Universal Worthy's Conduct and Vows

Chapter Forty

 

 

The Merit of These Vows

Now we understand the Ten Kings of Vows of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. When we compare their measure to the size of empty space, we find that although empty space may be exhausted, these vows can never end. Universal Worthy Bodhisattva would continue to cultivate according to these vows even if empty space collapsed.

These Ten Kings of Vows are not only cultivated by Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. If he were the only one who cultivated them, it would not be necessary to include them in the Flower Adornment Sutra. The vows are found in the Sutra so that all of us will use them cultivate, so that we will bring forth minds that are vast and great, that are equal in measure to all of empty space and include everything in thee Dharma Realm, and so that we will transfer all of our merit and virtue to all the living beings in the Dharma Realm. How big would you say is a body that is as large as empty space, that extends to the ends of the Dharma Realm?

The vows are presented in the Sutra so that all living beings will become one with these vows, so that all living beings will fulfill their potential of being Universal Worthy Bodhisattva, and so that all these Universal Worthy Bodhisattvas will return to teach and transform living being. It is not the case that only Universal Worthy Bodhisattva is Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. Anyone who relies on these Ten Great Vows of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. "Universal" means "everywhere," and "Worthy" means "a worthy sage." One universally pervades the Dharma Realm and causes all living beings to become worthy sages.

These Kings of Vows were not included for the sake of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva, but are methods that are taught for all of us, because we might not understand how to cultivate. Universal Worthy, out of great compassion, introduces us to these Ten Kings of Vows, for the express purpose of teaching us how to cultivate, to tell us to rely on these Ten Great Vows in our cultivation. Therefore, after you have read this Sutra, you should not think that it concerns only Universal Worthy Bodhisattva and not yourself. This is a mistake. After hearing about these Ten Great Vows, which are methods for cultivation, we too, should make vows like these and cultivate according to them.  

Sutra:  

“Good Man, these are the Bodhisattva Mahasattva’s ten great vows in the entirety. If all Bodhisattvas can follow and enter these great vows, then they will be able to bring all living beings to maturity. They will be able to accord with anuttarasamyaksambodhi and complete Universal Worthy’s sea of conduct and vows. Therefore, Good Man, you should know the meaning of this.  

“If a good man or good woman filled up worlds as many as very fine dust motes in measureless, boundless, ineffably ineffable Buddhalands throughout the ten directions with the supremely wonderful seven jewels; and if they as well gave all of the supreme peace and happiness known to gods and men to every living being in all those worlds; and if they offered such gifts to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of these worlds, doing so constantly without cease for as many kalpas as very fine motes of dust in those Buddhalands, they would acquire much merit and virtue.

“But the merit and virtue gained from these gifts, when compared to the merit and virtue of a person who hears these kings of vows pass by his ear but once, does not equal one part in one hundred, one part in one thousand, or even one part in an upanishad.  

Commentary:

After Universal Worthy has explained the Ten Great Kings of Vows, he says, "Good Man, these are the Bodhisattva Mahasattva's ten great vows in their entirety. These are the vows practiced by a great Bodhisattva." Mahasattva is a Sanskrit term that means "a great being among Bodhisattvas."

All Bodhisattvas should cultivate these Ten Great Vows. It is for this reason that I have said that these Ten Great Vows are not just the personal cultivation of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. All Bodhisattvas should cultivate them, and all living beings can cultivate them too. All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas become perfected because of their practice of these Ten Great Vows, and so living beings who wish to accomplish Buddhahood should rely on them to cultivate the Way.

When you cultivate the Ten Great Kings of Vows, you must cultivate them "in their entirety," sincerely and completely. You must act in accord with the vows that Universal Worthy Bodhisattva has made and not cultivate them half-heartedly. You should not practice them a while and then decide that they are very difficult and change your mind. If you change your mind, then you are not cultivating the vows in their entirety. If you are constant and never change, however, even when empty space is exhausted, when there are no more living beings, when the karma of living beings has been eradicated, and when the afflictions of living beings are totally gone, still your cultivation of these vows can never end.

