Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Buddha’s Original Intent (佛出世本意)
Date: April. 14. 2014
“[He] kindly simplified One Vehicle teachings and separated them into Three Vehicles. Because He wanted to reveal His knowledge and views to sentient beings, He manifested in this world.”
This is telling everyone that since the Buddha attained enlightenment, the Dharma He wanted to give sentient beings was the One Vehicle teachings. The One Vehicle teachings are the extremely thorough true principles of supreme, perfect and universal enlightenment. This wondrous Dharma helps sentient beings to return to their Buddha-nature, but sentient beings did not have the capabilities to accept such profound Dharma. Thus, the Buddha simplified it into conventional teachings they could all accept. [He] “separated them into Three Vehicles” and taught according to sentient beings’ capacities. He did this solely to “reveal His knowledge and views to [all] beings.” He laid out His knowledge and views for everyone to understand. He showed them what the Dharma was and how applying those methods would help them return to their intrinsic nature.
[He also taught that] the knowledge and views of the Buddha and sentient beings are equal. Yet such simple Dharma was still hard for us ordinary people to understand. [We still wonder] how we are equal. You have your state of mind; he has his; I also have my own. I often say that the Buddha is the Great Enlightened One of the Universe, the one who knows all things. But, as for me, every morning when I come out of my study to go to the lecture hall, I will look up and wonder [what makes the sky the way it is].
For example, this morning, as I was standing out there, I noticed the sky looked different from yesterday. Sometimes I wonder, “Just what color is the sky?” I am confused by [the way it changes]. All of those things up there are called “clouds,” but they are all different colors. The sky is always above us, but every day it [looks] different. So I would think, “The Buddha had actually penetrated the true principles of all things. He even understood all unenlightened beings.” We know the description of the Buddha’s enlightened state of mind. But when it comes to ourselves and our reality, we may stand there and wonder, “Why does the color of the sky change this way? What are the scientific principles underlying the endless variations of clouds so that we always see something different? What is the true color of the sky?” Ultimately, no such color exists; in realizing this, we have realized its true color.
From the perspective of our very short lives, these matters and objects seem to remain the same from day to day.But if we look deeper, things are actually shifting every second; they change with the passage of time.We are just unaware of these changes.
Take our bodies for example.From birth through maturity to old age, are we attached to always looking the same?Our bodies are the closest things to us, and we think that every day, they are still “us,” that we are still the same.Actually, our bodies change.
Every second, we are metabolizing, [our cells] always changing, arising, and ceasing.
So, we certainly do not remain the same.This is impermanence.
All things in eh universe, from coarse to fine, are all in the state of impermanence, but we definitely cannot understand this.Therefore, the Buddha simplified [the Dharma] to help us understand that in every moment, every day, all things, even things like flowers and grasses, begin from certain kinds of seeds and require causes and conditions to converge in order to develop and produce certain results and appearances.
He explained that, based on the law of karma, when an ignorant thought gives rise to greed, anger and delusion, this leads to complications in all aspects of life.The Buddha took the One Vehicle truths and separated them according to sentient beings’ various capabilities so that we could accept them.
He did this to help us return to our pure and undefiled.Tathagata-nature of True Suchness.So, He had to manifest in this world and apply various methods to simplify the One Vehicle Dharma by teaching the principles of the Three Vehicles.He used the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles to teach us.
We have previously discussed this sutra text, “[With] analogies and verbal expressions, He proclaimed all Dharma.This Dharma cannot be understood through deliberation and discrimination.”
Indeed, He could not do much with sentient beings.But because of His compassion, even though it was hard for sentient beings to understand and contemplate [the teachings,].He still remained patient with us.Out of His compassion, He still wanted to explain the Dharma to us in the hopes that we can all return to our Buddha-knowledge and views.
We [inherently] have the same knowledge and views as all Buddhas.Because we remain in the state of ordinary beings, to contemplate the Dharma with our wisdom is really difficult.Only when we return to our Tathagata-nature can we understand everything without any explanation.So, we are still in [the state of] ordinary beings.
“Why is this?”How could this be?“All Budhdas, World Honored Ones, because of the causes and conditions of Their one great work, manifested in this world.”
The Buddha [cane here] for one great cause.
“Sariputra, what is meant by.All Buddhas, World-Honored Ones because of the causes and conditions of Their one great work, manifested in this world.”
Yesterday, we already talked about how the Buddha came to this world for one great cause.The Buddha repeated Himself, so those who were listening could gain an even clearer understanding.What was the goal of all Buddhas in manifesting in this world?
All Buddhas manifested in this world:
They all came to open and reveal that all sentient beings have [the potential to realize] the ultimate reality, enabling them to completely realize and enter all Buddha’s knowledge and views.“Anything besides this was not the intent of all Buddhas in appearing in this world.”
