Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Manjusri Never Discriminates between Capacities (文殊善化 不擇根機)
Date: May.04.2018
“Manjusri excelled in teaching the essence of the Dharma. He excelled in teaching and transforming without discriminating with regard to place. The lowlier the place, the broader the Dharma he would use to transform them. He excelled at teaching people without discriminating based on their capabilities. The more arrogant they were, the more quickly they attained the path. First he used the provisional teachings; he applied the Small Vehicle Dharma. Now they must turn from the Small to the Great Path, so he brought them to Vulture Peak to meet Venerable Sakyamuni.”
We must be mindful! Yesterday we spoke of how Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva asked Manjusri, “When you, Manjusri Bodhisattva, went to that dragon palace in the ocean, how many were you able to transform there?” We should know that Manjusri “excelled in teaching the essence of the Dharma.” His wisdom was such that “He excelled in teaching and transforming without discriminating with regard to place.” Regardless of the place, [he had done this] over many kalpas, since Beginningless Time. Where exactly did he go? He never chose the places he went. “[He did not] discriminate with regard to place.” Anywhere he went, Manjusri always adapted to the timing, place and capabilities when teaching and transforming sentient beings. “The lowlier the place, the broader the Dharma he would use to transform them.” When it came to the places [he went], the greater the need of a place, the lowlier the place and the more difficult its people were to transform, the greater the need was for him to go there and deliver [its people]. So, “The lowlier the place, the more broad the Dharma he would use to transform them.” This was Manjusri area of expertise. Moreover, his wisdom was superior and his compassion was great, as befitting of an ancient Buddha come again! “He excelled at teaching people without discriminating based on their capabilities.” He did not discriminate between places; in places where it was more difficult, he was more sure to go spread the Dharma there. No matter how inferior their capacities were, how bad their capabilities were, he would still go all the same; these were precisely the ones he needed to transform. So, “He excelled at teaching people without discriminating based on their capabilities.” Regardless of whether they possessed Small Vehicle, Middle Vehicle or Great Vehicle capabilities, Manjusri Bodhisattva was able to teach them accordingly. However lowly their capabilities might be, he could transform their evil into goodness. This was how Manjusri taught and transformed.
So, “The more arrogant they were, the more quickly they attained the path.” We often hear people say that, “[Those capable of] great evil [are also capable of] great goodness.” Some people are very bad, very evil, yet with just the right causes and conditions, their evil can be turned into goodness. As soon as they change [their ways], their minds become as strong in doing good as they were in doing evil. They become a great force for doing good. This is because of their habitual nature. If they do something, they do it thoroughly. When it comes to seeking the Dharma, if they rebel against it, they are thoroughly rebellious, but as soon as they understand it, they turn around completely. Their faith becomes very deep and profound. These are the kind of capabilities they have. As long as they transform their capabilities, turning their evil into goodness, they can become just as powerful a force for good. They can become extraordinarily good people. So, “The more arrogant they are, the more quickly they attain the path. First he used the provisional teachings to apply the Small Vehicle Dharma.” He used skillful means to adapt to people’s capabilities as he taught them the Dharma. He used many different methods, all kinds of skillful means, to teach them so that they could quickly accept the teachings. This is what Manjusri did. By exercising both compassion and wisdom, he could adapt to people’s capabilities. I still remember, for example, in April last year (2016), at the time of the huge earthquake in Ecuador, that we entrusted volunteers from Tzu Chi USA to go there as a small group [to assess the area]. Of the four or five districts [they visited], there was one country in particular where the people were [known for being] very stubborn. Everyone wondered if it would even be possible to run a Cash for Relief Program there. How would we be able to mobilize them? Surprisingly, when our group went there and those people saw our Tzu Chi volunteers, they were so moved.
