Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Dharma Teachers in the Era of Dharma-Degeneration (末世法師 精進求法)
Date: July.12.2019
“To seek the Dharma, we must do more than merely seek to listen to the Dharma. We must also have sincere faith, and, more importantly, right understanding. We must seek to practice faithfully, and we must seek true realization. The Buddha sought to open and reveal the teachings for sentient beings to realize and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views, thus He taught the Bodhisattva Way.”
We must mindfully seek to comprehend this! There is more to seeking the Dharma than merely seeking, listening to the Dharma and [saying], “Oh, I have heard the Dharma!” If this is all we do, this will not be enough. We may listen to it, but do we understand it? We may listen to the Dharma, but do we have faith in it? Once [we listen], do we put it into practice? Once we put it into action, do we come to any realizations? We must always ask ourselves these questions. By listening to the Dharma, are we slowly proceeding through [the stages] of faith, understanding, practice and realization? Faith, understanding, practice and realization [require] sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness. As we listen to the Dharma, we must adjust our mindset. Are we listening with sincerity? If we listen with sincerity, we will take the Dharma to heart, and once we take the Dharma to heart, we will give rise to faith, faith that the Buddha-Dharma will guide us. We need to have sincere faith. If we lack sincere faith, we will call listening to the Dharma a waste of time. So, in listening to the Dharma, the most important requirement is sincere faith, and even more essential is right understanding. We may have faith, but if we fail to seek understanding from the Buddha’s sutras, then even a slight deviation will always take us far off course. When it comes to the deeper meaning of the words taught within the sutra, if we do not earnestly seek to comprehend them, we are likely to veer off course. For example, in the sutras, there are the eight classes of Dharma-protectors, supernatural beings, heavenly beings and so on coming from all directions. When we hear about them, we might think, “Wow, so these beings supposedly belong to another world, and they come here by their magic powers? I cannot get over this; I cannot understand it.” Or perhaps we think this of the Buddha’s powers. If we [think] this way while seeking to truly understand the Buddha-Dharma, we can get hung up on [our reservations about] these spiritual powers and magical transformations.
In fact, there are very subtle, intricate, deeper principles behind all of these things. For example, in the sutras, there are [description of] millions of people coming to listen to the Dharma, but in today’s world, people are more scientifically minded. They will seek [answers to questions like], “How big was the place where the Buddha taught? How could it possibly hold that many people? Where did all these people come from? How did everyone get there?” It is easy for them to give rise to doubts. This is a result of failing to deeply contemplate the sutras and the Buddha’s deeper, essential meaning behind them. There are two kinds of confusion. One type of confusion comes from knowledge, and the other comes from a lack of knowledge. If all we do is interpret the sutras literally, we will trap ourselves and fail to understand them. So, these are the two types of “confusion”. I hope that everyone reads the sutras with great meticulousness and seeks to understand them very carefully. [This will lead to] “right understanding.” Our first step is sincere acceptance. Only then will we be able to avoid confusion.
The second is right understanding. We need to walk the Middle Way. We must not stray toward emptiness or existence. “Emptiness” is true emptiness. Everything in the world, when analyzed fully and broken down into its core elements, is really nothing; there is nothing there. If we break these things down, we will find their true [principles]. We call the principles of matter “physics”. This is “true emptiness”. [These] non-existent things combine to form existence; this is wondrous existence!
As I am speaking here with the whole world listening, what does my voice sound like? Let us consider [the nature of] sound. My voice is invisible, yet the whole world can hear it. It is thus empty, yet also true. We cannot see it, so it must be empty, yet we are still able to hear it, so it must be true. This is “wondrous existence in true emptiness.” When we break down “wondrous existence,” we find “true emptiness.” I am speaking right now. If I did not have this tiny microphone and went on speaking anyway, those sitting bit farther away from me would be unable to hear me at all. Moreover, [this microphone] enables everyone inside and outside the Abode to hear [my voice], [enabling it] to reach the entire world. Just think, isn’t this something amazing? This is [all thinks to] technological developments. It is only through science and technology that we are able to accomplish this miraculous feat. This is truly incredible. Phenomena are comprised of wondrous existence, and when we break down wondrous existence, we find that all phenomena are non-existent.
