Universal Worthy's Conduct and Vows

Chapter Forty

 

 

To sum it all up, whatever Dharma door you hear, that is the Dharma door you cultivate. These are examples of offerings which enable others to cultivate according to the teachings. Of all offerings, these gifts of Dharma are supreme. How important are they? When Shakyamuni Buddha was on the causal ground, he gave up his life for half a gatha; not for an entire gatha, but for just two lines. A gatha is a poem of four lines, and he gave up his life for half of it. One day he heard a rakshasa ghost say,

All practices are impermanent;
This is the Dharma of production and extinction.

When Shakyamuni Buddha heard this he said, "You've spoken some verses of Dharma, but you've only spoken half. Will you speak the second half for me?"

The rakshasa ghost replied, "That's right, I did speak this Buddhadharma, but I am incredibly hungry. I've got to find a person to eat, and then I can explain this Dharma. Right now since I'm hungry, I have no energy to speak."

Shakyamuni Buddha said, "Is it all right if you speak first, and then eat me?"

The rakshasa ghost said, "You'll let me eat you?"

Shakyamuni Buddha replied, "Yes, but you must give me this Dharma first. After I understand, then I'll be happy to let you eat me."

The rakshasa ghost said, "All right," and then he recited the remainder of the gatha. He said,

After production and extinction have been extinguished,

Still extinction is bliss.

Then he said, "I've finished speaking this Dharma. Now I can eat you."

Shakyamuni Buddha said, "Wait a minute before you eat me."

The rakshasa said, "Are you backing down? Now don't you want to pay your debt? I've already answered you, but now do you want out? Is that how you keep an agreement?"

Shakyamuni Buddha replied, "No. But since you have spoken these four verses of Buddhadharma, and since most people have not heard the Buddhadharma, I want to carve these lines into a tree. Afterwards, you may eat me. Will you agree to this?"

The rakshasa ghost thought a while and said, "All right, go ahead and carve it into a tree." Then Shakyamuni Buddha carved the four-line gatha into the base of a tree with a knife.

But then he thought, "Trees are not that solid, but the rakshasa ghost is again eager to eat me." Then the Buddha said aloud, "Wait! Because I want everyone to know about the Buddhadharma, I want to chisel this four-line gatha into a rock. Then you can eat me. You should agree, because I'm not doing this for myself, but because I wish all living beings to understand the Buddhadharma."

The rakshasa ghost thought it over and said, "Well, you know I'm famished, but if you will hurry, I'll agree. Begin your work and don't waste time." So Shakyamuni Buddha carved this four-line gatha into a rock. When he had finished, he invited the rakshasa ghost to eat him.

Then the rakshasa said, "Oh, you are really going to let me eat you?"

Shakyamuni Buddha replied, "Of course. I don't lie. What do you mean, 'Really let me eat you?' Please begin your supper."

The rakshasa ghost then said, "You really are a cultivator of the Way; you are a true cultivator. Now that I know you are truly cultivating, I'll see you later." After saying this, the rakshasa ghost flew up into space, appearing int he body of the Bodhisattva Who Observes the Sounds of the World, who had manifested to test him.

In cultivating the Way, you must have an honest mind and not do things for yourself. If a ghost wants to eat you, forget yourself for the sake of the Dharma. You should be able to give your life away for the sake of the Dharma. Therefore, of all the kinds of offerings, the gift of Dharma is supreme. There are other kinds of offerings such as:

The offering of benefiting all living beings. Those who cultivate the Bodhisattva Way speak Dharma for the benefit of living beings. This is "the offering of benefiting."

The offering which gathers in all living beings. "To gather in" means to see all living beings as one's sons and daughters. You should be without discrimination and compassionately gather in living beings. This is the offering which gathers in all living beings.

The offering of standing in for all beings to undergo their suffering. Those who cultivate the Bodhisattva Way vow to undergo suffering for the sake of living beings. They constantly make vows before the Buddha, saying, "May all living beings avoid the many different kinds of disasters including those of knives, sickness, floods, fire, epidemics and so forth. I wish that I myself might undergo the suffering that all living beings should undergo, and further, that no living being undergoes the suffering which I should undergo." This describes the resolve of a Bodhisattva.

The offering of diligently cultivating good roots. The Bodhisattva diligently cultivates his own good roots and exhorts all living beings to diligently cultivate good roots as well. This is also a kind of offering.

