Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Taking Up the Intent behind the Buddha’s Gaze (承佛目視 待佛教敕)
Date: June.20.2018
“With their body and mind settled in one place and their palms together, they expressed their single-minded, focused and reverent intention. Lifetime after lifetime, they would form great aspirations, follow the noble teachings with sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness and earnestly make great vows.”
Please be mindful! We should always earnestly keep our minds focused. From the initial spiritual aspiration we make all the way through our subsequent lifetimes, we are single-mindedly focused in life after life. So, wherever our bodies may be, our minds should be there as well. As we listen to the Dharma at this time, our minds are present at this moment. As we sit here, our bodies are here and our minds are here as well. We should settle them in one place. When I refer to this time now, I am referring to how every moment in every day should always be the same.
Yesterday we said that a long time can be measured in lifetimes, in countless kalpas. These are long periods of time. Short periods are hours, days and moments. These are all called “time”. We should make good use of time, which means that we must hold on to our aspirations in this present moment. Then even after dust-inked kalpas, even after countless lifetimes, we will remain with our initial aspiration. Our minds will follow our bodies, always remaining “settled in one place”.
What we are now discussing is that at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, all those listening to the Dharma had the same mindset. There, matters and principles converged. “Matters” refers to that time, to that occasion when everyone was sitting there together, “with their body and mind settled in one place and their palms together.” This was something people could see. This is what we call matters and appearances. When they “expressed their single-minded, focused and reverent intention,” they were demonstrating the principles. Our mind should “seize the present moment and sustain it forever.” This is how we describe this. These words describe this profound principle, which is how a thought arising in a moment can be sustained forever. We will forever maintain this aspiration. By having such a focused mind, we demonstrate the greatest reverence. Although this is something we cannot see, it is in our heart; the principles are found in a sincere heart. So, for all of us to bring our minds to converge with the principles, we must begin by being whole-hearted. Whole-hearted means our mind is concentrated, free of discursive thoughts. This reverence comes from the sincerest intention, from a sincere mindset.
So, when matters and principles converge, it is like what we discussed earlier, how “wisdom” resonates with “principles”. This requires matters and principles to converge. We must be very mindful. A single instant, a very short time, can be sustained in our thoughts. This thought is how “Lifetime after lifetime, they would form great aspirations.” All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come in this manner. They form an aspiration and then sustain that aspiration forever. We constantly talk about this. “Forever” means there is no beginning or end. We have no way to investigate when it began, so we use the expression “Beginningless Time”. In the past, present and future, it is the same. That is how we make great vows. With these great vows, “[They] follow the noble teachings.” All Buddhas have traveled along this path. Their minds converged with the true principles and They continuously practiced in this way without losing Their vows. This all depended on having sincerity. So, we need to work diligently with sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness.
We spoke previously of the Four Great Vows. We often discuss them because transmitting our Dharma[-lineage] and establishing our school of Buddhism depend upon our sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. As we learn the Buddha-Dharma, we must all make the Four Great Vows. Tzu Chi volunteers who enter the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism must practice according to the teachings. We must transmit the Dharma and make vows. It was the same for the Buddha; He too had to make vows. The Four Great Vows are “we vow to deliver countless sentient beings, we vow to eliminate endless afflictions, we vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors” and “we vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.” We must have sincerity. Only with sincerity can we make great vows to go among people without fear of the hard work, tediousness and long time it will take. We need be courageous and diligent. Only with a reverent mind can we be wholehearted in our resolve, courageous and diligent. This is “sincerity”. We need sincerity in order to vow to transform sentient beings. We also need “integrity;” only with integrity can we vow to eliminate afflictions. We need “faith,” so we can vow to learn the Dharma-doors. Our minds must also be “steadfast” in order to be able to vow to attain Buddhahood.
When it comes to sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness, we must be very earnest. When we are very earnest, it means in our mind we do not slack off. Earnestness is diligence. When it comes to the Four Great Vows and sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness, we need to be very earnest. This is the way to establish great vows. This is what we must all be mindful of. No matter when, no matter where we are, our mind and body must be settled in one place to demonstrate our reverent sincerity. Since Beginningless Time, from when we formed aspirations all the way into the future, we must do this for many lifetimes; with our vows, we follow the right teachings. So, we must have sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness, and diligently and earnestly fulfill our vows. Only in this way can we reach our goal. So, we must be mindful.
We should not use our ordinary mindset as unenlightened, simply allowing our minds to fluctuate amidst the bustle of people, matters and objects. That way we will never progress. As we busy about in life, we must be mindful. Once our direction is set correctly, we must take every step diligently. If our direction is not accurate, a slight deviation can take us far off course. So, we must be truly and sincerely mindful.
