Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Listening with Our Ear-Root, We Can Understand All (明耳根聞 悉能解了)
Date: August.01.2019
“The state of mind of all Buddhas is such that They always use gentle language. They constantly teach sentient beings the coarse and subtle teachings, observing their capabilities to teach the pitaka, common, unique and perfect teachings. The perfect teachings are the wondrous Dharma of absolute truth and eventually return to the supreme meaning.”
We must be mindful! Just look at the Buddha. The state of mind of the Buddha is such that He always uses gentle language. This is the Buddha’s state of mind. But when facing sentient beings, the Buddha constantly teaches them the coarse and subtle teachings. When He teaches the Dharma, He has to teach in accordance with capabilities. All sentient beings, whether good or evil, are difficult to teach, so the Buddha must teach about both virtuous Dharma and unwholesome phenomena in order to train sentient beings. “Coarse” refers to unwholesome phenomena. The more shallow and coarse [someone’s actions are], the more severe their karmic forces become. “Subtle” refers to unenlightened beings who have committed unwholesome deeds, but which are more subtle. This is like the karmic law of cause and effect. The more severe the causes and conditions, the more severe the effects and retributions. The milder the causes and conditions, the milder the retributions. Is there any unenlightened being without karma? Everyone has karma. So, in this world, some people might seem quite rich and comfortable, but we must realize that they still experience subtle hardships. Some people are very rich and have everything, but they might have some kind of physical defect, or conditions might be going unfavorably for them and so on. These are “subtle” [hardships]. They also exist due to causes and conditions. Some people are born into [conditions of] extreme anguish; they are disabled, live amidst poverty and hardship, encounter [difficulties] all their life and so on. We see and feel [this suffering] in the world. “Oh, this person is miserable. We want to help but do not know where to start.” It is hard for [people who are suffering] to encounter good affinities. These are the unwholesome, or “coarse” [hardships]. This happens not only in the human realm. Those who are even more unwholesome do not even have a chance of being born into the human realm. The Buddha explained this all for us, so that all worldly matters of ordinary [beings] could be made very clear to us. We must clearly distinguish between good and evil. Even if, in this lifetime, things do not go the way we want, we must think, “Fortunately, I know this now. This is my own karma. I must open my mind and let go. I must change my life and views. Then, I will become more open-minded.” If we understand the law of karma, we will naturally become more open-minded. This is the way to address [negative conditions]. The Buddha constantly teaches sentient beings the coarse and subtle teachings. He observes sentient beings’ capabilities to [determine the appropriate] methods to teach them. The state of mind of all Buddhas is such that They always use gentle and pleasant language. It is only for the sake of sentient beings that sometimes They must teach about the law of karma and good and evil. Their teachings always depend on [capabilities]. [There are] “the pitaka, common, unique and perfect teachings.” Sentient beings’ capabilities are different, so the Buddha had to teach the Dharma in accordance with their capabilities. Later on, [His teachings] were compiled, and future Buddhist practitioners sorted them into categories. They sorted the Buddha’s teachings into “the pitaka teachings,” and then “the common teachings” for those with average and limited capabilities. They are designed according to capabilities. “Unique teachings” are for those who cannot accept other [teachings and need this] special method of teaching. What about “the perfect” [teachings]? “Perfect teachings” are for people of great capabilities, who can accept all of the teachings. They capture everything without discrimination and are thus known as “the perfect teachings”. They are like a perfect mirror that reflects the mountains, the oceans, the entirety of the earth and [all of its] animals and people; everything in the world is captured within this great, perfect mirror. If our capabilities are still imperfect, we will always discriminate between things, and this will leave us feeling very exhausted. Of course, we hope that we can all [develop] perfect capabilities so that we can accept all kinds of teachings. We will make the most of our pure intrinsic nature to accept