Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Understand the Buddha’s Mind and Make Vows (體佛心，發誓願)
Date: December.19. 2014
“Those with great capabilities and sharp wisdom hear the Dharma and attain realizations. Those with average and limited capabilities still cling to their delusions. [The Buddha] kindly exercises compassion to give provisional teachings with skillful wisdom.”
Those with great capabilities and sharp wisdom realize the Dharma right after hearing it. Those with average or limited capabilities still cling to their delusions. Though they may all listen to the Dharma together, some will refuse to put it into practice. People hinder themselves when they are unwilling to let go of their attachments. So, they cannot make progress with the Dharma; they just forever walk in place.
The Buddha comes to this world in the hope that everyone could “comprehend the great path” and that everyone’s ignorance and habitual tendencies could be pushed aside to immediately reveal their nature of True Suchness. In this way, they can become one with the universe. This is the Buddha’s hope for sentient beings. However, sentient beings vary in their capabilities. So, He exercised loving-kindness and compassion. [By means of] gradual teachings, He slowly guided them, step by step. So, with cleverness and wisdom, He taught skillful means. He used His wisdom and His skill; this was how He gave provisional teachings.
Indeed, we have recently been learning about how the Dharma taught by the Buddha is all the same. From the start, He taught for all three capabilities, but because our capabilities are different, we take in different things. Those with great capabilities can hear one teaching and realize it instantly, accepting it and putting it into practice to transform sentient beings. Among those whom the Buddha teaches, there are many people like this. Those with such capabilities are considered Bodhisattvas and walk the Bodhisattva-path. If we only consider the changing of the seasons and realize the impermanence the Buddha taught, we may understand it. We may believe in the concepts of impermanence, suffering, emptiness [and no self]. However, we still do not understand the state of wondrous existence. So, if we are like [Hearers] we may follow on the Buddha’s teachings to understand worldly matters and objects. Yet Hearers still cannot progress on the path. That is because they still have not eliminated the delusions lingering in their minds; there are still so many of them. So, the Buddha has always exercised great loving-kindness and compassion. Out of great compassion, He exercises skillful wisdom in teaching and guiding sentient beings.
We all need to try to understand the previous sutra passages. Sariputra, at the Lotus Dharma-assembly, was very happy because of the Dharma he heard, as he attained something he never had. He felt jubilant and joyous. He had never experienced this happiness before. Actually, he had heard the same Dharma as everyone else, why had others been able to open their minds, understand it and put it into practice? We must understand that in the teachings the Buddha gave, there is no Great or Small [Vehicle]. The difference was in people’s capabilities. What is the true path of Buddhahood? The path to Buddhahood is something that has to be put into practice. So, in the previous sutra passage, Sariputra said, “We all likewise realized the nature of things.”
We all likewise realized the nature of things, so why did the Tathagata use the Small Vehicle Dharma to transform us? The fault was ours and not the World-Honored One’s.
The Buddha taught the Dharma in this way, spoke to everyone in this way.Everyone heard the Dharma at the same time; He did not teach a special Dharma to any one person in particular.The teachings were all the same.“So why did the Tathagta transform us with the Small Vehicle Dharma?”How was it that the Bodhisattvas understood the Dharma taught by the Buddha while others did not?Was it because the Buddha had given them different teachings?Such were the questions in Sarputra’s mind.These questions had come up previously.
This sutra passage continues to describe what he was unable to understand in the past and the doubts that were still in his mind.Was the Buddha still teaching the Small Vehicle Dharma [to them]?Did He only teach the Great Dharma to those who had formed aspirations and vows?This was Sariputra’s frame of mind, which was the same frame of mind that other Small Vehicle Practitioners had Sariputra was the foremost in wisdom, and in the Sangha, he represented wisdom.
The question asked by Sariputra, the doubt he had in his mind, was the same question everyone else wanted to ask and echoed the doubts in their own hearts.“Is the Buddha [still] teaching us the Small Vehicle Dharma?”Now they understood.“The fault was ours, not the World-Honored One’s”.The Buddha was not at fault.He actually taught the Dharma impartially.
