Expedient Devices

Chapter 2

 

Sutra:

At that time, the World Honored One, wishing to restate his meaning, spoke verses, saying,

Those Bhikshus and Bhikshunis,
Who harbor overweening pride.
The arrogant Upasakas,
Upasikas who do not believe,
In the fourfold host, such ones as these,
Numbering five thousand strong…

Outline:

G2. Verse.
H1. Consenting to speak.

Commentary:

At that time, the World Honored One, wishing to restate his meaning, to clarify it, spoke verses, saying, those Bhikshus and Bhikshunis, men and women who had left home who harbor overweening pride. They were haughty and full of pride. When the Buddha was about to speak the Sutra, they all left.

Why did they leave?

They left because they were too proud, too self-satisfied. Now think this over. Some people come here and listen to one lecture and never return. Such people have overweening pride. Or they may listen to Sutras for a time and find it uninteresting and leave.

The arrogant Upasakas, laymen who are conceited and proud. Upasikas who do not believe, laywomen who do not believe in this wonderful Dharma, in the fourfold host, such ones as these, numbering five thousand strong. There were five thousand of them present at the Dharma meeting.

Sutra:

Who do not see their own mistakes,
Deficient in morality,
And guarding imperfections,
Those of paltry wisdom have left;
The chaff within the multitude is gone,
Thanks to the Buddha’s awesome virtue.

Commentary:

Five thousand of those present at the Dharma meeting got up and left. Who do not see their own mistakes; they did not see their own faults. Deficient in morality and guarding imperfections, those of paltry wisdom have left. The chaff within the multitude is gone. They were like the chaff which blows away when the grain is winnowed. They were so full of their own pride that they did not know that they had faults themselves. They saw the faults of others, not their own. They were like the blackbird who criticizes a pig for being black. The blackbird can see that the pig is black, but he does not realize that he is black, too. People of great pride will see the mistakes of others, but not their own. And when it came to morality, they had outflows; they did not hold the precepts perfectly.

Those who have taken the Bodhisattva precepts should keep them; those who have taken the Eight Precepts should keep them; those who have taken the Shramenera precepts should keep them. If you do not keep the precepts, then it is as if you had sprung a leak. You are like a bottle with a leak in the bottom. Everything you pour in runs right out. If you keep the precepts, it is like filling that bottle with precious gems. You should always take care to keep the precepts, to accept and maintain them. Do not regard them lightly.

These proud people guarded their imperfections. They held their faults dear. The word for “fault” in the Chinese text 瑕 -xia literally means “a flaw in a piece of jade.” Perhaps one side of the jade is a bit darker than the other, or contains some other flaw. A piece of jade with a flaw is not worth very much. If we do a lot incorrect things, it is as if we had such a flaw in our character. Breaking the precepts is like having a flaw in a piece of jade. Therefore, those who have taken the precepts must keep them.

Those who left were like the chaff, the outside husk on a grain. They are also like the dregs, you might say, like the grains the distiller has left over when he makes wine. Those who walked out of the Dharma Flower Assembly were like chaff or dregs—not much use.

Thanks to the Buddha’s awesome virtue, they have already gone. They will not come and hear the Buddhadharma. Those, whose good roots have ripened hear the Buddhadharma once and never want to leave. Those, whose good roots have not ripened hear it once and then wander off for a while. Then they think, “I am going to go listen some more.” All those who come to hear the Buddhadharma have good roots, but some of them have good roots which have ripened, and others have good roots which have not yet ripened. There were five thousands of the latter kind in the Lotus Assembly.

Sutra:

These people, lacking blessings and virtue,
Are unworthy of receiving this Dharma.
The assembly is free of branches and leaves;
The trunks alone remain intact.

Shariputra, listen well:
The Dharma obtained by the Buddhas,
Is spoken for living beings
Through the power of limitless expedients,
The thoughts in living being’s minds,
The various pathways they have walked,
The nature of their various desires,
Their karma, good or ill, from former lives,
The Buddha knows them all thoroughly.

Using conditions, analogies,
Expressions, and powerful expedients,
I cause them to rejoice.
I may speak the Sutras,
Gathas, or past events,
Of former lives, the unprecedented,
Causes and conditions,
Analogies or geyas,
Or the upadesha texts.

