Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Understanding the Dharma of Foremost in the World (通達正道 世第一法)
Date: December.17.2018
“We must thoroughly comprehend all Right Dharma, from the Dharma of foremost in the world onward. We must contemplate the substance and nature of all phenomena as empty, illusory and fundamentally non-arising and non-ceasing. We must have faith and understanding in our true mind, free of delusions and disturbances. When we peacefully endure, realize our True Suchness and illuminate the principles with wisdom, we will be able to see the Middle Way.”
We must be mindful! “We must thoroughly comprehend all Right Dharma.” Indeed, to learn the Buddha-Dharma, we must comprehend the principles thoroughly. When we thoroughly understand the principles, everything will be perfect, and the paths that pervade the universe and all Dharma-realms will be open. That which we must thoroughly comprehend is “the Dharma of foremost in the world.” It is the process of cultivating the Buddha-Dharma. Through the Five Mental Perspectives and the Four Practices of Goodness, we will reach the Three Sagely States and the Four Noble Realms. These terms refer to stages in the process that leads to the goal of spiritual cultivation, which is to reach the state of thoroughly comprehending all phenomena in the world.
Of course, there is a sequence in cultivation. We must cultivate one thing after another according to this sequence. What we need to cultivate is our mind. Our mind [determines] all our daily actions. In our practice, the Dharma provides the methods that [we should apply] in our daily living. This is the true Buddha-Dharma. After comprehending the principles, we need to practice them in our daily lives. This requires us to comprehend all worldly appearances. We need to clearly understand worldly Dharma and the principles. There are so many terms and labels. We have previously discussed some of them, but there are still many that we must discuss in the future. So, we must remember [them]. “The Dharma of foremost in the world” requires us to understand the ways of the world, the ways in which we treat people and things and the ways we truly implement the Dharma in the world. The Dharma that we implement is inseparable from “refraining from all evil and doing all that is good.” It is inseparable from body, speech and mind. Our hearts and thoughts are all part of our daily life in this world. In learning the Dharma we rely on the vows we make. Whether in our body, speech, mind or vows, we cannot get slack off when it comes to putting the teachings into practice. The Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy are inseparable from all cultivation in this world. We must cultivate ourselves so that we can perfect how we deal with people and handle matters. This is the foremost Dharma. In all matters, “We must contemplate the substance and nature of all phenomena as empty, illusory and fundamentally non-arising and non-ceasing.”
In the past, we have also told everyone of the Four Wisdoms. [The first is] “all-accomplishing wisdom.” This is the first [of four]. We have discussed it many times and we are able to implement it in our lives, so we should be able to remember the rest, [which are] “profound discerning wisdom,” “universal equality wisdom” and “great perfect mirror wisdom.” Aren’t they all applicable in our daily life? The Dharma is so close to our lives; there are many names for it, but it is inseparable from our daily life. In dealing with people, matters and things, amidst all these matters, we must be harmonious with the principles and converge with the principles. When we speak or do things, these are appearances. Yet our mindset must not depart from the Dharma, which is the principles. “We must contemplate the substance and nature of all phenomena.” Are our actions in accordance with the principles? If our speech and actions abide by the principles, we can deal with anything smoothly. When we connect with external states, as we encounter all these states, do we give rise to discursive thoughts? Do we give rise to thoughts of greed, anger or delusion? If we have these thoughts during the process, we might think, “Because I will benefit from this, I do not care about what others will lose.” We do not care about others’ losses and instead seek only to benefit ourselves. If we have such thoughts, then we must quickly think of substance and nature as “empty, illusory and fundamentally non-arising and non-ceasing.” We must not take issue [with things]. What is there to take issue with? We must not be angry, for what is there to be angry about? [If we can do this,] naturally we will quickly open our minds in regards to people, matters and things. So, naturally, we will be unobstructed in our dealings with people and matters. This is extremely important to our daily lives.
