The Analogy of the Transformed City

Chapter 7

 

Sutra:

At that time the sixteen princes all left home as virgin youths and became Shramaneras. They all possessed sharp faculties and clear wisdom. They had already made offerings to hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of Buddhas, purely cultivating Brahman conduct, seeking anuttarasamyaksambodhi.

Outline:

K2 . Turning the Dharma-wheel which gets rid of the “Half-word,” and clarifies the “Full-word.”

L1. All the kids leave home.

Commentary:

At that time the sixteen princes all left home as virgin youths. The Buddha’s sixteen sons left the home life. This is called entering the Way as a chaste virgin. And became Shramaneras.They all possessed sharp faculties and clear wisdom. “Sharp faculties” means that they had the six spiritual penetrations. Their eyes could talk! Their ears could hear!

“What do you mean, ‘Their eyes could talk?’ Mine certainly cannot,” you say.

Don’t you know that sometimes people can communicate very clearly with just a glance? Isn’t that like knowing other people’s thoughts, like talking with your eyes?

Sometimes, too, the eyes can eat. When the food is brought out, you just see it, and you are full.

“Oh, that is just false thinking,” you say.

You may think so, but when you attain that state, you really will be full right when you see the food. Your ears will be able to see, and your eyes will be able to hear.

And clear wisdom, they were extremely intelligent.

They had already made offerings to hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of Buddhas, purely cultivating Brahman conduct, seeking anuttarasamyaksambodhi. They cultivated Brahman conduct so diligently because they were interested in the Unsurpassed Proper, Equal, and Right Enlightenment.

Sutra:

They all spoke to the Buddha, saying, “World Honored One, all these limitless thousands of myriads of millions of greatly virtuous Hearers already have reached accomplishment. World Honored One, you should, for our sakes, also, speak the Dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Having heard it, we will all cultivate and study it. World Honored One, we all aspire to the Thus Come One’s knowledge and vision. As to the thoughts deep within our minds, the Buddha himself knows.”

Outline:

L2. Request for Dharma.

Commentary:

They all spoke to the Buddha, saying, “World Honored One, all these limitless thousands of myriads of millions of greatly virtuous Hearers already have reached accomplishment. “Now, in this Bodhimanda,” said the sixteen princes, “there are limitless millions of greatly virtuous Hearers. They have great virtue.” What is great virtue? This means that in past lives they did many, many good deeds. They practiced much virtue, so they are called greatly virtuous ones. They are called Hearers because they were enlightened to the Way when they heard the Buddha’s voice preaching the Four Holy Truths. Have already reached accomplishment. What have they accomplished? They have accomplished the fruition of being Hearers. But now they have a certain doubt about whether or not they have truly attained Nirvana. They have accomplished the Hearer’s fruit, but have begun to give rise to the mind of the Great Vehicle.

World Honored One, you should, for our sakes, also speak the Dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi. You who are honored both in and beyond the world, O Buddha, really should, for all of us living beings, teach the Dharma of the utmost right and Perfect Enlightenment. How do you cultivate this Dharma-door which is given the name ‘the fruition of Buddhahood?’ It is the position of Buddhahood, but there must be some method by which this position is cultivated and attained. If there is no way to attain it, and you just say, ‘anuttarasamyaksambodhi,’ or Proper, Equal, and Right Enlightenment, it does not mean a whole lot to us.

If no one explains it, we will never understand it, and we will never get there. The sixteen princes are seeking the Dharma for the sake of the entire assembly of humans and gods. Basically, when they heard The Avatamsaka Sutra, the sixteen princes already certified to the fruit and understood the Dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi. Although they understood, the others had not understood, and so they pretended that they did not understand, so they could request it for the sake of other living beings. It is not the case that the sixteen princes, the sixteen shramaneras, the sixteen Bodhisattvas, did not understand it. They did long ago.

Why do they ask the Buddha to speak this Dharma? They want to seek the Dharma on behalf of all living beings.