the Dharma and completely gather [all its teachings] together. We will understand right from wrong in this world and how to apply the teachings within the world. Depending on each person’s capabilities, we will guide them to enter [the Dharma]. We will not only cultivate ourselves but gather everyone to engage in cultivation and transform them according to capabilities. Such [perfect] capabilities are not easily attained. Thus, “The perfect teachings are the wondrous Dharma of absolute truth.” [Those who reach] the perfect teachings have ways of seeing and thinking that are completely different from ordinary people. Towards these people, the Buddha passes down all His teachings in full. These are “the perfect teachings.” This collection of all the Buddha’s teachings is the Dharma of absolute truth. So, the wondrous Dharma of absolute truth, these true, wondrous principles and teachings [encompass] everything in the world; all things are contained within these teachings, which are then applied to the needs of sentient beings in the world. Perhaps they need spiritual guidance or [support throughout] their hardships in life. Once we find a way to help them, “have relieved them from suffering, [we then] expound the Dharam for them.” When someone is experiencing hardships, we must first help them so that, once they are relieved of the hardships that they are currently facing, we can then, little by little, step by step, explain and teach [the Dharma] to them. This is how the Buddha [adapted] to capabilities. This is very subtle and wondrous. We must be mindful, for this is very subtle and wondrous. So, those who accept the teachings can then accept “the truth,” the wondrous Dharma of absolute truth. This [Dharam] in their minds will influence their bodily [actions]. If we explain [the perfect teachings] this way, ordinary people would say, “Oh, they have been passed down in secret!” The teachings are actually all the same; only the words used to explain them are different. Different terms and words are used, but they are actually all the same. As long as they can [help] sentient beings resolve the afflictions in their minds and correct their wrongdoings, they are the best teachings.
So, if we can accept the perfect teachings, we will “eventually return to the supreme meaning.” If we can understand these teachings, we will naturally return to the supreme meaning, and we will understand everything. The Buddha teaches sentient beings so that we can all [understand] the perfect teachings and return to the supreme meaning of the unsurpassed true principles. This is the Buddha’s most important [goal] in teaching sentient beings.
An ignorant thought creates the Three Subtleties. External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks. The Three Subtleties are the marks of Root Ignorance. The Six Coarse Marks are the marks of Branch Ignorance.
So, we sentient beings all inherently possess pure, clear Buddha-nature, but a single thought can lead us astray from it. This single thought, as I often tell everyone, “creates the Three Subtleties, [while] external states lead to the Six Coarse Marks.” Does everyone still remember this? A single thought [can obscure] our originally pure and undefiled [nature]. The desire realm contains many kinds of desires. We are tempted by sound objects and form objects. Once we are tempted by desire, we give rise to ignorant thoughts. Whether we heard a sound or saw a shape that causes such a thought to arise [in] us, once this one thought has arisen, it turns into ignorance. If not for this, we would understand very clearly that everyone possesses a pure nature equal to the Buddhas. It is just that external sense objects of sounds and forms influence our pure minds and stir up our ignorance. What is this ignorance? It is the Three Subtleties. The Three Subtleties are three very subtle things that arise imperceptibly in the span of a thought. This is [the nature of] ignorance. When we give rise to a thought [like this], [we think], “This sounds good, this looks good” [even though] this thought leads to greed. [Then we think], “I crave this. I want this, but I cannot get it.” So, we give rise to ignorance. This ignorance leads to anger, and we grow furious. “I like this. Why is it not mine? It is not mine, but I crave it. So, I will take it.” When we want something but cannot get it, we become angry. When we are angry, our delusions [keep us from] discerning if something is worth fighting for or not. When we fight to get something, what will be the consequences? We will no longer strive to discern things [if we] just follow our greedy thoughts and fight over things. We follow [our greed] like this out of ignorance. When we no