Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Meeting of Bodhisattvas at Vulture Peak (文殊智積 靈山相會)
Date: May.03.2018
Times flies! “Time passes swiftly; the New Year came and went.” More than ten days of the new year (2017) have already passed. The lunar new year is about to arrive. I traveled for 22 days altogether, and made my way around half of Taiwan for the year-end blessing ceremonies. From northern Taiwan to central Taiwan, what I saw were Bodhisattvas who truly practice diligently. In the north, I went to Guandu for a few days, and Tzu Chi commissioners from nearby areas gathered. Apart from the year-end blessing ceremonies, they seized the time to share personal experiences. Hearing how diligent everyone is and listening to their insights as they work together with unity, harmony and love brought me great comfort. Everyone is very diligent. This demonstrates the volunteer teams’ dedication. I can see that they all share the same heart, a heart of love. They have mutual gratitude, respect and love. So, “The volunteer teams mindfully united in concerted effort.” This is what I observed in the Northern Region. I am truly grateful for this harmony. [What they presented] in the year-end blessings showed their truly high-quality, excellent [work]. This truly comforts me.
Time passes swiftly; the New Year came and went. I traveled around half of Taiwan for 22 days. Bodhisattvas from the Northern and Central Regions are advancing very diligently. The volunteer teams mindfully united in concerted effort to complete the year-end blessings.
When I visited Taoyuan, I was also very touched. The Taoyuan commissioners and Faith Corps take very good care of their Dharma-family. This is their special quality. Also, Taoyuan is the first stop for international Tzu Chi volunteers coming to Taiwan. Tzu Chi volunteers in Taoyuan demonstrate such great sincerity. Be it daytime or the middle of the night, when volunteer groups come to visit, they always pick them up at the airport. They plan out the arrangements, how many cars are needed for how many guests and where the guests will stay. In the Tzu Chi office in Taoyuan? Or in the Jing Si Hall? Faith Corps members arrange airport pick-up while local Tzu Chi commissioners quickly begin to mobilize the hospitality team, refreshments team, culinary team and so on. If the guests need to stay overnight, the hospitality team prepares bedding, comforters and so forth. The refreshments team helps the guests feel welcome, just as if they had come home. Do they want to have dinner? Or some snacks? They all work together in unity and harmony. They arrange everything in great harmony. In a year’s time, they have received more than 60,000 guests. Just hearing the number alone, I felt they must be working so hard. But they said, “We are grateful and happy! We get to create good karmic affinities with so many people in the world.” They are so understanding, so grateful! This is what the Taoyuan volunteers are like. I am really grateful to them! They are Living Bodhisattvas. They welcome the Bodhisattvas coming from afar. As they said, they get to meet Dharma-family members from every part of the world.
What about the Hsinchu [volunteers]? Their [work] with the locals is very moving. As soon as we arrived in Hsinchu, I felt things were different there. As soon as I arrived, local entrepreneurs and officials as well as police and firefighters were all there waiting for me. When I arrived, I could hear drums and bells playing together harmoniously. I saw such harmony and unity. In particular, in the team playing bells and drums there were several former and current mayors. These representatives for the local area performed the Ode to Diligence; this was the song the bell and drum team performed. As soon as I arrived, I could truly feel that the Tzu Chi volunteers and locals were all working in great harmony. Seeing this scene, it shows the regular [interactions] of Tzu Chi volunteers with the local community. We are not involved in politics, not at all.
However, whenever something happens locally, Tzu Chi volunteers dedicate themselves [to help]. During disaster relief operations, Tzu Chi volunteers provide support to our police and firefighters by providing tea, food and so on, taking care of them. Especially in Hsinchu, [the locals] also said they were grateful to the Tzu Chi volunteers. Similarly, after the Tainan earthquake, Tzu Chi volunteers also provided support. Over there, Tzu Chi volunteers were also providing care to the local people. For Tzu Chi volunteers all over Taiwan, whenever anything happens locally, whether major or minor incidents, they always stand by [the locals], providing them support. Therefore, they were very grateful [to Tzu Chi]. The police were grateful to the Tzu Chi volunteers.
