Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Practicing and Abiding in Great Vows (久行佛道 住弘誓願)
Date: December.18.2018
“All these Bodhisattvas contemplate the truth of the Bodhi-fruit, which is supreme and unsurpassed. Having attained it themselves, they vowed that all these sentient beings would universally reach attainment as well. Thus it says that Buddhahood is unsurpassed, and we must vow to attain it.”
We must be mindful! “All these Bodhisattvas contemplate the truth of the Bodhi-fruit, which is supreme and unsurpassed.” We must choose the direction in which we must engage in spiritual practice. There is so much suffering in life. We know “suffering” and understand that it is due to “causation”. It is caused by [the accumulation] of all kinds of ignorance and afflictions in the world; this is what causes suffering. These many accumulated causes are the result of us being unable to see clearly through our own perspective. Therefore, we continuously give rise to greed, anger and ignorance. And when it comes to people, between individuals, we accumulate so many afflictions. Every person has their own idea. Every person has their own selfishness and greedy thoughts. In this way, everyone is different. When people begin to act upon selfish afflictions and ignorance, isn’t this what leads to fighting in this world? When we all fight with each other, there will not be a day of peace in the world. This is what it is like between people. On a larger scale, “people” refers to countries. On a smaller scale, [it refers to] communities. Even smaller than communities are families, and even smaller than families, there are individuals. Even if we start small with a single “self,” countless “selves” come together to form groups of many “selves”. When many selves come together, there will be many views of self and people following their own way. In this way, conflicts and fights over things lead to much chaos in the world. The outcome of this chaos is the creation of [evil] karma. Collective karma [results in] manmade calamities between people. When manmade calamities are further conflated, they form a collective energy. People’s collective energy of karmic forces then becomes sentient beings’ collective karma. The forces of sentient beings’ collective karma is very powerful. It is causing nature to gradually become contaminated and out of balance. This is closely related to causes and conditions accumulated by people.
So, when we look at the world, there are so many disasters in the world, so many people in suffering and so many crises that lead to sudden impermanence. It is scary! There are so many [such examples]. Bodhisattvas, the Buddha, sages and enlightened beings already understood this a long time ago. We have been talking about this. Since the start of the Chapter on Emerging from the Ground, day after day, we have been talking about this. A very long time ago, countless kalpas before distant kalpas ago, before the Buddha attained Buddhahood, He formed aspirations; it was a very long time ago! For dust-inked kalpas, countless dust-inked kalpas, He continuously accumulated [affinities]. Lifetime after lifetime, He continuously transformed sentient beings and formed affinities with them. As for sentient beings who had accepted the teachings, their seeds of awakening, their awakened consciousness, continue to accumulate from their affinities lifetime after lifetime. This realization and awakening slowly imbued them. Causes and conditions continuously came together, leading to [affinities that lasted] lifetime after lifetime so that they could be at Vulture Peak. The Buddha had attained enlightenment and expounded the Dharma for over 40 years. The causes and conditions had matured for Him to teach the Lotus Sutra. The stupa of treasures, the stupa of Many Treasures Buddha, had appeared to bear witness. Bodhisattvas gathered from all directions. Bodhisattvas had also emerged from the ground.
The magnificence of the Dharma-assembly enabled the Buddha to begin to tell everyone about. His manifestations in the past, the traces of His forming affinities lifetime after lifetime. Regarding His many [past] lifetimes, in these 40-some years, He taught the Dharma according to capabilities. He used analogies and expressions to teach causes and conditions and so on. This was all taught in these 40-some years. So, He had now already revealed “the manifest”. [He was about to teach] “the intrinsic” [after] “the manifest” of the past. He had now already attained Buddhahood. It had only been 40 or so years since He manifested the attainment of Buddhahood in the world. So now, after 40 or so years, in accordance with [the laws of] nature, He had become old. So, before manifesting Parinirvana, He had to finish teaching the Lotus Sutra. The “teaching pf the manifest” from before, the causes and conditions for the “teaching of the manifest,” had ended. At that point, he had to open up the “teaching of the intrinsic”.