longer discern things [properly], we follow others [blindly]. Through our ignorance, we lose our autonomy. Our ignorance prevents us from having autonomy, so we follow others in this way. So, these external states lead to the Six Coarse Marks. The Six Roots and the Six Dusts are very obvious [to us]. As humans, we see that we have eyes and ears; when we look at each other, we see that we also have eyes, ears, a nose, a mouth, a tongue and so on. These are all things that we can see. In this way, “an ignorant thought creates the Three Subtleties. External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks”. What are the Three Subtleties? “The Three Subtleties” are “the marks of Root Ignorance”. As unenlightened beings, we have yet to eliminate ignorance and afflictions and have yet to attain Buddhahood, so external states [cause our ignorance to arise]. So, this is known as “Root Ignorance”. The “marks of Root Ignorance” describe a certain appearance. “You have manifested the appearance of greed. This person is very deluded. See, he is losing his temper again”. Everyone will say, “This is just his nature; he will be fine when his temper subsides”. [Yet], this is why they have this appearance. This is how this appearance arises; this is now his appearance and his nature. This is how we sentient beings are. How can this be our “nature”? We are not this way by nature! Our nature is such that everyone is pure and undefiled. It is just that we have been tempted by an ignorant thought. Once we give rise to ignorance, this leads to the Six Coarse Marks. When external states bear the Six Coarse Marks, because of this, everyone sees them as part of our personality, and [they think], “This just how they are. This just their nature”. At first [the ignorance] was in our minds, but now it manifests in front of people, causing others to criticize us. [And what if we bear] the Six Coarse Marks? [Then others] can see everything about us, from our attitude and our actions, and everyone will know, “Oh, this person is someone to be cautious of. They treat people in such and such a way. [Because of] how they treat people, we must be on guard around them”. This is [when] the Six Coarse Marks have become “Branch Ignorance”. Roots grow in the ground; though influenced by external circumstances, they still grow in the ground. What about branches? They grow on trees. We can [clearly] see a tree’s leaves and branches. “This is a plum tree.” “Ah, I don’t think so! These are cherry blossoms”. Are they plum flowers or cherry blossoms? Those who know [trees] can see this very clearly [by observing] the branches. So, Branch Ignorance and afflictions are the worldly marks of desire and severe possessiveness. In the modern world, [some] are not satisfied with having one business and will expand to a second or third business to form a chain so that [the whole market] belongs to them. They want their business to be bigger than others. “This must be bigger. That must be even bigger”. All their desires have expanded to become enormous. By the same principle, people with great capabilities want to do great things. People of limited capabilities think, “I will take on this project. I will do this task. I will take on that business”, but [these matters] are very complicated. With limited strength, they cannot do big business. Yet, they are unwilling to do small things and still involve themselves in many projects. This is “Branch Ignorance”. Even when they have nothing at all, they still short-sell the stocks they buy on loan. This is all [due to] Branch Ignorance which is inseparable from greed, anger and delusion.
So, “The Tathagata teaches sentient beings both virtuous Dharma and unwholesome phenomena. ‘Subtle’ refers to the virtuous Dharma. ‘Coarse’ refers to unwholesome phenomena.
Sentient beings, with the Six Roots and Six Dusts, have already developed strong habitual natures. When it comes to these sentient beings, the Buddha needs to teach the Dharma with the Six Coarse Marks, which are more severe. For the many people who suffer negative retributions, [He explains] what happened in their past lifetimes and how the amount of their afflictions led them to suffer this amount of hardships. To explain the past, present and future, the Buddha uses various methods. If they do not understand, the Buddha explains using analogies until they understand clearly. These are the coarse appearances that the Buddha teaches them. So, He teaches about both virtuous Dharma and unwholesome phenomena. How can we turn unwholesome people toward the virtuous Dharma? In the past, we have often listened to commissioners and Faith Corps members share their stories or teach by using themselves as examples.
