Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Five Virtues of Bodhisattvas (菩薩五德 眾所樂見)
Date: November.09.2018
“To entrust them [with the task of] spreading the sutra after He entered Parinirvana, the Buddha summoned all the Bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattvas from other lands emerged and requested to be entrusted with [the task of] spreading the Dharma throughout the Saha World. The ground in this land split open and Bodhisattvas emerged like clouds. They faced [the stupa on] Vulture Peak and paid their respects to the two Honored Ones. Now He relied upon the doubts of Maitreya and others. With these thoughts, they began to ask questions.”
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. Since the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, He would soon need to pass down [the Dharma]. What kind of person is capable of passing on this Dharma? The Dharma is the essence of the Buddha’s ideals, the true principles that the world cannot do without. In order for people to get along, they need to have these principles and a sense of propriety. Through “propriety,” we manifest the “principles”. We have talked about this every day. We use the principles to modify our behavior towards others in life. When it comes to our state of mind, our personal conduct and our dealings with people and matters, the principles serve as our key ideals. The principles are the most important thing in our lives. In addition to our bodies, we have our ideals. The kind of ideals we hold will be reflected in our conduct. Virtuous conduct comes from focusing our every thought on benefiting others. If everyone could do this, if we could give of ourselves to benefit others and serve others to create harmony among people, if we could do this, wouldn’t this world be completely harmonious?
When our thoughts stray the slightest bit off course, this slight deviation will lead us to hurt people for our own benefit. Imagine if everyone hurt people for their own benefit; how could we live in this kind of world? Suppose that two people sit next to each other, two people with different mindsets; will they be able to sit together [in harmony]? “I want to benefit myself and forget about the person next to me.” If everyone hurt others for their own benefit, how could anyone ever get along or get close to anyone else? It would be impossible to get close to one another or great along with one another. Then what kind of world would our world become? So, our principles and ideals are very important; we must be very mindful of this. The Buddha had to pass down these principles, but when the Buddha was about to enter Parinirvana, no one was willing to say, “Don’t worry; I will take on this task! I am capable of leading everyone in the same direction. I can continue to pass down these principles to future generations.” It seemed that no one was willing to rise up and say, “I will take on this task!”
Had they cultivated the virtue [necessary] to take one this task? Did this talent and ability exist? The ability to do this work and take up this task is certainly important, but when people lack virtue, when they have not cultivated virtue, they will not be able to get along. Even if we have good thoughts, if we lack good habits, the breadth of our mindset will naturally become very narrow. Can passing down the Buddha-Dharma be done by a single person? No. Each person must have a broad mindset. Everyone needs to encourage each other to serve together. There are so many sentient beings. The world is such a vast space. It really is! This is why we need many people to come together and wholeheartedly commit to the spirit of these principles. When we share common principles, there is common understanding, but we also need common action. Everyone must move in the same direction. Only with many people will we be applied to influence everyone and everything in this world. So, we must open our hearts.
This is why the Buddha always talked about causes and conditions. Only with causes and conditions will there be any “effects”. These “effects can spread out for everyone to see. “Wow! So it was this group [that achieved this]!” This is why religions must spread their teachings. Spreading the teachings means bringing purity to sentient beings’ view. With many people, we need to bring purity to our views. When there are many people, if our views are not in tandem, good and evil will be mixed together. If there is less good and more evil, when we get caught it this tug-of-war between good and evil, our tendency toward goodness will of course weaken. When our tendency toward evil is stronger, the power of evil will get very strong.
So, in this mix of good and evil, how do we help someone change so that their deviant ideals return to right mindfulness? People have a pure nature; this nature is intrinsically good and tends toward love. This is why religious [practitioners] go among people to transform those whose perspectives have gone astray so that they will head in the right [direction]. When we go among people and lead good people in the right direction, we help turn mistaken people around to go in the right direction.
In this way, goodness leads to right mindfulness, and evil is transformed into thoughts of goodness. Goodness is “right”. In this way, peace will come naturally. If the world can become like this, naturally, the world will be very peaceful. The purpose of religion, which is to educate, is very important. Some fear when religions come together. When deviant religions come together, of course this is very frightening. But if they have the right direction and bring balance to people’s hearts, they will create blessings to benefit others so that everyone is this world can abide in pe ace and joy in life. Wouldn’t this be a very wonderful thing?
In doing good deeds, we need to be very tolerant. “I serve without expectations. I do not expect you to be like me. I will always do my best, and I do not expect anything from you.”
