Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Lotus Sutra Preface(5) 法華經序(五)
Date: March. 22, 2013
心無求 無得失
無煩惱 自輕安
身心澄清
淨因增長
Without expectations, we have no thoughts of gain or loss.
Without thoughts of gain or loss, we have no afflictions.
Without afflictions, we feel at ease.
Isn’t this the state we spiritual practitioners seek? Ordinary people harbor expectations every day. They expect something in return every time they do something or give to others. Such people are unenlightened beings. In our spiritual practice we need to achieve the state of having no expectations. Does having no expectations mean that we do not do anything? Not so. We have to do things. Furthermore, we have to do them earnestly, even carefully, reverently, and with commitment. Since we have come into this world, we need to be earnest about everything we do. Do not spend your life in a daze or a state of confusion.
Consider Sakyamuni Buddha. When He lived in the palace as the crown prince, He enjoyed great luxuries. Yet He was not influenced by desires. Since He was very young, He wondered why there were relationships and cravings, why some people were rich and some were poor, why all these phenomena existed in this world. Even since His youth, He had been constantly, silently contemplating the reason the phenomena existed. This was His earnestness.
In our spiritual practice, we should be like the Buddha and earnestly contemplate in silence. We should consider why people come to this world to lead hectic lives, to quarrel, to create enmity and hatred, to oppose each other. Why go through so much suffering? For what? It is all because of expectations and desires. The mind harbors desires. Fame, wealth, property, and sensual enjoyment are all things that people desire. In pursuit of these things, thoughts of gain and loss arise. So we have to contemplate this. After we understand it, our minds need to be free of expectations. This is conscientiousness. After we have thought things through and gained clarity, we will have no expectations. No matter how hard we may have to work, we will do so without expectations. We are very reverent; we do not seek anything for ourselves, but for all sentient beings in the world. So we need to be vigilant and reverent. We need to have aspirations, make great vows, and spread our love far and wide. All this is done unconditionally. This is a state of the highest spiritual attainment. However, having no expectations does not mean being lazy. It means to be reverent, vigilant and committed.
As we give to others, we should harbor no expectations. Then we will have no thoughts of gain and loss. If we are free from any sense of gain or loss, we will have no afflictions and may truly be at ease and free. When we are in this state, the body and mind will be pure, then naturally, the seeds of purity will increase.「身心澄清，淨因增長」Earlier, didn't I say,
【法華經 序品第一】
身心清淨
惑障蠲除
Our bodies and mind will be pure, we will eliminate delusions and obstacles?
This is what we are working toward. We need to repent for the past. We need to be reverent in the present. We reverently repent the countless grave transgressions created in the past, present and future with our Threefold Karma. We also hope to eliminate them, one by one. So after we repent, we will not commit more transgressions. This is how we can eradicate them, by not committing any more evils after repenting. If we have already eliminated all afflictions, we have cleansed ourselves.
Once our bodies and minds are purified, we can furnish ourselves with the Buddha-Dharma, wisdom and good affinities. Our bodies and minds are like a house in which the colors have faded. Once we are able to clean the house and redecorate it, those surroundings will be very beautiful. Then we can live there with peace and ease. What can we use to furnish this house? We can use blessings and wisdom. We need to create blessings in our daily living. We must always feel gratitude, respect, and love. This state of mind creates blessings. If we create blessings without expectations, if we give without expectations, we will have wisdom. When we use wisdom to furnish our mind-abode, we adorn ourselves with blessings and wisdom. Naturally the seeds of purity will increase.
Since we have created blessings, cultivated wisdom, and created many good karmic connections, our continuous giving to others is without expectations or any sense of gain or loss. These are all seeds and conditions of purity. In this world there are conflicts and disputes filled with craving, hatred, passion, enmity, etc. You may have been born into a great family that you adore. But in the future, in your next life, or the life after, or the one after that, your parents in this lifetime may become your son or daughter. In the life after that, you may become husband and wife. But in the life after that, you may become sworn enemies. This happens because ordinary people create impure karmic affinities. Impure affinities result in entanglements. All this is inescapable.
