Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: A Pure Heart Brings Dignity (心淨境莊嚴)
Date: September. 09. 2014
Sincerely make offerings of treasure and jewels to show respect, reverence and dignity. The changing scenes in the great, perfect mirror are conditioned phenomena that reveal all kinds of appearances.
We must be reverent at all times. With reverence, one thought can pervade the great Trichiliocosm. Based on the way we deal with people and things, though no one really knows what we are thinking, they can see whether or not we are sincere. We must seize every moment to engage in spiritual practice. Through our courteous actions we make offerings of reverence. For spiritual practitioners in a monastery, the most precious time is the early morning. In the early morning, before miscellaneous things come up, we can be focused on [chanting and] prostrating, expressing our reverence. However, so many people feel it is too early. They struggle to get up so early in the morning, especially in winter when it is warm under the covers. Getting out of bed at this time of day is very difficult. This is expressing a lack of reverence. I often hear about people who are late to morning or evening recitation. This is indolence. As for those who are hiding under the covers, they will regress. If spiritual practitioners lack sincerity and do not reverently make offerings, how can they be considered spiritual practitioners? Since ancient times, well-respected and accomplished practitioner have [cultivated themselves] with reverence. They are very earnest and sincere. Making offerings out of sincerity is very important for our spiritual practice. This is [the importance of] reverence.
During our daily interactions with people, we must also feel a sense of reverence. If we are reverent, how do we treat other people? If we are steadfastly and not fake. Thus, [we earn] their faith in us. Faith, steadfastness, sincerity and integrity must be part of our character as we deal with people and things. This is how we can set an example for others. This is an example of the way we should be treating each other, not to mention treating Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. This sense of genuine reverence is the essence of this philosophy.
So, “Sincerely make offerings of treasure and jewels” means we can give up what is hard to give up. Here, “treasure” refers to worldly treasures. Not too long ago, there was a very kind woman who was fairly well-off. She often heard that making offerings of worldly treasures brings merit and could be beneficial to her health. Having heard this, she felt she wanted to make this kind of offerings. So, she spent NT$5 million to buy a tiny piece of incense. It was not a very big piece, yet it cost NT$5 million. With this NT$ 5 million piece of incense, she made an offering. This was to show that she could give. Perhaps this offering was made out of blind belief in what other people said.
As we make offerings, we must consider whether we are meeting a need. Only then is it considered a true offering. There is a group of kind-hearted and wealthy woman who have been discussing this. These members of “Friends of Tzu Chi” said, “Once a year we donate things to Tzu Chi for a fundraiser.” These were affluent women who enjoyed collecting jewelry and other precious objects.
Now they say, “It is time to let go of one of them. By selling off our collections at the fundraiser, we are supporting good deeds.”Indeed, this is also a way of making offerings.What are they making an offering with?They are making an offering of sincerity to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.After they accept the teachings of “charitable giving,” when they see how much sentient beings suffer, they give away these precious things and turn them into material goods that can help people who are in need.This is the way they show their sincerity and respect to the Buddha.
The sutra text [reminds] us to always have utmost reverence.Whether we see a Buddha, Bodhisattva, or principled sage as our role model, we need to show respect and make offerings.If we can faithfully accept teachings and put them into practice, we are making offerings.If we are willing to give away our possessions in order to do something more meaningful, that is also a way to make offerings.This is the way we express sincerity and reverence.
Thus, we “show respect, reverence and dignity”.As I mentioned yesterday, soon after the Buddha entered Parinirvana, the Buddha-Dharma flourished for a period of time.
People built stupas, temples and golden statues, and all kind of objects to let other people know of this religion, its teachings, essence and ideology.
Look at the Dunhuang Caves in China.Look at Indonesia, [Cambodia’s] Angkor Wat, Sir Lanka and many other countries in Southeast Asia.These [structures] are evidence that the Buddha was in this world and taught the Dharma.In the caves at Dunhuang, there are numerous “sutra paintings”.The meanings of sutra texts are shaped into stories and then drawn as pictures.These were very popular during the era of Dharma-semblance and are found throughout the entire mountain.They have lasted for thousands of years, yet they are decaying and some have already been vandalized.