We spoke about this before. Numerous Bodhisattvas were present there. How many exactly were there? So many that it was impossible to count. Numbers in the sutras, as I often tell everyone, are used to represent states of mind. The most significant thing was that although those bhiksus and bhiksunis had received predictions one after another and all of them willingly formed aspirations, none of them dared to return to the Saha World. Although all of them made vows, because [they knew] sentient beings in the Saha World were so stubborn, no one dared to return here. They made vows to go to other worlds instead. These were the vows in everyone’s mind. In the Buddha’s mind, He felt helpless. He had been teaching these disciples for more than 40 years at that point. Since they began learning the Small Vehicle, He had been patiently guiding them until finally they began to now the One Vehicle True Dharma and finally understand these principles. In the Chapter on Parables, the Buddha explained the three carts as one. They had also begun to understand this. Moreover, regarding their personal understanding, in the Chapter on Faith and Understanding, the disciples described [themselves through] the poor son’s relationship to the wealthy elder. Their description was very appropriate. However, even up to this point, some still did not know they were carrying a precious jewel. Now, in the principles of the One Vehicle, everyone seemed to have discovered this and comprehended the Great Vehicle Dharma. Still no one dared to make vows to deliver and transform sentient beings in the Saha World. They made vows, but they wanted to go to other worlds. However, the Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, throughout countless lifetimes, always vows to be in the Saha World, this world that is so difficult to endure. Lifetime after lifetime, He came to this world for one great cause. Yet none of the disciples dared to take up the Buddha’s mission. He [heard] these vows His disciples made. Although Yasodhara had received predictions and the 6000 bhiksunis led by Mahaprajapati had also already received predictions, when they made vows, they said “I willingly vow to practice and uphold the Lotus Sutra, and willingly transform all sentient begins, but I dare not return to the Saha World! We also want to go to other worlds.” The Buddha merely remained silent. However, the Buddha swept His gaze over the seated disciples [as if asking], “Is there truly none of you willing to vow to be in the Saha World and transform sentient beings? Why does everyone want to leave the Saha World, unwilling to deliver and transform sentient begins in this place? If once you reach attainment, you all leave, then the Saha World will always be filled with stubborn and deluded sentient begins! Without anyone willing to come here and teach, what will become of this place?”
So, the Buddha mindfully gaze out upon everyone. “[He saw]” 80 trillion nayutas of Bodhsaittva-Mahasattvas. A Bodhisattva-Mahasttva is a great Bodhisattva. Yesterday, we spoke about this. In the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, the Buddha gathered all His manifestations from the ten directions. What are the Buddha’s manifestations? They are the Dharma the body of teachings, which is the Buddha’s Dharmakaya. The Buddha’s teachings are in everyone’s mind. As everyone takes even one teaching to heart, it can turn into infinite [Dharma]. We will be able to gain realizations. “Hearing about this, now I know”. By hearing one teaching, we realize ten; some people may even realize a thousand. This means we have taken the principles to heart and can then comprehend even more principles. The principles are found everywhere. The Buddha gave us a start; He pointed us in a direction and helped us understand that actually we all share wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. We all know that true principles are found throughout the universe. Sentient beings’ wisdom is equal to the Buddha’s. the ocean of enlightenment of our intrinsic nature is so vast! As long as it is activated, the Dharma, the Dharmakaya, exists in us all. The Buddha saw these 80 trillion nayutas of Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature; it is just that ordinary beings have given rise to a deluded thought, so the ignorance and afflictions in our mind have already cut us off from it. Each time we realize a true principle, we reduce our ignorance by a little. Thus, as we eradicate ignorance and afflictions, the amount of Dharma we understand grows. “Every teaching is the Tathagata”. Since we are learning the Buddha-Dharma, we rely on the Dharma of Suchness and continually apply it in our daily living. We heard these teachings yesterday, so we rely on this Dharma; in the days to come, we will apply this Dharma among people. That was yesterday; with what we hear again today, we will deepen our understanding. So, we should earnestly journey upon the Dharma of Suchness and always use the principles of Suchness as we interact with people. This is what we need to mindfully comprehend. With each experience, our wisdom grows and our afflictions are reduced. By eliminating our afflictions, we should all be able to grow in wisdom and, as Bodhisattvas, actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. Then our causal seeds will continuously increase, we will walk the path more and more steadily and our direction will become clearer and brighter. In this way, we should gradually draw closer to the state of noble beings, advancing from the sagely toward the state of noble beings. This is what we previously discussed. As the disciples were sitting there, the Buddha gazed at them hoping their aspirations would quickly be aroused. They must not just form aspirations for other worlds. They needed to wake up. The Dharma is meant to be used in the Saha World. The Buddha so painstakingly taught us for the sake of sentient beings in the Saha World. This was His one great cause, to transform sentient beings of the Saha World.