All things considered, we must not discriminate between religion, race or nationality. Moreover, anyone who comes to hear the Dharma will be able to listen to it and get inspired to go in the direction of goodness. People of any religion can come here to listen. We have no expectations of them. The Buddha also teaches us this, that everyone is equal. He only hoped to help us understand our intrinsic Buddha-nature, return to our nature of True Suchness and awaken our own wisdom. When we understand ourselves, we will naturally form great aspirations and make great vows. This depends on everyone to be willing to find a way to form aspirations. We embrace the teachings with our body, speech and mind. Regarding our bodies, we must clearly understand the proper way to accept the teachings. We must use our bodies to do good deeds and benefit sentient beings. This goes without saying.
What about our speech? Since we listen to the Dharma, the Right Dharma, when it enters our ears, we must spread the Right Dharma in the world. This also goes without saying. So, our bodily actions and speech must originate from sincere thoughts in our minds. “Thus have I heard….” We have heard the Buddha say this. His principles are such-and-such. The Buddha’s heart is so big. He has never said, “I have given you something”. Or, “You must depend on me.” No. The Buddha does not teach the Dharma like this. The Buddha [teaches that] everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature; everyone has this potential. Everyone can make use of their intrinsic nature in the world to transform sentient beings. Everyone is a Bodhisattva, and everyone will attain Buddhahood in the future.
The Buddha said, “The one who teaches the Dharma has no Dharma to teach.” The Buddha would even say this about Himself. “I am teaching the Dharma, but there is actually nothing to teach.” Everything goes back to nature; the true principles of nature are the Dharma. These are the Buddha’s teachings. With a very open heart, the Buddha embraced and taught sentient beings. He asked for nothing in return. But on our side, we need to accept propriety and the principles in order to take on the mission the Buddha entrusted to us, we must also accept the Buddha’s teachings and turn our direction in life around so that we will be headed in the right direction.
We will have a bright, broad path to walk upon. This is a path we can walk on. We have this direction and this path to walk along. Don’t we need to say who is guiding us in this direction? Don’t we need to practice according to the teachings and open up this path? What is the direction of this path that we are all taking together? Don’t we need the principles of the path? This is where the principles come from. So, we must safeguarded the teachings. We must protect and spread the Dharma be people who spread and protect the Buddha-Dharma. Spreading the Buddha-Dharma is our mission.
Sometimes, Buddhist practitioners have the aspiration, but lack the direction. Because the direction the Buddha pointed us in is a very broad and open [path], all we know is that it is broad and open, but we do not know its direction. A slight deviation can take us far off course, so we must be very mindful.
[To prepare for] entering Parinirvana, the Buddha wanted to “entrust them [with the task of] spreading the sutra,” spreading the Dharma. So, on Vulture Peak, the Buddha had already summoned so many Bodhisattvas. The Bodhisattvas from other lands came to assist, and the Bodhisattvas from this land emerged from the ground. Hence, “The Buddha summoned all the Bodhisattvas.” They all came.
So, “The Bodhisattvas from other lands emerged.” The Bodhisattvas from other lands all arrived and came to this Saha World. They were all [summoned by]. The Buddha in Saha World, Sakyamuni Buddha, who endured the Saha World’s [suffering] while earnestly seeking to save and transform sentient begins. All of the Bodhisattvas were very inspired by Him. So, they were all willing to make vows, and the Bodhisattvas from other lands who had come to the Saha World of course “requested to be entrusted”. They asked the Buddha, “Sakyamuni Buddha of the Saha World, if you give us the right to do so, we are willing to advance the Buddha-Dharma in this world on your behalf.” This is very commonplace in the modern era; when someone creates something, we cannot violate their rights to it. When someone invents a good methods, they have the rights to it. if we want to use their method to teach others, [we must ask], “Can you give me the rights so I can implement [your method]? This is how people handle this nowadays. In modern-day terms, this is “patent licensing”. Back in the Buddha’s lifetime, Bodhisattvas had rules and etiquette. “I am from another land; I have come here. I am willing to accept your Dharma. But you musts give me permission, because I am not from here. If you give me the right to do so, I will teach these people for you”. In this way, “[They] requested to be entrusted. Venerable Buddha, please entrust this task to us. We will teach them for you”.
