Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Treasures Among People Are Rare in the World (人中之寶 世間稀有)
Date: December.14.2018
“By way of analogy, the world’s precious treasures are enjoyed by the rich, while the poor lack food and clothing and have difficulty making a living. For sentient beings with meagre blessings, it is rare to encounter a Buddha even in trillions of lifetimes. Hearing the name of the Three Treasures will also be rare for them. Being able to learn the path is precious.”
This is even more difficult, so we must all be mindful. “By way of analogy, the world’s precious treasures are enjoyed by the rich.” When it comes to precious worldly treasures, the treasures that the wealthy talk about and enjoy, how could the poor ever be able [to enjoy them]? What are precious treasures? Precious treasures are quite useless for people in poverty and moreover impossible for them to obtain. These kinds of precious treasures are luxury goods for people in this world. What is it actually that makes them valuable? Yet people all view them as treasures.
This is like worldly fame, wealth and status. What does “fame” look like? What about “status”? When we say [someone has] a high status, how do we measure its height? It is intangible and without substance. We say they are precious treasures; they are precious because of their appearances and because of how humans perceive them. When our senses come into contact with the appearance of these objects, we see them [as beautiful]. “Oh, this is very beautiful!” Their beauty is what people become attached to. Thus, because they are beautiful, people claim that they are very valuable. In people’s minds, that which is hard to obtain is valuable. That which is hard to obtain is treasured. This is all a matter of labels created by people in this world. They may claim that something is valuable, but where, in fact, is its value? It exists only in name and appearance.
This thing that some say is very valuable and that possesses value in people’s minds, that is what we call “a treasure”. What exactly is this treasure? What kind of function does it have for people? If we own it, what exactly do we have? In fact, as we trace it to its ultimate source, it turns out to be an ordinary thing. It is just that, in order to obtain this thing, people had to destroy the land. Indeed, these things require much effort, the physical labor and strength of many people; truly they are difficult to obtain. Why must it take so much effort from so many people, fighting over it, damaging the land and mining the ore, to obtain this thing? If we think thoroughly about life, the treasures people talk about are obtained by destroying nature, yet sentient beings view them as treasures. These things are just names, providing enjoyment to the rich.
This is how distorted the world is. Those who have awakened know that everything is illusory and impermanent. Thus, they are free of afflictions, grasping and ignorance. They have no greed or attachments. In this way, the natural world will not be damaged. [This is how] nature can become stable. In short, as we research things thoroughly, what are the world’s wealth, status and precious treasures? It is because people have these attachments that “the poor lack food and clothing” and have difficulty making a living. When it comes to poverty, it is because the wealthy occupy and enjoy [so many] resources that there is this distinction [between rich and] poor. Speaking of poverty, there are many struggling, impoverished people. How greatly they suffer! We have many Bodhisattvas who regularly visit these poor, suffering people. Those in poverty have their causes and conditions. In the world, since Beginningless Time, people have formed so many attachments, afflictions and ignorance. So, having already formed these, they constantly create karma. Due to this accumulated karma, they [experience] retributions due to the law of karma. Due to people’s attachments in life, according to the law of karma, their circumstantial and direct retributions result in them being born into families who suffer from poverty and difficulty. Or some are initially born into a rich family, but due to the impermanence of life, some unexpected incidents happen. People used to say that wealth lasts no more than three generations. After a few decades or centuries, slowly, due to the impermanence of the world, their way of life changes and [misfortune] causes wealthy families to gradually decline. For these people, when they were born, their life was decent, but as they grew up, the conditions constantly changed. So, some people go from living a wealthy life to an impoverished one. [Because of] these changes in their lives eventually they lack food and clothing and having difficulty making a living. This is due to their circumstantial and direct retributions. Their circumstantial retributions cause them to be born into this kind of family. At first, life is good. Their family circumstances and background have been good for generations. But along the way, the family declines and gradually, during their lifetime, things change due to impermanence. After their family declines, they experience hardship and suffering. Moreover, there are sometimes rapid changes and more drastic misfortunes, which are caused by manmade calamities. When we look at this present world, how many manmade calamities are there?
Some families had been doing well in their countries. There were landlords, famous doctors, wealthy people or entrepreneurs. Once their countries were destabilized by social unrest and civil war, they suddenly have to flee and end up becoming refugees to save their own lives. Sometimes, they must give up everything to survive. [This may] remind us of the many people that are part of the refugee crisis, who have now spared through many countries. For these countries, there are now many headaches. The refugee crisis has become a troubling topic for the UN and the international community.
