Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Three Vehicle Practitioners Eliminate Delusions (三乘斷惑 證理名道)
Date: December.13.2018
“Practitioners of the Three Vehicles have their own level of delusions to eliminate. Realizing the principles and wisdom is the path. Practitioners who uphold the Three Vehicle teachings comprehend and attain enlightenment in accordance with their capabilities. This means they attain liberation from all afflictions to awaken to, realize and attain clarity and tranquility. The path has no distinctions of order or time. The Dharma has no substance, appearance, quantity or limitations.”
We must be mindful. Everyone should know that the Three Vehicles are the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles. The Small Vehicle is for Hearers, [for those in] the state of Hearers. They hear the Buddha’s voice teaching the Dharma and mindfully engrave every sentence into their hearts. They comprehend the Buddha’s teachings and understand that they must eliminate afflictions and ignorance and eliminate all their confusion. In [practicing] the Small Vehicle, they mindfully absorb, comprehend and practice the Dharma. This is how they are able to eliminate delusions.
Middle Vehicle [practitioners] are Pratyekabuddhas. They contemplate the law of karma and the concept of causes and conditions. Thus, they thoroughly understand the impermanence of all things in the universe. They are completely clear on the principle of impermanence. So, they are also very mindful and know that our interpersonal relationships are the source of our karma. Love, hate, affection and enmity intermingle to give rise to this karma. Thus, they understand this, and with thorough understanding, they make vows to engage in spiritual practice. This enables them to be pure and undefiled. They completely accept and uphold the Small and Middle Vehicle Dharma.
With this state of mind, they seek to eliminate afflictions, ignorance and confusion. Level by level, they delve into its depths, realize, comprehend and put [the Dharma] into action, eliminating all of their afflictions. The world’s afflictions are the source of suffering. If we remain stuck, lost in the source of suffering, we will never be able to escape. Our afflictions will be never-ending. We must eliminate our afflictions, delusions and ignorance. Small Vehicle practitioners must work hard to eliminate Small Vehicle-level delusions. Middle Vehicle practitioners realize and understand how to completely eliminate. Small and Middle Vehicle-level delusions.
But what comes next? How will we be able to comprehend the Buddha’s teachings? Of course, we must continue to diligently advance. But while most Middle and Small Vehicle practitioners thoroughly understand the concepts of the law of karma and understand that life is filled with suffering, they have simply stopped there. Life is suffering, real suffering. The karmic causes and conditions entangling us are truly difficult to eliminate.
So, they remain stuck there. They only seek to benefit themselves and do not dare to go any further forward. When it comes to advancing forward to transform sentient beings, they dare not do this; they lack the inclination. So, they remain stuck.
Only people of Great Vehicle aspirations whose capabilities are comparatively sharp are willing to do this. They see the hardships of sentient beings and do not sever their affinities with sentient beings. They understand their afflictions, ignorance and delusions, and they persevere in eliminating them one by one.
However, they cannot bear to see sentient beings suffer; they cannot endure this. Clearly, they are suffering greatly. The myriad sentient beings have severe turbidities. In His teaching, the Buddha said that when the Five Turbidities converge among future sentient beings, they will face so many hardships. It will be even more severe, so they would suffer even more. Thus, [Great Vehicle practitioners] cannot bear [to see] the suffering of sentient beings. They never think about themselves. Despite understanding the principles clearly, they still must go among people. Yet, in order to go among people, they must master the state of non-retreating.