This is just like how, at Year-end Blessings, [we see] how former inmates have now started new lives. For several years now, we have seen them at the Year-end Blessing. Many are doing very well and are very skilled. They come to show their skills and share their stories. Last year, they shared artwork; this year, music. They are all very intelligent people. Now, they have started a new life. What made them start anew after leaving prison? In prison, they transformed themselves. How did they change? Tzu Chi volunteers went to speak to them there, and they were profoundly moved in the depths of their hearts. They sincerely repented and reformed themselves. Because of this, they behaved very well while they were in jail, and so their sentences were reduced. “Ah, you can go live outside now, but we are not releasing you completely. You still have more time left”. They still need to report every day at these times so people know their lives are back to normal, that they are living a normal life.
By the same token, the Buddha also teaches the Dharma in this way. Hell is a world, and the human realm is also a world. in [our] world, we witness both good and evil. Moreover, we are subjected to the law of karma. This is beyond our control and not by our choice. This is how life is. [Our] suffering is not up to us. We cannot have everything go as we wish; we have not yet reached this stage. This is human suffering.
At any moment, ignorance, suffering and emptiness will emerge before our eyes; we do not know when this will be. So, in this world, the Buddha teaches unwholesome people in a simpler way, by helping them understand both virtuous Dharma and unwholesome phenomena. “Virtuous” refers to the subtle, virtuous Dharma. “’Subtle’ refers to the virtuous Dharma.” The Buddha expounds the subtle teachings to guide them to follow the virtuous Dharma. These virtuous teachings, explored deeply, are the principles of the mind. They help us understand how to transform human knowledge into wisdom. To transform consciousness into wisdom and maintain a mind undisturbed by conditions is what the Buddha teaches virtuous people. He guides them toward the virtuous teachings, then on toward the subtle, wondrous Dharma. These are the subtle teachings. Coarse teachings are unwholesome phenomena. Understanding this section of the text will greatly help our spiritual practice.
“An ignorant thought creates the Three Subtleties. External states lead to the Six Coarse Marks”. Now, I am sharing this with everyone again. We know that the root afflictions and branch afflictions are all part of our everyday lives, so we must always contemplate them mindfully. It is because of ignorance and afflictions that we have examples to consult as we read the sutra text. As [we read] the sutra text, we can perceive which teachings are subtle teachings and which teachings are coarse teachings. Within the greater world, there are many different lives and ways of living that we can that we can relate to the sutra’s teachings.
In the previous sutra passage, [the Buddha] says, “…when it comes to all the sounds within and beyond the great trichiliocosm, though they have yet to attain heavenly ears, with their pure ordinary ears they received from their parents at birth, they will hear and understand them all. Thus, they will discern all these various sounds without damaging their ear-root.
“…when it comes to all the sounds within and beyond the great trichiliocosm…”. This is the great trichiliocosm. There are small, medium and great chiliocosms, collectively called the great trichiliocosm, which is more expansive than our human world. Our human world is the desire realm. There are also the form realm and formless realm, which transcend the human realm. The sounds of heavenly beings and the human realm are the sounds that we are able to hear. When it comes to all these sounds, though we have yet to attain heavenly ears, just by listening with the pure, ordinary ears that we received from our parents at birth, we can heat so many sounds. “We will hear and understand them all.” We can hear them all. Once we hear them, we can understand them. Listening with the ears of unenlightened beings, we can clearly hear all the sounds in this world. “Oh, thunder! This is the sound of thunder”. We can immediately discern what it is we can discern the sound of thunder. “I hear the sound of a vehicle passing. Is that the sound of a train in front of us, or the sound of cars passing on the road?” When we hear them, we will recognize them. As for all the sounds in our surroundings, we can hear them and clearly know what they are.
So, there are many sounds that we can discern that will not harm our ears. These sounds will not damage our ears. [Our ears] are just ordinary ears. With our ordinary ear-root, we can hear all kinds of phenomena in the world. When it comes to coarse and subtle sounds, we hear them all this way.
Moving on, in today’s sutra passage, it says, “At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate His meaning, spoke in verse. ‘Their ears they received from their parents at birth will be pure and undefiled. With these ordinary ears, they will hear the sounds of the trichiliocosm. At that time, the World-Honored One, wishing to restate the meaning behind the pure ear-root, spoke in verse.
