Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Attaining Blessings from Listening to the Dharma (聲塵解脫 聞法得福)
Date: July.10.2019
“For countless lifetimes and dust-inked kalpas, we have been pulled along by the aggregate of action, entangled by illusory sights and sounds. To liberate ourselves from the shackles of our ignorance and afflictions, we must constantly praise the Dharma both in our hearts and through our words. Bodhisattvas are perfectly replete with the Six Paramitas. Thus, as they listen to the Dharma, they turn away from delusions to enter the truth. This is liberation through sound. When we listen to [the Dharma] for even a moment, we will rejoice and attain blessings.”
We must make an effort to mindfully comprehend [this passage]. “For countless lifetimes and dust-inked kalpas, we have been pulled along by the aggregate of action.” How many lifetimes has it been? How much time has gone by? We have no idea. For countless lifetimes, lifetime after lifetime, afflictions have continued to pile up. As more and more time passes, our afflictions increasingly accumulate, because, as sentient beings, we continuously remain in ignorance. In the connections we form with others, we increasingly take issue over things. This, is we feel so detached in life. We say so many things about each other, continuously entangle each other. We truly cannot help ourselves. With a few simple words we can communicate clearly and be understood, yet because of our speech or tone of our voice, our emotions become ever more deeply entangled with each other. It all comes down to how we speak; are we actually communicating clearly or not? Do we understand or not? This is how we become entangled. Lifetime after lifetime, this remains in our hearts, in our consciousness.
In Taiwanese, we say they “pester us endlessly”. This is how these entanglements continue on, becoming increasingly entangled as time goes on. Thus, we are “pulled along by the aggregate of action.” We must all be aware of the aggregate of action. Every day, with each passing second, our bodies are ceaselessly worn away following the aggregate of action. With each passing day, each passing second, our lives follow this passage of time. Yet, our karmic forces, afflictions and ignorance also increase following the aggregate of action. As we constantly create ignorance over time, our afflictions also increase. If we do not seize our time well and our thoughts stray in the slightest, if this is the case, the aggregate of action will entangle us, and our ignorance will continue to increase. At the same time, we must make use of our lives and seize our time. When we walk the Bodhisattva-path correctly, we will continue to improve as we advance.
When we talk with people, in our interpersonal interactions, the good affinities we form will become deeper. These good affinities from countless lifetimes will continuously accumulate. This is what time [can accomplish]. So, as I constantly tell everyone, “A slight deviation takes us far off course.” This means that, both time and our minds are constantly moving. Times causes our lives to be continuously worn away. As for our minds, if they are slightly misaligned, our afflictions will increasingly entangle us. If we have a proper mindset, we will seize our time to benefit sentient beings and form good affinities with them to transform each other in future lifetimes. We must be very mindful of this. We must remember that “countless lifetimes and dust-inked kalpas” refers to a very long time. The more time that passes, the more our entanglements and afflictions increase. If there is a corner that we neglect to sweep for a long time, the layers of dust will get thicker and thicker. It is the same principle. Because of the aggregate of action, the longer time drags on, naturally our good and bad affinities will accumulate [in our consciousness]. If we do not earnestly make use of our lives, we will lose many affinities to transform people. If we take the wrong course, we will only create more transgressions the longer we live. Does everyone understand this? We must make good use of our time to benefit sentient beings and walk the right path, not letting one second go to waste. It is this simple. One of the things I constantly tell everyone is that we must earnestly be mindful, which means being aware in every second of our daily lives. [We are] “entangled by illusory sights and sounds. In this way, amidst the aggregate of action, time passes for us increasingly faster, and the karma we create becomes increasingly greater. So, where does this come from? It comes from illusory appearances. [All is] illusory. How long will our lives be? What do we have to take issue with? There is nothing that has a fixed appearance.