At the Dharma-assembly, He gave everyone the same teachings, but because people had different capabilities, they had different realizations.How much they realized depended on them.It was they who did not put in the effort to comprehend the Buddha’s mind, what He had intended to teach them.Being unable to do so was their own fault.It was not the Buddha who lacked the method, it was they who lacked Dharma being unable take the Buddha-Dharma to heart.
So, “The fault was ours, not the World-Honored One’s.”This was in the previous passage.
The next sutra passage states, “Why is this so?”It was not the Buddha’s fault.It was their fault that they could not take the Buddha-Dharma to heart.It was their own fault, but why?
“If we had waited for the Buddha to teach the cause of attaining. Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, we certainly would have been delivered by the Great Vehicle.”
Why did they say it was their fault?They had to examine themselves.If they had, from the beginning formed these great aspirations and made these great vows, with these kinds of expectations, the Dharma taught by the Buddha would naturally have led them to attain “Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi,” in which case they would have been transformed.
Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi, as we should all know, is supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.
If, when the Buddha was teaching the Dharma, they had had this inclination, they could have attained supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.If they had this mindset, then they certainly would have “been delivered by the Great Vehicle”.At that time, if they could have accepted the Dharma and taken it to heart, they could have also attained supreme, universal and perfect enlightenment.
Sariputra asked to hear the One Vehicle Dharma with great earnestness.Now that he finally understood, Sariputra had begun to seek the One Vehicle Dharma with great earnestness.
So, “If we had waited for the Buddha to teach the cause of attaining Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi…”.At this point, Sariputra was waiting earnestly.He had already missed out on opportunities from over 40-plus years of the Buddha’s teachings.
Now that he understood, he earnestly awaited the teachings; he expressed his earnestness in seeking the True Dharma of the One Vehicle.
Now his mind was leading him toward the Great Vehicle path to seek the Dharma.If he could do this, “[he] certainly would have been delivered by the Great Vehicle.”
We certainly would have been delivered by the Great Vehicle:This was like saying they would wait respectfully and have deep faith in what the Buddha would teach as the cause for practicing the path to enlightenment, with is to make the Four Great Vows and from the great aspiration to attain supreme enlightenment.
This is saying he had a deep sense of reverence, a sense of expectation and earnestness. This earnestness came from his heart, as he respectfully and faithfully awaited [teachings]. “They had deep faith in what the Buddha would teach as the cause for practicing the path to enlightenment”. With that cause, they could start walking forward again. Causes are seeds. When people form Great Vehicle aspirations, that aspiration is a cause. Now they hoped to attain the cause for walking the great Bodhi-path.
Once they had this seed, how should they help it to grow, so that these Bodhi-seeds become a Bodhi-forest? This was the hope of Sariputra and all the other disciples. Of course, for this cause or seed to be planted, various causes and conditions had to converge. As various causes and conditions converge, we must take action and engage in actual practice. We must make the Four Great Vows, as they are the aspiration to attain unsurpassed enlightenment. For all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to attain Buddhahood and walk the Bodhi-path, they must first make vows. Vows can be universal vows or specific vows.
“To make vows: All Buddhas make both universal and specific vows. The Four Great Vows are universal vows. When all Bodhisattvas first form aspirations, they must make these vows.”
So, the universal vows are the Four Great Vows. When all Bodhisattvas first form aspirations, they begin making these four vows. The first one is, as everyone here has memorized,
“Sentient beings are countless, I vow to deliver them all. By connecting witht the truth of suffering, they vow to deliver countless beings.”
I constantly tell everyone, “Bodhisattvas arise because of suffering sentient beings”.
“Second, we vow to eliminate endless afflictions.” We have many, many afflictions. To be able to attain Buddhahood, we must definitely make the [Four] Great Vows. We cannot allow any habitual tendencies to remain. We must eliminate them, one by one. Not only do we need to eliminate them, we must cut them off and not develop any more. This is “connecting with the truth of causation of suffering”.
“There are endless amounts of afflictions, and I vow to eliminate them all. By connecting with the truth of the causation of suffering, they vow to eliminate an endless number of afflictions”.
All sentient beings are suffering. Where does suffering come from? From “causation”; from the accumulation of subtle ignorance that turns into habitual tendencies. These then continue to multiply and give rise to countless afflictions. So, to walk the Bodhisattva-path and transform suffering sentient beings, we must eliminate our own habitual tendencies.