To dull-rooted ones who delight in lesser dharmas,
And who are greedily attached to birth and death,
Who, under limitless Buddhas,
Have not walked the deep and wondrous Path,
Oppressed by scores of sufferings,
For them I speak of Nirvana.

I have established these expedients
To cause them to enter the Buddha’s wisdom.
Never did I say, “All of you
Will realize the Buddha Way.”

I did not say as much because
The time to speak had not yet come.
The time, now, is exactly right,
To speak the Great Vehicle.

The nine division of my Dharma,
Are spoken to accord with living beings;
Intending to lead them into the Great Vehicle,
I therefore speak this Sutra text.

For the Buddha’s disciples, pure in heart,
Who are compliant and have keen faculties,
Who, under countless Buddhas,
Have walked the deep and wondrous Path,
I speak the Sutra of the Great Vehicle.

I predict that such people
In the future will realize the Buddha Way,
For with profound thoughts they recollect the Buddha,
Cultivate and uphold pure morality.

When they hear that they will become Buddhas
Great will their rejoicing be.
The Buddha knows their thoughts and conduct,
And speaks the Great Vehicle for them.

If Hearers or Bodhisattvas,
Hear this Dharma that I speak,
Be it but a single verse,
They will become Buddhas, without a doubt.

Outline:

H2. Actual speaking.

I1. Explanation regarding Buddhas in general and the Buddhas of the three periods of time.

J1. All Buddhas.
K1. Opening the provisional.
K2. Revealing the actual.
L1. The singularity of the noumenon.
L2. The singularity of the cultivators.

Commentary:

These people, lacking blessings and virtue. “These people” refers to the five thousand who walked out. They had no blessings and no virtuous conduct. In other words, they had no good roots.

Are unworthy of receiving this Dharma. They cannot accept the wonderful Dharma of the Great Vehicle because their good roots are not big enough.

The assembly is free of branches and leaves. Among those now left in the assembly, the Bodhisattvas and the Arhats, there are no twigs or leaves, no miscellaneous brush. The trunks alone remain intact, only the trunks, the solid foundation, the Great Vehicle people with virtuous practice, remain. None of the Small Vehicle people are left. Only those with the disposition for Great Vehicle Bodhisattvahood remain.

Shariputra, listen well. Listen attentively to what I am about to say. The Dharma obtained by the Buddhas. The unsurpassed, extremely profound, subtle and wonderful Dharma obtained by the Buddhas of the ten directions, is spoken for living beings, through the power of limitless expedients. The power of limitless, boundless expedients leads living beings to set aside the small and head towards the great; to bring forth the Bodhi-heart and realize the position of Buddhahood. I use expedient devices in teaching the Three Vehicles. Originally, there are not Three Vehicles; they are only provisional.

The thoughts in living being’s minds, everything they are thinking, the various pathways they have walked, all the different modes of practice they have cultivated, the nature of their various desires; each living being has his own type of desires. Where do these desires come from? Their Karma, good or ill, from former lives, if they have good karma, the burden of their desires will be a bit lighter. If most of their karma is evil, they will bear a heavy burden of desire. So, you can figure it out for yourself. Ask yourself, “Are my thoughts of desire heavy or light? If they are light, then my good roots are deep and thick. If they are heavy, that means my good roots are weak and thin.”

What is meant by “thoughts of desire?” Thoughts of desire are just your afflictions. They are also just your ignorance. They are the things you cannot see through, you cannot break through. They are the things you cannot let go of.

The Buddha knows them all thoroughly using his Buddha Eye to observe them, the Buddha understands their dispositions completely. He knows all of the desires and all of the thoughts in the minds of living beings.

Using conditions, analogies, various causes and conditions, and various analogies, expressions, and powerful expedients, I cause them to rejoice. When living beings hear the Buddhadharma, they are extremely happy.

I may speak the Sutras. “Sutra,” a Sanskrit word, means a “tallying text.” Above, it tallies with the principles of all the Buddhas, and below it tallies with the living beings to be taught. Above, it is one with the Buddha nature. Below, it is one with the causes and conditions of living beings to be taught.

Gathas, “Gatha” is a Sanskrit word. Gathas are verses used to repeat the principles set forth in the prose passages. Some of them arise independently of the prose lives. An example would be the verse in The Vajra Sutra:

“All conditioned dharmas
Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
Like dew drops or a lightning flash.
You should contemplate them thus.”

