The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra
Translated by the Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva of Yao Ch’in
A Commentary by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua
Chapter 14: Happily Dwelling Conduct
This chapter is called “Happily-Dwelling Conduct.” [The Sanskrit title of the chapter is Sukha-Vihara. Sukha means “happy,” and Vihara means “dwelling.” The Chinese translation is “an le heng”, literally “dwelling-happy-conduct.”] Happily-dwelling conduct is the Bodhisattva Conduct, and the Bodhisattva Conduct is itself the happily-dwelling conduct. One happily dwells in the doors of practice cultivated by Bodhisattvas. Both one’s body and one’s mind reside in the states of cultivation of the Bodhisattva Way, and do so happily, since that is what one likes to do.
The Masters of the Dharma Chapter, the Devadatta Chapter, and the Exhortation to Maintain Chapter, which came previously, were very important sections of the Dharma Flower Sutra. This chapter is even more important. The reason one happily dwells is that one sits on the Thus Come One’s throne, puts on the Thus Come One’s robe, and enters the Thus Come One’s room. One cultivates that kind of happily dwelling conduct.
Happily-dwelling conduct is the road on which one must travel in cultivating the Bodhisattva Way, hence the name of this chapter, Happily Dwelling Conduct, chapter fourteen.
Sutra:
At that time, Dharma Prince Manjushri Bodhisattva Mahasattva said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, all these Bodhisattvas are extremely rare. Reverently complying with the Buddha, they have made great vows to protect, maintain, read, and speak this Dharma Flower Sutra in the future evil age.”
Outline:
D5. This is the fifth chapter in the “door of the traces” and circulation of the Sutra section.
E1. The question
F1. Praising the Bodhisattvas of profound practice, discussed in the previous chapter, who are able to propagate the Sutra in accord with the Dharma.
Commentary:
At that time is when the Buddha had finished speaking the “Exhortation to Maintain Chapter” and was ready to speak the “Happily Dwelling Conduct Chapter”. Manjushri Bodhisattva’s name is a Sanskrit word. Some translate it as “Wonderful Virtue,” and some as “Wonderfully Auspicious.” But Wonderful Virtue is Wonderfully Auspicious, and the meaning is the same. In general, this Bodhisattva’s state is inconceivable. As explained in the commentary to the Earth Store Sutra, ten auspicious signs occurred when Manjushri Bodhisattva was born, setting him apart from other Bodhisattvas.
While Manjushri Bodhisattva was cultivating the Bodhisattva Conduct, he never lied, killed, or stole. He kept the precepts very carefully. There is proof that he never stole. One time he said to the other Bodhisattvas, “From the time I first brought forth my resolve to cultivate, I have always maintained the precept against stealing. That is why no one ever steals from me. Why, I could set my most valuable possession down on the ground, and no one would steal it.”
Some of the Bodhisattvas did not believe him, and said, “We should test this out. Bring your most valuable possession, and we will put it in front of the city gate.” They chose that spot because it was where the most people came and went. “We will leave it there for three days, and if no one has taken it by the end of that time, that will prove what you say is true.”
Manjushri Bodhisattva said, “Fine, let’s try it out.” He took his most valuable gem—Bodhisattvas have many treasures—and put it in front of the city gate. People came in and out of the city through the gate for three days, but no one took the jewel. The Bodhisattvas then knew that Manjushri Bodhisattva had truly maintained the precept against stealing.
This Bodhisattva has the greatest wisdom. Why? Because he cultivated Prajna practices. From the time he began to cultivate the Bodhisattva Way, he cultivated Prajna. He cultivated Literary Prajna, Contemplative Prajna, and Real Mark Prajna—the three kinds of Prajna. As a result, his wisdom is the greatest.
Before Shakyamuni Buddha realized Buddhahood, he studied the Buddhadharma under this Bodhisattva, who appeared earlier in the Wonderful Dharma Flower Sutraas the Bodhisattva Wondrous Light. Manjushri Bodhisattva is also the Dharma Master Wondrous Light.
So, you who are cultivating the Way and have taken precepts must truly keep the precepts. If we do not truly keep the precepts now, later when it is time for us to realize the Way, our realization would not be true either. For that reason, we should learn to be like Manjushri Bodhisattva: We should not kill, steal, commit sexual misconduct, lie or take intoxicants.
“Dharma Prince” is Manjushri Bodhisattva’s title. The Buddha is the Dharma King. He is the King within the Dharma, the God among Gods, and the Sage among Sages. Bodhisattvas are Dharma Princes. They are the sons of the Dharma King. Hence, Manjushri Bodhisattva is called the Prince of Dharma.
“Bodhisattva” is a Sanskrit word. “Bodhi” means “enlightenment,” and “sattva” means “being(s)”, so the whole word means “one who enlightens beings.” A Bodhisattva can help other living beings to become enlightened. A Bodhisattva is also a living being who is enlightened. He is a living being just as we are but he is enlightened living being among sentient beings. That is the meaning of Bodhisattva.
“Mahasattva” is also a Sanskrit word. “Maha” means “great,” and “sattva” is the Bodhisattva. Mahasattvas are the great Bodhisattvas among Bodhisattvas, which means they are senior, not junior Bodhisattvas. Junior Bodhisattvas are those who have just brought forth the resolve for Bodhi, who have just decided they want to be Bodhisattvas. It is not certain that Bodhisattvas who are newly resolved will necessarily become Bodhisattvas. Why not? Because some make the resolve for one, two, or three days and then run away. For example, Shariputra wanted to practice the Bodhisattva Way, but then retreated. The ancients had a verse which describes this very well:
Fish eggs, amalakas,
And newly resolved Bodhisattvas:
All three are many on the causal ground,
But few at the level of fruition.
Fish lay many eggs, but a large number of them never hatch into fish. The amalaka is a fruit found almost exclusively in India. The tree blossoms profusely, without necessarily bearing even one fruit. Also, many people bring forth the beginning resolve to cultivate the Bodhisattva Way; they hear how good it is to practice the Bodhisattva Way, so they bring forth the Bodhi mind. But after a while they realize it is not at all easy, and they prefer not to practice it. Thus, there are many newly-resolved Bodhisattvas, but few actually become senior Bodhisattvas. And so there are many of these three—fish eggs, amalaka blossoms, and newly-resolved Bodhisattvas—at the level of planting causes; but few of them actually come to fruition.
Senior Bodhisattvas have been thoroughly smelted; they have passed through the fire. That is not to say that Bodhisattvas are actually burned. It means that they have been through experiences as painful as being burned by fire and as difficult to endure as being drowned by water. By passing through so many demonic tests, the Bodhisattvas have been successfully smelted and forged. That is how they become senior Bodhisattvas. Manjushri Bodhisattva is not only a senior Bodhisattva, he is a great and inconceivable Bodhisattva, which is why he is called a Mahasattva.
And so this Mahasattva said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, all these Bodhisattvas are extremely rare.” He said, “All these many Bodhisattvas who are now before the Buddha making great vows are very unusual and rare. Reverently complying with the Buddha, they have made great vows. They are extremely respectful of the Buddha, and so they have accorded with the Buddha’s intent and brought forth mighty resolutions. In the evil world of the five turbidities, they want to practice the ascetic practices of bearing what others cannot bear and doing what others cannot do. Their great vows are to protect, maintain, read, and speak this Dharma Flower Sutra in the future evil age. In the future, when it is the Dharma Ending Age, they will guard those who receive and maintain this Sutra, those who read and recite it, and those who explain The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra.
Therefore, now as we explain the Dharma Flower Sutra, there are who-knows-how-many myriads of Bodhisattvas, Hearers, and Those Enlightened by Conditions here protecting and supporting this Bodhimanda. Why? All these Bodhisattvas made the vow that wherever there is a Dharma Flower Assembly, they definitely will protect it. It is similar to Many Jewels Tathagata’s vow that wherever there is a Buddha speaking the Dharma Flower Sutra, he will appear before that Buddha to give certification.
Sutra:
“World Honored One, how should Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas speak this Sutra in the future evil age?”
The Buddha told Manjushri, “If a Bodhisattva Mahasattva wishes to speak this Sutra in the future evil age, he should dwell securely in four Dharmas. First, by dwelling in a Bodhisattva’s range of practice and a Bodhisattva’s range of association, he will be able to expound this Sutra for living beings.”
Outline:
F2. Asking how Bodhisattvas who are starting to practice can propagate the Sutra in the evil age.
E2. Answer
F1. General reply
F2. Explanation of methods of cultivation
G1. Happily-dwelling conduct of the body
H1. Prose
I1. Statement
Commentary:
Manjushri Bodhisattva addressed the Buddha, saying, “World Honored One, how should Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas speak this Sutra in the future evil age? How can all those great Bodhisattvas propagate The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra in the future Dharma Ending Age, when offenses and evils fill the world?” In our present world, everyone likes to fight and wage war. People fight with people, families fight with families, countries fight with countries, and worlds fight with worlds. This world wants to conquer that world, and that world wishes to vanquish this one. As a result, human beings want to migrate to the moon, and moon-beings wish to invade our Saha World. That is what is meant by the future evil age. “During the Dharma Ending Age, which is so full of evil, how can Bodhisattvas explain The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra?” Manjushri Bodhisattva asks the Buddha.
The Buddha Shakyamuni told Manjushri Bodhisattva, “If there is a Bodhisattva Mahasattva, a great Bodhisattva who has brought forth the resolve and wishes to speak this,The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, in the future evil age, in the future world of corruption, he should dwell securely in four kinds of Dharmas. The first of the four Dharmas is that, by dwelling in the Bodhisattva’s range of practice and the Bodhisattva’s range of association, he will be able to expound this Sutra for living beings. He should reside where Bodhisattvas cultivate, that is, in the Six Paramitas or the Ten Paramitas. They cultivate the Ten Paramitas of giving, holding precepts, patience, vigor, dhyana-samadhi, wisdom, expedients, vows, powers and knowledge. They should reside in these Ten Paramitas, which are the Bodhisattvas’ range of practice.
The Bodhisattvas’ range of association means the places Bodhisattvas draw near to. If one dwells in the state of the practice of Bodhisattvas and draws near to the state that Bodhisattvas should draw near to, then one will be able to lecture on The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra for living beings.
