His Eminence Rinchen Dorjee Rinpoche’s Puja Teachings – February 27, 2022

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.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, for instance, when a bhikkhu who possesses many kinds of supernatural power of teleportation enters palaces, in them, he is like in the void, and he abides by majestic dignities with no hindrances.’

This quote has not been mentioned in other sutras. It means if today one has practiced and reached a certain fruition level, but has not vowed to be reborn in a certain Buddha’s Pure Land, and yet, still needs making vows to come back to this world for liberating sentient beings, one must know how to select the fetus to be reborn. Once a Bodhisattva ‘enters’ into such a fetus, the processes and aspects of the rebirth will be different from those of an ordinary person. After this Bodhisattva’s consciousness enters into the fetus, with the combination of a father’s essence and a mother’s blood, the form of a physical body for the Bodhisattva in this lifetime will be produced. However, his or her own consciousness seems still in the void and being motionless. This means ‘he’ or ‘she’ will not rebel in the mother’s womb. For example, usually, if a pregnant woman eats something the fetus does not like, it will kick the abdomen of this mother-to-be. There will be no such things happening in what we have been talking about here.

Sutra: ‘It is the same as being a Bodhisattva later on with a physical body. Although being in a mother’s fetus, this Bodhisattva is “living” in the void and cannot be defiled by all the dirt, or unclean elements, of fetus, and on its foul odors, the Bodhisattva cannot “smell” them either.’

Although a Bodhisattva in the final form as a human body will be born in a mother’s fetus, his or her majestic dignities brought forth by practices from accumulated past lifetimes have not been changed. Such dignities will follow the Bodhisattva’s birth and be shown. It is just that he or she needs to be born in this world through this way, and to appear in a human form. If such a Bodhisattva were to be suddenly transformed out of a stone or a flower, people in the mundane world would have felt that it is a very strange phenomenon. Thus, as there are no other alternatives, it is necessary for a Bodhisattva to ‘enter’ into a mother’s fetus. In it, he or she will be different from what an ordinary person will be before being reborn in that this Bodhisattva will not ‘be defiled by all the dirt, or unclean elements, of fetus.’

The odors produced by the body from what a mother-to-be eats can still be smelled in the womb. Women who had been pregnant would know that if they ate certain food and if the fetus could not stand that smell, it would make movements very intensively. Many people thought it was because the fetus liked the smell, but actually, it did not. Nevertheless, contrarily, you, a pregnant woman, kept on eating that food.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, when that Immovable Tathagata had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path before, he had made such a vow: “If, and when, I have attained supreme bodhicitta, in that land of a Buddha, all those who have practiced Mahayana and Vehicle of Sravaka will break away from many kinds of karma of demons.”’

This is the vow that the Immovable Tathagata had made that after he had attained bodhicitta while practicing Mahayana, all those who had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path or the paths of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha were able to break away from all the karma of demons. What is the karma of demons? It is the karma of reincarnation of birth and death. Do not think that there will be no karma of demons just because of learning Buddhism. Many people have such karma. Here are some examples: hoping to live longer; imploring the Buddha and Bodhisattvas for their blessings and protection so as to have a good health; being able to see one’s grandchildren getting married. These wishes are all karma of demons.

Sutra: ‘Many types of sentient beings, in all classes of the caste and in all times, will not let many sorts of demons have ways to interfere.’

Even if other sentient beings had not achieved accomplishments in the practices of Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha or Mahayana, it would not have mattered what ‘types’ they were born in. The ‘types’ here does not mean ‘Six Realms’. For example, in India, in the past, people there had been categorized into four classes; the lowest class was called ‘Dalit’ (‘Untouchables’). This quote means no matter what types of families, rich or poor, you were in, and ‘in all times’ – no matter what time period you appeared – you would not let all kinds of demons have opportunities to disturb you.

Sutra: ‘It was also like what I did when I had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path that I broke away from all the karma of demons. Then, for those Bodhisattvas, even before they had attained great merits, I had often embraced them diligently for them to practice the Bodhisattva Path.’

Shakyamuni Buddha said, ‘When I had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path’, I also ‘broke away from all the karma of demons. Then, for those Bodhisattvas, even before they had attained great merits, I had often embraced them diligently for them to practice the Bodhisattva Path.’ These words mean even if you have attained the fruition level of a Bodhisattva, and if your karma from accumulated past lifetimes has not been eliminated, you will still not be all right to practice on your own. Simply speaking, in each of the lifetime when Shakyamuni Buddha practiced the Bodhisattva Path, He was the guru of other Bodhisattvas.

There is this phrase in the quote, ‘Then, for those Bodhisattvas, even before they had attained great merits…’. In Exoteric Buddhism, for the term ‘Bodhisattva’, there are two main categories. One is in theory. This means some Bodhisattvas practice the Bodhisattva Path in theory, but behavior-wise, they have not acted on this Path. Although they are Bodhisattvas with aspirations, their behaviors do not show that they have achieved accomplishments, therefore, they do not have great merits in them. As such, all demons will take advantages of the situations to obstruct or disturb these Bodhisattvas. In the later part of the Ratnakuta Sutra, there is a passage which Shakyamuni Buddha had expounded that while practicing the Bodhisattva Path, after passing a certain practicing level, a practitioner will have some dreams. As for what are in the dreams, they are described very clearly in the sutra. For example, some dreams are to represent certain ground-levels of Bodhisattvas that the practitioners were in during their past lifetimes; or, in those lifetimes, if practitioners had not mastered their practices, what Dharma methods they should still need to practice in this lifetime.

Why had I not expounded this section of the sutra? Because I was afraid that you would talk nonsense. You would come here all the time and tell me what you had dreamed of. Actually, the Bodhisattvas’ dreams that Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of must be those having been dreamed of during retreats after practitioners have gone through their practices and have conducted retreats. Only those dreams count. In the sutra, the times of having the dreams are mentioned very clearly too. So, what you dream of every night in your sleep are not Bodhisattvas’ dreams.

When I expounded the Ratnakuta Sutra the week before last, I mentioned the Great Empowerment King of Kṣatriya, who could journey in palaces at ease, and receive the joys of ‘five desires.’ If one practices the Vehicles of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha, it is impossible for the person to generate joys from ‘five desires.’ This is because that practicing the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination and the Four Noble Truths, both being practices of Sravaka and Pratyekabuddha, is to break away from all afflictions. However, in Mahayana, afflictions are not to be broken away from. The reason is that if you appear in a human form, and even if you are in the Heaven Realm, you still have tactile senses of your eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body. In Exoteric Buddhism, there are mentions of Six Thieves, and they are sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and idea. These Six Thieves will disturb our minds, and as our minds are in motion, it will be very difficult for us to do our practices. However, in Mahayana and Vajrayana, the Six Thieves are not called thieves. On the contrary, they are types of practicing tools. In Tantra, ‘five desires’ – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch – are received and used in the mind of ‘great joy’.