In the Buddha-Dharma, we will encounter numerous terminologies that may seem extremely profound. This seems to create a barrier between the Dharma and our daily lives; listening to the Dharma is one thing, but our daily life is another thing. If we are like this, we have not taken the Dharma to heart. This means that we “have no Dharma to transform us.” In our interpersonal relationships, if we cannot make heartfelt connections, and if we are stubborn about our opinions then we are not applying the Dharma in this world. We must [make use of] this seemingly difficult and obscure Dharma to “contemplate the substance and nature of all phenomena”. Is it applicable in our daily lives? Of course! It can be applied in our dealings with people and things. When it comes to “ profound discerning wisdom,” when our sense organs connect with sense objects and when we deal with people and matters we can apply [this wisdom]. “Contemplation” is profound discernment. In truth, when sense organs, sense objects and conditions meet, we must earnestly contemplate and consider whether we are dealing with people, matters and things perfectly and harmoniously. Are we departing from the rules of our practice? Are we using the mindsets of worldly people to handle our interpersonal conflicts? Or are we handling things with the mindset of people who expound and spread the Dharma? These are different. So, we must always listen to the Dharma. Whatever Dharma we have listened to, we must put it into action and teach it. We cannot teach by just repeating what we have heard. Instead, we must practice it in our life as we deal with people and matters, using our actions as example to teach the Dharma. This is profound discernment and contemplation.
Since we have formed aspirations to take action, we are not engaging in worldly affairs. Although we go among people and we are among them, and we communicate with others with ordinary speech, our ordinary speech serves as a role model for teaching the Dharma. We must constantly remind ourselves to be vigilant. In such a large group of Bodhisattvas, how do we find ways for every one of them to bring their hearts to accord with the path and put [the Dharma] into action? This is extremely important. Although these are worldly matters, they must still be done in accordance with the principles of the Buddha-Dharma. So, the Buddha-Dharma is inseparable from the workings of the world.
These words appear very profound. In truth, [the workings of the world] are never separate from the Dharma. So, it is same with human life; all the organs in our bodies are working to sustain our lives. They each have their own function. When we say the term “bone marrow,” hearing this, [everyone would say].
“Oh, bone marrow!” Whenever we discuss bone marrow transplant and bone marrow donation, it seems like such a big deal. Indeed, it is a big deal, because it is a matter of life and death. When it comes to a person’s life, the marrow is extremely important because it is a matter of survival for them. Each person’s life depends on a functioning hematopoietic system. If my hematopoietic system does not function well, with the help of modern technology, I can rely on others to give me hematopoietic cells, which are cells in the bone marrow. The cells in the bone marrow have the ability to produce blood cells. Healthy people continuously produce blood cells. Therefore, they can share their functioning cells in their bone marrow by donating a few milliliters of it. These cells are transplanted into another person whose hematopoietic system does not function well. The blood cells are transplanted. This person must have his or her old cells totally destroyed, completely annihilated, before they can receive the bone marrow transplant and for these new blood cells to function.
Isn’t it the same for us? We must first eliminate a great amount of ignorance and afflictions. This is just like people who need a transplant. Prior to receiving the transplant, they must first enter a sterile environment. Similarly, when receiving the Buddha-Dharma, we must also first eliminate our ignorance and afflictions; we must completely eliminate our greed, angered and delusion. We must constantly eliminate our habitual tendencies as unenlightened beings. We must constantly eliminate them. Only in this way can we continuously accept the Buddha-Dharma. This requires us to work hard at our practice. Every one of us must first purify our hearts. When we accept the Buddha-Dharma, we must implement it in our daily lives. This implementation in our daily lives is like receiving blood into our bodies. We must quickly recover through rehabilitation. When we have recovered, naturally [the blood cells] will become the source of our new life. Our hematopoietic system will function once again. Similarly, for the Dharma to enter our hearts, we must eliminate our past habitual tendencies and sweep them away entirely. When we carry on our old habits and mindsets, we are unaware that our old mindsets are incorrect. When we lack awareness and are still attached this means that our afflictions still exist and ignorance is still in our hearts. So, how can we take this virtuous Dharma to hearts? When we are stubborn, constantly unable to correct ourselves, we will forever remain unenlightened begins. Not only will we harm ourselves, we will also harm others if we are among people. This is what we must be extremely vigilant of. So, I implore everyone to be mindful.