Thus, in the Heart Sutra, it says, “The Five Aggregates are all empty.” The Five Aggregates are all empty. When we analyze form, feeling, perception, action and consciousness completely, we find that they all break down into emptiness. [Grasping this], we will be free of afflictions. When we can see and analyze things clearly, we will not be bound by form, feeling, perception, action or consciousness. We will be able to transcend the Five Aggregates. These “aggregates” I keep telling you all about are extremely subtle, infinitesimal changes. We cannot see them, but we can feel them. They are invisible, yet tangible. They accumulate throughout the passage of time. Children grow old; this is a cumulative process happening over time throughout every moment, without pause. These are “infinitesimal changes.” Amidst these infinitesimal changes, our lives are slowly in the process of fading away without us even realizing it. Even when we try to pay attention to them, they are imperceptible to us. Thanks to modern science and technology, we can observe a dark sky until the darkness slowly turns to light. Through technological devise, we can shorten this span of time. We can [shorten] the several hours it takes for the dawn to slowly arrive and condense it into [a video that lasts] a single minute. When we watch it, we can see the sky slowly grow bright. Technology enables us to use time and speed to see [what is really happening]. But in real life, we cannot observe such things [with the naked eye]. If we seek to understand the changes in our body, such as our metabolic processes and all the various changes happening within the body, we are unable to perceive them on our own. They are imperceptible. At one moment we are young, and then we are old. I once had such a youthful appearance. When did I [become old]? Is there a way for me to return to my youth? There is no way. Children think, “I want to be grown up now!” Yet this too is impossible. This must happen along with the passage of time. This follows a proper order, a certain pattern, the laws of nature. So, we need to have faith. This “faithful practice” happens amidst these infinitesimal changes. Thus, in addition to right understanding, we must also seek to practice faithfully. We must have faith in the course of the aggregate of action. Therefore, the Buddha-Dharma is very scientific as well as very philosophical, yet it transcends both science and philosophy. These are extremely deep, profound, subtle and wondrous principles. The Buddha’s enlightenment took place in this way.
So, the people of the world all revere the Buddha. He has explained so many principles, enabling us to mindfully seek to understand them, allowing us to deepen our understanding of the Buddha-Dharma. “Transforming consciousness into wisdom” is something I discuss with everyone often. Our Five Roots come into contact with the Five Dusts, and we apply our knowledge, our consciousness, to analyze and understand [the world]. This all happens within our consciousness. As we connect with the external world, we contemplate it with our consciousness. As we contemplate and analyze [our circumstances], we figure out how to deal with them. This happens very fast; we react instantly. Our cranial nerves connect to our eye-root, which comes into contact with external dusts. This all happens very fast. Our mental processes do not wait, but instantly start to analyze [the situation]. This is happens so fast; in the span of a microsecond, sense organs and sense objects come together, and we analyze them immediately. This is all a matter of our consciousness. This consciousness is merely applicable to our daily lives. We need to take another step forward and transform consciousness into wisdom, just like the Buddha. He transformed consciousness into wisdom. Only by transforming consciousness into wisdom will we be able to fully understand true emptiness and wondrous existence.
So, if we want to thoroughly comprehend true emptiness and wondrous existence, we must “transform consciousness into wisdom.” Thus, now we must “seek to practice faithfully” to be able to comprehend the aggregate of action. Once we clearly understand the aggregate of action, how can we realize wondrous existence in true emptiness amidst these infinitesimal changes? How can we come to comprehend true emptiness? Through which method can we truly comprehend wondrous existence? We “must seek true realization.”
It is because we engage in true cultivation that we are able to truly realize this. This is [why we cultivate] “sincerity, faith and steadfastness.” As we enter the Buddha’s teachings, “faith, understanding, practice and realization” are all we seek. Within these eight words, “faith” alone appears twice. “Faith is the source of the Way, mother of merits. It nurtures all roots of goodness.” Previously, I often discussed the 37 Practices to Enlightenment, which also tell us that faith is very important. In past teachings, I kept saying these words to everyone. Now I must bring them up again to remind everyone that when it comes to the Dharma, we cannot lack faith. Faith is “the source of the Way, mother of merits,” for it gives birth to all roots of goodness. Long-enduring, it nurtures all roots of goodness. So, we must have faith; this is very important. We must faithfully accept the Buddha-Dharma, and we especially need right faith and right understanding. This is crucial.
