Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Teaching According to Sentient Beings’ Desires (隨眾生欲教有情)
Date: June. 19. 2014
The mind is like an artiest; it creates everything. Do not believe you are far from the Buddha’s state. With skillful and wondrous provisional teachings, He explained the One Vehicle. He taught according to the desires of sentient beings to help them awaken.
We must take good care of our minds. Our minds may give rise to a thought that creates beautiful conditions. They may give rise to a thought that destroys many beautiful conditions. Everything depends on the mind. It can be positive or negative. With a positive mind, the world is beautiful to us. With a negative mind, the world feels like hell. All this is created by our minds. So, learning the Buddha’s Way is about cultivating our minds. If our minds are always positive, we see everyone as a Bodhisattva and wherever we are, we are with Buddhas. This is our goal in learning the Buddha’s Way. There is a Buddha in each of our hearts.
Our minds, the Buddha’s mind and the minds of all beings are no different [in nature]. We must not always think that we are very far from the Buddha. We must always think about how the Buddha is forever in our minds. We all intrinsically have a radiant and clear Buddha-nature. If we realize this, our minds will be Buddha-minds and our wisdom will be close to the Buddha’s.
Previously we discussed that the Buddha comes to the world for one great cause, to transform sentient beings. All Buddhas share the same path; with “skillful and wondrous provisional teachings”. “They explain the One Vehicle” in this world. Because sentient beings have varying capabilities, Buddhas must exercise Their wisdom to give suitable teachings. This requires wondrous provisional teachings, also known as skillful means. Skillful means are based on true principles, on the wondrous One Vehicle Dharma. We often say that a skyscraper is also built from the ground up.
We cannot say, “I will just build the 101st floor by itself. Why would I work so hard to start building from the ground up?” Based on the same principle, for us to go up level by level until we can see into the distance, we must also start at the state of ordinary people and move up steadily, step by step. Regardless of the building’s appearance or height, we must build it sequentially. This is a skillful and wondrous provisional means. Our goal is to reach that height, but we have to start with the basement, the foundation and other sub-levels. From below the ground, we build upwards one floor at a time. Each level has a different name. Once the entire building is complete, the dozens of floors, or even a hundred floors, are now [part of] one building with one name. By the same principle, wondrous skillful means are various methods that are all part of the One Vehicle Dharma.
The Buddha, like all Buddhas, established wondrous and skillful provisional means. However many afflictions we have, we need that number of methods to treat them. We must eliminate our afflictions one by one to gradually reveal our Buddha-nature bit by bit. So, “[He] taught according to the desires of sentient beings to help them awaken.” The Buddha taught sentient beings to awaken so they could be “enlightened sentient beings.” He taught them to awaken themselves and others and have perfect awakened conduct. This was how the Buddha mindfully and lovingly taught us.
Previously, we mentioned how “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings, the various pathways they have walked, the nature of their various desires, their karma, good and bad, from former lives, are fully known to the Buddha”.
Everyone has their own way of doing things.In this world, even if we all aspire to engage in spiritual practice we all have different capabilities and different methods of spiritual practice.These are the “variously pathways [we will] walk the nature of [our] various desires.”We are all the same; though we say we engage in spiritual practice, we have not year fully eliminated our afflictions.
Just what kind of karma did we create in our past lives?“To know what we did in our past lives, we look at what we face now.”To know what kind of karma we created in the past does not require much effort.
lf we have to do is consider our experiences in this life.If we have met many kind people, we must have created good conditions in the past.If we want to know how our next lives will be, we can just look at what we are doing in this life.If all the seeds we plant in this life are good, we will certainly reap good fruits in the next.The law of karma links everything in the Three Periods, the past, the present and the future.We can be sure of that.So, based on this life, we know what we accumulated in the past.
“The past” does not refer to what we accumulate in just one lifetime, but lifetime after lifetime, all the way up to the present.“The karma, good and bad, from former lives are fully known to the Buddha.”The Buddha knows about all the [karma] sentient beings have created and all the habitual tendencies they have developed, so He could [teach] according to their desires.
