Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Share in the Joy of the Virtuous Dharma Together (隨喜善法 自他同行)
Date: July.15.2019
“We must share in the joy of the virtuous Dharma and practice both on our own and with others. This explains how we attain blessed fruits by rejoicing alongside others. We must not go against others’ good deeds, but rather follow along with their actions. We must sincerely engage in spiritual practice and cultivate inner causes and external conditions, nourish our own Dharma-marrow and help others grow their wisdom-life.”
Dear Bodhisattvas, we must be mindful. We must mindfully listen to the Dharma. We must listen in this way and sincerely receive the benefits. Everyone, please be mindful! “We must share in the joy of the virtuous Dharma and practice both on our own and with others. This explains how we attain blessed fruits by rejoicing alongside others.” We must mindfully seek to comprehend this. Haven’t we spent a long time continuously talking about sharing in the joy of merits and virtues?
Although the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Joy has already come to an end, it continues on [in the sense that the Buddha] never stops telling us to share in joy. Sharing in joy is a beautiful virtue. We truly should cultivate this mindset that [enables us] to share in the joy [of the Dharma]. When we share in this joy, our hearts will open wide. When we [encounter] the Dharma, our hearts will give rise to joy. As we share in the joy of the Dharma, we should practice according to its teachings. We must accept and uphold the Dharma ourselves. Accepting and upholding the Dharma means taking it into our hearts and putting the Dharma to use by applying it through our actions. How can we make sure we will uphold it forever? [To do so], we must form aspirations and make vows to work hard at our own spiritual practice, while also helping others to succeed. This is the Buddha’s [greatest] hope and His one great cause for coming to the world, to teach the Bodhisattva Way. Bodhisattvas must save and transform sentient beings. Sentient beings face [internal] mental suffering and all kinds of external hardships. All this suffering comes from the karmic conditions that they have created and accumulated. To transform sentient beings, we must respond to their suffering, whether internal or external, and relieve them of it. This means that we must go among people. When we go among people, language is the best tool we have for transforming others. We should say what we need to say. As we seek to help others, we must be very sincere and genuine. [But] it’s not good enough to know this ourselves; we also need to know how to get even more people to join in. There are so many people. If we cannot help them understand, then how will we ever awaken their hearts? If their hearts are not awakened, then how will they ever take action? If we act without love, then we are not Bodhisattvas, for Bodhisattvas are “beings of awakened love”. So, if we want to go among people to transform sentient beings and become Bodhisattvas, then we must form one aspiration after another and make vow after vow to help others. This all begins with our very first aspiration. This is like how, in an organization, the person who leads the group is the first person [in the group]. If they have not taken these teachings to heart, if relieving others’ hardships and suffering is not [foremost] in their minds, then no matter what they do, they will never be able to unite everyone’s strengths. If a Bodhisattva has never learned the Dharma, then by what means can they transform others? So, we need to be very mindful. Since we have formed aspirations, we must make sure to cultivate this mindset of sharing in the joy [of the Dharma]. We must help many people to share in this joy and this compassion, so that they may also devote themselves to guiding sentient beings. Only then will our Dharma become useful in the world. The first person leads this group until the group grows to 50 people. Those fifty people are able to come and share in that first person’s aspiration. This is how it needs to be.
Everyone must become like that first person and lead [another] group of 50 people; then, the Buddha-Dharma will spread everywhere. Otherwise, the Buddha-Dharma will never be able to spread among and transform people. So, we should train ourselves to “share in the joy of the virtuous Dharma and practice both on our own and with others.” We do this ourselves, and we also do it to transform others to do it together with us. To “practice both on our own and with others” and “awaken ourselves and others with perfect awakened conduct” is what it means to be a Bodhisattva. We start from the stage of unenlightened beings; we are just beginners. So, this is the scope of our learning. “We must share in the joy of the virtuous Dharma and practice both on our own and with others.” We must be mindful of these words.