Gathas often express key principles, such as these lines, also from The Vajra Sutra:

“One who sees me in forms,
Or seeks me in sounds,
Practices a deviant way,
And will not see the Thus Come One.”

Or past events, this refers to stories of the events in the previous lives of disciples or Bodhisattvas.

Of former lives, this refers to events of the past lives of the Buddhas. The unprecedented, this refers to stories of the events in the past lives of the Buddhas.

Causes and conditions, analogies or geyas.Geyas are verses which repeat the meanings given in the preceding prose sections, such as the verses being discussed right now. Or the Upadesha texts. The Sanskrit word upadesha means a commentary, a discussion of the meaning.

To dull-rooted ones who delight in lesser Dharmas, the Small Vehicles people have dull roots. They prefer lesser dharmas and do not like the Great Vehicle Dharma. And who are greedily attached to birth and death. They are greedily attached to the revolving wheel of birth and death; they do not want to part with birth and death. Who, under limitless Buddhas, in the presence of limitless Buddhas of the past, have not walked the deep and wondrous path. They did not cultivate the Way, the Dharma, which is extremely profound, subtle, and miraculous.

Oppressed by scores of sufferings. This refers to the eight sufferings: Birth, old age, sickness, death, being separated from what you love, meeting with what you hate, not getting what you seek, and the raging blaze of the five skandhas. There are also three sufferings: The suffering within suffering, the suffering of decay, and the suffering of the life process. They are torture by the three sufferings, the eight sufferings, and all the limitless sufferings. For them I speak of Nirvana, the doctrine of permanence, bliss, true self and purity.

I have established these expedients, I have devised expedient Dharma-doors to cause them to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. To cause all those people who like the Small Vehicle to obtain the Buddha’s wisdom. Never did I say, “All of you will realize the Buddha way.” I never said that the Small Vehicle people could also become Buddhas. Now, I am speaking the fine and subtle Great Vehicle Dharma. Everyone can become a Buddha.

I did not say as much because the time to speak had not yet come. When the Buddha speaks the Dharma, he first observes the causes and conditions to see whether or not the time is right. Right now, it is exactly the right time to speak The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. The time, now, is exactly right to speak the Great Vehicle.

The nine divisions of my Dharma are spoken to accord with living beings. The nine divisions mentioned above are spoken in response to the needs of living beings. Intending to lead them into the Great Vehicle, I therefore speak this Sutra text. I first spoke the dharmas of the lesser vehicles. My aim was to lead them into the Great Vehicle and that is why I am speaking this Sutra now.

For the Buddha’s disciples, pure in heart, who are compliant and have keen faculties. They are gentle, mild, intelligent and wise. They have the seeds, the basic make-up, of the Great Vehicle. Who, under countless Buddhas, have walked the deep and wondrous path. Why are they compliant and intelligent? It is because in the past, in the presence of limitless Buddhas, they practiced the profound, subtle, and wonderful Dharma doors.

I speak the Sutra of the Great Vehicle, I speak The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. I predict that such people in the future will realize the Buddha way. In a future life they will become Buddhas. For, with profound thoughts, they recollect the Buddha, cultivate and uphold pure morality. With hearts of the Great Vehicle, they cultivate and maintain the Buddhadharma, and uphold pure morality.

When they hear that they shall become Buddhas, great will their rejoicing be. The Buddha knows their thoughts and conduct and speaks the Great Vehicle for them. Knowing the thoughts in the minds and knowing the deeds that they do, the Buddha teaches them the Great Vehicle Dharma.

If Hearers or Bodhisattvas hear this Dharma that I speak, be it but a single verse, if they hear so much as a single verse, they will become Buddhas, without a doubt. They can all realize Buddhahood. There is no doubt about it.

Sutra:

In the Buddhalands of the ten directions,
There is only the Dharma of One Vehicle;
There are not two or three,
Except those spoken by the Buddhas as expedients,
And those are but false appellations
Used to induce living beings,
So that he may teach them the Buddha’s wisdom.

The Buddhas appear in the world
Only for the sake of this One Real Matter;
The other two are not the truth;
To the end they would not use the Small Vehicle
To rescue living beings.

The Buddha himself dwells in the Great Vehicle,
And in accord with the Dharmas he has gained,
Adorned with the power of samadhi and wisdom,
He uses these to save living beings.

