Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Supreme, Wondrous Dharma Is Deeply Profound (第一妙法 其義深遠)
Date: November.26.2018
“Knowing the ultimate state of cessation, He uses the power of skillful means to manifest various appearances, which actually all lead to the Buddha Vehicle.”
This passage is from the Lotus Sutra’s Chapter on Skillful Means. By now, we have entered “the door of the manifest.” Next, we must enter “the door of the intrinsic.” The intrinsic is the fundamental root. The Buddha wanted to explain the causes and conditions of all the Buddha and Bodhisattvas who had arrived. What worldly matters could He use to explain these principles? The principles are intangible, without substance or appearance; how could He possibly demonstrate such principles? Thus, people who can accept the Dharma are a necessity. We previously spoke of “faith”. We must establish extremely profound faith. We must absolutely have firm faith; we must delve deeply into our faith, and we must not harbor any doubt. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits. It nurtures all roots of goodness.” This is vital to our entry into the Buddha’s door. Because we must accept these principles, these intangible principles which lack substance and appearance, the Buddha-Dharma is referred to by some as “the door of emptiness.” Its principles are formless and without substance. In that case, how can the Dharma be taught? The Buddha “used the power of skillful means.” He used His wisdom and power of skillful means. So, He needed to “manifest,” to manifest wholesome conditioned phenomena. These are the “various” appearances. He used various forms and appearances of all kinds of worldly matters to explain these principles to us. Truly, to teach so many principles and accomplish so much, the amount of wholesome conditioned phenomena. [He used] was enormous.
Actually, He did this all for the sake of the One Buddha Vehicle. In truth, the Buddha spoke of many things. Whether He used deeds that He did personally or His experiences manifesting in the world, He shared all of these experiences with us. Sentient beings experience hardships, and there are things that the heart is unable to comprehend. The Buddha [explained how] this suffering in the hearts of sentient beings comes from the world and interpersonal relationships, [explaining] what kinds of causes lead to what kinds of afflictions. [He then explained] what kinds of afflictions lead to the continued formation of karmic retributions. These causes continue to produce ignorance and suffering, which leads to karmic retributions. [The Buddha went from] these causes and conditions and extrapolated into the past, back throughout countless kalpas and myriad lifetimes. Just speaking of sentient beings, they also have their causes they created in previous lifetimes and retributions they attain in their present lifetime. [To teach] all this, He had to use various skillful means. Are we saying this was all [just] skillful means? In truth, this was all the One Buddha Vehicle. These are the principles. The principles exist among people, matters and things. All the principles of people, matters and things will always return to the One Buddha Vehicle. This is their fundamental, intrinsic principle. People are like this too, with our many differences. We have different races, speak different languages, live different lifestyles and have different personalities. Really, it is impossible to enumerate all [our differences], and we are unable to clearly discern which people are good people. Each person has their positive characteristics; however, among these positive characteristics, they also have many negative characteristics. In the end, no one is completely perfect. Unenlightened beings are lacking in virtue precisely because we are unenlightened beings. Even spiritual practitioners have a hard time attaining perfection. This is why the Buddha had to find a way to explain to us how we can achieve perfection. He had to use various skillful means to help us [gain] patience, faith and diligence. We must be willing to engage in the Four Practices.
The Four Practices are uninterrupted practice, practice with nothing further, extended practice and constantly [practicing with] reverence for the Dharma. We must have truly deep faith. Because we have this deep faith, we can engage in the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy through our body, speech, mind and vows. The Buddha spread the Dharma in a methodical fashion. Thus, as He guides us along, we must have faith. Starting from the Chapter on Skillful Means, we must all understand “the teaching of the ultimate state of cessation.” We must absolutely understand the ultimate state of cessation. Since this is [the state of] cessation, it is obviously non-arising. Non-arising means that afflictions will never arise again. That afflictions will never arise again. When we have eliminated our afflictions we will become pure, and we will no longer allow ignorance to defile us or come into our minds ever again. This is what happens after cessation; we will enter this clear and tranquil state. So, we must remain undefiled and never give rise to defilement again. Our intrinsic nature is inherently non-increasing and non-ceasing. It has neither beginning nor end; it has always been this way, and in the future, we will never lose our nature of True Suchness. This is all must be thoroughly clear to us. We may not understand it yet, but we must have faith. With faith, we will not give rise to afflictions, nor will we give rise to doubt. We must transform these skillful means into the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. This is extremely important. Now that we have reached this point, the Buddha reminds us once again that we must have faith and diligence. We cannot harbor doubts and regrets. We have just mentioned this.
