His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – December 12, 2021

His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche ascended the Dharma throne, and expounded on “Scroll 19, ‘Immovable Tathagata Assembly’ (Chapter 6, Section 1)” of the Ratnakuta Sutra.

“It is made clear and direct at the very beginning of the ‘Immovable Tathagata Assembly’ of the sutra that, in our practices, we should not give rise to the senses of hatred and harm. Here, the Buddha had not explained how we are to practice it. In fact, as long as the sense of hatred is not arisen, there will be no sense of harm produced. From my own practicing experiences, I know that it is not quite easy for you to attain compassion and bodhicitta at the beginning of your practices. However, there is this thing sentient beings can accomplish: ‘We need to know or feel about gratitude and repay kindnesses.’ We should give rise to such an attitude not only for those who are kind to us but also even for our enemies, who have felt resentful towards us, and our karmic creditors. When you encounter your own circumstances and face persons and objects, and even if there are many conflicts and disputes in such happenings, as long as you have this mindset, there will be no senses of hatred and harm arisen in you.

Many people say, ‘He has harmed me. I certainly will take revenge on him so as to let him know not to do it.’ I have said before that the greatest power in the universe is compassion. If one does not know or feel gratitude and repay kindnesses, this person is not a practitioner. Many people have come to see me, and say, ‘I am grateful to you, Rinpoche.’ I tell them not to mention it because they have not repaid the kindnesses and not prepared to learn Buddhism either; they have just come over to make a greeting to me and say ‘thank you.’ Do not say casually that you are grateful to me. If you are really so, you will listen and do your practices. Contrarily, you do not practice what you have learned.

If we do not train ourselves to know or feel about gratitude and repay kindnesses, we will forever not be able to master the practice of not giving rise to the sense of hatred. Practicing the Bodhisattva Path needs to practice the Six Paramitas. The first three disciplines of the Paramitas are for the practices of good fortune and the other three are for practicing wisdom. This is actually a theory of expediency. When we give alms or make offerings (the first discipline), at the same time, we are also practicing the Paramitas of precept observance, forbearance, diligence, meditation and wisdom. Many people think that they will master the practices on the first three Paramitas first, and then they will do the other three. It is not so. When almsgivings or offerings are made, the other five of the Six Paramitas will ‘come forth’ together. It is very difficult for you to renounce things. Many people consider that ‘forbearance is a situation when someone gives me a slap or scolds me with some words, I will not lose my temper.’ No, this is not it.

The ‘forbearance’ spoken of by the Buddha means to forbear all things good or bad; your mind is unmoved by them. The highest state of forbearance is ‘forbearance of non-arising of Dharmas’. This means on various phenomena in the mundane world there will be no changes or moves produced in the mind. To forbear is not to clench the teeth so as to endure the moment; rather, it means the person has already seen through things so he or she will naturally forbear the situations. When we start giving alms or making offerings, we will practice next the precept observance; we will not steal. People who can give alms will definitely not give rise to thoughts of greed. There are exceptions though, like such happenings: ‘I have given you NT$1; now you need to pay me back NT$10.’, or ‘I have given you NT$10, so you need to bless and protect me to make my life peaceful in all things.’ These are not almsgivings. Practicing the Six Paramitas in the Bodhisattva Path means as long as you are willing to practice giving alms, precept observance and forbearance (the first three disciplines) in accordance with the Dharma principles, you will be continuously practicing the next three disciplines. The Six Paramitas are not practiced separately; rather, they are cultivated simultaneously.

If we do not know what kindness is, we naturally do not know how to be grateful; if we do not show our gratitude, we naturally do not understand how to repay the kindness. Many people think that ‘only the person who is kind to me, to save me or not to let me die is my benefactor; also, only the person who can make my wife get better and better is my benefactor.’ These are all wrong. The fact that your wife is sick now lets you come to attend the puja; thus, her karmic creditors are exactly your benefactors. Many people have said to me, ‘Rinpoche, now I have the tumor; I have not practiced for these 20 years.’ Their attitude is a passive one – waiting to die. Do not wait to die, absolutely. Otherwise, you will go against what is indicated in the Amitabha Sutra that ‘one must not be lacking in good fortune, merits, causes, and conditions.’ This is because that you are not practicing anymore. You only want to wait for me to liberate you. However, if you have no good fortune, merits, causes, and conditions, and even if you are liberated by me, the most you will gain is not falling into the Three Evil Realms; you have no qualifications to be reborn in the Land of Amitabha.

One of my ordained disciples had been sick a while ago. After he was out of the hospital and went back to his temple, he lay in bed, in a spread-eagle position and unmoved, all day long. Other people had no time taking care of him. His son, born before this disciple became ordained, eats meat and smokes and there were no ways for him to attend to his father either. I knew that he (my disciple) had not died yet; he only wanted to wait comfortably to die just because I had promised him to liberate him at his death with the performance of the Phowa. Thus, at that time, I instructed another monastic that when he went back to his place, he was to tell his temple’s abbot to transfer that recuperating monastic to a nursing home; I would pay the expenses. Once that recovering monastic heard my instructions, he got up from bed the next day. Now, he is able to walk and recite the Buddha’s name. This means if one wants to die, one will not die if he or she does not have good fortune. Did you think if a person lay in bed, the person could just wait to die?

Some of my disciples who have taken refuge for 20 years have gotten breast cancer. They have individually said to me, in crying, ‘Rinpoche, I have not done well on what you have taught.’ Well, you have not done those things described in the teachings at all. Then they have said, ‘Now, I want to coexist with my cancer.’ When they are uttering such words, it means they will give up what they have learned and will not practice anymore. I have told you many of my stories; yet, none of you has remembered them or gotten them through your head. I told you before that I had skin cancer and I did not report it to His Holiness, saying that ‘I have gotten skin cancer. I am waiting to die and after I die, please liberate me.’ I have known or felt about gratitude and repaid kindnesses. Knowing I had eaten so much seafood in my life, it would have been a wonder if I had not gotten cancer. Hence, for what my guru has taught me, I have continuously practiced them; I have not asked or implored my guru’s help and I have not consulted doctors either. When I had cancer, I was in my 40s; now I am 74 years old. I don’t know if I still have cancer cells in my body but at least I have lived to this day. However, you usually have just ‘thrown’ your problems to me, saying ‘Please help liberate me at my death, Rinpoche. I am making offerings to you first.’ You make offerings now in advance only because you are afraid that once you die, the money will not be available to be given to me as an offering. Thus, you make your offerings first to bind me ahead of time so that I have to help liberate you when you die. You are so bad in mind even as you are close to death. Why have you not been attuned to the yidams on whatever Dharma methods you have practiced? Because you have a bad mind.