I often ask, “Am I the same person toady that I was yesterday?” No. This is the subtle [workings] of the aggregates. [Due to] the very subtle aggregate of action, every day, the new constantly replaces the old. Every second wears away at us, [yet] none of us can sense it. Worldly appearances are constantly changing. Things that change are called “illusory,” so they are called “illusory appearances.” Over time, things will change, like how [we say], “Come take a look at this for me. Why did my computer freeze again?” They reply, “There is a new [software update].” “Alas, there are always new updates!” Without our realizing it, technology has become so advanced now. Where is such advanced technology being updated? How many people pick up their tablet and remember just having updated it when it becomes time to update it again? How far away is the place where the update is? We do not know. It is always changing. It is quite unbelievable. [Technology] is able to [continuously] store so many things, like writing and so on. If these words were all printed on paper, they would to even fit in several large rooms, but a computer can shrink them into this place. “Where does the computer store my things?” I often wonder about this. “After I finish writing these things, where do they go? Hurry, come help me take a look.” “Yes, it is still there.” “Where?” It popped up again; it really is still there. However, many changes have been made to it. “Yes, it is still there.” “Where? I cannot see.” It has no real substance; it is illusory. Now, science has made all these things illusory. In our minds, we think of what we want to write. This thought is also not visible. When I write down what is on my mind, after I am done, how much have I written? Before, everything was very tangible. I could turn the pages, and it was right there. I could pull it out and look at it. Now, there is no longer any physical thing to see. Think about it; isn’t this an illusory appearance? It is intangible. We clearly saved it [on the device], but where is it exactly? The sense object of sound is also like this. Right now, I am putting out effort to speak, and in the same instant, my voice is transmitted over countless hundreds and thousands of kilometers, so that everyone can hear my voice. Diligent Bodhisattvas [tune in] to hear me teach the Dharma. They gather early in the morning before dawn, in a set place, to sit and listen.
When our Bodhisattvas from Miakli returned, they told me, “every day we listen to the Dharma. Although our campus is being remodeled and all the spaces were occupied, we could not bear to miss one day. We borrowed a corner from the construction unit. It is very simple, and the roof leaks, but we did not take any breaks.” They showed the PowerPoint, and indeed, in this simple and crude place, everyone there was listening to the Dharma and earnestly taking notes. This is how seriously they take it. Ultimately, they must be able to listen to my voice in order for them to take notes. It is like this in Taiwan; how many places outside of Taiwan also listen? We are separated by thousands of kilometers, yet they can also listen. [My voice] is a sound, and it is then broadcast using modern technology. In fact, we need speak of things so far away. With this machine here right now, if any part of it malfunctioned, then even for those of you sitting in the front, even in this space, it would be difficult for you to hear me clearly. If we use modern technology to connect us, even thousands of kilometers away, people can hear me just the same. So, with the sound [of my voice], everyone can listen and take joy in the Dharma. “Oh, Master is talking about the things that we are always doing. It turns out this is the Dharma.” Thus, everyone is replete in Dharma-joy. “Oh, I did not know this before. Now, I will begin to change.” When one life is changed, everyone rejoices. This is accomplished through speaking. However, when some people hear each other, one sentence can create obstacles between them, and this sound entangles them. They cannot let go of this one sentence; they cannot let go of what they heard. The things we say ourselves can leave us uneasy. This is all due to the sense object of sound. So, “illusory appearances,” as well as “entanglements of illusory sounds” are all present in our daily lives, in the things that we see and hear. We are entangled and trapped by all these. This is how our lives are.
What can we do? Having heard and understood the Dharma, we must “liberate ourselves from the shackles of our ignorance and afflictions.” If we listen to the Dharma, naturally, we will let things go. “I understand the principles clearly.” We must free and liberate ourselves from these entanglements of afflictions and ignorance. Some people were never able to let thing go; they just could not let go, but after becoming clear on the principles, [they say] “Ah! Now I can let them go”. They are liberated from what they could not let go. Having letting go, they are freed from the tangle of afflictions. Wouldn’t everyone rejoice then?
