Praises in the Tushita Heaven Palace

Chapter Twenty-Four

 

 

 

Sutra:

The Buddha’s body is not of the past,
Nor is it of the future.
In a single thought it presently appears,
Accomplishing the way and entering Nirvana.

Like forms conjured from an illusion,
Which are not produced and which do not arise,
The Buddha’s body is also this way:
It manifests without having been produced.

Commentary:  

The previous verse teaches people how to break off their attachments so that they don’t engage in false reckonings such as how many bodies the Buddha has. To calculate like that is to try to find something to do when there’s really nothing to do, you shouldn’t make this kind of trouble for yourself.

Now, lest someone say, “Well their number may be unreckonable, but Buddhas did exist in the past, at any rate,” this stanza of verse says The Buddha’s body is not of the past. In the past were there bodies of the Buddha? No. Nor is it of the future. It’s also not the case that the Buddha’s bodies will be produced in the future. Then are there bodies of the Buddha in the present? No, there aren’t. In a single thought it presently appears. The Buddha, in a single thought, manifests being born. He also manifests accomplishing the Way right in that single thought. And he manifests Accomplishing the way and entering Nirvana. The Eight Stages of a Buddha’s Accomplishing the Way do not go beyond a single thought. The eight stages are:

1) Descending from the Tushita Heaven Palace;

2) Entering the womb;

3) Dwelling in the womb;

4) Leaving the womb;

5) Leaving the home-life;

6) Accomplishing the Way;

7) Turning the Dharma Wheel;

8) Entering Nirvana.

Like forms conjured from an illusion, which are not produced and which do not arise, the Buddha’s body is also this way: It manifests without having been produced . The Buddha manifests characteristics, but they are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, or conjured appearances. But at the ultimate level, the Buddha’s body isn’t produced, nor doe it arise. Just as illusory forms are not real, so too, the Buddha’s body is not produced and does not arise. The Buddha’s body is also like the principle revealed in this analogy. “It manifests without having been produced.” It’s not produced, nor is it extinguished. And so,

It’s not defiled, no pure, and
It neither increases nor decreases.

This is the basic substance of the Buddha, which is, “Thus, thus unmoving, clear and constantly bright.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

QUESTION: “What are the three periods of time? You mentioned that the Buddha manifests his bodies throughout the three periods of time.”

ANSWER: “They are the past, present, and future.”

QUESTION: “Who is Dragon-seed Buddha?”

ANSWER: “it’s just the name of that Buddha.”

QUESTION: “Is it a name like Joe or John?”

ANSWER: “Yes.”

Sutra:

At that time, Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva received the Buddha’s spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions, and spoke these verses.

Commentary:

At that time refers to the time when Wisdom Banner Bodhisattva finished speaking verses for all living beings in the ten directions according to their potentials. Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva received the Buddha’s spiritual power . Because he had perfected the Six Paramitas and the ten thousand practices which are extremely valuable and lofty Dharma-doors, he’s given the name Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva. He also received Shakyamuni Buddha’s, Vairochana Buddha’s spiritual power, and also relied upon the power of spiritual penetrations of all Buddhas of the ten directions and three periods of time.

“Spirit” penetrates outward, and the “power” arises from within. So the power of spiritual penetrations comes from within and without. When this Bodhisattva spoke these verses, he received the powers of the Buddhas of the ten directions and three periods of time. What does it mean “to receive the Buddha’s power”? it means that he knew the Buddhas of the ten directions and three periods of time abiding in the Pure Land of Constant Still and Unmoving light using the power of their spiritual penetrations to aid him. He was aided by their power and as a result, attained great wisdom, great eloquence, and great spiritual strength. Then he universally contemplated the ten directions. He investigated the cause and conditions of living beings throughout the ten directions, and then he spoke these verses. He used verses to speak the Buddhadharma that he chose to express.

Sutra:

The Buddha’s body has no limit,
Yet it can manifest bodies that have a limit.
According to what should be seen,
The Guiding Master Thus appears.

The Buddha’s body has no location,
Yet it fills up all locations,
Like emptiness, it has no boundaries.
Thus it is difficult to conceive of.

It is not the place of the mind’s workings,
Nor does the mind arise within it.
Within the states of all Buddhas,
Ultimately, there in neither production nor extinction.

