Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Sacrificing Their Lives and Enduring Hardships (念佛告敕 徇身忍難)
Date: July.03.2018
“In order to honor the Buddha by spreading the sutra, these Bodhisattvas would sacrifice their lives and endure hardships. Among all actions, the harm from anger is especially severe and is the most difficult to endure. For those who practice endurance, one thing is the hardest to be patient with, the disrespect of petty people. This is dreadful and must be endured.”
“In order to honor the Buddha by spreading the sutra, these Bodhisattvas would sacrifice their lives and endure hardships.” Indeed! These Bodhisattvas were able to comprehend the Buddha’s intent, which was [to act] entirely for the sake of sentient beings. He hoped all beings could comprehend His dedication to His one great cause. This one great cause was coming to this world to transform sentient beings in the hopes they could accept His teachings. So, the Buddha used all kinds of methods to teach according to sentient beings’ capabilities. He used the teachings of the Three Vehicles to patiently guide them, all in order to “open and reveal” [the Dharma]. The Buddha’s teaching of the Three Vehicles is meant to open the door to sentient beings’ minds and give them a direction.
Because the doors to their minds are closed, they are covered in ignorance, so the Buddha hoped to open this door in sentient beings’ mind, so that everyone could see the right path before them. He pushed aside sentient beings’ ignorance and directed them to the right path. The Buddha “opened and revealed” [the teachings] with the hope that sentient beings could see this broad and direct path. But could sentient beings see it? And if they saw, were they willing to understand the destination this path leads to? This depends on the sentient being. When we see this path, do we try to comprehend it? Once we comprehend the direction of this path and the states it leads to, if we understand and are willing, we must put the teachings into practice. We must take the first step on this path. If we do not take the first step and simply say, “The door is open! We see the path!” without taking any steps, we will remain walking in place and not advancing. So, the Buddha came to this world “to open and reveal [the Dharma]” for all sentient beings, but are we willing to “realize and enter” it? Our time [in this world] is limited due to the laws of nature. Having come to this world, how long could the Buddha abide here? Sakyamuni Buddha was in this world for 80 years. From when the Buddha-Dharma was first [taught] until the Buddha entered Parinirvana, from the Four Noble Truths to the Lotus and Nirvana [teachings], it was a total of 49 years. In this short life, with a limited amount of time to teach the Dharma, how could He make the Dharma everlasting so that it would be continually passed on? This was what the Buddha worried about. He had grown old and was eager to find talent. Since the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, He had been hoping that everyone could understand and willingly form aspirations, enter the Great Vehicle Dharma and awaken their spirit of undertaking His mission. So, He earnestly hoped that the disciples would form aspirations. The Buddha had bestowed predictions on each one of them to help them understand that they had seen the path. “You can put your minds at ease. Just go forward steadfastly. It is the right way.” Everyone was determined and understood, so their minds were focused on their Great Vehicle aspirations.
Yet, they were still afraid, because sentient beings in the Saha World are too stubborn. Although they formed aspirations, they wanted to go to other worlds. Although the Buddha was full of hope, He was also disappointed. This group of Bodhisattvas, “these Bodhisattvas” understood the Buddha’s intent. They comprehended what was in the Buddha’s mind and quickly came to comfort Him. Speaking of “these Bodhisattvas,” it seems like I have been repeatedly talking about “these Bodhisattvas” to everyone. [This is because] these Bodhisattvas are the Dharma-lineage of the Buddha’s wisdom-life. These Bodhisattvas had to take the initiative. After the Buddha bestowed predictions on them, everyone else had made vows to go to other worlds.