This monastic who was sick before still has a little good fortune. When he heard what I had said (about getting him moved to a nursing home), he felt that such a move would be desperately serious because in a nursing home, there will be no male attendants, only female ones. He has been ordained for so many years, and he is so old now. In that home, he would still have needed taking off all his clothes, to be touched by people (attendants). To avoid being like that, he certainly wanted to get up, even by crawling, from his own bed in the temple where he lived so that he would not have been transferred to a nursing home. This demonstrated that he has observed precepts. What about you? On your health problems, at first, you will come here seeking an audience with me and cry a little or repent a little. Then, the next thing you will do is to ‘throw’ your issues to the doctors. Before you are about to die, you will completely lose your dignity as doctors must follow their SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) to handle your illnesses so as to avoid being sued. You have continuously been unwilling to accumulate the resources of good fortune and merits. When you have a bit of good fortune, you will feel you are very happy and think you have practiced well; you are enjoying such good fortune you have.

In the Ratnakuta Sutra, it is mentioned very clearly that people who practice the Bodhisattva Path can only accept and use, and cannot embrace and take, things. When we stop breathing and pass away, whatever we have possessed in this mundane world while alive will all be gone, not belonging to us anymore. Shakyamuni Buddha had already taught us that when learning Buddhism and practicing the Dharma, there will definitely be good fortune for us. However, you think that you have succeeded in some acts. For example, when you are accepted to be in a Ph.D. program, you will feel it was because you had studied every day. Once you give rise to this thought, your good fortune has been used up. The reason is that you have gained such a good fortune (getting into a Ph.D. program) through your practices, but you are not prepared to continue doing practices. Instead, you use this good fortune to let you feel being successful or satisfied. Many people have come here imploring me for getting them to pass some examinations. I do not help them. They ordinarily do not study and now they want my help. If I helped them, I would have harmed other people. There might have been others who originally should have passed examinations but now, because I helped you, they would have lost opportunities to do so. These would all have been going against the principles of cause and effect.

Buddhist practitioners, including monastics, can only accept and use, and cannot embrace and take, things. If you think that ‘my life has now been very stable because Bodhisattvas have been taking care of me’, then you are a goner. Once your sense of enjoy-good-fortune ‘comes forth’, you will use it in your practices for the good fortune of the Human and Heaven Realms, rather than in practicing the Dharma and learning Buddhism. This is a situation occurring very easily. Monastics should be cautious about it. This is what have been mentioned in many passages in the Ranakuta Sutra that those having practiced the Bodhisattva Path absolutely cannot be haughty and arrogant. Many people ask the Buddha and Bodhisattvas to give them things, like this prayer, ‘Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, I implore you for letting me being able to….’ What have you done so as to make this kind of requests? If this ‘thing’, good fortune, is not utilized for your practices, it will harm you. This is because if you use it to enjoy life, when your good fortune has been used up, you will no longer have it; then the negative karma you have created in the past will come to ‘find’ you. Why have some of my disciples, who have taken refuge for 20 years, still gotten illnesses? It is because they have felt very contented about their lives. They think, ‘I have fixed income every month and I get everything done well. These must be because that I have practiced well.’ How can your practices be done well before you attain Buddhahood?

I will give you an analogy to let you understand what I was just talking about. Say, we are now living in the completely dark outskirts. We have nothing. When you live there for the night, the most important things to do are making a fire for warmth, to cook for food and to block up areas from animals. Making a fire needs a tinder; the fire will not blaze up by just a puff of breath unless the Kundalini Meditation has been mastered. A tinder needs two types of materials struck together to be produced – these are causes and conditions. Once there is a tinder, many woods and leaves are also needed to be found so as to stoke the fire, making it ablaze. After the fire has been stirred up, if additional woods and leaves are not added through the night to tend the fire, the fire will die out. It is like what you are in now. You need to continuously add new woods in (your learning of the Dharma), so you should practice every day and cannot pause even for a second. When you think that the fire is blazing, you can go out a bit; then when you come back, the fire is out.

When the fire is blazing, you will feel very comfortable, however, if you get too close to it, you will be hurt. Do you dare to touch the fire? No, you dare not. Why does each of you like to enjoy good fortune very much? It is like a burning fire. Fire can help us; it just depends on whether we have used it correctly. If it has been used in wrong ways, the fire will get you burned, even to death. You all have experiences of being scalded by fire. Nevertheless, there is nothing that can be done for us to live without fire. Good fortune is the same as fire. If our good fortune has been used correctly, it will get our lives improved; if it has been used in wrong ways, it will hurt us. Why have I taught you that you need to cherish your good fortune? This does not mean that you are not allowed to use or spend your money; rather, it means you should cherish your good fortune, using it in right places, not in manners of enjoying it.

Some disciples claim that they are ‘moonlight group’ – living from paycheck to paycheck. (In Chinese, ‘moonlight’ consists of two words, ‘moon’ and ‘light’, which also mean ‘month’ and ‘used up’ – the monthly salary is used up.) However, they are able to buy clothes, eat meals or see movies, enjoying themselves. Thus, when they say they are ‘moonlight group’, they are deceiving themselves. These subjects spoken of by Immovable Buddha are fundamental requirements of Buddhist practitioners. Those who do not know or feel about gratitude and repay kindnesses are definitely not Buddhist practitioners. These people only know to come here asking things from me, and if they do not get what they want, they will be immediately gone. The reason that they have come to see me is wishing to get things they like, and if that fails, they will just leave. However, if, towards the Three Jewels, they know or feel about gratitude and repay kindnesses, how will they leave? They will not. Many people say, ‘I can rely on myself (to learn Buddhism and to practice).’ Even Immovable Buddha or Amitabha had a guru. Do you think that you are more amazing than Buddhas? You might say that Shakyamuni Buddha did not have a guru. Nonetheless, it has been mentioned in sutras that Shakyamuni Buddha came down to Earth from the Tuṣita Heaven. In there, He had mastered His practices and would soon attain Buddhahood. Then, He made vows to come down to Earth to be a Buddha; He always had had gurus in several of His previous lifetimes. Today, if one does not learn the Dharma in accordance with the teachings of the Buddha, this person will forever be an outsider on the Dharma.

If a dedication is made with ‘mind with wisdom’, this dedication is one without seeking returns and is made with a mind full of wisdom. Yet, you have made your dedications with lots of supplications. For me, I think of dedications this way: ‘I have performed this Dharma method today as there are causes and conditions arisen; I have done this performance for sentient beings; thus, I will make dedications.’ These kinds of thoughts are not like yours, such as ‘the Dharma method performed today will enlighten me; I will have good fortune’, ‘it will make me healthy’ or ‘it will let my daughter-in-law listen to me and eat vegetarian’, and so forth. Dedications are irrelevant to these. This is why your dedications are of no use. Of course, occasionally, there will be a bit of efficacies occurring but it is impossible that they can be useful to your practices.

The ‘mind with wisdom’ has been continuously mentioned here; it means not making dedications with minds of people of the mundane world. I have said this to you before: do not create your own ways of making dedications. It is fine that we just make them in accordance with methods taught in Dharma texts and sutras. Some people will think, ‘If I do not make the dedication to my wife and if she gets sick, what should I do?’ If you have such a thought, it demonstrates that it is superfluous for you to have come here to learn Buddhism. I performed the Green Tara ritual last week. There is this quote in its Dharma text, ‘The practitioner who is performing this Dharma needs to protect sentient beings he wants to protect.’ What have I been practicing so toilfully for? It was not for myself either. If your mind is different from the minds of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, can you protect all sentient beings?