The offering of not forsaking the deeds of the Bodhisattva. What are "the deeds of a Bodhisattva?" They are the Six Perfections and the Ten Thousand Practices. To constantly cultivate them is to cultivate the Bodhisattva Way, and is called "the offering of not forsaking the deeds of the Bodhisattva."

And there is also the offering of not renouncing the Bodhi mind. One eternally resolves his mind on Bodhi as an offering to living beings and never renounces the Bodhi mind, even for an instant. He does only those things which benefit living beings. Not only does he not leave the Bodhi mind, he also exhorts all living beings to never forsake the Bodhi mind. He exhorts them to eternally and truly resolve their minds on enlightenment.

Sutra:

"Good Man, the immeasurable merit and virtue created from making those offerings, when compared with the merit and virtue from a single thought of offering Dharma, does not equal one part in a hundred, one part in a thousand, one part in a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas, one part in a kala, one part by reckoning, one part by calculation, one part that can be demonstrated by comparison, or one part in an upanishad. None of them measure up to a single part. Why is this? Because all Thus Come Ones honor the Dharma. Cultivating according to the teachings gives birth to all Buddhas. If all Bodhisattvas make the offering of Dharma, they perfect the making of offerings to all Thus Come Ones. Cultivation in this manner is a true offering, a vast, great, and most supreme offering.  

"When the realm of empty space is exhausted, when the realms of living beings are exhausted, when the karma of living beings is exhausted, and when the afflictions of living beings come to an end, only then will my making of offerings be exhausted. Just as the realm of empty space up to and including the afflictions are endless, so too are my making of offerings endless. In thought after thought without cease, my body, mouth, and mind never weary of these deeds.  

Commentary:

The passage immediately preceding this discussed making offerings. In the practice of giving many offerings, the gift of Dharma is the most supreme, because it causes all living beings to cultivate according to the teachings; it benefits them; it is the offering which attracts them; it is the offering of standing in for all beings to undergo their suffering; it is the offering of diligently cultivating good roots; it is the offering of never forsaking the deeds of the Bodhisattva; and it is the offering of never renouncing the Bodhi mind.

Therefore, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva again said, "Good man, the immeasurable merit and virtue created from making those offerings is great, but when compared with the merit and virtue from a single thought of offering Dharma, it does not equal one part in a hundred. An ordinary offering does not equal one hundredth part of the merit derived form giving Dharma, nor does it equal one part in a thousand, up to the point that it does not equal one part in a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of the merit and virtue derived form the giving of Dharma." Koti is a Sanskrit word which means "10,000,000." It means "hundreds of thousands of millions of Nayutas." Nayuta is also a large number.

One part in a Kala. A Kala is an inconceivable number. One part by reckoning, or one part by calculation. You may use any means of reckoning or calculation. Or one part that can be demonstrated by comparison, and you still cannot measure the merit and virtue from giving Dharma.

Also, it does not equal one part in an Upanishad. Upanishad is the name of one who is mentioned in the Shurangama Sutra: "With Upanishad as their leader." Translated, the word means "the nature of dust" and "dust motes," and so it is a number as great as the number of dust motes. None of them measure up to a single part. They cannot equal one part of the merit and virtue derived from an offering of Dharma.

Why is this? Why is it that the offering of Dharma is so great? Because all Thus Come Ones, because all Buddhas, Thus Come Ones, honor the Dharma. Not only should all common people honor the Dharma, but all Buddhas also honor the Buddhadharma, because if there were no Buddhadharma, no one could become a Buddha.

To become a Buddha, you must study the Buddhadharma, and the Buddhadharma must be transmitted by a left-home person, because those who have left the home-life are entrusted with the Buddhadharma. The merit and virtue derived from giving the Dharma as an offering to all Buddhas, Thus Come Ones, and to all living beings, is inconceivable; there is no way one can discuss it all, because all Buddhas, Thus Come Ones, honor the Buddhadharma.

Cultivating according to the teachings gives birth to all Buddhas. Because one relies on the Buddhadharma, which teaches how to cultivate, one can become a Buddha If you teach the Buddhadharma and people cultivate according to it, they can become Buddhas. This is what is mean by "gives birth to all Buddhas."

If all Bodhisattvas make the offering of Dharma, they perfect the making of offerings to all Thus Come Ones. They Bodhisattvas cultivate the practice of giving Dharma. On the one hand, they make offerings to Thus Come Ones, and on the other hand, they themselves can become Thus Come Ones. Cultivation in this manner is a true offering. This is truly making offerings. The gift of Dharma is a true offering, a vast, great, and most supreme offering. The offering of Dharma is the most extensive and supreme offering.