At the time, the Buddha fell silent; what else could He say? Fortunately, this group of Bodhisattvas comprehended the Buddha’s intent and rose from their seats to comfort Him. “Venerable Buddha, do not worry. We are willing. Anywhere the Buddha cares about, we are willing to go there. No matter how far into the future, we are still willing to put [the Dharma] into practice. Across time, even in the future when it is the era of Dharma-degeneration and people’s minds are increasingly stubborn and evil, we are still willing to go. We will give these sentient beings the chance to accept the Buddha-Dharma and go toward the right path. We are willing to endure this for a long time, returning again and again to the Saha World. We are willing [to go] any place the Buddha cares about. Across space, we will be everywhere and take care of all these places. We will go among people in this world. So, Venerable Buddha, You do not need to worry. But please give us Your protection. You are about to enter Parinirvana, and You will surely come to this world again. Then, wherever we are, we will be able to receive the Buddha’s power to support us.” This was the promise, a silent pact. Indeed, the predictions [from the Buddha] were promises for the future. The Buddha and the Bodhisattvas have affinities with each other. Their affinities are a promise [to meet again]. They have good affinities, so they will come [to this world] again. We must seek to mindfully comprehend this. Our karmic conditions, the sestet codes of our lives, are something we must understand clearly. So, these Bodhisattvas made vows. “In order to honor the Buddha by spreading the sutra, they would sacrifice their lives and endure hardships.” They were willing, even if they had to give up their bodies. They would willingly sacrifice themselves for the teachings, which means they were willing to fully give to themselves with their bodies. In fact, it was like this during but we also have people like this today. They are ill, yet unafraid. They still quickly make use of their time and turn their life into wisdom-life by practicing diligently. They make sacrifices for the teachings, sacrifice their bodies and endure hardships for the sake of the path.
In order to pave this path to teach and transform sentient beings, they were willing “to spread the sutra, sacrifice their lives and endure hardships. Among all actions, the harm from anger is especially severe.” We must endure hardships and have patience. The fact is, future sentient beings will be stubborn. They will be angry; apart from giving rise to desires, they will also give rise to anger in their minds. Regarding this anger, sometimes it remains in their minds, and sometimes it manifests as stubbornness in their appearance.
This anger is very severe. Although it is very difficult, we must willingly endure it as “those who practice endurance,” We are willing to endure, but when it comes to [actually] enduring, “one thing is the hardest to be patient with.” There is one more thing which can be endured but is very hard to endure. Once we have endured it, it will pas. To “endure” is to have patience; we must be able to endure for a long time.
We must not only endure it, but we must do so for a long time. What is this thing [that is hard to endure]? It is facing petty people who are hard to tame and very cunning. Sometimes when they see us, they are very obedient, but in their minds or behind our backs, they ridicule and slander us. There are many like this!
There are also some who hurl abuse in our face. They are very arrogant and proud. People with such big egos are actually small-minded people. They are unclear on the principles, and they only want to show off how great and knowledgeable they are and how they know everything. Yet, they are unwilling to accept other people’s reasoning. They continually slander others for their mistakes, criticizing their wrongdoings. People like this are the most frightening. These kinds [of people] are the hardest to endure, but we must have patience. With anger, it will pass if we can endure but we must still be patient. We must still go among people and patiently endure the challenges. To endure is a bit simpler, but to have the power of patience, the strength to endure patiently, this is truly very difficult. So, [we must] “patiently endure”. It is not enough to simply endure. We can endure something very quickly, but “patience” lasts for a long time. Although illnesses can be very painful and may be very severe, after a brief period of time, they can be cured with medicine. This pain will pass, as long as we can endure it for a short amount of time.
But when an illness becomes chronic, the long-term suffering must also be endured. To endure it, will we have to simple endure this pain while bed-ridden? We must be courageous, face the world and accept the Dharma. Furthermore, we must willingly give of ourselves.
Sometimes I see many Bodhisattvas at the recycling stations who come despite their sickness for the sake of protecting the environment and their love for Earth. We can see many people [who go there], both elderly and young Bodhisattvas. Some of them are sick but still very brave. They still go there every day. There are people like this! There are some among Tzu Chi Bodhisattvas. There are many people who have illnesses but still give of themselves. So, we should seek to comprehend [their spirit of] sacrificing their bodies. They are willing to put their heart into it, sacrificing themselves for the teachings and putting their heart into enduring [the suffering]. This is truly very difficult, but they are able to do it.