This is indicated in that Dharma text, ‘After the yidam, the Green Tara, has blessed me, I am full of the wisdom, skills and power of the yidam. I will then be able to protect sentient beings.’ There are two key points here. Firstly, it is not that because of my recitation, or chanting the mantra, of the Green Tara, this yidam will come to protect you. The Green Tara is irrelevant to you. Nowadays, Buddhist practitioners in the whole world are almost becoming ones in non-Buddhist religions. They will implore every day for some things, like, ‘Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, bless me!’ Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara is not relevant to them or to you. Because you are not prepared to ‘go’ to the Land of Amitabha,and you continuously seek things of the mundane world, Avalokiteshvara will ignore you. This is the situation for you unless an intermediary, or a middleman, appears. (This is about the second key point.) This person has already made great vows to benefit sentient beings, and is attuned to yidams, being indistinguishable from yidams. As the person has seen that you are so pitiful, he or she will let you get what you wish for. If you implore for something, the person will bless you by chanting a mantra; if you hope that nothing bad will happen to you, this person will bless you, too. Did you think it was Avalokiteshvara or Vajrasattva who had come to bless you? This means the person blessing you has already mastered the practices and is attuned to the yidam. Hence, when this person blesses you, he or she only needs to chant some mantra a little. Many people think that they are very amazing in that as they chant mantras a few thousands of times each day, they can chant mantras to help others. However, if one is not attuned to yidams, no matter how the mantras are chanted, the chanting will be useless.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, at that time, there was a bhikkhu, whom others were less familiar with, and he had such a thought, “this Great Bodhisattva, from the start of his aspirations having been arisen, had acted with diligence as his covers of armor of mails.”’

There was a bhikkhu who gave rise to this thought, ‘from the start of his aspirations having been arisen, he had acted with diligence as his covers of armor of mails.’ This means from the beginning of having his aspirations, he had continuously acted with diligence and had never stopped until he had attained Buddhahood. The ‘Great Bodhisattva’ indicated in this quote refers to Bodhisattva’s Dharmakaya (Dharma-body).

Sutra: ‘“Towards all sentient beings, his mind was not shaken by hatred and other senses.” Sariputra, at that time, because of this thought, that Bodhisattva was named Immovable in Abhirati.’

Towards all sentient beings, the Great Bodhisattva mentioned would not give rise to any senses of hatred to shake his aspirations initially formed. This Bodhisattva, because of this thought, was named Immovable in Abhirati.

Sutra: ‘At that time, Broad-Eyed Tathagata, who had been attuned to right equality and right awareness, seeing that Bodhisattva had obtained the name of Immovable, rejoiced and praised his goodness. All the Four Great Deva Kings and the Lords of Indra and Brahma, upon hearing that name, also rejoiced in it.’

At that time, Broad-Eyed Tathagata, seeing this Bodhisattva had obtained the name of Immovable in this land mentioned, ‘rejoiced and praised his goodness’. The Four Great Deva Kings and the Lords of the two heavens indicated, upon hearing this name, rejoiced in it, too.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, that Great Bodhisattva Immovable said this in front of that Buddha, “World Honored One, now I give rise to this ‘mind with all wisdom’, and make such a dedication to Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhicitta (Supreme Enlightenment).”’

His vows made were really different from ours. In front of that Buddha, the Bodhisattva did not say that he would make dedications so as to let him attain Buddhahood or to make things (that he wanted) happen to him; rather, he made a dedication to Supreme Enlightenment. Why was that dedication made in such a way? Many people think that dedication is just something to talk about a bit and that is all. However, no matter what kinds of Dharma texts one practices or performs, there are three major parts that are divided in the texts: preliminary practice, main practice and dedication. The preliminary practice is preparing to get the practitioner’s mind ready for the performance. The main practice is to perform all of this particular yidam’s prayers and the wisdom, merits and mantra of this yidam. Then the final part of the performance is dedication.

Regarding this word, ‘dedication’, it refers to this: for whatever we do, whether making offerings to the Buddha and Bodhisattvas or giving alms to sentient beings, all the power that has been given away from us, when acting such deeds, will come back to us. This does not mean that those having received things from us will also make dedications to us; rather, the reason that we will get the power back is because, in the void, all the great seas of merits are cycles. If we do not make dedications of a bit of merits, obtained from our practices, to others, and only give such merits to ourselves, we will not gain more merits. This is because (if you are like that) you cannot immerse yourself in your practices into the great sea of merits of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Although sentient beings in the Six Realms have continuously been in reincarnation, they have merits, too. This is because every sentient being has more or less listened to the Dharma expounded, recited or chanted items related to the Dharma, or practiced it. Thus, this is why I have constantly reminded you that to our enemies, who have felt resentful towards us, we need to know or feel about gratitude, repay kindnesses and make dedications to them. It is not that ‘My dedications to him will drive him away from me’ or ‘I will make dedications to him so that he will not hate me.’ Rather, it is that ‘I will exchange my merits with his hatred towards me.’ This is exactly what ‘dedication’ is.

For many people, their cancer will not be gone no matter how much repentances they have made because they do not dare or are afraid to make dedications. Before, when I had cancer, I did not make dedications to my cancer cells; I only made dedications to Supreme Enlightenment and to the Pure Land. Strangely, I do not know if these cancer cells have been liberated by me but now there are none left in my body. You continuously think, ‘I have already made repentances, so my cancer cells will forgive me.’ Your repentances are of no use to you then because, in your internal world and the deepest part of your heart, you only hope that you are not in pain. You have not made dedications with a mind of knowing or feeling about gratitude and repaying kindnesses; you have just been wishing that you will not suffer. You have thought, ‘I already acknowledged my mistakes to you, so what do you still want to do with me?’ or ‘I already “told” the Buddha and Bodhisattvas that I had acknowledged my mistakes to you. The Buddha and Bodhisattvas were my witnesses. What more do you want? Why haven’t you gotten lost yet?’ These are precisely your mindsets.

Originally, making grand prostrations is the most auspicious Dharma method on repentance. It is clearly indicated in Dharma texts that once the 100,000 times of grand prostrations have been completed, almost half of your karma will be eliminated, and it will no longer hinder your practices. Why have you had so many hindrances when you further your practices? For example, some disciples took two years to chant fully the Hundred-Syllable Mantra for the required number of times. Then for the Dharma method of Mandala Offering, after I have transmitted it to you (those who are allowed to learn and practice it), you have been trying different ways to understand it, but you are still perplexed about it. Why? Because you have not done well on the fundamentals in the Dharma. When you make grand prostrations, you are only making repentances so that you will not be harmed. What is the use on that? Why do you need to make grand prostrations? As you have created so much negative karma through lifetime after lifetime, do you think you can get it resolved just by reciting the Buddha’s name or sutras, or chanting mantras? If your body do not suffer, how will your karmic creditors forgive you? You live comfortably every day. Thus, if you have not done well in making grand prostrations 100,000 times as required, you will definitely get stuck in your further practices later on and will not advance.

