Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Beginning the Chapter on Emerging from the Ground ( 總安樂行 啟涌出品)
Date: October.15.2018
“Previously, He explained how, through the Four Practices of body, speech, mind and vows, we will be able to uphold the sutra and endure. There is much slander and hardship in the world so we must aspire to practice the True Dharma of the One Vehicle and vow to spread it in the world. Thus, He explained in accordance with the Dharma that those who cultivate the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy will achieve the truth.”
Everyone, please be mindful. “Previously, He explained how, through the Four Practices of body, speech, mind and vows, we will be able to uphold the sutra and endure.” The Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy is about the Four Practices. The Four Practices refer to body, speech, mind and vows. Our body, speech, mind and vows are crucial to our spiritual practice. To be able to engage in the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy, we must make use of our body, speech and mind, and we must also make great vows. Let us quickly recall what we previously discussed.
We listen to the sutra for the purpose of retaining and upholding it. Once we listen to it, we must constantly recall it. As we recall it, we must put it into practice. Only then will we truly benefit from listening to the sutra. At the beginning of the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, the Buddha told us that in order to accept and uphold this sutra, we must mentally prepare ourselves. “There is much slander and hardship in the world.” The human way of life in this world is making this world more and more wicked, with such severe turbidities. Not only are there turbidities in the macrocosm, but the turbidities of the collective karma of sentient beings and the afflictions in their minds are also becoming more and more severe.
Nowadays, people are not as pure-hearted. In particular, people nowadays are unable to be as resolute about their aspirations, because they cannot understand their own minds. They are quick to make vows, but making vows is easy; upholding them is hard.
Haven’t we talked about this often? It is easy to make vows, but can we be resolute enough to uphold our aspirations forever? This is difficult! This is a true reflection of our lives these days. This is how it is; forming aspirations is easy, but sustaining them is hard. [We must make use of] our body, speech and mind. Since we put the Dharma into practice and understand the importance of speaking kind words, [we know] we must not break into verbal conflicts or engage in antagonizing speech. We clearly understand this, but habitual tendencies are still hard to change. The longer we spend with people, the less we bother ourselves with formalities in our attitude, physical conduct, facial expressions and the words we speak. Because we are so familiar with each other, we do not observe the bounds of social etiquette, so we may easily say hurtful words, sulk or speak in harsh tones.
This is because we are not keeping watch over our bodily conduct and speech. When we break away from common courtesy, people who hear us will feel very upset. “How could you say such things to me?” What they see is very unpleasant to them. “I remember how, in the past, you didn’t treat me with this attitude. When you spoke to me, your tone used to be so gentle and soft. What about now? Why do you treat me with such an attitude? Why do you speak to me in such a tone? This makes me feel very upset.” This kind of thing leads to antagonism among people. When there is antagonism among us, it will be very difficult for us to get along. “I can’t stand you.” “You can’t stand me, and I can’t stand you!” This is how people interact.
In the past, we made vows. We made an undying vow to do this. “I will earnestly engage in spiritual practice here. I will guard and protect people. I will learn the Dharma here. I will join this organization to help people.” But we have already diverged from our intent. This was our original intent, so how is it that, in this environment, our speech and attitude have become so disharmonious? Because of this, between one another, we are working against our intent and our vows. So, [the misconduct] of our body, speech and mind has shaken our vows. Because of this, in addition to the body, speech and mind, there is also [the practice of] vows. We must heighten our vigilance regarding our vows. We made great vows, so we must safeguard our aspirations and intent. We must maintain our initial aspirations. We are here to learn the Buddha-Dharma and practice the Bodhisattva-path. Only in this way will we be able to “[use] the Four Practices to uphold the sutra and endure”.
The Buddha has already taught us this in the Chapter on the Practice of Bring Peace and Joy. The Chapter on the Practice of Bring Peace and Joy is very long. It is constantly reminding us and warning us. Once it warns us, it reminds us again. There is also Manjusri Bodhisattva’s compassion. He heard the Buddha speak about how the world will be full of so much slander and hardship. Slander refers to speech made with the intent to harm us, such as harsh words and so on. People use harsh words and language to hurt us. They find all kinds of ways to slander us and all kinds of negative attitudes to unsettle us.
