Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Buddha’s Mighty Power Protects Us from Afar (藉佛威力 遙見守護)
Date: June.22.2018
“Those who heard the Dharma formed Great Vehicle aspirations and deeply understood the Buddha’s intent to recruit people for the sake of the Dharma. They were willing to uphold the sutra and advance the Dharma to extend their wisdom-life. They expressed that they would reverently follow. His noble intent by continuing His mission.”
Let us be mindful. When we listen to the Dharma, we must take it to heart, experience the Buddha’s teachings and make them our own. Then, we must form aspirations and make vows. This requires us to study and work hard. We also need this, because only by learning the Buddha’s teachings will we “have Dharma to transform others.” We must take the Dharma to heart! If we learn the Dharma but do not take it into our hearts, do not make it our own and put it to use, if this is the case, then what is the point of learning the Dharma? We learn the Dharma in hopes that we will have the Dharma in our hearts. When we have the Dharma, we must transform others. Since we have awakened ourselves, we must also go on to awaken others. In this way, the Buddha-Dharma can continue on and be passed down without end. As we listen to the Dharma, this is what is most important, what we must be mindful of. In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha recruited people for the sake of the Dharma. It was for the sake of the Dharma, so, with His one great cause, [He came] and personally taught it to us sentient beings, hoping that we would continuously pass it down. In the Buddha’s era, this is what He did. So, in the Lotus Sutra, He kept on praising the Lotus Sutra and its subtle and wondrous true principles of the Great Vehicle. Then, in the beginning of the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, He wanted to help everyone understand the virtues and merits of upholding the Lotus Sutra. Though we do not act in expectation of merits, merits and virtues are still things that we need. We do not deliberately seek them out, but we must still obtain them naturally. If we go out of our way to seek them out, this is just an appearance. “I recite the sutra in order to obtain merits and virtues. I pay respect to the Buddha in order to eliminate misfortune”. If we deliberately pursue merits and virtues, we will be unable to obtain them. If we understand this, the Buddha-Dharma is wondrously profound. As humans, our lives are lost in confusion, and the Buddha-Dharma can lead us out of this bewildering maze. So, we must “follow the path” to seek the Buddha-Dharma. Then we must diligently advance. “Inner cultivation” means we seek the Dharma with reverence from within our hearts. Once we attain it, we must put it to use.
So, to make “the Four Great Vows” is to bring out our sincere intentions. Spiritual practice begins from our hearts; we seek it of our own volition, our own initiative. No one forced us to come here; we came on our own accord. Since we are here, we must earnestly and mindfully seek the Buddha-Dharma. We seek the Buddha-Dharma to take it to heart. In order to take the Dharma to heart, we must put in our heartfelt effort. Inner cultivation brings “merit” and external practice brings “virtue”. If we do not engage in inner cultivation, how can we give to others externally? So, we must engage in both inner cultivation and external practice. To cultivate, we must put in the effort. To practice, we must give. By constantly giving to others, what accumulates, what we attain, is virtue. If we merely engage in inner cultivation, we will only understand. We will still need to go out and serve others by going among people. “Infinite Dharma-doors” are found among people. By giving, we will come to understand the world’s suffering and experience the impermanence that the Buddha taught. We will come to clearly understand these things. When we are able to go among people like this to give, during the process of giving, we will come to realize the world’s suffering. This will be the insight we gain. When we give, although we seek nothing in return, when others accept [our help], we will naturally form good affinities with them. This shows that “with virtue comes attainment.” This means that as we give, we are cultivating virtues. “Virtues” are like moral principles. They are our fundamental responsibility. “Attainment” means that after we give, if we help someone, relieve them of hardship, our wisdom-life grows and we understand life’s suffering. This is also a “virtue”. “Virtue” is also “attainment” and what we “attain” is “virtue”. Does everyone understand [the difference in the Taiwanese] pronunciation?