In winter, sometimes we send over [things] because we worry about them being cold. While they are on duty, sitting where the winds are very strong, the Tzu Chi volunteers quickly bring ginger tea to them etc. Tzu Chi volunteers also regularly measure their blood pressure. They were grateful for that as well! So, the people who came to the year-end blessings, no matter who they were, all had the same sense of gratitude toward Tzu Chi volunteers for giving of themselves for the community. Therefore, they were very grateful.
In everyday life, Tzu Chi volunteers are Living Bodhisattvas who “feel others’ pain and suffering as their own.” Whenever something happens, they give of themselves in this way. So, we have fostered an understanding with [the locals] in these places. Whenever we want to do something, everyone comes together to give of themselves for the society and the world.
Next, I arrived in the Central Region, where there is a mountain and a coastal route. Miaoli and Nantou are along the mountain route. Wuqi, Dajia, and Qingshui are along the coastal route. But both the mountain route and coastal route belong to the same region, the great Central Region. [Tzu Chi volunteers in] Different areas regularly work together and encourage each other. For every stop I visited, where there was a hospital, they likewise held a year-end blessing ceremony. Whether Tzu Chi offices or hospitals, they all performed the Twelve Great Vows of Medicine Buddha and the Ode to Diligence [with lyrics from my teachings]. In this way, they enter the Dharma-treasury.
Medicine Buddha made 12 great vows; the Tathagata made His original vows in the causal ground. Sentient beings suffer from the severe illness of ignorance. Medicine Buddha made vows to cure that illness. Ordinary beings come [to the world] according to the seeds of their karmic affinities. Everyone is subject to the law nature; karmic retribution, whether minor or severe, will come sooner or later. If we have the good affinities in our lives to have a spiritual benefactor, we will lead one another toward Bodhi. We pass down the Dharma forever and establish the [Tzu Chi] School of Buddhism.
[From the performance of] the 12 great vows in the Medicine Buddha Sutra, we can understand the original vows made by Crystal Light Tathagata of the East in the causal ground. “Sentient beings suffer from the severe illness of ignorance.” From the lyrics, we can comprehend how each of Medicine Buddha’s vows is wondrous spiritual medicine. His goal in coming to the world was to save all sentient beings. There are diseases and suffering in the world which all come from sentient beings’ ignorance, leading to turbidity in the entire society. There is also [the suffering due to] the nature course of human life. Whether in body or mind, our illnesses all go back to the turbidity and ignorance of the society. The ignorance in people’s minds and the turbidities of the current society are all due to sentient beings’ collective karma. The internal and external illnesses from the collective karma of sentient beings have now become very severe. These “severe illness” originate in ignorance, not only form this lifetime but from countless lifetimes in the past. “We cannot take anything with us when we die; only our karma follows us to our next life.” Ignorance and afflictions continually multiply. Layers of ignorance and afflictions from lifetime after lifetime have continually accumulated all the way to this lifetime. Because we are polluted by this ignorance, our illnesses are very severe. It is the same for every sentient being. There truly are layers and layers of ignorance!
When will we be able to take and absorb this wondrous spiritual medicine, take it to heart and engrave it in our minds so that we can thoroughly eliminate these afflictions and ignorance?
This is what all of us must strive for Medicine Buddha established firm faith and made the Four Great Vows. “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” This shows His sincerity. From the moment He began to form aspirations, He demonstrated this sincerity by making these vows. So, [He vowed to] “cure that illness.” He will never lose that sincerity. It is the same for every Buddha.
Therefore, I always say that Tzu Chi volunteers [must have] “sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness.” Because we are learning from the Buddha, we, too, must sow these seeds and we, too, need to make the Four Great Vows. In learning the Buddha-Dharma, we must sow these seeds in the field of our minds. If we are sincere and wish to save all sentient beings, we must first have integrity of mind and be upright so we can eliminate deviant thoughts and views, establish right thinking, right views and right mindfulness and eliminate our afflictions. Thus, “We vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” We must have integrity of mind. We cannot only have sincerity in wishing to transform all sentient beings. If we have not eliminated our own afflictions, we will still follow our karmic conditions.
