Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Return to Our Original Pure Hearts (回歸本源清淨心)
Date: July. 11, 2013
As Buddhist practitioners who walk the Bodhisattva-path, we must be diligent. We learn the Buddha’s Way to transcend this world. We need to know that sentient beings in the Six Destinies are unable to reach liberation. They experience much torment and suffering. The Buddha comes to this world to help everyone understand that because of one thought, we transmigrate through the Six Destinies. There is only one path to leave this cyclic existence in the Six Destinies that is the Bodhisattva-path. Practicing the Bodhisattva-path is [recognizing] the intrinsic, pure Buddha-nature we all have. The Buddha expounded countless teachings all for one reason: To guide us to return to our original minds. This applies particularly to the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha began to help everyone understand that with our minds, we can bring forth unlimited strength. So He guided us to walk the Bodhisattva-path, hoping that everyone can attain Buddhahood. Speaking of attaining Buddhahood, it is very simple, yet not very easy. So, the Buddha gave His confirmation and blessing to those who made vows and put them into action. This confirmation is like an agreement that if one works hard, one can definitely attain Buddhahood. This is how the Buddha helps His disciples to have faith. This group of the Buddha’s disciples, Sariputra and others, were confirmed by the Buddha as being able to attain Buddhahood in the future. The Buddha made such prediction and assurance for every disciple.
Thus, at that time the people who listened to the Buddha expound the Dharma were already very close to His heart. They were all world-transcending saints. On that occasion, aside from the disciples who were Hearers, there were also Bodhisattvas who had attained the Dharmakaya. These Dharmakaya-Bodhisattvas, such as Maitreya and Manjusri, etc., had already been confirmed and blessed by Him. There were some who would attain Buddhahood, some who had already attained Buddhahood and some who have even taught their own disciples to attain Buddhahood. These are Dharmakaya-Bodhisattvas.
This is what I mentioned before, that the Bodhisattvas who come to the Saha World to help the Buddha educate and transform are manifested Bodhisattvas. So, they are also saints. Some had already attained Buddhahood in the past and some would attain Buddhahood in the future. There were also some who were about to become saints. Thus, they were all world-transcending saints, especially the Buddha. The Buddha is the model for all saints. At this time in the Saha World, Sakyamuni Buddha is the fundamental teacher. Therefore, the Buddha is the model for all saints. His disciples see His level of spiritual practice and model themselves after Him; this is learning the Buddha’s Way.
Buddhist practitioners walk the Bodhisattva-path.All are world-transcending saints.The Buddha is the model for all saints.
Learning the Buddha’s Way is looking at how the Buddha cultivated His virtues and merits, internally and externally.The Buddha practiced internally and externally in the past and now.We Buddhist practitioners often talk about how the Buddha practiced in the past.We use the Buddha as our role model.
The Buddha’s virtues are vast and profound.His kindness nurtures all things.
His gentle and wondrous words can eliminate all delusions of sentient beings so they can go from the state of ordinary beings to that of saints.
The Buddha’s virtues are vast and profound; His kindness nurtures all things, not only humans.
We can see from the Buddhist sutras, from the Jakata Sutra, that He did not just help humans.
He influenced all beings.
Do you remember one of the stories I have told?As the Buddha passed by, if a bird came under His shadow, the bird became calm.When the Buddha’s shadow moved on and Sariputra’s shadow fell over it instead, the bird then became unsettled.Just His shadow was enough to help a bird feel tranquil.Why didn’t Sariputra’s shadow protect and calm sentient beings?This all depended on virtue.By cultivating virtue, even His shadow had virtue, not to mention the Buddha Himself.
Thus, the Buddha’s virtues are vast and profound, and His loving-kindness nurtures all things.In particular, He has a soft, wondrous voice.The Buddha’s voice has eight tones.One of the tones is called the soft tone.By just listening to the Buddha’s voice, even without hearing the content, the sound is enough to make one feel joyful.Then hearing His words can tame one’s afflictions.
This is called wondrous speech.
Whether it is the sound or the Dharma found within, His voice can eliminate sentient beings’ doubts.Sentient beings have strong doubts, and without faith, they cannot accept [the Dharma].
By listening to the Buddha’s voice, they will naturally believe and follow.Added to this is the Buddha’s explanation of the wondrous Dharma.It can naturally eliminate sentient beings’ doubts.
As sentient beings, our ignorance, afflictions and doubts hinder us from returning to our intrinsic nature.Only the Buddha’s wondrous Dharma, His wondrous voice and soft tone, can pacify the harts of sentient beings.
Thus we mentioned earlier that,
“One could see all Buddhas, the saintly lion lords, expounding the most subtle and wondrous sutras.”“The sound of their voices was clear and pure, soft and gentle, teaching all Bodhisattvas, numbering in the countless millions.”
Saintly lion lords refer to Buddhas.We often use the analogy that when the Buddha is expounding the Dharma it is like a lion roaring.This means that, while there are hundreds of animals in a forest, the lion is the king of all animals.When a lion projects his roar, the ground shakes.Fear arises in all the animals.Their hearts are shaken into submission.This is an analogy.Among animals, the lion is the king of all beasts.The Buddha came to the human world, so He is the king of humans, the king of all Dharma, the world-transcending king.