Sutra:
“Manjushri, what is meant by the Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s range of practice? If a Bodhisattva Mahasattva dwells on the ground of patience, is gentle and compliant, not impetuous or volatile; if his mind is not frightened; if, moreover, he does not practice in regard to any dharma, but contemplates the marks of all dharmas as they really are—not, however, practicing non-discrimination—that is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s range of practice.”
Outline:
I2. Explanation
J1. Explanation of the range of practice
Commentary:
This section of text discusses a Bodhisattva’s range of practice, which is why Shakyamuni Buddha says, “Manjushri, do you know what is meant by the Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s range of practice? Do you know what constitutes the scope of cultivation of a great Bodhisattva? If a Bodhisattva Mahasattva dwells on the ground of patience—when a Bodhisattva cultivates the practice of being patient, and resides at the level of patience—what is he like? It must be that he is gentle and compliant, not impetuous or volatile.”
Being patient is not at all easy. In the past, when Shakyamuni Buddha was a Patient Immortal, King Kali dismembered his body, yet as a Patient Immortal, he did not feel any hatred or anger. That qualifies as dwelling on the ground of patience. Those who have heard the Vajra Sutra know that story, but those who have not will not know it.
Limitless kalpas ago, Shakyamuni Buddha was in the mountains cultivating the practice of patience. You may wonder, “Since there aren’t any people in the mountains, with whom was he being patient? No one came into conflict with him or had any dealings with him, and so how did he cultivate patience?” His cultivation of patience did not necessarily involve being insulted. He simply endured things people cannot bear.
For instance, in the mountains there are many mosquitoes, and they bite people all the time. When the mosquitoes came to bite him, the Buddha, as a Patient Immortal, was patient and did not drive them away. First of all, he wanted to practice patience, and secondly, he was afraid that if he drove them away, he would terrify them. That is an example of how he was patient with small creatures. As to larger creatures, if snakes came to bite him, he would bear it. If wolves, bears, tigers, and leopards came wanting to tear into him, he endured it. He practiced patience toward all the animals, since there were no people there.
One time, King Kali came to the mountain to hunt. He brought a large group of people with him. There were ministers, generals, and quite a few women, including the queen and the ladies-in-waiting from the palace. During the sport, each of the men went off in pursuit of whatever kind of animal he spotted. The women did not hunt, so they wandered around amusing themselves on the mountain. In the course of their explorations, they saw a very strange creature. The hair on his head was matted together like a rug, and his beard was very long. His fingernails were several inches long and had curled several loops at the ends of his fingers. The women stared and exclaimed, “What kind of monster is that?” Many of them were frightened and wanted to run away.
But then the “monster” (they could not tell if it was an animal or a human being) spoke to them. He said, “Do not be afraid of me. I won’t eat you.”
The women said, “Oh, it is not a monster. He can talk like a human being.” Then the ones who had started to run away came back, for people tend to be curious. They said, “Let’s go see how he can talk.”
They asked him, “What are you doing here?”
He answered, “I am cultivating.”
“What does ‘cultivating’ mean?” they asked.
He replied, “No matter what kind of trouble people give me, I endure it. I am cultivating the practice of patience.”
Once he had said a few sentences, the women were no longer afraid, and they thought, “He talks; he is a person like us.” They drew closer and closer until they had surrounded the Patient Immortal.
Meanwhile, King Kali had finished hunting and came back to look for his women. He was a long way off, but because there weren’t any other sounds on the mountain, he could hear them chattering with someone. As the King approached, he saw the person had long hair and a long beard. However, he was not a hippie. You should not be misled to think hippies are like the Patient Immortal. The Patient Immortal specialized in being patient, whereas hippies specialize in being impatient, in breaking the rules and doing every kind of disreputable thing there is to do.
As soon as the King saw that strange man talking with his women, he became jealous and thought, “You freak, you must have some special skill to be able to confuse my women like that. In the royal palace they are well behaved, but now they have fallen in love with you!” Feeling incredibly jealous, he exploded, “Hey, you freak! What are you doing here?”
The Patient Immortal replied, “I am cultivating patience.”
“What do you mean ‘patience’?” the King bellowed.
“Patience means that if people scold me, I bear it. If people beat me, I bear it. No matter how badly people treat me, I still bear it.”
King Kali said, “I don’t believe a word you say. You are simply tricking people. How can anyone in the world stand it if people scold or beat him?”
The Patient Immortal said, “Not only can I stand people scolding or beating me, even if someone were to kill me, I could bear it.”
King Kali fumed, “Did you hear that? He is lying right to my face. He says he would stay patient even if someone killed him. Okay, I am not going to kill you now, but do you really think you can stay patient?”
“You can give it a try,” the Patient Immortal said.
King Kali replied, “Oh, so I can try you out, can I?” Even if I didn’t have your permission, I would still try you out. Do you think I don’t dare? Hah! You say you could bear even someone trying to kill you. Well, I am not going to kill you now.”
Then what did he do? He took out his sword, sliced off one of the cultivator’s ears and asked him, “Does that hurt or not?”
The Patient Immortal said, “It does not matter.”
King Kali raged, “You are a liar! I don’t believe that when I cut off your ear, you didn’t get angry. It had to hurt terribly, and yet you still say, ‘It does not matter’. Okay, I will cut your other ear off.” And he did. “How about now? Does it still not matter to you?”
The Patient Immortal replied, “Of course it does not matter.”
That made the King even angrier. “You lie right to my face and say it does not matter that I have cut off your ears. All right, I will cut off your nose.” Then he cut off the Patient Immortal’s nose and asked, “What about now? You’d better hurry up and tell the truth. Don’t keep lying. What I can’t stand most is that you are obviously full of anger but you say you are not. That is a lie.”
The Patient Immortal said, “It still does not matter. It is not important that I do not have a nose.”
The King said, “Fine, you don’t mind not having a nose, I will chop off one of your hands. There. Are you angry now?”
The Patient Immortal said, “I am not angry.”
“Wonderful,” said the King, “you are not angry, so now I will chop off your other hand and see how you take it. I want to help you accomplish your work in the Way. You cultivate patience, and no one else would dare challenge you like this. I’m an Emperor, and even if I killed you, I wouldn’t commit any crime.” Then he hacked off the other hand. “How about now? You must be very happy? Both your hands are gone, and you definitely are not angry, right?”
The Patient Immortal said, “Of course not. You really do understand me. I do not have any anger.”
That enraged the King Kali even more. “There isn’t anyone in the world who would not get angry if both his hands were cut off. Well, then, I will chop off one of your feet.” He did so, and asked, “Now aren’t you sorry? You have cultivated patience to the point that now you don’t have any hands, and you are missing a foot. You have only got one foot left. Right now if you tell me the truth, I can still let you off easy. Really, are you angry or not?”
The Patient Immortal said, “I am not angry. If my feet are gone, they’re gone. Do whatever you like.”
King Kali said, “He is lying through his teeth,” and he cut off the other foot. “How about now?” he asked. “You are missing both ears, your nose, both hands and both feet. Are you angry?”
The Patient Immortal said, “I am not angry.”
The King was beginning to feel that something strange was happening. He said to himself, “This person must have some kind of trick. I have cut off so much of his flesh, but it does not hurt him, and he still says he is being patient.” He started to wonder. “Is he really being patient, or is he faking it?” He turned to the cultivator and asked, “You say you are being patient, but ultimately what proof is there that you are really patient? You have got to have some proof. Maybe I should take out your heart and see if there’s any anger in it or not.” He had already chopped off the Patient Immortal’s hands and feet, and now he wanted to take out his heart and look at it!
The Patient Immortal, who was Shakyamuni Buddha cultivating patience, said, “If you want to look at my heart, go right ahead. But now I will give you some proof. You have cut off my four limbs. If I have any anger, then in the future I will not become a Buddha. Instead, I will fall into the hells, become a hungry ghost, or become an animal. If I do not have any anger, then the ears you cut off will grow back, and the nose you cut off will become the way it was before you cut it off. Not only that, my four limbs will return to being just as they originally were. That is if I do not have any anger. If I was angry, then I would not be able to return to the way I was.” After he said that, in fact his ears did grow back, and so did his nose, his hands, and his feet.
When King Kali saw that, he shouted, “It is a monster! It is a monster! Quick, cut him down with your swords! I would not be able to handle him myself.” He commanded his generals to chop the Patient Immortal to bits. Right at that moment, what do you think happened? Wei Tou Bodhisattva and the Dharma-protecting spirits were outraged, and said, “You are really going too far!” Then the heavens thundered and pelted down hail on King Kali’s head. The King said, “This monster is using spiritual penetrations! His powers are so great, what can I do?”
The Patient Immortal said, “It is not that I am using spiritual penetrations; the good Dharma-protecting spirits are punishing you.”
The King said, “What should I do?”
The Patient Immortal said, “Quickly repent. If you don’t repent, you are in for trouble.”
King Kali said, “Please help me repent. I am afraid it won’t work if I do it myself.”
And so the Patient Immortal asked the good Dharma-protecting spirits not to punish King Kali. He said, “Dharma-protectors, good spirits, do not blame him. He is just a stupid, foolish person. Not only am I not angry with him, but what is more, after I become a Buddha, I will first save this person who cut off my four limbs. I am going to save him first.”
After the Patient Immortal made that vow, King Kali was very moved. He said, “This cultivator is truly great. I treated him so badly, but he is still going to save me first!” Then the king began to cry bitterly, and he said, “After you become a Buddha, I definitely want to be your first, senior disciple. I want to be first.” Consequently, when Shakyamuni Buddha realized the Way, he first took across Ajnatakaundinya, whose name means “understanding the basic limit.” This disciple had previously committed such heavy offenses against his teacher, and yet his teacher still treated him so well and wanted to save him first. Therefore, in Buddhism, enmity and kindness don’t present any problems that cannot be resolved.
After hearing this account, we should think it over. Are we able to be like Shakyamuni Buddha was when he cultivated patience? If someone cut off your hands, feet, ears, and nose, could you remainy patient? I hope you could not. Why is that? It is because if you could be patient, then someone would have to cut you up like that. If no one cut you up and you said you could be patient, would it be true or false? There is no way to tell! That is one problem. I also hope you could be patient. If you could be patient, that would indicate you were just like Shakyamuni Buddha when he was practicing as the Patient Immortal. That is why I have those hopes for you.