These karmic seeds are due to [our past actions]. This describes ordinary beings. We ordinary beings have the cause and conditions of karmic seeds, which follow us from lifetime to lifetime. Therefore, lifetime after lifetime our mindset has been improper, [resulting in] the accumulation of afflictions as we continually return. So, we must engage in spiritual practice. Apart from sincerity, we also need integrity; we must eliminate our afflictions. Only in this way will we not be “subject to the law of nature.” We undergo birth, aging, illness and death; this is the laws of nature. But though we are affected by the laws of nature, we need to have these physical bodies to engage in spiritual practice. When we make good use of our bodies, they become vehicles for spiritual practice, so we can receive the Buddha-Dharma lifetime after lifetime. When drinking the ambrosial dew of Dharma-medicine, we must take it into our mouths and etch it in our hearts. If we can constantly remember it, we naturally eliminate delusions and afflictions, which what increases is our wisdom-life, memory and desire to seek the Dharma. Thus, “We vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors.” This requires sincerity, integrity and faith. As we are now learning the Buddha-Dharma, if we do not have sincere faith, we will be unable to take the Dharma to heart. Our memories of the Dharma will completely leak away. After the Dharma leaks away, what we have left are afflictions.
So, we should learn from the Buddha by using sincerity in going among people to transform them, and integrity in eliminating our afflictions. We must be vigilant of ourselves, be vigilant of our perspectives and thinking; only then will we be able to establish faith. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits.” If we want to learn all Dharma-doors, we must have a very clear memory. In our past lives, we heard the Dharma, so in this life, we have these causes and conditions. Although we are still ordinary people and are subject to the natural law of birth, aging, illness and death, we are making good use of our bodies and we have deep faith in the Buddha-Dharma. We need to earnestly listen to the Dharma and put the teachings into practice by going among people and transforming them. While we are among sentient beings, we can attain understanding of how afflictions and ignorance arise. After we listen to the Dharma, how do we share this memory of the Dharma with everyone?
So, we must be people who listen to the Dharma and people who transmit the Dharma. This Dharma will not stop with us. On one hand, when dealing with people, we create Dharma-affinities; on the other hand, we cultivate our wisdom-life. As for us, the memory in our minds is the Dharma. We listen to and transmit the Dharma; our minds are filled with only the Dharma. If we can establish faith this way, our root of faith can always remain deep. Then in all future lifetimes, in the same way, we will still believe in the Buddha-Dharma. Our memory will still be clear. We can still be very grounded; our roots of faith can truly be firm and extend down to be very stable. Then we will not be blown over by the winds of ignorance.
So, we wish to attain Buddhahood; “We vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” If our root of faith is not deep and grounded, how can we accomplish this? Because we have human bodies, we have the opportunity to listen to the teachings and engage in spiritual practice. Thus, the body is a vessel for spiritual practice.
However, we are subject to the laws of nature; how long can our lives be? We cannot know the length of our lives, but the breadth and depth of our lives is determined by our own actions. Everyone is subject to “the laws of nature”; this is true for everyone. As ordinary people, we follow our karma in coming to the world.
However, are we following causes and conditions based on the Dharma or causes and conditions of ignorance? This is something we ourselves must mindfully comprehend. Due to the laws of nature, since we have human bodies, we must earnestly seize our time. “Karmic retribution whether minor or severe, will come sooner or later.” How long will our lives last? We do not know. When will our karmic retributions come? Will they come very early? Were we born with suffering? Or will our karma emerge in the middle of our lives? None of us has the answer. However, though karmic retributions cannot be predicted, when it comes to the Dharma, we must always have faith in our hearts.
“If we have the good affinities in our lives to have a spiritual benefactor…” If we are living a happy life, it is due to our past lifetime. What might we have done so that we formed good karmic affinities with people? Or did we form bad affinities with them? If we formed negative affinities, when causes and conditions converge, we will suffer negative retributions. If we formed good karmic affinities, when we face difficulties, [the people] we have good affinities with will come to guide us. With [good] karmic affinities, we will meet spiritual benefactors. These benefactors are Bodhisattvas. Living Bodhisattvas are those who can be benefactors among people. We make the Four Great Vows with sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness.
Actually, we are ordinary people ourselves. So, we need to witness suffering in order to recognize our blessings; then we will know we must be reverent and vigilant. By interacting with people, we can learn the truth of suffering. We can clearly see where suffering comes from by going among people to experience it. This is being a benefactor among people. Therefore, we need to constantly remember “sincerity, integrity, faith, and steadfastness and give with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.” These are what Tzu Chi volunteers are learning.