Indeed! When we give, two things are attained. When we help people in hardship, they attain liberation from their hardships. And after we give, we [come to realize], “Alas, life is full of so much suffering.” So, in our hearts, we realize the principles taught by the Buddha. We also attain something. What they attain material, while what we attain is our wisdom-life, the growth of our wisdom-life. When this process is completed, that is “virtues”. Thus, “With virtue comes attainment.” So, we must form Great Vehicle aspirations. With great aspirations, we take in [the Dharma] and give to others. When we attain [awakening] ourselves, we must go on to awaken others. This is forming Great Vehicle aspirations. When it comes to Great Vehicle aspirations, in this passage, in the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha a told us that transcribing the sutras, upholding the sutras and advancing the Dharma brings great merits and virtues.
In fact, we [attain] merits through putting our heart into accepting, upholding and mindfully seeking to comprehend [the Dharma]. This is how we [gain] merits and virtues. When I hear everyone reciting the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, I feel very fortunate I formed that initial aspiration; when I discovered the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, my heart filled with joy, and I hoped to share this joy with everyone. However, over 50 years ago, at the time, where could we go to find [copies of] the Sutra of Infinite Meanings? Even now, it is still very hard to find [copies of] the Sutra of Infinite Meanings out there in circulation, not to mention 51 or 52 years ago. So, I wanted to share this sutra with everyone, but I could not find it anywhere. What could I do? I had to transcribe it myself. Every time I gave this sutra to someone, I felt very happy and blessed. At the time, I personally transcribed every word. I copied every word I wrote them all down so that everyone could read and recite them. At that time, I could not copy them fast enough by hand. So, we used steel plates, engraved them, then used printing ink to make copies. Thus, at that time, our first edition was made through engraving and then printed. This was what everyone was reciting at the time.
Next, I used a calligraphy brush to copy down every word. For Tzu Chi volunteers to be certified, they must read this sutra. It was a small book, so everyone could bring it with them everywhere to read. At that time, it was fortunate that I copied it down word by word by hand. Thus today it is possible for everyone to hold a copy of it in their hands and carry it with them. Sometimes, when I read “with minds tranquil and clear, vows vast as the universe,” in that moment, I feel very joyful and calm. So, when we transcribe the sutras, this must come from reverence within ourselves. We ourselves feel joyful and hope to share [that joy] with others. Amidst difficulties, we can always find a way [to every come]. We used engraved plates and ink to print the sutra so that everyone could read and recite it, so that everyone would have a copy. I slowly wrote it out, using a calligraphy brush to copy it down so it could be circulated amongst everyone.
However, this sutra is not just for reading and transcribing. This was to let everyone [know] this now makes up our “Jing Is Dharma-lineage”. Our Jing Is Dharma-lineage is based on this sutra, the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. This is because it teaches us how to engage in spiritual practice. This way, “With minds tranquil and clear, vows as vast as the universe, we will remain unwavering for countless kalpas. Infinite Dharma-doors readily appear in front of us” and so on. This is the essence of our [Dharma-lineage]. This passage completely ]describes] our Jing Is Dharma-lineage. We must let this become infinite Dharma-doors. For “Infinite Dharma-doors to readily appear,” all of us must go among people. Everyone we encounter is a great treasury of teachings. Everyone’s habitual tendencies are different, so every single person’s life is worthwhile for us to learn about and to study like a sutra. So, this is how “infinite Dharma-doors readily appear”. Thus we established the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism. Life is full of suffering, so the Buddha taught us about suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. The Buddha came to this world for one great cause because He wanted to help everyone understand that the world’s “suffering” comes from the “causation” of karmic conditions, from cause and conditions. This was the Buddha’s purpose in coming to this world, to help everyone understand the source of suffering, for only them will we be able to put an end to the source of suffering and eliminate our afflictions. Only when we have a way to eliminate afflictions can we peacefully engage in spiritual practice. As we engage in spiritual practice, we eliminate our afflictions by going among people.