In addition, how many counties are willing to let them in? How many turn them away? After the refugees have entered their countries, how should they manage the great increase in their population? Take Jordan for an example. That country is very generous. In Chi Hui’s sharing when he came back, he described how Jordan, during the past few decades, has been dealing with periods of international instability. Several times, Jordan has taken in refugees at its border. From the time we started Tzu Chi in Jordan (as of 2017) Tzu Chi has been there for 20 years. Just talking about these 20 years, according to what we know, the waves of refugees who came to Jordan included people from Afghanistan and many other [places]. The next great wave of refugees came from Iraq. After a huge wave [of refugees] arrived, we mobilized on a large scale to begin distributing our eco-friendly blankets. This started with the wave of refugees from Iraq.
Journalists from Taiwan also went there to cover the news with Da Ai TV. They saw the suffering in the desert. There were intense sandstorms, and that winter was extremely cold. The refugees lives in that place in shabby tents. Their suffering was truly unbearable.
There was an old man shivering in the cold. His shoes had holes and his feet were exposed. He used layer upon layer of broken plastic to wrap the tattered shoes he wore. There was a journalist from a media outlet who was taking interviews. He was this old man shivering from head to toe in the cold. The old man was wearing ragged clothing and staying in a thin tent which was also worn-out. [It was] in this environment, with sand blowing in the strong desert winds, that this large group of refugees [lived]. This old man’s situation was truly unbearable to see. People could not even take care of themselves, so how could anyone care for this old man? The journalist saw him shivering there and saw how he wrapped layer upon layer of ragged plastic bags around his shoes and tied them on his feet. The journalist’s heart went out to him. What this journalist did happened to be filmed by our Da Ai TV crew there. The journalist knelt down, took off his own shoes and removed the socks that were still warm from his own body. He untied the plastic bags on the old man’s feet, took off the old man’s shoes and put his own socks on this old man’s feet. This scene constantly replays in my mind. How heart-warming this is!
We often talk [negatively] about the media. In fact, the love of this journalist was inspired in that environment. This truly moves our hearts. These instances show us that life is impermanent. What was their environment like in the past? We do not know. At that time, this was the environment we saw. They were poor, lacking clothing and food. They had difficulty making a living. It was difficult for them even to survive.
We also provided relief to Afghanistan. Food shipped from the United States and Taiwan to provide relief had to pass through many barriers. Many provisions for relief were blocked on the road. What about ours? They were also blocker in the same way. Fortunately, despite the delay, [the provisions] arrived at midnight. Our oil, rice and blankets, although delayed, arrived at midnight. It was cold and dark when the truck transporting [all the provisions] arrived, and we had to unload these goods from the truck. At that time, we watched the unloading process. It was all recorded. These necessary relief [supplies] had to pass through many checkpoints. When the big load of provisions, including winter blankets and clothes, rice and oil, finally arrived like this, how touching it was!
We also watched volunteers carrying the rice bags. Stephen Huang was there carrying the rice. At that time, a number of Taiwanese [volunteers] went there, along with several volunteers from the US. They gathered together and went into Afghanistan to provide relief. They had gone through so much hardship for this. The refugees there were suffering greatly. There was a five-year-old child who was the oldest person left in his family of three younger brothers and sisters. These four children survived the escape. The oldest brother was five years old. We saw their condition in the footage. See, this is how life is, so full of suffering.
Some suffer from natural disasters, while some suffer from manmade calamities and others are born into suffering due to generations of poverty and hardship. These conditions all exist. So, there is truly a wide disparity between the rich and the poor in the world. Why does this happen to us? Why is it like this? Especially in Jordan, how many Bodhisattvas, Tzu Chi volunteers like Chi Hui, are there in total? How many? There are only 7 or 8 of them in total. Our Tzu Chi volunteers have to care for refugees constantly coming from other countries. They have to go care for those in the camps.
