Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Buddha’s Three Wisdoms (佛有三智 勿懷疑懼)
Date: November.23.2018
“’Supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment’ and ‘all-encompassing wisdom,’ are other terms for Buddha-wisdom. This is true wisdom and complete awakening, thus it is called supreme, perfect wisdom. There is no Dharma that He does not know. This wisdom is perfect, radiant and decisive, thus it is called all-encompassing wisdom.”
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this! “Supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment” is a phrase that we often say. While reading sutras, we often see it too. Furthermore, when we listen to sutras, we often hear it as well. Since we often see and hear [this phrase], we should be very familiar with it. This phrase represents and refers to “all-encompassing wisdom.” What [the Buddha] attained was “universal and perfect enlightenment.” “Universal” refers to perfect and complete enlightenment without delusions; It is pure, without defilements and very simple. This is the state of enlightenment. We should be able to know that no other words or phrases we use can more appropriately describe the purity and brightness of the Buddha’s awakened mind. The only phrase to use is “universal and perfect” and moreover “supreme”; this means incomparable.
In this way, “It pervades the universe and all Dharma-realms.” This is perfect enlightenment. In the terminology of the Buddhist teachings, we also talk about “all-encompassing wisdom.” This refers to the Buddha; it expresses the state of His enlightenment, which is all-encompassing wisdom. This means that all things in the universe, no matter what they are, are all included in it, no matter how big or how minute. It can be as minute as a dust particle, as tiny as a bacterium. Of the principles contained within, there is nothing that [the Buddha] does not know. This is called “all-encompassing wisdom”; it encompasses everything. This is a synonym for “universal and perfect enlightenment.” This is “all-encompassing wisdom.” To summarize, this is “Buddha-wisdom”; it is another name for Buddha-wisdom. It is also “true wisdom and complete awakening.” This [wisdom] is true and not just a label. It is beyond what we can describe, so we use this language and these phrases to represent [this wisdom]. It is “true” since it truly and surely exists. This sort of wisdom completely encompasses the Dharma-realm of the universe. In this way, with this sort of awakening, this wisdom of enlightenment, there is no place He does not know. There is no Dharma He does not know and no place where He does not reach. Hence, this is called “complete awakening.”
It is evident that the Buddha’s enlightenment is a supremely profound, subtle and wondrous wisdom. It is also subtle and wondrous Dharma. There is nothing that He does not understand. “Thus it is called the supreme, perfect wisdom.” Supreme, perfect wisdom [means that] it is not possible to have a more correct wisdom; it is the most accurate. In the Lotus Sutra, it also says that the Buddha’s teachings, His wisdom and His enlightenment pervades the universe. There is nothing that the Buddha does not know or fully understand.
Therefore, “There is no Dharma that He does not know.” His “wisdom is perfect, radiant and decisive.” [His wisdom] is perfect, very perfect. He can discern [everything] clearly. Whatever kind of Dharma it is, [the Buddha] can analyze it in great detail for us. He can analyze it fully and completely. From [the matter] as a whole, [He can] patiently analyze it for us, to the point where it is completely empty. From this principle, [the Buddha] analyzed until it is completely empty. Then, from “emptiness,” [He] pointed out the “wondrous,” the subtle and wondrous true principles. He then helped us bring this true principle together with the principles of all things in the universe so that we can go among people and do conditioned good deeds. “[Our] mind is without hindrances; there are no hindrances.” So, we can go among people to do good deeds through conditioned phenomena. Or from that which is conditioned in the world, we will be able to see and encounter all sorts of afflictions in this world. When we begin to form aspirations to go among people, how do we overcome all sorts of difficulties that we encounter? We use the Buddha-Dharma.
For people who are learning the Dharma, with so many afflictions, how can we be firm in our spiritual aspirations? How can we transform these afflictions to zero, so that they turn into nothing? We must use wisdom to analyze them. There are all types of suffering and afflictions. We know that “suffering” comes from “causation,” so people’s life ends up being filled with so much suffering. Due to their circumstantial and direct retributions, they suffer in such a way. They are helpless; this is the collective karma of sentient begins. Right now, the kind of life they have in this greater environment is what they were born in; it is also everyone’s collective karma. Everyone is poor, and everyone is suffering. In this environment, in a greatly impoverished country, all they can do is helplessly look at each other with their unbearable suffering. Not only are they poor and lacking resources, they are born into such poverty and suffering; this is their lives.
