Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Upholding this Sutra is Upholding the Dharmakaya (能持此經 則持佛身)
Date: March.30.2018
This morning, while listening to everyone during the morning recitation, something seemed a little different. Only after I began listening did I realize that today is the 30th day of the ninth month of the lunar year, which is the birthday of Medicine Buddha.
It’s true! When it comes to Medicine Buddha and the Medicine Buddha Sutra, there was also a period of time, looking back, more than 30 years ago, that I taught that sutra. It was after many starts and stops that I finally finished the Medicine Buddha Sutra. So, today is Medicine Buddha’s birthday. This morning when I heard you all from outside as you were praising Medicine Buddha in verse, I felt very moved!
Really! Every day we should feel moved. Every day we should be grateful; grateful to Sakyamuni Buddha who, while He was in the Saha World, told of the spirit and philosophy of Medicine Buddha from the land of [Pure] Crystal in the east. This was one Buddha praising another Buddha, letting us sentient beings of the Saha World understand even further that all Buddhas share the same path and all Buddhas come for the sake of sentient beings.
It is true! The deliverance of sentient beings is the objective of the Buddha. So, the Buddha, and every Buddha, makes the Four Great Vows, wanting to completely deliver every sentient beings. So, they “vow to deliver countless sentient beings, vow to eliminate endless afflictions, vow to learn the infinite Dharma-doors,” and “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” These are the Four Great Vows, the fundamental great vows of every Buddha. Whenever They have the opportunity, whenever causes and conditions permit, Buddhas will be sure to deliver sentient beings. So, we should be very mindful.
However mindful we may be, the Buddha is certain to be even more mindful. So, when it comes to His Dharma, we should do our best to take it in. The Lotus Sutra is the Dharma that the Buddha taught in the Saha World, so we must be mindful in experiencing it. This is how sentient beings of the Saha World take in the Buddha’s spirit and philosophy. This is how the Dharma is transmitted in the Saha World, so this requires us to mindfully seek to comprehend.
Now, let us start to discuss the sutra. “Our minds must be focused and never retreat as we diligently practice the teachings of the path. This is what it means to advance diligently. We must correct ourselves inwardly and outwardly with the Threefold Combined Precepts. This is what it means to uphold the precepts. When we are liberated, pure and free of defilements, we will successfully nourish our wisdom-body, readily attain the Buddhahood of our intrinsic nature and illuminate the virtues of the supreme path of goodness.”
Be mindful! “Our minds must be focused and never retreat as we diligently practice the teachings of the path.” Being focused is being diligent. We must be mindful and diligent, focused and not distracted, advancing and not retreating. Having listened to the sutra for so long, if we are diligent every day, always mindful, we can be said to be diligent. Being diligent means that we never retreat in our earnest practice of the path. We should be very diligent upon this spiritual path that we practice.
As for the Dharma, this is what the Buddha continually taught us for more than 40 years. He taught both existence and emptiness. With all these principles, the Buddha is telling us now that these past teachings were skillful means. It’s true, these were teachings of skillful means, but He had to establish these teachings of skillful means so we could have a way to thoroughly penetrate the great Dharma of the One Vehicle, the perfect and wondrous ultimate reality. So, without these in the past, where would we be now in the present? Thus, being diligent means that our minds are focused and never retreat as we diligently practice the teachings of the path.
These teachings of the path must be continually practiced from the very start without ever retreating. This is the diligent practice of the teachings of the path. If we can do this, then this is diligence. By being diligent like this, we go from being Hearers to Solitary Realizers, then turn from the Solitary Realizer principles to benefitting ourselves as well as others; we benefit others as well. We form great aspirations of the Six Paramitas, actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. As for actualizing the Paramitas in all actions, in fact, from the beginning the Buddha’s teachings never strayed from actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. It was just that He had been teaching the Dharma according to people’s capabilities up until then. Still, the Six Paramitas had always been included in His methods for practicing the path. The Six Paramitas were always in His teachings. Having made it thus far, the Buddha was now saying that, in regard to the past, everything up until now had been skillful means. Though the past teachings had been skillful means, this essence of actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions was brought together, and all of this is found inside the Lotus Sutra.