“They call came to open and reveal that all sentient beings have [the potential to realize] the ultimate reality.” The Buddha only came to open and reveal this to all sentient beings. Because of the Buddha’s compassion, He absolutely would not give up on them. He would never abandon or renounce them. Life after life, He manifested in this world, constantly being born among us. He took on various appearances and ways of life. His physical form, whether male or female, old or young, was used to guide sentient beings. He also gave various teachings so that He could create opportunities to open and reveal what was in His heart to all being. His sole purpose in coming was to open and reveal that all sentient beings have [the potential to realize] the ultimate reality. We all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. The ultimate true principles, the ultimate reality of the One Vehicle and the Tathagata-nature are intrinsic to everyone. This is what the Buddha came to tell us, hoping we can “completely realize and enter, that we can all become awakened and enter the Buddha’s knowledge and views. Otherwise, when people ask, “Have you seen it?” “Yes.” “Do you understand?” “I do.” “Really?” “Perhaps”. Does perhaps mean yes? This is like asking, “Have you seen the sky?” “Yes, I have”. “Do you understand?” If I am to speak truthfully, no I do not understand it. [If you ask about] what I saw yesterday and today, whether it is far or near, about the colors of the clouds, the sky, in all honesty, if I was asked to explain how they work, I would be unable to do so.
However, the Buddha wanted us to put in even more effort when we cannot explain something. “Completely realize and enter” means we must attain a complete realization. To realize is to transcend delusion and free ourselves from a lack of understanding. We must mindfully understand and penetrate these matters and objects. The saying “wisdom comes from experience” can also be applied to the Bodhisattva-path. If we do not actually walk the Bodhisattva-path, how can we comprehend that state? We cannot. Here, we are all doing Tzu Chi work. If you are in this organization but do not do the work, you would not know what doing it feels like. Life is filled with suffering. When we open our arms and compassionately care for those who are suffering, only then can we feel the love within us that originates from utmost sincerity and a mind free of discrimination. Because when we embrace those who are suffering at a time when they are most helpless, we draw near them and they come toward us. Only when we comfort them out of love can we understand that people can actually be so close with each other. And as we care for them, we discover that we can be this tender and compassionate. At those times, we hope they can be freed of suffering. Only then can we realize what it is like to have the Buddha-mind and Bodhisattva-heart. Otherwise, we only talk of the Bodhisattva-path as some kind of lofty principle. But if we do not experience this, even when we learn the most lofty principles, we will never internalize them. We must comprehend it through experience, only then can we realize and enter the Buddha’s knowledge and views.
Indeed, because of the Buddha’s loving-kindness and compassion. He could not bear to let sentient beings remain in such a confused state and create karma. This karma endlessly multiplies, which leads to more disasters in the world.He cannot bear this. So, the Buddha’s loving-kindness and compassion are His knowledge and views, He hopes to instill this loving-kindness and compassion in sentient beings, so they can enter this state of mind. If we all had this mindset, imagine, if we all lived like this, wouldn’t we all get along peacefully? Wouldn’t this be a very beautiful world?
Everyone would be free suffering. Wouldn’t we all be in a very pure state? This is the Buddha’s [intent]. If He gave up on teaching sentient beings to realize and enter knowledge and views, that would go against a Tathagata’s original intent for appearing [in this world]. The intention behind a Tathagata’s manifestation is solely to carry out this one great work, to open, reveal, realize and enter. “To open and reveal” His knowledge and views for sentient beings to “realize and enter.” This is very important, so, we must really put our hearts into comprehending this concept.
Sentient beings have this potential to connect to Buddhas; that is the cause Buddhas respond to this potential; that is the condition. This is Their intention for appearing in the world.
“Sentient beings have this potential to connect to Buddhas; that is the cause.” We sentient beings definitely have an opportunity to accept this cause of the Buddha coming to transform us, because we all intrinsically have Buddha-nature. That is also a cause, a seed we have always had “Buddha respond ti this potential.” [Buddhas] come to this world in response this potential. This is the condition. Their intention for appearing in the world.
The Buddha for the sake of sentient beings, in response to such causes and conditions. If sentient beings were not connected to Him, the Buddha would be unable to transform them. Because sentient beings are connected to Him, the Buddha manifests in this world. This karmic condition was created over a long time.
So, “All Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones want to enable sentient beings to be open to the Buddha’s knowledge and views and attain purity. Thus They manifested in this world.”
So, the Buddha wanted to enable all beings to open to the Buddha’s knowledge and views, so they could attain purity. Therefore, He manifested in this world. When we help relieve people’s suffering, when we truly connect with them, that is the purest state of mind. This unconditional giving is the purest state of mind.
Everyone, time is short and continues to pass. The Buddha-Dharma is cast and boundless. If we are not mindful, we will be limited by our own state of mind without realizing it. Our lives grow shorter with every second. Similarly, without our knowledge and awareness, our afflictions increase over time. In this way, during our lives, we are constantly creating karma. We must seize this moment; our physical life will certainly grow shorter, but our afflictions do not have to increase. We need to grow our wisdom-life; a diligent person is one who develops his wisdom-life, while and indolent person grows his afflictions. My fellow spiritual practitioners, shouldn’t we always be more mindful?
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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