“We will lead one another toward Bodhi.” We are just newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. We listen to and teach the Dharma and provide comfort to sentient beings. Actually, we who walk the same path also need to encourage one another. “We will lead one another toward Bodhi. We will pass down the Dharma forever and establish the [Tzu Chi] School of Buddhism.” We have formally passed down the Dharma-lineage and established the [Tzu Chi] School of Buddhism. Tzu Chi volunteers should be able to deeply comprehend this.
Medicine Buddha made His 12 great vows after seeing all the suffering in the world. Through participating in the musical adaptation, everyone should clearly understand this.
Therefore, all of us must be very mindful. We should mindfully seek to comprehend what is expressed in the sutra.
Previously we saw how “Wisdom Accumulated and Manjusri, the two great Bodhisattvas, each came from a different place to meet at this Dharma-assembly.”
They came from different places. Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattvas followed Many Treasures Buddha from the east. He came from the east and emerged from the ground. During the Lotus Dharma-assembly, Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattvas came following Many Treasures Buddha. Manjusri Bodhisattvas was helping Sakyamuni Buddha transform sentient beings in the Saha World. But Sakyamuni Buddha spent seven or eight years expounding the Lotus Sutra.
These Bodhisattvas, whether Manjusri, Maitreya, Guanyin or Mahasthamaprapta, did not necessarily always remain at the Dharma-assembly. They went everywhere to transform sentient beings. After the appearance of Many Treasures Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha gathered all the Dharma together, the stupa was opened and Many Treasures affirmed Sakyamuni Buddha’s [teachings]. All Buddhas share the same path. The Lotus Sutra taught by past and present Buddhas is the path to attaining Buddhahood. It is the king of all sutras. When Many Treasures Buddha appeared, apart from listening to the Dharma, He also came to testify that the Lotus Sutra is the king of all sutras and the path to attaining Buddhahood.
As we all know, Wisdom Accumulated thought that this mission had already been accomplished. So, he said to Many Treasures Buddha, “We should go back now.” Sakyamuni Buddha felt that everyone understood but that their knowledge [was superficial]. The Lotus Sutra is the king of all sutras, but the people who were at the assembly as well as the people in the future had yet to thoroughly understand [this Dharma]. So, He had to help them understand how impartial the Great Vehicle of this sutra is, how all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, and how they can all attain Buddhahood. Sentient beings still have discriminatory minds, so He needed to find a way to eliminate this discriminatory mind. With the Great Vehicle’s wondrous Dharma in mind, everyone can have faith in themselves, faith in themselves and in others. This is the kind of confidence we need. Not only should we believe in ourselves, we also need to have faith in all sentient beings and the second part was not yet complete.
Therefore, Sakyamuni Buddha asked Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattvas to stay, telling him, “In the Saha World, there is also Manjusri Bodhisattvas, foremost in wisdom among Bodhisattvas. He is now about to come back. He is on his way, about to come back. Please wait a little while, so you can meet him before you leave. This is how the Buddha exercised both compassion and wisdom.
During this time, Manjusri Bodhisattvas began [his journey] from the dragon palace in the ocean on a thousand-pealed lotus flower. Everyone should remember how a thousand-petaled lotus flower emerged from the ocean. There was not just Manjusri Bodhisattvas but also many others who rode on such thousand-petaled lotus flowers, emerging from the sea, descending from the sky. In that place, the stupa was still floating mid-air.
So, Wisdom Accumulated and Manjusri, these two Bodhisattvas. Came from different places. Although Manjusri Bodhisattvas abide in the Saha World, He had gone to another place and was not at Vulure Peak. He went to the ocean to transform sentient beings; from the dragon palace, he appeared at this place. Therefore, it says they “each came from a different place” to meet at this Dharma-assembly. Manjusri Bodhisattvas quickly descended from the lotus flower and prostrated to the Buddha. This is the [proper] etiquette. After prostrating to the Buddha and understanding the Buddha’s intent, Manjusri Bodhisattvas approached Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattvas, [saying], “I am in the Saha World to help the Buddha transform sentient beings. Thus, I am also one of the hosts coming to greet our guests.” This is also a matter of etiquette. So, “[He] went to where Wisdom Accumulated was and greeted him. He went to where Wisdom Accumulated was and they greeted each other. They then “sat to one side.” He sat down next to Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattvas. Later, they began to initiate [the teaching of] subtle and wondrous Dharma.
