Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Three Kinds of Wondrous Fragrances (多聞戒施 三種妙香)
Date: August.19.2019
“Those who uphold the Dharma possess three kinds of wondrous fragrances, the fragrance of extensive listening, the fragrance of precepts and the fragrance of giving. With these three fragrances, whether upwind or downwind, everyone will smell the fragrance of their virtuous cultivation. Thus, those with clear minds will smell their wondrous fragrance.”
We must listen mindfully. [In] “those who uphold the Dharma,” the Dharma being upheld is this sutra; this sutra means the Lotus Sutra. If someone is very devout and mindfully upholds the Lotus Sutra, this person will have three kinds of fragrances. What kind of fragrances are these? [First] is the fragrance of extensively listening. Extensive listening means hearing by listening very carefully and mindfully. It is constant, non-ceasing listening; this means listening to the sutra very mindfully. If we can listen more [often], then naturally, in our lives, thoughts and actions, our every thought will be on the Dharma. Being able to constantly listen to the Dharma is having “the fragrance of extensive listening.”
By constantly listening, it is certain that, in our lives, in our thoughts and in our actions, the Dharma will [manifest] at all times. In our thoughts and our [way of] living, adherence to the Dharma, its views and precepts will thus naturally become part of our lives. Naturally, we will manifest the fragrance of virtuous cultivation through our physical conduct. Our way of living will lead people to feel that this fragrance is something they can draw near to, something that makes them feel joyful. [Moreover], we will not grow tired when all of these people approach us with joy. This is [due to] the fragrance. This [shows] that we listen [to the Dharma] often.
[Next is] “the fragrance of precepts and giving.” Precepts are [rules] we uphold and obey. The precepts prevent us from going astray in our physical conduct. We Tzu Chi volunteers observe ten precepts. For these ten precepts alone, if we can work hard to practice them in our daily living, we will not err in our physical conduct. For us monastics, there are many precepts; in the process of our practice and our living, do we carefully follow and uphold these precepts in our practice? This, of course, is very difficult. Are we making every effort to do this? This is something we must be very careful about. There is also the fragrance of giving. This is what we uphold in the Lotus Sutra, which is the teaching of the Bodhisattva Way. The Bodhisattva Way begins with charitable giving, upholding and precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom. These are the Six Paramitas.
Of the Six Paramitas, the first one tells us that we must serve others. Are we really upholding the practice of serving [others] in our daily living? When people are in need, are we immediately willing to proactively help them? [We must ask ourselves] things like this. Serving others [requires] great detail; we give money, material resources and strength, as well as giving fearlessly and so on; there are so many [ways to give]. Whenever people have a need, we willingly, joyfully and continually respond to them. This is what “charitable giving” means. In our daily living, even speaking can be a form of charitable giving. We cannot be stingy with teaching the Dharma. We must not say, “I will do what needs to be done myself” and claim, “Only by doing it myself will I attain [the merit] from it.” We should all work together. Everyone should take part in doing good deeds. When we finish doing good deeds we say, “This is what he did; he did the most and gave the most.” Even if we are able to give a lot, we must also be humble and accommodating as we help others in doing good deeds. This is also a part of charitable giving.
To sum it up, charitable giving is giving without expectations; this is charitable giving. We all know that charitable giving, beneficial conduct, loving speech and working together are all part of “giving”. So, the precepts are something we cannot do without in our lives, as we engage in spiritual practice. There is the fragrance of the precepts, the fragrance of giving and the fragrance of listening. If we do not listen to the sutra, we will not understand the principles clearly. We may say, “I live as a good person. Why do I need to listen to the sutra?” Being a good person is very important, but we cannot fail listen to the sutra. To be a good person, we need the principles. If we do not understand the principles, it will be very difficult to perfect our conduct. Consider a big, round mirror. While this mirror is very round, its surface is covered with dirt and dust. If you truly want to see what is in front of it, you will find it is very [unclear].