They saw that in this land, in the Saha World, no one was willing to stand up. Moreover, those from other lands were deeply inspired and could not bear to see this. So, they were willing to come to this place and take up Sakyamuni Buddha’s teachings. This is “requesting to be entrusted”. “Sakyamuni Buddha, please entrust this task to me so I can come to this place to spread the Dharma. I am willing to stay in this place and start learning all over again”. Everyone should recall this recall this earlier sutra passage. “I am willing to engage in spiritual practice in this place”. This is like when people from abroad form aspirations and are willing to do Tzu Chi work in those places. We also ask them to participate in training and come here to get certified. It is the same principle. So, they “requested to be entrusted with [the task of] spreading the Dharma throughout the Saha World, I hope You will entrust this task to me. I came to the Saha World to spread the Dharma”. These were the Bodhisattvas from other lands. “The ground in this land split open, and Bodhisattvas emerged like clouds”. People came from other lands, but of course Sakyamuni Buddha did not want to completely entrust this duty to people from other lands. “You who come from other lands can learn the spirit [of my teachings] and return to your own lands. You need this in your homeland as well. You each have a duty to your own land. In our place here, it should be our own people who take up this duty here”.
So, this was the method He used to help the Bodhisattvas in the Saha World form aspirations and inspire them. As He expected, in “this land”, the Bodhisattvas of the Saha World had also already begun to form aspirations. “The ground quaked and split open”.
Does everyone remember this passage from before? The ground quaked and split open, so the Bodhisattvas emerged from the ground. The previous passage describes this very clearly. This ground is the ground of our mind. When the seeds in the ground of our mind sprout, large and small trees will start to grow in this land. Bodhisattvas will form great aspirations from this time onward. So, “They faced [the stupa on] Vulture Peak and paid their respects to the two Honored Ones”. The stupa of treasures emerged at the Vulture Peak Assembly. We have also clearly explained this sutra passage. The past and present Buddhas were inside the stupa. Like this, Many Treasures Buddha yielded half His seat to Sakyamuni Buddha. The two Buddhas were inside the stupa of treasures.
So, when these Bodhisattvas emerged, of course they faced [the stupa] on Vulture Peak and paid their respects to the Buddhas, the “two Honored Ones”, the past Buddha, Many Treasures, and the present Buddha, Sakyamuni. The Bodhisattvas who emerged from the ground came at the right time. They made use of the opportunity. Maitreya Bodhisattvas [had provided] Maitreya Bodhisattvas had begun to ask [the Buddha to clarify some things]. He expressed that he had some doubts. These Bodhisattvas who emerged all willingly formed aspirations. He had never seen or heard anything like this before. Now, he had just seen it all today. What were the causes and conditions for this? He had some doubts in his mind. Maitreya felt like this himself, so he supposed that others might also feel this way. So, he said, “The assembly has never seen this before”.
Let us look at the sutra text. The previous sutra passage says, “All of us, from the past until now, have never seen or heard of such a group of great Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas as these emerging from the ground and “standing before the World-Honored One, placing their palms together, making offering and greeting the Tathagata.
“We have never seen so many people come from all directions and emerge from the ground before. These people are all so reverent. They put their palms together to pay their respects to the Buddha and greet Him and praise Him in such an orderly fashion! We have never seen anything like this before”. These were the doubts that Maitreya Bodhisattvas and the Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of 8000 Ganges Rivers had in their minds, which Maitreya Bodhisattvas expressed. Everyone hoped to understand this. He wanted to “resolve his own doubts”. He wanted to resolve them himself, to eliminate doubts and determine the direction of the Dharma. So, everyone was very reverent. In the same way, [Maitreya] put his palms together, faced the Buddha and asked in verse.
At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattvas-Mahasattva knew what those Bodhisattvas as numerous as the sands of 8000 Ganges River were thinking and also wanted to resolve his own doubts. So, he put his palms together, faced the Buddha and asked in verse.
It was Maitreya Bodhisattvas who led so many people in hopes they would be able to understand the principles clearly. “What were these people’s causes and conditions? I do not want to have doubts in my mind. I want to understand this clearly. So, Venerable Buddha, can you please explain to us the causes and conditions that brought them here?”
So, in the following sutra passage, he said, “This great group of countless trillions of Bodhisattvas has never been seen before. We wish for the Two-footed Honored One to explain this”.