Having certified to the supreme path, myself,
The Great Vehicle’s Dharma of equality,
Were I to teach by means of the Small Vehicle,
Even a single human being,
I would have fallen into stingy greed;
But such a thing could never be.

Outline:

L3. The singularity of the teaching.
L4. The singularity of the practice.

Commentary:

In the Buddhalands of the ten directions, there is only the Dharma of One Vehicle. There is only one kind of teaching dharma. And what is that? It is the Great Vehicle. There are not two or three. The Two Vehicles and the Three Vehicles do not exist. Only the Buddha Vehicle is real.

Except those spoken by the Buddhas as expedients. However, although it is said that there is only the Buddha Vehicle, and that the Two Vehicles and Three Vehicles do not exist, still, because he wishes to teach and transform living beings, the Buddha sets up expedient Dharma-doors. He speaks of the Small Vehicle and the Great Vehicle. He establishes the lesser vehicle to lead living beings towards the Great Vehicle.

And those are but false appellations. They are just false names; they correspond to nothing in reality. Used to induce living beings, to teach and transform living beings and cause them to cultivate the easy first and then later to seek the Great Vehicle, the Buddha Vehicle. So that he may teach them the Buddha’s wisdom. Because he leads and guides living beings, they eventually attain the Buddha’s wisdom.

The Buddhas appear in the world, only for the sake of this One Real Matter. It is always for the same reason. The other two are not the truth. The Two Vehicles and the Three Vehicles are not real. To the end they would not use the Small Vehicle to rescue living beings. The Buddhas would never, ever use the teaching doctrines of the Small Vehicle to teach living beings.

The Buddha himself dwells in the Great Vehicle. the Buddha himself abides in the Great Vehicle Dharma, that is, in the Buddha Vehicle. And in accord with the Dharmas he has gained. The Dharma he attained in the Bodhimanda is true, real, and is not a provisional device. Adorned with the power of samadhi and wisdom. The Buddha has Ten Powers. Previously, when I lectured the prose passage, I should have mentioned them, but I deliberately did not so that those of you who like to study the Buddhadharma could wait nervously for awhile until the verse section to have them explained.

The Buddha has Ten Powers, ten kinds of wisdom powers. They are:

1. The wisdom power of knowing points of enlightenment and non-enlightenment. That is, the Buddha is aware, enlightened to the point of what is enlightenment and what is not.

2. The wisdom power of knowing the karmic retributions of the three periods of time. That is, he knows the operations of karmic retributions as they work in the past, present, and future.

3. The wisdom power of knowing all the Dhyanas, liberations, and samadhis. That is, the Four Dhyanas and the Eight Samadhis, the first, second, third and fourth Dhyanas, plus the Station of Limitless Space, the Station of Limitless Consciousness, the Station of Nothing Whatsoever, and the Station of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception. That is the Eight Samadhis.

There are Eight Liberations:

a) The liberation in which inside there is the mark of form, and outwardly form is contemplated.

b) The liberation in which inwardly there is no mark of form, and outwardly form is contemplated.

c) The liberation of the pure liberation body, wherein pure liberation has been attained.

d) The liberation of the Station of Limitless Space.

e) The liberation of the Station of Limitless Consciousness.

f) The liberation of the Station of Nothing Whatsoever,

g) The liberation of the Station of Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception.

h) The liberation of the samadhi of the extinction of the skandhas of reception and perception. These are also called the Eight Renunciations.

There are also Eight Victorious Places. When one renounces greed and desire, one attains a place of victory. They are:

a) The victorious place in which inwardly there is the mark of form while outwardly a small amount of form is contemplated.

b) The victorious place in which inwardly there is the mark of form while outwardly a large amount of form is contemplated.

c) The victorious place in which inwardly there is no mark of form while outwardly a small amount of form is contemplated.

d) The victorious place in which inwardly there is no mark of form while outwardly a large amount of form is contemplated.

e) The victorious place of blue color.

f) The victorious place of yellow color.

g) The victorious place of red color.

h) The victorious place of white color.

These are the Eight Victorious Places. This means that in cultivating these eight kinds of dharmas you can renounce, can turn your back on, thoughts of desire and attain a victorious and liberated wisdom. In the first of the Eight Victorious Places it is said that inwardly one has the mark of form and outwardly a small amount of form is contemplated. At this stage one’s samadhi power is not yet complete, and it is to be feared that if a large amount of form were contemplated, one’s samadhi power might become scattered.

