Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Hearers Carry Out the Teaching(聲聞依教奉行)
Date: January.27. 2014
When the Buddha manifested in this world, people could draw near to His teachings. The Buddha could teach skillful means according to capabilities. Moreover, with His original intention, He kindly waited for the right opportunity to set aside the Three Vehicles for the One.
When the Buddha manifested in this world, people who lived in that era could approach Him and personally receive His teachings. At that time, the Buddha was still constantly teaching skillful means according to capabilities. He gave them provisional teachings. This was how He “cleverly taught skillful means”. But the Buddha always kept His original intent. Out of compassion, He waited for the right opportunity to freely express what He originally wanted to teach. When should He expound it and what capabilities would be needed to accept it? Out of His compassion, He never abandoned hope that the moment for teaching it would come. He wanted to universally give the teachings He originally intended to give.
But, He had to wait a very long time. The capabilities of sentient beings were dull, so out of His compassion, He patiently and carefully guided them. He waited for the moment when everyone could understand [His teachings] to teach the True Dharma of the One Vehicle. He waited until this time arrived. Then He set aside the Three Vehicles teachings and instead gave the One Vehicle teachings. He finally began to teach them.
So, after the Buddha taught for a long time, “the true and real had to be spoken.” This passage goes on to state, “He told all Hearers and those who sought the Pratyekabuddha-vehicle, I will enable you to cast off the bonds of suffering and achieve Nirvana.”
This also conveys to us that, at that assembly, the most important thing the Buddha did was enhance the understanding of Hearers. This was because Hearers were those who became monastics with pure mindsets and constantly listened to the Buddha’s teachings. And Solitary Realizers? They were the same. They sincerely sought the Path and wanted to examine the truths of all things in the universe. For people of these capabilities, the Buddha wanted to give them the True Dharma He originally intended to teach.
Therefore, here it says, “He told all Hearers,” whereas in the past, “the Buddha told Sariputra.” The Buddha called on the one acknowledged as foremost in wisdom in the Sangha, Sariputra, to receive His teachings. He had already clearly told everyone that He was about to set aside the skillful means of the past.
He was about to set aside the skillful means of the past.We should know that, to learn the Buddha’s Way, we must realize the Buddha’s mind, knowledge and views.We must know His original intent.To realize His knowledge and views, we must be able to see the same world as the Buddha.The Buddha’s sight is far-reaching, open and broad.Of all things in the universe, there is nothing the Buddha does not understand.So, He also hopes that our understanding will be equal to His, that we will have the same vision as Him so that we can see and understand all things.This is what He hopes for most.
So, the Buddha is truly compassionate and wants everyone to know [His original teaching].
So, the Buddha began to put His heart into giving us this warning, “You must find your intrinsic Buddha-nature as quickly as possible.You cannot simply rely on external teachings to understand the Dharma.This will not last.You must use the pure spring water from your Buddha-nature to cleanse yourself.At the same time, you can also cleanse others.”This is what the Buddha urgently hoped people would quickly [realize].
In the past, He spent a long time alerting us to this.While the Buddha sat in meditation, radiated light and manifested auspicious appearances, Manjusri Bodhisattva [addressed] the doubts that arose during this time.[People wondered], “Why does He look different from the way He did in the past?What great teaching is He about to give?”[This light and the signs] inspired questions in people at the assembly so that they would seek the answers.
After the Buddha emerged from Samadhi, He began expounding the Dharma.Once again, the target of His teachings was Sariputra.This was because He wanted these Buddhist practitioners, Hearers and Solitary Realizers, to recognize their great responsibilities.
The Buddha was about to completely and unreservedly give teachings that He had originally intended to teach.So, they all need to be mentally prepared to receive this Dharma from the Buddha and pass it onto future generations.
This is why, over and over again, before He spoke to Hearers and Solitary Realzers, He first spoke to Sariputra, their representative.Finally, He told them directly that they must give rise to great Power of Faith.The Buddha guarded these teachings for so long but was now about to freely speak them.So, now He spoke directly to them.“He told all Hearers” means that He directly spoke to the Hearers.
He told all Hearers:
The Buddha’s disciples of the Small Vehicle listen to the Buddha’s teachings and realize the principles of the Four Noble Truths to eliminate delusions of views and thinking.
They have the most limited capacity on the Buddha-path.
Now let us we examine the capabilities of Hearers and Solitary Realizers.So, He came and “told all Hearers,” disciples who follow Small Vehicle teachings.The Buddha actually gave all His disciples the same teachings, but not everyone could accept them.
So, He began by giving Small Vehicle teachings to first help them understand themselves.
He told them that among all the beings in the Six Unenlightened and Four Noble Realms.
He taught those in the unenlightened realms first.He taught the suffering of cyclic existence.
So, people learned about suffering, how they had no control over it because the law of karma meant that live in the Six Realms was filled with unbearable suffering.
