Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Returning to Our Self-nature (反歸自性)
Date: January.15. 2014
The most valuable thing in learning the Buddha’s Way is “cultivating self-awakening. Through the two feet of blessings and wisdom, we all achieve [realization] together.” We must “ponder more teachings and contemplate our self-nature. With a broad and pure heart, we return to True Suchness.”
Is this not the direction we seek? Learning the Buddha’s Way takes hard work. This is course of spiritual practice that we value the most. So, we must internally cultivate self-awakening and really contemplate our self-nature. Every day, we listen. We hear the sounds in our surroundings. We chant the sutras and prostrate to the Buddha. When we listen to the sounds around us, aren’t we listening to the sounds of the Dharma? When we sit in stillness, we can hear the sounds of the birds speaking to one another. Perhaps they are also gathering to expound the Dharma. What is the sound that we hear now? What kind of bird is this? We cannot tell. But because the Buddha is in our pure hearts, we can also seemingly hear them give teachings.
This is a sound we hear every day, so [their] teachings have penetrated our minds. We also hear the sounds of all things in the world. In the early morning, we prepare for the day’s work. Over the course of a day’s work, what kind of sounds do we hear? People’s words are heard by our ears and listened to by our minds. When we see people’s expressions and actions, we also comprehend them with our minds. We hear through our ears and see through our eyes. In our minds, we think about what happened yesterday, the day before yesterday in the past, a long time ago. We also think about the future and the things we want to pursue. These discursive thoughts and feelings are experienced throughout the day. Perhaps, as we hear and see, discursive thoughts arise at that same moment. This is the way we ordinary people live. We allow our minds to be tempted and moved by our external conditions. We even allow discursive thoughts to obscure our minds. This is how the minds of ordinary people work.
Since we are learning the Buddha’s Way, we must cultivate both blessings and wisdom. We must [do good deeds]. Every day when we do things, we must make benefiting others our priority. We must ask ourselves, “What am I cultivating?” “Am I working for my own benefit or for the benefit of others?”We must think this through.
In this lifetime, at this moment, do we choose to spend time on our ourselves or to extensively benefit others?
Of course, right now we are constantly talking about the Small and Great Vehicles.
In the past, to help people’s minds first accept the teachings, the Buddha started with Small Vehicle methods.He first taught them to comprehend suffering, emptiness, impermanence and no-self.These were the principles that He wanted people to understand first.
Then, He kept guiding them toward this broad, enlightened path, which will take them to the Buddha’s enlightened state.Even though we may have started with Small Vehicle teachings, we must internally cultivate self-awakening.To move forward step by step, we know we need to cultivate both blessings and wisdom.This is just like walking with our feet.With one foot, we take one step toward blessings; with the other, we take one step toward wisdom.
Therefore, we must cultivate blessings and wisdom together to walk on this path of wisdom for both ourselves and others.As we walk on this path, at the same time we must also guide others to go in the same direction, take the correct path.When we arrive, so will everyone else.This is how we all achieve [realization] together.
We are just like other people.Together, we can walk on this broad, enlightened Bodhi-path.
This is how we achieve [realization] together and awaken ourselves and others.Of course, we must always be mindful so that we do not stray from the path.Therefore, we should “ponder more teachings and contemplate our nature”.Aren’t we trying to discover our nature of True Suchness?
Recently, I have been trying to help people understand that while spiritual practice is important, we must also look inward and absolutely not neglect our Buddha-nature.
So, we must unearth our Buddha-nature.
I just explained that ordinary people, many complex, discursive, delusional thoughts.
The external phenomena in front of us will also cause disorder in our minds.As each day passes, do we want to remain confused and waste this life?No, we must quickly and more mindfully focus our thinking to truly achieve a thorough understanding.
Indeed, [our thoughts] must be pure, transparent and endless.
In our contemplation, we must really look closely within to quickly find our nature.So, we need a “broad and pure heart”.We must be broad-minded and pure in heart.
If we can achieve this, listen to more teachings and contemplate more intensely, we can look within to find our self-nature.Thus, our minds have to be broad and pure.
With a broad and pure mind, we can find and return to our Buddha-nature. Otherwise, our complex thoughts will continuously pollute our thinking, and we will never be able to converge with our true Buddha-nature. Though we keep listening to teachings from external sources, more importantly, we must also look internally to discover our intrinsic nature. This is a very big task. For spiritual practitioners to look inwardly and reflect on their nature takes a lot of skill. To develop such great skills, don't we always talk about [needing] “the Six Perfections and Four Infinite Minds”? We have already aspired to be Bodhisattvas, so we cannot stray from the Six Perfections.
Among the six, there is “patience”. To be patient requires great effort. Only then can we persevere, be loving and have a broad and pure heart. Without patience, how can we practice giving? Giving also requires patience. Upholding precepts requires steadfastness. Giving and upholding precepts cannot be done without patience. So, we must be patient even when it is hard to be. This is a skill we need in order to contemplate our nature and find our intrinsic Buddha-nature.