At this time, they were about to initiate [the teaching of] subtle and wondrous Dharma by mutually asking and answering questions. These causes and conditions were now about to be opened up, to reveal the wondrous Dharma.
So, the previous sutra passage states, “Abiding in the empty air, they came to Vulture Peak. Descending from the lotus flowers.”
“Abiding in the empty air, they came to Vulture Peak. Descending from the lotus flowers, they went before the Buddhas and made prostrations with their heads at the feet of the two World-Honored Ones. Having finished paying his respects, Manjusri went to where Wisdom Accumulated was. They greeted one another, and then sat to one side.”
The stupa was in the empty air, and so were the lotus flowers. At that time, they emerged from the ocean and in this way came to Vulture Peak. Descending from the lotus flowers, they came before the Buddhas and “made prostrations with their heads at the feet of the two World-Honored Ones.” They did not only prostrate to Sakyamuni Buddha. Sakyamuni Buddha had entered the stupa of treasures as the stupa was abiding in empty air. Many Treasures Buddha shared half His seat for Sakyamuni Buddha to sit on. So, on that seat, there were two Buddhas. Manjusri Bodhisattva did not just prostrate to Sakyamuni Buddha. At the same time, he also prostrated to Many Treasures Buddha. So, he “made prostrations with his head at the feet of the two World-Honored Ones” He followed etiquette in this way, prostrating to both the ancient and the present Buddhas. Actually, Manjusri Bodhisattva himself was also an ancient Buddha. Thus, one Buddha prostrated to [two] others. This is something we must all be aware of. We also need to respect ourselves. Since ancient times, we also have had a nature of True Suchness. Thus, we also need to respect ourselves. As we apply etiquette and principles among people, we should also apply these principles to ourselves. [Proper] conduct is something that we should apply to ourselves as well. So, we need to act properly toward ourselves too. Therefore, “Having finished paying his respects, Manjusri went to where Wisdom Accumulated was. They greeted each other; then sat to one side.” This is the previous sutra passage. Now, let us quickly listen to the next sutra passage. “Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva asked Manjusri, ‘Benevolent One, when you went to the Dragon Palace, how many sentient beings did you transform?’”
Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva immediately seized the moment. Sakyamuni Buddha kept him there to meet Manjusri, and he had now met him. He knew of Manjusri’s wisdom and furthermore that he was in the Saha World. The oceans are also in the Saha world. From the plains and mountains to the deep oceans, he went to transform others. Thus, [Wisdom Accumulated] was very curious and asked Manjusri about this.
Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva asked Manjusri: Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva saw Manjusri coming from the sea, journeying on a thousand-petaled lotus flower. Because of this manifestation, he asked Manjusri about this.
When Wisdom Accumulated saw Manjusri, “He saw Manjusri coming from the sea, journeying on a thousand-petaled lotus flower.” Thus, he felt very curious about this wondrous event. From the human beings in the plains, all the way to the dragon palace in the ocean, [Manjusri] had transformed sentient beings. Wisdom Accumulated felt great respect for this. However, he also had questions. Thus, “because of this manifestation,” he wanted to understand. What did the Dragon Palace look like? Were the sentient beings there easy or hard to transform? He had these questions in his mind. So, “Because of this manifestation…” What were those places like? So, the two started asking each other questions. This shows the etiquette between Bodhisattvas. We also need to have such etiquette in the world. Since this was a great Bodhisattva, a rare occurrence in this place, and since he had met him, [Wisdom Accumulated] had to ask for his teachings. This shows his respect and high regards. So, he said, “Benevolent One, when you went to the Dragon Palace, how many sentient beings did you transform?” “Benevolent One” refers to a kind person. “Benevolent One” is how Bodhisattvas address each other. We often use this kind of etiquette when we write letters to each other and address each other as a way to show respect. Furthermore, this person was a Bodhisattva. “A Benevolent One” is a sage. A “sage” refers to a Bodhisattva. At this place, “Benevolent One” refers to Manjusri Bodhisattva.
