Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: The Six Practices: Ten Grounds Part 4-A(六行~十地行四上)
The Practice of Ten Grounds:
The Stages of Joy, Defilement-free, Radiance, Blazing Wisdom, Utmost Difficulties, Manifestation, Far-reaching, Stillness, Excellent Wisdom, Dharma-cloud.
We have mentioned that before we reach the Stage of Radiance, we must disengage from defilements and unwholesome habitual tendencies. These include all worldly habits that we have accumulated in past decades. Only then can our minds become pure and luminous.
This light can have a varying brightness. It can be dim, soft, or bright. The more we clear our minds, the brighter the light. The fourth Stage is Blazing Wisdom, when one's wisdom is so great that it not only shines, it is incandescent. Thus, it is called the Stage of Blazing Wisdom.
"When one's wisdom reaches the absolute, one has reached the Buddha's perfect enlightenment. With complete enlightenment, the light of wisdom, blazes like a great fire that can destroy and break all views distorted by sentiments."
This passage is easy to understand. It tells us that once our wisdom has reached the absolute, we can achieve perfect enlightenment. We often speak of ordinary beings whose minds are full of darkness. They cannot truly comprehend external conditions, and often make mistakes. This is caused by darkness of the mind. As we practice Buddhism, we turn our backs on ignorance to face the brightness of wisdom. We turn from darkness and face wisdom.
We progress step-by-step in that direction, just like we are doing right now. We are focusing on studying the Sutra, listening attentively to understand the true meaning of each passage. When we hear mindfully, it is called "listening." Intelligence is developed through listening. We should listen more in order to develop our intelligence. By studying the Sutras, our wisdom grows. Simply hearing without thoroughly contemplating does not inspire wisdom. What is wisdom? It is when we see past the mundane view of self and others, and realize that everything in the universe converges into one. And from this oneness, all things in the universe manifest in countless appearances and forms. So, if we use wisdom in contemplating these forms and appearances, we realize that they all converge into one.
In the past few days, we have focused our discussions on the stat of our minds. When our minds return to their original nature, they are very refined and clear. That is wisdom, pure and indiscriminating wisdom. Thus in Blazing Wisdom, when wisdom reaches absolute clarity, we can achieve the Perfect Enlightenment of the Buddha.
Everything in the world appears in numerous forms. With Blazing Wisdom, we realize their oneness. Everything is the manifestation of the mind. When wisdom has reached absolute clarity, one has reached the enlightenment of the Buddha.
Therefore, when one achieves Complete Enlightenment, one’s radiant wisdom is ablaze, illuminating in all directions. Thus, we must practice diligently. So far we have only read about the principles in the Sutras and know that they make sense. But they can only be truly realized after we walk the Path. Otherwise, we know of the Truth, but do not actually realize it. So we must listen, contemplate, and diligently practice what we learn. Only through diligent cultivation can we reach complete enlightenment.
Think of it like the phases of the moon. The crescent moon provides some light, but a full moon can brighten the whole sky. Similarly, if we continually cultivate our minds, the light of our wisdom grows greater each day.
When hearing the Buddha-Dharma, one must listen, contemplate, and practice the teachings to achieve complete enlightenment. In doing so, the blazing radiance of wisdom will naturally destroy all afflictions.
Therefore, it is important to use out wisdom. With wisdom, we can destroy all delusions and afflictions, and turn danger into safety. In 2001, a shocking event happened in the United States, the 9-11 terrorist attack. U.S. Tzu Chi volunteers quickly took action to embrace and comfort people with love. This was what happened in New York during that time. Although this happened far from us in Taiwan, we were still very worried about whether this attack would disturb people’s minds and create panic around the world.
One key point was to let people know that an earth-shattering disaster should bring about a world-awakening realization. We must gather our minds and not be frightened or terrified. Instead, we should develop a reverent mind. What did we do to calm people’s minds? At that time, we wrote a song. It is the song we sing here every morning during the morning assembly. It is “Love Heals the World.”
When we sing the song, our minds are very somber and earnest. While facing the darkness of the world “the stars still gleam in the sky.” This means that although the minds of living beings are dark and ignorant, and many tragic disasters happen in the world, the stars still glitter in the sky. The universe does not change when disasters occur on Earth. The stars and the moon still “quietly hang high in the sky.” What can the clear and bright moon say? When we look at the moon, it casts a soft light. The moonlight is like a ray of gentleness, which is similar to our vow. What kind of vow is it?
It is the resolve to spread tender love. Compassion is the home of Great love. Spreading great love in the world begins with compassion.
In fact, this tender song helps soothe the grief and sorrow in people’s minds. It also helps inspire reverence and compassion in them. It’s main purpose is to help calm and soothe people’s minds. Thus “their hearts go our mercifully to the world” means that we are always watching with love and care, and we cannot bear to see people in despair. Watching quietly, our hearts ache for all suffering beings. This is mindset of having ultimate compassion. Since the song can calm people’s minds, we wanted to spread it globally so that wherever and whenever the song is heard, it can’t help soothe and comfort people’s minds. It can also be sung on a daily basis, for it can help soothe an agitated mind.
For this reason, we wanted to translate the lyrics into many languages. Besides the popular languages such as English, Japanese, etc. we also wanted it translated into Arabic. So we thought of Mr. Hu in Turkey. We called and asked if he could help translate the song into Arabic. Without hesitation, he accepted.
After mindfully translating the words with proper syntax, he also wanted the words to match the melody so that the song could be sung beautifully without losing its meaning. He was quite concerned about the about the grammar and how to better lyricize the lines while maintaining their accurate meaning. He thought of his best friend from college, who was very good with language. However, this schoolmate loved in Palestine, so Mr. Hu made international call to ask for help.
They talked on the telephone for over we minutes, revising the lyrics without distorting the meaning of the song. They spent 45 minutes on the phone to ensure that it was correctly and elegantly translated. They sang the translated song over and over again. When the rhythm did not sound right, they would try again until they were satisfied. It took them 45 minutes to complete it. Afterwards, Mr. Hu and his wife repeatedly sang the song throughout the night until they felt very happy.
The next morning, Mr.Hu had to go to work. Since he had completed the task, he felt for work feeling very relaxed and in good spirits. He drove the car along the same route he took every day. When he was about to arrive at his office, he was suddenly surrounded by three or four cars in the front, back, left and right. They surrounded him and came out of their cars. Mr. Hu was scared and thought that he had run into robbers? As soon as he got out of his car, he was quickly pushed into another car. They placed a cloth over his face, and in the darkness, he lost his sense of direction. As they drove, he felt each minute was torture. Not knowing where he was, he was quite scared. He did not know what to do.
Everyone, this is a long story, and we are running out of time. We will continue with the story tomorrow. This is a story about a dire 24-hour situation. Everyone, life is impermanent. With a joyful mind, Mr. Hu completed an honorable task. He left home happily, not knowing what was going to happen? Yet sometimes we run into the unexpected. That is part of impermanence. There is a fine line between safety and danger. How should we deal with such a fine line? The slightest shift in our surroundings can lead us to danger. So we should always be vigilant in our daily life, whether it be in our speech or our actions.
In learning Buddhism, we should always be mindful. Impermanence exists between our breaths, and it is constantly around us. How can we not be vigilant? Thus, we should always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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