Through the Four Noble Truths, they understood the frightening nature of the law of karma and how a single thought could create much karma. These accumulated karmic forces then lead to retribution and suffering. After listening, these people said, “This makes sense. I understand. I must immediately be afraid of and refrain from creating bad karma. I cannot create these [bad] karmic conditions or perpetuate cycles of revenge”. So, they heightened their vigilance and cut off their secular relationships by leaving their loved ones to become monastics. This was the first step. They began by eliminating afflictions caused by entanglements and worries, as well as affection and craving. Only after they eliminate affection and desire can they eliminate vengeance and hatred. So, Small Vehicle practitioners eliminate affection and hatred. This is what Small Vehicle practitioners do. They let go of [these complicated relationships] starting by becoming monastics. With hearts free of hindrances, they could wholeheartedly listen to the Buddha's teachings and use this Dharma to cleanse their minds. Then they had no conflicts in this world, over matters or with others. Thus they were not in conflict with the principles which means they understood them. Those who understood were the Hearers who left home to follow the Buddha.
So, the Buddha's Small Vehicle disciples were call Hearers, meaning those who learned by listening to His teachings.The Buddha's wisdom arose from His heart and spread through His voice. This was how He taught those who followed Him in spiritual practice. They were called Hearers. They accepted the Buddha's teachings, and each time He finished giving teachings, “They happily upheld them, paid their respects and left”. At each assembly, after listening to teachings they were very joyful. The Buddha's teachings addressed principles in this world that people did not understand. After the Buddha analyzed them, people understood and accepted those principles and no longer had attachments in their hearts. This is how He overcame their stubbornness. We humans are unyielding because our greed, anger and ignorance lead us to become proud and arrogant.
So, as spiritual practitioners who follow the Buddha, the first thing we must do is to subdue our greed, anger and ignorance. And as we deal with people and matters, we also have to get rid of our tendency to be arrogant and proud. This is how we follow the Buddha's teachings to attain realizations. This is how we are like Hearers. At the same time, we also have to realize the principles of the Four Noble Truths. Aside from understanding the truths of suffering, causation, cessation and the Path, we must also contemplate the body, its feelings, all thing, the mind and so on. We must enhance our understanding.
Thus, the Buddha first taught His disciples ways to control their minds and analyze principles. After [learning] the Four Noble Truths, they also had to eliminate delusions of views and thinking. Our views and understanding are very complex. After listening to the Buddha’s teachings, we must quickly adjust our views and understanding.
Our “views” must be Right Views. Our “understanding” must be Right Knowledge, and we must also be understanding of others. Therefore, we really need to develop our views and understanding. Everyone has different views and understanding.
There is also the issue of thinking. We all think differently. These delusions come from ignorance views and understanding and ignorant thinking. So ignorance [leads to] afflictions because of [a lack of understanding]. Therefore, when we engage in spiritual practice, the first step is to understand the Four Noble Truths. Next, we must eliminate delusions of views and thinking. This is [the path for] those with limited capabilities.There are three levels of capabilities: superior, average and limited. Bodhisattvas have superior capabilities. Solitary Realizers and Pratyekabuddhas have average capabilities. Hearers have limited capabilities. They only understand after listening; they only practice after understanding. Therefore, they are considered Hearers, those with limited capabilities.
Hearers: Those of limited capabilities are called such because they follow the teachings they hear. They listen to and spread the Path. With faith, they accept and practice the Buddha’s teachings to purify their minds. They focus only on their own awakening and are attached to the Small, biased toward emptiness.
Those of limited capabilities are named [Hearers] “because they follow the teachings they hear.” Because they rely on hearing something to achieve a limited understanding, they are considered people of limited capabilities. “They listen to and spread the Path.” Once they listen to teachings, they know they must pass on what the Buddha taught them. “They faithfully accept and practice the Buddha’s teachings” because they believe the Buddha’s principles. This is what they as Hearers.
Since they want to listen, they must believe, and then practice the teachings. What did they practice? “Purifying their minds, focusing only on their own awakening, attached to the small and biased toward emptiness.” This is what people of limited capabilities do. They are Hearers.
They know, “I must practice the teachings, focus on my awakening and purify my mind.” They only focus on themselves, so they are biased and attached. They cling to the idea that since nothing exists, there is nothing that they need to do, besides engage in self-cultivation to avoid cyclic existence in the Six Realms. This is all they believe in, so they have not made [the Four Great Vows]. They follow the Buddha but have not vowed, “There are countless sentient beings, and I vow to deliver them all.” They have not made such vows, so they are “attached to the small” and biased toward emptiness. These people only purify their own minds and focus on their own awakening. They are known as Hearers.
I hope that all of you can understand that as Hearers, they must faithfully accept and practice teaching. Their first step is to purify their minds. This is also very important. If we do not purify our minds, our minds will never be pure. But we must also take the next step. We cannot just focus on our awakening, and we definitely cannot be attached to the small or biased toward emptiness.
Therefore, now the Buddha began to mindfully teach this category of disciples. He hoped they would take another big step forward. To learn the Buddha’s Way, we must be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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