Moreover, there are some families who require long-term care. There are 77 families in poverty and hardship that they care for. For some families, they have cared for them over three generations, for 19 years. There is a story about a girl named Ayed among these families. Ayed has now graduated from university, and she is now also a mother. In fact, since she was a child, she has been receiving our care. This is because her mother married her cousin when she was 12 years old. Because they are so closely related, among the four daughters they had in a row, three were [born] mentally impaired. Only the youngest one, Ayed, was healthy. The three mentally impaired daughters required their mother’s constant care. Unfortunately, their father did not take care of his family, and moreover, he abused them. So, he often returned home not to take care of his family, but to abuse them. Because of this, some people would say, “You should get a divorce”. But, Ayed’s mother said, “If I get a divorce, these three children of mine will be sent to a care facility. No one will take care of them. I will feel heartbroken”. To care for these three mentally challenged girls, she was willing to endure [abuse] and raise the healthy one. She [felt she] absolutely had to raise her [well].
Because of this, Tzu Chi began to help this family. This family has received our aid for 19 years. We have always been there to help this mother. We helped her household by giving her oil, salt and rice each month. We also gave her cash, about 100 Jordanian dinars, equivalent to 5,000 NT dollars (US$160). Every month we gave her this aid to support her family. The youngest daughter could smoothly go to school, and when she was in middle school, her wish was to study at the university.
However, her father did not approve of this. Afterwards, Chi Hui persuaded the father, saying that we were willing to help. Finally, he allowed her to attend university. Eventually, she graduated from university and also got married. Her husband is a young man who also finished his degree with our financial aid. They are married and have a baby. The baby is adorable and proved to be healthy. So, [we have helped] these three generations.
In that place, we have provided long term care for families in hardship such as this, not to mention those in the refugee camps. There are only a few certified Tzu Chi volunteers. They lack manpower, but in that country, they have mobilized a group of Bodhisattvas and volunteers who are willing to help and serve the many refugees that are constantly coming to the border. Thus, the world is full of suffering. It is a place with so much suffering. Due to religious [differences], it is difficult for people to hear or encounter the Buddha-Dharma.
“Thus, for sentient beings with meagre blessings, it is rare to encounter a Buddha even in trillions of lifetimes”. Indeed, even after encountering the Buddha-Dharma, it is difficult for people to accept it. We serve others with this spirit, regardless of religion or nationality, and we are accepted by them. However, truly bringing the Buddha-Dharma into sentient beings’ minds and expressing the Buddha’s teachings is truly fraught with layers of difficulties! So, “Hearing the name of the Three Treasures will also be rare for them”. This is truly difficult.
So, “Being able to learn the path is precious”. From them to be truly willing to learn the path, to be able to believe in the Buddha-Dharma, to properly believe in it and be diligent in learning the path, is truly difficult. We often hear Chi Hui say, “When I am there, I am always alone. If I want to listen to the Dharma, I can only listen to the Morning Dharma Talk at midnight”. This is truly lonely. However, his aspiration is firm. Even by himself, he can still achieve the great work of the Buddha. He does [the word] our Buddha-Dharma asks us to do and truly implements Tzu Chi’s spirit and ideals in that country. He exercises [this spirit] to help sentient beings and serves with sincere love. So, he can deeply connect with the people there. He has been giving with love. The power of love is always [with us]; if we do not just hold on to it [for ourselves], we can [use it] to achieve many things. If we cling to [it] in name only, it will be difficult to accomplish anything. Now, Tzu Chi is in many different countries. We help many people from different nations, ethnic groups and different religions too. There are so many of them, aren’t there? And they are very harmonious. This is why we truly must not be attached in life. What is wealth? What is it to possess things? in worldly matters, there is so much suffering beyond our control. [But] if we are full of love, we have more than enough to help people. This is the most harmonious life. If we can do this, the world will be the most peaceful. This is what is expected of us in the Buddha -Dharma.
The precious sutra passage states, “The Buddha is also like this”. The Buddha had taught and transformed sentient beings for a long time. Throughout this very long time and in all of His [previous] lifetimes, He manifested in the world entirely to transform sentient beings. if we are free of attachments, we need not be hung up on how long [this will take]; we just need to have faith. Since Beginningless Time, in His abundant love, He has eternally come [to the world] journeying on His vows. Sentient beings come following their karma, while Buddhas and Bodhisattvas come by journeying on [the power of] their vows. This takes a very long time.
