Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Benefit Humanity with Our Positive Potential (付出良能造福人群)
Develop Seven States of Mind to eliminate the Three Obstructions. Fist is a sense of shame. Second is a sense of fear. Third is a sense of renunciation. Fourth is developing Bodhicitta. Fifth is impartiality toward all beings. Sixth is repaying the Buddha’s grace. Seventh is contemplating the empty nature of evil.
Yesterday I spoke of developing a sense of renunciation. In this world, our weaknesses give rise to afflictions, karma and retribution, which lead us to endlessly transmigrate in the 6 Realms. So we must quickly develop a sense of renunciation.
This is what we discussed yesterday. Life is impermanent, filed with 5 impurities and 3 Calamities, and as ephemeral as water bubbles. Yesterday we also read passages about how all 36 elements of the body are unclean. The body is so filthy why are we still so attached to it? Why do we think unwholesome thoughts and create karma on its behalf? We should not do this because we already know that it is completely impure.
So let us now develop Bodhicitta. This is the fourth stage in Buddha’s sequence of training the mind. If we do not first have a sense of shame, we will not develop a sense of vigilance. Without such vigilance, we will not realize that in life, verything is unclean, and impermanent like water bubbles. Step by step, the Buddha has deepened our understanding. Once we understand, we see that the body is a vessel for spiritual practice.
It is not easy to be born human. If we do not transform ourselves in this lifetime, in which life will we do so? How do we transform ourselves? By utilizing this physical body to engage in spiritual practice. So the body is the vessel for spiritual practice.
Constantly contemplate the body as impure. Thoroughly understand the truths of life. Benefit humanity with your positive potential. Use the body to travel the Path. This is Spiritual Practice.
To engage in spiritual practice, we must develop Bodhicitta in our minds. This is the fourth in the sequence. As the text states, “We should take joy in realizing the Buddha-body.” “The Buddha-body is the Dharma-body, it arises from immeasurable merit and wisdom.”
By looking at this passage, we know that we need to develop Bodhicitta. The Buddha also taught us that the first step toward doing so is to feel joy. Thus we should derive joy from the Buddha-body. Joy means to be happy. When we see the Buddha-body, we should be happy. When Buddhists enter a temple, they always first sincerely & respectfully pay respect to the Buddha. By deeply revering Him we “take joy in the Buddha-body.”
“The Buddha-body is the Dharma-body.” When we pay respect to His image, on a deeper level it signifies our respect for His Dharma-body. The Dharma-body is Buddha-dharma. It has been 2000 years since the Buddha departed from this world. However, His teachings have been passed down till this day. Buddha-dharma has withstood the test of time.
Over 2000 years ago, the Buddha taught using very simple language. Yet His simple words have spurred the research of many modern scientists and scholars in various fields. Once while the Buddha was travelling on a mountain road, He became thirsty, “Ananda, I am thirsty.” Ananda immediately looked for water in the forest. He found a stream. The stream water was very clean so Ananda quickly used the alms bowl to scoop up some water and brought it to the Buddha. He presented it with utmost reverence.
The Buddha took the bowl and looked at it. The Buddha then told Ananda, “Look, there are many worms in the water.”
Ananda looked and said, “Venerable Buddha, I don’t see any. The water is very clean.”
The Buddha said, “There are 84000 worms.”
Ananda thought to himself, “How can it be? The water looks so clean.”
The Buddha then told Ananda, “To you the water looks clean, but there are countless living beings in it. There are many insects.”
When monastic practitioners are ordained, they are given an alms bowl, a scrubber, and a sack made of white cloth. The scrubber is used to wash the bowl. The sack is used to filter water for drinking. If we think about this practice, we realize the science in Buddha’s wisdom. The water we drink today must also be filtered. Didn’t the Buddha invent this process over 2000 years ago? He discovered the Truths of the universe.
This is why His teachings have been passed on to the present day. The more advanced science becomes the more it validates His teachings. Therefore, the Buddha’s wisdom and Dharma-body are truly worthy of our respect and veneration. Hence, joy must arise in our mind when we see the Buddha-body. Thus we revere the Buddha’s teachings.
Buddha-dharma encompasses infinite Truths. Buddhist practitioners must pay respect to the Buddha-body with utmost sincerity and revere His teachings.