The term ‘great joy’ is explained by words only because there are nothings that can be done to describe it. ‘Great joy’ is a state of meditation. Learning the methods in Zen School can attain the state of feeling light and blissful in one’s mind and can also ‘understand the mind and see the nature’, but there is no ‘great joy’ gained. Without ‘great joy’, it will be very difficult to transform affliction into bodhicitta. What is ‘great joy’ exactly? It is very hard to explain it by spoken languages. I have observed that in sutras, Shakyamuni Buddha rarely spoke of the joys of ‘five desires’, and only in this sutra the subject is mentioned. This indicated that the Immovable Tathagata, after having attained the state of a Bodhisattva of the Tenth Ground at the later stage of his practices, had definitely practiced Tantra. Otherwise, he would not have been able to understand the definition of ‘great joy’. This is because that when we conduct retreats, some prayers are made as offering items with the use of our sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. In concepts of Exoteric Buddhism, these senses are not good things. How can we make offerings with things that are not good? Such a thought is wrong because, through our visualizations and the transformation of our mindset, we can make offerings in all things. As long as we have pure minds, we can make any things as offerings.

The joys of ‘five desires’ that have been mentioned earlier aim to purify our delusions, arrogance, jealousy, the sense of greed and hatred. If these five senses or feelings cannot be transformed into purity, you will be unable to continue practicing. If one wishes to eliminate these five senses in the mind by just relying on sitting in meditation, reciting sutras or reciting the Buddha’s name, one definitely cannot get these eliminations done in one lifetime. Let’s not talk about other people but my female monastics. They used to quarrel all the time because they had these five senses. People who have done more practices will pay less attention to their having such senses because they think that as they have been practicing, they cannot possibly have these five senses in their minds. However, you are wrong. Before our physical body ceases to exist, in any day of our lives, on fifty-one mental factors in our body, each factor has such senses. As long as we have a physical body in existence, ‘five desires’ exist. Can you not see (‘sight’) or not hear (‘sound’)? Even if you cannot see or cannot hear things, it is impossible for you not being able to ‘touch’ them because you definitely can touch things.

People are proud and arrogant, especially monastics. The more they practice the prouder and more arrogant they have become. They think, ‘I am a monastic; I have practiced better than laity have.’ Laity are proud and arrogant too because they consider that the Dharma methods which they have been practicing on cannot be practiced by monastics. Then these five types of senses will hinder our practices. As mentioned earlier, Bodhisattvas have received and used ‘five desires’ in the mind of ‘great joy’. This is not saying that Bodhisattvas want these desires for such a joy. Why is there no consciousness in them that they do not want these desires or the joy? It is because that their minds are not to receive and use the desires; their feelings are. We all have a nervous system in our body. As long as there is a physical body, there are nerves. So long as nerves exist, many feelings will appear every second. Such feelings will definitely not be away from the ranges of these ‘five desires.’

‘Delusions’ means having a ‘black heart’ in a person for being wicked, not accepting the law of cause and effect. The person is jealous of others, arrogant, with hatred (when not getting what he or she wants) and with the sense of greed (wanting everything). These five senses in the mind are shown everywhere. It is because that we have eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body. Can you get all your skin cut off? No, that is impossible. Can you get your eyes gouged out? No, you cannot. Even if you have some surgeries that your ears are plugged up and you cannot hear any external sounds, you still can feel the sounds of heartbeats. Thus, if one wants to practice methods about these five senses, one cannot master the practices without learning Tantra. Why have you often been scolded by your guru? Because your ‘five desires’ have exactly been aimed at. To you, ‘five desires’ are kinds of enjoyments, perceptions and feelings of natural responses of animals. You are born with these five ‘things’; such desires have been brought with you through lifetime after lifetime. As long as one has reincarnated one is to have these desires no matter which realms in the Six Realms he or she has been. Even in the Heaven Realm, there will also be ‘five desires’ there.

In Esoteric Buddhism, there is this phrase: ‘having received and used with the mind of “great joy”’. It is very difficult to explain; there are nothings that can be done to explain it. If you have not attained accomplishments in reaching this stage in your practices, you will be unable to speak of it. Hence, Shakyamuni Buddha was compassionate that He explained it by words. Currently, you absolutely do not have the mind of ‘great joy’. Do not use words to explain it as ‘the heart with great joy and happiness’, which is definitely not the explanation. ‘Great joy’ is a state of practice. When a practitioner has reached this state in his or her practices, to this practitioner, ‘five desires’ are the ways for making offerings. He or she has received and used with the mind of ‘great joy’, accepting the sense of making offerings, and has given out such a sense too. On the five senses – delusions, arrogance, jealousy, the sense of greed and hatred – this practitioner has none of them in his or her mind; the mind is pure.” (Rinpoche inquired a monastic, who has been ordained for over 30 years, a question, “Do you feel dizzy now from all these teachings?” The monastic replied, “They are unfathomable and cannot be spoken of. All the things in the mundane world can be thought of or discussed about.”)

(Rinpoche continued the teachings.) “Why can Bodhisattvas rid ‘five desires’ but you cannot? Because their five senses in the mind have been purified. We all have a physical body in us and there are nothings that can be done about this fact. We cannot be in actions without these ‘five desires’ either. As long as we have eyes, ears, skin, et cetera, we definitely will have the ‘five desires’ produced. Why have I wanted you to chant mantras, make prostrations to the Buddha, to listen or to be scolded? The reason is to restrain your ‘five desires’ because you cannot get rid of them, unless you have attained accomplishments in reaching a very high level of practices in Vajrayana. I dare not say that I have mastered my practices to a very high stage but I know what the mind of ‘great joy’ is about and how to use it. Only if one has this mind of ‘great joy’, can one change what you consider as poison to good medicine. It is like when we conduct retreats, we need to make offerings of our body, speech and mind as wealth, as abundant as void, to our guru. It is of no use when you say such things because your body, speech and mind are not pure; ours are. That is why they are like wealth and we make offerings with them to our guru. As such, it is impossible for you to do the same, so you can only make offerings with the wealth of mundane world. If you are even reluctant to do that, you have nothing to be made offerings with – you cannot make offerings.

It is like when we make Eight Offerings, in many occasions, mudras are formed. Are there offerings made? Yes, there are – by forming mudras. When they are formed, they will appear in the void. For you, no matter how you form mudras, they will not be in the void, because they are false. You are lying to Bodhisattvas, to your guru and to yourself.

Last time when I expounded this sutra, I mentioned the Great Empowerment King of Kṣatriya. Shakyamuni Buddha had not taught this before, but suddenly He spoke of it in this sutra. After I got home, when I contemplated if there was anything in the sutra that I had not expounded in perfect completion on that day, I thought of this subject. It was because I had practiced it before. I had never thought that Shakyamuni Buddha would have spoken of Tantra. This is a great teaching of Tantra. You absolutely cannot master the practice. Do not envy, anticipate or wait; you do not have such root capacity. No matter how many prostrations you have made to the Buddha, or in grand prostrations, it is of no use because this method is very difficult to practice. Why is it difficult? It is because that you have obviously seen the occurrences happing with your eyes, how can your mind be calmed or purified? You have apparently seen that your son had been beaten by his wife, your daughter-in-law, can you not feel that your mind is disturbed? You then would chant the Great Six-Syllable Mantra immediately, so as to let her not scold him. It is of no use; she would continue to scold him all the same. Only when your mind is pure, will your chanting be useful. As mentioned earlier, if Bodhisattvas have not achieved accomplishments in merits, even demons will come to disturb them. Do you think that by your chanting of mantras you can change other people? You need to master the practices of obtaining merits. Why have you not mastered such practices? Because you have no compassion and bodhicitta.

Yesterday, there was a monastic imploring me for allowing her to make grand prostrations in the Center; the reason for her supplication was that her family members still eat meat. I said to her, ‘Don’t make grand prostrations. You are a monastic and you don’t practice the Bodhisattva Path. You feel pity for your family members because they eat meat. The population of the whole world is 7.1 billion and all people eat meat. Don’t you want to make prostrations for them? You have not practiced the Bodhisattva Path.’