Thus, after attaining the Dharma, our hearts are able to open. This is liberation. “[We] liberated ourselves from the shackles of our ignorance and afflictions”. It actually happens quite quickly. It can happen by [simply] changing our mindset. So, “We must constantly praise the Dharma both in our hearts and through our words”. We must constantly remind ourselves not to say things we will regret later, with afflictions entangling our minds. We must often train ourselves to constantly be able to praise the Dharma. Doesn’t the current Chapter on Taking Joy in Others’ Merits and Virtues teach us about praising the Dharma more often? We should know the merits and virtues of taking joy in and praising [the Dharma].
So, this verse then says, “Bodhisattvas are perfectly replete with the Six Paramitas”. We are all engaging in the Bodhisattva-practice. So, “Bodhisattvas are perfectly replete with that Six Paramitas. They manifest them in all actions. We can be in harmony with all things in the world. those who engage in the Bodhisattva-practice go among people to both learn themselves and encourage others. This is “learning the Bodhisattva Way”. And for those in suffering, we do our best to seize the time and apply our resources to help them. Equanimity means to let go of thoughts of greed and then help others, to liberate sentient beings from their suffering. This is “actualizing the Six Paramitas in all actions”. Everyone is suffering, so we must use our hearts and use the Dharma to treat them. We have a long history of experience in this, and we are very clear on the methods. So, we are “perfectly replete in the Six Paramitas”. We can go among people without worries, no matter what the conditions are; whether favorable or adverse conditions, we can face them all harmoniously.
So, “As they listen to the Dharma they turn away from delusions to enter the truth”. When we remove all of our delusions, our minds will quickly return to our intrinsic nature of True Suchness. Our false thoughts and ignorance, as we have just said, have accumulated lifetime after lifetime. By cultivating the Bodhisattva-practice now, we know that these are all illusory appearances. We understand very clearly the distracting sounds we hear in the world. As soon as we hear them, we can clearly understand that they are false and illusory, so we eliminate them. This is the True Dharma; we must cherish it. By cherishing the True Dharma, we will enter what is True. We will find our intrinsic nature of True Suchness and remove all false thoughts of afflictions and ignorance. So, when we listen to the Dharma, we must always be mindful.
We must mindfully put these correct teachings to use. Now during the Morning Assembly, some of the monastics can take the teachings I gave in the morning and make use of worldly matters to analyze them. They encourage others, saying, “We cannot be like this. Some people so good. See how they promptly use the power of love when something happens. There are so many people who promptly help. There really are so many good people in society”. They are able to make use of this right away. This is how they praise them. They understand worldly matters very clearly. So, we “turn away from delusions”. Their minds understand this very clearly. This is returning to the nature of True Suchness? [But] do we all really understand this? Or do we just speak eloquently? Only we ourselves can know this. So, “This is liberation through sound”. If we know to listen to the Dharma, we will eliminate ignorance and take the True Dharma to heart. Then we can be “liberated through sound”. We can hear very clearly. Because we go among people, we see many people and hear many voices. We [know] clearly what is true and what is false. Thus, with the sound [of people’s voice], we take false and illusory sounds and turn them into True Dharma, which helps us to be very clear. This is liberation. Only with the sound [of the Dharma] can we understand this. If we use sound to spread what is false, with lies, flattery, gossip and harsh speech, if this is our disposition when speaking, we will be increasingly entangled by afflictions and ignorance. But if we use this same sense object of sound to completely analyze the principles and teach these principles clearly, then our afflictions will also be eliminated. This is also the sense object of sound. Some sounds can liberate us, while some sounds causes ignorance and afflictions. So, regardless of what kind of sound it is, if it is the True Dharma and “[we listen] for even a moment, we will rejoice and attain blessings”. Shall we listen to sounds of afflictions and ignorance, or shall we listen to the principles of True Suchness and the sounds of the True Dharma? If it is the sound of the true principles, then when we hear it, when we perceive it, our hearts will open and be understanding, and thus our afflictions will be eliminated. With the Buddha-Dharma in our hearts, in our next life or in this life, we will be transformed. We will understand the principles and we will understand them thoroughly. Then, naturally our worldly afflictions will not concern us, and we will let them go. In this way, we will constantly rejoice. So, “We will rejoice and attain blessings”. Because we understand the Dharma, everything we do will be to create blessings in this world. This is because we listen to the Dharma. We must seek to mindfully comprehend it, so, after saying so much, it is all about helping everyone realize that we must keep encouraging people to listen. What benefits are there in hearing the Dharma? Listening to the Dharma can eliminate ignorance and return us to our nature of True Suchness. So, there are merits and virtues in this.
