A Parable

Chapter 3

 

As to the mind: Outside of the mind, there are no dharmas. Outside of dharmas there is no mind:

The Buddha spoke all dharmas, for the minds of living beings;
If there were no minds, what use would dharmas be?

The mind is just the dharma and the dharmas are just the mind. What are “outside Ways?” They are those who seek for the dharma outside the mind. Since there are no dharmas outside the mind, the mind includes both worldly and transcendental dharmas. That is what is represented in the text by “surrounded by railings.”

“Hung with bells on its four sides” represents that the mind can universally influence all things. It proclaims the sounds of the teaching. None of them go beyond one thought of the mind.

“Further, it is covered with canopies.” This represents the thoughts present in the mind. The mind is the most wonderful thing among all dharmas. It includes all dharmas within it. There are no dharmas which are not inside the mind. The mind “covers” all dharmas, and so is represented by the canopies.

As to the mind, there are mind-king dharmas, and subsidiary mind dharmas. The eight consciousness, also called the mind-king, sometimes performs an observation. When it does this, the subsidiary mind dharmas all respond to it and follow its orders. This is what is meant by “adorned with various rare and precious jewels.” This is lecturing according to the contemplation of the mind.

As to subsidiary mind dharmas, when the wholesome subsidiary mind dharmas react favorably with the remaining subsidiary mind dharmas in an uninterrupted fashion, this is represented by the phrase “strung with jeweled cords.”

From out of the wholesome subsidiary mind dharmas, limitless wisdom arises and limitless blessings and virtues are realized; this is represented by the phrase, “hung with flowered tassels.”

Further, that thought present in the mind is complete with pliant and light dharmas; not only is it replete with pliant and light dharmas, it is complete with all dharmas. It is complete with all dharmas--multilayered and without end. Layer after layer, you could never speak of them all. It is just that thought present in the mind which has such a versatile functioning. This is represented by the phrase, “heaped with beautiful mats.”

Take another look at the mind. It itself is movement; it is also stillness. It can move and it can be still. Movement does not obstruct stillness and stillness does not obstruct movement. Movement and stillness are one suchness, non-dual. The singularity of the suchness and their non-duality is represented by the phrase “set about with rosy cushions.”

“Yoked to an ox.” If you observe it at a deeper level, the doctrine of the mind is manifest through the wonderful observing wisdom, and this is represented by the phrase “yoked to a white ox.”

“Plump and white.” The merit and virtue of the nature is subtle and inconceivable; this is represented by the word “plump.” If in the mind there is no affliction, then it is “white.” Its color is pure. Why? Because in your mind there is no admixture of ignorance or affliction.

The mind is complete with perfect penetration and comfort; this is represented by the phrase “of fine appearance.”

“Of great muscular strength.” This wisdom of perfect contemplation can produce all good roots. The perfect contemplation can eradicate love and views within the Three Realms. Because love and views are upside-down, it takes great strength to eradicate them.

The perfect contemplation is the non-duality of samadhi and wisdom. Wisdom is samadhi and samadhi is just wisdom. Wisdom and samadhi perfectly interpenetrate; this is represented by the phrase “who walks with even tread.”

The perfect contemplation easily arrives at the other shore; this is represented by the phrase “as fleet as the wind.” This perfect contemplation leads all the subsidiary mind dharmas, controls them all; this is represented by the phrase “having also many servants who follow and guard it.”

Sutra:

“And why is this? That great Elder has limitless wealth and all manner of storehouses full to overflowing.”

Outline:

O2. Explaining the source of the carts.

Commentary:

Having explained that the cart was so high and broad, with little bells hanging from the four sides and covered with canopies and rare treasures, the question is raised, and why is this? That great Elder, the Buddha, has limitless wealth and all manner of storehouses full to overflowing? The wealth refers to Dharma treasures, Dharma-doors taught by the Buddha.

The storehouses refer to all kinds of jewel-treasuries filled with precious things. These treasuries are all the Dharmas. This is an analogy for all the Dharmas. In general, you could say there are Six Perfections and The Conduct of Ten Thousand. The Six Perfections are giving, morality, patience, vigor, Dhyana Samadhi, and wisdom. These six are not just to be recited in order to perfect them. We cannot just learn to rattle off the names and think we understand them. You have to practice them. You have to give. You can give wealth, Dharma, or fearlessness--but you have to do it. “Morality” means to do no evil and to practice all good. Patience...well, that is the hardest. Giving is pretty easy. Morality is not too hard, but patience is the hardest of all. Why? In order to be patient, you have to empty yourself of your concept of “self.” Otherwise, you cannot be patient. Patience means taking hard things easy. If people are not good to you, you must act as if they were being good to you.

