His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – April 18, 2021

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, and led the attendees in chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra. He then expounded on “Scroll 17, ‘Amitayus Tathagata Assembly’ (Chapter 5, Section 1)” of the Ratnakuta Sutra.

“Sutra: ‘In the boundaries of distresses and non-distresses, being able to understand all boundaries.’

Let me explain more about this quote which I taught you last week. ‘Distresses’ usually refers to difficulties or disasters. Disasters in the universe are all from the law of causes and conditions, and do not exist on their own. They arise because of causes and conditions, and at the moment when they are generated, their endings begin. The most difficult situation is sentient beings’ being in the reincarnation’s sea of suffering in that their heads emerge out of and submerge into such a ‘sea’ ceaselessly. It does not mean that you will not fall into reincarnation by reciting the Buddha’s name or making prostrations to Him. As long as you have a tiny bit of affliction or attachment in you, you will get into reincarnation. Its driving force is your thoughts, and this force is a ‘distress’.

If you have self-views existing, you cannot make what are in the Dharma – the ‘right knowledge’ and the ‘right views’ – as your life’s goals; your self-views cannot let you surpass the distress of reincarnation. It is mentioned in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows that Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can help you step across hindrances of learning Buddhism; it is to step across, not to eliminate these hindrances. Why do they not help you get rid of the impediments? It is because that they are produced from your hindrances of knowledge and affliction through your lifetime after lifetime. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas can help you step over such obstacles; however, whether or not you will continue to learn the Dharma depends entirely on your own determination.

If, on everything, you think that you are right and others are wrong and that you cannot understand their views calmly or objectively, there will be conflicts between you and other people. There is not a learning, a science or an instrument being able to solve the problem of the suffering in reincarnation. Only can the Dharma deal with it. In Hinduism, it is known that there is reincarnation but the followers of Hinduism do not know where reincarnation comes from, therefore, the suffering in it cannot be solved. In Taoism, there is no mention of reincarnation, and the subject that is only talked about is how to make oneself exist in the void eternally. It is said in some religions that people are to return to the heaven, but from aspects of the Dharma, if one ‘goes’ to the Heaven Realm, one will still reincarnate.

Many people do not believe in reincarnation; there are also many people who care about only this life, thinking that if they have a good life now, there will be a good one too in their next life. Such a concept is not right, either. If your thoughts are not right, they will affect your next life. For those who become pets in next life, many of them, in this lifetime, have recited the Buddha’s name, made prostrations to Him, or made repentances, and have even made vows to be reborn in the Land of Amitabha. The reason why they have been reborn in the Animal Realm is because they (while as humans) have had erroneous self-views and attachments. Their ignorance, as in the ‘greed, hatred and ignorance’, part of the Five Poisons, has shown that they have not believed in cause and effect.

Killing people has a negative effect, and this is the most basic and the simplest idea of cause and effect. Your self-views are the most really serious results from the concept of cause and effect. If it is from your self-views that you do not believe in cause and effect, thinking that, through some methods, your karmic retribution can be changed and be eliminated, this is precisely not believing in cause and effect. Learning Buddhism and practicing the Dharma are not to get rid of negative causes planted from past lifetimes so as not to let negative effects appear. I have also told you when you have taken refuge that after taking it, the negative effects existing from what you have done before will be lessened, even disappear. This is because the good effects are so abundant and are in such a big size overall that even when a negative effect occurs it does not make you feel it. It is like when you get a sting from a mosquito, you don’t feel the sting, but if you are bitten by a lion, then you will be hurt.

Do not think that you will be reborn in Amitabha’s Pure Land, Human or Heaven Realms in next life if you have recited a lot of sutras or many times of the Buddha’s name, chanted many mantras, learned Buddhism or attended penitential rites. In fact, the most important driving force is the thought you are having right before you die. I have instructed you to continuously recite the Buddha’s name and keep it as the only thing in your mind-continuum, with nothing else in it; you need to listen to your guru. These are exactly what you should have in your mind when you are at your last breath before you die! Keep the last thought with the habitual remembrances of the Buddha’s name and your guru, and with no other thoughts being remembered; only then can you be reborn in the Western World of Utmost Bliss. If that last thought arisen is not related to your guru, the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, or mantras, the force of your own thought will lead you to reincarnation.

In Esoteric Buddhism, there are practices of the Six Yogas of Naropa. These six Dharma methods can help you not to fall into reincarnation. Mastering the Six Yogas of Naropa requires much time, strong physical strength and mind. It is not that by just chanting the Great Six-Syllable Mantra 3,000 times a day one can be reborn in the Land of Amitabha.

