone needs to immediately awaken. We must become awakened sentient beings. The Buddha has paved the road for us all the way to here. We need to follow this great, direct Bodhi-path. The causal practice of Bodhisatvas leads directly to the fruit of Buddhahood. Thus we must have awakened love. I hope everyone can be mindful. As the Buddha earnestly reminds us, we need to put effort into beings mindful and faithfully accept and practice His teachings.
Next, the sutra passage says, “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke this verse, ‘The Noble Lord, the World-Honored One, despite having entered Parinirvana long ago, within His stupa of treasures, still comes for the sake of the Dharma. Why then are people not diligent with respect to the Dharma?’”
Indeed, why can’t everyone be diligent with respect to the Dharma? Even Many Treasures Buddha, the Noble Lord, the World-Honored One, who entered Parinirvana long ago, had come. While we are here in this place, why are we unable to form aspirations as we listen to the sutra? This sutra passage tells us that Many Treasures Tathagata made a special trip here for the sake of the sutra and to clarify the perfect teachings of the wondrous Dharma. He came to affirm that Sakyamuni Buddha was now teaching the perfect teachings of the wondrous Dharma for sentient beings. So, [Sakyamuni told] Many Treasures Buddha’s [story] to encourage the fourfold assembly to seek the Dharma. This sutra passage uses Many Treasures Buddha’s story to encourage everyone in the fourfold assembly to diligently seek the Dharma and “uphold the causal practice of Bodhisattvas, which leads directly to the fruit of Buddhahood”. The Buddha really put His heartfelt effort into this. Thus, “the Great Noble Dharma –king, the World-Honored One of myriad virtues, had crossed into cessation long ago; He had entered Parinirvana. This refers to Many Treasures Tathagata, who was honored by all noble beings despite having entered Parinirvan long ago”. Although we all intrinsically possess the Buddha-nature, we have covered it up. If we can practice diligently, one day, we will also attain enlightenment. We will also become those who are honored by all noble beings. The ancient Buddha came to awaken [us] future Buddhas who have yet to awaken, to teach us that all phenomena arise from the mind.
“The Noble Lord, the World-Honored One” refer to Many Treasures Tathagata, who was honored by all noble beings: All phenomena arise from the mind, so He is the Honored One of all phenomena. The mind is the king of all phenomena. Thus, He is called the mind-king.
Actually, all phenomena arise from the mind. With all phenomena across the entire universe, it is only through our minds that we have a way to realize the true principles underlying all things. Everything arises from the mind. So, He is the Honored One of all phenomena. The mind is the king of all phenomena, so, He is called the “mind-king”. “The mind-king” is the king in everybody’s mind, as well as the Honored Noble One, the Noble Lord, the World-Honored One. We all intrinsically have a mind-king in the world of our own mind.
Within His stupa of treasures, He still comes for the sake of the Dharma: Many Treasures Buddha, within His wondrous stupa of Seven Treasures, for the sake of hearing the Dharma, still came from far away, from the Land of Treasure Purity.
While Many Treasures Buddha was inside His stupa of treasures, “He still came for the sake of the Dharma”. The Buddha used this phenomenon to inspire us, hoping [to awaken] us to our long-lost nature of True Suchness, which, enshrouded by ignorance, has sunken into a deep place [inside us]. It is just that we are lost in external conditions. As for our nature of True Suchness deep inside us, the Buddha gradually opens and reveals it to us. Therefore, “Many Treasures Buddha, within His wondrous stupa of Seven Treasures, still came for the sake of the Dharma”. [The stupa of treasures] has been opened. Our nature of True Suchness must also manifest its appearance, and we must understand it. When we listen to the Dharma, we must take it to heart. If it has inspired our nature of True Suchness, naturally we will listen very mindfully. This is because our nature of True Suchness resonates with these principles. Thus, “For the sake of hearing the Dharma, [He] still came from far away, from the Land of Treasure Purity”. Where did Many Treasures Buddha live? The Land of Treasure Purity in the east. The sun rises from the east. The nature of true Suchness in all of our hearts is radiant. Thus coming from the east means we must also awaken this radiance in the ground of our minds.
So, “Why then are people not diligent with respect to the Dharma?” Why can’t everyone be earnest and practice diligently? When it comes to our behavior in our daily lives, why can’t we eliminate our habitual tendencies? We have such bad habitual tendencies, so we are unable to open the door to our hearts. They are very toxic to us. We still have yet to take the wondrous medicine, so we are intoxicated by these poisons. These are our habitual tendencies. Our habitual tendencies cause to us to constantly be dazed, as if we cannot wake up. We still cannot change our habitual tendencies. From this, we are able to see that this kind of person is a typical unenlightened sentient being who has not accepted the Dharma at all. We need to be very mindful of this. Why can’t we be diligent with respect to the Dharma; do we want to spend our lives lost in confusion like this? Thus, we should practice diligently. This is why the Buddha had high hopes for us. As the sutra says, “Why are you all unable to be diligent?” Why can’t we all [do this]? Therefore, we need to diligently seek the Great Dharma. So, “Why are they not diligent with respect to the Dharma?” Why are we not diligent with respect to the Dharma? We must be a little more earnest! Let us [get rid of] these bad habits, these afflictive habitual tendencies, as well as our own ignorance. Why are we unwilling to eliminate our ignorance so as not to give afflictions to others? In our interpersonal relationships, we still keep creating afflictions and ignorance. Isn’t this a pitiful way to spend a lifetime? Time keeps passing us by; how much time is left for us to diligently engage in spiritual practice? How much time is left for us? How much Dharma is left for us to listen to? If we only listen without using it in our lives, we might as well not have listened at all. We let the Dharma leak out to such a severe extent precisely due to our habitual tendencies. Therefore, I hope everyone can be mindful.