Here, in the Buddhist Lecture Hall, everyday someone requests the Dharma. The ones who request the Dharma do not necessarily not understand it. Some of them can explain it, too. In fact, some of them can explain it even more wonderfully than I can. Why do they ask me to speak it? Because, I speak Chinese. Most people do not understand Chinese, and so when they hear me speak, they think it is really wonderful Dharma. Then it is translated by these eloquent translators, and they translate it ten times better than I speak it. That way, everyone gets real excited about listening to the Dharma. That is why they ask me to speak Dharma every single day. Basically, I do not teach you anything you do not already know. You can all lecture better than I. But, since I am a foreigner, you think a lot of me.

There is a saying, “Monks from far away can really recite the Sutras.” The grass is always greener, you know. I, being as shameless as I am, just go ahead and speak it, rapping away senselessly. I may rap senselessly, but you do not listen senselessly. In fact, by the time it is translated into English, it is not senseless at all. Before it is translated, it sounds all confused. “What is he saying, anyway? The people who know Chinese are all laughing, so it must be funny. Hmm…” Anyway, the sixteen princes already understood the Dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi, but still they asked the Buddha to preach it.

Let us take a look at what the word means: Anuttara, means “unsurpassed” (無上 --wu shang). The Buddha’s position is supreme, there is nothing higher. Samyaksam means “right, equal, and proper” (正等正 --zheng deng zheng). It is “right,” in that it differs from the state of common folk who are unenlightened. Common folk are not enlightened. They do not wake up. If you tell them the truth about things, they think it is false. If you lie to them, they think you are telling them the truth. That is just the way they are. In fact, if you try to tell them the truth, they get afraid and refuse to listen. “I do not want to hear the truth! What would I do if I knew the truth?” They do not want the truth. They may stumble in here accidentally for a lecture, but they run out before it is finished. Why? Because they do not want the truth.

I say that they do not want to hear the truth, but their rationale is that they do not want to hear what is false! Taking the true for the false, they wander around with their false ideas all day long, thinking they are true. Since they cannot let go of the false, they cannot understand the Dharma, and they are not awake.

When the Arhats hear the Dharma, they wake up. “Yes, that is the way it is, all right,” they say. “It is really true.” Since they know it is true, they pursue that truth in cultivation. One is taught to put everything down, and they do just that! They see through it all. They break all their attachments, put aside all their faults, and attain freedom and mastery. That freedom and mastery is just awakening. They have attained right enlightenment, enlightenment to what is right. They have not enlightened to what is wrong: i.e., they are not enlightened to the pleasures of the senses, dancing, and so forth. They are enlightened to what is right, “right enlightenment.” They have not, however, attained Equal Enlightenment.

Equal Enlightenment (正等 --zheng deng), means that they are the same as the Buddha, more or less. The Bodhisattvas have done this. Not only do they attain Right Enlightenment by enlightening themselves, but they also enlighten others. “I have come down this road, and I advise others to do likewise if they wish to become Buddhas. Other paths are not as direct and never get you to the position of Buddhahood. One might say, “All roads lead to Rome” (or to enlightenment), but some take longer than others. You could take one of those roads and go down it all your life and never get to Rome, see? Hah! This means that if you do not understand the Buddhadharma, but you want to become a Buddha, you can run around forever and never get there. Bodhisattvas can enlighten themselves and instruct others. “Do not go down that road.”

Take this one, come with me. You will certainly succeed.” They help others to wake up so that they, too, can attain the doctrine of enlightenment. “Oh? Not bad, hey. Right on!
I have been going down these crazy bypaths for so many years, getting absolutely nowhere. Boy, I am glad I got directions from that Bodhisattva.” Then, after they go down the right road for awhile, they become Bodhisattvas themselves and can be equal with the Bodhisattvas. They are equal with the Bodhisattvas, and, you might also say, they are equal with the Buddhas, too. They have, for all practical purposes, become Buddhas. There are two ways to explain the word “equal.” The ones who are already Bodhisattvas are said to be equal with the Buddhas, and the ones who are becoming Bodhisattvas are equal with the Bodhisattvas.

You ask, “Well, are the ones who are becoming Bodhisattvas equal to the Buddhas?”