Similarly, a good mirror requires its surface to be constantly wiped with water. Only by [wiping] the mirror like this will it be able to reflect things clearly. So, our fragrance must also be like this in order to be able to pass through. These are three kinds of fragrances we must have. So, “With these three fragrances, whether upwind or downwind, everyone will smell the fragrance of their virtuous cultivation.” Those with this fragrance of virtuous cultivation, whether they are upwind or downwind, will still emit this fragrance. When they are upwind, it will be less fragrant, while it will be more fragrant downwind. This makes the fragrance [much stronger]. Why is a downwind fragrance stronger and an upwind one less so? Why is the smell less strong? “Downwind” refers to when everyone is praising us. You do good deeds, and I also want to do good deeds. In response to my good deeds, you praise me. [“Upwind” is when someone says], “I have never had a good feeling about you. The things you do are pretty good, but I do not like to be told to follow you. You do good does and expect me to praise you, but it will be hard [to convince me]. You really do very good work; many people feel you are doing good deeds. I also commend you, but I will not give you too much praise.” Some people admire us, giving us much praise. “He really is such a good person. He is so outstanding at everything he does. Yes, I am praising you. I will also tell others so they can praise you too. We are all doing good deeds together.”
This is like when a tailwind comes, [which carries] everyone’s admiration and [brings] everyone together to do things. It is the same idea. [But] if we do not really want to do good deeds, nor think this is something we are interested in, [we may say], “You can do it if you like.” When it is done and there is nothing to find fault with, [we say] “Oh… not bad, not bad.” This is just slight praise, where we do not admire the person very greatly, nor do we go to help him do it. But after it is done, we say. “Not bad, not bad.” This is being “upwind.” There is fragrance both downwind and upwind. There is no reason for me to be picky; both are acceptable. So, though the fragrance also moves upwind, its fragrance is not as strong. This is upwind. “Everyone will smell the fragrance of their virtuous cultivation. Thus, those with clear minds will smell their wondrous fragrance.” We cannot say we have not smelled it. Anyone who wants to smell it will be able to. “This is so fragrant. I am going to smell it mindfully.” If we mindfully smell it like this, we will be able to smell the fragrance of virtuous cultivation. With this mindset, we can seek to understand that [this person] has really done a good job. When we see what he has done or hear about it, we are deeply touched. We are touched from seeing or hearing about it. We even dedicate ourselves to working with him, drawing even closer together. “Oh, I understand.” As for the fragrance of virtuous [once] we mindfully understand and draw near, we [will also] join in to participate. We will be able to understand this fragrance of virtue even more deeply. [With] the fragrance of virtue, we go among people and begin to [help them]. Some people will say, “This is pretty good. Here, I will do it with you.” This is what it means.
With this desire, they hear about [our good deeds] and go to take a look. Once they see, they feel [our work] quite good. They then use their ears to listen more closely. Afterwards, they say, “I’ll try to do this with you.” These are the three stages. So, we are thus able to comprehend the fragrance of the path and [know that] the direction of the path is correct. So, we can encourage everyone to join us and practice putting [the Dharma] into action. People will join and serve; everyone will be very joyful. This [occurs] level by level, layer by layer. If we want to smell the fragrance, we must comprehend this very mindfully. So, in this way, the fragrance in the air has the smell of listening, precepts and giving. Through smell and hearing, we [find it]. [Once we find it, we know], “This is very good.” “Having seen how good he is, I want to be like him.” This is how we learn to uphold the rules. [Once we start] to uphold the rules and work together with others, we willingly keep helping and immerse ourselves. Thus, [we proceed], stage by stage. Thus, naturally, “the fragrance of virtue permeates everything.” This means having a “clear mind.” When we first begin, the people and things [we encounter give off] a fragrance.
Aspiring to draw near, we listen and see [them], which enables us to understand them clearly, so we also begin to help out. After joining them, our own minds become just as pure. We use our sense of smell with a clear mind. This fragrance is wondrous! Similarly, when I say, “It is so fragrant”, if another person comes along, they will also first hear and listen before beginning to join in. They [are willing to] abide by the rules, and then they join in. [They proceed], stage by stage. Everyone [works] together to bring each other in.
The root-fragrance is the fragrance extracted from a tree’s roots. The branch-fragrance is the fragrance extracted from a tree’s branches. The flower-fragrance is the fragrance extracted from a tree’s flowers. When flowers are fragrant, people will love them. When people are good and virtuous, the world will revere them.