During the era of Dharma-degeneration in the evil world of turbidities, people’s minds are angry, turbid and arrogant. Their desirous minds are strong and hard to tame. Their ignorant minds seek offerings and fame. Their ignorant minds seek offerings and fame. They give rise to deviant views and lose right mindfulness. Their selfish minds are stubbornly fixated on gain and loss, so they will never allow. Right Dharma to enter the world and will come up with all kinds of schemes to slander and disparage it. Those who uphold the sutra must wear the armor of patience to go among people to spread Right Dharma.
In this evil world of turbidities, those Bodhisattvas formed vows to willingly [stay] here “during the era of Dharma-degeneration in the evil world of turbidities”. At this time, people’s minds are angry and turbid. In particular, they have severe arrogance and pride. It is not only [like this] now; it will be even more severe in the future. In particular, because “their desirous minds [will be strong” they will truly be very hard to tame. That is how future sentient beings will be. Isn’t this the case now? There are also many people like this. They also have ignorant minds, [full of] greed, anger and ignorance. “Ignorant minds” think about “seeking offerings and fame”. For people with deviant views, after they give rise to deviant views, they lose their right mindfulness. Once they give rise to deviant views, they naturally lose right mindfulness. So, “Their selfish minds are stubbornly fixated on gain and loss”. All of them know only selfish love. They only love themselves and crave small gains for themselves. “Their selfish minds are stubbornly fixated on gain and loss”. This kind of mindset is very strong.
Furthermore, “They will never allow. Right Dharma to enter the world. Because people are very greedy, they will reject Right Dharma when it is about to enter. So, for Right Dharma to advance in this world, it will be truly very difficult, because “they will never allow”. “Right Dharma to enter the world”. They come up with all kinds of schemes to slander it. These people constantly think of all kinds of ways to slander and harm Right Dharma as well as those who are advancing it. These are petty people. These are the people in the evil world of turbidities. Yet, these Bodhisattvas, for the sake of upholding the Dharma, will “wear the armor of patience”. “They go among people to spread Right Dharma”. Spreading Right Dharma is like entering a battlefield. They must protect their aspirations so as not to be influenced by these people and lose their spiritual aspirations. They must protect their wisdom-life and not [Right Dharma] leak away. When it comes to our wisdom-life, “precepts, Samadhi and wisdom” and “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions” cannot be allowed to leak away. So, they must “wear the armor of patience”. This is because sentient beings in the future evil world will all be full of greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. They will use various methods to hinder Right Dharma and make it difficult for people to advance it.
We can imagine this. Based on this present era, we can imagine future eras. Based on our present ways of living and people’s mindsets, if thing are to continue on [like this], the future will be truly very worrisome. It is no wonder that the Buddha was so worried. No wonder the Bodhisattvas described the world and the evil bhiksus in this future evil world of turbidities with such clarity. These Bodhisattvas were all describing the future. When it reaches this point in the future, it will be hard to go among people. This is because there will be those who outwardly appear to be spiritual practitioners, but who only seek offerings and fame. Such spiritual practitioners will also slander the true practitioners who transmit Right Dharma. When Right Dharma enters the world in the future, these kinds of things will happen, [just as] “The lion’s parasites eat the lion’s flesh”. Such situations will become more and more prevalent, which is very worrisome.
The previous sutra passage says, “In the evil world during the kalpa of turbidity, there will be much to fear”; it will be very scary. “Evil ghosts will enter people’s bodies to abuse and slander us. But we who revere and have faith in the Buddha will don the armor of patience. For the sake of teaching this sutra, we will endure all these difficulties”.
This is how it will be. It will be as if they are possessed by demons, as if evil ghosts entered their bodies. They will irrationally abuse and slander people, losing their reason. In the world of the future, this will be the way that [people] treat Right Dharma. So, to teach Right Dharma, we must endure many difficulties.
Thus, [the Bodhisattvas] said, “We care nothing for our own lives; we only treasure the unsurpassed way. In the ages to come, we will protect and uphold what the Buddha has entrusted to us”.
This meant sacrificing their lives for the teachings. They did not reassure themselves, were unstinting with their own lives, as transmitting the Dharma was the most important. Once the Dharma is transmitted, Right Dharma can be absorbed by everyone, and everyone’s wisdom-life will grow. So, they did not care for their own lives; they cared only for the wisdom-lives of countless sentient beings. Thus, “We only treasure the unsurpassed way”. They paved this path so everyone can walk on it.