However, Maitreya Bodhisattva hoped that sentient beings in the future, like us in the present, [could learn this]. People nowadays are clever. As they read the sutra passage, they will argue, “How is that possible?” “The Buddha had just attained Buddhahood. It was in this period of time that He taught and transformed people. To say that He transformed all these people who were so accomplished, now is that possible?” They [will argue] like Maitreya, asking such difficult questions and using extreme examples to make their point, such as, “How could a 25-year-old young man claim that these 100-year-olds are his children? This makes no sense! We can see how he used this analogy to speak on behalf of future sentient beings, who would be stubborn and hard to train. Their minds are doubtful, and they intentionally debate with [others]. For people like this, Maitreya Bodhisattva, [asked] on our behalf so [the Buddha] could explain to them.
So, for our sake, he helped them understand first. There were people like this [back then], and there will also be such people in the future who will bring up extreme arguments to refute the Buddha-Dharma just like Maitreya did. This was why Maitreya Bodhisattva first said this to everyone He brought up these and asked questions. This is how the Buddha and the Bodhisattvas showed compassion for future generations. The Buddha wanted to teach the Lotus Sutra, and He was truly well-prepared. The Buddha and Bodhisattvas found ways to complete this true wondrous Dharma that would transform future generations of sentient beings in the world. All of this had already been arranged. So, if we are mindful, we can also greatly benefit from this.
The previous sutra passage says, “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. It has been a very long time. For the sake of the path to Buddhahood, they have practiced earnestly and diligently. They excel in entering into, emerging from and abiding in countless trillions of kinds of Samadhi. They have attained great spiritual powers and have long cultivated purifying practices.
In fact, it looked like these Bodhisattvas already had these skills. They must have engaged in spiritual practice for a long time. Now their spiritual practice enable them to freely go in and out of Samadhi with no difficulty. These people had been accomplished [spiritual practitioners] for a long time. These Bodhisattvas had been diligent for an extensive amount of time.
The next sutra passage continues, ”They excel in begin able to practice all the virtuous teachings in sequence. They are skillful in They are treasures among people and are extremely rare throughout all the world.”
By going among people, they “excel in being able to practice all the virtuous teachings in sequence”. For an extensive amount of time, they were in this world and were able to [practice] among people in sequence. In the correct sequence, they [went] among people to accomplish many conditioned good deeds.
They excel in being able to practice all the virtuoys teachings in sequence: Their practice is to go among people. They excel at doing good deeds, putting [teachings] into action in many ways. They are also able to do this in the correct sequence. They excel in being able to, practice all virtuous Dharma.
According to sentient beings’ difficulties, suffering, needs and much more, they did great deeds among people. This is how these Bodhisattvas put [teachings] into action in many ways”. They do everything wholeheartedly and do many good deeds to relieve sentient beings’ hardship and suffering. They do so much. So, “They are also able to do this in the correct sequence. How does one do this? What must be done? They arranged the sequence very well and did [good deeds] very well. So, “they excel in being able to, at all times and in sequence, practice all virtuous Dharma. These Bodhisattvas had been coming and going in the world repeatedly. For a long time in this world, they had been practicing many good deeds, conditioned good deeds. The more chaos and hardship there is in the world, the more Bodhisattvas will continue to emerge to exercise their potential for goodness and perform conditioned good deeds to complete their mission as Bodhisattvas. This is the Buddha-Dharma; its wondrousness lies in the convergence of courses and conditions.
So, “They are skillful in asking and answering questions”. They are not only able to do things to solve people’s problems but also ”are skillful in asking and answering questions. They are treasures among people and are extremely rare throughout all the world.
They are skillful in asking and answering questions. They are treasures among people and are extremely rare throughout all the world: This was like their speech upon arrival, when they saw the Buddha and greeted Him and asked and answered questions. Its meaning was excellent and skillful. They are truly great treasures among people. They possess the Four Eloquence. So, [maitreya] said they were skillful in asking and answering questions and were extremely rare throughout the world.
These Bodhisattvas were truly rare in the world. Take how they came to the great Dharma-assembly, “when they saw the Buddha and greeted Him
and asked and answered questions”. They went in sequence to pay respect to the Buddha. Then they greeted and paid respect to all the manifestations of the Buddha. At the same time, they circumambulated following etiquette and in the proper sequence. They not only do [good] deeds everywhere; when they returned to the assembly, they still followed etiquette in a very orderly [manner]. This is truly special.