In practicing the Six Paramitas, the Four Great Vows are the foundation. A vow has power; a vow must be made. “I am making a vow. I vow that I will definitely be like this, focused and not distracted, advanced and not retreating, earnest and diligent upon this path, not just in this lifetime, but in each and every lifetime.” This is diligence. This diligence is both external and internal; we cultivate it inwardly, while practicing it outwardly. Internally, we must not let our thoughts depart from the teachings of the path, nor depart from the wondrous Dharma, from wondrous existence in true emptiness, true emptiness in wondrous existence.
For example Professor Mao came here yesterday afternoon to chat. The last time he came I told him, “You studied astronomy; I wish to understand the entire universe. I would like it if you gave me a secret code to the universe.” This is what I said to him. He replied, “A secret code to the universe?” I asked him, “Would that be difficult?” He told me, “No, no, no, but I must go home and put some effort into it.” He went home and put two full months into it. He told me he had referenced a great many books. Yesterday when he came, he straightaway handed me a book on astronomy, then began telling me, “I worked hard during this time and I have come to hand in my homework. Here is a secret code to the universe, to astronomy.” It is true; when it comes to all things in the universe, many scientists have, one after the other, been chipping away at it, investigating these mysteries of the universe. In fact, during the last 100 years, they have been getting ever closer. Beginning with Einstein, they have been getting ever closer as they investigate the mysteries of the universe.
It is true! With these vast and boundless principles, people will truly feel a profound sense of wonder. As he related to me the progress one scientist he reached in his research. I began thinking, “This is exactly what the Buddha taught!” The Buddha taught this more than 2000 years ago, and the underlying meaning was also right here! His teachings on everything in the universe, of all things in the world, were exactly like this. This was wondrous existence in true emptiness, true emptiness in wondrous existence. Whatever kind of material thing it is, it will always contains its own Dharma. The Dharma cannot be seen nor touched. It is formless, without substance or appearance, however it is replete with the true principles, which come together to for material things. The celestial bodies are also like this. When we think now about the essence and appearance of all these celestial bodies in the universe, what are they really like? Some say they are round, some say they are uneven, while others say they are flat and so forth. As far as astronomy is concerned, there are still so many things that need to be researched. Yet, the Buddha, in His time, summed everything up so succinctly. These teachings can help us to be mindful. By accepting them now, we can experience how everything is in the span of a single thought. We simply must be mindful in accepting them. When it comes to this energy they talk about, which exists within space and celestial bodies, they are still doing research.
So many things, so many mysteries they cannot yet understand, were already selflessly taught by the Buddha. A few days ago, we were talking about the appearance of the stupa of treasures, how the Buddha, by lightly touching it with His finger, thereby opened the stupa of treasure’s door and how Many Treasures Buddha’s entire body was inside. Many Treasures Buddha yielded half His seat to Sakyamuni Buddha, Sakyamuni entered and the two Buddhas sat together inside the stupa. During this process, the Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, had already gathered together. His multiple manifestations, so everywhere was filled with wondrously profound principles. To put it more clearly, these were the teachings, the energy of the Dharmakaya.
The true principles expounded by the Buddha are mindfully accepted by us individuals and engraved upon our hearts. When the Dharma is engraved in our hearts, we can adapt it to the time and conditions in order to exercise its abilities so that others can accept the Dharma. In the way we relate to other people, we can respond to sentient begins’ suffering and manifest or ability to save others. The Buddha had the power of vows, vowing “to deliver countless sentient begins.” To deliver sentient begins, one must first rescue them from their suffering. “Having relieved them from suffering, they then expound the Dharma for them.” This what is says in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. This is what happens when we accept the Dharma and take it to heart. This is called internal cultivation. Engraving the Dharma upon our hearts is internal cultivation.
With the Dharma engraved in our heart and put into action in our physical conduct, we become role models; we can act to show others. We can then call on even more people to join together with us in this energy. This energy that comes is similarly an energy of the mind, from everyone unifying their hearts. We often say that the mind can pervade the trichiliocosm. In one thought we can reach teachings as numerous as the sands of the Granges River. The Dharma can enter everyone’s heart; this just depends on our minds, on our reverent minds.