Bodhisattvas have always been in the reincarnation of the Six Realms in order to liberate sentient beings but Bodhisattvas do not feel the suffering of reincarnation. This is because they do not come back to this world at the mercy of their karma; they are back by their vows. They have reincarnated with compassion, not with attachments, and not with minds of greed, hatred or ignorance either. For the sentient beings in the Six Realms who do not practice the Bodhisattva Path, their own reincarnation is a distress indeed, and they will definitely go through the suffering of reincarnation. Bodhisattvas return to this world by their vows; thus, the process of their birth is certainly different from that of ordinary people. Shakyamuni Buddha was not born through the fetus. This is what the quote describes, ‘in the boundaries of distresses and non-distresses.’ It means that He would surely have gone through the process that humans have been born in, but the method for Him was different.

Shakyamuni Buddha was in the Hell Realm in one lifetime, and suffered the distress of pulling a very heavy cart with his tendons as a rope. Besides Him, there were also many sentient beings suffering the same distress as He did. He then told the prison guard that He alone could pull the cart and asked the guard to let others rest. Once He gave rise to this thought in His mind, He immediately left the hell and ascended to the Heaven Realm. This means that even when we are in the reincarnation of the Six Realms because of our heavy karma and strong self-views, as long as we still remember compassion or bodhicitta a little, we are nevertheless in places of ‘non-distresses’ because we are still in a position of liberating sentient beings.

I once watched a news report on TV that a dog, following its owner to an outdoor market, saw a fish falling to the ground. The dog used its nose to spatter some water next to it over to the fish. This indicated that the dog knew the fish needed the water; this dog was ‘practicing’ the Bodhisattva Path. Even animals have spiritualities and ‘practice’ this Path. If we humans do not practice it, we are inferior to animals. When I was in the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center in Kyoto, Japan before, I would scatter some rice on the steps for sparrows to eat. One time I saw there being three or four smaller sparrows pecking the rice, and giving it to some sparrows in larger size, which might be the smaller sparrows’ parents. That showed us that if people are not filial to their parents, such persons will be inferior to animals.

Eating the flesh of sentient beings will make one break away from having the seeds of compassion. Learning Buddhism is a matter of rationality, not of superstition; this is because the Dharma is about perceptions of the universe in that all sentient beings are equal. Among sentient beings in the Six Realms there are Bodhisattvas; it is just that we cannot distinguish them from one another to know who Bodhisattvas are. As long as a sentient being’s behavior is to help other sentient beings, such particular one is a Bodhisattva. Why should you not kill animals for food and why should you eat vegetarian? The reason is that you don’t know which fish is a Bodhisattva. If it ‘practices’ the Bodhisattva Path, and if you kill it, you will break away from having compassion. I have told you this story before: There used to be a small water-storage pond for irrigation in front of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery (in construction) in Miaoli. The pond was full of muddy water and what were contained in the pond couldn’t be seen clearly. I was in Japan at that time but in my visualization, I saw a golden carp in the water. Whenever there was a bird flying down and trying to eat little fish in the water, this golden carp would jump out of the water and get the bird away, not letting it eat the little fish. That was also an example of practicing the Bodhisattva Path. ‘Walking’ on this Path is to protect sentient beings, having observed what they need and to give them help.

‘Being able to understand all boundaries.’ Although Bodhisattvas are in the distresses of reincarnation’s sea of suffering, they do not have the ‘boundaries’ of distresses. Here, the ‘boundaries’ does not refer to ‘boundaries’ in the usual sense. Bodhisattvas are able to know the causes of reincarnation and how to help sentient beings leave the reincarnation’s sea of suffering, meaning leaving this ‘boundary’. Only in this way, can such Bodhisattvas be regarded as Bodhisattvas; otherwise, they will not be called Bodhisattvas.

The Ratnakuta Sutra is a sutra that is very difficult to be expounded because it talks about the Bodhisattva Path. The states indicated in the Dharma are described in this sutra and they are very difficult for ordinary people to understand. Since I came to Taiwan (from Hong Kong) in 1981, I have almost never heard of anyone having expounded the Ratnakuta Sutra. Even a monastic, who has been ordained for thirty years, has never heard of it being taught. This is because that if the Ratnakuta Sutra is continuously expounded, a Buddhist center’s disciples will all leave at the end since they will feel they cannot accomplish what have been taught in this sutra. All the books written by Lord Jigten Sumgon were derived from the Ratnakuta Sutra. If one wants to learn the Bodhisattva Path or practice it, one almost cannot do it without knowing about the Ratnakuta Sutra. Of course, one can do it through other sutras. It is just that the main points of the Bodhisattva Path are taught in the Ratnakuta Sutra.