So, in the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, we must “spread the seeds of goodness over the fields of merits and lead all to develop the sprout of Bodhi. With infinite compassion, we relieve the suffering of sentient begins.” We hope to [spread] our teachings, these infinite Dharma-doors; once we understand the principles and know that the Dharma is in this world, we must help everyone comprehend this living Dharma. So, we must encourage everyone to form great aspirations and go among people. This is our Dharma-lineage, so we must begin to sow these seeds, for the fields of sentient begins’ minds are waiting for us to bring purity to them. They are waiting for us to cultivate these fields of blessings. So, there needs to be Living Bodhisattvas. For sentient begins in suffering, Living Bodhisattvas give of themselves. They understand the root cause of suffering and comprehend life’s impermanence. This place of suffering is the spiritual training ground for Bodhisattvas. The spiritual training aground for Bodhisattvas lies in cultivating the fields of blessings. They spread the seeds of goodness over the field of merits. This is where they truly put in the effort. We must give everyone the opportunity, the karmic conditions, to go among people so that suffering sentient beings will be saved and Bodhisattvas’ wisdom-life will grow, because they “spread the seeds of goodness over the fields of merits and lead all to develop the sprout of Bodhi”. If the seed is planted, the sprout will grow. Then a small tree will become a great tree that will be able to save suffering sentient beings. A great tree will flower and produce fruits, bearing many seeds; one gives rise to infinity so more people can help suffering sentient beings. Thus, one seed can give rise to infinite, countless seeds.
This is just like how, when Tzu Chi volunteers in Malaysia and Myanmar returned to make their operations reports, we heard about their spirit in seeking the Dharma. How do they recruit Living Bodhisattvas in Malaysia? How do they cultivate seeds and [lead them to] develop the sprout of Bodhi? How do they inspire everyone to give rise to infinite compassion? This is something [our volunteers] in Malaysia are extremely dedicated to! When these Bodhisattva leaders came back, they first went to Taipei to seek teachings. They heard about how Taiwanese Tzu Chi volunteers are trained. Frist, they went to learn and hear everyone share their stories, then they came to Hualien to share this with me. This is the Dharma-seeking spirit of Malaysia.
Myanmar was the same. Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar in 2008. Because of these causes and conditions, in Taiwan, we said to [the Malaysian volunteers], “Please! You Bodhisattvas in Malaysia are closer to Myanmar. We would like to ask you Bodhisattvas to please go to Myanmar to help”. Starting from these causes and conditions, they paved a path with love. The path was paved and connected so it could lead them to the great Bodhi-path. For so many years, [the volunteers] there made use of local resources and cultivated Bodhi-seeds in that place. As they helped others, they cultivated wisdom-life. We listened to their reports; whether on charity or education, they were all fascinating and detailed. This was truly wondrous. In their interpersonal relationships, with people they did not know, they were able to [implement] the Dharma to transform sentient beings. They transformed their suffering into joy and ignorance into Bodhi. Seeing group after group of Bodhisattvas who came back to share their stories filled me with Dharma-joy. I also gave them this little book of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. I was also very happy.
When I heard the recitation of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings this morning, I was also filled with Dharma-joy it makes me think back to 50 years ago, when, in order to make the Sutra of Infinite Meanings widely available, I engraved it and transcribed it by hand. Although I injured my hand doing it, I am now able to hear so many people enter “infinite Dharma-doors that readily appear in front of us”. Hasn’t this Dharma-door appeared before us now? The fruits are abundant, and these great trees bear many seeds, year after year. Every Bodhisattva, every Tzu Chi volunteer, is able to make use of countless ways to save suffering sentient beings. This is what makes me very grateful and touched.