“We must contemplate the substance and nature of all phenomena.” If we do not contemplate the substance and nature of all phenomena, although we might constantly listen to the Dharma, we will be unable to teach it and much less able to pass it on. Furthermore, if we deviate even in the slightest, we will fall into an illusory [state]. We will then easily return to our Ignorance, afflictions and confusion. So, we should know that this world is truly an illusion, and we must quickly eliminate [these things]. In such a world, we must be earnest and clear. We must restore our hematopoietic function so that it is continuously working and healthy. The blood cells we profound today will quickly and ceaselessly be replaced by new ones in this kind of cycle. We need to eliminate our past ignorance, and every day, we must accept our new, functioning bone marrow. We should have this kind of perspective so we can take the Dharma to heart. As we listen to the Dharma every day, we must accept it. We must eliminate old ignorance and affections. This is how, when we listen to the Dharma, we will have a way to transform our hearts. With the Dharma, we can then transform others. If the Dharma cannot transform our own hearts, how can we transform others?
As people who listen to, teach and transmit the Dharma, we must definitely “have faith and understanding in our true mind, free of delusions and disturbances”. We need faith and understanding regarding our true intent. The intent to learn the Buddha-Dharma is what we must always remember. We must have faith and understanding regarding our true minds. We must no longer act recklessly. Instead, we must earnestly and peacefully safeguard this aspiration. We must take the Dharma to heart every day, and every day we must eliminate our old afflictions and ignorance. To have new functioning bone marrow, we must take this Dharma-marrow into our hearts. So, we must have “true minds, free of delusions and disturbances”. We must never again have delusion, afflictions or ignorance. We must peacefully abide and truly “peacefully endure”. We must abide in “the Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy”. Our body, speech and mind must peacefully abide in the Dharma. When going among people, we must not forget the Dharma. Otherwise, in this turbulent world of temptations, we will get lost amidst people and matters. We cannot do this.
So, we must “realize our True Suchness and illuminate [the principles] with wisdom”. Our True Suchness, this light of wisdom, must illuminate our principles. When it comes to this broad path, we must use our wisdom to illuminate it, for it will lead us to the state of Buddhahood. The Bodhisattva-path requires us to transform ourselves and then transform others. How can those who transform others be confused? They cannot be confused.
The Dharma seems very profound. In truth, when we take actual steps on the right path, we find that it is very smooth. [The Dharma] is all in our daily lives, and [this path] is not difficult at all. So, everyone must “have faith and understanding in our true mind, free of delusions and disturbances”. We only need to be at peace, peacefully abiding in the True Dharma, peacefully abiding in our body, speech and mind, and peacefully abiding in the vows we form. These principles are in our lives. They are in our daily life and are not separate from us. So, we must earnestly be mindful.
Next, we must remember the previous passage. “They excel in being able to practice all the virtuous teachings in sequence”.
They excel in being able to practice all the virtuous teachings in sequence. They are skillful in asking and answering questions. They are treasures among people and are extremely rare throughout all the world.
We must always remember that, as we said before, we must practice in sequence. Regarding what is taught in sequence and analyzed one by one in name and appearance, we must understand it clearly. This is why learning the Dharma takes so long. [We] must “practice all the virtuous teachings in sequence”. After learning, we must retain them in our minds. Among people, “They are skillful in asking and answering questions”. Since those who listen to the Dharma are people who must teach the Dharma, we need to be skillful in asking and answering questions. They are treasures among people”. We hope we can become people who clear and teach the path. We are Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha clears and teaches the path. The Buddha does not speak falsehood; He speak what is true. Can we reach the state where we never speak falsehoods and only speak what is true? If we plan to teach others the Dharma, can we reach the state of not speaking falsehoods? By not speaking falsehoods, we unite the Dharma with reality? Can the reality of our everyday life and what we encounter in life come to unite with these principles? In this True Dharma, there is no falsehood. What is true cannot be false. I hope we all can mindfully listen to the Dharma. As we go through this sequence, we must turn it into something we can use. So, “They are treasures among people”. It is true to be born human, and it is also rare to hear the Buddha-Dharma. Our body is a vessel for spiritual cultivation, and we can use it to transform ourselves. If we use it among people, we can transform them. Our body is truly precious, and we ourselves must realize this. If we hope be benefactors in people’s lives, we must have expectations for ourselves, and we must have vows for ourselves. Otherwise, our lives will pass by in vain. In the end, our bodies will just rot and disappear. Why don’t we make the best of it? We must earnestly cherish [our lives] and also become “treasures among people”. We must not just look at the sutra and say, “Look, this is a treasure among people”. We should hope to become like this ourselves. Since we hope to attain Buddhahood, we must expect ourselves to become “extremely rare throughout the world” as well. We hope that we can become people who are truly useful and valued by others.