The Buddha gazed upon those surrounding Him as a way to signal His intention. “Everyone wants to go to other worlds. This worries me! Who willing to teach the stubborn sentient beings of the future Saha World?” The Buddha wanted to express His feeling, how He worried about the sentient beings of the Saha World. Everyone’s aspirations showed they still could not truly understand the Buddha’s intention. So, the Buddha gazed at everyone for a while [hoping] they could understand His intent.
This describe the state of their virtue. This describes the state of their virtue. Taking up the intent behind [the Buddha’s] gaze, they left their seats to come before Him. They wanted very much to uphold the sutra, but upon considering their virtuous karma, they feared they were not up to the task and thought of asking and waiting for instructions to widely spread this wondrous Dharma.
So, at that time, all those Bodhisattvas had reached the stage of avaivartikas. The Buddha had continually encouraged them, so they should be non-retreating. Yesterday, we also talked about how they should be non-retreating and how they must have made up their minds to transform all sentient beings in the Saha World. They should now understand His intent. So, they “took up the intent behind His gaze”, meaning everyone understood. Many then “left their seats to come before Him”. They contemplated, and hoped to express, “We are willing to stay here to uphold the sutra! However, they had already vowed to go to other worlds. Now the Buddha remained silent and gazed upon them all. After they made vows, the Buddha was still not satisfied. He again looked at everyone. Everyone again reflected upon their own virtue, considering if their virtue was sufficient. We discussed the Five Contemplations before; do you remember? They were appraising their own virtue. How much virtue did they have? How much had they done? Were they still not qualified? They dared not express this out loud, so all remained silent, not daring to speak. The Buddha also remained silent. He just gazed at everyone.
However, some understood his intent and quickly rose up. They placed their palms together, and were also very reverent. In their minds, they waited for the Buddha to speak, they waited for the Buddha to speak, hoping the Buddha would give them instructions, “If you do not want me to go elsewhere, then I will remain here”. They were waiting for the Buddha to instruct them. This is the main point of the previous passage.
At that time, the World-Honored One looked at the 80 trillion nayutas of Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. These Bodhisattvas were all avaivartikas, who turned the non-retreating Dharma-wheel and had attained all dharanis.
So, there were “80 trillion nayutas of Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas. All of them were great Bodhisattvas who had reached the stage of non-retreating. They had taken the teachings they heard to heart. The Buddha had given them so many teachings. Whenever anyone takes a single teaching to heart, the Buddha’s Dharmakaya is there. “One gives rise to infinity; infinity arises from one.” So, the number “80 trillion [nayutas] expresses how, when we attain and put a teaching inti practice, it will give rise to infinite Dharma. We must form aspirations to dedicate ourselves among people. All of them had to be great Bodhisattvas for they had infinite intentions. Each of them had intentions and each of them had insights. So, those insights must have been very numerous. Thus, when it comes to numbers, we need to be very mindful. Every teaching is a Tathagata, let alone those who had already and actualized the Six Paramitas in all actions. Their causes were perfected and they approached fruition; there were so many [such] people present. So, there was this great number, 80 trillion [nayutas].
The passage below then says, immediately they rose from their seats and came before the Buddha. They wholeheartedly put their palms together and had this thought, ‘if the World-Honored One were only to instruct us to uphold and expound this sutra, we would do as the Buddha instructed and spread this Dharma widely’.”
These people were already waiting. When the Buddha briefly looked around at them, they comprehended the Buddha’s intent, quickly rose from their seats and came to Him. They pressed their palms together. There was great reverence in their hearts as they awaited the Buddha’s instructions.
Immediately they rose from their seats and came before the Buddha. They wholeheartedly put their palms together: All these great Bodhisattvas had actualized the Dharma in all actions and were replete with perfect causes. The 80 trillion [Bodhisattvas] saw the Buddha’s gaze and understood and knew that the time was right, so they rose from their seats, put their palms together with proper etiquette and paid reverence to the Buddha.
These “great Bodhisattvas had actualized the Dharma in all action and were replete with perfect causes. Those Bodhisattvas-Mahasattvas whom the Buddha looked at were already great Bodhisattvas; they had actualized the Dharma in all actions. With all the teachings they had heard, each teachings is one Tathagata. all the teachings were in their minds. Because of this, they exercised both compassion and wisdom in going among people and actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions. They perfected the causes and approached fruition 80 trillion is a number we should mindfully [contemplate].