In the beginning of the Chapter on Skillful Means, the Buddha wished to teach the Dharma. Sariputra “thrice requested [the Dharma],” so the Buddha began to expound it. He first needed to explain to everyone that they must “know the ultimate state of cessation”. Everyone needs to know the Dharma’s ultimate goal. This is something that everyone must know. They must know and understand it from the very beginning, with a common understanding and a common vision. We are already engaging in “common action” and we must advance diligently for a long time. So, we “know the ultimate state of cessation” and must also know how to eliminate afflictions, purify our minds and never allow them to become defiled again. We must never allow our afflictions and ignorance to arise and defile us again. When we reach the point when we remain undefiled, this is called cessation, tranquil cessation. Yet, we still need to go among people. We cannot merely say, “I must guard myself.” When we are able to have compete knowledge, clear understanding and comprehension, naturally, when we go among people, nothing in our environment will disturb us or influence us. It will never be able to defile us.
In this way, our afflictions will be forever eliminated with no remainder. We will eliminate them completely until there are none left, and we will never be defiled again. This comes from “knowing the ultimate state of cessation”. We also know the Buddha devised skillful means in order to teach us the intangible [principles] which have no substance or form. He had no choice but to apply the power of skillful means to manifest conditioned good deeds. Through wholesome conditioned phenomena, He served as a model for the world. So, He had to “manifest various appearances”. Even though He devised skillful means, even though he taught in this way, in actuality, His every teaching still encompassed the Buddha-nature, the One Vehicle Dharma. Even though He taught the Three Vehicles. In truth, the One True Dharma still exists within these Three Vehicles. So, they “actually all lead to the Buddha Vehicle”. [In this way,] the Buddha’s wisdom, the wisdom of all Dharma, the wisdom of all paths an all-encompassing wisdom will all become clear to us.
This is the wondrous principle of ultimate reality. Until ate reality requires form and substance. It does! No matter what the form or substance, they all contain the principles within them. Three are similar in this regard. Some big trees have huge leaves, while other big trees have small leaves. In July or August, when students are about to graduate, it is time for the royal Poinciana trees to bloom. Every school used to have some. Their leaves are small, so when they start to fall, they have to be swept constantly. In the past, these trees were extremely common because when they bloom, they turn all red and gorgeous. However, their leaves are very small, just like this plant before me, which is so tiny. We have another plant even smaller than this. Its leaves are thicker than these. Look, a breadfruit tree is also a tree, and its leaves are the size of banana leaves. Take a look; each tree has a different shape. They have different shapes and different genes. This is their principle, the principle that exists within their seeds.
This is just like us humans. We are all called “human”. We all look the same; Buddhas and sentient begins all look the same. But in truth, we all have a different personality. Each person’s opinions, thoughts and perspectives, are unquestionably different. In ancient times, people used to say, “If a mother has 10 children, this makes for 11 minds.” Even though their mother gave them life, they cannot have the same mind as their mother. The human world is complicated. Thus, our mind creates all kinds of [phenomena]. Are they wholesome conditioned phenomena, or are they unwholesome conditioned phenomena? This all depends on our actions, and every action arises from a thought. This is what the Buddha wants us to “know”. The word “know” is extremely important here. So, this is “the wondrous principle of ultimate reality”. We must completely comprehend the principles of Buddha-Dharma. If we can be perceptive enough, we will grasp one truth and understand all truths. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this.
So, this “is the supreme meaning”. This is called “the supreme meaning”. The Buddha-Dharma’s supremely profound meanings and principles lack form and appearance, so it is very different to express them in a way that everyone understands. They are not something the average person can analyze and discuss through language. Truly, this Dharma is extremely profound.
“The wondrous principle of ultimate reality is the supreme meaning. ‘Supreme meaning’ means that this is the path of the one reality, the principle of ultimate reality”. This principle is “unsurpassed, thus it is called ‘supreme’”.