The third is, “There are infinite Dharma-doors, and I vow to learn them all”. There are as many Dharma-doors as there are afflictions in sentient beings. So, this is “connecting to the truth of the Path”. This is what we call learning the Path.
“There are infinite Dharma-doors, and I vow to learn them all. By connecting to the truth of the Path to the cessation of suffering, they vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors”.
We need to pave a road in this world. If this road is smooth, it can naturally connect to the Bodhi-path. Have you seen that outside of all of our buildings we use interlocking paving blocks? I often refer to them as links of love. To lay them flat, the ground must first be made even and flat. Only then are the blocks laid down, one by one. The rain seeps through the cracks between them and enters the soil to return to the earth. In the same way, as we learn the teachings, we must understand their underlying principles. After we have learned the Dharma, we understand its principles. How can we help people in the world understand and accept the teachings of the Path? When people accept it, they can perceive the Dharma that exists in nature. This is the truth of the Path. With the truth of the Path, we know how man blocks we need so that the road we are paving can connect with the Bodhi-path.
So, we must persistently and patiently exercise our wisdom and take the Dharma to heart. When we are among people, we progress steadily, stop by step. The vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors is the truth of the Path.
Four, “Buddhahood is supreme and I vow to attain it.” This relates to the truth of the cessation of suffering attain supreme Buddhahood.
Actually, “cessation” is the cessation of all our afflictions. If we do not engage in spiritual practice or go among people, we will not be able to realize the principles. Take suffering, for example. Many people are living very ordinary lives．Some live like there is no tomorrow. They indulge in pleasure and live empty lives. How can they recognize suffering? They do not recognize it.
So, we must aspire to understand life’s impermanence. The Buddha comes to this world to guide us in the right direction. We need to realize this ourselves. This realization comes from realizing the truth of suffering by witnessing the suffering of others. Thus, Tzu Chi volunteers give unconditionally and also express their gratitude because they can realize the truths of suffering from people who are suffering.
Every morning, during the morning volunteer assembly, we hear about the things our hospital volunteers have seen. Every family has its own difficulties. Every person’s body subject to impermanence. These are sufferings of the world. All suffering can be realize in these places of spiritual practice. What places of spiritual practice? The hospital is a place for spiritual cultivation. It is where we learn to accept life. Birth, aging, illness and death can all be seen at the hospital. All this is suffering. Parting with those we love, meeting those we hate, unfulfilled desires and the raging Five Aggregates are all kinds of suffering. [This is why] the hospital is a place for spiritual cultivation. People who go there to volunteer, or those who work at the hospital, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, all exercise their love in that place of spiritual cultivation. They experience the “suffering” He spoke of. Each person is a “living sutra” in the Tzu Chi Archive. They help us realize wisdom and understand a particular Dharma-door.
So, Dharma-doors are infinite and we must learn them all. We must understand the workings of this world through the truth of the Path. Only then can we enter the Bodhi-path. Through the act of giving to help others, we can realize principles and thus become very happy. Do we have afflictions? We must be vigilant of ourselves and act quickly to eliminate and remove all past habitual tendencies and afflictions. We learn by observing other people. By eliminating afflictions, layer by layer, naturally we can connect to the truth of the cessation of suffering and make the vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood. So, “I vow to deliver countless sentient beings. I vow to eliminate endless afflictions. I vow to learn infinite Dharma-doors. I vow to attain unsurpassed Buddhahood.”
Indeed, these are the Four Great Vows. They are derived from the Four Noble Truths. Think about it. From the very beginning, the Buddha taught about suffering, causation, cessation and the Path. Aren’t these true principles? Sariputra and the others thought this was the Small Vehicle Dharma. Actually, if we to practice the Great Vehicle, we must still understand these truths. We must realize the loving-kindness of the Buddha. He exercised loving-kindness and compassion. The way He teaches us is very mindful.
Since the Buddha put that much care into teaching us, how can we not faithfully accept and practice His teachings? We must, with gratitude, put these teachings into practice every day. Of course, this requires us to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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