With what I am saying now, everyone should be thinking in your minds about certain countries in the world that were reported in the news videos. In our memory, there are such places that are so impoverished and have so much suffering. Not only [are the people] poor, they are straying. Can we help them? It is very difficult. Is it impossible to help them? It is possible. If just requires the strength of many people. It requires a great number of people to transform their hearts a little and inspire their love, their heart of compassion. We cannot bear to see sentient begins in difficulty undergo these extreme sufferings. They live in the hungry ghost realm on earth and in hell on earth. We can clearly see [their suffering]. We know these terms, the hell realm and the hungry ghost realm, that are mentioned in the Buddhist sutras. But where is the hell or the hungry ghost realm? Because we cannot see them, we cannot comprehend [what they are like]. But we can see [these realms] here on Earth. Although we cannot go there, today’s technology can bring back images, so we can see them. Nowadays, transportation is very advanced. If we have the resolve to go there, even if it takes dozens of hours, ten or twenty hours, despite how difficult it may be, we can get there if we have the resolve. However, currently in the world, we cannot go anywhere as we please. There are international rules; each country has its laws and regulations. Between one country and another, there may or may not be diplomatic relations. This is yet another obstacle. How can we overcome these obstacles? As long as we have the resolve, it is not impossible. Globally, there are also international organizations that can overcome those obstacles and help connect organizations to find ways to deliver love [to places in need].
For example, [in August, 2017], in Sierra Leone, there was a big flood. We have a large amount of supplies that need to be very quickly delivered by air cargo. This requires transferring between flights; [the items] will arrive in a certain country, and then be transferred onto another flight. In all, it will take four days [for the items] to arrive. The people can then be helped in a timely manner. While air transport is very costly, if we think about saving people, we cannot analyze the price of a life. So, we must hurry [to deliver] the amount [of supplies] needed to sustain lives in the emergency. However, the amount of supplies would only last between 10 and 20 days.
So, next, we have to quickly send the large amounts of supplies by cargo ships the large amount of supplies by cargo ships. [There are supplies that are] near or far. [Supplies] arrive faster if they are closer. For those that are farther, even with a large amount, they will still arrive eventually. So, it will take one to two months; if [the supplies] set off from Taiwan, to transport via sea would take over 50 days. We can see that the world is so big. To go from here [in Taiwan] to Africa, to western Africa, [the supplies] will have to take such a long route. We can see that, in truth, there is suffering there. If we do not see it, does it mean it is not there? It is still there, but at a very great distance. If the distance is so great, why do we need to exert so much effort? Because between lives, there is no distance. No matter how near or far the lives are [from us], all lives are equal. The Buddha, in this world, meaning our universe, once He attained enlightenment, understood everything; He completely [comprehended] the principles and because fully enlightened to all principles of life. Since we understand [the principles], we too should make this live widespread in the world. We know [the principles] and we have the strength. What that place needs is exactly our strength. Other people who have the strength may not know [of their suffering], while people who know of it may not have sufficient strength to reach to [that place]. These are called causes and conditions. We must know about the causes and conditions. We have such causes and conditions, so we go to help complete [the conditions for those in suffering]. We must go through so many steps in order to complete [their causes and conditions]. When [people in suffering] are saved, we feel at ease. Of course, when we encounter [them], then we must provide long-term care. This is called having causes and conditions.
So, we say that [this wisdom is] “perfect and radiant”. We already know that all matters in the world and every person in the world are subjected to causes and conditions and the law of karma. Why are they suffering so much? Why are they all in that same place? It is because of circumstantial retribution and collective karma, the law of karma, that they are there. The Buddha was born in this world so that He could understand [all this]. [He] knew all this. So, he awakened as the “kind father of the Four Kinds of Beings” and “the guiding teacher of the Three Realms” for all [sentient beings] in the world. Wherever there is suffering, it is as though His own children were suffering. This is what we should learn. The Buddha taught the Bodhisattva Way for Bodhisattvas to actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. We must “actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions”. We know that we must perfect the cause. We must perfect the cause in order to attain the fruit. Therefore, [there are] causes, conditions, effects and retributions. We give them the conditions to continue living. The result we attain is that we are at ease. When we hear that people are suffering, we cannot bear it. we cannot bear for sentient beings to suffer. So, we want to go help them. This means that we understand [the principles].