They all said, “This charity organization is so special! They have come from a place so far away, and they are so sincere. They mobilized several districts before us. They have come to us here, so we must all work together as one. We must all seize each moment so that we do not waste any time. We do not want to waste Tzu Chi’s time [in conducting] the Cash for Relief Program. So, let’s just do our utmost to bring our home back to life.” They had this change of heart, so they [worked] very well with us. Moreover, they were very hard-working and also very cooperative. [The work] went quickly in that district. It went very quickly, and they joyfully followed our guidance. The mayor was very moved and very grateful. He hoped that Tzu Chi could remain there forever and [continue] helping those people to be so compliant, [law-abiding] and earnestly hard-working; this was completely unprecedented. This [story] helps us realize that “The more arrogant they are, the more quickly they attain the path.” Those with this kind of nature are also very loyal to their friends, so the stronger their gratitude, the greater the effort they will put out. It is the same principle. So, “First he used the provisional teachings; he applied the Small Vehicle Dharma.” When we went to help them, since we were going to provide relief, we could have just distributed cash to them, but this is not as good as implementing Cash for Relief Programs. In their own villages and hometowns, the people can utilize their own strength to rebuild. In these times of true hardship, we use the Cash for Relief Program like this. Isn’t this “first using provisional teachings, applying the Small Vehicle Dharma”? Likewise, for these disaster survivors, if we made a one-time distribution it would require quite a bit of money. ,[However], we distributed it as daily wages, [giving them] several hundred NT dollars, which is [around 20] US dollars. It made them very happy to receive this. It raised their spirits, and they were able to quickly rebuild their homes. This is also using skillful means; when we give to them like this, they are able to accept our [aid] and are helped both physically and mentally. We help to get them moving and also help them to change their mindset; they become filled with hope and use their strength to help others. These are the methods we use. So this is using provisional teachings to adapt to their capabilities and mobilize them.
So, “First he used the provisional teachings; he applied the Small Vehicle Dharma.” Now everyone was listening to him, and they were able to believe. However, “Now they must turn from the Small to the Great Path,” He needed to enable them to understand the true principles, to turn from the Small to the Great Vehicle. Because of this, Manjusri knew just what to do. Despite being an ancient Buddha come again, this time around he gathered those people whom he had taught and transformed, and quickly “brought them to Vulture Peak to meet Venerabel Sakyamuni.” He brought them to Vulture Peak from the ocean to the mountains, to that mountainous place. This is when Wisdom Accumulated asked how many sentient begins Manjusri had transformed in the ocean palace. This was the previous sutra passage.
We will now explain this so that everyone can understand it clearly.
Wisdom Accumulated asked how many beings he had transformed in the ocean palace. Manjusri replied that [the number] could not be expressed through words or fathomed by the mind. The realm of the Buddha’s wisdom cannot be fathomed in terms of language, nor does it fall within what can be measured by numbers. We can only understand it by unifying and mutually verifying matters and principles.
How did Manjusri reply? Manjusri Bodhisattva replied, “[The number] cannot be expressed in words or fathomed by the mind.” This means that it was a very large number. “You would never believe how the sentient beings in the ocean palace were able to be transformed.” They were not so arrogant or difficult to train. Once they had faith, they believed in the Buddha-Dharma. Since all sentient begins possess Buddha-nature, once they can thoroughly understand, once their capabilities turn around, they are all able to believe. So, that number was so large that it is not a number we can use words to express; it is not an amount that our minds can really calculate. It was many, many beings. It was like dust-inked kalpas or Granges’ sands, very difficult to reckon. Even a mathematician or a mathematician’s disciples would have no way to calculate this. That is how many there were. So, it was not a number that could be expressed in words or fathomed by the mind. This is like Buddha-wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom, the state of Buddhahood, “cannot be fathomed in terms of language”. The wisdom of the Buddha is not something that we ordinary people are able to express in words or measure [using] numbers. When it comes to the Buddha’s wisdom, the state of Buddhahood, how broad is it really? How much wisdom is in the mind of a Buddha? This is not an amount that, as ordinary people, we are able to express in words or really are able to fathom. This is impossible [for us]. When the Buddha awakened, [His mind] became one with the universe. In this world, there are so many principles, and Buddha understands them all thoroughly. How could we possibly fathom or put a number on them? So, it is not a number we can express with words; it is not something we can possibly fathom with our [present] wisdom. We do not have words for such numbers. It “does not fall within what can be measured by numbers. We can only understand it by unifying and mutually verifying matters and principles.” There are so many principles. Actually, the principles are invisible; they are without form or appearance. Only when matters and principles are brought together [can we] understand the principle that is begins described. [Given the dragons’] arrogance, was this number something that could be believed? Let us use this simple [example] from April of 2016, following the earthquake in Ecuador; when Tzu Chi volunteers went there, there was a place that was very famous for its people being stubborn.