“But that is just being stupid!” you may object.

Students of the Buddhadharma should not act too smart. If you are too smart, you have gone overboard. If you have no mark of self, no attachment to self, no view of self, then you can be patient. If you think, “Before I was born, who was I? Now that I have been born, who am I? Where did this ‘me’ come from? It is just an empty name. When I blink my eyes and the dream ends, who will I be? When I die, where will I go? Who will I be, then?” then, you can bear what is hard to bear. If you always look on the “self” as empty, then you can easily bear up.

Although people are bad to you, you would not feel that it is any problem. If you study the Buddhadharma, you cannot just listen to it. In order to understand it, you must actually practice it. If you just eat candy all day long, and it is really sweet, thinking you are being patient with your eating candy, you are fooling yourself. It takes something you do not like, some vexing situation, then you act as if nothing were the matters. It is no problem. It does not phase you, because you really understand you have control over it. That is what patience is all about. But it is not easy to be that way. If you can do it, you have grasped the essential message of The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra. Do not look upon your “self” as so important. That “self” in the future, is going to die. Why scramble to get the best for it? Why compete for fame and profit? You should look on the mark of self as empty. There is no self.

“What if someone slugs me?” you ask. “What do it do then?”

Think of it this way: “In the past, I must have hit that person, and so he is hitting me now. If I did not hit him in this life, I must have hit him or scolded him in a previous life. Last year during the Summer Session, I said that if in this life you scold people, in your next life, you will be beaten. If you beat people in this life, in a future life, you may be murdered. If in this life you pester people, in a future life, they will pester you. Former cause and latter effect are very severe.

You say, “I do not believe it.”

You do not? Do you have troubles? If you do, that was where they came from. You cannot be patient. You cannot put everything down. Whether you believe it or not, that is the way it is!

“But why is it so severe?” you ask.

If you put money in the bank, over a period of time, it will collect interest. If you scold people and give them a lot of trouble, they are going to collect a little interest, too. If, in a former life, you scolded people, they may beat you in this life. If you beat them, they may kill you. If you kill someone, they may end up killing your entire household. The retribution is very servere. That is why cultivators should always refrain from giving others trouble. Watch over yourself. Do not be aggressive and make trouble for no reason.

If someone beats or scolds you, you may try to act as if there were no self, but then you feel: “Well... here I am, I mean... I am in my body right here. I have feelings, you know. How can I have no self? How can I put it down?”

Vigor means not being lazy. One is vigorous in the six periods of the day and night. For example, the Westerners I have taken as disciples are only half vigorous. As Westerners, they can be considered pretty vigorous, but as cultivators, they can only be considered halfway vigorous. Dhyana samadhi is cultivated by sitting in meditation. This was discussed extensively earlier. There is another name for the first five Paramitas–giving, morality, patience, vigor, and Dhyana samadhi: they are known as great blessings. The sixth Paramita, wisdom, is called great Prajna or great wisdom.

The word “overflowing” in the text represents the perfection of both provisional wisdom and actual wisdom.

Now, I would like to return to the topic of patience and say some more. You may find that you cannot practice the contemplation of “no self,” even though you want to. Your body has feelings, so how can there be no self? How can you relinquish the self? There is a wonderful Dharma here and I will tell you what it is: If someone hits you, you can just think, “Oh, gees, I ran into the wall. I was not looking where I was walking...” or “Something fell on me.” If a brick fell on you, you would not want to hit the brick. If you did that, you hand as well as your foot would hurt. If you fight it, it is going to hurt more. If you do not, if you pretend nothing happened, that you ran into a door or whatever, it is all over.

It is hard to listen to someone scold you, but can just pretend you do not understand them. “Oh, he is speaking Japanese or Spanish or something. I have no idea what he is talking about.” Or else you can think, “He is praising me! His scolding is just a song. He is making music!” Think of ways to cope with it, and then you will have no anger or affliction. If you get afflicted, that means you have a karmic obstacle. People without karmic obstacles do not have afflictions. Those with afflictions have karmic obstacles. Since you have karmic obstacles, you should find ways to eradicate them. In this world, there is nothing unbearable, if you really know to how to practice patience. I have often told you about Maitreya Bodhisattva’s verse which, no doubt, all of you have rejected, thinking it too silly; but since you do not want it, I will just give it to you again:

The Old Fool wears ragged robes,
And fills himself with tasteless food,
And mends his clothes to keep out the cold,
Just letting things take their course.