If you want to practice the Bodhisattva Path, you must have a guru. If the guru has not been practicing this Path, he or she cannot lead you toward such a path or the direction of your learning of the Dharma. If your guru does not have experiences in the practices of the Bodhisattva Path, then the guru cannot explain to you many things or words about it.

Sutra: ‘Showing and displaying actualities.’

You think that I don’t understand the mundane issues, and you consider that you are experts in some fields. Actually, an expert is only proficient in a certain thing, and only fathoms some special terms more than ordinary people; that is all. A real expert is someone who understands the Dharma. In the process of building our new monastery, if there are minor mistakes in construction or supervision, I have always instructed the construction-teams on the site or at the Center to give me explanations or solutions. This is because the funds for such a project are donated by sentient beings. Although I myself have also made donations, you will not know about the construction process if I don’t care about it or don’t follow it up. I will not be lax about its mistakes. I am concerned with facts, not with individuals.

Some people wonder why I have set up companies. It is because I am a non-ordained practitioner. In the Ratnakuta Sutra, it is mentioned that lay practitioners can run businesses, therefore, do not criticize me again for this. You are ‘short-sighted’ – looking at short-terms – and you love to hear others gossiping. Why don’t you tell your friends clearly that in the Ratnakuta Sutra, it is indicated that a lay Bodhisattva can run businesses?

You are reluctant to spend money, and you don’t need to do things either. I am the one to think hard and to handle things; I only find several people to do errands for me. Has anyone really cared about the monastery construction project? I have helped you save lots of money. In each of the sixteen empowerment pujas last year, I did not accept any of your monetary mandala-offerings. This year, again, I have helped you save that much of money; this is because I practice the Bodhisattva Path and I know you lack money. However, you think I should have acted like that; as disciples, you should feel ashamed of yourselves.

The house His Holiness lives in Taiwan now was bought by me as an offering I made to him; I wanted a place that my guru can comfortably live in. If you were in such a position, you would have absolutely been reluctant to spend that kind of money. This is exactly the difference resulted from the situation whether the Bodhisattva Path has been practiced or not. In the past decades, I have been constantly benefiting a vast number of sentient beings, and that is why everything has gone well this time on our monastery construction project. You think it is very easy to make Buddha statues. There are many places in Taiwan for making such statues, but none of these places can make Buddha statues of Tibetan Buddhism. Besides, there are no gilding techniques in Taiwan, and such skills are only available in Mainland China. There are eighteen Buddha statues in total for the monastery and they are hand-made and cast in bronze, with the tallest one in 9 meters. Also, four of the five Dharma thrones are cast in bronze and there are victory-banners, deer images, et cetera on the roof, too. The prices for all these are not expensive. If I had not been in Sichuan (a province in southwest China) before, I might not have found such good prices. This factory wanted to get this business eagerly. They are Tibetans so they know about these statues and related items. They are especially aware of the fact that there are very few lay Rinpoches who have attained accomplishments, so they have shown great respect for me. Bodhisattvas do anything related to the Dharma based on causes and conditions as well as the law of cause and effect. They will not handle matters for their own benefits. It is like that it was I who found that factory of producing Buddha statues. However, I cannot go there now because of travel restrictions, therefore, I have asked a Khenpo to help sign the contract and watch out things for me. Money from sentient beings cannot be used casually.

Sutra: ‘Knowing very well the differences in sentient beings. Obtaining the eloquence of the Buddha and abiding by Samantabhadra’s acts. Being quite capable to differentiate languages of sentient beings.’

‘Knowing very well the differences in sentient beings. Obtaining the eloquence of the Buddha and abiding by Samantabhadra’s acts.’ I explained these to you last week. The next part is ‘Being quite capable to differentiate languages of sentient beings.’ The ‘language’ here does not necessarily mean the words a person has spoken; rather, it is to understand what is in his or her mind. It is like when I liberated the deceased, some of them were in the hospitals, some were at home and some were strangers to me; even as I was not with them, I was able to know what were in their minds. On the thoughts of some deceased, I spoke out to the family members, but on the thinking of some others I didn’t. Here is an example. A long time ago, I liberated a disciple and I knew he had something he wanted to make an offering to his guru, me. I didn’t tell his family members about this because they had not enough of the sense of making offerings; they would have thought that the guru wanted to get something of the deceased just because the guru had helped them. That was why I kept quiet so that they would not have slandered the Buddha and the guru. I could have said to them, ‘Be careful. If you don’t give me anything, the deceased will come back to haunt you.’ I was not greedy though. I said to the deceased then, ‘Don’t be bothered about this. Although you did not make an offering to me, your guru is still kind to you.’