Yet, as actual events proved, once they experienced a disaster and felt the love of those who came to help, our sincerity helped them accept [our aid]. They were the most compliant, neatest and neatest and fastest workers. This is confirmation for us; this is unifying matters with principles. When matters and principles come together, this provides us with verification. This is only one such example. Otherwise, if we just talk about principles, how could so many people believe us? Actually, all sentient beings have Buddha-nature, it just takes [the right] methods and conditions. What do we mean by a method? How do we teach this? What do these conditions look like, and how do we bring them together? All of this requires us to bring together matters and appearances [to reveal] these principles.
Wisdom Accumulated ‘s question implied 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.
This is what Wisdom Accumulated implied, that “The dragon palace was damp and lowly”. The dragon palace was where the dragon king lived, not a place where ordinary aquatic animals lived. However, from the Bodhisattva realm, the dragon palace of course appeared damp and lowly. Ordinarily speaking, it was “not a place for teaching the Dharma”. This was not a place to teach the Dharma. Moreover, the nature of dragons is arrogant, so they are not considered vessels for spiritual practice. That is the kind of form they have. Furthermore, the dragon’s nature is just like the nature of a snake. You do not want to bump into them; they are poisonous! So, he said that they are not vessels for spiritual practice. We spoke of this yesterday. So, “He suspected that many who were transformed found it difficult to accept the Dharma”. They were probably not many; those able to accept it [could not have been] many. A place like that was not a place for teaching the Dharma, and the sentient beings there were not vessels for spiritual practice. Even if he had been able to transform them, those who could accept it were probably not very many. This was Wisdom Accumulated ‘s thinking. This why he asked Manjusri. He doubted Manjusri could have delivered very many. So, he asked how many he had transformed. “How many were there?” From his view, he felt this was an impossible feat, or that if it was possible, there could not have been very many. “Manjusri ‘s wisdom and virtue were unfathomable.
Manjusri ‘s wisdom and virtue were unfathomable. He benefitted [sentient beings] widely, entering the ocean to transform them. Countless Bodhisattvas as pure and undefiled as pure lotus blossoms emerged from the ocean of wisdom of their enlightened nature, journeying on their causal practice of virtue and wisdom. The Six Paramitas are higher than mountains and deeper than the ocean. Mt. Sumeru cannot reach higher; the great oceans cannot go deeper. The wondrous truth within the smallest speck can encompass the entire universe. When matters and principles are unified, sentient beings will be transformed.
Indeed, “Manjusri Bodhisattva’s wisdom and virtue were unfathomable”. He was an ancient Buddha, a teacher of Bodhisattvas and also of seven Buddhas. So, when it came to Manjusri Bodhisattva, his wisdom was unfathomable. His wisdom was like Sakyamuni Buddha’s. As an ancient Buddha who had come again, “He benefitted [sentient beings] widely, entering the ocean to transform them”. Wherever the place, whatever the situation, he could go there to transform sentient beings, even into the ocean! He was also able to go into the ocean to teach and transform sentient beings. So, there were “countless Bodhisattvas as pure and undefiled as pure lotus blossoms”. In a moment we will see these beings who were taught and transformed, who had turned from evil to goodness, who had formed great Bodhisattva-aspirations. They will emerge very soon. So, it speaks of, “countless Bodhisattvas as pure and undefiled as pure lotus blossoms”. This [refers to how] everyone has an intrinsic nature of True Suchness. Thus, they “emerged from the ocean of wisdom of their enlightened nature, journeying on their causal practice of virtue and wisdom”. That they were taught and transformed so quickly [meant] they had to have causes and conditions. It [showed] they were journeying on their causal practice of virtue and wisdom actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. Having these causes and conditions in the past, when their causes and conditions matured, they were transformed by Manjusri. Their causal practice was virtue and wisdom.