We transmigrate in the Six Realms precisely because of impure affinities. Even those who do the Ten Good Deeds and are born in heaven cannot escape defiled affinities. We say we must practice in the human realm to attain Buddhahood, because we can witness so much in this world. We can also hear the Buddha's teachings and learn to purify the body and mind. When we cleanse the body and the mind, our bodies will become very pure, our minds can also become very pure. If we create blessings to benefit humankind and do not create further impure affinities, we will attain Buddhahood more quickly.
Therefore, affinities are very important. When the body and mind are pure, pure seeds grow. This is what we need to understand. To purify our body and mind, we must have no expectations or and sense of gain or loss. Without afflictions, we are naturally at ease. Then the body and mind can be clear and pure, and can develop pure causes. Therefore, we must earnestly take the words of these sutras to heart. We need to sincerely contemplate them. Be vigilant, reverent and committed. We must always be mindful. The Verse of Dedicating Merits in the Lotus Sutra Preface states,
【法華經 序品第一】
身心清淨 惑障蠲除 福慧莊嚴 淨因增長
Our bodies and mind will be pure, we will eliminate delusions and obstacles, be dignified by blessings and wisdom, and our seeds of purity will increase.
Then it states,
【法華經 序品第一】
自他行願 速得圓成 願諸如來 常在說法 所有功德 起隨喜心 回向菩提 證常樂果
May my and others vows and practices be quickly perfected and achieved. May all Tathagatas always abide, expound Dharma. May we always rejoice in all virtuous actions and dedicate all merits toward enlightenment to realize the fruits of permanence and joy.
This verse is about making vows. Whether we make vows ourselves, or whether others make them, we are all practicing together on the same path. I have such a vow and others probably have the same vow. It is not just a vow or a wish. We are already acting on it. This is called “acting on a vow”. 「行願」
Since we are learning the Buddha’s teachings, we aspire to be closer to the state of the Buddha. Earlier I mentioned that as we prostrate to the sutra, word by word, we are moving a step closer to the Buddha and the assembly on Spiritual Peak. If we can do things in our daily living with the same reverent mindset, then we are also creating pure affinities and adding onto the pure seeds. To give without expectations, we give with the same reverence as practicing the path, action on the vow, or prostrating. Acts of reverence are not limited to engaging in ceremonies at temples. Actually, our daily behavior can already bring us closer to our vows. Thus, we act out our vows.
In our daily living, every day, the thoughts that stir and the actions, we take are the means of acting out our vows. We change our habitual tendencies by engaging with people and matters. These interactions urge us forward. These are ways of acting out our vows.
“May they be quickly perfected and achieved”.「 速得圓成」We hope that every day, every moment, the vows we put into action with body and mind will get closer and closer to being achieved. Working together in harmony like a perfect crystal sphere is the Tzu Chi practice. As we carry out our vows together, we should be as pure and clear as crystal. I hope everyone has this mindset.
“May all Tathagates always abide, expound Dharma”. 「願諸如來, 常在說法」We hope to always encounter the Buddha, or enlightened beings who come to this world, so we can always be together with them. Therefore here it states, “May all Tathagates always abide, expound Dharma”. We need to be respectful at all times. Respect the Dharma, and the Dharma will be there. Respect the Buddha, and the Buddha will be in your heart.
“May we always rejoice in all virtuous actions and dedicate all merits toward enlightenment, to realize the fruits of permanence and joy.”「所有功德, 起隨喜心, 回向菩提, 證常樂果」With respect, our vows connect to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and the Dharma at all times. This creates merits and virtues. If we do not cultivate our minds, how can our outward actions and words captivate the minds of others? How can we be respectful when others speak? If we do not exert our efforts, others people will not respect us, nor will we respect others.