Moreover, Universal Worthy Bodhisattva says, "If all Bodhisattvas can follow and enter these Great Vows:" to follow means to rely on these ten great methods of practice. To enter means to get inside these Great Vows. At this point the Ten Great Vows are the Bodhisattva who cultivates the Bodhisattva path, and the Bodhisattva who cultivates the Bodhisattva path is these Ten Great Vows. The Dharma and the person become one without distinction. This is the meaning of "following and entering."

Then they will be able to bring all living beings to maturity. If you can rely on these Ten Great Kings of Vows to cultivate, you will be able to bring all living beings to maturity. What does this mean? In your cultivation of the Ten Great Vows, you influence living beings without good roots to plant good roots. For example, teaching living beings who do not understand filial piety to be filial is a method to cause them to plant good roots. There is a saying,

Of the ten thousand evil acts, lust is the worst;
Of the one hundred wholesome deeds, filial piety is foremost.

What makes people different from animals is that people understand how to be filial to their parents and respectful to their teacher and elders. People are different from animals, who do not understand filiality, yet eventually

The lamb kneels to nurse;
The crow returns to feed its parents.

The young lamb kneels when it takes milk from its mother, and when the young crow grows up, it returns to care for its parents. Filial piety, therefore, is basic to being human. Those who are not filial to their parents do not have good roots, but one who is filial certainly does have good roots.

In bringing living beings to maturity, moreover, you help those who already have good roots to increase them. For example, when the Great Master the Sixth Patriarch was still living at home, he went to the mountains every day to gather firewood and then sold it at the market place. With the money he earned, he bought rice to support his mother. by his deeds he planted good roots, although basically, the Great Master the Sixth Patriarch already had good roots, since his state was the state of a Bodhisattva.

One day after he had finished selling his firewood, he heard someone reciting the Vajra Sutra. When the person reached the line, "One should bring forth the mind which does not dwell anywhere," the Great master became enlightened. This traveler, who recited the Sutra, gave him ten taels of gold, which he set aside for his mother's welfare, using a little of it to go to Huang Mei to seek the Dharma. This helped him plant good roots and accomplish his karma of the Way.

So by protecting the Ten Great Vows, one helps people who already have good roots to increase them, and one helps those who have already increased their good roots to reach maturity. "To mature" means "to accomplish one's karma in the Way." For a living being to be matured means that he or she becomes a Buddha: the Buddha seed becomes a fruit, and the fruit ripens. Therefore the text says that they will be able to bring all living beings to maturity.

They will be able to accord with Anuttarasamyaksambodhi. "To accord" means that their cultivation will accord with the Way. What Way? They will cultivate Anuttarasamyaksambodhi, the "Unsurpassed, Proper and Equal, Proper Enlightenment" Unsurpassed Enlightenment surpasses the state of Bodhisattvas; Proper and Equal Enlightenment surpasses the state of Bodhisattvas; Proper and Equal Enlightenment surpasses the state of those of the Two Vehicles; and Proper Enlightenment surpasses the state of common people.

Anuttarasamyaksambodhi refers to the accomplishment which leaves the common and the sagely realms behind, when one becomes a Buddha. And complete Universal Worthy's sea of conduct and vows. If you cultivate these Ten Great Vows, you can complete the sea of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva's conduct and vows.

Universal Worthy specializes in granting the wishes of living beings, giving them whatever they seek. Universal Worthy Bodhisattva once served as a waiter in a monastery dining hall. Where people who have left the home life assemble in the refectory for their meal, the tables are narrow and arranged in rows facing one another. In front of each person are two bowls, one containing rice, and the other vegetables.

When Universal Worthy served as a waiter, he carried small bottles of soy sauce, hot sauce, pepper, and other seasonings around his waist. He would walk before each person, and if the person wanted salt, he would give him salt; or if he wanted soy sauce or oil, he would give him that, or whatever was thus wanted, fulfilling the wishes of living beings.