You need to know what sentient beings want to say, not the languages they use. When I went to Europe or Japan, people there spoke in their local languages and I didn’t understand them, but I knew what they wanted to tell me; I then could immediately give them answers in helping them. If you have the compassion of Emptiness, you more or less can feel sentient beings’ distresses, and will be able to help them with useful answers. There was a believer who came to seek an audience with me yesterday. He told me that he had seen ghosts and I said to him it was preposterous, as the saying goes, ‘seeing ghosts while alive’. If there were ghosts, could he have entered this Center? He is in usury business, and it is a bad job working in it. Using threatening and intimidating methods to collect debts will make people scared. This is a karma retribution for him that he is in fear. It is stated in sutras that those making usurious loans will fall into hell. Lending money can charge customary and reasonable interest rates, like bank loans, which are in usual rates; some loans are even interest-free.

I have often said to you that if you lend money out, do not expect to get it repaid; if you intend to receive the money back, do not lend it to others in the first place. It is just like that after you have made offerings, do not think there will be something being returned to you. If you want some compensation, then don’t make offerings because there is nothing to give back to you. The Dharma does not have a solid form – it is formless; it is invisible or untouchable. Some people feel regretful after they have made offerings, thinking they don’t gain anything back.

Sutra: ‘Surpassing all things in the mundane world.’

This quote is so awesome. All behaviors of Bodhisattvas have surpassed all methods or reasons that you know in the mundane world. ‘Surpassing’ is mentioned here because you have not seen such acts of Bodhisattvas; you have lived your life with your life experiences. All methods used by Bodhisattvas are for the purpose of liberating sentient beings, so these methods, of course, are not those of the mundane world. This means that such ways will not be used on you (by your guru), like coaxing, cheating, accommodating, or saying, ‘please, be my disciples’. You decide what you think. Your guru tells you what you should do and if you don’t listen, you are not qualified to be his or her disciples.

If there are reasons for what the guru has done, then there are such reasons; if it seems that there are no reasons existing, then there are still reasons in things having been done by the guru. Anyone having done military service has heard of similar things being said (about, say, officers’ instructions). Contrarily, you use your own thoughts to learn Buddhism. On what the guru has said, if you accept them, you think they are reasonable; if you don’t accept them, you consider that they are unreasonable or impersonal. This quote states that what have been done by Bodhisattvas have surpassed all things in the mundane world. Do you wish me to help you with the mundane ways? On my business career, I started working as part of a sales force so I am very good at ‘marketing’ myself. Because of that, I can make you feel comfortable, but I cannot do that. If you wish that I will promise to give you or agree on everything you ask or say, I am not qualified to be your guru.

Thus, the Dharma is not what you think it is; do not use the mundane ways again to view the Dharma. Even, in this mundane world, if you have such a high educational degree, like a Ph.D., or are in a high position, such a background cannot help you get liberated from reincarnation. People with a Ph.D. degree know just a certain field. I do not feel anything particular if there is an additional Ph.D. present here in our Center; such a situation is just part of mundane affairs.

A Bodhisattva handles what are needed for daily life, and all the rest of activities the Bodhisattva does are helping sentient beings get liberated from reincarnation. To you, you will think such behaviors are unreasonable and impersonal. Some people say to me, ‘Rinpoche, you have no love.’ I don’t have it, certainly. What I have is compassion. If you look at practitioners with mundane ways, you will be wrong.

Sutra: ‘Knowing very well all the supramundane.’

A guru who practices the Bodhisattva Path definitely knows all the methods to help you get liberated from reincarnation. ‘Knowing very well’ means that there will be no residual effects on all what Bodhisattvas have done. Your roots of reincarnation will be broken away from it, therefore, the methods used will certainly not be mundane ways. If you want those ways of the mundane world, do not come here to learn Buddhism. Your living in this world now has been brought forth by your good fortune and karma from your accumulated past lifetimes. You feel that you have lived a nicer or more comfortable life. That is because, after learning Buddhism, you have started performing good deeds and stopping doing negative acts, which will decrease the chances of negative effects being manifested.

The laity get married, give birth or study abroad. These are all mundane affairs. If there are not enough of causes and conditions for some people to learn Buddhism, then these people should not learn it reluctantly. Yesterday, there were two disciples, a mother and her daughter, seeking an audience with me. The daughter is going to the United States to study so she implored for my permission to let her attend puja telecasts there. I did not grant her the permission. The reason is that they have come to implore for protection, and since they feel that study is more important than learning Buddhism, they can forget about the latter then; they don’t need to make offerings to me either. Nowadays, there are about 200 disciples here who are not allowed to make offerings to me. I have not stopped you going abroad for studies though.