These Bodhisattvas, who were so great in number, had never been seen before. “World-Honored One, please help everyone understand this clearly. Those who have come are countless. They are so many; what are their vows? What blessings have they created? What wisdom have they attained? They have all come here. Venerable Sakyamuni Buddha, only you are replete in both blessings and virtue as the perfect World-Honored One. Only You can know this, because, since Beginningless Times, You have formed so many blessed affinities with them. Among the Bodhisattvas and among people, You have also attained so much wisdom. Now, where is it that come from? Buddha, You are replete in blessings and wisdom so You are able to answer us. This is why He is called “Two-Footed Honored One”. “Two-Footed Honored One, please answer our questions Venerable Buddha, You understand these people best. Why did they emerge from the ground? Venerable Buddha, please introduce us”. This is how it was.
He asked where they started manifesting from, where they had come from, and where they were going. How can a person who travels 10,000 miles have no place of origin? With their interdependent circumstantial and direct retributions, what was their place of origin?
So, “He asked where they started manifesting from”. He wanted to ask these people when they started walking in the direction of the Bodhisattva-path and where they came from. Where were they originally from? “How can a person who travels 10,000 miles have no place of origin?” Since these Bodhisattvas emerged from the ground, they should have a starting point. Moreover, what were their causes and conditions? They had their “interdependent circumstantial and direct retributions. Their circumstantial and direct retributions, their past spiritual cultivation, how they came to be here and so on were all things that everyone wanted to understand.
There are so many people, so many Bodhisattvas we do not know. They walk the same Bodhisattva-path. They have the same teacher, the same Dharma. Some walk ahead and some behind. Those behind do not know those ahead of them. Those ahead do not know those behind them either. So, it was at the Vulture Peak Assembly that these Bodhisattvas met on the summit. This was a summit meeting. This was the Buddha-Dharma’s summit meeting of Bodhisattvas.
In the next sutra passage, [Maitreya asks]. Where did they come from? What causes and conditions brought them together? They have immense bodies, great spiritual powers and inconceivable wisdom. their resolce and aspirations are firm and they have the great powere of patience. Sentient beings take joy in seeing them. So, where did they come from?”
We must be mindful of this sutra passage. “Where did they come from? His first question was about where they came from. His second question was “What causes and conditions brought them together here?” there were so many Bodhisattvas. What causes and conditions had brought them here?
He asked about the causes behind their emergence from the ground. The movement and change of all things hinge upon good or evil. Accumulating good karma brings blessings. Accumulating evil karma brings misfortune. How could they not be vigilant and cautious of [those Bodhisattvas’] actions? So he asked, “What causes and conditions brought them together?
“He asked about the causes behind their emergence from the ground.” Why did the ground split open and why did so many Bodhisattvas emerge from the ground? What were the causes and conditions behind this occurrence? This is true for everything; there must always be some reason behind a change in appearances. there has to be some reason. This is to say nothing of how [the Buddha] mobilized so many people to come. There were so many people. What was their purpose in coming? What causes and conditions brought them here? They wanted to know all these things.
So, [everything] “hinges upon good or evil”. This means that the key issue is whether their motives] were good or evil. Did they come with good evil intentions? What was their heart’s intent in coming here? They wanted to know their original motivation, what their original intent was. For instance, if they came with good intentions, as the saying goes, “A family that accumulates good karma will have ample blessings”. Accumulating good karma brings blessings. Accumulating evil karma brings misfortune.” This is what it means “Had the people who came regularity accumulated good karma? Then they must have come with good intentions! This all “hinges upon good or evil. This is why, when we have a lot of people coming and going, we need people to maintain order and so on. we need to do this. Large-scale events also require order and peace to be maintained. So, why were there so many people here? This “hinged upon good or evil. It is very important [to observe] good and evil behavior. So, “How could they not be vigilant and cautious of [those Bodhisattvas] actions? “So many people have come; how can we not be vigilant and cautious? This is another example of how the Bodhisattvas applied the worldly Dharma. They saw that so many people were contained in one space. It was so crowded in a space this size, they needed to be very vigilant. “Are all the people inside people who accumulate good karma? What are their causes and conditions? This is using our worldly state of mind to explain that scene. In this world, a summit assembly also needs order to be maintained. Security precautions also need to be taken. This is what our world is like. Of course, the Buddha-Dharma teaches differently but we have to use the worldly Dharma but we have to use the worldly Dharma. Of course, there will not be any bad people in a gathering of Bodhisattvas. But past or present, everyone still needs to understand this clearly. So, “The inconceivable principles that Bodhisattvas contemplate were their causes.