So, we should work hard to be mindful as we listen to and experience [the Dharma]. We must inspire [others]. When we recite the sutra, we must understand the Buddha’s original intent. Why did the Buddha teach this sutra? Moreover, the Lotus Sutra is His original intent. The Buddha freely expressed His original intent in teaching the Lotus Sutra, so we must “deeply understand the Buddha’s intent to recruit people for the sake of the Dharma”. The Buddha recruited people for the sake of the Dharma because He hoped that everyone would be able to transmit this Dharma. So, from over 2000 years ago, the Buddha’s teachings have been passed down to today. This is all because we have the sutras. “They were willing to uphold the sutra and advance the Dharma to extend their wisdom-life”. They continuously extended [their wisdom-life]. So, transcribing the sutra truly [brings] countless merits and virtues. This means we must continue our teacher’s mission. Sakyamuni Buddha is our great guiding teacher and “the kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings”. So, we must inherit our father’s family business and carry on our teacher’s mission. We must “respectfully carry on His noble intent”. We must be very mindful.
The previous passage states, “They came directly before the Buddha and uttered the lion’s roar, proclaiming this vow”. The Buddha gazed at everyone. After the bhiksus and bhiksunis had received predictions, they did not dare to remain in the Saha World; they wanted to go to other lands. “Those who formed Bodhisattva aspirations, you should express your intent”. These people already understood the Buddha’s intent. They rose from their seats and went before the Buddha, waiting for Him to personally instruct them. But the Buddha remained silent so those Bodhisattvas could only “come directly before the Buddha and utter the lion’s roar, proclaiming this vow”. They began to make vows before the Buddha. They reverently beseeched the Buddha, “World-Honored One, after the Tathagata enters Parinirvana, we will travel back and forth throughout the worlds in the ten directions…”.
The following passage goes on to say, “…to be able to help sentient beings transcribe this sutra, accept, uphold, read and recite it, expound its meaning, practice in accordance with the Dharma and rightfully keep it in mind. All this will be done through the mighty power of the Buddha. We only wish that the World-Honored One, from other places, will watch over and protect us from afar.
They said, “We all make this vow. When the Buddha enters Parinirvana, we will be certain to go back and forth throughout the worlds in the ten directions. We will go anywhere the Buddha cares about in those places, we will help all sentient beings earnestly engage in spiritual practice and help them transcribe this sutra. The description of [spiritual] practice. In this sutra [passage] tells us we must first place importance on the sutras so, we must place great importance on the sutras, which means that we must keep passing them down. This is like what we said earlier about the Sutra of infinite Meanings. At that time, if I did not form the aspiration to engrave the plates to print it, how would everyone be able to recite [the sutra] so freely every day? Now, when we recite it, we do not need to use.
Now, we can use our computer to read and recite it. But at that time, 50 years ago, where would we find computers? There were no computers; we had never even heard of that word. Furthermore, this sutra was not in circulation. If I had never formed the aspiration to carve it out with my hands back then, then how would we be able to read and recite the Sutra of Infinite Meanings today?
If we did not have the Sutra of Infinite Meanings how could we have the Jing Si Dharma-lineage? This is because in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings, the phrase “tranquil and clear brought inspiration to my mind. So, this sutra became our Dharma-essence. Among all the sutras, even though I read them all like this, when I read this sutra, I feel particularly joyful. “With minds tranquil and clear, vows vast as the universe, they remain unwavering for countless kalpas.
This passage is engage is engraved onto my heart. So, instead of just engraving it only my heart, it was better to engrave it [onto those plates] to share it with everyone.
In this way, our “Jing Si Dharma-lineage began to be continuously passed down. Now, we are officially transmitting the Dharma. This is the Jing Si Dharma-lineage. If we did not “transcribe this sutra, accept and uphold it and practice it in accordance with its teachings. If we did not accept and uphold it in this way, where would our Tzu Chi School of Buddhism be? So, we must accept and uphold it. We must uphold it ourselves and teach others to do the same. We “read and recite it and expound its meaning. So, not only should we accept and uphold it, we should also expound it. [My teachings on] the Sutra of Infinite Meanings are still being complied now, and I hope they can keep being improved. Because the Dharma-lineage must be passed on, we must record this Dharma, the aspiration that I give rise to in the past, the historical background at that time and the process of teaching this sutra. Now they are compiling this all anew. This is the Sutra of Infinite Meanings. I believe it is such an important Dharma-essence. So, we must teach it and repeatedly expound its meaning.