Sutra: ‘Obtaining the resources of the Paramitas naturally and with ease.’

If all methods or rules in the Bodhisattva Path have been mastered, the resources of practicing the Dharma will be obtained. The phrase ‘….Paramitas naturally and with ease’ means that all wisdom and achievements will naturally appear and be attained; there are no needs to think about them deliberately. It is just like what His Holiness said about me, ‘The practices of this disciple of mine have gained achievements naturally.’ This is exactly what the quote says. As long as one practices, one will obtain resources, and does not need to think deliberately about what are to be done.

Sutra: ‘Bearing all things done by sentient beings and treating them as friends without invitations.’

Usually, monastics say the term of ‘bearing the burden of the “Tathagata robe”’. Here, the quote indicates bearing all sorts of actions of sentient beings. The disciple, I just mentioned, wants to go to the United States. I cannot ‘kick’ her out of here so I need to bear the karma of her dislike of me.

Practicing the Bodhisattva Path is to liberate sentient beings, therefore, all kinds of their karma and negative thoughts must be borne upon. When I perform the Chod, those sentient beings ‘appear’ with negative thoughts; otherwise, they will not think of ‘eating’ me, the practitioner presiding over the ritual. It is like you who always rely on me, and as I practice the Bodhisattva Path, I need to bear all your acts and give you alms.

‘Treating them as friends without invitations.’ This means that I do not invite you but I treat you as my friends. If I can help you get liberated from birth and death in this life, you will be a future Bodhisattva or a Buddha-to-be; then you and I are friends. Do not think that because you are my disciples in this life, you will want to be like that too for lifetimes after lifetimes. One lifetime is enough for me; I cannot stand your being my disciples again in future lifetimes. As long as you are able to continuously practice in the great sea of merits with compassion and bodhicitta, it will be equivalent to my asking you to be my friends.

The term ‘companions in practices’ does not refer to husbands and wives practicing together. It refers to ‘friends in practices.’ Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are friends, and as such, they come to each other uninvited. Sometimes when I perform some Dharma ritual, a certain Bodhisattva will appear without my invitation. Causes and conditions for each sentient being are different. If sentient beings participating in that ritual have an affinity with this particular Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva will come to let me gain accomplishment of the ritual. Friends help each other.

On the surface, it seems that I am liberating, or helping, you. In fact, it is because we will all be friends in the future, I have now temporarily carried your karma on me so that you can practice diligently. It is mentioned in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows that your hindrances have been refrained from occurring, letting you step over them first. If the Buddha and Bodhisattvas have no such ability, or are without the mindset of practicing the Bodhisattva Path, how will He and Bodhisattvas get your karma refrained? Refraining it from becoming manifest is to let you make a firm determination to practice diligently; it is not to let you live a comfortable life.

Sutra: ‘Being able to maintain all treasure of Tathagata.’

All sentient beings possess ‘treasure of Tathagata’. It is also called the essence, or the nature, of the Buddha. You possess it too but you don’t know that. He will teach you how to maintain such a treasure, and will not think that you do not have this qualification of becoming a Buddha or a Bodhisattva.

Thus, do not say again that you cannot do your practices to reach the level as I am at now. Of course, you cannot get to that point in this life. Nevertheless, you and I possess the same ‘treasure of Tathagata’, which does not have a different size, large or small. The differences between you and me are in aspects of good fortune, causes and conditions and karma. As your guru, I teach you how to maintain the ‘treasure of Tathagata’ you originally possess, and how not to let your greed, hatred, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt become dirt, which will cover your pure ‘treasure of Tathagata’.

Sutra: ‘Abiding by, and not breaking, all the seeds of becoming a Buddha.’

Your mind should abide by, and not break, all the seeds of becoming a Buddha. At the moment of your taking refuge, you have started practicing what are described in these words, part of the Refuge Prayer: ‘Commit no evil acts, and do all good deeds.’ The planting and growing the seeds of becoming a Buddha have been started to work on from this verse.

Chemicals have been transformed into various types from substances which are analyzed and synthesized. It is possible that such types will harm people. Nowadays, many people use things made of chemicals to make money. Most of the ‘coin-priced food’ (meaning cheap food as they can be cheaply bought with coins instead of bills) here have chemical additives, like cheap soy sauces, which are made from some chemical substances. In ancient times, there were no chemical syntheses, and people lived well then. In sciences, it is viewed and summarized that in the universe, all results from any things’ changes, including their processes, are derived from changes in chemicals. In terms of the Dharma, these changes are all from the law of causes and conditions. Within causes and conditions, there are changes in molecules and atoms, and such changes make these elements become other things; then these new things appear. It is like plastic bags; they are made from chemicals. For petroleum refineries, many chemical materials are required to be added in the processes. On the surface, these things seem to be helping a lot of people but in reality, how many people are there that such things have harmed?

