Lecturer: Master Zheng-Yan
Subject: Everything Arises From the Mind (萬法從心生)
Recently, the Four Elements have been imbalanced. We have either floods or droughts. This greatly worries us. Weather patterns have also changed. It is either very hot or very cold.
As a result, all life on Earth seems to be facing a crisis. This greatly worries us. “All creatures live off the land.” When there is a drought, we hear about it from the media reports. We can see that “hear waves bake the sand. They hope for timely rain, or even moisture from a few dewdrops. Everything arises from the mind; it is inexhaustible and unlimited.”
Aren’t our minds like this land? Everything we have also arises from our minds. In the Sutra of Infinite Meanings isn’t it written, “First, drops of dew fall to immerse the dust of desire.” This is describing the “dew” that exists in our minds. We usually have great desires, which are like a hot day that bakes the sand. Our desires can seem like a land parched with drought. When the wind blows, the dust flies about and everyone hopes for rain. If rain does not relieve the oppressive heat during the day, at least there is some dew at night. This is an analogy.
We are all like this. Our desires are like a land suffering from drought. We have a great need for moisturizing dew, and the Dharma is like water. The land eagerly awaits dewdrops at night. When we wake in the morning, we see some dewdrops on leaves or the tips of blades of grass. If we look closely around the grass, the earth is a bit moist. So, if there is no timely rain, we hope there is at least moisture from some dew. Everything arises from our minds. If our minds have a little bit of Dharma-water, everything can grow.
Many things arise from the mind. Look at our technological advances. How does technology advance? Through our minds. We think about what we want to invent. Medical advances can save lives. Life is the most valuable thing a person has. Without life, there is nothing else. So, people work hard to study diseases and invent technology to treat people. Then doctors with wondrous hands and techniques can use their wondrous abilities.
I saw some news about a hospital in Spain. The doctor displayed some wondrous techniques. There was a man in his 60s. He had lost his left hand in a car accident when he was in his 40s. Later, he had a stroke. Half of his body was paralyzed. He had lost his hand years ago in an accident. Now, he had had a stroke and his right side was paralyzed, so the doctor moved his right hand from the paralyzed side to the left side. The nerves should still have been intact on that side. So the doctor moved the right hand to the left. The man received this wondrous treatment and his life was renewed. He could actually move this hand. Although the right hand is now on the left, and his thumb was moved to be next to his pinky, he can still live a good life because he can use his hand.
See, everything arises from the mind. The mind has limitless spiritual powers. Everyone, the land needs rain, timely rain in suitable amounts. Our minds are also very suited to the right amount of Dharma. What is the truly precious Dharma? Can you receive great Dharma by sitting and meditating? Meditating is only adjusting your minds. There is much suffering in the world. Take illness, for example. Can we stop someone else from suffering illness by mastering meditation? As for ourselves, if we suffer a stroke, we cannot even sit and meditate. Even if we are usually very good at sitting and meditating, when we are sick, it is hard to sit and be in the lotus position. It is also hard for our hands to form the posture for meditation. Can we attain spiritual powers through meditation? The depends on our minds. When the mind is in Samadhi, everything is comprehensible, possible. Look at that doctor; in my mind, I think he also exhibited spiritual powers. With wondrous medical techniques and mindfulness, he can make an unmovable hand move again. He is truly fulfilling his potential.
So, we keep talking about how our minds can obstruct good Dharma. It would be good if more of you studied medicine. If you become doctors, maybe with your mindfulness you can also save a person from being immobilized. Everyone can do something like this. But we have not mindfully learned those teachings. If we focus on learning medicine, we can save people, too. Put your heart into your work and you will succeed.
“Realize the profound state of Samadhi meditation, Understand all views and knowledge without obstacles.” If our minds are free of obstacles, we can understand good Dharma. Meditation is the state of Right Samadhi. If we have Right Mindfulness and Concentration, our minds can be focused and we can go deeply into profound states. Would you say that that doctor has a deep understanding of medicine? He must. That is why he dared to move the hand from the paralyzed side to the side that was injured in the car accident. The accident caused unexpected damage, so he mindfully examined the nervous system to determine that the left side was still functional. So, he performed the transplant. See, isn’t this like what we do through recycling? He brought the undamaged hand to the arm that was broken. So the nonfunctional hand is usable again in its new place. That is true understanding; it is a profound state.