But satisfying the wishes of living beings is not all that easy to do. For example, someone might want salt, but as soon as he gave him salt, the monk would say, "Hey! I don't want that much. You gave me too much. What are you trying to do, pickle me?"

When he came to the next person who wanted salt, he would give him a little less, and the monk would say, "Give me more! You're too stingy. You act like I'm eating your salt. this salt belongs to everyone." Still, he always tried to comply with everyone's demands. This is how Universal Worthy satisfied the wishes of living beings.

Living beings are strange. If you give them a lot, they say it is too much, and if you give them a little, they say it is not enough. If you do not say anything when you give them something, they will say they do not want any; if you do not give them anything, they will say that you are looking down on them, that you are being unkind to them. You can see, then, that it is not easy for Universal Worthy Bodhisattva to fulfill the wishes of living beings.

Since that is how living beings are, should you decide not to try to fulfill their wishes? On the contrary, the more irrational and contrary they are, the more you should practice this ascetic work. If people scold you, hit you, or look down on you when you cultivate ascetic practices, they are testing you to see if you are sincere. Therefore, those who cultivate the Way should not fear difficulty. The more difficult things are, the more you should resolve to do them. For example, if you sweep the grounds and someone scolds you by saying, "From morning to night you do nothing but sweep the ground. What do you think you're doing? What's the use of sweeping the grounds?" Do not pay attention to them.

"Well, then, if your sweeping irritates people, should you intentionally sweep the grounds every day to cause them to get mad?" you ask. Of course not. But, in general, when you cultivate the Way, and if your cultivation is correct, then even if people scold you, you should not pay any attention to them. If you are practicing something that is incorrect, however, then you should quickly change. It is like that with everything.

In the ocean of Universal Worthy's conduct and vows, there are many kinds of practices in addition to these Ten Great Vows. The strength of his practices is like a great sea, and so we should follow him and perfect this sea of vows. Therefore, Good Man, because of what I have just said, you should know the meaning of this. You should understand the meaning of what I say.

If a good man or good woman who cultivates the Five Precepts and the Ten Good Acts filled up worlds as many as very fine dust motes in measureless, boundless, ineffably ineffable Buddhalands throughout the ten directions, with the supremely wonderful seven jewels--"supremely wonderful" means the very best of the Seven Jewels: gold, silver, red pearls, carnelian, and so forth, the most valuable things that exist. And if they as well gave all of the supreme peace and happiness known to gods and mean, together with the foremost happiness of gods and men, the most wonderful bliss, to every living being in all those worlds, if they gave this bliss as a gift to all the living beings in as many worlds as are discussed above...

There are three kinds of giving:

1) the giving of wealth,

2) the giving of Dharma,

3) the giving of fearlessness.

Of the first kind, the giving of wealth, there are two kinds, internal and external. Internal wealth includes your body, heart, nature, and life. One vows, "I will give things of my own; I will give my eyes to people, or my ears, my nose, my tongue, or my head, my brains, or my marrow." External wealth includes one's country, cities, wife, and children. One who truly practices giving gives away his whole country to others. He does not want to be a kind or to own cities. One also vows, "Although all the wealth in San Francisco belong to me, I wish to give it away to others."

Men find it most difficult to give up their wives and girlfriends. Although you cannot give them up, you still should be able to do so. This then is true giving, giving up what you basically cannot give up. If you cannot give up what you should be able to give up, then even if you give, it does not count as true giving.

There once was a woman who heard me say that giving a wife to others is a form of giving, so she asked if she could give away her husband. This is probably the first time anyone has given away her husband. I told her, "You must first find someone else for him; if you can't find anyone to accept him, how can you give him away? You can't throw him out in the street and call it giving." Later I said, "You don't really have a mind of giving. You still can't give him up." And in fact, she did not give him away after all. "Giving wealth" means that one can renounce one's valuables and give them all away.