When it comes to “perfect and radiant [wisdom], how do we gain it? We must be “decisive”. Why is it taxing? In that place, originally, people had already been suffering for a very long time. With the addition of a great flood, the suffering is [even more unbearable]. Families are separated in life or death. Death, injuries and hunger are all gathered in that country, in that place. Since we know [about this], we should think of ways to gather the love of many people and the strength of many people and keep them on reserve so that whenever disasters happen in a place, we can go and help. Thus, we have a preparedness for international disaster relief. [We are] prepared so that, whenever there is a disaster internationally, we can quickly start working and carrying it out. In order to carry it out, we must have “perfect, radiant and decisive” [wisdom]. We must exercise this wisdom. This is certainly what we should do.
So, “it is called all-encompassing wisdom”. We need to know about the matters of the world. How could we know from Taiwan that we should go to Sierra Leone? It is not just [people] from Taiwan that are going. It has required the [volunteers] from the US to accompany [the people there] over many years. Tzu Chi USA has an employee stationed in Sierra Leone. So, he could quickly relay back the information regarding what we need to send there. In truth, going from the US to Sierra Leone and going from Taiwan to Sierra Leone is an equally great distance. [This employee] is no closer [to Taiwan than the US], but he has the dedication. With his dedication, with a change of mindset, the distance to us can become very short. Because we care, these lives [in Sierra Leone] naturally are drawn near to our lives. With what I just said, with what I described for you about their situation, in our minds, an image of this country should appear in our minds. In this way, our hearts will very quickly drew near to their environment. We could very quickly realize and comprehend their suffering. We gave rise to great compassion for them, and we all gathered our strength together. We were already prepared before this. No matter in what country suffering occurs, we must promptly go there. Whether it is going there in times of emergency or [determining] how we should replenish the great volume of supplies afterwards, everything requires analysis. No matter if it is a general or detailed [plan], whether we transport by air or by water or whether it is large amounts or emergency needs, this all requires analysis. So, in the same way, [there is] the “wisdom of all Dharma” and the “wisdom of all paths”. How should we get there? This all requires “all-encompassing wisdom”.
“The Buddha has Three Kinds of Wisdom: 1. The wisdom of all Dharma. 2. The wisdom of all paths. 3. All-encompassing wisdom. This is the Buddha-wisdom. “All paths” refers to the teachings of the path of all Buddhas. “All-encompassing” refers to the causal seeds of all sentient beings”.
The Buddha has three kinds of wisdom. The first is the “wisdom of all Dharma”. We must know what happens everywhere in the world. The second is the “wisdom of all paths”. With the “wisdom of all paths”, we know how we should walk the path. Should we go by air? Should we go by land? Should we go by water? There are principles to all of this. To go by air, there are air routes to take. Traveling by air has its own routes. Traveling by land has its own routes. Traveling by water has its own routes. The world is so vast, and there are certain air and sea routes and certain land routes. So, by the same token, I have been saying that the Buddha gave us a direction, but we must clear the path ourselves. Once we clear the path, then [the path] leads into the world. In the world, between countries, we have already cleared this path. The ocean is so vast, so we cannot deviate [from the route] at all. If we deviate in our direction even slightly, we will be lost at sea. Nor can we deviate even slightly in the air. A slight deviation means that we will be lost in the skies. It is dangerous! Likewise, we cannot [deviate] on land, just like people who go hiking. They often hike on the mountain paths, but if they deviate even slightly from their direction, they will be lost in the mountains. So, we must have a direction and take steady steps and walk extensively.