“In the ages to come, we will protect and uphold what the Buddha has entrusted us”. [They said], “We all, for a long time in the future, even in the evil world of Dharma-degeneration, will remain the same. In such difficult times, we will still be able to endure because we all came to protect what the Buddha entrusted to us, the Dharma He left behind”. This is how earnest these Bodhisattvas were as they formed their aspirations.
The following passage then says, “As the World-Honored One Himself must know, in the world of turbidity, evil bhiksus will fail to recognize the Buddha’s skillful means, how he taught according to what is appropriate. They will speak harsh words and scowl at us. Again and again they will banish us far away from stupas and temples. As for all these various evils, because we will keep the Buddha’s instructions in mind, we will endure them all”.
“World-Honored One!” These Bodhisattvas said again, “World-Honored One! You should be able to understand us.[You] must know World-Honored One, You should already understand.” You should understand our minds very clearly. So, in the future world, with these evil bhiksus, we are willing to uphold the Dharma in this way. Regardless of what state this world will be in, we are willing [to do this] because people in the world are still waiting for people with aspirations to go among them. We are determined.
As the World-Honored One Himself must know, in the world of turbidly, evil bhiksus…: Our minds are like this, and the Buddha Himself must know it. He need not wait for us to say it. Those unwholesome bhiksus will “fall to recognize the Buddha’s skillful means which He uses to teach the Dharma.”
They will fall to recognize the Buddha’s skillful means, how He taught according to what is appropriate: In that turbid and evil world, there will be unwholesome bhiksus who do not recognize that the compassionate Buddha uses skillful means to teach the Three Vehicles according to what is appropriate So, their minds will give rise to doubt; they will be attached to the provisional and will slander the true.
They will have yet to understand, especially the evil bhiksus in the future. Those people will “fail recognize the Buddha’s skillful means”. Those bhiksus of the evil world of turbidities fundamentally will not know that the Buddha used skillful means. Because sentient beings’ capabilities vary and are not the same, the Buddha had to be patient and, in accord with sentient beings’ capabilities, open the Dharma-doors of skillful means. Using the Dharma sentient beings could accept, He gave them teachings. So, He had to teach the Three Vehicles; He had to use skillful means. But the bhiksus in the evil world of turbidities will fail to recognize the Buddha’s skillful means. They will not know the Buddha’s skillful means and will not understand that He taught according to their capabilities. This means they will not understand.
During the Buddha’s era, the way they lived, when the Small Vehicle Dharma was first established, was for [monastics] to beg for alms and accept offerings from people. [Monastics then] thought that by doing so, they were forming connections and transforming sentient beings. In the evil world of turbidities in the future, they will also think like this. They will mistakenly believe it is like this and not understand that the Buddha began with skillful means, that the Sangaha’s way of life was to tame people’s arrogance. He used many [different] methods. He did this to make everyone equal and to establish this spiritual community. This was how life in the Sangha came to be.
But sentient beings in the future, in the era of evil turbidities, will stop advancing. They will become monastics so that everyone will make offerings to them. The people who encounter them will make offerings to have blessings. The [practitioners] will be stuck at this stage. Thus, “They will fall to recognize the Buddha’s skillful means”. They will not understand that [these practices] were only the beginning of the Buddha’s teachings, the Three Vehicle Dharma that He used to draw them in. They will not realize that these are merely skillful means or that the Buddha taught the Dharma according to capabilities.
So, “In that turbid and evil world, there will be unwholesome bhiksus.” In the evil world of turbidities, people’s minds will not be very pure. “They will not recognize that the compassionate Buddha uses skillful means to teach the Three Vehicles according to what is approariate.” The Buddha uses skillful means to teach sentient beings, but they will remain at that stage.
“So, their minds will give rise to doubt.” Everyone will still be attached to the provisional, and they “will slander the true”. The Buddha went from the Small Vehicle to the Middle Vehicle before reaching the Great Vehicle. When He began to open the Great Vehicle Dharma, they did not take in [these teachings] within the direction of their spiritual practice. So, they will still remain doubtful and attached to the provisional. They will slander this true Dharma, the True Dharma of the One Vehicle; they will come to slander it in this way.