So, “They saw the Buddha and greeted Him and asked and answered questions”. They sat down and shared with each other about everything they had done around the world. Are we not like this? This is how Tzu Chi volunteers are. During the advanced training camp for overseas volunteers, people come from abroad and meet in Taiwan. We can see thousands of people gathering from different countries. They share [their experiences] with each other and encourage each other to be diligent. As they come, they once again learn about [Tzu Chi’s] spirit and ideals to take them back [home] with them. Everyone shares about [their experiences] and the common [spiritual] direction they share. They “work in concert with unity” and set off again after [learning from each other]. They then return to their home countries. Are we not all like this now? So, the Lotus Sutra is truly the wondrous Dharma for Living Bodhisattvas. It is something we can all use, and it is truly relevant [to our practice]. Whenever I get to speak about how relevant it is, I am full of Dharma-joy. They all have participated in and done the work [of practicing the Dharma], so they can comprehend it deeply. So, “Its meaning was excellent and skillful”. In this way, everyone shared with each other and answered each other’s questions. The principles and content of their speech were all very virtuous. Their virtuous actions also encompass great principles.
So, they are truly great treasures among people. These people are benefactors for those in suffering. When they are in need, [at the time of] greatest need in their lives, this group of Bodhisattvas appear before them, serve them and encourage them, opening the door to their hearts and providing life-giving resources. Are they not treasures among people? Bodhisattvas are truly treasures and benefactors [for people who are] suffering.
So, “They possessed the Four Kinds of Great Eloquence”. Not only were they able to give them tangible things, but [they] were also replete with the Four Kinds of Great Eloquence, the Four Kinds of Unobstructed Eloquence. They could organize the Dharma, principles and words together. They were able to skillfully give this Dharma to sentient beings according to their capabilities. They took joy in teaching it and could continuously teach whomever they saw. This is “the Four Kinds of Unobstructed Eloquence. So, [Maitreya] said they were skillful in asking and answering questions”. So, they could use skillful means to ask and answer questions among people. They “were extremely rare throughout the world”.
Truly, “they were skillful in asking and answering questions” with “the wisdom of unobstructed Dharma, the wisdom of unobstructed meaning, the wisdom of unobstructed rhetoric and the wisdom of unobstructed joy in teaching”.
These are “the Four Kinds of Great Eloquence,” being skillful in asking and answering questions. “The Four Kinds of Great Eloquence” means being flexible and capable of teaching according to capabilities. Everything they said was organized in meaning and principle. Whatever language they wanted to use, they were able to explain it, and they did so joyfully. This is what we must learn.
The next sutra passage continues with “Yet today, World-Honored One, You tell us that when You attained Buddhahood, You helped them first form aspirations, taught, transformed and guided them and enabled them to advance toward Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. It has not been long since the World-Honored One attained Buddhahood and yet You were able to accomplish this work of such great merit and virtue!”
In fact, it had not been long since the Buddha attained Buddhahood, and yet He was able to help so many people accomplish such great merits and virtues. How did He do that? “Yet today, World-Honored One…”. This is Maitreya Bodhisattva asking Sakyamuni Buddha at that time. At that time, how had the Buddha used this teaching to teach and transform [others]? These people had already accepted, upheld and cultivated the Dharma for a long time. How did the Buddha who had attained Buddhahood such a short time ago teach them? He brought up this question again.
Yet today, World-Honored One, You tell us that when You attained Buddhahood…: “For the first time today, World-Honored One, You said that [these Bodhisattvas] follow the teachings, uphold the Dharma and accept transformation. Moreover, today You spoke of when You attained Buddhahood in Gaya.”
So, “Moreover, today You spoke of when You attained Buddhahood in Gaya”. The Buddha came to Gaya and attained Buddhahood. Where He attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree was not far from the city of Gaya. How long had it been? It had only been a little over 40 years since He had attained Buddhahood. So, in such a short time, He had begun to teach the Dharma. He “helped them first form aspirations,” meaning He was able to help these people attain such abundant and profound [teachings]. But in fact, these people definitely had not practiced for a short time. So, this was the question he asked. This was Maitreya’s intention to help everyone better understand this since everyone had this doubt in mind. “Future generations” refers to those of us in the present, who are in the future of that time. People would be truly stubborn, hard to train and have this severely critical attitude. So, in order to prevent people who criticize the principles from appearing in the future, he used this kind of approach in advance.
We just talked about this. So, we must be mindful with this sutra passage. Though it has been repeated again and again, it is meant to help us comprehend and understand this. In the future, if there are people criticizing us intentionally or raising doubts and difficult questions like these, then we must prepare ourselves for them. We must thoroughly understand these principles, so we can analyze them. So, “From the very beginning, He taught them to form Bodhisattva-aspirations”. He continuously guided and transformed them to enable them to continuously advance on the Bodhi-path.
