Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Verbally Teach Skillful Means (音聲言教方便力)
Date: February. 13. 2014
“The Buddha taught the Dharma with His words. Perhaps He spoke of the past, present and future, or worldly and world-transcending Dharma. For the sake of transforming sentient beings, He gave these teachings.”
This tells us that the Buddha gave teachings verbally. After He attained enlightenment, He wanted to share His state of mind at that moment. In His teachings, “perhaps He spoke of the past.” The sutras contain many stories of people asking the Buddha, “What is the reason for my present suffering?” The Buddha would then describe their past lives, their karmic conditions from countless kalpas ago. In Buddhist sutras such as the Agama Sutra and the Jataka Sutra, many stories from the past were used to teach current [practitioners].
So, “He spoke of the past, present and future.” He verbally guided everyone to use teachings of the past to seize the present and [learn] about the future. “Perhaps He spoke of worldly and world-transcending Dharma.” The Dharma that the Buddha taught is inseparable from worldly teachings. The Buddha-Dharma was created for the world, so the Buddha taught exhaustively about the world. Whether about astronomy, geography, psychology, morality and so on, these were all worldly teachings and Buddha gave. He taught all kinds of worldly Dharma solely to guide sentient beings to transcend the world. Therefore, He also had to teach world-transcending Dharma. These were the teachings He gave in His lifetime and the great cause for which He came to this world.
So, when we listen to the teachings, we are not just listening to stories, we are listening for how we should engage with the world. What is our goal when we enter the world? To work on its behalf. We all share responsibility for the world, so we should [learn] how to go into the world and take on this responsibility. We take up responsibility to share the teachings. Some people might think, “What does teaching have to do with me? I am not a teacher, why is it any of my business?” Actually, people teaching each other is how the Dharma has been continuously passed on, lifetime after lifetime. So, passing on the Dharma is called teaching. We can teach by example, by putting [the Dharma] into practice. We can teach through actions and speech and by being a role model for others. This is how we pass on the Dharma. This is how we teach others so that people we encounter can develop their wisdom.
We must always keep the Dharma in our hearts. If the Dharma is in our hearts, then we can cleanse our minds of defilements. Once those defilements are washed away, we will clearly understand worldly matters because the mirror of our mind is clean.If our mirror is clean, we can clearly see everything in the world and clearly discern right from wrong.Then our verbal teachings and physical examples will be clear and apparent.So, the Buddha “spoke of worldly and world-transcending Dharma”.
The Buddha first taught worldly Dharma, which were skillful means given according to people’s capabilities, needs, ignorance and suffering.In every person’s mind, there are delusions, the inability to let go and afflictions.To address their afflictions, the Buddha had to teach according to capabilities in order to help people first eliminate them.He can then continue on to teach them the Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence.This will help everyone understand that they cannot keep grasping at conditions in this way.
Conditions, both positive and negative, continuously multiply.People cannot help but constantly reproduce and accumulate ignorance.Therefore, they cannot transcend this world.
How do they escape?
By practicing the Dharma.[so, they need] world-transcending Dharma, which we have been discussing.Hearers, Solitary Realizers and Bodhisattvas are the practitioners of the Three Vehicles, who diligently cultivate world-transcending Dharma.So, “the Three Vehicle teachings can all be transformative”.From Hearers to Solitary Realizers to those who aspire to walk the Bodhisattva-path, all are guided by Him.Establishing teachings for sentient beings was the Buddha’s goal in coming to the world.There is so much suffering in the world, I [recently heard] a touching story.
A woman lived in Neihu district.When she was young, her family was poor, and her parents often argued over the family’s livelihood.When she was young, her parents separated, and all the children were sent to an orphanage.As an orphan, she was always very resentful.
After several years, their mother came to retrieve them, and finally they were a family again.
But her mother did not fulfill the responsibilities educating her children.She constantly left the young children [at home] and went out on her own.
When she was thirteen, she started doing odd jobs like running errands.This was a difficult period in her life.So, she wanted to quickly find someone she could depend on and get married.
However, the man she married was very attractive and popular with women.She constantly fought with her husband and was physical beaten as a result.So, she felt very helpless; her mind was in great pain and torment.Once, she accidentally got pregnant.Then she gave birth prematurely to a daughter.The doctor declared that the child had an abnormal growth in her stomach, like a malignant tumor.
This new mother felt great pain in her heart.She felt that this was a punishment, and this suffering was a result of her karma being passed on to her daughter, causing her child to suffer in her place.Therefore, she felt terrible and made a vow to do good deeds to make up for her daughter’s suffering.
After becoming involved with Tzu Chi, she was very devoted. She believed in the Jing Si Aphorism, “As long as we have the will, nothing is difficult.” She wondered about the mistakes she had made. She thought of how she resented her mother. For a long time, she had refused to speak to her mother. So, she continuously repented and diligently volunteered. Whenever there was a Tzu Chi activity, she would join in to help out.
