An Overview of the Buddhadharma By Living Buddha
Sheng-yen Lu SIXTH DAY: MAY 8, 1993 Today is the sixth day of the discourse on An Overview of the Buddhadhanna given here at the Rainbow Villa. The topics to be discussed today will be the Seven Bodhyanga (branches of Enlightenment) and the Eightfold Path. Actually, during my year-long discussion of the Maha Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, which I just completed two weeks ago, I gave an extensive commentary on the Eightfold Path. If you paid close attention during those talks, you will have realized that, in the Four Noble Truths which are "accumulation, suffering, path, and extinction of suffering," the "path" refers to the Eightfold Path. In the future, when you want to experience and actualize the Eightfold Path at a deeper level, you may go and read the transcript from my discourse on the Maha Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. The Seven Bodhyanga We will first discuss the Seven Bodhyanga, whlcn are branches of bod hi-illumination (Enlightenment). What are the Seven Bodhyanga? They also may be called the Seven Factors of Enlightenment. Like pillars, these Seven Factors of Enlightenment give support to seven kinds of wisdom. Where may one find reference to the Seven Bodhyanga? In the Amitabha Sutra. People reborn to Amitabha's Sukhavati continue to develop the Seven Bodhyanga. The seven rows of jeweled trees, together with the birds of Kalavinka and Jivajivaka which are mentioned in the sutra, enable one to experience these seven kinds of illumination. The Seven Bodhyanga are: Investigation, Effort (which was already discussed in the Six Paramitas section of this discourse), Joy, Mindfulness, Alert Ease, Samadhi (which was also discussed earlier), and Relinquishing. Investigation The key subject of my discussion today will be Investigation. It is extremely important to have this illumination in the process of learning the Buddhadharma, for one cannot learn and practice every single Buddhist practice which exists. The Buddhadharma knowledge is as vast as the ocean, and it is impossible for one to learn all of it, even if one devotes one's whole life to this endeavor. Therefore, one has to make an investigation into the Dharmas and select those Buddhist practices which are most appropriate for oneself. In fact, such Investigation has led to the division of the Buddhadhamla into many different schools and sects. In the past, a Buddhist monk may have decided that a certain sutra was the most inspirational to him, and he was able to obtain many insights from studying it. Thus he went and established a new school based on that particular sutra. Each of the ten best-known Buddhist schools has its own emphasis and orientation. For example, the Abhidharnla School emphasizes the tenet of "egolessness." The Satyasiddhi School, which is based on the Satyasiddhi Treatise, emphasizes the nature of the emptiness of both "ego" and "Dharma." Among the teachings of the many schools there also exist doctrines which are contradictory to each other. To my knowledge, for example, the Abhidharma School teaches that the Bardo state is a concrete state. In other words, the Abhidharma School believes in the existence of the soul which takes on a form in the Bardo state. On the other hand, the Satyasiddhi School emphasizes that there is no Bardo state, nor any existence of the soul. Thus these two schools contradict each other. One affirms the soul while the other negates it. What, then, is the Mahayana viewpoint regarding the question of the soul? The Mahayana view is, "Some have souls, and some do not." It may be hard for one to comprehend why there are three different viewpoints regarding the existence of the soul. One says the soul exists, one says the soul does not and one says the soul exists but only in some conditions. How is one to decide which school's teaching is correct? Actually, what Mahayana means is that great sages or adepts do not have to pass through the Bardo state but can ascend directly to realm of the Buddhas. The bypassing of the Bardo state skips the stage of the soul. In my case, when the day comes for me to depart from this physical existence, 1 will transform directly into the Rainbow Light and enter into the realm of the Buddhas. There will not be a transitional stage of the soul. On the other hand, Mahayana also teaches that greatly evil people skip the Bardo state too. When a person with heavy negative kamla dies, there is no taking shape of the soul in the Bardo state because he will descend directly to the realm of the Hungry Ghosts. From these three different beliefs, one may choose the one that personally makes the most sense. What, then, docs the Ch'an (Zen) school emphasize? Ch' an emphasizes that "Enlightenment is attained when one glimpses into the Innate Nature." One becomes the Buddha when the Original Nature is intuited. This is the main focus of Ch'an. The T'ien-t'ai School stresses the tenet of "One Mind and its Three Aspects." The three aspects are "the absolute, the relative, and the mean." The Hua-yan school stresses the tenet of "Ten Divisions Six Appearances." In the future, if the opportunity arises, I will talk about the practice method of each of these schools. You may want to make an investigation into one of them, if it appeals to you. There is also the Fa-hsiang School (Yogachara School) which holds that "everything experienceable is mind only." The Pure Land School is the most popular school nowadays because it is the most convenient kind of Buddhism to practice. The Pure Land School teaches that, when one practices recitation with one-pointed concentration, one can also see into one's Innate Nature and attain Buddhahood. The Pure Land School is based on three sutras (the Sukhavati-vyuha, the Amitabha sutra, and the Amitayurdhyana-sutra), and on one treatise (the Rebirth Treatise). There is the Vinaya School which stresses the importance of precepts and is based on the Four-division Vinaya. Disciplines (precepts) lead to stability, and stability gives rise to wisdom. When one becomes an adept in meditative stability, one can also reach Enlightenment. There is the Three Treatises or Madhyamika School. The three treatises are, the Madhyamika Treatise, the Hundred Verses Treatise, and the Twelve-Points Treatise. Collectively, their main tenet is again the nature of the emptiness of the self. There is also the Esoteric School. The True Buddha Tantric Dharma is an esoteric teaching. The teaching of the Esoteric School is mainly based on the Vajra Apex Sutra and the Vairocana Sutra. Within the esoteric structure, its first (or external) level of practice deals with purification of the body, speech, and mind. The second (or internal) level of practice deals with the Energy Yoga of "chi, channels, and light drops." When the body, speech, and mind of an ordinary being are purified, transmuted, and unified, one sees one's Original Nature and attains Enlightenment. Altogether, these are the ten best-known Buddhist schools in Chinese Buddhism. One has to make a selection from among all these schools. Say we have here, in a row, ten noodle shops, and each one claims that its noodles are the best. So far, I have not heard anyone admitting that its noodles are inferior to others. They