So, in the Chapter on the Practice of Bringing Peace and Joy, it is already very clear that we must form aspirations and make vows. Beginning with the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha carefully recruited people He could entrust the Dharma to. Beginning with the Chapter on Dharma Teachers, the Buddha gradually revealed that He needed people willing to form aspirations to spread the sutra, so He spoke of the virtues of spreading the sutra. He also slowly got everyone to clearly understand that these virtues come from “inner cultivation and external practice.” Outwardly, we must put the Dharma into practice. Inwardly, we must work hard to cultivate ourselves. To earnestly engage in spiritual practice, we must constantly eliminate our afflictions. This is something we must work hard to do. The world is full of hardships. There are many complicated afflictions. People, matters and things are complicated. How do we deal with afflictions when they come? This is something we must cultivate inwardly; we must work hard on ourselves. This is [the practice of] guarding against wrongs and stopping evils. [We must use] “precepts, Samadhi and wisdom”. We must be very perseverant. Then, when ignorance and afflictions come we must build a wall so that afflictions do not enter our minds and defile our thoughts. This is what it means to uphold a diligent, pure and undefiled mind so that we will not let afflictions disturb our aspiration to outwardly engage in diligent spiritual practice. Thus, the virtue of “inner cultivation” lies in eliminating afflictions, in constantly eliminating afflictions and upholding our aspirations. If we want to uphold our aspirations, we must constantly eliminate our afflictions. As for our delusions, we must not allow the people, matters and things of the external [world] to disturb us. Then, we will be able to see things clearly and clear discern matters and principles. We must persevere in doing what we should do in the external world. Internally, we must maintain a firm will to practice. This is how we form great aspirations. This is how we must mentally prepare ourselves to form great aspirations.
The Buddha tests our willpower by telling us, “You must form aspirations to go among people. The future world will be full of evil turbidities because people’s hearts are very wicked and all kinds of people have unsound minds. If you do good deeds in a way that is not to their liking, they will discriminate against you and do everything they can to cause trouble for you.” These world matters can be very complicated. He used all kinds of methods to help us understand and mentally prepare us.
We must think back to [the Buddha’s] time because there were such severe hardships. Manjusri Bodhisattva urgently requested teachings from the Buddha. “Oh, the world will be so wicked! Yet these people have formed aspirations to serve in such difficult and wicked circumstances. People will give them so many difficulties, and this path will be so perilous. Venerable Buddha, why don’t you give them some practices so they will be able to fortify their aspirations and overcome these hardships.” Then the Buddha began to explain about the practices of body, speech, mind and vows.
Indeed, it is easy to overcome these hardships. We must always pay attention to our bodily [conduct] and our expressions. How is our tone of voice? We must speak convincingly so that people will listen. We must pay attention to our thoughts. Our minds must always be in a mindset of tolerance and discipline. [Maintaining this mindset] in the world is a method of self-cultivation. [When we cultivate] our “body, speech and mind” to face various people, matters and things, we will be able to deal with [anything]. We also need to make vows. We must maintain our vows lifetime after lifetime. Only then will we be able to realize the principles. We must be able to corroborate the principles with matters. It definitely takes a long, long time before we will be able to corroborate the principles with matters. These are the true principles. We cannot deviate in our conduct, and we must abide by the principles; this is wisdom. The path that wisdom opens is an even path. It takes a very long time to attest to this path. This is not done in a few years or a few decades. It is not [as simple] as this. We spend lifetime after lifetime on the Bodhi-path. This requires true dedication. We must be able to engage in the myriad practices of Bodhisattvas all the way until we attain Buddhahood.
When we do not take heed of how long this takes, the time will accumulate without us noticing. When we do not take issue over it, naturally, we will slowly realize the principles. Thus, “Realizing the principles and wisdom is the path.” Having realized these principles, we know our direction and know that the path we are building is right. We must work hard to level out this path. We must ceaselessly lead others to pave [the path] ahead and walk upon it.
This is just like how we build things in this world. We must build, but in a way that is environmentally sound. We must use green construction. There need to be [plants] along the ground, plants and trees to provide fresh [air] in harmony with nature. We need to give them space. We should use soil, not concrete, and make the road easy to walk on by paving it with interlocking bricks. Then our surroundings will be beautiful, and the road will be smooth and even. We must plan this mindfully and be proactive in beautifying our environment. We also need to have a sense of order and find a way to enliven our environment. With these principles and this direction, we must mindfully seek to create this environment and allow it to take shape.