Remember what happened years ago (in 1998) to the great Buddha statues in Afghanistan.They had existed for hundreds of years; the entire mountain was covered in Buddha statues.The big ones were huge, over 50 meters.When people stood on the top of a foot, they looked as tiny as ants.That shows how big the statue was.Although those Buddha statues were carved magnificently and were so massive, they were still destroyed.Everything from their heads and faces, to their bodies, and even their hands naturally deteriorated with the passing of time.They may have also been damaged by natural disasters or through human actions.Then one explosive turned these giant Buddha statues to dust in the blink of an eye.
This is part of our contemporary history.Though these 1500-year-old.Buddha statues have already been destroyed, they can still bear witness to how the era of Dharma-semblance flourished thousands of years ago.This is formation, existence, decay and disappearance.These appearances are “conditioned phenomena”.Although they are conditioned phenomenon, when the Buddha taught, He still praised the people who create them.
After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, those who built stupas, temples, statues and so on out of utmost reverence must have made a resolve to “show respect, reverence and dignity”.As for “the changing scenes in the great perfect mirror,” in fact, the truth is in our minds.[Our mind is] like a mirror.It can clearly reflect all things in the world.However, even the most beautiful scenery will change as time passes and the conditions change.
Our surroundings are constantly changing, but this great perfect mirror, our ultimate truth, sees everything with absolute clarity.So, as the environment around the mirror changes, the mirror itself remains unmoved.Isn’t this true?
Everyone, this is the great perfect mirror; we must all cultivate this mirror in our minds and make sure it is clean. The mirror of the Buddha can reflect your reverence,if you want to be reverent, then do not be lax. The Buddha can sense that [reverence]. When you are indolent, the Buddha can sense that, too. By being indolent, you cause harm to yourself. By being dignified and reverent, you help perfect your own spiritual practice. We often talk about role models. Being a role model for others is a way of helping yourself succeed. When seeing you brings other people happiness, that is a sign of your reverence.
Therefore, this mirror can sense all these things without [being affected] by them. It will neither grow nor be diminished, but it can sense everything. Therefore, we must be reverent. These are “conditioned phenomena that reveal all kinds of appearances”. From these “conditioned phenomena”, we can see various appearances. So, please be mindful and manifest this sense of dignity as a way to set an example. Yesterday’s passage stated,
“After those Buddhas crossed into extinction, those who made offerings to Their sariras built millions of kinds of stupas made of gold, silver, crystal, mother-of-pearl, carnelian, rose quartz, beryl and other gems”.
These are all worldly treasures. If people want to benefit others, they will not be attached to those treasures. If they are willing to offer them up to benefit others, that will also bring them merits. The next sutra passage talks about “pure and glorious adornments”. These people had already offered up all these previous belongings. Their goal was with the purest mindset, to do something that benefits future generations in their spiritual practice. Even if it is Dharma-semblance, it still benefits future generations. Even though they have been constantly damaged, we can imagine how, in that era, those beautiful adornments, statues and so on, [revealed] such dignity. These tangible things were magnificently sculpted and decorated; they are truly worthy of our respect.
“Pure and glorious adornments decorate the stupas. Others have built temples out of stone, sandalwood, aloeswood, hovenia or other timbers, along with bricks, clay and the like”.
Glorious adornments are made from all kind of materials. For instance, wood is needed for stupas. Stones and other building materials may also be used for different purposes. Temples are built with stones and other materials as well. Buddha statues may be sculpted out of gold, or “sandalwood, aloeswood”. These are fragrant types of wood that are of a very high quality. Also used are “bricks, clay and the like”. Perhaps they used bricks. Perhaps they started with a pile of clay. Perhaps they carved it into the mountainside. These are different ways of making statues. “Pure and glorious adornments” [manifest] when we apply a very pure mindset toward building something.