all claim that their products are the best and the price is reasonable. Some people like to try their luck by random selection. In fact, when anyone of these noodle shops can fill one's stomach, the choice then comes down to the affinity or the causal connections one has with any particular shop. Similarly, there are many different Buddhist schools and every school claims to be the best. In the Shurangama-sutra, when Buddha Shakyamuni inquired about the methods of practice of the twenty-five Bodhisattvas, he was told that some used the method of fire to attain the Flame Samadhi, some used the method of water to attain the Water Samadhi, while Kuan Yin Bodhisattva reported that he had used the Inner Hearing Method. Nowadays, some people still practice the methods of inner hearing and inner light vision. During his lifetime, the Buddha frequently emphasized the cultivation of the Flame Samadhi and the Four Noble Truths. To succeed in the practice of the Flame Samadhi is to realize the fourth level of arhathood. There are also many great Bodhisattvas who have arrived at Buddhahood through their own particular practice methods. One should therefore make a decision based on one's own preferences. Select the school for which one has the strongest affinity, and turn that into the root of one's Buddhist practice. This is Investigation. You have to make an investigation and then make a selection. Which school are you going to pick today? [Audience replies, "The True Buddha School."] [laughter and audience laughter] Well, you have made the right decision! [laughter and audience laughter and applause] This is Investigation. To select the right Buddhist practice for oneself, one must use one's judgment. If one does not care, but prefers to wear a blindfold -- just like the pandas, Green Hornet, Batman or whatever-man who all wear blindfolds around their eyes -- one may try one's luck by groping around to find which school one will end up in. One might call it fate, but such "fate" may not be the best, as it is based on a blind decision. Investigation means that one has to use one's wisdom to judge the right practice for oneself. It is the same with taking refuge in a teacher. One has to observe and make a wise judgment. Otherwise, if one does not care and just enters any tavern randomly, one might just end up as an ingredient for the "human flesh buns." In the Chinese classical novel, Water Margin, there are evil taverns that sell "human flesh buns." When one goes unawaringly into such a tavern, if the storekeeper happens to run out of raw materials, and sees that one is plump and tender and has a lot of grease, [laughter and audience laughter] one will be slaughtered and turned into snacks. Similarly, there are many false Dharmas which claim to be the true Buddhadharma. So be careful and don't jump on board a pirate ship, or enter into an evil tavern. Instead of enjoying a great meal, one ends up as somebody else's snack. To avert such a happening requires investigation into the Dharmas. An Excellent Dharma Why does one choose the True Buddha School? Why is the True Buddha School so excellent? One must be able to back up one's selection. All of you here have chosen the True Buddha School, and I commend you for your great wisdom and intelligent choice. But, what makes the True Buddha Dharma so excellent? You have to be able to tell. When one talks about the excellency of a dish, one may claim that it is all in the soup stock! The soup stock has been prepared using only authentic ingredients, without any monosodium glutamate. Food enhanced by MSG really gives me the shivers now. [laughter] The soup stock has been prepared by slowly cooking pork bones and dried seafood delicacies together in a double-boiler for three days and three nights. Sprinkled on top of the soup are some green onion, garlic, and a little bit of red carrot, Tagu Man [in Japanese]. [laughter and audience laughter] It is not just aromatic and flavorful, it is also colorful. What a delicious soup! It stimulates your appetite and you want more of it. The purpose is not to stuff one's stomach instantly. If you do that, you will not come back anymore. Instead, if you are given half a bowl of this excellent soup which has everything -color, aroma, and flavor -then you will want to come back for more. An Outstanding Root Guru Topping the list of the excellent qualities of True Buddha School is the Root Guru, isn't it? [audience applause] I am blowing my own trumpet now! [laughter and audience laughter ] Yet this is the truth. You could ask the many masters and esoteric tulkus out there, "Have you been to Sukhavati, Amitabha's Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss?" Most of them cannot answer "yes." Very few people can talk about their visits to Sukhavati. Perhaps some exist, but very few. Most of them have not done any actual travelling there, although they can imagine how it would look based on the descriptions in the Amitabha Sutra. There are many Buddhist monks and nuns who have gone to Sukhavati, but they have not made it back to tell us. [audience laughter] When they go there after they have died and passed on from the physical realm, they cannot communicate to us how Sukhavati looks, the names of some of the sites there, or what kinds of transportation exist there. Right? What is the population there? How large is the Pure Land? Only a guru who himself has actually walked on the path and returned can guide others to walk on the same path without getting lost. [audience applause] This is a very simple principle. If you have been to a particular city, you know how to get there and what the city looks like. If you have not actually travelled there, and all you have is just a tourist guidebook, you may still be able to tell others how to get there and what kind of architecture, sculpture, or museums are there, but it would be inferior information than that of someone who has actually been there himself. That is why the Root Guru of the True Buddha School is Ichiban. [audience laughter] Other Dharma masters are also quite good, but they are second-seeded [in Japanese]. [audience laughter] A Buddhist master who has never travelled to Sukhavati himself can only describe the Pure Land based on the Amitabha Sutra, as spoken by Buddha Shakyamuni. The sutra describes lotus flowers as large as carriage wheels. What kind of carriage wheels are those? At the time of the Buddha, there were no cars or jeeps, just carriages and carts drawn by cattle and horses. So, what is the actual size of these lotus flowers as large as carriage wheels? Only someone who has travelled there and seen them can describe them. How many people can sit inside one lotus? You might feel confident answering "one," since there is always only one lotus throne to each Buddha or Bodhisattva in the Buddhist paraphernalia that we have seen. But that answer is wrong. The lotus flowers that I have seen in Sukhavati can accommodate from one to more than a dozen of people. Some seat one, and some seat more than ten people. The other Dharma masters will not be able to tell us the seating capacity of each of these lotus flowers, as they have not witnessed them first-hand. The True Buddha School is remarkable because its root gum has been to Sukhavati himself. [audience