Continuing on, [it says], “This explains how we attain blessed fruits by rejoicing alongside others.” We need to be especially clear about this; besides the group we are leading, we also need to praise people leading other groups. If others find it difficult to lead, then we must teach them. “You have to lead in this way if you want your team to be orderly.” We should not just [praise] our own [group], but the people beside us as well; we must also “rejoice alongside others”. We cannot just [focus] on our own practice; we also need to [help] our neighbor; we must teach them how to practice and lead so that everyone will gain insights. “Blessed fruits” are the insights we gain. The moment we joyfully realize them, we gain these blessings. If our leadership does not bring others joy, however hard we work, we will never gain merits, because they will never realize Dharma-joy and thus will not take the Dharma to heart. I hope we can clearly understand this in detail. “We must not go against others’ good deeds, but rather follow along with their actions.” Whether others do good deeds, we must join them and follow along in the same direction. We “must not go against” them, meaning that we must follow along with them. “We must not go against others’ good deeds, but rather follow along with their actions.” We must not think that we are such good leaders that our way is the only way and continuously stick to our own ways forever. Just think, if everyone was this self-important, how could the Buddha have ever spread the Dharma in the world? How could we ever spread the Dharma in the world? So, we all must have this [humble mindset]. To practice the Dharma, we must have Dharma-joy. We should take care of one another and join forces with one another. “We must not go against others’ good deeds, but rather follow along with their actions.” The very first leader must guide sentient beings in this way. So, we “take refuge in the Three Treasures.” We take refuge in the Sangha.We must understand how to lead people harmoniously. We want to lead people, but how do we go about leading them harmoniously? We can do so by uniting their hearts.We want to move forward in the direction of the Buddha-Dharma. Anyone can lead others, but they still need to have a direction. By the same principle, [we must] “comprehend the great path, form the supreme aspiration and delve deeply into the sutra treasury, which contains wisdom as vast as the ocean, to lead people harmoniously, without obstruction.” f there are barriers between us, then we are already divided. Divisions will cause us to obstruct one another, so we must all be very careful about this. We must “sincerely engage in spiritual practice and cultivate inner causes and external conditions.” Since we have formed aspirations, we must “sincerely engage in spiritual practice.” It is only by forming genuine aspirations with sincerity, integrity, faith and steadfastness that we can pave the way for faith, vows and actions. Our “inner cause” us what drives us to uphold our vows for so long. When our causes and conditions ripen, we encounter the Buddha-Dharma out in the world and encounter the suffering in sentient beings’ lives. The internal and the external come together. Our causes and conditions are very important. Although we might form aspirations, if the external conditions are not right, we will never get the chance to act on them. So, we must “sincerely engage in spiritual practice and cultivate inner causes and external conditions.” We must make sure to do this. We must “nourish our own Dharma-marrow and help others grow their wisdom-life.” We want to nourish ourselves, to nourish our Dharma-marrow. Our nature of True Suchness equals the Buddha’s, but if we do not cherish it, we will ceaselessly accumulate affliction until our True Suchness is obscured by endless afflictions. We have the inner causes now that enable us to encounter the Buddha-Dharma. We are able to have these causes and conditions, but if we do not know to earnestly grasp them and use these causes and conditions to nourish our wisdom-life, then we are wasting our time. When our external conditions resonate with our wisdom-life, this is our nourishment.
This is our Dharma-marrow. Our Dharma-marrow relies upon our external karmic conditions which cause our wisdom-life to grow. This is like a person who lacks the ability to make blood cells and has to search all over to find a match. Only one person out of hundreds of thousands will be a bone marrow match, who can help them grow [new marrow]. We can never know exactly how many lifetimes our wisdom-life might go without nourishment. We are just like a sick person who has lost the ability to make blood cells. So, for lifetime after lifetime, we have been unenlightened beings, constantly acquiring afflictions and ignorance that cause us to lose our wisdom-life. I am using this analogy of a sick person. As unenlightened beings, haven’t we also lost something, just like this sick person who has lost the ability to make blood cells? It will not be easy. We might have to live through many human lifetimes before we get another chance to encounter the Bodhisattva-practice. These causes and conditions have given us a chance to witness and the opportunity to see this as our spiritual training ground. We rely on their wisdom-life and “help others grow their wisdom-life.” No matter what, we must rely on them, for we are like a sick person, unable to make our own blood cells, who has searched, found and accepted [their match] to help us [sustain] our life. This is how we nourish our wisdom-life. This is the Dharma-marrow.
If we Dharma-marrow is healthy, then we will be able to help others. We can find a match and help them nourish their wisdom-life too. The principle is the same. We attain and help others to attain the merits and virtues of “sharing in the joy of the virtuous Dharma,” which we were just talking about. This is the meaning of “practicing both on our own and with others.” We have remained unenlightened for many kalpas. As are just like just that person who has lost their ability to make blood cells; we have been losing it continuously over the course of a many lifetimes. Our nature of True Suchness has been obscured all this time. For us to have reached this point in this life is no simple feat. If we do not make the most of this to nourish our wisdom-life, then that would truly be a pity. So, we must “sincerely engage in spiritual practice and cultivate inner causes and external conditions, nourish our own Dharma-marrow and help others grow their wisdom-life.” Everyone, please be mindful of this; earnestly study this and ask yourselves why [this is important]. What is this Dharma trying to tell us? When I use this analogy, do you understand? This is how we unite matters with the principles. We must be mindful.