Thus, “Practitioners who uphold the Three Vehicle teachings comprehend and attain enlightenment in accordance with their capabilities.” Small Vehicle [practitioners] understand that they need to practice and uphold the Small Vehicle [teachings]. They must practice [the teachings] and discipline their body and mind well. They must understand that suffering, the “suffering” of the Four Noble Truths, has its source in “causation”. They must earnestly seek the “cessation” of this suffering. So, they must earnestly [engage in] the mission of the “path”. This is the Small Vehicle Middle Vehicle practitioners comprehend life’s impermanence. Especially when it comes to conflicting emotions, love, hate, passion and animosity, this suffering is difficult to eliminate. They comprehend all these principles, which is why they fear interacting with people. Such are the capabilities of Middle and Small Vehicle practitioners. Yet they earnestly seek to comprehend the principles, “comprehending and attaining enlightenment in accordance with their capabilities. This is means they attain liberation from all afflictions to awaken to, realize and attain clarity and tranquility”. This is all in accordance with their capabilities. So long as they eliminate their ignorance and afflictions, their minds will be very pure. It is just that they only seek to benefit themselves. What about the myriad sentient beings? The Buddha was unbearably worried about them. Sentient beings are sinking lower and lower. If we do not take action immediately, sentient beings will keep sinking!
So, we must act quickly. Bodhisattvas cannot bear sentient beings’ [suffering]. Unable to bear it, they have to be proactive and form Great Vehicle aspirations; they willingly learn the Great Vehicle Dharma. So, the Great Vehicle Dharma requires us to mindfully cultivate our body, speech and mind. Outwardly, when we go among people, we must be very vigilant and careful. We must be careful not to let afflictions form the outside world defile our minds. Outwardly, we must diligently go among people. This is what it means to be a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas go among people, having freed themselves from their afflictions and mentally prepared themselves. When it comes to Small Vehicle capacities and Middle Vehicle principles, they understand them all. They are sufficiently mentally prepared. Thus, they go among people and do not contrive affinities with sentient beings. They do not contrive affinities, and they serve without expectations. [They say], “I am grateful because sentient beings’ afflictions are my spiritual training ground. So, I have only to be grateful and serve others”. In this way, they do not contrive affinities with sentient beings. This is how they become replete in precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. Sentient beings do not cause them to give rise to greed, anger and ignorance. They have none of these things. They go among people without any greed, anger or ignorance, thus they can still maintain their purity as they go among people.
In this way, they attain “liberation from all afflictions”. Although they go among people with severe turbidities, they will not be defiled [by them]. They “awaken to, realize and attain clarity and tranquility”. They have seen so much. As they go among people, there is nothing they have not seen; there is no affliction they have not heard of. They have experienced it all.
So, they are more awakened to the fact that that life truly is suffering. Surrounded by so many afflictions, they know they must save and transform sentient beings. Time is precious, and [life is] impermanent, so they make the most of their time. So, within this space, this time and these human relationships, they seek to comprehend [these principles]. “The path has no distinctions of order or time”. From the moment they form aspirations, they are always on the path with this unchanging aspirations. They continue seeking the Dharma to save and transform sentient beings, seeking it constantly. They also have the aspiration to save and transform sentient beings and constantly devote themselves to going among people.
Thus, [their aspiration] is unchanging. They seek the Dharma and transform sentient beings. In this way, they do these two in parallel. So, there is no order of ahead or behind. There is no spatial distance between those who might be ahead or behind. There are no temporal distinctions. From the moment they form aspirations, they extend them on into the future. It is the same with those Bodhisattvas on Vulture Peak. Spatially, they pervade the world. Temporally, they face no distinctions of time. How much time [ have they practiced], they all? This period of time, from the start [of their practice] until now, is an incalculable amount of time. We discussed this previously. Their course of spiritual practice has lasted a very, very, very long time. Yes. It is a long, long time. The space where they transform sentient beings is widespread and all-pervasive. The Dharma pervades all ten directions. Every place is a place where they must transform sentient beings; every place is their spiritual training ground.