applause] We engage in actual practice to confirm and validate for ourselves what it is like in Sukhavati. Everything is clear at one glance. This kind of wisdom awareness is not derived from books. Other Dharma masters' knowledge of Sukhavati comes entirely from books, as they have not travelled there for verification. A remarkable root guru is the primary reason why the True Buddha School is so outstanding. The Outstanding Empowerments The second remarkable quality of esoteric schools is its rituals of empowerments. [audience applause] Do exoteric or scriptural schools perform empowerments? Well, one Dharma master of an exoteric schools has recently started to give empowerments. He also prepared a vase of "sweet nectar" to sprinkle on his students. Where did the water in his vase come from? From the faucet. When you go home, you also can go and get some water from the faucet and start giving empowerments to your children and grandchildren. Actually, if the sprinkling of water is all there is to giving empowerment, one might as well purchase a water pistol, as it holds more water and is more convenient to use. As each student approached, you could squirt the water pistol at each of them. The bestowal of empowerments is absolutely not like that. The master has to first visualize the Wisdom Deity residing in the spiritual realm to enter into the water inside the vase. Next the master must visualize another Wisdom Deity appearing above the top of his head, and entering into his heart. Then, in one flash, the master transforms himself into the Wisdom Deity. Only after such a procedure may the water be used for the esoteric ritual of empowerment. [audience applause] Since esoteric empowerments appear, on the surface, to be very simple, this other Dharma master of the scriptural school decided it was much better than the school's regular ritual of taking refuge, so he borrowed it. Empowerment is not the same as sprinkling water for the purpose of purification. It involves the recitation of mantra, visualization, and the merging and communion with the Wisdom Deity. The integration of all these elements constitutes an esoteric ritual. Before giving others an empowerment, one must have already received such an empowerment from one's root guru. This is just common sense. If a master of the True Buddha School wants to give an empowerment to other students, he or she should first come and receive the same empowerment from the root guru. [audience applause] Dharma master of the exoteric school does not have any Tantrayana lineage. Although he sometimes chants mantras, he does not have a Tantric guru, and he has not received any empowerment from any Tantric guru. His training practice have always been exoterically oriented. Therefore, giving others an empowerment is an error on his part. In the esoteric tradition, empowerment is transmitted from one person who has received it previously from his teacher to the next, constituting a lineage. Its source can be traced. One does not suddenly, out of the blue, give others empowerments. It is a mistake to give another an empowerment that one has not previously received from the root guru. I have explained before that, in Tantrayana, the Initiation Empowerment turns one into a Dharma Prince, a Buddha-in-waiting. Through initiation, the fruition of future Buddhahood is conferred upon one, and one becomes a successor to the Five Buddhas. Esoteric schools are remarkable for this "taking fruition as the path" approach. In the past, someone asked the eh'an master Pai-chang, "Who is the Buddha?" Has any of you read about this koan? Pai-chang's quick reply showed that he had already attained Enlightenment, "Who are you?" You are the Buddha! You yourself are the Buddha. In the past, students have asked me, "Grand Master, are you a Buddha?" I replied, "You are the Buddha!" [audience laughter and applause] Although this is a very simple inquiry, some people are unable to come up with the answer right away. Tantrayana is a direct pathway. When I give you an Initiation Empowerment, you become a Buddha, a Buddha-in-waiting. I remember when I was applying for college, there was this one fellow student who told me that he was "in between being accepted." When pressed for a clarification, he told me that he was a candidate on the waiting list. As soon as a vacancy showed up, he could enroll. Similarly, all of you arc on the waiting list to become the Buddha. What kind of Buddha are you? You arc the Buddha-in-waiting. You immediately become the Buddha-in-waiting after the Initiation Empowerment. Esoteric empowem1ents are mysteriously profound. You must not slight yourself, you must become the Buddha. [audience applause] The Remarkable Pure Land -The Realm of Eternal Rest and Light An ordinary Dharma master of the Pure Land school will tell you that, through his chanting practice, he is going to Sukhavati when he dies. However, if he has not had any vision or experience of Sukhavati while alive, he cannot know for sure that he will be going there. In our school, all preparations have been made. Your palaces and rooms have already been created for you; even your attendants are waiting there in the Pure Land for you. [audience applause] The manifestation of the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds Pure Land is already completed, and all its celestial palaces are ready for you to move in. The Maha Twin Lotus Ponds is a Pure Land established by your root guru, and it is located in the Realm of Eternal Peace and Light in Sukhavati. All True Buddha School students can go there in the future. Everything is prepared and ready. The Pure Land Dharma masters urge you, "Go, go and seek rebirth in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss." Who are you going to look up when you get there? [audience laughter] You have to have some kind of plan, isn't this so? So, you want to find Amitabha. It is true that Amitabha is in Sukhavati, but you should also know someone personally there. Remember that your Pure Land is the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds located in the Realm of Eternal Peace and Light in Sukhavati. [audience applause1If you know where you are going, Amitabha will know that you are a student of the True Buddha School and will immediately assign a residence for you. [audience applause] If you are unable to tell him the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds, he will have to ask you which school you belong to, what kind of practice have you done, and many other questions. If, after half a day of questioning, he is still clueless as to where you want to go, he will say, "Well, I will just have to assign you to the borderland of Sukhavati!" [audience laughter] Therefore one of the outstanding features of the True School is its remarkable Pure Land. Its Pure Land has already been established and has manifested. The Remarkable Tantric Practice In this world, can one find another Buddhist practice like the True Buddha School practice? You won't find another one. Someone told me, "Oh, there is a Dharma master who also teaches the same True Buddha Tantric Practice. It is exactly the same as what Grand Master teaches." Indeed? I was curious and wanted to meet with him. So, we did some investigation and found out that