Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Swift Realization With Faith as Our Foundation (以信為本 具德速證)
Date: May.14.2018
“We must relieve all beings with compassion, benevolently accommodate others and discipline ourselves. Benevolence is returning to propriety. With harmony, we will never violate the true principles in anything that we do. Then we can serve as a role model. With these wondrous practices, we will attain Buddhahood immediately and will be able to attain Bodhi. In this [state], within an instant, we will attain complete understanding, become replete with virtues and swiftly attain realization.”
I think we can all understand this. We must relieve all beings with compassion, benevolently accommodate others and discipline ourselves. Benevolence is returning to propriety. “Benevolence is what makes us human.” In conducting ourselves as humans, we must never stray from the [concept] of “benevolence”. As humans, we must bring love into our hearts and be “accommodating” of others. We would rather discipline ourselves that bring harm to other people. This is the basis of being human. Propriety and etiquette are very important in conducting ourselves as humans.
We should be humble and accommodating. This is “propriety”. So, “Benevolence is returning to propriety.” We must be humble and accommodating of others like this and understand the importance of taking a step back to observe etiquette. This is what it means to be a benevolent person. To become a person of benevolence and virtue, this is what we must learn to do. Didn’t Confucius emphasize five words? “Gentleness, kindheartedness, respectfulness, frugality and humility are how he attains it.” For Confucius, these five words encompassed his virtue. He was very gentle, kindhearted, self-disciplined and always humbled himself before others. He was respectful of others in everything he did. This is very important. We also need to learn to be like this. This is propriety and etiquette. This is the principles. We must never stray from the principles; we must “benevolently accommodate others, discipline ourselves and return to propriety.” Should we ever stray from these principles, we would cease to seem human. Thus, “Benevolence is what makes us human.” To be human is to be benevolent; it is the direction for us to be a good person and to be successful. So, when it comes to “harmony,” we must have harmony to be benevolent; we must have harmony in our interpersonal relationships.
The principles, the world and humankind all need to be in harmony. If we have harmony, if matters and principles can be united, things will go smoothly; this requires harmony. For there to be peace in the world, the four elements must be in harmony as well. For our bodies to be healthy, the four elements [inside us] must be in harmony. This word “harmony” [is so important]; in our relationships we also need harmony. Then we can be free from manmade calamities and the world, society and the family can be free of problems. All these problems stem from “disharmony”. This is why harmony is so very important. So, “With harmony, we will never violate the true principles in anything that we do.” For there to be harmony, we must relieve all beings with compassion, benevolently accommodate others, discipline ourselves and return to propriety. Then we will have this word, “harmony”. When we accomplish these things, when we cultivate these things, harmony will come naturally to us. The principles of the world all require [harmony]. Thus, “With harmony, we will never violate the true principles in anything that we do.” In all that we do, in all people, matters, things, we will never violate the principles. This is why Sakyamuni Buddha taught us to “relieve all beings with compassion,” and Confucius taught us to “benevolently accommodate others, discipline ourselves and return to propriety.” They are exactly the same; they both say that what we need is “harmony”.
“With harmony, we will never violate the true principles in anything that we do”. In our relationships with things, in our relationships with other people, in our relationships with animals, we will never violate the principles of the world. These are the true principles. We cannot violate the true principles. If we are able to be like this, “then we can serve as a role model”. In life, we should try to become “role models”. Usually, we just use the word “examples”. When we practice according to the teachings and follow the principles as we walk upon the path, we will naturally become role models for others. So, “With these wondrous practices, we will attain Buddhahood immediately.” We must [engage in] wondrous practices. These “wondrous practices” refer to “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions.” Everyone knows the Six Paramitas of giving, precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom; this is the Bodhisattva-path. There are six different methods altogether, but if we expand them, they become the countless methods to suit the many unique natures of sentient beings, the diversity of cultures, the many different kinds of human beings and their many races and religions and so on. This requires great self-cultivation. In [the practice of] the Six Paramitas, “We must relieve all beings with compassion, benevolently accommodate others, discipline ourselves and return to propriety.” These things are all encompassed by the Six Paramitas, which encompass many other things as well. We must wait and see how sentient beings behave before responding in a way that suits their needs. If their behavior is already virtuous, we can devise ways to guide them to enter the Buddha-Dharma, accept the Buddha-Dharma and lead them to enter upon the Bodhisattva-path. Bodhisattvas are able to widely transform sentient begins by skillfully guiding them from the Small Vehicle to the Great Vehicle Dharma. This is one way to transform others.