The Buddha came to offer us proof [of the Dharma]. The Buddha came to the world for one great cause, which was to “open and reveal the teaching for sentient beings to realize and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views and to “teach the Bodhisattva Way”.
The Buddha came to the world for one great causes; He only had one goal, which was to teach everyone the true principles so that sentient beings would be able to awaken. Everyone is equal to the Buddha. The Buddha advocated for equality among all people. It is not just that all people are equal; all sentient beings are equal. The difference between people and animals lies only in their appearance for all life is equal. “All life is equal” means that all life follows the same principles. When we want to research human illness to find out the cause of illness and how to treat it, we [rely upon] animal testing. Their bodies may be different from ours, yet the underlying structures are the same. People in the past would always say “They’ve got a fly’s liver” or a “mosquito’s stomach” to describe an intolerant, narrow-minded person. They are such tiny things. Really! When a mosquito bites you, and you quickly smash it, if the mosquito had any blood in it, it is because it sucked out you blood so that it could go on living. Just because of a small itch, you reached out your hand to smash it. Your hand reacts with such speed. It only wants a drop of your blood, just a little bit and yet you want to take its entire life. People today only wish to satisfy their cravings. They fill their mouths [with meat], and within a few seconds, it is gone. We raise countless animals only to sacrifice them to satisfy our cravings. There is nothing more to it. This is what causes inequality in life. People not only treat animals unequally; people also people as if they were unequal. We separate on another by social class, producing [distinctions between] the rich and poor, noble and lowly.
The Buddha came to the world to open and reveal [the Dharma] to sentient beings. Everyone must awaken to it. There are countless deep, profound, subtle and intricate principles, and they are all contained within the Dharma. We contain countless principles. We just spoke of flies and mosquitoes. Let us go back to discussing people. These principles encompass the universe and are very vast, so how can we analyze them? This takes time. So, the Buddha-Dharma is as deep as the ocean and as vast as the sky. This is the nature of the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha came to explain it to us, to “open and reveal” it to us, and so we sentient beings must “realize and enter” [these teachings] and verify them for ourselves. We must verify them, experience them personally and seek to understand them. The Buddha taught so many principles. If we don’t verify them for ourselves, then what good is our faith? If all we have is faith alone, we will be unable to demonstrate and realize [the Dharma]. So, we all must be very mindful. The Buddha’s understanding and views show us that we are equal to the Buddha. The Buddha can transform consciousness into wisdom. He understands everything He sees as soon as He encounters it. He has become one with the principles of all things in the universe. Every object contains all the principles of the universe, and as soon as He sees something, all the principles become perfectly clear to Him. This is the Buddha’s understanding and views. Is it only the Buddha who has this ability? We all have this ability and are thus equal to the Buddha. The Buddha came to teach us about “equality”. This is what people meant by saying, “Human nature is inherently good”. The Buddha tells us that it has been this way since Beginningless Time. We are transmigrating throughout the Six Realms, and are currently human beings. The law of karma makes distinctions between good and evil and determines whether we go to the human or animal realm or the heaven realm or hell realm. By completely understanding one principle, the Buddha can understand all principles. He saw that every matter encompass [the principles] of the universe. This is the Buddha’s understanding and views. If we want to truly comprehend the Buddha’s understanding and views, we must walk the Bodhisattva-path. We must go deeply among people to experience everything in the world and understand all the suffering of the world, cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. “When others suffer, I grieve”. Only when sentient beings become as one with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will there be a way to bring all the principles of the universe together. After truly awakening to the Buddha-Dharma, the Buddha came to open and reveal it for sentient beings so that they may realize and enter the Buddha’s state.
This means we must walk the Bodhisattva-path, but where does the Bodhisattva-path lead? Here, it says, “All must enter the Lotus Sutra to seek unsurpassed Bodhi”.
All must enter the Lotus Sutra to seek unsurpassed Bodhi. By faith, understanding, practice and realization, we will realize and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views. Let us seek to attain the Dharma-essence of unsurpassed Bodhi, the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flowers Sutra.