As for the Six Paramitas, the Six Paramitas are essential [to practice] before one can attain Buddhahood. They are “higher than the mountains and deeper than the oceans”. They are even higher than mountains, and even deeper than oceans. Compared with Mt. Sumeru, “even Mt. Sumeru cannot reach higher”. How high are the virtues of the Six Paramitas? Even higher than Mt. Sumeru. Although the great ocean is deep, it still hardly compares to the Six Paramitas. This teaching is even deeper than the great ocean. So, when we practice the Bodhisattvas-path, this means actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. So, it is higher than the mountains and deeper than the ocean. “The wondrous truth within the smallest speck can encompass the entire universe”. This year we have constantly been saying, “With wisdom, we see the world in a speck of dust”. That is correct. This refers to the principles; though invisible, they still permeate the universe. Throughout the universe, even a tiny speck encompasses the principles. So, “When matters and principles are unified, sentient beings will be transformed”. By bringing principles and matters together, we can thus transform sentient beings. For us who wish to learn the Buddha’s teachings, this brings us great joy. We understand that the principles encompass the whole world. This is what the Buddha awakened to; this was His enlightened nature. It encompasses heaven and earth; the world is seen in a speck of dust. So, [the Paramitas] are higher than mountains and deeper than oceans. Thus, as we form aspirations to practice the Bodhisattva-path, we must diligently advance like this among people; this principle is very profound. This is what we talked about yesterday.
It carries over into the principles that we are talking about today. So, the sutra passage we discussed yesterday said, “Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva ask Manjusri, Benevolent One, when you sent to the dragon palace, how many sentient beings did you transform? “
How many did he transform? When it came to the dragon palace, when it came to the dragons’ nature, [Wisdom Accumulated] still had a lot of prejudice. Now Manjusri Bodhisattva began to give his reply. Let us look at this surtra passage.
“Manjusri replied, ‘The number is infinite and immeasurable; it cannot be expressed in words, nor fathomed by the mind. Wait just a moment and you will realize ir youtself.””
He answered very simply. What this expresses here is that Manjusri did discriminate in where he went. Whatever place was in need, that is where he would go. As for delivering sentient beings, he never discriminated in regard to their capabilities. Whatever their capabilities, Manjusri Bodhisattvas would sow seeds of goodness to transform their capabilities. it did not matter if they were good or bad. For virtuous Small Vehicle practitioners, he would patiently guide them. For those with capabities for evil, he would turn that evil into goodness. This was Majusri Bodhisattva He never discriminated over capabilities when delivering and transforming sentient beings. so, “The lowlier the place, the more broad the Dharma he would use to transform them. The Dharma he used to transform them would be more broad, so the more arrogant they were, the more quickly they would attain the path. This is what it means by “the number is infinite.” This is what he meant when he replied this way. He never discriminated over where to go, who to transform or what kind of capabilities they had. He never discriminated based on good or evil.
So, all those sentient beings were those whom Manjusri Bodhisattva had transformed. “The number is infinite and immeasurable.” There were very many of them. So, “It cannot be expressed in words, nor fathomed by the mind. Wait just a moment and you will realize it yourself. Even if this number were expressed, it could not be fathomed. “Even if I told you this number, your mind could still never comprehend it. [Yet], if you wait a moment, matters and principles will be brought together. If you want to understand this principle, you must wait just a moment. A “moment” means we must wait just a little; then we can realize it for ourselves. Then we will naturally be able to understand. After he finished speaking, the sound of his voice had not stopped resonating. So it says, “Before he finished speaking. He had finished speaking, yet his voice still rang in the air. It was at that time that “Countless Bodhisattvas sitting on jeweled lotus flowers emerged from the ocean and came to Vulture Peak, abiding in the empty air. [wisdom Accumulated] was overjoyed to see this. [Manjusri] had answered that matters and principles would affirm it, that they would very uickly appear. [He had to] “wait just a moment.” It was really just an instant.