Recently, there has been no rain in Taiwan. The reason is that the ‘particulate matter’ (or ‘particle pollution’, being extremely small solid particles in air) produced from the burning of coal cannot get the water molecules crystalized; that is why rain has been ‘blocked’. From the views of the Dharma, it is because the dragon species have been harmed so they do not come, and this means that they will not bring the rain to us. We humans have a close relationship with the dragon species; all the disasters of windstorms or flood occur because they have been brought forth by the dragon species. Hence, in Esoteric Buddhism, there are Dharmas to perform to make offerings to them.

After we understand that the mind is the ‘treasure of Tathagata’, our moods or consciousness needs to abide by it, and we should not break the seeds of becoming a Buddha. Breaking these seeds is easy to do; by not listening to the teachings just once, the seeds are broken then.

Sutra: ‘Commiserating with sentient beings and then being able to get the Dharma eye opened.’

Getting the Dharma eye opened does not rely on practicing meditation or how many times the Buddha’s name, sutras, or mantras have been recited or chanted. Rather, it is to give rise in the mind the great compassion and to profoundly comprehend the suffering of sentient beings in reincarnation; then the Dharma eye can be opened. In 2007, His Holiness led me to the Lapchi Snow Mountain in Nepal to let me conduct a three-month retreat there for the Hevajra. During the retreat, my Dharma eye got opened and I ‘saw’ sentient beings suffering in reincarnation, which made me cry for a whole day and a whole night. If you do not commiserate with suffering sentient beings, and if you only practice for obtaining fruition, enlightenment, or getting disciples, your Dharma eye will not be opened.

There are five types of eyes for practitioners: the naked eye, the heavenly eye, the Dharma eye, the wisdom eye, and the Buddha eye. We definitely do not have the Buddha eye. If we want to get the Dharma eye and the wisdom eye opened, these are done from our practices; without such eyes being opened, we are unable to know the suffering of sentient beings. After we understand it, we certainly will not use the mundane ways, but with the supramundane, to help sentient beings.

At that time, when I had come out of my retreat hut after having completed my retreat, I reported my crying situation to His Holiness. He said to me that whenever Milarepa thought of sentient beings reincarnating in the Six Realms, Milarepa would be in tears, meaning that I had not attained a level through my practices yet that I will have the same experience as Milarepa did. As for you, you will only shed tears on your own affairs. When you see others who are suffering, because you feel pity for them, you will be in tears too; however, these tears are from your emotion, not from the Dharma eye.

There is a little difference between the heavenly eye and the Dharma eye. The former has limits of distance, but the Dharma eye can view anything through the Dharma Realm. Such viewings do not mean to see things in the dreams or by chanting mantras with one’s eyes closed. It means to view naturally in the mind. The Dharma eye cannot be ‘produced’ by one’s own thinking.

In 2007, I was the first lay disciple of His Holiness to be led to conduct a retreat in the sacred place of Lapchi Snow Mountain. To this day, His Holiness has not led a second person to conduct a retreat there. The Hevajra is for practicing Emptiness; naturally, one’s nature, or ‘treasure of Tathagata’, will be opened up quickly. Once the ‘treasure of Tathagata’ is opened up, any types of eyes that we mentioned are opened. The energy, or power, of the ‘treasure of Tathagata’ cannot be measured by humans.

Some people say that I am very remarkable, but I am really not. I have only practiced according to the principles of the Dharma and listened to what I have been taught. Today, in expounding this sutra, I have been teaching it naturally and joyfully, feeling just like a fish in water because I have experienced all that have been described in the sutra. Otherwise, such a teaching would only have been explaining Buddhist terms to you, and you will not understand them even after having listened to them.”

Then a monastic, who has been ordained for more than thirty years, reported what he felt about the teachings. “Before, what I heard were only explanations from the words in sutras, and I understood that the minds of all Buddhas and sentient beings are ‘no arising and no ceasing to exist in everything’, or are ‘no coming and no going’. These were all the understanding from Buddhist terms. What I learned before were not like what you (Rinpoche) have taught today, and they have been clearly explained through your profound understanding of the Dharma. Only by practicing to attain enlightenment, with actual practice and true realization, can a practitioner know what are described in sutras.”

(Rinpoche continued the teachings.)

“Sutra: ‘Closing the doors of Evil Realms, and opening the doors of Virtuous Realms.’