“Why are they not diligent with respect to the Dharma? This means that although the ancient Buddha had already realized this Dharma and entered Parinirvana, He never forget His original vow and still came for the sake of the Dharma”.
Since He was an ancient Buddha, He had already realized the Dharma. The Many Treasures Buddha [inside of us] should be very clear and radiant. However, we are the same as always. We still spend this lifetime lost in delusion. If Many Treasures Buddha does not emerge, we will remain lost. Thus, it is time for Many Treasures Buddha to emerge. So, He entered Parinirvana, but He did not forget His original vow. As always, His aspiration still remained. We all understand the principles; our nature of True Suchness is the source of the Dharma. With our nature of True Suchness, we all intrinsically posses the source of the Dharma. Everyone possesses the Dharma. Thus, everyone has realized this Dharma. Because of our nature of True Suchness, the principles are intrinsic to us. This is because everyone intrinsically has this. However, we have not gotten it to emerge. This is why [the Buddha] hoped everyone can put effort into being mindful. By using the emergence of the stupa of treasures, the Buddha has been continuously inspiring us deep in our hearts. We need to immediately awaken our nature of True Suchness deep within our hearts and never forget our original vow. We understand these principles very clearly. So, speaking of the power of vows, dust-inked kalpas ago, we formed affinities with the 16 princes. Now Sakyamuni Buddha came to the world. In our current age in particular, the Buddha came to this world 2000 years ago. Perhaps we were also there at that time. Dust-inked kalpas ago, we also must have been there at that period. It is only because we have these karmic affinities that we are able to keep listening to the Dharma, lifetime after lifetime.
Now, we are also journeying upon our karmic affinities to listen to the Dharma again. We have these affinities. However, even though we have the karmic affinities to listen to the Dharma again, we simply refuse to awaken and continue to sink deeper all the same. Therefore, lifetime after lifetime, we still have no control over our own lives. Can’t we [recall] that time, dust-inked kalpas ago, when the 16 princes taught the sutra? We need to make vows. We must never forget our original vow. For the sake of the Dharma, we must make our great vow once again. Shouldn’t we do this? This requires us to be very mindful.
So, [where it says] “you all,” this sutra passage refers to every one of us. When the Buddha says ”you all” in the sutra, we also need to understand that. “Though we are able to hear the sutra, we have not yet attained any realization.” Although we are listening to the sutra like this, we have not truly attained awakening. Why not? “We are unwilling to make great vows.” Why is that? So, “He used the coming of Many Treasures Buddha” to encourage us. He used Many Treasures Buddha coming to bear witness to this. Sakyamuni Buddha Himself, who was the 16th prince dust-inked kalpas ago, also returned here, journeying upon His vows. Sakyamuni Buddha also had the same intent. Many Treasures Buddha was the ancient Buddha. Actually, we are also the same. We always say, “The mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different [in nature].” The Buddha did not just attain enlightenment 2000 years ago. He had already attained enlightenment infinite kalpas before then. Just for the sake of sentient beings, He still came lifetime after lifetime to transform and deliver them. This was the same ancient Buddha inside His heart. Since Beginningless Time, the ancient Buddha was in His heart. The two Buddhas of the past and present entered the stupa and shared one seat, at the same level. Isn’t this the case?
The one and the many do not hinder each other. The principle is still the same. It does not matter whether Many Treasures Buddha came from far or near. We are all the same; we all intrinsically possess the Buddha-nature. The principle is still the same. The Buddha used the appearance of Many Treasures Buddha to encourage us sentient beings in later generations. This “assembly at this time” is not just people during the age of the Buddha, but also those in future ages, when the Lotus sutra will be taught; they will all read this sutra passage just the same. The purpose of this sutra passage is to encourage us. Thus it says “to encourage the assembly of that time.” For sentient beings of any era, the Buddha will always use the story of the ancient Buddha to encourage them. He does this to tell us that we all intrinsically possess the Buddha-nature. We all have this ancient Buddha inside us. Both past and present Buddhas at the same time are within this stupa on Vulture Peak, the stupa of Seven Treasures on Vulture Peak. The Buddha was so earnest about this. We call each other “Bodhisattvas” because we have walked upon this path, every inch of which was paved with love. This path was paved by the sutras. “The sutras are a path.” This is how this road was paved. This is like how for us, it has been 50 years now [since Tzu Chi was established]. During the Buddha’s time more than 2000 years ago, He taught us to practice the Bodhisattva-path. Now, more than 2000 years later, the Bodhisattva-path is still here. As long as this sutra appears in the world, we will discover this sutra’s meanings and read, recite and uphold this sutra together. The Chapter on Dharma Teachers clearly states that we need to recite, uphold, transcribe and teach [the sutra], comprehend the contents of this sutra and put them into practice. As for us right now, we have been putting it into practice for 50 years. We have always been walking the Bodhisattva-path. Everyone, whether they have been walking along this path together for 50 years or [joined later] and began to follow this path, we pave it as we walk forward. We pave the path we walk, one segment after the other. This will make for a very long road in the future. Bodhisattvas must always continue on and keep paving this path. We also need to have awakened love. After listening to the sutra, we need to experience it and attain deep awakening. We must awaken ourselves and awaken others. When it comes to interpersonal relationships, we need to have this kind of compassion. We need to extend the path of our compassion, spreading it further and further.
Thus, “seeking the path to Buddhahood” is seeking awakened love. Thus we must “transform sentient beings” by eliminating their suffering. We must strive to do this always. Please, everyone, let us always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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