At the instant he stopped talking, those lotus flowers appeared. So, while the two Bodhisattvas conversed, those sentient beings who were taught and transformed by Manjusri Bodhisattva just then [began] gathering as proof. Immediately they all gathered together as proof for Wisdom Accumulated Bodhisattva to see”We understand your doubts. Manjusri Bodhisattva has transformed us through his virtue. So, we immediately came forth to affirm this for you.”
Before he finished speaking: As the two Bodhisattvas were conversing, those who were transformed gathered together to testify. This explains that those who were transformed emerged according to Manjusri’s instructionsbefore Manjusri had even dinished speaking.
This explains that those who were transformed, each and every one of them, had become Bodhisattvas and now emerged “according to Manjusri’s instructions.” “Before Manjusri had even finished speaking” [means] his voice was still ringing in the air. Right away, this king of scene appeared; these many lotus flowers emerged from the ocean with many Bodhisattvas on top of them. They emerged like this. “Countless Bodhisattvas energed sitting on precious lotus flowers.” Those ocean-swelling sentient beings who were transformed into Bodhisattvas were riding on thousand-prtalled lotus flowers, and all emerged from the ocean at the same time. What a beautiful sight to behold! It was so subtle and wondrous, those many Bodhisattvas emerging from the ocean, all seated on top of precious lotus flowers.
Countless Bodhisattvas sitting on precious lotus flowers: This is a metaphor for non-discriminating and fundamental wisdom as the mother that gives birth to all the indinite treasures of the Buddha’s merits and virtues.
This is an analogy for “fundamental wisdom,” the fundamental wisdom of all Buddhas. Actually, “fundamental wisdom” is something everyone possesses. Thus, it is called “non-discriminating wisdom.” “The mind, the Biddha and sentient beings are no different in their nature.” [This wisdom] does not discriminate; it is “non-discriminating wisdom.” this is intrinsic to all sentient beings, this non-discriminating wisdom. this wisdom does not depend upon the mind nor connect with external states. It understands all phenomena as True Suchness. Where is this True Suchness? “It is in our heart.” But if we cut our heart open to see inside, what in there is considered True Suchness? It is not in the physical heart itself, so what does “fundamental wisdom” look like? Where is it rooted? Where is this fundamental wisdom? it is the principles! Where can we go that I can take the principles out to show to you? [The principles] are independent of both external states and our minds. These are the principles. Everyone is inherebtly endowed with this wisdom’s true principles. We are all replete with them. The true peinciples encompass the whole universe. These are the principles; they are the same wherever we go. It does not matter where we are; wisdom manifests according to each situation. This is the convergence of matters and principles. Only [when they converge] could He help us see that this is what the principles are like. We understand all phenomena as True Suchness. However, these are the principles, the principles of True Suchness. They are present in each and every sentient being! Whether egg-born, womb-born, moisture-born or transformation-born, all beings have them. These are the principles; they are our nature of True Suchness. Thus, the world and our wisdom are no different. Regarding the world and our wisdom, the external world and our internal wisdom are in fact without differences. These principles are intrinsic to everyone; the mind, the Buddha and sentient beings are no different in their nature. This is “non-discriminating wisdom,” which is also our fundamental wisdom. It is fundamental wisdom, wisdom which does not discriminate. This is our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. It is independent of our mind, because we cannot take out what is in our minds. In the outside world, we cannot see them, but these are the true principles, True Suchness.