this Dharma master is actually a third generation True Buddha practitioner, kind of a "step-student," like a grandchild. How is that? Well, one of our students had given this Dharma master a set of True Buddha Tantric Dharma video tapes. After seriously spending some time in his room secretly studying the tapes, he is now openly teaching others our True Buddha Tantric Practice. [laughter and audience applause] Isn't this Dharma master a step-student True Buddha practitioner then? Holding the Teaching Mudra, he announced, "Oh, I have to hold this mudra, this is just too wonderful." I looked around and was surprised by the number of these step-students. There are, indeed, many Dharma masters now secretly learning the True Buddha Tantric Dharma. [audience applause] Most contemporary Buddhist masters teach from books. I don't mean they use cheat sheets, but their teachings are entirely from the scriptures and scriptural commentaries. What would happen if you took away his notebooks when he was not looking? When he got to the podium and reached into his briefcase for the notebook, he would be completely flustered. [laughter and audience laughter] His face would turn ashen and he wouldn't be able to teach at all. Although he may have been teaching the same platitude for more than forty years, once that precious notebook is gone, he can't go on. This is because he has not had any direct or personal experience of the Buddhadharma. His knowledge is entirely from books. So, if you steal the notebook away from him, he has nothing to talk about. There was a similar incident from my college days. It is embarrassing to bring it up. There was a physics professor in our surveying department who was also a professor at the Feng Chia University. The notebook he lectured from had grease marks all over it and reeked of fried bread dough. [laughter] Perhaps he ate his breakfasts of soy milk, fried bread, and sesame seed cake over it. One time we stole his book, and for a whole week he did not show up for class. That week became a period of self-study or goofing off for us. [laughter] Finally we took pity on him and returned his notebook. At the time, I was the head of the student body in the geology department, so I was completely aware of the whole incident. Apart from the remarkable guru, empowerments, fruition, and Pure Land, the most remarkable thing about our school is its outstanding True Buddha Tantric Practice. [audience applause] When one decides to immerse oneself in the Buddhadharma practice, it becomes paramount to find the nuances that make the practice so exquisite. It is impossible to learn all knowledge; therefore, one has to concentrate on the subtle key points. One must not spread oneself too thin by covering the breadth of the Buddhadharma, but one must try to penetrate the subtle points deeply. One will succeed in one's practice when one is able to do this. This also has to do with Effort. During my marksmanship training in the army, I had to learn how to handle the M1 semi-automatic rifle, submachine gun, carbine, light machine gun, heavy machine gun, and the canon. In fact I was known as a sharpshooter then. [audience applause] In learning anything, if one is careful and meticulous, one will figure out an ingenious way to tackle the problem and make progress. There is an interesting story about a student of archery, back in ancient times. At the beginning, the only thing his master asked him to do was to capture the tiniest spider and hang it down from the top of his window. He was then to focus his gaze on the spider every day for three years. How was this spider-gazing supposed to help one's marksmanship? This student was, however, very vigorous and disciplined, and he spent the next three years in gazing at the spider. Do you know what happened after three years? The spider became as big as a cart wheel. Earlier I talked about lotuses as big as carriage wheels, now it is spiders as big as cart wheels. When he went back to see his master, his master told him, "You have already learned all there is to archery. The next step is just to aim your arrow at the spider." He went home and aimed his arrow at the spider which now appeared to him as big as a cart wheel. When the arrow was released, wow, it took flight and hit right on the target. The diameter of an arrow is far bigger than that of a tiny spider, yet, with concentration, the spider can be shot down. When one devotes one's mind totally to a single task, one will be able to pinpoint its key subtlety. How did I become a sharpshooter? First, I had to learn how to adjust the front sight of a gun. Due to individual sighting habits and idiosyncrasies, the sight of a gun needs to be adjusted before one uses it. After the sight device has been adjusted, repeated practice will develop an unfailing accuracy. If it is a gun one has not used before, then one might have trouble when first using it. This is the first key point. The second essential factor is, when the trigger is pulled, the gun must remain stationary. However, since the downpull of the trigger generates an upward rebound force, I always aim the sight of my gun right below the target. I raise the barrel of the gun until the sight is aligned with the lowest exposed rim of the bull' s eye, then I pull the trigger. The gun will move upward slightly with the shell hitting right on the target. This is a secret. In addition to holding the gun very firmly, one's arm has to be fully extended. If one is using the ordinary kind of M1 semiautomatic rifle, which comes with a leather belt, the gun may be stabilized in a triangle by applying a circular grasp on the shoulder belt. There is also a psychological aspect to the art of marksmanship: one doesn't mentally announce to oneself that one is about to pull the trigger. Being that self-conscious, one's heart would beat faster, one's breathing would become tense and, at the critical moment, the gun would jerk upward. Therefore, the trigger has to be pulled in an "unconscious" way. With the mind totally focused on the target and the breathing quiet and smooth, when one pulls the trigger unconsciously, one hits exactly on target. It is a science as well as an art. With all this gun talk, it seems like I have turned into a military trainer and deviated from my talk on the Buddhadharma. [audience laughter] But, this actually has a great deal to do with the Buddhadharma! Do not think I am teaching you how to kill! No. What I am teaching you is: everything has its subtle secret. When you are able to figure out this secret, then every shot of yours will hit the target, and you will become ever-victorious and attain high achievement. [audience applause] There is the art of balance and the science of rebound. To hit the bull's eye, you must aim right below it since the gun will jerk up slightly as soon as the trigger is pulled. Keep your breath smooth and steady, and pull the trigger without any deliberation or even subconscious awareness. Then you will hit exactly on target. The True Buddha Tantric Dharma includes many such subtle keys and authentic treasures. Carefully study the video tapes on A Complete and Detailed Exposition on the True Buddha Tantric Dharma, as it consists entirely of the highest essence produced from a process of arduous and