Transcribe this sutra, accept, uphold read and recite it, expound its meaning…: Just as the sutra says, these are the methods of practicing and upholding “Accept” means to embrace: “uphold” means to retain. We accept it through our power of faith. We uphold through our power of thought.
So, “Just as the sutra says, these are the methods of practicing and upholding. This means we must transcribe, accept, uphold, read and recite it. We must go through this process. So, “’accept’ means to embrace. ‘Uphold’ means to retain. This is why it means “to accept and uphold. We must earnestly take the Dharma to heart. In particular, we must work hard to remember the content of this sutra. whatever it wants us to do, we must put it into practice and uphold it by “retaining” it. “We accept it through our power of faith. We uphold it through our power of thought.” We must have the power of faith.
So, we must be mindful to accept and uphold it. We must have faith. I am always talking to everyone about “faith”. [Faith] enables us to take the Dharma to heart. We also need “[the power] of thought. Our every thought must be focused on upholding this sutra. this sutra is our direction. This is because the Sutra of Infinite Meanings is the essence of the Lotus Sutra; [the Lotus Sutra’s] essence lies within it.
So, the Sutra of Infinite Meanings is also our Jing Si Dharma-lineage. In summary, the Threefold Lotus Sutra is very important to us. We must “practice in accordance with the Dharma and rightfully keep it in mind…”.
Practice in accordance with the Dharma and rightfully keep it in mind…: With an right mind, we retain it in our thoughts and teach it diligently, practice in accordance with the Dharma: This means to engage in practice according to the wondrous Dharma. Rightfully keep it in mind: this means we must have no defiled or deviant views.
To practice according to the Dharma, we must retain it in our thoughts. We must accept and upholds well as retain and remember. We must not forget tomorrow what we hear today, and we must mindfully seek to comprehend what we are discussing now. We must “practice in accordance with the Dharma. With an upright mind, we retain it in our thoughts and teach it diligently”. We must earnestly remember it, teach it continuously and practice in accordance with the Dharma. We must also practice according to the Dharma. “This means to engage in practice according to the wondrous Dharma.” This is the wondrous Dharma; we must mindfully seek to comprehend it and put it into practice. So, to “rightfully keep it in mind, we must be free of defiled thoughts and deviant views. We must have right mindfulness to guard the gates of our six senses and practice the Eightfold Noble Path. “All this will be done through the mighty power of the Buddha. this is how we are able to have Dharma to take to heart so that we can retain and uphold it. We can keep it in mind, accept and uphold it and practice it in accordance with the Dharma all thanks to the Buddha’s mighty power.
All this will be done thtough the mighty power of the Buddha: All this will be accomplished through the World-Honored One’s cast and mighty power. This is all attributed to the Buddha’s Threefold of body, speech and mind which is also called the Three Wheels. Three wheels: this refers to the Buddha’s Threefold karma of body, speech and mind. This is because the Buddha’s Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind can crush the deluded karma of all sentient beings.
