Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Plant a Foundation of Blessings and Wisdom (植眾德本福慧雙隆)
Date: February.11. 2015
“By doing one good deed, we create one portion of blessings. With the root of virtues and purifying practices both blessings and wisdom will thrive. When we sincerely connect to the Buddha’s mind we can shoulder the burden of the Great Dharma.”
I want to share with you that, “By doing one good deed, we create one portion of blessings.” We must unceasingly accumulate blessings. When we open our mouths to speak kind words, we can inspire people’s spiritual aspirations and strengthen their faith. Our kind words can transform their minds. That is a good deed. We can also lend someone a hand; if they cannot lift a heavy object, we can share their burden. This is also a good deed. Doing a good deed will give us additional blessings.
As we grow in goodness and blessings, we can also form good affinities. So, by doing one thing, we can accomplish three. Isn’t this something we can easily do on a regular basis? Thus, accumulating blessed karmic conditions is actually not difficult. We should be able to constantly nurture our willingness to help others. That will make us most happy. When we inspire people’s spiritual aspirations and awaken the goodness in them, we are creating blessed conditions. These blessed causes, conditions and retributions are what we must continue to accumulate.
So, the Buddhist sutras say that [spiritual cultivation] will take a long time. The Buddha hopes that over a long period of time, people will create connections with others and will give of themselves to more people, and with everything they say and everything they do, create blessed causes and blessed conditions. These are blessed actions.
Thus, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must do good deeds. This is not very difficult. So, “with the root of virtues and purifying practices,” doing good deeds is really not very difficult. However, it is important to nurture our virtues, the root of our virtues. We must “plant all roots of virtues” by continuously accumulating and planting many blessed causes. Every spiritual practitioner must continue to plant these roots of virtues in every lifetime. Planting roots of virtues is the only way to deepen their blessed causes and conditions. This is why I have always said in the past that we must plant good seeds deep in our minds.
If our virtues can be deeply rooted, “both blessings and wisdom will thrive.” To cultivate both blessings and wisdom and for them both to thrive, we must be sincere. We must, with our utmost sincerity, connect with the Buddha’s mind. Our sincerity must extend beyond paying respect to the Buddha. Whenever we interact with people, we must always do so with the same reverence. Expressing this reverence in our conduct is also a way that we are making offerings. The Buddha taught us in the hope that all of us, with our intrinsic Tathagata-nature, our nature of pure True Suchness, will always have respect for ourselves.
So, with utmost reverence, we can connect with our nature of True Suchness, which is the Buddha within us. Sakyamuni Buddha’s Dharma has spread around the world. Relying on His Dharma, we can apply the teachings in our actions. So with this Dharma, we can return to our nature of True Suchness. When we connect to our pure nature and the Buddha’s mind, we can turn the great Dharma-wheel.
“When we sincerely connect to the Buddha’s mind, we can shoulder the burden of the Great Dharma.”Taking up the Tathagatha’s family business and turning the Dharma-wheel is very important.When we learn the Buddha’s Way, we must awaken ourselves and also others.Only when we awaken ourselves and others will we have perfect awakened conduct.
When we benefit ourselves and others, we are creating the greatest field of blessings.This is what we must put our hearts into.
The previous sutra passage states, “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.”
This tells us that there are many Bodhisattvas in the land of Flower Light Tathagata.Many great treasures adorn this land.
There great treasures are Bodhisattvas.How many Bodhisattvas are there?There are so many, the number is “inconceivable, beyond calculation or comparison”.
As we can see, from the moment.Flower Light Buddha formed His initial aspirations, there must be a very long period where-He transforms sentient beings and forms good affinities with them.
Doing one good deed creates one portion of blessings.So, He must do many good deeds and create many blessings to accumulate enough to enable so many people to form Bodhisattva-aspirations.These Bodhisattvas are the treasures of this land.
I constantly say that Tzu Chi volunteers are Tzu Chi’s treasures.
By mindfully giving of themselves to others, they dignify the places where Tzu Chi exists.Volunteers from Swaziland or Mozambique, regardless [of the distance], constantly travel to South Africa to attend volunteer training classes with the South African Tzu Chi volunteers.Regardless of how terrible their conditions are, they make use of their spiritual wealth.They [help others] joyfully and willingly.They learn about how to benefit others and how to bring happiness to themselves.