It is the same in spiritual practice. Once we have our direction, once we have decided on our goal and what the practice of our school of Buddhism is, then we must single-heartedly focus on practicing this school of Buddhism. We should know what our aim and direction is. This is the “wisdom of all Dharma” and the “wisdom of all paths”. There is also a third, “all-encompassing wisdom”. “All-encompassing wisdom” encompasses the “wisdom of all Dharma” and “wisdom of all paths”. Encompassing them is “all-encompassing wisdom”. So, “all-encompassing wisdom” is another name for the Buddha’s wisdom. This is Buddha-wisdom. The combination of the three kinds of wisdom is the Buddha’s wisdom.
So, “all paths” refers to “the teachings of the path of the Buddhas”. This path is the path which all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are walking on. The direction of this path is guided by the understanding of all-encompassing wisdom”. So, “all-encompassing wisdom” is [the understanding of] the law of karma. If we combine these three kinds of wisdom into one, when we go among people, we will not become lost. This is the Buddha-Dharma. We must be a le to rediscover and return to our nature of True Suchness. We must be able to walk upon this path. We must be able to walk toward our goal and our direction.
So, the previous [sutra passage] speaks of, ”all Buddhas’ power of freely using spiritual powers. Their power of a lion’s swift vigor and Their power of mighty and fierce great strength.”
This means we must be right in our direction. In order to exercise the strength and the speed [that we need], we must hurry and not be lax. So, we must be diligent. To be diligent means to be non-retreating. So, we must have the strength of mightiness and fierceness and wholeheartedly go forward. The next passage states, “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse”.
“At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse, You must advance diligently and be of one mind. I wish to speak of this matter. You must not have any doubts or regrets, for the Buddha-wisdom is inconceivable and indescribable.
Sakyamuni Buddha told everyone, “We must be correct in our direction. We must seize [the moment]. We must be diligent. The passage above helps us more or less understand. Because the content of the passage is so important, He repeated it in the verse, saying, He repeated in the verse, saying. “You must advance diligently and be of one mind. I wish to speak of this matter. You must not have any doubts or regrets.” The Buddha-wisdom is inconceivable. At that time, the World-Honored One had begun to expound this Dharma. He encouraged everyone and instructed them. However, He wished that everyone would practice according to the teachings. Whatever path we should walk on, we should walk it. We should not become lax midway. This was His instruction. So, “You must advance diligently and be of one mind.
This is what the verse states. At that time the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse, “You must advance diligently and be of one mind”: The Buddha earnestly instructed them that they must advance diligently. This means they must of one mind as they diligently practice and advance.
The Buddha was so earnest in teaching us and instructing us. “With the right direction, you must go straight on it. You must not stop to rest; you must be courageous and diligent. Then you will have great force and power and get through it”.
So, this is the Buddha. He very earnestly reminded us and taught us. We should “advance diligently. This means [we] must be of one mind. Our minds must not retreat. We must be of one mind and one direction and “diligently practice and advance”. This is the Buddha’s expectation for us. [He] very earnestly reminds us and instructs us. So, next it says, “I wish to speak of this matter. You must not have any doubts or regrets”.
I wish to speak of this natter. You must not have any doubts or regrets: The Buddha wished to explain this one great cause. He admonished them to not have any doubts or regrets and to never give rise to thoughts of retreating. Otherwise, they will be unable to enter the path.
Now, the Buddha let everyone know about this Dharma very candidly. Regarding the paths He had walked on before, He also very candidly told everyone how long it took to go through them. [He talked about] countless kalpas ago when He formed aspirations and all the way until this lifetime, then about His spiritual practice, enlightenment and teaching. He began to speak about His entire past.
Now, He wanted to tell everyone how this all came about. He wanted everyone to know about where all this came from, about the origin. Once we understand, we must diligently advance. Now, we cannot be lax. Not only must we diligently advance, we must not have any doubts. Since it has been so long, and everyone clearly understands [the past], we must not have a doubtful mind anymore about that which He speaks of now. We must be wholeheartedly diligently. What should be known, everyone knows. Now that we know, we must not be doubtful anymore.
