Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Awaken Yourself and Others with the Dharma (自覺覺他 以法供養)
Date: January. 14. 2014
“They formed great aspirations to seek the unsurpassed Bodhi-path for sentient beings. They joyful expounded the Dharma like Purna and practiced and learned as much as Ananda.”
This is saying to everyone that since we wish to engage in spiritual cultivation, we must develop great aspirations. This also means we must make a great vow to understand the Buddha-Dharma, not only to awaken ourselves, but also to awaken others. After we comprehend the teachings, we want to help everyone else do the same. The Buddha wanted to help us understand. Therefore, He comes to this world for one great cause, to help everyone understand. Some people’s capabilities fall short. Others’ are very sharp, and the moment they hear the Buddha’s teachings, they instantly realize that life is impermanent. Life is filled with suffering, and if we look into it, we see that everything is empty, “just as the Buddha taught. I know that the Buddha teaches emptiness, but how do I discover wondrous existence? If everything is empty, what is there to cultivate?”
We need to return to our intrinsic nature. In the beginning, the Buddha said, “All sentient beings have Buddha-nature.” All sentient beings have this nature of wisdom; we just have not found it yet. We only know about emptiness, impermanence, suffering and so on. We understand them and believe they exist, but we are still unable to find the true suchness of wondrous existence. So, we must form great aspirations. As long as we are heading in the right direction, when we receive teachings, we will experience certain realizations. These are our experiences and our realizations.
With these realizations, if other people do not understand, we can tell them, “There is a Buddhist teaching that is like this, if you do not understand, then let me share my experience with you.” This is a great aspiration we form. Not everyone is fortunate enough to listen to the teachings. The Dharma must be passed on by people. The people who pass it on must develop great aspirations to [practice] for the sake of sentient beings. So, they resolve to practice the Bodhisattva-path.
Therefore, we do not aspire only to self-awakening and self-liberation, we must aspire to awaken ourselves and others so that everyone will have the chance to accept Buddhist teachings. For the sake of sentient beings, we seek the unsurpassed Bodhi-path. Life is impermanent, so we need to seize the day. But some people are still very insistent on practicing the Dharma for their own sake first. We must do many things at the same time.
With every step we take, we are really trying to take eight steps at once. These eight steps must be treated like a single step. By the same logic, when we transport ourselves, if we ride a bicycle we can take on passenger, if we ride a motorcycle, it is the same.If we ride a bicycle we can take one passenger, if we ride a motorcycle, it is same.If we drive a car, we can take four passengers.If we drive a bys, we can take 20, 40 passengers.If we operate a train, then we can take hundreds of people.
When we practice the Ten Paramitas, they come together to form a huge ship.A ship of compassion can take thousands, tens of thousands of people at once from this shore to the opposite shore. The idea is that while crossing the same distance, we may use many different tools to do so.
These tools are vehicles of spiritual practice.We can use various methods to transform ourselves and others.So, to “seek the unsurpassed Bodhis-path,” we must have a consensus and develop the same common aspiration.To whom can this be compared?To those who “joyfully expound” teachings.We must be very joyful.After listening to the Dharma, I attained certain realizations, and so I joyfully share the contents of the teachings.
If you do not understand it, I will share my experiences with you.This is how we pass on the Dharma.“They joyfully expounded the Dharma like Purna.”Purna is “Son of Fullness and Loving-kindness,” short for Purna Maitrayani Putra one of Sakyamuni Buddha’s ten chief disciples and the foremost in expounding the teachings.He enjoyed expounding the Dharma.After he understood [the teachings,] he shared them with other people.His capabilities were superior, so after he took refuge with the Buddha, he quickly realized the importance of the Buddha-Dharma for the world.
The Buddha’s teachings, the Four Noble Truths, the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence and so on, were all within his comprehension.He clearly understood how life came to be and how it will pass.Thus Purna Maitrayani Putra, or Purna, upon becoming a monastic, realized the fruit of Arhatship.Then after listening to the teachings at the Lotus dharma-assembly, he quickly “turned from the small to the great”.
[This transformation] was first achieved by Sariputra, then by Purna Maitrayani Putra.
They understood why the Buddha said, “In the past, I first helped you to engage in practices that purified your minds.But after completely understanding the principles of true emptiness and becoming free of attachments and hindrances, three is one thing you have not yet understood: wondrous existence”.
“The teachings of wondrous existence are to return you to your intrinsic Buddha-nature.”We need to agree with the Buddha’s knowledge and views on this point, thus we must first use the One Vehicle to go from this shore to the opposite shore.
The One Vehicle Dharma consists of the Path and these teachings, which help us cross form this shore to that shore, from delusion to awakening.
In the Lotus Sutra, he realized the Buddha’s original intent, so Purna turned from the small to the great.He turned away from the Small Vehicle and started heading toward the Great Vehicle.In the “Chapter on.Bestowing Predictions on 500 Disciples,” Purna Maitrayani Putra also received the Buddha’s prediction that he will attain Buddhahood in the future.His epithet will be Dharma-brightness Tathagata.
Purna: Purna Maitrayani Putra was one of Sakyamuni’s chief disciples, the Arhat foremost in expounding the Dharma.
Upon becoming a monastic, he quickly realized the fruit of Arhatship.The he had the opportunity to listen to the Lotus Sutra and turned from the small to the great.In the Charter on.Bestowing Predictions on 500 Disciples, he receive a prediction to become a future Buddha.His epithet will be Dharma-brightness Tathagata.