Incredibly, one day her mother suddenly appeared before her, asking for her forgiveness. Her mother told her, “In the past, I did not take care of you, and I really caused you a lot of suffering.” At that instant, they embraced each other in tears. She also told her mother, “I was also at fault. You probably suffered a lot. I could not comprehend your suffering, so I just kept complaining. I was wrong to do that.”
So, they truly empathized with each other. So, over time, things changed in this way. Though her life had not changed very much in her mind, she had thoroughly understood the principle that the world is filled with suffering so she must work hard on her spiritual practice. Therefore, the Dharma penetrated her mind. This is how worldly Dharma works.
There is much suffering in the world, and only in understanding the world’s suffering can we strive to “practice teachings”. To engage in spiritual practice, we must value the teachings and put them into practice. We must use the Dharma as water and continuously cleanse our minds with it. This is why, when we learn the Dharma whether it is worldly or world-transcending, we must always be more mindful.
The sutra states, “Bhiksus, bhiksunis, upasakas and upasikas, each had the following thought”.
Starting with Ajnata Kaundinya, everyone at the assembly had these doubts. “Didn’t the Buddha’s past teachings guide us toward the Buddha’s path, the path to enlightenment? Did we take the wrong path? Why is the Buddha now teaching us again?”
Next the sutra states,“Why was the World-Honored One now repeatedly praising skillful means but proclaim that the Dharma attained by Buddhas is extremely profound and difficult to understand?”
Why did the Buddha offer this praise? He repeatedly praised skillful means of the past for being suitable for people’s capabilities and guiding sentient beings. So, why was He now saying, “the Dharma attained by Buddhas is extremely profound and difficult to understand?” Why was the Buddha saying this now? So, everyone had doubts.
“In the past, out of His kindness, the Buddha gave provisional means according to capabilities. Now that He set aside the provisional to reveal the true, the assembly doubted that they could fathom the Buddha’s Wisdom. Therefore,this led this disciples of the Three Vehicles and fourfold assembly to each have the following thought.”
In the past, the compassionate Buddha gave teachings according to capabilities and used skillful means that suited each person. He gave provisional teachings, which are skillful means. This was how He wisely taught us. And now, “He set aside the provisional to reveal the true”. He was about to set aside provisional teachings to tell people not to be attached to skillful mean. Now He was setting aside the provisional to reveal the True Dharma. So, this is “setting aside the provisional to reveal the true.” He wanted to expound the True Dharma to the assembly.
But people there had doubts in their minds. “This road that we have been taking, is it the wrong one?” Actually, the Buddha was not saying that the road they took was wrong He had been carefully guiding them and hoped that they would not be attached to the road that had led them here. [Now,] He was forging a wide path for everyone to walk, and this is the real road that will take us to the state of Buddhahood.
Why now does the World-Honored One repeatedly praise skillful means? For 40 years, He gave teachings of the provisional, skillful means. So, was what they realized also skillful means? Here, they doubted skillful means.
They still did not understand the Buddha’s intent, so they had doubts and questions in their minds. So here, they doubted skillful means. The Buddha’s mind contained True Dharma. Sentient beings’ minds contained doubts. How could the two be reconciled? He wanted to help everyone understand that He was about to give great teachings. He did this to assure everyone that the teachings He gave in the past were not wrong. They had been suitable for their capabilities, so He taught and guided them with these means. These were the teachings He gave in the past. So, now they all had to believe and verify that the teachings they had already accepted helped them resolve many of their afflictions. But, they had to keep moving forward. After we eliminate our afflictions, that does not mean we have been liberated. Not yet. There is still a long road ahead. We must truly penetrate the Buddha’s teachings.
Therefore, what we realized were skillful means. Though we have eliminated afflictions, we must still diligently move forward.
It is said the people in this world, in their present lifetime, drew near to virtuous and spiritual friends. Because they listened to their teachings of skillful means, they developed Bodhicitta. This is the power of skillful means.
In this world, in this present era, we draw near virtuous and spiritual friends and listen to their teachings of skillful means, which can also lead us to develop Bodhicitta. After we listened to [the earlier story], we may realize, as long as she had the will, “nothing was difficult.” The woman we just heard about read this simple phrase in “Jing Si Aphorisms.” Then, she repented and became determined to made diligent progress. “As long as we have the will, nothing is difficult.”
This also inspired her to develop Bodhicitta. So, the Buddha’s teachings are not too difficult. As long as our minds resonate with the principles, and we put our hearts into moving forward, encountering the Buddha-Dharma is not difficult.The Buddha teaches verbally, and we take it in with our ears. Out of His compassion and through His voice, the Buddha expounds the Dharma. When we listen carefully with a mind that seeks the Path [to awakening] and take the teachings into our minds naturally we will realize the Buddha’s knowledge and views and His state of mind. So, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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