This is a description of how numerous the teachings we have gained should be. The Buddha-nature is intrinsic to everyone, so when we attain one teaching, it becomes infinite teachings.
Thus, “One gives rise to infinity; infinity arises from one. We should all clearly understand this. So, they “saw the Buddha’s gaze.
Everyone already understood many things. They just did not have the courage to remain in the Saha world and wanted to escape. Actually, when the Buddha gazed at them, they understood the Buddha’s intent. They “understood and knew that the time was right”. They understood the Buddha’s intent. They knew this was the Buddha’s greatest worry and that it was time to earnestly recruit people willing to form aspirations. All of them must have understood this!
“Thus”, because of this, they all rose from their seats. The action of pressing their palms together showed their great reverence and respect for the Buddha. this was how they showed respect for the Buddha.
[They] had this thought, “If the World-Honored One were only to instruct us to uphold and expound this sutra”: The assembly thought to themselves, “If we had the honor of the World-Honored Onein structing us to accept, uphold, read, and expound this sutra…”. they took up the intent behind the Buddha’s gaze and thus left their and came forward. They wished to uphold the sutra, but they merely thought of it without putting it into words. So, they gave rise to thoughts of reverence and awaited the Buddha’s instruction.
So, “[They] had this thought, ‘if the World-Honored One were only to instruct us to uphold and expound this sutra…’.” This was everyone’s thought. They were just waiting; we are also waiting. Since they had formed these aspirations, if the Buddha intended to them to remain here in the Saha World, they would wait for Him to tell them. “If we had the honor of the World-Honored One instructing us, if He were to instruct all of them, to accept, uphold, read and recite this sutra right here in this place, if the Buddha was willing to tell them and give them these instructions, of course they would be willing too. So, the Buddha gave them a look. We often hear people say, “Master gave me a look. He gained at me and I knew.” I often hear people tell me this. I ask them, “What was it? After they replied, I would ask them, “How did you know? You bridfly looked at me, and I knew!” That’s right! With just a quick look, they would know.
So, “they left their seats. Out of respect, they did not ask while seated. Instead, they quickly rose from their seats and came to show respect to the Buddha. So, “They wished to uphold the sutra, but they merely thought of it without putting it into words. They wanted to carry on the Buddha’s vow to uphold the sutra here, but they did not actually express it or put it into words. So, “They gave rise to thoughts of reverence and awaited the Buddha’s instruction. They waited for the Buddha. so, “We would do as the Buddha instructed and spread this Dharma widely. “As long as the Buddha tells us, we will be willing to follow the Buddha’s instructions. We are willing to remain here to expound this sutra. This was the intent of all the Bodhisattvas.
So, “They also thought, ‘The Buddha’s silent now and gives us no instruction. What should we do?’ Then, all the Bodhisattvas, reverently following the Buddha’s intent and wishing to fulfill their own original vows…”.
Actually, everyone had this wish, but the Buddha, after gazing at them, simply remained slient and said nothing. What were they to do? So, at the time, those Bodhisattvas were “reverently following the Buddha’s intent”. Since the Buddha did not intend to speak, they had to reverently follow the Buddha’s intent. They were not just following His intent; they too had the same wish.
So, “They thought since the Buddha was silent, there must be some profound meaning behind it”. They still had not heard any instructions and “dared not act on their own”.
“The Buddha clearly wants us to remain here. Why doesn’t He tell us? Still, there must a reason for His silence. The Buddha must have His own intention”. There must be very profound Dharma stored in His mind. “Profound meaning” refers to profound Dharma. His mind must contain very profound states, states of mind filled with Dharma. So, perhaps there was still some teaching they had not heard. They must now continue to be patient and wait for the Buddha’s instructions.
So, they “dared not act on their own”. They dared not reply to him instantly. So, they too remained silent. “They also thought, ’The Buddha is silent now and gives us no instructions’.” They still did not feel that the Buddha intended to speak to them. It seemed like His mind still contained very profound Dharma. So, “They also gave rise to this thought, ‘Right now the Buddha keeps His silence. He has not spoken any words to instruct us’.” The Buddha had not clearly instructed them, so what should they do now? “What should we all do now? What do we do?” These Bodhisattvas wished to be “reverently following the Buddha’s intent,” to “reverently follow the Tathagata’s intent to entrust [the sutra] from the previous”. “Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures.”