From the Lotus Sutra, we can seek unsurpassed Bodhi, or great awakening. In our search for great awakening, we must never deviate from “faith, understanding, practice and realization”. This was the Buddha’s one great cause in coming to this world, to reveal the Dharma for us to realize and enter. This was His purpose for coming to the world. So, we must work hard to be mindful as we “seek to attain unsurpassed Bodhi”. In this lifetime, we are able to hear and seek out the Dharma. We must seek to attain unsurpassed Bodhi, the One Great Vehicle Dharma of the Lotus Sutra, for the Lotus Sutra is “the Dharma-essence” behind all sutra. The Lotus Sutra is the king of all sutras. What does it mean to be king of all sutras? This is just like how, if we wish to survive, our body must be able to produce blood cells. This is why we created bone marrow databases to store information about [people’s] bone marrow. Slowly, with great effort, we have found a way to save lives. How can we save a person who has lost the ability to produce blood cells? We can make use of another person’s ability to make blood cells, their stem cells, and match them with a patient to save the patient’s life. This is [an example] from medical science. In the end, after studying many individuals, hundreds of thousands of people, we might only be able to find one match. This requires us to search all the way to the ends of the earth before we can find a stem cell match for them.
Learning the Buddha-Dharma is the same; there are so many sutras, where should we begin our search? We should start our search with the Lotus Sutra, for it is the king of all sutras. Since it contains the essence of the Dharma, it is like a “Dharma-marrow”. This is the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. I hope everyone can understand this clearly.
Otherwise, when we start the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Dharma Teachers, we will have a much harder time. First we must grasp the [previous chapters of] the sutra that we have spent so long discussing. We have already reach Chapter 19. We have just finished the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Joy. Before that was the Chapter on Distinguishing Merits and Virtues. The Lotus Sutra [contains] the teachings of the manifest and the intrinsic. The teaching of the manifest uses stories and images from the external world to analyze the principles for us. After this, we entered the door of the intrinsic, which demonstrates the close relationship between sentient beings and the Buddha. Our Buddha-nature, sentient beings’ nature of True Suchness, is one and the same. So, [to attain] “merits and virtues, we must work and hard at our internal cultivation. As for our external [practice], we can guide and teach people and put [the Dharma] into action to influence others, transforming them to enter the Buddha’s teachings. We must cultivate ourselves inwardly and truly empty ourselves before we can take care of others and help them succeed. These are all merits and virtues.
The previous chapter, Chapter 18, [the Chapter on] the Merits and Virtues of Joy, briefly describes those who accept and uphold [the sutra] themselves while also advising others to listen to the sutra. Even if they just explain a single verse to them in accordance with their capabilities, the merits and virtues of their joy will be limitless.
Chapter 18 [say that] in addition to cultivating ourselves, we must also advise others to listen to the Dharma so they can understand the essence of the Dharma’s principles. This is how we gain merits and virtues. But how do Dharma teachers uphold the Dharma? How do they teach sentient beings? This is what it means to be a teacher. We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. So, [this chapter] simply and briefly describes how we must “accept and uphold” [the sutra] ourselves and advise others to listen to the sutra. This is discussed in Chapter 18, which explains to us in a very simple way that accepting and upholding [the sutra] ourselves is very important, but encouraging others to listen to the sutra is also very important. These very important principles are explained in such a simple way. This helps us understand that [we can gain merits and virtues] even if we just explain a single verse to others in accordance with their capabilities. The sutras have so much to teach us. The Buddha taught the Lotus Sutra for seven years; he was actually able to encourage people to listen to the sutras. There are so many sutras, and these sutras are so long. Even if we explain just a single verse to them and they are able to understand it, we can take joy in their merits and virtues. So long as we advise others to listen and they are able to comprehend as single verse, we will be able to praise them, “Wow, not bad, not bad! The Dharma is so profound, but you understand this verse so clearly! You are amazing! This is really not easy to do”. We can keep praising them. This is called taking joy in others’ merits and virtues. When others hear and understand the Dharma, we do not stand beside them and say, “I am better than them! They only understand one verse, but I know two!” We do not do this. When some gets praised for knowing one verse, the one who knows two verses musty quickly praise the person who knows only one verse. In this way, we share in the joy; by taking joy in others’ merits and virtues anytime and anywhere, we open our hearts. We should not have “a fly’s liver or “a mosquito’s stomach. We must open our hearts and minds. The merits and virtues of praising others and sharing in the joy are so numerous that they are limitless.