The inconceivable principles that Bodhisattvas contemplate were their causes. Their ability to contemplate the truth and their flawless wisdom were their conditions. With these, they destroyed the delusions of ignorance. Also, in order to transform sentient beings, they came and went to manifest their great vow to transform beings.
All that Bodhisattvas contemplate are the inconceivable principles; these were their “causes”. Each thought of their was like a grain of sand from the Ganges River.
We will discuss this later. So, “Their ability to contemplate the truth and their flawless wisdom were their conditions”. They were able to contemplate the ultimate truth with flawless wisdom. we are capable of practicing flawless wisdom. when we clearly understand the ultimate truth, our wisdom will be flawless. Regarding the Dharma we hear and the principles we comprehend, we will understand them very clearly. We will never forget them. We will not forget them or let them leak away. “Their ability to contemplate the truth and their flawless wisdom were their conditions. This true and flawless wisdom was part of their conditions. The principles are inconceivable. “Profound discerning wisdom” and “universal equality wisdom” are what we must start returning to. A mirror can reflect an infinite number of things. Conditions make it connect with external states, but it will never be defiled. Thus, “With these, they destroyed the delusions of ignorance”. This is just like how, even if a mirror [reflected] the entire earth, nothing would defile the mirror’s clarity. This is how Bodhisattvas will take external states into their minds without being influenced by them. So, “In order to transform sentient beings, they came and went to manifest their great vow to transform beings”. This is what Bodhisattvas do; in order to transform sentient beings, they come and go to manifest in this world. These Bodhisattvas kept returning here. [Maitreya said,] “They have immense bodies, great spiritual powers and inconceivable wisdom.”
They have immense bodies, great spiritual powers and inconceivable wisdom: They had immense bodies. With their great spiritual powers, they could manifest anywhere. Emerging from the ground, their wisdom was vast, profound and inconceivable. From “immense bodies” onward, this describes the group that emerged from the ground. Their appearance and demeanor were extraordinary, and their power of wisdom was exceptional. Everyone took joy in seeing them, thus they astonished the assembly into asking questions.
“Immense bodies” means they were gigantic. How was it that they could suddenly emerge from the ground like this? Because “with their great spiritual powers, they could manifest anywhere”. They could “manifest anywhere”. At any place, at any time you need them, these Bodhisattvas will emerge there. Our “[volunteers] in blue and white uniforms” are constantly emerging everywhere. So, “With their great spiritual powers, they could manifest anywhere. Emerging from the ground, their wisdom was vast, profound and inconceivable”. Bodhisattvas are everywhere, bringing blessings to this world and applying their wisdom among people by teaching and transforming them. So, “immense bodies” refers to their physical appearance.
What comes after this describes how those who emerged from the ground emerged with such a dignified demeanor. Their power of wisdom was also different from that of the average person; they had a higher level of wisdom than normal. This enabled everyone to see how dignified they were and that they had so much wisdom. This is the appearance of Bodhisattvas; people see them and think they are magnificent. [Because] they looked like this, it made people think they were magnificent. So, “Everyone took joy in seeing them” Everyone saw them and rejoiced. Everyone viewed them from this very sublime state of mind. “Their resolve and aspirations are firm and they have the great power of patience.”
Their resolve and aspirations are firm and they have the great power of patience: Their vows to engage in the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy were strong and firm. They were able to patiently endure all severe aversion and afflictions.
Because they had firm resolve and aspirations, these Bodhisattvas were very stable and determined. “They had the great power of patience.” Because they kept returning to transform sentient beings in this world, they had to have the great power of patience. This was a necessity. “Their vows to engage in the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy were strong and firm.” In order to form Bodhisattva-aspirations, we must make “vows to engage in the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy” with our body, speech, mind and vows. We must be willing to be in this world that is difficult to endure. So, “They were able to patiently endure all severe aversion and afflictions”. There are so many things that cause afflictions. There are so many troublesome afflictions, but we still need to patiently endure them. If we truly cannot bear them, we will be unable to remain here.
In short, Living Bodhisattvas keep returning here. They need to have the power of patience in order to get through things and accomplish the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy. Thus, “Sentient beings take joy in seeing them. So, where did they come from?”
Sentient beings take joy in seeing them. So, where did they come from? : All sentient beings took joy in seeing them. So, again, where did they come from? They had immense bodies, spiritual powers, wisdom, firm resolve and the power of patience. Due to these five virtues, sentient beings took joy in seeing them.