In the next sutra passage, [Maitreya] states, “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!”
Maitreya Bodhisattva hoped the Buddha would give further explanations. Bring all those Bodhisattvas to fruition must have taken a long time, but from the Buddha attained Buddhahood until now, not much time had passed. How could He have accomplished so much? These Bodhisattvas had already drawn close to the stage of sages and noble beings. How could this be? This is what Maitreya Bodhisattva still hoped for the Buddha to explain. “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!” This is what everyone wished to comprehend. For the past few days, we have been explaining that Maitreya asked these questions entirely for the sake of helping future sentient beings understand more clearly. Only with question would there be an answer; only [the Buddha’s] explanation in His answer can completely resolve our doubts and confusion so that we can be free of doubts. To help us understand what was unclear we need to ask questions and receive answers to be able to resolve our doubts.
Lets us continue next sutra passage. We must be mindful! “We all have faith that the Buddha teaches according to what is appropriate, that the Buddha’s words are never that the Buddha’s knowledge is always thorough and comprehensive.
We all deeply believe that the Dharma the Buddha taught us is true and in accordance with our capacities. We all believe that, regardless of what Dharma the Buddha teaches, we can believe it in its entirety. So, we say, “All we Bodhisattvas have faith in the Buddha. The Tathagata [used] skillful means to teach the Dharma according to capabilities. regarding the Dharma that the Buddha taught us, we are entirely free of doubt. “The Buddha’s words are never illusory of false, and the Buddha’s knowledge is always though and comprehensive”. In other words, everything the Buddha taught is entirely without falsehoods. The Buddha’s knowledge is certainly always thorough and comprehensive.
The Buddha’s words are never are never illusory or false, and the Buddha’s knowledge is always thorough and comprehensive: The Dharma that the Buddha teaches is all true, never illusory of false. the Buddha’s wisdom is unobstructed. What He knows is the truth. There is nothing He does thoroughly comprehend.
So, this is what Maitreya Bodhisattva said. What he meant by these words was that when He taught the Dharma, everything He said was true and without falsehood. What everyone believes in, the Buddha’s wisdom, is unobstructed. That which He knows is all true. That is, there is nothing He does not understand. This is what we all believe in.
“But for newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana, when they hear these words, they might not believe in or accept them and thus give rise to the negative karmic conditions of damaging the Dharma.
Meitreya Bodhisattva expressed his own thoughts. He said, “The Buddha’s words are true, and His wisdom comprehends all. He teachers according to our capabilities. we clearly understand all of this. I raise this question for these newly-inspired Bodhisattvas.
But for newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana…: The reason that Maitreya asked the Buddha difficulty questions was out of fear for newly-inspired Bodhisattvas for after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, future sentient beings would be unable to believe this.
“But for newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, after the Buddha enters Parinirvana…”. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, people would listen to these words and say “After the Buddha left home, engaged in practice and taught the Dharma, He really transformed so many people! Perhaps these newly-inspired Bodhisattvas would still be unable to believe this. Unable to believe, they would give rise to doubt and slander the Dharma. If they had doubts, their faith would disappear, and they would thus easily slander the Dharma. This means they would criticize and give rise to many doubts. When they had doubts, they would slander it. So, for the sake of “newly-inspired Bodhisattvas”. Maitreya mindfully asked these questions. He used a critical tone in asking the Buddha, “[asking] difficult questions”. This was a form of critique “How could a 25-year-ole [young man] say that these nearly 100-year-old [old men] were all his children? The Buddha did not attain Buddhahood age, but You say that these cultivated Bodhisattvas are all Your disciples. Who would believe this?”