They go from feeling poor to feeling rich.This is how, with utmost reverence, they connect with the Buddha’s mind.As they learn to connect with the Buddha’s mind, they can also spread the seeds of goodness to inspire others to discover their spiritual wealth.
Isn’t this the Buddha’s one great cause for coming to this world?
Anyone can discover the spiritual wealth within themselves.
Anyone can form the seeds of Bodhi.As these Bodhi-seeds and their spiritual wealth continue to grow, they create blessed causes and good conditions.Doesn’t all this come from taken action to give to others?
So every seed, every seed of Bodhi, every Bodhi-tree, can influence a wide expanse of land.This is how Bodhisattvas bring dignity to and adorn that land.Similarly, in Tzu Chi, the volunteers are the treasures who dignify these places of spiritual cultivation.
Next we will discuss how,“Whenever they wish to walk anywhere, jeweled flowers spring up beneath their feet. These Bodhisattvas are not newly inspired. For a long time, they have cultivated a virtuous foundation.”
So, “Whenever they wish to walk anywhere, jeweled flowers spring up beneath their feet.”
This is because Flower Light Tathagata’s land will be very pure, without the slightest bit of defilement.Our Saha World is filled with the Five Turbidities.It is filled with sentient begins’ defiled perspectives.Our perspectives are not pure at all.This is because our perspective is, “Other people are always wrong, but I am right. I should have first claim on all material things. I should receive all the recognition.”Think about this, people nowadays have many such defiled perspectives, not to mention other [turbidities].
This Saha World is truly very turbid.
But, when Sariputra attains Buddhahood in the future, he will do so in a land where everyone is a Bodhisattva.Everyone’s perspectives will be gentle, wholesome and accommodating; no one’s heart will be defiled by turbidities.This is how Bodhisattvas adorn the land with their purity.
Our recycling Bodhisattva’s world is very similar. Anywhere there are recycling Bodhisattvas, the amount of trash decreases and our material resources increase. We hope we will no longer need to constantly extract crude oil [to produce new things]. We can recycle and reuse these material instead. The things in our trash are all treasures. In the Saha World, Bodhisattvas like this protect the earth. Think about it, with the heart of a Bodhisattva, people can naturally purify this land.
So, the Bodhisattva state of mind is what Flower Light Buddha will help them achieve. Everyone in His land will be Bodhisattva. Everyone who gathers in that land will be people who had a karmic affinity with him. But, they still need to diligently advance, aspire to listen to more teachings and accumulate more wisdom and blessed karmic conditions. This is in preparation for them to go into the world to transform sentient beings.
So, there will be many Bodhisattvas there. The great magnificence of that realm cannot [really] be described in words.
The land of Flower Light Buddha will be pure. The Bodhisattvas there are great in number. The magnificence of that realm is difficult to explain in words. Whenever Bodhisattvas wish to walk anywhere, jeweled flowers will spring up beneath their feet.
When they walk, “jeweled flowers spring up beneath their feet”. This means that they have planted blessed seeds, attained the blessed fruit and are very steadfast. With each steady step, they cultivate blessings and wisdom. This is symbolized by flowers springing up beneath their feet. With every move they make, they are diligently cultivating blessings and wisdom.
Jeweled flowers spring up beneath their feet: “Jeweled” means that they are precious and true. “Flowers” represent their blessed causes and good deeds. With the actions and conduct of Bodhisattvas, they carry out the true causes that will enable them to attain Buddhahood.
In the meaning behind “jeweled flowers spring up beneath their feet”, “jeweled” means they are precious and true. In that land, Bodhisattvas who form aspirations and make vows will all be very sincere, and reverent, as well as firm in their resolve. This the meaning of “jeweled”. “Flowers” express that they are creating blessed causes and doing good deeds; these flowers are so magnificent.
Confucius said, “Wealth enriches the house; virtue enriches the body”. When we visit the homes of wealthy people, we can tell whether the family is rich because the architecture and furnishings show off their wealth. On the other hand, virtue can dignify people. We do not need to go to their homes. They do not need to have tangible wealth. They do not need to have tangible wealth. Just by seeing them, respect will arise in our hearts. These are people with character. We can believe whatever they say. Their words carry great weight. This is how “virtue enriches the body”. This comes from the blessed causes and good deeds that they have planted. So, “virtue enriches the body”. It helps people to have faith in us.