Wow! Everyone saw these Bodhisattvas as having perfected their past spiritual practice. They brought joy to whomever saw them. They were extremely virtuous. Indeed, they had already formed ample affinities with everyone. Seeing that they had so many good affinities brought people unspeakable joy. Seeing these Bodhisattvas always make people feel joyful. Where did [these Bodhisattvas] come from to bring people so much joy? “All sentient beings took joy in seeing them. So, again, where did they come from? They had immense bodies, spiritual powers, wisdom, firm resolve and the power of patience. Due to these five virtues, sentient beings took joy in seeing them.” This is what their bodies were like; “they had immense bodies, spiritual powers, wisdom, firm resolve and power of patience”. They had these five virtues, so as soon as their bodies appeared, people rejoiced and their minds were set at ease. This is how they entered into peoples’ hearts. This is what it means to have “spiritual powers” and “wisdom”. This wisdom came from their firm resolve and vows and from their strong power of patience. So, this was their virtue. Whenever people saw their virtue, it truly brought everyone so much joy. How was this possible? In short, the Buddha-Dharma teaches us how to achieve “immense bodies, spiritual powers, wisdom, firm resolve and power of patience,” these Five Virtues. This is what we must work hard to cultivate. Of course, first we must have the power of patience. We must be patient. This world truly is difficult to endure. Otherwise, when we face stubborn and obstinate sentient beings of [dull] capabilities, we will fail to teach the principles directly and clearly, and our teachings will also be very dull. This will be unable to concentrate. We might explain something very clearly to them. “Do you understand this?” “Yes, I understand” They say they understand, but once they leave, they still do not understand it. In everything they do, they still persist in their habitual tendencies and their own way of doing things. People like these are unable to make up their minds; they are so hard to teach. Really, just thinking about it is very troubling. Earlier we mentioned “aversion and afflictions”. People who are extremely “averse” are opposed to the meaning behind the teachings. “I explained this very clearly, but you are still unwilling to practice it.” This is due to “aversion and afflictions.” They are also very afflicted. Their aversion and afflictions truly create unbearable suffering. What can we do about it? We must endure what is difficult to endure. We must endure; we must patiently endure. There is great pressure that comes from shouldering the responsibility for this world. But I often say, “What is this pressure?” It is intangible, so what kind of pressure is it? It is the pressure we bear in our minds. The pressure we bear in our minds is so great. This is all due to “aversion and afflictions.” The afflictions that come from aversion also bring great suffering. Sentient beings have so many afflictions. How can these afflictions be eliminated? We must make strong vows. Once we make vows, we must [recognize] our habitual tendencies and find a way to change them. Changing ourselves requires resolve. We must have resolve and the power of vows. Without resolve or the power of vows, we will of course be unable to change.
When we fail to change, we will be stuck beneath the pressure of our afflictions. This is how it is. What can we do about this? We must have wisdom. Wisdom requires us to spend a very long time maintaining a patient mindset. It is with this mindset that we will be able to face people. This is just like how Maitreya Bodhisattva and the others sought [the Dharma]. “How did [these Bodhisattvas] come to be here?” It must have taken them such a long time to accumulate these [karmic conditions]. “Accumulating good karma brings blessings.” They had accumulated good karma; this is why they took on this bodily form that brought people so much joy and made people feel at ease in their minds. This is how they came. They had wisdom and resolve, the power of vows and the power of patience. They were willing to listen and quickly improve [themselves].
This is the kind of strength they had. Who gave us this strength? It was not the gods who gave it to us. It was not the Buddha who gave it to us. All the Buddha did was tell us about it. The Buddha also said, “The one who teaches the Dharma has no Dharma to teach.” It all comes from our own personal awakening. By the same principle, [the Dharma] is not given to us by anyone. It comes from within us. Throughout many lifetimes, we continuously accumulate afflictions. Throughout many lifetimes, we continuously accumulate causes and conditions. Throughout many lifetimes, we continuously create karmic forces. So, our life in this world is not something that anyone gave to us. I hope that everyone will mindfully seek to comprehend this. The principles are very clear. It is simply that we do not know how to accept and implement them, because we are stubborn and obstinate.
How can Bodhisattvas even begin to tame [sentient beings]? We must deepen our understanding of this. Out of compassion, Maitreya requested the teachings for us. Next, we will listen to the Buddha’s explanation. We must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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