So, fragrance can [refer to] the root-fragrance. We know by smelling this fragrance that it is root-fragrance; picking it up to smell it, [we say], “Oh, this is the root. This came from the tree’s root.” There is also the fragrance of the branches. “This branch was taken from that tree. This fragrance is from the branch”. A flower-fragrance comes from the fragrance of the [tree’s] flowers. We have said that no matter if it is from the tree’s root, branches or flowers, these things can all be ground into powder. By giving [someone like this] a powder to smell, he can be certain of its source. “This powder is from the tree’s roots. This is powder from the branches. This is powder from the flowers”. He knows this clearly. The person who [can distinguish] these fragrances is like [us] spiritual practitioners. By practicing all kinds of Dharma, we have clear understanding. No matter what topic someone teaches, we are able to know where it comes from. This is because we listen extensively. “You have listened to so many sutras. When you say these things, you should have a good understanding of the sutra passages”. This is the fragrance of listening. Those with the fragrance of listening know whether [a fragrance comes] from a root, branch or flower. When those of us who listen to the Dharma have a clear and [thorough understanding], we can tell by listening to someone speak that their understanding of the Dharma is truly profound. Those of us who have a deep understanding of the Dharma will manifest it in our actions. Even by just seeing such people, we will know that they consistently uphold the precepts. Or, [we can tell that] they truly put the teachings into practice. They do not just read and recite the sutras and uphold the precepts; they are also very generous and willing to go among people and help others by giving without expectations. “I really believe in this kind of person who gets along with others”. If we are able to walk this path ourselves, when we see people, we will [be able to] understand them [systematically]. [We do this] by analyzing them through smell. By smelling their scent, we understand what kind of person someone is. We will be able to smell what disposition [this person] has. Haven’t we talked about this before? There is a scent of men, women, boys and girls. We can smell the scent of a married couple. There are those with this type of skill and ability. Such people exist in this world.
After this it says, “When flowers are fragrant, people will love them”. Naturally, everyone loves fragrant flowers. “When people are good and virtuous, the world will revere them”. This is a very simple principle. When something smells fragrant, everyone naturally loves it; no one rejects it. And what about people? If someone is virtuous, the people of this world will surely respect and revere them. This is respect. Now, we are all able to understand this.
The previous sutra passage says,
2651 “… and millions of various fragrances blended into incense, whether in the form of powders, pellets or fragrant oils. Those who uphold this sutra while abiding in this world will be able to discern them all. They will also be able to discern and identify the scents of sentient beings, such as the scents of elephants and horses, the scents of cows, goats and so on, the scents of men and women the scents of boys and girls…”.
We can also understand this clearly. When a flower is fragrant, everyone loves it. When people possess virtuous conduct, everyone respects them. This is saying that everyone will cherish things like this. In the previous sutra passage, all kinds of fragrances are mentioned. The meaning [behind] them is that everyone has their strong points. Not only people, but each and every thing, whether it is a plant or animal, possesses its own unique strengths. [For example], an elephant has its strong points, and from the elephant’s [scent], we can clearly [tell what it is]. Someone may or may not see the elephant, but as it draws near, they are able to understand the elephant [from] its scent. Their noses have this ability. We ordinary beings are unable to do this. We must transcend ordinary beings to truly have this kind of ability. A horse has its unique characteristics. A horse’s strengths are carrying heavy loads and running fast. A goat also has its qualities, which include gentleness. They can also know this through smell. So, there are “the scents of men and women, the scents of boys and girls”. When we see a male and female, [we know] if they are married or if they still have the bodies of children. Is their innocence still there? All of this can be discerned through scent.
This is a kind of special quality and skill. We must clearly understand this. Those who have pure minds will mindfully seek to comprehend the principles of [all] things. Then, they will of course be able to comprehend this.
After this it says, “… and the scents of plants, trees and forests. When it comes to all scents near and far, they will be able to smell them all and discern then without error.”
“… and the scents of plants, trees and forests.” They will clearly know the scents of all plants and animals. When they enter the forest, they will understand the fragrance of the flowers. Naturally, everyone will be love them. “When people are good and virtuous, everyone will revere them. This is what we just said. No matter what kind of scent it is, it has its traits. Everyone loves a flower’s fragrance. Everyone respects a good and virtuous person. Everyone should understand this principle.
When it comes to all scents near and far, they will be able to smell them all and discern them without error: “Near” represents the retributions of this lifetime. The fragrance of the Six Unenlightened Destinies can surpass the Three Realms. Furthermore, “far” represents upholding purifying practices to transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational, to reach ultimate Nirvana. This is also known as “ultimate transcendence”. “Discern them without error” refers to being able to discern the circumstances of life.
So, “When it comes to all scents near and far, they will be able to smell them all and discern them without error.” This means “the retributions of this lifetime,” which refers to this lifetime of ours. When it comes to “near and far,” it means that this lifetime is what is “near”. “Near” refers to this lifetime. Even nearer is today, and closer still is the present moment. This “near” is [thus] referring to time. Time is either near or far. A time that is near can be as close as the present moment. As for “far,” this can be as far away as past lifetimes. That is [what is meant by] far. Whether it is this life or past lives, we are in the Six Unenlightened Realms, where there are six kinds of ordinary beings.