“The Dharma has no substance, appearance, quantity or limitations”. The Dharma has no substance, appearance, quantity or limitations. Truly, all we need to do is comprehend this Dharma. We must put it to use, for the Dharma is very rich. It enables us to experience and understand [the principles] in our daily life and apply them as we go among people while remaining undefiled. Our afflictions and ignorance must always be kept barred away from our minds. So, we must work hard as we engage in spiritual practice. Outwardly, we must go among people. Inwardly, we must work hard on ourselves. This is how we accumulate virtues.
In the previous sutra passage, [Maitreya] says, “By way of analogy, this is like a man with a handsome countenance and black hair, only 25 years of age, pointing to 100-year-old men and saying, ‘These are my sons’. Then these 100-year-old men also point to that young man and say, ‘This is our father, who raised us’. This matter would be hard to believe”.
This is the analogy Maitreya Bodhisattva used. This young man says, “These old men are my sons”. The old men even affirm him, saying, “This young man is our father”. This seems so illogical that it is unbelievable. Maitreya Bodhisattva told [this analogy] because he wanted to understand. “Look, these Bodhisattvas have come to this assembly. Clearly, they have engaged in spiritual practice for a very long time. The Buddha only attained Buddhahood and started teaching the Dharma. 40 or so years ago. To say the Buddha transformed all these peoples really hard to believe.” This was the doubt Maitreya Bodhisattvas raised. Actually, this was not his own doubt; he raised this doubt for our sake, to help us future sentient beings understand even more clearly so that we will have no doubts and can strengthen our will to practice. This was the mindfulness and compassion of Meitreya Bodhisattvas.
So, in the next sutra passage, Meitreya Bodhisattvas saying, “The Buddha is also like this. It really has not been long since He attained enlightenment. Yet this great group of Bodhisattvas has already [engaged in spiritual practice] for countless trillions of kalpas.
These Bodhisattvas have already engaged in spiritual practice for trillions of kalpas. From when the Buddha began His practice to when He attained Buddhahood is not actually a very long time. This is an analogy; [Maitreya] used the young [man] as an analogy. In this lifetime, the Buddha left the palace to engage in spiritual practice. In fact, He did not spend a long time doing this. He engaged in spiritual practice for a period of 11 years.
After attaining Buddhahood, He began to teach the Dharma, and this only lasted for a little over 40 years. It is only 40 or so years, it is not long. “It really has not been long since. He attained enlightenment. Yet this large group of Bodhisattvas has already spent trillion of trillion of kalpas engaging in spiritual practice.”
It really has not been long since. He attained enlightenment. Yet this great group of Bodhisattvas has already [engaged in spiritual practice] for countless trillions of kalpas: The Bodhisattvas who emerged from the ground are very numerous; for long and distant kalpas, they deeply engaged in spiritual practice to be transformed by the Dharma.
At that time, at Vulture Peak, many Bodhisattvas emerged from the ground. It must have been a very long time since they started to “deeply engage in spiritual practice to be transformed by the Dharma. They have already encountered so many Buddhas countless Buddhas. “We can see from the form of their practice that they have practiced for a very long time. “How could He say that it was only now that the Buddha had attained Buddhahood that He transform them?” this analogy truly goes against reason.
In the next sutra passage, [Maitreya] said, “For sake of the path to Buddhahood, they have practiced earnestly and diligently. They excel in entering into, emerging from and abiding in countless trillion of kinds of Samadhi. They have attained great spiritual powers and have long cultivated purifying practices.
These Bodhisattvas must have practiced like this. For a very long time, they must have earnestly practiced along the path to Buddhahood. They excel in entering into, emerging from and abiding in countless trillion of kings of Samadhi. They clearly have this mastery these people must have great spiritual powers. They have great spiritual powers because they have already long cultivated purifying practices. These people must have spent a long time engaging in purifying practices. Their minds are free of defilement, and they must have eliminated all afflictions and delusions. They are undefiled by sentient beings. this must be the case. So, “For the sake of the path to Buddhahood, they have practiced earnestly and diligently”.