You may say, “But I do not want to be a Patient Immortal like Shakyamuni Buddha was then. I’d like to be a King Kali. If there were someone practicing patience, I would cut off his hands and feet, slice off his ears, and sever his nose. After that, I hope he would vow to save me first after he became a Buddha. That way I would save a lot of effort cultivating the Way, and I could certify to the fruition sooner.”
That kind of thinking is not reliable, and it is not even logical. Why is that? If you really met someone like Shakyamuni Buddha, it might work. But ordinary people cannot be compared to the Sages. If you were to cut off the hands, ears, or nose of an ordinary person who had not certified to the fruition, he would feel pain. As soon as he felt the pain, he would get angry. Once he became angry, when he died, it is to be feared he would become an asura. As an asura, he would want to kill you, and then the resentment between the two of you would increase day by day. For that reason do not imitate King Kali.
It is a good thing the king encountered Shakyamuni Buddha, who made the vow to save him first. Otherwise, what he did to the Patient Immortal would have been very dangerous. What if Shakyamuni Buddha had not made that vow? How could the king have been sure that Shakyamuni Buddha would make the vow to save him first? He would not have any control over it. He would not be able to count on it. And so, instead of acting like King Kali, you had better think of another method.
“How should I be?” you may ask. You should be without patience.
“If I should be without patience, then why are you telling people to be patient?” you may wonder. “If I should not have any patience, then why are you even bringing the subject up? If there is not supposed to be any patience, then why did the Buddha talk about the Paramita of Patience?”
Being without patience is true patience. Not having any patience is real patience. No patience is genuine patience.
You may ask, “How do you explain that? When the Dharma Master speaks the Dharma, it is not reasonable. He says whatever he wants.”
What is meant by ‘being without patience’? It means you are patient, but you do not feel like you are being patient. You do not think, “Oh, I am being patient. I was patient that time.” That is an attachment. You should be patient as if you were not being patient. Having patience should be ‘as if not having any’:
Having as if not having;
Being real as if being unreal.
For instance, suppose someone scolds you, and you think, “I’ll be patient with his scolding.” In your mind there is still a “scolding.” If you are ‘as if without patience’, then you basically don’t even know that you are being scolded; it is as if it were not even happening. Then there is basically no patience involved. That is what is meant by no patience. If you have the concept of “patience,” then you have an attachment.
“I do not believe it,” you say.
Well, if you do not believe it, then believe what you want.
“It is not that I do not believe it, but Shakyamuni Buddha still remembered that when he was practicing as a Patient Immortal, King Kali cut off his limbs. He had not put it down. He was still attached. If he was not attached, then why did he remember it?”
His remembering was not remembering, and your understanding is not understanding. That is the general meaning of patience. Sometimes it is easy to be patient once, or even twice, but by the third time, one loses patience. As soon as one loses patience, one loses all the merit and virtue acquired from being patient before. That is why it is said:
One spark of fire
Burns up a forest of merit and virtue.
Furthermore, the Bodhisattva Mahasattva “is gentle and compliant”. Gentle means yielding and not contending. Compliant means good-tempered and agreeable. The Great Bodhisattva who practices patience and cultivates the Bodhisattva Way must be gentle and compliant, and “not impetuous or volatile”. Being impetuous means being over-hasty and doing things all in a rush, very abruptly. Things done that way end up being not at all in accord with principle. Being volatile means having an explosive temper. A Bodhisattva who cultivates the Bodhisattva Way should not have a volatile temper. His mind is not frightened. His mind does not become alarmed or terrified concerning anything. Why not? Because he has the power of samadhi.
If, moreover, he does not practice in regard to any dharma. A Bodhisattva Mahasattva is without any “doing” in regard to all dharmas, but that does not mean he does not act. Rather, he has no thoughts of attachment to cultivation. He does not have that kind of attached thinking. He does practice, but it is as if no such thing were going on. Why is that? It is because he can really put everything down.
But contemplates the marks of all dharmas as they really are. A Bodhisattva contemplates all dharmas as empty. If you were to tell most people that all dharmas are empty, they would not cultivate. They would think, “All dharmas are empty, and so what is there to cultivate? Cultivation is empty, too. If I do not cultivate, that is also empty, and so why do I have to cultivate?” That is the outlook and understanding of those externalist ways, and the sort of thing they say. A Bodhisattva, however, contemplates all dharmas as empty. He knows that they are empty, and enters the reality of all dharmas, being in accord with the wonderful principle of reality.
Not, however, practicing non-discrimination—he also does not form views of non-discrimination. Externalists say that all dharmas are empty, and so they do not discriminate and do not cultivate. That is the externalists’ view of non-discrimination. “Everything is empty,” they say, “and so why are you discriminating?” They cultivate this kind of deviant view of non-discrimination, but a Bodhisattva does not cultivate this kind of deviant view.
That is called a Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s range of practice. What was just described is the Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s happily dwelling conduct of the body, the range of practice of the body.
Sutra:
“What is meant by the Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s range of association? Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas do not draw near to kings, princes, great ministers, or officials.”
Outline:
J2. Explanation of the range of association
K1. Defining “drawing near” in terms of staying away from
L1. Staying away from those who have power and influence
Commentary:
How are the places that a Great Bodhisattva should draw near to defined? What is meant by the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas’ range of association? Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas do not draw near to kings. They do not take advantage of situations in order to be able to draw near to kings; they do not try to set up lines of communication so that they can become friends with kings. That is called “seeking to be in favor with those in high positions.” This also applies to princes, great ministers, or officials. Bodhisattvas do not seek to get involved with those kinds of people. They do not interact with officials.
On the other hand, there are certain ways in which they may be involved that are appropriate. If such people, of their own accord, draw near to the Bodhisattva, without the Bodhisattva having sought out such people first, then it is permissible. For instance, if the Bodhisattva is in a monastery and does not have any intention of ingratiating himself with a king, and yet the king comes to the monastery to draw near to and bow to the Bodhisattva, then there is no problem. The Bodhisattva can speak appropriate Dharma for the king. That is what is meant by there being no fixed dharmas.
You should not be rigidly attached to this passage, saying, “Oh, the Dharma Flower Sutra, says that Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas who are cultivating should not associate with kings, princes, great ministers, and officials,” so that if a king did come to pay his respects, you would not even see him. That would also be incorrect. It is all right for such people to draw near to you. As long as you are not the one actively seeking to associate with them, it is okay. It is not all right for you to go to the king’s quarters and say things like, “Ah! Today is your birthday; I have come to commemorate it. I will recite the Limitless Life Sutra to guarantee that you will live long and never age.” That is just being obsequious, and is incorrect behavior.
If you are residing in an aranya, a peaceful place for cultivation, and the king wants to approach you, then that is okay. However, you do not need to search for a method to induce the king to come. If you induce him to come by using some plan, then you are the one who is drawing near to him. You are thinking, “If the king were to come and bow to me, how great my fame would become! Or if the president came, ah!” It is not correct for you to scheme like this day and night.
Rather, you should seek a response. Seeking a response means asking Wei Tou Bodhisattva to go and tell the king to come. If you have cultivation, Wei Tou Bodhisattva sees you and thinks, “This Bodhisattva has nobody to protect him. I will find a great Dharma protector to protect him.” Then he finds a wealthy person to help you. This is acceptable. So, you should be clear about this principle.
Sutra:
“They do not draw near to externalists—brahmacharins, nirgranthas, and the like—or to writers of worldly literature, to those who sing praises of externalist writings, to lokayatas, or to the opponents of lokayatas.”
Outline:
L2. Staying away from deviant people and deviant dharmas.
Commentary:
They do not draw near to externalists. Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas only study the Buddhadharma. They absolutely do not draw near to those of externalist ways, such as brahmacharins, who are ordained in an externalist sect. Nirgranthas is another externalist way. At the time of the Buddha, there were six major teachers of externalist ways in India, and as their teachings were developed further by their disciples, there came to be ninety-six sects. And the like refers to those other sects. “Nirgrantha” translates as “apart from bonds.” They were trying to attain liberation, but they had not yet attained it. They were seeking to free themselves from bonds but had not yet succeeded. They were one of the externalist sects. Or to writers of worldly literature. This includes writers of worldly-novels, plays, and movie scripts. It refers to those who write novels that incite people’s desire. All of these are considered worldly literature.
They do not draw near to those who sing praises of externalist writings,delineating the ways in which they think the externalist sects are good, or to lokayatas. “Lokayata” is a Sanskrit word and is translated as “evil discourses.” Such discourses are not wholesome; they go on and on, but contain no true principle. They teach people to create evil karma. For example they say, “Taking more drugs will make your enlightenment greater. By the same token, taking less drugs will give you less enlightenment. Therefore, take more drugs.” Not only do such people encourage others to take drugs, they use those drugs themselves. Such evil discourses enable the teacher to defeat his disciples, because in them the teacher always appears to have the loftier wisdom and in every way be better than his disciples. Whatever the disciples say is wrong; even if they are right, they are “wrong”. Those who give such evil, unprincipled discourses are called lokayatas.
The opponents of lokayatas are those with “discourses that incite rebellion.” For example, they say, “If you were to murder your father or give your teacher a beating, you would be a great hero!” Such discourses incite people to rebel. “Wreck the Buddha image, and I will bow to you.” This kind of discourse encourages people to be destructive. In this case, the disciples specialize in destroying the teacher. Nothing the teacher says is right. “We disciples are much better and much more intelligent than you.” In the lokayata sect, the teacher concentrates on ruining the disciples. In the opponents’ sect, the disciples concentrate on ruining the teacher. In both cases, slander is involved. The teacher slanders the disciples, and the disciples think, “If we do not return the favor, then we are not acting properly.” So they come up with their rebellious discourses to slander their teacher. “Do not listen to him, he does not have any education. Listen to me.” That is the opponents of lokayatas.
Sutra:
“They also do not draw near to violent amusements such as boxing and wrestling, to displays of martial arts that involve mutual attack, to natas, or to any entertainment that uses magic.”
Outline:
L2. Staying away from wicked and dangerous amusements
Commentary:
They also do not draw near to violent amusements where mutual killing is involved, such as boxing and wrestling, where people fight and beat each other up in public competitions or in movies and plays. One should not go to see such things or listen to them. This includes going to displays of martial arts that involve mutual attack.