For those who will come to me to implore the transmission of the Hundred-Syllable Mantra after they have finished making grand prostrations 100,000 times, I will not transmit the Mantra to them. Then, for those who have fully chanted the Hundred-Syllable Mantra for the required number of times and will come to implore the Dharma method of Mandala Offering, I will not transmit it to them either. I am a Vajrayana practitioner; I definitely will not play jokes with you. I am not easy to talk to. The reason that you will not receive these transmissions is that you have not made the grand prostrations correctly; you have just been doing an exercise. In your internal world, you have not acknowledged your mistakes at all.

I told you before that when His Holiness had wanted to transmit the Mahamudra to me, I was conducting a retreat. He wanted me to come out of my retreat hut. I reported to His Holiness that only after I would complete chanting the Hundred-Syllable Mantra 110,000 times in 10 days, dared I leave my hut to receive the transmission of the Mahamudra. I deeply believe that there has been much of karma in me through lifetime after lifetime, whereas you firmly believe that, through lifetime after lifetime, there is much goodness in yourselves. That is why you have implored the Dharmas casually. If you are so amazing, you can ascend the Dharma throne to expound the Dharma for two hours and see what such a teaching is like.

Each and every one of you, who is not here today, had told me many stories why you could not come to the puja this Sunday. Someone said that there was no way for her to come because she needed to be a chief witness at a wedding ceremony on behalf of others’ parents. It turned out that being such a witness was so important. Was it? Then if you (the disciple in question) are sick in the future, do not come seeking an audience with me for help. You would say, ‘I had already promised the people on the other side of the wedding party that I would do it.’ However, you had also promised me to attend pujas every week. When you had issues and sought my help, what did you promise me? Then, after you had lived a bit of comfortable life, you, again, showed your prior attitude, thinking that the ways of people and of the world were more important. You could have asked your husband to go by himself or found a professional as a chief witness at a wedding ceremony. You thought if you missed attending a puja once, I would not know. That was correct that I would not know, but your karmic creditors would.

From the time I have started learning Buddhism to this day as a Rinpoche, I have not socialized. Again, this year is almost over. Do not think, ‘This is the way I am.’ If this is the way you are, I cannot help you either by expounding so much of the Dharma to you. Do not think that you have not been talked about in what you have listened to. On the subjects that the Buddha had spoken of, almost all of you have a ‘share’ in them.

Sutra: ‘“Even before attaining the state of supreme right awareness, if my practices and activities go against the previous words I just said, I will then be lying to and deceiving Buddhas, Tathagatas and those, who have abided by and expounded the Dharma, in countless and innumerable worlds.”’

All what Bodhisattva Immovable has said or done will definitely not go against his vows.

You have lied and deceived me all the time. When you have taken refuge, I have instructed you very clearly that, ‘you should observe precepts and you should…., et cetera.’ You all have said that you would follow the instructions. And now? You are not willing to do them. Here, in this quote, the Buddha added ‘those, who have abided by, and expounded, the Dharma’. Do not lie to or deceive me, thinking that I am just one human being; there are countless and innumerable sentient beings behind me. If you really have had some problems, why don’t you come to tell me truthfully? You think, ‘Rinpoche will not know.’ Contrarily, I will know many things because, like I just said that there are countless and innumerable sentient beings behind me. Not to mention me, even at the side of Dharma Protector Achi, there are so many beings. In the Dharma texts we have recited, it is mentioned that there are a few dozens of protectors as family members of Dharma Protector Achi; then for each of these family members, at their sides, there are a few dozens more of protectors, and so forth. This means there are tens of thousands of them. If an insignificant one, like a batman in an army, is assigned casually to deal with you, there will be nothing you can do to, or play trick on, this ‘batman’ at all. Now, for me, if I have one more disciple, it does not mean I have more of disciples; if I have one less disciple, it does not mean I have less of disciples either. I am already in my 70s; I still cannot retire. What have I been working so hard for?

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to this great aspiration and make such a dedication. Even before attaining bodhicitta, if every spoken language I utter is not attuned to the mindfulness of the Buddha and all wisdom, I will then be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas.”’

‘Mindfulness of the Buddha’ is not reciting the Buddha’s name; rather, it means, in your thoughts, you should think of the Buddha’s teachings, merits and compassion, not getting them out of your mind. You only think of yourself. Thus, before attaining the fruition of a Buddha, in what spoken languages he uttered or what words he said, if they were not about the Dharma or were not attuned to the wisdom of all Buddhas, then he would ‘be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas’. This is exactly the precept of refraining from making a false speech. A true practitioner usually will not talk to you discursively or a lot. Once he or she says something, it is just about the Dharma, and even if the subject is about some matter of yours, it is relevant to the Dharma.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to such an aspiration and make such a dedication. Even before attaining supreme bodhicitta, if, through life after life, I am a layman and I do not get ordained, I will then be going against all Buddhas.”’

This quote also shows that he made a great vow. He said that before attaining the fruition of a Buddha, if, through life after life,he was a layman and he did not get ordained, he would then be going against all Buddhas. When ‘being ordained’ is mentioned, it means there are these four types: both the body and the mind being ordained; the mind being ordained but not the body; the body being ordained but not the mind; both the body and the mind not being ordained. ‘Being ordained’ means renouncing the ‘home’ of reincarnation. (In Chinese, the term ‘being ordained’ consists of two words, ‘leave’ and ‘home’, meaning ‘leaving a home’.) Even as we are laity, if our mind of learning Buddhism is not on the purpose of renouncing the ‘home’ of reincarnation, which is like a burning house, then we are not ordained – we are not practicing the Dharma. Although the causes and conditions of this lifetime make us have an appearance of a layman, such an outward look does not represent the mind of a layman. However, now we muddle along at home every day, and do lots of things irrelevant to the Dharma, thinking if we do not handle them, we will be scolded by other people; then again, if we do such things, it will seem that we go against the Dharma. Hence, in a quote previously shown, there is an important statement, and it is ‘if every spoken language I utter is not attuned to the mindfulness of the Buddha and all wisdom….’ Watch out then when you open your mouth to speak. Do not scold other people; do not criticize them; do not speak to them negatively or in a negative language. If you do any of these things, you are not in ‘the mindfulness of the Buddha’.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to such a ‘mind with all wisdom’. Even before obtaining supreme bodhicitta, through life after life, I will be ordained. If I do not beg for food, not sit down eating one meal a day, not moderate food, not stop eating again after finishing a meal….”’

He said that before attaining the fruition of a Buddha, through life after life, he would be ordained. If he did not beg for food (asking alms in food), not sit down eating one meal a day (taking one meal per day), not stop eating again after finishing a meal (not indulging in one’s appetite)….