For the sake of the path to Buddhahood, they have practiced earnestly and diligently: Because they wish to seek the path to Buddhahood, night and day theu have earnestly practiced and diligently advanced upon the path. Here [Maitreya] said that those Bodhisattvas have long cultivated their roots of goodness; they did not begin only in Gaya.
This is the course of the path to Buddhahood, “Because they wish to seek the path to Buddhahood, night and day they have earnestly practiced and diligently advanced upon the path. They are so diligent. So, this is why [Maitreya] said that these Bodhisattvas have long cultivated their roots of goodness. They actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions and have formed virtuous affinities with sentient beings. So, they have ceaselessly extended their roots, reaching them out, broadening them, putting down deep roots. “This is their course of spiritual practice. It was not only by the time of the city of Gaya, when the Buddha attained Buddhahood, taught the Dharma and expounded it for them, that they began to engage in practice. [rather], from the beginning until now, this must have taken a very, very long time. It is not that were only transformed after. You, the present Buddha, attained Buddhahood. This cannot be”. This is how Maitreya Bodhisattvas expressed it. This is because these Bodhisattvas have already entered into and abided in the Buddha’s wisdom. they have already attained countless trillions of kinds of Samadhi.
They excel in entering into, emerging from and abiding in countless trillions of kinds of Samadhi: this is the trye, permanent and great Sanadhi. The Dharma attained by the Tathagata is true and permanently abiding and fundamentally beyond emergomg and entering. Whenever there is entering and emerging, this is for the sake of manifestation.
“Countless trillions of kinds of Samadhi” represent “true permanent and great Samadhi”. This is the truth; it is true and ever-lasting. A mind in Great Samadhi is very resolute. These Bodhisattvas have made great, profound vows and do not only engage in the practices of body, speech and mind in fact they have ample power of Samadhi and have definitely made great, deep vows. This is “true permanent and great Samadhi”. It is “the Dharma attained by the Tathagata, which is true and permanently abiding”. Look at these Bodhisattvas. They must have all reached this state which is “fundamentally beyond emerging and entering this is for the sake of manifestation. These Bodhisattvas must have already reached this level that is beyond emerging and entering. When they emerge and enter, this is only for the sake of manifestation. The Buddha came to Gaya, sat under [the Bodhi] tree and attained Buddhahood. This is a manifestation that He revealed in coming to this world. The Buddha could not just have got started then. He had surely journeyed on His past [cultivation]. So, Maitreya, fully aware of this, said, “In the Buddha’s spiritual practice, the time He spent accompanying these Bodhisattvas must not have been short; it must have been very long. He has already trained these Bodhisattvas so that their mastery in spiritual practice is about equal to the Buddha’s. They are so stable [in their practice]. They are all very talented. They are all people who spread the Dharma and teach the Dharma. They are all people cultivation”.
So, these people already upheld “an upright mind and right mindfulness while heading toward tranquil Samadhi”. This is known as “entering”. “To remain firm and unwavering as Mt. Sumeru is known as ‘abiding’”. “To arise serenely from Samadhi is known as ‘emerging”’. “Samadhi is right concentration”.
Their will to practice is very firm. They have reached the point where they are unwavering, like Mt. Sumeru. When the Buddha expounded the Dharma in India, Mt. Sumeru was considered to be the world’s tallest mountain as well as the center of the world. So, they used Mt. Sumeru as an analogy to represent something very firm. They are firm and unwavering just like Mt. Sumeru. This is known as “abiding”.
So, we must also maintain our vows as Bodhisattvas to remain just as firm, as “firm and unwavering as Mt. Sumeru”. This is known as “abiding” “steadfastly abiding”. It is being able to help everyone keep their minds steadfast and focused and steadfastly abiding in their Bodhisattva-aspirations.