When the realm of empty space is exhausted, when there is no more empty space, when the realms of living beings are exhausted, when there are no more living beings, when the karma of living beings is exhausted, when the karmic obstructions of living beings are no more, and when the afflictions of living beings come to an end, and when living beings have no more afflictions, only then will my making of offerings be exhausted. When these four things, empty space, living beings, living beings' karma, and living beings' afflictions, no longer exist, then my giving of offerings need not continue. I need give no more. But since the realm of empty space, the realms of living beings, the karma of living beings, and the afflictions of living beings are endless, and there is no way they can be exhausted, no way they can be finished, so too are my gifts of offerings endless. Therefore, my resolve to extensively and greatly make offerings and to extensively cultivate the giving of offerings is inexhaustible and never-ending.

The strength from this vow continues in thought after thoughts without cease, and never ends. My body, mouth, and mind never weary of these deeds. When I give offerings with my body, I never grow weary; when I give offerings with my mind, I Never grow weary; and when I give offerings with my mouth, I never become tired.

There is a saying about the karma of body, mouth, and mind:

When no anger appears in the face, then the offerings is complete.
When the mouth is without anger, the saliva is fragrant.
When the mind is without anger, it is a precious pearl.
To be without stupidity and greed is the fragrance of giving.

When one is without angry facial expression, that is a complete offering. When you do not engage in harsh speech, you emit a fragrant breath. When you have no angry thoughts in your mind, your mind is an offering of a precious pearl. And the best offering is to be without stupidity, anger, and greed; this is a true and complete offering.

The Fourth Vow: To Repent of Karmic Obstacles and Reform

Sutra:  

“Moreover, Good Man, to repent of karmic obstacles and reform I explained like this: The Bodhisattva reflects, ‘From beginningless kalpas in the past, I have created all measureless and boundless evil karma with my body, mouth, and mind, because of greed, hatred, and stupidity. If this evil karma had a substance and form, all of empty space could not contain it.

Commentary:

After explaining the previous vow, to extensively cultivate the making of offerings, the Bodhisattva says, "Moreover, Good Man." Now we want to understand the importance of repenting of our karmic obstacles and reforming. If you cultivate the giving of offerings but do not repent of and reform your karmic obstacles, there can be no real benefit. So Universal Worthy Bodhisattva says, to repent of karmic obstacles and reform is explained like this. "Repentance" has been explained as contrition for previous offenses, to be sorry for offenses committed in the past. "Reform" means "to correct oneself so one does not make further mistakes."

In Buddhism we learn to "bow repentances." this means that we earnestly bow before the Buddhas repenting of our mistakes. In doing this, you must be extremely sincere and not be scattered, and then your repentance will be efficacious. When the Great Master Chih Che was alive, the Shurangama Sutra had not yet come from India to China, and so he bowed to the west and the name of the Shurangama Sutra. He bowed for eighteen years but still did not see the Shurangama Sutra. If we were to bow for something and we did not attain it, then before eighteen moths had passed, not to speak of eighteen years, we would think, "Oh, my bowing is useless, I'm not going to bow any more."

For his entire life the Great Master Chih Che bowed to the Dharma Flower Sutra. Not only that, he wrote out Sutras, and he wrote out the entire Tripitaka time and time again. The Buddha images he pained and made from wood totaled over 80,000. And from morning to night he bowed repentances.

When the Great Master Chih Che was born, his mother saw a five-colored light in their home, and so he was named Chih Che, "the wise one." When he was in his early teens, he heard a Dharma Master reciting the Universal Door Chapter of the Dharma Flower Sutra, at which time he memorized the entire chapter just as if he had read it in a previous life. Later when he went to see the Great Master Nan Yao, the Great Master said, "Oh, you've come. In the past we were part of the Vulture Peak Assembly and we heard the Dharma Flower Sutra. Do you remember that? Now our conditions have ripened, and we have come together again here." The Great Master Nan Yo then taught him the peaceful Happy Conduct Chapter, and told him to recite and bow to the Dharma Flower Sutra. Master Chih Che bowed until he reached the Chapter on the Original Affairs of Medicine King Bodhisattva, when at once he became enlightened.

After his enlightenment, he told the Great Master Nan Yao about his experience: "I bowed to the Sutra and recited it until I got to the lines, 'This is called true vigor; this is a true Dharma offering.' Then I saw Shakyamuni Buddha at Vulture Peak still speaking the Dharma Flower Sutra. What is the meaning of this?"

