Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Inspiring the Radiance of Wondrous Wisdom (啟發內心妙智之光)
Date: September. 16, 2013
They Nourish sentient beings’ roots of goodness and spread the seeds of goodness over the fields of merits. They inspire all to develop the sprout of Bodhi. With wisdom as brilliant as the sun and moon, they apply skillful means at the proper time. They support and nurture the Mahayana work.
Be diligent every day, in every moment, and be careful not to become lax. We must comprehend the Buddha’s original intent, He came into this world for one great cause, to help sentient beings eliminate afflictions and discover that they already have Buddha-nature. Regardless of the era, the Buddha uses the Mahayana Dharma-water to “nourish sentient beings’ roots of goodness.”
We have discussed before that the Buddha hoped to “enable those who have not planted roots of goodness to plant them, the roots that are not yet mature to mature, those whose roots have matured to be liberated.” I bring this up repeatedly to make sure everyone understands that the Buddha retained this great Dharma solely because He wanted it to penetrate the minds of sentient beings. He hoped that those who have not heard the Buddha-Dharma will have the karmic connection to learn it and that the Buddha-Dharma will then enter their minds. Once the seed enters the mind, it can develop roots. Once the seed is planted and the roots extend, He hopes our Bodhi (awakening) will grow as well. Only after that happens can we grow in wisdom. By growing in wisdom, we can eliminate attachments to self. Only after that happens, can we attain liberation.
So, He hopes that everyone will continue to get rid of their sense of self. After our roots of goodness have matured, we still need to eliminate our attachment to the existence of a self and continue to extend our karmic connections. Therefore, “as sentient beings are countless, my vows are endless.” As long as there are sentient beings, even if our roots of goodness have matured, we still need to accompany them and continue to make [good] connections. But if there are still attachments in our minds, we cannot attain self-liberation. Therefore, we must not only bring our roots to maturity, we must also attain liberation.
The Buddha used the Mahayana Dharma-water to nourish the capabilities of sentient beings so their roots of goodness can further mature, so the trees can truly grow, then flower and bear fruits. If these trees have grown tall but do not flower or bear fruits, there will be no more Bodhi-seeds. So, we must “spread the seeds of goodness.” These seeds of goodness must come from a mature tree. Bodhi-roots develop into Bodhi-trees, grow tall and produce seeds. This is called “spreading the seeds of goodness.”
Many seeds need to be produced to be spread “over the fields of merits”.
So we say, “Spread the seeds of goodness over the fields of merits.”
To pave the long and extensive Bodhi-path, we need to be mindful.
Helping Bodhi-trees flourish into a dense.Bodhi-forest is also not difficult.
These are actually very simple tasks.As long as we form an aspiration, have the right mindset and walk the correct path, we can grow a Bodhi-forest.When the seeds mature, we can spread them over the fields of merits.“They inspire all to develop the sprout of Bodhi.”“With wisdom as brilliant as the sun, the moon, they apply skillful means at proper times.”
After the seeds are in the ground, a gardener is needed.As living Bodhisattva farmers, we must exercise wisdom like the sun to provide conditions for fruition and compassion like the moon to nurture [the seeds].By exercising compassion and wisdom together, we “apply skillful means at proper times”.Gardeners must know the kind of fertilizer to use and when to irrigate the land.They must know the nature of each plant and when it needs fertilization and irrigation.
Most importantly, they need to remove the weeds.If [a seed is] planted but weeds have not been removed, the tree cannot grow because the nutrients will be taken up by the weeds.The weeds and their roots will overwhelm seeds that have just sprouted. The seeds that we actually planted will quickly be overwhelmed.Isn’t this similar to our spiritual cultivation?
Since we have formed an aspiration and sowed these seeds, we must quickly work hard [to nurture them].If we work hard, when we see someone and feel averse, we will quickly remind ourselves to rid ourselves of afflictions and remove negative affinities, transform negative affinities into positive ones.If vigilance quickly arises in our minds, naturally we will eliminate the evil seeds that create resentment and enmity in our relationships.Then we will have promptly removed the weeds of ignorance and afflictions.In this way, the area surrounding the seeds will open up, and the seeds will be able to absorb nutrients and dew.Then the seeds will sprout beautifully into a small sapling.This requires effort on our part.
Not only do we need to pull the weeds, we need to also “support and nurture” [the seeds].We need to understand how much space trees need in order to flourish and grow tall.[If need be] trees may be moved and replanted.Then all the trees will grow bigger.This is similar to how hard everyone works as we learn the Dharma.We begin to see that myriads of beings need us to teach and transform them.When we absorb the Mahayana teachings, we can then help those we have affinities with.
This is how we “nurture Mahayana work”.According to each of our affinities, we can all work to transform sentient beings.This is the meaning of this passage in the Sutra of Infinite Meanings.Before the Buddha expounded the Lotus teachings, He [taught] “the unspoken Lotus Sutra” to continuously educate all sentient beings with this spirit.
So, He hoped that all sentient beings’ roots of goodness will quickly grow and mature so they can quickly become liberated.They must be freed from attachments to the self in order to walk onto the Mahayana path.
The next passage in the Lotus Sutra states, “At the time, there was a Bodhisattva named Wondrous Light, who had 800 disciples.
At that time, the Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha emerged from the state of Samahi”.