The disciple, sharing her story today before the puja started, talked about herself and her mother from the beginning to the end, saying how great her mother was. The disciple talked a lot that she had not changed her behaviors. Why not? Because she had not given rise to bodhicitta and not prepared to practice the Bodhisattva Path. She thought, ‘As my mom had been great, Rinpoche would be very compassionate to her.’ Are you (the disciple in question) the only one who has a mother? Who does not have one? Even an orphan has a father and a mother too that they made the orphan born. If the disciple is in this way and with such thoughts, how can she practice the Bodhisattva Path? I have found that no matter how much I have said and taught, my teachings cannot get through your mind. You have a very selfish mind.

Why have I brought forward the topic of ‘five desires’ today? Because it is really quite difficult for you to change. There are nothings that I can do to help you and also, there are no other alternatives; very toilfully, I am telling you this simply: you really do not have such root capacity.

There were two disciples coming here yesterday, imploring me to get their close relatives liberated. Of the two diseased, one was the mother of one of the disciples, and the other diseased was the father of the second disciple. I scolded both disciples, and I told them to make grand prostrations. Both this father and this mother had only seen me once before they passed away. You have treated Glorious Jewel Buddhist Center as a clubhouse. You think you are a member of the club after you have taken refuge, and when you take out and show your membership card, you expect that you are to be served on everything. I have mentioned a lot on such a subject earlier and that is how you are to help your parents to accumulate their good fortune. Only then can they be liberated after they pass away. However, you still do not listen and your family members still eat meat. I have a disciple who has been ordained for 30 years. He has a brother who still eats meat. I have scolded this monastic just the same. In the Age of Dharma Decline, it is very difficult to practice. Everyone makes dedications to his or her own family members; they are actually your karmic creditors and are the most difficult people for you to deal with. I have been practicing for decades, but my children still do not follow me in learning Buddhism. If you would like to have all your family members to be like you, what should you do? You yourself need to be practicing well first.

Before my old mother passed away, she had come here with me every Sunday for participating in the puja. In the end, she needed to take a wheelchair, but she still came up here in it every week. She did not need to come but why did she not refuse being here? Besides, she did not understand my mandarin when she came up for pujas. She was willing to come because she had been seeing this son of hers having changed, becoming another person. You have changed into another person too – you have become old, ugly or bad. Thus, all the matters described in sutras are irrelevant to you because you do not do them. You say, ‘I cannot do them!’ It is because you are unwilling, and have not started, doing them. You are still living in your own life circle. I have often told you that when I mention other people’s matters, you will be like listening to stories in that they have nothing to do with you. Those two disciples having come here yesterday to have audiences with me did have things relevant to them.

The only benefit for this particular monastic is that she is ordained. The merits of her being ordained made me being able to help her father. You are not monastics; what will my help be based on to help your parents? Have you treated this place as a clubhouse? Do you think because you have a membership card that I should help you on everything? What are your reasons based on? I have mentioned many times how Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha implored for help. Yet, none of you has listened and gotten that through your head. Each one of you uses your own methods to do things with many of your reasons. Before, when there was no coronavirus pandemic, you were able to come to the Center very conveniently. At that time, contrarily, you did not come. Now, because there is this pandemic, the government’s regulations require that people coming into this Center need two shots of vaccine before they are allowed to be in. You then cannot come in; this is from your negative karma. I do not wish to see you in private either. What should you do then? I said to you many years ago that you should not think you are all right when living a good life with nothing bad happening to you. If the world, or the society you are in, is not in good shape, you will also be in painful situations.

One of the two disciples who came here yesterday seeking an audience with me had put his father in a nursing home until the old gentleman passed away. How could this son have such a heart to bear that? He has a son, a daughter and a wife, but he still put his father in a nursing home. He used a euphemistic term that both he and his wife needed to work so they did not have time to take care of his father. Nowadays, in the Age of Dharma Decline, it is pitiful to be parents. Without money or a house to live, it will be difficult to live as parents (to bring up children). So, really, do not try to learn to be parents like what other people do. Otherwise, you will know in the future that you have done wrong. Guru Rinpoche had said this very clearly: After humans have invented airplanes, children will not have filial piety. They have the heart to put an old gentleman, their father, in a nursing home! If I had not had parents, I would not have been qualified to scold you. I scolded disciples yesterday; now, I am continuing to do that today. However, no matter how I have scolded you, you have not listened and gotten that through your head. You thought you had done very well, thinking ‘I have taken refuge so you should give me everything.’ Nevertheless, as you have no qualifications, how can I give things to you?

You are also very cruel to me. I am already 75 years old, and I still have so many things I need to deal with. I am not saying that you cannot implore me for liberating your parents; rather, my point is whether or not you have helped them to be prepared. Before they passed away, I had never seen you coming here to make offerings; then when they died, you came and knelt in front of me, imploring me for helping them. Do not take advantage of me like this, and do not think I am too soft-hearted. When I see that you are not qualified, how am I to help you to liberate your family members? That will be impossible to do. Usually, everyone treats his or her parents as if they are already dead and ignores them. Then, when your parents have really passed away, in order to let you have peace of mind, you will come here imploring me for liberating them. Your acts are really not for your parents. I have mentioned to you many times about the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows. Has any one of you met this condition as what the Bodhisattva did? If you have not, it is all right, but at least you should lean to the side of the condition a little – be a bit close to it. You are not like that either. Then, are these not the ways you have taken advantages of me?

The disciple whom I scolded yesterday had come here several times, imploring me for helping his daughter because of her problems. For his mother, however, he only came to see me once. I asked him, ‘How many times has your mother seen her doctor?” He answered, ‘Many times.’ Then, can her issues be solved by seeing the Buddha, Bodhisattvas and the guru just once? You are all like this. Your parents do not want to come here, but they are willing to go with you when you take them out to eat good food or to go sightseeing. They are unwilling to come to this Center. These are all because of you; you feel annoyed if you are bothered. Thus, you had better implore longevity every day for your parents. Otherwise, you will definitely be scolded by me. After your parents have died, you implore me for getting them liberated. I will be stricter and stricter on this because I do not have much time left; I do not want to be ‘consumed’ like this. You are such scoundrels!

A monastic also implored me for getting her close relative liberated. She has been ordained for more than 30 years; she can perform the Food Almsgiving Ritual of Meng Mountain. However, why had she not performed this ritual herself but imploring me for help instead? Still, she dared not to implore the Phowa because she knew that her father’s karma resulting from killing in this life had been heavy. If he would not fall into the Three Evil Realms, she would be very pleased already. It is not like what had been said by that disciple who had shared her story today before the puja started. She said that her mother had ‘gone’ to the land of Amitabha. When her mother was alive, she had an abortion and had never done repentances. How could she have been liberated to be in the land of Amitabha? When both of them were here seeking an audience with me, I spoke of the mother’s abortion to them. The mother and the daughter appeared as if nothing had happened. It is mentioned very clearly in sutras that taking a child’s life or having an abortion is equivalent to killing a person. How can one eliminate the vice of killing? Can it be solved by just attending pujas several times? See, how had Venerable Milarepa done his practices? Simply speaking, you have taken advantages of me, the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. According to the conditions described in all sutras, none of you has met these conditions so as to enable me to help you. People out there say that writing down a deceased’s name can get that person liberated. However, I do not intend to do that either because that is not right.”