So, “The Buddha wished to explain this one great cause”. [He] wanted everyone to know all Buddhas’ and Bodhisattvas’ causes and conditions for coming and the process that everyone goes through. So, [the Buddha] admonished us to “not have any doubts or regrets”. We must not be doubtful. [we must] “never give rise to thoughts of retreating”. [The Buddha] was so earnest in His intentions, so we must not retreat. If we retreat, we would depart [from the path], so we must not retreat. “Otherwise, [we] will be unable to enter the path.” Once we retreat, we will not be able to enter the path. The wisdom of the Buddha is inconceivable. Truly, it is inconceivable. It is extremely and truly profound. It is inconceivable Dharma. As for ourselves, in the past, the Buddha patiently explained [the Dharma] to us. Although we have not put it into practice and cannot comprehend it yet, we should still not give rise to doubt.
The Buddha-wisdom is inconceivable and indescribable: The meaning of the Buddha-wisdom is deep and profound. It is beyond what the minds of ordinary beings are able to conceive of and beyond what their words are able to describe. So, He said, “the Buddha-wisdom is inconceivable and indescribable.
So, the meaning of the Buddha-wisdom is deep and profound. This is truly profound. “It is beyond what the minds of ordinary beings are able to conceive of and beyond what their words are able to describe.” It is truly inconceivable.
This is the Buddha’s Dharma, and we have seen it and understood it. We have understood it, but we have not put it into practice. The Buddha tells us about the burning house, that the Three Realms are a burning house. We have not been burned by the fire, but [in this] burning house, [we are like] those children who see the burning house and think it is a lot of fun.
When we are reading the sutras, although they tell us about the “burning house,” some of us are reading about the “burning house” while in an air-conditioned room. While [reading] this sutra passage [we may think], “I feel quite cool what does the ‘burning house’ have to do with me?”. “But the writing is good, so I will continue to read it.” If this is our attitude, it is not right! The principles are true principles. It is just that we have not encountered [the fire].
When we encounter it, it will be like in Sierra Leone; We will be in the state of extreme suffering. Once we know it, it will be too late, there will be nothing we can to. So, during this time, although we have not felt it ourselves, we must still know it. We were experiencing it ourselves. We must have this empathy. Without empathy, no matter how much others tell us, it is useless. Others may be sick and suffering and telling us about their circumstances. We may only show a bit of understanding for their situation and let it go. What else can we say? There is nothing else to say. This is the same principle.
So, we must have empathy. When there is suffering in a faraway place, we must go to help. As for the people around us, we must care for them. We must be considerate. We must have empathy. It is with empathy that people can get back on their feet. Only with empathy can we develop our wisdom. If we do not have empathy, then we will forever be trapped with our days passing in vain. We will be trapped in circumstantial and direct retribution. These will be our causes and conditions. We will follow our karmic conditions lifetime after lifetime and accumulate karma. Then, forever, this wisdom certainly cannot become part of our wisdom-life and grow. This is because we do not absorb the provisions; the provisions do not nourish our wisdom-life. We treat other people’s business as only theirs.
So, we do not delve into the wisdom that is found among people. “Afflictions are Bodhi” With other people’s afflictions, we should utilize our wisdom. This state is hard to describe through words, so we should just take in this state and use it to spur ourselves onward. This is all to instruct us. If we are unconscious of others, we will never [be able to grow our wisdom]. So, all in all, this is not something we ordinary beings, people who do not want to advance forward, would be able to comprehend “Buddha-wisdom,” the Buddha’s wisdom, encompasses such profound principles. How can we understand it? What we should do is to have empathy for [those who] are around us. Only then can we understand others’ feelings. People’s hearts are so close to each other, but we cannot even understand. So, how could we understand the principles of all things in the world? Where does our “wisdom of all Dharma” come from? Where does our “wisdom of all paths” come from? How can we attain “all-encompassing wisdom”? We cannot. So, we cannot even attain “wisdom of all Dharma”. We are unable to understand all peoples’ state of mind and way of life, so how could we comprehend all the suffering in the world? Going among people is ultimately for us understand [others].
So we say, “Afflictions are Bodhi”. There are many afflictions among people. When we go among people, we will then know [their afflictions] and be able to grow our wisdom. By [realizing] that this is suffering and using empathy to feel that suffering, we can grow and nourish our wisdom-life. If often use the analogy of lotuses blooming in a lotus pond. The pond can nurture the lotus flowers to grow. The lotus pond is full of mud. It is because of the lotus that the mud is beautified. So, everyone draws near the lotus pond to admire the lotus.