For ‘not moderate food’, this refers to ways that the ordained eat. When a monastic eats a meal, if there is only 80% full in a bowl of rice, that is all the rice this monastic is to eat for this meal. He or she should not get more rice. This means that bowl of rice is the good fortune of the day for the monastic to accept and use. If more food is wanted, such requests can be made in advance to those serving food at the place. Otherwise, a monastic will eat whatever amount of food that is given to him or her.

An ordained disciple had been scolded by me before because he used to have some eating habits similar to what has just been described above. When eating out, he picked and chose dishes he liked. Such a manner is not for a monastic to behave. Many people are like that when they eat at a buffet; they would pick and choose the food they like, or would see what dishes they don’t like. This is not good. Also, at a buffet, if you eat so much until you are full or even vomiting, it is not good either. In Chinese medicine, it is said that when eating a meal, it is fine just consuming the food for 80% of your eating capacity. If you eat until you vomit, it does not mean you moderate the food, and it is not good for your good fortune either. If the food is a type of desserts, like a cake, a pie or some fruit, and as such an order has a relatively high price, about NT$200 or NT$300 each, you would feel ‘pained’ about your money, and would not order a second one. Since the time of my youth to this day, I only have had three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is that simple, and I only eat for 80% of being full. Some of you eat two breakfasts, then a dessert, a lunch, an afternoon tea and a dinner; there is even a late-night snack. Then, at different times among all these occasions, you would keep on eating snacks.

For ‘not stop eating again after finishing a meal’, monastics often break away from this rule of ‘not eating again after finishing a meal’. When you (a monastic) leave your seat after finishing a meal, and if someone says to you that ‘there are still food left; you should cherish your good fortune, so come back and eat again’, then you return to your seat and eat again; once more, you chat with others while eating. This is not right. After finishing a meal, monastics should just go back to their huts or rooms. There is nothing else besides this. They don’t chat with people. When the constructions of our monastery have been completed later on, you, the monastics here, need to get ready to feel hungry; once you leave the dining table after finishing a meal, you cannot go back to eat again. Even I, a layman, know such a rule. Perhaps, I was a monastic in my previous lifetime.

Sutra: ‘“….not possess the three regulated garments, not wear a garment of cast-off rags, not sit wherever I go, not sit down often, not dwell in aranya, not stay peacefully under trees, not sit out in the open and not live in an area of graves, I will then be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas.”’

For ‘not wear a garment of cast-off rags’,this will be explained this way. Before, the kasaya (a monk’s robe) worn by Shakyamuni Buddha was made from cast-off clothes of other people, and such clothes had been washed, cut and sewed piece by piece to have His Kasaya made. In Exoteric Buddhism, over a kasaya, there is an outer robe with a pattern of squares, and such a robe represents a garment of cast-off rags. However, nowadays, kasayas are made out of very good and very beautiful fabrics. Now, monastics no longer have garments of cast-off rags.

For ‘not sit wherever I go’, this also means monastics are not to sit down casually. They should have the majestic dignity of monastics. An ordained disciple, when he was in the United States previously, was often requested by people beside him, saying something like, ‘Master, take a seat and let’s have a chat.’ What were there to chat about? The motion of monastics’ sitting is for sitting in meditation or for eating meals; it is not for doing trivial matters. Some female monastics will chat slowly among them or with others while pulling up weeds from the ground covered with grass. They cannot do such chats either.

The phrase, ‘not sit down often’, does not refer to sitting in meditation; rather, it means a monastic should not sit on a chair frequently and be motionless. This is also for the good of health. I often tell my employees that having their rear end ‘stuck’ to their chairs and having sat too long, will be bad for their bodies. There is also this key point here: monastics cannot enjoy good fortune. Do not think, ‘My health is not good, so I must sit down.’ It is excusable to sit down if you do not have good health but you are not to sit there all day long without moving.

The phrase, ‘not dwell in aranya’, means retreats are not conducted.

For ‘not stay peacefully under trees’,here is the way to explain it. In the past, many monastics sat in meditation and did their practices under trees. As trees produce oxygen, sitting cross-legged in meditation under trees is good for health.

For ‘not sit out in the open’, I had seen that there was a Buddhist temple having this set-up described here. Being afraid of happenings that the monastics of the temple, while sitting in meditation under trees, would get mosquito bites, the temple used acrylic boxes to have those monastics covered.

We need breathing as part of the process when we practice a Dharma method, and we can breathe good oxygen when we are under trees. If monastics stay in houses all day long and do not sit outside, there will be two kinds of results. Firstly, it will not be good for their health; secondly, there will be no opportunities for them to form affinities with sentient beings. It is like the story shared by a disciple today just before the puja started. She said that she treated the occurrences of having been bitten by mosquitoes as opportunities to repay debts and give alms. Well, if she had practiced well, those mosquitoes would have been ‘reluctant’ to bite her. As she had been bitten badly by them with bites all over her, it meant she had not practiced well.

In 2007, I conducted a three-month retreat at the Lapchi Snow Mountain in Nepal. After the retreat was completed and when I came out of my retreat hut, I could have gone to His Holiness’s retreat room to eat some food, but he directly wanted me to sit with him on the ground covered with grass to eat the food.

The phrase, ‘not live in an area of graves’, does not mean you, as monastics, must live among tombs. In olden times, there were no fixed places for monastics to live in. They wandered from places to places; they could not choose where they wanted to live. For example, when it was nighttime and there was nowhere to live, and if a monastic happened to see that a grave had been excavated, leaving a hole there, the monastic would spend the night in it. I am not saying that now I want you to deliberately excavate someone’s coffin to let you have a place, a hole on the ground, to stay in. Nowadays, you, monastics, are living too comfortably in that you still have fixed places to live in. Before, there were no temples for people. It is like that I did not see temples when I was in Shravasti. In there, there were only narrow rooms shown one after another, a large ground covered with grass and bodhi trees. Practitioners would just sit under these trees to expound the Dharma; there were no main halls of temples in that place.

These few quotes mean, before attaining the fruition of a Buddha, or even before practicing the Bodhisattva Path, your practices will be very toilful; there are no choices for you on the ways of practicing. If you pick and choose modes of practicing or Dharma methods that you feel comfortable with, your ways of practicing are wrong. You need to adapt to rising conditions and keep this concept in mind: ‘Live by adapting to each rising condition and keep calm no matter what happens.’ If you can act on these, you will then be like an ordained practitioner.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to this great bodhicitta and make such a dedication. Even before obtaining all ‘wisdom and wisdom’, if I do not achieve attainment in unhindered eloquence to expound wonderful Dharmas, I will then be lying to and deceiving innumerable Buddhas.”’

It was very important that Immovable Buddha made such a vow in front of Bodhisattvas. This meant before attaining all wisdom (acquired wisdom and primordial wisdom), if he did not achieve attainment in unhindered eloquence, he would not expound wonderful Dharmas. When we expound the Dharma, we must speak of it in accordance with sutras; we are not to just open our mouths to speak without thinking and to say whatever we like. Why is this the way? Because you (if you are the speaker) have not obtained all wisdom. We can only expound the Dharma from what have been mentioned in sutras or from gurus’ practicing experiences that have been described. We cannot say that we have ‘unhindered eloquence to expound wonderful Dharmas’.