The Buddha continued to teach [the Dharma] so we could faithfully accept and practice it. We must be grateful for our guiding teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha. We “accomplish [this all] through the World-Honored One’s vast and mighty power”. We all rely upon the Buddha’s mighty power; this is the power of the Buddha. “This is all attributed to the Buddha’s Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind”. This is because of the Buddha’s virtues; He cultivated these virtues by using His body, by putting the Dharma in action. With pure karma of speech, He expounded the Dharma. Karma comes from our actions. Every time He opened His mouth, He taught the Dharma. Every action of His body served as a model for us. Every thought His mind gave rise to contained the subtle and wondrous Dharma. This was the Buddha’s Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind. They are called the “Three Wheels”. We often talk about “the Three Spheres (wheels) of Emptiness”. [The Buddha needed] this body to speak these words so that we can all apply them in our lives. We give of ourselves to others, but we do not feel like we are giving anything. We just do it and give without expectations. We must also be grateful to the people who accept [what we give]. This is the meaning of purity. This is all created through our body, speech and mind. To be without expectations is to be pure.
With “pure Threefold Karma,” He is able to turn “the Three Dharma-wheels”. He can thoroughly turn these Dharma-wheels to [transmit the Dharma] into our hearts. This is the Buddha’s Threefold Karma of body, speech and mind. So, this Threefold Karma is capable of crushing our many afflictions. It can also eliminate our doubts. This is all how the Buddha used His body, speech and mind to come to this world for one great cause, to transform sentient beings. If the Buddha did not have this body, how could He have transformed sentient beings? If the Buddha did not open His mouth to teach the Dharma, how could He have transformed sentient beings when He came to this world? The Buddha used His body to come to this world and taught the Dharma through His speech. This all began from His mind, from the thoughts His mind gave rise to. These thoughts were that He wanted to “open and reveal” [the teachings]; we sentient beings must “realize and enter” the Buddha’s understanding and views. This all came from His body, speech and mind. So, they are called the “Three Wheels”. We must seek to comprehend how the Buddha came back and forth to this world using these three things. His compassion is His “mind,” and His teaching the Dharma is His speech. He manifested in this world, and the actions of His body serve as models for us. We are all the same. We all have the “Three Wheels”. What are we doing with our “Three Wheels”? Are we using them to create afflictions and evil karma? We must mindfully seek to comprehend this.
Next, the sutra says, “We only wish the World-Honored One, from other places, will watch over and protect us from afar”. We only wish the World-Honored One, from other places, will watch over and protect us from afar. Having fulfilled His conditions for transformation in this place, the Buddha would soon enter Perfect Rest. When conditions in other locations ripen, He will manifest in other places. So they said they hoped [the Buddha] would watch over and protect them from afar.
“We are all willing to go any place the Buddha keeps in His thoughts. We will go anywhere You are worried about. We will not just stay here. So long as it is in the Buddha’s thoughts, we will all go there”. They also asked the Buddha, “from other places, to watch over and protect them from afar”. Because the Buddha would inevitably enter Parinirvana one day, He was giving His final words and instructions for everyone to pass on [the Dharma]. These Bodhisattvas also had to comfort the Buddha. “It will be fine. Even when you not here, we will still be in the places you care about. We will go there to take care of them. You do not need to worry. But when you go to other places and lands…”. This is like what we say nowadays. “If you are in Heaven, you must watch over us. You do not need to worry. I will take care of everything for you”. It is the same principle. Buddha and unenlightened beings also have similar interactions. So, the Buddha-Dharma is inseparable from worldly Dharma. The same principles apply. So, “Having fulfilled His conditions for transformation in this place” means they were complete. In this place, the Saha World, He had transformed sentient beings. His karmic conditions were coming to an end; He had fulfilled these conditions. So, “The Buddha would soon enter Perfect Rest”. Soon He would enter Perfect Rest, Parinirvana. “When conditions in other locations ripen” means He would enter Parinirvana in this place, but the Buddha will still return on His vows to go to places He has affinities with and transform sentient beings again. So, “When conditions in other locations ripen, He will manifest in other directions”. This means the Buddha will leave this place to go to another place. “When you are in another place that is far away, you must still give us protection”. It is the same principle. In this way, these Bodhisattvas still relied upon the Buddha. “You can go with peace of mind. We will earnestly carry on [Your mission], but You must give us spiritual protection”. At that time, these Bodhisattvas comforted the Buddha and made vows.