Yesterday, Dr. Mao also told me that this energy has already been verified by scientists. This energy is our mind. With our minds, reverent minds, the sound [of our thought] can pass through space, through three-dimensional space, through four-dimensional space. There is even ten-dimensional space. This is what we often say; our thoughts can reach the heavenly beings above, can reach the Buddhas and the eight classes of Dharma-protectors. It can reach them! In a single thought, we can reach through, can pass through three-dimensional space or four-dimensional space. These are scientific term. I have often said in the past that when we recite the sutras, we should be very reverent, for the reverence within us for the reverence within us can be expressed through our voices as we chant loudly as we chant loudly. In our space are all sorts of invisible beings who just like use are listening to the Dharma, who like us are listening to the sutras. The reverence in everyone’s mind can reach everywhere throughout the human world, throughout three-dimensional and four-dimensional space, throughout other lands and throughout other worlds. Our minds can similarly pass through all this. It is true! [These are] reverent thoughts. So, this comes from our minds, we must cultivate them inwardly, cultivate internally and practice externally. Then with that reverence within us, we take this Dharma and chant the Buddha’s name until. He becomes engraved upon our hearts, chant it until He enters our hearts, so the Buddha’s mind becomes our own. In this stupa of treasures was the ancient and the present [Buddha]. There was Manny Treasures Buddha from countless kalpas before and there was Sakyamuni Buddha, who taught the Dharma more than 2000 years ago. Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharmakaya will never cease. It is everlasting in the world, even now. The founder of our religion, our Kind Father, is Sakyamuni Buddha. His multiple manifestations accepted His Dharma and then spread throughout the world. This spirit and ideal it totally unified internally and externally. We take the Dharma into our hearts, then go and put it into action. “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings. [They] vow to deliver countless sentient beings”. Wherever there is a disaster in the world, Bodhisattvas from near and far come together to go save them from suffering, to save them from difficulties, or go to and share with them this profound wonder of the Dharma, this spirit and ideal. These is both internal and external; we must correct ourselves “with the Threefold Combined Precepts”.
For ourselves, we must be correct in regard to these principles and never allow ourselves to deviate from them. We should never deviate from the teachings of the path within us. We must do this in our each and every thought. If our minds are upright and the path is right, then our principles will be correct. We should focus our own mind in this way, by having “the Threefold Combined Precepts”.
The Threefold Combined Precepts: 1. The precepts of discipline and etiquette. We must accept and uphold the five, eight, ten or full set of precepts. 2. The precepts of virtuous Dharma. We must take practicing all virtuous Dharma as our precepts. 3. Precepts of benefitting all beings. This is also called the precepts of helping sentient beings. These precepts are focused on helping all sentient beings.
The Threefold Combined Precepts are what we should ordinarily practice. The first is “the precepts of discipline and etiquette”. The precepts of discipline and etiquette are the teachings of precepts taught by the Buddha. When we initially accept the Buddha-Dharma, disciples ordinarily observe the Five Precepts, or later advance to upholding the Eight Precepts. The Eight Precepts are the Eight Purifying Precepts. Some people observe the Eight Purifying Precepts. Some wish to observe the Ten Wholesome Precepts, or after becoming monastics, observe the full set of precepts. These are known as the precepts of discipline and etiquette. Our precepts are like this. We should accept and uphold all of these precepts.
The second is “the precepts of virtuous Dharma”. This is taking the practice of all virtuous teachings as our precepts. Since we are Buddhist practitioners, we wish to learn all that is virtuous, cultivate all that is good and eliminate everything evil.
The third is “precepts of benefitting all beings”. We “vow to deliver countless sentient beings”. This is all sentient beings; we hope to benefit all living beings, to care for all sentient beings. This is inclusive of all sentient beings, not just people. This means all animals, everything sentient and non-sentient. We should cherish the lives of all things. These are our precepts as well. “Helping all sentient beings” is our precept. These are called the Threefold Combined Precepts.