So, He had to speak about how the causes and conditions of His aspirations started, conditions of His aspirations started, what was the original source. So, at this assembly, Maitreya Bodhisattva came to express “doubt”. This also shows the initial aspirations of Bodhisattvas. Right now, among us, everyone is a newly-inspired Bodhisattva. Every one of us is newly-inspired at the moment. It does not matter how many causes and conditions we have had in the past to accept teachings from the Buddha. It does not matter if we have [accepted teachings] in the past or not. Yet, we now know that we have had the causes and conditions to attain the human form and then encounter the Buddha-Dharma. Since these causes and conditions have arisen in this lifetime, since we have encountered them, we should give rise to Bodhisattva. At the Buddha’s Vulture Peak Assembly, there were also newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. In this place, we should also consider ourselves as newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. For us newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, we must begin to “contemplate the truth”. “The truth” refers to the true principles. “Contemplate” means to contemplate using profound discerning wisdom. We must consider why we must listen to the Dharma and why it is that after we listen to the Dharma, we must continuously utilize it in the world and in our daily actions. It is because as Buddhist practitioners, we need to learn how to apply [the teachings] and take the Buddha’s heart as our own. We pass on the teachings, taking our teacher’s mission as our own mission. Right now, I teach for you to listen. This is the way this era is right now. We need the Buddha-Dharma to bring our wisdom to completion and grow our wisdom-life. In this era, we must promptly make vows. We must widely promote the Buddha-Dharma, because we must bring purity to people’s hearts right now. We must promptly and widely form good affinities. In this era, we have seen suffering. In this world where time is running out, we see that there are many natural disasters and many manmade calamities in the world. When we see suffering, we must recognize our own blessings.
In times of peace, we must remain vigilant. Right now, we are in a very blessed time. We must earnestly remain vigilant, self-disciplined and reverent. In times of peace, we must remain vigilant. So, in this era, we truly must have the mindset that time is running out and seize the moment. We must earnestly observe principles with profound discerning [wisdom]. This is the Buddha-Dharma. So, we must earnestly observe the state of nature and closely observe [people’s] behavior in the world. There are so many natural disasters and manmade calamites leading to suffering. So, we must remain vigilant even in times of peace. In the world, we must recognize our blessings when we witness suffering. So, we must know this Bodhisattvas must “contemplate the truth of the Bodhi-fruit” and actualize the Six Paramitas in all actions. We must put these into action and enter this path to awakening. This path to awakening is the Bodhi-path. Once we found the right direction in the Bodhi-path, we must open up the path. When it comes to the “path of Bodhi,” we must work hard and be mindful. We must not waste time. We must open up the Bodhi-path widely and walk toward the direction of attaining Buddhahood. We must take the Buddha’s heart as our own. With the Buddha’s heart, we must continuously seek the state of the Buddha and go forward.
So, we must open up this Bodhi-path and go towards the direction of the state of Buddhahood. If we do not keep the Buddha in our hearts, how can we open up this path? Everyone must bring forth their hearts of compassion, long-kindness, joy and equanimity. Once we let go of our own afflictions and ignorance, as well as our own attachments and perspectives, we should be joyful together and “work in concert with unity, harmony and love,” wholeheartedly moving forward and opening up the path. This is the Dharma that I have continuously shared with everyone. The Dharma I have shared is in front of us; this is the direction we must walk in. This path is the most extraordinary, because the world needs the Bodhi-path to enlightenment; we have to open it up.
So, it is “unsurpassed.” Having chosen this path, we must cherish it. We must make the right choices and put effort into opening up the path in front. We must clear the path and pave the road, and we must encourage each other. There really is not enough time. So, “Having attained it themselves, they vowed that all these sentient beings” would universally reach attainment as well”. We ourselves clear the road and continue to walk forward with the Buddha’s heart, drawing near the state of Buddhahood. In this way, it is not just we ourselves who reach fruition. Wherever our road is opened up to, everyone together paves the road there. Over the past few days, I have been constantly telling everyone that for people who open up the path, as they do so in front, people follow behind to continuously pave the path. We must pave the road evenly toward the state of Buddhahood so that it can forever be a very even road. Look at the Chapter on Bestowing Predictions.
Let us recall this; in the Chapter on Bestowing Predictions, the Buddha said, “You will attain Buddhahood in the future. However, in the process, you must go through a very, very long time. You must earnestly engage in spiritual practice. When the causes and conditions are fulfilled, you will have much success in transforming others. There will be so many Bodhisattvas in the same era as you. The state of Buddhahood is so magnificent. Once you attain Buddhahood, there will be Bodhisattvas to accompany you all around. This all requires a very long time of clearing the path and paving the road. Once complete, it will be such a magnificent world! It is the same principle”. So, “having attained it themselves”, they had to “vow that all these sentient beings would universally reach attainment as well”. This is the power of vows that we must all share.