So let us humble ourselves, be courteous to others. To humble ourselves is a merit, to be courteous to others is a virtue. We should always rejoice in all merits and virtues.「起隨喜心」No matter who created them, we will praise those who have achieved them. We should not hinder others’ spiritual aspirations. Not only do we not obstruct them, we rejoice in a dn praise others at all times.
“We dedicate all merits toward enlightenment” .「回向菩提」We dedicate merits from ourselves to others. We need to work very hard ourselves and be respectful of others. In this way, we are dedicating merits to Bodhi, which is enlightenment. We need to enlighten ourselves, and we need to enlighten others. Enlightening ourselves and others is also called “dedicating all merits”. 「回向」
“To realize the fruits of permanence and joy, ” 「證常樂果」refers to permanence, joy, self, and purity. Seize the moment and maintain your resolve. To us, this thought of joy, this thought of purity, is everlasting, not temporary. I hope we can seize the moment and perpetuate this happiness, this Dharma-joy. This is called “permanence and joy”「常樂」, or happiness. When we do not have a sense of gain or loss we will naturally be free and at ease. Without expectations or any sense of gain or loss, naturally we will feel free and “realize the fruits of permanence and joy” 「證常樂果」because with pure causes we have pure effects.
【法華經 序品第一】
命終之日 正念現前 面見彌陀 及諸聖眾 一剎那頃 生蓮華中 普願眾生 俱成佛道
“On the day we die, Right Mindfulness manifests. We face Amitahba and the entire noble assembly. In that instant, we are reborn from the lotus flower. May all sentient beings quickly attain Buddhahoos.”
Of course, since we are all unenlightened beings, when we pray, we still have expectations. What do we seek? That “on the day we die”, we can remain in that wonderful state, that our mindset will be very upright and not be distracted by external conditions. In our daily living, when cravings and desire invade our mind-consciousness, what kind of karma do we create?
As we are about to die, a certain kind of state will manifest and entice us. If we follow it, we may fall into hell or fall into the animal realm. We do not know. That is why we hope that on the day we die, Right Mindfulness will manifest. We need t uphold this thought of goodness, so we know where we are heading. Ordinary people lack the ability to determine in which realm they will be reborn. It is all unknown. With the advanced technology of today, we can see that many who are on this same Earth are suffering.
Think about it. Once we leave this physical today, will we come back to this spiritual community, will we come back to a world with a harmonious climate and a peaceful society? We do not know. This is why we need to take good care of our minds right now. We need to correct our habitual tendencies, and purify our thoughts. Then we will be very clear about what we want to do when we come back again. We still want to create the same pure causes and blessed conditions, so we cam continue on this same path in our future, a path of pure causes and blessed conditions. This happens when “Right Mindfulness manifests.”「正念現前」
I really hope that we will truly practice Right Mindfulness. So in the instant we die, it will manifest and we will have the freedom to determine where we want to go. “May all sentient beings quickly attain Buddhahood.” 「普願眾生, 俱成佛道」All sentient beings, including us, can simultaneously attain Buddhahood. The only way to do so is to bring purity to every person’s mind so each may attain enlightenment. If we are reborn in the Western Pure Land, we are not there to enjoy it. After we finish learning we still need to return to the Saha World.
Therefore, if we repent with reverence, refrain from creating negative affinities, and develop pure causes, then naturally things will go according to our wishes.
So after we have made our vows, we will take refuge with and prostrate to the Three Treasures. 「皈命禮三寶」We need to find our innate, reverent mindset. Being truly reverent, vigilant, and committed are all very important qualities. Once we reach that state, the mind harbors no more expectations or thoughts of gain, is without afflictions, and is naturally at ease. With a pure body and mind, naturally the seeds of purity will increase. Increasing our causes of purity is extremely crucial. All the sutras and treatises point the way to Buddhahood. We must purify body and mind and develop pure causes to be able to achieve Buddhahood. Therefore, we must constantly take good care of our mind so it will not be defiled by afflictions. This requires us to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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