No wonder someone has brought up a criticism, saying that we should not watch the kung fu performance. This is very reasonable since TheDharma Flower Sutraprohibits it. However, we are not Bodhisattvas. This prohibition is only for Bodhisattvas. You should understand this point. Right now we are still ordinary people. Ordinary people do a lot of wrong things, and it is okay.
But we’ve got to change, and then it is actually okay. If we do not change, then it is not okay. Nobody should say, “The Dharma Master says it is okay, so let’s go commit some more offenses.” That would not do.
Or to natas. “Nata” is also a Sanskrit word, it means “man of great strength.” “You can lift five hundred pounds? Well, I can lift six hundred.” They are very boastful. Natas also like to show themselves off as great heroes whose strength is unsurpassed. Bodhisattvas do not draw near to such people. Or any entertainment that uses magic. Magicians can manifest things out of nowhere, or make things disappear. They have many sleight-of-hand tricks. They try to get you to believe that what you see is real. Children believe it is real, but adults know it is an illusion—a magic trick. Bodhisattvas do not watch that kind of show.
Sutra:
“They do not draw near to chandalas, to those who raise pigs, sheep, chickens, or dogs, or to those who hunt, fish, trap, or engage in any other evil activities. If such people should on occasion come to them, they speak the Dharma for them, but have no expectations.”
Outline:
L4. Staying away from chandalas
Commentary:
They do not draw near to chandalas. “Chandalas” are the lowest caste in the Indian caste system. There were four main classes: kshatriyas, brahmans, vaishyas,and chandalas, which are outcasts, such as butchers. They were restricted to their own paths and were not allowed to walk on the roads that other people use. They even had to wear signs on their heads identifying them as chandalas. The Indian caste system is extremely rigid. Bodhisattvas do not draw near to chandalas; to those who raise pigs, sheep, chickens, or dogs; or to those who hunt.Bodhisattvas do not raise chickens, dogs, pigs, or sheep, and they must not hunt.
You say, “But the Great Master, the Sixth Patriarch, lived with hunters and hunted for sixteen years.”
The Great Master, the Sixth Patriarch, did live with hunters, but he himself did not hunt.
A previous passage said that Bodhisattvas do not draw near to kings, princes, great ministers, and officials. The Sixth Patriarch of China was invited several times to the palace by Empress Wu Zetian, and he never went. The Fourth Patriarch was also invited to the palace four or five times by the Emperor Tai Zong of the Tang dynasty, and he never went. They were following the rule set forth here in the Dharma Flower Sutra that Bodhisattvas should not draw near to kings, princes, great ministers, and officials.
Bodhisattvas do not draw near to those who catch fish or trap birds, or engage in any other evil activities. A contemporary example of “other evil activities” is those who call themselves monks, dress up in outlandish costumes, act very strangely, play instruments, and beg for money.
If such people should on occasion come to them, the Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas, they speak Dharma for them, but have no expectations. One may speak the Buddhadharma for them, but one should not seek anything at all from them.
Sutra:
“They also do not draw near to those who seek to be Hearers, whether Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, or Upasikas, and they do not make a half bow to them. They do not remain in a room, a promenade, or a lecture hall with them. Should such people sometimes come to them, they speak Dharma as is appropriate, but seek nothing in return.”
Outline:
L5. Staying away from followers of the Two Vehicles
Commentary:
They also do not draw near to those who seek to be Hearers, that is, those of the Small Vehicle, whether Bhikshus, Bhikshunis, Upasakas, or Upasikas, and they do not make a half bow to them. You may have seen some Japanese monks greeting everyone they see by joining their palms and bowing from the waist. That shows they are not familiar with this passage of the Dharma Flower Sutra. If they were, they would not act so indiscriminately. They do not remain in a room, say perhaps their own dwelling place, a promenade where they may be strolling, or a lecture hall, such as our Buddhist lecture hall, with them. They do not live with evil people, unless they are people who were once evil but who have reformed. If such people come, for example to our summer session here, and sincerely want to seek the Dharma, then you can associate with them.
Should such people sometimes come to them, they speak Dharma as is appropriate, but seek nothing in return. In accord with their potentials, one may speak Dharma for them, but one should not have any ulterior motives. One should not have even the slightest opportunistic thought.
Sutra:
“Manjushri, moreover Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas must not regard women’s bodies as objects of desire, and speak Dharma for them. They do not take delight in looking at women. If they enter the homes of others, they do not speak with young girls, maidens, widows, and so forth.”
Outline:
L6. Staying away from thoughts of desire
Commentary:
Shakyamuni Buddha called out again to Manjushri Bodhisattva, “Moreover, I will tell you more about the things that Bodhisattvas should not do. Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas must not regard women’s bodies as objects of desire. When a Bodhisattva sees a woman, he should not make discriminations about the fineness or the beauty of her appearance and give rise to lust. Bodhisattvas should not be this way.
And speak Dharma for them. Moreover, a Bodhisattva should not feel happiness in encountering women or take delight in speaking Dharma for them while ignoring men who come to request the Dharma from him. When women request the Dharma, he should not be extremely happy and talk on and on, not finishing for days, because of his desire for women.
They do not take delight in looking at women. Not only would they not have thoughts of lust towards women, they would not even be willing to look at them, because the female body is unclean. Cultivators of the Way should avoid indulging in looking at members of the opposite sex. For those who have true samadhi power,
The eyes see forms, but there is nothing inside.
The ears hear defiling sounds, but the mind does not know.
Theirs is an altogether different state of being. But if you do not have samadhi power and are turned by states, you should not look at members of the opposite sex so much.
If they enter the homes of others, they do not speak with young girls. If for some special reason, a person who is practicing the Bodhisattva Way has to enter a lay person’s home, he should not chat with young girls, or with maidens, or widows, and so forth. People who practice the Bodhisattva Way cannot go to someone’s house and get involved in bantering with little girls. Nor should they have conversations with young maidens, especially when the two of them are alone.
“Maidens” refers to young women who have never married and who are still virgins. One must also not have private conversations with widows. “And so forth” refers to any other such women. To “speak with” means to have a conversation that no one else hears. Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas who practice the Bodhisattva Way should not hold private conversations with such women.
Sutra:
“Further, they do not draw near to the five kinds of unmanly men or become friends with them.”
Outline:
L2. Staying away from unmanly men
Commentary:
Further, they do not draw near to the five kinds of unmanly men.
…“Further, they do not draw near to the five kinds of unmanly men.” There are five kinds of unmanly men. If they are unmanly, does that mean they are women? No, they are not women. There are five kinds of people who are neither male nor female. You cannot call them men, because they cannot conduct themselves as men do. And you cannot call them women, because they cannot do the things that women do. These are the five kinds of unmanly men. They have never been called “unwomanly women” before, but now I am giving them the name “five kinds of unwomanly women.”…
The Five Kinds of Unmanly Men
1. Unmanly from birth. While still in the womb, such people did not develop as either male or female; and when they were born, they did not have male organs or female organs. They can neither fulfill the man’s role of fathering children, nor can they fulfill the woman’s role of bearing children. Such people are born into the world unable to fulfill their proper functions…
2. Unmanly through dysfunction. In some cases, such people had male organs but were castrated. Some developed diseases that destroyed their male organs. The same thing may happen in the case of female organs.
3. Unmanly through jealousy. When they see a man, they become jealous, and “turn into” a man. The change takes place in their minds only, however, and they cannot conduct themselves as a man would. Sometimes when they see a woman, they become jealous of the woman and “turn into” a woman. But they are incapable of functioning as a woman would. They assume their sexual identity mentally as a result of the emotion of jealousy.
4. Unmanly through physical transformation. Such people do not transform into a man only when they see a man, or transform into a woman only when they see a woman. They can make the change by themselves. For instance at noon, the person is a man, but at one o’clock he changes into a woman. He does not need to see other men and women to bring about this change. Then at two o’clock or three o’clock, or five o’clock, he turns back into a man. This is called being a man, but not a man; being a woman, but not a woman…
You have to study the Buddhadharma to understand this principle. Those who do not investigate the Buddhadharma do not ever learn about the five kinds of unmanly men or five kinds of unwomanly women.
5. Unmanly Through Switching Back and Forth. These are hermaphrodites—half and half. For half a month they are men and then for the other half month, they are women. The previous kind of transformation does not last such a long time. In the previous case, the person is male for one or two days and then becomes female for one or two days. It does not take half a month before the change occurs. But in this case, this person has male organs for half a month and then changes into having female organs for half a month. This is the retribution of being neither male nor female. You should think it over…
You might say, “That is being without any mark of male or female,” but that is an undesirable characteristic. This is a case of deficient faculties. They lack proper male or female organs. To be like that is the worst possible way for a person to be. People should behave themselves and follow the rules. Those who do not will undergo the future retribution of being perverted. When people have their six sense organs incomplete, it is their retribution for having committed too many offenses.
Bodhisattvas do not become friends with them. Bodhisattvas practicing the Bodhisattva Way do not befriend people who are among the five kinds of unmanly men or unwomanly women. They do not become good friends with them.
Sutra:
“They do not enter others’ houses alone. If for some reason they must enter alone, they single-mindedly recollect the Buddha.”
Outline:
L8. Staying away from danger and harm
Commentary:
They do not enter others’ houses alone. They cannot go alone to a layperson’s home. In that way, they avoid danger and do not cause others to doubt them. If for some reason they must enter alone, they singlemindedly recollect the Buddha.If there is some special reason why they must enter someone’s house alone, they singlemindedly recite “Namo Amitabha Buddha,” or “Namo Original Teacher Shakyamuni Buddha.”
Sutra:
“If they speak the Dharma for women, they do not smile or laugh and let their teeth show, nor do they expose their chests. Even for the sake of the Dharma, they do not become familiar with them, much less for the sake of other matters!”
Outline:
L9. Staying above suspicion
Commentary:
If they speak the Dharma for women, they do not smile or laugh and let their teeth show. You should not laugh out loud or smile and giggle when speaking the Buddhadharma. You see, it is not the case that laughter is necessarily good. You should not laugh and show your teeth when lecturing the Dharma to those of opposite sex, for if you do, you might cause them to have thoughts of desire, or harbor defiled thoughts in your own mind. Nor do they expose their chests. They do not let their chest or stomach show. Even for the sake of the Dharma they do not become familiar with them. When speaking the Dharma, one cannot become too close to people—so well acquainted that two become as if one. Much less for the sake of other matters! Those who cultivate the Bodhisattva Way should at all times watch over themselves and be very careful.