[Maitreya] asked the Buddha in this way. In his mind, he did this “out of fear for the newly-inspired”. This refers to those with shallow roots of faith, who had only begun to form aspirations. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, they would have yet to accept the Buddha’s deep teachings. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, unable to have faith [in the Dharma]. This is because when comparing [the Bodhisattvas’] numbers and the time [it took to transform them] to the Buddha’s attainment, there is a great discrepancy.
They would not be able to believe it. So, “When they hear these words, they might not believe it or accept it and thus give rise to the negative karmic conditions of damaging the Dharma”.
When they hear these words, they might not believe it or accept it and thus give rise to the negative karmic conditions of damaging the Dharma: Due to doubt and delusion, they will not believe in this Dharma. Due to disbelief, they will give rise to slander and incur transgressions.
If people hear such words, they may not believe it. Not only will they not believe, they may even slander the Dharma. This is due to doubts. Because they have doubts, they will not believe in the Dharma.
So, due to disbelief in the Dharma, they may start to slender it. This slander will cause them to incur karmic transgressions. It is because slandering Right Dharma incurs very severe karmic transgressions. So, because of this, Maitreya Bodhisattva raised such questions, hoping that that the Buddha would explain carefully.
In the next sutra passage, [Maitreya] continues, “Naturally, Would-Honored One, we hope that You will explain this to us in order to dispel our doubts and so that those good men in the future who hear this matter will also not give rise to doubts.
Naturally means that he was very certain He spoke with such certainty. That is, he had no doubts. He spoke with an imploring tone. He said, “We are very resolute. Venerable Buddha. we all have faith, but for the sake of the present and future, for the newly-inspired and for future beings, I must ask this; I implore the Buddha, for the sake of us here, to please resolve our doubts. This is also to help people in the future to very clearly comprehend how the principles by which the Buddha transformed sentient beings were accumulated. This requires the true principles that are applicable in real life, so that people of the future can take them to heart and be convinced. So, [Maitreya] said, “Naturally”.
Naturally, this is a word of certainly He requested the world-Honored One to resolve the doubts of the present and future people of this world He only hoped the Buddha would explain to them in order to eliminate their doubts.
He was very resolute and very certain. “The Buddha surely needs to accept our request. Please, World-Honored One, we must be certain. For the sake of people now and in the future, please resolve their doubts”. He “only hoped,” he only asked that the Buddha, for all their sake, would explain in clear detail so that people of the future would have no doubts and people of the present could resolve their doubts. This was also for “those good men in the future”. This was not merely to resolve the doubts of the people present but to continuously do so into the future. Their future is our present time. During Maitreya Bodhisattva’s time, on behalf of those present, he asked thee questions, hoping that the Buddha would explain to help those present gain a clearer understanding, while simultaneously helping those in the future form aspirations and be able to have faith. The World-Honored One’s door of the intrinsic is His innate ability. Since the beginning, how much time did He spend continuously being in the world and transforming sentient beings in the Saha World?
In the Saha World, for such a long time, He was able to successfully transform so many. Where did these affinities and causes begin? He hoped that the numbers in time, space and in the world would be reasonable and accepted by everyone. This is what Maitreya Bodhisattva hoped the Buddha would explain more in detail by uniting the “principles” with “matters”. So, regarding “the teaching of the manifest” that He previously revealed and the present “teaching of the intrinsic,” how could he help everyone understand this more clearly? So, “He used questions and answers to eliminate two kinds of doubts”. He did this to eliminate two kinds of doubts.
So that those good men in the future who hear this matter will also not give rise to doubts: He used questions and answers to eliminate two kinds of doubts. 1. To eliminate the doubts of present people 2. To eliminate the doubts of future people.