Because of this, it is pure. This means that it is pure. So, they were “sitting on jeweled lotus flowers. They came to Vulture Peak, abiding in the empty air.” Vulture Peak is the place where the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra. They emerged from the ocean riding lotus flowers; they “rose up into the air as they came forth.” This means they were “abiding in empty air.” We can comprehend and clearly understand; this is not something we can express in words. Once we speak something, can we see it? We cannot see it, we can only hear it. We hear it, but if there is nothing there to see, we cannot understand it. This is because it is a principle.
In any case, Vulture Peak was the place where the Buddha taught the Dharma, the place where this Dharma originated. The Buddha taught the Dharma here, and many people listened to Him teach it. The Dharma was spread from this Vulture Peak. The Dharma being spread there was also intangible. It depended on people taking it to heart and passing on their insights. Educated people wrote them down, and these sutras, writings and insights [were compiled into] the sutras and discourses. They were put into written language like this, which allows us to study them more easily and see [their meaning]. Actually, written language is also a man-made creation. We have all determined that certain words have certain meanings. But have we really understood them? Those who understand, understand and are happy, while those who cannot understand remain baffled. They are still unable to understand it. Yet, the principles remain unchanged. So, this is “abiding in the empty air, the emptiness of al phenomena.”
However, only when there is “true emptiness” can there be “wondrous existence.” The emptiness of non-attachment is [what we call] “true emptiness”; this is necessary to reach wondrous existence. We truly understand this principle. If we remain attached to the words on the page, if we get stuck on them, we will never be able to understand. Thus, we must abide in emptiness, like empty air. So, Vulture Peak was where the Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra. They rose up in the air as they came forth, emerging from the ocean riding on lotus flowers. Thus it says, “They abided in the empty air.”
From the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures onward, it always says that those great Bodhisattvas abided in the empty air. This demonstrates the significance of abiding in non-abiding. This emptiness is not a barren emptiness, but the wondrous existence in true emptiness of the causal virtue of Bodhisattvas, with which all Bodhisattvas are replete.
“From the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures onward, those great Bodhisattvas abided in the empty air.” This expresses the fact that. Bodhisattvas are not attached to appearances. This is talking about non-abiding, non-attachment to appearances. When we can truly realize our fundamental wisdom, [we can see that] it does not depend on the mind nor on external states. This is true emptiness. The stupa of treasures emerged from the ground, then floated in the air. When the Buddha opened the stupa door, He also had to rise up into the air to open it. Now, Manjusri Bodhisattva emerged from the ocean, riding on top of a white lotus, and he too was now [floating] in the air. These Bodhisattvas had emerged from the ocean on white lotuses, and they were also up in the air. This represents “abiding in non-abiding,” “Abiding in non-abiding” means we must not be attached to phenomena. We should not simply remain stuck there. The principles of the Dharma adapt to all things. Remaining attached solely to written language is a dead end; we will never find the way out. So, when it comes to the Dharma, we must open up our hearts and seek to comprehend these principles. So, from “the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures” onward, we should already recognize the mystery and wonder of this Dharma.
Thus, “This emptiness is not a barren emptiness.” It is not total and utter nothingness, nor emptiness devoid of life. It contains “the causal virtue of Bodhisattvas with which all Bodhisattvas are replete.” The causes from the Bodhisattva-practice and the virtues thus attained are wondrous existence in true emptiness; this is the true emptiness Bodhisattvas abide in. It is not completely empty and silent. It is not like that. It contains so much. These Bodhisattvas, through their practice over countless kalpas, have accumulated [virtue]. Manjusri Bodhisattva’s wisdom was also accumulated like this, by following the Bodhisattva-path at all times; he actualized the Six Paramitas in all actions. This is higher than mountains, deeper than oceans; mountains and oceans cannot compare. This is the abundance of his [virtues] as a Bodhisattva. So, the Bodhisattva cause, his casual practice, is the road he walks, the virtue he gains and accumulates. “With virtue comes attainment.” The wondrous existence in true emptiness that they attain encompasses the universe; this is wondrous existence and true emptiness.