When lecturing on the Dharma, you must cultivate samadhi power. If you have samadhi power, then you can enter the water and not be drowned and enter the fire and not be burned. You can be like pure gold. The best gold has been smelted by fire many times, and no matter how much it is smelted, it does not weigh any less. Let’s say there were ten ounces of pure gold. After being smelted, it would still weigh ten ounces. If the gold were not pure, then it would weigh less.
Cultivation works the same way. If you truly cultivate until you have skill, then you would not melt in the fire or be drowned in the water. You will be able to “accord with conditions but not change; not change, yet accord with conditions.” If you can do that, you have achieved the most inconceivable of states. If you have not reached that state, then you definitely have to be very careful at all time not give rise to any false thinking.
“Is it a kind of false thinking when you are able to accord with conditions but not change, not change, yet accord with conditions? Isn’t according with conditions a kind of false thinking?” you may ask. No, not when you do not change. Only if you do not change can you accord with conditions. To be able to always accord with conditions, and yet not change; to never change and yet accord with conditions is an inconceivable state—something special that comes through cultivation. It is not something that most people can manage to do. Until you reach the state where fire won’t burn you and water won’t drown you, you must be careful in your cultivation.
Sutra:
“They take no delight in raising young disciples, Shramaneras, or children, and they do not take pleasure in sharing the same Master with them.”
Outline:
L10. Staying away from raising children
Commentary:
They take no delight in raising young disciples. “Take no delight” means that they do not want to raise them; it does not necessarily mean that they do not raise them. If there are unusual circumstances, it is permissible to do so, but not to take delight in doing so. If they were to delight in it, then they’d be making a mistake. It would mean they were fond of children, of young disciples, thinking, “I am getting old, and I do not have a son or daughter at home to take care of me. I can leave the home-life and accept a young disciple who can serve me. That would not be a bad idea.” But that kind of thinking is incorrect.
Left-home people who cultivate the Bodhisattva Way are not supposed to enjoy themselves and have people cater to their every need or work on their behalf. Practicing the Bodhisattva Way is very inconvenient—there are many things one is not supposed to do. One who practices the Bodhisattva Way cannot get away with being sloppy or casual. One cannot even take delight in having small disciples. Under special circumstances, it might be all right.
Why is one not supposed to accept young disciples? It is because young disciples are sometimes disobedient and very often naughty. Haven’t you noticed how enraged parents get with children who will not listen to instructions? Even though the parents get upset, still they have no way to control the children. Now suppose you were to accept such a child as your disciple. From morning to night you’d have trouble. Therefore, we are advised not to take delight in raising young disciples.
If the child is obedient and good, then it is be permissible. If when told to cultivate, the child cultivates and when told not to get into mischief he does not play around, then the child can be accepted as a disciple. We must apply the teachings in the Sutra to our lives in a dynamic way and not assume the texts are completely inflexible. The point here is that one should not take delight in raising young disciples, and not that one definitely cannot accept any.
How can you know if a child is good or not?” you ask.
If you do not know, then do not flirt with danger. Do not accept the child. Wait until you are sure before you accept him as your disciple. If you are certain that a child is good-natured and has some foundation in cultivation to stand on, then you may accept him.
In Manchuria, I had several young disciples who were only twelve or thirteen years old. However, they were exceptionally obedient. I heard about a child named Zheng De. He was a very unusual child. From the time he was five years old, he bowed to his parents every day. When I heard about that child, I was ashamed, because I didn’t know enough to bow to my parents until I was twelve. I certainly wanted to meet that child who knew to practice the filial way from the time he was five. He was such a filial child and took such good care of his parents that they never had a care or a worry.
One day, when conditions were ripe, I went to his house in Wuchang County, about thirty miles from my home. He was twelve years old at the time. Before I visited him, many externalist teachers had been intent on converting him to their various religions, because the child was already famous as a “filial son.” All the externalist teachers wanted him for their disciple, but when they went to convert him, they could not outtalk him.
The child would ask them, “What do you cultivate?” They would answer that they cultivated the spirit in order to become immortal.
The child would ask, “How do you cultivate to become immortal?” They would answer that one needs to meditate and that one should be filial to one’s parents.
Then the child would ask, “Were you filial to your parents before?” When asked that, the externalists had nothing to say, and the child would dismiss them saying, “Right now I am busy practicing filial piety. After I have finished my filial duties, I will cultivate the Way. My father and mother are living Buddhas right here in my home. I will not renounce what is near to seek what is far.” None of the externalist teachers had been able to convince him to embrace their beliefs. Many had tried, but they all ended up leaving without accomplishing their aim.
On the day I went to his house, he was inside, and when he looked out the window and saw me coming, he said to his mother, “Mama, my teacher is coming!”
“Since when do you have a teacher?” his mother asked.
“Now! Now I have a teacher!”
His mother thought he was acting very strangely. He came to the door to greet me, and the minute I entered the door, he insisted on taking my bag from me. Wherever I traveled in Manchuria, I carried my “bag of myriad treasures,” which held Sutras and all sorts of things I used. But as soon as the child saw me, he insisted on taking my bag and carrying it on his back. I went in with him, sat down, and spoke with him a little. I asked him, “Who told you to bow to your parents? Did your parents tell you to do that?”
“No,” he said.
“Then why are you bowing every day?” I asked.
“I feel that there is no way I can repay my parents’ kindness. They are elderly now, and I bow to them to make them content and not upset with me. I feel it is something a child should do,” he replied.”
“But you started doing it when you were five years old,” I said. “A five-year-old child does not understand such things.”
“Well, when I was five, I did it because bowing to my parents made me happier than anything else.”
“Very good,” I replied. “You are a better child than I was. I did not start bowing to my parents until I was twelve. Nobody told me to do it, either. But you started when you were only five. You are a very good child.”
That made him happy. Then I asked his parents, “He bows to you, but doesn’t he sometimes do things that make you angry?”
His father said, “We have no virtue in the Way. No doubt my father had virtue, and so he is blessed with such a grandson.” The child’s father was not conceited in the least. He did not say, “I am pretty special. See what a fine, filial child I have?” The child’s father understood principle. He gave the credit of having a good son to his father’s virtue, and did not claim to have done good deeds himself that merited such a reward.
About an hour passed, and I put my legs down over the edge of the seat [kang, a brick bed used in northern China], preparing to leave. What do you suppose the child, whose name was Zhen De, did? He immediately got down and snatched my shoes. I thought he was going to help me put them on so that I could leave, but instead he took the shoes and ran off with them. He put the shoes in another room and came back, saying, “Teacher, today is the first time I have met you. You must stay at our home and have a simple meal with us, even though we do not have any especially good food here.”
I was pleased with the child: The first time his teacher came, he asked his teacher to stay for a meal, which was also being filial to his teacher. I assented in silence by nodding my head. I did not answer him verbally. Zheng De prepared and served the meal, and we all ate together.
After we finished, I asked the child, “Zheng De, you have bowed to me as your teacher. Is it the case that the teacher should obey the disciple, or that the disciple should obey the teacher?”
“The disciple should obey the teacher, of course,” he replied. “How could it be that the teacher should obey the disciple?”
“If that is what you think is right, then why, without asking my permission, did you take my shoes away from me and put them away before asking me to stay for lunch? If you were obedient to your teacher, you should not have hidden my shoes and then asked me to stay. You could have simply invited me without using some way to coerce me into it. Now wasn’t that a case of the teacher having to obey the disciple?”
The child immediately knelt before me and said, “Teacher, I will never do it again. I thought if I did it that way, my teacher would certainly not leave.”
“If you knew that by doing that, your teacher could not leave, then weren’t you using force to make him stay?”
“I understand now,” he said, “I will not ever do that again. Please, Teacher, forgive me!”
The reason I did not answer him verbally when he invited me to stay, but only nodded my head in assent, was that he was forcing me into it. What else could I have done? He took my shoes, and without shoes I could not walk on the roads, because in Manchuria there’s a lot of snow. Actually, I was able to walk barefoot in the snow, but it was difficult to endure. In Manchuria, the snow stays about three feet deep in the winter, and I would walk around in Arhat sandals and no socks. Since I was able to do that, most people said I had virtue. Actually, it was not a matter of virtue, it was a matter of being able to bear it. I could be patient and not fear the cold and not fear hunger. I would say to myself:
Freezing to death, I face the wind!
Starving to death, I stick out my stomach!
When I was first practicing wearing only cotton clothing and no padded clothes, I was always freezing. But after you get used to the freezing cold, you are no longer afraid of it. The weather that I am talking about it not like anything experienced here in America. That kind of freezing weather does not occur in America. In Manchuria, people’s ears get frozen stiff. It is very painful, and if you flick their ears, they fall right off! That is really true! Even so, I never wore a hat; but I never lost my ears, either. At first, that kind of cold hurts worse than needles, but I would grit my teeth and say, “Go ahead and hurt! Fall off, ears, I don’t care!” I endured it and eventually got used to it so that it wasn’t so bad.
As to that filial child, Zheng De, I knew when I first saw him that he was to be a left-home person. He was very chubby and had great big ears. His countenance showed that he had tremendous blessings. He was also quite intelligent. Children like that are perfectly all right to accept as disciples—the more the better! They are so good and know how to follow the rules; they can cultivate the Way and they are obedient.
Shramaneras refers here not to the elder Shramaneras or young Shramaneras, but to “scarecrow Shramaneras.” In the monasteries in China, the monks planted the fields and when the crows came to try to eat the vegetables, the monks sent the very young Shramaneras out to scare the birds away. That is how they got the name. Scarecrow Shramaneras are between the ages of eight and twelve.
Shramanera is a Sanskrit word. It is the title given to novice monks. It is derived from the word Shramana, the title given to fully ordained Bhikshus. Shramana means “diligent and resting,” because a Shramana diligently cultivates precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, and puts to rest greed, hatred, and stupidity. “Diligent” means not being lazy; “resting” means not getting angry. If you diligently cultivate precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, then greed, hatred, and stupidity will be put to rest.
Unless greed, hatred, and stupidity are put to rest, you will be unable to diligently cultivate precepts, samadhi, and wisdom. People who are greedy are fond of leisure and do not like to work. In cultivation, you should not be lax. You must be vigorous, and only when you achieve the fruition can you rest at ease. People who are hateful get angry all the time. People who are stupid are always having false thoughts. If one thing does not work out, they want to try another, and when that does not work out, they think of another. There is a saying that describes this:
At night you travel a thousand roads;
But in the morning you still get up and sell bean curd.