The first is “to eliminate present [doubts]”. The present refers to Maitreya’s era. Those present had doubt in their hearts. Second, “to eliminate the doubts of future people”. Those future people are we who live now. This does not refer only to us but to those who will exist in the distant future, and on and on without end. For those who were present at that time, he wished that everyone, upon seeing this sutra, would be able to have faith in why they must enter the Bodhisattva-path. The Bodhisattva-path is the wondrous medicine for treating this world. This method must be passed down in this world, so he had to eliminate doubts. Doubt gives rise to delusion, delusion gives rise to ignorance and ignorance gives rise to afflictions.
These afflictions, ignorance and delusions all begin from doubt. So, he had to help people eliminate these afflictions, ignorance and delusions. This means that this must be explained well for people to enter the Bodhisattva-path and attain a healthy wisdom-life. This Dharma, the Dharma-marrow, must be clearly understood. A healthy wisdom-life requires Dharma-marrow, just like a healthy person requires bone marrow. So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this.
Here he explained the reason for the doubts. He said, “The Tathagata, in expounding the Dharma, always according with what is appropriate for sentient beings’ capabilities. Moreover, He has never said anything false Even though we all might not yet understand what the Buddha teaches, because we believe that the Buddha’s wisdom is thorough, comprehensive and unhindered, we will always first believe in what the Buddha has said.
“The Tathagata, in expounding the Dharma, always accords with what is appropriate for sentient beings’ capabilities”. He knew that, over a long time, the Buddha had accompanied sentient beings in their transmigration throughout the Six Realms. The Buddha could not bear [their suffering], so for a long time, He accompanied sentient beings to transform them. He always accords with sentient beings’ needs and serves them in this way. “Moreover, He has never said anything false”. Throughout many lifetimes, the Dharma He taught has never been in the wrong. From the beginning until He attained Buddhahood, throughout many lifetimes, His Dharma has always been right. This is how the Buddha has been over many years, many lifetimes and many kalpas. He never speaks falsehoods, only the True Dharma. “Even though we all” refers to the Buddha’s disciples.
Though everyone “might not yet understand what the Buddha teaches, they believe that the Buddha’s wisdom is thorough, comprehensive and unhindered”. We know the Dharma the Buddha taught. Although we still do not fully understand it, we believe that the Buddha’s wisdom is thorough and comprehensive. His principles are thorough and complete. From the very beginning, we have had no doubts; we have faith, but we have yet to fully understand. [Maitreya] asked the Buddha to carefully explain. This is what he meant; it was not that they had doubts but they still did not fully understand. “We have all for a long time followed the Buddha and accepted transformation”.
We have all for a long time followed the Buddha and accepted transformation. We have faith in the Buddha’s principles. When it comes to newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, they are likely to measure the Tathagata from the mindset of sentient beings. When their minds cannot understand Him, they will lose faith. Without faith, they will doubt and slander Him. They may either take what He said as falsehood or regard it as speech meant to delude the world. They will not have faith in the Buddha themselves and obstruct others from finding faith in Him. So, they will give rise to the negative karmic conditions of damaging the Dharma.
“We have all followed the Buddha for a long time and accepted transformation”. The previous passage spoke of this. “We have faith in the Buddha’s principles”. These people were transformed by the Buddha. Being taught and transformed by Him, they all believed in the Buddha’s true principles. When it came to the newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, they all believed and were entirely free of doubts. And yet, when it came to the newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, these newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, at this moment, “were likely to measure the Tathagata from the mindset of sentient beings”. Isn’t this just like people nowadays? People nowadays have their own way of thinking and their own reasoning. They want to measure and challenge Him, asking, “Buddha, what are You exactly?” They want to measure Him. This is the modern trend. During the Buddha’s time, He had already thought about the newly-inspired Bodhisattvas in the modern age. Even if youths in the modern age are willing to accept the Dharma, they [still] follow this modern trend. This is very concerning. So, “When their minds cannot understand Him, they will lose faith.” Their thinking and discourse are still unable to reach the level of true principles. They will just push [the Dharma] away and will not believe in it. They just rebel against [the teachings]. This rebellion is another trend of criticism, to rebel for the sake of rebelling. Before they have time to discuss it, they begin to question it. Because they do not have faith, they doubt and slander it. They criticize it. Since they have not reached that level of wisdom, they begin to constantly debate. Some people have not reached the level of being able to endure criticism. They will just follow others blindly and spread criticisms everywhere. This will create a storm of ignorance and lead to ignorant debates. In this way, the Buddha-Dharma will be damaged. This is a very worrisome issue for the future.
