Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: The Great Dharma Must Be Skillful Taught (大法難設需施權)
Date: November.14. 2014
“Since Beginningless Time, the Buddha has worked for the sake of sentient beings. Like a kind father or mother who tenderly cares for children, He goes into turbid worlds and dangerous paths.”
The Buddha has, since Beginningless Time, continued to return to the Saha World for the sake of sentient beings. He comes only to transform sentient beings, because He cannot abandon them. Like kind parents who care for their children, He cannot bear to give up on them. Isn’t this what parents in this world are like? No matter how disobedient children are, their parents will never give up on them. The Buddha has the same mindset. Though the evil world of the Five Turbidities is like a dangerous road, [the Buddha is like] a compassionate father who continues to protect the children. So, wherever the children go, the father follows.
For example, during the Buddha’s lifetime, there was a period of time when His travels took Him to the village of Udayana. In that village, the Buddha saw that there were many people who wanted to hear Him teach the Dharma. When the Buddha arrived there, someone came to His mind. This elderly woman’s name was Cankala and she came from a poor family. Both she and her husband were servants of a wealthy family. What pained her the most was that she had no children. The Buddha knew of this pain in her heart.
One day, he told Ananda, “Ananda, go and get Cankala.” Ananda followed the Buddha’s instructions and saw that Cankala was fetching water by the stream and was about to carry it back. Ananda walked up to her and said, “Ma am, can you give me some water?” Seeing Ananda, Cankala was very respectful, “Venerable One, here is your water.” Ananda answered, “It is not for me, but for my teacher Sakyamuni, the World-Honored One.” Hearing this, she was very happy and asked, “May I follow you and personally make this offering of water to the Buddha?” Ananda answered, “Of course! If you can personally bring the water to Him, that would be wonderful!”
So, she quickly picked up the water pail and followed Ananda to the place where the Buddha was resting from His travels. When they arrived, she put the pail down and scooped up some water with a dipper. Even as she approached the Buddha, just seeing Him from afar made her so happy. She was so overcome with motion that she forgot herself, she put down the water and spread her arms as she walked up to the Buddha as if she intended to embrace him. Seeing this, the Buddha’s disciples immediately went forward to stop her. The Buddha waved aside His disciples so that this old woman could come before Him.
Seeing the Buddha, she slowly lowered her outspread arms, fully prostrated before Him and embraced His feet. Then the Buddha began to expound the Four Noble Truths for this old woman, that life is inherently full of suffering, that the accumulation of causes and conditions leads to present retributions of suffering and that to escape this suffering, we must practice the [Eightfold] Path. Only in this way can we eliminate the suffering accumulated in our past lives.
This old woman came to a realization, so she went home with a request for her husband.
“Please let me become a monastic.”The old man also thought, “Indeed, life is full of suffering. Despite working so hard our entire lives, most people still look down on us. Since you have these good karmic conditions and you are willing, I give you my blessings.”
Canakala then hurried back to the Buddha and requested permission to become a monastic.This made the Buddha happy and He accepted her into the group of bhiksunis.
He sent her to Mahaprajapati’s bhiksunis so she could engage in spiritual practice.
At that time, someone asked the Buddha why Cankala had such wonderful causes and conditions.
The Buddha explained, “Do you remember? The day she first came to see me, she was so emotional. Her state of mind was like that of a mother who had found her child. She was very overcome with emotion because of her karmic affinities with me 500 lifetimes ago, she was my mother. She cared for me very deeply. I was a child with a deep root of goodness.I wanted to give to others, to learn the Dharma, to become a monasstic, but my mother stopped me.”
Not only did she hinder his spiritual practice, she also slandered the Three Treasures.
So, for many lifetimes, she remained in a state of poverty and remained childless; she had not had children since that life.In this lifetime, all she wanted was a child.She missed having a child.She felt that if she could only have a child, she would be content.This was the big regret in her life, and not just in this lifetime.For 500 lifetimes, she had suffered in this way.
In this lifetime, she could finally accept the Buddha-Dharma because her causes and conditions had matured.That was why the Buddha sent Ananda to get her.When she saw the Buddha, her maternal love overwhelmed her.When she embraced His feet, she felt the same contentment and excitement as if the Buddha were her child whom she was embracing in her arms.This was the Buddha’s compassion.He is like a kind father or mother caring for their children.So, even if their karmic affinity was from 500 lifetimes ago, the Buddha still wanted to transform her.This is just one example.