We are now preparing to enter the Chapter on Dharma Teachers’ Merits and Virtues. This is the teaching of the intrinsic, so it will certainly reunite us with our Buddha-nature. Every teaching serves to reunite us with our nature of True Suchness. The principles of the teaching of the intrinsic might seem very simple, but when we try to understand them, we find that they are very profound. To [learn] the Dharma, we always need to have the right karmic conditions. You see, during the morning Dharma lecture, everyone is listening to the Dharma. Only those who listen attentively can apply it. If we do not listen attentively, then we will be “unable to transform [others]”. In a far-away place, halfway around the world, in Africa, Bodhisattvas from the Us and Taiwan came together and went to Africa. They went to this place because there are countless suffering people in Africa who need Bodhisattvas to save and transform them. Only with the Dharma can Bodhisattvas transform others. The karmic conditions that brought our Bodhisattvas to this place began in 1994. During that year, here in Taiwan, we collect ed a lot of old, second-hand clothing. After sorting it all out, we sent it to Africa. In that place, Tzu Chi volunteers came across this opportunity and started distributing second-hand clothes there; this brought them great joy, and they all gained so much from the experience. So, it was around that time that Tzu Chi volunteers began practicing locally. They started spreading the Dharma there, and they have never stopped since. There is a lay practitioner named Zhou there, Mr. Zhou Xianbin, who is very diligent and experienced; He has taken care of Africa ever since that time. While listening to the sutra, he came to deeply realize how hard I am working for the sake of sentient beings to finish teaching the Lotus Sutra. Through his deep realization of my intent, he began to form aspirations to spread the Dharma all over Africa. He has always maintained this aspiration, but how would he find the karmic conditions that would enable him to succeed in this mission? There is someone [in his family], his wife’s brother-in-law, who is his relative by marriage, whom he knew was in Malawi. Of all the countries in Africa, Malawi suffers from the most hardships and poverty. This Was 2400 kilometers away from Zhou, so this was very far away! He traveled such a long way to that place to guide and transform his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law, Mr. Lin had his own karmic conditions in that place. This is how they began to join forces, all for the sake of Malawi. How could they learn more about [the Malawians]? How could they help them? There was a time when Tzu Chi volunteers in Durban and Johannesburg got together to hold a retreat for advanced certification training. When the training camp was finished, they met a young man at the train station, a local Malawi youth. There is no one our Tzu Chi volunteers will not transform. They asked him things like, “Where are you from?” and so on. He replied, “I’m from Malawi. I’m here on a business trip, and I’m about to return home”. They started telling him about Tzu Chi and so on, including all of Tzu Chi’s teachings. They kept talking to him here on the train, telling him about Tzu Chi’s volunteers, missions and teachings. This made this Malawian youth very happy. So, he said, “I would love to join a group like this. I would love to devote myself to serving the poor”. And with that, it was decided. Though they lived so far away from each other, they continuously corresponded and sent each other messages. Information technology is so advanced. They kept sending each other messages. Having found out about Tzu Chi, he joined, gradually got involved and came to understand us. It was during a spiritual retreat that his understanding deepened even further. When he arrived home, he explained everything to his brothers there. When his elder brother heard about it, he also thought it must be a very good thing. United by the same aspiration, they willingly devoted themselves to helping the local poor. So, because of this, when Michael Pan went to South Africa again, he shared this news with them. So. Everyone started getting ready, the local senior Tzu Chi volunteers that first generation Tzu Chi volunteers, over 10 people in total, went to Malawi, traveling 2400 kilometers just to go there. When they saw this place, they said, “Oh my! The people in this country are suffering so much”. Even the local volunteers the first generation of volunteers in South Africa could hardly believe it. Though they lived in South Africa and had seen so many people in hardship before, they had never seen such bitter hardships as in Malawi. We can see this from their descriptions, but is there any way for us to really know how much suffering they face there?