Only by getting the Dharma eye opened can ‘Closing the doors of Evil Realms, and opening the doors of Virtuous Realms’ be done. This means that the practitioner can then help you close the doors of the Three Evil Realms, stopping you falling into them, and open the doors of the Three Virtuous Realms for you to go to. It is like when some people come to implore me for liberating them (after they die) or their family members, I will ask them to do grand prostrations. That is to help them ‘Closing the doors of Evil Realms, and opening the doors of Virtuous Realms’; it is not to ‘fix’ them, giving them trouble. Because of having the Dharma eye, I am able to know the minds of sentient beings and the ways to help them. Of course, there are situations that when some persons implore for my help, I will promise them immediately to assist them (without asking them to do anything first); my decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. Everyone has different causes and conditions. Some deceased will need their living family members doing grand prostrations for them before I can liberate these deceased. They cannot be reborn in the Pure Land if some people recite the name of Amitabha beside their corporal bodies. They cannot be liberated either if recitation-assistance groups are hired for them.

When I have the Dharma eye opened while performing Dharmas, I will know about the deceased’s thoughts, and then I can help them close the doors of the Three Evil Realms and make them move toward the Three Virtuous Realms. Many years ago, I performed a Dharma method at home for a deceased who was at a hospital. I knew that someone was moving the deceased’s feet, and that displeased him. I immediately had that action stopped. It is because that it is very important what the last thought is at the moment of one’s death. Such a thought is pertinent to where the deceased will ‘go’. As long as there is a hateful thought arisen, the deceased will go down to an Evil Realm. If you are a person who usually hates others or curses your guru, I guarantee you that you are opening, and closing the doors, of the Three Evil Realms and the Three Virtuous Realms, respectively. This is why I have told you when you have taken refuge that you should not get angry with your guru.

Sutra: ‘Universally, when viewing sentient beings, they can be thought of as one’s parents or brothers. Also, viewing and thinking of sentient beings like oneself.’

When liberating sentient beings, a Bodhisattva has no thoughts of doing that; rather, the thinking is that sentient beings must have been connected to the Bodhisattva. Even when there are no relationships existing in this life, in past lives, these sentient beings might have been the Bodhisattva’s parents or brothers; they will be helped by the Bodhisattva with utmost ability, and it does not matter even if there are no offerings having been received. As long as sentient beings have the affinity and have implored for help, when causes and conditions are manifest, a practitioner will definitely help them. In such a practitioner’s mind, these sentient beings, in past lifetimes, might have been his or her parents, brothers, lovers, family members, or karmic creditors. They will all be liberated by the practitioner in this life. It is just that the methods used to help you (if you are such sentient beings) will be different from what you originally think.

This Bodhisattva might be your guru and that is why I have cherished your money so much. I saved you lots of money when you purchased this Center many years ago; I also saved you a great deal of money last year by not accepting your monetary mandala-offerings during Dharma performances I held here. Now, I have saved you money again on the purchasing of custom-made Buddha statues for our new temple. I regard you as my parents or brothers (from past lifetimes), but you treat me as a fool, thinking I should help you in everything. This demonstrates that you have not practiced the Bodhisattva Path.

Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, ‘I vow that I will not attain Buddhahood unless and until all of the hells are empty.’ This is because that the Bodhisattva experienced and felt the same suffering as that of sentient beings. While in retreat in Nepal, I cried when I ‘saw’ sentient beings suffering in reincarnation; I had also experienced and felt the same suffering. Such a crying is not from worries or fear, but is from commiseration. These sentient beings in reincarnation are probably connected to me in past lifetimes but I have not been capable to liberate them. For that, I repent. It is just like when Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara dripped two drops of tear, it was not for a repentance, but for feeling annoyed because the Bodhisattva had ‘seen’ so many sentient beings still not having been liberated yet. How can the hells be empty? There are so many sentient beings constantly doing negative deeds. As for you, your repentances for certain things you have done are full of nonsense; you actually only hope that, after you have repented, you will live a good life and will not suffer anymore.

The more you have listened to the Ratnakuta Sutra expounded, the more afraid you are. If you have not listened to its teachings, you will not know how negative the things are, which you have done. As you have come here to attend pujas, I tell you the truth; in this way I do not owe you.

Sutra: ‘Attaining all accomplishments and praising the merits of the Paramitas.’

After all things described have been practiced, a practitioner can attain all the merits and the fruition level of a Bodhisattva, therefore, he or she will gain all from the ‘praising the merits of the Paramitas’ in mastering their methods.

Sutra: ‘Being able to know very well, and to praise, all the merits of Tathagata. Also, praising other merits as those in the methods.’