We have previously discussed how Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha radiated light as He was about to expound the Dharma. At that time, in the assembly, there were two billion Bodhisattvas. Among them was one named Wondrous Light. Wondrous Light Bodhisattva had 800 disciples. So we can see, among the two billion Bodhisattvas, this one had 800 disciples. What about the others? We can imagine that an assembly of disciples taught by Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha must be very magnificent. If we think about this, it seems inconceivable that there could be so many Bodhisattvas. There is no mistake, there were indeed this many Bodhisattvas.
In this world alone, Earth's population numbers in the billions. If everyone has Buddha-nature then isn't everyone a Bodhisattva? Isn't everyone a Buddha? Never Slighting Bodhisattva said, “I dare not underestimate you because you will become a Buddha. This is why Buddhist sutras talk about respecting the Buddha-nature that is intrinsic in everyone. From those who are planting roots of goodness to those who have already planted the roots, to those whose roots have already matured, there is a progression to spiritual practice, but eventually succeed, and are equal to Buddha. So, everyone intrinsically has Buddha-nature and all sentient beings are equal to the Buddha. If we can all understand this principle, we will feel respectful toward everyone and will not be trapped in a continuous cycle of karmic retribution because of our attachments to the self.
If we truly want to be liberated, we must first understand this. “At that time, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha emerged from the state of Samadhi”. After He entered Samadhi, radiated light and manifested auspicious signs, the Fulfillment of Time was achieved. So as He emerged from the state of Samadhi, He opened His eyes and looked around. At that moment, among this crowd of two billion Bodhisattvas, He saw Wondrous Light Bodhisattva.
He was named “wondrous light” because “with fundamental, non-discriminating wisdom, he realized the ultimate truth and radiated the light of wisdom. He was named according to that virtue”.
“With fundamental, non-discriminating wisdom,” means to make no distinctions, to not discriminate between the self and others, to co-exist with the earth and sentient beings. This non-discriminating attitude is a fundamental wisdom. Fundamental wisdom is what we all have. As long as we really make an effort, we can realize and enter [the teachings] the Buddha opened and revealed. We can apply fundamental wisdom to accept the Buddha's Dharma and comprehend it as soon as we come in contact with it. This wisdom is also the “ultimate truth”.
Ultimate truth is a principle. We can apply fundamental wisdom to realize the truth of all thing in the universe. This is using “non-discriminating wisdom to “realize the ultimate truth”. We need such pure wisdom to realize the ultimate true principles of all things in the universe and “radiate the light of wisdom”. If we are in harmony with true principles, the light of our wisdom will radiate.
We have the fundamental wisdom to comprehend the true principles of the universe. Our minds must be truly pure for our wisdom to radiate light. Since “he was named according to that virtue, his name was Wondrous Light, referring to the light of wondrous wisdom”. With this subtle wisdom, a fundamental and non-discrimination wisdom, he saw everyone as equal. Only with this type of wisdom can we comprehend the ultimate truth of all things in the universe.
Next it goes on to say, “For the sake of Wondrous Light Bodhisattva, [He] expounded the Mahayana sutra called the Wondrous Dharma Lotu Sutra and taught the Bodhisattva-path, which He guarded and retained. ”
Manjusri Bodhisattvas said when Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He saw Wondrous Light Bodhisattva and used this chance to expound a Mahayana sutra. So “for the sake of Wondrous Light means His teachings were directed to one person. This person must have been the wisest one among these Bodhisattvas.The great Dharma that was to be expounded required someone with the ability to receive it. We know that at that time, Wondrous Light Bodhisattva was the leader of the Bodhisattvas. So, Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha taught according to Wondrous Light’s capabilities. One with the capability to accept this teaching had to receive and pass it on.
All Buddhas share the same Path, and the teaching They give have to be widely accepted. The one pass it on has to be trustworthy so people will think, “Since you believe it, I will too.” Sentient beings of the past were this way, and we are still way. So, “[He] expounded the Mahayana sutra called the Wondrous Dharma Lotu Sutra.” This was the Mahayana sutra that Sun-Moon-Lamp Radiant Buddha expounded to Wondrous Light. Its name was “the Wondrous Dharma Lotus Sutra.” It “taught the Bodhisattva-path, which [the Buddha] guarded and retained.”
So when the Buddha-Dharma is taught, it should be received as something which was treasured and cherished by the Buddha Himself. All Buddhas share the same Path, and this treasured Mahayana teaching could not be comprehended by just anybody.
So, what makes Wondrous Light so special that this was taught for his sake? “Radiant Lamp Buddha represents the principles of intrinsic enlightenment” and “Wondrous Light represents the wisdom of initial enlightenment. These principles will not resonate with those without wisdom. This wondrous light is also intrinsic to everyone.”
As for innate and initial enlightenment, we all have innate enlightenment. It is concealed within our minds. Initial enlightenment occurs when we have the karmic conditions to learn the Buddha’s Way. After we listen to the Dharma and begin to comprehend, we must them devote ourselves. This is called initial enlightenment.
Actually, if we do not have innate enlightenment, we cannot attain realizations. So because we have innate enlightenment, when we hear [the Dharma] again, it re-inspires us. This explains innate and initial enlightenment and the initiator and receiver. “These principles will not resonate with those without wisdom.” These principles can only be understood thoroughly with wisdom. This is what it means to have “wondrous light.”
This wondrous light is also intrinsic to everyone, so we all have the wisdom of wondrous light. I hope that all of us, as we listen to the teachings, will inwardly reflect on our outward experiences, by taking what comes into our minds and seriously contemplating it. We must “listen, contemplate and practice.” Everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV - Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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