The world is full of so many hardships like these. We discussed this in the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and joy. In this kind of [world], will we still be able to abide by our vows? Manjusri Bodhisattva began to request teachings about this from the Buddha is there a way to avoid these hardships so we can fulfill our vows, the Bodhisattva-vows? The Buddha taught the Dharma, which Manjusri Bodhisattva then supplemented by asking the Buddha to teach additional methods to help us understand and enable us to cultivate and uphold [the sutra]. So, “We must aspire to practice the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.” We must earnestly protect our vows. In our vows and conduct, we must advance toward the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This is the direction we must pursue.
However, in our interpersonal relationships, when language and appearances obstruct our minds, how will we abide by our practice of vows? Will we be able to keep advancing in the direction of the True Dharma of the One Vehicle? This requires us to “vow to spread it in the world.” This is our vow. “Thus, He explained in accordance with the Dharma.”
This refers to when Manjusri Bodhisattva asked the Buddha to explain to us again in detail how we can fulfill our vows and go among people to spread the Buddha-Dharma. What methods can we use to avoid this slander in the world and engage in all of these difficult practices? We are very grateful to Manjusri Bodhisattva for repeatedly asking the Buddha to reveal methods that enable us to fulfill our vows, remain secure and resolute in our aspirations, uphold our practice of vows and diligently advance. So, those who cultivate the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy will attain the True Dharma. This is how Sakaymuni Buddha taught the Dharma Manjusri Bodhisattva did this protect [people] in the future evil world of turbidities. For people with troubled minds who are irresolute in their aspirations, the Buddha had to teach them how to avoid these various hardships. This is a summary of the previous chapter about the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy. Of course, they take a very long time to explain, but this is the general idea. This is from the previous section [of the sutra], which concerns how we spiritual practitioners can remain firm in our vows. When we perfect our body, speech and mind, we will do no evil, speak no evil and think no evil, thus we will be able to improve ourselves. With our bodies, we are able to go among people to put [the Dharma] into practice. With our speech, we are able to teach the Dharma to sentient beings. With our minds, we must always keep suffering sentient beings in our thoughts. With these intentions, we must form aspirations and make vows. So, we must remain firm in our aspirations. These four things are the foundation of the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy. Are we applying these Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy?
Are we also applying the Three Directives and Four Practices? According to the Three Directives, great compassion is the room, gentleness and patience are the clothing and the emptiness of all phenomena is the seat. Being here at this place, one expounds the Dharma. Why are we still fighting with one another? Are we applying the Three Directives? There are also “the Four Practices”. Are we engaging in extended practice, uninterrupted practice, practice with nothing further and practice with reverence? These are the Three Directives and Four Practices. Are we applying the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy? When we look back on them, they are very simple. Our of compassion, the Buddha taught the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy. He taught one set of three and two sets of four, the one set of the Three Directives and the two sets of four practices. This is all so simple, but are we putting them to use? We all must mindfully seek to experience them.
Next is the Chapter on Emerging from the Ground. The Chapter on Emerging from the Ground is the 15th of 28 chapters in the Lotus Sutra. We must look back on the previous chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy. Now, we will continue on to the 15th chapter. We must clearly understand these 14 chapters. Everyone should also clearly understand what we just discussed. We must help everyone understand more clearly what the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy is. “They are at peace because their bodies encounter no dangers. They are joyful because their minds are free of worries.”
The Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy: They are at peace because their bodies encounter no dangers. They are joyful because their minds are free of worries. 1. The practice of bringing peace and joy with the body. 2. The practice of bringing peace and joy with speech. 3. The practice of bringing peace and joy with the mind. 4. The practice of bringing peace and joy with vows.