thorough distilling. Ordinary Dharma masters would not be able to offer you such a practice. [audience applause] An Investigation into Dharmas enables one to select the most remarkable practice for oneself. Effort Earlier, in the discussion on the art of archery, I brought up the importance of Effort. Effort also plays an important role in my painting practice. To improve my painting skill, I often go and look at other artists' work. I will stand in front of a painting, study the brush strokes, and locate its essence. Sometimes a seemingly casual placement of a dab of paint captures the exact spirit of the object painted. One must work hard if one wants to make progress on whatever one is studying. If you are studying painting, go and look at other painters' work, then get active and start experimenting yourself. When you integrate your hands, heart, and mind, your paintings will come alive. Do not be perfunctory in whatever you are studying. Approach Buddhist study the same way -vigorously using your body, mind, and heart -and you will definitely succeed. Effort is to learn and work vigorously to make progress on the path. Joy Joy is generally explained as the kind of joy generated and maintained in one's heart when one realizes what a precious thing the Buddhadharma is. It is easy for someone who appreciates and cherishes the Buddhadharma to have this sentiment, but does everyone who comes into contact with the Buddhadharma automatically sprout such a joy? Will one spontaneously exclaim, "What else in the world can be more important than studying and cultivating the Buddhadharma!" The truth is, before one experiences the subtle wonders of the Buddhadharma, one will not engender a profound joy in one's heart. Only after one obtains the profoundly wonderful Dharma Taste will one engender such joy, and appreciate sitting through long sessions of meditation. Although I have emphasized the importance of making time each day to do the practice, many students really lack such motivation. Even if some students could find the free time, they would rather sit in front of the television. It seems that one's favorite television show always comes on during the time one may squeeze in a free moment. A practice each day then becomes a burden. What a pain it is that the Grand Master has asked us to do at least one practice a day! At first one manages to do so, but only with some effort. But, after several days, even that effort becomes too much. This is because one has not yet experienced the Dharma Taste. If one has tasted the Dharma Taste, one will have felt the Joy which is such a feeling of joy and rapture. In my case, I meditate daily, although the meditation does not follow a fixed time schedule. Actually, I don't just meditate daily, I meditate continually throughout the day. This is a condition wherein one is filled with an extraordinary kind of Dharma bliss. Take this moment, for example, I am feeling a tremendous joy right now. This teaching is not a chore to me, and I do not find it tiring. In fact, while sitting here teaching, I am at the same time transporting and maneuvering the chi inside my body. Inside my body, a circle of conductivity goes on which generates an extremely happy feeling. This is the Dharma Taste. The same thing happens when you meditate in a shrine. The vital force from the Universe will enter your body. When your body is filled with this pure, vital force, you will experience a solidifying or firming sensation. It is a very tangible and solid power that gives rise to bliss and euphoria. When you are able to experience this kind of bliss, you will love meditation. You must practice vigorously to reach this level. When the vital force descends into you, you will feel very happy and free. How can I describe it? Like swinging up and down on a swing? No, it is not quite the same. [laughter] Any other better analogies? Like being dazzled by great beauty? No, not quite. Like sinking your soul into a soft cushion? No, not that either. I can't explain it in words. [laughter] It is indescribable. What happens is the chi in your body keeps on circulating and moving and, during this circulation, an ecstasy is generated. This is Joy. This is Dharma Taste. [audience applause] In Tantrayana, the so-called four kinds of stabilization ecstasy are actually a kind of Dharma Taste. When the "drops" at the thousand-petalled lotus (located at the brow-point chakra) melt and descend to permeate the channels and centers of the subtle body, a bliss is generated. This bliss is the Dharma Taste and corresponds to the four Tantric ecstasies. References to Dharma Taste are also found in many Zen koans. For example, the fifth Patriarch Hung-jen asked the sixth Patriarch Hui-neng, "Where are you from?" "I am from Lingnan which is to the south," replied Hui-neng. Hung-jen asked, "How can anyone from Ling-nan be qualified enough to attain Buddhahood?" To which Hui-neng replied, "Men may be classified as from the south or north, but there is no such distinction in the Buddha Nature." This is an answer with Dharma Taste. After Hui-neng realized this Dharma Taste, he also liked to pose the same question to his students, "Where are you from?" The answer would reveal one's realization of the Dharma Taste. Now, let me ask you the same question, "Where are you from?" Would you say you are from Taiwan? [laughter and audience laughter] Or would you say you have no idea at all? [laughter and audience laughter] You have to come up at least with the answer of "somewhere nearby." The Dharma Taste lies in the word "nearby." It is apparent that you have travelled from faraway Taiwan, why then do you say you are from "nearby"? This answer appears to be nonsensical but, when one reconsiders it, one knows that it is an answer of Dharma Taste. What is most intimate to one? The Buddha Nature. I am the Buddha! The Buddha Nature and I are indivisible; therefore "somewhere nearby" is, of course, correct. Such an answer indicates an understanding of the Buddha Nature. There is no separation between you and the Buddha Nature. "I am from 'nearby,'" signifies that one has glimpsed into the nature of the mind. [audience applause] Such an answer scores ninety points on a scale of one hundred. It is an acceptable answer of Dharma Taste. The Sixth Patriarch asked again, "Where are you from?" [A student replies, "From the Empty Space."] Isn't it too far away! [laughter] The Empty Space is so boundless, I would not know how to begin thinking about it. [audience laughter] Your answer is too broad and difficult for me to accept. [laughter] Another student of Hui-neng's gave this reply, "I have not come from anywhere." This is also an answer of Dharma Taste, signifying the indivisibility between the Buddha Nature and oneself. The "I" is the union of the Great Self and the limited self. Wherever the "realized person" is, the Buddha Nature is with him or her, so how can one be from anywhere else? When the Sixth Patriarch heard this reply, he announced, "Good, this is a good answer. You have received my transmission of the Dharma." To a third student, Hui-neng asked again, "Where are you from?" He often posed this same question to many different students. This time, someone replied, "Where I come from or go to makes no difference." Wow! This