So, a small amount of form is contemplated. For example, one single corpse is contemplated, not a lot of them. You watch one corpse goes through its stages of decay—swelling, turning green, and so forth. In the second of the Eight Victorious Places, not one, but maybe a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand corpses are contemplated: Corpses, corpses, everywhere. They all go through changes—swell, rot, burst open, are eaten by worms, etc. Actually there are nine stages of a rotting corpse, known as the Nine Mark Contemplation.

To the Eight Victorious Places you add Emptiness and Consciousness to form the Ten All-Places. These three dharmas—the Eight Liberations, the Eight Victorious Places, and the Ten All-Places—should be known by all cultivators of the Dhyana School. So the third of the Buddha’s Ten Wisdom Powers is the knowledge of the dhyanas, liberations, and samadhis.

To continue the list of the Buddha’s Ten Powers:

4. The wisdom power of knowing the superiority or baseness of the roots of all living beings.

5. The wisdom power of knowing the various understandings.

6. The wisdom power of knowing the various realms.

7. The wisdom power of knowing where all paths lead.

8. The wisdom power of the knowledge of the unobstructed Heavenly Eye.

9. The wisdom power, without outflows, of knowing former lives.

10. The wisdom power of eternally severing all habitual energies.

The Buddha has these Ten Powers and so the Sutra text says, “Adorned with the power of samadhi and wisdom.”

He uses these to save living beings. He uses his powers to teach and transform living beings.

Having certified to the supreme path myself, The Great Vehicles Dharma of equality, were I to teach by means of the Small Vehicle, even a single human being. If I did not teach and transform beings by means of the Great Vehicle but instead used the doctrines of the lesser vehicles, crossing over even one living being I would have fallen into stingy greed. The Buddha speaks of himself saying, “If I used the Small Vehicle to teach even one single person, I would fall into a stingy, greedy, miserly attitude. I would be stingy with the Dharma, because I would not be able to part with the Great Vehicle Dharma.” But such a thing could never be. It would simply never happen.

By the way, I did not use a book just now when I explained the Ten Powers and Eight Liberations, and I did not prepare them ahead of time. I just remembered them.

Sutra:

Should people rely, in faith, upon the Buddha,
The Thus Come One will not deceive them;
He has no thoughts of envy or greed,
And he has cut off all the evil in the dharmas.

Therefore, throughout the ten directions,
The Buddha alone has nothing to fear.
My body adorned with marks,
I brilliantly illumine the world.

Revered by countless multitudes
I speak the Seal of the Real Mark.
Shariputra, you should know,
That in the past I took a vow,
Wishing to lead the multitudes,
To be identical with me.

That vow, made long ago,
Now has been perfectly fulfilled,
For I have transformed all beings,
Leading them into the Buddha Path.”

K3. Exhortation to believe.
L1. By means of the result.
L2. By means of the cause.

Commentary:

Should people rely, in faith, upon the Buddha, the Buddha spoke to Shariputra, saying, “If someone believes in the Buddhadharma and takes refuge in the Buddha Way, in the Triple Jewel, The Thus Come One will not deceive them.” The World Honored One speaks the truth, speaks of what is real. He does not speak falsely and he would never cheat the people of the world.

He has no thoughts of envy or greed. He would never have thoughts of covetousness or jealousy. And he has cut off all the evil in the dharmas. All students of the Buddhadharma should genuinely understand cause and effect. You must put the principles of the Buddhadharma into practice. For example, everyone is basically greedy. Once you understand that greed is wrong, you should, bit by bit, get rid of it. Basically, we all have thoughts of hate. Once you have heard the Buddhadharma and know that hate is wrong, you should, bit by bit, reform your hateful mind.

The same is true for thoughts of stupidity and jealousy. If you have thoughts of jealousy, greed, hatred, and stupidity, these are what it is called the evil within the dharmas. They are evil habits that should be cut off. The Buddha says that he has cut off all the evil within the dharmas, but actually the Buddha has already certified to the position of great and perfect enlightenment, so how could evil within the dharmas possibly remain? Why does he say this? It is because he wants to instruct everyone else to sever the evil within the dharmas.