“To arise serenely from Samadhi is known as ‘emerging”’. Their Bodhisattva-aspirations are always firm. With firm aspirations, they always enter and emerge very peacefully. Even when they go among people to transform sentient beings, they remain very serene. When they leave people to go somewhere tranquil, they remain very firm. Their minds are free of noisy conditions. They are always in a state of tranquility and clarity. This is the supreme spiritual state of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
In our spiritual practice, we need to cultivate this state. “Samadhi is right concentration”. It says [they abide in] “countless trillions of kinds of Samadhi”. These Bodhisattvas have just about achieved this state, and this state is the state of Buddhahood.
So, for these numerous Bodhisattvas to have only been transformed after Sakyamuni Buddha attained Buddhahood must not have been the case. It must have been long, long before then that they were transformed.
That is correct! From the beginning, we have been saying that when Sakyamuni Buddha formed aspirations toward the Great Vehicle Dharma to practice the Bodhisattva-path, this began during Great Unhindered Wisdom Superior Buddha’s time, and He continued coming [to this world] throughout dust-inked kalpas. Naturally, He experienced the Dharma-assemblies of countless Buddhas. He engaged in spiritual practice constantly, ceaselessly seeking the Dharma while transforming sentient beings.
To transform sentient beings, He went among people. He constantly drew near to all Buddhas. As He encountered the Buddha-Dharma throughout lifetime after lifetime, He surely was immersed in the Buddha-Dharma. His course of spiritual practice took a very long time. It was not a short period of time. In this lifetime, He emerged in the world and engaged in spiritual practice for 11 years. Then, He attained Buddhahood and expounded the Dharma for over 40 years. This was such a short period of time. How could He have transformed so many people? This is something that must have extended across a very long time, something that He began a long time ago. So, they “excel in entering, emerging and abiding”.
Furthermore, they excel in entering, emerging and abiding. The path of superior diligence is to excel at entering. The uninterrupted path is to excel at emerging. The path to liberation is to excel at abiding.
They “excel in entering, emerging and abiding. The path of superior diligence is to excel at entering”. As we start to engage in spiritual practice, we begin to enter [this path], and we must [enter] this path with diligence. Since we have understood the true principles of the Buddha-Dharma and have accepted them, we start to form initial aspirations. As we give rise tour initial aspirations, we will be single-minded in our resolve and enter this virtuous path. Since we know the directions of this virtuous path, we will cultivate all virtuous teachings without ever giving up.
Thus, “The path of superior diligence is to excel at entering”. To “excel” is to be extraordinary. This virtuous path is extraordinary. We must diligently advance forward along it. “The uninterrupted path is to excel at emerging”. This uninterrupted path requires us to [practice] without interruptions or gaps. We must practice for a long period of time without any gaps. At no time can we let afflictions interrupt [our practice]. We must continuously engage in these extraordinary virtuous practices. As we do this, we must not let any greed, anger or delusions, these forms of ignorance, enter into our space of spiritual practice.
So, as we engage in uninterrupted practice, during this process, we must prevent afflictions and ignorance from entering into our minds. We must wholeheartedly advance toward excellence, diligently advancing toward the excellent virtuous Dharma. This is uninterrupted [practice].
To diligently advance without interruption and accomplish virtuous conditioned phenomena, we must enter among people. We must devote ourselves among people while remaining undefiled by their afflictions and ignorance. This is also uninterrupted [practice]. Upon this virtuous path, we remain undisturbed. Upon this virtuous path, we diligently advance, undefiled by afflictions. Thus, our spiritual cultivation and spiritual aspirations will remain very pure. No matter how full of afflictions this world is, we go among people, never losing our aspirations. With our spiritual aspirations, we excel in advancing in our spiritual cultivation. We continue to diligently advance. So, we must work hard at our spiritual practice and go among people in our practice. Inwardly, we must be diligent.