By the same token, we go among afflicted sentient beings to understand [the principles]. We do not go among people for fun. We go among people to truly explore the principles. This is what Bodhisattvas are like. So, since we want to learn the Bodhisattva-path, we must seek to comprehend the Buddha’s intent. We must understand the Buddha’s mind and comprehend His intent. Only then can we draw near to the Buddha’s wisdom. So, the Buddha’s profound Dharma has deep and far-reaching meanings. It is not something normal people are able to understand. So, for us, it depends on what kind of mindset we use to face it. For us to receive the Buddha’s True Dharma, we must put it into practice. If we do not put [the Dharma] into practice, even though the sutra text may be very beautiful, we still cannot comprehend it.
When speaking of the Buddha’s wisdom, it is truly about those first few lines, “supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment” or “all-encompassing wisdom”. This is how we describe [His wisdom]. In truth, [His] wisdom is deep and profound. It is not something we can speak of easily. So, the Buddha-wisdom is inconceivable. How can we not be mindful?
The next passage continues, “Now you must give rise to the power of faith and abide in the virtue of patience. This Dharma has never been heard in the past; now you are all about to hear it. I comfort you now; do not have any doubt or fear. The Buddha speaks nothing but the truth, and His wisdom is unfathomable”.
The Buddha told us this. This is what the sutra passages say; the Buddha certainly did not speak of anything untrue. What He told us, we should believe without a doubt. “Now you must give rise to the power of faith and abide in the virtue of patience.” We have now already formed aspirations to walk the Bodhisattva-path. “Now” refers to how at last, we have already cultivated this faith. We must face and go toward the Bodhisattva-path.
Now you must give rise to the power of faith and abide in the virtue of patience: Without the power of faith, spiritual practitioners cannot advance diligently. Thus, it is called the “power of faith”. Now you must give rise to the power that comes from faith and abide in the virtue Dharma of patience.
As for Hearers and Solitary Realizers, the Buddha had already helped them have faith and understand. This faith and understanding, we have read and spoken about it in the Chapter on Faith and Understanding. This is “faith and understanding”. So, the four great disciples had already understood and began to know that there are treasures that they had not noticed themselves. Now, we must have faith that we are like the child of the elder. [We are] also very wealthy and possess so many treasures. We must have faith. Now we also know that the Buddha’s teachings are within us. We all intrinsically have them. We now have faith in them all and have also formed aspirations to walk the Bodhisattva-path. This is not at all easy.
So, “Without the power of faith, spiritual practitioners cannot advance diligently”. If we want to engage in practice but do not have the power of faith, then we certainly cannot advance diligently. Because our faith is not complete and not very powerful, we keep advancing and retreating in this way. We cannot concentrate our power of wisdom because our root of faith is unsound. So, we are unable to be diligent. “Thus, it is called the ‘power of faith”’. In the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, we have also discussed this. So, “Now you must give rise to [the power] that comes from faith”. Since this power has arisen, we should “abide in the virtue Dharma of patience”. Since we have “faith,” with this virtuous Dharma, we must walk the Bodhisattva-path. In our school of Buddhism, we should put [the Dharma] into practice. This is our goal and our direction. So, “With faith, we will have strength”. When we have faith, we will naturally have strength.
With faith, we will have strength. When our root of faith grows, we will destroy all evil beliefs and will not be swayed by deviant teachings. Faith is the source of the Way. When it grows, we can enter the path. Virtue is the provisions of the path. With patience, we can attain fruition.
“When our root of faith grows,” we can “destroy all evil beliefs”. We will destroy all evil beliefs. So, “[We] will not be swayed by deviant teachings”. So, “[We] will not be swayed by deviant teachings.” [We will] not be lured toward this deviant way. We will not be tempted by evil beliefs. So, “Faith is the source of the Way, the mother of merits and virtues.” [It] can continuously nature all of our roots of goodness. We always know this. “When it grows, we can enter the path.” If we give rise to our roots of faith, then naturally we will be able to enter this path. If we know the direction, then we will be able to enter this path. We must not give rise to doubts midway or become indolent. Once a doubtful thought arises, we become indolent. Even though we know that this path is the right one, we think that it is very long, and thus we become indolent. The Chapter on the Parable of the Conjured City also mentioned this. We must not do that! We must be wholeheartedly diligent.