The second kind of giving is the giving of Dharma. Of all the kinds of offerings, the offering of Dharma is foremost. Giving Dharma is also called offering Dharma. To lecture Sutras, speak Dharma, teach living beings, and turn the Dharma wheel are all forms of giving Dharma. Giving Dharma is better than giving wealth, but the Dharma you give should accord with the conditions of living beings it is intended for, so that when they hear the Dharma they will become enlightened.

The third is the giving of fearlessness. Someone may have an unexpected accident, or see a ghost, a demon, or some other strange beast or bandit, and forget everything and become totally disarranged. At that time you console them, "Don't be afraid. Recite Na Mwo Kuan Shi Yin Pu Sa, and Kuan Shih Yin Bodhisattva will protect you. Don't be afraid." If you explain this so that they can understand, they will then recite the name of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva and as soon as they do, they will naturally lose their fear and regain composure. Or they can recite the name of Amita Buddha, and they will very quickly be far from fear.

I have briefly described these three kinds of giving. You should practice them in cultivating the Bodhisattva Way.

And if they offered such gifts as have been described to all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of these worlds--if they gave all kinds of offerings to the infinity of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in that infinity of worlds, doing so constantly without cease for as many kalpas as very fine motes of dust in those Buddhalands: if they gave these gifts constantly, passing through as many kalpas as there are motes of dust in that many Buddhalands, making gifts not for just one or two days, but continuously and without rest for as many aeons as there are dust motes in the infinity of worlds, they would then acquire much merit and virtue. The merit and virtue acquired by these people who practice giving would be very great indeed!

But the merit and virtue gained from these gifts, when compared to the merit and virtue of a person who hears these kings of vows pass by his ear but once: a person who hears these Ten Great Kings of Vows of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva recited, not explained, but simply recited so that they pass by his ear but once, will gain merit and virtue which surpasses the merit and virtue of the person described above who made all those gifts. If you compare this person's merit and virtue with the merit and virtue derived form giving in the infinity of worlds for an infinity of kalpas, the merit of the latter, compared to the merit of a person who hears the great vows but once, does not equal one part in one hundred.

When the ear hears, the eternal seeds of Bodhi are planted, and the merit and virtue derived from all this giving does not equal one hundredth the merit and virtue derived from hearing these Ten Great Kings of Vows, nor one part in one thousand. The infinity of giving does not equal one thousandth part, or even one part in an upanishad. An upanishad refers to the nature of a dust mote; it is smaller than a dust mote. The merit and virtue derived from giving all the unsurpassed gifts for many aeons of time does not equal an upanishad of the merit and virtue gained from hearing the Ten Kings of Vows.

Why is the merit and virtue derived from these Ten Great Kings of Vows so great? If you give wealth, you can only sustain a person's impermanent body and life, but giving these Ten Great Kings of Vows is a gift of Dharma, which perfects one's Buddha nature These Ten Great Vows are called "Universal Worthy's Contemplations," and when one cultivates this contemplation, the one becomes the many, and the many become one. The one becomes the entire Dharma Realm, and the Dharma Realm becomes one.

Worshiping one Buddha, one worships all Buddhas of the Dharma Realm; worshiping all the Buddhas of the Dharma Realm; one worships one Buddha. The first of Universal Worthy's Ten Great Vows is to worship and respect all Buddhas, and the merit and virtue derived from this practice is inexhaustible. It follows, therefore, that the merit and virtue from making offering of this Dharma is especially great. If you cultivate this Dharma, then day by day your Bodhi seeds will grow, and before long you will accomplish the fruition of Bodhi. So you see that the merit and virtue of giving the Dharma of the Ten Great Vows is especially great.

Sutra:

“Moreover, if a person receives and maintains these great vows with a mind of deep faith, reads and recites them, or writes out just a single four line verse, he or she can quickly eradicate the karma of the Five Unintermittent Offenses. All of the world’s illnesses that afflict the body and mind, as well as the various kinds of bitter suffering, will be wiped away, up to and including bad karma equal to the fine motes of dust in Buddhalands.