The Buddha was able to attain enlightenment because He accumulated infinite merit and wisdom. Earlier we talked about “Kalpas as countless as grains of sand.” The Buddha has already been enlightened for Kalpas as countless as grains of dust. That means it has been a very long time. Before that moment, He must have also practiced for a very long time. He continued to return to the Six Realms because He cherished all sentient beings therein.
In the Jataka Sutra we see the process of Buddha’s spiritual practice. He did not solely take human forms. He has actually been in all Six Realms. A passage in that sutra describes how, in the course of his practice. He took the form of a peacock in the jungle. This peacock was full of compassion. One day, it came across a fierce tiger. Seeing this fierce tiger kill other animals, the peacock was truly pained.
The tiger was very pleased with itself. Yet after it devoured one little animal, it began rolling on the ground in pain. The peacock quickly took a closer look. Apparently after the tiger devoured its prey, a long piece of bone got caught between its teeth, so it was unable to close its mouth. It was in pain so it wailed, rolled around and struggled.
This peacock could not bear its suffering so it crouched over and went into the tiger’s mouth to peck the bone with its beak. After several days, the tiger was freed of the bone. The peacock quickly flew away and perched on a tree. The peacock said to the tiger, “all life in this world is equally valuable. Since we all live on this great land, we must peacefully coexist. All beings in the universe want to live. Do not kill any more living creatures. Do not kill other sentient beings for the sake of your own life.”
It said this to tiger in a very gentle manner, but the fierce tiger was very angry, “You just flew out of my mouth and now you dare to preach at me? The tiger was furious with the peacock. The peacock felt that the tiger’s rage was truly unreasonable. It felt great pity and helplessness. Then it flew away.
The Buddha told Ananda, “This story took place innumerable kalpas ago. Do you know that the peacock is I, the present Sakyamuni Buddha? Devadatta, a member of our monastic community, was that fierce tiger.”
While the Buddha was in the Six Realms, He was also born in the Animal Realm. There are many stories of Buddha as an animal. See, as a peacock He was full of compassion. He treated all beings as His own children and possessed the compassionate love of a mother. He knew how savage the tiger was, but he still risked His life to save him in the hopes of changing him. In return, He received the tiger’s wrath. So He had to endure it without complaint, and only felt helpless.
That was the Buddha’s spiritual practice, which lasted for innumerable Kalpas. He continuously accumulated (merits & wisdom). We know that Buddha cultivated such patience and respect for all living creatures.
We are human now, yet we need to practice for more then one lifetime. We must be prepared to do this in the same way, for innumerable kalpas. We must not let up for even a single moment. Thus, when we learn Buddhism, we must have patience. We also need kindness, compassion, respect for life and reverence for everything in the universe.
Spiritual practice takes more than one lifetime. We need to accumulate lifetimes of learning. Buddhist practice is about being mindful. Every thought we have should be inseparable from the heart of the Buddha.
Earlier, we spoke about a sense of renunciation. We should not defile our minds or create ignorance and karma for the sake of this impure body, or we’ll face endless retribution in the 6 Realms. Let us avoid this. There we must develop a sense of renunciation toward the Six Realms.
However, for our spiritual practice we cannot leave the Six Realms. So we must take good care of our minds when we return to the Saha World. Sakyamuni Buddha will not abandon sentient beings. He went to the Human Realms, Heaven, and even the Three Evil Realms.
As the Earth Treasury Bodhisattvas said, “I vow not to be a Buddha until Hell is empty. Let us come to this world out of compassion and not because of karmic retribution. The latter brings immeasurable suffering. Fellow practitioners, we must feel joy at seeing the Buddha-body, which is also the Dharma-body. We must follow and practice the teachings. The Buddha accumulated infinite merits & wisdom to perfect His Dharmakaya.
So His Dharma-body arises from infinite wisdom. Therefore, we must always remember to have love and respect toward everything in the world. According to Dharma, we must respect whatever we see. Everything is a manifestation of Dharma and has something to teach us. So, follow practitioners, let us feel jot at seeing the Buddha-body and take joy in Buddha-Dharma. This comes from endless cumulative merits & virtue. This is the way of a true Buddhist practitioner. So everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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