You helped them first form aspirations, taught, transformed and guided them and enabled them to advance toward Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi: From the very beginning, He taught them to form Bodhisattva-aspirations, guided and transformed them, enable them to seek unsurpassed Bodhi.
How did He explain to them that He had taught them for a long time in the past? If He said He taught them now and they were able to succeed, it would have been inconceivable! So, “It has not been long since the World-Honored One attained Buddhahood, and yet You were able to accomplish this work of such great merit and virtue!” In fact, it had not been long since His enlightenment. How was He able to accomplish this work of such great merits and virtue?
It has not been long since the World-Honored One attained Buddhahood, and yet You were able to accomplish this work of such great merit and virtue!: For the sake of future sentient beings, [Maitreya] expressed doubt.
At this point, it had not been long since the World-Honored One attained Buddhahood. In 40 or so years, He taught, transformed, and guided so many Bodhisattvas and was even able to accomplish this work of such great merit and virtue.
Thus, for the sake of future sentient beings, Maitreya expressed his doubt. “At this point, it had not been long since the World-Honored One attained Buddhahood.” It had only been a little over 40 years. How could He have taught and transformed so many Bodhisattvas? In addition, these Bodhisattvas were able to go among people to rescue and transform sentient beings. They also excelled at answering people’s questions. These Bodhisattvas had already achieved such great accomplishments. How exactly did Sakyamuni Buddha transform them? In this way, Maitreya Bodhisattva intentionally brought up his doubts by asking. He did this to help future generations like us to be earnestly mindful to better comprehend and understand this.
So, in our present time, it is difficult to have faith. At that time, [the Buddha] wanted everyone to understand this question more clearly, so they knew how to explain to future people who would be stubborn, hard to train and critical. Thus, He used a very sophisticated sutra passage for analysis. So, at that time, having faith was difficult.
“Those Bodhisattvas had already perfected their practice countless trillions of kalpas ago. Yet today, the World-Honored-One said that it was only after. He attained Buddhahood that he helped them to form aspirations.”
They researched this time period and found it even more inconceivable. Now, the Buddha said, “Only at this time did I begin to help them form aspirations.” In fact, in the past, countless trillions of kalpas ago, they had engaged in spiritual practice and cultivated these teachings of the path. How could the World-Honored One have begun to transform these people today? “Today” refers to that time at Sakyamuni Buddha’s place of enlightenment. The Buddha began when He was “in the city of Gaya” to start transforming these people. He said, “when we research this time period, it is even more inconceivable.” This refers to what the Buddha said, “Now that I have attained Buddhahood, I taught and transformed them.” There are more principles after this. Since these [Bodhisattvas] emerged here, there should be more principles coming after this. So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this. When the Buddha expounded this sutra, He was taking future generations into account. So, in the future era of evil turbidities, what kind of Dharma would they need? As for the sickness in the future world, where will the sickness lie? What kind of medicine will they need? [In the parable], [the doctor] prepared the medicine they needed, but his children did not want to take it. So, he left the medicine there and went out. Then he asked people to go home and tell his children that their father had passed away. Only then did these children realize, “Oh no, our father has passed away! I am ill, what should I do?” So, they began to look for the medicine. In our world, we are also like this. For a long time in society, many people do not accept the Buddha-Dharma or have doubts regarding the Buddha-Dharma. This is why the Buddha used this kind of analogy.
Moreover, He was considering that in the future the sick the sickness of the world would be very severe due to its turbidities. Whether in nature or in human minds, there was going to be severe turbidities, so people would need this Dharma. But this is difficult to believe and understand, so what should He do? At that time, Manjusri and Maitreya, one who had already become a Buddha in the past and one who is about to become a Buddha, met with the present Sakyamuni Buddh. They appeared as Bodhisattvas, coming to support this Dharma-assembly and helping bring this Dharma to completion.
So, in order to help future generations to form aspirations and to help them not to have doubts, Manjusri Bodhisattvas protected our minds from retreating from our aspirations. As for Maitreya Bodhisattva, he protected us in case there are stubborn sentient beings who come and ask difficult questions, [by asking about] how to explain the Dharma. This is truly touching. I hope that everyone can understand the Buddha’s and the Bodhisattvas’ dedication. How can we not be mindful? So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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