The previous sutra passage says, “Suppose there are people who encourage another person, guiding them to listen to the Lotus Sutra, saying, This sutra is profound and wondrous”. It is rare to encounter in millions of kalpas. Accepting instruction, this person goes listen, even for just a moment. As for the blessed retributions of these people, I will now explain them to you in detail.
We talked about this before. We just need to be able to encourage people to come and listen to the Lotus Sutra. “The Lotus Sutra is the path to attaining Buddhahood. We must learn to be Bodhisattvas. We must learn to attain Buddhahood. So, we must come and listen to this sutra. This sutra is very profound, subtle and wondrous Dharma. We must earnestly listen to it. It is rare to encounter in millions of kalpas. Having listened to the Dharma for so long. It is rare to hear something so wondrously profound and clear so wondrously profound and clear. It helps us understand how, in practicing the Buddha’s teachings, we can take the True Dharma to heart. It is rare to encounter such a thing.”
Then people will respond, “Yes, it is such a rare opportunity. Ok, we will go with you to hear it” or, “Can you tell us where we can hear it?” Thus, “Accepting instruction, they go to listen”. So, after listening for only a very short while, they are joyful. They begin to listen and rejoice. These are people with great roots of goodness. With this capability, they understand as soon as they encounter it. They know which is the right path to walk on to create blessings among people. So, these people are very impressive.
It continues, as discussed previously, “Lifetime after lifetime, they will be free of any aliments of the mouth”. Their teeth will never be gapped, yellow or black. Their lips will never be too thick, shriveled or deformed. They will be free of all repulsive features. Their tongues will never be dry, dark or short. Their noses will be tall, long and straight, their foreheads broad, smooth and even. Their facial features will all be dignified.
This is telling us that If we are able to constantly encourage people to listen to the sutra and constantly praise them, if they have these causes and conditions, they will naturally receive the fruits and retributions. This is the law of karma. In future lifetimes, “lifetime after lifetime, they will be free of any aliments of the mouth”. In countless lifetimes, they will be free of aliments of the mouth, etc. Their teeth and so on will be even, and their lips will be perfect without deformities. “They will be free of all repulsive features”. People who see them will feel a great affinity and enjoy being around them. Their mouths will not be dry when they speak, and they will speak vey eloquently. So, we should know how to cultivate our karma of speech. As for their appearances, “their noses will be tall, long and straight”. The nose is one of the most obvious of our five features. A nose has many uses, the most important of which is to breathe. It has both a form and a function. So, “Their foreheads are broad, smooth and even”. Their foreheads are very broad, without any wrinkles. Their faces remain very dignified. This is what the previous sutra passage says.
The following sutra passage says, “People will rejoice in seeing them. Their breath will never be foul. The aroma of the udumbara flower will always flow from their mouths”.
This is about the seven orifices on their faces. Before, people may have had these deformities on their face. However, as long as we constantly praise [the Dharma] and [use] good words to encourage people to listen to the sutra, naturally, people “will rejoice in seeing us”. We will all have good affinities with people. Seeing us today, people will hope to see us again tomorrow, to see us very often. We talk and get along well with each other. With no obstruction of the ears, everything we hear will be pleasing. So, when our tone is pleasant, of course, there will be no foul odor in our mouth. When some people speak and so on, the way that they talk is such a delight for people to hear. The kind of atmosphere will be very pleasant.
People will rejoice in seeing them. Their breath will never be foul: Their dignified appearance is extremely precious and difficult to attain. People will rejoice in seeing them. Since their speck is virtuous, they always take joy in giving praise. They ceaselessly listen, practice and encourage others to listen; therefore, they will never have foul breath.
