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| Contents Door 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 previous next * Preface | ||
Prologue:
The Dharma Flower also says, “From the time they first saw me and heard what I said, they immediately believed and accepted it, and entered into the Thus Come One’s wisdom,” which is the root of the gradual. It further says, “casting aside their former cultivation and study of the Small Vehicle,” which is the opening of the gradual. It also says, “I now also lead them to hear this Sutra, and enter into the Buddha’s wisdom,” which is gathering the branch-tips to return to the root.
Commentary:
The Dharma Flower also says, it furthermore says in the Dharma Flower Sutra, “From the time they first saw me, first saw my person, and heard what I said, heard the Dharma I spoke, they immediately believed and accepted it, and entered into the Thus Come One’s wisdom.” They attained the wisdom of a Buddha, which is the root of the gradual. This refers to the basic Dharma underlying the gradual. It further says, moreover, “casting aside their former cultivation and study of the Small Vehicle,” for in the past they had vowed to study and practice the Small Vehicle, which is the opening of the gradual. This is to open up the gradual from the basic root, which is:
To bestow the provisional for the sake of the actual.
It also says, “I now also lead them to hear this Sutra.” They hear The Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, the same applies to The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra which we are hearing now, “And enter into the Buddha’s wisdom.” They acquire the wisdom of a Buddha, which is gathering the branch-tips to return to the root. “Branch-tips” refers to the Small Vehicle, while “the root” refers to the Great Vehicle.Prologue:
This then indicated that the Dharma Flower also designated this Sutra as the root.
Commentary:
This then indicated, the previously quoted passage of text also shows that the Dharma Flower, that within the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Flower Sutra, it also designates this Sutra as the root. It says that The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra is the basic root of the Buddhadharma. The Dharma Flower Sutra is completely perfect and uniquely wonderful, and yet the Dharma Flower Sutra praises the Flower Adornment Sutra nd takes the Dharma of the Flower Adornment Sutra as its basis. Therefore, the basic root of the Teaching is the Flower Adornment Sutra There’s no doubt about it.Prologue:
Five, in order to display the virtues of the fruit. That is, within this fundamental Dharma, to display the supreme qualities of a Buddha, causing all Bodhisattvas to believe in them, tend towards them, and certify to them. Unaware of precious jade, one does not obtain its use. Not knowing of these virtues, how could they gaze up and seek them?
Commentary:
Five, in order to display the virtues of the fruit. That is, within this fundamental Dharma, to display the supreme qualities of a Buddha, causing all Bodhisattvas to believe in them, tend towards them, and certify to them. The Fifth Cause is in order to set forth and reveal the virtues of the fruit of Buddhahood. The reason for revealing the virtues of the fruit of Buddhahood, the reason this kind of great, fundamental Dharma expressed in The Great Means Expansive Buddha Flower Adornment Sutra was spoken, was to cause the Bodhisattvas to give rise to faith, resolve to tend towards this great, fundamental root Dharma in their cultivation, and certify, testify, to this great fruit. As it is said:
They speak Great Dharma, believe in Great Dharma,
Cultivate Great Dharma, and certify to the Great Fruit.
They testify to the perfect fruit of Buddhahood.
Unaware of precious jade, one does not obtain its use. Not knowing of these virtues, how could they gaze up and seek them? It is as if there were a piece of precious jade which has to be recognized as such. If you do not recognize what it is, you will mistake it for an ordinary rock. Diamonds are another example. People who can recognize diamonds know that they are valuable jewels, but people who don’t recognize them mistake them for ordinary glass which has no great use.
One use of precious jade is to keep one’s skin moist. If you have very dry skin and wear a piece of jade next to your skin, it won’t be dry anymore. If your skin itches, and you wear a piece of jade on that spot, it won’t itch. Why is that? It’s because it’s precious. If a person is wearing a piece of precious jade and falls from a third-story building, it is said that if the jade is real, the person will not be hurt, but the jade will be destroyed instead, that when you wear jade, the jade undergoes the injury for you. It either breaks in four pieces or breaks in two; it protects you and can save your life. There is also obsidian. The reason obsidian is so expensive is that it is said that if someone is wearing it and happens to fall down or be in a car accident, the stone will be destroyed and the person will not be harmed, or have only minor injuries. Therefore, it’s precious, worth a lot and very rare. However, you must be able to recognize it to know you have a piece of precious jade. Also, you can’t say, “I know it’s not jade, but I’m going to consider it jade anyway.” That’s useless.