‘Unhindered eloquence’ does not mean you are very good at debating in regard to the Dharma or at explaining Buddhist terms. Rather, it means when any sentient beings have any doubts about the Dharma or about things relevant to reincarnation, you can give them an explanation or a direction of finding answers; you are not to provide them an answer though. If an answer is given to them, such an act is not in the law of causes and conditions. The reason for giving them an explanation or a direction to find answers is that all things are changing and they are not set or fixed to remain unchanged. ‘Unhindered eloquence’ means there are no hindrances on eloquence; it will not be obstructed by one’s own karma or sentient beings’ karma. As long as sentient beings implore the Dharma, the unhindered eloquence will be arisen in the person from whom they implore the Dharma.

For the act of ascending a Dharma throne to expound the Dharma, one cannot do it unless the person has already obtained all these qualities that have just been described. Otherwise, such a person has to experience the processes of his or her own practices and has been authenticated and approved by the person’s guru. Only after these have occurred, can this person ascend a Dharma throne to expound the Dharma. It is not like some people nowadays that after having practiced for a few years and known some Buddhist terms, they start accepting followers as their disciples and speaking of the Dharma to people. These are all wrong.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to such an aspiration. Even before obtaining supreme bodhicitta, if I do not abide by three dignities in standing, sitting or walking-practicing repeatedly, I will then be lying to and deceiving countless Buddhas.”’

This quote has even spoken up bodily movements. The ‘three dignities’ means practitioners have dignities when they sit, lie down or walk. If they do not abide by such dignities, they would be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas. These dignities are not shown deliberately; rather, when a person has practiced to a certain level with the mind purified, he or she will naturally have such dignified deportments emerged. It is like, before, when people saw Shakyamuni Buddha, they were very respectful of Him. This was because when they saw the dignities in Him, they naturally showed their great respect for Him. It was precisely that His good fortune and merits had appeared.

This means ‘abide by three dignities’ is not relied on learning from, or listening to, people or outside sources, nor is it displayed deliberately by pretending it being there. It is different from the affected ways of movie stars when they show their styles in various things. These dignified forms of demeanor will appear from good fortune and merits that have been gained from one’s practices. As good fortune and merits make the ‘three dignities’ appear, a practitioner should abide by them and cannot forget his or her own original position. Practitioners should have the demeanors of practitioners. Of course, some people will say that there are some practitioners who are like Monk Jidian, but that is another saying. (Monk Jidian was in the era of Song Dynasty and there were many legends about him.)

For ‘in standing, sitting or walking-practicing repeatedly’, it means when practitioners stand, they have a deportment of standing. They will not stand in a ‘3-7 step’ position (standing with one knee bending very slightly). When they sit, they will have a proper sitting posture too. They will not sit at a place casually, slouching, like mochi (sticky rice cakes). Even when they walk, there is a dignity in their walking. Once I ascend the Dharma throne, I definitely straighten my back even though I have pain in my vertebra. The ‘three dignities’ will naturally appear in my deportments and they have been from good fortune and merits that have been gained from my practices. Hence, if one continuously, and unceasingly, practices diligently, like what has been mentioned earlier, ‘with diligence as their covers of armor of mails’, one will naturally abide by ‘three dignities’. If they are not shown, it represents the fact that one has not practiced diligently in that one has slackened his or her own practices. It is like how you have slackened yourself. After reciting the Buddha’s name or sutras, or chanting mantras, you will take a deep breath – feeling relaxed, drink a cup of tea, and watch TV to see who is on the screen criticizing or blaming someone for something. Why has it happened this way? It is because that you feel what you need to do every day – your ‘homework’ (from your learning of Buddhism), recitation of the Buddha’s name or sutras, or chanting of some mantras – are routines, like eating meals in daily life. You have the experiences of slouching over, say, a sofa, after eating meals and enjoying yourself by watching TV. This is exactly what it means about your behavior.

The dignities I have when I am on the Dharma throne will not be gone when I descend from it. The disciple who said, when sharing her story today just before the puja started, that one time, I came out of my private lounge at the Center and scolded you all. It was because at that time I did not even leave the Center yet, but you already babbled noisily. You had no dignities. If there had been people from outside who had come in then and seen you like that, how could your behavior have been good then? If you want to make contacts among you, you can go to restaurants. Why don’t you? Because you need to pay there. Is it free here? No, it is not because there are water or electricity bills to pay! You have treated this Center as a social hall; I said before that you have regarded this place as a club. When I expound the Dharma, you think the place is a club, and you still treat it as one after I finish a teaching. How can you behave like this?

Even on such trivial matters, I need to manage them for you. This means you have no respect for the Three Jewels in your minds. Did the Buddha, Bodhisattvas or Dharma protectors leave the Center after I had descended the Dharma throne? Why were you so noisy? It was obvious that you were taking an advantage of me! If I send you to meet with the President at the Office of the President today, after the meeting, would you dare to babble noisily inside the Office? Why can you make noises at this Center then? The reason you cannot master your practices is that you have been slacking off on them. You think that as you have listened, been scolded and also paid the fees (making offerings), all other things are your own businesses. When are they your businesses?

If you want to socialize, it is fine. You can schedule the activities in advance, say, meeting others at a restaurant. If it is full, just wait a little then. However, you do not act that way either; you all want to rush back home after a puja is completed. Since you are in a hurry to go home, why do you still babble for half an hour after the puja on Sundays? There is a Cantonese saying, ‘three women and a market’ (called ‘Lipstick Circle’ by some people). It means when three women gather together, they are like forming a market because of noises they make. Look at this place then; how many women are there present? Would you please be like Buddhist practitioners? Okay? If you cannot be one, at least look like one a bit.

Sutra: ‘“Now I give rise to such an aspiration mentioned above. Even before obtaining all ‘wisdom and wisdom’, if, at times, I commit root vices to sentient beings, or make false speeches and utter other mischievous words of the mundane world….”’

I have just scolded you, and here, a scolding is indicated in this quote. Bodhisattva Immovable said, ‘Now I give rise to such an aspiration mentioned above. Even before obtaining all “wisdom and wisdom”, if, at times, I commit root vices to sentient beings….’ The ‘root vices’ refers to the five minimum levels of them. For practitioners who practice the Bodhisattva Path, the root vice is breaking away from Bodhisattva Precepts; for monastics, such a vice is about non-observance of monastic precepts. Both types of practitioners absolutely cannot commit the respective vices. If you do, do not think that you will be all right if you just make apologies or repentances. You will indeed be fine; it is just that hindrances in your practices will then appear.

