Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Bodhisattvas are Inconceivably Numerous (菩薩無量難思議)
Date: February.10. 2015
“The path to Buddhahood extends as long and far as the vast universe. The wondrous Dharma is as deep and wide as the great ocean. The wondrous enlightenment of all Buddha is mighty and magnificent. Pure wondrous wisdom is the Tathagata-garbha.”
The path to Buddhahood is truly long! In the past few days, we have been discussing how Sakyamuni Buddha had, from Beginningless Time up to the time of [that Dharma-assembly,] drawn near Buddha for countless kalpas. Clearly, in Sakyamuni’s past path to Buddhahood He had already come a long and far way. The path to Buddhahood is “unconditioned Dharma”. It truly cannot be seen or touched, yet its principles are everlasting and penetrate the truths of the universe. Indeed, this path is very long. It is like the vast universe.
Exactly how long, how wide and how high is the universe? Even now we cannot estimate its size. Isn’t the path to Buddhahood the same? Though the universe actually has bounds the path to Buddhahood, the Dharma, is endless and without bounds. So, it is like the vast universe. “The wondrous Dharma is as deep and wide as the great ocean.” However big the universe is, the path to Buddhahood is just as long. However vast and deep the ocean is, that is now vast and deep the Dharma is. And so, the true principles of the Dharma truly encompass everything. This applies even to our daily living. Every thought that arises is the Dharma and every move we made is a step on the Path.
During the Buddha’s lifetime, there was a spiritual practitioner who went to see Him with a heart of deep reverence. He made an offering of flowers. The Buddha asked him, “What is it that you seek?” He replied, “I am engaging in spiritual practice. All I am seeking is a path.” The Buddha told him gently, “Let go.” Reverently, he put the flowers down and put his palms together. The Buddha said again, “Continue to let go.” So. He put down both of his hands and waited to hear the Buddha give teachings. But the Buddha told him again, “You still must let go.”
The spiritual practitioner said, “Since I want to engage in spiritual cultivation, I must learn the Path. Please be compassionate and teach it to me.” The Buddha told him, “It is your desire to seek the path to Buddhahood that you must let go of.”
Hearing this, the spiritual practitioner immediately awakened and understood what the Buddha meant. A mind that is free of discursive thoughts and not seeking anything is a mind that has let go. On the long and far path to Buddhahood, we must first let go of everything in our minds. We must let go of our greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and doubt. We must let go of all our afflictions. If we are seeking anything, we will experience gain and loss. So, we must even let go of our “seeking” mind, then we will have no sense of gain and loss. This is something we must mindfully comprehend.
“The wondrous enlightenment of all Buddhas is mighty and magnificent.” The wondrous enlightenment of all Buddhas is mighty and magnificent. With a path and Dharma that is so high, profound and long, where should we begin?We begin by letting go and being at peace.
Only when our minds are at peace can we comprehend all Buddhas’ wondrous enlightenment, which is unsurpassed, mighty and magnificent.It is so high and so deep, deep as an ocean and as high as a mountain.It is as high as Mt. Sumeru.
Truly, for us to completely comprehend the Buddha-Dharma, our minds must be at peace.So, “Pure wondrous wisdom is the Tathagata-garbha.”
Not only must our minds be at peace, we must also return to what we intrinsically have, the pure Tathagata-garbha consciousness.
Actually, the Dharma is really close to us; it is so close that it is already in our hearts.What more are we seeking?We just need to understand how to return to our intrinsic Tathagata-nature.
Since [it is already within us], we just need to calm the mind and maintain this pure state of mind.This is what we must be diligent about each day.We must listen and we must share.Aside from listening and sharing, we must keep walking.So, we must put the Dharma into practice.
As I said earlier, “That kapla will be named. Great Treasure Adornment.”
That kalpa will be named Great Treasure Adornment.Why will it be named Great Treasure Adornment?Because in that country, Bodhisattvas are considered great treasures.
Sariputra will not only attain Buddhahood in a magnificent land, he will reside there for a long time.Thus, in that era, in that “kalpa” or time, the name of that era, that kalpa’s name, will be Great Treasure Adornment.Why will it be named Great Treasure Adornment?Because in Flower Light Buddha’s land, Bodhisattvas will be considered great treasures.In that land, people will delight in the Buddha and the Dharma and aspire to practice the Bodhisattva-path.Therefore, in that country, Bodhisattvas will be considered great treasures.