“Thus it says that Buddhahood is unsurpassed, and we must vow to attain it”. Buddhahood is unsurpassed. We must remain persistent in our great vows and continue to persist until we attain Buddhahood, which is the state of the Buddha. This is [the vow] that every one of us should have. This is the goal of learning the Buddha’s teachings. If we do not work hard ourselves, then we will truly be wasting this is journey of ours in coming to this world. When it comes to the footprints from our journey, we must put effort into leaving an imprint. Only then are we leaving things behind in this world, applying the Buddha-Dharma in this world and becoming benefactors for sentient beings. We must be benefactors for each other, helping each other to succeed; this is our value in coming to this world. We must not come to this world for nothing and let time pass by emptily while creating a lot of karma, collective karma with sentient beings, for our future lifetimes. In this current lifetime, we must put an end to our afflictions and ignorance. In this current lifetime, we must develop our wisdom-life. Our [remaining] lifespan continues to decrease, but hopefully our wisdom-life can grow. These are sincere words from the bottom of my heart. Everyone, please truly be mindful.
Alright, let us take a look at the sutra passage we previously discussed. We all have faith that the Buddha teaches according to what is appropriate, that the Buddha’s words are never illusory or false and that the Buddha’s knowledge is always thorough and comprehensive. 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”.
Indeed! They might not believe in or accept the Buddha’s true words. for sentient beings during the era of the Buddha, as well as future sentient beings, His truthful words may not be [accepted]. They may hear them and let them pass without believing in or accepting them. This is truly a very saddening thing. If they do not believe in or accept them, naturally, they will damage the Dharma, slander it and so on. They may not believe in it but instead further create negative karma. Right now, there are many [examples of] webs of ignorance. When people’s minds are out of balance, they form webs of ignorance. Not only do they not believe in doing good deeds, but they will even slander them. These are [negative] karmic forces. So, everyone must be very mindful.
The previous sutra passage continues, “Naturally, World-Honored One…”. Naturally, World-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.
Maitreya Bodhisattva spoke with very determined semantics. [He said], “Naturally, World-Honored One…”. With a sincere heart, he asked the Buddha, “We hope that You will explain this to us in order to dispel our doubts. Venerable Buddha, please tell us and explain it very clearly so that the people of the present will understand it thoroughly and so that future sentient beings with severe karma would not give rise to all sorts of slander. We request the Buddha to earnestly and patiently explain this to everyone”. [They hoped that He would] dispel the doubts of those present as well as people in the future “so that those good men in the future who hear this matter will not give rise to doubts either”. The people of the future will hear the Buddha-Dharma and be able to understand it. They will not, due to not having thorough belief, give up halfway. Since these “good men” meaning those with affinities, have entered the door to the Buddha’s teachings, He must not let their minds give rise to doubt and let them give up half way. This was for future newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. This refers to our present times and the future of the present; there will be such people. So, he requested that the Buddha explain to everyone in order to build everyone’s faith and resolve.
Now, the following sutra passage says, “At that time, Maitreya Bodhisattvas, wishing to restate his meaning, spoke in verse. In the past, from the Sakya clan, the Buddha left home and went near Gaya, where He sat beneath the Bodhi tree. Since then, not much time has passed”.
In this passage, Maitreya Bodhisattva had finished talking, but since what he said was important, he had to repeat it again. He had to repeat it again in verse. So, repeating it in verse means that it is important. This is to further ingrain it in our memory. “In the past, from the Sakya clan, the Buddha…” means the Buddha was from the Sakya clan. “He left the lay life and became a monastic and arrived at a place near Gaya”. He became a monastic and arrived at the city of Gaya. In truth, He visited not only Gaya. That period of time lasted over 10 years, during which He visited many religious teachers. He then finally arrived at the city of Gaya. At a place not far from the city of Gaya, He sat beneath the Bodhi tree and attained perfect enlightenment. The “Sakya clan” we talk about is the “Kastriyas,” who are nobles. “This is the clan of Sakya”. The clan of Sakyamuni Buddha is the Ksatriyas in the caste system. In the caste system, these are the nobles. “Sakya” also means “mighty in benevolence”. The name of the clan represent virtue; it means they have virtue and benevolence. They are the clan of virtue and benevolence. Since ancient times, the Sakya clan had been respected. The prince of this noble clan of Sakya left to engage in spiritual practice. After leaving, he spent five years travelling and six year in ascetic practice. This period lasted 11 years. At the end of his spiritual practice, he sat beneath a tree not far from the city of Gaya and, under the tree, became enlightened. He saw the morning star and attained enlightenment.