For example, why are you so stupid? It is because, in former lives, you were jealous of those who had wisdom. When you saw that someone else was wise, you grew envious and so in your present life you are stupid. Why, in your present life are you very intelligent? The same principle applies in reverse. It is just because in former lives you were not jealous of intelligent people, you liked for other people to be intelligent, even to the point that, as people studied the Buddhadharma, the clearer they became about it, the more you rejoiced with them and praised them for it.

If someone studies and learns quickly you should rejoice and praise that person; you should not get jealous. Do not be afraid that others will surpass you. “When everyone is better than me, when everyone else becomes a Buddha, then afterwards I can become a Buddha, too!” That is the resolve of the Bodhisattva. Take a look at Earth Store Bodhisattva. He vowed to cross over all the hungry ghosts in hell and to take them all to Buddhahood. Ghosts are the epitome of evil, but he did not dislike them; he resolved to save them.

Someone wanted to know if it would be possible to make a vow to save all the beings on the five paths of existence at the same time, on the same day, in the same month, in the same year. The five paths are the path of gods, the path of humans, the path of animals, the path of the hells, and the path of hungry ghosts. Could you vow to cause them all to become Buddhas at the same time? This cannot be done. Why not? In order to become a Buddha it is absolutely necessary that one first be born in the human realm in order to cultivate the Way.

You could not keep a vow to cause all the beings of the five paths to become Buddhas at the same time. Earth Store Bodhisattva saves the most evil beings. The Buddha has vowed to save all living beings so that they will become Buddhas, and he would certainly never be jealous and think, “Now I have become a Buddha, and I do not like the idea of you becoming a Buddha. Why not? If you become a Buddha, then nobody will light incense to me! No one will bow to me, see? So, how about if just I alone become a Buddha and you guys get lost, okay?” He is not jealous like that. He wants everyone to become a Buddha and be just like him. In fact, it would even be nice if everyone else became a Buddha before he did.

So, as you listen to the Sutras, whatever you do, do not be jealous. If you are jealous—I am warning you in advance—with jealous, greedy, hateful, and stupid thoughts, in the future if you do not fall into the hells, you will turn into a hungry ghost, or else become an animal. Would you say that was dangerous or not? If you are not afraid of falling into the three evil paths, then go right ahead and hold on to your greed, hatred, and stupidity. Go ahead and keep them.

If you think you would find the taste of the three evil paths not easy to take, then you should get rid of your greed, hatred, stupidity, jealousy and contrariness. Why? It is because these thoughts are the evil within the dharmas. Within the Buddhadharma they are evil elements. If you do not cut off the evil in the dharmas, you are going to fall into the three evil paths. If you cut off the evil in the dharmas, you will be born in the three wholesome paths. At the very least you will be born in the heavens. But those who study the Buddhadharma should not seek to be reborn in the heavens. If you do, you still can fall into the lower realms.

Therefore, throughout the ten directions, the Buddha alone has nothing to fear. He is not afraid. People say, “I am really scared!” Some people are afraid of the dark. During the day, they are afraid of thieves.

What can be done?

If there are a lot of people around at night they get jealous. “I was doing quite well living here,” they think, “until all you people showed up to pester me.” During the day when there are many people around, they find it too noisy.

What can be done?

When alone, they are afraid of the dark at night and afraid of thieves by day. If there are other people around, they cannot get along with them. Perhaps at work they feel that they carry more of the load and a lot of vexation arises. Just what can be done?

This all comes as a result of having evil in the dharmas. So you are afraid of this and afraid of that, afraid of too many people, afraid of too few, afraid of having people around, and afraid of being alone, afraid at night, afraid during the day. If something happens, it scares you; if nothing happens, it scares you even more. You are afraid of the wolves ahead of you and afraid of the tigers behind you. You feel like there are wolves up ahead and tigers on your heels. See how you are? You cannot stand still, and you cannot sit in one place because you are so nervous and excited. At night you have nothing but bad dreams. Why? I will tell you: It is because you have evil within the dharmas.

Why is the Buddha fearless? In the worlds of the ten directions, he fears nothing at all. He is not afraid to speak the Dharma. He is not afraid to teach and transform living beings. He is not afraid that living beings will be hard to subdue. He is not afraid of anything at all. He is utterly fearless. Therefore, he alone is without fear. Being fearless, he can succeed.