I have also constantly asked, “What do Taiwanese people treasure?”“They consider being loving and kind a treasure.”
Indeed, in Taiwan, so many people have formed aspirations.
Every day, each one of them works hard on behalf of society and for all people.They give unconditionally.Even just counting recycling Bodhisattvas, we have over 70,000 volunteers.
Every day, they work for the sake of the land, to protect the earth and cherish its resources.They care for all things.There are so many of these Bodhisattvas, ranging from the very young to the very old.See, they are the treasures of Taiwan.In this era, in this country, there are all these people who are content and happy.
There are so many who give unconditionally.They are treasures.
In the Buddha’s prediction for Sariputra, there are many people aspiring to walk the Bodhisattva-path.Thus, the name of that era and kalpa will be Great Treasure Adornment.
Next, we will discuss how “The number of these Bodhisattvas is countless, boundless, and inconceivable, beyond calculation or comparison. Without the power of Buddha-wisdom, one cannot understand how many there are.”
That land is adorned by great treasures.In that land, there are many Bodhisattvas, a countless, boundless and inconceivable number.How many of them are there?We cannot count how many there are.
If we ask, “What is Earth’s population now?” people will say,“Over
7 billion”.But the Buddhist sutras are writing about the land where Sariputra will attain Buddhahood, it will take a countless and boundless number of kalpas.This means this is a long time from now, and he must still create good affinities with many beings, lifetime after lifetime.
So, after a very long time, there will naturally be many people who will have good affinities with him. So, the Buddha predicted that in the future, among the population at that time there will be so many people who have formed aspirations we will be unable to describe it with a comparison.
I often talk about how, 50 years ago, the population of Taiwan was over 8 million. Now, 50 years later, it is around 23 or 24 million. Imagine if this continues into the future, far into the future. The number of Bodhisattvas will be incalculable.
“Without the power of Buddha-wisdom one cannot understand how many there are”. Only a Buddha can know how many Bodhisattvas there will be in the future. Of course I hope that now, every day, we will continue to recruit more Bodhisattvas. I hope that the number of Bodhisattvas will increase every day.
Next, we will discuss how “The number of these Bodhisattvas is countless, boundless and inconceivable”.
Bodhisattva is a Sanskrit word. It means awakened sentient being. It refers to people who are awakened and diligently advance toward the truth of the Buddha’s great realizations.
Sariputra’s land will be like this Bodhisattva is [a Sankrit word]. In Chinese we simply call them “pusas”. We should call them Bodhisattvas, but to simplify thing we call them “pusas”.
A Bodhisattva, when translated according to its meaning, is an “awakened sentient being,” someone with awakened love. They diligently advance toward the truth of the Buddha’s great realizations. To put it more simply, with their awakening, they seek the path to Buddhahood. The more Buddha-Dharma we understand, the more ignorance we can eliminate and the more we can develop our wisdom-life. As our wisdom grows, we become more awakened. This is what an awakened sentient beings is. Sentient beings are living beings. They are living beings with feelings. A living being with feelings does not necessarily refer to a human.
When a mosquito bites us, we may try to hit it, but as soon as we move our hand, it flies away. It bites us to survive. It takes a little of our blood to sustain its life. But when we are bitten by a mosquito, once we feel it, anger arises in us and our hand moves; we very naturally want to swat it. Humans and mosquitoes are both animals that have feelings. This also includes many others. Sentient beings are living beings, many different kinds of living beings. All of these are considered sentient beings; the Five Destinies coexist in the human realm. There are those who live in happiness and wealth, like being in heaven on earth. There are also those who live like ordinary humans. Of course, there those who are on the wrong track and commit evil acts.
Of the evil [destinies, the first] is hell. Those guilty of the Ten Evils and the Five Offences will descend into hell. Those who do not abide by the principles of being human will descend into animal realm. As for people who are stingy, greedy, jealous, who are unwilling to give and want everything for themselves, when they meet sages, will not only fail to praise them but will try their best to slander and ruin them. These people will end up in the hungry ghost realm. This is how the Five Destinies all exist in the world. However, in the human realm, there are also the Four Nobble Realms. The Four Noble Realms include that of the Buddha, the greatest noble being, as well as Bodhisattvas, who are awakened sentient beings.