As for sentient begins, their evil comes in countless varieties, so we must use countless methods in order to suit them. What sort of bad habitual tendencies do they have? In what direction does their bad behavior lean? What methods should we use to help them? These are all very important [things to consider]. So, we must [practice] “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions”. This kind of “practice” is certain to contain extremely profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma. In order to suit the countless sentient beings, we must use countless methods. So, these are the “wondrous practices”. The “wondrous practices” are subtle and intricate. Sentient beings have so many habitual tendencies, so we must use an infinite array of subtle and intricate methods to draw near them. These are the “wondrous practices”.
The causal practice of Bodhisattvas, these wondrous practices, accumulate in this way until our karmic conditions have matured and “We will immediately attain Buddhahood and reach Bodhi.”
Lately, we have been talking about “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions”. We must not disregard even the smallest act of goodness. So, “One speck of dust contains the principles of the universe. One grain of rice stores the power of the world.” Just a single grain of rice contains the sun and moon. Just a single speak of dust contains the entire universe. These are very true principles. We should constantly accumulate [good deeds] and never disregard even the smallest act of goodness. The principles are extremely subtle and intricate; we must delve into them deeply. So, “With these wondrous practices, we will immediately attain Buddhahood and reach Bodhi.” As we learn the Buddha-Dharma, we keep accumulating [knowledge of it] until we [understand] these subtle and intricate principles and can put them to use anywhere in the world. This is the most important thing in learning the Buddha-Dharma.
So, once we fulfill “these wondrous practices, we will immediately attain Buddhahood and reach Bodhi.” This means we have already reached enlightenment. Then we will be able to clearly understand what these true principles contain. This happens “within an instant,” when or karmic conditions have matured. Amidst these extremely intricate principles, “in this [state],” all the intricate principles have come together; one speck of dust contains the principles of the universe. We will have mastered all the “wondrous practices” and fulfilled them all.
Then, “within an instant, we will attain complete understanding, become replete with virtues and swiftly attain realization”. Naturally, in that instant, we will attain complete understanding. We will be replete in our virtue, so in a very short period of time, we will be able to attain realization. We usually approach our problems [by thinking], “How can I get to the bottom of this matter? What should I do about it?” We might wrack our brain for days and days without ever finding a solution, but suddenly, maybe a child will come along and do something that gives us a sudden realization, “So it was that simple all along! That is all there is to it!” Or someone says something that gets us to understand [all of a sudden].
In any case, we must have “faith”. Faith is the source of the Way, the mother of merits and virtues. It nurtures all Dharma of goodness, eliminates all doubts and delusions and reveals and opens the supreme path. For all sentient beings to make their initial entrance into the ocean of the Three Treasures, they must have faith as their foundation.
“Faith is the source of the Way, the mother of merits and virtues. It nurtures all Dharma of goodness.” If our faith is deep, we will not fear how long or far away [the path to] the Buddha-Dharma may seem. As for the Buddha-Dharma, the Buddha sincerely told us that we enter the path to Buddhahood through faith, embrace others through the practice of charity, then go on to retain and uphold the teachings. “Retain all teachings, uphold all goodness.” We must not fear how long it may take; with so many sentient beings, we must dedicate ourselves throughout multiple lifetimes. We must have faith in the teachings of the Buddha. It is just like the principles of the universe. The universe is so vast and spacious. The universe contains all the myriad things, both obvious and subtle. The obvious things are the mountains and rivers, the earth and its oceans. They are the things that we can see. The oceans are vast and the mountains are majestic. They are all things that we can see. The subtle and intricate things are as subtle as a practical of dust. But these practices are not like the dust we have here on Earth. The fine dust here on Earth is very fine; when the wind blows in the desert, all we can see is a haze of dust. The sand flies everywhere to create a dusty haze, and the only thing we can see is a dense haze that covers the entire sky. It turns out that dense haze is actually composed of many particles of sand; it is just that we cannot see them. Those tiny, individual particles of sand are invisible to us, yet when they are all stirred up together, they turn into a dense haze.