As you lie on you bed, there are a thousand possibilities for you to consider. But in the morning, you go back to selling bean curd. That is the false thinking of the stupid mind. If you do not put to rest greed, hatred, and stupidity, then precepts, samadhi, and wisdom cannot appear. Precepts guard against greed. Most importantly, they help us restrain our greed so that we do not always want more of everything; and so that we are not fond of leisure and unwilling to work. If you have Samadhi, there is a saying that describes it:
You have a thousand wonderful ideas;
I have a definite principle.
No matter what methods or ideas you have, I have samadhi. No matter what ways you might think of to try to move me, I will not be moved. Regardless of how you might try to trouble me, you cannot do so, because I have samadhi power. Samadhi guards us against hatred. No matter how angry you get, I do not pay attention. Wisdom counteracts stupidity. If you have wisdom, you can turn stupidity into wisdom. If you are stupid, your wisdom turns into stupidity. Actually, the two are one—two sides of the same thing. Turning to one side is being wise; turning to the other is being stupid. One side is yin; the other side is yang. If you try to take advantage of situations, you are being stupid. If you do not, you are being wise. If you were born as if drunk and will die as if in a dream, and if you go about doing upside-down things all the time, you are being stupid. If you are absolutely pure and clean without any greed or defilement, then you are wise.
If you are pure for one moment,
then in that moment you are on Magic Mountain;
If you are pure in every moment,
then in every moment you are on Magic Mountain.
Magic Mountain is the Bodhimanda where Shakyamuni Buddha speaks the Dharma. But actually this just refers to purity of mind. That is why it is said, “If you are pure for one moment, then in that moment you are on Magic Mountain. If you are pure in every moment, then in every moment you are on Magic Mountain.” You are always in the Dharma Assembly on Magic Mountain. Do not seek outside; it is right there with you. All you have to do is understand that and know how to use it, and you are that way. If you cannot use it, you cannot be that way. That is what cultivation is all about: diligently cultivating precepts, samadhi, and wisdom, and putting to rest greed, hatred, and stupidity.
Bodhisattvas do not take pleasure in raising children, and they do not take pleasure in sharing the same Master with them. Not only do they not take children for their own disciples, they do not say to them, “You should take refuge with my teacher. My teacher’s status is more long-standing than mine, probably he can teach children. He is no doubt more talented at it.” That is also not permissible. You should not work it so that you share the same teacher, for if you do, the child will always be calling you, “Elder brother!” and you will have to take care of him. If you do not, it will be as if you are not fulfilling your responsibilities as a Dharma brother. All day long he will call to you, “Elder brother, I want some candy!” and you will have to buy him some candy. “Elder brother, I want some cookies to eat!” and you will have to find some cookies for him to eat. Wouldn’t you say that was a lot of trouble? That is why you should not try to arrange it so that you both have the same teacher.
The meaning of the text is that you should not take delight in sharing the same teacher with children. The meaning is not that you might not have the same teacher as children do. If your teacher likes children, you cannot object!
When I first began to lecture on the Sutras here in the West, people came to listen, but how do you suppose they listened? They sprawled out on the ground to listen to the Sutra. Or they lay down with their feet propped up on a chair and their heads under a chair. They resembled snakes coiling around the chairs. Why did they get in those positions? They thought that was a way of practicing yoga. I never said anything to them about it, because at that time people here did not know anything at all about the rules pertaining to Dharma Assemblies. That is why no one followed the rules.
Later, when the first group of college students came to listen to the Sutras, things became a little better. They had some understanding regarding the rules followed in Dharma Assemblies. Gradually the rules have been established here, and people follow them.
During the first summer session I was quite strict. I did not allow people to miss even a minute of class or even take a five minutes break. There were people at that session who wanted to make trouble, but because I was so strict, they did not manage to do it. That was the first time. The second time, things were a little better. In the beginning, no one knew that it was appropriate to bow to left-home people. Then there was one student who began to bow to me every day. He had heard that someone had kneeled before me for four hours, and he said that he could do that, too. I said, “Fine,” and later he started bowing to me every day. Actually, I do not like people to bow to me, but since I have come here, I have learned that Americans do not like to bow to anyone. And so even though I do not like people to bow to me, now I like to have you bow. It is a case of learning to like what you basically do not like. I do not like to receive bows, but I must learn to allow you to bow. You do not like to bow, but you must learn to like it.
So, another disciple took the lead and started bowing to me every day. Seeing this, someone said that I had told everyone to bow to me. But I never said that, because I know I have no virtue. That is why I do not like people to bow to me. That person also started bowing to me, in a flippant way. He did not do it seriously, because he felt he was an old-timer, and that it would have been beneath him to bow to me seriously. So he bowed as a joke, but later he felt he no longer had any face to come here. The Buddhist Lecture Hall has established some rules now, and you Americans have set up the rule that people should not talk. I agree completely with that rule, I do not like to talk either. If we talk less to each other, we will create less trouble. You are doing pretty well now, and the rules are much better kept than in the beginning. I believe that day by day it will get even better. In America [in Chinese, literally “the beautiful country”] everything is beautiful and so I am sure that the rules established here will not be ugly either.
Sutra:
“They always delight in sitting in dhyana and, in a quiet place cultivating collecting their thoughts. Manjushri, this is called the first range of association.”
Outline:
K2. Defining “drawing near” in terms of the places to draw near to
Commentary:
You must delight in sitting in dhyana, and then you will be able to do so. If you do not delight in doing so, then even though you may sit in dhyana, it would not be of any use. They always delight in sitting in dhyana. This is the most important requisite for cultivating the Bodhisattva Way. If you do not delight in sitting in dhyana, I believe you will be quite scattered. If you sit in dhyana, you can obtain samadhi power.
“Do you have to ‘sit’ in dhyana?” Yes and no. We can define “not sitting” as being before you have ever sat in meditation. However, after you have done the sitting, can also be defined as “not sitting.” The actual period when you are sitting in meditation can be defined as “sitting”. And so I say it is also not sitting, because once you have achieved dhyana, then when you sit you are in dhyana, when you walk you are in dhyana, when you are asleep you are in dhyana: when moving, when still, when awake and when asleep, it is all dhyana.
But before you have understood dhyana, you must first sit in dhyana. Once you have attained dhyana, you never leave it. In movement and stillness, in waking and sleeping, dhyana is you and you are dhyana. Dhyana follows you and you follow dhyana. Just as a shadow follows a form. You could not leave it even if you wanted to. That is samadhi power.
“You’ve been talking and talking about it, but exactly what is dhyana?”
It is not anything at all! If you think it is something, you have an attachment. It is not anything at all, so there is no attachment to anything.
You say, “What you are saying is too indefinite.” Of course! If it were definite, it would not be dhyana. Dhyana is not definite. It is emptiness. Out of emptiness your samadhi power arises.
“Chan” is the abbreviated Chinese transliteration for the Sanskrit word dhyana. The entire transliteration is “chan no.” Translated, dhyana means “cultivating one’s thoughts,” and “quieting reflection.” You sit there and cultivate your thoughts, you sit there and quiet your reflections. If you do not know how to apply effort, then you will sit there and strike up false thoughts. You should chase those false thoughts away. Once you chase away the false thoughts, you would not have any. You should not think that “striking up false thoughts” is necessarily a bad expression. Change it to “chasing away false thoughts” and it is not bad. Do battle with your false thoughts.
When a false thought first arises, use the demon-quelling pestle to beat it to death. When the next one comes up, use the demon-quelling pestle to beat that one to death too. Sometimes after you have beaten one to death with the demon-quelling pestle, the same one comes back to life again. In that case you should use the demon-slicing sword. With it, you can slice right through a false thought the moment you see it arise. Once it is sliced in two, it would not come back to life again. That is how powerful the demon-slicing sword is. Once you slice through your false thoughts until they die, then your wisdom can arise. Wisdom, in fact, is the demon-slicing sword. If you have wisdom, you have a demon-slicing sword, if you do not have wisdom, you would not have a demon-slicing sword either.
You say, “I have been listening to Sutra lectures for a long time, but I have never heard an explanation like this.” Why does it have to be explained in a way you have already heard? Sutras can be explained any way one likes as long as one accords with principle. They can fly up to the heavens and hide in the earth, just like dragons. What is the demon-quelling pestle? It is your samadhi power. If you have samadhi power, you have a demon-quelling pestle; if you do not have samadhi power, you do not have a demon-quelling pestle. Now do you understand? Dhyana can give rise to samadhi power. Giving rise to samadhi power, you can beat your false thoughts to death. If you continue sitting in dhyana, you will give rise to wisdom power. The power of wisdom can also kill false thoughts. For that reason, Bodhisattvas always delight in sitting dhyana. They like to cultivate samadhi power.
“Where should one sit in dhyana? Can it be done at a playhouse while watching a play? Can it be done at the movie theater while watching a movie?” you ask. If you are able to sit in dhyana, then you can do it anywhere at all. If you are not able to sit in dhyana yet, then you certainly could not do it in those places. If you are able to sit in dhyana, then
When moving, it is dhyana; when quiet, it is dhyana.
Speaking, silent, moving, or still,
The substance is at peace.
In the dream, the six paths are clearly seen;
But once awake, all is empty, and even the universe does not exist!
If you awaken, then even the three-thousand-great-thousand world system does not exist, how much the less anything else. While you are still in the dream, the six paths of rebirth exist. You get born again and again, and die again and again. You cannot put this down and you cannot give up that. That is your husband. That is your wife. That is your father and that is your mother, and there are many more—a whole bunch of entanglements! It is really meaningless.
“What should we do, then?” If you have not yet attained samadhi power, then when sitting in dhyana, you should sit in a quiet place. The character for “quiet” also means “idle,” and so you say, “I understand. I should not do any work, right? I should be idle all day long. To put it another way, I can be lazy. Well, that is just my style. I do not like to work, so I will sit in dhyana!” Here, the word does not mean “idle,” it means a place that is not busy and noisy. It means an aranya, a tranquil and pure place. You do not want to mistake the meaning of the word here and think it means you can be idle. Do not be like a certain disciple who mistakenly thought that men wai han, which means amateur, was the same as luo han, which means Arhat. How funny! This is one of the wonderful things that happen when Americans are learning Chinese. He thought “an amateur” was “an Arhat”. Well, maybe in the future he will become one, but he is not one now.