The Bodhisattva also knows very clearly how to praise all the merits of Tathagata. When you have taken refuge, you are taught that you need to praise the merits of your guru. Why should Bodhisattvas praise the merits of Tathagata? In the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha said, ‘I am able to help so many sentient beings because of my having the blessings and protection of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.’ Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha did not say, ‘Because I am a Bodhisattva’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body) I can naturally liberate sentient beings.’ It was not like what you think that ‘After I have chanted mantras a little, I can help my daughter-in-law eat vegetarian.’ This is not a praise. In the processes of performing a Dharma method, in its Dharma text, there are always constant praising of, and making offerings to, the yidam. The yidam will then bless and protect me and enable me to benefit sentient beings. It is not as you think that by reciting sutras or the Buddha’s name or by chanting mantras you can be like Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara to liberate sentient beings with great compassion.

Before Shakyamuni Buddha taught the Forty-Eight Vows of Amitabha, He expounded these sections of the sutra first because such contents are related to the Forty-Eight Vows. With this foundation of the Dharma knowledge, or the basis of Exoteric Buddhism, if you are ready to practice the Bodhisattva Path, then – only then – the Forty-Eight Vows will be relevant to you. Do not think that by reciting the name of Amitabha, because Amitabha had made the Forty-Eight Vows, Amitabha will definitely take you to the Pure Land. If this were so, Shakyamuni Buddha would have only said that you could be reborn in the Land of Amitabha by memorizing the Forty-Eight Vows. If one is in that land, one is a registered Bodhisattva. If, while you are alive, you do not have concepts at all on being a Bodhisattva, and if all your acts or thoughts are completely for the purpose of living a good life, how can you get to the Pure Land after you pass away? Even if you are sent there, you cannot enter into the land, which means that you cannot be reborn in the lotus blossom. You will be reborn outside of the Pure Land in a place, called ‘city of doubt’, where you will be confined for 500 lifetimes without a chance of seeing the Buddha.

‘Doubt’ here means that one doubts whether one can accomplish what one has been taught or not. Many disciples are like that, doubting if they are able to do what they have learned. It does not matter if you cannot do them in this life. However, you should know how to proceed toward the goal and how your guru has treated you; you need to grasp such concepts right. When you know the basis of Exoteric Buddhism, you should know what the Buddha had taught. Only then will these Forty-Eight Vows be relevant to you.

For reading or expounding sutras it is not to understand them by explaining the words themselves, but by the meanings of the contents. To the Buddha, except for the Dharma, what have been said are all false speeches, therefore, all these words having been spoken by Him must be related to the Forty-Eight Vows to be taught later. While imploring Amitabha for leading you to be reborn in the Pure Land, if you do not behave as a Bodhisattva when you are alive, are not determined to practice the Bodhisattva Path, or even do chemical researches to harm people, how can it be possible that you will ‘go’ to the Land of Amitabha? You might say, ‘If I work on chemical researches that are not harmful to people, it will be very difficult for me to make money.’

I had told Disciple Ye before that she should not do experiments on animals in her work. Although she encountered difficulties for making a change and the fundings for different experiments were much less, she still made a decision not to work on animals.” Disciple Ye reported: “Our laboratory has now changed its experiments to clinical trials, and the transition took about a year and a half.” (Rinpoche then continued the teachings.) “Many people will try to convince me, with their specious reasons, to accept their arguments. Disciple Ye could have also said, ‘Without being experimented on, these animals would have died anyway. With experiments, they will make contributions in some field, and afterwards, I will give them medical care.’ However, I had already given her my advice so if she continued to do what she had done, it would be wrong. Doing experiments on animals will make them suffer. Disciple Ye had listened to me. I am not praising her. After I had told her about her situation, she resolved to follow my advice. She had had a hard time in her career for more than a year, but now she has come out of it and is on a new path.

From the Ratnakuta Sutra, you can perceive what kinds of attributes you have for learning the Dharma. This does not mean that you definitely need to learn the Bodhisattva Path. Rather, what I have been teaching you now are about the theories of Exoteric Buddhism. On these, you must accept them and listen to them, getting them through your head; you are not allowed to resist them. As long as you have a little resistance to what have been taught in sutras, you will not be qualified to learn the Bodhisattva Path – you will not be a Bodhisattva. You cannot be reborn in the Pure Land even if you recite the name of Amitabha for 100,000 times a day because you do not know well about the basis of being a Bodhisattva. I have implored Shakyamuni Buddha for letting me find a section in the Ratnakuta Sutra so that I can ‘scold’ you in my teachings; then I opened it and found this section, which is exactly what I wanted. You are all too clever. That’s why you are unable to realize the concepts of making sacrifices, giving dedications or letting things go. All the deeds you have done are for yourselves; you have asked your guru, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas to accommodate you on your thinking and actions.

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Updated on November 17, 2021