(Rinpoche asked that ordained disciple, “You can perform the Food Almsgiving Ritual of Meng Mountain. What do you feel about the Chod then?” She answered, “The Chod is very auspicious and transcendent. The Food Almsgiving Ritual of Meng Mountain is to form affinities by giving alms of all food. This ritual is not for transferring consciousness. The Chod performed by Rinpoche is bestowing Rinpoche’s good fortune directly to sentient beings, and is to liberate them. They can directly be reborn in virtuous realms or the World of Utmost Bliss. Such phenomena are very auspicious and cannot be compared with other things. The Food Almsgiving Ritual of Meng Mountain is only to invite those who have passed away to come and eat a meal. The good fortune they will obtain is very slight. This ritual is just for them to form good affinities with the Buddha, and is not for liberating them.”

(Rinpoche continued the teachings.) “To put it simply, it is to let those ghosts not to make troubles temporarily. Maybe they will not do so for a few years, but will mess things or people up again after a while. Hence, I am asking everyone that if you wish your parents to get liberated, you need to do a lot of preparations, starting today. Do not wait until they pass away, and only at that time you will come imploring me for liberating them. If you do not have enough of qualifications, then you are required to make grand prostrations. For the disciple who came yesterday imploring help for his father, I told him to make grand prostrations every day until his dead father ‘feels’ the son’s efforts. Then he can come again to implore me for getting his father liberated. How can the father have the perception? I do not know how he can either. Then after the father has the feel, how will he let his son know? I do not know that either. These situations of ‘not knowing’ occur because this disciple has come to test me by saying, ‘My father died; you need to help me get him liberated.’ Whether his father can be liberated or not, he does not know either. As that is the case, we might as well get to know none of these together.

What have been mentioned in sutras are not stories. Do not think this: ‘We cannot do those things in sutras. We just listen to them as stories. After listening to them, we go home and feel things being very pleasant’ or ‘We cannot master our practices so there are no needs for us to practice in these ways.’ That is right that you do not need to practice in such ways. However, on what I have taught you, you should have at least listened to them. Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha had such filial piety. He made prostrations to the Buddha till he bled and sold his house to make offerings. Have you done those acts he did? You have not. You will kneel in front of me and offer me a ‘red envelope” (containing money inside as a gift – here, being an offering made). Then you want me to do all the things you have requested me to do. That is to show your disdain of the Three Jewels. If there had been no clear mentions of these in the Sutra of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha’s Fundamental Vows, I would not have qualifications to scold you today. You consider all that have been described in this sutra are stories of Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, and they are not relevant to you. Then how can you continue to practice?

The Immovable Buddha had spoken of this very clearly that even if you have been practicing the Bodhisattva Path today, and if you have not achieved accomplishments in merits, those demons will be able to disturb you. The demons are not from external places; you do not have such demons. The types of demons you have are those in your home, including your demons of mind. Thus, we should not continue to be greedy for wanting to gain advantages from our practices. It is like me that I have achieved attainments now; I dare not say how well I have done my practices, but at least what I practice every day are for sentient beings, not for myself.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, that Immovable Tathagata has been attuned to right equality and right awareness. Before, he had practiced the Bodhisattva Path. At that time, when expounding Dharmas and when listening to them spoken of, his body and mind did not give rise to fatigue.’

This quote describes what all the practices of the Bodhisattva Path that Immovable Tathagata had done before he attained the Buddhahood. When he had expounded all Dharmas and had listened to them spoken of, ‘his body and mind did not give rise to fatigue’. The fatigue of the body means after listening to the Dharma expounded for a while, one feels sleepy, or after one gets home, one recites sutras or the Buddha’s name or chants mantras for some time, and then one does not want to do it anymore. The tiredness of the mind means one’s mind does not rise up to listen continuously, thinking that the subject is not important. One would think, ‘Whatever have been spoken of are always likes these and there are nothings new to tell me’, or ‘I really do not understand the topics when I listen to them.’ These are shown as one being fatigued. If one wants to have a yawn, that means being tired too, indicating the person is not prepared to practice the Bodhisattva Path.

Sutra: ‘Why was that? It was because from the start of his aspirations having been arisen and when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, he had obtained the mighty power of Dharmakaya (Dharma-body).’

It is mentioned earlier that when Immovable Tathagata had expounded Dharmas, ‘his body and mind did not give rise to fatigue’. Why? ‘It was because from the start of his aspirations having been arisen and when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, he had obtained the mighty power of Dharmakaya (Dharma-body).’ What is Dharma-body? There are three kinds of ‘bodies’, and they are Dharma-body, Sambhogakaya (reward-body) and Nirmanakaya (emanation-body). Dharma-body is natural, original essence, which you possess originally. From the start of Immovable Tathagata’s aspirations having been arisen and when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, as his mind having been aspired was pure and great vows had been made in it with nothing – not any tiny bit of things – for himself, all the mighty power of pure Dharma-body had appeared. Having a mighty power does not mean the person has become awesome. The reason is that what you have been practicing now are all about your own body, speech, mind or consciousness; you have not used your self-nature in your practices. There is no need to practice on self-nature. After you are able to ‘understand the mind and see the nature’, your self-nature will produce effectiveness. It is like when we practice the Mahamudra, the last stage of it is the Non-meditation Yoga; there is nothing to practice on. When we say that we need to practice, it does not mean to become amazing after we have practiced; rather, practicing is to amend those things that we have talked about before – things that you should not have or things that will obstruct your practices. Only after you have continuously amended your ways, will Dharma-body appear.

Once Dharma-body appears and the power of your self-nature is shown, then you are not using your body, speech and mind to do things or to speak. It is equivalent to using your innate, natural power. The power of Dharma-body will be attuned to Buddhas’ Dharma-body and Bodhisattvas’ Dharma-body, and such power will also be attuned to the pure, original essence of sentient beings who possess this essence originally. In this way, you will be able to help sentient beings. If we just do things with the body, speech and mind in the bodies of ordinary people or in the bodies of physical forms, we can only help ourselves to accumulate some good fortune but we definitely cannot help sentient beings.

Hence, this is mentioned in the quote: ‘because….the mighty power of Dharmakaya (Dharma-body).’ It means ‘it was because from the start of his aspirations having been arisen’, in order to benefit sentient beings, the power of Dharma-body appeared. After that, when Immovable Tathagata had listened to Dharmas spoken of, ‘his body and mind did not give rise to fatigue’.

Many years ago, I helped His Holiness to hold a puja for the first time in Taiwan. On the day before the puja date, I had the venue arranged until 5 a.m. the next morning. After I went home and washed, I got back to the venue a little past 7 a.m. When His Holiness presided over a puja, it would last at least half day. During that puja, I did not doze off though. It was not because I organized the puja I was nervous and needed to observe things closely. Rather, it was because of this phrase, ‘because….the mighty power of Dharmakaya (Dharma-body).’ When you participate in pujas, you will doze off, be tired, feel impatient; the reason is that you have not mastered your practices in having Dharma-body, which has no power to be brought forth. You should be alert and on your guard. It is because that if you do not set out the power of Dharma-body, you will fall into reincarnation very easily. Even if you recite the Buddha’s name, you will also reincarnate. How does one make Dharma-body appear? Everyone has it originally. Then, why is one unable to achieve the accomplishment of it?