So, “their dignified appearance” does not only mean their face. When we draw near to people, they will feel that our body is very dignified and pure. They will feel that our speech, tone and so on are all very pure. So, a “dignified appearance” is one without any faults. This is “extremely precious”. This truly is very precious. It is “precious and difficult to attain”. It is truly very rare to be able to be so replete with such a perfectly pure face and body. [To have] such a nice physical appearance is truly “extremely precious”. Such a blessed appearance is rare and wondrous. It is “precious and difficult to attain”. This is truly rare and leads people to rejoice. So, “Their speech is virtuous” means that we [use] virtuous speech, and not evil speech, always exhort people to do good and listen to the sutra. We ourselves teach and encourage others to listen. Or, when many people have afflictions, we can help to counsel them so as to help them let go of the sorrow and worries in their hearts. This is all [requires] “speech that is virtuous”. They constantly rejoice and praise for others. They are always rejoicing in and praising others, saying, “You said that so well! You also listened well, and did this well!” They often praise others like this. We “encourage others to listen, but we ourselves must also listen”. We ourselves must also engage in practice, while also encouraging others to listen. We should constantly be doing this. With our mouths, we have a voice [to speak]. We are all able to do this; it is very easy. Through this practice, we can constantly [cultivate] virtuous speech by teaching the Dharma and encouraging others to listen to it also. This is never-ending. “Therefore, they will have foul breath”. Their mouth will not stink and so on. Their tone will be so pleasant.
So, “The aroma of the udumbara flower will always flow from their mouths. From their mouths will always flow the fragrance of the blue lotus flower, also known as the udumbara flower”.
We must earnestly and mindfully seek to comprehend this. This is like in King Ashoka’s era; because he believed in the Buddha, he liked to make offerings. Once, he invited many people from the Sangha. Whether they were young or old, he was very reverent and invited them into the palace to make offerings. Among them was a bhiksu. The king came before him, wanting to personally make an offering to him. As soon as [the bhiksu] opened his mouth to speak, as he bowed before the king and spoke, there was a very elegant fragrance. It was such a pleasant and indescribable fragrance. It was such a delicate fragrance. In his mind, this king wondered, “This bhiksu is so young, why does his mouth have such a nice fragrance? What kind of fragrance is it?” Previously, there had been a rule that things could only be enjoyed at a certain age. The king spoke what he was thinking. “This spiritual practitioner is so young. How can he smell so nice?” This bhiksu quickly explained to him, “No. I am not holding anything in my mouth.” The king did not believe him. “Come, come, come; rinse your mouth with water. If you have anything in your mouth, rinse it out”. He rinsed his mouth several times, but the fragrance still came from his mouth. The king thought this was inconceivable. Then this bhiksu began to say, “I am holding nothing fragrant in my mouth”. He said that his past causes and conditions were in the era of Kasyapa Buddha. In that era people lived for 20,000 years. At the time, as the Dharma was being taught, “I was sitting there when Kasyapa Buddha taught the Dharma. I also praised [the Dharma] in that place. Hearing the Dharma, I marveled at the Buddha’s teaching for being truly subtle and wondrous and praised all those who came to listen. This went on for a very long time in this Dharma-assembly. Even after leaving the Dharma-assembly, I constantly praised how rare it is to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. I constantly encouraged others to listen to the sutra. This was in a past [lifetime], during the time of Kashapa Buddha. From that era until today, I have come lifetime after lifetime, never departing from this path. I likewise practice the Dharma and uphold it and teach it myself, and I encourage others to listen to it. This is the path I took in the past”.
Hearing this, the king felt great respect. He respected these karmic causes and effects, how he never deviated in his spiritual practice. This was his proof. It confirmed [the merits of] hearing the Dharma. If we constantly praise the Dharma in this life, we will also be able to constantly teach the Dharma in our next life. We will not only constantly teach the Dharma, our breath will also be fragrant. So, we must engage in spiritual practice, for as are the karmic causes and conditions, so too are the effects and retributions.