Awakened beings follow the Buddha’s teachings; they seek the path to Buddhahood and transform sentient beings. They bring relief to people in this world; this is what makes them Bodhisattvas. Then there are the Solitary Realizers, who only seek to awaken themselves. There are also those who only listen to Dharma; Solitary Realizers and Hearers only focus on their own self-awakening. In this world of sentient beings, all Ten Dharma-realms are in the human world. There are Buddha, who manifest here. There are Bodhisattvas, who seek the Buddha’s Way. There are Hearers and Solitary Realizers, who only seek to awaken themselves.
There are Hearers and Solitary Realizers, who only seek to awaken themselves. There are also heavenly beings, asuras and those in the Three Evil Realms. We can see all of them in this world Asuras frequently want to fight and confront others. Recently, we have been discussing manmade calamities. These disasters arise from the minds of asuras, which are off-balance. People who do this are considered asuras. As people living regular lives, we have a chance to hear the Buddha-Dharma. We have a chance to become Bodhisattvas.We have this chance to hear the Dharma, so little by little, we will accumulate many small realizations, and in this way, we can attain a great awakening. So, awakened sentient beings diligently advance toward the truth of the Buddha’s great realizations.
We cannot deviate from the Buddha-Dharma; we must immerse ourselves in the Buddha’s absolute truths. In our daily living we must not deviate from. In our daily living we must not deviate from our aspiration to seek the path to Buddhahood.
This means that those who seek the Buddha’s Way must be courageous and diligent.They “bravely forge ahead to advance towards Bodhi, while not forgetting their Great Vows.”
They seek the path to Buddhahood and transform sentient beings. There will be Bodhisattvas like these during Flower Light Tathagata’s era of Great Treasure Adornment. Those Bodhisattvas will be just like this. On one hand, they continue to learn and practice. On the other hand, they do not forget their initial aspirations, which are the Four Great Vows. They diligently and earnestly immerse themselves in the stream of the Dharma to prepare themselves to transform sentient beings.
As for the Four Great Vows, some people may think, “Aren’t the Four Great Vows about seeing suffering sentient beings and aspiring to transform them?” But in that era, if everyone practices the Bodhisattva-path, how will there be people who suffer? It is said, “It is difficult for the wealthy to learn the Way.” In that land, in that era, everyone will be very wealthy. But since they can hear the Buddha-Dharma, people become awakened. People who are truly awakened are considered the rich among the rich.
In Tzu Chi there are also many who are the rich among the rich.
They give their money and contribute their efforts. They humble themselves. They also take the Dharma into their hearts and manifest it in their actions. The same principles apply in the future land of Great Treasure Adornment that will be led by Flower Light Buddha, where there are many Bodhisattvas.
The number of these Bodhisattvas will be “countless, boundless and inconceivable, beyond calculation or comparison.” “Without the power of the Buddha-wisdom, one cannot understand how many there are.” There will be so many of them.
The Buddha’s wisdom is also called unsurpassed perfect wisdom. There is nothing does no know. This unsurpassed perfect wisdom is called Buddha-wisdom, which is supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment.
The Buddha’s wisdom is unsurpassed perfect wisdom. The wisdom of the Buddha already surpasses anything and everything. I constantly everyone that He is the Great Enlightened One of the Universe and has exceptionally transcendent, unsurpassed perfect wisdom. “There is nothing He does not know.” “This unsurpassed perfect wisdom is called Buddha-wisdom; it is supreme, universal, perfect enlightenment.” This is Buddha-wisdom.
The path to Buddhahood is long and far. From the time the Buddha began to engage in spiritual practice until the present, countless kalpas have passed. The path to Buddhahood is truly long and far.
So, we must take good care of our minds and take this most wondrous Dharma to heart. When protect our pure mind while giving, we are seeking the path to Buddhahood and transforming sentient being.Thus, over this long span of time in everyone moment we must always be mind; in every moment we must always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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