Actually, there is dust in the universe as well. All we know about is dust on Earth. If we do not dust off a table for a while, it will become dusty. When did all the dust come in and cover the table? When did the dirt and dust come in? We have no idea! And yet, this is not even the finest of dusts. There is dust out in space as well. Earth dust and space dust are not the same. Our time is different as well. Time on Earth is measured by how long it takes to orbit around the sun, so a single year takes 365 days. This is one year. The sun is also orbiting. We are [orbiting] in our solar system, and the sun also orbits throughout the galaxy. The completion of one cycle is called a “galactic year”. This is several hundred million Earth years.
So, the Buddha taught us that a “kalpa” is a very long period of time. Sometimes we find it hard to believe. Could this really be true? Could there really be such a long period of time? Could people really have lifespans as long as 84,000 years? Yes! However, for every 100 years after the human lifespan reaches 84,000 years, the human lifespan will decrease by one year. This is because of the degeneration of humanity’s morality. Thus, the human lifespan decreases. Every 100 years, the human lifespan decreases by one year until it reaches just 10 years. By the time our lifespan has reached 10 years, people on Earth will already be well on their way to extinction. This does not mean everyone [is the same]; it is not that everyone lives for just 10 years. There are some who will live until 30, 40 or 50, and some even until 60 or 70, but the majority will die prematurely due to disasters, manmade calamities or because of birth defects. People will experience more and more suffering, so much more! [10 years] will be the average lifespan of humankind.
In ancient times, people were replete with benevolence, virtue and morality. People were very kind and honest, and sentient beings all lived and died naturally. Things are not like this anymore! There are natural disasters and manmade calamities. Disharmony among mankind leads to manmade calamities. Every time another manmade calamity occurs, especially as weapons become more advanced, it is more terrible than before.
Then, people are also killing animals. The [human] lifespan is constantly shrinking. Thus, we will no longer have natural [lifespans] or die natural deaths. Mankind will reach the point where, due to our continual moral degeneration, the human lifespan will decrease by one year every 100 years, until the human lifespan is reduced to 10 years. During all of this, our lifespans will continually decrease. As a result, for thousands of years now, since the dawn of history, as far as we know, the world has never enjoyed a period of true peace for too long. Humans have been fighting amongst themselves of years now. We have been maiming and killing one another for thousands of years now.
So, the Buddha used great patience to teach us [the principles]; when we understand the principles and take them to heart, we will earnestly engage in spiritual practice. If we compare humanity to the universe, to Earth, this planet in the solar system, then our lives seem negligible indeed. The “kalpas” the Buddha taught about, that period of time called a dust-inked kalpa, is something we must believe in. Now that science has helped us understand our universe and our solar system, we must believe it.
Hence, “Earth is the source of the Way the mother of merits and virtues”. The more advanced science becomes, the more it testifies to the Buddha sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. When He taught us, He used the principles to help us understand; thus we must have faith in the Buddha’s teachings.
Thus, “Faith is the source of the Way, the mother of merits and virtues”. [The understanding] of many principles always begins with “faith”, with deep faith in the Buddha’s teachings. “[Faith] eliminates all doubts and delusions”. We must no longer have any doubts. “Doubts” are a waste of time. We should not doubt; we should have faith in the Buddha-Dharma. We should have faith; as He explained it for us, we should be all the more faithful.