In a quiet place, Bodhisattvas enjoy cultivating collecting their thoughts. They cultivate collecting their thoughts, just as a magnet collects iron filings. They do not let their minds run away.
“Oh? My mind can run away?” you ask.
Oh? Did you think it could not? Not only does your mind run away, it runs for 108,000 miles! You do not even know where it has run off to. In the first thought, it runs to Europe. In the second thought, you have gone to Australia. In the next thought, it is in Asia. It is in Vietnam at the front line fighting with the guns going off “bang, bang, bang!” and many people being killed. You do not have to use any money or buy any tickets and you can traverse the five continents. You think you are getting a bargain, but in fact you are using a tremendous amount of your “gasoline”—the gasoline (energy) of your own nature. You just do not realize it. What is that gasoline good for? It can enable you to emit light. If you use it up, you do not have any light. Without light you will be dark. What I am saying right now definitely contains genuine principle. If you understand, then it will be very helpful to you. Do not use so much gasoline! If you do not understand, then after you have used up your gasoline you will become dark and run off to the path of hungry ghosts. Mencius said:
When people lose their chickens and dogs,
they know to go looking for them.
But when their minds run away,
they do not even know to search for them.
What a sad state of affairs!
When chickens or dogs run away, their owners know to look for them. “Oh, no,” they cry, “My pet is gone!” They immediately put an advertisement in the newspaper saying, “If you see my lost dog, please call 397-3675.” But when their minds fly off in all directions, they do nothing about it. They do not need to buy a ticket, but they can still travel the world, fly up to the heavens, or enter deep into the earth. They may think it is a good deal, but really it uses up a lot of the gasoline of their own nature, until the tank is empty of Prajna’s light. From this discussion you should realize the seriousness of having false thinking.
You should not casually have false thoughts, such as “I wonder how my child is doing,” and “What about my sisters, how are they? And my brothers, father, and mother…?” Thinking about such things is not useful at all. It is a case of not being able to gather in your mind. If you are able to cultivate and collect your thoughts, then you will not be lax in your thinking—you would not let your mind loose. If your mind is let loose, then you are not cultivating and gathering it in. Now I believe you understand.
There is much that can be said about cultivating and collecting one’s thoughts—so much that it could never be explained entirely. We can only discuss a little. In cultivating and collecting your thoughts you should do three things:
Reproach the five desires!
Chase out the five coverings!
Regulate carefully the five matters!
Everyone knows the five desires, although you may not recognize them by that name. The five desires are forms, sounds, odors, flavors, and objects of touch. They are also listed as wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep. With the desire for forms, one chases after forms. With the desire for sounds, one pursues sounds. With the desire for fragrances, your mind gets caught up in pursuit of fragrances. WIth the desire for flavors, you pursue flavors. With desire for touch, you chase after objects of touch.
In general, people are confused by these false things—so confused that their own natures will not emit light. All five desires are false; you should scold and berate them, “Hey! Do not run after those defiling forms!” When you scold them like that, then your mind will take heed and know it should not chase after forms. This same principle applies in cases when disciples are not obedient and do not listen to the Sutra lectures. “Do not fall asleep!” Do not be lazy!” Then the disciples take heed and think, “Oh, I should not be lazy. I guess I had better be a little more diligent.” Scolding away the five desires works in the same way.
When your mind wants to pursue defiling forms, you should scold it: “Come back here!” It will come back. Suppose it decides to listen to a piano, or to the sound of an airplane passing overhead. “Hey! Do not listen to that sound! That sound is of no help in cultivation!” Your mind will take heed. If your mind wants to pursue flavors, tell it, “People who cultivate the Way should not become attached to flavors!” Do not think that although it is not all right to become attached to flavors, it probably does not matter if one becomes attached to touch. That is also not permissible. In this way you should reproach the five desires, until your mind becomes very well-behaved.
Does anyone know what the five coverings are? If you know, you can tell me; I also want to study them. No one knows? It is very simple. When I tell you, you will say, “Oh, it is those!” and you will understand. Before the term is explained, you wonder what the five are and what they are covering. They are covering your samadhi and your wisdom. Because they are covering them, your samadhi does not come forth and your wisdom does not come forth. They are obstructed by the coverings. If you do not want to be obstructed by these five coverings, you must chase them out. Get rid of them.
The Five Coverings
1. The covering of greedy desire. This refers not merely to greed, but to greedy desire. Desire is the worst thing there is. We can also say it is the best thing there is. Everything has two sides, you do not want to just look at one side. When is desire the worst thing? When you are greedy for wealth, sex, fame, food, and sleep; and greedy for forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and objects of touch. When is desire the best thing? When you are greedy for precepts, greedy for samadhi, and greedy for wisdom.
To “always delight in sitting in dhyana” is a kind of greed, after all. It does not hurt to have this kind of greed. If you are greedy to become a Buddha, or a Bodhisattva, or a good person, or a filial disciple, then that kind of greed in not bad. What makes me happiest is to have filial disciples. That is my greed. Your greed as disciples is to have the very best teacher, so you can study the Buddhadharma. Those kinds of greed are permissible.
In lecturing the Buddhadharma one must explain it as perfectly fused and unobstructed. If someone says something is bad, I will show how it can also be good. If someone says something is good, I will show how it can also be bad. The first covering of greedy desire covers your samadhi and wisdom.
2. The covering of hatred. This refers to one’s temper. Of temper it is said:
Firewood gathered in a thousand days,
Can be completely burned up by a single match.
The “single match” points to our tempers. You may accumulate a thousand days’ worth of merit and virtue, but if you lose your temper once, you burn up all that merit and virtue.
A spark from the fire of our nature
Burns up a forest of merit and virtue.
That is why hatred is so bad. But even though hatred is so terrible, I can tell you that it still has its good points. If you can hate things this way: “Why don’t I cultivate?” “Why can’t I control my temper?” “Why can’t I kill the poisonous dragon within me?” Could you say hating that way is not good? That kind of hatred is not bad! That is part of the skill of subduing yourself and returning to propriety. That is called the skill of practicing self-control. If you can make hatred work that way, it is not bad.
3. The covering of sleep. Sleep can also be very bad or very good. If you sleep too much, it is very bad. It causes you to become like a pig. You lose your intelligence. Too much sleep will make you stupid. So you wonder, “Is it all right not to sleep, then?” No, it is not all right not to sleep. When you sleep, your fatigue goes away. You feel rested, and so in that way sleep is not bad. You cannot sleep too much. If you are greedy for too much, then anything becomes bad. If you use just the right amount, then anything can be good.
For instance, if a person does not eat, then his stomach will have a battle with him. It will growl and ask, “Why haven’t you fed me?” It will roar like thunder. If you do not eat enough you will have a thunder storm in your stomach from hunger. If you eat too much, you will get a tornado in your stomach, and you will have to go to the bathroom one-knows-not-how-many dozens of times. It will be like mountains crashing together, the earth ripping open and the waters of the sea flowing forth non-stop.
Basically eating is a good thing, but if you eat too much it becomes a bad thing. If you do not eat at all, then that would not work either. That is how it is with sleeping, too. You should sleep, but not too much. If you do not sleep properly, it becomes a covering. If you sleep correctly, the covering will be removed. You will chase out the covering so that it is entirely gone.
4. The covering of restlessness. A person who is restless cannot sit still and cannot stand still and does not know what to do with himself.
5. The covering of doubt and delusions. “Delusions” refers to coarse delusions, subtle delusions, delusions as fine as dust and sand, and delusion of ignorance. If you give rise to doubt and delusions when cultivating the Way, it becomes a kind of covering. For instance, regarding the Dharma that the Dharma Master speaks, you think, “Everything the Dharma Master explains is expedient Dharma. It is unverifiable.
Speaking the Dharma is like that—it would not stand the test.” That is a kind of doubt. “He tells us to reproach the five desires, but I see that he has not reproached them. He tells us to chase out the five coverings, but the Dharma Master himself is so greedy. He has not chased his own out, and yet he is telling me to chase mine out. Well, I won’t do it.” Those are doubts.
Reproach the five desires! Chase out the five coverings! Regulate carefully the five matters! The five matters are things you have to do every day.
The Five Matters
1. Regulating one’s intake of food. Have you ever gone without eating for a day? You say, “I have gone without food for several days.” That was when you were a starving refugee in Hong Kong, fleeing from the Japanese. At that time in Hong Kong, everyone was trying to escape the Japanese air raid and so many people were without food for several days. Some people even starved to death.
Regulating your intake of food means not eating too much, and not eating too little. It does not mean that you decide to stop eating altogether and fast for a week, but then on the sixth day you find that you cannot take it any more, and so you eat—a lot. You eat so much that your stomach cannot contain it, and the food has to move out. The “Relocation Bureau” is incredibly busy, day and night. That is from not knowing how to regulate your intake of food. It is not necessary to fast, but you also do not want to be unrestrained and eat too much.
2. Regulating one’s sleep. People’s daily lives consist of such matters as eating and sleeping. But you have to know how to do them; otherwise there will be problems. Thus, with food and drink, you should neither go too hungry, nor stuff yourself. If you go to either extreme, you cannot cultivate patience. Your stomach would not be able to stand it. Sleep enough, but not too much. If you do not get enough sleep, you would not be rested. If you sleep too much, you will be too rested. Underdoing is just as bad as overdoing.
3. Regulating one’s body. Do not let your body do no work, but do not make your body do too much work. Do as much work as you have the energy to do. That is because your body should do some things for the sake of others in the world; it should make its contribution.
4. Regulating one’s breath. We should not breathe too slowly, nor should we breathe too fast, for breathing too slowly or too fast is not good for one’s health.
5. Regulating one’s mind. The regulation of our intake of food, our sleep, our bodies, and our breath is done by our minds. How should one’s minds be regulated? It should not be sunk into a torpor, nor should it be too high-strung and excited. You should keep it calm and quiet.
These three—reproaching the five desires, chasing out the five coverings, and regulating the five matters—are methods for cultivating and collecting the mind.
Therefore, Shakyamuni Buddha further says to Manjushri Bodhisattva, “This is called the very first range of association for Bodhisattvas.”