It is like the disciple who came up to the front of the Center today to share her story. She talked a lot of things, which were about two people only – her mother and herself. Will you say she has Dharma-body? Did you hear her praising the guru’s merits? No, you did not. She said, ‘The guru is compassionate that he gets my mother eating vegetarian.’ However, she did not mention this: ‘The guru is amazing; he knows that my mom had an abortion. I have not done well on things.’ Why did she not say it? It was because she had this thought, ‘My mom’s abortion was a nonchalant matter. The “one” died during the abortion was not born so I don’t have the feeling about it either. Nothing is the matter. Many people had, or will have, abortions anyway.’

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, Immovable Tathagata has been attuned to right equality and right awareness. Before, when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, he had made such a vow: “In my land of a Buddha, all Great Bodhisattvas will obtain Dharma-body in perfect completion with no differences as I have obtained it.”’

The Buddha has no sense of jealousy, and is in the most equal state with all sentient beings. He said very clearly that Immovable Tathagata had made a vow that ‘In my land of a Buddha, all Great Bodhisattvas will obtain Dharma-body in perfect completion with no differences as I have obtained it’.

Section 2: Merits with Solemnity in the Land of A Buddha

Sutra: ‘At that time, Sariputra said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, it is like the Buddha has already spoken of all the merits of Immovable Tathagata when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path. Again, I wish World Honored One will expound extensively about what Immovable Tathagata has seen on the merits with solemnity and auspiciousness in the land of a Buddha of today. Why is that?”’

Sariputra asked the Buddha for instructions. As ‘the Buddha has already spoken of all the merits of Immovable Tathagata when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path,’ Sariputra wished that the World Honored One would expound more, and extensively too, ‘about what Immovable Tathagata has seen on the merits’ with auspiciousness ‘in the land of a Buddha of today.’

Sutra: ‘Making those pudgala (sentient beings), who have been practicing Mahayana, when hearing about his merits, give rise to the sense of affectionate happiness, and they will want to see that Buddha and to make prostrations and offerings to him.’

It was to hope that after Shakyamuni Buddha expounded extensively on all the merits of Immovable Tathagata, these Bodhisattvas would ‘give rise to the sense of affectionate happiness’, and would want to see this Buddha, making prostrations and offerings to him. This is because that before all Bodhisattvas attain Buddhahood, they must make offerings continuously to all Buddhas in the ten directions and in the Three Periods. When they hear any Buddhas’ names, they should give rise to the sense of affectionate happiness and an attitude of making offerings. Such offerings do not necessarily refer to the kinds of wealth or belongings; rather, the offerings are to be made with body, speech and mind. For example, the reason I am able to speak of Immovable Tathagata now is that I have a yidam with a ‘head set’ of Immovable Tathagata. As this is the case, there must be sutras having the introduction of the Tathagata, therefore, I have been teaching this section very naturally. Having taught this means it is an offering made too because it has introduced Immovable Tathagata to you. If I have not expounded this section today, I dare to place a bet with you that before you die, you will not read this section; even if you do, you will not know what it is talking about either.”

Rinpoche inquired a monastic, who has been ordained for more than 30 years, if this would be so. The reply was, “Yes, it is so. Without such introduction from you, it is impossible for us to read it.” Rinpoche then asked the monastic why people will not know the importance of the subject even if they read it. This was the answer: “It is because of our delusions or foolishness. We do not believe in cause and effect or are not aware of what we are. It is like what you have taught us that we do not see Dharma-body appearing in our practices.”

(Rinpoche continued the teachings.) “From this section of the sutra, we can clearly see that for the compassion of Buddhas, we are unable to have it or do what they had acted with it. Shakyamuni Buddha is the Buddha of Earth, the planet we are in. However, when He introduced other Buddhas to us, He always hoped that all sentient beings could form affinities with the Buddhas He introduced, and could also learn the Dharma from them. He did not say, ‘You must learn Buddhism from me’, nor did He say, ‘You are my disciples; you have to follow me.’ Instead, His point on this was, ‘If you have the affinity to learn Buddhism from another Buddha, that is very good too.’ Thus, in the sutra, when Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of Amitabha, He mentioned this very clearly that as long as you dedicate the merits, which are from your practices of any Dharma methods, to the Pure Land and offer such merits to that land, you definitely will be reborn there. So long as you make such a vow, you will certainly be reborn in the Pure Land. Even if you do not recite a Buddha’s name as Amitabha, as long as you make offerings with all you practice every day to the Western World of Utmost Bliss, the vow you make will definitely get you to be reborn there.

From this passage, we know that all Buddhas have made the ‘gate of convenience’ of their Pure Lands wide open for us to go into. However, the key point is whether or not we have listened and gotten our learnings implemented practically and continuously. It is not to wish obtaining or doing things immediately. When you act on some deeds constantly but with no feelings about them, you do not think that your actions have not been done well or not been done correctly; you even consider that the guru has not taught you about those deeds. You should not have these types of concepts.

Sutra: ‘When those pudgala (sentient beings) abiding in the land of Sravaka, who are in attaining the accomplishments of “non-learnings”, have heard the merits with solemnity in that land of a Buddha, they also wish to pay obeisance and make offerings to, and attend, that Buddha.’

The phrase ‘those…. are in attaining the accomplishments of “non-learnings”’ does not mean those practitioners had not learned some types of Dharmas. If they had attained the fruition of an arhat, they had definitely learned Dharmas. The term ‘practitioners of “non-learnings”’ was a comparison with those practicing Mahayana. The practicing methods of Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha and Arhat Path are different from those of the Bodhisattva Path. Hence, the practitioners of those first three types just mentioned have naturally not learned how to practice the Bodhisattva Path. However, this does not mean because they had not learned about this path, they could not make offerings to Immovable Buddha. Once they heard ‘the merits with solemnity in that land of a Buddha’, they all wished they could ‘pay obeisance and make offerings to, and attend’ this Buddha.

Sutra: ‘The Buddha spoke to Sariputra, “Excellent! Excellent! Now you can even ask the meanings of these. Listen closely. Listen closely. Contemplate well about what I am going to say. Now I shall explain them separately to you.” Sariputra said, “Yes indeed, World Honored One; I am listening with great anticipation.” The Buddha spoke to Sariputra, “That Immovable Tathagata has been attuned to right equality and right awareness. When he had attained all wisdom, he radiated the great, bright light, illuminating universally the trichiliocosm. At that time, there were six kinds of shocks on the earth. In that world, all sentient beings knew that Immovable Tathagata had attained the state of supreme enlightenment. Then, for seven days and seven nights, they had no thoughts about eating, hunger and thirst. They did not think of tiredness, places of feasts and sleep either. They only had feelings of peaceful delights, joy, affectionate happiness and the sense of goodness.”’

Shakyamuni Buddha expounded that when Immovable Tathagata had attained Buddhahood and all wisdom, ‘he radiated the great, bright light, illuminating universally the trichiliocosm. At that time, there were six kinds of shocks on the earth.’ In the land of Immovable Tathagata, all sentient beings knew that he had attained Buddhahood. ‘Then, for seven days and seven nights, they had no thoughts about eating’ or thirst, and were not tired or sleepy either. ‘They only had feelings of peaceful delights, joy, affectionate happiness and the sense of goodness.’

See, how great the merits were for a Bodhisattva having attained Buddhahood. Such merits could let sentient beings act like these for seven days and seven nights. If you had not been sleeping, eating, or drinking for seven days and seven nights, to us, you would all have been ‘dead’ – been failed. Could you still have sat here for pujas? Could you still have felt ‘peaceful delights, joy, affectionate happiness and the sense of goodness’ too?