In the phrase, ‘or make false speeches and utter other mischievous words of the mundane world….’, the ‘words’ mentioned here means the spoken words in habitual arguing of the mundane world. The ‘arguing’ here is not ‘quarreling’; it means noisy babbling. It is like the way that disciple had acted when she was sharing her story today before the puja started. She wanted everyone to see how her dyed hair was so beautiful, which had been dyed by Glorious Jewel Hair Salon. If she wanted to do promotion for the hair-coloring business of the Salon, belonging to the Glorious Jewel Group, she should not have done it this way. This Center is not a place for doing businesses; what she did was making a false speech. She thought that she was humorous but what the humor was about. Everyone does not conduct oneself or handle things in accordance with what have been mentioned in sutras. Hence, when I read what Immovable Buddha had said, I was torn with grief as if my heart had been pierced by a knife. All of you are like that.

Sutra: ‘“….or giving rise to a sense of being attuned to by destroying and subduing others’ views, I will then be lying to and deceiving innumerable Buddhas.”’

For ‘destroying and subduing others’ views’, it means to destroy and subdue what other practitioners have spoken of about their theories. One thinks that only one’s own views are right and those of other people are all wrong; he or she does not go by what have been mentioned in sutras; rather, this person reacts to others’ views with his or her own thoughts. Thus, if you are monastics, and if you like to debate or to discuss with others, you need to be careful. It is not that you are wrong, but are what you say to others in accordance with sutras or with your guru’s teachings? Or, are those you say your own opinions? Or, do you feel that what others speak of are all wrong and only what you say are right?

If what have been spoken of are in accordance with the Dharma, such a speech is with this concept: in the Dharma there is no ‘fixed Dharma’. This does not mean, in the Dharma, there are no directions or methods for us to learn or to act on. It is that as the karma of every sentient being is different, the Dharma methods used for each sentient being will also be different. As such, the Dharma methods that are suitable to you might not suit other sentient beings. As long as the Dharma methods that such a sentient being has learned are from sutras or from the teachings of his or her guru, even if you think some areas of the person’s practices are not correct whereas yours are right, you should not destroy and subdue this person’s views. You can discuss or research the subjects with him or her from sutras or from sastras that had been written by honorable people of the past; you are not to destroy and subdue this person’s thoughts.

Such situations are quite popular now in Taiwan. It is just like that on my website, at times, there are messages of this kind left by some people. Here is an example. Some time ago, I mentioned the total number of Bhikkhuni Precepts. As a non-ordained guru, I do not take Bhikkhuni Precepts. I definitely do not know how many such precepts existing. Even if I know the answer, I cannot talk about these precepts because I do not take them – I have only taken Bodhisattva Precepts.

When you think that other people have problems on their views, do not constantly attack them about their thoughts just because you have learned a little about Buddhism. You want to use these opportunities to prove you are good or you are at a higher level of learning or practicing. Do not get those attacks occurring because Dharma methods used by every person are really different. It is like what happened in the era when Shakyamuni Buddha was living in the world. In order to save the lives of 500 arhats, He killed a boatman. Do you dare to say He had been wrong? If He were wrong, how could He have attained Buddhahood? Thus, we cannot ‘destroy and subdue others’ views.’ We need to observe, from the principles of cause and effect, the Dharma a person has expounded; we are not to perceive, from Buddhist terms, the Dharma or sastras a person has spoken of and to see whether those having been said are right or not.

This quote expresses faults of so-called Buddhist practitioners nowadays. It is like that once when I was in a restaurant, I saw a male singer there, who was a vegetarian, and as he wanted to persuade other customers eating vegetarian, he spoke out to them more offensively; his manner made them feel very displeased. Such ways of talks will harm sentient beings instead. You can persuade others on something, and whether they will listen to you or not is their decisions to make.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to this ‘mind with all wisdom’, and abide by, and make a dedication to, Supreme Enlightenment. At times, when I speak of the Dharma to women, if I do not have this look arisen in me with the thoughts of impermanence, suffering, Emptiness and selflessness, but instead, I am beguiled by their looks and smile at them with my teeth shown, I will then be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas.”’

All male monastics should listen to this quote. Of course, male monastics do not think of the relationship between a man and a woman. Here, ‘I am beguiled by their looks’ refers to a situation like this: when a male monastic sees a woman of high rank, perhaps being a major donor, he thinks, ‘I will smile at her and be nicer to her.’ He is not allowed to have such a smile with his teeth shown. However, for a layman, it is all right to do that. For the women present, when you get home, you definitely want to smile at your husbands with your teeth shown; otherwise, they will think the nervous system of your face is in disorder. It is safer now to wear a mask. When male monastics wear a mask, they do not need to take it off in such occasions described above. However, for male monastics present, remember this: when you see a woman, do not just look at her outward appearance.

Many people have come to seek an audience with me. Usually, I just look at them a bit and then I do not look anymore. (Rinpoche’s attendant, who is a monastic, then said it was indeed happening that way. To the believers seeking an audience with Rinpoche, after asking them what kind of problems they had, he always, with an upright posture, helped them very solemnly and guided them with directions for them to handle their issues.) (Rinpoche continued the teachings.) This is to abide by the Dharma principles, letting those believers know about impermanence, selflessness or Emptiness, things of these sorts. I cannot say what they like to hear so as to show customary flatteries. Actually, I have offended many people, so there are no high-ranking officials or major benefactors appearing in this Center. It is because that if I talk to them about suffering all the time, they will not feel it as they think they are very rich; if I speak of impermanence to them, they will not want to make changes; if I mention the idea of selflessness to them, they will not even get that through their head.

Although I have not read this section of the sutra before, I have implemented this rule. Hence, even if there is a group of women of high rank who have been brought here, seeking audiences with me, I will still talk to them about these things just described. Am I not able to read a person’s facial features? I can also speak of few nice words to them, making them donate money, as offerings, to support the construction of our monastery. I do not mention it in any way; rather, I talk to them about the Dharma. There are so many believers who have come seeking audiences with me, but I have never told them to make offerings, in their donations, to our monastery’s construction. There is a mention in sutras that even as I am a non-ordained practitioner, since I am to speak of the Dharma to sentient beings, I need to accomplish the rules of ‘three dignities.’

Thus, male monastics of mine, if you see a monastic, smiling with his teeth shown and talking to a woman about some things of the mundane world, you can get far away from him. This applies to my female monastics as well. If you see a male monastic who smiles at a woman with his teeth shown, and looks at her appearance, but not talking to her about subjects on suffering or impermanence, et cetera, you need to go away from him no matter how famous a monk he is. This has been mentioned in sutras. Since Immovable Buddha had done his practices these ways, monastics should also practice in the same ways. Even if they have not done their practices to perfection, they need to keep those practices going towards such a direction. Even I, as a non-ordained practitioner, have practiced in these ways, let alone monastics.

That is the reason that when believers come here to ask me questions, if they do not believe in impermanence or cause and effect, I will not ‘chat’ with them. There are two ways for me to handle such situations. One is to scold them, and the other way is letting a monastic do the chatting. This is because they do not dare to ‘scold’ any monastics, but they dare to criticize me due to the fact that I am a non-ordained practitioner.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, if I give rise to this ‘mind with all wisdom’, and abide by, and make a dedication to, Supreme Enlightenment, and if, when I expound the Dharma, I do it for a very short time, as brief as taking a look or pointing a finger at something, and I am frivolous or irritable, or, when I see other Bodhisattvas, I do not have a thought arisen that they are masters, I will then be lying to and deceiving innumerable Buddhas.”’