We must practice outwardly and cultivate inwardly without interruption. “The path to liberation is to excel at abiding”. The path to liberation is to excel at abiding. This is the place where we must excel in abiding most steadfastly. So, we must be very mindful and abide in our Bodhisattva-path so that no afflictions can enter our minds. We must go among people to diligently advance and do conditioned good deeds. As we diligently advance, we will be able to liberate ourselves. Liberation lies in the unconditioned Dharma. Our mind must be free of all hindrances. When “There are no hindrance, so there is no fear”. Our mind will feel very free and at ease, and we will be at peace. Since we must face this world’s sentient beings, we must engage in the practice of bringing peace and joy in a steadfast manner. The Buddha has told us that these difficulties are inevitable. We will surely [face them]. We can do a lot of good deeds, but we might end up feeling distressed or pressured [by these difficulties]. They will weigh on us; we will face this kind of stress as well. So, we must understand this. Therefore, we must be very mindful. We understand this, so we must not let them affect us. We must not let the various difficulties affect us. We must practice in this direction.
“They have attained great spiritual powers and have long cultivated purifying practices.” It takes a very long time to attain great spiritual powers.
They have attained great spiritual powers and have long cultivated purifying practices: Spiritual powers arise from Samadhi. Due to being in tranquil Samadhi, they clearly see their nature. When the mind is unhindered, this is known as having spiritual powers. The magnificence of blessings and virtues all come from purifying practices.
“Spiritual powers arise from Samadhi.” Our mind must be in Samadhi. We must abide in our spiritual aspirations. When we abide in our spiritual aspirations, our mind will be in Samadhi. Thus, “[spiritual powers] arise from Samadhi.” With our mind in Samadhi, naturally, whichever path we take, we will safely reach the goal. Every path we take will lead to the Bodhisattva-path. So, we must settle our [minds]. This is how Bodhisattvas “actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions.” Every path we take will lead us to the state of Buddhahood. “Spiritual powers” refers to thorough understanding. So long as we concentrate, there is no Dharma or principle that we will not thoroughly understand. So, we must have thorough understanding. This is true spiritual practice. To deeply comprehend, having “thorough understanding,” is what it means to have “spiritual powers.”
This “[comes from] being tranquil in Samadhi.” Our causes are like this, and our initial aspirations are like this. We have firmly established our mindset. Thus, we “clearly see our nature.” We understand our intrinsic nature, our nature of True Suchness. In order to reach and converge with our nature of True Suchness, we must walk along this path. Heading toward a fixed direction, we must earnestly clear this path and keep moving forward in this way. We clearly understand our direction. “We clearly see our nature.” We know that everyone has the nature of True Suchness. We build this path ourselves, and we pave this path ourselves. We must quickly pave this path for others to walk, and we too will reach the destination. Thus, “When the mind is unhindered, this is known as having spiritual powers.” This is thorough understanding. This is the meaning of “spiritual powers.”
This kind of awakening is that of a great awakened being. We will thoroughly understand sentient beings’ minds, and we will understand their afflictions. We will fully understand how the Five Turbidities are formed. We will abide within them, undefiled. This is how we must lead everyone in a common direction on a common path to reach a safe place. This is the “magnificence and blessing of virtues.” It is walking the path in peace. With “the magnificence and blessing of virtues,” we are all working hard to walk this path. “This all comes from purifying practices.” We must be pure. Even though we live amidst severe turbidities, we must still uphold a pure mind. This kind of spiritual practice requires us to “realize the principles and wisdom.” By eliminating confusion, we will realize the principles, enabling us to awaken our wisdom. As we walk on this path before us, so long as we clear the path, keep heading in the right direction and pave the path even, not only will we be able to reach the goal, but everyone will have a direction to walk in. Isn’t this transforming the world?
The Buddha wants us in the present as well as sentient beings in the future, who will need this Dharma even more, to continuously pass this Dharma down. We must form aspirations, make vows and put them into action. We must make vows and put them into action to be able to do this. Otherwise, if all we do is listen [to the Dharma], it will go in one ear and out the other. If we do not put it into action, we will never enter that state. We will be unable to experience the scenery of the path. Therefore, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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