So, this sutra intentionally raises these difficult questions at this point, which were all in the form of criticisms. In this passage, Maitreya Bodhisattva’s questions can again help us come to understand future sentient beings, the newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, and this modern way of thinking. This is how we can understand them. So, “They take what He said as falsehood.” They criticize it, seeing the Buddha-Dharma as false. In truth, the Buddha is without falsehood. However, newly-inspired [Bodhisattvas] in the future, these people following the new trend, will very easily deny the law of karma in the Dharma. They will criticize and discard it “or regard it as speech meant to delude the world.”
They will tell others, “The Buddha-Dharma is superstition; the Buddha-Dharma is like taking opium.” This is how they will crush and destroy the Buddha-Dharma. In our times, there were times like these before too. This was only the start of a trend [in thought]. Be it the principles of Confucius or the principles of the Buddha-Dharma, even reasonable teachings have been criticized. In the future, it will be even worse, so we must mindfully guard [against this]. They will say this is meant to delude the world, that this teaching is meant to confuse people. This is “losing faith.” So, they do not have faith in it. These newly-inspired Bodhisattvas and people of the future follow the modern trend [of thought], which is to not believe in the Buddha. Thus, “They obstruct others from believing in Him. So, they will give rise to the negative karmic conditions of damaging the Dharma.” This will give rise to this kind of destruction and damage to the Buddha-Dharma. In this way, the principles in the world, the path, will all be destroyed. This is truly frightening.
This is the reason that Maitreya led sentient beings in raising their doubts. He hoped to induce the Tathagata’s explanation so as to protect the sentient beings who are newly-inspired Great Vehicle practitioners.
So, “This is the reason Maitreya led sentient beings in raising their doubts.” He led everyone by beginning to raise their doubts. This was Maitreya Bodhisattva’s intention, to lead these people to raise their doubts in hopes that this would inspire the Tathagata to explain even more clearly. Thus, [he did this] “so as to protect [them],” to protect the hearts of newly-inspired Bodhisattvas in the future. This could protect the Great Vehicle Buddha-Dharma. This was Maitreya Bodhisattva’s intention. He put his heartfelt into this. We must earnestly put in our effort [as well]. This really worries us; what will future people be like? We have no way of predicting it, but we must be resolute in the present. We must be resolute in the present; how can we protect the Dharma? We can do so by putting it into action and making the direction of the path clear. We must clear our current path with haste, turning toward the right direction and clearing a path. We must quickly put it into practice in order to help everyone make the path smooth, providing all with a path to walk on. Though those in front did not fully clear the path, those at the back will continue to clear the path and those following them will continue paving it. This clearing and paving the path never ceases, and we have never departed from it. Once we have cleared a section of the road ahead, our life comes to an end, and we return and start to pave this road again. Then we will further clear the path. In this way we continue to clear this path onward all the way to the state of Buddhahood. This is an analogy of how we can clear a path and open a door to enter the Tathagata’s room. In order to enter the Tathagata’s room, we need a path to enter it. Otherwise, outside of the Tathagata’s room, it will all be weeds and brushwood. We want to enter the Tathagata’s room from afar, but there are so many weeds. Without clearing a path leading up to it, how can we enter the Tathagata’s room? These weeds are like doubts. We hope we will find a way to eliminate our afflictions, ignorance and delusions. During the Buddha’s time, they were concerned for the future, which is our present. We in the present must also consider people in the future. We must be clear about the path. If the path in our own heart is not fully cleared, we cannot pave the way for people of the future.
So, we have to walk the “path of Right Dharma” to the end. We must reach to the end of this path. To reach “the Dharma of foremost in the world,” we must ceaselessly walk on this path. So, everyone must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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