In this section of the sutra passage, the Buddha finished teaching the long-form prose and reiterated the important parts in verse. This is the Buddha’s conventional way of teaching the sutra. [Here], He is restating the important parts.
“Their ears they received from their parents at birth will be pure and undefiled”: This verse reiterates that the physical ears that they received from their parents at birth, despite being physical ears, will be pure and clear, free of turbidity, fifth and defilement.
“’Their ears they received from their parents at birth will be pure and undefiled.’” This repeated passage described the physical ears that we receive from our parents at birth. They are [called] physical ears because our whole body is made of bones and flesh, and [flesh and blood] compose our organs. So, “The physical ears that they received from their parents at birth, despite being physical ears, will be pure and clear.” [When] our heart is pure from engaging in spiritual cultivation, everything we hear with our ear-root will be pure and undefiled. So, all the sounds will be very pure. Actually, it is not that external sounds are pure. It is that, through listening. No matter what someone says, our mind will not lead us to gossip about others’ shortcomings. Whatever our ears hear, our mind will remain clear. This is our pure ear-root. When we hear so many [sounds], which things should we remember? We should remember the good things. We must be understanding and keep [what is good] in our hearts. This is “pure and clear”. This is what must cultivate. We do not need to retain all the sounds. If we did, if we retained all the sounds, where would we store them all? With our mind, our consciousness, what we hear will be truly pure and precise, and we must store it in our memory. This is purity; this is spiritual practice. So, “undefiled” means free of turbidities and “free of defilement”. Our mind will remain undisturbed by the interpersonal conflicts around us. Listening to this jumble of useful and useless sounds all day long is exhausting. How much of it can we use? How much of it can we remember? We must filter them out like this. However, we still need to listen. Once we hear the sounds of the world, we must know how to discern them and then truly store them in our mind. This is “transforming consciousness into wisdom”.
With these ordinary ears, they will hear the sounds of the trichiliocosm: According to these verses from the sutra, by listening with their ear-root to the sounds of the trichiliocosm, they will hear and understand them all without any mistakes or errors.
“With these ordinary ears, they will hear the sounds of the trichiliocosm”. Using these ears, these ordinary ears, we hear the sounds of the trichiliocosm. So, “according to these verses from the sutra…”. As we read these verses, if we follow the sutra passage and read verse by verse, we will generally understand. “By listening with ore ear-root to the sounds of the trichiliocosm,” by using our ears to hear the world’s sounds, “we will hear and understand them all without any mistakes or errors”. If we hear all these sounds with a pure heart, then we will understand them all and turn our consciousness into wisdom without mistakes or errors.
In the next sutra passage, [the Buddha] says, “As for the sounds of elephants, horses, carts and cows, the sounds of bell, chimes, conches and drums, the sounds of harps and other string instruments, the sounds of pipes and flutes and the sound of pure and beautiful singing, they will hear them all without forming attachments. As for the countless varieties of human voices, they will hear and understand them all”.
These are all images of worldly things. These things all make sounds. Whether they are elephants, horses or carts [drawn by] cows, they all make sounds. Whether they are manmade bells, chimes, conches and drums, when we hit them or strike them, they will make a sound. Whether they are pipes or other manmade objects, when we blow through them, they will produce sounds in various pitches. When all the notes are played together, the sound of music is very beautiful. These sounds are beautiful to hear, but we must not “form any attachments”. We must not dwell on them and lose ourselves in the world of music. We must not. Once these sounds, these dusts, pass us by, they will no longer exist.
As for the elephants, horses, carts, cows and the pure and beautiful singing, in our contemplation of all phenomena, we will find that everything is without voice, sound or language and abides in a state of permanent tranquil cessation.