He joyfully expounded the Dharma.In the sutras, there is a story about his travels.He joyfully expounded the Dharma. In the sutras, there is a story about his travels. There was a small town where most people were very violent and negative. They were very unreasonable. People were constantly arguing and fighting and refused to listen to reason. Purna came to the Buddha one day and said, “Venerable Buddha, there is a place where people are violent and negative, and they have not received Your teachings. I want to go teach and transform them.”
Upon hearing this, the Buddha asked, “If you know that everyone there is very vicious, how would they listen to reason?” Purna said, “What they lack are Your teachings, so I want to go to them. The Buddha asked, “If you went there and they refused to listen and scolded you instead, what would you do?”
Purna said, “I would be grateful that they are only verbally scolding me.” Then the Buddha asked: “What if they struck you with their fists?”Purna then said, “I would still be grateful that they are only striking me with their fists and not beating me with clubs. Therefore, I must be grateful.”
The Buddha asked, “What if they struck you with clubs?”Purna said, “I would still be grateful that they are only striking me with clubs and not killing me with knives.”
The Buddha then asked, “What if they killed you with knives?”Purna said, “If so, I would still be grateful. This must be the karmic affinity between me and those people; I created this bad karmic affinity with them. In a past life, I must have harmed them. In this life, if I can repay them then I can cancel out the debt. Then this negative cause, this bad karmic affinity, will be eliminated. So, I must also be grateful for this.”
After hearing this, the Buddha praised this great vow of Purna Maitrayani Putra. The Buddha believed that these people had a karmic affinity with Purna, so there was no need to worry about him going there to transform them. So, the Buddha permitted Purna to go and transform those vicious and unreasonable people. Essentially, he went and transformed many of them. This is what Purna did. His full name was purna Maitrayani Putra. This is a story about him.
At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, he turned from the small toward the great and tried to transform sentient beings. Coming to the world to engage in spiritual practice is for the purpose of transforming sentient beings. Therefore, I am sharing. Purna’s story with all of you.
“So, newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, who have made offerings to countless Buddhas, clearly understand the paths of truth. “
“Newly-inspired” means they were just developing aspirations. Whether or not their spiritual aspiration is firm is still unclear, but they have already formed great aspirations. They did not seek only to awaken themselves. After they understood the Buddha-Dharma, they turned form the small to the great. Because they wanted to move toward Great Vehicle teachings, they had to form Bodhisattva-aspirations. In the past, they continually made offerings and served all Buddhas. They also engaged in spiritual practice, but in the past, they practiced Small Vehicle teachings. They only sought to awaken themselves. Now they turned from the small to the great and started to form Bodhisattva aspirations. So, these people “who have made offerings to countless Buddhas, and achieved all paths of truth.” These individuals, in the past, had engaged in spiritual practice and made offerings.
Making offerings to countless Buddhas: Bodhisattvas vow to constantly, respectfully make offerings to all Buddhas they take joy in the teachings of the Path and in cultivating the virtues of giving with equanimity. They tirelessly seek to understand [the Buddha’s] knowledge and views.
What does it mean to make offerings? Here it says, “Bodhisattvas vow to constantly, respectfully make offerings to all Buddhas.” This means that they have engaged in spiritual practice for a very long time. Through countless kalpas and over many lifetimes, they maintained this same reverence in making offerings to all Buddhas. After developing faith in the Buddha and accepting His teachings, they are immersed in the stream of Dharma the Buddha-Dharma in their hearts, they will always be very happy and at ease.
So, “because of their deep faith, they take joy in the teachings of the Path.” They happily immerse themselves in the Path and the teaching. Thus, they “cultivate the virtues of giving with equanimity. This is continuous. As they begin to believe in the Buddha’s teachings, they also joyfully practice the teachings of the Path.
They engage in spiritual cultivation by practicing joyful giving. Their merits and virtues all begin with giving. So, if they aspire to help sentient beings, they must cultivate the virtue of joyful giving. They tirelessly seek to understand [the Buddha’s] knowledge and views.
When they listen to the Dharma, they put their hearts into understanding it. They do not get tired when listening to teachings. They listen joyfully each day, so they do not grow tired of it. We must focus our thoughts on the teachings. Once the Dharma has entered our minds, we must contemplate and realize it.This is what we mean by understanding. Therefore, we must cultivate blessings first In the past, we only thought of cultivating wisdom. Now, we are turning form the small to the great; therefore we prioritize creating blessings. “Cultivate the virtues of giving with equanimity.” This is a way to create blessings. Therefore, “blessing are the joy we again through giving.”
We must be very joyful. So, “They tirelessly seek to understand [the Buddha’s] knowledge and views.” “Wisdom is the freedom we gain from being understanding.” Remember this Jing Si aphorism? Therefore, we practice blessings and wisdom in parallel. So, we accept the Dharma and practice giving.Through giving, we understand the Dharma. We can provide material things and share spiritual [teachings] and ideals if we can do this, we will be joyful every day, as well as understand the Buddha-Dharma.
By continuously drinking the milk of Dharma, we can nourish our wisdom-life. This is a way we can make offerings.The Buddha only had one wish, that we will practice giving. The way sentient beings can reply Him is to help all beings awaken. This is the greatest offering to the Buddha; this is the offering of the Dharma. After accepting His teachings, this is the best way to repay the Buddha and make offerings.
Follow Bodhisattvas. When we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must develop great aspiration for the sake of sentient beings.We cannot work only for our own awakening, seeking only our own liberation. If we do that, and just liberate ourselves, if everyone around us is suffering while we alone are happy, we will feel very conflicted. We should work for the happiness of all beings so that there will be great happiness.
After we awaken ourselves, we want to help everyone achieve awakening too.
This is the true goal of our spiritual practice, the one great cause for which the Buddha comes to this world. Therefore everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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