Therefore, the Buddha's teachings can subdue all things, so the Buddha is like a saintly lion lord in the human world. In practicing His Way, we must cultivate virtue. Only virtue can tame all things. The Buddha uses virtue to subdue all kinds of spiritual doubts. So we need to know that the purity of His voice, this soft tone, enables the Buddha's teachings to enter the hearts of sentient beings. His voice subdues stubborn sentient beings, and eliminates their doubts. This is how the Dharma expounded by the Buddha enters sentient beings' hearts to enable their doubtful and disturbed minds to become calm. He can subdue sentient beings, greed, anger and ignorance, and allow them to return to their intrinsic nature to walk on the Bodhisattva-path.
Therefore, “teaching all Bodhisattvas, numbering in the countless millions”. The Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, has come and gone in the Saha World an infinite number of times. Since Beginningless Time, He has taught and guided sentient beings to form great aspirations and wolk the Bodhisattva-path . So, there have already been countless millions.
Next is says, “Their clear voices, profound and wondrous, fill those who hear them with joy.Within Their own worlds, each proclaims the rue Dharma. Through various causes and conditions and infinite analogies. They illumine the Buddha-Dharma to enlighten living beings”.
This section is telling everyone that when a Buddha expounds the Dharma, He must teach according to people's capabilities. There are cause and conditions; depending on the kind of sentient being, the Buddha will apply His great compassion. The Buddha's great compassion is the cause. Sentient beings' sufferings vary greatly. Some suffer spiritually, some suffer because of their circumstances, some suffer physically. There are sufferings of body, mind, circumstances, some suffer physically. There are sufferings of body, minds, circumstances. The Buddha cannot bear to let sentient beings suffer so much internally and externally. Therefore, the stirring of His compassion is the cause.
When the Buddha expounds the Dharma, there must be causes and conditions. The cause is the Buddha's great compassion; the conditions are sentient beings' needs. How can the Buddha's compassion resolve sentient beings' doubts? How can He eliminate sentient beings' ignorance? The Buddha's compassion is the cause. But how He teaches this Dharma in a way that can enter sentient beings' hearts depends on the conditions of sentient beings and their interests.
Everyone needs to hear something different, so the Buddha teaches according to capabilities. Therefore, after attaining Buddhahood, He responded to sentient beings' capabilities. He used different methods for over 40years to adapt to sentient beings' capabilities with skillful means like Vaipulya and Prajna teachings. Then came the Lotus Sutra teachings, which He wanted to teach in accord with their capabilities. Though we say that the Buddha taught skillful means in the past, really everything He did was to share His spiritual state of mind. At the Avatamsaka assembly, the Buddha wanted to share this state with sentient beings. He hoped they could return to Buddha-state of stillness and tranquility, a pure state that is not created or destroyed. He wanted to share that with everyone. But sentient beings lead hectic lives filled with all kinds of phenomena. The Buddha only wanted to tell us that our intrinsic nature is pure, that this state of no creation or destruction is wonderful. But no matter what the Buddha said, sentient beings could not understand. So, the Buddha had to respond to this reality. He had to use the proper skillful means and match sentient beings’ capabilities when He talking to them. Sentient beings’ needs are the conditions. Depending on sentient beings’ capabilities and what they are seeking, the Buddha taught accordingly, adapting the Dharma to what they needed.
Although these are skillful means, they are still the deep and wondrous Dharma, such as the Vaipulya and Prajna teachings. He analyzed things that [seem to] exist to a degree that breaks sentient beings’ attachments, so they would not cling to objects and appearances. This kind of wisdom is contained within the skillful means the Buddha used to suit sentient beings’ abilities so they can apply them. So, the Buddha discussed emptiness and existence. For over 40 years, the Buddha, in His compassion, taught emptiness and existence according to beings’ abilities and the conditions of their needs.
Thus, there are infinite analogies to present the Buddha-Dharma. Many metaphors can be used to teach the Dharma. People come in all different forms, with different lives. Stories about different people used to educate those who have afflicted hearts, greedy hearts or ignorant hearts. With just a slight deviation, people may fall into the trap of a misguided life.
In this world, people help people. Sometimes it is done directly. When people suffer a disaster, we help by directly giving them material goods. Some may suffer spiritually. We can lead them onto right course.Sometimes we ourselves serve as role models. The accumulation of the work we have accomplished can influence deluded sentient beings. When they see us, they can quickly self-reflect. In fact, the Buddha always uses all sorts of methods to teach and inspire us. We should follow His teachings and put them into practice.
Thus, the Buddha constantly used all killed of methods to provide analogies. He uses very basic methods to show us that the Buddha-Dharma is just like this. This enables all sentient beings to realize and enter the Buddha’s wisdom.The various methods He uses remain in this world. We can also use all kinds of methods to guide people in their relationships with others. We guide them to the Buddha’s wisdom.
Life in this world is inherently short and temporary. Can we waste such short lives? If we have realizations and apply the Buddha’s teachings to our lives right now, we can influence the future. When we apply them to ourselves, we can influence our surroundings.
The Buddha appeared more than 2000 years ago. From the time He was born until He entered Parinirvana, 80 years passed, but He influenced future sentient beings for countless kalpas. This also requires us all to continuously help the Buddha-Dharma remain in this world. We hope that the Buddha’s teachings and His views and knowledge can enter the hearts of all beings.
Thus the Buddha’s views and knowledge are the great causes for which He came to this world. If we can apply [His views and knowledge] in our daily living, the Buddha, the mind, and sentient beings. This is an impartial view. Therefore, the Buddha sentient beings a saint, the role model for all saints. When we apply this model ourselves, aren’t we seeking the Buddha-Dharma and practicing it every day and every moment? Therefore, we need to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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