They will speak harsh words and scowl at us; “Scowl” means to furrow one’s brows. Since their blessings are shallow, upon hearing this wondrous sutra, they will scowl and reproach us. Evil people will not recognize that the Buddha, in teaching the Dharma, teaches in accordance with sentient beings’ capabilities as is appropriate. They will instead regard it as heretical teachings. So, they will scowl and speak harshly of it; they will forcefully reject and dismiss it.
So, “They will speak harsh words and scowl at us”. They will furrow their entire face and not show any smile. This means they will furrow their eyebrows and reproach people with many forms of slander. Or they will use all kinds of non-Dharma to slander the Right Dharma. So, “Since their blessings are shallow, upon hearing this wondrous sutra, this sutra of the wondrous Dharma, they will furrow their brows” and “reproach us”. This is how they will reproach and slander us. This is how it will be in the future when Right Dharma is difficult to practice. We will encounter people who appear to be spiritual practitioners but who slander Right Dharma. These are the [obstacles] that the Buddha-Dharma will encounter in the future. So, “Evil people do not recognize that the Buddha [was] teaching the Dharma”. These evil people will not only be monastics, but also lay practitioners, people [from all walks of life] in the future. These evil people will not understand that the Buddha worked according to sentient beings capabilities. He opened the door of skillful means. In the beginning But these people will not understand this. So, “They will regard it as heretical teachings” Encountering the True Dharma of the One Vehicle they will dismiss it. They will think it is heretical teachings, so they will speak harshly of it, forcefully rejecting and dismissing it. This is how the world will be in the future.
Again and again they will banish us far away from stupas and temples: As the assemblies gradually disperse, they will instead listen to the devious flattery [of evil bhiksus] and expel those who uphold Right Dharma our of the assembly to places far away from monasteries, stupas and temples.
“Again and again they will banish us far away from stupas and temples.” In this way, they will all continue to gather together the power of evil. “Again and again” means the people who come to listen to Right Dharma will be continually provoked and slandered by these evil people. The people who want to accept Right Dharma will thus gradually be influenced and gradually disperse. So, for Right Dharma to advance will be truly very difficult. These people will abandon Right Dharma and instead accept “the devious flattery [of evil bhiksus].” [The bhiksus] will try to gain their favor and tell them that only by making offerings will they gain merits and virtues. This is the kind of people they will be. Right Dharma a [will be lost] among people, and they will all slowly abandon it. They will turn to provisional and limited teachings, and those with evil intentions will slander Right Dharma in this way. They will move in that direction. So, this is the tug-of-war between good and evil. They expel Right Dharma; for those who uphold Right Dharma, they expel them from the assembly. In the future, those evil people will become the majority, and they will expel [the virtuous]. They will distance themselves from Right Dharma, and those who want to teach it will be helpless as they are expelled. So, “[They will be expelled to] places far away from monasteries, stupas and temples.”
Actually, this is very scary. Many spiritual training grounds will be occupied and become places for profiting from offerings and [pursuing] fame. It will be very hard for Right Dharma to abide among those people. This is what is very worrisome about the future. “As for all these various evils, because we will keep the Buddha’s instructions in mind, we will endure them all.”
As for all these various evils, because we will keep the Buddha’s instructions in mind, we will endure them all: When it comes to all sorts of evils like these, because we resonate with the Buddha’s intent to pass on the Buddha’s teachings and instructions, we will patiently endure all these matters of adversity and affliction.
With so many evils, to advance Right Dharma in this world will be truly very difficult. “But we keep the Buddha in our minds. We take His mind as our own, so we can understand that the Buddha’s instructions are His teachings for us and what He wants us to do. We must uphold the Dharma in the future and pass on Right Dharma. So, we should endure these things. These are all kinds of evil that we should endure because we resonate with the Buddha’s intent and pass on His teachings. We must be very resolute and not only endure but also have patience.”