is also an enlightened answer. It indicates a realization of "non-coming and non-going" which is actually the meaning of the term "Tathagata." A Tathagata is a Buddha. Such words are words of realization. [audience applause] In the Zen school, Dharma Taste is experienced through the exchange of dialogues. One party poses a question and another answers. When one gives the answer some thought, and senses the Dharma Taste in. it, Joy will arise, and one will instantaneously instinctively understand the Buddha Nature. The intuition of the Buddha Nature brings Enlightenment. Pervading the exchange of Zen dialogues are the Dharma Taste and the revelation of one's realization. Through the dialogues, which are a unique tool of Zen, one obtains the Joy of Dharma, intuition, and realization. In the context of Tantrayana, Joy is something very tangible. When the central channel is opened, one perceives the Clear Light. When the five major chakras are opened, one is linked with the Five Fierce Deities. When the heart chakra is opened, one immediately realizes the Bliss Body of Buddhahood. When the throat chakra is opened, one realizes the Emanation Body of Buddhahood. When the brow-point chakra is opened, one realizes the Dharma Body of Buddhahood. To a Tantric practitioner, the Joy is, at the very least, a very tangible and concrete sensation which one may experience during meditation. In the past, there was one lineage holder who actually experienced, while meditating, the phenomenon of "the east wall meeting the west wall." We know this side is the east, that side is the west. Seattle is to the west while Spokane is to the east. If the east wall meets on the west wall, all the Buddha statues enshrined on the east wall here will meet on the Padmakumara statue at the opposite end of this hall. [laughter] The east and the west walls are separated by a distance. However, during meditation, one discovers that the east and the west have dissolved together. What kind of phenomenon is that? This dissolution has made the space dimension disappear. With the space dimension gone, one's body is also gone. The meeting of the east wall with the west wall means that the two have dissolved into each other to become "One Taste." When one is completely merged with the Buddha Nature, the phenomenon of One Taste is engendered. This is the underlying meaning behind the enigmatic phrase "east wall meeting the west wall." It signifies the evaporation of the space dimension, and a direct experience of One Taste, which is a complete dissolution of the limited ego into the nature of the mind. This is Joy, a joyful phenomenon associated with the experience of Dharma. Mindfullness and Alert Ease What is Mindfullness? It refers to the meditational practice of alternating visualization with the cessation of thought. Next is Alert Ease, which requires some discussion. As a practitioner of the Buddhadharma, one's mind will take on the qualities of water -- openness [fluidity] and clarity. The mind becomes cheerful and sees everything with a transparency. A Buddhist practitioner must not spend every day in grief and brooding, with a heart tied up in knots. One's train of thought should flow smoothly and easily without any obstruction. The three channels and seven chakras in the subtle body should be open. This is the Alert Ease that Buddhist practitioners should find themselves in. If one is constantly brooding, one's heart will be tied up in knots. In the past, a person went to seek help from a Dharma master. The person said he was very weary, unhappy, and felt suffocated. That Dharma master only asked him in return, "Who is tying you up?" All of you today must keep this mind, "Who is tying you up?" [A student replies, "I myself."] Right! You are the one who is tying yourself up. There is, in reality, no one else tying you up. Your feet are in good condition, your body is sound, and you are free! Who is tying you up? Why are you unhappy today? Nobody has tied you up. You can actually be happy and free from suffocation. Why indulge in unhappiness and brooding? You are free! We who practice the Buddhadharma today have to learn to be free. We are all free. No one has tied us up. This is Alert Ease, the condition in which one must constantly abide while practicing Buddhism. Samadhi and Relinquishing In the scriptural schools, Samadhi is concentration, onepointedness. In the esoteric schools, Samadhi is Zen meditation. One enters Samadhi and realizes Buddhahood; that is, one uses the highest level of consciousness to realize the truth of Emptiness and then attain transcendental accomplishment. This is Samadhi. What is Relinquishing? According to Buddha Shakyamuni in the Diamond Sutra, "My teachings may be likened to the raft. If the Buddha-teaching must be relinquished, how much more so must be the misteaching!" What this means is that, like a raft that has to be relinquished when one reaches the shore, the Buddhadharma ultimately has to be relinquished. However, during the path of cultivation, some practices have to be relinquished while others cannot. The decision has to be made with wisdom. Thus, in order to receive the bestowal of blessing from the root guru, one should not relinquish the Guru Yoga. [audience applause] To attain the merits of one's Personal Deity, one cannot relinquish the Personal Deity Yoga. [audience applause] To succeed in any general undertaking that needs the aid of the Dharma Protectors, Daka or Dakinis, one must not relinquish the Karma Yogas. [audience applause] How about other practices? You must employ your wisdom to make a decision. Along the graduated stages of the pathway, after achieving a yogic response on a certain stage, one wilI be ready to embark on the next level. Here one must decide which additional practice to take on, and which part of one's current practice needs to be given up. This is something which requires a thoughtful decision. [audience applause] This is the awareness of relinquishing. Involved in these decision makings is a subtle challenge, because it is sometimes difficult for one to let go of a practice in which one has been experiencing yogic response. For example, say you have become so attached to the great joy derived from your response in the Four Preliminary Practices, that you have no desire for other practices. At such times, it is important to make a wise choice. Do you want to move on to the next level? How may you adapt your current practice to the new plan: which practices to keep, which to add, and which ones to relinquish? It is a judgment based entirely on your wisdom. This is the meaning behind the Buddha's words, "My teachings may be likened to the raft. If the Buddha-teaching must be relinquished, how much more so must be the misteaching!" The Flexible Precepts Here I would like to bring up the problem of precepts. When we first become Buddhists, we must abide by the precepts completely. However, precepts are alive and not rigid. A very important point is: how to employ the precepts in a flexible way. This again requires supreme wisdom. Precepts are not to be inflexibly clung to. Some people say, "Do not kill." That is correct, so you stick to this precept and tell yourself, "I absolutely must not kill, not even an ant." This morning I saw a bee buzzing around