So, “[Faith] reveals and opens the supreme path”. If we can have faith, we will understand the principles of the universe and the earth more clearly. Otherwise, who would ever [have calculated] the time it takes for the earth and sun to rotate? So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend these things. Since the Buddha taught us about time, if we wish to understand more about it, we should mindfully seek to investigate further. As it turns out, scientists have already estimated the length of a galactic year. This shows what the principles of the universe are like. We only know about a small corner [of the universe], so very little.
I know this because when Professor Ye came, he had a map of the universe with him, a map even bigger than this table. He put it up front. I asked him, “Where is our Earth?” He pointed out to me, “It is in this small corner, here! And the sun? The sun is here. It is very tiny”. He said, “There are many suns [on this map]!” “As for Earth’s sun, our sun it is right here”. Evidently, humankind is quite insignificant! There are so many planets in our solar system, let alone in the Mikey Way! Just think of how insignificant human life is, and yet our desires are so immense. There are such great principles, and we completely ignore them! So, it is only through faith that we can come to understand all the teaching. We need to eliminate our afflictions and free ourselves of doubts and delusions, for only then will [our faith] be able to “reveal and open the supreme path.” Then we will be able to discover many principles. So, for all sentient beings to make their initial entrance into the ocean of wisdom of the Three Treasures, they must have “faith as their foundation.”
The Three Treasures are the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. The Buddha appeared in the world and expounded the Buddha-Dharma. The Sangha focuses on spiritual practice, seeking to understand the principles guiding sentient beings out of chaos, giving them a principled path to walk upon and helping them to understand. Through charity, we help them to enter the Buddhist teachings and turn from evil to goodness. We do this by actualizing the Six Paramitas in all of our actions. The wondrousness of “all of our actions” is the subtle and intricate wondrous Dharma, the extremely profound and wondrous Dharma.
As Bodhisattvas, we form aspirations and make vows, the Four Great Vows. We must “vow to deliver countless sentient beings.” We must be very sincere in doing this. We must “vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” Only with the right state of mind, right views, right mindfulness and right thoughts will we be able to eliminate our afflictions. Then we must “vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors.” There are so many doors to the Dharma! We must have faith, for only with faith will we be able to understand the many teachings, the worldly Dharma the world-transcending Dharma and the Dharma of all things in the universe. We must understand all these things clearly. Since we vow to learn the infinite Dharma, it is crucial for us to have faith. So, we must begin from our earnest aspirations to engage on spiritual practice, “have faith in all, eliminate all afflictions and cultivate all practices.” We must be very earnest; we must practice earnestly and never forget our initial aspirations. This is what is most important for us as Buddhist practitioners.
So, the previous passage says, “As for the entire profound and secret treasury that all Buddhas teach, she has been able to accept and uphold it.” Since the principles contained within are truly profound, it is called a “secret treasury.”
“As for the entire profound and secret treasury that all Buddhas teach, she has been able to accept and uphold it. She has deeply entered into Samadhi and thoroughly comprehends all Dharma, in the span of an instant, she gave rise to Bodhisattva. She attained the states of non-retreating and unobstructed eloquence.”
We spoke of a “galactic year”. When we normally teach the sutras perhaps we do not talk about these things. However, we must investigate this unite time called a “kalpa”. Don’t it really exist? Since I had doubts myself, I do not want anyone else to have doubts, so once we investigate this, we must be believe in it. In this modern age, when we talk about our Earth in relation to our solar system, this relationship takes place in a very small corner of the galaxy. From just a galactic year, from just the time it takes for our sun to orbit [around the center of the galaxy], we are able to know that such a long period of time really does exist. Just think, aren’t the principles of the universe incredibly subtle and intricate? We need many people to investigate them constantly otherwise they are just too subtle and intricate.