Commentary:

"Moreover, if a person--it is not certain, but there may be such a person who receives and maintains these great vows with a mind of deep faith. Deep faith is not shallow, and the person spoken of here has brought forth a mind of proper and deep faith, which means a mind without doubts. This is a person who receives and maintains, read and recites, who relies on this Dharma to cultivate, and who receives and maintains this Chapter on the Conduct and Vow of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva every day. "To read" refers to using a book to read the text from memory. Of, if you cannot read or recite the text, perhaps you can write it out with a pen. Further, if you cannot write it out completely, perhaps you can write out just a single four-line verse. For example, you might write out,

To worship and respect all Buddhas;
To praise the Thus Come Ones;
To extensively cultivate making offerings;
To repent of karmic obstacles and reform.

Someone who write out just four lines like this, or who practices in any of the ways just mentioned, can quickly eradicate the karma of the five unintermittent offenses.

The Five Unintermittent Offenses are five karmic offenses whose retribution is the uninterrupted hell. If one person is in this particular hell, he sees that his body totally fills the hell up so that there is no space, and his suffering is ceaseless. If there is more than one person in this hell, their bodies do not obstruct one another, yet each person sees his own body totally filling up this hell. Time spent in this hell is unintermittent. Form the time someone first enters it until the time he leaves, there is no break in the suffering he undergoes as retribution for his offenses. His suffering is unintermittent, his lifetime is unintermittent, and the retribution he undergoes is unintermittent.

All of the world's illnesses that afflict the body and mind. Some people become ill in body, and some people become ill in mind. Illness of the body refers to the sicknesses we may contract, and illnesses of the mind refers to the suffering in our minds when we are not happy.

As well as the various kinds of bitter suffering. If you are sick, you undergo suffering and affliction, and if you suffer and are afflicted, then you are not happy. Every kind of evil karma can be wiped away. But to do so, you must have deep faith. If you do not have faith, but only wish to test the method, you will not get a response. Why? Because the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas do not need to pass any tests given by living beings. They can test you, but you cannot say, "I don't believe the methods spoken by the Buddha, so I think I'll try them out." If you want to do something honestly, you should follow the method sincerely, not test it. If you have true faith and use this method, then all karma will be wiped away, up to and including bad karma equal to the fine motes of dust in Buddhalands.

Sutra:

“All the demon-armies, the Yakshas, Rakshasas, Kumbhandas, Pishachas, Bhutas, and so forth, and all evil ghosts and spirits that drink blood and devour flesh will go far away from this person. Or they will resolve, before long, to draw near and protect him. Therefore, if he recites these vows aloud he will move freely through the world without obstruction, like the moon appearing through the clouds.

All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will praise him; people and gods should all bow in respect to him, and all living beings should make offerings to him. This good man will easily get reborn as a human and will perfect all of Universal Worthy’s merit and virtue. Before long, he will be just like Universal Worthy himself, obtaining a subtle and wonderful physical body complete with the thirty-two marks of the great man. If he is born among human or gods, he will always live in a superior family.

He will totally destroy the evil destinies and will leave all bad companions. Fully able to vanquish all externalists, he will completely free himself from all afflictions, just as the lordly lion subdues all beasts. This person will be worthy of receiving the offerings of all living beings.  

Commentary:

All the demon-armies. In this world there are many heavenly demons and externalists. Why don't they show themselves? They hide away because the Buddhadharma is in the world, but if there was no Buddhadharma here, they would pour forth and destroy the world.

What are these "demon armies?" The word "demon" in Chinese is derived from the Sanskrit mara, and its meaning is "murderer" or "one fond of killing." Mara wishes to kill any living being it sees, and the demonic armies include demon kings, demon citizens, demon sons, and demon daughters. Demon women are especially beautiful and especially deadly, because they still delight in killing.