So, “We must correct ourselves inwardly and outwardly with the Threefold Combined Precepts”. The true principles are both internal and external. Whether in our minds or in our external practice, we must have the Threefold Combined Precepts. “We are liberated, pure and free of defilements”. Since we are very pure, we are able to nurture our wisdom-life. If we can do this, with precepts, Samadhi, wisdom, liberation and liberation’s understanding and views, our Dharma-body will remain totally undefiled, undefiled by the dusts of affliction and ignorance. Then, naturally our intrinsic nature remains pure. We will then nourish our wisdom-life. Our wisdom-life will grow. Then, “We readily attain the Buddhahood of our intrinsic nature and illuminate the virtues of the supreme path of goodness”. We illuminate luminous virtue and thoroughly understand our own nature of True Suchness. We should practice these principles in the world until we arrive at supreme goodness, the virtuous path leading to supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment. If we are to do this, we truly must mindfully seek to comprehend. We must be focused, by very diligent in our spiritual resolve, free of discursive thought and earnest in our understanding. This means we must be very mindful at all times.
What comes next is the previous passage. “After I enter Parinirvana, if one were to listen to and accept this sutra and inquire into its meaning, then that would be considered difficult!”
As we already said before, there will be a great many difficulties. There will be many difficulties. However, the Buddha also told of how none of those truly inconceivable feats would be difficult. But to truly uphold the Dharma, to uphold and recite this sutra, safeguard this sutra after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, “to listen to and accept this sutra and inquire into its meaning, that would be considered difficult!” Those other things would not be difficult. What would be difficult would be for people to listen and accept this sutra after the Buddha had entered Parinirvana. To have the patience to start from “Thus have I heard” and reach this point without any Dharma leaking away, I do not know if you have been able to do this.
The one teaching begins with “Thus have I heard” and then keeps on teaching the text of the sutra. What about the listeners? For them to listen from “Thus I have heard” until now without any teachings leaking away would truly be difficult. Just listening to the sutra is difficule!
“If someone were to teach the Dharma, helping thousands, millions, billions, countless numbers of sentient beings as numerous as the Ganges’ sands to attain Arhatship and be replete in the Six Spiritual Powers, though this would be beneficial, even this would not be considered difficult.”
Although there are many teachings that can be taught, such as the 12 divisions of the Tripitaka, apart from the Lotus Sutra, those other sutras have all been taught. One can teach all of those sutras, and furthermore lead everyone to attain the fruit of Arhatship, or even attain the Six Spiritual Powers. Although this may help many to listen to the sutras and attain the Dharma, although this many benefit a great many people, it nevertheless still not difficult.
We talked about this yesterday. Why is this? It is because these people are still within the Small Vehicle Dharma. They merely seek spiritual powers. They only seek to benefit themselves. Even if they were to attain spiritual powers, this still would not be considered difficult. Listening to the sutra is very difficult.
So, the next sutra passage below continues by saying, “After I enter Parinirvana, if one were able to reverently uphold such a sutra as this then that would be considered difficult.”
Indeed, listening to the sutra is difficult. Upholding the sutra is difficult as well. “If one were able to uphold this sutra and teach it to many others…” after the Buddha had entered Parinirvana upholding this sutra and teaching it to others helps these people to attain the unsurpassed path.”
After I enter Parinirvana, of one were able to reverently uphold such as this then that would be considered difficult: If one were able to uphold this sutra and teach it to many others, helping these people attain the unsurpassed path, that would be considered difficult. The previous verse describes the difficulty of reverently upholding this sutra. Reverently upholding: This means retaining and upholding it with respect and reverence so that we do not forget it.
If you want to expound this sutra, it is not only about the words. To just explain what the words mean is relatively easy, but to uphold this sutra, we must teach it for others. We must also “help these people attain the unsurpassed path.” This requires us to endlessly analyze it for them. It is just like astronomy, which also requires continual investigation, exploration of its many mysteries. These must all be solved before the form of celestial bodies can be truly known. The Buddha-Dharma is also like this. It is vast and boundless; the Dharma has no shape or substance. To teach it to the point where others can understand the Buddha’s underlying meaning is very difficult indeed. This is because when the Buddha was enlightened, He had already become one with the universe.
I have often said this, that when He attained enlightenment, He became one with the universe. When expounding the Buddha-Dharma, isn’t it the same? We investigate the state of the mind, because the human men, with a single thought, can create everything in the world, whether good or evil, whether calamity or blessing; this all depends upon a person’s mind. When our enlightened nature becomes lost, when we become confused, we may tend toward evil. When our enlightened nature grows, then we tend toward goodness. This all depends on the mind. When it comes to the mind, if we say it this way can we understand? We need to use so many [analogies], even worldly matters and objects, things that happened in the past or now. One by one, we use matters to understand the principles. So, to help everyone understand [the principles], help them experience them and take them to heart, help them to put them into practice, “would be considered difficult.”