“What should we all do?” Then, all the Bodhisattvas, reverently following the Buddha’s intent…: “What should we do now?” They reverently followed the Tathagata’s intent to entrust [the sutra] from the previous. Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures.
Now, they finally realized how in the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, the Buddha had skillfully guided them. The stupa of treasures appeared and the Buddha gathered His many manifestations. This meant that everyone should “return the Dharma to its place”. He wanted them to understand his Dharma and to understand the Buddha’s intent. Now they looked back at the time of the Chapter on Seeing the Stupa of Treasures, so they were willing to “reverently follow the Buddha’s intent”.
In reverently following the Buddha’s intent, there were two intentions: One, His gaze was intended to compel them; there was no need to wait for Him to speak. Two, He wished that people would shoulder this Dharma, uphold and expound it so it will never disappear. When we all carry on His resolve to expound it, we are reverently carrying out His noble intent. Why wait for Him to instruct us to make vows? There were two intentions to reverently follow. “One, His gaze was intended to compel them; there was no need to wait for Him to speak.”
“Since the Buddha gave us this look, we ourselves must realize it. Why must we wait any further for the Buddha to tell us?” Secondly, “He wished that people would shoulder this Dharma, uphold and expound it so it will never disappear”. Secondly, the Buddha gave them this look to express His hope for everyone to take on the responsibility for this Dharma so this Dharma would never disappear. It must never be lost to this world. “When we all carry on His resolve to expound it we are reverently carrying out His noble intent”. We should carry on the Buddha’s mission. The Buddha’s mission is to enter the Saha land that must be endured lifetime after lifetime. We should put effort into “carrying on His resolve to expound it”. This means coming to the world to teach. This is “reverently carrying out His noble intent”. Why must we wait for the Buddha to tell us this? “[Why wait] to make vows?” We should begin making vows.
“[They] wished to fulfill their own original vows”. We need not wait for the Buddha to speak; we ourselves have the same vow. So, “They also wished to fulfill the original vow practiced by Bodhisattvas”. Everyone was originally practicing such vows. So, “original vows” [refers to] “the path of the One Vehicle. Having awakened themselves,” they further awaken others. “I have already awakened to my original vows; I should take initiative to awaken others”. They had already listened to so much Dharma and understood so many principles. One gives rise to infinity. Throughout the universe and all Dharma-realms, the principles are everywhere. “I have clearly understood them all, so I should go on to awaken myself as well as others. This is what I should express”.
So, “From above, they constantly beat the Dharma drum to awaken people below who are lost and dazed. This is their original vow. With one action, they reap two benefits. So it says they reverently follow [the Buddha] while fulfilling their own [vows].”
They constantly beat the Dharma drum. Drums must be beaten o make a sound. We must take up the Dharma we receive and continue the Buddha’s noble mission. We should take it up and pass it down. We must further “awaken those lost and dazed”. We must not allow those people to remain half asleep and half awake. The word “dazed” means half awake, half asleep. It is almost as if they are sleep-walking. We need to awaken all of them. “This is their original vow”. This is their vow. “With one action, they reap two benefits”. They were reverently following the Buddha’s intent and fulfilling their own vows. We should be very mindful in seeking to comprehend the Buddha’s intent. We must not let the Buddha down. The Buddha hoped to recruit people for the Dharma. This is what we have continually discussed. Since the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha always hoped that everyone would earnestly comprehend the Dharma and realize the Buddha’s aspiration. The Buddha’s aspiration, the Buddha’s mission, is something we must deeply comprehend. He hoped that the teachings of the sutras would forever remain in the world. This is our responsibility toward the Buddha. We must carry on His wishes. Ever since the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, throughout this process, the Buddha [expressed] His hopes. However, having received predictions, everyone was willing to form aspirations, but they still wanted to go to other lands. Time and time again, one after another, they all [expressed] they did not dare to stay. They wanted to go elsewhere. Think about it, how could [His heart] endure this? This is like how when the Buddha began teaching the Lotus Sutra, 5000 left their seats; how saddening was that! The principle is the same. The circumstances the Buddha encountered were similar to what we ordinary people encounter. But ordinary people are self-centered and do things for their own benefit, while the Buddha lovingly and selflessly gave of Himself. This is the only difference. So, we should mindfully comprehend His mind, take the Buddha-mind as our own and His noble mission as our own. The Buddha’s mission, His one great cause, is everlasting; as long as the Saha World remains unpurified, His one great cause is unfulfilled. By the same token, to accomplish this one great cause we must mutually continue each other’s work, and continually pass [the mission] down. So, we must understand the Buddha-mind and comprehend the Buddha’s mission. We must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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