The dharma the Buddha taught encompasses the entire universe. So, when it comes to these principles, we still have a lot to investigate. “As for the entire profound and secret treasury, she has been able to accept and uphold it.” Since we “vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors” and “vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood,” we should accept and uphold the teachings. We should “deeply enter into Samadhi.” We have discussed cultivating contemplation and meditative concentration. We should mindfully seek to experience this and earnestly considerate it. So, she “thorough comprehended all Dharma. In the span of an instant, she gave rise to Buddhist.” If we are able to understand, it will be instantaneous. This is because she had been working up to this for a very long time until she finally understood. How can we experience and understand a kalpa and relationship with time? “Oh! I understand.”It turns out the principles of the universe as like this. We need to accumulate [this understanding] over a period of time. So, “She gave rise to Bodhicitta.” The more we give rise to Bodhicitta, the more our mind awakens. This also requires our constant accumulation. This is how Bodhicitta grows until we “attain the states of non-retreating” and “unobstructed eloquence.” Once we eliminate our afflictions, we will constantly accumulate this awakening. In this way, we will understand more and more. So, we should work hard to be mindful.
The next passage continues to say, “She thinks of sentient beings with loving-kindness, as if they were newborn children. She is replete with merits and virtues. All that she thinks with her mind and expresses through her words is subtle, wondrous and expansive. She is compassionate, benevolent and accommodating, harmonious and graceful in her resolve. Thus she was able to reach Bodhi.”
This is describing the eight-year-old dragon girl. She was able to understand the secret treasury of the Buddha-Dharma and retain and uphold the teachings. She “retained all goodness and upheld all teachings.” She had attained Dharani, the door of retaining and upholding. So, at all times, “She thought of sentient being with loving-kindness, as if they were newborn children.”
She thinks of sentient beings with loving-kindness, as if they were newborn children: She regarded all sentient beings with loving-kindness and compassion. The dragon girl was also replete with the intrinsic nature of True Suchness. She had empathy for all sentient beings as if they were reborn children, equal and without difference.
In regarding all sentient beings with loving-kindness and compassion, the dragon girl was replete with the nature of True Suchness. She had completely fulfilled and internalized her virtuous practices, so she was already replete in virtue. She had worked hard at her spiritual practice and had attained virtue. As we said before, “With virtue comes attainment. It is through hard work that she was able to attain this virtue. So, she [possessed] the nature of True Suchness, her virtue had reunited with her nature of True Suchness, and her nature of True Suchness had converged with her wondrous practices. She had fully integrated the true principles into all her wondrous practices. For her, when it came to these principles, they were part of her everyday practice. “She had empathy for all sentient beings, as if they were newborn children”. The Buddha looked at sentient beings as if they were His only son. As for the dragon girl, she regarded sentient beings as if they were newborn children. Isn’t this in perfect accord with the Buddha-mind? So, they were “equal and without difference”. Her mind was the same as the Buddha’s.
Thus it says, “She was replete with merit and virtue”. As for “all the Bodhisattvas’ merits of actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions,” she was totally replete in all of them. “Her great aspirations were firm and invulnerable like a diamond, clear, pure and perfect, permanent and indestructible”.
Her aspirations were great and very firm. She had formed great aspirations; she had formed great aspirations over the course of many lifetimes and many kalpas. [Her aspirations] were as firm as diamonds. As the most resilient things in the world, we often make analogies to diamonds. She was resolute in her spiritual aspirations; they were very firm. Nothing could destroy them. If our spiritual aspirations are firm, no matter what hardships we encounter, nothing cam overturn our spiritual aspirations. This is determination in spiritual practice. This requires faith, deep faith, so that no external conditions can shake us.
[Her aspirations] were “clear, pure and perfect”. Her afflictions and ignorance had been completely eliminated. [Her aspirations] were pure, perfect and complete, “permanent and indestructible”. This kind of virtue is indestructible. Hence, “All that she thinks with her mind and expresses through her words is subtle, wondrous and expansive.”
All that she thinks with her mind and expresses through her words is subtle, wondrous and expansive: What she thought in her mind and what she expressed through her words was profound and subtle in meaning and expansive in essence.