in my room, I thought to myself, "Should I kill it? If I don't, I am going to get stung in a while when I work on my writing. This side of my face will be swollen and it will show up in the videotape of the discourse to be filmed this afternoon." [audience laughter] So, after some contemplation, I opened the window and shooed it out. I also used my supreme wisdom to make a decision. [audience laughter] To kill the bee is a very simple thing, as it will give me trouble if I don't kill it, isn't this true? Otherwise, I would be stung. Then, suddenly, on this sixth day of the discourse, a bump will show up on my lip. People will say, "Is there something wrong with the Grand Master? Why is his lip swollen? Did someone bite him?" [audience laughter] Unjust accusations would surface. Because of these considerations, I decided to open the window and shoo the bee out. In any undertaking, we have to think through the ramifications and make our decisions accordingly. Buddha Shakyamuni, has also faced the problem of "to kill or not to kill." A robber was going to kill five hundred merchants in a ship. In order to save the five hundred people, the Buddha killed the robber. This is a story from the Jitavaka. Has the Buddha broken the precept of "non-killing"? He has. He did this so that five hundred lives could be spared. It was a wise decision. If the robber started killing, and you told yourself, "I can't kill, just let him kill everyone else," [audience laughter] this would be wrong. If you had the ability to stop the robber from killing, then you must immediately decide whether or not you should kill the robber. In order to save those five hundred people, the Buddha also has killed. Therefore precepts such as "refraining from killing" are absolutely not inflexible. You might think that they are rigid, but they are actually flexible. Take the precept of "refraining from alcohol or intoxicants" as another example. During dinner, a dish of sesame chicken is served. Since wine is used in preparing the dish, you decide not to eat any of it. Everybody else is eating the sesame chicken except you. That kind of behavior is eccentric. [ audience laughter] One of the four methods taught by the Buddha as a means of drawing other people to the Buddhadharma is "participate in the same activity as other people." When everyone is enjoying this chicken, even if you don't want any of it, you should not show that you are repulsed by the sight of others eating it. It would be worse if you start crying! [audience laughter] You should not act that way even if you are abiding by the precept of "non-drinking." Actually, if you want to share the Buddhadharma with other people, why not share it while sharing the sesame chicken? Or you can tell the others jovially, "Go ahead and have my share of the chicken since I am not having it." If it were me, I would have gone ahead and eaten the chicken. [audience laughter] It would not have bothered me. [audience applause] Among the four methods of drawing others to the Buddhadharma is to join in the same activity with other people. That is why, when you ask me to sing for you, I comply even though I am not very good at it. We had some dancing girls come to take refuge in the True Buddha School. This has happened because I have gone dancing and drawn them to the Buddhadharma. [audience applause] If you want me to go up to heaven, I will go up to heaven. If you want me to go into the ocean, I will go into the ocean and swim for you. Actually it is not easy to be the Grand Master. Yesterday, some students were trying out the parallel bars, so I also demonstrated a few movements on them. People were wondering if I was a capable chi practitioner. Seeing what I was able to do on the parallel bars at the age of fifty, they were impressed. [applause] Among our students, Sifu Wong from England and another student from Alaska are both kung-fu masters, so I joined them and showed a few hands. [applause] Sifu Wong demonstrated his Mantis Fist while I showed my Crab-style Fist. [audience laughter and applause] This is known as "joining in the same activity as others." So, precepts are flexible. One of the stanzas in the Fifty Stanzas of Guru-devotion states that stepping on the shadow of one's guru is a transgression as grave as destroying a pagoda. However, yesterday, while several hundred of us were climbing up the hill at the Rainbow Villa compound, how could one avoid stepping onto my shadow? According to the precepts, one is finished when one treads on my shadow. [audience laughter] That was why I told everyone to disregard the precept under such circumstances. The trail was so overcrowded with people going up and down, if you did not step on my shadow, you were alienating yourself from me and not joining in the same activity. It is true that the root guru is venerable, and one should be attentive and courteous to him but, under the crowded conditions yesterday, even if you had not deliberately wanted to tread on my shadow, you would have no choice when others pushed you. [laughter, audience laughter and applause] This is why precepts are flexible, and this flexibility has to do with knowing when and what to "relinquish"! Everything is fundamentally empty, devoid of a separate existence. This is what Emptiness means in the Buddhadharma. When one reaches Perfect Enlightenment, whatever one does is in accordance with the Universal laws. In this state, one is free and abides completely in a blissful and tranquil condition. It is a perfect and transcendental state that flows naturally and spontaneously. People have accused the True Buddha School of advocating "shen tung" [miracles] and manufacturing a lot of hot air! Where is the hot air? If one eats a lot of beans, of course there will be a lot of hot air and noise! [audience laughter] That would be "chi tung" [passing of gas] and not "shen tung" [miracles]. Everything is spontaneous and just "as is." To heal others, I just visualized the Life Force from the Universe flowing into their bodies to empower them, and they became cured. This was not deliberately done for the purpose of creating miracles. The outside talk which says that the True Buddha School and I like to emphasize miracles is therefore groundless! I am just living my life "as is." Wherever I go, whatever I desire just manifests spontaneously. If people want to insist that there is some kind of "tung," then they must go and manufacture it – all this "shen tung" has nothing to do with me. [audience laughter and applause] In Buddhism, Emptiness is this freedom from, and nonattachment to a self. Earlier, I asked, "Where are you from?" The answer "from the Empty Space" which someone gave was quite correct. Emptiness exists everywhere; everywhere is Emptiness. The innate Buddha Nature is fundamentally the Empty Space. Where does one live? One lives in the Empty Space. Only a realized Buddha has this kind of insight. [laughter, audience laughter and applause] The truly great accomplishment is to abide peacefully and tranquilly in this state of Emptiness. In this liberated and free condition wherein one's mind abides in the true and universal law of Emptiness, "precepts" become unnecessary, and thus there are no "precepts" for one to break. The Remarkable Lineage The lineage of our