Actually, each of us have a karmic connection with the Buddha.What kind of relationship did we have and what kind of karmic conditions did we create with the Buddha in our past lives?When we see the Buddha and listen to the Dharma, we feel very happy.Without that connection, if we saw [the Dharma] we would avoid it.If we heard it, we would feel unhappy and uninterested in listening.That would be because we have no connection with the Buddha and the Dharma.
If we do have a connection, we can faithfully accept and practice the teachings.Out of His compassion, the Buddha returned to this turbid, perilous world solely to transform sentient beings.He persists, and never gives up on us, so we should show Him the utmost reverence.
Sariputra, you should know that when I heard the Noble Lions’ deep, pure and wondrous voices, I joyously called out “Name to all Buddha’s”.
Yesterday, we talked about how the Buddha said, “Sariputra, you should know that when I heard the Noble Lions’s,”.He heard all past Buddhas’, “deep, pure and wondrous voices.”When past Buddhas of the ten directions emerged in the Buddha’s place of enlightenment.Their deep and wondrous voices generated respect in the Buddha’s heart, so He “joyously called out ‘Namo to all Buddhas’”.
At that time, His heart was also filled with reverence.Though He had already attained Buddhahood, the Buddha still had great reverence for and still took refuge with past Buddhas.Therefore, we in particular should take refuge with our body and mind.So, the Buddha “further thought to Himself”.With utmost reverence, He thought of how past Buddhas decided to go into the world to transform sentient beings.
So, “then He further thought to Himself, I have come into a turbid, evil world. As these Buddhas have taught, I should follow accordingly. Having thought upon this matter, I went straightaway to Varanasi”.
We have previously talked about a passage similar to this one.In “Then I further thought to myself, further” means to contemplate again.Didn’t He come to this world, engage in spiritual practice and attain Buddhahood all with the goal of transforming sentient beings? He could not enter Parinivana because of a whim. Since He wanted to transform sentient beings, He had to teach according to their capabilities. Sentient beings’ capabilities are great, average or, limited; they have sharp, average and dull faculties. So, He [teaches] according to capabilities. He adapts to sentient beings; this is teaching according to their disposition. He teaches according to our disposition, with words we can understand, to help us resolve our questions. Isn’t this what the Buddha did for over 40 years? “Sentient beings’ metal defilements lead their Five Roots to pursue external phenomena”. Their minds are covered by defilements and ignorance because of their Five Roots.
The eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, pursue external phenomena, thus, “They cannot safeguard their minds”. Everyone’s mind is trying to connect with external phenomena. If others say things to us that we like, we feel happy, like we are walking on air. If they mention our shortcomings or our mistakes, we may become angry and yell and glare at them. This is what our ears hear, what our eyes see, what our minds feel and so on. This is how the Five Roots, eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, connect to external conditions and how we physically react.
“Then I further thought to myself, I have come into a turbid, evil world: He gave teachings suitable for capabilities. Sentient beings’ mental defilements lead their Five Roots to pursue external conditions so they cannot safeguard their minds. In an evil and turbid world, it is hard to teach the Great Dharma.”
This is how “the Five Roots pursue external conditions so we cannot safeguard our minds”. So, “in an evil and turbid world, it is hard to teach the Great Dharma”. The Buddha had truly realized such vast, boundless, subtle and wondrous principles. How could those with mental defilements, “who cannot safeguard their minds”, possibly accept them? “It is hard to teach the Great Dharma”.
So, the Buddha also thought, “I have come into a turbid, evil world”. Since He came to this turbid, evil world, in order to teach sentient beings the Dharma, He had to teach according to their capabilities. “As these Buddhas have taught, I should follow accordingly”. The way all past Buddhas taught the Dharma was according to disposition, with skillful means to patiently guide people. This is what past Buddhas did.
“As these Buddhas have taught, I should follow accordingly: Like all Buddhas, He skillfully taught the Three Vehicles, giving and establishing provisional teachings. This clearly shows the Buddha had to hide the true and manifest the provisional by giving three distinct teachings. This was not the Buddha’s original intent.”
Therefore, “Like all Buddhas, He skillfully taught the Three Vehicles”. The Three Vehicles are the Small, Middle and Great Vehicles. At the same time, He gave and established the provisional teachings. This clearly explains that “the Buddha had to hide the true and manifest the provisional”. To ensure that everyone understood, He had to give limited and provisional teachings according to sentient beings’ capabilities. So, He had to conceal the True Dharma.