What came previously was explaining the difficulties involved in reverently upholding this sutra. So, to reverently uphold something means to have great respect for it. Moreover, it means to remember it. This sutra is not something we can read and then forget about; we must engrave it in our minds. This is “reverently upholding” it. It means remembering it. Remembering it means that we keep it always in mind. It means constantly engraving the sutra in our minds without ever forgetting it. This is “reverently upholding” it.
The next passage goes on to say, “For the sake of the path to Buddhahood, throughout countless lands, from the beginning until now, I have widely taught many sutras, this sutra is foremost, if one can uphold it, one is thus upholding the Buddha’s body.”
This is what the Buddha said “For the sake of the path to Buddhahood, throughout countless land” means He would not only be in the Saha World, but in countless other lands as well. Clearly, since the era of the 16 princes, He has continually been in the realms of sentient beings, in countless worlds. The Buddha, since that time, having the resolve that He did, has navigated through countless worlds. So, there were “countless lands, From the beginning until now…”
The beginning probably the one described in the Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City, His beginning as one of the 16 princes. “Widely taught many sutras” means starting from back them, when He first listened to the Lotus Sutra, beginning then, he had taught many sutras.
For the sake of the path to Buddhahood, throughout countless lands, from the beginning until now, I have widely taught many sutras: He attained Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings His manifestations have spread to fill the lands of the ten directions. From first attaining Buddhahood until now, He widely taught countless other sutras.
This means that from the time the Buddha began to understand the path to Buddhahood, His manifestations filled the lands in the ten directions. They used His Dharma to further transform sentient beings, so that sentient beings would then spread the Dharma wider, transforming themselves as well as others; this Dharma was then continually spread. “From the beginning until now,” from the beginning until He attained Buddhahood, right up until now, He had widely taught countless sutras. He had already taught so many.
And among all those sutras, this sutra is foremost: Among all those countless other sutras, the lotus Sutra is foremost. It is foremost among all sutras because it is the key to all the other sutras and the vital door for the thousand noble beings.
So, “Among all those sutras,” “this sutra is foremost”. The sutras He taught were many. In the present Saha World alone, Sakyamuni Buddha had 84,000 teachings, as many as the sands of the Ganges, inside His sutra treasury. Yet, among those many sutras, “among all those sutras, this sutra is foremost”. Among all those many sutras, this sutra is the foremost. This is the Lotus Sutra. “The Lotus Sutra is foremost”. So, the Lotus Sutra is called the king of all sutras. This is the Lotus Sutra. It further says, “If one can uphold it, one is thus upholding the Buddha’s body”.
If one can uphold it, one is thus upholding the Buddha’s body: The body of the Lotus Sutra is the Dharma-body of the Buddha. Being able to uphold this sutra is equal to seeing the Buddha.
If one were able to uphold this sutra, meaning the Lotus Sutra, it would be like upholding the Buddha’s body. We often say that we chant the Buddha’s name until we have taken Him to heart, until the Buddha’s mind becomes our own. For the Buddha-mind to become our own mind, it means that we must take the entire Lotus Sutra to heart. So, “The body of the Lotus Sutra is the Dharma-body of the Buddha”. The body of the Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. If we can uphold this sutra, it will be as if we are seeing the Buddha. If we can safeguard this sutra, it is as if we are upholding the Buddha’s body.
One is thus upholding the Buddha’s body: The entire bodies of all Buddhas are inseparable from this sutra. If we uphold it, listen to it, contemplate it and practice it, our wondrous intrinsic spiritual capacities will manifest completely and everything we encounter will be Bodhi. How could it be easy to uphold?