So, the following sutra passage continues, “These Bodhisattvas were all transformed and delivered by Manjusri and had perfected all the Bodhisattva-practices. They discussed the Six Paramitas together.”
These were the Bodhisattvas, the ones taught and transformed by Manjusri. Manjusri, since long ago in the past, countless kalpas before, had already been patiently guiding them. This was not without causes and conditions; he had been patiently teaching them. Finally at this time, their causes and conditions matured to where they turned from the Small to the Great. So, he brought them along to see Sakyamuni Buddha at Vulture Peak, where he taught the Lotus Sutra, the king of all sutras, the path to Buddhahood. He brought all of them along to that place. These were the ones Manjusri had taught and transformed. So, “One by one they became replete in the Bodhisattva’s causal practice."Those Bodhisattvas who emerged from the ocean, riding on lotus flowers, together with those Bodhisattvas who had come with the stupa of treasures, were all up in mid-air. Although those Bodhisattvas had emerged from the ocean, they had already one by one become replete with the causal practice of Bodhisattvas. They too had, in the past, practiced the Six Paramitas and had thus also [realized] their nature of True Suchness. These causal “seeds” were still present. With this cause, they practiced the Bodhisattva-path, thus coming [to that place] and manifesting this appearance by emerging from the ocean. They brought together principles and appearances. This was their causal practice. So, “They discussed the Six Paramitas together.” These sentient beings constantly discussed the Six Paramitas. As for Manjusri, since “There was nowhere he was not” and “no being he could not transform,” he went everywhere among them discussing these things with them. This was how he spread and taught the Dharma. This was how Manjusri Bodhisattva widely transformed sentient beings. “There was nowhere he was not, no being he could not transform.” This was Manjusri Bodhisattva’s wisdom.
So, he went among the Bodhisattvas as one of them, thus he could be the one to guide this group. This was because he was the one who best comprehended the Buddha’s state of mind. He was already an ancient Buddha come again. The Buddha’s state of mind and the Buddha’s wisdom, cannot be conveyed with words nor fathomed by the mind. However, Manjusri was already an ancient Buddha who was now reborn. He himself was replete in these things, so for him, there was never any place that was not his spiritual training ground nor any chance he did not take to transform others. He looked for chances to transform sentient beings. There was nowhere he could not be found within the Four Forms of Birth and the Six Realms.
In summary, this causal practice and virtue, the virtue of wisdom, is truly something that ordinary language has no capacity to analyze for us or help us understand clearly. We must rely on the principles of True Suchness, which are intrinsic to all of us. We must come together with the true principles. We must bring together conditions and affinities, bring together matters and principles. This depends on our nature of True Suchness.
We must be mindful. Now as we accept the Buddha-Dharma, we speak of how profound it is, but where do we actually apply the principles? [This is like] the simple example I told you from April of 2016, about the things that happened in that place, in the district where the people had always been so stubborn. By using these kinds of methods, they could already see the results. In an environment like that, those causes and conditions came together. That disaster occurred there; if that disaster had never occurred, how would those Bodhisattvas have been able to meet with those sentient beings? It was because this disaster happened there that our Bodhisattvas had the chance to enter that environment and [bring along] this kind of experience. They were able to apply their experience there by adapting to that place. Thus, it was because of people’s stubbornness that [they felt], “We can rely on our own hard work. We do not need to be saved, but this organization is giving us such a great opportunity to utilize our own strength. We must make the most of it!” This all shows how matters and principles are brought together. This is how they were able to get help. This same principle applies when transforming other sentient beings. We should put our hearts into realizing this. Only when our nature of True Suchness converges with the causes and conditions of the environment will we be able to [realize] the principles. This is how, in learning the Dharma, we begin to [apply] the Dharma we have realized. Only then will we truly have a way to have faith in our nature of True Suchness; this is our fundamental wisdom, the wisdom of our non-abiding nature. This is what we must be very mindful of. So, as Buddhist practitioners, we must always be very meticulous, mindful and patient. We still must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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