Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Two Vehicle Practitioners Seek Understanding (二乘啟知求解)
Date: April. 10. 2014
“The Buddha’s mind, knowledge and views are profound and far-reaching. Sentient beings’ knowledge and views are superficial and inferior. Two Vehicle practitioners began to seek understanding, so they sincerely listened, contemplated and practiced.”
“The Buddha’s mind, knowledge and views are profound and far-reaching.” They are indeed profound, extensive, far-reaching. The distance between ordinary people’s [minds] and the Buddha’s is truly very great. “Sentient beings’ knowledge and views are superficial and inferior.” The superficial and the profound are very far apart. So, for ordinary people to use their unenlightened minds to try to fathom the Buddha’s knowledge and views is indeed impossible. Therefore, we must engage in spiritual practice.
Sentient beings’ knowledge and views are limited by the scope of their own thinking. The Buddha has “a mind that encompasses the universe.” Actually, all of us can have a “mind [that] encompasses the universe,” but we have self-serving views and understanding. Because our views and understanding are selfish and are only about benefiting ourselves, we do not have “a mind [that] encompasses the universe.” A mind that encompasses the universe means that all things are collected within the nature of the Buddha’s mind. This is the state of True Suchness. When True Suchness is in the mind, it is a view; it is the Buddha’s knowledge and views. When revealed to the world, it is the true principle of all things. The Buddha is capable of doing this, and actually, so are we.
The Buddha has always believed that all sentient beings are His equal so this should be the case. Some people will say, “That is so far away, how can I see it?” Though binocular lenses are small, when we look through them with our eyes, “Wow, [we can] see so far away, even places several miles away.” Its angle of coverage need not be very wide. But based on our potential abilities the angle of our view can be wide, broad and big. Ordinary people focus only on functional abilities. Our views and understanding are limited to how we function. We haven’t yet tapped into our potential abilities. Our functional ability comes from our potential, but our desire for material gain has masked our potential abilities. Thus we became lost and cannot see the expansive world outside. The true principles of all things in the universe were originally gathered within our minds, within our nature of True Suchness. Unfortunately, the potential abilities of our True Suchness have been obscured by our use of functional abilities [in pursuit of] material gain.
So, what we see is limited by our scope as unenlightened beings. As we engage in spiritual practice, since we do not aim to be ordinary people, we must look to the Buddha.Thus, we must begin to faithfully accept His teachings.
At the beginning, in the Buddha’s era, in order to suit what sentient beings’ capacities would allow them to accept the Buddha taught according to capabilities.So, He created the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles, the Three Vehicles, to suit their capabilities.
But, these only addressed particular situations.Actually, the principles taught by the Buddha, whether profound or superficial, were all perfect and complete.How they were accepted depended on people’s capabilities.So, the differences are found in sentient beings; the Buddha already attained perfection.
So, Two Vehicle practitioners had already been following the Buddha for over 40 years.
At the Lotus Dharma-assembly, to encourage.Small Vehicle practitioners, He said, “Past teachings were provisional.You have not yet truly perceived my intent or understood the workings of my mind.”These people were stuck at the Small or Middle Vehicle, so they had not yet reached or realized the Great Vehicle principles of the One Reality.
Therefore, the Buddha continuously praised all Buddha’s extremely profound, subtle and wondrous wisdom as difficult to know and understand.He continuously taught everyone, hoping that they could open their minds further and broaden their views and understanding.He hoped all of them would form great aspirations and vows.
So, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, the Buddha began to open this wide door.Two Vehicle practitioners began to yearn, began to want to understand [what He meant] so they “began to seek understanding”.They sought the most profound, sublet and wondrous Dharma guarded and retained in the Buddha’s mind.They wanted to know how these ultimate principles would lead them to their nature of True Suchness, so they could realize it.This is what “Two Vehicle practitioners began to seek understanding” means.
Starting at this time, they all had to be mindful.After 5000 people withdrew, those who remained were steadfast and true.The branches and leaves were gone; those people had left.Those who remained had wholeheartedly made great vows and were willing to mindfully listen to the Dharma.
From the Beginning, the Buddha told them to “listen for truths, ponder carefully and be mindful. ”They must really listen, contemplate and practice.Beyond that, they must also put [the Dharma] into action.The previous sutra passage said, “With analogies and verbal expressions, He proclaimed all Dharma.”
He taught using various skillful means and “analogies and verbal expressions”.
Whether discussing causes and conditions or many other principles, he used many skillful means and analogies suitable for people’s capabilities; this was how He taught all Dharma.The Buddha taught the Dharma so sincerely, but for sentient beings, “this Dharma could not be understood through deliberation and discrimination”.
We must mindfully contemplate this passage.Although the Buddha taught according to sentient beings’ capabilities, what they could take into their minds was only a part [of the teaching].It resolved the afflictions and ignorance they had at that time to open their minds.It resolved the afflictions and ignorance they had at that time to open their minds. But they still could not penetrate the ultimate true principles or their nature of True Suchness.