[He] sat beneath the Bodhi tree. Since then, not much time has passed: Not far from the city of Gaya, He sat under the Bodhi tree. Since then it had been 40 or so years, yet He was able to accomplish the transformation of Bodhisattvas in numbers which are difficult to count. Thus, by asking about it, Maitreya revealed that it is hard to believe in it.
“Since then” [refers to] the time when He awakened. Starting from then, He started “the Five Periods of teaching the Dharma”. From then on, it had been “40 or so years”. The Buddha taught the Dharma for 49 years. As for the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha had expounded the Dharma for 42 years before He began to expound the Lotus Sutra. So, here we say, “[It had been] 40 or so years, yet He was able to accomplish this “transformation of Bodhisattvas in numbers which are difficult to count”. Since the Bodhisattvas all gathered and so many had emerged from the ground, could this have been accomplished in these 40 or so years? Actually, the Buddha said in the past that He had transformed [them] over a long time. However, in [people’s] memories, they were unable to comprehend what the Buddha had taught in the past, so it was easy to interpret things out of context. So, after the Buddha attained Buddhahood, they turned out [to question] how it was possible that, in these 40 or so years, He had transformed so many people. This gave rise to doubts. For those who were not listening before and had no memories of it, now that they listened to it and saw it, they gave rise to doubts. They only saw the present. Thus, they were attached to the near and confused about the far. We talked this too before. So, [Maitreya] revealed that It was hard to believe in it Maitreya Bodhisattva said, “This is very difficult for everyone to believe”. In such a short time, how was this [transformation] possible? This is what we must mindfully seek to comprehend.
So, in the next passage, [Maitreya] said, “The number of these Buddha-children is immeasurable”. They have long practiced the path to Buddhahood and abide in spiritual powers. They excel in learning the Bodhisattva-path and are undefiled by worldly phenomena. Like lotus flowers in water, they emerged from the ground.
From this passage, we can understand [their doubts]. In such a short time, how was [the Buddha] able to help so many Bodhisattvas succeed? There were so many of these Bodhisattvas, and they were all truly very accomplished. It was hard to believe This was again expressed here. This is a repeated verse passage, which [Maitreya] used to repeat his explanations to everyone. He again repeated what the source of their doubts was. How should we understand the number [of Bodhisattvas]? How did the Buddha transform so many sentient beings?
The number of these Buddha-children is immeasurable: This describes how they were attached to the far and doubted the near. The matter is in accord with the present time, yet the principle is tranced back to kalpas ago They are like lotus flowers in water, which remain fragrant, pure and undefiled.
“The number of these Buddha-children is immeasurable”. This passage explains [how they were] attached to the far and confused about the near. It is explained here “The matter was in accord with the present time”. This “matter” refers to the present. There were so many people at the assembly who all said they were transformed by the Buddha. The fact is, there seemed to be so many people. At this point in time, this was what they had seen. “Yet the principles is traced back to kalpas ago”. The principles can be traced back to long ago. “Kalpa” refers to a long time. Speaking of the principles, we must trace them back to so far away. These principles were accumulated, but when we look at it now, there were so many [people]. People nowadays are shortsighted. Causes from the past must be explained a certain way in order for people to see the present effects. But the Buddha still had to talk about the faraway causes. So, He had to trace back to them. “[They were] attached to the far and doubted the near”. To “doubt the near” means that when they saw so many people who could be transformed in such a short time, they were doubtful. “The Buddha spoke of the time long, long ago”. We hope that the Buddha can be clearer. They kept trying to get to the bottom of things. This is called being “attached to the far”. They wanted to get to the bottom of things before they could believe in the present. Using this method, they hoped for the Buddha to further clarify it. “[The Bodhisattvas] were like lotus flowers in water, which remain fragrant, pure and undefiled”. How did these people remain in the turbid world but not become defiled b the turbidity? These people were able to remain firm in their spiritual aspirations and practice like this. These Bodhisattvas were like lotuses which grow out of the [mud] while remaining undefiled and very pure. How did this come about? “They have long practiced the path to Buddhahood and abide in spiritual powers”.
They have long practiced the path to Buddhahood and abide in spiritual powers: These many Bodhisattvas had long practiced the path to Buddhahood and abided in spiritual powers. They had long diligently cultivated and upheld the practice, abided in the great vows and practices and thoroughly understood all Dharma and spiritual powers.