“When people diligently accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe [the sutra] with utmost sincerity and constancy, since their karmic conditions are extraordinary, the merits and virtues they reap will surely be plentiful. Thus, next, the Buddha taught about the merits and virtues of Dharma teachers”.
Thus, after the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Joy, we all understand that we must accept and uphold this sutra ourselves and also advise others to accept and uphold it. We all listen to the sutra and accept and uphold it with great diligence. We all must come to accept, uphold, read, recite, expound and transcribe it. [We must] “accept and uphold, read and recite, expound and transcribe [the sutra] “with utmost sincerity and constancy”. We must always conduct ourselves like this, without interruption; “constancy” means without interruption. Since our karmic conditions are extraordinary, the merits and virtues we “reap” will surely be plentiful.
Thus “next, the Buddha taught about…”. He kept on teaching, for He had to teach about the merits and virtues of dharma Teachers. We need to be very mindful. Next is Chapter 19. In this moment, we must truly be mindful.
This chapter, Chapter 19, clearly explains how Dharma teachers in this era of Dharma-degeneration [carry] their causal seeds from their past lives within then and [reach] beyond themselves to rely on the Buddha-Dharma that it may permeate them. Through constant, diligent practice, they whole-heartedly seek the Dharma with courage.
Here, this tells us about “this chapter, Chapter 19,” which discusses “Dharma teachers in the era of Dharma-degeneration”. This explains and clarifies that in this era of Dharma-degeneration, if we truly wish to enter the Buddha’s teachings and engage in spiritual practice ourselves, we must also teach others how to engage in spiritual practice. We must be just like these people, these Dharma teachers, who carry “their causal seeds from their past lives” within them. They did not just start sowing seeds in this life. They started sowing seeds countless lifetimes ago. As they sow seeds throughout lifetime after lifetime, [the Dharma] permeates them constantly. Thus, it says that “They [carry] their causal seeds from their past lives within them”. “Past” here refers to their previous lives from many distant lifetimes ago. We have already formed the affinities to practice this Dharma. We came here along this path. Everyone, everyone [here], already possesses these causes and conditions, these seeds. We reach beyond ourselves to rely on the Buddha-Dharma that it may permeate us. [Someone] told us the Dharma was good, and we knew we had to listen to it. We have this seed from our past lives, so now that we can encounter the Buddha-Dharma, we must listen without delay. We must come to examine it again; we have studied it in past [lives], and now we must examine it again. People in the past used to say, “Wow, this person must have studied this in a past life!” Since they must have studied this in a past life, even if I explain it very simply, they will quickly come to understand it. They can study and acquire great expertise at a very fast pace. People in the past would say that they must have studied this I a past life. Thus, they “[reach] beyond themselves to rely on the Buddha-Dharma that it may permeate them”. Now we all talk about being “permeated by the fragrance of the Dharma”. We must take in [the Dharma] once more. First, we have this karmic seed, and now we must hear [the Dharma] once more to awaken what we possess from our past lives. We have heard [the Dharma] before. We must awaken this karmic seed once more. This requires us to reach beyond ourselves to rely on the Buddha-Dharma that it may permeate us. In our “constant, diligent practice,” we listen to the Dharma and seem to understand it. Once we understand it, we must [put it into practice] all the more diligently. The more we practice, the more joyful we will be. When we take the Buddha-Dharma to heart, we will be filled with Dharma-joy. This means we have attained the Dharma, and we are full of Dharma-joy. The merits and virtues of this are limitless. To “wholeheartedly seek the Dharma with courage” [requires] diligence.
When we accept and uphold this Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, we unite matters and principles, and our Roots and Dusts both become pure. The wondrous [interplay] of the Six Roots, Dusts and Consciousnesses stems from our intrinsic nature. Thus, the Buddha said, “With these merits and virtues, they will dignify their Six Roots”.