This principle is extremely comprehensive. It is unsurpassably high and bottomless deep, thus it is very comprehensive. When we try to fathom it, it is very difficult, for there is no way to appreciate how high or how deep it really is. Thus, it is the deepest form of existence. The extremely profound Dharma begets infinite manifestations. It is impossible to analyze them all. So, from this meaning, from this principle, arise infinite, countless and incalculable forms. This is the nature of the principles; there are so many profound principles, and they are manifested in every single form. This is the Dharma. This is the Dharma. In short, this encompasses everything that we encounter, including ourselves, our own lives, our actions, our bodies, our eyesight and our voice. These are due to the combination of various biological principles and our bodily organs.
As for physical “objects”, they are made up of many components coming together. A microphone and an amplifier are not just two things by themselves. There are also chords, connectors and so on. Many, many pieces must be combined together for them to exercise their function and use. The many organs of the human body also have their own functions, which act in unison. We have two eyes, but if some bodily systems stop working, our eyes may stop functioning, and we will be unable to [see] external objects. We can see that with these principles, from the biological principles of human biology to the physical principles of external objects, all their myriad forms, including the physical forms of all living beings, are encompassed within them. This is the truth of the supreme meaning, the origin of the “principles”. Thus, “the supreme meaning” is deep and profound.
In our world, academic pursuits are divided into categories and disciplines, becoming more and more specialized. We have divided them up in such a specific way, but have we gained complete understanding? We still lack complete understanding, and this is to say nothing of how all the different [principles] are so numerous. This brings us to the Buddha’s enlightened nature; He told us that this is intrinsic to us all. Though this is intrinsic to us all, we are still unenlightened beings, so we face limitations in all things. If we wish to gain complete understanding, then we must specialize ourselves and conduct focused and precise investigations. By conducting focused and precise investigations, we will slowly begin to understand the principles. Although we will begin to understand, if we do not genuinely experience them personally, we will never fully understand any one of them.
Thus, this takes a great deal of time. We must spend a great deal of time. To completely understand something in this life, we must verify our impressions with knowledge, continuously focusing our expertise and learning throughout lifetime after lifetime. How should we teach others? We need to have deep faith in the Buddha-Dharma. We must certainly have faith. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits. It nurtures all roots of goodness”. We must nurture our roots of goodness for a long time before we can do conditioned good deeds. All of this is good, but how can we put it into practice? How can we lead and teach [others to do the same]? We need the “wisdom of all Dharma, wisdom of all paths and all-encompassing wisdom”. We must bring together all the different principles of the universe. The Buddha attained enlightenment. He became one with the universe. He came to clearly understand all the principles. We must have great faith, and with faith, we must advance forward.
The previous sutra passage says, “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. 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 speak nothing but the truth, and his wisdom is unfathomable”.
This sutra passage reiterates, in short and simple language, these profound principles to help us remember them again. So, it uses verse, which is just like poetry. So, it says in verse, “You must advance diligently and be of one mind”. We all must advance diligently and single-mindedly. We must focus our minds and avoid getting distracted. “I wish to speak of this matter. You must not have any doubts or [fears]. Now I will begin to teach something very profound. You must not have any doubt in your minds”. This is because these teachings intrinsically resonate with the Buddha-wisdom. We must understand the Buddha-wisdom. It is inconceivable, for it is difficult to conceive of and describe.
Thus, we must have patience and never give rise to doubt. “Now you must give rise to the power of faith”. This is not an easy task. We all have faith now; we have [studied] the Chapter on Faith and Understanding, so we all have faith now. So, we must “abide in the virtue of patience”. We also need to have patience. To listen to the Dharma and understand the principles, we must have a patient and long-enduring mind. We must earnestly listen, continue to listen. This is all virtuous Dharma. So, to save sentient beings, we must use various methods; we must “have the Dharma to transform them”. If we are not earnest and patient, then how can we go among people to transform sentient beings? If we lack the Dharma, how can we transform sentient beings? So, we must abide in the virtue of patience as we seek the Dharma and transform sentient beings.