A cataract that covers the eye
Is neither within nor without
Those in the world who see the Buddha
Should know he’s also like this.

Commentary:  

The Buddha’s body has no limit. The Buddha’s true body pervades and fills up all places. The Bodhisattva tells us in these verses that there is no way to speak of its measure. How vast is everywhere? You don’t know. Since you cannot know, it’s therefore said that “the Buddha’s body has no limit.” It reaches to the end of empty space. But if you try to grasp at appearances, then there isn’t even one body which exists. Yet it can manifest bodies that have a limit. Although the Buddha’s original substance is limitless and boundless, still, it can manifest perhaps one, two, three, four, five--up to limitless bodies--According to what should be seen. According to what living beings should perceive, The Guiding Master Thus appears. The Buddha spontaneously manifests so it is said,

The Buddha is like the pure moon
Eternally abiding in empty space.
If the water of living beings’ minds is clear,
Bodhi will be reflected in it.

The Buddha’s basic substance is limitless. His responses to the limited capacities of living beings is also limitless. So the text says, “According to what should be seen, the Guiding Master thus appears.”

The Buddha’s body has no location. The body of the Buddha doesn’t reside in any certain place. He is “present,” and yet not present.” The Buddha’s body is numberless and limitless, Yet it fills up all locations. The Buddha’s body has no location, no place of existence, yet it fills up all places. There is nowhere where it is not present. Like emptiness, it has no boundaries. The Buddha’s body is just like the void. There are no boundaries, no end to it. Thus it is difficult to conceive of. You can’t conceive of it with the mind, or speak of it with language.

It is not the place of the mind’s workings. Your mind can’t cognize this principle. The mind can’t conceive of the Buddha’s body, Nor does the mind arise within it. The mind also doesn’t give rise to an understanding of the principle of this body. Within the states of all Buddhas, ultimately, there in neither production nor extinction. Why does Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva say that the mind cannot conceive of this principle nor understand it? Because within the state of all Buddhas, “ultimately there is neither production nor extinction.” This state is neither produced nor destroyed, so how can the mind arise within it? Arising is a form of production. So these states, which are not produced and not extinguished, cannot come forth from the mind.

A cataract that covers the eye is neither within nor without those in the world who see the Buddha should know he’s also like this. The analogy here is a film over the eye. The film is not within the eye, nor is it outside of the eye. Yet there is something between the eye organ itself and the connected tissue which makes up this film. By the same token, the sentient beings who perceive the Buddha, “should know he’s also like this.” You should know the Buddha can be likened to a film on the eyes which is neither in the eyes, nor outside of the eyes. It also isn’t the middle. Living beings see the Buddha. They also see the transformation bodies of the Buddha, and the pure response body of the Buddha. But the Buddha’s basic substance isn’t the transformation bodies or the response body. It fills up all places. So the Bodhisattva says, you “should know he’s also like this.”

Sutra:

In order to benefit living beings,
The Thus Come One comes into the world.
Living beings perceive his coming,
But in actuality, he does not appear in the world.

It can’t be that one perceives the Buddha
In a certain country, or on a certain day or night.
Nor is it possible to delineate him
In terms of years, months, or a single kshana.

Commentary:  

The Buddha comes into the world In order to benefit living beings. He causes all living beings who have affinities with him to see the Buddha enter the world, so that give rise to the resolve for Bodhi and cultivate Proper, Equal, and Right Enlightenment. The Thus Come One comes into the world. The Buddha enters the world to benefit all living beings. Living beings perceive his coming. Living beings are attached to provisional dharmas. They mistake the false for the true. They don’t know the Buddha is unmoving within the Land of Constant Stillness and Light, and that in actuality, he does not appear in the world. In reality the Buddha doesn’t come into the world. It’s only because living beings are attached to the idea, that they see the Buddha as coming into the world and then entering Nirvana.