With our bodies, with this body, we must safely walk this path among people and enter the Bodhisattva-path. How do we ensure our safety and keep from making missteps so that our bodies can abide in peace? How can we walk this path among people well and steadfastly walk the Bodhisattva-path so we do not give rise to interpersonal conflicts and give up half-way? How can we be free from danger? If we give up half-way, we are unable to continue the path among people or reach the goal of the Bodhisattva-path. This is the danger regarding our bodies. The human form is rarely attained, but we have attained this human body. It is very rare to hear to Buddha-Dharma. Since we have listened to the Buddha-Dharma, we have now begun to form Bodhisattva-aspirations. How could we give up half-way on such a path? We must bring peace to our body so we can make use of our bodies in this lifetime. “If we do not transform ourselves in this lifetime, in which lifetime will we transform ourselves?” This body is very difficult to come by, so we must walk this path in the world safely and smoothly. In our hearts, we form aspirations to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Upon this path, we must be free of worries. We must be very willing and joyful as we happily walk upon this path. When our minds are free of worries, we will be joyful. Are we capable of this? In this complicated world, can we calmly face our surroundings and practice with joy and happiness? There are methods for this; the methods for the body are tenfold. So, let’s see, “The body must stay away from ten things”.
The body must stay away from ten things: 1. Stay away from great wealth and power. 2. Stay away from deviant people and deviant teachings. 3. Stay away from brutal and dangerous amusements. 4. Stay away from candalas. 5. Stay away from Two Vehicle practitioners because they hinder the practice of the Great Vehicle. 6. Stay away from desirous thoughts. 7. Stay away from pandakas. 8. Stay away from dangerous places. 9. Stay away from matters of contempt. 10. Stay away from keeping [domestic animals]. Staying away from these ten things is known as the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body.
How should we walk among people with this body? We must stay away from these ten things. “1. Stay away from great wealth and power”. Do we remember this? There are ten kinds of people not to draw near to. Among these ten kinds of people, first are the wealthy and powerful. We should not draw near to kings, princes and ministers. Everyone should still remember that sutra passage. Spiritual practice has nothing to do with power. Sakyamuni Buddha left such a wealthy and powerful family to engage in spiritual practice. To engage in spiritual practice, He had to leave all that behind. He had to take on the appearance of a monastic, so how could He rely on power and wealth? This would have been unacceptable! So, we must stay away from this. Secondly, we must “stay away from deviant people and deviant teachings”, such as heretical doctrines. We should still remember that sutra passage.
Thirdly, we must “stay away from brutal and dangerous amusements”. We should still remember this sutra passage. Fourthly, we must “stay away from candalas”. This means that we should stay away from taking life and the karma of killing and so on. We must stay away from this because we must cultivate a heart of compassion. Fifthly, we must “stay away from Two Vehicle practitioners”. This is because Two Vehicle practitioners, that is, Hearers, Solitary Realizers and so on, only seek to benefit themselves. They reject the Great Vehicle practice. So, when we engage in spiritual practice, we should not draw near to their ways of thinking or their perspectives. We believe that the Great Vehicle Dharma is our direction, so we must put it into action. Our opinions about spiritual practice may not always be the same as others, and people who practice the same path may also reject us. This is actually very common.
If we can stay away from them, our minds can abide in unconditioned Dharma. Earlier we discussed the conditioned phenomena of the Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy; these are the phenomena we contrive, the actions and steps we choose to take. What if we encounter interpersonal conflicts? We must try to be understanding and remind ourselves that the emptiness of all phenomena is the seat. With regards to unconditioned Dharma, everything is empty. As for interpersonal conflicts, when we are wearing the clothing of patience, what could we possibly get into conflict over? We must quickly come back and sit where we ought to sit, in the seat of the emptiness of all phenomena.
We should clearly understand this. We must “stay away from Two Vehicle practitioners. This is because we must take precautions. As we practice the path of the Great Vehicle, Two Vehicle practitioners will hinder us and ridicule us and so on. This will cause us to retreat from our aspirations. As our practice is not [firm] enough yet, we must stay away from them.
Sixth, we must “stay away from desirous thoughts”. Among men and women, all sorts of affections and biased emotions arise. We feel closer to these people, so we speak in their defense. We think that whatever they say is right, and we reject everyone else. This is all due to our affections. This is to say nothing of [romantic] affections. This is why, in the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, the Buddha told us to stay away from all forms of lust. We should all remember this.
In short, we must stay away from sensory appearances and sensual desires. Whomever we meet, it is wrong for us to project our desires upon them.
Seventh, we must “stay away from pandakas”. This is something we must be very vigilant of. Eight, we must “stay away from dangerous places”. We must not go to dangerous places. We often say that the world is full of disasters. In disaster relief, first we must survey the roads, and we can only go forward if it is safe. The principle is the same. We must not go to dangerous places. Moreover, going out of our way to travel [to these places] and take unnecessary risks is not right.