What are “their minds’ desires?”The minds’ desires come from “the workings of the mind”.
We must understand thoroughly “the thoughts in the minds of sentient beings,” which all come from “the workings of the mind”.All kinds of appearances arise as a function of “the workings of the mind”.
Everyone’s mind has a “mind-king”.This “mind-king” is everywhere; it pervades every single place.Thus it is said, “the mind is like an arties” who is very skillful.Our minds are clearly skillful artists, but our thoughts wander through many states.Many states exist in our minds and continuously manifest.This is all part of the workings of the mind.Our “mind-king” widely connects with conditions and creates “thoughts in our minds”.
By changing our mindset, we are in a new state.
So, “The thoughts in the minds of sentient beings” fall into two categories, the true mind and the false mind.
Our true mind intrinsically has Buddha-Dharma and a kind nature.However, external conditions continuously influence us.As our external conditions continue to influence and permeate our minds every day, thoughts begin to stir in our minds.Our minds connect to different conditions and internalize different [tendencies]; this gives rise to the true mind and the false mind.The false mind is the one that wanders all over the place as we sit here.We do not know where it goes.The false mind easily gives rise to delusions.The true mind is the one that is always there, wherever we are.This is our intrinsic Buddha-nature, our nature of True Suchness.
However, our minds, which drive our thoughts, have internalized certain tendencies, which naturally leads to “the variously paths we have walked”.
The various paths they have walked:People must wholeheartedly walk the Path and vow to repay the Four Graces.People who do that are truly walking the Path and growing in virtue.They uphold and practice the Path they know.
When we begin our spiritual cultivation,we must use our true mind to engage in practice. We already know that life is impermanent, that life is suffering, and that suffering is accumulated from our actions. After we understand this, genuine sincerity will arise in us, so we aspire to engage in spiritual cultivation. We want to “wholeheartedly walk the Path”, and “vow to repay the Four Graces”. We must face the world with a positive mindset. With a positive mindset, we treat others sincerely. With sincerity comes gratitude, which we want to express.
“Filial piety is the foremost of all good deeds”. It is because we were born into this body that we have the conditions to come to the world and are able to hear the Buddha-Dharma and engage in spiritual practice. Regardless of our relationship with our parents, we must be grateful to them. If not for these karmic conditions, we would not have this body, so we must be grateful for “the grace of our parents” for giving us the opportunity to listen to the Dharma.
Then we must be grateful for “the grace of the Three Treasures”. For over 2000 years, we have had the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. After the Buddha came to the world and attained enlightenment, He expounded the Dharma for a long time. To pass on the Dharma, there must be Sangha. They continuously pass it on so it will remain in the world. Thus, we must be grateful to the Three Treasures.
With the body given to us by our parents, we can engage in spiritual practice, and the methods we use come from the Three Treasures. However, since we live in this world, we need clothing, food, shelter and transportation. These things must be provided by sentient beings. It is because of the multitudes of sentient beings with various skills and professions, that we can live such a secure life. So, we must be grateful for “the grace of all sentient beings”. For there to be favorable weather in the world, we rely on “the grace of heaven and earth”. If the elements of earth, water, fire and air can be in harmony, sentient beings are blessed. So, these are the Four Graces.
Every day we must nurture this mindset. This is why spiritual practitioners often talk about cherishing blessings and being grateful as part of spiritual cultivation. To engage in spiritual practice, the first thought we must have is that in our daily living and throughout our lives, regardless of “which pathway we are walking,” we must vow to repay the Four Graces. So, in our spiritual practice, we must have resolve and remember to safeguard our minds. Repaying the Four Graces is the mindset of true spiritual practitioners. “People who do that are truly walking the Path and growing in virtue”. If we can do so, we are really engaging in spiritual practice and really walking the Path and growing in virtues. Only when we truly walk the Bodhi-path can we grow in virtue. Our virtues come from our accumulated thoughts and actions our accumulated thoughts and actions.