In order for people to trust us, we must have faith in the Dharma. Our Root of Faith must be deeply grounded for our resolve to be firm. Only then can we have “the actions and conduct of Bodhisattvas”. Everything we carry out will be “true causes that enable us to attain Buddhahood”. This is what we create through our daily actions.
“These Bodhisattvas are not newly inspired. For a long time, they have cultivated a virtuous foundation”. The Bodhisattvas in the era of Flower Light Buddha will not be just beginning to form aspirations. No. As I just mentioned, for a long time, Sariputra will continue to spread the seeds of love. He will constantly return to the Saha World. Entering into the evil world of Five Turbidities, he will be able to maintain the purity of his mind. As he interacts with people, he will create positive causes and blessings. Then the people who form affinities with him, those who have been purified by him, will be the ones to bring about that land.
These Bodhisattvas are not newly inspired.For a long time, they have cultivated a virtuous foundation:
For a long time, they have cultivated Bodhisattva-practices. So, they are not newly inspired and their roots of goodness have been deeply planted.
Therefore, in this land, Bodhisattvas are considered great treasures that adorn the land. They are not newly-inspired Bodhisattvas. These Bodhisattvas have, for a long time, deeply planted their roots so the roots are now thriving. Thus, they “are not newly inspired.” This also means that their roots of goodness are already deeply planted.
Virtue means goodness Foundation means roots. So, “the merits from doing all good deeds” are achieved over past lives. These merits bring the fruits of Buddhahood and become the virtuous foundation of Bodhi. “They have long cultivated a virtuous foundation and have often been praised by the Buddha.” “They deeply penetrate true wisdom, have wondrous clarity of their true nature and constantly cultivate Buddha-wisdom.”
These are Bodhisattvas who have constantly been praised by the Buddha Sakyamuni Buddha also constantly praised past Bodhisattvas who had come to assist at His Dharma-assembly.
He also constantly praised the many Bodhisattvas who had just formed their initial aspirations. At the beginning of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha praised each disciple on how, throughout their past lives, they have continually protected their pure minds. But, their great aspirations had yet to be inspired. In order to inspire them to form aspirations, He continually praised them. Thus, they were often praised by all Buddhas Sakyamuni Buddha did this at this assembly. The future Flower Light Buddha will also praise them for “deeply penetrating true wisdom.” This means they “have wondrous clarity of their true nature and constantly cultivate Buddha-wisdom.”This is very important.
We must make an effort to [develop] this wisdom True wisdom is Buddha-wisdom. Buddha-wisdom is our nature of True Suchness. We must return to our nature of True Suchness and explore it .In our nature of True Suchness there is a vow, and we must thoroughly realize it. To do this, we must first take the Buddha’s teachings into our hearts. Then we must [observe] the various appearances of sentient beings. Every sentient being has a different appearance of suffering. They have all accumulated countless causes of suffering and countless conditions for suffering.These causes and conditions of suffering can be seen among the people.
Therefore, “wisdom comes from experience.” This why being among the people is the best place to engage in spiritual practice, as we can verify that what the Buddha taught was the True Dharma. This is how we can give rise to firm faith, understand the law of karma and recognize karmic conditions. To understand the karmic law of cause and effect, we must be mindful and constantly make an effort to do good deeds and crate blessings. “By doing one good deed, we create one portion of blessings.”
So as I mentioned before, we must achieve 32 Marks to attain Buddhahood. We need 100 good deeds in order to attain a blessing. This passage encourages us to make an effort to do good deeds and accumulate blessings. Our virtuous foundation must be pure.Only be going among people with a pure mind to create blessed causes and conditions are we connecting with the Buddha’s mind with utmost sincerity. This is the only way to shoulder the Tathagata’s family business.
In that land adorned by great treasures, there will be countless Bodhisattvas gathered. In this world, perhaps those now walking the Bodhisattvas-path will be among those countless Bodhisattvas in Sariptura’s future as Flower Light Buddha. Those countless Bodhisattvas are currently.Those countless Bodhisattvas are currently practicing the Bodhisattva-path in this Saha World. They are those planting blessed causes and creating blessings among people. Thus, we must have faith and always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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