Sutra:
“Further, Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas contemplate all Dharmas as empty…”
Outline:
K3. Defining “drawing near” in terms of what is neither stayed away from nor drawn near to
L1. A general statement about states of being and wisdom
Commentary:
Further indicates that the meaning being discussed above is discussed again. He says that great Bodhisattvas Mahasattvas who cultivate the Bodhisattva Way, contemplate all Dharmas as empty. “Contemplate” refers to the wisdom which contemplates, and the “emptiness” of all dharmas is the state that is contemplated. This refers to how the Great Bodhisattvas contemplate all states within the Ten Dharma Realms. The Ten Dharma Realms do not go beyond one single thought present in the mind. That single thought in the mind creates the Ten Dharma Realms. The Ten Dharma Realms include Four Sagely Realms and Six Common Realms.
The Four Sagely Realms
1. The Dharma Realm of the Buddhas. This is the highest realm. How does one become a Buddha? One must enlighten oneself, enlighten others, and perfect enlightenment and practice, and then one will become a Buddha. Enlightening oneself means that one gains enlightened understanding if all dharmas. When one understands all dharmas oneself, one finds them extremely wonderful and inconceivable, and so one wants to teach others to understand that subtle, inconceivable principle. That is what is meant by wanting to enlighten others.
When both self-enlightenment and the enlightenment of others are perfected, one has thereby perfected both enlightenment and practice. When both enlightenment and practice are perfected, one is a Buddha. Buddhas are greatly enlightened ones. There is nothing they do not understand. They understand things that ordinary people do not understand; they have become enlightened in a way that ordinary people have not. That is why they are called the Greatly Enlightened World Honored Ones. All those in the world, and beyond the world, pay homage to the Buddhas. Yet the Dharma Realm of Buddhas does not go beyond one single thought that you and I are presently having.
2. The Dharma Realm of Bodhisattvas. It is really not easy to be a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattvas do things to benefit themselves and benefit others, and to enlighten themselves and enlighten others. But their enlightenment is not yet complete. Only Buddhas are completely enlightened. Bodhisattvas practice the Six Perfections and the Myriad practices. They practice giving, renouncing their heads, eyes, brains, and marrow; their countries, cities, wives, and children—both internal wealth and external wealth. “External wealth” includes all valuable material things that are external to our bodies. “Internal wealth” refers to parts of our physical bodies, such as our heads, eyes, brains and marrow. They all have to be renounced and given away.
There are three kinds of giving: the giving of wealth, the giving of Dharma, and the giving of fearlessness. Internal and external wealth can be given. Dharma can also be given. Having studied and understood the Buddhadharma, when you meet people, you can speak the Dharma for them. The giving of wealth can save people’s lives. The giving of Dharma can save people’s wisdom-lives. The giving of fearlessness is practiced when people are experiencing difficulty and fear. If you can comfort them and dispel their fears, then you are practicing the giving of fearlessness.
Bodhisattvas cultivate strictly upholding the precepts. They do no evil but rather offer up all good conduct. They practice patience and they cultivate vigor. Throughout the day and night, they are always vigorous. They also practice dhyana samadhi and wisdom. Thus they cultivate the Six Perfections and the Myriad Practices; they benefit themselves and benefit others. That is the Dharma Realm of Bodhisattvas, and yet the Dharma Realm of Bodhisattvas also does not go beyond a single thought in the mind. If in your mind you want to practice the Bodhisattva Way, and with your body you actually put the Bodhisattva Way into practice, then in the future, you will be a Bodhisattva.
3. The Dharma Realm of Those Enlightened by Conditions. Those Enlightened by Conditions cultivate the Twelve Causes and Conditions and awaken to the Way.
The Arising of the Twelve Causes and Conditions
1. Ignorance is the condition that brings about activity;
2. activity is the condition that brings about consciousness;
3. consciousness is the condition that brings about name and form;
4. name and form is the condition that brings about the six sense organs;
5. the six sense organs are the condition that brings about contact;
6. contact is the condition that brings about feeling;
7. feeling is the condition that brings about love;
8. love is the condition that brings about grasping;
9. grasping is the condition that brings about becoming;
10. becoming is the condition that brings about birth;
11. birth is the condition that brings about old age and death.
Those Enlightened by Conditions can be divided into two kinds: Those who cultivate the Twelve Causes and Conditions and awaken to the Way when a Buddha is in the world are known as Those Enlightened by Conditions. Those who cultivate the Twelve Causes and Conditions and awaken to the Way when there is no Buddha in the world are called Solitarily Enlightened Ones.
Solitarily Enlightened Ones work only at doing well by themselves; they do not want to benefit the world. Why do they want to “do well by themselves”? It is because they consider the whole world to be going bad, as well as all the people in it. They themselves do not want to be bad; they want to cultivate. Since they want to cultivate, they get far away from the defiled world. They separate themselves from all those other people. They go deep into the mountains into isolated valleys and over the months and years they never see a single person. They cultivate there in an aranya, a “pure and quiet place.”
As they cultivate, in the spring they see the myriad flowers blossom and consider it ineffably wonderful. In the autumn they watch the yellow leaves fall. They contemplate the trees: in the spring the leaves bud and grow, the flowers blossom, and then the fruit comes forth. In the autumn, the leaves fall from the trees. These cultivators find this entire process to be quite wonderful: the state of impermanence whereby things naturally come into being and cease to be. Because the myriad things are all impermanent, those cultivators search for what is permanent. Thus, they analyze the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
First, they investigate ignorance. Ignorance is another name for afflictions. If you do not understand something, you become afflicted. Once you get afflicted, you will want to do something. Once you do something and there is activity, then a consciousness comes into being. That is, when you behave in a certain way, there will be a shadow created. That shadow is consciousness. It can also be called a seed or an impression.
Ignorance refers to the mutual “unknown” that arises between men and women—that kind of emotion. Once that emotion based on enticement toward the “unknown” arises, activity will occur. Sexual intercourse will result. Once there is activity, a consciousness comes into being; a seed is fertilized. Once the fertilized seed exists, name and form come into being—it is called a fetus. Once there is name and form, the six entrances also come into being: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. With the forming of the six entrances, contact occurs; there is an awareness of contact. With contact, feeling is experienced. Once there is feeling, love arises. With thoughts of love, one wants to grasp what one loves and have it become one’s own. With that becoming, there will be birth into another life, followed by death. Those are the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
Those Enlightened by Conditions investigate this problem. They come to realize that when ignorance ceases, activity will cease. When activity ceases, consciousness will also disappear. Without consciousness, there will be no name and form. Without name and form, the six entrances will naturally not exist. Without the six entrances, no contact will be experienced, because there would not even be a physical body to know the contact. Without contact there will be no feeling. Without feeling, there will be no love. If love does not arise, then there will be no compulsion to grasp. Without grasping there will be no becoming, and without becoming there will be no birth. Without birth there will be no old age and death. They investigate these Twelve Causes and Conditions backwards and forwards, until they become enlightened. Thus, they are called Those Enlightened by Conditions. They can also become Bodhisattvas of initial resolve.
4. The Dharma Realm of Hearers. Hearers investigate the Four Truths and awaken to the Way. The Four Truths are suffering, accumulation, cessation, and the Way.
The Four Truths
a. The truth of suffering. There are three kinds of suffering, eight kinds of suffering, and limitless kinds of suffering. The three sufferings are
1. suffering within suffering;
2. the suffering of decay, and
3. the suffering of process.
1. Suffering within suffering occurs when one is poverty-stricken and experiences additional difficulties. One may be so poor that one has no food to eat and no clothes to wear. One has a small house to live in, but then the house burns down. One builds another house, and that one is washed away in a flood. That is suffering within suffering.
2. The suffering of decay occurs when what was good goes bad. When one is wealthy and honored, one does not have the problem of being poor; but wealth and honor do not last forever. One’s wealth may be lost in a fire or stolen by thieves. That is the suffering of decay.
3. The suffering of process occurs as we go from being small to being adults, to being old, and finally dying. That process flows on unceasingly with every passing thought. A child grows into an adult; the adult becomes an old person; the old person finally dies. That kind of change is a form of suffering.
There are also eight sufferings, the first four of which are:
1. the suffering of birth;
2. the suffering of old age;
3. the suffering of sickness;
4. the suffering of death.
It is very painful to be born. It is also painful to be old. Sickness brings even more suffering, and death more suffering still.
Long ago there were three old men who gathered together to drink wine. One was sixty, one was seventy, and one was eighty. During their party, the youngest one thought, “These two friends of mine are really old and will die before long.” Then he said, “This year we gather for a banquet, but who knows who will not be here next year!” He was wondering who would be dead before the next year.
The seventy-year-old said, “You are giving us a lot of time. Tonight when I take off my shoes and socks, I do not know if I will be around to put them on in the morning!”
The eighty-year-old said, “You two have lots of time! When I breathe out this breath, I do not know if I will be around to breathe in the next one!”
Birth and death are impartial events. There is no politeness involved. It is just as the old-timer said, “When I breathe out this breath, I do not know if I will be around to breathe in the next one.” That is the suffering of death. The last of four of the eight sufferings are:
5. the suffering of being apart from those you love;
6. the suffering of being together with those you hate;
7. the suffering of not getting what you want;
8. the suffering of the raging blaze of the five skandhas.
That is the eight sufferings. There is a saying;
The old monk has a way to pacify his mind.
When the eight sufferings strike, he does not feel obstructed
If he gets caught up in the eight sufferings, he is not afraid; it does not bother him. Therefore, if you have samadhi power, suffering turns into bliss. If you do not have any samadhi, bliss can turn into suffering.
b. The truth of accumulation. Accumulation refers to afflictions. There are many kinds of afflictions: great afflictions, intermediate afflictions, and small afflictions.
c. The truth of cessation. This refers to Nirvana—the passage into stillness.
d. The truth of the Way. This refers to cultivating the Way.
Hearers regard the Four Truths in order to know suffering, to cut off accumulation, to aspire toward cessation, and to cultivate the Way. Right after Shakyamuni Buddha realized the Way, he spoke the Dharma of the Four Truths, turning the Dharma Wheel of the Four Truths three times to take across the five Bhikshus. When the five Bhikshus heard the Dharma of the Four Truths, they awakened to the Way.
The Hearers and Those Enlightened by Conditions are the Two Vehicles. Together with the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, they comprise the Four Sagely Dharma Realms.