What are the Six Unenlightened Realms? They are the heaven, asura, human, hell, hungry ghost and animal realms. [Beings in] these six [realms] are “unenlightened”. These are the realms of unenlightened beings. Unenlightened beings have all kinds of karma, so [they exist in] the Six Unenlightened Realms. In these Six Unenlightened Realms, although it is beyond [their] control, [the beings there] suffer karmic retributions. We have the karma [to become] human, so we are born in the human realm. For those born in the human realm, each person’s karmic forces are different.
It is the same principle. The fragrance of the Sic Unenlightened Realms of course also applies to the karmic retributions of this world. There are [evil] and blessed retributions, which are all [karmic] retributions. Some people’s karma is very light, for they created blessings [for others].
So, when they came to this world, everyone goes well for them. But even when everything goes as they wish, they still have many afflictions, because they brought these afflictions with them to the world [as] karmic retributions. [However, because] they [benefited others], they can enjoy worldly blessings. it is the same principles. So, those in the Six Unenlightened Realms who have [this] fragrance are blessed. They are “surpassing the Three Realms”. When those in the Six Realms cultivate blessings and uphold the precepts, they are able to go up to heaven. If they surpass the desire realm, they will arrive at the form realm. Taking another step to surpass the form realm, they will enter the formless realm where form is not needed and only thoughts [are used to communicate]. Ordinary beings [live] in the desire realm. For those whose spiritual practice surpasses [the state of] ordinary beings, they will enter the form realm, where there are forms but no desires. Once they are in the form realm, if they engage in more spiritual practice, they will reach the formless realm. The formless realm has no appearance. There is nothing, only thoughts; feeling and thoughts are enough. What is this state? That is more difficult for us to understand. It is a state of [pure] mindfulness. “Furthermore, ‘far’ represents upholding purifying practices to transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational, to reach ultimate Nirvana. This is also known as ‘ultimate transcendence.’” We already want to transcend the state of ordinary beings and transcend the desire realm, [but] we must also transcend the form realm. Whether we are ordinary beings or [exist] in the form realm, we still experience fragmentary samsara.
I have continually taught everyone about “fragmentary samsara”. In this lifetime, I have a certain longevity. When impermanence strikes, I cannot [escape] my karma. This is my karma in the world; my karma as an ordinary beings has not yet been exhausted.
In this lifetime, the causes and conditions of my fragmentary samsara have already ended. It is thus that we pass away. Yet, [the effects] stretch beyond this lifetime, beginning in this lifetime, we know we must engage in spiritual practice. Likewise, when this lifetime passes away, our fragmentary samsata will [continue]. We must be constantly vigilant of “fragmentary samsara”. We must quickly seize the time we have. [Our human] bodies have their limitations, even for the Buddha. The Buddha’s lifetime also had its limitations. Coming to this world, He [took on] a physical body. When He was 80 years old, He entered Parinirvana. Yet, after the Buddha attained enlightenment, He returned to this world again by manifesting appearances to teach this world. This world has an illusory appearance to begin with. Awakened beings know it is illusory and empty. However, in order to draw near to sentient beings, He must transform the illusory to take on this [kind of worldly] appearance. When He came to this world, He [began His] life with a family. After contemplating and thinking about this, He began to form aspirations to become a monastic in order to pursue perfect enlightenment. He returned to transform sentient beings. He went through stage after stage in life in order to teach us [the Dharma]. He taught during every stage of His life. In the final stage, He entered Parinirvana. The Buddha also manifested a life [which was] [subject to] fragmentary samsara. Meanwhile, we ordinary beings undergo fragmentary samsara in confusion. We bring the karma of our past lifetimes with us into this life, carrying it into the present stage of our lives. In this stage of our lives, in confusion, we continue to bring our karma into our next lifetime.