Benevolent One, when you went to the Dragon Palace, how many sentient beings did you transform? When Manjusri Bodhisattva went to the Dragon Palace in the great ocean, how many sentient beings did he transform? [Wisdom Accumulated] was implying that the dragon palace was damp and lowly, not a place for teaching the Dharma. Dragons are arrogant by nature and are not vessels for spiritual practice, so he suspected that many who were transformed found it difficult to accept the Dharma. Therefore, he asked how many he had transformed.
When Manjusri Bodhisattva “went to the dragon palace in the great ocean, how many sentient beings did he transform?” How big was that number actually? What Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva meant to say was that he considered the Dragon Palace lowly and damp. The ocean is very lowly. Compared with bodhisattvas and heavenly beings, [the beings in the ocean] are non-human species. They are non-human, so they are considered lowly. The dragon palace is underwater. How can such a place be suitable for expounding the Dharma?
Moreover, the dragon kings are very arrogant. There was a saying in the past that “we can worship heaven and earth, but we must not offend the dragon kings.” This is because in the past agricultural era, people needed rain to cultivate the land. Without rain, it was impossible to sow seeds. Human beings cannot live without water.
So, “when we worship heaven and earth, we must never offend the dragon kings.”This principle is the same. So it says, “Dragons are arrogant by nature.” They have a very arrogant nature.They “are not vessels for spiritual practice.” This refers to the physical bodies of dragons.This species is arrogant by nature.Dragons, like snakes, are poisonous. If we touch them, they will bite us.This is the same principle.This was why Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva had doubts in his mind. “Can the dragon palace be a place of practice?
Can one teach the Dharma there? As for the dragon kings, they are dragons; they are arrogant by nature.Can dragons be vessels for spiritual practice? Can they accept the Dharma? Can they engage in spiritual practice?” These were the thoughts in Wisdom Accumulated’s mind.
He suspected that “many who were transformed found it difficult to accept the Dharma.” Even if we went there to transform sentient beings, there probably would not be many people who could accept the Dharma.Thus, he asked Manjusri Bodhisattva, “How many did you transform?” He went there to expound the Dharma, but the beings who accepted it could not have been many, right?
Thus, he asked Manjusri Bodhisattva “how many.” This showed he had some doubts regarding Manjusri Bodhisattva’s going to the Dragon Palace.
So, “A Benevolent One is the One replete with the virtues of Bodhisattvas.” Being benevolent means one has virtues.
Next, “For their great wisdom, they are called Bodhi." Actually, “Bodhisattva” is [comprised of] “Bodhi” and “sattva.”
Benevolent One:
This refers to a benevolent person.
They are replete with the virtues of Bodhisattvas.
For their great wisdom, they are called “Bodhi.”
For their great compassion, they are called “sattva.”
Thus they are called “Bodhisattvas.”
“Benevolent One” is their common name.
Bodhi has the meaning of “great wisdom.”
For their great compassion, they are called “sattva.”
Thus, those who exercise both compassion and wisdom are called Bodhisattvas.
Those who have both compassion and wisdom can be called Bodhisattvas.
Actually, [in Chinese this is simplified].
Because we like to simplify, [in Chinese] we call them “Pusa.”
To simplify it a little more, we call Bodhisattvas “Benevolent Ones.”
To express it more simply in the vernacular, we say “Benevolent Ones.” “Benevolent Ones” is the common name for Bodhisattvas.
“Pusa” [in Chinese] is short for “Bodhisattva.”
If we can understand this, we will know that this is where the power of love is found. Bodhisattvas, Benevolent Ones, want to teach and transform all sentient beings, not just those in the human world.
Even if they are at the bottom of the ocean, Bodhisattvas still want to transform them. Thus, our power of love must continually accumulate in this way. Sincerity, integrity, faith, steadfastness and loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity are our methods for transforming sentient beings. These are also our Dharma-lineage and our School of Buddhism. So, this is a very important matter. Therefore, everyone needs to put effort into being mindful. We must be very mindful when it comes to the illnesses and suffering in the world. As ordinary people, we always follow the karmic conditions we have accumulated in the past. Did we come to this world with the karma of afflictions? Or with the karma of listening to the Dharma? This depends on us. We need to guide each other toward Bodhi. Moreover, to pass on the Dharma forever and establish the [Tzu Chi] School of Buddhism, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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