For ‘when I expound the Dharma, I do it for a very short time, as brief as taking a look or pointing a finger at something, and I am frivolous or irritable’, means when he expounded the Dharma, he focused his explanations in his own thoughts, and the Dharma was not the focus of his speeches. Hence, what he had spoken up would be comparatively frivolous or irritable; he would not have patience to explain the topics slowly. The word ‘slowly’ here does not mean ‘very slowly’; rather, it means the Dharma had not been explained to sentient beings one step at a time. For ‘or at times when I see other Bodhisattvas, I do not have a thought arisen that they are masters’ means when seeing other Bodhisattvas, if he would think that he was in the equal rank, it would not be right.

On anyone who has been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, when we see the person, we need to give rise to a thought that he or she is a master. The reason is that since the person has been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, this person will definitely be a future Buddha. I have also been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, but before I have attained accomplishment of a Bodhisattva of the Eighth Ground, there are possibilities for me to retrogress. As the person has also been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, even if I cannot tell what Ground such a practitioner has reached, and only feel that this person has been practicing this Path, I should think that the person is a master, even if it is just a Bodhisattva of the First Ground that he or she is at. In such situations, if one does not think this way, it is mentioned in the sutra that one ‘will then be lying to and deceiving innumerable Buddhas.’

As long as this practitioner has been practicing the Bodhisattva Path to benefit a great number of sentient beings, such a practitioner should be considered as a master. Here, it has been explained in this sutra why a non-ordained practitioner can ascend a Dharma throne to perform Dharmas. As I have been practicing and acting on the Bodhisattva Path, I can be thought of as a master. If I had not been practicing or acting on this Path, would His Holiness have allowed me to ascend a Dharma throne? Even if I had insisted upon sitting on one while I had not been allowed to, Dharma protectors would not have let me sit well on it. All these have been explained in sutras. If a person has been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, there are no differentiations whether this person is a monastic or a non-ordained practitioner.

This quote had been said by Bodhisattva Immovable. It also lets all future Buddhist practitioners know that they need to pay attention to this point. As long as a person is a Bodhisattva, they should give rise to a thought that this person is a master. Do not think that the person has not practiced very well in that he or she does not understand this Dharma method. It is because every Bodhisattva has utilized particular Dharma methods, and will not use all methods in their practices. Do not think that as this Bodhisattva does not know a certain Dharma method, he or she is not a master. In Tibetan Buddhism, if a practitioner is able to be called ‘Rinpoche’ and has been authenticated and approved, and even if the completion of his practices is not that perfect, he is a master, not an ordinary practitioner.

Sutra: ‘“World Honored One, now I give rise to this ‘mind with all wisdom’, even to Supreme Enlightenment. If I sit listening to the teachings of non-Buddhist religions and pay obeisance to their sramanas (ascetics) and brahmans, only to exclude the sramanas and disciples of Buddhas, I will then be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas.”’

Even if a person has an appearance of a monastic, but what he or she speaks of are not the Dharma, and if I sit there listening to the speech, ‘I will then be lying to and deceiving all Buddhas.’ Thus, do not go randomly to different Buddhist centers; do not have such a thought that ‘this is a master’, not knowing clearly if the person is actually and truly expounding the Dharma. In sutras, there are many mentions that you need to pay attention to. These have all been described a little in your precepts but in them, these subjects are not mentioned so profoundly or distinctly. These were the practicing processes that Immovable Buddha had gone through when he had the appearance of a monastic. He had accomplished them all. Ask yourselves then if you have done these processes entirely. If not, it will be slower for you to reach the state of attainment, and such a situation is customary and reasonable too.

In Taiwan, it seems that there are no people speaking about Immovable Buddha. (A monastic present indicated that he had not heard of such speeches before.) This is because that if his teachings had been brought out, many monastics might want to simply return to secularization as all what they have been practicing on are not right. For example, on the words of ‘not eating again after finishing a meal’, many of you have faulted on this rule, which Immovable Buddha had practiced when he was on the Bodhisattva Path. I hope that you, monastics present, are to follow such ways to practice; do not play on gimmicks. These are from what have been mentioned in sutras, and are absolutely not wrong. I do not know how other people speak of these topics, but I have expounded them in accordance with what are shown in sutras and what had been taught by Immovable Buddha.

Since you have the appearance of a monastic, you cannot leave these rules out of your practices. If you insist on saying that what you know now had been taught by someone else. Well, is this person a Buddha? As he is not, you can forget about what he had taught you; you can do your practices by ways that have been taught in sutras. I am reminding you once more. You have definitely broken away from the rule of ‘not eating again after finishing a meal’. For example, someone might have said to you, ‘Just now, you have not had the soup yet, so hurry up and come to have it’, or ‘You have not had the dessert yet; come again to eat it.’Once you leave a dining table, you cannot go back there and sit down to eat. Even I, a non-ordained practitioner, know about this; do you not know? When people tell you about food like that, and if you go back to eat a dessert, you do not have the ‘‘three dignities’; you are not like a monastic. After you leave a dining table, there is nothing concerning you in that area. You are to go back to your hut or room.

Later, when you come to my monastery, and at mealtimes, once you are at 70% of being full, there will be a loud sound as a signal, like a strike on a gong, to make you get up from eating and go back to your rooms. Will you still be eating slowly then? I am already so thin, so you cannot be fat. For this reason, there is a benefit for you by following me to learn Buddhism, and the advantage is that you can lose weight because I do not eat much. Although on what I have been expounding today, quite a lot of subjects are about monastics, and we, the laity, need to pay attention to these topics too. For ‘not eating again after finishing a meal’, it is also very important to us, the non-ordained. Why is it? If you have already finished your meal, get up then. If you go back to eat, you will – again – reduce a little of your good fortune of being able to eat.

How much you can eat a day is in your good fortune. Say, today, you go back to eat this particular food after you have already eaten it; then your action is equivalent to this: you have ‘eaten’ your good fortune of tomorrow. Thus, you will have stomach problems today, like diarrhea. Even if you have unaccountably eaten food that is clean, you will still have problems on your stomach; it is because you have ‘consumed’ your good fortune. What I have taught you today are not about rules; rather, it is about how to cherish your good fortune. When you sit down today to eat and if the bowl of rice you get is only 80% full, that is your good fortune. After you have finished eating it, and if you feel you are not full and want to get more rice, you are wrong then. You can tell the food server that you want more rice when he or she puts it in your bowl, but if the server fills the bowl for 80% full, it is 80%. That is your good fortune. It means such an amount of rice is what you can eat today. Of course, you can buy a takeout to take it home to eat. Actually, learning Buddhism is a delightful thing to do. How could it be so painful? You do not need to make it deliberately so painful.”

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Updated on December 1, 2022