“When we accept and uphold this Wondrous Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra,” we are able to “understand matters and unite them with the principles”. We understand matters and everything that we perceive in the world today through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body as these roots connect with our external world. As I talk about these things now, you might say, “Ah, I understand!” When our Five Roots connect with external conditions, the Five Dusts, our mind-consciousness connects with the Five Roots and Five Dusts. By connecting with these conditions, we instantly recognize sizes and shapes, which become completely clear to us. Then, through contemplation, as these forms instantly appear before us, we come to discern between them. This is called “understanding matters”. When we unite these matters with the principles, this produces knowledge.
“Understanding matters” is a matter of knowledge. What about “uniting with the principles”? This is wisdom; this is “transforming knowledge into wisdom”. The Lotus Sutra enables us to “understand matters and unite them with the principles”. We [perceive] the external people, matters and objects in our lives and, within our minds, we unite these external conditions with the principles. The Buddha-Dharma is inseparable from our lives; we are inseparable from it. In doing this, “our Roots and Dusts both become pure”. Although our sense organs connect to external conditions, the external world of sense objects, our minds will remain pure and undefiled by the external conditions. We will see pretty things without coveting them, and when we hear unpleasant words, we will not give rise to discursive thoughts. This will happen once we have united matters and principles. So, our Roots, the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, give us sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. When these external conditions are unable to disturb our minds, this is called purity. “Our Roots and Dusts both become pure”. This is “the wondrous [interplay] of the Six Roots, Dusts and Consciousnesses”. How do the Six Roots, Dusts and Consciousnesses interact in this defiled world? How can we perfect our knowledge and wisdom in our lives and in the world? [We must practice] the Middle Way. If all we do is study [the sutras], detaching ourselves from worldly life, looking with disdain upon common people, then these common people will look upon spiritual practitioners and think, “How can you remove yourself from civilization? How do you make a living? You are going against the grain. This is wrong”. This is not spiritual practice, but attachment. Attachment leads to prejudice and bias. A slight deviation can take us far off course. If we think this is spiritual practice, that this is pure and correct, we are completely wrong. A slight deviation has led us far off course. So, this all “stems from our intrinsic nature. Thus, the Buddha said, with these merits and virtues, they will dignify their Six Roots”. If we are able to understand right from wrong, we will be able to unite matters and principles. [Through the interplay] of Roots, external Dusts and Consciousnesses, we can clearly discern between matters. This all goes into our storehouse consciousness. In our storehouse consciousness, within our intrinsic nature, if we can clearly understand worldly matters and filter through them, we will see that our intrinsic nature and the Buddha’s are equally pure. This will slowly become clear to us. For everything we come to know and understand through the sutras, we must accept it, uphold it and put it to use. In this way, we will naturally attain merits and virtues to dignify our Six Roots. In this way, we will gain further clarity. So, we must mindfully seek to comprehend this, and our strengths will become all the more apparent to us. The more we listen, the more we will understand.
So, “’Merits’ come from the ability to inwardly cultivate ourselves. ’Virtues’ come from the ability to outwardly practice and uphold [the teachings]. By cultivating inwardly and practicing outwardly they are replete with both merits and virtues and are also perfectly replete with the 6000 blessed virtues. Thus, they are known as our model Dharma teachers replete with virtues.”
So, if we want to be a Dharma teacher, we must work so hard at our own inward cultivation that outwardly, we are able to handle people and matters perfectly and harmoniously. What we “practice and uphold” here is good character, or “virtue.” Through inward cultivation and outward practice, we will be replete with both merits and virtues. Through self-cultivation, we will be able to get along with others in perfect harmony. When we engage in spiritual practice while getting along harmoniously with others, we will be “replete with both merits and virtues, and [will] also be perfectly replete with the 6000 blessed virtues. Perfectly replete with the 6000 blessed virtues” means that the merits and virtues of our Six Roots will all be apparent and perfect. Here, each thousand represents how each root [connects with] the [corresponding] dust and consciousness to form a thousand merits and virtues. With Six Roots, Six Dusts and Six Consciousnesses, we will be “perfectly replete with the 6000 blessed virtues.” [People] like these are “model Dharma teachers replete with virtues.” So, we must keep on listening to the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Dharma Teachers. We must understand the previous chapters clearly.
Earlier in the sutra, [we learned] that if we know what our goal is, if our direction and destination are clear to us, we will not lose our way along this path. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)