Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Union of Compassion and Wisdom (悲智同體)
Date: June. 26, 2013
The minds of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings in the world are the same, compassionate and wise. At the assembly on Vulture Peak, all were nourished by the benefits of Dharma and entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings together.
This tells all of us that the minds of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and all sentient beings in this world are actually the same. I often tell you all that in His compassion and wisdom, the Buddha perceives that the hearts of all sentient beings have the same great compassion as His. This is the Buddha’s compassion and wisdom. He has great respect toward sentient beings. So, none of us should underestimate ourselves. Actually, we intrinsically have a mind and a wisdom equal to the Buddha’s. It is just a shame that for a long time, we have remained in the Six Realms. Or perhaps, we have been influenced by the habitual tendencies of other people as we interacted with them. Therefore, our Buddha-mind and wisdom have lost their clarity. Now we can see the Buddha by hearing the Dharma. “It is difficult to obtain human form and to hear the Buddha’s teachings.” We have been born human, and hearing the Buddha-Dharma is the same as seeing the Buddha’s manifestation. Because the Dharma-body is eternal, we see the Buddha by hearing His Dharma. By often hearing the Dharma the Buddha taught, by hearing His wisdom, it is as if the Buddha is with us. When we hear the Dharma, we must feel respectful. Since we feel a sense of respect, we must make great aspirations to learn the Buddha’s Way and make great vows to follow the Bodhisattva-path. This is the Buddha-mind, the Bodhisattva-mind.
Earlier I mentioned that at the Vulture Peak assembly, besides monastics, there were also Bodhisattvas and the eight classes of Dharma-protectors. Actually, the minds of all sentient beings were drawn together, not just heavenly beings, humans and the eight classes of Dharma-protectors. Everyone was replete with compassion and wisdom. Thus they “had the same mind, both compassionate and wise;” this signified their return to their Buddha-mind. Everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature; everyone is equal. As this was happening, the Buddha was ready to begin expounding the Bodhisattva-path. During the previous 42 years, the Buddha taught according to capabilities and based on the time, place and circumstance. The mind of sentient beings is unyielding and difficult to tame. To train sentient beings, the Buddha had to teach according to each capability, place and affinity. At the Vulture Peak assembly, those who accepted and were influenced by the Buddha-Dharma, individually or as a group, began to turn from the Hinayana to the Mahayana. They were of one mind, which was to seek the Dharma. In this Dharma-assembly, “all were nourished by the benefits of the Dharma.” Everyone listening received this Dharma and attained benefits. We hear [the Dharma], we happily comprehend it; thus we receive the benefits of the Dharma and “enter the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings together.”
After the Buddha expounded the Sutra [of Infinite Meanings], He enter the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings.Since everyone was learning from the Buddha, upon seeing Him enter Samadhi, they dared not let their bodies or minds waver.They continued to sit in meditation.Everyone sat still in that place.This described the state of that assembly.So, this verse of the Lotus Sutra describes the moment everyone sat down and stilled their bodies and minds.A rain of Mandarave flowers, Mahamandarava flowers, Manjusaka flowers and Mahamanjusaka flowers fell from the heavens and rained upon the Buddha at that moment.And as that happened, “all Buddha-worlds experienced six kinds of shaking”.When everyone’s state of mind was very tranquil, the sky rained flowers and the earth quake.Under those circumstances, everyone’s mindset varied.
After the Buddha had finished expounding this sutra, He sat in a cross-legged position and entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings; His body and mind unmoving.At that time there fell from the heavens.Mandarava flowers , Mahamandarava flowers, Manjusaka flowers, and Mahamanjusaka flowers, which were scattered upon the Buddha and the entire assembly.All Bdudha-worlds experienced six kinds of shaking.
Flowers rained down from the heavens.Perhaps at that time, during the assembly, a gust of wind caused flowers and leaves to fall from trees, and this was a poetic description of it perhaps at that time, there was a moment when the earth shook.When the earth quakes, people are frightened.
But we can [adapt to it].Do you recall that sometimes, after we have sat down for our morning recitation, there are sudden small earthquakes?Do we all quickly run out?No.We have encountered this before.So when the earth quakes, our minds tremble for just a moment.
To say that we are not scared is not true, but we adapted to this condition because we have all experienced it.In that moment, everyone was quiet and still and the Buddha had also entered Samadhi.Under those conditions, if there was suddenly an earthquake, we could adapt to it.
Do you remember Typhoon Morakot?It brought much damage to the south [of Taiwan].
There were landslides and great floods.Many homes were destroyed and many lives were harmed.During that time, boundless compassion awakened in many people.Do you remember?
Tzu Chi volunteers from northern and central Taiwan all drove south to provide relief.Aside from mobilizing people to donate material goods out of kindness, they mobilized people to help clean up and to provide free medical care.
At that time Tzu Chi offices, present in 52 countries around the world, awakened people’s compassion, wisdom and love.Those far away could not return to lend a hand, but they fundraised in their local areas.To the people of the countries they immigrated to, they held out donation boxes and bowed to them to call for their support.They said, “Everyone please, show your love and blessing.In Taiwan, Typhoon Morakot damaged the southern and central mountain areas.Many people suffered from calamities.We hope that everyone can show some love.”
Recall at that time, these volunteers lived far away in entirely different countries.