The longer jade is worn next to the body, the better it becomes. It takes on a kind of visibly glossy aura and turns transparent as glass. Women all like to wear jade, and men wear rings made of it, because it is a treasure and people esteem it. If someone has a beautiful piece of fine jade, he hides it away and doesn’t let people see it, for fear it will be stolen. These days cups are made that look like jade, and since people are able to fabricate them, they consider them very ordinary. If such cups had existed five thousand years ago, they would have been considered treasures. So in China long ago they talked of “moonlight cups,” as in the poem:
The fine wine of Lan Ling called Yu Chin Hsiang,
When quaffed in jade cups has iridescent light.
Yet the host is able to intoxicate his guests,
So they do not know what place is the village of theirs.
“The village of theirs” can means it’s not their own but “theirs”, other people’s village. You can also interpret is as “I’m now in their village, not my own, but I don’t know it. I feel as if I were still in my own home.” So you shouldn’t explain this line too carefully. Why not? It talks about not knowing. They don’t know, so you can’t explain it clearly. If you explained it as if they knew it was their village, you would have discounted the wine. The reason they don’t know is that they are drunk on wine. They can’t tell if it’s heaven or San Francisco under the influence of drink, they don’t know.
That’s enough explanation of “precious,” for there’s no end to it. The point is, you must be able to recognize something as precious. “Unware of precious jade...” you have to recognize it as precious jade to know how to use it. For example, if you use a jade cup for drinking something, that’s very suitable. But if you give it to a child to use as a chamber pot, then that’s incorrect. That is not knowing how to use the precious treasure. “Not knowing of these virtues, how could they gaze up and seek them?” if these virtues of the fruit of Buddhahood are not revealed and set forth, how could they gaze up in admiration at those lofty virtues.Prologue:
As for the virtues of a Buddha, there are two one, dependent fruit, such as the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury, and so forth: two, proper fruit, such as the Thus Come One’s ten bodies, and so forth. These two are non-obstructive, and constitute the virtues of a Buddha.
Commentary:
As for the virtues of a Buddha... “As for” continues the above discussion of the Bodhisattvas’ search for the fruit of Buddhahood, their cultivation of it, and their certification to it. Now it discusses how many qualities there are to the fruit of Buddhahood, saying there are two: One, dependent fruit, also called dependent retribution, such as the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury, and so forth. “Dependent fruit” means our world and the rest of the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury. Two, proper fruit, which means such as the Thus Come One’s ten bodies, and so forth. There are two lists of ten bodies.
The first is:
- The Bodhi Body.
- The Body of Vows.
- The Transformation Body.
- The Dwelling and Maintaining Body.
- The Body Adorned with Fine Marks.
- The Powers Body.
- The As-You-Will Body.
- The Body of Blessings and Virtue.
- The Wisdom Body.
- The Dharma Body.
The Second is:
- The Living Beings Body.
- The Country Body.
- The Karmic Retribution Body.
- The Sound Hearer Body.
- The Body of One Enlightened to Conditions.
- The Bodhisattva Body.
- The Thus Come One Body.
- Wisdom Body.
- The Dharma Body.
- The Empty Space Body.
These two are non-obstructive. Dependent fruit is non-obstructive, proper fruit is non-obstructive, the two fruits, dependent and proper, are mutually non-obstructive, and constitute the virtues of a Buddha. Those are the qualities of the fruit of Buddhahood.
Our first summer session is almost over, and those who would like to continue and participate in the second session are welcome to do so. You are also welcome not to join the second session and the third. If you feel that the Buddhadharma is inconceivable, you should study it some more, and continue to participate. If you think, “I’ve studied enough,” it’s like eating. When you’ve eaten your fill, you don’t need to eat again until you become hungry. The principle is the same. Now in America, our Sino-American Buddhist Association has Dharma lectures every evening, and also during the day. Now as I contemplate the entire world, places as busy as we are very, very few. People in the world are all asleep and haven’t awakened, so they don’t know it’s wonderful. If you sleep and then wake up, then you will know it’s wonderful; if you don’t’ know it’s wonderful, it still is wonderful. It’s ineffably wonderful. There is no way to describe its wonder, so I won’t discuss it tonight.