Should someone scold the Old Fool,
The Old Fool just says, “Fine.”
Should someone hit the Old Fool,
He just lays down to sleep.

Spit right in his face,
He just lets it dry,
Saving his energy
And giving you no affliction.

This kind of Paramita
Is the jewel in the wonderful.
Having heard this news,
Why worry about not realizing the Way?

If you cannot perfect patience, it is because you cannot put down your “self.” Your “self” is bigger than Mount Sumeru, and there is no place to put it, because it would not fit anywhere! Wherever you put it, that place is filled up. You must put your “self” down. Then, you can understand the Buddhadharma. Those who understand the Buddhadharma cultivate patience. We who study the Buddhadharma must take care to cultivate it. Otherwise, when something happens, you would not be on top of it, and the fire of ignorance will blaze thirty thousand feet into the air, burning off all your merit and virtue.

Firewood gathered in a thousand days,
Burns up in a single spark’s blaze.

One match can burn it all up. Cultivating patience is very important.

Not to speak of other people, you might think I have no problems in this line, but actually a lot of people berate me. But if you want to scold me or hit me, go right ahead. There was a person who came and bullied me until there was nothing I could do but bow to him! He was one of my disciples! Now that is a first in the history of Buddhism, but I would not mention his name or else you will all start bowing to him and that would not be too good.

Sutra:

“So he reflects thus: ‘My possessions are boundless. I should not give my children small or inferior carts. All of these youngsters are my children whom I love without partiality. Having such great carts made of the seven jewels, infinite in number, I should give them to each one equally. Why? If I gave them to an entire country, they would not run short; how much the less if I gave them to my children!”

Outline:

N3. Explaining the equality of the mind.

Commentary: *

So he reflects thus, the Elder thinks like this, “My possessions are boundless. Nothing is higher or more valuable than my Dharmas. I should not give my children small or inferior carts. I should not use Small Vehicle Dharmas to cross over all living beings, all the thirty children, the Hearers, Conditioned Enlightened Ones and the Bodhisattvas. Now, all of these youngsters: The children represent those of the Three Vehicles who have not been cultivating the Way for very long. They are just beginners, like children without much experience. Even though they do not have a lot of common sese, still they are my children whom I love without partiality. I love all my children. The Buddha has no partiality towards any living being one way or the other. His compassion is impartial.

Having such great carts made of the seven jewels, infinite in number: The Seven Limbs of Enlightenment, the Eightfold Path, the Five Roots, the Five Powers, the Four Bases of Psychic Powers, the Four Right Efforts, and the Four Applications of Mindfulness, the Thirty-seven Wings of Enlightenment adorn the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma. I should give them to each one equally: Every kid should get a great cart. There should be no discrimination. Why? If I gave them to an entire country, they would not run short. The country represents the Land of Eternal Still Light and Purity. “Run short” means that the Buddhadharma never runs out. How much the less if I gave them to my children! If I gave them to everyone in the country, there would still be carts leftover. How much the less would they run short if I gave them to my children with whom I have such a great affinity. So no, I certainly will give each one a Great White Ox Cart.

Everyone should take a look at himself. See whether or not you have afflictions. If you have no afflictions, you have obtained the Buddhadharma. If you still have afflictions, you have to go forward and cultivate reliably. If you keep getting angry all the time, that means you have to look more deeply into the Buddhadharma. With regard to afflictions, you must not allow yourself to be blown by the Eight Winds. But this is no easy feat. If even a breath causes you to lose your temper, not to mention the Eight Winds, then you still have a lot to learn about the Buddhadharma. At whatever time you cease to have afflictions, that will be the time you have the obtained the good points of the Buddhadharma. This is very important.

Sutra:

“Meanwhile, all of the children are riding around on the great carts, having gotten what they never expected to have, beyond their original hopes.”

Outline:

M4. Parable of the children obtainingthe carts and rejoicing.

Commentary:

Meanwhile, that is, when the Elder gave away the great carts. If he had limitless wealth, but they were not his children, he would not have given the great carts away. If they were his children, but he did not have any wealth, he also would not have given them away. But now, the Elder has the wealth, limitless treasuries, and they are overflowing. The children are true disciples of the Buddha, and so the Buddha gives them all a great cart. This is because the children originally had no hopes of getting a great cart. They were hoping for deer carts or sheep carts and they alone would have satisfied them. They would have played in them happily. But now the Elder, because he is so wealthy, gives each of them a great cart. This is using the Great Vehicle Dharma to save living beings.