Thus, we are people who grow in virtue. So, “we uphold and practice the path we know. We must keep going down this road. We must clearly know and understand this road. Don’t we know how to go down this road? Since we chose a path of spiritual cultivation, we cannot forget we are spiritual practitioners. Whether we are monastics or lay practitioners, [as Buddhist disciples] we must follow precepts. We uphold the precepts and follow the Path. We cannot forget about this path that we walk. “The nature of their various desires”. Sentient beings have all kinds of desires. How many is “various”? Sentient beings have various desires by nature. As for these “desires”, the Buddha also had desires, which we call “hope”. The hope in the Buddha’s true mind is to transform sentient beings so they can attain Buddhood. The Buddha’s intrinsic nature is also found in all of us. But if we deviate from it even slightly, we give rise to delusions.
Earlier, we said that the mind falls into two categories, the true mind and the false mind. Both kinds arise from “the workings of the mind”.
So, “the nature of various desires” refers to how various desires and hopes have become ingrained in us”. These desires have already become deluded. So, “the teachings given by the Buddha must be suitable for sentient beings capabilities and desires”.
This is what sentient beings are like now. We intrinsically have the true mind, but our ignorance gives rise to delusions, so our minds are false and desirous. Thus, we must exercise our true mind. Our true minds can lead us [onto the right] path, but we are inclined to deviate from it. To enable sentient beings to return to their intrinsic nature, the Buddha taught according to their capabilities and desires, using wondrous provisional teachings and His wisdom to save and transform them.
So, sentient beings have “karma, good and bad, from former lives, because in our countless past lifetimes, our false minds gave rise to delusions and [trapped us] in cyclic existence in the Six Realms.
The Buddha knew that this was the way sentient beings had lived, so He knew which methods to use the teach them.
Their karma, good and bad, from former lives: Refrain from all evils, do all good deeds, and purify the mind. This is the teachings of all Buddhas. Arising thoughts that align with principles are considered good arising thoughts that go against principles are considered evil.
The Buddha taught sentient beings to “refrain from all evils and to do all good deeds. Then He taught us the methods “Purify the mind. This is the teaching of all Buddhas.” To eliminate our delusions, first we must refrain from committing evils. We must always have the Buddha in our hearts and the Dharma in our actions. We must practice according to the teachings and take good care of the mind. Once it is clean, we must not let it be defiled again.
So, we must “purify the mind.” We all must “purify the mind.” This is the teaching of all Buddhas.” This is why the Buddha, to teach sentient beings, made use of provisional teachings to expound the One Vehicle Dharma. Although they are provisional teachings, these skillful means encompass the foundation of the One Vehicle Dharma.
So, this is the way the Buddha taught. “Arising thoughts that align with principles are considered good.” So, when we give rise to thoughts that are aligned with principles, we call that goodness. “Arising thoughts that go against principles are considered evil. We call that evil.
The Buddha intended to teach His wisdom, but sentient beings had very dull capabilities. So, though the Buddha Himself knew, He had to spend over 40 years giving teachings.
So, in His wisdom, the teachings of the Buddha “were suitable for varying capabilities.” from the great to the limited. So, the Buddha had to utilize skillful means. Only when He fully understood people could He give suitable teachings. This is how the Buddha’s skillful means were adapted to various capabilities.
[All is] fully known to the Buddha: the Tathagata, in His wisdom, expounded the Dharma that is suitable for sentient beings’ capabilities, whether great or limited, so they could all understand He gave suitable teachings that were adapted to various capabilities.
Dear Bodhisattvas, there is much potential in the mind, which is like an ar. But delusions keep arising, so the minds confused. We must return to the state of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. If we can do so, we will always feel a sense of gratitude, and act according to the natural principles and the Buddha’s teachings. Only in this way can gradually approach the state of the Buddha. So, everyone, please always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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