“This Dharma has never been heard in the past. What I will teach now has never been heard before. Now you are all about to hear it. You have never heard this before, because I taught the Three Vehicles at that time. Small Vehicle practitioners got the Small Vehicle teachings. Middle Vehicle practitioners got the Middle Vehicle teachings. They had never considered listening to the Great Vehicle Dharma at all. Those who had never listened to it needed to hear it now more than ever. So, [the Buddha said], “I comfort you now; do not have any doubts or fears”. The Buddha comforted them with gentleness and sincerity. “Come listen. Do not worry if you do not understand, but you must not harbor any doubts in your mind. You must be patient it takes a long time to fully accept it”. The Buddha slowly consoled them like this, helping everyone to patiently uphold this mindset and avoid giving rise to doubt. Then He assured everyone that “The Buddha speaks nothing but the truth”. The Buddha’s words are unquestionably true. He assured everyone of this. “[The Buddha’s] wisdom is unfathomable.” This is because it is the Buddha-wisdom the wisdom of an enlightened being, which is not something that an ordinary person can realize or even hear about. He was about to teach about our intrinsic nature He genuinely wanted to discuss His original intent. So, we must not harbor any doubts.
The sutra passage continues on with [the Buddha] saying, “The supreme Dharma that I have attained is extremely profound and beyond analysis. As such, I must expound it now, and you must all listen single-mindedly.
After the Buddha had comforted them all, He turned back and said, “Everyone must be very mindful, for the Dharma that the Buddha has attained is the supreme Dharma. In the state of Buddhahood, one’s mind is one with the universe. [The Dharma] is so open and expansive and so full of principles. This is the Dharma attained by the Buddha.
Because of this, we ordinary beings are unable to truly understand it. It is very difficult to analyze.
The supreme Dharma that I have attained is wxtremely profound and beyond analysis: What the Buddha has attained is the supreme wondrous Dharma. Its meaning is deep and profound. We cannot use thoughts or language to discuss analyze its meaning.
True principles, without substance and appearance are true emptiness. How can true emptiness be taught? “Language falls shouts.” We must speak about it, but what kind of language should we use? All language is incapable of explaining the nature of this path, it is impossible. Unenlightened beings are not to perceive it. Those with limited capabilities cannot comprehend it. So, [let us consider] these principles. The supreme Dharma is so profound that. It is difficult to analyze into different parts. It all comes down to a single idea. We must analyze this idea extensively. This is not something we are capable of accepting, so analyzing is very difficult.
Thus, the supreme and wondrous meaning that the realized contains] very profound principles indeed. “We cannot use thoughts.” The thoughts of ordinary beings are incapable of fathoming this, it is impossible. We cannot use our language, either, to discuss it or deliberate on the extensiveness of the Buddha’s wisdom. there is no way to analyze the Dharma He taught, to make its contents clear or explain it so that we can comprehend it.
Actually, if we think about it simply, we can comprehend immediately. But if we think about it in a complicated wat and over-explain it, there will indeed be many things that we do not understand. We could explain them one by one, but it would take such a long time! This is because, within the span of a thought, the True Dharma encompasses the myriad forms. This really is not simple at all. But if we can think about things simple, we can accept the true Dharma the Buddha taught and put it into practice. We can practice these teachings one by one, and we will comprehend them each through practice. If we fall to practice them, then no matter how much we listen, it will be of no use. Thus, the Lotus Sutra exclusively discusses the One Vehicle Dharma.
The Lotus Suta exckusively discusses the principles of the ultimate reality of the one Vehicle. This wondrous Dharma uniquely uses the lotus flower as an analogy. This is the wondrous Dharma, which [contains] both the provisional and the true. The One Vehicle Dharma has the same principles and essence as the lotus flower, which blooms and yields fruit at the same time. Thus it is called the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.
In fact, everything the Lotus Sutra discusses is the principles of the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. This is the main idea of the Lotus Sutra. This wondrous Dharma uniquely uses the lotus flower as an analogy. It uniquely uses the lotus flower as an analogy. The lotus flower emerges from the mud unsoiled, [just as] great awakened sages among people will not be defiled by their afflictions and ignorance. This is the analogy of the lotus flower. This is the wondrous Dharma. It “[contains] both the provisional and the true. The lotus flower emerges from the mud; the true principles [behind this] is the “true”. The image of the lotus amidst the mud is the “provisional”.