Actually, True Dharma helps us understand our minds and realize our nature. It is His way of saying, You and I are the same. “If I can attain enlightenment, so can you”. “you all intrinsically have Buddha-nature”. But who can understand this concept? So, He had to go back to the beginning and tirelessly establish limited teachings for limited capabilities. Establishing teachings based on capabilities is called “hiding the true”. By hiding the true teaching, He “gave the provisional” as three distinct teachings. But if there are too many methods, one person may insist on these rules, another may insist on other regulations, so it is hard to guide people. In a large organization like Tzu Chi, we have Faith Corps and Commissioners, groups and teams, and they must operate in an orderly manner. Of course, Commissioners and Faith Corps all share one practice, the Bodhisattva Way. They all personally reach out to sentient beings and personally seek to help them. As they interact with people and deal with matters, they put teachings into practice. Only by doing this can they truly realize the principles of life.
There is an old saying, “Without experience, we cannot grow in wisdom”. Only by experiencing something can we really understand the way it is. The Buddha kept teaching the Four Noble Truths. When we see others suffer, we must understand the cause of their suffering. Their suffering comes from the accumulation of various causes and conditions. Thus they experience suffering. Since [we know] causes and conditions are accumulating like this, after we understand this principle, we can constantly remind ourselves to be vigilant.
This principles tells us to vigilantly from positive causes and conditions and avoid creating negative causes and conditions.As we engage in spiritual practice, in order to attain Buddhahood, we must understand negative [karma]. The effect of suffering we face right now are the result of accumulated causes and conditions. The causation “of suffering is this accumulation.
Only after we understand, can we be vigilant of ourselves. So, by growing our wisdom, we can analyze the effects of suffering and negative karmic conditions. Then we can be vigilant of them. Giving creates good causes, wholesome causes and conditions. Thus we must always remind ourselves to be vigilant. We must practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom, and protect our minds so that we will be able to safeguard our minds. If our minds connect with external phenomena through the Five Roots, inevitably we will create more causes and conditions.
Will we create blessed causes or will we create negative causes? This depends on whether we practice precepts, Samadhi and wisdom. If we do, the causes we plant will naturally be causes for blessings and wisdom and the conditions we create will be those for blessing and wisdom. Blessings and wisdom are [like two feet]. They are used to walk the Bodhisattva-path. Realizing the great path, entering the sutra treasury and leading all people harmoniously, without obstruction, are all possible because of precepts, Samadhi and wisdom.
Precepts, Samadhi and wisdom come from realizations attained in interacting with others. So, “wisdom comes from experience.” To develop wisdom from our experience, we must practice the Dharma among people. We cannot think, “I am the group leader. All I need to do is say to others. Have you done this? You need to do that.” That is wrong. We need to say, “Have we done this? This is what we need to do.” Then everyone understands this is how we engage in spiritual practice in this world. The Buddah’s greatest hope is for everyone to come in contact with the Dharma and cultivate precepts, Samadhi and wisdom and an understanding of the law of karma.
When we see the suffering of sentient beings, we must form great aspirations to transform them. The Buddha, seeking methods to transform them, “thought upon this matter.” Having contemplated how to transform them, He “went straightaway to Varanasi. Varanasi was where Deer Park was located and where He taught the Dharma to the five bhiksus. So, He went to transform the five bhiksus.
Having thought upon this matter, I went straightaway to Varanasi: Varanasi is where Deer Park was located. There, He helps transform the five bhiksus. After this turning of the Dharma-wheel, the Three Treasures, the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, appeared as distinct appellations in this world.
The place where the five bhiksus attained the Path was the place the Buddha first expounded the Dharma after He had attained enlightenment. That place was Deer Park. “After this turn of the Dharma-wheel, the Buddha, Sharma and Sangha came to be, and they are still with us today. The Three Treasures became complete at Deer Park. Since the Buddha said they were all equal, why did the Buddha remain the Buddha, the Dharma remain the Dharma and the Sangha remain the Sangha? Originally, the Buddha stated directly, “You are already Buddhas.” However, their minds were still ordinary minds filled with afflictions and ignorance. Because they remained unawakened, they could not be considered Buddhas. So, they had to practice according to the Dharma. This makes them part of the Sangha.
Since we aspire to be Buddha’s disciples, we must “comprehend the great path” and also “bring forth the Bodhi-mind.” We must carefully listen to the Dharma and out it into practice on the great, direct path to enlightenment. Therefore, we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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