We must have Right Knowledge. If we realize the “profound state of Samadhi meditation, with our views and knowledge, we ensure that our understanding of Dharma is “deep and without obstacles.” So, when we see all the suffering around us, if we can turn toward good Dharma and use everyone’s abilities to work together, like doctors’ abilities to heal, and teachers’ abilities to teach, if everyone focused on bringing out his or her potential to teach or to heal, wouldn’t that be the most profound state? Isn’t that the best understanding of views without obstacles?
If we can each do our duty and work towards our highest potential, then our society will be the healthiest one in the world. So, if we can turn our minds toward good thoughts, “our minds can reach and understand all Dharma.” If we grasp one truth, we understand all truths. Whatever the world needs, we can “reach and understand.” We can go everywhere, see everything. We can achieve this. So, when we practice Buddhism, we want to realize profound states without obstacles. We want to learn to do more than just chant the Buddha’s name or meditate. There is more than that. We want to learn more than just researching and understanding the texts. There is more.
We want to learn more than how to teach. We truly want to learn how we can save all sentient beings. This is what the Buddha taught us, the Mahayana state I always say to take the Buddha’s mind as your own. We must have Buddha in our minds, and Dharma in our actions. The Buddha taught us this profound state, so we should join others and work with them. Although we work among them, we should not be defiled by their afflictions. This is the state of meditation, so there is meditation in our actions. This is the Mahayana state.
If we can see the power of the Buddha’s wisdom, we can understand everything without obstacles. Doesn’t it say in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings and in the Lotus Sutra that the Buddha came to this world for a great cause?
All Buddhas and World Honored Ones appeared in the world for a great cause: to reveal and manifest the Buddha’s wisdom, so sentient beings can realize and enter it. Reveal the Buddha’s truth, manifest its meaning cause people to realize it, and help them enter it.
Reveal, manifest, realize, enter. The Buddha came to the world for these reasons, and continues to return. He came to open the door to sentient beings’ minds, to teach them the correct Dharma for this world, and to manifest it so they can realize things are the way they are. Is knowing this enough? We must still enter and physically practice the teachings. The Buddha came to the world for this great cause. So we should understand that our minds have infinite Dharma-treasures. In our minds, there is an inexhaustible supply of Dharma-treasures.
Everyone has them. We all have bottomless trove in our minds. It is inexhaustible and unlimited. How could we exhaust the Dharma in our minds? As long as our minds can be open, we do not need to think that we must develop spiritual power or have great Samadhi in meditation to attain the highest state.
What is the highest state? Can this body always be free of illness? When we suffer from illness, where does our Samadhi go? So we should take advantage of this body to benefit other people. We must practice this Mahayana Dharma. What is Dharma? It is something to be used; it can be usefully applied. Then that is true Dharma.
So, when we happily teach and remain undefiled, we attain peace of mind in freely applying Dharma and freely applying skilled means.
This is the most important part of learning Dharma. If we can understand Dharma, and can speak it, we will “happily teach it.” If we understand Dharma, we can teach it. We can teach it tirelessly and happily. We will be very happy to teach, and everything we teach will be correct.
There are many principles, but whom do we want to teach? We speak to all people. If we can be among them “and remain undefiled,” we are not limited by our own teachings or influenced by others. Then we are unimpeded, and “we attain peace of mind in freely applying Dharma.” If we practice what we teach, then our minds are not influenced by conditions and we can “freely apply skillful means.”
The Buddha expounded Dharma for 49 years. For 42 years He taught skillful means. The Buddha had said that in the past He spoke skillful means, which is not the true Dharma. But without those skillful means, how could people realize True Dharma? I can explain it this way. We have been eating for decades. All that food is gone. We are not any heavier or lighter. Was that food real or unreal? We can say it is unreal, because it is gone now. After it leaves our three-inch tongue, we cannot even remember the taste. But it provides us with nutrition. So is it real or illusory? Does our body remain nourished? No, we have to keep replenishing it. If we do, will we remain young? No, we need to replenish it become it metabolized and keeps changing.
Everyone, worldly Dharma is illusory. Though it is illusory, though it is only skillful, if we can turn people from evil to good, then it is good Dharma. The Buddha did just that. In the end He told we are all Buddha. So, we must believe that we inherently possess Buddha-nature. This is the Truth.
So everyone, when we practice Buddhism, when we happily teach and remain undefiled, we attain peace of mind in freely applying Dharma and freely applying skillful means.” We need to eliminate ignorance and attachments. So, we should always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV 靜思晨語 法譬如水)
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