So, we must listen to the Buddha-Dharma more often, and through careful consideration, find our inner True Suchness. We must inwardly contemplate our intrinsic Buddha-nature. This is very important.
Therefore, “newly-inspired Bodhisattvas, who have made offerings to countless Buddhas, clearly understand the paths to truth and are able to skillfully expound the Dharma, number as many as the rice, hemp, bamboo and reed [plants], filling the ksetras in the ten directions”.
Making offerings to countless Buddhas means that for a very long time, they have been firm in their spiritual aspirations. They continuously make offering to Buddhas with their words, thoughts and actions by following His teachings. This is how they serve the Buddha and uphold His teachings of the Path.
Countless Buddhas means that it takes a very long time to “clearly understand the paths to truth”.
To clearly understand the paths to truth is to thoroughly penetrate and realize the principles of all matters. When we penetrate the teachings of the Path, the mind and conditions are one. The clear understanding of all Dharma is where the paths to truth will lead us.
“Clearly understanding the paths to truth” means we have already attained realizations. We need to take a very long time to practice according to the teachings with body, speech and mind. This is the best way to make offerings.
If we do so, then we can thoroughly understand and penetrate the principles of all matters. To thoroughly penetrate is to clearly understand. We must really understand matter and principles. “When we penetrate the teachings of the Path, the mind and conditions are one”. We must deeply penetrate the teachings of the Path.
Early, didn't the Buddha say that the teachings of the Path are hard to understand? Indeed, they are hard to understand. But we must contemplate them, put our heads together to really consider them. Therefore, “the mind and conditions are one”.
If phenomena in our external conditions can enter our minds and be understood, we can make complex things simple. Then we can completely understand the principles of all matters. This is clearly understanding all Dharma. It is also where the paths to truth will lead us.
[Truth] refers to meanings and principles. “Path” indicates a direction. In the end, this path will lead us to thorough understanding. This clear understanding is what we need to work toward. Then we “can skillfully expound the Dharma”. After we understand, we must earnestly expound the Dharma and share the Buddha's teachings.
Since we have benefited from receiving the Buddha’s teachings, we must constantly be grateful. The Buddha came to the world for one great cause, to give teachings to sentient beings. Thus we can all receive His teachings and grow our wisdom-life.
So, we have benefited from the teachings of the Buddha-path. Every one of us immersed in the currents of Buddha-Dharma, which nourished our wisdom-life. Therefore, we must continuously pass on the Dharma and teach sentient beings. Thus the sutra states, “this Dharma cannot be demonstrated; the appearance of language cannot be used.”
Haven’t we discussed this passage before? No language can be used to speak of this: there is no appearance we can speak of because we cannot demonstrate these teachings. There is nothing to take our to show you, no form, no traces left; what can we do? When we encounter the right karmic conditions, we must seize the opportunity to speak, seize the chance to transform sentient beings. Doing this is like when we, in the Tzu Chi School of Buddhism, go among the people to practice giving with loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. we should all understand that “the Jing Si Dharma-lineage is a diligent path.” For internal cultivation, we make the Four Great Vows and have faith, sincerity, integrity and steadfastness.
What about externally? “The Tzu Chi School of Buddhism is a way to practice among others, which is to practice loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity in the world”. These internal and external practices should be cultivated in parallel. In a spiritual practice center like ours, so many people can be of one heart. In this Dharma-lineage, together we vow to transform sentient beings. “There are countless sentient beings, and I vow deliver them all.”
This is one of the Four Great Vows Toward others, we must exhibit loving-kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity. In this way, we can all be of one mind, filling ksetras of the directions. Earlier, I kept saying that these people are as numerous as bamboo in a bamboo grove, as grain, hemp or reed [stalks]. There are very many of them.
Those in the ksetras fo the ten directions are even of one mind.This means, within the monasteries in the lands of the ten directions, all the spiritual practitioners, and even all the believers, share this same mindset Their minds and bodies are united in contemplating the Buddha’s wisdom, the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle. If we can do so, aren’t we applying the Buddha-Dharma in this world?
But for these teachings to truly penetrate people’s minds, there is still a ways to go. Therefore, we must be mindful.
So, “wholeheartedly with wondrous wisdom, over kalpas as numerous as the Ganges’ sands, [they] contemplated it together, yet could not understand the Buddha’s wisdom”.
What a pity that, though everyone shared one mind for as many kalpas as grains of sand in the Ganges, for their combined minds to understand the Buddha’s wisdom, there is still a ways to go.
Therefore, we must be mindful. We must diligently take each step and cultivate both blessings and wisdom.Blessings and wisdom are like our two feet. They move us forward, so we can benefit the world. We must also engage in intense contemplation and use our power to return to our self-nature use our power to return to our nature.
Let us contemplate by pooling our minds into one [collective] wisdom. This is the path we can take toward Buddhahood. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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