Oh, more or less. Why make an issue out of it? It is really not that different. They may have right and equal enlightenment, but their enlightenment is not “unsurpassed,” like the Buddha’s. The Bodhisattvas are still Bodhisattvas. Their enlightenment is not supreme. The Buddha alone has the Unsurpassed Enlightenment. The Buddha is, therefore, called the Lord who is Unsurpassed, whereas the Bodhisattvas are called Lords who are Surpassed, that is, surpassed by the Buddha.

The sixteen princes, seeing the myriads of millions become Arhats, realized they could not stay at the level of Arhatship forever. They had to press on towards the Great Vehicle, to study the Buddhadharma. And, so they asked the Buddha to preach to them the Dharma of anuttarasamyaksambodhi.

Having heard it, we will all cultivate and study it. Once you have spoken this Dharma for us, we are not going to let it go in one ear and out the other, like a breeze just blowing by. No way. We are all going to cultivate and study it. Understanding the Dharma of Utmost Right, Perfect Enlightenment, we will definitely practice in accord with it. We will cultivate according to the method given us and will not be lazy. Great Penetrating Wisdom Victory Buddha, do not worry about us! We will certainly be vigorous in our cultivation. We certainly would not be lazy. We will forget even about food, we will be so vigorous. And we will be so happy, we will forget about worrying. We will be so happy with the Dharma that we will forget all our troubles!

World Honored One, we all aspire to the Thus Come One’s knowledge and vision. We here in the assembly have our hearts set on attaining the knowledge and vision of the Buddha. What is the knowledge and vision of the Buddha? The Dharma Flower Sutra talks about,

1. Opening the knowledge and vision of the Buddha.
2. Demonstrating the knowledge and vision of the Buddha.
3. Awakening to the knowledge and vision of the Buddha.
4. Entering into the knowledge and vision of the Buddha.

That is, opening, demonstrating, awakening, and entering the Buddha’s knowledge and vision. The Buddha first spoke The Avatamsaka Sutra. The next teaching was the Agama teaching, the Storehouse Teaching. Next, he taught the Vaipulya Teaching, or pervasive teaching. The next teaching was the Prajna, or Separate Teaching, and the final teaching was the Lotus-Nirvana, the Perfect Teaching. Now, all living beings want to hear The Dharma Flower Sutra; they want to “get rid of the Half-word Teaching and be clear about the Full-Word Teaching.” They do not want the Half-word Teaching. They want the Full-word Teaching. The Dharma Flower Sutra is the genuine, perfect, great teaching.

As to the thoughts deep within our minds, the Buddha himself knows. What is this? Are there deep and shallow thoughts in our minds or what? How deep are the deep ones? How shallow are the shallow ones? The deep thoughts are the ones that have been in there for a long, long time about asking for this Dharma. Which Dharma? The Dharma of becoming a Buddha, the utmost right and perfect enlightenment. Ultimately, how does one cultivate this Dharma? You need compassion, kindness, sympathetic joy, and giving--the Four Unlimited Minds of the Buddha. You also need the unconditioned mind and the undefiled mind. An undefiled mind is the most important. Take care not to have desire. If you have desire, you are defiled. If you are defiled, you would not obtain self-mastery.

One must also cultivate the Six Perfections and the Ten Thousand Conducts, the Twelve Causal Links, and the Four Truths--the Thirty-seven Wings of Enlightenment. These are all Dharmas for becoming a Buddha. But there is a quicker method, one which enables you to become a Buddha without having to pass through the usual three great asamkhyeya eons. What is it? The Surangama Mantra, which we recite every day. In the verse before the mantra, Ananda says,

“The wonderfully deep Dharani, unmoving honored one,
The foremost Shurangama is seldom seen in the world.
It melts away my eons worth of upside-down thinking,
So that I needn’t pass through asankheya eons to attain the Dharma body.
I wish now to obtain the fruit and become an honored King,
And return to save as many beings as there are sand grains in the Ganges river.”