Prologue.
Concerning the non-obstruction of dependent and proper, together there are six propositions. One, within the dependent there manifests the dependent, like seas of kshetras within dust-motes. Two, within the proper there manifests the proper, like hair-pores manifesting Buddhas. Three, within the proper manifests the dependent. Four, within the dependent manifests the proper. Five, within the dependent manifests the dependent and the proper. Six, within the proper manifest the proper and the dependent. There is more than one supporting text.Commentary:
Previously the discussion told how the two categories of virtues of the fruit of Buddhahood, dependent fruit and proper fruit, are mutually non-obstructive. Now their mutual non-obstruction is going to be explained using the principles of six propositions, and so it says concerning the non-obstruction of dependent and proper, together there are six propositions. There are six statements which have interconnected principles.One, the first proposition, is within the dependent there manifest the dependent. Inside of the dependent fruit there further appears the dependent fruit, that is, dependent retribution, like seas of kshetras within dust-motes. What is meant by dependent retribution? It means the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury. The seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury include the Dharma Realm within them. Our world. According to the Flower Adornment Sutra is the Lotus Flower Banner World System. The Lotus Flower Banner World System has twenty tiers. The Saha World of ours is the thirteenth tier. To speak from a more superficial point of view, all mountains, rivers, the great earth, the houses we live in and so forth are dependent retribution as well.
We people are called proper retribution or proper fruit, and so it is said that the proper fruit is the Thus Come One’s ten kinds of bodies. Now, inside the dependent retribution, there is a further manifestation of dependent retribution. How does it appear? Inside each and every particle of dust can appear seas of kshetras many as fine motes of dust, and so it says “like seas of kshetras within dust-motes.” Inside every particle of dust appear the Flower Treasury worlds, which are very large. However, the particles of dust do not enlarge, nor do the worlds of the Flower Treasury shrink. How, then, can the worlds of the Flower Treasury appear within a single mote of dust? It’s because you have run inside that single mote of dust.
You say, “I don’t understand this. How can something so large appear inside a mote of dust while the worlds remain as large as ever and the dust-motes stay just as small? How can they grow inside the particles of dust? If you want to know how they can fit inside a single mote of dust, you first need to find out how they can not fit inside. Once you understand how they do not fit, you’ll understand how they do fit. That is the first proposition.
Two, the second, is within the proper there manifests the proper, like hairpores manifesting Buddhas. There are 84,000 hair-pores on the human body, and inside every single hair-pore, Vairochana Buddha can appear. Hair-pores re proper retribution, proper fruit, and they make appear Dharma Body Buddha who are also proper fruit. And so it says: “Within the proper there manifests the proper.”
There is also three, within the proper manifests the dependent. Inside every hair-pore there appear seas of kshetra-worlds many as fine motes of dust. The Flower Treasury World-Systems appear in a single hair-pore, which is “Within the proper manifests the dependent.” Four, within the dependent manifests the proper. Furthermore, within a single miniscule particle of dust there can appear the Buddha’s Dharma Body. The Buddha sits there in the Way Place, turns the Great Dharma Wheel, teaches and transforms living beings, and performs the activities of a Buddha on a vast scale.
Five, within the dependent manifest the dependent and the proper. Inside the dependent, that is, within single particles of dust, there can also appear both the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury and limitless Buddhas. That’s “within the dependent manifest the dependent and the proper.” Six, within the proper manifest the proper and the dependent. Also within the proper retribution, proper frui, which is to say inside a hair-pore, “manifest the proper and the dependent.” The Buddhas appear, and so do the seas of worlds of the Flower Treasury. There is more than one supporting text. In the Sutra text itself there are a great many places where this will be said. Not just one passage illustrates the state of non-obstruction of dependent and proper.previous next Contents * Preface