All of the children had not had such great hopes. Now they have all obtained the great carts, the beautiful and expensive white ox carts, and so all of the children are riding around on the great carts, having gotten what they never expected to have, beyond their original hopes. They had never before seen anything so fine. They had never had such fine toys. This is beyond their wildest dreams. They had just wanted small carts to begin with. Now, they have the great carts. This represents those of the Two Vehicles who originally cultivated Small Vehicle Dharmas and ended share-section birth and death. But now, they do not need to work on anything more, no extra trouble for them, and they obtain the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma. On the basis of their original cultivation and practice, they accomplish the karma of the Great Vehicle. Quite naturally, they also bring change birth and death to an end, and this takes them beyond their original hopes. It is not what they were originally after, but now they have got it, and it surpasses their former aspirations.

Sutra:

“Shariputra, what do you think? When that Elder gives equally to all of his children the great jeweled carriages, is he guilty of falsehood or not?”

Outline:

L4. Parable of no falsehood involved.
M1. The question

Commentary:

Was the Elder lying? Shariputra, what do you think? When that Elder gives equally to all of his children the great jeweled carriages, is he guilty of falsehood or not? Did he lie to them? Did he do wrong?

Sutra:

Shariputra replied, “No, World Honored One. The Elder is not guilty of falsehood, for he has only enabled his children to avoid the calamity of fire, and has thereby saved their lives. Why is this? In saving their lives, he has already given them a fine plaything. How much the more so his setting up of expedients to save them from the burning house.”

Outline:

M2. The answer.

Commentary:

The Buddha asked Shariputra what he thought about the situation. The Elder gave them the great cart. Was he lying? Now, in this passage of text, he is answering the Buddha’s question by saying that the Elder was not lying. Someone may ask, “Why didn’t the Buddha explain this himself? Why did he ask Shariputra? He could have just made the question rhetorical and answered it himself.”

He asked Shariputra, because the Elder is an analogy for the Buddha. If he had explained that he himself had not lied, most people would not have believed him. He had the greatly wise Shariputra answer the question so that everyone could understand that the Buddha does not lie.

Shariputra answered by saying, “No, he does not lie. The Buddha does not lie.” Shariputra replied, “No, World Honored One. The Elder is not guilty of falsehood, for he has only enabled his children to avoid the calamity of fire, and has thereby saved their lives. They did not burn to death. This alone is enough to prove that he was not speaking falsely. Why is this? In saving their lives, he has already given them a fine plaything. You could say that getting out with their lives was getting out with fine playthings. This is because the most important thing to people, after all, are their lives. Since they got out with their lives, you could say they got the toys they wanted, and so the Buddha did not lie. How much the more so his setting up of expedients to save them from the burning house. The Buddha set up many expedients to save living beings from the burning house of the Three Realms.

Sutra:

“World Honored One, if that Elder had not given them even so much as a single small cart, he still would not have been speaking falsely. Why? Because the Elder previously had this thought, ‘I will use expedients to lead my children out.’ For this reason, he is not guilty of falsehood. He is even less guilty since, knowing his own wealth to be limitless and wishing to benefit all his children, he gives to them equally great carts .”

Commentary:

Even if that Elder had not given them even so much as a single small cart, a little sheep cart, he still would not have been speaking falsely. Why? Because the Elder previously had this thought, ‘I will use expedients to lead my children out.’ I will use a clever expedient device to cause all the children to leave the burning house. For this reason, he is not guilty of falsehood. Why not? He had formed the intention of using expedient devices, and they are only provisional, used to save the children. By saving them alone, he was not guilty of lying.

He is even less guilty since, knowing his own wealth to be limitless and wishing to benefit all his children, he gives to them equally greats carts. He wanted to benefit all the children. This passage of text points out that the Buddha, in order to save living beings, does not use the Small Vehicle Dharma. Thus he has already lived up to his word, to say nothing of his giving all beings the Great Vehicle Dharma. Since he saves all beings with the Great Vehicle Buddhadharma, he cannot be considered a liar.

Sutra:

The Buddha told Shariputra, “Good indeed, good indeed! It is just as you say.”

Outline:

M3. Praise.

Commentary:

The Buddha heard Shariputra’s answer and then he told him, “You are exactly right, Shariputra. It is just as you say.