The Great Master Nan Yao certified him, saying, "Only you could have this wonderful experience, and only I could recognize it. Therefore, it had to be you to attain this state, and it had to be me to understand it, to certify you. So now you have attained the initial expedient of the Dharma Flower Samadhi, the I-hsuan Dharani, 'the single-turning' Dharani."

After the Great Master certified him, Master Chih Che's wisdom and eloquence grew limitless. The Great Master Nan Yao said to him, "With your wisdom you can defeat thousands upon tens of thousands of common Dharma Masters in debate. None of them can equal you." After this the Great Master Chih Che's wisdom opened up completely, after which he applied himself even more vigorously in cultivating the Dharma Flower Sutra.

When it was time for him "to perfect the stillness," he had an attendant recite the Dharma Flower Sutra for him while he listened. After this was finished, he told the attendant to bring him some mouth wash. After he had rinsed his mouth, he spoke some verses, sat down, and "perfected the stillness."

When the Great Master was at T'ien T'ai Mountain, there were many fishermen in the area, and so he bought up all the land there for one hundred miles, and within this area, no one fished or killed animals. Further, all the local people took refuge with him. The Great Master Chih Che was inconceivable, and he specialized in bowing repentances.

Most people who bring forth thoughts of repentance and reform are Bodhisattvas. Common people without good roots basically do not repent, how much the less reform. Like those who take refuge with the Triple Jewel, some like to recite Sutras and bow to the Buddhas, and some do not. Some start out with the idea that everyone should recite Sutras, and so everyone begins reciting, and after a while, they themselves stop reciting. This just shows that they have not gotten rid of their karmic obstacles.

The Bodhisattva reflects, "From beginningless kalpas in the past,..." "Beginningless" refers to past lives reaching back so far that there were eons upon endless aeons, never a beginning. I have created all evil karma which is measureless and boundless. The evil things I have thought, said, and done are without measure and have no limit. With my body, mouth, and mind--I have created karma of the body, mouth, and mind, these three kinds of karma--because of greed, hatred, and stupidity. If this evil karma had a substance and form, if it had a shape or appearance, all of empty space could not contain it; my karma would fill up empty space until it was overflowing. If these karmic obstacles all at once manifested an appearance, they would fill up empty space until it burst and was demolished.

Sutra:

'I now completely purify these three karmas, and before the assemblies of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, throughout the Dharma Realm in lands as many as fine motes of dust, I sincerely repent of and reform my offenses and vow never to create them again. I will always dwell in all merit and virtue of the pure precepts.’  

"So it is that when the realm of empty space is exhausted, the realms of living beings are exhausted, the karma of living beings is exhausted, and the afflictions of living beings are exhausted, then my repentance will be exhausted. But just as the realm of empty space up to the afflictions of living beings are endless, so too my repentance and reform are endless. They continue in thought after thought without cease. My body, mouth, and mind never weary of these deeds."  

Commentary:

Although this Bodhisattva considers his karmic obstacles to be extremely many he nonetheless thinks, "I will not completely purify these three karmas." He decides not to create any more karma with his body mouth, or mind but with his three karmas purified he thinks, "I will appear before the assemblies of all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, and will go throughout the Dharma Realm in lands as many as fine motes of dust, and sincerely repent of and reform my offenses and vow never to create them again." One should repent with an extremely sincere mind, and vow never to create these kinds of offenses again. The Bodhisattva further reflects, "I will always dwell in all merit and virtue of the pure precepts; I will dwell in all this merit and virtue, in the precept mark of merit and virtue that I receive."

So it is that when the realm of empty space is exhausted, when there is no more empty space, when there are no longer any living beings, even up to the point that the karma of living beings is exhausted, and the afflictions of living beings is exhausted, then my repentance will be exhausted. At that time my vow to repent will be complete. But just as the realm of empty space is endless, living beings are endless, the karmic obstacles up to the afflictions of living beings is exhausted, and the afflictions of living beings is exhausted, then my repentance will be exhausted. At that time my vow to repent will be complete. But just as the realm of empty space is endless, living beings are endless, the karmic obstacles up to the afflictions of living beings are endless, so too my repentance and reform are endless. It continues in thought after thought, in each though, without cease. It never ends. My body, mouth, and ind never weary of these deeds." The more one bows repentances the better. One never retreats saying, "This i s too much suffering; I'm really tired." The Bodhisattva never tires, but the more he bows, the more energy he has. The more he repents, the happier he gets. This is true repentance.

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