These Bodhisattvas were already like this. So, everyone hoped that the Buddha could help everyone understand it in more detail. This is because “These many Bodhisattvas had long practiced the path to Buddhahood”. These people had to have been walking on this path from a long time ago. They were those who cleared the path. They had already cleared such a long path. They were those who cleared the path. Moreover, they “abided in spiritual powers”. When it comes to this path, they should have been very familiar with it since they had come [to this world] many times. Those who cleared this path left and came back to continue clearing it. After clearing it, they returned to continue on. They repeatedly returned over what must have been a very long time. They had completely understood the scenery of this path. They were very clear on all Dharma. Therefore, [it says they had] “spiritual powers”. With this Dharma, they repeatedly returned. “They had long diligently cultivated and upheld the practice”. For a long time, they had all been very diligent and concentrated on practicing the Buddha-Dharma. They concentrated on the path to Buddhahood and “actualized the Six Paramitas in all actions”. They concentrated on being diligent. When it came to upholding their great vows, lifetime after lifetime, they cultivated and upheld great vows. In body, speech and mind, for many lifetimes, this was the way they were. With the “Four Practices of Bringing Peace and Joy,” they repeatedly returned, enduring the Saha World of severe turbidity. So, they have been repeatedly returning for a very long time. They “abided in the great vows and practices and thoroughly understood all Dharma and spiritual powers”. Returning repeatedly, they [maintained the same] aspiration. “Abide” refers to how they were firm; they were very firm on this path as they returned repeatedly. So, they were very clear about the landscape of their minds and they “thoroughly understood all Dharma and spiritual powers”. This is what we must mindfully seek to comprehend.
“They excel in learning the Bodhisattva-path and are undefiled by worldly phenomena. Like lotus flowers in water, they emerged from the ground. They are excellent in leaning and studying Bodhisattva-path.” Like this, lifetime after lifetime, they continuously engaged in the practice of the Bodhisattva-path, “daring not become defiled by worldly phenomena. Like lotus flowers in turbid water, they suddenly emerged from the ground”. They were very focused and completely [immersed] themselves in the Buddha-Dharma. They dared not become to be defiled by worldly phenomena. People nowadays, for the sake of worldly fame and profits, try to learn everything, which makes the path hard to attain.
The Sutra of 42 Chapters mentioned this. We must focus on a single path, which means we must earnestly practice with mindfulness. So, we must not dare defile ourselves with worldly phenomena. We must not dare defile ourselves with worldly fame and profits. What level of attainment are we at? We dare not think about it. We should concentrate on listening to the Buddha-Dharma. We should earnestly go among people to practice the Six Paramitas. This is the focus of Bodhisattvas. Indeed, we must have such a mindset. Otherwise, the path will truly be hard to attain. To truly take the Buddha-Dharma, the true Bodhisattva-path as taught by the Buddha, to heart is truly hard to do.
All in all, how should we pave the Bodhisattva-path in this world? We should be focused, practice and “dare not become defiled by worldly phenomena”. Because we dare not become defiled, we focus on [the Dharma]. “Like lotus flowers in turbid water, they suddenly emerged from the ground”. They were just like lotus flowers; from within the turbid waters and mud, they can emerge. A lotus pond is beautified by lotuses. The turbidity of the lotus pond provides the lotus with nutrients so that lotus flowers may bloom. This is what we must know. The principle has always been like this. Truly, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this. If we are not mindful and only say on the surface, “I have listened to and read [the Dharma]. I know a lot,” what we know will not remain in our minds, nor will we apply it in our daily living. Then what is the use of knowing so much? Knowing [the principles] and not applying them, our minds remain filled with ignorance and afflictions. We will remain within the mud. Our minds will continue to be confused and remain among ignorance, delusion and afflictions. In this way, do we not continuously accumulate them into the future? Do they not [add to] the collective karma with sentient beings?
Currently, sentient beings’ collective karma already [creates] a very strong atmosphere of evil and turbidity. In the future, that turbidity and evil will become even greater and stronger. Right now, if we do not earnestly eliminate it so that it does not continue into the future, then we will also be adding more ignorance and collective karma. In future lifetimes, will we be lotus seeds that can bring purity to people’s hearts? Will we be able to give rise to lotus flowers amid turbidities and produce many seeds in this manner? This is the vow that we must make.
Fellow Bodhisattvas, we must truly be mindful with a sincere and loving heart. With natural disasters and manmade calamities, we must earnestly awaken ourselves. It is an era that requires us to be awakened. So, we must mindfully enter the Bodhisattva-path and broaden the Bodhi-path. We must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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