“The skillful means the Buddha teaches use causes and conditions and analogies. They are all forms of the Dharma. But the True Dharma of the One Vehicle cannot be understood through deliberation and discrimination.”
Take this story from the sutras as an example. There was a woman who born seven children. As they grew older, one by one, they all died at a young age. By the time her sixth child suddenly died, this woman could not withstand such a blow. So, she lost her mind. In that moment, she tore off all the clothes from her body and rain into the street without a stitch of clothing. She had not idea where she was. When people saw her,
they commented how pitiful she was and wondered who could possibly save her. All the while, she alternated between running and walking until she came to where the Buddha lived. In front of Him, she knelt down while still completely naked. Once she was before Him, all the suffering in her heart suddenly welled up, and she cried loudly. The Buddha quickly asked for clothing to cover her body. The Buddha said, “Calm down. Listen to me”.
When this woman heard the Buddha’s voice, she calmed down. Once she calmed down, she felt remorseful, repentant and ashamed. She quickly pulled up the garment and wrapped it tightly around her body. The Buddha said, “Good woman, everyone knows of your suffering, but you must know that this suffering is something you were born with. Indeed, life is inherently impermanent, it may be long or short. Is there a family in which all generations can live together forever?
“ Suddenly, the woman seemed to awaken as awaken as if from a dream. Originally, she suffered deeply and wanted the Buddha to teach her how to dissolve it. As she listened to Him, without realizing it, not only did her suffering disappear, she felt as if a beam of brightness, a truly warming radiance, was shining into her heart and mind. Thus, she awakened. Everyone rejoiced for her but after a while, her seventh child suddenly passed away. This time, the woman’s husband saw that his wife remained collected and was able to accept what happened. So, he asked her, “When the first five children passed away, your suffering was unbearable. When the sixth child passed away, you lost your mind. Now, our seventh child has passed away, yet you seem indifferent and at ease.”
The wife said, “Before, I did not understand the principles of cause and effect. Now I know that such are the causes and conditions. [Our time with them] depended on the causes I created and the strength of the karmic connection we formed. All things arise and cease because of karmic conditions.This is what Sakyamuni Buddha told me and what I understood. ” This is a story from the Buddha’s lifetime. So, here we discuss “analogies and verbal expressions.”
What we just discussed was “various causes and conditions.” The Buddha used various causes and conditions, analogies and verbal expressions to proclaim all Dharma. Indeed, these principles are inseparable from the law of karma. That woman was also suffering from the workings of karma. So, when the Buddha explained the law of karma, He resolved her spiritual suffering.But “this Dharma cannot be understood through “discrimination or deliberation.” In order to truly and completely understand it, we must wholeheartedly, mindfully practice it for a very long time, [resolving] afflictions layer by layer, and [learning] the Dharma, portion by portion. We must make such incremental advances to deepen our understanding, so we can realize His intent, knowledge and views.
“This Dharma cannot be understood through discrimination or deliberation.” Though He extensively taught the Dharma, regular people cannot understand it simply by thinking about it. This is not how it works. We must attentively listen and carefully contemplate the Dharma. We must continuously delve deeply into it.
“Only Buddhas alone can know it.” Only Buddhas will really understand it, not to mention the Buddha said the one Vehicle was extremely profound, subtle and wondrous. In particular, the Buddha kept postponing teachings the True Dharma. “Stop, stop, there is no need to speak further.” He said this because overbearingly arrogant people were still there.
So, if He taught the extremely profound and wondrous One Vehicle Dharma, those who were indolent or had no respect and faith or had overbearing arrogance would be unwilling to accept the teachings and thus could not understand them.
Because this Dharma is so profound, though the Buddha did all He could think of to use various analogies and verbal expressions, He could not help ordinary people attain realizations just from this. This is to say nothing of the indolent ones, the ones with overbearing arrogance and those who could not accept teachings. How could these people realize it? Actually, we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. If we can simply return to the wondrous principles of True Suchness, we will be counted among “all Buddhas.”
When He said, “All Buddhas can understand it, that does not exclude us. Indeed, we can return to our Tathagata-nature. When this pure intrinsic nature manifests, then we can understand all the principles.
So, to listen to the Dharma, we must first return to our pure, intrinsic nature. When we listen to the Dharma, we must accept it with a pure mind and with the Three Flawless Studies we spoke of, precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. We must also listen, contemplate and practice to out our hearts into accepting it.
So please, we all must begin to earnestly our minds, only them cam we understand the Buddha-Dharma through our contemplation. Of course, this means we must become Buddhas, for “only Buddhas alone can know it.” Remember, all Buddhas are found within our minds. Once we return to our pure Tathagata-nature, then we can understand [the Dharma]. So, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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