So, the provisional and the true are inseparable. It [contains] both the “provisional” and the “true,” thus, “the One Vehicle Dharma has the same principles and essence as the lotus flower”. The principles of the One Vehicle Dharma, its “essence” and its external “appearance,” are truly the same. According to certain principles, living beings will naturally arise to take on a certain form. If we mindfully seek to investigate the core essence of biological life forms, we find that causes and conditions converge, the manifested “appearance” will reflect] its “principles”. All in all, here are so many endless principles that have yet to be investigated. They are all encompassed by the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. This wondrous Dharma uses the lotus flower as an analogy, which contain very deep and profound principles. Why doesn’t this mud defile the lotus flower?
When we drop water on the lotus leaves, we can shake it about, and the water will form beads. We can shake the lotus leaves. We can also shake the leaves on a taro plant. These are the principles of living beings; there are many such principles in our world. So, the Buddha-Dharma is ultimately inseparable from the mind, for all things are created by the mind. “All Buddhas of the Three Periods…. All things are created by the mind”. All the world’s myriad things are [created by] the mind, in a single thought. We must return to this thought. So, the wondrous Dharma [contains] both the “provisional” and the “true”. “The One Vehicle Dharma has the same principles and essence as the lotus flower. The lotus flower blooms and yields fruit at the same time”.
In fact, our minds produce thoughts like this. The external effects [of causes and conditions] cause our minds to give rise to thoughts. No matter what the causes or conditions, causes and conditions will eventually converge. The convergence of causes and conditions results in effects. These effects form retributions. This leads us to form discursive thoughts. So, causes, conditions, effects and retributions follow an endless cycle. The principle is the same. This is the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. Seeds in the mud proliferate endlessly. “As such, I must expound it now, and you must all listen single-mindedly”.
As such, I must expound it now, and you must all listen single-mindedly: “It is wondrous and profound as such, and now I must expound it. You all must single-mindedly engage in earnest contemplation and listen carefully”.
Now the Buddha had to [explain] these principles to help everyone understand. Now the Buddha said, “I must explain this now, but you all need to have single-minded focus, faith and patience. You must earnestly establish your resolve and listen carefully to this very profound Dharma, this wondrous Dharma”. Now He would teach it. What if they lacked a reverent state of mind, or if they did not earnestly contemplate it afterward?
I always say that when we listen to the Dharma, it must not go in one ear and out the other. This would be a waste of time, with us sitting here for so long. As we sit here listening with such great patience, we must retain what we listen to. Now I see people taking notes as they listen to the Dharma; truly, everyone is listening very mindfully. Once they finish listening, they record their insights. Once they have been published, from this publication, we can observe the mindset with which they listen to the Dharma, how they take the Dharma to heart, how they develop their own insights and write them down. This is their Dharma Study Journals in which they have published their insights. I hope everyone can personally learn the Dharma and take it to heart. Once we have taken it to heart, we must share it with everyone. Those who listen to the Dharma must share it. After listening, some people will go to study groups to share [their insights]. Others will journal about it; they write down their insights and publish them to share them with everyone. It makes me so happy to see these publications. We all really need to learn from how others listen to the Dharma, what realizations they gain from listening to it and applying it in their lives and what insights they attain.
So, when listening to the Dharma, we must have single-minded focus. We must “engage in earnest contemplation and listen carefully”. After listening, we must earnestly contemplate, reflect and recollect. We must let it live on in our memories. So, “Our faith gives us strength”. If we give rise to faith, we will have strength.
When our faith gives us strength, this is what it means to have deep faith. We still need to abide in the virtue of patience. Then this power of faith will be all the more unwavering. Only when we are able to use this faith to hear and accept the Tathagata’s wisdom that we have not heard in the past will we be able to avoid doubt, regret and feat.
Isn’t the “power of faith” part of the 37 Practices to Enlightenment? Don’t the Five Spiritual Roots and the Five Powers include the root of faith and power of faith? With faith, we can extend our spiritual roots and extend our spiritual aspirations. In doing so, we will extend our faith, our root of faith and power of faith. So, “this is what it means to have deep faith”. We must have the power of faith, a deep faith. We must have power, so we need deep faith. “We still need to abide in the virtue of patience”. We still need to tell everyone that we need to be patient as we listen to this sutra. We must abide in patience, listening earnestly and patiently. “Then this power of faith will be all the more unwavering”. This is the power of faith. We must not allow external conditions to disrupt us. We must “use this faith to hear and accept” [the Tathagata’s wisdom]. With this “faith,” we must listen carefully; we must listen and accept that which we have not heard before. We have not heard the Tathagata’s wisdom yet, so now we must be even more patient. Because [the Buddha] had been teaching the Lotus Sutra for a long time, He was worried they would not have the patience, so He encouraged everyone to listen patiently.