One can become a Buddha quickly, without passing through those uncountable eons. What for? So that one can return and save other living beings. That is what Ananda said. If you can recite the Shurangama Mantra often, you will certainly become a Buddha very quickly.

You say, “But the mantra is so long. It takes at least twenty minutes to recite it once through.”

Yes, twenty minutes is a long time to say a mantra. But you take twenty minutes every day to eat lunch and you do not feel that is such a long time, do you? You do not complain about how long it takes to eat lunch and try to cut back on the time. Why complain about the mantra? Weird. You sleep for hours at a time and never complain about getting too much sleep. Why do you not object to sleeping and eating but object to saying the mantra? Hmm? I really do not understand your attitude towards studying the Buddhadharma. You do not even have twenty minutes to spare.

And also, there is the Great Compassion Mantra and the Dharma of the Forty-two Hands. Those are the most wonderful Dharmas for becoming a Buddha. Those who cultivate these Dharmas can attain the Five Eyes and the Six Spiritual Penetrations very quickly. But you are afraid of all the trouble. You think if you get those powers you will have more work to do, but by the time you have got them, it will be too late for regret. Trouble or no trouble, you are going to have to take the trouble, that is all.

“Well, I’d be better off to stay just like I am, then,” you say.

Fine, if that is what you like. I never force people to do anything. It is up to each one of you to decide what you are going to do. Do what you like. Do not do what you do not want to do. But the methods for attaining the utmost right and perfect enlightenment are just the methods that I have taught you. Today, someone said to me. “You have taught us so many Dharmas, I do not even know where to start cultivating. I do not know which one is to do. I’d like to concentrate on one single Dharma and succeed very quickly, but you have given us so many!”

You may specialize in any of the Dharmas that I have taught you. It is like going to school. First you have to study all the materials assigned. Then when you take the test you may be asked one or two questions which are taken out of all the material. You must have studied all of it to be able to answer those few questions. And you cannot take open-book tests in the Buddhadharma. Among all the Dharmas I have taught you, there is certainly one which will get you to Buddhahood, but you are going to have to learn them all to get there. It is for sure you will make it. But if you start complaining about having too many Dharmas to study, well, why don’t you complain about having to eat everyday? You have plenty of time to eat. You are not afraid of sleeping too much, either. Quite inconceivably.

So, the text says, “We all aspire to the Thus Come One’s knowledge and vision. As to the thoughts deep within our minds, the Buddha himself knows.” The Buddha knows them quite well. They are asking the Buddha to speak The Dharma Flower Sutra. The Buddha knows their deepest thoughts. The Buddha knew long ago that this was what they wanted, but since they did not request the Dharma, the Buddha did not speak it. Now they are requesting the Dharma, hoping that he will compassionately receive their request, teach and transform them. After the sixteen princes asked for the Dharma, the Buddha was delighted, and he spoke the Dharma.

Sutra:

Then, the multitudes, led by the Wheel-turning Sage King, eighty thousand million of them, upon seeing the sixteen princes leave home, also sought to leave home, and the king permitted them to do so.

Outline:

L3. The followers also leave home.

Commentary:

Then, the multitudes, led by the Wheel-turning Sage King, that is, the father of the Buddha, Great Penetrating Wisdom Victory, and grandfather of the sixteen princes. He had millions of followers--Eighty thousand million of them, upon seeing the sixteen princes leave home, also sought to leave home, renounce all their wealth and property, their wives and concubines, and become Bhikshus. They all decided to leave home along with them and become Bhikshus, and the king permitted them to do so. He said, “Fine. Leave home. I will help you out, in fact.

If any one of you need anything, I will give it to you.” So all eighty thousand million of them suddenly had a patron, someone to support them. They were not afraid, then, of starving, freezing, or dying of thirst or poverty, or anything else. They went right ahead and, with one heart, left home to cultivate the Way and become Bhikshus. In the future, they would all become Buddhas. A lot of them have already become Buddhas, and some are still cultivating and will do so in the future. Eighty thousand million of them limitless eons ago made vows to become Buddhas. Their patron was the Wheel-turning Sage King; he made it easy for them to cultivate the Way.

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