Ninth, we must “stay away from matters of contempt”. Many people will slander and misunderstand us. We should avoid arounsing suspicion at all costs by staying away from] places we should not go to and places we should not associate with.
The Chapter on the Practice of Brining Peace and Joy [teaches that] a man and a woman should not be alone together. When it comes to the places we go, we must choose wisely. Even dangerous amusements are wrong to engage in.
Tenth, “we must stay from keeping [domestic animals]”. This might refer keeping something as a pet or indulging in biased affection; it could just be doting on our children or pampering a certain animal as a pet. This way we will completely lose ourselves in our biased affections. This is just like the old saying, “Playthings make us lose our ambition. This behavior is not normal. It is wrong to be biased. These are the ten things that we must physically distance ourselves from. We are using this simplified [list] to help everyone understand clearly. In the sutra passage, the explanation is longer. Now, we are condensing it for everyone to review once more. When we stay away from [these things]. “Staying away from these ten things is known as the practice of bringing.” The body must stay away from ten things: 1. Stay away from great wealth and power. 2. Stay away from deviant people and deviant teachings. 3. Stay away from brutal and dangerous amusements. 4. Stay away from candalas. 5. Stay away from Two Vehicle practitioners because they hinder the practice of the Great Vehicle. 6. Stay away from desirous thoughts. 7. Stay away from pandakas. 8. Stay away from dangerous places. 9. Stay away from matters of contempt. 10. Stay away from keeping [domestic animals]. Stay away from these ten things is known as the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body.
If we stay from these ten things when we use body to walk the path among people, the Bodhisattva-path, we can walk this path in peace and safety. Some elderly Bodhisattvas say, “I just keep following Master. I will keep practicing until my last breath. Lifetime after lifetime, oi will follow Master to be part of Tzu Chi.” This is what many Bodhisattva say. They work so hard, and the sun is so hot. Their work is so difficult. They wake up early in the morning and work deep into the night. It is too exhausting! No, it is not. “Master, this body of mine is rare to attain. I am able to do things with it, so I must make the most of it.” Indeed, we must make the most of it. We must smoothly walk this path among people, walking steadily upon the Bodhisattva-path. Even when we leave this body, [we will continue] in our future lifetimes. In this lifetime, we are able to use this body to walk the Bodhisattva-path.
The first five consciousnesses [correspond to] our eyes, ears, nose tingue and body. These Five Roots connect with the external Five Dusts. Then, our consciousness discriminates between them. Our sixth consciousness thinks, “This is what I like, this is what I do not like. I reject the things I do not like. I must have the things I do like.” In this way, [the karma] we create with our body and mind will come back to us as the fruits of our retribution. The karmic forces we create will come to fruition and return to our eighth consciousness. When this body follows the law of nature, what will we take with us on our final day? We cannot take anything with us except [the karma] we created in this lifetime. Earlier, we discussed the sense objects (dusts) and sense organs (roots). Our Five Roots connect with the external states of the Five Dusts. Our sixth consciousness discriminates, we from attachments, and then we begin to take action. Once we finish taking action, this results in seeds that return to our eighth consciousness; our eighth consciousness take them in. our next lifetime [begins] when we follow the law of nature and this lifetime comes to an end. After we take our last breath, the next time we open our eyes, it will be our next lifetime. What we will brin with us is our eighth consciousness. So, all the good we do with our body in this life. So, all the good we do with our body in this life all the results of our actions, will remain in our eighth consciousness, which we will with us into our next lifetime. Our consciousness will still be there.
Some children are very clever. They are quick to understand, they hear one thing and realize ten. This means that, in a past lifetime, and developed their aspirations. They did what they aspired to do. Throughout their past lives, they continuously actualized this aspiration. It is the same with these Bodhisattvas. So, with this aspiration, they carried this seed with them. At such a young age, one or two years old, they are very clever and wise. In this way, throughout lifetime after lifetime, we will serve as Tzu Chi volunteers again and again. We dedicate this body to serving others. This is the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body. This is the [first] of four practices, the practice of bringing peace and joy with the body.
The Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy: 1. The practice of bringing peace and joy with the body. 2. The practice of bringing peace and joy with speech. 3. The practice of bringing peace and Joy with the mind. 4. The practice of bringing peace and joy with vows.
The second is the practice of bringing peace and joy with speech. The practice of bringing peace and joy with speech means we must speak kind words. We must speak to guide people. When people confused, how can we guide them? We must speak genuine words. We must tell them that they are confused. When we use different methods to teach them, clear up their confusion and guide them back to right mindfulness, this is known as the practice of bringing peace and joy with speech. We must not server people’s root of goodness. If they are confused and cannot find the way back, we must warm them so they do not get completely lost. So, we practice to bring peace and joy with speech. We must steady our minds and steady the minds of others. After the body comes speech. After speech comes the mind. The thoughts in our minds [are affected by] various external states etc. Once we have made up our minds, we must steady our minds. When we form aspirations, we are choosing this life to engage in spiritual practice and cultivate the path of the Great Vehicle. We must go among people to transform all sentient beings. We must preserve this good intent in our minds. We must be firm in our aspirations. So, with a mind of peace and joy, we will not be influenced by external states.
Here [at the Abode], not only do we rise early, there is also no air conditioning inside. When people choose jobs nowadays, they want something easy where they can enjoy air conditioning. But Bodhisattvas engage in spiritual practice. We must not forget that spiritual practice requires us to persevere through hardship. We live in such a hot environment, but we must be able to endure it. Thus, this [practice of] the mind concerns the slightest thoughts we give rise to and the aspirations we form. We must sustain our initial aspirations. With this mindset, we will be very willing [to endure hardship], and we will naturally become joyful and peaceful.
The fourth is vows, the practice of bringing peace and joy with vows. We must make vows. Just giving rise to an aspiration is easy, but sustaining it is hard. To sustain it, we must make vows. All Buddhas attain Buddhahood through the Four Great Vows. I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood. These are the vows we need to attain Buddhahood.
We must “vow to deliver countless sentient beings”. We must go among people to actualize the Six Paramitas. We actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions and serve sentient beings according to their needs. However, sentient beings have many afflictions. Sentient beings do and say very unpleasant things, and their minds are very confused. We all know this. Therefore, we clearly understand that, if we want to go among people, we must overcome so many afflictions. So, we must vow to eliminate endless afflictions. Because we want to learn the Way, we must walk upon this Bodhisattva-path. Because we want to attain Buddhahood, we must be very mindful. These Four Practices concern our body, speech, mind and vows, the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy. We must understand them clearly. “The Buddha teaches the Dharma in the world to fulfill His one great cause.”
The Buddha teaches the Dharma in the world to fulfill His one great cause. Those Bodhisattvas emerged from the ground and rose up into the empty air, thus it says “emerging from the ground”. However, this is just matters and appearances; contained within them is the extremely profound essence of the principles. This will be explained later on.
Now, we will continue on to discuss how the Buddha came to the world for one great cause. At that time, He taught the Lotus Sutra to fulfill His one great cause. So, all the way through to Chapter 14, the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, He encouraged everyone to go among people to form Bodhisattva-aspirations, accept and uphold this sutra and solidify these aspirations. So, we must take the Bodhisattva-path as our direction. “Those Bodhisattvas emerged from the ground and rose up into the empty air”. Later on in the sutra, we will see how so many Bodhisattvas emerged from the ground.
This is a very remarkable scene, but what does it mean? Of course, it has a very profound meaning, and practitioners of the Bodhisattva-path must understand this. The Bodhisattva who rose up into the empty air had emerged from the ground. When it comes to these matters and appearances, how do we unite them with the principles? These [matters and appearances] contain the extremely profound essence of the principles. I often tell everyone that the principles are intangible and formless. So, how can matters and appearances demonstrate the essence of the principles?
In the next chapter, Chapter 15, we will try to understand this. Dear Bodhisattvas, let us mindfully seek to comprehend the 15th chapter. Where did these Bodhisattvas come from? Walking the Bodhisattva-path is not easy, so we must seek to understand how they came to be there. So, we must always be mindful! We must remember to look back on the previous Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy. When we finish listening to [a chapter], we still need to review it again. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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