So, they began to form aspirations. What could they do to help? When they went to assess [the poverty there], they discovered just how sad things really are. What could they do to help them? The first case they saw was a granny who was very old, a very sad old woman. That old woman had two sons. One son had already gone abroad, while the other son had a mental illness that sometimes would flare up. When did this happen? His mental illness flared up whenever he drank alcohol. When they went to her house and looked around, there were no doors. The doors had all been sealed. While they were there, they tried to understand why the old woman’s family was so poor. Eventually, she took them inside and showed them her house. There was nothing in it, but the place was filthy, even with nothing in it. The house did not feel like a home at all. Though it was made out of stacks of bricks, it was full of holes. So, this house was on the verge of collapse. It was dilapidated beyond description. Even the locals from South Africa thought, “How can they suffer like this? How can they possibly be so poor? They couldn’t bear it; they had to do something. They started by quickly fixing up the old woman’s house. They started to get busy fixing her house. They needed dirt! They needed cement! They did the work themselves and were quick to lead the other local people. The local people there are also very special. Everyone is very poor, but they do not take issue with things. They were able to work together to do this good deed, and this made them very happy. This was the poor helping the poor. They were all happy to lend a hand. So, the Tzu Chi volunteers there bought the cement to mix with dirt. Everyone began to mobilize to help this old woman, using the local method of mixing cement with dirt to spread on the walls. Although spreading this on the walls seems crude, it began to look like a house. When everyone saw this, they rejoiced, especially those two brothers. This brought Mike and Charlie, the two brothers, so much joy. Then, Tzu Chi began recruiting local volunteers who formed aspirations and made vow there so that everyone would do good deeds.
Tzu Chi volunteers came again a second time. They prepared to distribute some things. Just bringing those things there was very difficult because they had to go through customs each time and go through inspections, so many inspections. They went through physical inspections, and their goods were inspected as well. Because of the many contagious diseases there, when people from outside want to go in, they must first receive vaccinations and show proof of it before they can enter. On top of this, they had [many] things to bring with them. This was truly very exhausting.
When they went this time, in addition to assessing [the poverty] there, they also went to distribute [relief] supplies. They had prepared to face all these various difficulties. Anywhere, it was quite a sight to see; it was not shocking, but inspiring and moving. When they started going there, the more the locals saw them, the friendlier they became. Twice before, they had seen them come with supplies. Thinking they would all get something, they all immediately began to line up. However, when [the volunteers] saw that so many people were there, they had to tell them, “The supplies are limited. Do you think you could give up your share to someone in a sadder situation than yourself, to someone in poorer health or to someone with kinds who might need it more? Could you give up your share for them?” They quickly came to understand the principle and, one after another, gave up their share. This is not a simple matter; this is the first time I have seen such a situation. Only a few people left in line were able to get supplies from us, and yet the people who received nothing were also rejoicing. They were happy to see the others get something. They were happy to become the kind of person who is capable of helping others. This alone is true joy, true attainment. I believe the people there are extremely wise. “If you want to be a volunteer, we will give you a vest to wear. When they received those volunteer vests, their joy was indescribable.
Among them; there was a tribal chief. When we first arrived there, he was very skeptical. “What are you doing here? Mr. Pan guided him gradually, telling him about Tzu Chi. “Perhaps you can take us to see people who are suffering.” [The chief] haughtily replied, “Fine, if you want to see suffering people, I will take you there.” He took them to a village over a hill, where life was much more difficult indeed, a place of indescribable suffering. Our Tzu Chi volunteers used their sincere and loving attitudes to approach these people in suffering. They knelt down to meet them at their level, not caring if they were smelly or dirty. This is how they comforted them. These people sat on the ground, and the Tzu Chi volunteers did the same. Even the Chinese Tzu Chi volunteers did the same as those local people, the chief was deeply moved by this. Michael Pan said, “This is what we want to do. Do you think you would like to help us?” The chief began to nod his head “If you want to help, come squat down like we are and care for the people like we do. Come speak with them”. Just like the Tzu Chi volunteers, he truly humbled himself, sitting on the ground to speak with like this. Later Mr. Pan asked him, “Would you like to join our team of volunteers?” He was glad to join. He wanted to wear the volunteer vest. He got one, but don’t our vests have a button in the front? He hasn’t even opened it up yet; he was so happy to receive it that he did not open up the button on the vest. He tried to put it on [over his head]. Michael Pan opened up the button for him, then started helping him put the vest on. [The chief] began to tame his arrogance and went to work alongside the Tzu Chi volunteers.