It can’t be that one perceives the Buddha in a certain country, or on a certain day or night. Originally, the Buddha pervades and fills up the Dharma Realm to the exhaustion of empty space, so it’s not principled to say that the Buddha comes into a certain world and doesn’t enter another world and so forth. The Buddha manifests in response to the conditions and potentials of living beings. You can’t say that the Buddha is perceived in a certain country. You can’t see the Buddha in terms of daytime or night time, Nor is it possible to delineate him in terms of years, months, or a single kshana. You cannot figure out the Buddha by means of time or space--not by means of one lifetime, or one month, or a split second. The Buddha transcends time and transcends empty space. The Buddha can take limitless kalpas and compress them into a single kshana. He can take one kshana and expand it into immeasurable kalpas. The realm of the Buddha transcends time and transcends empty space. It can’t be conceived of--it’s ineffable. You should know that you cannot understand the Buddha in terms of countries, day or night, years, months, or kshanas, or any other divisions of time or space, for the Buddha’s state is incalculable and inconceivable.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Those who cultivate the Buddhadharma should take on the responsibility of saving the entire world. Every thought, world, and deed should be dedicated to the good of the entire world. Why are there wars in the world? It’s because the fighting in the minds of living beings is especially heavy. People’s minds continually engage in battling and false thoughts. The false thoughts set up a struggle between reason and desire. “Reason” is heavenly principle, something very spontaneous and natural. “Desire” refers to sexual desire and greed without satiation. Thoughts of desire obstruct great wisdom. They do battle with great wisdom. That is why, day by day, the world becomes worse. If everyone can purify his mind so it becomes clear and still, and one can destroy false thoughts, then one’s true wisdom will manifest. If one person has true wisdom, then there’s one person who is peaceful. If ten people have true wisdom, then ten people are peaceful. If all the people in an entire country have true wisdom, then the entire country will be peaceful. This can be extended all the way up to the point where the entire world could become peaceful.

Why isn’t the world peaceful? Because the minds of living beings are constantly filled with desire, and there’s little wisdom in evidence anywhere. So day by day the world becomes worse. That is why each person in the world should make it his or her responsibility to make the world a good place. So everyone should get rid of his or her thoughts of selfishness, self-benefit, greed, hatred, and stupidity. Once you purify them, the world will become a good place. The Buddhadharma is also like this. Everyone should purify his or her mind and get rid of his or her desire, habits, and faults. One should not listen to ghostly talk. Listen to the Buddhadharma, don’t listen to what the ghost says. What’s meant by listening to ghostly talk? This refers to your ghost of selfishness who whispers to you, telling you that what you’re doing doesn’t carry any benefit for you, that you should change your thinking, and so on and so on.

To make Buddhism right, Buddhist disciples should purify themselves and not have impure thoughts. If you have even a hair’s worth of defile thoughts, you won’t attain any wisdom. For so many years we’ve been cultivating, so why is it we’re still so stupid and don’t understand anything? It’s because our defiled thoughts are too heavy, so that pure wisdom isn’t able to manifest.

When the heart is pure,
The moon can reflect in its waters.
When the mind is in samadhi,
There are no clouds in the sky.

If we can be without selfish desire and random thoughts, the true wisdom can manifest. We shouldn’t be unhappy when we hear people talk about our faults. If someone says we are incorrect, we shouldn’t be unhappy. The ancients said, “Whoever is able to bring up our faults is our teacher.” We should be pleased with whoever speaks about our faults. This person is our Good Knowing Advisor.

When Tzu Lu heard others speak of his faults, he was happy.
When Emperor Yu heard wholesome words, he bowed.

When Tzu Lu heard from others about his own faults, it made him incredibly happy. He would think, “You are truly my Good Knowing Advisor! If you hadn’t told me, I never would have been able to recognize this in myself.”

Great King Yu was an Emperor, and yet whenever he heard someone say a sentence of good words, he would make obeisance to that person. There are both people who were willing to correct their faults.

Mistake must be corrected by yourself; they can’t be corrected by other people. Other people can only bring them up, but you have to correct these problems yourself. A Good Knowing Advisor can bring them to your attention, tell you about them, but whether you listen or not is up to you.

Those who cultivate the Way can’t obstruct other people’s cultivate of the Way. It’s already bad enough that you don’t cultivate the Way yourself, but if in addition you proceed to confuse other people, cause them not to cultivate, cause their minds to be disturbed, and cause them to have a lot of false thinking, then you are creating an extremely dangerous situation.