Sutra: ‘Also, at that time, all sentient beings in the world and those in the Heaven of Desires did not have sexual desires. Why was that? It was because of that Tathagata’s original vows that those sentient beings embraced such merits in this lifetime.’

When Immovable Tathagata had attained Buddhahood, all sentient beings in his world, even when at the time of their reaching the Heaven of Desires, their desires between a man and a woman had been stopped. The reason was that Immovable Tathagata had wished sentient beings would not reincarnate again, and could attain Buddhahood. Because of these vows, when he had attained Buddhahood, the power of such vows let all sentient beings stop their sexual desires, and ‘those sentient beings embraced such merits in this lifetime.’

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, Immovable Tathagata has been attuned to right equality and right awareness. When he had attained all wisdom, in that world, all sentient beings joined the palms of their hands together very sincerely towards Immovable Tathagata. Because they admired and respected him very much, they were able to embrace such immeasurable merits in this lifetime.’

When a Buddha has appeared, even if we just join the palms of our hands together towards, and make an offering to, this Buddha, we will be ‘able to embrace such immeasurable merits in this lifetime.’ It is mentioned in sutras that sentient beings, like us, who live in the Age of Dharma Decline, will all be with karmic hindrances that have been profoundly heavy. As such, there are no opportunities for us to do the things just described because there will be no such a Buddha appearing in this life of ours. Why do we want to be in the Land of Amitabha? It is because, in there, when we see that Buddha, we respectfully join the palms of our hands together, and then we will have the merits. Thus, such a motion about respectfully joining the palms of our hands together is very important.

Many years ago, I got a man liberated who had committed suicide. He had died by hanging himself in a bathroom with a belt tied in a circle on a horizontal water pipe, and with his neck leaning up into the circle while sitting on the floor. Reasonably speaking, it was impossible that he died from hanging because he was heavy and the water pipe was not stable either. Besides, he was in a sitting position. Usually, people who died by suicide, an unnatural death, had no affinities with me. Why was there such an affinity this time? Then I knew the reason from what I saw in my visualization when I helped him get liberated. In one lifetime I was a monastic. At some time, when I came down from the mountain, I passed a village. This dead person was a man in that prior lifetime and he was an apprentice in a roast duck shop. His job responsibility at that time was to hang up the roasted ducks by hooks outside the kitchen, which was at the back of the shop, so as to let the ducks get dried by wind. When he saw me walking by, he respectfully joined the palms of his hands together towards me. It was exactly because of this gesture that he received the Phowa, which I performed for him, to help him get liberated in this life. Hence, it is not that because you have made offerings to me, you will get my help to perform some Dharma methods for you. If there are affinities between you and me, no single penny is needed. For the debts between us from past lifetimes, I will help you get them solved in this one. If, in past lifetimes, you had respectfully joined the palms of your hands together towards me, I will absolutely help you; then again, you definitely had not done that. Perhaps in past lifetimes I expounded the Dharma in some places and you listened to it afar off with much delights. Then, in this lifetime, I have been found by you; that is all. All of you have not come to this world as past practitioners. Do not think you have already been practicing in this lifetime. From the perspective of sutras, you have not practiced, really. If you have not, it is all right. Just listen, follow the instructions and do your practices step by step; you will definitely achieve accomplishments.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, in the world of that Buddha, there are merits with solemnity. All the countless lands of Buddhas are without differences and are equal to it.’

In the world of Immovable Buddha, ‘there are merits with solemnity. All the countless lands of Buddhas are’ the same as his world.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, it was because that Tathagata, when he had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, had made such great vows: “There will be merits with solemnity in this land of a Buddha. It will be like what has occurred that now I have achieved the attainment in my original vows.” Sariputra, that Immovable Tathagata has been attuned to right equality and right awareness. When he had attained supreme bodhicitta, in an instant or in a split second, all sentient beings in the trichiliocosm, whether they had a “heavenly eye” or not, were able to see Immovable Tathagata.’

Immovable Tathagata was very amazing. When he had attained Buddhahood, in that land of a Buddha, in a snap of fingers, ‘all sentient beings in the trichiliocosm, whether they had a “heavenly eye” or not, were able to see Immovable Tathagata’.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, this also showed that the accomplishment of that Tathagata having achieved the attainment in his original vows had let sentient beings get such merits.’

If you can see a Buddha’s Dharma-body, your merits are incredible. This indicates that you are a future Buddha.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, when Immovable Tathagata sat at the bodhi-site and attained supreme enlightenment, Mara-papiyan, a heaven-demon, did not produce thoughts of hindrances towards him.’

As long as Immovable Buddha appeared, Mara-papiyan, a heaven-demon, would not think of making hindrances to him. What does this mean? It means Immovable Tathagata’s vows had been so great, and he had not left any karma for the heaven-demon to hinder him either. It also means Immovable Tathagata had continuously been practicing to pay off all the ‘debts’ he had owed or needed to repay. Only when that was done, did he attain Buddhahood. His situation was a little different from that of Shakyamuni Buddha. Shakyamuni Buddha wanted to attain Buddhahood in a hurry because the karma of humans on Earth has been too heavy; to them, there is much suffering and less happiness. If He had continued to have been ‘consumed’ in what He had been doing, the earth will be destroyed. Hence, before some of His karma had been eliminated, He attained Buddhahood first. He would then pay off such karma after becoming a Buddha.

This is the reason that when Shakyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood, the demon king came to obstruct Him. After He had attained Buddhahood, someone impersonated Him in doing things; there was even an event happening that a rock was pushed down from a cliff, intending to crush Him to death. All such occurrences were Shakyamuni Buddha’s karma from His past lifetimes. Some people will ask, ‘Could He still have attained Buddhahood when He had karma?” Yes, He could have. This was because when He was a Bodhisattva at His last time of being so, He already possessed six supernatural powers, so He definitely had ways to accomplish the aim for selecting the time to attain Buddhahood. Why was He in a hurry to become a Buddha? The reason is that if Shakyamuni Buddha had attained Buddhahood 500 years later, or even had appeared on Earth 1,000 years later, Earth would not have existed or would have been extinct. We would not have come here.

Thus, Shakyamuni Buddha wanted to come to Earth first in haste. Before He was to come down to Earth from Tusita Heaven, many Great Bodhisattvas there said to Him, ‘On Earth, sentient beings’ karma is very heavy. Once you go down there, you will be very toilsome.’ Then He spoke to them, ‘My affinity is over there with those sentient beings. Because they suffer, that just makes me need to go there.’ This is why Shakyamuni Buddha has been a Buddha with such a toil. Mara-papiyan, the demon king, came to obstruct Him, assigning the king’s own daughter for the task. Mara-papiyan even said that in the future, in the Age of Dharma Decline, he will become a Shakyamuni Buddha’s disciple, wearing His vestments so as to undermine His Dharmas.

However, there are no mentions on these things about Immovable Buddha. This does not mean Immovable Buddha has been more amazing than Shakyamuni Buddha; rather, it is that each Buddha’s vows are different. This means Shakyamuni Buddha was willing to endure many of these toils in coming here so that He could help us, being sentient beings with so much suffering, first. It is all right too if He came to Earth later, or even did not come here, to attain Buddhahood. He did not need to come to Earth as He also had abilities to create a land of the Buddha. Nevertheless, this great vow of Shakyamuni Buddha had not been made by other Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, and that is why there is the Dharma for us on Earth. Otherwise, it is impossible that we would have had the Dharma here.