The dragon girl’s mind was always full of pure and wondrous Dharma. Her every thought was of the Dharma. She was free of discursive thoughts and free of ignorance. She had awakened and entered the ocean of wisdom; her mind was pure and undefiled. As for “what she thought in her mind and what she expressed through her words,” every thought in her mind was subtle and wondrous; there was nothing but the Dharma, the extremely subtle and wondrous Dharma. Because of this, her each and every word was full of the subtle, wondrous and expansive Dharma. Her every single word contained these vey expansive principles. It was just like the Buddha and the Dharma He taught; His words require a lot of explanation on our part before we can fully understand what He said. The dragon girl was like this as well. All her thoughts and speech and all the Dharma she taught was subtle, wondrous and expansive. [Her words] were very intricate, yet the principles they encompassed were immense. This is “what she thought in her mind and what she expressed through her words”. It was so profound and subtle in meaning. It was extremely profound, subtle and intricate. This was because she had already realized so many principles that trying to explain them is difficult indeed. [Her teachings] “were so expansive in essence”. How could she only be eight years old? Her [teachings] were already so expansive in essence. This was the dragon girl, whose heart encompassed the endless void; her heart encompassed the universe and the boundless worlds within it. Her every word contained these very great principles. So, even though she was only eight years old, her [teachings] were “expansive in essence”. The principles she taught were expansive, and the meaning they contained was very profound.
So, “She could freely give rise to supreme enlightenment.” She could freely give rise to supreme enlightenment. When she gave rise to aspirations, she would never retreat or deviate from them. She expressed with words the thoughts in her mind. This refers to the thoughts in her mind; she could use her words to freely express them. Therefore, she never missed a time to expound the Dharma and transform people; she did not let any opportunity pass her by. The meanings of the Dharma that she taught were widely seen as subtle, wondrous and expansive.
As for this “supreme enlightenment,” it is unsurpassed and without compare. She could freely make use of this enlightened state of mind to suit the capabilities of any sentient being. Thus, “When she gave rise to aspirations,” “she would never retreat or deviate from them” Whenever she gave rise to aspirations, no matter what a sentient being was like, she would always find a way to suit them. This was due to her virtues of being benevolent and accommodating and her aspiration to benefit and relieve all sentient beings through compassion. So, she could “freely give rise” to these aspirations. She used the Dharma to widely transform others and adapted to sentient beings’ capabilities. So, starting from forming her aspirations, she would never retreat or deviate. This is how she formed aspirations. What about us unenlightened beings? We take one step forward and one step back. We are like a lab rat in a cage that runs around and around on its wheel, all the while staying in the same place. We advance then retreat, but the dragon girl did not retreat from her spiritual aspirations. So, “She expressed with words the thoughts in her mind. This refers to the thoughts in her mind”; the words that she spoke with her mouth all came from speaking the principles of the Dharma of her mind that she had attained. These were the thoughts in her mind. “She expressed with words the thoughts in her mind.” She expressed whatever was in her mind. “Therefore, she never missed a time to expound the Dharma and transform people.” She was always transforming others, and never wasted a moment to transform others. She would seize the moment, then sustain that moment forever. She never wasted any time and she never missed an opportunity, so she was able to transform a lot of people and accomplish many things. “The meanings of the Dharma that she taught were widely seen as subtle, wondrous and expansive.” Indeed, the Dharma she taught was extremely vast and grand. This is why we should admire the dragon girl. She was so young, only eight years old, but she had already formed aspirations like this. Actually, she did not just [form aspirations] in this life alone, but for dust-inked kalpas. All those who engage in spiritual practice and are able to attain Buddhahood have practiced for dust-inked kalpas. It all depends upon karmic conditions. In which lifetime will karmic conditions ripen? In which lifetime will we attain enlightenment in that instant? This is all due to past accumulation. So, “She is compassionate, benevolent and accommodating, harmonious and graceful in her resolve.” This showed her spiritual cultivation. This came from her spiritual practice, both internal and external.