The yakshas can move very fast; there are flying yakshas, earth traveling yakshas, and yakshas who travel in space. They are courageous, cruel, and delight in fighting, and their sole delight is in doing harm.

Rakshasa is a Sanskrit word which carries the meaning of "fearsome" ghost. Both the yakshas and rakshasas are mentioned in the Shurangama Mantra: yau cha jye la he, (line 247), and la cha sz jye la he, (line 248). Yau cha is the name yaksha, and la cha sz is the name rakshasa. Reciting the Shurangama Mantra prevents these demons from harming people and in fact causes them to protect people. Reciting yau cha jye la he, la cha sz jye la he can dissolve dangerous situations.

Kumbhandas are barrel-shaped ghosts; they are also called winter-melon ghosts because of their shape. This is a nightmare ghost that prevents people from talking when they are asleep. You want to scream, but you cannot, and you try to squirm away, but you cannot move. You are unable to do anything when they sit on you.

Pishachas are also ghosts, which eat the vitality of things. These ghosts eat people's essential energies as well as the essential energies of the five grains.

Bhutas, and so forth. Bhutas are another kind of ghost. This ghost's name means "big body," for in fact his body is as large as Mount Sumeru. These two ghosts, Bhutas and Kumbhandas, are also found in the Shurangama Mantra: bu dwo jye la he, jyou pan cha jye la he. The Kumbhanda ghost is also called the ghost which rides in cars and can prevent car accidents, and together with the Bhuta, can overcome problems in cities and countries.

For example, if a city's walls were crumbling and if you recited the Shurangama Mantra, you could prevent this disaster. In the same way, you can prevent car accidents, accidents on horseback, and so forth. These two ghosts can protect people so that they will not be bothered by these kinds of difficulties. In the Shurangama Mantra we find the names of these ghost kings, and if you recite this mantra, not only will they refrain from hurting you, but they will protect you.

These types of ghosts also include all evil ghosts and spirits that drink blood and devour flesh which will go far away from this person. If these ghosts do not drink people's blood, then they eat their flesh. But if you recite the Ten Great Kings of Vows of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva, then these evil ghosts and spirits will go far away from you. Or they will resolve, before long, to draw near and protect him. If you are especially sincere in your cultivation, they will not go far away, but will decide to draw near you and become your Dharma protector.

Therefore, if he recites these vows aloud, he will move freely through the world without obstruction. One will not be hindered in one's travels in the world, for all one's obstructions will be destroyed. One will be like the moon appearing through the clouds, and wherever he goes, he seems to radiate light. All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will praise him. Not only is he like the full moon in a cloudless sky, but all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas praise him, and people and gods should bow in respect to him. All humans and gods respect one who recites these Ten Great Kings of Vows, and all living beings should make offerings to him.

This good man, the good man who recites these Ten Great Kings of Vows, will easily get reborn as a human. In each life he will be born as a human being and will perfect all of Universal Worthy's merit and virtue. He will be able to cultivate to perfection the merit and virtue of Universal Worthy Bodhisattva. Before long, he will be just like Universal Worthy himself, obtaining a subtle and wonderful physical body. He will quickly obtain a subtle and wonderful body, like Universal Worthy Bodhisattva, complete with the thirty-two marks of the great man, just like the Buddhas.

If he is born among humans or gods, if he is born in the human realm or in the heavens, he will always live in a superior family. Wherever he goes, the family in which he is born will always be a great one, with the most power, blessings, and wealth. He will totally destroy the evil destinies, the four evil destinies of the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, and asuras, and will leave all bad companions. Those who are good friends will always draw near to him, but bad companions will be left far behind. Fully able to vanquish all externalists, he will have the power to control all adherents of non-Buddhist religions. He will completely free himself from all afflictions. The worst problem that people have is all their afflictions, but by practicing the Ten Great Vows, one can be liberated from all afflictions, just as the lordly lion, the king of beasts, subdues all beasts. This person will be worthy of receiving the offerings of all living beings. He will receive the offerings of all living beings.

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