“As for the elephants, horses, carts, cows and the pure and beautiful singing,” the sounds of elephants, horses and cows might seem very noisy after a while, but the bells, chimes, conches and drums will produce beautiful music. If we do not discriminate between them, the cow will still call out anyway, and we can treat this sound as music. The neighing of horses will be the same way. These are all sounds. This is [having an] impartial mind. Of course, we must also respond with a pure heart [with which we] “contemplate all phenomena”. If it makes sound, it is part of all phenomena. “In our contemplation of all phenomena, we will find that everything is without voice, sound or language and abides in a state of permanent tranquil cessation”. Once these things pass, they no longer exist. The music no longer exists after the performance. As the flute is played and makes sounds, what are the sounds like? We can sense [the sounds], but we cannot pick them up and use them. We can change the pitch of the notes, but we cannot hold them in our hands. “Let me adjust this high note with my hands”. This is not possible. It is only a sound; it is intangible. Once we hear it, it will be gone.
As for the countless varieties of human voices, they will hear and understand them all: By clearly discerning [all sounds] with wisdom, they will understand the intentions of others. By listening to their voices, they will know their virtues. By cultivating their hearing and wisdom, they will be able to retain and uphold [the teachings] by listening to them.
“As for the countless varieties of human voices, they will hear and understand them all”. There are so many sounds, [and we must] “hear and understand them all”. Once we hear and understand them, we must apply our wisdom to discern them. We must use our wisdom to discern them. We must not only use our consciousness, but we must [then] discern them with wisdom. “They will understand the intentions of others”. As we hear all these sounds, the most important thing is to understand them. How does this song sound? What does it reveal to us? What is [the meaning] behind the horse’s call? We must use wisdom to understand their world and the intentions behind their sounds. So, we must “understand the intentions of others”. “By listening to their voices, they will know their virtues”. When someone is playing music, as soon as we hear that music, we know whether he is someone who plays good music or music that is meant to incite people. We know whether this person’s music will bring peace to others or if it will disturb the minds of others. We know just by listening.
[Thus], we will “know their virtues”. We will know their virtues and their character. We will know what music they prefer. From the music they like, we are able to discern their character. “By cultivating their hearing and wisdom, they will be able to retain and uphold [the teachings] by listening to them”. Through hearing, we develop our understanding of others. This is wisdom. This is retaining and upholding [the teachings]. Retaining all goodness and upholding all wisdom is something we must clearly understand.
The sounds of bells, chimes, conches and drums, the sounds of harps and other string instruments and the sounds of pipes and flutes are all external sounds. Though they listen to these sounds, they will not form any attachments, and their ears will not be damaged.
So, there are “the sounds of bells, chimes, conches and drums, the sounds of harps and other string instruments”. The sounds of pipes and flutes are external sounds. We all hear the sounds played [by the instruments]. These are external sounds. Though we listen to these sounds, we will not form any attachments, and our ears will not be damaged. These sounds come from our external environment, and though we hear them, we will not allow these external sounds, whether they are noisy or quiet, to disturb us. This is what we must cultivate in ourselves. As our ears listen to sounds, sometimes [these sounds] upset us. What do we do then? Though they upset us, we still need to listen. Sometimes, we say that we want peace and quiet. We often say that we want peace and quiet, without any noise. When our ear-root is damaged, we [may] hear random noises, echoes or rumbling sounds echoes or rumbling sounds, which is miserable. We are unable to eliminate external sounds, so we must reflect on our own nature. We must control and regulate ourselves and adapt to our circumstances so that we remain uninfluenced by our environment. This is very difficult. However, this is what spiritual cultivation is, and this is our spiritual training ground.
So, fellow Bodhisattvas, as Buddhist practitioners, we must be aware of how “an ignorant thought creates the Three Subtleties” and “external states lead to the Six Coarse Marks.” At every moment, we must be vigilant and realize that the Buddha’s teachings are divided into coarse and subtle teachings [about] the coarse and the subtle things in our world. In our world, what must our capabilities be like for the Buddha to teach us the subtle teachings? And what must we be like for the Buddha to prescribe the coarse teachings? This is how the Buddha teaches the world according to [our] capabilities. So, we must always be mindful !
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