So, “She was kind and compassionate, profoundly benevolent, humble and accommodating. Her aspirations and intentions were gentle, harmonious and graceful." These were the virtues she cultivated, the practices she practiced. She was benevolent, compassionate and profoundly honest and considerate. She was also very humble, as well as extremely accommodating of others. Just like Confucius’ [virtues], she was gentle, kindhearted, respectful, frugal and humble. So, she “was gentle, harmonious and graceful.” The dragon girl was very proper, harmonious and graceful.
She was compassionate, accommodating, harmonious and graceful. This means her afflictions and habitual tendencies were completely eliminated. With harmoniousness, we will handle matters according to the true principles and will follow the Dharma in proper sequence. With grace, we will discipline ourselves to become very mindful. Our aspirations will be sincere, pure and undefiled. With this kind of manner, we will immediately attain Buddhahood and reach Bodhi.
Being “harmonious and graceful” meant that her afflictions and habitual tendencies had been completely eliminated. She was compassionate. Especially in her appearance, etiquette and so on, she was completely free of bad habitual tendencies. Her habitual tendencies had been completely eliminated. “With harmoniousness, we will handle matters according to the true principles.” We need to know how to harmonize with others. We need to harmonize with others; it is not up to others to harmonize with us. It is we who need to harmonize with others. When we accord with the principles, then, naturally, “We will follow the Dharma in proper sequence” and everything will go smoothly. “With grace, we will discipline ourselves to become very mindful.” We will not be negligent. We must be dignified and upright in our demeanor. We cannot be sloppy or careless. We must be very self-disciplined. So, “Our aspirations will be sincere, pure and undefiled.” Our aspirations will be refined and pure, refined, pure and without discursive thoughts. They will be pure and unadulterated. So, “With this kind of manner, we will immediately attain Buddhahood.” This is the level we have to reach.
So, she was able to “reach Bodhi.” “Thus she was able to reach Bodhi y being replete with the myriad virtues he had cultivated, as mentioned above.” We must have these virtues of spiritual practice “to be able to attain Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.” Only then will we be able to attain this. We must learn and cultivate [these virtues]. [She used] the Four Siddhantas to accord with capabilities, so it says [her teachings] are “subtle and wondrous.” “All [her teachings] return to the One Vehicle, o it says, ‘expansive.'" We must benefit all beings with compassion, “benevolently accommodate others and” “discipline ourselves.” This is what we need to do. So, the Four Siddhantas were all contained within. When the Buddha taught the Dharma, He gave it universally to all sentient beings. The worldly life siddhanta, the individual siddhanta, the curative siddhanta and the supreme meaning siddhanta were all contained within. All these various things demonstrated how the dragon girl was replete with Samadhi and wisdom.
Everything above explains how the dragon girl was replete with Samadhi and wisdom. She immediately formed great aspirations to succeed in benefiting both herself and others. She accumulated merits and virtues, then swiftly attained Bodhi. All this was due to her being able to listen to this sutra. From the beginning, she was not obstructed by being in an evil destiny or a female body. Thus the reason why this sutra is so worthy of respect is even more apparent.
“She immediately formed great aspirations.” From the very beginning, she had very sharp capabilities and formed great aspirations “to succeed in benefiting both herself and others.” She had gradually accumulated this until that moment when she swiftly attained Bodhi. So, “All this was due to her being able to listen to this sutra.” It was all because she was able to listen to the Lotus Sutra. A very long time ago, she had heard the Lotus Sutra. Thus, “From the beginning, she was not obstructed by being in an evil destiny or a female body.” Though she had the form of an animal and a female body, she never let these forms obstruct her. “Thus the reason why this sutra is so worthy of respect” should be even clearer to us. This sutra contains such great principles. It tells us that all sentient beings are equal. Even though she was an animal, even though everyone believed that women had too many obstructions and were not vessels for spiritual practice, the dragon girl showed everyone that she could attain Buddhahood. All in all, the subtlety and wonder of this Great Vehicle Dharma lies in this respect for all sentient beings. Let us always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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