So, “The entire bodies of all Buddhas are inseparable from this sutra”. This is not only Sakyamuni Buddha’s [body], but [the bodies of] all Buddhas, for all Buddhas share the same path. The entire bodies of all Buddhas are inseparable from this sutra. “If uphold it, listen to it, contemplate it and practice it” means we can do this, we can earnestly accept and uphold it, earnestly listen to it. Once we take it in, we must never let it leak away. If we listen to the sutra and let it leak away, it is as if we had never listened at all. While listening to the sutra, we must be certain to engrave it upon our hearts. We should reverently uphold it, which means we should remember it. We need to remember it! This is what it means to reverently uphold it. After listening to it, we remember it and earnestly reflect upon it. This is listening and contemplation. After listening to it, only by really reflecting upon it can we avoid deviating from the Dharma. We must reflect upon it; is it correct or not? If we do not understand something clearly, then we should immediately go and ask about it. We spoke previously as well about how it is not always easy to ask questions. If we ask questions, then we can apply it. So, we should ask. Our thinking should be correct. If it is not correct, then we can ask. This too is part of spiritual practice. Actually, with spiritual practice, after listening and contemplation, when our thinking is correct, when we understand what it is that we should do, then we should start putting it into action, we should put it into practice. If our contemplation [shows] it is correct, then we should go about putting it into practice. This is listening, contemplating and practicing. This sutra [can benefit] “our wondrous intrinsic spiritual capacities”.
We all have the intrinsic nature of True Suchness; we just need to accept the Dharma. If it resonates with our capabilities, then we form great aspirations and make great vows. If we have great capabilities, then when we encounter this Dharma, [our capacities] “will manifest completely”. Because our capabilities are great, by encountering and entering this Great Dharma, we should be able to understand the entire essence of the Dharma, of this Dharma, the Lotus Sutra, of its profound wonder, its main points and its essence. We should be able to understand all of it.
From the Buddha’s many teachings, He took the essence, put it all together, then explained it to us. This is for those with great capacities, so we should earnestly seek to experience it. If we can, then [our capacities] can “manifest completely”. We should be able to thoroughly understand the Dharma in its entirety. “Everything we encounter will be Bodhi”. When we understand this, whatever we encounter is all the true and wondrous Dharma. Whatever we do, whatever we experience, however subtle it may be, even if it is as fine as dust, it will likewise be wondrously profound Dharma. Scientists have discovered the “neutrino”. The neutrino is extremely minute. Within the neutrino, that very subtle and intricate neutrino, are the underlying principles; scientists are analyzing this layer by layer. They are investigating what ultimately lies within its inner reaches. By the same token, we must go about trying to understand these principles, the we can be clear about the Buddha’s teachings. This power must come from this, the foremost of all the sutras. It must come from this kind of Dharma. It must come from this kind of Dharma.
So, “To be able to uphold it is to uphold the Buddha’s body.” If someone can accept and uphold this sutra, then they will be upholding the Buddha’s body. This is what we should understand. The Lotus Sutra is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. The Lotus Sutra is His entire body, the Dharmakaya of the Buddha. If we earnestly uphold the Buddha’s Dharmakaya, then the Dharmakaya will never recede. We must mindfully seek to experience this.
This is “to uphold the Buddha’s body. The entire bodies of all Buddhas are inseparable from this sutra.” Because the entire bodies of all the Buddhas are inseparable from this sutra, “if we uphold it, listen to it, contemplate it and practice it, our wondrous intrinsic spiritual capacities will manifest completely.”
We should mindfully seek to experience this, then “everything we encounter will be Bodhi.” I think we should all be very clear on this now. Is it truly easy to uphold this sutra? As long as we are single-minded in it, won’t it be easy? It is not hard for those with aspirations to do so. With resolve, vows and strength it will not be difficult. If we do not have the aspiration or the vows, then won’t it be difficult? Or will it be easy? Will it be difficult or easy? This is something only we ourselves can understand. Are we mindfully listening? Are we mindfully accepting the teachings? Are we putting them into practice? We ourselves know the answer best. Isn’t this a simple matter? When we say it is easy, it is easy. When we say it is difficult, it is also difficult. Just to listen to the sutra, to continue listening is in itself not easy, not to mention putting it into practice. This is even more difficult.
In summary, this power, our power of love, is energy. Yesterday, when Prof. Mao was sharing with me, at the very end he spoke of the most incredible energy. Where does that energy come from? It is the mind. It is the mind, so we should always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)