So, [whether] this cycle of birth and death is far or near, we bring [our karma] with us again and again. So, this is the fragmentary samsara of ordinary beings. If we want to transcend this lifetime of ours, we must accept the Buddha-Dharma for the sake of our next lifetime. In our next lifetime, we will “turn consciousness into wisdom” by working hard in this lifetime to engage in spiritual practice. As for our past karma, we must accept adversity calmly and eliminate karma as conditions arise so that we will not create more calamities. Isn’t there a saying? “To accord with our conditions, since we [formed] such negative affinities in the past, we must not take issue with others [now]”. If we keep taking issue with others, we will continue to form [negative] affinities. So, we must eliminate karma as conditions arise. In this life, we carry the negative karma from our past lives. When this lifetime ends, we [must] not create more. In this lifetime, how many people have we formed connections of gratitude or resentment with? [We may say], “I do good things. Why is this person always slandering me? Come on, stop taking issue over it. Let bygones be bygones”. In this way, [we can] resolve this karma without creating more [negative] affinities. It is the same principle. So, through this [process], one stage of negative affinities is [resolved]. In this life, how many people have we formed negative affinities with? Step by step, [we must] let them go. Then the path will be broad and easy to walk on. In the same way, when we go to our next life, we will not be led into it by karmic forces, but by the power of our vows. We vow to return to this world again. So, we must constantly make vows. As we constantly make vows, we make true vows as to where we are willing to go. So, knowledge will lead to petty squabbles, [but if we] turn it into wisdom, it will not. “I vow with certainty to repay what I must repay, and to accomplish all that I am able to do to fulfill my vow, lifetime after lifetime”. This is how we transcend fragmentary samsara.
There is also “transformational samsara”. What we [must] transform is our hearts. In our hearts, [we practice] giving, upholding precepts, patience, diligence, Samadhi and wisdom, [actualizing] the Six Paramitas in all actions. “I have formed this aspiration. I have already helped [so many] others. If people are still unsatisfied, do I still need to keep doing it?” This depends on our determination and resolve to practice. Is what we are doing meaningful? We must decide that, if it is meaningful, we will persist in doing it. Perhaps it is very hard, [so we say], “We are already very tired and what to stop”. Is it worth stopping? Is it? Is there any good in stopping like this? Will it benefit me in this life? Or in [a future lifetime]? And so on…. If I give this matter up for another, perhaps it will be more beneficial to me. Does it bring a worldly or material benefit? Or is it the benefit of helping others and doing good deeds? What kind of benefit is it really? We must consider this mindfully. [Indeed], going among people to help all beings is the right thing to do, so we must persist and remain steadfast to the end. [We must not say], “I helped people, but people obstructed me, so I stopped. If you want it done, do it yourself”. We must not be like this. Action requires persistence. If it is the right thing to do, just do it. This is the meaning of “not changing”. Our minds must face the right direction. Once we decide that this is the right way, we cannot advance and retreat, sometimes going forward, sometimes going back. When we know what is right, we must advance. If something is wrong, we must quickly reflect. Otherwise, this [constant] shifting will lead us to give rise to afflictions and ignorance, making our minds constantly unsteady and wavering. [If] our minds are unsteady and constantly shifting now, will we be born as a human in our next life? Perhaps we will be born in the animal realm. Or we will be born in the evil realm of hell. We can never know. So, there is fragmentary and transformational samsara. We must work hard to transcend them all and hope that from this life to the next, we will make good connections so that we will not be dragged by our karma into our next lifetimes. If we think of the Buddha and the process of how He came to this world, we will be able to understand why He underwent fragmentary samsara. He [made use of] fragmentary samsara by traveling on His vows. The Buddha does not experience transformational samsara because He leaves and returns, lifetime after lifetime. Because the power of His vow to transform sentient beings is firm, He is determined to earnestly transform sentient beings. So, He does not undergo transformational samsara. With the power of Samadhi, He has determined to come and go. So, as for “[reaching] ultimate Nirvana,” He has already attained it very thoroughly and completely. This is ultimate transcendence. So, they can “discern them without error”. Their understanding of people is truly thorough and clear. This “refers to being able to discern” [that] the circumstances of life” are like this.
So, we should clearly know and understand this. In our lives, we must world hard to earnestly seize our time. Since we have come to this world, we must [make good use of] every moment and every second of this lifetime.
For our next life, what do we want to choose? What is the power of our vows? The Buddha was able to attain “ultimate Nirvana” [because] His determination never changed. In our next life, will we bring the power of our vows or [the power of] our karma with us? When will our fragmentary samasra end? No one knows, but when this stage in our ends, where will we go? Where will our karma lead us? Will we return to this world on the power of our vows? These are important [questions]. Everyone, please work hard to experience and understand this section, [which teaches us to] “uphold purifying practices” to “transcend the two kinds of samsara, fragmentary and transformational.” We really need to understand this. Whether through seeing, hearing or even smelling, we must discern how, in this lifetime at this moment, our present state of mind will affect our future lifetimes. We must use our sense of smell to smell out that scent, that sensation. So, everyone must be mindful, truly mindful. We are capable as long as we are firm in our vows. So, we must be mindful!
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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