Next He would discuss the true Buddha-wisdom, so everyone absolutely needed to have patience. To attain Buddhahood and the Buddha’s wisdom, we must certainly comprehend the Buddha’s wisdom so that we will never give rise to doubt or regret again. When we give rise to doubt and regret, we will become afraid [and wonder], “How much longer must we go on like this?” This is because we lack patience. Thus, the Buddha warned us of this, hoping that we would have faith and patience and never give rise to doubt, fear or impatience again. We must have none of these.
The next sutra passage says, “At that time, the World-Honored One, having spoken these verses…”. He had finished this verse passage. The Buddha continued on, “He said to Maitreya Bodhisattva, ‘Among this assembly, I now proclaim this to all of you’.” Because Maitreya raised some questions, the Buddha answered them to resolve everyone’s doubts and remind everyone [about these matters] again. Now the Buddha explained to Maitreya Bodhisattva, “Maitreya Bodhisattva, ‘Among this assembly, I now proclaim this to all of you’.” Now, in front of all these people, He openly made a proclamation. We all need to keep His words in mind and take them deeply to heart. We must have faith, and we must absolutely have patience. The Buddha spoke to Maitreya once again in the next sutra passage.
“Ajita, these Great Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas, numbering in infinite and countless asankyas, have emerged from the ground. This is something you all have never seen before”.
This is because Maitreya Bodhisattva, Ajita, had said, “So many people have come, having emerged from the ground. How could I have never seen these people before?” He asked this question on behalf of the assembly, since it was on their minds. Therefore, Maitreya raised this question, and the Buddha answered him. He said, “Ajita!” This refers to Maitreya. “So many people have appeared, and none of you have ever seen them before. In fact, these great Bodhisattvas who have emerged from the ground are actually very old. Still, you do not recognize them. If you wished to count these people, it would be hard; there are too many.” The time since they began to engage in spiritual practice and since the Buddha began to form affinities has been very long. “Numbering in infinite and countless asankyas, [they] have emerged from the ground.” To calculate the length of time [they practiced] and their numbers would be impossible.
So, “Their numbers were as described previously. [Maitreya] was always traveling everywhere, yet he had never seen such an event.” Of these matters, Maitreya said, “I truly know nothing about this. I have never seen anything like it. So, I request the Buddha to explain this for me.” The Buddha repeated what Ajita had asked, “Maitreya, you said that there are so many people here that there is no way to calculate their number. In truth, for these people, it would take a great deal of time to explain their accumulation, which is likewise incalculable, for it is truly great.” Of course, this was of deep significance. Clearly, we must accept the Buddha-Dharma. In the Buddha’s teachings, [when we examine] the sutra text, we can see a great deal of repetition, making it seem quite tedious. Still, if we are able to deeply take it to heart and examine every matter and every word and the principles within them, there will still be much left to discuss.
The sutra text is constantly repeating itself. If we tried to fully discuss all the meanings and principles in this sutra, no matter how much time we spent discussing them, we would never be able to analyze them completely. Their principles are deep and far-reaching; how can we come to know them? The Buddha has always hoped we can have patience and faith. Since these matters concern us sentient beings, all sentient beings within the Six Realms and the world have a great connection. We must not keep being so dependent, [saying], “Venerable Buddha! Teach me the Dharma! How can I be saved?” The Buddha told us that we must not rely on Him, for we intrinsically possess the strength. So long as we understand this principle, we will understand that we have always had this, and there is no one that we can truly depend upon. So, we must not impetuously seek out gods or fear demons. We must [awaken] ourselves, our hearts and our wisdom and our nature of True Suchness; we must truly awaken them all. Although it is extremely difficult, we must deepen our faith and broaden our roots. If we can understand these things one by one, then we will be truly content. So, we must collect our thoughts, for all things are created by the mind. So, at all times, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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