Sutra:

“Shariputra, the Thus Come One is also like this in that he is a father to all in the world. He has forever ended all fear, weakness, worry, ignorance and obscurity. He has completely realized the limitless Knowledge and Vision, Powers, and Fearlessnesses. He has great spiritual might and the power of wisdom. He has perfected the paramitas of expedients and wisdom. He is greatly kind and compassionate. Never tiring, he ever seeks the good, benefiting all. Thus he is born in the Three Realms which are like a burning house…”

Outline:

J2. Correlating the Dharmas with the analogy
K1. Correlation to the general parable.
L1. Elder as the Buddha

Commentary:

Shariputra, the Thus Come One is also like this. The Buddha teaches and transforms living beings in the same way as the Elder saves his children. He is a father to all in the world, compassionate father. He has forever ended all fear, weakness, worry, ignorance, and obscurity. They are gone forever. He has no worries or cares, no afflictions or false thinking. Not a trace remains. He has completely realized the limitless Knowledge and Vision. Since ignorance and obscurity are gone forever, in their place we find limitless wisdom and the limitless knowledge and vision of the Buddha.

Each has his own method by means of which he accomplishes his karma of the Way. Take Shariputra, for example. He opened the Knowledge and Vision of the Buddha through the door of wisdom. Mahamaudgalyayana did so through the door of spiritual powers. Each has his original practice and work. By taking one more step forward in that direction, they were able to open up to the Buddha’s Knowledge and Vision.

Powers, the Ten Powers, and Fearlessnesses, the Four Fearlessnesses. The Ten Powers have been explained extensively before. The Four Fearlessnesses have also been discussed several times, but today I will review them. The fearlessness of all-wisdom. The Buddha is afraid of nothing, because he has wisdom. The fearlessness of speaking Dharma. The Buddha’s exposition of Dharma resembles the roar of the lion who fears nothing. The fearlessness of speaking about dharmas which obstruct the Way. The Buddha fearlessly explains methods for destroying obstructions to the Way. The fearlessness of speaking of the dharmas which lead to the end of the path of suffering.

He has great spiritual might and the power of wisdom. With his great spiritual powers, the Buddha saves living beings, taking them from suffering to bliss. The Buddha’s great wisdom is of four kinds:

1. The wonderful observing wisdom. Why does the Buddha knows everything? Because he has the wonderful observing wisdom.

2. The equality wisdom. The Buddha is equal towards all living beings. He makes no discriminations among them.

3. The perfect wisdom. He succeeds in whatever he does, because he has the perfect wisdom.

4. The great perfect mirror wisdom. The Buddha’s wisdom is like a big mirror. When something comes along, it reflects it; when it goes, the image is gone. It illumines all dharmas as empty marks; it is perfectly fused without obstruction.

He has perfected the paramitas of expedients and wisdom. The Buddha uses whatever methods necessary in order to save any living beings. There are no fixed dharmas. He also has the paramita of wisdom, which goes all the way to the other shore. He is greatly kind and compassionate. Kindness bestows happiness. The Buddha grants their wishes and makes them happy. Compassion relieves living beings of their sufferings.

Never tiring, he ever seeks the good, benefitting all. He never grows weary, lax, or tire. He never gets sick of working or takes a break because he is tired. No matter how tough the job is, the Buddha does not rest. He is not lazy.

What kind of work does the Buddha do? He teaches and transforms living beings, leading them all to Buddhahood. So the Venerable Ananda made this vow:

“If a single living being has not become a Buddha,
I will not enter into Nirvana.”

That is a great vow. Why doesn’t the Buddha ever rest? Because he sees living beings in this world are just too miserable. They are confused and upside down, running east and scurrying west. In pursuit of the false, they forget the truth and they have no thought to escape the burning house. The Buddha is very busy, thinking of ways to pluck his sons and daughters out of the sea of suffering. He uses the power of his great compassion and wisdom, his spiritual powers, and various provisional expedients to save living beings. If one single being has not been saved, he is uneasy. Saving living beings is his job. He has no time to rest, no time to look for happiness for himself. He does not need to benefit himself, because he has already become a Buddha. He just wants to benefit living beings.

And thus he is born in the Three Realms which are like a burning house. The desire, form, and formless realms are like a burning house. The house is already falling apart. It is rotten and very dangerous. Why does the Buddha enter the burning house? To save all the little children. The children are so caught up in their play that they are oblivious to everything. Therefore, the Buddha comes to the Three Realms to teach and transform living beings so that they can quickly wake up.

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