This is how live can tame [arrogance] so that we can all do good deeds together. This is what it means to “sincerely engage in spiritual practice and cultivate inner causes and external conditions”. However, there is also the need to form initial aspirations. Mr. Zhou understood that I am staying alive as long as I can in order to finish teaching this Dharma so that everyone can understand it. In the far-off place half a world away, they were willing to do all of this. When we form aspirations to spread the Dharma, there will be people who follow us until we reach our destination. No matter how far the road is, even 2400 kilometers, they are willing to go back and forth to help others. Think about it, isn’t this what it means to listen to and spread the Dharma? Isn’t this what it means to share in the joy of others’ merits and virtues? From their own home, from Durban to Johannesburg, it is already several hundred kilometers, but they are constantly going back and forth to gather together there. They have already trained local volunteers there. Tzu Chi has crossed borders [throughout Africa]. We are now leading people in seven countries there. Now, [in 2018], we have begun [operations] in an eighth country. This place is very poor, but they have bought the Dharma there. We have faith in this place. If we go there again to get to know them, we will widely transform the sentient beings there. When our love arrives, this place will receive our material assistance. When those materials arrive, our spiritual ideals will help support this place. In that land, they will naturally be able to spread those seeds. So, these are Bodhisattvas. They are all Bodhisattvas. Now, we must be very mindful, for we have [just finished] the Chapter on the Merits and Virtues of Joy. After listening to this Dharma, we must come to understand what it means to share in this joy. How do we share in this joy? What are merits and virtues? Can we attain them just by sharing in this joy? If we do not put in the effort to cultivate ourselves inwardly and practice outwardly, how can we attain any merits and virtues? Can we attain them just by listening? It does not work like this. Once we listen to the Dharma, we must accept and uphold it. Once we accept and uphold it, we can go on to spread it, and once we spread it, we can share in the joy. We want it to [extend] from that first person and reach all the way to the fiftieth person. This cannot be done just by saying, “I told you, so you go tell him” We would never reach fifty people that way. They must form aspirations. We must look after them until they form aspirations. Take our Tzu Chi commissioners, for example. They exercise their recruiting skills and share their experiences with the volunteers, who in turn form aspirations to become commissioners themselves. Once they become certified, they go on again to recruit more volunteers. In this way, each group leads the next, passing it on from generation to generation. This is what it truly means to “share in the joy of merits and virtues”.
In the past few decades, Tzu Chi has been able to bring [our] Four Missions to fruition in Taiwan. We have even gone internationally to over 90 countries for disaster relief work. In more than 50 countries, we conduct operations, spread seeds and help them take root. We are able to do this because of our experienced volunteers. They start by [training] one, two or three people, all of whom go on to become that first person by forming [their own] groups. In this way, they constantly spread the Dharma and recruit [new volunteers], gathering everyone together one by one. [Without them], how could we possibly have accomplished so many things? So, each of our experienced volunteers has passed the Dharma on to fifty people, who all go on to transform countless others. They cultivate the land wherever they go, sowing the seeds of goodness everywhere. How many have they sowed?
In South Africa, since 1994, we have sent several containers of used clothing there. When they received these things, they became inspired to help with the relief work. Face with so many impoverished people who all needed this second-hand clothing, they all started to feel that they could not bear for them to suffer. So, they began to take part themselves and form volunteer teams. Everyone, united by a common aspiration, began to implement the Tzu Chi model, constantly working closely together with the Tzu Chi volunteers from Taiwan. This is how Taiwan was able to help South Africa. Tzu Chi South Africa has started to conduct operations outside of the country. In this way, we have been able to reach eight countries in Africa. Everyone, this is the true meaning of “the merits and virtues of joy”. To keep spreading [this joy] is our true goal in listening to this sutra. So, we should work hard to be mindful as we “share in the joy of the virtuous Dharma and practice both on our own and with others”. This is very important; we must remember it well. “This explains how e attain blessed fruits by rejoicing alongside others”. If we do not keep spreading [the Dharma] to those alongside us, to give everyone the opportunity to hear it and the chance to encourage one another to accomplish [good deeds], then [the Dharma] will never spread. Just going in a straight [line] is not enough. We must form a wide [circle]. Whether we go deeply [into a community] or spread out across [the world], we all have to [encourage] one another. However, we need to have a certain rule, a rule that we must be sure to follow. “We must not go against others’ good deeds, but rather follow along with their actions”. If we did not do this, how could we have ever gotten where we are today? This great organization we have here has been able to reach so many countries throughout the world, countries that we must go halfway around the world to reach. So, we need to abide by these rules.
To “sincerely engage in spiritual practice” and cultivate inner causes and external affinities, we must make the most of our time; only then will we be able to “nourish our own Dharma-marrow and help others grow their wisdom-life”. I hope the summary I gave here today is something we will contemplate mindfully. If we do not work hard to be mindful, then listening to the Dharma will just be a waste of time for us. We are already hard-pressed for time so as it is; time is running out. I am staying alive as long as I can to teach. I hope we can all make the most of our lives to earnestly listen to the Dharma. So, we must always be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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