It’s not the world that’s not good, it’s I who am not good. If I want to make the world right, then I first have to be right. If you don’t want your family to fight, then you yourself shouldn’t fight. It all stems from you yourself. It’s not that my disciples are bad, but that I’m bad. I want to correct myself, then my disciples will be good.

* * * * *

Sutra:

Living beings say:
“ On such and such a day, the Buddha accomplished the way”;
Yet the Tathagata’s attainment of Bodhi
Is actually not fixed to a certain day.

The Thus Come One is apart from discriminations;
He is not of this world and transcends all calculations.
All Guiding Masters of the three periods of time
Appear in this way.

Consider how, although the pure solar orb
Actually does not unite with the dark of night,
We still make reference to “day and night” together;
So too do we treat the Dharmas of all Buddhas.

All kalpas in the three periods of time
Do not unite with the Thus Come Ones.
Yet we speak of the Buddhas of the three periods of time,
And also regard the Dharma of the Guiding Master like this.

Commentary:

Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva also says that worldly marks and world-transcending marks are not the same. The world has marks and what is transcendental is without marks. Living beings say, “on such and such a day, the Buddha appeared in the world, and on a certain day, the Buddha left the home-life. On such and such a day, the Buddha accomplished the way, and on such and such a day, the Buddha turned the Dharma Wheel. Then on a certain day, the Buddha entered Mahaparinirvana.” It is in accord with the common truths of the world that one speaks this way. Yet if one speak in accord with the absolute truth, the Tathagata’s attainment of Bodhi is actually not fixed to a certain day. The Buddha’s accomplishment of the Way, his accomplishment of Unsurpassed, Proper and Equal, Right Enlightenment, did not occur at a fixed time on a certain day.

The Buddha, in countless kalpas past, had already accomplished the Way. He says in Brahma Net Sutra,

I have into this Saha World eight thousand times.

Eight thousand times is also just a number. But it’s not just eight thousand times. The Buddha, according with the opportunities of living beings, manifests. There isn’t anything definitive about it.

The Thus Come One is apart from discriminations. If you wish to understand the Buddha, you can’t use the mind which discriminates to calculate or to think about him, because the Buddha is inconceivable. So once you use your mind to think about it or use words to conceptualize it, then you have already fallen into a secondary meaning. He is not of this world and transcends all calculations. The Buddha isn’t like us living beings who use our minds, bound up in attachments, to think with. He transcends all calculations. He’s apart from all reckonings so he isn’t contained in any number. Numbers are very subtle and wonderful. For instance, rockets go into space. This is all calculated by mathematics, and it can’t be off by a hair. These rockets go to the moon, then return, and this belongs to the realm of mathematics. But, the Buddha transcends all numbers. One can neither think of him within one’s mind, nor speak of him with words.

All Guiding Masters of the three periods of time. Speaking on a small scale, the three periods of time refer to this past hour, the present hour, and next hour. In slightly broader terms, this means yesterday, today, and tomorrow--these are also the three periods of time. Or a longer period would include last month, this month, and next month--these too, are the three periods of time. Yet, extending it for even a longer period, the three periods of time also include last year, this year, and next year. So you don’t necessarily have to say that the past time is last life, and that this time is this life, and future time is next life. You can speak of the three periods of time right within this very life. Also, there are past kalpas--past time; this kalpas--present time; and future kalpas--future time. So, the three periods of time are not fixed.

In the line, “All Guiding Masters of the three periods of time,” “all” is a grammatical particle that can mean both “one” and “all.” If it were to mean just one, which Guiding Master would it be referring to? Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha is also the Guiding Master of the past, present, and future. And so the next says that “All Guiding Mater of the three periods of time Appear in this way.” No matter whether there are many or just one, the Guiding Masters manifest in the world all in the same way. They aren’t without production, yet they “sweep away all dharmas, and are apart from all marks.” They act as if not acting. So we living beings shouldn’t use our common, ordinary minds to fathom the wisdom of the sages.

Consider how, although the pure solar orb actually does not unite with the dark of night, we still make reference to “day and night” together; so too do we treat the Dharmas of all Buddhas . Here the analogy is made to the sun in a completely clear sky. As they say,

Not a cloud in the sky for ten thousand miles.