Thus, the following sutra passage says, “Suppose someone goes to a monastery in hopes of hearing the Lotus Sutra and, listening but for a moment, takes joy in it. I will now tell you their blessings”.
This is what this sutra passage tells us. Someone goes to a monastery to listen and encourages others to go and listen, “but for a moment”. Whether we listen in a monastery or in a regular place, when we hear it, our hearts will give rise to joy. A moment is such a short period of time. As soon as we encounter the Dharma, we rejoice. Our minds are transformed and afflictions depart; then, naturally, we are able to let everything go. What we shall attain is a heart that is filled with Dharma-joy. There are great merits and virtues from this. So, in this verse the Buddha said, “I will now tell you their blessings”. Now everyone was beginning to understand and could now begin to analyze and proclaim the Buddha-Dharma, and encourage others to listen to it. These are great merits and virtues that are hard to measure. How great are these merits and virtues? They are truly incalculable. This is what the Lotus Sutra says about rejoicing in others’ merits and virtues. We must understand this clearly. When we listen to the sutra, it is transmitted from another’s voice, and we listen by taking it in with our ears. Everyone’s ears connect with the sound, and then the True Dharma transforms our minds.
In the past, we were full of afflictions. Now, after hearing the Dharma, our thoughts have changed and our afflictions are eliminated. We let go and release from our minds the ignorance that entangles us. We let it all go and are liberated. This is the benefit of hearing the Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma is everlasting and unchanging throughout the ages. In people’s lives, it is always able to guide everyone toward good. It liberates [us] from worldly troubles. This world has manmade calamities and natural disasters. Don’t they begin with what people created? People begin to create karma due to the dusts and afflictions in our hearts. Lifetime after lifetime, our minds are trapped in ignorance and afflictions. It has been this way for a long time. This all arises from a single thought. Once this thought arises, it incites people to [pursue] development by tearing down mountains, forests, etc. This destroys and pollutes the world. This also comes from the continuous instigation of illusory sound. Over time, this accumulation causes a small hole to become the leveling of an entire mountain. It is the same principle; it all takes time.
So, we must earnestly listen to the Dharma and take the principles to heart. Not only must we not cause destruction, but we must also protect [all things]. We humans eat all living things in this world. In the past, one of our Bodhisattvas really wanted to engage in spiritual practice. She made up her mind to engage in practice, but she was too slow [to start]. In the late stages of her cancer, she often regretted this and continued to tell everyone in the hospital, “Whether it was in France or England, as soon as I heard of a dish [I liked], I flew there specifically to eat this dish.” She continuously recounted her past, her karmic retributions and her own regret. While in the hospital, she continuously talked about her past. Why did this happen? Why did she remain so confused? She heard people talking about it, so she wanted to enjoy it and try it for herself. Isn’t this where this kind of human ignorance comes from? So, over time, we become entangled and create more and more karma, becoming lost in these illusory appearances.
Fellow Bodhisattvas, we truly must be liberated, liberated from our ignorance. If we clearly understand [the nature of] sound, we will choose pure and true sounds to pursue. We must not abide amidst defied sounds, tangled up in that ignorance. This is very frightening. Only humans can obtain the Dharma. If we leave our human body and the human realm and are born into the animal realm, then we will be unable to hear the Dharma. We must believe this.
King Ashoka said, “Oh, karmic cause and effect! The law of karmic retribution is wondrous.” In listening, we must be vigilant. It is the same principle. After listening to the Dharma, we must be vigilant. How many blessed retributions do we have? With a vigilant mind, we naturally take joy in hearing the Dharma. After hearing and understanding the principles, we must rejoice in teaching people the Dharma. We must be able to teach others the Dharma and encourage others to [listen to] this profound and wondrous Dharma. “You must keep listening!” Wouldn’t purifying people’s hearts and bringing harmony to society naturally decrease disasters in this world? So, just from a sound, we can follow the direction of that sound to find either karmic forces or merits and virtues. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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