In accordance with what are mentioned in sutras, why were there no thoughts of hindrances arisen in the heaven-demon towards Immovable Tathagata? It was because Immovable Buddha had paid off his karma – even a few words uttered and then ‘owed’ – created through lifetime after lifetime. Thus, when he attained Buddhahood, naturally, he did not let the heaven-demon feel having been obstructed. This in turn got the heaven-demon not coming to hinder Immovable Tathagata. We think the heaven-demon is a scoundrel, but he is not. Rather, he only becomes a demon because he has done many good deeds as the heaven-demon has great good fortune. However, he will not let you break away from reincarnation; you need to be the subjects of his place through lifetime after lifetime until his life ends. In this way, you cannot break away from reincarnation. Well, if you want to be like that, do superficial learnings in Buddhism then. All things mentioned in the sutra are about this: because of the merits of Immovable Tathagata, he received and used these things described.

Sutra: ‘There were also innumerable, hundreds of thousands of heavenly beings making offerings to that Tathagata with fragrant flowers and heavenly music. They individually held delicate sandalwood incense and sprinkled it on that Buddha. The fragrant incense and those flowery garlands combined in the void to form covers.’

When I chant mantras, people will often smell a fragrant scent. Of course, I am not a Buddha, but when I chant mantras, I am attuned to yidams, and then a part of such a phenomenon will appear. People often say that there is a strong fragrance when I chant mantras. How does it come from? It is not from the incense placed on the mandala; it is from the things mentioned in the sutra. Why are there such things when I chant mantras? It is precisely because I have practiced bodhicitta and because I am attuned to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and yidams, naturally there are phenomena of ‘goddesses scattering flowers’ with fragrant scent.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, all of these have shown the power of Immovable Tathagata’s original vows has now been obtained in perfect completion. Furthermore, Sariputra, when that Buddha had attained bodhicitta, a great, bright light illuminated universally the trichiliocosm. All the lights of the sun, the moon and heavens did not appear. This is also because that Immovable Tathagata’s vows of the past have been accomplished in perfect completion, and have now obtained such auspiciousness.’

In the sutra, it is mentioned that when Immovable Buddha had attained Buddhahood, his light illuminated universally the trichiliocosm, and there were no lights of the sun and the moon. There are no such lights in the Land of Amitabha either; all the light there is the Buddha’s light. What are the differences between the Buddha’s light and other lights? The lights of the sun and the moon are not eternal and they will harm our bodies but the Buddha’s light will not. If you do not believe this, you can stand under the sun and bask in the sunshine for a few hours; you will see then what will happen to you. There will be problems for you too if you are under the moon and ‘bask’ in the moonlight. You can try it if you do not believe it; that will get you tanned too. Do not be so romantic holding hands together with someone and ‘basking’ in the moonlight. In part of this quote, it describes ‘All the lights of the sun, the moon and heavens did not appear’. This auspicious phenomenon occurred only because Immovable Buddha’s vows ‘have been accomplished in perfect completion’.

Sutra: ‘At that time, Sariputra said to the Buddha, “World Honored One, when that Immovable Tathagata had been practicing the Bodhisattva Path before, he really had immense diligence as his armor of mail and helmet, and he was able to give rise to the mind with such great vows. Because, in the past, he had been practicing the acts and vows of Bodhisattvas, he enabled innumerable, hundreds of thousands of sentient beings to plant origins of virtue on supreme bodhicitta. He also dedicated roots of virtue to Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhicitta (Supreme Enlightenment), purifying the land of a Buddha. As such, as such, the dedication made and the vows accomplished have both been in perfect completion.”’

How does one purify the land of a Buddha? One needs to practice like these – having aspirations and practicing the Bodhisattva Path. These will enable ‘innumerable, hundreds of thousands of sentient beings to plant origins of virtue on supreme bodhicitta’, and will dedicate roots of virtue to Supreme Enlightenment. These deeds will make this land of a Buddha pure. Such kinds of dedication and vows will then be ‘in perfect completion’.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, there is a bodhi tree. The tree is in a shape at a height of one yojana with seven treasures. The circumference of the tree is half of a krosa, and the area of branches and leaves hanging down around the tree, forming shades, is one yojana. Under the tree, there is a base-throne with a circumference of four yojanas. That Buddha sat on the throne and attained bodhicitta path. On the four sides of the bodhi tree, and all over them, there are rows of tala trees and Sumana trees. Light breezes blow and produce harmonious, elegant sounds, and the music of the mundane world is inferior to such sounds.’

There is a mention here too that bodhi trees do not exist only on Earth. They are also in the Land of Amitabha or in the Land of Immovable Tathagata. In this quote, a bodhi tree is described very clearly about how high and how vast it is. Under it, there is a throne, and Immovable Tathagata sat right there to attain bodhicitta path. It is the same for Shakyamuni Buddha as He attained a Dharma path under a bodhi tree.

Sutra: ‘Furthermore, Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, there are no Three Evil Realms. What are these three realms? They are so-called the Hell, the Animal and the Yama Realms. All sentient beings there have achieved accomplishments in the Ten Meritorious Acts. The grounds are as flat as palms and are in gold color, and there are no ditches, pits, thorns and rubble. The grounds are soft like Tula cotton. When they are trod on, they then bend downward, and when the feet are raised, the grounds still recover their original appearance.’

In the land of Immovable Buddha, there are no Three Evil Realms of ‘the Hell, the Animal and the Yama Realms’. Why is the Hungry Ghost Realm not written here but the Yama Realm is? It is mentioned in sutras that after a person dies and before his or her karma has become manifest, this person will be managed and judged by the Yama King to see which ‘hall’ of the hells the person will ‘go’ to. Ice Hell and Fire Hell are both here in Yama King’s decisions, and so is the Hungry Ghost Realm. Because all sentient beings in that land ‘have achieved accomplishments in the Ten Meritorious Acts, the grounds are as flat as palms’, and ‘there are no ditches, pits, thorns and rubble’ (gravel).The grounds are soft like Tula cotton.’ When these grounds are trod on, they bend downward. It is like when we step on a mattress, it will become soft and then sag. ‘When the feet are raised, the grounds still recover their original appearance’. These kinds of situations are also mentioned in the Amitabha Sutra.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, there are no diseases of these three kinds. What are these three diseases? They are diseases of “wind, yellow and phlegm” as causes.’

What are diseases caused by ‘wind, yellow and phlegm’? Those that are caused by ‘wind’ are strokes, brain diseases and paralysis, et cetera; all kinds of cancer have causes in ‘yellow’. For diseases with ‘phlegm’ as causes, they are all related to lungs and edema. In lands of Buddhas, there are no such kinds of diseases, therefore, for normal practitioners, they should not have these three diseases. Even if a practitioner has a stroke, he or she will not die as it will be just a minor stroke. Even if a practitioner has cancer, the person will get well, and even if he or she has edema or something of that sort, it will disappear through the practitioner’s practices. How do these three types of diseases of ‘wind, yellow and phlegm’ as causes occur? Their occurrences are related to greed, hatred and ignorance.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, all sentient beings do not make false speeches. Also, they are not ugly, and their bodies have no odors and filth. They have slight thoughts or acts on all the greed, hatred and ignorance. In there, there are no prisons to incarcerate sentient beings either.’