So, “They only hoped for the World-Honored One’s compassion and power of vows. Since this Dharma is the wisdom-life of all Buddhas…”. They only hoped for the World-Honored One’s compassion and power of vows. Since this Dharma is the wisdom-life of all Buddhas, no one else is capable of doing this. Though their original vow was thus, they could not fulfill it without the Buddha’s power, as He watched over and protected them from afar. Other places: This refers to other lands that the Buddha will manifest in to transform people.
This is because this Dharma is the Buddha’s wisdom-life. It is not only Sakyamuni Buddha’s wisdom-life, but all Buddhas’ wisdom-life. Because this Lotus Sutra is the path to attaining Buddhahood, past Buddhas came to continue this wisdom-life. Now, Sakyamuni Buddha must also pass down this wisdom-life to the people of later [generations]. So, this is the wisdom-life of all Buddhas. “No one else is capable of doing this.” Not just anyone can do this. So, these Bodhisattvas still had to rely upon the Buddha’s power. They asked the Buddha while He is in another place to, “Please give us Your blessings once again”. The principle is the same. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. When the Buddha was in this world, this was all very real. The Buddha’s lifetime lasted 80 years. In these 80 years, from the time He was born into the palace to when He left the palace to engage in spiritual practice, this journey was very difficult. But He attained enlightenment and became one with the universe. With His understanding, all Dharma returned to the One Mind. He completely understood all the teachings and went back among people to expound the Dharma. [What He] taught among people was what they could experience and comprehend, what was closest to their way of life. That is “suffering.” In the way we live, the closest thing is suffering.
Some people think, “I am very blessed. My whole life, from growing up until starting my own family, I have always been very wealthy.” But this was the first half of life. When the law of nature truly presents itself, [everyone experiences] aging, illness and death. Even if people are very wealthy, in the end, they will also experience [the suffering of] “not getting what they want.” “I want to keep on living and stay healthy.” Ah, we do not get to live on just because we want to. We do not get to be young and healthy just because we want to. That is impossible. As the law of nature takes its course, imperceptibly, constantly, it takes away our lives. I often say, “As one day passes, our lifespan becomes one day shorter.” Our life did not get one day longer! So, even though we say we are a year older, our life is one year shorter. In short, when we reach the end of our lives, aging is suffering. Once we are old, we age and become weak. This is certain and natural. Or we become ill or die. Even if we want to remain here, we cannot. What have we done our whole lives? We do not know. When we are alive, we did not hear anything. We did not listen to the true principles or to the Buddha-Dharma, and we did not do good deeds. All we did was indulge ourselves in pleasure. In this way, we exhausted our blessings. In this lifetime, did we create a lot of karma? Whatever seeds we sow [in this life], we will reap the fruits in the future. That would be wasting one’s life.
So, we are all very blessed that the Buddha came to this world and the Buddha-Dharma remained in this world for us to attain and put into practice. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. As for the Dharma the Buddha left behind, we must be very mindful of it. The Bodhisattvas comprehended the Buddha’s intent. They all wanted to extend the Buddha’s wisdom-life. So, the Buddha’s teachings are still in this world. The Buddha is not in this world, so what world is He in? Of course, He is still within the Saha World. In which country? We do not know! I hope that as we are here in this place, or in whatever country we are in, that with whatever we are doing there to continue this wisdom-life, the Buddha is there giving us protection. Maybe, in that place, there will also be an enlightened person like this to extend this wisdom-life to guide us. This is also possible. So, we need more than just our own power to be able to extend this wisdom-life. We must [continue] the Buddha’s wisdom-life in our hearts by practicing according to the teachings. We awaken ourselves and others. This requires the Buddha’s power. “They could not fulfill it without the Buddha’s power, as He watched over and protected them from afar.” We absolutely need the Buddha’s power to be able to extend this wisdom-life. So, everyone, please always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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