When I saw a video they sent back, I saw images of people wearing thick clothing and holding up donation boxes in the frost and snow.The bowed deeply and asked people to share their love and blessing. It was very touching. There were also images of other places where people stood under the blazing sun with their donation boxes. They were covered in sweat and their clothing were drenched. Nonetheless, they continued fundraising to ask people to give their love and blessings. Aren't they demonstrating a heart of boundless compassion?
They can humble themselves; doesn't that show wisdom? Wisdom leads everyone to heighten their vigilance. Even though Taiwan seems far away from them, they still all live on the same planet. Earth-shattering disasters need to bring about world-changing realizations. [So we ask] everyone to demonstrate their love and sincerity in the hopes that humankind can bring this love and sincerity together to create enough blessings to lighten the disasters of this world. This is also another way to teach in response to people's needs.
More importantly, this shows everyone that both compassion and wisdom are two parts of one whole. This was particularly true of those Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan. After the great flood of Typhoon Morakot, they mobilized to help homeless disaster victims. They physically went to the disaster area. Whether they were from northern or central Taiwan, everyone came together to help with the clean up over seven or eight days. People volunteered for over 150,000 shifts in the disaster area. They made no distinctions of status; regardless of their professions or industries, they all came together. On the highway, there was a long procession of trucks and machinery with [Tzu Chi] flags. This procession was long and orderly. This string of cars and trucks headed south toward the disaster area. There were disasters in the mountains and flooding and mud in low-lying ground. How were they going to help those people return to a normal life? They cleared the mud and quickly cleaned the houses so people could return to their normal lives.
Next, how could they help those in the mountains whose homes were destroyed by landslides? How could they provide a safe place to live for those whose homes were destroyed? How could they help them settle their minds, bodies and lives? By helping to rapidly construct [new homes]. So, we quickly asked for the government's cooperation in providing the land. A piece of land in Kaohsiung, Shanlin was chosen. Around 60 hectares were given to Tzu Chi. Tzu Chi volunteers quickly cleared the land. From the start of construction [in 2009] to the time they moved in, the construction lasted only 88 days so that everyone could move in before the lunar new year.
Think about how quickly these houses were built. We worked quickly, day and night, so we had to contract five manufacturers. To cover all this land, we did not use tar or concrete to pave the ground. No. We used small pieces of interlocking bricks. After the ground was leveled and filled with sand, these 60 hectares were covered, brick by brick. We did so in the hopes that the land will have space to breathe. To use tar or concrete to pave the land is like putting plaster on our skin or wrapping it in plastic. Just think how uncomfortable this would be for us. The pores on our skin help vent heat from our bodies, etc. The Earth is on big organism; we hope it has the chance to breath so we cannot bear to cover it with tar or concrete. This is a way to protect the earth.
We want to make our buildings very safe, able to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. These homes were constructed in 88 days.Imagine, we were very worried about them, too. Everyone worried. Even though we made the calculations and created the designs, we kept telling the manufacturer, “It must be able to withstand an 8.0 earthquake. It must be able to withstand a level 17 typhoon.” Even though we used these numbers to design buildings, some people asked, “Is that possible for such rapidly constructed houses?” [This question was not answered] until later (2010) when there was a 7.0 earthquake in the Jiaxian District.People had already moved into this Tzu Chi Village [in Shanlin]. So, we quickly sent volunteers to check if the people living there were safe. They also checked the houses that were not yet complete. They inspected the entire village, and everything was safe and sound; nothing moved.
At that time, everyone said, “We are grateful! The Dharma-protectors were checking our work.” That is an accepting attitude. Even though this earthquake caused disasters in places in southern Taiwan, at this location where we have mindfully constructed [these homes], everything was safe and sound.This place was constructed by many people’s boundless compassion and wisdom. So, even though this natural disaster occurred, we adapted to this earthquake “The eight classes of Dharma-protectors came to check on us, and we are grateful.”
To summarize, I have been thinking of this spiritual training ground on Vulture Peak. This description is of flowers raining from heaven and the earth quaking. When the six types of shaking happened, what was everyone’s state of mind? This was a very unusual sight.
Under these conditions, what was everyone’s state of mind?How could that be described? Everyone was probably joyous. Why joyous? Because this assembly was not in a lecture hall but was out in the wilderness. With everyone gathered together, when they felt a breeze, it was very agreeable. Everyone’s hearts had softened. Softened means they had great compassion. Agreeable referred having great wisdom. at this place, hearting the Buddha-Dharma, their hearts were full of compassion and wisdom. So then there were six types of tremors in everyone’s minds. The Six Roots, Six Dusts and Six Consciousnesses, it can be said, all began shaking at the time. Everyone felt this. This type of description turned [a physical condition] into a spiritual state that could be realized and explained.
Fellow Bodhisattvas, at that time, people’s minds were free of fear and dread. Instead their minds were agreeable and softened. When everyone’s minds entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings, they could comprehend even more things. Wisdom comes from experience; it allows for greater compassion.
Do you remember the 921 earthquake? It shook out many [Living] Bodhisattvas. In the midst of it all, everyone achieved a deeper comprehension of the impermanence of life. Thus infinite meanings refer to the infinite number of principles in this world.
As we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must attain realizations based on our conditions and accept what they teach us. This is the only way to constantly grow our wisdom.
So, “The minds of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and sentient beings in the world are the same, both compassionate and wise. At the assembly on Vulture Peak, all were nourished by benefits of the Dharma and entered the Samadhi of Infinite Meanings.”
Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
首頁 