In that land of a Buddha, all sentient beings do not tell lies or make false speeches, and do not have very ugly bodies either. The so-called ugly bodies, besides faces being ugly, mean bodies are deformed, like hands or feet being not good or figures being not good-looking. Why are bodies ugly? It is because the minds are ugly. Why will bodies have odors and be dirty? Because mantras are not practiced or the bodies are not purified. These are mentioned very clearly here. It is not that there are no greed, hatred and ignorance. They are still there but are very insignificant. The greed, hatred and ignorance are produced for survival, and they are not for other things.

Thus, we can tell from this point that if one’s look is ugly or one’s body is deformed, stinks or is filthy, it is definitely relevant to one’s greed, hatred and ignorance. For example, when I walk by, some people will smell a fragrant scent. This is exactly because my greed, hatred and ignorance are in slight extent. I dare not say that there is none of them in me; I have them, absolutely, because I am still alive. However, they are insignificant. That is why I do not stink without even using soap when I bathe. For you, even if you bathe with perfume, you will still have a bad odor. I dare not say if that is the case; you will know then by just asking your husband or wife. I do not know it.

I have spoken of this to let you know that it is related to your practices. When you have been practicing to a certain stage, your body will produce changes. Then, it will naturally become different. Last week, I mentioned that cells in a human body will make changes once every seven years. If you have amended yourself continuously in these seven years, what your cells having been changed into will be good ones. Hence, odors and filth will not appear. They are definitely relevant to your own greed, hatred and ignorance. ‘In there, there are no prisons to incarcerate sentient beings either.’ This means there are no prisons to lock up sentient beings in that land.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, there are no non-religionists or those in different studies. The trees growing there often have flowers and fruits produced. Also, there are wonderful trees called, at that time, kalpataru. On them, there are famous clothes appearing, and all of them possess five colors. Bright flowers are fresh and the unusual scents are aromatic. These constantly do not change at all times. The flowers are like heavenly flowers with various fragrances. The fragrant scents of those clothes are the same too. The fragrances coming out of the bodies of those who wear such clothes are not different from the clothes. It is like people in this world who are rich and happy, and they have their own abundant, famous clothes, which they wear and use in anyways they wish.’

Those who love to wear beautiful clothes should be reborn there. On the trees in that land, there are five-colored, brand-named clothes. The styles you think of will all appear for you to see. Also, the clothes are very bright and very beautiful. People who like to be beautiful should be reborn there. The clothes have very fragrant scents and all of them give a sense of fashion; they will not change and are good-looking forever. These clothes are like flowers sprinkled from the sky, and have various fragrances. Also, the ‘fragrances coming out of the bodies of those who wear such clothes are not different from the clothes.’ It is like people in the world who are rich and wear good clothes. Also, they have whatever clothes they think of wearing.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land, the food and drink that sentient beings need reach them by their thoughts, like that occurring in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. There are no stool, defilements and uncleanliness.’

In the land of Immovable Buddha, all the food that sentient beings want to eat ‘will reach them by their thoughts, like that occurring in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three’. The heavenly beings in that heaven only need to think about food, and then the food will appear. It is the same too in the land of Immovable Buddha. So is it the same in the Land of Amitabha. There is no need to cook. Thus, those who hate cooking in this life should make vows quickly to be reborn in the Land of Amitabha.

Besides, there are no stool, urine, odors or uncleanliness for those being reborn there. This is because that on all things we eat on Earth, they are digested, and for food that remains, it is excreted. However, although food eaten in heavens and in the lands of Buddhas is in the form of food, it is not food; it contains molecules. For example, in Zen School, there is this term: ‘meditation as food’. In Taoism, there is also a saying that nutrients in the air are to be breathed in as food. Hence, it is mentioned here in this quote that the food eaten in the Heaven Realm will feed your body, and you do not need to go through digestion. As long as you eat such food, the molecules and quanta in it will nourish your body.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land, palaces and pavilions that sentient beings live in are all decorated solemnly with seven treasures. On four sides of these places, there are many ponds and pools with water of eight merits, and the water is accepted and used at will. There are also many gardens with views, and all of these gardens are pure. Many generations of sentient beings live with Dharma happiness.’

In there, ‘palaces and pavilions that sentient beings live in are all decorated solemnly with seven treasures.’ There are many ponds surrounding the four sides of these places. Thus, for the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery, in the future, there will be water in front of it, and the Avalokiteshvara Hall will be surrounded by water. Of course, the water around our monastery is not that of eight merits; then again, that is a metaphor. As long as practitioners do their practices diligently in the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery in the future, they will be like in a beautiful palace in a land of a Buddha.

Although the seven treasures have not been used now in the constructions of the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery, the building materials that are used for the constructions are all in good qualities, and we need to spend money on such good materials, of course. Also, wherever water can be utilized as part of the design or planning, we use it as much as we are able to. What does it mean to utilize water in our monastery? There is an explanation on water of eight merits here. Why is water needed as part of our monastery constructions? It is because after there is water, one can practice about having water of eight merits. Merits are like water, coming forth unceasingly just like water in an endless stream. In addition, when we do practices, water will adjust humidity of the air around us, therefore, the Glorious Jewel Buddhist Monastery will gradually be pretty good in the future. ‘There are also many gardens with views, and all of these gardens are pure.’ Inside the gardens, all things look very pure. All people living in that land can obtain Dharma happiness (the happiness of all Dharmas).

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, there is no jealousy in human ethics. All women surpass jewels of women, and have obtained merits of heavens. Such women cannot be compared with by other types of women. If comparisons are made and expressed in numbers, then 100, 1,000 or 10,000 of the latter is less than one in the former. In terms of metaphor of numeric examples, kotis and nayuta of hundreds of thousands of the latter, or even to that of Upanisad, is also less than one in the former.’

When we have the Mandala Offering Ritual performed, we have recited a section of jewels of women. On the part that has been spoken of earlier on practitioners who have been practicing the Bodhisattva Path, there is a mention too on jewels of women. Here, it also talks about that in the land of Immovable Buddha, no one has the sense of jealousy. Women on Earth are jealous of some people or some things but women in that land do not have any jealousy in them. Also, they ‘have obtained merits of heavens. Such women cannot be compared with by other types of women.’ This is because that those who have been able to be reborn in the land of Immovable Tathagata are not ordinary practitioners.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, people adapt to their karmic retributions, and they feel that all of their beds and seats are made of seven treasures and possess solemnity and beauty completely. What they sleep and rest on are pillows in Tula cotton. All these have occurred because Immovable Tathagata’s vows of the past have been achieved accomplishments to make such various things solemn and good.’

Those who are reborn there will naturally have seats of seven treasures and the best pillows in Tula cotton. Even pillows are mentioned here. We pick pillows all the time but cannot find good ones. Why? ‘Because Immovable Tathagata’s vows of the past have been achieved accomplishments to make such various things’ good. Simply speaking, if one is reborn there, one is to enjoy good fortune; there is even no need to choose a pillow there.

Sutra: ‘Sariputra, in that land of a Buddha, on the food and drink that people acquire, their color, smell and taste, et cetera, are not different from those in heavens. It is like that for people in Uttarakuru, there are no other kings. In that land, Abhirati, it is the same.’

If you are reborn there, and even if you are in the Human Realm, the good fortune you enjoy and the food you eat are the same as those in heavens. That good fortune you enjoy is the same as people of Uttarakuru (Kurudvīpa) with longevity. Your life there will be like that of the king. The land of Immovable Tathagata is called Abhirati, and the situations there are the same. Here is the ending of my teachings for today.”

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Updated on January 28, 2023