So, “Virtue is the provisions of the path.” This virtuous Dharma is practicing all good deeds; the Bodhisattva-path is the provisions of our wisdom-life. Sentient beings [provide] the nutrients for the provisions of our path. So, we should go among people and practice virtuous Dharma. Bodhisattvas “actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions.” This is our path. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have been through this. So, “With patience, we can attain fruition.” As long as we truly have patience, no matter how tiring it is, we will have faith and continue on; we will be willing and keep going on the path this way. “This Dharma has never been heard in the past; now you are all about to hear it.” It is the Dharma that we have not heard of before; this Dharma that is perfect and wondrous, we have not heard of it before. Now at this Lotus Dharma Assembly, we should be able to [hear] it; we must follow from “the manifest” at the start to “the intrinsic” that is starting from now and reflect upon the path we came from. We must be mindful! “I comfort you now; do not have any doubt or fear.”
I comfort you now; do not have any doubt or fear: I comfort you now; when you hear the wondrous Dharma, do not have any doubt, worry or fear. Doubt or fear [refers to] doubting any of His manifestations or fearing the greatness of His attainment.
The Buddha said, “I now comfort you very sincerely. Do not lose faith. Do not be indolent. Do not be doubtful.” This is how the Buddha earnestly teaches us. “When you hear the wondrous Dharma, do not have any doubt, worry or fear.” We are about to hear the wondrous Dharma; we must not doubt it nor worry that the road is still long. With the right direction, we must have faith in the direction and be steadfast as we go forward. We must not have doubt or fear. [We must not] “doubt any of His manifestations.” This was the journey of the Buddha in the past; this is how He came [to this point]. He already let us know the “manifest.” We must not “fear the greatness of His attainment.” We must not think, “Did the Buddha truly go through such a long journey and experience so much? Did He truly transform that many people?” Countless people continuously came, and the Buddha thrice transformed the pure lands. He transformed defiled lands into pure lands to accommodate all these many people. We must not be doubtful. We must not doubt what was in the past, nor do we need to fear whether what the Buddha said is true or not.
So, here, the Buddha further emphasized this, saying, “The Buddha speaks nothing but the truth, and His wisdom is unfathomable.” We must all know that the Buddha does not speak falsehoods. So, everything the Buddha says is True Dharma. “Every word the Buddha speaks is true. His wisdom is so deep and profound that it is unfathomable.” It truly is impossible to fathom. “The Buddha speaks nothing but the truth.” There are certainly no falsehoods.
So, He instructed us disciples to listen carefully. We must listen with great sincerity to what the Buddha very sincerely teaches everyone. We must meet [His] sincerity. The original intent of the Buddha is nothing but to tell everyone all of this. “The Buddha speaks nothing but the truth.” Everyone must sincerely accept [His words]. “It is said that the sun and moon may fall.” We often chant from the Medicine Buddha Sutra that the sun and moon may fall and Mount Sumeru may collapse, but “the true words of all Buddhas will never differ”. Mount Sumeru could collapse. People use the phrase “as steady as Mount Tai” and “as steady as Mount Sumeru,” but in truth, even [Mount Sumeru] has moved before. However, the Buddha’s true principles do not change. The Buddha has told us that in the material world [there is] formation, existence, decay and disappearance. These are true principles. Even Mount Sumeru will collapse. But when it comes to the principles, they will certainly always be [unchanging]. So, we must believe in the Buddha’s true words. So, everyone must be mindful! The Buddha was so sincere in telling us that. “The Buddha speaks nothing but the Truth.” For certain, [He] does not speak of falsehood. Every sentence [He] says to everyone is true. We must understand Him. Every time I talk [about the Dharma], if you cannot understand it, then I have to repeat it. What I said is very easy and simple, but you still do not understand. You must be mindful and have faith. When we are mindful and have faith, then naturally, no matter how profound the Dharma is, we will understand it. To understand it, we must put it into practice. All in all, we must have empathy. Whether it is the principles of the mind, of life or of matter, [we must] widely understand all principles in the world. From what is closest to us, we must seek to realize and understand them. There is only one way, [which is to have] faith. We must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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