school is remarkable. Yesterday, after hiking down the mountain, we saw a rainbow colored aureole ., around the sun. Actually, the same auspicious phenomenon of a circular rainbow also could be observed around the sun during the consecration of the Pootee Lei Tsang Temple at Vancouver. I had not told the sun, "Please do me a favor, put a wreath around yourself!" [audience laughter] I did not do that at all. It could have been a windy or rainy day, but a rainbow aureole appeared. I did not notice it until others pointed it out to me. This spontaneous phenomenon is a sign of auspiciousness, a validation of the remarkableness of the True Buddha School. We have all originally come from the Great Sun Tathagata (Mahavairocana) who exists in the realm of Emptiness. From the Mahavairocana emerged the Female Buddha with Buddha Eyes whose two eyes are the site of Ch'ang Chi Kuang T'u (the Realm of Eternal Peace and Light). These two eyes further transformed into the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds. Inside the Twin Lotus Ponds Padmakumara manifested. When Padmakumara incarnated into the human world, he became Sheng-yen Lu. [audience applause] Actually I have not come here alone, many Padmakumaras have also come here. All of you have an affinity with Padmakumara and are all Padmakumaras. [audience applause] In the future, all of us will return to the Maha Twin Lotus Ponds -the realm of Female Buddha with Buddha Eyes -which is equivalent to returning to the realm ofMahavairocana. Therefore, the authentic lineage of the True Buddha School is as follows: Mahavairocana → Female Buddha with Buddha Eyes → Padmakumara. This lineage is one hundred percent accurate. [audience applause] The Eightfold Path Next on the list is the Eightfold Path, a topic that has already been discussed by many other Dharma masters. During my discourse on the Maha Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, I delivered a detailed discussion on the Eightfold Path, which is one of the truths of the Four Noble Truths. You may read up on that book when it comes out to get a more detailed treatment on this subject. Here I will just briefly list them: "correct view," "correct thought," "correct speech," "correct livelihood," "correct conduct," "correct zeal," "correct memory," and "correct meditation or absorption." Many Buddhists know that the Eightfold Path refers to the eight methods taught by the Buddha as the correct means to reach Buddhahood. By following the Path, one will not become distracted, fall astray, or end up in an "evil tavern." I will reiterate what I have discussed today. The Seven Branches of Enlightenment are: Investigation, Effort, Joy, Mindfulness, Alert Ease, Samadhi, and Relinquishing. The Eightfold Path is: correct view, correct thought, correct speech, correct livelihood, correct conduct, correct zeal, correct memory, and correct meditation. What I have covered so far are the most important topics in the study of the Buddhadharma. What the Buddhadharma encompasses is, of course, very broad. For example, each of the ten Buddhist schools has numerous texts of its own. When one decides on a certain pathway, after making an investigation, one should then orient one's life toward that goal. A Tantric practitioner should concentrate on Tantric practices, while a general knowledge of the other nine schools would be quite sufficient. When one attains Enlightenment, one automatically understands the theories in the other schools. For example, in the past, I found the classical Chinese language to be very difficult. The Chinese Buddhist sutras are written in a much simpler language. The writing of Liao Chai Chih Yi [The Chronicle of Ghost Stories] – a classical work – is intricate and abstruse. In the course of my vigorous reading of the Chinese classics, I laid aside the ones that were difficult and first read the ones that I could more easily understand. Strangely, when I finished reading everything else and came back to Liao Chai Chih Yi, I found I could understand it without having first translated it into modem day language. I can now read the abstruse classics and understand the profound meanings behind each word. What kind of phenomenon is this? It is the same with Dharma practice: success in one single Dharma practice leads to success in all Dharma practices. In the past, I have found the Diamond Sutra to be an abstruse work. The analogy of the Dharma and the raft, to which I referred earlier, was beyond my comprehension. In the sutra, the Buddha says, "Anyone claiming that I have delivered any teachings is vilifying me." The Buddha taught for forty-nine years, why did he disclaim it? In the future I can also make this statement, "I have never discussed any Dharma at the Rainbow Villa. If you claim that I have done so, you are being slanderous." Is it really this simple? No, it is not. When you read and understand its subtle meaning, you will experience the Dharma Taste. Interwoven into its subtlety is the Dharma Taste. Now when I pick up and read a sutra with which I difficulties before, I find I can understand it completely. I know what the Thus Come One [tathagata] means. [audience applause] Why is this so? Because the state of mind I now possess is not the same as before. I am now abiding in a state of Realization. Through the deep and intensive practice of one single Tantric practice, I opened up my heart. When I use this heart (mind) of Realization to read the Buddhist sutras, I am able to intuitively understand their meanings. [audience applause] If you want to read the entire Buddhist Canon and research all the Buddhist theories first before attempting any single practice, you might find that several lifetimes would be required. Although Hu Shih [a famous Chinese scholar! made a study of Zen Buddhism, he did not engage in any actual practice. In the end, what he attained was just the knowledge of Zen, and not any true Realization. When you attain Realization, you will be able to intuit the meanings of all sutras. Therefore, achieving yogic response one practice is tantamount to achieving yogic response in ten thousand practices. Devote yourself deeply to one single practice, and you will achieve great accomplishments. The key word, therefore, is "depth" and not "width," as attested by the following statements of the Buddha's. "The benefit of actual practice surpasses that of a wide seeking of knowledge," and "Engaging in one single practice is more effective than doing multiple practices at the same time." Earlier, one of you called out, "One is many." Perhaps that is why yesterday at the exercise ground, that student only performed one movement each on the single and parallel bars. When he was pressed to go on, he responded, "One is many!" [audience laughter] Since he sounded so convincing, how could I not believe him! [audience laughter] The truth is, once one attains Realization, one will see clearly into everything as if it were transparent. Prior to Enlightenment (even though one may be engaged in many practices) things will still appear "opaque." Therefore, one should concentrate on one single practice at a time to penetrate it deeply. This is the principle behind the study of the Buddhadharma. Om Mani Padme Hum.
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