So, “We will patiently endure all these matters of adversity and affliction.” We must “patiently endure”. When we face views and understandings that go against reason, we must persist with Right Dharma. We must persist in maintaining Right Dharma in this world. So, when there are things that go against the principles and disturb us, we must endure them all.
Among all actions, the harm from anger is especially severe and is the most difficult to endure. For those who practice endurance, the one that is most difficult to endure is the disrespect of petty people. This is so dreadful that people feel they cannot endure it.
So, “Among all actions, [there is] the harm from anger.” This “anger” is raging. There will be many methods used to harm us, so we must endure [them all]. In facing the oppressive harm from greed, anger and ignorance in this world, especially that of verbal abuse, we must endure it all. “For those who practice endurance, the one thing that is hardest to endure” is [facing] petty people. When people scold us to our face, we must endure it; we must truly endure it.
Still, petty people are even scarier. They slander us behind our backs. Or they are arrogant. In particular, they cause us harm and so on. Such people are truly terrifying. “People feel they cannot endure it.” Are they able to endure it? That which we have no way to endure is what we must truly endure. “Enduring without enduring is true patience.” So, “The Buddha said, ‘if one thinks [of] petty people…’”
The Buddha said, “If one thinks the disrespect of petty people is so terrifying that one cannot endure it, one commits the transgression of impatience.”
The Buddha said: If one thinks the disrespect of petty people is so terrifying that one cannot endure it, one commits the transgression of impatience, and no transgression is graver than this. Why is it so? Those who are impatient will be disdained by the nobles and sages.
These are petty people. Since we clearly know they are petty, if we are unwilling to endure them, then we lack principles. Since we clearly know they are petty people, we ought to endure them. Only if we can endure the mistakes of petty people can we then transform them into honest people. We must be among petty people, so if we cannot endure them, then it is we how are in the wrong. The Buddha said this before. So, because we clearly understand they are petty, we must make an effort to endure them. If we do not, then we are wrong. Why is that? “Those who are impatient will be disdained by the nobles and sages.” In facing petty people, if we do not understand how to mindfully be patient and accommodate them, how can we connect with them or transform them? Nobles and sages are people who understand the principles. They can see when we are unwilling to be patient. If we are in conflict with petty people, it is only with patience that we [can resolve it]. When we endure them and [resolve] our conflicts, then we can naturally transform them. So, nobles and sages taught us to have patience. This is also what the Buddha taught us; He also taught us this before.
Those with patience will endure the disrespect of petty people. They would rather be slighted by petty people than be despised by nobles and sages. Those who lack wisdom and have debased views and understanding disrespect those who cannot be disrespected. Nobles and sages despise those who are despicable. Because of this principle, one must practice patience.
So, “Those with patience will endure the disrespect of petty people.” When petty people reproach us, slander us and so on, we should endure them. “[We] would rather be slighted by petty people than be despised by nobles and sages.” Everyone should be able to understand this. We should be willing to let petty people slander us. It is still worth it [to endure], because they are petty people. We should be grateful toward them. Because of people like them, we have the chance to cultivate ourselves. Didn’t Sakyamuni Buddha express His gratitude to Devadatta? He even bestowed predictions of Buddhahood on him, saying, “I was able to attain Buddhahood because of Devadatta, who came life after life to torment me. He helped me persist in my spiritual aspirations.” So, this is the nobles’ view of petty people and whether one has patience or not. Only when we endure the mistakes of petty people can we be true spiritual practitioners who can patiently endure [everything]. We can tolerate petty people, but we should not give the sages a reason to look down upon us. So, to prove to the sages that we are honest, virtuous people, we must patiently endure these challenges from petty people. Challenged by their slander and reproach, we must endure it all. So, “Those who lack wisdom and have debased views and understanding disrespect those who cannot be disrespected. Nobles and sages despise those who are despicable.” This is saying that people who lack wisdom have debased views and understanding, so they disrespect what cannot be disrespected. But when nobles and sages despise someone, it means those people are incorrigible; they are people without any sense of value. So, we must comprehend the sages’ intent. “Because of this principle, one must practice patience.” We must be able to endure, so patience is very important. We must be earnestly mindful.
We were talking about patience before; there is much that [requires] our patience.
Truly, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)