“Pure and glorious adornments: When the body is free of the transgression of evil actions and the mind free of the defilements of afflictions, we will be pure in body and mind. With a pure mind and pure thoughts, we manifest respectful and glorious adornments from our minds for external conditions.”
When we talk about a pure mindset, we are talking about our bodies and minds. The purity of the body comes from being free of transgressions. Spiritual practitioners must not act inappropriately. If we act inappropriately, we cannot be regarded as spiritual practitioners. Not only will we be looked down upon by others, we will even disrupt the [harmony] in the monastery. Not only will we disrupt the [harmony] of the monastery, but we will also cause harm to the Buddha-Dharma. The [bad] karma we create will be very severe.
Therefore, we must work to cultivate our bodies. This is not about building a golden statue. This is not about using high-quality wood or gold to create something. To truly manifest the body of the Buddha, we must do so through the actions of our bodies. This is how we dignify the Buddha-Dharma. This is what our bodies must be like. What about our minds?
“The mind [must be] free of the defilements of afflictions”. As for our minds, I always say that afflictions are the source of our mental defilements. Once they arise, [we are filled with] greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. For a very long time prior to this, afflictions and defilements have been in our minds. Perhaps our faith has not been deeply rooted Perhaps we have been proud and arrogant, so after listening to the Dharma for a long time, we think, “I know everything”
Though the Buddha received Sariputra’s three requests for teachings, when He was finally about to teach, 5000 people left the assembly. The Buddha was sitting on the Dharma-throne. He was about to give the teachings that He had safeguarded in His mind for over 40 years. Because sentient beings had been incapable of accepting this Great Dharma, the Buddha held on to it and kept it in His mind. Then as He was about to teach it, some people actually stood up, paid their respects and then left. How could that have happened? Because of their afflictions, pride, arrogance and doubt. Their faith was not deeply rooted
They thought, “I fully understand everything the Buddha has taught”. This is arrogance. “Is there any Dharma better than what I have already learned?” “Is there?” This is doubt .When our mind are [filled with] afflictions and defilements, our minds are impure. When we engage in spiritual practice, the most important thing is to eliminate these mental afflictions. “The Dharma is like water, it washes away the mind’s defilements”.
As I keep telling you, if we take the Dharma to heart, our heart will be free of defilements and cannot be contaminated.Then it will be like a great, perfect mirror. Even as your mirror reflects life’s ups and downs, and the beautifully scenery fading away changing cyclically and so on, even as it reflects everything clearly, your mirror remains unaffected. Our diligence and indolence are both vividly reflected in this mirror. Diligent people will advance themselves. Indolent people will regress themselves. However, they will not affect the mirror
So, the Buddha hopes we can be pure, starting with our bodies and minds. Spiritual practitioners pay particular attention to the mind and body, to the actions of their bodies and the thoughts that arise in their minds. So, our minds must transcend the defilement of afflictions. This brings purity to our minds. We can, “with pure minds and pure thoughts” “manifest respectful and glorious adornments from our minds for external conditions”.
In our practice of the Dharma, we work for Buddha’s teachings, for sentient beings. To help sentient beings realize the Dharma, we must give it respectful and glorious adornments.We need a dignified spiritual practice center. The most important thing at this center is the practitioners’ air of spiritual refinement. This is a “respectful and glorious adornment”. Otherwise even if we build man temples, even if they are very dignified, big and expansive, decorated with silver, gold and so on, if the spiritual practitioners inside have impure bodies and minds, there are no “respectful and glorious adornments”. We must be mindful [to create] pure and glorious adornments. When we spiritual practitioners are pure, then our practice center will be pure.
Living in this spiritual practice center, we need to return to the era of the Buddha when people learned the Dharma with a pure mind. When we sincerely engage in spiritual practice, we will attain [realizations]. To have “pure and glorious adornments, the most important thing to cultivate is our minds”. This is why we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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