Although this clear and pure sun doesn’t unite with the night, yet day turns into night, and night turn into day. Most common people speak of “day and night” in the sense that they are connected, that is, day connects with night, and night connects with day. However, this is just a common way of speaking. And just as it is with the pure sun, “so too do we treat the Dharmas of all Buddhas.” All Buddhadharmas are also like this; like the pure sun. we living beings, while in the midst of marks, should be apart from marks; while in the midst of dharmas, should recognize the absence of dharmas. One shouldn’t be attached to things which have form and characteristics.

All kalpas in the three periods of time--the great kalpas of the past, present, and future--Do not unite with the Thus Come Ones. Kalpas are kalpas, and Buddhas are Buddhas. Although they don’t unite, people speak of the Buddhas of the three periods of time, and also regard the Dharma of the Guiding Master like this. The Dharma of Shakyamuni Buddha is also like this. Although Buddha don’t unite with the three periods of time, yet it is said that there are Buddhas throughout the three periods of time. And the Buddhadharma is also like this.

Sutra:

At that time, Vigorous Banner Bodhisattva received the Buddha’s spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions, and spoke these verses:

All Guiding Masters’ bodies are the same, and
So too are their meanings.
Universally in the lands of the ten directions,
According to potentials, they appear in various ways.

You should contemplate the honored Muni:
That which he does is extremely rare and special.
He completely fills the Dharma Realm,
And there is nothing left out.

The Buddha’s body is not within,
Nor is it without.
Because of spiritual power it is revealed;
The Dharma of the Guiding Master is just like this.

Commentary:

When Jeweled Banner Bodhisattva had finished speaking his verses, At that time, Vigorous Banner Bodhisattva received the Buddha’s spiritual power, universally contemplated the ten directions, and spoke these verses. In this Dharma assembly, there is a Bodhisattva called Vigorous Banner Bodhisattva. This Bodhisattva is vigorous both day and night. In the six periods of the day and night he is constantly vigorous. He doesn’t rest either in the day or night. With his body he is always diligent by constantly following the Buddhas in study. With his mind he is ever-vigorous by continually reflecting on and investigating the Buddhadharma. Therefore, he’s given the name Vigorous Banner Bodhisattva.

This Bodhisattva also relies on the great, awesome spiritual power of Vairochana Buddha, that is to say, Shakyamuni Buddha. He receives the great, awesome spiritual power of all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time. Having attained the protection and support of the of the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three periods of time, his eloquence and wisdom increase and he becomes unobstructed. Then he is able to universally contemplate the causes and conditions of the living beings of the ten directions and three periods of time, and according to the proper Dharma door that ought to be used to teach and transform them, he speaks that Dharma. He uses verses which are very simple in meaning to explain the Buddhadharma for them.

All Guiding Masters’ bodies are the same . All the Buddhas of ten directions and the three periods of time have bodies which are identical. They all share the Dharma body. and So too are their meanings. They have the same body, and their meaning are also the same. The path of all Buddhas is the same. Buddhas are identical to other Buddhas. There isn’t any discrimination of this and that. Although in the East there’s Medicine Master Buddha, in the South there’s Jeweled Victory Buddha, in the West there is Amitabha Buddha, in the center there is Shakyamuni Buddha, and in the North there is Accomplishment Buddha, although there are all these distinctions, yet, ultimately they all have one substance. And so Universally in the lands of the ten directions, according to potentials, they appear in various ways. According to living beings’ mind and responses, the Buddhas produce all kinds of bodies to teach and transform them.

You should contemplate the honored Muni. Each of you living beings--you, me, and him--are included, all the present living beings spoken of here. You should take a look at Shakyamuni Buddha, World Honored One, because That which he does is extremely rare and special. What he does is very unique and excellent. He completely fills the Dharma Realm. His Dharma body completely fills up the Dharma Realm to the ends of empty space, And there is nothing left out. In all places he is neither present nor is he not present.

The Buddha’s body is not within. The body of the Buddha is present, yet it’s not present. It’s not inside, Nor is it without. He’s also not outside. Because of spiritual power it is revealed. Because of the spiritual strength cultivated by all Buddhas based on the power of past vows, he therefore appears. The Dharma of the Guiding Master is just like this. The Buddhadharma is that way too.

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