It is said, “If you are afraid, you will not attain your goal.” Today, one of my disciples said something very interesting. He said that when he took his tests he just wrote right off the top of his head. He knew his professor’s mind, what he liked. And what was that? Drunken talk! So he scribbled his test at random and it was exactly to his teacher’s taste. He got a very high mark. Other people take tests on tiptoe, as it were, as if standing at the edge of a deep abyss or walking on thin ice. They are scared to death and wind up getting very low marks. There is a very logical principle behind all of this. It was not actually because he knew his professor’s mind, but rather because he was not afraid. He also lectures fearlessly. Even when his teaching is standing right beside him, he dares to speak, and when his teacher leaves, he continues right on speaking. In general, he just keeps right on talking. He speaks not at all badly, too.

Others are not afraid either. When they hear their teacher say that they should lecture on the Sutras, they refuse to be afraid and go ahead. When they talk, however, it sounds like they were beating people to a pulp with a wooden club. It hurts a lot. They may not be afraid, but their listeners are! They talk everyone into being afraid to listen! This, too, is a problem. In everything you do, you should seek the Middle Way. The Middle Way means that you do not lean off to the left or to the right; you do not go too far, and you do not stop short. The Middle Way is without shape or form. It is the wonderful way. If you do not unite with the Middle Way, then it is the unwonderful way.

The Buddha is not afraid, and he does not make others afraid either. His fearlessness does not mean that the Buddha is so fearless that when living beings see him they are afraid of him. No. When living beings see the Buddha, they are not afraid. The more they listen to the Buddha speak the Dharma, the more they like to listen. The more they like to listen, the more they want to listen. They listen to the Dharma for several decades without growing tired. The more they listen, the more they like it; the more they listen, the happier they get. That is the way the Buddha speaks the Dharma.

“Well,” you say, “then how was it that when The Dharma Flower Sutra was about to be lectured, five thousand people got up and walked out? If, as you say, the more they listened, the more they liked to listen, why did all those people leave?”

That is a good question. In fact, five thousand people did walk out; they ran away and did not stay to listen. Actually, it was not a case of their not wanting to listen, but rather that they did not have the virtuous conduct to listen. They were driven out by their karmic offenses. As soon as the Buddha announced his intention to speak the wonderful Dharma, their karmic obstacles showed up and they could not sit still. They left on their own.

It was not a matter of being afraid or not being afraid to listen, of liking or not liking to listen. It was a question of their karmic offenses being too heavy. They may have wished to listen to the Buddhadharma, but their karmic obstacles revealed themselves, and they had to run away.

They became possessed by demons; the demon-power overtook them. If the ones with offenses had not gone, they would have influenced the ones without offenses so that they would not have wanted to listen either. Perhaps, right when the Buddha was lecturing, they might have jumped up, or yelled wildly, or gone insane. It was really better that they left. That was the question involved. So do not ask questions about things that poses no questions.

So, the Buddha is fearless.

My body adorned with marks. Shakyamuni Buddha says, “Adorned with the marks of a hundred blessings,” I brilliantly illumine the world. My light shines throughout the world. Revered by countless multitudes, I speak the Seal of the Real Mark. I speak the Real Mark Dharma-door, the Dharma of real wisdom, The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. If you understand The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, you will understand the Seal of the Real Mark. If you do not understand it, you cannot get “sealed.”

Shariputra, you should know that in the past I took a vow, wishing to lead the multitudes to be identical with me. I made a vow to cause all living beings to be just like me, non-dual, and non-different from me, and from all the Buddhas of the ten directions. So, whoever is more talented than I, whoever is more intelligent, whatever happens, I am never jealous of them. If someone can do a good job of lecturing on the Sutras, you should not be jealous.

You should rejoice and praise them saying, “They lecture so well. I just love to listen to them!” No matter whether they lecture well or poorly, do not become annoyed with them or get upset. If you get upset with them, the Dharma will not get through to you even if they lecture well. If you do not get upset, no matter who speaks the Dharma, you will recognize their good qualities. If you listen carefully, you will understand the doctrines and gain the benefits of listening to the Dharma.

That vow, made long ago, now has been perfectly fulfilled. I have now accomplished Buddhahood; I have fulfilled my vow. I have saved those living beings I wanted to save. Some have certified to the fruit and others have brought forth the Bodhisattva resolve. For I have transformed all beings, leading them into the Buddha path. I have now led all beings to enter into the Path to Buddhahood.

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